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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..0eaa680 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #65334 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/65334) diff --git a/old/65334-0.txt b/old/65334-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 17f42c4..0000000 --- a/old/65334-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,18724 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Ecclesiastical History of England, The -Church of the Restoration, Vol. 1 of 2, by John Stoughton - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Ecclesiastical History of England, The Church of the - Restoration, Vol. 1 of 2 - -Author: John Stoughton - -Release Date: May 13, 2021 [eBook #65334] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -Produced by: Emmanuel Ackerman, Karin Spence and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was - produced from images generously made available by The Internet - Archive) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND, -THE CHURCH OF THE RESTORATION, VOL. 1 OF 2 *** - - - - - ECCLESIASTICAL - - HISTORY OF ENGLAND. - - - - - ECCLESIASTICAL - - HISTORY OF ENGLAND. - - =The Church of the Restoration.= - - - BY - JOHN STOUGHTON, D.D. - - - IN TWO VOLUMES--VOL. I. - - [Illustration] - - =London:= - HODDER AND STOUGHTON, - 27, PATERNOSTER ROW, E.C. - MDCCCLXX. - - [Illustration: - - UNWIN BROTHERS, PRINTERS, - BUCKLERSBURY, AND CANNON ST. E.C. -] - - - - - ADVERTISEMENT. - - -The object of my former volumes upon the Ecclesiastical History of -England was to state facts and to draw conclusions, without seeking to -gratify any particular party, and by such a method to promote the cause -of Christian truth and charity. Acknowledgments of success to some -extent, expressed by public critics, and by private friends, holding -very different ecclesiastical opinions, encourage me to proceed in my -arduous but agreeable task; and I now venture to lay before the public -another instalment of my work. - -To account for its appearance so soon after its predecessor, it -is but fair to my readers and myself to state, that it became the -dream and desire of my life, a quarter of a century ago, to write an -Ecclesiastical History of my own country; and that, ever since, my -reading and my reflections have been directed very much into this -channel. For many years past, I have been engaged in studying the -affairs of the Church from the Commonwealth to the Revolution; and -therefore, whatever may be the imperfections of these volumes, they -are not, at any rate, a hasty compilation, but the result of long and -laborious research. - -It may be well to indicate the sources from which my materials are -drawn. - -The printed _Journals_ of the Lords and Commons,--the _Parliamentary -History of England_,--_Cardwell's Synodalia_,--_Thurloe's State -Papers_,--and other similar collections, which did not exist in the -days of Kennet, Collier, and Neal,--supply, together with Burnet's -and Baxter's contemporary accounts, the backbone of the following -narrative. Journals, diaries, and biographies of the period, with -newspapers and tracts, of which extraordinarily rich collections are -found in the British Museum and in Dr. Williams' Library, have helped -to clothe the skeleton. But the sources of illustration, upon which I -rest some slight claim to originality, are found in certain unpublished -MSS. which it has been my privilege to examine and employ. - -I. Amongst these the first place belongs to the _Collection of Papers -in the Record Office_. Besides the assistance furnished by the -published calendars of Mrs. Green, extending from 1660 to 1667, I have -been favoured with the use of that lady's unpublished notes down to -the close of 1669; these helps have greatly facilitated my inquiries -into the history of the first decade embraced within these volumes. -From that period to the Revolution, I have been left with no other clue -than the Office catalogue of the books and bundles chronologically -arranged; and all the documents which I could find bearing on domestic -affairs--and they amount to many hundreds--I have carefully examined. -Although those which relate to ecclesiastical matters are by no means -so numerous as those which relate to political, commercial, and other -subjects, they are of very great value to the Church historian. They -may be classified as follows:-- - -_As to the Established Church_-- - - i. Note-book of Sir Joseph Williamson. - - ii. Applications for preferments, and correspondence relating to - them. - - iii. Private letters alluding in various ways to Church - affairs. - -_As to Nonconformists_-- - - i. Informations against them, which are very numerous. - - ii. A spy-book, containing many curious particulars of - suspected persons. - - iii. Correspondence containing a great number of incidental - allusions to the condition of Nonconformity. - -The details are generally of a minute description, and would very -extensively serve the purpose of biographers and local historians; but -they are not without considerable value for a purpose like mine, as my -foot-notes will testify. - -Amongst the new historical illustrations thus afforded, are those -connected with the ecclesiastical aspects of the general election of -1661, with the rumoured plots of that and succeeding years, plots in -which Nonconformists were accused of being involved,--the conduct -of Nonconformists under their persecutions,--and the fabrication of -letters with the view of involving Nonconformists in trouble--of which -one striking example occurs in relation to William Baffin, and, as -appears very probable, another referring to certain London ministers. -There are also notices of the Indulgence of 1672, and of the case of -Colledge, the Protestant Joiner, as he was called. It is apparent how -much the antipathies of the two religious parties of that day were -augmented by political considerations; and from the documents are also -obtained many interesting and amusing glimpses of private social life. - -II. Next to the State Papers, I may mention a collection of fragmentary -remains in the _Archives of Parliament_, connected with the passing -of the Act of Uniformity,--and especially the Book of Common Prayer -attached to the Act (described in my Appendix), prefixed to which is an -Analysis of the alterations made in the formularies. Accurate copies -of these papers have been furnished for my use by the kindness of Sir -Denis Le Marchant. - -III. _The well-known MS. Collections in the British Museum and at -Lambeth._ They have yielded items of information I believe not -published before--particularly the returns made to Episcopal inquiries -as preserved in the Archiepiscopal Library. - -IV. _The MSS. in the University Library of Cambridge._ I have found -amongst these some papers which have been of service, especially in -relation to the reign of James II.; one of them, giving an account of -the opening of Parliament, I have printed in my Appendix. - -V. _The Morice and other MSS. in Dr. Williams' Library._ This -collection forms a quarry hitherto imperfectly worked. There are three -folio volumes, entitled, _Entering Books, or Historical Register_, -extending over the period between 1676-91. These I have found of great -service in throwing light upon Nonconformist opinions of public events, -in supplying the current rumours of the day, and in recording pieces -of information relating to minor matters illustrative of those times. -And here I may add, not only with regard to this and other diaries, but -also with reference to letters and notes amongst the State Papers, that -I have relied on them only for such purposes as are now indicated, and -that I do not rest my belief of any important historical events simply -upon evidence of this description. - -VI. _A curious Diary_, kept at the time of the Restoration, for the -loan of which some years ago I was indebted to Mrs. Green, who copied -it from the original in the Middleshill Collection. I have called it -the _Worcester MSS._ The diarist was Henry Townshend, Esquire, of -Elmley Lovet, Worcestershire, who lies buried in the church of that -parish; and the nature of his impressions of what went on around him -may be inferred from his epitaph. - -VII. _A document relative to the death of Charles II._, being one of -the valuable collection of papers entrusted to the Record Commission -for examination. This document solves the curious enigma which puzzled -Lord Macaulay. For a copy of it I am indebted to the kindness of Sir -Thomas Duffus Hardy, who takes an important part in the Commission. - -VIII. _A MS. History of the Congregational Churches of Suffolk_, by -the Rev. Thomas Harmer, Author of _Observations on Scripture; a MS. -History of the Congregational Church at Yarmouth_, drawn up from the -Church Book by my late friend Mr. Joseph Davey; and other old _Church -Records_ which I have been permitted to inspect, as will appear from -the foot-notes to these volumes. - -IX. _MS. Volumes and Papers in the Archives of Canterbury._ For -the inspection and use of these I am indebted to the kindness and -assistance of the Dean and of Canon Robertson. - -X. _Subscription Book_, amongst the records of Chichester Cathedral, -which has been examined by Canon Swainson, who has furnished me with -the results inserted in the Appendix. To him my best thanks are due; -nor can I omit to record my acknowledgments to the Dean of Chichester -also, for all his kind and friendly attention. - -With these various materials before me, I have entered much more fully -than previous historians have done into several subjects--especially -the re-establishment of the Episcopal Church by the Act of Uniformity. -In our time, when the question of Establishments has been so -earnestly and so practically taken up, as to work out already the -greatest ecclesiastical change since 1662, surely a full account of -what was accomplished in that memorable year, with its immediate -results,--results far from having spent their influence,--must be -reckoned amongst the most desirable portions of history. It is -remarkable that no State Churchman has ever gone at large into this -subject, supplying the defects of Neal, and correcting the inaccuracies -of Clarendon and Burnet. Whilst I have attempted to supply the -acknowledged desideratum from my own point of view, it has been my aim, -in these as in former volumes, to make my readers acquainted not only -with prominent transactions, but with the social and private religious -life of the period, the personal piety which existed in different -communions, and the identity of that spiritual life which then deeply -struck its roots, as it ever does, under varied forms of doctrinal -belief, of Christian worship, and of ecclesiastical government. - -I have also attempted to redeem my promise to furnish a sketch of the -theological opinions entertained in England between the commencement -of the Civil Wars and the fall of James II. It would have been easier -and more attractive to indulge in broad generalizations on the subject, -and to work out my own theological conclusions, through the medium -of historical reflection and argument; but I have preferred the more -useful and trustworthy, as well as the more humble and laborious -method of analyzing and describing the publications of the period in -connection with the authors, and thus indicating some of the extraneous -influences which have wrought upon the minds of eminent thinkers. -Of course I have been compelled to limit myself to those writers -who are best known and most significant, and therefore the student -will perhaps miss in my account some favourite or expected name. But -imperfect as the review will be found, enough will appear to indicate -strong resemblances between currents of opinion then and now; and in -this respect, the true apprehension of the present will be materially -assisted by a knowledge of the past. - -As in the course of my researches I have detected in authors of the -highest reputation a number of minute inaccuracies, and some important -errors, I cannot hope to have escaped such evils myself, and I shall be -very thankful to candid critics for kindly pointing them out. - -About one half of this volume covers ground traversed by me in _Church -and State two hundred years ago_, published in 1862: but it will be -found, that with the exception of a few sentences here and there, the -account now published is quite new. Facts before passed over are here -described at length, whilst certain trivial details are omitted; my -views on some points have undergone a little modification, and the -entire narrative has been rearranged; but the spirit which I sought at -the beginning I have endeavoured to retain throughout. - -It would be ungrateful not to add, that for facilities in research, and -for direct literary aid, I am indebted to many friends. Besides special -obligations which I have acknowledged in the foot-notes and Appendix, -I beg to acknowledge the kindness of Mr. Thoms, Sub-Librarian to -the House of Lords--Mr. Aldis Wright, Librarian of Trinity College, -Cambridge--Mr. Bullen, of the British Museum--and Mr. Hunter, keeper of -Dr. Williams' Library. - -Nor can I omit to mention again, my fellow-workers at home, especially -one whose assiduity and care in helping me to correct the press, -deserve the highest praise. - -Two literary friends who took much interest in this work,--the Rev. -Joseph Aspland and Mr. John Bruce, F.S.A.,--are now, alas, beyond the -reach of my thanks. - -Should my life be spared, I hope in another volume to bring the -Ecclesiastical History down to the Revolution. A history of the -eighteenth century lies amongst the visions of the future. - - - - - CONTENTS. - - - INTRODUCTION. - - Political Character of Puritanism 1 - - Ecclesiastical Character of Puritanism 7 - - Spiritual Character of Puritanism 11 - - - CHAPTER I. - - Richard Cromwell 15 - - His Parliament 17 - - Petitions from the Army 23 - - Richard's Resignation of the Protectorate 26 - - Independents 28 - - Baptists 31 - - Presbyterians 33 - - Episcopalians 34 - - - CHAPTER II. - - Interregnum 40 - - Restoration of Rump Parliament 42 - - Monk's Military Power 44 - - Re-establishment of Presbyterianism 49 - - - CHAPTER III. - - Presbyterians and Monk 51 - - Presbyterians and Episcopalians 52 - - State of Parties 55 - - Convention Parliament 57 - - Commonwealth Army 58 - - Breda Declaration 61 - - Proclamation of Charles II. 63 - - Manner of Restoration 65 - - Presbyterian Deputation to the King 68 - - Episcopalian Address 71 - - - CHAPTER IV. - - The King's return 72 - - Presbyterian Addresses 77 - - Independent Addresses 79 - - Royal Supremacy 80 - - Disbanding of the Old Army 86 - - Ecclesiastical proceedings in Parliament 88 - - Question of the Church's Settlement 88 - - Restoration of Cathedrals 92 - - Petitions from Universities 92 - - Changes in the position of Parties in the House of Commons 93 - - Church Property 95 - - Bishops 97 - - Preferments 98 - - - CHAPTER V. - - Presbyterian Chaplains 100 - - Meetings of Presbyterians 101 - - Presbyterian Proposals 102 - - Prelates' Answer 105 - - Controversy 106 - - Meetings at Worcester House 114 - - The King's Declaration 117 - - - CHAPTER VI. - - The Regicides 126 - - New Bishops 131 - - Persecution of Nonconformists 134 - - Reaction against Puritanism 138 - - Venner's Insurrection 140 - - Opening of Suspected Letters 145 - - - CHAPTER VII. - - Elections for New Parliament 147 - - Interception of Letters 151 - - Meeting of Parliament 154 - - Commission for Savoy Conference 155 - - Convocation 158 - - Savoy Palace 162 - - Members of Conference 163 - - Coronation 166 - - Election for Members of Convocation 168 - - Presbyterians' Exceptions to the Liturgy 170 - - Meeting of Convocation 173 - - Proceedings of Convocation 176 - - Bishops' Answers to Exceptions 179 - - Baxter's Liturgy 180 - - Presbyterians' Rejoinder to Bishops' Answers 183 - - Last two Meetings of Savoy Conference 187 - - Baxter's Account of Commissioners 189 - - Baxter's Petition 191 - - - CHAPTER VIII. - - Proceedings of Parliament 196 - - Burning of Solemn League and Covenant 196 - - Bill for restoring Prelates to the Upper House 197 - - Bill for governing Corporations 199 - - Bill for Restoration of Ecclesiastical Courts 200 - - Uniformity Bill 202 - - State of feeling 206 - - - CHAPTER IX. - - Re-assembling of Parliament 209 - - Pretended Plots 211 - - Deliberations of Convocation 213 - - History of the Prayer Book 214 - - Revision of the Book 219 - - Subscription 223 - - Consecration of Bishops 227 - - - CHAPTER X. - - Uniformity Bill 229 - - Lords' Amendments 231 - - Debates on Amendments 233 - - Commons' Amendments 239 - - Conference between the two Houses 241 - - - CHAPTER XI. - - Royal Assent to Bill of Uniformity 245 - - Change in the Establishment made by the Act 246 - - Convocation responsible for Changes in the Prayer Book 247 - - Bishops' share in Responsibility 248 - - House of Commons 250 - - Clarendon 250 - - Roman Catholic Party 251 - - Omissions in Act 253 - - Classes affected by it 255 - - - CHAPTER XII. - - Sir Henry Vane 256 - - Edmund Ludlow 258 - - Edward Whalley and Major-General Gough 259 - - Effects of the Act of Uniformity 261 - - Reports of Disaffection 267 - - - CHAPTER XIII. - - Bartholomew Ejectment--Farewell Sermons 271 - - Reception of Catherine of Braganza 275 - - Petitions from Quakers 275 - - St. Bartholomew's Day 278 - - The Ejected Ministers 278 - - - CHAPTER XIV. - - Petition from Presbyterians 283 - - Operation of the Act 285 - - Clergy who conformed 287 - - Bishops' Articles of Visitation 289 - - Ministers who continued in the Establishment without conforming 290 - - Clergy who disapproved of the Ejectment 291 - - Rumoured Plots 292 - - - CHAPTER XV. - - King's Declaration of Indulgence 296 - - Baxter and the Independents 298 - - Parliament 299 - - Debate on Indulgence 300 - - Papists and Nonconformists 303 - - Deaths of Bishops 305 - - Proscribed Worship 308 - - Colonial Policy 310 - - Plots and Informers 312 - - Nonconformist Places of Worship 314 - - Ejected Ministers 316 - - - CHAPTER XVI. - - Conventicle Act 322 - - Execution of the Act 327 - - Convocation 329 - - Sheldon's Inquiries 331 - - - CHAPTER XVII. - - The Plague 333 - - Ministers who remained in London during the Plague 338 - - Usefulness of the Ejected Clergy 340 - - Mompesson 341 - - Stanley and Shaw 342 - - Parliament at Oxford 343 - - Increase of Nonconformity 343 - - Five Mile Act 345 - - Nonconformists who took the Oath of Non-resistance 348 - - Those who refused it 350 - - Dutch War 355 - - - CHAPTER XVIII. - - The Fire of London 357 - - Papists suspected 361 - - Exertions of Nonconformists after the Fire 362 - - Disturbances in Scotland 363 - - Fanatics 365 - - The Dutch 366 - - Empty Exchequer 367 - - Impeachment of Clarendon 369 - - His Character 371 - - Comparison between Clarendon and Burleigh 373 - - Extent of Nonconformity 375 - - - CHAPTER XIX. - - Comprehension 378 - - Episcopalian Proposals 381 - - Presbyterian Modifications 383 - - Thorndike's Principles 385 - - New Conventicle Bill 387 - - - CHAPTER XX. - - Manton and Baxter 390 - - Conventicles 392 - - Sufferings of Quakers 398 - - - CHAPTER XXI. - - The Cabal 400 - - Declaration of Indulgence 403 - - How regarded by Politicians 404 - - By Episcopalians and Presbyterians 406 - - By Independents 407 - - Nonconformists return thanks for Declaration 408 - - Grants to Nonconformists 410 - - Charles II. and the Quakers Carver and Moore 412 - - Pardon of Quakers 414 - - - CHAPTER XXII. - - Opening of Parliament 416 - - Political parties 417 - - Debate on the Declaration 418 - - Measures for Relief 421 - - Test Act 425 - - Cancelling of the Declaration of Indulgence 428 - - State of Nonconformists 429 - - - CHAPTER XXIII. - - Earl of Danby 434 - - New Test 436 - - Comprehension 438 - - Persecution of Nonconformists 441 - - Coffee Houses 443 - - Comprehension and Toleration 444 - - Bishop Croft 447 - - - CHAPTER XXIV. - - Roman Catholicism 450 - - The Duke of York 451 - - Protestant Opposition 455 - - St. Germain and Luzancy 458 - - Parliament 459 - - Committal of Four Lords to the Tower 462 - - Bills against Popery 463 - - Act for Better Observance of the Lord's Day 465 - - Act for Augmentation of Small Livings 467 - - Repeal of the law _De Hæretico Comburendo_ 467 - - Bill for Exclusion of Papists from Parliament 469 - - - CHAPTER XXV. - - Bishops--Sheldon 470 - - Ward 474 - - Morley 477 - - Cosin 478 - - Hacket 481 - - Wilkins 483 - - Pearson--Reynolds 485 - - Croft 487 - - Laney 488 - - Gunning 489 - - Paul--Warner 490 - - Earle--Skinner 491 - - Nicholson--Henchman 492 - - Rainbow--Henshaw 493 - - Ironside 494 - - Frewen--Sterne 495 - - Dolben 498 - - Griffith--Glemham--Barrow 499 - - Wood 500 - - Brideoake 501 - - Lloyd 502 - - State of the Clergy 502 - - Their Ignorance 507 - - Religious and Moral Character 510 - - - - - INTRODUCTION. - - -The knell of the Puritan Commonwealth was rung when Oliver Cromwell -died. The causes of its dissolution may easily be discovered. Some of -them had been in operation for a long time, and had prepared for the -change which now took place.[1] - -Puritanism never won a majority of the English people. By some of the -greatest in the nation it was espoused, and their name, example, and -influence, gave it for a time a position which defied assault; but the -multitude stood ranged on the opposite side. Forced to succumb, and -stricken with silence, the disaffected nevertheless abated not a jot of -their bitter antipathy to the party in power. Even amongst those who -wore the livery of the day, who used the forms, who adopted the usages -of their masters, many lacked the slightest sympathy with the system -which, from self-interest or timidity, they had been induced to accept. -The Puritans were not the hypocrites; the hypocrites really were people -of another religion, or of no religion, who pretended to be Puritans. -Besides these, there were numbers who whispered murmurs, or bit their -lips in dumb impatience, as they watched for signs of change in the -political firmament. - -A mischievous policy had been pursued by the Puritans towards the old -Church of England. Laud's execution yielded a harvest of revenge. The -extirpation of Episcopacy, and the suppression of the Prayer Book, -kindled an exasperation which kept alive a resentful intolerance down -to the period of the Revolution. I am aware of the excuses made for -Puritan despotism, and am ready to allow some palliation for wrong -done under provoking circumstances, but I must continue to express -indignation at the injustice committed; all the more, because of my -religious sympathy with the men who thus tarnished their fame. It must, -however, be confessed that had Presbyterians and Independents been ever -so merciful in the hour of their might, there is no reason to suppose, -from what is known of their opponents, that they would have shewn any -mercy in return. - -In enumerating the causes of the failure of Puritanism as a _political_ -institution notice should be taken of the prohibition of ancient -customs. How far the prohibition extended has been pointed out in -former volumes, and I must repeat, that whilst endeavours to suppress -national vice were most praiseworthy, some of the Parliamentary -prohibitions at the time were, to a considerable extent, unjust and -unnatural. Those who chose to celebrate Christmas, Easter, Whitsuntide, -and other seasons, had a perfect right so to do; and some, though not -all, of the amusements remorselessly put down, were in themselves -innocent; pleasant, and even venerable in their associations; and in -their tendencies productive of kindly fellowship between class and -class. - -Puritan rule in England came as the child of revolution--a revolution -mainly accomplished by civil war. The first battle, indeed, and that -which led to all the others, was fought on the floor of the House of -Commons. The patriots being returned as the representatives of the most -active and influential citizens, many of whom were Puritans, possessed -an immense amount of political power, and, as statesmen, they turned -the scale in favour of revolution; but the revolution had to make -good its ground by force, and the patriots, as soldiers, had to crush -resistance in the field. This was a necessity. The attitude of the -King, the chivalrous spirit of the nobles who rallied round him, under -the circumstances in which Parliament had placed itself, rendered an -appeal to arms inevitable. The wager of battle having been accepted, -the quarrel having been fought out bravely, the relative position -afterwards of the victors and the vanquished could not but embitter -the feelings existing on both sides. The vanquished submitted without -grace to their conquerors. They hated the new political constitution. -When they seemed quiet they were only biding their time, only preparing -for some fresh outbreak. Memories of privation, of imprisonment, of -cruel usage, of houses burnt, of fathers, sons, and brothers slain, -and especially the mortification of defeat, constantly irritated the -Cavalier and goaded him to revenge. The blister was kept open year -after year. The wound never healed. Alienation, or resentment, on -the part of the Royalist provoked new oppression on the part of the -Commonwealths-man. Fresh oppression from the hands of the one produced -fresh resentment in the breast of the other. - -A civil war may be needful for the deliverance of a country; but the -recollections of it for a long while must be a misfortune, since those -recollections exhibit the new state of things to the party on the -opposite side as a result of force, not as a result of reason; and the -remembrance of imposition ever involves a sense of wrong. Under this -misfortune the triumphant Puritans laboured throughout the Protectorate. - -After the Restoration the misfortune, in some respects, became heavier -than before. The previous eighteen years had been to the Royalists -years in which violence destroyed the Monarchy and the Church. They -were the years of the _Great Rebellion_--so the political Revolution -came to be named--and in that name, specious and plausible, although -untruthful and unjust, lay much of the capital with which political -leaders after the Restoration carried on their trade of oppression -and wrong. The Puritans, they said, were rebels, for they had fought -against the Crown: what they had done once they would do again. A -valid defence was at hand, for the Puritans could show that there was -nothing really inconsistent between their peaceful submission to the -restored monarch, and the course which they had pursued under the Long -Parliament; yet, although they could make out a case satisfactory to -impartial men, over against their logic, however forcible, there stood -some awkward facts of 1642 and the following years, upon which High -Churchmen in the reign of Charles II. were never weary of ringing -changes. - -The Long Parliament had rested upon the Army; so had the constitution -of the Protectorate. His Highness's rule had been fortified by his -major-generals and his troops. For its good and for its evil it -depended upon soldiers. A military despotism had become necessary -from the confusion of the times; it alone could bring quiet to the -country after political earthquakes. The regal sway had fallen into -the hands of a great general, a great statesman, and a great patriot, -who, because he combined these three characters, was able to work out -benevolent designs for his country. So long as he held the baton, so -long as he drew the sword, he could maintain his standing, but not a -moment longer. He had immense difficulties to overcome. Episcopalians -were almost all against him; very many Presbyterians stood aloof or -offered opposition; Spiritual Republicans, Fifth Monarchy men were -his torment; even Congregationalists, with whom he felt spiritual -sympathy, wished for a more democratic government than he would allow; -the Quakers neither loved nor feared him. Besides, he had political -colleagues who, as statesmen, appeared in opposition. Also, old -generals were looking after an occasion for making resistance. Vane -and Haselrig, Harrison and Ludlow, disapproved of the policy of their -former friend. They disliked the new Constitution; they were for -placing the keys in the hands of Parliament, not in the hands of a -single person. They regarded the Protector as the Greeks had regarded -a tyrant. Monarchy they detested, Democracy they would enthrone; yet -they saw amongst them a sovereign, mightier than any Stuart, only -called by another name. And it became a germ of weakness in the new -Constitution, that it had to be defended by arguments similar to those -which availed for the support of the ancient monarchy. It could be -said--and truly said--that English traditions, usages, genius, spirit, -and social necessities, demanded a supreme head--the rule "of a single -person." But the rule of a single person was the very thing so hateful -to the Republicans, although connected with the modifying checks of -a Parliament. Many saw that the reasons employed in favour of Oliver -Cromwell's Protectorate might be employed more consistently in favour -of the restoration of Charles Stuart. This circumstance was felt by -numbers who did not confess it. - -Moreover, respecting domestic and foreign policy Cromwell had to -meet strong opposition. Finances, and law reform, were matters of -contention. The Dutch war, the French alliance, and the relations -with Spain, also presented points in which he and other distinguished -Commonwealths-men differed. As the political reign of Puritanism -depended upon Cromwell these circumstances could not fail to -undermine its strength. His statesmanship showed consummate ability; -his knowledge of mankind and of individuals amounted to a species -of divination; his control over those about him was irresistible; -his sagacity, vigilance, promptitude, decision, and patience were -unrivalled; his name was a tower of strength at home and abroad; his -foreign policy was successful, and therefore, as long as he lived, the -system which he had inaugurated and administered was sure to last. It -did--but at his death came collapse. There remained no master-mind -to rule the State, and to control the Army. The State soon showed a -disposition to go one way, the Army another. Confusions ensued; and the -latter fell under the command of a soldier who betrayed his trust, and -employed his influence to pull down the entire fabric of Puritan power. - -So far, then, as Puritanism had become a political institute it -sunk under the shock of Oliver Cromwell's death. But though as an -institute it crumbled away, the political spirit which it had evoked -and cherished did not die. It would be a repetition of what has been -said a hundred times, to insist here upon the influence of the Puritan -leaders of the Long Parliament, and the influence of the Puritan chiefs -of the Commonwealth Army in preparing for the political liberties of -England, guaranteed at the Revolution. A peaceful change then came as -the consequence and complement of the Civil Wars. It is the destiny of -nations to pass through the waters of conflict and suffering ere they -can reach the shores of freedom. Our Puritan fathers then breasted -the torrent, and made good their landing on the right side, where we, -thanks to their bravery and endurance, have, under God, found a home. -The superstructure they immediately raised was not permanent; but -its strong foundation-stones were too deeply laid to be removed in a -brief period of reaction; and on them we now are building new forms of -political justice, order, and peace. It may take longer time and nobler -labour than we imagine to complete the edifice, but our hope and trust -is that Divine providence will one day bring it to perfection. - -Puritanism must be considered under its _ecclesiastical_ as well as -its political aspect. It became political through its ecclesiastical -action, and its ecclesiastical character has been damaged by its -political relations. It was worked up into an elaborate Presbyterian -system, framed not only for the purpose of instructing the nation in -the truths of the Bible, but for the purpose also of constituting -every Englishman a member of the Church, and of subjecting him to -the authority and discipline of its officers. This ecclesiastical -organization its advocates brought, so far as they could, into -union with the civil government to be defended and enforced by the -magistrate. And where Puritanism assumed a Congregational shape, and -claimed the name of freedom, although, as to Church institutes, it -sought, and to some degree attained liberty of operation, yet, in all -cases where its ministers were parochial incumbents, they, by their -identification with the national establishment, exposed themselves to -the political danger which, at certain crises, threaten institutions of -that description. When ecclesiastical arrangements are complicated with -State affairs they must be subject to a common fortune. What endangers -the one endangers the other, and the history of Puritanism offers no -exception to the general rule. - -Two ecclesiastical principles are seen at work in connection with the -religious organizations which existed in the middle of the seventeenth -century: Erastianism and Voluntaryism. Erastianism came across the path -of both Presbyterians and Congregationalists. It wrought powerfully -through the ordinances and laws of the Long Parliament, in the way of -checking what it justly deemed the despotic tendencies of uncontrolled -authority in the exercise of discipline. The working of Erastianism is -visible in the legal prevention of the full establishment of parochial -assemblies and provincial synods; and in the interference of the -magistrate with those Independent pastors holding benefices, who would -fain have excluded from the Lord's table persons whom they deemed -morally unfitted for approaching it. In curbing suspected despotism, -Erastianism, as is its wont, paralyzed the hand of a salutary restraint -upon the irregularities of Christian professors. It opened a door for -promiscuous communion. It thwarted the designs, and enfeebled the -energy of ecclesiastical Puritanism; and thus laxity of fellowship -followed as a penalty for seeking State support, on the part of -communities which prized the purity of Christ's Church. - -Voluntaryism cannot properly be identified with Puritanism. The -leading Puritans neither advocated nor countenanced that principle; -such as were Episcopalians did not. The Presbyterians, and some of -the Independents, as we have this moment noticed, did not. A few -of the Baptists did not. Oliver Cromwell, who protected them all, -did not. Whilst some Puritans thus stood apart from Voluntaries, and -even opposed _them_, there were some Voluntaries who stood apart from -Puritanism, and even opposed _that_. The Quakers, from the commencement -of their history, protested against the union of Church and State, -and were ever faithful to their convictions in this as well as in -other respects; they also kept aloof from Puritanism altogether, and -even condemned it severely, under several of its aspects. Many of the -Independents, and more of the Baptists, previously to the Civil Wars, -also disapproved strongly of that kind of union which displeased the -Quakers, and contended firmly for the support of Churches by voluntary -contributions; yet they entered into cordial alliance with Puritanism -in other things, promoting certain of its political proceedings, and -sympathizing generally with its spiritual movements and tendencies. -Voluntaryism had strong affinities for the spiritual side of -Puritanism, deriving from it the most vigorous impulses, contributing -towards it the most devoted service; and if it did not win its way -at first amongst the rich, the noble, and the learned, it laid hold -upon the hearts of the humbler classes; and, by widely leavening them -with its power, prepared for subsequently working upwards to that -influence which is exercised by it in the present day. The history of -this principle is the same throughout: as it was with the primitive -Christians,--as it was with so many of the most pious and active men -of the Middle Ages,--as it has been with the Methodists,--so it was -with those of whom I speak. They began their work--"in a great trial of -affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded -unto the riches of their liberality." - -Voluntaryism, so far as it affected Puritanism, did not contribute to -its weakness, but to its strength; yet amongst those who professed -Voluntaryism, as amongst those who adopted different views, there -appeared an element which proved injurious to them all. It was -dis-union--it was strife. - -If the Crusading knights had been of one mind, it is a question, -whether, in the end, they would have retained mastery over the -Mussulmen; but certainly they stood no chance whilst feuds were rife -in the Camp of the Cross. The same may be said of the Puritans. It -would have been hard enough, with the utmost concentration of force, to -bear down opposition; but amidst their own discords it became simply -impossible. Presbyterians were of different shades of opinion, and -they were not without mutual jealousies. But their hatred of what they -stigmatized as Sectarianism appears scarcely less than their hatred of -Prelacy, or even of Romanism; in some minds abhorrence existed equally -in reference to all three. The sects were not behindhand in their -mutual antipathies, and were by no means gentle in their collisions. -Independents, Baptists, and Quakers, to mention no others--I speak of -them all generally--did anything but keep "the unity of the spirit in -the bonds of peace." The apostolic warning betokened evil to Puritan -Christendom in England--"If ye bite and devour one another, take heed -that ye be not consumed one of another." Yet those whose eyes are open -to discern the defects in principle and temper of the ecclesiastical -organizations of the Long Parliament and the Commonwealth, can also see -that Puritanism has bequeathed to English Christendom a precious legacy -of religious freedom. That spirit has not only wrought out modern Free -Churches--which, whatever may be men's opinions on ecclesiastical -questions, must be admitted by everyone to be efficient powers in -spreading Christianity at home and abroad, and in exerting beneficial -influences of many kinds upon society at large--but that spirit has -also leavened, to a large extent, other communities not based upon -what is called the voluntary principle. Toleration, for which the -Independents struggled under Cromwell, won a victory in 1688--an -imperfect victory it is true, but still precious; and the toleration -then established opened the way for the progress now advancing along -the paths of mutual religious justice. - -Puritanism presents another--a _spiritual_ aspect--under which it has -exercised an influence more vigorous and salutary than it has done in -any other way. - -It laid hold on thousands, not only by simple methods of religious -worship which commended themselves to the plain understanding, and -the unsophisticated taste of Anglo-Saxon people,--but by its emphatic -exhibition of the truths of Christianity as a redemptive system, full -of the love of God to sinful men, commending itself to humble and -sorrow-stricken hearts. In the Gospel of Christ, which Puritanism -prominently exhibited as adapted to the wants of mankind, lay the -secret of its greatest success, and the key to its noblest results. As -a spiritual power it had been strong under Elizabeth and the Stuarts; -but its conflicts in war, its entrance into the Court, its elevation -to the throne, defaced somewhat its spiritual beauty, and impaired -in a measure its spiritual force. The most favourable aspects of -Puritanism are not found in the history of the Civil Wars, and of the -Commonwealth. As with Christianity in general--as with Protestantism at -large, so with the system now under consideration. Not in the palace -of Constantine do we discover the best specimens of Gospel piety; not -in the Courts of English and German sovereigns do we see the workings -of the Reformed Faith to most advantage; and not at Whitehall must we -watch for the fairest visions of Puritan life. Our religion, in its -best forms, is no doubt essentially a genial social power, healing, -constructive, conservative--such we believe it will prove itself to -be in the Church of the future--but in the Church of the past, it has -shown itself purest and strongest when contending against opposition, -when passing through scenes of suffering, when grappling with the -evils of society, and when informing and animating individual souls. -Persecution has been to piety what the furnace is to the potter's clay; -it has burnt in, it has brought out, its richest colours. The Huguenots -appear to much greater advantage in the defeats which they endured -than in the victories which they won; the peasantry in their cottages -are more to be admired than the nobles in their chateaux. The history -of successful battles fought, or of courageous resistance made by the -French Protestants; and the story of Henry of Navarre and his Courtiers -even before his reconciliation with Rome; read not so well as does the -record of men of the same class who were burnt at the stake, or who -were sent to the galleys, or who were exiled from their country. So -also the chief moral charm of Puritanism is found, not in the successes -of statesmen and soldiers; not in Pym's debates and majorities; not -in Cromwell's charges and laurels; but in the deaths of Barrow and -Greenwood, and in the tortures of Leighton and Burton; and, if we -may anticipate, in the ejection, the wanderings and the imprisonment -of Howe, and Heywood, and Baxter. On the same principle the quiet, -earnest, and exemplary lives of the middle-class Puritans did more than -anything else, at the commencement of the Civil Wars to give ascendancy -to their cause; and after the Restoration to recover its character, -and promote its progress. Puritanism, when once more separated from -the State, returned to the old and better paths of confessorship and -humiliation; and thrown back upon itself and upon God, it became, as of -yore, a spiritual agency of the most potent kind. The theological books -it produced, the devoted characters it formed, and the pious memories -it handed to posterity, have created an influence embracing within its -reach both England and America. The effect of its works, examples, and -traditions have never perished in Dissenting Churches and families; but -beyond these circles, it has manifestly told upon the Christian world. -It contributed to the great revival of religion which arose within the -pale of the Establishment during the last century; and from an earlier -period than that, down to the present day, its perpetuated spiritual -power has been deeply felt, and gratefully acknowledged on the other -side of the Atlantic. - -Such was the system of Puritanism--politically, ecclesiastically, -spiritually; such were some of the causes which produced changes in it -at the era of the Restoration. What it was, and what it did at that -period and afterwards, remains to be related. We are to consider what, -in its Presbyterian, Congregational, and other forms, it became; what -it endured of direct persecution and of indirect social wrong; and what -it achieved in works of faith, and love, and zeal. We are to trace its -social influence in the retirements of English life; its new political -influence on the side of liberty; the germs of after-thought which it -planted; the stones of reform and improvement which it laid. Also, and -this will occupy a still wider space, we are to mark how the Episcopal -Church of England rose out of her ruins, and the Establishment became -once more Anglican. All this, in the minute grades of the process, -together with the form of the re-edification; the policy of its new -builders; their relations and conduct towards their Nonconformist -brethren; the intermingling of ecclesiastical and political events; the -Church developments; the theological controversies; and the spiritual -life of the period, amongst Conformists and Nonconformists--much of it, -on each side, beautiful, some of it, on both sides, marred--it is my -arduous task faithfully to unfold. - - - - - CHAPTER I. - - -Richard Cromwell succeeded his father in the government of the realm, -as if his family had from of old occupied the throne. What renders -this fact the more remarkable is that the new ruler had never been a -public character, except so far as holding offices of honour might -be considered as giving him that appearance. He had spent a quiet -and almost unnoticed life, in the retirement of Hursley Park, in -Hampshire--an inheritance he had acquired by marriage,--and there, in -the society of neighbouring Cavaliers, he had enjoyed the sports of a -country gentleman. Imbued with loyalty to the Stuarts, notwithstanding -his father's position; conforming to the Established religion, without -any sympathy in his father's opinions; indeed, destitute of deep -religious feeling of any kind, as well as of genius, enthusiasm, -and force of will, he stood ill-prepared to sustain the enormous -responsibility which now fell upon his shoulders. - -[Sidenote: 1658.] - -Instantly after Oliver's death, on the 3rd of September, the Council -assembled and acknowledged Richard's title. All the chief cities and -towns in the dominion were informed that the late Protector--"according -to the petition and advice in his lifetime"--had declared his "noble -and illustrious son to be his successor." The Mayor and Aldermen of -London proceeded to Whitehall with condolences and congratulations; -and the new Protector, in their presence, took the Oath of the -Constitution, administered to him by Fiennes, a Lord Commissioner of -the Great Seal. Manton offered prayer, and blessed His Highness, "his -council, armies, and people."[2] - -Proclamation of Richard's accession throughout the country immediately -followed; and, according to a custom which had originated under -the Protectorate, addresses, overflowing with adulation, poured in -from various public bodies. Foreign courts, too, acknowledged the -Protector's title, and honoured his father's memory. "It a sad thing to -say," remarks Cosin, writing from Paris, "but here in the French Court, -they wear mourning apparel for Cromwell; yea, the King of France, and -all do it."[3] Richard's chief councillors were Lord Broghill, the -Royalist, who had been a faithful servant to Oliver; Dr. Wilkins, -Warden of Wadham College, Oxford, married to the late Protector's -sister; and Colonel Philip Jones, one of the Protectorate Lords. The -union between these councillors sufficiently indicates that no extreme -ecclesiastical policy could be contemplated; and, accordingly, in the -month of November, a Declaration appeared, couched in liberal terms, -conceding general toleration, and promising to godly ministers "their -dues and liberties, according to law."[4] - -[Sidenote: RICHARD'S PROTECTORATE.] - -Richard was tolerant both from disposition and policy; owing to -circumstances, he sympathized more with Presbyterians than with -Independents; perhaps he would not have been adverse to some kind of -modified Episcopacy. Moderate people, of different parties, therefore, -looked kindly upon his sway; but it soon appeared that the embers of -discontent were smouldering still. Scarcely had he worn his title one -month, when his brother, Henry Cromwell, wrote in an alarming tone to -Lord General Fleetwood, who had married Henry's sister. "Remember," he -says, "what has always befallen imposing spirits. Will not the loins -of an imposing Independent or Anabaptist be as heavy as the loins of -an imposing Prelate or Presbyter? And is it a dangerous error, that -dominion is founded in grace when it is held by the Church of Rome, and -a sound principle when it is held by the Fifth Monarchy?" "Let it be -so carried, that all the people of God, though under different forms, -yea, even those whom you count _without_, may enjoy their birthright -and civil liberty, and that no one party may tread upon the neck of -another."[5] Henry Cromwell feared lest certain well-known unquiet -spirits, now that his sire's strong hand had crumbled into dust, should -disturb the peace of the country, and, under pretence of universal -freedom, throw everything into confusion. He had reasons for his fear. - -[Sidenote: 1659.] - -Richard called a Parliament, which met on the 27th of January, 1659. -Writs were issued to "rotten boroughs;" representatives were summoned -from Scotland and Ireland; means not constitutional, so it is said, -were employed to secure a House of Commons favourable to the Court -party. The majority consisted of Presbyterians, to whom the Protector -chiefly looked for support; but old political Independents also secured -their election, and Sir Henry Vane and Sir Arthur Haselrig, excluded -by the old Protector, now, under the milder sway of the new one, -took their seats in St. Stephen's Chapel.[6] They evaded the oath of -allegiance, and boldly advocated Republicanism. - -Parliament opened with a sermon in Westminster Abbey, by Dr. Thomas -Goodwin, the Independent, who preached from Psalm lxxxv. 10, advocating -liberty of conscience, and exhorting to union and peace. To that -venerable edifice, ever identified with our national history, His -Highness, attended by the Privy Council, by the Officers of State, -and by the Gentlemen of the Household, "passed by water in a stately -new-built galley, and landed at the Parliament Stairs." Lord Cleypole, -Master of the Horse, bore the Sword of State before Richard, who -in the Abbey sat surrounded by his Lords, the Commons, much to -their displeasure--afterwards expressed by them--being seated here -and there; "_sparsim_," as a contemporary chronicle discontentedly -states.[7] The Protector concluded his opening speech in the Painted -Chamber, by recommending to the care of Parliament, first, "the people -of God in these nations, with their concernments;" secondly, "the -good and necessary work of reformation, both in manners and in the -administration of justice;" thirdly, the Protestant cause abroad, which -seemed at that time to be in some danger; and lastly, the maintenance -of love and duty among themselves.[8] - -[Sidenote: RICHARD'S PROTECTORATE.] - -After a rather ill-tempered discussion, Reynolds, Manton, Calamy, -and Owen--three Presbyterians and one Independent--were appointed by -the Commons, "two to preach and two to pray," on the occasion of the -succeeding fast; and it is curious to find that in this instance the -service took place, not at St. Margaret's Church, but within the walls -of the House, to avoid, as alleged, the inconvenience of a promiscuous -auditory, when "good men wanted the liberty, which it was fit they -should have," to rebuke and reprove "the faults and miscarriages -of their superiors." "Ill-affected persons came frequently to such -exercises, not out of any zeal or devotion, but to feel the pulse of -the State, and to steer their counsels and affairs accordingly."[9] -The desirableness of sometimes giving admonition and advice to bodies -of men, unembarrassed by the presence of critical and alienated -spectators, still felt by many, was felt then. - -The debates mainly turned upon fundamental questions of government. -In them little appears relative to religion. Complaints were made of -the Commissioners for trying ministers, and of the mismanagement of -funds for the support of the latter. Maynard, and others, affirmed that -souls were starved; that the sheep were committed to the wolf; that -scandalous preachers had scandalous judges; that Welsh Churches were -unsupplied except by "a few grocers, or such persons;" that "dippers -and creepers" were found in the Army; that Jesuits had been in the -House, &c. "See," exclaimed one speaker, "what congregations we had -in '43, and what now! It is questioned whether we have a Church in -England; questioned, I doubt, whether Scripture or rule of life is in -England."[10] In the Grand Committee, a Bill was ordered to be drawn -for revising Acts touching the Prayer Book; and for the suppression of -Quakers, Papists, Socinians, and Jews.[11] Just before, a member named -Nevile had been denounced and threatened with prosecution as an atheist -and blasphemer, for saying that the reading of Cicero affected him more -than the reading of the Bible.[12] - -[Sidenote: 1659.] - -These proceedings, together with a declaration a few weeks -afterwards, which spoke of blasphemies and heresies against God, -and Christ, and the Holy Spirit, and the Scriptures; of the -advocates of an inward light; also of atheism, profaneness, and -Sabbath-breaking,[13]--indicate the revival of Presbyterian influence, -and the renewed activity of Presbyterian zeal. On the other hand, Sir -Henry Vane, who had been so earnest in supporting the Covenant, had -now changed his mind on that subject, maintaining that the compact -had become invalid through what he called the Scotch invasion of -England, meaning by this the invasion which ended in the defeat at -Worcester.[14] In the same spirit exceptions were taken by a Committee -to the harsh treatment of Fifth Monarchy men; and some of that class -were referred to with respect.[15] In these Parliamentary allusions to -religious questions--the chief allusions of the kind which occurred -about this time--we discern the flow of two opposite currents of -feeling. - -[Sidenote: PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES.] - -Other debates issued in important consequences. Republicans and -the advocates of a mixed Government came into collision upon their -particular points of difference. Sir Arthur Haselrig openly arraigned -the acts of Oliver Cromwell, condemned the dismissal of the Long -Parliament, and most irreverently compared the extinction of Monarchy -and of the Upper House to the effect of the crucifying of our Saviour -on the Cross. Haselrig proclaimed England to be a theocracy. "God," -said he, "is the King of this Great Island." Haselrig acknowledged no -power under God but that of the Parliament; the Protector he utterly -ignored. Scott and Ludlow also gloried in their regicidal deeds. Vane, -in a calmer strain, upheld Republicanism. On the other side the -friends of the Protectorate contended for the "petition and advice" -as "the Boaz and Jachin of Solomon's temple." The hand of Providence, -they said, had set up the Protector, Richard. He was Protector before -the House assembled; the House had owned him in that capacity, and had -taken an oath of allegiance. A Royalist, amidst the expression of these -opinions, exclaimed, "I am for the Constitution we lived under--for -building up the ancient fabric."[16] Thus early, certain of the -senators of England showed their determination to plunge at once into -the vortex of a new revolution. - -[Sidenote: 1659.] - -Questions touching foreign affairs, the Army, and finance came under -debate at the same time; the Republicans, led by Vane, deploring, in -a spirit of infatuation, the late peace with Holland, and wishing -that the war had been perpetuated until the Dutch had been conquered, -and forced into union with this country. They contended also that -the control of the military should be placed in the hands of the -Parliament, not in the hands of the Protector; and they inveighed -against the extravagance of the Government, declaring that the -deficiency in the revenue would produce a national debt enough to -sink the country in ruin. But what proved of still more serious -consequence, the Republicans not only canvassed, but set aside certain -acts of the late Protector. Oliver had left behind him many State -prisoners, committed for political offences. They were now liberated. -Major-General Overton, one of these prisoners, appeared before the -House as a martyr, being escorted on his return from imprisonment--like -Burton, Prynne, and others, nearly twenty years before--by "four or -five hundred men on horseback, and a vast crowd bearing branches of -laurel."[17] - -[Sidenote: PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES.] - -Richard could not be held responsible for the arbitrary proceedings -of Oliver. He had not been privy to his father's deeds; he had not -entered into his father's purposes; he had not adopted his father's -opinions; he had befriended the Royalists, and was still supposed to -have sympathies with them; at the same time also his moderation and -urbanity attracted towards him some of his father's companions and -allies. "Though perhaps you will not believe it," wrote Broderick to -Hyde, "they really are more affectionate to the present than the late -Protector, whose temper so differed from theirs that it was usually -averse to the deliberate caution they advised, running hazards they -trembled to think of upon a sudden violent suggestion, of which -they could give themselves no account, which precipices this young -Prince doth prudently, as well as naturally avoid, and is thereby -rendered more agreeable to those wary statesmen."[18] Yet personal -popularity did not suffice to defend him from the disaffection of -Republicans, and the discontent and intrigues of Army officers. Late -in the month of March, Fleetwood and Desborough reported to Richard -that agitation prevailed amongst the troops; that they complained of -not having received their pay; that they were angry at the conduct -of Parliament towards some of their old generals; and that these -circumstances afforded encouragement to the Cavalier party. The two -officers proceeded to employ these facts for the purpose of enforcing -the advice that His Highness should immediately summon a Council of -Officers to consider the state of affairs. Such a Council was held; -and, after prayer, by Dr. Owen, deliberations commenced. Desborough -recommended the application to the Army of a political test, the test -to be--approval of the execution of Charles I. The proposition shocked -the Lords Howard and Falconbridge. Broghill suggested a different -method--that every one should be turned out of the Army who would -not swear allegiance to the Protectorate, a proposition supported by -Whalley and Goffe. At last it was resolved to separate the command of -the Army from the civil power; a resolution afterwards presented to His -Highness, who forwarded it to the House of Commons. Such discussions -only served to widen the breach between the House and the Army, in -the end diminishing the influence of the former, and leaving it in a -position of weakness, so as to compel its submission to the assumption -of the latter. The resolution sent to the Protector, and by him -forwarded to the Commons, tended to throw the greatest influence into -the hands of the officers, and to promote Desborough's Republican views. - -Petitions from the Army followed these proceedings, the soldiers -saying, "Because our consciences bear us witness that we dipped our -hands in blood in that cause; and the blood of many thousands hath -been shed by our immediate hands under your command in that quarrel, -we are amazed to think of the account that we must render at the -great and terrible day of the Lord, if by your silence the freedom -of these nations should be lost, and returned into the hands of that -family, which God hath so eminently appeared against in His many signal -providences little less than miracles."[19] - -[Sidenote: 1659.] - -The Commons, although weak, assumed the semblance of strength, and upon -the 18th of April resolved that no Council of Officers should be held -without permission of the Protector and the Parliament; and that no one -should have command in the Army or Navy who did not engage to leave the -two Houses uninterrupted in their deliberations. The Protector, still -more feeble than Parliament, proceeded to dissolve the Council; the -officers asserted their authority by continuing to meet for conference. - -As it was in the father's days so it was in the son's: when argument -failed violence took its place. Violence, like that which had been -employed by Oliver against the Parliament, was now threatened against -Richard by the Army. The officers, clutching at their old weapons, -seeing how things were likely to proceed, fearing the Presbyterian -ascendancy, and the destruction of their liberties, determined to -put an end to the sitting of the two Houses; and told His Highness -that if he did not dismiss them he might expect to be dismissed -himself. Richard was no soldier, and had not, like Oliver, secured -the attachment of the military, so that resistance by him to martial -chiefs could avail nothing. He, therefore, allowed the Parliament to -be dissolved by Commission, upon the 22nd of April. After this act -had been accomplished, not without opposition from some members, the -party in power summoned to the resumption of their trust, such of the -Long Parliament as had continued to sit until the year 1653. They -amounted in number to ninety-one; out of these forty-two obeyed the -new order, and took their places on the 7th of May. Fourteen of the -old Presbyterians, including Prynne,[20] who had sat in St. Stephen's -before Pride's purge, were refused admittance. - -[Sidenote: INTERREGNUM.] - -Upon the 13th of May the heads of the Army presented a petition, in -which they proposed to men whom they addressed as rulers, but who -were in fact servants, that religious liberty should, as in the days -of Oliver, continue to be conceded to all orthodox believers (Papists -and Prelatists being distinctly excepted); that a godly ministry -should be everywhere maintained; and that the universities and schools -of learning should be countenanced and reformed.[21] Gleams of -Presbyterian influence disappeared; the broad ecclesiastical policy of -Oliver again resumed the ascendant. - -A new Council of State was formed, and the names of Vane and Haselrig -once more prominently appeared, together with those of Whitelock and -Fleetwood--the one a legal cipher, the other a military tool. - -[Sidenote: 1659.] - -Fleetwood occupied Wallingford House, which stood on the site of the -present Admiralty, the birthplace of the second Duke of Buckingham, and -the residence of the infamous Countess of Essex. Here it was, from the -roof of the mansion, then occupied by the Earl of Peterborough, that -Archbishop Ussher had swooned at the sight of Charles' execution; and -here Fleetwood, who from his connection with the Cromwells on the one -side, and with the Army on the other, now possessed more power than any -other person, gathered together his brother officers for conference. -Fleetwood was a pious and respectable Independent,[22] a sincere -patriot, a Republican only in a qualified sense, willing to concede -to a Protector large administrative authority. He was not without -ambition, although he had prudence enough to curb it; yet neither by -gifts of nature, force of character, or study and experience, was he -a man fitted to deal with existing emergencies. He had no original -genius, being born to follow, not to lead. He helped to pull down -the Protectorate, and to dethrone his brother-in-law, but he had no -gift for building up any better order of things. He could aid the -destructive movements of Vane and Haselrig; but he had no more of the -faculty of constructiveness than had they. - -[Sidenote: INTERREGNUM.] - -John Howe, who, in the month of May, was residing at Whitehall after -an absence of some months, saw and lamented the condition of affairs. -The "army-men," he says, under pretence of zeal for the interests -of religious liberty were seeking their own ends, and were for that -purpose drawing to themselves "wild-headed persons of all sorts." -"Such persons," he adds, "as are now at the head of affairs will -blast religion, if God prevent not." "I know some leading men are not -Christians. Religion is lost out of England, farther than as it can -creep into corners. Those in power, who are friends to it, will no more -suspect these persons than their ownselves."[23] These are not the -words of a party man; and they show that whatever might be the piety of -Fleetwood, and the purity of Vane, there were persons of a different -character who employed them as tools for selfish ends. In the same -letter, Howe speaks in favourable terms of Richard, whom he must have -known well. The disinterestedness, and even patriotism of the Protector -appeared in his resignation of power. "He resolved to venture upon it -himself, rather than suffer it to be taken with more hazard to the -country by others," and he awakens our sympathy by his own truthful -words, that "he was betrayed by those whom he most trusted." He quitted -Whitehall, with trunks full of addresses, which contained, as he -humorously remarked, "the lives and fortunes of all the good people of -England." More at home in the hunting-field than in the cabinet--he, -after residing abroad for a time, spent the rest of his days in his -native land as a country gentleman; and died at Cheshunt, July the -12th, 1712, saying to his daughter, "Live in love; I am going to the -God of love."[24] He lies buried in Hursley Church, where he regularly -worshipped during his residence in the parish. Within the same walls, -by a coincidence which will be often noticed in future days, there now -repose the remains of a holy man and a great poet, whose sympathies -never seem to have reached the fallen Protector during a ministry, in -that place, of thirty years.[25] - -The power of the Cromwell family came to an end upon the dissolution -of Richard's Parliament, except that Fleetwood was acknowledged by -the Army as Lieutenant-general. Lord Falconbridge, and also the Lords -Broghill and Howard retired into the country; and, as the Protectorate -had vanished, they prepared to welcome the restoration of Monarchy. - -[Sidenote: 1659.] - -Leaving Whitehall we return to Wallingford House. Fleetwood, being -an Independent, civil affairs being entangled with such as were -ecclesiastical, and the interests of religion being so completely -involved in the political changes of the day--a fact which justifies -so much being said about them in an Ecclesiastical History--he and -Desborough, who sympathized with him, invited to their councils Dr. -Owen, the Independent, and Dr. Manton, the Presbyterian. A story is -told of the former, to the effect, that, at Wallingford House, he had -prayed for the downfall of Richard, so as to be heard by Manton, who -stood outside the door. It is further stated that Owen had gathered a -Church there; and that in one of its assemblies a determination had -been formed to compel Richard to dissolve his Parliament.[26] The -Independent Divine denied that he had anything to do with the setting -up, or the pulling down of Richard; and it has been also denied that he -gathered a Church in Wallingford House. Whatever might be the extent -of Owen's political interference at that crisis, and whether or not he -gathered a Church there, certainly at the time one existed upon the -spot. The Records of the Congregational Church at Yarmouth indicate -that a religious society assembled at Fleetwood's residence, and -carried on correspondence with other similar bodies.[27] These records -shed light upon a critical and dubious juncture in our history. - -[Sidenote: INTERREGNUM.--INDEPENDENTS.] - -A meeting was held at Norwich, and another in London, respecting which -Dr. Owen wrote to Mr. Bridge. The resolutions at which the Yarmouth -Church arrived, as they were probably drawn up by the eminent minister, -who presided over that community, may be regarded as expressing the -opinions of a wider circle than the provincial society which adopted -them. - -First--"We judge a Parliament to be the expedient for the preservation -of the peace of these nations; and withal we do desire that all due -care be taken that the Parliament be such as may preserve the interest -of Christ and His people in these nations." Secondly--"As touching the -magistrate's power in matters of faith and worship we have declared -our judgment in our late Confession[28] (by the Savoy Conference); -and though we greatly prize our Christian liberties, yet we profess -our utter dislike and abhorrence of a universal toleration as being -contrary to the mind of God in His word." Thirdly--"We judge that the -taking away of tithes for maintenance of ministers until as full a -maintenance be equally secured, and as legally settled, tend very much -to the destruction of the ministry and the preaching of the Gospel in -these nations." Fourthly--"It is our desire that countenance be not -given, nor trust reposed in the hands of Quakers, they being persons of -such principles as are destructive to the Gospel, and inconsistent with -the peace of civil societies."[29] - -[Sidenote: 1659.] - -Into a miserable state must England have drifted when a congregation -of Independents, no doubt containing many worthy people, but certainly -not fitted to act as a Council of State, came to be consulted upon the -most important public questions, and to give their opinion after this -fashion. - -What the opinions of Dr. Owen were upon two of the points mooted in -these resolutions we learn from a short paper which he wrote at this -time, and which is preserved in his collected works. There are three -questions, and he gives three answers. The first two relate to the -power of the supreme magistrate touching religion and the worship of -God. Notwithstanding the haste with which the replies were furnished, -they must be considered as expressing the writer's mature judgment, for -the interrogatories embody the most pressing questions of the times. -To the first query, whether the supreme magistrate in a Commonwealth -professing the religion of Christ, may exert his legislative and -executive power for furthering the profession of the faith and -worship, and whether he ought to coerce or restrain such principles -and practices as were contrary to them, Owen replied distinctly in -the affirmative. He supported his affirmation by arguments drawn from -the law and the light of nature; from the government of nations; from -God's revealed institutions; from the examples of God's magistrates; -"from the promises of Gospel times;" "from the equity of Gospel rules;" -from the confession of all Protestant Churches; and particularly from -the Savoy declaration. Owen was asked, secondly, whether the supreme -magistrate might "by laws and penalties compel any one who holds the -Head Christ Jesus to subscribe to that confession of faith, and attend -to that way of worship which he esteems incumbent on him to promote -and further." Restricting attention to those described as "holding -the Head," the Independent Divine remarks, that though it cannot be -proved that the magistrate is divinely authorized to take away the -lives of men for their disbelief, "yet it doth not seem to be the -duty of any, professing obedience to Jesus Christ, to make any stated -legal unalterable provision for their immunity who renounce Him." He -decides also that opinions of public scandal ought to be restrained, -and not suffered to be divulged, either by open speech or by the press. -Subsequently, after premising (to use his own words) that "the measure -of doctrinal holding the Head, consists in some few clear fundamental -propositions," and that men are apt to run to extremes, he finally -concludes upon giving a negative answer to their second question. As -to the third, "whether it be convenient that the present way of the -maintenance of ministers or preachers of the Gospel be removed and -taken away, or changed into some other provision;" Owen vindicates the -claim of the ministry to temporal support, and places the payment of -tithes upon a Divine basis. He declares that to take away "the public -maintenance" would be "a contempt of the care and faithfulness of God -towards His Church, and, in plain terms, downright robbery."[30] - -[Sidenote: INTERREGNUM.--BAPTISTS.] - -A Church book of the period has thus afforded an insight into certain -political relations sustained by Independents in the year 1659. A -celebrated historian may next be quoted, in reference to alleged -proceedings of a very different nature on the part of Baptists. -Clarendon relates a strange story of overtures made to Charles before -the death of Cromwell by persons of that denomination. He gives a copy -of an address to His Majesty, as Charles is styled, signed by ten such -persons, in which address occur violent lamentations over the troubles -of the times. Attached to it are proposals "in order to an happy, -speedy, and well-grounded peace." The document contains a prayer, that -no anti-Christian Hierarchy, Episcopal, Presbyterian, or otherwise, -should be created, and that every one should be left at liberty to -worship God in such a way and manner as might appear to them to be -agreeable to the mind and will of Christ.[31] - -[Sidenote: 1659.] - -According to Clarendon--the only authority upon which we have to -depend in reference to the subject--a curious letter accompanied the -address and the proposals; in which letter the correspondent alludes -to a "worthy gentleman" by whose hands it was conveyed, and who being -acquainted with the circumstances, would fully explain the case and -answer objections. He refers to the subscribers as "young proselytes" -to the Royal cause, as needing to be driven "_lento pede_," as being -neither of great families or great estates, but as capable of being -more serviceable to His Majesty than some whose names would "swell much -bigger than theirs."[32] - -There is no sufficient reason for pronouncing the story an invention, -or the documents forgeries; at any rate it appears as if Clarendon -believed in them; yet on the other hand, there is not the slightest -evidence that any of the leaders of the Baptist body ever concurred in -any such movement--the names appended to the address are unknown--and -no reference to the affair, that I am aware of, was ever made after -the Restoration, either by Baptists or any other party. On the whole -it is not unlikely that some few people, calling themselves Baptists, -disliking Oliver Cromwell and the Protectorate, and differing from -those ministers of their denomination who held parish livings, might -have engaged in a correspondence with a view to the restoration of -Monarchy under certain conditions--especially that of unfettered -toleration. No practical result followed these reported overtures.[33] - -[Sidenote: INTERREGNUM--PRESBYTERIANS.] - -The Presbyterians had, for the most part, after the death of Charles -I., preserved a sentiment of loyalty towards the House of Stuart; and -now that Richard had fallen, they were eager for the restoration of -Monarchy in the person of the exiled prince. Presbyterian clergymen -animated and controlled this new movement, of which the extensive -ramifications spread themselves abroad in secrecy and caution. Only in -Cheshire did any military demonstration occur. There, in the month of -August, under Sir George Booth, a popular Presbyterian of the county, -numbers of persons appeared in arms; yet, although the object evidently -was to place Prince Charles on the throne of his fathers, the leaders -professed nothing more than a desire to secure the assembling of a free -Parliament. The Presbyterians rejected the aid of the Roman Catholics, -and but warily accepted the advances of a Presbyterian knight, Sir -Thomas Middleton, because he was known to be a Royalist.[34] - -[Sidenote: 1659.] - -The rising proved unfortunate. After being hopefully prosecuted a -little while, it then appeared that the Republicans under Lambert -were too strong for these Northern insurgents. The former scoured -the country. Their shots in some places disturbed the Presbyterian -communicants at the Lord's Supper; their advances in the neighbourhood -of Manchester filled that town with alarm. Houses were emptied of -their valuables by the people who were anxious to hide them from -the enemy.[35] Booth was obliged to flee; and to provide against -detection he assumed a female disguise, and rode on a pillion, but his -awkwardness in alighting from his horse betrayed him; and Middleton, -after a brief resistance within the walls of Chirk Castle, capitulated -to the foe. - -Fleetwood now seemed the chief man in England; and to him certain -Republicans, who had been desired, or as they interpreted it, commanded -to retire from the Council of Officers, turned as to their last hope, -asking him in a "humble representation" full of religious sentiment, -"to remove the present force upon the Parliament, that it might sit in -safety without interruption."[36] Other persons of more consequence, -including Haselrig, followed up the appeal in a rather different -strain, but with the same object, and charged Fleetwood with destroying -Parliamentary authority, after the example of his father-in-law.[37] -Sir Ashley Cooper subsequently wrote to him in like manner, protesting -against "red-coats and muskets" as a "_non obstante_" to national laws -and public privileges.[38] - -[Sidenote: INTERREGNUM--EPISCOPALIANS.] - -Amidst the confusion of the period hope dawned upon the persecuted -Episcopalians. - -Whether or not influenced by the death of Cromwell, and the foresight -of coming changes favourable to his own Church, Henry Thorndike, the -able Episcopalian scholar and divine, published in 1659 what he called -_An Epilogue to the Tragedy of the Church of England_; a book which, -an admiring critic says, proved to be in spirit a prologue to the -renewed life of a Church more vigorous than ever! The aim of the work -is to promote the welfare of the Episcopal Church of England, not by -any compromise, but by endeavouring to persuade all to unite together -on her behalf. Looking at the claims of the Romish Church to immediate -inspiration (placed no matter where), and to the equally groundless -and more arrogant claims of the fanatics--as Thorndike terms them--to -individual inspiration, he urges that each party should be brought -to admit themselves limited to the sense of Scripture as expounded -by the primitive laws and faith of the Church. Thus, he says, the -ground of their errors is cut away. With this imaginary solution of -the difficulty, which begs the question, this calculation upon what -is impossible, and this triumphant assurance of a conclusion based on -premises, which neither Papist nor Puritan would admit--the high, but -honest Churchman, shows how much he sympathized with the one and how -little with the other. - -[Sidenote: 1659.] - -He expressly avows his approval of prayers for the dead, of the -invocation of the Spirit on the elements of the Eucharist, and of the -practice of penance; whilst he contends for Episcopacy in the Anglican -sense, and wishes to see Presbyters restored to their ancient position -of a council to be consulted by the bishop. Thorndike's notion was, -in prospect of its restoration, to reform his own Church, by bringing -it back to what he considered primitive usage. Those who most condemn -some of the views which he advocated will be constrained, on reading -his life and works, to acknowledge the guileless simplicity of his -character, as apparent in this very publication at such a crisis. He -says himself--"That I should publish the result of my thoughts to the -world may seem to fall under the historian's censure. '_Frustra autem -niti, neque aliud se fatigando, nisi odium quærere, extremæ dementiæ -est._'" He adds, "If I be like a man with an arrow in his thigh, or -like a woman ready to bring forth,--that is, as Ecclesiasticus saith, -like a fool that cannot hold what is in his heart--I am in this, I -hope, no fool of Solomon's, but with St. Paul, 'a fool for Christ's -sake.'"[39] - -[Sidenote: INTERREGNUM--EPISCOPALIANS.] - -This straightforward course annoyed those who were seeking to restore -the Church in a different way. "Pray tell me what melancholy hath -possessed poor Mr. Thorndike? And what do our friends think of his -book? And is it possible that he would publish it, without ever -imparting it, or communicating with them?" Such questions were asked by -Sir Edward Hyde, who wondered that Thorndike should publish his "doubts -to the world in a time when he might reasonably believe the worst use -would be made, and the greatest scandal proceed from them."[40] Hyde's -own method of proceeding at this juncture appears in his correspondence -with Dr. Barwick. He did not trouble himself, like Thorndike, with -theological questions, or attempt any reformation of the Church which -he wished to restore; but he threw himself heartily into efforts for -the preservation of the Episcopal order. For the Bishops were dying -out, only a few survived; in a short time all would be dead, and then -how would the ministerial succession be perpetuated? By repairing to -Rome, or by admitting the validity of Presbyterian ordination? As Hyde -pondered these queries he rebuked the friends of the Church for their -apathy--"The King hath done all that is in his power to do, and if my -Lords the Bishops will not do the rest, what can become of the Church? -The conspiracies to destroy it are very evident; and, if there can -be no combination to preserve it, it must expire. I do assure you, -the names of all the Bishops who are alive and their several ages -are as well known at Rome as in England; and both the Papist and the -Presbyterian value themselves very much upon computing in how few years -the Church of England must expire."[41] While the Prelates generally -came in for his censure, Wren, Bishop of Ely, and Duppa, Bishop of -Salisbury, were exceptionally noticed as active and earnest--the most -lukewarm being Brownrigg, Bishop of Exeter, and Skinner, Bishop of -Oxford.[42] It was easier, however, for Hyde, on the Continent, to -write zealously on this subject than for the Bishops in England, under -inimical rulers, and with the fear of penalties before them, to do -anything effective for the consecration of successors. Difficulties -were felt, both in the wandering Court of Charles and in the troubled -homes of ejected Episcopalians. There were no Deans and Chapters -to receive the _congé d'élire_, and to act upon it. Canonical and -constitutional law interposed obstacles in the way of consecration. -Bramhall thought, that as the King had an absolute power of nomination -for Ireland, the best way would be for surviving Bishops to consecrate -persons Royally nominated to Irish sees, and then translate them to -England. The Bishop of Ely objected to this as practically approving -what he considered a defect in the Church of the sister island; and he -would rather, he said, see Ireland conformed to England, than England -to Ireland. His own plan, in which Dr. Cosin concurred, was much the -same as one which Barwick proposed--_i.e._, that the King should grant -a Commission to the Bishops of each province, to elect and consecrate -fit persons for vacant sees, and ratify and confirm the process -afterwards.[43] To this Hyde agreed, and wrote for the form of such a -Commission as the Bishops might judge proper. No further steps appear -to have been taken in that direction. - -[Sidenote: 1659.] - -Hyde counselled as much privacy as possible in measures for the -preservation of the Episcopal order; and in all affairs relating to -the Church he recommended the utmost prudence and moderation: at -a later period, when Monk was preparing for Charles' return, Hyde -complained of the "unskilful passion and distemper" of some Divines. -The King, he added, was really troubled, and "extremely apprehensive -of inconvenience and mischief to the Church and himself." Still later, -he advised that endeavours should be made to win over those who had -reputation, and desired to merit well of the Church--and that there -should be no compliance "with the pride and passion of those who -propose extravagant things."[44] - -As correspondence passed between Hyde and Barwick many Episcopalians -in England gave themselves to fasting and prayer. Evelyn writes in -his diary on the 21st of October: "A private fast was kept by the -Church of England Protestants in town, to beg of God the removal of -His judgments, with devout prayers for His mercy to our calamitous -Church." Other entries appear, of the same kind. The ruling politicians -in England, out of all sympathy with the exiles, were, nevertheless, -promoting their interests by divisions at home.[45] - -[Sidenote: INTERREGNUM--EPISCOPALIANS.] - -Money-matters, out of which broods of quarrels are always being -hatched, caused what remained of the Long Parliament to be very -unpopular; and the upshot is seen in the dissolution by General -Lambert, on the 13th of October, of that attenuated but vivacious body, -whose continued, or renewed existence, through an age of revolutions, -presents such a singular phenomenon. - - - - - CHAPTER II. - - -After Lambert's imitation of Oliver Cromwell, in dissolving the -House of Commons, England might be said to be without any Government -at all. In contrast with our conscious security twenty years ago, -and our reliance upon the stability of the Constitution at a moment -when political changes were sweeping over Europe, as rapidly as -the shadows of the clouds chase each other over the corn-fields, -our fathers, in the latter part of the year 1659, felt they had no -political constitution whatever in existence, except as it might be -preserved in lawyers' books, and in people's memories. The Republicans -were at sixes and sevens. Some were for a select Senate, and a -Parliamentary representation; some for an Assembly chosen by the -people, and for Councils of State chosen by that Assembly; some for -a couple of Councils, both chosen by the popular voice; and some for -a scheme which seemed like a revival of the Lacedæmonian Ephori.[46] -Amidst distractions of opinion these speculatists were inspired by -personal animosities; and, being mutually jealous, they constantly -misapprehended each other's motives. It was a strange time, and as sad -as it was strange--when, at the Rota Club, which met at the Turk's -Head, in New Palace Yard, where Harrington and his friends were wont -to drink their glasses of water--it had become a _practical_ question, -under what sort of Government they were to live the following year? - -[Sidenote: INTERREGNUM--CONFUSION.] - -London was a Babel of ecclesiastical no less than of political -theories. Presbyterians contended that the Solemn League and Covenant -alone could heal the nation's wounds. Fifth Monarchy men could see no -hope but in the second coming of Christ. Some contended for toleration -to a limited extent, with a national religion exercised according to -Parliamentary law--the legal and ancient provision for a national -ministry being augmented, so as to secure to each clergyman £100 per -annum. Others contended for "the way of old, laid down by Christ," to -bring it about again, and settle it in the world; and such teachers -declared that there needed to be an utter plucking up of all that -was in esteem or desire, or had been for many hundred years.[47] In -the _Modest Plea for an Equal Commonwealth_, published in 1659, it -was proposed to abolish tithes, upon composition being made for them -by landholders; the money so raised to be used for satisfying the -proprietors, and paying the arrears of the Army; also for discharging -public debts, and providing for the dispossessed incumbents during -the remainder of their lives.[48] Causes of discontent and disquiet, -often overlooked, existed at that period. Scarcity always aggravates -when it does not produce political confusion. The price of corn had -singularly fluctuated during the Commonwealth: like the tide it had -gradually ebbed during the first half; like the tide it had gradually -flowed during the second. In 1649, the year of Charles' execution, -wheat had reached eighty shillings a quarter; in 1654, the first year -of Oliver's protectorate, it fell as low as twenty-six shillings--good -harvests coming to bless his new administration. After that year wheat -rose again, till in 1659 it attained the price of sixty-six shillings; -the dearness of bread being, as we might expect, however unjustly, laid -at the door of a Government arrived at the last stage of incompetency -and weakness.[49] The result of combined calamities speedily became -apparent. The military were dissatisfied and divided. Troops lawlessly -prowled about the country; they levied contributions in all quarters, -threatening their enemies, and harassing their friends. Their swords -were warrants for exaction; and when told that their conduct would lead -to the return of Charles Stuart, they answered such an event could -never happen so long as they continued to carry arms. Colonels and -Captains lost command over their men; the latter did what was right in -their own eyes, and nothing else.[50] - -[Sidenote: 1659.] - -It is startling to find how rapidly change succeeded change in high -places. The remains of the Long Parliament, as it existed at the time -of its dissolution by Oliver Cromwell, were, for want of better rulers, -restored the day after Christmas-day,[51] according to the wishes of -the soldiers, not the Generals. Lenthall, after summoning such members -as could be found, again arrayed himself in his Speaker's robes; again -went in state to the House to reoccupy the old chair; and the soldiers, -who ten weeks before had driven him from the doors of St. Stephen's, -now shouted, at the top of their voices, in honour of his solemn -re-entrance. Prynne, and other gentlemen excluded by Pride's purge, -were once more excepted from the number summoned, and sought in vain -re-admission to their vacant seats. The remnant of legislators upon -assembling anew appointed a Council of State; but never was any form of -Government so unmercifully ridiculed as was this. - -[Sidenote: INTERREGNUM.--CONFUSION.] - -Something needed to be done. The Royalists throughout all this tumult -had not been asleep. They had increased the miserable confusion, and -even rejoiced in the gloom, because the darker the night the nearer -the dawn. Booth's rising in August had been repressed, but an enormous -flood of disaffection, of which that had been a sort of Geyser outgush, -continued to boil beneath the surface. Secret conferences were held; -plots were laid. The deeply engrained love of Monarchy in the English -mind--only painted over of late years--now that the paint was being -rubbed off, became distinctly visible. The press took the utmost -license. Evelyn in his _Apology for the Royal Party_ denounced the -Rump as a coffin which was yet less empty than the heads of certain -politicians. He boldly demanded the restoration of Charles Stuart, -maintaining that he might be trusted because of his innate love of -justice, and his father's dying injunctions; and because there were -none, however crimson-dyed their crimes, whom he would not pardon in -the abundance of his clemency and mercy. The author of _A Plea for -Limited Monarchy_ adds the sorrows of memory to the pleasures of hope, -as motives for restoring the King; for he dwells upon the decay of -trade, and complains that the oil and honey promised by Oliver had been -turned to bitterness and gall; and that Lambert's free quarterings had -licked up the little which had been left in the people's cruse.[52] - -[Sidenote: 1659.] - -These appeals fell on willing ears. The nation was weary--weary -of inefficient rulers, weary of ideal Republics. Had there been -some master-spirit equal to the departed one, with a strong and -well-disciplined Army at his back, the Commonwealth might even now at -last have been restored to what it was two years before; but nobody -like the vanished man remained, and the Army fell to pieces. - -[Sidenote: MONK.] - -General Monk had a large portion of it under his immediate control -in the North. The Committee of Safety had, in the month of November, -appointed him Commander-in-Chief of all the forces, and he now -determined to employ his influence for purposes of his own. The troops -under Lambert, who still cherished Republican ideas and designs, were -ordered by a messenger of Parliament to withdraw to their respective -quarters; consequently that ambitious and turbulent personage retired -into privacy. The soldiers in London, tired of their commanders, had -asked for the restoration of the Rump, and had placed themselves under -its authority. Monk alone possessed much military power. In the month -of January we find him marching up to London. On entering the gates -of York two Presbyterian ministers escorted him to his lodgings; one -of them, the eminent Edward Bowles, "the spring that moved all the -wheels in that city," who "dealt with the General about weighty and -dangerous affairs," keeping him up till midnight, and pressing him -very hard to stay there, and declare for the King. "Have you made any -such promise?" inquired Monk's chaplain. "No, truly, I have not; or, I -have _not yet_," was the reply. After a pause the chaplain remarked, -"When the famous Gustavus entered Germany, he said, 'that if his shirt -knew what he intended to do, he would tear it from his back, and burn -it.'" The speaker applied the story to his master, entreating him -to sleep between York and London; and when he entered the walls of -the Metropolis to open his eyes, and look about him.[53] Perhaps the -chaplain knew that such counsel would be agreeable to his patron; but -it was quite unnecessary to talk in this fashion to one pre-eminently -reticent, and as watchful with his eyes as he was cautious with his -lips. - -[Sidenote: 1660.] - -Monk, at the time, was far from being reputed a Royalist. He, with -his officers, had in the month of June, 1659, expressed Republican -opinions. In the following November the same person corresponding with -Dr. Owen, and other representatives of the Independents in London, -promised that their interests should ever be dear to his heart; and -gave it as his opinion that the laws and rights for which they had been -struggling through eighteen years might be "reduced to a Parliamentary -Government, and the people's consenting to the laws."[54] The General -reached St. Albans on the 28th of January, when Hugh Peters preached -before him a characteristic sermon, little thinking of what the chief -person in the audience was about to accomplish. "As for his sermon," -says one who heard it, "he managed it with some dexterity at the first -(allowing the cantings of his expressions.) His text was Psalm cvii. -7. 'He led them forth by the right way, that they might go to the city -where they dwelt.'[55] With his fingers on the cushion he measured the -right way from the Red Sea through the wilderness to Canaan; told us -it was not forty days' march, but God led Israel forty years through -the wilderness before they came thither; yet this was still the Lord's -right way, who led his people _crinkledom cum crankledom_; and he -particularly descended into the lives of the patriarchs, how they -journeyed up and down though there were promises of blessing and rest -to them. Then he reviewed our civil wars, our intervals of peace and -fresh distractions, and hopes of rest; but though the Lord's people (he -said) were not yet come to the City of Habitation, He was still leading -them on in the right way, how dark soever His dispensations might -appear to us."[56] - -As I am writing an Ecclesiastical, and not a Political History, I -leave untouched the tangled web of incidents occurring in the City -in the councils of the Republicans; and in the relations of Monk to -the conflicting parties, between the 6th and 11th of February. I can -only state, that on the last of these days the martial chief appeared -at Guildhall, and said, "What I have to tell you is this: I have -this morning sent to the Parliament to issue out writs within seven -days, for the filling up of their House, and when filled to sit no -longer than the 6th of May, but then to give place to a full and free -Parliament."[57] - -[Sidenote: MONK.] - -The joy which this intelligence produced in the City was unbounded, -and it comes before us with the vividness of a present event in the -garrulous _Diary_ of Pepys. As merry peals rolled and fired from the -London steeples, fourteen bonfires were kindled between St. Dunstan's -and Temple Bar; and at Strand Bridge the gossip at the same time -counted thirty-one of those English demonstrations of delight. The -butchers, at the Maypole in the Strand, rang a peal with their knives; -and on Ludgate-hill a man occupied himself with turning a spit, on -which was tied a rump of beef, whilst another man basted it. At one end -of the street there seemed "a whole lane of fire," so hot that people -were fain to keep on the side farthest off.[58] - -The excitement following the news in other parts seems to have been not -less intense. - -At Nottingham, "as almost all the rest of the island," the town "began -to grow mad." Boys marched about with drums and colours, and offered -insults to Republican soldiers. One night some forty of the latter -class were wounded by stones, thrown at them as they attempted to seize -the obstreperous lads. Two Presbyterians were shot in the scuffle; one -a zealous Royalist, master of the Magazine, at Nottingham Castle. "Upon -the killing of this man," the Presbyterians "were hugely enraged, and -prayed very seditiously in their pulpits, and began openly to desire -the King; not for good will, neither to him, but for destruction to all -the fanatics."[59] - -[Sidenote: 1660.] - -The rabble raved with joy. Milton mourned over the madness in strains -of majestic sorrow. "And what will they at best say of us, and of -the whole English name, but scoffingly, as of that foolish builder -mentioned by our Saviour, who began to build a tower, and was not able -to finish it? Where is this goodly tower of a Commonwealth, which the -English boasted they would build to overshadow kings, and be another -Rome in the West? The foundation indeed they laid gallantly; but fell -into a worse confusion, not of tongues, but of factions, than those -at the tower of Babel; and have left no memorial of their work behind -them remaining, but in the common laughter of Europe! Which must needs -redound the more to our shame, if we but look on our neighbours, -the United Provinces, to us inferior in all outward advantages; who -notwithstanding, in the midst of greater difficulties, courageously, -wisely, constantly went through with the same work, and are settled in -all the happy enjoyments of a potent and flourishing Republic to this -day."[60] - -The political importance of the Independents had declined with the -humiliation of Fleetwood, and of the officers who sympathized with him. -Their strength had rested on the Army, and with the dislocation of the -Army came the termination of their ascendancy. On the 21st of February -the surviving members of the Commons House, who had been excluded by -Colonel Pride, were restored to their former seats, a measure which -placed power once more in Presbyterian hands. - -[Sidenote: MONK.] - -Monk, the author of this revolution, addressed Parliament on that same -day, and gave it as his opinion that the interests of London must -lie in a Commonwealth--that Government only being capable of making -the country, through the Lord's blessing, the metropolis and bank of -trade for all Christendom; "and as to a government in the Church," he -proceeded to say, "the want whereof hath been no small cause of these -nations' distractions; it is most manifest that if it be monarchical -in the State, the Church must follow, and Prelacy must be brought -in, which these nations, I know, cannot bear, and against which they -have so solemnly sworn: and, indeed, moderate not rigid Presbyterian -government, with a sufficient liberty for consciences truly tender, -appears at present to be the most indifferent and acceptable way to the -Church's settlement."[61] - -The fortunes of Presbyterianism had been changeful fortunes. It had -been established by the Long Parliament; its power had waned under the -predominant sway of the Army; though adopted more or less throughout -the country, it had been nowhere so fully developed as in Lancashire; -and it had received no special encouragement from Oliver Cromwell. -After his death it received a slight impetus, only to be checked by the -Republican policy of Vane and the Military. But now Presbyterianism -appears reconstituted in the Church of England--re-established as -the national religion; and it is of great importance to remember -this fact throughout the narrative of the Restoration; for it was -with Presbyterianism thus situated, rather than with Independency, -or any other ecclesiastical systems, that Episcopacy came first into -competition and conflict after the King's return. - -[Sidenote: 1660.] - -It soon became plain to which ecclesiastical party most influence -belonged. On the 2nd of March the Westminster Confession was readopted; -a proclamation was issued for enforcing all existing laws against -popish priests, Jesuits, and recusants; and a bill was introduced to -provide for an authorized approval of ministers previously to their -holding benefices. The Solemn League and Covenant reappeared on the -wall of the House of Commons, and also was ordered to be read in -every church once a year. Upon the 13th, Dr. Owen, the Independent, -was removed from the Deanery of Christ Church, and Dr. Reynolds, the -Presbyterian, appointed in his room. - -But appearances were fallacious. The Restoration was inevitable, and -with the Restoration, the Puritan Establishment, which had been the -offspring of the Civil Wars, virtually expired. - - - - - CHAPTER III. - - -The Presbyterians were the principal instruments in Charles' -restoration; and in this they acted as the exponents and -instruments of the nation's will. It was not Monk who influenced -the Presbyterians--the Presbyterians influenced Monk. Their leaders -encouraged his bringing back the King, and conveyed to him that -encouragement at a conference which they held with him in the City.[62] -The part played by the Presbyterians in this transaction is admitted by -members of the Royal family; and in the correspondence of the period a -curtain is lifted up, disclosing Court secrets, and illustrating the -manner in which the Presbyterians at that moment were overreached. When -the Queen Dowager saw Lord Aubony she remarked, "My Lord, I hear you -say that the King is to go to England, and that you are glad there is -such a (way) laid open for him. Do not you know that the Presbyterians -are those that are to invite him?" The nobleman answered that he did -not care who they were, but only wished to see His Majesty restored to -his own realm. "But the conditions," rejoined the Queen, "may be such -as they would have pressed upon the King his father." "Madam," replied -his lordship, "a king crowned, and in his own dominions has more reason -to insist upon terms than an exiled prince that hath not been accepted -by them. What would any one have him do, other than receive his -kingdoms by what means soever they were given him? And some better way -than this occurs not, what fault is to be found with that which cannot -be mended?"[63] - -[Sidenote: 1660.] - -Baxter informs us respecting schemes adopted by the Episcopalian -Royalists, with a view to influence their Presbyterian brethren. -Sir Ralph Clare, of Kidderminster, and therefore one of Baxter's -parishioners had, before Booth's rising, spoken to his pastor on -the subject; and he had replied by expressing fears of prelatical -intolerance, and of the danger to the interests of spiritual religion -in case of the restoration of the Stuarts. The Knight said, that -being acquainted with Dr. Hammond, a correspondent of Dr. Morley, -then attending upon His Majesty, he could assure Baxter, the utmost -moderation was intended, and that "any episcopacy, how low soever, -would serve the turn and be accepted." Letters from France were -procured, testifying to the character of the Royal exile. They abounded -in eulogies upon his Protestantism. Monsieur Gaches, a famous preacher -at Charenton, after flattering Baxter, gave "a pompous character of the -King," stating that during his residence in France he never neglected -the public profession of the Protestant religion, not even in those -places where it seemed prejudicial to his affairs.[64] Baxter's pages -bear witness to the fears of others as well as to his own, to lull -which dulcet promises were sung. Presbyterians and Episcopalians, it -was softly said, were not irreconcilable; union was possible; present -incumbents would not be turned out of their livings. Their ordinations -would be valid.[65] Episcopalians were resolved to forgive, to bury the -remains of rancour, malice, and animosity for ever; having been taught -by sufferings from the hand of God, not to cherish violent thoughts -against their brother man.[66] Some Presbyterians were pacified, -expecting that subscription to the Prayer book would be no longer -required. Others, at least, hoped for toleration. Some acted simply -from a conviction that it was a duty to bring back the King; others -regarded that event as at once ruinous but inevitable.[67] A few could -not abandon the idea of restoring Charles on _Covenant terms_; but -only such as lived in a little world of their own dreamt of a thing so -preposterous.[68] - -[Sidenote: PROGRESS OF RESTORATION.] - -In coincidence with these circumstances the personal friends of -the exiled Prince revolved in their minds the possibilities of the -future, and employed themselves in framing suggestions to be laid -upon the Royal table. We read in a paper without signature, dated -March 28, 1660, "It is most certainly true that Presbytery is a very -ill foundation to Monarchy, and therefore it must be said with great -care and circumspection. You know what your father suffered by them, -and yourself also in Scotland, whither when you went, though all were -for it, I was absolutely against it, and gave my reasons to one, who -I suppose now attends you, which experience hath proved true." And -again, "'Twill be of great consequence that you mainly insist upon a -toleration for all, as well Roman Catholics as others, or, at least, to -take off the penal statutes against them. There is not anything you can -do will be of more advantage than this, for thereby you will satisfy -all here and abroad. Moreover, by doing this you will secure yourself -against the Presbyterians and Sectaries, by equally poising them with -others of contrary judgments, for you may doubt that the Presbyterians -and Sectaries will at length fall to their first principles again, and -endeavour to make you at the best but a Duke of Venice, if they see -not a visible power to defend you. The like course hath many times -been used by great princes, and never succeeded ill when they saw one -faction rise too high to suffer a quite contrary to grow up to balance -it."[69] - -[Sidenote: 1660.] - -Sir William Killegrew addressing Charles, upon the 8th of April, -shrewdly states the difficulties of his new position: "If your Majesty -do but think on the numerous clergy with their families, and on the -innumerable multitudes of all those that have suffered on your side -that will expect a reparation or recompence; nay, Sir, it is evident -that all the people in general do look that you should bring them peace -and plenty, as well as a pardon for all those who have offended. And -I do fear you will find it a harder matter to satisfy those that call -themselves your friends, and those who really are so than all those who -have been against your Majesty." "Next, Sir, if you come to your crown -as freely as you are born to it, how will you settle Church-government -at first to please the old true Protestants? And how the Presbyterians, -who now call you in, when all other interests have failed to do it? -And how the Papists, who do hope for a toleration? How satisfy the -Independents, the Congregation, and all the several sorts of violent -Sectaries? Whereas if your Majesty be tied up by Articles, none of all -these can blame you for not answering their expectations."[70] - -[Sidenote: PROGRESS OF RESTORATION.] - -Two days before the date of this last letter, Secretary Thurloe, at -Whitehall, silently watching what was going on around him, conveyed his -impressions of the state of religious parties to the English minister -at the Hague. - -"There are here great thoughts of heart touching the present -constitution of affairs. The Sectarians with the Commonwealth's -men look upon themselves as utterly lost if the King comes in, and -therefore probably will leave no stone unturned to prevent it; but -what they will be able to do, I see not, of themselves, unless the -Presbyterian joins with them, whereto I see no disposition; yet many of -them are alarmed also, and are thinking how to keep him out, and yet -not mingle again with the Sectaries. Others of the Presbyterians are -studying strict conditions to be put upon the King, especially touching -Church-government, hoping to bind him that way; and therein are most -severe against all the King's old party, proscribing them which are -already beyond sea. Not one of them is to return with him if he comes -in upon their terms, and prohibiting his party here to come near him: -he must also confirm all sales whatsoever."[71] - -[Sidenote: 1660.] - -The first decided declaration in favour of the restoration of Charles -on the part of Monk, who for months had perplexed everybody, seems to -have occurred on the 19th of March, when, in answer to Royal overtures -for his assistance, and to Royal promises of high rewards, he said to -Sir John Grenville, about to join the little Court at Breda, "I hope -the King will forgive what is past, both in my words and actions, -according to the contents of his gracious letter, for my heart was ever -faithful to him; but I was never in a condition to do him service till -this present; and you shall assure His Majesty that I am now not only -ready to obey his commands, but to sacrifice my life and fortune in his -service."[72] - -Thus, the man who had solemnly declared himself in favour of a -Commonwealth, now suddenly, with open arms, embraced the Royal cause, -as the turn of events began to brighten its fortunes; and, as he -had been first an Independent, and then a Presbyterian, so now he -became not only a Royalist, but an Episcopalian. Most likely Monk -was all the way through a selfish schemer, trimming his sails to the -wind, and ready for King or Commonwealth, as he might see it safe -and advantageous. If that view of his character be not correct, then -the only alternative--one which his admiring biographers adopt, and -which he avowed himself--is, that he had long been promoting Royalist -interests under the disguise of Republican sentiments,--a conclusion -which would justify us in pronouncing him one of the most consummate -hypocrites the world ever saw.[73] - -[Sidenote: PROGRESS OF RESTORATION.] - -The dissolution of the Rump had been connected with a determination -to call together a new Parliament to meet on the 25th of -April. The preparatory elections evoked the efforts of all -parties--the Presbyterians, the Episcopalians, and the "sects," as -Congregationalists and other Nonconformists were termed. The last -of these three parties--mostly anxious for a Republican form of -government--did what they could to return representatives holding -extreme democratical opinions. The second of them, where they dared to -appear, in some cases, from a too fervent zeal, overshot the mark, and -by their violence alienated the constituences which they canvassed. The -first of these parties, the Presbyterians,--who, after the dissolution -of Parliament, had held the administration of affairs in their own -hands, and with whom, for the time being, Monk, their betrayer in the -end, was in co-operation,--used such methods as their executive powers -afforded, to sway the elections in favour of their own views. The -Presbyterians, including different shades of opinion, uniting with the -more moderate Episcopalians and Cavaliers, succeeded in obtaining a -large majority. - -[Sidenote: 1660.] - -The persons who had been elected members of the Convention began -to assemble in St. Stephen's Chapel upon the 25th of April. The -Presbyterian leaders, Hollis, Pierrepoint, and Lewis, secured -immediately the office of Speaker for Sir Harbottle Grimston, of whose -decided Presbyterianism there could be no doubt. This critical movement -was accomplished in an irregular manner, before even forty members -had taken their seats. The preachers appointed to address the Commons -were Gauden, Calamy, and Baxter,--all three at that time Presbyterian -Conformists. In the House of Peers, where only ten members at first -resumed their places, the Presbyterian Earl of Manchester was chosen to -preside. Two Presbyterian ministers, Reynolds and Hardy, were selected -to preach to their Lordships. - -Before proceeding to describe the revived loyalty displayed by the -Convention, we must notice the violent manifestation of opposite -feelings by a portion of the Commonwealth Army. Lambert, one of -Cromwell's officers, escaped on the 9th of April from the Tower, where -he had been imprisoned, and, gathering around him some of his comrades, -marched into the Midland Counties, hoping successfully to raise a -standard in support of Republicanism. Ludlow and Scott had before this -been preparing for such a movement; and, it is said, that despondency -of success alone prevented Haselrig from drawing his sword.[74] The -French Ambassador, writing on the 3rd of May to Cardinal Mazarin, thus -describes the actual outbreak which followed:--[75] - -[Sidenote: PROGRESS OF RESTORATION.] - -"Great alarm," he says, "has been felt about an insurrection of -Sectaries in different localities; some had assembled in the -neighbourhood of York, with the intention of taking it by surprise; -and, at the distance of twenty leagues from London, Colonel Lambert -had gathered together a body of cavalry, which the first accounts -stated to consist of three hundred men. Orders were immediately given -to send against him most of the troops which are in London; the levy -of the London militia was directed to hold itself in readiness, and -that of several counties, which has not been set on foot, to be placed -within the hands of persons considered to be too violent Royalists, -was also ordered out. At the same time, some of the most distinguished -Sectaries, both in this city and in the country, were arrested, and -the General was making preparations to go and attack Lambert before he -could increase his forces; but news arrived, at the end of last week, -that he had only two or three hundred men; and, this morning, we were -informed of his defeat by a party of six hundred horse, without much -bloodshed; his troops having abandoned him one after another, he was -taken prisoner with a few others who have been officers in the Army, -and they are on their way to London. The militia were immediately -countermanded, and the universal topic of conversation now is the -punishment of the offenders, whose leader was proclaimed a traitor on -the day before yesterday. - -"His capture seems entirely to ruin all his party, against which the -people entertain so great an aversion, that, unless the old troops had -mutinied, it could not have met with better fortune. Some Royalists -could have wished it to hold out a little longer, in the hope that the -present authorities would have been thereby compelled to hasten the -return of the King upon more advantageous conditions, whereas they -will now have entire liberty to act, and will, perhaps, impose harsher -conditions, as they have nothing to fear from the Sectaries." - -[Sidenote: 1660.] - -It is remarkable that the troops employed by the Council of State -to crush Lambert's outbreak were led by Ingoldsby, one of Oliver -Cromwell's attached officers; and, amongst those acting under him on -this occasion, was the Fifth Monarchist, Colonel Okey. Republicanism, -at that moment, was a house divided against itself; and very different -were the subsequent fortunes of the two men just mentioned. Ingoldsby's -previous support of Cromwell obtained Royal forgiveness on account of -his defeating Lambert; the dark fate which befell Okey will be noticed -hereafter. The rash attempt thus promptly resisted, and speedily -suppressed, was, there can be no doubt, the result of a feeling more -widely diffused than the limited action of the Commonwealth soldiery, -as just described, would by itself indicate. The Civil Wars had -proceeded on the principle that it is justifiable to defend by arms -what is deemed the cause of freedom; and, at this juncture, Charles -had not yet returned, he was not, in fact, King of England; and, -therefore, Republicans might naturally feel all the more satisfied -in resisting his restoration, as that restoration, in their opinion, -would be a revolutionary act, overthrowing the Commonwealth--a form of -English government won by Parliamentary Armies, and established by the -decisions of the Legislature.[76] - -[Sidenote: PROGRESS OF RESTORATION.] - -When May-day had arrived--with its vernal memories and hopes stirring -the hearts of Royalists all over the country--Mr. Annesley reported to -the Commons a letter from the King, unopened, directed to "Our trusty -and well-beloved General Monk, to be communicated to the President and -Council of State, and to the Officers of the Armies under his command." -He stated that Sir John Grenville, a Royal messenger, was at the door. -Permitted by a vote to approach the bar, this gentleman proceeded to -announce that he had been commanded by the King, his master, to deliver -a letter directed to "Our trusty and well-beloved the Speaker of the -House of Commons." Inclosed within the letter was a declaration, given -under the King's sign-manual and privy signet, at his Court at Breda. -When the messenger had withdrawn, both communications were read aloud -by Sir Harbottle Grimston. They are entered in the _Journals_; so also -is Monk's letter. Immediately afterwards the same messenger delivered -a letter "To the Speaker of the House of Peers, and the Lords there -assembled;" that letter inclosing the same declaration as had been -communicated to the Commons.[77] - -The last-named document, which soon became so famous, states that -Charles had never given up the hope of recovering his rights, that he -did not more desire to enjoy what was his own, than that his subjects -by law might enjoy what was theirs; that he would grant a free pardon -under the Great Seal to all who should lay hold of his grace and favour -within forty days, save those only who should be excepted by Act of -Parliament; and that he desired all notes of discord and separation -should be utterly abolished. Then came the following clause:--"And, -because the passion and uncharitableness of the times have produced -several opinions in religion, by which men are engaged in parties and -animosities against each other, which, when they shall hereafter unite -in a freedom of conversation, will be composed or better understood; -we do declare a liberty to tender consciences, and that no man shall -be disquieted or called in question, for differences of opinion in -matter of religion which do not disturb the peace of the kingdom, and -that we shall be ready to consent to such an Act of Parliament, as, -upon mature deliberation, shall be offered to us for the full granting -that indulgence." In conclusion, there appeared a promise to refer to -Parliament all grants and purchases made by officers and soldiers who -might be liable to actions at law, and to pay arrears due to the Army. - -[Sidenote: 1660.] - -A conference took place the same afternoon between the Lords and -Commons, when it was agreed that, according to the ancient and -fundamental laws of the kingdom, the Government is and ought to be -by King, Lords, and Commons,--a conclusion of the two Houses which -formally re-established Monarchy in England. - -Amidst all this haste there were not wanting some who, to use -Clarendon's words, "thought that the guilt of the nation did require -less precipitation than was like to be used, and that the treaty -ought first to be made with the King, and conditions of security -agreed on before His Majesty should be received." The Presbyterians in -Parliament, he further says, were "solicitous that somewhat should be -concluded in veneration of the Covenant; and, at least, that somewhat -should be inserted in their answer to the discountenance of the -Bishops."[78] - -[Sidenote: PROGRESS OF RESTORATION.] - -Sir Matthew Hale moved, that a Committee might be appointed to consider -the propositions which had been made to Charles I. at Newport, and -the concessions then allowed by him, as affording materials for -a constitutional compact with the Prince now about to ascend the -throne. But no more attention was paid to the wise lawyer than to the -zealous Presbyterians. Monk assured the House that the nation was now -quiet, but he could not answer for the public tranquillity should the -Restoration be delayed.[79] At the same time, the General was quietly -seeking to accelerate the execution of his plans by pressing Sharp, -the agent in London of the Scotch Presbyterians, to go over to the -King at Breda, "to deal that he might write a letter to Mr. Calamy, to -be communicated to the Presbyterian ministers, showing his resolution -to own the godly, sober party, and to stand for the true Protestant -religion in the power of it."[80] - -Upon the 2nd of May the House resolved to send a grateful letter to -His Majesty, together with a grant of £50,000 for his immediate use; -and, at the same time, it was resolved to proclaim King Charles the -following day, a ceremony duly performed in Palace Yard, Westminster, -and at Temple Bar, London. - -Sermons were delivered before the Houses, and Richard Baxter preached -in St. Paul's Cathedral, before the Lord Mayor and the Corporation, -one of his most spiritual and earnest discourses, entitled "Right -Rejoicing:" with this discourse, the preacher says, the moderate were -pleased and the fanatics were offended, whilst the diocesan party -thought he did suppress their joy. - -[Sidenote: 1660.] - -Speedily the Proclamation was repeated throughout the kingdom, and -everywhere revived loyalty took a tinge from its ecclesiastical -associations. In cities, where Episcopalians retained ascendancy, -scarlet gowns, scaffolds covered with red cloth, volleys fired by -musqueteers, and cathedral men singing anthems, appeared conspicuously -in the arrangements. A diarist of that period thus describes what he -witnessed:-- - -"May 12th.--Mem. This day, at the city of Worcester, were placed on -high four scaffolds, one at the Cross, two at the Corn-market, three at -the Knole End, four at or near All-Hallow's Well. The scaffold at the -Cross was encompassed with green, white, and purple colours; the two -first as his own colours, being Prince, the third as King. Mr. Ashby, -the Mayor, a Mercer, and all Aldermen in scarlet, the Sheriff of the -City, the 24 and 48 in their liveries; each trade and free-man marching -with their colours. First went 100 trained city bandmen, after their -captain, Alderman Vernon. Then came the Sheriffs, Thos. Coventry, Esq., -the Lord Coventry's eldest son, servants; then the two Army companies; -then the several livery companies with their showmen or band; then -the City Officers; then the Mace and Sword-bearers; then the Mayor, -with the High Sheriff and some gentlemen; then all the 24 and 48; then -part of a troop of horse of the Army. The Mayor, mounting the scaffold -with the gentlemen and Aldermen, Mr. John Ashby, reading softly by -degrees the Proclamation of Charles II., to be King of England, -Scotland, France, and Ireland; the Mayor himself spoke it aloud to all -the people; which done, all with a shout said, 'God save the King.' -Then all guns went off, and swords drawn and flourishing over their -heads, drums beating and trumpets blowing, loud music playing before -the Mayor and company, to every scaffold, which was done in the same -manner throughout; and all finished, the Mayor and City gave wine and -biscuits in the chamber liberally. Bonfires made at night throughout -the City, and the King's health with wine was drank freely. Never such -a concourse of people seen upon so short a notice, with high rejoicings -and acclamations for the restoring of the King. God guard him from -his enemies as He ever hath done most miraculously, and send him a -prosperous peaceable reign, and long healthful life, for the happiness -of his subjects, who is their delight."[81] - -[Sidenote: PROGRESS OF RESTORATION.] - -In places where Presbyterianism prevailed the ceremony differed. At -Sherborne the Proclamation followed "solemn prayers, praises, and -seasonable premonition in the Church." At Manchester, Henry Newcome -went into the pulpit and prayed about half an hour. At Northampton "Mr. -Ford, the minister, went with several others to a great bonfire in the -Market-place, when, after a suitable exhortation, he joined them in -singing the twenty-first Psalm." At Northenbury, Philip Henry preached -a discourse, congratulatory and thanksgiving, from the words, "The -king's heart is in the hand of the Lord" (Proverbs xxi. 1); but, many -years afterwards, he dated a letter 29th of May, as a day in which the -bitter was mingled with the sweet.[82] - -Every lover of peace will rejoice that the Restoration was a bloodless -change; but the mode of deciding upon it suggests grave reflections. -After a long period of strife spent in order to bring within limits -the prerogatives of the Crown; after the desperate remedies which had -been adopted for the cure of evils brought on by Royal aggression; -after all which had been done to resist and overcome the intolerance -of the High Church party,--the nation invited Charles Stuart back -without any condition, and opened the way for the re-establishment of -the old order of things, without any provision against the recurrence -of mischief. Such a proceeding, to say the least, exposed the country -to imminent hazard; and the history of the next eight and twenty years -proves that the fears which were entertained by a few were but too well -founded. The old Stuart disposition and habits reappeared, the old -ecclesiastical intolerance returned, and the Revolution of 1688 was -found necessary to supply the defects of the Restoration of 1660. - -[Sidenote: 1660.] - -[Sidenote: PROGRESS OF RESTORATION.] - -Yet, after all, the mode of the Restoration excites less surprise -than lamentation. For it is easy to understand how natural it was -for the Royalist party, even the more moderate portion of it, to -feel extremely anxious to accomplish the one thing which at that -critical juncture seemed to them so necessary. As in private affairs, -as in the exigencies of domestic and social life, people are apt -precipitately to adopt a certain course, at the moment appearing -indispensable--flattering themselves that afterwards, with proper -care, any seriously unpleasant results may be prevented or cured, -that matters can be made all right in the end: so the leaders of the -English people, at that moment, felt the question to be Restoration or -Ruin; and that, the grand prerequisite for renewed prosperity being -secured, other desirable things could be afterwards shaped according -to pleasure or circumstances. Besides, the Presbyterians clung to the -Breda Declaration as a sheet anchor of hope. It was thought then, and -is still so thought by some, that however theoretically desirable -stipulations might have been, it was practically unwise to insist upon -them at the time; that delay in negotiation with the exiled Prince -tended to involve the country in fresh confusions, and exposed it -to the risk of a military despotism; and that what Parliament could -not then safely wait to do might be subsequently effected. After all -reasonable excuses and palliations for the course adopted, that course -is now seen to have been an enormous mistake. The dangers of a little -delay have been assumed, not proved; there could be no probability -of losing the chance of restoring Charles, had Parliament determined -beforehand to bind him to terms. He would gladly have accepted the -Royalty of England, with such guarantees for public liberty as were -accorded by William III. And as to the Army, from which chiefly alarm -arose, it does not appear how the difficulty of keeping Republican -soldiers quiet for a month or so, whilst pacific men were engaged -in laying foundations for the stability of their liberties, could -be greater than the difficulty of keeping those same soldiers quiet -between the decision for the King's return and his actual arrival. -Possible evils, in the form of political intrigues, the conflict of -parties, the further unsettlement of the country, and the postponement -of the Restoration, might be imagined as the result of delay; but over -against them we are justified in placing the evil which did come as -the consequence of haste. And with regard to expectations resting on -a future Parliament--the Parliament now sitting could not calculate -upon what the character and proceedings of its successor might be. -That which really prevented any conditions from being imposed on the -returning Prince, was the want of a few wise heads and a few stout -hearts. Who can believe that if Pym or Hampden, or even Falkland, had -been members of the Convention, matters would have been managed as they -were? We cannot but think that during the infinitely momentous weeks -which made up that month of May, such men would have little heeded -the voting of jewels to Royal messengers, and decisions respecting -State beds and State coaches--things which occupied the Houses for -some time--but would rather have thrown themselves heart and soul into -the work of building up some safe and sure defence against the return -of arbitrary government and ecclesiastical intolerance. But England -was wanting in great Statesmen. There remained one wise, good man who -proposed a pause for the arrangement of conditions: but another man, -selfish and unprincipled, put him down. It is deplorable to think of a -Parliament in which Monk silenced Hale.[83] - -[Sidenote: 1660.] - -Certain Presbyterian ministers--Reynolds, Calamy, Manton, and -Case--accompanied a deputation from London to express the loyalty -of the citizens. Pepys gives the amusing information, that, as he -was posting in a coach to Scheveling, the wind being very high, he -"saw two boats overset, and the gallants forced to be pulled on -shore by the heels, while their trunks, portmanteaus, hats, and -feathers were swimming in the sea;" the ministers that came with the -Commissioners--Mr. Case amongst the rest--were "sadly dripped."[84] - -The King resided at the Hague, and to that pleasant Dutch town the -reverend brethren proceeded without delay; they were graciously -received. They assured Charles, that in obedience to the Covenant, -they had urged upon the people the duty of restoring him; and, after -thanking God for His Majesty's constancy to the Protestant religion, -they declared themselves by no means inimical to moderate Episcopacy; -they only desired that in religion, things held indifferent by those -who used them, should not be imposed upon the consciences of others to -whom they appeared unlawful. The first interview seems to have passed -off pleasantly; another audience was sought by the clergymen for closer -conversation. - -[Sidenote: PROGRESS OF RESTORATION.] - -The Scotch were very earnest for an exclusive Presbyterian -Establishment in England. They had frequent correspondence with Sharp, -now in Holland, and they urged him to remember the great inconvenience -which would ensue if the King used the Prayer Book upon returning -to his dominions.[85] Whether or not Sharp (then believed to be a -zealous Presbyterian) influenced the London ministers, it is certain -they adopted an intolerant policy. Admitted once more to the Royal -presence[86] they told His Majesty that the people were unaccustomed -to the Common Prayer, and it would be much wondered at, if, as soon as -he landed, he should introduce it in his own chapel. They begged, at -all events, that he would not use it entirely, but only some parts of -it, and permit extempore prayers by his chaplains. The King replied, -reasonably enough, and with some warmth, "that whilst _they_ sought -liberty, _he_ wished to enjoy the same himself." He professed his -strong attachment to the Liturgy, and said, although he would not -severely inquire about the use of it elsewhere he would certainly have -it in his own chapel. Then they besought him not to have the surplice -worn: upon which he declared he would not himself be restrained whilst -giving so much liberty to others; a declaration proper enough had he -adhered to both parts of it. Whatever the Presbyterian deputation -might have said, probably it would have made little difference as to -the issue; yet all must see how foolishly they committed themselves at -the very commencement of their negotiations--giving Charles and his -Court too much ground for meeting the charge of Episcopal intolerance -by the accusation of Presbyterian bigotry. - -[Sidenote: 1660.] - -Upon the following Sunday, Mr. Hardy, one of the ministers, preached -before the King at the Hague, when some amusing circumstances occurred. -The place appointed for the service was the French Church, and it was -arranged that the English worship should begin as soon as the French -should end. Crowds came from the neighbouring towns to see the Monarch -and his retinue. Precautions were adopted to prevent their admission -in a way which might inconvenience the illustrious worshippers, and -particular care was taken to reserve for the Court a pew "clothed with -black velvet, and covered with a canopy of the same stuff." But another -contingency had not been contemplated--the difficulty of dismissing -those already in the building before others were admitted. The French -congregation wished to wait and witness the subsequent worship, and -Dutch persons of distinction, occupying the velvet pew, would not -retire. The French ministers urged them to withdraw, but there they -were, and there they would remain. The people in possession outwitted -the rest, and outwitted themselves too; for the church being crammed, -and no more being able to enter, the King gave up the idea of going -into it, and attended Divine service in a private room, with as many -of the Lords as the place would accommodate. Mr. Hardy preached from -Isaiah xxvi. 19, "and made so learned and so pathetic a discourse -that there was not any one there which was not touched and edified -therewith."[87] After the Liturgy and sermon the King, according to a -long and elaborate ceremonial, touched certain persons afflicted with -"the evil." - -[Sidenote: PROGRESS OF RESTORATION.] - -Whilst the Presbyterians were active the Episcopalians were not idle. -The Bishops despatched Mr. Barwick to Breda with a loyal address to -His Majesty, and letter of thanks to Hyde, now Chancellor Clarendon. -Barwick was instructed to report upon ecclesiastical affairs, and to -bring back the Royal commands, particularly as to which of the Bishops -should pay their duty upon their Master's landing; and whether they -should present themselves in their Episcopal habits; and also as to the -appointment of Court Chaplains. Since it had been customary for the -Kings of England to return public thanksgivings at St. Paul's Cathedral -on great occasions, Barwick inquired what was the Royal pleasure as -to the place in which such service should be held, seeing the ruinous -condition of the Metropolitan Church at that time? He met with a -gracious reception, and on the Sunday after his arrival preached before -the King. - -The Episcopalians in England very naturally were filled with joy. -As early as the month of March one gave expression to it in violent -language from the pulpit. The prudent Chancellor at Breda, hearing of -these intemperate effusions, had written, in April, begging that the -Episcopalian clergy would restrain their tempers. "And truly I hope," -he added, "if faults of this kind are not committed that both the -Church and the Kingdom will be better dealt with than is imagined; and -I am confident those good men will be more troubled that the Church -should undergo a new suffering by their indiscretion than for all that -they have suffered hitherto themselves."[88] - - - - - CHAPTER IV. - - -[Sidenote: THE KING'S RETURN.] - -[Sidenote: 1660.] - -Charles, on his way to England, had reason for anxious care and steady -forethought. Never had an English Prince come to the throne under such -circumstances. A civil war was just over--the swelling of the storm had -hardly ceased; a party adverse to that which the King regarded as his -own remained still in power; many were expecting at his hand favour for -recent services, notwithstanding former offences; Presbyterians looked -at least for comprehension within the Establishment. Independents, -Baptists, Quakers, asked for toleration, and Roman Catholics, who -had been friends to the beheaded father and the exiled son, thought -themselves entitled to some measure of religious liberty. The Episcopal -Church claimed the new Monarch as her own; her prelates and ministers -were waiting to welcome him--to open in the parish churches once more -the beautiful old Prayer Book, with its litanies and collects for -the King and Royal family. They sought exclusive re-establishment; -they would cast out all Presbyterian intruders--they would tolerate -no Sectaries. Here were perplexing circumstances to be encountered. -The Breda Declaration had bound Charles to be considerate in dealing -with religious matters, to show respect for tender consciences. -_Comprehension_, _toleration_--he stood pledged to promote. But how -were the problems to be solved? He was a Constitutional King. He -was to rule through Parliaments. Should bigotry arise and carry all -before it in the Commons' House, as elsewhere, what was he to do? -Should his Ministers differ from him, how then? Such possibilities -gazed at by a thoughtful man might well have made him anxious, if -not alarmed. Who would not sympathize with any conscientious prince -under such circumstances? Charles possessed certain intellectual -and social qualities which fitted him for the task he had now to -perform; for he had common sense--was keen and clever, with quick -insight into character, made still more so by large acquaintance with -human nature,--he knew how to put unpleasant things in a pleasant -way,--could command considerable powers of persuasion when he liked, -and was courteous, affable, and of winning manners. But he was not -thoughtful--not conscientious; he lacked the two things which alone -could enable him to turn his abilities and experience to good account. -The crown was to him a toy; the throne a chair of pleasure, at best, of -pompous state. The heedless, folly-loving prince takes himself quite -out of the range of our sympathies, and leaves us to condemn the breach -of his plighted faith, and all the intolerance incident to his return. -A useless controversy was once carried on as to whether he was really a -Papist at the time of the Restoration. It is idle to dispute respecting -the theological opinions of a man so utterly destitute of religious -feeling and thoughtfulness. That he was _not_ a Protestant at the -time--meaning by the word a person attached to the Reformed faith--is -plain enough from what is said by those who knew him best. Probably -Buckingham, who calls him a Deist, is nearest the truth.[89] But that -he had sympathies with the Roman Catholic party, and considered -their Church as the most convenient for an easy-living gentleman like -himself, there can be no doubt. Had death stared him in the face just -after his return, he would probably have sought refuge in confession -and priestly absolution, as he did twenty-five years later. Yet he -professed to be a Protestant by solemn kingly acts, and in other ways -when he thought it politic. Charles was a dissembler.[90] He had, with -all his occasional rollicking frankness, an almost equal mastery over -his conversation and his countenance. His face, encompassed by flowing -black locks, illuminated by lustrous eyes, was said to be as little a -blab as most men's: it might tell tales to a good physiognomist, but -it was no prattler to people in general. If he had a wish to conceal -his purpose, he could do it effectually. Lord Halifax apologized for -him by saying, that if he dissembled it is to be remembered "that -dissimulation is a jewel of the crown," and that "it is very hard for a -man not to do sometimes too much of that which he concludeth necessary -for him to practise."[91] - -Monk proceeded to Dover May the 22nd.[92] Numbers of the nobility and -gentry wished to follow him, and he arranged that they should march in -companies, in differently-coloured uniforms, under certain noblemen, -who were to act as captains of these loyal bands. They had not fought -any of Monk's battles; they came in now to swell Monk's triumph. As the -General was standing at a window in the City of Canterbury, while they -marched by gaily with green scarfs and feathers, a friend observed: -"You had none of these at Coldstream, General; but grasshoppers and -butterflies never come abroad in frosty weather, and, at the best, -never abound in Scotland." - -[Sidenote: THE KING'S RETURN.] - -On Friday, the 25th of May, at one o'clock, Charles landed at Dover; -and, notwithstanding his levity, his heart surely must have been -touched as the Castle guns gave him welcome; and another and far more -gladdening demonstration proceeded from the ten thousands of his -subjects, who lined the pebbly beach, or looked down from the old chalk -cliffs, waving their broad-brimmed and feathered hats, and giving the -home-bound exile right hearty cheers such as only Englishmen can give. -General Monk, with all the nobility and gentry present, prostrated -themselves before the Prince as he stepped ashore, with his plumed -beaver in his hand; and some rushed forward to kiss the hem of his -garment, whilst he gracefully raised from his knees, and embraced -the soldier, who whatever might be his character in other respects, -had certainly proved the star of his master's fortune. A canopy was -ready for His Majesty, as he walked to the town; and the Mayor and -Aldermen made obeisance as their chaplain placed in the Royal hands a -gold-clasped Bible. No Bishop was present. - -[Sidenote: 1660.] - -A State coach stood in waiting, in which the King seated himself, the -Duke of York by his side, and opposite, the Duke of Gloucester; General -Monk and the Duke of Buckingham occupying the boot. Thus they travelled -two miles out of Dover, when they mounted horse, and so proceeded -the rest of the way to Canterbury,--where speeches were made, and a -gold tankard was presented to the King; on the following day several -persons were knighted by him, and Monk, the real hero of the hour, -was invested with the Order of the Garter. All went to the Cathedral -on Sunday, when the Liturgy was used; and on Monday they proceeded to -Rochester, where a basin and ewer, silver-gilt, were loyally given, and -graciously accepted. Between four and five o'clock on Tuesday morning, -they started again, "the militia forces of Kent lining the ways, and -maidens strewing herbs and flowers, and the several towns hanging out -white sheets." At Dartford, certain regiments of cavalry presented an -address, and at Blackheath, the old Army appeared drawn up to meet -the very Monarch against whom so many of them had been fighting. The -vexation felt at this termination of the great change inaugurated by -the Civil Wars must have touched many a Republican to the quick; and -at the moment of their chagrin rapturous feelings filled many a noble -Royalist, like those which inspired the _Nunc dimittas_ of Sir Henry -Lee, so touchingly described on the last page of Scott's _Woodstock_. - -[Sidenote: THE KING'S RETURN.] - -At St. George's-in-the-Field the Corporation of London waited in a tent -to receive their Sovereign, where the Lord Mayor presented the City -sword, and then the procession slowly moving from Southwark, passed -through the City Gates, crossed the pent-up alley of London Bridge, -and marched on through Cheapside, Fleet-street, and the Strand, the -houses all the way adorned with tapestry;--the train bands lining the -streets on one side, and the livery companies on the other. A troop of -300 men, in cloth of silver doublets, led the van; then came 1200 in -velvet coats, with footmen in purple; followed by another troop in -buff and silver, and rich green scarfs; then 150 in blue and silver, -with six trumpeters and seven footmen in sea-green and silver; then a -troop of 220, with 30 footmen in grey and silver; then other troops -in like splendour. The Sheriff's men in red cloaks, to the number of -fourscore, with half-pikes--and hundreds of the companies on horseback -in black velvet with golden chains followed in due order. Preceded by -kettle-drums and trumpets, came twelve London ministers, their Genevan -gowns and bands looking "sad" amidst the glaring colours. The Life -Guards followed: more trumpeters appeared in satin doublets; and next, -the City Marshal, attended by footmen in French green trimmed with -white and crimson. The City Waits succeeded, and next the Sheriffs and -the Aldermen, with their footmen in scarlet, and with heralds. The Lord -Mayor carried the Sword of State, and close by him rode Monk and the -Duke of Buckingham. Then appeared the King, accompanied by his brothers -York and Gloucester: the Royal eyes, black and keen, looking out with -gracious smiles from a sallow face on the gathered thousands, who, with -awe and delight, returned the gaze. Troops, with white flags, brought -up the rear; and thus the gaudy and imposing pageant filed under the -very window, where fourteen years before had stood the scaffold of -Charles I.[93] - -[Sidenote: 1660.] - -As soon as Charles II. had taken his seat on the throne addresses -flowed in from all quarters--from the nobility, the gentry, and the -militia of counties; from the Corporations and inhabitants of towns, -and from divers religious bodies. The time had not yet come for -Episcopalians to address His Majesty. Presbyterianism, recognized by -the Convention as the established religion, had not been dethroned -from its supremacy; and it was not quite safe at present for its -great rival ecclesiastical power prominently to show itself. Their -silence just then is very significant. The Roman Catholics, many of -whom had sacrificed much for the sake of the Stuart family, assured -the King of their attachment; and distinctly repudiated the doctrine, -that the Pope can lay any commands upon English Catholic subjects in -civil and temporal matters; also the "damnable and most un-Christian -position,"--these are the very words--"that kings or absolute princes, -of what belief soever, who are excommunicated by the Pope may be -deposed, killed, or murthered by their subjects."[94] Presbyterian -ministers expressed the warmest loyalty. "Such," they said, "of late -days, have been the wonderful appearances of God towards both your -Royal self and the people, that (when we feared our quarrels should be -entailed and bound over to posterity) we hope they all are miraculously -taken up in your Majesty's restoration to your Crown and imperial -dignity. It cannot be denied, but that Providence was eminently exalted -in the work of your protection for many years; but it seems to avail -to the efficacy of that grace, which hath prevented you from putting -forth your hands unto iniquity, and sinful compliances with the enemies -of the Protestant, and in disposing of the hearts of your subjects -to receive you with loyalty and affection." With this expression of -loyalty is combined the utterance of hope. "We beseech you not to give -Him less than He requires by way of gratitude, of which we are the -more confident, when we consider your Majesty's gracious letters to -both Houses of Parliament, with the enclosed Declaration, wherein we -see your zeal for the Protestant religion, with a pitiful heart toward -tender consciences, wherein we have assurance that the hail of your -displeasure shall not fall on any who have (upon the word of Moses) -betaken themselves to yourself as a sanctuary. And now, most gracious -Sovereign, what remains for us to do? We are not fit to advise you, but -give us leave to be your remembrancers before the Lord." They conclude -with devout aspirations for His Majesty's spiritual welfare: "May you -never see the handwriting on the wall that your kingdom is divided, -but let this be your motto--'Not by power, not by might, but by the -Spirit.' May you rejoice in this, that you have better chariots and -horsemen (in the many of your subjects who are faithful, chosen, and -true) than other princes can boast of. And still, may your tenderness -be found, that of a nursing father towards the young and weak of the -flock that cannot pace it with their elder brethren, and yet are God's -anointed, nay, God's jewels, the apple of His eye, His children, they -for whom Christ died, and is now an Intercessor."[95] - -[Sidenote: THE KING'S RETURN.] - -[Sidenote: 1660.] - -There was also an address from the Independent ministers of London -and Westminster, in which they referred to the Breda Declaration, -indicating how greatly it sustained their hopes. They did not, they -said, wish for liberty longer than they deserved it. "And it is our -desire," they added, "no longer to sit under the shadow, and to -taste the fruit of this your Majesty's royal favour, than we approve -ourselves followers of peace with all men, seeking the peace of these -kingdoms united under your Majesty's Government, and abiding in our -loyalty to your royal person and submission to your laws."[96] - -An address, sent by the ministers of Lancashire at a later period, -shows their desire to wipe out the stigma of disloyalty:-- - -"Whereas we, or some of us, have been injuriously misrepresented to -your Majesty, or some eminent persons about you, and have also been -prejudiced and molested, as if we denied your Supremacy, or were -disaffected to your Government (which hindered this our application -to your Majesty, although prepared, and which otherwise had been much -earlier, even with the first), we do, in all humility, and with great -earnestness, profess before God and man, that we detest and abhor the -very thoughts of such unworthy principles, behaviour, and expression, -having always, according to occasion, expressed and declared the -contrary."[97] - -[Sidenote: THE KING'S RETURN.] - -In this address we notice a recognition of the Royal Supremacy. Not -only the civil, but, in some sense, the ecclesiastical Supremacy of the -Crown must, under the circumstances, have been meant. Ecclesiastical -Supremacy would be claimed and exercised by the restored sovereign as -a matter of course. No new Act of Parliament was passed reconferring -it on the Crown, and defining the limits.[98] Henry VIII. had been -declared "_Ecclesiæ Anglicanæ et Hibernicæ Supremum Caput_." That title -had been continued during the reign of Edward VI., but was repealed -in the reign of Queen Mary. In the first year of Queen Elizabeth, -Supremacy was restored to the Crown, the Queen being styled, not -"Supreme _Head_ of the Church," but "Supreme _Governor_, as well in -all spiritual and ecclesiastical causes as in others." Henry's and -Edward's title had never been resumed, but that of Elizabeth, having -belonged to the first two monarchs of the Stuart line, descended to -Charles II.[99] Charles II., then, could not, in legal phrase, be "Head -of the Church;" if he happened to be so designated, it would be in -adulation or in ignorance. But he inherited the ecclesiastical powers -possessed by Queen Elizabeth, except in relation to the High Commission -Court, which had been abolished by Act of Parliament in the reign -of his father. The canons--as well as Acts of Parliament unrepealed -before the Civil Wars--were regarded by Churchmen as remaining in -force, and the second canon required an oath to the effect that "the -King's Majesty hath the same authority in causes ecclesiastical that -the Godly kings had amongst the Jews, and Christian emperors of the -primitive Church"--whatever might be meant by that vague appeal to -ancient and obscure precedents. The Supremacy of the Crown, however, -as asserted by Anglican lawyers, would be one thing; the Supremacy, -as acknowledged by Puritans, especially any Nonconformist portion of -them, would be quite another. The authority of the temporal ruler -over the temporalities of the Church, all parties probably would -be prepared to allow; those of them who approved of a State Church -would not object to his being invested with ecclesiastical patronage; -Presbyterians, who wished for the establishment of perfect parochial -discipline by the magistrate's aid, could not consistently object to -some kind of Royal Supremacy in reference to that matter; but High -Church Puritans, if I may so term persons holding exalted ideas of -the spiritual, as distinguished from the temporal powers, like High -Church Anglicans, would entertain a reduced and modified conception of -the legitimate interference of the Crown with Christ's Church; whilst -Nonconformists, who embraced the voluntary principle, would (even if -from loyal courtesy they conceded the title of Supreme Governor in -causes ecclesiastical) extract from it almost all which constituted its -signification in the eyes of others. - -[Sidenote: 1660.] - -[Sidenote: THE KING'S RETURN.] - -It should further be borne in mind, not only here, but throughout this -division of our narrative, indeed onward to the passing of the Act of -Uniformity,--that ecclesiastical affairs were in a transition state, -that scarcely anything could be regarded as perfectly settled. The High -Church party took it for granted, that with the return of the King came -the return of the episcopal constitution, with its laws, ceremonies, -and usages. They assumed that at once, without any new Parliamentary -statute, the stream of affairs would flow back into the old -channel--that all which had been done by the Long Parliament, without -the sanction of the Crown, ought to be treated as if it had never -been done at all. The opposite party also had law on their side; for -some valid Acts, affecting the Establishment, remained unrepealed--for -example, the Act for divesting Bishops of their temporal powers. Under -existing circumstances, much might be said on behalf of other portions -of recent legislation, even where the Royal assent had not been -obtained. And very few people now will deny that the clergy holding -preferment during the Commonwealth had reason and common sense in -their favour when they maintained--that, after nearly twenty years of -change, after a revolution carried on by a _de facto_ Government which -had destroyed old vested rights, and created new ones--things could -not be expected to resume their former position as a matter of course; -that those in possession, and in possession by sanction of Government, -had something to say for themselves, and that the conclusion as to the -Church of the future was not foreclosed. And whatever might be said -to the contrary, this aspect of the question had been, and still was, -tacitly accepted as the true one by Charles and by Clarendon, in their -negotiations with the Presbyterians, for they kept them in suspense for -more than a year, holding out the idea of a compromise, and did not -attempt to carry matters with a high hand until the Presbyterians had -been reduced to a condition in which they could be easily crushed. - -[Sidenote: 1660.] - -The counsellors by whom Charles was surrounded on his return were men -of different characters, and they ought at once to be noticed, since -they had more or less to do with the ecclesiastical affairs, which it -is our business to study. Hyde immediately became Chief Minister. His -round face and double chin, as we see them in his portrait, appear -signs of good nature; but, perhaps, a skilful physiognomist would -discover in his eyes and lips indications of qualities less pleasant. -He was a different man from his master. Like Charles I., he was -sincerely attached to the Episcopal Church of England. That unhappy -Monarch, in one of his published letters, dated Oxford, March 30, 1646, -assures Queen Henrietta that "Ned Hide" was fully of his mind on the -subject of Episcopacy; he was almost, if not altogether (at that time), -the only person in the confidence of the King who concurred with him -on the point of religion.[100] The same year, when matters were even -worse, Hyde expressed himself against "buying a peace at a dearer -price than was offered at Uxbridge," and encouraged the notion that it -was the duty of the Royalists to submit to a kind of martyrdom. "It -may be," he remarked, "God hath resolved we shall perish, and then it -becomes us to perish with those decent and honest circumstances that -our good fame may procure a better peace to those who succeed us, than -we were able to procure for them, and ourselves shall be happier than -any other condition could render us."[101] Looking at the circumstances -under which the letter was written, there can be no doubt of the -sincerity of this confession--a sincerity confirmed in all the years -of his exile under the Commonwealth, and in his active solicitude for -the interests of the Church in the prospect of the Restoration. His -subsequent conduct in reference to ecclesiastical affairs will appear -as we proceed. - -[Sidenote: THE KING'S RETURN.] - -The Duke of Ormond, who had done and suffered much for the Stuarts, -was, according to Burnet, a courtier of graceful manners, of lively -wit, and of cheerful temper, extravagant in his expenditure, but -decent in his vices; he was a firm Protestant, and always kept up the -forms of religion, even amidst the indulgence of his passions.[102] -The Earl of Southampton, who had faithfully adhered to Charles I. and -his son throughout their troubles, enjoyed a merited reputation for -virtue, for attachment to liberal principles, and for being guiltless -of promoting the arbitrary designs of the restored Monarch; he leaned -towards a favourable treatment of the Presbyterians; but, after -holding the Treasurer's staff he grew weary of business, perhaps from -disapprobation of the Court policy, no less than from disease.[103] -Sir Edward Nicholas appears to have been a mere official perfunctorily -discharging the office of Secretary; and the same may be said of Sir -William Morrice. Nicholas Culpepper, who had served as Master of -the Rolls to Charles I., and who showed himself to be a politician -favourable to the constitutional privileges of the Crown, and no more, -took little interest in ecclesiastical affairs. To these Ministers -is to be added the Earl of Manchester, a man virtuous and beloved, -gentle and obliging, but not marked by any strong individuality of -character. On the side of Parliament in the Civil Wars he had been -a main pillar of Presbyterianism under the Protectorate; yet though -nominated by Oliver, one of his Lords, he had been opposed to Oliver's -government. As a Presbyterian leader he had taken a prominent part in a -meeting held at Northumberland House, with a view to the Restoration, -after which event, upon becoming Lord Chamberlain, he "never failed -being at chapel, and at all the King's devotions with all imaginable -decency."[104] He did not, however, abandon his old associates. Next -to Manchester may be mentioned the Presbyterian Lord Hollis, a man -of sincere religion, who had opposed the Independents in the Long -Parliament, and had resisted Cromwell; he bore the character of a -friend, rough but faithful, and of an enemy violent but just; and he -now espoused with fervour the cause of Charles.[105] Sir Anthony Ashley -Cooper was a different kind of person. He had been a Royalist, and -also a member of the Little Parliament; and if he could be said to be -anything in reference to religion, he might be pronounced a Deist; yet -he mingled with his scepticism the superstition of astrology.[106] For -his position near the King this versatile, inconstant, unprincipled, -yet clever man, was indebted to his friend Monk, now created Duke of -Albemarle, whose character has been already indicated in these pages. - -[Sidenote: 1660.] - -Clarendon, Albemarle, Southampton, and Ormond were the ruling spirits -immediately after the Restoration; and together with them ought to be -mentioned the Earl of Bristol, who, though by having recently declared -himself a Roman Catholic, he had excluded himself from the Privy -Council, yet retained a place at Court; and whilst his religious policy -and general character made him obnoxious to Clarendon, the very same -things made him agreeable to Charles. - -Buckingham and Bennet will come upon the stage at a future period. - -[Sidenote: THE KING'S RETURN.] - -Soon after the Restoration, which placed these men in power, there -occurred the disbanding of the old Revolutionary Army, which had -throughout the Commonwealth been the main guardian of the Church as -well as of the State. That Army had apparently brought back the -exiled Monarch, or rather it had strengthened the hands of those who -performed that deed; but in consequence of its past history, and the -character of many numbered amongst the troops, it was not a prop upon -which sagacious and far-sighted Royalists could place much reliance. -Indeed, signs of disaffection were already visible. There were veterans -who, whilst formally obeying the command of Royalist officers, in -their hearts retained allegiance to Lambert, and other Republicans. -Whispers about the "good old cause" might be heard in garrisons, and -other military quarters; and, it is said, that even a revolt against -Monk had begun to be planned. Charles sought to win by flattery such of -the soldiers as were of unsettled mind; and his Ministers, at the same -time, employed spies to find out and secure the sowers of sedition, and -so to pluck the tares from amidst the wheat; but the most effectual -method of preventing the apprehended mischief was to dissolve the Army -altogether. That difficult and delicate business received prompt and -careful attention. The Government employed members to represent to -Parliament, first, the uselessness of a military force 60,000 strong -in time of peace; and next, the pecuniary burden which it imposed upon -the State, then encumbered in other ways with pecuniary difficulties. -Consequently motions for a gradual reduction and payment of the Army -were carried; and, gradually the regiments, which had seen so much -service, and had passed through such a memorable history, melted -away. They took home recollections of Marston Moor and Naseby, of the -Dunbar fight, and of Worcester field; and to old age men told their -children, and their children's children, of their marchings and their -defences, especially of the officers under whom they had fought, and -of Old Noll, the greatest of them all. Dispersed over the country, -settled in their former homes, or choosing new localities, they spread -afar the sentiments and traditions of past days; and the religious -amongst them--still very numerous--the Puritan, the Presbyterian, the -Independent, the Baptist, the Fifth Monarchy Millenarian, and the -Spiritual Fanatic of some inexpressible shade, would be each a centre -of influence in his respective circle, stimulating and promoting -Nonconformity. Perhaps the Commonwealth soldiers, whilst prevented by -their being disbanded from shaking the pillars of the State, were by -that very measure placed in circumstances which enabled them quietly -to exert an influence tending to undermine the foundations of the -Church. Officers and soldiers of Cromwell's are often noticed in the -informations laid against Dissenters during the next ten or fifteen -years; and it is because of the religious character of that Army, and -because of the numbers belonging to it, who afterwards appeared in the -ranks of Dissent, that I have stepped aside for a moment to allude to -an event of a military character. - -[Sidenote: 1660.] - -[Sidenote: ECCLESIASTICAL PROCEEDINGS IN PARLIAMENT.] - -Returning to our proper line of history we meet with certain -ecclesiastical results in the proceedings of Parliament. For a time -the Presbyterian element manifested itself in opposing Popery, and -in supporting the existing Church establishment; but signs of change -became apparent in the summer months, and Episcopalians began to -recover their long lost sway over the councils of the nation. The -following consequences ensued:-- - -I. The Commons debated the question of the Church's settlement, -expressing opinions and using arguments similar to those which had been -heard at the opening of the Long Parliament. Some members extolled -the Thirty-nine Articles, and dwelt upon the merits of Episcopalian -Government; some were opposed to Deans and Chapters, yet dealt -tenderly with Bishops; some were for Prelacy as of old; some advocated -moderate Episcopacy; and some indicated a lingering love for the Solemn -League and Covenant; others thought mere politicians were unfitted to -handle theological topics--that, as was oddly said, the judges had -sent for a falconer to give opinion in a case touching a hawk--so, on -the principle _quilibet in arte sua_, a synod of the Clergy ought to -be called, lest honourable members "should be like little boys, who, -learning to swim, go out of their reach, and are drowned." Twice it was -decided that the King should "convene a select number of Divines to -treat concerning that affair."[107] - -Much was thus deferred for the present; nevertheless, an Act speedily -passed, allowing present incumbents with undisputed titles to retain -their livings, yet restoring to his preferment every clergyman who -had been ejected under the Commonwealth, if he claimed re-induction, -provided he had not been implicated in the death of Charles I., and had -not discountenanced infant baptism.[108] - -[Sidenote: 1660.] - -In consequence of this, many clergymen, including Presbyterians -and Congregationalists, were immediately displaced, and dispersed -Episcopalians came back to their former abodes.[109] It is easier -to imagine than to describe the excitement attending this change. Not -only did sorrow fill the dismissed and joy inspire the reinstated, but -congregations, in many cases, deplored the contrast between the former -and the present occupant of the pulpit; whilst, also, many a squire -and yeoman hailed the reappearance of the Prayer Book, and welcomed -home some genial incumbent after his long and weary exile. Unseemly -contests were renewed in the House of God, such as had been witnessed -at the outbreak of the Civil Wars. As a Presbyterian at Halifax began -worship in his usual manner, the Episcopalian Vicar made his appearance -at the Church door, with the Prayer Book under his arm, and marching up -the aisle, clothed in his surplice, insisted upon entering the desk, -after which he read the Litany and sung the Te Deum. Joyous peals of -bells accompanied the return of the old clergy, and texts were selected -expressive of natural feelings on the occasion. One discoursed upon the -sufferings of himself and his brethren from the words, "The ploughers -ploughed upon my back; they made long their furrows. The Lord is -righteous; he hath cut asunder the cords of the wicked." Another, in a -milder spirit, selected this verse, "He that goeth forth and weepeth -bearing precious seed shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, -bringing his sheaves with him." An itinerating lecturer, with an income -of £50 a year, chose as a Restoration motto, "Let him take all;" which, -upon his losing his appointment, gave "occasion for a shrewd taunt -of the adversary."[110] Parish registers contain curious memorials of -the period. Thus one clergyman records his own story:--"Memorandum, -That John Whitford, Rector of Ashen, alias Ashton, in the County of -Northampton, was plundered and sequestered by a Committee of rebels, -sitting at Northampton, for his loyalty to his gracious sovereign, -of blessed memory, Charles I., in the year of our Lord 1645, and was -restored to his said Rectory in the twelfth year of the reign of -Charles II., in the year 1660."[111] - -[Sidenote: ECCLESIASTICAL PROCEEDINGS IN PARLIAMENT.] - -The Liturgy was reintroduced. It had been used in the service at -Canterbury Cathedral upon the occasion of the King's visit to that -city, on his way to London; and earlier still in the House of Lords, -two days after he had been proclaimed. It appeared in the Royal Chapel -immediately after his taking possession of Whitehall; and Evelyn, on -the 8th of July, records, that the Prayer Book was publicly read in -"churches, whence it had been for so many years banished." In a number -of parishes, however, between the Restoration and Bartholomew's day, -1662, ministers continued to carry on worship as they had done before; -either following the Directory or engaging in prayer as they pleased. - -[Sidenote: 1660.] - -II. Parliament took up in detail a variety of business connected with -the restoring of Cathedral and parochial edifices, the recovering of -what had been taken away, the reinstating of things in their former -condition, and the removing of alterations made by Nonconformists. For -example: upon a report from the Lords, appointed to compose differences -in the City of Exeter, it was ordered that certain churches, of which -a list is given, should be repaired at the charge of the respective -parishioners, and that all the bells, plate, utensils, and materials, -formerly belonging to those buildings, should be delivered to the -Churchwardens:--that money still unpaid for their purchase should not -be paid; and that bonds for payment should be given up; and that the -Chamber of Exeter should forthwith, at their own charge, take away -the partition wall built in the Cathedral, and the new-built seats in -the Choir, all the materials whereof were to be employed towards "the -making up again the churches which were defaced."[112] - -[Sidenote: ECCLESIASTICAL PROCEEDINGS IN PARLIAMENT.] - -III. Petitions came from the Universities, and the Upper House ordered -the Chancellors to take care that the Colleges should be governed -according to their statutes, and that persons unjustly ejected -should be restored to office.[113] Commissioners also were Royally -appointed to hear and determine all questions of claim, and they -were engaged through the months of August and September in restoring -such as were eligible to their former position as Fellows and Heads -of Houses. University honours were offered largely to such as -professed attachment to Episcopacy, and a numerous creation in all -faculties ensued.[114] Oxford and Cambridge immediately witnessed -great changes. Restored Episcopalians occupied the places of the -ejected, and the ancient forms of worship were at once resumed. The -use of the surplice in Parish Churches, by the Royal Declaration of -the 25th of October, fully noticed hereafter, was left at the option -of incumbents; but it was enjoined upon those who officiated in the -Royal Chapel, in Cathedrals, in Collegiate Churches, or in Colleges of -the Universities.[115] Yet, we learn from a letter written by Thomas -Smith, at Christ's College, Cambridge, November 2nd, 1660, that the -Puritanical party were still powerful there. "In your College," says -the writer, addressing Sancroft, afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury, -"half the Society are for the Liturgy and half against it; so it is -read one week and the Directory used another; but till the Directory be -laid aside, I believe no surplices will be worn."[116] - -During the progress of these measures, signs appeared in the House of -Commons of changes in the relative position of parties which could not -but entail important consequences. - -[Sidenote: 1660.] - -Upon the 30th of June a complaint reached Parliament--that a paper -had been printed, in His Majesty's name, authorizing the uniform -use of the Book of Common Prayer throughout the Realm: that a Form -of Service for the 28th of June, had been published as by Royal -authority: and that there had also appeared in print "a protestation of -the Bishops against proceedings of Parliament in their absence."[117] -This subject the Commons referred to a Committee, to ascertain how such -papers came to be printed, and by what authority. In this proceeding -may be traced the impress of Presbyterian influence, attempting to -preserve Presbyterian rights, and to resist the return of Episcopal -authority. Presently, a Bill was produced "for the maintenance of -the true Reformed Protestant religion, and for the suppression of -Popery, superstition, profaneness, and other disorders and innovations -in worship and ceremonies."[118] But it soon appeared that the -Episcopalian party had gained ground on the Presbyterians. - -Sharp, the Scotch agent, in a letter dated July the 7th, remarked: -"Some yesterday spoke in the House for Episcopacy, and Mr. Bampfield, -speaking against it, was hissed down. The English lawyers have given in -papers to show that the Bishops have not been outed by law. The cloud -is more dark than was apprehended. The Presbyterians are like to be -ground betwixt two millstones. The Papists and fanatics are busy."[119] - -[Sidenote: ECCLESIASTICAL PROCEEDINGS IN PARLIAMENT.] - -The fact is, that in the first instance, many Episcopalians had been -elected members of the Convention, and that their numbers increased -after the King's return as fresh elections occurred. They formed a -compact body, and made a vigorous opposition to the Puritans; an -opposition which, gradually increasing both in power and boldness, was -found by the latter too formidable to be overcome. Consequently, the -irresolute and the selfish amongst them, feeling alarmed, and seeing -which way the wind blew, began to sail on a new tack, and to follow -those who were making towards a safe harbour. Many members became, in -a few months, as staunch in the maintenance of the Episcopal Church as -they had ever been in the cause of the Presbyterian Covenant. - -When the ecclesiastical business of the Session had been transacted, -the King, in the month of September, after giving his assent to various -Bills, made a speech to the two Houses, followed by another of great -length from the lips of Clarendon, the Lord Chancellor, who on that, as -well as on other occasions, showed a talent for sermonizing which would -not have disgraced a Bishop. - -A large proportion of what had been Church property existed in a very -unsatisfactory state. It had been disposed of by the Long Parliament or -the Commonwealth Government in the form of rewards for service and of -sales for money. Was it now to revert at once to its previous uses? If -so, should not some compensation be made to the present possessors or -occupiers? - -[Sidenote: 1660.] - -Ecclesiastical claimants argued, that such property had been illegally -secularized, and that those who had received it had taken it with all -the risks of a bad title. In justice to the Convention it should be -remarked, that it passed a resolution favourable to the rights of those -who had purchased Church lands on the faith of the Parliament;[120] -and, in justice to Charles II., that he issued a Commission in -November, 1660, to inquire into the history of such transactions. -This Commission was authorized to compose differences between the -Bishops and the purchasers of estates, the direction being, that -Archbishops, Bishops, and other ecclesiastical persons were to accept -such reasonable conditions as should be tendered to them by the -Commissioners on behalf of such purchasers; and that they would do no -act to the prejudice of any purchasers, by granting new or concurrent -leases whereby their existing interest or position might be injured, -while the same was under deliberation, and until His Majesty's pleasure -should be further known.[121] In accordance with the spirit of this -Commission the King dealt leniently with those who had become possessed -of Crown property; and this circumstance, which was creditable to him, -caused the course adopted by the authorities of the Church to appear -the more reprehensible. The Resolution passed by the Convention came -to nothing, upon the dissolution of that Assembly; and the holders -of Church lands, unprotected by Parliament, and left to the mercy of -clerical claimants, experienced severe treatment.[122] Old incumbents, -writhing under the remembrance of wrong, and seeking compensation for -their losses, refused compensation to their enemies, and made the best -bargain they could for themselves. - -[Sidenote: ECCLESIASTICAL PROCEEDINGS IN PARLIAMENT.] - -It is convenient in this connection to allude to a change in certain -privileges which indirectly affected, to some extent, the revenues -of the Church. Amongst feudal rights were those of tenures by -Knight's-service, including the benefits of marriages, reliefs, and -wardships. Though the profits derived from the Court of Wards were -casual, they amounted sometimes to a considerable sum, but these -and other contingent revenues were, by a Parliamentary arrangement, -withdrawn from the Sovereign, and in lieu of the income thus forfeited, -one moiety of the excise became settled on the Crown. The Act affected -the revenues of the Church, and of this circumstance a remarkable -illustration is afforded by a paper in the Record Office, in which the -Bishop of Durham complains of a loss of £2,000 through the abolition of -these courts.[123] - -[Sidenote: 1660.] - -In connection with this reference to Episcopal revenues, it may be -stated that at the Restoration nine Bishops of the old ecclesiastical -_régime_ were still alive. These were--Juxon, Bishop of London; Wren, -of Ely; Piers, of Bath and Wells; Skinner, of Oxford; Roberts, of -Bangor; Warner, of Rochester; King, of Chichester; Duppa, of Salisbury; -and Frewen, of Lichfield and Coventry. They considered themselves, and, -by their own Church they were regarded, as having a title to resume -the episcopates from which they had been ejected. But whilst things -remained in a transition state they seem to have acted with caution. -Without a repeal of the Act of Charles I., which disqualified them for -sitting in the House of Lords, they could not resume their seats. Nor -until the purchasers of their episcopal estates were dispossessed, -could they recover their property; nor, for a while, could they -obtain possession of their palaces, or enter upon the possession -of their sees. Those who were boldest in maintaining the theory, -that the Episcopal Church at the Restoration resumed its rights and -prerogatives, could not at once reduce that theory to practice. - -It may be added that new Bishops were appointed to vacant sees; some -account of their consecration, their history, and character, will be -given hereafter. - -[Sidenote: PREFERMENTS.] - -Throughout the latter half of the year 1660 and onwards, applications -by Episcopalian clergymen to be restored to their benefices, or to be -favoured with higher preferment, were as numerous as they were urgent. -They occur amongst the _State Papers_ of that period, in all sorts of -connections; and one volume of them alone--assigned in the Calendar -to the month of August, 1660--contains no less than 143 documents of -this description. One clergyman beseeches the King to recommend him to -the Dean and Chapter of York, as Vicar-General of the diocese during a -vacancy, the petitioner having suffered by resisting both the Covenant -and the Engagement. A second begs the Deanery of Lichfield, he having -lost a valuable living given him at Oxford by the late King as a reward -for his loyalty. A third applies for the Archdeaconry of Hereford. A -fourth prefers his claim to the Archdeaconry of Chester, on the ground -of having been deprived and plundered for constancy in maintaining the -doctrine and discipline of the Church. - -There are many petitions for prebends, one from a clergyman who -appears to have been a wit, for he begs the reversion of the next -stall in Worcester Cathedral; only excepting that connected with the -Margaret Professorship of Divinity--saying, that "though not likely -to receive benefit thereby on account of his age, yet having long -waited, as the cripple at the pool of Bethesda, it will comfort him -to think that he dies cousin-german to some preferment." Another -pleads, with some humour, that having sacrificed liberty to duty, he -must now forfeit it in another way, even for debt, unless aided by -His Majesty's generosity.[124] To most of these forms of application -there are annexed certificates from various persons, particularly Dr. -Sheldon, who seems to have taken a great deal of trouble to promote -the interests of his clerical brethren. The hopes and fears which -at other times agitate two or three candidates are, at a general -election, multiplied by hundreds all over the kingdom; so at the -Restoration,--what commonly is a flutter amongst a few aspirants after -ecclesiastical promotion, was then the experience of multitudes at the -same moment; and perhaps there never were before or since, within the -same compass of time, so many clergymen on the tip-toe of expectation, -doomed of course, in many cases, to utter disappointment. - - - - - CHAPTER V. - - -[Sidenote: MEETINGS OF PRESBYTERIANS.] - -Soon after the King's return the Earl of Manchester employed his -influence, as Lord Chamberlain, in the appointment of ten or twelve -Presbyterian chaplains at Court; of these only four--Reynolds, Calamy, -Spurstow, and Baxter--ever had the honour of ministering before His -Majesty.[125] Baxter states that there was no profit connected with -the distinction; and that not "a man of them all ever received, or -expected a penny for the salary of their places." But if the office -brought no pay to himself, he was anxious it should bring profit to -the Church; and, therefore, he employed the influence, which his -chaplaincy gave him, to promote such measures as he thought conducive -to the advancement of religion. He suggested to the Earl, and to -Lord Broghill, a conference, for what he called "agreement," or -"coalition;"[126] and as Calamy, Reynolds, and Ash, concurred in his -views, he procured an arrangement in the month of June for himself, and -his brethren in office, to meet their Royal master, with Clarendon, the -Earl of St. Albans, and other noble persons, at the house of the Lord -Chamberlain. - -[Sidenote: 1660.] - -When they met, Baxter, with characteristic ardour and pathos, delivered -a long address, probably such as Charles had never listened to before, -although he had heard much plain speaking on the other side the Tweed. -The Puritan Divine besought His Majesty's aid in favour of union, -urging, that it would be a blessed work to promote holiness and -concord; and, "whereas there were differences between them and their -brethren about some ceremonies or discipline of the Church," he "craved -His Majesty's favour for the ending of those differences, it being -easy for him to interpose, that so the people might not be deprived of -their faithful pastors, nor [have] ignorant, scandalous, unworthy ones -obtruded on them." Baxter also expressed a hope that the King would -never suffer himself to undo the good which Cromwell, or any other, -had done, because they were usurpers that did it, "but that he would -rather outgo them in doing good." Then, with exquisite simplicity, the -speaker went on to say that common people judged of governors by their -conduct; and took him to be the best who did the most good, and him to -be the worst who did the most harm. He hoped that the freedom of his -expressions might be pardoned, as they were "extracted by the present -necessity;" and he further declared that he was pleading for no one -party in particular, but for the interests of religion at large. In -concluding his address he urged the great advantage which union would -prove to His Majesty, to the people, and to the Bishops; and showed how -easily that blessing might be secured, by insisting only upon necessary -things, by providing for the exercise of Church discipline, and by not -casting out faithful ministers, "nor obtruding unworthy men on the -people."[127] The whole speech was pitched in a key of earnestness -beyond the sympathy of him to whom it was addressed; there was in it, -nevertheless, a charm to which the easy-tempered Charles might not -be insensible, and with his usual politeness, he professed himself -gratified by any approach being made towards agreement. He, at the same -time, remarked that there ought to be abatements on both sides, and a -meeting midway; adding, that he had resolved to see the thing brought -to pass, indeed, that he would himself draw the parties together. Upon -listening to this Royal pledge, Mr. Ash, one of the chaplains, was so -affected that he burst into tears. - -[Sidenote: PRESBYTERIAN PROPOSALS.] - -Baxter and his associates were requested to draw up proposals for -consideration at a future conference, to which they consented, with -the understanding, that for the present they could only speak for -themselves, and not as representatives of others. They also craved, -that if concessions were granted on one side, concessions should be -granted on the other. To this Charles agreed. - -Meetings were accordingly held immediately afterwards at Sion -College--meetings prolonged from day to day. By general invitation -both city and country ministers attended, including Dr. Worth, -afterwards made an Irish Bishop, and Mr. Fulwood, subsequently -appointed Archdeacon of Totness.[128] - -Difficulties arose of a nature necessarily accompanying all debates; -for, as Baxter says, that which seemed the most convenient expression -to one, seemed inconvenient to another, and those who agreed as to -matter had much ado in agreeing as to words. The latter might be true -to some extent, but in all probability the discussions at Sion College -resembled others elsewhere, in which men have agreed as to words, in -order to cover some very important difference as to things. At last the -brethren resolved to make the following proposals:-- - -That their flocks should have liberty of worship; that they should have -godly pastors; that no persons should be admitted to the Lord's table -except upon a credible profession of faith; and that care should be -taken to secure the sanctification of the Lord's Day. For "matters in -difference, viz., Church government, Liturgy, and ceremonies"--they -professed not to dislike Episcopacy, or the true ancient primitive -presidency, as it was balanced and managed, with a due commixture -of Presbyters; yet they omitted not to state what they conceived to -be amiss in the Episcopal government, as practised before the year -1640--specifying the too great extent of the Bishop's diocese, their -employment of officials instead of personal oversight, the absorption -by prelates of the functions of ordination and government, and the -exercise of arbitrary power in spiritual rule. They proposed, as a -remedy, Ussher's scheme of suffragan Bishops and diocesan synods, -the associations not to "be so large as to make the discipline -impossible;" and they requested that no oaths of obedience to Bishops -should be necessary for ordination; and that Bishops should not -exercise authority at their pleasure, but only according to such rules -and canons as should be established by Act of Parliament. They were -satisfied concerning the lawfulness of a Liturgy, but they objected -to the Prayer Book, as having in it many things justly offensive and -needing amendment. - -[Sidenote: 1660.] - -It may be stated here, that all these proposals took the form of a -direct address to His Majesty; and in reference to ceremonies, the -memorialists heartily acknowledged His Majesty "to be _Custos utriusque -tabulæ_, and to be supreme governor over all persons, and in all things -and causes as well ecclesiastical as civil." After this they besought -him to consider, as a Christian magistrate, whether he felt not -obliged, by the apostle's rule, touching things indifferent, to act so -as not to occasion an offence to weak brethren. They therefore prayed -that kneeling at the sacrament, and such holydays as are of human -institution, might not be imposed; and that the use of the surplice, -the cross in baptism, and bowing at the name of Jesus, might be -abolished.[129] Objections to these practices had become traditional. -They had been urged throughout the reign of Queen Elizabeth--they were -specified in the Millenary Petition presented to King James. It should -be added, that neither in this paper, nor in any of the conferences -which followed, did the ministers plead for the establishment of -Presbyterianism. "I leave it here on record," says Baxter, "to the -notice of posterity, that to the best of my knowledge, the Presbyterian -cause was never spoken for, nor were they ever heard to petition for -it at all." All they sought was a reduced Episcopacy.[130] - -[Sidenote: THE PRELATES' ANSWER.] - -When Baxter and his friends attended the next meeting with the King, -expecting to find the Episcopalians prepared with some concessions, -he "saw not a man of them, nor any papers from them of that nature." -Still Charles showed himself gracious, promising, after all, to bring -the Bishops together, and get them to yield something; at the same time -expressing gratification with the Presbyterians' address, especially -with their expressed willingness to adopt a Liturgy.[131] Instead -of the desired conference being granted, a written answer came from -the prelates, to the chaplains.[132] In this answer we find that the -prelates begin by turning to their own advantage the concessions of -the Presbyterians. The Presbyterians agreed with the Episcopalians -in doctrine. Why should they be so scrupulous about minor matters? -Such is the tone of the paper, and it is the habitual Episcopalian -temper throughout, even in its least unfriendly moods. Professing a -willingness to reform what had been objectionable in time past, or -what might be inconvenient for the future, the Bishops defended the -constitution and usages of their own Church before the Wars, and -treated "Ussher's Reduction," so called, as inconsistent with other -discourses of the learned prelate. After extolling the Liturgy, they -remarked--"nor are ministers denied the use and exercise of their -gifts in praying before and after sermon, although such praying be -but the continuance of a custom of no great antiquity." Had this -sentence meant, that scope should be given for free, as well as for -liturgical, worship--that clergymen should be allowed to pray at Church -_extempore_, as well as _read_ prayers, the concession would have -been most important; subsequent events, however, show that such was -not the meaning, and also that the following passage, which might be -construed as granting much, signified little, or nothing--"If anything -in the established Liturgy shall be made appear to be justly offensive -to sober persons, we are not at all unwilling that the same should be -changed." With regard to ceremonies, they now seemed to concede what -they afterwards refused to allow. "How far forth, in regard of tender -consciences, a liberty may be thought fit to be indulged to any, His -Majesty, according to his great wisdom and goodness, is best able to -judge." - -[Sidenote: 1660.] - -The Presbyterians were not slow in offering a defence of their own -proposals, and a remonstrance against the replies. Some of Baxter's -companions were for giving up further attempts in despair; but he, -although not sanguine, determined to persevere, for reasons which -deserve to be remembered. After calling to mind that Christians were -commanded, if possible, to live peaceably with all men;--that failure -in the negotiations going on was not inevitable;--and that no political -apprehensions need be entertained respecting Nonconformists, because -even if they were far more numerous than they really were, yet they -abhorred "all thoughts of sedition and rebellion,"--he ended the -vindication of his policy in the following noble words:--"I looked to -the end of all these actions, and the chief things that moved me, next -the pleasing of God and conscience is, that when we are all silenced -and persecuted--and the history of these things shall be delivered to -posterity--it will be a just blot upon us if we suffer as refusing to -sue for peace; and it will be our just vindication, when it shall -appear that we humbly petitioned for and earnestly pursued after peace, -and came as near them for the obtaining it as Scripture and reason will -allow us to do, and were ready to do anything for peace except to sin -and damn our souls."[133] "Let God be judge between you and me," had -been Oliver's words when he dismissed his last intractable Parliament, -thus appealing to Heaven and posterity. To the same tribunal Baxter was -prepared to remit his own controversy with his Anglican brethren. - -[Sidenote: THE CONTROVERSY.] - -It looked at first as if the Presbyterians had really made some -impression on their opponents; at least Clarendon was willing, that -just then, they should think so. On the 4th of September he sent them -the draft of a Royal Declaration of Indulgence. It did not satisfy -Baxter; and he, therefore, wrote an elaborate reply, which was altered -at the suggestion of some of his friends.[134] The reply took the -shape of a petition to the King; yet it was such an immoderately long -dissertation that the idea of Charles reading it through is perfectly -amusing. No man except a guileless one could have written the paper, -but the paper betrayed an utter want of tact and judgment. - -[Sidenote: 1660.] - -[Sidenote: THE CONTROVERSY.] - -An opportunity had arisen in the history of the Church of England for -healing a wound which had been bleeding ever since the Reformation. -A moment had arrived, calling upon the two great parties, into which -that Church had been so long divided, to look at their differences in -the light of wisdom and charity. But the history of mankind presents -so many misimproved conjunctions of circumstances, that students of -the past become familiar with lost opportunities, and are almost -hardened against the sorrow which they inspire in the bosoms of more -benevolent but less experienced persons. It is useless to speculate -upon the probable issue, at the period under review, if the settlement -of affairs had been approached in another kind of spirit. It is more -practical to endeavour to understand how things really stood; and it -will enable the reader to follow the controversy better, if we here -pause for a moment to look distinctly at deep differences which lay -around narrow discussions, and to show what were some of the salient -points which presented themselves in relation to the larger question. -The Presbyterians, with great confidence, carried their cause before -the tribunal of Scripture, and showed from their own point of view, -that for their fundamental doctrine of the official equality of -all Christian ministers they had on their side the law of the New -Testament; for they maintained that on its pages the terms Bishop and -Presbyter are interchangeably used, and that no traces of a clerical -hierarchy are to be found in the inspired records. Turning to Church -history, from the third century to the seventeenth, they easily -gathered proofs and illustrations of the growth of ecclesiastical -usurpation; of the change of primitive Episcopacy into an elaborate -system of spiritual despotism; of the rise of Archbishops and -Patriarchs; of the pride, the power, the ambition, and the wealth of -prelates; of the tyranny they exercised over civil society; of the -corruptions of all kinds which gathered round the perverted institute; -and of the tendency from bad to worse, which exists in all cases -where men are not careful to preserve the simplicity of Christ. The -state of England in the time of Archbishop Laud was a subject upon -which they were able to dwell with great force. They showed the cruel -oppression endured by holy men, at the hands of prelates, who sought -to revive in this country the ceremonies renounced, and the doctrines -condemned at the Reformation; and they insisted upon the obvious fact -that the Church was then in danger of becoming thoroughly Romanized, -under the pernicious culture of superstitious teachers. The Revolution -accomplished by the Long Parliament, the Presbyterians were prepared -to defend as a political and ecclesiastical necessity, arising out -of previous corruptions; whilst they pointed, with satisfaction -and thankfulness, to the progress of spiritual religion under the -Commonwealth, in spite of sectarianism, and the other evils of the -times,--all of which they condemned, and deplored quite as much as -any of the Episcopalian clergy could do. Ecclesiastical discipline in -the parishes of England--for attempting which they had been so much -blamed--the Presbyterians could show, rested on a principle conceded -by Prelatists; and though it failed to produce all the fruits which -its administrators could wish, yet it had turned many a town and -village from a wilderness into a garden of the Lord. And when they -contended against the Prelacy of former days, and protested against -its restoration they distinctly stated, as we have seen, that they had -no objection to a modified Episcopacy, to the rule of a Bishop, with -his co-Presbyters, over dioceses of such dimensions as would admit -of careful oversight and efficient rule; nor did they condemn all -liturgies--not even the Book of Common Prayer, if certain things in -the formularies and the rubric, which they and their Puritan fathers -had complained of as superstitious, were now altered. The Presbyterian -party, moreover, professed the most affectionate loyalty to the Crown, -and the warmest attachment to the English Constitution; and in support -of that profession could point to valuable services rendered by them -at the Restoration. Lastly, they were in possession of incumbencies, -to which they had been introduced according to the law of the land, -some of them before the late troubles began. They had been educated at -the Universities, had been many of them episcopally ordained, had led -quiet lives in their respective parishes, had preached the Gospel for -many long years, and had gathered round them large and affectionate -congregations. Hence they urged, that for them now to suffer expulsion, -to be turned adrift on the wide world without subsistence, to be -silenced, and to have an end put to their spiritual influence, would -be, in the sight of the world, of the Church, and of God, a burning -shame. - -[Sidenote: 1660.] - -[Sidenote: THE CONTROVERSY.] - -The Episcopalians also, looking at the matter on the other side, had -something to say. They prized the past History of the Church, and -esteemed it of great importance to stand in the relation of successors -to the Christian teachers of antiquity. Their theory was that the -Church of England had not been established in the reign of Elizabeth or -Henry, but had then been only reformed; that it constituted part of the -_Catholic_ Church, of which Rome had unjustly usurped the name, without -possessing the attribute. Their formularies they traced back through -mediæval times. For their doctrines they claimed the support of early -Councils and Fathers. They pointed to the great antiquity of their -orders, to the diocesan Bishops of the second century, and of every -century since; and were prepared to argue, that the early prevalence -of the distinction between Bishops and Presbyters is a presumptive -proof of its having been sanctioned by apostolic authority. As to the -evils flowing from Prelacy, the advocates of it would maintain that -the abuse of a system is one thing, and the system itself another; -that, although in the Middle Ages, in the Church of Rome, Prelacy had -been made the instrument of immense mischief, this fact had nothing -to do with the present controversy, the subject in dispute being not -Popish Episcopalianism, but the Episcopalianism of the Reformed Church -of England--the Episcopalianism of Ridley and Parker. Such Prelacy, -the Bishops and their friends could irresistibly maintain to have been -part and parcel of the law of England since the Reformation down to the -Civil Wars; and, at the same time, they could point to the recognition -of the rights of Spiritual Peers in the Constitution of this country -from the early Saxon period--the legal or constitutional argument -being the great bulwark of the Episcopalian cause, when treated as a -social or political question. The ecclesiastical changes accomplished -by the Long Parliament, were, in the eyes of Royalist and Anglican -Churchmen, perfectly unconstitutional, illegal, and nugatory--for, in -the accomplishment of them, one House had virtually done everything, -the remnant of the Lords being mere ciphers; and the King, so far from -having sanctioned the overthrow of the ancient Church, had protested -against it, even unto death. With the Restoration, it was said again -and again, came back the old Constitution of King, Lords, and Commons; -and with that Constitution the Reformed Episcopacy and Prayer Book of -England. The gravest and most forcible of all the allegations which -the men now claiming their former position could bring against their -opponents was, that they, in their turn, had been as exclusive as it -was possible for any class to be. The Presbyterians, in the day of -their power, had shown no consideration whatever for their Episcopalian -neighbours. They had ruled with a high hand, and those who differed -from them had experienced no mercy. They had proscribed the Prayer -Book, and had vilified it in all kinds of ways--that very Prayer Book -which now, with certain alterations, they would not decline to use. -They had persecuted some of the very persons to whose candour and -generosity they now appealed; also, they had been Commissioners for -casting out scandalous ministers, and had assisted to expel some, from -whom now, they were asking the privilege of continued ministration, -with its emoluments, as an act of strict justice, or, at least, of -reasonable favour. Besides, the Anglicans charged the Puritans with -narrow-mindedness, with sticking at trifles, with making mountains -of mole-hills, with cherishing scruples about points which involved -no principle--in short, with being under the influence of prejudice -and obstinacy. And then, beyond all other things which separated -Episcopalians from their brethren, was a certain element of feeling in -some--not in Sheldon, but in Cosin and Thorndike, and Heylyn,--which -gave a mystical tinge to their views of matter in relation to mind, and -which was the soul of their distinctive sacramental theology.[135] - -[Sidenote: 1660.] - -Such were the religious, theological, and ecclesiastical differences -between the two parties, to which must be added strong political -antagonism for the last twenty years. That antagonism has been -described in my former volumes. It will reappear in these. - -Thus the two parties looked upon the question in dispute from their -own point of view, influenced by past circumstances and by personal -prejudices, after the manner of most controversialists. - -Both are chargeable with faults of reasoning, and faults of temper. -Each made too much of little things: one in enforcing them for the -sake of order, the other in objecting to them as sins against God. -The strong despised the weak. The weak condemned the strong. Neither -mastered the lessons of St. Paul.[136] Yet the two were by no means -equally blameable. More of Christian consideration and charity is -discernible on the Puritan than on the other side, although even the -Puritans had not attained to the exercise of that rare sympathy by -which one man penetrates into the soul of another, making him as it -were a second self,--by which process alone can a man subdue prejudice -and win his brother over to that which he believes to be the truth. - -[Sidenote: THE CONTROVERSY.] - -It is necessary also to bear in mind this circumstance, that both -parties were advocates for a national establishment of religion. -Each party fixed its thoughts upon one society in which substantial -uniformity of government and worship should be maintained--one -society engrossing patronage and absorbing emoluments. It requires -some effort for persons familiar only with modern phases of thought, -thoroughly to enter into the ideas of the seventeenth century, and -accurately to apprehend and estimate the views which were then current. -Ecclesiastical controversy has undergone an immense change since that -day; and could those who met together, as about to be described, now -rise from the dead, it would be difficult for them to comprehend -the position into which the Church questions of our age seem to be -drifting.[137] - -Remembering all this we proceed with our history. - -[Sidenote: 1660.] - -[Sidenote: WORCESTER HOUSE DECLARATION.] - -There was a house in the Strand known as Worcester House. It had -belonged to the Bishops of Carlisle; it had been bestowed on the -Bedford family; it had been transferred to the author of the _Century -of Inventions_, whose family title of Marquis of Worcester, gave it -its name; and it had been fitted up by the Long Parliament for the -reception of the Scotch Commissioners. By a turn in the wheel of -fortune, which, at the Restoration, brought about so many changes, -this residence had come once more into the possession of the Marquis, -and he had lent it to Lord Chancellor Clarendon, as a residence, -without requiring "one penny rent." The mansion, over which had fallen -such varying shadows--and which had been designed to accommodate the -deputation in 1643 from the Presbyterians of Scotland--now appeared -as the scene of important negotiations between the Court and the -Presbyterians of England. - -Clarendon proposed a meeting of the two parties upon the 22nd of -October. It was a time of great excitement in London, for the execution -of the regicides--which will be noticed hereafter--had only just -taken place; and, through the fortitude with which some of them had -suffered, a reaction of feeling had arisen, and people had become -disgusted with such bloody spectacles. His Majesty was present in the -Chancellor's mansion, with the Dukes of Albemarle and Ormond, the Earls -of Manchester and Anglesea, Lord Holles, and the Bishops of London, -Worcester, Salisbury, Durham, Exeter,[138] and Lichfield and Coventry. -Presently were ushered into the apartment--fitted up in the style of -the seventeenth century, with costly furniture and superb decorations, -for Clarendon lived like a prince--the following Presbyterian -Divines--Reynolds, Spurstow, Wallis, Manton, Ash, and Baxter. Their -Puritan habits contrasted obviously with the costume of the Courtiers -and the Bishops, and would be eyed, we imagine, rather oddly by the -pages as they announced their entrance. No disputing was to be allowed; -the Lord Chancellor was simply to read over his revised Declaration, -and as he advanced, the two parties were simply to declare their -approbation or their disapproval. The particulars of the interview are -too long for insertion; but we may observe, that after many comments -upon Clarendon's paper, and after much conversation respecting the -subjects of Episcopal power, and of reordination, the Chancellor drew -out of his pocket another paper, observing, that the King had been -asked by Independents and Anabaptists to grant toleration. He therefore -proposed to insert in the document which had been read, a clause to -the effect, that persons not members of the endowed Church should be -permitted to meet for religious worship, provided they did not disturb -the public peace. A pause followed. "The Presbyterians all perceived," -says Baxter, "that it would secure the liberty of the Papists." Dr. -Wallis whispered to him to be silent, and to leave the Bishops to give -an answer. But the eager disputant could not hold his tongue. "I only -said this," he reports, "that this reverend brother, Dr. Gunning, even -now speaking against sects, had named the Papists and the Socinians. -For our parts, we desired not favour to ourselves alone, and rigorous -severity we desired against none! As we humbly thanked His Majesty for -his indulgence to ourselves, so we distinguish the tolerable parties -from the intolerable. For the former, we humbly crave just lenity and -favour; but, for the latter, such as the two sorts named before by -that reverend brother, for our parts we cannot make their toleration -our request. To which His Majesty said, that there were laws enough -against the Papists; and I replied, that we understood the question to -be, whether those laws should be executed on them, or not. And so His -Majesty brake up the meeting of that day."[139] - -[Sidenote: 1660.] - -No doubt Charles looked as grave and as gracious as possible whilst -he talked at Worcester House with Baxter and his brethren; and, -although His Majesty alarmed his auditors by a reference to laws -against Papists, he took care not to betray the utter hollowness of his -professed zeal for Protestantism. So far as he had any sincere desire -to grant an indulgence, it was not on behalf of Protestants, but on -behalf of other persons whom Protestants most disliked. Puritans were -to him troublesome people, whom he had to keep quiet as long as he -could; and, in the meantime, he seems to have wished to use them as -tools for producing the liberty which the Papists craved. - -[Sidenote: WORCESTER HOUSE DECLARATION.] - -[Sidenote: 1660.] - -Baxter went home dejected; two or three days afterwards, however, as -he was walking in the City, amidst the din of carts and coaches, and -the confusion of London cries, he heard a boy bawling at the top of -his voice, that he had on sale copies of the King's new Declaration. -He bought one of the sheets, and stepped into a shop to peruse the -contents. The King, he found, commended in the highest terms the Church -of England; and also acknowledged the moderation of the Presbyterians; -he then proceeded to enumerate a series of concessions, which he had -not the least doubt that the present Bishops would think "just and -reasonable," and "very cheerfully conform themselves thereunto:"--That -none should be presented to Bishoprics but men of learning, virtue, and -piety; that suffragans should be appointed in the larger Dioceses; that -the censures of the Church should not be inflicted without the advice -and assistance of Presbyters, who should aid Bishops, Chancellors, and -Archdeacons, in their respective offices; and that Confirmation should -be rightly and solemnly performed:--that no Bishop should exercise any -arbitrary power; that the Liturgy should be revised; but, that until -the revision was effected, the unexceptionable portion of it should -be used; that no existing ceremonies in the Church should be at once -formally abolished; but, to gratify the private consciences of those -who were grieved with the use of some of them, they should be dispensed -with for the present; the final decision being left to a national -Synod, to be duly called after a little time, when mutual conversation -between persons of different persuasions should have mollified those -distempers, abated those sharpnesses, and extinguished those jealousies -which made men unfit for such consultation. The sign of the cross in -baptism, bowing at the name of Jesus, the use of the surplice, and the -oath of canonical obedience, were things not to be enforced, but to be -left to individual opinion and choice. The King concluded, by renewing -his Declaration from Breda, for the liberty of tender consciences, -and by expressing hopes for the unity of the Church, the prosperity -of religion, and the peace and happiness of the nation.[140] This -Declaration went a long way towards meeting the views of moderate -Presbyterians, and seemed at first to supply a basis on which a scheme -of comprehension might have been reared. It is expressed in a tone -utterly different from that adopted by the Bishops. It might well -lead some Presbyterians to believe that the hour of union had come. -Baxter found that suggestions made by himself and his friends, at the -Worcester House Conference, had been adopted in the Declaration; and, -on the whole, he felt pleased with the document. On the day that it -appeared, he received from the Lord Chancellor an offer of a Bishopric. -He replied, that if this offer had come before his seeing the -Declaration, he should have declined it at once; now, however, he said, -"I take myself, for the Churches' sake, exceedingly beholden to his -Lordship for those moderations; and my desire to promote the happiness -of the Church, which that moderation tendeth to, doth make me resolve -to take that course which tendeth most thereto; but whether to take a -Bishopric be the way I was in doubt, and desired some farther time of -consideration; but if His Lordship would procure us the settlement of -the matter of that Declaration, by passing it into a law, I promised -him to take that way in which I might most serve the public peace." -Soon afterwards Baxter made up his mind to decline the proffered -honour, partly on personal, partly on ecclesiastical grounds.[141] He -tells us, indeed, that he disapproved of the "Old Diocesan frame," and -feared that, as a Bishop, he might have work to do contrary to his -conscience; but he also particularly expresses the feeling that the -Episcopal office would draw him aside from those works of theological -authorship, for which he believed he had a special fitness, and a -divine mission. - -[Sidenote: WORCESTER HOUSE DECLARATION.] - -Reynolds, at the same time, was offered the Bishopric of Norwich, and -accepted it. For this he was then reproached, and has often since -been severely blamed. Yet Baxter persuaded him to take this step, -advising him to declare, that he did so upon the terms of the Royal -Declaration, and that he would resign if these terms were withdrawn. -Reynolds read to his friend a paper which he had prepared for His -Majesty's hands, stating that he believed a Bishop was only a chief -Presbyter, and ought not to ordain or govern but with the assistance -of his co-Presbyters,--such being the doctrine according to which he -was prepared to take his seat on the Bench. Whether he actually did -present such a paper, Baxter could not tell.[142] - -[Sidenote: 1660.] - -The ecclesiastical weather had suddenly changed. The clouds were -breaking. The sun began to shine. Conciliation had become the order of -the day. Calamy was offered the Bishopric, and Bates the Deanery of -Lichfield; Manton the Deanery of Rochester, and Bowles that of York. -Other preferments were left vacant for awhile, professedly with the -hope that they might be accepted by Presbyterians. The see of Carlisle -was intended for Dr. Gilpin;[143] and a fortnight after the Declaration -had been issued, Diplomas were conferred at Cambridge, by Royal -mandate, on Bates, Jacomb, and Wilde.[144] - -To reciprocate these friendly approaches, some Presbyterians, but -not those who had met at Worcester House, prepared an address to His -Majesty.[145] - -They craved leave to profess, that though all things in the frame -of government were not exactly to their minds, yet His Majesty's -moderation had so great an influence upon them, that they had -determined to use their utmost endeavour to heal the breaches, and to -promote the peace and union of the Church. They begged of His Majesty, -that _reordination_ and the _surplice_ in Colleges might not be -imposed, and they hoped God would incline his heart to gratify their -desires.[146] The Address was presented on the 16th of November by -Samuel Clarke, of St. Bennett Fink. This fair weather was of short -continuance. The sun was soon concealed again. The clouds returned -after the rain. Suspicions respecting the sincerity of the Declaration -increased; from the beginning, some had been dissatisfied with it. The -treatment it finally received from the Commons, under the exercise of -Court influence, shows the real character of the whole affair; we must -therefore enter the House, and watch its proceedings. - -[Sidenote: WORCESTER HOUSE DECLARATION.] - -Nothing could exceed the gratitude expressed by the Speaker of the -House of Commons, in the name of the members, for His Majesty's -Declaration.[147] Yet, three days before he did so, it had been -significantly proposed that the Book of Common Prayer should be used -in the daily worship of the House, little objection being made to this -proposal. The prevalent opinion appeared to be in favour of a form, and -"the Speaker excused the minister from any more service, till the form -was ordered."[148] - -A Bill, founded upon the Declaration, followed upon the 28th of -November. The arguments adduced in its favour were to the effect--that -without a Bill the Declaration would be ineffective; that it was -fitting to alter many things in the Liturgy; that the present business -was of the highest concernment to the glory of God and the peace of the -nation; that the ceremonies of the Church were not of such importance -as to justify another war; that some indulgence ought to be granted -to those who "ventured their lives for the good of all;" and that the -passing of the measure would not vex the Bishops at all, because they -were with the King at the framing of the Declaration. Prynne thought -that it would be astonishing if, after thanking the King for issuing -the document, the House rejected the Bill, which had been founded upon -it. But many, who approved of the Declaration, spoke against the Bill. -They said it was contrary to precedent to turn a Royal Edict into an -Act of Parliament; that it was not the King's desire; and that it -would dissatisfy the Roman Catholics. Secretary Morrice is reported to -have spoken ambiguously, and to have concluded his speech by advising -that the Bill should be laid aside: 183 voted against it, and 157 for -it.[149] - -[Sidenote: 1660.] - -The Declaration, it must be acknowledged, was so obviously a temporary -expedient, and of so provisional a nature, that there seemed room -to oppose a Bill like this, framed "for making the King's Majesty's -Declaration touching ecclesiastical affairs effectual." Preparatory -steps needed to be taken before a complete Church for the future could -be established. Yet, if the leaders of the House had been sincerely -bent upon a conciliatory policy, they might easily have contrived some -measure for that purpose. - -[Sidenote: WORCESTER HOUSE DECLARATION.] - -[Sidenote: 1660.] - -The course pursued by the Commons may be explained. Out of doors -a strong feeling was making itself heard in favour of such -Episcopalianism as existed in the days of Elizabeth. At the moment -of the King's return much talk of moderation had been heard from -politic men in the Church. Even Sheldon then spoke of charity when -preaching before the King in the month of June:[150] but now the tone -of the principal clergy altered, and before the end of the year a -specimen of the change occurs in a consecration sermon, in which it -is declared that "the work of the Bishops was not so much to convert -infidels as to confute heretics and schismatics."[151] In addition -to the growing strength and boldness of the Episcopalians, there was -another cause for the defeat of the Bill. Clarendon states that, in -the summer, when the Grand Committee entered upon the settlement of -the question of religion, "_the King desired no more than that they -should do nothing, being sure that in a little time he should himself -do the work best_;"[152] he wished to have the matter under his own -control; and Secretary Nicholas, writing to Sir Henry Bennet, informed -him that Parliament would meet with better hope of success because the -King had "removed the main bone of division, by _taking into his own -hand the great point of Church Government_."[153] It is plain that -Charles felt an aversion to any Act of Parliament whatever upon the -subject; it is also plain that the Commons were in some way induced -to act accordingly. "When the Parliament," says the noble historian, -"came together again after their adjournment they gave the King public -thanks for his Declaration, and never proceeded further in the matter -of religion; of which the King was very glad; only some of the leaders -brought a Bill into the House 'for the making that Declaration a law,' -which was suitable to their other acts of ingenuity, to keep the Church -for ever under the same indulgence, and without any settlement; which, -being quickly perceived, there was no further progress in it."[154] Who -were the instruments commonly employed to influence the House, so as to -bring it into unison with Royal designs, the same authority explains, -when he says, that from the Restoration, he and Lord Southampton, -by desire of the King, "had every day conference with some select -persons of the House of Commons, and with these they consulted in -what method to proceed in disposing the House, sometimes to propose, -sometimes to consent, to what should be most necessary for the public, -and by them to assign parts to other men whom they found disposed and -willing to concur in what was to be desired."[155] There is then no -room for believing otherwise than that the Chancellor, in agreement -with the King, did what he could to influence members to vote against -the Bill for turning the Royal Declaration into law. Consistently -with this inference we find Secretary Morrice speaking against it; -and Secretary Nicholas informing Sir Henry de Vic that the Bill for -passing the King's late Declaration had "happily been thrown out."[156] -The circumstance, at that juncture, of the elevation to the Bench of -Matthew Hale, who had acted on the Committee for framing the Bill, -tallies with other proceedings; and the whole shows that the policy -of the Court was to get rid of the Bill, and with it the obligations -incurred by the Declaration. For, it cannot be said, that the question -before the House was a mere question of form, and that opposing the -Bill did not necessarily imply opposition to the scheme which it -embodied; since all the promises held out in the Declaration were set -at nought by the subsequent proceedings of the King and his Minister. - -[Sidenote: WORCESTER HOUSE DECLARATION.] - -Charles, there can be no doubt, simply wished to keep the Presbyterians -quiet as long as possible, to get a few of their leaders into the -Episcopal Church, and to employ others, to whom he held out hopes -of toleration, as tools for securing liberty to the Papists.[157] -Clarendon, I believe, sincerely desired, as a staunch Episcopalian, -to restore the Establishment upon its old basis--nor do I see any -reason to question, that he also sincerely desired to bring Baxter -and others within its pale. With the purpose of winning Presbyterians -over to Episcopacy he was willing to make a few concessions. But, of -any genuine wish to base the Church upon the principles laid down in -the Declaration, there is no proof; and such a wish is inconsistent -with his known attachment to Prelacy. He had, it is true, ever since -the return of Royalty became probable, shown great moderation in -his behaviour to the Puritan party; but this circumstance is quite -consistent with the idea of his simply proposing to bring them -over to Episcopalianism. Looking at the opinions of the prelates -already expressed, and afterwards maintained at the Savoy, is it -possible that the Declaration could have been designed as a _bonâ -fide_ basis of a Church settlement? The conclusion is inevitable, -that Clarendon aimed at accomplishing his object by such a method as -statesmen deem to be justifiable diplomacy.[158] After the fate of the -Declaration in Parliament, the aspect of affairs changed in reference -to Presbyterians. Hopes once raised were dashed to the ground. The -overtures of the Court were seen to be hollow, and the preferments -offered were declined. Reynolds, nevertheless, retained the Bishopric -of Norwich. - - - - - CHAPTER VI. - - -[Sidenote: THE REGICIDES.] - -The treatment of the men who had been foremost in what the Royalists -called the Great Rebellion, affords a further and a critical instance -of the temper of Parliament. At first, and for some little time -afterwards, the majority supported a large measure of oblivion. Not -more than seven persons were excepted from the Act of Indemnity. But -the number speedily increased to twenty-nine.[159] Afterwards it was -proposed that all who sat on the trial of Charles I., and had not -surrendered according to a late Proclamation, were to be excluded from -the Act of Oblivion,--a point carried without any division. The Lords -made the Bill more stringent. They determined to exclude all who had -signed the death-warrant, or were sitting in the court when sentence -was pronounced, whether they had submitted since the Restoration or -not; to these the Lords added the names of Hacker, Vane, Lambert, -Haselrig, and Axtell. Yet they struck out a clause, reserving Lenthall -and others for future punishment. The Commons had been slow with the -Act of Indemnity, notwithstanding the salvation of many of their -old friends was involved in it. The Lords were slower still, and -both had to be spurred on by Royal messages. When the Bill, in its -increased severity, came down from the Lords, the Commons resisted the -sweeping amendment which excluded all the members of the High Court of -Justice from the general amnesty. They pleaded that such an exclusion -would violate the promise from Breda, and the terms of the recent -Proclamation. Repeated conferences took place between the Houses, and -it is visible that the spirit of resistance to the vindictiveness of -the Lords gradually gave way, and that the violent Royalists were -gaining ground amongst them. The Commons entered into a compromise. -Most of the judges were excepted; others were reserved for lesser -penalties. About twenty persons, besides those who had pronounced -sentence in the High Court of Justice, were incapacitated for any civil -or military office.[160] - -The regicides being excluded from the Act of Oblivion, some of them -were tried at the Old Bailey, in the month of October, 1660. Amongst -those who then stood at the bar were four persons who have appeared, -more or less conspicuously, in connection with the Ecclesiastical -History of the Civil Wars and the Commonwealth. - -[Sidenote: 1660.] - -Major-General Harrison, the famous Republican, who, in the Little -Parliament had opposed the tithe system, who had plunged deeply into -the study of prophecy, had been for some time expecting the reign of -the saints, and had been involved in the revolutionary schemes of the -Fifth Monarchy men, was arraigned for having sat upon the trial of his -"late Sovereign Lord King Charles I., of ever blessed memory," and for -having signed and sealed the warrant for his execution.[161] He was -found guilty, and condemned to die. With his political fanaticism there -blended other feelings; and the propriety of his demeanour in prison -was such, that the woman, who cleaned his cell, and kindled his fire, -declared she could not conceive how he deserved to be there, for he -was a man "full of God--there was nothing but God in his mouth--and -his discourse and frame of heart would melt the hardest of their -hearts."[162] He died expressing transports of religious joy. - -[Sidenote: THE REGICIDES.] - -Hugh Peters, the military Divine, who had beat up for recruits -at country market crosses, and carried messages of victory from -the Army to the Commons, was now condemned for stirring up the -soldiery to demand the Monarch's execution, and for giving publicity -to the Proclamation for the High Court of Justice. As he was -going to execution, he replied to a person--who abused him as a -regicide--"Friend, you do not well to trample upon a dying man, you are -greatly mistaken. I had nothing to do with the death of the King." - -Peters, although coarse, vulgar, and violent, has been painted in -darker colours than he deserves. It is certain that he approved of -the execution of the King; but whether his complicity in the deed was -legally proved is another question. That he was one of the masked -headsman on the 30th of January, 1649, is an idle tale; and of the -charges against his moral character no adequate proof has ever been -adduced. Without any respect for his memory I wish to do him justice. -He has been commonly represented by Royalists as an unprincipled and -cruel villain, steeped in vice, and laden with crime. The facts of his -history do not support that indictment; they rather show him to have -been a sincere, misguided, and unhappy enthusiast.[163] - -Isaac Pennington--who presented to the Long Parliament in 1640 the -famous "Root and Branch" Petition of the London citizens--was at this -time also charged with compassing the Monarch's death. The Lord Chief -Baron alluded to him in merciful terms, and although found guilty, -his life was spared through the intercession of influential friends. -He died a prisoner in the Tower, December the 17th, 1661. His son -Isaac had embraced Quakerism; and a daughter of his wife, by a former -husband, became the wife of William Penn. - -[Sidenote: 1660.] - -By the side of Isaac Pennington stood another prisoner with whom we are -already acquainted--Henry Marten.[164] Of his Revolutionary opinions, -and of his active part in the Whitehall tragedy, there could be no -question--perhaps he had as much to do with it as any one; yet after -he had been convicted, he threw himself upon the mercy of Parliament. -In the petition which he presented he observed, with the careless wit -which no misfortune could subdue, that he had surrendered himself upon -the Restoration in consequence of the King's "Declaration of Breda," -and that "since he had never obeyed any Royal proclamation before -this, he hoped that he should not be hanged for taking the King's word -now?"[165] The Commons do not appear to have attempted anything in his -favour; but his cause received warm advocacy when it came before the -Lords. With a dash of invincible humour, the Republican pleaded, that -since the honourable House of Commons, which he before so idolized, -had given him up to death, the honourable House of Peers, which he had -so much opposed, especially in their power of judicature, was now left -as a sanctuary to which he fled for life. He had submitted himself to -His Majesty's gracious Proclamation, he took hold of it, and hoped to -receive pardon through it. He now submitted himself to His Majesty and -to the House for mercy.[166] Marten obtained what was denied to men -more worthy; but although his life was spared, he spent twenty years in -prison, and expired in Chepstow Castle, at the age of 78.[167] - -The growth of vindictive loyalty was rapid; it rose to an alarming -height, and assumed a frantic mien, when, after re-assembling in -November, the Commons resolved, that the carcases of Oliver Cromwell, -Henry Ireton, John Bradshaw, and Thomas Pride, whether buried in -Westminster Abbey or elsewhere, should with all expedition be taken up, -drawn upon a hurdle to Tyburn, there hanged up in their coffins for a -time, and afterwards buried under the gallows.[168] - -[Sidenote: NEW BISHOPS.] - -Leaving this horrid subject, we notice that at the close of the year a -consecration of new Bishops took place. Of the nine prelates remaining -alive at the time, Juxon, who had been Bishop of London, was translated -to Canterbury; Frewen, who had been nominated by Charles I. to the -see of Lichfield and Coventry, was promoted to the Archbishopric of -York; and Duppa, who had held the see of Salisbury, was transferred -to the diocese of Winchester. To the Bishopric of London, vacated -by the translation of Juxon, Sheldon succeeded--a reward considered -due for unceasing vigilance over Episcopalian interests during the -Commonwealth. Morley, who had attended Charles at the Hague, was -appointed Bishop of Worcester; and Henchman, who had aided His -Majesty's escape after the battle near that city, became Bishop of -Salisbury.[169] - -Seven new prelates together were consecrated at Westminster on Sunday, -the 2nd of December:--Cosin, the patristic scholar, who had been -chaplain in the household of Queen Henrietta,--as Bishop of Durham; and -Walton, the editor of the _Polyglott_,--as Bishop of Chester. Gauden -also was one of the number. Though he had remained in Cromwell's Broad -Church, it is said that upon all occasions he had taken worthy pains -in the pulpit and by the press to rescue His Majesty and the Church -of England, from all mistaken and heterodox opinions of several and -different factions, as well as from the sacrilegious hands of false -brethren whose scandalous conversation was consummate, in devouring -Churchlands, and in impudently making sacrilege lawful. - -[Sidenote: 1660.] - -He received for these services the Bishopric of Exeter;[170] and -at the same time there was consecrated with him--as Bishop of -Carlisle--Richard Sterne, who had suffered much from the Presbyterians, -and had attended on the scaffold his friend, Archbishop Laud. Laney -designated to Peterborough, Lloyd to Llandaff, and Lucy to St. David's, -complete the seven. - -Sancroft, then domestic chaplain to Bishop Cosin, preached the sermon, -in which he defended diocesan Episcopacy from the words of St. Paul to -Titus: "For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set -in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, -as I had appointed thee." He who appointed him, said the preacher, was -"not a suffragan of St. Peter," "not a disciple of Gamaliel," "not a -delegate of the civil magistrate," but "an apostle of Jesus Christ." -And he who was appointed was "a single person; not a consistory of -Presbyters, or a bench of elders," and his office was to supply -defects--to correct what might be amiss--and to exercise the power -of ordination; "our most reverend Titus" being "a genuine son and -successor of the apostles." The theological reader will infer at once -what were the arguments under each head, and he may judge of the style -and spirit of the discourse from the following passage--"And blessed be -this day (let God regard it from above, and a more than common light -shine upon it!) in which we see the Phœnix arising from her funeral -pile, and taking wing again; our Holy Mother, the Church, standing up -from the dust and ruins in which she sate so long, taking beauty again -for ashes, and the garments of praise for the spirit of heaviness, -remounting the Episcopal throne, bearing the keys of the kingdom of -heaven with her, and armed (we hope) with the rod of discipline; her -hands spread abroad, to bless and to ordain, to confirm the weak, and -to reconcile the penitent; her breasts flowing with the sincere milk of -the word, and girt with a golden girdle under the paps, tying up all by -a meet limitation and restriction to primitive patterns, and prescripts -apostolical. A sight so venerable and august, that methinks, it -should at once strike love and fear into every beholder, and an awful -veneration. I may confidently say it. It was never well with us, since -we strayed from the due reverence we owed to Heaven and her; and it is -strange we should no sooner observe it, but run a maddening after other -lovers that ruined us, till God hedged in our way with thorns, that we -could no longer find them, and then we said, I will go and return to my -former husband, for then was it better with me than now."[171] - -[Sidenote: NEW BISHOPS.] - -Eight Bishops of the Irish Church were still living. Bramhall was -translated to the primacy as Archbishop of Armagh. Nominations to -vacant Sees followed; including that of Jeremy Taylor to the diocese -of Down and Conner, upon Henry Lesley being translated to Meath; but -his consecration was delayed until the 27th of January, 1661, when -ten new Bishops, and two old ones promoted to the Archiepiscopate, -were solemnly set apart in Saint Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin. The -consecration of so many at one time has been pronounced, "an event -probably without a parallel in the Church."[172] - -[Sidenote: 1660.] - -We have crossed, almost unconsciously, from England to Ireland. Between -lies the Isle of Man; and this reminds us of what was going on there, a -short time before the remarkable consecration at Dublin. In the autumn -of 1660, Commissioners were engaged in reducing to order ecclesiastical -affairs. They summoned the clergy before them to exhibit their letters -of orders and of presentation; they enforced the use of the Prayer -Book, and of catechizing, the keeping also of feasts and fast days, -including the 30th of January, the day of King Charles' martyrdom, and -the 15th of October, the day of Earl James' martyrdom. The observance -of Lent was afterwards enjoined, with the customary penalties and -with provision for dispensations. Parish discipline was established -according to canon law; and, without any ejectment or any opposition, -the portion of the Church existing in that island submitted at once to -Episcopalian rule.[173] - -[Sidenote: PERSECUTION.] - -Returning to England, we remark that since certain old laws were deemed -by Churchmen as still in force, notwithstanding the legislature of the -last twenty years, they constituted an arsenal of weapons, with which -magistrates and others could, if they were disposed, grievously disturb -their Puritan neighbours. The _Canon law_ prohibited dissent from the -Church under pain of excommunication. The same penalty was threatened -against all who affirmed that ministers not subscribing to the form of -worship in the Communion Book, might "truly take unto them the name of -another Church not established by law," or that religious assemblies -other than such as by the law of the land were allowed, might -rightly challenge the name of true Churches, or that it was lawful -for any sort of ministers or lay persons, to join together to make -ecclesiastical rules or constitutions without the King's authority. -No minister, without license of the Bishop, could presume to hold -meetings for sermons. As all conventicles were hurtful to the state -of the Church, no ministers or other persons were to assemble in any -private house or elsewhere for ecclesiastical purposes, under pain of -excommunication.[174] As to _Statute law_, the 1 Eliz. c. 2, required -all persons to resort to Church every Sunday and every day ordained a -holiday. The penalty of disobedience was a shilling fine, with Church -censure for every offence. The 23 Eliz. c. 1, made the fine twenty -pounds a month, and the offender who persevered for twelve months had -to be bound to good behaviour with two sureties in two hundred pounds, -until he conformed. To keep a schoolmaster who did not attend Church, -incurred a monthly fine of ten pounds. The 29 Eliz. c. 6, empowered -the Queen, by process out of the Exchequer, to seize the goods and -two parts of the real property of offenders, upon default of paying -their fines. The 35 Eliz. c. 1, made the frequenting of conventicles -punishable by imprisonment. Those who after conviction would not submit -were to abjure the realm. Refusal to abjure was felony, without benefit -of clergy.[175] - -[Sidenote: 1660.] - -These laws, however, do not suggest a full idea of all the -inconvenience and suffering to which Nonconformists, before the Civil -War, had been exposed. That we may understand fully the circumstances -in which they were placed, we must add the activity of spiritual -courts, the jurisdiction of the High Commission, and the indefinite -powers of the Crown. Nor do these laws, statute and canon, exhibit -all the forces of oppression which continued to exist after the -Restoration, and before the passing of the Act of Uniformity--forces -which could be brought into play at any moment, and in any situation. -Spiritual courts, it is true, had not yet been re-established; the -High Commission no longer existed. The power of the Crown had received -a check; but in addition to laws prohibitory of religious gatherings -outside the Establishment, there stood the law of Royal Supremacy, -which could not be taken by Papists, and was objected to by some -Protestant Dissenters. The statute, which had sent More and Fisher to -the block, brought sorrow upon a large number of unknown persons, who, -on a different principle from that adopted by those sufferers, objected -strongly to Royal Supremacy over causes ecclesiastical as well as -civil. Their resistance and their trouble, together with the perplexity -of magistrates respecting them, are illustrated in the following -extract of a letter written from Bristol, in the autumn of 1660:--"Be -pleased to take notice that no Quaker, or rarely any Anabaptist, will -take these oaths; so that the said oaths are refused by many hundreds -of their judgment, being persons of very dangerous principles, and -great enemies in this city to His Majesty's royal person, government, -and restoration--and some of them [are] petitioners to bring his -martyred Majesty, of blessed memory, to his trial,--and will -undoubtedly fly out again and kick up the heel against his sovereign -authority, should it be in their power, therefore [they] are not worthy -His Majesty's protection, refusing to swear loyalty to him. Besides, -their said refusal, if suspended or connived at, will cause a general -discontent and repining in, by those His Majesty's loyal subjects who -have already taken, or are to take the said oaths; for 'tis already the -language of many of them, and these not a few, 'Why should any oaths be -imposed on or required of us? and the Quakers, Anabaptists, and others, -His Majesty's enemies, be gratified with a suspension thereof.' And -'tis the answer of others, 'If the Quakers, Anabaptists, and others of -dangerous practices and principles do, or are enforced to, take the -said oaths, then will we. In the interim, we want the same liberty -which is to them afforded.'" The writer next asks instructions to guide -him in his perplexity. "Sir," he continues, "these, I had almost said, -monsters of men with us are, yea more numerous than in all the West -of England; and here they all centre and have their meetings, at all -seasons till 9 of the clock at night, and later;--sometimes about 1,000 -or 1,200 at a time,--to the great affrightening of this city as to what -will be consequent thereof if not restrained, or should a suspension of -the said oaths be to them given."[176] - -[Sidenote: PERSECUTION.] - -[Sidenote: 1660.] - -Many persons had to suffer severely. In Wales the fire was first -kindled, and burnt most fiercely. Before the King landed at Dover the -Episcopalians in the Principality busied themselves in persecuting -Quakers. Several Nonconformists were imprisoned at Caermarthen, and the -gaol at Montgomery was so filled with them that the gaoler had to pack -them into garrets. Pitiful stories, with some exaggerations perhaps, -are told of sufferers in the May and June of 1660, who were dragged -out of their beds to prison, or like stray cattle driven into parish -pounds, or led in chains to the Quarter Sessions.[177] If violence with -so wide a sweep did not rage on our side the border, the confessors for -conscience' sake in England were nevertheless numerous enough. In that -transitional state of things all sorts of irregular proceedings took -place. Even Philip Henry could not preach in quiet, but was presented -in the month of September, at the Flint assizes, for not reading the -Common Prayer. John Howe also fell into trouble for what he had said -in the pulpit; and it is not generally remembered that long before -the Uniformity, the Conventicle, and the Five Mile Acts were passed, -John Bunyan was cast into Bedford gaol.[178] In England, as well as in -Wales, many Quakers and Anabaptists suffered a loathsome imprisonment. -If, in London, Nonconformity was strong, in the provinces it was -rapidly becoming otherwise. Bishops were busy; Episcopalian Rectors -were being restored, and Loyal Corporations were getting more and more -noisy in their demonstrations of zeal for Church and Crown. Grey-headed -squires, and nobles in Cavalier plumes and doublets, with their courtly -dames in rustling silks, and with their children in bright-coloured -sashes, and attended by servants clothed in gay liveries, sat with joy -before the crackling yule log that merry Christmas; and when the boar's -head and the roast beef had been despatched, they related stories of -their virtuous and devout King,[179] and told their sons and daughters -of the gay doings and merry games of their own young days. The -mistletoe hanging in the hall corresponded with the holly suspended in -the Church; and the service, which members of these merry parties had -heard that Christmas morning for the first time, as they sat in the old -family pew, sustained worthy association with the pleasant festivities -of the afternoon and evening. Puritanism had been to them a religion -of restraint, and now the return of Bishops and Prayer Books brought -freedom and joy. Of course there were sentiments of a far higher order -cherished at that season, but the existence of much of the humbler -feeling now described may be taken for granted. - - -[Sidenote: REACTION AGAINST PURITANISM.] - -Other ceremonies besides those immediately connected with Christmas -time appeared that winter. Newspaper letters from Exeter, dated the -29th of December, 1660, announced the joyful welcome of Dr. Gauden, the -new Bishop of the diocese, who had been met by most of the gentry, to -the number of one hundred and twenty, and escorted by the High Sheriff, -with nearly five times as many horse; the Mayor and Aldermen in scarlet -and fur, waiting on His Lordship, amidst the ringing of bells. A week -later, Londoners saw, in the public prints, a glowing account of a -public Episcopalian christening at Dover--a most significant service -in a town where Anabaptists were numerous. So great a concourse, it -is reported, had seldom been seen, the Mayor being obliged to make -way that the children might reach the font, which had not been used -for nearly twenty years, and had now, by the care and prudence of the -Churchwardens, been set up for this solemnity. - -[Sidenote: 1660.] - -The reaction against the Puritanism of the Commonwealth, visible in so -many ways, received a fresh impulse from the insurrection of Venner -and his associates. This fanatical wine-cooper had been before laying -plots: in the month of April, 1657, he and his confederates, after -conferring at a Meeting House in Swan Alley, had assembled on Mile End -Green, when Cromwell sent a troop of horse, and seized him, with twenty -other ringleaders. The cause of Fifth Monarchism, during the season of -confusion consequent upon the resignation of the Protector Richard, -reappeared, and made itself heard through its irrepressibly loquacious -advocates, Rogers and Feake. The revival of their tenets, in connection -with a renewal of pure Republicanism under Sir Henry Vane and his -party, was of short duration; and there is nothing noticeable, in -connection with this form of religious sentiment, until Venner's second -outbreak. - -Instead of narrating that incident in words of my own, I shall simply -use a letter, written respecting it in the midst of the excitement. The -circumstances mentioned at the close, although below the dignity of -history, are too amusing to be omitted. - -[Sidenote: VENNER'S INSURRECTION.] - -[Sidenote: 1661.] - -The writer is Sir John Finch; he directs his letter to Lord -Conway:--"My dearest and best Lord,--As for news, my last acquainted -you with the Duchess of York's coming to Court. I forgot to tell -you that the child was christened Charles, and created Duke of -Cambridge, and that His Majesty in person and the Duke of Albemarle -were godfathers, and my Lady of Ormond personated the Queen for -godmother. Our great news here is, that since His Majesty's departure -to Portsmouth there have been two great alarms. Upon Sunday night -about fifty Fifth Monarchy men, at ten o'clock, came to Mr. Johnson, -a bookseller at the north gate of St. Paul's, and there demanded the -keys of the Church, which he either not having, or refusing, they broke -open the door, and, setting their sentries, examined the passengers -who they were for, and one with a lantern replying that he was for -King Charles, they answered that they were for King Jesus, and shot -him through the head, where he lay as a spectacle all the next day. -This gave the alarm to the mainguard at the Exchange, who sent four -files of musketeers to reduce them. But the Fifth Monarchy men made -them run, which so terrified the City, that the Lord Mayor in person -came with his troop to reduce them. Before he arrived they drew off, -and at Aldersgate forced the constable to open the gate, and so marched -through Whitecross Street, where they killed another constable, and -so went into the woods near Highgate, where being almost famished, on -Wednesday morning, about five of the clock, fell again into the City, -and, with a mad courage, fell upon the guard and beat them, which put -the City into such confusion, that the King's Life and all the City -regiments advanced against them. These forty men beat the Life Guard -and a whole regiment for half an hour's time. They refused all quarter; -but at length, Venner, their captain, a wine-cooper, after he had -received three shots, was taken, and nine more, and twenty slain. Six -got into a house, and refusing quarter, and with their blunderbusses -defending themselves, were slain. The Duke and the Duke of Albemarle, -with 700 horse, fell into the City; but all was over before they came. -This, my Lord, is strange, that all that are alive, being maimed, not -one person will confess anything concerning their accomplices, crying -that they will not betray the servants of the Lord Jesus to the kings -of the earth. Ludlow Major is committed close to the Tower for saying -he would kill the King. These things have produced their effects: that -no man shall have any arms that are not registered; that no man shall -live in the City that takes not the Oath of Allegiance; that no person -of any sect shall, out of his own house, exercise religious duties, -nor admit any into his house under penalty of arrest, which troubles -the Quakers and Anabaptists, who profess they knew not of this last -business. And, besides all this, His Majesty is resolved to raise a -new Army, and the general is not known; but I believe it will be the -Duke of Albemarle, rather than the Duke of York or Prince Rupert, in -regard he hath the office by patent, and in regard of his eminent -services. The Duke took it very unkind of my Lord Chamberlain that upon -information of Prince Rupert's attendants, his Lordship, in the Duke's -absence, searched his cellar for gunpowder, it being under the King's -seat at the Cockpit, and the Duke with his own hands so cudgelled the -informer that he hath almost maimed him; and Prince Rupert assured the -Duke that he so resented it, that he was not content to put away his -servant, but offered to fight any person that set the design on foot. -However, the business is not made up, though my Lord Chamberlain told -the Duke he had done over hastily. The Princess Henrietta is sick of -the measles on shipboard; but out of danger of wind. Dr. Frasier hath -let her blood; I hope with better success than the rest of the royal -blood have had."[180] - -[Sidenote: VENNER'S INSURRECTION.] - -It may be mentioned, that this insurrection had been hatched at the -same place as the former one; and the conspirators are said to have -marched first to Rogers' old quarters at St. Thomas the Apostle, to -join nine of the party, and thence to Whitecross Street. It came as -the expiring flash of a fanatical creed, which had blended itself with -Puritanism, greatly to the detriment of the latter; and, dying out -rather slowly, it left behind the quiet element of Millenarianism, -which, at the present day, we find largely infused into the tenets of a -considerable class of Christians. - -Venner's explosion occurred on the 6th of January; but it is -remarkable, that four days before that date, an order was issued from -Council, forbidding the meetings of Anabaptists, Quakers, and other -sectaries, in large numbers, and at unusual times, and restricting -their assembling to their own parishes. Rumours of plots are alleged -as reasons for the decision thus adopted upon the 2nd of January; -but that decision plainly shows, that ere the insane enthusiasts of -Coleman Street had fired a shot, whatever liberty had been conceded -at Worcester House was now to suffer great abridgment. Venner's -insurrection could not be the cause of curtailing the liberty of -the subject at that moment, though it proved a plausible argument -for the Proclamation which followed. The Proclamation appeared four -days after the riot; yet the terms of the document agree so closely -with those employed in the records of Council, as to indicate that, -with the exception of a reference to the disturbance of the peace -by bloodshed and murder, and some mention of Fifth Monarchy men, -little or no alteration could have been made in the phraseology. All -meetings, except those held in parochial churches and chapels, or in -private houses by the inhabitants, were declared seditious, and were -peremptorily forbidden.[181] - -[Sidenote: 1661.] - -Against Venner's insurrection the Independents protested; disowning -"the principles of a Fifth Monarchy, or the personal reign of King -Jesus on earth, as dishonourable to him and prejudicial to His Church," -and abhorring "the propagating this or any other opinion by force or -blood."[182] The Baptists declared their obedience to Government, and -expressed a hope that they might enjoy what had been granted by His -Majesty's Declaration, and be protected, like other subjects, from -injury and violence.[183] The Quakers also expressed their loyalty; -praying that their meetings might not be broken up, and that their -imprisoned members might be set at liberty. But these addresses neither -blunted the edge of Royal displeasure, nor removed the public suspicion -that many Nonconformists sympathized with the Fifth Monarchists. -Peaceable subjects, therefore, suffered insult and interruption. Horns -were blown at the doors of their houses, and stones were thrown at them -whilst they were at prayer; also, magistrates enforced the Oath of -Allegiance, which many Nonconformists, on different grounds, declined -to take.[184] - -[Sidenote: BAXTER.] - -[Sidenote: 1661.] - -Amongst other methods of annoyance was that of opening suspected -letters--a practice of which numerous illustrations will presently -appear. "I wrote a letter at this time," says Richard Baxter, "to -my mother-in-law, containing nothing but our usual matter. Even -encouragements to her in her age and weakness, fetched from the -nearness of her rest, together with the report of the news, and some -sharp and vehement words against the rebels. By the means of Sir John -Packington, or his soldiers, the post was searched, and my letter -intercepted, opened, and revised, and by Sir John sent up to London -to the Bishop and the Lord Chancellor, so that it was a wonder, that -having read it, they were not ashamed to send it up; but joyful would -they have been, could they but have found a word in it which could -possibly have been distorted to an evil sense, that malice might have -had its prey. I went to the Lord Chancellor and complained of this -usage, and that I had not the common liberty of a subject, to converse -by letters with my own family. He disowned it, and blamed men's -rashness, but excused it from the distempers of the times; and he and -the Bishops confessed they had seen the letter, and there was nothing -in it but what was good and pious. And two days after came the Lord -Windsor, Lord-Lieutenant of the County, and Governor of Jamaica, with -Sir Charles Littleton, the King's cupbearer, to bring me my letter -again to my lodgings; and the Lord Windsor told me, the Lord Chancellor -appointed him to do it. After some expression of my sense of the abuse, -I thanked him for his great civility and favour. _But I saw how far -that sort of men were to be trusted._"[185] - - - - - CHAPTER VII. - - -The time had arrived for calling a new Parliament, since the Convention -lacked certain constitutional attributes: and it seemed a further -reason for summoning another House of Commons, that the Presbyterians -in the Convention, notwithstanding secessions from their ranks, were -still too numerous, and too troublesome, to be well managed by the -Court. - -Writs were issued upon the 9th of March, 1661; and, in ten days, the -whole country was found uproariously busy in the election of Knights -and Burgesses. The City of London took the lead; and, as so much new -and curious information on the subject is afforded by letters in the -State Paper Office, I shall largely make use of them in the present -chapter. It was known that the new Parliament would have important -ecclesiastical questions to settle, and therefore a great deal of -religious feeling became mixed up with the political sentiments of the -electors. - -The Guildhall of the City of London, though magnificently restored very -recently, carries back our thoughts to distant days, but it has rarely, -if ever, contained within its walls a throng so densely packed, or been -filled with shouts so dissonant, as on the 19th of March, 1661. - -[Sidenote: 1661.] - -In confused ways, the Lord Mayor and some of the Aldermen were -proposed as candidates:--Recorder Wylde, Sir John Robinson, Sir -Richard Ford, Sir Thomas Bloworth, Sir Nicholas Crisp, and Alderman -Adams, stood on the Royalist side; on the popular side, appeared -Alderman Thompson and Alderman Love--"godly men, and of good parts, -Congregationalists,"--Captain Jones, a Presbyterian, and Alderman -Foulke, "not much noted for religion, but a countenancer of good -ministers, one who was present at the act for abolishing Kingly -Government," and "deeply engaged in Bishops' lands." Recorder Wylde, -and Sir John Robinson, with Sir Richard Brown, and William Vincent, -had been City Members of the Convention Parliament; but the citizens -disliked them, because they were not sufficiently advanced in political -sentiments, and also because they had not opposed the abolition of -Purveyance, and the Court of Wards, the imposition of the Excise, and -the levying of Poll Money. The tide just then ran strongly in favour -of ultra-dissent. The candidates of the Royalist party, except Ford, -had scarcely a word spoken in their favour. The Recorder's name, Wylde, -awakened rude shouts, amidst which might be heard a feeble pun: "We -have been too WILD already." Episcopacy stood at a discount, -and the old Hall echoed with cries of "No Bishops--no Bishops." Ten -thousand citizens in livery--no doubt an exaggeration--were computed to -be present; but the multitude, whatever the exact number, seemed of one -mind. A shrewd courtier in one corner whispered to an elector, that he -hoped what was going on there would be a warning to the Bishops. The -calling of nicknames, and the outpouring of ridicule, were shared, in -nearly equal portions, by the two parties. The Royalists pelted their -opponents with scurrilous abuse, yet they seemed to have nothing worse -to say of Alderman Thompson than "that he was a rare pedlar; so fond -of smoking, that his breath would poison a whole Committee." Jones -was also reproached for smoking; but the Captain was admitted by an -opponent to be an honest man, if amongst such a party there could be -one.[186] No applause equalled that which his name called forth; and -when the opposite party would have had him omitted, "the Court never -left off crying, 'A Jones! a Jones!' till it was otherwise resolved." -Only a few hands were held up for the Recorder and his friends. The -election was all but unanimous, and no poll was demanded by the -candidates defeated at the hustings. - -[Sidenote: NEW PARLIAMENT.] - -Some Nonconforming ministers are noticed as interesting themselves -in this election, though "others, like Demas," wounded "their -consciences by complying somewhat." In an election squib, called _A -Dialogue between the two Giants in Guildhall_,--one Congregational -pastor is said "to bring a hundred, another of the holders forth -sixty, to the destruction of the beast." And as Gog and Magog are -represented discussing the matter, one of them--referring to the -union of Presbyterians and Independents in the election--observes, "I -thought these two, like two buckets, could not possibly be weighed up -together." "Yes," says his brother giant, "there is an engine called -Necessity, made with the screws of Interest, that doth it _secundum -artem_." Of course such publications are worth nothing as witnesses to -political facts, but they vividly bring to light the political contest; -and as they repeat the rumours they also reveal the hatred which -influenced the contending factions. Certain persons are mentioned as -taking part in the City strife in other ways than by heading mobs. "Mr. -Carill, and other eminent ministers, held a fast, and prayed heartily, -and God has heard them," writes an Independent to a friend in Norwich; -but Zachary Crofton is most frequently mentioned as a champion on the -side of the anti-episcopalian party. "A subtle, witty man," "bitter -against the Bishops," and "a great vexation to them." He "prosecuted -his argument last Lord's Day, and there were more people than could get -into the Church." "Thank God," says one, "that Mr. Crofton is still at -liberty; he preaches that Bishops are a human institution, and lead to -the Papacy." "Little Crofton," says another, "preaches against Bishop -Gauden every Sunday night, with an infinite auditory, itching, and -applause." Others, like Crofton, won popularity by political harangues. -"All who oppose Prelacy," observes a correspondent, who evidently -opposed it himself, and no doubt went to hear the men, whom he so -admiringly mentions, "are mightily followed as Dr. Seaman and others." -"Mr. Graffen had two thousand in the streets, who could not get into -the Tantling Meeting House, to hear him bang the Bishops, which theme -he doth most exquisitely handle." Crofton is often referred to in these -letters. He was prosecuted for writing inflammatory books with comical -titles, and being imprisoned in the Tower when the election was over, -and before the Coronation took place, he petitioned His Majesty for -release, that he might enjoy the approaching festival in liberty, as -well as with loyalty. This bustling Divine, like many others, pleaded -the sufferings he had endured for his attachment to Monarchy; and -attempted to excuse certain inconsiderate expressions employed by him -on matters beyond his sphere, on the ground that they were not written -with an evil intention. - -[Sidenote: 1661.] - -[Sidenote: NEW PARLIAMENT.] - -The citizens, talking over the great folk-mote of the morning, retired -to their wainscoted parlours in the evening, and putting pen to paper, -wrote to their friends in the country. Some deplored the election of -the fanatics. Some jubilantly proclaimed the Liberal triumph. What -they said, however, mattered little. The letters never reached their -destination.[187] They were pilfered at the post office. In vain people -in the country waited for the arrival of the post-boy in those windy -March days; in vain the Londoners expected answers to their epistles. -Those time-stained, yellowish-looking sheets, of all shapes and sizes, -and of varied and often puzzling caligraphy, are still safe in the -Public Record Office. - -The object of the interception was to find out if there were anything -treasonable in the correspondence; or to prevent Liberal citizens -from influencing country constituences. Whether, if the letters had -been delivered, they would have altered the results of the general -election, may be doubted. At all events, the elections were in favour -of the Royalists.[188] Government influence was employed. Corporations -returning members had been purged of disaffected elements;[189] -and no doubt manifold tricks were played. Nor can we believe they -were confined to one side. But, independently of unconstitutional -interference, there were causes which will account for the success of -the Cavaliers. Many old Presbyterian and Independent politicians had -become ineligible through political offences. The zeal of the nobility -and of the Episcopalian clergy told powerfully in favour of old -Royalists. Great in many boroughs and counties was the popularity of -candidates who had fought at Edgehill, at Marston Moor, or at Naseby, -under the banner of Charles I. - -[Sidenote: 1661.] - -[Sidenote: NEW PARLIAMENT.] - -Of the members returned there were four men who in the Long Parliament -had appeared as leaders. John Maynard, who was a manager in the trial -of Laud--who had taken the Covenant, and had been a member of the -Westminster Assembly--represented Beralston;[190] but he had now become -so noted for his loyalty, that, in consideration of it, as well as -his legal eminence, Charles II. made him a serjeant, and conferred -upon him knighthood, in the month of November, 1660. Several notices -of speeches delivered by Maynard may be found in the _Parliamentary -History_; but, except as an opponent of Popery, he does not appear to -have taken any important part in ecclesiastical questions. John Glynne, -who, when Recorder of London, had advocated Presbyterianism, now sat -for Caernarvonshire; and, like his friend Maynard, enjoyed the honour -of serjeantship, and was knighted for his loyalty at the Restoration. -There remains no indication of his having taken any part in the debates -of the House, from which he was removed by death in 1667.[191] William -Prynne--who had suffered so much as a Puritan, had written so much as a -Presbyterian, and had spoken so much as a Royalist--now took his place -on the benches of St. Stephen's as a member for Bath; but no mention -is made of his ever speaking, except once, when he uttered a few words -relative to the impeachment of Lord Clarendon.[192] Sir Harbottle -Grimston--another well-known Presbyterian, who also was Speaker of -the Convention--again appeared as a member of the House of Commons, -representing the town of Colchester. But in his case, as in the others, -Presbyterianism now was absorbed in the return of loyalty; and no -words, that we can find, fell from his lips touching Church subjects, -excepting a few against Roman Catholicism.[193] These men, after all -their zeal in former days, said little or nothing in Parliament on -behalf of religious liberty after the Restoration. Besides these four, -may be mentioned Colonel Birch, a Lancashire Presbyterian, who having -in the Long Parliament and in Cromwell's Parliaments represented -Leominster, was in 1661, returned for the borough of Penryn. This -gentleman frequently spoke on the side of civil and spiritual freedom. -Hugh Boscawen, who had been member for Cornwall and Truro, under the -Protectorate, now sat for Tregony, but scarcely ever opened his lips. -The same may be remarked of Griffith Bodurda, member for Beaumaris. - -[Sidenote: 1661.] - -Presbyterianism or Independency in particular could not be said to be -represented in the new House of Commons; and Puritanism in general -could scarcely be regarded as finding full and decided expression -within those walls, where twenty years before it had been so triumphant. - -Parliament assembled on the 8th of May.[194] The Upper House presented -more of its ancient appearance than recently it had done; for although -the Bishops were not yet restored, more than a hundred Peers took their -seats--a striking contrast to the opening of the Convention, when only -five Earls, one Viscount, and four Barons mustered in the Chamber. His -Majesty, crowned and wearing his regal robes, ascended the throne, -attended on each side by Officers of State, including a few who had -favoured Presbyterianism. The Commons took their places below the bar. - -The King kept silence on Church matters, unless he may have referred -to the Breda Declaration, when saying that he valued himself much upon -keeping his word, and upon making good whatever he had promised to his -subjects. The Lord Chancellor, after an allusion to the constitution -and disorders of the State--its stomach and appetite, its humour and -fevers--indignantly inquired, "What good Christian can think without -horror of these ministers of the Gospel, who by their function should -be the messengers of peace, and are in their practice the only trumpets -of war, and incendiaries towards rebellion?" Such preaching he -pronounced to be a sin against the Holy Ghost. - -[Sidenote: COMMISSION FOR CONFERENCE.] - -Sir Edward Turner, a thorough Royalist, was elected Speaker; and, when -presented to the King, he delivered one of those tiresome speeches -which were so characteristic of the age.[195] - -The House ordered that the Communion of the Lord's Supper should, on -Sunday, the 26th of January, be celebrated at St. Margaret's Church, -according to the Liturgy of the Church of England; and that no one -who did not partake of this sacrament should be allowed to enter the -House.[196] - -We must now leave the transactions of Parliament for awhile, that -we may attend to the proceedings of two ecclesiastical bodies, -contemporaneously engaged in discussing affairs over which Parliament -exercised supreme control. - -[Sidenote: 1661.] - -The Worcester House Declaration had spoken of a revision of the -Liturgy. The King said, he found some exceptions made against several -things therein--and would appoint an equal number of learned Divines of -both persuasions, to review the same; and to make such alterations as -should be thought necessary. In formal agreement with this promise, a -Royal Commission was issued. Twelve Bishops, with nine coadjutors, were -chosen to represent the Episcopalians, and twelve leading Divines, also -with nine coadjutors, were chosen to represent the Presbyterians.[197] -The Chancellor arranged that Dr. Reynolds--already consecrated -Bishop of Norwich, he having accepted that see, with the idea that -the Declaration would be carried out, but who, inconsistent as it may -seem, still bore the name of a Presbyterian,--and Calamy, who remained -a Presbyterian in reality, should nominate the Commissioners on their -side of the question. Baxter expressed a wish to have his name omitted; -for he found he had made himself unacceptable to the opposite party, -but he observes, he could not prevail unless he had "peremptorily -refused it"--words which do not indicate any earnestness in declining -office. Indeed it is impossible to conceive that Baxter could have -endured to hear of such a debate as was now at hand, without taking -a leading part in it himself. Moreover, he had so far recognized -Episcopal authority, as to seek from Sheldon a license publicly to -preach, and as a condition of obtaining it, he gave a written promise -not to speak against the doctrines of the Church or the ceremonies -established by law, a circumstance which certainly showed his -disposition to concede as much as possible.[198] - -[Sidenote: COMMISSION FOR CONFERENCE.] - -The Royal Commission bore date the 25th of March.[199] It gave the -Commissioners authority to review the Book of Common Prayer--to compare -it with the most ancient Liturgies--to take into consideration all -things which it contained--to consult respecting the exceptions against -it--and by agreement to make such necessary alterations as should -afford satisfaction to tender consciences, and restore to the Church -unity and peace; the instrument appointed "the Master's lodgings in the -Savoy" as the place of meeting. - -Sheldon having borne off from all competitors the appointment to -the Mastership of that Hospital,[200] it was under his roof that -the approaching Ecclesiastical Debates were to take place; perhaps -convenience sought by the Master as well as convenience afforded by -the hall in the palace, might influence the selection; and it becomes -a curious coincidence that the scene of these debates--professedly -for the purpose of effecting union between Conformists and -Nonconformists--should be a building under the control of a High -Churchman, and yet one which had witnessed the consultations of -Independents; for they had drawn up a Confession of Faith and Order -within those very walls about eighteen months before. That meeting -had borne some resemblance to the Westminster Assembly, since the -Confession adopted by it, though never an authoritative standard, -remained long in honour amongst Congregationalists; but the Conference -which now took place was not intended to settle points of faith, nor -did it issue in any practical conclusion whatever.[201] - -[Sidenote: 1661.] - -The Commissioners were summoned to meet upon the 15th of April; but -before that day arrived, arrangements were made for another kind -of Ecclesiastical Assembly, the contemporary existence of which is -often overlooked, although it be of the utmost importance for the -understanding of the one, that we should carefully consider the -contemporary existence of the other. - -Hesitancy, if not a deeper feeling, appears in reference to a regular -Convocation of the clergy at that time. If the Breda and Worcester -House Declarations had meant what they said, an assembly gathered on -the principle of former Convocations could not with the least propriety -be held at this juncture: however, now that the old constitution -of national government had resumed its place, some High Churchmen -inferred, and earnestly contended, that ancient ecclesiastical as -well as civil arrangements had become virtually re-established; and -therefore, that Convocation ought to be summoned at the opening -of Parliament. But to summon Convocation would be to nullify the -Conference. - -Dr. Peter Heylyn--the admiring biographer of Archbishop Laud--was -aware of the difficulty, at this crisis, of convoking the clergy after -the ancient manner; and at the beginning of the month of March, 1661, -he referred to it as raising sad thoughts in the hearts of those who -wished for the peace and happiness of the English Sion.[202] The matter -came before the Council Board at Whitehall, on the 10th of April; and -it was then ordered, that the Lord Chancellor should direct the Clerk -of the Crown to draw up the writs for Convocation in the usual form. -This occurred more than a fortnight after the date of the Commission, -and five days before the Commissioners were to meet. Clarendon remarks -that at the time when the King "issued out his writs for convening -the Parliament, he had likewise sent summons to the Bishops, for the -meeting of the clergy in Convocation, which is the legal synod in -England; _against the coming together whereof the Liturgy would be -finished, which His Majesty intended to send thither to be examined, -debated, and confirmed_. And then he hoped to provide, with the -assistance of the Parliament, such a settlement in religion, as would -prevent any disorder in the State upon those pretences."[203] - -[Sidenote: CONVOCATION.] - -Not to dwell upon this instance of carelessness respecting -dates--inasmuch as the writ for calling a Parliament is dated the 9th -of March, and the summons for a Convocation the 11th of April--it is -worth asking, what is meant by the Liturgy being finished against -the coming together of Convocation? It could not mean that in -the Conference the Liturgy was to be finished; for that would be -contradicted by the whole policy of the Bishops. Surely it must mean -that the King and his Minister intended that the Liturgy should be -finished by the Bishops themselves, as it will afterwards appear, it -really was by Cosin and others before Convocation met, without any -regard to the transactions of the Conference; and if such was the case, -the issue of the Conference is seen to have been determined at the -commencement. - -[Sidenote: 1661.] - -When the 15th of April arrived, the Commissioners came together--and -the Presbyterians must have been as much vexed as the Anglicans would -be pleased, not only with the treatment of the business of the -Worcester House Declaration in the House of Commons, but with the -prospect of Convocation meeting for business at the same time as they -themselves were engaged in the appointed Conference. The Commissioners -met upon unequal terms. All London was astir with the approaching -Convocation; and the Officers of the Crown and of the Herald's College -had just been busy in examining claims and searching precedents -relative to the solemnity. - -In the order of procession, and the details of the ceremonial, the -Bishops who now assembled found, together with other Bishops, places -of distinction and functions of importance assigned to them. Sheldon, -Bishop of London, was to officiate, in part, in the room of the -Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Juxon, the latter being now old and full -of years, and incapable of performing the whole duty pertaining to his -office on the occasion. Cosin, Bishop of Durham, was to support the -King on one side beneath the canopy borne by the Barons of the Cinque -Ports, and to assist His Majesty in certain portions of the ceremony. -Warner, Bishop of Rochester, was to deliver the prelates' petition to -the King, praying him to preserve to them all canonical privileges. -King, Bishop of Chichester, was to read the Epistle before the Holy -Communion. Morley, Bishop of Worcester, was to preach the sermon. -Gauden, Bishop of Exeter, was to carry the _patena_. These Bishops, -with the rest of their brethren, besides discharging high offices in -particular, were generally to swell the grandeur of the procession, -and, in doing homage, to kiss the King on the left cheek before any -Marquis or Duke was allowed the privilege. Besides--Earle, Dean of -Westminster, was to assist at the anointing, to put the coif, with the -_colobium sindonis_, or surplice, upon the Royal person. Heylyn was -to carry the sceptre with the cross; while other Doctors of Divinity -were to bear the sceptre with the dove, the orb with the cross, King -Edward's staff, the chalice, the spoon, and the ampulla.[204] - -[Sidenote: SAVOY CONFERENCE.] - -The ceremony of the Coronation, according to immemorial usage, -was to be an Episcopalian ceremony. Of course no part could be -assigned to Presbyterians, unless--as in the case of the Bishop of -Norwich--Presbyterianism clothed itself in the robes of Prelacy. -Presbyterians, _as such_, had been appointed Chaplains and preached -before the King; but, _as such_, they were passed by in the gorgeous -ceremonies of Westminster. This fact is very significant, and it -bore immediately upon the nature, and on the probable issues of the -Conference. It has often been said, that the Presbyterians were in -the saddle at the time of the Restoration; it is as plain that the -Episcopalians were in the saddle at the time of the Coronation and the -Conference. A meeting at the Savoy, between Divines of the two schools, -to consult respecting a revision of the Prayer Book, in the spring of -1660, would have been a perfectly different affair from such a meeting -in the spring of 1661. Something at least like equal terms might at the -former date have been secured, although Presbyters were then beginning -to give way to Priests; but it is plain that at the later date the men -of Geneva stood no chance with those of Canterbury. Episcopacy and the -Liturgy were in possession. Presbyterianism had no chance of displacing -or even modifying either. According to the terms of the Commission, all -the members stood on an equality, but their positions in point of fact -differed exceedingly. - -[Sidenote: 1661.] - -Nor must it be imagined that the hopelessness of the scheme arose -entirely from the fact of political and social superiority on one side: -it sprung also from causes at work on the other side. Without repeating -what has been already said, I would remark that a gulf had yawned -between them ever since the opening of the Civil Wars. They had been -placed in strong mutual antagonism by the revolutionary ecclesiastical -changes effected by the Long Parliament. Besides this, the doctrinal -differences between the Anglicans and the Puritans so sharply defined, -and so resolutely maintained, still kept them wide asunder. Moreover, -their opposite modes of expressing devotion, the love of litanies with -their responses, and of collects with their brevity, on the one hand, -and the love of prayers vocally offered by the minister, and running -into great length, on the other, served effectually to strengthen and -to heighten the dividing barrier. The results which ensued fulfilled -this reasonable anticipation of failure. - -What in those days remained of the old Savoy Palace,--one of the -three most sumptuous edifices[205] erected by the most penurious of -monarchs--presented externally a fine architectural appearance on the -river side; within there existed a very spacious hall, with a ceiling -of timber curiously wrought, "having knobs in due places hanging down, -and images of angels holding before their breasts coats of arms." Under -the shadow of that roof, and within walls of stone and brick, "three -foot broad at least,"[206] representative men of two ecclesiastical -systems, some of them after twenty years of strife, met face to face on -formal terms of truce. Two of the Divines, Calamy, the Presbyterian, -and Hacket, the Episcopalian, had, in 1641, under the presidency of -Archbishop Williams, taken part in a similar conference; several, -on different sides now, had in early days, in the Universities and -elsewhere, been friendly or civil towards each other; but memories of -the Deanery of Westminster augured little of hope for the Savoy Palace, -and the influence of former private intercourse stood little chance of -overcoming the party spirit evoked on this new occasion. - -[Sidenote: SAVOY CONFERENCE.] - -Before we notice any of the papers exchanged, or any of the words -spoken, it is proper to look at the more notable men who appeared -at this meeting. There was Sheldon himself--a chief adviser, yet -taking little share in the _vivâ voce_ discussions, a man as full -of worldly policy, as he was agreeable and pleasant in his manners. -There was Morley, a leader next to Sheldon, and a prominent debater, -genial and witty, but extremely passionate and full of obstinacy. -There was Cosin, bringing with him a high reputation for learning -and devoutness, blended with strong Anglo-Catholic feeling, which -had, however, been somewhat checked of late.[207] There was Gauden, -who had conformed to the state of things under the Commonwealth, and -was still inclined to moderation, yet aiming to bring all within the -ranks of revived Episcopalianism. There was Gunning, an unequalled -textuary, a pre-eminent controversialist in an age of controversy, -a public disputant of singular fame in an age of disputation, -fervent in spirit, eager in speech, zealous for Arminianism and -ritualistic worship, and vehement in his advocacy of "high imposing -principles."[208] And there was Pearson, the most gifted, perhaps, -on the Episcopalian side--enriched with large and varied stores of -divinity, and distinguished by that closeness of thought, and that -judicious selection of proofs which secure eminence to the advocate, -and success at the bar.[209] There was also Reynolds, a Presbyterian -Bishop--by his position marked out to take a leading part in the -Conference, and to be a healing mediator, using his influence to soften -the temper of his more prelatical brethren; but he brought to the work -a feeble character, and had lost rather than gained moral weight by the -acceptance of a mitre. - -[Sidenote: 1661.] - -The Presbyterians were led by Baxter--an acute metaphysician, a keen -debater, subtle and fertile in mind, in character honest, and open -as the day--possessing at all times in abundance the silvern gift of -speech--rarely, if ever, showing the golden gift of silence. He lacked -that sobriety of judgment, that patience under contradiction, that -employment of means for attainable results, and that common-sense -acquaintance with men and things, which are essential to success -in all deliberations. Calamy does not appear as a speaker in the -Conference, but he played an active part in Committees. Proofs of -his general eminence are afforded by his preaching before Parliament -when the King was voted home, by his being one of the deputation sent -to wait on His Majesty, and by the offer made to him of a Bishopric. -Proofs of his fitness to occupy a place in the Commission are supplied -by his reputation for learning, for prudence, for dignity, and for -courtier-like bearing. Moreover, as in early life, he had been moderate -in his views, and had, therefore, been chosen as one of the Committee -in 1641, under the presidency of Williams, so at the Restoration -he wished for a comprehensive ecclesiastical scheme, and would have -accepted the preferment offered him, had the Worcester Declaration -become constitutional law. Bates, a Presbyterian, renowned for candour, -is particularly commended by Baxter for solidity, judiciousness, and -pertinence in debate, but he lacked the vehemence of the pastor of -Kidderminster. Jacomb, Newcomen, and Clarke were active in Committee. - -[Sidenote: SAVOY CONFERENCE.] - -Jacomb is described as a man of superior education, of a staid mind, -of temperate passions, moderate in his counsels, and in the management -of affairs, not vehement and confident, not imposing and overbearing, -but receptive of advice, and yielding to reason. Newcomen, like Calamy, -belonged to the five Divines who wrote _Smectymnuus_, a circumstance -of no favourable omen in the estimation of opponents. Clarke, pious, -charitable, laborious, and fond of biography, is still well-known for -his _Martyrology_ and for his _Lives_.[210] - -Frewen, Archbishop of York, opened the proceedings by apologizing for -his ignorance of the business, and by stating that he should leave all -in the hands of the Bishop of London. That prelate proposed at once -that the Presbyterians should reduce their objections to writing, to -which they replied that the meeting was intended to be a conference, -and that free debate would best prepare for an ultimate agreement. The -Bishop adhered to his first proposal, and Baxter falling in with it, -prevailed on his brethren to do the same. - -[Sidenote: 1661.] - -According to the terms of the Commission, they met together to -"advise" and to "consult," and the professed character and object -of the Commission implied that there was to be friendly conference -and mutual concession. But the Bishops manifested no disposition to -concede anything; they assumed the port and bearing of persons who -were in the ascendant, and who had to do with troublesome people, -asking disagreeable favours. They had made up their minds not to -speak freely,--and as men of business, and as stern conservators bent -upon keeping up the ancient restrictions of their Church, the course -which they pursued could be plausibly defended. Perhaps it would have -mattered little in the end if Baxter's colleagues had persevered in -their objections; yet his falling at once into the trap, and his so -eagerly adopting the method of written communications, especially of -the kind which he contemplated, showed how little he had of the wisdom -of the serpent. The Bishops required the Presbyterian exceptions and -additions to the Prayer Book to be presented at once; but Baxter -succeeded so far as to obtain permission for bringing in exceptions -at one time, and additions at another; and it was arranged that his -brethren should prepare the former, and that he should prepare the -latter. The two parties separated, the Presbyters to prepare for the -future Conference, the Prelates for the Coronation. The Coronation was -very magnificent. - -[Sidenote: SAVOY CONFERENCE.] - -Clarendon informs us:--"The King went early in the morning to the -Tower of London, in his coach, most of the Lords being there before; -and about ten of the clock they set forward towards Whitehall, ranged -in that order as the Heralds had appointed; those of the Long Robe, -the King's Council-at-law, the Masters of the Chancery and Judges -going first; and so the Lords in their order, very splendidly habited, -on rich footcloths; the number of their footmen being limited, to -the Dukes ten, to the Earls eight, and to the Viscounts six, and the -Barons four, all richly clad, as their other servants were. The whole -show was the most glorious in the order and expense that had been ever -seen in England; they who rode first being in Fleet Street when the -King issued out of the Tower, as was known by the discharge of the -ordnance; and it was near three of the clock in the afternoon when -the King alighted at Whitehall. The next morning the King rode in the -same state in his robes, and with his crown on his head, and all the -Lords in their robes, to Westminster Hall, where all the ensigns for -the Coronation were delivered to those who were appointed to carry -them, the Earl of Northumberland being made High Constable, and the -Earl of Suffolk Earl Marshal for the day; and then all the Lords in -their order, and the King himself walked on foot upon blue cloth from -Westminster Hall to the Abbey Church, where, after a sermon preached -by Dr. Morley (then Bishop of Worcester), in Henry VII.'s Chapel, the -King was sworn, crowned, and anointed by Dr. Juxon, Archbishop of -Canterbury, with all the solemnity that in those cases had been used. -All which being done, the King returned in the same manner on foot to -Westminster Hall, which was adorned with rich hangings and statues; and -there the King dined, and the Lords on either side, at tables provided -for them; and all other ceremonies were performed with great order and -magnificence."[211] - -[Sidenote: 1661.] - -In the beginning of May the elections occurred for members of -Convocation. The two theories already noticed, regarding the Church of -England at that juncture, came into collision in these elections. The -Presbyterians maintained that the existing establishment was the Church -of England, that they were legally members of that Establishment, -that they held their maintenances by a claim as valid as that of any -of their brethren. The new Act of Uniformity had not yet been passed, -and, therefore, there was no flaw in their title to be considered part -of the English clergy. But the High Church party fell back upon their -favourite idea that the Church of England was the Episcopal Church. -Then, as always, they could plead laws, as good arguments when in their -favour; then, as always, they set aside laws when against them. Even -allowing that the Church of England might be exclusively an Episcopal -Church _de jure_, it was not so at that time, _de lege_, or _de facto_. -But the Episcopalian party managed to get the power into their hands, -and to exercise it. Presbyterians accordingly were pronounced unfit to -be elected, and Episcopalians were returned. - -[Sidenote: SAVOY CONFERENCE.] - -There were Presbyterians who disapproved of the constitution of -Convocation; Baxter, Bates, and Jacomb distinctly said,--not only -many hundreds of their ministerial brethren were displaced or removed -before the meeting of the Convocation and others denied their votes, -because they were not ordained by Diocesans; but there were others -who disapproved of the way in which Convocation was constituted, and, -therefore, would not meddle in the choice of its members; whether -such persons would feel themselves bound by its determination it was -impossible to predict.[212] - -[Sidenote: 1661.] - -Upon the 2nd of May the election of London members for the Lower House -of Convocation took place in Christ Church. The metropolitan ministers, -who were not yet ejected, proved a majority against the diocesan -party, and when Baxter expressed his intention of being present, they -sent to their busy friend not to come, and also begged Calamy to -absent himself; the object being to secure the election of these two -Presbyters, who were accordingly chosen by a majority of three. The -Bishop of London, however, as Baxter remarks, "having the power of -choosing two out of four, or four out of six, that are chosen by the -ministers in a certain circuit, did give us the great use of being both -left out, and so we were excused, and the City of London had no clerk -in the Convocation."[213] Sheldon naturally preferred men of his -own way of thinking, and selected out of the names presented to him, -those of Dr. Haywood and Mr. Thorndike; the latter eminent Divine being -removed as far as possible from all sympathy with Puritans. Hence arose -the result that the Presbyterian portion of the City clergy at the time -holding parish livings, and being therefore, in fact, members of the -Establishment, had no one to represent them in Convocation; and the -passing over by Sheldon of the two Presbyterian Divines, although not -at all surprising under the circumstances, should be borne in mind, in -connection with the meeting held at the Savoy only two days afterwards. -The circumstance would not be forgotten on either side, but would be -regarded by the two parties with very different feelings, when Sheldon -at his lodgings met those who were discarded candidates. - -[Sidenote: SAVOY CONFERENCE.] - -Upon the 4th of May the exceptions were presented. The principal -persons employed in drawing them up were Calamy, Newcomen, Bates, -Clarke, Wallis, and Jacomb, and--which will surprise many readers--Dr. -Reynolds; so that the Bishop of Norwich must be regarded as sharing -in the responsibility of preparing these Presbyterian objections to -the Prayer Book.[214] Baxter, though not at first assisting in this -division of labour, afterwards helped in the work. His objections -were more minute than his brethren approved, but he wished them to -understand he did not, like some, charge the Common Prayer with -idolatry or false worship, he only took its faults to be "disorder and -defectivenesss;" this, he thought, was the mind of all the Presbyterian -Commissioners except one. They pleaded in their paper that as the -first Reformers composed the Liturgy with a view to win over Papists, -the Liturgy ought now to be revised so as to gain upon the judgments -and affections of all substantial Protestants. They suggested that -repetitions, responses, and an alternate reading of psalms and hymns, -which "cause a confused murmur in the congregation," should be omitted; -that the Litany, a great part of which was uttered only by the people, -should be formed into one prayer, to be offered by the minister, who -according to Scripture is the mouth of the people to God--a very -remarkable objection, it may be noticed by the way, coming as it did -from men who professed to hold unpriestly views of worship. They -further requested that neither Lent nor saints' days should be any -longer observed; that free prayer should be allowed; that it should be -permissible for the minister to omit part of the Liturgy as occasion -might require; that King James' translation should alone be used at -Church; that only the Old and New Testament might be read in the daily -lessons; that no part of the Communion Service should take place at the -communion table, except at the administration of the Lord's Supper; -that the word "minister" should be employed instead of "priest," and -the "Lord's Day" instead of "Sunday;" that the version of the psalter -should be amended; that obsolete words should be altered into others -generally received; and that phrases presuming the congregation to -be regenerated and in a state of grace should be revised. These -Commissioners further said, that the Liturgy was defective in praise -and thanksgiving; that the confession and catechism were imperfect; and -that the surplice, the signing of the cross, and kneeling at the Lord's -Supper, were unwarrantable. The objectors took special exception to -certain expressions in the daily service, and to the rubrics. But their -objections related mainly to the forms for the ordinance of baptism; -the celebration of matrimony; the visitation of the sick; and the -burial of the dead.[215] - -[Sidenote: 1661.] - -Parallels may be noticed between the exceptions taken on this occasion, -and those taken in William's Committee of 1641.[216] - -The Presbyterians requested that instead of the words in the -prayer before baptism, "May receive remission of sins by spiritual -regeneration," the form might run thus: "May be regenerated and receive -the remission of sins." In reference to the words afterwards, "That it -hath pleased Thee to regenerate this infant by Thy Holy Spirit," it is -remarkable, that the objection is couched in cautious terms. "We cannot -in faith say that every child that is baptized is 'regenerated by God's -Holy Spirit,' at least, it is a disputable point, and therefore we -desire it may be otherwise expressed." Confirmation is not condemned, -but it is urged, that for children to repeat _memoriter_ the Apostles' -Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the Ten Commandments, and to answer -some questions of the catechism, is not a sufficient preparation for -the rite; and that it ought, according to His Majesty's declaration, -to be "solemnly performed by the information, and with the consent -of the minister of the place." In relation to the words "who hast -vouchsafed to regenerate these Thy servants by water and the Holy -Ghost, and hast given unto them the forgiveness of all their sins," -the objectors remark, "This supposeth that all the children who are -brought to be confirmed have the Spirit of Christ and the forgiveness -of all their sins; whereas a great number of children at that age, -having committed many sins since their baptism, do show no evidence of -serious repentance, or of any special saving grace; and therefore this -confirmation (if administered to such) would be a perilous and gross -abuse."[217] It should be added, that the Presbyterians disapproved -of confirmation being made necessary for preparing communicants. With -regard to the solemnization of matrimony, they objected to the use of -the ring, and of the word "worship," and to the rubric which enjoins -receiving the communion; and with respect to the visitation of the -sick, the same persons wished that a form of absolution might be -omitted at the minister's option, or that if used, it might be framed -on a declarative and conditional form. The exceptions taken to the -burial service were the same as those which have been current ever -since. - -[Sidenote: CONVOCATION.] - -On the 8th of May, four days after the Presbyterians had put in -their exceptions, Convocation met for the first time since the year -1640;[218] the Northern Synod assembling at York, the Southern at -London. - -Sheldon, Bishop of London, with other Bishops of the province of -Canterbury, together with Deans, Archdeacons, and Priests, also the -Dean of the Arches, with his Advocates and Proctors, repaired to the -house of Dr. Barwick, a physician, in St. Paul's Churchyard. In -that house, during the Civil Wars, he had entertained his brother -John, afterwards Dean of St. Paul's, and allowed him the use of an -oratory--some Gothic chamber, perhaps, with quaint oriel, destroyed in -the London fire. Arrayed in their vestments, the Bishops and clergy -entered in procession through the "little south gate," into the ancient -Gothic edifice, for the restoring of which a deep and wide-spread zeal -had begun to show itself--the Cathedral being, it is said, "a princely -ornament of the Royal city," where was a confluence of foreign princes' -ambassadors, the structure being "injured by the iniquity of the late -times," and its repair being necessary to prevent the dishonour of its -neglect falling upon the whole city.[219] - -[Sidenote: 1661.] - -There, the Dean, Residentiaries, and the rest of the Canons, were -waiting to receive the procession with due ceremony, and to conduct its -members into the choir. It was a jubilant hour for the Episcopal Church -of England, for it betokened a resurrection after years of death-like -silence, imprisonment, and humiliation; and no doubt, in many a bosom, -sentiments of deepest gratitude and adoration, mingled with feelings of -excusable pride, as the choir fervently sang the Te Deum in English; -and Dr. Thomas Pearce preached a sermon in Latin from Acts xv. 28, -"For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no -greater burden than these necessary things." The sermon ended, and an -anthem sung, Sheldon, the Bishop of London, who acted as President, in -consequence of the advanced age and infirmities of Juxon, with the rest -of the clergy, went into a Chapter House provided for the occasion, -"the goodly old house being, by the impiety of Oliver Cromwell's Horse -Guards, rendered unfit for use." The King's Writ and the Archbishop's -Commission to the Bishop were formally presented and read; after which -the latter, "in excellent Latin," addressed the Lower House, bidding -them go and choose their Prolocutor. - -[Sidenote: CONVOCATION.] - -On the Thursday following, May the 16th, Dr. John Pearson, Archdeacon -of Surrey, presented Dr. Henry Ferne, Dean of Ely, as the Prolocutor -chosen by the Lower House; and "three elegant Latin speeches were made: -one by the presenter, another by the Prolocutor, and a third by His -Lordship the Bishop of London, in approbation of their election."[220] -This ceremony took place in Henry VII.'s Chapel, Westminster--whither, -from St. Paul's Cathedral, Convocation had adjourned, as to the place -of meeting used by the representatives of the clergy before the Civil -Wars--and that Chapel, many of those who now ascended the stone steps -at the back of the Abbey choir, would consider to have suffered almost -as much desecration from the Presbyterian Assembly of Divines, as other -parts of the sacred edifice had done from the depredations of the -soldiery. - -Convocation sat, probably, "in one of the inferior chapels."[221] No -one like Robert Baillie--who so minutely describes the Westminster -Assembly--has bequeathed us a picture of this Episcopalian Synod -twenty years afterwards; but anybody who has witnessed the meetings -of the Lower House--the Deans in their scarlet robes as Doctors, and -other dignitaries in academic costumes, with square caps in their -hands, can picture what a contrast, in these respects, the clergy -convened in 1661, in a side Chapel of the Abbey, must have presented -to the ministers, who assembled in 1643, within the Jerusalem Chamber. -Nor can we find any report of the Debate, like that preserved in -the _Diary_ of Lightfoot; but there can be no doubt that the usual -characteristics of ecclesiastical councils and conferences might be -found on this occasion; that there was much of learning, of eloquence, -and of hair-splitting; that some speeches were logical, and others very -illogical; that the debates were sometimes wearisome, and sometimes -lively; and that, occasionally, irregularities of discussion called for -the interference of the Prolocutor.[222] - -[Sidenote: 1661.] - -An early act of Convocation, indeed, one on the very day of meeting, -was to deliberate respecting forms of prayer for the two anniversaries -so intimately connected with the Royal family--the anniversary of -Charles II.'s birth, and return; and the anniversary of his father's -death. The Bishop of Ely, one of a Committee appointed for the purpose, -presented the first of these to the Upper House on the 18th, and the -form was confirmed and issued by the King in Council on the 22nd.[223] -On the 18th also, the Bishop of London recommended that a form should -be prepared for the baptism of adults,--it being alleged that many -people, owing to the diffusion of Anabaptist opinions, had not been -baptized in their childhood. That duty was entrusted, like the other, -to four Bishops and eight clergymen, and the result appeared and -received approval on the 31st. A Committee of Prelates and Presbyters -undertook to frame the service for Charles' martyrdom. It is a curious -fact, that there were two offices for the 30th of January, drawn up -in the year 1661, in one of which, referring to Charles and other -martyrs, there occurred the words, "That we may be made worthy to -receive benefit by their prayers, which they, in communion with the -Church Catholic, offer up unto Thee for that part of it here militant." -Such a recognition of the intercession of saints in Heaven, indicating -a strong Romanist tendency, has been made a ground of reproach by -Nonconformist opponents; on the other hand, Episcopalians have denied -the existence of the words in any collect prepared for the occasion. -The contradiction is just, so far as the form adopted by Convocation is -concerned; but there was an earlier one, laid aside on account of its -containing the clause in question.[224] The form in the Prayer Book of -1662 differed from both the forms which made their appearance in 1661. - -[Sidenote: CONVOCATION.] - -Upon the 31st of May, Dr. Pory introduced a prayer for the Parliament, -which was not an entirely new composition, inasmuch as one including -the expression, "our religious and gracious King," had been inserted -in the Prayer Book in the reign of Charles I.[225] It appeared, -for the first time, in its present shape for use, at a general fast, -held on the 12th of June, 1661, special mention of it being made on -the title page; from which form of service it was transferred to the -Book of Common Prayer. For the same fast a general form, suited for -such an occasion, was ordered on the 7th of June, to be prepared by -a Committee; also, a supplication for fair weather was recommended -for consideration. Upon the 18th of June, the King issued his letters -patent, authorizing Convocation to make canons and constitutions; in -which letters occur a formula, to the effect that the clergy had always -promised, "_in verbo sacerdotii_," that they would never promulge, or -execute any new ordinances without legal license:[226] accordingly -the Acts of Convocation, on the following day, notice the receiving -of this Royal license, and record the appointment of certain Bishops -and Presbyters as a Committee for considering the business to which -it relates,--the Committee being appointed to meet at the Savoy -Palace.[227] Upon the 17th of July the Bishop of Salisbury presented a -draft of canons which he had prepared, and which were again referred to -him for further consideration. On the 19th and 22nd the canons still -occupied the attention of the Upper House. On the 27th a benevolence -was voted to His Majesty; on the 31st Convocation adjourned.[228] - -[Sidenote: 1661.] - -[Sidenote: SAVOY CONFERENCE.] - -Thus far, we have ventured to place the contemporary proceedings of -the Savoy Conference, and those of Convocation, in parallel lines; -there is an advantage in doing so. We see how additions to the Prayer -Book, made at the very time when the Commissioners were engaged in -discussions upon its existing contents, would appear vexatious to the -Puritans: we also clearly notice the peculiar position of Reynolds, -who appeared at the Savoy as a Presbyterian, and in Convocation as a -Prelate--in the one character apparently objecting to the Prayer Book, -in the other, adding to it new forms; and we discover that the Houses -of Convocation refrained, whilst the Commission lasted, from doing more -than supplying certain additional prayers, deferring the business of -revision until the Conference had broken up. - -We have seen the Presbyterians at the Conference putting in their -exceptions; we now turn to the answers of the Bishops. They were -written in an discourteous, uncharitable, and captious spirit, not -indicating the slightest disposition to conciliate, but foreclosing the -possibility of removing any Presbyterian objection: for they said, the -alteration asked would be a virtual confession that the Liturgy is an -intolerable burden to tender consciences, a direct cause of schism, a -superstitious usage--it would justify past Nonconformity, and condemn -the conduct of Conformists. The document presents an angry defence of -the Church formulas; and, whilst there is much in the reasoning which -commends itself to admirers of the Liturgy, the temper betrayed is of a -kind which assuredly most of those admirers will condemn.[229] - -[Sidenote: 1661.] - -The discussion upon baptism alone needs particular attention. It -is affirmed that the form in the Prayer Book is "most proper; for -baptism is our spiritual regeneration." That answer indicates that the -Episcopalians in the Conference took the words in the Prayer Book to -express the doctrine of baptismal regeneration. "Seeing," say they, -"that God's sacraments have their effects where the receiver doth not -'_ponere obicem_' put any bar against them (which children cannot -do), we may say in faith, of every child that is baptized, that it -is regenerated by God's Holy Spirit; and the denial of it tends to -Anabaptism, and the contempt of this holy sacrament as nothing worthy, -nor material, whether it be administered to children or no."[230] - -It had been arranged, that whilst the rest of the Presbyterian brethren -employed themselves in drawing up _exceptions_ against the Book of -Common Prayer, Baxter should prepare _additions_. In one fortnight he -accomplished his task, and presented his Reformed Liturgy. A Reformed -Liturgy, differing from that of the Church of England, had, in the -sixteenth century, been published in Holland; but it amounts to no -more than a compilation from Calvin's Genevan Service Book. Baxter -determined that his should be original; and, accordingly, setting to -work with his Bible and his Concordance, he drew up a new collection -of devotional offices. They include orders of service for the Lord's -Day, and for the celebration of the sacraments of the Lord's Supper and -Baptism; a discourse upon catechizing, preparatory to the communion; a -form to be used in marriage; directions for the visitation of the sick, -and the burial of the dead; prayers and thanksgiving for extraordinary -occasions, and for particular persons; and a discourse on pastoral -discipline, with forms of public confession, absolution, and exclusion -from the fellowship of the Church. He also prepared an Appendix, -containing a larger litany or general prayer, and a long ascription of -praise for our redemption.[231] - -[Sidenote: SAVOY CONFERENCE.] - -The author tells us that he compared what he did with the Assembly's -Directory, the Book of Common Prayer, and Hammond L'Estrange; but he -seems to have borrowed little or nothing from these sources, beyond -introducing or allowing the use of the creeds--sometimes the use of -the Athanasian Creed--the Te Deum, and the psalms in order for the -day. The modes of expression employed by Baxter are not founded upon -the study of former liturgies, and are remarkably unlike those of the -Anglican and the ancient Communions. They are carefully drawn from -the Bible, and the margin of the new service book is studded with -innumerable references to Scripture texts. No one who reads the work, -especially considering the short time in which it was executed, but -must acknowledge it to be a very extraordinary performance; and even -Dr. Johnson said of the office for the communion, "that it was one of -the first compositions of the ritual kind he had ever seen."[232] The -comprehension and fervour of all the prayers must excite admiration; -but many of them labour under the Puritan disadvantage of being too -long, and they are frequently at variance with that kind of religious -taste which appreciates the character and tone of the litanies and the -collects of the Church of England. - -Baxter candidly admits, that he made "an entire Liturgy, but might not -call it so," because the Commissioners required only "additions to, or -alterations of, the Book of Common Prayer."[233] How a completely new -Liturgy could come under the latter denomination I cannot understand. -As he omitted all reference to the Book of Common Prayer, his new -Directory bore on the face of it the intention of superseding, or of -rivalling that venerable manual of devotion; and wherever the former -might have been adopted, it would virtually have put the latter aside. -Still, as his petition shows, he was willing that it should be left -for ministers to decide which Liturgy they would adopt; and, it may be -concluded, that he would not have objected to a blending of the two, -however incongruous such a thing may appear to many. - -[Sidenote: 1661.] - -This famous Presbyterian polemic, at the same time that he presented -his reformed formularies, presented with them a petition to the -Bishops, begging them to yield to such terms of peace and concord as -they themselves confessed to be lawful. "For though," as he argued, -"we are equals in the King's Commission, yet we are commanded by the -Holy Ghost, if it be possible, and as much as in us lieth, to live -peaceably with all men;--and if we were denied, it would satisfy our -consciences, and justify us before all the world;"[234]--two points -which that honest theologian ever kept in mind. He craved consent to -read the document; some objected, but, ultimately, the reading of it -was allowed. It consisted chiefly of an appeal to Christian feeling, -founded upon a variety of considerations, especially upon the wrong -which would be done to the Puritan brethren, and the mischief inflicted -on the Church of England if their scruples were disregarded.[235] - -The contrast between the pacific, conciliatory, and reasonable strain -of the petition, and the hard and repulsive tone of the prelates' -answers to the exceptions, is very striking. - -[Sidenote: SAVOY CONFERENCE.] - -A rejoinder to the Bishops' answers, touching the exceptions made to -the Liturgy, followed, on the part of the ministers. A preface to it -was drawn up by Calamy. The rejoinder itself, composed by Baxter, -forming, indeed, a book of 148 pages, and taking up the Episcopal -document, paragraph by paragraph, with a great deal of close reasoning -and scholastic subtilty, is too extensive in its range, and too minute -in its details, to admit of any satisfactory synopsis of its contents -being presented on these pages. But a sharp reference, at the close, -to the concessions offered by the Bishops must be noticed. After -thanking them, Baxter adds, in the name of his brethren, "we must say -in the conclusion, that, if these be all the abatements and amendments -you will admit, you sell your innocency and the Church's peace for -nothing."[236] - -Time wore away, and nothing resulted from these long papers. At last -came a session for _vivâ voce_ debate. The Puritans wished the Bishops -to talk freely, but their Lordships maintained a prudent reticence, -and even Reynolds could not persuade his Episcopalian brethren by -"friendly conference to go over the particulars excepted against;" they -resolutely insisted that they had nothing to do until the necessity for -alteration should be proved,--proved that necessity already was, in the -estimation of Puritans, proved it could not be in the estimation of -Anglicans. - -[Sidenote: 1661.] - -All hope of a _pacifying_ conference being abandoned, the Presbyterian -Divines agreed to a debate; many hours were spent in fixing its order. -The Bishops, according to their policy throughout, maintained that it -belonged to those who were accusers to begin; they were simply on the -defence. No effect was produced by the Presbyterians' rejoinder:--"We -are the defendants against your impositions; you command us to do -certain things under pain of excommunication, imprisonment, and -silence. We defend ourselves against this cruelty, by asking you -to show authority for this." At last it was settled, that there -should be a formal dispute, to be conducted by three persons on each -side. Strangers were allowed to be present, and the room was full -of auditors,--young Tillotson, the eminent preacher and Archbishop -of later days, being amongst them. The debate turned upon vague -abstractions, and upon subtle theological distinctions, occasionally -interrupted by outbursts of temper and uncivil personalities. As might -be expected, the Hall of the Savoy Palace became an arena for logical -gladiatorship, and the object of the meeting a strife for victory. - -At one time it seemed as if light were breaking through the clouds. -Bishop Cosin, who on the occasion now referred to, occupied the chair, -laid before the meeting a paper, which, he said, a worthy person had -offered unto his superiors. It put, - -I. The question, "Whether there be anything in the Doctrine, or -Discipline, or the Common Prayer, or Ceremonies, contrary to the Word -of God?" - -II. It asked, if nothing in the Book was unscriptural, what the -Presbyterians desired in point of expediency? - -III. It then suggested that such desires should be submitted to "the -consideration and judgment of the Convocation, who are the proper and -authentic representatives of the Ministry."[237] - -[Sidenote: SAVOY CONFERENCE.] - -Baxter drew up an answer, in which he maintained the principal part of -these proposals "to be rational, regular, and Christianlike." After -going over much of the old ground, and referring to the Convocation in -no unfriendly spirit, he says: "We are resolved faithfully to teach the -people, that the division of the Church is worse than inexpedient:" -and, "We conclude with the repetition of our more earnest request, that -these wise and moderate proposals may be prosecuted, and all things be -abated us, which we have proved or shall prove to be contrary to the -Word of God."[238] - -To talk in this way seemed hopeful; but hope in this instance was a -delusion. Each party suspected the other. Mutual confidence did not -exist. Baxter, although he wrote as he did, really looked at the -seemingly friendly proposals, as "a cunning snare." - -[Sidenote: 1661.] - -The paper warfare recommenced--the disputants on each side, "writing -extempore," withdrawing into another room for that purpose.[239] The -first subject discussed was the "imposition of kneeling," to which -Baxter, although he took the gesture itself as lawful, objected, -because he thought antiquity was against the custom, and because "the -penalty is so immediate and great, to put all that kneel not, from the -communion." With this discussion was connected another, as to whether -there is anything sinful in the Liturgy.[240] The following specimen -in relation to the last question may give some idea of the scholastic -forms which were employed. The Episcopal opponents maintained, "That -command which commandeth only an act, in itself lawful, is not sinful." -The Presbyterian respondents denied this, contending that some unlawful -circumstance might hang in the command, or that the penalty might be -overcharged. The proposition, after revision, was put thus: "That -command which commandeth an act, in itself lawful, and no other act -whereby any unjust penalty is enjoined, nor any circumstance whence -directly, or _per accidens_ any sin is consequent, which the commander -ought to provide against, is not sinful." The respondents denied again, -on the ground, that "the first act commanded may be _per accidens_ -unlawful, and be commanded by an unjust penalty, though no other act -or circumstance be such." The Bishops amended their proposition at -last, making their logical network so fine that even Baxter, subtle as -he might be, could scarcely wriggle through the meshes. "That command -which commandeth an act, in itself lawful, and no other act whereby -any unjust penalty is enjoined, nor any circumstance whence directly, -or _per accidens_, any sin is consequent, which the commander ought -to provide against, hath in it all things requisite to the lawfulness -of a command, and particularly cannot be guilty of commanding an act -_per accidens_ unlawful, nor of commanding an act under an unjust -penalty."[241] Thomas Aquinas was not more acute, more ingenious, or -more wearisome. Morley, many years afterwards, urged that denying -such a proposition as the last, was not only false and frivolous, but -"destructive of all authority," and struck the Church out of all power -to make canons for order and discipline.[242] To those who admit that -the Church may, within limits, decree rites and ceremonies--and Baxter -in his arguments did not deny this--Morley's reasoning is forcible. -The manner in which Baxter met the position of his opponents was by no -means satisfactory, and his warmest admirers must acknowledge that his -mode of conducting this part of the controversy was no less injudicious -than honest. - -[Sidenote: SAVOY CONFERENCE.] - -In drawing to a close our account of the Conference, it is important -to mention that the Bill of Uniformity, hereafter to be described, -actually passed the House of Commons on the 9th of July, about a -fortnight before the Conference broke up. The proceedings of a Royal -Commission to review the Prayer Book, and make alterations for the -satisfaction of tender consciences were, by this premature act, really -treated with mockery--a circumstance which could not but exceedingly -offend and annoy the Puritan members, and especially serve to -embitter the language of Baxter as the end of the fruitless sittings -approached.[243] - -[Sidenote: 1661.] - -The last two meetings are particularly described: The Doctors on the -Episcopalian side, Baxter says, crowded in--not more than two or three -were present on the other side. Sanderson, Bishop of Lincoln, occupied -the chair--"a very worthy man, but for that great peevishness, which -injuries, partiality, temperature, and age had caused in him." A paper -by Gunning came under discussion. He denied a statement made by Baxter, -Bates, and Jacomb. The latter, on oath, confirmed what Baxter said; but -the Chairman pronounced that Gunning had the best of it. He further -charged Baxter with being contentious. Baxter told him that it was -strange, a man should be prevented from replying to his antagonist. -Gunning advanced citations in proof of his point; upon which Cosin -called upon all the Bishops and Doctors on his side, at that moment a -large majority, to give their votes. They all cried "Aye!" Those who -are familiar with modern committees, and with what occurs when both -parties lose their tempers, and the stronger carries the point, can -understand how the Savoy Conference terminated. "We were all agreed," -says Baxter, "on the ends for the Church's welfare, unity, and peace, -and His Majesty's happiness and contentment; but after all our debates, -were disagreed of the means, and this was the end of that Assembly and -Commission."[244] - -Thus ended the last of the three great Conferences between Anglicans -and Puritans; the two previous ones being held, respectively, at -Hampton Court before King James, and in the Jerusalem Chamber under -Dean Williams. It reminds us of another Conference, the last between -Romanists and Reformers, carried on in Westminster Abbey in the month -of March, 1559. Like the Romanist Bishops on that occasion, the -Anglican Bishops on this, protested, with some reason, that it was not -for them to prove the Church's doctrine to be true; they professed -the old established faith of Christendom; if it was attacked, they -were ready to answer objections. But unlike the Popish, the Anglican -prelates were now in the ascendant, and had their opponents at their -feet. The Puritans, on the other hand, resembled, as to relative -position, the Romanists, of whom it is remarked, they "were but actors -in a play, of which the finale was already arranged."[245] - -[Sidenote: SAVOY CONFERENCE.] - -It is amusing to read Baxter's account of his brother Commissioners. -Some, he says, rarely attended, and when they did, said very little. -Morley was often there, a chief speaker, with fluent words, and much -earnestness, vehemently going on, and bearing down replies by his -interruptions. Cosin was constant in attendance, talking much, with -little logic, though with abundant learning in canons, councils, -and patristic lore. Henchman was the most grave and comely of the -Bishops, and expressed himself calmly and slowly, with some reticence. -Gauden was almost always present, and though he had a bitter pen, he -was moderate in speech, "and if all had been of his mind," says our -reporter, "we had been reconciled." Reynolds spoke much the first -day, to bring his Episcopal brethren to moderation; a "solid, honest -man, but through mildness and excess of timorous reverence to great -men, altogether unfit to contend with them." Dr. Pearson was a true -logician, disputing "accurately, soberly, and calmly"--"breeding in -us a great respect for him, and a persuasion that if he had been -independent he would have been for peace." Dr. Gunning mixed passionate -invectives with some of his argumentations, though understanding well -what belonged to a disputant, but "so vehement for his high imposing -principles, and so over zealous for Arminianism and formality and -Church pomp."[246] Sterne, Bishop of Carlisle, "looked so honestly -and gravely and soberly," that it seemed, such a face could not have -deceived. Baxter's judgment of physiognomy here, however, proved to -be at fault, for when the prelate once broke silence, it was to -exclaim,--as Baxter used the word, "nation:"--"he will not say kingdom -lest he should own a king."[247] While Baxter thus spoke of his -opponents, they thus spoke of him: "At this Conference in the Savoy, -that reverend and great man, Bishop Morley, tells us, the generality -of the nonconforming Divines showed themselves unwilling to enter -upon dispute, and seemed to like much better another way tending to -an amicable and fair compliance, which was frustrated by a certain -person's furious eagerness to engage in a disputation, meaning Mr. -Baxter."[248] "There was a great submission paid to him by the whole -party. So he persuaded them, that from the words of the Commission -they were bound to offer every thing that they thought might conduce -to the good or peace of the Church, without considering what was like -to be obtained, or what effect their demanding so much might have, -in irritating the minds of those who were then the superior body in -strength and number."[249] - -[Sidenote: 1661.] - -After the debates were over, the Presbyterians waited on the Lord -Chancellor, to advise with him as to the account to be given of their -doings to the King. At first His Lordship received Baxter "merrily," -and comparing his spare figure and his thin face with the rotunder form -and plumper cheeks of one of his companions, said, "If you were as fat -as Dr. Manton, we should all do well." To which Baxter--fixing his dark -eyes on Clarendon, replied--"If His Lordship could teach me the art -of growing fat, he should find me not unwilling to learn by any good -means."[250] Becoming serious, the Chancellor charged the Divine with -being severe, strict, and melancholy, making things to be sin which -were not so. The latter simply rejoined, that he had spoken nothing but -what he thought, and nothing but what he had given reasons for thinking. - -[Sidenote: SAVOY CONFERENCE.] - -He afterwards drew up a paper in the form of a petition, supplying an -account of the Conference; and it was arranged that Reynolds, Bates, -and Manton should present the document. Baxter accompanied them at -their own request. Manton delivered the paper into the Royal hands; -Reynolds added a few words; and, of course, Baxter could not be silent. -He made, as he represents, "a short speech," in which he informed His -Majesty how far they had agreed with the Bishops, "and wherein the -difference did not lie, as in the points of loyalty, obedience, and -Church order." The King put the commonplace question suggested in all -such disputes, "But who shall be judge?" Baxter seized the opportunity -to say that "Judgment is either _public_ or _private_--_private_ -judgment called _discretionis_, which is but the use of my reason to -conduct my actions, belongeth to every private rational man; _public_ -judgment is ecclesiastical or civil, and belongeth accordingly to the -ecclesiastical governors (or pastors), and the civil, and not to any -private man." If Charles II. had been like his grandfather, James, -a scholastic discussion had been inevitable; but the gay grandson, -perhaps without heeding what the words meant, passed over Baxter's -remark in silence. The Puritan historian winds up all with the curt -remark, "And this was the end of these affairs."[251] - -[Sidenote: 1661.] - -Much sorrow and trouble sprung out of the Conference.[252] The -Episcopalian Royalists treated their opponents as a vanquished party, -and retorted on their old persecutors by calling them seditious and -disaffected. Young clergymen hoped they were on the road to preferment -if they reviled and calumniated Presbyterians; and Baxter especially -became a butt for malignant marksmen. Even his prayers were heard with -suspicion, and so, as he said, it was a mercy when he was silenced. -Yet his own account of the Conference produced a favourable impression -in quarters where he and his friends had been misapprehended. The -Independents, in the first instance, had been annoyed that the -Presbyterians had not consulted them; some of the latter Divines, too, -had been zealous of their more influential brethren, and both parties -had joined in saying that the Puritan Commissioners were too forward -in meeting the Bishops, and too ready to make concessions; and that -Baxter, although unimpeachable as to his motives, had been too eager -for concord, and too ready for compromise. But now the printed papers -turned the tide; the Independents admitted that the Presbyterian -Commissioners had been faithful to their principles.[253] - -[Sidenote: SAVOY CONFERENCE.] - -The Independents took no part in the Conference at Worcester House or -in that at the Savoy. They were not consulted by Presbyterians--an -instance of neglect which some of the Independents resented--but -it is plain, from a consideration of the principles of the latter -party during the Civil Wars and Commonwealth, that they could not, -consistently with those principles, harmoniously unite in any scheme -for comprehension. Their methods of Church discipline, felt to be -most important for securing the purity of their Churches, rendered -it impossible that their ecclesiastical institutions should work in -harmony with an Establishment. Why the Independents were overlooked -by the Government at that period, is obvious. At the Restoration they -were thrown into the background. Their previous political influence -had sprung from their connection with the Army, from the favour of -Republican officers, and from the religious sympathies of Oliver -Cromwell. That influence terminated on the eve of the King's return; -and it is easy, without suspecting their loyalty, to understand how -they would, at such a crisis, lose social position as well as political -influence.[254] Their prosperity under the Protectorate necessarily -entailed their adversity at the Restoration. Moreover, although to the -Presbyterians there remained friends at Court in the Earl of Manchester -and other noblemen, the Independents enjoyed no aristocratic patrons. -The Fleetwoods, Desboroughs, and Berrys, so far from being able to -assist their fellow-religionists, had enough to do to take care of -themselves. The Presbyterians, as we have seen, had still, in London, -clergymen of high standing and great activity, but the Independents -could not make any boast of that kind. Dr. Owen, who of them all, -perhaps, possessed the greatest influence, lived in retirement at -Stadham. John Howe, never a party man, and thoroughly averse to the -occupations of public life, quietly pursued his pastoral duties at -Torrington. Dr. Goodwin, it is true, had removed to the metropolis on -his ejectment from Oxford, but he now spent his time in seclusion; -and Caryl, another distinguished member of the Congregational body, -and a City pastor, preferred commenting on the Book of Job, to any -entanglement in political affairs. Philip Nye was, probably, the most -active of the denomination, but he had no power to serve the cause, -forasmuch, as at the time of the Restoration he had narrowly escaped -the fate of Hugh Peters.[255] The Independents, as a party, were not -in a position just then to render it a matter of importance that the -Government should conciliate them; nor did they manifest any desire -to secure for their system the temporal benefits of State endowment. -Their retirement from the stage of public affairs brought them no -disadvantage. Providence had appointed for them a moral discipline, -of which the fruit was to appear in after years. They had embraced -principles eminently conducive to the freedom and spirituality of -Christ's Church, and they were destined to take an important part in -the development of English Christianity through the diffusion of those -principles. Their disconnection with the Establishment harmonized with -that destiny. The Baptists, like the Independents, and for similar -reasons, were unrepresented in the Commission; so indeed, also, if we -except Reynolds, were the moderate Episcopalians, who although not -prepared to go so far as their High Church brethren in the matter of -conformity, were ready to advance in that direction much beyond the -limits marked out by the Presbyterians; but looking at the temper on -the other side, there is no reason to suppose that the presence and -counsels of such men would have altered the results of the discussions. - -[Sidenote: 1661.] - -[Sidenote: SAVOY CONFERENCE.] - -Having described the Savoy Conference, and the contemporary meetings of -Convocation, there remain to be noticed the proceedings of that higher -assembly, with which both the others were coeval. - - - - - CHAPTER VIII. - - -The Solemn League and Covenant had been displaced a year, and the -New Parliament now resolved to brand it with fresh indignities.[256] -Accordingly it was, by the common hangman, burnt at Westminster, in -Cheapside, and before the Exchange. The executioner "did his work -perfectly well; for having kindled his fire, he tore the document into -very many pieces, and first burned the preface; and then cast each -parcel solemnly into the fire, lifting up his hands and eyes, not -leaving the least shred, but burnt it root and branch."[257] - -Similar spectacles were enacted elsewhere; and at Bury St. Edmunds, -upon the anniversary of the Restoration--amidst floral decorations, -and the adornment of houses with tapestry and pictures, after service -at church, Hugh Peters was gibbeted in effigy, with the Solemn -League grasped in his hand, and the Directory tucked under his arm. -In Southampton, after the firing of culverins, and the marching of -scarlet-robed Aldermen, there followed the burning of the Covenant, "in -a stately frame, taken from the chancel of an Anabaptist Church."[258] - -[Sidenote: PROCEEDINGS OF PARLIAMENT.] - -As a further indication of the temper of the Commons at the -moment, it may be stated, that the Speaker rebuked the Mayor of -Northampton--summoned to the bar of the House for irreverent carriage -in the church, and at the communion table--and that a Bill was read -three times for preventing the mischiefs and dangers, which might arise -from certain persons called Quakers, and others, "refusing to take -lawful oaths."[259] - -Ere the House had been sitting two months, Bills were introduced of -such a character as to prove, that, from the beginning of the Session, -measures had been framed for bringing back the Church to the standard -of former days, without making any concessions to Nonconformists. The -Bills now about to be described, did not appear one after another, as -expedients adopted for public safety in consequence of plots, real or -suspected; but they constituted parts of one coherent and comprehensive -method for re-establishing Episcopacy and crushing Dissent. They must -be traced out distinctly. - -I. A Bill for restoring the prelates to the Upper House was introduced -to the Commons by "a gentleman of a Presbyterian family," and it -met with little opposition. The ancient constitution of the Upper -House could be successfully pleaded in its favour, but it involved -the principle of a State Establishment of religion; and would, if -discussed by voluntaries on the one hand, and by the advocates of a -nationally-established Church on the other, raise the whole question -as to the Christian legitimacy and the social justice of such an -arrangement. It involved, also, the recognition of Prelacy as the -most expedient, if not the most scriptural form of ecclesiastical -government, and would thus present a momentous subject of controversy -to Presbyterians. But few, if any, decided voluntaries could then be -found in the House of Commons; the number of Presbyterians also was -small, and their influence manifestly on the decline. - -[Sidenote: 1661.] - -Upon the Bill reaching the Lords, some obstruction of a very different -kind from that which, under other circumstances, might have been -expected from the parties just named, arose from the Roman Catholic -Earl of Bristol. He obtained an interview with the King and told him -"that if this Bill should speedily pass, it would absolutely deprive -the Catholics of all those graces and indulgence which he intended -to them; for that the Bishops, when they should sit in the House, -whatever their own opinions or inclinations were, would find themselves -obliged, that they might preserve their reputation with the people, to -contradict and oppose whatsoever should look like favour or connivance -towards the Catholics: and therefore, if His Majesty continued his -former gracious inclination towards the Roman Catholics, he must put -some stop (even for the Bishops' own sakes) to the passing that Bill, -till the other should be more advanced, which he supposed might shortly -be done."[260] Charles listened, and desired the Earl to inform his -friends in the House, that he "would be well pleased, that there -should not be overmuch haste in the presenting that Bill for his Royal -assent." Its progress was accordingly retarded in Committee, until the -Chancellor decided the Monarch, who--veering from point to point, as -influence brought to bear on him by his Courtiers varied, although, -no doubt, he was in his heart more disposed to follow Bristol than -Clarendon--at last consented that the Bill might be despatched. It -passed at the end of the Session; and when the Parliament was adjourned -at the end of July, and the Speaker in his robes, at the summons of -the Black Rod, knelt before the enthroned Sovereign, the measure was -the subject of emphatic reference in a speech filled with quaint -conceits.[261] - -[Sidenote: PROCEEDINGS OF PARLIAMENT.] - -II. Next, in the course of proceedings, bearing upon religion, came -the Bill for the well-governing of Corporations. It was early read, -speedily committed, and largely discussed; and within a month of its -being introduced, it passed the Lower House. The Lords amended it, and, -according to the complaint of the Commons, changed "the whole body -of the Bill." First read on the 19th of June, it did not receive the -Royal assent until the 20th of December.[262] The Act required that all -members of Corporations should, besides taking the Oath of Supremacy, -swear that it is not lawful, under any pretence, to bear arms against -the King, and that the Solemn League and Covenant was illegal. It also -declared every one ineligible for a municipal office, who had not, -within one year, received the Lord's Supper, according to the rites of -the Church of England. - -[Sidenote: 1661.] - -III. The House, on the 25th of June, appointed a Committee to report, -how far the coercive power of Ecclesiastical Courts had been taken -away, and to prepare a Bill for their restoration. The Bill provided -that, although the High Commission had been abolished, Archbishops, -Bishops, and other persons exercising ecclesiastical jurisdiction, -should have their power restored as before, two provisions being -subjoined--one forbidding the use of the _ex officio_ oath, and another -preserving the Royal Supremacy from abridgment. This Bill involved -the further re-establishment of Episcopalianism. It does not appear -that any debate was raised on that ground. The Bill passed, as if a -matter of course; and together with the Bill, reinstating the Bishops, -received the Royal assent before the end of July.[263] Thus within -a few weeks, three measures were introduced, and two of them were -carried, tending to repress Dissent and consolidate the Episcopalian -Church. The fourth measure, which was central in point of importance, -remains to be considered. Its origin and progress must be patiently -followed. - - -[Sidenote: PROCEEDINGS OF PARLIAMENT.] - -IV. Whilst many of the Episcopalian party assumed the existence of a -legal obligation to use the Common Prayer, some Nonconformists adopted -this curious line of argument: "That the Common Prayer Book, 5th and -6th of Edward VI., with some alterations made 1st of Elizabeth, was so -established we know, but what that book was, or where it is, we cannot -tell; it is apparent that the books ordinarily walking up and down -are not so established."[264] It would seem as if this odd kind of -objection secured some respect; for the first step towards a settlement -of the question of worship is found in a resolution, by the House of -Commons, that a Committee of all the members, who were of the Long -Robe,[265] should view the several laws for confirming the Liturgy of -the Church of England, and make search, whether the original Book of -the Liturgy, annexed to the Act passed in the fifth and sixth years -of the reign of King Edward VI., was still extant; they were also "to -bring in a compendious Bill to supply any defect in the former laws, -and to provide for an effectual conformity to the Liturgy of the Church -for the time to come." - -It cannot be ascertained how the new measure originated, but we may -be sure that Government would not leave it to be dealt with by any -private person. It formed part of a manifold scheme which must have -had a single origin. The practice of holding Cabinet meetings--long -regarded with jealousy by pedantic Constitutionalists--had commenced in -the reign of Charles I. That businesslike and hard-working Monarch had, -from time to time, drawn around him a few select members of his Privy -Council, whom he assembled in his _Cabinet_, as it was called; and it -appears that sometimes they had been obliged to register his absolute -decrees, rather than by their advice to control his headstrong career. -Charles II., idle and dissolute--in that respect the opposite of his -father--held meetings of the same description, not that he might guide -the helm, but often that he might sit on the quarter-deck, and laugh -and joke with the officers, whilst they managed the ship very much as -they pleased. The proposal of a new Law of Uniformity probably was made -and discussed at one of these private conferences; and it also seems -probable, that the proposal emanated from Lord Clarendon, who was, to -all intents, Prime Minister. - -[Sidenote: 1661.] - -In connection with the appointment of the Committee, the House -recommended that the preparation of the Bill should be entrusted to the -care of Serjeant Keeling. He had been engaged as Junior Counsel for the -Crown on the trial of the Regicides, in 1660; and for his activity and -zeal on that occasion, had attained to the distinction of the coif. -He was subsequently entrusted with the prosecution of Hacker, Colonel -of the Guard at the execution of Charles I. After the new Bill of -Uniformity had passed, he conducted the prosecution of Sir Henry Vane, -in 1662; and on each of these occasions approved himself to the ruling -party, and especially to Clarendon, as a useful instrument. Created a -puisne Judge in 1663, he subsequently rose to a Chief Justiceship, over -the head of Sir Matthew Hale; and whilst on the bench manifested his -devotedness to the Church, by fining a jury one hundred marks each, -for acquitting a few poor people, who assembled on Sunday with Bibles -without Prayer-books. He was a violent man, and had the character -of being more fit to charge Roundheads under Prince Rupert, than to -charge juries from the bench of justice.[266] When, at length, his -arbitrary proceedings and a contemptuous allusion which he made to -Magna Charta, brought him under the notice of Parliament, he escaped -its condemnation, only by an act of obsequious submission. - -The Bill prepared by this lawyer came before the Commons on the 29th -of June, and was read a first time. The second reading followed on the -3rd of July. No account is preserved of the debate. History is as -silent respecting what ensued within the walls of St. Stephen's after -Keeling had expounded his measure, as it is silent relative to any -discussion of the principle and details of the other Bills previously -introduced for the re-institution of the Episcopalian Church. The -Serjeant, perhaps, would deem it unnecessary to enter into a lengthened -argument in favour of imposing some one form of religious worship upon -the nation, since the desirableness of such uniformity was a forgone -conclusion with almost all the members of the House. But would he not -defend his proposal against the objections of Presbyterians? Would not -they have something to advance during the proceedings? The wish to know -what was said on either side seems altogether in vain. - -[Sidenote: 1661.] - -Upon the second reading, the printed Prayer Book of Queen Elizabeth, -not that of Edward, in 1552, was attached to the Bill, and a Committee -was named to meet in the Star Chamber. They were directed, if the -original book of Edward before specified, could not be found, to report -upon the printed one of Elizabeth. No reference to the original book -of Edward appears in the subsequent proceedings.[267] On the day when -the Bill was committed, Serjeant Keeling, with Sir John Maynard, and -another member, were ordered to prepare a measure for "calling in all -seditious and schismatical books and pamphlets;" and the names of the -members who had not taken the Lord's Supper were reported. The House -with one hand thus exercised Church discipline, whilst with the other -hand it was making Church law. Upon the 8th of July, Sir Edmond Peirce -reported that several amendments had been agreed to; and upon the 9th, -the "Bill for the Uniformity of Public Prayers and Administration -of Sacraments" was read a third time and passed; and instead of a -Prayer Book, printed in the reign of Elizabeth, another printed in -the reign of King James (1604) "was, at the Clerk's table, annexed -to the said Bill; part of the two prayers inserted therein, before -the Reading Psalms, being first taken out, and the other part thereof -obliterated."[268] This copy of the Prayer Book appears to have been -attached to the Bill chiefly for the sake of form, as the Book had not -yet been examined and revised by Convocation. That important business -was not performed until the close of the year; and in the final stage -of proceedings, before the Act of Uniformity passed, this scarcely -altered volume was superseded by the revised one, which was fastened to -the Bill as passed, and which will be described in the Appendix to this -History. - -Thus everything connected with the proceedings showed the utmost -despatch; and upon Wednesday the 10th of July "the Bill for -establishing the Book of Common Prayer was brought up to the Lords by a -very great number of members of the House of Commons, to testify their -great desire for the settlement of the Church of England."[269] - -[Sidenote: PROCEEDINGS OF PARLIAMENT.] - -The Bill as it left the Commons differed materially from the Act as it -ultimately passed. Those differences will appear in the sequel. - -Although the Bill reached the Upper House on the 10th of July, it -did not come under discussion there for more than five months. This -may be accounted for. Curious as it may seem, the Bill for Uniformity -had passed the Commons before it had been decided what the Uniformity -should be. New prayers were composed by Convocation before it broke up -in July; but the revision of the Prayer Book by Convocation did not -commence until the month of November, four months after the Bill had -been sent up from the Commons. The Bill could not be completely carried -before the revision was settled; and the Convocation did not accomplish -that task until the end of the year. Another cause of delay is seen -in the fact, that the Bishops were not restored to their seats until -the 20th of November; and it was important, if not constitutionally -essential, for them to take part in the decision of a question like -this. - -At the time when the new Bill reached the Lords, they were engaged upon -a report concerning the penal laws against Papists. Hoping to share -in any relief which might be extended to the last-named religionists, -certain Anabaptists and "good Christians," as they called themselves, -had presented a petition upon the 5th of July, and were on the 12th -permitted to plead on their own behalf. The Lords finished the report -on the penal laws against Catholics upon the 16th of the month; and -a Committee was then appointed to prepare a Bill to repeal certain -statutes concerning Jesuits, also the clause in the Act of the 35th of -Queen Elizabeth c. i., respecting Nonconformists, together with the -writ _de Hæretico Comburendo_. The reasons of the alterations were to -be set forth, and proper remedies were to be devised for preserving the -Protestant religion from any inconveniences incident upon the repeal -of these ancient enactments. Such proceedings, at first sight, appear -as so much progress towards religious liberty; but there is ground for -believing that the reference to the statute against Nonconformists, -only served to cover some relief designed for the Papists. Whatever -the real intention might be, the whole business soon dropped, and -no further allusion to it is found in the Journals; nor during the -remainder of the year 1661 is any further mention made of the Bill of -Uniformity. - -[Sidenote: 1661.] - -In those days the transmission of intelligence to the provinces could -not be otherwise than slow, and when it had reached its destination it -often proved inaccurate. The broad-wheeled coach, or the horse laden -with saddle-bags, could only, with measured pace, convey the London -citizen to the house of a country friend. The news which he related -at the supper-table, or which he conveyed in some quaintly-written -epistle, would then be stale indeed, according to the judgment of -such as are familiar with telegrams. The cumbrous stage-waggon, more -heavily laden, would be slower still in its movements, and by the -time it reached the rural inn, the newspapers it carried would be far -advanced in age. Altogether the _Mercuries_ were tardy in their flight, -and the _Public Intelligencers_ were addicted to garbling reports, and -falsifying stories. What had been done in the Session would, therefore, -not be known in distant counties until some time afterwards; and then, -probably, in some instances, reports would be circulated through a town -or a village in erroneous form. - -[Sidenote: STATE OF FEELING.] - -Tidings of the new Bill, in confused fashion, struggled down to -Worthenbury, seven miles from Wrexham, where lived the eminently pious -Philip Henry. Just before the Bill passed its last stage in the Lower -House, he received news from London of speedy severity intended -against Nonconformists. In daily doubt of what was to happen, he, on -the 7th of July recorded, that "In despite of enemies the Lord hath -granted the liberty of one Sabbath more." Next day he received a letter -from Dr. Bridgeman (the restored Rector), informing him that if he -did not speedily conform, he, Dr. Bridgeman, could no longer protect -him. Henry wrote a "dilatory answer," to the Episcopalian clergyman, -hoping that time might bring some deliverance. The old Incumbent acted -kindly, and showed no sympathy with the ruling powers. On the 24th, -news of the progress of the Bill reached the Flintshire rectory, and -shaped itself into a report, that the Bill had passed both Houses, -and now only waited His Majesty's assent. "Lord, his heart is in Thy -hand," ejaculated the devout Puritan; "if it be Thy will, turn it; -if otherwise, fit Thy people to suffer, and cut short the work in -righteousness."[270] - -Means were not wanting for the annoyance of Nonconformist ministers -by those who wished to restore the surplice and the Liturgy; and -on Sunday, the 25th of August, 1661, just a year before the legal -enforcement of Uniformity, Oliver Heywood had the Prayer Book publicly -presented to him in his Church, with a demand that he would use it in -the devotions of the day. It was laid on the pulpit cushion. He quietly -took it down, and placed it on the reading-desk, and then went on with -the service in the accustomed Presbyterian fashion, being "wonderfully -assisted," as he remarks, "that day, in praying and preaching." - -[Sidenote: 1661.] - -It is difficult, even amidst the strongest excitement of the nineteenth -century, to conceive of the bitter feelings which existed in the middle -of the seventeenth. Our abuse is courtesy, compared with the abuse -which prevailed then. Fierce diatribes were uttered from parish pulpits -by restored Incumbents against Roundheads, Anabaptists, and Quakers. -They were denounced as rebels who had narrowly escaped the gallows. -"Many of you," said Dr. Reeve, in the Abbey Church of Waltham, "have -gotten a pardon for all your exorbitances, but death will seal no -act of indemnity. Ye have escaped the halter of many of your fellow -miscreants, but death hath set up her gibbet for you."[271] The -press also was plied for reducing intractable parishes into a state -of submission. Swarms of pamphlets and broadsides were issued--some -reprints, some originals--with a view to support the Church by -argument, or by satire, or by ridicule.[272] Marvellous stories also -were manufactured about the devil having appeared to fanatics, who, -late at night, were on their way to Conventicles; and sharp, severe, -and unjust things were also said on the other side.[273] - - - - - CHAPTER IX. - - -Parliament, which had been adjourned in July, reassembled in November. -Charles, on the 20th of that month, attired in crimson velvet, the -crown on his head, the sceptre in his hand, sat upon the throne of his -fathers, attended by a good number of Earls and Barons, occupying their -benches. It was a proud day for the Church of England; for then, the -first time after a lapse of twenty years, the Spiritual Fathers, in -their scarlet robes, as Peers of the realm, filled their ancient seats; -and His Majesty, it seems, came to the House partly in honour of their -re-instatement. "My Lords and Gentlemen of the House of Commons," he -remarked; "I know the visit I make you this day is not necessary--is -not of course--yet, if there were no more in it, it would not be -strange that I come to see what you and I have so long desired to see, -the Lords, Spiritual and Temporal, and the Commons of England met -together." - -[Sidenote: 1661.] - -The greater part of the speech from the Throne related to the crying -debts which every day he heard; but before the King ended he said: -"Those [things] which concern matters of religion, I confess to you, -are too hard for me, and therefore I do commend them to your care and -deliberation which can best provide for them."[274] He was no polemic -like his grandfather; but he had himself, in the autumn of 1660, -undertaken to manage the Church question; a year's experience, however, -had taught him a little wisdom, and no wonder that the subject which -had been more than Charles V. could manage in Germany, had proved much -too hard for Charles II. in England. - -The Lord Chancellor delivered a message to the House of Peers on the -19th of December, to the effect that, besides the apprehensions and -fears then generally prevalent, His Majesty had received alarming -letters from several parts of the kingdom; and also that from -intercepted letters, it appeared there were many discontented persons -troubling the nation's peace; in consequence of which he sought the -assistance of Parliament.[275] The contents of some of these letters -we know. The object of informers, and of the people who rifled the -post, was to make it appear that Nonconformists were disaffected, -that Dissent was treason; and that measures ought to be adopted for -the utter extinction of the growing evil. Yet the accusers, in many -cases, were forced to acknowledge, that the accused were quiet when let -alone. The letters prove that the nation felt dissatisfied,[276] that -multitudes murmured against the Government, that Republican officers -were unsettled, and that some were watching for a good opportunity to -take up arms. A few fanatics entertained rebellious designs; but that -Presbyterians, Independents, Baptists, or Quakers, either generally -or in large numbers, were covering political plots under a veil of -religious worship--the point sought to be established--is an unfounded -surmise, indeed a pure invention. - -[Sidenote: PRETENDED PLOTS.] - -An example of the method employed to criminate innocent persons may be -adduced, and it will furnish an illustration of some of the evidence to -which Clarendon alluded. - -William Kiffin was a rich London merchant, and a famous Baptist -preacher. Whilst held in honour by his fellow-citizens for commercial -integrity, and by his fellow-religionists for fervent zeal, he was the -object of relentless persecution to the party now in the ascendant, -and his steps were tracked by informers with lynx-eyed vigilance, and -wolfish ferocity. When other methods had failed to bring him within the -reach of the law, one of the most abominable schemes which cunning and -malignity ever contrived, was adopted with a view to compass his ruin. - -A letter was posted at Taunton bearing the signature of Colonel Basset -of that town, and directed to one Nathaniel Crabb, Silk-thrower, in -London, "residing at his house in Gravel Lane." The letter is preserved -in the State Paper Office. It is written in a spirit of fanaticism, -expressing a desire for the destruction of the sons and daughters of -Belial, and declaring that there were thousands of "dear saints" who -were ready to "lay down their lives to do the work of God." "We do -desire you," it is said, "to be careful to get into your hands powder -and arms; as many as you can between this and Easter, and we will do -what we can to perfect the work." The name of Kiffin is introduced, -together with the names of Jesse and Griffin, as conspirators in -the design. At first sight the letter appears genuine. Nothing is -indicated to the contrary in the _Calendar of State Papers_. When I -read it at first, it startled me; yet this letter is a fabrication. -An autobiography, written by Kiffin, is at hand to expose the fraud. -He was summoned before the Council. The letter was read to him. He -replied that he knew nothing of the matters to which it referred; and -afterwards, before the Chief Justice, by whom he was examined, he -proceeded to show, from certain anachronisms in the document, that -it must be a forgery. His Lordship expressed his satisfaction with -Kiffin's defence, assuring him that the author of the letter, if -discovered, should be punished.[277] - -[Sidenote: 1661.] - -A Committee of Lords and Commons having been appointed to report -respecting plots, Mr. Waller, on the re-assembling of Parliament, after -the Christmas recess, stated that not less than 160 of the old Army -officers were suspected of being implicated in treasonable schemes. -Some of the regicides, he alleged, were being entertained in France, -Holland, and Germany; arms were being bought by them to accomplish -these designs; many pretended Quakers were riding about at night to the -terror of peaceable subjects, and seditious preachers were plying their -mischievous trade.[278] This report, in some parts obviously absurd, -was followed by no confirmatory evidence, although further information -was promised. - -[Sidenote: CONVOCATION.] - -The day after the re-assembling of Parliament, in the month of -November, the Houses of Convocation resumed their deliberations. To -facilitate the despatch of business in reference to the Prayer Book, -the Convocation of the province of York agreed to unite with the -Convocation of the province of Canterbury, by means of proxies, binding -themselves to submit to the decisions thus obtained.[279] So earnest -was the Northern Archbishop, that he wrote to the Prolocutor of his -Lower House to send up proxies by the next post, and told the Registrar -of his diocese, "if we have not all from you by the end of next week -we are lost."[280] Several clergymen came from the North to town, to -act on behalf of their brethren. The two provinces thus co-operating, -the business of revising the Prayer Book rapidly proceeded. Upon the -10th of October, the King had written to the Archbishop of Canterbury, -directing His Grace, with the other Bishops and clergy, to discharge -that duty;[281] and, probably, before Convocation met in November, -the Bishops had begun to prepare for the task, although there were -differences of opinion amongst them; for, whilst some pressed for -alterations such as might "silence scruples and satisfy claims," others -were for adopting the Prayer Book as it stood. - -[Sidenote: 1661.] - -Before describing the alterations which were now made, it is proper -to give, at least, a slight sketch of the history of the volume. The -Middle Ages had no Act of Uniformity. There were several rituals, -called _Uses_, of York, Hereford, Exeter, Lincoln, and other dioceses. -These Uses, which did not materially differ from each other, gave place -after the eleventh century, especially in the South of England, to that -of Sarum; Osmund, Bishop of Salisbury, having about the year 1085, -bestowed great pains upon the revision of the ecclesiastical offices in -his Church. The Missal and Breviary contained in Osmund's revision of -the English mediæval formularies, constitute the basis and, indeed, the -substance of the Book of Common Prayer.[282] The first reformed Liturgy -for the use of the Protestant Church in England was set forth under -Edward VI., in the year 1549. A second, which showed a further advance -on the side of the Reformation, appeared in 1552. A primer, or book of -private prayer, containing the catechism, with collects and other forms -of secret devotions, was published in 1553. Elizabeth's Book of Common -Prayer belongs to the year 1559; and afterwards, at different times, -came particular forms of devotion, prepared for particular seasons -and circumstances. The Prayer Book of 1559 underwent some alterations -at the commencement of the reign of James I., after the Hampton -Court Conference, but they were very slight, and were simply called -_Explanations_. The Book prepared in the reign of Elizabeth, thus -altered, was that which the Convocation of 1661-2 had to revise. - -[Sidenote: CONVOCATION.] - -Perhaps I shall best succeed in giving with brevity some idea of -the origin of the Common Prayer, and other offices of the Church of -England, if I take the Morning Service, the Communion, and the Order -for performing Baptism, as they were found in the Book used before -the revision under Charles II., and point out, in a general way, the -sources from which those forms were derived. - -Morning prayer is in the main drawn from the Matins, Lauds, -and Prime of the Sarum Breviary. That which may be called the -introduction--extending from the opening sentence to the end of the -Absolution--was a new feature in the Prayer Book of 1552. The materials -of it may be found in mediæval Lent services, the old Office for the -Visitation of the Sick, and certain portions of a homily by Pope -Leo. Some have supposed that some hints for this introduction were -gathered from the reformed Strasburg Liturgy, published by Pollanus -(or Pullain).[283] The idea embodied was that of substituting public -confession, awakened by the reading of Holy Scripture, for private -confession made to a priest; and, on the same principle, the using of -a public form of absolution for a secret one. The object was to make -that congregational and common which had previously been individual or -monastic. - -[Sidenote: 1661.] - -The second portion or main substance of the Morning Service, from -the Lord's Prayer to the three collects, is derived obviously from -different sources. The Versicles are taken from the Sarum Use, and -other old offices. The version of the Psalter is that of Cranmer's -Bible, 1539. The Lessons were substituted for the numerous, but brief -Scripture sections of the Breviary, the Apocrypha being occasionally -used. The Te Deum is an old canticle of Gallic origin;[284] the -Benedicite is the Song of the Three Children, a Greek addition to -the third chapter of Daniel; the Apostles' Creed is taken from the -Anglo-Saxon office of Prime; and, as to the other creeds, we may -add, that the Nicene was sung at Mass, after the Gallican Use; the -Athanasian was sung in the Matin offices.[285] - -The Litany may be regarded as a distinct service. It is a very old form -of devotion, differing somewhat in different countries. The Invocation -of Saints was removed by the Reformers; and in the compilation of its -numerous sentences, along with the Sarum ritual, the _Consultation_ of -Hermann, the reforming Archbishop of Cologne (1543), was extensively -employed.[286] The collects and short prayers come from various -sources; many of them from the _Sacramentary_ of Gregory, and some -from that of Gelasius; others were drawn from ancient models, but much -altered; several were new. The few Occasional Prayers in the books -of 1552 and 1559 were, like those added in the revision of 1661-2, new -compositions arising out of existing circumstances. - -[Sidenote: CONVOCATION.] - -The Communion Service, or Liturgy proper, was derived from the Missal, -expurgated of course. The second Prayer Book of Edward, in that -respect, was a decided improvement on the first. It omits even an -implied _oblation of the consecrated elements_, and simply expresses -the _oblation of the worshippers_--the difference of oblation being -one grand difference between the Romish and Protestant Eucharist. The -second Book also omits the commemoration of "the most blessed Virgin -Mary," with the Patriarchs, Prophets, Apostles, and Martyrs, contained -in the first. Other alterations were made of a decidedly Protestant -character in the time of Edward. The Prayer Book of 1559 indicates -certain retrograde changes. The omission of the thoroughly Protestant -declaration respecting the Lord's Supper in the Book of 1552, is -very significant. It may be added, however, that Bishops Grindal and -Horn, when writing to Bullinger and Gaulter, assured them that the -declaration "continued to be most diligently declared, published and -impressed upon the people."[287] - -The Baptismal Service was founded upon formularies, priestly and -pontificial, in the Sarum offices. Certain idle ceremonies were -omitted, but the order of making catechumens, the blessing of the -font, and the form of baptizing, as constituted in the mediæval Church, -were adopted by the Reformers. There are also in the service plain -traces of the influence of Bucer and Melancthon, through Hermann's -_Consultation_. The first prayer was originally composed by Luther. -The thanksgiving after the rite is a much stronger expression of the -doctrine of baptismal regeneration, than the ancient Gallic form of -words from which it seems to be derived.[288] - -[Sidenote: 1661.] - -These imperfect notices show how carefully the Reformers retained what -they considered most precious in the ancient records of Christian -devotion; how reverently they looked on words which had been vehicles -for ages, of the service of song and the offering of prayer. This -conservative element--connected with a prudential policy lest offence -should be given to semi-Protestants, when it could by any means be -avoided--appears to many an admirer of the Liturgy in the present day -to have been a snare, betraying the compilers into the retention of -some things which marred the beauty of their work, and really caused it -to narrow "the Communion of Saints" in the kingdom of England. Others -think far otherwise. For my own part I would say that as the sources -whence the Book was compiled are so numerous and so ancient, belonging -to Christendom in the remotest times--as there is in it so little that -is really original, so little that belongs to the Reformed Episcopal -Church in England, any more than to other Churches constrained by -conscience to separate from Rome--the bulk of what the Book contains, -including all that is most beautiful and noble, like hymns which, -by whomsoever written, are sung in Churches of every name, ought to -be regarded as the rightful inheritance of any who believe in the -essential unity of Christ's Catholic Church, and can sympathize in the -devotions of a Chrysostom, a Hilary, and an Ambrose. - -[Sidenote: CONVOCATION.] - -Such was the Book which Convocation had now to examine and revise, -in connection with necessities which had been felt ever since the -Reformation, and which had greatly increased during the seventeenth -century. - -The Upper House appointed on the 21st of November, a Committee -consisting of the Bishops of Durham, Ely, Oxford, Rochester, Sarum, -Worcester, Lincoln, and Gloucester, most of whom had been Commissioners -at the Savoy, to meet in the palace of the Bishop of Ely in Hatton -Garden, at five o'clock in the afternoon of every day, except Sunday, -until their work was finished. But when they had taken their walk -as the evening drew in, they really found little to do. Their work -had been anticipated; materials were ready to hand, The Prayer Book -had been carefully studied and revised for a long time, by eminent -Anglicans. MS. notes existed of great value, made or collected by -Bishop Overall, Bishop Andrewes, and Bishop Cosin.[289] Those by the -last, as we shall see, were largely used. - -That the Bishops when they met had much of what they needed provided -for them may be concluded from the fact that, on the 23rd of November, -only the second day after the appointment of the Committee, a portion -of the corrected copy was delivered to the Prolocutor of the Lower -House.[290] Previous labours had almost superseded a discharge of the -duties laid upon the newly-appointed Committee.[291] From day to day -progress was made, until, within a month, the work was completed. - -[Sidenote: 1661.] - -Forms of prayer which had been adopted by Convocation in the summer, -were now inserted in the volume. So also were the General Thanksgiving, -drawn up by Dr. Reynolds, and the Prayer for all sorts and conditions -of men, composed by Dr. Gunning.[292] New collects were introduced, -with occasional prayers in the visitation of the sick.[293] About -600 alterations were made in the body of the volume. Some of these -were in accordance with suggestions made by the Puritans at the Savoy -Conference, but they did not amount to important concessions. Others -of them were adapted to render the Prayer Book more distasteful to -that party than before. The word _Priest_ was substituted for the -word _Minister_ in the Absolution; instead of _Bishops, Pastors, and -Ministers_, were introduced _Bishops, Priests, and Deacons_; and -the words _rebellion and schism_ were added to the petition against -_sedition_; but many of the alterations are unconnected with any -theological or ecclesiastical controversy. There is a volume amongst -the Tennison MSS., Lambeth, which contains _The Differences of the Old -Common Prayer Book and the New_, being a copy of the edition, printed -in 1663, with the variations written upon the margins and upon the -paper interleaved; at the beginning, are the words, "This is the -publique Liturgy revised and rectified. A^o 1662." The notes which had -been collected or composed by Cosin seem to have been largely used -throughout the revision.[294] - -[Sidenote: CONVOCATION.] - -The Bishops came to an unanimous vote in favour of a form of prayer -before and after sermon; thus cutting off all liberty to introduce -extempore devotion, and extinguishing one of the last hopes of -the Puritan party: but this design was afterwards dropped "upon -prudential reasons."[295] Pell,[296] assisted by Sancroft, revised -the Calendar, and with the Calendar was connected the arrangement of -daily lessons. Should the Apocrypha be read as before in the Church -Service? The Puritans deemed it a profanation to read uninspired and, -in some respects, superstitious books, as if they formed part of Holy -Scripture. A severe battle seems to have been fought on this vital -question. One can imagine how feelings would be excited to the highest -pitch, how the question would be canvassed in different circles, how -people would watch for tidings of the debate, how the History of -Susanna and the Elders would be like a standard wrestled for in the tug -of war; and very probable is Andrew Marvell's story of a jolly doctor, -coming out with a face full of joy, shouting "We have carried it for -Bel and the Dragon!"[297] - -[Sidenote: 1661.] - -We learn that during the later Sessions of the Convocation, Herbert -Thorndike "constantly attended and had a hand more than ordinary in -the business"--a piece of information which rests upon the authority -of Sancroft. Both Sancroft and his friend were in favour of such -alterations as have been sometimes called _Laudian_, and they were -anxious (especially the latter of these Divines) to proceed further -in that direction. Thorndike, there is reason to believe, regarded as -imperfections the omission of all intercession for departed souls, and -of the prayer for the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the elements -used at the communion.[298] Perhaps some others sympathized with these -eminent persons in this respect, but they found their tendencies -checked by the decided Protestantism of the larger portion of the -clergy, and by a regard to expediency in some who had no decided -convictions on the subject. - -Upon the 19th of December--a day on which complaints were made to the -House of Lords to the effect that many disaffected persons, both on -political and ecclesiastical grounds, existed in the realm--the Upper -House committed the preparing of a form of subscription to Cosin and -Henchman, Bishops of Durham and Salisbury, who, in the discharge of -this duty, were to receive assistance from Drs. Chaworth and Burrett. -This small Committee met the same afternoon, when they came to an -agreement respecting the mode of expressing approval of the revised -formularies of the Church of England.[299] - -[Sidenote: CONVOCATION.] - -Convocation has been charged with indecent haste in the management -of this whole business. I do not wonder at such a charge, since a -similar accusation had been brought against the Presbyterians at the -Savoy, especially in reference to Baxter's Prayer Book: and so far as -the _adoption_ of alterations, proposed to the Houses by individuals -or committees, is concerned, there is ground for the complaint. Six -hundred alterations could never have been properly considered by two -large bodies of men in the short time actually devoted to them; and -looking at the matter as one so much affecting their own consciences, -and the consciences of all clergymen in future time, we must regard so -hasty a decision on the part of Convocation as unjustifiable. But, as -it regards _preparing_ the alterations, I see no ground on which to -charge with want of care the persons who performed that duty.[300] - -There does not appear to have been any discussion in Convocation -touching the Thirty-nine Articles. No alterations in them were -proposed by the Anglican party, although the Articles have always -been considered as presenting the more thoroughly Protestant or -_Evangelical_ side of the Church formularies. - -The two Houses of Convocation adopted and subscribed the Book of Common -Prayer on the 20th of December. As the Act of Uniformity had not then -been passed, as this subscription was intended to prepare for it, and -as no Act of Parliament existed at the time requiring subscription, -it may be instructive and useful to notice the grounds on which this -subscription took place. - -[Sidenote: 1661.] - -This fact is curious that, although the practice of subscribing to a -creed began so early as the Council of Nicæa, neither the clergy of -the Roman Catholic Church, nor the clergy of the Greek Church have -ever been required, or are now required, by any of their laws, so -to express their belief as to doctrine and their resolution as to -practice. The enforcement of subscription upon Protestant ministers -commenced soon after the Reformation; and, in some cases, the extent -of belief which it was intended to cover seems wide indeed; for in -the Duchy of Brunswick, Duke Julius required from clergymen, from -professors, and from magistrates, "a subscription to all and everything -contained in the Confession of Augsburg, in the apology for the -Confession, in the Smalcaldic Articles, in all the works of Luther, -and in all the works of Chemnitz."[301] The Articles of the Church -of England were not subscribed generally until the twelfth year of -the reign of Queen Elizabeth, when subscription was ordered for the -special purpose of checking the admission of Papists into the English -Church, and also the admission of those who had taken orders in the -foreign Reformed Churches. The assent required was confined to those -Articles "which only concern the Confession of the true Christian -faith and the doctrine of the Sacraments."[302] The Earl of Leicester -introduced to the University of Oxford, in 1581, subscription to the -Articles, without any precise form of words to be required from all -undergraduates upon matriculation, and from all who took degrees. The -extending of the act of subscription to the entire Liturgy was a step -not taken until 1603, when, by the canons of Convocation of that year, -this form of assent came to be required of all the clergy. Hence it -appears to have been in compliance with a canon law enacted by their -predecessors, and not in compliance with any statute law, that the -members of Convocation, in the year 1661, signed the declaration of -assent and consent to the contents of the Prayer Book.[303] - -[Sidenote: CONVOCATION.] - -After the Revision had been completed, a copy of the Bill then pending -in Parliament was read and examined in the Upper House of Convocation -upon the 29th of January. Upon the 18th of February, Dr. Barwick was -chosen Prolocutor in the room of Dr. Ferne, promoted to the see of -Chester. The Bishops deputed their brethren of St. Asaph, Carlisle, -and Chester, on the 5th of March, with the concurrence of the Lower -House, to revise alterations in the Book during its progress through -Parliament--a resolution which seems to have had a prospective -reference to alterations anticipated as possible, but which do not -appear to have been ever attempted; for it is known, as will be -hereafter seen, that none were made by the Commons, and it may be -inferred that none were made by the Lords.[304] Upon the 8th of March -Convocation directed Sancroft, afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury, -to superintend the printing of the Book; and Mr. Scattergood and Mr. -Dillingham to correct the proofs. Upon the 22nd of the same month the -subject of a special form for the consecration of churches came under -discussion.[305] - -[Sidenote: 1661.] - -Convocation accomplished no alterations in the canons, though it took -up the subject repeatedly; nor did it determine anything with regard -to Church discipline. The whole of this question had remained in an -unsettled state ever since the Reformation. In the reign of Henry -VIII. (1534), a Commission had been appointed by statute to revise -the ecclesiastical laws; and enactments respecting them nearly up to -the time of the death of that monarch were repealed. In the reign -of Edward VI. (1551), a renewed Commission for the same purpose was -statutably instituted; and the labours of the Commissioners issued in -the well-known book, entitled _Reformatio legum Ecclesiasticarum_, a -code strongly imbued with the intolerance of the age.[306] But it never -received the Royal sanction; it never became legally binding. Another -abortive attempt was made in Convocation (1603), when James I. occupied -the throne; and canons were passed declaring the doctrine of passive -obedience, and denouncing a series of opposite opinions.[307] Happily -for the credit of the Church and the peace of the realm, this, like the -previous scheme of ecclesiastical law, failed to obtain constitutional -sanction. The last endeavour at making canons (1640) hastened -the crisis of the Civil Wars. There was little then to encourage -Convocation to proceed with the business of Church discipline, and, -therefore, notwithstanding the earnestness of Thorndike in promoting -it, the subject was allowed to drop.[308] - -[Sidenote: BISHOPS.] - -The month of December, which saw the revisionary labours of Convocation -completed, also witnessed within the walls of Westminster Abbey two -remarkable solemnities connected with the revival of Episcopacy. Upon -the 12th of December, Sharp, Archbishop of St. Andrew's, Fairfull, -Archbishop of Glasgow, Leighton, Bishop of Dunblaine, and Hamilton, -Bishop of Galloway, were consecrated by the Bishops of London and -Worcester;[309] and upon the 20th, the day when the Prayer Book was -being subscribed by the members of the two Houses of Convocation, the -Bishop of Hereford, brother to the Duke of Albemarle, was buried,--a -silver mitre, with his Episcopal robes, being borne by the Herald -before the hearse, which was followed by the Duke, by several noblemen, -and by all the Bishops.[310] - -[Sidenote: 1661.] - -The Bishops, this year, had other business besides that of Convocation -to occupy time, and to create anxiety. Prior to the passing of the -Act of Uniformity, their dioceses could not but be in a state of -confusion. Many clergymen who were disaffected to the restored system -and its Episcopal administrators, retained incumbencies, and gave -considerable trouble to the ecclesiastical superiors. It was as if, -after the suppression of a long-continued and successful mutiny, and -the re-instatement of old officers in command, a number of soldiers in -the ranks, or of sailors on board ship, should still remain opposed -to the colonel or the captain.[311] - - - - - CHAPTER X. - - -As there had been only an adjournment, and not a prorogation in the -summer of 1661, the Bill of Uniformity, carried by the Commons before -that period, remained eligible for consideration from the Lords in the -following January. They read the Bill a first time, on the 14th, the -Spiritual Peers before that date having taken their seats, and the -revision of the Prayer Book by Convocation having also been completed. -The Bill was read a second time, and referred upon the 17th of January -to a Select Committee. Upon the 13th of February, this Committee -requested to know whether they should proceed with the old Prayer -Book sent up to them by the Commons, or wait for the copy revised by -Convocation. That copy had been handed to the King for examination--a -thing not suited to his taste--but whether teased to the performance -of a task, or taking the whole matter on trust, it is certain, that -before the end of the month of February, he formally sanctioned the -alterations.[312] - -The volume having been, by the two Archbishops presented to the Lords, -the Earl of Northumberland proposed that the old Prayer Book should be -adopted, in connection with Queen Elizabeth's Act of Uniformity--a -proposition which, however feasible at an earlier period, came now too -late. - -[Sidenote: 1662.] - -The slow progress made by the Lords had dissatisfied the Lower House, -and complaints from that quarter had reached the Royal ears; hence, -when the King gave audience to the Commons at Whitehall, on the 3rd -of March, respecting his revenues, he, having before that time sent -the revised Prayer Book to the Peers, could boldly speak as follows: -"I hear you are very zealous for the Church, and very solicitous, -and even jealous, that there is not expedition enough used in that -affair; I thank you for it, since, I presume, it proceeds from a good -root of piety and devotion; but I must tell you I have the worst luck -in the world, if, after all the reproaches of being a Papist, whilst -I was abroad, I am suspected of being a Presbyterian now I am come -home."[313] This strange kind of talk was followed by a declaration -of zeal for the interests of the Church of England. The Duke of -Buckingham, the Earl of Pembroke, Lord Wharton, and other Peers, were -added to the Committee of the Upper House for considering the contents -of the Bill.[314] - -The secrets of that Committee have not been disclosed. It is remarkable -that it included a decided Nonconformist in Lord Wharton, one still -favourable to Nonconformity in the Earl of Manchester, and two Bishops -who had been Presbyterians--Gauden, the Bishop of Exeter,[315] and -Reynolds, Bishop of Norwich,--to say nothing of the Duke of Albemarle, -who had been identified both with Independents and with Presbyterians. -These persons formed but a small minority in a Committee which -consisted altogether of above thirty members; and they formed but a -feeble minority compared with such powerful men as Sheldon, Bishop of -London, Cosin, Bishop of Durham, Morley, then Bishop of Worcester, and -Sanderson, Bishop of Lincoln. Was the opposition of the small minority -violently overborne? or did the small minority tamely submit? Wharton -was the only man likely to make much resistance. - -[Sidenote: UNIFORMITY BILL.] - -The Earl of Bridgwater reported on the 13th of March, "divers -amendments and alterations," stating that they related to the Book -recommended by the King, and not to the Book brought up from the House -of Commons. The alterations in the Book were read before reading the -amendments to the Bill. - -Two days after the report had been delivered, the business was -completed; the Peers had caught the spirit of Convocation, and, by -their haste now, had made up for lost time. Clarendon took occasion to -thank the Bishops for their revision of the Book in Convocation, and -requested them to thank their clerical brethren of the Lower House. -The preamble to the Bill received approval upon the 17th of March, -when the Minister just mentioned communicated a message from His -Majesty, and read a proviso which he wished to be inserted. The House, -evidently startled at the wish, requested him to read the proviso a -second time. This being done, the matter stood over for consideration -until the following day. The Journals are silent as to the nature of -this proviso; but a despatch by De Wiquefort, the Dutch Minister, -explains the matter. Amongst the gossip which he details to his -Court--how in a chest belonging to Henry Marten, was found a memoir -by the French Ambassador, full of the praises of the Commonwealth; -how the Irish Catholics were getting into trouble because they had -been negotiating with Rome to the King's prejudice; how they were -forbidden to present any request; how their agent was not allowed to -appear at Court; and how the Chancellor had a strong party formed -against him;--the writer communicates an important fact, which solves -the enigma left by the Journals. The Chancellor, says De Wiquefort, -informed the Lords that the King wanted a power to be inserted in the -Act of Uniformity, enabling him to relieve clergymen from an obligation -to wear the surplice and to make the sign of the cross.[316] From this -information it appears that Charles, even at this early period, aimed -at a dispensing power, a power which, before the close of the year, -he eagerly endeavoured to grasp. The Lords, however, were jealous of -the interference of the Crown in sending such a message as had been -delivered by Clarendon; and they questioned whether a resolution ought -not to be entered on the Journals in reference to it, fearing lest -their privileges might be endangered by their going so far as even -to take such a subject into consideration. The 19th of March found -the Bill recommitted, including the Royal proviso and the several -amendments. - -[Sidenote: 1662.] - -The amendments consisted of certain additions to the preamble--of the -connection with the Prayer Book of the Psalms of David, as they were to -be said or sung in churches; of the form of ordaining and consecrating -Bishops, Priests, and Deacons;--of the substitution of the feast of -St. Bartholomew for Michaelmas, as the time when the Act should come -in force;--of the insertion of a new form, according to that adopted -by Convocation, declaring "unfeigned assent and consent" not only as -originally prepared to the use of the Book, but to all and everything -it contained and prescribed; and of an additional form, repudiating the -Solemn League and Covenant. Both these forms required subscription. A -further amendment rendered it necessary, that every minister of the -Church of England should be episcopally ordained, and that licenses -from Bishops should be secured by all who undertook the office of -Lecturers.[317] - -[Sidenote: UNIFORMITY BILL.] - -Some of the amendments occasioned little or no debate, a circumstance -which surprises us when we consider the Puritan tendencies of certain -Lords. The points which chiefly occupied attention were--first, the -requirement of Episcopal ordination as a _sine quâ non_; and, secondly, -the imposition of the form which repudiated the Covenant. The debates -on these questions, so far as they can be recovered, will now be given. - -I. It was argued by some who retained Puritan sympathies, that the -first of these requirements was not in accordance with what had "been -the opinion of the Church of England,--and that it would lay a great -reproach upon all other Protestant Churches, who had no Bishops; as if -they had no ministers, and, consequently, were no Churches:--for, that -it was well known, the Church of England did not allow reordination, -as the ancient Church never admitted it; insomuch, as if any priest of -the Church of Rome renounces the communion thereof, his ordination is -not questioned, but he is as capable of any preferment in this Church, -as if he had been ordained in it. And, therefore, the not admitting -the ministers of other Protestant Churches, to have the same privilege, -can proceed from no other ground than that they looked not upon them -as ministers, having no ordination; which is a judgment the Church of -England had not ever owned, and that it would be very imprudent to do -it now." - -[Sidenote: 1662.] - -This argument called forth replies from other members--most likely -from some of the Bishops--to the following effect:--"That the Church -of England judged none but her own children, nor did not determine -that other Protestant Churches were without ordination. It is a thing -without their cognizance; and most of the learned men of those Churches -had made necessity the chief pillar to support that ordination of -theirs. That necessity cannot be pleaded here, where ordination is -given according to the unquestionable practice of the Church of Christ; -if they who pretend foreign ordination are His Majesty's subjects, -they have no excuse of necessity, for they might in all times have -received Episcopal ordination; and so they did upon the matter renounce -their own Church; if they are strangers, and pretend to preferment in -this Church, they ought to conform, and to be subject to the laws of -the kingdom, which concern only those who desire to live under the -protection [thereof.] For the argument of reordination, there is no -such thing required. Rebaptization is not allowed in or by any Church; -yet in all Churches where it is doubted, as it may be often with very -good reason, whether the person hath been baptized or no, or if it -hath been baptized by a midwife or lay person; without determining -the validity or invalidity of such baptism, there is an hypothetical -form--'If thou hast not been already baptized, I do baptize,' &c. -So, in this case of ordination, the form may be the same--'If thou -hast not been already ordained, then I do ordain,' &c. If his former -ordination were good, this is void; if the other was invalid or -defective, he hath reason to be glad that it be thus supplied."[318] -Such a mode of silencing the scruples of ministers on whom the -ceremonies of reordination was imposed, came extensively into fashion -after the passing of the Act. - -[Sidenote: UNIFORMITY BILL.] - -II. When the House resumed their discussions,[319] the point in -consideration was "the clause of ministers declaring against the -Covenant."[320] A form of abjuring both the doctrine of resistance, and -the obligations of the Covenant, had been required by the Corporation -Act. Upon comparing the words in that Act with the words in the Bill -of Uniformity, it will be found that the latter are the same as the -former, with the addition of two short clauses,--first, "that I will -conform to the Liturgy of the Church of England, as it is now by law -established;" and, secondly, that the Covenant entailed no obligation -"to endeavour any change or alteration of government in Church or -State." As this form of renouncing the Covenant was only of temporary -use, and was to be abolished in twenty years, it ceased afterwards to -receive much attention; but, at first, it constituted a chief point of -interest both to the upholders and opponents of the Bill, even beyond -the importance attached to the form of subscription and declaration -respecting the Prayer Book. Many of the Peers, who had taken the -Covenant, were not so much concerned that the clergy should be obliged -to make this declaration, as that, when such a clause should be passed -and sanctioned, it might be inserted in other Acts relating to the -functions of other offices, so that, in a short time, what was now only -required of the clergy might be required of themselves.[321] - -[Sidenote: 1662.] - -The Puritan Peers warmly opposed the clause as unnecessary, and as -widening the breach instead of closing up the wounds which had been -made. Many men would believe or fear that this clause might prove a -breach of the Act of Indemnity, which had not only provided against -indictments and suits at law and penalties, but against reproaches -for what was past. As for conformity to the Liturgy, it was provided -for fully in the former subscription prescribed by the Bill. The -Covenant contained many good things, as defending the King's person, -and maintaining the Protestant religion: and to say that it entailed -no obligation would neither be for the service of the King, or the -interest of the Church; especially since it was well known, it had -wrought upon the conscience of many in the late revolution. At any -rate, it was now dead; all were absolved from taking it. If it had at -any time produced any good, that was an excuse for its irregularity: -it could do no mischief for the future; and therefore it was time to -bury it in oblivion.[322] - -[Sidenote: UNIFORMITY BILL.] - -The Court party, Clarendon says, made themselves very merry with the -allegation, that the King's safety and the interest of the Church were -provided for by the Covenant, since it had been entered into, in order -to fight the King and destroy the Church. It contradicted itself; and, -if it were not so, the obligation to loyalty was better provided for -by some other oaths. The Bill was no breach of the Act of Indemnity, -the new Declaration was absolutely necessary, for the safety of the -King's person, and the peace of the kingdom; the Covenant was still -the idol to which the Presbyterians sacrificed: and there must always -be a jealousy of those who had taken it, until they had declared -that it did not bind them. The clergy, of all men, ought to be glad -of the opportunity which was offered, to vindicate their loyalty and -obedience.[323] - -[Sidenote: 1662.] - -The Bill being now in its last stage, the Lords appointed certain of -their number to draw up a clause empowering the King to make such -provision for any of the deprived clergy as he should see fit.[324] As -this clause--like the proviso respecting the cross in baptism--opened -the door for Royal interference--so, probably, like that, it originated -in a Royal suggestion. At all events, these two amendments in contrast -with others which increased the severity of the Bill, indicated the -existence of kindliness towards tender consciences, and impoverished -clergymen,--a disposition which Charles entertained, and in which -certain Lords, including some not puritanically inclined, concurred -with him. - -When the Bill had reached a third reading, the amendments were referred -to the Commons for their consideration. The Commons vigorously set -themselves to work; the Committee sitting until eight at night--a late -hour in those days--and meeting early the next morning.[325] - -No debate arose upon the alterations made in the Prayer Book by the -Houses of Convocation. The House of Commons, indeed, appointed a -Committee to compare the Book of Common Prayer sent down from the Lords -with the Book sent up by themselves; but the alterations were adopted -at once; or, rather, the Book as a whole was adopted. It is remarkable, -however, to find how then, as almost always, the members showed -themselves jealous of their privileges; for, upon a question being put, -whether the contents of the revised Book should come under debate, and -the question being negatived,[326] lest it should be thought that the -State in this matter submitted to the Church, and allowed the right of -Convocation to control Parliamentary proceedings, another question, -_i.e._, "that the amendments made by the Convocation, and sent down by -the Lords to this House, _might_ by the order of this House, have been -debated," received an affirmative answer, without a single dissentient -voice. - -[Sidenote: UNIFORMITY BILL.] - -Whilst jealous of any interference with their own privileges, the -Commons had no regard for the interests or feelings of the Puritan -clergy; since they accepted the harsh amendments of the Peers, and -added others of their own, so as to render the Bill more intolerable -than it had been before. This circumstance has commonly been -overlooked, and therefore requires particular attention. - -The Lords had introduced a reference to "the tenderness of some men's -consciences;" the Commons struck out the words.[327] - -When the Lords' substitution of "Bartholomew" for "Michael the -Archangel," a substitution which aggravated the severity of the -measure, came to the vote, there were 87 for the Angel's day, and 96 -for the Saint's.[328] The amendments and alterations respecting -ordination, subscription, and the Covenant, all of which had been -conceived in the same spirit of severity, were adopted without division. - -[Sidenote: 1662.] - -At the same time the Commons extended the operation of the measure so -as to bring within the meshes of their net not only the clergy, but all -who held offices in the Universities, and every kind of teacher down -to the village schoolmaster, and the tutor in a private family. All -such persons, as well as Deans, Canons, and Prebendaries, who had been -mentioned in the original Bill, were obliged, through the amendments of -the Commons, to subscribe the declaration of non-resistance; to conform -to the Liturgy of the Church of England, as now by law established; -to deny that any obligation had been incurred by taking the Covenant; -and to repudiate that oath as altogether unlawful. The addition of a -penalty of three months' imprisonment to meet the case of those men who -had no livings to lose, affords another instance of the harsh spirit -of the Lower House. Likewise these legislators drew within the reach -of the Bill, the case of those who held benefices without cures--for -the reason that the House did not "think fit to leave sinecures to -Nonconformists," nor permit a Nonconformist to hold a Curate's or a -Lecturer's place.[329] An attempt being made in a different direction -to confine preferment to those who should receive Episcopal ordination -"according to the form of the Church of England,"--a restriction which -would have excluded such as were in Romish orders,--the attempt met -with a different fate. It entirely failed.[330] The Lords' tolerant -proviso for dispensing with the cross and surplice was by the Commons -negatived at once;[331] and after an adjourned debate upon the -allowance of a fifth part of the income to ejected Incumbents, the -considerate amendment of the Peers was thrown out by a majority of -seven.[332] - -[Sidenote: UNIFORMITY BILL.] - -[Sidenote: 1662.] - -When all this had been done, a message reached the Upper House, on the -30th of April, to request a Conference with the Commons relative to the -amendments; but owing to the dilatoriness of the Peers the Conference -did not take place before the 7th of May, when Serjeant Charlton -defended the Bill in the shape in which the Commons had left it.[333] -In an elaborate oration he pointed out, and defended each of their -amendments, dwelling upon the extension of the Act to schoolmasters, as -necessary for the proper education of the young, the neglect of which -amongst the gentry and nobility had been, he said, the root of numerous -mischiefs in the Long Parliament. "It was an oversight," he added, -"in the usurped powers that they took no care in this particular, -whereby many young persons were well seasoned in their judgments as -to the King. This made the Commons take care that schoolmasters, as -well as ministers should subscribe, and rather more." The penalty of -three months' imprisonment, this gentleman ingeniously urged, was -designed to meet the case of those who had no livings to lose: it was -imprisonment in default of paying a fine: whilst the proviso introduced -by the Lords, to dispense with cross and surplice, he contended was -a thing altogether without precedent, which would establish schism, -and yet not satisfy those for whose relief it was intended. The -King's engagement at Breda to respect "tender consciences" had been -noticed by the Lords in support of their amendment; and now, with the -commonplace sophistries always at hand for the use of intolerance, -the manager laughed at the idea of calling schismatical consciences -"tender." "A tender conscience denoted," according to his definition, -"an impression from without received from another, and that upon which -another strikes;" what the definition exactly means I am at a loss to -comprehend. The Serjeant was clearer, and more plausible, although -equally sophistical in his legal reasoning, to the effect that the -Breda Declaration had two limitations: first, its validity depended -upon the sanction of Parliament; and, secondly, the bestowment of -liberty must consist with the kingdom's peace. As to the allowance of -fifths to the ejected ministers, he argued that it would be repugnant -to the idea of uniformity; that, "joined with the pity of their -party" it "would amount to more than the value of the whole living;" -that it would be a reflection on the Act; that it would impoverish -Incumbents; and that it would encourage Dissent. This argument was no -less heartless than contrary to the precedent, which, under similar -circumstances, had been furnished by the Long Parliament. Charlton -further suggested that the Lords should recommend Convocation, to -direct "such decent gestures," to be used during the time of Divine -service, as was fit. It may be stated that the Lords, on the 8th of -May, recommended to the Bishops and the House of Convocation, to -prepare some canon or rule for the purpose; and that the matter was -accordingly brought before Convocation on the 10th and 12th of May, -when the 18th of the canons of James I., relating to the subject, -underwent emendation.[334] Charlton concluded by saying, that he found -one mistake in the rubric of baptism, which he conceived was made -by a copyist, the word _persons_ being written instead of the word -_children_.[335] The amendments and alterations reported to the Lords -were all agreed to, and the clerical error in the Bill pointed out by -Charlton, was formally rectified at the Clerks' table by the Bishops of -Durham, St. Asaph, and Carlisle, under authority from Convocation.[336] - -[Sidenote: UNIFORMITY BILL.] - -[Sidenote: 1662.] - -The MS. volume, copied from the printed Book of Common Prayer, of the -edition of 1636, and altered according to the decisions of Convocation, -was with the printed Book attached to the Act.[337] - - - - - CHAPTER XI. - - -The Bill received the Royal assent upon the 19th of May. Perhaps the -reader will not be wearied with an account of the ceremony, and of the -speeches delivered at the time. - -His Majesty occupied the throne in Royal magnificence. The Lord -Chancellor took his place on the woolsack. On the right side, below the -throne, sat the Archbishop of York, the Bishop of Durham, the Bishop of -Bath and Wells, and other prelates, including Reynolds of Norwich, who -could scarcely, with comfort, have witnessed the proceedings of that -day. Neither Sheldon nor Morley was present. On the left side, at the -upper end of the Chamber, were the Lord Treasurer, the Lord Privy Seal, -and three Dukes--Buckingham, Richmond, and Albemarle. The Marquis of -Winchester sat by Albemarle's side, and below came twenty-six Earls, -one Viscount, and thirty-six Barons. The Commons appeared at the bar, -with the Speaker of the House, who delivered a highly rhetorical speech. - -[Sidenote: 1662.] - -The King, after giving his assent, delivered a curious homily upon the -extravagant habits of the people, without saying one word about the -Act of Uniformity--after which Clarendon pronounced a long oration, in -the course of which he observed, "the execution of these sharp laws -depends upon the wisdom of the most discerning, generous, and merciful -Prince, who, having had more experience of the nature and humour of -mankind than any Prince living, can best distinguish between the -tenderness of conscience and the pride of conscience, between the real -effects of conscience and the wicked pretences to conscience--a Prince -of so excellent a nature and tender a conscience himself, that he hath -the highest compassion for all errors of that kind, and will never -suffer the weak to undergo the punishment ordained for the wicked."[338] - -This was an extraordinary speech to an English Parliament. It can -bear no construction but that of being a plea for a dispensing power. -The Houses having framed a law, Clarendon would have it left to the -Royal wisdom to temper its administration, and to distinguish between -the _tenderness_ and the _pride_ of conscience,--as if the power of -discerning spirits were a gift to kings. What, in the lips of any -English senator would be inconsistent, appears doubly so in the present -instance, for Clarendon afterwards opposed the exercise of the power -which he now claimed on his master's behalf. - -It is necessary here to pause, and inquire what change this famous Act -made in the Establishment of England. The insisting upon Episcopal -ordination, in every case, as essential to the conducting of public -service, and to the preaching of the Gospel, certainly cut off the -English Church, more completely than before, from fellowship with other -reformed Churches;[339] and, in consequence of another provision for -a certain period, the pastoral office became dependent on the taking of -a political oath, to which some, approving of her doctrine and of her -discipline, might conscientiously object. The Church also stood pledged -to the maintenance of civil despotism. Under pretence of reprobating -the course pursued under the Commonwealth, a dogma was imposed upon the -ministers of religion, which, if believed, would effectually prevent -any resistance to the designs of an arbitrary monarch, even if he -should lend himself to the overthrow of the Church itself. Besides, -persons might be found not unfriendly to moderate Episcopacy, who, -nevertheless felt it wrong to use respecting the League and Covenant -the terms which this Act prescribed. - -[Sidenote: ACT OF UNIFORMITY.] - -The Act of Uniformity added the requirement of "unfeigned assent -and consent" to everything contained in the Prayer Book. By such -alterations the Church of England became increasingly exclusive and -Erastian in its principles, and less Protestant and liberal in its -spirit. - -[Sidenote: 1662.] - -In carrying a great measure, responsibility must be divided. It rarely -happens that a number of persons combining together to effect any -change are influenced by the same views; and in this instance of united -action different degrees of responsibility, and different kinds of -motives, are discoverable, when we look a little below the surface. - -I. Convocation must be held responsible for the changes made in the -Prayer Book, its revision being exclusively the work of that assembly; -but, at the same time, it should be remembered, that assembly formed -only a small body, and represented but in part the sentiments of the -clergy. Many of the members felt a strong zeal for order and union; -the feeling assumed different aspects in different instances. Some -in the Upper House, as Cosin, Sanderson, Hacket, Ward, Morley; some -in the Lower, especially Thorndike, sympathized in the sentiments of -Cyprian, as expressed in his _Liber de Unitate Ecclesiæ_, confounding -unity with uniformity, and allegiance to Christ with submission to -Bishops. They, like him, might suppose that in their zeal for Episcopal -order, they were working out an answer to our Lord's intercessory -prayer. Such a conception of ecclesiastical oneness had been, by the -Nicene and Mediæval Churches, handed down to the Church of the English -Reformation; and it must be admitted, that desires for uniformity -by means of Episcopal order, were in many cases so interlinked with -submission to Christ, as, even in the estimation of those who differ -from Anglo-Catholics, to have their errors, in a measure, redeemed by -the devoutness of their affections. Desires for uniformity, however, as -they wrought in some, both of the superior and inferior clergy, at the -period of the Restoration, had nothing whatever of nobleness in them. - -The Bishops shared in the responsibility of the Upper House of -Parliament, as well as in the responsibility of the Upper House of -Convocation. Sheldon,--to whom must be attributed much influence over -the latter, and also much over the former, so far as the Bishops were -concerned; and who also, from his prominent position and great activity -at the Restoration, could not fail to share in Clarendon's counsels, -respecting the Bill,--was not a man of religious zeal, but a man of -worldly principles; and it is not uncharitable to regard others on -the Bench, and in the Lower House, as closely resembling him in this -respect. Reynolds belonged to a class which, when a crisis arrives, -will always bend to the force of stronger minds, and be carried along -by the current of authority. - -[Sidenote: ACT OF UNIFORMITY.] - -Between the Bishops at the Restoration and the Bishops at the -Reformation, a considerable difference appears. The theology of the -Anglican prelates at the Restoration was not imbued with those elements -of thought, which the early Reformers held in common with Puritan -Divines; hence, in part, arose the dislike which the Fathers of the -re-established Church cherished towards Nonconformists. Sheldon, as -will appear when we fully examine his character, differed from the -ecclesiastical leaders in Queen Elizabeth's time, such as Parker and -Jewel,[340] who had strong religious affections, and were earnestly -bent upon building up Protestantism in England as the great bulwark -of her prosperity; moreover, the Caroline restorers and revisers of -the Prayer Book were utterly deficient in comprehensive policy. The -Elizabethan Divines did avoid, as much as possible, giving offence to -such of the old Roman Catholic party, just dispossessed of power, as -felt at all disposed to join them; but the ecclesiastical leaders of -Charles' day, threw every obstacle they could in the path of those -Nonconformists who showed any disposition to adopt a modified system of -Episcopacy.[341] - -[Sidenote: 1662.] - -II. In the House of Commons there existed a mad Royalist party, -influenced by strong personal resentment, who identified the Church -with the Throne, who could not forget what they had suffered under the -Commonwealth, and who especially had a keen recollection of estates -sequestered, and of fines imposed. They were bent upon punishing their -foes, and therefore made the Act as rigid as possible. Its severest -provisions are to be ascribed not to any clerical body, nor to the -Lords, nor to the Prelates, but to the Commons. The Commons were more -intolerant and fierce than any of the Bishops, than any of the clergy. -"Every man, according to his passion, thought of adding somewhat" to -the Bill which "might make it more grievous to somebody whom he did -not love."[342] Liberal amendments in the Upper House were resisted in -the Lower; and to the unjust and ungenerous provisions added by the -Lords, were others more unjust and ungenerous added by the Commons. The -Commons, in comparison with the Lords, appear to have been what the -young men, whom Rehoboam consulted and followed, were in comparison -with the old men, who stood before Solomon his father; and the scourge -of whips became a scourge of scorpions.[343] Bad as was the Bill from -the first, it was worse in the end than in the beginning. - -III. Clarendon ought to bear a large share of responsibility. His -attachment to an Episcopalian establishment has been repeatedly -noticed. He regarded it as the bulwark of Protestantism, the main -stay of the nation's weal. Burnet reckons him more a friend of the -Bishops than of the Church; certainly he showed anxiety to please them, -and their good opinion and support were of importance to him in many -ways. What induced him to court the Bishops would, in a still stronger -degree, induce him to gratify the Commons. Consequently, supposing -that his better nature, or his wiser judgment, inclined him--which is -probable--towards a more moderate course, other considerations induced -him to adopt the severe line of policy which had been chalked out by -some, and filled up by others.[344] Clarendon, as leader of the Upper -House, does not appear to have used his influence for the purpose of -removing from the Bill any of the most rigorous parts of it; to their -abatement perhaps he might contribute, although this does not appear. -The liberal amendments proposed by certain Peers seem to have been -abandoned without a struggle; and for this surrender surely Clarendon -is mainly answerable. - -[Sidenote: ACT OF UNIFORMITY.] - -IV. Another party concurred in the Act from entirely different motives. -The Roman Catholics had been on the increase since the Restoration. -Somerset House, the residence of the Queen Mother, was the place of -resort for the leaders of the party. There, and at the mansion of -the Earl of Bristol, they consulted upon the interests of their own -Church. Of course, they had no idea of seeking comprehension in the -Establishment: their policy was to procure toleration; with that for -the present they would be satisfied, whatever might be their ulterior -aims. Nothing promised so much advantage to them as the passing of -a stringent measure, which would cast out of the English Church as -many Protestants as possible. Whilst they were aware of the terror -which they inspired in the minds of Nonconformists, they hoped that -fellowship in suffering might soften antipathy, and dispose their -enemies, for their own sakes, to advocate some general indulgence: they -considered that the fact, of a large number of Protestants suffering -from persecuting laws, would at least strengthen the argument in its -favour. It was, I apprehend, on this principle, that the Duke of York -and the Catholic Peers united in supporting all the provisions for -uniformity. - -[Sidenote: 1662.] - -At the head of this Roman Catholic party the King himself is to be -placed. When he had reluctantly made up his mind to consent to the -measure, it was in accordance with the circuitous policy I have now -pointed out. Besides, he was fond of a dispensing power, liking Royal -Declarations better than Acts of Parliament; almost any statute would -be tolerable to him, if it gave him the prospect of affording relief -to his subjects in the form of sovereign concession. Clarendon, -who subsequently opposed the exercise of this power, now virtually -recognized it, as a prerogative of the King, in the speech just quoted, -and plainly pointed to the Royal intention of employing that assumed -prerogative for mitigating the severities of the present statute. - -Policy and passion were stamped upon the face of the measure. It -would be the bitterest of all satires to say that the men principally -concerned in it were influenced by religious conviction--that -conscientiously and in the sight of God, they performed an act which, -though they saw it to be rigorous, they felt to be righteous. Amidst -keenly excited feelings on the side of an exclusive policy, perhaps -there was no impulse of greater force than the very common one of party -feeling. - -When we recollect that it was not to the clergy then expressing itself -in Convocation, or in any other way, but to Parliament, that the -Church of England owed the clauses which required the repudiation of -the Covenant, and of the doctrine of non-resistance--clauses which so -galled the Puritans--the Act, to a large extent, appears, not so much -an ecclesiastical measure, as a work executed by a political faction, -bent upon crushing opponents, under pretence of their being unpatriotic -and disloyal. Of the bad spirit in which Parliament framed and passed -this act there remains not the shadow of a doubt; and it is impossible -that any one acquainted with the circumstance, however he may admire -the Church so re-established at the Restoration, can think of the mode -of its re-establishment without shame and sorrow. - -[Sidenote: ACT OF UNIFORMITY.] - -It is very remarkable that the Act omitted to provide for uniformity -in certain important particulars; and it has failed to produce the -uniformity intended in others.[345] Nothing was done in relation to -psalmody; forms of prayer and praise in prose were rigidly set down, -but forms of prayer and praise in verse were left to be composed or -adopted at the pleasure of any one, subject only to the doubtful -authority of the Bishop or Ordinary. The formularies of the Prayer Book -relating to baptism have long received from Episcopalians contradictory -interpretations; and, of late years, liberty in this respect has been -legally conceded, as not inconsistent with the Act of Uniformity. The -obscurity of the rubric on the subject of ornaments renders a decision -of the controversy by ecclesiastical lawyers a difficult matter, and -consequently places Bishops in perplexity as to what is the law, and -how they are to proceed. We are struck with the _unequal pressure_ of -the Act. It made clerical practice in some respects very strict, and -in others very lax: whilst, as to prominent points then in dispute -between Episcopalians and Presbyterians, the law is precise; as to -other points, far from unimportant, the same law, through intention -or neglect, opened, or left open, a wide field for difference and for -controversy. - -[Sidenote: 1662.] - -The experience of a hundred years was thrown away upon the authors of -the measure. The first Act of Uniformity under Elizabeth had proved -a failure--the subsequent history of her reign had shown, that this -contrivance to repress the spirit of religious liberty, produced no -more effect than did the green withs which bound Samson. The troubles -of James' reign, the overthrow of Laud's policy, together with his -sufferings and death, illustrated the mischievous consequences of -confounding unity with uniformity, and of seeking the first by means -of the second. Grindal and other prelates had been sick at heart, -through fruitless endeavours made to secure spiritual obedience by -physical force. Lord Bacon had pointed out the difference between unity -and uniformity, and had reproved the persecutor, by saying, that the -silencing of ministers was a punishment that lighteth upon the people, -as well as upon the party;[346] others of humbler name had still more -clearly explained, and still more directly enforced, the lessons of -toleration. But all in vain; the teaching of a whole century had been -wasted on the contrivers and supporters of the second Act of Uniformity. - -The Act did not merely eject all Incumbents who scrupled to comply -with its requirement, but it silenced throughout the land all the -preachers of Christianity who were not Conformists. - -[Sidenote: ACT OF UNIFORMITY.] - -All Nonconformist ministers were prohibited from officiating in the -pulpits of the Episcopalian Church established by law; few other places -of worship were in existence, and the operation of the Act, especially -by citing and recognizing the Act of Uniformity under Elizabeth, would -be to prevent Nonconformists from preaching anywhere. - -Two classes then were affected: Incumbents, whom the Act ejected; and -ministers, not Incumbents, whom it silenced. Plausible arguments might -be adduced for the uniformity of an establishment; strong reasons -might be urged against a coalition of Episcopacy with Presbyterianism. -The government of Bishops, and the use of a Liturgy, being adopted -in the Church, it may be said that it is only consistent, that there -should be the maintenance of order in the ministry, and of regularity -in the worship. But the Act went much further, and proceeded upon -the theory of one ecclesiastical incorporation of the entire State, -without recognizing outside the existence of any religion whatever. To -Nonconformists there was an utter denial of any spiritual rights. For -them there was to be neither comprehension nor toleration. The germs of -the Conventicle and Five Mile Acts were in the bosom of the Uniformity -Bill. - - - - - CHAPTER XII. - - -More victims in the month of April were sacrificed upon the altar of -revenge. Colonel John Okey, a distinguished officer in the Commonwealth -Army, who had adopted Republican and Millenarian views; Miles Corbet, a -member of the Long Parliament, and Recorder of Yarmouth, who had been -connected with the Church under the pastoral care of William Bridge, -in that town; and Colonel John Barkstead, who had been knighted by -Cromwell, and had been appointed to a seat in his House of Lords--all -three, after a brief trial, and a merciless sentence, for the part they -had taken in the High Court of Justice, were executed at Tyburn. - -A noble victim perished two months afterwards. It has been with Sir -Henry Vane as with Oliver Cromwell: having disliked each other in life, -they have shared a common fate in the judgment of posterity: for, -after years of odium, the names of both are raised to honour. Vane's -Republicanism rendered him impracticable, and his mysticism, although -undeserving the reproaches of Baxter and Burnet, threw a haze over his -speculations, which makes them somewhat unintelligible; but the piety -and genius of his _Meditations_, and the purity and virtue of his life, -render him an object of reverence and love. - -[Sidenote: REPUBLICAN VICTIMS.] - -He was tried for compassing the death of the King; yet, whatever he -might be in other respects, he was no regicide. The evidence on his -trial only proved that he had held office under the Commonwealth, -that he had been a member of the Council of State in 1651, and had -belonged to the Committee of Safety in 1659. To make the condemnation -and sentence of Vane the more unrighteous, the King, after solemnly -promising to spare the life of the Republican, had written to -Clarendon, saying--Vane "is too dangerous a man to let live, if we can -honestly put him out of the way." - -The spirit of the prisoner appears in a letter which he wrote to his -wife. "This dark night, and black shade," he observes, "which God hath -drawn over His work in the midst of us, may be, for aught we know, the -ground colour to some beautiful piece that He is now exposing to the -light." His execution was an ovation. From the crowded tops and windows -of the houses, people expressed their deep sympathy, crying aloud, "The -Lord go with you, the great God of heaven and earth appear in you and -for you;"--signs of popular feeling which sustained the sufferer, who -gratefully acknowledged them, "putting off his hat and bowing." When -asked how he did, he answered, "Never better in all my life;" and on -the scaffold his noble bearing so affected the spectators that they -could scarcely believe "the gentleman in the black suit and cloak, with -a scarlet silk waistcoat (the victorious colour) showing itself at -the breast, was the prisoner." Frequent interruptions from the sound -of drums drowned his voice, which, as Burnet says, was "a new and -very indecent practice." The officers, as they put their hands in his -pockets, searching for papers, exasperated the populace, whilst Vane's -calmness led a Royalist present to say, "he died like a prince." Before -receiving the last stroke, he exclaimed, "I bless the Lord, who hath -accounted me worthy to suffer for His name. Blessed be the Lord, that -I have kept a conscience void of offence to this day. I bless the Lord -I have not deserted the righteous cause for which I suffer."--"Father, -glorify Thy servant in the sight of men, that he may glorify Thee in -the discharge of his duty to Thee and to his country." One blow did the -work. "It was generally thought," remarks Burnet, "the Government had -lost more than it had gained by his death." Pepys declares the people -counted his constancy "a miracle;" adding, "The King lost more by that -man's death than he will get again for a good while."[347] - -[Sidenote: 1662.] - -Thus fell one of the triumvirate described in a former volume--thus -fell the noblest mystic of the age, next to George Fox--thus was -devoted to death in the Temple of Expediency, one who had never bowed -at the shrine of that heathen goddess, but had always fervently -worshipped in the Temple of Christian Virtue. Whatever his enemies -might do with his body, they could not prevent his pure soul from -entering that adjacent Temple of Honour, on the walls of which his name -is inscribed for evermore. - -Some of the regicides escaped with their lives. Well known is the story -of Edmund Ludlow--how he fled at the Restoration, and went to Geneva, -and settled at Vevay; how he came back to England at the period of -the Revolution, and set sail for Ireland to assist William III. at -the siege of Londonderry, and was compelled to return because that -prince would not allow in his fleet, the presence of one who had been -implicated in his grandfather's execution.[348] But history tells -of another regicide, less known to fame--whose fortunes were less -happy, and more wonderful. Edward Whalley figured amongst Cromwell's -Major-Generals, and was so considerable a person that Richard Baxter -dedicated to him a controversial work, entitled _The Apology_, in which -he says, "Think not that your greatest trials are all over. Prosperity -hath its peculiar temptations, by which it hath foiled many that stood -unshaken in the storms of adversity. The tempter, who hath had you on -the waves, will now assault you in the calm, and hath his last game -to play on the mountain till nature cause you to descend. Stand this -charge, and you win the day."[349] - -[Sidenote: REPUBLICAN VICTIMS.] - -The Divine little apprehended the fate awaiting the soldier. A few days -before Charles' return, Whalley, with his son-in-law, Major-General -Gough,--who had stood together by Oliver Cromwell's death-bed,--sailed -for America. Landing at Boston, they were protected by the Governor, -until scented out by the Royalists of Barbadoes, they were forced to -renew their flight. Settled at Newhaven, the minister of the place, -named Davenport, pleaded for their security in a sermon from the -ingeniously selected words: "Let mine outcasts dwell with thee,--be -thou a covert to them from the face of the spoiler."[350] Rewards -were offered for the fugitives, and this minister was threatened for -his advocacy on their behalf, but he continued to harbour them in his -neighbourhood, where they abode in a cave on the top of a rock, to -which was given the name of _Providence_. This kind of life they spent -for two or three years, when they removed to Hadley, and there, under -the protection of another minister, spent sixteen years more of alarm, -privation, and sorrow. The people in these parts were at war with the -famous Indian Chief, Philip of Pokanoket, who with his tribe one day -surrounded the little town at an hour when the inhabitants were engaged -in public worship. Although the people always carried arms, even at -church, on this occasion the sudden assault filled them with fear, -and, for once unmanned, they would have probably fallen into the hands -of their foes, had not a strange person, in peculiar attire, and of -commanding presence, put himself at their head, skilfully marshalling -the little band, with the words and authority of a general. It was -as when the Romans fought under the leadership of the twin brethren; -and the unknown visitant and deliverer proved to be no other than -Gough, who had learned the arts of war under Oliver Cromwell. He -survived his father-in-law Whalley, who died in the year of the English -Revolution.[351] - -[Sidenote: 1662.] - -The revised edition of the Prayer Book was not ready until the 6th of -August. Then appeared an advertisement announcing that books in folio -were provided for all churches and chapels; the price of each being six -shillings, ready bound. Printed copies, examined and corrected, were -certified under the Great Seal, and the Deans and Chapters of cathedral -and collegiate churches were required to obtain one of these books -annexed to a copy of the Act, before the 25th of December. A similar -copy was to be delivered to the Courts at Westminster, to be placed -amongst the Records in the Tower of London.[352] - -[Sidenote: EFFECTS OF THE ACT.] - -In those days, when editions were not thrown off in thousands by a -steam press, and there was no book post to convey parcels in one night -to the Land's End, it was slow work to multiply and circulate copies. -Some clergymen, therefore, could not get sight of the alterations -before St. Bartholomew's Day. - -It showed indecent haste to date the time for decision so early as the -24th of August; or it showed indecent delay, not to issue the Book -until within three weeks before. It has been asserted that few parishes -received it till a fortnight after the period prescribed, and Burnet -says that he was informed by some of the Bishops, that many clergymen -subscribed before they had seen the volume.[353] One, in the diocese -of Lincoln, pleaded as a proof of the injustice of his being silenced, -that he had never had an opportunity of reading what he was required to -adopt; and he adds, that this was the case with many more. A clergyman, -named Steel, in his farewell sermon, at Hanmer, in Flintshire, declared -"he was silenced and turned out, for not declaring his unfeigned assent -and consent to a Book which he never saw or could see."[354] Certainly -the Book ought to have been in every rectory and vicarage a month or -two previously to the day of ejection; yet, it must be acknowledged, -too much was made of the difficulty at the time, and too much has been -made of it since; for the fifth clause of the Act distinctly provides -for lawful impediments "to be allowed and approved of by the Ordinary -of the place."[355] Upon this clause we have a practical commentary in -a paper issued by the Bishop of Peterborough, expressly providing for -such cases.[356] - -[Sidenote: 1662.] - -The Bishop very properly treated as a lawful impediment, inability to -examine the Book: and in the following year, as we shall see, an Act -passed for the relief of such persons as were disabled from declaring -conformity. Wherever and whenever a prelate felt so disposed, he could -make allowance for such inability; nevertheless, the fact remains, -that it rested entirely with him to determine what was a _lawful -impediment_, and to allow or not, the force of scruples, according to -his own personal pleasure; if the Diocesan chose to decide against -the Incumbent, the patron might at once present another person to the -living. - -Richard Baxter made up his mind to leave the Establishment within a -week of the time when the Act of Uniformity received the Royal assent. -He preached on the 25th of May, and then gave as reasons for his early -silence, that he considered the Act at once put an end to the liberty -of his lecturing in parish churches, and that he wished his brethren to -understand he had fully made up his mind not to conform. He thought if -he "stayed to the last day," some might be led to suppose he meant to -submit, and so might be drawn into an imitation of his supposed example. - -[Sidenote: EFFECTS OF THE ACT.] - -Baxter's course in this respect was peculiar. The Presbyterians -generally remained in the Church, as long as they could, although -they had quite made up their minds as to what they should do when -the decisive feast of St. Bartholomew arrived. Philip Henry spent -days of prayer for Divine direction, and sought advice from friends -at Oxford and Chester. He objected to be ordained, and could not, -after being a Presbyter for years, declare himself moved by the Holy -Ghost to take upon himself the office of Deacon. The difficulty in -his case was increased by the demand of Hall, Bishop of Chester, that -the Presbyterians whom he ordained should explicitly repudiate their -previous orders.[357] Henry could not give his assent and consent to -things in the Prayer Book which to him were not true. He felt the force -of the exceptions taken at the Savoy Conference, and did not believe -in the power of any company of men to impose a yoke of ceremonial -law upon the necks of their brethren. He disapproved of kneeling at -the Lord's table as a practice unwarranted by Scripture; unsuited to -the celebration of a supper; "grossly abused even to idolatry;" the -imposition of which was a violation of Christian liberty. He objected -particularly to kneeling at the rails, as smelling "rank of Popish -superstition:" the indiscriminate Communion of the Episcopalian Church -he could not reconcile with his notions of discipline; and, though -he had never taken the Covenant, he would not condemn those who had -done so. He approved of Archbishop Ussher's scheme of Episcopacy; -and "thought it lawful to join in the Common Prayer in public -assemblies, and practised accordingly, and endeavoured to satisfy -others concerning it."[358] It is curious to learn that he believed -his views of spiritual religion formed the basis of his objections to -conformity: and that when Dr. Busby, to whom as his friend, he owed his -deep evangelic convictions, said once, "Prythee child, what made thee a -Nonconformist?" Henry replied to his much-loved schoolmaster, "Truly, -sir, you made me one; for you taught me those things that hindered me -from conforming."[359] - -[Sidenote: 1662.] - -In the mind of Philip Henry there existed a strong disposition to -conform, and the case was the same with Joseph Alleine, and others. -Many, who had been episcopally ordained, were prepared to do everything -required, except one thing--giving an unfeigned assent and consent to -all the contents of the Prayer Book.[360] - -John Howe felt more difficulties than one; he had not received -Episcopal orders, but had been ordained at Winwick, in Lancashire, by -the laying on of the hands of the Presbytery; on which account, he -used to say, that few had so primitive an ordination as himself. After -the Act had passed, Dr. Wilkins expressed his surprise that _a man of -Howe's latitude_ should have stood out; to which he replied, that he -would gladly have remained in the Establishment, but his _latitude_ -was the very thing that made him and kept him a Nonconformist. He -said also, "that he could not by any means he fond of a Church, that -in reality had no discipline at all, and that he thought that a very -considerable objection against the Establishment." In these respects -his difficulties were similar to those of Philip Henry. On another -occasion, when asked by Seth Ward, then Bishop of Exeter, "Pray, sir, -what hurt is there in being _twice_ ordained?" he replied, "Hurt, my -lord,--it hurts my understanding; the thought is shocking; it is an -absurdity, since nothing can have two beginnings."[361] - -[Sidenote: EFFECTS OF THE ACT.] - -We can enter into the struggles which agitated the clergy during the -three months before St. Bartholomew's Day. As the corn ripened, and -the country Rector sat with his wife in their little parlour,--as -they looked out of the latticed window on the children chasing the -butterflies in the garden, or picking up daisies on the glebe,--there -came the alternative--"we _must_ conform, or leave all this next -August;" and, as that necessity stared the Incumbent in the face, it -would require, in some cases, a woman's quieter fortitude to reinforce -a man's louder resolve.[362] Nor can it be denied, that means of -usefulness to some had brighter attractions than home comforts; and -that it proved the hardest wrench of all to break the bond between -the Christian shepherd and his flock. These men had hearts as well as -heads; but in the conflict the victory came from their judgments, not -their affections. I remember visiting Scotland more than a quarter of -a century ago, just on the eve of the great disruption, and spending -an evening at a pleasant manse inhabited by an able minister and his -accomplished wife, both of whom were pondering the question of "going -out," or "remaining in;" and never can I forget the look of anguish -with which they alluded to the impending crisis. The memory of that -visit brings vividly to mind many an English parsonage in the year 1662. - -[Sidenote: 1662.] - -It required much effort in the minds of Puritan clergymen to brace -themselves up to meet what was at hand. One prepared for the crisis by -preaching to his congregation four successive Sundays from words to -the Hebrews: "Ye took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in -yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance." -Another, who had a wife and ten children--"eleven strong arguments," -so he said, for conformity--remarked, that his family must live on the -6th of Matthew, "Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or -what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on." A -third, when asked what he would do with his family, replied, "Should I -have as many children as that hen has chickens," pointing to one with a -numerous brood, "I should not question but God would provide for them -all."[363] - -Several of the ministers conferred or corresponded with each other. -A few came to London to know the opinions of their brethren. Letters -passed to and fro as fast as the post could carry them; and sheets -full of arguments, questions, replies, and rejoinders, were conveyed -from place to place. Stories respecting the treatment of Presbyterian -Chaplains, the conduct of the Bishops at the Savoy, the debates in -Convocation, and the speeches in Parliament, Sheldon's management, -and Clarendon's policy, would be freely told, not always with perfect -accuracy. Ministers conversed with Presbyterian Peers, and other -patrons; and, it is said, that one of the former being asked by -one of the latter whether he would conform, answered, "That such -things were required and enjoined as he could not swallow," and -he was "necessitated to march off, and sound a retreat;" whereupon -His Lordship added, with a sigh, "I wish it had been otherwise; -but they were resolved either to reproach you, or undo you."[364] -With conference and correspondence there existed no organized -confederation; each took his own ground, and pursued his own course. -Many a village Vicar stood alone, and his conduct proceeded from -individual conscientiousness. The ejected had nothing to strengthen and -animate them, like the understanding which preceded the disruption in -Scotland--nothing like the popular applause that welcomed it--nothing -like the _éclat_ of the public procession from the House of Assembly -in the City of Edinburgh; no ovation soothed the cast-out. The feast -of St. Bartholomew became a fast; as in the Valley of Megiddon, so in -Puritan England, "The land mourned, every family apart." - -[Sidenote: EFFECTS OF THE ACT.] - -As August approached, reports of disaffection increased in gravity. -In July, an idea was current that Cromwell's soldiers were waiting -to learn what the Presbyterians would do, being themselves ready to -rekindle the flames of revolution. From various parts of the country -came news of refractory trained bands, of gunsmiths preparing arms, -and of ministers talking treason. Rumour declared there was to be a -general rising in a few weeks. At all events, within two years of the -Restoration, the joy of seeing a crowned head once more, had given -way. People began, not only to ask what advantage had accrued from the -King's return, but they also began to institute comparisons between -the Long Parliament and that which was now sitting. De Wiquefort, -the Dutch Minister, in a despatch dated the 14th of May, informed -his Government, that the chimney tax could not be levied without much -trouble, and that Parliament, _which had been the idol of the nation, -was now sinking in popular respect_.[365] - -[Sidenote: 1662.] - -Several sources of discontent can be pointed out. The licentiousness -and extravagance of the Court were passing all bounds; even such of -the Cavaliers as combined with their hatred of Puritan precision, -some regard for outward decency, were shocked at the stories of the -mad revelries and shameless debauchery of Whitehall; many individuals -had been beggared in the Royal service, and now they saw themselves -totally neglected by the Prince in whose cause they had sacrificed -their property and shed their blood. To replenish an empty exchequer, -the Government effected the sale of Dunkirk--a town which had been -won by the valour of Cromwell. It wounded the national honour, and -roused popular indignation, to see the keys of that fortress put into -the hands of Louis XIV. for a sum of money; and also to see Tangier, -a useless possession, part of the dowry of Queen Catherine, carefully -preserved at a large cost. To add to the trouble, Popery was said to -be on the increase, especially through proceedings at Somerset House, -where the Queen Mother Henrietta kept her Court, gathered round her the -English Roman Catholics, and encouraged the intrigues of Jesuits and -priests. - -Charles and his Council did not learn the whole truth, they only caught -glimpses of some wild phantasmagoria, with the great Gorgon-head of -insurrection in the midst of all; and, therefore, instead of striving -to see what could be done to re-establish confidence, he and his -Ministers set to work to demolish fortifications at Northampton, -at Gloucester, and at other places, and to issue instructions to -Lieutenants of Counties to take precautions against rebellion.[366] - -[Sidenote: EFFECTS OF THE ACT.] - -[Sidenote: 1662.] - -Numbers of political papers and tracts appeared expressing uneasiness. -Much authority cannot be attached to such a random writer as Roger -L'Estrange; but when he states that not so few as 200,000 copies of -seditious works had been printed "since the blessed return of his -sacred Majesty," and that to these were to be added new editions of -old ones to the amount of millions more,[367] we are justified in -believing that the printers were kept very busy by people of the kind -so much detested by this pamphleteer, nor do I doubt that, as he -says, the publications "were contrived and penned with accurate care -and cunning to catch all humours." On the other side, the Church and -State party did not sit with folded hands--Roger's own fiery pen being -unceasingly employed in the laudation of King, Church, and Bishops, and -in vilifying Roundheads, Republicans, and all Sectaries. Some authors -mingled in the _mêlée_ after a very equivocal fashion, drawing "a -parallel betwixt the ancient and the modern fanatics," so as to place -in company with Anabaptists, Quakers, and Independents, not only the -Lollards, but even Hugh Latimer--thus striking a blow at Nonconformity -through the side of the Reformation.[368] Much more effective than -abuse and satire, were papers, printed ready for Bartholomew's Day, -giving "a brief martyrology and catalogue of the learned, grave, -religious, and painful ministers of the City of London, who were -deprived, imprisoned, and plundered, during the Commonwealth." The -persecution of the Episcopalians afforded a strong point against the -Nonconformists, especially before it could be met by a long list of -ejected Nonconformists. Names of Episcopalians said to have been -reviled, and forced to resign, and "compelled to fly"--"violated, -assaulted, abused in the streets," and imprisoned in "the Compter, -Ely House, Newgate, and the ships"--furnished so many arguments for -severe measures against those who were charged with these indefensible -persecutions. - - - - - CHAPTER XIII. - - -No Sunday in England ever exactly resembled that which fell on the -17th of August, 1662--one week before the feast of St. Bartholomew. -There have been "mourning, lamentation, and woe," in particular parish -churches when death, persecution, or some other cause has broken -pastoral ties, and severed from loving congregations, their spiritual -guides; but for many hundreds of ministers on the same day to be -uttering farewells is an unparalleled circumstance. In after years, -Puritan fathers and mothers related to their children the story of -assembled crowds; of aisles, standing-places, and stairs, filled to -suffocation; of people clinging to open windows like swarms of bees; -of overflowing throngs in churchyards and streets; of deep silence or -stifled sobs, as the flock gazed on the shepherd--"sorrowing most of -all that they should see his face no more." - -[Sidenote: 1662.] - -Pepys--who liked to see and hear everything which was going on--walked -to old St. Dunstan's Church, at seven o'clock in the morning, but found -the doors unopened. He took a turn in the Temple Gardens until eight, -when, on coming back to the church, he saw people crowding in at a side -door, and found the edifice half-filled, ere the principal entrance had -been opened. Dr. Bates, minister of the church, took for his text-- -"Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, -that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting -covenant, make you perfect." "He making a very good sermon," reports -the Secretary, "and very little reflections in it to anything of the -times." After dinner, the gossip went to St. Dunstan's again, to hear -a second sermon from the same preacher upon the same text. Arriving at -the church, about one o'clock, he found it thronged, and had to stand -during the whole of the service. Not until the close of this second -homily, did the preacher make any distinct allusion to his ejectment, -and then it was in terms the most concise and temporate. "I know you -expect I should say something as to my nonconformity. I shall only say -thus much--it is neither fancy, faction, nor humour, that makes me not -to comply, but merely for fear of offending God. And if after the best -means used for my illumination, as prayer to God, discourse, study, -I am not able to be satisfied concerning the lawfulness of what is -required; if it be my unhappiness to be in error, surely men will have -no reason to be angry with me in this world, and I hope God will pardon -me in the next."[369] - -Dr. Jacomb occupied his pulpit in St. Martin's, Ludgate. It would seem, -from his remarks, that he did not expect it to be the last pastoral -discourse he would deliver; but I am unable to say whether the hope he -had of preaching to his parishioners again, arose from an idea that -the law would be mitigated. "Let me," he said, "require this of you, -to pass a charitable interpretation upon our laying down the exercise -of our ministry." "I censure none that differ from me, as though they -displease God: but yet, as to myself, should I do thus and thus, I -should certainly violate the peace of my own conscience, and offend -God, which I must not do, no, not to secure my ministry; though that -either is, or ought to be dearer to me than my very life; and how dear -it is, God only knoweth."[370] - -[Sidenote: THE BARTHOLOMEW EJECTMENT.] - -In the Cambridge University Library[371] is the copy of _A Prayer of -a Nonconformist before his Sermon, which was preached to an eminent -Congregation, August, 1662_. The prayer is long, and consists chiefly -of confession of sin and of supplication for spiritual blessings; -the only passages which seem to refer to existing circumstances -are the two following:--"It is the Spirit that makes ordinances -efficacious--although Thou art pleased to tye us to them, when we may -purely enjoy them, yet Thou dost not tye Thyself to them." "Bring our -hearts to our estates, if not our estates to our hearts. It is the -happiness of the saints in heaven to have their estates brought to -their hearts; but the happiness of the saints on earth to have their -hearts brought to their estates." - -[Sidenote: 1662.] - -The Fire of London swept away so many of the old City churches that we -are unable to picture the localities where the City ministers preached, -what they called, their own funeral sermons; but it is otherwise in the -provinces. Everyone who has entered the Vale of Taunton, and tarried -in the town from which it takes its name, must have lingered under -the shadow of the noble Church of St. Mary, and longer still within -its spacious nave, sometime since restored with exquisite taste. In -1662 the town had just had its walls razed, as a punishment for what -the inhabitants did in the Civil Wars--the bones of their townsman -Blake had been dug out of his grave in Westminster Abbey; old Puritan -members of the Corporation had been displaced for new ones of Cavalier -sympathies; and now, with bitter recollections, the nonconforming -parishioners entered the Church on the 17th of August, to listen for -the last time to their minister, George Newton--"a noted gospeller," -and remarkable for his missionary zeal. "As to the particular Divine -providence," he said, "now ending our ministry among you, whatever -happeneth on this account, let it be your exercise to cry out for the -Holy Spirit of Christ, and He will grant you a greater support than you -may expect from any man whatever.... The withdrawing of this present -ministry may be to cause you to pray for this Holy Spirit, day and -night; and Christ promiseth that the Father will give it to them that -ask it.... If I cannot serve God one way, let me not be discouraged, -but be more earnest in another."[372] - -[Sidenote: THE BARTHOLOMEW EJECTMENT.] - -The quiet little town of Beer Regis, in Dorsetshire, retains its -ancient church, with its square tower and pinnacles, dedicated to St. -John the Baptist. The living, in conjunction with that of Charmouth, -formed the golden prebend of Salisbury Cathedral. How much of the -income of the stall belonged to the Incumbent under the Commonwealth -I do not know, but the Incumbency must have been of a description -strongly to tempt Philip Lamb, who then held it, to comply with the Act -of Uniformity, had he been a worldly-minded man.[373] But his farewell -teaching proves him to have been above the reach of such temptations. -Like other discourses at the same time, his was full of spiritual -instruction and earnest appeal; the following allusion being made to -the event of the day:--"For now I must tell you, that perhaps you -may not see my face, or hear my voice anymore in this place; yet not -out of any peevish humour, or disaffection to the present authority -of the kingdom (I call God and man to witness this day), it being -my own practice and counsel to you all, _to fear God and honour the -King_;--but rather a real dissatisfaction in some particulars imposed, -to which (notwithstanding all endeavours to that purpose) my conscience -cannot yet be espoused."[374] - -The week between the 17th and 24th of August proved an eventful one. -Charles had been married in the previous May to Catherine of Braganza; -a match which--though formally approved by the Privy Council and by -Parliament, because of her dowry, and of the possession of Tangier, on -the coast of Africa, and of Bombay, in the East Indies, and of a free -trade with Portugal and its colonies--was, because of the religion of -the bride, hateful to the English people, in proportion as they hated -Popery. The day before her reception, the King issued a Proclamation, -addressed to the Lord Mayor and Sheriffs of London. He laid "hold -of this occasion of public joy, on the first coming of the Queen to -the Royal Palace of Westminster, to order the release of Quakers and -others, in gaol, in London and Middlesex, for being present at unlawful -assemblies, who yet profess all obedience and allegiance; provided they -are not indicted for refusing the Oath of Allegiance, nor have been -ringleaders nor preachers at their assemblies, hoping thereby to reduce -them to a better conformity."[375] - -[Sidenote: 1662.] - -The Quakers, George Fox and Richard Hubberthorn, had just before -addressed the King as "Friend," and sent His Majesty a list of "three -thousand one hundred and seventy-three persons" who had suffered for -conscience' sake. "There have been also imprisoned in thy name," add -these plain-spoken memorialists, "three thousand sixty and eight." "Now -this we would have of thee, to set them at liberty that lie in prison, -in the names of the Commonwealth, and of the two Protectors, and them -that lie in thy own name, for speaking the truth."[376] How far this -appeal influenced Charles in his act of grace now performed I cannot -say; nor does it appear how clemency towards a despised sect tended -to gratify the country at large; which on such an occasion he might -naturally wish to do. Perhaps, being fond of exercising a dispensing -power, this proceeding might afford some gratification to himself; and -as to the selection of objects, he had a liking for Quakers, on account -of what he regarded their harmlessness and oddity. He had no fear of -their arming themselves against his throne; and to quiz their dress and -their speech, seemed to his frivolous taste, a piece of real fun. - -On Saturday, the 23rd of August, Catherine reached Whitehall; and the -citizens of London, ever prompt in their loyalty on such occasions, -gave "a large demonstration of their duty and affection to the King's -and Queen's Majesty on the River Thames." The Mercers, the Drapers, -the Merchant Taylors, and the Goldsmiths, appeared in stately barges, -their pageantry and that of the Lord Mayor outpeering the rest of the -brilliant regatta. Music floated from bands on deck, and thundering -peals roared from pieces of ordnance on shore. Their Majesties came -in an antique-shaped, open vessel, covered with a cupola-like canopy -of cloth of gold, supported by Corinthian pillars, wreathed with -festoons and garlands of flowers,--the pageant exceeding--as John -Evelyn remarked, who was sailing near--all the _Venetian Bucentoras_, -in which, on Ascension Day, the Doge was wont to wed, with a golden -ring, the fair Adriatic. The spectacle on the water-highway presented -a contrast to the experiences in many parsonages throughout broad -England; and it is remarkable, that just then certain persons were -engaged in solemnities more in accordance with Nonconformist depression. - -[Sidenote: THE BARTHOLOMEW EJECTMENT.] - -Edward Calamy that very Saturday preached a sermon at St. Austin's -Church, in London, for Father Ash (the old man who shed tears of -joy over Charles' early promises), from the words "The righteous -perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart; and merciful men are taken -away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil -to come,"--words befitting the interment of a Puritan patriarch on -Bartholomew's eve. Discoursing on his text, the preacher reminded his -audience how Methuselah died, a year before the flood; Austin died a -little before Hippo was taken; and Luther died just as the wars in -Germany were about to begin. He might have added, that Blaise Pascal, -who died the preceding Tuesday, August 19th, had been removed just as -the agony of the crisis came, in the history of the Port Royalists.[377] - -By a further coincidence, the same day on which Ash was buried in -London, Edward Bowles, the distinguished Nonconformist, breathed his -last in the City of York. He had just been elected Vicar of Leeds--but -his Nonconformity would have disqualified him from entering on the -benefice, had not his Master called him to a better preferment and a -nobler ministry. - -[Sidenote: 1662.] - -When St. Bartholomew's Day arrived, the Nonconformist clergy who had -not before taken leave of their flocks, uttered their farewells. -Thomas Lye, Rector of Allhallows, London--whose catechetical lectures -had made him very popular with the youthful members of Puritan -families--preached twice from the words--"Therefore my brethren, dearly -beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my -dearly beloved." Lye mentioned in his morning address, that he had been -ejected on the 24th of August, 1651, because he would not swear against -the King. Now, on the 24th of August, 1662, he was ejected for a very -different reason. But he did not repine. "By way of exhortation," said -the preacher, "I remember good Jacob when he was come into Egypt, -ready to die, calls his children together, and before he dies, he -blesseth his children.--O beloved, I have a few blessings for you, -and, for God's sake, take them as if they dropt from my lips when -dying.--Whatever others think, I am utterly against all irregular ways; -I have (I bless the Lord) never had a hand in any change of Government -in all my life; I am for prayers, tears, quietness, submission, and -meekness, and let God do His work, and that will be best done when He -doth it."[378] - -[Sidenote: THE BARTHOLOMEW EJECTMENT.] - -Another instance of a second ejectment occurred the same day under -different circumstances. Robert Atkins, in the month of September, -1660, had been dismissed from the choir of Exeter Cathedral--the part -of the edifice appropriated to the Presbyterians--"Church music," -to use his own words, "jostling out the constant preaching of the -Word; the minister being obliged to give place to the chorister; and -hundreds, yea thousands, to seek where to hear a sermon on the Lord's -Day, rather than singing service should be omitted, or not kept up -in its ancient splendour and glory." Driven at the Restoration from -East Peter's, he found refuge in the parish church of St. John--an -instance which shows that nonconforming clergymen might lose one living -and gain another, between the King's return and the execution of the -Act. From St. John's, he was ejected in August, and then he preached -a sermon in which, rising above all such narrowness as prompted the -depreciation of cathedral music, he caught ennobling inspirations, and -employed only words of loyalty and love. "Let him never be accounted -a sound Christian that doth not both fear God and honour the King. I -beg that you would not interpret our Nonconformity to be an act of -unpeaceableness and disloyalty. We will do anything for His Majesty but -sin. We will hazard anything for him but our souls. We hope we could -die for him, only we dare not be damned for him. We make no question, -however we may be accounted of here, we shall be found loyal and -obedient subjects at our appearance before God's tribunal."[379] - -[Sidenote: 1662.] - -Another day they had to quit the parsonage.[380] No poet that I am -aware of, has made the Bartholomew Exodus a theme for his muse, but the -well-known lines in Goldsmith's "Deserted Village" may be accommodated -to the incident. - - "Good heaven! what sorrows gloom'd that parting day, - That call'd them from their native walks away, - When the poor exiles, every pleasure past, - Hung round the bowers, and fondly look'd their last. - With loudest plaints the mother spoke her woes, - And blest the cot where every pleasure rose, - And kiss'd her thoughtless babes with many a tear, - And clasp'd them close, in sorrow doubly dear; - While her fond husband strove to lend relief, - In all the silent manliness of grief." - -Some persons can allow no excuse for Puritans who conformed. Because -Nonconformity under the circumstances appears to these persons -a plain obligation, they suppose it must have appeared equally -plain to everybody entertaining evangelical views like their own. -But if we exclude all Puritan Conformists from the benefit of -charitable allowance, on the score of temptation; if we dismiss all -thought of the medium through which, owing to circumstances, they -were likely to contemplate their own case,--then we diminish our -estimate of the clear-sighted judgment, the unprejudiced resolves, -and the self-sacrificing heroism of those Puritans who in a crisis -of extraordinary difficulty, pursued the course they did. When -Nonconformists discover considerations which mitigate the censure of -some who conformed, they must all the more admire those who, rising -above motives which spring from self-interest, from example, from -persuasion, and from prejudice, were, through a sense of duty, led to -sacrifice so much which they held dear. - -[Sidenote: THE BARTHOLOMEW EJECTMENT.] - -The ejected differed from each other in many respects: not more unlike -are cedars and firs, oaks and ashes, the elm and the ivy. Some were -bold and stern, of rugged nature and robust strength; others were -gentle and dependent, relying on friends for counsel and example. -Some were rigid and ascetic; others frank and genial. They included -Presbyterians, Independents, Baptists, and not a few whom it would -be difficult to reduce entirely under any of those denominations; -also, Calvinists and Arminians, with other Divines scarcely belonging -to either of those schools. As to learning, eloquence, reasoning, -and imagination, the men varied; but under all their peculiarities -lay a common faith--of no ordinary character, a faith of that rare -kind which makes the confessor. They believed in God, in Christ, -in truth, in Heaven; and in the controversy which they carried on, -they regarded themselves as fighting for a Divine cause. People may -think some of these ministers made too much of wearing a surplice, -using the sign of the cross, and bowing at the name of Jesus; but -such things were considered by them as having a significance beyond -themselves. They were, by the ejected, judged to be signs of a -corrupted Christianity--the banners of an adverse army--flags of which -the importance did not consist in the silk, the crimson, and the gold, -but in the import of the emblazoned device. What might seem trifles to -others, were in their estimation the marks of a ceremonial, as opposed -to a spiritual, of a legal as opposed to an evangelical Christianity. -They believed that, in the defence of the Gospel, they were acting -as they did. A strong evangelical faith upheld their ecclesiastical -opinions, like the everlasting rocks which form the ribs and backbone -of this grand old world. - -[Sidenote: 1662.] - -The Church of England suffered no small loss when she lost such -men. So far as extreme Anglo-Catholics on the one hand, and extreme -Presbyterians on the other were concerned, union was impossible; but -it should be remembered that in the conferences at Worcester House and -the Savoy, nothing more was sought by the Puritans than a moderate -Episcopacy; and, as already noticed, Baxter declared, that to the best -of his knowledge the Presbyterian cause was never spoken for, nor were -they ever heard to petition for it at all. There can be no question -that there were amongst the ejected many exemplary ministers, who -would have been perfectly satisfied with such concessions, as moderate -Episcopalians might have conscientiously sanctioned. - -The great change having been accomplished, the King commanded -directions to be sent to the clergy respecting their preaching. -They were forbidden to meddle with matters of State, or to discuss -speculative points in theology, but were enjoined to catechize the -young, to read the canons, and to promote the observance of the Lord's -Day.[381] - - - - - CHAPTER XIV. - - -When the Act had taken effect, some of the Presbyterians looked for a -mitigation of its severity. Those who lived in London, and were upon -terms of friendship with the Earl of Manchester, and other Puritan -noblemen, trusting to their influence at Court, resolved to make an -effort to obtain redress. Calamy, Manton, and Bates, the leaders of -this forlorn hope, prepared a petition, numerously signed by London -pastors.[382] It spoke of His Majesty's indulgence, and besought him, -in his princely wisdom and compassion, to take some effectual course, -whereby they might be continued in the exercise of their office.[383] -Whatever might be the effect of the petition, Clarendon admits that -the King made a positive promise to do what the ministers desired. - -[Sidenote: 1662.] - -At this time the nobility had gone down to their country-seats to -enjoy the summer months; the Bishops generally were engaged in their -visitations. Charles, at Hampton Court, was joking with his lords, -toying with his mistresses, rambling in the green alleys, lounging in -the cool saloons, watching games in the tennis-court, and feeding the -ducks in the broad ponds. However unwilling to attend to business, he -found that a Council must be held. The Archbishop of Canterbury and the -Bishops of London and Winchester were therefore summoned, together with -Chief Justice Bridgman, and the Attorney-General, the Duke of Ormond, -and the Secretaries of State. The King's promise was communicated to -the Council. "The Bishops were very much troubled that _those fellows_ -should still presume to give His Majesty so much vexation, and that -they should have such access to him." As for themselves, they desired -"to be excused for not conniving in any degree at the breach of the -Act of Parliament, either by not presenting a clerk where themselves -were patrons, or deferring to give institution upon the presentation -of others; and that His Majesty's giving such a declaration or -recommendation, would be the greatest wound to the Church, and to the -government thereof, that it could receive."[384] - -[Sidenote: THE BARTHOLOMEW EJECTMENT.] - -Sheldon vehemently urged, that it was now too late to alter what -had been done; the Sunday before he had ejected those who would not -subscribe; the King had thus provoked them, and that now to admit them -to the Church would be for him to put his head in the lion's mouth. He -further urged that resolutions of Council could not justify contempt -for an Act of Parliament. The argument is thoroughly constitutional, -and so far Sheldon appears right; but before he completed his speech, -he manifested his real spirit by contending, that if the importunity of -disaffected people were a reason for humouring them, neither Church nor -State would ever be free from disturbance.[385] - -[Sidenote: 1662.] - -The operation of the Act, the petition of ministers, and the -discussions in Council, were soon the topic of newspapers, and the talk -of the country; and great credit was given for the "care and prudence -of the most worthy diocesan" of London, in filling up the numerous -vacancies. It was reported, that at Northampton, "all except two -or three" conformed; that at Gloucester, there was "scarcely a man" -who did not subscribe; and that at Newport, an instance occurred of a -building erected by Nonconformists being seized and appropriated for -Episcopal worship. We find it also stated that in the City of Chester, -Nonconformists preached on the 24th of August, though cautioned against -it by the Bishop; and that the following Sunday they being displaced, -and other ministers being appointed, the Presbyterians still came to -the parish service; and that in Northumberland, there were "only three -disaffected ministers, Scotchmen, who quietly left their livings, -and crossed the Tweed." The High Church party believed the Act to be -popular, and Nonconformity to be an insignificant affair--a mere puff -of smoke, which a moment's wind would blow away. Episcopal visitations -created much enthusiasm. All the gentry went out to meet the Bishop -of Exeter, with one thousand horse, and foot without number, and many -coaches; City music sounded from the top of Guildhall, and the Bishop -drove up to the Deanery amidst volleys of shot. At Chippenham, like -honours saluted the Bishop of Salisbury.[386] Rumours of another kind -floated in other quarters. William Hook, an Independent, who had been -ejected from the Savoy, informed an American correspondent, that after -the Act of Uniformity, there were few communicants at the churches, -"only ten, twenty, or forty, where there were 20,000 persons more than -sixteen years old; and on festival days only the parsons and three or -four at their devotions."[387] It is not to be supposed that Hook, any -more than his contemporaries in newspapers, gave himself much trouble -in sifting evidence, still probably there is truth in what he says. -Beyond idle rumours certain facts are established. For example, St. -Mary's Church, at Taunton, was closed for several weeks successively; -and although we find that afterwards public services were held at -rare intervals, the parish had no resident minister for the next nine -months.[388] - -[Sidenote: THE BARTHOLOMEW EJECTMENT.] - -The law bound every clergyman to subscribe in the presence of his -Archbishop or Ordinary, and it may be mentioned in illustration, that -the Canons of St. George's Chapel, Windsor, subscribed before the -Dean, he being the Ordinary of the place; some of them, in _majorem -cautionem_, subscribed also before the Archbishop of Canterbury, yet -was it with this proviso--saving the rights and privileges of this free -chapel.[389] - -Some clergymen, who ultimately subscribed, did so with hesitation. Sir -Thomas Browne, in his tour through Derbyshire, met with a friend who, -the day before he saw him, which was in the month of September, "had -most manfully led up a train of above twenty parsons, and though they -thought themselves to be great Presbyterians, yet they followed" this -leader to Chesterfield, and by subscribing there "kept themselves in -their livings despite of their own teeth."[390] Some lingered awhile -on neutral ground; others went back to the Establishment. A large -number of cases of this kind may be found in _Calamy's Account_ and -_Palmer's Nonconformist Memorial_.[391] Men of character and worth, -belonging to the Puritan party, overcame their scruples by putting a -general interpretation on a precise declaration, and by pondering the -thought that a superior social influence for good would attend their -remaining as shepherds within the Episcopalian sheep-fold. - -[Sidenote: 1662.] - -Lightfoot, Wallis, and Horton, who had been Presbyterian Commissioners -at the Savoy, became Conformists. Dr. Fogg, of Chester, joined them at -the end of five years; Dr. Conant at the end of seven. - -Gurnal, the devout author of the _Christian Armour_, belongs to the -same class. All such men had to pay the penalty of separating from -old friends.[392] They suffered abuse; being taunted with the use of -"Episcopal eye-salve," and for bowing down to "the whore of Babylon." -All sorts of stories were buzzed abroad to their discredit; it is -related as a Divine judgment that a Conformist crossing a bridge on -his way to the place where he meant to subscribe, was thrown from his -horse and killed. The tale appears in connection with an account of a -clergyman, who, after expressing himself in a sermon bitterly against -the Presbyterians, dreamed that he should die at a certain time, and, -in accordance with this warning, was found dead in his bed.[393] Cases -also occurred in which clergymen at first conformed to the Act, and -afterwards became Dissenters.[394] - -[Sidenote: THE BARTHOLOMEW EJECTMENT.] - -Soon after the Act had been passed, the Bishops issued articles of -inquiry and visitation, very much of the same comprehensive, minute, -and sifting description, as those which had been issued before the -Civil Wars. In these articles, distinct reference is made to the -conformity required by the new law. The text of the articles for the -dioceses of Bath and Wells, Chichester, Exeter, Hereford, Lincoln, -Llandaff, Oxford, Peterborough, and St. David's is, with slight -exception, the same as that for the diocese of Winchester, of which -Morley was Bishop; and, under the third title, _Concerning Ministers_, -it is asked, whether they had been legally instituted and inducted; -and had, within two months after induction, on some Sunday or holyday, -publicly, in the time of Divine service, read the Thirty-nine Articles -and declared assent to them; also, whether in the daily Morning and -Evening service, Administration of the Holy Sacraments, Celebration of -Marriage, Churching of Women, Visitation of the Sick, Burial of the -Dead, and pronouncing God's Commination against impenitent sinners, -they used the words prescribed in the Book of Common Prayer, without -any addition, omission, or alteration of the same? Also whether they -wore the surplice, and such scholastical habit as was suitable to -their degree, and observed holydays, fasts, embers, and the yearly -perambulations in Rogation weeks? Also whether any person had preached -in the parish as a lecturer, and if so, whether he had obtained a -license from the Bishop, and had read the appointed prayers, and was in -all respects conformable to the laws of the Church?[395] - -[Sidenote: 1662.] - -In some articles, the questions on these points are still more precise -and stringent. Cosin, Bishop of Durham, asks "Do you not know, or -have you not heard, that in his reading, or pretending to read, these -Thirty-nine Articles, he (the minister) omitted or skipped over some -one or more of them? What article was it, or what part thereof that he -left unread?" The same prelate also inquires whether lecturers read -prayers in a surplice.[396] Other Bishops satisfied themselves with -general questions. Griffith, Bishop of St. Asaph, and Henchman, Bishop -of Salisbury, both use these words, "Doth your minister distinctly, -reverently, say Divine service upon Sundays and holydays;" "doth he -duly observe the orders, rites, and ceremonies prescribed in the said -Book of Common Prayer?"[397] Bishop Reynolds asks whether the minister -had been freely presented, and legally instituted and inducted? -whether he had publicly read the Thirty-nine Articles, and given his -assent, and celebrated every office in such form, manner, and habit, -as is prescribed? He inquires as to the right and due observance of -the sacraments, and the notice of holydays: and, like others of his -brethren, inquires respecting the observance of the 5th of November, -the 30th of January, and the 29th of May.[398] - -Archdeacons also issued articles touching the manner of celebrating -Divine service.[399] - -Notwithstanding all these precautions, a few ministers continued within -the pale of the Establishment without conforming to the Act. - -[Sidenote: THE BARTHOLOMEW EJECTMENT.] - -John Chandler held the living of Petto in Essex; although he had only -received Presbyterian ordination, he was pronounced by his diocesan, -Bishop Reynolds--thus far true to his old faith--to be as good a -minister as he could make him; and notwithstanding his only partial -use of liturgical worship, he was allowed to retain his incumbency. -Mr. Ashurst, of Arlsey--a poor Bedfordshire vicarage--in the diocese -of Lincoln, in which Laney succeeded Sanderson in 1663, continued to -officiate in the parish church, reading parts of the Common Prayer, and -taking for his support whatever his parishioners chose to contribute. -Nicholas Billingsley, settled at Blakeney, in the parish of Awre, in -the diocese of Gloucester--"lived very peaceably for awhile"--on his -impropriation of £50 per annum, by the permission of Bishop Nicholson. -We also find in the diocese of Chester, under the successive episcopacy -of Hall, Wilkins, and Pearson, that Angier of Denton, continued the -occupancy of the parish pulpit, and the enjoyment of parish emoluments, -notwithstanding his perseverance in Presbyterian worship. Tilsley, the -Presbyterian Vicar of Dean, after losing his vicarage, was, by Wilkins, -permitted to resume his ministry as lecturer in his old parish, the -new Vicar reading prayers. There were other instances in the same -diocese of an evasion of the law. In the diocese of Gloucester, under -Nicholson, Henry Stubbs was allowed the poor living of Horsley; and in -the diocese of Llandaff, under Lloyd, Richard Hawes was permitted to -preach without subscribing. Similar instances of irregularity occurred -in different parts of the country. Some clergymen, after being ejected, -were allowed to become chaplains in hospitals and prisons, and to -officiate occasionally for parochial Incumbents.[400] - -[Sidenote: 1662.] - -It may be added, that there were clergymen in the Establishment who -disapproved of what had been done. Edward Stillingfleet, however he -might speak and act afterwards, expressed, at that time, liberal -opinions, and acted in a manner consistent with them. He maintained -that Christ's design was to ease men of their former burdens, and not -to lay on more; that the unity of the Church is an unity of love and -affection, and not a bare uniformity of practice or opinion; and that -however desirable in a Church the latter might be, as long as there are -men of different ranks and sizes in it, it is hardly attainable.[401] - -In accordance with these sentiments, Stillingfleet sheltered at his -rectory of Sutton, in Bedfordshire, one of the ejected ministers, and -took a large house, which he converted into a school for another. - -Laymen also deplored the severities of the measure. Hale, Boyle, -and Sir Peter Pett did so; whilst Locke's earliest work, written -in 1660, aimed at reconciling the Puritans to submission in things -indifferent.[402] A strong conviction existed in the minds of -Episcopalians and Royalists that Nonconformity was disloyal and -insurrectionary; and this conviction, then, and long afterwards, -operated as a power in the Church of England, destructive of social -peace and union, far beyond what is generally supposed. The rumours -about plots in the earlier period of the reign of Charles II. have -not much occupied the attention of historians. They are commonly -dismissed as idle tales. No doubt they were such in most instances; -and not in a single instance did any actual insurrection occur. But -in history, it is important to notice, not only what men have done, -but what men have believed to be done. Beliefs, however absurd, have -been to those who entertained them, just the same as facts, and these -beliefs have actually been factors of great power: as such they claim -to be noted by the historian. I have too much faith in the English -spirit of the seventeenth century, in the generosity which mingled -with the High Churchmanship of the best of the Cavaliers, and in the -thorough conscientiousness of many of the Conformists, to believe that -they could have acted towards Dissenters as they did, unless they -had been hood-winked by people who persuaded them, that Dissenters -were not true-hearted Englishmen, but only so many wretched rebels. -It so happens that the _State Papers_, as already indicated, afford -almost innumerable illustrations of the extent and operation of these -prejudices, and I make no apology for employing many of these documents -in subsequent pages as useful contributions to English history. - -[Sidenote: RUMOURED PLOTS.] - -[Sidenote: 1662.] - -In October, 1662, Sir Edward Nicholas was succeeded by Sir Henry -Bennet. Like his predecessor, he gave himself diligently to inquiries -respecting suspected persons. A month before the former retired, -he told Lord Rutherford that there were rumours of disturbances -intended by Presbyterians and Independents, but at present all was -quiet. A month afterwards he confessed to the same person, that -there was no commotion in any part of the kingdom, although factious -sectaries raised reports to frighten people.[403] Frivolous letters -constantly poured in upon the bewildered officials. There came -notes of conversation with Edward Bagshawe,[404] who said London -was discontented; that 1,960[405] ministers were turned out of -their livings; that Dunkirk was sold; that the King only minded his -mistresses; that the Queen and her cabal carried on the Government -at Somerset House; that Popery was coming in; that the people would -not endure these things, but would rise on the ground _that the Long -Parliament was not yet dissolved because they had passed an Act against -any dissolution but by themselves_. A large bundle of examinations -was forwarded to Bennet, about the same time, by the Earl of -Northumberland--an informer conveying them, and adding to the written -secrets, _vivâ voce_ revelations--the papers disclosing such frivolous -circumstances as that three gentlemen and two servants, whom nobody -knew, had been seen somewhere, and that "an ancient grey man," and "a -Jersey Frenchman" were mysteriously moving from place to place. Also, -there arrived a packet promising much information, which, when opened, -was found to contain only religious sentences, and a number of love -verses. Suspicious persons were reported, and it is amusing, amongst -unknown names to find mentioned "Dr. Goodwin and Owen, who now scruple -at the surplice, but used to wear velvet cassocks, and to receive -from five to seven hundred a-year from their Churches."[406] The -letter-bags were robbed; people's houses were broken into, and trunks -full of papers seized and carried off by constables. Spies employed by -the Government were active in collecting reports, and there can be no -doubt that they were quite as active in inventing them. Two informers, -Peter and John Crabb, brought accounts of intended insurrections; but -at the same time they made awkward revelations respecting themselves. -Peter had told the Secretary of State, that he and his brother John -were the Secretary's devoted servants, and wished to be employed in -a certain business; that he had only received a part of the money, -which he understood the Secretary had sent him; and that to cover his -profession as a spy, lest City people should wonder how he lived, he -put out a "bill, advertizing the cure of the rickets in children, in -Red Lion Court, Bishopsgate."[407] After reading the correspondence of -these two brothers, I am not surprised to find depositions charging -one of them with being a liar and a villain. The depositions are met -by cross-swearing; the whole business leaving the impression that -Whitehall was beset by troops of scoundrels.[408] A result of this kind -of espionage, and of the exaggerations and inventions of informers, -may be found in the trial and condemnation of six men in the month of -December for being concerned in an intended rising of "Fifth Monarchy -men, Anabaptists, Independents, and fighting Quakers." The evidence -rested chiefly upon rumours. - - - - - CHAPTER XV. - - -[Sidenote: DECLARATION OF INDULGENCE.] - -After all Clarendon's advice and all Sheldon's opposition, the King, -within four months of the meeting of Council already described, -returned to his favourite expedient. He published, on the 26th of -December, 1662, a Declaration, in which he referred to promises from -Breda, of ease and liberty to tender consciences, and also to malicious -rumours to the effect, that at the time he denied a fitting liberty -to other sects whose consciences would not allow them to conform to -the established religion, he was indulgent to Papists, not only in -exempting them from the penalties of the law, but even to such a degree -as might endanger the Protestant religion.[409] Respecting all this he -asserted, that as he had been zealous to settle the uniformity of -the Church, in discipline, ceremony, and government, and would ever -constantly maintain it--so as for the penalties upon those who, living -peaceably, did not conform, he should make it his special care, so far -as possible, without invading the freedom of Parliament, to incline -their wisdom, the next sessions, to concur in the making some such -Act for that purpose, as might enable him to exercise, with a more -universal satisfaction, that power of dispensing, which he conceived to -be inherent in him as a Sovereign.[410] - -[Sidenote: 1662.] - -When this Declaration was published, the hopes of ejected ministers -began to revive. Independents took courage; Philip Nye, in spite of age -and poverty, manifested some eagerness to revive public Nonconformist -worship. Although personally under the ban of the law, he, with some -other brethren, found admission to Whitehall, and was graciously -allowed an interview with Charles. We do not exactly know what passed; -but Nye received so much encouragement from His Majesty's conversation, -that he told Baxter, the King had resolved to grant them liberty. -The day after New Year's Day, the Independent diplomatist appeared -at the house of the Presbyterian Divine to discuss the propriety of -acknowledging the King's Declaration and seeking indulgence. Baxter -resolved not to commit himself; nor would other Presbyterians take -a share in the business; they had had enough of it, they said: the -reasons, at the bottom of their policy, being that they dreaded a -toleration which they knew would be extended so as to embrace Roman -Catholics. They looked on the Declaration as a Trojan horse; but Nye, -whose ideas of religious freedom perhaps had grown, so that he might -be willing to concede it to Roman Catholics, and who certainly had -a strong desire after unfettered action for himself and his party, -thought the tactics of the Presbyterians unwise, and he considered -that, through them, he and his brethren "missed of their intended -liberty."[411] - -[Sidenote: DECLARATION OF INDULGENCE.] - -Further discussion followed between Baxter and the Independents. -They said that they had heard from the Lord Chancellor, that liberty -had been intended for them, but that the Presbyterians had opposed -the measure. Old sores were re-opened, and Baxter, evidently rather -nettled, records how the Independents became affected towards the -Popish Earl of Bristol, thinking that the King's Declaration had been -obtained by him, and that he and the Papists would contrive a general -toleration. Burnet confirms what Baxter says of the Earl's influence, -by informing us, that just before, there had been a meeting of Papists -at that nobleman's residence, where it had been resolved to make an -effort in favour of the Roman Catholics, and with such a view to help -Dissenters.[412] - -Clarendon, who had strong Protestant convictions, felt alarmed at the -brightening prospects of the Romanists, and he resolved to take a leaf -out of their own book--to fight them with their own weapons--and to -adopt their own principle--"Divide and conquer!" Clarendon accordingly -proposed that Roman Catholics should take the Oath of Allegiance, -renouncing the Pope's deposing power--an oath to which some did not -object, but which others would, on no account, accept. He also proposed -the tolerating of secular priests, coupling with it the banishment -of Jesuits and other regular orders--another scheme which he knew -well would breed division. The whole of the Chancellor's policy is -not explained, but it is apparent that he had set his mind upon -extinguishing the hopes of the Papists.[413] - -[Sidenote: 1663.] - -Parliament assembled on the 18th of February, 1663. The King's speech -indicates the unpopularity of the recent Declaration, and he found -it necessary to assure the Houses that he did not intend to favour -Popery at all, and that he would not yield to the Bishops in his zeal -for uniformity; but still he said, with obvious inconsistency, if -Protestant Dissenters would be peaceable and modest, he could heartily -wish that he had such a power of indulgence as might not needlessly -force them out of the kingdom, or give them cause to conspire against -its peace. Five days afterwards, a Bill was brought into the House of -Lords and read the first time, to empower His Majesty to dispense with -the _Act of Uniformity_, and with other laws concerning it.[414] This -Bill came to nothing, being earnestly opposed by Lord Southampton, -by the Bishops, and by Clarendon, who, in spite of a fit of the gout, -delivered a speech on the adjourned debate, full of uncompromising -opposition to the King's favourite measure.[415] It is a singular -example of the difference between a Chief Minister of that day and -a Prime Minister of our own, that Clarendon should in the House of -Lords oppose the measure which had been brought in, according to -wishes expressed in the speech from the Throne; nor can his conduct -respecting the Declaration fail to support against him the charge of -duplicity.[416] - -Amongst the mischiefs which, Clarendon says, resulted from what he -calls the unhappy debate on the Indulgence, was the prejudice and -disadvantage which the Bishops experienced in consequence of their -unanimous opposition. "For from that time the King never treated any -of them with that respect as he had done formerly, and often spake of -them too slightly; which easily encouraged others not only to mention -their persons very negligently, but their function and religion itself, -as an invention to impose upon the free judgments and understandings -of men. What was preached in the pulpit was commented upon and derided -in the chamber, and preachers acted, and sermons vilified as laboured -discourses, which the preachers made only to show their own parts and -wit, without any other design than to be commended and preferred."[417] - -[Sidenote: DECLARATION OF INDULGENCE.] - -The subject of Indulgence agitated the whole country. It was keenly -discussed in private meetings of Nonconformist ministers, at -archidiaconal visitations and other clerical gatherings--and still -oftener, and with not less heat, by burghers and yeomen around their -firesides. Largely, too, did it enter into the contents of letters, -in one of which, written by William Hook to his late colleague -in New England, we discover copious references to this and other -ecclesiastical topics. Making allowance for the writer's prejudices, we -may learn something from his curious epistle.[418] - -"There is a toleration talked of, and expected by many, since the -King's Declaration, which came forth about a month or six weeks since. -The Papists improve the best of their interest to move it; but as for -their being tolerated, there are many of the grandees against it, who -are ready enough to move a motion for toleration of the Protestant -suffering party. The Bishops greatly abhor such a thing, as not being -able to subsist but by rigour and persecution: for had we liberty as to -the exercise of religion, they would be contemned by almost all men; -and whereas few frequent the meeting-places now, they would scarce -have any then. They have therefore striven to strengthen themselves by -moving and writing to Parliament men, before they come up to the City, -to sit again on February 18. And, as I hear, some of their letters -were intercepted and made known to the King, who was offended at some -passages, and their practices. Much to do there has been about this -business, and what will become of it, and the issue be, we are all -waiting for." - -[Sidenote: 1663.] - -In another part of the same epistle, relating to the same subject, -Hook gives a glimpse of an amusing incident:--"His Majesty sent for -Mr. Calamy, Dr. Bates, and Dr. Manton (and some say, Mr. Baxter also), -on the last of the last week, and took them into his closet, and -promised to restore them to their employments and places again, as -pitying that such men should lie vacant, speaking also against the -Popish religion, as it is said. Before they went in with the King, -some said, 'What do these Presbyterians here?' but when they came out, -they said, 'Your servant, Mr. Calamy, and your servant, Dr. Manton,' -&c. It was told them that a Bill for Liberty should be given in to the -House; but, however it went, they should have their liberty, _i.e._, -upon subscribing (I take it) thirteen articles touching doctrine and -worship, in which there is nothing (as they say) offensive to a tender -conscience. There is a distinction between an act of comprehension and -an act of judgment. Some are for the first, others not. The first is -comprehensive as to all forms in religion (excepting Papist, &c., but I -cannot well tell). The other leaves it to His Majesty to indulge whom -he seeth good. On the last day of the last week, a motion was made in -the Lower House for Liberty, according to the King's Declaration, which -I have sent you. A disaffected spirit to Liberty was much discovered -by very many, and the business was referred to be debated upon the -Wednesday following, which is this present day: what will come of it I -cannot yet tell."[419] - -[Sidenote: DECLARATION OF INDULGENCE.] - -The subject of Indulgence was revived in the summer, and again the -Presbyterians and the Independents, as before, are found in controversy -on the point.[420] - -Amidst rumours of various sorts, and as the Upper House still occupied -itself upon the offensive Bill, the Lower House showed, as they had -done from the beginning, the most intolerant zeal for the Established -Church. When thanking the King, on the 27th of February, for his -speech, they told him that an indulgence of Dissenters would establish -schism by law--would be inconsistent with the wisdom and gravity of -Parliament--would expose His Majesty to restless importunities--would -increase the number of sectaries--would be altogether contrary to -precedent--and would be far from promoting the peace of the kingdom. - -This array of objections alarmed the Monarch; he immediately replied -that he would take time for consideration; and on the 16th of March, -he sent an answer--assuring his faithful Commons that they had -misunderstood his meaning--thanking them for their thanks--and desiring -them to put the kingdom in a state of defence, but not saying one word -about the apple of discord.[421] - -[Sidenote: 1663.] - -Both Houses, on the 31st of March, 1663, presented a Petition to the -King, imploring him to command all Jesuits and Popish Priests, whether -English, Irish, or Scotch, to quit the realm. To him such a Petition -must have been annoying, and after delaying a while, to give any -distinct answer, he replied, that he felt troubled on account of the -resort to England of Jesuits and Priests, that it was so much ill-use -made of his lenity towards many of the Popish persuasion,--that his -feelings in this respect were the natural effects of his generosity and -good disposition, after having lived so many years in the dominions -of Catholic Princes,--that he would now endeavour to check the -evil,--that as his affection for the Protestant religion and the Church -of England had never been concealed, so he was less solicitous for the -settling of his revenue than for the advancement and improvement of -the ecclesiastical establishments, and for the using of all effectual -remedies for hindering the growth of Popery.[422] - -The Commons passed Bills against Papists and Nonconformists, but these -Bills were not sanctioned by the Upper House.[423] - -From the passing of the Act of Uniformity down to the repeal of the -clause in 1865, touching the declaration of _assent and consent_, the -meaning of those words was a constant subject of controversy, some even -of the Bishops construing them in a very lax and indefinite manner. The -words seem to many persons precise enough; and one might have thought -that no room remained for controversy respecting them, after what took -place in the House of Commons at the time now under review. A Bill -passed in the month of July, to relieve those who by sickness or other -impediment had been disabled from subscribing the required declaration. -The Lords wished to sanction the latitudinarian interpretation, and -adopted as an amendment this position, that "_assent and consent_" -should "be understood only as to the practice and obedience to the said -Act, and not otherwise." Against this construction the Duke of York and -thirteen other Lords entered their protest. The Commons indignantly -rejected the amendment, as having "neither justice nor prudence in -it." Such conduct aroused the anger of the Lords, who resolved to take -up the subject in the following session; but they allowed it to drop, -and so virtually gave way to the Lower House, and left the strict -grammatical meaning as the true construction of the law.[424] - -[Sidenote: PAPISTS AND NONCONFORMISTS.] - -Upon the 27th of the same month, July, the Speaker of the House of -Commons alluded to a measure for the better observance of the Sabbath; -the legislation of the Commonwealth on that as on all other subjects -having been rendered void. He dwelt in an affected strain upon the -decline of religion, and then returned to the subject of the growth -of Popery, and of Sectarianism. He was commanded, he said, to desire -that His Majesty would issue another proclamation for preventing -profaneness, debauchery, and licentiousness, and for better securing -the peace of the nation against the united counsels of Dissenters. -Charles replied, that he had expected to have had Bills presented to -him against distempers in religion, seditious Conventicles, and the -increase of Popery; but, that not being done, if he lived, he himself -meant to introduce such Bills. Meanwhile, he had charged the Judges -to use all endeavours to disperse the Sectaries, and to convict the -Papists.[425] - -Soon after the Restoration death removed several prelates. Brian -Walton died in November, 1661, in a little more than two months after -his installation at Chester, when Dr. George Hall succeeded him. -Nicholas Monk--whose funeral has been noticed--within one year of his -promotion to Hereford, died on the 17th of December, 1661, and was -succeeded by Herbert Croft. Duppa, Bishop of Winchester, died March -25th, 1662, leaving behind him a reputation for munificent charity, -and, just before his departure, bestowing his Episcopal benediction -upon the King, who had been his pupil, and who knelt by the side of his -death-bed. Gauden, who in the beginning of 1662 had been translated -from Exeter to Worcester, expired before the end of twelve months. - -[Sidenote: 1663.] - -Sanderson, Bishop of Lincoln, died in January, 1663. When in his -illness petitions were offered for his recovery, he remarked that "his -friends said their prayers backward for him; and that it was not his -desire to live a useless life, and, by filling up a place, keep another -out of it, that might do God and His Church service." With his dying -breath he exclaimed, "Thou, O God, tookest me out of my mother's womb, -and hast been the powerful protector of me to this present moment of -my life. Thou hast neither forsaken me now I am become grey-headed, -nor suffered me to forsake Thee in the late days of temptation, and -sacrifice my conscience for the preservation of my liberty or estate. -It was by grace that I have stood, when others have fallen under my -trials; and these mercies I now remember with joy and thankfulness, -and my hope and desire is that I may die praising Thee." He had no -taste for funeral parade, and expressly directed in his will, that he -should be buried with as little noise, pomp, and charge as might be--no -escutcheons, gloves, ribbons--no black hangings in the church, only a -pulpit cloth, a hearse cloth, and a mourning gown for the preacher of -the funeral sermon--who was to have five pounds for the service, upon -condition, that he spoke nothing of the deceased, either good or ill, -"other," Sanderson adds, "than I myself shall direct." Nor was any -costly monument to be raised to his memory, "only a fair flat marble -stone."[426] - -[Sidenote: PRELATES.] - -Juxon, Archbishop of Canterbury, expired at Lambeth Palace, on the -4th of June; and left behind him an honourable renown for meekness, -constancy, fortitude, and liberality. The sums which he contributed to -public objects of charity and religion amounted to no less than £48,000. - -Archbishop Bramhall departed this life, in Dublin, on the 25th of the -same month, after three fits of paralysis. To use the words of Jeremy -Taylor in his funeral sermon for the Primate, "As the Apostles in the -vespers of Christ's passion, so he, in the eve of his own dissolution, -was heavy, not to sleep, but heavy unto death; and looked for the last -warning, which seized on him in the midst of business; and though it -was sudden, yet it could not be unexpected or unprovided by surprise, -and therefore could be no other than that εὐθανασία, which Augustus -used to wish unto himself, a civil and well-natured death, without -the amazement of troublesome circumstances, or the great cracks of a -falling house, or the convulsions of impatience."[427] - -Through vacancies at the time of the Restoration, and deaths and -translations afterwards, within two years and a half, mitres fell to -the disposal of the Crown more than twenty times. - -[Sidenote: 1663.] - -Sheldon, as a reward for the great services which he had rendered to -the High Church party during the Commonwealth; at the Restoration, and -after his preferment to London, was translated to the Archiepiscopal -see of Canterbury. The ceremony of his installation was performed with -very great pomp.[428] - -[Sidenote: PROSCRIBED WORSHIP.] - -In spite of the severity of the law, and the activity of informers, -considerable numbers in different parts of the country met for -religious worship. It is very common, in the informations sent to -Secretary Bennet respecting these assemblies, to find mention made of -them as having a revolutionary object. There were, it is reported, -daily great Conventicles near Canterbury; and on Whit-Tuesday, June -20th, three hundred persons met in the village of Waltham, in a farm -cottage, described as "one Hobday's house." Others heard preaching in -a cherry orchard, sitting under trees then rich with ripening fruit; -upon leaving the enclosure, it is said, they had with them "fifty or -sixty good horses, several portmanteaus," and certain bundles "supposed -to contain arms." Liberty thus exercised, frightened intolerant -people. Sectaries in the City of Chichester were charged with treating -contemptuously the surplice and Prayer Book. Some were imprisoned, -and others bound over to the Sessions. The ringleaders promised to -be quiet, yet afterwards they interrupted the ministers in worship; -in consequence of which, the trained bands marched out to keep guard -for a fortnight, at the expiration of which period another company of -the same kind was to take their place. Like precautions were adopted -at Yarmouth, where two hundred Nonconformists were charged in the -Commissary Court with not taking the sacrament.[429] In the City of -Norwich, the Deputy-Lieutenant hearing of a meeting in a private house, -issued warrants to search for arms. The officers, upon being denied -entrance, broke open the doors, and found two or three hundred persons -engaged in worship, one hundred of whom were strong men. Their teacher -was identified, and all were bound over to the following Sessions. -Complaints were made from Lewes that the Sectaries in that town were -as numerous as ever. One of the "saints" there happening to die, the -clergyman of the parish heard that he was to be buried at night; so -when it grew dark, he began carefully to watch, and as the corpse -arrived at the churchyard, made his appearance to read the burial -service. Upon seeing him, the party retired and took back the body, but -they returned in two hours, and again the Incumbent was discerned in -the dark, standing by the grave, when they treated him so insolently, -that he had to bind several of them over to good behaviour. It was -also reported that shops in the town had been kept open in contempt -of Christmas Day, although the clergyman had sent orders to close the -shutters. "Fair means did no good to these stubborn rascals," said the -irritated informant; and his letter is but one specimen out of a great -number.[430] - -Lucy Hutchinson tells a touching story, relating to the same summer -months, to which the earlier of these informations belong. Mr. Palmer, -a Nottingham Nonconformist minister, was apprehended, and some others -with him, at his own house, by the Mayor for preaching on the Lord's -Day, and was put into the town gaol for two or three months. Through -a grated window he and his brethren could be seen by the people in -the street. One Sunday, as the prisoners were singing a psalm, the -passengers stood still by the grated window to listen, and Mr. Palmer -went on to preach to the congregation outside, when the Mayor, a -renegade Parliament officer, came with officers, and beat the people, -and thrust some into confinement.[431] - -[Sidenote: 1663.] - -The ecclesiastical policy pursued at this time towards the English -colonists on the other side of the Atlantic was very different from -that adopted at home. - -In the instructions given to the Governors of Jamaica, whilst they -were enjoined to encourage orthodox ministers of religion, in order -that Christianity and Anglican Protestantism might be reverenced and -exercised, it was commanded that those colonists who were of different -religious opinions should not be obstructed and hindered on such -account; that they should be excused from taking the Oath of Supremacy -according to the terms required in this country, and that some other -mode should be devised for securing their allegiance.[432] - -In a Charter granted to the State of Carolina, dated March 24th, 1663, -there is a clause of indulgence to be granted to persons who could not -conform to the Liturgy, upon condition that they should declare their -loyalty, and not scandalize and reproach the Church.[433] - -In the Royal Commission granted to the Governor of Virginia, he is -instructed not to suffer any one to be molested in the exercise of his -religion, provided he be content with a quiet and peaceable profession -of it, not giving offence or scandal to the Government.[434] - -[Sidenote: COLONIAL POLICY.] - -In the Charter granted to Rhode Island, July 8th, 1663, it is -distinctly provided, that no person within the colony should be -disquieted for differences of theological opinion. - -Should any one ask, why were these people in the West so differently -treated from Englishmen in His Majesty's home dominions--the answer -is, that the power and the temper of the colonists were such that -it would have been dangerous to the Imperial rule of Great Britain -to have denied them the utmost toleration which they asked. Most -of the emigrants had fled the shores of England, because of their -Nonconformity, to seek a home in the New World, where they might -worship God; and for defence of the refuge which they had gained at -the cost of exile, they were willing to lay down their lives. It -would have been at the risk, nay, with the certainty of losing those -fair possessions, had the Government denied the fullest religious -liberty. Nor did the political fears which blended with the religious -animosities at home exist in relation to those distant settlements. -Neither could the Church be endangered, nor the Throne be shaken, nor -the State be disturbed by Nonconformists thousands of miles away. It is -also a fact that kindness and generosity will often flow in abundant -streams towards objects at a distance, whilst the current is diverted -from objects at the door. - -Lastly, we should remember that Charles II. was not of an intolerant -and cruel disposition; that where he could, without trouble or danger, -concede religious liberty, he was ready to do so; and that Clarendon -was not destitute of all good-will towards people of other opinions -than his own when neither policy nor prejudice crossed his better -nature. - -[Sidenote: 1663.] - -In the month of October, after rumours of imagined outbreaks, something -of the kind actually occurred in Farnley Wood, Yorkshire. What was -going forward the Government knew, and enormously exaggerated reports -of it were conveyed to Whitehall. The wood was narrowly watched. -Twelve armed men met there. Two hundred were seen riding in an open -glade, after which they moved away, four or six together, in different -directions. Entrenchments were thrown up, but there was no fighting. -Several of these persons were arrested, amongst whom were Major -Thomas Greathead and Captain Thomas Oates, trustees of the curious -little Presbyterian chapel at Morley. Oates was tried at York, when -his infamous son Ralph appeared to give evidence against him, but was -refused a hearing by the Judge; the Captain, however, suffered death. -Greathead turned King's evidence, being promised not only his life but -a great reward, if he would confess the whole danger. The Royalist -spies and informers reported, that he was so necessary to the military -part of the business, that nothing could be done without him, and that -he was, therefore, fully trusted by the rebels. This appears in the -documents, touching the affair, preserved in the State Paper Office. -They are very numerous, and amidst much which is vague and confused, -may be discovered some definite proofs that a plot did exist in the -year 1663, with which the Farnley Wood entrenchments were connected. -There seem to have been exiles in Rotterdam, who had correspondence -with parties in England respecting this treasonable business, -especially Dr. Richardson, who surrendered his preferment at Ripon upon -the Restoration of the King, and had gone over to Holland. Among the -implicated persons he mentions Ralph Rymer, father of the Editor of -the _Fœdera_, which Ralph,--like Oates, and several others,--was hanged -for his share in the complicated proceedings of this extensive plot. -Richardson declared that if there had been a good leader the business -would have taken stronger and sooner. Their numbers were small, but -their faith was strong, and they believed miracles would have attended -their godly design. Several distinguished names are mentioned in the -documents, such as Lords Wharton and Fairfax; but the Government did -not meddle with these formidable personages. - -[Sidenote: PLOTS AND INFORMERS.] - -The sort of agency set to work, first to entrap, and then to convert -unwary Nonconformists, is revealed by a writer who, in the month of -December, bewails the severity of Government towards men deluded and -betrayed by informers; he instances a "Mr. Wakerley, a sober Yorkshire -Quaker, visited by Thomas Denham, a privileged spy, who tried to -persuade him to join the Northern design; he steadily refused, and even -wrote to Sir Thomas Gower an account of what passed, but his letter was -suppressed, and he summoned before the Duke of Buckingham as a plotter, -and only discharged on his letters being searched for and found."[435] - -[Sidenote: 1663.] - -Not more frequent at that time, when old English sports continued to -amuse the nobility and gentry, was the flight of the hawk, freed from -its jess and hood, gliding through the air and striking its quarry, -than was the prowling abroad of the informer, who, freed from all -restraint of justice and humanity, pursued with keenest eye, and -seized with merciless vengeance, the ill-fated Sectary. This favourite -English bird, indeed, is dishonoured by the comparison, for, with -all the hawk's rapacity, the spy had none of its better qualities. -Sprung from the dregs of the people, mean and dastardly to the last -degree, and many of them spending their ill-gotten gains in gambling -and debauchery, creatures of this kind were as much the objects of -abhorrence to the respectable portion of the community, as they were -of terror to the innocent class upon which they pounced. Destitute -of the fear of God, caring not at all for religion, yet professing -themselves zealous Churchmen, they spent the Lord's Day in ferreting -out their fellow-citizens and disturbing them at their devotions. In -coffee-houses and places of public resort, during the week, they were -lying in wait to catch the unwary, or to obtain a clue to the discovery -of Conventicles. Many of them perished in poverty, shame, and despair; -smitten, as their victims thought, by the avenging hand of God. To -informers belonged a low coarse villany, peculiar to themselves; but -their criminality could not but be largely shared by others, and the -responsibility of the system, of which they were the instruments, -attached mainly to the Government which condescended to employ -them.[436] - -[Sidenote: NONCONFORMIST PLACES OF WORSHIP.] - -At this point in our history we may appropriately answer two questions -which naturally arise respecting the Nonconformists--Where did they -worship? and how were the ejected ministers supported? These questions -lead us into the by-paths of our narrative, and entering them we -cannot avoid wandering a little further than strict chronological order -would allow. But, although we somewhat anticipate subsequent periods, -it will not matter; we shall presently return to the highway by the -gate through which we leave it, and the remembrance of what we pick -up in our short ramble will enable us better to understand much which -follows. - -If Nonconformists would adore the Almighty as their consciences -dictated, they had to do so in concealment, and to adopt ingenious -devices to avoid notice, or to elude pursuit. In the old Tudor Mansion, -at Compton Winyates, Warwickshire, there is a chapel in the roof with -secret passages contrived for the safety of Popish recusants; and in -Oxburgh Hall, in Norfolk, there is a recess within a small closet, with -a trap-door concealed in the pavement. These contrivances were imitated -by Protestant Nonconformists in the days of Charles II. An instance -of this kind, not long since, could be shown among the ruins of the -Priory of St. Bartholomew, Smithfield, consisting of subterranean ways -and doors in the crypt. The Baptists of Bristol hung up a curtain, and -placed their minister behind it, so that a spy coming in could not -see the speaker. When a suspicious person made his appearance it was -customary for the congregation to begin singing, and for the preacher -to pause. At Andover, it is said, that the Dissenters met for prayer in -a dark room, until a ray of morning light, struggling down the chimney, -announced the hour to depart.[437] - -[Sidenote: 1663.] - -In the village of Eversden, in the County of Cambridge, stands an old -Manor house, moated round and approached by an ancient bridge. It -is reported that a vehicle might be often seen crossing that bridge -after dark, in the time of persecution, on its way to Cambridge, to -bring back Francis Holcroft, to preach at midnight in the wood, which -skirted the back of the edifice. There was once a Gospel Beech in the -Wolds of Gloucestershire, a Gospel Oak near Kentish Town, and an Oak of -Reformation in Kett the Tanner's Camp, near the City of Norwich, and to -these may be added the Oak at Eversden,--remaining within the memory -of the present generation, called the Pulpit Tree--a sort of Christian -Dodona, from which the minister just named announced the Word of Life. -In the woods near Hitchin, tradition reports, that John Bunyan used, -after nightfall, to gather together great numbers of the neighbouring -peasantry; and at Duckinfield, in Cheshire, people can still point out -the place where the "proscribed ministers were met by their faithful -adherents, when the pious service of prayer, praise, and exhortation -had no other walls to surround it but the oaken thicket, and no other -roof for its protection but the canopy of Heaven."[438] - -[Sidenote: EJECTED MINISTERS.] - -A few of the ejected ministers lived in comfortable circumstances. -Inheriting a fortune, or acquiring property during their connection -with the Establishment, they were provided against pecuniary -inconvenience after the Restoration. - -John Owen must have derived from the Deanery of Christchurch something -considerable, to which additions were made by the bequest of a -relative, if not by the profits of his publications. He had an estate -at Stadham, whither he retired on his removal from Oxford; and, after -his second marriage in 1667, he was enabled to keep his carriage, -and a country house at Ealing in Middlesex.[439] John Tombes, the -Antipædobaptist, married a rich widow at Salisbury, not long before -the King's return, and lived in that city upon her estate, visiting -the Bishop and enjoying the friendship of other dignitaries.[440] Some -of those who were compelled to renounce their incumbencies, adopted -secular employments as a means of livelihood; some became physicians -or lawyers, some established schools, which, however, were liable to -be broken up by the Five Mile Act, and several became chaplains or -tutors in private families.[441] John Howe spent about five years in -Ireland, at Antrim Castle, with its spacious and richly-timbered park, -upon the banks of the charming Lough Neagh, where he administered the -ordinances of religion to the family of Lord Massarene.[442] Dr. Jacomb -enjoyed the friendship of the Countess of Exeter, to whom he had been -chaplain; and, after his resignation of St. Martin's, Ludgate, he found -a comfortable home in her town house, where he made it his constant -care to promote domestic religion. John Flavel lived at Hudscott -Hall, belonging to the family of the Rolles, near South Molton, in -Devonshire. Supported by the liberality, and screened by the influence -of the Lord of the domain, he there, amidst plantations, gardens, and -other rural scenes, gathered together the materials of his _Husbandry -Spiritualized_. There, too, he assembled around him, as best he could, -sometimes at midnight, the members of his former parish flock, and -interested and instructed them by ingenious illustrations adapted to -their rustic habits and tastes.[443] - -[Sidenote: 1663.] - -Those who steadily laboured, with more or less publicity, would receive -such assistance from their hearers as was voluntarily contributed. But -Richard Baxter, as he informs us, pursued a very independent course, -and sought to imitate the Apostle Paul by not being chargeable to -any. Dropping into a gossiping humour he declares, in his _Life and -Times_, that for eleven years he preached for nothing; that he did not -receive a groat but what he returned, unless it were between forty and -fifty pounds given him at different times, partly to defray his prison -charges, and an annuity of ten pounds sent by a friend. Having printed -about seventy books, no one, whether Lord, Knight, or other person -to whom they were dedicated, ever offered him a shilling, except the -Corporation of Coventry, and Lady Rous, each of whom presented him -with a piece of plate of the value of four pounds. The fifteenth copy -of a work was his due from the publisher; but he gave them away to the -amount of many thousands amongst his friends, who, noble or ignoble, -offered him not a sixpence in return.[444] - -[Sidenote: EJECTED MINISTERS.] - -Some of the ejected, reduced to extremities, were discovered under -the concealments which from poverty they contrived. Mr. Grove, a man -of great opulence, whose seat was in the neighbourhood of Birdbush, -in Wiltshire, in consequence of his wife's dangerous illness, sent -to the minister of the parish. The minister was riding out with the -hounds, when the messenger arrived, and he replied that he would visit -the gentleman when the hunt was over. Mr. Grove, having expressed his -displeasure that the clergyman should follow his diversions rather than -attend to his flock, one of the servants took the liberty of saying, -"Our shepherd, sir, if you will send for him, can pray very well: we -have often heard him in the field." Upon this the shepherd was sent -for, and Mr. Grove asking him whether he could pray, the shepherd -replied, "God forbid, sir, I should live one day without prayer." Upon -being desired to pray with the sick lady, he did it so pertinently, -with such fluency, and with such fervour, as greatly to astonish all -who listened. As they rose from their knees the gentleman observed: -"Your language and manner discover you to be a very different person -from what your appearance indicates. I conjure you to inform me who and -what you are, and what were your views and situation in life before you -came into my service." To this the shepherd rejoined, that he was one -of the ministers who had been lately ejected from the Church, and that, -having nothing left, he was content to adopt the honest employment of -keeping sheep. "Then you shall be my shepherd," rejoined the Squire, -and immediately erected a Meeting-house on his own estate, in which -Mr. Ince (for that was the shepherd's name) preached and gathered a -congregation of Dissenters.[445] - -[Sidenote: 1663.] - -Numerous anecdotes are recorded by Calamy, and others, of the -remarkable manner in which certain ejected ministers amidst their -privations received assistance. If we believe (and who that accepts the -New Testament can doubt it?) that a special Providence watches over -those who seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, we are -prepared to discover special Divine interpositions on behalf of men -distinguished by integrity, faith, devotion, and self-sacrifice. - - - - - CHAPTER XVI. - - -Within two years after the passing of the Act of Uniformity, the -clergy exerted themselves to obtain further legislation in favour of -the Church. From a petition which they presented to Parliament in the -year 1664, it appears they were anxious for the enactment of severe -laws against Anabaptists, who were complained of as fraudulently -industrious in making proselytes. They also desired to promote the -observance of the Lord's Day, by increasing the fine of twelve pence -in every case of non-attendance upon Divine service. They wished the -clergy to be assisted in recovering tithes, not exceeding the value -of forty shillings, by less expensive means than law-suits; and they -requested a more equitable method of clerical taxation than that which -then existed. They further asked for an augmentation of the incomes of -Vicars and Curates, and for the enforcement of the payment of Church -rates.[446] - -[Sidenote: 1664.] - -[Sidenote: CONVENTICLE ACT.] - -How far this petition, which points to the alarming increase of the -Anabaptists, might influence certain proceedings of the same year, -it is a fact, that a law for the suppression of Nonconformity soon -afterwards appeared. Charles, when proroguing Parliament in the month -of July, 1663, had promised a further measure against Conventicles. -The recent Act of Uniformity had rendered the Dissenting clergy -liable to three months' imprisonment if they publicly preached; but -it had not directly touched the case of laymen, except so far as -schoolmasters were concerned. Through the application of Elizabeth's -Act of Uniformity, and of other laws for repressing civil disaffection, -laymen, frequenting Conventicles, became liable to penalties; but the -Conventicle Act, now to be described, aimed, by a direct and decisive -blow, at crushing for ever the nests of sedition. It was passed in -the month of May.[447] It recognized the Act of Elizabeth as still -in force; and it provided, that no person of sixteen, or upwards, -should be present at any assembly of five, or more, under colour of -religion "in other manner than is allowed by the Liturgy;" and that -every such offender should, for the first offence, be imprisoned for a -period not exceeding three months, or pay five pounds; for the second -offence, be imprisoned not exceeding six months, or pay ten pounds; -and, for a third offence, be transported, for seven years, to any -foreign plantation (Virginia and New England only excepted); the goods -of the offenders to be distrained for the charges of transportation, -or his service made over as a labourer for five years. The payment -of one hundred pounds would discharge from such imprisonment and -transportation; and such a fine was to be appropriated for the repair -of churches and highways. Escape before transportation subjected the -victim to death. Power was given to prevent Conventicles being held, -or, if held, to dissolve them. Any one who allowed a meeting in a house -or outhouse, in woods or grounds, incurred the same penalties as the -attendants. Gaolers were forbidden to allow offenders to remain at -large, or to permit any person to join them. The houses of Peers were -exempted from search, except by Royal warrant, or in the presence of -a Lieutenant, a Deputy-Lieutenant, or two Magistrates. Quakers, for -refusing to take oaths, were to suffer transportation. Noblemen, if -they offended against the law, were, in the first two instances, to pay -double fines--and in the third instance to be tried by their peers.[448] - -The Bill proceeded upon the principle, already established by the -Act of Uniformity, that Nonconformist clergymen were incompetent to -preach; and it laid down another principle, a legitimate corollary -of the former, that Nonconformist laymen were, as such, incompetent -to worship. The intolerant measure would seem to have passed the two -Houses with little or no discussion, as not any notice is taken in -the _Parliamentary History_ of speeches delivered upon the occasion; -and Clarendon remarks, that, at this time, there was great order and -unanimity in debates, and Parliament despatched more business of public -importance and consequence than it had done before, in twice the -time.[449] - -[Sidenote: 1664.] - -As we examine the Act, we cannot help calling to mind the ordinance of -the Long Parliament in 1646, forbidding the use of the Prayer Book "in -any private place or family." Here, as in other cases, are seen the -footsteps of avenging Deities; and, as is their wont, they meted out -penalties exceeding the original offence. In this case, fines of five -pounds and ten pounds, indeed, just equalled the pecuniary mulcts of -Presbyterian law; but the _one_ year's imprisonment, without bail or -mainprise, threatened by the Long Parliament against a third offence, -was now thrown into the shade by the enactment--first, of a penalty of -transportation for seven years, in cases where means did not exist for -paying the sum of one hundred pounds; and next, of capital punishment, -in case of the convicted Conventicler being caught after making his -escape. - -The difference in some respects, the similarity in others, between -the principles upon which the Anglican politicians proceeded in -their conduct towards Puritans, and the principles upon which the -Puritan politicians had proceeded in reference to Anglicans, has been -little, if at all, noticed. As to the difference, the Conventicle -Act regarded Conventicles simply as seditious, it punished men for -religious convictions, under pretence of preventing rebellion; on the -other hand the Long Parliament and Oliver Cromwell had forbidden the -use of the Prayer Book, in order to break up assemblies for worship -held by persons who, not without reason, were suspected of political -disaffection. There was a further difference--Clarendon and his party -sought to establish uniformity by the use of the Anglican Liturgy; -the Presbyterians had aimed at their uniformity through a prohibition -of that Liturgy, not by any enforcement, under penalties, of the -Westminster Directory. The Anglican law was prescriptive; the Puritan -prohibitive. But there is involved in all this a general resemblance -between the two. Neither appears thoroughly straightforward; each is -exceedingly intolerant; and both aim at doing one thing, under pretence -of doing something else. Yet let it not be forgotten, that while there -is little to choose between them in point of principle, the extent to -which persecution was carried, under Charles and his brother James, -immensely exceeded anything reached under the Long Parliament, or under -Oliver Cromwell. - -[Sidenote: CONVENTICLE ACT.] - -The new law was ordained to take effect after the 1st of July; -but formidable difficulties in the way of its execution presented -themselves as the time approached, arising from political disaffection, -from the numbers of Nonconformists, and from the sympathy which their -more tolerant neighbours felt with them in the sufferings which they -endured. - -"The Quakers, Anabaptists, and Fifth Monarchy men," it is stated, in -the month of June, "will meet more daringly after the time limited in -the Act, and say they will neither pay money nor be banished. They have -solicited others of different persuasions to join them in opposing -the Act, and they get encouragement, though no promises. If dealt -with severely, a body of 10,000 would rise, and demand fulfilment of -the King's Declaration for liberty of conscience. They say, if their -spirit of suffering be turned into a spirit of action, woe to those -who stand in their way. Other Sectaries resolve to keep to the limits -of the Act, and increase their number as they can safely. The hopes -of a war with the Dutch, fermented by spies at Court, dispose the -desperadoes to dangerous resolutions."[450] This is the representation -of an enemy, and cannot be trusted for accuracy in particulars; but, so -far as a general determination to persevere in worship is concerned, -probably the writer is perfectly correct, and the whole drift of his -communication manifests the difficulty which was felt with regard to -the anticipated execution of the new statute. - -The Congregational Churches about Furness were reported as resolved to -meet, notwithstanding the Act; and as wasting their money by rewards, -and by maintaining prisoners, and other people, who absconded in order -that they might not be cited to bear witness.[451] - -[Sidenote: 1664.] - -After the Conventicle Act came into force the number of offenders -excited attention, and created difficulty. Newgate was so full that it -bred an infectious malignant fever, which sent many to their long home; -and the magistrates, who thought their Nonconformist neighbours "unfit -to breathe their native air when living, buried them as brethren, when -dead." Stress was laid upon the great number of Dissenters, both by -enemies and friends. They were said to exceed "two parts of the common -people;" to have connection with the nobility and gentry; and to be -so numerous that His Majesty could not force them to conformity, by -banishment or death, without endangering the safety of the kingdom. Nor -were there wanting Churchmen, to plead for a lenient treatment of their -persecuted brethren, whilst they themselves complained that rulers -were winding the pin of Government so high as to threaten to crack the -sinews, and that so much formalism and corruption prevailed in the -Establishment as to provoke people to wish for its overthrow.[452] - -Of the existence at this time of alarming disaffection amongst persons -of Republican opinions who had served in the Army, there cannot be any -doubt. Abundant indications of it are afforded in contemporary letters. -How, indeed, could disaffection but exist under a Government, which, -whilst denouncing plots and plotters, was, by its own intolerance, -stirring people up to rebellion? No one can be surprised that old -soldiers, who had fought for liberty, felt disposed again to draw -the sword, if any chance of success appeared. Where no signs of -resistance were made, and very many persons, either from worldly -policy, or from Christian patience resolved to be quiet, there -throbbed intense indignation at the infliction of so much wrong--a -temper with which it is dangerous for any Government to trifle. The -suspicion that Nonconformists were engaged in plots contributed to -increase a persecuting spirit. Local attacks might spring from Anglican -fanaticism, from private pique, and revenge, from the vulgar insolence -of mobs, and from the avarice or ambition of informers; but the -assaults which proceeded immediately from headquarters, as the State -Papers distinctly prove, were provoked principally by political fears. - -[Sidenote: CONVENTICLE ACT.] - -The Conventicle Act was executed with severity. A congregation meeting -at a baker's house in Maryport Street, Bristol, was visited by the -Mayor and Aldermen, who demanded admission; the baker refused, when -an entrance was forced by means of a crowbar, and the people and the -minister escaped through a back door. They were "hunted by the Nimrods, -but the Lord hid them many days." Once, somewhere in Corn Street, a -guard of musketeers came to take people into custody, when, it being -evening, the persecuted escaped through a cellar into Baldwin Street. -At another time, when the Mayor and Aldermen again beset the house, -a brother, sending his companions upstairs, contrived, by means of a -great cupboard, to hide the garret door.[453] Presbyterians at Chester, -disturbed in their worship, hid themselves under beds, and locked -themselves up in closets; and sixty men and women, in a village of -Somersetshire, were apprehended, and, in default of paying fines, were -sent to gaol.[454] - -[Sidenote: 1665.] - -Whilst Nonconformists were suffering from the Conventicle Act, the -King recurred to his scheme for granting indulgences; in favour of -which Lord Arlington, on behalf of the Catholics, and the Lord Privy -Seal, who was interested for the Presbyterians, plied an efficacious -argument. They urged that, frightened by recent laws and the zeal of -Parliament in the cause of the Church, Dissenters would gladly compound -for liberty at a reasonable rate, by which means a good yearly revenue -might be raised, and concord and tranquillity be established throughout -the kingdom. The King caught at this reasoning: a Bill was prepared, -in which Catholics as well as Protestants were included;--a schedule -having been drawn up, computing what they would be willing to pay. The -Bill entrusted the King with a dispensing power,--and the Royal origin -of the measure becoming known to the Peers, they offered no opposition -to the first reading; but afterwards, the Lord Treasurer, and many of -the Bishops, sharply opposed it, and Clarendon threw the weight of his -influence into the same scale. In a courtier-like speech, reported by -himself, he upheld Charles' Protestantism, and cleverly insinuated that -the question was not "whether the King were worthy of that trust, but -whether that trust were worthy of the King,"--that it would inevitably -expose him "to trouble and vexation," and "subject him to daily and -hourly importunities; which must be so much the more uneasy to a nature -of so great bounty and generosity,"--and that nothing was so ungrateful -to him as to be obliged to refuse. Even the Duke of York expressed -dissatisfaction--influenced, as is presumed, by the Lord Chancellor. -Few spoke in favour of the Bill, and it was agreed that there should -be no question as to its being committed--"which was the most civil -way of rejecting it, and left it to be no more called for." The only -results were, the mortification of His Majesty, and the augmentation -of bitterness against the Roman Catholics.[455] - -[Sidenote: CONVOCATION.] - -[Sidenote: 1665.] - -An important change had occurred in the relation of the clergy -to the State at the opening of the year 1665, which we must step -back to notice. In ancient times they had possessed the privilege -of self-taxation, and this privilege survived the Reformation. -Ecclesiastical persons continued to vote subsidies from their own body: -the proportions being assessed by Ecclesiastical Commissioners. The -censures of the Church fell upon those who did not pay; and if Sheriffs -were remiss in executing the writ _de excommunicato capiendo_, Bishops -had their own prisons in which to confine the refractory: and it may be -concluded, that it came within the power of diocesans to sequester the -profits of incumbencies, when the holders of them refused to meet their -assessments. Parliament, in the reign of Henry VIII., had confirmed -such aids; and from that time the clerical tax, after being ratified -by the two Houses, could be levied in the way of distress. The whole -of this system of taxation had disappeared in 1641, when ministers of -religion, in common with other people, became subject to Parliamentary -assessment. A proposition to the effect that ministers should be -exempted from paying tenths and first-fruits had been entertained in -an early part of the Protectorate; and it had even been suggested that -they should be relieved from taxation altogether;[456] but this excess -of liberality bore no fruit, and at the Restoration the clergy fell -back into their old position. After the revision of the Prayer Book had -been completed, in the winter of 1661-2, Convocation did nothing but -grant subsidies,--beyond discussing such matters as the composition of -a school grammar, a petition from poor clergymen in the Isle of Wight, -and the translation of the Prayer Book into Latin.[457] A grant of four -subsidies in the year 1663 was confirmed by Act of Parliament;[458] but -before the close of that year, the Bishops and clergy began to regard -this rating of themselves as troublesome, and they found that both the -Court and the Commons were discontented, unless Convocation fixed their -contributions at a rate beyond all reasonable proportion. The petition -of the clergy, already noticed, looked in that direction, and noticed -the existing mode of Convocational taxation, as an ecclesiastical -hardship. Sheldon, and other prelates, it is supposed under the -influence of considerations of this kind, arranged with the Government -that the ancient custom of voting subsidies should be waived, and that -spiritual as well as secular persons should be included in the Money -Bills of the Commons. In promoting this alteration, the Archbishop -and his Episcopal helpers did not appear in the character of High -Churchmen, the alteration being thoroughly opposed to the ancient canon -law. And to encourage the clergy, it was proposed that two of the last -four clerical subsidies should be remitted, and that a clause should -be inserted in the new Act, for the saving of ancient rights. The Bill -passed on the 9th of February, 1665; and, at the same time, parochial -ministers acquired the privilege of voting for members of Parliament. -Collier remarks,--"that the clergy were gainers by this change is more -than appears."[459] And he is right. No doubt the change struck a fatal -blow at the importance and authority of Convocation; for Convocation, -like Parliament, had been valued by Sovereigns because of its holding -the purse-strings of a portion of the people; and when money no longer -flowed into the exchequer in the form of ecclesiastical subsidies, -Convocation sunk into neglect. It would be very surprising, if it were -a fact, that State Churchmen, desiring to maintain the independence of -the Church, did not foresee the operation of the change, and did not -attempt to prevent it: but the fact is, that Churchmen, just after the -Restoration, zealous for such independence, were neither numerous nor -influential, and that the majority of those in orders were decidedly -Erastian in their tendencies. The change, however, was one which, if it -had not been brought about by such motives of expediency as influenced -Sheldon, must have followed in the wake of advancing civilization--the -anomaly of a particular class left to tax itself not being permissible -in modern times: nor can it be doubted, that it is far better for the -temporal interests of the clergy, as well as of the laity, that they -should stand shoulder to shoulder, bearing together the burdens of -their country. - -[Sidenote: SHELDON'S INQUIRIES.] - -[Sidenote: 1665.] - -Five months after this Act had passed, Archbishop Sheldon issued -orders and instructions to the Bishops of his province, concerning -ordinations, pluralists and their curates, lectures and lecturers, -schoolmasters and instructors of youth, practisers of physic, and -Nonconformist ministers. He complained of divers unworthy persons, of -late crept into the ministry, to the scandal of the Church, and the -dissatisfaction of good men; and to remedy these evils, Bishops were -ordered to be very careful what persons they received for ordination. -Inquiries were made touching pluralities, and whether pluralists kept -able, orthodox, and comformable _curates_ upon the benefices where -they did not themselves reside. The word _curates_, it may be remarked -in passing, had now changed from its ancient to its modern meaning; -and having been applied generally to all pastors, it was introduced by -the Archbishop as the title of distinct and subordinate officers.[460] -These orders may be divided into two parts--those which relate to -the internal government of the Church; and those which relate to -Nonconformists. The second part will be noticed in the next Chapter. - - - - - CHAPTER XVII. - - -[Sidenote: 1665.] - -[Sidenote: THE PLAGUE.] - -This year appears as a terrible one in the annals of London.[461] Two -men in Drury Lane had sickened in the previous December. Upon inquiry, -headache, fever, burning sensations, dimness of sight, and livid spots -had indicated that the Plague was in the capital of England. The -intelligence soon spread. The weekly bills of mortality, for the next -four months, exhibited an increase of deaths. The month of May showed -that the disease was extending; and in the first week of July, 1006 -persons fell victims to the destroyer. Men fled in terror; vehicles of -all kinds thronged the highways, filled with those whose circumstances -enabled them to change their abode; but multitudes, especially of the -poorer class, remained, and, being crowded together in narrow streets -and alleys, they were soon marked by the Angel of Death. The mortality -reported from week to week rose from hundreds to thousands, until -during the month of September, the terrific number of 10,000 occurred -in one week. In one night, it is said, 4,000 expired. Shop after shop, -and house after house was closed. The long red cross, with the words, -"Lord, have mercy upon us" inscribed upon the door, indicated what -was going on within. Watchmen stood armed with halberds, to prevent -communication between the inmates and their neighbours. Instead of the -crowds which once lined the thoroughfares, only a few persons crept -cautiously in the middle of the road, fearful of contact with each -other. "The highways were unoccupied, and the travellers walked through -by-ways." A coach was rarely seen, save when, with curtains drawn, -it conveyed some Plague-stricken mortal to the pest-house. Wagons, -laden with timber or stone, had disappeared, for men had no heart to -build; and the half-finished structure sunk into premature decay. -Carts, bringing provision, were not suffered within the gates; markets -were held in the outskirts, where the seller would not touch the -buyer's money, until it had been purified by passing through a vessel -of vinegar. Similar precautions were used at the post office, which -was so fumed morning and evening,--whilst "letters were aired over -vinegar,"--that the people employed in it could hardly see each other; -but, says the writer, who mentions that fact, "had the contagion been -catching by letters, they had been dead long ago."[462] Grass sprung up -in the streets, and a fearful silence brooded over the wide desolation. -London cries, sounds of music, the murmur of cheerful groups, and the -din of business had ceased. The lonely passenger, as he walked along, -shuddered at the shrieks of miserable beings tortured by disease, or at -the still more awful silence. Doors and windows were left open--houses -were empty--the inmates gone. - -Some dropped in the streets; others had time to go to the next stall -or porch, "and just sit down and die." Men, who drove the death-carts, -perished on their way to the pit, or fell dead upon the corpses, which -were tumbled into the place of burial. A person went home, hale and -strong--at eventide there was trouble, and before the morning, he was -not. As the mother nursed the babe, a purple spot appeared on her -breast, and, in a short time, the helpless little one was clinging to -its lifeless parent. - -The real horrors of the Plague-year were augmented by imagination. -Men saw in the heavens portentous forms, blazing stars, and angels -with flaming swords; on the earth they discerned spectres in menacing -attitudes. Some fancied themselves inspired. One of these fanatics -made the streets ring with his cry, "Yet forty days, and London shall -be destroyed." Another, with nothing but a girdle round his loins, and -bearing a vessel of burning coals upon his head, appeared by night -and by day, exclaiming, "Oh, the great and dreadful God!" There were -individuals, as amidst the plague of Athens, "who spent their days -in merriment and folly--who feared neither the displeasure of God, -nor the laws of men--not the former, because they deemed it the same -thing whether they worshipped or neglected to do so, seeing that all -in common perished--not the latter, because no one expected his life -would last till he received the punishment of his crimes;"[463] but the -greater part of the population looked upon the calamity in the light of -a Divine judgment, and trembled, with inexpressible fear, at the signs -of God's displeasure. - -[Sidenote: 1665.] - -A Proclamation appeared in July, appointing as a fast-day the 12th of -that month; and, afterwards, the first Wednesday in every succeeding -month, until the Plague should cease. Collections were ordered to be -made on these occasions for relief of the sufferers; and also forms of -morning and evening prayer were published by authority, together with -"an exhortation fit for the time."[464] - -It is more humiliating than surprising, to find how far political and -ecclesiastical considerations became mingled with the prevailing alarm. - -Charles issued a Proclamation to the Lord-Lieutenants of Counties, -exhorting them to be extraordinarily watchful over all persons of -seditious temper; to imprison those who gave ground for suspicion, -and cause others to give security for good conduct on any jealousy of -a commotion.[465] On the other hand it was affirmed, that at their -meetings Nonconformists expressed a sense of the Lord's displeasure -for the sins of His people, but made no reflections on the Government. -Had the King heard their earnest prayers for God's mercy and favour, -and their contrite confessions of sins, he would not, it was thought, -regard them as unworthy of the indulgence which he seemed disposed to -grant.[466] - -[Sidenote: THE PLAGUE.] - -Henchman, Bishop of London, wrote to Lord Arlington, expressing thanks -for warnings relative to the disorders which would arise, should -ejected ministers be allowed to occupy the vacant pulpits. The sober -clergy, he says, remained in town, implying by the statement that -others had fled; and he informs His Lordship that he had refused -some who offered to supply destitute churches, suspecting them to be -factious, although they promised to conform. Most of his officers had -deserted him and gone down into the country; but he could not learn -that any Nonconformist minister had invaded the City pulpits. He was -glad that many who had never attended Divine worship before, now -presented themselves at church.[467] The Bishop found it necessary to -threaten with expulsion from their livings those who fled, if they did -not resume their posts;[468] and Sheldon, in the midst of the Plague, -issued a circular commanding the Bishops of his province to return the -names of all ejected ministers; which returns are preserved in the -Lambeth Library.[469] To his credit it should be recorded also, that in -this season of visitation, he exerted himself for the temporal welfare -of his fellow-creatures, though it does not appear that he manifested -any great anxiety about their spiritual well-being. - -He directed frequent collections to be made on behalf of those who -were perishing for want of the necessaries of human life, "thousands -of poor artisans being ready to starve." He wrote for help to the -Archbishop of York, and he gave judicious instructions respecting the -probate of wills--the large number of deaths having led to an undue -granting of administrations, to the increase of the infection and the -injury of people's estates. His Grace directed that all surrogations -should be revoked; that the granting of administration and probate -should be suspended for fourteen days at least, and that afterwards -no administration or probate should pass, until the expiration of one -fortnight following the departure of the deceased; an arrangement which -was judged "to be a visible means to hinder the further dispersing of -the pestilence, and to do a right and justice to the interested."[470] - -[Sidenote: 1665.] - -Simon Patrick, who held the livings of Battersea and St. Paul's, Covent -Garden, remained in London throughout the whole period. He studied, -preached, visited the sick, and distributed alms; and upon a review -of the awful season and his own peril, recorded the following words: -"I had many heavenly meditations in my mind, and found the pleasure -wherewith they filled the soul was far beyond all the pleasures of the -flesh. Nor could I fancy anything that would last so long, nor give me -such joy and delight, as those thoughts which I had of the other world, -and the taste which God vouchsafed me of it."[471] - -Vacant churches, neglected parishes, and excited multitudes presented -opportunities of usefulness to some of the ejected ministers, of -which, in spite of the Bishop's precautions, they were quick to avail -themselves. - -[Sidenote: THE PLAGUE.] - -Thomas Vincent had been a student at Christ Church when Dr. Owen was -Dean, and upon leaving the University, became chaplain to the Earl of -Leicester. He succeeded Mr. Case in the living of St. Mary Magdalen, -Milk Street, whence he was ejected by the Act of Uniformity. In his -retirement he devoted himself to the study of the Bible, and committed -to memory large portions of it, observing to his friends, that he did -not know, but that they who had taken from him his pulpit, might, -in time, take from him his Bible. When the Plague broke out he was -residing at Islington; for some time it did not penetrate into that -neighbourhood, but sympathy with sufferers, not far off, proved a -stronger feeling than a regard for his own safety. Contrary to the -advice of some of his friends, he devoted himself to the work of -preaching and visiting, in districts where the pestilence prevailed; -and he states, as remarkable,[472] that pious people "died with such -comfort as Christians do not ordinarily arrive unto, except when -they are called forth to suffer martyrdom for the testimony of Jesus -Christ." So extraordinary was his preaching, that it became a general -inquiry every week, where he would be on the following Sunday--and -amongst the multitudes who crowded to listen to his ministry, many -persons were awakened by his searching discourses. With a total -disregard of the danger of such gatherings at such a time, people -crowded large edifices to suffocation. The broad aisles, as well -as the pews and benches, were packed with one dense mass--anxious -countenances looked up to the Divine in his black cap; the reading of -the Scriptures, the prayer, and the sermon, being listened to amidst a -breathless silence, only broken at intervals by half-suppressed sobs -and supplications. - -[Sidenote: 1665.] - -Other methods of usefulness were employed. In a volume of broadsheets -in the British Museum may be seen "Short Instructions for the Sick, -especially who, by contagion or otherwise, are deprived of the -presence of a faithful pastor, by Richard Baxter, written in the Great -Plague Year,"--full of characteristic appeals, intended to be pasted on -the cottage-wall, as a faithful monitor to all the inmates. - -The malady in London began to decline in the latter part of September, -and at the end of the year it ceased, when the City soon filled again, -resuming its wonted aspect of activity and bustle, and the beneficed -clergy who had fled reappeared in their pulpits. The minister of St. -Olave's, where Pepys attended, was the first to leave, the last to -return; and the minute chronicler informs us, that when he went with -his wife to church, to hear this Divine preach to his long-neglected -flock, he "made but a very poor and short excuse, and a bad -sermon."[473] - -The Plague, when it left London, visited, with its horrors, many other -parts of England. - -It is curious to find that the Corporation of Norwich gave orders -to the parish clerks, not to toll for the dead, any bell, but one -belonging to the parish in which the person died; because it had become -a practice for the citizens in one parish to have the bells tolled for -deceased friends in another parish, so that all the church steeples -were sometimes ringing out a knell for the same individual. - -[Sidenote: THE PLAGUE.] - -As in London, so in the country, the ejected clergy[474] watched for -opportunities of usefulness, but they were often thwarted in their -laudable efforts. Owen Stockton, ejected at Colchester, when he saw -many, "even the shepherds of the flock, hastening their flight," -offered, if the magistrates "would indulge him the liberty of a public -church, to stay and preach,"--"till either God should take him away by -death, or cause the pestilence to cease." The magistrates had no power -to set aside the law, and the privilege asked being denied, the Puritan -confessor, from the study of the words in the Book of Isaiah--"Hide -thyself as it were for a little moment until the indignation be -overpast"--satisfied himself as to the lawfulness of removing from -place to place, in time of peril, and hastened with his family to the -retired village of Chattisham, in Suffolk.[475] - -A touching story is told of a clergyman at Eyam, in Derbyshire. A box -of cloth was sent from London to a tailor in the village, who, soon -after he had emptied the package, fell sick, and died. The pestilence -presently swept away all in his house except one. It spread from -cottage to cottage, and a grave-stone remains to tell the story of -seven persons of the name of Hancock, who died within eight days. As -the churchyard did not suffice for the burial of the dead, graves were -dug in the fields and upon the hill-side, where corpses were hastily -interred. The clergyman was Mr. Mompesson, a young man of twenty-eight, -whose wife, alarmed for the safety of her husband and their two -children, besought him to flee, but he would not leave his flock. With -heroic love, whilst seeking his safety, she exposed herself to imminent -danger; and consenting to the removal of the children, resolved to -abide in the parsonage, where they remained for seven months. In -conjunction with the Earl of Devonshire, the patron of the living, the -Incumbent arranged that all communication with neighbouring places -should be cut off, that no one should go beyond a boundary marked by -stones, where people came and left provisions, and where the buyer put -his money in a vessel of water. Combining singular prudence with ardent -zeal, Mompesson provided for the continuance of religious services, -without hazarding the health of his parishioners by bringing them into -a crowded church, and wisely performed Divine service in the open air. -In Cucklet Dale, by the side of a running brook, with a rock for his -pulpit, with craggy hills on one side, and lofty trees on the other for -the walls of his temple, he assembled his flock for worship, and was -wonderfully preserved from contagion; but just as the Plague began to -decline, his noble wife fell a victim to its power.[476] - -[Sidenote: 1665.] - -Nor let Thomas Stanley, a minister who had been ejected from the living -of Eyam, be forgotten. He could not preach to the people whom he loved; -but by visitation, advice, and prayer, he sought to promote their -temporal and spiritual interests. Some looked with jealousy upon his -efforts, and endeavoured to persuade the Earl of Devonshire to remove -him from the place; but, whoever they were, the Earl was his friend, -declaring it much more reasonable that the whole country should testify -their thankfulness to such a spiritual benefactor. - -These are instances of activity. There were also examples of -endurance. Samuel Shaw, ejected from the rectory of Long Whatton, in -Leicestershire, retired to the village of Coates, near Loughborough, -and there engaged in agricultural pursuits for the support of his -family. His fields were ripe for the sickle, the valleys were covered -with corn, and the good man shared in Nature's joy, as he looked upon -his quiet homestead, "little dreaming," as he tells us, "of the Plague, -which was almost a hundred miles off." Some friends from London came -down to see him, and brought the infection; soon the Plague-spot -appeared, and touched one after another of his household, until all -were smitten, and the farm-cottage became a pest-house. The master -of the dwelling shut himself up for three months, tending the sick -as far as his own health permitted; for he himself suffered from the -fearful malady. Two of his children died, one of his servants died, two -of his friends from London died: five out of ten were thus cut off. -Yet, although enfeebled by sickness, having no one besides himself to -perform the rites of sepulture, he turned his garden into a grave-yard, -and with his own hands buried the dead.[477] - -[Sidenote: THE PLAGUE.] - -Driven from London by the Plague, the two Houses held their sittings in -the Great Hall of Christ's Church, Oxford, where Charles I. had met his -mock parliament. - -The subject of the continued existence and of the alarming increase -of Nonconformity again came upon the carpet. Instead of disinterested -exertions, put forth by ejected ministers in a Plague-stricken country, -being rewarded by commendation, jealousy was expressed respecting -the manifestations of their zeal. It was odiously represented in -parliamentary circles, that Dissenters in many places, "began to preach -openly, not without reflecting on the sins of the Court, and on the -ill-usage that they themselves had met with."[478] Prejudices were -increased by reports to the effect, that Conventiclers in Scotland were -bold and mutinous, and that they were supposed to have entered into -treasonable correspondence with English Presbyterians;[479] at the -same time, perhaps, circumstances pertaining to a new conflict with -Holland, in which this country was then engaged, served to intensify -these mischievous feelings. - -[Sidenote: 1665.] - -The Dutch war, though not approved of by the King or by his Chancellor, -found favour at Court with a party headed by the Duke of York, and -was warmly supported by Parliament; besides which, an Act was passed -for attainting the English who should continue to reside in Holland, -or who should engage in the Dutch service.[480] Some of the fanatical -Sectaries, it was alleged, entered that service, and were intending -to take up arms against their King and their country; and, moreover, -it was known that this war against the United Provinces incurred -much unpopularity even with moderate Nonconformists. Influenced by -such considerations, and also by reports, of which we have so many -specimens, Archbishop Sheldon felt anxious to ascertain the numbers and -the strength of these disaffected people--a project which he afterwards -carried out, with results appearing at a later period. He not only -issued orders, that Bishops should be careful what persons they -received into the ministry: that in all things the canons concerning -ordination should be observed: that all pluralists should be reported, -with full particulars respecting their pluralities: that it should be -certified to the Archbishop where lectures were set up, and who were -the lecturers, and how they were "affected to the Government of His -Majesty, and the doctrine and discipline of the Church of England:" but -that information also should be returned respecting all schoolmasters -and instructors of youth, and practisers of physic: and that the -Bishops of his province should inform him what Nonconformist ministers -in their dioceses had been ejected, what was their profession in life, -and how they behaved themselves in relation to the peace and quiet, -as well of the Church, as of the State; and also whether any such had -removed from one diocese into another.[481] - -[Sidenote: FIVE MILE ACT.] - -Parliament now determined to deal another heavy blow at the obstinacy -and insolence of Dissent. If there were in England people disposed -to conspire against the Government, adequate means for detecting -such persons existed: but, not satisfied with laws against treason, -Parliament, under cover of putting an end to plots, passed a measure -affecting men, against whom no reasonable suspicion whatever could be -entertained. - -The Five Mile Act--the measure to which we now refer--was passed in -the month of October, 1665, and was entitled "An Act for restraining -Nonconformists from inhabiting in corporations." It complained of -persons taking upon themselves to preach to unlawful assemblies, under -pretext of religion, in order to instil the poisonous principles of -schism and rebellion into the hearts of His Majesty's subjects; and it -imposed, more stringently than ever, the oath of non-resistance and -passive obedience. - -This was the form of the oath:--"I do swear that it is not lawful, -upon any pretence whatsoever, to take arms against the King; and that -I do abhor that traitorous position of taking arms by his authority -against his person, or against those that are commissioned by him, -in pursuance of such commissions; and that I will not at any time -endeavour any alteration of Government, either in Church or State." - -[Sidenote: 1665.] - -Failing to take this oath, Nonconformist ministers were forbidden after -the 24th of March following, to come, except as passengers, within -five miles of any corporate town or any place where, since the passing -of the Act of Oblivion, they had been in the habit of officiating. A -payment of forty pounds was prescribed as the penalty for offending -against the Act; and those who refused the oath, and did not attend -Divine service in the Established Church, incurred incapacity for -exercising even the functions of a tutor. Any two county magistrates -were empowered, upon oath to them of a violation of this law, to commit -the transgressor to prison for six months.[482] - -The Act of Uniformity had banished Nonconformist ministers from the -parish pulpits; the Conventicle Act had broken up the congregations -which these ministers had secretly gathered since St. Bartholomew's -Day, 1662; and now by the Five Mile Act, these persons were forced into -exile, and perhaps reduced to starvation.[483] - -A spirit of retaliation may be traced in the new enactment. When -the Presbyterian visitors, in the year 1646, took possession of the -University, and the students proved rebellious, a military proclamation -threatened that the refractory who tarried _within five miles of the -city_, should be treated as spies.[484] And Cromwell had, by his -ordinance in 1655, forbidden ejected ministers to attempt the business -of education, or to officiate in their religious calling. Archbishop -Sheldon, sitting from day to day in the Hall of Christ Church, as the -Bill was read three times, might experience a gratified resentment -as he called to mind the former _five mile_ proclamation; and as -he thought of his own expulsion from the Wardenship of All Souls', -others might indulge in similar reminiscences and feelings.[485] -But the revenge proceeded far beyond the provocation. What was done -by the Oxford visitors, and those who supported them, was done in a -time of war, or immediately afterwards. What was done by the Oxford -Parliament was done in a time of peace. Moreover, Cromwell, in his -declaration, had prescribed no penalty for disobedience, and had -promised to deal leniently with all persons who were well-disposed -towards his government;[486] but now, men were required to swear to an -abstract proposition which destroyed the last defence of freedom, or -to be mulcted in a large penalty, with the superadded hardship of a -banishment from home. - -[Sidenote: FIVE MILE ACT.] - -The Bill met with a faint opposition in the Lower House; in the Upper, -not only the Lords Wharton and Ashley--the first a Nonconformist, it -will be remembered, the latter supposed to be inclined that way--but -also the Earl of Southampton, at that time Lord Treasurer, spoke -distinctly against it. The latter declared that no honest man could -take such an oath--he could not do it himself, for however firm might -be his attachment to the Church, as things were managed, he did not -know but that he might himself discover reasons for seeking some -change in its constitution.[487] Dr. Erle, then Bishop of Salisbury, -also disapproved of this assault upon liberty. The Primate Sheldon, and -the Bishop of Exeter, Seth Ward, were zealous in their support of it; -at the same time all who secretly favoured Roman Catholicism, regarded -it with satisfaction;[488] it being in harmony with their policy, to -reduce the Sectaries to such a state of misery, as that they should -be forced to accept toleration from His Majesty on his own terms. -Nearly half the House of Commons now became so infatuated as to support -another Bill, which was founded upon the opposition made by members of -the House of Lords, and which was intended to impose the obnoxious oath -and declaration upon the nation at large.[489] This Bill, however, was -rejected by the votes of three members, "who had the merit of saving -their country from the greatest ignominy which could have befallen it, -that of riveting as well as forging its own chains."[490] - -[Sidenote: 1665.] - -[Sidenote: FIVE MILE ACT.] - -A difference of opinion arose amongst Nonconformists respecting the -course to be pursued in relation to the Five Mile Act. Some were -willing to take the oath in a qualified sense. Bridgeman, Chief Justice -of the Court of Common Plea[491] and other Judges explained the words -in the oath, "I will not at any time _endeavour_ any alteration of -Government, either in Church or State," to mean an _unlawful_ -endeavour. With this qualification afforded by high legal authorities, -some distinguished Nonconformists submitted to the statute. About -twenty ministers in the City of London took the oath, including Dr. -Bates; and about twelve in Devonshire, including John Howe. Bates -argued, that the word _endeavour_ might be construed in a qualified -sense, according to the preface of the Act, its congruity with other -laws, the testimony of members of Parliament,[492] and the concurrent -opinion of the Judges. When he, with others, presented himself before -their Lordships, Bridgeman courteously observed, "Gentlemen, I -perceive you are come to take the oath. I am glad of it. The intent -of it is to distinguish between the King's good subjects, and those -who are mentioned in the Act, and to prevent seditious and tumultuous -endeavours to alter the Government." One of the ministers, Mr. Clarke, -replied, "In this sense we take it;" upon which Lord Keeling, the same -who introduced the Bill of Uniformity, said in a hasty tone, "Will you -take the oath as the Parliament has appointed it?" Bates replied, "My -Lord, we are come hither to attest our loyalty, and to declare, we will -not seditiously endeavour to alter the Government." When the oath had -been administered, Keeling proceeded with great vehemence to interpret -what they had done as involving the renunciation of the Covenant, "that -damnable oath," as he politely termed it, "which sticks between the -teeth of so many." He hoped, as there was one King and one faith, so -there would be one Government, and that if these ministers did not now -conform, what they had just done would be considered as meant "to save -a stake."[493] The ministers retired with sadness, without noticing the -insult. - -[Sidenote: 1665.] - -A certain interpretation being admitted by the Court, there could be no -charge of dishonest evasion against those who, in such a way, publicly -declared their construction of the words. Yet they really substituted -another declaration for that which was required by the law; and those -who allowed the substitution actually set the law aside. The law was no -doubt unjust; and to correct the injustice an unnatural sense was put -upon its terms. But notwithstanding this kind of sophistry--so often -practised even by people who are straightforward in other ways--the -pledge of obedience which the Nonconformists gave, sufficed to show the -intense cruelty of treating such men as if they had been rebels.[494] - -The greater number of Nonconformists regarded the subject in a -different light from that in which it was viewed by Bates and Howe; -and not being able, with their convictions, to acquiesce in a forced -construction of the formulary, they refused to adopt it, whilst they -also still resolved to preach the Gospel: thus following the example -of the Apostles, who said, "Whether it be right in the sight of God -to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye." The essence of the -whole question as to the explanation of formularies, and the course -which conscience dictates in cases where formularies are felt to be -objectionable, was involved in the controversy raised by the Five Mile -Act; and was a subject of casuistry too tempting for Richard Baxter -not to touch, even if practical considerations and personal interests -had not prompted him to engage in the inquiry. Several closely-printed -folio pages are devoted by him to an examination of the arguments -on both sides--the result of his cogitations being that he himself -records a resolution, not to take the oath at all. He looked upon -the whole proceeding as unrighteous; and pronounced the statute a -"history," adapted to make Nonconformists appear to posterity as if -they were disloyal. He was moved to draw up a defence on their behalf, -but, on reading it to some of his friends, they persuaded him to -throw it aside, and submit in silence. "The wise statesmen," adds the -simple-hearted theologian--and the remark involves a just satire on the -way in which the world often judges--"laughed at me, for thinking that -reason would be regarded by such men as we had to do with,--and would -not exasperate them the more."[495] - -[Sidenote: FIVE MILE ACT.] - -Those who declined to take the oath were either subject to fine, or -had to dwell in such places only as were allowed by the Act, such -compulsory residence, in a number of cases, rendering necessary an -expensive and inconvenient removal. Baxter and Owen, who were living in -London, repaired, the one to Acton, the other to Ealing. Many in the -Northern part of the country went to Manchester, Bolton, Sheffield, -and Mansfield, which were called "Cities of Refuge"--inasmuch as they -were, at that time, towns without corporations. Oliver Heywood left -Coley, not to go so far as many did, for he only crossed the hills to -Denton--"Yet it was the weariest, most tedious journey," he remarks, "I -have had that way, which I have gone many hundred times, but scarce -ever with so sad a heart, in so sharp a storm of weather."[496] - -[Sidenote: 1665.] - -Philip Henry refused to take the oath, and his case proved one of -peculiar hardship, for Broad Oak, where he lived, was but four -_reputed_ miles from Worthenbury, where he had preached, although upon -measurement the distance turned out to be above five miles. Reputed -miles were, by the authorities, counted instead of measured miles, and -consequently the good man was compelled to leave his family for a time, -"and to sojourn among his friends, to whom he endeavoured, wherever he -came, to impart some spiritual gift."[497] - -Several ministers in the Northern Counties escaped the penalties of -the Conventicle and Five Mile Acts. This anomaly may be accounted for, -in part, by remembering the scanty population in those districts, and -the impossibility, under any circumstances, of maintaining such a -vigilant oversight of the inhabitants as to detect all instances of -disobedience. But the comparative exemption of some neighbourhoods in -the North from the vigorous oppression experienced elsewhere, is also -in part to be attributed to the influence of three noblemen who were -Lord-Lieutenants, respectively, of the Counties of York, of Lancaster, -and of Derby. The Lord-Lieutenant of Yorkshire was no other than the -notorious Duke of Buckingham, who had married Lord Fairfax's daughter. -Vicious and worthless as the Duke was, he had strong opinions in -favour of toleration, if for no higher reason, at least from dislike -to Clarendon's policy, and perhaps, too, from the influence of family -connections.[498] This erratic Peer had engaged a Nonconformist -minister as his chaplain, and when his mother-in-law, Lady Fairfax, -died, he endeavoured to arrange for the funeral sermon being publicly -preached by this gentleman.[499] The Lord-Lieutenant of Lancashire was -the Earl of Derby; and of him, Newcome, the Presbyterian minister of -Manchester, tells several stories indicative of his liberality. The -Rector of Walton, a Heywood of Heywood, on one occasion asked the Earl -to put down a Conventicle at Toxteth Park. "What did the people do -there?" he asked. "Preach and pray," was the answer. "If that be all," -replied the Earl, "why should they be restrained; will you neither -preach nor pray yourselves, nor suffer others to preach and pray?" The -Lord-Lieutenant of the County of Derby was the Earl of Devonshire, and -he also disliked the persecuting measures. - -[Sidenote: NONENFORCEMENT OF LAW.] - -Where no leniency was intended, the law, in some cases, failed in its -effect. This called forth the lamentation of certain zealots. "I am -bound to say," remarks one of this class, "nothing was prosecuted at -the last quarter sessions against the Quakers, nor the rest of that -diabolical rabble--although several bills of indictment have been -framed and presented at sessions against that viperous brood,--yet -by reason most of the grand jury are fanatics, the bills were not -found, and that they have several places of meeting will manifestly -appear.... The honest souls, especially Church officers and others, -are much afflicted to be reviled and affronted in the performance of -their offices by the bold faction.... The fanatics abound in good -horses, and seem to be ready for mischief; but if half a score such -as might be named were secured in our castles, and made to give good -security for their conformity to the King's Majesty and the Church, -doubtless it would abate their pride, and, it may be, confound their -devices."[500] - -[Sidenote: 1666.] - -One great reason assigned for the two oppressive Acts just -described, was, as we have seen, the disaffection of Nonconformists; -and--particularly in reference to the Five Mile Act--the allegation -that they were implicated in certain designs of invasion contemplated -by the Dutch was strongly urged. In this, as in former cases, we have -no means of testing the information which abounds in the letters -written at the time by the enemies of the accused. Many of the rumours -are utterly incredible--as for example that it was intended to restore -Richard Cromwell; that it would be easy to secure in some parts the -gentry on his side; that the watchword was to be "Tumble down Dick, -they will declare for a Commonwealth;" and that the Earl of Derby -favoured the disaffected party. We may be confident, too, from what we -know of their characters, that the principal Nonconformist ministers -frowned upon all political plots. Yet no one who has perused the State -Papers can deny, that at the time now under review, enough was reported -at headquarters to make the Government very uncomfortable.[501] - -[Sidenote: DUTCH WAR.] - -France just then was looking to England for elements of disturbance -which might favour its designs upon our country in aid of Holland, -Louis XIV. being on terms of friendship with the Dutch; and we find the -Grand Monarque, in a letter to the States, proposing to give occupation -to Charles at home by exciting the Presbyterians and Catholics to -revolt.[502] - -In the summer of 1665, the Dutch, encouraged by promises of assistance -from the French, had been seen cruising around our coasts, and were -defeated by the English fleet; in 1666 a more important action occurred -on the 5th of June, when our countrymen burnt or disabled between -twenty and thirty of the ninety ships belonging to the enemy; and -another occurred on the 25th of July, which ended, after three days' -fighting, in the defeat of the Dutch.[503] - -[Sidenote: 1666.] - -It was to one of the engagements at that period that Dryden refers -in his picturesque description: "The noise of the cannon from both -navies reached our ears about the city, so that all men being alarmed -with it and in dreadful suspense of the event, which we knew was then -deciding, every one went following the sound as his fancy led him; -and leaving the town almost empty, some took towards the park, some -cross the river, others down it--all seeking the noise in the depth of -the silence."[504] Such imminent peril alarmed the whole country, as -well as London; and when, for a time, the worst was over, apprehension -remained of further attacks from the great naval power of Holland, -and some persons of Republican sentiments were hoping that their own -objects would be promoted by the war. English refugees in the United -Provinces were corresponding with their friends at home; and much, -it would appear, was said and done to nourish Republican hopes on -English soil. A considerable amount of sympathy with the Dutch existed -in the West of England; and, in consequence of this sympathy and -correspondence, the Government took measures to prevent letters passing -between the two countries. Aphara Behn--an eccentric and notorious -poetess and novelist--was employed upon a semi-official mission to -Antwerp, for the purpose of obtaining information from the English -fugitives respecting any political schemes which they might have in -hand.[505] - -A great calamity now requires attention. - - - - - CHAPTER XVIII. - - -The Fire of London broke out on the 1st of September, in a baker's shop -in Pudding Lane. It rushed down Fish Street Hill, and soon enveloped -the dwellings by London Bridge and on the banks of the Thames. Fanned -by the winds, the conflagration swept westward and northward. It passed -in leaps from house to house, and flowed in streams from street to -street. Torrents of flame coming over Cornhill met others dashing up -from Walbrook and Bucklersbury. Along Cheapside, Ludgate, the Strand, -the furious element advanced, curling round the edge of Smithfield, -before its frightful circuit was complete. Thatched roofs, timber -walls, cellars of oil, warehouses filled with inflammable material fed -the tremendous pyre. Lead, iron, glass, were melted; water in cisterns -was boiled, adding vapour to smoke; stones were calcined, and the -ground became so hot that people walking over it burnt their shoes. -The libraries of St. Paul's, and Sion College, with large collections -of books and papers, were consumed; half-burnt leaves fell by Baxter's -house at Acton, and were blown even as far as Windsor.[506] Public -buildings shone like palaces of fine gold or burnished brass, and -glowed like coals in a furnace, heated seven times hotter than usual. -Blazing fragments were swept, like flakes in a snow storm, over the -City; whilst the dense conflagration underneath resembled a bow--"a -bow which had God's arrow in it with a flaming point." The cloud of -smoke was so great that travellers at noon-day rode six miles under its -shadow. At night the moon shone from a crimson sky. Young Taswell, a -Westminster boy, stood on Westminster Bridge, with his little pocket -edition of _Terence_ in his hand, which he could see to read plainly by -the light of the burning City.[507] - -[Sidenote: 1666.] - -[Sidenote: FIRE OF LONDON.] - -People were distracted. Everybody endeavoured to remove what he -could--all sorts of things being conveyed away in carts and waggons, -barges and wherries. Poor people near the bridges stayed in their -houses so long that the fire touched them; and then they ran into -boats, or clambered from one pair of stairs, by the waterside, to -another. The pigeons were loath to leave their cots, and hovered -about windows and balconies, until they scorched their wings, and -fell. Churches were filled with furniture and articles of all kinds. -Holes were dug in gardens to receive casks and bottles of wine, boxes -of documents, and other treasures. The sick were carried in litters -to places of safety, and multitudes encamped in the fields beyond -Finsbury, in the village of Islington, and on the slopes of Highgate. -Such was the eagerness to obtain the means of removing goods, that £4 -a load for a carter, or 10s. a day for a porter, was counted poor pay. -At the Temple, neither boat, barge, coach, nor cart, could be had for -love or money; all the streets were crowded with appropriated vehicles -of various kinds. - -The constables of the respective parishes were required to attend -at Temple Bar, Clifford's Inn Gardens, Fetter Lane, Shoe Lane, and -Bow Lane, with 100 men each; at every post were stationed 130 foot -soldiers, with a good officer; and three gentlemen, empowered to -reward the diligent, by giving them one shilling apiece, whilst five -pounds--in bread, cheese, and beer--were allowed to every party. The -King and the Duke of York were bold and persevering in their endeavours -to extinguish the conflagration, ordering the use of great hooks, kept -in churches and chapels, for pulling down houses--the only means of -stopping the fire being to cut off the fuel. The militia were called -to aid these efforts and to prevent disturbance. They marched out of -Hertfordshire, and other counties, with food for forty-eight hours, and -with carts full of pickaxes, ropes, and buckets. These troops encamped -at Kingsland, near Bishopsgate. Markets were held in Bishopsgate -Street, upon Tower Hill, in Leadenhall Street, and in Smithfield. Bread -and cheese were supplied to the famishing, and means were adopted to -stimulate charity towards the homeless poor. Multitudes having taken -refuge in the houses and fields about Islington, the King requested -that strict watch might be kept in all the ways within the limits of -the town and parish, and charitable and Christian reception, with -lodging and entertainment, given to strangers. He further ordered, -that bread should be brought both to the new and old markets; that all -churches, chapels, schools, and public buildings, should be open to -receive the property of such as were burnt out of house and home; and -that other towns should receive sufferers who fled to them for refuge, -and permit them to exercise their callings--promise being given that -they should afterwards be no burthen. - -[Sidenote: 1666.] - -Three hundred and seventy-three acres within the walls, and -seventy-three acres three roods without the walls, were left covered -with ruins from the Tower to the Temple, from the North-east gate of -the City wall to Holborn Bridge. Besides Guildhall, and other public -edifices, eighty-nine parish churches, and thirteen thousand two -hundred dwellings were destroyed. The loss of property was estimated at -_eleven millions_ sterling.[508] - -The miseries of the fire did not end with its extinction. In -addition to the losses which arose from the destruction of -property--manufacturers at Coventry, for example, being greatly injured -by the burning of goods which they had sent to London for sale--and to -other evils of various kinds incident after such a visitation, there -were certain lamentable consequences of a peculiar nature. - -This visitation, as might be expected, was construed as a Divine -judgment for the sins of the City; different parties of course -pointing at the iniquities of their opponents as the cause of the -fiery overthrow. Fanatics believed that it was the vengeance of Heaven -against English barbarity in burning the Islands of Vlie and Schelling, -and against national sins in general. A Quaker, near Windsor, was -reported to have heard a miraculous voice saying, that "they have -had the pestilence, and fire, and other calamities, and yet are not -amended; but a worse plague has yet to come on them and the nation." -"They clearly intimate in their letters," it was said of the same sect, -"no sorrow for the late burning down so many steeple-houses (as they -call them) in all the City."[509] - -[Sidenote: FIRE OF LONDON.] - -Yet human agency of some kind was, of course, admitted to be at the -bottom. The Republicans, the Dutch, and the French, were suspected; -the opinion most prevalent being that the Papists were authors of the -mischief. - -This idea extensively prevailed. Probably it helped to induce the -House of Commons first to present a petition to His Majesty asking -for the banishment of priests and Jesuits, for the enforcement of the -laws against them, and all other Roman Catholics, and for disarming -everybody who refused the Oaths of Allegiance and Supremacy; and -secondly, to resolve that all the members of the House should receive -the Lord's Supper, under penalty of imprisonment for refusal.[510] -Certainly, upon the return of Gunpowder Plot Day, the inculpation of -the Papists kindled anew the eloquence of the clergy, and strengthened -the stock argument that the "Mother of Abominations" remained -unchanged. Yet the evidence adduced to establish the guilt of the -accused was utterly unsatisfactory. The only person convicted was a -Frenchman, and his conviction rested on his own assertion that he had -fired the City--an assertion which must have proceeded from a morbid -love of notoriety, or from some other unaccountable freak--for the -fellow, at the gallows, just before being turned off, acknowledged -that what he had said was altogether a lie. No doubt, the conclusion -reached by the Government is correct,--"That, notwithstanding that many -examinations have been taken, with great care, by the Lords of the -Council and His Majesty's Ministers, yet nothing hath been yet found -to argue it to have been other than the hand of God upon us, a great -wind, and the season so very dry."[511] - -[Sidenote: 1666.] - -Baxter, speaking of the state of London just before the fire, observes, -that in the larger parishes--for example, St. Martin's, St. Giles' -Cripplegate, and Stepney--there were 60,000 inhabitants each; that -in others, as in St. Giles'-in-the-Fields and St. Sepulchre's, there -were about 30,000, in others about 20,000. For these parishes the -churches afforded insufficient accommodation; indeed, the fourth part -of the people would not have found room in them had such a proportion -been disposed to attend public worship. He speaks of a sixth or a -tenth, as the proportion for which space in the parochial edifices was -available.[512] The fire, by destroying so many buildings, deprived -very many people of instruction and worship in the Establishment; and -little was done immediately towards repairing the evil. Houses were -restored, but churches were neglected. Burnet relates, that in 1669, -"when the City was pretty well rebuilt, they began to take care of the -churches, which had lain in ashes some years;"[513] and Baxter, writing -in the year 1675, affirms that few of the churches burnt in the fire -had been re-edified.[514] - -The Nonconformists exerted themselves in this emergency.[515] The -parish Incumbents having left London for want of incomes and of -dwelling-places, the ejected ministers came forward to occupy the -deserted fields of labour, and resolved, that amidst the ruins they -would preach until they were imprisoned. Dr. Manton opened his rooms -in Covent Garden, and there gathered a congregation. Dr. Jacomb, -for that purpose, used an apartment in the house of the Countess of -Exeter. Dr. Annesley, Messrs. Vincent, Doolittle, and Franklin, and -other Presbyterians, either occupied chapels, with pulpits, seats, -and galleries, hastily erected, to supply the deficiency--"churches -of boards," called "tabernacles,"[516]--or large rooms fitted up in -some extempore fashion for a like purpose. What had been before done -covertly was now done openly; and the Independents, allowing for their -numbers, were not behind the Presbyterians in activity. Owen, Goodwin, -Nye, Brooke, Caryl, and Griffiths, to mention no more, publicly engaged -in religious ministrations wherever they were able, at a time when the -parish churches were lying in ruins. - -[Sidenote: SCOTLAND.] - -Scarcely had the ashes grown cold when tidings came of a religious -rising north of the Tweed. A Proclamation was issued at Edinburgh on -the 11th of October, 1666, enforcing the laws against Papists and -against Protestant Nonconformists, and requiring that masters, who were -all held responsible for their families, and that landlords, who were -all made accountable for their tenants, should abstain from repairing -to Conventicles, and should attend the Established Church. Sir James -Turner was despatched to execute the mandate, and he accomplished its -execution with a severity which provoked most violent opposition. - -Declaring for liberty of conscience, and also for what was perhaps -still more popular--freedom from taxation--the insurgents, although -armed, and of formidable appearance, avoided collision with the -soldiers, and employed tactics simply defensive. They cut down -bridges, and destroyed boats to avoid pursuit, and then hastened -towards the Scotch capital, hoping to receive assistance from the -citizens. Disappointed in this respect, they retreated to the Pentland -Hills, where they were attacked by the Royal Army, and completely -routed, after leaving 500 of their comrades dead on the field. Horrid -tortures were inflicted on those who were taken prisoners; sixteen of -them were executed at Edinburgh, and four at Glasgow--all with their -dying breath denouncing Prelacy, laying the shedding of their blood -at the Bishops' doors, praying for the King, and begging the Almighty -to take away the wicked from about the throne. The disgusting details -are related with still more disgusting barbarity by correspondents in -Scotland, who sent to London intelligence upon the subject.[517] - -[Sidenote: 1666.] - -The report in England of fanaticism on the one hand, and cruelty on -the other, exasperated both Churchmen and Nonconformists. The former -had their suspicions strengthened as to the rebellious intentions -attributed to Presbyterians; and the latter were indignant at the -vengeance wreaked upon men whom they believed to be sufferers for -conscience' sake. - -Traces are left of contemporary gossip in letters written at the time. -There is, said one, a general gaping of the Nonconformists as to -the issue of the disturbances in Scotland. There are, said another, -reports of a stir in Hereford, about hearth-money; and an eminent -Presbyterian wrote, that thousands of Scots were up and declaring -for King and Covenant, having Colonel Carr, an old Kirk-man, amongst -them. Other correspondents affirmed they did not wish the Scots for -guides, and then they reported "high differences among great persons -murmuring, and fears of the oath."[518] Churchmen protested that they -had forewarned their sober friends of the other party, and described -how the folly and insolence of Nonconformist guides would provoke the -authorities to check them.[519] - -[Sidenote: FANATICS.] - -Mormonism was then unknown. There were in existence no agents of that -strangely-compounded system, inviting emigrants to the Western world; -but there were people wandering about England who tried to persuade the -credulous and simple to repair to the Palatinate, saying that there -the kingdom of Christ was to be restored, and that England, whose sins -were so great, was on the edge of destruction. These apostles framed -a covenant,--which they concealed from those who were not likely to -subscribe it,--to renounce such powers and rulers as were contrary to -Christ, and to His Government, to refuse their money, and to separate -themselves entirely from all anti-Christian religions. They promised to -obey God's laws, especially those relating to the Sabbath, and never to -intermarry with strangers--to devote themselves wholly to the service -of the Almighty, and try to find a place where they might become a -distinct people. Explanations were added to the effect, that the powers -renounced were persecuting powers, but that God's laws, if practised -by them, were not to be renounced; that no ruler was to be allowed by -them, who did not enter into communion with themselves; and that coins -bearing images or superscriptions contrary to God's Word should be cast -away.[520] - -[Sidenote: 1667.] - -The Dutch, who had alarmed the Government in 1666, alarmed them again, -and the whole nation besides, much more, in 1667. One division of the -enemy's fleet swept up the Medway past Sheerness--the other, to divert -attention, sailed up the Thames. The former burst the chain hung across -the stream, fired at the batteries, reduced to ashes three first-rate -men-of-war, and then returned unmolested to join the rest of their own -vessels at the Nore. - -The influence produced by this unprecedented invasion is vividly -reflected in the following letter:--"The merchants are undone. Our -great bankers of money have shut up their shops. People are ready to -tear their hair off their heads. Great importunity hath been used -at Whitehall for a Parliament, and more particularly by Sir George -Saville, but nothing will prevail; there is one great gownsman against -it, and all the Bishops and Papists, and all those who have cozened -and cheated the King. News came this day to the King, the French are -come from Brest, and appear before the Isle of Wight; some at Court -give out that they are friends, and not enemies. We expect the Dutch -as far as Woolwich. People are fled from Greenwich and Blackwall with -their families and children. We are betrayed, let it light where it -will."[521] And a few days afterwards the nation, from end to end, was -agitated by the intelligence of the Dutch attack--many Dissenters idly -attributing the success of the daring manœuvre to the teaching of the -Government and to Popish counsels at headquarters.[522] - -[Sidenote: EMPTY EXCHEQUER.] - -An empty exchequer was the chronic disease of Charles II.'s reign, and -so low did the Royal revenue sink this year that twenty-six footmen in -His Majesty's establishment were forced to petition for wages, which -had been due the previous Michaelmas. To meet the exigences of the -moment, letters were written to the Lord Chancellor, as the head of the -legal profession, to the Lord-Lieutenants of Counties, as representing -the landed interest; and to the Archbishop of Canterbury, to procure -loans and voluntary contributions at that "time of public danger." "We -are the rather," it is observed in the letter to His Grace, "induced -to believe labour herein will be successful, because you are to deal -with a sort of persons endued with discretion and ingenuity, who cannot -forget what tenderness we have for them, what care to protect and -support them, and how much their interest and welfare is involved in -ours; but arguments and motives of this nature we leave to your prudent -management."[523] - -The damage actually done by the Dutch fleet was small; and nothing -compared with the dangers threatened by the audacity of its advance. -The treaty of peace, which speedily followed, relieved the nation -from alarm, but it by no means wiped out the disgrace which the nation -had to bear, and which its rulers had incurred.[524] - -[Sidenote: 1667.] - -Within three months after the booms had been broken by the Dutch in the -Medway, Clarendon's term of power was at an end. - -A bad harvest is a bad thing for an English Ministry, especially for -the Chief of the Cabinet. The visitations of Heaven are set down to -his account, and all the weak points of his administration, all the -errors of his policy, all the faults of his character, are brought out -most vividly in the light of adverse circumstances. So it was, that -after the Plague and the Fire of London--with which Clarendon could -have had nothing to do--the eyes of the people were strangely opened -to the defects of his government; and, when the English Lion was -bearded by the insolence of the Hollanders, there fell upon the great -statesman the anger of the whole people. To meet the evil, which he -had failed to prevent, he counselled the King to dissolve Parliament, -and maintain the defences of the country by forced contributions. This -private advice was blown abroad, inspiring indignation in the people, -and bringing discomfiture to the Prime Minister. He did not want -courage, but it was now useless. What he hoped would appear to the King -the firmness of an upright mind, was regarded by His Majesty as the -obstinacy of a stubborn will. In vain the Duke of York pleaded in his -behalf. The Chancellor was forced to resign the Great Seal on the 30th -of August.[525] - -[Sidenote: CLARENDON.] - -Clarendon, in the impeachment which followed in the month of November, -was charged with unconstitutional acts; but, of all the seventeen heads -under which the charges were arranged, not more than three, seriously -affecting his character as a statesman, contained matters which could -be clearly proved. The first allegation--that he had encouraged the -King to raise a standing army, and to govern the country without -Parliaments--although an exaggerated statement, had some foundation. -Respecting the truth of the fourth article--that he had procured the -imprisonment of divers persons contrary to law--there could be no -doubt whatever. The eleventh charge, touching the sale of Dunkirk to -the French for no greater amount than the worth of the ammunition and -stores, was false with regard to his being content with the price, -but it was true as it respects his promoting the sale. Nor did the -impeachment, so far as it could be established, fix upon the Minister -the guilt of high treason; but, short of that, it proved him to be -a person dangerous to the country, and unfitted to continue in the -office which he had filled. Virtuous and patriotic men might fairly -have insisted upon the degradation of the Chancellor; but it must be -confessed that virtuous and patriotic men were not the prime movers -in his punishment. The intrigues of women, anything but virtuous, -had most to do with it; for Clarendon had unfortunately excited the -wrath of Charles' mistresses, who, by working upon the Monarch's too -easy temper, had implanted in his bosom a dislike to his old friend. -The object of these ladies was promoted by the assistance of Cavalier -gentlemen who never forgave Clarendon for the Act of Indemnity, and -who considered that he had, at the Restoration, largely neglected -the personal interests of the Royalists. Three Bishops were numbered -amongst the Peers who protested against the refusal of the Upper House -to commit the Minister upon the charge of treason.[526] The Catholics -owed him no gratitude, for they knew his dislike to their religion--and -with the nation generally, he had become unpopular for many reasons, -particularly for the part which he had taken in the sale of Dunkirk. -It is a little surprising, that Presbyterians, who, perhaps, had more -reason than any class to complain of his administration, were not -amongst his inveterate adversaries. Colonel Birch, who belonged to -that religious denomination, was, indeed, one of the Tellers on the -side of impeachment; but Baxter notices, as a providence of God, in -reference to Clarendon, that the man who had dealt so cruelly with -the Nonconformists was cast out by his own friends, "while those that -he had persecuted were the most moderate in his cause, and many for -him."[527] - -[Sidenote: 1667.] - -In writing a letter to his daughter, the Duchess of York, just after -her conversion to Popery, the necessities of Clarendon's argument -forced him to adopt a position, which, if he had sincerely taken it -up at an earlier period, must have diverted him from that persecuting -course, which is one of the greatest blots on his history. "The -common argument," he remarks, "that there is no salvation out of the -Church, and that the Church of Rome is that only Church, is both -irrational and untrue." "There are many Churches in which salvation may -be attained, as well as in any one of them; and were many even in the -apostolic time; otherwise they would not have directed their Epistles -to so many several Churches, in which there were different opinions -received and very different doctrines taught. There is, indeed, but -one faith in which we can be saved--the steadfast belief of the birth, -passion, and resurrection of our Saviour. _And every Church that -receives and embraces that faith is in a state of salvation._"[528] - -[Sidenote: CLARENDON.] - -[Sidenote: 1667.] - -The whole history of the Chancellor must be considered, if we would -form a just estimate of his character. That he was a man of great -ability; that he possessed those talents and accomplishments which -contribute to form distinguished statesmen; that he performed services -valuable to the nation, at a very critical period of its history; that -he had a sense of religion, and was heartily attached to the Episcopal -Church, there can be no doubt. Those who glory in the constitution of -that Church as established upon the Act of Uniformity will praise him -for his wisdom; those who form a different opinion of that Church, -and of its legal basis, must withhold such laudation. But, apart from -all ecclesiastical questions, and also putting aside the motives by -which Clarendon was influenced throughout his career, with all its -lights and shadows--here are two aspects of his conduct, at least, upon -which the historian must pronounce a severe censure. To say nothing -of his pride and avarice--there remain, first, his persecution of -the Nonconformists; and next, the dissimulation which he practised, in -connection with measures professedly intended for their relief. His -persecution of the Nonconformists is a fact which speaks for itself. -Whatever notions he might have of what the Church should be it was a -gratuitous course, and it betrayed revenge and injustice, to treat -Dissenters in the manner which he did: revenge, for he crushed them as -conquered foes; injustice, for he dealt with them all as disaffected -subjects, whilst the loyalty of the vast majority of them was above -suspicion. If his clever diplomacy did not sink into downright -dissimulation in the business of the Worcester House Declaration, the -circumstances of which have been so fully described--if there was not -also much deceptiveness in the promises from Breda, and in the plan of -the Savoy Conference, both of which Clarendon, as Charles' Minister, -must have advised, it is hard to prove that such qualities have ever -belonged to any human being. Many a Jesuit has been a martyr--and I -give the Chancellor credit for such an attachment to the Episcopal -Church as would have led him to suffer on its behalf, but no man -could be more Jesuitical than he was in the course of policy which he -adopted for its establishment. So dark a fate as covered the last days -of Strafford, Laud, and Charles I., did not attend the final destiny -of the great Minister of Charles II.; still, calamities overtook him -after the sunshine of his prosperity--his sun set in a cloud; and thus, -like his predecessors in the defence of the Church, he has secured -from posterity, through sympathy with him in his misfortunes, gentler -treatment than the defects of his character would otherwise have -received.[529] - -[Sidenote: CLARENDON.] - -[Sidenote: 1667.] - -By an obvious association we are led to compare the political -founder of the Church of England in the seventeenth century with his -predecessor in the same capacity a hundred years before. Both Cecil, -Lord Burleigh, and Hyde, Earl of Clarendon, had great difficulties -in securing the stability of the civil government--in dealing with -political discontent and disaffection, in defending the Throne against -perils, and in providing revenues for the Crown. Both statesmen, in -laying the corner stones of their ecclesiastical polity, had to build -in troublous times, and each, "with one of his hands wrought in the -work, and with the other hand held a weapon." Both of them, blind to -the principle of religious liberty, employed persecuting laws in the -service of what they deemed the best form of Christianity; and both -also, together with other crooked means of ruling, employed spies, -wherewith to see what was done at a distance, and agents wherewith to -put in action secret and remote machinery. The contrast between the -two, however, is more striking than the resemblance. If difficulties -encompassed the navigation of the vessel, the helm of which rested in -the hand of Clarendon, far greater difficulties of the same and other -kinds--political and ecclesiastical, Popish and Puritan,--surrounded -the course of Burleigh. Clarendon was not as cautious, not as timid, -as Burleigh. Perhaps neither of them exhibited a lofty order of -genius; but Clarendon appears inferior in originality of plan, and in -consistency of method. Cecil struck out ideas in commerce too wise -for the age in which he lived; and as the fruit of careful meditation -in retirement, he laid down a comprehensive scheme of government on -the accession of Elizabeth, from the fundamental principles of which -he did not deviate in his long administration; but Hyde never showed -himself to be more than an experimentalist, adopting expedients as -circumstances arose. Cecil was more intolerant towards Papists than -towards Puritans. Hyde seemed more averse to Protestant Nonconformists -than to Popish recusants. Cecil had broad Protestant sympathies, -which led him, as far as possible, to promote the cause of the -Reformation abroad; Hyde manifested no zeal for the welfare of the -Reformed Churches on the Continent. Burleigh did not enrich himself -with the spoils of office,--praise which cannot be given to Clarendon. -Yet justice demands the admission that Clarendon did suffer for his -principles, at least the inconvenience of exile, which is more than can -be said of Burleigh. Finally, success attendant upon the policy of the -former lasted long enough to demonstrate the sagacity of the author; -but the policy of the latter failed so early as to show, that he did -not anticipate what was sure almost immediately to arise--that he did -not thoroughly understand the character of his fellow-countrymen.[530] - -The illustration of this latter point is required by the conditions of -our History. - -[Sidenote: EXTENT OF NONCONFORMITY.] - -The Chancellor's object had been not merely to establish the -Episcopal Church, but to crush every form of Dissent. Indeed, his -notion of an establishment was that it should have an exclusive -existence in the country--that Nonconformity should have no place -whatever under its shadow. Yet, at the time of his fall, only five -years after the Act of Uniformity was passed, and within two years of -the passing of the Five Mile Act--not only did Popery continue to lurk -within these dominions, not only did it make its way amongst the upper -classes, but Presbyterianism recovered itself from the blows which it -had received, and Independents, Baptists, and Quakers, secretly or -openly, promoted the spread of their opinions. Of this fact, passages -from contemporaries afford striking proofs. - -On the 4th of August, 1666, a correspondent at Chester, stated that -the City swarmed with "cardinal Nonconformists," and that they were so -linked into the Magistracy, by alliance, that it was very difficult to -bring them to punishment;--only a few of them attended Divine service, -and even they were absent during the prayers. Experience proved that -these great pretenders to piety and religion, who would not conform to -the Prince's ecclesiastical power, only submitted to the civil until -they could get power to refuse it. - -On the 31st of August, 1667, the day after Clarendon resigned the Great -Seal, a letter reached Sir Joseph Williamson complaining of "crowds of -fanatics," about Bath and Frome. The gentry, as well as the ignorant -and ill-affected classes, helped to beget a jealousy of Popery, and -were apparently fallen back to the spirit of 1642. Even some who looked -big in Court, and in Parliament, had sheltered the unlawful vessels of -the malcontented and the furious within their allotments, and in their -own families, more especially, since the late exigencies had arisen. - -[Sidenote: 1667.] - -On the 10th of September the same year, another person at Bath declared -that the Nonconformists grew in numbers and insolence, saying they -should have liberty of conscience, and that the Government, which could -not stand much longer, could do no otherwise than allow them their -freedom. They had reached such a degree of insolence as to break open -church doors, and to get into the buildings to vent their sedition -and rebellion. The minister at Marshfield often returned from church -for want of a congregation, even of two or three, whereas, at the -same time, 500 met in a barn within the town. They transformed such -buildings into the likeness of churches, with seats for the convenience -of speaking and hearing. The writer, who was a clergyman, declared that -he had taken all ways imaginable to keep his people within the bounds -of sobriety and obedience, and had preached constantly twice a day to -suit their humour in all things lawful, descending to the plainest -and most practical speaking, and had never used a note, or so much as -wrote a word. Moreover, he had treated the party with all civility and -kindness, and been very pacificatory in public and in private, yet all -seemed in vain, and he saw that a minister must be a martyr.[531] - -[Sidenote: EXTENT OF NONCONFORMITY.] - -A contemporary author affirms that the Nonconformists everywhere -spread through city and country; they made no small part of all ranks -and sorts of men; by relations and commerce they were so woven into -the nation's interest, that it was not easy to sever them without -unravelling the whole skein. They were not excluded from the nobility, -among the gentry they were not a few, yet none were of more importance -than mere tradesmen, and such as lived by their own industry. To -suppress them would beget a general insecurity, and might help to -drive trade out of the country, and send it to find a home with an -emulous and encroaching nation. If no greater latitude could be -allowed than existed at that time, a race of Nonconformists would, -in all probability, run parallel with Conformists to the end of the -world.[532] - - - - - CHAPTER XIX. - - -It was a pamphleteering age; and religion as well as politics fell -under discussion in numerous small publications. Some one published in -the beginning of August, 1667, under the name of "A Lover of Sincerity -and Peace," _A Proposition for the Safety and Happiness of the King -and Kingdom, both in Church and State_, a work in which the writer -advocated comprehension and toleration. In the middle of the month of -October there followed a reply, from the pen of a Mr. Tomkyns, one -of Archbishop Sheldon's chaplains. The same month another pamphlet -appeared anonymously, under the title of _A Discourse of the Religion -of England_, maintaining that Reformed Christianity, settled in its -due latitude, secures the stability and advancement of the kingdom, -of which the author is known to have been John Corbet, an ejected -minister, who lived privately in London, after the passing of the -Bartholomew Act.[533] Corbet was answered by Dr. Perinchief, Prebendary -of Westminster, whereupon Corbet replied, and Perinchief put in a -rejoinder. From August to November the printers and the public seem to -have been busy in producing and reading these controversial tracts. - -[Sidenote: COMPREHENSION.] - -Whether or not this circumstance arose from a knowledge of what -was going on in upper circles, it is certain that, now Clarendon -had gone, Sir Robert Atkins--who afterwards became one of the -Justices of the Common Pleas, and ultimately Lord Chief Baron of the -Exchequer,--prepared a Bill of Comprehension. This healing measure, -Colonel Birch, member for Penryn, undertook to introduce in the House -of Commons;[534] and a careful account of it, written by Bishop Barlow, -is preserved at Oxford in the Bodleian Library,[535] from which -document we derive our information. The Bill provided that ordained -ministers--whether Episcopal or Presbyterian--who should within the -next three months subscribe to all the Articles of Religion "which only -concern the confession of the true Christian faith and the doctrine -of the sacraments" should be capable of preaching in any church or -chapel in England, of administering the sacraments according to the -Book of Common Prayer, of taking upon them the cure of souls, and of -enjoying any spiritual promotion. After prescribing that the Common -Prayer, according to law, should be read before sermon, there follows -a proviso, that no one should be denied the Lord's Supper, although he -did not kneel in the act of receiving it; and that no minister should -be compelled to wear the surplice, or use the cross in baptism. The -authors of the project, in addition to clauses touching Presbyterian -ordination and ceremonies, wished to have the word "consent" left out -of the form of subscription,--to confine subscription to the doctrine -of the Christian faith,--not to bind ministers to read the Common -Prayer themselves, if they procured others to do it,--and to lay aside -the Oath of Adjuration. - -[Sidenote: 1667.] - -[Sidenote: COMPREHENSION.] - -The session of Parliament opened upon the 10th of October and ended -just before Christmas; but the Bill, although ready, was never printed, -nor brought into the House. This first scheme of comprehension came -to nothing; but a second scheme, which like the first failed in the -end, proceeded somewhat further. Rumours of it were circulated in -the month of January, and were caught up by Pepys, to whom it seemed -there was a great presumption of a toleration being granted, so that -the Presbyterians held up their heads: ten days later, he heard that -the King approved of it, but that the Bishops were against it: and -the Diarist further states, that his informant, Colonel Birch, did -not doubt but that it would be carried through Parliament; only he -feared some would advocate the toleration of Papists.[536] A few days -afterwards, Pepys heard that an Act was likely to pass for admitting -all persuasions to hold public worship, "but in certain places; and -the persons therein concerned to be listed of this or that church, -which, it is thought, will do more hurt than good, and make them not -own their persuasion."[537] The proposal was made by Sir Orlando -Bridgeman, the Lord Keeper, and supported by Sir Matthew Hale, the Lord -Chief Baron.[538] The Earl of Manchester favoured the plan, and Dr. -Wilkins, on the Episcopal side, entered into negotiations with the -Presbyterians, who were represented by Baxter, Manton, and Bates. - -Baxter gives a full account of the scheme, which account is confirmed -substantially by the memoranda of Barlow, at the time Archdeacon of -Oxford, and afterwards Bishop of Lincoln.[539] The basis of the plan -was the King's Declaration from Breda; and the scheme may be considered -under three aspects--as proposed by the Episcopalians,--as modified -by the Presbyterians,--and as it bore relation to the Independents. I -shall quote a few passages from Barlow's MS., as it is important to -convey an exact idea of what was proposed. - -[Sidenote: 1667.] - -I. In order to comprehension, the Episcopalians proposed,--1. That -such persons as in the late times of disorder had been ordained only -by Presbyters, should be admitted to the exercise of the ministerial -function, by the imposition of the hands of the Bishop, with this or -the like form of words: "Take thou (legal) authority to preach the Word -of God and to administer the sacraments in any congregation of the -Church of England when thou shalt be lawfully appointed thereto." 2. -That clergymen and schoolmasters (after taking the Oaths of Allegiance -or Supremacy) should be required to subscribe this or the like form -of words: "I, A. B., do hereby profess and declare that I do approve -the doctrine, worship, and government established in the Church of -England, as containing all things necessary to salvation; and that I -will not endeavour, by myself or any other, directly or indirectly, -to bring in any doctrine contrary to that which is so established: -and I do hereby promise, that I will continue in the communion of -the Church of England, and will not do anything to disturb the peace -thereof." 3. That kneeling at the sacrament, the use of the cross in -baptism, and bowing at the name of Jesus might be left indifferent or -be altogether omitted; Barlow being willing to class with these things -the wearing of the surplice. 4. That in case it should be thought -fit to review and alter the Liturgy and canons for the satisfaction -of Dissenters, then every person admitted to preach should--upon -admission--publicly and solemnly read the said Liturgy, openly declare -his assent to the lawfulness of using it, and give a promise that it -should be constantly read at the time and place accustomed. It also was -added, that the Liturgy might be altered by using the reading Psalms -in the new translations;--by appointing some other lessons out of the -canonical Scriptures instead of those taken out of the Apocrypha;--by -not enjoining godfathers and godmothers, when either of the parents -were ready to answer for the child;--by omitting "every clause in the -services connecting regeneration with baptism;"--by omitting in the -Collect after imposition of hands in Confirmation this clause--"After -the example of Thy holy apostles, and to certify them by this sign -of Thy favour and gracious goodness towards them;" and this also in -the office of matrimony--"With my body I thee worship;"--by allowing -ministers some liberty in the visitation of the sick, to use such -other prayers as they might judge expedient;--by so altering the -Burial Service, as to imply nothing respecting the safety of the -deceased person;--by several changes in the services with a view to -abbreviation, omitting all "responsal prayers," and all repetitions, -and throwing separate petitions altogether in one continuous -prayer;--by not reading the Communion Service at such times as are -not communion days, but only repeating the Ten Commandments;--and by -altering the catechism at the question, "How many sacraments hath -Christ ordained?" so that the answer may be, "Two only, Baptism and the -Lord's Supper." - -[Sidenote: COMPREHENSION.] - -II. The modifications proposed by the Presbyterians were as -follows:--1. That all ministers ordained by Presbyters should, when -admitted by the Bishop to minister in the Church, "have leave," if -they "desired" it, to "give in their profession, that they renounce -not their ordination nor take it for a nullity, and that they take -this as the magistrate's license and confirmation." 2. That in the -form of subscription they should assent to the truth of all the Holy -Scriptures, to the articles of Creed, and to the doctrine of the Church -of England contained in the Thirty-six Articles; or to the doctrinal -part of the Thirty-nine Articles, excepting only the three articles -touching ceremonies and prelacy. 3. That an appeal be allowed for a -suspended minister from the Bishop to the King's Courts of Justice; -and lastly, that certain rules be enacted for the due enforcement -of discipline, respecting admission to holy communion, and also -respecting meetings for worship. A few additional suggestions were -proposed, relating to alterations in the Liturgy, of which these were -the most remarkable--"the Lord's Prayer should be used entirely with -the Doxologies;" the word "Sabbath" should replace "seventh-day" in -the fourth commandment; holydays should be left indifferent, save only -that all persons be restrained from open labour, and contempt of them; -and "no minister" should "be forced" to "baptize the child of proved -atheists and infidels." The addition of the surplice to the other -ceremonies to be left indifferent; the expression "sacramentally" to -be subjoined to the word "regenerate" in the baptismal service; the -catechism to be altered as regards the doctrine of the sacraments; and -the Absolution in the Visitation of the Sick to be made conditional. - -[Sidenote: 1667.] - -After considerable debate, principally upon the subject of -reordination, a Bill of Comprehension was drawn up by Sir Matthew Hale. -The points comprised were, first, the insertion of the word "legal" -before the word "authority" instead of the demanded liberty to declare -the validity of the previous Presbyterian ordination; and secondly, the -omission of the clause proposed by Baxter and his friends relating to -appeals. Two forms of subscription, framed so as to exclude Romanists, -were likewise adopted respectively for established ministers and for -tolerated persons. - -III. The Episcopalian scheme, endorsed and revised by Barlow, -included the indulgence of such orthodox Protestants, as could not be -comprehended within the Establishment. These, upon registering their -names, were to have liberty to worship in public, and to erect edifices -for that purpose. Although disabled from holding public offices, they -were to be fined for not fulfilling them, and also obliged, "according -to their respective qualities," to pay annually for indulgence, a sum -not above forty shillings, nor under ten, for any master of a family; -not above eight, nor under two, for any other individual,--the tribute -to form a fund for church building. Upon producing a certificate, -Nonconformists were to be exempted from legal penalties for -non-attendance at parish worship; but they were to pay church rates, -and it was suggested by Barlow that they should be forbidden to preach -against the Establishment. This arrangement was to be limited to three -years, and to be confined to such Protestants as are described in -Cromwell's Act of Settlement. - -These intentions were frustrated. Wilkins, Bishop of Chester, mentioned -the subject to Seth Ward, Bishop of Salisbury, "hoping to have -prevailed for his concurrence in it;" but the latter, availing himself -of the communication, did his utmost to defeat the scheme. The Bishops -generally were against it. The old Clarendon party was against it.[540] - -[Sidenote: THORNDIKE'S PRINCIPLES.] - -Herbert Thorndike wrote his _True Principle of Comprehension_ in -the year 1667, just at the time when the question had been taken up -by Wilkins and Barlow.[541] He did not at all mince the matter, but -began by saying that Presbyterians could not, any more than Papists, -be good subjects; an assertion which, if true, would of course render -comprehension, in the common meaning of the term, impossible; but it is -not in that meaning that he uses the term, and he proceeds to declare -most distinctly, that "an Act comprehending Presbyterians, as such, -in the Church, would fail of its purpose, and not give satisfaction -or peace in matters of religion." The only cure for disputes, he -maintained, was to authorize the faith and laws of the Catholic -Church, _i.e._, within the first six general Councils, "enacting the -same with competent penalties." This proposal really signified that -Nonconformists were to retract their opinions altogether, or continue -to be persecuted. What the author called the true principle of -comprehension was the false principle of coercion. He would have men -think with him, and if possible force them into the Church; if they -were incorrigible, he would shut them out and punish them. Nor did he -leave any doubt as to what he intended by the enactment of "competent -penalties;" for he laid down the doctrine, that the Church is justified -in having recourse to _the civil power_, to enforce union. - -[Sidenote: 1668.] - -Parliament met on the 6th of February, and then adjourned to the 10th. -When the Commons had assembled, and before the King had arrived, -reports were made to the House respecting insolent language said to -have been used in Nonconformist Conventicles; and it being known -that in the Royal Speech some notice would be taken of a measure of -Comprehension, about which there had been so much discussion out of -doors, the members did "mightily and generally inveigh against it;" -and they voted that the King should strictly put in force the Act of -Uniformity. It was also moved, "that if any people had a mind to bring -any new laws into the House, about religion, they might come, as a -proposer of new laws did in Athens, with ropes about their necks."[542] -His Majesty, however, in his speech from the throne, recommended the -Houses to adopt some course for securing "a better union and composure -in the minds of my Protestant subjects in matters of religion."[543] -From this it appears that His Majesty felt disposed to favour some -measure pointing in the same direction as did that which had been drawn -up by Barlow.[544] - -[Sidenote: NEW CONVENTICLE BILL.] - -Colonel Birch told Pepys on the 28th of February, that the House the -same morning had been in a state of madness, in consequence of letters -received respecting fanatics who had come in great numbers to certain -churches, turning people out, "and there preaching themselves, and -pulling the surplice over the parsons' heads;" this excited "the -hectors and bravadoes of the House."[545] The report was utterly -false,[546] but influenced by it, the Commons, on the 4th of March, -resolved to desire His Majesty to issue a Proclamation for enforcing -the laws against Conventicles, and to provide against all unlawful -assemblies of Papists and Nonconformists.[547] When, upon the 11th -of March, the King's Speech respecting the union of his Protestant -subjects came under consideration, all sorts of opinions were expressed -upon all sorts of ecclesiastical topics. One declared that he never -knew a toleration which did not need an army to keep all quiet; -another expressed himself in favour of the reform of Ecclesiastical -Courts, which had become very obnoxious. A third concurred in this -opinion, and also complained that the Bishops had little power in -the Church except authority to ordain. A fourth wished to see the -Act of Uniformity revised, in order to temper its severe provisions, -especially in reference to the Covenant, and assent and consent to the -Common Prayer. A fifth compared the King and clergy to a master having -quarrelsome servants, "One will not stay unless the other goes away." A -theological debater alluded to predestination and free-will as at the -foundation of all the religious disputes in England, and lamented the -growth of Arminianism, affirming that so long as the Church was true to -herself, she need not be in fear of Nonconformity: placing candles on -the communion table greatly displeased him. A Broad Church polemic held -that the Articles were drawn up so that both parties might subscribe, -and that Convocation was a mixed assembly of "both persuasions;" no -canon, he said, enjoined bowing at the altar, and Bishop Morton left -people to use their own liberty as to that practice; this gentleman -was against Conventicles. A more prudent debater wished to veil the -infirmities of his mother rather than proclaim them in Gath and -Askelon; he advocated comprehension, and thought an end would be put to -Nonconformity by making two or three Presbyterians Bishops. These brief -notices of the debate will afford an idea of the diversity of opinion -which was expressed on this occasion.[548] - -[Sidenote: 1668.] - -[Sidenote: NEW CONVENTICLE BILL.] - -Instead of the Bill described by Barlow, or any measure of a similar -kind for comprehension and toleration, a Bill for reviving the -Conventicle Act was submitted to the Commons. The Conventicle Act of -1664 had been limited in its operation to the end of the next session -of Parliament after the expiration of three years, and therefore it -remained no longer in force. Leave was now given to bring in a Bill for -the continuance of it. - -The High Church party, by a majority of 176 against 70, negatived the -proposal that His Majesty be desired to send for such persons as he -might think fit, in order to the uniting of his Protestant subjects: -the first instance, as Hallam says, "of a triumph obtained by the -Church over the Crown in the House of Commons."[549] Upon the 28th of -April, the Bill for revising the Conventicle Act was carried by 144 -against 78. The new Conventicle Bill, sent up to the Lords, was by them -read a first time on the 29th of April; but it does not appear to have -reached a second reading, as the House, on the 9th of May, adjourned -until August, then again to November, and then again to the following -March, 1669, when Parliament was prorogued. Consequently the Bill fell -through; and the law with regard to Conventicles underwent a change, -through the expiration of the Act of 1664. - - - - - CHAPTER XX. - - -[Sidenote: MANTON AND BAXTER.] - -The King was by no means disinclined to relieve Dissenters from the -oppression which they experienced, provided he might extend relief on -his own authority, and at his own pleasure. In the autumn of 1688 he -granted an audience, at the Earl of Arlington's lodgings, to a few -Presbyterian clergymen. Of this interview, Dr. Manton gave an account -to his friend Richard Baxter. With characteristic graciousness, which -was the charm of his reign, and which, in spite of his vices, won many -hearts, Charles was pleased once and again to signify how acceptable -was the address presented by the Presbyterians, and how much he was -persuaded of their peaceable disposition; adding that he had known them -to be so ever since his return; and then he promised that he would do -his utmost to get them comprehended within the Establishment, and would -strive to remove all those bars which he could wish had never existed. -Something, however, he proceeded to say, must be done for public peace, -and they could not be ignorant that what he desired was a work of -difficulty, and therefore they must wait until the business was ripe. -In the meanwhile he wished them to use their liberty with moderation. -He observed that the meetings held were too numerous, and that (besides -their being contrary to law) they occasioned clamorous people to -complain, as if the Presbyterian design was to undermine the Church. -He instanced what he called the folly of one who had preached in a -play-house, upon which the ministers informed him they disliked such -conduct, and that they had rebuked the individual for affronting the -Government. The King instanced another case, but with a preface that -he greatly respected the person for his worth and learnings--meaning -Mr. Baxter, of Acton, who drew in all the country round. Manton replied -that Baxter went to church, and then preached himself during the -interval between morning and evening service. His first intention was -simply to benefit his own family; but it was hard to exclude such as in -charity might be supposed to come thirsting for spiritual edification. -Manton further alleged the general need of religious instruction, and -the fact that Nonconformists were not all alike. If people of unsober -principles were permitted to preach, he urged the necessity which lay -upon others to take the same liberty. His Majesty replied that "the -riffle raffle" were apt to run after every new teacher; but people -of quality might be intreated not to assemble, or, at least, not in -such multitudes, lest the scandal thereby raised should obstruct his -generous intentions. Charles seemed pleased when Manton suggested that -his brethren's sobriety of doctrine, and remembrance of His Majesty in -their prayers, were calculated to preserve an esteem for his person -and government in the hearts of his people, and Arlington plucked -his master by the coat, desiring him to note what was said. Manton -remarked, in conclusion, that Baxter would have accompanied them to the -audience, had he not been prevented by illness.[550] - -[Sidenote: 1669.] - -Sheldon, writing a letter from Lambeth on the 8th of June, 1669, -addressed to the Commissary of the diocese of Canterbury,--after -quoting His Majesty's denial of connivance at Conventicles, his -displeasure at the want of care in the matter manifested by the -Bishops, and his determination that they should have the civil -magistrates' assistance,--proceeds to direct that inquiries should be -made as to unlawful religious assemblies--what were their numbers, -of what sort of people they consisted, and from whom they looked for -impunity. Conventicles were to be made known to Justices, and if -Justices neglected their duty, their neglect was to be certified. -The Primate asked whether the same persons did not meet at several -Conventicles, which might make them seem more numerous than they really -were; and whether the Commissary did not think they might be easily -suppressed, by the assistance of the civil magistrate; the greatest -part of them being, as the Archbishop heard, women, children and -inconsiderable persons.[551] - -[Sidenote: CONVENTICLES.] - -Charles complied with the wishes of Sheldon so far as to issue a -Proclamation, complaining of the increase, and threatening the -punishment of Nonconformists; but he had no sympathy for the -intolerance in which such wishes originated.[552] He had said--if we -may trust Burnet's report--the clergy were chiefly to blame for the -popularity of Conventicles; for if they had lived as they ought, and -attended to their parish duties, the nation might, by that time, have -been reduced to ecclesiastical order. "But they thought of nothing, but -to get good benefices, and to keep a good table."[553] - -Nonconformists naturally availed themselves of the circumstance that -the Conventicle Act had expired; and Baxter now had more hearers at -Acton than he could find room to accommodate. "Almost all the town and -parish, besides abundance from Brentford and the neighbour parishes, -came."[554] - -[Sidenote: 1669.] - -But though the Conventicle Act had expired, the Five Mile Act, as -Charles indicated in his Proclamation of July, 1669, remained in -force; and therefore, means existed, not only for silencing, but -also for punishing the Presbyterian Divine. Accordingly he was soon -involved in trouble. In a roundabout way, a warrant was procured, in -which Baxter stood charged with keeping an unlawful Conventicle. The -Oxford Oath being tendered he refused to take it, and argued, with his -usual keenness, against its imposition. One of the magistrates only -laughed, and Baxter was sent to prison. - -To the inquiries issued by Sheldon in June, returns before the end -of the year were made, and they supply much valuable information -respecting Nonconformity. - -A long list is given of Conventicles in the Metropolis. Manton's -congregation at his own house, Covent Garden, and Calamy's, next door -to the "Seven Stars," Aldermanbury, are estimated at 100; Zachary -Crofton's, Tower Hill, and Captain Kiffin's, of Finsbury Court, at 200; -Vincent's of Hand Alley, and Caryl's, at Mr. Knight's house, Leadenhall -Street, at 500; and Dr. Annesley's, in Spitalfields, at a new house for -that purpose with pulpit and seats, at 800; Owen, in White's Alley, -Moorfields, is mentioned without any number of hearers being returned. - -It is stated in the report that besides those congregations which -are specified, there were many others at private houses; sometimes -at one house, sometimes at another. The several meetings of the same -persuasion, were composed, for the most part, of the same persons. They -were much increased by stragglers, who walked on Sunday for recreation, -and then went into the Conventicles out of curiosity. The worshippers -consisted of women and persons of mean rank. The meetings had increased -since the execution of the Oxford Act had been relaxed. - -In the City of Canterbury, distinguished in the annals of both -Protestantism and Puritanism, Nonconformity took deep root. In the -parishes of St. Paul and St. Peter the Independents amounted to 500 at -least. They met in the morning at St. Peter's, in the afternoon at St. -Paul's. In St. Dunstan's there were Presbyterians, but they were not so -many as the Independents. In St. Mary's, Northgate, the Anabaptists -were few and mean in quality. The Quakers were numerous, but not -considerable for estate. - -[Sidenote: CONVENTICLES.] - -In the diocese of Chichester, the little market town of Petworth is -mentioned as containing 50 or 60 Nonconformists, some of the middle -sort, others inferior; Largesale as numbering about 40, yeomen and -labourers; Stedham as having sometimes 200, including some of the -gentry. - -In the diocese of Ely, at a place called Stetham, mention is made of -about 30 or 40 who assembled by stealth and in the night, mean and -of evil fame, who had arms against the King. Of Doddington, in the -fen country of Cambridgeshire, it is remarked, that there were no -Dissenters in the parish, although there were divers of them in other -places. The promise of indulgence, the remissness of the magistrate, -the rumour of comprehension, the King's connivance, and the sanction of -grandees at Court, encouraged their hopes. - -There is manifested throughout these statistics, a disposition on the -part of the reporters, to exaggerate the extent to which Nonconformity -prevailed. As for example, it is said of the _houses_ of Mr. Bond and -Mr. John Chapman, of Chard--"The numbers uncertain but always very -great, sometimes 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, and oftentimes 700." - -[Sidenote: 1670.] - -From these returns, after making abatements on the score of -exaggeration, it appears that Dissent had by no means been crushed -by the violence it had endured. Consequently in the spring of 1670, -a new Bill against Conventicles was introduced: after being amended -and carried by the Commons, it was presented by Sir John Brampston -to the Lords, and it slowly passed through Committee; repeated -debates occurring with regard to its provisions. Seth Ward, Bishop of -Salisbury, supported, but Wilkins, Bishop of Chester, opposed the -measure, although the King, without desiring to see it executed, wished -to see it passed, and used his influence with the last-named prelate -to prevent his taking any part in the business; Wilkins, nevertheless, -courageously insisted upon his right as a Peer, and declined to -withhold either his vote or his voice. The Bill did not pass without a -protest being entered on the Journals.[555] - -This Act--so commonly described as a revival of the Conventicle Act of -1664, that it is necessary to point out the fact of its being a new -piece of legislation--differed from the preceding enactment in these -important respects. It did not connect the penalty of imprisonment with -an attendance on Conventicles, nor was the amount of fines fixed on so -high a scale. It specified for the first offence, instead of "a sum not -exceeding five pounds," the reduced fine of five shillings; instead -of imprisonment, or ten pounds for the second offence, it inflicted -a penalty of only ten shillings; and it said nothing whatever of -transportation, or of augmented punishment for a third offence. - -[Sidenote: CONVENTICLES.] - -Still it advanced beyond the earlier legislation on the subject in -other respects; because preachers were to forfeit £20 for the first, -and £40 for the second breach of the law. Also the Act stimulated -informers, by promising them one-third of the fines levied through -their diligence and industry; it conferred power on officers to break -open houses, except the houses of Peers, where Conventicles were said -to be assembled; it imposed a fine of £5 on any constable, who, being -aware of such meetings, neglected to give information of them, and a -fine of £100 on any Justice of the Peace who should refuse to execute -the law. It declared that all claims should be construed most largely -and beneficially for the suppression of Conventicles.[556] - -Sheldon was delighted at the enactment of this statute, and zealously -availed himself of it.[557] Ward and Gunning, at the same time -distinguished themselves in repressing Dissent, and no colouring of -their conduct can hide their intolerance. The former, it is said, -made the diocese of Salisbury too hot for Nonconformists, and drove -many over to Holland to the great detriment of trade in the City of -Salisbury.[558] Gunning, whose propensities for public discussion -remained as strong as ever, sometimes played the part of a magistrate, -and sat upon the bench at quarter sessions, at other times he -challenged Dissenters of all sorts to engage with him in theological -tournaments.[559] - -Informers were now let loose upon all kinds of inoffensive citizens, -and the severities of the New Conventicle Act were more than doubled -by connecting with them the execution of earlier statutes. No less a -person than Dr. Manton, after being discovered at a house in the Piazza -of Covent Garden, holding a religious service, had the Oxford Oath -tendered to him, and for refusing to take it, was committed a prisoner -to the Gatehouse. - -[Sidenote: 1670.] - -Of all sufferers the Quakers suffered most, because they were the -most persistent and resolute in continuing their meetings; because -when officers were on their way to seize them they would not escape; -and further, because they would pay no fines, not even gaol fees, nor -offer any petition to be set at liberty. Such people occasioned the -greatest perplexity to magistrates and the Government, and completely -wore out their patience; thus ultimately gaining their own point by an -invincible resistance under the form of perfect passivity. The famous -trial, in the month of August, 1670, of two friends, William Penn -and William Mead, affords an example of the injustice and oppression -which this remarkable sect had to endure, and also of the sympathy -with them in their wrongs which they inspired in the breasts of -their fellow-subjects. These two gentlemen were accused of holding a -tumultuous assembly in the public streets, simply because they preached -in the open air, and they were fined forty marks each, in consequence -of not pulling off their hats in court. The jury returned a verdict -to which the court objected, and for persistence in their own course, -the jurymen were fined forty marks apiece, and were imprisoned until -they should pay the amount. Afterwards they were discharged by writ -of Habeas Corpus, their commitments being pronounced, in the Court of -Common Pleas, to be totally illegal.[560] - -[Sidenote: CONVENTICLES.] - -In terminating this chapter it may safely be asserted that, during -the reign of Charles II., after the time when the Act of Uniformity -came into force, except for the short space presently to be described, -there occurred not any period, when persecution, in some form or -other, did not disturb the Nonconformists of this country; yet perhaps -it would not be going too far also to assert, that when persecution -reached its greatest height, there were some of the proscribed who -successfully asserted their liberty, and, either from the ignorance or -from the connivance of the predominant party, escaped the rigours of -the law. Sixteen months after the new statute for the suppression of -Conventicles had been passed, and when in many directions it was being -severely enforced, the Dissenters at Taunton, not only met together for -worship, but boldly celebrated a festival in honour of the deliverance -of the place, in the midst of the Civil Wars, under their illustrious -townsman Robert Blake.[561] - - - - - CHAPTER XXI. - - -The fall of Clarendon had been succeeded by a Ministry well known in -history under the name of the CABAL.[562] With the merely -political conduct of the statesmen indicated by that word, we have -nothing to do; their policy in relation to ecclesiastical affairs alone -demands our notice. - -A change of feeling in the upper classes towards Nonconformists ensued, -now that Clarendon's influence had been withdrawn, the virtues of -distinguished sufferers became better known, and rumours about plots -were far less frequent. This change prepared for a measure, which, -unconstitutional as to its basis, was liberal in its operation. To -found indulgence upon Royal authority alone, and not upon an Act of -Parliament, was in harmony with a scheme for the exaltation of the -Crown; but there is reason to believe that the measure proceeded, in -part at least, from the better side of the nature of the Ministers, as -well as from the better side of the nature of the Monarch. The previous -history of those Ministers had been such as to dispose them to befriend -oppressed Nonconformists. - -[Sidenote: THE CABAL.] - -The persons of whose names the initials made up the significant -appellation just mentioned, were Clifford, Arlington, Buckingham, -Ashley, and Lauderdale. The last three had themselves been more or less -connected with Dissenters. Buckingham, notwithstanding his irreligion -and profligacy, had sympathized with them in their sufferings; Ashley -had been a member of the Little Parliament, and a friend of Oliver -Cromwell; and Lauderdale had decidedly professed Presbyterianism.[563] -Memories of the past would dispose these politicians to be favourable -to their old friends. Clifford, who was rough, violent, ambitious, -unscrupulous, and yet brave and generous, and Arlington, formerly known -as Sir Henry Bennet,[564] a man timid and irresolute, had indeed no -such reminiscences as their colleagues, and had begun by this time to -veer towards Rome; yet, kindliness of disposition, which seems to have -belonged to both these statesmen, probably blended itself with some -design for promoting the interests of their adopted Church. - -The Cabal Ministry determined upon a new war with Holland, for the -insults and injury inflicted by the invasion in 1666 could not be -forgotten, and the prosperity of a republic not far off, especially a -naval one, appeared odious to such Englishmen as desired alike absolute -monarchy at home, and an undivided sovereignty of the neighbouring -seas. To humble a commercial power like Holland, would also, it was -thought, improve British commerce; and of course a great victory would -strengthen both the Ministry and the Crown. The war with Holland began -in March, 1672, the advantage was on the side of England; and in -February, 1674, Charles informed his Parliament that he had concluded -"a speedy, honourable," and he hoped, "a lasting peace."[565] - -[Sidenote: 1672.] - -With a prospect of this war, the Cabal felt it expedient to conciliate -the Dissenting portion of the country, that there might be peace at -home whilst there was war abroad; and that the sympathies of those -who had before leaned towards the United Provinces, might be bound to -the interests of their own empire.[566] Prudence of that kind united -itself with whatever there might be of generosity in the Ministers who -supported the King's new measure; but it should be stated that at this -moment, when the Cabinet were looking one way, Archbishop Sheldon was -looking another. Whilst the chief Ministers of State were preparing -to show favour to the sects, the chief Minister of the Church was -thinking only of checking their progress; yet, to his credit it should -be noticed, that he appears, just then, as one who wished to promote -his object by means of education, for he strongly enforced the use of -the catechism;[567] but, to his discredit it must also be remarked, -that he still showed himself wedded to a coercive policy, by urging -proceedings against all nonconforming schoolmasters. - -[Sidenote: DECLARATION OF INDULGENCE.] - -Within six weeks of the date of the Archbishop's circular respecting -education upon Church principles, Charles issued his famous Declaration -of Indulgence. Lord Keeper Bridgeman refused to affix the Great Seal -to it, because, in his opinion, it was contrary to the laws of the -constitution; but Ashley, to whom the Great Seal was transferred, as -Lord High Chancellor, under the title of Earl of Shaftesbury, easily -supplied that important deficiency.[568] - -"Our care and endeavours for the preservation of the Rights and -Interests of the Church," so ran the document, "have been sufficiently -manifested to the world by the whole course of our Government since -our happy Restoration, and by the many and frequent ways of coercion -that we have used for reducing all erring or dissenting persons, and -for composing the unhappy differences in matters of Religion, which we -found among our subjects upon our return. But it being evident by the -sad experience of twelve years that there is very little fruit of all -those forcible courses, we think ourselves obliged to make use of that -supreme power in ecclesiastical matters which is not only inherent in -us, but hath been declared and recognized to be so by several Statutes -and Acts of Parliament; and therefore we do now accordingly issue -this our Declaration, as well for the quieting the minds of our good -subjects in these points, for inviting strangers in this conjuncture to -come and live under us, and for the better encouragement of all to a -cheerful following of their trade and callings, from whence we hope, -by the blessing of God to have many good and happy advantages to our -Government; as also for preventing for the future the danger that might -otherwise arise from private meetings and seditious Conventicles."[569] - -[Sidenote: 1672.] - -The Declaration, after recognizing the established religion of the -country, directed the immediate suspension of all penal laws against -Nonconformists, and provided for the allowance of a sufficient number -of places of worship, to be used by such as did not conform. None were -to meet in any building until it should be certified; and until the -teacher of the congregation should be approved by the King. All kinds -of Nonconformists, except recusants of the Roman Catholic religion, -were to share in the indulgence, but the preaching of sedition, or -of anything derogatory to the Church of England was forbidden, under -penalties of extreme severity.[570] - -How was the Declaration regarded? Politicians looked at the subject -from their own point of view; and it is curious and instructive to -consult a paper, written some time afterwards, in which answers are -given to legal objections against the measure. It is objected that -the King has not power to suspend the laws of the land, he being, -by his coronation oath, obliged to see the laws duly executed, and -not infringed. The reply is that the King has both an ordinary and -extraordinary power; and that, by the latter, he may mitigate and -suspend the enactments of Parliament, in support of which position -reference is made to the practice of the Roman Emperor, who dispensed -with the Imperial laws by tolerating Arians, Novatians, and Donatists. - -[Sidenote: DECLARATION OF INDULGENCE.] - -It is further objected, that the law against Conventicles had a penalty -annexed, which was to be paid, not to the King, but to the informer, -and therefore the King could not dispense with it. To this it is -answered, that the King's ecclesiastical supremacy being reserved by -the Act, such supremacy sufficed to authorize what he did in this -matter. But to give a more particular solution the writer says, "that -the Parliament, in spiritual matters, doth not act directly, as in the -making of temporal decrees, such affairs are not under their proper -cognizance by any law of the land. The Church, being a co-ordinate -branch with the temporality under the King, ruled by a distinct power, -and courts and laws, from the other. The which thing being granted, it -is clear that the Parliament, in ecclesiastical matters, doth act only -by way of corroboration of what is indeed enacted by the ecclesiastical -supremacy. And when the ecclesiastical supremacy doth take away the -subject of the temporal laws, the penalty (to whomsoever due) as an -adjunct, doth cease. Thus, the King is not properly said to dispense -with the penalty, but it ceases of itself, by virtue of the Royal -indulgence, the same power being recognized to be in our King, which -the Popes usurped here." This argument is followed up by a reference -to Papal supremacy, and the exercise of pontifical authority in the -toleration of Jews, Greeks, and Armenians in the Papal territories. The -objection, that such dispensing power is new in England, is disposed -of by the remark that the form is new, but not the thing itself. -Ecclesiastical laws had been frequently changed by proclamation in the -time of Henry VIII. and Edward VI. It being alleged lastly, that it -was unbecoming the wisdom of the King to annul his own acts performed -in giving the Royal assent to laws against Conventicles; the rejoinder -is, that the King did not annul, but only suspend his own act; and if -there be anything of weakness therein, His Majesty showed it in common -with Constantine, Valentinian, Theodosius, Gratian, and Charles V. Such -diversity of counsels appeared in all reigns.[571] - -[Sidenote: 1672.] - -Some Episcopalians were perplexed, of which signs appear in questions -proposed by Cosin, Bishop of Durham, to the clergy of his diocese. -They asked whether or no a subject was bound to comply with the -pleasure of his Prince in all cases, where he felt himself not bound in -conscience to the contrary: whether he might not comply, in many things -inexpedient, and even prejudicial, if the King pressed the command, -and there seemed no way to avoid it but by disobedience: and whether -he might not consent to the abrogating of penal laws in support of the -Church, rather than provoke the King's displeasure, upon whose favour, -under God, the clergy were dependent?[572] - -Toleration did not meet the wishes of the Presbyterians; some of them -had refused it to others, and now they did not care to accept it for -themselves. Desiring comprehension--meaning by that "any tolerable -state of unity with the public ministry,"--they looked on toleration -as opening a way for the advance of Popery; and they believed that -wherever indulgence might begin, in Popery it would end. Further, they -apprehended that it would contribute to the permanence of Protestant -dissensions, whereas comprehension would unite and consolidate -Protestant interests: nor had they ceased to value parish order, and -to believe that such order would be overthrown, if people were allowed -to enjoy separate places of worship wherever they pleased. On this -ground the Presbyterians confessed themselves to be in a dilemma--being -forced either to become Independents in practice, or to remain as they -were, in silence and in suffering.[573] Some also objected to the -unconstitutional character of the King's proceeding, and looked upon it -as pregnant with political, no less than with ecclesiastical, mischief; -others, wearied with long years of persecution, felt glad to avail -themselves of liberty from whatever quarter it arose. It is probable -that some troubled themselves not at all with the constitutional -question; and it is certain that others, who did apprehend the -political bearing of the measure, and who also dreaded the progress of -Popery, considered nevertheless, that to avail themselves of a right -to which they were entitled on grounds of natural justice, was simply -reasonable, and involved no approbation of either the actual manner, or -the suspected design of the bestowment. - -[Sidenote: DECLARATION OF INDULGENCE.] - -The Independents, who had long given up hopes of comprehension, who set -no value on parish discipline, and who had only asked for freedom to -worship God according to their consciences, were, for the most part, -prepared to accept what appeared to them as a boon, without feeling any -scruple in relation to its political aspects.[574] - -[Sidenote: 1672.] - -The Court encouraged an approach to the throne of Nonconformists -disposed to return thanks for the indulgence. The Presbyterians came -in a body, headed by Dr. Manton, who, in their name, expressed hearty -gratitude.[575] Dr. Owen also presented a loyal address, in which he -expressed the joy of the Independents in declaring their loyalty; not -only as that loyalty rested upon grounds common to all his subjects, -but also as it arose from what His Majesty had just done in reference -to liberty of conscience. Owen humbly prayed for the continuance of the -Royal favour, assuring the King of the intercessions of Independents in -his behalf, that God would continue His presence to him, and preserve -him in counsels and thoughts of indulgence.[576] - -[Sidenote: DECLARATION OF INDULGENCE.] - -Applications poured in, and licenses were granted in abundance. Thomas -Doolittle, an eminent Presbyterian minister, obtained one; and for -years afterwards it might be seen, framed and glazed, hanging in the -vestry of the meeting-house where he preached, in Monkwell Street.[577] -Availing themselves of the Royal permission, several merchants -united in the establishment, at Pinners' Hall, of a Lecture, to be -delivered by select preachers, including Richard Baxter. Buildings -were constructed amidst the ruins left by the London fire, and some -arose on the other side the Thames. In the latter neighbourhood four -Presbyterians were licensed--one was in St. Mary Overy's, another in -Deadman's Place, St. Saviour's. Independents, Baptists, and others, -to the number of six, were registered for Southwark and Lambeth; some -only by name, others for specified places. David Clarkson asked leave -to preach in "a house belonging to John Beamish in Mortlake," to both -Presbyterians and Baptists; and several licenses were granted to other -ministers in Surrey. John Bunyan was allowed to teach a congregation -in the house of Josias Roughed at Bedford; and numerous individuals -and numerous dwellings in the City of Norwich were enrolled on the -certified list, as many as four different houses in one parish, besides -many more in other parishes, being enumerated. Oliver Heywood, "of the -Presbyterian persuasion," received permission to use a room or rooms, -in his own house, in the parish of Halifax, in the County of York; -and Philip Henry, of Malpas, Flintshire, notwithstanding his scruples -on the subject, accepted the same kind of permission.[578] These are -only a few instances, showing the variety and extent of the rescripts -which threw the Royal shield for a time over harassed Nonconformists. -As many as three thousand five hundred licenses are reckoned to have -been granted within the space of ten months. If it be supposed that -the places of worship then licensed were generally at all like chapels -in the present day, a most exaggerated and erroneous idea will be -formed of the extent of Dissent; in point of fact many of the places of -worship were but small rooms in private houses, within a short distance -of each other; nevertheless, there must have been a large number of -people professing Nonconformity, to require so many licenses; and it -should be remembered that a portion of the nonconforming class did not -feel prepared to accept liberty proffered in, what they considered, an -unconstitutional way. So formidable did the number of Free Churches -begin to appear, that one of the Bishops, writing to Sir Joseph -Williamson, exclaimed--"These licensed persons increase strangely. The -orthodox poor clergy are out of heart. Shall nothing be done to support -them against the Presbyterians who grow and multiply faster than the -other?"[579] - -[Sidenote: 1672.] - -[Sidenote: GRANTS TO NONCONFORMISTS.] - -In connection with the indulgence and the thanks returned to the King -by the Presbyterians, Burnet relates that an order was given "to pay a -yearly pension of fifty pounds to most of them, and of a hundred pounds -a year to the chief of the party." He says further, that Baxter "sent -back his pension, and would not touch it, but most of them took it." -Burnet relates this on the authority of Stillingfleet, from whom he -received the story; adding, "in particular he told me that Pool, who -wrote the _Synopsis of the Critics_, confessed to him that he had had -fifty pounds for two years." The historian remarks, "Thus the Court -hired them to be silent, and the greatest part of them were so, and -very compliant."[580] It is remarkable, that though there are several -passages in Baxter's life, in which he mentions the fact of sums of -money being offered to him, and the way in which he treated the offers, -he makes no reference to any overture of pecuniary assistance from -the Court. Some reference to it we might have expected, had such an -overture been made; but that Baxter in that case would have declined to -accept any grant, is quite in accordance with his character, and with -his wish to be entirely independent of the King. Burnet's statements, -given on the authority of conversations held some time before, were -intended by him to be accurate, but they are not always reliable: in -this case, however, whatever doubt may rest on his statement as to -Baxter, there seems no reason for disbelieving what he says respecting -Pool. Dr. Calamy, from his intimate acquaintance with the events -of the period, would, we should infer, have been able to disprove -Burnet's statement, had it been altogether untrue; but Calamy does not -contradict the assertion as to the payment of money--rather he confirms -it. After quoting from Burnet, that "most of them took it," he adds, -"I cannot see why they should not;" he resents, however, Burnet's -remarks about the Presbyterians being silent and compliant;[581] but -he states in the next page that he was not forgetful of Dr. Owen's -having received one thousand guineas from Charles II. to distribute -amongst Dissenters; for the receipt of which he incurred reflections -afterwards, as Calamy thought, very undeservedly.[581] - -There seems no reason to doubt that at this time the Crown rendered -pecuniary assistance to Nonconformist ministers, and that some of the -leading brethren acted as the almoners of the Royal bounty to others. -But, however the acceptance of it might be approved by some, it was -condemned by others; and it would, by the latter, be naturally enough -counted as "hush money;" that it really produced that effect, however, -there is not a single tittle of evidence, and in itself it appears -very improbable. Men who had resigned their livings, and all the -honours of the Established Church, for conscience' sake, were not -likely now to be bribed by an occasional remittance of a hundred or of -fifty pounds; in some cases the sum must have been much smaller. - -[Sidenote: 1672.] - -[Sidenote: QUAKERS.] - -To this incident--in connection with the indulgence--may be added an -interesting episode, which in one of its particulars, falls into the -same connection. - -After his romantic adventures at Boscobel in 1651, Charles reached the -little town of Brighthelmstone, and there engaged a fisherman to take -him over to the coast of France. The captain and the mate alone were -in the secret that the boat carried, not Cæsar indeed, but the heir of -England's crown, with all his fortunes; and when they reached their -destination, the mate conveyed the Prince ashore upon his shoulders. -The boat, in after days, when the Restoration had changed the destiny -of the Stuarts, lay moored by the stairs at Whitehall--a memento of its -Royal master's deliverance; and the captain, whose name was Nicholas -Tattersall, after having enjoyed an annuity of £100 a year, slept -with his fathers in the churchyard of the town in which he had lived, -and was buried beneath a slab of black marble, still existing, with a -scarcely legible inscription. The mate, who set the King on dry land, -and whose name was Richard Carver, became a member of the Society of -Friends. When nearly twenty years had rolled away, this transformed -mariner made his appearance one day in the month of January, 1670, at -the doors of the palace, and obtained admission to the King's presence. -Time, the rough wear and tear of a seaman's life, and the assumption of -a Quaker garb, had altered the visitor since His Majesty saw him last, -but with that faculty of recognition, which is a princely instinct, -he remembered the man at once, and reminded the sailor of several -occurrences in the vessel during his eventful voyage. Charles had been -annoyed by people who had shown him kindness in adversity, coming or -writing to Whitehall for some substantial acknowledgment of obligation, -and he wondered that Carver had not come before to ask for assistance. -In reply to some expression of that feeling, the Quaker told the King -that "he was satisfied, in that he had peace and satisfaction in -himself, that he _did what he did to relieve a man in distress_, and -now he desired nothing of him but that he would set Friends at liberty -who were great sufferers." Carver then proceeded to inform His Majesty -that he had a paper in his hand containing no names of Quakers, who had -been in prison above six years, and could be released only on Royal -authority. Charles took the paper, and said it was a long list; that -people of that kind, if liberated, would get into prison again in a -month's time; and that country gentlemen had complained to him of their -being so much troubled by Quakers. Touched, however, by the remembrance -of long gone years, whilst a gracious smile played on the flexible -features of his swarthy face, he said to Carver, he would release -him six. Carver, not thinking that the release of six poor Quakers -was equivalent to a King's ransom, determined to approach the Royal -presence again, and now took with him another Friend, Thomas Moore. -"The King was very loving to them. He had a fair and free opportunity -to open his mind to the King, and the King promised to do (more) for -him, but willed him to wait a month or two longer." What became of this -sailor, who nobly looked on the preservation of the King's life simply -as _relieving a man in distress_, we do not know; but Moore, whom -he introduced to the Monarch, continued to make earnest appeals to -Royalty on behalf of imprisoned Friends. In these attempts he received -assistance from George Whitehead--another eminent name in the annals -of Quakerism; and when, two years afterwards, there appeared the Royal -decree, which we have described, there also occurred the following -incident, which forms a notable link in a wonderful chain of Divine -providences. - -[Sidenote: 1672.] - -The King, who felt now more than ever a special regard for Quakers, -kept his word; and on the 29th of March, 1672, thirteen days after the -date of the Declaration of Indulgence, a circular letter was sent to -the Sheriffs of England and Wales, requiring from them a calendar of -the names, times, and causes of commitment of all the Quakers confined -within their gaols. - -The returns from the Sheriffs came in due order before the Privy -Council in reply to the circular, when His Majesty declared that he -would pardon all those persons called Quakers then in prison for any -offence which they had committed against him; and not to the injury of -other persons: 471 names were included in the pardon.[582] - -Whitehead, who co-operated with Moore, the friend of Richard Carver--to -whom he owed his introduction to the King--was a large-hearted man, -and when other Dissenters saw what he had done, and solicited his -assistance to procure the liberation of another class of religious -prisoners, he readily assisted, and recommended that they should -petition His Majesty; adding, that their being of different judgments -did not abate his charity towards them. The advice was taken. - -[Sidenote: JOHN BUNYAN.] - -John Bunyan, with a number of others unknown to fame, encouraged by the -Quakers, asked to be set at liberty. The document, containing this -prayer, came before the Privy Council on the 8th of May, 1672--and -on the 17th, Archbishop Sheldon being present, it was ordered that, -as these persons had been committed "for not conforming to the -rites and ceremonies of the Church of England, and for being at -unlawful meetings," and for no other offence, the Attorney-General be -"authorized and required to insert them into the general pardon to be -passed for the Quakers." - -The pardon is dated the 13th of September; and second on the list of -sufferers in Bedford Jail appears the name of "John Bunnion," who -in common with 490 others, received forgiveness for "all, and all -manner of crimes, transgressions, offences of premunire, unlawful -Conventicles, contempts, and ill behaviour whatsoever."[583] Our great -allegorist owed his deliverance to the intervention of Friends; and we -do not wonder to find that afterwards an end came to those unseemly -controversies which had been waged between him and the disciples of -George Fox. - - - - - CHAPTER XXII. - - -[Sidenote: POLITICAL PARTIES.] - -The Tenth Session of Charles' Second Parliament opened on the 4th of -February, 1673. His Majesty's Speech glanced at the Indulgence, as -having produced a good effect by producing peace at home when there -was war abroad; and as not intended to favour the Papists, inasmuch as -they had freedom of religion only "in their own houses, without any -concourse of others." The oration of Shaftesbury, the Lord Chancellor, -in like manner touched upon the same points, and he endeavoured to -vindicate the measure from misconstruction, and asserted the success -with which it had been attended.[584] But the well-known character -of the Cabal, and the now equally well-known character of the King, -whose leaning towards Popery had become apparent, inspired the Commons -with sentiments which set them in opposition to the Royal policy. As -Tory and Whig, Conservative and Radical are terms now indicating -parties in the State divided upon great questions, so the Court party -and the Country party were corresponding appellations at the period -under review. But as it is now, so it was then--parties, at times, -erratically burst into circles not coincident with their professed -principles; and thus a door was opened for bandying to and fro violent -recriminations, on the score of inconsistency. The Court party, led by -the Cabal, through introducing and supporting a Grant of Indulgence, -seemed to be favouring the very Nonconformity which, in 1662 and in -subsequent years, they had sedulously endeavoured to crush out of -existence; and the Country party, through resistance of an usurped -prerogative, came to look like enemies of that very religious freedom, -whose last hopes had once been thought to lie within their bosoms. But -in fact the inconsistency on both sides is more apparent than real--for -still the one party aimed at the establishment of despotism, and the -other aimed at the advancement of liberty. The ends of the two parties -were still the same as they had ever been; they had only changed -their means. The Court had carried all before it at the time of the -Restoration. It then appeared as the upholder of the Throne, of the -Church, of the Prayer Book, of old English institutions and customs. -In the fervour of reborn loyalty, amidst a flush of feudal enthusiasm, -on the return of an exiled chief, and completely borne away with the -joy attendant on the revival of ancient and endeared customs, the -people had rallied around the King's party, applauding it to the echo. -Now a change came. Admiration of Charles II. had begun to subside; -his character was seen through; his profligacy was notorious; his -irreligion excited the displeasure of the sober-minded; his profusion -touched the pockets of the economical; and his dependence upon France -quickened the jealousy of all true patriots. The Cabal and the Court -were found to be in league with the Crown for purposes inimical to -the Commonwealth; therefore the nation expressed its deep uneasiness; -and the result being, that as seats in Parliament, now in its twelfth -year, fell vacant through the death of members, the candidates elected -to fill the vacancies were such as stood pledged to the Country party. -That party in the House of Commons thus by degrees became predominant; -and the King and Court received unpleasant proofs that they could no -longer carry things as they had done, with a high hand in their own way. - -[Sidenote: 1673.] - -[Sidenote: POLITICAL PARTIES.] - -Under these circumstances, at an early sitting (the 8th of February), -a debate arose upon the subject of the Declaration. Sir Thomas -Lee, Mr. Garroway, and Sir Thomas Meres,--the bellwethers of the -Country party, as they were called, supported by Colonel Birch, the -Commonwealth's-man, and others,[585]--attacked the Royal proceeding, -which was vindicated by members on the other side. The Country party -(on the 10th) argued that the Declaration was unconstitutional;--that, -according to this method, the King might claim the power of changing -the religion of the country; that toleration ought to be granted, -but only by Act of Parliament; and that the document just issued, -in the name of the Monarch, would upset forty Acts of Parliament no -way constitutionally repealable, except by the authority which had -created them. In the course of the debate a member, addressing a -conspicuous Nonconformist in the House, remarked, "Why, Mr. Love, you -are a Dissenter yourself; it is very ungrateful that you who receive -the benefit should object against the manner." "I am a Dissenter," -he replied, "and thereby unhappily obnoxious to the law; and if you -catch me in the corn you may put me in the pound. The law against the -Dissenters I should be glad to see repealed by the same authority -that made it; but while it is a law, the King cannot repeal it by -proclamation: and I had much rather see the Dissenters suffer by the -rigour of the law, though I suffer with them, than see all the laws -of England trampled under the foot of the prerogative as in this -example."[586] The Court faction stood on its defence. Secretary -Coventry maintained that the King did not intend to violate the laws; -that exceptional circumstances required exceptional proceedings; that -the master of a ship has power in a storm to throw goods overboard, -though no such power belongs to him when the waters are calm. Finch, -the Attorney-General, asserted the dangerous doctrine, that, as the -King was Head of the Church, and as it was the interest of the nation -to have a temporal and not a spiritual Pope, His Majesty might dispense -with the laws for the preservation of the realm; this legal functionary -dared to say, that the King, by his supremacy, might discharge any -cause in the Ecclesiastical Courts, as those Courts were his.[587] - -[Sidenote: 1673.] - -The subdued tone of expostulation which prevailed on the side of the -Country party is very remarkable, and a disinclination to come into -collision with the Throne was expressed by several of the members; yet -they pursued a decided course, and passed this resolution:--"That -penal statutes, in matters ecclesiastical, cannot be suspended, but -by Act of Parliament,"[588]--a resolution which they carried by 168 -against 116. The House afterwards considered an address to the King, -embodying the resolution. - -The debate, to which the resolution and the address founded upon -it gave rise, on the 14th of February, exemplified the same spirit -of moderation as had prevailed before. Sir Thomas Meres advocated -"ease fit for tender consciences"--in the words of the Breda -Declaration--"for union of the Protestant subjects;" and others -supported the plan of bringing in a Bill for the purpose. The -exact purpose of such a Bill did not distinctly appear, since some -members were for a wide comprehension, embracing within the Church -all Dissenters, and leaving no liberty for any who would not enter; -whilst others, again, contended for a liberal toleration to those who -remained outside of the established pale. This diversity of opinion and -this indistinctness of view gave considerable advantage to Secretary -Coventry, who retorted upon his opponents the differences which they -manifested, and the indecision which they betrayed. At length, however, -the address was carried without a dissentient voice.[589] It was -couched in terms so contrived as to tide over all difficulty. - -[Sidenote: MEASURES OF RELIEF.] - -[Sidenote: 1673.] - -In the Grand Committee for preparing a Bill two questions arose.[590] -First, who were the persons to be benefited? or, in the quaint -phraseology of the time, "who were to be eased?" Should everybody be -included? Should all Protestants? Should all kinds of Dissenters, -including Levellers, respecting whose existence, however, within a -religious pale, doubts were expressed. Papists were altogether put -out of court. "The Papists," exclaimed Mr. Garroway, "are under an -anathema, and cannot come in under pain of excommunication." Finally, -it was resolved that ease should "be given to His Majesty's Protestant -subjects, that will subscribe to the doctrine of the Church of England, -and take the Oaths of Allegiance and Supremacy." The second question -respected the nature and extent of the relief to be afforded. What -was "the ease" to be? Was it to be in the form of comprehension, or -of toleration, or of both? As to this point, the House seemed to be -in great difficulty. Indistinct ideas of some sort of comprehension -were most common. Even Alderman Love, a Dissenter, veered--if we may -judge from the imperfect report of his speech--now on the side of -liberty outside the Church, and now on the side of a large and liberal -inclusion within it. He confessed no kindness for those who desired -preferment, with conformity to the laws. Those on whose behalf he spoke -did not, he said, desire to be exempted from paying tithes, or from -holding parish offices, except the office of churchwarden, and that -"not without being willing to pay a fine for the contempt." He pleaded -that, after submitting to the test to be agreed upon, Nonconformist -ministers ought to be allowed to preach, "but not without the -magistrates' leave, the doors open, and in the public churches, when -no service is there." "This latter motion," says the report, "he -retracted, being generally decried." Then he rejoined that he used the -words "in the church," because people could not be thought to plot -in such a place. From a second speech by the same person it appears -that he moved _for a general indulgence by way of comprehension_, but -what he meant by that is not explained.[591] Comprehension in some way -was the object chiefly desired, and the terms of such comprehension -were largely and confusedly discussed. Even then a spirit moved over -the waters of debate which prepared for the order to be evolved at -the Revolution; but toleration, in its nature and principle, as it -was enforced by some of the Commonwealths-men, or as it was expounded -by John Locke, or as it is now universally understood, seems not to -have been stated by any who shared in the debate. This remarkable -circumstance indicates that none of the members who now sat on the -benches of St. Stephen's were exactly of the same stamp as some who had -occupied them before the Restoration.[592] Either such men were not -there at all, or they had changed their opinions, or they had become -afraid to utter what they believed. As we anticipate the ground which -was taken, and the sentiments which were prevalent when the Toleration -Act was passed, comparing the state of opinion at the Revolution with -the state of opinion in the year 1673, we must find it instructive to -notice the wonderful advance during the subsequent interval, and to -observe how silently and steadily the principles and the spirit of -justice were making their way. One member who favoured toleration was -so niggardly, that he desired only to "have it penned for such places -as should be appointed by Act of Parliament;" and another thought it -not reasonable that Nonconformists should have their "meeting-houses -out of town." Nor did the advocates of this restricted freedom plead -for more than its temporary concession. The heads of the Bill, as -at last concocted, were, first, in reference to comprehension, that -subscription should be required to the doctrinal Articles of the Church -of England, and that the requirement for declaring "assent and consent" -to the Prayer Book, should be repealed; and next, in reference to -toleration, that pains and penalties for religious meetings with open -doors should be no longer inflicted, and that teachers should subscribe -and take the prescribed oaths at the quarter sessions. The Act should -continue in force for a year, and from thence to the end of the next -session of Parliament. - -[Sidenote: MEASURES OF RELIEF.] - -These resolutions were adopted on the 27th of February,[593] and a Bill -founded upon them was read a third time on the 17th of March.[594] On -the second of these occasions, Secretary Coventry said he hoped the -measure, which did not fix sufficient limitations, would not destroy -the Church. To attempt such toleration as had never been tried before, -he maintained to be a frivolous expedient, the consequences of which -it would be beyond their power to remedy. One speaker uttered the -oft-repeated charge: "Dissenters grow numerous. If you pass this Act, -you give away the peace of the nation. A Puritan was ever a rebel; -begin with Calvin. These Dissenters made up the whole army against the -King. The destruction of the Church was then aimed at. Pray God it be -not so now!"[595] The Republicanism of Nonconformists appears to have -been a stock argument against granting them any liberty. - -[Sidenote: 1673.] - -The Bill did pass the Commons, and this fact proves that, however -inadequate might be the enunciation of the principles of civil and -religious liberty, the House departed from the doctrines upheld by it -ten years before. The distinction between articles of discipline and -of doctrine was laid down, burdensome impositions were proposed to be -removed, and a considerable amount of freedom was provided for those -outside the Establishment, in connection with a wider opening of the -door to those disposed to enter in. - -Yet, after all, these debates and votes ended in nothing. The Bill -underwent several amendments when it reached the Lords. These -amendments were objected to by the Commons. Time was wasted between -the two Houses, notwithstanding the King's warning against delay; such -delay showing that neither portion of the legislature could have been -thoroughly in earnest about the proposal. Its fate was determined by -the adjournment of Parliament before the Bill had passed the Lords, and -by a prorogation after adjournment.[596] - -About the same time another Bill came before the Commons' House, -enjoining the practice of frequent catechising in parochial churches; a -measure resembling that which the Presbyterians, in their day of power, -had so earnestly desired. Its progress, also, was stopped by the Lords. - -[Sidenote: TEST ACT.] - -[Sidenote: 1673.] - -Coincident with the proceedings upon the Belief Bill were two very -important circumstances, namely, the passing of the Test Act and the -cancelling of the Declaration of Indulgence. - -The former originated so early as the 28th of February, 1673, when -a motion was made for removing all Popish recusants out of military -office or command. This motion was exceedingly offensive to the King -and to the Court--being aimed at the King's brother, the Duke of York, -who was already generally suspected of having embraced the Romish -faith. There followed the same day a resolution, covering a still -wider ground of prohibition--_i.e._, "that all persons who should -refuse to take the Oaths of Allegiance and Supremacy, and to receive -the sacrament according to the rites of the Church of England," should -be "incapable of _all_ public employments, military or _civil_."[597] -This attack on the Catholics was seconded by an address, agreed upon, -the 3rd of March, by the Commons against the growth of Popery. Also, -a Bill appeared in the Lower House, to prevent that growth, by the -method expressed in the above resolution. Strange to say, the idea -of the test so expressed emanated on this occasion from no other -person than Lord Arlington, the reputed Romanist, and a member of the -Cabal--partly, it is said, to gratify personal resentment, and partly -to accomplish objects of personal ambition.[598] In the course of the -debate in the Commons, a member tendered a proviso "for renouncing -the doctrine of Transubstantiation, for a further test to persons -bearing office;"[599] and again, strange to say, this additional -sting in a measure sufficiently irritating to His Majesty, the Duke, -and the whole Court, was introduced by another member of the Cabal, -whose name began with the second vowel in the notorious word--Ashley, -now Earl of Shaftesbury.[600] In this case, too, no less than in the -former, resentment and ambition, it is to be feared, mingled with -those motives which determined this step; for he aimed, by what he was -doing, to drive from power the Romanizing members of the Cabinet, and -to make himself master of the situation--a project, however, in which -he did not succeed. This additional barrier of Protestant defence, -constructed by Shaftesbury's hands, occasioned a polemical debate in -the House of Commons--the members talking much, and very confusedly of -Transubstantiation and of Consubstantiation, and of the Sacramental -doctrine held by the Church of England. The Bill, including the new -provision, passed the Commons on the 12th of March; and to add one more -strange circumstance to this history uniquely strange, the measure -found its most eloquent supporter in the House of Lords in the person -of the Roman Catholic Earl of Bristol, who defended it on the ground -that it would quiet a popular panic, by the simple removal of a few -Catholics from office, without enacting any new penalties against -Catholic worship. This looked like sacrificing personal interests to -patriotism; but the Earl surrendered all pretension to the character -of a confessor or a hero, by procuring the insertion of a clause -which secured to himself and to his wife a Royal pension, with an -exemption from the necessity of taking the test. The King--who at -first seemed as much incensed as his Courtiers--at last reluctantly -gave way; assent to the Bill being the price demanded by the Commons -for the replenishment of His Majesty's bankrupt exchequer. It is said -that three members of the Cabal--Clifford, Buckingham, and Lauderdale, -who supported the arbitrary power of the Crown, professed to despise -such vulgar temptations as had overcome their colleagues--and that -they encouraged the Monarch to imitate his father, by seizing the -obnoxious members of the opposition, by bringing the Army up to town, -and by making himself absolute master of the realm;[601] but Charles -was too indolent and too shrewd to venture on an attempt so bold and -so insane. The Test Act, therefore, passed; and whilst it originated -with one Catholic nobleman, and was advocated by another, it found no -opponent in the House of Commons on the part of the Nonconformists or -their friends. It is very true that the Bill pointed only at Catholics, -that it really proposed an anti-Popish test; yet the construction of -it, although it did not exclude from office such Dissenters as could -occasionally conform, did effectually exclude all who scrupled to do -so. Aimed at the Romanists, it struck the Presbyterians. It is clear -that had the Nonconformists and the Catholics joined their forces with -those of the Court, in opposing the measure, they might have defeated -it; but the first of these classes for the present submitted to the -inconvenience, from the horror which they entertained of Popery, -hoping, at the same time, that some relief would be afforded for this -personal sacrifice in the cause of a common Protestantism. Thus the -passing of an Act, which, until a late period, inflicted a social -wrong upon two large sections of the community, is to be attributed -to the course pursued by the very parties whose successors became the -sufferers. - -[Sidenote: TEST ACT.] - -[Sidenote: 1673.] - -By the passing of the Test Act, Clifford, now an avowed Catholic, -was excluded from the House of Lords; and, in consequence of this -exclusion, he resigned the White Staff, and retired to the County of -Devon, where he died before the end of the year 1673. "He went off the -stage in great discontent."[602] - -The next important circumstance at this period requiring our notice is -the withdrawal of the Declaration of Indulgence. When the address of -the Commons on that subject had been presented to the King he replied, -that he was troubled to find the Declaration had produced so much -disquiet, and had given occasion to the questioning of his authority in -ecclesiastical affairs. He was sure, he said, that he had never thought -of using power except for the peace and establishment of the Church; he -did not wish to suspend laws touching the property, the rights, or the -liberties of his subjects; nor to alter the doctrine or discipline of -the Church; he only wished to take off penalties, which he believed the -Commons did not desire to see inflicted according to the letter of the -law. He had no thought of neglecting the advice of Parliament; and if -any Bill should be offered him more proper to attain the end in view, -he would be ready to concur in it. With this answer the Commons did not -feel satisfied; but the King repeated in the month of March that, if -any scruple remained as to his suspension of penal laws, he faithfully -promised them what had been done should not be drawn into a precedent -for the future.[603] - -[Sidenote: STATE OF NONCONFORMISTS.] - -At the same time the Lord Chancellor stated that His Majesty had caused -the original declaration, under the Great Seal, to be cancelled in his -presence the previous evening.[604] By the operation of the Test Act, -by the cancelling of the Declaration, and by the dropping of the Bill -of Indulgence, Nonconformists were left in a worse plight than that -in which they had been before, so far as the law was concerned. The -state of the law, however, is not to be taken as an accurate index of -their condition. The pressure of a bad law depends very much upon the -hands employed in its administration. Happily the Declaration, which -ultra-Royalists were disposed to honour, on the very ground that it -was unconstitutional, had wrought a change in their feeling towards -Dissenters; and when the seal attached to it had been broken, still it -left, as it were, a spell upon their minds. The Churchmen's treatment -in many instances of those who were not Churchmen continued for a -while after the year 1672, to be less severe than it had previously -been.[605] The Church, gathered by Dr. Owen, enjoyed much freedom in -the year 1673, and afterwards. His Conventicle, which it would appear -was situated in White's Alley,[606] Moorfields, presented a list of -members including several persons of rank. We are enabled to enter -within the doors of the meeting-house, fitted up, no doubt, with -Puritan decency and comfort, whilst destitute of all beauty, and to -identify, amidst the hearers of the ex-Dean of Christ Church, certain -distinguished persons. - -[Sidenote: 1673.] - -There was Lord Charles Fleetwood, Cromwell's son-in-law, described in -an earlier portion of this work, whom Milton has eulogized as inferior -to none in humanity, in gentleness, and in benignity of disposition, -and whom Noble admits to have been a man of religion, and a venerator -of liberty. There was Colonel John Desborough, a staunch Republican, -a man of rough manners, whose name, together with that of Fleetwood, -Milton has honoured. There was Major-General Berry, once a friend of -Baxter's, and applauded by him as a man of sincere piety, till he -forfeited that excellent person's favour by becoming an Independent. -There was young Sir John Hartopp, of singular intelligence and -piety. Ladies of distinction also were there: the Lady Tompson, wife -of Sir John Tompson;[607] Lady Vere Wilkinson; Mrs. Abney; and -deserving of notice, more, however, for her eccentricities than her -excellencies--Mrs. Bendish, granddaughter of Oliver Cromwell.[608] - -[Sidenote: NONCONFORMISTS.] - -[Sidenote: 1674.] - -Yet about the time that Owen and his congregation remained unmolested, -or just afterwards--and the circumstance should be mentioned as an -illustration of the parti-coloured character of Church history in -those days--Nathaniel Heywood speaks of the persecution he endured. -Before the 9th of April, 1674, he had for four months experienced -more trouble and opposition in his ministerial employment than he -had ever done before in all his life. The archers grieved him, and -shot at him thirty-four _arrows_ (by which he meant _warrants_); -"but our bow," he goes on to say, "abides in strength by the hands -of the mighty God of Jacob. Officers have come eighteen Lord's days -together, but have not as yet scattered us."[609] A year afterwards -(May 1st, 1675) he writes,[610] "all these troubles are nothing to -that I am now mourning under--the loss of public liberty, a closed -mouth, dumb and silent Sabbaths--to be cast out of the vineyard as a -dry and withered branch--and to be laid aside as a broken vessel in -whom there is no pleasure, is a sore burden I know not how to bear--my -heart bleeds under it as a sting and edge added to my other troubles -and afflictions. This exercise of my ministry next to Christ is dearer -to me than anything in the world. It was my heaven till I came home, -even to spend this life in gathering souls to Christ; but I must lay -even that down at Christ's feet, and be dumb and silent before the -Lord, because He has done it, who can do no wrong, and whose judgments -are past finding out. I am sure I have reason to conclude with the -prophet, "I will bear the indignation of the Lord, because I have -sinned against Him." - -In some parts of the country, Nonconformists would not believe that -the King intended to depart from his liberal policy. There was a -busy meddling informer at Yarmouth named Bowen,[611] who frequently -corresponded with Sir Joseph Williamson respecting the conduct of the -Independents in that town. From his letters, preserved in the Record -Office, some curious illustrations belonging to this period may be -drawn. His testimony in matters relative to the character and conduct -of Nonconformists is worth nothing, owing to his prejudices; but there -is enough of what is credible in his correspondence to throw light upon -some of their proceedings. - -"The Nonconformists here give out that they are to have a hearing next -Friday before His Majesty's Council, and doubt not but they shall -sufficiently be authorized to meet in public as before. They were -so rude, as I am credibly informed, meeting at one Mr. Brewster's, -near Wrentham, in Suffolk, about twelve miles from hence, that two -informers coming to the House, and inquiring at the door what company -they had within, they within hearing these inquiries came running out, -crying thieves, and fell upon them, knocking of them down, then drew -them through the foul hogstye, and from thence through a pond of -water--one of the two is since dead by their rude handling." - -[Sidenote: NONCONFORMISTS.] - -Wild rumours floated down to Yarmouth respecting an interview, which -Dr. Owen was said to have had with the King, in which the Independent -Divine spoke of the disturbance given to His Majesty's subjects, and -in which His Majesty promised that he would speedily redress their -wrongs. Encouraged by these rumours the Yarmouth Nonconformists paid no -attention to orders in Council, but assembled as before at their usual -place of worship, stating as a reason of the liberty they took, that -the King's mind had altered on the subject.[612] The "lukewarm," says -Bowen, "are here the most numerous; their religion must give way to -interest, and this is so involved within one and the other that the man -is not to be found who dare act. Many wish the work were done, but none -durst do it for fear he should suffer in his trade or calling, they all -having a dependence, little or much, upon one another." - - - - - CHAPTER XXIII. - - -The Cabal crumbled to pieces in 1673. It had never been guided by any -common principles; it had never felt any community of interest; it -had never been united by personal sympathies. Our notions of cabinet -councillors bound together by some characteristic policy, do not apply -to the reign of Charles II., when a Ministry included persons of divers -opinions, drawn together simply by the choice of the Sovereign, who -selected them mainly for the discharge of executive duties. The want -of cohesion apparent in all the cabinets of that period was singularly -conspicuous in this instance. Clifford was compelled to resign office -by the operation of the Test Act; Shaftesbury, dismissed from the -office of Chancellor, went over, accompanied by Buckingham, to the -Opposition; and Arlington, threatened with impeachment, relinquished -his Secretaryship of State for a quiet post in the Royal household. -Lauderdale alone retained his seals, thenceforth, however, to be -chiefly employed in the administration of Scotch affairs. - -[Sidenote: EARL OF DANBY.] - -Sir Thomas Osborne, created Earl of Danby, having taken up the White -Staff which Clifford had laid down, now became principal minister; and -from his business talents and his love for the power and emoluments of -office, he acquired an influence over the Royal councils, like that -of Clarendon in his palmy days. He resembled his great predecessor -in his opposition to Popery, not less than in his abilities and in -his ambition; but he was much more of an Englishman, and thoroughly -detested the idea of truckling to France. In that respect his policy -differed from the policy of the Cabal; but he inherited from that -Ministry the practice of bribing Parliament--carrying corruption even -further than ever the Cabal had done--for, whereas they only bought -speeches, he bought votes as well. His policy was decidedly Protestant -in foreign affairs, as the means of attaining his objects; and also, -from his own predilections, he especially sought to gratify the old -Cavaliers and the High Church party. Clarendon had been accused of -neglecting the friends of the martyred King, and of being indifferent -to his memory: Danby now gave the former encouragement; and he also -did honour to the latter, by recovering the bronze statue of Charles -I., and by setting it up at Charing Cross. He earnestly promoted the -rebuilding of St. Paul's Cathedral, and, at the same time, turned his -attention to the Dissenters; but it was to restrain their liberty and -to check their progress, both of which had received an impetus during -the latter part of the administration of the Cabal. Danby, and Sir -Heneage Finch, now Lord Keeper, called to their councils, relative -to Church affairs, two prelates whom the Nonconformists exceedingly -disliked, and not without reason,--Morley, Bishop of Winchester, and -Ward, Bishop of Salisbury. These prelates, it was inferred, recommended -the King to call in the licenses for worship, which, notwithstanding -the cancelling of the Declaration, had not yet been individually -withdrawn.[613] - -[Sidenote: 1673-5.] - -The reign of intolerance returned, and the weight of its iron mace -fell upon multitudes. The men who before, rather than countenance an -exercise of illegal power, or share their liberty with the Papist, -had rejected the Indulgence, or supported the Test Act, now felt -how cruelly they were rewarded by Parliament for their zeal against -Absolutism and Popery; whilst others, who had taken no part in their -proceedings, found themselves treated just like their neighbours. The -Court, incensed at being thwarted in their plans respecting Popery, -despatched informers to ferret out Protestant Nonconformists. The drum -ecclesiastic was loudly beaten, and a High Churchman, in his sermon -before the House of Commons, told the honourable members that the -Nonconformists could be cured only by vengeance; and that the best way -was to set "fire to the faggot;" and to teach these obstinate people -"by scourges or scorpions;" and to "open their eyes with gall."[614] - -[Sidenote: NEW TEST.] - -One of the most vexatious impositions enacted immediately after the -Restoration was the oath presented by the Corporation Act, declaring -that it was unlawful _under any pretence_ to bear arms against the -King. This oath was introduced into the Act of Uniformity, with the -addition that the Covenant entailed no obligation "to endeavour any -change or alteration of Government in Church or State,"--this formulary -repudiating the Covenant being intended only for temporary use, to -expire at the end of twenty years. But now another test was proposed -in the House of Lords, if not by the suggestion, yet with the sanction -of Danby,--a test which went so far as to require the following -declaration: "I do swear that I will not endeavour an alteration of -the Protestant religion now established by law in the Church of -England; nor will I endeavour any alteration in the Government of this -kingdom in Church or State, as it is by law established."[615] Such a -declaration is so utterly opposed to all the sentiments and traditions -of Englishmen, that it fills us with wonder that it could even have -been thought of,--yet it was contrived as a thing to be imposed upon -every member of Parliament, and upon all persons holding office under -the Crown. The King, at that period under an hallucinating desire -for Absolutism, threw himself with so much energy into the conflict, -that he attended constantly on the debate, standing at the fire-side -in the Upper House, day after day for seventeen days, listening to -the oratory of the Peers. Not only the Lord Treasurer Danby, but the -Lord Keeper Finch encouraged this assault upon the liberties of their -country; and it must not be concealed that the two prelates, who had -already signalized themselves by their intolerance, Morley and Ward, -now united with the two temporal Lords in this matricidal attempt. -Their most determined, most able, and eloquent opponent was the Earl -of Shaftesbury. On this occasion certainly he did good service to -the cause of freedom. He prolonged the sittings till he wearied his -enemies, and most unmercifully did he lash the Bishops for the part -which they took in the debate. He asked, what were the boundaries of -the Protestant religion, which the new oath required men to swear they -would never alter? He pointed out defects in the Church of England, -and dwelt upon the conflicting interpretations which her standards had -received from her own Divines; and he inquired, whether it would be -a crime to make an alteration, by bringing back the Liturgy to what -it had been in the days of Elizabeth? One occupant of the Episcopal -Bench, who since his elevation had rarely entered a pulpit, whispered -to a friend, loud enough in the ill-constructed house to be heard by -his neighbours, "I wonder when he will have done preaching!" "When?" -continued Shaftesbury, "when I am made a Bishop, my Lord." - -[Sidenote: 1675.] - -We cannot follow the discussions upon the Bill: our brief notice of -which is introduced for the purpose of indicating its tendency with -regard to the Church,--by investing it with a fictitious infallibility, -by fostering towards it an admiration as fatal as it was foolish, since -it tended to prevent the increase of its benefits, through the reform -of its abuses. It is enough to add, that, after dragging the country to -the verge of a convulsion, the Government felt compelled to abandon the -Bill.[616] - -Comprehension came anew under consideration. - -Overtures respecting this point were made in the early part of the year -1673 to Richard Baxter by the Earl of Orrery. He professed that many -influential persons desired such a result, and mentioned the names -of the new Lord Treasurer, and Morley, Bishop of Winchester, "who -vehemently professed his desires of it."[617] - -[Sidenote: COMPREHENSION.] - -[Sidenote: 1675.] - -Messages and meetings, on the same subject, followed in the spring of -1675--after Morley had, during two or three sessions of Parliament, -"on all occasions, in the company of lords, gentlemen, and divines, -cried out of the danger of Popery, and talkt much for abatements and -taking in the Nonconformists, or else" all were "like to fall into -the Papists' hands." Bates brought to Baxter a message from Tillotson, -to the effect that Tillotson and Stillingfleet wished for a meeting -with himself, Manton, and others. The anxiety of the Presbyterians -for some _accommodation_, as they called it, became notorious; and -Baxter repeatedly showed now, as he had done before, the sincerity -and earnestness of his solicitude in reference to the matter.[618] -Prolonged debate and voluminous correspondence; the discussion of -principles, and the arrangement of details; questions, answers, -strictures, rejoinders could not quench the ardour of the man who -combined in one, the qualities of a theological disputant and an -apostle of union--qualities which in his case served to neutralize each -other. He had faith in some of his Episcopalian brethren, as disposed -to meet him half way. Witchcot, Stillingfleet, Gifford, Tillotson, -Cradock, Outram, he speaks of with honour; declaring he made no doubt, -if the matter could be left in such hands, that differences would be -"healed in a few weeks' time."[619] But in the Bishop of Winchester -he had no faith.[620] The inconsistencies of Morley may perhaps he -understood by examining into what were probably the motives of his -conduct. His main policy was to protect the Establishment, on the basis -of the Act of Uniformity, against Papists on the one hand, and against -Dissenters on the other. He shared in the alarm which conversions to -Rome and the encroachments of that Church inspired throughout England -at the time; and, partly from that cause, he was induced to support -the Bill just described, thinking by the new oath which stereotyped -the Church, to prevent an invasion by the enemy. But now the Bishop -might conceive that it would be desirable to consolidate English -Protestantism. Strength was being wasted by internecine warfare, at -a moment when Episcopalians and Presbyterians stood before a common -foe. It was the story of the Crusaders repeated. Why not gather the -forces of the Church and of the sects, and concentrate them upon the -great enemy of the country's liberty and peace? Such impressions, -under the circumstances, were not unnatural in the mind of a man like -Morley. Thus influenced, he would talk and act, as Baxter, with strong -suspicions of his sincerity, reports him to have done. Yet at the time -Morley might be perfectly sincere, although a reaction of prejudice, -after a time, proved too much for his new-born zeal in behalf of union. -The schemes of 1673 and 1675 met with the same fate as the schemes of -1667 and 1668.[621] - -Parliament prorogued in June, reassembled the 13th of October, when -the Lord Keeper, in his opening speech, called renewed attention -to ecclesiastical affairs. He said that His Majesty had so often -recommended the consideration of religion, and so very often expressed -a desire for the assistance of the Houses in his care and protection -of it, that "the Defender of the Faith," had become "the advocate of it -too," and had left those without excuse, who remained under any kind -of doubts or fears--"Would you," asked he, "raise the due estimation -and reverence of the Church of England to its just height?" "All your -petitions of this kind will be grateful to the King."[622] - -[Sidenote: PERSECUTION.] - -The persecution of Nonconformists continued to depend very much upon -the temper of neighbours and the character of magistrates. In some -cases their meetings were broken up, and they were taken prisoners; -but, in other cases, they were allowed to assemble in their places of -worship without molestation, much to the annoyance of impotent enemies. -A Government correspondent in the town of Lynn reported a private -meeting of about forty of "the Presbyterian gang," discovered by the -Curate and officers of the parish of St. Margaret. These Nonconformists -made their escape, but "enough were taken notice of to make -satisfaction of the rest," and they "were to be presented according to -law." - -[Sidenote: 1675.] - -The Nonconformists at Yarmouth continued their meetings publicly, and -in as great numbers as ever. This sufferance, it was complained, filled -with impudence people who, when the laws were put in execution, were -as tame as lambs.[623] The same informant who states this, reports -that the "Bishop of Norwich had sent to know how many persons received -the communion at Church, and what was the number of recusants and -Nonconformists; and that the ministers and churchwardens feared if they -should make the Dissenting party so great as they are, it might put -some fear in His Majesty, and discourage him in attempting to reform -them, they judging their number has been the only cause they have been -so favourably dealt with hitherto." "Of the same opinion," he observes, -"they are in other parts as well as here, so that there is likely to be -an imperfect account." Not above 500, it is affirmed, would be found -to be in communion with the Church of England. As to Dissenters, says -this writer, "how many of them were in Church fellowship, as they term -it, or break bread together, I am certain here is not one hundred men -besides the women." He adds, "The greater number of people there, as -elsewhere, were the profane and unstable, who were on the increase, -tending to an unsettlement either in Church or State."[624] - -It is curious to notice the changing fortunes of Dissenters--how, after -a lull of peace, they were overtaken again by a storm of trouble. The -copious correspondence of the Yarmouth informer traces the history in -that town time after time. The bailiff was stimulated to interfere, -and he issued his warrant to the constables to assist in dispersing -the illegal worshippers; but it seems to have been difficult to get -these officers to act in the business, since there were three of their -number who "daily frequented" the reprobated place of worship. It being -reported that the Anabaptists were meeting to the number of 80 or 90, -the constables were sent to disperse them, and they took five of the -chief into custody. The correspondent exultingly adds, "Several of the -Nonconformist grandees came yesterday to our Church, and of the common -sort, so many as filled our Church fuller than ever I saw it since the -year 1665."[625] - -In the autumn of the same year Dissenting affairs at Yarmouth took -another favourable turn. Their approved friends having recovered -the helm of municipal affairs, Nonconformists were regarded as more -dangerous than ever, for their meetings were held at break of day -within closed doors. For two Sundays the angry correspondent was -awakened out of his sleep, the schismatics kept up such a trampling as -they passed the streets under his window, that he rose out of his bed -to see what could be the matter.[626] - -[Sidenote: COFFEE-HOUSES.] - -It is sometimes forgotten, but it is worth remark, that other meetings, -besides Conventicles, were at this period proscribed. Coffee-houses -were then such institutions as clubs are now; and Dryden might be -seen at "Wills," in Covent Garden, surrounded by the wits, seated in -"his armed chair, which in the winter had a settled and prescriptive -place by the fire." Some houses of a lower character are described -as exchanges "where haberdashers of political small-wares meet, and -mutually abuse each other and the public with bottomless stories." -Conversation ranged over all kinds of topics--scandalous, literary, -political, and ecclesiastical; and questions touching Papists and -Nonconformists were earnestly discussed within those quaint old -parlours, over cups of coffee and chocolate, sherbet, and tea. These -discussions were reported to the men in power as being often of a -treasonable nature, even as Nonconformist sermons--only with much less -reason--were so represented. Consequently a proclamation appeared -in the month of December, 1675, recalling licenses for the sale of -coffee, and ordering all coffee-houses to be shut up; "because in -such houses, and by the meeting of disaffected persons in them, -divers false, malicious, and scandalous reports were devised and -spread abroad, to the defamation of His Majesty's Government and the -disturbance of the quiet and peace of the realm." But public opinion -was stronger in reference to coffee-houses than it was in reference -to Conventicles--and whilst the latter remained beneath a legal ban, -the former were speedily re-opened, "under a severe admonition to the -keepers, that they should stop the reading of all scandalous books and -papers, and hinder every scandalous report against the Government."[627] - -[Sidenote: 1668-1676.] - -[Sidenote: SAMUEL PARKER.] - -Comprehension and toleration continued to be discussed from the press. -We have noticed publications in the year 1667 bearing upon such -subjects. Between that date and the period to which we are now brought, -a controversy had been going on respecting the fundamental principles -of religious liberty; notorious on the one side for the baseness of the -attack, memorable on the other for the chivalry of the defence. Samuel -Parker had been brought up amongst the Puritans, had distinguished -himself at Oxford during the Commonwealth as one of the _gruellers_ -(an ascetic little company of students, whose refection, when they -met together, was oatmeal and water), and was esteemed "one of the -preciousest young men in the University."[628] This man proved recreant -to his principles after Charles' return, and, swinging round with -immense momentum, became as violent in his Episcopalian as he could -ever have been in his Presbyterian zeal. Having come up to London, and -made himself known as "a great droller on the Puritans," he, in the -year 1667, obtained a chaplaincy at Lambeth, and thus found himself on -the high road to preferment. In 1669 he published a book, the title -of which--like so many in those days--fully describes its contents, -and expresses its spirit. He calls it "A discourse of ecclesiastical -polity, wherein the authority of the civil magistrate over the -consciences of subjects in matters of external religion is asserted, -the mischief and inconveniences of toleration are represented, and -all pretences pleaded on behalf of liberty of conscience are fully -answered." The spirit of this book may be seen from the preface, -in which the author justifies the violence of his attacks upon -Nonconformists. "Let any man that is acquainted with the wisdom and -sobriety of true religion," he exclaims indignantly, "tell me how 'tis -possible not to be provoked to scorn and indignation against such -proud, ignorant, and supercilious hypocrites. To lash these morose and -churlish zealots with smart and twinging satires is so far from being -a criminal passion, that 'tis a seal of meekness and charity." Thus he -strikes the key-note of what he continues from page to page, disgusting -every sensible reader; yet it is curious to find him maintaining -unequivocally that the affairs of religion, as they must be subject to -the supreme civil power, so they ought to be to none other, and "that -the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of princes [is] not derived from any -grant of our Saviour, but from the natural and antecedent rights of -all sovereign power." His principles are thoroughly Erastian, although -the writer objects to Hobbes' philosophy; and whilst his positions are -often monstrous, his reasonings are contemptible. Dr. Owen wrote in -reply to this assault, his _Truth and Innocence vindicated_; in which, -after repelling the accusations brought forward by Parker, he exposes -and confutes that author's principles.[629] Parker, in his rejoinder, -poured upon Owen the coarsest abuse, calling him "the great bellwether -of disturbance and sedition, and the viper swelled with venom, which -must spit or burst." He also cast upon his old associates more and more -of bitter invective, calling them "the most villanous unsufferable -sort of sanctified fools, knaves, and unquiet rebels, that ever were -in the world;"[630] and having in his first book attacked Dissenters -in general, in the second he assailed Independents in particular, -quoting against Owen divers extracts taken from his sermons. That -Divine made no reply; but another formidable combatant appeared on -his side against the scurrilous accuser. As the High Church party -could boast of Samuel Parker who knew how to lampoon the Puritans, so -the Liberals of that day gloried in Andrew Marvell, who could quite -as cleverly satirize High Churchmen. In his _Rehearsal Transposed_, -he carried the day, and tormented beyond endurance the champions of -despotism. Everybody who could read, from the King to the artizan, -perused with glee the pages of the book, so that the discomfiture of -the Archbishop's Chaplain excited derision through a much wider circle -than was ever reached by his foolish writings. Parker, however, was not -a man easily to be silenced, nor was the cause he undertook easily to -be crushed; and therefore he and his friends returned to the onslaught, -and soon the printers were busy with a number of pamphlets, presenting -a catalogue of most ridiculous titles. Marvell rejoined; and it is -confessed by Parker that, at the end of the literary encounter, the -odds and victory were against him, and lay on Marvell's side: the style -of warfare adopted by the latter can scarcely be approved, but it was -in the fashion of the times, and had been provoked by an unprincipled -assailant, who, it may be hoped--as it is intimated by one sometimes -resembling Parker in virulence--was all the better for the castigation -he received.[631] - -[Sidenote: 1668-76.] - -[Sidenote: BISHOP CROFT.] - -This remarkable controversy lasted from 1669 to 1673; and was in its -first stage when the new Conventicle Act appeared; and reached its -height whilst the debates on the Indulgence, the Relief Bill, and the -Test Act agitated Parliament and the country. High Churchmen read with -sympathy the pages of the assailant of Nonconformists, and they, on the -other hand, suffering from local persecution, or rejoicing in Royal -indulgence, pondered Owen's arguments, or laughed at Marvell's wit. - -In the year 1675, Croft, Bishop of Hereford, despatched anonymously -_The Naked Truth_, in which he maintained the sufficiency of the -Apostles' Creed as a standard of faith, and protested against the -refinements of Alexandrian and scholastic philosophy. At the same time -he declined submission to the authority of the Fathers, or of Councils, -although paying respect to them as teachers and guides; and deprecated -the importance attached to ceremonies, pleading for such liberty as St. -Paul, "that great grandfather of the Church, allowed his children." -He would dispense with using the surplice, bowing to the altar, and -kneeling at the Lord's Supper, and also with the cross in baptism, and -the ring in marriage. He advocated a revision of the Prayer Book, -contended that all ministers are of one order, and believed that -confirmation might be administered by priests as well as by prelates. -The tract concludes with a charitable admonition to all Nonconformists, -in which the author, after pleading his own desire for certain changes, -yet confessing he saw no hope of being successful, most inconsistently -proceeds to exhort his Dissenting readers, on grounds of Christian -humility, and the mischiefs of separation, immediately to submit to the -authority of the Church.[632] - -[Sidenote: 1668-76.] - -[Sidenote: BISHOP CROFT.] - -It has often been the fate of moderate men to suffer from condemnation -by zealots in their own Church. Even Popes of Rome, when taking the -side of charity and candour, have been dishonoured by advocates of the -Papacy; and Anastasius II., for his mild behaviour towards the Eastern -Church, has been represented by Cardinal Baronius as the victim of a -Divine judgment. Dante, too, has assigned him to one of the circles -of the damned. In a similar spirit contemporaries assailed the author -of _Naked Truth_. "Not only the Churches, but the coffee-houses rung -against it; they itinerated, like excise spies, from one house to -another, and some of the morning and evening chaplains burnt their -lips with perpetual discoursing it out of reputation, and loading the -author, whoever he were, with all contempt, malice, and obloquy. Nor -could this suffice them, but a lasting pillar of infamy must be erected -to eternize his crime and his punishment. There must be an answer to -him in print, and that not according to the ordinary rules of civility, -or in the sober way of arguing controversy, but with the utmost -extremity of jeer, disdain, and indignation."[633] Gunning, Bishop of -Ely, attacked it in a sermon which he preached before the King; and to -him has been ascribed a pamphlet entitled _The Author of Naked Truth -Stript Naked_. It also met with animadversions from Dr. Turner, Head -of St. John's, Cambridge. Still there were those of another spirit -who appreciated the calm reasoning and the amiable temper of the -Bishop; and Pearse, who is described by Wood as "a certain lukewarm -Conformist," because he could not join in reviling his Nonconformist -brethren, spoke of the book at a later date, in his _Third Plea for the -Nonconformists_, as a Divine manifestation of a primitive Christian -spirit of love. And he proceeds, "certainly, as that pious endeavour -hath increased his (the author's) comforts, so he hath not lost all -his labour; for since that, we have had more overtures of peace than -we heard of in many years before of discord and troubles, from the -learned in the Church of England." Marvell, in his answer to the -animadversions, styled the writer of _Naked Truth_ "judicious, learned, -conscientious, a sincere Protestant, and a true son, if not a father -of the Church of England." Baxter also alludes to it as an excellent -book, "written for the Nonconformists," in favour of "abatements, and -forbearance, and concord."[634] - - - - - CHAPTER XXIV. - - -[Sidenote: ROMAN CATHOLICISM.] - -The state of the Royal family, as it respects religion, at the period -which we have now reached, constituted the principal foundation in -England, of Roman Catholic hope, and the chief source of Protestant -fear. The Queen, who reached this country in 1662, retained the faith -of her childhood, and, very naturally, would have been glad to see -it restored in the land of her adoption. The King, too careless and -profligate to be affected by any really pious considerations, probably -preferred the Romish to any other kind of worship, and of such a -preference people suspected him at the moment he was declaring the -utmost zeal for Protestantism.[635] Their suspicions were too well -founded. Certainly, as early as the year 1669, he entertained the -idea of uniting himself to the Church of Rome; and in the following -year he signed a secret treaty with the King of France, in which he -pledged himself to avow his conversion, whenever it should appear to -him to be most convenient.[636] The existence and provisions of that -compact, in spite of the utmost endeavours to conceal it, oozed out -at the time;[637] but now that history has revealed it entirely, with -many of its attendant private circumstances, we discover the extreme -shamefulness of the whole affair. For, by the terms of the treaty, the -King of England became a pensioner of France, and promised to make war -upon Holland, with which State, France had entered into friendship and -alliance; the negotiator of this scandalous arrangement being no other -than Charles' sister, Henrietta, Duchess of Orleans, whose reputation -is deeply stained, through her being involved in the licentious -intrigues of Louis XIV's court. After having visited her brother to -accomplish this dishonourable mission, she left behind, as an agent for -preserving French influence over his volatile mind, one of the ladies -of her train, named Querouaille, who became mistress to the licentious -monarch, and is so notorious in the disgraceful history of his reign as -the Duchess of Portsmouth.[638] - -[Sidenote: 1662-1673.] - -[Sidenote: ROMAN CATHOLICISM.] - -The King's brother having, by means of Anglo-Catholic instructors, been -imbued with the ideas of Church authority, of apostolical traditions, -and of the Real Presence, had, after this effective preparation, -taken a further and very natural step, and had been reconciled to -Rome; notwithstanding the fact that up to Easter, 1671, he continued -outwardly to commune with the Established Church in this country.[639] -His first Duchess, Ann Hyde, daughter of Lord Clarendon, had practised -secret confession to Dr. Morley from her youth, and, after her -marriage, in order to retain or to recover the fickle attachment of her -husband, she had entered into close communication with Popish priests, -and had expressed a disposition to renounce Protestantism.[640] She, it -is said, preferred an unmarried clergy, and excused the Roman Catholic -superstitions; and it would appear that, for some months before her -death, she ceased to partake of the Lord's Supper as administered by -the Anglican clergy. Members of her family sought to re-establish her -Protestant belief, but in vain, and in her last illness she received -the Eucharist from the hands of a Franciscan friar.[641] James' second -Duchess, Mary of Modena, was by descent and education a decided Papist; -and his marriage with that lady being extremely unpopular, provoked -the opposition of the English Parliament. Thus, at the time of which -we speak, the three principal members of the Royal house, next to the -King, were Romanists, and he himself was known to sympathize with -them in their religious sentiments. Added to these circumstances was -the fact that several other persons in high estate were sincerely -attached to the same faith; a love to it also lingered amongst the -lower ranks in some parts of England; and, as a consequence, the -Roman Catholics were "bold and busy" in their endeavours to make -converts. What they did they had to do by stealth; persecution met -them everywhere, yet, with a heroism which we cannot but respect, they -steadily persevered. One advocate and missionary in particular, Abraham -Woodhead, who early commenced his work in England, is mentioned with -honour even by the Oxford historian, for he remarks, with regard to -a later period, that the "calm, temperate, and rational discussion -of some of the most weighty and momentous controversies under debate -between the Protestants and Romanists rendered him an author much -famed, and very considerable in the esteem of both."[642] Hugh Paulin -Cressey, one of the Queen's chaplains, was also active in the same -cause, and is praised for the candour, plainness, and decency, with -which he managed controversy;[643] and John Gother, another zealous -polemic on the side of Rome, published, in support of the doctrines of -his Church, seventeen controversial, and twelve spiritual tracts.[644] -That Church has ever acted most systematically, carrying out a ramified -method of operation; and, at the time of which I am now speaking, -the priests in England, whether secular or regular, were all under -effectual guidance and control. The former received their direction -from one whom they called "the head of the clergy," who possessed -a kind of Episcopal power, both he and they being subordinated to -the Papal nuncio in France, and the internuncio in Flanders, to whom -were entrusted the oversight of the missions to England and Ireland. -Regular priests, of the order of St. Benedict, of St. Augustine, -of St. Dominic, of St. Francis, and of the Society of Jesus, were -subject to their superiors respectively, and, in whatever they did, -proceeded obsequiously in obedience to command; not, however, without -mutual jealousy and strife,--after the manner of the Middle Ages, -when seculars and regulars, the two main divisions of the army, kept -up a constant rivalry in the spiritual camp.[645] Even in a lukewarm -Protestant country, the activity and increase of Romanism could not -be regarded without apprehension. But the Protestants of England were -not then lukewarm. The antipathy cherished by an earlier generation -had descended to the present. Nonconformists, after the Restoration, -continued to cherish the old Puritan horror of the Mother of Harlots; -they read _Foxe's Book of Martyrs_; they kept alive the traditions of -their ancestors under Queen Mary; and Gunpowder Treason had not yet -ceased to awaken in their minds the most terrible recollections. Those -persons in the Establishment who cherished Puritan sympathies--and they -were not few--thought of Rome in the same way as the Dissenters did; -and other persons, on different grounds, felt the greatest alarm at the -portents of the times. Even strong Anglican preferences in some cases -were connected with an intense dislike of Romanism; in bosoms where -no better feeling existed, there arose a fear of its return, as of an -enemy which would rob the clergy of their possessions. The prevailing -alarm can be easily explained, for the revival of Popery ever appeared -to Protestants in those days as fraught with disasters; and in the -present instance, to aggravate apprehension, political considerations -were suggested respecting the designs of France, then the ally of Rome -in the worst phases of its despotism. - -[Sidenote: 1662-1673.] - -[Sidenote: PROTESTANT OPPOSITION.] - -The feeling against Popery manifested itself in divers ways. Books were -published exposing the evils of the system, including translations of -_Blaise Pascal's Provincial Letters_, and, I am sorry to say, that -amongst works original, solid, judicious, and convincing, written -to defend the principles of the Reformation, were some of a very -unscrupulous character, full of the most wretched scurrility and -invective.[646] As early as 1667 suggestions were made to His Majesty's -Privy Council to issue processes in the Exchequer against Popish -recusants, to suppress all masses throughout the country, except those -at the chapels of the Queen, and of the foreign ambassadors, to banish -all native priests, and to prevent the education of English children -in Catholic countries. All this was proposed to be done by means of -a Royal declaration, which should "leave some little door of hope to -Dissenting Protestants, of a further degree of ease from Parliament, -which the King would be glad should be found out."[647] - -[Sidenote: 1662-1673.] - -In the autumn of 1667, there ran a report that the Presbyterian, Mr. -Prynne, in his zeal against Popery, had written to Bath respecting -the Papists resident there; but one of Evelyn's correspondents, who -sympathized with these sufferers, stated that the suspected were only -few--"not above a dozen simple women, and three or four inconsiderable -men"--and then strove to turn the tables upon the accuser, by speaking -of "dangerous fanatics," who "overwhelm the country," defy the -Government, and reproach the King, winding up his communication in -the following strain:--"That all the late firebrands should be set -on horseback, especially those that horsed themselves to join with -the Dutch and French; and that all the late sufferers should complete -their martyrdom. Some men were born in a tempest, can see mountains -through millstones, take alarm at the creeping of a snail, and throw -open the gates to let in the Tartars, and so their end must be like -their beginning. But Mr. P[rynne] cannot hear on that ear, and has -such accurate skill in the laws, that he can find high treason in a -bull-rush, and innocence in a scorpion."[648] - -Royal proclamations touching Jesuits and Romanists, extorted from the -King by the representations of his Ministers, of the Bishops, and of -Parliament, reflect correctly the opinions of the nation and of the -Church,[649] but the utter insincerity of them, as proceeding from -Charles, is sufficiently manifest. It was felt at the time by Romanists -themselves that he who sat upon the throne remained, after all, their -fast friend; and, to arguments for the abolition of State penalties -against recusants, it was cleverly replied that they formed "a bow -strung and bended, and an arrow put into it, but none could shoot but -His Majesty."[650] - -[Sidenote: PROTESTANT OPPOSITION.] - -The storm of public indignation manifestly increased with the advance -of time, and when the Duke of Buckingham traversed Yorkshire, raising -recruits for his regiments, so jealous of Popery were the people there, -that scarcely a man would enlist until he had gone with the recruiting -officer and publicly taken the Holy Sacrament, as an evidence of his -Protestantism. In the autumn, as the period returned for commemorating -the frustration of Gunpowder Plot, the Pope with great solemnity was -burnt in several places within the City of London, a barbarism which -the Roman Catholic who reports the circumstance thought no nation but -the Hollanders could have been guilty of, yet members of Parliament -assisted on the occasion, but whether it proceeded from wine or from -zeal the informant could not say. Bonfires blazed on the fifth of -November all the way from Charing Cross to Whitechapel with a fury -unknown for thirty years.[651] - -As the next year opened, Charles consulted with the Bishops touching -the subject of this immense excitement, assuring them of his readiness -to do all in his power for the suppression of Popery, for which -purpose he thought it fit to have the assistance and advice of the -Right Reverend Fathers, and he wished them first to debate upon the -subject amongst themselves, and then to inform him what best could be -done for maintaining the interests of the Church of England, as by law -established.[652] - -[Sidenote: 1675.] - -Towards the close of the year 1675, the Protestant agitation received -a new impulse from a debate in Parliament relative to an assault by a -priest, named St. Germain, upon one Monsieur Luzancy, who, after being -a French Jesuit, had become a minister of the Church of England. This -zealous convert, preaching at the Savoy, had bitterly attacked the -errors which he had repudiated, and, having printed his controversial -sermon, he stated that he was visited by St. Germain, who, with three -ruffians, forced him to sign a recantation of his faith. This story -was told to Sir John Reresby, who immediately related it to the House -of Commons.[653] Luzancy, examined by a Committee, added further -particulars, inflaming the House to the last degree, by the statement -that two French Protestant merchants, residing in the Metropolis, -had received from their Popish neighbours a threat, that soon the -streets of the City would flow with torrents of Protestant blood. -Some immediate results of the excitement appeared in the House of -Lords, where a Bill was introduced for encouraging monks and friars, -in foreign parts, to forsake their convents; and in an order from -the Commons to the Lord Chief Justice to issue his warrant for the -apprehension of all Catholic priests.[654] - -[Sidenote: PROTESTANT OPPOSITION.] - -In the following summer, Popish books were seized at Stationers' Hall, -by order of the Privy Council; and in the autumn, authority was given -to watch the doors of the chapels allowed for the use of the Queen, -and of the foreign ambassadors, and to observe such of His Majesty's -subjects, not being in the service of those illustrious personages, -as attended the service which was there performed. Those who watched -were not to stop or question any as they went in, but they were to -apprehend them instantly as they came out, and if that could not be -accomplished, the names of such delinquents were to be ascertained and -returned.[655] It may here be mentioned that, at the time when these -measures were employed, Protestants formed the wildest estimates of -the numbers of Papists. Some one reported that as many as 20,000 or -30,000 of them were living in the parish of St. Martin's-in-the-Fields, -yet in a survey, made by order of the Archbishop of Canterbury, in the -year 1676, it is affirmed that, in this much-suspected parish, only 600 -Papists could be found, and that not more than 11,870 were discovered -in the whole province.[656] - -[Sidenote: 1676.] - -[Sidenote: PARLIAMENT.] - -Parliament, which in 1676 had been sitting fifteen years, at that -time laboured under a very bad character. It was commonly said, that -one-third of the Commons were dependent upon Government and the Court; -that large bribes were paid for votes and speeches; and that the -Lord Treasurer declared members came about him like so many jackdaws -for cheese at the end of every session. Complaints were rife of the -depression of trade, and of the embarrassment of the country, in -consequence of the prolonged existence of the same House of Commons, -whilst especial stress was laid upon the singular unreasonableness of -a number of men being allowed for such a length of time to engross -the representation of the people, and upon the advantages which would -accrue, both to the Crown and the nation, from the calling of another -Parliament. Some of these arguments were eloquently exhibited by the -Earl of Shaftesbury, who had ends of his own to serve by a dissolution, -since he trusted by means of it to be carried back to power; and in -addition to political reasonings this clever politician held out to -all sorts of religionists, hopes the most inconsistent--and, taken -altogether, perfectly absurd--as bribes to secure their support of -his policy in the approaching struggle. Careful to throw out a bait -to the Church of England, by assuring her that a new Parliament would -preserve her honours, her dignities, and her revenues, would make her -a great protectrix, and asylum of Protestants throughout Europe, and -would increase the maintenance of the Ministry in Corporations and -large towns;--Shaftesbury also, strange to say, encouraged the Roman -Catholics to expect deliverance from the pressure of penal laws under -which they groaned, if they would also be contented, for the sake of -their religion, to forego access to Court, promotion to office, and -employment in arms.[657] Certainly the existing Parliament had shown -an unconquerable hatred to Popery, and perhaps Romanists had more to -fear than to hope from its continuance; and for this reason, amongst -others, the Duke of York advocated a dissolution, and appeared, to -that extent, amongst the supporters of the Earl. The Earl at the same -time threw out his nets so very wide as to aim at catching Dissenters, -telling them that whereas they had suffered so much of late from -persecuting laws, a new House of Commons would procure them "ease, -liberty, and protection." He had, ever since he parted with the Great -Seal in 1673, professed the utmost love for Protestantism, and had -been proclaimed by its zealots as the saviour of the faith; it being -profanely said that wherever the Gospel should be preached that -which he had done should be told as a memorial of him.[658] And now, -influenced by the incredibly high religious reputation of this Protean -statesman, also, in all probability moved by his flatterers, certainly -bound to him by party ties, the virtuous Lord Wharton took his place -amongst the helpers of "the chief engineer," as the Duke of York styled -the Ex-Chancellor. Upon a debate respecting an address to His Majesty -to dissolve Parliament, His Royal Highness and Lord Wharton joined with -the Duke of Buckingham and the Earl of Shaftesbury in supporting it, -the non-contents carrying their point only by a majority of two.[659] - -[Sidenote: 1677.] - -The Parliament was prorogued on the 22nd of November, for fifteen -months; and as soon as it met again, on the 15th of February, 1677, -the party in opposition returned to the charge; but now, deserted -by the Duke of York, the party was led by the Duke of Buckingham, -who delivered a famous speech to prove that Parliament had been -virtually dissolved by so long a prorogation. What the Duke said -was construed into an insult, for which one of the peers moved that -he should be called to the bar, when the motion was resented by the -Earl of Salisbury, the Earl of Shaftesbury, and Lord Wharton, all -three supporting the Duke of Buckingham. The Lords, who thus led the -opposition, were told that what they had done was ill-advised; and -they were ordered to beg pardon of the House, and of His Majesty. Upon -which, refusing to comply, they were committed to the Tower. Buckingham -slipped out of the House, but surrendered himself the next day.[660] - -The committal produced a great excitement--in which religious people, -especially Nonconformists, largely shared, for they looked up to some -of these noblemen as particular friends; and a fugitive sheet written -at the time, without date or names, has preserved certain memoranda -concerning the prisoners, from which it appears that several Quakers -were at that time in communication with the Duke of Buckingham.[661] - -In the month of June, Buckingham, Wharton, and Salisbury--wearied out -with their confinement, and disappointed of their discharge at the -end of the Session, by the adjournment of the Houses, recanted what -they had spoken,--professed repentance of their error, and sought -pardon of His Majesty. They were liberated accordingly; but the Earl -of Shaftesbury, because he refused to make any submission, and applied -to the King's Bench for a writ of _habeas corpus_, was doomed to a -longer captivity; yet at last he obtained his liberty in the month of -February, 1678, only, however, by kneeling down at the bar of the -House, and humbly asking their Lordships' pardon. - -[Sidenote: PARLIAMENT.] - -[Sidenote: 1677.] - -The power of the party, whose leaders had thus for a while been -banished from the House, was by no means crushed. Indeed it was but -little diminished, and, therefore, Danby, the Lord Treasurer, at the -head of the Ministry, wishing to outbid his rival Shaftesbury in a -contest for popularity; and also following his own chosen policy, -which had throughout been anti-Papal, now introduced--and that with -the concurrence of the Bishops--two measures as additional bulwarks -against Papal aggression. The first contemplated the possibility of -a Catholic prince occupying the throne: it provided, in case of his -refusal of a searching test in the form of a denial of the doctrine -of transubstantiation, that the Bishops, upon a vacancy occurring in -their number, should name three persons, one of whom the Sovereign -was at liberty to select for the empty see; but if he did not make -the selection within thirty days, the person first named should take -possession--that the two Archbishops should present to all livings in -the Royal gift--and that the children of the Monarch, from the age of -seven to the age of fourteen, should be under the guardianship of the -two Archbishops, with the Bishops of London, Durham, and Winchester. -The second measure--under title of an Act for the more effectual -conviction and prosecution of Popish recusants,--provided that such -Popish recusants as might register themselves should pay a yearly fine -of the twentieth part of their incomes to a fund for supporting poor -converts to Protestantism, and should, on that condition, be exempt -from all other penalties, except ineligibility to hold office, civil -or military, or to perform the office of guardians or executors. Lay -perverters of Protestants should have the option of abjuring the -realm; clergymen who had taken Romish orders might, at His Majesty's -pleasure, be imprisoned for life, instead of being made to suffer the -higher penalty for treason--and the children of deceased Catholics -should be brought up in the Reformed Church.[662] But these measures -adopted by the Lords, when submitted to the Lower House, so far from -satisfying the members, aroused their most determined opposition. With -regard to the first measure they affirmed it to be a Bill for Popery, -not a Bill _against_ it. They said its face was covered with spots, -and, therefore, it wore a vizard. "It is an ill thing," remarked Andrew -Marvell, "and let us be rid of it as soon as we can." He compared it to -a private Bill brought into the House, for the ballast-shore at Yarrow -Sleake, regarding which some one said, "the shore will narrow the -river;" another, "it will widen it;" a third observing, people should -not play tricks with navigation. Nor ought they to do so with religion, -he added. For, as it was clear, the Bill for the ballast-shore would -benefit the Dean and Chapter of Durham, so whether this Bill would or -would not prevent Popery, he was sure it would increase the power of -the Bishops.[663] The second measure was pronounced to be virtually a -toleration of Popery, forasmuch as Papists were to have liberty granted -them if they would only pay for it. The object was monstrous. The -scheme could not be mended. It would remain "an unsavoury thing, stuck -with a primrose." They might as well try to "make a good fan out of a -pig's tail." "Is there a man in this house," it was asked, "that dares -to open his mouth in support of such a measure?" So signal was the -defeat of the attempt that we find in the Journals these words, "Upon -the reading of the said Bill, and opening the substance thereof to the -House, it appeared to be much different from the title, and thereupon -the House, _nemine contradicente_, rejected the same."[664] - -[Sidenote: PARLIAMENT.] - -The Commons the same day read a third time a Bill framed to -prevent the growth of Popery, enacting that a refusal to repudiate -transubstantiation should be deemed a sufficient proof of recusancy, -and should entail all its consequences. This contrivance, said its -advocates, is "firm, strong, and good," whilst that of the Lords is -"slight, and good for nothing,"--it is like David coming out against -Goliath;[665] but the Lords would have nothing to do with the David of -the Commons. The Lower House urged attention to the Bill, but in vain; -the Upper House did not take the slightest notice of what had been sent -to them, and the Bill for suppressing the growth of Popery fell to the -ground. It is worth observing that, at the same period, a Bill which -passed the House of Lords, described on one day as a Bill for "obliging -persons to baptize their children"--on another as "an Act concerning -baptism and catechizing"[666]--met with a like fate, and fell into the -vast limbo of abortive Parliamentary schemes. - -But the two Houses during this Session united in three important Acts, -which were passed just before the Easter adjournment. - -[Sidenote: 1677.] - -The first was for the better observance of the Lord's Day; and the -reader, who perhaps associates all rigid legislation of that kind -with Puritan zealots, will be surprised to find that the Parliament -of the Restoration, embodying in many respects the reactionary spirit -of the times did, in this particular, actually follow the precedents -set by Commonwealth statesmen. The new Statute confirmed existing -Acts for requiring attendance at Church, and ordained "that all, -and every person and persons whatsoever, should, on every Lord's -Day, apply themselves to the observation of the same, by exercising -themselves thereon in the duties of piety and true religion, publicly -and privately." For exercising their worldly callings everybody above -the age of fourteen was to forfeit five shillings; goods cried in the -streets or publicly exposed for sale were to be forfeited. No one could -travel without special warrant, under a penalty of twenty shillings. -The employment of a boat or wherry incurred a fine of five shillings, -and those who were not able to pay these fines had to sit in the -stocks. No Hundred need answer for a robbery committed on a person -who dared to travel on the Lord's Day without license; no writs were -then to be served except for treason; but both the dressing of meat -in private houses, and the sale of it at inns and cook-shops, were -specially excepted from the operation of the law. - -It is true the fines were less in amount than they had been under the -Commonwealth, and the exceptions with regard to inns and cook-shops, -and the dressing of food on the Lord's Day, showed some little -relaxation;--but the prohibition of travelling, as well as of trading, -proves that zeal for the strict observance of Sunday had been inherited -from the Long Parliament by its successor under Charles II. - -Acts for uniting parishes, for rebuilding churches, and for the better -maintenance of Metropolitan Incumbents, had been passed in 1670; -and now a general Act received the Royal assent for the improvement -of small livings. Whereas Bishops, Deans, and Chapters, and other -ecclesiastical authorities had granted, in obedience to His Majesty, -soon after the Restoration, or might yet grant out of their revenues, -aid towards the augmentation of poor clerical incomes, this Act -confirmed any such grants, and bestowed on Vicars and Curates the means -of securing the augmentations thereby accruing to them.[667] - -[Sidenote: PARLIAMENT.] - -The last of the three enactments alluded to consisted in the repeal of -the law _de Hæretico Comburendo_, which had kindled so many fires in -the Marian age. That form of punishment was regarded by Protestants -with a natural and salutary horror; the statutory sanction of it was -now swept away, not only with a burst of indignation against it, as -a hateful relic of Popish intolerance, but with a prudent fear lest, -if the law remained unaltered, it might some day, under a Popish -Sovereign--a contingency which was ever looming before the eyes of the -nation--be revived for a rekindling of the Smithfield fires. But the -repeal did not proceed so far as is generally supposed; for the Lords -made some amendments in the Bill, and added a proviso, perpetuating -the jurisdiction of the Ecclesiastical Courts, in cases of atheism, -blasphemy, heresy, or schism; and sanctioning excommunication and other -ecclesiastical penalties, _extending even to death_, in such sort as -they might have done before the making of this new Act. In this form it -was agreed to by the Commons, and received the Royal assent. - -[Sidenote: 1678.] - -The Houses were adjourned in the month of May, and again in the month -of July; nor did they meet any more for business until the middle of -the month of January, 1678. These adjournments produced in the Lower -House, as might be expected, long and exciting debates. The state of -the nation, the removal of evil counsellors, and an address of advice -to His Majesty that he would declare war with France, also occupied -considerable attention; but if, under these circumstances, there -occurred some little ebb in the tide of opposition to Popery, the -flow of the waters soon followed with redoubled force. For, in the -month of April, we find the Commons engaged in the consideration of a -report,--which it must have taken much time and labour to prepare--a -report containing the names of Popish priests, of those by whom they -were kept, of the chapels and other places where mass was said, in -the County of Monmouth:--also of the names of Justices of the Peace -in Wales and Northumberland who were Papists, or suspected to be -so,--and, lastly, of proceedings which had been carried on in the Court -of Exchequer against Popish recusants. The document whilst, no doubt, -reflecting the fears of Protestants respecting Papists, also records -facts which show that, in spite of persecuting laws, the Roman Catholic -religion retained a strong hold upon many people in certain parts of -the country. For one of the witnesses, whose evidence is reported, -swore--that she had heard a priest say mass forty times, had received -the sacrament from him, had seen him administer it to a hundred people; -and that, at a service which she had attended, "the crowd was so great, -that the loft was forced to be propped, lest it should fall down under -the weight."[668] Immediately afterwards the Commons expressed to the -Lords, in confidence, a strong conviction that the growth of Popery -arose from a laxity in the administration of laws against it. - -[Sidenote: PARLIAMENT.] - -After a prorogation, on the 13th of May, the opening of the sixteenth -session of Parliament followed, on the 23rd of the same month, when -Lord Chancellor Finch sought to calm public apprehension by observing, -that it was a scandal upon the Protestant religion, when men so far -distrusted the truth and power of it as to be alarmed about its safety, -after so many laws had been enacted for its protection, and after all -the miraculous deliverances which it had experienced.[669] - -The next month saw the Commons again plunged into the old controversy, -whilst they discussed a Bill for the exclusion of Papists from -both Houses, unless they would take the Oaths of Allegiance and of -Supremacy, and accept the test against transubstantiation--in other -words except they would turn Protestants.[670] The usual round of -arguments reappeared, and once more revolved through their orbits; but -this Bill, like some of its predecessors, fell through, in consequence -of further prorogation, after a grant of supplies, upon the 8th of -July. - - - - - CHAPTER XXV. - - -Dr. Gilbert Sheldon, Archbishop of Canterbury, died on the 9th of -November, 1677. Illustrations have been afforded of his influence and -activity at the time of the Restoration, of his conduct during the -plague year, of the course which he adopted in relation to the great -ecclesiastical questions of his day, and of the general spirit of his -clerical policy;--but some further notice is requisite of the character -of a man, who took so conspicuous a part in the re-establishment of the -Episcopal Church of England. - -[Sidenote: BISHOPS.] - -[Sidenote: 1662-1677.] - -Sheldon, according to Burnet, was esteemed a learned man before -the Wars, but he was now engaged so deep in politics, that scarce -any prints of what he had been remained. He was a very dexterous -man in business, had a great quickness of apprehension, and a very -true judgment. He was a generous and charitable man. He had a great -pleasantness of conversation, perhaps too great. He had an art, which -was peculiar to him, of treating all who came to him in a most obliging -manner, but few depended much on his professions of friendship. He -seemed not to have a deep sense of religion, if any at all; and spoke -of it most commonly, as of an engine of Government and a matter of -policy. By this means, the King came to look on him as a wise and -honest clergyman.[671] An admission to the same effect is made -unconsciously by Samuel Parker, the Archbishop's chaplain and friend. -For, after affirming that Sheldon was a man of undoubted piety, he -observes, "that though he was very assiduous at prayers, yet he did -not set so high a value upon them as others did, nor regarded so much -worship, as the use of worship, placing the chief point of religion -in the practice of a good life." The ideas of a man's character -conveyed by language of this sort must be interpreted by our knowledge -of the writer; and, knowing what we do of Parker, we are justified -in regarding what he says as a confirmation of Burnet's opinion. To -use an expression which occurs in a letter from Henry VII. on the -transition of Wareham from London to Canterbury--Sheldon showed himself -to be largely endued with "cunning and worldly wisdom."[672] Genial -and social in his habits he maintained a splendid hospitality,[673] -and in all his intercourse it was apparent that he had seen much of -mankind, thoroughly understood human nature, and knew exactly how to -make himself agreeable to those whom he wished to please. Addicted to -a free-and-easy manner of living, inconsistent with the character of a -clergyman, he is reported as having on particular occasions sanctioned -some very vulgar buffoonery at the expense of the Puritans.[674] Keen, -clever, polite, and politic, knowing well how to compass his ends, -he manifested at the same time his utter destitution of those moral -impulses, noble motives, and spiritual aims, which, above all, ought -to guide men who profess to be the ministers of Jesus Christ. Sheldon -seems to have been fitted to grace a drawing-room, to sustain the -position of a country gentleman, and to take a part in State affairs, -but he was plainly unfit to preside over the Church of England. His -half-recumbent figure, as represented on his monument in the parish -church of Croydon--before the fire--his round face resting on his left -hand, his countenance not of severe expression, but rather genial, -easy, and good-humoured, and his gracefully-flowing robes, are all in -harmony with the idea of a man of luxurious habits, and of pleasant -manners: but the mitre on his head is out of place, and he has no -business with the crozier at his side.[675] His course of life as a -steady, persistent, heartless persecutor of Nonconformists eclipses his -courtesies and charities. He was not a persecutor of the same school -with Laud of Canterbury, or Cyril of Alexandria. No strong convictions -of doctrine, no zeal for discipline, influenced him in his proceedings -against Dissenters, and he must be reckoned as having belonged to that -most odious class of persecutors "who persecute without the excuse -of religious bigotry."[676] He hated Nonconformists mainly on three -grounds. As _a man of the world_, he was averse to their profession -of spiritual religion, being totally unable to understand it, looking -at it, as he did, through the medium of prejudices which caricatured -its noblest qualities; and he was also exasperated at what he deemed -a pharisaical assumption on the part of Christians who advocate what -are called "evangelical" views, and who insist upon what they style -purity of communion. As _a Royalist_, Sheldon identified his opponents -with the cause of Republicanism, and believed, or professed to -believe, that they were all bent upon doing to Charles II. what some -of them, or their predecessors, had done to Charles I. And, lastly, -as _an Episcopalian_, who had himself suffered from Presbyterians and -Independents, he determined to pay back in full what he owed--both -capital and interest. - -[Sidenote: BISHOPS.] - -It is essential to our forming a correct estimate of the state of -the Church after the Restoration, that we should examine what we can -find respecting the character of others who occupied the Episcopal -Bench, inasmuch as they must have been largely responsible for the -administration of ecclesiastical affairs, and it is convenient for -us here to pause for that purpose. To whatever party an author may -belong, he finds it easy to idealize these dignitaries, and to give -general impressions of them, favourable or unfavourable, according -as his prejudices, working upon slight materials, may influence his -imagination. But I decidedly prefer in what I shall say of the Caroline -prelates, to confine myself to such reliable information as I can -discover, rather than to indulge in generalities; and I lament, that -after the best endeavours to acquaint myself with the subject, the -knowledge I possess with regard to some of these persons is so scanty, -that my accounts of them will afford the historical student but little -satisfaction. - -The selection of a principle of arrangement in this portion of our -history is not without difficulties. Perhaps, on the whole, instead of -adopting an alphabetical list of names, or a chronological series of -characters, or a geographical distribution of sees, it will be better -to take the occupants of the Bench according to their importance, and -to select first the most prominent.[677] - -[Sidenote: 1662-1677.] - -Dr. Seth Ward had been President of Trinity College, Oxford, and at -the Restoration had succeeded Reynolds at St. Laurence Jewry, upon -the promotion of the latter Divine to a Bishopric. He was nominated -to the see of Exeter in 1662, as, Pope, his biographer says, upon the -recommendation of his friend Monk, Duke of Albemarle; but a different -story is told by Aubrey. After Gauden, the Bishop of Exeter, had been -translated to Worcester in 1661, Ward, who was then Dean, "was very -well known to the gentry, and his learning, prudence, and comity, had -won them all to be his friends. The news of the death of the Bishop -being brought to them, who were all very merry and rejoicing with good -entertainment, with great alacrity, the gentlemen cried all, '_We will -have Mr. Dean to be our Bishop_.' This was at that critical time when -the House of Commons were the King's darlings. The Dean told them -that, for his part, he had no interest or acquaintance at Court, but -intimated to them how much the King esteemed the members of Parliament -(and a great many Parliament men were then there), and that His Majesty -would deny them nothing. '_If 'tis so, gentlemen_,' said the Dean, -'_that you will needs have me to be your Bishop, if some of you make -your address to His Majesty, 'twill be done_.' With that they drank -the other glass, a health to the King, and another to their wished-for -Bishop; had their horses presently made ready, put foot in stirrup, and -away they rode merrily to London; went to the King, and he immediately -granted them their request. This," adds Aubrey, "is the first time that -ever a Bishop was made by the House of Commons."[678] - -[Sidenote: BISHOPS.] - -Ward speedily became renowned for his diligent discharge of Episcopal -duties. "He kept his constant triennial visitations," says Pope, "in -the first whereof he confirmed many thousands of all ages and different -sexes; he also settled the Ecclesiastical Courts, and, without any -noise or clamour, reduced that _active, subtle, and then factious -people_, to great conformity, not without the approbation even of the -adversaries themselves." During his residence at Exeter, he gained the -love of all the gentry, and had particularly the help and countenance -of the Duke of Albemarle, who, in all things, showed himself most ready -to assist him in the exercise of his jurisdiction.[679] He zealously -advocated the Conventicle Act, and was very severe in his treatment -of Nonconformists, not, it is curiously pleaded, out of enmity to the -Dissenters' persons, as they unjustly suggested, but of love to the -repose and welfare of the Government. We are further informed by this -admiring friend, "that Ward was very much in favour with the King, and -the Duke of York, before the latter declared himself of the Romish -persuasion, whom he treated magnificently at Salisbury; and also with -the Archbishop of Canterbury, who used to entertain him with the -greatest kindness and familiarity imaginable; in his common discourse -to him, he used to call him Old Sarum: and I have heard the Archbishop -speak of him more than once as the person whom he wished might succeed -him." The temper of the prelate in relation to the Church of England, -and the kind of policy which he adopted for the promotion of its -interests, may be inferred from the good opinion of him entertained by -Sheldon, just quoted by Pope, with much satisfaction.[680] - -[Sidenote: 1662-1677.] - -There is a want of material out of which to draw flesh and blood -portraits of some of the Bishops: many are names and nothing -more--others are but stiff and formal images without life--we can judge -neither of their appearance, nor of their character, but the gossiping -memoir of Ward by Pope affords us a pictorial idea of his mode of -living, of his physical activity, of his fondness for horse exercise, -and of his self-exposure to weather,--going out in wind, rain, and -snow, until forced to seek shelter on the lee side of the nearest -hayrick. He was something of a "muscular Christian,"--a bachelor also, -but genial in his ways, exceedingly hospitable, and scrupulously -punctilious in the discharge of his devotional duties. - -This remarkable man distinguished himself as an astronomer, and was -reputed to be the ablest orator of his time; after these proofs of his -intellectual power, in addition to the evidences of his administrative -ability, how affecting it is to turn to the record of his imbecility -in his last days. "He did not," we are told, "know his house, or his -servants; in a word, he knew nothing."[681] - -[Sidenote: BISHOPS.] - -[Sidenote: 1662-1677.] - -Dr. George Morley may be noticed next. Burnet says that he "was, in -many respects, a very eminent man, very zealous against Popery," and -also very zealous against Dissent; considerably learned, with great -vivacity of thought; soon provoked, and with little mastery over -his own temper.[682] His zeal against the doctrines of Popery is -apparent in his writings, and not less so, his zeal against Dissent; -in connection with his opposition to both, he avows the doctrine of -passive obedience, declaring in terms the most unequivocal, "the -best and safest way for Prince, State, and people, is to profess, -protect, cherish, and allow of that religion, and that only, which -allows of no rising up against, or resisting sovereign power--no, -not in its own defence, nor upon any other account whatsoever."[683] -Indeed, he maintains, again and again, the principle of intolerance -in the government of the Church, and the principle of despotism in -the government of the State; holding the King to be sole sovereign, -whilst the Parliament is only a concurring power in making laws, -and the Bishops the only legitimate ecclesiastical rulers. The -maintenance of these doctrines by a man of "hot spirit" and "ready -tongue"--infirmities which Baxter charges upon him, not without -sufficient reason, and not without Burnet's corroboration--augured -little for the comfort or the peace of the Nonconformists in the -diocese of Winchester, over which he presided from 1662 to 1684. He -had, it is true, provoked Baxter,[684] and signs of the provocation -occasionally appear in the pages of the _Reliquiæ_; in fact, the -Bishop's treatment of the Presbyter was most violent; but the -latter,--after quoting the report that Morley, Ward, and Dolben, -through fear of Popery, had expressed a desire to abate the severity -of the laws against Dissenters, and after stating, that though there -was long talk there was nothing done,--expresses a hope that they -were not so bad as their censurers supposed. Yet, he adds, it was a -strange thing, that persons who had power to make such breaches had -no power to heal them.[685] It is a pleasure to be able to state that -Morley, in his old age, gave signs of better feeling; for it is related -that he stopped proceedings against Mr. Sprint, an ejected minister, -and invited him to dinner, endeavouring to soften down the terms of -Conformity; but, better still, it is said, that in Morley's last -days, he drank to an intermeddling Country Mayor, in a cup of Canary, -advising him to let Dissenters live in quiet, "in many of whom, he was -satisfied, there was the fear of God,"--and he thought they were "not -likely to be gained by rigour or severity." - -[Sidenote: BISHOPS.] - -Dr. John Cosin had in his younger days been fond of Ritualism, -and had suffered for it under the Long Parliament. Though there -existed ground enough for charging him with the adoption of childish -ceremonies, it is plain, from a complete and fair examination of his -case, and of all which he urged in his own defence, that the charges -against him were considerably exaggerated.[686] As I shall show -hereafter, a considerable change took place in his sentiments during -the latter part of his life. He became more opposed to Romanism than -he had been before. He said once, in the hearing of Dr. Thomas Fuller, -when some one was praising the Pope for certain concessions--"We thank -him not at all for that which God hath always allowed us in His Word." -The Pope "would allow it us, so long as it stood with his policy, and -take it away, so soon as it stood with his power."[687] - -[Sidenote: 1662-1677.] - -Cosin, like Ward and other prelates, acquired renown for hospitality. -Whether at home or not, he took care that the gates of his Castle -should be always open for the entertainment of the Royal Commissioners, -and other Officers of State, as they travelled to and fro between -London and Edinburgh; nor did he forget to give shelter and cheer to -guests of humbler rank. He is described, also, as zealous in restoring -to its former state Divine worship at Durham Cathedral, in reforming -irregularities which had prevailed under the Usurpation, in filling -up the number of the Minor Canons, and of the members of the Choir, -and in restoring discipline throughout his diocese. Further, it is -recorded of him, that he was a man of great reading, and a lover of -books for their own sakes, expending large sums upon his library with -the enthusiasm of a true Bibliophilest. After the ejection of 1662, -he was willing to concede something to scrupulous consciences--and -offered to confer Episcopal orders in his chapel at Auckland upon -Presbyterian ministers disposed to conform, according to a formulary -much recommended at the time--"If thou hast not been ordained, I -ordain thee." Yet, in some cases, he could be very intolerant; for he -wrote, in the year 1663, to the Mayor of Newcastle, telling him to -look sharply after certain Nonconforming ministers of high character, -whom he stigmatized as _Caterpillars_.[688] But, with a fluctuation -of feeling common in impulsive natures, he would sometimes administer -rebuke to those who laughed at Puritans,--and he wrote in his will, -"I take it to be my duty, and that of all the Bishops, and ministers -of the Church, to do our utmost endeavour, that at last an end may be -put to the differences of religion, or, at least, that they may be -lessened."[689] He suffered much from the disease of the stone, yet he -persisted in performing his Episcopal visitations, even when obliged -to be carried over paved roads in a sedan chair. His chaplain, Isaac -Basire, records, that, being so near death, as to be unable to kneel, -he often devoutly repeated the words of King Manasses, "Lord I bow -the knee of my heart;" and having often prayed, "'Lord Jesus, come -quickly,' his last act was the elevation of his hand, with this, his -last ejaculation, 'Lord,'--wherewith he expired without pain, according -to his frequent prayer, that he might not die of a sudden, or painful -death."[690] He filled the see of Durham from 1660 to 1671. - -[Sidenote: BISHOPS.] - -Dr. John Hacket left behind him two well-known monuments of his -Churchmanship. The one is his _Scrinia Reserata_, or memorial of -Archbishop Williams: as strange a piece of biography as was ever -written--full of allusions and disquisitions of all kinds, so that -readers are puzzled to find out links of connection, and lose sight -altogether of the hero amidst the mazes into which they are led by the -biographer. "What it contains of Williams," as Lord Campbell has said, -"is like two grains of wheat in two bushels (not of chaff, but) of -various other grain;" yet the knowledge and the pedantry, the sagacity -and the prejudice, the zeal for the Church and the animosity towards -Dissenters, which mark the book throughout, accurately reflect the -character of its author during his busy episcopate of nine years. The -other monument of this famous Bishop of Lichfield is to be found in -the cathedral of his diocese, to the restoration of which he zealously -devoted himself. He reconsecrated it on Christmas Eve, in the year -1669, and ordered a peal of six bells to be hung in the tower, one of -which was finished during his last illness. "Then he went out of his -bed-chamber into the next room to hear it, seemed well pleased with -the sound, and blessed God, who had favoured him with life to hear it, -but at the same time observed that it would be his own passing bell; -and, retiring into his chamber, he never left it until he was carried -to his grave," an event which occurred in 1670.[691] - -[Sidenote: 1662-1677.] - -Of the two chief monuments of Hacket's fame, the cathedral is the more -honourable,[692] showing as it does his commendable desire for the -beauty of God's house, and the comeliness of its worship; and with it -we may associate the remembrance of his Episcopal activity in reducing -the clergy of his see to order, and what he esteemed efficiency. The -_Scrinia Reserata_ suggests the idea of what he must have been in his -intercourse with the ministers and people who dwelt in his diocese: -learned but verbose, clever but wearisome, equally fond of argument and -gossip, one-sided in opinion, and abounding both in favouritism and in -personal dislikes--not without genial temper and strong affections of -friendship for some who were within the Church, but violent and bitter -to all those who were without. His sermons suggest what he was as a -preacher--fond of ingenious but trifling disquisitions; and, although -a Calvinist, delighting in the Fathers and Schoolmen, and sometimes -talking about the Holy Virgin, after the manner of a believer in the -immaculate conception. From all this it may be inferred how he would -treat Nonconformists, but his biographer leaves no doubt upon that -point, for he distinctly states--"The Bishop was an enemy to all -separation from the Church of England; but their hypocrisy he thought -superlative, that allowed the doctrine and yet would separate for -mislike of the discipline, and therefore he wished that, as of old, -all kings and other Christians subscribed to the conciliary decrees, -so now a law might pass that all Justices of Peace should do so in -England, and then they would be more careful to punish the depravers of -Church orders."[693] - -[Sidenote: BISHOPS.] - -Dr. John Wilkins was a very different man from Hacket. His close -alliance by marriage with the Cromwell family, and his connection -with the Protector Richard, stood for a time in the way of his -preferment after the Restoration, but at length he obtained, through -the influence of his friend Seth Ward, the living of St. Lawrence -Jewry. Not only was he disliked at Whitehall, but there was a strong -prejudice against him at Lambeth, and, to add to his misfortunes, he -lost his library, his furniture, and his parsonage-house, in the fire -of London. But the Duke of Buckingham befriended the sufferer; and, -in spite of Sheldon's opposition, secured for him the Bishopric of -Chester. When this person of varied fortune had reached the Episcopal -bench, the Archbishop became reconciled to his elevation, and formed a -favourable estimate of his character--a circumstance which, like that -of Wilkins' first preferment after the Restoration, was owing to the -esteem in which he was held by Dr. Seth Ward, his old Oxford friend, -whose regard for him, notwithstanding their different opinions upon -ecclesiastical subjects, continued to the end of life.[694] Whilst -Ward was a High Churchman, and harshly treated the Nonconformists, -Wilkins was a very Low Churchman, and showed them great favour. For -this the latter was eulogized by one party,[695] and abused by another. -From the reproaches he incurred he was vindicated by Dr. William -Lloyd, at the time Dean of Bangor, who, in his funeral sermon for the -Bishop, ascribed his liberality to the goodness of his nature, and to -the education which he had received under his grandfather, Mr. Dod, a -truly learned and pious man, although a Dissenter in some things.[696] -Influenced by kindness of heart and catholicity of principle, Wilkins -pursued a course of moderation and charity; and it proved--as such a -course ever must--politic in the end, for Calamy acknowledges that many -ministers were brought within the pale of the Establishment by Wilkins' -soft interpretation of the terms of conformity. The ability and the -attainments of this prelate were only equalled by his moral excellence. -Burnet praises his greatness of mind, and sagacity of judgment, and -says he was the wisest clergyman he ever knew.[697] Sir Peter Pett -celebrated him as an ornament both of the University and the nation; -and the Royal Society eulogized his insight into all parts of learning, -as well as his charity, ingeniousness, and moderation.[698] As these -persons were his friends and associates, their opinion of him might be -charged with partiality; but there is a general concurrence in praise -of his virtues, on the part of persons who were decidedly opposed to -him in their ecclesiastical opinions. He enjoyed his dignity only four -years, and died in 1672. - -[Sidenote: BISHOPS.] - -[Sidenote: 1662-1677.] - -He was succeeded by that illustrious theological scholar Dr. John -Pearson--author of the _Exposition of the Creed_--who, from his -studious habits, became easy and remiss in his Episcopal functions, for -some years before the end of his episcopate, in 1686, when he died, -having some time before sunk into a state of second childhood. His -theological opinions will come under our review in the next volume. - -The circumstances under which Dr. Edward Reynolds accepted a mitre -have been described already. He did so professedly upon condition that -the Worcester House Declaration should become law, which it never -did; and that the Church of England should be modified, so as to meet -Presbyterian scruples, which it never was. However, it does not appear -that his Presbyterianism had at any time been so extreme as to prevent -his adopting a modified form of Episcopacy; and Baxter does not charge -him with inconsistency in going so far as he actually went. Indeed, -Baxter persuaded him to accept a Bishopric, implying that he did not -discover in his friend that repugnance to the position which he felt -himself. Reynolds' inconsistency appears, not in his first qualified -acceptance, but in his subsequent retention of the office, after the -conditions on which avowedly he had entered upon it were completely -disregarded. But the truth is, he was a man of little firmness, and -the blame of his continued conformity has been ungallantly, but in -accordance with a very ancient precedent, cast on his wife. "It was -verily thought, by his contemporaries, that he would have never been -given to change, had it not been to please a covetous and politic -consort, who put him upon those things he did."[699] Throughout his -episcopate in the diocese of Norwich, which lasted until 1676, he -remained a Puritan, eschewing Court politics, leading a quiet life in -the discharge of the duties of his calling, and in the retirement of -his palace; to which, it may be observed, he added a new chapel on the -ruins of the old one, which had been destroyed by the rabble after -the fall of the Bishops in the year 1643. Affability and meekness -are virtues generally ascribed to Reynolds; his abilities as a -Divine, and his gifts as a preacher--with the drawback of a harsh and -unpleasant voice--were acknowledged by his contemporaries to have been -considerable. - -[Sidenote: 1662-1677.] - -An unpublished letter sheds light on the state of the diocese of -Norwich, and the character of the Bishop:-- - -"Having often complaints made unto me in general of the offensive lives -of some of the clergy, I held it my duty to signify so much unto you, -not thereby myself accusing any of my brethren, but conceiving it very -needful, by occasion of such reports, earnestly to entreat them that -they will be very tender of the credit of religion, of the dignity of -their function, and of the success of their ministry; and endeavour, by -their sober, pious, and prudent conversations, to stop the mouths of -any that watch for their halting, to bear witness to the truth of that -doctrine which they preach, to be guides and examples of holiness of -life to the people over whom they are set, and to lay up for themselves -a comfortable account against the time that we shall appear before the -Great Shepherd and Bishop of Souls. So commending you to the guidance -of God's Holy Spirit, and his gracious protection, &c."[700] - -[Sidenote: BISHOPS.] - -Dr. Herbert Croft--descended from an old English family, distinguished -in the reigns of Edward IV. and Elizabeth--had in his youth been -decoyed into the Church of Rome, whilst a student at St. Omer; but, on -his return from the Continent, he had been reconciled to the Church -of England by Morton, Bishop of Durham. He had held a Canonry in St. -George's Chapel, Windsor, and had been made Dean of Hereford in the -year 1644. His appointment to such a dignity at such a time suggests -the fact that then he was a very Low Churchman, with Presbyterian -tendencies; of course he was afterwards obliged to relinquish both -the office and its revenues. When the King returned, to whose cause -Croft had been attached, he recovered his Deanery, and on the death of -Dr. Monk, in 1661, he succeeded to the Bishopric. His family had long -been settled in Herefordshire, and he cherished a strong attachment to -his native county; in consequence of which he preferred to remain in -this inferior see, with its small revenues, rather than accept richer -preferment at a distance. Weary of Court life he, in the year 1667, -retired from the office of Dean to the Chapel Royal, to live entirely -amongst his own clergy, like a primitive Bishop. Becoming a strict -disciplinarian, he admitted none to stalls in his cathedral who did -not dwell within the diocese, in the centre of which his own country -residence was situated; and there he regularly relieved at his gates -sixty poor people a week, besides assisting the indigent in other -ways. The moderate ecclesiastical views which he expressed in his -_Naked Truth_, he retained to the last, but he did himself no honour by -submitting to the order of James II. in 1688.[701] - -[Sidenote: 1662-1677.] - -Respecting the character of Dr. Matthew Wren, there appears to have -existed little difference of opinion amongst his contemporaries; for -not only did Burton the Puritan say that in all Queen Mary's reign -"there was not so great a havoc made in so short a time of the faithful -ministers of God," as by him, but Archbishop Williams spoke of him as -a "wren mounted on the wings of an eagle," and Lord Clarendon called -him a "man of a severe, sour nature."[702] He filled the see of Ely a -second time, from the fall of the Commonwealth until the year 1667, -when he departed this life; and it is recorded of him, that as an act -of thanksgiving for the King's return and his own restoration, he -built at Pembroke Hall--the College in which he had been educated at -Cambridge--a new chapel, where his remains were interred with unusual -pomp.[703] - -Wren was succeeded by Dr. Benjamin Laney, previously Bishop of -Peterborough, who was translated from that place to Lincoln in 1663, -and who died in 1675. Laney seems to have been kind-hearted as well -as able, for in his primary visitation, before Bartholomew's day, he -said very significantly to the assembled clergy, "Not I, but the law;" -and although he had suffered considerably from the Presbyterians at -Cambridge, in the year 1644, he could, to use his own phrase, when -presiding over the see of Lincoln, "look through his fingers;" and he -suffered a worthy Nonconformist to preach publicly very near him, for -some years together.[704] - -[Sidenote: BISHOPS.] - -Laney was followed at Ely by Dr. Peter Gunning. The fondness of the -latter for controversy is attested by the epitaph in his cathedral, -where he was buried in 1684, and receives illustration from the -accounts recorded of theological discussions in which he publicly -engaged with Nonconformists. Blamelessness of private life, and the -Episcopal virtues of generosity to friends,[705] of benefactions to -charitable and religious objects, and of almsgiving to the poor, are -ascribed to him by Wood; Dr. Gower, in his funeral sermon for him, -extols his piety; but Burnet has painted his character in different -colours. "He was a man of great reading, and noted for a special -subtlety of arguing; all the arts of sophistry were made use of by him -on all occasions, in as confident a manner as if they had been sound -reasoning." "He was much set on the reconciling us with Popery in some -points; and because the charge of idolatry seemed a bar to all thoughts -of reconciliation with them, he set himself with very great zeal to -clear the Church of Rome of idolatry. This made many suspect him as -inclining to go over to them; but he was far from it, and was a very -honest, sincere man, but of no sound judgment, and of no prudence in -affairs. He was for our conforming in all things to the rules of the -primitive Church, particularly in praying for the dead, in the use of -oil, with many other rituals."[706] - -[Sidenote: 1662-1677.] - -Dr. William Paul, being possessed of large property, and being also -a man of business, had, through the influence of Sheldon, been -appointed to the see of Oxford, with the hope that he would rebuild the -dilapidated episcopal palace at Cuddesden. He applied himself to that -undertaking, and, that he might be assisted in it, received permission -to hold the valuable Rectory of Chinnor _in commendam_; but, after -he had purchased materials for his intended work, especially a large -quantity of timber, he died in 1665, having held the see for only two -years. - -Dr. John Warner is noted chiefly for being well read in scholastic -divinity and patristic literature. It is recorded of him that, when -Prebendary of Canterbury, he built a new font in the cathedral, which, -"whether more curious or more costly," it was difficult to judge. -Made Bishop of Rochester, he, in the earlier sittings of the Long -Parliament, zealously asserted Episcopalian principles, "speaking for -them as long as he had any voice left him," and valiantly defending the -antiquity and justice of an order of spiritual peers.[707] He suffered, -not only like the rest of his brethren, by losing the temporalities of -his see, and by being driven away from the performance of its duties, -but he had to compound for his own estates, which were of considerable -value. During the Protectorate he resided at Bromley, in Kent, and on -the return of Charles II. regained the see of Rochester, which he held -to the time of his death, in 1666. Being a rich man, his benefactions -were large, he contributed liberally to the cathedral of his diocese, -and to the Colleges of Magdalen, and Baliol, at Oxford, the place of -his education; and he also founded a College at Bromley for clergymen's -widows. - -[Sidenote: BISHOPS.] - -Dr. John Earle, after being in exile with the King, first obtained -at the Restoration the Deanery of Westminster, then succeeded Gauden -in the Bishopric of Worcester, 1662, and finally rose to the see of -Salisbury in 1663, upon Henchman becoming Bishop of London. Earle is -described as having been "a very genteel man, a contemner of the world, -religious, and most worthy of the office of a Bishop;" also, he is -spoken of as having the sweetest and most obliging nature, and as being -one than whom, since Hooker's death, God had not blessed any with more -innocent wisdom, more sanctified learning, or a more pious, peaceable, -primitive temper.[708] He was, says another authority, favourable to -Nonconformists, a man that could do good against evil, forgive much, -and of a charitable heart, and died, to the no great sorrow of them who -reckoned his death was just, for labouring all his might against the -Oxford Five Mile Act.[709] Within two years after his death, in 1665, -his successor in the Bishopric, Dr. Alexander Hyde, followed him to the -grave, the latter having owed his promotion to the influence of his -kinsman, Lord Clarendon. - -Dr. Robert Skinner, who had been Bishop of Bristol, and had been -translated thence to Oxford before the Civil Wars, regained that -diocese in 1660. Thence he proceeded to the far more desirable see of -Worcester, in 1663. He is reported to have been the sole Bishop who -conferred orders during the Commonwealth; and, after the Restoration, -he ordained no less than 103 persons at one time in Westminster Abbey; -so many others had been made by him deacons and priests, that at his -death, in 1670, it was computed that he had sent more labourers into -the vineyard of the Church than all his survivors had done, he being -the last of the prelates who had received consecration before the time -of the Commonwealth. - -[Sidenote: 1662-1677.] - -In pursuing the task of noticing the Bishops after the Restoration, -we now reach several names of less interest, but the few scanty hints -respecting them which I have been able to gather may suggest in some -cases an idea of such Episcopal qualifications as they possessed. - -Dr. William Nicholson, Bishop of Gloucester, defended and maintained -the Church of England against its adversaries in the days of its -adversity. His works, it is said, proved him to be a person of -learning, piety, and prudence, particularly his _Apology for the -Discipline of the Ancient Church_, his _Exposition of the Apostles' -Creed_, and his _Exposition of the Church Catechism_, subjects which -indicate his Anglican orthodoxy, and his Episcopalian zeal. He is -spoken of as a great friend of Dr. George Bull, and as much admired by -that distinguished theologian for his knowledge of the Fathers and the -Schoolmen, and for his large stores of critical learning. He died in -1672.[710] - -Dr. Humphrey Henchman, it may be remembered, had taken part in the -Savoy Conference, and is described by Baxter as "of the most grave, -comely, reverend aspect," and of "a good insight in the Fathers and -Councils."[711] Consecrated Bishop of Salisbury in 1660, he was -translated from Salisbury to London, upon the translation of Sheldon -to Canterbury, and manifested great alarm when the excitement against -Popery prevailed, earnestly enjoining upon his clergy the duty of -combating its errors and superstitions, although he knew perfectly well -that such a course would be offensive to the King. He edited a book -once of some celebrity, entitled _The Gentleman's Calling_, supposed -to be a production of the author who wrote _The Whole Duty of Man_. -Henchman died October, 1675. - -[Sidenote: BISHOPS.] - -Dr. Edward Rainbow had been a minister in the Establishment throughout -the Commonwealth. Although deprived of the Mastership of Magdalen -College, Cambridge, for refusing to sign a protestation against King -Charles I. he, in the year 1652, obtained the living of Chesterfield, -in Essex, and, in 1659, the Rectory of Benefield, in Northamptonshire. -Restored to his Mastership at Cambridge, and made Dean of Peterborough -soon after the Restoration, he rose to the Bishopric of Carlisle, upon -the translation of Dr. Sterne to the Archbishopric of York. Rainbow -died in 1684; he appears to have possessed an extraordinary talent for -extemporaneous speaking; of which he gave a singular example, when, in -the absence of the appointed orator, he delivered an unpremeditated -discourse before the University, to the great admiration of all who -listened to him. His style is described as florid and pedantic, but -he is represented as a man of learning, of politeness, of devotion, -and of charity. We do not know much respecting Nicholson, Henchman, -and Rainbow, but some things are said respecting them, pointing to -intellectual and moral qualities suitable to their position. That which -can be gathered respecting the following names, contains little or -nothing which is satisfactory. - -Dr. Joseph Henshaw, consecrated Bishop of Peterborough in 1663, had -been chaplain to the first Duke of Buckingham, through whose influence -he had obtained a Prebend in the Cathedral of Peterborough. After -suffering for his loyalty during the Civil Wars, and the Commonwealth, -he lived for some time at Chiswick, in the house of Lady Paulet, being -described "as a brand snatched out of the fire."[712] He died in 1678. - -[Sidenote: 1662-1678.] - -Dr. Gilbert Ironside, who had been Rector of Winterbourn, in -Dorsetshire, was promoted to the see of Bristol immediately after the -Restoration. Wood's chief remark respecting him, and one by no means -satisfactory, is, that although he had not before "enjoyed any dignity -in the Church," or been chaplain to any one of distinction,[713] -he received this promotion to a poor Bishopric because he happened -to be a man of property. His death occurred in the year 1671. Dr. -Walter Blandford, under the Commonwealth, escaped ejectment from -Wadham College, Oxford, by submitting to the Government, and was -admitted Warden before the Restoration. After that event he became -Vice-Chancellor; in the year 1665 he became Bishop of Oxford, and, in -1671, Bishop of Worcester. The following notice of his death occurs in -a letter written at the time:--"It may be you have heard before this, -how upon Friday last, between 9 and 10 in the morning, it pleased God -to put a period to the pains and patience of the good Bishop, who -spent the day before in bemoaning himself unto his God, and sending up -pious ejaculations unto Him; and then, without any reluctancy, quietly -resigned up his soul and departed in peace; and, I doubt not, that -it was welcomed with an _Euge bone serve_! The next day after I came -hither, he called me to his bedside, and asked after the welfare of his -friends at Court, and made frequent mention of his gracious master and -King, prayed most heartily for him, and said nothing laid him so low as -the consideration that he had not been more serviceable to him."[714] -But it is only just,--when noticing the particular reference which is -made to the loyalty of this prelate on his death-bed,--to remember -that such reference occurs in a correspondence in which the writer -was anxious to commend himself to his Royal master, with the hope of -securing promotion. - -[Sidenote: BISHOPS.] - -[Sidenote: 1662-1677.] - -The three Archbishops of York before the Revolution were not men who -exerted much influence. Dr. Accepted Frewen was enthroned on the 11th -of October, 1660, and afterwards enjoyed, for twelve months, the -revenues of the see of Lichfield, during which period it remained -without an occupant. Before his Archiepiscopal career, which proved -equally brief and uneventful--for he died on the 28th of March, -1664--he acquired the reputation of being a good scholar, and a great -orator; but none of his works were ever published, except a Latin -oration, and a few verses on the death of Prince Henry.[715] He was -succeeded by Dr. Sterne, who, though in other respects not a remarkable -person, furnishes, from the accounts given of him, material for a more -extended notice than his predecessor has received. Being educated at -Cambridge, and made Master of Jesus College, he, for his loyalty, and -for conveying the College plate to Charles I. at York, with other -Royalists, was imprisoned, and otherwise treated with great cruelty. -In a letter, which he wrote at the time, he gives an account of his -sufferings, and, as it indicates his temper, as well as expresses the -bitter recollections of Puritanism, which he carried with him into -his Episcopate, it will be well to give an extract from it:--"This -is now the fourteenth month of my imprisonment," he says,--"nineteen -weeks in the Tower, thirty weeks in the Lord Peter's House, ten days -in the ships, and seven weeks here in Ely House. The very dry fees and -rents of these several prisons have amounted to above £100, besides -diet and all other charges, which have been various and excessive, as -in prisons is usual. For the better enabling me to maintain myself -in prison, and my family at home, they have seized upon all my means -which they can lay their hands on. At my living near Cambridge, they -have not only taken the whole crop, that is in a manner the whole -benefit of the living (for the rest is very little), but plundered -and sold whatever goods of mine they found there, even to the poultry -in the yard, allowing me not so much as to pay for his dinner that -served the Cure. They have robbed also the child that is yet unborn, -of the clothes it should be wrapped in. But, upon my wife's address -to the Committee at Cambridge, they had so much humanity as to make -the sequestrators (though with much ado) restore them to her again. -They have also forbidden our College tenants (all within their verge) -to pay us any rents (for the better upholding of learning and the -nurseries thereof). If I have anything else that escapes their fingers, -it is in such fingers out of which I cannot get it; and that also I -owe to the same goodness of the times. So that if my friends' love -had not made my credit better than it deserves to be, and supplied my -occasions, I should have kept but an hungry and cold house both here -and at home. And all this while I have never been so much as spoken -withal, or called either to give or receive an account why I am here. -Nor is anything laid to my charge (not so much as the general crime -of being a malignant), no, not in the warrant for my commitment. What -hath been wanting in human justice, hath been (I praise God) supplied -by Divine mercy. Health of body, and patience and cheerfulness of -mind, I have not wanted, no, not on shipboard, where we lay (the first -night) without anything under, or over us, but the bare decks and the -clothes on our backs; and, after we had some of us got beds, were -not able (when it rained) to lie dry in them; and, when it was fair -weather, were sweltered with heat, and stifled with our own breaths: -there being of us in that one small Ipswich coal-ship (so low built, -too, that we could not walk, nor stand upright in it) within one or -two of threescore; whereof six Knights, and eight Doctors in Divinity, -and divers gentlemen of very good worth, that would have been sorry -to have seen their servants (nay, their dogs) no better accommodated. -Yet, among all that company, I do not remember that I saw one sad or -dejected countenance all the while, so strong is God, when we are -weakest."[716] Having been domestic chaplain to Archbishop Laud, Sterne -attended him to the scaffold, and afterwards lived in obscurity until -the Restoration, after which the King made him Bishop of Carlisle, in -the year 1660, and in 1664 transferred him to York, where he died in -1683.[717] - -[Sidenote: BISHOPS.] - -Burnet represents Sterne as "a sour, ill-tempered man," minding chiefly -the enriching of his family; as being suspected of Popery, "because he -was more than ordinarily compliant in all things to the Court;" and -as very zealous for the Duke of York.[718] Another authority affirms -that Sterne was greatly respected, and generally lamented; that all his -clergy commemorated his sweet condescensions, his free communications, -faithful counsels, exemplary temperance, cheerful hospitality, and -bountiful charity.[719] It may seem difficult to reconcile these -opposite statements; yet, when it is considered, that the first of -these authorities would describe Sterne as he appeared to people whom -he disliked, and the second as he appeared to people whom he loved, -it only follows that the Archbishop showed himself an exceedingly -disagreeable man to such as belonged to the opposite party, and quite -as pleasant a man to those who belonged to his own. I may notice, that -he wrote a Book on Logic, assisted in Walton's Polyglot Bible, and is -one amongst other persons to whom, without satisfactory evidence, has -been ascribed the authorship of the _Whole Duty of Man_.[720] - -[Sidenote: 1662-1677.] - -Sterne was succeeded in the Northern primacy, by Dr. John Dolben, -Bishop of Rochester, who died at Bishopthorpe in 1686, and whose -consecration sermon was preached by South--scanty pieces of information -to put together; but really there is as little interest in his life, -as there is of importance in his administration. His biography, by -Le Neve, consists in a notice of his being an Ensign in the Royalist -Army at Marston Moor, in an enumeration of his preferments, and of the -Episcopal consecrations in which he took part,--and in the mention -of one or two sermons, which he preached on public occasions.[721] -Burnet describes him as "a man of more spirit than discretion, and an -excellent preacher; but of a free conversation, which laid him open to -much censure in a vicious Court."[722] - -[Sidenote: BISHOPS.] - -None of the Welsh Bishops require notice, except that of St. Asaph. -This see, after being held by George Griffith, who died in 1668, was -bestowed upon Henry Glemham, who died in 1670, when Dr. Isaac Barrow, -a High Anglican Churchman, was translated to it from the Isle of -Man. Of that singular and inhospitable place he had been consecrated -prelate in 1663, and many works of charity and piety are ascribed to -him during his seven years' episcopate. The people had no chimnies, and -fixed bushes in the entrance to their huts, which they called making a -door; and, amidst all this misery, Barrow strove to introduce temporal -comforts together with spiritual blessings. At St. Asaph he pursued the -same, benevolent career as in the Isle of Man, improving his cathedral -and his palace, and also building almshouses. - -Barrow was uncle to the celebrated Divine of the same name, but he -does not appear to have possessed any of the ability, or much of the -learning of his nephew; and it is a singular instance of contrast -between the two, that, whereas the Master of Trinity has obtained -an undying renown for Protestantism by his treatise on the Pope's -supremacy, the prelate has been brought into an equivocal position by -the inscription on his monument in St. Asaph Cathedral, where he was -buried in 1680: "_Orate pro conservo vestro, ut inveniat misericordiam -in die Domini_." He was succeeded by William Lloyd, a distinguished -man, who can be more advantageously described when we reach the story -of the Seven Bishops in 1688.[723] - -[Sidenote: 1662-1677.] - -The most unworthy Bishop in this reign was Thomas Wood, who, on the -death of Hacket, in 1671, received the see of Lichfield and Coventry. -His elevation is attributed to the interest of the infamous Duchess -of Cleveland, whose favour he secured by contriving a match between -his niece and ward, a rich heiress, and the Duke of Southampton, the -Duchess' son. There appears to have been some hesitation respecting -this exercise of patronage even in the mind of Charles himself;[724] -and the result of it confirmed the worst apprehensions of Wood's -unfitness for the Episcopal office, for he entirely neglected his -duties, and constantly lived out of his diocese. The money which he -received from the heirs of his predecessor to help him in building a -palace, he appropriated to his own purposes; and, under the pretence -of preparing for the erection, cut down a quantity of timber, which -he sold, putting the proceeds of the sale into his own pocket. His -scandalous conduct incurred suspension--a rare circumstance indeed in -the history of the Episcopal bench: and the form of his suspension -is preserved in _Sancroft's Register_, amongst the Lambeth Archives. -From this suspension the delinquent was relieved in 1686, although no -improvement took place in his conduct.[725] - -[Sidenote: BISHOPS.] - -The prelates whom I have noticed were consecrated a few of them before -the Civil Wars, some of them shortly after the Restoration, all of -them a considerable time before Sheldon's death in 1677. The study of -their characters, therefore, throws light upon the administration of -Church affairs up to the year just mentioned. There are, moreover, -two other Bishops, consecrated within three years before Sheldon's -death, who claim a passing notice. The Episcopal influence of the first -was brief, that of the second lengthened and somewhat peculiar. The -first is Dr. Ralph Brideoake, who had been chaplain in the Earl of -Derby's family, and had witnessed the heroism of the Countess during -the siege of Latham House; but made of different material from her -Ladyship, he submitted to the times, held the Vicarage of Witney in -Oxfordshire, and of St. Bartholomew by the Royal Exchange, under the -Commonwealth. Notwithstanding his having so far complied with the -existing powers as to accept the office of a Commissioner for trial and -approbation of ministers, he obtained at the Restoration, by another -form of subserviency, first, the Living of Standish in Lancashire; -next, the Deanery of Salisbury; and at last, in 1674, the Bishopric -of Chichester, holding with it _in commendam_ a Canonry at Windsor. -There, in 1678, he died and was buried.[726] The second of these two -Bishops was Dr. William Lloyd, who matriculated at Cambridge, and was -successively Vicar of Battersea in Surrey, Chaplain to the English -Merchants' Factory at Portugal, and Prebendary of St. Paul's. He -attained to the Episcopal Bench in 1675, first presiding over the see -of Llandaff; then being translated in 1679 to the see of Peterborough, -and in 1685 being translated to Norwich. All which I can say of his -character is that he is praised by Salmon, the admiring biographer of -the Bishops after the Restoration.[727] - -[Sidenote: 1662-1677.] - -[Sidenote: BISHOPS.] - -Such is the substance of what I have been able to gather respecting -the lives and characters of the Caroline prelates. They were far from -being all alike. Charges are brought against them as a class, which -individuals amongst them do not deserve. They were not all of the -same disposition, although they all identified themselves with the -same system. The reader will have noticed that facts prove Sheldon, -Ward, Morley, and Cosin to have been more or less what Anglicans -would esteem strict disciplinarians--what Nonconformists, and others -beside them, will more justly pronounce religious persecutors; and -what we know of Hacket, Wren, and Gunning, will show that they -held principles adapted to make them like those of their brethren -who have just been named. It should be remembered, however, that -prelates had no longer the power they once possessed. They could not -do what their predecessors had done before the Restoration; for the -High Commission Court was abolished, the _ex officio_ oath could no -longer be administered, and certain penalties once inflicted could -be repeated no more. All the Bishops now mentioned suffered in the -Civil Wars: yet Hacket retained the living of Cheam throughout the -troubles; Ward took his degree at Oxford, and became president of -Trinity College before the Restoration; and Gunning's ministry as an -Episcopalian was winked at by Oliver Cromwell. Wilkins, Reynolds, -Pearson, Croft, Laney, and Earl were more or less indulgent to Puritan -clergymen within the Church, and not so unfriendly to those outside, -as some others were;--and it may be mentioned, that the first three -held academic or ecclesiastical preferment under the Commonwealth; -and the last three were compelled to sacrifice emolument and endure -hardship. Passing over the worst or the least known of the Bench, what -shall be said of the best and most renowned? They were men of ability, -of learning, of unimpeachable morals, hospitable and kind, orthodox -and devout; but is there one amongst them to whom posterity can point -as possessing, in an eminent degree, the true Episcopal faculty,--the -gift of spiritual overseership, of a deep insight into Christ's truth, -into God's providence, and into men's souls? Is there one who excelled -in folding the sheep which were lost?--one who struck the world's -conscience, making it feel how awful goodness is? Richard Baxter was -far from perfect, nor did he possess qualifications adapted to the -administration of a diocese; but had he accepted the mitre which he -refused, would he have found sitting by his side an equal in spiritual -power? - -[Sidenote: 1662-1677.] - -We have now reached a point where it is wise to inquire into the state -of the clergy after the Restoration. It is seen what sort of men the -diocesans were; we ought to inquire what sort of men ministered in -their dioceses. Publications of the day bear witness to the fact, -often overlooked, that there were clergy in the Establishment whose -sympathies leaned towards Puritanism.[728] The Bishop of Bristol had -much trouble with a person of this description, a Prebendary of the -cathedral, who describes the conduct of his diocesan in the following -manner:--"He citeth me afresh on pains of suspension; and tells me, -at my appearance, that I was a saucy, proud fellow; of a Presbyterian -hypocritical heart; upbraiding my preaching, praying, speech, face, -and whole ministry, very opprobriously, before all the people."[729] -Complaints occur of conforming Nonconformists, as wearing neither -girdle nor cassock, being _à la mode_ and _in querpo divinus_--as -setting up miserable readers to make the Liturgy contemptible, and -as engaging for an hour in extempore prayer. They preached over, it -is alleged, "the old one's notes," full of cant about "indwelling, -soul-saving, and heart-supporting;" they "affected a mortified -countenance," and "set the Sabbath above holidays," and "a pure heart -above the surplice," and were men "overflowing with the milk and honey -of doctrine, instead of the inculcation of honesty and obedience and -good works."[730] - -[Sidenote: CLERGY.] - -From these and other circumstances it appears that the Act of -Uniformity did by no means accomplish all its purposes. Some were -Conformists only in name. The fact is, that whilst the Act drove out -all the best and most eminent of the Puritan class, there still were -many, of a pliable nature, who having opposed Episcopacy, and sworn to -the Covenant, and adopted the Directory, were content to nestle under -the wings of the Anglican Church, as soon as she arose, like a Phœnix -out of its ashes. - -The miserable condition of some of the clergy holding country -benefices or cures became the subject of satirical remark. In a style -of badinage, which aimed at being clever, one author speaks of a -clergyman as trying to "weather out his melancholy by retiring into -the little hole over the oven, called his study (contrived there, I -suppose, to save firing); a pretty little vatican, the whole furniture -whereof is a German system, a Geneva Bible, and concordance of the -same; a budget of old stitched sermons, some broken girths, with two -or three yards of whipcord behind the door, and a saw and hammer to -prevent dilapidations."[731] Of course no reliance can be placed on -such a trenchant description; but it shows the way in which clergymen -were talked of. With gravity, and apparent truthfulness, it is stated -elsewhere that clergymen sprung from the humbler ranks; and it is -mentioned, as a novelty, and a subject for congratulation, that a few -of aristocratic birth had entered holy orders. At the same time, it is -affirmed, that an attorney, a shopkeeper, and a common artizan would -hardly change their worldly condition with ordinary pastors.[732] - -[Sidenote: 1662-1667.] - -Many men, episcopally ordained, acted as chaplains. They conducted -family worship, morning and evening; in some cases read and expounded, -and prayed before dinner.[733] The satirist, already quoted, asks, -"Shall we trust them in some good gentlemen's houses, there to perform -holy things? With all my heart, so that they may not be called down -from their studies to say grace to every health; that they may have a -little better wages than the cook or butler; as also, that there be a -groom in the house, besides the chaplain: (for sometimes into the ten -pounds a year they crowd the looking after a couple of geldings); and -that he may not be sent from table picking his teeth, and sighing, with -his hat under his arm, whilst the knight and my lady eat up the tarts -and chickens. It might be also convenient if he were suffered to speak -now and then in the parlour, besides at grace and prayer-time; and that -my cousin Abigail and he sit not too near one another at meals."[734] -The spirit of the writer is apparent; it is not such as to inspire our -sympathy, or secure our confidence; but if some of the clergy at the -time had not been very ignominiously treated, surely no one would have -hazarded the caricature. - -[Sidenote: CLERGY.] - -The ignorance of the clergy was a topic for abundant abuse. Those, it -is said, who could spout a few Greek and Latin words for the benefit of -the squire, pitched their discourses so as to accommodate themselves -to the fine clothes, and abundance of ribbons, in the highest seats -of the Church, instead of seeking to instruct those who had to mind -the plough and mend the hedge. Cities and Corporations furnished "ten -or twelve-pound-men," whose parts and education were no more than -sufficient for reading the Lessons, after twice conning them over. -"An unlearned rout of contemptible people" rushed into holy orders, -just to read the prayers, although they understood "very little more -than a hollow pipe made of tin or wainscot."[735] Bad taste in the -composition of sermons is also attributed to the clergy, for which -they are unmercifully ridiculed. Many of the examples, however, are -taken from the preaching of the most fanatical amongst the Puritans. - -[Sidenote: 1662-1667.] - -Men cannot buy books without money; and of the scantiness of clerical -libraries at that time there can be no question. Much more trustworthy, -and deserving of attention than some of the particulars just supplied, -is the anecdote of Tenison,--that he had, in his parish of St. -Martin's-in-the-Fields, "thirty or forty young men in orders, either -governors to young gentlemen, or chaplains to noblemen," who, being -reproved by him "for frequenting taverns or coffee-houses, told him -they would study or employ their time better if they had books." Hence -originated the foundation of the Tenison Library.[736] - -[Sidenote: CLERGY.] - -Between the poor rural clergy, with equally indigent chaplains and -curates on the one hand, and the richly-beneficed and dignified members -of the order on the other, a broad distinction must be drawn in point -of attainments and eloquence, if not in point of original ability. In -London, in the Universities, and in the high places of the Church, -there were men, especially towards the close of the period under our -review, who for scholastic learning, and ministerial capacity, were -illustrious ornaments of their sacred profession. Many pages of this -history bear witness to that fact. Still, the contempt in which the -clergy were too generally held is admitted by those who, at the time, -sought to make the best of the subject. Writers who vilified the -Church were answered by writers who vindicated it. Paper wars, fierce -and prolonged, were waged in a spirit which leaves little to choose -between the combatants. Those who appeared as defenders of the accused, -denied the unqualified application of the charges which they could not -deny altogether. They triumphantly cited the admissions extorted from -adversaries, that the clergy of the land had considerably improved, -and that it was a "sign of nothing but perfect madness, ignorance, -and stupidity, not to acknowledge that the present Church of England -affords as considerable scholars, and as solid and eloquent preachers, -as are anywhere to be found in the whole Christian world."[737] They -contended that the illiteracy and bad taste complained of were by -no means so common as their assailants alleged; and that, as to the -latter accusation, it fell chiefly upon the Puritan remnant. They -complained, as bitterly as those on the other side, of the poverty -of clergymen, and their inability to purchase books; and then they -urged, as reasons for the contempt in which they were held, not only -straitened circumstances and a humble condition, but the calumnies -of their enemies; the origin of these calumnies being distributed -amongst Libertines, Jesuits, and Nonconformists,[738] and the want of -discipline in the Church being also loudly lamented.[739] - -In connection with these illustrations I may observe that Articles of -Visitation in those days throw light on clerical costume, if a word or -two may be added on so trifling a matter. Amongst other things the -78th Canon is recognized as obligatory, and churchwardens are solemnly -asked, "Doth your parson, vicar, or curate usually wear such apparel -as is prescribed by the canon, that is to say, a gown with a standing -collar, and wide sleeves strait at the hands, and a square cap; or -doth he go at any time abroad in his doublet and hose without coat or -cassock, or doth he use to wear any light coloured stockings? doth he -wear any coife, and wrought night-caps, or only plain night-caps of -silk, satin, or velvet? and in his journeying, doth he usually wear a -cloak with sleeves, commonly called the priest's cloak without guards, -welts, long buttons or cuts?"[740] - -That which has been said relates to the circumstances, the education, -the preaching, and the habits of clergymen. What estimate is to be -formed of their religious and moral character? It is a common vice -to pass sweeping censures on a whole party. Most people fall into it -when speaking of opponents, and protest against it when speaking of -friends. Wishing to avoid that fault I would first say, undoubtedly -many clergymen might be found at that time who were most exemplary -in their lives, and two distinguished instances of the High Anglican -type may be cited in proof. Ken was successively Incumbent of Little -Easton, Brightstone, and East Woodhay. The purity of his life, the -devoutness of his temper, the eloquence of his preaching, and his -assiduous discharge of ministerial duties, are amongst the cherished -memories of the English Church. With him his neighbour, Isaac Milles, -the simple-hearted Rector of Highclere, is worthy of being associated. -For nine-and-thirty years, on an income of £100 per annum, this worthy -minister of Christ laboured for the welfare of his rural flock. Filled -with the charity which thinketh no evil, "he would often rise up and -leave the company rather than hear even a bad man reproached behind -his back." So hospitable was he, "that he used to be much displeased, -if any poor person was sent from his house without tasting a cup of -his ale;" and "he turned a perfect beggar in order to get from others -something to supply their wants." He walked "every day in the week to -read the service in the parish church," and was "a constant visitant by -the bedside of the sick and dying."[741] - -[Sidenote: CLERGY.] - -But there is another side to the picture--pamphleteers accused -the clergy not only of ignorance, and of fanaticism, but also of -immorality. This charge is but faintly touched in the particular -controversy just reported; but a writer, at an earlier period, who -fiercely assails the ministers of the Establishment, declares how -the Church resents the scandalous profaneness of many of her sons; -and reproaches the reverend in function, who were shameful in life, -those who were disorderly in holy orders, and who, bound to walk -circumspectly, reel notwithstanding, having their conversation in the -ale-house as well as in heaven. He proceeds in the name of the Church -to complain of unconscionable simony, and of encroaching pluralities; -saying, "Lately you were thought incapable of one living, now three, -four, or five cannot suffice you;" and the whole is wound up by charges -of non-residence, whereupon the writer inveighs, in most violent -terms, against the employment of curates.[742] - -[Sidenote: CLERGY.] - -Such testimony must be taken only for what it is worth. But it seems -incredible that, without a substratum of facts, any one would make -these bold assertions. Other writers of the period speak of the clergy -in terms which give a mean opinion of their religious character. Philip -Henry states of many who conformed, that, since they did so, from -unblamable, orderly, pious men, they became exceedingly dissolute and -profane.[743] Burnet alludes to the luxury and sloth of dignitaries -"who generally took more care of themselves than of the Church."[744] -Pepys records, that there "was much discourse about the bad state of -the Church," and how the clergy were "come to be men of no worth in -the world."[745] The King himself laid at their door the blame of the -spread of Nonconformity; for "they thought of nothing but to get good -benefices, and to keep a good table."[746] It was deemed necessary -in Articles of Visitation to inquire whether the clergy resorted to -taverns, or gave themselves to drinking, or riot, or played at unlawful -games.[747] The rush of parish ministers out of London during the -plague testifies to a want of devotedness and self-sacrifice; and -the awful dissoluteness of public manners, looked at in connection -with all circumstances, indicates not merely the failure of a -faithful ministry in some cases, but the consequence of a careless and -inefficient one in many more. Poverty and dependence, or even want of -learning, will not account for all the clerical humiliation in the time -of Charles II. A half-starved curé with love for his parishioners, and -a ragged friar of true sanctity, had a far different social standing on -the Continent, from many Protestant curates and chaplains at that time -in England. - - - END OF THIRD VOLUME. - - - - - 27, PATERNOSTER ROW, - LONDON, E.C. - - - WORKS PUBLISHED - - BY - - HODDER AND STOUGHTON. - - -ECCLESIA: or, Church Problems considered by Various Writers. Edited by -H. R. REYNOLDS, D.D., President of Cheshunt College. - -THE EDUCATION OF THE HEART: Woman's Best Work. By Mrs. ELLIS, Author of -"The Women of England," &c. Fcap. 8vo., price 3s. 6d. cloth. - -PICTORIAL SCENES FROM THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS. A Series of Drawings, by -CLAUDE REIGNIER CONDER, with Descriptive Letterpress. In 4to., price -15s., elegantly bound. - -THE PROPHECIES OF OUR LORD AND HIS APOSTLES. 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I take up -the thread of the History where I dropped it, at the death of Oliver -Cromwell. - -[2] _Cromwellian Diary_, iii., _Int._ v. viii. - -[3] Letter to Hyde, _Cosin's Works_, iv. 465. - -[4] _Proclamation for the better Encouraging of Godly Ministers_, -Nov. 25. In the notes of the speech of the Protector to the Officers -of the Army (_Thurloe_, vii. 447), "Liberty of Conscience, as we are -Christians," is one of the heads. - -[5] _Thurloe_, vii. 4:4. - -[6] _Ludlow_, ii. 618. - -[7] _Cromwellian Diary_, iii. 1. - -[8] _Ibid._, 10. - -[9] _Cromwellian Diary_, iii. 13, Jan. 28. - -[10] _Ibid._, 83, 138, Feb. 5. - -[11] _Cromwellian Diary_, iii. 403, Feb. 21. - -[12] _Guizot's Richard Cromwell, &c._ i. 103. - -[13] _Cromwellian Diary_, iv. 328, April 2. - -[14] _Ibid._, iii. 177, Feb. 9. - -[15] _Ibid._, 448, Feb. 22; 494, Feb. 26. - -[16] _Cromwellian Diary_, iii. 87, _et seq._, Feb. 7th and 9th. - -[17] _Guizot's Richard Cromwell and the Restoration_, i. 91, March -16. No other historian has so patiently traced the steps by which the -Stuarts were restored as this eminent Frenchman. - -[18] _Clarendon's State Papers_, iii. 440, March 18. - -[19] This petition to Richard followed the humble representation -presented on the 6th of April. - -[20] Prynne got in for a few hours, and had an angry altercation with -Haselrig and Vane. - -[21] _Parl. Hist._, iii. 1553. - -[22] Of the popularity of Fleetwood amongst "Anabaptists and other -sectaries," and of the importance attributed to him by lookers -on, there are illustrations in the correspondence of the French -ambassador,--_Guizot_, i. 246. - -[23] _Howe's Life_, by _Rogers_, 94. - -[24] _Rogers_, 91. _Noble's Protectorate House_, i. 172, 180, 176. - -[25] Noticed in an article on Keble in _Macmillan's Magazine_ for -March, 1869. Baxter speaks favourably of Richard Cromwell. His wife, -who died in 1676, whilst he was abroad, is spoken of as a prudent, -godly, practical Christian. It appears from one of her letters, that, -after the Protectorate, she "wanted some scholar or godly man to -reside at Hursley, to minister spiritual consolation under her present -sorrows."--_Noble_, i. 343. - -[26] Neal (iv. 209) relates this, and thinks the story probable; but -Orme, in his _Life of Owen_, p. 213, disputes it. Respecting what -Baxter says about Owen (_Life and Times_, i. 101) see an _Historical -Account of my own Life_, by _Calamy_, i. 378. - -[27] As I am not aware of these important entries having been published -by any one else I introduce them here:-- - -June 7th--"This day," so runs the record, "the Church received a letter -from the Church at Wallingford House, desiring advice from the Church -what they apprehended was needful for the Commonwealth; the Church -considering it, ordered the elders to write to them, thanking them for -their love and care of them; and also desiring to give the right-hand -of fellowship with them; but concerning civil business the Church, as a -Church, desire not to meddle with." - -July 10th--"Ordered by the Church upon the receipt of a letter from the -Church at Wallingford House, that Wednesday, the 13th of July, should -be set apart to humble our souls before the Lord, both in regard of the -sins of the nation, and also for our own sins, as also to seek the Lord -for direction and assistance for the carrying on the Lord's work in the -nation." - -[28] This confession will be noticed in the next volume in the account -given of the development of Congregationalism. - -[29] _MS. Yarmouth Independent Church Records_, Dec. 28, 1659. As to -the opinions of Independents on these questions during the Commonwealth -see the former volumes of this Ecclesiastical History. - -[30] _Owen's Works_, xix. 385-393. - -[31] _Hist. of the Rebellion_ (Oxford Edit., 1843), 855-6. The -documents are without date. They are placed by Clarendon under the year -1658. - -[32] _Ibid._, 857. - -[33] _Neal_ (iv. 195) alludes to this affair, and regards it as an -artifice to get money "out of the poor King's purse." _Crosby_ (ii. -91) speaks of the Baptists as making "overtures to the King for his -restoration," but does not relate any particulars. The modern historian -of the Baptists, Dr. Evans, as far as I can find, says nothing upon the -subject. - -[34] _Lingard_, xi. 156. - -[35] _Newcome's Autobiography_, i. 117. - -[36] Dated November 1st, 1659. _Thurloe_, vii. 771. - -[37] December 14th, 1659. _Ibid._, 795. - -[38] December 16th, 1659. _Ibid._, 797. - -[39] _Thorndike's Works_, vol. ii. part i., preface. - -[40] May 4. _Barwick's Life_, 401; _Thorndike_, vi. 219. - -[41] _Barwick's Life_, 449. - -[42] _Barwick_, 201, 218, 412. Various difficulties felt at the time -by the Bishops are mentioned in the letters printed in the appendix to -_Barwick's Life_. - -[43] _Barwick_, 413, 424. - -[44] _Ibid._, 517, 519, 525. - -[45] 1659, Nov. 9 & 18, Dec. 9. 1660, Feb. 3. - -[46] _Ludlow_, ii. 674. - -[47] See pamphlets: _The Leveller_; _The Rota; or, Model of a Free -State_; and _Gallicantus seu præcursor Gallicinii Secundus_. - -[48] _State Papers, Dom. Interreg._, No. 659. - -[49] See prices in _Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations_, B. I. c. II. - -[50] _Guizot_, ii. 62. - -[51] Price says Christmas-day. _Hist. of the King's Restoration_, 72. - -[52] Numerous illustrations of the state of feeling at the time might -be culled from these and other pamphlets of the period. Some of -them are printed in the _Harleian Miscellany_. Some are noticed and -described in _Kennet's Register_. A large collection of them may be -found in the British Museum. - -[53] _Price's Mystery and Method of His Majesty's Happy Restoration_, -79, 80. - -[54] _Neal_ (iv. 238-242) says that when Monk had joined the -Presbyterians, and the Independents saw that they were betrayed, they -offered to support their friends in Parliament, and to raise four -new regiments for the purpose of resisting the General's designs. He -further states that Owen and Nye consulted with Whitelocke and St. -John, and engaged to procure £100,000 to support the Army, if the Army -would again undertake the defence of religious liberty; but he gives no -authority for what he relates. - -[55] _Coverdale's Version._ - -[56] _Price_, 86, 87. - -[57] Quoted in _Guizot_, ii. 122. - -[58] _Pepys' Diary_, i. 22, Saturday, Feb. 11. - -[59] _Memoirs of Col. Hutchinson_, 362. - -[60] _Milton's Ready and Easy Way, &c. Works_, i. 589. - -[61] _Parl. Hist._, iii. 1580. - -[62] _Baxter's Life and Times_, i. 105; ii. 214. - -[63] 1660, April 8. _Thurloe_, vii. 892. The rest of the letter is -interesting, and shows how much personal feeling was mixed up in court -intrigues. - -[64] _Life and Times_, ii. 207, 215. It is curious that as the -Presbyterians suspected the King, so the King suspected the -Presbyterians. See letter by Kingstoun, April 8, just referred to. - -[65] See _Valley of Baca_, a pamphlet published about that time. - -[66] See a "Declaration," which is worth reading, printed in _Kennet's -Register_, 121 (April 24), with a long list of noble signatures. - -[67] All this Baxter describes with great simplicity in his _Life and -Times_, ii. 216. - -[68] See correspondence between Sharp and Douglas, in the months of -March and April, _Kennet's Register_, 78-124. - -[69] _Thurloe_, vii. 872, 873. - -[70] April 8, _Thurloe_, vii. 889. - -[71] April 6, _Ibid._, 887. - -[72] _Price's Mystery and Method of His Majesty's Happy Restoration_, -136. - -[73] See _Lives_ of him by _Gumble_ and by _Price_. Sir Anthony Ashley -Cooper was a confidant of Monk, and Mrs. Lucy Hutchinson tells us that -he assured her husband, even after Monk's designs became apparent, that -there was no intention besides a Commonwealth, and that if the violence -of the people should bring the King in, he would perish body and soul -rather than see a hair of any man's head touched, or a penny of any -man's estate forfeited through the quarrel. Hutchinson held Cooper "for -a more execrable traytor than Monke himselfe."--_Memoirs_, 360. - -Aubrey, putting down his recollections of what he heard at the time -from Royalist agents in London, says, "I remember, in the main, -that they were satisfied he no more intended or designed the King's -restoration, when he came into England, or first came to London, than -his horse did." _Letters_ iii. 454. I have no doubt that, in February, -Monk thought of restoring the King; but before that date I am inclined -to believe he was waiting to see which way the wind blew. Whatever -hypothesis may be adopted as to his intentions, it must be admitted -that he acted the part of a thoroughly untruthful man. Guizot, in his -life of Monk, represents him as a Royalist at heart throughout the -whole of the business. Of course Monk, after he openly took the King's -side, would wish to be so regarded. - -[74] _Ludlow's Memoirs_, ii. 865. - -[75] _Guizot_, ii. 411. - -[76] See in Appendix notice of a letter in the State Paper Office -referring to projected insurrections. - -[77] See _Journals_ of both Houses, 1st of May. When examining, some -years ago, the papers in the House of Lords, belonging to that period, -I saw the original letter from Charles, but not the Declaration. - -[78] _Clarendon's Hist_., 904. - -[79] _Burnet's Hist. of his Own Time_, i. 88. - -[80] _Kennet's Register_, 129. Sharp afterwards became Archbishop Sharp. - -[81] _Worcester MS._ - -[82] _Public Intelligencer_, No. 20. _Newcome's Diary_, published by -the Cheetham Society, and _Life of Philip Henry_, 59. - -[83] Hale's reflections on the crisis may be seen in his _Memoirs_ by -_Williams_, 63-65. - -[84] _Pepys' Diary_ (May 15) i. 62. - -[85] _Kennet's Register_, 146. - -[86] In _The Secret History of the Reign of Charles II. and James -II._, 1690--a book not very trustworthy--we have the original of the -story, often repeated, respecting Mr. Case, "who, with the rest of the -brethren coming where the King lay, and desiring to be admitted into -the King's presence, were carried into the chamber next or very near -to the King's closet, but told withal that the King was busy at his -devotions, and that till he had done they must be contented to stay. -Being thus left alone, by contrivance no doubt, and hearing a sound of -groaning piety, such was the curiosity of Mr. Case, that he would needs -go and lay his ear to the closet door. By heavens, how was the good old -man ravished to hear the pious ejaculations that fell from the King's -lips: 'Lord, since Thou art pleased to restore me to the throne of my -ancestors, grant me a heart constant in the exercise and protection of -thy true Protestant religion. Never may I seek the oppression of those -who out of tenderness to their consciences, are not free to conform to -outward and indifferent ceremonies.'" - -[87] _Kennet's Register_ under date May 20th. - -[88] _Barwick's Life_, 270, 520. - -[89] _Buckingham's Works_, ii. 55. See _Harris's Lives_, v. 52, _et -seq._, for evidence as to his being a Papist. - -[90] See what Harris has collected on this subject, v. 13 _et seq._ - -[91] _Character of Charles II._, 56. - -[92] "23rd. General Monk marched from London, with a gallant train -of attendants to meet the King. It is said that several fanatics -intermingled themselves with the troops, but were discovered, whereof -three killed, and some hurt, and three taken, who do confess the design -was to pistol the King. 24th. One to be put to the rack for discovery. -It is said the King escaped a plot of some Frenchmen at the Hague to -pistol the King in his coach, but discovered by one who was in presence -once hearing them, and they suspecting him, shot him as dead, but -recovering to speak, discovered their intentions. From all such or any -other, God ever preserve and protect his pious Majesty!"--_Worcester -MS._ - -[93] _Kennet_, 160-164. - -[94] _Butler's Hist. Memorials of the Catholics_, iii. 23. - -[95] From Godly ministers in Exeter and Devonshire.--_State Papers, -Dom. Charles II._, 1660, vol. i. 28. - -[96] - - (Signed) Philip Nye - Joseph Caryl - Samuel Slater - Richard Kentish - George Griffiths - Matt. Mede - John Hodges - William Hook - Thomas Brookes - George Cokayn - Jo. Loder - Thomas Malony - Tho. Walley - William Greenehill - Matthew Barker - Edward Pearce - John Rowe - Robert Bragg - Jo. Baker - Seth Wood - - --_State Papers, Dom. Charles II._, vol i. _No. 36_. - - -[97] (Signed) John Angier, Nathaniel Heywood, Henry Newcome, Nathaniel -Baxter, and many others. Peter Aspinwall signs himself "minister of -Formby, where now more people go openly to Mass than to our Church." -_State Papers_ xxiv., 29. - -[98] A new Act, touching the Royal Supremacy, was passed in the Scotch -Parliament, January, 1661 (See _Murray's Collection of the Acts_), but -that does not come within the limits of our history. - -[99] Stat. 26 Henry VIII. c. i., repealed 1 and 2 Philip and Mary, c. -viii., ss. 12-20. That Act was repealed by 1 Elizabeth c. i., ss. 1, 2. -Except in certain particulars, provision is made for the ecclesiastical -Supremacy of the Crown by 1 Elizabeth c. i., ss. 16-23.--_Digest of -Statutes_ ii., 1387. The doctrine of the Royal Supremacy arose as a -counter-action of the doctrine of Papal Supremacy; and nothing in its -way can be more dignified and noble than the preface to the Statute 24 -Henry VIII., c. 12. The conflict between Papal Supremacy and national -English Independence began long before the Reformation. - -[100] _Charles I. in 1646_, 30. - -[101] _Clarendon's State Papers_, ii. 237. - -[102] _Hist. of his own Times_, i. 95. - -[103] _Ibid._ Compared with Clarendon (1220), who gives a long -character of Southampton. - -[104] _Clarendon_, 1005. - -[105] _Burnet_, i. 97. - -[106] _Ibid._, 96. Burnet, who knew Ashley, afterwards Lord -Shaftesbury, states the last particular upon the authority of -conversations with him. - -[107] July 9, 16. _Parl. Hist._ iv. 79, 84. - -[108] 12 Charles II. c. 17.--Upon the 26th of May Mr. Prynne made a -report touching the quiet possession of ministers, schoolmasters, -and other ecclesiastical persons, in sequestered livings, until -they, on order, should be legally convicted; and two days afterwards -allusion was made in a further report from the same member to several -riots which had "been committed, and forcible entries made upon the -possessions of divers persons, ecclesiastical and temporal;" when -an order to prevent such disturbances in future was recommitted, to -be put into the form of a proclamation "to be offered to the King's -Majesty."--_Commons' Journals_, May 26th & 28th, 1660; This was for the -benefit of the Presbyterians, but the current of feeling in the House -was setting in the other direction. - -[109] There is an account in _Calamy_ of Abraham Wright, Incumbent -of Cheavely, Cambridgeshire, being turned out of his living, because -it did not appear to the Justices that he was in orders, and of his -commencing an action for the recovery of his tithes: and against Mr. -Deken, who had been substituted in his place, "for the making good his -title to the living."--_Cont. of the Account_, 158, _et seq._ - -[110] Hunter's _Life of Heywood_, 125. - -[111] _Kennet_, 204.--I am indebted for the following note to the -Dean of Westminster, to whom it was communicated by the Rector of -Acton: "Mr. Philip Nye appears to have been made Rector of Acton soon -after the Battle of Brentford, in the room of Dr. Daniel Featley (or -Fairclough), who held Lambeth Rectory as well. There is a curious entry -in the Register, which I append;--'April, 165--, Richard Meredith, -esquire, eldest son of Sr. William Meredith...Baronet, was marryed -unto Mrs. Susanne Skippon, youngest daughter of right honourable Major -General Philip Skippon [_Traytor_] by Sr. John Thoroughgood [_Knave_] -in the publick congregation within the Parish Church at Acton...Mr. -Philip Nye at the same time praying and teaching upon that occasion.' -The interpolations, 'Traytor' and 'Knave,' are, of course, by a -different hand, and are always attributed by me to Dr. Bruno Ryves (one -of Charles the Second's Chaplains?) who was appointed Rector of Acton -at the Restoration. To the same Dr. Ryves is attributed the erasure of -all 'Lord' Francis Rous' titles on a tablet in Acton Church, the said -Lordship being of Cromwell's creation. - -E. P." - - -[112] _Journals of the Lords_, Sept. 1. - -[113] _Ibid._, June 4.--The Earl of Manchester was restored to the -Chancellorship, and he immediately issued warrants for the restoration -of ejected Heads and Fellows. - -[114] Between the 25th of June, 1660, and the 2nd of March, 1661, no -less than 121 Doctors of Divinity were created by the King's mandate, -and 39 degrees were conferred on other faculties.--_Kennet's Reg._ -_Cooper's Cambridge_, iii. 481. - -[115] _Kennet's Register_, 293. - -[116] _D'Oyley's Life of Sancroft_, i. 123.--A curious story about -Stephen Scanderet, of Trinity College, Cambridge, is related by -_Calamy_, _Account_, 655. - -[117] _Journals_ under date. - -[118] Read a second time 6th July. _Journals._ It came to nothing. - -[119] _Kennet's Register_, 200. - -[120] "Resolved, That it be referred to the Grand Committee, to whom -the Bill for Sales is committed, to receive proposals from any of the -purchasers of the estates of Bishops, and other ecclesiastical persons, -and from any the ecclesiastical persons themselves, or from any others; -touching satisfaction to be given to the purchasers of any public -lands; and, on consideration thereof, to report their opinion to the -House."--_Commons' Journals_, August 6th, 1660. - -[121] _Kennet_, 312. - -[122] _Harris_, iv. 345.--"Almost all the leases of the Church estates -over England were fallen in, there having been no renewal for twenty -years. The leases for years were determined. And the wars had carried -off so many men, that most of the leases for lives were fallen into -the incumbents' hands. So that the Church estates were in them: And -the fines raised by the renewing the leases rose to about a million -and a half. It was an unreasonable thing to let those who were now -promoted carry off so great a treasure. If the half had been applied to -the buying of tithes or glebes for small Vicarages, here a foundation -had been laid down for a great and effectual reformation."--_Burnet_, -i. 186. Burnet's statements on this subject are very general. So are -those made by Clarendon from his point of view. (1047.) No doubt the -ecclesiastical bodies on the one side, and the tenants on the other, -tried to make the best bargain they could. In the Library of Canterbury -Cathedral is a curious collection of letters respecting leases, which -throw light on this point. Persons plead their sufferings under the -Commonwealth, and pray for the renewal of their leases on the most -favourable terms. See in our next vol. (under the year 1677) notice of -an Act for augmenting small incomes. - -[123] Amongst the _State Papers, Dom. Charles II._, vol. lxxv. 69, -there is an account by John Cosin, Bishop of Durham, of the true -state of the present revenues of his see. They diminished £1,000 a -year, through resumption of lands by Queen Elizabeth, who afterwards -regranted them on a rental of £880; he lost £2,000 by taking away -the Court of Ward and Liveries, the revenues of which in the County -Palatine belonged to the Bishops; he prays that as the King receives -£1,500 a year excise money, as given in lieu of the Court of Wards in -Durham, the rental of £880, paid by the Bishops, should be remitted. - -[124] _Calendar Dom._, 1660-1661, 218-236. - -[125] _Kennet_, 162. The other names given by Baxter (_Life and Times_, -ii. 229) are Wallis, Bates, Manton, Case, Ash, all of whom accepted; -and Newcomen, who declined the office. _Neal_ (iv. 263) gives the name -of Woodbridge. - -[126] _Life and Times_, ii. 229. Amongst the Baxter MSS. in Dr. -Williams' library, I have seen a note, apparently relating to the -period now before us. Baxter said:--The late Archbishop Ussher and he -had in an hour's time agreed on the most easy terms. These words were -printed. Episcopal Divines called on him to know what the terms were, -_i.e._, Dr. Gauden, Dr. Gouldson, Dr. Helen, Dr. Bernard, &c. They -expressed great delight, and were willing to make abatements necessary -thereto. Some men of greater power stept in and frustrated all. Mr. -Calamy thought the best way was to interest and engage the King on -the matter. It was mentioned to him accordingly. Calamy consulted the -London ministers, and it was agreed that Ussher's reduction should be -offered as a ground of union. This was laid before the King with other -proposals, but the Lord Chancellor would not allow the matter to be -taken into consideration. - -[127] _Life and Times_, ii. 230. - -[128] _Life and Times_, ii. 232. - -[129] _Baxter's Life and Times_, ii. 232, et seq. Also in _Cardwell's -Conferences_, 277, corrected from MS. copy amongst the _Tanner MSS., -Bodleian_. - -[130] _Life and Times_, ii. 278. - -[131] _Life and Times_, ii. 241. The date of this interview is not -given by Baxter. - -[132] This paper is printed in _Baxter's Life and Times_, ii. 242-247, -and in _Documents relating to the Settlement of the Church of England -by the Act of Uniformity of 1662_, p. 27, but not in _Cardwell's -Conferences_. - -[133] _Life and Times_, ii. 258, 259. - -[134] _Ibid._, 265, _et seq._ - -[135] This no doubt had to do with the importance they attached to -the ring and the sign of the cross. If any one would see the modern -expression of this feeling in an intensified form, let him read -_Keble's Tract for the Times_, No. 89, and Preface to _Hooker_, lxxxix. - -[136] _Romans_ xiv. - -[137] In the foregoing statement I have endeavoured to put myself in -the place of each party successively. My own views of the question in -dispute are very decided; but they do not exactly accord with those of -either party. - -[138] Durham and Exeter were vacant sees at the Restoration. Cosin and -Gauden had been nominated to them respectively. - -[139] _Baxter_ ii. 277. Clarendon (p. 1034) states that in the draft -of the Declaration a passage occurred professing the King's use of the -Prayer Book, and that "he would take it well from those who used it in -their Churches that the common people might be again acquainted with -the piety, gravity, and devotion of it, and which he thought would -facilitate their living in good neighbourhood together." This clause -Clarendon says was left out at the ministers' request, on the ground -that they were resolved to do what the King wished, and to reconcile -the people to the use of that form by degrees, which would have a -better effect if such a passage were omitted. Then he charges Calamy -with writing a letter which was intercepted and found to contain the -expression of a resolve to persist in the use of the Directory, and -not to admit the Common Prayer Book into their Churches. Upon turning -to _Baxter_ (ii. 263-275), and upon reading the Declaration, one -finds, that all which the ministers promised to do, and all that the -Declaration required of them, was not _totally to lay aside_ the book, -but to read _those parts against which there could be no exception_. It -is incredible, looking at the ground taken throughout by the Puritan -ministers, that they ever could have talked in the way Clarendon -represents. As to the contents of an intercepted letter, no one who -knows anything of the tricks then played will attach importance to what -is said by the same historian on that subject. - -[140] _Baxter_, ii. 259-264; also printed in _Wilkins' Concilia_, -_Cardwell's Conferences_, and _Documents relating to the Act of -Uniformity_. - -[141] It is curious to find Baxter when he refused a Bishopric, -proposing to Clarendon a number of names from which to choose some -one, instead of himself. Baxter at this time had the reputation of -being "intimate with the Lord Chancellor Hyde," and accordingly his -influence was solicited on behalf of ministers in trouble. Adam -Martindale tells us that when his own name was sent up to the Privy -Council, Baxter, at the solicitation of a friend, spoke on his behalf -to Clarendon, who "did so rattle one of the Deputy Lieutenants and so -expostulate with the Earl of Derby, that Martindale was released." -The account is very amusing, and shows Martindale's exultation at his -enemies being outwitted in their application to the Privy Council. -The story indicates, what may be gathered from several circumstances, -_i.e._, that Clarendon at that time wished to show favour to the -Presbyterians.--_The Life of Adam Martindale_, printed for the Cheetham -Society, p. 153. - -[142] _Baxter_, ii. 281-283. - -[143] Mr. Grosart has shown this in his interesting memoir prefixed to -Gilpin's _Dæmonologia Sacra_, p. xxxii. It is a curious fact that the -same Bishopric should, within a century or so, have been offered to two -Gilpins, and refused by both. - -[144] _Kennet_, 308. There were no less than 121 Doctors of Divinity -made by mandate between 25th of June, 1660, and 2nd of March, 1661. - -[145] Those of them, with whom Baxter acted, were not sufficiently -satisfied with the Declaration to offer formal thanks for it. Clarendon -(1035) brings this as a charge against them. - -[146] _Baxter's Life and Times_, ii. 284. - -[147] Nov. 9. _Kennet,_ 307. - -[148] _Parl. Hist._, iv. 142. - -[149] _Parl. Hist._, iv. 152-154, and _Commons' Journals_, Wednesday, -28th of November. - -[150] "That is the best and most Christian memory," says he, "that, as -Cæsar's, forgets nothing but injuries. Let us all seriously and sadly -look back, consider and bemoan one another, for what we have mutually -done and suffered from each other."--_Harris's Lives_, iv. 385. - -[151] Henchman's Sermon, entitled _A Peace Offering in the Temple_. - -[152] _Clarendon_, 1034. - -[153] _Calendar of State Papers. Dom. Charles II._ Nov. 1, 1660. - -[154] _Clarendon_, 1035. - -[155] _Lister's Life of Clarendon_, ii. 218. - -[156] _State Papers. Dom. Charles II._ December 7, 1660. In a letter on -the previous day he alludes to the Bill as "quashed by the violence" of -its supporters. - -[157] This had been Clarendon's policy from the beginning. He wrote -from Breda on the 22nd April, to Dr. Barwick, in these terms: "It would -be no ill expedient" "to assure them of present good preferments in the -Church." "In my own opinion you should rather endeavour to win over -those who being recovered will have both reputation and desire to merit -from the Church, than be over solicitous to comply with the pride and -passion of those who propose extravagant things." _Barwick's Life_, 525. - -[158] _Cardwell_ (_Conferences_, 256) says "the King rejoiced when -he found his stratagem had succeeded." The stratagem was more the -Chancellor's than the King's. - -[159] _Parl. Hist._, iv. 67, _et seq._ It may here be mentioned that -others besides those named in Parliament were exposed to danger. Lord -Wharton, for example. The circumstance is rather curious--his eldest -daughter, Elizabeth, then the wife of Lord Willoughby d'Eresby, as -she was crossing the Thames, by the ferry at Lambeth, overheard the -boatman mention her father's name as one of the excepted. Her husband -immediately used his influence with the King on his father-in-law's -behalf, and thus prevented the name from being retained in the list -of exceptions. I am indebted for this anecdote to notices of Lord -Wharton's Life, in _Lipscombe's Hist. and Antiq. of the County of -Buckingham_. Lord Wharton lived at Wooburn, near Wycombe; and in the -next volume I shall have to refer to this circumstance. - -[160] See the _Commons' Journals_, May 14, June 5, 6, 7, 8, 30. The -_Lords' Journals_, July 20, 27. _Commons' Journals_, Aug. 13, 17, 23, -24. Hallam gives a synopsis of these proceedings, and I have ventured -to adopt one or two of his expressions.--_Constitutional History_, ii. -3. In the Conference on the 23rd of August, Clarendon told the Commons -that His Majesty, who was duly sensible of the great wound he received -on that fatal day (the day of his father's execution) when the news of -it came to the Hague, bore but one part of the tragedy, for the whole -world was sensible of it; and particularly instanced that a woman at -the Hague, hearing of it "fell down dead with astonishment." - -[161] _Trial of the Regicides_, 17. - -[162] _The Trials of Charles I., and of some of the Regicides_, 330. - -[163] See _Brooks's Lives of the Puritans_, iii., 350 & 363. - -[164] See _Ecclesiastical Hist._, ii. (_Church of the Commonwealth._) - -[165] _Forster's Statesmen of the Commonwealth_, iii. 356. - -[166] _Lords' Journals_, February 7th, 1661/2. - -[167] For the story of the Regicides see _The Trial_, published at the -time, and of modern publications, _Noble's Regicides_; _Caulfield's -High Court of Justice_; and _The Trials of Charles I. and of some of -the Regicides_. - -[168] _Commons' Journals_, December 4th and 8th, 1660. - -[169] _Kennet_ observes, "Some of the hottest Divines, though great -sufferers and of great names, were passed by in the designations to -Bishoprics. An instance in Dr. Peter Heylyn, who in 1660, upon His -Majesty's return to his kingdoms, was restored to his spiritualities, -but never rose higher than Sub-dean of Westminster, which was a wonder -to many and a great discontent to him and his; but the reason being -manifest to those that well knew the temper of the person, I shall -forbear to make mention of that matter any further. Such was the -case of Dr. Sibthorpe, who had suffered very great calamities in His -Majesty's cause, yet upon the return of King Charles II. he was only -restored to the small preferments from which he had been violently -ejected."--_Register_, 236. - -[170] _Wood's Athen. Oxon._ (_Bliss_), iii. 613. Further notice of -these Bishops will be supplied hereafter. - -[171] _D'Oyley's Life of Sancroft_, ii. 346. - -[172] _Mant's History of the Church of Ireland_, i. 611. Taylor -preached a sermon on Episcopacy. _Works_, vi. 301. - -[173] _Keble's Life of Bishop Wilson_, i. 132. - -[174] _Canons_, 9-12, 72, 73. - -[175] See also _3 Jac._, 4; _21 Jac._, 4. - -[176] The letter is written by R. Ellsworth, "Bristol this 24th of -November, 1660," and is addressed to Sir E. Nicholas. STATE PAPERS, -DOM. CHARLES II. - -[177] _Rees' Nonconformity in Wales_, 111. Powell speaks of himself -as if charged with "preaching sedition and rebellion." The specific -charges against these Welshmen do not appear. It seems to me very -probable that they were accused of political disaffection. - -[178] _Lives of Philip, Howe, and Bunyan._ - -[179] It may seem strange to some that Charles II. should excite -so much enthusiasm. But it must be remembered that by letters from -abroad and other means, extraordinary ideas of his excellence had been -diffused throughout the country. Some amusing illustrations of this are -supplied in the _Worcester MS._:-- - -"June 6th.--Mr. Prinn coming to kiss His Majesty's hands, prayed God to -bless him--'and so also you, Mr. Prinn,' and smiling clapt him on the -shoulder." - -"6th.--It is said that Mr. Calamy, a Presbyterian, and one of the -King's chaplains, desired His Majesty that he might not officiate -in these canonical habits, especially in a surplice, for it was -against his conscience, who answered he would not press it on him, -and as he refused to do in the one, so he would spare him in the -other. It is also said when His Majesty was at primal prayers in -his presence-chamber, and seeing all on their knees but the Earl -of Manchester, his chamberlain, who stood by him (a Presbyterian), -His Majesty suddenly took a cushion, and said, 'My Lord, there is a -cushion, you may now kneel;' which for shame he was glad patiently to -do. O meek, O zealous, O pious prince!" - -"July.--The King going to swim one night in the Thames, there were -divers ladies and gentlemen looking out of the windows of Whitehall, -which he beholding, sent a message that either they should shut their -windows and pray for his safety, or begone out of court. O chaste and -good prince!" - -"Oct. 23rd.--A settling of the King's household according as the book -was 6th Charles I.--wherein His Majesty declares that his officers -should collect out of the same all such wholesome orders, decrees, -and directions as may tend most to the planting, establishing, -and countenancing of virtue and piety in his family, and to the -discountenancing of all manner of disorder, debauchery, and vice in any -person of what degree or quality soever." - -[180] _State Papers, Dom._ 1661, January 11th. - -[181] The entry in the Council Book, and the subsequent Proclamation, -are printed in _Kennet's Register_, under dates January 2nd & 10th. - -[182] _Neal_, iv. 311. - -[183] _Crosby_, ii. 108. - -[184] Sir John Maynard informed Lord Mordaunt that so many refused to -swear that he did not know what to do: some because they would not -swear at all; others because they would not enter into promissory -obligations; others because, as the King had taken no oath to obey the -laws, they would take no oath to obey the King.--_State Papers, Dom._ -1661, January 19th. - -[185] _Baxter's Life and Times_, ii. 301. No date is given--it is -only said that the circumstance occurred at the time of Venner's -insurrection. - -[186] _Loyal Subject's Lamentation for London's perverseness in the -malignant choice of some rotten Members on Tuesday, 19th March, 1661._ - -[187] The Government monopoly of letter carrying was sometimes -invaded; and I notice in the Minute Book of Privy Council, 1661-2, a -curious order for taking into custody two persons, who obtained large -quantities of letters under the pretence of conveying them to their -proper destination, but who in fact threw them into the Thames, and -still worse places. - -[188] Sir Thomas Browne, in a letter to his son, says--"Two Royalists -gained it here (Norwich) against all opposition that could possibly be -made; the voices in this number--Jaye, 1,070; Corie, 1,001; Barnham, -562; Church, 436. My Lord Richardson and Sir Ralph Hare carried it in -the county without opposition."--_Works_, i. 8. - -[189] As instances of such purging, we may mention that on the -25th of February, just before the election, orders of that kind -were sent to Hull and Norwich.--_State Papers, Dom._, under date. -Oldfield's _History of the Original Constitution of Parliament_, -gives a very large number of instances in which members for boroughs -in the seventeenth century were returned by the Corporation. For -example:--Andover, votes 24; Banbury, votes 18; Bath, votes 18; -Beaumaris, votes 24. - -[190] County of Devon. - -[191] Their former history is remembered in _Hudibras_:-- - -"Was not the King, by proclamation, Declared a rebel o'er all the -nation? Did not the learned Glynne and Maynard, To make good subjects -traitors, sham hard?" - - -[192] _Parl. Hist._, iv. 383. - -[193] _Ibid._, iv. 862. - -[194] May 10th.--"Parliament assembled on the 8th [of May], the King -went on horseback, with a magnificent equipage. After a sermon in -Westminster Abbey, they went in the same order to the House of Peers, -&c."--_State Papers, Dom._ under date. - -[195] _Lords' Journals_, 1661, May 8th and 10th. - -[196] A Diarist states that Dr. Gunning, who officiated, refused the -bread to Mr. Prynne, because he did not kneel; and that Boscawen took -it standing.--_Lathbury's Convocation_, 297. - -[197] _The Presbyterian Divines_ were Edward Reynolds, Bishop of -Norwich; Dr. Tuckney, Master of St. John's College, Cambridge; Dr. -Conant, Reg. Prof. Div. Oxford; Dr. Spurstow; Dr. Wallis, Sav. Prof. -Geom. Oxford; Dr. Manton; Mr. Calamy; Mr. Baxter; Mr. Jackson; Mr. -Case; Mr. Clarke; Mr. Newcomen. - -_Coadjutors_:--Dr. Horton; Dr. Jacomb; Dr. Bates; Dr. Cooper; Dr. -Lightfoot; Dr. Collins; Mr. Woodbridge; Mr. Rawlinson; Mr. Drake. - -The _Episcopal Divines_ were:--Accepted Frewen, Archbishop of York; -Gilbert Sheldon, Bishop of London, Master of the Savoy; John Cosin, -Bishop of Durham; John Warner, Bishop of Rochester; Henry King, Bishop -of Chichester; Humphrey Henchman, Bishop of Sarum; George Morley, -Bishop of Worcester; Robert Sanderson, Bishop of Lincoln; Benjamin -Laney, Bishop of Peterborough; Bryan Walton, Bishop of Chester; Richard -Sterne, Bishop of Carlisle; John Gauden, Bishop of Exeter. - -With the following _Coadjutors_:--Dr. Earle, Dean of Westminster; Dr. -Heylyn; Dr. Hacket; Dr. Barwick; Dr. Gunning; Dr. Pearson; Dr. Pierce; -Dr. Sparrow; Mr. Thorndike. - -No distinction is made between the two parties in the terms of the -Commission. - -[198] _Life and Times_, ii. 302-304. - -[199] _Life and Times_, ii. 305; _Kennet_, 398; _Cardwell Documents_. - -[200] Two applicants are mentioned as anxious for the office--Dr. -Warmestry and Richard Braham--the latter writes to John Nicholas asking -his "influence with his father to get him recommended as an additional -Commissioner of the Excise, having relinquished the idea of the -Mastership of the Savoy in favour of Dr. Sheldon."--_State Papers, Cal. -1660-1_, 16, 113. - -[201] The Declaration adopted at the Savoy will be noticed in the -next volume. The Independents have no authoritative standards, but a -Declaration of their Faith and Order was issued by the Congregational -Union of England and Wales some years ago. - -[202] _Kennet_, 389. - -[203] _Clarendon_, 1047. - -[204] _Kennet_, 412, _et seq._ - -[205] The other two, built by Henry VII., were King's College, -Cambridge, and the Chapel, which bears his name at Westminster. - -[206] _Strype's Stow_, ii. 103. - -[207] See on Cosin and the other Bishops, vol. ii. of _Eccles. Hist._ -(_Church of the Commonwealth_), chap. xii. - -[208] _Baxter_, ii. 364. - -[209] _Hallam's Literature of Europe_, iv. 179. - -[210] For fuller notices of the Presbyterian Divines, who figured at -the Savoy, see _Eccles. Hist._ (_Church of the Commonwealth_), chap. -viii. - -[211] _Clarendon's Continuation_, 1048. April 23rd. "This day," says -the _Worcester MS._, "was the solemn and most glorious Coronation of -Charles II., at Westminster, when did preach George Morley, Bishop of -Worcester. - -"This day all the trained band, horse and foot, were up in arms in -several parts, to prevent insurrections and tumults of seditious -fanatics and schismatics, haters of Monarchy and Episcopacy. - -"This morn also, at Worcester, about break of day, was posted up in -several places of the city a base, scurrilous, seditious, and facetious -libel, as followeth:-- - -"'A seasonable memento, April 23rd, 1661. - -"'This day it is sayd the king shall sweare once more, Just contrary to -what he sware before. Great God, and can thy potent eies behold This -height of sin, and can thy vengeance hold? Nipp thou the bud, before -the bloome begins, And save our Sovereyne from presumptious sinns. -Lett him remember, Lord, in mercy grant, That, solemnly, he swore the -Covenant.'" - -"May 2nd. The King's Coronation is now over, and was attended with so -many glories that the most curious beholders from foreign parts deem -it inferior in magnificence to none in Europe. The people received all -with loud acclamations and profuse expressions of joy. Twelve Knights -of the Garter, and six of the Bath, six Earls, and six Barons, were -created on the occasion."--_State Papers, Cal. Dom._ May 2, 1661. - -[212] _Baxter_, ii. 342. - -[213] _Ibid._, ii. 333. The Proctors of Convocation for the diocese of -London, are elected two for each Archdeaconry, the Bishop choosing two -out of the whole number--at that time ten. Baxter, speaking generally -of the Convocation, states that ministers who had not received -Episcopal ordination, "were in many counties denied any voice in the -election of Clerks for the Convocation. By which means, and by the -scruples of abundance of ministers, who thought it unlawful to have -anything to do in the choosing of such a kind of assembly, the diocesan -party wholly carried it in the choice." Burnet, of course dependent -on reports, says: "Such care was taken in the choice and returns of -the members of the Convocation, that everything went among them as was -directed by Sheldon and Morley."--_History of his own Times_, i. 184. -The author of the _Conformists' Plea_, p. 35, perhaps following Baxter, -observes, that men were got in and kept out by undue proceedings; and -"that protestations were made against all Incumbents not ordained by -Bishops." - -[214] _Life and Times_, ii. 307. Baxter is our main authority for the -history of the Conference. It is to be regretted that we have no other -full account. - -[215] What took place at the Savoy Conference is of great importance -in relation to the vestment controversy. An intelligent clergyman, -the Rev. R. W. Kennison, writing in the _Times_, of July 6th, 1867, -observes:--"In the last days of the Conference, when he (Baxter) summed -up all in a few leading points, he went over again his objections to -the surplice, but said not a word about the other vestments. And I have -looked into every book I have been able to lay my hands on relating -to that period, without being able to find one word more on the -subject. There is much discussion about surplices; but copes, albs, and -tunicles, are never mentioned." - -[216] This resemblance is adverted to in the _Conformists' Plea for -Nonconformity_, 22. See _Eccles. Hist._ (_Civil Wars_), 124. - -[217] _Baxter's Life and Times_, ii. 321; _Cardwell's Conf._, 303; -_Documents relating to the Act of Uniformity_. - -[218] _Baxter's Life and Times_, ii. 334. - -[219] _State Papers, Cal. Dom._, 1661, October 26. - -[220] _Kennet_, 434. - -[221] _Stanley's Memorials of Westminster_, 464. - -[222] The following passage is found in one of Sancroft's MSS.:--"May -22nd. _Precibus peractis_, ordered, that each keep his place, that but -one speak at once, and that without interruption; none to use long -speeches; to have a constant verger."--_D'Oyley's Life of Sancroft_, i. -113. - -[223] _Kennet_, 450. - -[224] _Lathbury's Convocation_, 306; _Cardwell's Synodalia_, April -26th; _Robinson's Review of Liturgies_; _Kennet's Register_, 368-70. -_King Charles' Martyrdom_ was introduced into the Calendar 30th -January:--and it appears, there are six churches in England, named in -his honour, They are in Falmouth, Tonbridge Wells, Peak Forest, Wem, -and Plymouth; in the last town there are two.--_Interleaved Prayer -Book, by Campion and Beamont._ - -[225] _D'Oyley_ in his _Life of Sancroft_ (i. 114) says, in 1628; -_Procter_ (262) says, in 1625 (in an _Order of Fasting_); and again, -in 1628, Palmer remarks--that "the appellation of 'most religious and -gracious King,' corresponds with those high titles of respect and -veneration which the primitive Church gave to the Christian emperors -and kings"; thus, in the Liturgy of Basil, it is said, "Μνήσθητι κύριε -τῶν εὐσεβεστάτων καὶ πιστοτάτων ἡμῶν βασιλέων."--_Origines Lit._, i. -336. - -[226] _Cardwell's Synodalia_, 687. - -[227] _Ibid._, 645. - -[228] _Ibid._, 649-51. - -[229] The paper is not given by Baxter; it is printed in _Cardwell's -Conferences_, 335-363. - -[230] The concessions which were offered in reference to the Prayer -Book will be noticed in the Appendix. - -[231] The Liturgy is in _Baxter's Works_, vol. xv. - -[232] _Life by Boswell_, vol. ix. 141. - -[233] _Life and Times_, ii. 306. - -[234] _Life and Times_, ii. 334. - -[235] The document is not in _Cardwell_ or _Baxter_, but it is printed -in the _Documentary Annals relating to the Act of Uniformity_, 176. - -[236] The rejoinder is neither in _Baxter_ nor _Cardwell_, but it is -printed at length in the _Documents relating to the Act of Uniformity_, -201. - -[237] _Baxter_, ii. 336, 341. - -[238] Given in _Life and Times_, ii. 341, but not in _Cardwell's -Conferences_. It is included in the _Documents relating to the Act of -Uniformity_, 346. - -[239] _Life and Times_, ii. 346. - -[240] These discussions are reported by _Baxter_, ii. 346. That -which relates to the sinfulness of the Liturgy, is alone included in -_Cardwell's Conferences_, 364. Both may be found in the _Documents -relating to the Act of Uniformity_. - -[241] _Life and Times_, ii. 359. - -[242] _Letter to a Friend in Vindication of Himself, &c._ (1683), p. 8. -See also _Calamy's Abridgment_, 169. - -[243] See _Procter on the Prayer Book_, 136. Compare _Sanderson's -Sermons_, p. 12, with _Orme's Life of Baxter_, p. 589, for a lively -statement of arguments on each side. - -[244] _Baxter_, ii. 357. He mixes up the two days together. - -[245] _Froude's History of England_, vii. 75. - -[246] _Life and Times_, ii. 363, 364. See p. 163 of this vol. - -[247] _Life and Times_, ii. 338. - -[248] _Protestant Peace Maker, by Bishop Rust_, 1682. - -[249] _Burnet_, i. 180. - -[250] _Life and Times_, ii. 364. "Aug. 13.--A facetious Divine being -commended to Lord Chancellor, Sir Edward Hyde, who loved witty men, -desired to converse with him: being come to him, the Chancellor -asked him his name; he said Bull; he replied he never saw a bull -without horns. It is true (was the answer), for the horns go with the -hide."--_Worcester MS._ - -[251] _Life and Times_, ii. 365. - -[252] After the Act of Uniformity, Baxter shrewdly observes, "This is -worthy the noting by the way, that all that I can speak with of the -conforming party, do now justify only the _using_ and _obeying_, and -not the _imposing_ of these things with the penalty by which they are -imposed. From whence it is evident that most of their own party do now -justify our cause which we maintained at the Savoy, which was against -this imposition (whilst it might have been prevented), and for which -such an intemperate fury hath pursued me to this very day."--_Ibid._, -394. - -[253] Baxter observes: men on both extremes were "offended with me, and -I found what enmity, charity, and peace are like to meet with in the -world."--_Life and Times_, 380. His experience in this respect is not -an uncommon one. - -[254] _Clarendon_ (1076), says the Independents, at the Restoration, -had as free access to the King as the Presbyterians--"both that he -might hinder any conjunction between the other factions, and because -they seemed wholly to depend upon His Majesty's will and pleasure, -without resorting to the Parliament, in which they had no confidence, -and had rather that Episcopacy should flourish again, than that the -Presbyterians should govern." Clarendon is no authority for the policy -of the Congregationalists, and goes too far in the last remark. Nor -does their access to Court, which I apprehend he greatly exaggerates, -prove that they had anything like the political influence of the -Presbyterians. - -[255] He was let off by Parliament with a simple disqualification -for exercising any office, ecclesiastical, military, or civil. In a -petition he humbly tendered in January, 1662, we find him representing -himself as a minister of forty years' standing, now become infirm, -with a wife and three children unprovided for, his present maintenance -depending on voluntary contributions, which if taken away would leave -him penniless and ruined.--_Kennet_, 269, 602. - -[256] _Commons' Journals_, May 17. - -[257] _Mercurius Publicus_, May 30. - -[258] _Public Intelligencer_, June 6-13. - -[259] _Commons' Journals_, June 17, 29, July 12, 16, 19. Read first -time in the Lords, July 23; after which no notice of it occurs. The -Lords were less intolerant than the Commons. - -[260] _Clarendon's Continuation_, 1070. - -[261] _Parl. Hist._, iv. 219. We may here mention, as an illustration -of the spirit for dishonouring the dead--and that too on the -anti-Episcopal as well as the anti-Puritan side--that there are -repeated references in the _Journals_ of the Lords during this Session, -to accusations brought against Matthew Hardy, for taking up the body -of Archbishop Parker, for selling the lead wherein he was wrapped, for -defacing his monument, for turning his tombstone into a table, and -for burying "the bones of that worthy person under a dunghill." The -delinquent was ordered to put the bones again in their old place, and -to restore the monument, but he neglected "the doing of these things." -At last Matthew Hardy "acknowledged his hearty sorrow," obeyed the -order of the House, and was discharged on payment of fees. (_Lords' -Journals_, 1661, July 24, Dec. 9, 13, Jan. 14, 28. - -[262] See _Journals_. The Bill was read the first time in the House of -Lords the 17th of July. - -[263] See _Journals and Statutes_, _13 Car._ ii., _St._ 1. cxii. - -[264] Quoted in _Kennet_, 374. - -[265] _Journals_, June 25.--The same Committee as I have just mentioned. - -[266] _Lord Campbell's Lives of the Chief Justices._ - -[267] Cardwell says, "It is probable, as the book is not uncommon now, -that a copy of it was produced, and was not found to be sufficiently in -accordance with the higher tone of ordinances, which, since the days -of Elizabeth had more generally prevailed."--_Cardwell's Conferences_, -376. But it is more likely the reason might be that the _original_ or -MS. of the book could not be found. I have sought in vain for some -information to throw light on this circumstance. - -[268] See _Journals_ under dates. - -[269] _Mercurius Publicus._ - -[270] _Williams' Life of Philip Henry_, 91, 92. - -[271] _The Cedar's sad and solemn fall._ - -[272] I may mention the _Presbyterian Lash or Noctroft's Maid whipt_--a -piece of coarse and filthy satire--and an _Antidote against Melancholy, -made up in Pills_; compounded of _witty ballads, and jovial and merry -catches_, in which there is the song of the _Hot-headed Zealot_, and -_The Schismatic Rotundos_. - -[273] In none of the Nonconformist publications of that day, have -I ever seen anything like the scurrility poured upon them by their -opponents. - -[274] _Lords' Journals._ - -[275] _Ibid._ - -[276] "At Court things are in a very ill condition, there being so much -emulation, poverty, and the vices of drinking, swearing, and loose -amours, that I know not what will be the end of it but confusion. And -the clergy so high, that all people that I meet with do protest against -their practice."--_Pepys' Diary_, 1661, August 31. - -[277] The letter is dated December 25th, 1660. Endorsed by Secretary -Nicholas as received October 9th, 1661.--_State Papers, Dom. Charles -II._ - -The exposure of the fraud is in _Remarkable Passages in the Life of W. -Kiffin_, 29. - -In that age of sham plots the fabrication of letters was common, of -which Captain Yarrington published an exposure in 1681. See _Calamy's -Abridgment_, 178. In the Record Office, under date, 1661, November -16th, in a letter from Sir John Packington to Sec. Nicholas, Yarrington -and Sparry are mentioned as disowning certain intercepted letters. - -[278] _Commons' Journals_, January 10. - -[279] Though the Lower House at York sent proxies to the Canterbury -Synod, we find the members had some discussion of their own. Dr. -Samwayes, Proctor for the clergy of Chester and Richmond, proposed some -queries, beginning with the question, "Whether, in case any alterations -in the Liturgy should be decided on, a public declaration should not -be made, stating that the grounds of such change are different from -those pretended by schismatics?" The last inquiries he suggested -were, "Whether those who persist in holding possession unjustly -gotten in the late rebellion be meet communicants? and whether some -addition ought not to be made to the Oaths of Supremacy and Allegiance -excluding all evasions?" The spirit of the proposals and the temper -of some in the Northern Convocation may be easily inferred from these -specimens.--_Joyce's Sacred Synods_, 712. - -[280] Royal letters were issued to the province of York relative to -reviewing the Prayer Book. - -[281] _State Papers, Dom. Charles II._, vol. xliii. _Entry Book_, vi. -p. 7. - -[282] Palmer says, _Origines, Lit._ i. p. vi. preface, "The great -majority of our formularies are actually translated from Latin and -Greek rituals, which have been used for at least fourteen or fifteen -hundred years in the Christian Church; and there is scarcely a portion -of our Prayer Book which cannot in some way be traced to ancient -offices." - -[283] He had succeeded Calvin as pastor at Strasburg, and was obliged -afterwards to seek refuge in England with some of his flock. They -settled at Glastonbury and turned a part of the Abbey into a worsted -manufactory, by grant from the Duke of Somerset. In 1552, Pullain -published an order of service in Latin, and dedicated it to Edward VI. - -[284] It has been ascribed to Hilary of Poictiers, to Nicetius of -Trèves, and to Hilary of Arles. - -[285] In the Sarum Breviary it is appointed to be sung at Prime, after -the psalms and before the prayers. - -[286] The title of this book is very extended. It was first published -in German. The Latin copy, a very fine one, used by Cranmer, -printed 1555, is in the library of Chichester Cathedral. An English -translation, printed 1547, runs thus: "A simple and religious -consultation of us, Hermann, by the grace of God, Archbishop of -Cologne, and Prince Elector, etc." Hermann was assisted in his book by -Melancthon and Bucer, who largely used in their contributions, Luther's -service for Brandenburg and Nuremberg; and in Hermann's book may be -found the ground work of the forty-two Articles contained in Edward's -second Prayer Book. They present a close resemblance to the Augsburg -Confession. The influence of Luther on the English Prayer Book is -traceable here.--_Hook's Archbishops_, second series, ii. 289. - -[287] See _King Edward's Liturgies_ (Parker Society), 89 and 280; also -compare p. 283, and _Elizabeth's Liturgies_ (Parker Society), p. 198. - -I have adopted _Procter's History_ as an authority throughout. - -[288] The old Gallic form ran thus: "_Domine Deus Omnipotens, famulos -tuos, quos jussisti renasci ex aqua et Spiritu Sancto, conserva in eis -baptismum sanctum quod acceperunt_," _etc._--_Palmer_, ii. 195. - -[289] See _Joyce's Sacred Synods_, 714. - -[290] _Cardwell's Synodalia_, 653. - -[291] _Conferences_, 371. - -[292] "In its original shape it is supposed to have been longer, and -to have brought into one prayer the petitions for the King, Royal -Family, Clergy, etc., which are scattered through several collects. The -Convocation, however, retained the collects, and therefore threw out -the corresponding clauses in this general prayer without altering the -word _finally_, which seems to be needlessly introduced in so short a -form."--_Procter_, 262. - -[293] The services for January 30, and May 29, were not in the Book -sent to Parliament. - -[294] See remarks of editor in _Cosin's Works_, v. p. xxi. - -[295] Sess. xl. _Kennet_, 576. Calamy states that when Dr. Allen urged -Sheldon to meet the scruples of the Dissenters, he told him there was -no need to trouble himself about that, they had resolved upon their -measures. - -[296] Pell was a singular character, with a continental reputation, and -had been sent by Cromwell as envoy to the Protestant Swiss Cantons. -After his return to England, at the Restoration, he took Holy Orders -and became Chaplain to the Archbishop of Canterbury. A deanery was -thought of for the illustrious scholar, "but being not a person of -activity, as others who mind not learning are, could never rise higher -than a Rector. The truth is, he was a shiftless man as to worldly -affairs, and his tenants and relations dealt so unkindly by him, that -they cozened him of the profits of his parsonage and kept him so -indigent, that he wanted necessaries, even paper and ink to his dying -day." Pell was "once or twice cast into prison for debt," and was at -last buried by charity.--_Kennet's Register_, 575. These are curious -biographical associations gathering round the Calendar in the Prayer -Book. - -[297] _The Rehearsal Transposed_, 500. - -[298] _Thorndike's Works_, vi. 233-235. - -[299] The Bishops' form was: "_Unanimi assensu et consensu in -hanc formam redegimus, recepimus et approbavimus, eidemque -subscripsimus_."--_Kennet_, 584. - -[300] A statement of the object and nature of the alterations as given -by the revisors themselves, may be found in the preface to the Prayer -Book of 1662. - -[301] _Stanley._ - -[302] _Strype's Annals of the Reformation_, vol. ii. part 1, 105. - -[303] These facts are brought together in the _Edinburgh Review_, vol. -cxv., and are presented in Dean Stanley's letter to the Bishop of -London, 1863. - -[304] _Cardwell's Conferences_, 372. Cardwell has fallen into an -error in speaking of Walton as Bishop of Chester, in March, 1662. He -died November 29th, 1661. Ferne was consecrated Bishop of Chester in -February, 1662. - -[305] _Synodalia_, 668. - -[306] The book was republished in 1850, by Cardwell. It reflects the -doctrinal opinions of the period, and is most decidedly Calvinistic--p. -21. It subjects heretics, including persons not believing in -predestination, to the punishment of the civil magistrate--"_ad -extremum ad civiles magistratus ablegetur puniendus_," p. 25. - -[307] Published in 1690, under the title of _Bishop Overall's -Convocation Book_. It was printed from a copy belonging to Overall. - -[308] Thorndike considered that a Church which could not excommunicate -was no Church, and he pleaded for the revival of the discipline of -penance. - -[309] Leighton told Burnet, "he was much struck with the feasting and -jollity of that day. It had not such an appearance of seriousness or -piety as became the new modelling of a Church."--_Own Times_, i. 140. - -[310] _Evelyn's Diary._ - -[311] A letter by Henchman, Bishop of Salisbury, _State Papers, Dom. -Charles II._, 1661, October 17th, gives a long account of the trouble -and vexation he met with in striving to bring his diocese into order. -He says, addressing Secretary Nicholas: "At Wallingford, one Pinckney, -at Malmesbury, one Gowan (?) are busy turbulent men, I cannot with any -skill or power that I have, form these places into good order. In some -private villages irregular and schismatical men do mischief; I take -particular account of them, and know who in my whole diocese conform -not, which I shall report when I attend on your Honour." - -[312] _State Papers. Entry Book._ February 24th. See also _Journals_ -under dates. - -[313] _Journals_, March 3, 1662. - -[314] _Lords' Journals_, February 27, March 5, 6, and 7. - -[315] There is a letter from Gauden, Bishop of Exeter, to the Earl of -Bristol concerning charity to Quakers, and indulgence to all sober -Dissenters, dated May Day, 1662, amongst the _Gibson MSS._, vol. ii. -177. Lambeth Library. - -[316] _State Papers_, March 31, 1662. - -[317] The amendments are gathered from papers in the House of Lords, -copies of which I have been permitted to obtain, and from a comparison -of the Journals with the Act as published. - -[318] _Clarendon's Continuation_, 1077-1079. - -[319] April 6th. - -[320] I give a literal copy of a draft of amendment found among the -Papers of the House of Lords, connected with the Act, showing the -fruitless attempts made to modify the abjuration of the Covenant-- - -"I, A. B., doe declare That I hold that there lyes no obligation upon -mee or any other person from the oath commonly called the Solemn League -and Covenant - - { {otherwise than in such things only whereunto I or any - { {other person other than what I or they were otherwise - { {legally oblig'd unto before - { - Rejected. { were legally and expressly obliged before the taking of - { y^e s^d Covenant, the taking of the Covenant, - { - { and that the same was in itselfe an unlawfull oath," &c. - -[321] A comparison of Clarendon's history with the Journals of the two -Houses, shows that in almost every paragraph of his narration there are -inaccuracies. It would require too much space to point them out. I have -abridged his report of the speeches delivered, but with much misgiving -as to its correctness; probably, however, the general tenor of the -debate was as the Chancellor represents; and in the arguments for the -Bill perhaps he gives his own orations. - -[322] Clarendon intimates that the former part of the declaration -respecting war against the King was most obnoxious to the Presbyterian -Lords, yet that they durst not oppose it, because the principle of -non-resistance had already been recognized in the Corporation Act. He -adds, that they who were most solicitous that the House should concur -in this addition, "had field-room enough to expatiate upon the gross -iniquity of the Covenant." - -[323] On the 7th of April "the Lord Bishop of Worcester" (appointed -to Winchester upon the death of Duppa on March 26th) "offered to the -consideration of this House an explanation in a paper, of the vote -of this House on Saturday last, concerning the words in the Act of -Uniformity which declared against the Solemn League and Covenant, which -he first opened, and afterwards, by permission of the House read." The -question was raised, Whether a debate on the paper was against the -orders of the House? and resolved in the negative, whereupon it was -ordered, that the paper should be taken into consideration the next -morning. A memorandum is entered in connection with this minute, "That, -before the putting of the aforesaid question, these Lords, whose names -are subscribed, desired leave to enter their dissents if the question -was carried in the negative." No names, however, are subscribed. -The day following, the House examined the paper which had been -brought in for an explanation of the clause in the Act of Uniformity -concerning the Covenant; and, after a long debate, the paper was laid -aside.--_Journals._ - -[324] The Lords appointed were the Duke of Buckingham, the Earl of -Bristol, the Earl of Anglesey, the Bishop of Worcester, the Bishop of -Exeter, the Bishop of Hereford, and the Lords Wharton, Mohun, Lucas, -and Holles. The Earl of Anglesey reported the next day, "that the -Committee have considered of a proviso, that such persons as are put -out of their livings by virtue of the Act of Uniformity, may have such -allowances out of their livings for their subsistence as His Majesty -shall think fit." After some debate a few alterations were made, and -it was resolved that the "proviso, with the alterations, shall stand -in the Bill." The Lords having read the Bill a third time, April 9, -resolved "to send for a Conference with the House of Commons to-morrow -morning, and communicate this Bill with the alterations and amendments -to them." The next day they gave direction "to deliver the Book wherein -the alterations are made, out of which the other Book was fairly -written." - -[325] _Commons_, April 10, 14, and 16. - -[326] By 96 to 90.--_Journals_, April 16. - -[327] _Ibid._ - -[328] Dr. Southey in his _History of the Church_, ii. 467, observes, -The ejected "were careful not to remember that the same day, and for -the same reason (because the tithes were commonly due at Michaelmas), -had been appointed for the former ejectment, when four times as many -of the loyal clergy were deprived for fidelity to their sovereign." To -say nothing of the latter part, a subject I have fully discussed in a -former volume, I would notice Mr. Hallam's question--"Where has Dr. -Southey found his precedent?" Not any one Parliamentary ordinance in -Husband's collection mentions St. Bartholomew's Day. Dr. Southey has, -no doubt, followed Walker in his _Sufferings of the Clergy_, who makes -the statement without any authority. Yet see quotation from _Farewell -Sermons_ in this volume, p. 278. - -[329] Noticed in conferences with the Lords, May 7. - -[330] _Commons' Journal_, April 21. - -[331] _Ibid._, April 22. - -[332] _Ibid._, April 26. The numbers were 94 to 87. It is curious to -notice Hallam's correction of Neal. Referring to the division on the -26th of April, he says, "This may perhaps have given rise to a mistake -we find in Neal, that the Act of Uniformity only passed by 186 to -180. There was no division at all upon the Bill, except that I have -mentioned."--_Constitutional History_, ii. 37. Neal is undoubtedly -incorrect, for there was no division on the Bill as a whole; but, Mr. -Hallam is also mistaken, for as to parts of the Bill there were at -least four divisions, according to the Journals. The neglect of the -Journals, more or less, by all historians, has been one main cause of -the inaccurate and confused accounts found in the best of them. - -[333] _Lords' Journals_, May 7. - -[334] _Lords' Journals_, May 8. _Cardwell's Synodalia_, 672. - -[335] There is an anecdote touching the same rubric related by _Kennet_ -(643). "Archbishop Tenison told me, by his bedside, on Monday, February -12, 1710, that the Convocation Book, intended to be the copy confirmed -by the Act of Uniformity, had a rash blunder in the rubric after -baptism which should have run 'It is certain, by God's word, that -children which are baptized dying before they commit actual sin, are -undoubtedly saved.' But the words 'which are baptized' were left out -till, Sir Cyril Wyche coming to see the Lord Chancellor Hyde, found the -Book brought home by His Lordship, and lying in his parlour window, -even after it had passed the two Houses, and happening to cast his -eye upon that place, told the Lord Chancellor of that gross omission, -who supplied it with his own hand." No sign of this particular error -occurs in the authorized text attached to the Act. Probably Tenison had -heard a story of the alteration which I have noticed, and related it -inaccurately. - -[336] The entry in the _Lords' Journals_ runs thus--"Whereas it was -signified by the House of Commons, at the Conference yesterday, 'that -they found one mistake in the rubric of baptism, which they conceived -was a mistake of the writer [persons] being put instead of [children,] -the Lord Bishop of Durham acquainted the House that himself, and -the Lord Bishop of St. Asaph, and the Lord Bishop of Carlisle, had -authority from the Convocation to mend the said word, averring it was -only a mistake of the scribe; and accordingly they came to the Clerks' -table, and amended the same!" This was on the 8th of May, but on the -previous 21st of April the rectification of the error is recorded in -the proceedings of Convocation.--_Synodalia_, 670. That the Commons -detected the clerical error in the copy of the Book which they had -received and examined, as noticed in their Journals, the 16th of April; -and that they called the attention of the Lords to it, appears from -a loose paper in the House of Lords, in which it is said--"That the -Lords be made acquainted that this House hath observed a mistake in the -rubric after public baptism of infants [persons] being inserted instead -of [children,] which they take to be but _vitium scriptoris_, and -desire the Lords will consider of a way how the same may be amended." - -[337] An account of these books will be found in the Appendix to the -next volume. - -[338] _Lords' Journals_, May 19. - -[339] It is evident from the 13th of Elizabeth, cap. xii., "An Act -for the Ministers of the Church to be of Sound Religion," that a -particular form of ordination was not then requisite for ministration -in the Establishment. The words of the Act are, "That every person -under the degree of a Bishop, which doth or shall pretend _to be a -priest or minister of God's holy word and sacraments_ by reason of -any _other form_ of institution, consecration, or ordering, than the -form set forth by Parliament, in the time of the late King of most -worthy memory King Edward VI., or now used in the reign of our most -gracious Sovereign Lady before the Feast of the Nativity of Christ -next following, shall, in the presence of the Bishop or guardian of -the spiritualities of some one diocese where he hath or shall have -ecclesiastical living, declare his assent and subscribe to all the -Articles of Religion," &c. This was the law till 1662. - -[340] It is not meant that these men actually performed the work of -revision, but they were the guiding spirits of the Church; therefore -the character of the Book issued at the different periods may be -considered as reflecting their opinions. - -[341] I have already noticed that the Puritans, in their exceptions -against the Prayer Book, at the Savoy Conference, urged on their -opponents the comprehensive policy of the Reformers.--_Baxter_, ii. -317; _Cardwell's Conferences_, 305. - -[342] _Clarendon's Continuation_, 1078. - -[343] This illustration was suggested to me by a distinguished Divine -of the Church of England. - -[344] He speaks (1079) of the Upper House expunging some parts of that -subscription which had been annexed to the Bill. I find no trace of -this. - -[345] It is curious that in one particular, uniformity exists beyond -the direction of the Prayer Book. - -Lathbury says: "Both by _rubrical_ and _canonical_ authority, the table -may be placed in the body of the Church or in the chancel."--_Hist. of -Con._, 303. Yet the practice is to place it near the wall at the east -end. - -[346] _Essays._ On _Unity_ and _Of Church Controversies_. - -[347] _Forster_, iii., 209-240; _Own Time_, i. 164. - -[348] _Noble's Regicides_, ii. 31. - -[349] Orme's _Life of Baxter_, 454. - -[350] _Isaiah_ xvi. 4. - -[351] _Holmes' Annals of America_, and _Orme's Life of Baxter_, 454. - -Sir Walter Scott has adopted the romantic story of the Indian War in -his _Peveril of the Peak_, but he has confounded Whalley with Gough. -Cooper has also used the story in one of his novels. - -[352] The Book was so hastily printed, that the proofs were not -carefully compared with the written copy attached to the Act. At -Chichester there are two of these uncorrected copies. The _third_ -or sealed copy is the one which passed through the hands of the -Commissioners, and is altered by their pens. The alterations are found -to be chiefly corrections of errors arising from a hasty copying of the -MS. Book for the press. - -There does not appear to have been much care taken with the reprints, -even after the "Sealed Books" were distributed. An edition dated 1669, -perpetuates most of the errors of the printed copy of 1662. For this -information I am indebted to the kindness of the Rev. Dr. Swainson. See -further on this subject in Appendix. - -[353] _Own Times_, i. 185. - -[354] _Life of Philip Henry_, 100. See also _Calamy's Defence of -Moderate Nonconformists_, vol. ii. 357. - -[355] Sir Edward Coke, in his _Institutes_, part ii., says that the -"word _Ordinary_ signifieth a Bishop, or he, or they, that have -ordinary jurisdiction, and is derived _ab ordine_." - -[356] Dated the 17th of August, 1662. _Kennets Historical Register_, -743. - -[357] In this form--"Ego A. B. prætensas meas ordinationis literas, a -quibusdam Presbyteris olim obtentas iam penitus renuncio, et demitto -pro vanis," &c.--_Life of P. Henry_, 97. - -[358] _Life_, 98, _et seq._ - -[359] _Ibid._, 11. - -[360] _Stanford's Life of Alleine_, 199; _Calamy's Account_, 558. - -[361] _Rogers' Life of Howe_, 105, 118. - -[362] "Some of the hungry expectants were bold enough to anticipate -the period of ejection, relying on the Incumbents' ultimately failing -to qualify: and that even the chicanery of the law was used to prevent -their recovery of profits which had actually accrued during their -incumbency. Mr. Meadows (Incumbent of Ousden), had as his patron one -of kindred opinions, who sympathized with his own feelings; and, -accordingly, it appears by his accounts, that he was allowed to receive -the year's revenue up to Michaelmas, 1662."--_Suffolk Bartholomeans_, -by _Taylor_, 49. - -[363] _Calamy's Account_, 557; _Continuation_, 336. - -[364] _Calamy's Continuation_, 143. - -[365] _State Papers_, May 14th. - -[366] _State Papers_, 1661-2. - -[367] _Truth and Loyalty Vindicated_, 1662. - -[368] _Harl. Misc._, vii. If the author of this tract was not a -Romanist he had strong Romanist sympathies. - -[369] _A Compleat Collection of Farewell Sermons_, 142; _Pepys' Diary_, -i. 313. - -[370] _Farewell Sermons_, 115. - -[371] _Patrick MSS._ xliv. 11. - -[372] _Stanford's Joseph Alleine_, 200. - -[373] Calamy speaks of his holding this living in conjunction with -Kingston.--_Account_, 279. - -[374] _Farewell Sermons_, 447. - -[375] _State Papers_, August 22, 1662. - -[376] _Fox's Journal_, ii. 7. - -[377] "The eight years, from the death of Angélique Arnauld, in -1661, to the peace of the Church in 1669, were the agony of Port -Royal."--_Beard's Port Royal_, i. 344. - -[378] _Farewell Sermons, etc._, 174, 187. - -[379] _Palmer's Nonconformist Memorial_, i. 366. - -[380] "A liberal attention to the convenience of the late Incumbent -must have been shown by Mr. Meadows's successor, as we find so late -as July 8, 1665, 'a note of things yet left at the parsonage.'" Mr. -Meadows was Incumbent of Ousden, Suffolk. _Suffolk Bartholomeans, by -Taylor_, 50. - -[381] October, 1662, _Wilkins' Concilia_, iv. 577. - -[382] Baxter informs us that he had resolved not to meddle in such -business any more, but says in the margin, "If I should at length -recite the story of this business, and what peremptory promises they -had, and how all was turned to their rebuke and scorn, it would more -increase the reader's astonishment."--_Life and Times_, ii. 429. - -[383] Newcome notices the petition in his Diary, as if an unsuccessful -attempt had been made to present it before the 28th. "August 28.--I was -sent for to the ministers to Mr. Greene's. We perused Mr. Heyricke's -letter, whereby we understand that last Lord's Day was a very sad -and doleful day in London, in that ministers preached not; none but -Mr. Blackmore, Mr. Crofton, and Dr. Manton between the Tower and -Westminster, the Bishops having provided readers or preachers for every -place. And the ministers in the dark waited with their petition on -Monday, and could not get it delivered, and came away more dissatisfied -than they went; and what the issue of all this will be the Lord only -knows. I rose afore seven; we despatched duty. And the ministers came -in again, and we discoursed of matters, and got things done about -the petitions. Mr. Alsley dined with me and Mr. Haworth, we having a -venison pasty. After dinner, Mr. James Lightbourne was with me an hour -or more. I wrote letters to London, and then went to bowls; but, as if -it was not a time for me to take recreation in, I had no freedom of -spirit by a little accident about Mr. Constantine."--_Newcome's Diary_, -115. - -The following entry indicates the interference of the King with -the operation of the Act:--"Nov., 1662.--The King to the Dean and -Chapter of Christ Church, Oxford. They are to forbear execution of -any sentence against Thomas Severne, for not having subscribed to the -Act of Uniformity before his Bishop, though presented doing so before -the University, until the will of Parliament in such cases is more -distinctly known."--_Ent. Book_ x. 7. _Cal. Dom._, 1661-1662, 578. - -[384] _Clarendon's Continuation_, 1081-1082. - -[385] It is difficult to harmonize satisfactorily the accounts of -conferences and councils given by Burnet, Clarendon, and Bishop -Parker. The former two speak of the conferences occurring before St. -Bartholomew's Day. The last of these authorities gives a petition from -the ministers presented on the 27th, and a debate upon it in Council -on the 28th, agreeing, to a considerable extent, with Clarendon's -statements. Clarendon says nothing of a petition and a Council after -St. Bartholomew's Day, but leaves us to conclude all thought of -indulgence was dropped beforehand. In this respect we know he is wrong, -probably the matter of indulgence was frequently debated in Council. -Compare _Clarendon_, 1081; _Burnet_, i. 191; with _Parker_ in _Kennet's -Register_, 753. - -[386] These illustrations are gathered from the newspapers of the day. - -[387] _State Papers._ This letter is dated March 2, 1663. It is -anonymous; the reason for ascribing it to Hook will appear further on. - -[388] _Joseph Alleine's Life_, by _Stanford_, 204. There is a glowing -account in the _Mercurius Publicus_, of an Episcopal service at St. -Mary's, on the 25th, when the church was so full that people fainted -with heat, and "the Mayor and Aldermen were all in their formalities, -and not a man in all the church had his hat on, either at service or -sermon." - -[389] _Ashmole's Order of the Garter_, 176. - -[390] _Tour in Derbyshire_, 1662. _Browne's Works_, i. 30. "At Buxton," -he says, "we had the luck to meet with a sermon, which we could not -have done in half-a-year before, by relation. I think there is a true -Chapel of Ease indeed here, for they hardly ever go to Church," p. 34. -_Calamy_ gives the name of Mr. John Jackson as ejected from Buxton, but -supplies no account of him.--_Account_, 204. - -[391] They occur at the end of the list for each county. - -[392] See Ryle's account of Gurnal, prefixed to the new edition of his -works. - -[393] _State Papers. Dom._, 1663, March 2. Letter from William Hook. - -[394] For instances, see _Palmer_, i. 223, ii. 71. - -[395] Appendix to Second Report of the Royal Commission on Ritual, p. -616. The articles of the Bishops there printed are from the collection -in the Bodleian Library. - -[396] Appendix to second report of the Royal Commission on Ritual, pp. -601, 602. - -[397] _Ibid._, 607, 611. - -[398] _Ibid._, 619. - -[399] They are published in the same Appendix, 624, _et seq._ - -[400] The authorities for these statements are _Calamy's Account_ and -_Continuation_, _Kennet's Register_, _Hunter's Life of Heywood_, and -_Aspland's History of Nonconformity in Duckinfield_. I could add more -instances. No doubt there were several which cannot now be ascertained. - -[401] _Irenicum_, republished in 1662. - -[402] _Lord King's Life of Locke_, 7, 8, 9. - -[403] _State Papers, Cal. Dom._ Sept. 14 and Sept. 29, 1662. - -[404] _Ibid._, Oct. 31, 1662. - -[405] This reported number should be borne in mind in connection with -others already stated. - -[406] _State Papers, Cal., Dom._, 1661-1662, 531, 567, 594. - -[407] _Cal. Dom._, 1662, Jan. 31. - -[408] _Ibid._, 1662, Oct. 10, Nov. 24. - -[409] The following illustrations of the extent of persecution in the -autumn of 1662 are extracted from _State Papers_ under date:-- - -"Committed by Sir J. Robinson, Knt. and Bart., Lord Mayor, being taken -at an unlawful assembly, and denying to take the Oath of Allegiance, -dated 2nd November, 1662." [Names given. All males.] - -"Committed by Sir R. Browne, Knt. and Bart., for being unlawfully -assembled together contrary to the laws, etc., the same day." [Other -names.] - -"Anabaptists and Quakers, taken at unlawful meetings, and committed by -the Court, for refusing to take the Oath of Allegiance, and some of -them fined." - -[Eleven names, all males.] - -"Committed by His Grace, the Duke of Albemarle, General of His -Majesty's forces, for assembling unlawfully together, contrary to a -late Act of Parliament, 28th October, 1662." - -[Sixty-three names, all males, six under the heading "Quakers."] - -"Committed 3rd November, 1662, for refusing to take the Oath of -Allegiance." - -[Three males.] - -"Committed for being at a private meeting in Wheeler's Street, dated -9th November, 1662." - -[Three names.] - -"Committed for being at an unlawful assembly in Spitalfields; dated -16th November, 1662." - -[Three names.] - -"Committed by John Smith, Esq., being taken in the house of the said -Mary Winch, upon pretence of a religious worship, and own no King but -King Jesus and own themselves to be Fifth Monarchy men. Dated 23rd -November, 1662." - -These extracts have appeared in the _Baptist Magazine_. In others the -names of females occur. - -[410] _Kennet_, 849. - -[411] _Baxter's Life and Times_, ii. 430. - -[412] _History of his Own Time_, i. 193. - -[413] See on this subject, _Burnet's History of his Own Time_, i. 194; -_Lingard_, xi. 220; and _Butler's Memoirs_, iii. 44. - -[414] See the _Lords' Journals_, February 23, 25, 27, 28. "After St. -Bartholomew's Day, the Dissenters, seeing both Court and Parliament -was so much set against them, had much consultation together what -to do. Many were for going over to Holland, and settling there -with their ministers; others proposed New England, and the other -plantations."--_Burnet_, i. 193. - -[415] Clarendon cannot be relieved from a charge of duplicity in this -business. - -[416] See _Lister's Life of Clarendon_, iii. 232, compared with -_Clarendon's Continuation_, 1129. The story is there wrongly dated. So -it is in _Parl. Hist._, iv. 311. - -[417] _Continuation_, 1131. - -[418] Under date April 21, 1663, there is a petition from Samuel -Wilson, who was seized in the Downs for ignorantly receiving a -seditious letter from Hook, a minister, which came wrapped up in a -bundle of books. This person, Mrs. Green, in the _Calendar of State -Papers_, 1663, suggests, is the writer of the remarkable letter here -referred to. No doubt of it. The letter is dated March 2, 1663, -addressed to Mr. Davenport, who was colleague with Hook at New Haven, -in New England. On Hook's return from America to England he became a -minister at Exmouth, and afterwards Master of the Savoy and Chaplain to -Cromwell.--_Palmer's Nonconformist Memorial._ - -[419] This writer attributes depression in trade to the Act of -Uniformity, and blames the Presbyterians for being ready to meet the -Prelates half way, and swallow the Liturgy. - -[420] _Baxter's Life and Times_, ii. 433. - -[421] See _Commons' Journals_, 1663, February 27, March 16. - -[422] _Parl. Hist._, iv. 263-5. - -[423] The Bill against Papists was committed March 17th; that against -Dissenters May 23rd. Several debates, amendments, and divisions took -place. At the beginning of July the Bills were carried up to the Lords. -The Bill against Sectaries was committed by the Upper House, July 22nd, -and there the matter ended. Parliament was prorogued on the 27th. - -[424] _Lords' Journals_, July 25, 27. - -[425] _Lords' Journals_, July 27, 1663. A curious incident occurred -during their sittings. The Bill for the better observance of the -Sabbath was lost off the table, and could not be found. The like had -never occurred before, and "every Lord was called by name, and those -present did make their purgation, and the assistants likewise did -particularly clear themselves." It was the last day of the session. -The Bills to receive the Royal assent had been taken out of a bag, and -opened on the table; but this Bill disappeared, and consequently did -not receive _le Roy le veult_. - -[426] _Walton's Lives_, 424-427. He had left a list of ministers under -his eye designed for discipline, but when he saw death approaching, he -burnt the paper, and said he would die in peace.--_Conformists' Plea -for Nonconformity_, 35. - -[427] _Works_, vi. 443. - -[428] 31st August, 1663. _Evelyn's Diary_, i. 399. - -[429] _State Papers, Dom., Charles II._, June 20, Sept. 22, Oct. 12. -I may add that a very affecting illustration of the sufferings of -an ejected minister through trial and imprisonment for preaching in -some retired place after the Act of Uniformity, is to be found in -_Stanford's Joseph Alleine_, chapters x. and xi. - -[430] _State Papers_, Nov. 9, Dec. 31. - -[431] _Memoirs of Colonel Hutchinson_, 391. - -[432] _Anderson's Hist. of the Colonial Church_, ii. 286. - -[433] _Ibid._, 316-318. - -[434] _Anderson's Hist. of the Colonial Church_, ii. 342. - -[435] The letters in the State Paper Office, from which all these -particulars are taken, are abridged in the _Calendar_ for 1663. Any -one wishing to investigate the subject should study these letters in -connection with _Drake's Eboracum_ and _Whitaker's Loidis and Elmete_. - -[436] Amongst the papers which belonged to the Secretary of State, and -which are now preserved in the Record Office, is an informer's notebook -belonging to this period. As it is a curiosity, and as it contains -allusions to well-known characters, I will give a few extracts in the -Appendix. - -[437] These are all local traditions. - -[438] _Aspland's History of the Old Nonconformists in Duckinfield._ -Like stories are told of Bradley Wood near Newton Abbot, and of -Collier's Wood in Gloucestershire. Places of worship erected or -publicly used during times of indulgence or connivance, will be noticed -in the next Volume. - -[439] _Life of Owen_ by _Orme_. - -[440] _Nelson's Life of Bull_, 253. Other examples of the ejected -having married rich wives may be found in _Kennet_, 910. John Tombes -writing to Williamson, mentions a book on the anvil entitled, -_Theocratia, or a Treatise of the Kingdom of God_, to show that no -claim of coercive jurisdiction, either inferior or co-ordinate to the -King, is warranted by any ecclesiastical rulers, or by any office or -power in the kingdom of Christ in its militant state.... The Bishop of -Winchester, he goes on to say, has put him in hopes of a brotherhood -at the Savoy. Also has had hope from the Lord Keeper of a place at -Rochester in Bishop Warner's Hospital.--_State Papers_, 1668, May 8. -Tombes was a Baptist and therefore could not hold a living, but in -other respects he seems to have been a Conformist. - -[441] _Kennet_, 905, 906, 908. - -[442] _Life by Rogers_, 130, 140. - -[443] _Palmer's Nonconformist Memorial_, i. 352. - -[444] _Life and Times_, iii. 142. - -[445] _Palmer_, ii. 503. - -[446] _Wilkins' Concilia_, iv. 580. - -[447] See _Commons' Journals_, April 27, 28; May 12, 14, 16. - -[448] 16 _Car. II._, cap. iv. - -[449] _Hist._, 1115. - -[450] _State Papers, Dom. Charles II._, 1664, June 20. - -[451] _Ibid._, June 24. - -[452] _State Papers_, 1664, Sept. 30, Nov. 18, Sept. 5, June 2. - -[453] _Broadmead Records_ (_Hanserd Knollys Society_), 76. - -[454] _State Papers_, 1665, July 3 and 15. - -[455] _Clarendon_, 1130. - -[456] _Eccles. Hist._, ii. 89. - -[457] _Cardwell's Synodalia_, ii. 680, _et seq._ - -[458] _Collier_, ii. 893. - -[459] _Parry's Parliaments and Councils_, 551. - -[460] Dated July 7, 1665; _Wilkins' Concilia_, iv. 582. Note in -_Cardwell's Documentary Annals_, ii. 321. - -[461] In _Notes and Queries_ may be found a curious and interesting -collection of predictions of the Plague and Fire of London. See _Choice -Notes--History_, 236. "In delving among what may be termed the popular -religious literature of the latter end of the Commonwealth, and early -part of the reign of Charles, we become aware of the existence of -a kind of nightmare, which the public of that age were evidently -labouring under--a strong and vivid impression that some terrible -calamity was impending over the metropolis." - -[462] _State Papers, Dom. Charles II._ London, August 14, 1665. See -also November 11. - -[463] _Thucydides_, ii. 54. - -[464] _Dom. Charles II._, 1665, July 6. It is interesting to observe -that, as in late visitations of cholera, sanitary regulations were -adopted. Amongst other things it may be noticed that the Bishop of -London would not consecrate any ground unless a perpetuity of the same -might be first obtained--graves were dug deep, and churchyards were -covered with lime.--_Calendar_, 1665-6, Pref. xiii. - -[465] _Dom. Charles II._, 1665, August 15. - -[466] _Ibid._, July 22. - -[467] _Dom. Charles II._, August 19. - -[468] "It is said, my Lord of London hath sent to those pastors that -have quitted their flocks, by reason of these times, that if they -return not speedily, others will be put into their places."--_Ellis' -Letters_, vol. iv. - -[469] _Neal_, iv. 403. The returns dated 1665 from Exeter, St. David's, -and Bristol, are among the Tenison MSS. (Lambeth); also the Bishop of -Exeter's (Seth Ward's) certificate of the hospitals, and almshouses, -pluralists, lecturers, schoolmasters, physicians, and Nonconformists in -his diocese. - -[470] _Wilkins' Concilia_, iv. 583. - -[471] _Autobiography of Patrick, Bishop of Ely_, 52. - -[472] His book, entitled _God's Terrible Voice in the City_, presents -some most graphic accounts of the effects of the pestilence. - -[473] Feb. 4, 1666. Many affecting particulars relative to the Plague -may be found in the notes of this prince of diarists. - -[474] _Blomefield's Hist. of Norwich_, i. 410. - -[475] _Life of Owen Stockton_, 1681, p. 39. - -[476] The story of Mompesson is fully told in _Histories of -Derbyshire_. Most of what is known has been collected in a little work -on the _History of Eyam_, by Mr. Wood, a resident in the village. - -[477] For an account of Stanley and of Shaw, see _Calamy_. - -[478] _Burnet's Hist._, i. 224. - -[479] _Collier_, ii. 893. - -[480] Clarendon, in his speech, at the opening of the Parliament in -Oxford, spoke of the horrid murderers of his late Royal master being -received into the secret counsels of Holland; and of other infamous -persons, admitted to a share in the conduct of their affairs. Some -persons, he said, had wantonly put themselves on board the enemy's -fleet, "purely out of appetite and delight to rebel against their -King."--_Parl. Hist._ iv. 326. - -Burnet says that Algernon Sidney and others proposed to the United -Provinces that they should invade England.--_Hist._ i. 226. - -Sir G. Downing, writing to Clarendon (_Lister's Life_, iii. 144), -remarks: "It is not to be believed what numbers of dissatisfied persons -come daily out of England into this country. They have settled at -Rotterdam, an Independent, an Anabaptist, and Quaker Church, and do -hire the best house, and have great bills of exchange come over from -England." - -[481] July 7, 1665. _Wilkins_, iv. 582. See page 331 of this vol. - -[482] 17 _Car._ ii. cap. 2. - -[483] An anonymous correspondent writes on November 24, 1665 (_State -Papers_), to Lord Arlington, that "all are amazed at the late Act -against Nonconformity, judging it against the law of nature, and -therefore void, but that the Presbyterians will defeat its design, for -some of the chief incline to take the oath." - -[484] _Eccles. Hist._, i. 500. - -[485] He was present on each occasion of the Bill being read, Oct. 26, -27, and 30. See _Lords' Journals_. - -[486] _Eccles. Hist._, ii. 112. - -[487] _Burnet_, i. 224. - -[488] _Baxter's Life and Times_, iii. 3. - -[489] _Parl. Hist._, iv. 328. - -[490] _Ralph's Hist. of England._ "The providence by which it was -thrown out was very remarkable, for Mr. Peregrine Bertie, being newly -chosen, was that morning introduced into the house by his brother, the -now Earl of Lindsey, and Sir Thomas Osborne, now Lord Treasurer, who -all three gave their votes against the Bill, and the numbers were so -even upon that division that their three voices carried the question -against it."--_Locke's Letter from a Person of Quality._ - -[491] He was not made Lord Keeper until 1667. - -[492] _Neal_, iv. 401, says it was moved that the word _unlawfully_ -might be inserted in the oath, before the word endeavour, but all was -rejected. He refers for authority to _Baxter_, iii. 15, (it should be -13) but I find nothing there to that effect. If it was as Neal states, -it is difficult to understand how Bates could have argued as he did. - -[493] This account is given by Bates himself.--_Baxter's Life_, iii. 14. - -[494] For those who took the oath see _Baxter_, iii. 13. See also -_Calamy's Abridgment_, note 312. - -[495] _Baxter's Life and Times_, iii. 13. His inquiries respecting the -oath went far beyond the meaning of the word _endeavour_. - -[496] _Hunter's Life of Heywood_, 173. - -[497] _Life of Philip Henry_, 108. - -[498] For his character by Burnet see _Hist. of his Own Time_, i. 100. - -[499] The following story is given in a letter written just after -the Duke's duel with the Earl of Shrewsbury. If the story be true, -it is one of evanescent religious impression, or of unparalleled -hypocrisy:--"The Duke of Buckingham is become a most eminent convert -from all the vanities he hath been reported to have been addicted to; -hath had a solemn day of prayer for the completing and confirming -the great work upon him. Dr. Owen, and others of the like persuasion -(Independents), were the carriers on of the work. He is said to keep -correspondence with the chief of those parties. He grows more and more -in favour and power."--_Hunter's Life of Heywood_, 198. - -[500] February 28, _Cal. Dom._, 1665-66, pref. xxx. - -[501] In the Record Office--besides many other papers under the year -1665 respecting plots in Yorkshire--there is a long one extending -to eighteen pages, full of minute particulars on the subject, dated -December 24th, entitled _Information given to Mr. Sheriff_. - -[502] _James' Life of Louis XIV._, ii. 143. - -[503] _State Papers, Cal._ 1665-66, _pref._ xix.-xxv. Historians have -given inaccurate or incomplete accounts of these naval battles. Ample -materials for a full description are afforded in these documents. - -[504] _Essay on Dramatic Poesie._ - -[505] _State Papers, Dom. Cal._, 1666-67, _pref._ xxvii. - -[506] The booksellers near St. Paul's conveyed their property to the -crypt for safety, but it was destroyed. The loss in books was estimated -at £150,000.--_Harl. Misc._ vii. 330. - -[507] _Autobiography of William Taswell, D.D. Camden Miscellany_, -vol. ii. A bridge at Westminster, extending across the river, was not -erected until the year 1738--opened 1750. By Westminster Bridge is here -meant either a landing pier or a bridge over a creek. - -[508] Compiled from _Strype's Stow_, _Pepys_, _Evelyn_, _Baxter_, -_Harl. Misc._, vii., _State Papers_, 1666-7 (see _Calendar_), and -_Notes and Queries_. - -[509] _State Papers, Dom. Charles II., Cal._ 1666-67, _pref._ xii., xix. - -[510] _Commons' Journal_, October 26, 1666. - -[511] _State Papers, Cal._ 1666-67, _pref._ xiii. - -[512] _Life_, ii. 396; iii. 165. - -[513] _Hist. of his Own Times_, i. 270. - -[514] _Life and Times_, iii. 162. - -[515] _Ibid._, iii. 19. - -[516] _Burnet_, i. 270. - -[517] _State Papers, Cal._ 1666-7, _Pref._ xix.-xxiii., and references. - -[518] _Dom. Charles II._ 1666, Dec. 3. Richard Browne to Williamson. -Same date, John Allen to Williamson. - -[519] Dr. Basire to Williamson, 1666, Dec. 17. - -[520] _State Papers, Dom. Charles II._, 1666, Dec. 14. A further -allusion is made to these strange people in a letter by Sanderson -to Williamson, Feb. 5, 1667, in which, also, reference is made to -Mr. Cocks, steward to Lady Vane, at Raby Castle, as a very dangerous -person. There is likewise a previous letter on the same subject (1666, -Nov. 6.) In another paper, attached to that of Feb. 5, allusions occur -to persons of quality as engaged in plots. "They will try to get up -Richard Cromwell as the only one who has a right to rule." - -[521] _State Papers._ Letter by John Rushworth, 1667, June 15. - -[522] "Chester, a stronghold of Nonconformity, was much perplexed. -Some said we were asleep, or should have fortified ourselves, knowing -the enemy near. All concluded there was treachery in the business, and -hoped the contrivers would receive the reward due to those who betray -King and country." Sir Geoffry Shakerley to Williamson, Chester, June -19, 1667.--_State Papers._ - -"At Yarmouth the Presbyterian party raised the cry of treachery because -there had been an attempt to leave the place in charge of Major -Markham, who was disliked as being a Papist; and because the trained -bands had been sent for to Newmarket, and none others sent in their -room, and, therefore the town left defenceless."--June 21, 1667. - -[523] _State Papers._ Same date. - -[524] The peace with Holland, which was proclaimed August 24th, 1667, -was very popular. At Weymouth "it, as it were, raised the dead to life, -and made them rich in thought, though their purses are empty. At Lynn -the bells have hardly lain still since the news of peace."--_State -Papers, Cal._, 1667-8, _pref._ lv. - -[525] Of the disgrace of Lord Chancellor Clarendon, the notes in -the _State Papers_, as Mrs. Green says, are "provokingly few and -unimportant." - -[526] _Hallam's Constit. Hist._, ii. 69. - -[527] _Baxter_, iii. 26. Holles the Presbyterian protested against -the banishment of Clarendon--_Hallam_, ii. 69. The fall of Clarendon -comes but incidentally within the range of this history. For a legal -and constitutional view of his impeachment, I must refer the reader -to Mr. Hallam, and Lord Campbell. In the _Life of James II._ edited -by _Clarke_, vol. i. 431, it is stated that the Presbyterian party -made overtures to Clarendon, to stand by him, if he would stand by -himself, and join with the Duke in opposing his enemies; hoping thereby -to separate the Duke from his brother, and to "bring low the regal -authority." This is a very improbable story. - -[528] _Clarendon's State Papers_, iii. _Sup._ xxxviii. _Lister's Life -of Clarendon_, ii. 483. - -[529] _Historical Inquiries respecting the character of Edward Hyde, -Earl of Clarendon, by the Hon. George Agar Ellis_, has just come in my -way. He paints the Chancellor in very dark colours indeed: but adds -nothing to the facts of his history as given by popular historians. I -cannot adopt all Mr. Ellis' condemnatory conclusions. - -[530] One great blot on Cecil's character was the perjury involved in -his signing the Device of Edward VI. To say he signed as a witness is a -subterfuge. - -The following passage on Nonconformity from Clarendon's pen is equally -deficient in charity and wisdom:--"Their faction is their religion: -nor are those combinations ever entered into upon real and substantial -motives of conscience, how erroneous soever, but consist of many -glutinous materials, of will, and humour, and folly, and knavery, -and ambition, and malice, which make men inseparably cling together, -till they have satisfaction in all their pretences, _or till they are -absolutely broken and subdued, which may always be more easily done -than the other_."--_Life of Clarendon by Lister_, ii. 121. - -[531] _State Papers, Dom._, under dates. - -[532] _Discourse on the Religion of England_, 1667. - -[533] _Wood's Athen. Ox._, iii. 1264. - -[534] "It is said that an Act is preparing by some of the House for -the dispensing with the Act of Uniformity, which is clearly against -the Bishops' government,--another for the punishment of such as have -been the occasions of misfortunes befallen this land--as also against -those that counselled the dividing the fleet: so that all that find -themselves guilty do make interest in the Parliament House. Some -have recourse to the Presbyterian party, which they would not do if -they were not brought to the utmost extremity."--_State Papers, News -Letter_, Sept. 2/12, 1667. - -[535] It is printed in _Thorndike's Works_, v. 302. - -[536] _Pepys_, Jan. 20 and 31, 1668. - -[537] _Ibid._, 5th Feb. - -[538] The part taken by Hale is described in his _Life, by Burnet_. - -[539] Made Bishop in 1675. Barlow's conduct as Bishop did not accord -with the liberality which he showed at this period. See in the next -volume a notice of his conduct in 1684. - -[540] It is stated by _Burnet_, _Hist._ i. 259, that Tillotson and -Stillingfleet took part in the scheme, but Baxter does not say so, -though he alludes to them as friendly to the scheme of 1675. Perhaps -Burnet confounded the two attempts. - -[541] He did not publish what he wrote, but it is inserted in the -Oxford Edition of his works, v. 309-344. - -[542] _Pepys' Diary_, Feb. 10, 1668. - -[543] _Parl. Hist._, iv. 404. - -[544] Birch, as we have seen, informed Pepys that the King was for -toleration, but the Bishops were against it. The great difficulty was -about tolerating Papists. - -[545] _Pepys' Diary_, Feb. 28, 1668. - -[546] _Life of Philip Henry_, 112. - -[547] _Parl. Hist._, iv. 413. - -[548] _Ibid._, 414-422. These speakers were Colonel Sandys, Sir John -Earnly, Sir W. Hickman, Mr. Ratcliffe, Sir Walter Yonge, Sir J. -Littleton, Sir John Birkenhead, and Mr. Seymour. - -[549] _Constitutional History_, ii. 70. - -[550] _Baxter's Life and Times_, iii. 37. - -[551] _Concilia_, iv. 588. The returns are found among the Tenison -MSS., Lambeth, No. 639. They include accounts of Conventicles in the -dioceses of Canterbury, Chichester, Ely, Exeter, Llandaff, Lichfield -and Coventry, Lincoln, London, Norwich, Winchester, Worcester, York, -Chester, Carlisle, and St. Asaph. There were returns from some dioceses -in 1665. - -[552] Sheldon complained that he could not obtain the returns that he -wanted. Lambeth MSS., August 16, 1669. - -[553] _Own Times_, i. 258. "He told me he had a chaplain, that was a -very honest man, but a very great blockhead, to whom he had given a -living in Suffolk, that was full of that sort of people. He had gone -about among them from house to house, though he could not imagine what -he could say to them, for he said he was a very silly fellow; but that -he believed his nonsense suited their nonsense, for he had brought -them all to church; and in reward of his diligence, he had given him a -bishopric in Ireland." Burnet gives the other report on the authority -of a letter written by Sir Robert Murray. I may observe here, that -party writers on both sides treat Burnet according to their prejudices; -the one party believing implicitly everything he says to the -disadvantage of the Church; the other party rejecting his evidence on -this subject as utterly worthless. It appears to me that,--remembering -Burnet's gossiping habits, and that he was a strong party man, and -also noticing that he often tells his stories in a loose way, and, -like Clarendon, writes down his recollections long after the time when -the incidents he records had occurred--we ought to read him with great -care, and not place implicit reliance upon his unsupported testimony. -Yet, on the whole, Burnet appears to me to have been an honest man. His -character will come under review in a future volume of this history, -should I be permitted to complete it. - -[554] _Life and Times_, iii. 46. - -[555] _Lords' Journals_, March 26. Referring to a Royal journey at this -period, Dalrymple says:--"It was intended that the King and the Duke -should have gone to Dover together; but by an accident, Charles went -alone. For all the Conventicles were to be shut up in London upon the -ensuing Sunday, and the Duke was left behind to guard the City against -riots, which were dreaded upon that occasion."--_Dalrymple's Memoirs_, -vol. i. 31. - -[556] 22 _Car. II._ cap. i. It appears from a letter written by Colbert -to Louis XIV. that Charles had a political end in view in connection -with the Act. "The King designs to make the last Act of Parliament -against the meetings of the sectaries be observed; and he hopes that -their disobedience will give him the easier means of increasing the -force of his troops and coming speedily to the end he proposes." 6th -June, 1670.--_Dalrymple's Memoirs_, vol. iii., App. 60. - -[557] See _Wilkins Concilia_, iv. 589. - -[558] See _Popes Life of Ward_, 67, 69. - -[559] _Calamy_, ii. 333. - -[560] The trial is given in _State Trials_; and in _Sewel's History of -Quakers_, ii. 195 _et seq._ There is a draft letter in the State Paper -Office. Entry Book, June 29th, 1670, addressed to Reynolds, Bishop -of Norwich, and another in the Lambeth Library, dated July 6th (No. -DCLXXIV. No. 24), which when brought together and compared show how the -Act of Uniformity was evaded, and how combined efforts were made after -the second Conventicle Act had passed to bring the Church of England -into correspondence with the laws. The letters relate to a case of -irregularity at Bury St. Edmunds, when fanatics were said to make use -of the Church. - -[561] _State Papers._ Letter from James Douch, June 10, 1671. - -[562] North calls it "a double-visaged Ministry, half Papist and half -Fanatic." _Lives_, i. 178. - -[563] Lauderdale had once made a great profession of religion. On the -14th of December, 1658, he wrote to Baxter saying, "I wish I knew any -were fit to translate your books. I am sure they would take hugely -abroad, and I think it were not amiss to begin with the _Call to the -Unconverted_."--_Baxter MS._, Dr. Williams' Library. - -[564] Clarendon says of Arlington that he knew no more of English -affairs than of those of China, and believed France the best pattern -in the world.--_Life_, 1095. I cannot enter into the political history -of the Cabal. I would only repeat what Earl Russell says: there were -two methods adopted of dealing with France--a sham treaty, and a -secret negotiation. The part taken by the Cabal in this was not equal. -Clifford and Arlington, the two Catholics, conducted the latter; -Buckingham managed the former, to which Lauderdale gave a ready, Ashley -a reluctant, consent. Clifford and Arlington were alone in the King's -confidence.--_Life of Lord William Russell_, 50. - -To Clifford, not to Shaftesbury, as is commonly supposed, belongs -the disgrace of shutting the Exchequer. Evelyn settles the -question.--_Diary_, March 12, 1672. - -[565] _Lords' Journal_, Feb. 11, 1674. - -[566] The measure was, in Council, moved and seconded by Clifford and -Ashley.--_Lingard_, xii. 10. - -[567] The catechism, says Cardwell (_Documentary Annals_, ii. 337) was -probably Dean Nowel's small catechism, which was printed originally -in 1570, and was generally used in schools down to the time of -Strype.--See his _Life of Parker_, ii. 18. - -[568] _Burnet_, i. 307. - -[569] It is dated March 15, and is printed in _Bunyan's Works_, iii., -_Introduction_, 21. - -[570] _Parl. Hist._, iv. 515. - -[571] "An answer unto certain objections formed against the proceedings -of His Majesty to suspend the laws against Conventicles by His -declaration, March 15, 1672."--_State Papers, Dom. 1673, bundle 190, -fol. 164._ - -[572] These were the Bishop of Durham's queries.--_Cosin's Works_, iv. -384. - -[573] _Baxter's Life and Times_, iii. 99. _Life of Philip Henry_, 128. - -[574] A short treatise on the lawfulness of the Oath of Supremacy and -the power of the King in ecclesiastical affairs, by Philip Nye, was -published in 1683. Nye died in 1672, and when this treatise was written -does not appear on the title page. He ascribes to the magistrate, -power "to send out preachers, to urge and constrain men to hear.... -A coercive power of this nature is placed in no other hand but his." -It is strange indeed to find an Independent writing thus. After -exalting the civil power, and enforcing the duty of submitting to Royal -Supremacy, the author, in a postscript, speaks of His Majesty's most -gracious Declaration; and seemingly, without any idea that it could be -inconsistent to accept the indulgence, maintains that there is nothing -in the opinions of Independents that "should render us, in any sort, -incapable of receiving the fruit and benefit of the King's majesty's -favour and indulgence, promised to tender consciences." Probably -Nye wrote this piece just about the time when the indulgence was -issued--seven months before his death. Nye's tract (with many others, -which I have found very instructive) is preserved in Dr. Williams' -Library. - -[575] _Burnet_, i. 308. - -[576] _Orme's Life of Owen_, 272. - -[577] _Wilson's Hist. of Dissenting Churches_, iii. 187. - -[578] Bunyan's license is given in Offor's preface to _Bunyan's Works_. -Numbers of entries from the Register, and copies of applications and -licenses have been printed in local histories of Dissent. The original -documents are preserved in the Record Office. - -[579] _State Papers_, 1672. - -[580] _Hist. of his Own Time_, i. 308. - -[581] _Life of Calamy_, ii. 469, 470. I do not observe that Mr. Orme, -in his _Life of Owen_, notices this statement. - -In the volume published by the Camden Society entitled _Moneys received -and paid for secret services of Charles II. and James II._, it appears -that a physician who was in the confidence of the Presbyterian party, -and who often represented them, was in the pay of the Court. For this -reference, and other valuable suggestions on the subject, I am indebted -to the Rev. R. B. Aspland. - -[582] It is stated that the usual fees to certain officers in -connection with this business were in some cases remitted. - -[583] The particulars respecting Carver and Moore are taken from -letters by Ellis Hookes written to the wife of George Fox, dated -January, 1670, and preserved in the Records of the Quakers' Meeting -House, Devonshire Square. The letters, or the substance of them, -with entries in the Council Books, are given by Mr. Offor, in his -introduction to the _Pilgrim's Progress_. - -I have rested on the authority of so accurate a copyist without -inspecting the originals. The statement, often repeated, that Bunyan -owed his liberty to Bishop Barlow is quite a mistake. - -[584] _Parl. Hist._ iv. 503, 506. The following letter in the State -Paper Office, _Dom. Charles II._, is curious:-- - -"Yesterday morning we had a very fair choice for a burgess, and Sir -Edward Spragg hath carried the day by 40 votes; but if my father and -the rest of the Jurates and Common Councilmen had not thought to have -made about 50 freemen the day before the election, the fanatic party -had been too much for us; but we hope we have done them down to all -intents and purposes; but still they threaten to have the Jurates up to -London, for making those freemen the day before the election. - -"LAWSON CARLILE. - -DOVER, _February 2, 1673_." - -[585] The Country party consisted chiefly of Lords Russell and -Cavendish, Sir W. Coventry, Colonel Birch, Mr. Powle, and Mr. -Littleton. Lee and Garroway were suspected characters. Marvel says: - -"Till Lee and Garroway shall bribes reject." - -[586] _Wilson's Life of Defoe_, i. 58. - -[587] _Parl. Hist._, iv. 517-526. - -[588] _Journals_, February 10, 1672/3. - -[589] _Parl. Hist._, iv. 527-533. Colbert, writing to Louis XIV., 9th -of March, 1673, says, "The Chancellor, the Treasurer, and the Dukes of -Buckingham and Lauderdale are of opinion to maintain this Declaration -of the King, their master, in favour of the Nonconformists; and that -if the Parliament persist in their remonstrances, as it is not doubted -they will, to dissolve it, and call another. They do not even want good -reasons to support their opinion. My Lord Arlington, who at present is -single in his sentiments, says, that the King his master, ought not to -do it."--_Dalrymple's Memoirs_, iii. 89. - -[590] On the 18th of February the House resolved to go into Committee -on the following day. - -[591] _Parl. Hist._, iv. 535-542. Kennet, Rapin, Burnet, and Neal -give very unsatisfactory accounts of the debate. Burnet's account is -inaccurate. - -[592] The Commonwealth's-man, Colonel Birch, spoke on the subject, but -it does not appear that he advocated any broad measure of religious -liberty. - -[593] _Parl. Hist._, iv. 552-553. The _Journals_ under date contain the -Resolutions. - -[594] There are remarks on this Bill written by Mr. John Humphrey in -_Baxter's Life_, iii. 144. - -[595] _Parl. Hist._, iv. 571-574. - -[596] Parliament was adjourned on the 29th of March, to the 20th of -October; then prorogued to the 27th, and again on the 4th of November -to the 7th of January, 1674. - -[597] _Parl. Hist._ iv. 553-6. - -[598] _Lingard_ (xii. 27) states the fact on the authority of the -French Ambassador (_Dalrymple_, ii. App. 90), and the motives on the -authority of _Marvell_, i. 494. - -[599] _Parl. Hist._ iv. 561, March 12. - -[600] _Lord Campbell's Lives of the Lord Chancellors_, iv. 181. - -[601] _Burnet_, i. 348. - -[602] _Life of Calamy_, i. 102. - -[603] _Journals_, Feb. 24, March 8. After the Declaration had been -withdrawn the old licenses gave much trouble. "The present favour which -I beg of you is, your sense about Conventicles and meetings, for I am -in the Commission of Peace for the University and Town of Cambridge, -and am threatened by some busy informers with the penalty of £100, -which you know the Act enjoins, if I grant not warrants upon complaint -against them. Now I beseech you to write by the first post, or let -Mr. Ball, or some of your people write to me what you know to be His -Majesty's sense in this particular, whether we should grant warrants -to suppress them, they having license to preach and meet."--_State -Papers_, April 5, 1673. Mr. Carr to Sir J. Williamson. - -The mayor of Weymouth wrote to Sir J. Williamson (Nov. 21, 1674), -informing him that certain persons accused of keeping a Conventicle had -pleaded His Majesty's "License and Warrant." He asks for direction how -"to manage this affair." - -[604] Dalrymple (_Memoirs_, iii. 92) remarks: "Charles' Declaration -of Indulgence has been commonly imputed to the intrigues of France -with Charles for the purpose of serving the interest of Popery. -But Colbert's despatches show that France had not the least hand -in it, that it was a scheme of Buckingham and Shaftesbury to gain -the Dissenters, and that France was the cause of Charles' recalling -it." The letters printed in _Dalrymple_ indicate that Buckingham -and Shaftesbury had strongly supported the Declaration, and show -further that Charles wished Louis XIV. to believe that to please him -he withdrew it. "He assured me," says Colbert, "that your Majesty's -sentiments had always more power over him than all the reasonings of -his most faithful Ministers." March 20, 1673. - -[605] "All Sectaries," says Reresby (_Memoirs_, 174), "now publicly -repaired to their meetings and Conventicles, nor could all the laws -afterwards, and the most rigorous execution of them, ever suppress -these Separatists, or bring them to due conformity." - -[606] Where Owen's Church met has been regarded as uncertain, but -the returns made in 1667 to Sheldon's inquiries specify the place of -meeting at that time as White's Alley. - -[607] Afterwards Lord Haversham. - -[608] See Anecdotes of Mrs. Bendish in _Noble's Memoirs of the -Protectoral House of Cromwell_, ii. 329. - -[609] _Life_, by Sir H. Ashurst, 27. - -[610] _Ibid._, 100. - -[611] He wished to be made a Justice of the Peace; but his appointment -was opposed by Sir John Petties, a moderate Churchman, who remarks in -a letter dated January 4, 1674-5--there are a "sort of men in this -kingdom so hot and fiery, so active and inexperienced, who labour much -in those things which tend to the disquiet of the kingdom (of whom -we have a great share in our county), and are almost as dangerous as -the other two sorts of Dissenters (Romanists and Nonconformists), for -by their indiscreet and hot endeavours, instead of suppressing those -Dissenters, I dare say that they (though unwittingly and unwillingly) -give them the greatest animation and increase." - -[612] There are numerous letters belonging to this period in the -State Paper Office, written by Bowen. Letters dated 1675, Jan. 15; -Feb. 17, 19, 24, furnish what I have said, and a great deal more. It -appears from the following extract, as well as from a former one, -that Nonconformists did not always meekly submit to their oppressors. -In reading the letter, however, it must be remembered that an enemy -writes it. "John Faucet had disturbed the Presbyterians at worship in -the Granary--and, in consequence, was violently assaulted, beaten, and -trodden upon by several rude persons, and in great danger of his life." - -(Norwich, Dec. 11, 1674, Thomas Corie.) - -A similar complaint is made by Bowen of the treatment of a constable -who disturbed a meeting at Yarmouth. - -[613] Sheldon sent letters to the Bishops of his province making fresh -inquiries about Dissenters.--_Neal_, iv. 467. - -[614] _Neal_, iv. 464. - -[615] Baxter spent an immense amount of subtle casuistry upon the -subject of the declaration, and actually put such a forced meaning upon -it, that he said there was nothing in it to be refused!--_Life and -Times_, iii. 168. - -[616] _Parl. Hist._, iv. 714. See Locke's Letter, _Ibid._, Appendix, -xlvii.; _Calamy's Life_, i. 79. - -[617] _Life and Times_, iii. 109. - -[618] _Life and Times_, 156. - -[619] _Ibid._, 110, 131. - -[620] _Ibid._, 156. For notices of Morley's character, see p. 477 of -this volume. - -[621] The well-known letter of Tillotson to Baxter is an interesting -record of the result of their well-meant endeavours:--"I took the first -opportunity," he says, "after you were with us, to speak to the Bishop -of Salisbury, who promised to keep the matter private, and only to -acquaint the Bishop of Chester with it in order to a meeting; but, upon -some general discourse, I plainly perceived several things could not -be obtained. However, he promised to appoint a time of meeting, but I -have not heard from him since. I am unwilling my name should be used in -this matter; not but that I do most heartily desire an accommodation, -and shall always endeavour it, but I am sure it will be a prejudice -to me, and signify nothing to the effecting of the thing, which as -circumstances are, cannot pass in either House without the concurrence -of a considerable part of the Bishops, and the countenance of His -Majesty, which at present I see little reason to expect." Dated April -11, 1675. _Baxter's Life and Times_, iii. 157. - -[622] _Parl. Hist._, iv. 741. - -[623] _State Papers_, November 8. - -[624] _State Papers_, 1676. Bowen to Williamson. February 21. - -[625] _State Papers_, 1676, July 7, 10. The following is a specimen -of the kind of stories which this man sent up to London:--"Last night -the three informers that have put by our meetings here were amongst -several of the passengers in a passage-boat going for Norwich, where -they were no sooner placed but some of our Independents called out to -the passengers and told them they had informing rogues amongst them, -and surely they would not take such rascals with them; upon which the -passengers began to leave the boat. So the boatmen, to keep their -passengers, turned the informers out upon the key [quay]--where, when -they were landed, they began to throw stones at them, but making their -escape, they came to my house, upon which I went down to the key -[quay], and there learned who some of them were, and gave the informers -their names, who are since bound over to the sessions." _State Papers_, -1676, July 12. - -[626] _State Papers_, October 9. - -[627] _Harl. Misc._, viii. 7. _Lives of the Norths_, i. 316, _et seq._, -see Notes. _Knight's Popular Hist._, iv. 326. - -[628] _Wood_, iv. 226. - -[629] Owen writes very guardedly in reply to Parker's doctrine of the -magistrates' power.--_Works_, xxi. 209, _et seq._ - -[630] _Life and Times_, iii. 42. - -[631] _Anthony Wood._ There is plenty of satire in the two books by -Marvell; the second is more cutting than the first, but it is sometimes -coarser, and on the whole wearisome to modern readers. - -[632] This tract is printed in _Somers' Collection_, iii. 329, 388. My -own judgment of it agrees with Mr. Hallam's:--"It is not written with -extraordinary ability; but it is very candid and well designed, though -conceding so much as to scandalize his brethren."--_Const. Hist._ ii. -93. - -Marvell, in his _Mr. Smirke on the Divine in Mode_, speaks of the work -as having been originally printed only for members of Parliament, and -not published, but that a printer got hold of it, and "surreptitiously" -multiplied copies without the author's knowledge. Yet the published -edition, though commencing with the words, "An humble petition to -the Right Honourable the Lords and Commons in Parliament assembled," -contains an address "to the reader" at the beginning, and another to -the Nonconformists at the end. - -[633] _Mr. Smirke, or the Divine in Mode._ By Andrew Marvell. - -[634] _Marvell's Mr. Smirke_, which was an answer to Turner's -animadversions.--_Baxter's Life and Times_, iii. 175. Three other -books, bearing the title of _Naked Truth_, headed respectively the -second, third, and fourth parts, were published afterwards, but not by -Bishop Croft. - -[635] Numerous letters in the Record Office show the prevalence in -1667 of rumours respecting the King's design to bring in Popery. For -example:-- - -"Fanatics in the North, being disappointed of assistance from abroad by -the peace set up, then rest on their friends' behalf, that the King is -a Papist, and intends to set up the Popish religion, and have so far -possessed not only fanatics, but several of the ignorant common people -with this opinion, that it is publicly discoursed among them, that they -will rise in arms for defence of religion, and oppose the King and the -Popish party. They persuade their disciples that their friends in the -South are ready to appear in arms for defence of religion, and oppose -the King and the Popish party."--Sir P. Musgrave to Williamson, Aug. -22, 1667. _Cal._ 409. - -[636] _Life of James II._, i. 441. _Dalrymple's Memoirs_, i. 70; iii. -1-68. The treaty is printed in _Lingard_, xi. 364. Rarely has anything -in diplomacy been so unprincipled and shameful as Article II. of this -document. Charles' pretexts were religious, his object political. - -[637] See letters in _Phenix_, i. 566. _Calamy's Life_, i. 119. - -[638] _G. P. R. James' Life of Louis XIV._, ii. 171. - -[639] _Evelyn_, ii. 88. - -[640] _Harris' Charles II._, ii. 81. - -[641] _Lingard_, xi. 356. April 10, 1671. Wednesday. "This evening her -royal highness' body was privately conveyed from St. James' Palace, -where she died, to Westminster, where, till things could be put in -order, [she] was deposited in state in the painted chamber; and about -nine in the evening she was most solemnly attended to the Abbey by her -own, the King's, the Queen's, and the Duke's servants. A vast train of -the nobility, gentry, and many members of Parliament, in their blacks, -guarded by two companies of foot, and finally interred in the royal -vault of Henry VII.'s chapel. The ceremony [was] performed by the -Bishop of Rochester, the Dean of Westminster Cathedral, to the extreme -grief and disconsolation of all present. The Court, on this occasion, -are entered into solemn mourning, in which 'tis thought they may -continue for some months."--_State Papers._ - -[642] _Wood_, _Ath. Ox._, ii. 614. The article on Woodhead is copious -and interesting. - -[643] _Chalmer's Biographical Dictionary._ - -[644] _Butler's English Catholics_, iv. 425. - -[645] This account of the working of Roman Catholicism in England -is taken from the _MSS. Travels of Cosmo, the third Grand Duke of -Tuscany_, (1669), printed in Appendix to _Butler's English Cath._, iii. -513. - -[646] Five editions of _Pascal_ were published between 1658 and 1688. -The _Protestant Almanack_ for 1668 is a disgraceful publication. - -[647] _State Papers, Dom._ 1667, Sept. 6. (_Cal._) - -[648] _State Papers, Dom._, 1667. October 28 (_Cal._). - -[649] The following letter is addressed to Sir Joseph Williamson, -Whitehall.--"Worthy Sir,--This day came the proclamation against -Papists to Nottingham, being the last assize day. It was received with -so much joy that bells and bonfires rung and flamed at that rate as -they never did since His Majesty's restoration. The fanatics contended -with the conformists who should show most zeal in expressing their joy -for His Majesty's great grace. You may believe without swearing that -neither this news, nor what the King did in the house last Saturday, -was unwelcome to, Sir, - - "Your most humble Servant, - - "P. WHALLEY. - - "_Martij 15, 1672._ - -"If one of your clerks would take notice on't in the next _Gazette_, it -would gratify the whole corporation."--_State Papers, Dom. Chas. II._ - -[650] _State Papers, Dom. Chas. II._ Letter from W. Aston, 1676, April -3. - -[651] _State Papers_, June 6, Nov. 10-13. - -[652] _State Papers_, 1674, Jan. 20. Connected with this communication -are papers containing drafts of advice for suppressing Popery. The -Bishops of Canterbury, Durham, Winchester, Salisbury, Peterborough, -Rochester, Chichester, and Chester, reply "that they observe with -sorrow the growth of profaneness, Romanism, and Dissent;" "that they -do not think any new laws are necessary for the purpose, but only the -removal of such obstructions as have hitherto hindered the execution of -them." What those obstructions were, the authors of this conclusion do -not specify. There is another paper in the same bundle, recommending -the Attorney-General to bestir himself in the matter, and that letters -should be written to the Justices of the Peace; that there be a new -general proclamation; that constables and churchwardens should be -enjoined to search for suspected persons; and that the orders against -priests, Popish seminaries, and resort of Papists to Court, should be -fixed at the Court Gate, St. James's, and Somerset House. - -[653] This is Reresby's own account. Ralph follows him, but in the -imperfect reports of the debates in the _Parl. Hist._ (iv. 780), the -statement in the House is said to have been made by Mr. Russel. - -[654] _Lingard_, xii. 72. - -[655] _State Papers, Dom. Charles II._, 1676, Oct. 27. - -[656] _Glanvill's Zealous and Impartial Protestant_, p. 46. This and -other instances of exaggeration are given in _The Happy Future State -of England_, p. 140. It should be stated that the author of this last -work endeavours to make out the Roman Catholics to have been as few -as possible. The population of England, and the relative proportion -of different classes of religionists, will be noticed in a subsequent -chapter. - -[657] "The debate or arguments for dissolving this present Parliament," -1675. Written by the Earl of Shaftesbury. _Parl. Hist._, IV. lxxviii. - -[658] _Campbell's Lives_, iv. 185. - -[659] _Parl. Hist._, iv. 801. - -[660] _Life of James II._, i. 505. _Parl. Hist._, iv. 814, 824. - -[661] _State Papers_, April, 1677. - -[662] _Lingard_, xii. 96, 97. The Resolutions on which these Bills were -founded are contained in the _Lords' Journals_, 1677, February 21 & 22. - -[663] March 20, _Parl. Hist._, iv. 853-7. The same History (iv. 858) -takes notice on the 29th of March of Marvell's boxing Sir Philip -Harcourt's ear for stumbling on his foot. - -[664] _Parl. Hist._ iv. 862. _Journals_, 1677, April 4. - -[665] _Ibid._, 863. _Lords' Journals_, April 13; May 26. - -[666] _Lords' Journals_, April 12, 13, 14. - -[667] The Act now noticed should be considered in connection with what -is said in a preceding part of this History, p. 96. - -[668] _Commons' Journals_, April 29. - -[669] _Parl. Hist._, iv. 980. - -[670] June 12. _Parl. Hist._, iv. 990. - -[671] _Hist. of his Own Time_, i. 177. - -[672] _Hook's Archbishops._ Second series, i. 173. - -[673] Hammond, in 1654, speaks of Sheldon's being "very good company." -_Letter in Harl. MSS._, 21, printed in _Ecclesiastic_, April, 1853. - -[674] See Pepys' account of a dinner party at Lambeth, _Diary_, May -14th, 1669. He tells disgraceful stories about Sheldon which were -current at the time; and, it should be remembered, that although -Sheldon at length rebuked Charles for his intimacy with Lady -Castlemaine, it does not appear that he had before broken silence as to -the shameful libertinism of the Court. - -[675] Wood says (_Ath. Ox._, iv. 855) that Sheldon was not installed -at Canterbury, and never visited it during the time that he was -Archbishop; nor did he visit Oxford all the time he was Chancellor. - -[676] The expression is Milman's, in reference to another character. - -[677] In these sketches, I include all the notable members of the -Episcopal body down to the Revolution--but, though I anticipate the -period embraced in our subsequent narrative, the seven Bishops are -omitted, as they will require particular notice hereafter. - -[678] _Aubrey's Letters_, iii. 574. - -[679] _Pope's Life of Ward_, 57. This book abounds in amusing anecdotes. - -[680] There is in the Lambeth Library, in addition to the returns -made to Sheldon, an account of the number and proportions of Popish -recusants, obstinate Separatists, and Conformists, inhabitants of -Wiltshire, and Berkshire, under the immediate jurisdiction of the -Bishop of Sarum, by Seth Ward, 1676. See as to Ward, _Baxter's Life and -Times_, iii. 86. - -[681] Seth Ward told Aubrey a queer story respecting a theological -opponent. "One Mr. Hagger, a gentleman, and good mathematician, was -well acquainted with Mr. Th. Hariot, and was wont to say, that he did -not like (or valued it not) the old story of the creation of the world. -He could not believe the old position, he would say, _ex nihilo nihil -fit_. But, said Mr. Hagger, a _nahitú_ killed him at last; for in the -top of his nose came a little red speck (exceeding small), which grew -bigger and bigger, and at last killed him. I suppose it was that which -the chirurgeons call a _noli me tangere_." _Letters_, iii. 368. - -[682] _Burnet_, i. 590. - -[683] _Morley's Treatises._ Sermon before the King, p. 38. - -[684] He had unfairly preached against Baxter, and blazed abroad his -marriage with all the odium he could cast upon it. _Life and Times_, -ii. 375, 384. I have noticed Baxter's opinion of Morley, and the -conduct of the latter, on p. 439 of this volume. - -[685] _Life and Times_, iii. 84. The spirit of Morley is manifested in -the following passage, speaking of Kidderminster--"The truth is, that -Mr. Baxter was never either parson, vicar, or curate there, or anywhere -else in my diocese--for he never came in by the door--that is, by any -legal right, or lawful admission into that sheep-fold, but climbed up -some other way, namely, by violence and intrusion, and therefore, by -Christ's own inference, he was a thief and a robber."--_The Bishop of -Winchester's Vindication_, p. 2. At the time of writing the letter, -Morley was Bishop of Worcester, which diocese included Kidderminster. - -Salmon, in his _Lives of the English Bishops_, p. 346, says of Morley, -"His strength is attributed to keeping up his College custom of rising -at five in the morning, sitting without a fire, and going to his bed -cold. He did indeed exceed in severity to himself, eating but once a -day, and not going to bed till eleven." - -[686] Fuller, in his _Worthies_, i. 483, retracts some things which -he had advanced against Cosin in his _Church History_, and observes, -"It must be confessed, that a sort of fond people surmised, as if he -had once been declining to the Popish persuasion. Thus the dim-sighted -complain of the darkness of the room, when, alas, the fault is in their -own eyes; and the lame of the unevenness of the floor, when, indeed, it -lieth in their unsound legs." - -[687] _Ibid._, 484. - -[688] Life of Richard Gilpin, prefixed to his _Demonologia Sacra_, -xxxv. Also, I find in the Record Office, a letter from "John Bishop of -Durham" to Williamson, sending "the complaint received from Newcastle -about the seditious meetings of the Congregation of Saints." The -letter is dated November 23rd, 1668. The complaint refers to a public -meeting on the 1st of November, in Barber Surgeon's Hall, of 500 of the -Congregation of Saints, headed and led by Gilpin, notoriously known -to be disaffected to the Government. It is stated, that he caused the -149th Psalm to be sung--and a treasonable construction is put upon -the words. Three persons are named in connection with Gilpin--Durant, -Leaver, and Pringle.--November 23. - -[689] _Conformist's Plea_, 35. There is a letter in the Record Office -(Sanderson to Williamson, 1667, Sept. 19), complaining of the laxity -of the Bishop of Durham, in not convicting John Cock, a notorious -Nonconformist--agent for Lady Vane, at Raby Castle, who was brought -before him. - -[690] _Basire_, 89. - -[691] _Life_, by Plume. - -[692] Salmon says "the expense was £20,000, of which the Chapter -contributed £1,000. The rest was his own, or procured by him of other -pious persons."--_Lives_, 296. - -[693] _Life_, by Plume. See Coleridge on Hacket's Sermons--_Remains_, -iii. 175. - -[694] See notice of Wilkins, in Pope's _Life of Seth Ward_. - -[695] Newcome, in his _Diary_, says--"November 22, 1672. I received -the sad news of the death of the learned, worthy, pious, and peaceable -Bishop of Chester, Dr. John Wilkins; he was my worthy friend." -John Angier, the Nonconformist minister at Denton, speaks of his -removal as a great loss.--_Heywood's Life of Angier_, 86. Martindale -(_Autobiography_, 196) also refers to the Bishop's moderation, and -adds--"But the Archbishop of York, by his visitation, took all power -out of his hands for a year, soon after which this honest Bishop -Wilkins died." I may be permitted to add that the good Bishop was a -wit. In reference to his idea of the possibility of a passage to the -moon, the Duchess of Newcastle said to him, "Doctor, where am I to find -a place for waiting in the way up to that planet?" "Madam," replied he, -"of all other people in the world, I never expected that question from -you, who have built so many castles in the air, that you may be every -night at one of your own."--_Stanley's Memorials of Westminster_, 234. - -[696] Preached at the Guildhall Chapel, London, 1672, p. 46. - -[697] _Own Time_, i. 187. - -[698] _Wood_, _Athen. Ox._ iii. 969. - -[699] _Wood's Athen. Ox._, iii. 1085. - -[700] Norwich, April 13, 1670. Lambeth Library, Tenison MSS. 674. - -[701] _Athen. Oxon._ iv. 309-317. There is a letter from Croft amongst -the _State Papers_ (Dec. 30, 1678), relative to his Library, &c. - -[702] _Hist._ 42. - -[703] He lay in state in a room under the Regent House. Over the hearse -was spread the coat of the King or Herald-at-arms, of crimson satin, -richly embroidered with gold. At the head of the hearse was standing -the Bishop's mitre, which was silver-gilt, the cap, or inpart whereof, -was crimson satin or silk; the mitre was plain, saving some little -flower wrought in the middle on each side thereof, and on the top of -each a little cross of about an inch in length and breadth. On one side -of the top of the hearse lay along the Bishop's crosier of silver, -somewhat in likeness to a shepherd's crook of about an ell long, and in -thickness round above two inches and a half.--_Ald. Newton's Diary_, -quoted in _Annals of Cambridge_, by Cooper, iii. 522. - -[704] _Conformist's Plea_, 85. - -[705] He allowed a considerable annuity to Dr. Tuckney, whom in the -Professorship of Divinity at Cambridge, and the Mastership of St. -John's College, he succeeded after the Restoration. - -[706] _Hist. of his Own Time_, i. 181. Temple, in his _Memoirs_, -says, "My election in the University proceeded with the most general -concurrence that could be there, and without any difficulties I could -observe from that side (the Duke of Monmouth's) those which were raised -coming from the Bishop of Ely, who owned the opposing me, from the -chapter of religion, in my _Observations on the Netherlands_, which -gave him an opinion that mine was for such a toleration of religion as -is there described to be in Holland."--_Temple's Works_, i. 433. - -[707] _Fuller's Worthies_, ii. 421. - -[708] _Athenæ Oxonienses_, iii. 717. - -[709] _Conformists' Plea_, 35. - -[710] _Nelson's Life of Bishop Bull_, 206. - -[711] _Life and Times_, ii. 363. - -[712] _Athen. Oxon._, iii. 1195. - -[713] _Ibid._, 940. Bliss says he was Canon of York. - -[714] The letter is written by Dr. Lampleugh, January 12, 1675. _State -Papers, Dom. Charles II._ - -[715] _Le Neve_, part ii. 238. - -[716] The letter is dated, Ely House, October 9, 1643. _Le Neve's Lives -of the Bishops_, pt. ii. 247. - -[717] See anecdote of Sterne in _Baxter_, ii. 338, quoted in the -account of the Savoy Conference in this History. - -[718] _Hist. of his Own Time_, i. 590. - -[719] This corresponds with the eulogium on his tombstone. - -[720] _Grainger's Biography_, iii. 232. - -[721] _Le Neve's Bishops_, pt. ii. 258. - -[722] _Hist. of his Own Time_, i. 590. Dolben was Dean of Westminster -at the time of Albemarle's funeral. Ward preached. "The Dean and -prebendaries wore copes. Offerings were made at the altar."--_Stanley's -Westminster_, 228. - -The following notice occurs in _Thoresby's Diary_, i. 172:--"I rode -with most of the gentry in the neighbourhood, to meet Archbishop -Dolben, who was much honoured as a preaching bishop. May 1, 1684: he -gave us an excellent sermon at the parish church; see his remarkable -preliminary discourse concerning holydays, their institution, and abuse -in the Romish Church, which makes many good people (his own expression) -averse to them, even as celebrated in the Church of England, though -without superstition. In the whole he showed great temper and -moderation." - -[723] In addition to the particular books which I have noticed, I may -state that my chief authorities for these notices of the Bishops are -_Wood_, _Le Neve_, and _Salmon_. - -[724] I find amongst the State Papers the following, in a volume on -Ecclesiastical affairs, containing _Congé d'élires_, &c.:-- - -"Dean and Chapter of Lichfield - -"Whereas upon the vacancy of that see by the death of Dr. Hackett the -late Bishop we did by our _Congé d'élire_ and our Great Seal of England -grant you our license to proceed to an election of a fit person to -succeed in the same, and at the same time did by our letter written -recommend to you our trusty &c. Dr. Wood Dean of that our cathedral -church to be by you chosen Bishop of the said see according to the -laws of this our realm. We have now thought fit hereby to signify our -pleasure to you that we do hereby will and require you to forbear to -proceed to the election of the said Dr. Wood until our pleasure shall -be further signified unto you--whereof you may not fail. - -"June 11, 1671." - -[725] _D'Oyley's Sancroft_, i. 194. - -[726] Yet it is said in his epitaph, in St. George's Chapel, -Windsor,--"Exule Carolo II., bonis multatus, reverso, a sacris, -hujus Capellæ Canonicus, Decanus Sarisburiensis, postea Cicestrensis -Episcopus, φιλόξενος φιλάγαθος," &c., &c. - -There is a curious account in _Kennet's Hist._ of Brideoake's visit -to Lenthall, the Speaker, when on his death-bed. He owed much to -Lenthall's influence during the Commonwealth. A letter in the State -Paper Office, 1678, Oct. 7, conveys intelligence of his death, and -asks, in consequence, for Church promotion. - -[727] This Lloyd is to be distinguished from him of the same name who -was one of the Seven Bishops. - -[728] In _Ichabod_; or, _Five Groans of the Church_, mention is made of -1,342 factious clergymen. - -[729] _Dom. Chas. II._, 1677, Sept. 12. - -[730] _Mystery and Iniquity of Nonconformity_, 1664. A curious tract -entitled _The Ceremony-Monger, his Character, in Six Chapters_, -describes "bowing to the altar, implicit faith, reading dons of the -pulpit, reading the Psalms, &c., alternately, bowing at the name of -Jesus, unlighted candles on the altar, organs, church music, and other -popishlike and foppish ceremonials," all of which are unmercifully -ridiculed. The author is E. Hickeringhill, Rector of the Rectory of -All Saints, in Colchester. There is no date to the publication, but -from abundant internal evidence, it must have been written after the -Act of Uniformity. Hickeringhill is justly described by Chalmers as "a -half crazy kind of writer." He was a pensioner of St. John's, Camb., -in 1650; junior Bachelor of Gonville and Caius; Lieut. in the English -army in Scotland, and Captain in Fleetwood's Regiment. He took orders -in 1661 or 1662, being ordained by Bishop Sanderson; became Vicar of -Boxted, Essex, in October, 1662, and about the same time, Rector of -All Saints, Colchester. In reference to the Act of Uniformity, he says -it is an unnatural, impossible, irrational, wicked, and vain attempt. -"Go teach God," he says, "to make a new heaven, with uniformity of -stars and skies,--teach Him to make men uniform," &c. Hickeringhill -wrote _The Second Part of Naked Truth_, and _A Vindication_ of it. The -copy of it which I have seen is in the Library of Trinity College, -Cambridge. The Bishop of London brought an action against him, in -March, 1682, for slander. A report of the trial may be found in the -same Library, _Political Tracts_, Y 24. Hickeringhill held his Rectory -until his death in 1708. - -[731] Quotation in _Vindication of the Clergy_, 82. - -[732] _Chamberlayne_, part 1. 205, 207. The following entries indicate -the poverty of clergymen:-- - -"1669. Given to a poor minister who preached here, at the church, April -25, 3s. Bestowed on him in ale, 4d. - -"Feb. 13, 1669. Collected then, by the churchwardens, in the church, -upon a testimonial, and at the request of the Lord Bishop of York, for -one Mr. Wilmot, a poor minister, 8s. 4d. - -"1670, April 10. Given then by the neighbours, to a poor mendicant -minister, one Mr. John Rhodes, who then preached here, and after -the sermon _stood in the middle aisle to receive the charity of the -people_, the sum 12s. 3d. - -"1670, July 3. Given then by the neighbours to a poor lame itinerary, -one Mr. Walker, who preached here, and after the sermon stood in the -middle aisle to receive the people's charity, which was 9s. 3d."--See -_History of Morley Old Chapel_, by the Rev. J. Wonnacott. - -[733] _Hunter's Life of Heywood_, 336. - -[734] _Grounds and Occasions_, 19. It is from this paragraph, and other -similar authorities, that Macaulay draws materials for his humorous -one-sided satire on the clergy--_Hist. of Eng._ i. 340. - -[735] _Grounds and Occasions_, 107. North complains of his father's -chaplain being very illiterate.--_Lives_, iii. 312. - -[736] _Evelyn's Diary_, 1684, February 23. - -[737] _Vindication of the Clergy_ (1672), 122. The author of the -_Grounds and Occasions_ followed up his work by "Some observations upon -the answer." - -[738] _Vindication_, 100, _et seq._ See _Answer to the Grounds and -Occasions_ (1671), 14. Another book was published--_Hieragonisticon_, -being an answer to the two books on the _Grounds and Occasions_ (1672). -Five additional letters were published by the author of the _Grounds -and Occasions_, &c. Through the kindness of my friend, Mr. John Rotton, -the whole of this curious collection has been placed at my service. - -[739] _Vindication_, 108. - -[740] _Appendix to Second Report of Commission on Ritual_, 628. - -[741] "An account of the life and conversation of the reverend and -worthy Mr. Isaac Milles," quoted in _Ken's Life by a Layman_, 48-50. - -[742] _Ichabod; or Five Groans of the Church_ (1663). Williams, -Bishop of Lincoln, says he "met with three debauched clergymen in -Hertfordshire, whom he shall deprive: the gentry are most kind -wherever he goes. Thinks the principles he goes upon will be -successful."--_State Papers_, July 18, 1668. - -[743] _Life of Philip Henry_, 101. He made this remark at the close of -the year 1662. In _Hunter's Life of Oliver Heywood_, p. 149, a wretched -account is given of the six ministers who succeeded him. - -[744] _History of his Own Time_, i. 186. - -[745] _Diary_, 1668, February 16. - -[746] _Burnet_, i. 258. - -[747] _Appendix to Second Report of Commission on Ritual_, 628. - - -Transcriber's Note: - -1. Printer's errors have been silently corrected. - -2. Obvious spelling and punctuation errors have been silently -corrected. Original spelling and hyphenated words have been retained -where appropriate. - -3. Superscripts shown as ^x. - -4. 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font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Ecclesiastical History of England, The Church of the Restoration, Vol. 1 of 2, by John Stoughton</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Ecclesiastical History of England, The Church of the Restoration, Vol. 1 of 2</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: John Stoughton</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: May 13, 2021 [eBook #65334]</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: Emmanuel Ackerman, Karin Spence and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)</div> - -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND, THE CHURCH OF THE RESTORATION, VOL. 1 OF 2 ***</div> - -<h1><span class="lg">ECCLESIASTICAL</span><br /> - -<span class="xl">HISTORY OF ENGLAND.</span></h1> - -<p class="center p-left p2"><b>The Church of the Restoration.</b></p> - -<p class="center p-left p4 xs">BY</p> - -<p class="center p-left">JOHN STOUGHTON, D.D.</p> - -<p class="center p-left p4 sm">IN TWO VOLUMES—VOL. I.</p> - - <div class="figcenter" id="illo_i" > - <img - class="p2" - src="images/illo_i.jpg" - alt="" /> - </div> - -<p class="center p-left p2 sm"><b>London:</b></p> - -<p class="center p-left p0">HODDER AND STOUGHTON,</p> - -<p class="center p-left p0 sm">27, PATERNOSTER ROW, E.C.</p> - -<p class="center p-left p0 xs">MDCCCLXX.</p> - -<div class="chapter"> - - <div class="figcenter" id="illo_2" > - <img - class="p6" - src="images/illo_2.jpg" - alt="" /> - </div> -</div> - -<p class="center p-left xs">UNWIN BROTHERS, PRINTERS,<br /> -BUCKLERSBURY, AND CANNON ST. E.C.</p> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iii" id="Page_iii">[iii]</a></span></p></div> - - -<h2>ADVERTISEMENT.</h2> - -<p class="drop-cap p-left">The object of my former volumes upon the Ecclesiastical History of -England was to state facts and to draw conclusions, without seeking to -gratify any particular party, and by such a method to promote the cause -of Christian truth and charity. Acknowledgments of success to some -extent, expressed by public critics, and by private friends, holding -very different ecclesiastical opinions, encourage me to proceed in my -arduous but agreeable task; and I now venture to lay before the public -another instalment of my work.</p> - -<p>To account for its appearance so soon after its predecessor, it -is but fair to my readers and myself to state, that it became the -dream and desire of my life, a quarter of a century ago, to write an -Ecclesiastical History of my own country; and that, ever since, my -reading and my reflections have been directed very much into this -channel. For many years past, I have been engaged in studying the -affairs of the Church from the Commonwealth to the Revolution; and -therefore, whatever may be the imperfections of these volumes, they -are not, at any rate, a hasty compilation, but the result of long and -laborious research.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iv" id="Page_iv">[iv]</a></span></p> - -<p>It may be well to indicate the sources from which my materials are -drawn.</p> - -<p>The printed <i>Journals</i> of the Lords and Commons,—the <i>Parliamentary -History of England</i>,—<i>Cardwell's Synodalia</i>,—<i>Thurloe's State -Papers</i>,—and other similar collections, which did not exist in the -days of Kennet, Collier, and Neal,—supply, together with Burnet's -and Baxter's contemporary accounts, the backbone of the following -narrative. Journals, diaries, and biographies of the period, with -newspapers and tracts, of which extraordinarily rich collections are -found in the British Museum and in Dr. Williams' Library, have helped -to clothe the skeleton. But the sources of illustration, upon which I -rest some slight claim to originality, are found in certain unpublished -MSS. which it has been my privilege to examine and employ.</p> - -<p>I. Amongst these the first place belongs to the <i>Collection of Papers -in the Record Office</i>. Besides the assistance furnished by the -published calendars of Mrs. Green, extending from 1660 to 1667, I have -been favoured with the use of that lady's unpublished notes down to -the close of 1669; these helps have greatly facilitated my inquiries -into the history of the first decade embraced within these volumes. -From that period to the Revolution, I have been left with no other clue -than the Office catalogue of the books and bundles chronologically -arranged; and all the documents which I could find bearing on domestic -affairs—and they amount to many hundreds—I have carefully examined. -Although those which relate to ecclesiastical matters are by no means -so numerous as those which relate to political, commercial, and other -subjects, they are of very great value to the Church historian. They -may be classified as follows:—</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">[v]</a></span></p> - -<p><i>As to the Established Church</i>—</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p class="hangingindent">i. Note-book of Sir Joseph Williamson.</p> - -<p class="hangingindent">ii. Applications for preferments, and correspondence relating -to them.</p> - -<p class="hangingindent">iii. Private letters alluding in various ways to Church -affairs.</p></blockquote> - -<p><i>As to Nonconformists</i>—</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p class="hangingindent">i. Informations against them, which are very numerous.</p> - -<p class="hangingindent">ii. A spy-book, containing many curious particulars of -suspected persons.</p> - -<p class="hangingindent">iii. Correspondence containing a great number of incidental -allusions to the condition of Nonconformity.</p></blockquote> - -<p>The details are generally of a minute description, and would very -extensively serve the purpose of biographers and local historians; but -they are not without considerable value for a purpose like mine, as my -foot-notes will testify.</p> - -<p>Amongst the new historical illustrations thus afforded, are those -connected with the ecclesiastical aspects of the general election of -1661, with the rumoured plots of that and succeeding years, plots in -which Nonconformists were accused of being involved,—the conduct -of Nonconformists under their persecutions,—and the fabrication of -letters with the view of involving Nonconformists in trouble—of which -one striking example occurs in relation to William Baffin, and, as -appears very probable, another referring to certain London ministers. -There are also notices of the Indulgence of 1672, and of the case of -Colledge, the Protestant Joiner, as he was called. It is apparent how -much the antipathies of the two religious parties of that day were -augmented by political considerations; and from the documents are also -obtained<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vi" id="Page_vi">[vi]</a></span> many interesting and amusing glimpses of private social life.</p> - -<p>II. Next to the State Papers, I may mention a collection of fragmentary -remains in the <i>Archives of Parliament</i>, connected with the passing -of the Act of Uniformity,—and especially the Book of Common Prayer -attached to the Act (described in my Appendix), prefixed to which is an -Analysis of the alterations made in the formularies. Accurate copies -of these papers have been furnished for my use by the kindness of Sir -Denis Le Marchant.</p> - -<p>III. <i>The well-known MS. Collections in the British Museum and at -Lambeth.</i> They have yielded items of information I believe not -published before—particularly the returns made to Episcopal inquiries -as preserved in the Archiepiscopal Library.</p> - -<p>IV. <i>The MSS. in the University Library of Cambridge.</i> I have found -amongst these some papers which have been of service, especially in -relation to the reign of James II.; one of them, giving an account of -the opening of Parliament, I have printed in my Appendix.</p> - -<p>V. <i>The Morice and other MSS. in Dr. Williams' Library.</i> This -collection forms a quarry hitherto imperfectly worked. There are three -folio volumes, entitled, <i>Entering Books, or Historical Register</i>, -extending over the period between 1676-91. These I have found of great -service in throwing light upon Nonconformist opinions of public events, -in supplying the current rumours of the day, and in recording pieces -of information relating to minor matters illustrative of those times. -And here I may add, not only with regard to this and other diaries, but -also with reference to letters and notes amongst the State Papers, that -I have relied on them only for such purposes as are now indicated, and -that I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">[vii]</a></span> do not rest my belief of any important historical events simply -upon evidence of this description.</p> - -<p>VI. <i>A curious Diary</i>, kept at the time of the Restoration, for the -loan of which some years ago I was indebted to Mrs. Green, who copied -it from the original in the Middleshill Collection. I have called it -the <i>Worcester MSS.</i> The diarist was Henry Townshend, Esquire, of -Elmley Lovet, Worcestershire, who lies buried in the church of that -parish; and the nature of his impressions of what went on around him -may be inferred from his epitaph.</p> - -<p>VII. <i>A document relative to the death of Charles II.</i>, being one of -the valuable collection of papers entrusted to the Record Commission -for examination. This document solves the curious enigma which puzzled -Lord Macaulay. For a copy of it I am indebted to the kindness of Sir -Thomas Duffus Hardy, who takes an important part in the Commission.</p> - -<p>VIII. <i>A MS. History of the Congregational Churches of Suffolk</i>, by -the Rev. Thomas Harmer, Author of <i>Observations on Scripture; a MS. -History of the Congregational Church at Yarmouth</i>, drawn up from the -Church Book by my late friend Mr. Joseph Davey; and other old <i>Church -Records</i> which I have been permitted to inspect, as will appear from -the foot-notes to these volumes.</p> - -<p>IX. <i>MS. Volumes and Papers in the Archives of Canterbury.</i> For -the inspection and use of these I am indebted to the kindness and -assistance of the Dean and of Canon Robertson.</p> - -<p>X. <i>Subscription Book</i>, amongst the records of Chichester Cathedral, -which has been examined by Canon Swainson, who has furnished me with -the results inserted in the Appendix. To him my best thanks are due; -nor can I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_viii" id="Page_viii">[viii]</a></span> omit to record my acknowledgments to the Dean of Chichester -also, for all his kind and friendly attention.</p> - -<p>With these various materials before me, I have entered much more fully -than previous historians have done into several subjects—especially -the re-establishment of the Episcopal Church by the Act of Uniformity. -In our time, when the question of Establishments has been so -earnestly and so practically taken up, as to work out already the -greatest ecclesiastical change since 1662, surely a full account of -what was accomplished in that memorable year, with its immediate -results,—results far from having spent their influence,—must be -reckoned amongst the most desirable portions of history. It is -remarkable that no State Churchman has ever gone at large into this -subject, supplying the defects of Neal, and correcting the inaccuracies -of Clarendon and Burnet. Whilst I have attempted to supply the -acknowledged desideratum from my own point of view, it has been my aim, -in these as in former volumes, to make my readers acquainted not only -with prominent transactions, but with the social and private religious -life of the period, the personal piety which existed in different -communions, and the identity of that spiritual life which then deeply -struck its roots, as it ever does, under varied forms of doctrinal -belief, of Christian worship, and of ecclesiastical government.</p> - -<p>I have also attempted to redeem my promise to furnish a sketch of the -theological opinions entertained in England between the commencement -of the Civil Wars and the fall of James II. It would have been easier -and more attractive to indulge in broad generalizations on the subject, -and to work out my own theological conclusions, through the medium -of historical reflection and argument; but I have preferred the more -useful and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_ix" id="Page_ix">[ix]</a></span> trustworthy, as well as the more humble and laborious -method of analyzing and describing the publications of the period in -connection with the authors, and thus indicating some of the extraneous -influences which have wrought upon the minds of eminent thinkers. -Of course I have been compelled to limit myself to those writers -who are best known and most significant, and therefore the student -will perhaps miss in my account some favourite or expected name. But -imperfect as the review will be found, enough will appear to indicate -strong resemblances between currents of opinion then and now; and in -this respect, the true apprehension of the present will be materially -assisted by a knowledge of the past.</p> - -<p>As in the course of my researches I have detected in authors of the -highest reputation a number of minute inaccuracies, and some important -errors, I cannot hope to have escaped such evils myself, and I shall be -very thankful to candid critics for kindly pointing them out.</p> - -<p>About one half of this volume covers ground traversed by me in <i>Church -and State two hundred years ago</i>, published in 1862: but it will be -found, that with the exception of a few sentences here and there, the -account now published is quite new. Facts before passed over are here -described at length, whilst certain trivial details are omitted; my -views on some points have undergone a little modification, and the -entire narrative has been rearranged; but the spirit which I sought at -the beginning I have endeavoured to retain throughout.</p> - -<p>It would be ungrateful not to add, that for facilities in research, and -for direct literary aid, I am indebted to many friends. Besides special -obligations which I have acknowledged in the foot-notes and Appendix, -I beg to acknowledge the kindness of Mr. Thoms, Sub-Librarian<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_x" id="Page_x">[x]</a></span> to -the House of Lords—Mr. Aldis Wright, Librarian of Trinity College, -Cambridge—Mr. Bullen, of the British Museum—and Mr. Hunter, keeper of -Dr. Williams' Library.</p> - -<p>Nor can I omit to mention again, my fellow-workers at home, especially -one whose assiduity and care in helping me to correct the press, -deserve the highest praise.</p> - -<p>Two literary friends who took much interest in this work,—the Rev. -Joseph Aspland and Mr. John Bruce, F.S.A.,—are now, alas, beyond the -reach of my thanks.</p> - -<p>Should my life be spared, I hope in another volume to bring the -Ecclesiastical History down to the Revolution. A history of the -eighteenth century lies amongst the visions of the future.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xi" id="Page_xi">[xi]</a></span></p></div> - - -<h2>CONTENTS.</h2> - -<table summary="contents"> - <tr> - <td class="header" colspan="2">INTRODUCTION.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Political Character of Puritanism</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_1">1</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Ecclesiastical Character of Puritanism</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_7">7</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Spiritual Character of Puritanism</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_11">11</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="header" colspan="2">CHAPTER I.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Richard Cromwell</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_15">15</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">His Parliament</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_17">17</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Petitions from the Army</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_23">23</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Richard's Resignation of the Protectorate</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_26">26</a></td> - </tr> - - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Independents</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_28">28</a></td> - </tr> - - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Baptists</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_31">31</a></td> - </tr> - - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Presbyterians</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_33">33</a></td> - </tr> - - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Episcopalians</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_34">34</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="header" colspan="2">CHAPTER II.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Interregnum</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_40">40</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Restoration of Rump Parliament</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_42">42</a></td> - </tr> - - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Monk's Military Power</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_44">44</a></td> - </tr> - - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Re-establishment of Presbyterianism</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_49">49</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="header" colspan="2">CHAPTER III.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Presbyterians and Monk</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_51">51</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Presbyterians and Episcopalians</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_52">52</a></td> - </tr> - - - <tr> - <td class="cht">State of Parties</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_55">55</a></td> - </tr> - - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Convention Parliament</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_57">57</a></td> - </tr> - - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Commonwealth Army</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_58">58</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Breda Declaration</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_61">61</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Proclamation of Charles II.</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_63">63</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Manner of Restoration</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_65">65</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="cht">Presbyterian Deputation to the King</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_68">68</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Episcopalian Address</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_71">71</a><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xii" id="Page_xii">[xii]</a></span></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="header" colspan="2">CHAPTER IV.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">The King's return</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_72">72</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Presbyterian Addresses</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_77">77</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Independent Addresses</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_79">79</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Royal Supremacy</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_80">80</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Disbanding of the Old Army</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_86">86</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Ecclesiastical proceedings in Parliament</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_88">88</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Question of the Church's Settlement</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_88">88</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Restoration of Cathedrals</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_92">92</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Petitions from Universities</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_92">92</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Changes in the position of Parties in the House of Commons</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_93">93</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Church Property</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_95">95</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Bishops</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_97">97</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Preferments</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_98">98</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="header" colspan="2">CHAPTER V.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Presbyterian Chaplains</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_100">100</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Meetings of Presbyterians</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_101">101</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Presbyterian Proposals</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_102">102</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Prelates' Answer</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_105">105</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Controversy</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_106">106</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Meetings at Worcester House</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_114">114</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">The King's Declaration</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_117">117</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="header" colspan="2">CHAPTER VI.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">The Regicides</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_126">126</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">New Bishops</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_131">131</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Persecution of Nonconformists</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_134">134</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Reaction against Puritanism</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_138">138</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Venner's Insurrection</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_140">140</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Opening of Suspected Letters</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_145">145</a></td> - </tr> - -<tr> - <td class="header" colspan="2">CHAPTER VII.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Elections for New Parliament</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_147">147</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Interception of Letters</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_151">151</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Meeting of Parliament</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_154">154</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Commission for Savoy Conference</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_155">155</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Convocation</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_158">158</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Savoy Palace</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_162">162</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Members of Conference</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_163">163</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Coronation</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_166">166</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Election for Members of Convocation</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_168">168</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Presbyterians' Exceptions to the Liturgy</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_170">170</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Meeting of Convocation</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_173">173</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Proceedings of Convocation</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_176">176</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Bishops' Answers to Exceptions</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_179">179</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Baxter's Liturgy</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_180">180</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Presbyterians' Rejoinder to Bishops' Answers</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_183">183</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Last two Meetings of Savoy Conference</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_187">187</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Baxter's Account of Commissioners</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_189">189</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Baxter's Petition</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_191">191</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="header" colspan="2">CHAPTER VIII.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Proceedings of Parliament</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_196">196</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Burning of Solemn League and Covenant</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_196">196</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Bill for restoring Prelates to the Upper House</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_197">197</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Bill for governing Corporations</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_199">199</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Bill for Restoration of Ecclesiastical Courts</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_200">200</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Uniformity Bill</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_202">202</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">State of feeling</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_206">206</a><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xiii" id="Page_xiii">[xiii]</a></span></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="header" colspan="2">CHAPTER IX.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Re-assembling of Parliament</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_209">209</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Pretended Plots</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_211">211</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Deliberations of Convocation</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_213">213</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">History of the Prayer Book</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_214">214</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Revision of the Book</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_219">219</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Subscription</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_223">223</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Consecration of Bishops</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_227">227</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="header" colspan="2">CHAPTER X.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Uniformity Bill</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_229">229</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Lords' Amendments</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_231">231</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Debates on Amendments</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_233">233</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Commons' Amendments</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_239">239</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Conference between the two Houses</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_241">241</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="header" colspan="2">CHAPTER XI.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Royal Assent to Bill of Uniformity</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_245">245</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Change in the Establishment made by the Act</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_246">246</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Convocation responsible for Changes in the Prayer Book</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_247">247</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Bishops' share in Responsibility</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_248">248</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">House of Commons</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_250">250</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Clarendon</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_250">250</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Roman Catholic Party</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_251">251</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Omissions in Act</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_253">253</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Classes affected by it</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_255">255</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="header" colspan="2">CHAPTER XII.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Sir Henry Vane</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_256">256</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Edmund Ludlow</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_258">258</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Edward Whalley and Major-General Gough</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_259">259</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Effects of the Act of Uniformity</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_261">261</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Reports of Disaffection</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_267">267</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="header" colspan="2">CHAPTER XIII.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Bartholomew Ejectment—Farewell Sermons</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_271">271</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Reception of Catherine of Braganza</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_275">275</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Petitions from Quakers</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_275">275</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">St. Bartholomew's Day</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_278">278</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">The Ejected Ministers</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_278">278</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="header" colspan="2">CHAPTER XIV.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Petition from Presbyterians</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_283">283</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Operation of the Act</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_285">285</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Clergy who conformed</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_287">287</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Bishops' Articles of Visitation</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_289">289</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Ministers who continued in the Establishment without conforming</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_290">290</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Clergy who disapproved of the Ejectment</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_291">291</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Rumoured Plots</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_292">292</a><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xiv" id="Page_xiv">[xiv]</a></span></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="header" colspan="2">CHAPTER XV.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">King's Declaration of Indulgence</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_296">296</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Baxter and the Independents</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_298">298</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Parliament</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_299">299</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Debate on Indulgence</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_300">300</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Papists and Nonconformists</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_303">303</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Deaths of Bishops</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_305">305</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Proscribed Worship</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_308">308</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Colonial Policy</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_310">310</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Plots and Informers</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_312">312</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Nonconformist Places of Worship</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_314">314</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Ejected Ministers</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_316">316</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="header" colspan="2">CHAPTER XVI.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Conventicle Act</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_322">322</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Execution of the Act</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_327">327</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Convocation</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_329">329</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Sheldon's Inquiries</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_331">331</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="header" colspan="2">CHAPTER XVII.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">The Plague</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_333">333</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Ministers who remained in London during the Plague</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_338">338</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Usefulness of the Ejected Clergy</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_340">340</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Mompesson</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_341">341</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Stanley and Shaw</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_342">342</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Parliament at Oxford</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_343">343</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Increase of Nonconformity</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_343">343</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Five Mile Act</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_345">345</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Nonconformists who took the Oath of Non-resistance</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_348">348</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Those who refused it</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_350">350</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Dutch War</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_355">355</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="header" colspan="2">CHAPTER XVIII.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">The Fire of London</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_357">357</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Papists suspected</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_361">361</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Exertions of Nonconformists after the Fire</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_362">362</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Disturbances in Scotland</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_363">363</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Fanatics</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_365">365</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">The Dutch</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_366">366</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Empty Exchequer</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_367">367</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Impeachment of Clarendon</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_369">369</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">His Character</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_371">371</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Comparison between Clarendon and Burleigh</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_373">373</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Extent of Nonconformity</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_375">375</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="header" colspan="2">CHAPTER XIX.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Comprehension</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_378">378</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Episcopalian Proposals</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_381">381</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Presbyterian Modifications</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_383">383</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Thorndike's Principles</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_385">385</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">New Conventicle Bill</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_387">387</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="header" colspan="2">CHAPTER XX.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Manton and Baxter</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_390">390</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Conventicles</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_392">392</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Sufferings of Quakers</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_398">398</a><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xv" id="Page_xv">[xv]</a></span></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="header" colspan="2">CHAPTER XXI.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">The Cabal</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_400">400</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Declaration of Indulgence</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_403">403</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">How regarded by Politicians</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_404">404</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">By Episcopalians and Presbyterians</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_406">406</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">By Independents</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_407">407</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Nonconformists return thanks for Declaration</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_408">408</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Grants to Nonconformists</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_410">410</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Charles II. and the Quakers Carver and Moore</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_412">412</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Pardon of Quakers</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_414">414</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="header" colspan="2">CHAPTER XXII.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Opening of Parliament</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_416">416</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Political parties</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_417">417</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Debate on the Declaration</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_418">418</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Measures for Relief</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_421">421</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Test Act</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_425">425</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Cancelling of the Declaration of Indulgence</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_428">428</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">State of Nonconformists</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_429">429</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="header" colspan="2">CHAPTER XXIII.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Earl of Danby</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_434">434</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">New Test</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_436">436</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Comprehension</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_438">438</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Persecution of Nonconformists</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_441">441</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Coffee Houses</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_443">443</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Comprehension and Toleration</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_444">444</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Bishop Croft</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_447">447</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="header" colspan="2">CHAPTER XXIV.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Roman Catholicism</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_450">450</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">The Duke of York</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_451">451</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Protestant Opposition</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_455">455</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">St. Germain and Luzancy</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_458">458</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Parliament</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_459">459</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Committal of Four Lords to the Tower</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_462">462</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Bills against Popery</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_463">463</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Act for Better Observance of the Lord's Day</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_465">465</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Act for Augmentation of Small Livings</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_467">467</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Repeal of the law <i>De Hæretico Comburendo</i></td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_467">467</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Bill for Exclusion of Papists from Parliament</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_469">469</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="header" colspan="2">CHAPTER XXV.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Bishops—Sheldon</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_470">470</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht1">Ward</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_474">474</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht1">Morley</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_477">477</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht1">Cosin</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_478">478</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht1">Hacket</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_481">481</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht1">Wilkins</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_483">483</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht1">Pearson—Reynolds</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_485">485</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht1">Croft</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_487">487</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht1">Laney</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_488">488</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht1">Gunning</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_489">489</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht1">Paul—Warner</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_490">490</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht1">Earle—Skinner</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_491">491</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht1">Nicholson—Henchman</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_492">492</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht1">Rainbow—Henshaw</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_493">493</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht1">Ironside</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_494">494</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht1">Frewen—Sterne</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_495">495</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht1">Dolben</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_498">498</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht1">Griffith—Glemham—Barrow</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_499">499</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht1">Wood</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_500">500</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht1">Brideoake</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_501">501</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht1">Lloyd</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_502">502</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht1">State of the Clergy</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_502">502</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht1">Their Ignorance</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_507">507</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht1">Religious and Moral Character</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_510">510</a></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[1]</a></span></p></div> - -<h2>INTRODUCTION.</h2> - -<p class="drop-cap p-left">The knell of the Puritan Commonwealth was rung when Oliver Cromwell -died. The causes of its dissolution may easily be discovered. Some of -them had been in operation for a long time, and had prepared for the -change which now took place.<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a></p> - -<p>Puritanism never won a majority of the English people. By some of the -greatest in the nation it was espoused, and their name, example, and -influence, gave it for a time a position which defied assault; but the -multitude stood ranged on the opposite side. Forced to succumb, and -stricken with silence, the disaffected nevertheless abated not a jot of -their bitter antipathy to the party in power. Even amongst those who -wore the livery of the day, who used the forms, who adopted the usages -of their masters, many lacked the slightest sympathy with the system -which, from self-interest or timidity, they had been induced to accept. -The Puritans were not the hypocrites; the hypocrites really were people -of another religion, or of no religion, who pretended to be Puritans.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[2]</a></span> -Besides these, there were numbers who whispered murmurs, or bit their -lips in dumb impatience, as they watched for signs of change in the -political firmament.</p> - -<p>A mischievous policy had been pursued by the Puritans towards the old -Church of England. Laud's execution yielded a harvest of revenge. The -extirpation of Episcopacy, and the suppression of the Prayer Book, -kindled an exasperation which kept alive a resentful intolerance down -to the period of the Revolution. I am aware of the excuses made for -Puritan despotism, and am ready to allow some palliation for wrong -done under provoking circumstances, but I must continue to express -indignation at the injustice committed; all the more, because of my -religious sympathy with the men who thus tarnished their fame. It must, -however, be confessed that had Presbyterians and Independents been ever -so merciful in the hour of their might, there is no reason to suppose, -from what is known of their opponents, that they would have shewn any -mercy in return.</p> - -<p>In enumerating the causes of the failure of Puritanism as a <i>political</i> -institution notice should be taken of the prohibition of ancient -customs. How far the prohibition extended has been pointed out in -former volumes, and I must repeat, that whilst endeavours to suppress -national vice were most praiseworthy, some of the Parliamentary -prohibitions at the time were, to a considerable extent, unjust and -unnatural. Those who chose to celebrate Christmas, Easter, Whitsuntide, -and other seasons, had a perfect right so to do; and some, though not -all, of the amusements remorselessly put down, were in themselves -innocent; pleasant, and even venerable in their associations; and in -their tendencies productive of kindly fellowship between class and -class.</p> - -<p>Puritan rule in England came as the child of revolu<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[3]</a></span>tion—a revolution -mainly accomplished by civil war. The first battle, indeed, and that -which led to all the others, was fought on the floor of the House of -Commons. The patriots being returned as the representatives of the most -active and influential citizens, many of whom were Puritans, possessed -an immense amount of political power, and, as statesmen, they turned -the scale in favour of revolution; but the revolution had to make -good its ground by force, and the patriots, as soldiers, had to crush -resistance in the field. This was a necessity. The attitude of the -King, the chivalrous spirit of the nobles who rallied round him, under -the circumstances in which Parliament had placed itself, rendered an -appeal to arms inevitable. The wager of battle having been accepted, -the quarrel having been fought out bravely, the relative position -afterwards of the victors and the vanquished could not but embitter -the feelings existing on both sides. The vanquished submitted without -grace to their conquerors. They hated the new political constitution. -When they seemed quiet they were only biding their time, only preparing -for some fresh outbreak. Memories of privation, of imprisonment, of -cruel usage, of houses burnt, of fathers, sons, and brothers slain, -and especially the mortification of defeat, constantly irritated the -Cavalier and goaded him to revenge. The blister was kept open year -after year. The wound never healed. Alienation, or resentment, on -the part of the Royalist provoked new oppression on the part of the -Commonwealths-man. Fresh oppression from the hands of the one produced -fresh resentment in the breast of the other.</p> - -<p>A civil war may be needful for the deliverance of a country; but the -recollections of it for a long while must be a misfortune, since those -recollections exhibit the new<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[4]</a></span> state of things to the party on the -opposite side as a result of force, not as a result of reason; and the -remembrance of imposition ever involves a sense of wrong. Under this -misfortune the triumphant Puritans laboured throughout the Protectorate.</p> - -<p>After the Restoration the misfortune, in some respects, became heavier -than before. The previous eighteen years had been to the Royalists -years in which violence destroyed the Monarchy and the Church. They -were the years of the <i>Great Rebellion</i>—so the political Revolution -came to be named—and in that name, specious and plausible, although -untruthful and unjust, lay much of the capital with which political -leaders after the Restoration carried on their trade of oppression -and wrong. The Puritans, they said, were rebels, for they had fought -against the Crown: what they had done once they would do again. A -valid defence was at hand, for the Puritans could show that there was -nothing really inconsistent between their peaceful submission to the -restored monarch, and the course which they had pursued under the Long -Parliament; yet, although they could make out a case satisfactory to -impartial men, over against their logic, however forcible, there stood -some awkward facts of 1642 and the following years, upon which High -Churchmen in the reign of Charles II. were never weary of ringing -changes.</p> - -<p>The Long Parliament had rested upon the Army; so had the constitution -of the Protectorate. His Highness's rule had been fortified by his -major-generals and his troops. For its good and for its evil it -depended upon soldiers. A military despotism had become necessary -from the confusion of the times; it alone could bring quiet to the -country after political earthquakes. The regal sway had fallen into -the hands of a great<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[5]</a></span> general, a great statesman, and a great patriot, -who, because he combined these three characters, was able to work out -benevolent designs for his country. So long as he held the baton, so -long as he drew the sword, he could maintain his standing, but not a -moment longer. He had immense difficulties to overcome. Episcopalians -were almost all against him; very many Presbyterians stood aloof or -offered opposition; Spiritual Republicans, Fifth Monarchy men were -his torment; even Congregationalists, with whom he felt spiritual -sympathy, wished for a more democratic government than he would allow; -the Quakers neither loved nor feared him. Besides, he had political -colleagues who, as statesmen, appeared in opposition. Also, old -generals were looking after an occasion for making resistance. Vane -and Haselrig, Harrison and Ludlow, disapproved of the policy of their -former friend. They disliked the new Constitution; they were for -placing the keys in the hands of Parliament, not in the hands of a -single person. They regarded the Protector as the Greeks had regarded -a tyrant. Monarchy they detested, Democracy they would enthrone; yet -they saw amongst them a sovereign, mightier than any Stuart, only -called by another name. And it became a germ of weakness in the new -Constitution, that it had to be defended by arguments similar to those -which availed for the support of the ancient monarchy. It could be -said—and truly said—that English traditions, usages, genius, spirit, -and social necessities, demanded a supreme head—the rule "of a single -person." But the rule of a single person was the very thing so hateful -to the Republicans, although connected with the modifying checks of -a Parliament. Many saw that the reasons employed in favour of Oliver -Cromwell's Protectorate might be employed more con<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[6]</a></span>sistently in favour -of the restoration of Charles Stuart. This circumstance was felt by -numbers who did not confess it.</p> - -<p>Moreover, respecting domestic and foreign policy Cromwell had to -meet strong opposition. Finances, and law reform, were matters of -contention. The Dutch war, the French alliance, and the relations -with Spain, also presented points in which he and other distinguished -Commonwealths-men differed. As the political reign of Puritanism -depended upon Cromwell these circumstances could not fail to -undermine its strength. His statesmanship showed consummate ability; -his knowledge of mankind and of individuals amounted to a species -of divination; his control over those about him was irresistible; -his sagacity, vigilance, promptitude, decision, and patience were -unrivalled; his name was a tower of strength at home and abroad; his -foreign policy was successful, and therefore, as long as he lived, the -system which he had inaugurated and administered was sure to last. It -did—but at his death came collapse. There remained no master-mind -to rule the State, and to control the Army. The State soon showed a -disposition to go one way, the Army another. Confusions ensued; and the -latter fell under the command of a soldier who betrayed his trust, and -employed his influence to pull down the entire fabric of Puritan power.</p> - -<p>So far, then, as Puritanism had become a political institute it -sunk under the shock of Oliver Cromwell's death. But though as an -institute it crumbled away, the political spirit which it had evoked -and cherished did not die. It would be a repetition of what has been -said a hundred times, to insist here upon the influence of the Puritan -leaders of the Long Parliament, and the influence of the Puritan chiefs -of the Commonwealth Army in pre<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span>paring for the political liberties of -England, guaranteed at the Revolution. A peaceful change then came as -the consequence and complement of the Civil Wars. It is the destiny of -nations to pass through the waters of conflict and suffering ere they -can reach the shores of freedom. Our Puritan fathers then breasted -the torrent, and made good their landing on the right side, where we, -thanks to their bravery and endurance, have, under God, found a home. -The superstructure they immediately raised was not permanent; but -its strong foundation-stones were too deeply laid to be removed in a -brief period of reaction; and on them we now are building new forms of -political justice, order, and peace. It may take longer time and nobler -labour than we imagine to complete the edifice, but our hope and trust -is that Divine providence will one day bring it to perfection.</p> - -<p>Puritanism must be considered under its <i>ecclesiastical</i> as well as -its political aspect. It became political through its ecclesiastical -action, and its ecclesiastical character has been damaged by its -political relations. It was worked up into an elaborate Presbyterian -system, framed not only for the purpose of instructing the nation in -the truths of the Bible, but for the purpose also of constituting -every Englishman a member of the Church, and of subjecting him to -the authority and discipline of its officers. This ecclesiastical -organization its advocates brought, so far as they could, into -union with the civil government to be defended and enforced by the -magistrate. And where Puritanism assumed a Congregational shape, and -claimed the name of freedom, although, as to Church institutes, it -sought, and to some degree attained liberty of operation, yet, in all -cases where its ministers were parochial incumbents, they, by their -identification with the national establishment, exposed themselves to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span> -the political danger which, at certain crises, threaten institutions of -that description. When ecclesiastical arrangements are complicated with -State affairs they must be subject to a common fortune. What endangers -the one endangers the other, and the history of Puritanism offers no -exception to the general rule.</p> - -<p>Two ecclesiastical principles are seen at work in connection with the -religious organizations which existed in the middle of the seventeenth -century: Erastianism and Voluntaryism. Erastianism came across the path -of both Presbyterians and Congregationalists. It wrought powerfully -through the ordinances and laws of the Long Parliament, in the way of -checking what it justly deemed the despotic tendencies of uncontrolled -authority in the exercise of discipline. The working of Erastianism is -visible in the legal prevention of the full establishment of parochial -assemblies and provincial synods; and in the interference of the -magistrate with those Independent pastors holding benefices, who would -fain have excluded from the Lord's table persons whom they deemed -morally unfitted for approaching it. In curbing suspected despotism, -Erastianism, as is its wont, paralyzed the hand of a salutary restraint -upon the irregularities of Christian professors. It opened a door for -promiscuous communion. It thwarted the designs, and enfeebled the -energy of ecclesiastical Puritanism; and thus laxity of fellowship -followed as a penalty for seeking State support, on the part of -communities which prized the purity of Christ's Church.</p> - -<p>Voluntaryism cannot properly be identified with Puritanism. The -leading Puritans neither advocated nor countenanced that principle; -such as were Episcopalians did not. The Presbyterians, and some of -the Independents, as we have this moment noticed, did not. A<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span> few -of the Baptists did not. Oliver Cromwell, who protected them all, -did not. Whilst some Puritans thus stood apart from Voluntaries, and -even opposed <i>them</i>, there were some Voluntaries who stood apart from -Puritanism, and even opposed <i>that</i>. The Quakers, from the commencement -of their history, protested against the union of Church and State, -and were ever faithful to their convictions in this as well as in -other respects; they also kept aloof from Puritanism altogether, and -even condemned it severely, under several of its aspects. Many of the -Independents, and more of the Baptists, previously to the Civil Wars, -also disapproved strongly of that kind of union which displeased the -Quakers, and contended firmly for the support of Churches by voluntary -contributions; yet they entered into cordial alliance with Puritanism -in other things, promoting certain of its political proceedings, and -sympathizing generally with its spiritual movements and tendencies. -Voluntaryism had strong affinities for the spiritual side of -Puritanism, deriving from it the most vigorous impulses, contributing -towards it the most devoted service; and if it did not win its way -at first amongst the rich, the noble, and the learned, it laid hold -upon the hearts of the humbler classes; and, by widely leavening them -with its power, prepared for subsequently working upwards to that -influence which is exercised by it in the present day. The history of -this principle is the same throughout: as it was with the primitive -Christians,—as it was with so many of the most pious and active men -of the Middle Ages,—as it has been with the Methodists,—so it was -with those of whom I speak. They began their work—"in a great trial of -affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded -unto the riches of their liberality."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span></p> - -<p>Voluntaryism, so far as it affected Puritanism, did not contribute to -its weakness, but to its strength; yet amongst those who professed -Voluntaryism, as amongst those who adopted different views, there -appeared an element which proved injurious to them all. It was -dis-union—it was strife.</p> - -<p>If the Crusading knights had been of one mind, it is a question, -whether, in the end, they would have retained mastery over the -Mussulmen; but certainly they stood no chance whilst feuds were rife -in the Camp of the Cross. The same may be said of the Puritans. It -would have been hard enough, with the utmost concentration of force, to -bear down opposition; but amidst their own discords it became simply -impossible. Presbyterians were of different shades of opinion, and -they were not without mutual jealousies. But their hatred of what they -stigmatized as Sectarianism appears scarcely less than their hatred of -Prelacy, or even of Romanism; in some minds abhorrence existed equally -in reference to all three. The sects were not behindhand in their -mutual antipathies, and were by no means gentle in their collisions. -Independents, Baptists, and Quakers, to mention no others—I speak of -them all generally—did anything but keep "the unity of the spirit in -the bonds of peace." The apostolic warning betokened evil to Puritan -Christendom in England—"If ye bite and devour one another, take heed -that ye be not consumed one of another." Yet those whose eyes are open -to discern the defects in principle and temper of the ecclesiastical -organizations of the Long Parliament and the Commonwealth, can also see -that Puritanism has bequeathed to English Christendom a precious legacy -of religious freedom. That spirit has not only wrought out modern Free -Churches—which, whatever may be men's opinions on ecclesiastical -ques<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span>tions, must be admitted by everyone to be efficient powers in -spreading Christianity at home and abroad, and in exerting beneficial -influences of many kinds upon society at large—but that spirit has -also leavened, to a large extent, other communities not based upon -what is called the voluntary principle. Toleration, for which the -Independents struggled under Cromwell, won a victory in 1688—an -imperfect victory it is true, but still precious; and the toleration -then established opened the way for the progress now advancing along -the paths of mutual religious justice.</p> - -<p>Puritanism presents another—a <i>spiritual</i> aspect—under which it has -exercised an influence more vigorous and salutary than it has done in -any other way.</p> - -<p>It laid hold on thousands, not only by simple methods of religious -worship which commended themselves to the plain understanding, and -the unsophisticated taste of Anglo-Saxon people,—but by its emphatic -exhibition of the truths of Christianity as a redemptive system, full -of the love of God to sinful men, commending itself to humble and -sorrow-stricken hearts. In the Gospel of Christ, which Puritanism -prominently exhibited as adapted to the wants of mankind, lay the -secret of its greatest success, and the key to its noblest results. As -a spiritual power it had been strong under Elizabeth and the Stuarts; -but its conflicts in war, its entrance into the Court, its elevation -to the throne, defaced somewhat its spiritual beauty, and impaired -in a measure its spiritual force. The most favourable aspects of -Puritanism are not found in the history of the Civil Wars, and of the -Commonwealth. As with Christianity in general—as with Protestantism at -large, so with the system now under consideration. Not in the palace -of Constantine do we discover the best specimens of Gospel piety; not -in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span> Courts of English and German sovereigns do we see the workings -of the Reformed Faith to most advantage; and not at Whitehall must we -watch for the fairest visions of Puritan life. Our religion, in its -best forms, is no doubt essentially a genial social power, healing, -constructive, conservative—such we believe it will prove itself to -be in the Church of the future—but in the Church of the past, it has -shown itself purest and strongest when contending against opposition, -when passing through scenes of suffering, when grappling with the -evils of society, and when informing and animating individual souls. -Persecution has been to piety what the furnace is to the potter's clay; -it has burnt in, it has brought out, its richest colours. The Huguenots -appear to much greater advantage in the defeats which they endured -than in the victories which they won; the peasantry in their cottages -are more to be admired than the nobles in their chateaux. The history -of successful battles fought, or of courageous resistance made by the -French Protestants; and the story of Henry of Navarre and his Courtiers -even before his reconciliation with Rome; read not so well as does the -record of men of the same class who were burnt at the stake, or who -were sent to the galleys, or who were exiled from their country. So -also the chief moral charm of Puritanism is found, not in the successes -of statesmen and soldiers; not in Pym's debates and majorities; not -in Cromwell's charges and laurels; but in the deaths of Barrow and -Greenwood, and in the tortures of Leighton and Burton; and, if we -may anticipate, in the ejection, the wanderings and the imprisonment -of Howe, and Heywood, and Baxter. On the same principle the quiet, -earnest, and exemplary lives of the middle-class Puritans did more than -anything else, at the commencement of the Civil Wars to give ascendancy -to their cause; and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span> after the Restoration to recover its character, -and promote its progress. Puritanism, when once more separated from -the State, returned to the old and better paths of confessorship and -humiliation; and thrown back upon itself and upon God, it became, as of -yore, a spiritual agency of the most potent kind. The theological books -it produced, the devoted characters it formed, and the pious memories -it handed to posterity, have created an influence embracing within its -reach both England and America. The effect of its works, examples, and -traditions have never perished in Dissenting Churches and families; but -beyond these circles, it has manifestly told upon the Christian world. -It contributed to the great revival of religion which arose within the -pale of the Establishment during the last century; and from an earlier -period than that, down to the present day, its perpetuated spiritual -power has been deeply felt, and gratefully acknowledged on the other -side of the Atlantic.</p> - -<p>Such was the system of Puritanism—politically, ecclesiastically, -spiritually; such were some of the causes which produced changes in it -at the era of the Restoration. What it was, and what it did at that -period and afterwards, remains to be related. We are to consider what, -in its Presbyterian, Congregational, and other forms, it became; what -it endured of direct persecution and of indirect social wrong; and what -it achieved in works of faith, and love, and zeal. We are to trace its -social influence in the retirements of English life; its new political -influence on the side of liberty; the germs of after-thought which it -planted; the stones of reform and improvement which it laid. Also, and -this will occupy a still wider space, we are to mark how the Episcopal -Church of England rose out of her ruins, and the Establishment became -once more Anglican. All<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span> this, in the minute grades of the process, -together with the form of the re-edification; the policy of its new -builders; their relations and conduct towards their Nonconformist -brethren; the intermingling of ecclesiastical and political events; the -Church developments; the theological controversies; and the spiritual -life of the period, amongst Conformists and Nonconformists—much of it, -on each side, beautiful, some of it, on both sides, marred—it is my -arduous task faithfully to unfold.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span></p></div> - - -<h2>CHAPTER I.</h2> - -<p class="drop-cap p-left">Richard Cromwell succeeded his father in the government of the realm, -as if his family had from of old occupied the throne. What renders -this fact the more remarkable is that the new ruler had never been a -public character, except so far as holding offices of honour might -be considered as giving him that appearance. He had spent a quiet -and almost unnoticed life, in the retirement of Hursley Park, in -Hampshire—an inheritance he had acquired by marriage,—and there, in -the society of neighbouring Cavaliers, he had enjoyed the sports of a -country gentleman. Imbued with loyalty to the Stuarts, notwithstanding -his father's position; conforming to the Established religion, without -any sympathy in his father's opinions; indeed, destitute of deep -religious feeling of any kind, as well as of genius, enthusiasm, -and force of will, he stood ill-prepared to sustain the enormous -responsibility which now fell upon his shoulders.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1658.</div> - -<p>Instantly after Oliver's death, on the 3rd of September, the Council -assembled and acknowledged Richard's title. All the chief cities and -towns in the dominion were informed that the late Protector—"according -to the petition and advice in his lifetime"—had declared his "noble -and illustrious son to be his successor." The Mayor and Aldermen of -London proceeded to Whitehall<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span> with condolences and congratulations; -and the new Protector, in their presence, took the Oath of the -Constitution, administered to him by Fiennes, a Lord Commissioner of -the Great Seal. Manton offered prayer, and blessed His Highness, "his -council, armies, and people."<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a></p> - -<p>Proclamation of Richard's accession throughout the country immediately -followed; and, according to a custom which had originated under -the Protectorate, addresses, overflowing with adulation, poured in -from various public bodies. Foreign courts, too, acknowledged the -Protector's title, and honoured his father's memory. "It a sad thing to -say," remarks Cosin, writing from Paris, "but here in the French Court, -they wear mourning apparel for Cromwell; yea, the King of France, and -all do it."<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a> Richard's chief councillors were Lord Broghill, the -Royalist, who had been a faithful servant to Oliver; Dr. Wilkins, -Warden of Wadham College, Oxford, married to the late Protector's -sister; and Colonel Philip Jones, one of the Protectorate Lords. The -union between these councillors sufficiently indicates that no extreme -ecclesiastical policy could be contemplated; and, accordingly, in the -month of November, a Declaration appeared, couched in liberal terms, -conceding general toleration, and promising to godly ministers "their -dues and liberties, according to law."<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">RICHARD'S PROTECTORATE.</div> - -<p>Richard was tolerant both from disposition and policy; owing to -circumstances, he sympathized more with Presbyterians than with -Independents; perhaps he would not have been adverse to some kind of -modified Episcopacy.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span> Moderate people, of different parties, therefore, -looked kindly upon his sway; but it soon appeared that the embers of -discontent were smouldering still. Scarcely had he worn his title one -month, when his brother, Henry Cromwell, wrote in an alarming tone to -Lord General Fleetwood, who had married Henry's sister. "Remember," he -says, "what has always befallen imposing spirits. Will not the loins -of an imposing Independent or Anabaptist be as heavy as the loins of -an imposing Prelate or Presbyter? And is it a dangerous error, that -dominion is founded in grace when it is held by the Church of Rome, and -a sound principle when it is held by the Fifth Monarchy?" "Let it be -so carried, that all the people of God, though under different forms, -yea, even those whom you count <i>without</i>, may enjoy their birthright -and civil liberty, and that no one party may tread upon the neck of -another."<a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> Henry Cromwell feared lest certain well-known unquiet -spirits, now that his sire's strong hand had crumbled into dust, should -disturb the peace of the country, and, under pretence of universal -freedom, throw everything into confusion. He had reasons for his fear.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1659.</div> - -<p>Richard called a Parliament, which met on the 27th of January, 1659. -Writs were issued to "rotten boroughs;" representatives were summoned -from Scotland and Ireland; means not constitutional, so it is said, -were employed to secure a House of Commons favourable to the Court -party. The majority consisted of Presbyterians, to whom the Protector -chiefly looked for support; but old political Independents also secured -their election, and Sir Henry Vane and Sir Arthur Haselrig, excluded -by the old Protector, now, under the milder sway of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span> new one, -took their seats in St. Stephen's Chapel.<a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> They evaded the oath of -allegiance, and boldly advocated Republicanism.</p> - -<p>Parliament opened with a sermon in Westminster Abbey, by Dr. Thomas -Goodwin, the Independent, who preached from Psalm lxxxv. 10, advocating -liberty of conscience, and exhorting to union and peace. To that -venerable edifice, ever identified with our national history, His -Highness, attended by the Privy Council, by the Officers of State, -and by the Gentlemen of the Household, "passed by water in a stately -new-built galley, and landed at the Parliament Stairs." Lord Cleypole, -Master of the Horse, bore the Sword of State before Richard, who -in the Abbey sat surrounded by his Lords, the Commons, much to -their displeasure—afterwards expressed by them—being seated here -and there; "<i>sparsim</i>," as a contemporary chronicle discontentedly -states.<a name="FNanchor_7_7" id="FNanchor_7_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a> The Protector concluded his opening speech in the Painted -Chamber, by recommending to the care of Parliament, first, "the people -of God in these nations, with their concernments;" secondly, "the -good and necessary work of reformation, both in manners and in the -administration of justice;" thirdly, the Protestant cause abroad, which -seemed at that time to be in some danger; and lastly, the maintenance -of love and duty among themselves.<a name="FNanchor_8_8" id="FNanchor_8_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">RICHARD'S PROTECTORATE.</div> - -<p>After a rather ill-tempered discussion, Reynolds, Manton, Calamy, -and Owen—three Presbyterians and one Independent—were appointed by -the Commons, "two to preach and two to pray," on the occasion of the -succeeding fast; and it is curious to find that in this instance the -service took place, not at St. Margaret's Church, but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span> within the walls -of the House, to avoid, as alleged, the inconvenience of a promiscuous -auditory, when "good men wanted the liberty, which it was fit they -should have," to rebuke and reprove "the faults and miscarriages -of their superiors." "Ill-affected persons came frequently to such -exercises, not out of any zeal or devotion, but to feel the pulse of -the State, and to steer their counsels and affairs accordingly."<a name="FNanchor_9_9" id="FNanchor_9_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a> -The desirableness of sometimes giving admonition and advice to bodies -of men, unembarrassed by the presence of critical and alienated -spectators, still felt by many, was felt then.</p> - -<p>The debates mainly turned upon fundamental questions of government. -In them little appears relative to religion. Complaints were made of -the Commissioners for trying ministers, and of the mismanagement of -funds for the support of the latter. Maynard, and others, affirmed that -souls were starved; that the sheep were committed to the wolf; that -scandalous preachers had scandalous judges; that Welsh Churches were -unsupplied except by "a few grocers, or such persons;" that "dippers -and creepers" were found in the Army; that Jesuits had been in the -House, &c. "See," exclaimed one speaker, "what congregations we had -in '43, and what now! It is questioned whether we have a Church in -England; questioned, I doubt, whether Scripture or rule of life is in -England."<a name="FNanchor_10_10" id="FNanchor_10_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_10_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a> In the Grand Committee, a Bill was ordered to be drawn -for revising Acts touching the Prayer Book; and for the suppression of -Quakers, Papists, Socinians, and Jews.<a name="FNanchor_11_11" id="FNanchor_11_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_11_11" class="fnanchor">[11]</a> Just before, a member named -Nevile had been denounced and threatened with prosecution as an atheist -and blasphemer, for saying that the reading of Cicero affected him more -than the reading of the Bible.<a name="FNanchor_12_12" id="FNanchor_12_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_12_12" class="fnanchor">[12]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1659.</div> - -<p>These proceedings, together with a declaration a few weeks -afterwards, which spoke of blasphemies and heresies against God, -and Christ, and the Holy Spirit, and the Scriptures; of the -advocates of an inward light; also of atheism, profaneness, and -Sabbath-breaking,<a name="FNanchor_13_13" id="FNanchor_13_13"></a><a href="#Footnote_13_13" class="fnanchor">[13]</a>—indicate the revival of Presbyterian influence, -and the renewed activity of Presbyterian zeal. On the other hand, Sir -Henry Vane, who had been so earnest in supporting the Covenant, had -now changed his mind on that subject, maintaining that the compact -had become invalid through what he called the Scotch invasion of -England, meaning by this the invasion which ended in the defeat at -Worcester.<a name="FNanchor_14_14" id="FNanchor_14_14"></a><a href="#Footnote_14_14" class="fnanchor">[14]</a> In the same spirit exceptions were taken by a Committee -to the harsh treatment of Fifth Monarchy men; and some of that class -were referred to with respect.<a name="FNanchor_15_15" id="FNanchor_15_15"></a><a href="#Footnote_15_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</a> In these Parliamentary allusions to -religious questions—the chief allusions of the kind which occurred -about this time—we discern the flow of two opposite currents of -feeling.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES.</div> - -<p>Other debates issued in important consequences. Republicans and -the advocates of a mixed Government came into collision upon their -particular points of difference. Sir Arthur Haselrig openly arraigned -the acts of Oliver Cromwell, condemned the dismissal of the Long -Parliament, and most irreverently compared the extinction of Monarchy -and of the Upper House to the effect of the crucifying of our Saviour -on the Cross. Haselrig proclaimed England to be a theocracy. "God," -said he, "is the King of this Great Island." Haselrig acknowledged no -power under God but that of the Parliament; the Protector he utterly -ignored. Scott and Ludlow also gloried in their regicidal deeds. Vane, -in a calmer strain, upheld<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span> Republicanism. On the other side the -friends of the Protectorate contended for the "petition and advice" -as "the Boaz and Jachin of Solomon's temple." The hand of Providence, -they said, had set up the Protector, Richard. He was Protector before -the House assembled; the House had owned him in that capacity, and had -taken an oath of allegiance. A Royalist, amidst the expression of these -opinions, exclaimed, "I am for the Constitution we lived under—for -building up the ancient fabric."<a name="FNanchor_16_16" id="FNanchor_16_16"></a><a href="#Footnote_16_16" class="fnanchor">[16]</a> Thus early, certain of the -senators of England showed their determination to plunge at once into -the vortex of a new revolution.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1659.</div> - -<p>Questions touching foreign affairs, the Army, and finance came under -debate at the same time; the Republicans, led by Vane, deploring, in -a spirit of infatuation, the late peace with Holland, and wishing -that the war had been perpetuated until the Dutch had been conquered, -and forced into union with this country. They contended also that -the control of the military should be placed in the hands of the -Parliament, not in the hands of the Protector; and they inveighed -against the extravagance of the Government, declaring that the -deficiency in the revenue would produce a national debt enough to -sink the country in ruin. But what proved of still more serious -consequence, the Republicans not only canvassed, but set aside certain -acts of the late Protector. Oliver had left behind him many State -prisoners, committed for political offences. They were now liberated. -Major-General Overton, one of these prisoners, appeared before the -House as a martyr, being escorted on his return from imprisonment—like -Burton, Prynne, and others, nearly twenty years before—by "four<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span> or -five hundred men on horseback, and a vast crowd bearing branches of -laurel."<a name="FNanchor_17_17" id="FNanchor_17_17"></a><a href="#Footnote_17_17" class="fnanchor">[17]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES.</div> - -<p>Richard could not be held responsible for the arbitrary proceedings -of Oliver. He had not been privy to his father's deeds; he had not -entered into his father's purposes; he had not adopted his father's -opinions; he had befriended the Royalists, and was still supposed to -have sympathies with them; at the same time also his moderation and -urbanity attracted towards him some of his father's companions and -allies. "Though perhaps you will not believe it," wrote Broderick to -Hyde, "they really are more affectionate to the present than the late -Protector, whose temper so differed from theirs that it was usually -averse to the deliberate caution they advised, running hazards they -trembled to think of upon a sudden violent suggestion, of which -they could give themselves no account, which precipices this young -Prince doth prudently, as well as naturally avoid, and is thereby -rendered more agreeable to those wary statesmen."<a name="FNanchor_18_18" id="FNanchor_18_18"></a><a href="#Footnote_18_18" class="fnanchor">[18]</a> Yet personal -popularity did not suffice to defend him from the disaffection of -Republicans, and the discontent and intrigues of Army officers. Late -in the month of March, Fleetwood and Desborough reported to Richard -that agitation prevailed amongst the troops; that they complained of -not having received their pay; that they were angry at the conduct -of Parliament towards some of their old generals; and that these -circumstances afforded encouragement to the Cavalier party. The two -officers proceeded to employ these facts for the purpose of enforcing -the advice that His Highness should im<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span>mediately summon a Council of -Officers to consider the state of affairs. Such a Council was held; -and, after prayer, by Dr. Owen, deliberations commenced. Desborough -recommended the application to the Army of a political test, the test -to be—approval of the execution of Charles I. The proposition shocked -the Lords Howard and Falconbridge. Broghill suggested a different -method—that every one should be turned out of the Army who would -not swear allegiance to the Protectorate, a proposition supported by -Whalley and Goffe. At last it was resolved to separate the command of -the Army from the civil power; a resolution afterwards presented to His -Highness, who forwarded it to the House of Commons. Such discussions -only served to widen the breach between the House and the Army, in -the end diminishing the influence of the former, and leaving it in a -position of weakness, so as to compel its submission to the assumption -of the latter. The resolution sent to the Protector, and by him -forwarded to the Commons, tended to throw the greatest influence into -the hands of the officers, and to promote Desborough's Republican views.</p> - -<p>Petitions from the Army followed these proceedings, the soldiers -saying, "Because our consciences bear us witness that we dipped our -hands in blood in that cause; and the blood of many thousands hath -been shed by our immediate hands under your command in that quarrel, -we are amazed to think of the account that we must render at the -great and terrible day of the Lord, if by your silence the freedom -of these nations should be lost, and returned into the hands of that -family, which God hath so eminently appeared against in His many signal -providences little less than miracles."<a name="FNanchor_19_19" id="FNanchor_19_19"></a><a href="#Footnote_19_19" class="fnanchor">[19]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1659.</div> - -<p>The Commons, although weak, assumed the semblance of strength, and upon -the 18th of April resolved that no Council of Officers should be held -without permission of the Protector and the Parliament; and that no one -should have command in the Army or Navy who did not engage to leave the -two Houses uninterrupted in their deliberations. The Protector, still -more feeble than Parliament, proceeded to dissolve the Council; the -officers asserted their authority by continuing to meet for conference.</p> - -<p>As it was in the father's days so it was in the son's: when argument -failed violence took its place. Violence, like that which had been -employed by Oliver against the Parliament, was now threatened against -Richard by the Army. The officers, clutching at their old weapons, -seeing how things were likely to proceed, fearing the Presbyterian -ascendancy, and the destruction of their liberties, determined to -put an end to the sitting of the two Houses; and told His Highness -that if he did not dismiss them he might expect to be dismissed -himself. Richard was no soldier, and had not, like Oliver, secured -the attachment of the military, so that resistance by him to martial -chiefs could avail nothing. He, therefore, allowed the Parliament to -be dissolved by Commission, upon the 22nd of April. After this act -had been accomplished, not without opposition from some members, the -party in power summoned to the resumption of their trust, such of the -Long Parliament as had continued to sit until the year 1653. They -amounted in number to ninety-one; out of these forty-two obeyed the -new order, and took their places on the 7th of May. Fourteen of the -old Presbyterians, including Prynne,<a name="FNanchor_20_20" id="FNanchor_20_20"></a><a href="#Footnote_20_20" class="fnanchor">[20]</a> who had sat in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span> St. Stephen's -before Pride's purge, were refused admittance.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">INTERREGNUM.</div> - -<p>Upon the 13th of May the heads of the Army presented a petition, in -which they proposed to men whom they addressed as rulers, but who -were in fact servants, that religious liberty should, as in the days -of Oliver, continue to be conceded to all orthodox believers (Papists -and Prelatists being distinctly excepted); that a godly ministry -should be everywhere maintained; and that the universities and schools -of learning should be countenanced and reformed.<a name="FNanchor_21_21" id="FNanchor_21_21"></a><a href="#Footnote_21_21" class="fnanchor">[21]</a> Gleams of -Presbyterian influence disappeared; the broad ecclesiastical policy of -Oliver again resumed the ascendant.</p> - -<p>A new Council of State was formed, and the names of Vane and Haselrig -once more prominently appeared, together with those of Whitelock and -Fleetwood—the one a legal cipher, the other a military tool.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1659.</div> - -<p>Fleetwood occupied Wallingford House, which stood on the site of the -present Admiralty, the birthplace of the second Duke of Buckingham, and -the residence of the infamous Countess of Essex. Here it was, from the -roof of the mansion, then occupied by the Earl of Peterborough, that -Archbishop Ussher had swooned at the sight of Charles' execution; and -here Fleetwood, who from his connection with the Cromwells on the one -side, and with the Army on the other, now possessed more power than any -other person, gathered together his brother officers for conference. -Fleetwood was a pious and respectable Independent,<a name="FNanchor_22_22" id="FNanchor_22_22"></a><a href="#Footnote_22_22" class="fnanchor">[22]</a> a sincere -patriot, a Republican only in a qualified sense, willing to concede -to a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span> Protector large administrative authority. He was not without -ambition, although he had prudence enough to curb it; yet neither by -gifts of nature, force of character, or study and experience, was he -a man fitted to deal with existing emergencies. He had no original -genius, being born to follow, not to lead. He helped to pull down -the Protectorate, and to dethrone his brother-in-law, but he had no -gift for building up any better order of things. He could aid the -destructive movements of Vane and Haselrig; but he had no more of the -faculty of constructiveness than had they.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">INTERREGNUM.</div> - -<p>John Howe, who, in the month of May, was residing at Whitehall after -an absence of some months, saw and lamented the condition of affairs. -The "army-men," he says, under pretence of zeal for the interests -of religious liberty were seeking their own ends, and were for that -purpose drawing to themselves "wild-headed persons of all sorts." -"Such persons," he adds, "as are now at the head of affairs will -blast religion, if God prevent not." "I know some leading men are not -Christians. Religion is lost out of England, farther than as it can -creep into corners. Those in power, who are friends to it, will no more -suspect these persons than their ownselves."<a name="FNanchor_23_23" id="FNanchor_23_23"></a><a href="#Footnote_23_23" class="fnanchor">[23]</a> These are not the -words of a party man; and they show that whatever might be the piety of -Fleetwood, and the purity of Vane, there were persons of a different -character who employed them as tools for selfish ends. In the same -letter, Howe speaks in favourable terms of Richard, whom he must have -known well. The disinterestedness, and even patriotism of the Protector -appeared in his resignation of power. "He resolved to venture upon it -himself, rather than suffer it to be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span> taken with more hazard to the -country by others," and he awakens our sympathy by his own truthful -words, that "he was betrayed by those whom he most trusted." He quitted -Whitehall, with trunks full of addresses, which contained, as he -humorously remarked, "the lives and fortunes of all the good people of -England." More at home in the hunting-field than in the cabinet—he, -after residing abroad for a time, spent the rest of his days in his -native land as a country gentleman; and died at Cheshunt, July the -12th, 1712, saying to his daughter, "Live in love; I am going to the -God of love."<a name="FNanchor_24_24" id="FNanchor_24_24"></a><a href="#Footnote_24_24" class="fnanchor">[24]</a> He lies buried in Hursley Church, where he regularly -worshipped during his residence in the parish. Within the same walls, -by a coincidence which will be often noticed in future days, there now -repose the remains of a holy man and a great poet, whose sympathies -never seem to have reached the fallen Protector during a ministry, in -that place, of thirty years.<a name="FNanchor_25_25" id="FNanchor_25_25"></a><a href="#Footnote_25_25" class="fnanchor">[25]</a></p> - -<p>The power of the Cromwell family came to an end upon the dissolution -of Richard's Parliament, except that Fleetwood was acknowledged by -the Army as Lieutenant-general. Lord Falconbridge, and also the Lords -Broghill and Howard retired into the country; and, as the Protectorate -had vanished, they prepared to welcome the restoration of Monarchy.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1659.</div> - -<p>Leaving Whitehall we return to Wallingford House. Fleetwood, being -an Independent, civil affairs being entangled with such as were -ecclesiastical, and the interests<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span> of religion being so completely -involved in the political changes of the day—a fact which justifies -so much being said about them in an Ecclesiastical History—he and -Desborough, who sympathized with him, invited to their councils Dr. -Owen, the Independent, and Dr. Manton, the Presbyterian. A story is -told of the former, to the effect, that, at Wallingford House, he had -prayed for the downfall of Richard, so as to be heard by Manton, who -stood outside the door. It is further stated that Owen had gathered a -Church there; and that in one of its assemblies a determination had -been formed to compel Richard to dissolve his Parliament.<a name="FNanchor_26_26" id="FNanchor_26_26"></a><a href="#Footnote_26_26" class="fnanchor">[26]</a> The -Independent Divine denied that he had anything to do with the setting -up, or the pulling down of Richard; and it has been also denied that he -gathered a Church in Wallingford House. Whatever might be the extent -of Owen's political interference at that crisis, and whether or not he -gathered a Church there, certainly at the time one existed upon the -spot. The Records of the Congregational Church at Yarmouth indicate -that a religious society assembled at Fleetwood's residence, and -carried on correspondence with other similar bodies.<a name="FNanchor_27_27" id="FNanchor_27_27"></a><a href="#Footnote_27_27" class="fnanchor">[27]</a> These records -shed light upon a critical and dubious juncture in our history.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote">INTERREGNUM.—INDEPENDENTS.</div> - -<p>A meeting was held at Norwich, and another in London, respecting which -Dr. Owen wrote to Mr. Bridge. The resolutions at which the Yarmouth -Church arrived, as they were probably drawn up by the eminent minister, -who presided over that community, may be regarded as expressing the -opinions of a wider circle than the provincial society which adopted -them.</p> - -<p>First—"We judge a Parliament to be the expedient for the preservation -of the peace of these nations; and withal we do desire that all due -care be taken that the Parliament be such as may preserve the interest -of Christ and His people in these nations." Secondly—"As touching the -magistrate's power in matters of faith and worship we have declared -our judgment in our late Confession<a name="FNanchor_28_28" id="FNanchor_28_28"></a><a href="#Footnote_28_28" class="fnanchor">[28]</a> (by the Savoy Conference); -and though we greatly prize our Christian liberties, yet we profess -our utter dislike and abhorrence of a universal toleration as being -contrary to the mind of God in His word." Thirdly—"We judge that the -taking away of tithes for maintenance of ministers until as full a -maintenance be equally secured, and as legally settled, tend very much -to the destruction of the ministry and the preaching of the Gospel in -these nations." Fourthly—"It is our desire that countenance be not -given, nor trust reposed in the hands of Quakers, they being persons of -such principles as are destructive to the Gospel, and inconsistent with -the peace of civil societies."<a name="FNanchor_29_29" id="FNanchor_29_29"></a><a href="#Footnote_29_29" class="fnanchor">[29]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1659.</div> - -<p>Into a miserable state must England have drifted when a congregation -of Independents, no doubt containing many worthy people, but certainly -not fitted to act as a Council of State, came to be consulted upon the -most important public questions, and to give their opinion after this -fashion.</p> - -<p>What the opinions of Dr. Owen were upon two of the points mooted in -these resolutions we learn from a short paper which he wrote at this -time, and which is preserved in his collected works. There are three -questions, and he gives three answers. The first two relate to the -power of the supreme magistrate touching religion and the worship of -God. Notwithstanding the haste with which the replies were furnished, -they must be considered as expressing the writer's mature judgment, for -the interrogatories embody the most pressing questions of the times. -To the first query, whether the supreme magistrate in a Commonwealth -professing the religion of Christ, may exert his legislative and -executive power for furthering the profession of the faith and -worship, and whether he ought to coerce or restrain such principles -and practices as were contrary to them, Owen replied distinctly in -the affirmative. He supported his affirmation by arguments drawn from -the law and the light of nature; from the government of nations; from -God's revealed institutions; from the examples of God's magistrates; -"from the promises of Gospel times;" "from the equity of Gospel rules;" -from the confession of all Protestant Churches; and particularly from -the Savoy declaration. Owen was asked, secondly, whether the supreme -magistrate might "by laws and penalties compel any one who holds the -Head Christ Jesus to subscribe to that confession of faith, and attend -to that way of worship which he esteems incumbent on him to promote -and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span> further." Restricting attention to those described as "holding -the Head," the Independent Divine remarks, that though it cannot be -proved that the magistrate is divinely authorized to take away the -lives of men for their disbelief, "yet it doth not seem to be the -duty of any, professing obedience to Jesus Christ, to make any stated -legal unalterable provision for their immunity who renounce Him." He -decides also that opinions of public scandal ought to be restrained, -and not suffered to be divulged, either by open speech or by the press. -Subsequently, after premising (to use his own words) that "the measure -of doctrinal holding the Head, consists in some few clear fundamental -propositions," and that men are apt to run to extremes, he finally -concludes upon giving a negative answer to their second question. As -to the third, "whether it be convenient that the present way of the -maintenance of ministers or preachers of the Gospel be removed and -taken away, or changed into some other provision;" Owen vindicates the -claim of the ministry to temporal support, and places the payment of -tithes upon a Divine basis. He declares that to take away "the public -maintenance" would be "a contempt of the care and faithfulness of God -towards His Church, and, in plain terms, downright robbery."<a name="FNanchor_30_30" id="FNanchor_30_30"></a><a href="#Footnote_30_30" class="fnanchor">[30]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">INTERREGNUM.—BAPTISTS.</div> - -<p>A Church book of the period has thus afforded an insight into certain -political relations sustained by Independents in the year 1659. A -celebrated historian may next be quoted, in reference to alleged -proceedings of a very different nature on the part of Baptists. -Clarendon relates a strange story of overtures made to Charles before -the death of Cromwell by persons of that denomination. He gives a copy -of an address to His Majesty,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span> as Charles is styled, signed by ten such -persons, in which address occur violent lamentations over the troubles -of the times. Attached to it are proposals "in order to an happy, -speedy, and well-grounded peace." The document contains a prayer, that -no anti-Christian Hierarchy, Episcopal, Presbyterian, or otherwise, -should be created, and that every one should be left at liberty to -worship God in such a way and manner as might appear to them to be -agreeable to the mind and will of Christ.<a name="FNanchor_31_31" id="FNanchor_31_31"></a><a href="#Footnote_31_31" class="fnanchor">[31]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1659.</div> - -<p>According to Clarendon—the only authority upon which we have to -depend in reference to the subject—a curious letter accompanied the -address and the proposals; in which letter the correspondent alludes -to a "worthy gentleman" by whose hands it was conveyed, and who being -acquainted with the circumstances, would fully explain the case and -answer objections. He refers to the subscribers as "young proselytes" -to the Royal cause, as needing to be driven "<i>lento pede</i>," as being -neither of great families or great estates, but as capable of being -more serviceable to His Majesty than some whose names would "swell much -bigger than theirs."<a name="FNanchor_32_32" id="FNanchor_32_32"></a><a href="#Footnote_32_32" class="fnanchor">[32]</a></p> - -<p>There is no sufficient reason for pronouncing the story an invention, -or the documents forgeries; at any rate it appears as if Clarendon -believed in them; yet on the other hand, there is not the slightest -evidence that any of the leaders of the Baptist body ever concurred in -any such movement—the names appended to the address are unknown—and -no reference to the affair, that I am aware of, was ever made after -the Restoration, either by Baptists or any other party. On the whole -it is not unlikely that some few people, calling themselves Baptists, -dis<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span>liking Oliver Cromwell and the Protectorate, and differing from -those ministers of their denomination who held parish livings, might -have engaged in a correspondence with a view to the restoration of -Monarchy under certain conditions—especially that of unfettered -toleration. No practical result followed these reported overtures.<a name="FNanchor_33_33" id="FNanchor_33_33"></a><a href="#Footnote_33_33" class="fnanchor">[33]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">INTERREGNUM—PRESBYTERIANS.</div> - -<p>The Presbyterians had, for the most part, after the death of Charles -I., preserved a sentiment of loyalty towards the House of Stuart; and -now that Richard had fallen, they were eager for the restoration of -Monarchy in the person of the exiled prince. Presbyterian clergymen -animated and controlled this new movement, of which the extensive -ramifications spread themselves abroad in secrecy and caution. Only in -Cheshire did any military demonstration occur. There, in the month of -August, under Sir George Booth, a popular Presbyterian of the county, -numbers of persons appeared in arms; yet, although the object evidently -was to place Prince Charles on the throne of his fathers, the leaders -professed nothing more than a desire to secure the assembling of a free -Parliament. The Presbyterians rejected the aid of the Roman Catholics, -and but warily accepted the advances of a Presbyterian knight, Sir -Thomas Middleton, because he was known to be a Royalist.<a name="FNanchor_34_34" id="FNanchor_34_34"></a><a href="#Footnote_34_34" class="fnanchor">[34]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1659.</div> - -<p>The rising proved unfortunate. After being hopefully prosecuted a -little while, it then appeared that the Republicans under Lambert -were too strong for these Northern insurgents. The former scoured -the country. Their shots in some places disturbed the Presbyterian<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span> -communicants at the Lord's Supper; their advances in the neighbourhood -of Manchester filled that town with alarm. Houses were emptied of -their valuables by the people who were anxious to hide them from -the enemy.<a name="FNanchor_35_35" id="FNanchor_35_35"></a><a href="#Footnote_35_35" class="fnanchor">[35]</a> Booth was obliged to flee; and to provide against -detection he assumed a female disguise, and rode on a pillion, but his -awkwardness in alighting from his horse betrayed him; and Middleton, -after a brief resistance within the walls of Chirk Castle, capitulated -to the foe.</p> - -<p>Fleetwood now seemed the chief man in England; and to him certain -Republicans, who had been desired, or as they interpreted it, commanded -to retire from the Council of Officers, turned as to their last hope, -asking him in a "humble representation" full of religious sentiment, -"to remove the present force upon the Parliament, that it might sit in -safety without interruption."<a name="FNanchor_36_36" id="FNanchor_36_36"></a><a href="#Footnote_36_36" class="fnanchor">[36]</a> Other persons of more consequence, -including Haselrig, followed up the appeal in a rather different -strain, but with the same object, and charged Fleetwood with destroying -Parliamentary authority, after the example of his father-in-law.<a name="FNanchor_37_37" id="FNanchor_37_37"></a><a href="#Footnote_37_37" class="fnanchor">[37]</a> -Sir Ashley Cooper subsequently wrote to him in like manner, protesting -against "red-coats and muskets" as a "<i>non obstante</i>" to national laws -and public privileges.<a name="FNanchor_38_38" id="FNanchor_38_38"></a><a href="#Footnote_38_38" class="fnanchor">[38]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">INTERREGNUM—EPISCOPALIANS.</div> - -<p>Amidst the confusion of the period hope dawned upon the persecuted -Episcopalians.</p> - -<p>Whether or not influenced by the death of Cromwell, and the foresight -of coming changes favourable to his own Church, Henry Thorndike, the -able Episcopalian scholar and divine, published in 1659 what he called -<i>An Epilogue to the Tragedy of the Church of England</i>; a book which, -an admiring critic says, proved to be in spirit a prologue<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span> to the -renewed life of a Church more vigorous than ever! The aim of the work -is to promote the welfare of the Episcopal Church of England, not by -any compromise, but by endeavouring to persuade all to unite together -on her behalf. Looking at the claims of the Romish Church to immediate -inspiration (placed no matter where), and to the equally groundless -and more arrogant claims of the fanatics—as Thorndike terms them—to -individual inspiration, he urges that each party should be brought -to admit themselves limited to the sense of Scripture as expounded -by the primitive laws and faith of the Church. Thus, he says, the -ground of their errors is cut away. With this imaginary solution of -the difficulty, which begs the question, this calculation upon what -is impossible, and this triumphant assurance of a conclusion based on -premises, which neither Papist nor Puritan would admit—the high, but -honest Churchman, shows how much he sympathized with the one and how -little with the other.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1659.</div> - -<p>He expressly avows his approval of prayers for the dead, of the -invocation of the Spirit on the elements of the Eucharist, and of the -practice of penance; whilst he contends for Episcopacy in the Anglican -sense, and wishes to see Presbyters restored to their ancient position -of a council to be consulted by the bishop. Thorndike's notion was, -in prospect of its restoration, to reform his own Church, by bringing -it back to what he considered primitive usage. Those who most condemn -some of the views which he advocated will be constrained, on reading -his life and works, to acknowledge the guileless simplicity of his -character, as apparent in this very publication at such a crisis. He -says himself—"That I should publish the result of my thoughts to the -world may seem to fall under the historian's censure. '<i>Frustra autem -niti,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span> neque aliud se fatigando, nisi odium quærere, extremæ dementiæ -est.</i>'" He adds, "If I be like a man with an arrow in his thigh, or -like a woman ready to bring forth,—that is, as Ecclesiasticus saith, -like a fool that cannot hold what is in his heart—I am in this, I -hope, no fool of Solomon's, but with St. Paul, 'a fool for Christ's -sake.'"<a name="FNanchor_39_39" id="FNanchor_39_39"></a><a href="#Footnote_39_39" class="fnanchor">[39]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">INTERREGNUM—EPISCOPALIANS.</div> - -<p>This straightforward course annoyed those who were seeking to restore -the Church in a different way. "Pray tell me what melancholy hath -possessed poor Mr. Thorndike? And what do our friends think of his -book? And is it possible that he would publish it, without ever -imparting it, or communicating with them?" Such questions were asked by -Sir Edward Hyde, who wondered that Thorndike should publish his "doubts -to the world in a time when he might reasonably believe the worst use -would be made, and the greatest scandal proceed from them."<a name="FNanchor_40_40" id="FNanchor_40_40"></a><a href="#Footnote_40_40" class="fnanchor">[40]</a> Hyde's -own method of proceeding at this juncture appears in his correspondence -with Dr. Barwick. He did not trouble himself, like Thorndike, with -theological questions, or attempt any reformation of the Church which -he wished to restore; but he threw himself heartily into efforts for -the preservation of the Episcopal order. For the Bishops were dying -out, only a few survived; in a short time all would be dead, and then -how would the ministerial succession be perpetuated? By repairing to -Rome, or by admitting the validity of Presbyterian ordination? As Hyde -pondered these queries he rebuked the friends of the Church for their -apathy—"The King hath done all that is in his power to do, and if my -Lords the Bishops will not do the rest, what can become of the Church? -The conspiracies to destroy it<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span> are very evident; and, if there can -be no combination to preserve it, it must expire. I do assure you, -the names of all the Bishops who are alive and their several ages -are as well known at Rome as in England; and both the Papist and the -Presbyterian value themselves very much upon computing in how few years -the Church of England must expire."<a name="FNanchor_41_41" id="FNanchor_41_41"></a><a href="#Footnote_41_41" class="fnanchor">[41]</a> While the Prelates generally -came in for his censure, Wren, Bishop of Ely, and Duppa, Bishop of -Salisbury, were exceptionally noticed as active and earnest—the most -lukewarm being Brownrigg, Bishop of Exeter, and Skinner, Bishop of -Oxford.<a name="FNanchor_42_42" id="FNanchor_42_42"></a><a href="#Footnote_42_42" class="fnanchor">[42]</a> It was easier, however, for Hyde, on the Continent, to -write zealously on this subject than for the Bishops in England, under -inimical rulers, and with the fear of penalties before them, to do -anything effective for the consecration of successors. Difficulties -were felt, both in the wandering Court of Charles and in the troubled -homes of ejected Episcopalians. There were no Deans and Chapters -to receive the <i>congé d'élire</i>, and to act upon it. Canonical and -constitutional law interposed obstacles in the way of consecration. -Bramhall thought, that as the King had an absolute power of nomination -for Ireland, the best way would be for surviving Bishops to consecrate -persons Royally nominated to Irish sees, and then translate them to -England. The Bishop of Ely objected to this as practically approving -what he considered a defect in the Church of the sister island; and he -would rather, he said, see Ireland conformed to England, than England -to Ireland. His own plan, in which Dr. Cosin concurred, was much the -same as one which Barwick proposed—<i>i.e.</i>, that the King should grant -a Commission to the Bishops<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span> of each province, to elect and consecrate -fit persons for vacant sees, and ratify and confirm the process -afterwards.<a name="FNanchor_43_43" id="FNanchor_43_43"></a><a href="#Footnote_43_43" class="fnanchor">[43]</a> To this Hyde agreed, and wrote for the form of such a -Commission as the Bishops might judge proper. No further steps appear -to have been taken in that direction.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1659.</div> - -<p>Hyde counselled as much privacy as possible in measures for the -preservation of the Episcopal order; and in all affairs relating to -the Church he recommended the utmost prudence and moderation: at -a later period, when Monk was preparing for Charles' return, Hyde -complained of the "unskilful passion and distemper" of some Divines. -The King, he added, was really troubled, and "extremely apprehensive -of inconvenience and mischief to the Church and himself." Still later, -he advised that endeavours should be made to win over those who had -reputation, and desired to merit well of the Church—and that there -should be no compliance "with the pride and passion of those who -propose extravagant things."<a name="FNanchor_44_44" id="FNanchor_44_44"></a><a href="#Footnote_44_44" class="fnanchor">[44]</a></p> - -<p>As correspondence passed between Hyde and Barwick many Episcopalians -in England gave themselves to fasting and prayer. Evelyn writes in -his diary on the 21st of October: "A private fast was kept by the -Church of England Protestants in town, to beg of God the removal of -His judgments, with devout prayers for His mercy to our calamitous -Church." Other entries appear, of the same kind. The ruling politicians -in England, out of all sympathy with the exiles, were, nevertheless, -promoting their interests by divisions at home.<a name="FNanchor_45_45" id="FNanchor_45_45"></a><a href="#Footnote_45_45" class="fnanchor">[45]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">INTERREGNUM—EPISCOPALIANS.</div> - -<p>Money-matters, out of which broods of quarrels are always being -hatched, caused what remained of the Long<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span> Parliament to be very -unpopular; and the upshot is seen in the dissolution by General -Lambert, on the 13th of October, of that attenuated but vivacious body, -whose continued, or renewed existence, through an age of revolutions, -presents such a singular phenomenon.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span></p></div> - - -<h2>CHAPTER II.</h2> - - -<p class="drop-cap p-left">After Lambert's imitation of Oliver Cromwell, in dissolving the -House of Commons, England might be said to be without any Government -at all. In contrast with our conscious security twenty years ago, -and our reliance upon the stability of the Constitution at a moment -when political changes were sweeping over Europe, as rapidly as -the shadows of the clouds chase each other over the corn-fields, -our fathers, in the latter part of the year 1659, felt they had no -political constitution whatever in existence, except as it might be -preserved in lawyers' books, and in people's memories. The Republicans -were at sixes and sevens. Some were for a select Senate, and a -Parliamentary representation; some for an Assembly chosen by the -people, and for Councils of State chosen by that Assembly; some for -a couple of Councils, both chosen by the popular voice; and some for -a scheme which seemed like a revival of the Lacedæmonian Ephori.<a name="FNanchor_46_46" id="FNanchor_46_46"></a><a href="#Footnote_46_46" class="fnanchor">[46]</a> -Amidst distractions of opinion these speculatists were inspired by -personal animosities; and, being mutually jealous, they constantly -misapprehended each other's motives. It was a strange time, and as sad -as it was strange—when, at the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span> Rota Club, which met at the Turk's -Head, in New Palace Yard, where Harrington and his friends were wont -to drink their glasses of water—it had become a <i>practical</i> question, -under what sort of Government they were to live the following year?</p> - -<div class="sidenote">INTERREGNUM—CONFUSION.</div> - -<p>London was a Babel of ecclesiastical no less than of political -theories. Presbyterians contended that the Solemn League and Covenant -alone could heal the nation's wounds. Fifth Monarchy men could see no -hope but in the second coming of Christ. Some contended for toleration -to a limited extent, with a national religion exercised according to -Parliamentary law—the legal and ancient provision for a national -ministry being augmented, so as to secure to each clergyman £100 per -annum. Others contended for "the way of old, laid down by Christ," to -bring it about again, and settle it in the world; and such teachers -declared that there needed to be an utter plucking up of all that -was in esteem or desire, or had been for many hundred years.<a name="FNanchor_47_47" id="FNanchor_47_47"></a><a href="#Footnote_47_47" class="fnanchor">[47]</a> In -the <i>Modest Plea for an Equal Commonwealth</i>, published in 1659, it -was proposed to abolish tithes, upon composition being made for them -by landholders; the money so raised to be used for satisfying the -proprietors, and paying the arrears of the Army; also for discharging -public debts, and providing for the dispossessed incumbents during -the remainder of their lives.<a name="FNanchor_48_48" id="FNanchor_48_48"></a><a href="#Footnote_48_48" class="fnanchor">[48]</a> Causes of discontent and disquiet, -often overlooked, existed at that period. Scarcity always aggravates -when it does not produce political confusion. The price of corn had -singularly fluctuated during the Commonwealth: like the tide it had -gradually<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span> ebbed during the first half; like the tide it had gradually -flowed during the second. In 1649, the year of Charles' execution, -wheat had reached eighty shillings a quarter; in 1654, the first year -of Oliver's protectorate, it fell as low as twenty-six shillings—good -harvests coming to bless his new administration. After that year wheat -rose again, till in 1659 it attained the price of sixty-six shillings; -the dearness of bread being, as we might expect, however unjustly, laid -at the door of a Government arrived at the last stage of incompetency -and weakness.<a name="FNanchor_49_49" id="FNanchor_49_49"></a><a href="#Footnote_49_49" class="fnanchor">[49]</a> The result of combined calamities speedily became -apparent. The military were dissatisfied and divided. Troops lawlessly -prowled about the country; they levied contributions in all quarters, -threatening their enemies, and harassing their friends. Their swords -were warrants for exaction; and when told that their conduct would lead -to the return of Charles Stuart, they answered such an event could -never happen so long as they continued to carry arms. Colonels and -Captains lost command over their men; the latter did what was right in -their own eyes, and nothing else.<a name="FNanchor_50_50" id="FNanchor_50_50"></a><a href="#Footnote_50_50" class="fnanchor">[50]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1659.</div> - -<p>It is startling to find how rapidly change succeeded change in high -places. The remains of the Long Parliament, as it existed at the time -of its dissolution by Oliver Cromwell, were, for want of better rulers, -restored the day after Christmas-day,<a name="FNanchor_51_51" id="FNanchor_51_51"></a><a href="#Footnote_51_51" class="fnanchor">[51]</a> according to the wishes of -the soldiers, not the Generals. Lenthall, after summoning such members -as could be found, again arrayed himself in his Speaker's robes; again -went in state to the House to reoccupy the old chair; and the soldiers, -who<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span> ten weeks before had driven him from the doors of St. Stephen's, -now shouted, at the top of their voices, in honour of his solemn -re-entrance. Prynne, and other gentlemen excluded by Pride's purge, -were once more excepted from the number summoned, and sought in vain -re-admission to their vacant seats. The remnant of legislators upon -assembling anew appointed a Council of State; but never was any form of -Government so unmercifully ridiculed as was this.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">INTERREGNUM.—CONFUSION.</div> - -<p>Something needed to be done. The Royalists throughout all this tumult -had not been asleep. They had increased the miserable confusion, and -even rejoiced in the gloom, because the darker the night the nearer -the dawn. Booth's rising in August had been repressed, but an enormous -flood of disaffection, of which that had been a sort of Geyser outgush, -continued to boil beneath the surface. Secret conferences were held; -plots were laid. The deeply engrained love of Monarchy in the English -mind—only painted over of late years—now that the paint was being -rubbed off, became distinctly visible. The press took the utmost -license. Evelyn in his <i>Apology for the Royal Party</i> denounced the -Rump as a coffin which was yet less empty than the heads of certain -politicians. He boldly demanded the restoration of Charles Stuart, -maintaining that he might be trusted because of his innate love of -justice, and his father's dying injunctions; and because there were -none, however crimson-dyed their crimes, whom he would not pardon in -the abundance of his clemency and mercy. The author of <i>A Plea for -Limited Monarchy</i> adds the sorrows of memory to the pleasures of hope, -as motives for restoring the King; for he dwells upon the decay of -trade, and complains that the oil and honey promised by Oliver had been -turned to bitterness and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span> gall; and that Lambert's free quarterings had -licked up the little which had been left in the people's cruse.<a name="FNanchor_52_52" id="FNanchor_52_52"></a><a href="#Footnote_52_52" class="fnanchor">[52]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1659.</div> - -<p>These appeals fell on willing ears. The nation was weary—weary -of inefficient rulers, weary of ideal Republics. Had there been -some master-spirit equal to the departed one, with a strong and -well-disciplined Army at his back, the Commonwealth might even now at -last have been restored to what it was two years before; but nobody -like the vanished man remained, and the Army fell to pieces.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">MONK.</div> - -<p>General Monk had a large portion of it under his immediate control -in the North. The Committee of Safety had, in the month of November, -appointed him Commander-in-Chief of all the forces, and he now -determined to employ his influence for purposes of his own. The troops -under Lambert, who still cherished Republican ideas and designs, were -ordered by a messenger of Parliament to withdraw to their respective -quarters; consequently that ambitious and turbulent personage retired -into privacy. The soldiers in London, tired of their commanders, had -asked for the restoration of the Rump, and had placed themselves under -its authority. Monk alone possessed much military power. In the month -of January we find him marching up to London. On entering the gates -of York two Presbyterian ministers escorted him to his lodgings; one -of them, the eminent Edward Bowles, "the spring that moved all the -wheels in that city," who "dealt with the General about weighty and -dangerous affairs," keeping him up till midnight,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span> and pressing him -very hard to stay there, and declare for the King. "Have you made any -such promise?" inquired Monk's chaplain. "No, truly, I have not; or, I -have <i>not yet</i>," was the reply. After a pause the chaplain remarked, -"When the famous Gustavus entered Germany, he said, 'that if his shirt -knew what he intended to do, he would tear it from his back, and burn -it.'" The speaker applied the story to his master, entreating him -to sleep between York and London; and when he entered the walls of -the Metropolis to open his eyes, and look about him.<a name="FNanchor_53_53" id="FNanchor_53_53"></a><a href="#Footnote_53_53" class="fnanchor">[53]</a> Perhaps the -chaplain knew that such counsel would be agreeable to his patron; but -it was quite unnecessary to talk in this fashion to one pre-eminently -reticent, and as watchful with his eyes as he was cautious with his -lips.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1660.</div> - -<p>Monk, at the time, was far from being reputed a Royalist. He, with -his officers, had in the month of June, 1659, expressed Republican -opinions. In the following November the same person corresponding with -Dr. Owen, and other representatives of the Independents in London, -promised that their interests should ever be dear to his heart; and -gave it as his opinion that the laws and rights for which they had been -struggling through eighteen years might be "reduced to a Parliamentary -Government, and the people's consenting to the laws."<a name="FNanchor_54_54" id="FNanchor_54_54"></a><a href="#Footnote_54_54" class="fnanchor">[54]</a> The General -reached St. Albans on the 28th of January, when Hugh Peters preached -before him a characteristic<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span> sermon, little thinking of what the chief -person in the audience was about to accomplish. "As for his sermon," -says one who heard it, "he managed it with some dexterity at the first -(allowing the cantings of his expressions.) His text was Psalm cvii. -7. 'He led them forth by the right way, that they might go to the city -where they dwelt.'<a name="FNanchor_55_55" id="FNanchor_55_55"></a><a href="#Footnote_55_55" class="fnanchor">[55]</a> With his fingers on the cushion he measured the -right way from the Red Sea through the wilderness to Canaan; told us -it was not forty days' march, but God led Israel forty years through -the wilderness before they came thither; yet this was still the Lord's -right way, who led his people <i>crinkledom cum crankledom</i>; and he -particularly descended into the lives of the patriarchs, how they -journeyed up and down though there were promises of blessing and rest -to them. Then he reviewed our civil wars, our intervals of peace and -fresh distractions, and hopes of rest; but though the Lord's people (he -said) were not yet come to the City of Habitation, He was still leading -them on in the right way, how dark soever His dispensations might -appear to us."<a name="FNanchor_56_56" id="FNanchor_56_56"></a><a href="#Footnote_56_56" class="fnanchor">[56]</a></p> - -<p>As I am writing an Ecclesiastical, and not a Political History, I -leave untouched the tangled web of incidents occurring in the City -in the councils of the Republicans; and in the relations of Monk to -the conflicting parties, between the 6th and 11th of February. I can -only state, that on the last of these days the martial chief appeared -at Guildhall, and said, "What I have to tell you is this: I have -this morning sent to the Parliament to issue out writs within seven -days, for the filling up of their House, and when filled to sit no -longer than the 6th of May, but then to give place to a full and free -Parliament."<a name="FNanchor_57_57" id="FNanchor_57_57"></a><a href="#Footnote_57_57" class="fnanchor">[57]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote">MONK.</div> - -<p>The joy which this intelligence produced in the City was unbounded, -and it comes before us with the vividness of a present event in the -garrulous <i>Diary</i> of Pepys. As merry peals rolled and fired from the -London steeples, fourteen bonfires were kindled between St. Dunstan's -and Temple Bar; and at Strand Bridge the gossip at the same time -counted thirty-one of those English demonstrations of delight. The -butchers, at the Maypole in the Strand, rang a peal with their knives; -and on Ludgate-hill a man occupied himself with turning a spit, on -which was tied a rump of beef, whilst another man basted it. At one end -of the street there seemed "a whole lane of fire," so hot that people -were fain to keep on the side farthest off.<a name="FNanchor_58_58" id="FNanchor_58_58"></a><a href="#Footnote_58_58" class="fnanchor">[58]</a></p> - -<p>The excitement following the news in other parts seems to have been not -less intense.</p> - -<p>At Nottingham, "as almost all the rest of the island," the town "began -to grow mad." Boys marched about with drums and colours, and offered -insults to Republican soldiers. One night some forty of the latter -class were wounded by stones, thrown at them as they attempted to seize -the obstreperous lads. Two Presbyterians were shot in the scuffle; one -a zealous Royalist, master of the Magazine, at Nottingham Castle. "Upon -the killing of this man," the Presbyterians "were hugely enraged, and -prayed very seditiously in their pulpits, and began openly to desire -the King; not for good will, neither to him, but for destruction to all -the fanatics."<a name="FNanchor_59_59" id="FNanchor_59_59"></a><a href="#Footnote_59_59" class="fnanchor">[59]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1660.</div> - -<p>The rabble raved with joy. Milton mourned over the madness in strains -of majestic sorrow. "And what will they at best say of us, and of -the whole English name,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span> but scoffingly, as of that foolish builder -mentioned by our Saviour, who began to build a tower, and was not able -to finish it? Where is this goodly tower of a Commonwealth, which the -English boasted they would build to overshadow kings, and be another -Rome in the West? The foundation indeed they laid gallantly; but fell -into a worse confusion, not of tongues, but of factions, than those -at the tower of Babel; and have left no memorial of their work behind -them remaining, but in the common laughter of Europe! Which must needs -redound the more to our shame, if we but look on our neighbours, -the United Provinces, to us inferior in all outward advantages; who -notwithstanding, in the midst of greater difficulties, courageously, -wisely, constantly went through with the same work, and are settled in -all the happy enjoyments of a potent and flourishing Republic to this -day."<a name="FNanchor_60_60" id="FNanchor_60_60"></a><a href="#Footnote_60_60" class="fnanchor">[60]</a></p> - -<p>The political importance of the Independents had declined with the -humiliation of Fleetwood, and of the officers who sympathized with him. -Their strength had rested on the Army, and with the dislocation of the -Army came the termination of their ascendancy. On the 21st of February -the surviving members of the Commons House, who had been excluded by -Colonel Pride, were restored to their former seats, a measure which -placed power once more in Presbyterian hands.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">MONK.</div> - -<p>Monk, the author of this revolution, addressed Parliament on that same -day, and gave it as his opinion that the interests of London must -lie in a Commonwealth—that Government only being capable of making -the country, through the Lord's blessing, the metropolis and bank of -trade for all Christendom; "and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span> as to a government in the Church," he -proceeded to say, "the want whereof hath been no small cause of these -nations' distractions; it is most manifest that if it be monarchical -in the State, the Church must follow, and Prelacy must be brought -in, which these nations, I know, cannot bear, and against which they -have so solemnly sworn: and, indeed, moderate not rigid Presbyterian -government, with a sufficient liberty for consciences truly tender, -appears at present to be the most indifferent and acceptable way to the -Church's settlement."<a name="FNanchor_61_61" id="FNanchor_61_61"></a><a href="#Footnote_61_61" class="fnanchor">[61]</a></p> - -<p>The fortunes of Presbyterianism had been changeful fortunes. It had -been established by the Long Parliament; its power had waned under the -predominant sway of the Army; though adopted more or less throughout -the country, it had been nowhere so fully developed as in Lancashire; -and it had received no special encouragement from Oliver Cromwell. -After his death it received a slight impetus, only to be checked by the -Republican policy of Vane and the Military. But now Presbyterianism -appears reconstituted in the Church of England—re-established as -the national religion; and it is of great importance to remember -this fact throughout the narrative of the Restoration; for it was -with Presbyterianism thus situated, rather than with Independency, -or any other ecclesiastical systems, that Episcopacy came first into -competition and conflict after the King's return.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1660.</div> - -<p>It soon became plain to which ecclesiastical party most influence -belonged. On the 2nd of March the Westminster Confession was readopted; -a proclamation was issued for enforcing all existing laws against -popish priests, Jesuits, and recusants; and a bill was introduced to -provide for an authorized approval of ministers<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span> previously to their -holding benefices. The Solemn League and Covenant reappeared on the -wall of the House of Commons, and also was ordered to be read in -every church once a year. Upon the 13th, Dr. Owen, the Independent, -was removed from the Deanery of Christ Church, and Dr. Reynolds, the -Presbyterian, appointed in his room.</p> - -<p>But appearances were fallacious. The Restoration was inevitable, and -with the Restoration, the Puritan Establishment, which had been the -offspring of the Civil Wars, virtually expired.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span></p></div> - - -<h2>CHAPTER III.</h2> - - -<p class="drop-cap p-left">The Presbyterians were the principal instruments in Charles' -restoration; and in this they acted as the exponents and -instruments of the nation's will. It was not Monk who influenced -the Presbyterians—the Presbyterians influenced Monk. Their leaders -encouraged his bringing back the King, and conveyed to him that -encouragement at a conference which they held with him in the City.<a name="FNanchor_62_62" id="FNanchor_62_62"></a><a href="#Footnote_62_62" class="fnanchor">[62]</a> -The part played by the Presbyterians in this transaction is admitted by -members of the Royal family; and in the correspondence of the period a -curtain is lifted up, disclosing Court secrets, and illustrating the -manner in which the Presbyterians at that moment were overreached. When -the Queen Dowager saw Lord Aubony she remarked, "My Lord, I hear you -say that the King is to go to England, and that you are glad there is -such a (way) laid open for him. Do not you know that the Presbyterians -are those that are to invite him?" The nobleman answered that he did -not care who they were, but only wished to see His Majesty restored to -his own realm. "But the conditions," rejoined the Queen, "may be such -as they would have pressed upon the King his father." "Madam," replied<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span> -his lordship, "a king crowned, and in his own dominions has more reason -to insist upon terms than an exiled prince that hath not been accepted -by them. What would any one have him do, other than receive his -kingdoms by what means soever they were given him? And some better way -than this occurs not, what fault is to be found with that which cannot -be mended?"<a name="FNanchor_63_63" id="FNanchor_63_63"></a><a href="#Footnote_63_63" class="fnanchor">[63]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1660.</div> - -<p>Baxter informs us respecting schemes adopted by the Episcopalian -Royalists, with a view to influence their Presbyterian brethren. -Sir Ralph Clare, of Kidderminster, and therefore one of Baxter's -parishioners had, before Booth's rising, spoken to his pastor on -the subject; and he had replied by expressing fears of prelatical -intolerance, and of the danger to the interests of spiritual religion -in case of the restoration of the Stuarts. The Knight said, that -being acquainted with Dr. Hammond, a correspondent of Dr. Morley, -then attending upon His Majesty, he could assure Baxter, the utmost -moderation was intended, and that "any episcopacy, how low soever, -would serve the turn and be accepted." Letters from France were -procured, testifying to the character of the Royal exile. They abounded -in eulogies upon his Protestantism. Monsieur Gaches, a famous preacher -at Charenton, after flattering Baxter, gave "a pompous character of the -King," stating that during his residence in France he never neglected -the public profession of the Protestant religion, not even in those -places where it seemed prejudicial to his affairs.<a name="FNanchor_64_64" id="FNanchor_64_64"></a><a href="#Footnote_64_64" class="fnanchor">[64]</a> Baxter's pages -bear witness to the fears of others as well as to his own, to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span> lull -which dulcet promises were sung. Presbyterians and Episcopalians, it -was softly said, were not irreconcilable; union was possible; present -incumbents would not be turned out of their livings. Their ordinations -would be valid.<a name="FNanchor_65_65" id="FNanchor_65_65"></a><a href="#Footnote_65_65" class="fnanchor">[65]</a> Episcopalians were resolved to forgive, to bury the -remains of rancour, malice, and animosity for ever; having been taught -by sufferings from the hand of God, not to cherish violent thoughts -against their brother man.<a name="FNanchor_66_66" id="FNanchor_66_66"></a><a href="#Footnote_66_66" class="fnanchor">[66]</a> Some Presbyterians were pacified, -expecting that subscription to the Prayer book would be no longer -required. Others, at least, hoped for toleration. Some acted simply -from a conviction that it was a duty to bring back the King; others -regarded that event as at once ruinous but inevitable.<a name="FNanchor_67_67" id="FNanchor_67_67"></a><a href="#Footnote_67_67" class="fnanchor">[67]</a> A few could -not abandon the idea of restoring Charles on <i>Covenant terms</i>; but -only such as lived in a little world of their own dreamt of a thing so -preposterous.<a name="FNanchor_68_68" id="FNanchor_68_68"></a><a href="#Footnote_68_68" class="fnanchor">[68]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">PROGRESS OF RESTORATION.</div> - -<p>In coincidence with these circumstances the personal friends of -the exiled Prince revolved in their minds the possibilities of the -future, and employed themselves in framing suggestions to be laid -upon the Royal table. We read in a paper without signature, dated -March 28, 1660, "It is most certainly true that Presbytery is a very -ill foundation to Monarchy, and therefore it must be said with great -care and circumspection. You know what your father suffered by them, -and yourself also in Scotland, whither when you went, though all were -for it, I was absolutely against it, and gave my reasons to one, who -I suppose now attends you, which experience hath<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span> proved true." And -again, "'Twill be of great consequence that you mainly insist upon a -toleration for all, as well Roman Catholics as others, or, at least, to -take off the penal statutes against them. There is not anything you can -do will be of more advantage than this, for thereby you will satisfy -all here and abroad. Moreover, by doing this you will secure yourself -against the Presbyterians and Sectaries, by equally poising them with -others of contrary judgments, for you may doubt that the Presbyterians -and Sectaries will at length fall to their first principles again, and -endeavour to make you at the best but a Duke of Venice, if they see -not a visible power to defend you. The like course hath many times -been used by great princes, and never succeeded ill when they saw one -faction rise too high to suffer a quite contrary to grow up to balance -it."<a name="FNanchor_69_69" id="FNanchor_69_69"></a><a href="#Footnote_69_69" class="fnanchor">[69]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1660.</div> - -<p>Sir William Killegrew addressing Charles, upon the 8th of April, -shrewdly states the difficulties of his new position: "If your Majesty -do but think on the numerous clergy with their families, and on the -innumerable multitudes of all those that have suffered on your side -that will expect a reparation or recompence; nay, Sir, it is evident -that all the people in general do look that you should bring them peace -and plenty, as well as a pardon for all those who have offended. And -I do fear you will find it a harder matter to satisfy those that call -themselves your friends, and those who really are so than all those who -have been against your Majesty." "Next, Sir, if you come to your crown -as freely as you are born to it, how will you settle Church-government -at first to please the old true Protestants? And how the Presbyterians, -who now call you in, when all other interests<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span> have failed to do it? -And how the Papists, who do hope for a toleration? How satisfy the -Independents, the Congregation, and all the several sorts of violent -Sectaries? Whereas if your Majesty be tied up by Articles, none of all -these can blame you for not answering their expectations."<a name="FNanchor_70_70" id="FNanchor_70_70"></a><a href="#Footnote_70_70" class="fnanchor">[70]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">PROGRESS OF RESTORATION.</div> - -<p>Two days before the date of this last letter, Secretary Thurloe, at -Whitehall, silently watching what was going on around him, conveyed his -impressions of the state of religious parties to the English minister -at the Hague.</p> - -<p>"There are here great thoughts of heart touching the present -constitution of affairs. The Sectarians with the Commonwealth's -men look upon themselves as utterly lost if the King comes in, and -therefore probably will leave no stone unturned to prevent it; but -what they will be able to do, I see not, of themselves, unless the -Presbyterian joins with them, whereto I see no disposition; yet many of -them are alarmed also, and are thinking how to keep him out, and yet -not mingle again with the Sectaries. Others of the Presbyterians are -studying strict conditions to be put upon the King, especially touching -Church-government, hoping to bind him that way; and therein are most -severe against all the King's old party, proscribing them which are -already beyond sea. Not one of them is to return with him if he comes -in upon their terms, and prohibiting his party here to come near him: -he must also confirm all sales whatsoever."<a name="FNanchor_71_71" id="FNanchor_71_71"></a><a href="#Footnote_71_71" class="fnanchor">[71]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1660.</div> - -<p>The first decided declaration in favour of the restoration of Charles -on the part of Monk, who for months had perplexed everybody, seems to -have occurred on the 19th of March, when, in answer to Royal overtures<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span> -for his assistance, and to Royal promises of high rewards, he said to -Sir John Grenville, about to join the little Court at Breda, "I hope -the King will forgive what is past, both in my words and actions, -according to the contents of his gracious letter, for my heart was ever -faithful to him; but I was never in a condition to do him service till -this present; and you shall assure His Majesty that I am now not only -ready to obey his commands, but to sacrifice my life and fortune in his -service."<a name="FNanchor_72_72" id="FNanchor_72_72"></a><a href="#Footnote_72_72" class="fnanchor">[72]</a></p> - -<p>Thus, the man who had solemnly declared himself in favour of a -Commonwealth, now suddenly, with open arms, embraced the Royal cause, -as the turn of events began to brighten its fortunes; and, as he -had been first an Independent, and then a Presbyterian, so now he -became not only a Royalist, but an Episcopalian. Most likely Monk -was all the way through a selfish schemer, trimming his sails to the -wind, and ready for King or Commonwealth, as he might see it safe -and advantageous. If that view of his character be not correct, then -the only alternative—one which his admiring biographers adopt, and -which he avowed himself—is, that he had long been promoting Royalist -interests under the disguise of Republican sentiments,—a conclusion -which would justify us in pronouncing him one of the most consummate -hypocrites the world ever saw.<a name="FNanchor_73_73" id="FNanchor_73_73"></a><a href="#Footnote_73_73" class="fnanchor">[73]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote">PROGRESS OF RESTORATION.</div> - -<p>The dissolution of the Rump had been connected with a determination -to call together a new Parliament to meet on the 25th of -April. The preparatory elections evoked the efforts of all -parties—the Presbyterians, the Episcopalians, and the "sects," as -Congregationalists and other Nonconformists were termed. The last -of these three parties—mostly anxious for a Republican form of -government—did what they could to return representatives holding -extreme democratical opinions. The second of them, where they dared to -appear, in some cases, from a too fervent zeal, overshot the mark, and -by their violence alienated the constituences which they canvassed. The -first of these parties, the Presbyterians,—who, after the dissolution -of Parliament, had held the administration of affairs in their own -hands, and with whom, for the time being, Monk, their betrayer in the -end, was in co-operation,—used such methods as their executive powers -afforded, to sway the elections in favour of their own views. The -Presbyterians, including different shades of opinion, uniting with the -more moderate Episcopalians and Cavaliers, succeeded in obtaining a -large majority.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1660.</div> - -<p>The persons who had been elected members of the Convention began -to assemble in St. Stephen's Chapel upon the 25th of April. The -Presbyterian leaders,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span> Hollis, Pierrepoint, and Lewis, secured -immediately the office of Speaker for Sir Harbottle Grimston, of whose -decided Presbyterianism there could be no doubt. This critical movement -was accomplished in an irregular manner, before even forty members -had taken their seats. The preachers appointed to address the Commons -were Gauden, Calamy, and Baxter,—all three at that time Presbyterian -Conformists. In the House of Peers, where only ten members at first -resumed their places, the Presbyterian Earl of Manchester was chosen to -preside. Two Presbyterian ministers, Reynolds and Hardy, were selected -to preach to their Lordships.</p> - -<p>Before proceeding to describe the revived loyalty displayed by the -Convention, we must notice the violent manifestation of opposite -feelings by a portion of the Commonwealth Army. Lambert, one of -Cromwell's officers, escaped on the 9th of April from the Tower, where -he had been imprisoned, and, gathering around him some of his comrades, -marched into the Midland Counties, hoping successfully to raise a -standard in support of Republicanism. Ludlow and Scott had before this -been preparing for such a movement; and, it is said, that despondency -of success alone prevented Haselrig from drawing his sword.<a name="FNanchor_74_74" id="FNanchor_74_74"></a><a href="#Footnote_74_74" class="fnanchor">[74]</a> The -French Ambassador, writing on the 3rd of May to Cardinal Mazarin, thus -describes the actual outbreak which followed:—<a name="FNanchor_75_75" id="FNanchor_75_75"></a><a href="#Footnote_75_75" class="fnanchor">[75]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">PROGRESS OF RESTORATION.</div> - -<p>"Great alarm," he says, "has been felt about an insurrection of -Sectaries in different localities; some had assembled in the -neighbourhood of York, with the intention of taking it by surprise; -and, at the distance of twenty leagues from London, Colonel Lambert -had gathered together a body of cavalry, which the first<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span> accounts -stated to consist of three hundred men. Orders were immediately given -to send against him most of the troops which are in London; the levy -of the London militia was directed to hold itself in readiness, and -that of several counties, which has not been set on foot, to be placed -within the hands of persons considered to be too violent Royalists, -was also ordered out. At the same time, some of the most distinguished -Sectaries, both in this city and in the country, were arrested, and -the General was making preparations to go and attack Lambert before he -could increase his forces; but news arrived, at the end of last week, -that he had only two or three hundred men; and, this morning, we were -informed of his defeat by a party of six hundred horse, without much -bloodshed; his troops having abandoned him one after another, he was -taken prisoner with a few others who have been officers in the Army, -and they are on their way to London. The militia were immediately -countermanded, and the universal topic of conversation now is the -punishment of the offenders, whose leader was proclaimed a traitor on -the day before yesterday.</p> - -<p>"His capture seems entirely to ruin all his party, against which the -people entertain so great an aversion, that, unless the old troops had -mutinied, it could not have met with better fortune. Some Royalists -could have wished it to hold out a little longer, in the hope that the -present authorities would have been thereby compelled to hasten the -return of the King upon more advantageous conditions, whereas they -will now have entire liberty to act, and will, perhaps, impose harsher -conditions, as they have nothing to fear from the Sectaries."</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1660.</div> - -<p>It is remarkable that the troops employed by the Council of State -to crush Lambert's outbreak were led by Ingoldsby, one of Oliver -Cromwell's attached officers;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span> and, amongst those acting under him on -this occasion, was the Fifth Monarchist, Colonel Okey. Republicanism, -at that moment, was a house divided against itself; and very different -were the subsequent fortunes of the two men just mentioned. Ingoldsby's -previous support of Cromwell obtained Royal forgiveness on account of -his defeating Lambert; the dark fate which befell Okey will be noticed -hereafter. The rash attempt thus promptly resisted, and speedily -suppressed, was, there can be no doubt, the result of a feeling more -widely diffused than the limited action of the Commonwealth soldiery, -as just described, would by itself indicate. The Civil Wars had -proceeded on the principle that it is justifiable to defend by arms -what is deemed the cause of freedom; and, at this juncture, Charles -had not yet returned, he was not, in fact, King of England; and, -therefore, Republicans might naturally feel all the more satisfied -in resisting his restoration, as that restoration, in their opinion, -would be a revolutionary act, overthrowing the Commonwealth—a form of -English government won by Parliamentary Armies, and established by the -decisions of the Legislature.<a name="FNanchor_76_76" id="FNanchor_76_76"></a><a href="#Footnote_76_76" class="fnanchor">[76]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">PROGRESS OF RESTORATION.</div> - -<p>When May-day had arrived—with its vernal memories and hopes stirring -the hearts of Royalists all over the country—Mr. Annesley reported to -the Commons a letter from the King, unopened, directed to "Our trusty -and well-beloved General Monk, to be communicated to the President and -Council of State, and to the Officers of the Armies under his command." -He stated that Sir John Grenville, a Royal messenger, was at the door. -Permitted by a vote to approach the bar, this gentleman proceeded to -announce that he had been commanded by the King, his master, to deliver -a letter<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span> directed to "Our trusty and well-beloved the Speaker of the -House of Commons." Inclosed within the letter was a declaration, given -under the King's sign-manual and privy signet, at his Court at Breda. -When the messenger had withdrawn, both communications were read aloud -by Sir Harbottle Grimston. They are entered in the <i>Journals</i>; so also -is Monk's letter. Immediately afterwards the same messenger delivered -a letter "To the Speaker of the House of Peers, and the Lords there -assembled;" that letter inclosing the same declaration as had been -communicated to the Commons.<a name="FNanchor_77_77" id="FNanchor_77_77"></a><a href="#Footnote_77_77" class="fnanchor">[77]</a></p> - -<p>The last-named document, which soon became so famous, states that -Charles had never given up the hope of recovering his rights, that he -did not more desire to enjoy what was his own, than that his subjects -by law might enjoy what was theirs; that he would grant a free pardon -under the Great Seal to all who should lay hold of his grace and favour -within forty days, save those only who should be excepted by Act of -Parliament; and that he desired all notes of discord and separation -should be utterly abolished. Then came the following clause:—"And, -because the passion and uncharitableness of the times have produced -several opinions in religion, by which men are engaged in parties and -animosities against each other, which, when they shall hereafter unite -in a freedom of conversation, will be composed or better understood; -we do declare a liberty to tender consciences, and that no man shall -be disquieted or called in question, for differences of opinion in -matter of religion which do not disturb the peace of the kingdom, and -that we shall be ready to consent to such an Act of Parliament, as, -upon<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span> mature deliberation, shall be offered to us for the full granting -that indulgence." In conclusion, there appeared a promise to refer to -Parliament all grants and purchases made by officers and soldiers who -might be liable to actions at law, and to pay arrears due to the Army.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1660.</div> - -<p>A conference took place the same afternoon between the Lords and -Commons, when it was agreed that, according to the ancient and -fundamental laws of the kingdom, the Government is and ought to be -by King, Lords, and Commons,—a conclusion of the two Houses which -formally re-established Monarchy in England.</p> - -<p>Amidst all this haste there were not wanting some who, to use -Clarendon's words, "thought that the guilt of the nation did require -less precipitation than was like to be used, and that the treaty -ought first to be made with the King, and conditions of security -agreed on before His Majesty should be received." The Presbyterians in -Parliament, he further says, were "solicitous that somewhat should be -concluded in veneration of the Covenant; and, at least, that somewhat -should be inserted in their answer to the discountenance of the -Bishops."<a name="FNanchor_78_78" id="FNanchor_78_78"></a><a href="#Footnote_78_78" class="fnanchor">[78]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">PROGRESS OF RESTORATION.</div> - -<p>Sir Matthew Hale moved, that a Committee might be appointed to consider -the propositions which had been made to Charles I. at Newport, and -the concessions then allowed by him, as affording materials for -a constitutional compact with the Prince now about to ascend the -throne. But no more attention was paid to the wise lawyer than to the -zealous Presbyterians. Monk assured the House that the nation was now -quiet, but he could not answer for the public tranquillity should the -Restoration be delayed.<a name="FNanchor_79_79" id="FNanchor_79_79"></a><a href="#Footnote_79_79" class="fnanchor">[79]</a> At the same time, the General was quietly -seeking to accelerate the execution of his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span> plans by pressing Sharp, -the agent in London of the Scotch Presbyterians, to go over to the -King at Breda, "to deal that he might write a letter to Mr. Calamy, to -be communicated to the Presbyterian ministers, showing his resolution -to own the godly, sober party, and to stand for the true Protestant -religion in the power of it."<a name="FNanchor_80_80" id="FNanchor_80_80"></a><a href="#Footnote_80_80" class="fnanchor">[80]</a></p> - -<p>Upon the 2nd of May the House resolved to send a grateful letter to -His Majesty, together with a grant of £50,000 for his immediate use; -and, at the same time, it was resolved to proclaim King Charles the -following day, a ceremony duly performed in Palace Yard, Westminster, -and at Temple Bar, London.</p> - -<p>Sermons were delivered before the Houses, and Richard Baxter preached -in St. Paul's Cathedral, before the Lord Mayor and the Corporation, -one of his most spiritual and earnest discourses, entitled "Right -Rejoicing:" with this discourse, the preacher says, the moderate were -pleased and the fanatics were offended, whilst the diocesan party -thought he did suppress their joy.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1660.</div> - -<p>Speedily the Proclamation was repeated throughout the kingdom, and -everywhere revived loyalty took a tinge from its ecclesiastical -associations. In cities, where Episcopalians retained ascendancy, -scarlet gowns, scaffolds covered with red cloth, volleys fired by -musqueteers, and cathedral men singing anthems, appeared conspicuously -in the arrangements. A diarist of that period thus describes what he -witnessed:—</p> - -<p>"May 12th.—Mem. This day, at the city of Worcester, were placed on -high four scaffolds, one at the Cross, two at the Corn-market, three at -the Knole End, four at or near All-Hallow's Well. The scaffold at the -Cross was encompassed with green, white, and purple<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span> colours; the two -first as his own colours, being Prince, the third as King. Mr. Ashby, -the Mayor, a Mercer, and all Aldermen in scarlet, the Sheriff of the -City, the 24 and 48 in their liveries; each trade and free-man marching -with their colours. First went 100 trained city bandmen, after their -captain, Alderman Vernon. Then came the Sheriffs, Thos. Coventry, Esq., -the Lord Coventry's eldest son, servants; then the two Army companies; -then the several livery companies with their showmen or band; then -the City Officers; then the Mace and Sword-bearers; then the Mayor, -with the High Sheriff and some gentlemen; then all the 24 and 48; then -part of a troop of horse of the Army. The Mayor, mounting the scaffold -with the gentlemen and Aldermen, Mr. John Ashby, reading softly by -degrees the Proclamation of Charles II., to be King of England, -Scotland, France, and Ireland; the Mayor himself spoke it aloud to all -the people; which done, all with a shout said, 'God save the King.' -Then all guns went off, and swords drawn and flourishing over their -heads, drums beating and trumpets blowing, loud music playing before -the Mayor and company, to every scaffold, which was done in the same -manner throughout; and all finished, the Mayor and City gave wine and -biscuits in the chamber liberally. Bonfires made at night throughout -the City, and the King's health with wine was drank freely. Never such -a concourse of people seen upon so short a notice, with high rejoicings -and acclamations for the restoring of the King. God guard him from -his enemies as He ever hath done most miraculously, and send him a -prosperous peaceable reign, and long healthful life, for the happiness -of his subjects, who is their delight."<a name="FNanchor_81_81" id="FNanchor_81_81"></a><a href="#Footnote_81_81" class="fnanchor">[81]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote">PROGRESS OF RESTORATION.</div> - -<p>In places where Presbyterianism prevailed the ceremony differed. At -Sherborne the Proclamation followed "solemn prayers, praises, and -seasonable premonition in the Church." At Manchester, Henry Newcome -went into the pulpit and prayed about half an hour. At Northampton "Mr. -Ford, the minister, went with several others to a great bonfire in the -Market-place, when, after a suitable exhortation, he joined them in -singing the twenty-first Psalm." At Northenbury, Philip Henry preached -a discourse, congratulatory and thanksgiving, from the words, "The -king's heart is in the hand of the Lord" (Proverbs xxi. 1); but, many -years afterwards, he dated a letter 29th of May, as a day in which the -bitter was mingled with the sweet.<a name="FNanchor_82_82" id="FNanchor_82_82"></a><a href="#Footnote_82_82" class="fnanchor">[82]</a></p> - -<p>Every lover of peace will rejoice that the Restoration was a bloodless -change; but the mode of deciding upon it suggests grave reflections. -After a long period of strife spent in order to bring within limits -the prerogatives of the Crown; after the desperate remedies which had -been adopted for the cure of evils brought on by Royal aggression; -after all which had been done to resist and overcome the intolerance -of the High Church party,—the nation invited Charles Stuart back -without any condition, and opened the way for the re-establishment of -the old order of things, without any provision against the recurrence -of mischief. Such a proceeding, to say the least, exposed the country -to imminent hazard; and the history of the next eight and twenty years -proves that the fears which were entertained by a few were but too well -founded. The old Stuart disposition and habits reappeared, the old -ecclesiastical intolerance returned,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span> and the Revolution of 1688 was -found necessary to supply the defects of the Restoration of 1660.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1660.<br /> -PROGRESS OF RESTORATION.</div> - -<p>Yet, after all, the mode of the Restoration excites less surprise -than lamentation. For it is easy to understand how natural it was -for the Royalist party, even the more moderate portion of it, to -feel extremely anxious to accomplish the one thing which at that -critical juncture seemed to them so necessary. As in private affairs, -as in the exigencies of domestic and social life, people are apt -precipitately to adopt a certain course, at the moment appearing -indispensable—flattering themselves that afterwards, with proper -care, any seriously unpleasant results may be prevented or cured, -that matters can be made all right in the end: so the leaders of the -English people, at that moment, felt the question to be Restoration or -Ruin; and that, the grand prerequisite for renewed prosperity being -secured, other desirable things could be afterwards shaped according -to pleasure or circumstances. Besides, the Presbyterians clung to the -Breda Declaration as a sheet anchor of hope. It was thought then, and -is still so thought by some, that however theoretically desirable -stipulations might have been, it was practically unwise to insist upon -them at the time; that delay in negotiation with the exiled Prince -tended to involve the country in fresh confusions, and exposed it -to the risk of a military despotism; and that what Parliament could -not then safely wait to do might be subsequently effected. After all -reasonable excuses and palliations for the course adopted, that course -is now seen to have been an enormous mistake. The dangers of a little -delay have been assumed, not proved; there could be no probability -of losing the chance of restoring Charles, had Parliament determined -beforehand to bind him to terms. He would gladly have accepted the -Royalty of England, with such<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span> guarantees for public liberty as were -accorded by William III. And as to the Army, from which chiefly alarm -arose, it does not appear how the difficulty of keeping Republican -soldiers quiet for a month or so, whilst pacific men were engaged -in laying foundations for the stability of their liberties, could -be greater than the difficulty of keeping those same soldiers quiet -between the decision for the King's return and his actual arrival. -Possible evils, in the form of political intrigues, the conflict of -parties, the further unsettlement of the country, and the postponement -of the Restoration, might be imagined as the result of delay; but over -against them we are justified in placing the evil which did come as -the consequence of haste. And with regard to expectations resting on -a future Parliament—the Parliament now sitting could not calculate -upon what the character and proceedings of its successor might be. -That which really prevented any conditions from being imposed on the -returning Prince, was the want of a few wise heads and a few stout -hearts. Who can believe that if Pym or Hampden, or even Falkland, had -been members of the Convention, matters would have been managed as they -were? We cannot but think that during the infinitely momentous weeks -which made up that month of May, such men would have little heeded -the voting of jewels to Royal messengers, and decisions respecting -State beds and State coaches—things which occupied the Houses for -some time—but would rather have thrown themselves heart and soul into -the work of building up some safe and sure defence against the return -of arbitrary government and ecclesiastical intolerance. But England -was wanting in great Statesmen. There remained one wise, good man who -proposed a pause for the arrangement of conditions: but another man, -selfish and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span> unprincipled, put him down. It is deplorable to think of a -Parliament in which Monk silenced Hale.<a name="FNanchor_83_83" id="FNanchor_83_83"></a><a href="#Footnote_83_83" class="fnanchor">[83]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1660.</div> - -<p>Certain Presbyterian ministers—Reynolds, Calamy, Manton, and -Case—accompanied a deputation from London to express the loyalty -of the citizens. Pepys gives the amusing information, that, as he -was posting in a coach to Scheveling, the wind being very high, he -"saw two boats overset, and the gallants forced to be pulled on -shore by the heels, while their trunks, portmanteaus, hats, and -feathers were swimming in the sea;" the ministers that came with the -Commissioners—Mr. Case amongst the rest—were "sadly dripped."<a name="FNanchor_84_84" id="FNanchor_84_84"></a><a href="#Footnote_84_84" class="fnanchor">[84]</a></p> - -<p>The King resided at the Hague, and to that pleasant Dutch town the -reverend brethren proceeded without delay; they were graciously -received. They assured Charles, that in obedience to the Covenant, -they had urged upon the people the duty of restoring him; and, after -thanking God for His Majesty's constancy to the Protestant religion, -they declared themselves by no means inimical to moderate Episcopacy; -they only desired that in religion, things held indifferent by those -who used them, should not be imposed upon the consciences of others to -whom they appeared unlawful. The first interview seems to have passed -off pleasantly; another audience was sought by the clergymen for closer -conversation.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">PROGRESS OF RESTORATION.</div> - -<p>The Scotch were very earnest for an exclusive Presbyterian -Establishment in England. They had frequent correspondence with Sharp, -now in Holland, and they urged him to remember the great inconvenience -which would ensue if the King used the Prayer Book upon returning<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span> -to his dominions.<a name="FNanchor_85_85" id="FNanchor_85_85"></a><a href="#Footnote_85_85" class="fnanchor">[85]</a> Whether or not Sharp (then believed to be a -zealous Presbyterian) influenced the London ministers, it is certain -they adopted an intolerant policy. Admitted once more to the Royal -presence<a name="FNanchor_86_86" id="FNanchor_86_86"></a><a href="#Footnote_86_86" class="fnanchor">[86]</a> they told His Majesty that the people were unaccustomed -to the Common Prayer, and it would be much wondered at, if, as soon as -he landed, he should introduce it in his own chapel. They begged, at -all events, that he would not use it entirely, but only some parts of -it, and permit extempore prayers by his chaplains. The King replied, -reasonably enough, and with some warmth, "that whilst <i>they</i> sought -liberty, <i>he</i> wished to enjoy the same himself." He professed his -strong attachment to the Liturgy, and said, although he would not -severely inquire about the use of it elsewhere he would certainly have -it in his own chapel. Then they besought him not to have the surplice -worn: upon which he declared he would not himself be restrained whilst -giving so much liberty to others; a declaration proper enough had he -adhered to both parts of it. Whatever the Presbyterian deputation -might have said, probably it would have made little difference as to -the issue; yet all must see how foolishly they committed themselves at -the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span> very commencement of their negotiations—giving Charles and his -Court too much ground for meeting the charge of Episcopal intolerance -by the accusation of Presbyterian bigotry.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1660.</div> - -<p>Upon the following Sunday, Mr. Hardy, one of the ministers, preached -before the King at the Hague, when some amusing circumstances occurred. -The place appointed for the service was the French Church, and it was -arranged that the English worship should begin as soon as the French -should end. Crowds came from the neighbouring towns to see the Monarch -and his retinue. Precautions were adopted to prevent their admission -in a way which might inconvenience the illustrious worshippers, and -particular care was taken to reserve for the Court a pew "clothed with -black velvet, and covered with a canopy of the same stuff." But another -contingency had not been contemplated—the difficulty of dismissing -those already in the building before others were admitted. The French -congregation wished to wait and witness the subsequent worship, and -Dutch persons of distinction, occupying the velvet pew, would not -retire. The French ministers urged them to withdraw, but there they -were, and there they would remain. The people in possession outwitted -the rest, and outwitted themselves too; for the church being crammed, -and no more being able to enter, the King gave up the idea of going -into it, and attended Divine service in a private room, with as many -of the Lords as the place would accommodate. Mr. Hardy preached from -Isaiah xxvi. 19, "and made so learned and so pathetic a discourse -that there was not any one there which was not touched and edified -therewith."<a name="FNanchor_87_87" id="FNanchor_87_87"></a><a href="#Footnote_87_87" class="fnanchor">[87]</a> After the Liturgy and sermon the King, according to a -long and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span> elaborate ceremonial, touched certain persons afflicted with -"the evil."</p> - -<div class="sidenote">PROGRESS OF RESTORATION.</div> - -<p>Whilst the Presbyterians were active the Episcopalians were not idle. -The Bishops despatched Mr. Barwick to Breda with a loyal address to -His Majesty, and letter of thanks to Hyde, now Chancellor Clarendon. -Barwick was instructed to report upon ecclesiastical affairs, and to -bring back the Royal commands, particularly as to which of the Bishops -should pay their duty upon their Master's landing; and whether they -should present themselves in their Episcopal habits; and also as to the -appointment of Court Chaplains. Since it had been customary for the -Kings of England to return public thanksgivings at St. Paul's Cathedral -on great occasions, Barwick inquired what was the Royal pleasure as -to the place in which such service should be held, seeing the ruinous -condition of the Metropolitan Church at that time? He met with a -gracious reception, and on the Sunday after his arrival preached before -the King.</p> - -<p>The Episcopalians in England very naturally were filled with joy. -As early as the month of March one gave expression to it in violent -language from the pulpit. The prudent Chancellor at Breda, hearing of -these intemperate effusions, had written, in April, begging that the -Episcopalian clergy would restrain their tempers. "And truly I hope," -he added, "if faults of this kind are not committed that both the -Church and the Kingdom will be better dealt with than is imagined; and -I am confident those good men will be more troubled that the Church -should undergo a new suffering by their indiscretion than for all that -they have suffered hitherto themselves."<a name="FNanchor_88_88" id="FNanchor_88_88"></a><a href="#Footnote_88_88" class="fnanchor">[88]</a></p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span></p></div> - - -<h2>CHAPTER IV.</h2> - - -<div class="sidenote">THE KING'S RETURN.<br /> -1660.</div> - -<p class="drop-cap p-left">Charles, on his way to England, had reason for anxious care and steady -forethought. Never had an English Prince come to the throne under such -circumstances. A civil war was just over—the swelling of the storm had -hardly ceased; a party adverse to that which the King regarded as his -own remained still in power; many were expecting at his hand favour for -recent services, notwithstanding former offences; Presbyterians looked -at least for comprehension within the Establishment. Independents, -Baptists, Quakers, asked for toleration, and Roman Catholics, who -had been friends to the beheaded father and the exiled son, thought -themselves entitled to some measure of religious liberty. The Episcopal -Church claimed the new Monarch as her own; her prelates and ministers -were waiting to welcome him—to open in the parish churches once more -the beautiful old Prayer Book, with its litanies and collects for -the King and Royal family. They sought exclusive re-establishment; -they would cast out all Presbyterian intruders—they would tolerate -no Sectaries. Here were perplexing circumstances to be encountered. -The Breda Declaration had bound Charles to be considerate in dealing -with religious matters, to show respect for tender consciences. -<i>Comprehension</i>, <i>toleration</i>—he stood pledged to promote. But how -were the problems to be solved?<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span> He was a Constitutional King. He -was to rule through Parliaments. Should bigotry arise and carry all -before it in the Commons' House, as elsewhere, what was he to do? -Should his Ministers differ from him, how then? Such possibilities -gazed at by a thoughtful man might well have made him anxious, if -not alarmed. Who would not sympathize with any conscientious prince -under such circumstances? Charles possessed certain intellectual -and social qualities which fitted him for the task he had now to -perform; for he had common sense—was keen and clever, with quick -insight into character, made still more so by large acquaintance with -human nature,—he knew how to put unpleasant things in a pleasant -way,—could command considerable powers of persuasion when he liked, -and was courteous, affable, and of winning manners. But he was not -thoughtful—not conscientious; he lacked the two things which alone -could enable him to turn his abilities and experience to good account. -The crown was to him a toy; the throne a chair of pleasure, at best, of -pompous state. The heedless, folly-loving prince takes himself quite -out of the range of our sympathies, and leaves us to condemn the breach -of his plighted faith, and all the intolerance incident to his return. -A useless controversy was once carried on as to whether he was really a -Papist at the time of the Restoration. It is idle to dispute respecting -the theological opinions of a man so utterly destitute of religious -feeling and thoughtfulness. That he was <i>not</i> a Protestant at the -time—meaning by the word a person attached to the Reformed faith—is -plain enough from what is said by those who knew him best. Probably -Buckingham, who calls him a Deist, is nearest the truth.<a name="FNanchor_89_89" id="FNanchor_89_89"></a><a href="#Footnote_89_89" class="fnanchor">[89]</a> But that -he had sympathies<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span> with the Roman Catholic party, and considered -their Church as the most convenient for an easy-living gentleman like -himself, there can be no doubt. Had death stared him in the face just -after his return, he would probably have sought refuge in confession -and priestly absolution, as he did twenty-five years later. Yet he -professed to be a Protestant by solemn kingly acts, and in other ways -when he thought it politic. Charles was a dissembler.<a name="FNanchor_90_90" id="FNanchor_90_90"></a><a href="#Footnote_90_90" class="fnanchor">[90]</a> He had, with -all his occasional rollicking frankness, an almost equal mastery over -his conversation and his countenance. His face, encompassed by flowing -black locks, illuminated by lustrous eyes, was said to be as little a -blab as most men's: it might tell tales to a good physiognomist, but -it was no prattler to people in general. If he had a wish to conceal -his purpose, he could do it effectually. Lord Halifax apologized for -him by saying, that if he dissembled it is to be remembered "that -dissimulation is a jewel of the crown," and that "it is very hard for a -man not to do sometimes too much of that which he concludeth necessary -for him to practise."<a name="FNanchor_91_91" id="FNanchor_91_91"></a><a href="#Footnote_91_91" class="fnanchor">[91]</a></p> - -<p>Monk proceeded to Dover May the 22nd.<a name="FNanchor_92_92" id="FNanchor_92_92"></a><a href="#Footnote_92_92" class="fnanchor">[92]</a> Numbers of the nobility and -gentry wished to follow him, and he arranged that they should march in -companies, in dif<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span>ferently-coloured uniforms, under certain noblemen, -who were to act as captains of these loyal bands. They had not fought -any of Monk's battles; they came in now to swell Monk's triumph. As the -General was standing at a window in the City of Canterbury, while they -marched by gaily with green scarfs and feathers, a friend observed: -"You had none of these at Coldstream, General; but grasshoppers and -butterflies never come abroad in frosty weather, and, at the best, -never abound in Scotland."</p> - -<div class="sidenote">THE KING'S RETURN.</div> - -<p>On Friday, the 25th of May, at one o'clock, Charles landed at Dover; -and, notwithstanding his levity, his heart surely must have been -touched as the Castle guns gave him welcome; and another and far more -gladdening demonstration proceeded from the ten thousands of his -subjects, who lined the pebbly beach, or looked down from the old chalk -cliffs, waving their broad-brimmed and feathered hats, and giving the -home-bound exile right hearty cheers such as only Englishmen can give. -General Monk, with all the nobility and gentry present, prostrated -themselves before the Prince as he stepped ashore, with his plumed -beaver in his hand; and some rushed forward to kiss the hem of his -garment, whilst he gracefully raised from his knees, and embraced -the soldier, who whatever might be his character in other respects, -had certainly proved the star of his master's fortune. A canopy was -ready for His Majesty, as he walked to the town; and the Mayor and -Aldermen made obeisance as their chaplain placed in the Royal hands a -gold-clasped Bible. No Bishop was present.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1660.</div> - -<p>A State coach stood in waiting, in which the King seated himself, the -Duke of York by his side, and opposite, the Duke of Gloucester; General -Monk and the Duke of Buckingham occupying the boot. Thus they travelled -two miles out of Dover, when they mounted<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span> horse, and so proceeded -the rest of the way to Canterbury,—where speeches were made, and a -gold tankard was presented to the King; on the following day several -persons were knighted by him, and Monk, the real hero of the hour, -was invested with the Order of the Garter. All went to the Cathedral -on Sunday, when the Liturgy was used; and on Monday they proceeded to -Rochester, where a basin and ewer, silver-gilt, were loyally given, and -graciously accepted. Between four and five o'clock on Tuesday morning, -they started again, "the militia forces of Kent lining the ways, and -maidens strewing herbs and flowers, and the several towns hanging out -white sheets." At Dartford, certain regiments of cavalry presented an -address, and at Blackheath, the old Army appeared drawn up to meet -the very Monarch against whom so many of them had been fighting. The -vexation felt at this termination of the great change inaugurated by -the Civil Wars must have touched many a Republican to the quick; and -at the moment of their chagrin rapturous feelings filled many a noble -Royalist, like those which inspired the <i>Nunc dimittas</i> of Sir Henry -Lee, so touchingly described on the last page of Scott's <i>Woodstock</i>.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">THE KING'S RETURN.</div> - -<p>At St. George's-in-the-Field the Corporation of London waited in a tent -to receive their Sovereign, where the Lord Mayor presented the City -sword, and then the procession slowly moving from Southwark, passed -through the City Gates, crossed the pent-up alley of London Bridge, -and marched on through Cheapside, Fleet-street, and the Strand, the -houses all the way adorned with tapestry;—the train bands lining the -streets on one side, and the livery companies on the other. A troop of -300 men, in cloth of silver doublets, led the van; then came 1200 in -velvet coats, with footmen in purple; followed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span> by another troop in -buff and silver, and rich green scarfs; then 150 in blue and silver, -with six trumpeters and seven footmen in sea-green and silver; then a -troop of 220, with 30 footmen in grey and silver; then other troops -in like splendour. The Sheriff's men in red cloaks, to the number of -fourscore, with half-pikes—and hundreds of the companies on horseback -in black velvet with golden chains followed in due order. Preceded by -kettle-drums and trumpets, came twelve London ministers, their Genevan -gowns and bands looking "sad" amidst the glaring colours. The Life -Guards followed: more trumpeters appeared in satin doublets; and next, -the City Marshal, attended by footmen in French green trimmed with -white and crimson. The City Waits succeeded, and next the Sheriffs and -the Aldermen, with their footmen in scarlet, and with heralds. The Lord -Mayor carried the Sword of State, and close by him rode Monk and the -Duke of Buckingham. Then appeared the King, accompanied by his brothers -York and Gloucester: the Royal eyes, black and keen, looking out with -gracious smiles from a sallow face on the gathered thousands, who, with -awe and delight, returned the gaze. Troops, with white flags, brought -up the rear; and thus the gaudy and imposing pageant filed under the -very window, where fourteen years before had stood the scaffold of -Charles I.<a name="FNanchor_93_93" id="FNanchor_93_93"></a><a href="#Footnote_93_93" class="fnanchor">[93]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1660.</div> - -<p>As soon as Charles II. had taken his seat on the throne addresses -flowed in from all quarters—from the nobility, the gentry, and the -militia of counties; from the Corporations and inhabitants of towns, -and from divers religious bodies. The time had not yet come for -Episcopalians to address His Majesty. Presbyterianism,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span> recognized by -the Convention as the established religion, had not been dethroned -from its supremacy; and it was not quite safe at present for its -great rival ecclesiastical power prominently to show itself. Their -silence just then is very significant. The Roman Catholics, many of -whom had sacrificed much for the sake of the Stuart family, assured -the King of their attachment; and distinctly repudiated the doctrine, -that the Pope can lay any commands upon English Catholic subjects in -civil and temporal matters; also the "damnable and most un-Christian -position,"—these are the very words—"that kings or absolute princes, -of what belief soever, who are excommunicated by the Pope may be -deposed, killed, or murthered by their subjects."<a name="FNanchor_94_94" id="FNanchor_94_94"></a><a href="#Footnote_94_94" class="fnanchor">[94]</a> Presbyterian -ministers expressed the warmest loyalty. "Such," they said, "of late -days, have been the wonderful appearances of God towards both your -Royal self and the people, that (when we feared our quarrels should be -entailed and bound over to posterity) we hope they all are miraculously -taken up in your Majesty's restoration to your Crown and imperial -dignity. It cannot be denied, but that Providence was eminently exalted -in the work of your protection for many years; but it seems to avail -to the efficacy of that grace, which hath prevented you from putting -forth your hands unto iniquity, and sinful compliances with the enemies -of the Protestant, and in disposing of the hearts of your subjects -to receive you with loyalty and affection." With this expression of -loyalty is combined the utterance of hope. "We beseech you not to give -Him less than He requires by way of gratitude, of which we are the -more confident, when we consider your Majesty's gracious letters to -both Houses of Parliament, with the enclosed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span> Declaration, wherein we -see your zeal for the Protestant religion, with a pitiful heart toward -tender consciences, wherein we have assurance that the hail of your -displeasure shall not fall on any who have (upon the word of Moses) -betaken themselves to yourself as a sanctuary. And now, most gracious -Sovereign, what remains for us to do? We are not fit to advise you, but -give us leave to be your remembrancers before the Lord." They conclude -with devout aspirations for His Majesty's spiritual welfare: "May you -never see the handwriting on the wall that your kingdom is divided, -but let this be your motto—'Not by power, not by might, but by the -Spirit.' May you rejoice in this, that you have better chariots and -horsemen (in the many of your subjects who are faithful, chosen, and -true) than other princes can boast of. And still, may your tenderness -be found, that of a nursing father towards the young and weak of the -flock that cannot pace it with their elder brethren, and yet are God's -anointed, nay, God's jewels, the apple of His eye, His children, they -for whom Christ died, and is now an Intercessor."<a name="FNanchor_95_95" id="FNanchor_95_95"></a><a href="#Footnote_95_95" class="fnanchor">[95]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">THE KING'S RETURN.<br /> -1660.</div> - -<p>There was also an address from the Independent ministers of London -and Westminster, in which they referred to the Breda Declaration, -indicating how greatly it sustained their hopes. They did not, they -said, wish for liberty longer than they deserved it. "And it is our -desire," they added, "no longer to sit under the shadow, and to -taste the fruit of this your Majesty's royal favour, than we approve -ourselves followers of peace with all men, seeking the peace of these -kingdoms united under your Majesty's Government, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</a></span> abiding in our -loyalty to your royal person and submission to your laws."<a name="FNanchor_96_96" id="FNanchor_96_96"></a><a href="#Footnote_96_96" class="fnanchor">[96]</a></p> - -<p>An address, sent by the ministers of Lancashire at a later period, -shows their desire to wipe out the stigma of disloyalty:—</p> - -<p>"Whereas we, or some of us, have been injuriously misrepresented to -your Majesty, or some eminent persons about you, and have also been -prejudiced and molested, as if we denied your Supremacy, or were -disaffected to your Government (which hindered this our application -to your Majesty, although prepared, and which otherwise had been much -earlier, even with the first), we do, in all humility, and with great -earnestness, profess before God and man, that we detest and abhor the -very thoughts of such unworthy principles, behaviour, and expression, -having always, according to occasion, expressed and declared the -contrary."<a name="FNanchor_97_97" id="FNanchor_97_97"></a><a href="#Footnote_97_97" class="fnanchor">[97]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">THE KING'S RETURN.</div> - -<p>In this address we notice a recognition of the Royal Supremacy. Not -only the civil, but, in some sense, the ecclesiastical Supremacy of the -Crown must, under the circumstances, have been meant. Ecclesiastical -Supremacy would be claimed and exercised by the restored sovereign as -a matter of course. No new Act of Parliament was passed reconferring -it on the Crown, and de<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span>fining the limits.<a name="FNanchor_98_98" id="FNanchor_98_98"></a><a href="#Footnote_98_98" class="fnanchor">[98]</a> Henry VIII. had been -declared "<i>Ecclesiæ Anglicanæ et Hibernicæ Supremum Caput</i>." That title -had been continued during the reign of Edward VI., but was repealed -in the reign of Queen Mary. In the first year of Queen Elizabeth, -Supremacy was restored to the Crown, the Queen being styled, not -"Supreme <i>Head</i> of the Church," but "Supreme <i>Governor</i>, as well in -all spiritual and ecclesiastical causes as in others." Henry's and -Edward's title had never been resumed, but that of Elizabeth, having -belonged to the first two monarchs of the Stuart line, descended to -Charles II.<a name="FNanchor_99_99" id="FNanchor_99_99"></a><a href="#Footnote_99_99" class="fnanchor">[99]</a> Charles II., then, could not, in legal phrase, be "Head -of the Church;" if he happened to be so designated, it would be in -adulation or in ignorance. But he inherited the ecclesiastical powers -possessed by Queen Elizabeth, except in relation to the High Commission -Court, which had been abolished by Act of Parliament in the reign -of his father. The canons—as well as Acts of Parliament unrepealed -before the Civil Wars—were regarded by Churchmen as remaining in -force, and the second canon required an oath to the effect that "the -King's Majesty hath the same authority in causes ecclesiastical that -the Godly kings had amongst the Jews, and Christian emperors of the -primitive Church"—whatever might be meant by that vague appeal to -ancient and obscure precedents.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span> The Supremacy of the Crown, however, -as asserted by Anglican lawyers, would be one thing; the Supremacy, -as acknowledged by Puritans, especially any Nonconformist portion of -them, would be quite another. The authority of the temporal ruler -over the temporalities of the Church, all parties probably would -be prepared to allow; those of them who approved of a State Church -would not object to his being invested with ecclesiastical patronage; -Presbyterians, who wished for the establishment of perfect parochial -discipline by the magistrate's aid, could not consistently object to -some kind of Royal Supremacy in reference to that matter; but High -Church Puritans, if I may so term persons holding exalted ideas of -the spiritual, as distinguished from the temporal powers, like High -Church Anglicans, would entertain a reduced and modified conception of -the legitimate interference of the Crown with Christ's Church; whilst -Nonconformists, who embraced the voluntary principle, would (even if -from loyal courtesy they conceded the title of Supreme Governor in -causes ecclesiastical) extract from it almost all which constituted its -signification in the eyes of others.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1660.<br /> -THE KING'S RETURN.</div> - -<p>It should further be borne in mind, not only here, but throughout this -division of our narrative, indeed onward to the passing of the Act of -Uniformity,—that ecclesiastical affairs were in a transition state, -that scarcely anything could be regarded as perfectly settled. The High -Church party took it for granted, that with the return of the King came -the return of the episcopal constitution, with its laws, ceremonies, -and usages. They assumed that at once, without any new Parliamentary -statute, the stream of affairs would flow back into the old -channel—that all which had been done by the Long Parliament, without -the sanction of the Crown, ought to be treated as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span> if it had never -been done at all. The opposite party also had law on their side; for -some valid Acts, affecting the Establishment, remained unrepealed—for -example, the Act for divesting Bishops of their temporal powers. Under -existing circumstances, much might be said on behalf of other portions -of recent legislation, even where the Royal assent had not been -obtained. And very few people now will deny that the clergy holding -preferment during the Commonwealth had reason and common sense in -their favour when they maintained—that, after nearly twenty years of -change, after a revolution carried on by a <i>de facto</i> Government which -had destroyed old vested rights, and created new ones—things could -not be expected to resume their former position as a matter of course; -that those in possession, and in possession by sanction of Government, -had something to say for themselves, and that the conclusion as to the -Church of the future was not foreclosed. And whatever might be said -to the contrary, this aspect of the question had been, and still was, -tacitly accepted as the true one by Charles and by Clarendon, in their -negotiations with the Presbyterians, for they kept them in suspense for -more than a year, holding out the idea of a compromise, and did not -attempt to carry matters with a high hand until the Presbyterians had -been reduced to a condition in which they could be easily crushed.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1660.</div> - -<p>The counsellors by whom Charles was surrounded on his return were men -of different characters, and they ought at once to be noticed, since -they had more or less to do with the ecclesiastical affairs, which it -is our business to study. Hyde immediately became Chief Minister. His -round face and double chin, as we see them in his portrait, appear -signs of good nature; but, perhaps, a skilful physiognomist would -discover in his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span> eyes and lips indications of qualities less pleasant. -He was a different man from his master. Like Charles I., he was -sincerely attached to the Episcopal Church of England. That unhappy -Monarch, in one of his published letters, dated Oxford, March 30, 1646, -assures Queen Henrietta that "Ned Hide" was fully of his mind on the -subject of Episcopacy; he was almost, if not altogether (at that time), -the only person in the confidence of the King who concurred with him -on the point of religion.<a name="FNanchor_100_100" id="FNanchor_100_100"></a><a href="#Footnote_100_100" class="fnanchor">[100]</a> The same year, when matters were even -worse, Hyde expressed himself against "buying a peace at a dearer -price than was offered at Uxbridge," and encouraged the notion that it -was the duty of the Royalists to submit to a kind of martyrdom. "It -may be," he remarked, "God hath resolved we shall perish, and then it -becomes us to perish with those decent and honest circumstances that -our good fame may procure a better peace to those who succeed us, than -we were able to procure for them, and ourselves shall be happier than -any other condition could render us."<a name="FNanchor_101_101" id="FNanchor_101_101"></a><a href="#Footnote_101_101" class="fnanchor">[101]</a> Looking at the circumstances -under which the letter was written, there can be no doubt of the -sincerity of this confession—a sincerity confirmed in all the years -of his exile under the Commonwealth, and in his active solicitude for -the interests of the Church in the prospect of the Restoration. His -subsequent conduct in reference to ecclesiastical affairs will appear -as we proceed.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">THE KING'S RETURN.</div> - -<p>The Duke of Ormond, who had done and suffered much for the Stuarts, -was, according to Burnet, a courtier of graceful manners, of lively -wit, and of cheerful temper, extravagant in his expenditure, but -decent in his vices; he was a firm Protestant, and always kept up the -forms<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span> of religion, even amidst the indulgence of his passions.<a name="FNanchor_102_102" id="FNanchor_102_102"></a><a href="#Footnote_102_102" class="fnanchor">[102]</a> -The Earl of Southampton, who had faithfully adhered to Charles I. and -his son throughout their troubles, enjoyed a merited reputation for -virtue, for attachment to liberal principles, and for being guiltless -of promoting the arbitrary designs of the restored Monarch; he leaned -towards a favourable treatment of the Presbyterians; but, after -holding the Treasurer's staff he grew weary of business, perhaps from -disapprobation of the Court policy, no less than from disease.<a name="FNanchor_103_103" id="FNanchor_103_103"></a><a href="#Footnote_103_103" class="fnanchor">[103]</a> -Sir Edward Nicholas appears to have been a mere official perfunctorily -discharging the office of Secretary; and the same may be said of Sir -William Morrice. Nicholas Culpepper, who had served as Master of -the Rolls to Charles I., and who showed himself to be a politician -favourable to the constitutional privileges of the Crown, and no more, -took little interest in ecclesiastical affairs. To these Ministers -is to be added the Earl of Manchester, a man virtuous and beloved, -gentle and obliging, but not marked by any strong individuality of -character. On the side of Parliament in the Civil Wars he had been -a main pillar of Presbyterianism under the Protectorate; yet though -nominated by Oliver, one of his Lords, he had been opposed to Oliver's -government. As a Presbyterian leader he had taken a prominent part in a -meeting held at Northumberland House, with a view to the Restoration, -after which event, upon becoming Lord Chamberlain, he "never failed -being at chapel, and at all the King's devotions with all imaginable -decency."<a name="FNanchor_104_104" id="FNanchor_104_104"></a><a href="#Footnote_104_104" class="fnanchor">[104]</a> He did not, however, abandon his old associates. Next -to Manchester may be mentioned<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span> the Presbyterian Lord Hollis, a man -of sincere religion, who had opposed the Independents in the Long -Parliament, and had resisted Cromwell; he bore the character of a -friend, rough but faithful, and of an enemy violent but just; and he -now espoused with fervour the cause of Charles.<a name="FNanchor_105_105" id="FNanchor_105_105"></a><a href="#Footnote_105_105" class="fnanchor">[105]</a> Sir Anthony Ashley -Cooper was a different kind of person. He had been a Royalist, and -also a member of the Little Parliament; and if he could be said to be -anything in reference to religion, he might be pronounced a Deist; yet -he mingled with his scepticism the superstition of astrology.<a name="FNanchor_106_106" id="FNanchor_106_106"></a><a href="#Footnote_106_106" class="fnanchor">[106]</a> For -his position near the King this versatile, inconstant, unprincipled, -yet clever man, was indebted to his friend Monk, now created Duke of -Albemarle, whose character has been already indicated in these pages.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1660.</div> - -<p>Clarendon, Albemarle, Southampton, and Ormond were the ruling spirits -immediately after the Restoration; and together with them ought to be -mentioned the Earl of Bristol, who, though by having recently declared -himself a Roman Catholic, he had excluded himself from the Privy -Council, yet retained a place at Court; and whilst his religious policy -and general character made him obnoxious to Clarendon, the very same -things made him agreeable to Charles.</p> - -<p>Buckingham and Bennet will come upon the stage at a future period.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">THE KING'S RETURN.</div> - -<p>Soon after the Restoration, which placed these men in power, there -occurred the disbanding of the old Revolutionary Army, which had -throughout the Commonwealth been the main guardian of the Church as -well as of the State. That Army had apparently brought back the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span> -exiled Monarch, or rather it had strengthened the hands of those who -performed that deed; but in consequence of its past history, and the -character of many numbered amongst the troops, it was not a prop upon -which sagacious and far-sighted Royalists could place much reliance. -Indeed, signs of disaffection were already visible. There were veterans -who, whilst formally obeying the command of Royalist officers, in -their hearts retained allegiance to Lambert, and other Republicans. -Whispers about the "good old cause" might be heard in garrisons, and -other military quarters; and, it is said, that even a revolt against -Monk had begun to be planned. Charles sought to win by flattery such of -the soldiers as were of unsettled mind; and his Ministers, at the same -time, employed spies to find out and secure the sowers of sedition, and -so to pluck the tares from amidst the wheat; but the most effectual -method of preventing the apprehended mischief was to dissolve the Army -altogether. That difficult and delicate business received prompt and -careful attention. The Government employed members to represent to -Parliament, first, the uselessness of a military force 60,000 strong -in time of peace; and next, the pecuniary burden which it imposed upon -the State, then encumbered in other ways with pecuniary difficulties. -Consequently motions for a gradual reduction and payment of the Army -were carried; and, gradually the regiments, which had seen so much -service, and had passed through such a memorable history, melted -away. They took home recollections of Marston Moor and Naseby, of the -Dunbar fight, and of Worcester field; and to old age men told their -children, and their children's children, of their marchings and their -defences, especially of the officers under whom they had fought, and -of Old Noll, the greatest of them all. Dispersed over the country, -settled<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span> in their former homes, or choosing new localities, they spread -afar the sentiments and traditions of past days; and the religious -amongst them—still very numerous—the Puritan, the Presbyterian, the -Independent, the Baptist, the Fifth Monarchy Millenarian, and the -Spiritual Fanatic of some inexpressible shade, would be each a centre -of influence in his respective circle, stimulating and promoting -Nonconformity. Perhaps the Commonwealth soldiers, whilst prevented by -their being disbanded from shaking the pillars of the State, were by -that very measure placed in circumstances which enabled them quietly -to exert an influence tending to undermine the foundations of the -Church. Officers and soldiers of Cromwell's are often noticed in the -informations laid against Dissenters during the next ten or fifteen -years; and it is because of the religious character of that Army, and -because of the numbers belonging to it, who afterwards appeared in the -ranks of Dissent, that I have stepped aside for a moment to allude to -an event of a military character.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1660.<br /> -ECCLESIASTICAL PROCEEDINGS IN PARLIAMENT.</div> - -<p>Returning to our proper line of history we meet with certain -ecclesiastical results in the proceedings of Parliament. For a time -the Presbyterian element manifested itself in opposing Popery, and -in supporting the existing Church establishment; but signs of change -became apparent in the summer months, and Episcopalians began to -recover their long lost sway over the councils of the nation. The -following consequences ensued:—</p> - -<p>I. The Commons debated the question of the Church's settlement, -expressing opinions and using arguments similar to those which had been -heard at the opening of the Long Parliament. Some members extolled -the Thirty-nine Articles, and dwelt upon the merits of Episcopalian -Government; some were opposed to Deans and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span> Chapters, yet dealt -tenderly with Bishops; some were for Prelacy as of old; some advocated -moderate Episcopacy; and some indicated a lingering love for the Solemn -League and Covenant; others thought mere politicians were unfitted to -handle theological topics—that, as was oddly said, the judges had -sent for a falconer to give opinion in a case touching a hawk—so, on -the principle <i>quilibet in arte sua</i>, a synod of the Clergy ought to -be called, lest honourable members "should be like little boys, who, -learning to swim, go out of their reach, and are drowned." Twice it was -decided that the King should "convene a select number of Divines to -treat concerning that affair."<a name="FNanchor_107_107" id="FNanchor_107_107"></a><a href="#Footnote_107_107" class="fnanchor">[107]</a></p> - -<p>Much was thus deferred for the present; nevertheless, an Act speedily -passed, allowing present incumbents with undisputed titles to retain -their livings, yet restoring to his preferment every clergyman who -had been ejected under the Commonwealth, if he claimed re-induction, -provided he had not been implicated in the death of Charles I., and had -not discountenanced infant baptism.<a name="FNanchor_108_108" id="FNanchor_108_108"></a><a href="#Footnote_108_108" class="fnanchor">[108]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1660.</div> - -<p>In consequence of this, many clergymen, including Presbyterians -and Congregationalists, were immediately displaced, and dispersed -Episcopalians came back to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span> their former abodes.<a name="FNanchor_109_109" id="FNanchor_109_109"></a><a href="#Footnote_109_109" class="fnanchor">[109]</a> It is easier -to imagine than to describe the excitement attending this change. Not -only did sorrow fill the dismissed and joy inspire the reinstated, but -congregations, in many cases, deplored the contrast between the former -and the present occupant of the pulpit; whilst, also, many a squire -and yeoman hailed the reappearance of the Prayer Book, and welcomed -home some genial incumbent after his long and weary exile. Unseemly -contests were renewed in the House of God, such as had been witnessed -at the outbreak of the Civil Wars. As a Presbyterian at Halifax began -worship in his usual manner, the Episcopalian Vicar made his appearance -at the Church door, with the Prayer Book under his arm, and marching up -the aisle, clothed in his surplice, insisted upon entering the desk, -after which he read the Litany and sung the Te Deum. Joyous peals of -bells accompanied the return of the old clergy, and texts were selected -expressive of natural feelings on the occasion. One discoursed upon the -sufferings of himself and his brethren from the words, "The ploughers -ploughed upon my back; they made long their furrows. The Lord is -righteous; he hath cut asunder the cords of the wicked." Another, in a -milder spirit, selected this verse, "He that goeth forth and weepeth -bearing precious seed shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, -bringing his sheaves with him." An itinerating lecturer, with an income -of £50 a year, chose as a Restoration motto, "Let him take all;" which, -upon his losing his appointment, gave "occasion<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span> for a shrewd taunt -of the adversary."<a name="FNanchor_110_110" id="FNanchor_110_110"></a><a href="#Footnote_110_110" class="fnanchor">[110]</a> Parish registers contain curious memorials of -the period. Thus one clergyman records his own story:—"Memorandum, -That John Whitford, Rector of Ashen, alias Ashton, in the County of -Northampton, was plundered and sequestered by a Committee of rebels, -sitting at Northampton, for his loyalty to his gracious sovereign, -of blessed memory, Charles I., in the year of our Lord 1645, and was -restored to his said Rectory in the twelfth year of the reign of -Charles II., in the year 1660."<a name="FNanchor_111_111" id="FNanchor_111_111"></a><a href="#Footnote_111_111" class="fnanchor">[111]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">ECCLESIASTICAL PROCEEDINGS IN PARLIAMENT.</div> - -<p>The Liturgy was reintroduced. It had been used in the service at -Canterbury Cathedral upon the occasion of the King's visit to that -city, on his way to London; and earlier still in the House of Lords, -two days after he had been proclaimed. It appeared in the Royal Chapel -immediately after his taking possession of Whitehall; and Evelyn, on -the 8th of July, records, that the Prayer Book was publicly read in -"churches, whence it had been for so many years banished." In a number -of parishes, however, between the Restoration and Bartholomew's<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span> day, -1662, ministers continued to carry on worship as they had done before; -either following the Directory or engaging in prayer as they pleased.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1660.</div> - -<p>II. Parliament took up in detail a variety of business connected with -the restoring of Cathedral and parochial edifices, the recovering of -what had been taken away, the reinstating of things in their former -condition, and the removing of alterations made by Nonconformists. For -example: upon a report from the Lords, appointed to compose differences -in the City of Exeter, it was ordered that certain churches, of which -a list is given, should be repaired at the charge of the respective -parishioners, and that all the bells, plate, utensils, and materials, -formerly belonging to those buildings, should be delivered to the -Churchwardens:—that money still unpaid for their purchase should not -be paid; and that bonds for payment should be given up; and that the -Chamber of Exeter should forthwith, at their own charge, take away -the partition wall built in the Cathedral, and the new-built seats in -the Choir, all the materials whereof were to be employed towards "the -making up again the churches which were defaced."<a name="FNanchor_112_112" id="FNanchor_112_112"></a><a href="#Footnote_112_112" class="fnanchor">[112]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">ECCLESIASTICAL PROCEEDINGS IN PARLIAMENT.</div> - -<p>III. Petitions came from the Universities, and the Upper House ordered -the Chancellors to take care that the Colleges should be governed -according to their statutes, and that persons unjustly ejected -should be restored to office.<a name="FNanchor_113_113" id="FNanchor_113_113"></a><a href="#Footnote_113_113" class="fnanchor">[113]</a> Commissioners also were Royally -appointed to hear and determine all questions of claim, and they -were engaged through the months of August and September in restoring -such as were eligible to their former position as Fellows and Heads -of Houses. Uni<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span>versity honours were offered largely to such as -professed attachment to Episcopacy, and a numerous creation in all -faculties ensued.<a name="FNanchor_114_114" id="FNanchor_114_114"></a><a href="#Footnote_114_114" class="fnanchor">[114]</a> Oxford and Cambridge immediately witnessed -great changes. Restored Episcopalians occupied the places of the -ejected, and the ancient forms of worship were at once resumed. The -use of the surplice in Parish Churches, by the Royal Declaration of -the 25th of October, fully noticed hereafter, was left at the option -of incumbents; but it was enjoined upon those who officiated in the -Royal Chapel, in Cathedrals, in Collegiate Churches, or in Colleges of -the Universities.<a name="FNanchor_115_115" id="FNanchor_115_115"></a><a href="#Footnote_115_115" class="fnanchor">[115]</a> Yet, we learn from a letter written by Thomas -Smith, at Christ's College, Cambridge, November 2nd, 1660, that the -Puritanical party were still powerful there. "In your College," says -the writer, addressing Sancroft, afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury, -"half the Society are for the Liturgy and half against it; so it is -read one week and the Directory used another; but till the Directory be -laid aside, I believe no surplices will be worn."<a name="FNanchor_116_116" id="FNanchor_116_116"></a><a href="#Footnote_116_116" class="fnanchor">[116]</a></p> - -<p>During the progress of these measures, signs appeared in the House of -Commons of changes in the relative position of parties which could not -but entail important consequences.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1660.</div> - -<p>Upon the 30th of June a complaint reached Parliament—that a paper -had been printed, in His Majesty's name, authorizing the uniform -use of the Book of Common Prayer throughout the Realm: that a Form -of Service<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span> for the 28th of June, had been published as by Royal -authority: and that there had also appeared in print "a protestation of -the Bishops against proceedings of Parliament in their absence."<a name="FNanchor_117_117" id="FNanchor_117_117"></a><a href="#Footnote_117_117" class="fnanchor">[117]</a> -This subject the Commons referred to a Committee, to ascertain how such -papers came to be printed, and by what authority. In this proceeding -may be traced the impress of Presbyterian influence, attempting to -preserve Presbyterian rights, and to resist the return of Episcopal -authority. Presently, a Bill was produced "for the maintenance of -the true Reformed Protestant religion, and for the suppression of -Popery, superstition, profaneness, and other disorders and innovations -in worship and ceremonies."<a name="FNanchor_118_118" id="FNanchor_118_118"></a><a href="#Footnote_118_118" class="fnanchor">[118]</a> But it soon appeared that the -Episcopalian party had gained ground on the Presbyterians.</p> - -<p>Sharp, the Scotch agent, in a letter dated July the 7th, remarked: -"Some yesterday spoke in the House for Episcopacy, and Mr. Bampfield, -speaking against it, was hissed down. The English lawyers have given in -papers to show that the Bishops have not been outed by law. The cloud -is more dark than was apprehended. The Presbyterians are like to be -ground betwixt two millstones. The Papists and fanatics are busy."<a name="FNanchor_119_119" id="FNanchor_119_119"></a><a href="#Footnote_119_119" class="fnanchor">[119]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">ECCLESIASTICAL PROCEEDINGS IN PARLIAMENT.</div> - -<p>The fact is, that in the first instance, many Episcopalians had been -elected members of the Convention, and that their numbers increased -after the King's return as fresh elections occurred. They formed a -compact body, and made a vigorous opposition to the Puritans; an -opposition which, gradually increasing both in power and boldness, was -found by the latter too formidable to be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span> overcome. Consequently, the -irresolute and the selfish amongst them, feeling alarmed, and seeing -which way the wind blew, began to sail on a new tack, and to follow -those who were making towards a safe harbour. Many members became, in -a few months, as staunch in the maintenance of the Episcopal Church as -they had ever been in the cause of the Presbyterian Covenant.</p> - -<p>When the ecclesiastical business of the Session had been transacted, -the King, in the month of September, after giving his assent to various -Bills, made a speech to the two Houses, followed by another of great -length from the lips of Clarendon, the Lord Chancellor, who on that, as -well as on other occasions, showed a talent for sermonizing which would -not have disgraced a Bishop.</p> - -<p>A large proportion of what had been Church property existed in a very -unsatisfactory state. It had been disposed of by the Long Parliament or -the Commonwealth Government in the form of rewards for service and of -sales for money. Was it now to revert at once to its previous uses? If -so, should not some compensation be made to the present possessors or -occupiers?</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1660.</div> - -<p>Ecclesiastical claimants argued, that such property had been illegally -secularized, and that those who had received it had taken it with all -the risks of a bad title. In justice to the Convention it should be -remarked, that it passed a resolution favourable to the rights of those -who had purchased Church lands on the faith of the Parliament;<a name="FNanchor_120_120" id="FNanchor_120_120"></a><a href="#Footnote_120_120" class="fnanchor">[120]</a> -and, in justice to Charles II.,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</a></span> that he issued a Commission in -November, 1660, to inquire into the history of such transactions. -This Commission was authorized to compose differences between the -Bishops and the purchasers of estates, the direction being, that -Archbishops, Bishops, and other ecclesiastical persons were to accept -such reasonable conditions as should be tendered to them by the -Commissioners on behalf of such purchasers; and that they would do no -act to the prejudice of any purchasers, by granting new or concurrent -leases whereby their existing interest or position might be injured, -while the same was under deliberation, and until His Majesty's pleasure -should be further known.<a name="FNanchor_121_121" id="FNanchor_121_121"></a><a href="#Footnote_121_121" class="fnanchor">[121]</a> In accordance with the spirit of this -Commission the King dealt leniently with those who had become possessed -of Crown property; and this circumstance, which was creditable to him, -caused the course adopted by the authorities of the Church to appear -the more reprehensible. The Resolution passed by the Convention came -to nothing, upon the dissolution of that Assembly; and the holders -of Church lands, unprotected by Parliament, and left to the mercy of -clerical claimants, experienced severe treatment.<a name="FNanchor_122_122" id="FNanchor_122_122"></a><a href="#Footnote_122_122" class="fnanchor">[122]</a> Old incumbents, -writhing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span> under the remembrance of wrong, and seeking compensation for -their losses, refused compensation to their enemies, and made the best -bargain they could for themselves.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">ECCLESIASTICAL PROCEEDINGS IN PARLIAMENT.</div> - -<p>It is convenient in this connection to allude to a change in certain -privileges which indirectly affected, to some extent, the revenues -of the Church. Amongst feudal rights were those of tenures by -Knight's-service, including the benefits of marriages, reliefs, and -wardships. Though the profits derived from the Court of Wards were -casual, they amounted sometimes to a considerable sum, but these -and other contingent revenues were, by a Parliamentary arrangement, -withdrawn from the Sovereign, and in lieu of the income thus forfeited, -one moiety of the excise became settled on the Crown. The Act affected -the revenues of the Church, and of this circumstance a remarkable -illustration is afforded by a paper in the Record Office, in which the -Bishop of Durham complains of a loss of £2,000 through the abolition of -these courts.<a name="FNanchor_123_123" id="FNanchor_123_123"></a><a href="#Footnote_123_123" class="fnanchor">[123]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1660.</div> - -<p>In connection with this reference to Episcopal revenues, it may be -stated that at the Restoration nine Bishops of the old ecclesiastical -<i>régime</i> were still alive. These were—Juxon, Bishop of London; Wren, -of Ely; Piers, of Bath and Wells; Skinner, of Oxford; Roberts,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span> of -Bangor; Warner, of Rochester; King, of Chichester; Duppa, of Salisbury; -and Frewen, of Lichfield and Coventry. They considered themselves, and, -by their own Church they were regarded, as having a title to resume -the episcopates from which they had been ejected. But whilst things -remained in a transition state they seem to have acted with caution. -Without a repeal of the Act of Charles I., which disqualified them for -sitting in the House of Lords, they could not resume their seats. Nor -until the purchasers of their episcopal estates were dispossessed, -could they recover their property; nor, for a while, could they -obtain possession of their palaces, or enter upon the possession -of their sees. Those who were boldest in maintaining the theory, -that the Episcopal Church at the Restoration resumed its rights and -prerogatives, could not at once reduce that theory to practice.</p> - -<p>It may be added that new Bishops were appointed to vacant sees; some -account of their consecration, their history, and character, will be -given hereafter.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">PREFERMENTS.</div> - -<p>Throughout the latter half of the year 1660 and onwards, applications -by Episcopalian clergymen to be restored to their benefices, or to be -favoured with higher preferment, were as numerous as they were urgent. -They occur amongst the <i>State Papers</i> of that period, in all sorts of -connections; and one volume of them alone—assigned in the Calendar -to the month of August, 1660—contains no less than 143 documents of -this description. One clergyman beseeches the King to recommend him to -the Dean and Chapter of York, as Vicar-General of the diocese during a -vacancy, the petitioner having suffered by resisting both the Covenant -and the Engagement. A second begs the Deanery of Lichfield, he having -lost a valuable living given him at Oxford by the late King as a reward -for his loyalty. A third applies for the Arch<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span>deaconry of Hereford. A -fourth prefers his claim to the Archdeaconry of Chester, on the ground -of having been deprived and plundered for constancy in maintaining the -doctrine and discipline of the Church.</p> - -<p>There are many petitions for prebends, one from a clergyman who -appears to have been a wit, for he begs the reversion of the next -stall in Worcester Cathedral; only excepting that connected with the -Margaret Professorship of Divinity—saying, that "though not likely -to receive benefit thereby on account of his age, yet having long -waited, as the cripple at the pool of Bethesda, it will comfort him -to think that he dies cousin-german to some preferment." Another -pleads, with some humour, that having sacrificed liberty to duty, he -must now forfeit it in another way, even for debt, unless aided by -His Majesty's generosity.<a name="FNanchor_124_124" id="FNanchor_124_124"></a><a href="#Footnote_124_124" class="fnanchor">[124]</a> To most of these forms of application -there are annexed certificates from various persons, particularly Dr. -Sheldon, who seems to have taken a great deal of trouble to promote -the interests of his clerical brethren. The hopes and fears which -at other times agitate two or three candidates are, at a general -election, multiplied by hundreds all over the kingdom; so at the -Restoration,—what commonly is a flutter amongst a few aspirants after -ecclesiastical promotion, was then the experience of multitudes at the -same moment; and perhaps there never were before or since, within the -same compass of time, so many clergymen on the tip-toe of expectation, -doomed of course, in many cases, to utter disappointment.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span></p></div> - - -<h2>CHAPTER V.</h2> - - -<div class="sidenote">MEETINGS OF PRESBYTERIANS.</div> - -<p class="drop-cap p-left">Soon after the King's return the Earl of Manchester employed his -influence, as Lord Chamberlain, in the appointment of ten or twelve -Presbyterian chaplains at Court; of these only four—Reynolds, Calamy, -Spurstow, and Baxter—ever had the honour of ministering before His -Majesty.<a name="FNanchor_125_125" id="FNanchor_125_125"></a><a href="#Footnote_125_125" class="fnanchor">[125]</a> Baxter states that there was no profit connected with -the distinction; and that not "a man of them all ever received, or -expected a penny for the salary of their places." But if the office -brought no pay to himself, he was anxious it should bring profit to -the Church; and, therefore, he employed the influence, which his -chaplaincy gave him, to promote such measures as he thought conducive -to the advancement of religion. He suggested to the Earl, and to -Lord Broghill, a conference, for what he called "agreement," or -"coalition;"<a name="FNanchor_126_126" id="FNanchor_126_126"></a><a href="#Footnote_126_126" class="fnanchor">[126]</a><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span> and as Calamy, Reynolds, and Ash, concurred in his -views, he procured an arrangement in the month of June for himself, and -his brethren in office, to meet their Royal master, with Clarendon, the -Earl of St. Albans, and other noble persons, at the house of the Lord -Chamberlain.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1660.</div> - -<p>When they met, Baxter, with characteristic ardour and pathos, delivered -a long address, probably such as Charles had never listened to before, -although he had heard much plain speaking on the other side the Tweed. -The Puritan Divine besought His Majesty's aid in favour of union, -urging, that it would be a blessed work to promote holiness and -concord; and, "whereas there were differences between them and their -brethren about some ceremonies or discipline of the Church," he "craved -His Majesty's favour for the ending of those differences, it being -easy for him to interpose, that so the people might not be deprived of -their faithful pastors, nor [have] ignorant, scandalous, unworthy ones -obtruded on them." Baxter also expressed a hope that the King would -never suffer himself to undo the good which Cromwell, or any other, -had done, because they were usurpers that did it, "but that he would -rather outgo them in doing good." Then, with exquisite simplicity, the -speaker went on to say that common people judged of governors by their -conduct; and took him to be the best who did the most good, and him to -be the worst who did the most harm. He hoped that the freedom of his -expressions might be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span> pardoned, as they were "extracted by the present -necessity;" and he further declared that he was pleading for no one -party in particular, but for the interests of religion at large. In -concluding his address he urged the great advantage which union would -prove to His Majesty, to the people, and to the Bishops; and showed how -easily that blessing might be secured, by insisting only upon necessary -things, by providing for the exercise of Church discipline, and by not -casting out faithful ministers, "nor obtruding unworthy men on the -people."<a name="FNanchor_127_127" id="FNanchor_127_127"></a><a href="#Footnote_127_127" class="fnanchor">[127]</a> The whole speech was pitched in a key of earnestness -beyond the sympathy of him to whom it was addressed; there was in it, -nevertheless, a charm to which the easy-tempered Charles might not -be insensible, and with his usual politeness, he professed himself -gratified by any approach being made towards agreement. He, at the same -time, remarked that there ought to be abatements on both sides, and a -meeting midway; adding, that he had resolved to see the thing brought -to pass, indeed, that he would himself draw the parties together. Upon -listening to this Royal pledge, Mr. Ash, one of the chaplains, was so -affected that he burst into tears.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">PRESBYTERIAN PROPOSALS.</div> - -<p>Baxter and his associates were requested to draw up proposals for -consideration at a future conference, to which they consented, with -the understanding, that for the present they could only speak for -themselves, and not as representatives of others. They also craved, -that if concessions were granted on one side, concessions should be -granted on the other. To this Charles agreed.</p> - -<p>Meetings were accordingly held immediately afterwards at Sion -College—meetings prolonged from day to day.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</a></span> By general invitation -both city and country ministers attended, including Dr. Worth, -afterwards made an Irish Bishop, and Mr. Fulwood, subsequently -appointed Archdeacon of Totness.<a name="FNanchor_128_128" id="FNanchor_128_128"></a><a href="#Footnote_128_128" class="fnanchor">[128]</a></p> - -<p>Difficulties arose of a nature necessarily accompanying all debates; -for, as Baxter says, that which seemed the most convenient expression -to one, seemed inconvenient to another, and those who agreed as to -matter had much ado in agreeing as to words. The latter might be true -to some extent, but in all probability the discussions at Sion College -resembled others elsewhere, in which men have agreed as to words, in -order to cover some very important difference as to things. At last the -brethren resolved to make the following proposals:—</p> - -<p>That their flocks should have liberty of worship; that they should have -godly pastors; that no persons should be admitted to the Lord's table -except upon a credible profession of faith; and that care should be -taken to secure the sanctification of the Lord's Day. For "matters in -difference, viz., Church government, Liturgy, and ceremonies"—they -professed not to dislike Episcopacy, or the true ancient primitive -presidency, as it was balanced and managed, with a due commixture -of Presbyters; yet they omitted not to state what they conceived to -be amiss in the Episcopal government, as practised before the year -1640—specifying the too great extent of the Bishop's diocese, their -employment of officials instead of personal oversight, the absorption -by prelates of the functions of ordination and government, and the -exercise of arbitrary power in spiritual rule. They proposed, as a -remedy, Ussher's scheme of suffragan Bishops and diocesan synods, -the associations not to "be so large as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</a></span> to make the discipline -impossible;" and they requested that no oaths of obedience to Bishops -should be necessary for ordination; and that Bishops should not -exercise authority at their pleasure, but only according to such rules -and canons as should be established by Act of Parliament. They were -satisfied concerning the lawfulness of a Liturgy, but they objected -to the Prayer Book, as having in it many things justly offensive and -needing amendment.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1660.</div> - -<p>It may be stated here, that all these proposals took the form of a -direct address to His Majesty; and in reference to ceremonies, the -memorialists heartily acknowledged His Majesty "to be <i>Custos utriusque -tabulæ</i>, and to be supreme governor over all persons, and in all things -and causes as well ecclesiastical as civil." After this they besought -him to consider, as a Christian magistrate, whether he felt not -obliged, by the apostle's rule, touching things indifferent, to act so -as not to occasion an offence to weak brethren. They therefore prayed -that kneeling at the sacrament, and such holydays as are of human -institution, might not be imposed; and that the use of the surplice, -the cross in baptism, and bowing at the name of Jesus, might be -abolished.<a name="FNanchor_129_129" id="FNanchor_129_129"></a><a href="#Footnote_129_129" class="fnanchor">[129]</a> Objections to these practices had become traditional. -They had been urged throughout the reign of Queen Elizabeth—they were -specified in the Millenary Petition presented to King James. It should -be added, that neither in this paper, nor in any of the conferences -which followed, did the ministers plead for the establishment of -Presbyterianism. "I leave it here on record," says Baxter, "to the -notice of posterity, that to the best of my knowledge, the Presbyterian -cause was never spoken for, nor<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span> were they ever heard to petition for -it at all." All they sought was a reduced Episcopacy.<a name="FNanchor_130_130" id="FNanchor_130_130"></a><a href="#Footnote_130_130" class="fnanchor">[130]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">THE PRELATES' ANSWER.</div> - -<p>When Baxter and his friends attended the next meeting with the King, -expecting to find the Episcopalians prepared with some concessions, -he "saw not a man of them, nor any papers from them of that nature." -Still Charles showed himself gracious, promising, after all, to bring -the Bishops together, and get them to yield something; at the same time -expressing gratification with the Presbyterians' address, especially -with their expressed willingness to adopt a Liturgy.<a name="FNanchor_131_131" id="FNanchor_131_131"></a><a href="#Footnote_131_131" class="fnanchor">[131]</a> Instead -of the desired conference being granted, a written answer came from -the prelates, to the chaplains.<a name="FNanchor_132_132" id="FNanchor_132_132"></a><a href="#Footnote_132_132" class="fnanchor">[132]</a> In this answer we find that the -prelates begin by turning to their own advantage the concessions of -the Presbyterians. The Presbyterians agreed with the Episcopalians -in doctrine. Why should they be so scrupulous about minor matters? -Such is the tone of the paper, and it is the habitual Episcopalian -temper throughout, even in its least unfriendly moods. Professing a -willingness to reform what had been objectionable in time past, or -what might be inconvenient for the future, the Bishops defended the -constitution and usages of their own Church before the Wars, and -treated "Ussher's Reduction," so called, as inconsistent with other -discourses of the learned prelate. After extolling the Liturgy, they -remarked—"nor are ministers denied the use and exercise of their -gifts in praying before and after sermon, although such praying be -but the continuance of a custom of no great antiquity." Had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span> this -sentence meant, that scope should be given for free, as well as for -liturgical, worship—that clergymen should be allowed to pray at Church -<i>extempore</i>, as well as <i>read</i> prayers, the concession would have -been most important; subsequent events, however, show that such was -not the meaning, and also that the following passage, which might be -construed as granting much, signified little, or nothing—"If anything -in the established Liturgy shall be made appear to be justly offensive -to sober persons, we are not at all unwilling that the same should be -changed." With regard to ceremonies, they now seemed to concede what -they afterwards refused to allow. "How far forth, in regard of tender -consciences, a liberty may be thought fit to be indulged to any, His -Majesty, according to his great wisdom and goodness, is best able to -judge."</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1660.</div> - -<p>The Presbyterians were not slow in offering a defence of their own -proposals, and a remonstrance against the replies. Some of Baxter's -companions were for giving up further attempts in despair; but he, -although not sanguine, determined to persevere, for reasons which -deserve to be remembered. After calling to mind that Christians were -commanded, if possible, to live peaceably with all men;—that failure -in the negotiations going on was not inevitable;—and that no political -apprehensions need be entertained respecting Nonconformists, because -even if they were far more numerous than they really were, yet they -abhorred "all thoughts of sedition and rebellion,"—he ended the -vindication of his policy in the following noble words:—"I looked to -the end of all these actions, and the chief things that moved me, next -the pleasing of God and conscience is, that when we are all silenced -and persecuted—and the history of these things shall be delivered to -posterity—it will be a just blot upon us if we suffer as refusing to -sue for peace;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span> and it will be our just vindication, when it shall -appear that we humbly petitioned for and earnestly pursued after peace, -and came as near them for the obtaining it as Scripture and reason will -allow us to do, and were ready to do anything for peace except to sin -and damn our souls."<a name="FNanchor_133_133" id="FNanchor_133_133"></a><a href="#Footnote_133_133" class="fnanchor">[133]</a> "Let God be judge between you and me," had -been Oliver's words when he dismissed his last intractable Parliament, -thus appealing to Heaven and posterity. To the same tribunal Baxter was -prepared to remit his own controversy with his Anglican brethren.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">THE CONTROVERSY.</div> - -<p>It looked at first as if the Presbyterians had really made some -impression on their opponents; at least Clarendon was willing, that -just then, they should think so. On the 4th of September he sent them -the draft of a Royal Declaration of Indulgence. It did not satisfy -Baxter; and he, therefore, wrote an elaborate reply, which was altered -at the suggestion of some of his friends.<a name="FNanchor_134_134" id="FNanchor_134_134"></a><a href="#Footnote_134_134" class="fnanchor">[134]</a> The reply took the -shape of a petition to the King; yet it was such an immoderately long -dissertation that the idea of Charles reading it through is perfectly -amusing. No man except a guileless one could have written the paper, -but the paper betrayed an utter want of tact and judgment.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1660.<br /> -THE CONTROVERSY.</div> - -<p>An opportunity had arisen in the history of the Church of England for -healing a wound which had been bleeding ever since the Reformation. -A moment had arrived, calling upon the two great parties, into which -that Church had been so long divided, to look at their differences in -the light of wisdom and charity. But the history of mankind presents -so many misimproved conjunctions of circumstances, that students of -the past become familiar with lost opportunities, and are almost<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span> -hardened against the sorrow which they inspire in the bosoms of more -benevolent but less experienced persons. It is useless to speculate -upon the probable issue, at the period under review, if the settlement -of affairs had been approached in another kind of spirit. It is more -practical to endeavour to understand how things really stood; and it -will enable the reader to follow the controversy better, if we here -pause for a moment to look distinctly at deep differences which lay -around narrow discussions, and to show what were some of the salient -points which presented themselves in relation to the larger question. -The Presbyterians, with great confidence, carried their cause before -the tribunal of Scripture, and showed from their own point of view, -that for their fundamental doctrine of the official equality of -all Christian ministers they had on their side the law of the New -Testament; for they maintained that on its pages the terms Bishop and -Presbyter are interchangeably used, and that no traces of a clerical -hierarchy are to be found in the inspired records. Turning to Church -history, from the third century to the seventeenth, they easily -gathered proofs and illustrations of the growth of ecclesiastical -usurpation; of the change of primitive Episcopacy into an elaborate -system of spiritual despotism; of the rise of Archbishops and -Patriarchs; of the pride, the power, the ambition, and the wealth of -prelates; of the tyranny they exercised over civil society; of the -corruptions of all kinds which gathered round the perverted institute; -and of the tendency from bad to worse, which exists in all cases -where men are not careful to preserve the simplicity of Christ. The -state of England in the time of Archbishop Laud was a subject upon -which they were able to dwell with great force. They showed the cruel -oppression endured by holy men, at the hands of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span> prelates, who sought -to revive in this country the ceremonies renounced, and the doctrines -condemned at the Reformation; and they insisted upon the obvious fact -that the Church was then in danger of becoming thoroughly Romanized, -under the pernicious culture of superstitious teachers. The Revolution -accomplished by the Long Parliament, the Presbyterians were prepared -to defend as a political and ecclesiastical necessity, arising out -of previous corruptions; whilst they pointed, with satisfaction -and thankfulness, to the progress of spiritual religion under the -Commonwealth, in spite of sectarianism, and the other evils of the -times,—all of which they condemned, and deplored quite as much as -any of the Episcopalian clergy could do. Ecclesiastical discipline in -the parishes of England—for attempting which they had been so much -blamed—the Presbyterians could show, rested on a principle conceded -by Prelatists; and though it failed to produce all the fruits which -its administrators could wish, yet it had turned many a town and -village from a wilderness into a garden of the Lord. And when they -contended against the Prelacy of former days, and protested against -its restoration they distinctly stated, as we have seen, that they had -no objection to a modified Episcopacy, to the rule of a Bishop, with -his co-Presbyters, over dioceses of such dimensions as would admit -of careful oversight and efficient rule; nor did they condemn all -liturgies—not even the Book of Common Prayer, if certain things in -the formularies and the rubric, which they and their Puritan fathers -had complained of as superstitious, were now altered. The Presbyterian -party, moreover, professed the most affectionate loyalty to the Crown, -and the warmest attachment to the English Constitution; and in support -of that profession could point to valuable services rendered by them -at the Restoration. Lastly,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span> they were in possession of incumbencies, -to which they had been introduced according to the law of the land, -some of them before the late troubles began. They had been educated at -the Universities, had been many of them episcopally ordained, had led -quiet lives in their respective parishes, had preached the Gospel for -many long years, and had gathered round them large and affectionate -congregations. Hence they urged, that for them now to suffer expulsion, -to be turned adrift on the wide world without subsistence, to be -silenced, and to have an end put to their spiritual influence, would -be, in the sight of the world, of the Church, and of God, a burning -shame.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1660.<br /> -THE CONTROVERSY.</div> - -<p>The Episcopalians also, looking at the matter on the other side, had -something to say. They prized the past History of the Church, and -esteemed it of great importance to stand in the relation of successors -to the Christian teachers of antiquity. Their theory was that the -Church of England had not been established in the reign of Elizabeth or -Henry, but had then been only reformed; that it constituted part of the -<i>Catholic</i> Church, of which Rome had unjustly usurped the name, without -possessing the attribute. Their formularies they traced back through -mediæval times. For their doctrines they claimed the support of early -Councils and Fathers. They pointed to the great antiquity of their -orders, to the diocesan Bishops of the second century, and of every -century since; and were prepared to argue, that the early prevalence -of the distinction between Bishops and Presbyters is a presumptive -proof of its having been sanctioned by apostolic authority. As to the -evils flowing from Prelacy, the advocates of it would maintain that -the abuse of a system is one thing, and the system itself another; -that, although in the Middle Ages, in the Church of Rome, Prelacy had -been made the instrument of immense<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span> mischief, this fact had nothing -to do with the present controversy, the subject in dispute being not -Popish Episcopalianism, but the Episcopalianism of the Reformed Church -of England—the Episcopalianism of Ridley and Parker. Such Prelacy, -the Bishops and their friends could irresistibly maintain to have been -part and parcel of the law of England since the Reformation down to the -Civil Wars; and, at the same time, they could point to the recognition -of the rights of Spiritual Peers in the Constitution of this country -from the early Saxon period—the legal or constitutional argument -being the great bulwark of the Episcopalian cause, when treated as a -social or political question. The ecclesiastical changes accomplished -by the Long Parliament, were, in the eyes of Royalist and Anglican -Churchmen, perfectly unconstitutional, illegal, and nugatory—for, in -the accomplishment of them, one House had virtually done everything, -the remnant of the Lords being mere ciphers; and the King, so far from -having sanctioned the overthrow of the ancient Church, had protested -against it, even unto death. With the Restoration, it was said again -and again, came back the old Constitution of King, Lords, and Commons; -and with that Constitution the Reformed Episcopacy and Prayer Book of -England. The gravest and most forcible of all the allegations which -the men now claiming their former position could bring against their -opponents was, that they, in their turn, had been as exclusive as it -was possible for any class to be. The Presbyterians, in the day of -their power, had shown no consideration whatever for their Episcopalian -neighbours. They had ruled with a high hand, and those who differed -from them had experienced no mercy. They had proscribed the Prayer -Book, and had vilified it in all kinds of ways—that very<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span> Prayer Book -which now, with certain alterations, they would not decline to use. -They had persecuted some of the very persons to whose candour and -generosity they now appealed; also, they had been Commissioners for -casting out scandalous ministers, and had assisted to expel some, from -whom now, they were asking the privilege of continued ministration, -with its emoluments, as an act of strict justice, or, at least, of -reasonable favour. Besides, the Anglicans charged the Puritans with -narrow-mindedness, with sticking at trifles, with making mountains -of mole-hills, with cherishing scruples about points which involved -no principle—in short, with being under the influence of prejudice -and obstinacy. And then, beyond all other things which separated -Episcopalians from their brethren, was a certain element of feeling in -some—not in Sheldon, but in Cosin and Thorndike, and Heylyn,—which -gave a mystical tinge to their views of matter in relation to mind, and -which was the soul of their distinctive sacramental theology.<a name="FNanchor_135_135" id="FNanchor_135_135"></a><a href="#Footnote_135_135" class="fnanchor">[135]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1660.</div> - -<p>Such were the religious, theological, and ecclesiastical differences -between the two parties, to which must be added strong political -antagonism for the last twenty years. That antagonism has been -described in my former volumes. It will reappear in these.</p> - -<p>Thus the two parties looked upon the question in dispute from their -own point of view, influenced by past circumstances and by personal -prejudices, after the manner of most controversialists.</p> - -<p>Both are chargeable with faults of reasoning, and faults<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span> of temper. -Each made too much of little things: one in enforcing them for the -sake of order, the other in objecting to them as sins against God. -The strong despised the weak. The weak condemned the strong. Neither -mastered the lessons of St. Paul.<a name="FNanchor_136_136" id="FNanchor_136_136"></a><a href="#Footnote_136_136" class="fnanchor">[136]</a> Yet the two were by no means -equally blameable. More of Christian consideration and charity is -discernible on the Puritan than on the other side, although even the -Puritans had not attained to the exercise of that rare sympathy by -which one man penetrates into the soul of another, making him as it -were a second self,—by which process alone can a man subdue prejudice -and win his brother over to that which he believes to be the truth.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">THE CONTROVERSY.</div> - -<p>It is necessary also to bear in mind this circumstance, that both -parties were advocates for a national establishment of religion. -Each party fixed its thoughts upon one society in which substantial -uniformity of government and worship should be maintained—one -society engrossing patronage and absorbing emoluments. It requires -some effort for persons familiar only with modern phases of thought, -thoroughly to enter into the ideas of the seventeenth century, and -accurately to apprehend and estimate the views which were then current. -Ecclesiastical controversy has undergone an immense change since that -day; and could those who met together, as about to be described, now -rise from the dead, it would be difficult for them to comprehend -the position into which the Church questions of our age seem to be -drifting.<a name="FNanchor_137_137" id="FNanchor_137_137"></a><a href="#Footnote_137_137" class="fnanchor">[137]</a></p> - -<p>Remembering all this we proceed with our history.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1660.<br /> -WORCESTER HOUSE DECLARATION.</div> - -<p>There was a house in the Strand known as Worcester House. It had -belonged to the Bishops of Carlisle; it had been bestowed on the -Bedford family; it had been transferred to the author of the <i>Century -of Inventions</i>, whose family title of Marquis of Worcester, gave it -its name; and it had been fitted up by the Long Parliament for the -reception of the Scotch Commissioners. By a turn in the wheel of -fortune, which, at the Restoration, brought about so many changes, -this residence had come once more into the possession of the Marquis, -and he had lent it to Lord Chancellor Clarendon, as a residence, -without requiring "one penny rent." The mansion, over which had fallen -such varying shadows—and which had been designed to accommodate the -deputation in 1643 from the Presbyterians of Scotland—now appeared -as the scene of important negotiations between the Court and the -Presbyterians of England.</p> - -<p>Clarendon proposed a meeting of the two parties upon the 22nd of -October. It was a time of great excitement in London, for the execution -of the regicides—which will be noticed hereafter—had only just -taken place; and, through the fortitude with which some of them had -suffered, a reaction of feeling had arisen, and people had become -disgusted with such bloody spectacles. His Majesty was present in the -Chancellor's mansion, with the Dukes of Albemarle and Ormond, the Earls -of Manchester and Anglesea, Lord Holles, and the Bishops of London, -Worcester, Salisbury, Durham, Exeter,<a name="FNanchor_138_138" id="FNanchor_138_138"></a><a href="#Footnote_138_138" class="fnanchor">[138]</a> and Lichfield and Coventry. -Presently were ushered into the apartment—fitted up in the style of -the seventeenth century, with costly furniture and superb decorations, -for Clarendon lived like a prince—the following Presbyterian<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[115]</a></span> -Divines—Reynolds, Spurstow, Wallis, Manton, Ash, and Baxter. Their -Puritan habits contrasted obviously with the costume of the Courtiers -and the Bishops, and would be eyed, we imagine, rather oddly by the -pages as they announced their entrance. No disputing was to be allowed; -the Lord Chancellor was simply to read over his revised Declaration, -and as he advanced, the two parties were simply to declare their -approbation or their disapproval. The particulars of the interview are -too long for insertion; but we may observe, that after many comments -upon Clarendon's paper, and after much conversation respecting the -subjects of Episcopal power, and of reordination, the Chancellor drew -out of his pocket another paper, observing, that the King had been -asked by Independents and Anabaptists to grant toleration. He therefore -proposed to insert in the document which had been read, a clause to -the effect, that persons not members of the endowed Church should be -permitted to meet for religious worship, provided they did not disturb -the public peace. A pause followed. "The Presbyterians all perceived," -says Baxter, "that it would secure the liberty of the Papists." Dr. -Wallis whispered to him to be silent, and to leave the Bishops to give -an answer. But the eager disputant could not hold his tongue. "I only -said this," he reports, "that this reverend brother, Dr. Gunning, even -now speaking against sects, had named the Papists and the Socinians. -For our parts, we desired not favour to ourselves alone, and rigorous -severity we desired against none! As we humbly thanked His Majesty for -his indulgence to ourselves, so we distinguish the tolerable parties -from the intolerable. For the former, we humbly crave just lenity and -favour; but, for the latter, such as the two sorts named before by -that reverend brother, for our parts we cannot make their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[116]</a></span> toleration -our request. To which His Majesty said, that there were laws enough -against the Papists; and I replied, that we understood the question to -be, whether those laws should be executed on them, or not. And so His -Majesty brake up the meeting of that day."<a name="FNanchor_139_139" id="FNanchor_139_139"></a><a href="#Footnote_139_139" class="fnanchor">[139]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1660.</div> - -<p>No doubt Charles looked as grave and as gracious as possible whilst -he talked at Worcester House with Baxter and his brethren; and, -although His Majesty alarmed his auditors by a reference to laws -against Papists, he took care not to betray the utter hollowness of his -professed zeal for Protestantism. So far as he had any sincere desire -to grant an indulgence, it was not on behalf of Protestants, but on -behalf of other persons whom Protestants most disliked. Puritans were -to him troublesome people, whom he had to keep quiet as long as he -could; and, in the meantime, he seems to have wished to use them as -tools for producing the liberty which the Papists craved.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote">WORCESTER HOUSE DECLARATION.<br /> -1660.</div> - -<p>Baxter went home dejected; two or three days afterwards, however, as -he was walking in the City, amidst the din of carts and coaches, and -the confusion of London cries, he heard a boy bawling at the top of -his voice, that he had on sale copies of the King's new Declaration. -He bought one of the sheets, and stepped into a shop to peruse the -contents. The King, he found, commended in the highest terms the Church -of England; and also acknowledged the moderation of the Presbyterians; -he then proceeded to enumerate a series of concessions, which he had -not the least doubt that the present Bishops would think "just and -reasonable," and "very cheerfully conform themselves thereunto:"—That -none should be presented to Bishoprics but men of learning, virtue, and -piety; that suffragans should be appointed in the larger Dioceses; that -the censures of the Church should not be inflicted without the advice -and assistance of Presbyters, who should aid Bishops, Chancellors, and -Archdeacons, in their respective offices; and that Confirmation should -be rightly and solemnly performed:—that no Bishop should exercise any -arbitrary power; that the Liturgy should be revised; but, that until -the revision was effected, the unexceptionable portion of it should -be used; that no existing ceremonies in the Church should be at once -formally abolished; but, to gratify the private consciences of those -who were grieved with the use of some of them, they should be dispensed -with for the present; the final decision being left to a national -Synod, to be duly called after a little time, when mutual conversation -between persons of different persuasions should have mollified those -distempers, abated those sharpnesses, and extinguished those jealousies -which made men unfit for such consultation. The sign of the cross in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span> -baptism, bowing at the name of Jesus, the use of the surplice, and the -oath of canonical obedience, were things not to be enforced, but to be -left to individual opinion and choice. The King concluded, by renewing -his Declaration from Breda, for the liberty of tender consciences, -and by expressing hopes for the unity of the Church, the prosperity -of religion, and the peace and happiness of the nation.<a name="FNanchor_140_140" id="FNanchor_140_140"></a><a href="#Footnote_140_140" class="fnanchor">[140]</a> This -Declaration went a long way towards meeting the views of moderate -Presbyterians, and seemed at first to supply a basis on which a scheme -of comprehension might have been reared. It is expressed in a tone -utterly different from that adopted by the Bishops. It might well -lead some Presbyterians to believe that the hour of union had come. -Baxter found that suggestions made by himself and his friends, at the -Worcester House Conference, had been adopted in the Declaration; and, -on the whole, he felt pleased with the document. On the day that it -appeared, he received from the Lord Chancellor an offer of a Bishopric. -He replied, that if this offer had come before his seeing the -Declaration, he should have declined it at once; now, however, he said, -"I take myself, for the Churches' sake, exceedingly beholden to his -Lordship for those moderations; and my desire to promote the happiness -of the Church, which that moderation tendeth to, doth make me resolve -to take that course which tendeth most thereto; but whether to take a -Bishopric be the way I was in doubt, and desired some farther time of -consideration; but if His Lordship would procure us the settlement of -the matter of that Declaration, by passing it into a law, I promised -him to take<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[119]</a></span> that way in which I might most serve the public peace." -Soon afterwards Baxter made up his mind to decline the proffered -honour, partly on personal, partly on ecclesiastical grounds.<a name="FNanchor_141_141" id="FNanchor_141_141"></a><a href="#Footnote_141_141" class="fnanchor">[141]</a> He -tells us, indeed, that he disapproved of the "Old Diocesan frame," and -feared that, as a Bishop, he might have work to do contrary to his -conscience; but he also particularly expresses the feeling that the -Episcopal office would draw him aside from those works of theological -authorship, for which he believed he had a special fitness, and a -divine mission.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">WORCESTER HOUSE DECLARATION.</div> - -<p>Reynolds, at the same time, was offered the Bishopric of Norwich, and -accepted it. For this he was then reproached, and has often since -been severely blamed. Yet Baxter persuaded him to take this step, -advising him to declare, that he did so upon the terms of the Royal -Declaration, and that he would resign if these terms were withdrawn. -Reynolds read to his friend a paper which he had prepared for His -Majesty's hands, stating that he believed a Bishop was only a chief -Presbyter, and ought not to ordain or govern but with the assistance -of his co-Presbyters,—such being the doctrine according to which he -was prepared to take his seat on the Bench.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span> Whether he actually did -present such a paper, Baxter could not tell.<a name="FNanchor_142_142" id="FNanchor_142_142"></a><a href="#Footnote_142_142" class="fnanchor">[142]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1660.</div> - -<p>The ecclesiastical weather had suddenly changed. The clouds were -breaking. The sun began to shine. Conciliation had become the order of -the day. Calamy was offered the Bishopric, and Bates the Deanery of -Lichfield; Manton the Deanery of Rochester, and Bowles that of York. -Other preferments were left vacant for awhile, professedly with the -hope that they might be accepted by Presbyterians. The see of Carlisle -was intended for Dr. Gilpin;<a name="FNanchor_143_143" id="FNanchor_143_143"></a><a href="#Footnote_143_143" class="fnanchor">[143]</a> and a fortnight after the Declaration -had been issued, Diplomas were conferred at Cambridge, by Royal -mandate, on Bates, Jacomb, and Wilde.<a name="FNanchor_144_144" id="FNanchor_144_144"></a><a href="#Footnote_144_144" class="fnanchor">[144]</a></p> - -<p>To reciprocate these friendly approaches, some Presbyterians, but -not those who had met at Worcester House, prepared an address to His -Majesty.<a name="FNanchor_145_145" id="FNanchor_145_145"></a><a href="#Footnote_145_145" class="fnanchor">[145]</a></p> - -<p>They craved leave to profess, that though all things in the frame -of government were not exactly to their minds, yet His Majesty's -moderation had so great an influence upon them, that they had -determined to use their utmost endeavour to heal the breaches, and to -promote the peace and union of the Church. They begged of His Majesty, -that <i>reordination</i> and the <i>surplice</i> in Colleges might not be -imposed, and they hoped God would incline his heart to gratify their -desires.<a name="FNanchor_146_146" id="FNanchor_146_146"></a><a href="#Footnote_146_146" class="fnanchor">[146]</a> The Address was presented on the 16th of November by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[121]</a></span> -Samuel Clarke, of St. Bennett Fink. This fair weather was of short -continuance. The sun was soon concealed again. The clouds returned -after the rain. Suspicions respecting the sincerity of the Declaration -increased; from the beginning, some had been dissatisfied with it. The -treatment it finally received from the Commons, under the exercise of -Court influence, shows the real character of the whole affair; we must -therefore enter the House, and watch its proceedings.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">WORCESTER HOUSE DECLARATION.</div> - -<p>Nothing could exceed the gratitude expressed by the Speaker of the -House of Commons, in the name of the members, for His Majesty's -Declaration.<a name="FNanchor_147_147" id="FNanchor_147_147"></a><a href="#Footnote_147_147" class="fnanchor">[147]</a> Yet, three days before he did so, it had been -significantly proposed that the Book of Common Prayer should be used -in the daily worship of the House, little objection being made to this -proposal. The prevalent opinion appeared to be in favour of a form, and -"the Speaker excused the minister from any more service, till the form -was ordered."<a name="FNanchor_148_148" id="FNanchor_148_148"></a><a href="#Footnote_148_148" class="fnanchor">[148]</a></p> - -<p>A Bill, founded upon the Declaration, followed upon the 28th of -November. The arguments adduced in its favour were to the effect—that -without a Bill the Declaration would be ineffective; that it was -fitting to alter many things in the Liturgy; that the present business -was of the highest concernment to the glory of God and the peace of the -nation; that the ceremonies of the Church were not of such importance -as to justify another war; that some indulgence ought to be granted -to those who "ventured their lives for the good of all;" and that the -passing of the measure would not vex the Bishops at all, because they -were with the King at the framing of the Declaration. Prynne thought -that it would be astonishing if, after<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[122]</a></span> thanking the King for issuing -the document, the House rejected the Bill, which had been founded upon -it. But many, who approved of the Declaration, spoke against the Bill. -They said it was contrary to precedent to turn a Royal Edict into an -Act of Parliament; that it was not the King's desire; and that it -would dissatisfy the Roman Catholics. Secretary Morrice is reported to -have spoken ambiguously, and to have concluded his speech by advising -that the Bill should be laid aside: 183 voted against it, and 157 for -it.<a name="FNanchor_149_149" id="FNanchor_149_149"></a><a href="#Footnote_149_149" class="fnanchor">[149]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1660.</div> - -<p>The Declaration, it must be acknowledged, was so obviously a temporary -expedient, and of so provisional a nature, that there seemed room -to oppose a Bill like this, framed "for making the King's Majesty's -Declaration touching ecclesiastical affairs effectual." Preparatory -steps needed to be taken before a complete Church for the future could -be established. Yet, if the leaders of the House had been sincerely -bent upon a conciliatory policy, they might easily have contrived some -measure for that purpose.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">WORCESTER HOUSE DECLARATION.<br /> -1660.</div> - -<p>The course pursued by the Commons may be explained. Out of doors -a strong feeling was making itself heard in favour of such -Episcopalianism as existed in the days of Elizabeth. At the moment -of the King's return much talk of moderation had been heard from -politic men in the Church. Even Sheldon then spoke of charity when -preaching before the King in the month of June:<a name="FNanchor_150_150" id="FNanchor_150_150"></a><a href="#Footnote_150_150" class="fnanchor">[150]</a> but now the tone -of the principal clergy altered, and before the end of the year a -specimen of the change occurs in a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span> consecration sermon, in which it -is declared that "the work of the Bishops was not so much to convert -infidels as to confute heretics and schismatics."<a name="FNanchor_151_151" id="FNanchor_151_151"></a><a href="#Footnote_151_151" class="fnanchor">[151]</a> In addition -to the growing strength and boldness of the Episcopalians, there was -another cause for the defeat of the Bill. Clarendon states that, in -the summer, when the Grand Committee entered upon the settlement of -the question of religion, "<i>the King desired no more than that they -should do nothing, being sure that in a little time he should himself -do the work best</i>;"<a name="FNanchor_152_152" id="FNanchor_152_152"></a><a href="#Footnote_152_152" class="fnanchor">[152]</a> he wished to have the matter under his own -control; and Secretary Nicholas, writing to Sir Henry Bennet, informed -him that Parliament would meet with better hope of success because the -King had "removed the main bone of division, by <i>taking into his own -hand the great point of Church Government</i>."<a name="FNanchor_153_153" id="FNanchor_153_153"></a><a href="#Footnote_153_153" class="fnanchor">[153]</a> It is plain that -Charles felt an aversion to any Act of Parliament whatever upon the -subject; it is also plain that the Commons were in some way induced -to act accordingly. "When the Parliament," says the noble historian, -"came together again after their adjournment they gave the King public -thanks for his Declaration, and never proceeded further in the matter -of religion; of which the King was very glad; only some of the leaders -brought a Bill into the House 'for the making that Declaration a law,' -which was suitable to their other acts of ingenuity, to keep the Church -for ever under the same indulgence, and without any settlement; which, -being quickly perceived, there was no further progress in it."<a name="FNanchor_154_154" id="FNanchor_154_154"></a><a href="#Footnote_154_154" class="fnanchor">[154]</a> Who -were the instruments commonly employed to influence the House, so as to -bring it into unison with Royal designs, the same authority explains, -when he says, that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span> from the Restoration, he and Lord Southampton, -by desire of the King, "had every day conference with some select -persons of the House of Commons, and with these they consulted in -what method to proceed in disposing the House, sometimes to propose, -sometimes to consent, to what should be most necessary for the public, -and by them to assign parts to other men whom they found disposed and -willing to concur in what was to be desired."<a name="FNanchor_155_155" id="FNanchor_155_155"></a><a href="#Footnote_155_155" class="fnanchor">[155]</a> There is then no -room for believing otherwise than that the Chancellor, in agreement -with the King, did what he could to influence members to vote against -the Bill for turning the Royal Declaration into law. Consistently -with this inference we find Secretary Morrice speaking against it; -and Secretary Nicholas informing Sir Henry de Vic that the Bill for -passing the King's late Declaration had "happily been thrown out."<a name="FNanchor_156_156" id="FNanchor_156_156"></a><a href="#Footnote_156_156" class="fnanchor">[156]</a> -The circumstance, at that juncture, of the elevation to the Bench of -Matthew Hale, who had acted on the Committee for framing the Bill, -tallies with other proceedings; and the whole shows that the policy -of the Court was to get rid of the Bill, and with it the obligations -incurred by the Declaration. For, it cannot be said, that the question -before the House was a mere question of form, and that opposing the -Bill did not necessarily imply opposition to the scheme which it -embodied; since all the promises held out in the Declaration were set -at nought by the subsequent proceedings of the King and his Minister.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">WORCESTER HOUSE DECLARATION.</div> - -<p>Charles, there can be no doubt, simply wished to keep the Presbyterians -quiet as long as possible, to get a few of their leaders into the -Episcopal Church, and to employ others, to whom he held out hopes -of toleration, as tools<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span> for securing liberty to the Papists.<a name="FNanchor_157_157" id="FNanchor_157_157"></a><a href="#Footnote_157_157" class="fnanchor">[157]</a> -Clarendon, I believe, sincerely desired, as a staunch Episcopalian, -to restore the Establishment upon its old basis—nor do I see any -reason to question, that he also sincerely desired to bring Baxter -and others within its pale. With the purpose of winning Presbyterians -over to Episcopacy he was willing to make a few concessions. But, of -any genuine wish to base the Church upon the principles laid down in -the Declaration, there is no proof; and such a wish is inconsistent -with his known attachment to Prelacy. He had, it is true, ever since -the return of Royalty became probable, shown great moderation in -his behaviour to the Puritan party; but this circumstance is quite -consistent with the idea of his simply proposing to bring them -over to Episcopalianism. Looking at the opinions of the prelates -already expressed, and afterwards maintained at the Savoy, is it -possible that the Declaration could have been designed as a <i>bonâ -fide</i> basis of a Church settlement? The conclusion is inevitable, -that Clarendon aimed at accomplishing his object by such a method as -statesmen deem to be justifiable diplomacy.<a name="FNanchor_158_158" id="FNanchor_158_158"></a><a href="#Footnote_158_158" class="fnanchor">[158]</a> After the fate of the -Declaration in Parliament, the aspect of affairs changed in reference -to Presbyterians. Hopes once raised were dashed to the ground. The -overtures of the Court were seen to be hollow, and the preferments -offered were declined. Reynolds, nevertheless, retained the Bishopric -of Norwich.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span></p></div> - - -<h2>CHAPTER VI.</h2> - - -<div class="sidenote">THE REGICIDES.</div> - -<p class="drop-cap p-left">The treatment of the men who had been foremost in what the Royalists -called the Great Rebellion, affords a further and a critical instance -of the temper of Parliament. At first, and for some little time -afterwards, the majority supported a large measure of oblivion. Not -more than seven persons were excepted from the Act of Indemnity. But -the number speedily increased to twenty-nine.<a name="FNanchor_159_159" id="FNanchor_159_159"></a><a href="#Footnote_159_159" class="fnanchor">[159]</a> Afterwards it was -proposed that all who sat on the trial of Charles I., and had not -surrendered according to a late Proclamation, were to be excluded from -the Act of Oblivion,—a point carried without any division. The Lords -made the Bill more stringent. They determined to exclude all who had -signed the death-warrant, or were sitting in the court when sentence -was pronounced, whether they had submitted since the Restoration or -not; to these the Lords added the names of Hacker, Vane, Lambert, -Haselrig, and Axtell. Yet they struck out a clause, reserving Lenthall -and others for future punishment. The Commons had been slow with the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span> -Act of Indemnity, notwithstanding the salvation of many of their -old friends was involved in it. The Lords were slower still, and -both had to be spurred on by Royal messages. When the Bill, in its -increased severity, came down from the Lords, the Commons resisted the -sweeping amendment which excluded all the members of the High Court of -Justice from the general amnesty. They pleaded that such an exclusion -would violate the promise from Breda, and the terms of the recent -Proclamation. Repeated conferences took place between the Houses, and -it is visible that the spirit of resistance to the vindictiveness of -the Lords gradually gave way, and that the violent Royalists were -gaining ground amongst them. The Commons entered into a compromise. -Most of the judges were excepted; others were reserved for lesser -penalties. About twenty persons, besides those who had pronounced -sentence in the High Court of Justice, were incapacitated for any civil -or military office.<a name="FNanchor_160_160" id="FNanchor_160_160"></a><a href="#Footnote_160_160" class="fnanchor">[160]</a></p> - -<p>The regicides being excluded from the Act of Oblivion, some of them -were tried at the Old Bailey, in the month of October, 1660. Amongst -those who then stood at the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span> bar were four persons who have appeared, -more or less conspicuously, in connection with the Ecclesiastical -History of the Civil Wars and the Commonwealth.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1660.</div> - -<p>Major-General Harrison, the famous Republican, who, in the Little -Parliament had opposed the tithe system, who had plunged deeply into -the study of prophecy, had been for some time expecting the reign of -the saints, and had been involved in the revolutionary schemes of the -Fifth Monarchy men, was arraigned for having sat upon the trial of his -"late Sovereign Lord King Charles I., of ever blessed memory," and for -having signed and sealed the warrant for his execution.<a name="FNanchor_161_161" id="FNanchor_161_161"></a><a href="#Footnote_161_161" class="fnanchor">[161]</a> He was -found guilty, and condemned to die. With his political fanaticism there -blended other feelings; and the propriety of his demeanour in prison -was such, that the woman, who cleaned his cell, and kindled his fire, -declared she could not conceive how he deserved to be there, for he -was a man "full of God—there was nothing but God in his mouth—and -his discourse and frame of heart would melt the hardest of their -hearts."<a name="FNanchor_162_162" id="FNanchor_162_162"></a><a href="#Footnote_162_162" class="fnanchor">[162]</a> He died expressing transports of religious joy.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">THE REGICIDES.</div> - -<p>Hugh Peters, the military Divine, who had beat up for recruits -at country market crosses, and carried messages of victory from -the Army to the Commons, was now condemned for stirring up the -soldiery to demand the Monarch's execution, and for giving publicity -to the Proclamation for the High Court of Justice. As he was -going to execution, he replied to a person—who abused him as a -regicide—"Friend, you do not well to trample upon a dying man, you are -greatly mistaken. I had nothing to do with the death of the King."</p> - -<p>Peters, although coarse, vulgar, and violent, has<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span> been painted in -darker colours than he deserves. It is certain that he approved of -the execution of the King; but whether his complicity in the deed was -legally proved is another question. That he was one of the masked -headsman on the 30th of January, 1649, is an idle tale; and of the -charges against his moral character no adequate proof has ever been -adduced. Without any respect for his memory I wish to do him justice. -He has been commonly represented by Royalists as an unprincipled and -cruel villain, steeped in vice, and laden with crime. The facts of his -history do not support that indictment; they rather show him to have -been a sincere, misguided, and unhappy enthusiast.<a name="FNanchor_163_163" id="FNanchor_163_163"></a><a href="#Footnote_163_163" class="fnanchor">[163]</a></p> - -<p>Isaac Pennington—who presented to the Long Parliament in 1640 the -famous "Root and Branch" Petition of the London citizens—was at this -time also charged with compassing the Monarch's death. The Lord Chief -Baron alluded to him in merciful terms, and although found guilty, -his life was spared through the intercession of influential friends. -He died a prisoner in the Tower, December the 17th, 1661. His son -Isaac had embraced Quakerism; and a daughter of his wife, by a former -husband, became the wife of William Penn.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1660.</div> - -<p>By the side of Isaac Pennington stood another prisoner with whom we are -already acquainted—Henry Marten.<a name="FNanchor_164_164" id="FNanchor_164_164"></a><a href="#Footnote_164_164" class="fnanchor">[164]</a> Of his Revolutionary opinions, -and of his active part in the Whitehall tragedy, there could be no -question—perhaps he had as much to do with it as any one; yet after -he had been convicted, he threw himself upon the mercy of Parliament. -In the petition which he presented he observed, with the careless wit -which no misfortune could subdue, that he had surrendered himself upon -the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span> Restoration in consequence of the King's "Declaration of Breda," -and that "since he had never obeyed any Royal proclamation before -this, he hoped that he should not be hanged for taking the King's word -now?"<a name="FNanchor_165_165" id="FNanchor_165_165"></a><a href="#Footnote_165_165" class="fnanchor">[165]</a> The Commons do not appear to have attempted anything in his -favour; but his cause received warm advocacy when it came before the -Lords. With a dash of invincible humour, the Republican pleaded, that -since the honourable House of Commons, which he before so idolized, -had given him up to death, the honourable House of Peers, which he had -so much opposed, especially in their power of judicature, was now left -as a sanctuary to which he fled for life. He had submitted himself to -His Majesty's gracious Proclamation, he took hold of it, and hoped to -receive pardon through it. He now submitted himself to His Majesty and -to the House for mercy.<a name="FNanchor_166_166" id="FNanchor_166_166"></a><a href="#Footnote_166_166" class="fnanchor">[166]</a> Marten obtained what was denied to men -more worthy; but although his life was spared, he spent twenty years in -prison, and expired in Chepstow Castle, at the age of 78.<a name="FNanchor_167_167" id="FNanchor_167_167"></a><a href="#Footnote_167_167" class="fnanchor">[167]</a></p> - -<p>The growth of vindictive loyalty was rapid; it rose to an alarming -height, and assumed a frantic mien, when, after re-assembling in -November, the Commons resolved, that the carcases of Oliver Cromwell, -Henry Ireton, John Bradshaw, and Thomas Pride, whether buried in -Westminster Abbey or elsewhere, should with all expedition be taken up, -drawn upon a hurdle to Tyburn, there hanged up in their coffins for a -time, and afterwards buried under the gallows.<a name="FNanchor_168_168" id="FNanchor_168_168"></a><a href="#Footnote_168_168" class="fnanchor">[168]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote">NEW BISHOPS.</div> - -<p>Leaving this horrid subject, we notice that at the close of the year a -consecration of new Bishops took place. Of the nine prelates remaining -alive at the time, Juxon, who had been Bishop of London, was translated -to Canterbury; Frewen, who had been nominated by Charles I. to the -see of Lichfield and Coventry, was promoted to the Archbishopric of -York; and Duppa, who had held the see of Salisbury, was transferred -to the diocese of Winchester. To the Bishopric of London, vacated -by the translation of Juxon, Sheldon succeeded—a reward considered -due for unceasing vigilance over Episcopalian interests during the -Commonwealth. Morley, who had attended Charles at the Hague, was -appointed Bishop of Worcester; and Henchman, who had aided His -Majesty's escape after the battle near that city, became Bishop of -Salisbury.<a name="FNanchor_169_169" id="FNanchor_169_169"></a><a href="#Footnote_169_169" class="fnanchor">[169]</a></p> - -<p>Seven new prelates together were consecrated at Westminster on Sunday, -the 2nd of December:—Cosin, the patristic scholar, who had been -chaplain in the household of Queen Henrietta,—as Bishop of Durham; and -Walton, the editor of the <i>Polyglott</i>,—as Bishop of Chester. Gauden -also was one of the number. Though he had remained in Cromwell's Broad -Church, it is said that upon all occasions he had taken worthy pains -in the pulpit and by the press to rescue His Majesty and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span> the Church -of England, from all mistaken and heterodox opinions of several and -different factions, as well as from the sacrilegious hands of false -brethren whose scandalous conversation was consummate, in devouring -Churchlands, and in impudently making sacrilege lawful.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1660.</div> - -<p>He received for these services the Bishopric of Exeter;<a name="FNanchor_170_170" id="FNanchor_170_170"></a><a href="#Footnote_170_170" class="fnanchor">[170]</a> and -at the same time there was consecrated with him—as Bishop of -Carlisle—Richard Sterne, who had suffered much from the Presbyterians, -and had attended on the scaffold his friend, Archbishop Laud. Laney -designated to Peterborough, Lloyd to Llandaff, and Lucy to St. David's, -complete the seven.</p> - -<p>Sancroft, then domestic chaplain to Bishop Cosin, preached the sermon, -in which he defended diocesan Episcopacy from the words of St. Paul to -Titus: "For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set -in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, -as I had appointed thee." He who appointed him, said the preacher, was -"not a suffragan of St. Peter," "not a disciple of Gamaliel," "not a -delegate of the civil magistrate," but "an apostle of Jesus Christ." -And he who was appointed was "a single person; not a consistory of -Presbyters, or a bench of elders," and his office was to supply -defects—to correct what might be amiss—and to exercise the power -of ordination; "our most reverend Titus" being "a genuine son and -successor of the apostles." The theological reader will infer at once -what were the arguments under each head, and he may judge of the style -and spirit of the discourse from the following passage—"And blessed be -this day (let God regard it from above, and a more than common<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span> light -shine upon it!) in which we see the Phœnix arising from her funeral -pile, and taking wing again; our Holy Mother, the Church, standing up -from the dust and ruins in which she sate so long, taking beauty again -for ashes, and the garments of praise for the spirit of heaviness, -remounting the Episcopal throne, bearing the keys of the kingdom of -heaven with her, and armed (we hope) with the rod of discipline; her -hands spread abroad, to bless and to ordain, to confirm the weak, and -to reconcile the penitent; her breasts flowing with the sincere milk of -the word, and girt with a golden girdle under the paps, tying up all by -a meet limitation and restriction to primitive patterns, and prescripts -apostolical. A sight so venerable and august, that methinks, it -should at once strike love and fear into every beholder, and an awful -veneration. I may confidently say it. It was never well with us, since -we strayed from the due reverence we owed to Heaven and her; and it is -strange we should no sooner observe it, but run a maddening after other -lovers that ruined us, till God hedged in our way with thorns, that we -could no longer find them, and then we said, I will go and return to my -former husband, for then was it better with me than now."<a name="FNanchor_171_171" id="FNanchor_171_171"></a><a href="#Footnote_171_171" class="fnanchor">[171]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">NEW BISHOPS.</div> - -<p>Eight Bishops of the Irish Church were still living. Bramhall was -translated to the primacy as Archbishop of Armagh. Nominations to -vacant Sees followed; including that of Jeremy Taylor to the diocese -of Down and Conner, upon Henry Lesley being translated to Meath; but -his consecration was delayed until the 27th of January, 1661, when -ten new Bishops, and two old ones promoted to the Archiepiscopate, -were solemnly set apart in Saint Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[134]</a></span> -consecration of so many at one time has been pronounced, "an event -probably without a parallel in the Church."<a name="FNanchor_172_172" id="FNanchor_172_172"></a><a href="#Footnote_172_172" class="fnanchor">[172]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1660.</div> - -<p>We have crossed, almost unconsciously, from England to Ireland. Between -lies the Isle of Man; and this reminds us of what was going on there, a -short time before the remarkable consecration at Dublin. In the autumn -of 1660, Commissioners were engaged in reducing to order ecclesiastical -affairs. They summoned the clergy before them to exhibit their letters -of orders and of presentation; they enforced the use of the Prayer -Book, and of catechizing, the keeping also of feasts and fast days, -including the 30th of January, the day of King Charles' martyrdom, and -the 15th of October, the day of Earl James' martyrdom. The observance -of Lent was afterwards enjoined, with the customary penalties and -with provision for dispensations. Parish discipline was established -according to canon law; and, without any ejectment or any opposition, -the portion of the Church existing in that island submitted at once to -Episcopalian rule.<a name="FNanchor_173_173" id="FNanchor_173_173"></a><a href="#Footnote_173_173" class="fnanchor">[173]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">PERSECUTION.</div> - -<p>Returning to England, we remark that since certain old laws were deemed -by Churchmen as still in force, notwithstanding the legislature of the -last twenty years, they constituted an arsenal of weapons, with which -magistrates and others could, if they were disposed, grievously disturb -their Puritan neighbours. The <i>Canon law</i> prohibited dissent from the -Church under pain of excommunication. The same penalty was threatened -against all who affirmed that ministers not subscribing to the form of -worship in the Communion Book, might "truly take unto them the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span> name of -another Church not established by law," or that religious assemblies -other than such as by the law of the land were allowed, might -rightly challenge the name of true Churches, or that it was lawful -for any sort of ministers or lay persons, to join together to make -ecclesiastical rules or constitutions without the King's authority. -No minister, without license of the Bishop, could presume to hold -meetings for sermons. As all conventicles were hurtful to the state -of the Church, no ministers or other persons were to assemble in any -private house or elsewhere for ecclesiastical purposes, under pain of -excommunication.<a name="FNanchor_174_174" id="FNanchor_174_174"></a><a href="#Footnote_174_174" class="fnanchor">[174]</a> As to <i>Statute law</i>, the 1 Eliz. c. 2, required -all persons to resort to Church every Sunday and every day ordained a -holiday. The penalty of disobedience was a shilling fine, with Church -censure for every offence. The 23 Eliz. c. 1, made the fine twenty -pounds a month, and the offender who persevered for twelve months had -to be bound to good behaviour with two sureties in two hundred pounds, -until he conformed. To keep a schoolmaster who did not attend Church, -incurred a monthly fine of ten pounds. The 29 Eliz. c. 6, empowered -the Queen, by process out of the Exchequer, to seize the goods and -two parts of the real property of offenders, upon default of paying -their fines. The 35 Eliz. c. 1, made the frequenting of conventicles -punishable by imprisonment. Those who after conviction would not submit -were to abjure the realm. Refusal to abjure was felony, without benefit -of clergy.<a name="FNanchor_175_175" id="FNanchor_175_175"></a><a href="#Footnote_175_175" class="fnanchor">[175]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1660.</div> - -<p>These laws, however, do not suggest a full idea of all the -inconvenience and suffering to which Nonconformists, before the Civil -War, had been exposed. That we may<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span> understand fully the circumstances -in which they were placed, we must add the activity of spiritual -courts, the jurisdiction of the High Commission, and the indefinite -powers of the Crown. Nor do these laws, statute and canon, exhibit -all the forces of oppression which continued to exist after the -Restoration, and before the passing of the Act of Uniformity—forces -which could be brought into play at any moment, and in any situation. -Spiritual courts, it is true, had not yet been re-established; the -High Commission no longer existed. The power of the Crown had received -a check; but in addition to laws prohibitory of religious gatherings -outside the Establishment, there stood the law of Royal Supremacy, -which could not be taken by Papists, and was objected to by some -Protestant Dissenters. The statute, which had sent More and Fisher to -the block, brought sorrow upon a large number of unknown persons, who, -on a different principle from that adopted by those sufferers, objected -strongly to Royal Supremacy over causes ecclesiastical as well as -civil. Their resistance and their trouble, together with the perplexity -of magistrates respecting them, are illustrated in the following -extract of a letter written from Bristol, in the autumn of 1660:—"Be -pleased to take notice that no Quaker, or rarely any Anabaptist, will -take these oaths; so that the said oaths are refused by many hundreds -of their judgment, being persons of very dangerous principles, and -great enemies in this city to His Majesty's royal person, government, -and restoration—and some of them [are] petitioners to bring his -martyred Majesty, of blessed memory, to his trial,—and will -undoubtedly fly out again and kick up the heel against his sovereign -authority, should it be in their power, therefore [they] are not worthy -His Majesty's protection, refusing to swear loyalty to him. Besides,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[137]</a></span> -their said refusal, if suspended or connived at, will cause a general -discontent and repining in, by those His Majesty's loyal subjects who -have already taken, or are to take the said oaths; for 'tis already the -language of many of them, and these not a few, 'Why should any oaths be -imposed on or required of us? and the Quakers, Anabaptists, and others, -His Majesty's enemies, be gratified with a suspension thereof.' And -'tis the answer of others, 'If the Quakers, Anabaptists, and others of -dangerous practices and principles do, or are enforced to, take the -said oaths, then will we. In the interim, we want the same liberty -which is to them afforded.'" The writer next asks instructions to guide -him in his perplexity. "Sir," he continues, "these, I had almost said, -monsters of men with us are, yea more numerous than in all the West -of England; and here they all centre and have their meetings, at all -seasons till 9 of the clock at night, and later;—sometimes about 1,000 -or 1,200 at a time,—to the great affrightening of this city as to what -will be consequent thereof if not restrained, or should a suspension of -the said oaths be to them given."<a name="FNanchor_176_176" id="FNanchor_176_176"></a><a href="#Footnote_176_176" class="fnanchor">[176]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">PERSECUTION.<br /> -1660.</div> - -<p>Many persons had to suffer severely. In Wales the fire was first -kindled, and burnt most fiercely. Before the King landed at Dover the -Episcopalians in the Principality busied themselves in persecuting -Quakers. Several Nonconformists were imprisoned at Caermarthen, and the -gaol at Montgomery was so filled with them that the gaoler had to pack -them into garrets. Pitiful stories, with some exaggerations perhaps, -are told of sufferers in the May and June of 1660, who were dragged -out of their beds to prison, or like stray cattle driven into parish<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[138]</a></span> -pounds, or led in chains to the Quarter Sessions.<a name="FNanchor_177_177" id="FNanchor_177_177"></a><a href="#Footnote_177_177" class="fnanchor">[177]</a> If violence with -so wide a sweep did not rage on our side the border, the confessors for -conscience' sake in England were nevertheless numerous enough. In that -transitional state of things all sorts of irregular proceedings took -place. Even Philip Henry could not preach in quiet, but was presented -in the month of September, at the Flint assizes, for not reading the -Common Prayer. John Howe also fell into trouble for what he had said -in the pulpit; and it is not generally remembered that long before -the Uniformity, the Conventicle, and the Five Mile Acts were passed, -John Bunyan was cast into Bedford gaol.<a name="FNanchor_178_178" id="FNanchor_178_178"></a><a href="#Footnote_178_178" class="fnanchor">[178]</a> In England, as well as in -Wales, many Quakers and Anabaptists suffered a loathsome imprisonment. -If, in London, Nonconformity was strong, in the provinces it was -rapidly becoming otherwise. Bishops were busy; Episcopalian Rectors -were being restored, and Loyal Corporations were getting more and more -noisy in their demonstrations of zeal for Church and Crown. Grey-headed -squires, and nobles in Cavalier plumes and doublets, with their courtly -dames in rustling silks, and with their children in bright-coloured -sashes, and attended by servants clothed in gay liveries, sat with joy -before the crackling yule log that merry Christmas; and when the boar's -head and the roast beef had been despatched, they related stories of -their virtuous and devout King,<a name="FNanchor_179_179" id="FNanchor_179_179"></a><a href="#Footnote_179_179" class="fnanchor">[179]</a> and told their sons and daughters -of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[139]</a></span> gay doings and merry games of their own young days. The -mistletoe hanging in the hall corresponded with the holly suspended in -the Church; and the service, which members of these merry parties had -heard that Christmas morning for the first time, as they sat in the old -family pew, sustained worthy association with the pleasant festivities -of the afternoon and evening. Puritanism had been to them a religion -of restraint, and now the return of Bishops and Prayer Books brought -freedom and joy. Of course there were sentiments of a far higher order -cherished at that season, but the existence of much of the humbler -feeling now described may be taken for granted.</p> - - -<div class="sidenote">REACTION AGAINST PURITANISM.</div> - -<p>Other ceremonies besides those immediately connected with Christmas -time appeared that winter. Newspaper<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[140]</a></span> letters from Exeter, dated the -29th of December, 1660, announced the joyful welcome of Dr. Gauden, the -new Bishop of the diocese, who had been met by most of the gentry, to -the number of one hundred and twenty, and escorted by the High Sheriff, -with nearly five times as many horse; the Mayor and Aldermen in scarlet -and fur, waiting on His Lordship, amidst the ringing of bells. A week -later, Londoners saw, in the public prints, a glowing account of a -public Episcopalian christening at Dover—a most significant service -in a town where Anabaptists were numerous. So great a concourse, it -is reported, had seldom been seen, the Mayor being obliged to make -way that the children might reach the font, which had not been used -for nearly twenty years, and had now, by the care and prudence of the -Churchwardens, been set up for this solemnity.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1660.</div> - -<p>The reaction against the Puritanism of the Commonwealth, visible in so -many ways, received a fresh impulse from the insurrection of Venner -and his associates. This fanatical wine-cooper had been before laying -plots: in the month of April, 1657, he and his confederates, after -conferring at a Meeting House in Swan Alley, had assembled on Mile End -Green, when Cromwell sent a troop of horse, and seized him, with twenty -other ringleaders. The cause of Fifth Monarchism, during the season of -confusion consequent upon the resignation of the Protector Richard, -reappeared, and made itself heard through its irrepressibly loquacious -advocates, Rogers and Feake. The revival of their tenets, in connection -with a renewal of pure Republicanism under Sir Henry Vane and his -party, was of short duration; and there is nothing noticeable, in -connection with this form of religious sentiment, until Venner's second -outbreak.</p> - -<p>Instead of narrating that incident in words of my own,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[141]</a></span> I shall simply -use a letter, written respecting it in the midst of the excitement. The -circumstances mentioned at the close, although below the dignity of -history, are too amusing to be omitted.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">VENNER'S INSURRECTION.<br /> -1661.</div> - -<p>The writer is Sir John Finch; he directs his letter to Lord -Conway:—"My dearest and best Lord,—As for news, my last acquainted -you with the Duchess of York's coming to Court. I forgot to tell -you that the child was christened Charles, and created Duke of -Cambridge, and that His Majesty in person and the Duke of Albemarle -were godfathers, and my Lady of Ormond personated the Queen for -godmother. Our great news here is, that since His Majesty's departure -to Portsmouth there have been two great alarms. Upon Sunday night -about fifty Fifth Monarchy men, at ten o'clock, came to Mr. Johnson, -a bookseller at the north gate of St. Paul's, and there demanded the -keys of the Church, which he either not having, or refusing, they broke -open the door, and, setting their sentries, examined the passengers -who they were for, and one with a lantern replying that he was for -King Charles, they answered that they were for King Jesus, and shot -him through the head, where he lay as a spectacle all the next day. -This gave the alarm to the mainguard at the Exchange, who sent four -files of musketeers to reduce them. But the Fifth Monarchy men made -them run, which so terrified the City, that the Lord Mayor in person -came with his troop to reduce them. Before he arrived they drew off, -and at Aldersgate forced the constable to open the gate, and so marched -through Whitecross Street, where they killed another constable, and -so went into the woods near Highgate, where being almost famished, on -Wednesday morning, about five of the clock, fell again into the City, -and, with a mad courage, fell upon the guard and beat them, which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[142]</a></span> put -the City into such confusion, that the King's Life and all the City -regiments advanced against them. These forty men beat the Life Guard -and a whole regiment for half an hour's time. They refused all quarter; -but at length, Venner, their captain, a wine-cooper, after he had -received three shots, was taken, and nine more, and twenty slain. Six -got into a house, and refusing quarter, and with their blunderbusses -defending themselves, were slain. The Duke and the Duke of Albemarle, -with 700 horse, fell into the City; but all was over before they came. -This, my Lord, is strange, that all that are alive, being maimed, not -one person will confess anything concerning their accomplices, crying -that they will not betray the servants of the Lord Jesus to the kings -of the earth. Ludlow Major is committed close to the Tower for saying -he would kill the King. These things have produced their effects: that -no man shall have any arms that are not registered; that no man shall -live in the City that takes not the Oath of Allegiance; that no person -of any sect shall, out of his own house, exercise religious duties, -nor admit any into his house under penalty of arrest, which troubles -the Quakers and Anabaptists, who profess they knew not of this last -business. And, besides all this, His Majesty is resolved to raise a -new Army, and the general is not known; but I believe it will be the -Duke of Albemarle, rather than the Duke of York or Prince Rupert, in -regard he hath the office by patent, and in regard of his eminent -services. The Duke took it very unkind of my Lord Chamberlain that upon -information of Prince Rupert's attendants, his Lordship, in the Duke's -absence, searched his cellar for gunpowder, it being under the King's -seat at the Cockpit, and the Duke with his own hands so cudgelled the -informer that he hath almost maimed him;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[143]</a></span> and Prince Rupert assured the -Duke that he so resented it, that he was not content to put away his -servant, but offered to fight any person that set the design on foot. -However, the business is not made up, though my Lord Chamberlain told -the Duke he had done over hastily. The Princess Henrietta is sick of -the measles on shipboard; but out of danger of wind. Dr. Frasier hath -let her blood; I hope with better success than the rest of the royal -blood have had."<a name="FNanchor_180_180" id="FNanchor_180_180"></a><a href="#Footnote_180_180" class="fnanchor">[180]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">VENNER'S INSURRECTION.</div> - -<p>It may be mentioned, that this insurrection had been hatched at the -same place as the former one; and the conspirators are said to have -marched first to Rogers' old quarters at St. Thomas the Apostle, to -join nine of the party, and thence to Whitecross Street. It came as -the expiring flash of a fanatical creed, which had blended itself with -Puritanism, greatly to the detriment of the latter; and, dying out -rather slowly, it left behind the quiet element of Millenarianism, -which, at the present day, we find largely infused into the tenets of a -considerable class of Christians.</p> - -<p>Venner's explosion occurred on the 6th of January; but it is -remarkable, that four days before that date, an order was issued from -Council, forbidding the meetings of Anabaptists, Quakers, and other -sectaries, in large numbers, and at unusual times, and restricting -their assembling to their own parishes. Rumours of plots are alleged -as reasons for the decision thus adopted upon the 2nd of January; -but that decision plainly shows, that ere the insane enthusiasts of -Coleman Street had fired a shot, whatever liberty had been conceded -at Worcester House was now to suffer great abridgment. Venner's -insurrection could not be the cause of curtailing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[144]</a></span> the liberty of -the subject at that moment, though it proved a plausible argument -for the Proclamation which followed. The Proclamation appeared four -days after the riot; yet the terms of the document agree so closely -with those employed in the records of Council, as to indicate that, -with the exception of a reference to the disturbance of the peace -by bloodshed and murder, and some mention of Fifth Monarchy men, -little or no alteration could have been made in the phraseology. All -meetings, except those held in parochial churches and chapels, or in -private houses by the inhabitants, were declared seditious, and were -peremptorily forbidden.<a name="FNanchor_181_181" id="FNanchor_181_181"></a><a href="#Footnote_181_181" class="fnanchor">[181]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1661.</div> - -<p>Against Venner's insurrection the Independents protested; disowning -"the principles of a Fifth Monarchy, or the personal reign of King -Jesus on earth, as dishonourable to him and prejudicial to His Church," -and abhorring "the propagating this or any other opinion by force or -blood."<a name="FNanchor_182_182" id="FNanchor_182_182"></a><a href="#Footnote_182_182" class="fnanchor">[182]</a> The Baptists declared their obedience to Government, and -expressed a hope that they might enjoy what had been granted by His -Majesty's Declaration, and be protected, like other subjects, from -injury and violence.<a name="FNanchor_183_183" id="FNanchor_183_183"></a><a href="#Footnote_183_183" class="fnanchor">[183]</a> The Quakers also expressed their loyalty; -praying that their meetings might not be broken up, and that their -imprisoned members might be set at liberty. But these addresses neither -blunted the edge of Royal displeasure, nor removed the public suspicion -that many Nonconformists sympathized with the Fifth Monarchists. -Peaceable subjects, therefore, suffered insult and interruption. Horns -were blown at the doors of their houses, and stones were thrown at them -whilst they were at prayer; also, magistrates enforced the Oath of -Alle<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[145]</a></span>giance, which many Nonconformists, on different grounds, declined -to take.<a name="FNanchor_184_184" id="FNanchor_184_184"></a><a href="#Footnote_184_184" class="fnanchor">[184]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">BAXTER.<br /> -1661.</div> - -<p>Amongst other methods of annoyance was that of opening suspected -letters—a practice of which numerous illustrations will presently -appear. "I wrote a letter at this time," says Richard Baxter, "to -my mother-in-law, containing nothing but our usual matter. Even -encouragements to her in her age and weakness, fetched from the -nearness of her rest, together with the report of the news, and some -sharp and vehement words against the rebels. By the means of Sir John -Packington, or his soldiers, the post was searched, and my letter -intercepted, opened, and revised, and by Sir John sent up to London -to the Bishop and the Lord Chancellor, so that it was a wonder, that -having read it, they were not ashamed to send it up; but joyful would -they have been, could they but have found a word in it which could -possibly have been distorted to an evil sense, that malice might have -had its prey. I went to the Lord Chancellor and complained of this -usage, and that I had not the common liberty of a subject, to converse -by letters with my own family. He disowned it, and blamed men's -rashness, but excused it from the distempers of the times; and he and -the Bishops confessed they had seen the letter, and there was nothing -in it but what was good and pious. And two days after came the Lord -Windsor, Lord-Lieutenant of the County, and Governor of Jamaica, with -Sir Charles Littleton, the King's cupbearer, to bring<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[146]</a></span> me my letter -again to my lodgings; and the Lord Windsor told me, the Lord Chancellor -appointed him to do it. After some expression of my sense of the abuse, -I thanked him for his great civility and favour. <i>But I saw how far -that sort of men were to be trusted.</i>"<a name="FNanchor_185_185" id="FNanchor_185_185"></a><a href="#Footnote_185_185" class="fnanchor">[185]</a></p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[147]</a></span></p></div> - - -<h2>CHAPTER VII.</h2> - - -<p class="drop-cap p-left">The time had arrived for calling a new Parliament, since the Convention -lacked certain constitutional attributes: and it seemed a further -reason for summoning another House of Commons, that the Presbyterians -in the Convention, notwithstanding secessions from their ranks, were -still too numerous, and too troublesome, to be well managed by the -Court.</p> - -<p>Writs were issued upon the 9th of March, 1661; and, in ten days, the -whole country was found uproariously busy in the election of Knights -and Burgesses. The City of London took the lead; and, as so much new -and curious information on the subject is afforded by letters in the -State Paper Office, I shall largely make use of them in the present -chapter. It was known that the new Parliament would have important -ecclesiastical questions to settle, and therefore a great deal of -religious feeling became mixed up with the political sentiments of the -electors.</p> - -<p>The Guildhall of the City of London, though magnificently restored very -recently, carries back our thoughts to distant days, but it has rarely, -if ever, contained within its walls a throng so densely packed, or been -filled with shouts so dissonant, as on the 19th of March, 1661.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[148]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1661.</div> - -<p>In confused ways, the Lord Mayor and some of the Aldermen were -proposed as candidates:—Recorder Wylde, Sir John Robinson, Sir -Richard Ford, Sir Thomas Bloworth, Sir Nicholas Crisp, and Alderman -Adams, stood on the Royalist side; on the popular side, appeared -Alderman Thompson and Alderman Love—"godly men, and of good parts, -Congregationalists,"—Captain Jones, a Presbyterian, and Alderman -Foulke, "not much noted for religion, but a countenancer of good -ministers, one who was present at the act for abolishing Kingly -Government," and "deeply engaged in Bishops' lands." Recorder Wylde, -and Sir John Robinson, with Sir Richard Brown, and William Vincent, -had been City Members of the Convention Parliament; but the citizens -disliked them, because they were not sufficiently advanced in political -sentiments, and also because they had not opposed the abolition of -Purveyance, and the Court of Wards, the imposition of the Excise, and -the levying of Poll Money. The tide just then ran strongly in favour -of ultra-dissent. The candidates of the Royalist party, except Ford, -had scarcely a word spoken in their favour. The Recorder's name, Wylde, -awakened rude shouts, amidst which might be heard a feeble pun: "We -have been too <span class="smcap">WILD</span> already." Episcopacy stood at a discount, -and the old Hall echoed with cries of "No Bishops—no Bishops." Ten -thousand citizens in livery—no doubt an exaggeration—were computed to -be present; but the multitude, whatever the exact number, seemed of one -mind. A shrewd courtier in one corner whispered to an elector, that he -hoped what was going on there would be a warning to the Bishops. The -calling of nicknames, and the outpouring of ridicule, were shared, in -nearly equal portions, by the two parties. The Royalists pelted their -opponents with scurrilous abuse, yet they<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[149]</a></span> seemed to have nothing worse -to say of Alderman Thompson than "that he was a rare pedlar; so fond -of smoking, that his breath would poison a whole Committee." Jones -was also reproached for smoking; but the Captain was admitted by an -opponent to be an honest man, if amongst such a party there could be -one.<a name="FNanchor_186_186" id="FNanchor_186_186"></a><a href="#Footnote_186_186" class="fnanchor">[186]</a> No applause equalled that which his name called forth; and -when the opposite party would have had him omitted, "the Court never -left off crying, 'A Jones! a Jones!' till it was otherwise resolved." -Only a few hands were held up for the Recorder and his friends. The -election was all but unanimous, and no poll was demanded by the -candidates defeated at the hustings.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">NEW PARLIAMENT.</div> - -<p>Some Nonconforming ministers are noticed as interesting themselves -in this election, though "others, like Demas," wounded "their -consciences by complying somewhat." In an election squib, called <i>A -Dialogue between the two Giants in Guildhall</i>,—one Congregational -pastor is said "to bring a hundred, another of the holders forth -sixty, to the destruction of the beast." And as Gog and Magog are -represented discussing the matter, one of them—referring to the -union of Presbyterians and Independents in the election—observes, "I -thought these two, like two buckets, could not possibly be weighed up -together." "Yes," says his brother giant, "there is an engine called -Necessity, made with the screws of Interest, that doth it <i>secundum -artem</i>." Of course such publications are worth nothing as witnesses to -political facts, but they vividly bring to light the political contest; -and as they repeat the rumours they<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[150]</a></span> also reveal the hatred which -influenced the contending factions. Certain persons are mentioned as -taking part in the City strife in other ways than by heading mobs. "Mr. -Carill, and other eminent ministers, held a fast, and prayed heartily, -and God has heard them," writes an Independent to a friend in Norwich; -but Zachary Crofton is most frequently mentioned as a champion on the -side of the anti-episcopalian party. "A subtle, witty man," "bitter -against the Bishops," and "a great vexation to them." He "prosecuted -his argument last Lord's Day, and there were more people than could get -into the Church." "Thank God," says one, "that Mr. Crofton is still at -liberty; he preaches that Bishops are a human institution, and lead to -the Papacy." "Little Crofton," says another, "preaches against Bishop -Gauden every Sunday night, with an infinite auditory, itching, and -applause." Others, like Crofton, won popularity by political harangues. -"All who oppose Prelacy," observes a correspondent, who evidently -opposed it himself, and no doubt went to hear the men, whom he so -admiringly mentions, "are mightily followed as Dr. Seaman and others." -"Mr. Graffen had two thousand in the streets, who could not get into -the Tantling Meeting House, to hear him bang the Bishops, which theme -he doth most exquisitely handle." Crofton is often referred to in these -letters. He was prosecuted for writing inflammatory books with comical -titles, and being imprisoned in the Tower when the election was over, -and before the Coronation took place, he petitioned His Majesty for -release, that he might enjoy the approaching festival in liberty, as -well as with loyalty. This bustling Divine, like many others, pleaded -the sufferings he had endured for his attachment to Monarchy; and -attempted to excuse certain inconsiderate<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[151]</a></span> expressions employed by him -on matters beyond his sphere, on the ground that they were not written -with an evil intention.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1661.<br /> -NEW PARLIAMENT.</div> - -<p>The citizens, talking over the great folk-mote of the morning, retired -to their wainscoted parlours in the evening, and putting pen to paper, -wrote to their friends in the country. Some deplored the election of -the fanatics. Some jubilantly proclaimed the Liberal triumph. What -they said, however, mattered little. The letters never reached their -destination.<a name="FNanchor_187_187" id="FNanchor_187_187"></a><a href="#Footnote_187_187" class="fnanchor">[187]</a> They were pilfered at the post office. In vain people -in the country waited for the arrival of the post-boy in those windy -March days; in vain the Londoners expected answers to their epistles. -Those time-stained, yellowish-looking sheets, of all shapes and sizes, -and of varied and often puzzling caligraphy, are still safe in the -Public Record Office.</p> - -<p>The object of the interception was to find out if there were anything -treasonable in the correspondence; or to prevent Liberal citizens -from influencing country constituences. Whether, if the letters had -been delivered, they would have altered the results of the general -election, may be doubted. At all events, the elections were in favour -of the Royalists.<a name="FNanchor_188_188" id="FNanchor_188_188"></a><a href="#Footnote_188_188" class="fnanchor">[188]</a> Government influence was employed. Corporations -returning members had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[152]</a></span> been purged of disaffected elements;<a name="FNanchor_189_189" id="FNanchor_189_189"></a><a href="#Footnote_189_189" class="fnanchor">[189]</a> -and no doubt manifold tricks were played. Nor can we believe they -were confined to one side. But, independently of unconstitutional -interference, there were causes which will account for the success of -the Cavaliers. Many old Presbyterian and Independent politicians had -become ineligible through political offences. The zeal of the nobility -and of the Episcopalian clergy told powerfully in favour of old -Royalists. Great in many boroughs and counties was the popularity of -candidates who had fought at Edgehill, at Marston Moor, or at Naseby, -under the banner of Charles I.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1661.<br /> - -NEW PARLIAMENT.</div> - -<p>Of the members returned there were four men who in the Long Parliament -had appeared as leaders. John Maynard, who was a manager in the trial -of Laud—who had taken the Covenant, and had been a member of the -Westminster Assembly—represented Beralston;<a name="FNanchor_190_190" id="FNanchor_190_190"></a><a href="#Footnote_190_190" class="fnanchor">[190]</a> but he had now become -so noted for his loyalty, that, in consideration of it, as well as -his legal eminence, Charles II. made him a serjeant, and conferred -upon him knighthood, in the month of November, 1660. Several notices -of speeches delivered by Maynard may be found in the <i>Parliamentary -History</i>; but, except as an opponent of Popery, he does not appear to -have taken any important part in ecclesiastical questions. John Glynne, -who, when Recorder of London, had advocated Presbyterianism, now sat -for Caernarvonshire; and, like his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[153]</a></span> friend Maynard, enjoyed the honour -of serjeantship, and was knighted for his loyalty at the Restoration. -There remains no indication of his having taken any part in the debates -of the House, from which he was removed by death in 1667.<a name="FNanchor_191_191" id="FNanchor_191_191"></a><a href="#Footnote_191_191" class="fnanchor">[191]</a> William -Prynne—who had suffered so much as a Puritan, had written so much as a -Presbyterian, and had spoken so much as a Royalist—now took his place -on the benches of St. Stephen's as a member for Bath; but no mention -is made of his ever speaking, except once, when he uttered a few words -relative to the impeachment of Lord Clarendon.<a name="FNanchor_192_192" id="FNanchor_192_192"></a><a href="#Footnote_192_192" class="fnanchor">[192]</a> Sir Harbottle -Grimston—another well-known Presbyterian, who also was Speaker of -the Convention—again appeared as a member of the House of Commons, -representing the town of Colchester. But in his case, as in the others, -Presbyterianism now was absorbed in the return of loyalty; and no -words, that we can find, fell from his lips touching Church subjects, -excepting a few against Roman Catholicism.<a name="FNanchor_193_193" id="FNanchor_193_193"></a><a href="#Footnote_193_193" class="fnanchor">[193]</a> These men, after all -their zeal in former days, said little or nothing in Parliament on -behalf of religious liberty after the Restoration. Besides these four, -may be mentioned Colonel Birch, a Lancashire Presbyterian, who having -in the Long Parliament and in Cromwell's Parliaments represented -Leominster, was in 1661, returned for the borough of Penryn. This -gentleman frequently spoke on the side of civil and spiritual freedom. -Hugh Boscawen, who had been member for Cornwall and Truro, under the -Protectorate, now sat for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[154]</a></span> Tregony, but scarcely ever opened his lips. -The same may be remarked of Griffith Bodurda, member for Beaumaris.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1661.</div> - -<p>Presbyterianism or Independency in particular could not be said to be -represented in the new House of Commons; and Puritanism in general -could scarcely be regarded as finding full and decided expression -within those walls, where twenty years before it had been so triumphant.</p> - -<p>Parliament assembled on the 8th of May.<a name="FNanchor_194_194" id="FNanchor_194_194"></a><a href="#Footnote_194_194" class="fnanchor">[194]</a> The Upper House presented -more of its ancient appearance than recently it had done; for although -the Bishops were not yet restored, more than a hundred Peers took their -seats—a striking contrast to the opening of the Convention, when only -five Earls, one Viscount, and four Barons mustered in the Chamber. His -Majesty, crowned and wearing his regal robes, ascended the throne, -attended on each side by Officers of State, including a few who had -favoured Presbyterianism. The Commons took their places below the bar.</p> - -<p>The King kept silence on Church matters, unless he may have referred -to the Breda Declaration, when saying that he valued himself much upon -keeping his word, and upon making good whatever he had promised to his -subjects. The Lord Chancellor, after an allusion to the constitution -and disorders of the State—its stomach and appetite, its humour and -fevers—indignantly inquired, "What good Christian can think without -horror of these ministers of the Gospel, who by their function should -be the messengers of peace, and are in their practice the only trumpets -of war, and incendiaries towards rebellion?"<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[155]</a></span> Such preaching he -pronounced to be a sin against the Holy Ghost.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">COMMISSION FOR CONFERENCE.</div> - -<p>Sir Edward Turner, a thorough Royalist, was elected Speaker; and, when -presented to the King, he delivered one of those tiresome speeches -which were so characteristic of the age.<a name="FNanchor_195_195" id="FNanchor_195_195"></a><a href="#Footnote_195_195" class="fnanchor">[195]</a></p> - -<p>The House ordered that the Communion of the Lord's Supper should, on -Sunday, the 26th of January, be celebrated at St. Margaret's Church, -according to the Liturgy of the Church of England; and that no one -who did not partake of this sacrament should be allowed to enter the -House.<a name="FNanchor_196_196" id="FNanchor_196_196"></a><a href="#Footnote_196_196" class="fnanchor">[196]</a></p> - -<p>We must now leave the transactions of Parliament for awhile, that -we may attend to the proceedings of two ecclesiastical bodies, -contemporaneously engaged in discussing affairs over which Parliament -exercised supreme control.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1661.</div> - -<p>The Worcester House Declaration had spoken of a revision of the -Liturgy. The King said, he found some exceptions made against several -things therein—and would appoint an equal number of learned Divines of -both persuasions, to review the same; and to make such alterations as -should be thought necessary. In formal agreement with this promise, a -Royal Commission was issued. Twelve Bishops, with nine coadjutors, were -chosen to represent the Episcopalians, and twelve leading Divines, also -with nine coadjutors, were chosen to represent the Presbyterians.<a name="FNanchor_197_197" id="FNanchor_197_197"></a><a href="#Footnote_197_197" class="fnanchor">[197]</a> -The Chancellor arranged that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[156]</a></span> Dr. Reynolds—already consecrated -Bishop of Norwich, he having accepted that see, with the idea that -the Declaration would be carried out, but who, inconsistent as it may -seem, still bore the name of a Presbyterian,—and Calamy, who remained -a Presbyterian in reality, should nominate the Commissioners on their -side of the question. Baxter expressed a wish to have his name omitted; -for he found he had made himself unacceptable to the opposite party, -but he observes, he could not prevail unless he had "peremptorily -refused it"—words which do not indicate any earnestness in declining -office. Indeed it is impossible to conceive that Baxter could have -endured to hear of such a debate as was now at hand, without taking -a leading part in it himself. Moreover, he had so far recognized -Episcopal authority, as to seek from Sheldon a license publicly to -preach, and as a condition of obtaining it, he gave a written promise -not to speak against the doctrines of the Church or the ceremonies -established by law, a circumstance which certainly showed his -disposition to concede as much as possible.<a name="FNanchor_198_198" id="FNanchor_198_198"></a><a href="#Footnote_198_198" class="fnanchor">[198]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[157]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote">COMMISSION FOR CONFERENCE.</div> - -<p>The Royal Commission bore date the 25th of March.<a name="FNanchor_199_199" id="FNanchor_199_199"></a><a href="#Footnote_199_199" class="fnanchor">[199]</a> It gave the -Commissioners authority to review the Book of Common Prayer—to compare -it with the most ancient Liturgies—to take into consideration all -things which it contained—to consult respecting the exceptions against -it—and by agreement to make such necessary alterations as should -afford satisfaction to tender consciences, and restore to the Church -unity and peace; the instrument appointed "the Master's lodgings in the -Savoy" as the place of meeting.</p> - -<p>Sheldon having borne off from all competitors the appointment to -the Mastership of that Hospital,<a name="FNanchor_200_200" id="FNanchor_200_200"></a><a href="#Footnote_200_200" class="fnanchor">[200]</a> it was under his roof that -the approaching Ecclesiastical Debates were to take place; perhaps -convenience sought by the Master as well as convenience afforded by -the hall in the palace, might influence the selection; and it becomes -a curious coincidence that the scene of these debates—professedly -for the purpose of effecting union between Conformists and -Nonconformists—should be a building under the control of a High -Churchman, and yet one which had witnessed the consultations of -Independents; for they had drawn up a Confession of Faith and Order -within those very walls about eighteen months before. That meeting -had borne some resemblance to the Westminster Assembly, since the -Confession adopted by it, though never an authoritative standard, -remained long in honour amongst Congregationalists; but the Conference -which now took place was not intended to settle<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[158]</a></span> points of faith, nor -did it issue in any practical conclusion whatever.<a name="FNanchor_201_201" id="FNanchor_201_201"></a><a href="#Footnote_201_201" class="fnanchor">[201]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1661.</div> - -<p>The Commissioners were summoned to meet upon the 15th of April; but -before that day arrived, arrangements were made for another kind -of Ecclesiastical Assembly, the contemporary existence of which is -often overlooked, although it be of the utmost importance for the -understanding of the one, that we should carefully consider the -contemporary existence of the other.</p> - -<p>Hesitancy, if not a deeper feeling, appears in reference to a regular -Convocation of the clergy at that time. If the Breda and Worcester -House Declarations had meant what they said, an assembly gathered on -the principle of former Convocations could not with the least propriety -be held at this juncture: however, now that the old constitution -of national government had resumed its place, some High Churchmen -inferred, and earnestly contended, that ancient ecclesiastical as -well as civil arrangements had become virtually re-established; and -therefore, that Convocation ought to be summoned at the opening -of Parliament. But to summon Convocation would be to nullify the -Conference.</p> - -<p>Dr. Peter Heylyn—the admiring biographer of Archbishop Laud—was -aware of the difficulty, at this crisis, of convoking the clergy after -the ancient manner; and at the beginning of the month of March, 1661, -he referred to it as raising sad thoughts in the hearts of those who -wished for the peace and happiness of the English Sion.<a name="FNanchor_202_202" id="FNanchor_202_202"></a><a href="#Footnote_202_202" class="fnanchor">[202]</a> The matter -came before the Council Board at Whitehall, on the 10th of April; and -it was then ordered, that the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[159]</a></span> Lord Chancellor should direct the Clerk -of the Crown to draw up the writs for Convocation in the usual form. -This occurred more than a fortnight after the date of the Commission, -and five days before the Commissioners were to meet. Clarendon remarks -that at the time when the King "issued out his writs for convening -the Parliament, he had likewise sent summons to the Bishops, for the -meeting of the clergy in Convocation, which is the legal synod in -England; <i>against the coming together whereof the Liturgy would be -finished, which His Majesty intended to send thither to be examined, -debated, and confirmed</i>. And then he hoped to provide, with the -assistance of the Parliament, such a settlement in religion, as would -prevent any disorder in the State upon those pretences."<a name="FNanchor_203_203" id="FNanchor_203_203"></a><a href="#Footnote_203_203" class="fnanchor">[203]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">CONVOCATION.</div> - -<p>Not to dwell upon this instance of carelessness respecting -dates—inasmuch as the writ for calling a Parliament is dated the 9th -of March, and the summons for a Convocation the 11th of April—it is -worth asking, what is meant by the Liturgy being finished against -the coming together of Convocation? It could not mean that in -the Conference the Liturgy was to be finished; for that would be -contradicted by the whole policy of the Bishops. Surely it must mean -that the King and his Minister intended that the Liturgy should be -finished by the Bishops themselves, as it will afterwards appear, it -really was by Cosin and others before Convocation met, without any -regard to the transactions of the Conference; and if such was the case, -the issue of the Conference is seen to have been determined at the -commencement.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1661.</div> - -<p>When the 15th of April arrived, the Commissioners came together—and -the Presbyterians must have been as much vexed as the Anglicans would -be pleased, not only<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[160]</a></span> with the treatment of the business of the -Worcester House Declaration in the House of Commons, but with the -prospect of Convocation meeting for business at the same time as they -themselves were engaged in the appointed Conference. The Commissioners -met upon unequal terms. All London was astir with the approaching -Convocation; and the Officers of the Crown and of the Herald's College -had just been busy in examining claims and searching precedents -relative to the solemnity.</p> - -<p>In the order of procession, and the details of the ceremonial, the -Bishops who now assembled found, together with other Bishops, places -of distinction and functions of importance assigned to them. Sheldon, -Bishop of London, was to officiate, in part, in the room of the -Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Juxon, the latter being now old and full -of years, and incapable of performing the whole duty pertaining to his -office on the occasion. Cosin, Bishop of Durham, was to support the -King on one side beneath the canopy borne by the Barons of the Cinque -Ports, and to assist His Majesty in certain portions of the ceremony. -Warner, Bishop of Rochester, was to deliver the prelates' petition to -the King, praying him to preserve to them all canonical privileges. -King, Bishop of Chichester, was to read the Epistle before the Holy -Communion. Morley, Bishop of Worcester, was to preach the sermon. -Gauden, Bishop of Exeter, was to carry the <i>patena</i>. These Bishops, -with the rest of their brethren, besides discharging high offices in -particular, were generally to swell the grandeur of the procession, -and, in doing homage, to kiss the King on the left cheek before any -Marquis or Duke was allowed the privilege. Besides—Earle, Dean of -Westminster, was to assist at the anointing, to put the coif, with the -<i>colobium<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[161]</a></span> sindonis</i>, or surplice, upon the Royal person. Heylyn was -to carry the sceptre with the cross; while other Doctors of Divinity -were to bear the sceptre with the dove, the orb with the cross, King -Edward's staff, the chalice, the spoon, and the ampulla.<a name="FNanchor_204_204" id="FNanchor_204_204"></a><a href="#Footnote_204_204" class="fnanchor">[204]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">SAVOY CONFERENCE.</div> - -<p>The ceremony of the Coronation, according to immemorial usage, -was to be an Episcopalian ceremony. Of course no part could be -assigned to Presbyterians, unless—as in the case of the Bishop of -Norwich—Presbyterianism clothed itself in the robes of Prelacy. -Presbyterians, <i>as such</i>, had been appointed Chaplains and preached -before the King; but, <i>as such</i>, they were passed by in the gorgeous -ceremonies of Westminster. This fact is very significant, and it -bore immediately upon the nature, and on the probable issues of the -Conference. It has often been said, that the Presbyterians were in -the saddle at the time of the Restoration; it is as plain that the -Episcopalians were in the saddle at the time of the Coronation and the -Conference. A meeting at the Savoy, between Divines of the two schools, -to consult respecting a revision of the Prayer Book, in the spring of -1660, would have been a perfectly different affair from such a meeting -in the spring of 1661. Something at least like equal terms might at the -former date have been secured, although Presbyters were then beginning -to give way to Priests; but it is plain that at the later date the men -of Geneva stood no chance with those of Canterbury. Episcopacy and the -Liturgy were in possession. Presbyterianism had no chance of displacing -or even modifying either. According to the terms of the Commission, all -the members stood on an equality, but their positions in point of fact -differed exceedingly.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[162]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1661.</div> - -<p>Nor must it be imagined that the hopelessness of the scheme arose -entirely from the fact of political and social superiority on one side: -it sprung also from causes at work on the other side. Without repeating -what has been already said, I would remark that a gulf had yawned -between them ever since the opening of the Civil Wars. They had been -placed in strong mutual antagonism by the revolutionary ecclesiastical -changes effected by the Long Parliament. Besides this, the doctrinal -differences between the Anglicans and the Puritans so sharply defined, -and so resolutely maintained, still kept them wide asunder. Moreover, -their opposite modes of expressing devotion, the love of litanies with -their responses, and of collects with their brevity, on the one hand, -and the love of prayers vocally offered by the minister, and running -into great length, on the other, served effectually to strengthen and -to heighten the dividing barrier. The results which ensued fulfilled -this reasonable anticipation of failure.</p> - -<p>What in those days remained of the old Savoy Palace,—one of the -three most sumptuous edifices<a name="FNanchor_205_205" id="FNanchor_205_205"></a><a href="#Footnote_205_205" class="fnanchor">[205]</a> erected by the most penurious of -monarchs—presented externally a fine architectural appearance on the -river side; within there existed a very spacious hall, with a ceiling -of timber curiously wrought, "having knobs in due places hanging down, -and images of angels holding before their breasts coats of arms." Under -the shadow of that roof, and within walls of stone and brick, "three -foot broad at least,"<a name="FNanchor_206_206" id="FNanchor_206_206"></a><a href="#Footnote_206_206" class="fnanchor">[206]</a> representative men of two ecclesiastical -systems, some of them after twenty years of strife, met face to face on -formal terms of truce. Two of the Divines, Calamy,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[163]</a></span> the Presbyterian, -and Hacket, the Episcopalian, had, in 1641, under the presidency of -Archbishop Williams, taken part in a similar conference; several, -on different sides now, had in early days, in the Universities and -elsewhere, been friendly or civil towards each other; but memories of -the Deanery of Westminster augured little of hope for the Savoy Palace, -and the influence of former private intercourse stood little chance of -overcoming the party spirit evoked on this new occasion.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">SAVOY CONFERENCE.</div> - -<p>Before we notice any of the papers exchanged, or any of the words -spoken, it is proper to look at the more notable men who appeared -at this meeting. There was Sheldon himself—a chief adviser, yet -taking little share in the <i>vivâ voce</i> discussions, a man as full -of worldly policy, as he was agreeable and pleasant in his manners. -There was Morley, a leader next to Sheldon, and a prominent debater, -genial and witty, but extremely passionate and full of obstinacy. -There was Cosin, bringing with him a high reputation for learning -and devoutness, blended with strong Anglo-Catholic feeling, which -had, however, been somewhat checked of late.<a name="FNanchor_207_207" id="FNanchor_207_207"></a><a href="#Footnote_207_207" class="fnanchor">[207]</a> There was Gauden, -who had conformed to the state of things under the Commonwealth, and -was still inclined to moderation, yet aiming to bring all within the -ranks of revived Episcopalianism. There was Gunning, an unequalled -textuary, a pre-eminent controversialist in an age of controversy, -a public disputant of singular fame in an age of disputation, -fervent in spirit, eager in speech, zealous for Arminianism and -ritualistic worship, and vehement in his advocacy of "high imposing -principles."<a name="FNanchor_208_208" id="FNanchor_208_208"></a><a href="#Footnote_208_208" class="fnanchor">[208]</a> And there was Pearson, the most gifted,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[164]</a></span> perhaps, -on the Episcopalian side—enriched with large and varied stores of -divinity, and distinguished by that closeness of thought, and that -judicious selection of proofs which secure eminence to the advocate, -and success at the bar.<a name="FNanchor_209_209" id="FNanchor_209_209"></a><a href="#Footnote_209_209" class="fnanchor">[209]</a> There was also Reynolds, a Presbyterian -Bishop—by his position marked out to take a leading part in the -Conference, and to be a healing mediator, using his influence to soften -the temper of his more prelatical brethren; but he brought to the work -a feeble character, and had lost rather than gained moral weight by the -acceptance of a mitre.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1661.</div> - -<p>The Presbyterians were led by Baxter—an acute metaphysician, a keen -debater, subtle and fertile in mind, in character honest, and open -as the day—possessing at all times in abundance the silvern gift of -speech—rarely, if ever, showing the golden gift of silence. He lacked -that sobriety of judgment, that patience under contradiction, that -employment of means for attainable results, and that common-sense -acquaintance with men and things, which are essential to success -in all deliberations. Calamy does not appear as a speaker in the -Conference, but he played an active part in Committees. Proofs of -his general eminence are afforded by his preaching before Parliament -when the King was voted home, by his being one of the deputation sent -to wait on His Majesty, and by the offer made to him of a Bishopric. -Proofs of his fitness to occupy a place in the Commission are supplied -by his reputation for learning, for prudence, for dignity, and for -courtier-like bearing. Moreover, as in early life, he had been moderate -in his views, and had, therefore, been chosen as one of the Committee -in 1641, under the presidency of Williams,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[165]</a></span> so at the Restoration -he wished for a comprehensive ecclesiastical scheme, and would have -accepted the preferment offered him, had the Worcester Declaration -become constitutional law. Bates, a Presbyterian, renowned for candour, -is particularly commended by Baxter for solidity, judiciousness, and -pertinence in debate, but he lacked the vehemence of the pastor of -Kidderminster. Jacomb, Newcomen, and Clarke were active in Committee.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">SAVOY CONFERENCE.</div> - -<p>Jacomb is described as a man of superior education, of a staid mind, -of temperate passions, moderate in his counsels, and in the management -of affairs, not vehement and confident, not imposing and overbearing, -but receptive of advice, and yielding to reason. Newcomen, like Calamy, -belonged to the five Divines who wrote <i>Smectymnuus</i>, a circumstance -of no favourable omen in the estimation of opponents. Clarke, pious, -charitable, laborious, and fond of biography, is still well-known for -his <i>Martyrology</i> and for his <i>Lives</i>.<a name="FNanchor_210_210" id="FNanchor_210_210"></a><a href="#Footnote_210_210" class="fnanchor">[210]</a></p> - -<p>Frewen, Archbishop of York, opened the proceedings by apologizing for -his ignorance of the business, and by stating that he should leave all -in the hands of the Bishop of London. That prelate proposed at once -that the Presbyterians should reduce their objections to writing, to -which they replied that the meeting was intended to be a conference, -and that free debate would best prepare for an ultimate agreement. The -Bishop adhered to his first proposal, and Baxter falling in with it, -prevailed on his brethren to do the same.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1661.</div> - -<p>According to the terms of the Commission, they met together to -"advise" and to "consult," and the professed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[166]</a></span> character and object -of the Commission implied that there was to be friendly conference -and mutual concession. But the Bishops manifested no disposition to -concede anything; they assumed the port and bearing of persons who -were in the ascendant, and who had to do with troublesome people, -asking disagreeable favours. They had made up their minds not to -speak freely,—and as men of business, and as stern conservators bent -upon keeping up the ancient restrictions of their Church, the course -which they pursued could be plausibly defended. Perhaps it would have -mattered little in the end if Baxter's colleagues had persevered in -their objections; yet his falling at once into the trap, and his so -eagerly adopting the method of written communications, especially of -the kind which he contemplated, showed how little he had of the wisdom -of the serpent. The Bishops required the Presbyterian exceptions and -additions to the Prayer Book to be presented at once; but Baxter -succeeded so far as to obtain permission for bringing in exceptions -at one time, and additions at another; and it was arranged that his -brethren should prepare the former, and that he should prepare the -latter. The two parties separated, the Presbyters to prepare for the -future Conference, the Prelates for the Coronation. The Coronation was -very magnificent.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">SAVOY CONFERENCE.</div> - -<p>Clarendon informs us:—"The King went early in the morning to the -Tower of London, in his coach, most of the Lords being there before; -and about ten of the clock they set forward towards Whitehall, ranged -in that order as the Heralds had appointed; those of the Long Robe, -the King's Council-at-law, the Masters of the Chancery and Judges -going first; and so the Lords in their order, very splendidly habited, -on rich footcloths; the number of their footmen being limited, to -the Dukes ten, to the Earls eight, and to the Viscounts six, and the -Barons<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[167]</a></span> four, all richly clad, as their other servants were. The whole -show was the most glorious in the order and expense that had been ever -seen in England; they who rode first being in Fleet Street when the -King issued out of the Tower, as was known by the discharge of the -ordnance; and it was near three of the clock in the afternoon when -the King alighted at Whitehall. The next morning the King rode in the -same state in his robes, and with his crown on his head, and all the -Lords in their robes, to Westminster Hall, where all the ensigns for -the Coronation were delivered to those who were appointed to carry -them, the Earl of Northumberland being made High Constable, and the -Earl of Suffolk Earl Marshal for the day; and then all the Lords in -their order, and the King himself walked on foot upon blue cloth from -Westminster Hall to the Abbey Church, where, after a sermon preached -by Dr. Morley (then Bishop of Worcester), in Henry VII.'s Chapel, the -King was sworn, crowned, and anointed by Dr. Juxon, Archbishop of -Canterbury, with all the solemnity that in those cases had been used. -All which being done, the King returned in the same manner on foot to -Westminster Hall, which was adorned with rich hangings and statues; and -there the King dined, and the Lords on either side, at tables provided -for them; and all other ceremonies were performed with great order and -magnificence."<a name="FNanchor_211_211" id="FNanchor_211_211"></a><a href="#Footnote_211_211" class="fnanchor">[211]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[168]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1661.</div> - -<p>In the beginning of May the elections occurred for members of -Convocation. The two theories already noticed, regarding the Church of -England at that juncture, came into collision in these elections. The -Presbyterians maintained that the existing establishment was the Church -of England, that they were legally members of that Establishment, -that they held their maintenances by a claim as valid as that of any -of their brethren. The new Act of Uniformity had not yet been passed, -and, therefore, there was no flaw in their title to be considered part -of the English clergy. But the High Church party fell back upon their -favourite idea that the Church of England was the Episcopal Church. -Then, as always, they could plead laws, as good arguments when in their -favour; then, as always, they set aside laws when against them. Even -allowing that the Church of England might be exclusively an Episcopal -Church <i>de jure</i>, it was not so at that time, <i>de lege</i>, or <i>de facto</i>. -But the Episcopalian party managed to get the power into their hands, -and to exercise it. Presbyterians accordingly were pronounced unfit to -be elected, and Episcopalians were returned.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">SAVOY CONFERENCE.</div> - -<p>There were Presbyterians who disapproved of the constitution of -Convocation; Baxter, Bates, and Jacomb distinctly said,—not only -many hundreds of their ministerial brethren were displaced or removed -before the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[169]</a></span> meeting of the Convocation and others denied their votes, -because they were not ordained by Diocesans; but there were others -who disapproved of the way in which Convocation was constituted, and, -therefore, would not meddle in the choice of its members; whether -such persons would feel themselves bound by its determination it was -impossible to predict.<a name="FNanchor_212_212" id="FNanchor_212_212"></a><a href="#Footnote_212_212" class="fnanchor">[212]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1661.</div> - -<p>Upon the 2nd of May the election of London members for the Lower House -of Convocation took place in Christ Church. The metropolitan ministers, -who were not yet ejected, proved a majority against the diocesan -party, and when Baxter expressed his intention of being present, they -sent to their busy friend not to come, and also begged Calamy to -absent himself; the object being to secure the election of these two -Presbyters, who were accordingly chosen by a majority of three. The -Bishop of London, however, as Baxter remarks, "having the power of -choosing two out of four, or four out of six, that are chosen by the -ministers in a certain circuit, did give us the great use of being both -left out, and so we were excused, and the City of London had no clerk -in the Convocation."<a name="FNanchor_213_213" id="FNanchor_213_213"></a><a href="#Footnote_213_213" class="fnanchor">[213]</a> Sheldon naturally preferred men of his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[170]</a></span> -own way of thinking, and selected out of the names presented to him, -those of Dr. Haywood and Mr. Thorndike; the latter eminent Divine being -removed as far as possible from all sympathy with Puritans. Hence arose -the result that the Presbyterian portion of the City clergy at the time -holding parish livings, and being therefore, in fact, members of the -Establishment, had no one to represent them in Convocation; and the -passing over by Sheldon of the two Presbyterian Divines, although not -at all surprising under the circumstances, should be borne in mind, in -connection with the meeting held at the Savoy only two days afterwards. -The circumstance would not be forgotten on either side, but would be -regarded by the two parties with very different feelings, when Sheldon -at his lodgings met those who were discarded candidates.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">SAVOY CONFERENCE.</div> - -<p>Upon the 4th of May the exceptions were presented. The principal -persons employed in drawing them up were Calamy, Newcomen, Bates, -Clarke, Wallis, and Jacomb, and—which will surprise many readers—Dr. -Reynolds; so that the Bishop of Norwich must be regarded as sharing -in the responsibility of preparing these Presbyterian objections to -the Prayer Book.<a name="FNanchor_214_214" id="FNanchor_214_214"></a><a href="#Footnote_214_214" class="fnanchor">[214]</a> Baxter, though not at first assisting in this -division of labour, afterwards helped in the work. His objections -were more minute than his brethren approved, but he wished them to -understand he did not, like some, charge the Common Prayer with -idolatry or false worship, he only took its faults to be "disorder and -defectivenesss;" this, he thought, was the mind of all the Presbyterian -Commissioners except one. They pleaded in their paper that as the -first Reformers<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[171]</a></span> composed the Liturgy with a view to win over Papists, -the Liturgy ought now to be revised so as to gain upon the judgments -and affections of all substantial Protestants. They suggested that -repetitions, responses, and an alternate reading of psalms and hymns, -which "cause a confused murmur in the congregation," should be omitted; -that the Litany, a great part of which was uttered only by the people, -should be formed into one prayer, to be offered by the minister, who -according to Scripture is the mouth of the people to God—a very -remarkable objection, it may be noticed by the way, coming as it did -from men who professed to hold unpriestly views of worship. They -further requested that neither Lent nor saints' days should be any -longer observed; that free prayer should be allowed; that it should be -permissible for the minister to omit part of the Liturgy as occasion -might require; that King James' translation should alone be used at -Church; that only the Old and New Testament might be read in the daily -lessons; that no part of the Communion Service should take place at the -communion table, except at the administration of the Lord's Supper; -that the word "minister" should be employed instead of "priest," and -the "Lord's Day" instead of "Sunday;" that the version of the psalter -should be amended; that obsolete words should be altered into others -generally received; and that phrases presuming the congregation to -be regenerated and in a state of grace should be revised. These -Commissioners further said, that the Liturgy was defective in praise -and thanksgiving; that the confession and catechism were imperfect; and -that the surplice, the signing of the cross, and kneeling at the Lord's -Supper, were unwarrantable. The objectors took special exception to -certain expressions in the daily service, and to the rubrics. But their -objections related<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[172]</a></span> mainly to the forms for the ordinance of baptism; -the celebration of matrimony; the visitation of the sick; and the -burial of the dead.<a name="FNanchor_215_215" id="FNanchor_215_215"></a><a href="#Footnote_215_215" class="fnanchor">[215]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1661.</div> - -<p>Parallels may be noticed between the exceptions taken on this occasion, -and those taken in William's Committee of 1641.<a name="FNanchor_216_216" id="FNanchor_216_216"></a><a href="#Footnote_216_216" class="fnanchor">[216]</a></p> - -<p>The Presbyterians requested that instead of the words in the -prayer before baptism, "May receive remission of sins by spiritual -regeneration," the form might run thus: "May be regenerated and receive -the remission of sins." In reference to the words afterwards, "That it -hath pleased Thee to regenerate this infant by Thy Holy Spirit," it is -remarkable, that the objection is couched in cautious terms. "We cannot -in faith say that every child that is baptized is 'regenerated by God's -Holy Spirit,' at least, it is a disputable point, and therefore we -desire it may be otherwise expressed." Confirmation is not condemned, -but it is urged, that for children to repeat <i>memoriter</i> the Apostles' -Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the Ten Commandments, and to answer -some questions of the catechism, is not a sufficient preparation for -the rite; and that it ought, according to His Majesty's declaration, -to be "solemnly performed by the information, and with the consent -of the minister of the place." In relation to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[173]</a></span> the words "who hast -vouchsafed to regenerate these Thy servants by water and the Holy -Ghost, and hast given unto them the forgiveness of all their sins," -the objectors remark, "This supposeth that all the children who are -brought to be confirmed have the Spirit of Christ and the forgiveness -of all their sins; whereas a great number of children at that age, -having committed many sins since their baptism, do show no evidence of -serious repentance, or of any special saving grace; and therefore this -confirmation (if administered to such) would be a perilous and gross -abuse."<a name="FNanchor_217_217" id="FNanchor_217_217"></a><a href="#Footnote_217_217" class="fnanchor">[217]</a> It should be added, that the Presbyterians disapproved -of confirmation being made necessary for preparing communicants. With -regard to the solemnization of matrimony, they objected to the use of -the ring, and of the word "worship," and to the rubric which enjoins -receiving the communion; and with respect to the visitation of the -sick, the same persons wished that a form of absolution might be -omitted at the minister's option, or that if used, it might be framed -on a declarative and conditional form. The exceptions taken to the -burial service were the same as those which have been current ever -since.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">CONVOCATION.</div> - -<p>On the 8th of May, four days after the Presbyterians had put in -their exceptions, Convocation met for the first time since the year -1640;<a name="FNanchor_218_218" id="FNanchor_218_218"></a><a href="#Footnote_218_218" class="fnanchor">[218]</a> the Northern Synod assembling at York, the Southern at -London.</p> - -<p>Sheldon, Bishop of London, with other Bishops of the province of -Canterbury, together with Deans, Archdeacons, and Priests, also the -Dean of the Arches, with his Advocates and Proctors, repaired to the -house of Dr.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[174]</a></span> Barwick, a physician, in St. Paul's Churchyard. In -that house, during the Civil Wars, he had entertained his brother -John, afterwards Dean of St. Paul's, and allowed him the use of an -oratory—some Gothic chamber, perhaps, with quaint oriel, destroyed in -the London fire. Arrayed in their vestments, the Bishops and clergy -entered in procession through the "little south gate," into the ancient -Gothic edifice, for the restoring of which a deep and wide-spread zeal -had begun to show itself—the Cathedral being, it is said, "a princely -ornament of the Royal city," where was a confluence of foreign princes' -ambassadors, the structure being "injured by the iniquity of the late -times," and its repair being necessary to prevent the dishonour of its -neglect falling upon the whole city.<a name="FNanchor_219_219" id="FNanchor_219_219"></a><a href="#Footnote_219_219" class="fnanchor">[219]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1661.</div> - -<p>There, the Dean, Residentiaries, and the rest of the Canons, were -waiting to receive the procession with due ceremony, and to conduct its -members into the choir. It was a jubilant hour for the Episcopal Church -of England, for it betokened a resurrection after years of death-like -silence, imprisonment, and humiliation; and no doubt, in many a bosom, -sentiments of deepest gratitude and adoration, mingled with feelings of -excusable pride, as the choir fervently sang the Te Deum in English; -and Dr. Thomas Pearce preached a sermon in Latin from Acts xv. 28, -"For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no -greater burden than these necessary things." The sermon ended, and an -anthem sung, Sheldon, the Bishop of London, who acted as President, in -consequence of the advanced age and infirmities of Juxon, with the rest -of the clergy, went into a Chapter House provided for the occasion,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[175]</a></span> -"the goodly old house being, by the impiety of Oliver Cromwell's Horse -Guards, rendered unfit for use." The King's Writ and the Archbishop's -Commission to the Bishop were formally presented and read; after which -the latter, "in excellent Latin," addressed the Lower House, bidding -them go and choose their Prolocutor.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">CONVOCATION.</div> - -<p>On the Thursday following, May the 16th, Dr. John Pearson, Archdeacon -of Surrey, presented Dr. Henry Ferne, Dean of Ely, as the Prolocutor -chosen by the Lower House; and "three elegant Latin speeches were made: -one by the presenter, another by the Prolocutor, and a third by His -Lordship the Bishop of London, in approbation of their election."<a name="FNanchor_220_220" id="FNanchor_220_220"></a><a href="#Footnote_220_220" class="fnanchor">[220]</a> -This ceremony took place in Henry VII.'s Chapel, Westminster—whither, -from St. Paul's Cathedral, Convocation had adjourned, as to the place -of meeting used by the representatives of the clergy before the Civil -Wars—and that Chapel, many of those who now ascended the stone steps -at the back of the Abbey choir, would consider to have suffered almost -as much desecration from the Presbyterian Assembly of Divines, as other -parts of the sacred edifice had done from the depredations of the -soldiery.</p> - -<p>Convocation sat, probably, "in one of the inferior chapels."<a name="FNanchor_221_221" id="FNanchor_221_221"></a><a href="#Footnote_221_221" class="fnanchor">[221]</a> No -one like Robert Baillie—who so minutely describes the Westminster -Assembly—has bequeathed us a picture of this Episcopalian Synod -twenty years afterwards; but anybody who has witnessed the meetings -of the Lower House—the Deans in their scarlet robes as Doctors, and -other dignitaries in academic costumes, with square caps in their -hands, can picture<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[176]</a></span> what a contrast, in these respects, the clergy -convened in 1661, in a side Chapel of the Abbey, must have presented -to the ministers, who assembled in 1643, within the Jerusalem Chamber. -Nor can we find any report of the Debate, like that preserved in -the <i>Diary</i> of Lightfoot; but there can be no doubt that the usual -characteristics of ecclesiastical councils and conferences might be -found on this occasion; that there was much of learning, of eloquence, -and of hair-splitting; that some speeches were logical, and others very -illogical; that the debates were sometimes wearisome, and sometimes -lively; and that, occasionally, irregularities of discussion called for -the interference of the Prolocutor.<a name="FNanchor_222_222" id="FNanchor_222_222"></a><a href="#Footnote_222_222" class="fnanchor">[222]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1661.</div> - -<p>An early act of Convocation, indeed, one on the very day of meeting, -was to deliberate respecting forms of prayer for the two anniversaries -so intimately connected with the Royal family—the anniversary of -Charles II.'s birth, and return; and the anniversary of his father's -death. The Bishop of Ely, one of a Committee appointed for the purpose, -presented the first of these to the Upper House on the 18th, and the -form was confirmed and issued by the King in Council on the 22nd.<a name="FNanchor_223_223" id="FNanchor_223_223"></a><a href="#Footnote_223_223" class="fnanchor">[223]</a> -On the 18th also, the Bishop of London recommended that a form should -be prepared for the baptism of adults,—it being alleged that many -people, owing to the diffusion of Anabaptist opinions, had not been -baptized in their childhood. That duty was entrusted, like the other, -to four Bishops and eight clergymen, and the result appeared and -received approval<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[177]</a></span> on the 31st. A Committee of Prelates and Presbyters -undertook to frame the service for Charles' martyrdom. It is a curious -fact, that there were two offices for the 30th of January, drawn up -in the year 1661, in one of which, referring to Charles and other -martyrs, there occurred the words, "That we may be made worthy to -receive benefit by their prayers, which they, in communion with the -Church Catholic, offer up unto Thee for that part of it here militant." -Such a recognition of the intercession of saints in Heaven, indicating -a strong Romanist tendency, has been made a ground of reproach by -Nonconformist opponents; on the other hand, Episcopalians have denied -the existence of the words in any collect prepared for the occasion. -The contradiction is just, so far as the form adopted by Convocation is -concerned; but there was an earlier one, laid aside on account of its -containing the clause in question.<a name="FNanchor_224_224" id="FNanchor_224_224"></a><a href="#Footnote_224_224" class="fnanchor">[224]</a> The form in the Prayer Book of -1662 differed from both the forms which made their appearance in 1661.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">CONVOCATION.</div> - -<p>Upon the 31st of May, Dr. Pory introduced a prayer for the Parliament, -which was not an entirely new composition, inasmuch as one including -the expression, "our religious and gracious King," had been inserted -in the Prayer Book in the reign of Charles I.<a name="FNanchor_225_225" id="FNanchor_225_225"></a><a href="#Footnote_225_225" class="fnanchor">[225]</a> It appeared,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[178]</a></span> -for the first time, in its present shape for use, at a general fast, -held on the 12th of June, 1661, special mention of it being made on -the title page; from which form of service it was transferred to the -Book of Common Prayer. For the same fast a general form, suited for -such an occasion, was ordered on the 7th of June, to be prepared by -a Committee; also, a supplication for fair weather was recommended -for consideration. Upon the 18th of June, the King issued his letters -patent, authorizing Convocation to make canons and constitutions; in -which letters occur a formula, to the effect that the clergy had always -promised, "<i>in verbo sacerdotii</i>," that they would never promulge, or -execute any new ordinances without legal license:<a name="FNanchor_226_226" id="FNanchor_226_226"></a><a href="#Footnote_226_226" class="fnanchor">[226]</a> accordingly -the Acts of Convocation, on the following day, notice the receiving -of this Royal license, and record the appointment of certain Bishops -and Presbyters as a Committee for considering the business to which -it relates,—the Committee being appointed to meet at the Savoy -Palace.<a name="FNanchor_227_227" id="FNanchor_227_227"></a><a href="#Footnote_227_227" class="fnanchor">[227]</a> Upon the 17th of July the Bishop of Salisbury presented a -draft of canons which he had prepared, and which were again referred to -him for further consideration. On the 19th and 22nd the canons still -occupied the attention of the Upper House. On the 27th a benevolence -was voted to His Majesty; on the 31st Convocation adjourned.<a name="FNanchor_228_228" id="FNanchor_228_228"></a><a href="#Footnote_228_228" class="fnanchor">[228]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1661.<br /> -SAVOY CONFERENCE.</div> - -<p>Thus far, we have ventured to place the contemporary proceedings of -the Savoy Conference, and those of Convocation, in parallel lines; -there is an advantage in doing so. We see how additions to the Prayer -Book,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[179]</a></span> made at the very time when the Commissioners were engaged in -discussions upon its existing contents, would appear vexatious to the -Puritans: we also clearly notice the peculiar position of Reynolds, -who appeared at the Savoy as a Presbyterian, and in Convocation as a -Prelate—in the one character apparently objecting to the Prayer Book, -in the other, adding to it new forms; and we discover that the Houses -of Convocation refrained, whilst the Commission lasted, from doing more -than supplying certain additional prayers, deferring the business of -revision until the Conference had broken up.</p> - -<p>We have seen the Presbyterians at the Conference putting in their -exceptions; we now turn to the answers of the Bishops. They were -written in an discourteous, uncharitable, and captious spirit, not -indicating the slightest disposition to conciliate, but foreclosing the -possibility of removing any Presbyterian objection: for they said, the -alteration asked would be a virtual confession that the Liturgy is an -intolerable burden to tender consciences, a direct cause of schism, a -superstitious usage—it would justify past Nonconformity, and condemn -the conduct of Conformists. The document presents an angry defence of -the Church formulas; and, whilst there is much in the reasoning which -commends itself to admirers of the Liturgy, the temper betrayed is of a -kind which assuredly most of those admirers will condemn.<a name="FNanchor_229_229" id="FNanchor_229_229"></a><a href="#Footnote_229_229" class="fnanchor">[229]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1661.</div> - -<p>The discussion upon baptism alone needs particular attention. It -is affirmed that the form in the Prayer Book is "most proper; for -baptism is our spiritual regeneration." That answer indicates that the -Episco<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[180]</a></span>palians in the Conference took the words in the Prayer Book to -express the doctrine of baptismal regeneration. "Seeing," say they, -"that God's sacraments have their effects where the receiver doth not -'<i>ponere obicem</i>' put any bar against them (which children cannot -do), we may say in faith, of every child that is baptized, that it -is regenerated by God's Holy Spirit; and the denial of it tends to -Anabaptism, and the contempt of this holy sacrament as nothing worthy, -nor material, whether it be administered to children or no."<a name="FNanchor_230_230" id="FNanchor_230_230"></a><a href="#Footnote_230_230" class="fnanchor">[230]</a></p> - -<p>It had been arranged, that whilst the rest of the Presbyterian brethren -employed themselves in drawing up <i>exceptions</i> against the Book of -Common Prayer, Baxter should prepare <i>additions</i>. In one fortnight he -accomplished his task, and presented his Reformed Liturgy. A Reformed -Liturgy, differing from that of the Church of England, had, in the -sixteenth century, been published in Holland; but it amounts to no -more than a compilation from Calvin's Genevan Service Book. Baxter -determined that his should be original; and, accordingly, setting to -work with his Bible and his Concordance, he drew up a new collection -of devotional offices. They include orders of service for the Lord's -Day, and for the celebration of the sacraments of the Lord's Supper and -Baptism; a discourse upon catechizing, preparatory to the communion; a -form to be used in marriage; directions for the visitation of the sick, -and the burial of the dead; prayers and thanksgiving for extraordinary -occasions, and for particular persons; and a discourse on pastoral -discipline, with forms of public confession, absolution, and exclusion -from the fellowship of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[181]</a></span> Church. He also prepared an Appendix, -containing a larger litany or general prayer, and a long ascription of -praise for our redemption.<a name="FNanchor_231_231" id="FNanchor_231_231"></a><a href="#Footnote_231_231" class="fnanchor">[231]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">SAVOY CONFERENCE.</div> - -<p>The author tells us that he compared what he did with the Assembly's -Directory, the Book of Common Prayer, and Hammond L'Estrange; but he -seems to have borrowed little or nothing from these sources, beyond -introducing or allowing the use of the creeds—sometimes the use of -the Athanasian Creed—the Te Deum, and the psalms in order for the -day. The modes of expression employed by Baxter are not founded upon -the study of former liturgies, and are remarkably unlike those of the -Anglican and the ancient Communions. They are carefully drawn from -the Bible, and the margin of the new service book is studded with -innumerable references to Scripture texts. No one who reads the work, -especially considering the short time in which it was executed, but -must acknowledge it to be a very extraordinary performance; and even -Dr. Johnson said of the office for the communion, "that it was one of -the first compositions of the ritual kind he had ever seen."<a name="FNanchor_232_232" id="FNanchor_232_232"></a><a href="#Footnote_232_232" class="fnanchor">[232]</a> The -comprehension and fervour of all the prayers must excite admiration; -but many of them labour under the Puritan disadvantage of being too -long, and they are frequently at variance with that kind of religious -taste which appreciates the character and tone of the litanies and the -collects of the Church of England.</p> - -<p>Baxter candidly admits, that he made "an entire Liturgy, but might not -call it so," because the Commissioners required only "additions to, or -alterations of, the Book of Common Prayer."<a name="FNanchor_233_233" id="FNanchor_233_233"></a><a href="#Footnote_233_233" class="fnanchor">[233]</a> How a completely new<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[182]</a></span> -Liturgy could come under the latter denomination I cannot understand. -As he omitted all reference to the Book of Common Prayer, his new -Directory bore on the face of it the intention of superseding, or of -rivalling that venerable manual of devotion; and wherever the former -might have been adopted, it would virtually have put the latter aside. -Still, as his petition shows, he was willing that it should be left -for ministers to decide which Liturgy they would adopt; and, it may be -concluded, that he would not have objected to a blending of the two, -however incongruous such a thing may appear to many.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1661.</div> - -<p>This famous Presbyterian polemic, at the same time that he presented -his reformed formularies, presented with them a petition to the -Bishops, begging them to yield to such terms of peace and concord as -they themselves confessed to be lawful. "For though," as he argued, -"we are equals in the King's Commission, yet we are commanded by the -Holy Ghost, if it be possible, and as much as in us lieth, to live -peaceably with all men;—and if we were denied, it would satisfy our -consciences, and justify us before all the world;"<a name="FNanchor_234_234" id="FNanchor_234_234"></a><a href="#Footnote_234_234" class="fnanchor">[234]</a>—two points -which that honest theologian ever kept in mind. He craved consent to -read the document; some objected, but, ultimately, the reading of it -was allowed. It consisted chiefly of an appeal to Christian feeling, -founded upon a variety of considerations, especially upon the wrong -which would be done to the Puritan brethren, and the mischief inflicted -on the Church of England if their scruples were disregarded.<a name="FNanchor_235_235" id="FNanchor_235_235"></a><a href="#Footnote_235_235" class="fnanchor">[235]</a></p> - -<p>The contrast between the pacific, conciliatory, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[183]</a></span> reasonable strain -of the petition, and the hard and repulsive tone of the prelates' -answers to the exceptions, is very striking.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">SAVOY CONFERENCE.</div> - -<p>A rejoinder to the Bishops' answers, touching the exceptions made to -the Liturgy, followed, on the part of the ministers. A preface to it -was drawn up by Calamy. The rejoinder itself, composed by Baxter, -forming, indeed, a book of 148 pages, and taking up the Episcopal -document, paragraph by paragraph, with a great deal of close reasoning -and scholastic subtilty, is too extensive in its range, and too minute -in its details, to admit of any satisfactory synopsis of its contents -being presented on these pages. But a sharp reference, at the close, -to the concessions offered by the Bishops must be noticed. After -thanking them, Baxter adds, in the name of his brethren, "we must say -in the conclusion, that, if these be all the abatements and amendments -you will admit, you sell your innocency and the Church's peace for -nothing."<a name="FNanchor_236_236" id="FNanchor_236_236"></a><a href="#Footnote_236_236" class="fnanchor">[236]</a></p> - -<p>Time wore away, and nothing resulted from these long papers. At last -came a session for <i>vivâ voce</i> debate. The Puritans wished the Bishops -to talk freely, but their Lordships maintained a prudent reticence, -and even Reynolds could not persuade his Episcopalian brethren by -"friendly conference to go over the particulars excepted against;" they -resolutely insisted that they had nothing to do until the necessity for -alteration should be proved,—proved that necessity already was, in the -estimation of Puritans, proved it could not be in the estimation of -Anglicans.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1661.</div> - -<p>All hope of a <i>pacifying</i> conference being abandoned,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[184]</a></span> the Presbyterian -Divines agreed to a debate; many hours were spent in fixing its order. -The Bishops, according to their policy throughout, maintained that it -belonged to those who were accusers to begin; they were simply on the -defence. No effect was produced by the Presbyterians' rejoinder:—"We -are the defendants against your impositions; you command us to do -certain things under pain of excommunication, imprisonment, and -silence. We defend ourselves against this cruelty, by asking you -to show authority for this." At last it was settled, that there -should be a formal dispute, to be conducted by three persons on each -side. Strangers were allowed to be present, and the room was full -of auditors,—young Tillotson, the eminent preacher and Archbishop -of later days, being amongst them. The debate turned upon vague -abstractions, and upon subtle theological distinctions, occasionally -interrupted by outbursts of temper and uncivil personalities. As might -be expected, the Hall of the Savoy Palace became an arena for logical -gladiatorship, and the object of the meeting a strife for victory.</p> - -<p>At one time it seemed as if light were breaking through the clouds. -Bishop Cosin, who on the occasion now referred to, occupied the chair, -laid before the meeting a paper, which, he said, a worthy person had -offered unto his superiors. It put,</p> - -<p>I. The question, "Whether there be anything in the Doctrine, or -Discipline, or the Common Prayer, or Ceremonies, contrary to the Word -of God?"</p> - -<p>II. It asked, if nothing in the Book was unscriptural, what the -Presbyterians desired in point of expediency?</p> - -<p>III. It then suggested that such desires should be submitted to "the -consideration and judgment of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[185]</a></span> Convocation, who are the proper and -authentic representatives of the Ministry."<a name="FNanchor_237_237" id="FNanchor_237_237"></a><a href="#Footnote_237_237" class="fnanchor">[237]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">SAVOY CONFERENCE.</div> - -<p>Baxter drew up an answer, in which he maintained the principal part of -these proposals "to be rational, regular, and Christianlike." After -going over much of the old ground, and referring to the Convocation in -no unfriendly spirit, he says: "We are resolved faithfully to teach the -people, that the division of the Church is worse than inexpedient:" -and, "We conclude with the repetition of our more earnest request, that -these wise and moderate proposals may be prosecuted, and all things be -abated us, which we have proved or shall prove to be contrary to the -Word of God."<a name="FNanchor_238_238" id="FNanchor_238_238"></a><a href="#Footnote_238_238" class="fnanchor">[238]</a></p> - -<p>To talk in this way seemed hopeful; but hope in this instance was a -delusion. Each party suspected the other. Mutual confidence did not -exist. Baxter, although he wrote as he did, really looked at the -seemingly friendly proposals, as "a cunning snare."</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1661.</div> - -<p>The paper warfare recommenced—the disputants on each side, "writing -extempore," withdrawing into another room for that purpose.<a name="FNanchor_239_239" id="FNanchor_239_239"></a><a href="#Footnote_239_239" class="fnanchor">[239]</a> The -first subject discussed was the "imposition of kneeling," to which -Baxter, although he took the gesture itself as lawful, objected, -because he thought antiquity was against the custom, and because "the -penalty is so immediate and great, to put all that kneel not, from the -communion." With this discussion was connected another, as to whether -there is anything sinful in the Liturgy.<a name="FNanchor_240_240" id="FNanchor_240_240"></a><a href="#Footnote_240_240" class="fnanchor">[240]</a> The following specimen -in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[186]</a></span> relation to the last question may give some idea of the scholastic -forms which were employed. The Episcopal opponents maintained, "That -command which commandeth only an act, in itself lawful, is not sinful." -The Presbyterian respondents denied this, contending that some unlawful -circumstance might hang in the command, or that the penalty might be -overcharged. The proposition, after revision, was put thus: "That -command which commandeth an act, in itself lawful, and no other act -whereby any unjust penalty is enjoined, nor any circumstance whence -directly, or <i>per accidens</i> any sin is consequent, which the commander -ought to provide against, is not sinful." The respondents denied again, -on the ground, that "the first act commanded may be <i>per accidens</i> -unlawful, and be commanded by an unjust penalty, though no other act -or circumstance be such." The Bishops amended their proposition at -last, making their logical network so fine that even Baxter, subtle as -he might be, could scarcely wriggle through the meshes. "That command -which commandeth an act, in itself lawful, and no other act whereby -any unjust penalty is enjoined, nor any circumstance whence directly, -or <i>per accidens</i>, any sin is consequent, which the commander ought -to provide against, hath in it all things requisite to the lawfulness -of a command, and particularly cannot be guilty of commanding an act -<i>per accidens</i> unlawful, nor of commanding an act under an unjust -penalty."<a name="FNanchor_241_241" id="FNanchor_241_241"></a><a href="#Footnote_241_241" class="fnanchor">[241]</a> Thomas Aquinas was not more acute, more ingenious, or -more wearisome. Morley, many years afterwards, urged that denying -such a proposition as the last, was not only false and frivolous, but -"destructive of all authority," and struck the Church out of all power -to make canons<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[187]</a></span> for order and discipline.<a name="FNanchor_242_242" id="FNanchor_242_242"></a><a href="#Footnote_242_242" class="fnanchor">[242]</a> To those who admit that -the Church may, within limits, decree rites and ceremonies—and Baxter -in his arguments did not deny this—Morley's reasoning is forcible. -The manner in which Baxter met the position of his opponents was by no -means satisfactory, and his warmest admirers must acknowledge that his -mode of conducting this part of the controversy was no less injudicious -than honest.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">SAVOY CONFERENCE.</div> - -<p>In drawing to a close our account of the Conference, it is important -to mention that the Bill of Uniformity, hereafter to be described, -actually passed the House of Commons on the 9th of July, about a -fortnight before the Conference broke up. The proceedings of a Royal -Commission to review the Prayer Book, and make alterations for the -satisfaction of tender consciences were, by this premature act, really -treated with mockery—a circumstance which could not but exceedingly -offend and annoy the Puritan members, and especially serve to -embitter the language of Baxter as the end of the fruitless sittings -approached.<a name="FNanchor_243_243" id="FNanchor_243_243"></a><a href="#Footnote_243_243" class="fnanchor">[243]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1661.</div> - -<p>The last two meetings are particularly described: The Doctors on the -Episcopalian side, Baxter says, crowded in—not more than two or three -were present on the other side. Sanderson, Bishop of Lincoln, occupied -the chair—"a very worthy man, but for that great peevishness, which -injuries, partiality, temperature, and age had caused in him." A paper -by Gunning came under discussion. He denied a statement made by Baxter, -Bates, and Jacomb. The latter, on oath, confirmed what Baxter said; but -the Chairman pronounced<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[188]</a></span> that Gunning had the best of it. He further -charged Baxter with being contentious. Baxter told him that it was -strange, a man should be prevented from replying to his antagonist. -Gunning advanced citations in proof of his point; upon which Cosin -called upon all the Bishops and Doctors on his side, at that moment a -large majority, to give their votes. They all cried "Aye!" Those who -are familiar with modern committees, and with what occurs when both -parties lose their tempers, and the stronger carries the point, can -understand how the Savoy Conference terminated. "We were all agreed," -says Baxter, "on the ends for the Church's welfare, unity, and peace, -and His Majesty's happiness and contentment; but after all our debates, -were disagreed of the means, and this was the end of that Assembly and -Commission."<a name="FNanchor_244_244" id="FNanchor_244_244"></a><a href="#Footnote_244_244" class="fnanchor">[244]</a></p> - -<p>Thus ended the last of the three great Conferences between Anglicans -and Puritans; the two previous ones being held, respectively, at -Hampton Court before King James, and in the Jerusalem Chamber under -Dean Williams. It reminds us of another Conference, the last between -Romanists and Reformers, carried on in Westminster Abbey in the month -of March, 1559. Like the Romanist Bishops on that occasion, the -Anglican Bishops on this, protested, with some reason, that it was not -for them to prove the Church's doctrine to be true; they professed -the old established faith of Christendom; if it was attacked, they -were ready to answer objections. But unlike the Popish, the Anglican -prelates were now in the ascendant, and had their opponents at their -feet. The Puritans, on the other hand, resembled, as to relative -position, the Romanists, of whom it is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[189]</a></span> remarked, they "were but actors -in a play, of which the finale was already arranged."<a name="FNanchor_245_245" id="FNanchor_245_245"></a><a href="#Footnote_245_245" class="fnanchor">[245]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">SAVOY CONFERENCE.</div> - -<p>It is amusing to read Baxter's account of his brother Commissioners. -Some, he says, rarely attended, and when they did, said very little. -Morley was often there, a chief speaker, with fluent words, and much -earnestness, vehemently going on, and bearing down replies by his -interruptions. Cosin was constant in attendance, talking much, with -little logic, though with abundant learning in canons, councils, -and patristic lore. Henchman was the most grave and comely of the -Bishops, and expressed himself calmly and slowly, with some reticence. -Gauden was almost always present, and though he had a bitter pen, he -was moderate in speech, "and if all had been of his mind," says our -reporter, "we had been reconciled." Reynolds spoke much the first -day, to bring his Episcopal brethren to moderation; a "solid, honest -man, but through mildness and excess of timorous reverence to great -men, altogether unfit to contend with them." Dr. Pearson was a true -logician, disputing "accurately, soberly, and calmly"—"breeding in -us a great respect for him, and a persuasion that if he had been -independent he would have been for peace." Dr. Gunning mixed passionate -invectives with some of his argumentations, though understanding well -what belonged to a disputant, but "so vehement for his high imposing -principles, and so over zealous for Arminianism and formality and -Church pomp."<a name="FNanchor_246_246" id="FNanchor_246_246"></a><a href="#Footnote_246_246" class="fnanchor">[246]</a> Sterne, Bishop of Carlisle, "looked so honestly -and gravely and soberly," that it seemed, such a face could not have -deceived. Baxter's judgment of physiognomy here, however, proved to -be at fault, for when the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[190]</a></span> prelate once broke silence, it was to -exclaim,—as Baxter used the word, "nation:"—"he will not say kingdom -lest he should own a king."<a name="FNanchor_247_247" id="FNanchor_247_247"></a><a href="#Footnote_247_247" class="fnanchor">[247]</a> While Baxter thus spoke of his -opponents, they thus spoke of him: "At this Conference in the Savoy, -that reverend and great man, Bishop Morley, tells us, the generality -of the nonconforming Divines showed themselves unwilling to enter -upon dispute, and seemed to like much better another way tending to -an amicable and fair compliance, which was frustrated by a certain -person's furious eagerness to engage in a disputation, meaning Mr. -Baxter."<a name="FNanchor_248_248" id="FNanchor_248_248"></a><a href="#Footnote_248_248" class="fnanchor">[248]</a> "There was a great submission paid to him by the whole -party. So he persuaded them, that from the words of the Commission -they were bound to offer every thing that they thought might conduce -to the good or peace of the Church, without considering what was like -to be obtained, or what effect their demanding so much might have, -in irritating the minds of those who were then the superior body in -strength and number."<a name="FNanchor_249_249" id="FNanchor_249_249"></a><a href="#Footnote_249_249" class="fnanchor">[249]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1661.</div> - -<p>After the debates were over, the Presbyterians waited on the Lord -Chancellor, to advise with him as to the account to be given of their -doings to the King. At first His Lordship received Baxter "merrily," -and comparing his spare figure and his thin face with the rotunder form -and plumper cheeks of one of his companions, said, "If you were as fat -as Dr. Manton, we should all do well." To which Baxter—fixing his dark -eyes on Clarendon, replied—"If His Lordship could teach me the art -of growing fat, he should find me not unwilling to learn by any good -means."<a name="FNanchor_250_250" id="FNanchor_250_250"></a><a href="#Footnote_250_250" class="fnanchor">[250]</a> Becoming serious, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[191]</a></span> Chancellor charged the Divine with -being severe, strict, and melancholy, making things to be sin which -were not so. The latter simply rejoined, that he had spoken nothing but -what he thought, and nothing but what he had given reasons for thinking.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">SAVOY CONFERENCE.</div> - -<p>He afterwards drew up a paper in the form of a petition, supplying an -account of the Conference; and it was arranged that Reynolds, Bates, -and Manton should present the document. Baxter accompanied them at -their own request. Manton delivered the paper into the Royal hands; -Reynolds added a few words; and, of course, Baxter could not be silent. -He made, as he represents, "a short speech," in which he informed His -Majesty how far they had agreed with the Bishops, "and wherein the -difference did not lie, as in the points of loyalty, obedience, and -Church order." The King put the commonplace question suggested in all -such disputes, "But who shall be judge?" Baxter seized the opportunity -to say that "Judgment is either <i>public</i> or <i>private</i>—<i>private</i> -judgment called <i>discretionis</i>, which is but the use of my reason to -conduct my actions, belongeth to every private rational man; <i>public</i> -judgment is ecclesiastical or civil, and belongeth accordingly to the -ecclesiastical governors (or pastors), and the civil, and not to any -private man." If Charles II. had been like his grandfather, James, -a scholastic discussion had been inevitable; but the gay grandson, -perhaps without heeding what the words meant, passed over Baxter's -remark in silence. The Puritan historian winds up all with the curt -remark, "And this was the end of these affairs."<a name="FNanchor_251_251" id="FNanchor_251_251"></a><a href="#Footnote_251_251" class="fnanchor">[251]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[192]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1661.</div> - -<p>Much sorrow and trouble sprung out of the Conference.<a name="FNanchor_252_252" id="FNanchor_252_252"></a><a href="#Footnote_252_252" class="fnanchor">[252]</a> The -Episcopalian Royalists treated their opponents as a vanquished party, -and retorted on their old persecutors by calling them seditious and -disaffected. Young clergymen hoped they were on the road to preferment -if they reviled and calumniated Presbyterians; and Baxter especially -became a butt for malignant marksmen. Even his prayers were heard with -suspicion, and so, as he said, it was a mercy when he was silenced. -Yet his own account of the Conference produced a favourable impression -in quarters where he and his friends had been misapprehended. The -Independents, in the first instance, had been annoyed that the -Presbyterians had not consulted them; some of the latter Divines, too, -had been zealous of their more influential brethren, and both parties -had joined in saying that the Puritan Commissioners were too forward -in meeting the Bishops, and too ready to make concessions; and that -Baxter, although unimpeachable as to his motives, had been too eager -for concord, and too ready for compromise. But now the printed papers -turned the tide; the Independents admitted that the Presbyterian -Commissioners had been faithful to their principles.<a name="FNanchor_253_253" id="FNanchor_253_253"></a><a href="#Footnote_253_253" class="fnanchor">[253]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">SAVOY CONFERENCE.</div> - -<p>The Independents took no part in the Conference at Worcester House or -in that at the Savoy. They were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[193]</a></span> not consulted by Presbyterians—an -instance of neglect which some of the Independents resented—but -it is plain, from a consideration of the principles of the latter -party during the Civil Wars and Commonwealth, that they could not, -consistently with those principles, harmoniously unite in any scheme -for comprehension. Their methods of Church discipline, felt to be -most important for securing the purity of their Churches, rendered -it impossible that their ecclesiastical institutions should work in -harmony with an Establishment. Why the Independents were overlooked -by the Government at that period, is obvious. At the Restoration they -were thrown into the background. Their previous political influence -had sprung from their connection with the Army, from the favour of -Republican officers, and from the religious sympathies of Oliver -Cromwell. That influence terminated on the eve of the King's return; -and it is easy, without suspecting their loyalty, to understand how -they would, at such a crisis, lose social position as well as political -influence.<a name="FNanchor_254_254" id="FNanchor_254_254"></a><a href="#Footnote_254_254" class="fnanchor">[254]</a> Their prosperity under the Protectorate necessarily -entailed their adversity at the Restoration. Moreover, although to the -Presbyterians there remained friends at Court in the Earl of Manchester -and other noblemen, the Independents enjoyed no aristocratic patrons. -The Fleetwoods, Desboroughs,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[194]</a></span> and Berrys, so far from being able to -assist their fellow-religionists, had enough to do to take care of -themselves. The Presbyterians, as we have seen, had still, in London, -clergymen of high standing and great activity, but the Independents -could not make any boast of that kind. Dr. Owen, who of them all, -perhaps, possessed the greatest influence, lived in retirement at -Stadham. John Howe, never a party man, and thoroughly averse to the -occupations of public life, quietly pursued his pastoral duties at -Torrington. Dr. Goodwin, it is true, had removed to the metropolis on -his ejectment from Oxford, but he now spent his time in seclusion; -and Caryl, another distinguished member of the Congregational body, -and a City pastor, preferred commenting on the Book of Job, to any -entanglement in political affairs. Philip Nye was, probably, the most -active of the denomination, but he had no power to serve the cause, -forasmuch, as at the time of the Restoration he had narrowly escaped -the fate of Hugh Peters.<a name="FNanchor_255_255" id="FNanchor_255_255"></a><a href="#Footnote_255_255" class="fnanchor">[255]</a> The Independents, as a party, were not -in a position just then to render it a matter of importance that the -Government should conciliate them; nor did they manifest any desire -to secure for their system the temporal benefits of State endowment. -Their retirement from the stage of public affairs brought them no -disadvantage. Providence had appointed for them a moral discipline, -of which the fruit was to appear in after years. They had embraced -principles eminently conducive to the freedom and spirituality<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[195]</a></span> of -Christ's Church, and they were destined to take an important part in -the development of English Christianity through the diffusion of those -principles. Their disconnection with the Establishment harmonized with -that destiny. The Baptists, like the Independents, and for similar -reasons, were unrepresented in the Commission; so indeed, also, if we -except Reynolds, were the moderate Episcopalians, who although not -prepared to go so far as their High Church brethren in the matter of -conformity, were ready to advance in that direction much beyond the -limits marked out by the Presbyterians; but looking at the temper on -the other side, there is no reason to suppose that the presence and -counsels of such men would have altered the results of the discussions.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1661.<br /> -SAVOY CONFERENCE.</div> - -<p>Having described the Savoy Conference, and the contemporary meetings of -Convocation, there remain to be noticed the proceedings of that higher -assembly, with which both the others were coeval.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[196]</a></span></p></div> - - -<h2>CHAPTER VIII.</h2> - - -<p class="drop-cap p-left">The Solemn League and Covenant had been displaced a year, and the -New Parliament now resolved to brand it with fresh indignities.<a name="FNanchor_256_256" id="FNanchor_256_256"></a><a href="#Footnote_256_256" class="fnanchor">[256]</a> -Accordingly it was, by the common hangman, burnt at Westminster, in -Cheapside, and before the Exchange. The executioner "did his work -perfectly well; for having kindled his fire, he tore the document into -very many pieces, and first burned the preface; and then cast each -parcel solemnly into the fire, lifting up his hands and eyes, not -leaving the least shred, but burnt it root and branch."<a name="FNanchor_257_257" id="FNanchor_257_257"></a><a href="#Footnote_257_257" class="fnanchor">[257]</a></p> - -<p>Similar spectacles were enacted elsewhere; and at Bury St. Edmunds, -upon the anniversary of the Restoration—amidst floral decorations, -and the adornment of houses with tapestry and pictures, after service -at church, Hugh Peters was gibbeted in effigy, with the Solemn -League grasped in his hand, and the Directory tucked under his arm. -In Southampton, after the firing of culverins, and the marching of -scarlet-robed Aldermen, there followed the burning of the Covenant, "in -a stately frame, taken from the chancel of an Anabaptist Church."<a name="FNanchor_258_258" id="FNanchor_258_258"></a><a href="#Footnote_258_258" class="fnanchor">[258]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[197]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote">PROCEEDINGS OF PARLIAMENT.</div> - -<p>As a further indication of the temper of the Commons at the -moment, it may be stated, that the Speaker rebuked the Mayor of -Northampton—summoned to the bar of the House for irreverent carriage -in the church, and at the communion table—and that a Bill was read -three times for preventing the mischiefs and dangers, which might arise -from certain persons called Quakers, and others, "refusing to take -lawful oaths."<a name="FNanchor_259_259" id="FNanchor_259_259"></a><a href="#Footnote_259_259" class="fnanchor">[259]</a></p> - -<p>Ere the House had been sitting two months, Bills were introduced of -such a character as to prove, that, from the beginning of the Session, -measures had been framed for bringing back the Church to the standard -of former days, without making any concessions to Nonconformists. The -Bills now about to be described, did not appear one after another, as -expedients adopted for public safety in consequence of plots, real or -suspected; but they constituted parts of one coherent and comprehensive -method for re-establishing Episcopacy and crushing Dissent. They must -be traced out distinctly.</p> - -<p>I. A Bill for restoring the prelates to the Upper House was introduced -to the Commons by "a gentleman of a Presbyterian family," and it -met with little opposition. The ancient constitution of the Upper -House could be successfully pleaded in its favour, but it involved -the principle of a State Establishment of religion; and would, if -discussed by voluntaries on the one hand, and by the advocates of a -nationally-established Church on the other, raise the whole question -as to the Christian legitimacy and the social justice of such<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[198]</a></span> an -arrangement. It involved, also, the recognition of Prelacy as the -most expedient, if not the most scriptural form of ecclesiastical -government, and would thus present a momentous subject of controversy -to Presbyterians. But few, if any, decided voluntaries could then be -found in the House of Commons; the number of Presbyterians also was -small, and their influence manifestly on the decline.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1661.</div> - -<p>Upon the Bill reaching the Lords, some obstruction of a very different -kind from that which, under other circumstances, might have been -expected from the parties just named, arose from the Roman Catholic -Earl of Bristol. He obtained an interview with the King and told him -"that if this Bill should speedily pass, it would absolutely deprive -the Catholics of all those graces and indulgence which he intended -to them; for that the Bishops, when they should sit in the House, -whatever their own opinions or inclinations were, would find themselves -obliged, that they might preserve their reputation with the people, to -contradict and oppose whatsoever should look like favour or connivance -towards the Catholics: and therefore, if His Majesty continued his -former gracious inclination towards the Roman Catholics, he must put -some stop (even for the Bishops' own sakes) to the passing that Bill, -till the other should be more advanced, which he supposed might shortly -be done."<a name="FNanchor_260_260" id="FNanchor_260_260"></a><a href="#Footnote_260_260" class="fnanchor">[260]</a> Charles listened, and desired the Earl to inform his -friends in the House, that he "would be well pleased, that there -should not be overmuch haste in the presenting that Bill for his Royal -assent." Its progress was accordingly retarded in Committee, until the -Chancellor decided the Monarch, who—veering from point to point,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[199]</a></span> as -influence brought to bear on him by his Courtiers varied, although, -no doubt, he was in his heart more disposed to follow Bristol than -Clarendon—at last consented that the Bill might be despatched. It -passed at the end of the Session; and when the Parliament was adjourned -at the end of July, and the Speaker in his robes, at the summons of -the Black Rod, knelt before the enthroned Sovereign, the measure was -the subject of emphatic reference in a speech filled with quaint -conceits.<a name="FNanchor_261_261" id="FNanchor_261_261"></a><a href="#Footnote_261_261" class="fnanchor">[261]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">PROCEEDINGS OF PARLIAMENT.</div> - -<p>II. Next, in the course of proceedings, bearing upon religion, came -the Bill for the well-governing of Corporations. It was early read, -speedily committed, and largely discussed; and within a month of its -being introduced, it passed the Lower House. The Lords amended it, and, -according to the complaint of the Commons, changed "the whole body -of the Bill." First read on the 19th of June, it did not receive the -Royal assent until the 20th of December.<a name="FNanchor_262_262" id="FNanchor_262_262"></a><a href="#Footnote_262_262" class="fnanchor">[262]</a> The Act required that all -members of Corporations should, besides taking the Oath of Supremacy, -swear that it is not lawful, under any pretence, to bear arms against -the King, and that the Solemn League and Covenant was illegal. It also -declared every one ineligible for a municipal office, who<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[200]</a></span> had not, -within one year, received the Lord's Supper, according to the rites of -the Church of England.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1661.</div> - -<p>III. The House, on the 25th of June, appointed a Committee to report, -how far the coercive power of Ecclesiastical Courts had been taken -away, and to prepare a Bill for their restoration. The Bill provided -that, although the High Commission had been abolished, Archbishops, -Bishops, and other persons exercising ecclesiastical jurisdiction, -should have their power restored as before, two provisions being -subjoined—one forbidding the use of the <i>ex officio</i> oath, and another -preserving the Royal Supremacy from abridgment. This Bill involved -the further re-establishment of Episcopalianism. It does not appear -that any debate was raised on that ground. The Bill passed, as if a -matter of course; and together with the Bill, reinstating the Bishops, -received the Royal assent before the end of July.<a name="FNanchor_263_263" id="FNanchor_263_263"></a><a href="#Footnote_263_263" class="fnanchor">[263]</a> Thus within -a few weeks, three measures were introduced, and two of them were -carried, tending to repress Dissent and consolidate the Episcopalian -Church. The fourth measure, which was central in point of importance, -remains to be considered. Its origin and progress must be patiently -followed.</p> - - -<div class="sidenote">PROCEEDINGS OF PARLIAMENT.</div> - -<p>IV. Whilst many of the Episcopalian party assumed the existence of a -legal obligation to use the Common Prayer, some Nonconformists adopted -this curious line of argument: "That the Common Prayer Book, 5th and -6th of Edward VI., with some alterations made 1st of Elizabeth, was so -established we know, but what that book was, or where it is, we cannot -tell; it is apparent that the books ordinarily walking up and down -are not so established."<a name="FNanchor_264_264" id="FNanchor_264_264"></a><a href="#Footnote_264_264" class="fnanchor">[264]</a> It would seem as if this odd kind of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[201]</a></span> -objection secured some respect; for the first step towards a settlement -of the question of worship is found in a resolution, by the House of -Commons, that a Committee of all the members, who were of the Long -Robe,<a name="FNanchor_265_265" id="FNanchor_265_265"></a><a href="#Footnote_265_265" class="fnanchor">[265]</a> should view the several laws for confirming the Liturgy of -the Church of England, and make search, whether the original Book of -the Liturgy, annexed to the Act passed in the fifth and sixth years -of the reign of King Edward VI., was still extant; they were also "to -bring in a compendious Bill to supply any defect in the former laws, -and to provide for an effectual conformity to the Liturgy of the Church -for the time to come."</p> - -<p>It cannot be ascertained how the new measure originated, but we may -be sure that Government would not leave it to be dealt with by any -private person. It formed part of a manifold scheme which must have -had a single origin. The practice of holding Cabinet meetings—long -regarded with jealousy by pedantic Constitutionalists—had commenced in -the reign of Charles I. That businesslike and hard-working Monarch had, -from time to time, drawn around him a few select members of his Privy -Council, whom he assembled in his <i>Cabinet</i>, as it was called; and it -appears that sometimes they had been obliged to register his absolute -decrees, rather than by their advice to control his headstrong career. -Charles II., idle and dissolute—in that respect the opposite of his -father—held meetings of the same description, not that he might guide -the helm, but often that he might sit on the quarter-deck, and laugh -and joke with the officers, whilst they managed the ship very much as -they pleased. The proposal of a new Law of Uniformity probably was made -and discussed at one of these private conferences;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[202]</a></span> and it also seems -probable, that the proposal emanated from Lord Clarendon, who was, to -all intents, Prime Minister.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1661.</div> - -<p>In connection with the appointment of the Committee, the House -recommended that the preparation of the Bill should be entrusted to the -care of Serjeant Keeling. He had been engaged as Junior Counsel for the -Crown on the trial of the Regicides, in 1660; and for his activity and -zeal on that occasion, had attained to the distinction of the coif. -He was subsequently entrusted with the prosecution of Hacker, Colonel -of the Guard at the execution of Charles I. After the new Bill of -Uniformity had passed, he conducted the prosecution of Sir Henry Vane, -in 1662; and on each of these occasions approved himself to the ruling -party, and especially to Clarendon, as a useful instrument. Created a -puisne Judge in 1663, he subsequently rose to a Chief Justiceship, over -the head of Sir Matthew Hale; and whilst on the bench manifested his -devotedness to the Church, by fining a jury one hundred marks each, -for acquitting a few poor people, who assembled on Sunday with Bibles -without Prayer-books. He was a violent man, and had the character -of being more fit to charge Roundheads under Prince Rupert, than to -charge juries from the bench of justice.<a name="FNanchor_266_266" id="FNanchor_266_266"></a><a href="#Footnote_266_266" class="fnanchor">[266]</a> When, at length, his -arbitrary proceedings and a contemptuous allusion which he made to -Magna Charta, brought him under the notice of Parliament, he escaped -its condemnation, only by an act of obsequious submission.</p> - -<p>The Bill prepared by this lawyer came before the Commons on the 29th -of June, and was read a first time. The second reading followed on the -3rd of July. No<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[203]</a></span> account is preserved of the debate. History is as -silent respecting what ensued within the walls of St. Stephen's after -Keeling had expounded his measure, as it is silent relative to any -discussion of the principle and details of the other Bills previously -introduced for the re-institution of the Episcopalian Church. The -Serjeant, perhaps, would deem it unnecessary to enter into a lengthened -argument in favour of imposing some one form of religious worship upon -the nation, since the desirableness of such uniformity was a forgone -conclusion with almost all the members of the House. But would he not -defend his proposal against the objections of Presbyterians? Would not -they have something to advance during the proceedings? The wish to know -what was said on either side seems altogether in vain.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1661.</div> - -<p>Upon the second reading, the printed Prayer Book of Queen Elizabeth, -not that of Edward, in 1552, was attached to the Bill, and a Committee -was named to meet in the Star Chamber. They were directed, if the -original book of Edward before specified, could not be found, to report -upon the printed one of Elizabeth. No reference to the original book -of Edward appears in the subsequent proceedings.<a name="FNanchor_267_267" id="FNanchor_267_267"></a><a href="#Footnote_267_267" class="fnanchor">[267]</a> On the day when -the Bill was committed, Serjeant Keeling, with Sir John Maynard, and -another member, were ordered to prepare a measure for "calling in all -seditious and schismatical books and pamphlets;" and the names of the -members who had not taken the Lord's Supper were reported.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[204]</a></span> The House -with one hand thus exercised Church discipline, whilst with the other -hand it was making Church law. Upon the 8th of July, Sir Edmond Peirce -reported that several amendments had been agreed to; and upon the 9th, -the "Bill for the Uniformity of Public Prayers and Administration -of Sacraments" was read a third time and passed; and instead of a -Prayer Book, printed in the reign of Elizabeth, another printed in -the reign of King James (1604) "was, at the Clerk's table, annexed -to the said Bill; part of the two prayers inserted therein, before -the Reading Psalms, being first taken out, and the other part thereof -obliterated."<a name="FNanchor_268_268" id="FNanchor_268_268"></a><a href="#Footnote_268_268" class="fnanchor">[268]</a> This copy of the Prayer Book appears to have been -attached to the Bill chiefly for the sake of form, as the Book had not -yet been examined and revised by Convocation. That important business -was not performed until the close of the year; and in the final stage -of proceedings, before the Act of Uniformity passed, this scarcely -altered volume was superseded by the revised one, which was fastened to -the Bill as passed, and which will be described in the Appendix to this -History.</p> - -<p>Thus everything connected with the proceedings showed the utmost -despatch; and upon Wednesday the 10th of July "the Bill for -establishing the Book of Common Prayer was brought up to the Lords by a -very great number of members of the House of Commons, to testify their -great desire for the settlement of the Church of England."<a name="FNanchor_269_269" id="FNanchor_269_269"></a><a href="#Footnote_269_269" class="fnanchor">[269]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">PROCEEDINGS OF PARLIAMENT.</div> - -<p>The Bill as it left the Commons differed materially from the Act as it -ultimately passed. Those differences will appear in the sequel.</p> - -<p>Although the Bill reached the Upper House on the 10th<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[205]</a></span> of July, it -did not come under discussion there for more than five months. This -may be accounted for. Curious as it may seem, the Bill for Uniformity -had passed the Commons before it had been decided what the Uniformity -should be. New prayers were composed by Convocation before it broke up -in July; but the revision of the Prayer Book by Convocation did not -commence until the month of November, four months after the Bill had -been sent up from the Commons. The Bill could not be completely carried -before the revision was settled; and the Convocation did not accomplish -that task until the end of the year. Another cause of delay is seen -in the fact, that the Bishops were not restored to their seats until -the 20th of November; and it was important, if not constitutionally -essential, for them to take part in the decision of a question like -this.</p> - -<p>At the time when the new Bill reached the Lords, they were engaged upon -a report concerning the penal laws against Papists. Hoping to share -in any relief which might be extended to the last-named religionists, -certain Anabaptists and "good Christians," as they called themselves, -had presented a petition upon the 5th of July, and were on the 12th -permitted to plead on their own behalf. The Lords finished the report -on the penal laws against Catholics upon the 16th of the month; and -a Committee was then appointed to prepare a Bill to repeal certain -statutes concerning Jesuits, also the clause in the Act of the 35th of -Queen Elizabeth c. i., respecting Nonconformists, together with the -writ <i>de Hæretico Comburendo</i>. The reasons of the alterations were to -be set forth, and proper remedies were to be devised for preserving the -Protestant religion from any inconveniences incident upon the repeal -of these ancient<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[206]</a></span> enactments. Such proceedings, at first sight, appear -as so much progress towards religious liberty; but there is ground for -believing that the reference to the statute against Nonconformists, -only served to cover some relief designed for the Papists. Whatever -the real intention might be, the whole business soon dropped, and -no further allusion to it is found in the Journals; nor during the -remainder of the year 1661 is any further mention made of the Bill of -Uniformity.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1661.</div> - -<p>In those days the transmission of intelligence to the provinces could -not be otherwise than slow, and when it had reached its destination it -often proved inaccurate. The broad-wheeled coach, or the horse laden -with saddle-bags, could only, with measured pace, convey the London -citizen to the house of a country friend. The news which he related -at the supper-table, or which he conveyed in some quaintly-written -epistle, would then be stale indeed, according to the judgment of -such as are familiar with telegrams. The cumbrous stage-waggon, more -heavily laden, would be slower still in its movements, and by the -time it reached the rural inn, the newspapers it carried would be far -advanced in age. Altogether the <i>Mercuries</i> were tardy in their flight, -and the <i>Public Intelligencers</i> were addicted to garbling reports, and -falsifying stories. What had been done in the Session would, therefore, -not be known in distant counties until some time afterwards; and then, -probably, in some instances, reports would be circulated through a town -or a village in erroneous form.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">STATE OF FEELING.</div> - -<p>Tidings of the new Bill, in confused fashion, struggled down to -Worthenbury, seven miles from Wrexham, where lived the eminently pious -Philip Henry. Just before the Bill passed its last stage in the Lower -House, he received news from London of speedy severity in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[207]</a></span>tended -against Nonconformists. In daily doubt of what was to happen, he, on -the 7th of July recorded, that "In despite of enemies the Lord hath -granted the liberty of one Sabbath more." Next day he received a letter -from Dr. Bridgeman (the restored Rector), informing him that if he -did not speedily conform, he, Dr. Bridgeman, could no longer protect -him. Henry wrote a "dilatory answer," to the Episcopalian clergyman, -hoping that time might bring some deliverance. The old Incumbent acted -kindly, and showed no sympathy with the ruling powers. On the 24th, -news of the progress of the Bill reached the Flintshire rectory, and -shaped itself into a report, that the Bill had passed both Houses, -and now only waited His Majesty's assent. "Lord, his heart is in Thy -hand," ejaculated the devout Puritan; "if it be Thy will, turn it; -if otherwise, fit Thy people to suffer, and cut short the work in -righteousness."<a name="FNanchor_270_270" id="FNanchor_270_270"></a><a href="#Footnote_270_270" class="fnanchor">[270]</a></p> - -<p>Means were not wanting for the annoyance of Nonconformist ministers -by those who wished to restore the surplice and the Liturgy; and -on Sunday, the 25th of August, 1661, just a year before the legal -enforcement of Uniformity, Oliver Heywood had the Prayer Book publicly -presented to him in his Church, with a demand that he would use it in -the devotions of the day. It was laid on the pulpit cushion. He quietly -took it down, and placed it on the reading-desk, and then went on with -the service in the accustomed Presbyterian fashion, being "wonderfully -assisted," as he remarks, "that day, in praying and preaching."</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1661.</div> - -<p>It is difficult, even amidst the strongest excitement of the nineteenth -century, to conceive of the bitter feelings which existed in the middle -of the seventeenth. Our<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[208]</a></span> abuse is courtesy, compared with the abuse -which prevailed then. Fierce diatribes were uttered from parish pulpits -by restored Incumbents against Roundheads, Anabaptists, and Quakers. -They were denounced as rebels who had narrowly escaped the gallows. -"Many of you," said Dr. Reeve, in the Abbey Church of Waltham, "have -gotten a pardon for all your exorbitances, but death will seal no -act of indemnity. Ye have escaped the halter of many of your fellow -miscreants, but death hath set up her gibbet for you."<a name="FNanchor_271_271" id="FNanchor_271_271"></a><a href="#Footnote_271_271" class="fnanchor">[271]</a> The -press also was plied for reducing intractable parishes into a state -of submission. Swarms of pamphlets and broadsides were issued—some -reprints, some originals—with a view to support the Church by -argument, or by satire, or by ridicule.<a name="FNanchor_272_272" id="FNanchor_272_272"></a><a href="#Footnote_272_272" class="fnanchor">[272]</a> Marvellous stories also -were manufactured about the devil having appeared to fanatics, who, -late at night, were on their way to Conventicles; and sharp, severe, -and unjust things were also said on the other side.<a name="FNanchor_273_273" id="FNanchor_273_273"></a><a href="#Footnote_273_273" class="fnanchor">[273]</a></p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[209]</a></span></p></div> - - -<h2>CHAPTER IX.</h2> - - -<p class="drop-cap p-left">Parliament, which had been adjourned in July, reassembled in November. -Charles, on the 20th of that month, attired in crimson velvet, the -crown on his head, the sceptre in his hand, sat upon the throne of his -fathers, attended by a good number of Earls and Barons, occupying their -benches. It was a proud day for the Church of England; for then, the -first time after a lapse of twenty years, the Spiritual Fathers, in -their scarlet robes, as Peers of the realm, filled their ancient seats; -and His Majesty, it seems, came to the House partly in honour of their -re-instatement. "My Lords and Gentlemen of the House of Commons," he -remarked; "I know the visit I make you this day is not necessary—is -not of course—yet, if there were no more in it, it would not be -strange that I come to see what you and I have so long desired to see, -the Lords, Spiritual and Temporal, and the Commons of England met -together."</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1661.</div> - -<p>The greater part of the speech from the Throne related to the crying -debts which every day he heard; but before the King ended he said: -"Those [things] which concern matters of religion, I confess to you, -are too hard for me, and therefore I do commend them to your care and -deliberation which can best provide for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[210]</a></span> them."<a name="FNanchor_274_274" id="FNanchor_274_274"></a><a href="#Footnote_274_274" class="fnanchor">[274]</a> He was no polemic -like his grandfather; but he had himself, in the autumn of 1660, -undertaken to manage the Church question; a year's experience, however, -had taught him a little wisdom, and no wonder that the subject which -had been more than Charles V. could manage in Germany, had proved much -too hard for Charles II. in England.</p> - -<p>The Lord Chancellor delivered a message to the House of Peers on the -19th of December, to the effect that, besides the apprehensions and -fears then generally prevalent, His Majesty had received alarming -letters from several parts of the kingdom; and also that from -intercepted letters, it appeared there were many discontented persons -troubling the nation's peace; in consequence of which he sought the -assistance of Parliament.<a name="FNanchor_275_275" id="FNanchor_275_275"></a><a href="#Footnote_275_275" class="fnanchor">[275]</a> The contents of some of these letters -we know. The object of informers, and of the people who rifled the -post, was to make it appear that Nonconformists were disaffected, -that Dissent was treason; and that measures ought to be adopted for -the utter extinction of the growing evil. Yet the accusers, in many -cases, were forced to acknowledge, that the accused were quiet when let -alone. The letters prove that the nation felt dissatisfied,<a name="FNanchor_276_276" id="FNanchor_276_276"></a><a href="#Footnote_276_276" class="fnanchor">[276]</a> that -multitudes murmured against the Government, that Republican officers -were unsettled, and that some were watching for a good opportunity to -take up arms. A few fanatics entertained rebellious designs; but that -Presbyterians, Independents, Baptists,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[211]</a></span> or Quakers, either generally -or in large numbers, were covering political plots under a veil of -religious worship—the point sought to be established—is an unfounded -surmise, indeed a pure invention.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">PRETENDED PLOTS.</div> - -<p>An example of the method employed to criminate innocent persons may be -adduced, and it will furnish an illustration of some of the evidence to -which Clarendon alluded.</p> - -<p>William Kiffin was a rich London merchant, and a famous Baptist -preacher. Whilst held in honour by his fellow-citizens for commercial -integrity, and by his fellow-religionists for fervent zeal, he was the -object of relentless persecution to the party now in the ascendant, -and his steps were tracked by informers with lynx-eyed vigilance, and -wolfish ferocity. When other methods had failed to bring him within the -reach of the law, one of the most abominable schemes which cunning and -malignity ever contrived, was adopted with a view to compass his ruin.</p> - -<p>A letter was posted at Taunton bearing the signature of Colonel Basset -of that town, and directed to one Nathaniel Crabb, Silk-thrower, in -London, "residing at his house in Gravel Lane." The letter is preserved -in the State Paper Office. It is written in a spirit of fanaticism, -expressing a desire for the destruction of the sons and daughters of -Belial, and declaring that there were thousands of "dear saints" who -were ready to "lay down their lives to do the work of God." "We do -desire you," it is said, "to be careful to get into your hands powder -and arms; as many as you can between this and Easter, and we will do -what we can to perfect the work." The name of Kiffin is introduced, -together with the names of Jesse and Griffin, as conspirators in -the design. At first sight the letter appears genuine.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[212]</a></span> Nothing is -indicated to the contrary in the <i>Calendar of State Papers</i>. When I -read it at first, it startled me; yet this letter is a fabrication. -An autobiography, written by Kiffin, is at hand to expose the fraud. -He was summoned before the Council. The letter was read to him. He -replied that he knew nothing of the matters to which it referred; and -afterwards, before the Chief Justice, by whom he was examined, he -proceeded to show, from certain anachronisms in the document, that -it must be a forgery. His Lordship expressed his satisfaction with -Kiffin's defence, assuring him that the author of the letter, if -discovered, should be punished.<a name="FNanchor_277_277" id="FNanchor_277_277"></a><a href="#Footnote_277_277" class="fnanchor">[277]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1661.</div> - -<p>A Committee of Lords and Commons having been appointed to report -respecting plots, Mr. Waller, on the re-assembling of Parliament, after -the Christmas recess, stated that not less than 160 of the old Army -officers were suspected of being implicated in treasonable schemes. -Some of the regicides, he alleged, were being entertained in France, -Holland, and Germany; arms were being bought by them to accomplish -these designs; many pretended Quakers were riding about at night to the -terror of peaceable subjects, and seditious preachers were plying their -mischievous trade.<a name="FNanchor_278_278" id="FNanchor_278_278"></a><a href="#Footnote_278_278" class="fnanchor">[278]</a> This report, in some parts obviously absurd, -was followed by no confirmatory evidence, although further information -was promised.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[213]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote">CONVOCATION.</div> - -<p>The day after the re-assembling of Parliament, in the month of -November, the Houses of Convocation resumed their deliberations. To -facilitate the despatch of business in reference to the Prayer Book, -the Convocation of the province of York agreed to unite with the -Convocation of the province of Canterbury, by means of proxies, binding -themselves to submit to the decisions thus obtained.<a name="FNanchor_279_279" id="FNanchor_279_279"></a><a href="#Footnote_279_279" class="fnanchor">[279]</a> So earnest -was the Northern Archbishop, that he wrote to the Prolocutor of his -Lower House to send up proxies by the next post, and told the Registrar -of his diocese, "if we have not all from you by the end of next week -we are lost."<a name="FNanchor_280_280" id="FNanchor_280_280"></a><a href="#Footnote_280_280" class="fnanchor">[280]</a> Several clergymen came from the North to town, to -act on behalf of their brethren. The two provinces thus co-operating, -the business of revising the Prayer Book rapidly proceeded. Upon the -10th of October, the King had written to the Archbishop of Canterbury, -directing His Grace, with the other Bishops and clergy, to discharge -that duty;<a name="FNanchor_281_281" id="FNanchor_281_281"></a><a href="#Footnote_281_281" class="fnanchor">[281]</a> and, probably, before Convocation met in November, -the Bishops had begun to prepare for the task, although there were -differences of opinion amongst them; for, whilst some<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[214]</a></span> pressed for -alterations such as might "silence scruples and satisfy claims," others -were for adopting the Prayer Book as it stood.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1661.</div> - -<p>Before describing the alterations which were now made, it is proper -to give, at least, a slight sketch of the history of the volume. The -Middle Ages had no Act of Uniformity. There were several rituals, -called <i>Uses</i>, of York, Hereford, Exeter, Lincoln, and other dioceses. -These Uses, which did not materially differ from each other, gave place -after the eleventh century, especially in the South of England, to that -of Sarum; Osmund, Bishop of Salisbury, having about the year 1085, -bestowed great pains upon the revision of the ecclesiastical offices in -his Church. The Missal and Breviary contained in Osmund's revision of -the English mediæval formularies, constitute the basis and, indeed, the -substance of the Book of Common Prayer.<a name="FNanchor_282_282" id="FNanchor_282_282"></a><a href="#Footnote_282_282" class="fnanchor">[282]</a> The first reformed Liturgy -for the use of the Protestant Church in England was set forth under -Edward VI., in the year 1549. A second, which showed a further advance -on the side of the Reformation, appeared in 1552. A primer, or book of -private prayer, containing the catechism, with collects and other forms -of secret devotions, was published in 1553. Elizabeth's Book of Common -Prayer belongs to the year 1559; and afterwards, at different times, -came particular forms of devotion, prepared for particular seasons -and circumstances. The Prayer Book of 1559 underwent some alterations -at the commencement of the reign of James I., after the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[215]</a></span> Hampton -Court Conference, but they were very slight, and were simply called -<i>Explanations</i>. The Book prepared in the reign of Elizabeth, thus -altered, was that which the Convocation of 1661–2 had to revise.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">CONVOCATION.</div> - -<p>Perhaps I shall best succeed in giving with brevity some idea of -the origin of the Common Prayer, and other offices of the Church of -England, if I take the Morning Service, the Communion, and the Order -for performing Baptism, as they were found in the Book used before -the revision under Charles II., and point out, in a general way, the -sources from which those forms were derived.</p> - -<p>Morning prayer is in the main drawn from the Matins, Lauds, -and Prime of the Sarum Breviary. That which may be called the -introduction—extending from the opening sentence to the end of the -Absolution—was a new feature in the Prayer Book of 1552. The materials -of it may be found in mediæval Lent services, the old Office for the -Visitation of the Sick, and certain portions of a homily by Pope -Leo. Some have supposed that some hints for this introduction were -gathered from the reformed Strasburg Liturgy, published by Pollanus -(or Pullain).<a name="FNanchor_283_283" id="FNanchor_283_283"></a><a href="#Footnote_283_283" class="fnanchor">[283]</a> The idea embodied was that of substituting public -confession, awakened by the reading of Holy Scripture, for private -confession made to a priest; and, on the same principle, the using of -a public form of absolution for a secret one. The object was to make -that congregational and common which had previously been individual or -monastic.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[216]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1661.</div> - -<p>The second portion or main substance of the Morning Service, from -the Lord's Prayer to the three collects, is derived obviously from -different sources. The Versicles are taken from the Sarum Use, and -other old offices. The version of the Psalter is that of Cranmer's -Bible, 1539. The Lessons were substituted for the numerous, but brief -Scripture sections of the Breviary, the Apocrypha being occasionally -used. The Te Deum is an old canticle of Gallic origin;<a name="FNanchor_284_284" id="FNanchor_284_284"></a><a href="#Footnote_284_284" class="fnanchor">[284]</a> the -Benedicite is the Song of the Three Children, a Greek addition to -the third chapter of Daniel; the Apostles' Creed is taken from the -Anglo-Saxon office of Prime; and, as to the other creeds, we may -add, that the Nicene was sung at Mass, after the Gallican Use; the -Athanasian was sung in the Matin offices.<a name="FNanchor_285_285" id="FNanchor_285_285"></a><a href="#Footnote_285_285" class="fnanchor">[285]</a></p> - -<p>The Litany may be regarded as a distinct service. It is a very old form -of devotion, differing somewhat in different countries. The Invocation -of Saints was removed by the Reformers; and in the compilation of its -numerous sentences, along with the Sarum ritual, the <i>Consultation</i> of -Hermann, the reforming Archbishop of Cologne (1543), was extensively -employed.<a name="FNanchor_286_286" id="FNanchor_286_286"></a><a href="#Footnote_286_286" class="fnanchor">[286]</a> The collects and short prayers come from various -sources; many of them from the <i>Sacramentary</i> of Gregory, and some -from that of Gelasius; others were drawn from ancient models, but much -altered; several were new. The few Occasional<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[217]</a></span> Prayers in the books -of 1552 and 1559 were, like those added in the revision of 1661–2, new -compositions arising out of existing circumstances.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">CONVOCATION.</div> - -<p>The Communion Service, or Liturgy proper, was derived from the Missal, -expurgated of course. The second Prayer Book of Edward, in that -respect, was a decided improvement on the first. It omits even an -implied <i>oblation of the consecrated elements</i>, and simply expresses -the <i>oblation of the worshippers</i>—the difference of oblation being -one grand difference between the Romish and Protestant Eucharist. The -second Book also omits the commemoration of "the most blessed Virgin -Mary," with the Patriarchs, Prophets, Apostles, and Martyrs, contained -in the first. Other alterations were made of a decidedly Protestant -character in the time of Edward. The Prayer Book of 1559 indicates -certain retrograde changes. The omission of the thoroughly Protestant -declaration respecting the Lord's Supper in the Book of 1552, is -very significant. It may be added, however, that Bishops Grindal and -Horn, when writing to Bullinger and Gaulter, assured them that the -declaration "continued to be most diligently declared, published and -impressed upon the people."<a name="FNanchor_287_287" id="FNanchor_287_287"></a><a href="#Footnote_287_287" class="fnanchor">[287]</a></p> - -<p>The Baptismal Service was founded upon formularies, priestly and -pontificial, in the Sarum offices. Certain idle ceremonies were -omitted, but the order of making<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[218]</a></span> catechumens, the blessing of the -font, and the form of baptizing, as constituted in the mediæval Church, -were adopted by the Reformers. There are also in the service plain -traces of the influence of Bucer and Melancthon, through Hermann's -<i>Consultation</i>. The first prayer was originally composed by Luther. -The thanksgiving after the rite is a much stronger expression of the -doctrine of baptismal regeneration, than the ancient Gallic form of -words from which it seems to be derived.<a name="FNanchor_288_288" id="FNanchor_288_288"></a><a href="#Footnote_288_288" class="fnanchor">[288]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1661.</div> - -<p>These imperfect notices show how carefully the Reformers retained what -they considered most precious in the ancient records of Christian -devotion; how reverently they looked on words which had been vehicles -for ages, of the service of song and the offering of prayer. This -conservative element—connected with a prudential policy lest offence -should be given to semi-Protestants, when it could by any means be -avoided—appears to many an admirer of the Liturgy in the present day -to have been a snare, betraying the compilers into the retention of -some things which marred the beauty of their work, and really caused it -to narrow "the Communion of Saints" in the kingdom of England. Others -think far otherwise. For my own part I would say that as the sources -whence the Book was compiled are so numerous and so ancient, belonging -to Christendom in the remotest times—as there is in it so little that -is really original, so little that belongs to the Reformed Episcopal -Church in England, any more than to other Churches constrained by -conscience to separate from Rome—the bulk of what the Book contains, -including all that is most beautiful<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[219]</a></span> and noble, like hymns which, -by whomsoever written, are sung in Churches of every name, ought to -be regarded as the rightful inheritance of any who believe in the -essential unity of Christ's Catholic Church, and can sympathize in the -devotions of a Chrysostom, a Hilary, and an Ambrose.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">CONVOCATION.</div> - -<p>Such was the Book which Convocation had now to examine and revise, -in connection with necessities which had been felt ever since the -Reformation, and which had greatly increased during the seventeenth -century.</p> - -<p>The Upper House appointed on the 21st of November, a Committee -consisting of the Bishops of Durham, Ely, Oxford, Rochester, Sarum, -Worcester, Lincoln, and Gloucester, most of whom had been Commissioners -at the Savoy, to meet in the palace of the Bishop of Ely in Hatton -Garden, at five o'clock in the afternoon of every day, except Sunday, -until their work was finished. But when they had taken their walk -as the evening drew in, they really found little to do. Their work -had been anticipated; materials were ready to hand, The Prayer Book -had been carefully studied and revised for a long time, by eminent -Anglicans. MS. notes existed of great value, made or collected by -Bishop Overall, Bishop Andrewes, and Bishop Cosin.<a name="FNanchor_289_289" id="FNanchor_289_289"></a><a href="#Footnote_289_289" class="fnanchor">[289]</a> Those by the -last, as we shall see, were largely used.</p> - -<p>That the Bishops when they met had much of what they needed provided -for them may be concluded from the fact that, on the 23rd of November, -only the second day after the appointment of the Committee, a portion -of the corrected copy was delivered to the Prolocutor of the Lower -House.<a name="FNanchor_290_290" id="FNanchor_290_290"></a><a href="#Footnote_290_290" class="fnanchor">[290]</a> Previous labours had almost super<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[220]</a></span>seded a discharge of the -duties laid upon the newly-appointed Committee.<a name="FNanchor_291_291" id="FNanchor_291_291"></a><a href="#Footnote_291_291" class="fnanchor">[291]</a> From day to day -progress was made, until, within a month, the work was completed.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1661.</div> - -<p>Forms of prayer which had been adopted by Convocation in the summer, -were now inserted in the volume. So also were the General Thanksgiving, -drawn up by Dr. Reynolds, and the Prayer for all sorts and conditions -of men, composed by Dr. Gunning.<a name="FNanchor_292_292" id="FNanchor_292_292"></a><a href="#Footnote_292_292" class="fnanchor">[292]</a> New collects were introduced, -with occasional prayers in the visitation of the sick.<a name="FNanchor_293_293" id="FNanchor_293_293"></a><a href="#Footnote_293_293" class="fnanchor">[293]</a> About -600 alterations were made in the body of the volume. Some of these -were in accordance with suggestions made by the Puritans at the Savoy -Conference, but they did not amount to important concessions. Others -of them were adapted to render the Prayer Book more distasteful to -that party than before. The word <i>Priest</i> was substituted for the -word <i>Minister</i> in the Absolution; instead of <i>Bishops, Pastors, and -Ministers</i>, were introduced <i>Bishops, Priests, and Deacons</i>; and -the words <i>rebellion and schism</i> were added to the petition against -<i>sedition</i>; but many of the alterations are unconnected with any -theological or ecclesiastical controversy. There is a volume amongst -the Tennison MSS., Lambeth, which contains <i>The Differences of the Old -Common Prayer Book and the New</i>, being a copy of the edition, printed -in 1663, with the variations written upon the margins and upon the -paper interleaved; at<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[221]</a></span> the beginning, are the words, "This is the -publique Liturgy revised and rectified. A<sup>o</sup> 1662." The notes which had -been collected or composed by Cosin seem to have been largely used -throughout the revision.<a name="FNanchor_294_294" id="FNanchor_294_294"></a><a href="#Footnote_294_294" class="fnanchor">[294]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">CONVOCATION.</div> - -<p>The Bishops came to an unanimous vote in favour of a form of prayer -before and after sermon; thus cutting off all liberty to introduce -extempore devotion, and extinguishing one of the last hopes of -the Puritan party: but this design was afterwards dropped "upon -prudential reasons."<a name="FNanchor_295_295" id="FNanchor_295_295"></a><a href="#Footnote_295_295" class="fnanchor">[295]</a> Pell,<a name="FNanchor_296_296" id="FNanchor_296_296"></a><a href="#Footnote_296_296" class="fnanchor">[296]</a> assisted by Sancroft, revised -the Calendar, and with the Calendar was connected the arrangement of -daily lessons. Should the Apocrypha be read as before in the Church -Service? The Puritans deemed it a profanation to read uninspired and, -in some respects, superstitious books, as if they formed part of Holy -Scripture. A severe battle seems to have been fought on this vital -question. One can imagine how feelings would be excited to the highest -pitch, how the question would be canvassed in different circles, how -people would watch for tidings of the debate, how the History of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[222]</a></span> -Susanna and the Elders would be like a standard wrestled for in the tug -of war; and very probable is Andrew Marvell's story of a jolly doctor, -coming out with a face full of joy, shouting "We have carried it for -Bel and the Dragon!"<a name="FNanchor_297_297" id="FNanchor_297_297"></a><a href="#Footnote_297_297" class="fnanchor">[297]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1661.</div> - -<p>We learn that during the later Sessions of the Convocation, Herbert -Thorndike "constantly attended and had a hand more than ordinary in -the business"—a piece of information which rests upon the authority -of Sancroft. Both Sancroft and his friend were in favour of such -alterations as have been sometimes called <i>Laudian</i>, and they were -anxious (especially the latter of these Divines) to proceed further -in that direction. Thorndike, there is reason to believe, regarded as -imperfections the omission of all intercession for departed souls, and -of the prayer for the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the elements -used at the communion.<a name="FNanchor_298_298" id="FNanchor_298_298"></a><a href="#Footnote_298_298" class="fnanchor">[298]</a> Perhaps some others sympathized with these -eminent persons in this respect, but they found their tendencies -checked by the decided Protestantism of the larger portion of the -clergy, and by a regard to expediency in some who had no decided -convictions on the subject.</p> - -<p>Upon the 19th of December—a day on which complaints were made to the -House of Lords to the effect that many disaffected persons, both on -political and ecclesiastical grounds, existed in the realm—the Upper -House committed the preparing of a form of subscription to Cosin and -Henchman, Bishops of Durham and Salisbury, who, in the discharge of -this duty, were to receive assistance from Drs. Chaworth and Burrett. -This small Committee met the same afternoon, when they came to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[223]</a></span> an -agreement respecting the mode of expressing approval of the revised -formularies of the Church of England.<a name="FNanchor_299_299" id="FNanchor_299_299"></a><a href="#Footnote_299_299" class="fnanchor">[299]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">CONVOCATION.</div> - -<p>Convocation has been charged with indecent haste in the management -of this whole business. I do not wonder at such a charge, since a -similar accusation had been brought against the Presbyterians at the -Savoy, especially in reference to Baxter's Prayer Book: and so far as -the <i>adoption</i> of alterations, proposed to the Houses by individuals -or committees, is concerned, there is ground for the complaint. Six -hundred alterations could never have been properly considered by two -large bodies of men in the short time actually devoted to them; and -looking at the matter as one so much affecting their own consciences, -and the consciences of all clergymen in future time, we must regard so -hasty a decision on the part of Convocation as unjustifiable. But, as -it regards <i>preparing</i> the alterations, I see no ground on which to -charge with want of care the persons who performed that duty.<a name="FNanchor_300_300" id="FNanchor_300_300"></a><a href="#Footnote_300_300" class="fnanchor">[300]</a></p> - -<p>There does not appear to have been any discussion in Convocation -touching the Thirty-nine Articles. No alterations in them were -proposed by the Anglican party, although the Articles have always -been considered as presenting the more thoroughly Protestant or -<i>Evangelical</i> side of the Church formularies.</p> - -<p>The two Houses of Convocation adopted and subscribed the Book of Common -Prayer on the 20th of December. As the Act of Uniformity had not then -been passed, as this subscription was intended to prepare for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[224]</a></span> it, and -as no Act of Parliament existed at the time requiring subscription, -it may be instructive and useful to notice the grounds on which this -subscription took place.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1661.</div> - -<p>This fact is curious that, although the practice of subscribing to a -creed began so early as the Council of Nicæa, neither the clergy of -the Roman Catholic Church, nor the clergy of the Greek Church have -ever been required, or are now required, by any of their laws, so -to express their belief as to doctrine and their resolution as to -practice. The enforcement of subscription upon Protestant ministers -commenced soon after the Reformation; and, in some cases, the extent -of belief which it was intended to cover seems wide indeed; for in -the Duchy of Brunswick, Duke Julius required from clergymen, from -professors, and from magistrates, "a subscription to all and everything -contained in the Confession of Augsburg, in the apology for the -Confession, in the Smalcaldic Articles, in all the works of Luther, -and in all the works of Chemnitz."<a name="FNanchor_301_301" id="FNanchor_301_301"></a><a href="#Footnote_301_301" class="fnanchor">[301]</a> The Articles of the Church -of England were not subscribed generally until the twelfth year of -the reign of Queen Elizabeth, when subscription was ordered for the -special purpose of checking the admission of Papists into the English -Church, and also the admission of those who had taken orders in the -foreign Reformed Churches. The assent required was confined to those -Articles "which only concern the Confession of the true Christian -faith and the doctrine of the Sacraments."<a name="FNanchor_302_302" id="FNanchor_302_302"></a><a href="#Footnote_302_302" class="fnanchor">[302]</a> The Earl of Leicester -introduced to the University of Oxford, in 1581, subscription to the -Articles, without any precise form of words to be required from all -undergraduates upon matriculation, and from all who took degrees.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[225]</a></span> The -extending of the act of subscription to the entire Liturgy was a step -not taken until 1603, when, by the canons of Convocation of that year, -this form of assent came to be required of all the clergy. Hence it -appears to have been in compliance with a canon law enacted by their -predecessors, and not in compliance with any statute law, that the -members of Convocation, in the year 1661, signed the declaration of -assent and consent to the contents of the Prayer Book.<a name="FNanchor_303_303" id="FNanchor_303_303"></a><a href="#Footnote_303_303" class="fnanchor">[303]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">CONVOCATION.</div> - -<p>After the Revision had been completed, a copy of the Bill then pending -in Parliament was read and examined in the Upper House of Convocation -upon the 29th of January. Upon the 18th of February, Dr. Barwick was -chosen Prolocutor in the room of Dr. Ferne, promoted to the see of -Chester. The Bishops deputed their brethren of St. Asaph, Carlisle, -and Chester, on the 5th of March, with the concurrence of the Lower -House, to revise alterations in the Book during its progress through -Parliament—a resolution which seems to have had a prospective -reference to alterations anticipated as possible, but which do not -appear to have been ever attempted; for it is known, as will be -hereafter seen, that none were made by the Commons, and it may be -inferred that none were made by the Lords.<a name="FNanchor_304_304" id="FNanchor_304_304"></a><a href="#Footnote_304_304" class="fnanchor">[304]</a> Upon the 8th of March -Convocation directed Sancroft, afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury, -to superintend the printing of the Book; and Mr. Scattergood and Mr. -Dillingham to correct the proofs. Upon the 22nd of the same month the -subject<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[226]</a></span> of a special form for the consecration of churches came under -discussion.<a name="FNanchor_305_305" id="FNanchor_305_305"></a><a href="#Footnote_305_305" class="fnanchor">[305]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1661.</div> - -<p>Convocation accomplished no alterations in the canons, though it took -up the subject repeatedly; nor did it determine anything with regard -to Church discipline. The whole of this question had remained in an -unsettled state ever since the Reformation. In the reign of Henry -VIII. (1534), a Commission had been appointed by statute to revise -the ecclesiastical laws; and enactments respecting them nearly up to -the time of the death of that monarch were repealed. In the reign -of Edward VI. (1551), a renewed Commission for the same purpose was -statutably instituted; and the labours of the Commissioners issued in -the well-known book, entitled <i>Reformatio legum Ecclesiasticarum</i>, a -code strongly imbued with the intolerance of the age.<a name="FNanchor_306_306" id="FNanchor_306_306"></a><a href="#Footnote_306_306" class="fnanchor">[306]</a> But it never -received the Royal sanction; it never became legally binding. Another -abortive attempt was made in Convocation (1603), when James I. occupied -the throne; and canons were passed declaring the doctrine of passive -obedience, and denouncing a series of opposite opinions.<a name="FNanchor_307_307" id="FNanchor_307_307"></a><a href="#Footnote_307_307" class="fnanchor">[307]</a> Happily -for the credit of the Church and the peace of the realm, this, like the -previous scheme of ecclesiastical law, failed to obtain constitutional -sanction. The last endeavour at making canons (1640) hastened -the crisis of the Civil Wars. There was little then to encourage -Convocation to proceed with the business of Church discipline,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[227]</a></span> and, -therefore, notwithstanding the earnestness of Thorndike in promoting -it, the subject was allowed to drop.<a name="FNanchor_308_308" id="FNanchor_308_308"></a><a href="#Footnote_308_308" class="fnanchor">[308]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">BISHOPS.</div> - -<p>The month of December, which saw the revisionary labours of Convocation -completed, also witnessed within the walls of Westminster Abbey two -remarkable solemnities connected with the revival of Episcopacy. Upon -the 12th of December, Sharp, Archbishop of St. Andrew's, Fairfull, -Archbishop of Glasgow, Leighton, Bishop of Dunblaine, and Hamilton, -Bishop of Galloway, were consecrated by the Bishops of London and -Worcester;<a name="FNanchor_309_309" id="FNanchor_309_309"></a><a href="#Footnote_309_309" class="fnanchor">[309]</a> and upon the 20th, the day when the Prayer Book was -being subscribed by the members of the two Houses of Convocation, the -Bishop of Hereford, brother to the Duke of Albemarle, was buried,—a -silver mitre, with his Episcopal robes, being borne by the Herald -before the hearse, which was followed by the Duke, by several noblemen, -and by all the Bishops.<a name="FNanchor_310_310" id="FNanchor_310_310"></a><a href="#Footnote_310_310" class="fnanchor">[310]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1661.</div> - -<p>The Bishops, this year, had other business besides that of Convocation -to occupy time, and to create anxiety. Prior to the passing of the -Act of Uniformity, their dioceses could not but be in a state of -confusion. Many clergymen who were disaffected to the restored system -and its Episcopal administrators, retained incumbencies, and gave -considerable trouble to the ecclesiastical superiors. It was as if, -after the suppression of a long-continued and successful mutiny, and -the re-instatement of old officers in command, a number of soldiers in -the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[228]</a></span> ranks, or of sailors on board ship, should still remain opposed -to the colonel or the captain.<a name="FNanchor_311_311" id="FNanchor_311_311"></a><a href="#Footnote_311_311" class="fnanchor">[311]</a></p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[229]</a></span></p></div> - - -<h2>CHAPTER X.</h2> - - -<p class="drop-cap p-left">As there had been only an adjournment, and not a prorogation in the -summer of 1661, the Bill of Uniformity, carried by the Commons before -that period, remained eligible for consideration from the Lords in the -following January. They read the Bill a first time, on the 14th, the -Spiritual Peers before that date having taken their seats, and the -revision of the Prayer Book by Convocation having also been completed. -The Bill was read a second time, and referred upon the 17th of January -to a Select Committee. Upon the 13th of February, this Committee -requested to know whether they should proceed with the old Prayer -Book sent up to them by the Commons, or wait for the copy revised by -Convocation. That copy had been handed to the King for examination—a -thing not suited to his taste—but whether teased to the performance -of a task, or taking the whole matter on trust, it is certain, that -before the end of the month of February, he formally sanctioned the -alterations.<a name="FNanchor_312_312" id="FNanchor_312_312"></a><a href="#Footnote_312_312" class="fnanchor">[312]</a></p> - -<p>The volume having been, by the two Archbishops presented to the Lords, -the Earl of Northumberland proposed that the old Prayer Book should be -adopted,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[230]</a></span> in connection with Queen Elizabeth's Act of Uniformity—a -proposition which, however feasible at an earlier period, came now too -late.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1662.</div> - -<p>The slow progress made by the Lords had dissatisfied the Lower House, -and complaints from that quarter had reached the Royal ears; hence, -when the King gave audience to the Commons at Whitehall, on the 3rd -of March, respecting his revenues, he, having before that time sent -the revised Prayer Book to the Peers, could boldly speak as follows: -"I hear you are very zealous for the Church, and very solicitous, -and even jealous, that there is not expedition enough used in that -affair; I thank you for it, since, I presume, it proceeds from a good -root of piety and devotion; but I must tell you I have the worst luck -in the world, if, after all the reproaches of being a Papist, whilst -I was abroad, I am suspected of being a Presbyterian now I am come -home."<a name="FNanchor_313_313" id="FNanchor_313_313"></a><a href="#Footnote_313_313" class="fnanchor">[313]</a> This strange kind of talk was followed by a declaration -of zeal for the interests of the Church of England. The Duke of -Buckingham, the Earl of Pembroke, Lord Wharton, and other Peers, were -added to the Committee of the Upper House for considering the contents -of the Bill.<a name="FNanchor_314_314" id="FNanchor_314_314"></a><a href="#Footnote_314_314" class="fnanchor">[314]</a></p> - -<p>The secrets of that Committee have not been disclosed. It is remarkable -that it included a decided Nonconformist in Lord Wharton, one still -favourable to Nonconformity in the Earl of Manchester, and two Bishops -who had been Presbyterians—Gauden, the Bishop of Exeter,<a name="FNanchor_315_315" id="FNanchor_315_315"></a><a href="#Footnote_315_315" class="fnanchor">[315]</a> and -Reynolds, Bishop of Norwich,—to say nothing of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[231]</a></span> the Duke of Albemarle, -who had been identified both with Independents and with Presbyterians. -These persons formed but a small minority in a Committee which -consisted altogether of above thirty members; and they formed but a -feeble minority compared with such powerful men as Sheldon, Bishop of -London, Cosin, Bishop of Durham, Morley, then Bishop of Worcester, and -Sanderson, Bishop of Lincoln. Was the opposition of the small minority -violently overborne? or did the small minority tamely submit? Wharton -was the only man likely to make much resistance.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">UNIFORMITY BILL.</div> - -<p>The Earl of Bridgwater reported on the 13th of March, "divers -amendments and alterations," stating that they related to the Book -recommended by the King, and not to the Book brought up from the House -of Commons. The alterations in the Book were read before reading the -amendments to the Bill.</p> - -<p>Two days after the report had been delivered, the business was -completed; the Peers had caught the spirit of Convocation, and, by -their haste now, had made up for lost time. Clarendon took occasion to -thank the Bishops for their revision of the Book in Convocation, and -requested them to thank their clerical brethren of the Lower House. -The preamble to the Bill received approval upon the 17th of March, -when the Minister just mentioned communicated a message from His -Majesty, and read a proviso which he wished to be inserted. The House, -evidently startled at the wish, requested him to read the proviso a -second time. This being done, the matter stood over for consideration -until the following day. The Journals are silent as to the nature of -this proviso; but a despatch by De Wiquefort, the Dutch Minister, -explains the matter. Amongst the gossip which he details to his -Court—how in a chest<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[232]</a></span> belonging to Henry Marten, was found a memoir -by the French Ambassador, full of the praises of the Commonwealth; -how the Irish Catholics were getting into trouble because they had -been negotiating with Rome to the King's prejudice; how they were -forbidden to present any request; how their agent was not allowed to -appear at Court; and how the Chancellor had a strong party formed -against him;—the writer communicates an important fact, which solves -the enigma left by the Journals. The Chancellor, says De Wiquefort, -informed the Lords that the King wanted a power to be inserted in the -Act of Uniformity, enabling him to relieve clergymen from an obligation -to wear the surplice and to make the sign of the cross.<a name="FNanchor_316_316" id="FNanchor_316_316"></a><a href="#Footnote_316_316" class="fnanchor">[316]</a> From this -information it appears that Charles, even at this early period, aimed -at a dispensing power, a power which, before the close of the year, -he eagerly endeavoured to grasp. The Lords, however, were jealous of -the interference of the Crown in sending such a message as had been -delivered by Clarendon; and they questioned whether a resolution ought -not to be entered on the Journals in reference to it, fearing lest -their privileges might be endangered by their going so far as even -to take such a subject into consideration. The 19th of March found -the Bill recommitted, including the Royal proviso and the several -amendments.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1662.</div> - -<p>The amendments consisted of certain additions to the preamble—of the -connection with the Prayer Book of the Psalms of David, as they were to -be said or sung in churches; of the form of ordaining and consecrating -Bishops, Priests, and Deacons;—of the substitution of the feast of -St. Bartholomew for Michaelmas, as the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[233]</a></span> time when the Act should come -in force;—of the insertion of a new form, according to that adopted -by Convocation, declaring "unfeigned assent and consent" not only as -originally prepared to the use of the Book, but to all and everything -it contained and prescribed; and of an additional form, repudiating the -Solemn League and Covenant. Both these forms required subscription. A -further amendment rendered it necessary, that every minister of the -Church of England should be episcopally ordained, and that licenses -from Bishops should be secured by all who undertook the office of -Lecturers.<a name="FNanchor_317_317" id="FNanchor_317_317"></a><a href="#Footnote_317_317" class="fnanchor">[317]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">UNIFORMITY BILL.</div> - -<p>Some of the amendments occasioned little or no debate, a circumstance -which surprises us when we consider the Puritan tendencies of certain -Lords. The points which chiefly occupied attention were—first, the -requirement of Episcopal ordination as a <i>sine quâ non</i>; and, secondly, -the imposition of the form which repudiated the Covenant. The debates -on these questions, so far as they can be recovered, will now be given.</p> - -<p>I. It was argued by some who retained Puritan sympathies, that the -first of these requirements was not in accordance with what had "been -the opinion of the Church of England,—and that it would lay a great -reproach upon all other Protestant Churches, who had no Bishops; as if -they had no ministers, and, consequently, were no Churches:—for, that -it was well known, the Church of England did not allow reordination, -as the ancient Church never admitted it; insomuch, as if any priest of -the Church of Rome renounces the communion thereof, his ordination is -not questioned, but he is as capable of any preferment in this Church, -as if he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[234]</a></span> had been ordained in it. And, therefore, the not admitting -the ministers of other Protestant Churches, to have the same privilege, -can proceed from no other ground than that they looked not upon them -as ministers, having no ordination; which is a judgment the Church of -England had not ever owned, and that it would be very imprudent to do -it now."</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1662.</div> - -<p>This argument called forth replies from other members—most likely -from some of the Bishops—to the following effect:—"That the Church -of England judged none but her own children, nor did not determine -that other Protestant Churches were without ordination. It is a thing -without their cognizance; and most of the learned men of those Churches -had made necessity the chief pillar to support that ordination of -theirs. That necessity cannot be pleaded here, where ordination is -given according to the unquestionable practice of the Church of Christ; -if they who pretend foreign ordination are His Majesty's subjects, -they have no excuse of necessity, for they might in all times have -received Episcopal ordination; and so they did upon the matter renounce -their own Church; if they are strangers, and pretend to preferment in -this Church, they ought to conform, and to be subject to the laws of -the kingdom, which concern only those who desire to live under the -protection [thereof.] For the argument of reordination, there is no -such thing required. Rebaptization is not allowed in or by any Church; -yet in all Churches where it is doubted, as it may be often with very -good reason, whether the person hath been baptized or no, or if it -hath been baptized by a midwife or lay person; without determining -the validity or invalidity of such baptism, there is an hypothetical -form—'If thou hast not been already baptized, I do baptize,' &c. -So, in this case of ordination, the form<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[235]</a></span> may be the same—'If thou -hast not been already ordained, then I do ordain,' &c. If his former -ordination were good, this is void; if the other was invalid or -defective, he hath reason to be glad that it be thus supplied."<a name="FNanchor_318_318" id="FNanchor_318_318"></a><a href="#Footnote_318_318" class="fnanchor">[318]</a> -Such a mode of silencing the scruples of ministers on whom the -ceremonies of reordination was imposed, came extensively into fashion -after the passing of the Act.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">UNIFORMITY BILL.</div> - -<p>II. When the House resumed their discussions,<a name="FNanchor_319_319" id="FNanchor_319_319"></a><a href="#Footnote_319_319" class="fnanchor">[319]</a> the point in -consideration was "the clause of ministers declaring against the -Covenant."<a name="FNanchor_320_320" id="FNanchor_320_320"></a><a href="#Footnote_320_320" class="fnanchor">[320]</a> A form of abjuring both the doctrine of resistance, and -the obligations of the Covenant, had been required by the Corporation -Act. Upon comparing the words in that Act with the words in the Bill -of Uniformity, it will be found that the latter are the same as the -former, with the addition of two short clauses,—first, "that I will -conform to the Liturgy of the Church of England, as it is now by law -established;" and, secondly, that the Covenant entailed no obligation -"to endeavour any change or alteration of government in Church or -State." As this form of renouncing the Covenant was only of temporary -use, and was to be abolished in twenty years, it ceased afterwards to -receive much attention; but, at first, it constituted a chief point<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[236]</a></span> of -interest both to the upholders and opponents of the Bill, even beyond -the importance attached to the form of subscription and declaration -respecting the Prayer Book. Many of the Peers, who had taken the -Covenant, were not so much concerned that the clergy should be obliged -to make this declaration, as that, when such a clause should be passed -and sanctioned, it might be inserted in other Acts relating to the -functions of other offices, so that, in a short time, what was now only -required of the clergy might be required of themselves.<a name="FNanchor_321_321" id="FNanchor_321_321"></a><a href="#Footnote_321_321" class="fnanchor">[321]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1662.</div> - -<p>The Puritan Peers warmly opposed the clause as unnecessary, and as -widening the breach instead of closing up the wounds which had been -made. Many men would believe or fear that this clause might prove a -breach of the Act of Indemnity, which had not only provided against -indictments and suits at law and penalties, but against reproaches -for what was past. As for conformity to the Liturgy, it was provided -for fully in the former subscription prescribed by the Bill. The -Covenant contained many good things, as defending the King's person, -and maintaining the Protestant religion: and to say that it entailed -no obligation would neither be for the service of the King, or the -interest of the Church; especially since it was well known, it had -wrought upon the conscience of many in the late revolution. At any -rate, it was now dead; all were absolved from taking it. If it had at -any time produced any good, that was an excuse for its irregularity: -it could do no<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[237]</a></span> mischief for the future; and therefore it was time to -bury it in oblivion.<a name="FNanchor_322_322" id="FNanchor_322_322"></a><a href="#Footnote_322_322" class="fnanchor">[322]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">UNIFORMITY BILL.</div> - -<p>The Court party, Clarendon says, made themselves very merry with the -allegation, that the King's safety and the interest of the Church were -provided for by the Covenant, since it had been entered into, in order -to fight the King and destroy the Church. It contradicted itself; and, -if it were not so, the obligation to loyalty was better provided for -by some other oaths. The Bill was no breach of the Act of Indemnity, -the new Declaration was absolutely necessary, for the safety of the -King's person, and the peace of the kingdom; the Covenant was still -the idol to which the Presbyterians sacrificed: and there must always -be a jealousy of those who had taken it, until they had declared -that it did not bind them. The clergy, of all men, ought to be glad -of the opportunity which was offered, to vindicate their loyalty and -obedience.<a name="FNanchor_323_323" id="FNanchor_323_323"></a><a href="#Footnote_323_323" class="fnanchor">[323]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[238]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1662.</div> - -<p>The Bill being now in its last stage, the Lords appointed certain of -their number to draw up a clause empowering the King to make such -provision for any of the deprived clergy as he should see fit.<a name="FNanchor_324_324" id="FNanchor_324_324"></a><a href="#Footnote_324_324" class="fnanchor">[324]</a> As -this clause—like the proviso respecting the cross in baptism—opened -the door for Royal interference—so, probably, like that, it originated -in a Royal suggestion. At all events, these two amendments in contrast -with others which increased the severity of the Bill, indicated the -existence of kindliness towards tender consciences, and impoverished -clergymen,—a disposition which Charles entertained, and in which -certain Lords, including some not puritanically inclined, concurred -with him.</p> - -<p>When the Bill had reached a third reading, the amendments were referred -to the Commons for their consideration. The Commons vigorously set -themselves to work; the Committee sitting until eight at night—a late -hour in those days—and meeting early the next morning.<a name="FNanchor_325_325" id="FNanchor_325_325"></a><a href="#Footnote_325_325" class="fnanchor">[325]</a></p> - -<p>No debate arose upon the alterations made in the Prayer Book by the -Houses of Convocation. The House<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[239]</a></span> of Commons, indeed, appointed a -Committee to compare the Book of Common Prayer sent down from the Lords -with the Book sent up by themselves; but the alterations were adopted -at once; or, rather, the Book as a whole was adopted. It is remarkable, -however, to find how then, as almost always, the members showed -themselves jealous of their privileges; for, upon a question being put, -whether the contents of the revised Book should come under debate, and -the question being negatived,<a name="FNanchor_326_326" id="FNanchor_326_326"></a><a href="#Footnote_326_326" class="fnanchor">[326]</a> lest it should be thought that the -State in this matter submitted to the Church, and allowed the right of -Convocation to control Parliamentary proceedings, another question, -<i>i.e.</i>, "that the amendments made by the Convocation, and sent down by -the Lords to this House, <i>might</i> by the order of this House, have been -debated," received an affirmative answer, without a single dissentient -voice.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">UNIFORMITY BILL.</div> - -<p>Whilst jealous of any interference with their own privileges, the -Commons had no regard for the interests or feelings of the Puritan -clergy; since they accepted the harsh amendments of the Peers, and -added others of their own, so as to render the Bill more intolerable -than it had been before. This circumstance has commonly been -overlooked, and therefore requires particular attention.</p> - -<p>The Lords had introduced a reference to "the tenderness of some men's -consciences;" the Commons struck out the words.<a name="FNanchor_327_327" id="FNanchor_327_327"></a><a href="#Footnote_327_327" class="fnanchor">[327]</a></p> - -<p>When the Lords' substitution of "Bartholomew" for "Michael the -Archangel," a substitution which aggravated the severity of the -measure, came to the vote, there were 87 for the Angel's day, and 96 -for the Saint's.<a name="FNanchor_328_328" id="FNanchor_328_328"></a><a href="#Footnote_328_328" class="fnanchor">[328]</a><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[240]</a></span> The amendments and alterations respecting -ordination, subscription, and the Covenant, all of which had been -conceived in the same spirit of severity, were adopted without division.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1662.</div> - -<p>At the same time the Commons extended the operation of the measure so -as to bring within the meshes of their net not only the clergy, but all -who held offices in the Universities, and every kind of teacher down -to the village schoolmaster, and the tutor in a private family. All -such persons, as well as Deans, Canons, and Prebendaries, who had been -mentioned in the original Bill, were obliged, through the amendments of -the Commons, to subscribe the declaration of non-resistance; to conform -to the Liturgy of the Church of England, as now by law established; -to deny that any obligation had been incurred by taking the Covenant; -and to repudiate that oath as altogether unlawful. The addition of a -penalty of three months' imprisonment to meet the case of those men who -had no livings to lose, affords another instance of the harsh spirit -of the Lower House. Likewise these legislators drew within the reach -of the Bill, the case of those who held benefices without cures—for -the reason that the House did not "think fit to leave sinecures to -Nonconformists," nor permit a Nonconformist to hold a Curate's or a -Lecturer's place.<a name="FNanchor_329_329" id="FNanchor_329_329"></a><a href="#Footnote_329_329" class="fnanchor">[329]</a> An<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[241]</a></span> attempt being made in a different direction -to confine preferment to those who should receive Episcopal ordination -"according to the form of the Church of England,"—a restriction which -would have excluded such as were in Romish orders,—the attempt met -with a different fate. It entirely failed.<a name="FNanchor_330_330" id="FNanchor_330_330"></a><a href="#Footnote_330_330" class="fnanchor">[330]</a> The Lords' tolerant -proviso for dispensing with the cross and surplice was by the Commons -negatived at once;<a name="FNanchor_331_331" id="FNanchor_331_331"></a><a href="#Footnote_331_331" class="fnanchor">[331]</a> and after an adjourned debate upon the -allowance of a fifth part of the income to ejected Incumbents, the -considerate amendment of the Peers was thrown out by a majority of -seven.<a name="FNanchor_332_332" id="FNanchor_332_332"></a><a href="#Footnote_332_332" class="fnanchor">[332]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">UNIFORMITY BILL.<br /> -1662.</div> - -<p>When all this had been done, a message reached the Upper House, on the -30th of April, to request a Conference with the Commons relative to the -amendments; but owing to the dilatoriness of the Peers the Conference -did not take place before the 7th of May, when Serjeant Charlton -defended the Bill in the shape in which the Commons had left it.<a name="FNanchor_333_333" id="FNanchor_333_333"></a><a href="#Footnote_333_333" class="fnanchor">[333]</a> -In an elaborate oration he pointed out, and defended each of their -amendments, dwelling upon the extension of the Act to schoolmasters, as -necessary for the proper education of the young, the neglect of which -amongst the gentry and nobility had been, he said, the root of numerous -mischiefs in the Long Parliament. "It was an oversight," he added,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[242]</a></span> -"in the usurped powers that they took no care in this particular, -whereby many young persons were well seasoned in their judgments as -to the King. This made the Commons take care that schoolmasters, as -well as ministers should subscribe, and rather more." The penalty of -three months' imprisonment, this gentleman ingeniously urged, was -designed to meet the case of those who had no livings to lose: it was -imprisonment in default of paying a fine: whilst the proviso introduced -by the Lords, to dispense with cross and surplice, he contended was -a thing altogether without precedent, which would establish schism, -and yet not satisfy those for whose relief it was intended. The -King's engagement at Breda to respect "tender consciences" had been -noticed by the Lords in support of their amendment; and now, with the -commonplace sophistries always at hand for the use of intolerance, -the manager laughed at the idea of calling schismatical consciences -"tender." "A tender conscience denoted," according to his definition, -"an impression from without received from another, and that upon which -another strikes;" what the definition exactly means I am at a loss to -comprehend. The Serjeant was clearer, and more plausible, although -equally sophistical in his legal reasoning, to the effect that the -Breda Declaration had two limitations: first, its validity depended -upon the sanction of Parliament; and, secondly, the bestowment of -liberty must consist with the kingdom's peace. As to the allowance of -fifths to the ejected ministers, he argued that it would be repugnant -to the idea of uniformity; that, "joined with the pity of their -party" it "would amount to more than the value of the whole living;" -that it would be a reflection on the Act; that it would impoverish -Incumbents; and that it would encourage Dissent. This argument was no -less heartless<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[243]</a></span> than contrary to the precedent, which, under similar -circumstances, had been furnished by the Long Parliament. Charlton -further suggested that the Lords should recommend Convocation, to -direct "such decent gestures," to be used during the time of Divine -service, as was fit. It may be stated that the Lords, on the 8th of -May, recommended to the Bishops and the House of Convocation, to -prepare some canon or rule for the purpose; and that the matter was -accordingly brought before Convocation on the 10th and 12th of May, -when the 18th of the canons of James I., relating to the subject, -underwent emendation.<a name="FNanchor_334_334" id="FNanchor_334_334"></a><a href="#Footnote_334_334" class="fnanchor">[334]</a> Charlton concluded by saying, that he found -one mistake in the rubric of baptism, which he conceived was made -by a copyist, the word <i>persons</i> being written instead of the word -<i>children</i>.<a name="FNanchor_335_335" id="FNanchor_335_335"></a><a href="#Footnote_335_335" class="fnanchor">[335]</a> The amendments and alterations reported to the Lords -were all agreed to, and the clerical error in the Bill pointed out by -Charlton, was formally rectified at the Clerks' table by the Bishops of -Durham, St. Asaph, and Carlisle, under authority from Convocation.<a name="FNanchor_336_336" id="FNanchor_336_336"></a><a href="#Footnote_336_336" class="fnanchor">[336]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">UNIFORMITY BILL.<br /> -1662.</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[244]</a></span></p> - -<p>The MS. volume, copied from the printed Book of Common Prayer, of the -edition of 1636, and altered according to the decisions of Convocation, -was with the printed Book attached to the Act.<a name="FNanchor_337_337" id="FNanchor_337_337"></a><a href="#Footnote_337_337" class="fnanchor">[337]</a></p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[245]</a></span></p></div> - - -<h2>CHAPTER XI.</h2> - - -<p class="drop-cap p-left">The Bill received the Royal assent upon the 19th of May. Perhaps the -reader will not be wearied with an account of the ceremony, and of the -speeches delivered at the time.</p> - -<p>His Majesty occupied the throne in Royal magnificence. The Lord -Chancellor took his place on the woolsack. On the right side, below the -throne, sat the Archbishop of York, the Bishop of Durham, the Bishop of -Bath and Wells, and other prelates, including Reynolds of Norwich, who -could scarcely, with comfort, have witnessed the proceedings of that -day. Neither Sheldon nor Morley was present. On the left side, at the -upper end of the Chamber, were the Lord Treasurer, the Lord Privy Seal, -and three Dukes—Buckingham, Richmond, and Albemarle. The Marquis of -Winchester sat by Albemarle's side, and below came twenty-six Earls, -one Viscount, and thirty-six Barons. The Commons appeared at the bar, -with the Speaker of the House, who delivered a highly rhetorical speech.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1662.</div> - -<p>The King, after giving his assent, delivered a curious homily upon the -extravagant habits of the people, without saying one word about the -Act of Uniformity—after which Clarendon pronounced a long oration, in -the course of which he observed, "the execution of these sharp laws<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[246]</a></span> -depends upon the wisdom of the most discerning, generous, and merciful -Prince, who, having had more experience of the nature and humour of -mankind than any Prince living, can best distinguish between the -tenderness of conscience and the pride of conscience, between the real -effects of conscience and the wicked pretences to conscience—a Prince -of so excellent a nature and tender a conscience himself, that he hath -the highest compassion for all errors of that kind, and will never -suffer the weak to undergo the punishment ordained for the wicked."<a name="FNanchor_338_338" id="FNanchor_338_338"></a><a href="#Footnote_338_338" class="fnanchor">[338]</a></p> - -<p>This was an extraordinary speech to an English Parliament. It can -bear no construction but that of being a plea for a dispensing power. -The Houses having framed a law, Clarendon would have it left to the -Royal wisdom to temper its administration, and to distinguish between -the <i>tenderness</i> and the <i>pride</i> of conscience,—as if the power of -discerning spirits were a gift to kings. What, in the lips of any -English senator would be inconsistent, appears doubly so in the present -instance, for Clarendon afterwards opposed the exercise of the power -which he now claimed on his master's behalf.</p> - -<p>It is necessary here to pause, and inquire what change this famous Act -made in the Establishment of England. The insisting upon Episcopal -ordination, in every case, as essential to the conducting of public -service, and to the preaching of the Gospel, certainly cut off the -English Church, more completely than before, from fellowship with other -reformed Churches;<a name="FNanchor_339_339" id="FNanchor_339_339"></a><a href="#Footnote_339_339" class="fnanchor">[339]</a> and, in consequence of another<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[247]</a></span> provision for -a certain period, the pastoral office became dependent on the taking of -a political oath, to which some, approving of her doctrine and of her -discipline, might conscientiously object. The Church also stood pledged -to the maintenance of civil despotism. Under pretence of reprobating -the course pursued under the Commonwealth, a dogma was imposed upon the -ministers of religion, which, if believed, would effectually prevent -any resistance to the designs of an arbitrary monarch, even if he -should lend himself to the overthrow of the Church itself. Besides, -persons might be found not unfriendly to moderate Episcopacy, who, -nevertheless felt it wrong to use respecting the League and Covenant -the terms which this Act prescribed.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">ACT OF UNIFORMITY.</div> - -<p>The Act of Uniformity added the requirement of "unfeigned assent -and consent" to everything contained in the Prayer Book. By such -alterations the Church of England became increasingly exclusive and -Erastian in its principles, and less Protestant and liberal in its -spirit.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1662.</div> - -<p>In carrying a great measure, responsibility must be divided. It rarely -happens that a number of persons combining together to effect any -change are influenced by the same views; and in this instance of united -action different degrees of responsibility, and different kinds of -motives, are discoverable, when we look a little below the surface.</p> - -<p>I. Convocation must be held responsible for the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[248]</a></span> changes made in the -Prayer Book, its revision being exclusively the work of that assembly; -but, at the same time, it should be remembered, that assembly formed -only a small body, and represented but in part the sentiments of the -clergy. Many of the members felt a strong zeal for order and union; -the feeling assumed different aspects in different instances. Some -in the Upper House, as Cosin, Sanderson, Hacket, Ward, Morley; some -in the Lower, especially Thorndike, sympathized in the sentiments of -Cyprian, as expressed in his <i>Liber de Unitate Ecclesiæ</i>, confounding -unity with uniformity, and allegiance to Christ with submission to -Bishops. They, like him, might suppose that in their zeal for Episcopal -order, they were working out an answer to our Lord's intercessory -prayer. Such a conception of ecclesiastical oneness had been, by the -Nicene and Mediæval Churches, handed down to the Church of the English -Reformation; and it must be admitted, that desires for uniformity -by means of Episcopal order, were in many cases so interlinked with -submission to Christ, as, even in the estimation of those who differ -from Anglo-Catholics, to have their errors, in a measure, redeemed by -the devoutness of their affections. Desires for uniformity, however, as -they wrought in some, both of the superior and inferior clergy, at the -period of the Restoration, had nothing whatever of nobleness in them.</p> - -<p>The Bishops shared in the responsibility of the Upper House of -Parliament, as well as in the responsibility of the Upper House of -Convocation. Sheldon,—to whom must be attributed much influence over -the latter, and also much over the former, so far as the Bishops were -concerned; and who also, from his prominent position and great activity -at the Restoration, could not fail to share in Clarendon's counsels, -respecting the Bill,—was not a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[249]</a></span> man of religious zeal, but a man of -worldly principles; and it is not uncharitable to regard others on -the Bench, and in the Lower House, as closely resembling him in this -respect. Reynolds belonged to a class which, when a crisis arrives, -will always bend to the force of stronger minds, and be carried along -by the current of authority.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">ACT OF UNIFORMITY.</div> - -<p>Between the Bishops at the Restoration and the Bishops at the -Reformation, a considerable difference appears. The theology of the -Anglican prelates at the Restoration was not imbued with those elements -of thought, which the early Reformers held in common with Puritan -Divines; hence, in part, arose the dislike which the Fathers of the -re-established Church cherished towards Nonconformists. Sheldon, as -will appear when we fully examine his character, differed from the -ecclesiastical leaders in Queen Elizabeth's time, such as Parker and -Jewel,<a name="FNanchor_340_340" id="FNanchor_340_340"></a><a href="#Footnote_340_340" class="fnanchor">[340]</a> who had strong religious affections, and were earnestly -bent upon building up Protestantism in England as the great bulwark -of her prosperity; moreover, the Caroline restorers and revisers of -the Prayer Book were utterly deficient in comprehensive policy. The -Elizabethan Divines did avoid, as much as possible, giving offence to -such of the old Roman Catholic party, just dispossessed of power, as -felt at all disposed to join them; but the ecclesiastical leaders of -Charles' day, threw every obstacle they could in the path of those -Nonconformists who showed any disposition to adopt a modified system of -Episcopacy.<a name="FNanchor_341_341" id="FNanchor_341_341"></a><a href="#Footnote_341_341" class="fnanchor">[341]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[250]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1662.</div> - -<p>II. In the House of Commons there existed a mad Royalist party, -influenced by strong personal resentment, who identified the Church -with the Throne, who could not forget what they had suffered under the -Commonwealth, and who especially had a keen recollection of estates -sequestered, and of fines imposed. They were bent upon punishing their -foes, and therefore made the Act as rigid as possible. Its severest -provisions are to be ascribed not to any clerical body, nor to the -Lords, nor to the Prelates, but to the Commons. The Commons were more -intolerant and fierce than any of the Bishops, than any of the clergy. -"Every man, according to his passion, thought of adding somewhat" to -the Bill which "might make it more grievous to somebody whom he did -not love."<a name="FNanchor_342_342" id="FNanchor_342_342"></a><a href="#Footnote_342_342" class="fnanchor">[342]</a> Liberal amendments in the Upper House were resisted in -the Lower; and to the unjust and ungenerous provisions added by the -Lords, were others more unjust and ungenerous added by the Commons. The -Commons, in comparison with the Lords, appear to have been what the -young men, whom Rehoboam consulted and followed, were in comparison -with the old men, who stood before Solomon his father; and the scourge -of whips became a scourge of scorpions.<a name="FNanchor_343_343" id="FNanchor_343_343"></a><a href="#Footnote_343_343" class="fnanchor">[343]</a> Bad as was the Bill from -the first, it was worse in the end than in the beginning.</p> - -<p>III. Clarendon ought to bear a large share of responsibility. His -attachment to an Episcopalian establishment has been repeatedly -noticed. He regarded it as the bulwark of Protestantism, the main -stay of the nation's weal. Burnet reckons him more a friend of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[251]</a></span> -Bishops than of the Church; certainly he showed anxiety to please them, -and their good opinion and support were of importance to him in many -ways. What induced him to court the Bishops would, in a still stronger -degree, induce him to gratify the Commons. Consequently, supposing -that his better nature, or his wiser judgment, inclined him—which is -probable—towards a more moderate course, other considerations induced -him to adopt the severe line of policy which had been chalked out by -some, and filled up by others.<a name="FNanchor_344_344" id="FNanchor_344_344"></a><a href="#Footnote_344_344" class="fnanchor">[344]</a> Clarendon, as leader of the Upper -House, does not appear to have used his influence for the purpose of -removing from the Bill any of the most rigorous parts of it; to their -abatement perhaps he might contribute, although this does not appear. -The liberal amendments proposed by certain Peers seem to have been -abandoned without a struggle; and for this surrender surely Clarendon -is mainly answerable.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">ACT OF UNIFORMITY.</div> - -<p>IV. Another party concurred in the Act from entirely different motives. -The Roman Catholics had been on the increase since the Restoration. -Somerset House, the residence of the Queen Mother, was the place of -resort for the leaders of the party. There, and at the mansion of -the Earl of Bristol, they consulted upon the interests of their own -Church. Of course, they had no idea of seeking comprehension in the -Establishment: their policy was to procure toleration; with that for -the present they would be satisfied, whatever might be their ulterior -aims. Nothing promised so much advantage to them as the passing of -a stringent measure, which would cast out of the English Church as -many<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[252]</a></span> Protestants as possible. Whilst they were aware of the terror -which they inspired in the minds of Nonconformists, they hoped that -fellowship in suffering might soften antipathy, and dispose their -enemies, for their own sakes, to advocate some general indulgence: they -considered that the fact, of a large number of Protestants suffering -from persecuting laws, would at least strengthen the argument in its -favour. It was, I apprehend, on this principle, that the Duke of York -and the Catholic Peers united in supporting all the provisions for -uniformity.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1662.</div> - -<p>At the head of this Roman Catholic party the King himself is to be -placed. When he had reluctantly made up his mind to consent to the -measure, it was in accordance with the circuitous policy I have now -pointed out. Besides, he was fond of a dispensing power, liking Royal -Declarations better than Acts of Parliament; almost any statute would -be tolerable to him, if it gave him the prospect of affording relief -to his subjects in the form of sovereign concession. Clarendon, -who subsequently opposed the exercise of this power, now virtually -recognized it, as a prerogative of the King, in the speech just quoted, -and plainly pointed to the Royal intention of employing that assumed -prerogative for mitigating the severities of the present statute.</p> - -<p>Policy and passion were stamped upon the face of the measure. It -would be the bitterest of all satires to say that the men principally -concerned in it were influenced by religious conviction—that -conscientiously and in the sight of God, they performed an act which, -though they saw it to be rigorous, they felt to be righteous. Amidst -keenly excited feelings on the side of an exclusive policy, perhaps -there was no impulse of greater force than the very common one of party -feeling.</p> - -<p>When we recollect that it was not to the clergy then<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[253]</a></span> expressing itself -in Convocation, or in any other way, but to Parliament, that the -Church of England owed the clauses which required the repudiation of -the Covenant, and of the doctrine of non-resistance—clauses which so -galled the Puritans—the Act, to a large extent, appears, not so much -an ecclesiastical measure, as a work executed by a political faction, -bent upon crushing opponents, under pretence of their being unpatriotic -and disloyal. Of the bad spirit in which Parliament framed and passed -this act there remains not the shadow of a doubt; and it is impossible -that any one acquainted with the circumstance, however he may admire -the Church so re-established at the Restoration, can think of the mode -of its re-establishment without shame and sorrow.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">ACT OF UNIFORMITY.</div> - -<p>It is very remarkable that the Act omitted to provide for uniformity -in certain important particulars; and it has failed to produce the -uniformity intended in others.<a name="FNanchor_345_345" id="FNanchor_345_345"></a><a href="#Footnote_345_345" class="fnanchor">[345]</a> Nothing was done in relation to -psalmody; forms of prayer and praise in prose were rigidly set down, -but forms of prayer and praise in verse were left to be composed or -adopted at the pleasure of any one, subject only to the doubtful -authority of the Bishop or Ordinary. The formularies of the Prayer Book -relating to baptism have long received from Episcopalians contradictory -interpretations; and, of late years, liberty in this respect has been -legally conceded, as not inconsistent with the Act of Uniformity. The -obscurity of the rubric on the subject of ornaments renders a decision -of the controversy by ecclesiastical lawyers a difficult matter, and -consequently places<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[254]</a></span> Bishops in perplexity as to what is the law, and -how they are to proceed. We are struck with the <i>unequal pressure</i> of -the Act. It made clerical practice in some respects very strict, and -in others very lax: whilst, as to prominent points then in dispute -between Episcopalians and Presbyterians, the law is precise; as to -other points, far from unimportant, the same law, through intention -or neglect, opened, or left open, a wide field for difference and for -controversy.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1662.</div> - -<p>The experience of a hundred years was thrown away upon the authors of -the measure. The first Act of Uniformity under Elizabeth had proved -a failure—the subsequent history of her reign had shown, that this -contrivance to repress the spirit of religious liberty, produced no -more effect than did the green withs which bound Samson. The troubles -of James' reign, the overthrow of Laud's policy, together with his -sufferings and death, illustrated the mischievous consequences of -confounding unity with uniformity, and of seeking the first by means -of the second. Grindal and other prelates had been sick at heart, -through fruitless endeavours made to secure spiritual obedience by -physical force. Lord Bacon had pointed out the difference between unity -and uniformity, and had reproved the persecutor, by saying, that the -silencing of ministers was a punishment that lighteth upon the people, -as well as upon the party;<a name="FNanchor_346_346" id="FNanchor_346_346"></a><a href="#Footnote_346_346" class="fnanchor">[346]</a> others of humbler name had still more -clearly explained, and still more directly enforced, the lessons of -toleration. But all in vain; the teaching of a whole century had been -wasted on the contrivers and supporters of the second Act of Uniformity.</p> - -<p>The Act did not merely eject all Incumbents who<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[255]</a></span> scrupled to comply -with its requirement, but it silenced throughout the land all the -preachers of Christianity who were not Conformists.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">ACT OF UNIFORMITY.</div> - -<p>All Nonconformist ministers were prohibited from officiating in the -pulpits of the Episcopalian Church established by law; few other places -of worship were in existence, and the operation of the Act, especially -by citing and recognizing the Act of Uniformity under Elizabeth, would -be to prevent Nonconformists from preaching anywhere.</p> - -<p>Two classes then were affected: Incumbents, whom the Act ejected; and -ministers, not Incumbents, whom it silenced. Plausible arguments might -be adduced for the uniformity of an establishment; strong reasons -might be urged against a coalition of Episcopacy with Presbyterianism. -The government of Bishops, and the use of a Liturgy, being adopted -in the Church, it may be said that it is only consistent, that there -should be the maintenance of order in the ministry, and of regularity -in the worship. But the Act went much further, and proceeded upon -the theory of one ecclesiastical incorporation of the entire State, -without recognizing outside the existence of any religion whatever. To -Nonconformists there was an utter denial of any spiritual rights. For -them there was to be neither comprehension nor toleration. The germs of -the Conventicle and Five Mile Acts were in the bosom of the Uniformity -Bill.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[256]</a></span></p></div> - - -<h2>CHAPTER XII.</h2> - - -<p class="drop-cap p-left">More victims in the month of April were sacrificed upon the altar of -revenge. Colonel John Okey, a distinguished officer in the Commonwealth -Army, who had adopted Republican and Millenarian views; Miles Corbet, a -member of the Long Parliament, and Recorder of Yarmouth, who had been -connected with the Church under the pastoral care of William Bridge, -in that town; and Colonel John Barkstead, who had been knighted by -Cromwell, and had been appointed to a seat in his House of Lords—all -three, after a brief trial, and a merciless sentence, for the part they -had taken in the High Court of Justice, were executed at Tyburn.</p> - -<p>A noble victim perished two months afterwards. It has been with Sir -Henry Vane as with Oliver Cromwell: having disliked each other in life, -they have shared a common fate in the judgment of posterity: for, -after years of odium, the names of both are raised to honour. Vane's -Republicanism rendered him impracticable, and his mysticism, although -undeserving the reproaches of Baxter and Burnet, threw a haze over his -speculations, which makes them somewhat unintelligible; but the piety -and genius of his <i>Meditations</i>, and the purity and virtue of his life, -render him an object of reverence and love.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[257]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote">REPUBLICAN VICTIMS.</div> - -<p>He was tried for compassing the death of the King; yet, whatever he -might be in other respects, he was no regicide. The evidence on his -trial only proved that he had held office under the Commonwealth, -that he had been a member of the Council of State in 1651, and had -belonged to the Committee of Safety in 1659. To make the condemnation -and sentence of Vane the more unrighteous, the King, after solemnly -promising to spare the life of the Republican, had written to -Clarendon, saying—Vane "is too dangerous a man to let live, if we can -honestly put him out of the way."</p> - -<p>The spirit of the prisoner appears in a letter which he wrote to his -wife. "This dark night, and black shade," he observes, "which God hath -drawn over His work in the midst of us, may be, for aught we know, the -ground colour to some beautiful piece that He is now exposing to the -light." His execution was an ovation. From the crowded tops and windows -of the houses, people expressed their deep sympathy, crying aloud, "The -Lord go with you, the great God of heaven and earth appear in you and -for you;"—signs of popular feeling which sustained the sufferer, who -gratefully acknowledged them, "putting off his hat and bowing." When -asked how he did, he answered, "Never better in all my life;" and on -the scaffold his noble bearing so affected the spectators that they -could scarcely believe "the gentleman in the black suit and cloak, with -a scarlet silk waistcoat (the victorious colour) showing itself at -the breast, was the prisoner." Frequent interruptions from the sound -of drums drowned his voice, which, as Burnet says, was "a new and -very indecent practice." The officers, as they put their hands in his -pockets, searching for papers, exasperated the populace, whilst Vane's -calmness led a Royalist present to say, "he died like a prince." Before -receiving the last stroke,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[258]</a></span> he exclaimed, "I bless the Lord, who hath -accounted me worthy to suffer for His name. Blessed be the Lord, that -I have kept a conscience void of offence to this day. I bless the Lord -I have not deserted the righteous cause for which I suffer."—"Father, -glorify Thy servant in the sight of men, that he may glorify Thee in -the discharge of his duty to Thee and to his country." One blow did the -work. "It was generally thought," remarks Burnet, "the Government had -lost more than it had gained by his death." Pepys declares the people -counted his constancy "a miracle;" adding, "The King lost more by that -man's death than he will get again for a good while."<a name="FNanchor_347_347" id="FNanchor_347_347"></a><a href="#Footnote_347_347" class="fnanchor">[347]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1662.</div> - -<p>Thus fell one of the triumvirate described in a former volume—thus -fell the noblest mystic of the age, next to George Fox—thus was -devoted to death in the Temple of Expediency, one who had never bowed -at the shrine of that heathen goddess, but had always fervently -worshipped in the Temple of Christian Virtue. Whatever his enemies -might do with his body, they could not prevent his pure soul from -entering that adjacent Temple of Honour, on the walls of which his name -is inscribed for evermore.</p> - -<p>Some of the regicides escaped with their lives. Well known is the story -of Edmund Ludlow—how he fled at the Restoration, and went to Geneva, -and settled at Vevay; how he came back to England at the period of -the Revolution, and set sail for Ireland to assist William III. at -the siege of Londonderry, and was compelled to return because that -prince would not allow in his fleet, the presence of one who had been -implicated in his grandfather's execution.<a name="FNanchor_348_348" id="FNanchor_348_348"></a><a href="#Footnote_348_348" class="fnanchor">[348]</a> But history tells -of another<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[259]</a></span> regicide, less known to fame—whose fortunes were less -happy, and more wonderful. Edward Whalley figured amongst Cromwell's -Major-Generals, and was so considerable a person that Richard Baxter -dedicated to him a controversial work, entitled <i>The Apology</i>, in which -he says, "Think not that your greatest trials are all over. Prosperity -hath its peculiar temptations, by which it hath foiled many that stood -unshaken in the storms of adversity. The tempter, who hath had you on -the waves, will now assault you in the calm, and hath his last game -to play on the mountain till nature cause you to descend. Stand this -charge, and you win the day."<a name="FNanchor_349_349" id="FNanchor_349_349"></a><a href="#Footnote_349_349" class="fnanchor">[349]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">REPUBLICAN VICTIMS.</div> - -<p>The Divine little apprehended the fate awaiting the soldier. A few days -before Charles' return, Whalley, with his son-in-law, Major-General -Gough,—who had stood together by Oliver Cromwell's death-bed,—sailed -for America. Landing at Boston, they were protected by the Governor, -until scented out by the Royalists of Barbadoes, they were forced to -renew their flight. Settled at Newhaven, the minister of the place, -named Davenport, pleaded for their security in a sermon from the -ingeniously selected words: "Let mine outcasts dwell with thee,—be -thou a covert to them from the face of the spoiler."<a name="FNanchor_350_350" id="FNanchor_350_350"></a><a href="#Footnote_350_350" class="fnanchor">[350]</a> Rewards -were offered for the fugitives, and this minister was threatened for -his advocacy on their behalf, but he continued to harbour them in his -neighbourhood, where they abode in a cave on the top of a rock, to -which was given the name of <i>Providence</i>. This kind of life they spent -for two or three years, when they removed to Hadley, and there, under -the protection of another minister, spent sixteen years more of alarm, -privation, and sorrow. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[260]</a></span> people in these parts were at war with the -famous Indian Chief, Philip of Pokanoket, who with his tribe one day -surrounded the little town at an hour when the inhabitants were engaged -in public worship. Although the people always carried arms, even at -church, on this occasion the sudden assault filled them with fear, -and, for once unmanned, they would have probably fallen into the hands -of their foes, had not a strange person, in peculiar attire, and of -commanding presence, put himself at their head, skilfully marshalling -the little band, with the words and authority of a general. It was -as when the Romans fought under the leadership of the twin brethren; -and the unknown visitant and deliverer proved to be no other than -Gough, who had learned the arts of war under Oliver Cromwell. He -survived his father-in-law Whalley, who died in the year of the English -Revolution.<a name="FNanchor_351_351" id="FNanchor_351_351"></a><a href="#Footnote_351_351" class="fnanchor">[351]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1662.</div> - -<p>The revised edition of the Prayer Book was not ready until the 6th of -August. Then appeared an advertisement announcing that books in folio -were provided for all churches and chapels; the price of each being six -shillings, ready bound. Printed copies, examined and corrected, were -certified under the Great Seal, and the Deans and Chapters of cathedral -and collegiate churches were required to obtain one of these books -annexed to a copy of the Act, before the 25th of December. A similar -copy was to be delivered to the Courts at Westminster, to be placed -amongst the Records in the Tower of London.<a name="FNanchor_352_352" id="FNanchor_352_352"></a><a href="#Footnote_352_352" class="fnanchor">[352]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[261]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote">EFFECTS OF THE ACT.</div> - -<p>In those days, when editions were not thrown off in thousands by a -steam press, and there was no book post to convey parcels in one night -to the Land's End, it was slow work to multiply and circulate copies. -Some clergymen, therefore, could not get sight of the alterations -before St. Bartholomew's Day.</p> - -<p>It showed indecent haste to date the time for decision so early as the -24th of August; or it showed indecent delay, not to issue the Book -until within three weeks before. It has been asserted that few parishes -received it till a fortnight after the period prescribed, and Burnet -says that he was informed by some of the Bishops, that many clergymen -subscribed before they had seen the volume.<a name="FNanchor_353_353" id="FNanchor_353_353"></a><a href="#Footnote_353_353" class="fnanchor">[353]</a> One, in the diocese -of Lincoln, pleaded as a proof of the injustice of his being silenced, -that he had never had an opportunity of reading what he was required to -adopt; and he adds, that this was the case with many more. A clergyman, -named Steel, in his farewell sermon, at Hanmer, in Flintshire, declared -"he was silenced and turned out, for not declaring his unfeigned assent -and consent to a Book which he never saw or could see."<a name="FNanchor_354_354" id="FNanchor_354_354"></a><a href="#Footnote_354_354" class="fnanchor">[354]</a> Certainly -the Book ought to have been in every rectory and vicarage a month or -two previously to the day of ejection; yet, it must be acknowledged, -too much was made of the difficulty at the time, and too<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[262]</a></span> much has been -made of it since; for the fifth clause of the Act distinctly provides -for lawful impediments "to be allowed and approved of by the Ordinary -of the place."<a name="FNanchor_355_355" id="FNanchor_355_355"></a><a href="#Footnote_355_355" class="fnanchor">[355]</a> Upon this clause we have a practical commentary in -a paper issued by the Bishop of Peterborough, expressly providing for -such cases.<a name="FNanchor_356_356" id="FNanchor_356_356"></a><a href="#Footnote_356_356" class="fnanchor">[356]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1662.</div> - -<p>The Bishop very properly treated as a lawful impediment, inability to -examine the Book: and in the following year, as we shall see, an Act -passed for the relief of such persons as were disabled from declaring -conformity. Wherever and whenever a prelate felt so disposed, he could -make allowance for such inability; nevertheless, the fact remains, -that it rested entirely with him to determine what was a <i>lawful -impediment</i>, and to allow or not, the force of scruples, according to -his own personal pleasure; if the Diocesan chose to decide against -the Incumbent, the patron might at once present another person to the -living.</p> - -<p>Richard Baxter made up his mind to leave the Establishment within a -week of the time when the Act of Uniformity received the Royal assent. -He preached on the 25th of May, and then gave as reasons for his early -silence, that he considered the Act at once put an end to the liberty -of his lecturing in parish churches, and that he wished his brethren to -understand he had fully made up his mind not to conform. He thought if -he "stayed to the last day," some might be led to suppose he meant to -submit, and so might be drawn into an imitation of his supposed example.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">EFFECTS OF THE ACT.</div> - -<p>Baxter's course in this respect was peculiar. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[263]</a></span> Presbyterians -generally remained in the Church, as long as they could, although -they had quite made up their minds as to what they should do when -the decisive feast of St. Bartholomew arrived. Philip Henry spent -days of prayer for Divine direction, and sought advice from friends -at Oxford and Chester. He objected to be ordained, and could not, -after being a Presbyter for years, declare himself moved by the Holy -Ghost to take upon himself the office of Deacon. The difficulty in -his case was increased by the demand of Hall, Bishop of Chester, that -the Presbyterians whom he ordained should explicitly repudiate their -previous orders.<a name="FNanchor_357_357" id="FNanchor_357_357"></a><a href="#Footnote_357_357" class="fnanchor">[357]</a> Henry could not give his assent and consent to -things in the Prayer Book which to him were not true. He felt the force -of the exceptions taken at the Savoy Conference, and did not believe -in the power of any company of men to impose a yoke of ceremonial -law upon the necks of their brethren. He disapproved of kneeling at -the Lord's table as a practice unwarranted by Scripture; unsuited to -the celebration of a supper; "grossly abused even to idolatry;" the -imposition of which was a violation of Christian liberty. He objected -particularly to kneeling at the rails, as smelling "rank of Popish -superstition:" the indiscriminate Communion of the Episcopalian Church -he could not reconcile with his notions of discipline; and, though -he had never taken the Covenant, he would not condemn those who had -done so. He approved of Archbishop Ussher's scheme of Episcopacy; -and "thought it lawful to join in the Common Prayer in public -assemblies, and practised accordingly, and endeavoured to satisfy -others concerning<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[264]</a></span> it."<a name="FNanchor_358_358" id="FNanchor_358_358"></a><a href="#Footnote_358_358" class="fnanchor">[358]</a> It is curious to learn that he believed -his views of spiritual religion formed the basis of his objections to -conformity: and that when Dr. Busby, to whom as his friend, he owed his -deep evangelic convictions, said once, "Prythee child, what made thee a -Nonconformist?" Henry replied to his much-loved schoolmaster, "Truly, -sir, you made me one; for you taught me those things that hindered me -from conforming."<a name="FNanchor_359_359" id="FNanchor_359_359"></a><a href="#Footnote_359_359" class="fnanchor">[359]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1662.</div> - -<p>In the mind of Philip Henry there existed a strong disposition to -conform, and the case was the same with Joseph Alleine, and others. -Many, who had been episcopally ordained, were prepared to do everything -required, except one thing—giving an unfeigned assent and consent to -all the contents of the Prayer Book.<a name="FNanchor_360_360" id="FNanchor_360_360"></a><a href="#Footnote_360_360" class="fnanchor">[360]</a></p> - -<p>John Howe felt more difficulties than one; he had not received -Episcopal orders, but had been ordained at Winwick, in Lancashire, by -the laying on of the hands of the Presbytery; on which account, he -used to say, that few had so primitive an ordination as himself. After -the Act had passed, Dr. Wilkins expressed his surprise that <i>a man of -Howe's latitude</i> should have stood out; to which he replied, that he -would gladly have remained in the Establishment, but his <i>latitude</i> -was the very thing that made him and kept him a Nonconformist. He -said also, "that he could not by any means he fond of a Church, that -in reality had no discipline at all, and that he thought that a very -considerable objection against the Establishment." In these respects -his difficulties were similar to those of Philip Henry. On another -occasion, when asked by Seth Ward, then Bishop of Exeter, "Pray, sir, -what hurt is there in being <i>twice</i> ordained?"<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[265]</a></span> he replied, "Hurt, my -lord,—it hurts my understanding; the thought is shocking; it is an -absurdity, since nothing can have two beginnings."<a name="FNanchor_361_361" id="FNanchor_361_361"></a><a href="#Footnote_361_361" class="fnanchor">[361]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">EFFECTS OF THE ACT.</div> - -<p>We can enter into the struggles which agitated the clergy during the -three months before St. Bartholomew's Day. As the corn ripened, and -the country Rector sat with his wife in their little parlour,—as -they looked out of the latticed window on the children chasing the -butterflies in the garden, or picking up daisies on the glebe,—there -came the alternative—"we <i>must</i> conform, or leave all this next -August;" and, as that necessity stared the Incumbent in the face, it -would require, in some cases, a woman's quieter fortitude to reinforce -a man's louder resolve.<a name="FNanchor_362_362" id="FNanchor_362_362"></a><a href="#Footnote_362_362" class="fnanchor">[362]</a> Nor can it be denied, that means of -usefulness to some had brighter attractions than home comforts; and -that it proved the hardest wrench of all to break the bond between -the Christian shepherd and his flock. These men had hearts as well as -heads; but in the conflict the victory came from their judgments, not -their affections. I remember visiting Scotland more than a quarter of -a century ago, just on the eve of the great disruption, and spending -an evening at a pleasant manse inhabited by an able minister and his -accomplished wife, both of whom were pondering the question of "going -out," or "remaining in;" and never can I forget the look of anguish -with which they alluded to the impending crisis. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[266]</a></span> memory of that -visit brings vividly to mind many an English parsonage in the year 1662.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1662.</div> - -<p>It required much effort in the minds of Puritan clergymen to brace -themselves up to meet what was at hand. One prepared for the crisis by -preaching to his congregation four successive Sundays from words to -the Hebrews: "Ye took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in -yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance." -Another, who had a wife and ten children—"eleven strong arguments," -so he said, for conformity—remarked, that his family must live on the -6th of Matthew, "Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or -what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on." A -third, when asked what he would do with his family, replied, "Should I -have as many children as that hen has chickens," pointing to one with a -numerous brood, "I should not question but God would provide for them -all."<a name="FNanchor_363_363" id="FNanchor_363_363"></a><a href="#Footnote_363_363" class="fnanchor">[363]</a></p> - -<p>Several of the ministers conferred or corresponded with each other. -A few came to London to know the opinions of their brethren. Letters -passed to and fro as fast as the post could carry them; and sheets -full of arguments, questions, replies, and rejoinders, were conveyed -from place to place. Stories respecting the treatment of Presbyterian -Chaplains, the conduct of the Bishops at the Savoy, the debates in -Convocation, and the speeches in Parliament, Sheldon's management, -and Clarendon's policy, would be freely told, not always with perfect -accuracy. Ministers conversed with Presbyterian Peers, and other -patrons; and, it is said, that one of the former being asked by -one of the latter whether he would conform, answered, "That such -things were re<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[267]</a></span>quired and enjoined as he could not swallow," and -he was "necessitated to march off, and sound a retreat;" whereupon -His Lordship added, with a sigh, "I wish it had been otherwise; -but they were resolved either to reproach you, or undo you."<a name="FNanchor_364_364" id="FNanchor_364_364"></a><a href="#Footnote_364_364" class="fnanchor">[364]</a> -With conference and correspondence there existed no organized -confederation; each took his own ground, and pursued his own course. -Many a village Vicar stood alone, and his conduct proceeded from -individual conscientiousness. The ejected had nothing to strengthen and -animate them, like the understanding which preceded the disruption in -Scotland—nothing like the popular applause that welcomed it—nothing -like the <i>éclat</i> of the public procession from the House of Assembly -in the City of Edinburgh; no ovation soothed the cast-out. The feast -of St. Bartholomew became a fast; as in the Valley of Megiddon, so in -Puritan England, "The land mourned, every family apart."</p> - -<div class="sidenote">EFFECTS OF THE ACT.</div> - -<p>As August approached, reports of disaffection increased in gravity. -In July, an idea was current that Cromwell's soldiers were waiting -to learn what the Presbyterians would do, being themselves ready to -rekindle the flames of revolution. From various parts of the country -came news of refractory trained bands, of gunsmiths preparing arms, -and of ministers talking treason. Rumour declared there was to be a -general rising in a few weeks. At all events, within two years of the -Restoration, the joy of seeing a crowned head once more, had given -way. People began, not only to ask what advantage had accrued from the -King's return, but they also began to institute comparisons between -the Long Parliament and that which was now sitting. De Wiquefort, -the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[268]</a></span> Dutch Minister, in a despatch dated the 14th of May, informed -his Government, that the chimney tax could not be levied without much -trouble, and that Parliament, <i>which had been the idol of the nation, -was now sinking in popular respect</i>.<a name="FNanchor_365_365" id="FNanchor_365_365"></a><a href="#Footnote_365_365" class="fnanchor">[365]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1662.</div> - -<p>Several sources of discontent can be pointed out. The licentiousness -and extravagance of the Court were passing all bounds; even such of -the Cavaliers as combined with their hatred of Puritan precision, -some regard for outward decency, were shocked at the stories of the -mad revelries and shameless debauchery of Whitehall; many individuals -had been beggared in the Royal service, and now they saw themselves -totally neglected by the Prince in whose cause they had sacrificed -their property and shed their blood. To replenish an empty exchequer, -the Government effected the sale of Dunkirk—a town which had been -won by the valour of Cromwell. It wounded the national honour, and -roused popular indignation, to see the keys of that fortress put into -the hands of Louis XIV. for a sum of money; and also to see Tangier, -a useless possession, part of the dowry of Queen Catherine, carefully -preserved at a large cost. To add to the trouble, Popery was said to -be on the increase, especially through proceedings at Somerset House, -where the Queen Mother Henrietta kept her Court, gathered round her the -English Roman Catholics, and encouraged the intrigues of Jesuits and -priests.</p> - -<p>Charles and his Council did not learn the whole truth, they only caught -glimpses of some wild phantasmagoria, with the great Gorgon-head of -insurrection in the midst of all; and, therefore, instead of striving -to see what could be done to re-establish confidence, he and his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[269]</a></span> -Ministers set to work to demolish fortifications at Northampton, -at Gloucester, and at other places, and to issue instructions to -Lieutenants of Counties to take precautions against rebellion.<a name="FNanchor_366_366" id="FNanchor_366_366"></a><a href="#Footnote_366_366" class="fnanchor">[366]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">EFFECTS OF THE ACT.<br /> -1662.</div> - -<p>Numbers of political papers and tracts appeared expressing uneasiness. -Much authority cannot be attached to such a random writer as Roger -L'Estrange; but when he states that not so few as 200,000 copies of -seditious works had been printed "since the blessed return of his -sacred Majesty," and that to these were to be added new editions of -old ones to the amount of millions more,<a name="FNanchor_367_367" id="FNanchor_367_367"></a><a href="#Footnote_367_367" class="fnanchor">[367]</a> we are justified in -believing that the printers were kept very busy by people of the kind -so much detested by this pamphleteer, nor do I doubt that, as he -says, the publications "were contrived and penned with accurate care -and cunning to catch all humours." On the other side, the Church and -State party did not sit with folded hands—Roger's own fiery pen being -unceasingly employed in the laudation of King, Church, and Bishops, and -in vilifying Roundheads, Republicans, and all Sectaries. Some authors -mingled in the <i>mêlée</i> after a very equivocal fashion, drawing "a -parallel betwixt the ancient and the modern fanatics," so as to place -in company with Anabaptists, Quakers, and Independents, not only the -Lollards, but even Hugh Latimer—thus striking a blow at Nonconformity -through the side of the Reformation.<a name="FNanchor_368_368" id="FNanchor_368_368"></a><a href="#Footnote_368_368" class="fnanchor">[368]</a> Much more effective than -abuse and satire, were papers, printed ready for Bartholomew's Day, -giving "a brief martyrology and catalogue of the learned, grave, -religious, and painful ministers<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[270]</a></span> of the City of London, who were -deprived, imprisoned, and plundered, during the Commonwealth." The -persecution of the Episcopalians afforded a strong point against the -Nonconformists, especially before it could be met by a long list of -ejected Nonconformists. Names of Episcopalians said to have been -reviled, and forced to resign, and "compelled to fly"—"violated, -assaulted, abused in the streets," and imprisoned in "the Compter, -Ely House, Newgate, and the ships"—furnished so many arguments for -severe measures against those who were charged with these indefensible -persecutions.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[271]</a></span></p></div> - - -<h2>CHAPTER XIII.</h2> - - -<p class="drop-cap p-left">No Sunday in England ever exactly resembled that which fell on the -17th of August, 1662—one week before the feast of St. Bartholomew. -There have been "mourning, lamentation, and woe," in particular parish -churches when death, persecution, or some other cause has broken -pastoral ties, and severed from loving congregations, their spiritual -guides; but for many hundreds of ministers on the same day to be -uttering farewells is an unparalleled circumstance. In after years, -Puritan fathers and mothers related to their children the story of -assembled crowds; of aisles, standing-places, and stairs, filled to -suffocation; of people clinging to open windows like swarms of bees; -of overflowing throngs in churchyards and streets; of deep silence or -stifled sobs, as the flock gazed on the shepherd—"sorrowing most of -all that they should see his face no more."</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1662.</div> - -<p>Pepys—who liked to see and hear everything which was going on—walked -to old St. Dunstan's Church, at seven o'clock in the morning, but found -the doors unopened. He took a turn in the Temple Gardens until eight, -when, on coming back to the church, he saw people crowding in at a side -door, and found the edifice half-filled, ere the principal entrance had -been opened. Dr. Bates, minister of the church, took for his text—<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[272]</a></span> -"Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, -that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting -covenant, make you perfect." "He making a very good sermon," reports -the Secretary, "and very little reflections in it to anything of the -times." After dinner, the gossip went to St. Dunstan's again, to hear -a second sermon from the same preacher upon the same text. Arriving at -the church, about one o'clock, he found it thronged, and had to stand -during the whole of the service. Not until the close of this second -homily, did the preacher make any distinct allusion to his ejectment, -and then it was in terms the most concise and temporate. "I know you -expect I should say something as to my nonconformity. I shall only say -thus much—it is neither fancy, faction, nor humour, that makes me not -to comply, but merely for fear of offending God. And if after the best -means used for my illumination, as prayer to God, discourse, study, -I am not able to be satisfied concerning the lawfulness of what is -required; if it be my unhappiness to be in error, surely men will have -no reason to be angry with me in this world, and I hope God will pardon -me in the next."<a name="FNanchor_369_369" id="FNanchor_369_369"></a><a href="#Footnote_369_369" class="fnanchor">[369]</a></p> - -<p>Dr. Jacomb occupied his pulpit in St. Martin's, Ludgate. It would seem, -from his remarks, that he did not expect it to be the last pastoral -discourse he would deliver; but I am unable to say whether the hope he -had of preaching to his parishioners again, arose from an idea that -the law would be mitigated. "Let me," he said, "require this of you, -to pass a charitable interpretation upon our laying down the exercise -of our ministry." "I censure none that differ from me, as though they -dis<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[273]</a></span>please God: but yet, as to myself, should I do thus and thus, I -should certainly violate the peace of my own conscience, and offend -God, which I must not do, no, not to secure my ministry; though that -either is, or ought to be dearer to me than my very life; and how dear -it is, God only knoweth."<a name="FNanchor_370_370" id="FNanchor_370_370"></a><a href="#Footnote_370_370" class="fnanchor">[370]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">THE BARTHOLOMEW EJECTMENT.</div> - -<p>In the Cambridge University Library<a name="FNanchor_371_371" id="FNanchor_371_371"></a><a href="#Footnote_371_371" class="fnanchor">[371]</a> is the copy of <i>A Prayer of -a Nonconformist before his Sermon, which was preached to an eminent -Congregation, August, 1662</i>. The prayer is long, and consists chiefly -of confession of sin and of supplication for spiritual blessings; -the only passages which seem to refer to existing circumstances -are the two following:—"It is the Spirit that makes ordinances -efficacious—although Thou art pleased to tye us to them, when we may -purely enjoy them, yet Thou dost not tye Thyself to them." "Bring our -hearts to our estates, if not our estates to our hearts. It is the -happiness of the saints in heaven to have their estates brought to -their hearts; but the happiness of the saints on earth to have their -hearts brought to their estates."</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1662.</div> - -<p>The Fire of London swept away so many of the old City churches that we -are unable to picture the localities where the City ministers preached, -what they called, their own funeral sermons; but it is otherwise in the -provinces. Everyone who has entered the Vale of Taunton, and tarried -in the town from which it takes its name, must have lingered under -the shadow of the noble Church of St. Mary, and longer still within -its spacious nave, sometime since restored with exquisite taste. In -1662 the town had just had its walls razed, as a punishment for what -the inhabitants did in the Civil Wars—the bones of their townsman -Blake had been dug out of his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[274]</a></span> grave in Westminster Abbey; old Puritan -members of the Corporation had been displaced for new ones of Cavalier -sympathies; and now, with bitter recollections, the nonconforming -parishioners entered the Church on the 17th of August, to listen for -the last time to their minister, George Newton—"a noted gospeller," -and remarkable for his missionary zeal. "As to the particular Divine -providence," he said, "now ending our ministry among you, whatever -happeneth on this account, let it be your exercise to cry out for the -Holy Spirit of Christ, and He will grant you a greater support than you -may expect from any man whatever.... The withdrawing of this present -ministry may be to cause you to pray for this Holy Spirit, day and -night; and Christ promiseth that the Father will give it to them that -ask it.... If I cannot serve God one way, let me not be discouraged, -but be more earnest in another."<a name="FNanchor_372_372" id="FNanchor_372_372"></a><a href="#Footnote_372_372" class="fnanchor">[372]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">THE BARTHOLOMEW EJECTMENT.</div> - -<p>The quiet little town of Beer Regis, in Dorsetshire, retains its -ancient church, with its square tower and pinnacles, dedicated to St. -John the Baptist. The living, in conjunction with that of Charmouth, -formed the golden prebend of Salisbury Cathedral. How much of the -income of the stall belonged to the Incumbent under the Commonwealth -I do not know, but the Incumbency must have been of a description -strongly to tempt Philip Lamb, who then held it, to comply with the Act -of Uniformity, had he been a worldly-minded man.<a name="FNanchor_373_373" id="FNanchor_373_373"></a><a href="#Footnote_373_373" class="fnanchor">[373]</a> But his farewell -teaching proves him to have been above the reach of such temptations. -Like other discourses at the same time, his was full of spiritual -instruction and earnest appeal; the following allusion being made to -the event of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[275]</a></span> day:—"For now I must tell you, that perhaps you -may not see my face, or hear my voice anymore in this place; yet not -out of any peevish humour, or disaffection to the present authority -of the kingdom (I call God and man to witness this day), it being -my own practice and counsel to you all, <i>to fear God and honour the -King</i>;—but rather a real dissatisfaction in some particulars imposed, -to which (notwithstanding all endeavours to that purpose) my conscience -cannot yet be espoused."<a name="FNanchor_374_374" id="FNanchor_374_374"></a><a href="#Footnote_374_374" class="fnanchor">[374]</a></p> - -<p>The week between the 17th and 24th of August proved an eventful one. -Charles had been married in the previous May to Catherine of Braganza; -a match which—though formally approved by the Privy Council and by -Parliament, because of her dowry, and of the possession of Tangier, on -the coast of Africa, and of Bombay, in the East Indies, and of a free -trade with Portugal and its colonies—was, because of the religion of -the bride, hateful to the English people, in proportion as they hated -Popery. The day before her reception, the King issued a Proclamation, -addressed to the Lord Mayor and Sheriffs of London. He laid "hold -of this occasion of public joy, on the first coming of the Queen to -the Royal Palace of Westminster, to order the release of Quakers and -others, in gaol, in London and Middlesex, for being present at unlawful -assemblies, who yet profess all obedience and allegiance; provided they -are not indicted for refusing the Oath of Allegiance, nor have been -ringleaders nor preachers at their assemblies, hoping thereby to reduce -them to a better conformity."<a name="FNanchor_375_375" id="FNanchor_375_375"></a><a href="#Footnote_375_375" class="fnanchor">[375]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1662.</div> - -<p>The Quakers, George Fox and Richard Hubberthorn, had just before -addressed the King as "Friend," and sent His Majesty a list of "three -thousand one hundred<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[276]</a></span> and seventy-three persons" who had suffered for -conscience' sake. "There have been also imprisoned in thy name," add -these plain-spoken memorialists, "three thousand sixty and eight." "Now -this we would have of thee, to set them at liberty that lie in prison, -in the names of the Commonwealth, and of the two Protectors, and them -that lie in thy own name, for speaking the truth."<a name="FNanchor_376_376" id="FNanchor_376_376"></a><a href="#Footnote_376_376" class="fnanchor">[376]</a> How far this -appeal influenced Charles in his act of grace now performed I cannot -say; nor does it appear how clemency towards a despised sect tended -to gratify the country at large; which on such an occasion he might -naturally wish to do. Perhaps, being fond of exercising a dispensing -power, this proceeding might afford some gratification to himself; and -as to the selection of objects, he had a liking for Quakers, on account -of what he regarded their harmlessness and oddity. He had no fear of -their arming themselves against his throne; and to quiz their dress and -their speech, seemed to his frivolous taste, a piece of real fun.</p> - -<p>On Saturday, the 23rd of August, Catherine reached Whitehall; and the -citizens of London, ever prompt in their loyalty on such occasions, -gave "a large demonstration of their duty and affection to the King's -and Queen's Majesty on the River Thames." The Mercers, the Drapers, -the Merchant Taylors, and the Goldsmiths, appeared in stately barges, -their pageantry and that of the Lord Mayor outpeering the rest of the -brilliant regatta. Music floated from bands on deck, and thundering -peals roared from pieces of ordnance on shore. Their Majesties came -in an antique-shaped, open vessel, covered with a cupola-like canopy -of cloth of gold,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[277]</a></span> supported by Corinthian pillars, wreathed with -festoons and garlands of flowers,—the pageant exceeding—as John -Evelyn remarked, who was sailing near—all the <i>Venetian Bucentoras</i>, -in which, on Ascension Day, the Doge was wont to wed, with a golden -ring, the fair Adriatic. The spectacle on the water-highway presented -a contrast to the experiences in many parsonages throughout broad -England; and it is remarkable, that just then certain persons were -engaged in solemnities more in accordance with Nonconformist depression.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">THE BARTHOLOMEW EJECTMENT.</div> - -<p>Edward Calamy that very Saturday preached a sermon at St. Austin's -Church, in London, for Father Ash (the old man who shed tears of -joy over Charles' early promises), from the words "The righteous -perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart; and merciful men are taken -away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil -to come,"—words befitting the interment of a Puritan patriarch on -Bartholomew's eve. Discoursing on his text, the preacher reminded his -audience how Methuselah died, a year before the flood; Austin died a -little before Hippo was taken; and Luther died just as the wars in -Germany were about to begin. He might have added, that Blaise Pascal, -who died the preceding Tuesday, August 19th, had been removed just as -the agony of the crisis came, in the history of the Port Royalists.<a name="FNanchor_377_377" id="FNanchor_377_377"></a><a href="#Footnote_377_377" class="fnanchor">[377]</a></p> - -<p>By a further coincidence, the same day on which Ash was buried in -London, Edward Bowles, the distinguished Nonconformist, breathed his -last in the City of York. He had just been elected Vicar of Leeds—but -his Nonconformity would have disqualified him from entering on<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[278]</a></span> the -benefice, had not his Master called him to a better preferment and a -nobler ministry.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1662.</div> - -<p>When St. Bartholomew's Day arrived, the Nonconformist clergy who had -not before taken leave of their flocks, uttered their farewells. -Thomas Lye, Rector of Allhallows, London—whose catechetical lectures -had made him very popular with the youthful members of Puritan -families—preached twice from the words—"Therefore my brethren, dearly -beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my -dearly beloved." Lye mentioned in his morning address, that he had been -ejected on the 24th of August, 1651, because he would not swear against -the King. Now, on the 24th of August, 1662, he was ejected for a very -different reason. But he did not repine. "By way of exhortation," said -the preacher, "I remember good Jacob when he was come into Egypt, -ready to die, calls his children together, and before he dies, he -blesseth his children.—O beloved, I have a few blessings for you, -and, for God's sake, take them as if they dropt from my lips when -dying.—Whatever others think, I am utterly against all irregular ways; -I have (I bless the Lord) never had a hand in any change of Government -in all my life; I am for prayers, tears, quietness, submission, and -meekness, and let God do His work, and that will be best done when He -doth it."<a name="FNanchor_378_378" id="FNanchor_378_378"></a><a href="#Footnote_378_378" class="fnanchor">[378]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">THE BARTHOLOMEW EJECTMENT.</div> - -<p>Another instance of a second ejectment occurred the same day under -different circumstances. Robert Atkins, in the month of September, -1660, had been dismissed from the choir of Exeter Cathedral—the part -of the edifice appropriated to the Presbyterians—"Church music," -to use his own words, "jostling out the constant preaching<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[279]</a></span> of the -Word; the minister being obliged to give place to the chorister; and -hundreds, yea thousands, to seek where to hear a sermon on the Lord's -Day, rather than singing service should be omitted, or not kept up -in its ancient splendour and glory." Driven at the Restoration from -East Peter's, he found refuge in the parish church of St. John—an -instance which shows that nonconforming clergymen might lose one living -and gain another, between the King's return and the execution of the -Act. From St. John's, he was ejected in August, and then he preached -a sermon in which, rising above all such narrowness as prompted the -depreciation of cathedral music, he caught ennobling inspirations, and -employed only words of loyalty and love. "Let him never be accounted -a sound Christian that doth not both fear God and honour the King. I -beg that you would not interpret our Nonconformity to be an act of -unpeaceableness and disloyalty. We will do anything for His Majesty but -sin. We will hazard anything for him but our souls. We hope we could -die for him, only we dare not be damned for him. We make no question, -however we may be accounted of here, we shall be found loyal and -obedient subjects at our appearance before God's tribunal."<a name="FNanchor_379_379" id="FNanchor_379_379"></a><a href="#Footnote_379_379" class="fnanchor">[379]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1662.</div> - -<p>Another day they had to quit the parsonage.<a name="FNanchor_380_380" id="FNanchor_380_380"></a><a href="#Footnote_380_380" class="fnanchor">[380]</a> No poet that I am -aware of, has made the Bartholomew Exodus a theme for his muse, but the -well-known lines in Goldsmith's "Deserted Village" may be accommodated -to the incident.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[280]</a></span></p> - - <div class="poetry-container"> - <div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="ileft">"Good heaven! what sorrows gloom'd that parting day,</div> - <div>That call'd them from their native walks away,</div> - <div>When the poor exiles, every pleasure past,</div> - <div>Hung round the bowers, and fondly look'd their last.</div> - <div>With loudest plaints the mother spoke her woes,</div> - <div>And blest the cot where every pleasure rose,</div> - <div>And kiss'd her thoughtless babes with many a tear,</div> - <div>And clasp'd them close, in sorrow doubly dear;</div> - <div>While her fond husband strove to lend relief,</div> - <div>In all the silent manliness of grief."</div> - </div> - </div> - </div> - -<p>Some persons can allow no excuse for Puritans who conformed. Because -Nonconformity under the circumstances appears to these persons -a plain obligation, they suppose it must have appeared equally -plain to everybody entertaining evangelical views like their own. -But if we exclude all Puritan Conformists from the benefit of -charitable allowance, on the score of temptation; if we dismiss all -thought of the medium through which, owing to circumstances, they -were likely to contemplate their own case,—then we diminish our -estimate of the clear-sighted judgment, the unprejudiced resolves, -and the self-sacrificing heroism of those Puritans who in a crisis -of extraordinary difficulty, pursued the course they did. When -Nonconformists discover considerations which mitigate the censure of -some who conformed, they must all the more admire those who, rising -above motives which spring from self-interest, from example, from -persuasion, and from prejudice, were, through a sense of duty, led to -sacrifice so much which they held dear.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">THE BARTHOLOMEW EJECTMENT.</div> - -<p>The ejected differed from each other in many respects: not more unlike -are cedars and firs, oaks and ashes, the elm and the ivy. Some were -bold and stern, of rugged nature and robust strength; others were -gentle and dependent, relying on friends for counsel and example. -Some were rigid and ascetic; others frank and genial.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[281]</a></span> They included -Presbyterians, Independents, Baptists, and not a few whom it would -be difficult to reduce entirely under any of those denominations; -also, Calvinists and Arminians, with other Divines scarcely belonging -to either of those schools. As to learning, eloquence, reasoning, -and imagination, the men varied; but under all their peculiarities -lay a common faith—of no ordinary character, a faith of that rare -kind which makes the confessor. They believed in God, in Christ, -in truth, in Heaven; and in the controversy which they carried on, -they regarded themselves as fighting for a Divine cause. People may -think some of these ministers made too much of wearing a surplice, -using the sign of the cross, and bowing at the name of Jesus; but -such things were considered by them as having a significance beyond -themselves. They were, by the ejected, judged to be signs of a -corrupted Christianity—the banners of an adverse army—flags of which -the importance did not consist in the silk, the crimson, and the gold, -but in the import of the emblazoned device. What might seem trifles to -others, were in their estimation the marks of a ceremonial, as opposed -to a spiritual, of a legal as opposed to an evangelical Christianity. -They believed that, in the defence of the Gospel, they were acting -as they did. A strong evangelical faith upheld their ecclesiastical -opinions, like the everlasting rocks which form the ribs and backbone -of this grand old world.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1662.</div> - -<p>The Church of England suffered no small loss when she lost such -men. So far as extreme Anglo-Catholics on the one hand, and extreme -Presbyterians on the other were concerned, union was impossible; but -it should be remembered that in the conferences at Worcester House and -the Savoy, nothing more was sought by the Puritans than a moderate -Episcopacy; and, as already noticed,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[282]</a></span> Baxter declared, that to the best -of his knowledge the Presbyterian cause was never spoken for, nor were -they ever heard to petition for it at all. There can be no question -that there were amongst the ejected many exemplary ministers, who -would have been perfectly satisfied with such concessions, as moderate -Episcopalians might have conscientiously sanctioned.</p> - -<p>The great change having been accomplished, the King commanded -directions to be sent to the clergy respecting their preaching. -They were forbidden to meddle with matters of State, or to discuss -speculative points in theology, but were enjoined to catechize the -young, to read the canons, and to promote the observance of the Lord's -Day.<a name="FNanchor_381_381" id="FNanchor_381_381"></a><a href="#Footnote_381_381" class="fnanchor">[381]</a></p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[283]</a></span></p></div> - - -<h2>CHAPTER XIV.</h2> - - -<p class="drop-cap p-left">When the Act had taken effect, some of the Presbyterians looked for a -mitigation of its severity. Those who lived in London, and were upon -terms of friendship with the Earl of Manchester, and other Puritan -noblemen, trusting to their influence at Court, resolved to make an -effort to obtain redress. Calamy, Manton, and Bates, the leaders of -this forlorn hope, prepared a petition, numerously signed by London -pastors.<a name="FNanchor_382_382" id="FNanchor_382_382"></a><a href="#Footnote_382_382" class="fnanchor">[382]</a> It spoke of His Majesty's indulgence, and besought him, -in his princely wisdom and compassion, to take some effectual course, -whereby they might be continued in the exercise of their office.<a name="FNanchor_383_383" id="FNanchor_383_383"></a><a href="#Footnote_383_383" class="fnanchor">[383]</a> -Whatever might be the effect of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[284]</a></span> the petition, Clarendon admits that -the King made a positive promise to do what the ministers desired.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1662.</div> - -<p>At this time the nobility had gone down to their country-seats to -enjoy the summer months; the Bishops generally were engaged in their -visitations. Charles, at Hampton Court, was joking with his lords, -toying with his mistresses, rambling in the green alleys, lounging in -the cool saloons, watching games in the tennis-court, and feeding the -ducks in the broad ponds. However unwilling to attend to business, he -found that a Council must be held. The Archbishop of Canterbury and the -Bishops of London and Winchester were therefore summoned, together with -Chief Justice Bridgman, and the Attorney-General, the Duke of Ormond, -and the Secretaries of State. The King's promise was communicated to -the Council. "The Bishops were very much troubled that <i>those fellows</i> -should still presume to give His Majesty so much vexation, and that -they should have such access to him." As for themselves, they desired -"to be excused for not conniving in any degree at the breach of the -Act of Parliament, either by not presenting a clerk where themselves -were patrons, or deferring to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[285]</a></span> give institution upon the presentation -of others; and that His Majesty's giving such a declaration or -recommendation, would be the greatest wound to the Church, and to the -government thereof, that it could receive."<a name="FNanchor_384_384" id="FNanchor_384_384"></a><a href="#Footnote_384_384" class="fnanchor">[384]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">THE BARTHOLOMEW EJECTMENT.</div> - -<p>Sheldon vehemently urged, that it was now too late to alter what -had been done; the Sunday before he had ejected those who would not -subscribe; the King had thus provoked them, and that now to admit them -to the Church would be for him to put his head in the lion's mouth. He -further urged that resolutions of Council could not justify contempt -for an Act of Parliament. The argument is thoroughly constitutional, -and so far Sheldon appears right; but before he completed his speech, -he manifested his real spirit by contending, that if the importunity of -disaffected people were a reason for humouring them, neither Church nor -State would ever be free from disturbance.<a name="FNanchor_385_385" id="FNanchor_385_385"></a><a href="#Footnote_385_385" class="fnanchor">[385]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1662.</div> - -<p>The operation of the Act, the petition of ministers, and the -discussions in Council, were soon the topic of newspapers, and the talk -of the country; and great credit was given for the "care and prudence -of the most worthy diocesan" of London, in filling up the numerous -vacancies. It was reported, that at Northampton, "all<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[286]</a></span> except two -or three" conformed; that at Gloucester, there was "scarcely a man" -who did not subscribe; and that at Newport, an instance occurred of a -building erected by Nonconformists being seized and appropriated for -Episcopal worship. We find it also stated that in the City of Chester, -Nonconformists preached on the 24th of August, though cautioned against -it by the Bishop; and that the following Sunday they being displaced, -and other ministers being appointed, the Presbyterians still came to -the parish service; and that in Northumberland, there were "only three -disaffected ministers, Scotchmen, who quietly left their livings, -and crossed the Tweed." The High Church party believed the Act to be -popular, and Nonconformity to be an insignificant affair—a mere puff -of smoke, which a moment's wind would blow away. Episcopal visitations -created much enthusiasm. All the gentry went out to meet the Bishop -of Exeter, with one thousand horse, and foot without number, and many -coaches; City music sounded from the top of Guildhall, and the Bishop -drove up to the Deanery amidst volleys of shot. At Chippenham, like -honours saluted the Bishop of Salisbury.<a name="FNanchor_386_386" id="FNanchor_386_386"></a><a href="#Footnote_386_386" class="fnanchor">[386]</a> Rumours of another kind -floated in other quarters. William Hook, an Independent, who had been -ejected from the Savoy, informed an American correspondent, that after -the Act of Uniformity, there were few communicants at the churches, -"only ten, twenty, or forty, where there were 20,000 persons more than -sixteen years old; and on festival days only the parsons and three or -four at their devotions."<a name="FNanchor_387_387" id="FNanchor_387_387"></a><a href="#Footnote_387_387" class="fnanchor">[387]</a> It is not to be supposed that Hook, any -more than his contemporaries in newspapers, gave himself much trouble<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[287]</a></span> -in sifting evidence, still probably there is truth in what he says. -Beyond idle rumours certain facts are established. For example, St. -Mary's Church, at Taunton, was closed for several weeks successively; -and although we find that afterwards public services were held at -rare intervals, the parish had no resident minister for the next nine -months.<a name="FNanchor_388_388" id="FNanchor_388_388"></a><a href="#Footnote_388_388" class="fnanchor">[388]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">THE BARTHOLOMEW EJECTMENT.</div> - -<p>The law bound every clergyman to subscribe in the presence of his -Archbishop or Ordinary, and it may be mentioned in illustration, that -the Canons of St. George's Chapel, Windsor, subscribed before the -Dean, he being the Ordinary of the place; some of them, in <i>majorem -cautionem</i>, subscribed also before the Archbishop of Canterbury, yet -was it with this proviso—saving the rights and privileges of this free -chapel.<a name="FNanchor_389_389" id="FNanchor_389_389"></a><a href="#Footnote_389_389" class="fnanchor">[389]</a></p> - -<p>Some clergymen, who ultimately subscribed, did so with hesitation. Sir -Thomas Browne, in his tour through Derbyshire, met with a friend who, -the day before he saw him, which was in the month of September, "had -most manfully led up a train of above twenty parsons, and though they -thought themselves to be great Presbyterians, yet they followed" this -leader to Chesterfield, and by subscribing there "kept themselves in -their livings despite of their own teeth."<a name="FNanchor_390_390" id="FNanchor_390_390"></a><a href="#Footnote_390_390" class="fnanchor">[390]</a> Some lingered<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[288]</a></span> awhile -on neutral ground; others went back to the Establishment. A large -number of cases of this kind may be found in <i>Calamy's Account</i> and -<i>Palmer's Nonconformist Memorial</i>.<a name="FNanchor_391_391" id="FNanchor_391_391"></a><a href="#Footnote_391_391" class="fnanchor">[391]</a> Men of character and worth, -belonging to the Puritan party, overcame their scruples by putting a -general interpretation on a precise declaration, and by pondering the -thought that a superior social influence for good would attend their -remaining as shepherds within the Episcopalian sheep-fold.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1662.</div> - -<p>Lightfoot, Wallis, and Horton, who had been Presbyterian Commissioners -at the Savoy, became Conformists. Dr. Fogg, of Chester, joined them at -the end of five years; Dr. Conant at the end of seven.</p> - -<p>Gurnal, the devout author of the <i>Christian Armour</i>, belongs to the -same class. All such men had to pay the penalty of separating from -old friends.<a name="FNanchor_392_392" id="FNanchor_392_392"></a><a href="#Footnote_392_392" class="fnanchor">[392]</a> They suffered abuse; being taunted with the use of -"Episcopal eye-salve," and for bowing down to "the whore of Babylon." -All sorts of stories were buzzed abroad to their discredit; it is -related as a Divine judgment that a Conformist crossing a bridge on -his way to the place where he meant to subscribe, was thrown from his -horse and killed. The tale appears in connection with an account of a -clergyman, who, after expressing himself in a sermon bitterly against -the Presbyterians, dreamed that he should die at a certain time, and, -in accordance with this warning, was found dead in his bed.<a name="FNanchor_393_393" id="FNanchor_393_393"></a><a href="#Footnote_393_393" class="fnanchor">[393]</a> Cases -also occurred in which clergymen at first conformed to the Act, and -afterwards became Dissenters.<a name="FNanchor_394_394" id="FNanchor_394_394"></a><a href="#Footnote_394_394" class="fnanchor">[394]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[289]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote">THE BARTHOLOMEW EJECTMENT.</div> - -<p>Soon after the Act had been passed, the Bishops issued articles of -inquiry and visitation, very much of the same comprehensive, minute, -and sifting description, as those which had been issued before the -Civil Wars. In these articles, distinct reference is made to the -conformity required by the new law. The text of the articles for the -dioceses of Bath and Wells, Chichester, Exeter, Hereford, Lincoln, -Llandaff, Oxford, Peterborough, and St. David's is, with slight -exception, the same as that for the diocese of Winchester, of which -Morley was Bishop; and, under the third title, <i>Concerning Ministers</i>, -it is asked, whether they had been legally instituted and inducted; -and had, within two months after induction, on some Sunday or holyday, -publicly, in the time of Divine service, read the Thirty-nine Articles -and declared assent to them; also, whether in the daily Morning and -Evening service, Administration of the Holy Sacraments, Celebration of -Marriage, Churching of Women, Visitation of the Sick, Burial of the -Dead, and pronouncing God's Commination against impenitent sinners, -they used the words prescribed in the Book of Common Prayer, without -any addition, omission, or alteration of the same? Also whether they -wore the surplice, and such scholastical habit as was suitable to -their degree, and observed holydays, fasts, embers, and the yearly -perambulations in Rogation weeks? Also whether any person had preached -in the parish as a lecturer, and if so, whether he had obtained a -license from the Bishop, and had read the appointed prayers, and was in -all respects conformable to the laws of the Church?<a name="FNanchor_395_395" id="FNanchor_395_395"></a><a href="#Footnote_395_395" class="fnanchor">[395]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[290]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1662.</div> - -<p>In some articles, the questions on these points are still more precise -and stringent. Cosin, Bishop of Durham, asks "Do you not know, or -have you not heard, that in his reading, or pretending to read, these -Thirty-nine Articles, he (the minister) omitted or skipped over some -one or more of them? What article was it, or what part thereof that he -left unread?" The same prelate also inquires whether lecturers read -prayers in a surplice.<a name="FNanchor_396_396" id="FNanchor_396_396"></a><a href="#Footnote_396_396" class="fnanchor">[396]</a> Other Bishops satisfied themselves with -general questions. Griffith, Bishop of St. Asaph, and Henchman, Bishop -of Salisbury, both use these words, "Doth your minister distinctly, -reverently, say Divine service upon Sundays and holydays;" "doth he -duly observe the orders, rites, and ceremonies prescribed in the said -Book of Common Prayer?"<a name="FNanchor_397_397" id="FNanchor_397_397"></a><a href="#Footnote_397_397" class="fnanchor">[397]</a> Bishop Reynolds asks whether the minister -had been freely presented, and legally instituted and inducted? -whether he had publicly read the Thirty-nine Articles, and given his -assent, and celebrated every office in such form, manner, and habit, -as is prescribed? He inquires as to the right and due observance of -the sacraments, and the notice of holydays: and, like others of his -brethren, inquires respecting the observance of the 5th of November, -the 30th of January, and the 29th of May.<a name="FNanchor_398_398" id="FNanchor_398_398"></a><a href="#Footnote_398_398" class="fnanchor">[398]</a></p> - -<p>Archdeacons also issued articles touching the manner of celebrating -Divine service.<a name="FNanchor_399_399" id="FNanchor_399_399"></a><a href="#Footnote_399_399" class="fnanchor">[399]</a></p> - -<p>Notwithstanding all these precautions, a few ministers continued within -the pale of the Establishment without conforming to the Act.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">THE BARTHOLOMEW EJECTMENT.</div> - -<p>John Chandler held the living of Petto in Essex; although he had only -received Presbyterian ordination,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[291]</a></span> he was pronounced by his diocesan, -Bishop Reynolds—thus far true to his old faith—to be as good a -minister as he could make him; and notwithstanding his only partial -use of liturgical worship, he was allowed to retain his incumbency. -Mr. Ashurst, of Arlsey—a poor Bedfordshire vicarage—in the diocese -of Lincoln, in which Laney succeeded Sanderson in 1663, continued to -officiate in the parish church, reading parts of the Common Prayer, and -taking for his support whatever his parishioners chose to contribute. -Nicholas Billingsley, settled at Blakeney, in the parish of Awre, in -the diocese of Gloucester—"lived very peaceably for awhile"—on his -impropriation of £50 per annum, by the permission of Bishop Nicholson. -We also find in the diocese of Chester, under the successive episcopacy -of Hall, Wilkins, and Pearson, that Angier of Denton, continued the -occupancy of the parish pulpit, and the enjoyment of parish emoluments, -notwithstanding his perseverance in Presbyterian worship. Tilsley, the -Presbyterian Vicar of Dean, after losing his vicarage, was, by Wilkins, -permitted to resume his ministry as lecturer in his old parish, the -new Vicar reading prayers. There were other instances in the same -diocese of an evasion of the law. In the diocese of Gloucester, under -Nicholson, Henry Stubbs was allowed the poor living of Horsley; and in -the diocese of Llandaff, under Lloyd, Richard Hawes was permitted to -preach without subscribing. Similar instances of irregularity occurred -in different parts of the country. Some clergymen, after being ejected, -were allowed to become chaplains in hospitals and prisons, and to -officiate occasionally for parochial Incumbents.<a name="FNanchor_400_400" id="FNanchor_400_400"></a><a href="#Footnote_400_400" class="fnanchor">[400]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1662.</div> - -<p>It may be added, that there were clergymen in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[292]</a></span> Establishment who -disapproved of what had been done. Edward Stillingfleet, however he -might speak and act afterwards, expressed, at that time, liberal -opinions, and acted in a manner consistent with them. He maintained -that Christ's design was to ease men of their former burdens, and not -to lay on more; that the unity of the Church is an unity of love and -affection, and not a bare uniformity of practice or opinion; and that -however desirable in a Church the latter might be, as long as there are -men of different ranks and sizes in it, it is hardly attainable.<a name="FNanchor_401_401" id="FNanchor_401_401"></a><a href="#Footnote_401_401" class="fnanchor">[401]</a></p> - -<p>In accordance with these sentiments, Stillingfleet sheltered at his -rectory of Sutton, in Bedfordshire, one of the ejected ministers, and -took a large house, which he converted into a school for another.</p> - -<p>Laymen also deplored the severities of the measure. Hale, Boyle, -and Sir Peter Pett did so; whilst Locke's earliest work, written -in 1660, aimed at reconciling the Puritans to submission in things -indifferent.<a name="FNanchor_402_402" id="FNanchor_402_402"></a><a href="#Footnote_402_402" class="fnanchor">[402]</a> A strong conviction existed in the minds of -Episcopalians and Royalists that Nonconformity was disloyal and -insurrectionary; and this conviction, then, and long afterwards, -operated as a power in the Church of England, destructive of social -peace and union, far beyond what is generally supposed. The rumours -about plots in the earlier period of the reign of Charles II. have -not much occupied the attention of historians. They are commonly -dismissed as idle tales. No doubt they were such in most instances; -and not in a single instance did any actual insurrection occur. But -in history, it is important<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[293]</a></span> to notice, not only what men have done, -but what men have believed to be done. Beliefs, however absurd, have -been to those who entertained them, just the same as facts, and these -beliefs have actually been factors of great power: as such they claim -to be noted by the historian. I have too much faith in the English -spirit of the seventeenth century, in the generosity which mingled -with the High Churchmanship of the best of the Cavaliers, and in the -thorough conscientiousness of many of the Conformists, to believe that -they could have acted towards Dissenters as they did, unless they -had been hood-winked by people who persuaded them, that Dissenters -were not true-hearted Englishmen, but only so many wretched rebels. -It so happens that the <i>State Papers</i>, as already indicated, afford -almost innumerable illustrations of the extent and operation of these -prejudices, and I make no apology for employing many of these documents -in subsequent pages as useful contributions to English history.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">RUMOURED PLOTS.<br /> -1662.</div> - -<p>In October, 1662, Sir Edward Nicholas was succeeded by Sir Henry -Bennet. Like his predecessor, he gave himself diligently to inquiries -respecting suspected persons. A month before the former retired, -he told Lord Rutherford that there were rumours of disturbances -intended by Presbyterians and Independents, but at present all was -quiet. A month afterwards he confessed to the same person, that -there was no commotion in any part of the kingdom, although factious -sectaries raised reports to frighten people.<a name="FNanchor_403_403" id="FNanchor_403_403"></a><a href="#Footnote_403_403" class="fnanchor">[403]</a> Frivolous letters -constantly poured in upon the bewildered officials. There came -notes of conversation with Edward Bagshawe,<a name="FNanchor_404_404" id="FNanchor_404_404"></a><a href="#Footnote_404_404" class="fnanchor">[404]</a> who said London -was discontented; that 1,960<a name="FNanchor_405_405" id="FNanchor_405_405"></a><a href="#Footnote_405_405" class="fnanchor">[405]</a> ministers were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[294]</a></span> turned out of -their livings; that Dunkirk was sold; that the King only minded his -mistresses; that the Queen and her cabal carried on the Government -at Somerset House; that Popery was coming in; that the people would -not endure these things, but would rise on the ground <i>that the Long -Parliament was not yet dissolved because they had passed an Act against -any dissolution but by themselves</i>. A large bundle of examinations -was forwarded to Bennet, about the same time, by the Earl of -Northumberland—an informer conveying them, and adding to the written -secrets, <i>vivâ voce</i> revelations—the papers disclosing such frivolous -circumstances as that three gentlemen and two servants, whom nobody -knew, had been seen somewhere, and that "an ancient grey man," and "a -Jersey Frenchman" were mysteriously moving from place to place. Also, -there arrived a packet promising much information, which, when opened, -was found to contain only religious sentences, and a number of love -verses. Suspicious persons were reported, and it is amusing, amongst -unknown names to find mentioned "Dr. Goodwin and Owen, who now scruple -at the surplice, but used to wear velvet cassocks, and to receive -from five to seven hundred a-year from their Churches."<a name="FNanchor_406_406" id="FNanchor_406_406"></a><a href="#Footnote_406_406" class="fnanchor">[406]</a> The -letter-bags were robbed; people's houses were broken into, and trunks -full of papers seized and carried off by constables. Spies employed by -the Government were active in collecting reports, and there can be no -doubt that they were quite as active in inventing them. Two informers, -Peter and John Crabb, brought accounts of intended insurrections; but -at the same time they made awkward revelations respecting themselves. -Peter had told the Secretary of State, that he and his brother John<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[295]</a></span> -were the Secretary's devoted servants, and wished to be employed in -a certain business; that he had only received a part of the money, -which he understood the Secretary had sent him; and that to cover his -profession as a spy, lest City people should wonder how he lived, he -put out a "bill, advertizing the cure of the rickets in children, in -Red Lion Court, Bishopsgate."<a name="FNanchor_407_407" id="FNanchor_407_407"></a><a href="#Footnote_407_407" class="fnanchor">[407]</a> After reading the correspondence of -these two brothers, I am not surprised to find depositions charging -one of them with being a liar and a villain. The depositions are met -by cross-swearing; the whole business leaving the impression that -Whitehall was beset by troops of scoundrels.<a name="FNanchor_408_408" id="FNanchor_408_408"></a><a href="#Footnote_408_408" class="fnanchor">[408]</a> A result of this kind -of espionage, and of the exaggerations and inventions of informers, -may be found in the trial and condemnation of six men in the month of -December for being concerned in an intended rising of "Fifth Monarchy -men, Anabaptists, Independents, and fighting Quakers." The evidence -rested chiefly upon rumours.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[296]</a></span></p></div> - - -<h2>CHAPTER XV.</h2> - - -<div class="sidenote">DECLARATION OF INDULGENCE.</div> - -<p class="drop-cap p-left">After all Clarendon's advice and all Sheldon's opposition, the King, -within four months of the meeting of Council already described, -returned to his favourite expedient. He published, on the 26th of -December, 1662, a Declaration, in which he referred to promises from -Breda, of ease and liberty to tender consciences, and also to malicious -rumours to the effect, that at the time he denied a fitting liberty -to other sects whose consciences would not allow them to conform to -the established religion, he was indulgent to Papists, not only in -exempting them from the penalties of the law, but even to such a degree -as might endanger the Protestant religion.<a name="FNanchor_409_409" id="FNanchor_409_409"></a><a href="#Footnote_409_409" class="fnanchor">[409]</a> Respecting all this he -asserted,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[297]</a></span> that as he had been zealous to settle the uniformity of -the Church, in discipline, ceremony, and government, and would ever -constantly maintain it—so as for the penalties upon those who, living -peaceably, did not conform, he should make it his special care, so far -as possible, without invading the freedom of Parliament, to incline -their wisdom, the next sessions, to concur in the making some such -Act for that purpose, as might enable him to exercise, with a more -universal satisfaction, that power of dispensing, which he conceived to -be inherent in him as a Sovereign.<a name="FNanchor_410_410" id="FNanchor_410_410"></a><a href="#Footnote_410_410" class="fnanchor">[410]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1662.</div> - -<p>When this Declaration was published, the hopes of ejected ministers -began to revive. Independents took courage; Philip Nye, in spite of age -and poverty, manifested some eagerness to revive public Nonconformist -worship. Although personally under the ban of the law, he, with some -other brethren, found admission to Whitehall, and was graciously -allowed an interview with Charles. We do not exactly know what passed; -but Nye received so much encouragement from His Majesty's conversation, -that he told Baxter, the King had resolved to grant them liberty. -The day after New Year's Day, the Independent diplomatist appeared -at the house of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[298]</a></span> the Presbyterian Divine to discuss the propriety of -acknowledging the King's Declaration and seeking indulgence. Baxter -resolved not to commit himself; nor would other Presbyterians take -a share in the business; they had had enough of it, they said: the -reasons, at the bottom of their policy, being that they dreaded a -toleration which they knew would be extended so as to embrace Roman -Catholics. They looked on the Declaration as a Trojan horse; but Nye, -whose ideas of religious freedom perhaps had grown, so that he might -be willing to concede it to Roman Catholics, and who certainly had -a strong desire after unfettered action for himself and his party, -thought the tactics of the Presbyterians unwise, and he considered -that, through them, he and his brethren "missed of their intended -liberty."<a name="FNanchor_411_411" id="FNanchor_411_411"></a><a href="#Footnote_411_411" class="fnanchor">[411]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">DECLARATION OF INDULGENCE.</div> - -<p>Further discussion followed between Baxter and the Independents. -They said that they had heard from the Lord Chancellor, that liberty -had been intended for them, but that the Presbyterians had opposed -the measure. Old sores were re-opened, and Baxter, evidently rather -nettled, records how the Independents became affected towards the -Popish Earl of Bristol, thinking that the King's Declaration had been -obtained by him, and that he and the Papists would contrive a general -toleration. Burnet confirms what Baxter says of the Earl's influence, -by informing us, that just before, there had been a meeting of Papists -at that nobleman's residence, where it had been resolved to make an -effort in favour of the Roman Catholics, and with such a view to help -Dissenters.<a name="FNanchor_412_412" id="FNanchor_412_412"></a><a href="#Footnote_412_412" class="fnanchor">[412]</a></p> - -<p>Clarendon, who had strong Protestant convictions, felt alarmed at the -brightening prospects of the Romanists,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[299]</a></span> and he resolved to take a leaf -out of their own book—to fight them with their own weapons—and to -adopt their own principle—"Divide and conquer!" Clarendon accordingly -proposed that Roman Catholics should take the Oath of Allegiance, -renouncing the Pope's deposing power—an oath to which some did not -object, but which others would, on no account, accept. He also proposed -the tolerating of secular priests, coupling with it the banishment -of Jesuits and other regular orders—another scheme which he knew -well would breed division. The whole of the Chancellor's policy is -not explained, but it is apparent that he had set his mind upon -extinguishing the hopes of the Papists.<a name="FNanchor_413_413" id="FNanchor_413_413"></a><a href="#Footnote_413_413" class="fnanchor">[413]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1663.</div> - -<p>Parliament assembled on the 18th of February, 1663. The King's speech -indicates the unpopularity of the recent Declaration, and he found -it necessary to assure the Houses that he did not intend to favour -Popery at all, and that he would not yield to the Bishops in his zeal -for uniformity; but still he said, with obvious inconsistency, if -Protestant Dissenters would be peaceable and modest, he could heartily -wish that he had such a power of indulgence as might not needlessly -force them out of the kingdom, or give them cause to conspire against -its peace. Five days afterwards, a Bill was brought into the House of -Lords and read the first time, to empower His Majesty to dispense with -the <i>Act of Uniformity</i>, and with other laws concerning it.<a name="FNanchor_414_414" id="FNanchor_414_414"></a><a href="#Footnote_414_414" class="fnanchor">[414]</a> This -Bill came to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[300]</a></span> nothing, being earnestly opposed by Lord Southampton, -by the Bishops, and by Clarendon, who, in spite of a fit of the gout, -delivered a speech on the adjourned debate, full of uncompromising -opposition to the King's favourite measure.<a name="FNanchor_415_415" id="FNanchor_415_415"></a><a href="#Footnote_415_415" class="fnanchor">[415]</a> It is a singular -example of the difference between a Chief Minister of that day and -a Prime Minister of our own, that Clarendon should in the House of -Lords oppose the measure which had been brought in, according to -wishes expressed in the speech from the Throne; nor can his conduct -respecting the Declaration fail to support against him the charge of -duplicity.<a name="FNanchor_416_416" id="FNanchor_416_416"></a><a href="#Footnote_416_416" class="fnanchor">[416]</a></p> - -<p>Amongst the mischiefs which, Clarendon says, resulted from what he -calls the unhappy debate on the Indulgence, was the prejudice and -disadvantage which the Bishops experienced in consequence of their -unanimous opposition. "For from that time the King never treated any -of them with that respect as he had done formerly, and often spake of -them too slightly; which easily encouraged others not only to mention -their persons very negligently, but their function and religion itself, -as an invention to impose upon the free judgments and understandings -of men. What was preached in the pulpit was commented upon and derided -in the chamber, and preachers acted, and sermons vilified as laboured -discourses, which the preachers made only to show their own parts and -wit, without any other design than to be commended and preferred."<a name="FNanchor_417_417" id="FNanchor_417_417"></a><a href="#Footnote_417_417" class="fnanchor">[417]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">DECLARATION OF INDULGENCE.</div> - -<p>The subject of Indulgence agitated the whole country. It was keenly -discussed in private meetings of Non<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">[301]</a></span>conformist ministers, at -archidiaconal visitations and other clerical gatherings—and still -oftener, and with not less heat, by burghers and yeomen around their -firesides. Largely, too, did it enter into the contents of letters, -in one of which, written by William Hook to his late colleague -in New England, we discover copious references to this and other -ecclesiastical topics. Making allowance for the writer's prejudices, we -may learn something from his curious epistle.<a name="FNanchor_418_418" id="FNanchor_418_418"></a><a href="#Footnote_418_418" class="fnanchor">[418]</a></p> - -<p>"There is a toleration talked of, and expected by many, since the -King's Declaration, which came forth about a month or six weeks since. -The Papists improve the best of their interest to move it; but as for -their being tolerated, there are many of the grandees against it, who -are ready enough to move a motion for toleration of the Protestant -suffering party. The Bishops greatly abhor such a thing, as not being -able to subsist but by rigour and persecution: for had we liberty as to -the exercise of religion, they would be contemned by almost all men; -and whereas few frequent the meeting-places now, they would scarce -have any then. They have therefore striven to strengthen themselves by -moving and writing to Parliament men, before they come up to the City, -to sit again on February 18. And, as I hear, some of their letters -were intercepted and made known to the King, who was offended at some -passages, and their practices. Much to do there has been about this -business, and what will become of it, and the issue be, we are all -waiting for."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[302]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1663.</div> - -<p>In another part of the same epistle, relating to the same subject, -Hook gives a glimpse of an amusing incident:—"His Majesty sent for -Mr. Calamy, Dr. Bates, and Dr. Manton (and some say, Mr. Baxter also), -on the last of the last week, and took them into his closet, and -promised to restore them to their employments and places again, as -pitying that such men should lie vacant, speaking also against the -Popish religion, as it is said. Before they went in with the King, -some said, 'What do these Presbyterians here?' but when they came out, -they said, 'Your servant, Mr. Calamy, and your servant, Dr. Manton,' -&c. It was told them that a Bill for Liberty should be given in to the -House; but, however it went, they should have their liberty, <i>i.e.</i>, -upon subscribing (I take it) thirteen articles touching doctrine and -worship, in which there is nothing (as they say) offensive to a tender -conscience. There is a distinction between an act of comprehension and -an act of judgment. Some are for the first, others not. The first is -comprehensive as to all forms in religion (excepting Papist, &c., but I -cannot well tell). The other leaves it to His Majesty to indulge whom -he seeth good. On the last day of the last week, a motion was made in -the Lower House for Liberty, according to the King's Declaration, which -I have sent you. A disaffected spirit to Liberty was much discovered -by very many, and the business was referred to be debated upon the -Wednesday following, which is this present day: what will come of it I -cannot yet tell."<a name="FNanchor_419_419" id="FNanchor_419_419"></a><a href="#Footnote_419_419" class="fnanchor">[419]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[303]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote">DECLARATION OF INDULGENCE.</div> - -<p>The subject of Indulgence was revived in the summer, and again the -Presbyterians and the Independents, as before, are found in controversy -on the point.<a name="FNanchor_420_420" id="FNanchor_420_420"></a><a href="#Footnote_420_420" class="fnanchor">[420]</a></p> - -<p>Amidst rumours of various sorts, and as the Upper House still occupied -itself upon the offensive Bill, the Lower House showed, as they had -done from the beginning, the most intolerant zeal for the Established -Church. When thanking the King, on the 27th of February, for his -speech, they told him that an indulgence of Dissenters would establish -schism by law—would be inconsistent with the wisdom and gravity of -Parliament—would expose His Majesty to restless importunities—would -increase the number of sectaries—would be altogether contrary to -precedent—and would be far from promoting the peace of the kingdom.</p> - -<p>This array of objections alarmed the Monarch; he immediately replied -that he would take time for consideration; and on the 16th of March, -he sent an answer—assuring his faithful Commons that they had -misunderstood his meaning—thanking them for their thanks—and desiring -them to put the kingdom in a state of defence, but not saying one word -about the apple of discord.<a name="FNanchor_421_421" id="FNanchor_421_421"></a><a href="#Footnote_421_421" class="fnanchor">[421]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1663.</div> - -<p>Both Houses, on the 31st of March, 1663, presented a Petition to the -King, imploring him to command all Jesuits and Popish Priests, whether -English, Irish, or Scotch, to quit the realm. To him such a Petition -must have been annoying, and after delaying a while, to give any -distinct answer, he replied, that he felt troubled on account of the -resort to England of Jesuits and Priests, that it was so much ill-use -made of his lenity towards many of the Popish persuasion,—that his -feelings in this respect were the natural effects of his generosity and -good disposition,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">[304]</a></span> after having lived so many years in the dominions -of Catholic Princes,—that he would now endeavour to check the -evil,—that as his affection for the Protestant religion and the Church -of England had never been concealed, so he was less solicitous for the -settling of his revenue than for the advancement and improvement of -the ecclesiastical establishments, and for the using of all effectual -remedies for hindering the growth of Popery.<a name="FNanchor_422_422" id="FNanchor_422_422"></a><a href="#Footnote_422_422" class="fnanchor">[422]</a></p> - -<p>The Commons passed Bills against Papists and Nonconformists, but these -Bills were not sanctioned by the Upper House.<a name="FNanchor_423_423" id="FNanchor_423_423"></a><a href="#Footnote_423_423" class="fnanchor">[423]</a></p> - -<p>From the passing of the Act of Uniformity down to the repeal of the -clause in 1865, touching the declaration of <i>assent and consent</i>, the -meaning of those words was a constant subject of controversy, some even -of the Bishops construing them in a very lax and indefinite manner. The -words seem to many persons precise enough; and one might have thought -that no room remained for controversy respecting them, after what took -place in the House of Commons at the time now under review. A Bill -passed in the month of July, to relieve those who by sickness or other -impediment had been disabled from subscribing the required declaration. -The Lords wished to sanction the latitudinarian interpretation, and -adopted as an amendment this position, that "<i>assent and consent</i>" -should "be understood only as to the practice and obedience to the said -Act, and not otherwise." Against this construction the Duke of York and -thirteen other Lords<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">[305]</a></span> entered their protest. The Commons indignantly -rejected the amendment, as having "neither justice nor prudence in -it." Such conduct aroused the anger of the Lords, who resolved to take -up the subject in the following session; but they allowed it to drop, -and so virtually gave way to the Lower House, and left the strict -grammatical meaning as the true construction of the law.<a name="FNanchor_424_424" id="FNanchor_424_424"></a><a href="#Footnote_424_424" class="fnanchor">[424]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">PAPISTS AND NONCONFORMISTS.</div> - -<p>Upon the 27th of the same month, July, the Speaker of the House of -Commons alluded to a measure for the better observance of the Sabbath; -the legislation of the Commonwealth on that as on all other subjects -having been rendered void. He dwelt in an affected strain upon the -decline of religion, and then returned to the subject of the growth -of Popery, and of Sectarianism. He was commanded, he said, to desire -that His Majesty would issue another proclamation for preventing -profaneness, debauchery, and licentiousness, and for better securing -the peace of the nation against the united counsels of Dissenters. -Charles replied, that he had expected to have had Bills presented to -him against distempers in religion, seditious Conventicles, and the -increase of Popery; but, that not being done, if he lived, he himself -meant to introduce such Bills. Meanwhile, he had charged the Judges -to use all endeavours to disperse the Sectaries, and to convict the -Papists.<a name="FNanchor_425_425" id="FNanchor_425_425"></a><a href="#Footnote_425_425" class="fnanchor">[425]</a></p> - -<p>Soon after the Restoration death removed several<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">[306]</a></span> prelates. Brian -Walton died in November, 1661, in a little more than two months after -his installation at Chester, when Dr. George Hall succeeded him. -Nicholas Monk—whose funeral has been noticed—within one year of his -promotion to Hereford, died on the 17th of December, 1661, and was -succeeded by Herbert Croft. Duppa, Bishop of Winchester, died March -25th, 1662, leaving behind him a reputation for munificent charity, -and, just before his departure, bestowing his Episcopal benediction -upon the King, who had been his pupil, and who knelt by the side of his -death-bed. Gauden, who in the beginning of 1662 had been translated -from Exeter to Worcester, expired before the end of twelve months.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1663.</div> - -<p>Sanderson, Bishop of Lincoln, died in January, 1663. When in his -illness petitions were offered for his recovery, he remarked that "his -friends said their prayers backward for him; and that it was not his -desire to live a useless life, and, by filling up a place, keep another -out of it, that might do God and His Church service." With his dying -breath he exclaimed, "Thou, O God, tookest me out of my mother's womb, -and hast been the powerful protector of me to this present moment of -my life. Thou hast neither forsaken me now I am become grey-headed, -nor suffered me to forsake Thee in the late days of temptation, and -sacrifice my conscience for the preservation of my liberty or estate. -It was by grace that I have stood, when others have fallen under my -trials; and these mercies I now remember with joy and thankfulness, -and my hope and desire is that I may die praising Thee." He had no -taste for funeral parade, and expressly directed in his will, that he -should be buried with as little noise, pomp, and charge as might be—no -escutcheons, gloves, ribbons—no black hangings in the church, only a -pulpit cloth, a hearse cloth, and a mourning gown for the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[307]</a></span> preacher of -the funeral sermon—who was to have five pounds for the service, upon -condition, that he spoke nothing of the deceased, either good or ill, -"other," Sanderson adds, "than I myself shall direct." Nor was any -costly monument to be raised to his memory, "only a fair flat marble -stone."<a name="FNanchor_426_426" id="FNanchor_426_426"></a><a href="#Footnote_426_426" class="fnanchor">[426]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">PRELATES.</div> - -<p>Juxon, Archbishop of Canterbury, expired at Lambeth Palace, on the -4th of June; and left behind him an honourable renown for meekness, -constancy, fortitude, and liberality. The sums which he contributed to -public objects of charity and religion amounted to no less than £48,000.</p> - -<p>Archbishop Bramhall departed this life, in Dublin, on the 25th of the -same month, after three fits of paralysis. To use the words of Jeremy -Taylor in his funeral sermon for the Primate, "As the Apostles in the -vespers of Christ's passion, so he, in the eve of his own dissolution, -was heavy, not to sleep, but heavy unto death; and looked for the last -warning, which seized on him in the midst of business; and though it -was sudden, yet it could not be unexpected or unprovided by surprise, -and therefore could be no other than that εὐθανασία, which Augustus -used to wish unto himself, a civil and well-natured death, without -the amazement of troublesome circumstances, or the great cracks of a -falling house, or the convulsions of impatience."<a name="FNanchor_427_427" id="FNanchor_427_427"></a><a href="#Footnote_427_427" class="fnanchor">[427]</a></p> - -<p>Through vacancies at the time of the Restoration, and deaths and -translations afterwards, within two years and a half, mitres fell to -the disposal of the Crown more than twenty times.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">[308]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1663.</div> - -<p>Sheldon, as a reward for the great services which he had rendered to -the High Church party during the Commonwealth; at the Restoration, and -after his preferment to London, was translated to the Archiepiscopal -see of Canterbury. The ceremony of his installation was performed with -very great pomp.<a name="FNanchor_428_428" id="FNanchor_428_428"></a><a href="#Footnote_428_428" class="fnanchor">[428]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">PROSCRIBED WORSHIP.</div> - -<p>In spite of the severity of the law, and the activity of informers, -considerable numbers in different parts of the country met for -religious worship. It is very common, in the informations sent to -Secretary Bennet respecting these assemblies, to find mention made of -them as having a revolutionary object. There were, it is reported, -daily great Conventicles near Canterbury; and on Whit-Tuesday, June -20th, three hundred persons met in the village of Waltham, in a farm -cottage, described as "one Hobday's house." Others heard preaching in -a cherry orchard, sitting under trees then rich with ripening fruit; -upon leaving the enclosure, it is said, they had with them "fifty or -sixty good horses, several portmanteaus," and certain bundles "supposed -to contain arms." Liberty thus exercised, frightened intolerant -people. Sectaries in the City of Chichester were charged with treating -contemptuously the surplice and Prayer Book. Some were imprisoned, -and others bound over to the Sessions. The ringleaders promised to -be quiet, yet afterwards they interrupted the ministers in worship; -in consequence of which, the trained bands marched out to keep guard -for a fortnight, at the expiration of which period another company of -the same kind was to take their place. Like precautions were adopted -at Yarmouth, where two hundred Nonconformists were charged in the -Commissary<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">[309]</a></span> Court with not taking the sacrament.<a name="FNanchor_429_429" id="FNanchor_429_429"></a><a href="#Footnote_429_429" class="fnanchor">[429]</a> In the City of -Norwich, the Deputy-Lieutenant hearing of a meeting in a private house, -issued warrants to search for arms. The officers, upon being denied -entrance, broke open the doors, and found two or three hundred persons -engaged in worship, one hundred of whom were strong men. Their teacher -was identified, and all were bound over to the following Sessions. -Complaints were made from Lewes that the Sectaries in that town were -as numerous as ever. One of the "saints" there happening to die, the -clergyman of the parish heard that he was to be buried at night; so -when it grew dark, he began carefully to watch, and as the corpse -arrived at the churchyard, made his appearance to read the burial -service. Upon seeing him, the party retired and took back the body, but -they returned in two hours, and again the Incumbent was discerned in -the dark, standing by the grave, when they treated him so insolently, -that he had to bind several of them over to good behaviour. It was -also reported that shops in the town had been kept open in contempt -of Christmas Day, although the clergyman had sent orders to close the -shutters. "Fair means did no good to these stubborn rascals," said the -irritated informant; and his letter is but one specimen out of a great -number.<a name="FNanchor_430_430" id="FNanchor_430_430"></a><a href="#Footnote_430_430" class="fnanchor">[430]</a></p> - -<p>Lucy Hutchinson tells a touching story, relating to the same summer -months, to which the earlier of these informations belong. Mr. Palmer, -a Nottingham Nonconformist minister, was apprehended, and some others -with him, at his own house, by the Mayor for preaching on<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">[310]</a></span> the Lord's -Day, and was put into the town gaol for two or three months. Through -a grated window he and his brethren could be seen by the people in -the street. One Sunday, as the prisoners were singing a psalm, the -passengers stood still by the grated window to listen, and Mr. Palmer -went on to preach to the congregation outside, when the Mayor, a -renegade Parliament officer, came with officers, and beat the people, -and thrust some into confinement.<a name="FNanchor_431_431" id="FNanchor_431_431"></a><a href="#Footnote_431_431" class="fnanchor">[431]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1663.</div> - -<p>The ecclesiastical policy pursued at this time towards the English -colonists on the other side of the Atlantic was very different from -that adopted at home.</p> - -<p>In the instructions given to the Governors of Jamaica, whilst they -were enjoined to encourage orthodox ministers of religion, in order -that Christianity and Anglican Protestantism might be reverenced and -exercised, it was commanded that those colonists who were of different -religious opinions should not be obstructed and hindered on such -account; that they should be excused from taking the Oath of Supremacy -according to the terms required in this country, and that some other -mode should be devised for securing their allegiance.<a name="FNanchor_432_432" id="FNanchor_432_432"></a><a href="#Footnote_432_432" class="fnanchor">[432]</a></p> - -<p>In a Charter granted to the State of Carolina, dated March 24th, 1663, -there is a clause of indulgence to be granted to persons who could not -conform to the Liturgy, upon condition that they should declare their -loyalty, and not scandalize and reproach the Church.<a name="FNanchor_433_433" id="FNanchor_433_433"></a><a href="#Footnote_433_433" class="fnanchor">[433]</a></p> - -<p>In the Royal Commission granted to the Governor of Virginia, he is -instructed not to suffer any one to be molested in the exercise of his -religion, provided he be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">[311]</a></span> content with a quiet and peaceable profession -of it, not giving offence or scandal to the Government.<a name="FNanchor_434_434" id="FNanchor_434_434"></a><a href="#Footnote_434_434" class="fnanchor">[434]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">COLONIAL POLICY.</div> - -<p>In the Charter granted to Rhode Island, July 8th, 1663, it is -distinctly provided, that no person within the colony should be -disquieted for differences of theological opinion.</p> - -<p>Should any one ask, why were these people in the West so differently -treated from Englishmen in His Majesty's home dominions—the answer -is, that the power and the temper of the colonists were such that -it would have been dangerous to the Imperial rule of Great Britain -to have denied them the utmost toleration which they asked. Most -of the emigrants had fled the shores of England, because of their -Nonconformity, to seek a home in the New World, where they might -worship God; and for defence of the refuge which they had gained at -the cost of exile, they were willing to lay down their lives. It -would have been at the risk, nay, with the certainty of losing those -fair possessions, had the Government denied the fullest religious -liberty. Nor did the political fears which blended with the religious -animosities at home exist in relation to those distant settlements. -Neither could the Church be endangered, nor the Throne be shaken, nor -the State be disturbed by Nonconformists thousands of miles away. It is -also a fact that kindness and generosity will often flow in abundant -streams towards objects at a distance, whilst the current is diverted -from objects at the door.</p> - -<p>Lastly, we should remember that Charles II. was not of an intolerant -and cruel disposition; that where he could, without trouble or danger, -concede religious liberty, he was ready to do so; and that Clarendon -was not destitute of all good-will towards people of other opinions<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312">[312]</a></span> -than his own when neither policy nor prejudice crossed his better -nature.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1663.</div> - -<p>In the month of October, after rumours of imagined outbreaks, something -of the kind actually occurred in Farnley Wood, Yorkshire. What was -going forward the Government knew, and enormously exaggerated reports -of it were conveyed to Whitehall. The wood was narrowly watched. -Twelve armed men met there. Two hundred were seen riding in an open -glade, after which they moved away, four or six together, in different -directions. Entrenchments were thrown up, but there was no fighting. -Several of these persons were arrested, amongst whom were Major -Thomas Greathead and Captain Thomas Oates, trustees of the curious -little Presbyterian chapel at Morley. Oates was tried at York, when -his infamous son Ralph appeared to give evidence against him, but was -refused a hearing by the Judge; the Captain, however, suffered death. -Greathead turned King's evidence, being promised not only his life but -a great reward, if he would confess the whole danger. The Royalist -spies and informers reported, that he was so necessary to the military -part of the business, that nothing could be done without him, and that -he was, therefore, fully trusted by the rebels. This appears in the -documents, touching the affair, preserved in the State Paper Office. -They are very numerous, and amidst much which is vague and confused, -may be discovered some definite proofs that a plot did exist in the -year 1663, with which the Farnley Wood entrenchments were connected. -There seem to have been exiles in Rotterdam, who had correspondence -with parties in England respecting this treasonable business, -especially Dr. Richardson, who surrendered his preferment at Ripon upon -the Restoration of the King, and had gone over to Holland. Among the -implicated<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313">[313]</a></span> persons he mentions Ralph Rymer, father of the Editor of -the <i>Fœdera</i>, which Ralph,—like Oates, and several others,—was hanged -for his share in the complicated proceedings of this extensive plot. -Richardson declared that if there had been a good leader the business -would have taken stronger and sooner. Their numbers were small, but -their faith was strong, and they believed miracles would have attended -their godly design. Several distinguished names are mentioned in the -documents, such as Lords Wharton and Fairfax; but the Government did -not meddle with these formidable personages.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">PLOTS AND INFORMERS.</div> - -<p>The sort of agency set to work, first to entrap, and then to convert -unwary Nonconformists, is revealed by a writer who, in the month of -December, bewails the severity of Government towards men deluded and -betrayed by informers; he instances a "Mr. Wakerley, a sober Yorkshire -Quaker, visited by Thomas Denham, a privileged spy, who tried to -persuade him to join the Northern design; he steadily refused, and even -wrote to Sir Thomas Gower an account of what passed, but his letter was -suppressed, and he summoned before the Duke of Buckingham as a plotter, -and only discharged on his letters being searched for and found."<a name="FNanchor_435_435" id="FNanchor_435_435"></a><a href="#Footnote_435_435" class="fnanchor">[435]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1663.</div> - -<p>Not more frequent at that time, when old English sports continued to -amuse the nobility and gentry, was the flight of the hawk, freed from -its jess and hood, gliding through the air and striking its quarry, -than was the prowling abroad of the informer, who, freed from all -restraint of justice and humanity, pursued with keenest<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314">[314]</a></span> eye, and -seized with merciless vengeance, the ill-fated Sectary. This favourite -English bird, indeed, is dishonoured by the comparison, for, with -all the hawk's rapacity, the spy had none of its better qualities. -Sprung from the dregs of the people, mean and dastardly to the last -degree, and many of them spending their ill-gotten gains in gambling -and debauchery, creatures of this kind were as much the objects of -abhorrence to the respectable portion of the community, as they were -of terror to the innocent class upon which they pounced. Destitute -of the fear of God, caring not at all for religion, yet professing -themselves zealous Churchmen, they spent the Lord's Day in ferreting -out their fellow-citizens and disturbing them at their devotions. In -coffee-houses and places of public resort, during the week, they were -lying in wait to catch the unwary, or to obtain a clue to the discovery -of Conventicles. Many of them perished in poverty, shame, and despair; -smitten, as their victims thought, by the avenging hand of God. To -informers belonged a low coarse villany, peculiar to themselves; but -their criminality could not but be largely shared by others, and the -responsibility of the system, of which they were the instruments, -attached mainly to the Government which condescended to employ -them.<a name="FNanchor_436_436" id="FNanchor_436_436"></a><a href="#Footnote_436_436" class="fnanchor">[436]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">NONCONFORMIST PLACES OF WORSHIP.</div> - -<p>At this point in our history we may appropriately answer two questions -which naturally arise respecting the Nonconformists—Where did they -worship? and how were the ejected ministers supported? These questions -lead us into the by-paths of our narrative, and entering<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_315" id="Page_315">[315]</a></span> them we -cannot avoid wandering a little further than strict chronological order -would allow. But, although we somewhat anticipate subsequent periods, -it will not matter; we shall presently return to the highway by the -gate through which we leave it, and the remembrance of what we pick -up in our short ramble will enable us better to understand much which -follows.</p> - -<p>If Nonconformists would adore the Almighty as their consciences -dictated, they had to do so in concealment, and to adopt ingenious -devices to avoid notice, or to elude pursuit. In the old Tudor Mansion, -at Compton Winyates, Warwickshire, there is a chapel in the roof with -secret passages contrived for the safety of Popish recusants; and in -Oxburgh Hall, in Norfolk, there is a recess within a small closet, with -a trap-door concealed in the pavement. These contrivances were imitated -by Protestant Nonconformists in the days of Charles II. An instance -of this kind, not long since, could be shown among the ruins of the -Priory of St. Bartholomew, Smithfield, consisting of subterranean ways -and doors in the crypt. The Baptists of Bristol hung up a curtain, and -placed their minister behind it, so that a spy coming in could not -see the speaker. When a suspicious person made his appearance it was -customary for the congregation to begin singing, and for the preacher -to pause. At Andover, it is said, that the Dissenters met for prayer in -a dark room, until a ray of morning light, struggling down the chimney, -announced the hour to depart.<a name="FNanchor_437_437" id="FNanchor_437_437"></a><a href="#Footnote_437_437" class="fnanchor">[437]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1663.</div> - -<p>In the village of Eversden, in the County of Cambridge, stands an old -Manor house, moated round and approached by an ancient bridge. It -is reported that a vehicle might be often seen crossing that bridge -after dark, in the time<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_316" id="Page_316">[316]</a></span> of persecution, on its way to Cambridge, to -bring back Francis Holcroft, to preach at midnight in the wood, which -skirted the back of the edifice. There was once a Gospel Beech in the -Wolds of Gloucestershire, a Gospel Oak near Kentish Town, and an Oak of -Reformation in Kett the Tanner's Camp, near the City of Norwich, and to -these may be added the Oak at Eversden,—remaining within the memory -of the present generation, called the Pulpit Tree—a sort of Christian -Dodona, from which the minister just named announced the Word of Life. -In the woods near Hitchin, tradition reports, that John Bunyan used, -after nightfall, to gather together great numbers of the neighbouring -peasantry; and at Duckinfield, in Cheshire, people can still point out -the place where the "proscribed ministers were met by their faithful -adherents, when the pious service of prayer, praise, and exhortation -had no other walls to surround it but the oaken thicket, and no other -roof for its protection but the canopy of Heaven."<a name="FNanchor_438_438" id="FNanchor_438_438"></a><a href="#Footnote_438_438" class="fnanchor">[438]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">EJECTED MINISTERS.</div> - -<p>A few of the ejected ministers lived in comfortable circumstances. -Inheriting a fortune, or acquiring property during their connection -with the Establishment, they were provided against pecuniary -inconvenience after the Restoration.</p> - -<p>John Owen must have derived from the Deanery of Christchurch something -considerable, to which additions were made by the bequest of a -relative, if not by the profits of his publications. He had an estate -at Stadham,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_317" id="Page_317">[317]</a></span> whither he retired on his removal from Oxford; and, after -his second marriage in 1667, he was enabled to keep his carriage, -and a country house at Ealing in Middlesex.<a name="FNanchor_439_439" id="FNanchor_439_439"></a><a href="#Footnote_439_439" class="fnanchor">[439]</a> John Tombes, the -Antipædobaptist, married a rich widow at Salisbury, not long before -the King's return, and lived in that city upon her estate, visiting -the Bishop and enjoying the friendship of other dignitaries.<a name="FNanchor_440_440" id="FNanchor_440_440"></a><a href="#Footnote_440_440" class="fnanchor">[440]</a> Some -of those who were compelled to renounce their incumbencies, adopted -secular employments as a means of livelihood; some became physicians -or lawyers, some established schools, which, however, were liable to -be broken up by the Five Mile Act, and several became chaplains or -tutors in private families.<a name="FNanchor_441_441" id="FNanchor_441_441"></a><a href="#Footnote_441_441" class="fnanchor">[441]</a> John Howe spent about five years in -Ireland, at Antrim Castle, with its spacious and richly-timbered park, -upon the banks of the charming Lough Neagh, where he administered the -ordinances of religion to the family of Lord Massarene.<a name="FNanchor_442_442" id="FNanchor_442_442"></a><a href="#Footnote_442_442" class="fnanchor">[442]</a> Dr. Jacomb -enjoyed the friendship of the Countess of Exeter, to whom he had been -chaplain; and, after his resignation of St. Martin's, Ludgate, he found -a comfortable home in her town house, where he made it his constant -care to promote domestic religion. John Flavel lived at Hudscott -Hall, belonging to the family of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_318" id="Page_318">[318]</a></span> Rolles, near South Molton, in -Devonshire. Supported by the liberality, and screened by the influence -of the Lord of the domain, he there, amidst plantations, gardens, and -other rural scenes, gathered together the materials of his <i>Husbandry -Spiritualized</i>. There, too, he assembled around him, as best he could, -sometimes at midnight, the members of his former parish flock, and -interested and instructed them by ingenious illustrations adapted to -their rustic habits and tastes.<a name="FNanchor_443_443" id="FNanchor_443_443"></a><a href="#Footnote_443_443" class="fnanchor">[443]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1663.</div> - -<p>Those who steadily laboured, with more or less publicity, would receive -such assistance from their hearers as was voluntarily contributed. But -Richard Baxter, as he informs us, pursued a very independent course, -and sought to imitate the Apostle Paul by not being chargeable to -any. Dropping into a gossiping humour he declares, in his <i>Life and -Times</i>, that for eleven years he preached for nothing; that he did not -receive a groat but what he returned, unless it were between forty and -fifty pounds given him at different times, partly to defray his prison -charges, and an annuity of ten pounds sent by a friend. Having printed -about seventy books, no one, whether Lord, Knight, or other person -to whom they were dedicated, ever offered him a shilling, except the -Corporation of Coventry, and Lady Rous, each of whom presented him -with a piece of plate of the value of four pounds. The fifteenth copy -of a work was his due from the publisher; but he gave them away to the -amount of many thousands amongst his friends, who, noble or ignoble, -offered him not a sixpence in return.<a name="FNanchor_444_444" id="FNanchor_444_444"></a><a href="#Footnote_444_444" class="fnanchor">[444]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">EJECTED MINISTERS.</div> - -<p>Some of the ejected, reduced to extremities, were discovered under -the concealments which from poverty they contrived. Mr. Grove, a man -of great opulence, whose<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_319" id="Page_319">[319]</a></span> seat was in the neighbourhood of Birdbush, -in Wiltshire, in consequence of his wife's dangerous illness, sent -to the minister of the parish. The minister was riding out with the -hounds, when the messenger arrived, and he replied that he would visit -the gentleman when the hunt was over. Mr. Grove, having expressed his -displeasure that the clergyman should follow his diversions rather than -attend to his flock, one of the servants took the liberty of saying, -"Our shepherd, sir, if you will send for him, can pray very well: we -have often heard him in the field." Upon this the shepherd was sent -for, and Mr. Grove asking him whether he could pray, the shepherd -replied, "God forbid, sir, I should live one day without prayer." Upon -being desired to pray with the sick lady, he did it so pertinently, -with such fluency, and with such fervour, as greatly to astonish all -who listened. As they rose from their knees the gentleman observed: -"Your language and manner discover you to be a very different person -from what your appearance indicates. I conjure you to inform me who and -what you are, and what were your views and situation in life before you -came into my service." To this the shepherd rejoined, that he was one -of the ministers who had been lately ejected from the Church, and that, -having nothing left, he was content to adopt the honest employment of -keeping sheep. "Then you shall be my shepherd," rejoined the Squire, -and immediately erected a Meeting-house on his own estate, in which -Mr. Ince (for that was the shepherd's name) preached and gathered a -congregation of Dissenters.<a name="FNanchor_445_445" id="FNanchor_445_445"></a><a href="#Footnote_445_445" class="fnanchor">[445]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1663.</div> - -<p>Numerous anecdotes are recorded by Calamy, and others, of the -remarkable manner in which certain ejected<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_320" id="Page_320">[320]</a></span> ministers amidst their -privations received assistance. If we believe (and who that accepts the -New Testament can doubt it?) that a special Providence watches over -those who seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, we are -prepared to discover special Divine interpositions on behalf of men -distinguished by integrity, faith, devotion, and self-sacrifice.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_321" id="Page_321">[321]</a></span></p></div> - - -<h2>CHAPTER XVI.</h2> - - -<p class="drop-cap p-left">Within two years after the passing of the Act of Uniformity, the -clergy exerted themselves to obtain further legislation in favour of -the Church. From a petition which they presented to Parliament in the -year 1664, it appears they were anxious for the enactment of severe -laws against Anabaptists, who were complained of as fraudulently -industrious in making proselytes. They also desired to promote the -observance of the Lord's Day, by increasing the fine of twelve pence -in every case of non-attendance upon Divine service. They wished the -clergy to be assisted in recovering tithes, not exceeding the value -of forty shillings, by less expensive means than law-suits; and they -requested a more equitable method of clerical taxation than that which -then existed. They further asked for an augmentation of the incomes of -Vicars and Curates, and for the enforcement of the payment of Church -rates.<a name="FNanchor_446_446" id="FNanchor_446_446"></a><a href="#Footnote_446_446" class="fnanchor">[446]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1664.<br /> - -CONVENTICLE ACT.</div> - -<p>How far this petition, which points to the alarming increase of the -Anabaptists, might influence certain proceedings of the same year, -it is a fact, that a law for the suppression of Nonconformity soon -afterwards appeared. Charles, when proroguing Parliament in the month<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_322" id="Page_322">[322]</a></span> -of July, 1663, had promised a further measure against Conventicles. -The recent Act of Uniformity had rendered the Dissenting clergy -liable to three months' imprisonment if they publicly preached; but -it had not directly touched the case of laymen, except so far as -schoolmasters were concerned. Through the application of Elizabeth's -Act of Uniformity, and of other laws for repressing civil disaffection, -laymen, frequenting Conventicles, became liable to penalties; but the -Conventicle Act, now to be described, aimed, by a direct and decisive -blow, at crushing for ever the nests of sedition. It was passed in -the month of May.<a name="FNanchor_447_447" id="FNanchor_447_447"></a><a href="#Footnote_447_447" class="fnanchor">[447]</a> It recognized the Act of Elizabeth as still -in force; and it provided, that no person of sixteen, or upwards, -should be present at any assembly of five, or more, under colour of -religion "in other manner than is allowed by the Liturgy;" and that -every such offender should, for the first offence, be imprisoned for a -period not exceeding three months, or pay five pounds; for the second -offence, be imprisoned not exceeding six months, or pay ten pounds; -and, for a third offence, be transported, for seven years, to any -foreign plantation (Virginia and New England only excepted); the goods -of the offenders to be distrained for the charges of transportation, -or his service made over as a labourer for five years. The payment -of one hundred pounds would discharge from such imprisonment and -transportation; and such a fine was to be appropriated for the repair -of churches and highways. Escape before transportation subjected the -victim to death. Power was given to prevent Conventicles being held, -or, if held, to dissolve them. Any one who allowed a meeting in a house -or outhouse, in woods or grounds, incurred the same<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_323" id="Page_323">[323]</a></span> penalties as the -attendants. Gaolers were forbidden to allow offenders to remain at -large, or to permit any person to join them. The houses of Peers were -exempted from search, except by Royal warrant, or in the presence of -a Lieutenant, a Deputy-Lieutenant, or two Magistrates. Quakers, for -refusing to take oaths, were to suffer transportation. Noblemen, if -they offended against the law, were, in the first two instances, to pay -double fines—and in the third instance to be tried by their peers.<a name="FNanchor_448_448" id="FNanchor_448_448"></a><a href="#Footnote_448_448" class="fnanchor">[448]</a></p> - -<p>The Bill proceeded upon the principle, already established by the -Act of Uniformity, that Nonconformist clergymen were incompetent to -preach; and it laid down another principle, a legitimate corollary -of the former, that Nonconformist laymen were, as such, incompetent -to worship. The intolerant measure would seem to have passed the two -Houses with little or no discussion, as not any notice is taken in -the <i>Parliamentary History</i> of speeches delivered upon the occasion; -and Clarendon remarks, that, at this time, there was great order and -unanimity in debates, and Parliament despatched more business of public -importance and consequence than it had done before, in twice the -time.<a name="FNanchor_449_449" id="FNanchor_449_449"></a><a href="#Footnote_449_449" class="fnanchor">[449]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1664.</div> - -<p>As we examine the Act, we cannot help calling to mind the ordinance of -the Long Parliament in 1646, forbidding the use of the Prayer Book "in -any private place or family." Here, as in other cases, are seen the -footsteps of avenging Deities; and, as is their wont, they meted out -penalties exceeding the original offence. In this case, fines of five -pounds and ten pounds, indeed, just equalled the pecuniary mulcts of -Presbyterian law; but the <i>one</i> year's imprisonment, without bail or -mainprise, threatened by the Long Parliament against a third offence,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_324" id="Page_324">[324]</a></span> -was now thrown into the shade by the enactment—first, of a penalty of -transportation for seven years, in cases where means did not exist for -paying the sum of one hundred pounds; and next, of capital punishment, -in case of the convicted Conventicler being caught after making his -escape.</p> - -<p>The difference in some respects, the similarity in others, between -the principles upon which the Anglican politicians proceeded in -their conduct towards Puritans, and the principles upon which the -Puritan politicians had proceeded in reference to Anglicans, has been -little, if at all, noticed. As to the difference, the Conventicle -Act regarded Conventicles simply as seditious, it punished men for -religious convictions, under pretence of preventing rebellion; on the -other hand the Long Parliament and Oliver Cromwell had forbidden the -use of the Prayer Book, in order to break up assemblies for worship -held by persons who, not without reason, were suspected of political -disaffection. There was a further difference—Clarendon and his party -sought to establish uniformity by the use of the Anglican Liturgy; -the Presbyterians had aimed at their uniformity through a prohibition -of that Liturgy, not by any enforcement, under penalties, of the -Westminster Directory. The Anglican law was prescriptive; the Puritan -prohibitive. But there is involved in all this a general resemblance -between the two. Neither appears thoroughly straightforward; each is -exceedingly intolerant; and both aim at doing one thing, under pretence -of doing something else. Yet let it not be forgotten, that while there -is little to choose between them in point of principle, the extent to -which persecution was carried, under Charles and his brother James, -immensely exceeded anything reached under the Long Parliament, or under -Oliver Cromwell.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">CONVENTICLE ACT.</div> - -<p>The new law was ordained to take effect after the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_325" id="Page_325">[325]</a></span> 1st of July; -but formidable difficulties in the way of its execution presented -themselves as the time approached, arising from political disaffection, -from the numbers of Nonconformists, and from the sympathy which their -more tolerant neighbours felt with them in the sufferings which they -endured.</p> - -<p>"The Quakers, Anabaptists, and Fifth Monarchy men," it is stated, in -the month of June, "will meet more daringly after the time limited in -the Act, and say they will neither pay money nor be banished. They have -solicited others of different persuasions to join them in opposing -the Act, and they get encouragement, though no promises. If dealt -with severely, a body of 10,000 would rise, and demand fulfilment of -the King's Declaration for liberty of conscience. They say, if their -spirit of suffering be turned into a spirit of action, woe to those -who stand in their way. Other Sectaries resolve to keep to the limits -of the Act, and increase their number as they can safely. The hopes -of a war with the Dutch, fermented by spies at Court, dispose the -desperadoes to dangerous resolutions."<a name="FNanchor_450_450" id="FNanchor_450_450"></a><a href="#Footnote_450_450" class="fnanchor">[450]</a> This is the representation -of an enemy, and cannot be trusted for accuracy in particulars; but, so -far as a general determination to persevere in worship is concerned, -probably the writer is perfectly correct, and the whole drift of his -communication manifests the difficulty which was felt with regard to -the anticipated execution of the new statute.</p> - -<p>The Congregational Churches about Furness were reported as resolved to -meet, notwithstanding the Act; and as wasting their money by rewards, -and by maintaining prisoners, and other people, who absconded in order -that they might not be cited to bear witness.<a name="FNanchor_451_451" id="FNanchor_451_451"></a><a href="#Footnote_451_451" class="fnanchor">[451]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_326" id="Page_326">[326]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1664.</div> - -<p>After the Conventicle Act came into force the number of offenders -excited attention, and created difficulty. Newgate was so full that it -bred an infectious malignant fever, which sent many to their long home; -and the magistrates, who thought their Nonconformist neighbours "unfit -to breathe their native air when living, buried them as brethren, when -dead." Stress was laid upon the great number of Dissenters, both by -enemies and friends. They were said to exceed "two parts of the common -people;" to have connection with the nobility and gentry; and to be -so numerous that His Majesty could not force them to conformity, by -banishment or death, without endangering the safety of the kingdom. Nor -were there wanting Churchmen, to plead for a lenient treatment of their -persecuted brethren, whilst they themselves complained that rulers -were winding the pin of Government so high as to threaten to crack the -sinews, and that so much formalism and corruption prevailed in the -Establishment as to provoke people to wish for its overthrow.<a name="FNanchor_452_452" id="FNanchor_452_452"></a><a href="#Footnote_452_452" class="fnanchor">[452]</a></p> - -<p>Of the existence at this time of alarming disaffection amongst persons -of Republican opinions who had served in the Army, there cannot be any -doubt. Abundant indications of it are afforded in contemporary letters. -How, indeed, could disaffection but exist under a Government, which, -whilst denouncing plots and plotters, was, by its own intolerance, -stirring people up to rebellion? No one can be surprised that old -soldiers, who had fought for liberty, felt disposed again to draw -the sword, if any chance of success appeared. Where no signs of -resistance were made, and very many persons, either from worldly -policy, or from Christian patience resolved to be quiet,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_327" id="Page_327">[327]</a></span> there -throbbed intense indignation at the infliction of so much wrong—a -temper with which it is dangerous for any Government to trifle. The -suspicion that Nonconformists were engaged in plots contributed to -increase a persecuting spirit. Local attacks might spring from Anglican -fanaticism, from private pique, and revenge, from the vulgar insolence -of mobs, and from the avarice or ambition of informers; but the -assaults which proceeded immediately from headquarters, as the State -Papers distinctly prove, were provoked principally by political fears.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">CONVENTICLE ACT.</div> - -<p>The Conventicle Act was executed with severity. A congregation meeting -at a baker's house in Maryport Street, Bristol, was visited by the -Mayor and Aldermen, who demanded admission; the baker refused, when -an entrance was forced by means of a crowbar, and the people and the -minister escaped through a back door. They were "hunted by the Nimrods, -but the Lord hid them many days." Once, somewhere in Corn Street, a -guard of musketeers came to take people into custody, when, it being -evening, the persecuted escaped through a cellar into Baldwin Street. -At another time, when the Mayor and Aldermen again beset the house, -a brother, sending his companions upstairs, contrived, by means of a -great cupboard, to hide the garret door.<a name="FNanchor_453_453" id="FNanchor_453_453"></a><a href="#Footnote_453_453" class="fnanchor">[453]</a> Presbyterians at Chester, -disturbed in their worship, hid themselves under beds, and locked -themselves up in closets; and sixty men and women, in a village of -Somersetshire, were apprehended, and, in default of paying fines, were -sent to gaol.<a name="FNanchor_454_454" id="FNanchor_454_454"></a><a href="#Footnote_454_454" class="fnanchor">[454]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1665.</div> - -<p>Whilst Nonconformists were suffering from the Con<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_328" id="Page_328">[328]</a></span>venticle Act, the -King recurred to his scheme for granting indulgences; in favour of -which Lord Arlington, on behalf of the Catholics, and the Lord Privy -Seal, who was interested for the Presbyterians, plied an efficacious -argument. They urged that, frightened by recent laws and the zeal of -Parliament in the cause of the Church, Dissenters would gladly compound -for liberty at a reasonable rate, by which means a good yearly revenue -might be raised, and concord and tranquillity be established throughout -the kingdom. The King caught at this reasoning: a Bill was prepared, -in which Catholics as well as Protestants were included;—a schedule -having been drawn up, computing what they would be willing to pay. The -Bill entrusted the King with a dispensing power,—and the Royal origin -of the measure becoming known to the Peers, they offered no opposition -to the first reading; but afterwards, the Lord Treasurer, and many of -the Bishops, sharply opposed it, and Clarendon threw the weight of his -influence into the same scale. In a courtier-like speech, reported by -himself, he upheld Charles' Protestantism, and cleverly insinuated that -the question was not "whether the King were worthy of that trust, but -whether that trust were worthy of the King,"—that it would inevitably -expose him "to trouble and vexation," and "subject him to daily and -hourly importunities; which must be so much the more uneasy to a nature -of so great bounty and generosity,"—and that nothing was so ungrateful -to him as to be obliged to refuse. Even the Duke of York expressed -dissatisfaction—influenced, as is presumed, by the Lord Chancellor. -Few spoke in favour of the Bill, and it was agreed that there should -be no question as to its being committed—"which was the most civil -way of rejecting it, and left it to be no more called for." The only -results were, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_329" id="Page_329">[329]</a></span> mortification of His Majesty, and the augmentation -of bitterness against the Roman Catholics.<a name="FNanchor_455_455" id="FNanchor_455_455"></a><a href="#Footnote_455_455" class="fnanchor">[455]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">CONVOCATION.<br /> -1665.</div> - -<p>An important change had occurred in the relation of the clergy -to the State at the opening of the year 1665, which we must step -back to notice. In ancient times they had possessed the privilege -of self-taxation, and this privilege survived the Reformation. -Ecclesiastical persons continued to vote subsidies from their own body: -the proportions being assessed by Ecclesiastical Commissioners. The -censures of the Church fell upon those who did not pay; and if Sheriffs -were remiss in executing the writ <i>de excommunicato capiendo</i>, Bishops -had their own prisons in which to confine the refractory: and it may be -concluded, that it came within the power of diocesans to sequester the -profits of incumbencies, when the holders of them refused to meet their -assessments. Parliament, in the reign of Henry VIII., had confirmed -such aids; and from that time the clerical tax, after being ratified -by the two Houses, could be levied in the way of distress. The whole -of this system of taxation had disappeared in 1641, when ministers of -religion, in common with other people, became subject to Parliamentary -assessment. A proposition to the effect that ministers should be -exempted from paying tenths and first-fruits had been entertained in -an early part of the Protectorate; and it had even been suggested that -they should be relieved from taxation altogether;<a name="FNanchor_456_456" id="FNanchor_456_456"></a><a href="#Footnote_456_456" class="fnanchor">[456]</a> but this excess -of liberality bore no fruit, and at the Restoration the clergy fell -back into their old position. After the revision of the Prayer Book had -been completed, in the winter of 1661–2, Convocation did nothing but -grant subsidies,—beyond discussing such matters as the composition of -a school grammar, a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_330" id="Page_330">[330]</a></span> petition from poor clergymen in the Isle of Wight, -and the translation of the Prayer Book into Latin.<a name="FNanchor_457_457" id="FNanchor_457_457"></a><a href="#Footnote_457_457" class="fnanchor">[457]</a> A grant of four -subsidies in the year 1663 was confirmed by Act of Parliament;<a name="FNanchor_458_458" id="FNanchor_458_458"></a><a href="#Footnote_458_458" class="fnanchor">[458]</a> but -before the close of that year, the Bishops and clergy began to regard -this rating of themselves as troublesome, and they found that both the -Court and the Commons were discontented, unless Convocation fixed their -contributions at a rate beyond all reasonable proportion. The petition -of the clergy, already noticed, looked in that direction, and noticed -the existing mode of Convocational taxation, as an ecclesiastical -hardship. Sheldon, and other prelates, it is supposed under the -influence of considerations of this kind, arranged with the Government -that the ancient custom of voting subsidies should be waived, and that -spiritual as well as secular persons should be included in the Money -Bills of the Commons. In promoting this alteration, the Archbishop -and his Episcopal helpers did not appear in the character of High -Churchmen, the alteration being thoroughly opposed to the ancient canon -law. And to encourage the clergy, it was proposed that two of the last -four clerical subsidies should be remitted, and that a clause should -be inserted in the new Act, for the saving of ancient rights. The Bill -passed on the 9th of February, 1665; and, at the same time, parochial -ministers acquired the privilege of voting for members of Parliament. -Collier remarks,—"that the clergy were gainers by this change is more -than appears."<a name="FNanchor_459_459" id="FNanchor_459_459"></a><a href="#Footnote_459_459" class="fnanchor">[459]</a> And he is right. No doubt the change struck a fatal -blow at the importance and authority of Convocation; for Convocation, -like Parliament, had been valued by Sovereigns because of its<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_331" id="Page_331">[331]</a></span> holding -the purse-strings of a portion of the people; and when money no longer -flowed into the exchequer in the form of ecclesiastical subsidies, -Convocation sunk into neglect. It would be very surprising, if it were -a fact, that State Churchmen, desiring to maintain the independence of -the Church, did not foresee the operation of the change, and did not -attempt to prevent it: but the fact is, that Churchmen, just after the -Restoration, zealous for such independence, were neither numerous nor -influential, and that the majority of those in orders were decidedly -Erastian in their tendencies. The change, however, was one which, if it -had not been brought about by such motives of expediency as influenced -Sheldon, must have followed in the wake of advancing civilization—the -anomaly of a particular class left to tax itself not being permissible -in modern times: nor can it be doubted, that it is far better for the -temporal interests of the clergy, as well as of the laity, that they -should stand shoulder to shoulder, bearing together the burdens of -their country.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">SHELDON'S INQUIRIES.<br /> -1665.</div> - -<p>Five months after this Act had passed, Archbishop Sheldon issued -orders and instructions to the Bishops of his province, concerning -ordinations, pluralists and their curates, lectures and lecturers, -schoolmasters and instructors of youth, practisers of physic, and -Nonconformist ministers. He complained of divers unworthy persons, of -late crept into the ministry, to the scandal of the Church, and the -dissatisfaction of good men; and to remedy these evils, Bishops were -ordered to be very careful what persons they received for ordination. -Inquiries were made touching pluralities, and whether pluralists kept -able, orthodox, and comformable <i>curates</i> upon the benefices where -they did not themselves reside. The word <i>curates</i>, it may be remarked -in passing, had now changed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_332" id="Page_332">[332]</a></span> from its ancient to its modern meaning; -and having been applied generally to all pastors, it was introduced by -the Archbishop as the title of distinct and subordinate officers.<a name="FNanchor_460_460" id="FNanchor_460_460"></a><a href="#Footnote_460_460" class="fnanchor">[460]</a> -These orders may be divided into two parts—those which relate to -the internal government of the Church; and those which relate to -Nonconformists. The second part will be noticed in the next Chapter.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_333" id="Page_333">[333]</a></span></p></div> - - -<h2>CHAPTER XVII.</h2> - - -<div class="sidenote">1665.<br /> -THE PLAGUE.</div> - -<p class="drop-cap p-left">This year appears as a terrible one in the annals of London.<a name="FNanchor_461_461" id="FNanchor_461_461"></a><a href="#Footnote_461_461" class="fnanchor">[461]</a> Two -men in Drury Lane had sickened in the previous December. Upon inquiry, -headache, fever, burning sensations, dimness of sight, and livid spots -had indicated that the Plague was in the capital of England. The -intelligence soon spread. The weekly bills of mortality, for the next -four months, exhibited an increase of deaths. The month of May showed -that the disease was extending; and in the first week of July, 1006 -persons fell victims to the destroyer. Men fled in terror; vehicles of -all kinds thronged the highways, filled with those whose circumstances -enabled them to change their abode; but multitudes, especially of the -poorer class, remained, and, being crowded together in narrow streets -and alleys, they were soon marked by the Angel of Death. The mortality -reported from week to week rose from hundreds to thousands, until -during the month<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_334" id="Page_334">[334]</a></span> of September, the terrific number of 10,000 occurred -in one week. In one night, it is said, 4,000 expired. Shop after shop, -and house after house was closed. The long red cross, with the words, -"Lord, have mercy upon us" inscribed upon the door, indicated what -was going on within. Watchmen stood armed with halberds, to prevent -communication between the inmates and their neighbours. Instead of the -crowds which once lined the thoroughfares, only a few persons crept -cautiously in the middle of the road, fearful of contact with each -other. "The highways were unoccupied, and the travellers walked through -by-ways." A coach was rarely seen, save when, with curtains drawn, -it conveyed some Plague-stricken mortal to the pest-house. Wagons, -laden with timber or stone, had disappeared, for men had no heart to -build; and the half-finished structure sunk into premature decay. -Carts, bringing provision, were not suffered within the gates; markets -were held in the outskirts, where the seller would not touch the -buyer's money, until it had been purified by passing through a vessel -of vinegar. Similar precautions were used at the post office, which -was so fumed morning and evening,—whilst "letters were aired over -vinegar,"—that the people employed in it could hardly see each other; -but, says the writer, who mentions that fact, "had the contagion been -catching by letters, they had been dead long ago."<a name="FNanchor_462_462" id="FNanchor_462_462"></a><a href="#Footnote_462_462" class="fnanchor">[462]</a> Grass sprung up -in the streets, and a fearful silence brooded over the wide desolation. -London cries, sounds of music, the murmur of cheerful groups, and the -din of business had ceased. The lonely passenger, as he walked along, -shuddered at the shrieks of miserable beings tortured by disease, or at -the still<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_335" id="Page_335">[335]</a></span> more awful silence. Doors and windows were left open—houses -were empty—the inmates gone.</p> - -<p>Some dropped in the streets; others had time to go to the next stall -or porch, "and just sit down and die." Men, who drove the death-carts, -perished on their way to the pit, or fell dead upon the corpses, which -were tumbled into the place of burial. A person went home, hale and -strong—at eventide there was trouble, and before the morning, he was -not. As the mother nursed the babe, a purple spot appeared on her -breast, and, in a short time, the helpless little one was clinging to -its lifeless parent.</p> - -<p>The real horrors of the Plague-year were augmented by imagination. -Men saw in the heavens portentous forms, blazing stars, and angels -with flaming swords; on the earth they discerned spectres in menacing -attitudes. Some fancied themselves inspired. One of these fanatics -made the streets ring with his cry, "Yet forty days, and London shall -be destroyed." Another, with nothing but a girdle round his loins, and -bearing a vessel of burning coals upon his head, appeared by night -and by day, exclaiming, "Oh, the great and dreadful God!" There were -individuals, as amidst the plague of Athens, "who spent their days -in merriment and folly—who feared neither the displeasure of God, -nor the laws of men—not the former, because they deemed it the same -thing whether they worshipped or neglected to do so, seeing that all -in common perished—not the latter, because no one expected his life -would last till he received the punishment of his crimes;"<a name="FNanchor_463_463" id="FNanchor_463_463"></a><a href="#Footnote_463_463" class="fnanchor">[463]</a> but the -greater part of the population looked upon the calamity in the light of -a Divine judgment, and trembled, with inexpressible fear, at the signs -of God's displeasure.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_336" id="Page_336">[336]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1665.</div> - -<p>A Proclamation appeared in July, appointing as a fast-day the 12th of -that month; and, afterwards, the first Wednesday in every succeeding -month, until the Plague should cease. Collections were ordered to be -made on these occasions for relief of the sufferers; and also forms of -morning and evening prayer were published by authority, together with -"an exhortation fit for the time."<a name="FNanchor_464_464" id="FNanchor_464_464"></a><a href="#Footnote_464_464" class="fnanchor">[464]</a></p> - -<p>It is more humiliating than surprising, to find how far political and -ecclesiastical considerations became mingled with the prevailing alarm.</p> - -<p>Charles issued a Proclamation to the Lord-Lieutenants of Counties, -exhorting them to be extraordinarily watchful over all persons of -seditious temper; to imprison those who gave ground for suspicion, -and cause others to give security for good conduct on any jealousy of -a commotion.<a name="FNanchor_465_465" id="FNanchor_465_465"></a><a href="#Footnote_465_465" class="fnanchor">[465]</a> On the other hand it was affirmed, that at their -meetings Nonconformists expressed a sense of the Lord's displeasure -for the sins of His people, but made no reflections on the Government. -Had the King heard their earnest prayers for God's mercy and favour, -and their contrite confessions of sins, he would not, it was thought, -regard them as unworthy of the indulgence which he seemed disposed to -grant.<a name="FNanchor_466_466" id="FNanchor_466_466"></a><a href="#Footnote_466_466" class="fnanchor">[466]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">THE PLAGUE.</div> - -<p>Henchman, Bishop of London, wrote to Lord Arlington, expressing thanks -for warnings relative to the disorders which would arise, should -ejected ministers be allowed to occupy the vacant pulpits. The sober -clergy, he says, remained in town, implying by the statement<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_337" id="Page_337">[337]</a></span> that -others had fled; and he informs His Lordship that he had refused -some who offered to supply destitute churches, suspecting them to be -factious, although they promised to conform. Most of his officers had -deserted him and gone down into the country; but he could not learn -that any Nonconformist minister had invaded the City pulpits. He was -glad that many who had never attended Divine worship before, now -presented themselves at church.<a name="FNanchor_467_467" id="FNanchor_467_467"></a><a href="#Footnote_467_467" class="fnanchor">[467]</a> The Bishop found it necessary to -threaten with expulsion from their livings those who fled, if they did -not resume their posts;<a name="FNanchor_468_468" id="FNanchor_468_468"></a><a href="#Footnote_468_468" class="fnanchor">[468]</a> and Sheldon, in the midst of the Plague, -issued a circular commanding the Bishops of his province to return the -names of all ejected ministers; which returns are preserved in the -Lambeth Library.<a name="FNanchor_469_469" id="FNanchor_469_469"></a><a href="#Footnote_469_469" class="fnanchor">[469]</a> To his credit it should be recorded also, that in -this season of visitation, he exerted himself for the temporal welfare -of his fellow-creatures, though it does not appear that he manifested -any great anxiety about their spiritual well-being.</p> - -<p>He directed frequent collections to be made on behalf of those who -were perishing for want of the necessaries of human life, "thousands -of poor artisans being ready to starve." He wrote for help to the -Archbishop of York, and he gave judicious instructions respecting the -probate of wills—the large number of deaths having led to an undue -granting of administrations, to the increase of the infection and the -injury of people's estates. His Grace<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_338" id="Page_338">[338]</a></span> directed that all surrogations -should be revoked; that the granting of administration and probate -should be suspended for fourteen days at least, and that afterwards -no administration or probate should pass, until the expiration of one -fortnight following the departure of the deceased; an arrangement which -was judged "to be a visible means to hinder the further dispersing of -the pestilence, and to do a right and justice to the interested."<a name="FNanchor_470_470" id="FNanchor_470_470"></a><a href="#Footnote_470_470" class="fnanchor">[470]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1665.</div> - -<p>Simon Patrick, who held the livings of Battersea and St. Paul's, Covent -Garden, remained in London throughout the whole period. He studied, -preached, visited the sick, and distributed alms; and upon a review -of the awful season and his own peril, recorded the following words: -"I had many heavenly meditations in my mind, and found the pleasure -wherewith they filled the soul was far beyond all the pleasures of the -flesh. Nor could I fancy anything that would last so long, nor give me -such joy and delight, as those thoughts which I had of the other world, -and the taste which God vouchsafed me of it."<a name="FNanchor_471_471" id="FNanchor_471_471"></a><a href="#Footnote_471_471" class="fnanchor">[471]</a></p> - -<p>Vacant churches, neglected parishes, and excited multitudes presented -opportunities of usefulness to some of the ejected ministers, of -which, in spite of the Bishop's precautions, they were quick to avail -themselves.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">THE PLAGUE.</div> - -<p>Thomas Vincent had been a student at Christ Church when Dr. Owen was -Dean, and upon leaving the University, became chaplain to the Earl of -Leicester. He succeeded Mr. Case in the living of St. Mary Magdalen, -Milk Street, whence he was ejected by the Act of Uniformity. In his -retirement he devoted himself to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_339" id="Page_339">[339]</a></span> study of the Bible, and committed -to memory large portions of it, observing to his friends, that he did -not know, but that they who had taken from him his pulpit, might, -in time, take from him his Bible. When the Plague broke out he was -residing at Islington; for some time it did not penetrate into that -neighbourhood, but sympathy with sufferers, not far off, proved a -stronger feeling than a regard for his own safety. Contrary to the -advice of some of his friends, he devoted himself to the work of -preaching and visiting, in districts where the pestilence prevailed; -and he states, as remarkable,<a name="FNanchor_472_472" id="FNanchor_472_472"></a><a href="#Footnote_472_472" class="fnanchor">[472]</a> that pious people "died with such -comfort as Christians do not ordinarily arrive unto, except when -they are called forth to suffer martyrdom for the testimony of Jesus -Christ." So extraordinary was his preaching, that it became a general -inquiry every week, where he would be on the following Sunday—and -amongst the multitudes who crowded to listen to his ministry, many -persons were awakened by his searching discourses. With a total -disregard of the danger of such gatherings at such a time, people -crowded large edifices to suffocation. The broad aisles, as well -as the pews and benches, were packed with one dense mass—anxious -countenances looked up to the Divine in his black cap; the reading of -the Scriptures, the prayer, and the sermon, being listened to amidst a -breathless silence, only broken at intervals by half-suppressed sobs -and supplications.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1665.</div> - -<p>Other methods of usefulness were employed. In a volume of broadsheets -in the British Museum may be seen "Short Instructions for the Sick, -especially who, by contagion or otherwise, are deprived of the -presence<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_340" id="Page_340">[340]</a></span> of a faithful pastor, by Richard Baxter, written in the Great -Plague Year,"—full of characteristic appeals, intended to be pasted on -the cottage-wall, as a faithful monitor to all the inmates.</p> - -<p>The malady in London began to decline in the latter part of September, -and at the end of the year it ceased, when the City soon filled again, -resuming its wonted aspect of activity and bustle, and the beneficed -clergy who had fled reappeared in their pulpits. The minister of St. -Olave's, where Pepys attended, was the first to leave, the last to -return; and the minute chronicler informs us, that when he went with -his wife to church, to hear this Divine preach to his long-neglected -flock, he "made but a very poor and short excuse, and a bad -sermon."<a name="FNanchor_473_473" id="FNanchor_473_473"></a><a href="#Footnote_473_473" class="fnanchor">[473]</a></p> - -<p>The Plague, when it left London, visited, with its horrors, many other -parts of England.</p> - -<p>It is curious to find that the Corporation of Norwich gave orders -to the parish clerks, not to toll for the dead, any bell, but one -belonging to the parish in which the person died; because it had become -a practice for the citizens in one parish to have the bells tolled for -deceased friends in another parish, so that all the church steeples -were sometimes ringing out a knell for the same individual.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">THE PLAGUE.</div> - -<p>As in London, so in the country, the ejected clergy<a name="FNanchor_474_474" id="FNanchor_474_474"></a><a href="#Footnote_474_474" class="fnanchor">[474]</a> watched for -opportunities of usefulness, but they were often thwarted in their -laudable efforts. Owen Stockton, ejected at Colchester, when he saw -many, "even the shepherds of the flock, hastening their flight," -offered, if the magistrates "would indulge him the liberty of a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_341" id="Page_341">[341]</a></span> public -church, to stay and preach,"—"till either God should take him away by -death, or cause the pestilence to cease." The magistrates had no power -to set aside the law, and the privilege asked being denied, the Puritan -confessor, from the study of the words in the Book of Isaiah—"Hide -thyself as it were for a little moment until the indignation be -overpast"—satisfied himself as to the lawfulness of removing from -place to place, in time of peril, and hastened with his family to the -retired village of Chattisham, in Suffolk.<a name="FNanchor_475_475" id="FNanchor_475_475"></a><a href="#Footnote_475_475" class="fnanchor">[475]</a></p> - -<p>A touching story is told of a clergyman at Eyam, in Derbyshire. A box -of cloth was sent from London to a tailor in the village, who, soon -after he had emptied the package, fell sick, and died. The pestilence -presently swept away all in his house except one. It spread from -cottage to cottage, and a grave-stone remains to tell the story of -seven persons of the name of Hancock, who died within eight days. As -the churchyard did not suffice for the burial of the dead, graves were -dug in the fields and upon the hill-side, where corpses were hastily -interred. The clergyman was Mr. Mompesson, a young man of twenty-eight, -whose wife, alarmed for the safety of her husband and their two -children, besought him to flee, but he would not leave his flock. With -heroic love, whilst seeking his safety, she exposed herself to imminent -danger; and consenting to the removal of the children, resolved to -abide in the parsonage, where they remained for seven months. In -conjunction with the Earl of Devonshire, the patron of the living, the -Incumbent arranged that all communication with neighbouring places -should be cut off, that no one should go beyond a boundary marked by -stones, where people came and left provisions, and where the buyer put<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_342" id="Page_342">[342]</a></span> -his money in a vessel of water. Combining singular prudence with ardent -zeal, Mompesson provided for the continuance of religious services, -without hazarding the health of his parishioners by bringing them into -a crowded church, and wisely performed Divine service in the open air. -In Cucklet Dale, by the side of a running brook, with a rock for his -pulpit, with craggy hills on one side, and lofty trees on the other for -the walls of his temple, he assembled his flock for worship, and was -wonderfully preserved from contagion; but just as the Plague began to -decline, his noble wife fell a victim to its power.<a name="FNanchor_476_476" id="FNanchor_476_476"></a><a href="#Footnote_476_476" class="fnanchor">[476]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1665.</div> - -<p>Nor let Thomas Stanley, a minister who had been ejected from the living -of Eyam, be forgotten. He could not preach to the people whom he loved; -but by visitation, advice, and prayer, he sought to promote their -temporal and spiritual interests. Some looked with jealousy upon his -efforts, and endeavoured to persuade the Earl of Devonshire to remove -him from the place; but, whoever they were, the Earl was his friend, -declaring it much more reasonable that the whole country should testify -their thankfulness to such a spiritual benefactor.</p> - -<p>These are instances of activity. There were also examples of -endurance. Samuel Shaw, ejected from the rectory of Long Whatton, in -Leicestershire, retired to the village of Coates, near Loughborough, -and there engaged in agricultural pursuits for the support of his -family. His fields were ripe for the sickle, the valleys were covered -with corn, and the good man shared in Nature's joy, as he looked upon -his quiet homestead, "little dreaming," as he tells us, "of the Plague, -which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_343" id="Page_343">[343]</a></span> was almost a hundred miles off." Some friends from London came -down to see him, and brought the infection; soon the Plague-spot -appeared, and touched one after another of his household, until all -were smitten, and the farm-cottage became a pest-house. The master -of the dwelling shut himself up for three months, tending the sick -as far as his own health permitted; for he himself suffered from the -fearful malady. Two of his children died, one of his servants died, two -of his friends from London died: five out of ten were thus cut off. -Yet, although enfeebled by sickness, having no one besides himself to -perform the rites of sepulture, he turned his garden into a grave-yard, -and with his own hands buried the dead.<a name="FNanchor_477_477" id="FNanchor_477_477"></a><a href="#Footnote_477_477" class="fnanchor">[477]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">THE PLAGUE.</div> - -<p>Driven from London by the Plague, the two Houses held their sittings in -the Great Hall of Christ's Church, Oxford, where Charles I. had met his -mock parliament.</p> - -<p>The subject of the continued existence and of the alarming increase -of Nonconformity again came upon the carpet. Instead of disinterested -exertions, put forth by ejected ministers in a Plague-stricken country, -being rewarded by commendation, jealousy was expressed respecting -the manifestations of their zeal. It was odiously represented in -parliamentary circles, that Dissenters in many places, "began to preach -openly, not without reflecting on the sins of the Court, and on the -ill-usage that they themselves had met with."<a name="FNanchor_478_478" id="FNanchor_478_478"></a><a href="#Footnote_478_478" class="fnanchor">[478]</a> Prejudices were -increased by reports to the effect, that Conventiclers in Scotland were -bold and mutinous, and that they were supposed to have entered into -treasonable correspondence with English Presbyterians;<a name="FNanchor_479_479" id="FNanchor_479_479"></a><a href="#Footnote_479_479" class="fnanchor">[479]</a> at the -same time, perhaps,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_344" id="Page_344">[344]</a></span> circumstances pertaining to a new conflict with -Holland, in which this country was then engaged, served to intensify -these mischievous feelings.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1665.</div> - -<p>The Dutch war, though not approved of by the King or by his Chancellor, -found favour at Court with a party headed by the Duke of York, and -was warmly supported by Parliament; besides which, an Act was passed -for attainting the English who should continue to reside in Holland, -or who should engage in the Dutch service.<a name="FNanchor_480_480" id="FNanchor_480_480"></a><a href="#Footnote_480_480" class="fnanchor">[480]</a> Some of the fanatical -Sectaries, it was alleged, entered that service, and were intending -to take up arms against their King and their country; and, moreover, -it was known that this war against the United Provinces incurred -much unpopularity even with moderate Nonconformists. Influenced by -such considerations, and also by reports, of which we have so many -specimens, Archbishop Sheldon felt anxious to ascertain the numbers and -the strength of these disaffected people—a project which he afterwards -carried out, with results appearing at a later period. He not only -issued orders, that Bishops should be careful what persons they -received into the ministry: that in all things the canons concerning -ordination should be observed: that all pluralists should be reported, -with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_345" id="Page_345">[345]</a></span> full particulars respecting their pluralities: that it should be -certified to the Archbishop where lectures were set up, and who were -the lecturers, and how they were "affected to the Government of His -Majesty, and the doctrine and discipline of the Church of England:" but -that information also should be returned respecting all schoolmasters -and instructors of youth, and practisers of physic: and that the -Bishops of his province should inform him what Nonconformist ministers -in their dioceses had been ejected, what was their profession in life, -and how they behaved themselves in relation to the peace and quiet, -as well of the Church, as of the State; and also whether any such had -removed from one diocese into another.<a name="FNanchor_481_481" id="FNanchor_481_481"></a><a href="#Footnote_481_481" class="fnanchor">[481]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">FIVE MILE ACT.</div> - -<p>Parliament now determined to deal another heavy blow at the obstinacy -and insolence of Dissent. If there were in England people disposed -to conspire against the Government, adequate means for detecting -such persons existed: but, not satisfied with laws against treason, -Parliament, under cover of putting an end to plots, passed a measure -affecting men, against whom no reasonable suspicion whatever could be -entertained.</p> - -<p>The Five Mile Act—the measure to which we now refer—was passed in -the month of October, 1665, and was entitled "An Act for restraining -Nonconformists from inhabiting in corporations." It complained of -persons taking upon themselves to preach to unlawful assemblies, under -pretext of religion, in order to instil the poisonous principles of -schism and rebellion into the hearts of His Majesty's subjects; and it -imposed, more stringently than ever, the oath of non-resistance and -passive obedience.</p> - -<p>This was the form of the oath:—"I do swear that it is not<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_346" id="Page_346">[346]</a></span> lawful, -upon any pretence whatsoever, to take arms against the King; and that -I do abhor that traitorous position of taking arms by his authority -against his person, or against those that are commissioned by him, -in pursuance of such commissions; and that I will not at any time -endeavour any alteration of Government, either in Church or State."</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1665.</div> - -<p>Failing to take this oath, Nonconformist ministers were forbidden after -the 24th of March following, to come, except as passengers, within -five miles of any corporate town or any place where, since the passing -of the Act of Oblivion, they had been in the habit of officiating. A -payment of forty pounds was prescribed as the penalty for offending -against the Act; and those who refused the oath, and did not attend -Divine service in the Established Church, incurred incapacity for -exercising even the functions of a tutor. Any two county magistrates -were empowered, upon oath to them of a violation of this law, to commit -the transgressor to prison for six months.<a name="FNanchor_482_482" id="FNanchor_482_482"></a><a href="#Footnote_482_482" class="fnanchor">[482]</a></p> - -<p>The Act of Uniformity had banished Nonconformist ministers from the -parish pulpits; the Conventicle Act had broken up the congregations -which these ministers had secretly gathered since St. Bartholomew's -Day, 1662; and now by the Five Mile Act, these persons were forced into -exile, and perhaps reduced to starvation.<a name="FNanchor_483_483" id="FNanchor_483_483"></a><a href="#Footnote_483_483" class="fnanchor">[483]</a></p> - -<p>A spirit of retaliation may be traced in the new enactment. When -the Presbyterian visitors, in the year 1646, took possession of the -University, and the students proved rebellious, a military proclamation -threatened that the refractory who tarried <i>within five miles of the -city</i>, should<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_347" id="Page_347">[347]</a></span> be treated as spies.<a name="FNanchor_484_484" id="FNanchor_484_484"></a><a href="#Footnote_484_484" class="fnanchor">[484]</a> And Cromwell had, by his -ordinance in 1655, forbidden ejected ministers to attempt the business -of education, or to officiate in their religious calling. Archbishop -Sheldon, sitting from day to day in the Hall of Christ Church, as the -Bill was read three times, might experience a gratified resentment -as he called to mind the former <i>five mile</i> proclamation; and as -he thought of his own expulsion from the Wardenship of All Souls', -others might indulge in similar reminiscences and feelings.<a name="FNanchor_485_485" id="FNanchor_485_485"></a><a href="#Footnote_485_485" class="fnanchor">[485]</a> -But the revenge proceeded far beyond the provocation. What was done -by the Oxford visitors, and those who supported them, was done in a -time of war, or immediately afterwards. What was done by the Oxford -Parliament was done in a time of peace. Moreover, Cromwell, in his -declaration, had prescribed no penalty for disobedience, and had -promised to deal leniently with all persons who were well-disposed -towards his government;<a name="FNanchor_486_486" id="FNanchor_486_486"></a><a href="#Footnote_486_486" class="fnanchor">[486]</a> but now, men were required to swear to an -abstract proposition which destroyed the last defence of freedom, or -to be mulcted in a large penalty, with the superadded hardship of a -banishment from home.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">FIVE MILE ACT.</div> - -<p>The Bill met with a faint opposition in the Lower House; in the Upper, -not only the Lords Wharton and Ashley—the first a Nonconformist, it -will be remembered, the latter supposed to be inclined that way—but -also the Earl of Southampton, at that time Lord Treasurer, spoke -distinctly against it. The latter declared that no honest man could -take such an oath—he could not do it himself, for however firm might -be his attachment to the Church, as things were managed, he did not -know<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_348" id="Page_348">[348]</a></span> but that he might himself discover reasons for seeking some -change in its constitution.<a name="FNanchor_487_487" id="FNanchor_487_487"></a><a href="#Footnote_487_487" class="fnanchor">[487]</a> Dr. Erle, then Bishop of Salisbury, -also disapproved of this assault upon liberty. The Primate Sheldon, and -the Bishop of Exeter, Seth Ward, were zealous in their support of it; -at the same time all who secretly favoured Roman Catholicism, regarded -it with satisfaction;<a name="FNanchor_488_488" id="FNanchor_488_488"></a><a href="#Footnote_488_488" class="fnanchor">[488]</a> it being in harmony with their policy, to -reduce the Sectaries to such a state of misery, as that they should -be forced to accept toleration from His Majesty on his own terms. -Nearly half the House of Commons now became so infatuated as to support -another Bill, which was founded upon the opposition made by members of -the House of Lords, and which was intended to impose the obnoxious oath -and declaration upon the nation at large.<a name="FNanchor_489_489" id="FNanchor_489_489"></a><a href="#Footnote_489_489" class="fnanchor">[489]</a> This Bill, however, was -rejected by the votes of three members, "who had the merit of saving -their country from the greatest ignominy which could have befallen it, -that of riveting as well as forging its own chains."<a name="FNanchor_490_490" id="FNanchor_490_490"></a><a href="#Footnote_490_490" class="fnanchor">[490]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1665.<br /> - -FIVE MILE ACT.</div> - -<p>A difference of opinion arose amongst Nonconformists respecting the -course to be pursued in relation to the Five Mile Act. Some were -willing to take the oath in a qualified sense. Bridgeman, Chief Justice -of the Court of Common Plea<a name="FNanchor_491_491" id="FNanchor_491_491"></a><a href="#Footnote_491_491" class="fnanchor">[491]</a> and other Judges explained the words -in the oath, "I will not at any time <i>endeavour</i> any alteration of -Government, either in Church or State," to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_349" id="Page_349">[349]</a></span> mean an <i>unlawful</i> -endeavour. With this qualification afforded by high legal authorities, -some distinguished Nonconformists submitted to the statute. About -twenty ministers in the City of London took the oath, including Dr. -Bates; and about twelve in Devonshire, including John Howe. Bates -argued, that the word <i>endeavour</i> might be construed in a qualified -sense, according to the preface of the Act, its congruity with other -laws, the testimony of members of Parliament,<a name="FNanchor_492_492" id="FNanchor_492_492"></a><a href="#Footnote_492_492" class="fnanchor">[492]</a> and the concurrent -opinion of the Judges. When he, with others, presented himself before -their Lordships, Bridgeman courteously observed, "Gentlemen, I -perceive you are come to take the oath. I am glad of it. The intent -of it is to distinguish between the King's good subjects, and those -who are mentioned in the Act, and to prevent seditious and tumultuous -endeavours to alter the Government." One of the ministers, Mr. Clarke, -replied, "In this sense we take it;" upon which Lord Keeling, the same -who introduced the Bill of Uniformity, said in a hasty tone, "Will you -take the oath as the Parliament has appointed it?" Bates replied, "My -Lord, we are come hither to attest our loyalty, and to declare, we will -not seditiously endeavour to alter the Government." When the oath had -been administered, Keeling proceeded with great vehemence to interpret -what they had done as involving the renunciation of the Covenant, "that -damnable oath," as he politely termed it, "which sticks between the -teeth of so many." He hoped, as there was one King and one faith, so -there would be one Government, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_350" id="Page_350">[350]</a></span> that if these ministers did not now -conform, what they had just done would be considered as meant "to save -a stake."<a name="FNanchor_493_493" id="FNanchor_493_493"></a><a href="#Footnote_493_493" class="fnanchor">[493]</a> The ministers retired with sadness, without noticing the -insult.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1665.</div> - -<p>A certain interpretation being admitted by the Court, there could be no -charge of dishonest evasion against those who, in such a way, publicly -declared their construction of the words. Yet they really substituted -another declaration for that which was required by the law; and those -who allowed the substitution actually set the law aside. The law was no -doubt unjust; and to correct the injustice an unnatural sense was put -upon its terms. But notwithstanding this kind of sophistry—so often -practised even by people who are straightforward in other ways—the -pledge of obedience which the Nonconformists gave, sufficed to show the -intense cruelty of treating such men as if they had been rebels.<a name="FNanchor_494_494" id="FNanchor_494_494"></a><a href="#Footnote_494_494" class="fnanchor">[494]</a></p> - -<p>The greater number of Nonconformists regarded the subject in a -different light from that in which it was viewed by Bates and Howe; -and not being able, with their convictions, to acquiesce in a forced -construction of the formulary, they refused to adopt it, whilst they -also still resolved to preach the Gospel: thus following the example -of the Apostles, who said, "Whether it be right in the sight of God -to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye." The essence of the -whole question as to the explanation of formularies, and the course -which conscience dictates in cases where formularies are felt to be -objectionable, was involved in the controversy raised by the Five Mile -Act; and was a subject of casuistry too tempting for Richard Baxter -not to touch, even if<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_351" id="Page_351">[351]</a></span> practical considerations and personal interests -had not prompted him to engage in the inquiry. Several closely-printed -folio pages are devoted by him to an examination of the arguments -on both sides—the result of his cogitations being that he himself -records a resolution, not to take the oath at all. He looked upon -the whole proceeding as unrighteous; and pronounced the statute a -"history," adapted to make Nonconformists appear to posterity as if -they were disloyal. He was moved to draw up a defence on their behalf, -but, on reading it to some of his friends, they persuaded him to -throw it aside, and submit in silence. "The wise statesmen," adds the -simple-hearted theologian—and the remark involves a just satire on the -way in which the world often judges—"laughed at me, for thinking that -reason would be regarded by such men as we had to do with,—and would -not exasperate them the more."<a name="FNanchor_495_495" id="FNanchor_495_495"></a><a href="#Footnote_495_495" class="fnanchor">[495]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">FIVE MILE ACT.</div> - -<p>Those who declined to take the oath were either subject to fine, or -had to dwell in such places only as were allowed by the Act, such -compulsory residence, in a number of cases, rendering necessary an -expensive and inconvenient removal. Baxter and Owen, who were living in -London, repaired, the one to Acton, the other to Ealing. Many in the -Northern part of the country went to Manchester, Bolton, Sheffield, -and Mansfield, which were called "Cities of Refuge"—inasmuch as they -were, at that time, towns without corporations. Oliver Heywood left -Coley, not to go so far as many did, for he only crossed the hills to -Denton—"Yet it was the weariest, most tedious journey," he remarks, "I -have had that way, which I have gone many hundred<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_352" id="Page_352">[352]</a></span> times, but scarce -ever with so sad a heart, in so sharp a storm of weather."<a name="FNanchor_496_496" id="FNanchor_496_496"></a><a href="#Footnote_496_496" class="fnanchor">[496]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1665.</div> - -<p>Philip Henry refused to take the oath, and his case proved one of -peculiar hardship, for Broad Oak, where he lived, was but four -<i>reputed</i> miles from Worthenbury, where he had preached, although upon -measurement the distance turned out to be above five miles. Reputed -miles were, by the authorities, counted instead of measured miles, and -consequently the good man was compelled to leave his family for a time, -"and to sojourn among his friends, to whom he endeavoured, wherever he -came, to impart some spiritual gift."<a name="FNanchor_497_497" id="FNanchor_497_497"></a><a href="#Footnote_497_497" class="fnanchor">[497]</a></p> - -<p>Several ministers in the Northern Counties escaped the penalties of -the Conventicle and Five Mile Acts. This anomaly may be accounted for, -in part, by remembering the scanty population in those districts, and -the impossibility, under any circumstances, of maintaining such a -vigilant oversight of the inhabitants as to detect all instances of -disobedience. But the comparative exemption of some neighbourhoods in -the North from the vigorous oppression experienced elsewhere, is also -in part to be attributed to the influence of three noblemen who were -Lord-Lieutenants, respectively, of the Counties of York, of Lancaster, -and of Derby. The Lord-Lieutenant of Yorkshire was no other than the -notorious Duke of Buckingham, who had married Lord Fairfax's daughter. -Vicious and worthless as the Duke was, he had strong opinions in -favour of toleration, if for no higher reason, at least from dislike -to Clarendon's policy, and perhaps, too, from the influence of family -connections.<a name="FNanchor_498_498" id="FNanchor_498_498"></a><a href="#Footnote_498_498" class="fnanchor">[498]</a> This erratic Peer had engaged a Noncon<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_353" id="Page_353">[353]</a></span>formist -minister as his chaplain, and when his mother-in-law, Lady Fairfax, -died, he endeavoured to arrange for the funeral sermon being publicly -preached by this gentleman.<a name="FNanchor_499_499" id="FNanchor_499_499"></a><a href="#Footnote_499_499" class="fnanchor">[499]</a> The Lord-Lieutenant of Lancashire was -the Earl of Derby; and of him, Newcome, the Presbyterian minister of -Manchester, tells several stories indicative of his liberality. The -Rector of Walton, a Heywood of Heywood, on one occasion asked the Earl -to put down a Conventicle at Toxteth Park. "What did the people do -there?" he asked. "Preach and pray," was the answer. "If that be all," -replied the Earl, "why should they be restrained; will you neither -preach nor pray yourselves, nor suffer others to preach and pray?" The -Lord-Lieutenant of the County of Derby was the Earl of Devonshire, and -he also disliked the persecuting measures.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">NONENFORCEMENT OF LAW.</div> - -<p>Where no leniency was intended, the law, in some cases, failed in its -effect. This called forth the lamentation of certain zealots. "I am -bound to say," remarks one of this class, "nothing was prosecuted at -the last quarter sessions against the Quakers, nor the rest of that -diabolical rabble—although several bills of indictment have been -framed and presented at sessions against that viperous brood,—yet -by reason most of the grand jury are fanatics, the bills were not -found, and that they have several places of meeting will manifestly -appear....<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_354" id="Page_354">[354]</a></span> The honest souls, especially Church officers and others, -are much afflicted to be reviled and affronted in the performance of -their offices by the bold faction.... The fanatics abound in good -horses, and seem to be ready for mischief; but if half a score such -as might be named were secured in our castles, and made to give good -security for their conformity to the King's Majesty and the Church, -doubtless it would abate their pride, and, it may be, confound their -devices."<a name="FNanchor_500_500" id="FNanchor_500_500"></a><a href="#Footnote_500_500" class="fnanchor">[500]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1666.</div> - -<p>One great reason assigned for the two oppressive Acts just -described, was, as we have seen, the disaffection of Nonconformists; -and—particularly in reference to the Five Mile Act—the allegation -that they were implicated in certain designs of invasion contemplated -by the Dutch was strongly urged. In this, as in former cases, we have -no means of testing the information which abounds in the letters -written at the time by the enemies of the accused. Many of the rumours -are utterly incredible—as for example that it was intended to restore -Richard Cromwell; that it would be easy to secure in some parts the -gentry on his side; that the watchword was to be "Tumble down Dick, -they will declare for a Commonwealth;" and that the Earl of Derby -favoured the disaffected party. We may be confident, too, from what we -know of their characters, that the principal Nonconformist ministers -frowned upon all political plots. Yet no one who has perused the State -Papers can deny, that at the time now under review, enough was reported -at headquarters to make the Government very uncomfortable.<a name="FNanchor_501_501" id="FNanchor_501_501"></a><a href="#Footnote_501_501" class="fnanchor">[501]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_355" id="Page_355">[355]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote">DUTCH WAR.</div> - -<p>France just then was looking to England for elements of disturbance -which might favour its designs upon our country in aid of Holland, -Louis XIV. being on terms of friendship with the Dutch; and we find the -Grand Monarque, in a letter to the States, proposing to give occupation -to Charles at home by exciting the Presbyterians and Catholics to -revolt.<a name="FNanchor_502_502" id="FNanchor_502_502"></a><a href="#Footnote_502_502" class="fnanchor">[502]</a></p> - -<p>In the summer of 1665, the Dutch, encouraged by promises of assistance -from the French, had been seen cruising around our coasts, and were -defeated by the English fleet; in 1666 a more important action occurred -on the 5th of June, when our countrymen burnt or disabled between -twenty and thirty of the ninety ships belonging to the enemy; and -another occurred on the 25th of July, which ended, after three days' -fighting, in the defeat of the Dutch.<a name="FNanchor_503_503" id="FNanchor_503_503"></a><a href="#Footnote_503_503" class="fnanchor">[503]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1666.</div> - -<p>It was to one of the engagements at that period that Dryden refers -in his picturesque description: "The noise of the cannon from both -navies reached our ears about the city, so that all men being alarmed -with it and in dreadful suspense of the event, which we knew was then -deciding, every one went following the sound as his fancy led him; -and leaving the town almost empty, some took towards the park, some -cross the river, others down it—all seeking the noise in the depth of -the silence."<a name="FNanchor_504_504" id="FNanchor_504_504"></a><a href="#Footnote_504_504" class="fnanchor">[504]</a> Such imminent peril alarmed the whole country, as -well as London; and when, for a time, the worst was over, apprehension -remained of further attacks from the great naval power of Holland, -and some persons of Republican<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_356" id="Page_356">[356]</a></span> sentiments were hoping that their own -objects would be promoted by the war. English refugees in the United -Provinces were corresponding with their friends at home; and much, -it would appear, was said and done to nourish Republican hopes on -English soil. A considerable amount of sympathy with the Dutch existed -in the West of England; and, in consequence of this sympathy and -correspondence, the Government took measures to prevent letters passing -between the two countries. Aphara Behn—an eccentric and notorious -poetess and novelist—was employed upon a semi-official mission to -Antwerp, for the purpose of obtaining information from the English -fugitives respecting any political schemes which they might have in -hand.<a name="FNanchor_505_505" id="FNanchor_505_505"></a><a href="#Footnote_505_505" class="fnanchor">[505]</a></p> - -<p>A great calamity now requires attention.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_357" id="Page_357">[357]</a></span></p></div> - - -<h2>CHAPTER XVIII.</h2> - - -<p class="drop-cap p-left">The Fire of London broke out on the 1st of September, in a baker's shop -in Pudding Lane. It rushed down Fish Street Hill, and soon enveloped -the dwellings by London Bridge and on the banks of the Thames. Fanned -by the winds, the conflagration swept westward and northward. It passed -in leaps from house to house, and flowed in streams from street to -street. Torrents of flame coming over Cornhill met others dashing up -from Walbrook and Bucklersbury. Along Cheapside, Ludgate, the Strand, -the furious element advanced, curling round the edge of Smithfield, -before its frightful circuit was complete. Thatched roofs, timber -walls, cellars of oil, warehouses filled with inflammable material fed -the tremendous pyre. Lead, iron, glass, were melted; water in cisterns -was boiled, adding vapour to smoke; stones were calcined, and the -ground became so hot that people walking over it burnt their shoes. -The libraries of St. Paul's, and Sion College, with large collections -of books and papers, were consumed; half-burnt leaves fell by Baxter's -house at Acton, and were blown even as far as Windsor.<a name="FNanchor_506_506" id="FNanchor_506_506"></a><a href="#Footnote_506_506" class="fnanchor">[506]</a> Public -buildings shone like palaces of fine<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_358" id="Page_358">[358]</a></span> gold or burnished brass, and -glowed like coals in a furnace, heated seven times hotter than usual. -Blazing fragments were swept, like flakes in a snow storm, over the -City; whilst the dense conflagration underneath resembled a bow—"a -bow which had God's arrow in it with a flaming point." The cloud of -smoke was so great that travellers at noon-day rode six miles under its -shadow. At night the moon shone from a crimson sky. Young Taswell, a -Westminster boy, stood on Westminster Bridge, with his little pocket -edition of <i>Terence</i> in his hand, which he could see to read plainly by -the light of the burning City.<a name="FNanchor_507_507" id="FNanchor_507_507"></a><a href="#Footnote_507_507" class="fnanchor">[507]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1666.<br /> - -FIRE OF LONDON.</div> - -<p>People were distracted. Everybody endeavoured to remove what he -could—all sorts of things being conveyed away in carts and waggons, -barges and wherries. Poor people near the bridges stayed in their -houses so long that the fire touched them; and then they ran into -boats, or clambered from one pair of stairs, by the waterside, to -another. The pigeons were loath to leave their cots, and hovered -about windows and balconies, until they scorched their wings, and -fell. Churches were filled with furniture and articles of all kinds. -Holes were dug in gardens to receive casks and bottles of wine, boxes -of documents, and other treasures. The sick were carried in litters -to places of safety, and multitudes encamped in the fields beyond -Finsbury, in the village of Islington, and on the slopes of Highgate. -Such was the eagerness to obtain the means of removing goods, that £4 -a load for a carter, or 10s. a day for a porter, was counted poor pay. -At the Temple, neither boat, barge, coach, nor<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_359" id="Page_359">[359]</a></span> cart, could be had for -love or money; all the streets were crowded with appropriated vehicles -of various kinds.</p> - -<p>The constables of the respective parishes were required to attend -at Temple Bar, Clifford's Inn Gardens, Fetter Lane, Shoe Lane, and -Bow Lane, with 100 men each; at every post were stationed 130 foot -soldiers, with a good officer; and three gentlemen, empowered to -reward the diligent, by giving them one shilling apiece, whilst five -pounds—in bread, cheese, and beer—were allowed to every party. The -King and the Duke of York were bold and persevering in their endeavours -to extinguish the conflagration, ordering the use of great hooks, kept -in churches and chapels, for pulling down houses—the only means of -stopping the fire being to cut off the fuel. The militia were called -to aid these efforts and to prevent disturbance. They marched out of -Hertfordshire, and other counties, with food for forty-eight hours, and -with carts full of pickaxes, ropes, and buckets. These troops encamped -at Kingsland, near Bishopsgate. Markets were held in Bishopsgate -Street, upon Tower Hill, in Leadenhall Street, and in Smithfield. Bread -and cheese were supplied to the famishing, and means were adopted to -stimulate charity towards the homeless poor. Multitudes having taken -refuge in the houses and fields about Islington, the King requested -that strict watch might be kept in all the ways within the limits of -the town and parish, and charitable and Christian reception, with -lodging and entertainment, given to strangers. He further ordered, -that bread should be brought both to the new and old markets; that all -churches, chapels, schools, and public buildings, should be open to -receive the property of such as were burnt out of house and home; and -that other towns should receive sufferers who<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_360" id="Page_360">[360]</a></span> fled to them for refuge, -and permit them to exercise their callings—promise being given that -they should afterwards be no burthen.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1666.</div> - -<p>Three hundred and seventy-three acres within the walls, and -seventy-three acres three roods without the walls, were left covered -with ruins from the Tower to the Temple, from the North-east gate of -the City wall to Holborn Bridge. Besides Guildhall, and other public -edifices, eighty-nine parish churches, and thirteen thousand two -hundred dwellings were destroyed. The loss of property was estimated at -<i>eleven millions</i> sterling.<a name="FNanchor_508_508" id="FNanchor_508_508"></a><a href="#Footnote_508_508" class="fnanchor">[508]</a></p> - -<p>The miseries of the fire did not end with its extinction. In -addition to the losses which arose from the destruction of -property—manufacturers at Coventry, for example, being greatly injured -by the burning of goods which they had sent to London for sale—and to -other evils of various kinds incident after such a visitation, there -were certain lamentable consequences of a peculiar nature.</p> - -<p>This visitation, as might be expected, was construed as a Divine -judgment for the sins of the City; different parties of course -pointing at the iniquities of their opponents as the cause of the -fiery overthrow. Fanatics believed that it was the vengeance of Heaven -against English barbarity in burning the Islands of Vlie and Schelling, -and against national sins in general. A Quaker, near Windsor, was -reported to have heard a miraculous voice saying, that "they have -had the pestilence, and fire, and other calamities, and yet are not -amended; but a worse plague has yet to come on them and the nation." -"They clearly intimate in their letters," it was said of the same sect, -"no sorrow for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_361" id="Page_361">[361]</a></span> the late burning down so many steeple-houses (as they -call them) in all the City."<a name="FNanchor_509_509" id="FNanchor_509_509"></a><a href="#Footnote_509_509" class="fnanchor">[509]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">FIRE OF LONDON.</div> - -<p>Yet human agency of some kind was, of course, admitted to be at the -bottom. The Republicans, the Dutch, and the French, were suspected; -the opinion most prevalent being that the Papists were authors of the -mischief.</p> - -<p>This idea extensively prevailed. Probably it helped to induce the -House of Commons first to present a petition to His Majesty asking -for the banishment of priests and Jesuits, for the enforcement of the -laws against them, and all other Roman Catholics, and for disarming -everybody who refused the Oaths of Allegiance and Supremacy; and -secondly, to resolve that all the members of the House should receive -the Lord's Supper, under penalty of imprisonment for refusal.<a name="FNanchor_510_510" id="FNanchor_510_510"></a><a href="#Footnote_510_510" class="fnanchor">[510]</a> -Certainly, upon the return of Gunpowder Plot Day, the inculpation of -the Papists kindled anew the eloquence of the clergy, and strengthened -the stock argument that the "Mother of Abominations" remained -unchanged. Yet the evidence adduced to establish the guilt of the -accused was utterly unsatisfactory. The only person convicted was a -Frenchman, and his conviction rested on his own assertion that he had -fired the City—an assertion which must have proceeded from a morbid -love of notoriety, or from some other unaccountable freak—for the -fellow, at the gallows, just before being turned off, acknowledged -that what he had said was altogether a lie. No doubt, the conclusion -reached by the Government is correct,—"That, notwithstanding that many -examinations have been taken, with great care, by the Lords of the -Council<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_362" id="Page_362">[362]</a></span> and His Majesty's Ministers, yet nothing hath been yet found -to argue it to have been other than the hand of God upon us, a great -wind, and the season so very dry."<a name="FNanchor_511_511" id="FNanchor_511_511"></a><a href="#Footnote_511_511" class="fnanchor">[511]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1666.</div> - -<p>Baxter, speaking of the state of London just before the fire, observes, -that in the larger parishes—for example, St. Martin's, St. Giles' -Cripplegate, and Stepney—there were 60,000 inhabitants each; that -in others, as in St. Giles'-in-the-Fields and St. Sepulchre's, there -were about 30,000, in others about 20,000. For these parishes the -churches afforded insufficient accommodation; indeed, the fourth part -of the people would not have found room in them had such a proportion -been disposed to attend public worship. He speaks of a sixth or a -tenth, as the proportion for which space in the parochial edifices was -available.<a name="FNanchor_512_512" id="FNanchor_512_512"></a><a href="#Footnote_512_512" class="fnanchor">[512]</a> The fire, by destroying so many buildings, deprived -very many people of instruction and worship in the Establishment; and -little was done immediately towards repairing the evil. Houses were -restored, but churches were neglected. Burnet relates, that in 1669, -"when the City was pretty well rebuilt, they began to take care of the -churches, which had lain in ashes some years;"<a name="FNanchor_513_513" id="FNanchor_513_513"></a><a href="#Footnote_513_513" class="fnanchor">[513]</a> and Baxter, writing -in the year 1675, affirms that few of the churches burnt in the fire -had been re-edified.<a name="FNanchor_514_514" id="FNanchor_514_514"></a><a href="#Footnote_514_514" class="fnanchor">[514]</a></p> - -<p>The Nonconformists exerted themselves in this emergency.<a name="FNanchor_515_515" id="FNanchor_515_515"></a><a href="#Footnote_515_515" class="fnanchor">[515]</a> The -parish Incumbents having left London for want of incomes and of -dwelling-places, the ejected ministers came forward to occupy the -deserted fields of labour, and resolved, that amidst the ruins they -would preach until they were imprisoned. Dr. Manton opened<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_363" id="Page_363">[363]</a></span> his rooms -in Covent Garden, and there gathered a congregation. Dr. Jacomb, -for that purpose, used an apartment in the house of the Countess of -Exeter. Dr. Annesley, Messrs. Vincent, Doolittle, and Franklin, and -other Presbyterians, either occupied chapels, with pulpits, seats, -and galleries, hastily erected, to supply the deficiency—"churches -of boards," called "tabernacles,"<a name="FNanchor_516_516" id="FNanchor_516_516"></a><a href="#Footnote_516_516" class="fnanchor">[516]</a>—or large rooms fitted up in -some extempore fashion for a like purpose. What had been before done -covertly was now done openly; and the Independents, allowing for their -numbers, were not behind the Presbyterians in activity. Owen, Goodwin, -Nye, Brooke, Caryl, and Griffiths, to mention no more, publicly engaged -in religious ministrations wherever they were able, at a time when the -parish churches were lying in ruins.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">SCOTLAND.</div> - -<p>Scarcely had the ashes grown cold when tidings came of a religious -rising north of the Tweed. A Proclamation was issued at Edinburgh on -the 11th of October, 1666, enforcing the laws against Papists and -against Protestant Nonconformists, and requiring that masters, who were -all held responsible for their families, and that landlords, who were -all made accountable for their tenants, should abstain from repairing -to Conventicles, and should attend the Established Church. Sir James -Turner was despatched to execute the mandate, and he accomplished its -execution with a severity which provoked most violent opposition.</p> - -<p>Declaring for liberty of conscience, and also for what was perhaps -still more popular—freedom from taxation—the insurgents, although -armed, and of formidable appearance, avoided collision with the -soldiers, and employed tactics simply defensive. They cut down -bridges,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_364" id="Page_364">[364]</a></span> and destroyed boats to avoid pursuit, and then hastened -towards the Scotch capital, hoping to receive assistance from the -citizens. Disappointed in this respect, they retreated to the Pentland -Hills, where they were attacked by the Royal Army, and completely -routed, after leaving 500 of their comrades dead on the field. Horrid -tortures were inflicted on those who were taken prisoners; sixteen of -them were executed at Edinburgh, and four at Glasgow—all with their -dying breath denouncing Prelacy, laying the shedding of their blood -at the Bishops' doors, praying for the King, and begging the Almighty -to take away the wicked from about the throne. The disgusting details -are related with still more disgusting barbarity by correspondents in -Scotland, who sent to London intelligence upon the subject.<a name="FNanchor_517_517" id="FNanchor_517_517"></a><a href="#Footnote_517_517" class="fnanchor">[517]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1666.</div> - -<p>The report in England of fanaticism on the one hand, and cruelty on -the other, exasperated both Churchmen and Nonconformists. The former -had their suspicions strengthened as to the rebellious intentions -attributed to Presbyterians; and the latter were indignant at the -vengeance wreaked upon men whom they believed to be sufferers for -conscience' sake.</p> - -<p>Traces are left of contemporary gossip in letters written at the time. -There is, said one, a general gaping of the Nonconformists as to -the issue of the disturbances in Scotland. There are, said another, -reports of a stir in Hereford, about hearth-money; and an eminent -Presbyterian wrote, that thousands of Scots were up and declaring -for King and Covenant, having Colonel Carr, an old Kirk-man, amongst -them. Other correspondents affirmed they did not wish the Scots for -guides, and then they reported "high differences among great persons -mur<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_365" id="Page_365">[365]</a></span>muring, and fears of the oath."<a name="FNanchor_518_518" id="FNanchor_518_518"></a><a href="#Footnote_518_518" class="fnanchor">[518]</a> Churchmen protested that they -had forewarned their sober friends of the other party, and described -how the folly and insolence of Nonconformist guides would provoke the -authorities to check them.<a name="FNanchor_519_519" id="FNanchor_519_519"></a><a href="#Footnote_519_519" class="fnanchor">[519]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">FANATICS.</div> - -<p>Mormonism was then unknown. There were in existence no agents of that -strangely-compounded system, inviting emigrants to the Western world; -but there were people wandering about England who tried to persuade the -credulous and simple to repair to the Palatinate, saying that there -the kingdom of Christ was to be restored, and that England, whose sins -were so great, was on the edge of destruction. These apostles framed -a covenant,—which they concealed from those who were not likely to -subscribe it,—to renounce such powers and rulers as were contrary to -Christ, and to His Government, to refuse their money, and to separate -themselves entirely from all anti-Christian religions. They promised to -obey God's laws, especially those relating to the Sabbath, and never to -intermarry with strangers—to devote themselves wholly to the service -of the Almighty, and try to find a place where they might become a -distinct people. Explanations were added to the effect, that the powers -renounced were persecuting powers, but that God's laws, if practised -by them, were not to be renounced; that no ruler was to be allowed by -them, who did not enter into communion with themselves; and that coins -bearing images or superscriptions contrary to God's Word should be cast -away.<a name="FNanchor_520_520" id="FNanchor_520_520"></a><a href="#Footnote_520_520" class="fnanchor">[520]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_366" id="Page_366">[366]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1667.</div> - -<p>The Dutch, who had alarmed the Government in 1666, alarmed them again, -and the whole nation besides, much more, in 1667. One division of the -enemy's fleet swept up the Medway past Sheerness—the other, to divert -attention, sailed up the Thames. The former burst the chain hung across -the stream, fired at the batteries, reduced to ashes three first-rate -men-of-war, and then returned unmolested to join the rest of their own -vessels at the Nore.</p> - -<p>The influence produced by this unprecedented invasion is vividly -reflected in the following letter:—"The merchants are undone. Our -great bankers of money have shut up their shops. People are ready to -tear their hair off their heads. Great importunity hath been used -at Whitehall for a Parliament, and more particularly by Sir George -Saville, but nothing will prevail; there is one great gownsman against -it, and all the Bishops and Papists, and all those who have cozened -and cheated the King. News came this day to the King, the French are -come from Brest, and appear before the Isle of Wight; some at Court -give out that they are friends, and not enemies. We expect the Dutch -as far as Woolwich. People are fled from Greenwich and Blackwall with -their families and children. We are betrayed, let it light where it -will."<a name="FNanchor_521_521" id="FNanchor_521_521"></a><a href="#Footnote_521_521" class="fnanchor">[521]</a> And a few days afterwards the nation, from end to end, was -agitated by the intelligence of the Dutch attack—many Dissenters idly -attributing the success of the daring manœuvre to the teaching<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_367" id="Page_367">[367]</a></span> of the -Government and to Popish counsels at headquarters.<a name="FNanchor_522_522" id="FNanchor_522_522"></a><a href="#Footnote_522_522" class="fnanchor">[522]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">EMPTY EXCHEQUER.</div> - -<p>An empty exchequer was the chronic disease of Charles II.'s reign, and -so low did the Royal revenue sink this year that twenty-six footmen in -His Majesty's establishment were forced to petition for wages, which -had been due the previous Michaelmas. To meet the exigences of the -moment, letters were written to the Lord Chancellor, as the head of the -legal profession, to the Lord-Lieutenants of Counties, as representing -the landed interest; and to the Archbishop of Canterbury, to procure -loans and voluntary contributions at that "time of public danger." "We -are the rather," it is observed in the letter to His Grace, "induced -to believe labour herein will be successful, because you are to deal -with a sort of persons endued with discretion and ingenuity, who cannot -forget what tenderness we have for them, what care to protect and -support them, and how much their interest and welfare is involved in -ours; but arguments and motives of this nature we leave to your prudent -management."<a name="FNanchor_523_523" id="FNanchor_523_523"></a><a href="#Footnote_523_523" class="fnanchor">[523]</a></p> - -<p>The damage actually done by the Dutch fleet was small; and nothing -compared with the dangers threatened by the audacity of its advance. -The treaty of peace, which speedily followed, relieved the nation<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_368" id="Page_368">[368]</a></span> -from alarm, but it by no means wiped out the disgrace which the nation -had to bear, and which its rulers had incurred.<a name="FNanchor_524_524" id="FNanchor_524_524"></a><a href="#Footnote_524_524" class="fnanchor">[524]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1667.</div> - -<p>Within three months after the booms had been broken by the Dutch in the -Medway, Clarendon's term of power was at an end.</p> - -<p>A bad harvest is a bad thing for an English Ministry, especially for -the Chief of the Cabinet. The visitations of Heaven are set down to -his account, and all the weak points of his administration, all the -errors of his policy, all the faults of his character, are brought out -most vividly in the light of adverse circumstances. So it was, that -after the Plague and the Fire of London—with which Clarendon could -have had nothing to do—the eyes of the people were strangely opened -to the defects of his government; and, when the English Lion was -bearded by the insolence of the Hollanders, there fell upon the great -statesman the anger of the whole people. To meet the evil, which he -had failed to prevent, he counselled the King to dissolve Parliament, -and maintain the defences of the country by forced contributions. This -private advice was blown abroad, inspiring indignation in the people, -and bringing discomfiture to the Prime Minister. He did not want -courage, but it was now useless. What he hoped would appear to the King -the firmness of an upright mind, was regarded by His Majesty as the -obstinacy of a stubborn will. In vain the Duke of York pleaded in his -behalf. The Chancellor was forced to resign the Great Seal on the 30th -of August.<a name="FNanchor_525_525" id="FNanchor_525_525"></a><a href="#Footnote_525_525" class="fnanchor">[525]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_369" id="Page_369">[369]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote">CLARENDON.</div> - -<p>Clarendon, in the impeachment which followed in the month of November, -was charged with unconstitutional acts; but, of all the seventeen heads -under which the charges were arranged, not more than three, seriously -affecting his character as a statesman, contained matters which could -be clearly proved. The first allegation—that he had encouraged the -King to raise a standing army, and to govern the country without -Parliaments—although an exaggerated statement, had some foundation. -Respecting the truth of the fourth article—that he had procured the -imprisonment of divers persons contrary to law—there could be no -doubt whatever. The eleventh charge, touching the sale of Dunkirk to -the French for no greater amount than the worth of the ammunition and -stores, was false with regard to his being content with the price, -but it was true as it respects his promoting the sale. Nor did the -impeachment, so far as it could be established, fix upon the Minister -the guilt of high treason; but, short of that, it proved him to be -a person dangerous to the country, and unfitted to continue in the -office which he had filled. Virtuous and patriotic men might fairly -have insisted upon the degradation of the Chancellor; but it must be -confessed that virtuous and patriotic men were not the prime movers -in his punishment. The intrigues of women, anything but virtuous, -had most to do with it; for Clarendon had unfortunately excited the -wrath of Charles' mistresses, who, by working upon the Monarch's too -easy temper, had implanted in his bosom a dislike to his old friend. -The object of these ladies was promoted by the assistance of Cavalier -gentlemen who never forgave Clarendon for the Act of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_370" id="Page_370">[370]</a></span> Indemnity, and -who considered that he had, at the Restoration, largely neglected -the personal interests of the Royalists. Three Bishops were numbered -amongst the Peers who protested against the refusal of the Upper House -to commit the Minister upon the charge of treason.<a name="FNanchor_526_526" id="FNanchor_526_526"></a><a href="#Footnote_526_526" class="fnanchor">[526]</a> The Catholics -owed him no gratitude, for they knew his dislike to their religion—and -with the nation generally, he had become unpopular for many reasons, -particularly for the part which he had taken in the sale of Dunkirk. -It is a little surprising, that Presbyterians, who, perhaps, had more -reason than any class to complain of his administration, were not -amongst his inveterate adversaries. Colonel Birch, who belonged to -that religious denomination, was, indeed, one of the Tellers on the -side of impeachment; but Baxter notices, as a providence of God, in -reference to Clarendon, that the man who had dealt so cruelly with -the Nonconformists was cast out by his own friends, "while those that -he had persecuted were the most moderate in his cause, and many for -him."<a name="FNanchor_527_527" id="FNanchor_527_527"></a><a href="#Footnote_527_527" class="fnanchor">[527]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1667.</div> - -<p>In writing a letter to his daughter, the Duchess of York, just after -her conversion to Popery, the necessities of Clarendon's argument -forced him to adopt a position, which, if he had sincerely taken it -up at an earlier period, must have diverted him from that persecuting -course, which is one of the greatest blots on his history. "The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_371" id="Page_371">[371]</a></span> -common argument," he remarks, "that there is no salvation out of the -Church, and that the Church of Rome is that only Church, is both -irrational and untrue." "There are many Churches in which salvation may -be attained, as well as in any one of them; and were many even in the -apostolic time; otherwise they would not have directed their Epistles -to so many several Churches, in which there were different opinions -received and very different doctrines taught. There is, indeed, but -one faith in which we can be saved—the steadfast belief of the birth, -passion, and resurrection of our Saviour. <i>And every Church that -receives and embraces that faith is in a state of salvation.</i>"<a name="FNanchor_528_528" id="FNanchor_528_528"></a><a href="#Footnote_528_528" class="fnanchor">[528]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">CLARENDON.<br /> - -1667.</div> - -<p>The whole history of the Chancellor must be considered, if we would -form a just estimate of his character. That he was a man of great -ability; that he possessed those talents and accomplishments which -contribute to form distinguished statesmen; that he performed services -valuable to the nation, at a very critical period of its history; that -he had a sense of religion, and was heartily attached to the Episcopal -Church, there can be no doubt. Those who glory in the constitution of -that Church as established upon the Act of Uniformity will praise him -for his wisdom; those who form a different opinion of that Church, -and of its legal basis, must withhold such laudation. But, apart from -all ecclesiastical questions, and also putting aside the motives by -which Clarendon was influenced throughout his career, with all its -lights and shadows—here are two aspects of his conduct, at least, upon -which the historian must pronounce a severe censure. To say nothing -of his pride and avarice—<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_372" id="Page_372">[372]</a></span>there remain, first, his persecution of -the Nonconformists; and next, the dissimulation which he practised, in -connection with measures professedly intended for their relief. His -persecution of the Nonconformists is a fact which speaks for itself. -Whatever notions he might have of what the Church should be it was a -gratuitous course, and it betrayed revenge and injustice, to treat -Dissenters in the manner which he did: revenge, for he crushed them as -conquered foes; injustice, for he dealt with them all as disaffected -subjects, whilst the loyalty of the vast majority of them was above -suspicion. If his clever diplomacy did not sink into downright -dissimulation in the business of the Worcester House Declaration, the -circumstances of which have been so fully described—if there was not -also much deceptiveness in the promises from Breda, and in the plan of -the Savoy Conference, both of which Clarendon, as Charles' Minister, -must have advised, it is hard to prove that such qualities have ever -belonged to any human being. Many a Jesuit has been a martyr—and I -give the Chancellor credit for such an attachment to the Episcopal -Church as would have led him to suffer on its behalf, but no man -could be more Jesuitical than he was in the course of policy which he -adopted for its establishment. So dark a fate as covered the last days -of Strafford, Laud, and Charles I., did not attend the final destiny -of the great Minister of Charles II.; still, calamities overtook him -after the sunshine of his prosperity—his sun set in a cloud; and thus, -like his predecessors in the defence of the Church, he has secured -from posterity, through sympathy with him in his misfortunes, gentler -treatment than the defects of his character would otherwise have -received.<a name="FNanchor_529_529" id="FNanchor_529_529"></a><a href="#Footnote_529_529" class="fnanchor">[529]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_373" id="Page_373">[373]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote">CLARENDON.<br /> - -1667.</div> - -<p>By an obvious association we are led to compare the political -founder of the Church of England in the seventeenth century with his -predecessor in the same capacity a hundred years before. Both Cecil, -Lord Burleigh, and Hyde, Earl of Clarendon, had great difficulties -in securing the stability of the civil government—in dealing with -political discontent and disaffection, in defending the Throne against -perils, and in providing revenues for the Crown. Both statesmen, in -laying the corner stones of their ecclesiastical polity, had to build -in troublous times, and each, "with one of his hands wrought in the -work, and with the other hand held a weapon." Both of them, blind to -the principle of religious liberty, employed persecuting laws in the -service of what they deemed the best form of Christianity; and both -also, together with other crooked means of ruling, employed spies, -wherewith to see what was done at a distance, and agents wherewith to -put in action secret and remote machinery. The contrast between the -two, however, is more striking than the resemblance. If difficulties -encompassed the navigation of the vessel, the helm of which rested in -the hand of Clarendon, far greater difficulties of the same and other -kinds—political and ecclesiastical, Popish and Puritan,—surrounded -the course of Burleigh. Clarendon was not as cautious, not as timid, -as Burleigh. Perhaps neither of them exhibited a lofty order of -genius; but Clarendon appears inferior in originality of plan, and in -consistency of method. Cecil struck out ideas in commerce too wise -for the age in which he lived; and as the fruit of careful meditation -in retirement, he laid down a comprehensive scheme of government on -the accession of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_374" id="Page_374">[374]</a></span> Elizabeth, from the fundamental principles of which -he did not deviate in his long administration; but Hyde never showed -himself to be more than an experimentalist, adopting expedients as -circumstances arose. Cecil was more intolerant towards Papists than -towards Puritans. Hyde seemed more averse to Protestant Nonconformists -than to Popish recusants. Cecil had broad Protestant sympathies, -which led him, as far as possible, to promote the cause of the -Reformation abroad; Hyde manifested no zeal for the welfare of the -Reformed Churches on the Continent. Burleigh did not enrich himself -with the spoils of office,—praise which cannot be given to Clarendon. -Yet justice demands the admission that Clarendon did suffer for his -principles, at least the inconvenience of exile, which is more than can -be said of Burleigh. Finally, success attendant upon the policy of the -former lasted long enough to demonstrate the sagacity of the author; -but the policy of the latter failed so early as to show, that he did -not anticipate what was sure almost immediately to arise—that he did -not thoroughly understand the character of his fellow-countrymen.<a name="FNanchor_530_530" id="FNanchor_530_530"></a><a href="#Footnote_530_530" class="fnanchor">[530]</a></p> - -<p>The illustration of this latter point is required by the conditions of -our History.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">EXTENT OF NONCONFORMITY.</div> - -<p>The Chancellor's object had been not merely to esta<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_375" id="Page_375">[375]</a></span>blish the -Episcopal Church, but to crush every form of Dissent. Indeed, his -notion of an establishment was that it should have an exclusive -existence in the country—that Nonconformity should have no place -whatever under its shadow. Yet, at the time of his fall, only five -years after the Act of Uniformity was passed, and within two years of -the passing of the Five Mile Act—not only did Popery continue to lurk -within these dominions, not only did it make its way amongst the upper -classes, but Presbyterianism recovered itself from the blows which it -had received, and Independents, Baptists, and Quakers, secretly or -openly, promoted the spread of their opinions. Of this fact, passages -from contemporaries afford striking proofs.</p> - -<p>On the 4th of August, 1666, a correspondent at Chester, stated that -the City swarmed with "cardinal Nonconformists," and that they were so -linked into the Magistracy, by alliance, that it was very difficult to -bring them to punishment;—only a few of them attended Divine service, -and even they were absent during the prayers. Experience proved that -these great pretenders to piety and religion, who would not conform to -the Prince's ecclesiastical power, only submitted to the civil until -they could get power to refuse it.</p> - -<p>On the 31st of August, 1667, the day after Clarendon resigned the Great -Seal, a letter reached Sir Joseph Williamson complaining of "crowds of -fanatics," about Bath and Frome. The gentry, as well as the ignorant -and ill-affected classes, helped to beget a jealousy of Popery, and -were apparently fallen back to the spirit of 1642. Even some who looked -big in Court, and in Parliament, had sheltered the unlawful vessels of -the malcontented and the furious within their allotments, and in their -own families, more especially, since the late exigencies had arisen.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_376" id="Page_376">[376]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1667.</div> - -<p>On the 10th of September the same year, another person at Bath declared -that the Nonconformists grew in numbers and insolence, saying they -should have liberty of conscience, and that the Government, which could -not stand much longer, could do no otherwise than allow them their -freedom. They had reached such a degree of insolence as to break open -church doors, and to get into the buildings to vent their sedition -and rebellion. The minister at Marshfield often returned from church -for want of a congregation, even of two or three, whereas, at the -same time, 500 met in a barn within the town. They transformed such -buildings into the likeness of churches, with seats for the convenience -of speaking and hearing. The writer, who was a clergyman, declared that -he had taken all ways imaginable to keep his people within the bounds -of sobriety and obedience, and had preached constantly twice a day to -suit their humour in all things lawful, descending to the plainest -and most practical speaking, and had never used a note, or so much as -wrote a word. Moreover, he had treated the party with all civility and -kindness, and been very pacificatory in public and in private, yet all -seemed in vain, and he saw that a minister must be a martyr.<a name="FNanchor_531_531" id="FNanchor_531_531"></a><a href="#Footnote_531_531" class="fnanchor">[531]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">EXTENT OF NONCONFORMITY.</div> - -<p>A contemporary author affirms that the Nonconformists everywhere -spread through city and country; they made no small part of all ranks -and sorts of men; by relations and commerce they were so woven into -the nation's interest, that it was not easy to sever them without -unravelling the whole skein. They were not excluded from the nobility, -among the gentry they were not a few, yet none were of more importance -than mere<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_377" id="Page_377">[377]</a></span> tradesmen, and such as lived by their own industry. To -suppress them would beget a general insecurity, and might help to -drive trade out of the country, and send it to find a home with an -emulous and encroaching nation. If no greater latitude could be -allowed than existed at that time, a race of Nonconformists would, -in all probability, run parallel with Conformists to the end of the -world.<a name="FNanchor_532_532" id="FNanchor_532_532"></a><a href="#Footnote_532_532" class="fnanchor">[532]</a></p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_378" id="Page_378">[378]</a></span></p></div> - - -<h2>CHAPTER XIX.</h2> - - -<p class="drop-cap p-left">It was a pamphleteering age; and religion as well as politics fell -under discussion in numerous small publications. Some one published in -the beginning of August, 1667, under the name of "A Lover of Sincerity -and Peace," <i>A Proposition for the Safety and Happiness of the King -and Kingdom, both in Church and State</i>, a work in which the writer -advocated comprehension and toleration. In the middle of the month of -October there followed a reply, from the pen of a Mr. Tomkyns, one -of Archbishop Sheldon's chaplains. The same month another pamphlet -appeared anonymously, under the title of <i>A Discourse of the Religion -of England</i>, maintaining that Reformed Christianity, settled in its -due latitude, secures the stability and advancement of the kingdom, -of which the author is known to have been John Corbet, an ejected -minister, who lived privately in London, after the passing of the -Bartholomew Act.<a name="FNanchor_533_533" id="FNanchor_533_533"></a><a href="#Footnote_533_533" class="fnanchor">[533]</a> Corbet was answered by Dr. Perinchief, Prebendary -of Westminster, whereupon Corbet replied, and Perinchief put in a -rejoinder. From August to November the printers and the public seem to -have been busy in producing and reading these controversial tracts.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_379" id="Page_379">[379]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote">COMPREHENSION.</div> - -<p>Whether or not this circumstance arose from a knowledge of what -was going on in upper circles, it is certain that, now Clarendon -had gone, Sir Robert Atkins—who afterwards became one of the -Justices of the Common Pleas, and ultimately Lord Chief Baron of the -Exchequer,—prepared a Bill of Comprehension. This healing measure, -Colonel Birch, member for Penryn, undertook to introduce in the House -of Commons;<a name="FNanchor_534_534" id="FNanchor_534_534"></a><a href="#Footnote_534_534" class="fnanchor">[534]</a> and a careful account of it, written by Bishop Barlow, -is preserved at Oxford in the Bodleian Library,<a name="FNanchor_535_535" id="FNanchor_535_535"></a><a href="#Footnote_535_535" class="fnanchor">[535]</a> from which -document we derive our information. The Bill provided that ordained -ministers—whether Episcopal or Presbyterian—who should within the -next three months subscribe to all the Articles of Religion "which only -concern the confession of the true Christian faith and the doctrine -of the sacraments" should be capable of preaching in any church or -chapel in England, of administering the sacraments according to the -Book of Common Prayer, of taking upon them the cure of souls, and of -enjoying any spiritual promotion. After prescribing that the Common -Prayer, according to law, should be read before sermon, there follows -a proviso, that no one should be denied the Lord's Supper, although he -did not kneel in the act of receiving it; and that no minister should -be compelled to wear the surplice, or use the cross in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_380" id="Page_380">[380]</a></span> baptism. The -authors of the project, in addition to clauses touching Presbyterian -ordination and ceremonies, wished to have the word "consent" left out -of the form of subscription,—to confine subscription to the doctrine -of the Christian faith,—not to bind ministers to read the Common -Prayer themselves, if they procured others to do it,—and to lay aside -the Oath of Adjuration.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1667.<br /> - -COMPREHENSION.</div> - -<p>The session of Parliament opened upon the 10th of October and ended -just before Christmas; but the Bill, although ready, was never printed, -nor brought into the House. This first scheme of comprehension came -to nothing; but a second scheme, which like the first failed in the -end, proceeded somewhat further. Rumours of it were circulated in -the month of January, and were caught up by Pepys, to whom it seemed -there was a great presumption of a toleration being granted, so that -the Presbyterians held up their heads: ten days later, he heard that -the King approved of it, but that the Bishops were against it: and -the Diarist further states, that his informant, Colonel Birch, did -not doubt but that it would be carried through Parliament; only he -feared some would advocate the toleration of Papists.<a name="FNanchor_536_536" id="FNanchor_536_536"></a><a href="#Footnote_536_536" class="fnanchor">[536]</a> A few days -afterwards, Pepys heard that an Act was likely to pass for admitting -all persuasions to hold public worship, "but in certain places; and -the persons therein concerned to be listed of this or that church, -which, it is thought, will do more hurt than good, and make them not -own their persuasion."<a name="FNanchor_537_537" id="FNanchor_537_537"></a><a href="#Footnote_537_537" class="fnanchor">[537]</a> The proposal was made by Sir Orlando -Bridgeman, the Lord Keeper, and supported by Sir Matthew Hale, the Lord -Chief Baron.<a name="FNanchor_538_538" id="FNanchor_538_538"></a><a href="#Footnote_538_538" class="fnanchor">[538]</a> The Earl of Manchester favoured the plan, and Dr. -Wilkins, on<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_381" id="Page_381">[381]</a></span> the Episcopal side, entered into negotiations with the -Presbyterians, who were represented by Baxter, Manton, and Bates.</p> - -<p>Baxter gives a full account of the scheme, which account is confirmed -substantially by the memoranda of Barlow, at the time Archdeacon of -Oxford, and afterwards Bishop of Lincoln.<a name="FNanchor_539_539" id="FNanchor_539_539"></a><a href="#Footnote_539_539" class="fnanchor">[539]</a> The basis of the plan -was the King's Declaration from Breda; and the scheme may be considered -under three aspects—as proposed by the Episcopalians,—as modified -by the Presbyterians,—and as it bore relation to the Independents. I -shall quote a few passages from Barlow's MS., as it is important to -convey an exact idea of what was proposed.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1667.</div> - -<p>I. In order to comprehension, the Episcopalians proposed,—1. That -such persons as in the late times of disorder had been ordained only -by Presbyters, should be admitted to the exercise of the ministerial -function, by the imposition of the hands of the Bishop, with this or -the like form of words: "Take thou (legal) authority to preach the Word -of God and to administer the sacraments in any congregation of the -Church of England when thou shalt be lawfully appointed thereto." 2. -That clergymen and schoolmasters (after taking the Oaths of Allegiance -or Supremacy) should be required to subscribe this or the like form -of words: "I, A. B., do hereby profess and declare that I do approve -the doctrine, worship, and government established in the Church of -England, as containing all things necessary to salvation; and that I -will not endeavour, by myself or any other, directly or indirectly, -to bring in any doctrine contrary to that which is so established: -and I do hereby promise,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_382" id="Page_382">[382]</a></span> that I will continue in the communion of -the Church of England, and will not do anything to disturb the peace -thereof." 3. That kneeling at the sacrament, the use of the cross in -baptism, and bowing at the name of Jesus might be left indifferent or -be altogether omitted; Barlow being willing to class with these things -the wearing of the surplice. 4. That in case it should be thought -fit to review and alter the Liturgy and canons for the satisfaction -of Dissenters, then every person admitted to preach should—upon -admission—publicly and solemnly read the said Liturgy, openly declare -his assent to the lawfulness of using it, and give a promise that it -should be constantly read at the time and place accustomed. It also was -added, that the Liturgy might be altered by using the reading Psalms -in the new translations;—by appointing some other lessons out of the -canonical Scriptures instead of those taken out of the Apocrypha;—by -not enjoining godfathers and godmothers, when either of the parents -were ready to answer for the child;—by omitting "every clause in the -services connecting regeneration with baptism;"—by omitting in the -Collect after imposition of hands in Confirmation this clause—"After -the example of Thy holy apostles, and to certify them by this sign -of Thy favour and gracious goodness towards them;" and this also in -the office of matrimony—"With my body I thee worship;"—by allowing -ministers some liberty in the visitation of the sick, to use such -other prayers as they might judge expedient;—by so altering the -Burial Service, as to imply nothing respecting the safety of the -deceased person;—by several changes in the services with a view to -abbreviation, omitting all "responsal prayers," and all repetitions, -and throwing separate petitions altogether in one continuous -prayer;—by not reading the Communion Service<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_383" id="Page_383">[383]</a></span> at such times as are -not communion days, but only repeating the Ten Commandments;—and by -altering the catechism at the question, "How many sacraments hath -Christ ordained?" so that the answer may be, "Two only, Baptism and the -Lord's Supper."</p> - -<div class="sidenote">COMPREHENSION.</div> - -<p>II. The modifications proposed by the Presbyterians were as -follows:—1. That all ministers ordained by Presbyters should, when -admitted by the Bishop to minister in the Church, "have leave," if -they "desired" it, to "give in their profession, that they renounce -not their ordination nor take it for a nullity, and that they take -this as the magistrate's license and confirmation." 2. That in the -form of subscription they should assent to the truth of all the Holy -Scriptures, to the articles of Creed, and to the doctrine of the Church -of England contained in the Thirty-six Articles; or to the doctrinal -part of the Thirty-nine Articles, excepting only the three articles -touching ceremonies and prelacy. 3. That an appeal be allowed for a -suspended minister from the Bishop to the King's Courts of Justice; -and lastly, that certain rules be enacted for the due enforcement -of discipline, respecting admission to holy communion, and also -respecting meetings for worship. A few additional suggestions were -proposed, relating to alterations in the Liturgy, of which these were -the most remarkable—"the Lord's Prayer should be used entirely with -the Doxologies;" the word "Sabbath" should replace "seventh-day" in -the fourth commandment; holydays should be left indifferent, save only -that all persons be restrained from open labour, and contempt of them; -and "no minister" should "be forced" to "baptize the child of proved -atheists and infidels." The addition of the surplice to the other -ceremonies to be left indifferent; the expression "sacramentally" to -be subjoined to the word<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_384" id="Page_384">[384]</a></span> "regenerate" in the baptismal service; the -catechism to be altered as regards the doctrine of the sacraments; and -the Absolution in the Visitation of the Sick to be made conditional.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1667.</div> - -<p>After considerable debate, principally upon the subject of -reordination, a Bill of Comprehension was drawn up by Sir Matthew Hale. -The points comprised were, first, the insertion of the word "legal" -before the word "authority" instead of the demanded liberty to declare -the validity of the previous Presbyterian ordination; and secondly, the -omission of the clause proposed by Baxter and his friends relating to -appeals. Two forms of subscription, framed so as to exclude Romanists, -were likewise adopted respectively for established ministers and for -tolerated persons.</p> - -<p>III. The Episcopalian scheme, endorsed and revised by Barlow, -included the indulgence of such orthodox Protestants, as could not be -comprehended within the Establishment. These, upon registering their -names, were to have liberty to worship in public, and to erect edifices -for that purpose. Although disabled from holding public offices, they -were to be fined for not fulfilling them, and also obliged, "according -to their respective qualities," to pay annually for indulgence, a sum -not above forty shillings, nor under ten, for any master of a family; -not above eight, nor under two, for any other individual,—the tribute -to form a fund for church building. Upon producing a certificate, -Nonconformists were to be exempted from legal penalties for -non-attendance at parish worship; but they were to pay church rates, -and it was suggested by Barlow that they should be forbidden to preach -against the Establishment. This arrangement was to be limited to three -years, and to be confined to such Protestants as are described in -Cromwell's Act of Settlement.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_385" id="Page_385">[385]</a></span></p> - -<p>These intentions were frustrated. Wilkins, Bishop of Chester, mentioned -the subject to Seth Ward, Bishop of Salisbury, "hoping to have -prevailed for his concurrence in it;" but the latter, availing himself -of the communication, did his utmost to defeat the scheme. The Bishops -generally were against it. The old Clarendon party was against it.<a name="FNanchor_540_540" id="FNanchor_540_540"></a><a href="#Footnote_540_540" class="fnanchor">[540]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">THORNDIKE'S PRINCIPLES.</div> - -<p>Herbert Thorndike wrote his <i>True Principle of Comprehension</i> in -the year 1667, just at the time when the question had been taken up -by Wilkins and Barlow.<a name="FNanchor_541_541" id="FNanchor_541_541"></a><a href="#Footnote_541_541" class="fnanchor">[541]</a> He did not at all mince the matter, but -began by saying that Presbyterians could not, any more than Papists, -be good subjects; an assertion which, if true, would of course render -comprehension, in the common meaning of the term, impossible; but it is -not in that meaning that he uses the term, and he proceeds to declare -most distinctly, that "an Act comprehending Presbyterians, as such, -in the Church, would fail of its purpose, and not give satisfaction -or peace in matters of religion." The only cure for disputes, he -maintained, was to authorize the faith and laws of the Catholic -Church, <i>i.e.</i>, within the first six general Councils, "enacting the -same with competent penalties." This proposal really signified that -Nonconformists were to retract their opinions altogether, or continue -to be persecuted. What the author called the true principle of -comprehension was the false principle of coercion. He would have men -think with him, and if possible force them into the Church; if they -were incorrigible, he would shut them out and punish them. Nor<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_386" id="Page_386">[386]</a></span> did he -leave any doubt as to what he intended by the enactment of "competent -penalties;" for he laid down the doctrine, that the Church is justified -in having recourse to <i>the civil power</i>, to enforce union.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1668.</div> - -<p>Parliament met on the 6th of February, and then adjourned to the 10th. -When the Commons had assembled, and before the King had arrived, -reports were made to the House respecting insolent language said to -have been used in Nonconformist Conventicles; and it being known -that in the Royal Speech some notice would be taken of a measure of -Comprehension, about which there had been so much discussion out of -doors, the members did "mightily and generally inveigh against it;" -and they voted that the King should strictly put in force the Act of -Uniformity. It was also moved, "that if any people had a mind to bring -any new laws into the House, about religion, they might come, as a -proposer of new laws did in Athens, with ropes about their necks."<a name="FNanchor_542_542" id="FNanchor_542_542"></a><a href="#Footnote_542_542" class="fnanchor">[542]</a> -His Majesty, however, in his speech from the throne, recommended the -Houses to adopt some course for securing "a better union and composure -in the minds of my Protestant subjects in matters of religion."<a name="FNanchor_543_543" id="FNanchor_543_543"></a><a href="#Footnote_543_543" class="fnanchor">[543]</a> -From this it appears that His Majesty felt disposed to favour some -measure pointing in the same direction as did that which had been drawn -up by Barlow.<a name="FNanchor_544_544" id="FNanchor_544_544"></a><a href="#Footnote_544_544" class="fnanchor">[544]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">NEW CONVENTICLE BILL.</div> - -<p>Colonel Birch told Pepys on the 28th of February, that the House the -same morning had been in a state of madness, in consequence of letters -received respecting fanatics who had come in great numbers to certain<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_387" id="Page_387">[387]</a></span> -churches, turning people out, "and there preaching themselves, and -pulling the surplice over the parsons' heads;" this excited "the -hectors and bravadoes of the House."<a name="FNanchor_545_545" id="FNanchor_545_545"></a><a href="#Footnote_545_545" class="fnanchor">[545]</a> The report was utterly -false,<a name="FNanchor_546_546" id="FNanchor_546_546"></a><a href="#Footnote_546_546" class="fnanchor">[546]</a> but influenced by it, the Commons, on the 4th of March, -resolved to desire His Majesty to issue a Proclamation for enforcing -the laws against Conventicles, and to provide against all unlawful -assemblies of Papists and Nonconformists.<a name="FNanchor_547_547" id="FNanchor_547_547"></a><a href="#Footnote_547_547" class="fnanchor">[547]</a> When, upon the 11th -of March, the King's Speech respecting the union of his Protestant -subjects came under consideration, all sorts of opinions were expressed -upon all sorts of ecclesiastical topics. One declared that he never -knew a toleration which did not need an army to keep all quiet; -another expressed himself in favour of the reform of Ecclesiastical -Courts, which had become very obnoxious. A third concurred in this -opinion, and also complained that the Bishops had little power in -the Church except authority to ordain. A fourth wished to see the -Act of Uniformity revised, in order to temper its severe provisions, -especially in reference to the Covenant, and assent and consent to the -Common Prayer. A fifth compared the King and clergy to a master having -quarrelsome servants, "One will not stay unless the other goes away." A -theological debater alluded to predestination and free-will as at the -foundation of all the religious disputes in England, and lamented the -growth of Arminianism, affirming that so long as the Church was true to -herself, she need not be in fear of Nonconformity: placing candles on -the communion table greatly displeased him. A Broad Church polemic held -that the Articles were drawn up so that both parties might subscribe, -and that Convocation<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_388" id="Page_388">[388]</a></span> was a mixed assembly of "both persuasions;" no -canon, he said, enjoined bowing at the altar, and Bishop Morton left -people to use their own liberty as to that practice; this gentleman -was against Conventicles. A more prudent debater wished to veil the -infirmities of his mother rather than proclaim them in Gath and -Askelon; he advocated comprehension, and thought an end would be put to -Nonconformity by making two or three Presbyterians Bishops. These brief -notices of the debate will afford an idea of the diversity of opinion -which was expressed on this occasion.<a name="FNanchor_548_548" id="FNanchor_548_548"></a><a href="#Footnote_548_548" class="fnanchor">[548]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1668.<br /> - -NEW CONVENTICLE BILL.</div> - -<p>Instead of the Bill described by Barlow, or any measure of a similar -kind for comprehension and toleration, a Bill for reviving the -Conventicle Act was submitted to the Commons. The Conventicle Act of -1664 had been limited in its operation to the end of the next session -of Parliament after the expiration of three years, and therefore it -remained no longer in force. Leave was now given to bring in a Bill for -the continuance of it.</p> - -<p>The High Church party, by a majority of 176 against 70, negatived the -proposal that His Majesty be desired to send for such persons as he -might think fit, in order to the uniting of his Protestant subjects: -the first instance, as Hallam says, "of a triumph obtained by the -Church over the Crown in the House of Commons."<a name="FNanchor_549_549" id="FNanchor_549_549"></a><a href="#Footnote_549_549" class="fnanchor">[549]</a> Upon the 28th of -April, the Bill for revising the Conventicle Act was carried by 144 -against 78. The new Conventicle Bill, sent up to the Lords, was by them -read a first time on the 29th of April; but it does not appear to have -reached a second reading, as the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_389" id="Page_389">[389]</a></span> House, on the 9th of May, adjourned -until August, then again to November, and then again to the following -March, 1669, when Parliament was prorogued. Consequently the Bill fell -through; and the law with regard to Conventicles underwent a change, -through the expiration of the Act of 1664.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_390" id="Page_390">[390]</a></span></p></div> - - -<h2>CHAPTER XX.</h2> - - -<div class="sidenote">MANTON AND BAXTER.</div> - -<p class="drop-cap p-left">The King was by no means disinclined to relieve Dissenters from the -oppression which they experienced, provided he might extend relief on -his own authority, and at his own pleasure. In the autumn of 1688 he -granted an audience, at the Earl of Arlington's lodgings, to a few -Presbyterian clergymen. Of this interview, Dr. Manton gave an account -to his friend Richard Baxter. With characteristic graciousness, which -was the charm of his reign, and which, in spite of his vices, won many -hearts, Charles was pleased once and again to signify how acceptable -was the address presented by the Presbyterians, and how much he was -persuaded of their peaceable disposition; adding that he had known them -to be so ever since his return; and then he promised that he would do -his utmost to get them comprehended within the Establishment, and would -strive to remove all those bars which he could wish had never existed. -Something, however, he proceeded to say, must be done for public peace, -and they could not be ignorant that what he desired was a work of -difficulty, and therefore they must wait until the business was ripe. -In the meanwhile he wished them to use their liberty with moderation. -He observed that the meetings held were too numerous, and that (besides -their being contrary<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_391" id="Page_391">[391]</a></span> to law) they occasioned clamorous people to -complain, as if the Presbyterian design was to undermine the Church. -He instanced what he called the folly of one who had preached in a -play-house, upon which the ministers informed him they disliked such -conduct, and that they had rebuked the individual for affronting the -Government. The King instanced another case, but with a preface that -he greatly respected the person for his worth and learnings—meaning -Mr. Baxter, of Acton, who drew in all the country round. Manton replied -that Baxter went to church, and then preached himself during the -interval between morning and evening service. His first intention was -simply to benefit his own family; but it was hard to exclude such as in -charity might be supposed to come thirsting for spiritual edification. -Manton further alleged the general need of religious instruction, and -the fact that Nonconformists were not all alike. If people of unsober -principles were permitted to preach, he urged the necessity which lay -upon others to take the same liberty. His Majesty replied that "the -riffle raffle" were apt to run after every new teacher; but people -of quality might be intreated not to assemble, or, at least, not in -such multitudes, lest the scandal thereby raised should obstruct his -generous intentions. Charles seemed pleased when Manton suggested that -his brethren's sobriety of doctrine, and remembrance of His Majesty in -their prayers, were calculated to preserve an esteem for his person -and government in the hearts of his people, and Arlington plucked -his master by the coat, desiring him to note what was said. Manton -remarked, in conclusion, that Baxter would have accompanied them to the -audience, had he not been prevented by illness.<a name="FNanchor_550_550" id="FNanchor_550_550"></a><a href="#Footnote_550_550" class="fnanchor">[550]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_392" id="Page_392">[392]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1669.</div> - -<p>Sheldon, writing a letter from Lambeth on the 8th of June, 1669, -addressed to the Commissary of the diocese of Canterbury,—after -quoting His Majesty's denial of connivance at Conventicles, his -displeasure at the want of care in the matter manifested by the -Bishops, and his determination that they should have the civil -magistrates' assistance,—proceeds to direct that inquiries should be -made as to unlawful religious assemblies—what were their numbers, -of what sort of people they consisted, and from whom they looked for -impunity. Conventicles were to be made known to Justices, and if -Justices neglected their duty, their neglect was to be certified. -The Primate asked whether the same persons did not meet at several -Conventicles, which might make them seem more numerous than they really -were; and whether the Commissary did not think they might be easily -suppressed, by the assistance of the civil magistrate; the greatest -part of them being, as the Archbishop heard, women, children and -inconsiderable persons.<a name="FNanchor_551_551" id="FNanchor_551_551"></a><a href="#Footnote_551_551" class="fnanchor">[551]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">CONVENTICLES.</div> - -<p>Charles complied with the wishes of Sheldon so far as to issue a -Proclamation, complaining of the increase, and threatening the -punishment of Nonconformists; but he had no sympathy for the -intolerance in which such wishes originated.<a name="FNanchor_552_552" id="FNanchor_552_552"></a><a href="#Footnote_552_552" class="fnanchor">[552]</a> He had said—if we -may trust Burnet's report—the clergy were chiefly to blame for the -popularity of Conventicles; for if they had lived as they ought, and -attended to their parish duties, the nation might, by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_393" id="Page_393">[393]</a></span> that time, have -been reduced to ecclesiastical order. "But they thought of nothing, but -to get good benefices, and to keep a good table."<a name="FNanchor_553_553" id="FNanchor_553_553"></a><a href="#Footnote_553_553" class="fnanchor">[553]</a></p> - -<p>Nonconformists naturally availed themselves of the circumstance that -the Conventicle Act had expired; and Baxter now had more hearers at -Acton than he could find room to accommodate. "Almost all the town and -parish, besides abundance from Brentford and the neighbour parishes, -came."<a name="FNanchor_554_554" id="FNanchor_554_554"></a><a href="#Footnote_554_554" class="fnanchor">[554]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1669.</div> - -<p>But though the Conventicle Act had expired, the Five Mile Act, as -Charles indicated in his Proclamation of July, 1669, remained in -force; and therefore, means existed, not only for silencing, but -also for punishing the Presbyterian Divine. Accordingly he was soon -involved in trouble. In a roundabout way, a warrant was procured, in -which Baxter stood charged with keeping an unlawful Conventicle. The -Oxford Oath being tendered he refused to take it, and argued, with his -usual keenness,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_394" id="Page_394">[394]</a></span> against its imposition. One of the magistrates only -laughed, and Baxter was sent to prison.</p> - -<p>To the inquiries issued by Sheldon in June, returns before the end -of the year were made, and they supply much valuable information -respecting Nonconformity.</p> - -<p>A long list is given of Conventicles in the Metropolis. Manton's -congregation at his own house, Covent Garden, and Calamy's, next door -to the "Seven Stars," Aldermanbury, are estimated at 100; Zachary -Crofton's, Tower Hill, and Captain Kiffin's, of Finsbury Court, at 200; -Vincent's of Hand Alley, and Caryl's, at Mr. Knight's house, Leadenhall -Street, at 500; and Dr. Annesley's, in Spitalfields, at a new house for -that purpose with pulpit and seats, at 800; Owen, in White's Alley, -Moorfields, is mentioned without any number of hearers being returned.</p> - -<p>It is stated in the report that besides those congregations which -are specified, there were many others at private houses; sometimes -at one house, sometimes at another. The several meetings of the same -persuasion, were composed, for the most part, of the same persons. They -were much increased by stragglers, who walked on Sunday for recreation, -and then went into the Conventicles out of curiosity. The worshippers -consisted of women and persons of mean rank. The meetings had increased -since the execution of the Oxford Act had been relaxed.</p> - -<p>In the City of Canterbury, distinguished in the annals of both -Protestantism and Puritanism, Nonconformity took deep root. In the -parishes of St. Paul and St. Peter the Independents amounted to 500 at -least. They met in the morning at St. Peter's, in the afternoon at St. -Paul's. In St. Dunstan's there were Presbyterians, but they were not so -many as the Independents. In<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_395" id="Page_395">[395]</a></span> St. Mary's, Northgate, the Anabaptists -were few and mean in quality. The Quakers were numerous, but not -considerable for estate.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">CONVENTICLES.</div> - -<p>In the diocese of Chichester, the little market town of Petworth is -mentioned as containing 50 or 60 Nonconformists, some of the middle -sort, others inferior; Largesale as numbering about 40, yeomen and -labourers; Stedham as having sometimes 200, including some of the -gentry.</p> - -<p>In the diocese of Ely, at a place called Stetham, mention is made of -about 30 or 40 who assembled by stealth and in the night, mean and -of evil fame, who had arms against the King. Of Doddington, in the -fen country of Cambridgeshire, it is remarked, that there were no -Dissenters in the parish, although there were divers of them in other -places. The promise of indulgence, the remissness of the magistrate, -the rumour of comprehension, the King's connivance, and the sanction of -grandees at Court, encouraged their hopes.</p> - -<p>There is manifested throughout these statistics, a disposition on the -part of the reporters, to exaggerate the extent to which Nonconformity -prevailed. As for example, it is said of the <i>houses</i> of Mr. Bond and -Mr. John Chapman, of Chard—"The numbers uncertain but always very -great, sometimes 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, and oftentimes 700."</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1670.</div> - -<p>From these returns, after making abatements on the score of -exaggeration, it appears that Dissent had by no means been crushed -by the violence it had endured. Consequently in the spring of 1670, -a new Bill against Conventicles was introduced: after being amended -and carried by the Commons, it was presented by Sir John Brampston -to the Lords, and it slowly passed through Committee; repeated -debates occurring with regard to its provisions. Seth Ward, Bishop of -Salisbury,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_396" id="Page_396">[396]</a></span> supported, but Wilkins, Bishop of Chester, opposed the -measure, although the King, without desiring to see it executed, wished -to see it passed, and used his influence with the last-named prelate -to prevent his taking any part in the business; Wilkins, nevertheless, -courageously insisted upon his right as a Peer, and declined to -withhold either his vote or his voice. The Bill did not pass without a -protest being entered on the Journals.<a name="FNanchor_555_555" id="FNanchor_555_555"></a><a href="#Footnote_555_555" class="fnanchor">[555]</a></p> - -<p>This Act—so commonly described as a revival of the Conventicle Act of -1664, that it is necessary to point out the fact of its being a new -piece of legislation—differed from the preceding enactment in these -important respects. It did not connect the penalty of imprisonment with -an attendance on Conventicles, nor was the amount of fines fixed on so -high a scale. It specified for the first offence, instead of "a sum not -exceeding five pounds," the reduced fine of five shillings; instead -of imprisonment, or ten pounds for the second offence, it inflicted -a penalty of only ten shillings; and it said nothing whatever of -transportation, or of augmented punishment for a third offence.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">CONVENTICLES.</div> - -<p>Still it advanced beyond the earlier legislation on the subject in -other respects; because preachers were to forfeit £20 for the first, -and £40 for the second breach of the law. Also the Act stimulated -informers, by promising them one-third of the fines levied through -their diligence and industry; it conferred power on officers to break -open houses, except the houses of Peers, where<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_397" id="Page_397">[397]</a></span> Conventicles were said -to be assembled; it imposed a fine of £5 on any constable, who, being -aware of such meetings, neglected to give information of them, and a -fine of £100 on any Justice of the Peace who should refuse to execute -the law. It declared that all claims should be construed most largely -and beneficially for the suppression of Conventicles.<a name="FNanchor_556_556" id="FNanchor_556_556"></a><a href="#Footnote_556_556" class="fnanchor">[556]</a></p> - -<p>Sheldon was delighted at the enactment of this statute, and zealously -availed himself of it.<a name="FNanchor_557_557" id="FNanchor_557_557"></a><a href="#Footnote_557_557" class="fnanchor">[557]</a> Ward and Gunning, at the same time -distinguished themselves in repressing Dissent, and no colouring of -their conduct can hide their intolerance. The former, it is said, -made the diocese of Salisbury too hot for Nonconformists, and drove -many over to Holland to the great detriment of trade in the City of -Salisbury.<a name="FNanchor_558_558" id="FNanchor_558_558"></a><a href="#Footnote_558_558" class="fnanchor">[558]</a> Gunning, whose propensities for public discussion -remained as strong as ever, sometimes played the part of a magistrate, -and sat upon the bench at quarter sessions, at other times he -challenged Dissenters of all sorts to engage with him in theological -tournaments.<a name="FNanchor_559_559" id="FNanchor_559_559"></a><a href="#Footnote_559_559" class="fnanchor">[559]</a></p> - -<p>Informers were now let loose upon all kinds of inoffensive citizens, -and the severities of the New Conventicle Act were more than doubled -by connecting with them the execution of earlier statutes. No less a -person than Dr. Manton, after being discovered at a house in the Piazza -of Covent Garden, holding a religious service, had the Oxford Oath -tendered to him, and for refusing to take it, was committed a prisoner -to the Gatehouse.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_398" id="Page_398">[398]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1670.</div> - -<p>Of all sufferers the Quakers suffered most, because they were the -most persistent and resolute in continuing their meetings; because -when officers were on their way to seize them they would not escape; -and further, because they would pay no fines, not even gaol fees, nor -offer any petition to be set at liberty. Such people occasioned the -greatest perplexity to magistrates and the Government, and completely -wore out their patience; thus ultimately gaining their own point by an -invincible resistance under the form of perfect passivity. The famous -trial, in the month of August, 1670, of two friends, William Penn -and William Mead, affords an example of the injustice and oppression -which this remarkable sect had to endure, and also of the sympathy -with them in their wrongs which they inspired in the breasts of -their fellow-subjects. These two gentlemen were accused of holding a -tumultuous assembly in the public streets, simply because they preached -in the open air, and they were fined forty marks each, in consequence -of not pulling off their hats in court. The jury returned a verdict -to which the court objected, and for persistence in their own course, -the jurymen were fined forty marks apiece, and were imprisoned until -they should pay the amount. Afterwards they were discharged by writ -of Habeas Corpus, their commitments being pronounced, in the Court of -Common Pleas, to be totally illegal.<a name="FNanchor_560_560" id="FNanchor_560_560"></a><a href="#Footnote_560_560" class="fnanchor">[560]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_399" id="Page_399">[399]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote">CONVENTICLES.</div> - -<p>In terminating this chapter it may safely be asserted that, during -the reign of Charles II., after the time when the Act of Uniformity -came into force, except for the short space presently to be described, -there occurred not any period, when persecution, in some form or -other, did not disturb the Nonconformists of this country; yet perhaps -it would not be going too far also to assert, that when persecution -reached its greatest height, there were some of the proscribed who -successfully asserted their liberty, and, either from the ignorance or -from the connivance of the predominant party, escaped the rigours of -the law. Sixteen months after the new statute for the suppression of -Conventicles had been passed, and when in many directions it was being -severely enforced, the Dissenters at Taunton, not only met together for -worship, but boldly celebrated a festival in honour of the deliverance -of the place, in the midst of the Civil Wars, under their illustrious -townsman Robert Blake.<a name="FNanchor_561_561" id="FNanchor_561_561"></a><a href="#Footnote_561_561" class="fnanchor">[561]</a></p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_400" id="Page_400">[400]</a></span></p></div> - - -<h2>CHAPTER XXI.</h2> - - -<p class="drop-cap p-left">The fall of Clarendon had been succeeded by a Ministry well known in -history under the name of the <span class="smcap">Cabal</span>.<a name="FNanchor_562_562" id="FNanchor_562_562"></a><a href="#Footnote_562_562" class="fnanchor">[562]</a> With the merely -political conduct of the statesmen indicated by that word, we have -nothing to do; their policy in relation to ecclesiastical affairs alone -demands our notice.</p> - -<p>A change of feeling in the upper classes towards Nonconformists ensued, -now that Clarendon's influence had been withdrawn, the virtues of -distinguished sufferers became better known, and rumours about plots -were far less frequent. This change prepared for a measure, which, -unconstitutional as to its basis, was liberal in its operation. To -found indulgence upon Royal authority alone, and not upon an Act of -Parliament, was in harmony with a scheme for the exaltation of the -Crown; but there is reason to believe that the measure proceeded, in -part at least, from the better side of the nature of the Ministers, as -well as from the better side of the nature of the Monarch. The previous -history of those Ministers had been such as to dispose them to befriend -oppressed Nonconformists.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_401" id="Page_401">[401]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote">THE CABAL.</div> - -<p>The persons of whose names the initials made up the significant -appellation just mentioned, were Clifford, Arlington, Buckingham, -Ashley, and Lauderdale. The last three had themselves been more or less -connected with Dissenters. Buckingham, notwithstanding his irreligion -and profligacy, had sympathized with them in their sufferings; Ashley -had been a member of the Little Parliament, and a friend of Oliver -Cromwell; and Lauderdale had decidedly professed Presbyterianism.<a name="FNanchor_563_563" id="FNanchor_563_563"></a><a href="#Footnote_563_563" class="fnanchor">[563]</a> -Memories of the past would dispose these politicians to be favourable -to their old friends. Clifford, who was rough, violent, ambitious, -unscrupulous, and yet brave and generous, and Arlington, formerly known -as Sir Henry Bennet,<a name="FNanchor_564_564" id="FNanchor_564_564"></a><a href="#Footnote_564_564" class="fnanchor">[564]</a> a man timid and irresolute, had indeed no -such reminiscences as their colleagues, and had begun by this time to -veer towards Rome; yet, kindliness of disposition, which seems to have -belonged to both these statesmen, probably blended itself with some -design for promoting the interests of their adopted Church.</p> - -<p>The Cabal Ministry determined upon a new war with Holland, for the -insults and injury inflicted by the invasion<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_402" id="Page_402">[402]</a></span> in 1666 could not be -forgotten, and the prosperity of a republic not far off, especially a -naval one, appeared odious to such Englishmen as desired alike absolute -monarchy at home, and an undivided sovereignty of the neighbouring -seas. To humble a commercial power like Holland, would also, it was -thought, improve British commerce; and of course a great victory would -strengthen both the Ministry and the Crown. The war with Holland began -in March, 1672, the advantage was on the side of England; and in -February, 1674, Charles informed his Parliament that he had concluded -"a speedy, honourable," and he hoped, "a lasting peace."<a name="FNanchor_565_565" id="FNanchor_565_565"></a><a href="#Footnote_565_565" class="fnanchor">[565]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1672.</div> - -<p>With a prospect of this war, the Cabal felt it expedient to conciliate -the Dissenting portion of the country, that there might be peace at -home whilst there was war abroad; and that the sympathies of those -who had before leaned towards the United Provinces, might be bound to -the interests of their own empire.<a name="FNanchor_566_566" id="FNanchor_566_566"></a><a href="#Footnote_566_566" class="fnanchor">[566]</a> Prudence of that kind united -itself with whatever there might be of generosity in the Ministers who -supported the King's new measure; but it should be stated that at this -moment, when the Cabinet were looking one way, Archbishop Sheldon was -looking another. Whilst the chief Ministers of State were preparing -to show favour to the sects, the chief Minister of the Church was -thinking only of checking their progress; yet, to his credit it should -be noticed, that he appears, just then, as one who wished to promote -his object by means of education, for he strongly enforced the use of -the catechism;<a name="FNanchor_567_567" id="FNanchor_567_567"></a><a href="#Footnote_567_567" class="fnanchor">[567]</a> but, to his discredit it must<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_403" id="Page_403">[403]</a></span> also be remarked, -that he still showed himself wedded to a coercive policy, by urging -proceedings against all nonconforming schoolmasters.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">DECLARATION OF INDULGENCE.</div> - -<p>Within six weeks of the date of the Archbishop's circular respecting -education upon Church principles, Charles issued his famous Declaration -of Indulgence. Lord Keeper Bridgeman refused to affix the Great Seal -to it, because, in his opinion, it was contrary to the laws of the -constitution; but Ashley, to whom the Great Seal was transferred, as -Lord High Chancellor, under the title of Earl of Shaftesbury, easily -supplied that important deficiency.<a name="FNanchor_568_568" id="FNanchor_568_568"></a><a href="#Footnote_568_568" class="fnanchor">[568]</a></p> - -<p>"Our care and endeavours for the preservation of the Rights and -Interests of the Church," so ran the document, "have been sufficiently -manifested to the world by the whole course of our Government since -our happy Restoration, and by the many and frequent ways of coercion -that we have used for reducing all erring or dissenting persons, and -for composing the unhappy differences in matters of Religion, which we -found among our subjects upon our return. But it being evident by the -sad experience of twelve years that there is very little fruit of all -those forcible courses, we think ourselves obliged to make use of that -supreme power in ecclesiastical matters which is not only inherent in -us, but hath been declared and recognized to be so by several Statutes -and Acts of Parliament; and therefore we do now accordingly issue -this our Declaration, as well for the quieting the minds of our good -subjects in these points, for inviting strangers in this conjuncture to -come and live under us, and for the better encouragement of all to a -cheerful following of their trade and callings, from whence we<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_404" id="Page_404">[404]</a></span> hope, -by the blessing of God to have many good and happy advantages to our -Government; as also for preventing for the future the danger that might -otherwise arise from private meetings and seditious Conventicles."<a name="FNanchor_569_569" id="FNanchor_569_569"></a><a href="#Footnote_569_569" class="fnanchor">[569]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1672.</div> - -<p>The Declaration, after recognizing the established religion of the -country, directed the immediate suspension of all penal laws against -Nonconformists, and provided for the allowance of a sufficient number -of places of worship, to be used by such as did not conform. None were -to meet in any building until it should be certified; and until the -teacher of the congregation should be approved by the King. All kinds -of Nonconformists, except recusants of the Roman Catholic religion, -were to share in the indulgence, but the preaching of sedition, or -of anything derogatory to the Church of England was forbidden, under -penalties of extreme severity.<a name="FNanchor_570_570" id="FNanchor_570_570"></a><a href="#Footnote_570_570" class="fnanchor">[570]</a></p> - -<p>How was the Declaration regarded? Politicians looked at the subject -from their own point of view; and it is curious and instructive to -consult a paper, written some time afterwards, in which answers are -given to legal objections against the measure. It is objected that -the King has not power to suspend the laws of the land, he being, -by his coronation oath, obliged to see the laws duly executed, and -not infringed. The reply is that the King has both an ordinary and -extraordinary power; and that, by the latter, he may mitigate and -suspend the enactments of Parliament, in support of which position -reference is made to the practice of the Roman Emperor, who dispensed -with the Imperial laws by tolerating Arians, Novatians, and Donatists.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_405" id="Page_405">[405]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote">DECLARATION OF INDULGENCE.</div> - -<p>It is further objected, that the law against Conventicles had a penalty -annexed, which was to be paid, not to the King, but to the informer, -and therefore the King could not dispense with it. To this it is -answered, that the King's ecclesiastical supremacy being reserved by -the Act, such supremacy sufficed to authorize what he did in this -matter. But to give a more particular solution the writer says, "that -the Parliament, in spiritual matters, doth not act directly, as in the -making of temporal decrees, such affairs are not under their proper -cognizance by any law of the land. The Church, being a co-ordinate -branch with the temporality under the King, ruled by a distinct power, -and courts and laws, from the other. The which thing being granted, it -is clear that the Parliament, in ecclesiastical matters, doth act only -by way of corroboration of what is indeed enacted by the ecclesiastical -supremacy. And when the ecclesiastical supremacy doth take away the -subject of the temporal laws, the penalty (to whomsoever due) as an -adjunct, doth cease. Thus, the King is not properly said to dispense -with the penalty, but it ceases of itself, by virtue of the Royal -indulgence, the same power being recognized to be in our King, which -the Popes usurped here." This argument is followed up by a reference -to Papal supremacy, and the exercise of pontifical authority in the -toleration of Jews, Greeks, and Armenians in the Papal territories. The -objection, that such dispensing power is new in England, is disposed -of by the remark that the form is new, but not the thing itself. -Ecclesiastical laws had been frequently changed by proclamation in the -time of Henry VIII. and Edward VI. It being alleged lastly, that it -was unbecoming the wisdom of the King to annul his own acts performed -in giving the Royal assent to laws against Conventicles; the rejoinder -is, that the King did not annul, but only suspend<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_406" id="Page_406">[406]</a></span> his own act; and if -there be anything of weakness therein, His Majesty showed it in common -with Constantine, Valentinian, Theodosius, Gratian, and Charles V. Such -diversity of counsels appeared in all reigns.<a name="FNanchor_571_571" id="FNanchor_571_571"></a><a href="#Footnote_571_571" class="fnanchor">[571]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1672.</div> - -<p>Some Episcopalians were perplexed, of which signs appear in questions -proposed by Cosin, Bishop of Durham, to the clergy of his diocese. -They asked whether or no a subject was bound to comply with the -pleasure of his Prince in all cases, where he felt himself not bound in -conscience to the contrary: whether he might not comply, in many things -inexpedient, and even prejudicial, if the King pressed the command, -and there seemed no way to avoid it but by disobedience: and whether -he might not consent to the abrogating of penal laws in support of the -Church, rather than provoke the King's displeasure, upon whose favour, -under God, the clergy were dependent?<a name="FNanchor_572_572" id="FNanchor_572_572"></a><a href="#Footnote_572_572" class="fnanchor">[572]</a></p> - -<p>Toleration did not meet the wishes of the Presbyterians; some of them -had refused it to others, and now they did not care to accept it for -themselves. Desiring comprehension—meaning by that "any tolerable -state of unity with the public ministry,"—they looked on toleration -as opening a way for the advance of Popery; and they believed that -wherever indulgence might begin, in Popery it would end. Further, they -apprehended that it would contribute to the permanence of Protestant -dissensions, whereas comprehension would unite and consolidate -Protestant interests: nor had they ceased to value parish order, and -to believe that such order would be overthrown, if people were allowed -to enjoy separate places of worship<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_407" id="Page_407">[407]</a></span> wherever they pleased. On this -ground the Presbyterians confessed themselves to be in a dilemma—being -forced either to become Independents in practice, or to remain as they -were, in silence and in suffering.<a name="FNanchor_573_573" id="FNanchor_573_573"></a><a href="#Footnote_573_573" class="fnanchor">[573]</a> Some also objected to the -unconstitutional character of the King's proceeding, and looked upon it -as pregnant with political, no less than with ecclesiastical, mischief; -others, wearied with long years of persecution, felt glad to avail -themselves of liberty from whatever quarter it arose. It is probable -that some troubled themselves not at all with the constitutional -question; and it is certain that others, who did apprehend the -political bearing of the measure, and who also dreaded the progress of -Popery, considered nevertheless, that to avail themselves of a right -to which they were entitled on grounds of natural justice, was simply -reasonable, and involved no approbation of either the actual manner, or -the suspected design of the bestowment.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">DECLARATION OF INDULGENCE.</div> - -<p>The Independents, who had long given up hopes of comprehension, who set -no value on parish discipline, and who had only asked for freedom to -worship God according to their consciences, were, for the most part, -prepared to accept what appeared to them as a boon, without feeling any -scruple in relation to its political aspects.<a name="FNanchor_574_574" id="FNanchor_574_574"></a><a href="#Footnote_574_574" class="fnanchor">[574]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_408" id="Page_408">[408]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1672.</div> - -<p>The Court encouraged an approach to the throne of Nonconformists -disposed to return thanks for the indulgence. The Presbyterians came -in a body, headed by Dr. Manton, who, in their name, expressed hearty -gratitude.<a name="FNanchor_575_575" id="FNanchor_575_575"></a><a href="#Footnote_575_575" class="fnanchor">[575]</a> Dr. Owen also presented a loyal address, in which he -expressed the joy of the Independents in declaring their loyalty; not -only as that loyalty rested upon grounds common to all his subjects, -but also as it arose from what His Majesty had just done in reference -to liberty of conscience. Owen humbly prayed for the continuance of the -Royal favour, assuring the King of the intercessions of Independents in -his behalf, that God would continue His presence to him, and preserve -him in counsels and thoughts of indulgence.<a name="FNanchor_576_576" id="FNanchor_576_576"></a><a href="#Footnote_576_576" class="fnanchor">[576]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">DECLARATION OF INDULGENCE.</div> - -<p>Applications poured in, and licenses were granted in abundance. Thomas -Doolittle, an eminent Presbyterian minister, obtained one; and for -years afterwards it might be seen, framed and glazed, hanging in the -vestry of the meeting-house where he preached, in Monkwell Street.<a name="FNanchor_577_577" id="FNanchor_577_577"></a><a href="#Footnote_577_577" class="fnanchor">[577]</a> -Availing themselves of the Royal permission, several merchants -united in the establishment, at Pinners' Hall, of a Lecture, to be -delivered by select preachers, including Richard Baxter. Buildings -were constructed amidst the ruins left by the London fire, and some -arose on the other side the Thames. In the latter neighbourhood four -Presbyterians were licensed—one was in St.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_409" id="Page_409">[409]</a></span> Mary Overy's, another in -Deadman's Place, St. Saviour's. Independents, Baptists, and others, -to the number of six, were registered for Southwark and Lambeth; some -only by name, others for specified places. David Clarkson asked leave -to preach in "a house belonging to John Beamish in Mortlake," to both -Presbyterians and Baptists; and several licenses were granted to other -ministers in Surrey. John Bunyan was allowed to teach a congregation -in the house of Josias Roughed at Bedford; and numerous individuals -and numerous dwellings in the City of Norwich were enrolled on the -certified list, as many as four different houses in one parish, besides -many more in other parishes, being enumerated. Oliver Heywood, "of the -Presbyterian persuasion," received permission to use a room or rooms, -in his own house, in the parish of Halifax, in the County of York; -and Philip Henry, of Malpas, Flintshire, notwithstanding his scruples -on the subject, accepted the same kind of permission.<a name="FNanchor_578_578" id="FNanchor_578_578"></a><a href="#Footnote_578_578" class="fnanchor">[578]</a> These are -only a few instances, showing the variety and extent of the rescripts -which threw the Royal shield for a time over harassed Nonconformists. -As many as three thousand five hundred licenses are reckoned to have -been granted within the space of ten months. If it be supposed that -the places of worship then licensed were generally at all like chapels -in the present day, a most exaggerated and erroneous idea will be -formed of the extent of Dissent; in point of fact many of the places of -worship were but small rooms in private houses, within a short distance -of each other; nevertheless, there must have been a large number of -people professing Nonconformity, to require so<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_410" id="Page_410">[410]</a></span> many licenses; and it -should be remembered that a portion of the nonconforming class did not -feel prepared to accept liberty proffered in, what they considered, an -unconstitutional way. So formidable did the number of Free Churches -begin to appear, that one of the Bishops, writing to Sir Joseph -Williamson, exclaimed—"These licensed persons increase strangely. The -orthodox poor clergy are out of heart. Shall nothing be done to support -them against the Presbyterians who grow and multiply faster than the -other?"<a name="FNanchor_579_579" id="FNanchor_579_579"></a><a href="#Footnote_579_579" class="fnanchor">[579]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1672.<br /> - -GRANTS TO NONCONFORMISTS.</div> - -<p>In connection with the indulgence and the thanks returned to the King -by the Presbyterians, Burnet relates that an order was given "to pay a -yearly pension of fifty pounds to most of them, and of a hundred pounds -a year to the chief of the party." He says further, that Baxter "sent -back his pension, and would not touch it, but most of them took it." -Burnet relates this on the authority of Stillingfleet, from whom he -received the story; adding, "in particular he told me that Pool, who -wrote the <i>Synopsis of the Critics</i>, confessed to him that he had had -fifty pounds for two years." The historian remarks, "Thus the Court -hired them to be silent, and the greatest part of them were so, and -very compliant."<a name="FNanchor_580_580" id="FNanchor_580_580"></a><a href="#Footnote_580_580" class="fnanchor">[580]</a> It is remarkable, that though there are several -passages in Baxter's life, in which he mentions the fact of sums of -money being offered to him, and the way in which he treated the offers, -he makes no reference to any overture of pecuniary assistance from -the Court. Some reference to it we might have expected, had such an -overture been made; but that Baxter in that case would have declined to -accept any grant, is quite in accordance with his character, and with -his wish to be entirely independent of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_411" id="Page_411">[411]</a></span> the King. Burnet's statements, -given on the authority of conversations held some time before, were -intended by him to be accurate, but they are not always reliable: in -this case, however, whatever doubt may rest on his statement as to -Baxter, there seems no reason for disbelieving what he says respecting -Pool. Dr. Calamy, from his intimate acquaintance with the events -of the period, would, we should infer, have been able to disprove -Burnet's statement, had it been altogether untrue; but Calamy does not -contradict the assertion as to the payment of money—rather he confirms -it. After quoting from Burnet, that "most of them took it," he adds, -"I cannot see why they should not;" he resents, however, Burnet's -remarks about the Presbyterians being silent and compliant;<a href="#Footnote_581_581" class="fnanchor">[581]</a> but -he states in the next page that he was not forgetful of Dr. Owen's -having received one thousand guineas from Charles II. to distribute -amongst Dissenters; for the receipt of which he incurred reflections -afterwards, as Calamy thought, very undeservedly.<a name="FNanchor_581_581" id="FNanchor_581_581"></a><a href="#Footnote_581_581" class="fnanchor">[581]</a></p> - -<p>There seems no reason to doubt that at this time the Crown rendered -pecuniary assistance to Nonconformist ministers, and that some of the -leading brethren acted as the almoners of the Royal bounty to others. -But, however the acceptance of it might be approved by some, it was -condemned by others; and it would, by the latter, be naturally enough -counted as "hush money;" that it really produced that effect, however, -there is not a single tittle of evidence, and in itself it appears -very<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_412" id="Page_412">[412]</a></span> improbable. Men who had resigned their livings, and all the -honours of the Established Church, for conscience' sake, were not -likely now to be bribed by an occasional remittance of a hundred or of -fifty pounds; in some cases the sum must have been much smaller.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1672.<br /> -QUAKERS.</div> - -<p>To this incident—in connection with the indulgence—may be added an -interesting episode, which in one of its particulars, falls into the -same connection.</p> - -<p>After his romantic adventures at Boscobel in 1651, Charles reached the -little town of Brighthelmstone, and there engaged a fisherman to take -him over to the coast of France. The captain and the mate alone were -in the secret that the boat carried, not Cæsar indeed, but the heir of -England's crown, with all his fortunes; and when they reached their -destination, the mate conveyed the Prince ashore upon his shoulders. -The boat, in after days, when the Restoration had changed the destiny -of the Stuarts, lay moored by the stairs at Whitehall—a memento of its -Royal master's deliverance; and the captain, whose name was Nicholas -Tattersall, after having enjoyed an annuity of £100 a year, slept -with his fathers in the churchyard of the town in which he had lived, -and was buried beneath a slab of black marble, still existing, with a -scarcely legible inscription. The mate, who set the King on dry land, -and whose name was Richard Carver, became a member of the Society of -Friends. When nearly twenty years had rolled away, this transformed -mariner made his appearance one day in the month of January, 1670, at -the doors of the palace, and obtained admission to the King's presence. -Time, the rough wear and tear of a seaman's life, and the assumption of -a Quaker garb, had altered the visitor since His Majesty saw him last, -but with that faculty of recognition, which is a princely instinct, -he remembered<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_413" id="Page_413">[413]</a></span> the man at once, and reminded the sailor of several -occurrences in the vessel during his eventful voyage. Charles had been -annoyed by people who had shown him kindness in adversity, coming or -writing to Whitehall for some substantial acknowledgment of obligation, -and he wondered that Carver had not come before to ask for assistance. -In reply to some expression of that feeling, the Quaker told the King -that "he was satisfied, in that he had peace and satisfaction in -himself, that he <i>did what he did to relieve a man in distress</i>, and -now he desired nothing of him but that he would set Friends at liberty -who were great sufferers." Carver then proceeded to inform His Majesty -that he had a paper in his hand containing no names of Quakers, who had -been in prison above six years, and could be released only on Royal -authority. Charles took the paper, and said it was a long list; that -people of that kind, if liberated, would get into prison again in a -month's time; and that country gentlemen had complained to him of their -being so much troubled by Quakers. Touched, however, by the remembrance -of long gone years, whilst a gracious smile played on the flexible -features of his swarthy face, he said to Carver, he would release -him six. Carver, not thinking that the release of six poor Quakers -was equivalent to a King's ransom, determined to approach the Royal -presence again, and now took with him another Friend, Thomas Moore. -"The King was very loving to them. He had a fair and free opportunity -to open his mind to the King, and the King promised to do (more) for -him, but willed him to wait a month or two longer." What became of this -sailor, who nobly looked on the preservation of the King's life simply -as <i>relieving a man in distress</i>, we do not know; but Moore, whom -he introduced to the Monarch, continued to make earnest appeals to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_414" id="Page_414">[414]</a></span> -Royalty on behalf of imprisoned Friends. In these attempts he received -assistance from George Whitehead—another eminent name in the annals -of Quakerism; and when, two years afterwards, there appeared the Royal -decree, which we have described, there also occurred the following -incident, which forms a notable link in a wonderful chain of Divine -providences.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1672.</div> - -<p>The King, who felt now more than ever a special regard for Quakers, -kept his word; and on the 29th of March, 1672, thirteen days after the -date of the Declaration of Indulgence, a circular letter was sent to -the Sheriffs of England and Wales, requiring from them a calendar of -the names, times, and causes of commitment of all the Quakers confined -within their gaols.</p> - -<p>The returns from the Sheriffs came in due order before the Privy -Council in reply to the circular, when His Majesty declared that he -would pardon all those persons called Quakers then in prison for any -offence which they had committed against him; and not to the injury of -other persons: 471 names were included in the pardon.<a name="FNanchor_582_582" id="FNanchor_582_582"></a><a href="#Footnote_582_582" class="fnanchor">[582]</a></p> - -<p>Whitehead, who co-operated with Moore, the friend of Richard Carver—to -whom he owed his introduction to the King—was a large-hearted man, -and when other Dissenters saw what he had done, and solicited his -assistance to procure the liberation of another class of religious -prisoners, he readily assisted, and recommended that they should -petition His Majesty; adding, that their being of different judgments -did not abate his charity towards them. The advice was taken.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">JOHN BUNYAN.</div> - -<p>John Bunyan, with a number of others unknown to fame, encouraged by the -Quakers, asked to be set at<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_415" id="Page_415">[415]</a></span> liberty. The document, containing this -prayer, came before the Privy Council on the 8th of May, 1672—and -on the 17th, Archbishop Sheldon being present, it was ordered that, -as these persons had been committed "for not conforming to the -rites and ceremonies of the Church of England, and for being at -unlawful meetings," and for no other offence, the Attorney-General be -"authorized and required to insert them into the general pardon to be -passed for the Quakers."</p> - -<p>The pardon is dated the 13th of September; and second on the list of -sufferers in Bedford Jail appears the name of "John Bunnion," who -in common with 490 others, received forgiveness for "all, and all -manner of crimes, transgressions, offences of premunire, unlawful -Conventicles, contempts, and ill behaviour whatsoever."<a name="FNanchor_583_583" id="FNanchor_583_583"></a><a href="#Footnote_583_583" class="fnanchor">[583]</a> Our great -allegorist owed his deliverance to the intervention of Friends; and we -do not wonder to find that afterwards an end came to those unseemly -controversies which had been waged between him and the disciples of -George Fox.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_416" id="Page_416">[416]</a></span></p></div> - - -<h2>CHAPTER XXII.</h2> - - -<div class="sidenote">POLITICAL PARTIES.</div> - -<p class="drop-cap p-left">The Tenth Session of Charles' Second Parliament opened on the 4th of -February, 1673. His Majesty's Speech glanced at the Indulgence, as -having produced a good effect by producing peace at home when there -was war abroad; and as not intended to favour the Papists, inasmuch as -they had freedom of religion only "in their own houses, without any -concourse of others." The oration of Shaftesbury, the Lord Chancellor, -in like manner touched upon the same points, and he endeavoured to -vindicate the measure from misconstruction, and asserted the success -with which it had been attended.<a name="FNanchor_584_584" id="FNanchor_584_584"></a><a href="#Footnote_584_584" class="fnanchor">[584]</a> But the well-known character -of the Cabal, and the now equally well-known character of the King, -whose leaning towards Popery had become apparent, inspired the Commons -with sentiments which set them in opposition to the Royal policy. As -Tory and Whig, Conservative and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_417" id="Page_417">[417]</a></span> Radical are terms now indicating -parties in the State divided upon great questions, so the Court party -and the Country party were corresponding appellations at the period -under review. But as it is now, so it was then—parties, at times, -erratically burst into circles not coincident with their professed -principles; and thus a door was opened for bandying to and fro violent -recriminations, on the score of inconsistency. The Court party, led by -the Cabal, through introducing and supporting a Grant of Indulgence, -seemed to be favouring the very Nonconformity which, in 1662 and in -subsequent years, they had sedulously endeavoured to crush out of -existence; and the Country party, through resistance of an usurped -prerogative, came to look like enemies of that very religious freedom, -whose last hopes had once been thought to lie within their bosoms. But -in fact the inconsistency on both sides is more apparent than real—for -still the one party aimed at the establishment of despotism, and the -other aimed at the advancement of liberty. The ends of the two parties -were still the same as they had ever been; they had only changed -their means. The Court had carried all before it at the time of the -Restoration. It then appeared as the upholder of the Throne, of the -Church, of the Prayer Book, of old English institutions and customs. -In the fervour of reborn loyalty, amidst a flush of feudal enthusiasm, -on the return of an exiled chief, and completely borne away with the -joy attendant on the revival of ancient and endeared customs, the -people had rallied around the King's party, applauding it to the echo. -Now a change came. Admiration of Charles II. had begun to subside; -his character was seen through; his profligacy was notorious; his -irreligion excited the displeasure of the sober-minded; his profusion -touched the pockets of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_418" id="Page_418">[418]</a></span> economical; and his dependence upon France -quickened the jealousy of all true patriots. The Cabal and the Court -were found to be in league with the Crown for purposes inimical to -the Commonwealth; therefore the nation expressed its deep uneasiness; -and the result being, that as seats in Parliament, now in its twelfth -year, fell vacant through the death of members, the candidates elected -to fill the vacancies were such as stood pledged to the Country party. -That party in the House of Commons thus by degrees became predominant; -and the King and Court received unpleasant proofs that they could no -longer carry things as they had done, with a high hand in their own way.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1673.<br /> - -POLITICAL PARTIES.</div> - -<p>Under these circumstances, at an early sitting (the 8th of February), -a debate arose upon the subject of the Declaration. Sir Thomas -Lee, Mr. Garroway, and Sir Thomas Meres,—the bellwethers of the -Country party, as they were called, supported by Colonel Birch, the -Commonwealth's-man, and others,<a name="FNanchor_585_585" id="FNanchor_585_585"></a><a href="#Footnote_585_585" class="fnanchor">[585]</a>—attacked the Royal proceeding, -which was vindicated by members on the other side. The Country party -(on the 10th) argued that the Declaration was unconstitutional;—that, -according to this method, the King might claim the power of changing -the religion of the country; that toleration ought to be granted, -but only by Act of Parliament; and that the document just issued, -in the name of the Monarch, would upset forty Acts of Parliament no -way constitutionally repealable, except by the authority which had -created them. In the course of the debate a member, addressing a -conspicuous Nonconformist in the House, remarked,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_419" id="Page_419">[419]</a></span> "Why, Mr. Love, you -are a Dissenter yourself; it is very ungrateful that you who receive -the benefit should object against the manner." "I am a Dissenter," -he replied, "and thereby unhappily obnoxious to the law; and if you -catch me in the corn you may put me in the pound. The law against the -Dissenters I should be glad to see repealed by the same authority -that made it; but while it is a law, the King cannot repeal it by -proclamation: and I had much rather see the Dissenters suffer by the -rigour of the law, though I suffer with them, than see all the laws -of England trampled under the foot of the prerogative as in this -example."<a name="FNanchor_586_586" id="FNanchor_586_586"></a><a href="#Footnote_586_586" class="fnanchor">[586]</a> The Court faction stood on its defence. Secretary -Coventry maintained that the King did not intend to violate the laws; -that exceptional circumstances required exceptional proceedings; that -the master of a ship has power in a storm to throw goods overboard, -though no such power belongs to him when the waters are calm. Finch, -the Attorney-General, asserted the dangerous doctrine, that, as the -King was Head of the Church, and as it was the interest of the nation -to have a temporal and not a spiritual Pope, His Majesty might dispense -with the laws for the preservation of the realm; this legal functionary -dared to say, that the King, by his supremacy, might discharge any -cause in the Ecclesiastical Courts, as those Courts were his.<a name="FNanchor_587_587" id="FNanchor_587_587"></a><a href="#Footnote_587_587" class="fnanchor">[587]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1673.</div> - -<p>The subdued tone of expostulation which prevailed on the side of the -Country party is very remarkable, and a disinclination to come into -collision with the Throne was expressed by several of the members; yet -they pursued a decided course, and passed this resolu<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_420" id="Page_420">[420]</a></span>tion:—"That -penal statutes, in matters ecclesiastical, cannot be suspended, but -by Act of Parliament,"<a name="FNanchor_588_588" id="FNanchor_588_588"></a><a href="#Footnote_588_588" class="fnanchor">[588]</a>—a resolution which they carried by 168 -against 116. The House afterwards considered an address to the King, -embodying the resolution.</p> - -<p>The debate, to which the resolution and the address founded upon -it gave rise, on the 14th of February, exemplified the same spirit -of moderation as had prevailed before. Sir Thomas Meres advocated -"ease fit for tender consciences"—in the words of the Breda -Declaration—"for union of the Protestant subjects;" and others -supported the plan of bringing in a Bill for the purpose. The -exact purpose of such a Bill did not distinctly appear, since some -members were for a wide comprehension, embracing within the Church -all Dissenters, and leaving no liberty for any who would not enter; -whilst others, again, contended for a liberal toleration to those who -remained outside of the established pale. This diversity of opinion and -this indistinctness of view gave considerable advantage to Secretary -Coventry, who retorted upon his opponents the differences which they -manifested, and the indecision which they betrayed. At length, however, -the address was carried without a dissentient voice.<a name="FNanchor_589_589" id="FNanchor_589_589"></a><a href="#Footnote_589_589" class="fnanchor">[589]</a> It was -couched in terms so contrived as to tide over all difficulty.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_421" id="Page_421">[421]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote">MEASURES OF RELIEF.<br /> - -1673.</div> - -<p>In the Grand Committee for preparing a Bill two questions arose.<a name="FNanchor_590_590" id="FNanchor_590_590"></a><a href="#Footnote_590_590" class="fnanchor">[590]</a> -First, who were the persons to be benefited? or, in the quaint -phraseology of the time, "who were to be eased?" Should everybody be -included? Should all Protestants? Should all kinds of Dissenters, -including Levellers, respecting whose existence, however, within a -religious pale, doubts were expressed. Papists were altogether put -out of court. "The Papists," exclaimed Mr. Garroway, "are under an -anathema, and cannot come in under pain of excommunication." Finally, -it was resolved that ease should "be given to His Majesty's Protestant -subjects, that will subscribe to the doctrine of the Church of England, -and take the Oaths of Allegiance and Supremacy." The second question -respected the nature and extent of the relief to be afforded. What -was "the ease" to be? Was it to be in the form of comprehension, or -of toleration, or of both? As to this point, the House seemed to be -in great difficulty. Indistinct ideas of some sort of comprehension -were most common. Even Alderman Love, a Dissenter, veered—if we may -judge from the imperfect report of his speech—now on the side of -liberty outside the Church, and now on the side of a large and liberal -inclusion within it. He confessed no kindness for those who desired -preferment, with conformity to the laws. Those on whose behalf he spoke -did not, he said, desire to be exempted from paying tithes, or from -holding parish offices, except the office of churchwarden, and that -"not without being willing to pay a fine for the contempt." He pleaded -that, after submitting to the test to be agreed upon, Nonconformist -ministers ought to be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_422" id="Page_422">[422]</a></span> allowed to preach, "but not without the -magistrates' leave, the doors open, and in the public churches, when -no service is there." "This latter motion," says the report, "he -retracted, being generally decried." Then he rejoined that he used the -words "in the church," because people could not be thought to plot -in such a place. From a second speech by the same person it appears -that he moved <i>for a general indulgence by way of comprehension</i>, but -what he meant by that is not explained.<a name="FNanchor_591_591" id="FNanchor_591_591"></a><a href="#Footnote_591_591" class="fnanchor">[591]</a> Comprehension in some way -was the object chiefly desired, and the terms of such comprehension -were largely and confusedly discussed. Even then a spirit moved over -the waters of debate which prepared for the order to be evolved at -the Revolution; but toleration, in its nature and principle, as it -was enforced by some of the Commonwealths-men, or as it was expounded -by John Locke, or as it is now universally understood, seems not to -have been stated by any who shared in the debate. This remarkable -circumstance indicates that none of the members who now sat on the -benches of St. Stephen's were exactly of the same stamp as some who had -occupied them before the Restoration.<a name="FNanchor_592_592" id="FNanchor_592_592"></a><a href="#Footnote_592_592" class="fnanchor">[592]</a> Either such men were not -there at all, or they had changed their opinions, or they had become -afraid to utter what they believed. As we anticipate the ground which -was taken, and the sentiments which were prevalent when the Toleration -Act was passed, comparing the state of opinion at the Revolution with -the state of opinion in the year 1673, we must find it instructive to -notice the wonderful advance during the subsequent interval, and to -observe how<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_423" id="Page_423">[423]</a></span> silently and steadily the principles and the spirit of -justice were making their way. One member who favoured toleration was -so niggardly, that he desired only to "have it penned for such places -as should be appointed by Act of Parliament;" and another thought it -not reasonable that Nonconformists should have their "meeting-houses -out of town." Nor did the advocates of this restricted freedom plead -for more than its temporary concession. The heads of the Bill, as -at last concocted, were, first, in reference to comprehension, that -subscription should be required to the doctrinal Articles of the Church -of England, and that the requirement for declaring "assent and consent" -to the Prayer Book, should be repealed; and next, in reference to -toleration, that pains and penalties for religious meetings with open -doors should be no longer inflicted, and that teachers should subscribe -and take the prescribed oaths at the quarter sessions. The Act should -continue in force for a year, and from thence to the end of the next -session of Parliament.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">MEASURES OF RELIEF.</div> - -<p>These resolutions were adopted on the 27th of February,<a name="FNanchor_593_593" id="FNanchor_593_593"></a><a href="#Footnote_593_593" class="fnanchor">[593]</a> and a Bill -founded upon them was read a third time on the 17th of March.<a name="FNanchor_594_594" id="FNanchor_594_594"></a><a href="#Footnote_594_594" class="fnanchor">[594]</a> On -the second of these occasions, Secretary Coventry said he hoped the -measure, which did not fix sufficient limitations, would not destroy -the Church. To attempt such toleration as had never been tried before, -he maintained to be a frivolous expedient, the consequences of which -it would be beyond their power to remedy. One speaker uttered the -oft-repeated charge: "Dissenters grow numerous. If you pass this Act, -you give away the peace of the nation. A Puritan<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_424" id="Page_424">[424]</a></span> was ever a rebel; -begin with Calvin. These Dissenters made up the whole army against the -King. The destruction of the Church was then aimed at. Pray God it be -not so now!"<a name="FNanchor_595_595" id="FNanchor_595_595"></a><a href="#Footnote_595_595" class="fnanchor">[595]</a> The Republicanism of Nonconformists appears to have -been a stock argument against granting them any liberty.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1673.</div> - -<p>The Bill did pass the Commons, and this fact proves that, however -inadequate might be the enunciation of the principles of civil and -religious liberty, the House departed from the doctrines upheld by it -ten years before. The distinction between articles of discipline and -of doctrine was laid down, burdensome impositions were proposed to be -removed, and a considerable amount of freedom was provided for those -outside the Establishment, in connection with a wider opening of the -door to those disposed to enter in.</p> - -<p>Yet, after all, these debates and votes ended in nothing. The Bill -underwent several amendments when it reached the Lords. These -amendments were objected to by the Commons. Time was wasted between -the two Houses, notwithstanding the King's warning against delay; such -delay showing that neither portion of the legislature could have been -thoroughly in earnest about the proposal. Its fate was determined by -the adjournment of Parliament before the Bill had passed the Lords, and -by a prorogation after adjournment.<a name="FNanchor_596_596" id="FNanchor_596_596"></a><a href="#Footnote_596_596" class="fnanchor">[596]</a></p> - -<p>About the same time another Bill came before the Commons' House, -enjoining the practice of frequent catechising in parochial churches; a -measure resembling that which the Presbyterians, in their day of power, -had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_425" id="Page_425">[425]</a></span> so earnestly desired. Its progress, also, was stopped by the Lords.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">TEST ACT.<br /> - -1673.</div> - -<p>Coincident with the proceedings upon the Belief Bill were two very -important circumstances, namely, the passing of the Test Act and the -cancelling of the Declaration of Indulgence.</p> - -<p>The former originated so early as the 28th of February, 1673, when -a motion was made for removing all Popish recusants out of military -office or command. This motion was exceedingly offensive to the King -and to the Court—being aimed at the King's brother, the Duke of York, -who was already generally suspected of having embraced the Romish -faith. There followed the same day a resolution, covering a still -wider ground of prohibition—<i>i.e.</i>, "that all persons who should -refuse to take the Oaths of Allegiance and Supremacy, and to receive -the sacrament according to the rites of the Church of England," should -be "incapable of <i>all</i> public employments, military or <i>civil</i>."<a name="FNanchor_597_597" id="FNanchor_597_597"></a><a href="#Footnote_597_597" class="fnanchor">[597]</a> -This attack on the Catholics was seconded by an address, agreed upon, -the 3rd of March, by the Commons against the growth of Popery. Also, -a Bill appeared in the Lower House, to prevent that growth, by the -method expressed in the above resolution. Strange to say, the idea -of the test so expressed emanated on this occasion from no other -person than Lord Arlington, the reputed Romanist, and a member of the -Cabal—partly, it is said, to gratify personal resentment, and partly -to accomplish objects of personal ambition.<a name="FNanchor_598_598" id="FNanchor_598_598"></a><a href="#Footnote_598_598" class="fnanchor">[598]</a> In the course of the -debate in the Commons, a member tendered a proviso "for renouncing -the doctrine of Transubstantiation, for a further test to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_426" id="Page_426">[426]</a></span> persons -bearing office;"<a name="FNanchor_599_599" id="FNanchor_599_599"></a><a href="#Footnote_599_599" class="fnanchor">[599]</a> and again, strange to say, this additional -sting in a measure sufficiently irritating to His Majesty, the Duke, -and the whole Court, was introduced by another member of the Cabal, -whose name began with the second vowel in the notorious word—Ashley, -now Earl of Shaftesbury.<a name="FNanchor_600_600" id="FNanchor_600_600"></a><a href="#Footnote_600_600" class="fnanchor">[600]</a> In this case, too, no less than in the -former, resentment and ambition, it is to be feared, mingled with -those motives which determined this step; for he aimed, by what he was -doing, to drive from power the Romanizing members of the Cabinet, and -to make himself master of the situation—a project, however, in which -he did not succeed. This additional barrier of Protestant defence, -constructed by Shaftesbury's hands, occasioned a polemical debate in -the House of Commons—the members talking much, and very confusedly of -Transubstantiation and of Consubstantiation, and of the Sacramental -doctrine held by the Church of England. The Bill, including the new -provision, passed the Commons on the 12th of March; and to add one more -strange circumstance to this history uniquely strange, the measure -found its most eloquent supporter in the House of Lords in the person -of the Roman Catholic Earl of Bristol, who defended it on the ground -that it would quiet a popular panic, by the simple removal of a few -Catholics from office, without enacting any new penalties against -Catholic worship. This looked like sacrificing personal interests to -patriotism; but the Earl surrendered all pretension to the character -of a confessor or a hero, by procuring the insertion of a clause -which secured to himself and to his wife a Royal pension, with an -exemption from the necessity of taking the test. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_427" id="Page_427">[427]</a></span> King—who at -first seemed as much incensed as his Courtiers—at last reluctantly -gave way; assent to the Bill being the price demanded by the Commons -for the replenishment of His Majesty's bankrupt exchequer. It is said -that three members of the Cabal—Clifford, Buckingham, and Lauderdale, -who supported the arbitrary power of the Crown, professed to despise -such vulgar temptations as had overcome their colleagues—and that -they encouraged the Monarch to imitate his father, by seizing the -obnoxious members of the opposition, by bringing the Army up to town, -and by making himself absolute master of the realm;<a name="FNanchor_601_601" id="FNanchor_601_601"></a><a href="#Footnote_601_601" class="fnanchor">[601]</a> but Charles -was too indolent and too shrewd to venture on an attempt so bold and -so insane. The Test Act, therefore, passed; and whilst it originated -with one Catholic nobleman, and was advocated by another, it found no -opponent in the House of Commons on the part of the Nonconformists or -their friends. It is very true that the Bill pointed only at Catholics, -that it really proposed an anti-Popish test; yet the construction of -it, although it did not exclude from office such Dissenters as could -occasionally conform, did effectually exclude all who scrupled to do -so. Aimed at the Romanists, it struck the Presbyterians. It is clear -that had the Nonconformists and the Catholics joined their forces with -those of the Court, in opposing the measure, they might have defeated -it; but the first of these classes for the present submitted to the -inconvenience, from the horror which they entertained of Popery, -hoping, at the same time, that some relief would be afforded for this -personal sacrifice in the cause of a common Protestantism. Thus the -passing of an Act, which, until a late period, inflicted a social -wrong<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_428" id="Page_428">[428]</a></span> upon two large sections of the community, is to be attributed -to the course pursued by the very parties whose successors became the -sufferers.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">TEST ACT.<br /> - -1673.</div> - -<p>By the passing of the Test Act, Clifford, now an avowed Catholic, -was excluded from the House of Lords; and, in consequence of this -exclusion, he resigned the White Staff, and retired to the County of -Devon, where he died before the end of the year 1673. "He went off the -stage in great discontent."<a name="FNanchor_602_602" id="FNanchor_602_602"></a><a href="#Footnote_602_602" class="fnanchor">[602]</a></p> - -<p>The next important circumstance at this period requiring our notice is -the withdrawal of the Declaration of Indulgence. When the address of -the Commons on that subject had been presented to the King he replied, -that he was troubled to find the Declaration had produced so much -disquiet, and had given occasion to the questioning of his authority in -ecclesiastical affairs. He was sure, he said, that he had never thought -of using power except for the peace and establishment of the Church; he -did not wish to suspend laws touching the property, the rights, or the -liberties of his subjects; nor to alter the doctrine or discipline of -the Church; he only wished to take off penalties, which he believed the -Commons did not desire to see inflicted according to the letter of the -law. He had no thought of neglecting the advice of Parliament; and if -any Bill should be offered him more proper to attain the end in view, -he would be ready to concur in it. With this answer the Commons did not -feel satisfied; but the King repeated in the month of March that, if -any scruple remained as to his suspension of penal laws, he faithfully -promised them what had been done should not be drawn into a precedent -for the future.<a name="FNanchor_603_603" id="FNanchor_603_603"></a><a href="#Footnote_603_603" class="fnanchor">[603]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_429" id="Page_429">[429]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote">STATE OF NONCONFORMISTS.</div> - -<p>At the same time the Lord Chancellor stated that His Majesty had caused -the original declaration, under the Great Seal, to be cancelled in his -presence the previous evening.<a name="FNanchor_604_604" id="FNanchor_604_604"></a><a href="#Footnote_604_604" class="fnanchor">[604]</a> By the operation of the Test Act, -by the cancelling of the Declaration, and by the dropping of the Bill -of Indulgence, Nonconformists were left in a worse plight than that -in which they had been before, so far as the law was concerned. The -state of the law, however, is not to be taken as an accurate index of -their condition. The pressure of a bad law depends very much upon the -hands employed in its administration. Happily the Declaration, which -ultra-Royalists were disposed to honour, on the very ground that it -was unconstitutional, had wrought a change in their feeling towards -Dissenters; and when the seal attached to it had been broken, still it -left, as it were, a spell upon their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_430" id="Page_430">[430]</a></span> minds. The Churchmen's treatment -in many instances of those who were not Churchmen continued for a -while after the year 1672, to be less severe than it had previously -been.<a name="FNanchor_605_605" id="FNanchor_605_605"></a><a href="#Footnote_605_605" class="fnanchor">[605]</a> The Church, gathered by Dr. Owen, enjoyed much freedom in -the year 1673, and afterwards. His Conventicle, which it would appear -was situated in White's Alley,<a name="FNanchor_606_606" id="FNanchor_606_606"></a><a href="#Footnote_606_606" class="fnanchor">[606]</a> Moorfields, presented a list of -members including several persons of rank. We are enabled to enter -within the doors of the meeting-house, fitted up, no doubt, with -Puritan decency and comfort, whilst destitute of all beauty, and to -identify, amidst the hearers of the ex-Dean of Christ Church, certain -distinguished persons.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1673.</div> - -<p>There was Lord Charles Fleetwood, Cromwell's son-in-law, described in -an earlier portion of this work, whom Milton has eulogized as inferior -to none in humanity, in gentleness, and in benignity of disposition, -and whom Noble admits to have been a man of religion, and a venerator -of liberty. There was Colonel John Desborough, a staunch Republican, -a man of rough manners, whose name, together with that of Fleetwood, -Milton has honoured. There was Major-General Berry, once a friend of -Baxter's, and applauded by him as a man of sincere piety, till he -forfeited that excellent person's favour by becoming an Independent. -There was young Sir John Hartopp, of singular intelligence and -piety. Ladies of distinction also were there: the Lady Tompson, wife -of Sir John Tompson;<a name="FNanchor_607_607" id="FNanchor_607_607"></a><a href="#Footnote_607_607" class="fnanchor">[607]</a> Lady Vere Wilkinson; Mrs.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_431" id="Page_431">[431]</a></span> Abney; and -deserving of notice, more, however, for her eccentricities than her -excellencies—Mrs. Bendish, granddaughter of Oliver Cromwell.<a name="FNanchor_608_608" id="FNanchor_608_608"></a><a href="#Footnote_608_608" class="fnanchor">[608]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">NONCONFORMISTS.<br /> - -1674.</div> - -<p>Yet about the time that Owen and his congregation remained unmolested, -or just afterwards—and the circumstance should be mentioned as an -illustration of the parti-coloured character of Church history in -those days—Nathaniel Heywood speaks of the persecution he endured. -Before the 9th of April, 1674, he had for four months experienced -more trouble and opposition in his ministerial employment than he -had ever done before in all his life. The archers grieved him, and -shot at him thirty-four <i>arrows</i> (by which he meant <i>warrants</i>); -"but our bow," he goes on to say, "abides in strength by the hands -of the mighty God of Jacob. Officers have come eighteen Lord's days -together, but have not as yet scattered us."<a name="FNanchor_609_609" id="FNanchor_609_609"></a><a href="#Footnote_609_609" class="fnanchor">[609]</a> A year afterwards -(May 1st, 1675) he writes,<a name="FNanchor_610_610" id="FNanchor_610_610"></a><a href="#Footnote_610_610" class="fnanchor">[610]</a> "all these troubles are nothing to -that I am now mourning under—the loss of public liberty, a closed -mouth, dumb and silent Sabbaths—to be cast out of the vineyard as a -dry and withered branch—and to be laid aside as a broken vessel in -whom there is no pleasure, is a sore burden I know not how to bear—my -heart bleeds under it as a sting and edge added to my other troubles -and afflictions. This exercise of my ministry next to Christ is dearer -to me than anything in the world. It was my heaven till I came home, -even to spend this life in gathering souls to Christ; but I must lay -even that down at Christ's feet, and be dumb and silent before the -Lord, because He has done it, who can do no wrong, and whose judgments -are past finding out. I am sure I have reason to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_432" id="Page_432">[432]</a></span> conclude with the -prophet, "I will bear the indignation of the Lord, because I have -sinned against Him."</p> - -<p>In some parts of the country, Nonconformists would not believe that -the King intended to depart from his liberal policy. There was a -busy meddling informer at Yarmouth named Bowen,<a name="FNanchor_611_611" id="FNanchor_611_611"></a><a href="#Footnote_611_611" class="fnanchor">[611]</a> who frequently -corresponded with Sir Joseph Williamson respecting the conduct of the -Independents in that town. From his letters, preserved in the Record -Office, some curious illustrations belonging to this period may be -drawn. His testimony in matters relative to the character and conduct -of Nonconformists is worth nothing, owing to his prejudices; but there -is enough of what is credible in his correspondence to throw light upon -some of their proceedings.</p> - -<p>"The Nonconformists here give out that they are to have a hearing next -Friday before His Majesty's Council, and doubt not but they shall -sufficiently be authorized to meet in public as before. They were -so rude, as I am credibly informed, meeting at one Mr. Brewster's, -near Wrentham, in Suffolk, about twelve miles from hence, that two -informers coming to the House, and inquiring at the door what company -they had within, they within hearing these inquiries came running out, -crying thieves, and fell upon them, knocking of them down, then drew -them through the foul hogstye, and from thence through a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_433" id="Page_433">[433]</a></span> pond of -water—one of the two is since dead by their rude handling."</p> - -<div class="sidenote">NONCONFORMISTS.</div> - -<p>Wild rumours floated down to Yarmouth respecting an interview, which -Dr. Owen was said to have had with the King, in which the Independent -Divine spoke of the disturbance given to His Majesty's subjects, and -in which His Majesty promised that he would speedily redress their -wrongs. Encouraged by these rumours the Yarmouth Nonconformists paid no -attention to orders in Council, but assembled as before at their usual -place of worship, stating as a reason of the liberty they took, that -the King's mind had altered on the subject.<a name="FNanchor_612_612" id="FNanchor_612_612"></a><a href="#Footnote_612_612" class="fnanchor">[612]</a> The "lukewarm," says -Bowen, "are here the most numerous; their religion must give way to -interest, and this is so involved within one and the other that the man -is not to be found who dare act. Many wish the work were done, but none -durst do it for fear he should suffer in his trade or calling, they all -having a dependence, little or much, upon one another."</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_434" id="Page_434">[434]</a></span></p></div> - - -<h2>CHAPTER XXIII.</h2> - - -<p class="drop-cap p-left">The Cabal crumbled to pieces in 1673. It had never been guided by any -common principles; it had never felt any community of interest; it -had never been united by personal sympathies. Our notions of cabinet -councillors bound together by some characteristic policy, do not apply -to the reign of Charles II., when a Ministry included persons of divers -opinions, drawn together simply by the choice of the Sovereign, who -selected them mainly for the discharge of executive duties. The want -of cohesion apparent in all the cabinets of that period was singularly -conspicuous in this instance. Clifford was compelled to resign office -by the operation of the Test Act; Shaftesbury, dismissed from the -office of Chancellor, went over, accompanied by Buckingham, to the -Opposition; and Arlington, threatened with impeachment, relinquished -his Secretaryship of State for a quiet post in the Royal household. -Lauderdale alone retained his seals, thenceforth, however, to be -chiefly employed in the administration of Scotch affairs.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">EARL OF DANBY.</div> - -<p>Sir Thomas Osborne, created Earl of Danby, having taken up the White -Staff which Clifford had laid down, now became principal minister; and -from his business talents and his love for the power and emoluments of -office, he acquired an influence over the Royal councils,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_435" id="Page_435">[435]</a></span> like that -of Clarendon in his palmy days. He resembled his great predecessor -in his opposition to Popery, not less than in his abilities and in -his ambition; but he was much more of an Englishman, and thoroughly -detested the idea of truckling to France. In that respect his policy -differed from the policy of the Cabal; but he inherited from that -Ministry the practice of bribing Parliament—carrying corruption even -further than ever the Cabal had done—for, whereas they only bought -speeches, he bought votes as well. His policy was decidedly Protestant -in foreign affairs, as the means of attaining his objects; and also, -from his own predilections, he especially sought to gratify the old -Cavaliers and the High Church party. Clarendon had been accused of -neglecting the friends of the martyred King, and of being indifferent -to his memory: Danby now gave the former encouragement; and he also -did honour to the latter, by recovering the bronze statue of Charles -I., and by setting it up at Charing Cross. He earnestly promoted the -rebuilding of St. Paul's Cathedral, and, at the same time, turned his -attention to the Dissenters; but it was to restrain their liberty and -to check their progress, both of which had received an impetus during -the latter part of the administration of the Cabal. Danby, and Sir -Heneage Finch, now Lord Keeper, called to their councils, relative -to Church affairs, two prelates whom the Nonconformists exceedingly -disliked, and not without reason,—Morley, Bishop of Winchester, and -Ward, Bishop of Salisbury. These prelates, it was inferred, recommended -the King to call in the licenses for worship, which, notwithstanding -the cancelling of the Declaration, had not yet been individually -withdrawn.<a name="FNanchor_613_613" id="FNanchor_613_613"></a><a href="#Footnote_613_613" class="fnanchor">[613]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_436" id="Page_436">[436]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1673–5.</div> - -<p>The reign of intolerance returned, and the weight of its iron mace -fell upon multitudes. The men who before, rather than countenance an -exercise of illegal power, or share their liberty with the Papist, -had rejected the Indulgence, or supported the Test Act, now felt -how cruelly they were rewarded by Parliament for their zeal against -Absolutism and Popery; whilst others, who had taken no part in their -proceedings, found themselves treated just like their neighbours. The -Court, incensed at being thwarted in their plans respecting Popery, -despatched informers to ferret out Protestant Nonconformists. The drum -ecclesiastic was loudly beaten, and a High Churchman, in his sermon -before the House of Commons, told the honourable members that the -Nonconformists could be cured only by vengeance; and that the best way -was to set "fire to the faggot;" and to teach these obstinate people -"by scourges or scorpions;" and to "open their eyes with gall."<a name="FNanchor_614_614" id="FNanchor_614_614"></a><a href="#Footnote_614_614" class="fnanchor">[614]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">NEW TEST.</div> - -<p>One of the most vexatious impositions enacted immediately after the -Restoration was the oath presented by the Corporation Act, declaring -that it was unlawful <i>under any pretence</i> to bear arms against the -King. This oath was introduced into the Act of Uniformity, with the -addition that the Covenant entailed no obligation "to endeavour any -change or alteration of Government in Church or State,"—this formulary -repudiating the Covenant being intended only for temporary use, to -expire at the end of twenty years. But now another test was proposed -in the House of Lords, if not by the suggestion, yet with the sanction -of Danby,—a test which went so far as to require the following -declaration: "I do swear that I will not endeavour an alteration of -the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_437" id="Page_437">[437]</a></span> Protestant religion now established by law in the Church of -England; nor will I endeavour any alteration in the Government of this -kingdom in Church or State, as it is by law established."<a name="FNanchor_615_615" id="FNanchor_615_615"></a><a href="#Footnote_615_615" class="fnanchor">[615]</a> Such a -declaration is so utterly opposed to all the sentiments and traditions -of Englishmen, that it fills us with wonder that it could even have -been thought of,—yet it was contrived as a thing to be imposed upon -every member of Parliament, and upon all persons holding office under -the Crown. The King, at that period under an hallucinating desire -for Absolutism, threw himself with so much energy into the conflict, -that he attended constantly on the debate, standing at the fire-side -in the Upper House, day after day for seventeen days, listening to -the oratory of the Peers. Not only the Lord Treasurer Danby, but the -Lord Keeper Finch encouraged this assault upon the liberties of their -country; and it must not be concealed that the two prelates, who had -already signalized themselves by their intolerance, Morley and Ward, -now united with the two temporal Lords in this matricidal attempt. -Their most determined, most able, and eloquent opponent was the Earl -of Shaftesbury. On this occasion certainly he did good service to -the cause of freedom. He prolonged the sittings till he wearied his -enemies, and most unmercifully did he lash the Bishops for the part -which they took in the debate. He asked, what were the boundaries of -the Protestant religion, which the new oath required men to swear they -would never alter? He pointed out defects in the Church of England, -and dwelt upon the conflicting interpretations which her standards had -received from her own Divines; and he inquired, whether it would<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_438" id="Page_438">[438]</a></span> be -a crime to make an alteration, by bringing back the Liturgy to what -it had been in the days of Elizabeth? One occupant of the Episcopal -Bench, who since his elevation had rarely entered a pulpit, whispered -to a friend, loud enough in the ill-constructed house to be heard by -his neighbours, "I wonder when he will have done preaching!" "When?" -continued Shaftesbury, "when I am made a Bishop, my Lord."</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1675.</div> - -<p>We cannot follow the discussions upon the Bill: our brief notice of -which is introduced for the purpose of indicating its tendency with -regard to the Church,—by investing it with a fictitious infallibility, -by fostering towards it an admiration as fatal as it was foolish, since -it tended to prevent the increase of its benefits, through the reform -of its abuses. It is enough to add, that, after dragging the country to -the verge of a convulsion, the Government felt compelled to abandon the -Bill.<a name="FNanchor_616_616" id="FNanchor_616_616"></a><a href="#Footnote_616_616" class="fnanchor">[616]</a></p> - -<p>Comprehension came anew under consideration.</p> - -<p>Overtures respecting this point were made in the early part of the year -1673 to Richard Baxter by the Earl of Orrery. He professed that many -influential persons desired such a result, and mentioned the names -of the new Lord Treasurer, and Morley, Bishop of Winchester, "who -vehemently professed his desires of it."<a name="FNanchor_617_617" id="FNanchor_617_617"></a><a href="#Footnote_617_617" class="fnanchor">[617]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">COMPREHENSION.<br /> - -1675.</div> - -<p>Messages and meetings, on the same subject, followed in the spring of -1675—after Morley had, during two or three sessions of Parliament, -"on all occasions, in the company of lords, gentlemen, and divines, -cried out of the danger of Popery, and talkt much for abatements and -taking in the Nonconformists, or else" all were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_439" id="Page_439">[439]</a></span> "like to fall into -the Papists' hands." Bates brought to Baxter a message from Tillotson, -to the effect that Tillotson and Stillingfleet wished for a meeting -with himself, Manton, and others. The anxiety of the Presbyterians -for some <i>accommodation</i>, as they called it, became notorious; and -Baxter repeatedly showed now, as he had done before, the sincerity -and earnestness of his solicitude in reference to the matter.<a name="FNanchor_618_618" id="FNanchor_618_618"></a><a href="#Footnote_618_618" class="fnanchor">[618]</a> -Prolonged debate and voluminous correspondence; the discussion of -principles, and the arrangement of details; questions, answers, -strictures, rejoinders could not quench the ardour of the man who -combined in one, the qualities of a theological disputant and an -apostle of union—qualities which in his case served to neutralize each -other. He had faith in some of his Episcopalian brethren, as disposed -to meet him half way. Witchcot, Stillingfleet, Gifford, Tillotson, -Cradock, Outram, he speaks of with honour; declaring he made no doubt, -if the matter could be left in such hands, that differences would be -"healed in a few weeks' time."<a name="FNanchor_619_619" id="FNanchor_619_619"></a><a href="#Footnote_619_619" class="fnanchor">[619]</a> But in the Bishop of Winchester -he had no faith.<a name="FNanchor_620_620" id="FNanchor_620_620"></a><a href="#Footnote_620_620" class="fnanchor">[620]</a> The inconsistencies of Morley may perhaps he -understood by examining into what were probably the motives of his -conduct. His main policy was to protect the Establishment, on the basis -of the Act of Uniformity, against Papists on the one hand, and against -Dissenters on the other. He shared in the alarm which conversions to -Rome and the encroachments of that Church inspired throughout England -at the time; and, partly from that cause, he was induced to support -the Bill just described, thinking by the new oath which stereotyped -the Church, to prevent an invasion by the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_440" id="Page_440">[440]</a></span> enemy. But now the Bishop -might conceive that it would be desirable to consolidate English -Protestantism. Strength was being wasted by internecine warfare, at -a moment when Episcopalians and Presbyterians stood before a common -foe. It was the story of the Crusaders repeated. Why not gather the -forces of the Church and of the sects, and concentrate them upon the -great enemy of the country's liberty and peace? Such impressions, -under the circumstances, were not unnatural in the mind of a man like -Morley. Thus influenced, he would talk and act, as Baxter, with strong -suspicions of his sincerity, reports him to have done. Yet at the time -Morley might be perfectly sincere, although a reaction of prejudice, -after a time, proved too much for his new-born zeal in behalf of union. -The schemes of 1673 and 1675 met with the same fate as the schemes of -1667 and 1668.<a name="FNanchor_621_621" id="FNanchor_621_621"></a><a href="#Footnote_621_621" class="fnanchor">[621]</a></p> - -<p>Parliament prorogued in June, reassembled the 13th of October, when -the Lord Keeper, in his opening speech, called renewed attention -to ecclesiastical affairs. He said that His Majesty had so often -recommended the consideration of religion, and so very often expressed -a desire for the assistance of the Houses in his care and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_441" id="Page_441">[441]</a></span> protection -of it, that "the Defender of the Faith," had become "the advocate of it -too," and had left those without excuse, who remained under any kind -of doubts or fears—"Would you," asked he, "raise the due estimation -and reverence of the Church of England to its just height?" "All your -petitions of this kind will be grateful to the King."<a name="FNanchor_622_622" id="FNanchor_622_622"></a><a href="#Footnote_622_622" class="fnanchor">[622]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">PERSECUTION.</div> - -<p>The persecution of Nonconformists continued to depend very much upon -the temper of neighbours and the character of magistrates. In some -cases their meetings were broken up, and they were taken prisoners; -but, in other cases, they were allowed to assemble in their places of -worship without molestation, much to the annoyance of impotent enemies. -A Government correspondent in the town of Lynn reported a private -meeting of about forty of "the Presbyterian gang," discovered by the -Curate and officers of the parish of St. Margaret. These Nonconformists -made their escape, but "enough were taken notice of to make -satisfaction of the rest," and they "were to be presented according to -law."</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1675.</div> - -<p>The Nonconformists at Yarmouth continued their meetings publicly, and -in as great numbers as ever. This sufferance, it was complained, filled -with impudence people who, when the laws were put in execution, were -as tame as lambs.<a name="FNanchor_623_623" id="FNanchor_623_623"></a><a href="#Footnote_623_623" class="fnanchor">[623]</a> The same informant who states this, reports -that the "Bishop of Norwich had sent to know how many persons received -the communion at Church, and what was the number of recusants and -Nonconformists; and that the ministers and churchwardens feared if they -should make the Dissenting party so great as they are, it might put -some fear in His Majesty, and discourage<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_442" id="Page_442">[442]</a></span> him in attempting to reform -them, they judging their number has been the only cause they have been -so favourably dealt with hitherto." "Of the same opinion," he observes, -"they are in other parts as well as here, so that there is likely to be -an imperfect account." Not above 500, it is affirmed, would be found -to be in communion with the Church of England. As to Dissenters, says -this writer, "how many of them were in Church fellowship, as they term -it, or break bread together, I am certain here is not one hundred men -besides the women." He adds, "The greater number of people there, as -elsewhere, were the profane and unstable, who were on the increase, -tending to an unsettlement either in Church or State."<a name="FNanchor_624_624" id="FNanchor_624_624"></a><a href="#Footnote_624_624" class="fnanchor">[624]</a></p> - -<p>It is curious to notice the changing fortunes of Dissenters—how, after -a lull of peace, they were overtaken again by a storm of trouble. The -copious correspondence of the Yarmouth informer traces the history in -that town time after time. The bailiff was stimulated to interfere, -and he issued his warrant to the constables to assist in dispersing -the illegal worshippers; but it seems to have been difficult to get -these officers to act in the business, since there were three of their -number who "daily frequented" the reprobated place of worship. It being -reported that the Anabaptists were meeting to the number of 80 or 90, -the constables were sent to disperse them, and they took five of the -chief into custody. The correspondent exultingly adds, "Several of the -Nonconformist grandees came yesterday to our Church, and of the common -sort, so many as filled our Church fuller than ever I saw it since the -year 1665."<a name="FNanchor_625_625" id="FNanchor_625_625"></a><a href="#Footnote_625_625" class="fnanchor">[625]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_443" id="Page_443">[443]</a></span></p> - -<p>In the autumn of the same year Dissenting affairs at Yarmouth took -another favourable turn. Their approved friends having recovered -the helm of municipal affairs, Nonconformists were regarded as more -dangerous than ever, for their meetings were held at break of day -within closed doors. For two Sundays the angry correspondent was -awakened out of his sleep, the schismatics kept up such a trampling as -they passed the streets under his window, that he rose out of his bed -to see what could be the matter.<a name="FNanchor_626_626" id="FNanchor_626_626"></a><a href="#Footnote_626_626" class="fnanchor">[626]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">COFFEE-HOUSES.</div> - -<p>It is sometimes forgotten, but it is worth remark, that other meetings, -besides Conventicles, were at this period proscribed. Coffee-houses -were then such institutions as clubs are now; and Dryden might be -seen at "Wills," in Covent Garden, surrounded by the wits, seated in -"his armed chair, which in the winter had a settled and prescriptive -place by the fire." Some houses of a lower character are described -as exchanges "where haberdashers of political small-wares meet, and -mutually abuse each other and the public with bottomless stories." -Conversation ranged over all kinds of topics—scandalous, literary, -political, and ecclesiastical; and questions touching Papists and -Nonconformists were earnestly discussed within those quaint old -parlours, over cups of coffee and chocolate, sherbet, and tea. These -discussions were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_444" id="Page_444">[444]</a></span> reported to the men in power as being often of a -treasonable nature, even as Nonconformist sermons—only with much less -reason—were so represented. Consequently a proclamation appeared -in the month of December, 1675, recalling licenses for the sale of -coffee, and ordering all coffee-houses to be shut up; "because in -such houses, and by the meeting of disaffected persons in them, -divers false, malicious, and scandalous reports were devised and -spread abroad, to the defamation of His Majesty's Government and the -disturbance of the quiet and peace of the realm." But public opinion -was stronger in reference to coffee-houses than it was in reference -to Conventicles—and whilst the latter remained beneath a legal ban, -the former were speedily re-opened, "under a severe admonition to the -keepers, that they should stop the reading of all scandalous books and -papers, and hinder every scandalous report against the Government."<a name="FNanchor_627_627" id="FNanchor_627_627"></a><a href="#Footnote_627_627" class="fnanchor">[627]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1668–1676.<br /> - -SAMUEL PARKER.</div> - -<p>Comprehension and toleration continued to be discussed from the press. -We have noticed publications in the year 1667 bearing upon such -subjects. Between that date and the period to which we are now brought, -a controversy had been going on respecting the fundamental principles -of religious liberty; notorious on the one side for the baseness of the -attack, memorable on the other for the chivalry of the defence. Samuel -Parker had been brought up amongst the Puritans, had distinguished -himself at Oxford during the Commonwealth as one of the <i>gruellers</i> -(an ascetic little company of students, whose refection, when they -met together, was oatmeal and water), and was esteemed "one of the -preciousest young men in the University."<a name="FNanchor_628_628" id="FNanchor_628_628"></a><a href="#Footnote_628_628" class="fnanchor">[628]</a> This man proved recreant -to his prin<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_445" id="Page_445">[445]</a></span>ciples after Charles' return, and, swinging round with -immense momentum, became as violent in his Episcopalian as he could -ever have been in his Presbyterian zeal. Having come up to London, and -made himself known as "a great droller on the Puritans," he, in the -year 1667, obtained a chaplaincy at Lambeth, and thus found himself on -the high road to preferment. In 1669 he published a book, the title -of which—like so many in those days—fully describes its contents, -and expresses its spirit. He calls it "A discourse of ecclesiastical -polity, wherein the authority of the civil magistrate over the -consciences of subjects in matters of external religion is asserted, -the mischief and inconveniences of toleration are represented, and -all pretences pleaded on behalf of liberty of conscience are fully -answered." The spirit of this book may be seen from the preface, -in which the author justifies the violence of his attacks upon -Nonconformists. "Let any man that is acquainted with the wisdom and -sobriety of true religion," he exclaims indignantly, "tell me how 'tis -possible not to be provoked to scorn and indignation against such -proud, ignorant, and supercilious hypocrites. To lash these morose and -churlish zealots with smart and twinging satires is so far from being -a criminal passion, that 'tis a seal of meekness and charity." Thus he -strikes the key-note of what he continues from page to page, disgusting -every sensible reader; yet it is curious to find him maintaining -unequivocally that the affairs of religion, as they must be subject to -the supreme civil power, so they ought to be to none other, and "that -the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of princes [is] not derived from any -grant of our Saviour, but from the natural and antecedent rights of -all sovereign power." His principles are thoroughly Erastian, although -the writer objects to Hobbes' philosophy; and whilst his positions are -often monstrous,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_446" id="Page_446">[446]</a></span> his reasonings are contemptible. Dr. Owen wrote in -reply to this assault, his <i>Truth and Innocence vindicated</i>; in which, -after repelling the accusations brought forward by Parker, he exposes -and confutes that author's principles.<a name="FNanchor_629_629" id="FNanchor_629_629"></a><a href="#Footnote_629_629" class="fnanchor">[629]</a> Parker, in his rejoinder, -poured upon Owen the coarsest abuse, calling him "the great bellwether -of disturbance and sedition, and the viper swelled with venom, which -must spit or burst." He also cast upon his old associates more and more -of bitter invective, calling them "the most villanous unsufferable -sort of sanctified fools, knaves, and unquiet rebels, that ever were -in the world;"<a name="FNanchor_630_630" id="FNanchor_630_630"></a><a href="#Footnote_630_630" class="fnanchor">[630]</a> and having in his first book attacked Dissenters -in general, in the second he assailed Independents in particular, -quoting against Owen divers extracts taken from his sermons. That -Divine made no reply; but another formidable combatant appeared on -his side against the scurrilous accuser. As the High Church party -could boast of Samuel Parker who knew how to lampoon the Puritans, so -the Liberals of that day gloried in Andrew Marvell, who could quite -as cleverly satirize High Churchmen. In his <i>Rehearsal Transposed</i>, -he carried the day, and tormented beyond endurance the champions of -despotism. Everybody who could read, from the King to the artizan, -perused with glee the pages of the book, so that the discomfiture of -the Archbishop's Chaplain excited derision through a much wider circle -than was ever reached by his foolish writings. Parker, however, was not -a man easily to be silenced, nor was the cause he undertook easily to -be crushed; and therefore he and his friends returned to the onslaught, -and soon the printers were busy with a number of pamphlets, presenting -a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_447" id="Page_447">[447]</a></span> catalogue of most ridiculous titles. Marvell rejoined; and it is -confessed by Parker that, at the end of the literary encounter, the -odds and victory were against him, and lay on Marvell's side: the style -of warfare adopted by the latter can scarcely be approved, but it was -in the fashion of the times, and had been provoked by an unprincipled -assailant, who, it may be hoped—as it is intimated by one sometimes -resembling Parker in virulence—was all the better for the castigation -he received.<a name="FNanchor_631_631" id="FNanchor_631_631"></a><a href="#Footnote_631_631" class="fnanchor">[631]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1668–76.<br /> - -BISHOP CROFT.</div> - -<p>This remarkable controversy lasted from 1669 to 1673; and was in its -first stage when the new Conventicle Act appeared; and reached its -height whilst the debates on the Indulgence, the Relief Bill, and the -Test Act agitated Parliament and the country. High Churchmen read with -sympathy the pages of the assailant of Nonconformists, and they, on the -other hand, suffering from local persecution, or rejoicing in Royal -indulgence, pondered Owen's arguments, or laughed at Marvell's wit.</p> - -<p>In the year 1675, Croft, Bishop of Hereford, despatched anonymously -<i>The Naked Truth</i>, in which he maintained the sufficiency of the -Apostles' Creed as a standard of faith, and protested against the -refinements of Alexandrian and scholastic philosophy. At the same time -he declined submission to the authority of the Fathers, or of Councils, -although paying respect to them as teachers and guides; and deprecated -the importance attached to ceremonies, pleading for such liberty as St. -Paul, "that great grandfather of the Church, allowed his children." -He would dispense with using the surplice, bowing to the altar, and -kneeling at the Lord's Supper, and also with the cross in baptism, and -the ring in marriage. He ad<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_448" id="Page_448">[448]</a></span>vocated a revision of the Prayer Book, -contended that all ministers are of one order, and believed that -confirmation might be administered by priests as well as by prelates. -The tract concludes with a charitable admonition to all Nonconformists, -in which the author, after pleading his own desire for certain changes, -yet confessing he saw no hope of being successful, most inconsistently -proceeds to exhort his Dissenting readers, on grounds of Christian -humility, and the mischiefs of separation, immediately to submit to the -authority of the Church.<a name="FNanchor_632_632" id="FNanchor_632_632"></a><a href="#Footnote_632_632" class="fnanchor">[632]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1668–76.<br /> - -BISHOP CROFT.</div> - -<p>It has often been the fate of moderate men to suffer from condemnation -by zealots in their own Church. Even Popes of Rome, when taking the -side of charity and candour, have been dishonoured by advocates of the -Papacy; and Anastasius II., for his mild behaviour towards the Eastern -Church, has been represented by Cardinal Baronius as the victim of a -Divine judgment. Dante, too, has assigned him to one of the circles -of the damned. In a similar spirit contemporaries assailed the author -of <i>Naked Truth</i>. "Not only the Churches, but the coffee-houses rung -against it; they itinerated, like excise spies, from one house to -another, and some of the morning and evening chaplains burnt their -lips with perpetual discoursing it out of reputation, and loading the -author,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_449" id="Page_449">[449]</a></span> whoever he were, with all contempt, malice, and obloquy. Nor -could this suffice them, but a lasting pillar of infamy must be erected -to eternize his crime and his punishment. There must be an answer to -him in print, and that not according to the ordinary rules of civility, -or in the sober way of arguing controversy, but with the utmost -extremity of jeer, disdain, and indignation."<a name="FNanchor_633_633" id="FNanchor_633_633"></a><a href="#Footnote_633_633" class="fnanchor">[633]</a> Gunning, Bishop of -Ely, attacked it in a sermon which he preached before the King; and to -him has been ascribed a pamphlet entitled <i>The Author of Naked Truth -Stript Naked</i>. It also met with animadversions from Dr. Turner, Head -of St. John's, Cambridge. Still there were those of another spirit -who appreciated the calm reasoning and the amiable temper of the -Bishop; and Pearse, who is described by Wood as "a certain lukewarm -Conformist," because he could not join in reviling his Nonconformist -brethren, spoke of the book at a later date, in his <i>Third Plea for the -Nonconformists</i>, as a Divine manifestation of a primitive Christian -spirit of love. And he proceeds, "certainly, as that pious endeavour -hath increased his (the author's) comforts, so he hath not lost all -his labour; for since that, we have had more overtures of peace than -we heard of in many years before of discord and troubles, from the -learned in the Church of England." Marvell, in his answer to the -animadversions, styled the writer of <i>Naked Truth</i> "judicious, learned, -conscientious, a sincere Protestant, and a true son, if not a father -of the Church of England." Baxter also alludes to it as an excellent -book, "written for the Nonconformists," in favour of "abatements, and -forbearance, and concord."<a name="FNanchor_634_634" id="FNanchor_634_634"></a><a href="#Footnote_634_634" class="fnanchor">[634]</a></p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_450" id="Page_450">[450]</a></span></p></div> - - -<h2>CHAPTER XXIV.</h2> - - -<div class="sidenote">ROMAN CATHOLICISM.</div> - -<p class="drop-cap p-left">The state of the Royal family, as it respects religion, at the period -which we have now reached, constituted the principal foundation in -England, of Roman Catholic hope, and the chief source of Protestant -fear. The Queen, who reached this country in 1662, retained the faith -of her childhood, and, very naturally, would have been glad to see -it restored in the land of her adoption. The King, too careless and -profligate to be affected by any really pious considerations, probably -preferred the Romish to any other kind of worship, and of such a -preference people suspected him at the moment he was declaring the -utmost zeal for Protestantism.<a name="FNanchor_635_635" id="FNanchor_635_635"></a><a href="#Footnote_635_635" class="fnanchor">[635]</a> Their suspicions were too well -founded. Certainly, as early as the year 1669, he entertained the -idea of uniting himself to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_451" id="Page_451">[451]</a></span> the Church of Rome; and in the following -year he signed a secret treaty with the King of France, in which he -pledged himself to avow his conversion, whenever it should appear to -him to be most convenient.<a name="FNanchor_636_636" id="FNanchor_636_636"></a><a href="#Footnote_636_636" class="fnanchor">[636]</a> The existence and provisions of that -compact, in spite of the utmost endeavours to conceal it, oozed out -at the time;<a name="FNanchor_637_637" id="FNanchor_637_637"></a><a href="#Footnote_637_637" class="fnanchor">[637]</a> but now that history has revealed it entirely, with -many of its attendant private circumstances, we discover the extreme -shamefulness of the whole affair. For, by the terms of the treaty, the -King of England became a pensioner of France, and promised to make war -upon Holland, with which State, France had entered into friendship and -alliance; the negotiator of this scandalous arrangement being no other -than Charles' sister, Henrietta, Duchess of Orleans, whose reputation -is deeply stained, through her being involved in the licentious -intrigues of Louis XIV's court. After having visited her brother to -accomplish this dishonourable mission, she left behind, as an agent for -preserving French influence over his volatile mind, one of the ladies -of her train, named Querouaille, who became mistress to the licentious -monarch, and is so notorious in the disgraceful history of his reign as -the Duchess of Portsmouth.<a name="FNanchor_638_638" id="FNanchor_638_638"></a><a href="#Footnote_638_638" class="fnanchor">[638]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1662–1673.<br /> - -ROMAN CATHOLICISM.</div> - -<p>The King's brother having, by means of Anglo-Catholic instructors, been -imbued with the ideas of Church authority, of apostolical traditions, -and of the Real Presence, had, after this effective preparation, -taken a further and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_452" id="Page_452">[452]</a></span> very natural step, and had been reconciled to -Rome; notwithstanding the fact that up to Easter, 1671, he continued -outwardly to commune with the Established Church in this country.<a name="FNanchor_639_639" id="FNanchor_639_639"></a><a href="#Footnote_639_639" class="fnanchor">[639]</a> -His first Duchess, Ann Hyde, daughter of Lord Clarendon, had practised -secret confession to Dr. Morley from her youth, and, after her -marriage, in order to retain or to recover the fickle attachment of her -husband, she had entered into close communication with Popish priests, -and had expressed a disposition to renounce Protestantism.<a name="FNanchor_640_640" id="FNanchor_640_640"></a><a href="#Footnote_640_640" class="fnanchor">[640]</a> She, it -is said, preferred an unmarried clergy, and excused the Roman Catholic -superstitions; and it would appear that, for some months before her -death, she ceased to partake of the Lord's Supper as administered by -the Anglican clergy. Members of her family sought to re-establish her -Protestant belief, but in vain, and in her last illness she received -the Eucharist from the hands of a Franciscan friar.<a name="FNanchor_641_641" id="FNanchor_641_641"></a><a href="#Footnote_641_641" class="fnanchor">[641]</a> James' second -Duchess, Mary of Modena, was by descent and education a decided Papist; -and his marriage with that lady being extremely unpopular, provoked -the opposition of the English Parliament. Thus, at the time of which -we speak, the three principal members of the Royal house, next to the -King, were Romanists, and he himself was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_453" id="Page_453">[453]</a></span> known to sympathize with -them in their religious sentiments. Added to these circumstances was -the fact that several other persons in high estate were sincerely -attached to the same faith; a love to it also lingered amongst the -lower ranks in some parts of England; and, as a consequence, the -Roman Catholics were "bold and busy" in their endeavours to make -converts. What they did they had to do by stealth; persecution met -them everywhere, yet, with a heroism which we cannot but respect, they -steadily persevered. One advocate and missionary in particular, Abraham -Woodhead, who early commenced his work in England, is mentioned with -honour even by the Oxford historian, for he remarks, with regard to -a later period, that the "calm, temperate, and rational discussion -of some of the most weighty and momentous controversies under debate -between the Protestants and Romanists rendered him an author much -famed, and very considerable in the esteem of both."<a name="FNanchor_642_642" id="FNanchor_642_642"></a><a href="#Footnote_642_642" class="fnanchor">[642]</a> Hugh Paulin -Cressey, one of the Queen's chaplains, was also active in the same -cause, and is praised for the candour, plainness, and decency, with -which he managed controversy;<a name="FNanchor_643_643" id="FNanchor_643_643"></a><a href="#Footnote_643_643" class="fnanchor">[643]</a> and John Gother, another zealous -polemic on the side of Rome, published, in support of the doctrines of -his Church, seventeen controversial, and twelve spiritual tracts.<a name="FNanchor_644_644" id="FNanchor_644_644"></a><a href="#Footnote_644_644" class="fnanchor">[644]</a> -That Church has ever acted most systematically, carrying out a ramified -method of operation; and, at the time of which I am now speaking, -the priests in England, whether secular or regular, were all under -effectual guidance and control. The former received their direction -from one whom they called "the head of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_454" id="Page_454">[454]</a></span> the clergy," who possessed -a kind of Episcopal power, both he and they being subordinated to -the Papal nuncio in France, and the internuncio in Flanders, to whom -were entrusted the oversight of the missions to England and Ireland. -Regular priests, of the order of St. Benedict, of St. Augustine, -of St. Dominic, of St. Francis, and of the Society of Jesus, were -subject to their superiors respectively, and, in whatever they did, -proceeded obsequiously in obedience to command; not, however, without -mutual jealousy and strife,—after the manner of the Middle Ages, -when seculars and regulars, the two main divisions of the army, kept -up a constant rivalry in the spiritual camp.<a name="FNanchor_645_645" id="FNanchor_645_645"></a><a href="#Footnote_645_645" class="fnanchor">[645]</a> Even in a lukewarm -Protestant country, the activity and increase of Romanism could not -be regarded without apprehension. But the Protestants of England were -not then lukewarm. The antipathy cherished by an earlier generation -had descended to the present. Nonconformists, after the Restoration, -continued to cherish the old Puritan horror of the Mother of Harlots; -they read <i>Foxe's Book of Martyrs</i>; they kept alive the traditions of -their ancestors under Queen Mary; and Gunpowder Treason had not yet -ceased to awaken in their minds the most terrible recollections. Those -persons in the Establishment who cherished Puritan sympathies—and they -were not few—thought of Rome in the same way as the Dissenters did; -and other persons, on different grounds, felt the greatest alarm at the -portents of the times. Even strong Anglican preferences in some cases -were connected with an intense dislike of Romanism; in bosoms where -no better feeling existed, there arose a fear of its return, as of an -enemy which would rob the clergy of their pos<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_455" id="Page_455">[455]</a></span>sessions. The prevailing -alarm can be easily explained, for the revival of Popery ever appeared -to Protestants in those days as fraught with disasters; and in the -present instance, to aggravate apprehension, political considerations -were suggested respecting the designs of France, then the ally of Rome -in the worst phases of its despotism.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1662–1673.<br /> - -PROTESTANT OPPOSITION.</div> - -<p>The feeling against Popery manifested itself in divers ways. Books were -published exposing the evils of the system, including translations of -<i>Blaise Pascal's Provincial Letters</i>, and, I am sorry to say, that -amongst works original, solid, judicious, and convincing, written -to defend the principles of the Reformation, were some of a very -unscrupulous character, full of the most wretched scurrility and -invective.<a name="FNanchor_646_646" id="FNanchor_646_646"></a><a href="#Footnote_646_646" class="fnanchor">[646]</a> As early as 1667 suggestions were made to His Majesty's -Privy Council to issue processes in the Exchequer against Popish -recusants, to suppress all masses throughout the country, except those -at the chapels of the Queen, and of the foreign ambassadors, to banish -all native priests, and to prevent the education of English children -in Catholic countries. All this was proposed to be done by means of -a Royal declaration, which should "leave some little door of hope to -Dissenting Protestants, of a further degree of ease from Parliament, -which the King would be glad should be found out."<a name="FNanchor_647_647" id="FNanchor_647_647"></a><a href="#Footnote_647_647" class="fnanchor">[647]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1662–1673.</div> - -<p>In the autumn of 1667, there ran a report that the Presbyterian, Mr. -Prynne, in his zeal against Popery, had written to Bath respecting -the Papists resident there; but one of Evelyn's correspondents, who -sympathized with these sufferers, stated that the suspected were only -few—"not above a dozen simple women, and three or<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_456" id="Page_456">[456]</a></span> four inconsiderable -men"—and then strove to turn the tables upon the accuser, by speaking -of "dangerous fanatics," who "overwhelm the country," defy the -Government, and reproach the King, winding up his communication in -the following strain:—"That all the late firebrands should be set -on horseback, especially those that horsed themselves to join with -the Dutch and French; and that all the late sufferers should complete -their martyrdom. Some men were born in a tempest, can see mountains -through millstones, take alarm at the creeping of a snail, and throw -open the gates to let in the Tartars, and so their end must be like -their beginning. But Mr. P[rynne] cannot hear on that ear, and has -such accurate skill in the laws, that he can find high treason in a -bull-rush, and innocence in a scorpion."<a name="FNanchor_648_648" id="FNanchor_648_648"></a><a href="#Footnote_648_648" class="fnanchor">[648]</a></p> - -<p>Royal proclamations touching Jesuits and Romanists, extorted from the -King by the representations of his Ministers, of the Bishops, and of -Parliament, reflect correctly the opinions of the nation and of the -Church,<a name="FNanchor_649_649" id="FNanchor_649_649"></a><a href="#Footnote_649_649" class="fnanchor">[649]</a> but the utter insincerity of them, as proceeding from -Charles, is sufficiently manifest. It was felt at the time by Romanists -themselves that he who sat upon the throne remained, after all, their -fast friend; and, to arguments for the abolition of State penalties -against recusants, it<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_457" id="Page_457">[457]</a></span> was cleverly replied that they formed "a bow -strung and bended, and an arrow put into it, but none could shoot but -His Majesty."<a name="FNanchor_650_650" id="FNanchor_650_650"></a><a href="#Footnote_650_650" class="fnanchor">[650]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">PROTESTANT OPPOSITION.</div> - -<p>The storm of public indignation manifestly increased with the advance -of time, and when the Duke of Buckingham traversed Yorkshire, raising -recruits for his regiments, so jealous of Popery were the people there, -that scarcely a man would enlist until he had gone with the recruiting -officer and publicly taken the Holy Sacrament, as an evidence of his -Protestantism. In the autumn, as the period returned for commemorating -the frustration of Gunpowder Plot, the Pope with great solemnity was -burnt in several places within the City of London, a barbarism which -the Roman Catholic who reports the circumstance thought no nation but -the Hollanders could have been guilty of, yet members of Parliament -assisted on the occasion, but whether it proceeded from wine or from -zeal the informant could not say. Bonfires blazed on the fifth of -November all the way from Charing Cross to Whitechapel with a fury -unknown for thirty years.<a name="FNanchor_651_651" id="FNanchor_651_651"></a><a href="#Footnote_651_651" class="fnanchor">[651]</a></p> - -<p>As the next year opened, Charles consulted with the Bishops touching -the subject of this immense excitement, assuring them of his readiness -to do all in his power for the suppression of Popery, for which -purpose he thought it fit to have the assistance and advice of the -Right Reverend Fathers, and he wished them first to debate upon the -subject amongst themselves, and then to inform him what best could be -done for maintaining the interests of the Church of England, as by law -established.<a name="FNanchor_652_652" id="FNanchor_652_652"></a><a href="#Footnote_652_652" class="fnanchor">[652]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_458" id="Page_458">[458]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1675.</div> - -<p>Towards the close of the year 1675, the Protestant agitation received -a new impulse from a debate in Parliament relative to an assault by a -priest, named St. Germain, upon one Monsieur Luzancy, who, after being -a French Jesuit, had become a minister of the Church of England. This -zealous convert, preaching at the Savoy, had bitterly attacked the -errors which he had repudiated, and, having printed his controversial -sermon, he stated that he was visited by St. Germain, who, with three -ruffians, forced him to sign a recantation of his faith. This story -was told to Sir John Reresby, who immediately related it to the House -of Commons.<a name="FNanchor_653_653" id="FNanchor_653_653"></a><a href="#Footnote_653_653" class="fnanchor">[653]</a> Luzancy, examined by a Committee, added further -particulars, inflaming the House to the last degree, by the statement -that two French Protestant merchants, residing in the Metropolis, -had received from their Popish neighbours a threat, that soon the -streets of the City would flow with torrents of Protestant blood. -Some immediate results of the excitement appeared in the House of -Lords, where a Bill was introduced for encouraging monks and friars, -in foreign parts, to forsake their convents; and in an order from -the Commons to the Lord Chief Justice to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_459" id="Page_459">[459]</a></span> issue his warrant for the -apprehension of all Catholic priests.<a name="FNanchor_654_654" id="FNanchor_654_654"></a><a href="#Footnote_654_654" class="fnanchor">[654]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">PROTESTANT OPPOSITION.</div> - -<p>In the following summer, Popish books were seized at Stationers' Hall, -by order of the Privy Council; and in the autumn, authority was given -to watch the doors of the chapels allowed for the use of the Queen, -and of the foreign ambassadors, and to observe such of His Majesty's -subjects, not being in the service of those illustrious personages, -as attended the service which was there performed. Those who watched -were not to stop or question any as they went in, but they were to -apprehend them instantly as they came out, and if that could not be -accomplished, the names of such delinquents were to be ascertained and -returned.<a name="FNanchor_655_655" id="FNanchor_655_655"></a><a href="#Footnote_655_655" class="fnanchor">[655]</a> It may here be mentioned that, at the time when these -measures were employed, Protestants formed the wildest estimates of -the numbers of Papists. Some one reported that as many as 20,000 or -30,000 of them were living in the parish of St. Martin's-in-the-Fields, -yet in a survey, made by order of the Archbishop of Canterbury, in the -year 1676, it is affirmed that, in this much-suspected parish, only 600 -Papists could be found, and that not more than 11,870 were discovered -in the whole province.<a name="FNanchor_656_656" id="FNanchor_656_656"></a><a href="#Footnote_656_656" class="fnanchor">[656]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1676.<br /> - -PARLIAMENT.</div> - -<p>Parliament, which in 1676 had been sitting fifteen years, at that -time laboured under a very bad character. It was commonly said, that -one-third of the Commons were dependent upon Government and the Court; -that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_460" id="Page_460">[460]</a></span> large bribes were paid for votes and speeches; and that the -Lord Treasurer declared members came about him like so many jackdaws -for cheese at the end of every session. Complaints were rife of the -depression of trade, and of the embarrassment of the country, in -consequence of the prolonged existence of the same House of Commons, -whilst especial stress was laid upon the singular unreasonableness of -a number of men being allowed for such a length of time to engross -the representation of the people, and upon the advantages which would -accrue, both to the Crown and the nation, from the calling of another -Parliament. Some of these arguments were eloquently exhibited by the -Earl of Shaftesbury, who had ends of his own to serve by a dissolution, -since he trusted by means of it to be carried back to power; and in -addition to political reasonings this clever politician held out to -all sorts of religionists, hopes the most inconsistent—and, taken -altogether, perfectly absurd—as bribes to secure their support of -his policy in the approaching struggle. Careful to throw out a bait -to the Church of England, by assuring her that a new Parliament would -preserve her honours, her dignities, and her revenues, would make her -a great protectrix, and asylum of Protestants throughout Europe, and -would increase the maintenance of the Ministry in Corporations and -large towns;—Shaftesbury also, strange to say, encouraged the Roman -Catholics to expect deliverance from the pressure of penal laws under -which they groaned, if they would also be contented, for the sake of -their religion, to forego access to Court, promotion to office, and -employment in arms.<a name="FNanchor_657_657" id="FNanchor_657_657"></a><a href="#Footnote_657_657" class="fnanchor">[657]</a> Certainly the existing Parliament had shown -an<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_461" id="Page_461">[461]</a></span> unconquerable hatred to Popery, and perhaps Romanists had more to -fear than to hope from its continuance; and for this reason, amongst -others, the Duke of York advocated a dissolution, and appeared, to -that extent, amongst the supporters of the Earl. The Earl at the same -time threw out his nets so very wide as to aim at catching Dissenters, -telling them that whereas they had suffered so much of late from -persecuting laws, a new House of Commons would procure them "ease, -liberty, and protection." He had, ever since he parted with the Great -Seal in 1673, professed the utmost love for Protestantism, and had -been proclaimed by its zealots as the saviour of the faith; it being -profanely said that wherever the Gospel should be preached that -which he had done should be told as a memorial of him.<a name="FNanchor_658_658" id="FNanchor_658_658"></a><a href="#Footnote_658_658" class="fnanchor">[658]</a> And now, -influenced by the incredibly high religious reputation of this Protean -statesman, also, in all probability moved by his flatterers, certainly -bound to him by party ties, the virtuous Lord Wharton took his place -amongst the helpers of "the chief engineer," as the Duke of York styled -the Ex-Chancellor. Upon a debate respecting an address to His Majesty -to dissolve Parliament, His Royal Highness and Lord Wharton joined with -the Duke of Buckingham and the Earl of Shaftesbury in supporting it, -the non-contents carrying their point only by a majority of two.<a name="FNanchor_659_659" id="FNanchor_659_659"></a><a href="#Footnote_659_659" class="fnanchor">[659]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1677.</div> - -<p>The Parliament was prorogued on the 22nd of November, for fifteen -months; and as soon as it met again, on the 15th of February, 1677, -the party in opposition returned to the charge; but now, deserted -by the Duke of York, the party was led by the Duke of Buckingham, -who delivered a famous speech to prove that Parliament<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_462" id="Page_462">[462]</a></span> had been -virtually dissolved by so long a prorogation. What the Duke said -was construed into an insult, for which one of the peers moved that -he should be called to the bar, when the motion was resented by the -Earl of Salisbury, the Earl of Shaftesbury, and Lord Wharton, all -three supporting the Duke of Buckingham. The Lords, who thus led the -opposition, were told that what they had done was ill-advised; and -they were ordered to beg pardon of the House, and of His Majesty. Upon -which, refusing to comply, they were committed to the Tower. Buckingham -slipped out of the House, but surrendered himself the next day.<a name="FNanchor_660_660" id="FNanchor_660_660"></a><a href="#Footnote_660_660" class="fnanchor">[660]</a></p> - -<p>The committal produced a great excitement—in which religious people, -especially Nonconformists, largely shared, for they looked up to some -of these noblemen as particular friends; and a fugitive sheet written -at the time, without date or names, has preserved certain memoranda -concerning the prisoners, from which it appears that several Quakers -were at that time in communication with the Duke of Buckingham.<a name="FNanchor_661_661" id="FNanchor_661_661"></a><a href="#Footnote_661_661" class="fnanchor">[661]</a></p> - -<p>In the month of June, Buckingham, Wharton, and Salisbury—wearied out -with their confinement, and disappointed of their discharge at the -end of the Session, by the adjournment of the Houses, recanted what -they had spoken,—professed repentance of their error, and sought -pardon of His Majesty. They were liberated accordingly; but the Earl -of Shaftesbury, because he refused to make any submission, and applied -to the King's Bench for a writ of <i>habeas corpus</i>, was doomed to a -longer captivity; yet at last he obtained his liberty in the month of -February, 1678, only, however, by kneeling<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_463" id="Page_463">[463]</a></span> down at the bar of the -House, and humbly asking their Lordships' pardon.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">PARLIAMENT.<br /> - -1677.</div> - -<p>The power of the party, whose leaders had thus for a while been -banished from the House, was by no means crushed. Indeed it was but -little diminished, and, therefore, Danby, the Lord Treasurer, at the -head of the Ministry, wishing to outbid his rival Shaftesbury in a -contest for popularity; and also following his own chosen policy, -which had throughout been anti-Papal, now introduced—and that with -the concurrence of the Bishops—two measures as additional bulwarks -against Papal aggression. The first contemplated the possibility of -a Catholic prince occupying the throne: it provided, in case of his -refusal of a searching test in the form of a denial of the doctrine -of transubstantiation, that the Bishops, upon a vacancy occurring in -their number, should name three persons, one of whom the Sovereign -was at liberty to select for the empty see; but if he did not make -the selection within thirty days, the person first named should take -possession—that the two Archbishops should present to all livings in -the Royal gift—and that the children of the Monarch, from the age of -seven to the age of fourteen, should be under the guardianship of the -two Archbishops, with the Bishops of London, Durham, and Winchester. -The second measure—under title of an Act for the more effectual -conviction and prosecution of Popish recusants,—provided that such -Popish recusants as might register themselves should pay a yearly fine -of the twentieth part of their incomes to a fund for supporting poor -converts to Protestantism, and should, on that condition, be exempt -from all other penalties, except ineligibility to hold office, civil -or military, or to perform the office of guardians or executors. Lay -perverters of Protestants should have the option of ab<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_464" id="Page_464">[464]</a></span>juring the -realm; clergymen who had taken Romish orders might, at His Majesty's -pleasure, be imprisoned for life, instead of being made to suffer the -higher penalty for treason—and the children of deceased Catholics -should be brought up in the Reformed Church.<a name="FNanchor_662_662" id="FNanchor_662_662"></a><a href="#Footnote_662_662" class="fnanchor">[662]</a> But these measures -adopted by the Lords, when submitted to the Lower House, so far from -satisfying the members, aroused their most determined opposition. With -regard to the first measure they affirmed it to be a Bill for Popery, -not a Bill <i>against</i> it. They said its face was covered with spots, -and, therefore, it wore a vizard. "It is an ill thing," remarked Andrew -Marvell, "and let us be rid of it as soon as we can." He compared it to -a private Bill brought into the House, for the ballast-shore at Yarrow -Sleake, regarding which some one said, "the shore will narrow the -river;" another, "it will widen it;" a third observing, people should -not play tricks with navigation. Nor ought they to do so with religion, -he added. For, as it was clear, the Bill for the ballast-shore would -benefit the Dean and Chapter of Durham, so whether this Bill would or -would not prevent Popery, he was sure it would increase the power of -the Bishops.<a name="FNanchor_663_663" id="FNanchor_663_663"></a><a href="#Footnote_663_663" class="fnanchor">[663]</a> The second measure was pronounced to be virtually a -toleration of Popery, forasmuch as Papists were to have liberty granted -them if they would only pay for it. The object was monstrous. The -scheme could not be mended. It would remain "an unsavoury thing, stuck -with a primrose." They might as well try to "make a good fan out of a -pig's tail." "Is there a man in this house," it was asked, "that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_465" id="Page_465">[465]</a></span> dares -to open his mouth in support of such a measure?" So signal was the -defeat of the attempt that we find in the Journals these words, "Upon -the reading of the said Bill, and opening the substance thereof to the -House, it appeared to be much different from the title, and thereupon -the House, <i>nemine contradicente</i>, rejected the same."<a name="FNanchor_664_664" id="FNanchor_664_664"></a><a href="#Footnote_664_664" class="fnanchor">[664]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">PARLIAMENT.</div> - -<p>The Commons the same day read a third time a Bill framed to -prevent the growth of Popery, enacting that a refusal to repudiate -transubstantiation should be deemed a sufficient proof of recusancy, -and should entail all its consequences. This contrivance, said its -advocates, is "firm, strong, and good," whilst that of the Lords is -"slight, and good for nothing,"—it is like David coming out against -Goliath;<a name="FNanchor_665_665" id="FNanchor_665_665"></a><a href="#Footnote_665_665" class="fnanchor">[665]</a> but the Lords would have nothing to do with the David of -the Commons. The Lower House urged attention to the Bill, but in vain; -the Upper House did not take the slightest notice of what had been sent -to them, and the Bill for suppressing the growth of Popery fell to the -ground. It is worth observing that, at the same period, a Bill which -passed the House of Lords, described on one day as a Bill for "obliging -persons to baptize their children"—on another as "an Act concerning -baptism and catechizing"<a name="FNanchor_666_666" id="FNanchor_666_666"></a><a href="#Footnote_666_666" class="fnanchor">[666]</a>—met with a like fate, and fell into the -vast limbo of abortive Parliamentary schemes.</p> - -<p>But the two Houses during this Session united in three important Acts, -which were passed just before the Easter adjournment.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1677.</div> - -<p>The first was for the better observance of the Lord's Day; and the -reader, who perhaps associates all rigid<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_466" id="Page_466">[466]</a></span> legislation of that kind -with Puritan zealots, will be surprised to find that the Parliament -of the Restoration, embodying in many respects the reactionary spirit -of the times did, in this particular, actually follow the precedents -set by Commonwealth statesmen. The new Statute confirmed existing -Acts for requiring attendance at Church, and ordained "that all, -and every person and persons whatsoever, should, on every Lord's -Day, apply themselves to the observation of the same, by exercising -themselves thereon in the duties of piety and true religion, publicly -and privately." For exercising their worldly callings everybody above -the age of fourteen was to forfeit five shillings; goods cried in the -streets or publicly exposed for sale were to be forfeited. No one could -travel without special warrant, under a penalty of twenty shillings. -The employment of a boat or wherry incurred a fine of five shillings, -and those who were not able to pay these fines had to sit in the -stocks. No Hundred need answer for a robbery committed on a person -who dared to travel on the Lord's Day without license; no writs were -then to be served except for treason; but both the dressing of meat -in private houses, and the sale of it at inns and cook-shops, were -specially excepted from the operation of the law.</p> - -<p>It is true the fines were less in amount than they had been under the -Commonwealth, and the exceptions with regard to inns and cook-shops, -and the dressing of food on the Lord's Day, showed some little -relaxation;—but the prohibition of travelling, as well as of trading, -proves that zeal for the strict observance of Sunday had been inherited -from the Long Parliament by its successor under Charles II.</p> - -<p>Acts for uniting parishes, for rebuilding churches, and for the better -maintenance of Metropolitan Incumbents,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_467" id="Page_467">[467]</a></span> had been passed in 1670; -and now a general Act received the Royal assent for the improvement -of small livings. Whereas Bishops, Deans, and Chapters, and other -ecclesiastical authorities had granted, in obedience to His Majesty, -soon after the Restoration, or might yet grant out of their revenues, -aid towards the augmentation of poor clerical incomes, this Act -confirmed any such grants, and bestowed on Vicars and Curates the means -of securing the augmentations thereby accruing to them.<a name="FNanchor_667_667" id="FNanchor_667_667"></a><a href="#Footnote_667_667" class="fnanchor">[667]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">PARLIAMENT.</div> - -<p>The last of the three enactments alluded to consisted in the repeal of -the law <i>de Hæretico Comburendo</i>, which had kindled so many fires in -the Marian age. That form of punishment was regarded by Protestants -with a natural and salutary horror; the statutory sanction of it was -now swept away, not only with a burst of indignation against it, as -a hateful relic of Popish intolerance, but with a prudent fear lest, -if the law remained unaltered, it might some day, under a Popish -Sovereign—a contingency which was ever looming before the eyes of the -nation—be revived for a rekindling of the Smithfield fires. But the -repeal did not proceed so far as is generally supposed; for the Lords -made some amendments in the Bill, and added a proviso, perpetuating -the jurisdiction of the Ecclesiastical Courts, in cases of atheism, -blasphemy, heresy, or schism; and sanctioning excommunication and other -ecclesiastical penalties, <i>extending even to death</i>, in such sort as -they might have done before the making of this new Act. In this form it -was agreed to by the Commons, and received the Royal assent.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1678.</div> - -<p>The Houses were adjourned in the month of May, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_468" id="Page_468">[468]</a></span> again in the month -of July; nor did they meet any more for business until the middle of -the month of January, 1678. These adjournments produced in the Lower -House, as might be expected, long and exciting debates. The state of -the nation, the removal of evil counsellors, and an address of advice -to His Majesty that he would declare war with France, also occupied -considerable attention; but if, under these circumstances, there -occurred some little ebb in the tide of opposition to Popery, the -flow of the waters soon followed with redoubled force. For, in the -month of April, we find the Commons engaged in the consideration of a -report,—which it must have taken much time and labour to prepare—a -report containing the names of Popish priests, of those by whom they -were kept, of the chapels and other places where mass was said, in -the County of Monmouth:—also of the names of Justices of the Peace -in Wales and Northumberland who were Papists, or suspected to be -so,—and, lastly, of proceedings which had been carried on in the Court -of Exchequer against Popish recusants. The document whilst, no doubt, -reflecting the fears of Protestants respecting Papists, also records -facts which show that, in spite of persecuting laws, the Roman Catholic -religion retained a strong hold upon many people in certain parts of -the country. For one of the witnesses, whose evidence is reported, -swore—that she had heard a priest say mass forty times, had received -the sacrament from him, had seen him administer it to a hundred people; -and that, at a service which she had attended, "the crowd was so great, -that the loft was forced to be propped, lest it should fall down under -the weight."<a name="FNanchor_668_668" id="FNanchor_668_668"></a><a href="#Footnote_668_668" class="fnanchor">[668]</a> Immediately afterwards the Commons ex<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_469" id="Page_469">[469]</a></span>pressed to the -Lords, in confidence, a strong conviction that the growth of Popery -arose from a laxity in the administration of laws against it.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">PARLIAMENT.</div> - -<p>After a prorogation, on the 13th of May, the opening of the sixteenth -session of Parliament followed, on the 23rd of the same month, when -Lord Chancellor Finch sought to calm public apprehension by observing, -that it was a scandal upon the Protestant religion, when men so far -distrusted the truth and power of it as to be alarmed about its safety, -after so many laws had been enacted for its protection, and after all -the miraculous deliverances which it had experienced.<a name="FNanchor_669_669" id="FNanchor_669_669"></a><a href="#Footnote_669_669" class="fnanchor">[669]</a></p> - -<p>The next month saw the Commons again plunged into the old controversy, -whilst they discussed a Bill for the exclusion of Papists from -both Houses, unless they would take the Oaths of Allegiance and of -Supremacy, and accept the test against transubstantiation—in other -words except they would turn Protestants.<a name="FNanchor_670_670" id="FNanchor_670_670"></a><a href="#Footnote_670_670" class="fnanchor">[670]</a> The usual round of -arguments reappeared, and once more revolved through their orbits; but -this Bill, like some of its predecessors, fell through, in consequence -of further prorogation, after a grant of supplies, upon the 8th of -July.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_470" id="Page_470">[470]</a></span></p></div> - - -<h2>CHAPTER XXV.</h2> - - -<p class="drop-cap p-left">Dr. Gilbert Sheldon, Archbishop of Canterbury, died on the 9th of -November, 1677. Illustrations have been afforded of his influence and -activity at the time of the Restoration, of his conduct during the -plague year, of the course which he adopted in relation to the great -ecclesiastical questions of his day, and of the general spirit of his -clerical policy;—but some further notice is requisite of the character -of a man, who took so conspicuous a part in the re-establishment of the -Episcopal Church of England.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">BISHOPS.<br /> - -1662–1677.</div> - -<p>Sheldon, according to Burnet, was esteemed a learned man before -the Wars, but he was now engaged so deep in politics, that scarce -any prints of what he had been remained. He was a very dexterous -man in business, had a great quickness of apprehension, and a very -true judgment. He was a generous and charitable man. He had a great -pleasantness of conversation, perhaps too great. He had an art, which -was peculiar to him, of treating all who came to him in a most obliging -manner, but few depended much on his professions of friendship. He -seemed not to have a deep sense of religion, if any at all; and spoke -of it most commonly, as of an engine of Government and a matter of -policy. By this means, the King came to look on him as a wise and -honest clergy<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_471" id="Page_471">[471]</a></span>man.<a name="FNanchor_671_671" id="FNanchor_671_671"></a><a href="#Footnote_671_671" class="fnanchor">[671]</a> An admission to the same effect is made -unconsciously by Samuel Parker, the Archbishop's chaplain and friend. -For, after affirming that Sheldon was a man of undoubted piety, he -observes, "that though he was very assiduous at prayers, yet he did -not set so high a value upon them as others did, nor regarded so much -worship, as the use of worship, placing the chief point of religion -in the practice of a good life." The ideas of a man's character -conveyed by language of this sort must be interpreted by our knowledge -of the writer; and, knowing what we do of Parker, we are justified -in regarding what he says as a confirmation of Burnet's opinion. To -use an expression which occurs in a letter from Henry VII. on the -transition of Wareham from London to Canterbury—Sheldon showed himself -to be largely endued with "cunning and worldly wisdom."<a name="FNanchor_672_672" id="FNanchor_672_672"></a><a href="#Footnote_672_672" class="fnanchor">[672]</a> Genial -and social in his habits he maintained a splendid hospitality,<a name="FNanchor_673_673" id="FNanchor_673_673"></a><a href="#Footnote_673_673" class="fnanchor">[673]</a> -and in all his intercourse it was apparent that he had seen much of -mankind, thoroughly understood human nature, and knew exactly how to -make himself agreeable to those whom he wished to please. Addicted to -a free-and-easy manner of living, inconsistent with the character of a -clergyman, he is reported as having on particular occasions sanctioned -some very vulgar buffoonery at the expense of the Puritans.<a name="FNanchor_674_674" id="FNanchor_674_674"></a><a href="#Footnote_674_674" class="fnanchor">[674]</a> Keen, -clever, polite, and politic, knowing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_472" id="Page_472">[472]</a></span> well how to compass his ends, -he manifested at the same time his utter destitution of those moral -impulses, noble motives, and spiritual aims, which, above all, ought -to guide men who profess to be the ministers of Jesus Christ. Sheldon -seems to have been fitted to grace a drawing-room, to sustain the -position of a country gentleman, and to take a part in State affairs, -but he was plainly unfit to preside over the Church of England. His -half-recumbent figure, as represented on his monument in the parish -church of Croydon—before the fire—his round face resting on his left -hand, his countenance not of severe expression, but rather genial, -easy, and good-humoured, and his gracefully-flowing robes, are all in -harmony with the idea of a man of luxurious habits, and of pleasant -manners: but the mitre on his head is out of place, and he has no -business with the crozier at his side.<a name="FNanchor_675_675" id="FNanchor_675_675"></a><a href="#Footnote_675_675" class="fnanchor">[675]</a> His course of life as a -steady, persistent, heartless persecutor of Nonconformists eclipses his -courtesies and charities. He was not a persecutor of the same school -with Laud of Canterbury, or Cyril of Alexandria. No strong convictions -of doctrine, no zeal for discipline, influenced him in his proceedings -against Dissenters, and he must be reckoned as having belonged to that -most odious class of persecutors "who persecute without the excuse -of religious bigotry."<a name="FNanchor_676_676" id="FNanchor_676_676"></a><a href="#Footnote_676_676" class="fnanchor">[676]</a> He hated Nonconformists mainly on three -grounds. As <i>a man of the world</i>, he was averse to their profession -of spiritual religion, being totally unable to understand it, looking -at it, as he did, through the medium of prejudices which caricatured -its noblest qualities; and he was also exasperated at what he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_473" id="Page_473">[473]</a></span> deemed -a pharisaical assumption on the part of Christians who advocate what -are called "evangelical" views, and who insist upon what they style -purity of communion. As <i>a Royalist</i>, Sheldon identified his opponents -with the cause of Republicanism, and believed, or professed to -believe, that they were all bent upon doing to Charles II. what some -of them, or their predecessors, had done to Charles I. And, lastly, -as <i>an Episcopalian</i>, who had himself suffered from Presbyterians and -Independents, he determined to pay back in full what he owed—both -capital and interest.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">BISHOPS.</div> - -<p>It is essential to our forming a correct estimate of the state of -the Church after the Restoration, that we should examine what we can -find respecting the character of others who occupied the Episcopal -Bench, inasmuch as they must have been largely responsible for the -administration of ecclesiastical affairs, and it is convenient for -us here to pause for that purpose. To whatever party an author may -belong, he finds it easy to idealize these dignitaries, and to give -general impressions of them, favourable or unfavourable, according -as his prejudices, working upon slight materials, may influence his -imagination. But I decidedly prefer in what I shall say of the Caroline -prelates, to confine myself to such reliable information as I can -discover, rather than to indulge in generalities; and I lament, that -after the best endeavours to acquaint myself with the subject, the -knowledge I possess with regard to some of these persons is so scanty, -that my accounts of them will afford the historical student but little -satisfaction.</p> - -<p>The selection of a principle of arrangement in this portion of our -history is not without difficulties. Perhaps, on the whole, instead of -adopting an alphabetical list of names, or a chronological series of -characters, or a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_474" id="Page_474">[474]</a></span> geographical distribution of sees, it will be better -to take the occupants of the Bench according to their importance, and -to select first the most prominent.<a name="FNanchor_677_677" id="FNanchor_677_677"></a><a href="#Footnote_677_677" class="fnanchor">[677]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1662–1677.</div> - -<p>Dr. Seth Ward had been President of Trinity College, Oxford, and at -the Restoration had succeeded Reynolds at St. Laurence Jewry, upon -the promotion of the latter Divine to a Bishopric. He was nominated -to the see of Exeter in 1662, as, Pope, his biographer says, upon the -recommendation of his friend Monk, Duke of Albemarle; but a different -story is told by Aubrey. After Gauden, the Bishop of Exeter, had been -translated to Worcester in 1661, Ward, who was then Dean, "was very -well known to the gentry, and his learning, prudence, and comity, had -won them all to be his friends. The news of the death of the Bishop -being brought to them, who were all very merry and rejoicing with good -entertainment, with great alacrity, the gentlemen cried all, '<i>We will -have Mr. Dean to be our Bishop</i>.' This was at that critical time when -the House of Commons were the King's darlings. The Dean told them -that, for his part, he had no interest or acquaintance at Court, but -intimated to them how much the King esteemed the members of Parliament -(and a great many Parliament men were then there), and that His Majesty -would deny them nothing. '<i>If 'tis so, gentlemen</i>,' said the Dean, -'<i>that you will needs have me to be your Bishop, if some of you make -your address to His Majesty, 'twill be done</i>.' With that they drank -the other glass, a health to the King, and another to their wished-for -Bishop; had their horses presently made ready, put foot in stirrup, and -away they<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_475" id="Page_475">[475]</a></span> rode merrily to London; went to the King, and he immediately -granted them their request. This," adds Aubrey, "is the first time that -ever a Bishop was made by the House of Commons."<a name="FNanchor_678_678" id="FNanchor_678_678"></a><a href="#Footnote_678_678" class="fnanchor">[678]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">BISHOPS.</div> - -<p>Ward speedily became renowned for his diligent discharge of Episcopal -duties. "He kept his constant triennial visitations," says Pope, "in -the first whereof he confirmed many thousands of all ages and different -sexes; he also settled the Ecclesiastical Courts, and, without any -noise or clamour, reduced that <i>active, subtle, and then factious -people</i>, to great conformity, not without the approbation even of the -adversaries themselves." During his residence at Exeter, he gained the -love of all the gentry, and had particularly the help and countenance -of the Duke of Albemarle, who, in all things, showed himself most ready -to assist him in the exercise of his jurisdiction.<a name="FNanchor_679_679" id="FNanchor_679_679"></a><a href="#Footnote_679_679" class="fnanchor">[679]</a> He zealously -advocated the Conventicle Act, and was very severe in his treatment -of Nonconformists, not, it is curiously pleaded, out of enmity to the -Dissenters' persons, as they unjustly suggested, but of love to the -repose and welfare of the Government. We are further informed by this -admiring friend, "that Ward was very much in favour with the King, and -the Duke of York, before the latter declared himself of the Romish -persuasion, whom he treated magnificently at Salisbury; and also with -the Archbishop of Canterbury, who used to entertain him with the -greatest kindness and familiarity imaginable; in his common discourse -to him, he used to call him Old Sarum: and I have heard the Archbishop -speak of him more than once as the person whom he wished might<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_476" id="Page_476">[476]</a></span> succeed -him." The temper of the prelate in relation to the Church of England, -and the kind of policy which he adopted for the promotion of its -interests, may be inferred from the good opinion of him entertained by -Sheldon, just quoted by Pope, with much satisfaction.<a name="FNanchor_680_680" id="FNanchor_680_680"></a><a href="#Footnote_680_680" class="fnanchor">[680]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1662–1677.</div> - -<p>There is a want of material out of which to draw flesh and blood -portraits of some of the Bishops: many are names and nothing -more—others are but stiff and formal images without life—we can judge -neither of their appearance, nor of their character, but the gossiping -memoir of Ward by Pope affords us a pictorial idea of his mode of -living, of his physical activity, of his fondness for horse exercise, -and of his self-exposure to weather,—going out in wind, rain, and -snow, until forced to seek shelter on the lee side of the nearest -hayrick. He was something of a "muscular Christian,"—a bachelor also, -but genial in his ways, exceedingly hospitable, and scrupulously -punctilious in the discharge of his devotional duties.</p> - -<p>This remarkable man distinguished himself as an astronomer, and was -reputed to be the ablest orator of his time; after these proofs of his -intellectual power, in addition to the evidences of his administrative -ability, how affecting it is to turn to the record of his imbecility -in his last days. "He did not," we are told, "know his house, or his -servants; in a word, he knew nothing."<a name="FNanchor_681_681" id="FNanchor_681_681"></a><a href="#Footnote_681_681" class="fnanchor">[681]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_477" id="Page_477">[477]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote">BISHOPS.<br /> - -1662–1677.</div> - -<p>Dr. George Morley may be noticed next. Burnet says that he "was, in -many respects, a very eminent man, very zealous against Popery," and -also very zealous against Dissent; considerably learned, with great -vivacity of thought; soon provoked, and with little mastery over -his own temper.<a name="FNanchor_682_682" id="FNanchor_682_682"></a><a href="#Footnote_682_682" class="fnanchor">[682]</a> His zeal against the doctrines of Popery is -apparent in his writings, and not less so, his zeal against Dissent; -in connection with his opposition to both, he avows the doctrine of -passive obedience, declaring in terms the most unequivocal, "the -best and safest way for Prince, State, and people, is to profess, -protect, cherish, and allow of that religion, and that only, which -allows of no rising up against, or resisting sovereign power—no, -not in its own defence, nor upon any other account whatsoever."<a name="FNanchor_683_683" id="FNanchor_683_683"></a><a href="#Footnote_683_683" class="fnanchor">[683]</a> -Indeed, he maintains, again and again, the principle of intolerance -in the government of the Church, and the principle of despotism in -the government of the State; holding the King to be sole sovereign, -whilst the Parliament is only a concurring power in making laws, -and the Bishops the only legitimate ecclesiastical rulers. The -maintenance of these doctrines by a man of "hot spirit" and "ready -tongue"—infirmities which Baxter charges upon him, not without -sufficient reason, and not without Burnet's corroboration—augured -little for the comfort or the peace of the Nonconformists in the -diocese of Winchester, over which he presided from 1662 to 1684. He -had, it is true, provoked Baxter,<a name="FNanchor_684_684" id="FNanchor_684_684"></a><a href="#Footnote_684_684" class="fnanchor">[684]</a> and signs of the provocation -occasionally appear in the pages of the <i>Reliquiæ</i>; in fact, the -Bishop's<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_478" id="Page_478">[478]</a></span> treatment of the Presbyter was most violent; but the -latter,—after quoting the report that Morley, Ward, and Dolben, -through fear of Popery, had expressed a desire to abate the severity -of the laws against Dissenters, and after stating, that though there -was long talk there was nothing done,—expresses a hope that they -were not so bad as their censurers supposed. Yet, he adds, it was a -strange thing, that persons who had power to make such breaches had -no power to heal them.<a name="FNanchor_685_685" id="FNanchor_685_685"></a><a href="#Footnote_685_685" class="fnanchor">[685]</a> It is a pleasure to be able to state that -Morley, in his old age, gave signs of better feeling; for it is related -that he stopped proceedings against Mr. Sprint, an ejected minister, -and invited him to dinner, endeavouring to soften down the terms of -Conformity; but, better still, it is said, that in Morley's last -days, he drank to an intermeddling Country Mayor, in a cup of Canary, -advising him to let Dissenters live in quiet, "in many of whom, he was -satisfied, there was the fear of God,"—and he thought they were "not -likely to be gained by rigour or severity."</p> - -<div class="sidenote">BISHOPS.</div> - -<p>Dr. John Cosin had in his younger days been fond of Ritualism, -and had suffered for it under the Long<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_479" id="Page_479">[479]</a></span> Parliament. Though there -existed ground enough for charging him with the adoption of childish -ceremonies, it is plain, from a complete and fair examination of his -case, and of all which he urged in his own defence, that the charges -against him were considerably exaggerated.<a name="FNanchor_686_686" id="FNanchor_686_686"></a><a href="#Footnote_686_686" class="fnanchor">[686]</a> As I shall show -hereafter, a considerable change took place in his sentiments during -the latter part of his life. He became more opposed to Romanism than -he had been before. He said once, in the hearing of Dr. Thomas Fuller, -when some one was praising the Pope for certain concessions—"We thank -him not at all for that which God hath always allowed us in His Word." -The Pope "would allow it us, so long as it stood with his policy, and -take it away, so soon as it stood with his power."<a name="FNanchor_687_687" id="FNanchor_687_687"></a><a href="#Footnote_687_687" class="fnanchor">[687]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1662–1677.</div> - -<p>Cosin, like Ward and other prelates, acquired renown for hospitality. -Whether at home or not, he took care that the gates of his Castle -should be always open for the entertainment of the Royal Commissioners, -and other Officers of State, as they travelled to and fro between -London and Edinburgh; nor did he forget to give shelter and cheer to -guests of humbler rank. He is described, also, as zealous in restoring -to its former state Divine worship at Durham Cathedral, in reforming -irregularities which had prevailed under the Usurpation, in filling -up the number of the Minor Canons, and of the members of the Choir, -and in restoring discipline throughout his diocese. Further, it is -recorded of him, that he was a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_480" id="Page_480">[480]</a></span> man of great reading, and a lover of -books for their own sakes, expending large sums upon his library with -the enthusiasm of a true Bibliophilest. After the ejection of 1662, -he was willing to concede something to scrupulous consciences—and -offered to confer Episcopal orders in his chapel at Auckland upon -Presbyterian ministers disposed to conform, according to a formulary -much recommended at the time—"If thou hast not been ordained, I -ordain thee." Yet, in some cases, he could be very intolerant; for he -wrote, in the year 1663, to the Mayor of Newcastle, telling him to -look sharply after certain Nonconforming ministers of high character, -whom he stigmatized as <i>Caterpillars</i>.<a name="FNanchor_688_688" id="FNanchor_688_688"></a><a href="#Footnote_688_688" class="fnanchor">[688]</a> But, with a fluctuation -of feeling common in impulsive natures, he would sometimes administer -rebuke to those who laughed at Puritans,—and he wrote in his will, -"I take it to be my duty, and that of all the Bishops, and ministers -of the Church, to do our utmost endeavour, that at last an end may be -put to the differences of religion, or, at least, that they may be -lessened."<a name="FNanchor_689_689" id="FNanchor_689_689"></a><a href="#Footnote_689_689" class="fnanchor">[689]</a> He suffered much from the disease of the stone, yet he -persisted in performing his Episcopal visitations, even when obliged -to be carried over paved<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_481" id="Page_481">[481]</a></span> roads in a sedan chair. His chaplain, Isaac -Basire, records, that, being so near death, as to be unable to kneel, -he often devoutly repeated the words of King Manasses, "Lord I bow -the knee of my heart;" and having often prayed, "'Lord Jesus, come -quickly,' his last act was the elevation of his hand, with this, his -last ejaculation, 'Lord,'—wherewith he expired without pain, according -to his frequent prayer, that he might not die of a sudden, or painful -death."<a name="FNanchor_690_690" id="FNanchor_690_690"></a><a href="#Footnote_690_690" class="fnanchor">[690]</a> He filled the see of Durham from 1660 to 1671.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">BISHOPS.</div> - -<p>Dr. John Hacket left behind him two well-known monuments of his -Churchmanship. The one is his <i>Scrinia Reserata</i>, or memorial of -Archbishop Williams: as strange a piece of biography as was ever -written—full of allusions and disquisitions of all kinds, so that -readers are puzzled to find out links of connection, and lose sight -altogether of the hero amidst the mazes into which they are led by the -biographer. "What it contains of Williams," as Lord Campbell has said, -"is like two grains of wheat in two bushels (not of chaff, but) of -various other grain;" yet the knowledge and the pedantry, the sagacity -and the prejudice, the zeal for the Church and the animosity towards -Dissenters, which mark the book throughout, accurately reflect the -character of its author during his busy episcopate of nine years. The -other monument of this famous Bishop of Lichfield is to be found in -the cathedral of his diocese, to the restoration of which he zealously -devoted himself. He reconsecrated it on Christmas Eve, in the year -1669, and ordered a peal of six bells to be hung in the tower, one of -which was finished during his last illness. "Then he went out of his -bed-chamber into the next room to hear it, seemed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_482" id="Page_482">[482]</a></span> well pleased with -the sound, and blessed God, who had favoured him with life to hear it, -but at the same time observed that it would be his own passing bell; -and, retiring into his chamber, he never left it until he was carried -to his grave," an event which occurred in 1670.<a name="FNanchor_691_691" id="FNanchor_691_691"></a><a href="#Footnote_691_691" class="fnanchor">[691]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1662–1677.</div> - -<p>Of the two chief monuments of Hacket's fame, the cathedral is the more -honourable,<a name="FNanchor_692_692" id="FNanchor_692_692"></a><a href="#Footnote_692_692" class="fnanchor">[692]</a> showing as it does his commendable desire for the -beauty of God's house, and the comeliness of its worship; and with it -we may associate the remembrance of his Episcopal activity in reducing -the clergy of his see to order, and what he esteemed efficiency. The -<i>Scrinia Reserata</i> suggests the idea of what he must have been in his -intercourse with the ministers and people who dwelt in his diocese: -learned but verbose, clever but wearisome, equally fond of argument and -gossip, one-sided in opinion, and abounding both in favouritism and in -personal dislikes—not without genial temper and strong affections of -friendship for some who were within the Church, but violent and bitter -to all those who were without. His sermons suggest what he was as a -preacher—fond of ingenious but trifling disquisitions; and, although -a Calvinist, delighting in the Fathers and Schoolmen, and sometimes -talking about the Holy Virgin, after the manner of a believer in the -immaculate conception. From all this it may be inferred how he would -treat Nonconformists, but his biographer leaves no doubt upon that -point, for he distinctly states—"The Bishop was an enemy to all -separation from the Church of England; but their hypocrisy he thought -superlative, that allowed the doctrine and yet would separate for -mislike of the discipline, and therefore he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_483" id="Page_483">[483]</a></span> wished that, as of old, -all kings and other Christians subscribed to the conciliary decrees, -so now a law might pass that all Justices of Peace should do so in -England, and then they would be more careful to punish the depravers of -Church orders."<a name="FNanchor_693_693" id="FNanchor_693_693"></a><a href="#Footnote_693_693" class="fnanchor">[693]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">BISHOPS.</div> - -<p>Dr. John Wilkins was a very different man from Hacket. His close -alliance by marriage with the Cromwell family, and his connection -with the Protector Richard, stood for a time in the way of his -preferment after the Restoration, but at length he obtained, through -the influence of his friend Seth Ward, the living of St. Lawrence -Jewry. Not only was he disliked at Whitehall, but there was a strong -prejudice against him at Lambeth, and, to add to his misfortunes, he -lost his library, his furniture, and his parsonage-house, in the fire -of London. But the Duke of Buckingham befriended the sufferer; and, -in spite of Sheldon's opposition, secured for him the Bishopric of -Chester. When this person of varied fortune had reached the Episcopal -bench, the Archbishop became reconciled to his elevation, and formed a -favourable estimate of his character—a circumstance which, like that -of Wilkins' first preferment after the Restoration, was owing to the -esteem in which he was held by Dr. Seth Ward, his old Oxford friend, -whose regard for him, notwithstanding their different opinions upon -ecclesiastical subjects, continued to the end of life.<a name="FNanchor_694_694" id="FNanchor_694_694"></a><a href="#Footnote_694_694" class="fnanchor">[694]</a> Whilst -Ward was a High Churchman, and harshly treated the Nonconformists, -Wilkins was a very Low Churchman, and showed them great favour. For -this the latter was eulogized by one party,<a name="FNanchor_695_695" id="FNanchor_695_695"></a><a href="#Footnote_695_695" class="fnanchor">[695]</a> and abused by another. -From<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_484" id="Page_484">[484]</a></span> the reproaches he incurred he was vindicated by Dr. William -Lloyd, at the time Dean of Bangor, who, in his funeral sermon for the -Bishop, ascribed his liberality to the goodness of his nature, and to -the education which he had received under his grandfather, Mr. Dod, a -truly learned and pious man, although a Dissenter in some things.<a name="FNanchor_696_696" id="FNanchor_696_696"></a><a href="#Footnote_696_696" class="fnanchor">[696]</a> -Influenced by kindness of heart and catholicity of principle, Wilkins -pursued a course of moderation and charity; and it proved—as such a -course ever must—politic in the end, for Calamy acknowledges that many -ministers were brought within the pale of the Establishment by Wilkins' -soft interpretation of the terms of conformity. The ability and the -attainments of this prelate were only equalled by his moral excellence. -Burnet praises his greatness of mind, and sagacity of judgment, and -says he was the wisest clergyman he ever knew.<a name="FNanchor_697_697" id="FNanchor_697_697"></a><a href="#Footnote_697_697" class="fnanchor">[697]</a> Sir Peter Pett -celebrated him as an ornament both of the University and the nation; -and the Royal Society eulogized his insight into all parts of learning, -as well as his charity, ingeniousness, and moderation.<a name="FNanchor_698_698" id="FNanchor_698_698"></a><a href="#Footnote_698_698" class="fnanchor">[698]</a> As these -persons were his friends and associates, their opinion of him might be -charged with partiality; but there is a general<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_485" id="Page_485">[485]</a></span> concurrence in praise -of his virtues, on the part of persons who were decidedly opposed to -him in their ecclesiastical opinions. He enjoyed his dignity only four -years, and died in 1672.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">BISHOPS.<br /> - -1662–1677.</div> - -<p>He was succeeded by that illustrious theological scholar Dr. John -Pearson—author of the <i>Exposition of the Creed</i>—who, from his -studious habits, became easy and remiss in his Episcopal functions, for -some years before the end of his episcopate, in 1686, when he died, -having some time before sunk into a state of second childhood. His -theological opinions will come under our review in the next volume.</p> - -<p>The circumstances under which Dr. Edward Reynolds accepted a mitre -have been described already. He did so professedly upon condition that -the Worcester House Declaration should become law, which it never -did; and that the Church of England should be modified, so as to meet -Presbyterian scruples, which it never was. However, it does not appear -that his Presbyterianism had at any time been so extreme as to prevent -his adopting a modified form of Episcopacy; and Baxter does not charge -him with inconsistency in going so far as he actually went. Indeed, -Baxter persuaded him to accept a Bishopric, implying that he did not -discover in his friend that repugnance to the position which he felt -himself. Reynolds' inconsistency appears, not in his first qualified -acceptance, but in his subsequent retention of the office, after the -conditions on which avowedly he had entered upon it were completely -disregarded. But the truth is, he was a man of little firmness, and -the blame of his continued conformity has been ungallantly, but in -accordance with a very ancient precedent, cast on his wife. "It was -verily thought, by his contemporaries, that he would have never been -given to change, had it not been<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_486" id="Page_486">[486]</a></span> to please a covetous and politic -consort, who put him upon those things he did."<a name="FNanchor_699_699" id="FNanchor_699_699"></a><a href="#Footnote_699_699" class="fnanchor">[699]</a> Throughout his -episcopate in the diocese of Norwich, which lasted until 1676, he -remained a Puritan, eschewing Court politics, leading a quiet life in -the discharge of the duties of his calling, and in the retirement of -his palace; to which, it may be observed, he added a new chapel on the -ruins of the old one, which had been destroyed by the rabble after -the fall of the Bishops in the year 1643. Affability and meekness -are virtues generally ascribed to Reynolds; his abilities as a -Divine, and his gifts as a preacher—with the drawback of a harsh and -unpleasant voice—were acknowledged by his contemporaries to have been -considerable.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1662–1677.</div> - -<p>An unpublished letter sheds light on the state of the diocese of -Norwich, and the character of the Bishop:—</p> - -<p>"Having often complaints made unto me in general of the offensive lives -of some of the clergy, I held it my duty to signify so much unto you, -not thereby myself accusing any of my brethren, but conceiving it very -needful, by occasion of such reports, earnestly to entreat them that -they will be very tender of the credit of religion, of the dignity of -their function, and of the success of their ministry; and endeavour, by -their sober, pious, and prudent conversations, to stop the mouths of -any that watch for their halting, to bear witness to the truth of that -doctrine which they preach, to be guides and examples of holiness of -life to the people over whom they are set, and to lay up for themselves -a comfortable account against the time that we shall appear before the -Great Shepherd and Bishop of Souls. So commending you to the guidance -of God's Holy Spirit, and his gracious protection, &c."<a name="FNanchor_700_700" id="FNanchor_700_700"></a><a href="#Footnote_700_700" class="fnanchor">[700]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_487" id="Page_487">[487]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote">BISHOPS.</div> - -<p>Dr. Herbert Croft—descended from an old English family, distinguished -in the reigns of Edward IV. and Elizabeth—had in his youth been -decoyed into the Church of Rome, whilst a student at St. Omer; but, on -his return from the Continent, he had been reconciled to the Church -of England by Morton, Bishop of Durham. He had held a Canonry in St. -George's Chapel, Windsor, and had been made Dean of Hereford in the -year 1644. His appointment to such a dignity at such a time suggests -the fact that then he was a very Low Churchman, with Presbyterian -tendencies; of course he was afterwards obliged to relinquish both -the office and its revenues. When the King returned, to whose cause -Croft had been attached, he recovered his Deanery, and on the death of -Dr. Monk, in 1661, he succeeded to the Bishopric. His family had long -been settled in Herefordshire, and he cherished a strong attachment to -his native county; in consequence of which he preferred to remain in -this inferior see, with its small revenues, rather than accept richer -preferment at a distance. Weary of Court life he, in the year 1667, -retired from the office of Dean to the Chapel Royal, to live entirely -amongst his own clergy, like a primitive Bishop. Becoming a strict -disciplinarian, he admitted none to stalls in his cathedral who did -not dwell within the diocese, in the centre of which his own country -residence was situated; and there he regularly relieved at his gates -sixty poor people a week, besides assisting the indigent in other -ways. The moderate ecclesiastical views which he expressed in his -<i>Naked Truth</i>, he retained to the last, but he did himself no honour by -submitting to the order of James II. in 1688.<a name="FNanchor_701_701" id="FNanchor_701_701"></a><a href="#Footnote_701_701" class="fnanchor">[701]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_488" id="Page_488">[488]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1662–1677.</div> - -<p>Respecting the character of Dr. Matthew Wren, there appears to have -existed little difference of opinion amongst his contemporaries; for -not only did Burton the Puritan say that in all Queen Mary's reign -"there was not so great a havoc made in so short a time of the faithful -ministers of God," as by him, but Archbishop Williams spoke of him as -a "wren mounted on the wings of an eagle," and Lord Clarendon called -him a "man of a severe, sour nature."<a name="FNanchor_702_702" id="FNanchor_702_702"></a><a href="#Footnote_702_702" class="fnanchor">[702]</a> He filled the see of Ely a -second time, from the fall of the Commonwealth until the year 1667, -when he departed this life; and it is recorded of him, that as an act -of thanksgiving for the King's return and his own restoration, he -built at Pembroke Hall—the College in which he had been educated at -Cambridge—a new chapel, where his remains were interred with unusual -pomp.<a name="FNanchor_703_703" id="FNanchor_703_703"></a><a href="#Footnote_703_703" class="fnanchor">[703]</a></p> - -<p>Wren was succeeded by Dr. Benjamin Laney, previously Bishop of -Peterborough, who was translated from that place to Lincoln in 1663, -and who died in 1675. Laney seems to have been kind-hearted as well -as able, for in his primary visitation, before Bartholomew's day, he -said very significantly to the assembled clergy, "Not I, but the law;" -and although he had suffered considerably from the Presbyterians at -Cambridge, in the year 1644, he could, to use his own phrase, when -presiding<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_489" id="Page_489">[489]</a></span> over the see of Lincoln, "look through his fingers;" and he -suffered a worthy Nonconformist to preach publicly very near him, for -some years together.<a name="FNanchor_704_704" id="FNanchor_704_704"></a><a href="#Footnote_704_704" class="fnanchor">[704]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">BISHOPS.</div> - -<p>Laney was followed at Ely by Dr. Peter Gunning. The fondness of the -latter for controversy is attested by the epitaph in his cathedral, -where he was buried in 1684, and receives illustration from the -accounts recorded of theological discussions in which he publicly -engaged with Nonconformists. Blamelessness of private life, and the -Episcopal virtues of generosity to friends,<a name="FNanchor_705_705" id="FNanchor_705_705"></a><a href="#Footnote_705_705" class="fnanchor">[705]</a> of benefactions to -charitable and religious objects, and of almsgiving to the poor, are -ascribed to him by Wood; Dr. Gower, in his funeral sermon for him, -extols his piety; but Burnet has painted his character in different -colours. "He was a man of great reading, and noted for a special -subtlety of arguing; all the arts of sophistry were made use of by him -on all occasions, in as confident a manner as if they had been sound -reasoning." "He was much set on the reconciling us with Popery in some -points; and because the charge of idolatry seemed a bar to all thoughts -of reconciliation with them, he set himself with very great zeal to -clear the Church of Rome of idolatry. This made many suspect him as -inclining to go over to them; but he was far from it, and was a very -honest, sincere man, but of no sound judgment, and of no prudence in -affairs. He was for our conforming in all things to the rules of the -primitive Church, particularly in praying for the dead, in the use of -oil, with many other rituals."<a name="FNanchor_706_706" id="FNanchor_706_706"></a><a href="#Footnote_706_706" class="fnanchor">[706]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_490" id="Page_490">[490]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1662–1677.</div> - -<p>Dr. William Paul, being possessed of large property, and being also -a man of business, had, through the influence of Sheldon, been -appointed to the see of Oxford, with the hope that he would rebuild the -dilapidated episcopal palace at Cuddesden. He applied himself to that -undertaking, and, that he might be assisted in it, received permission -to hold the valuable Rectory of Chinnor <i>in commendam</i>; but, after -he had purchased materials for his intended work, especially a large -quantity of timber, he died in 1665, having held the see for only two -years.</p> - -<p>Dr. John Warner is noted chiefly for being well read in scholastic -divinity and patristic literature. It is recorded of him that, when -Prebendary of Canterbury, he built a new font in the cathedral, which, -"whether more curious or more costly," it was difficult to judge. -Made Bishop of Rochester, he, in the earlier sittings of the Long -Parliament, zealously asserted Episcopalian principles, "speaking for -them as long as he had any voice left him," and valiantly defending the -antiquity and justice of an order of spiritual peers.<a name="FNanchor_707_707" id="FNanchor_707_707"></a><a href="#Footnote_707_707" class="fnanchor">[707]</a> He suffered, -not only like the rest of his brethren, by losing the temporalities of -his see, and by being driven away from the performance of its duties, -but he had to compound for his own estates, which were of considerable -value. During the Protectorate he resided at Bromley, in Kent, and on -the return of Charles II. regained the see of Rochester, which he held -to the time of his death, in 1666. Being a rich man, his benefactions -were large, he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_491" id="Page_491">[491]</a></span> contributed liberally to the cathedral of his diocese, -and to the Colleges of Magdalen, and Baliol, at Oxford, the place of -his education; and he also founded a College at Bromley for clergymen's -widows.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">BISHOPS.</div> - -<p>Dr. John Earle, after being in exile with the King, first obtained -at the Restoration the Deanery of Westminster, then succeeded Gauden -in the Bishopric of Worcester, 1662, and finally rose to the see of -Salisbury in 1663, upon Henchman becoming Bishop of London. Earle is -described as having been "a very genteel man, a contemner of the world, -religious, and most worthy of the office of a Bishop;" also, he is -spoken of as having the sweetest and most obliging nature, and as being -one than whom, since Hooker's death, God had not blessed any with more -innocent wisdom, more sanctified learning, or a more pious, peaceable, -primitive temper.<a name="FNanchor_708_708" id="FNanchor_708_708"></a><a href="#Footnote_708_708" class="fnanchor">[708]</a> He was, says another authority, favourable to -Nonconformists, a man that could do good against evil, forgive much, -and of a charitable heart, and died, to the no great sorrow of them who -reckoned his death was just, for labouring all his might against the -Oxford Five Mile Act.<a name="FNanchor_709_709" id="FNanchor_709_709"></a><a href="#Footnote_709_709" class="fnanchor">[709]</a> Within two years after his death, in 1665, -his successor in the Bishopric, Dr. Alexander Hyde, followed him to the -grave, the latter having owed his promotion to the influence of his -kinsman, Lord Clarendon.</p> - -<p>Dr. Robert Skinner, who had been Bishop of Bristol, and had been -translated thence to Oxford before the Civil Wars, regained that -diocese in 1660. Thence he proceeded to the far more desirable see of -Worcester, in 1663. He is reported to have been the sole Bishop who -conferred orders during the Commonwealth; and, after the Restoration, -he ordained no less than 103 persons at<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_492" id="Page_492">[492]</a></span> one time in Westminster Abbey; -so many others had been made by him deacons and priests, that at his -death, in 1670, it was computed that he had sent more labourers into -the vineyard of the Church than all his survivors had done, he being -the last of the prelates who had received consecration before the time -of the Commonwealth.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1662–1677.</div> - -<p>In pursuing the task of noticing the Bishops after the Restoration, -we now reach several names of less interest, but the few scanty hints -respecting them which I have been able to gather may suggest in some -cases an idea of such Episcopal qualifications as they possessed.</p> - -<p>Dr. William Nicholson, Bishop of Gloucester, defended and maintained -the Church of England against its adversaries in the days of its -adversity. His works, it is said, proved him to be a person of -learning, piety, and prudence, particularly his <i>Apology for the -Discipline of the Ancient Church</i>, his <i>Exposition of the Apostles' -Creed</i>, and his <i>Exposition of the Church Catechism</i>, subjects which -indicate his Anglican orthodoxy, and his Episcopalian zeal. He is -spoken of as a great friend of Dr. George Bull, and as much admired by -that distinguished theologian for his knowledge of the Fathers and the -Schoolmen, and for his large stores of critical learning. He died in -1672.<a name="FNanchor_710_710" id="FNanchor_710_710"></a><a href="#Footnote_710_710" class="fnanchor">[710]</a></p> - -<p>Dr. Humphrey Henchman, it may be remembered, had taken part in the -Savoy Conference, and is described by Baxter as "of the most grave, -comely, reverend aspect," and of "a good insight in the Fathers and -Councils."<a name="FNanchor_711_711" id="FNanchor_711_711"></a><a href="#Footnote_711_711" class="fnanchor">[711]</a> Consecrated Bishop of Salisbury in 1660, he was -translated from Salisbury to London, upon the translation of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_493" id="Page_493">[493]</a></span> Sheldon -to Canterbury, and manifested great alarm when the excitement against -Popery prevailed, earnestly enjoining upon his clergy the duty of -combating its errors and superstitions, although he knew perfectly well -that such a course would be offensive to the King. He edited a book -once of some celebrity, entitled <i>The Gentleman's Calling</i>, supposed -to be a production of the author who wrote <i>The Whole Duty of Man</i>. -Henchman died October, 1675.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">BISHOPS.</div> - -<p>Dr. Edward Rainbow had been a minister in the Establishment throughout -the Commonwealth. Although deprived of the Mastership of Magdalen -College, Cambridge, for refusing to sign a protestation against King -Charles I. he, in the year 1652, obtained the living of Chesterfield, -in Essex, and, in 1659, the Rectory of Benefield, in Northamptonshire. -Restored to his Mastership at Cambridge, and made Dean of Peterborough -soon after the Restoration, he rose to the Bishopric of Carlisle, upon -the translation of Dr. Sterne to the Archbishopric of York. Rainbow -died in 1684; he appears to have possessed an extraordinary talent for -extemporaneous speaking; of which he gave a singular example, when, in -the absence of the appointed orator, he delivered an unpremeditated -discourse before the University, to the great admiration of all who -listened to him. His style is described as florid and pedantic, but -he is represented as a man of learning, of politeness, of devotion, -and of charity. We do not know much respecting Nicholson, Henchman, -and Rainbow, but some things are said respecting them, pointing to -intellectual and moral qualities suitable to their position. That which -can be gathered respecting the following names, contains little or -nothing which is satisfactory.</p> - -<p>Dr. Joseph Henshaw, consecrated Bishop of Peterborough in 1663, had -been chaplain to the first Duke of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_494" id="Page_494">[494]</a></span> Buckingham, through whose influence -he had obtained a Prebend in the Cathedral of Peterborough. After -suffering for his loyalty during the Civil Wars, and the Commonwealth, -he lived for some time at Chiswick, in the house of Lady Paulet, being -described "as a brand snatched out of the fire."<a name="FNanchor_712_712" id="FNanchor_712_712"></a><a href="#Footnote_712_712" class="fnanchor">[712]</a> He died in 1678.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1662–1678.</div> - -<p>Dr. Gilbert Ironside, who had been Rector of Winterbourn, in -Dorsetshire, was promoted to the see of Bristol immediately after the -Restoration. Wood's chief remark respecting him, and one by no means -satisfactory, is, that although he had not before "enjoyed any dignity -in the Church," or been chaplain to any one of distinction,<a name="FNanchor_713_713" id="FNanchor_713_713"></a><a href="#Footnote_713_713" class="fnanchor">[713]</a> -he received this promotion to a poor Bishopric because he happened -to be a man of property. His death occurred in the year 1671. Dr. -Walter Blandford, under the Commonwealth, escaped ejectment from -Wadham College, Oxford, by submitting to the Government, and was -admitted Warden before the Restoration. After that event he became -Vice-Chancellor; in the year 1665 he became Bishop of Oxford, and, in -1671, Bishop of Worcester. The following notice of his death occurs in -a letter written at the time:—"It may be you have heard before this, -how upon Friday last, between 9 and 10 in the morning, it pleased God -to put a period to the pains and patience of the good Bishop, who -spent the day before in bemoaning himself unto his God, and sending up -pious ejaculations unto Him; and then, without any reluctancy, quietly -resigned up his soul and departed in peace; and, I doubt not, that -it was welcomed with an <i>Euge bone serve</i>! The next day after I came -hither, he called me to his bedside, and asked after the welfare of his -friends at Court, and made frequent mention of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_495" id="Page_495">[495]</a></span> his gracious master and -King, prayed most heartily for him, and said nothing laid him so low as -the consideration that he had not been more serviceable to him."<a name="FNanchor_714_714" id="FNanchor_714_714"></a><a href="#Footnote_714_714" class="fnanchor">[714]</a> -But it is only just,—when noticing the particular reference which is -made to the loyalty of this prelate on his death-bed,—to remember -that such reference occurs in a correspondence in which the writer -was anxious to commend himself to his Royal master, with the hope of -securing promotion.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">BISHOPS.<br /> - -1662–1677.</div> - -<p>The three Archbishops of York before the Revolution were not men who -exerted much influence. Dr. Accepted Frewen was enthroned on the 11th -of October, 1660, and afterwards enjoyed, for twelve months, the -revenues of the see of Lichfield, during which period it remained -without an occupant. Before his Archiepiscopal career, which proved -equally brief and uneventful—for he died on the 28th of March, -1664—he acquired the reputation of being a good scholar, and a great -orator; but none of his works were ever published, except a Latin -oration, and a few verses on the death of Prince Henry.<a name="FNanchor_715_715" id="FNanchor_715_715"></a><a href="#Footnote_715_715" class="fnanchor">[715]</a> He was -succeeded by Dr. Sterne, who, though in other respects not a remarkable -person, furnishes, from the accounts given of him, material for a more -extended notice than his predecessor has received. Being educated at -Cambridge, and made Master of Jesus College, he, for his loyalty, and -for conveying the College plate to Charles I. at York, with other -Royalists, was imprisoned, and otherwise treated with great cruelty. -In a letter, which he wrote at the time, he gives an account of his -sufferings, and, as it indicates his temper, as well as expresses the -bitter recollections of Puritanism, which he carried with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_496" id="Page_496">[496]</a></span> him into -his Episcopate, it will be well to give an extract from it:—"This -is now the fourteenth month of my imprisonment," he says,—"nineteen -weeks in the Tower, thirty weeks in the Lord Peter's House, ten days -in the ships, and seven weeks here in Ely House. The very dry fees and -rents of these several prisons have amounted to above £100, besides -diet and all other charges, which have been various and excessive, as -in prisons is usual. For the better enabling me to maintain myself -in prison, and my family at home, they have seized upon all my means -which they can lay their hands on. At my living near Cambridge, they -have not only taken the whole crop, that is in a manner the whole -benefit of the living (for the rest is very little), but plundered -and sold whatever goods of mine they found there, even to the poultry -in the yard, allowing me not so much as to pay for his dinner that -served the Cure. They have robbed also the child that is yet unborn, -of the clothes it should be wrapped in. But, upon my wife's address -to the Committee at Cambridge, they had so much humanity as to make -the sequestrators (though with much ado) restore them to her again. -They have also forbidden our College tenants (all within their verge) -to pay us any rents (for the better upholding of learning and the -nurseries thereof). If I have anything else that escapes their fingers, -it is in such fingers out of which I cannot get it; and that also I -owe to the same goodness of the times. So that if my friends' love -had not made my credit better than it deserves to be, and supplied my -occasions, I should have kept but an hungry and cold house both here -and at home. And all this while I have never been so much as spoken -withal, or called either to give or receive an account why I am here. -Nor is anything laid to my charge (not so much as the general<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_497" id="Page_497">[497]</a></span> crime -of being a malignant), no, not in the warrant for my commitment. What -hath been wanting in human justice, hath been (I praise God) supplied -by Divine mercy. Health of body, and patience and cheerfulness of -mind, I have not wanted, no, not on shipboard, where we lay (the first -night) without anything under, or over us, but the bare decks and the -clothes on our backs; and, after we had some of us got beds, were -not able (when it rained) to lie dry in them; and, when it was fair -weather, were sweltered with heat, and stifled with our own breaths: -there being of us in that one small Ipswich coal-ship (so low built, -too, that we could not walk, nor stand upright in it) within one or -two of threescore; whereof six Knights, and eight Doctors in Divinity, -and divers gentlemen of very good worth, that would have been sorry -to have seen their servants (nay, their dogs) no better accommodated. -Yet, among all that company, I do not remember that I saw one sad or -dejected countenance all the while, so strong is God, when we are -weakest."<a name="FNanchor_716_716" id="FNanchor_716_716"></a><a href="#Footnote_716_716" class="fnanchor">[716]</a> Having been domestic chaplain to Archbishop Laud, Sterne -attended him to the scaffold, and afterwards lived in obscurity until -the Restoration, after which the King made him Bishop of Carlisle, in -the year 1660, and in 1664 transferred him to York, where he died in -1683.<a name="FNanchor_717_717" id="FNanchor_717_717"></a><a href="#Footnote_717_717" class="fnanchor">[717]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">BISHOPS.</div> - -<p>Burnet represents Sterne as "a sour, ill-tempered man," minding chiefly -the enriching of his family; as being suspected of Popery, "because he -was more than ordinarily compliant in all things to the Court;" and -as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_498" id="Page_498">[498]</a></span> very zealous for the Duke of York.<a name="FNanchor_718_718" id="FNanchor_718_718"></a><a href="#Footnote_718_718" class="fnanchor">[718]</a> Another authority affirms -that Sterne was greatly respected, and generally lamented; that all his -clergy commemorated his sweet condescensions, his free communications, -faithful counsels, exemplary temperance, cheerful hospitality, and -bountiful charity.<a name="FNanchor_719_719" id="FNanchor_719_719"></a><a href="#Footnote_719_719" class="fnanchor">[719]</a> It may seem difficult to reconcile these -opposite statements; yet, when it is considered, that the first of -these authorities would describe Sterne as he appeared to people whom -he disliked, and the second as he appeared to people whom he loved, -it only follows that the Archbishop showed himself an exceedingly -disagreeable man to such as belonged to the opposite party, and quite -as pleasant a man to those who belonged to his own. I may notice, that -he wrote a Book on Logic, assisted in Walton's Polyglot Bible, and is -one amongst other persons to whom, without satisfactory evidence, has -been ascribed the authorship of the <i>Whole Duty of Man</i>.<a name="FNanchor_720_720" id="FNanchor_720_720"></a><a href="#Footnote_720_720" class="fnanchor">[720]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1662–1677.</div> - -<p>Sterne was succeeded in the Northern primacy, by Dr. John Dolben, -Bishop of Rochester, who died at Bishopthorpe in 1686, and whose -consecration sermon was preached by South—scanty pieces of information -to put together; but really there is as little interest in his life, -as there is of importance in his administration. His biography, by -Le Neve, consists in a notice of his being an Ensign in the Royalist -Army at Marston Moor, in an enumeration of his preferments, and of the -Episcopal consecrations in which he took part,—and in the mention -of one or two sermons, which he preached on public occasions.<a name="FNanchor_721_721" id="FNanchor_721_721"></a><a href="#Footnote_721_721" class="fnanchor">[721]</a> -Burnet describes him as "a man of more<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_499" id="Page_499">[499]</a></span> spirit than discretion, and an -excellent preacher; but of a free conversation, which laid him open to -much censure in a vicious Court."<a name="FNanchor_722_722" id="FNanchor_722_722"></a><a href="#Footnote_722_722" class="fnanchor">[722]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">BISHOPS.</div> - -<p>None of the Welsh Bishops require notice, except that of St. Asaph. -This see, after being held by George Griffith, who died in 1668, was -bestowed upon Henry Glemham, who died in 1670, when Dr. Isaac Barrow, -a High Anglican Churchman, was translated to it from the Isle of -Man. Of that singular and inhospitable place he had been consecrated -prelate in 1663, and many works of charity and piety are ascribed to -him during his seven years' episcopate. The people had no chimnies, and -fixed bushes in the entrance to their huts, which they called making a -door; and, amidst all this misery, Barrow strove to introduce temporal -comforts together with spiritual blessings. At St. Asaph he pursued the -same, benevolent career as in the Isle of Man, improving his cathedral -and his palace, and also building almshouses.</p> - -<p>Barrow was uncle to the celebrated Divine of the same name, but he -does not appear to have possessed any of the ability, or much of the -learning of his nephew; and it is a singular instance of contrast -between the two, that, whereas the Master of Trinity has obtained -an undying<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_500" id="Page_500">[500]</a></span> renown for Protestantism by his treatise on the Pope's -supremacy, the prelate has been brought into an equivocal position by -the inscription on his monument in St. Asaph Cathedral, where he was -buried in 1680: "<i>Orate pro conservo vestro, ut inveniat misericordiam -in die Domini</i>." He was succeeded by William Lloyd, a distinguished -man, who can be more advantageously described when we reach the story -of the Seven Bishops in 1688.<a name="FNanchor_723_723" id="FNanchor_723_723"></a><a href="#Footnote_723_723" class="fnanchor">[723]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1662–1677.</div> - -<p>The most unworthy Bishop in this reign was Thomas Wood, who, on the -death of Hacket, in 1671, received the see of Lichfield and Coventry. -His elevation is attributed to the interest of the infamous Duchess -of Cleveland, whose favour he secured by contriving a match between -his niece and ward, a rich heiress, and the Duke of Southampton, the -Duchess' son. There appears to have been some hesitation respecting -this exercise of patronage even in the mind of Charles himself;<a name="FNanchor_724_724" id="FNanchor_724_724"></a><a href="#Footnote_724_724" class="fnanchor">[724]</a> -and the result of it confirmed the worst apprehensions of Wood's -unfitness for the Episcopal office, for he entirely neglected his -duties, and constantly lived out of his diocese. The money which he -received from the heirs of his predecessor<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_501" id="Page_501">[501]</a></span> to help him in building a -palace, he appropriated to his own purposes; and, under the pretence -of preparing for the erection, cut down a quantity of timber, which -he sold, putting the proceeds of the sale into his own pocket. His -scandalous conduct incurred suspension—a rare circumstance indeed in -the history of the Episcopal bench: and the form of his suspension -is preserved in <i>Sancroft's Register</i>, amongst the Lambeth Archives. -From this suspension the delinquent was relieved in 1686, although no -improvement took place in his conduct.<a name="FNanchor_725_725" id="FNanchor_725_725"></a><a href="#Footnote_725_725" class="fnanchor">[725]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">BISHOPS.</div> - -<p>The prelates whom I have noticed were consecrated a few of them before -the Civil Wars, some of them shortly after the Restoration, all of -them a considerable time before Sheldon's death in 1677. The study of -their characters, therefore, throws light upon the administration of -Church affairs up to the year just mentioned. There are, moreover, -two other Bishops, consecrated within three years before Sheldon's -death, who claim a passing notice. The Episcopal influence of the first -was brief, that of the second lengthened and somewhat peculiar. The -first is Dr. Ralph Brideoake, who had been chaplain in the Earl of -Derby's family, and had witnessed the heroism of the Countess during -the siege of Latham House; but made of different material from her -Ladyship, he submitted to the times, held the Vicarage of Witney in -Oxfordshire, and of St. Bartholomew by the Royal Exchange, under the -Commonwealth. Notwithstanding his having so far complied with the -existing powers as to accept the office of a Commissioner for trial and -approbation of ministers, he obtained at the Restoration, by another -form of subserviency, first, the Living of Standish in Lancashire; -next, the Deanery of Salisbury; and at last, in 1674, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_502" id="Page_502">[502]</a></span> Bishopric -of Chichester, holding with it <i>in commendam</i> a Canonry at Windsor. -There, in 1678, he died and was buried.<a name="FNanchor_726_726" id="FNanchor_726_726"></a><a href="#Footnote_726_726" class="fnanchor">[726]</a> The second of these two -Bishops was Dr. William Lloyd, who matriculated at Cambridge, and was -successively Vicar of Battersea in Surrey, Chaplain to the English -Merchants' Factory at Portugal, and Prebendary of St. Paul's. He -attained to the Episcopal Bench in 1675, first presiding over the see -of Llandaff; then being translated in 1679 to the see of Peterborough, -and in 1685 being translated to Norwich. All which I can say of his -character is that he is praised by Salmon, the admiring biographer of -the Bishops after the Restoration.<a name="FNanchor_727_727" id="FNanchor_727_727"></a><a href="#Footnote_727_727" class="fnanchor">[727]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1662–1677.<br /> - -BISHOPS.</div> - -<p>Such is the substance of what I have been able to gather respecting -the lives and characters of the Caroline prelates. They were far from -being all alike. Charges are brought against them as a class, which -individuals amongst them do not deserve. They were not all of the -same disposition, although they all identified themselves with the -same system. The reader will have noticed that facts prove Sheldon, -Ward, Morley, and Cosin to have been more or less what Anglicans -would esteem strict disciplinarians—what Nonconformists, and others -beside them, will more justly pronounce religious persecutors; and -what we know of Hacket, Wren, and Gunning,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_503" id="Page_503">[503]</a></span> will show that they -held principles adapted to make them like those of their brethren -who have just been named. It should be remembered, however, that -prelates had no longer the power they once possessed. They could not -do what their predecessors had done before the Restoration; for the -High Commission Court was abolished, the <i>ex officio</i> oath could no -longer be administered, and certain penalties once inflicted could -be repeated no more. All the Bishops now mentioned suffered in the -Civil Wars: yet Hacket retained the living of Cheam throughout the -troubles; Ward took his degree at Oxford, and became president of -Trinity College before the Restoration; and Gunning's ministry as an -Episcopalian was winked at by Oliver Cromwell. Wilkins, Reynolds, -Pearson, Croft, Laney, and Earl were more or less indulgent to Puritan -clergymen within the Church, and not so unfriendly to those outside, -as some others were;—and it may be mentioned, that the first three -held academic or ecclesiastical preferment under the Commonwealth; -and the last three were compelled to sacrifice emolument and endure -hardship. Passing over the worst or the least known of the Bench, what -shall be said of the best and most renowned? They were men of ability, -of learning, of unimpeachable morals, hospitable and kind, orthodox -and devout; but is there one amongst them to whom posterity can point -as possessing, in an eminent degree, the true Episcopal faculty,—the -gift of spiritual overseership, of a deep insight into Christ's truth, -into God's providence, and into men's souls? Is there one who excelled -in folding the sheep which were lost?—one who struck the world's -conscience, making it feel how awful goodness is? Richard Baxter was -far from perfect, nor did he possess qualifications adapted to the -administration of a diocese; but had he accepted the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_504" id="Page_504">[504]</a></span> mitre which he -refused, would he have found sitting by his side an equal in spiritual -power?</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1662–1677.</div> - -<p>We have now reached a point where it is wise to inquire into the state -of the clergy after the Restoration. It is seen what sort of men the -diocesans were; we ought to inquire what sort of men ministered in -their dioceses. Publications of the day bear witness to the fact, -often overlooked, that there were clergy in the Establishment whose -sympathies leaned towards Puritanism.<a name="FNanchor_728_728" id="FNanchor_728_728"></a><a href="#Footnote_728_728" class="fnanchor">[728]</a> The Bishop of Bristol had -much trouble with a person of this description, a Prebendary of the -cathedral, who describes the conduct of his diocesan in the following -manner:—"He citeth me afresh on pains of suspension; and tells me, -at my appearance, that I was a saucy, proud fellow; of a Presbyterian -hypocritical heart; upbraiding my preaching, praying, speech, face, -and whole ministry, very opprobriously, before all the people."<a name="FNanchor_729_729" id="FNanchor_729_729"></a><a href="#Footnote_729_729" class="fnanchor">[729]</a> -Complaints occur of conforming Nonconformists, as wearing neither -girdle nor cassock, being <i>à la mode</i> and <i>in querpo divinus</i>—as -setting up miserable readers to make the Liturgy contemptible, and -as engaging for an hour in extempore prayer. They preached over, it -is alleged, "the old one's notes," full of cant about "indwelling, -soul-saving, and heart-supporting;" they "affected a mortified -countenance," and "set the Sabbath above holidays," and "a pure heart -above the surplice," and were men "overflowing with the milk and honey -of doctrine, instead of the inculcation of honesty and obedience and -good works."<a name="FNanchor_730_730" id="FNanchor_730_730"></a><a href="#Footnote_730_730" class="fnanchor">[730]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_505" id="Page_505">[505]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote">CLERGY.</div> - -<p>From these and other circumstances it appears that the Act of -Uniformity did by no means accomplish all its purposes. Some were -Conformists only in name. The fact is, that whilst the Act drove out -all the best and most eminent of the Puritan class, there still were -many, of a pliable nature, who having opposed Episcopacy, and sworn to -the Covenant, and adopted the Directory, were content to nestle under -the wings of the Anglican Church, as soon as she arose, like a Phœnix -out of its ashes.</p> - -<p>The miserable condition of some of the clergy holding country -benefices or cures became the subject of satirical remark. In a style -of badinage, which aimed at being clever, one author speaks of a -clergyman as trying to "weather out his melancholy by retiring into -the little hole over the oven, called his study (contrived there, I -suppose, to save firing); a pretty little vatican, the whole furniture -whereof is a German system, a Geneva Bible,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_506" id="Page_506">[506]</a></span> and concordance of the -same; a budget of old stitched sermons, some broken girths, with two -or three yards of whipcord behind the door, and a saw and hammer to -prevent dilapidations."<a name="FNanchor_731_731" id="FNanchor_731_731"></a><a href="#Footnote_731_731" class="fnanchor">[731]</a> Of course no reliance can be placed on -such a trenchant description; but it shows the way in which clergymen -were talked of. With gravity, and apparent truthfulness, it is stated -elsewhere that clergymen sprung from the humbler ranks; and it is -mentioned, as a novelty, and a subject for congratulation, that a few -of aristocratic birth had entered holy orders. At the same time, it is -affirmed, that an attorney, a shopkeeper, and a common artizan would -hardly change their worldly condition with ordinary pastors.<a name="FNanchor_732_732" id="FNanchor_732_732"></a><a href="#Footnote_732_732" class="fnanchor">[732]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1662–1667.</div> - -<p>Many men, episcopally ordained, acted as chaplains. They conducted -family worship, morning and evening; in some cases read and expounded, -and prayed before dinner.<a name="FNanchor_733_733" id="FNanchor_733_733"></a><a href="#Footnote_733_733" class="fnanchor">[733]</a> The satirist, already quoted, asks, -"Shall we trust them in some good gentlemen's houses, there to perform -holy things? With all my heart, so that they may not be called down -from their studies to say grace to every health; that they may have a -little better wages<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_507" id="Page_507">[507]</a></span> than the cook or butler; as also, that there be a -groom in the house, besides the chaplain: (for sometimes into the ten -pounds a year they crowd the looking after a couple of geldings); and -that he may not be sent from table picking his teeth, and sighing, with -his hat under his arm, whilst the knight and my lady eat up the tarts -and chickens. It might be also convenient if he were suffered to speak -now and then in the parlour, besides at grace and prayer-time; and that -my cousin Abigail and he sit not too near one another at meals."<a name="FNanchor_734_734" id="FNanchor_734_734"></a><a href="#Footnote_734_734" class="fnanchor">[734]</a> -The spirit of the writer is apparent; it is not such as to inspire our -sympathy, or secure our confidence; but if some of the clergy at the -time had not been very ignominiously treated, surely no one would have -hazarded the caricature.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">CLERGY.</div> - -<p>The ignorance of the clergy was a topic for abundant abuse. Those, it -is said, who could spout a few Greek and Latin words for the benefit of -the squire, pitched their discourses so as to accommodate themselves -to the fine clothes, and abundance of ribbons, in the highest seats -of the Church, instead of seeking to instruct those who had to mind -the plough and mend the hedge. Cities and Corporations furnished "ten -or twelve-pound-men," whose parts and education were no more than -sufficient for reading the Lessons, after twice conning them over. -"An unlearned rout of contemptible people" rushed into holy orders, -just to read the prayers, although they understood "very little more -than a hollow pipe made of tin or wainscot."<a name="FNanchor_735_735" id="FNanchor_735_735"></a><a href="#Footnote_735_735" class="fnanchor">[735]</a> Bad taste in the -composition<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_508" id="Page_508">[508]</a></span> of sermons is also attributed to the clergy, for which -they are unmercifully ridiculed. Many of the examples, however, are -taken from the preaching of the most fanatical amongst the Puritans.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1662–1667.</div> - -<p>Men cannot buy books without money; and of the scantiness of clerical -libraries at that time there can be no question. Much more trustworthy, -and deserving of attention than some of the particulars just supplied, -is the anecdote of Tenison,—that he had, in his parish of St. -Martin's-in-the-Fields, "thirty or forty young men in orders, either -governors to young gentlemen, or chaplains to noblemen," who, being -reproved by him "for frequenting taverns or coffee-houses, told him -they would study or employ their time better if they had books." Hence -originated the foundation of the Tenison Library.<a name="FNanchor_736_736" id="FNanchor_736_736"></a><a href="#Footnote_736_736" class="fnanchor">[736]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">CLERGY.</div> - -<p>Between the poor rural clergy, with equally indigent chaplains and -curates on the one hand, and the richly-beneficed and dignified members -of the order on the other, a broad distinction must be drawn in point -of attainments and eloquence, if not in point of original ability. In -London, in the Universities, and in the high places of the Church, -there were men, especially towards the close of the period under our -review, who for scholastic learning, and ministerial capacity, were -illustrious ornaments of their sacred profession. Many pages of this -history bear witness to that fact. Still, the contempt in which the -clergy were too generally held is admitted by those who, at the time, -sought to make the best of the subject. Writers who vilified the -Church were answered by writers who vindicated it. Paper wars, fierce -and prolonged, were waged in a spirit which leaves<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_509" id="Page_509">[509]</a></span> little to choose -between the combatants. Those who appeared as defenders of the accused, -denied the unqualified application of the charges which they could not -deny altogether. They triumphantly cited the admissions extorted from -adversaries, that the clergy of the land had considerably improved, -and that it was a "sign of nothing but perfect madness, ignorance, -and stupidity, not to acknowledge that the present Church of England -affords as considerable scholars, and as solid and eloquent preachers, -as are anywhere to be found in the whole Christian world."<a name="FNanchor_737_737" id="FNanchor_737_737"></a><a href="#Footnote_737_737" class="fnanchor">[737]</a> They -contended that the illiteracy and bad taste complained of were by -no means so common as their assailants alleged; and that, as to the -latter accusation, it fell chiefly upon the Puritan remnant. They -complained, as bitterly as those on the other side, of the poverty -of clergymen, and their inability to purchase books; and then they -urged, as reasons for the contempt in which they were held, not only -straitened circumstances and a humble condition, but the calumnies -of their enemies; the origin of these calumnies being distributed -amongst Libertines, Jesuits, and Nonconformists,<a name="FNanchor_738_738" id="FNanchor_738_738"></a><a href="#Footnote_738_738" class="fnanchor">[738]</a> and the want of -discipline in the Church being also loudly lamented.<a name="FNanchor_739_739" id="FNanchor_739_739"></a><a href="#Footnote_739_739" class="fnanchor">[739]</a></p> - -<p>In connection with these illustrations I may observe that Articles of -Visitation in those days throw light on clerical costume, if a word or -two may be added on so<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_510" id="Page_510">[510]</a></span> trifling a matter. Amongst other things the -78th Canon is recognized as obligatory, and churchwardens are solemnly -asked, "Doth your parson, vicar, or curate usually wear such apparel -as is prescribed by the canon, that is to say, a gown with a standing -collar, and wide sleeves strait at the hands, and a square cap; or -doth he go at any time abroad in his doublet and hose without coat or -cassock, or doth he use to wear any light coloured stockings? doth he -wear any coife, and wrought night-caps, or only plain night-caps of -silk, satin, or velvet? and in his journeying, doth he usually wear a -cloak with sleeves, commonly called the priest's cloak without guards, -welts, long buttons or cuts?"<a name="FNanchor_740_740" id="FNanchor_740_740"></a><a href="#Footnote_740_740" class="fnanchor">[740]</a></p> - -<p>That which has been said relates to the circumstances, the education, -the preaching, and the habits of clergymen. What estimate is to be -formed of their religious and moral character? It is a common vice -to pass sweeping censures on a whole party. Most people fall into it -when speaking of opponents, and protest against it when speaking of -friends. Wishing to avoid that fault I would first say, undoubtedly -many clergymen might be found at that time who were most exemplary -in their lives, and two distinguished instances of the High Anglican -type may be cited in proof. Ken was successively Incumbent of Little -Easton, Brightstone, and East Woodhay. The purity of his life, the -devoutness of his temper, the eloquence of his preaching, and his -assiduous discharge of ministerial duties, are amongst the cherished -memories of the English Church. With him his neighbour, Isaac Milles, -the simple-hearted Rector of Highclere, is worthy of being associated. -For nine-and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_511" id="Page_511">[511]</a></span>-thirty years, on an income of £100 per annum, this worthy -minister of Christ laboured for the welfare of his rural flock. Filled -with the charity which thinketh no evil, "he would often rise up and -leave the company rather than hear even a bad man reproached behind -his back." So hospitable was he, "that he used to be much displeased, -if any poor person was sent from his house without tasting a cup of -his ale;" and "he turned a perfect beggar in order to get from others -something to supply their wants." He walked "every day in the week to -read the service in the parish church," and was "a constant visitant by -the bedside of the sick and dying."<a name="FNanchor_741_741" id="FNanchor_741_741"></a><a href="#Footnote_741_741" class="fnanchor">[741]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">CLERGY.</div> - -<p>But there is another side to the picture—pamphleteers accused -the clergy not only of ignorance, and of fanaticism, but also of -immorality. This charge is but faintly touched in the particular -controversy just reported; but a writer, at an earlier period, who -fiercely assails the ministers of the Establishment, declares how -the Church resents the scandalous profaneness of many of her sons; -and reproaches the reverend in function, who were shameful in life, -those who were disorderly in holy orders, and who, bound to walk -circumspectly, reel notwithstanding, having their conversation in the -ale-house as well as in heaven. He proceeds in the name of the Church -to complain of unconscionable simony, and of encroaching pluralities; -saying, "Lately you were thought incapable of one living, now three, -four, or five cannot suffice you;" and the whole is wound up by charges -of non-residence, whereupon the writer in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_512" id="Page_512">[512]</a></span>veighs, in most violent -terms, against the employment of curates.<a name="FNanchor_742_742" id="FNanchor_742_742"></a><a href="#Footnote_742_742" class="fnanchor">[742]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">CLERGY.</div> - -<p>Such testimony must be taken only for what it is worth. But it seems -incredible that, without a substratum of facts, any one would make -these bold assertions. Other writers of the period speak of the clergy -in terms which give a mean opinion of their religious character. Philip -Henry states of many who conformed, that, since they did so, from -unblamable, orderly, pious men, they became exceedingly dissolute and -profane.<a name="FNanchor_743_743" id="FNanchor_743_743"></a><a href="#Footnote_743_743" class="fnanchor">[743]</a> Burnet alludes to the luxury and sloth of dignitaries -"who generally took more care of themselves than of the Church."<a name="FNanchor_744_744" id="FNanchor_744_744"></a><a href="#Footnote_744_744" class="fnanchor">[744]</a> -Pepys records, that there "was much discourse about the bad state of -the Church," and how the clergy were "come to be men of no worth in -the world."<a name="FNanchor_745_745" id="FNanchor_745_745"></a><a href="#Footnote_745_745" class="fnanchor">[745]</a> The King himself laid at their door the blame of the -spread of Nonconformity; for "they thought of nothing but to get good -benefices, and to keep a good table."<a name="FNanchor_746_746" id="FNanchor_746_746"></a><a href="#Footnote_746_746" class="fnanchor">[746]</a> It was deemed necessary -in Articles of Visitation to inquire whether the clergy resorted to -taverns, or gave themselves to drinking, or riot, or played at unlawful -games.<a name="FNanchor_747_747" id="FNanchor_747_747"></a><a href="#Footnote_747_747" class="fnanchor">[747]</a> The rush of parish ministers out of London during the -plague testifies to a want of devotedness and self-sacrifice; and -the awful dissoluteness of public manners, looked at in connection -with all circumstances, indicates not<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_513" id="Page_513">[513]</a></span> merely the failure of a -faithful ministry in some cases, but the consequence of a careless and -inefficient one in many more. Poverty and dependence, or even want of -learning, will not account for all the clerical humiliation in the time -of Charles II. A half-starved curé with love for his parishioners, and -a ragged friar of true sanctity, had a far different social standing on -the Continent, from many Protestant curates and chaplains at that time -in England.</p> - - -<p class="center p-left sm p4">END OF THIRD VOLUME.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p class="smcap sm r2">27, Paternoster Row,</p></div> - -<p class="smcap sm r1">London, E.C.</p> - - -<h2 class="p2 normal">WORKS PUBLISHED<br /> - -<span class="xs">BY</span><br /> - -<span class="lg">HODDER AND STOUGHTON.</span></h2> - -<hr class="r15" /> - -<p>ECCLESIA: or, Church Problems considered by Various Writers. -Edited by <span class="smcap">H. R. Reynolds</span>, D.D., President of Cheshunt -College.</p> - -<p>THE EDUCATION OF THE HEART: Woman's Best Work. 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The -Closing Scene.</p></blockquote> - -<hr class="r15" /> - -<p class="center p-left sm">LONDON: HODDER & STOUGHTON, 27, PATERNOSTER ROW, E.C.</p> - -<hr class="full" /> - -<p class="center p-left xs">UNWIN BROTHERS, OLD STYLE PRINTERS, BUCKLERSBURY, E.C.</p> - - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> For the state of Puritanism during the Civil Wars and the -Commonwealth I must refer the reader to my former Volumes. I take up -the thread of the History where I dropped it, at the death of Oliver -Cromwell.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> <i>Cromwellian Diary</i>, iii., <i>Int.</i> v. viii.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> Letter to Hyde, <i>Cosin's Works</i>, iv. 465.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> <i>Proclamation for the better Encouraging of Godly -Ministers</i>, Nov. 25. In the notes of the speech of the Protector to the -Officers of the Army (<i>Thurloe</i>, vii. 447), "Liberty of Conscience, as -we are Christians," is one of the heads.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> <i>Thurloe</i>, vii. 4:4.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> <i>Ludlow</i>, ii. 618.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_7_7" id="Footnote_7_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_7"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> <i>Cromwellian Diary</i>, iii. 1.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_8_8" id="Footnote_8_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_8"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> <i>Ibid.</i>, 10.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_9_9" id="Footnote_9_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9_9"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> <i>Cromwellian Diary</i>, iii. 13, Jan. 28.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_10_10" id="Footnote_10_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_10_10"><span class="label">[10]</span></a> <i>Ibid.</i>, 83, 138, Feb. 5.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_11_11" id="Footnote_11_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_11_11"><span class="label">[11]</span></a> <i>Cromwellian Diary</i>, iii. 403, Feb. 21.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_12_12" id="Footnote_12_12"></a><a href="#FNanchor_12_12"><span class="label">[12]</span></a> <i>Guizot's Richard Cromwell, &c.</i> i. 103.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_13_13" id="Footnote_13_13"></a><a href="#FNanchor_13_13"><span class="label">[13]</span></a> <i>Cromwellian Diary</i>, iv. 328, April 2.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_14_14" id="Footnote_14_14"></a><a href="#FNanchor_14_14"><span class="label">[14]</span></a> <i>Ibid.</i>, iii. 177, Feb. 9.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_15_15" id="Footnote_15_15"></a><a href="#FNanchor_15_15"><span class="label">[15]</span></a> <i>Ibid.</i>, 448, Feb. 22; 494, Feb. 26.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_16_16" id="Footnote_16_16"></a><a href="#FNanchor_16_16"><span class="label">[16]</span></a> <i>Cromwellian Diary</i>, iii. 87, <i>et seq.</i>, Feb. 7th and -9th.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_17_17" id="Footnote_17_17"></a><a href="#FNanchor_17_17"><span class="label">[17]</span></a> <i>Guizot's Richard Cromwell and the Restoration</i>, i. 91, -March 16. No other historian has so patiently traced the steps by which -the Stuarts were restored as this eminent Frenchman.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_18_18" id="Footnote_18_18"></a><a href="#FNanchor_18_18"><span class="label">[18]</span></a> <i>Clarendon's State Papers</i>, iii. 440, March 18.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_19_19" id="Footnote_19_19"></a><a href="#FNanchor_19_19"><span class="label">[19]</span></a> This petition to Richard followed the humble -representation presented on the 6th of April.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_20_20" id="Footnote_20_20"></a><a href="#FNanchor_20_20"><span class="label">[20]</span></a> Prynne got in for a few hours, and had an angry -altercation with Haselrig and Vane.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_21_21" id="Footnote_21_21"></a><a href="#FNanchor_21_21"><span class="label">[21]</span></a> <i>Parl. Hist.</i>, iii. 1553.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_22_22" id="Footnote_22_22"></a><a href="#FNanchor_22_22"><span class="label">[22]</span></a> Of the popularity of Fleetwood amongst "Anabaptists and -other sectaries," and of the importance attributed to him by lookers -on, there are illustrations in the correspondence of the French -ambassador,—<i>Guizot</i>, i. 246.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_23_23" id="Footnote_23_23"></a><a href="#FNanchor_23_23"><span class="label">[23]</span></a> <i>Howe's Life</i>, by <i>Rogers</i>, 94.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_24_24" id="Footnote_24_24"></a><a href="#FNanchor_24_24"><span class="label">[24]</span></a> <i>Rogers</i>, 91. <i>Noble's Protectorate House</i>, i. 172, 180, -176.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_25_25" id="Footnote_25_25"></a><a href="#FNanchor_25_25"><span class="label">[25]</span></a> Noticed in an article on Keble in <i>Macmillan's Magazine</i> -for March, 1869. Baxter speaks favourably of Richard Cromwell. His -wife, who died in 1676, whilst he was abroad, is spoken of as a -prudent, godly, practical Christian. It appears from one of her -letters, that, after the Protectorate, she "wanted some scholar or -godly man to reside at Hursley, to minister spiritual consolation under -her present sorrows."—<i>Noble</i>, i. 343.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_26_26" id="Footnote_26_26"></a><a href="#FNanchor_26_26"><span class="label">[26]</span></a> Neal (iv. 209) relates this, and thinks the story -probable; but Orme, in his <i>Life of Owen</i>, p. 213, disputes it. -Respecting what Baxter says about Owen (<i>Life and Times</i>, i. 101) see -an <i>Historical Account of my own Life</i>, by <i>Calamy</i>, i. 378.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_27_27" id="Footnote_27_27"></a><a href="#FNanchor_27_27"><span class="label">[27]</span></a> As I am not aware of these important entries having been -published by any one else I introduce them here:—</p> - -<p>June 7th—"This day," so runs the record, "the Church received a letter -from the Church at Wallingford House, desiring advice from the Church -what they apprehended was needful for the Commonwealth; the Church -considering it, ordered the elders to write to them, thanking them for -their love and care of them; and also desiring to give the right-hand -of fellowship with them; but concerning civil business the Church, as a -Church, desire not to meddle with."</p> - -<p>July 10th—"Ordered by the Church upon the receipt of a letter from the -Church at Wallingford House, that Wednesday, the 13th of July, should -be set apart to humble our souls before the Lord, both in regard of the -sins of the nation, and also for our own sins, as also to seek the Lord -for direction and assistance for the carrying on the Lord's work in the -nation."</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_28_28" id="Footnote_28_28"></a><a href="#FNanchor_28_28"><span class="label">[28]</span></a> This confession will be noticed in the next volume in the -account given of the development of Congregationalism.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_29_29" id="Footnote_29_29"></a><a href="#FNanchor_29_29"><span class="label">[29]</span></a> <i>MS. Yarmouth Independent Church Records</i>, Dec. 28, -1659. As to the opinions of Independents on these questions during the -Commonwealth see the former volumes of this Ecclesiastical History.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_30_30" id="Footnote_30_30"></a><a href="#FNanchor_30_30"><span class="label">[30]</span></a> <i>Owen's Works</i>, xix. 385–393.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_31_31" id="Footnote_31_31"></a><a href="#FNanchor_31_31"><span class="label">[31]</span></a> <i>Hist. of the Rebellion</i> (Oxford Edit., 1843), 855–6. The -documents are without date. They are placed by Clarendon under the year -1658.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_32_32" id="Footnote_32_32"></a><a href="#FNanchor_32_32"><span class="label">[32]</span></a> <i>Ibid.</i>, 857.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_33_33" id="Footnote_33_33"></a><a href="#FNanchor_33_33"><span class="label">[33]</span></a> <i>Neal</i> (iv. 195) alludes to this affair, and regards it -as an artifice to get money "out of the poor King's purse." <i>Crosby</i> -(ii. 91) speaks of the Baptists as making "overtures to the King for -his restoration," but does not relate any particulars. The modern -historian of the Baptists, Dr. Evans, as far as I can find, says -nothing upon the subject.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_34_34" id="Footnote_34_34"></a><a href="#FNanchor_34_34"><span class="label">[34]</span></a> <i>Lingard</i>, xi. 156.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_35_35" id="Footnote_35_35"></a><a href="#FNanchor_35_35"><span class="label">[35]</span></a> <i>Newcome's Autobiography</i>, i. 117.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_36_36" id="Footnote_36_36"></a><a href="#FNanchor_36_36"><span class="label">[36]</span></a> Dated November 1st, 1659. <i>Thurloe</i>, vii. 771.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_37_37" id="Footnote_37_37"></a><a href="#FNanchor_37_37"><span class="label">[37]</span></a> December 14th, 1659. <i>Ibid.</i>, 795.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_38_38" id="Footnote_38_38"></a><a href="#FNanchor_38_38"><span class="label">[38]</span></a> December 16th, 1659. <i>Ibid.</i>, 797.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_39_39" id="Footnote_39_39"></a><a href="#FNanchor_39_39"><span class="label">[39]</span></a> <i>Thorndike's Works</i>, vol. ii. part i., preface.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_40_40" id="Footnote_40_40"></a><a href="#FNanchor_40_40"><span class="label">[40]</span></a> May 4. <i>Barwick's Life</i>, 401; <i>Thorndike</i>, vi. 219.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_41_41" id="Footnote_41_41"></a><a href="#FNanchor_41_41"><span class="label">[41]</span></a> <i>Barwick's Life</i>, 449.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_42_42" id="Footnote_42_42"></a><a href="#FNanchor_42_42"><span class="label">[42]</span></a> <i>Barwick</i>, 201, 218, 412. Various difficulties felt at -the time by the Bishops are mentioned in the letters printed in the -appendix to <i>Barwick's Life</i>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_43_43" id="Footnote_43_43"></a><a href="#FNanchor_43_43"><span class="label">[43]</span></a> <i>Barwick</i>, 413, 424.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_44_44" id="Footnote_44_44"></a><a href="#FNanchor_44_44"><span class="label">[44]</span></a> <i>Ibid.</i>, 517, 519, 525.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_45_45" id="Footnote_45_45"></a><a href="#FNanchor_45_45"><span class="label">[45]</span></a> 1659, Nov. 9 & 18, Dec. 9. 1660, Feb. 3.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_46_46" id="Footnote_46_46"></a><a href="#FNanchor_46_46"><span class="label">[46]</span></a> <i>Ludlow</i>, ii. 674.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_47_47" id="Footnote_47_47"></a><a href="#FNanchor_47_47"><span class="label">[47]</span></a> See pamphlets: <i>The Leveller</i>; <i>The Rota; or, Model of a -Free State</i>; and <i>Gallicantus seu præcursor Gallicinii Secundus</i>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_48_48" id="Footnote_48_48"></a><a href="#FNanchor_48_48"><span class="label">[48]</span></a> <i>State Papers, Dom. Interreg.</i>, No. 659.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_49_49" id="Footnote_49_49"></a><a href="#FNanchor_49_49"><span class="label">[49]</span></a> See prices in <i>Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations</i>, B. I. c. -II.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_50_50" id="Footnote_50_50"></a><a href="#FNanchor_50_50"><span class="label">[50]</span></a> <i>Guizot</i>, ii. 62.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_51_51" id="Footnote_51_51"></a><a href="#FNanchor_51_51"><span class="label">[51]</span></a> Price says Christmas-day. <i>Hist. of the King's -Restoration</i>, 72.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_52_52" id="Footnote_52_52"></a><a href="#FNanchor_52_52"><span class="label">[52]</span></a> Numerous illustrations of the state of feeling at the -time might be culled from these and other pamphlets of the period. Some -of them are printed in the <i>Harleian Miscellany</i>. Some are noticed and -described in <i>Kennet's Register</i>. A large collection of them may be -found in the British Museum.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_53_53" id="Footnote_53_53"></a><a href="#FNanchor_53_53"><span class="label">[53]</span></a> <i>Price's Mystery and Method of His Majesty's Happy -Restoration</i>, 79, 80.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_54_54" id="Footnote_54_54"></a><a href="#FNanchor_54_54"><span class="label">[54]</span></a> <i>Neal</i> (iv. 238–242) says that when Monk had joined the -Presbyterians, and the Independents saw that they were betrayed, they -offered to support their friends in Parliament, and to raise four -new regiments for the purpose of resisting the General's designs. He -further states that Owen and Nye consulted with Whitelocke and St. -John, and engaged to procure £100,000 to support the Army, if the Army -would again undertake the defence of religious liberty; but he gives no -authority for what he relates.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_55_55" id="Footnote_55_55"></a><a href="#FNanchor_55_55"><span class="label">[55]</span></a> <i>Coverdale's Version.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_56_56" id="Footnote_56_56"></a><a href="#FNanchor_56_56"><span class="label">[56]</span></a> <i>Price</i>, 86, 87.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_57_57" id="Footnote_57_57"></a><a href="#FNanchor_57_57"><span class="label">[57]</span></a> Quoted in <i>Guizot</i>, ii. 122.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_58_58" id="Footnote_58_58"></a><a href="#FNanchor_58_58"><span class="label">[58]</span></a> <i>Pepys' Diary</i>, i. 22, Saturday, Feb. 11.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_59_59" id="Footnote_59_59"></a><a href="#FNanchor_59_59"><span class="label">[59]</span></a> <i>Memoirs of Col. Hutchinson</i>, 362.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_60_60" id="Footnote_60_60"></a><a href="#FNanchor_60_60"><span class="label">[60]</span></a> <i>Milton's Ready and Easy Way, &c. Works</i>, i. 589.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_61_61" id="Footnote_61_61"></a><a href="#FNanchor_61_61"><span class="label">[61]</span></a> <i>Parl. Hist.</i>, iii. 1580.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_62_62" id="Footnote_62_62"></a><a href="#FNanchor_62_62"><span class="label">[62]</span></a> <i>Baxter's Life and Times</i>, i. 105; ii. 214.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_63_63" id="Footnote_63_63"></a><a href="#FNanchor_63_63"><span class="label">[63]</span></a> 1660, April 8. <i>Thurloe</i>, vii. 892. The rest of the -letter is interesting, and shows how much personal feeling was mixed up -in court intrigues.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_64_64" id="Footnote_64_64"></a><a href="#FNanchor_64_64"><span class="label">[64]</span></a> <i>Life and Times</i>, ii. 207, 215. It is curious that -as the Presbyterians suspected the King, so the King suspected the -Presbyterians. See letter by Kingstoun, April 8, just referred to.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_65_65" id="Footnote_65_65"></a><a href="#FNanchor_65_65"><span class="label">[65]</span></a> See <i>Valley of Baca</i>, a pamphlet published about that -time.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_66_66" id="Footnote_66_66"></a><a href="#FNanchor_66_66"><span class="label">[66]</span></a> See a "Declaration," which is worth reading, printed -in <i>Kennet's Register</i>, 121 (April 24), with a long list of noble -signatures.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_67_67" id="Footnote_67_67"></a><a href="#FNanchor_67_67"><span class="label">[67]</span></a> All this Baxter describes with great simplicity in his -<i>Life and Times</i>, ii. 216.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_68_68" id="Footnote_68_68"></a><a href="#FNanchor_68_68"><span class="label">[68]</span></a> See correspondence between Sharp and Douglas, in the -months of March and April, <i>Kennet's Register</i>, 78–124.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_69_69" id="Footnote_69_69"></a><a href="#FNanchor_69_69"><span class="label">[69]</span></a> <i>Thurloe</i>, vii. 872, 873.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_70_70" id="Footnote_70_70"></a><a href="#FNanchor_70_70"><span class="label">[70]</span></a> April 8, <i>Thurloe</i>, vii. 889.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_71_71" id="Footnote_71_71"></a><a href="#FNanchor_71_71"><span class="label">[71]</span></a> April 6, <i>Ibid.</i>, 887.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_72_72" id="Footnote_72_72"></a><a href="#FNanchor_72_72"><span class="label">[72]</span></a> <i>Price's Mystery and Method of His Majesty's Happy -Restoration</i>, 136.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_73_73" id="Footnote_73_73"></a><a href="#FNanchor_73_73"><span class="label">[73]</span></a> See <i>Lives</i> of him by <i>Gumble</i> and by <i>Price</i>. Sir -Anthony Ashley Cooper was a confidant of Monk, and Mrs. Lucy Hutchinson -tells us that he assured her husband, even after Monk's designs -became apparent, that there was no intention besides a Commonwealth, -and that if the violence of the people should bring the King in, he -would perish body and soul rather than see a hair of any man's head -touched, or a penny of any man's estate forfeited through the quarrel. -Hutchinson held Cooper "for a more execrable traytor than Monke -himselfe."—<i>Memoirs</i>, 360.</p> - -<p>Aubrey, putting down his recollections of what he heard at the time -from Royalist agents in London, says, "I remember, in the main, -that they were satisfied he no more intended or designed the King's -restoration, when he came into England, or first came to London, than -his horse did." <i>Letters</i> iii. 454. I have no doubt that, in February, -Monk thought of restoring the King; but before that date I am inclined -to believe he was waiting to see which way the wind blew. Whatever -hypothesis may be adopted as to his intentions, it must be admitted -that he acted the part of a thoroughly untruthful man. Guizot, in his -life of Monk, represents him as a Royalist at heart throughout the -whole of the business. Of course Monk, after he openly took the King's -side, would wish to be so regarded.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_74_74" id="Footnote_74_74"></a><a href="#FNanchor_74_74"><span class="label">[74]</span></a> <i>Ludlow's Memoirs</i>, ii. 865.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_75_75" id="Footnote_75_75"></a><a href="#FNanchor_75_75"><span class="label">[75]</span></a> <i>Guizot</i>, ii. 411.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_76_76" id="Footnote_76_76"></a><a href="#FNanchor_76_76"><span class="label">[76]</span></a> See in Appendix notice of a letter in the State Paper -Office referring to projected insurrections.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_77_77" id="Footnote_77_77"></a><a href="#FNanchor_77_77"><span class="label">[77]</span></a> See <i>Journals</i> of both Houses, 1st of May. When -examining, some years ago, the papers in the House of Lords, belonging -to that period, I saw the original letter from Charles, but not the -Declaration.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_78_78" id="Footnote_78_78"></a><a href="#FNanchor_78_78"><span class="label">[78]</span></a> <i>Clarendon's Hist</i>., 904.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_79_79" id="Footnote_79_79"></a><a href="#FNanchor_79_79"><span class="label">[79]</span></a> <i>Burnet's Hist. of his Own Time</i>, i. 88.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_80_80" id="Footnote_80_80"></a><a href="#FNanchor_80_80"><span class="label">[80]</span></a> <i>Kennet's Register</i>, 129. Sharp afterwards became -Archbishop Sharp.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_81_81" id="Footnote_81_81"></a><a href="#FNanchor_81_81"><span class="label">[81]</span></a> <i>Worcester MS.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_82_82" id="Footnote_82_82"></a><a href="#FNanchor_82_82"><span class="label">[82]</span></a> <i>Public Intelligencer</i>, No. 20. <i>Newcome's Diary</i>, -published by the Cheetham Society, and <i>Life of Philip Henry</i>, 59.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_83_83" id="Footnote_83_83"></a><a href="#FNanchor_83_83"><span class="label">[83]</span></a> Hale's reflections on the crisis may be seen in his -<i>Memoirs</i> by <i>Williams</i>, 63–65.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_84_84" id="Footnote_84_84"></a><a href="#FNanchor_84_84"><span class="label">[84]</span></a> <i>Pepys' Diary</i> (May 15) i. 62.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_85_85" id="Footnote_85_85"></a><a href="#FNanchor_85_85"><span class="label">[85]</span></a> <i>Kennet's Register</i>, 146.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_86_86" id="Footnote_86_86"></a><a href="#FNanchor_86_86"><span class="label">[86]</span></a> In <i>The Secret History of the Reign of Charles II. and -James II.</i>, 1690—a book not very trustworthy—we have the original of -the story, often repeated, respecting Mr. Case, "who, with the rest of -the brethren coming where the King lay, and desiring to be admitted -into the King's presence, were carried into the chamber next or very -near to the King's closet, but told withal that the King was busy at -his devotions, and that till he had done they must be contented to -stay. Being thus left alone, by contrivance no doubt, and hearing a -sound of groaning piety, such was the curiosity of Mr. Case, that he -would needs go and lay his ear to the closet door. By heavens, how was -the good old man ravished to hear the pious ejaculations that fell -from the King's lips: 'Lord, since Thou art pleased to restore me to -the throne of my ancestors, grant me a heart constant in the exercise -and protection of thy true Protestant religion. Never may I seek the -oppression of those who out of tenderness to their consciences, are not -free to conform to outward and indifferent ceremonies.'"</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_87_87" id="Footnote_87_87"></a><a href="#FNanchor_87_87"><span class="label">[87]</span></a> <i>Kennet's Register</i> under date May 20th.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_88_88" id="Footnote_88_88"></a><a href="#FNanchor_88_88"><span class="label">[88]</span></a> <i>Barwick's Life</i>, 270, 520.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_89_89" id="Footnote_89_89"></a><a href="#FNanchor_89_89"><span class="label">[89]</span></a> <i>Buckingham's Works</i>, ii. 55. See <i>Harris's Lives</i>, v. -52, <i>et seq.</i>, for evidence as to his being a Papist.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_90_90" id="Footnote_90_90"></a><a href="#FNanchor_90_90"><span class="label">[90]</span></a> See what Harris has collected on this subject, v. 13 <i>et -seq.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_91_91" id="Footnote_91_91"></a><a href="#FNanchor_91_91"><span class="label">[91]</span></a> <i>Character of Charles II.</i>, 56.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_92_92" id="Footnote_92_92"></a><a href="#FNanchor_92_92"><span class="label">[92]</span></a> "23rd. General Monk marched from London, with a gallant -train of attendants to meet the King. It is said that several fanatics -intermingled themselves with the troops, but were discovered, whereof -three killed, and some hurt, and three taken, who do confess the design -was to pistol the King. 24th. One to be put to the rack for discovery. -It is said the King escaped a plot of some Frenchmen at the Hague to -pistol the King in his coach, but discovered by one who was in presence -once hearing them, and they suspecting him, shot him as dead, but -recovering to speak, discovered their intentions. From all such or any -other, God ever preserve and protect his pious Majesty!"—<i>Worcester -MS.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_93_93" id="Footnote_93_93"></a><a href="#FNanchor_93_93"><span class="label">[93]</span></a> <i>Kennet</i>, 160–164.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_94_94" id="Footnote_94_94"></a><a href="#FNanchor_94_94"><span class="label">[94]</span></a> <i>Butler's Hist. Memorials of the Catholics</i>, iii. 23.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_95_95" id="Footnote_95_95"></a><a href="#FNanchor_95_95"><span class="label">[95]</span></a> From Godly ministers in Exeter and Devonshire.—<i>State -Papers, Dom. Charles II.</i>, 1660, vol. i. 28.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_96_96" id="Footnote_96_96"></a><a href="#FNanchor_96_96"><span class="label">[96]</span></a></p> - -<ul> - <li>(Signed) Philip Nye</li> - <li class="i4">Joseph Caryl</li> - <li class="i4">Samuel Slater</li> - <li class="i4">Richard Kentish</li> - <li class="i4">George Griffiths</li> - <li class="i4">Matt. Mede</li> - <li class="i4">John Hodges</li> - <li class="i4">William Hook</li> - <li class="i4">Thomas Brookes</li> - <li class="i4">George Cokayn</li> - <li class="i4">Jo. Loder</li> - <li class="i4">Thomas Malony</li> - <li class="i4">Tho. Walley</li> - <li class="i4">William Greenehill</li> - <li class="i4">Matthew Barker</li> - <li class="i4">Edward Pearce</li> - <li class="i4">John Rowe</li> - <li class="i4">Robert Bragg</li> - <li class="i4">Jo. Baker</li> - <li class="i4">Seth Wood</li> -</ul> - -<p class="r1">—<i>State Papers, Dom. Charles II.</i>, vol i. <i>No. 36</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_97_97" id="Footnote_97_97"></a><a href="#FNanchor_97_97"><span class="label">[97]</span></a> (Signed) John Angier, Nathaniel Heywood, Henry Newcome, -Nathaniel Baxter, and many others. Peter Aspinwall signs himself -"minister of Formby, where now more people go openly to Mass than to -our Church." <i>State Papers</i> xxiv., 29.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_98_98" id="Footnote_98_98"></a><a href="#FNanchor_98_98"><span class="label">[98]</span></a> A new Act, touching the Royal Supremacy, was passed in -the Scotch Parliament, January, 1661 (See <i>Murray's Collection of the -Acts</i>), but that does not come within the limits of our history.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_99_99" id="Footnote_99_99"></a><a href="#FNanchor_99_99"><span class="label">[99]</span></a> Stat. 26 Henry VIII. c. i., repealed 1 and 2 Philip and -Mary, c. viii., ss. 12–20. That Act was repealed by 1 Elizabeth c. -i., ss. 1, 2. Except in certain particulars, provision is made for -the ecclesiastical Supremacy of the Crown by 1 Elizabeth c. i., ss. -16-23.—<i>Digest of Statutes</i> ii., 1387. The doctrine of the Royal -Supremacy arose as a counter-action of the doctrine of Papal Supremacy; -and nothing in its way can be more dignified and noble than the preface -to the Statute 24 Henry VIII., c. 12. The conflict between Papal -Supremacy and national English Independence began long before the -Reformation.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_100_100" id="Footnote_100_100"></a><a href="#FNanchor_100_100"><span class="label">[100]</span></a> <i>Charles I. in 1646</i>, 30.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_101_101" id="Footnote_101_101"></a><a href="#FNanchor_101_101"><span class="label">[101]</span></a> <i>Clarendon's State Papers</i>, ii. 237.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_102_102" id="Footnote_102_102"></a><a href="#FNanchor_102_102"><span class="label">[102]</span></a> <i>Hist. of his own Times</i>, i. 95.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_103_103" id="Footnote_103_103"></a><a href="#FNanchor_103_103"><span class="label">[103]</span></a> <i>Ibid.</i> Compared with Clarendon (1220), who gives a long -character of Southampton.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_104_104" id="Footnote_104_104"></a><a href="#FNanchor_104_104"><span class="label">[104]</span></a> <i>Clarendon</i>, 1005.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_105_105" id="Footnote_105_105"></a><a href="#FNanchor_105_105"><span class="label">[105]</span></a> <i>Burnet</i>, i. 97.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_106_106" id="Footnote_106_106"></a><a href="#FNanchor_106_106"><span class="label">[106]</span></a> <i>Ibid.</i>, 96. Burnet, who knew Ashley, afterwards -Lord Shaftesbury, states the last particular upon the authority of -conversations with him.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_107_107" id="Footnote_107_107"></a><a href="#FNanchor_107_107"><span class="label">[107]</span></a> July 9, 16. <i>Parl. Hist.</i> iv. 79, 84.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_108_108" id="Footnote_108_108"></a><a href="#FNanchor_108_108"><span class="label">[108]</span></a> 12 Charles II. c. 17.—Upon the 26th of May Mr. -Prynne made a report touching the quiet possession of ministers, -schoolmasters, and other ecclesiastical persons, in sequestered -livings, until they, on order, should be legally convicted; and two -days afterwards allusion was made in a further report from the same -member to several riots which had "been committed, and forcible entries -made upon the possessions of divers persons, ecclesiastical and -temporal;" when an order to prevent such disturbances in future was -recommitted, to be put into the form of a proclamation "to be offered -to the King's Majesty."—<i>Commons' Journals</i>, May 26th & 28th, 1660; -This was for the benefit of the Presbyterians, but the current of -feeling in the House was setting in the other direction.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_109_109" id="Footnote_109_109"></a><a href="#FNanchor_109_109"><span class="label">[109]</span></a> There is an account in <i>Calamy</i> of Abraham Wright, -Incumbent of Cheavely, Cambridgeshire, being turned out of his living, -because it did not appear to the Justices that he was in orders, and of -his commencing an action for the recovery of his tithes: and against -Mr. Deken, who had been substituted in his place, "for the making good -his title to the living."—<i>Cont. of the Account</i>, 158, <i>et seq.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_110_110" id="Footnote_110_110"></a><a href="#FNanchor_110_110"><span class="label">[110]</span></a> Hunter's <i>Life of Heywood</i>, 125.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_111_111" id="Footnote_111_111"></a><a href="#FNanchor_111_111"><span class="label">[111]</span></a> <i>Kennet</i>, 204.—I am indebted for the following note to -the Dean of Westminster, to whom it was communicated by the Rector of -Acton: "Mr. Philip Nye appears to have been made Rector of Acton soon -after the Battle of Brentford, in the room of Dr. Daniel Featley (or -Fairclough), who held Lambeth Rectory as well. There is a curious entry -in the Register, which I append;—'April, 165—, Richard Meredith, -esquire, eldest son of Sr. William Meredith...Baronet, was marryed -unto Mrs. Susanne Skippon, youngest daughter of right honourable Major -General Philip Skippon [<i>Traytor</i>] by Sr. John Thoroughgood [<i>Knave</i>] -in the publick congregation within the Parish Church at Acton...Mr. -Philip Nye at the same time praying and teaching upon that occasion.' -The interpolations, 'Traytor' and 'Knave,' are, of course, by a -different hand, and are always attributed by me to Dr. Bruno Ryves (one -of Charles the Second's Chaplains?) who was appointed Rector of Acton -at the Restoration. To the same Dr. Ryves is attributed the erasure of -all 'Lord' Francis Rous' titles on a tablet in Acton Church, the said -Lordship being of Cromwell's creation.</p> - -<p class="r1">E. P."</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_112_112" id="Footnote_112_112"></a><a href="#FNanchor_112_112"><span class="label">[112]</span></a> <i>Journals of the Lords</i>, Sept. 1.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_113_113" id="Footnote_113_113"></a><a href="#FNanchor_113_113"><span class="label">[113]</span></a> <i>Ibid.</i>, June 4.—The Earl of Manchester was restored -to the Chancellorship, and he immediately issued warrants for the -restoration of ejected Heads and Fellows.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_114_114" id="Footnote_114_114"></a><a href="#FNanchor_114_114"><span class="label">[114]</span></a> Between the 25th of June, 1660, and the 2nd of March, -1661, no less than 121 Doctors of Divinity were created by the King's -mandate, and 39 degrees were conferred on other faculties.—<i>Kennet's -Reg.</i> <i>Cooper's Cambridge</i>, iii. 481.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_115_115" id="Footnote_115_115"></a><a href="#FNanchor_115_115"><span class="label">[115]</span></a> <i>Kennet's Register</i>, 293.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_116_116" id="Footnote_116_116"></a><a href="#FNanchor_116_116"><span class="label">[116]</span></a> <i>D'Oyley's Life of Sancroft</i>, i. 123.—A curious story -about Stephen Scanderet, of Trinity College, Cambridge, is related by -<i>Calamy</i>, <i>Account</i>, 655.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_117_117" id="Footnote_117_117"></a><a href="#FNanchor_117_117"><span class="label">[117]</span></a> <i>Journals</i> under date.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_118_118" id="Footnote_118_118"></a><a href="#FNanchor_118_118"><span class="label">[118]</span></a> Read a second time 6th July. <i>Journals.</i> It came to -nothing.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_119_119" id="Footnote_119_119"></a><a href="#FNanchor_119_119"><span class="label">[119]</span></a> <i>Kennet's Register</i>, 200.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_120_120" id="Footnote_120_120"></a><a href="#FNanchor_120_120"><span class="label">[120]</span></a> "Resolved, That it be referred to the Grand Committee, -to whom the Bill for Sales is committed, to receive proposals from any -of the purchasers of the estates of Bishops, and other ecclesiastical -persons, and from any the ecclesiastical persons themselves, or from -any others; touching satisfaction to be given to the purchasers of any -public lands; and, on consideration thereof, to report their opinion to -the House."—<i>Commons' Journals</i>, August 6th, 1660.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_121_121" id="Footnote_121_121"></a><a href="#FNanchor_121_121"><span class="label">[121]</span></a> <i>Kennet</i>, 312.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_122_122" id="Footnote_122_122"></a><a href="#FNanchor_122_122"><span class="label">[122]</span></a> <i>Harris</i>, iv. 345.—"Almost all the leases of the Church -estates over England were fallen in, there having been no renewal for -twenty years. The leases for years were determined. And the wars had -carried off so many men, that most of the leases for lives were fallen -into the incumbents' hands. So that the Church estates were in them: -And the fines raised by the renewing the leases rose to about a million -and a half. It was an unreasonable thing to let those who were now -promoted carry off so great a treasure. If the half had been applied to -the buying of tithes or glebes for small Vicarages, here a foundation -had been laid down for a great and effectual reformation."—<i>Burnet</i>, -i. 186. Burnet's statements on this subject are very general. So are -those made by Clarendon from his point of view. (1047.) No doubt the -ecclesiastical bodies on the one side, and the tenants on the other, -tried to make the best bargain they could. In the Library of Canterbury -Cathedral is a curious collection of letters respecting leases, which -throw light on this point. Persons plead their sufferings under the -Commonwealth, and pray for the renewal of their leases on the most -favourable terms. See in our next vol. (under the year 1677) notice of -an Act for augmenting small incomes.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_123_123" id="Footnote_123_123"></a><a href="#FNanchor_123_123"><span class="label">[123]</span></a> Amongst the <i>State Papers, Dom. Charles II.</i>, vol. lxxv. -69, there is an account by John Cosin, Bishop of Durham, of the true -state of the present revenues of his see. They diminished £1,000 a -year, through resumption of lands by Queen Elizabeth, who afterwards -regranted them on a rental of £880; he lost £2,000 by taking away -the Court of Ward and Liveries, the revenues of which in the County -Palatine belonged to the Bishops; he prays that as the King receives -£1,500 a year excise money, as given in lieu of the Court of Wards in -Durham, the rental of £880, paid by the Bishops, should be remitted.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_124_124" id="Footnote_124_124"></a><a href="#FNanchor_124_124"><span class="label">[124]</span></a> <i>Calendar Dom.</i>, 1660–1661, 218–236.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_125_125" id="Footnote_125_125"></a><a href="#FNanchor_125_125"><span class="label">[125]</span></a> <i>Kennet</i>, 162. The other names given by Baxter (<i>Life -and Times</i>, ii. 229) are Wallis, Bates, Manton, Case, Ash, all of whom -accepted; and Newcomen, who declined the office. <i>Neal</i> (iv. 263) gives -the name of Woodbridge.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_126_126" id="Footnote_126_126"></a><a href="#FNanchor_126_126"><span class="label">[126]</span></a> <i>Life and Times</i>, ii. 229. Amongst the Baxter MSS. in -Dr. Williams' library, I have seen a note, apparently relating to the -period now before us. Baxter said:—The late Archbishop Ussher and he -had in an hour's time agreed on the most easy terms. These words were -printed. Episcopal Divines called on him to know what the terms were, -<i>i.e.</i>, Dr. Gauden, Dr. Gouldson, Dr. Helen, Dr. Bernard, &c. They -expressed great delight, and were willing to make abatements necessary -thereto. Some men of greater power stept in and frustrated all. Mr. -Calamy thought the best way was to interest and engage the King on -the matter. It was mentioned to him accordingly. Calamy consulted the -London ministers, and it was agreed that Ussher's reduction should be -offered as a ground of union. This was laid before the King with other -proposals, but the Lord Chancellor would not allow the matter to be -taken into consideration.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_127_127" id="Footnote_127_127"></a><a href="#FNanchor_127_127"><span class="label">[127]</span></a> <i>Life and Times</i>, ii. 230.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_128_128" id="Footnote_128_128"></a><a href="#FNanchor_128_128"><span class="label">[128]</span></a> <i>Life and Times</i>, ii. 232.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_129_129" id="Footnote_129_129"></a><a href="#FNanchor_129_129"><span class="label">[129]</span></a> <i>Baxter's Life and Times</i>, ii. 232, et seq. Also in -<i>Cardwell's Conferences</i>, 277, corrected from MS. copy amongst the -<i>Tanner MSS., Bodleian</i>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_130_130" id="Footnote_130_130"></a><a href="#FNanchor_130_130"><span class="label">[130]</span></a> <i>Life and Times</i>, ii. 278.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_131_131" id="Footnote_131_131"></a><a href="#FNanchor_131_131"><span class="label">[131]</span></a> <i>Life and Times</i>, ii. 241. The date of this interview is -not given by Baxter.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_132_132" id="Footnote_132_132"></a><a href="#FNanchor_132_132"><span class="label">[132]</span></a> This paper is printed in <i>Baxter's Life and Times</i>, -ii. 242–247, and in <i>Documents relating to the Settlement of the -Church of England by the Act of Uniformity of 1662</i>, p. 27, but not in -<i>Cardwell's Conferences</i>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_133_133" id="Footnote_133_133"></a><a href="#FNanchor_133_133"><span class="label">[133]</span></a> <i>Life and Times</i>, ii. 258, 259.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_134_134" id="Footnote_134_134"></a><a href="#FNanchor_134_134"><span class="label">[134]</span></a> <i>Ibid.</i>, 265, <i>et seq.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_135_135" id="Footnote_135_135"></a><a href="#FNanchor_135_135"><span class="label">[135]</span></a> This no doubt had to do with the importance they -attached to the ring and the sign of the cross. If any one would see -the modern expression of this feeling in an intensified form, let him -read <i>Keble's Tract for the Times</i>, No. 89, and Preface to <i>Hooker</i>, -lxxxix.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_136_136" id="Footnote_136_136"></a><a href="#FNanchor_136_136"><span class="label">[136]</span></a> <i>Romans</i> xiv.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_137_137" id="Footnote_137_137"></a><a href="#FNanchor_137_137"><span class="label">[137]</span></a> In the foregoing statement I have endeavoured to put -myself in the place of each party successively. My own views of the -question in dispute are very decided; but they do not exactly accord -with those of either party.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_138_138" id="Footnote_138_138"></a><a href="#FNanchor_138_138"><span class="label">[138]</span></a> Durham and Exeter were vacant sees at the Restoration. -Cosin and Gauden had been nominated to them respectively.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_139_139" id="Footnote_139_139"></a><a href="#FNanchor_139_139"><span class="label">[139]</span></a> <i>Baxter</i> ii. 277. Clarendon (p. 1034) states that in -the draft of the Declaration a passage occurred professing the King's -use of the Prayer Book, and that "he would take it well from those -who used it in their Churches that the common people might be again -acquainted with the piety, gravity, and devotion of it, and which he -thought would facilitate their living in good neighbourhood together." -This clause Clarendon says was left out at the ministers' request, on -the ground that they were resolved to do what the King wished, and to -reconcile the people to the use of that form by degrees, which would -have a better effect if such a passage were omitted. Then he charges -Calamy with writing a letter which was intercepted and found to contain -the expression of a resolve to persist in the use of the Directory, and -not to admit the Common Prayer Book into their Churches. Upon turning -to <i>Baxter</i> (ii. 263–275), and upon reading the Declaration, one -finds, that all which the ministers promised to do, and all that the -Declaration required of them, was not <i>totally to lay aside</i> the book, -but to read <i>those parts against which there could be no exception</i>. It -is incredible, looking at the ground taken throughout by the Puritan -ministers, that they ever could have talked in the way Clarendon -represents. As to the contents of an intercepted letter, no one who -knows anything of the tricks then played will attach importance to what -is said by the same historian on that subject.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_140_140" id="Footnote_140_140"></a><a href="#FNanchor_140_140"><span class="label">[140]</span></a> <i>Baxter</i>, ii. 259–264; also printed in <i>Wilkins' -Concilia</i>, <i>Cardwell's Conferences</i>, and <i>Documents relating to the Act -of Uniformity</i>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_141_141" id="Footnote_141_141"></a><a href="#FNanchor_141_141"><span class="label">[141]</span></a> It is curious to find Baxter when he refused a -Bishopric, proposing to Clarendon a number of names from which to -choose some one, instead of himself. Baxter at this time had the -reputation of being "intimate with the Lord Chancellor Hyde," and -accordingly his influence was solicited on behalf of ministers in -trouble. Adam Martindale tells us that when his own name was sent up -to the Privy Council, Baxter, at the solicitation of a friend, spoke -on his behalf to Clarendon, who "did so rattle one of the Deputy -Lieutenants and so expostulate with the Earl of Derby, that Martindale -was released." The account is very amusing, and shows Martindale's -exultation at his enemies being outwitted in their application to the -Privy Council. The story indicates, what may be gathered from several -circumstances, <i>i.e.</i>, that Clarendon at that time wished to show -favour to the Presbyterians.—<i>The Life of Adam Martindale</i>, printed -for the Cheetham Society, p. 153.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_142_142" id="Footnote_142_142"></a><a href="#FNanchor_142_142"><span class="label">[142]</span></a> <i>Baxter</i>, ii. 281–283.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_143_143" id="Footnote_143_143"></a><a href="#FNanchor_143_143"><span class="label">[143]</span></a> Mr. Grosart has shown this in his interesting memoir -prefixed to Gilpin's <i>Dæmonologia Sacra</i>, p. xxxii. It is a curious -fact that the same Bishopric should, within a century or so, have been -offered to two Gilpins, and refused by both.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_144_144" id="Footnote_144_144"></a><a href="#FNanchor_144_144"><span class="label">[144]</span></a> <i>Kennet</i>, 308. There were no less than 121 Doctors of -Divinity made by mandate between 25th of June, 1660, and 2nd of March, -1661.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_145_145" id="Footnote_145_145"></a><a href="#FNanchor_145_145"><span class="label">[145]</span></a> Those of them, with whom Baxter acted, were not -sufficiently satisfied with the Declaration to offer formal thanks for -it. Clarendon (1035) brings this as a charge against them.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_146_146" id="Footnote_146_146"></a><a href="#FNanchor_146_146"><span class="label">[146]</span></a> <i>Baxter's Life and Times</i>, ii. 284.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_147_147" id="Footnote_147_147"></a><a href="#FNanchor_147_147"><span class="label">[147]</span></a> Nov. 9. <i>Kennet</i>, 307.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_148_148" id="Footnote_148_148"></a><a href="#FNanchor_148_148"><span class="label">[148]</span></a> <i>Parl. Hist.</i>, iv. 142.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_149_149" id="Footnote_149_149"></a><a href="#FNanchor_149_149"><span class="label">[149]</span></a> <i>Parl. Hist.</i>, iv. 152–154, and <i>Commons' Journals</i>, -Wednesday, 28th of November.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_150_150" id="Footnote_150_150"></a><a href="#FNanchor_150_150"><span class="label">[150]</span></a> "That is the best and most Christian memory," says he, -"that, as Cæsar's, forgets nothing but injuries. Let us all seriously -and sadly look back, consider and bemoan one another, for what we have -mutually done and suffered from each other."—<i>Harris's Lives</i>, iv. -385.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_151_151" id="Footnote_151_151"></a><a href="#FNanchor_151_151"><span class="label">[151]</span></a> Henchman's Sermon, entitled <i>A Peace Offering in the -Temple</i>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_152_152" id="Footnote_152_152"></a><a href="#FNanchor_152_152"><span class="label">[152]</span></a> <i>Clarendon</i>, 1034.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_153_153" id="Footnote_153_153"></a><a href="#FNanchor_153_153"><span class="label">[153]</span></a> <i>Calendar of State Papers. Dom. Charles II.</i> Nov. 1, -1660.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_154_154" id="Footnote_154_154"></a><a href="#FNanchor_154_154"><span class="label">[154]</span></a> <i>Clarendon</i>, 1035.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_155_155" id="Footnote_155_155"></a><a href="#FNanchor_155_155"><span class="label">[155]</span></a> <i>Lister's Life of Clarendon</i>, ii. 218.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_156_156" id="Footnote_156_156"></a><a href="#FNanchor_156_156"><span class="label">[156]</span></a> <i>State Papers. Dom. Charles II.</i> December 7, 1660. In a -letter on the previous day he alludes to the Bill as "quashed by the -violence" of its supporters.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_157_157" id="Footnote_157_157"></a><a href="#FNanchor_157_157"><span class="label">[157]</span></a> This had been Clarendon's policy from the beginning. He -wrote from Breda on the 22nd April, to Dr. Barwick, in these terms: "It -would be no ill expedient" "to assure them of present good preferments -in the Church." "In my own opinion you should rather endeavour to win -over those who being recovered will have both reputation and desire to -merit from the Church, than be over solicitous to comply with the pride -and passion of those who propose extravagant things." <i>Barwick's Life</i>, -525.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_158_158" id="Footnote_158_158"></a><a href="#FNanchor_158_158"><span class="label">[158]</span></a> <i>Cardwell</i> (<i>Conferences</i>, 256) says "the King rejoiced -when he found his stratagem had succeeded." The stratagem was more the -Chancellor's than the King's.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_159_159" id="Footnote_159_159"></a><a href="#FNanchor_159_159"><span class="label">[159]</span></a> <i>Parl. Hist.</i>, iv. 67, <i>et seq.</i> It may here be -mentioned that others besides those named in Parliament were exposed -to danger. Lord Wharton, for example. The circumstance is rather -curious—his eldest daughter, Elizabeth, then the wife of Lord -Willoughby d'Eresby, as she was crossing the Thames, by the ferry at -Lambeth, overheard the boatman mention her father's name as one of the -excepted. Her husband immediately used his influence with the King on -his father-in-law's behalf, and thus prevented the name from being -retained in the list of exceptions. I am indebted for this anecdote to -notices of Lord Wharton's Life, in <i>Lipscombe's Hist. and Antiq. of the -County of Buckingham</i>. Lord Wharton lived at Wooburn, near Wycombe; and -in the next volume I shall have to refer to this circumstance.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_160_160" id="Footnote_160_160"></a><a href="#FNanchor_160_160"><span class="label">[160]</span></a> See the <i>Commons' Journals</i>, May 14, June 5, 6, 7, 8, -30. The <i>Lords' Journals</i>, July 20, 27. <i>Commons' Journals</i>, Aug. 13, -17, 23, 24. Hallam gives a synopsis of these proceedings, and I have -ventured to adopt one or two of his expressions.—<i>Constitutional -History</i>, ii. 3. In the Conference on the 23rd of August, Clarendon -told the Commons that His Majesty, who was duly sensible of the -great wound he received on that fatal day (the day of his father's -execution) when the news of it came to the Hague, bore but one part of -the tragedy, for the whole world was sensible of it; and particularly -instanced that a woman at the Hague, hearing of it "fell down dead with -astonishment."</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_161_161" id="Footnote_161_161"></a><a href="#FNanchor_161_161"><span class="label">[161]</span></a> <i>Trial of the Regicides</i>, 17.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_162_162" id="Footnote_162_162"></a><a href="#FNanchor_162_162"><span class="label">[162]</span></a> <i>The Trials of Charles I., and of some of the -Regicides</i>, 330.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_163_163" id="Footnote_163_163"></a><a href="#FNanchor_163_163"><span class="label">[163]</span></a> See <i>Brooks's Lives of the Puritans</i>, iii., 350 & 363.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_164_164" id="Footnote_164_164"></a><a href="#FNanchor_164_164"><span class="label">[164]</span></a> See <i>Ecclesiastical Hist.</i>, ii. (<i>Church of the -Commonwealth.</i>)</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_165_165" id="Footnote_165_165"></a><a href="#FNanchor_165_165"><span class="label">[165]</span></a> <i>Forster's Statesmen of the Commonwealth</i>, iii. 356.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_166_166" id="Footnote_166_166"></a><a href="#FNanchor_166_166"><span class="label">[166]</span></a> <i>Lords' Journals</i>, February 7th, 1661/2.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_167_167" id="Footnote_167_167"></a><a href="#FNanchor_167_167"><span class="label">[167]</span></a> For the story of the Regicides see <i>The Trial</i>, -published at the time, and of modern publications, <i>Noble's Regicides</i>; -<i>Caulfield's High Court of Justice</i>; and <i>The Trials of Charles I. and -of some of the Regicides</i>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_168_168" id="Footnote_168_168"></a><a href="#FNanchor_168_168"><span class="label">[168]</span></a> <i>Commons' Journals</i>, December 4th and 8th, 1660.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_169_169" id="Footnote_169_169"></a><a href="#FNanchor_169_169"><span class="label">[169]</span></a> <i>Kennet</i> observes, "Some of the hottest Divines, though -great sufferers and of great names, were passed by in the designations -to Bishoprics. An instance in Dr. Peter Heylyn, who in 1660, upon His -Majesty's return to his kingdoms, was restored to his spiritualities, -but never rose higher than Sub-dean of Westminster, which was a wonder -to many and a great discontent to him and his; but the reason being -manifest to those that well knew the temper of the person, I shall -forbear to make mention of that matter any further. Such was the -case of Dr. Sibthorpe, who had suffered very great calamities in His -Majesty's cause, yet upon the return of King Charles II. he was only -restored to the small preferments from which he had been violently -ejected."—<i>Register</i>, 236.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_170_170" id="Footnote_170_170"></a><a href="#FNanchor_170_170"><span class="label">[170]</span></a> <i>Wood's Athen. Oxon.</i> (<i>Bliss</i>), iii. 613. Further -notice of these Bishops will be supplied hereafter.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_171_171" id="Footnote_171_171"></a><a href="#FNanchor_171_171"><span class="label">[171]</span></a> <i>D'Oyley's Life of Sancroft</i>, ii. 346.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_172_172" id="Footnote_172_172"></a><a href="#FNanchor_172_172"><span class="label">[172]</span></a> <i>Mant's History of the Church of Ireland</i>, i. 611. -Taylor preached a sermon on Episcopacy. <i>Works</i>, vi. 301.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_173_173" id="Footnote_173_173"></a><a href="#FNanchor_173_173"><span class="label">[173]</span></a> <i>Keble's Life of Bishop Wilson</i>, i. 132.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_174_174" id="Footnote_174_174"></a><a href="#FNanchor_174_174"><span class="label">[174]</span></a> <i>Canons</i>, 9–12, 72, 73.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_175_175" id="Footnote_175_175"></a><a href="#FNanchor_175_175"><span class="label">[175]</span></a> See also <i>3 Jac.</i>, 4; <i>21 Jac.</i>, 4.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_176_176" id="Footnote_176_176"></a><a href="#FNanchor_176_176"><span class="label">[176]</span></a> The letter is written by R. Ellsworth, "Bristol this -24th of November, 1660," and is addressed to Sir E. Nicholas. <span class="smcap">State -Papers, Dom. Charles II.</span></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_177_177" id="Footnote_177_177"></a><a href="#FNanchor_177_177"><span class="label">[177]</span></a> <i>Rees' Nonconformity in Wales</i>, 111. Powell speaks of -himself as if charged with "preaching sedition and rebellion." The -specific charges against these Welshmen do not appear. It seems to me -very probable that they were accused of political disaffection.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_178_178" id="Footnote_178_178"></a><a href="#FNanchor_178_178"><span class="label">[178]</span></a> <i>Lives of Philip, Howe, and Bunyan.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_179_179" id="Footnote_179_179"></a><a href="#FNanchor_179_179"><span class="label">[179]</span></a> It may seem strange to some that Charles II. should -excite so much enthusiasm. But it must be remembered that by letters -from abroad and other means, extraordinary ideas of his excellence had -been diffused throughout the country. Some amusing illustrations of -this are supplied in the <i>Worcester MS.</i>:—</p> - -<p>"June 6th.—Mr. Prinn coming to kiss His Majesty's hands, prayed God to -bless him—'and so also you, Mr. Prinn,' and smiling clapt him on the -shoulder."</p> - -<p>"6th.—It is said that Mr. Calamy, a Presbyterian, and one of the -King's chaplains, desired His Majesty that he might not officiate -in these canonical habits, especially in a surplice, for it was -against his conscience, who answered he would not press it on him, -and as he refused to do in the one, so he would spare him in the -other. It is also said when His Majesty was at primal prayers in -his presence-chamber, and seeing all on their knees but the Earl -of Manchester, his chamberlain, who stood by him (a Presbyterian), -His Majesty suddenly took a cushion, and said, 'My Lord, there is a -cushion, you may now kneel;' which for shame he was glad patiently to -do. O meek, O zealous, O pious prince!"</p> - -<p>"July.—The King going to swim one night in the Thames, there were -divers ladies and gentlemen looking out of the windows of Whitehall, -which he beholding, sent a message that either they should shut their -windows and pray for his safety, or begone out of court. O chaste and -good prince!"</p> - -<p>"Oct. 23rd.—A settling of the King's household according as the book -was 6th Charles I.—wherein His Majesty declares that his officers -should collect out of the same all such wholesome orders, decrees, -and directions as may tend most to the planting, establishing, -and countenancing of virtue and piety in his family, and to the -discountenancing of all manner of disorder, debauchery, and vice in any -person of what degree or quality soever."</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_180_180" id="Footnote_180_180"></a><a href="#FNanchor_180_180"><span class="label">[180]</span></a> <i>State Papers, Dom.</i> 1661, January 11th.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_181_181" id="Footnote_181_181"></a><a href="#FNanchor_181_181"><span class="label">[181]</span></a> The entry in the Council Book, and the subsequent -Proclamation, are printed in <i>Kennet's Register</i>, under dates January -2nd & 10th.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_182_182" id="Footnote_182_182"></a><a href="#FNanchor_182_182"><span class="label">[182]</span></a> <i>Neal</i>, iv. 311.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_183_183" id="Footnote_183_183"></a><a href="#FNanchor_183_183"><span class="label">[183]</span></a> <i>Crosby</i>, ii. 108.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_184_184" id="Footnote_184_184"></a><a href="#FNanchor_184_184"><span class="label">[184]</span></a> Sir John Maynard informed Lord Mordaunt that so many -refused to swear that he did not know what to do: some because they -would not swear at all; others because they would not enter into -promissory obligations; others because, as the King had taken no oath -to obey the laws, they would take no oath to obey the King.—<i>State -Papers, Dom.</i> 1661, January 19th.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_185_185" id="Footnote_185_185"></a><a href="#FNanchor_185_185"><span class="label">[185]</span></a> <i>Baxter's Life and Times</i>, ii. 301. No date is given—it -is only said that the circumstance occurred at the time of Venner's -insurrection.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_186_186" id="Footnote_186_186"></a><a href="#FNanchor_186_186"><span class="label">[186]</span></a> <i>Loyal Subject's Lamentation for London's perverseness -in the malignant choice of some rotten Members on Tuesday, 19th March, -1661.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_187_187" id="Footnote_187_187"></a><a href="#FNanchor_187_187"><span class="label">[187]</span></a> The Government monopoly of letter carrying was sometimes -invaded; and I notice in the Minute Book of Privy Council, 1661–2, a -curious order for taking into custody two persons, who obtained large -quantities of letters under the pretence of conveying them to their -proper destination, but who in fact threw them into the Thames, and -still worse places.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_188_188" id="Footnote_188_188"></a><a href="#FNanchor_188_188"><span class="label">[188]</span></a> Sir Thomas Browne, in a letter to his son, says—"Two -Royalists gained it here (Norwich) against all opposition that could -possibly be made; the voices in this number—Jaye, 1,070; Corie, 1,001; -Barnham, 562; Church, 436. My Lord Richardson and Sir Ralph Hare -carried it in the county without opposition."—<i>Works</i>, i. 8.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_189_189" id="Footnote_189_189"></a><a href="#FNanchor_189_189"><span class="label">[189]</span></a> As instances of such purging, we may mention that on -the 25th of February, just before the election, orders of that kind -were sent to Hull and Norwich.—<i>State Papers, Dom.</i>, under date. -Oldfield's <i>History of the Original Constitution of Parliament</i>, -gives a very large number of instances in which members for boroughs -in the seventeenth century were returned by the Corporation. For -example:—Andover, votes 24; Banbury, votes 18; Bath, votes 18; -Beaumaris, votes 24.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_190_190" id="Footnote_190_190"></a><a href="#FNanchor_190_190"><span class="label">[190]</span></a> County of Devon.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_191_191" id="Footnote_191_191"></a><a href="#FNanchor_191_191"><span class="label">[191]</span></a> Their former history is remembered -in <i>Hudibras</i>:—</p> - - <div class="poetry-container"> - <div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="ileft">"Was not the King, by proclamation,</div> - <div>Declared a rebel o'er all the nation?</div> - <div>Did not the learned Glynne and Maynard,</div> - <div>To make good subjects traitors, sham hard?"</div> - </div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_192_192" id="Footnote_192_192"></a><a href="#FNanchor_192_192"><span class="label">[192]</span></a> <i>Parl. Hist.</i>, iv. 383.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_193_193" id="Footnote_193_193"></a><a href="#FNanchor_193_193"><span class="label">[193]</span></a> <i>Ibid.</i>, iv. 862.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_194_194" id="Footnote_194_194"></a><a href="#FNanchor_194_194"><span class="label">[194]</span></a> May 10th.—"Parliament assembled on the 8th [of May], -the King went on horseback, with a magnificent equipage. After a sermon -in Westminster Abbey, they went in the same order to the House of -Peers, &c."—<i>State Papers, Dom.</i> under date.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_195_195" id="Footnote_195_195"></a><a href="#FNanchor_195_195"><span class="label">[195]</span></a> <i>Lords' Journals</i>, 1661, May 8th and 10th.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_196_196" id="Footnote_196_196"></a><a href="#FNanchor_196_196"><span class="label">[196]</span></a> A Diarist states that Dr. Gunning, who officiated, -refused the bread to Mr. Prynne, because he did not kneel; and that -Boscawen took it standing.—<i>Lathbury's Convocation</i>, 297.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_197_197" id="Footnote_197_197"></a><a href="#FNanchor_197_197"><span class="label">[197]</span></a> <i>The Presbyterian Divines</i> were Edward Reynolds, Bishop -of Norwich; Dr. Tuckney, Master of St. John's College, Cambridge; Dr. -Conant, Reg. Prof. Div. Oxford; Dr. Spurstow; Dr. Wallis, Sav. Prof. -Geom. Oxford; Dr. Manton; Mr. Calamy; Mr. Baxter; Mr. Jackson; Mr. -Case; Mr. Clarke; Mr. Newcomen.</p> - -<p><i>Coadjutors</i>:—Dr. Horton; Dr. Jacomb; Dr. Bates; Dr. Cooper; Dr. -Lightfoot; Dr. Collins; Mr. Woodbridge; Mr. Rawlinson; Mr. Drake.</p> - -<p>The <i>Episcopal Divines</i> were:—Accepted Frewen, Archbishop of York; -Gilbert Sheldon, Bishop of London, Master of the Savoy; John Cosin, -Bishop of Durham; John Warner, Bishop of Rochester; Henry King, Bishop -of Chichester; Humphrey Henchman, Bishop of Sarum; George Morley, -Bishop of Worcester; Robert Sanderson, Bishop of Lincoln; Benjamin -Laney, Bishop of Peterborough; Bryan Walton, Bishop of Chester; Richard -Sterne, Bishop of Carlisle; John Gauden, Bishop of Exeter.</p> - -<p>With the following <i>Coadjutors</i>:—Dr. Earle, Dean of Westminster; Dr. -Heylyn; Dr. Hacket; Dr. Barwick; Dr. Gunning; Dr. Pearson; Dr. Pierce; -Dr. Sparrow; Mr. Thorndike.</p> - -<p>No distinction is made between the two parties in the terms of the -Commission.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_198_198" id="Footnote_198_198"></a><a href="#FNanchor_198_198"><span class="label">[198]</span></a> <i>Life and Times</i>, ii. 302–304.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_199_199" id="Footnote_199_199"></a><a href="#FNanchor_199_199"><span class="label">[199]</span></a> <i>Life and Times</i>, ii. 305; <i>Kennet</i>, 398; <i>Cardwell -Documents</i>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_200_200" id="Footnote_200_200"></a><a href="#FNanchor_200_200"><span class="label">[200]</span></a> Two applicants are mentioned as anxious for the -office—Dr. Warmestry and Richard Braham—the latter writes to John -Nicholas asking his "influence with his father to get him recommended -as an additional Commissioner of the Excise, having relinquished the -idea of the Mastership of the Savoy in favour of Dr. Sheldon."—<i>State -Papers, Cal. 1660–1</i>, 16, 113.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_201_201" id="Footnote_201_201"></a><a href="#FNanchor_201_201"><span class="label">[201]</span></a> The Declaration adopted at the Savoy will be noticed in -the next volume. The Independents have no authoritative standards, but -a Declaration of their Faith and Order was issued by the Congregational -Union of England and Wales some years ago.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_202_202" id="Footnote_202_202"></a><a href="#FNanchor_202_202"><span class="label">[202]</span></a> <i>Kennet</i>, 389.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_203_203" id="Footnote_203_203"></a><a href="#FNanchor_203_203"><span class="label">[203]</span></a> <i>Clarendon</i>, 1047.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_204_204" id="Footnote_204_204"></a><a href="#FNanchor_204_204"><span class="label">[204]</span></a> <i>Kennet</i>, 412, <i>et seq.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_205_205" id="Footnote_205_205"></a><a href="#FNanchor_205_205"><span class="label">[205]</span></a> The other two, built by Henry VII., were King's College, -Cambridge, and the Chapel, which bears his name at Westminster.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_206_206" id="Footnote_206_206"></a><a href="#FNanchor_206_206"><span class="label">[206]</span></a> <i>Strype's Stow</i>, ii. 103.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_207_207" id="Footnote_207_207"></a><a href="#FNanchor_207_207"><span class="label">[207]</span></a> See on Cosin and the other Bishops, vol. ii. of <i>Eccles. -Hist.</i> (<i>Church of the Commonwealth</i>), chap. xii.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_208_208" id="Footnote_208_208"></a><a href="#FNanchor_208_208"><span class="label">[208]</span></a> <i>Baxter</i>, ii. 364.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_209_209" id="Footnote_209_209"></a><a href="#FNanchor_209_209"><span class="label">[209]</span></a> <i>Hallam's Literature of Europe</i>, iv. 179.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_210_210" id="Footnote_210_210"></a><a href="#FNanchor_210_210"><span class="label">[210]</span></a> For fuller notices of the Presbyterian Divines, -who figured at the Savoy, see <i>Eccles. Hist.</i> (<i>Church of the -Commonwealth</i>), chap. viii.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_211_211" id="Footnote_211_211"></a><a href="#FNanchor_211_211"><span class="label">[211]</span></a> <i>Clarendon's Continuation</i>, 1048. April 23rd. "This -day," says the <i>Worcester MS.</i>, "was the solemn and most glorious -Coronation of Charles II., at Westminster, when did preach George -Morley, Bishop of Worcester.</p> - -<p>"This day all the trained band, horse and foot, were up in arms in -several parts, to prevent insurrections and tumults of seditious -fanatics and schismatics, haters of Monarchy and Episcopacy.</p> - -<p>"This morn also, at Worcester, about break of day, was posted up in -several places of the city a base, scurrilous, seditious, and facetious -libel, as followeth:—</p> - -<p>"'A seasonable memento, April 23rd, 1661.</p> - - <div class="poetry-container"> - <div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="ileft hangingindent">"'This day it is sayd the king shall sweare once more,</div> - <div>Just contrary to what he sware before.</div> - <div>Great God, and can thy potent eies behold</div> - <div>This height of sin, and can thy vengeance hold?</div> - <div>Nipp thou the bud, before the bloome begins,</div> - <div>And save our Sovereyne from presumptious sinns.</div> - <div>Lett him remember, Lord, in mercy grant,</div> - <div>That, solemnly, he swore the Covenant.'"</div> - </div> - </div> - </div> - -<p> -"May 2nd. The King's Coronation is now over, and was attended with so -many glories that the most curious beholders from foreign parts deem -it inferior in magnificence to none in Europe. The people received all -with loud acclamations and profuse expressions of joy. Twelve Knights -of the Garter, and six of the Bath, six Earls, and six Barons, were -created on the occasion."—<i>State Papers, Cal. Dom.</i> May 2, 1661.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_212_212" id="Footnote_212_212"></a><a href="#FNanchor_212_212"><span class="label">[212]</span></a> <i>Baxter</i>, ii. 342.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_213_213" id="Footnote_213_213"></a><a href="#FNanchor_213_213"><span class="label">[213]</span></a> <i>Ibid.</i>, ii. 333. The Proctors of Convocation for the -diocese of London, are elected two for each Archdeaconry, the Bishop -choosing two out of the whole number—at that time ten. Baxter, -speaking generally of the Convocation, states that ministers who had -not received Episcopal ordination, "were in many counties denied any -voice in the election of Clerks for the Convocation. By which means, -and by the scruples of abundance of ministers, who thought it unlawful -to have anything to do in the choosing of such a kind of assembly, the -diocesan party wholly carried it in the choice." Burnet, of course -dependent on reports, says: "Such care was taken in the choice and -returns of the members of the Convocation, that everything went among -them as was directed by Sheldon and Morley."—<i>History of his own -Times</i>, i. 184. The author of the <i>Conformists' Plea</i>, p. 35, perhaps -following Baxter, observes, that men were got in and kept out by undue -proceedings; and "that protestations were made against all Incumbents -not ordained by Bishops."</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_214_214" id="Footnote_214_214"></a><a href="#FNanchor_214_214"><span class="label">[214]</span></a> <i>Life and Times</i>, ii. 307. Baxter is our main authority -for the history of the Conference. It is to be regretted that we have -no other full account.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_215_215" id="Footnote_215_215"></a><a href="#FNanchor_215_215"><span class="label">[215]</span></a> What took place at the Savoy Conference is of great -importance in relation to the vestment controversy. An intelligent -clergyman, the Rev. R. W. Kennison, writing in the <i>Times</i>, of July -6th, 1867, observes:—"In the last days of the Conference, when he -(Baxter) summed up all in a few leading points, he went over again -his objections to the surplice, but said not a word about the other -vestments. And I have looked into every book I have been able to lay -my hands on relating to that period, without being able to find one -word more on the subject. There is much discussion about surplices; but -copes, albs, and tunicles, are never mentioned."</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_216_216" id="Footnote_216_216"></a><a href="#FNanchor_216_216"><span class="label">[216]</span></a> This resemblance is adverted to in the <i>Conformists' -Plea for Nonconformity</i>, 22. See <i>Eccles. Hist.</i> (<i>Civil Wars</i>), 124.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_217_217" id="Footnote_217_217"></a><a href="#FNanchor_217_217"><span class="label">[217]</span></a> <i>Baxter's Life and Times</i>, ii. 321; <i>Cardwell's Conf.</i>, -303; <i>Documents relating to the Act of Uniformity</i>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_218_218" id="Footnote_218_218"></a><a href="#FNanchor_218_218"><span class="label">[218]</span></a> <i>Baxter's Life and Times</i>, ii. 334.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_219_219" id="Footnote_219_219"></a><a href="#FNanchor_219_219"><span class="label">[219]</span></a> <i>State Papers, Cal. Dom.</i>, 1661, October 26.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_220_220" id="Footnote_220_220"></a><a href="#FNanchor_220_220"><span class="label">[220]</span></a> <i>Kennet</i>, 434.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_221_221" id="Footnote_221_221"></a><a href="#FNanchor_221_221"><span class="label">[221]</span></a> <i>Stanley's Memorials of Westminster</i>, 464.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_222_222" id="Footnote_222_222"></a><a href="#FNanchor_222_222"><span class="label">[222]</span></a> The following passage is found in one of Sancroft's -MSS.:—"May 22nd. <i>Precibus peractis</i>, ordered, that each keep his -place, that but one speak at once, and that without interruption; none -to use long speeches; to have a constant verger."—<i>D'Oyley's Life of -Sancroft</i>, i. 113.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_223_223" id="Footnote_223_223"></a><a href="#FNanchor_223_223"><span class="label">[223]</span></a> <i>Kennet</i>, 450.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_224_224" id="Footnote_224_224"></a><a href="#FNanchor_224_224"><span class="label">[224]</span></a> <i>Lathbury's Convocation</i>, 306; <i>Cardwell's Synodalia</i>, -April 26th; <i>Robinson's Review of Liturgies</i>; <i>Kennet's Register</i>, -368–70. <i>King Charles' Martyrdom</i> was introduced into the Calendar 30th -January:—and it appears, there are six churches in England, named in -his honour, They are in Falmouth, Tonbridge Wells, Peak Forest, Wem, -and Plymouth; in the last town there are two.—<i>Interleaved Prayer -Book, by Campion and Beamont.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_225_225" id="Footnote_225_225"></a><a href="#FNanchor_225_225"><span class="label">[225]</span></a> <i>D'Oyley</i> in his <i>Life of Sancroft</i> (i. 114) says, -in 1628; <i>Procter</i> (262) says, in 1625 (in an <i>Order of Fasting</i>); -and again, in 1628, Palmer remarks—that "the appellation of 'most -religious and gracious King,' corresponds with those high titles -of respect and veneration which the primitive Church gave to the -Christian emperors and kings"; thus, in the Liturgy of Basil, it -is said, "Μνήσθητι κύριε τῶν εὐσεβεστάτων καὶ πιστοτάτων ἡμῶν -βασιλέων."—<i>Origines Lit.</i>, i. 336.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_226_226" id="Footnote_226_226"></a><a href="#FNanchor_226_226"><span class="label">[226]</span></a> <i>Cardwell's Synodalia</i>, 687.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_227_227" id="Footnote_227_227"></a><a href="#FNanchor_227_227"><span class="label">[227]</span></a> <i>Ibid.</i>, 645.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_228_228" id="Footnote_228_228"></a><a href="#FNanchor_228_228"><span class="label">[228]</span></a> <i>Ibid.</i>, 649–51.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_229_229" id="Footnote_229_229"></a><a href="#FNanchor_229_229"><span class="label">[229]</span></a> The paper is not given by Baxter; it is printed in -<i>Cardwell's Conferences</i>, 335–363.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_230_230" id="Footnote_230_230"></a><a href="#FNanchor_230_230"><span class="label">[230]</span></a> The concessions which were offered in reference to the -Prayer Book will be noticed in the Appendix.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_231_231" id="Footnote_231_231"></a><a href="#FNanchor_231_231"><span class="label">[231]</span></a> The Liturgy is in <i>Baxter's Works</i>, vol. xv.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_232_232" id="Footnote_232_232"></a><a href="#FNanchor_232_232"><span class="label">[232]</span></a> <i>Life by Boswell</i>, vol. ix. 141.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_233_233" id="Footnote_233_233"></a><a href="#FNanchor_233_233"><span class="label">[233]</span></a> <i>Life and Times</i>, ii. 306.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_234_234" id="Footnote_234_234"></a><a href="#FNanchor_234_234"><span class="label">[234]</span></a> <i>Life and Times</i>, ii. 334.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_235_235" id="Footnote_235_235"></a><a href="#FNanchor_235_235"><span class="label">[235]</span></a> The document is not in <i>Cardwell</i> or <i>Baxter</i>, but it is -printed in the <i>Documentary Annals relating to the Act of Uniformity</i>, -176.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_236_236" id="Footnote_236_236"></a><a href="#FNanchor_236_236"><span class="label">[236]</span></a> The rejoinder is neither in <i>Baxter</i> nor <i>Cardwell</i>, -but it is printed at length in the <i>Documents relating to the Act of -Uniformity</i>, 201.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_237_237" id="Footnote_237_237"></a><a href="#FNanchor_237_237"><span class="label">[237]</span></a> <i>Baxter</i>, ii. 336, 341.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_238_238" id="Footnote_238_238"></a><a href="#FNanchor_238_238"><span class="label">[238]</span></a> Given in <i>Life and Times</i>, ii. 341, but not in -<i>Cardwell's Conferences</i>. It is included in the <i>Documents relating to -the Act of Uniformity</i>, 346.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_239_239" id="Footnote_239_239"></a><a href="#FNanchor_239_239"><span class="label">[239]</span></a> <i>Life and Times</i>, ii. 346.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_240_240" id="Footnote_240_240"></a><a href="#FNanchor_240_240"><span class="label">[240]</span></a> These discussions are reported by <i>Baxter</i>, ii. 346. -That which relates to the sinfulness of the Liturgy, is alone included -in <i>Cardwell's Conferences</i>, 364. Both may be found in the <i>Documents -relating to the Act of Uniformity</i>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_241_241" id="Footnote_241_241"></a><a href="#FNanchor_241_241"><span class="label">[241]</span></a> <i>Life and Times</i>, ii. 359.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_242_242" id="Footnote_242_242"></a><a href="#FNanchor_242_242"><span class="label">[242]</span></a> <i>Letter to a Friend in Vindication of Himself, &c.</i> -(1683), p. 8. See also <i>Calamy's Abridgment</i>, 169.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_243_243" id="Footnote_243_243"></a><a href="#FNanchor_243_243"><span class="label">[243]</span></a> See <i>Procter on the Prayer Book</i>, 136. Compare -<i>Sanderson's Sermons</i>, p. 12, with <i>Orme's Life of Baxter</i>, p. 589, for -a lively statement of arguments on each side.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_244_244" id="Footnote_244_244"></a><a href="#FNanchor_244_244"><span class="label">[244]</span></a> <i>Baxter</i>, ii. 357. He mixes up the two days together.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_245_245" id="Footnote_245_245"></a><a href="#FNanchor_245_245"><span class="label">[245]</span></a> <i>Froude's History of England</i>, vii. 75.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_246_246" id="Footnote_246_246"></a><a href="#FNanchor_246_246"><span class="label">[246]</span></a> <i>Life and Times</i>, ii. 363, 364. See p. 163 of this vol.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_247_247" id="Footnote_247_247"></a><a href="#FNanchor_247_247"><span class="label">[247]</span></a> <i>Life and Times</i>, ii. 338.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_248_248" id="Footnote_248_248"></a><a href="#FNanchor_248_248"><span class="label">[248]</span></a> <i>Protestant Peace Maker, by Bishop Rust</i>, 1682.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_249_249" id="Footnote_249_249"></a><a href="#FNanchor_249_249"><span class="label">[249]</span></a> <i>Burnet</i>, i. 180.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_250_250" id="Footnote_250_250"></a><a href="#FNanchor_250_250"><span class="label">[250]</span></a> <i>Life and Times</i>, ii. 364. "Aug. 13.—A facetious Divine -being commended to Lord Chancellor, Sir Edward Hyde, who loved witty -men, desired to converse with him: being come to him, the Chancellor -asked him his name; he said Bull; he replied he never saw a bull -without horns. It is true (was the answer), for the horns go with the -hide."—<i>Worcester MS.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_251_251" id="Footnote_251_251"></a><a href="#FNanchor_251_251"><span class="label">[251]</span></a> <i>Life and Times</i>, ii. 365.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_252_252" id="Footnote_252_252"></a><a href="#FNanchor_252_252"><span class="label">[252]</span></a> After the Act of Uniformity, Baxter shrewdly observes, -"This is worthy the noting by the way, that all that I can speak with -of the conforming party, do now justify only the <i>using</i> and <i>obeying</i>, -and not the <i>imposing</i> of these things with the penalty by which they -are imposed. From whence it is evident that most of their own party -do now justify our cause which we maintained at the Savoy, which -was against this imposition (whilst it might have been prevented), -and for which such an intemperate fury hath pursued me to this very -day."—<i>Ibid.</i>, 394.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_253_253" id="Footnote_253_253"></a><a href="#FNanchor_253_253"><span class="label">[253]</span></a> Baxter observes: men on both extremes were "offended -with me, and I found what enmity, charity, and peace are like to meet -with in the world."—<i>Life and Times</i>, 380. His experience in this -respect is not an uncommon one.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_254_254" id="Footnote_254_254"></a><a href="#FNanchor_254_254"><span class="label">[254]</span></a> <i>Clarendon</i> (1076), says the Independents, at the -Restoration, had as free access to the King as the Presbyterians—"both -that he might hinder any conjunction between the other factions, and -because they seemed wholly to depend upon His Majesty's will and -pleasure, without resorting to the Parliament, in which they had no -confidence, and had rather that Episcopacy should flourish again, than -that the Presbyterians should govern." Clarendon is no authority for -the policy of the Congregationalists, and goes too far in the last -remark. Nor does their access to Court, which I apprehend he greatly -exaggerates, prove that they had anything like the political influence -of the Presbyterians.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_255_255" id="Footnote_255_255"></a><a href="#FNanchor_255_255"><span class="label">[255]</span></a> He was let off by Parliament with a simple -disqualification for exercising any office, ecclesiastical, military, -or civil. In a petition he humbly tendered in January, 1662, we find -him representing himself as a minister of forty years' standing, now -become infirm, with a wife and three children unprovided for, his -present maintenance depending on voluntary contributions, which if -taken away would leave him penniless and ruined.—<i>Kennet</i>, 269, 602.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_256_256" id="Footnote_256_256"></a><a href="#FNanchor_256_256"><span class="label">[256]</span></a> <i>Commons' Journals</i>, May 17.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_257_257" id="Footnote_257_257"></a><a href="#FNanchor_257_257"><span class="label">[257]</span></a> <i>Mercurius Publicus</i>, May 30.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_258_258" id="Footnote_258_258"></a><a href="#FNanchor_258_258"><span class="label">[258]</span></a> <i>Public Intelligencer</i>, June 6-13.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_259_259" id="Footnote_259_259"></a><a href="#FNanchor_259_259"><span class="label">[259]</span></a> <i>Commons' Journals</i>, June 17, 29, July 12, 16, 19. Read -first time in the Lords, July 23; after which no notice of it occurs. -The Lords were less intolerant than the Commons.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_260_260" id="Footnote_260_260"></a><a href="#FNanchor_260_260"><span class="label">[260]</span></a> <i>Clarendon's Continuation</i>, 1070.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_261_261" id="Footnote_261_261"></a><a href="#FNanchor_261_261"><span class="label">[261]</span></a> <i>Parl. Hist.</i>, iv. 219. We may here mention, as an -illustration of the spirit for dishonouring the dead—and that too on -the anti-Episcopal as well as the anti-Puritan side—that there are -repeated references in the <i>Journals</i> of the Lords during this Session, -to accusations brought against Matthew Hardy, for taking up the body -of Archbishop Parker, for selling the lead wherein he was wrapped, for -defacing his monument, for turning his tombstone into a table, and -for burying "the bones of that worthy person under a dunghill." The -delinquent was ordered to put the bones again in their old place, and -to restore the monument, but he neglected "the doing of these things." -At last Matthew Hardy "acknowledged his hearty sorrow," obeyed the -order of the House, and was discharged on payment of fees. (<i>Lords' -Journals</i>, 1661, July 24, Dec. 9, 13, Jan. 14, 28.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_262_262" id="Footnote_262_262"></a><a href="#FNanchor_262_262"><span class="label">[262]</span></a> See <i>Journals</i>. The Bill was read the first time in the -House of Lords the 17th of July.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_263_263" id="Footnote_263_263"></a><a href="#FNanchor_263_263"><span class="label">[263]</span></a> See <i>Journals and Statutes</i>, <i>13 Car.</i> ii., <i>St.</i> 1. -cxii.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_264_264" id="Footnote_264_264"></a><a href="#FNanchor_264_264"><span class="label">[264]</span></a> Quoted in <i>Kennet</i>, 374.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_265_265" id="Footnote_265_265"></a><a href="#FNanchor_265_265"><span class="label">[265]</span></a> <i>Journals</i>, June 25.—The same Committee as I have just -mentioned.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_266_266" id="Footnote_266_266"></a><a href="#FNanchor_266_266"><span class="label">[266]</span></a> <i>Lord Campbell's Lives of the Chief Justices.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_267_267" id="Footnote_267_267"></a><a href="#FNanchor_267_267"><span class="label">[267]</span></a> Cardwell says, "It is probable, as the book is not -uncommon now, that a copy of it was produced, and was not found to be -sufficiently in accordance with the higher tone of ordinances, which, -since the days of Elizabeth had more generally prevailed."—<i>Cardwell's -Conferences</i>, 376. But it is more likely the reason might be that the -<i>original</i> or MS. of the book could not be found. I have sought in vain -for some information to throw light on this circumstance.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_268_268" id="Footnote_268_268"></a><a href="#FNanchor_268_268"><span class="label">[268]</span></a> See <i>Journals</i> under dates.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_269_269" id="Footnote_269_269"></a><a href="#FNanchor_269_269"><span class="label">[269]</span></a> <i>Mercurius Publicus.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_270_270" id="Footnote_270_270"></a><a href="#FNanchor_270_270"><span class="label">[270]</span></a> <i>Williams' Life of Philip Henry</i>, 91, 92.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_271_271" id="Footnote_271_271"></a><a href="#FNanchor_271_271"><span class="label">[271]</span></a> <i>The Cedar's sad and solemn fall.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_272_272" id="Footnote_272_272"></a><a href="#FNanchor_272_272"><span class="label">[272]</span></a> I may mention the <i>Presbyterian Lash or Noctroft's Maid -whipt</i>—a piece of coarse and filthy satire—and an <i>Antidote against -Melancholy, made up in Pills</i>; compounded of <i>witty ballads, and jovial -and merry catches</i>, in which there is the song of the <i>Hot-headed -Zealot</i>, and <i>The Schismatic Rotundos</i>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_273_273" id="Footnote_273_273"></a><a href="#FNanchor_273_273"><span class="label">[273]</span></a> In none of the Nonconformist publications of that day, -have I ever seen anything like the scurrility poured upon them by their -opponents.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_274_274" id="Footnote_274_274"></a><a href="#FNanchor_274_274"><span class="label">[274]</span></a> <i>Lords' Journals.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_275_275" id="Footnote_275_275"></a><a href="#FNanchor_275_275"><span class="label">[275]</span></a> <i>Ibid.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_276_276" id="Footnote_276_276"></a><a href="#FNanchor_276_276"><span class="label">[276]</span></a> "At Court things are in a very ill condition, there -being so much emulation, poverty, and the vices of drinking, swearing, -and loose amours, that I know not what will be the end of it but -confusion. And the clergy so high, that all people that I meet with do -protest against their practice."—<i>Pepys' Diary</i>, 1661, August 31.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_277_277" id="Footnote_277_277"></a><a href="#FNanchor_277_277"><span class="label">[277]</span></a> The letter is dated December 25th, 1660. Endorsed by -Secretary Nicholas as received October 9th, 1661.—<i>State Papers, Dom. -Charles II.</i> -</p> -<p> -The exposure of the fraud is in <i>Remarkable Passages in the Life of W. -Kiffin</i>, 29. -</p> -<p> -In that age of sham plots the fabrication of letters was common, of -which Captain Yarrington published an exposure in 1681. See <i>Calamy's -Abridgment</i>, 178. In the Record Office, under date, 1661, November -16th, in a letter from Sir John Packington to Sec. Nicholas, Yarrington -and Sparry are mentioned as disowning certain intercepted letters.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_278_278" id="Footnote_278_278"></a><a href="#FNanchor_278_278"><span class="label">[278]</span></a> <i>Commons' Journals</i>, January 10.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_279_279" id="Footnote_279_279"></a><a href="#FNanchor_279_279"><span class="label">[279]</span></a> Though the Lower House at York sent proxies to the -Canterbury Synod, we find the members had some discussion of their -own. Dr. Samwayes, Proctor for the clergy of Chester and Richmond, -proposed some queries, beginning with the question, "Whether, in -case any alterations in the Liturgy should be decided on, a public -declaration should not be made, stating that the grounds of such change -are different from those pretended by schismatics?" The last inquiries -he suggested were, "Whether those who persist in holding possession -unjustly gotten in the late rebellion be meet communicants? and whether -some addition ought not to be made to the Oaths of Supremacy and -Allegiance excluding all evasions?" The spirit of the proposals and the -temper of some in the Northern Convocation may be easily inferred from -these specimens.—<i>Joyce's Sacred Synods</i>, 712.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_280_280" id="Footnote_280_280"></a><a href="#FNanchor_280_280"><span class="label">[280]</span></a> Royal letters were issued to the province of York -relative to reviewing the Prayer Book.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_281_281" id="Footnote_281_281"></a><a href="#FNanchor_281_281"><span class="label">[281]</span></a> <i>State Papers, Dom. Charles II.</i>, vol. xliii. <i>Entry -Book</i>, vi. p. 7.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_282_282" id="Footnote_282_282"></a><a href="#FNanchor_282_282"><span class="label">[282]</span></a> Palmer says, <i>Origines, Lit.</i> i. p. vi. preface, "The -great majority of our formularies are actually translated from Latin -and Greek rituals, which have been used for at least fourteen or -fifteen hundred years in the Christian Church; and there is scarcely -a portion of our Prayer Book which cannot in some way be traced to -ancient offices."</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_283_283" id="Footnote_283_283"></a><a href="#FNanchor_283_283"><span class="label">[283]</span></a> He had succeeded Calvin as pastor at Strasburg, and -was obliged afterwards to seek refuge in England with some of his -flock. They settled at Glastonbury and turned a part of the Abbey into -a worsted manufactory, by grant from the Duke of Somerset. In 1552, -Pullain published an order of service in Latin, and dedicated it to -Edward VI.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_284_284" id="Footnote_284_284"></a><a href="#FNanchor_284_284"><span class="label">[284]</span></a> It has been ascribed to Hilary of Poictiers, to Nicetius -of Trèves, and to Hilary of Arles.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_285_285" id="Footnote_285_285"></a><a href="#FNanchor_285_285"><span class="label">[285]</span></a> In the Sarum Breviary it is appointed to be sung at -Prime, after the psalms and before the prayers.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_286_286" id="Footnote_286_286"></a><a href="#FNanchor_286_286"><span class="label">[286]</span></a> The title of this book is very extended. It was -first published in German. The Latin copy, a very fine one, used by -Cranmer, printed 1555, is in the library of Chichester Cathedral. An -English translation, printed 1547, runs thus: "A simple and religious -consultation of us, Hermann, by the grace of God, Archbishop of -Cologne, and Prince Elector, etc." Hermann was assisted in his book by -Melancthon and Bucer, who largely used in their contributions, Luther's -service for Brandenburg and Nuremberg; and in Hermann's book may be -found the ground work of the forty-two Articles contained in Edward's -second Prayer Book. They present a close resemblance to the Augsburg -Confession. The influence of Luther on the English Prayer Book is -traceable here.—<i>Hook's Archbishops</i>, second series, ii. 289.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_287_287" id="Footnote_287_287"></a><a href="#FNanchor_287_287"><span class="label">[287]</span></a> See <i>King Edward's Liturgies</i> (Parker Society), 89 and -280; also compare p. 283, and <i>Elizabeth's Liturgies</i> (Parker Society), p. 198.</p> - -<p>I have adopted <i>Procter's History</i> as an authority throughout.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_288_288" id="Footnote_288_288"></a><a href="#FNanchor_288_288"><span class="label">[288]</span></a> The old Gallic form ran thus: "<i>Domine Deus Omnipotens, -famulos tuos, quos jussisti renasci ex aqua et Spiritu Sancto, conserva -in eis baptismum sanctum quod acceperunt</i>," <i>etc.</i>—<i>Palmer</i>, ii. 195.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_289_289" id="Footnote_289_289"></a><a href="#FNanchor_289_289"><span class="label">[289]</span></a> See <i>Joyce's Sacred Synods</i>, 714.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_290_290" id="Footnote_290_290"></a><a href="#FNanchor_290_290"><span class="label">[290]</span></a> <i>Cardwell's Synodalia</i>, 653.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_291_291" id="Footnote_291_291"></a><a href="#FNanchor_291_291"><span class="label">[291]</span></a> <i>Conferences</i>, 371.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_292_292" id="Footnote_292_292"></a><a href="#FNanchor_292_292"><span class="label">[292]</span></a> "In its original shape it is supposed to have been -longer, and to have brought into one prayer the petitions for the -King, Royal Family, Clergy, etc., which are scattered through several -collects. The Convocation, however, retained the collects, and -therefore threw out the corresponding clauses in this general prayer -without altering the word <i>finally</i>, which seems to be needlessly -introduced in so short a form."—<i>Procter</i>, 262.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_293_293" id="Footnote_293_293"></a><a href="#FNanchor_293_293"><span class="label">[293]</span></a> The services for January 30, and May 29, were not in the -Book sent to Parliament.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_294_294" id="Footnote_294_294"></a><a href="#FNanchor_294_294"><span class="label">[294]</span></a> See remarks of editor in <i>Cosin's Works</i>, v. p. xxi.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_295_295" id="Footnote_295_295"></a><a href="#FNanchor_295_295"><span class="label">[295]</span></a> Sess. xl. <i>Kennet</i>, 576. Calamy states that when Dr. -Allen urged Sheldon to meet the scruples of the Dissenters, he told him -there was no need to trouble himself about that, they had resolved upon -their measures.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_296_296" id="Footnote_296_296"></a><a href="#FNanchor_296_296"><span class="label">[296]</span></a> Pell was a singular character, with a continental -reputation, and had been sent by Cromwell as envoy to the Protestant -Swiss Cantons. After his return to England, at the Restoration, he -took Holy Orders and became Chaplain to the Archbishop of Canterbury. -A deanery was thought of for the illustrious scholar, "but being not a -person of activity, as others who mind not learning are, could never -rise higher than a Rector. The truth is, he was a shiftless man as to -worldly affairs, and his tenants and relations dealt so unkindly by -him, that they cozened him of the profits of his parsonage and kept -him so indigent, that he wanted necessaries, even paper and ink to his -dying day." Pell was "once or twice cast into prison for debt," and was -at last buried by charity.—<i>Kennet's Register</i>, 575. These are curious -biographical associations gathering round the Calendar in the Prayer -Book.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_297_297" id="Footnote_297_297"></a><a href="#FNanchor_297_297"><span class="label">[297]</span></a> <i>The Rehearsal Transposed</i>, 500.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_298_298" id="Footnote_298_298"></a><a href="#FNanchor_298_298"><span class="label">[298]</span></a> <i>Thorndike's Works</i>, vi. 233–235.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_299_299" id="Footnote_299_299"></a><a href="#FNanchor_299_299"><span class="label">[299]</span></a> The Bishops' form was: "<i>Unanimi assensu et consensu -in hanc formam redegimus, recepimus et approbavimus, eidemque -subscripsimus</i>."—<i>Kennet</i>, 584.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_300_300" id="Footnote_300_300"></a><a href="#FNanchor_300_300"><span class="label">[300]</span></a> A statement of the object and nature of the alterations -as given by the revisors themselves, may be found in the preface to the -Prayer Book of 1662.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_301_301" id="Footnote_301_301"></a><a href="#FNanchor_301_301"><span class="label">[301]</span></a> <i>Stanley.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_302_302" id="Footnote_302_302"></a><a href="#FNanchor_302_302"><span class="label">[302]</span></a> <i>Strype's Annals of the Reformation</i>, vol. ii. part 1, -105.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_303_303" id="Footnote_303_303"></a><a href="#FNanchor_303_303"><span class="label">[303]</span></a> These facts are brought together in the <i>Edinburgh -Review</i>, vol. cxv., and are presented in Dean Stanley's letter to the -Bishop of London, 1863.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_304_304" id="Footnote_304_304"></a><a href="#FNanchor_304_304"><span class="label">[304]</span></a> <i>Cardwell's Conferences</i>, 372. Cardwell has fallen into -an error in speaking of Walton as Bishop of Chester, in March, 1662. He -died November 29th, 1661. Ferne was consecrated Bishop of Chester in -February, 1662.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_305_305" id="Footnote_305_305"></a><a href="#FNanchor_305_305"><span class="label">[305]</span></a> <i>Synodalia</i>, 668.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_306_306" id="Footnote_306_306"></a><a href="#FNanchor_306_306"><span class="label">[306]</span></a> The book was republished in 1850, by Cardwell. It -reflects the doctrinal opinions of the period, and is most decidedly -Calvinistic—p. 21. It subjects heretics, including persons not -believing in predestination, to the punishment of the civil -magistrate—"<i>ad extremum ad civiles magistratus ablegetur puniendus</i>," -p. 25.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_307_307" id="Footnote_307_307"></a><a href="#FNanchor_307_307"><span class="label">[307]</span></a> Published in 1690, under the title of <i>Bishop Overall's -Convocation Book</i>. It was printed from a copy belonging to Overall.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_308_308" id="Footnote_308_308"></a><a href="#FNanchor_308_308"><span class="label">[308]</span></a> Thorndike considered that a Church which could not -excommunicate was no Church, and he pleaded for the revival of the -discipline of penance.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_309_309" id="Footnote_309_309"></a><a href="#FNanchor_309_309"><span class="label">[309]</span></a> Leighton told Burnet, "he was much struck with the -feasting and jollity of that day. It had not such an appearance of -seriousness or piety as became the new modelling of a Church."—<i>Own -Times</i>, i. 140.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_310_310" id="Footnote_310_310"></a><a href="#FNanchor_310_310"><span class="label">[310]</span></a> <i>Evelyn's Diary.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_311_311" id="Footnote_311_311"></a><a href="#FNanchor_311_311"><span class="label">[311]</span></a> A letter by Henchman, Bishop of Salisbury, <i>State -Papers, Dom. Charles II.</i>, 1661, October 17th, gives a long account of -the trouble and vexation he met with in striving to bring his diocese -into order. He says, addressing Secretary Nicholas: "At Wallingford, -one Pinckney, at Malmesbury, one Gowan (?) are busy turbulent men, I -cannot with any skill or power that I have, form these places into -good order. In some private villages irregular and schismatical men -do mischief; I take particular account of them, and know who in my -whole diocese conform not, which I shall report when I attend on your -Honour."</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_312_312" id="Footnote_312_312"></a><a href="#FNanchor_312_312"><span class="label">[312]</span></a> <i>State Papers. Entry Book.</i> February 24th. See also -<i>Journals</i> under dates.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_313_313" id="Footnote_313_313"></a><a href="#FNanchor_313_313"><span class="label">[313]</span></a> <i>Journals</i>, March 3, 1662.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_314_314" id="Footnote_314_314"></a><a href="#FNanchor_314_314"><span class="label">[314]</span></a> <i>Lords' Journals</i>, February 27, March 5, 6, and 7.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_315_315" id="Footnote_315_315"></a><a href="#FNanchor_315_315"><span class="label">[315]</span></a> There is a letter from Gauden, Bishop of Exeter, to the -Earl of Bristol concerning charity to Quakers, and indulgence to all -sober Dissenters, dated May Day, 1662, amongst the <i>Gibson MSS.</i>, vol. -ii. 177. Lambeth Library.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_316_316" id="Footnote_316_316"></a><a href="#FNanchor_316_316"><span class="label">[316]</span></a> <i>State Papers</i>, March 31, 1662.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_317_317" id="Footnote_317_317"></a><a href="#FNanchor_317_317"><span class="label">[317]</span></a> The amendments are gathered from papers in the House -of Lords, copies of which I have been permitted to obtain, and from a -comparison of the Journals with the Act as published.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_318_318" id="Footnote_318_318"></a><a href="#FNanchor_318_318"><span class="label">[318]</span></a> <i>Clarendon's Continuation</i>, 1077–1079.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_319_319" id="Footnote_319_319"></a><a href="#FNanchor_319_319"><span class="label">[319]</span></a> April 6th.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_320_320" id="Footnote_320_320"></a><a href="#FNanchor_320_320"><span class="label">[320]</span></a> I give a literal copy of a draft of amendment found -among the Papers of the House of Lords, connected with the Act, showing -the fruitless attempts made to modify the abjuration of the Covenant—</p> - -<p>"I, A. B., doe declare That I hold that there lyes no obligation upon -mee or any other person from the oath commonly called the Solemn League -and Covenant</p> - -<table summary="footnote"> - <tr> - <td rowspan="4">Rejected.</td> - <td rowspan="4" class="brckt"><img src="images/big_left_bracket.png" alt="big left bracket" - style="height:14em; padding:0 1em 0 1em;" /></td> - <td>otherwise than in such things only whereunto I or any other person - other than what I or they were otherwise legally oblig'd unto before</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td>were legally and expressly obliged before the taking of y^e s^d Covenant,</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td>the taking of the Covenant,</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td>and that the same was in itselfe an unlawfull oath," &c.</td> - </tr> -</table> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_321_321" id="Footnote_321_321"></a><a href="#FNanchor_321_321"><span class="label">[321]</span></a> A comparison of Clarendon's history with the Journals of -the two Houses, shows that in almost every paragraph of his narration -there are inaccuracies. It would require too much space to point them -out. I have abridged his report of the speeches delivered, but with -much misgiving as to its correctness; probably, however, the general -tenor of the debate was as the Chancellor represents; and in the -arguments for the Bill perhaps he gives his own orations.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_322_322" id="Footnote_322_322"></a><a href="#FNanchor_322_322"><span class="label">[322]</span></a> Clarendon intimates that the former part of the -declaration respecting war against the King was most obnoxious to -the Presbyterian Lords, yet that they durst not oppose it, because -the principle of non-resistance had already been recognized in the -Corporation Act. He adds, that they who were most solicitous that -the House should concur in this addition, "had field-room enough to -expatiate upon the gross iniquity of the Covenant."</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_323_323" id="Footnote_323_323"></a><a href="#FNanchor_323_323"><span class="label">[323]</span></a> On the 7th of April "the Lord Bishop of Worcester" -(appointed to Winchester upon the death of Duppa on March 26th) -"offered to the consideration of this House an explanation in a paper, -of the vote of this House on Saturday last, concerning the words -in the Act of Uniformity which declared against the Solemn League -and Covenant, which he first opened, and afterwards, by permission -of the House read." The question was raised, Whether a debate on -the paper was against the orders of the House? and resolved in the -negative, whereupon it was ordered, that the paper should be taken into -consideration the next morning. A memorandum is entered in connection -with this minute, "That, before the putting of the aforesaid question, -these Lords, whose names are subscribed, desired leave to enter their -dissents if the question was carried in the negative." No names, -however, are subscribed. The day following, the House examined the -paper which had been brought in for an explanation of the clause in the -Act of Uniformity concerning the Covenant; and, after a long debate, -the paper was laid aside.—<i>Journals.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_324_324" id="Footnote_324_324"></a><a href="#FNanchor_324_324"><span class="label">[324]</span></a> The Lords appointed were the Duke of Buckingham, the -Earl of Bristol, the Earl of Anglesey, the Bishop of Worcester, the -Bishop of Exeter, the Bishop of Hereford, and the Lords Wharton, Mohun, -Lucas, and Holles. The Earl of Anglesey reported the next day, "that -the Committee have considered of a proviso, that such persons as are -put out of their livings by virtue of the Act of Uniformity, may have -such allowances out of their livings for their subsistence as His -Majesty shall think fit." After some debate a few alterations were -made, and it was resolved that the "proviso, with the alterations, -shall stand in the Bill." The Lords having read the Bill a third time, -April 9, resolved "to send for a Conference with the House of Commons -to-morrow morning, and communicate this Bill with the alterations and -amendments to them." The next day they gave direction "to deliver the -Book wherein the alterations are made, out of which the other Book was -fairly written."</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_325_325" id="Footnote_325_325"></a><a href="#FNanchor_325_325"><span class="label">[325]</span></a> <i>Commons</i>, April 10, 14, and 16.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_326_326" id="Footnote_326_326"></a><a href="#FNanchor_326_326"><span class="label">[326]</span></a> By 96 to 90.—<i>Journals</i>, April 16.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_327_327" id="Footnote_327_327"></a><a href="#FNanchor_327_327"><span class="label">[327]</span></a> <i>Ibid.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_328_328" id="Footnote_328_328"></a><a href="#FNanchor_328_328"><span class="label">[328]</span></a> Dr. Southey in his <i>History of the Church</i>, ii. 467, -observes, The ejected "were careful not to remember that the same -day, and for the same reason (because the tithes were commonly due -at Michaelmas), had been appointed for the former ejectment, when -four times as many of the loyal clergy were deprived for fidelity -to their sovereign." To say nothing of the latter part, a subject I -have fully discussed in a former volume, I would notice Mr. Hallam's -question—"Where has Dr. Southey found his precedent?" Not any -one Parliamentary ordinance in Husband's collection mentions St. -Bartholomew's Day. Dr. Southey has, no doubt, followed Walker in -his <i>Sufferings of the Clergy</i>, who makes the statement without any -authority. Yet see quotation from <i>Farewell Sermons</i> in this volume, p. -278.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_329_329" id="Footnote_329_329"></a><a href="#FNanchor_329_329"><span class="label">[329]</span></a> Noticed in conferences with the Lords, May 7.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_330_330" id="Footnote_330_330"></a><a href="#FNanchor_330_330"><span class="label">[330]</span></a> <i>Commons' Journal</i>, April 21.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_331_331" id="Footnote_331_331"></a><a href="#FNanchor_331_331"><span class="label">[331]</span></a> <i>Ibid.</i>, April 22.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_332_332" id="Footnote_332_332"></a><a href="#FNanchor_332_332"><span class="label">[332]</span></a> <i>Ibid.</i>, April 26. The numbers were 94 to 87. It is -curious to notice Hallam's correction of Neal. Referring to the -division on the 26th of April, he says, "This may perhaps have given -rise to a mistake we find in Neal, that the Act of Uniformity only -passed by 186 to 180. There was no division at all upon the Bill, -except that I have mentioned."—<i>Constitutional History</i>, ii. 37. Neal -is undoubtedly incorrect, for there was no division on the Bill as a -whole; but, Mr. Hallam is also mistaken, for as to parts of the Bill -there were at least four divisions, according to the Journals. The -neglect of the Journals, more or less, by all historians, has been one -main cause of the inaccurate and confused accounts found in the best of -them.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_333_333" id="Footnote_333_333"></a><a href="#FNanchor_333_333"><span class="label">[333]</span></a> <i>Lords' Journals</i>, May 7.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_334_334" id="Footnote_334_334"></a><a href="#FNanchor_334_334"><span class="label">[334]</span></a> <i>Lords' Journals</i>, May 8. <i>Cardwell's Synodalia</i>, 672.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_335_335" id="Footnote_335_335"></a><a href="#FNanchor_335_335"><span class="label">[335]</span></a> There is an anecdote touching the same rubric related by -<i>Kennet</i> (643). "Archbishop Tenison told me, by his bedside, on Monday, -February 12, 1710, that the Convocation Book, intended to be the copy -confirmed by the Act of Uniformity, had a rash blunder in the rubric -after baptism which should have run 'It is certain, by God's word, that -children which are baptized dying before they commit actual sin, are -undoubtedly saved.' But the words 'which are baptized' were left out -till, Sir Cyril Wyche coming to see the Lord Chancellor Hyde, found the -Book brought home by His Lordship, and lying in his parlour window, -even after it had passed the two Houses, and happening to cast his -eye upon that place, told the Lord Chancellor of that gross omission, -who supplied it with his own hand." No sign of this particular error -occurs in the authorized text attached to the Act. Probably Tenison had -heard a story of the alteration which I have noticed, and related it -inaccurately.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_336_336" id="Footnote_336_336"></a><a href="#FNanchor_336_336"><span class="label">[336]</span></a> The entry in the <i>Lords' Journals</i> runs thus—"Whereas -it was signified by the House of Commons, at the Conference yesterday, -'that they found one mistake in the rubric of baptism, which they -conceived was a mistake of the writer [persons] being put instead -of [children,] the Lord Bishop of Durham acquainted the House that -himself, and the Lord Bishop of St. Asaph, and the Lord Bishop of -Carlisle, had authority from the Convocation to mend the said word, -averring it was only a mistake of the scribe; and accordingly they -came to the Clerks' table, and amended the same!" This was on the 8th -of May, but on the previous 21st of April the rectification of the -error is recorded in the proceedings of Convocation.—<i>Synodalia</i>, 670. -That the Commons detected the clerical error in the copy of the Book -which they had received and examined, as noticed in their Journals, -the 16th of April; and that they called the attention of the Lords to -it, appears from a loose paper in the House of Lords, in which it is -said—"That the Lords be made acquainted that this House hath observed -a mistake in the rubric after public baptism of infants [persons] being -inserted instead of [children,] which they take to be but <i>vitium -scriptoris</i>, and desire the Lords will consider of a way how the same -may be amended."</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_337_337" id="Footnote_337_337"></a><a href="#FNanchor_337_337"><span class="label">[337]</span></a> An account of these books will be found in the Appendix -to the next volume.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_338_338" id="Footnote_338_338"></a><a href="#FNanchor_338_338"><span class="label">[338]</span></a> <i>Lords' Journals</i>, May 19.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_339_339" id="Footnote_339_339"></a><a href="#FNanchor_339_339"><span class="label">[339]</span></a> It is evident from the 13th of Elizabeth, cap. xii., "An -Act for the Ministers of the Church to be of Sound Religion," that a -particular form of ordination was not then requisite for ministration -in the Establishment. The words of the Act are, "That every person -under the degree of a Bishop, which doth or shall pretend <i>to be a -priest or minister of God's holy word and sacraments</i> by reason of -any <i>other form</i> of institution, consecration, or ordering, than the -form set forth by Parliament, in the time of the late King of most -worthy memory King Edward VI., or now used in the reign of our most -gracious Sovereign Lady before the Feast of the Nativity of Christ -next following, shall, in the presence of the Bishop or guardian of -the spiritualities of some one diocese where he hath or shall have -ecclesiastical living, declare his assent and subscribe to all the -Articles of Religion," &c. This was the law till 1662.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_340_340" id="Footnote_340_340"></a><a href="#FNanchor_340_340"><span class="label">[340]</span></a> It is not meant that these men actually performed the -work of revision, but they were the guiding spirits of the Church; -therefore the character of the Book issued at the different periods may -be considered as reflecting their opinions.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_341_341" id="Footnote_341_341"></a><a href="#FNanchor_341_341"><span class="label">[341]</span></a> I have already noticed that the Puritans, in their -exceptions against the Prayer Book, at the Savoy Conference, urged on -their opponents the comprehensive policy of the Reformers.—<i>Baxter</i>, -ii. 317; <i>Cardwell's Conferences</i>, 305.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_342_342" id="Footnote_342_342"></a><a href="#FNanchor_342_342"><span class="label">[342]</span></a> <i>Clarendon's Continuation</i>, 1078.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_343_343" id="Footnote_343_343"></a><a href="#FNanchor_343_343"><span class="label">[343]</span></a> This illustration was suggested to me by a distinguished -Divine of the Church of England.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_344_344" id="Footnote_344_344"></a><a href="#FNanchor_344_344"><span class="label">[344]</span></a> He speaks (1079) of the Upper House expunging some parts -of that subscription which had been annexed to the Bill. I find no -trace of this.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_345_345" id="Footnote_345_345"></a><a href="#FNanchor_345_345"><span class="label">[345]</span></a> It is curious that in one particular, uniformity exists -beyond the direction of the Prayer Book. -</p> -<p> -Lathbury says: "Both by <i>rubrical</i> and <i>canonical</i> authority, the table -may be placed in the body of the Church or in the chancel."—<i>Hist. of -Con.</i>, 303. Yet the practice is to place it near the wall at the east -end.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_346_346" id="Footnote_346_346"></a><a href="#FNanchor_346_346"><span class="label">[346]</span></a> <i>Essays.</i> On <i>Unity</i> and <i>Of Church Controversies</i>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_347_347" id="Footnote_347_347"></a><a href="#FNanchor_347_347"><span class="label">[347]</span></a> <i>Forster</i>, iii., 209–240; <i>Own Time</i>, i. 164.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_348_348" id="Footnote_348_348"></a><a href="#FNanchor_348_348"><span class="label">[348]</span></a> <i>Noble's Regicides</i>, ii. 31.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_349_349" id="Footnote_349_349"></a><a href="#FNanchor_349_349"><span class="label">[349]</span></a> Orme's <i>Life of Baxter</i>, 454.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_350_350" id="Footnote_350_350"></a><a href="#FNanchor_350_350"><span class="label">[350]</span></a> <i>Isaiah</i> xvi. 4.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_351_351" id="Footnote_351_351"></a><a href="#FNanchor_351_351"><span class="label">[351]</span></a> <i>Holmes' Annals of America</i>, and <i>Orme's Life of -Baxter</i>, 454. -</p> -<p> -Sir Walter Scott has adopted the romantic story of the Indian War in -his <i>Peveril of the Peak</i>, but he has confounded Whalley with Gough. -Cooper has also used the story in one of his novels.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_352_352" id="Footnote_352_352"></a><a href="#FNanchor_352_352"><span class="label">[352]</span></a> The Book was so hastily printed, that the proofs were -not carefully compared with the written copy attached to the Act. At -Chichester there are two of these uncorrected copies. The <i>third</i> -or sealed copy is the one which passed through the hands of the -Commissioners, and is altered by their pens. The alterations are found -to be chiefly corrections of errors arising from a hasty copying of the -MS. Book for the press.</p> - -<p>There does not appear to have been much care taken with the reprints, -even after the "Sealed Books" were distributed. An edition dated 1669, -perpetuates most of the errors of the printed copy of 1662. For this -information I am indebted to the kindness of the Rev. Dr. Swainson. See -further on this subject in Appendix.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_353_353" id="Footnote_353_353"></a><a href="#FNanchor_353_353"><span class="label">[353]</span></a> <i>Own Times</i>, i. 185.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_354_354" id="Footnote_354_354"></a><a href="#FNanchor_354_354"><span class="label">[354]</span></a> <i>Life of Philip Henry</i>, 100. See also <i>Calamy's Defence -of Moderate Nonconformists</i>, vol. ii. 357.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_355_355" id="Footnote_355_355"></a><a href="#FNanchor_355_355"><span class="label">[355]</span></a> Sir Edward Coke, in his <i>Institutes</i>, part ii., says -that the "word <i>Ordinary</i> signifieth a Bishop, or he, or they, that -have ordinary jurisdiction, and is derived <i>ab ordine</i>."</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_356_356" id="Footnote_356_356"></a><a href="#FNanchor_356_356"><span class="label">[356]</span></a> Dated the 17th of August, 1662. <i>Kennets Historical -Register</i>, 743.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_357_357" id="Footnote_357_357"></a><a href="#FNanchor_357_357"><span class="label">[357]</span></a> In this form—"Ego A. B. prætensas meas ordinationis -literas, a quibusdam Presbyteris olim obtentas iam penitus renuncio, et -demitto pro vanis," &c.—<i>Life of P. Henry</i>, 97.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_358_358" id="Footnote_358_358"></a><a href="#FNanchor_358_358"><span class="label">[358]</span></a> <i>Life</i>, 98, <i>et seq.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_359_359" id="Footnote_359_359"></a><a href="#FNanchor_359_359"><span class="label">[359]</span></a> <i>Ibid.</i>, 11.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_360_360" id="Footnote_360_360"></a><a href="#FNanchor_360_360"><span class="label">[360]</span></a> <i>Stanford's Life of Alleine</i>, 199; <i>Calamy's Account</i>, -558.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_361_361" id="Footnote_361_361"></a><a href="#FNanchor_361_361"><span class="label">[361]</span></a> <i>Rogers' Life of Howe</i>, 105, 118.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_362_362" id="Footnote_362_362"></a><a href="#FNanchor_362_362"><span class="label">[362]</span></a> "Some of the hungry expectants were bold enough -to anticipate the period of ejection, relying on the Incumbents' -ultimately failing to qualify: and that even the chicanery of the -law was used to prevent their recovery of profits which had actually -accrued during their incumbency. Mr. Meadows (Incumbent of Ousden), -had as his patron one of kindred opinions, who sympathized with -his own feelings; and, accordingly, it appears by his accounts, -that he was allowed to receive the year's revenue up to Michaelmas, -1662."—<i>Suffolk Bartholomeans</i>, by <i>Taylor</i>, 49.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_363_363" id="Footnote_363_363"></a><a href="#FNanchor_363_363"><span class="label">[363]</span></a> <i>Calamy's Account</i>, 557; <i>Continuation</i>, 336.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_364_364" id="Footnote_364_364"></a><a href="#FNanchor_364_364"><span class="label">[364]</span></a> <i>Calamy's Continuation</i>, 143.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_365_365" id="Footnote_365_365"></a><a href="#FNanchor_365_365"><span class="label">[365]</span></a> <i>State Papers</i>, May 14th.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_366_366" id="Footnote_366_366"></a><a href="#FNanchor_366_366"><span class="label">[366]</span></a> <i>State Papers</i>, 1661–2.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_367_367" id="Footnote_367_367"></a><a href="#FNanchor_367_367"><span class="label">[367]</span></a> <i>Truth and Loyalty Vindicated</i>, 1662.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_368_368" id="Footnote_368_368"></a><a href="#FNanchor_368_368"><span class="label">[368]</span></a> <i>Harl. Misc.</i>, vii. If the author of this tract was not -a Romanist he had strong Romanist sympathies.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_369_369" id="Footnote_369_369"></a><a href="#FNanchor_369_369"><span class="label">[369]</span></a> <i>A Compleat Collection of Farewell Sermons</i>, 142; -<i>Pepys' Diary</i>, i. 313.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_370_370" id="Footnote_370_370"></a><a href="#FNanchor_370_370"><span class="label">[370]</span></a> <i>Farewell Sermons</i>, 115.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_371_371" id="Footnote_371_371"></a><a href="#FNanchor_371_371"><span class="label">[371]</span></a> <i>Patrick MSS.</i> xliv. 11.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_372_372" id="Footnote_372_372"></a><a href="#FNanchor_372_372"><span class="label">[372]</span></a> <i>Stanford's Joseph Alleine</i>, 200.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_373_373" id="Footnote_373_373"></a><a href="#FNanchor_373_373"><span class="label">[373]</span></a> Calamy speaks of his holding this living in conjunction -with Kingston.—<i>Account</i>, 279.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_374_374" id="Footnote_374_374"></a><a href="#FNanchor_374_374"><span class="label">[374]</span></a> <i>Farewell Sermons</i>, 447.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_375_375" id="Footnote_375_375"></a><a href="#FNanchor_375_375"><span class="label">[375]</span></a> <i>State Papers</i>, August 22, 1662.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_376_376" id="Footnote_376_376"></a><a href="#FNanchor_376_376"><span class="label">[376]</span></a> <i>Fox's Journal</i>, ii. 7.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_377_377" id="Footnote_377_377"></a><a href="#FNanchor_377_377"><span class="label">[377]</span></a> "The eight years, from the death of Angélique Arnauld, -in 1661, to the peace of the Church in 1669, were the agony of Port -Royal."—<i>Beard's Port Royal</i>, i. 344.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_378_378" id="Footnote_378_378"></a><a href="#FNanchor_378_378"><span class="label">[378]</span></a> <i>Farewell Sermons, etc.</i>, 174, 187.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_379_379" id="Footnote_379_379"></a><a href="#FNanchor_379_379"><span class="label">[379]</span></a> <i>Palmer's Nonconformist Memorial</i>, i. 366.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_380_380" id="Footnote_380_380"></a><a href="#FNanchor_380_380"><span class="label">[380]</span></a> "A liberal attention to the convenience of the late -Incumbent must have been shown by Mr. Meadows's successor, as we find -so late as July 8, 1665, 'a note of things yet left at the parsonage.'" -Mr. Meadows was Incumbent of Ousden, Suffolk. <i>Suffolk Bartholomeans, -by Taylor</i>, 50.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_381_381" id="Footnote_381_381"></a><a href="#FNanchor_381_381"><span class="label">[381]</span></a> October, 1662, <i>Wilkins' Concilia</i>, iv. 577.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_382_382" id="Footnote_382_382"></a><a href="#FNanchor_382_382"><span class="label">[382]</span></a> Baxter informs us that he had resolved not to meddle in -such business any more, but says in the margin, "If I should at length -recite the story of this business, and what peremptory promises they -had, and how all was turned to their rebuke and scorn, it would more -increase the reader's astonishment."—<i>Life and Times</i>, ii. 429.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_383_383" id="Footnote_383_383"></a><a href="#FNanchor_383_383"><span class="label">[383]</span></a> Newcome notices the petition in his Diary, as if an -unsuccessful attempt had been made to present it before the 28th. -"August 28.—I was sent for to the ministers to Mr. Greene's. We -perused Mr. Heyricke's letter, whereby we understand that last Lord's -Day was a very sad and doleful day in London, in that ministers -preached not; none but Mr. Blackmore, Mr. Crofton, and Dr. Manton -between the Tower and Westminster, the Bishops having provided readers -or preachers for every place. And the ministers in the dark waited -with their petition on Monday, and could not get it delivered, and -came away more dissatisfied than they went; and what the issue of all -this will be the Lord only knows. I rose afore seven; we despatched -duty. And the ministers came in again, and we discoursed of matters, -and got things done about the petitions. Mr. Alsley dined with me -and Mr. Haworth, we having a venison pasty. After dinner, Mr. James -Lightbourne was with me an hour or more. I wrote letters to London, -and then went to bowls; but, as if it was not a time for me to take -recreation in, I had no freedom of spirit by a little accident about -Mr. Constantine."—<i>Newcome's Diary</i>, 115.</p> - -<p>The following entry indicates the interference of the King with -the operation of the Act:—"Nov., 1662.—The King to the Dean and -Chapter of Christ Church, Oxford. They are to forbear execution of -any sentence against Thomas Severne, for not having subscribed to the -Act of Uniformity before his Bishop, though presented doing so before -the University, until the will of Parliament in such cases is more -distinctly known."—<i>Ent. Book</i> x. 7. <i>Cal. Dom.</i>, 1661–1662, 578.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_384_384" id="Footnote_384_384"></a><a href="#FNanchor_384_384"><span class="label">[384]</span></a> <i>Clarendon's Continuation</i>, 1081–1082.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_385_385" id="Footnote_385_385"></a><a href="#FNanchor_385_385"><span class="label">[385]</span></a> It is difficult to harmonize satisfactorily the accounts -of conferences and councils given by Burnet, Clarendon, and Bishop -Parker. The former two speak of the conferences occurring before St. -Bartholomew's Day. The last of these authorities gives a petition from -the ministers presented on the 27th, and a debate upon it in Council -on the 28th, agreeing, to a considerable extent, with Clarendon's -statements. Clarendon says nothing of a petition and a Council after -St. Bartholomew's Day, but leaves us to conclude all thought of -indulgence was dropped beforehand. In this respect we know he is wrong, -probably the matter of indulgence was frequently debated in Council. -Compare <i>Clarendon</i>, 1081; <i>Burnet</i>, i. 191; with <i>Parker</i> in <i>Kennet's -Register</i>, 753.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_386_386" id="Footnote_386_386"></a><a href="#FNanchor_386_386"><span class="label">[386]</span></a> These illustrations are gathered from the newspapers of -the day.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_387_387" id="Footnote_387_387"></a><a href="#FNanchor_387_387"><span class="label">[387]</span></a> <i>State Papers.</i> This letter is dated March 2, 1663. It -is anonymous; the reason for ascribing it to Hook will appear further -on.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_388_388" id="Footnote_388_388"></a><a href="#FNanchor_388_388"><span class="label">[388]</span></a> <i>Joseph Alleine's Life</i>, by <i>Stanford</i>, 204. There is a -glowing account in the <i>Mercurius Publicus</i>, of an Episcopal service -at St. Mary's, on the 25th, when the church was so full that people -fainted with heat, and "the Mayor and Aldermen were all in their -formalities, and not a man in all the church had his hat on, either at -service or sermon."</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_389_389" id="Footnote_389_389"></a><a href="#FNanchor_389_389"><span class="label">[389]</span></a> <i>Ashmole's Order of the Garter</i>, 176.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_390_390" id="Footnote_390_390"></a><a href="#FNanchor_390_390"><span class="label">[390]</span></a> <i>Tour in Derbyshire</i>, 1662. <i>Browne's Works</i>, i. 30. -"At Buxton," he says, "we had the luck to meet with a sermon, which -we could not have done in half-a-year before, by relation. I think -there is a true Chapel of Ease indeed here, for they hardly ever go to -Church," p. 34. <i>Calamy</i> gives the name of Mr. John Jackson as ejected -from Buxton, but supplies no account of him.—<i>Account</i>, 204.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_391_391" id="Footnote_391_391"></a><a href="#FNanchor_391_391"><span class="label">[391]</span></a> They occur at the end of the list for each county.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_392_392" id="Footnote_392_392"></a><a href="#FNanchor_392_392"><span class="label">[392]</span></a> See Ryle's account of Gurnal, prefixed to the new -edition of his works.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_393_393" id="Footnote_393_393"></a><a href="#FNanchor_393_393"><span class="label">[393]</span></a> <i>State Papers. Dom.</i>, 1663, March 2. Letter from William -Hook.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_394_394" id="Footnote_394_394"></a><a href="#FNanchor_394_394"><span class="label">[394]</span></a> For instances, see <i>Palmer</i>, i. 223, ii. 71.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_395_395" id="Footnote_395_395"></a><a href="#FNanchor_395_395"><span class="label">[395]</span></a> Appendix to Second Report of the Royal Commission on -Ritual, p. 616. The articles of the Bishops there printed are from the -collection in the Bodleian Library.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_396_396" id="Footnote_396_396"></a><a href="#FNanchor_396_396"><span class="label">[396]</span></a> Appendix to second report of the Royal Commission on -Ritual, pp. 601, 602.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_397_397" id="Footnote_397_397"></a><a href="#FNanchor_397_397"><span class="label">[397]</span></a> <i>Ibid.</i>, 607, 611.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_398_398" id="Footnote_398_398"></a><a href="#FNanchor_398_398"><span class="label">[398]</span></a> <i>Ibid.</i>, 619.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_399_399" id="Footnote_399_399"></a><a href="#FNanchor_399_399"><span class="label">[399]</span></a> They are published in the same Appendix, 624, <i>et seq.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_400_400" id="Footnote_400_400"></a><a href="#FNanchor_400_400"><span class="label">[400]</span></a> The authorities for these statements are <i>Calamy's -Account</i> and <i>Continuation</i>, <i>Kennet's Register</i>, <i>Hunter's Life of -Heywood</i>, and <i>Aspland's History of Nonconformity in Duckinfield</i>. I -could add more instances. No doubt there were several which cannot now -be ascertained.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_401_401" id="Footnote_401_401"></a><a href="#FNanchor_401_401"><span class="label">[401]</span></a> <i>Irenicum</i>, republished in 1662.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_402_402" id="Footnote_402_402"></a><a href="#FNanchor_402_402"><span class="label">[402]</span></a> <i>Lord King's Life of Locke</i>, 7, 8, 9.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_403_403" id="Footnote_403_403"></a><a href="#FNanchor_403_403"><span class="label">[403]</span></a> <i>State Papers, Cal. Dom.</i> Sept. 14 and Sept. 29, 1662.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_404_404" id="Footnote_404_404"></a><a href="#FNanchor_404_404"><span class="label">[404]</span></a> <i>Ibid.</i>, Oct. 31, 1662.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_405_405" id="Footnote_405_405"></a><a href="#FNanchor_405_405"><span class="label">[405]</span></a> This reported number should be borne in mind in -connection with others already stated.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_406_406" id="Footnote_406_406"></a><a href="#FNanchor_406_406"><span class="label">[406]</span></a> <i>State Papers, Cal., Dom.</i>, 1661–1662, 531, 567, 594.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_407_407" id="Footnote_407_407"></a><a href="#FNanchor_407_407"><span class="label">[407]</span></a> <i>Cal. Dom.</i>, 1662, Jan. 31.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_408_408" id="Footnote_408_408"></a><a href="#FNanchor_408_408"><span class="label">[408]</span></a> <i>Ibid.</i>, 1662, Oct. 10, Nov. 24.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_409_409" id="Footnote_409_409"></a><a href="#FNanchor_409_409"><span class="label">[409]</span></a> The following illustrations of the extent of persecution -in the autumn of 1662 are extracted from <i>State Papers</i> under date:—</p> - -<p>"Committed by Sir J. Robinson, Knt. and Bart., Lord Mayor, being taken -at an unlawful assembly, and denying to take the Oath of Allegiance, -dated 2nd November, 1662." [Names given. All males.]</p> - -<p>"Committed by Sir R. Browne, Knt. and Bart., for being unlawfully -assembled together contrary to the laws, etc., the same day." [Other -names.]</p> - -<p>"Anabaptists and Quakers, taken at unlawful meetings, and committed by -the Court, for refusing to take the Oath of Allegiance, and some of -them fined."</p> - -<p>[Eleven names, all males.]</p> - -<p>"Committed by His Grace, the Duke of Albemarle, General of His -Majesty's forces, for assembling unlawfully together, contrary to a -late Act of Parliament, 28th October, 1662."</p> - -<p>[Sixty-three names, all males, six under the heading "Quakers."]</p> - -<p>"Committed 3rd November, 1662, for refusing to take the Oath of -Allegiance."</p> - -<p>[Three males.]</p> - -<p>"Committed for being at a private meeting in Wheeler's Street, dated -9th November, 1662."</p> - -<p>[Three names.]</p> - -<p>"Committed for being at an unlawful assembly in Spitalfields; dated -16th November, 1662."</p> - -<p>[Three names.]</p> - -<p>"Committed by John Smith, Esq., being taken in the house of the said -Mary Winch, upon pretence of a religious worship, and own no King but -King Jesus and own themselves to be Fifth Monarchy men. Dated 23rd -November, 1662."</p> - -<p>These extracts have appeared in the <i>Baptist Magazine</i>. In others the -names of females occur.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_410_410" id="Footnote_410_410"></a><a href="#FNanchor_410_410"><span class="label">[410]</span></a> <i>Kennet</i>, 849.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_411_411" id="Footnote_411_411"></a><a href="#FNanchor_411_411"><span class="label">[411]</span></a> <i>Baxter's Life and Times</i>, ii. 430.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_412_412" id="Footnote_412_412"></a><a href="#FNanchor_412_412"><span class="label">[412]</span></a> <i>History of his Own Time</i>, i. 193.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_413_413" id="Footnote_413_413"></a><a href="#FNanchor_413_413"><span class="label">[413]</span></a> See on this subject, <i>Burnet's History of his Own Time</i>, -i. 194; <i>Lingard</i>, xi. 220; and <i>Butler's Memoirs</i>, iii. 44.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_414_414" id="Footnote_414_414"></a><a href="#FNanchor_414_414"><span class="label">[414]</span></a> See the <i>Lords' Journals</i>, February 23, 25, 27, 28. -"After St. Bartholomew's Day, the Dissenters, seeing both Court and -Parliament was so much set against them, had much consultation together -what to do. Many were for going over to Holland, and settling there -with their ministers; others proposed New England, and the other -plantations."—<i>Burnet</i>, i. 193.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_415_415" id="Footnote_415_415"></a><a href="#FNanchor_415_415"><span class="label">[415]</span></a> Clarendon cannot be relieved from a charge of duplicity -in this business.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_416_416" id="Footnote_416_416"></a><a href="#FNanchor_416_416"><span class="label">[416]</span></a> See <i>Lister's Life of Clarendon</i>, iii. 232, compared -with <i>Clarendon's Continuation</i>, 1129. The story is there wrongly -dated. So it is in <i>Parl. Hist.</i>, iv. 311.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_417_417" id="Footnote_417_417"></a><a href="#FNanchor_417_417"><span class="label">[417]</span></a> <i>Continuation</i>, 1131.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_418_418" id="Footnote_418_418"></a><a href="#FNanchor_418_418"><span class="label">[418]</span></a> Under date April 21, 1663, there is a petition from -Samuel Wilson, who was seized in the Downs for ignorantly receiving -a seditious letter from Hook, a minister, which came wrapped up in a -bundle of books. This person, Mrs. Green, in the <i>Calendar of State -Papers</i>, 1663, suggests, is the writer of the remarkable letter here -referred to. No doubt of it. The letter is dated March 2, 1663, -addressed to Mr. Davenport, who was colleague with Hook at New Haven, -in New England. On Hook's return from America to England he became a -minister at Exmouth, and afterwards Master of the Savoy and Chaplain to -Cromwell.—<i>Palmer's Nonconformist Memorial.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_419_419" id="Footnote_419_419"></a><a href="#FNanchor_419_419"><span class="label">[419]</span></a> This writer attributes depression in trade to the Act of -Uniformity, and blames the Presbyterians for being ready to meet the -Prelates half way, and swallow the Liturgy.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_420_420" id="Footnote_420_420"></a><a href="#FNanchor_420_420"><span class="label">[420]</span></a> <i>Baxter's Life and Times</i>, ii. 433.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_421_421" id="Footnote_421_421"></a><a href="#FNanchor_421_421"><span class="label">[421]</span></a> See <i>Commons' Journals</i>, 1663, February 27, March 16.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_422_422" id="Footnote_422_422"></a><a href="#FNanchor_422_422"><span class="label">[422]</span></a> <i>Parl. Hist.</i>, iv. 263–5.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_423_423" id="Footnote_423_423"></a><a href="#FNanchor_423_423"><span class="label">[423]</span></a> The Bill against Papists was committed March 17th; that -against Dissenters May 23rd. Several debates, amendments, and divisions -took place. At the beginning of July the Bills were carried up to the -Lords. The Bill against Sectaries was committed by the Upper House, -July 22nd, and there the matter ended. Parliament was prorogued on the -27th.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_424_424" id="Footnote_424_424"></a><a href="#FNanchor_424_424"><span class="label">[424]</span></a> <i>Lords' Journals</i>, July 25, 27.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_425_425" id="Footnote_425_425"></a><a href="#FNanchor_425_425"><span class="label">[425]</span></a> <i>Lords' Journals</i>, July 27, 1663. A curious incident -occurred during their sittings. The Bill for the better observance of -the Sabbath was lost off the table, and could not be found. The like -had never occurred before, and "every Lord was called by name, and -those present did make their purgation, and the assistants likewise did -particularly clear themselves." It was the last day of the session. -The Bills to receive the Royal assent had been taken out of a bag, and -opened on the table; but this Bill disappeared, and consequently did -not receive <i>le Roy le veult</i>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_426_426" id="Footnote_426_426"></a><a href="#FNanchor_426_426"><span class="label">[426]</span></a> <i>Walton's Lives</i>, 424–427. He had left a list of -ministers under his eye designed for discipline, but when he saw -death approaching, he burnt the paper, and said he would die in -peace.—<i>Conformists' Plea for Nonconformity</i>, 35.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_427_427" id="Footnote_427_427"></a><a href="#FNanchor_427_427"><span class="label">[427]</span></a> <i>Works</i>, vi. 443.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_428_428" id="Footnote_428_428"></a><a href="#FNanchor_428_428"><span class="label">[428]</span></a> 31st August, 1663. <i>Evelyn's Diary</i>, i. 399.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_429_429" id="Footnote_429_429"></a><a href="#FNanchor_429_429"><span class="label">[429]</span></a> <i>State Papers, Dom., Charles II.</i>, June 20, Sept. 22, -Oct. 12. I may add that a very affecting illustration of the sufferings -of an ejected minister through trial and imprisonment for preaching -in some retired place after the Act of Uniformity, is to be found in -<i>Stanford's Joseph Alleine</i>, chapters x. and xi.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_430_430" id="Footnote_430_430"></a><a href="#FNanchor_430_430"><span class="label">[430]</span></a> <i>State Papers</i>, Nov. 9, Dec. 31.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_431_431" id="Footnote_431_431"></a><a href="#FNanchor_431_431"><span class="label">[431]</span></a> <i>Memoirs of Colonel Hutchinson</i>, 391.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_432_432" id="Footnote_432_432"></a><a href="#FNanchor_432_432"><span class="label">[432]</span></a> <i>Anderson's Hist. of the Colonial Church</i>, ii. 286.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_433_433" id="Footnote_433_433"></a><a href="#FNanchor_433_433"><span class="label">[433]</span></a> <i>Ibid.</i>, 316-318.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_434_434" id="Footnote_434_434"></a><a href="#FNanchor_434_434"><span class="label">[434]</span></a> <i>Anderson's Hist. of the Colonial Church</i>, ii. 342.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_435_435" id="Footnote_435_435"></a><a href="#FNanchor_435_435"><span class="label">[435]</span></a> The letters in the State Paper Office, from which all -these particulars are taken, are abridged in the <i>Calendar</i> for 1663. -Any one wishing to investigate the subject should study these letters -in connection with <i>Drake's Eboracum</i> and <i>Whitaker's Loidis and -Elmete</i>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_436_436" id="Footnote_436_436"></a><a href="#FNanchor_436_436"><span class="label">[436]</span></a> Amongst the papers which belonged to the Secretary -of State, and which are now preserved in the Record Office, is an -informer's notebook belonging to this period. As it is a curiosity, and -as it contains allusions to well-known characters, I will give a few -extracts in the Appendix.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_437_437" id="Footnote_437_437"></a><a href="#FNanchor_437_437"><span class="label">[437]</span></a> These are all local traditions.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_438_438" id="Footnote_438_438"></a><a href="#FNanchor_438_438"><span class="label">[438]</span></a> <i>Aspland's History of the Old Nonconformists in -Duckinfield.</i> Like stories are told of Bradley Wood near Newton Abbot, -and of Collier's Wood in Gloucestershire. Places of worship erected or -publicly used during times of indulgence or connivance, will be noticed -in the next Volume.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_439_439" id="Footnote_439_439"></a><a href="#FNanchor_439_439"><span class="label">[439]</span></a> <i>Life of Owen</i> by <i>Orme</i>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_440_440" id="Footnote_440_440"></a><a href="#FNanchor_440_440"><span class="label">[440]</span></a> <i>Nelson's Life of Bull</i>, 253. Other examples of the -ejected having married rich wives may be found in <i>Kennet</i>, 910. John -Tombes writing to Williamson, mentions a book on the anvil entitled, -<i>Theocratia, or a Treatise of the Kingdom of God</i>, to show that no -claim of coercive jurisdiction, either inferior or co-ordinate to the -King, is warranted by any ecclesiastical rulers, or by any office or -power in the kingdom of Christ in its militant state.... The Bishop of -Winchester, he goes on to say, has put him in hopes of a brotherhood -at the Savoy. Also has had hope from the Lord Keeper of a place at -Rochester in Bishop Warner's Hospital.—<i>State Papers</i>, 1668, May 8. -Tombes was a Baptist and therefore could not hold a living, but in -other respects he seems to have been a Conformist.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_441_441" id="Footnote_441_441"></a><a href="#FNanchor_441_441"><span class="label">[441]</span></a> <i>Kennet</i>, 905, 906, 908.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_442_442" id="Footnote_442_442"></a><a href="#FNanchor_442_442"><span class="label">[442]</span></a> <i>Life by Rogers</i>, 130, 140.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_443_443" id="Footnote_443_443"></a><a href="#FNanchor_443_443"><span class="label">[443]</span></a> <i>Palmer's Nonconformist Memorial</i>, i. 352.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_444_444" id="Footnote_444_444"></a><a href="#FNanchor_444_444"><span class="label">[444]</span></a> <i>Life and Times</i>, iii. 142.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_445_445" id="Footnote_445_445"></a><a href="#FNanchor_445_445"><span class="label">[445]</span></a> <i>Palmer</i>, ii. 503.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_446_446" id="Footnote_446_446"></a><a href="#FNanchor_446_446"><span class="label">[446]</span></a> <i>Wilkins' Concilia</i>, iv. 580.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_447_447" id="Footnote_447_447"></a><a href="#FNanchor_447_447"><span class="label">[447]</span></a> See <i>Commons' Journals</i>, April 27, 28; May 12, 14, 16.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_448_448" id="Footnote_448_448"></a><a href="#FNanchor_448_448"><span class="label">[448]</span></a> 16 <i>Car. II.</i>, cap. iv.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_449_449" id="Footnote_449_449"></a><a href="#FNanchor_449_449"><span class="label">[449]</span></a> <i>Hist.</i>, 1115.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_450_450" id="Footnote_450_450"></a><a href="#FNanchor_450_450"><span class="label">[450]</span></a> <i>State Papers, Dom. Charles II.</i>, 1664, June 20.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_451_451" id="Footnote_451_451"></a><a href="#FNanchor_451_451"><span class="label">[451]</span></a> <i>Ibid.</i>, June 24.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_452_452" id="Footnote_452_452"></a><a href="#FNanchor_452_452"><span class="label">[452]</span></a> <i>State Papers</i>, 1664, Sept. 30, Nov. 18, Sept. 5, June -2.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_453_453" id="Footnote_453_453"></a><a href="#FNanchor_453_453"><span class="label">[453]</span></a> <i>Broadmead Records</i> (<i>Hanserd Knollys Society</i>), 76.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_454_454" id="Footnote_454_454"></a><a href="#FNanchor_454_454"><span class="label">[454]</span></a> <i>State Papers</i>, 1665, July 3 and 15.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_455_455" id="Footnote_455_455"></a><a href="#FNanchor_455_455"><span class="label">[455]</span></a> <i>Clarendon</i>, 1130.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_456_456" id="Footnote_456_456"></a><a href="#FNanchor_456_456"><span class="label">[456]</span></a> <i>Eccles. Hist.</i>, ii. 89.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_457_457" id="Footnote_457_457"></a><a href="#FNanchor_457_457"><span class="label">[457]</span></a> <i>Cardwell's Synodalia</i>, ii. 680, <i>et seq.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_458_458" id="Footnote_458_458"></a><a href="#FNanchor_458_458"><span class="label">[458]</span></a> <i>Collier</i>, ii. 893.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_459_459" id="Footnote_459_459"></a><a href="#FNanchor_459_459"><span class="label">[459]</span></a> <i>Parry's Parliaments and Councils</i>, 551.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_460_460" id="Footnote_460_460"></a><a href="#FNanchor_460_460"><span class="label">[460]</span></a> Dated July 7, 1665; <i>Wilkins' Concilia</i>, iv. 582. Note -in <i>Cardwell's Documentary Annals</i>, ii. 321.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_461_461" id="Footnote_461_461"></a><a href="#FNanchor_461_461"><span class="label">[461]</span></a> In <i>Notes and Queries</i> may be found a curious and -interesting collection of predictions of the Plague and Fire of -London. See <i>Choice Notes—History</i>, 236. "In delving among what may -be termed the popular religious literature of the latter end of the -Commonwealth, and early part of the reign of Charles, we become aware -of the existence of a kind of nightmare, which the public of that age -were evidently labouring under—a strong and vivid impression that some -terrible calamity was impending over the metropolis."</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_462_462" id="Footnote_462_462"></a><a href="#FNanchor_462_462"><span class="label">[462]</span></a> <i>State Papers, Dom. Charles II.</i> London, August 14, -1665. See also November 11.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_463_463" id="Footnote_463_463"></a><a href="#FNanchor_463_463"><span class="label">[463]</span></a> <i>Thucydides</i>, ii. 54.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_464_464" id="Footnote_464_464"></a><a href="#FNanchor_464_464"><span class="label">[464]</span></a> <i>Dom. Charles II.</i>, 1665, July 6. It is interesting to -observe that, as in late visitations of cholera, sanitary regulations -were adopted. Amongst other things it may be noticed that the Bishop of -London would not consecrate any ground unless a perpetuity of the same -might be first obtained—graves were dug deep, and churchyards were -covered with lime.—<i>Calendar</i>, 1665–6, Pref. xiii.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_465_465" id="Footnote_465_465"></a><a href="#FNanchor_465_465"><span class="label">[465]</span></a> <i>Dom. Charles II.</i>, 1665, August 15.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_466_466" id="Footnote_466_466"></a><a href="#FNanchor_466_466"><span class="label">[466]</span></a> <i>Ibid.</i>, July 22.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_467_467" id="Footnote_467_467"></a><a href="#FNanchor_467_467"><span class="label">[467]</span></a> <i>Dom. Charles II.</i>, August 19.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_468_468" id="Footnote_468_468"></a><a href="#FNanchor_468_468"><span class="label">[468]</span></a> "It is said, my Lord of London hath sent to those -pastors that have quitted their flocks, by reason of these times, -that if they return not speedily, others will be put into their -places."—<i>Ellis' Letters</i>, vol. iv.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_469_469" id="Footnote_469_469"></a><a href="#FNanchor_469_469"><span class="label">[469]</span></a> <i>Neal</i>, iv. 403. The returns dated 1665 from Exeter, -St. David's, and Bristol, are among the Tenison MSS. (Lambeth); also -the Bishop of Exeter's (Seth Ward's) certificate of the hospitals, -and almshouses, pluralists, lecturers, schoolmasters, physicians, and -Nonconformists in his diocese.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_470_470" id="Footnote_470_470"></a><a href="#FNanchor_470_470"><span class="label">[470]</span></a> <i>Wilkins' Concilia</i>, iv. 583.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_471_471" id="Footnote_471_471"></a><a href="#FNanchor_471_471"><span class="label">[471]</span></a> <i>Autobiography of Patrick, Bishop of Ely</i>, 52.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_472_472" id="Footnote_472_472"></a><a href="#FNanchor_472_472"><span class="label">[472]</span></a> His book, entitled <i>God's Terrible Voice in the City</i>, -presents some most graphic accounts of the effects of the pestilence.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_473_473" id="Footnote_473_473"></a><a href="#FNanchor_473_473"><span class="label">[473]</span></a> Feb. 4, 1666. Many affecting particulars relative to the -Plague may be found in the notes of this prince of diarists.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_474_474" id="Footnote_474_474"></a><a href="#FNanchor_474_474"><span class="label">[474]</span></a> <i>Blomefield's Hist. of Norwich</i>, i. 410.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_475_475" id="Footnote_475_475"></a><a href="#FNanchor_475_475"><span class="label">[475]</span></a> <i>Life of Owen Stockton</i>, 1681, p. 39.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_476_476" id="Footnote_476_476"></a><a href="#FNanchor_476_476"><span class="label">[476]</span></a> The story of Mompesson is fully told in <i>Histories of -Derbyshire</i>. Most of what is known has been collected in a little work -on the <i>History of Eyam</i>, by Mr. Wood, a resident in the village.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_477_477" id="Footnote_477_477"></a><a href="#FNanchor_477_477"><span class="label">[477]</span></a> For an account of Stanley and of Shaw, see <i>Calamy</i>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_478_478" id="Footnote_478_478"></a><a href="#FNanchor_478_478"><span class="label">[478]</span></a> <i>Burnet's Hist.</i>, i. 224.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_479_479" id="Footnote_479_479"></a><a href="#FNanchor_479_479"><span class="label">[479]</span></a> <i>Collier</i>, ii. 893.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_480_480" id="Footnote_480_480"></a><a href="#FNanchor_480_480"><span class="label">[480]</span></a> Clarendon, in his speech, at the opening of the -Parliament in Oxford, spoke of the horrid murderers of his late Royal -master being received into the secret counsels of Holland; and of other -infamous persons, admitted to a share in the conduct of their affairs. -Some persons, he said, had wantonly put themselves on board the enemy's -fleet, "purely out of appetite and delight to rebel against their -King."—<i>Parl. Hist.</i> iv. 326.</p> - -<p>Burnet says that Algernon Sidney and others proposed to the United -Provinces that they should invade England.—<i>Hist.</i> i. 226.</p> - -<p>Sir G. Downing, writing to Clarendon (<i>Lister's Life</i>, iii. 144), -remarks: "It is not to be believed what numbers of dissatisfied persons -come daily out of England into this country. They have settled at -Rotterdam, an Independent, an Anabaptist, and Quaker Church, and do -hire the best house, and have great bills of exchange come over from -England."</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_481_481" id="Footnote_481_481"></a><a href="#FNanchor_481_481"><span class="label">[481]</span></a> July 7, 1665. <i>Wilkins</i>, iv. 582. See page 331 of this -vol.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_482_482" id="Footnote_482_482"></a><a href="#FNanchor_482_482"><span class="label">[482]</span></a> 17 <i>Car.</i> ii. cap. 2.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_483_483" id="Footnote_483_483"></a><a href="#FNanchor_483_483"><span class="label">[483]</span></a> An anonymous correspondent writes on November 24, 1665 -(<i>State Papers</i>), to Lord Arlington, that "all are amazed at the late -Act against Nonconformity, judging it against the law of nature, and -therefore void, but that the Presbyterians will defeat its design, for -some of the chief incline to take the oath."</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_484_484" id="Footnote_484_484"></a><a href="#FNanchor_484_484"><span class="label">[484]</span></a> <i>Eccles. Hist.</i>, i. 500.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_485_485" id="Footnote_485_485"></a><a href="#FNanchor_485_485"><span class="label">[485]</span></a> He was present on each occasion of the Bill being read, -Oct. 26, 27, and 30. See <i>Lords' Journals</i>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_486_486" id="Footnote_486_486"></a><a href="#FNanchor_486_486"><span class="label">[486]</span></a> <i>Eccles. Hist.</i>, ii. 112.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_487_487" id="Footnote_487_487"></a><a href="#FNanchor_487_487"><span class="label">[487]</span></a> <i>Burnet</i>, i. 224.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_488_488" id="Footnote_488_488"></a><a href="#FNanchor_488_488"><span class="label">[488]</span></a> <i>Baxter's Life and Times</i>, iii. 3.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_489_489" id="Footnote_489_489"></a><a href="#FNanchor_489_489"><span class="label">[489]</span></a> <i>Parl. Hist.</i>, iv. 328.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_490_490" id="Footnote_490_490"></a><a href="#FNanchor_490_490"><span class="label">[490]</span></a> <i>Ralph's Hist. of England.</i> "The providence by which -it was thrown out was very remarkable, for Mr. Peregrine Bertie, -being newly chosen, was that morning introduced into the house by his -brother, the now Earl of Lindsey, and Sir Thomas Osborne, now Lord -Treasurer, who all three gave their votes against the Bill, and the -numbers were so even upon that division that their three voices carried -the question against it."—<i>Locke's Letter from a Person of Quality.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_491_491" id="Footnote_491_491"></a><a href="#FNanchor_491_491"><span class="label">[491]</span></a> He was not made Lord Keeper until 1667.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_492_492" id="Footnote_492_492"></a><a href="#FNanchor_492_492"><span class="label">[492]</span></a> <i>Neal</i>, iv. 401, says it was moved that the word -<i>unlawfully</i> might be inserted in the oath, before the word endeavour, -but all was rejected. He refers for authority to <i>Baxter</i>, iii. 15, (it -should be 13) but I find nothing there to that effect. If it was as -Neal states, it is difficult to understand how Bates could have argued -as he did.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_493_493" id="Footnote_493_493"></a><a href="#FNanchor_493_493"><span class="label">[493]</span></a> This account is given by Bates himself.—<i>Baxter's -Life</i>, iii. 14.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_494_494" id="Footnote_494_494"></a><a href="#FNanchor_494_494"><span class="label">[494]</span></a> For those who took the oath see <i>Baxter</i>, iii. 13. See -also <i>Calamy's Abridgment</i>, note 312.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_495_495" id="Footnote_495_495"></a><a href="#FNanchor_495_495"><span class="label">[495]</span></a> <i>Baxter's Life and Times</i>, iii. 13. His inquiries -respecting the oath went far beyond the meaning of the word -<i>endeavour</i>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_496_496" id="Footnote_496_496"></a><a href="#FNanchor_496_496"><span class="label">[496]</span></a> <i>Hunter's Life of Heywood</i>, 173.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_497_497" id="Footnote_497_497"></a><a href="#FNanchor_497_497"><span class="label">[497]</span></a> <i>Life of Philip Henry</i>, 108.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_498_498" id="Footnote_498_498"></a><a href="#FNanchor_498_498"><span class="label">[498]</span></a> For his character by Burnet see <i>Hist. of his Own Time</i>, -i. 100.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_499_499" id="Footnote_499_499"></a><a href="#FNanchor_499_499"><span class="label">[499]</span></a> The following story is given in a letter written just -after the Duke's duel with the Earl of Shrewsbury. If the story be -true, it is one of evanescent religious impression, or of unparalleled -hypocrisy:—"The Duke of Buckingham is become a most eminent convert -from all the vanities he hath been reported to have been addicted to; -hath had a solemn day of prayer for the completing and confirming -the great work upon him. Dr. Owen, and others of the like persuasion -(Independents), were the carriers on of the work. He is said to keep -correspondence with the chief of those parties. He grows more and more -in favour and power."—<i>Hunter's Life of Heywood</i>, 198.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_500_500" id="Footnote_500_500"></a><a href="#FNanchor_500_500"><span class="label">[500]</span></a> February 28, <i>Cal. Dom.</i>, 1665–66, pref. xxx.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_501_501" id="Footnote_501_501"></a><a href="#FNanchor_501_501"><span class="label">[501]</span></a> In the Record Office—besides many other papers under -the year 1665 respecting plots in Yorkshire—there is a long one -extending to eighteen pages, full of minute particulars on the subject, -dated December 24th, entitled <i>Information given to Mr. Sheriff</i>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_502_502" id="Footnote_502_502"></a><a href="#FNanchor_502_502"><span class="label">[502]</span></a> <i>James' Life of Louis XIV.</i>, ii. 143.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_503_503" id="Footnote_503_503"></a><a href="#FNanchor_503_503"><span class="label">[503]</span></a> <i>State Papers, Cal.</i> 1665–66, <i>pref.</i> xix.-xxv. -Historians have given inaccurate or incomplete accounts of these naval -battles. Ample materials for a full description are afforded in these -documents.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_504_504" id="Footnote_504_504"></a><a href="#FNanchor_504_504"><span class="label">[504]</span></a> <i>Essay on Dramatic Poesie.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_505_505" id="Footnote_505_505"></a><a href="#FNanchor_505_505"><span class="label">[505]</span></a> <i>State Papers, Dom. Cal.</i>, 1666-67, <i>pref.</i> xxvii.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_506_506" id="Footnote_506_506"></a><a href="#FNanchor_506_506"><span class="label">[506]</span></a> The booksellers near St. Paul's conveyed their property -to the crypt for safety, but it was destroyed. The loss in books was -estimated at £150,000.—<i>Harl. Misc.</i> vii. 330.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_507_507" id="Footnote_507_507"></a><a href="#FNanchor_507_507"><span class="label">[507]</span></a> <i>Autobiography of William Taswell, D.D. Camden -Miscellany</i>, vol. ii. A bridge at Westminster, extending across the -river, was not erected until the year 1738—opened 1750. By Westminster -Bridge is here meant either a landing pier or a bridge over a creek.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_508_508" id="Footnote_508_508"></a><a href="#FNanchor_508_508"><span class="label">[508]</span></a> Compiled from <i>Strype's Stow</i>, <i>Pepys</i>, <i>Evelyn</i>, -<i>Baxter</i>, <i>Harl. Misc.</i>, vii., <i>State Papers</i>, 1666-7 (see <i>Calendar</i>), -and <i>Notes and Queries</i>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_509_509" id="Footnote_509_509"></a><a href="#FNanchor_509_509"><span class="label">[509]</span></a> <i>State Papers, Dom. Charles II., Cal.</i> 1666-67, <i>pref.</i> -xii., xix.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_510_510" id="Footnote_510_510"></a><a href="#FNanchor_510_510"><span class="label">[510]</span></a> <i>Commons' Journal</i>, October 26, 1666.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_511_511" id="Footnote_511_511"></a><a href="#FNanchor_511_511"><span class="label">[511]</span></a> <i>State Papers, Cal.</i> 1666-67, <i>pref.</i> xiii.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_512_512" id="Footnote_512_512"></a><a href="#FNanchor_512_512"><span class="label">[512]</span></a> <i>Life</i>, ii. 396; iii. 165.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_513_513" id="Footnote_513_513"></a><a href="#FNanchor_513_513"><span class="label">[513]</span></a> <i>Hist. of his Own Times</i>, i. 270.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_514_514" id="Footnote_514_514"></a><a href="#FNanchor_514_514"><span class="label">[514]</span></a> <i>Life and Times</i>, iii. 162.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_515_515" id="Footnote_515_515"></a><a href="#FNanchor_515_515"><span class="label">[515]</span></a> <i>Ibid.</i>, iii. 19.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_516_516" id="Footnote_516_516"></a><a href="#FNanchor_516_516"><span class="label">[516]</span></a> <i>Burnet</i>, i. 270.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_517_517" id="Footnote_517_517"></a><a href="#FNanchor_517_517"><span class="label">[517]</span></a> <i>State Papers, Cal.</i> 1666-7, <i>Pref.</i> xix.-xxiii., and -references.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_518_518" id="Footnote_518_518"></a><a href="#FNanchor_518_518"><span class="label">[518]</span></a> <i>Dom. Charles II.</i> 1666, Dec. 3. Richard Browne to -Williamson. Same date, John Allen to Williamson.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_519_519" id="Footnote_519_519"></a><a href="#FNanchor_519_519"><span class="label">[519]</span></a> Dr. Basire to Williamson, 1666, Dec. 17.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_520_520" id="Footnote_520_520"></a><a href="#FNanchor_520_520"><span class="label">[520]</span></a> <i>State Papers, Dom. Charles II.</i>, 1666, Dec. 14. A -further allusion is made to these strange people in a letter by -Sanderson to Williamson, Feb. 5, 1667, in which, also, reference is -made to Mr. Cocks, steward to Lady Vane, at Raby Castle, as a very -dangerous person. There is likewise a previous letter on the same -subject (1666, Nov. 6.) In another paper, attached to that of Feb. -5, allusions occur to persons of quality as engaged in plots. "They -will try to get up Richard Cromwell as the only one who has a right to -rule."</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_521_521" id="Footnote_521_521"></a><a href="#FNanchor_521_521"><span class="label">[521]</span></a> <i>State Papers.</i> Letter by John Rushworth, 1667, June 15.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_522_522" id="Footnote_522_522"></a><a href="#FNanchor_522_522"><span class="label">[522]</span></a> "Chester, a stronghold of Nonconformity, was much -perplexed. Some said we were asleep, or should have fortified -ourselves, knowing the enemy near. All concluded there was treachery -in the business, and hoped the contrivers would receive the reward -due to those who betray King and country." Sir Geoffry Shakerley to -Williamson, Chester, June 19, 1667.—<i>State Papers.</i></p> - -<p>"At Yarmouth the Presbyterian party raised the cry of treachery because -there had been an attempt to leave the place in charge of Major -Markham, who was disliked as being a Papist; and because the trained -bands had been sent for to Newmarket, and none others sent in their -room, and, therefore the town left defenceless."—June 21, 1667.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_523_523" id="Footnote_523_523"></a><a href="#FNanchor_523_523"><span class="label">[523]</span></a> <i>State Papers.</i> Same date.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_524_524" id="Footnote_524_524"></a><a href="#FNanchor_524_524"><span class="label">[524]</span></a> The peace with Holland, which was proclaimed August -24th, 1667, was very popular. At Weymouth "it, as it were, raised the -dead to life, and made them rich in thought, though their purses are -empty. At Lynn the bells have hardly lain still since the news of -peace."—<i>State Papers, Cal.</i>, 1667–8, <i>pref.</i> lv.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_525_525" id="Footnote_525_525"></a><a href="#FNanchor_525_525"><span class="label">[525]</span></a> Of the disgrace of Lord Chancellor Clarendon, the notes -in the <i>State Papers</i>, as Mrs. Green says, are "provokingly few and -unimportant."</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_526_526" id="Footnote_526_526"></a><a href="#FNanchor_526_526"><span class="label">[526]</span></a> <i>Hallam's Constit. Hist.</i>, ii. 69.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_527_527" id="Footnote_527_527"></a><a href="#FNanchor_527_527"><span class="label">[527]</span></a> <i>Baxter</i>, iii. 26. Holles the Presbyterian protested -against the banishment of Clarendon—<i>Hallam</i>, ii. 69. The fall of -Clarendon comes but incidentally within the range of this history. For -a legal and constitutional view of his impeachment, I must refer the -reader to Mr. Hallam, and Lord Campbell. In the <i>Life of James II.</i> -edited by <i>Clarke</i>, vol. i. 431, it is stated that the Presbyterian -party made overtures to Clarendon, to stand by him, if he would stand -by himself, and join with the Duke in opposing his enemies; hoping -thereby to separate the Duke from his brother, and to "bring low the -regal authority." This is a very improbable story.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_528_528" id="Footnote_528_528"></a><a href="#FNanchor_528_528"><span class="label">[528]</span></a> <i>Clarendon's State Papers</i>, iii. <i>Sup.</i> xxxviii. -<i>Lister's Life of Clarendon</i>, ii. 483.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_529_529" id="Footnote_529_529"></a><a href="#FNanchor_529_529"><span class="label">[529]</span></a> <i>Historical Inquiries respecting the character of Edward -Hyde, Earl of Clarendon, by the Hon. George Agar Ellis</i>, has just -come in my way. He paints the Chancellor in very dark colours indeed: -but adds nothing to the facts of his history as given by popular -historians. I cannot adopt all Mr. Ellis' condemnatory conclusions.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_530_530" id="Footnote_530_530"></a><a href="#FNanchor_530_530"><span class="label">[530]</span></a> One great blot on Cecil's character was the perjury -involved in his signing the Device of Edward VI. To say he signed as a -witness is a subterfuge.</p> - -<p>The following passage on Nonconformity from Clarendon's pen is equally -deficient in charity and wisdom:—"Their faction is their religion: -nor are those combinations ever entered into upon real and substantial -motives of conscience, how erroneous soever, but consist of many -glutinous materials, of will, and humour, and folly, and knavery, -and ambition, and malice, which make men inseparably cling together, -till they have satisfaction in all their pretences, <i>or till they are -absolutely broken and subdued, which may always be more easily done -than the other</i>."—<i>Life of Clarendon by Lister</i>, ii. 121.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_531_531" id="Footnote_531_531"></a><a href="#FNanchor_531_531"><span class="label">[531]</span></a> <i>State Papers, Dom.</i>, under dates.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_532_532" id="Footnote_532_532"></a><a href="#FNanchor_532_532"><span class="label">[532]</span></a> <i>Discourse on the Religion of England</i>, 1667.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_533_533" id="Footnote_533_533"></a><a href="#FNanchor_533_533"><span class="label">[533]</span></a> <i>Wood's Athen. Ox.</i>, iii. 1264.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_534_534" id="Footnote_534_534"></a><a href="#FNanchor_534_534"><span class="label">[534]</span></a> "It is said that an Act is preparing by some of the -House for the dispensing with the Act of Uniformity, which is clearly -against the Bishops' government,—another for the punishment of such -as have been the occasions of misfortunes befallen this land—as also -against those that counselled the dividing the fleet: so that all that -find themselves guilty do make interest in the Parliament House. Some -have recourse to the Presbyterian party, which they would not do if -they were not brought to the utmost extremity."—<i>State Papers, News -Letter</i>, Sept. 2/12, 1667.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_535_535" id="Footnote_535_535"></a><a href="#FNanchor_535_535"><span class="label">[535]</span></a> It is printed in <i>Thorndike's Works</i>, v. 302.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_536_536" id="Footnote_536_536"></a><a href="#FNanchor_536_536"><span class="label">[536]</span></a> <i>Pepys</i>, Jan. 20 and 31, 1668.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_537_537" id="Footnote_537_537"></a><a href="#FNanchor_537_537"><span class="label">[537]</span></a> <i>Ibid.</i>, 5th Feb.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_538_538" id="Footnote_538_538"></a><a href="#FNanchor_538_538"><span class="label">[538]</span></a> The part taken by Hale is described in his <i>Life, by -Burnet</i>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_539_539" id="Footnote_539_539"></a><a href="#FNanchor_539_539"><span class="label">[539]</span></a> Made Bishop in 1675. Barlow's conduct as Bishop did not -accord with the liberality which he showed at this period. See in the -next volume a notice of his conduct in 1684.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_540_540" id="Footnote_540_540"></a><a href="#FNanchor_540_540"><span class="label">[540]</span></a> It is stated by <i>Burnet</i>, <i>Hist.</i> i. 259, that Tillotson -and Stillingfleet took part in the scheme, but Baxter does not say so, -though he alludes to them as friendly to the scheme of 1675. Perhaps -Burnet confounded the two attempts.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_541_541" id="Footnote_541_541"></a><a href="#FNanchor_541_541"><span class="label">[541]</span></a> He did not publish what he wrote, but it is inserted in -the Oxford Edition of his works, v. 309–344.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_542_542" id="Footnote_542_542"></a><a href="#FNanchor_542_542"><span class="label">[542]</span></a> <i>Pepys' Diary</i>, Feb. 10, 1668.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_543_543" id="Footnote_543_543"></a><a href="#FNanchor_543_543"><span class="label">[543]</span></a> <i>Parl. Hist.</i>, iv. 404.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_544_544" id="Footnote_544_544"></a><a href="#FNanchor_544_544"><span class="label">[544]</span></a> Birch, as we have seen, informed Pepys that the King was -for toleration, but the Bishops were against it. The great difficulty -was about tolerating Papists.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_545_545" id="Footnote_545_545"></a><a href="#FNanchor_545_545"><span class="label">[545]</span></a> <i>Pepys' Diary</i>, Feb. 28, 1668.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_546_546" id="Footnote_546_546"></a><a href="#FNanchor_546_546"><span class="label">[546]</span></a> <i>Life of Philip Henry</i>, 112.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_547_547" id="Footnote_547_547"></a><a href="#FNanchor_547_547"><span class="label">[547]</span></a> <i>Parl. Hist.</i>, iv. 413.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_548_548" id="Footnote_548_548"></a><a href="#FNanchor_548_548"><span class="label">[548]</span></a> <i>Ibid.</i>, 414–422. These speakers were Colonel Sandys, -Sir John Earnly, Sir W. Hickman, Mr. Ratcliffe, Sir Walter Yonge, Sir -J. Littleton, Sir John Birkenhead, and Mr. Seymour.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_549_549" id="Footnote_549_549"></a><a href="#FNanchor_549_549"><span class="label">[549]</span></a> <i>Constitutional History</i>, ii. 70.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_550_550" id="Footnote_550_550"></a><a href="#FNanchor_550_550"><span class="label">[550]</span></a> <i>Baxter's Life and Times</i>, iii. 37.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_551_551" id="Footnote_551_551"></a><a href="#FNanchor_551_551"><span class="label">[551]</span></a> <i>Concilia</i>, iv. 588. The returns are found among the -Tenison MSS., Lambeth, No. 639. They include accounts of Conventicles -in the dioceses of Canterbury, Chichester, Ely, Exeter, Llandaff, -Lichfield and Coventry, Lincoln, London, Norwich, Winchester, -Worcester, York, Chester, Carlisle, and St. Asaph. There were returns -from some dioceses in 1665.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_552_552" id="Footnote_552_552"></a><a href="#FNanchor_552_552"><span class="label">[552]</span></a> Sheldon complained that he could not obtain the returns -that he wanted. Lambeth MSS., August 16, 1669.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_553_553" id="Footnote_553_553"></a><a href="#FNanchor_553_553"><span class="label">[553]</span></a> <i>Own Times</i>, i. 258. "He told me he had a chaplain, -that was a very honest man, but a very great blockhead, to whom he -had given a living in Suffolk, that was full of that sort of people. -He had gone about among them from house to house, though he could not -imagine what he could say to them, for he said he was a very silly -fellow; but that he believed his nonsense suited their nonsense, for -he had brought them all to church; and in reward of his diligence, he -had given him a bishopric in Ireland." Burnet gives the other report -on the authority of a letter written by Sir Robert Murray. I may -observe here, that party writers on both sides treat Burnet according -to their prejudices; the one party believing implicitly everything -he says to the disadvantage of the Church; the other party rejecting -his evidence on this subject as utterly worthless. It appears to me -that,—remembering Burnet's gossiping habits, and that he was a strong -party man, and also noticing that he often tells his stories in a loose -way, and, like Clarendon, writes down his recollections long after the -time when the incidents he records had occurred—we ought to read him -with great care, and not place implicit reliance upon his unsupported -testimony. Yet, on the whole, Burnet appears to me to have been an -honest man. His character will come under review in a future volume of -this history, should I be permitted to complete it.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_554_554" id="Footnote_554_554"></a><a href="#FNanchor_554_554"><span class="label">[554]</span></a> <i>Life and Times</i>, iii. 46.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_555_555" id="Footnote_555_555"></a><a href="#FNanchor_555_555"><span class="label">[555]</span></a> <i>Lords' Journals</i>, March 26. Referring to a Royal -journey at this period, Dalrymple says:—"It was intended that the -King and the Duke should have gone to Dover together; but by an -accident, Charles went alone. For all the Conventicles were to be -shut up in London upon the ensuing Sunday, and the Duke was left -behind to guard the City against riots, which were dreaded upon that -occasion."—<i>Dalrymple's Memoirs</i>, vol. i. 31.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_556_556" id="Footnote_556_556"></a><a href="#FNanchor_556_556"><span class="label">[556]</span></a> 22 <i>Car. II.</i> cap. i. It appears from a letter written -by Colbert to Louis XIV. that Charles had a political end in view in -connection with the Act. "The King designs to make the last Act of -Parliament against the meetings of the sectaries be observed; and -he hopes that their disobedience will give him the easier means of -increasing the force of his troops and coming speedily to the end he -proposes." 6th June, 1670.—<i>Dalrymple's Memoirs</i>, vol. iii., App. 60.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_557_557" id="Footnote_557_557"></a><a href="#FNanchor_557_557"><span class="label">[557]</span></a> See <i>Wilkins Concilia</i>, iv. 589.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_558_558" id="Footnote_558_558"></a><a href="#FNanchor_558_558"><span class="label">[558]</span></a> See <i>Popes Life of Ward</i>, 67, 69.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_559_559" id="Footnote_559_559"></a><a href="#FNanchor_559_559"><span class="label">[559]</span></a> <i>Calamy</i>, ii. 333.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_560_560" id="Footnote_560_560"></a><a href="#FNanchor_560_560"><span class="label">[560]</span></a> The trial is given in <i>State Trials</i>; and in <i>Sewel's -History of Quakers</i>, ii. 195 <i>et seq.</i> There is a draft letter in the -State Paper Office. Entry Book, June 29th, 1670, addressed to Reynolds, -Bishop of Norwich, and another in the Lambeth Library, dated July 6th -(No. DCLXXIV. No. 24), which when brought together and compared show -how the Act of Uniformity was evaded, and how combined efforts were -made after the second Conventicle Act had passed to bring the Church of -England into correspondence with the laws. The letters relate to a case -of irregularity at Bury St. Edmunds, when fanatics were said to make -use of the Church.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_561_561" id="Footnote_561_561"></a><a href="#FNanchor_561_561"><span class="label">[561]</span></a> <i>State Papers.</i> Letter from James Douch, June 10, 1671.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_562_562" id="Footnote_562_562"></a><a href="#FNanchor_562_562"><span class="label">[562]</span></a> North calls it "a double-visaged Ministry, half Papist -and half Fanatic." <i>Lives</i>, i. 178.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_563_563" id="Footnote_563_563"></a><a href="#FNanchor_563_563"><span class="label">[563]</span></a> Lauderdale had once made a great profession of religion. -On the 14th of December, 1658, he wrote to Baxter saying, "I wish I -knew any were fit to translate your books. I am sure they would take -hugely abroad, and I think it were not amiss to begin with the <i>Call to -the Unconverted</i>."—<i>Baxter MS.</i>, Dr. Williams' Library.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_564_564" id="Footnote_564_564"></a><a href="#FNanchor_564_564"><span class="label">[564]</span></a> Clarendon says of Arlington that he knew no more of -English affairs than of those of China, and believed France the best -pattern in the world.—<i>Life</i>, 1095. I cannot enter into the political -history of the Cabal. I would only repeat what Earl Russell says: -there were two methods adopted of dealing with France—a sham treaty, -and a secret negotiation. The part taken by the Cabal in this was not -equal. Clifford and Arlington, the two Catholics, conducted the latter; -Buckingham managed the former, to which Lauderdale gave a ready, Ashley -a reluctant, consent. Clifford and Arlington were alone in the King's -confidence.—<i>Life of Lord William Russell</i>, 50.</p> - -<p>To Clifford, not to Shaftesbury, as is commonly supposed, belongs -the disgrace of shutting the Exchequer. Evelyn settles the -question.—<i>Diary</i>, March 12, 1672.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_565_565" id="Footnote_565_565"></a><a href="#FNanchor_565_565"><span class="label">[565]</span></a> <i>Lords' Journal</i>, Feb. 11, 1674.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_566_566" id="Footnote_566_566"></a><a href="#FNanchor_566_566"><span class="label">[566]</span></a> The measure was, in Council, moved and seconded by -Clifford and Ashley.—<i>Lingard</i>, xii. 10.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_567_567" id="Footnote_567_567"></a><a href="#FNanchor_567_567"><span class="label">[567]</span></a> The catechism, says Cardwell (<i>Documentary Annals</i>, -ii. 337) was probably Dean Nowel's small catechism, which was printed -originally in 1570, and was generally used in schools down to the time -of Strype.—See his <i>Life of Parker</i>, ii. 18.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_568_568" id="Footnote_568_568"></a><a href="#FNanchor_568_568"><span class="label">[568]</span></a> <i>Burnet</i>, i. 307.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_569_569" id="Footnote_569_569"></a><a href="#FNanchor_569_569"><span class="label">[569]</span></a> It is dated March 15, and is printed in <i>Bunyan's -Works</i>, iii., <i>Introduction</i>, 21.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_570_570" id="Footnote_570_570"></a><a href="#FNanchor_570_570"><span class="label">[570]</span></a> <i>Parl. Hist.</i>, iv. 515.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_571_571" id="Footnote_571_571"></a><a href="#FNanchor_571_571"><span class="label">[571]</span></a> "An answer unto certain objections formed against the -proceedings of His Majesty to suspend the laws against Conventicles by -His declaration, March 15, 1672."—<i>State Papers, Dom. 1673, bundle -190, fol. 164.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_572_572" id="Footnote_572_572"></a><a href="#FNanchor_572_572"><span class="label">[572]</span></a> These were the Bishop of Durham's queries.—<i>Cosin's -Works</i>, iv. 384.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_573_573" id="Footnote_573_573"></a><a href="#FNanchor_573_573"><span class="label">[573]</span></a> <i>Baxter's Life and Times</i>, iii. 99. <i>Life of Philip -Henry</i>, 128.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_574_574" id="Footnote_574_574"></a><a href="#FNanchor_574_574"><span class="label">[574]</span></a> A short treatise on the lawfulness of the Oath of -Supremacy and the power of the King in ecclesiastical affairs, by -Philip Nye, was published in 1683. Nye died in 1672, and when this -treatise was written does not appear on the title page. He ascribes to -the magistrate, power "to send out preachers, to urge and constrain men -to hear.... A coercive power of this nature is placed in no other hand -but his." It is strange indeed to find an Independent writing thus. -After exalting the civil power, and enforcing the duty of submitting to -Royal Supremacy, the author, in a postscript, speaks of His Majesty's -most gracious Declaration; and seemingly, without any idea that it -could be inconsistent to accept the indulgence, maintains that there -is nothing in the opinions of Independents that "should render us, in -any sort, incapable of receiving the fruit and benefit of the King's -majesty's favour and indulgence, promised to tender consciences." -Probably Nye wrote this piece just about the time when the indulgence -was issued—seven months before his death. Nye's tract (with many -others, which I have found very instructive) is preserved in Dr. -Williams' Library.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_575_575" id="Footnote_575_575"></a><a href="#FNanchor_575_575"><span class="label">[575]</span></a> <i>Burnet</i>, i. 308.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_576_576" id="Footnote_576_576"></a><a href="#FNanchor_576_576"><span class="label">[576]</span></a> <i>Orme's Life of Owen</i>, 272.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_577_577" id="Footnote_577_577"></a><a href="#FNanchor_577_577"><span class="label">[577]</span></a> <i>Wilson's Hist. of Dissenting Churches</i>, iii. 187.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_578_578" id="Footnote_578_578"></a><a href="#FNanchor_578_578"><span class="label">[578]</span></a> Bunyan's license is given in Offor's preface to -<i>Bunyan's Works</i>. Numbers of entries from the Register, and copies -of applications and licenses have been printed in local histories of -Dissent. The original documents are preserved in the Record Office.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_579_579" id="Footnote_579_579"></a><a href="#FNanchor_579_579"><span class="label">[579]</span></a> <i>State Papers</i>, 1672.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_580_580" id="Footnote_580_580"></a><a href="#FNanchor_580_580"><span class="label">[580]</span></a> <i>Hist. of his Own Time</i>, i. 308.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_581_581" id="Footnote_581_581"></a><a href="#FNanchor_581_581"><span class="label">[581]</span></a> <i>Life of Calamy</i>, ii. 469, 470. I do not observe that -Mr. Orme, in his <i>Life of Owen</i>, notices this statement.</p> - -<p>In the volume published by the Camden Society entitled <i>Moneys received -and paid for secret services of Charles II. and James II.</i>, it appears -that a physician who was in the confidence of the Presbyterian party, -and who often represented them, was in the pay of the Court. For this -reference, and other valuable suggestions on the subject, I am indebted -to the Rev. R. B. Aspland.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_582_582" id="Footnote_582_582"></a><a href="#FNanchor_582_582"><span class="label">[582]</span></a> It is stated that the usual fees to certain officers in -connection with this business were in some cases remitted.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_583_583" id="Footnote_583_583"></a><a href="#FNanchor_583_583"><span class="label">[583]</span></a> The particulars respecting Carver and Moore are taken -from letters by Ellis Hookes written to the wife of George Fox, dated -January, 1670, and preserved in the Records of the Quakers' Meeting -House, Devonshire Square. The letters, or the substance of them, -with entries in the Council Books, are given by Mr. Offor, in his -introduction to the <i>Pilgrim's Progress</i>.</p> - -<p>I have rested on the authority of so accurate a copyist without -inspecting the originals. The statement, often repeated, that Bunyan -owed his liberty to Bishop Barlow is quite a mistake.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_584_584" id="Footnote_584_584"></a><a href="#FNanchor_584_584"><span class="label">[584]</span></a> <i>Parl. Hist.</i> iv. 503, 506. The following letter in the -State Paper Office, <i>Dom. Charles II.</i>, is curious:—</p> - -<p>"Yesterday morning we had a very fair choice for a burgess, and Sir -Edward Spragg hath carried the day by 40 votes; but if my father and -the rest of the Jurates and Common Councilmen had not thought to have -made about 50 freemen the day before the election, the fanatic party -had been too much for us; but we hope we have done them down to all -intents and purposes; but still they threaten to have the Jurates up to -London, for making those freemen the day before the election.</p> - -<p class="smcap r1">"Lawson Carlile.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Dover</span>, <i>February</i> 2, 1673."</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_585_585" id="Footnote_585_585"></a><a href="#FNanchor_585_585"><span class="label">[585]</span></a> The Country party consisted chiefly of Lords Russell -and Cavendish, Sir W. Coventry, Colonel Birch, Mr. Powle, and Mr. -Littleton. Lee and Garroway were suspected characters. Marvel says:</p> - -<blockquote> -<p class="hangingindent">"Till Lee and Garroway shall bribes reject."</p></blockquote></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_586_586" id="Footnote_586_586"></a><a href="#FNanchor_586_586"><span class="label">[586]</span></a> <i>Wilson's Life of Defoe</i>, i. 58.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_587_587" id="Footnote_587_587"></a><a href="#FNanchor_587_587"><span class="label">[587]</span></a> <i>Parl. Hist.</i>, iv. 517–526.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_588_588" id="Footnote_588_588"></a><a href="#FNanchor_588_588"><span class="label">[588]</span></a> <i>Journals</i>, February 10, 1672/3.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_589_589" id="Footnote_589_589"></a><a href="#FNanchor_589_589"><span class="label">[589]</span></a> <i>Parl. Hist.</i>, iv. 527–533. Colbert, writing to Louis -XIV., 9th of March, 1673, says, "The Chancellor, the Treasurer, and -the Dukes of Buckingham and Lauderdale are of opinion to maintain this -Declaration of the King, their master, in favour of the Nonconformists; -and that if the Parliament persist in their remonstrances, as it is not -doubted they will, to dissolve it, and call another. They do not even -want good reasons to support their opinion. My Lord Arlington, who at -present is single in his sentiments, says, that the King his master, -ought not to do it."—<i>Dalrymple's Memoirs</i>, iii. 89.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_590_590" id="Footnote_590_590"></a><a href="#FNanchor_590_590"><span class="label">[590]</span></a> On the 18th of February the House resolved to go into -Committee on the following day.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_591_591" id="Footnote_591_591"></a><a href="#FNanchor_591_591"><span class="label">[591]</span></a> <i>Parl. Hist.</i>, iv. 535–542. Kennet, Rapin, Burnet, and -Neal give very unsatisfactory accounts of the debate. Burnet's account -is inaccurate.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_592_592" id="Footnote_592_592"></a><a href="#FNanchor_592_592"><span class="label">[592]</span></a> The Commonwealth's-man, Colonel Birch, spoke on the -subject, but it does not appear that he advocated any broad measure of -religious liberty.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_593_593" id="Footnote_593_593"></a><a href="#FNanchor_593_593"><span class="label">[593]</span></a> <i>Parl. Hist.</i>, iv. 552–553. The <i>Journals</i> under date -contain the Resolutions.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_594_594" id="Footnote_594_594"></a><a href="#FNanchor_594_594"><span class="label">[594]</span></a> There are remarks on this Bill written by Mr. John -Humphrey in <i>Baxter's Life</i>, iii. 144.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_595_595" id="Footnote_595_595"></a><a href="#FNanchor_595_595"><span class="label">[595]</span></a> <i>Parl. Hist.</i>, iv. 571–574.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_596_596" id="Footnote_596_596"></a><a href="#FNanchor_596_596"><span class="label">[596]</span></a> Parliament was adjourned on the 29th of March, to the -20th of October; then prorogued to the 27th, and again on the 4th of -November to the 7th of January, 1674.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_597_597" id="Footnote_597_597"></a><a href="#FNanchor_597_597"><span class="label">[597]</span></a> <i>Parl. Hist.</i> iv. 553–6.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_598_598" id="Footnote_598_598"></a><a href="#FNanchor_598_598"><span class="label">[598]</span></a> <i>Lingard</i> (xii. 27) states the fact on the authority of -the French Ambassador (<i>Dalrymple</i>, ii. App. 90), and the motives on -the authority of <i>Marvell</i>, i. 494.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_599_599" id="Footnote_599_599"></a><a href="#FNanchor_599_599"><span class="label">[599]</span></a> <i>Parl. Hist.</i> iv. 561, March 12.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_600_600" id="Footnote_600_600"></a><a href="#FNanchor_600_600"><span class="label">[600]</span></a> <i>Lord Campbell's Lives of the Lord Chancellors</i>, iv. -181.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_601_601" id="Footnote_601_601"></a><a href="#FNanchor_601_601"><span class="label">[601]</span></a> <i>Burnet</i>, i. 348.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_602_602" id="Footnote_602_602"></a><a href="#FNanchor_602_602"><span class="label">[602]</span></a> <i>Life of Calamy</i>, i. 102.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_603_603" id="Footnote_603_603"></a><a href="#FNanchor_603_603"><span class="label">[603]</span></a> <i>Journals</i>, Feb. 24, March 8. After the Declaration had -been withdrawn the old licenses gave much trouble. "The present favour -which I beg of you is, your sense about Conventicles and meetings, -for I am in the Commission of Peace for the University and Town of -Cambridge, and am threatened by some busy informers with the penalty -of £100, which you know the Act enjoins, if I grant not warrants -upon complaint against them. Now I beseech you to write by the first -post, or let Mr. Ball, or some of your people write to me what you -know to be His Majesty's sense in this particular, whether we should -grant warrants to suppress them, they having license to preach and -meet."—<i>State Papers</i>, April 5, 1673. Mr. Carr to Sir J. Williamson.</p> - -<p>The mayor of Weymouth wrote to Sir J. Williamson (Nov. 21, 1674), -informing him that certain persons accused of keeping a Conventicle had -pleaded His Majesty's "License and Warrant." He asks for direction how -"to manage this affair."</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_604_604" id="Footnote_604_604"></a><a href="#FNanchor_604_604"><span class="label">[604]</span></a> Dalrymple (<i>Memoirs</i>, iii. 92) remarks: "Charles' -Declaration of Indulgence has been commonly imputed to the intrigues -of France with Charles for the purpose of serving the interest of -Popery. But Colbert's despatches show that France had not the least -hand in it, that it was a scheme of Buckingham and Shaftesbury to gain -the Dissenters, and that France was the cause of Charles' recalling -it." The letters printed in <i>Dalrymple</i> indicate that Buckingham -and Shaftesbury had strongly supported the Declaration, and show -further that Charles wished Louis XIV. to believe that to please him -he withdrew it. "He assured me," says Colbert, "that your Majesty's -sentiments had always more power over him than all the reasonings of -his most faithful Ministers." March 20, 1673.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_605_605" id="Footnote_605_605"></a><a href="#FNanchor_605_605"><span class="label">[605]</span></a> "All Sectaries," says Reresby (<i>Memoirs</i>, 174), "now -publicly repaired to their meetings and Conventicles, nor could all the -laws afterwards, and the most rigorous execution of them, ever suppress -these Separatists, or bring them to due conformity."</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_606_606" id="Footnote_606_606"></a><a href="#FNanchor_606_606"><span class="label">[606]</span></a> Where Owen's Church met has been regarded as uncertain, -but the returns made in 1667 to Sheldon's inquiries specify the place -of meeting at that time as White's Alley.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_607_607" id="Footnote_607_607"></a><a href="#FNanchor_607_607"><span class="label">[607]</span></a> Afterwards Lord Haversham.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_608_608" id="Footnote_608_608"></a><a href="#FNanchor_608_608"><span class="label">[608]</span></a> See Anecdotes of Mrs. Bendish in <i>Noble's Memoirs of the -Protectoral House of Cromwell</i>, ii. 329.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_609_609" id="Footnote_609_609"></a><a href="#FNanchor_609_609"><span class="label">[609]</span></a> <i>Life</i>, by Sir H. Ashurst, 27.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_610_610" id="Footnote_610_610"></a><a href="#FNanchor_610_610"><span class="label">[610]</span></a> <i>Ibid.</i>, 100.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_611_611" id="Footnote_611_611"></a><a href="#FNanchor_611_611"><span class="label">[611]</span></a> He wished to be made a Justice of the Peace; but his -appointment was opposed by Sir John Petties, a moderate Churchman, -who remarks in a letter dated January 4, 1674–5—there are a "sort of -men in this kingdom so hot and fiery, so active and inexperienced, -who labour much in those things which tend to the disquiet of the -kingdom (of whom we have a great share in our county), and are almost -as dangerous as the other two sorts of Dissenters (Romanists and -Nonconformists), for by their indiscreet and hot endeavours, instead of -suppressing those Dissenters, I dare say that they (though unwittingly -and unwillingly) give them the greatest animation and increase."</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_612_612" id="Footnote_612_612"></a><a href="#FNanchor_612_612"><span class="label">[612]</span></a> There are numerous letters belonging to this period in -the State Paper Office, written by Bowen. Letters dated 1675, Jan. -15; Feb. 17, 19, 24, furnish what I have said, and a great deal more. -It appears from the following extract, as well as from a former one, -that Nonconformists did not always meekly submit to their oppressors. -In reading the letter, however, it must be remembered that an enemy -writes it. "John Faucet had disturbed the Presbyterians at worship in -the Granary—and, in consequence, was violently assaulted, beaten, and -trodden upon by several rude persons, and in great danger of his life."</p> - -<p>(Norwich, Dec. 11, 1674, Thomas Corie.)</p> - -<p>A similar complaint is made by Bowen of the treatment of a constable -who disturbed a meeting at Yarmouth.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_613_613" id="Footnote_613_613"></a><a href="#FNanchor_613_613"><span class="label">[613]</span></a> Sheldon sent letters to the Bishops of his province -making fresh inquiries about Dissenters.—<i>Neal</i>, iv. 467.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_614_614" id="Footnote_614_614"></a><a href="#FNanchor_614_614"><span class="label">[614]</span></a> <i>Neal</i>, iv. 464.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_615_615" id="Footnote_615_615"></a><a href="#FNanchor_615_615"><span class="label">[615]</span></a> Baxter spent an immense amount of subtle casuistry upon -the subject of the declaration, and actually put such a forced meaning -upon it, that he said there was nothing in it to be refused!—<i>Life and -Times</i>, iii. 168.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_616_616" id="Footnote_616_616"></a><a href="#FNanchor_616_616"><span class="label">[616]</span></a> <i>Parl. Hist.</i>, iv. 714. See Locke's Letter, <i>Ibid.</i>, -Appendix, xlvii.; <i>Calamy's Life</i>, i. 79.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_617_617" id="Footnote_617_617"></a><a href="#FNanchor_617_617"><span class="label">[617]</span></a> <i>Life and Times</i>, iii. 109.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_618_618" id="Footnote_618_618"></a><a href="#FNanchor_618_618"><span class="label">[618]</span></a> <i>Life and Times</i>, 156.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_619_619" id="Footnote_619_619"></a><a href="#FNanchor_619_619"><span class="label">[619]</span></a> <i>Ibid.</i>, 110, 131.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_620_620" id="Footnote_620_620"></a><a href="#FNanchor_620_620"><span class="label">[620]</span></a> <i>Ibid.</i>, 156. For notices of Morley's character, see p. -477 of this volume.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_621_621" id="Footnote_621_621"></a><a href="#FNanchor_621_621"><span class="label">[621]</span></a> The well-known letter of Tillotson to Baxter is an -interesting record of the result of their well-meant endeavours:—"I -took the first opportunity," he says, "after you were with us, to -speak to the Bishop of Salisbury, who promised to keep the matter -private, and only to acquaint the Bishop of Chester with it in order -to a meeting; but, upon some general discourse, I plainly perceived -several things could not be obtained. However, he promised to appoint -a time of meeting, but I have not heard from him since. I am unwilling -my name should be used in this matter; not but that I do most heartily -desire an accommodation, and shall always endeavour it, but I am sure -it will be a prejudice to me, and signify nothing to the effecting of -the thing, which as circumstances are, cannot pass in either House -without the concurrence of a considerable part of the Bishops, and the -countenance of His Majesty, which at present I see little reason to -expect." Dated April 11, 1675. <i>Baxter's Life and Times</i>, iii. 157.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_622_622" id="Footnote_622_622"></a><a href="#FNanchor_622_622"><span class="label">[622]</span></a> <i>Parl. Hist.</i>, iv. 741.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_623_623" id="Footnote_623_623"></a><a href="#FNanchor_623_623"><span class="label">[623]</span></a> <i>State Papers</i>, November 8.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_624_624" id="Footnote_624_624"></a><a href="#FNanchor_624_624"><span class="label">[624]</span></a> <i>State Papers</i>, 1676. Bowen to Williamson. February 21.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_625_625" id="Footnote_625_625"></a><a href="#FNanchor_625_625"><span class="label">[625]</span></a> <i>State Papers</i>, 1676, July 7, 10. The following -is a specimen of the kind of stories which this man sent up to -London:—"Last night the three informers that have put by our meetings -here were amongst several of the passengers in a passage-boat going for -Norwich, where they were no sooner placed but some of our Independents -called out to the passengers and told them they had informing rogues -amongst them, and surely they would not take such rascals with them; -upon which the passengers began to leave the boat. So the boatmen, -to keep their passengers, turned the informers out upon the key -[quay]—where, when they were landed, they began to throw stones at -them, but making their escape, they came to my house, upon which I -went down to the key [quay], and there learned who some of them were, -and gave the informers their names, who are since bound over to the -sessions." <i>State Papers</i>, 1676, July 12.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_626_626" id="Footnote_626_626"></a><a href="#FNanchor_626_626"><span class="label">[626]</span></a> <i>State Papers</i>, October 9.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_627_627" id="Footnote_627_627"></a><a href="#FNanchor_627_627"><span class="label">[627]</span></a> <i>Harl. Misc.</i>, viii. 7. <i>Lives of the Norths</i>, i. 316, -<i>et seq.</i>, see Notes. <i>Knight's Popular Hist.</i>, iv. 326.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_628_628" id="Footnote_628_628"></a><a href="#FNanchor_628_628"><span class="label">[628]</span></a> <i>Wood</i>, iv. 226.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_629_629" id="Footnote_629_629"></a><a href="#FNanchor_629_629"><span class="label">[629]</span></a> Owen writes very guardedly in reply to Parker's doctrine -of the magistrates' power.—<i>Works</i>, xxi. 209, <i>et seq.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_630_630" id="Footnote_630_630"></a><a href="#FNanchor_630_630"><span class="label">[630]</span></a> <i>Life and Times</i>, iii. 42.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_631_631" id="Footnote_631_631"></a><a href="#FNanchor_631_631"><span class="label">[631]</span></a> <i>Anthony Wood.</i> There is plenty of satire in the two -books by Marvell; the second is more cutting than the first, but it is -sometimes coarser, and on the whole wearisome to modern readers.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_632_632" id="Footnote_632_632"></a><a href="#FNanchor_632_632"><span class="label">[632]</span></a> This tract is printed in <i>Somers' Collection</i>, iii. -329, 388. My own judgment of it agrees with Mr. Hallam's:—"It -is not written with extraordinary ability; but it is very candid -and well designed, though conceding so much as to scandalize his -brethren."—<i>Const. Hist.</i> ii. 93.</p> - -<p>Marvell, in his <i>Mr. Smirke on the Divine in Mode</i>, speaks of the work -as having been originally printed only for members of Parliament, and -not published, but that a printer got hold of it, and "surreptitiously" -multiplied copies without the author's knowledge. Yet the published -edition, though commencing with the words, "An humble petition to -the Right Honourable the Lords and Commons in Parliament assembled," -contains an address "to the reader" at the beginning, and another to -the Nonconformists at the end.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_633_633" id="Footnote_633_633"></a><a href="#FNanchor_633_633"><span class="label">[633]</span></a> <i>Mr. Smirke, or the Divine in Mode.</i> By Andrew Marvell.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_634_634" id="Footnote_634_634"></a><a href="#FNanchor_634_634"><span class="label">[634]</span></a> <i>Marvell's Mr. Smirke</i>, which was an answer to Turner's -animadversions.—<i>Baxter's Life and Times</i>, iii. 175. Three other -books, bearing the title of <i>Naked Truth</i>, headed respectively the -second, third, and fourth parts, were published afterwards, but not by -Bishop Croft.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_635_635" id="Footnote_635_635"></a><a href="#FNanchor_635_635"><span class="label">[635]</span></a> Numerous letters in the Record Office show the -prevalence in 1667 of rumours respecting the King's design to bring in -Popery. For example:—</p> - -<p>"Fanatics in the North, being disappointed of assistance from abroad by -the peace set up, then rest on their friends' behalf, that the King is -a Papist, and intends to set up the Popish religion, and have so far -possessed not only fanatics, but several of the ignorant common people -with this opinion, that it is publicly discoursed among them, that they -will rise in arms for defence of religion, and oppose the King and the -Popish party. They persuade their disciples that their friends in the -South are ready to appear in arms for defence of religion, and oppose -the King and the Popish party."—Sir P. Musgrave to Williamson, Aug. -22, 1667. <i>Cal.</i> 409.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_636_636" id="Footnote_636_636"></a><a href="#FNanchor_636_636"><span class="label">[636]</span></a> <i>Life of James II.</i>, i. 441. <i>Dalrymple's Memoirs</i>, i. -70; iii. 1–68. The treaty is printed in <i>Lingard</i>, xi. 364. Rarely has -anything in diplomacy been so unprincipled and shameful as Article -II. of this document. Charles' pretexts were religious, his object -political.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_637_637" id="Footnote_637_637"></a><a href="#FNanchor_637_637"><span class="label">[637]</span></a> See letters in <i>Phenix</i>, i. 566. <i>Calamy's Life</i>, i. -119.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_638_638" id="Footnote_638_638"></a><a href="#FNanchor_638_638"><span class="label">[638]</span></a> <i>G. P. R. James' Life of Louis XIV.</i>, ii. 171.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_639_639" id="Footnote_639_639"></a><a href="#FNanchor_639_639"><span class="label">[639]</span></a> <i>Evelyn</i>, ii. 88.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_640_640" id="Footnote_640_640"></a><a href="#FNanchor_640_640"><span class="label">[640]</span></a> <i>Harris' Charles II.</i>, ii. 81.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_641_641" id="Footnote_641_641"></a><a href="#FNanchor_641_641"><span class="label">[641]</span></a> <i>Lingard</i>, xi. 356. April 10, 1671. Wednesday. "This -evening her royal highness' body was privately conveyed from St. James' -Palace, where she died, to Westminster, where, till things could be -put in order, [she] was deposited in state in the painted chamber; and -about nine in the evening she was most solemnly attended to the Abbey -by her own, the King's, the Queen's, and the Duke's servants. A vast -train of the nobility, gentry, and many members of Parliament, in their -blacks, guarded by two companies of foot, and finally interred in the -royal vault of Henry VII.'s chapel. The ceremony [was] performed by the -Bishop of Rochester, the Dean of Westminster Cathedral, to the extreme -grief and disconsolation of all present. The Court, on this occasion, -are entered into solemn mourning, in which 'tis thought they may -continue for some months."—<i>State Papers.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_642_642" id="Footnote_642_642"></a><a href="#FNanchor_642_642"><span class="label">[642]</span></a> <i>Wood</i>, <i>Ath. Ox.</i>, ii. 614. The article on Woodhead is -copious and interesting.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_643_643" id="Footnote_643_643"></a><a href="#FNanchor_643_643"><span class="label">[643]</span></a> <i>Chalmer's Biographical Dictionary.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_644_644" id="Footnote_644_644"></a><a href="#FNanchor_644_644"><span class="label">[644]</span></a> <i>Butler's English Catholics</i>, iv. 425.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_645_645" id="Footnote_645_645"></a><a href="#FNanchor_645_645"><span class="label">[645]</span></a> This account of the working of Roman Catholicism in -England is taken from the <i>MSS. Travels of Cosmo, the third Grand Duke -of Tuscany</i>, (1669), printed in Appendix to <i>Butler's English Cath.</i>, -iii. 513.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_646_646" id="Footnote_646_646"></a><a href="#FNanchor_646_646"><span class="label">[646]</span></a> Five editions of <i>Pascal</i> were published between -1658 and 1688. The <i>Protestant Almanack</i> for 1668 is a disgraceful -publication.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_647_647" id="Footnote_647_647"></a><a href="#FNanchor_647_647"><span class="label">[647]</span></a> <i>State Papers, Dom.</i> 1667, Sept. 6. (<i>Cal.</i>)</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_648_648" id="Footnote_648_648"></a><a href="#FNanchor_648_648"><span class="label">[648]</span></a> <i>State Papers, Dom.</i>, 1667. October 28 (<i>Cal.</i>).</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_649_649" id="Footnote_649_649"></a><a href="#FNanchor_649_649"><span class="label">[649]</span></a> The following letter is addressed to Sir Joseph -Williamson, Whitehall.—"Worthy Sir,—This day came the proclamation -against Papists to Nottingham, being the last assize day. It was -received with so much joy that bells and bonfires rung and flamed -at that rate as they never did since His Majesty's restoration. The -fanatics contended with the conformists who should show most zeal in -expressing their joy for His Majesty's great grace. You may believe -without swearing that neither this news, nor what the King did in the -house last Saturday, was unwelcome to, Sir,</p> - -<p class="r2">"Your most humble Servant,</p> - -<p class="smcap r1">"P. Whalley.</p> - -<p class="p-left">"<i>Martij 15, 1672.</i></p> - -<p>"If one of your clerks would take notice on't in the next <i>Gazette</i>, it -would gratify the whole corporation."—<i>State Papers, Dom. Chas. II.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_650_650" id="Footnote_650_650"></a><a href="#FNanchor_650_650"><span class="label">[650]</span></a> <i>State Papers, Dom. Chas. II.</i> Letter from W. Aston, -1676, April 3.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_651_651" id="Footnote_651_651"></a><a href="#FNanchor_651_651"><span class="label">[651]</span></a> <i>State Papers</i>, June 6, Nov. 10–13.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_652_652" id="Footnote_652_652"></a><a href="#FNanchor_652_652"><span class="label">[652]</span></a> <i>State Papers</i>, 1674, Jan. 20. Connected with this -communication are papers containing drafts of advice for suppressing -Popery. The Bishops of Canterbury, Durham, Winchester, Salisbury, -Peterborough, Rochester, Chichester, and Chester, reply "that they -observe with sorrow the growth of profaneness, Romanism, and Dissent;" -"that they do not think any new laws are necessary for the purpose, but -only the removal of such obstructions as have hitherto hindered the -execution of them." What those obstructions were, the authors of this -conclusion do not specify. There is another paper in the same bundle, -recommending the Attorney-General to bestir himself in the matter, -and that letters should be written to the Justices of the Peace; that -there be a new general proclamation; that constables and churchwardens -should be enjoined to search for suspected persons; and that the orders -against priests, Popish seminaries, and resort of Papists to Court, -should be fixed at the Court Gate, St. James's, and Somerset House.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_653_653" id="Footnote_653_653"></a><a href="#FNanchor_653_653"><span class="label">[653]</span></a> This is Reresby's own account. Ralph follows him, but in -the imperfect reports of the debates in the <i>Parl. Hist.</i> (iv. 780), -the statement in the House is said to have been made by Mr. Russel.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_654_654" id="Footnote_654_654"></a><a href="#FNanchor_654_654"><span class="label">[654]</span></a> <i>Lingard</i>, xii. 72.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_655_655" id="Footnote_655_655"></a><a href="#FNanchor_655_655"><span class="label">[655]</span></a> <i>State Papers, Dom. Charles II.</i>, 1676, Oct. 27.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_656_656" id="Footnote_656_656"></a><a href="#FNanchor_656_656"><span class="label">[656]</span></a> <i>Glanvill's Zealous and Impartial Protestant</i>, p. 46. -This and other instances of exaggeration are given in <i>The Happy Future -State of England</i>, p. 140. It should be stated that the author of this -last work endeavours to make out the Roman Catholics to have been as -few as possible. The population of England, and the relative proportion -of different classes of religionists, will be noticed in a subsequent -chapter.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_657_657" id="Footnote_657_657"></a><a href="#FNanchor_657_657"><span class="label">[657]</span></a> "The debate or arguments for dissolving this present -Parliament," 1675. Written by the Earl of Shaftesbury. <i>Parl. Hist.</i>, -<span class="smcap">IV.</span> lxxviii.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_658_658" id="Footnote_658_658"></a><a href="#FNanchor_658_658"><span class="label">[658]</span></a> <i>Campbell's Lives</i>, iv. 185.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_659_659" id="Footnote_659_659"></a><a href="#FNanchor_659_659"><span class="label">[659]</span></a> <i>Parl. Hist.</i>, iv. 801.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_660_660" id="Footnote_660_660"></a><a href="#FNanchor_660_660"><span class="label">[660]</span></a> <i>Life of James II.</i>, i. 505. <i>Parl. Hist.</i>, iv. 814, -824.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_661_661" id="Footnote_661_661"></a><a href="#FNanchor_661_661"><span class="label">[661]</span></a> <i>State Papers</i>, April, 1677.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_662_662" id="Footnote_662_662"></a><a href="#FNanchor_662_662"><span class="label">[662]</span></a> <i>Lingard</i>, xii. 96, 97. The Resolutions on which these -Bills were founded are contained in the <i>Lords' Journals</i>, 1677, -February 21 & 22.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_663_663" id="Footnote_663_663"></a><a href="#FNanchor_663_663"><span class="label">[663]</span></a> March 20, <i>Parl. Hist.</i>, iv. 853–7. The same History -(iv. 858) takes notice on the 29th of March of Marvell's boxing Sir -Philip Harcourt's ear for stumbling on his foot.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_664_664" id="Footnote_664_664"></a><a href="#FNanchor_664_664"><span class="label">[664]</span></a> <i>Parl. Hist.</i> iv. 862. <i>Journals</i>, 1677, April 4.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_665_665" id="Footnote_665_665"></a><a href="#FNanchor_665_665"><span class="label">[665]</span></a> <i>Ibid.</i>, 863. <i>Lords' Journals</i>, April 13; May 26.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_666_666" id="Footnote_666_666"></a><a href="#FNanchor_666_666"><span class="label">[666]</span></a> <i>Lords' Journals</i>, April 12, 13, 14.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_667_667" id="Footnote_667_667"></a><a href="#FNanchor_667_667"><span class="label">[667]</span></a> The Act now noticed should be considered in connection -with what is said in a preceding part of this History, p. 96.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_668_668" id="Footnote_668_668"></a><a href="#FNanchor_668_668"><span class="label">[668]</span></a> <i>Commons' Journals</i>, April 29.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_669_669" id="Footnote_669_669"></a><a href="#FNanchor_669_669"><span class="label">[669]</span></a> <i>Parl. Hist.</i>, iv. 980.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_670_670" id="Footnote_670_670"></a><a href="#FNanchor_670_670"><span class="label">[670]</span></a> June 12. <i>Parl. Hist.</i>, iv. 990.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_671_671" id="Footnote_671_671"></a><a href="#FNanchor_671_671"><span class="label">[671]</span></a> <i>Hist. of his Own Time</i>, i. 177.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_672_672" id="Footnote_672_672"></a><a href="#FNanchor_672_672"><span class="label">[672]</span></a> <i>Hook's Archbishops.</i> Second series, i. 173.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_673_673" id="Footnote_673_673"></a><a href="#FNanchor_673_673"><span class="label">[673]</span></a> Hammond, in 1654, speaks of Sheldon's being "very good -company." <i>Letter in Harl. MSS.</i>, 21, printed in <i>Ecclesiastic</i>, April, -1853.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_674_674" id="Footnote_674_674"></a><a href="#FNanchor_674_674"><span class="label">[674]</span></a> See Pepys' account of a dinner party at Lambeth, -<i>Diary</i>, May 14th, 1669. He tells disgraceful stories about Sheldon -which were current at the time; and, it should be remembered, that -although Sheldon at length rebuked Charles for his intimacy with Lady -Castlemaine, it does not appear that he had before broken silence as to -the shameful libertinism of the Court.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_675_675" id="Footnote_675_675"></a><a href="#FNanchor_675_675"><span class="label">[675]</span></a> Wood says (<i>Ath. Ox.</i>, iv. 855) that Sheldon was not -installed at Canterbury, and never visited it during the time that he -was Archbishop; nor did he visit Oxford all the time he was Chancellor.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_676_676" id="Footnote_676_676"></a><a href="#FNanchor_676_676"><span class="label">[676]</span></a> The expression is Milman's, in reference to another -character.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_677_677" id="Footnote_677_677"></a><a href="#FNanchor_677_677"><span class="label">[677]</span></a> In these sketches, I include all the notable members of -the Episcopal body down to the Revolution—but, though I anticipate -the period embraced in our subsequent narrative, the seven Bishops are -omitted, as they will require particular notice hereafter.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_678_678" id="Footnote_678_678"></a><a href="#FNanchor_678_678"><span class="label">[678]</span></a> <i>Aubrey's Letters</i>, iii. 574.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_679_679" id="Footnote_679_679"></a><a href="#FNanchor_679_679"><span class="label">[679]</span></a> <i>Pope's Life of Ward</i>, 57. This book abounds in amusing -anecdotes.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_680_680" id="Footnote_680_680"></a><a href="#FNanchor_680_680"><span class="label">[680]</span></a> There is in the Lambeth Library, in addition to the -returns made to Sheldon, an account of the number and proportions of -Popish recusants, obstinate Separatists, and Conformists, inhabitants -of Wiltshire, and Berkshire, under the immediate jurisdiction of the -Bishop of Sarum, by Seth Ward, 1676. See as to Ward, <i>Baxter's Life and -Times</i>, iii. 86.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_681_681" id="Footnote_681_681"></a><a href="#FNanchor_681_681"><span class="label">[681]</span></a> Seth Ward told Aubrey a queer story respecting -a theological opponent. "One Mr. Hagger, a gentleman, and good -mathematician, was well acquainted with Mr. Th. Hariot, and was wont -to say, that he did not like (or valued it not) the old story of the -creation of the world. He could not believe the old position, he would -say, <i>ex nihilo nihil fit</i>. But, said Mr. Hagger, a <i>nahitú</i> killed him -at last; for in the top of his nose came a little red speck (exceeding -small), which grew bigger and bigger, and at last killed him. I suppose -it was that which the chirurgeons call a <i>noli me tangere</i>." <i>Letters</i>, -iii. 368.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_682_682" id="Footnote_682_682"></a><a href="#FNanchor_682_682"><span class="label">[682]</span></a> <i>Burnet</i>, i. 590.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_683_683" id="Footnote_683_683"></a><a href="#FNanchor_683_683"><span class="label">[683]</span></a> <i>Morley's Treatises.</i> Sermon before the King, p. 38.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_684_684" id="Footnote_684_684"></a><a href="#FNanchor_684_684"><span class="label">[684]</span></a> He had unfairly preached against Baxter, and blazed -abroad his marriage with all the odium he could cast upon it. <i>Life and -Times</i>, ii. 375, 384. I have noticed Baxter's opinion of Morley, and -the conduct of the latter, on p. 439 of this volume.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_685_685" id="Footnote_685_685"></a><a href="#FNanchor_685_685"><span class="label">[685]</span></a> <i>Life and Times</i>, iii. 84. The spirit of Morley is -manifested in the following passage, speaking of Kidderminster—"The -truth is, that Mr. Baxter was never either parson, vicar, or curate -there, or anywhere else in my diocese—for he never came in by the -door—that is, by any legal right, or lawful admission into that -sheep-fold, but climbed up some other way, namely, by violence and -intrusion, and therefore, by Christ's own inference, he was a thief and -a robber."—<i>The Bishop of Winchester's Vindication</i>, p. 2. At the time -of writing the letter, Morley was Bishop of Worcester, which diocese -included Kidderminster.</p> - -<p>Salmon, in his <i>Lives of the English Bishops</i>, p. 346, says of Morley, -"His strength is attributed to keeping up his College custom of rising -at five in the morning, sitting without a fire, and going to his bed -cold. He did indeed exceed in severity to himself, eating but once a -day, and not going to bed till eleven."</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_686_686" id="Footnote_686_686"></a><a href="#FNanchor_686_686"><span class="label">[686]</span></a> Fuller, in his <i>Worthies</i>, i. 483, retracts some things -which he had advanced against Cosin in his <i>Church History</i>, and -observes, "It must be confessed, that a sort of fond people surmised, -as if he had once been declining to the Popish persuasion. Thus the -dim-sighted complain of the darkness of the room, when, alas, the fault -is in their own eyes; and the lame of the unevenness of the floor, -when, indeed, it lieth in their unsound legs."</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_687_687" id="Footnote_687_687"></a><a href="#FNanchor_687_687"><span class="label">[687]</span></a> <i>Ibid.</i>, 484.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_688_688" id="Footnote_688_688"></a><a href="#FNanchor_688_688"><span class="label">[688]</span></a> Life of Richard Gilpin, prefixed to his <i>Demonologia -Sacra</i>, xxxv. Also, I find in the Record Office, a letter from "John -Bishop of Durham" to Williamson, sending "the complaint received from -Newcastle about the seditious meetings of the Congregation of Saints." -The letter is dated November 23rd, 1668. The complaint refers to a -public meeting on the 1st of November, in Barber Surgeon's Hall, of 500 -of the Congregation of Saints, headed and led by Gilpin, notoriously -known to be disaffected to the Government. It is stated, that he caused -the 149th Psalm to be sung—and a treasonable construction is put upon -the words. Three persons are named in connection with Gilpin—Durant, -Leaver, and Pringle.—November 23.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_689_689" id="Footnote_689_689"></a><a href="#FNanchor_689_689"><span class="label">[689]</span></a> <i>Conformist's Plea</i>, 35. There is a letter in the -Record Office (Sanderson to Williamson, 1667, Sept. 19), complaining -of the laxity of the Bishop of Durham, in not convicting John Cock, a -notorious Nonconformist—agent for Lady Vane, at Raby Castle, who was -brought before him.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_690_690" id="Footnote_690_690"></a><a href="#FNanchor_690_690"><span class="label">[690]</span></a> <i>Basire</i>, 89.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_691_691" id="Footnote_691_691"></a><a href="#FNanchor_691_691"><span class="label">[691]</span></a> <i>Life</i>, by Plume.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_692_692" id="Footnote_692_692"></a><a href="#FNanchor_692_692"><span class="label">[692]</span></a> Salmon says "the expense was £20,000, of which the -Chapter contributed £1,000. The rest was his own, or procured by him of -other pious persons."—<i>Lives</i>, 296.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_693_693" id="Footnote_693_693"></a><a href="#FNanchor_693_693"><span class="label">[693]</span></a> <i>Life</i>, by Plume. See Coleridge on Hacket's -Sermons—<i>Remains</i>, iii. 175.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_694_694" id="Footnote_694_694"></a><a href="#FNanchor_694_694"><span class="label">[694]</span></a> See notice of Wilkins, in Pope's <i>Life of Seth Ward</i>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_695_695" id="Footnote_695_695"></a><a href="#FNanchor_695_695"><span class="label">[695]</span></a> Newcome, in his <i>Diary</i>, says—"November 22, 1672. I -received the sad news of the death of the learned, worthy, pious, -and peaceable Bishop of Chester, Dr. John Wilkins; he was my worthy -friend." John Angier, the Nonconformist minister at Denton, speaks -of his removal as a great loss.—<i>Heywood's Life of Angier</i>, 86. -Martindale (<i>Autobiography</i>, 196) also refers to the Bishop's -moderation, and adds—"But the Archbishop of York, by his visitation, -took all power out of his hands for a year, soon after which this -honest Bishop Wilkins died." I may be permitted to add that the good -Bishop was a wit. In reference to his idea of the possibility of a -passage to the moon, the Duchess of Newcastle said to him, "Doctor, -where am I to find a place for waiting in the way up to that planet?" -"Madam," replied he, "of all other people in the world, I never -expected that question from you, who have built so many castles in -the air, that you may be every night at one of your own."—<i>Stanley's -Memorials of Westminster</i>, 234.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_696_696" id="Footnote_696_696"></a><a href="#FNanchor_696_696"><span class="label">[696]</span></a> Preached at the Guildhall Chapel, London, 1672, p. 46.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_697_697" id="Footnote_697_697"></a><a href="#FNanchor_697_697"><span class="label">[697]</span></a> <i>Own Time</i>, i. 187.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_698_698" id="Footnote_698_698"></a><a href="#FNanchor_698_698"><span class="label">[698]</span></a> <i>Wood</i>, <i>Athen. Ox.</i> iii. 969.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_699_699" id="Footnote_699_699"></a><a href="#FNanchor_699_699"><span class="label">[699]</span></a> <i>Wood's Athen. Ox.</i>, iii. 1085.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_700_700" id="Footnote_700_700"></a><a href="#FNanchor_700_700"><span class="label">[700]</span></a> Norwich, April 13, 1670. Lambeth Library, Tenison MSS. -674.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_701_701" id="Footnote_701_701"></a><a href="#FNanchor_701_701"><span class="label">[701]</span></a> <i>Athen. Oxon.</i> iv. 309–317. There is a letter from Croft -amongst the <i>State Papers</i> (Dec. 30, 1678), relative to his Library, -&c.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_702_702" id="Footnote_702_702"></a><a href="#FNanchor_702_702"><span class="label">[702]</span></a> <i>Hist.</i> 42.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_703_703" id="Footnote_703_703"></a><a href="#FNanchor_703_703"><span class="label">[703]</span></a> He lay in state in a room under the Regent House. Over -the hearse was spread the coat of the King or Herald-at-arms, of -crimson satin, richly embroidered with gold. At the head of the hearse -was standing the Bishop's mitre, which was silver-gilt, the cap, or -inpart whereof, was crimson satin or silk; the mitre was plain, saving -some little flower wrought in the middle on each side thereof, and on -the top of each a little cross of about an inch in length and breadth. -On one side of the top of the hearse lay along the Bishop's crosier -of silver, somewhat in likeness to a shepherd's crook of about an -ell long, and in thickness round above two inches and a half.—<i>Ald. -Newton's Diary</i>, quoted in <i>Annals of Cambridge</i>, by Cooper, iii. 522.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_704_704" id="Footnote_704_704"></a><a href="#FNanchor_704_704"><span class="label">[704]</span></a> <i>Conformist's Plea</i>, 85.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_705_705" id="Footnote_705_705"></a><a href="#FNanchor_705_705"><span class="label">[705]</span></a> He allowed a considerable annuity to Dr. Tuckney, whom -in the Professorship of Divinity at Cambridge, and the Mastership of -St. John's College, he succeeded after the Restoration.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_706_706" id="Footnote_706_706"></a><a href="#FNanchor_706_706"><span class="label">[706]</span></a> <i>Hist. of his Own Time</i>, i. 181. Temple, in his -<i>Memoirs</i>, says, "My election in the University proceeded with the most -general concurrence that could be there, and without any difficulties I -could observe from that side (the Duke of Monmouth's) those which were -raised coming from the Bishop of Ely, who owned the opposing me, from -the chapter of religion, in my <i>Observations on the Netherlands</i>, which -gave him an opinion that mine was for such a toleration of religion as -is there described to be in Holland."—<i>Temple's Works</i>, i. 433.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_707_707" id="Footnote_707_707"></a><a href="#FNanchor_707_707"><span class="label">[707]</span></a> <i>Fuller's Worthies</i>, ii. 421.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_708_708" id="Footnote_708_708"></a><a href="#FNanchor_708_708"><span class="label">[708]</span></a> <i>Athenæ Oxonienses</i>, iii. 717.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_709_709" id="Footnote_709_709"></a><a href="#FNanchor_709_709"><span class="label">[709]</span></a> <i>Conformists' Plea</i>, 35.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_710_710" id="Footnote_710_710"></a><a href="#FNanchor_710_710"><span class="label">[710]</span></a> <i>Nelson's Life of Bishop Bull</i>, 206.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_711_711" id="Footnote_711_711"></a><a href="#FNanchor_711_711"><span class="label">[711]</span></a> <i>Life and Times</i>, ii. 363.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_712_712" id="Footnote_712_712"></a><a href="#FNanchor_712_712"><span class="label">[712]</span></a> <i>Athen. Oxon.</i>, iii. 1195.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_713_713" id="Footnote_713_713"></a><a href="#FNanchor_713_713"><span class="label">[713]</span></a> <i>Ibid.</i>, 940. Bliss says he was Canon of York.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_714_714" id="Footnote_714_714"></a><a href="#FNanchor_714_714"><span class="label">[714]</span></a> The letter is written by Dr. Lampleugh, January 12, -1675. <i>State Papers, Dom. Charles II.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_715_715" id="Footnote_715_715"></a><a href="#FNanchor_715_715"><span class="label">[715]</span></a> <i>Le Neve</i>, part ii. 238.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_716_716" id="Footnote_716_716"></a><a href="#FNanchor_716_716"><span class="label">[716]</span></a> The letter is dated, Ely House, October 9, 1643. <i>Le -Neve's Lives of the Bishops</i>, pt. ii. 247.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_717_717" id="Footnote_717_717"></a><a href="#FNanchor_717_717"><span class="label">[717]</span></a> See anecdote of Sterne in <i>Baxter</i>, ii. 338, quoted in -the account of the Savoy Conference in this History.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_718_718" id="Footnote_718_718"></a><a href="#FNanchor_718_718"><span class="label">[718]</span></a> <i>Hist. of his Own Time</i>, i. 590.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_719_719" id="Footnote_719_719"></a><a href="#FNanchor_719_719"><span class="label">[719]</span></a> This corresponds with the eulogium on his tombstone.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_720_720" id="Footnote_720_720"></a><a href="#FNanchor_720_720"><span class="label">[720]</span></a> <i>Grainger's Biography</i>, iii. 232.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_721_721" id="Footnote_721_721"></a><a href="#FNanchor_721_721"><span class="label">[721]</span></a> <i>Le Neve's Bishops</i>, pt. ii. 258.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_722_722" id="Footnote_722_722"></a><a href="#FNanchor_722_722"><span class="label">[722]</span></a> <i>Hist. of his Own Time</i>, i. 590. Dolben was Dean -of Westminster at the time of Albemarle's funeral. Ward preached. -"The Dean and prebendaries wore copes. Offerings were made at the -altar."—<i>Stanley's Westminster</i>, 228.</p> - -<p>The following notice occurs in <i>Thoresby's Diary</i>, i. 172:—"I rode -with most of the gentry in the neighbourhood, to meet Archbishop -Dolben, who was much honoured as a preaching bishop. May 1, 1684: he -gave us an excellent sermon at the parish church; see his remarkable -preliminary discourse concerning holydays, their institution, and abuse -in the Romish Church, which makes many good people (his own expression) -averse to them, even as celebrated in the Church of England, though -without superstition. In the whole he showed great temper and -moderation."</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_723_723" id="Footnote_723_723"></a><a href="#FNanchor_723_723"><span class="label">[723]</span></a> In addition to the particular books which I have -noticed, I may state that my chief authorities for these notices of the -Bishops are <i>Wood</i>, <i>Le Neve</i>, and <i>Salmon</i>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_724_724" id="Footnote_724_724"></a><a href="#FNanchor_724_724"><span class="label">[724]</span></a> I find amongst the State Papers the following, in a -volume on Ecclesiastical affairs, containing <i>Congé d'élires</i>, &c.:—</p> - -<p>"Dean and Chapter of Lichfield</p> - -<p class="indent">"Whereas upon the vacancy of that see by the -death of Dr. Hackett the late Bishop we did by our <i>Congé -d'élire</i> and our Great Seal of England grant you our license -to proceed to an election of a fit person to succeed in the -same, and at the same time did by our letter written recommend -to you our trusty &c. Dr. Wood Dean of that our cathedral -church to be by you chosen Bishop of the said see according -to the laws of this our realm. We have now thought fit hereby -to signify our pleasure to you that we do hereby will and -require you to forbear to proceed to the election of the said -Dr. Wood until our pleasure shall be further signified unto -you—whereof you may not fail.</p> - -<p>"June 11, 1671."</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_725_725" id="Footnote_725_725"></a><a href="#FNanchor_725_725"><span class="label">[725]</span></a> <i>D'Oyley's Sancroft</i>, i. 194.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_726_726" id="Footnote_726_726"></a><a href="#FNanchor_726_726"><span class="label">[726]</span></a> Yet it is said in his epitaph, in St. George's Chapel, -Windsor,—"Exule Carolo II., bonis multatus, reverso, a sacris, -hujus Capellæ Canonicus, Decanus Sarisburiensis, postea Cicestrensis -Episcopus, φιλόξενος φιλάγαθος," &c., &c. -</p> -<p> -There is a curious account in <i>Kennet's Hist.</i> of Brideoake's visit -to Lenthall, the Speaker, when on his death-bed. He owed much to -Lenthall's influence during the Commonwealth. A letter in the State -Paper Office, 1678, Oct. 7, conveys intelligence of his death, and -asks, in consequence, for Church promotion.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_727_727" id="Footnote_727_727"></a><a href="#FNanchor_727_727"><span class="label">[727]</span></a> This Lloyd is to be distinguished from him of the same -name who was one of the Seven Bishops.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_728_728" id="Footnote_728_728"></a><a href="#FNanchor_728_728"><span class="label">[728]</span></a> In <i>Ichabod</i>; or, <i>Five Groans of the Church</i>, mention -is made of 1,342 factious clergymen.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_729_729" id="Footnote_729_729"></a><a href="#FNanchor_729_729"><span class="label">[729]</span></a> <i>Dom. Chas. II.</i>, 1677, Sept. 12.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_730_730" id="Footnote_730_730"></a><a href="#FNanchor_730_730"><span class="label">[730]</span></a> <i>Mystery and Iniquity of Nonconformity</i>, 1664. A curious -tract entitled <i>The Ceremony-Monger, his Character, in Six Chapters</i>, -describes "bowing to the altar, implicit faith, reading dons of the -pulpit, reading the Psalms, &c., alternately, bowing at the name of -Jesus, unlighted candles on the altar, organs, church music, and other -popishlike and foppish ceremonials," all of which are unmercifully -ridiculed. The author is E. Hickeringhill, Rector of the Rectory of -All Saints, in Colchester. There is no date to the publication, but -from abundant internal evidence, it must have been written after the -Act of Uniformity. Hickeringhill is justly described by Chalmers as "a -half crazy kind of writer." He was a pensioner of St. John's, Camb., -in 1650; junior Bachelor of Gonville and Caius; Lieut. in the English -army in Scotland, and Captain in Fleetwood's Regiment. He took orders -in 1661 or 1662, being ordained by Bishop Sanderson; became Vicar of -Boxted, Essex, in October, 1662, and about the same time, Rector of -All Saints, Colchester. In reference to the Act of Uniformity, he says -it is an unnatural, impossible, irrational, wicked, and vain attempt. -"Go teach God," he says, "to make a new heaven, with uniformity of -stars and skies,—teach Him to make men uniform," &c. Hickeringhill -wrote <i>The Second Part of Naked Truth</i>, and <i>A Vindication</i> of it. The -copy of it which I have seen is in the Library of Trinity College, -Cambridge. The Bishop of London brought an action against him, in -March, 1682, for slander. A report of the trial may be found in the -same Library, <i>Political Tracts</i>, Y 24. Hickeringhill held his Rectory -until his death in 1708.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_731_731" id="Footnote_731_731"></a><a href="#FNanchor_731_731"><span class="label">[731]</span></a> Quotation in <i>Vindication of the Clergy</i>, 82.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_732_732" id="Footnote_732_732"></a><a href="#FNanchor_732_732"><span class="label">[732]</span></a> <i>Chamberlayne</i>, part 1. 205, 207. The following entries -indicate the poverty of clergymen:—</p> - -<p>"1669. Given to a poor minister who preached here, at the church, April -25, 3s. Bestowed on him in ale, 4d.</p> - -<p>"Feb. 13, 1669. Collected then, by the churchwardens, in the church, -upon a testimonial, and at the request of the Lord Bishop of York, for -one Mr. Wilmot, a poor minister, 8s. 4d.</p> - -<p>"1670, April 10. Given then by the neighbours, to a poor mendicant -minister, one Mr. John Rhodes, who then preached here, and after -the sermon <i>stood in the middle aisle to receive the charity of the -people</i>, the sum 12s. 3d.</p> - -<p>"1670, July 3. Given then by the neighbours to a poor lame itinerary, -one Mr. Walker, who preached here, and after the sermon stood in the -middle aisle to receive the people's charity, which was 9s. 3d."—See -<i>History of Morley Old Chapel</i>, by the Rev. J. Wonnacott.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_733_733" id="Footnote_733_733"></a><a href="#FNanchor_733_733"><span class="label">[733]</span></a> <i>Hunter's Life of Heywood</i>, 336.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_734_734" id="Footnote_734_734"></a><a href="#FNanchor_734_734"><span class="label">[734]</span></a> <i>Grounds and Occasions</i>, 19. It is from this paragraph, -and other similar authorities, that Macaulay draws materials for his -humorous one-sided satire on the clergy—<i>Hist. of Eng.</i> i. 340.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_735_735" id="Footnote_735_735"></a><a href="#FNanchor_735_735"><span class="label">[735]</span></a> <i>Grounds and Occasions</i>, 107. North complains of his -father's chaplain being very illiterate.—<i>Lives</i>, iii. 312.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_736_736" id="Footnote_736_736"></a><a href="#FNanchor_736_736"><span class="label">[736]</span></a> <i>Evelyn's Diary</i>, 1684, February 23.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_737_737" id="Footnote_737_737"></a><a href="#FNanchor_737_737"><span class="label">[737]</span></a> <i>Vindication of the Clergy</i> (1672), 122. The author of -the <i>Grounds and Occasions</i> followed up his work by "Some observations -upon the answer."</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_738_738" id="Footnote_738_738"></a><a href="#FNanchor_738_738"><span class="label">[738]</span></a> <i>Vindication</i>, 100, <i>et seq.</i> See <i>Answer -to the Grounds and Occasions</i> (1671), 14. Another book was -published—<i>Hieragonisticon</i>, being an answer to the two books on the -<i>Grounds and Occasions</i> (1672). Five additional letters were published -by the author of the <i>Grounds and Occasions</i>, &c. Through the kindness -of my friend, Mr. John Rotton, the whole of this curious collection has -been placed at my service.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_739_739" id="Footnote_739_739"></a><a href="#FNanchor_739_739"><span class="label">[739]</span></a> <i>Vindication</i>, 108.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_740_740" id="Footnote_740_740"></a><a href="#FNanchor_740_740"><span class="label">[740]</span></a> <i>Appendix to Second Report of Commission on Ritual</i>, -628.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_741_741" id="Footnote_741_741"></a><a href="#FNanchor_741_741"><span class="label">[741]</span></a> "An account of the life and conversation of the reverend -and worthy Mr. Isaac Milles," quoted in <i>Ken's Life by a Layman</i>, -48–50.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_742_742" id="Footnote_742_742"></a><a href="#FNanchor_742_742"><span class="label">[742]</span></a> <i>Ichabod; or Five Groans of the Church</i> (1663). -Williams, Bishop of Lincoln, says he "met with three debauched -clergymen in Hertfordshire, whom he shall deprive: the gentry are most -kind wherever he goes. Thinks the principles he goes upon will be -successful."—<i>State Papers</i>, July 18, 1668.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_743_743" id="Footnote_743_743"></a><a href="#FNanchor_743_743"><span class="label">[743]</span></a> <i>Life of Philip Henry</i>, 101. He made this remark at the -close of the year 1662. In <i>Hunter's Life of Oliver Heywood</i>, p. 149, a -wretched account is given of the six ministers who succeeded him.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_744_744" id="Footnote_744_744"></a><a href="#FNanchor_744_744"><span class="label">[744]</span></a> <i>History of his Own Time</i>, i. 186.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_745_745" id="Footnote_745_745"></a><a href="#FNanchor_745_745"><span class="label">[745]</span></a> <i>Diary</i>, 1668, February 16.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_746_746" id="Footnote_746_746"></a><a href="#FNanchor_746_746"><span class="label">[746]</span></a> <i>Burnet</i>, i. 258.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_747_747" id="Footnote_747_747"></a><a href="#FNanchor_747_747"><span class="label">[747]</span></a> <i>Appendix to Second Report of Commission on Ritual</i>, -628.</p></div></div> - - -<p class="transnote">Transcriber's Note:<br /> - -1. Printer's errors have been silently corrected.<br /> - -2. Obvious spelling and punctuation errors have been silently -corrected. Original spelling and hyphenated words have been retained where appropriate.<br /> - -3. Superscripts shown as <sup>x</sup>.</p> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND, THE CHURCH OF THE RESTORATION, VOL. 1 OF 2 ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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