in the first part of life, he fell" in with the

" He fell in with the puritans, greatly oppressed.] The controversy between the prelatists and the puritans will appear in the eyes of most, in this age, as very trifling and insignificant, and very unworthy of the attention which was formerly paid it. They were a stiff kind of men, many of them, of both sides; of weak capacities or uninformed uuderstandings; who imposed unreasonably, and resisted obstinately. But on the behalf of the puritans, it must be observed that they always pretended conscience for their nonconformity, and, probably, as they were very great sufferers, they were sincere. This recommended them, as well as their regular behaviour, to the favour of the friends of civil liberty, and the lovers of virtue. These gentlemen, probably, saw many of their weaknesses, but they approved their honesty and integrity, used their interest to bring them out of trouble, and generously helped them in their difficulties. Another thing there was, which added not a little to their worth in the eyes of many of the most considerable persons of those times, namely, an adherence to the doctrinal articles of the church of England, in the sense of the compilers, and a strong aversion to popery. The gentry then read and wrote books of religious controversy, and very many of them became converts to their party.But however, this is certain, the puritans were sufferers; sufferers for conscientiously refusing to practise things which, in the opinion of their adversaries, were of no worth or value; sufferers from men who pretended to be rulers and governors in a protestant church, whose doctrines they disowned in many points; and sufferers from men whose pride, ambition, avarice, and cruelty had, rendered them odious to the people in general, as well as to wise and considerate men. These persons here meant were courtprelates, in the times of James and Charles I.

Such as for their bellies sake

Creep, and intrude, and climb into the fold.
Of other care they little reck'ning make,..

puritans, greatly oppressed on account of their

Than how to scramble at the shearers feast,
And shove away the worthy bidden guest.
Blind mouths! that scarce themselves know how to hold

A sheep-hook, or have learn'd ought else the least
That to the faithful herdsman's art belongs!
What recks it them? what need they? They are sped;
And when they list, their lean and flashy songs
Grate on their scrannel pipes of wretched straw;
The hungry sheep look up, and are not fed,
But swoln with wind, and the rank mist they draw,
Rot inwardly, and foul contagion spread:
Besides what the grim wolf with privy paw
Daily devours apace, and nothing said.

MILTON.

This is not merely a poetical exaggeration. Soon after these lines were written, a polite writer, who declares himself no puritan, speaks of these bishops in the following terms." The more our prelates enjoy, the more still they seek; and all our three kingdoms are grown so sick of their pride, injustice, and pragmatical faction, that scarce any remedy but blood-letting can cure them. We find in Scripture the most high and holy offices of religion performed by princes, even amongst and above the greatest of priests; but we scarce find any instance at all where priests interuneddled with any state affairs, either above or under princes: and yet with us now the employing and entrusting of clergymen in temporal business, is held as politick as it was in the times of popery: although no time could ever justly boast of that use. But to pass over temporal businesses, how violently have our bishops been in their own canons about ceremonies, and indifferencies? and what disturbance hath that violence produced? They strive as for the beauty and glory of religion, to bring in the same forms of liturgy, the same posture of the communion-table, the same gesture at the communion, &c. in all our three dominions; as if uniformity were always beautiful: and yet we see all men are created with several faces, voices, and complexions, without any deformity to the universe."-This is a fine thought, and has been frequently made use of by our best

nonconformity, and appeared as their advocate

advocates for toleration. The same writer, speaking of the same men, asserts that " in the high commission, at the council table, in the star chamber, and the chequer, churchmen are now more active than in their own consistories, and yet their ambition further aims (as it is said) to the chancery, court of requests, &c. which could not chuse to redound to the scandal of religion, the obstruction of justice, and vexation of the subject. If there were not learned and skilful men enough in policy and law to serve the king, unless divinity were deprived of some of her followers, there were some seeming umbrage why the king might borrow of God; but when God's more holy office is neglected, that the king's meaner may be the worse administred, the world much gazes and wonders at it." We may naturally enough imagine men thus ambitious of power and wealth were not overstocked with real religion! and we may, with like probability, conclude that pretences to conscience in their eyes had but an odd and ridiculous appearance! and consequently that the persons who made use of them to justify their opposition to their injunctions would fare little the better for them. I will not enter here into the particulars of the hardships and oppressions which the puritans underwent from the prelates, and the high hand which was carried by these latter over all who opposed them. I have given a sketch of it elsewhere, and must refer such as may be uninformed thither. However, the following short litany may not be unacceptable even to those who are best acquainted with their transactions. It shews their behaviour, and the sense men then had of it.

A SHORT LETANIE.

From this prelatical pride and their lordly dignities; From all their superstitious vanities and popish cere

monies;

2

Discourse concerning Puritans, p. 36. 4to. Lond, printed for Robert Bostock, 1641. Vol. I. p. 257.

both in the country and the parliament; that

From their late innovations and mischievous policies; From the cursed oath ex officio, and high commission cruelties;

From their Romish clergy, and the peoples unsufferable miseries;

From their greedy gainful visitations, and the churchwardens enforced perjuries;

From their most corrupt courts, and their vexing slaveries;

From all their fruitless shadows, and hypocritical formalities;

From their hatred and malice against Christ's appointed ordinances;

From their needlessly devised and troublesome conformities;

From all their illegal proceedings, and oppressing tyrannies;

From their sinful synods, and all their papal hierarchy; From Abaddon and Apollyon, with their priests, jesuits, their favourites, and all their furious blasphemers;

Good Lord, deliver us *.

;

From this little satire appears how ill beloved, yea hated, these men were, how tyrannical and cruel they were deemed! To oppose these then must have been meritorious; to screen such as were oppressed by them, humane and charitable. Cromwell did this as much as lay in his power. When the puritans were like to come into trouble, he would attend on Dr. Williams, bishop of Lincoln, at Bugden, and speak in their behalf. What his success was appears not: probably but sinall, for Williams being jostled out of favour by the arts of Laud, and Buckingham, to the latter of whom he had been a servile tool, was fearful of shewing favour, lest his adversary might get a farther advantage over him.

Short View of the Prelatical Church of England, p. 39. 4to. • See Phillips's Life of Williams, p. 290. 8vo. Cambridge, 1700.

he censured and opposed the court prelates; and**

In the parliament 1628, we find Cromwell in a "committee concerning the pardons granted by the king [Charles] since the last session, to certain persons questioned in parliament. And we are told that he inform'd the house what countenance the bishop of Winchester did give to some persons that preached flat popery, and mentioned the persons by name, and how by this bishop's means Manwaring (who, by censure the last parliament, was disabled for ever holding any ecclesiastical dignity in the church, and confessed the justice of that censure) is nevertheless preferred to a rich living. If these be the steps to church preferment (said he) what may we expect?" But these efforts of his, as well as of the greatest and best men in the house of commons, were ineffectual. They were protected by Charles, who would rather dissolve a parliament, than degrade a court-prerogative-bishop.

12 And preferred freedom in a foreign land to the slavery and oppression which were continually increasing at home.] Charles I. and his ministers were bent on introducing uniformity in religion, and despotism in the state. They met with opposition in parliaments and therefore parliaments for a long course of years were laid aside. Private persons spoke and wrote against the measures pursued; but they got nothing for their pains but fines, imprisonments, or barbarous corporal punishments. The courts of law indeed were open-but they were properly the king's courts. The prerogative was what they maintained and enlarged to the utmost of their power, and no man had a chance to succeed in them, who would not submit to it. In short, the judges declared in effect that the king's will was law, and that the property of the subject, was indeed his. After Hampden's stand in the great case of ship-money, and the infamous determination of the much greater part of the bench, all was profound silence; a dead calm succeeded; every one looked

• Rushworth's Collections, vol. I. p. 655. fol. Lond. 1659.