REVJ.ORMISTON,
2-KENS1NGTON PLACE,
CLIFTON.
THE
THEOLOGICAL LIBRARY
Vol. XIII.
THE
LIFE
OF
ARCHBISHOP LAUD.
BY
CHARLES WEBB LE BAS, M.A.
PROFKSSOR IN THE EAST INDIA COLLEGE, HERTS, AND LATE
FELLOW OF TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE.
Lately pMished,
BY THE SAME AUTHOR.
I.
The LIFE of WICLTF.
6s.
II.
The LIFE of ARCHBISHOP CRANMER.
In Two Vols. 12s.
III.
The LIFE of BISHOP JEWEL.
6s.
The above are printed uniformly with the present
and illustrated with Portraits.
/THE
LIFE
ARCHBISHOP LAUD.
BY
CHARLES WEBB LE BAS, M.A.
o
PROFESSOR IN THE EAST INDIA COLLEGE, HERTS, AKJ) LATE
FELLOW OF TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE
LONDON:
PRINTED FOR J. G. & F. RIVINGTOX,
ST. PAUL'S CHURCH YARD,
AND WATERLOO PLACE, PALL MALL.
1836.
IIIRRARY ST. MARY'S CQUEGE
LONDON:
GILBERT & RIVINGTON, PRINTERS,
ST. JOHN'S SQUARE.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
15731617.
PAGE
Birth and Parentage of Laud His early education His
character at Oxford State of the University Laud sus-
pected of Popish opinions Incurs blame for the marriage
of the Earl of Devonshire Is attacked by Dr. Airay, as a
favourer of Popery Hall's Letter to him is introduced
to Dr. Neile Is elected President of St. John's College,
Oxford Dr. Robert Abbot preaches against him, before
the University Laud is made Dean of Gloucester
Restores order in the Cathedral Royal Injunctions of
1616-17 1
CHAPTER II.
16171625.
King James's Journey to Scotland Articles of Perth
Laud is made a Prebendary of Westminster Is promoted
to the Bishopric of St. David's He resigns the Presi-
dentship of St. John's Misadventure of Archbishop Ab-
bot Laud takes his seat in the House of Peers Cen-
sure of Knight's Sermon Royal Injunctions of 1622
Laud's Conference with the Jesuit Fisher His intimacy
with Buckingham Beginning of his misunderstanding
with Bishop Williams Supply voted by the Convocation
Laud bitterly censured by Abbot for endeavouring to
procure some indulgence for the inferior Clergy, in the
period of payment He saves the Charterhouse from
Confiscation Death of King James. 34
CHAPTER III.
16251627.
Charles's first Parliament Censure of Montague's Book by
the Commons Williams declines, and Laud rises, in the
royal favour Laud assists at the Coronation He is
VI CONTENTS.
PAGE
charged with placing a crucifix on the Altar, and of alter-
ing the Coronation Oath These charges examined He
preaches at the opening of the second Parliament Com-
mittee of Religion Further proceedings against Monta-
gue Proclamation of 1626 against novelties in doctrine
and discipline Second Parliament dissolved Dr. Good-
man, Bishop of Gloucester, suspected of Popery Laud ex-
posed to blame foraiding Buckingham in his defence against
his impeachment Also, for drawing up Speeches for the
King Laud is translated to the See of Bath and Wells
Draws up the royal instructions for a supply His conduct
and principles considered He is made Dean of the Chapel
Royal Sermons of Sibthorpe and Manwaring Seques-
tration of Archbishop Abbot 75
CHAPTER IV.
16281630.
Charles's third Parliament Petition of Right Proceedings
against Manwaring Remonstrance of the Commons
Laud in danger He draws up an answer to the Remon-
strance He is translated to the See of London Assassi-
nation of Buckingham Laud's conduct at the examina-
tion of Felton Laud reforms the disorders in the election
of Proctors, at Oxford His zeal for the advancement of
Literature Reprint of the 39 Articles, with the Royal
Declaration prefixed Exasperation of the Puritans The
Vow, or Protestation, of the Commons Laud draws up
an Answer The wisdom and moderation of his Views
The third Parliament dissolved Laud is threatened by
the Puritanical faction Royal Injunctions of 1629
Laud's apprehensions for the Church and State He is
made Chancellor of the University of Oxford Punishment
of Leighton for publishing " Zion's plea against the Pre-
lates" Laud had no concern in the Sentence He con-
secrates St. Catherine Cree, and other Churches, and is
charged with using Superstitious Ceremonies This
charge considered 110
CHAPTER V.
16311634.
The purchase of Impropriations by the Puritans The
Scheme overthrown by Laud Repair of St. Paul's
Laud's benefactions to the University of Oxford Theo-
logical disputes there Laud unjustly charged with usurp-
ing patronage He procures the appointment of well-
CONTENTS. Vll
PAGE
affected men, to Dignities in the Church The King's
Printers fined for negligence Sherfield censured for
breaking a painted window The King's visit to Scot-
land, and his Coronation there Laud is elevated to the
Primacy His policy, as contrasted with that of his pre-
decessor, Abbot A Cardinal's Hat is offered to Laud
His refusal of it He is elected Chancellor of Dublin
He revives the practice of requiring a title from Candi-
dates for Holy Orders This reform is resented as an in-
novation Book of Sports Conduct of Laud respecting
it Clamour of the Puritans against him Laud's Metro-
political Visitation His power disputed by Bishop Wil-
liams Williams's Jurisdiction suspended Controversy
respecting the Altar 148
CHAPTER VI.
16341637.
Laud endeavours tobring the foreign Protestant Churches to
conformity with the Church of England He labours to
improve the condition of the London Clergy He obtains
from the Crown the restitution of Irish Impropriations
The Church of Ireland is brought to conformity with the
Church of England Laud is made a Commissioner of the
Treasury He resigns the office, and procures the ap-
pointment for Juxon He proceeds with his Metropolitical
Visitation Enforces the repair of Cathedrals, and other
reforms He is unjustly suspected of countenancing the
Popish designs of the Queen He establishes his right to
visit the Universities He obtains for Oxford a new body
of Statutes, and the Caroline Charter He is accused of
aiming at the office of Universal Lawgiver His charity
and munificence They cry against him as a persecutor
He entertains the King and Queen at Oxford Punish-
ment of Prynne, Bastwicke, and Burton Laud's vindica-
tion of himself from the charge of bringing back Popery,
&c. He is assailed with virulent libels Prosecution of
Bishop Williams 189
CHAPTER VII.
16371640.
Failure of the attempt to introduce the English Liturgy into
Scotland Laud continues to prosecute his ecclesiastical
labours He denounces, the intrigues of the Papists be-
Vlll CONTENTS.
PAGE
fore the Council He reprints his Conference with Fisher ;
but is, nevertheless, assailed as an inveterate Papist
Chillingworth reclaimed from Popery by Laud Laud's
intercourse with Hales, for whom he procures a Canonry
at Windsor Laud enforces the censorship of the press-
Is assailed for abusing this power His answer to the
charge His continued munificence He engages Hall to
compose his Treatise on Episcopacy The corrections sug-
gested by him He procures the suppression of Bagshaw's
readings on Stat. 23. Edw. III. c. 7- He is assailed as
an incendiary He addresses a letter to the Helvetic
Churches, protesting his desire for peace Joins Straf-
ford and Hamilton in recdmmending a Parliament Pre-
cipitate dissolution of Parliament The Convocation con-
tinues to sit, by order of the King, and with the sanction
of the Crown Lawyers The Canons, and et cetera oath
The public fury directed against Laud The dreams
and presentiments of the Archbishop, on his approaching
fall The prognostics and falsehoods circulated by his
enemies Rome's Masterpiece 232
CHAPTER VIII.
16401645.
A Committee of the Long Parliament appointed to prepare
charges against Laud Scottish Articles against him
Impeachment of Laud His commitment to the Black Rod
Articles of Impeachment Laud's address to the Lords
His commitment to the Tower His sufferings during
his imprisonment Additional Articles His trial and
defence His recapitulation before the Lords His de-
fence before the Commons He is condemned by an Or-
dinance of the two Houses His behaviour at the scaffold
His execution , 277
CHAPTER IX.
General view of the character and principles of Laud .... 330
APPENDIX . 3<)0
LIFE
ARCHBISHOP LAUD.
CHAPTER I.
A. D. 15731617.
Birth and Parentage of Laud His early education His charac-
ter at Oxford State of the University Laud suspected of
Popish opinions Incurs blame for the marriage of the Earl of
Devonshire Is attacked by Dr. Airay, as a favourer of Popery
Hall's Letter to him Is introduced to Dr. Neile Is elected
President of St. John's College, Oxford Dr. Robert Abbot
preaches against him, before the University Laud is made
Dean of Gloucester Restores order in the Cathedral Royal
Injunctions of 1616-17.
THE birth-place of William Laud, was Read-
ing, the principal town of Berkshire. His
father, William Laud, was, by occupation, a clothier,
of good repute, and of no inconsiderable prosperity ;
for his business was sufficiently extensive to enable
him to keep many looms at work on his own pre-
mises, and to retain a number of weavers and other
artizans in constant employment. The maiden-name
of his mother was Lucy Webb, a sister of Sir William
Webb, who was Lord Mayor of London, in the
B
2 LIFE OF [CHAP.
year 1591. Her first husband was John Robinson,
also a clothier, of the same town ; a man of no
ordinary wealth and credit. Her children by this
marriage were two daughters and one son : both the
daughters were most respectably married ; the son
entered the Church, and became a Prebendary of
Westminster, and Archdeacon of Nottingham. After
the death of John Robinson, his widow became the
wife of William Laud. Of this second marriage, the
celebrated subject of this narrative was the only
child. The day of his birth was the 7th of October,
1573 \
The foregoing statement is valuable chiefly as it
may serve to expose the ill-nature of his enemies ;
who, in the intensity of their zeal for his disparage-
ment, wearied themselves with endeavours to de-
press the man, by representing his parentage as con-
temptibly mean, and sordid 2 : apparently unconscious
that, by lowering his origin, they were but exalting
the abilities which procured his elevation. It is
somewhat remarkable that, on one occasion, sub-
sequently to his advancement to the primacy, Laud
himself had, for a moment, the weakness to be dis-
turbed by these despicable imputations. His bio-
grapher, Dr. Heylyn, found him one day in his garden,
at Lambeth, with signs of unusual commotion on his
countenance. When questioned respecting the cause
of his agitation, the Archbishop produced a printed
libel, "which had been stopped at the press, in
which he found himself reproached with so base a
parentage, as if he had been raked out of a dung-
1 Heylyn's Life of Laud, p. 46. ed. 1668. Wood, Ath. vol. iii.
col. 117. ed. Bliss.
3 Prynne's Breviat.
I.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 3
hill ; adding withal, that, though he had not the
good fortune to be born a gentleman, yet, he thanked
God, he had been born of honest parents, who lived
in plentiful condition, employed many poor people
in their way, and left a good report behind them."
The reply of Heylyn was admirable for its vivacity
and good sense. He reminded the primate, that
" Pope Sextus V., as stout a pope as ever wore the
triple crown, but a poor man's son, did use familiarly
to say, in contempt of such libels as were frequently
made against him, that he was born of an illustrious
house, (domo natus illustri,J because the sun-beams
passing through the broken walls and ragged roof,
illustrated every corner of the homely cottage in
which he was born." The aptness and felicity of the
instance produced their effect. The countenance of
the Archbishop cleared up ; and he thought no more
of the stupid slanderers of his pedigree *.
The childhood of Laud was miserably weak and
sickly. We learn from the very first sentence in his
own diary, that in his infancy, he w r as in danger of
death. He recovered sufficient health, however, to
attend the Free School, at Reading. Of his boyhood
little is known, except, that it was passed under
the discipline of a severe school-master, and that it
afforded distinct promise of future eminence. The
sagacity of the pedagogue, we learn, was equal to
his austerity. He was so struck with his pupil's nim-
bleness of apprehension, with his vivacity of remark,
with his high spirit, and (even at that early age)
with the strange complexion of his dreams, as con-
fidently to anticipate that he was destined for no
1 Heylyn, p. 47, 48.
B2
4 LIFE OF [CHAP.
ordinary career. And this persuasion he was accus-
tomed to express, by saying, " When you are a little
great man, remember Reading School V During
the whole period of his youth, indeed, the stripling
was noted for untiring industry, methodical habits
of study, surprising faithfulness of memory, singular
activity of fancy, and almost premature solidity of
judgment. So bright were the anticipations of all
to whom he was known, that considerable sums of
money were offered for his maintenance, upon no
other security than the early indications of his
powers 2 . In July, 1589, he was entered as a com-
moner at St. John's College, where he fully main-
tained the reputation which he brought with him
from Reading. He had the good fortune to be placed
under the care of one who had the penetration to
estimate duly the abilities of his pupil, and the gene-
rosity to foster and encourage them. His tutor was
Dr. Buckeridge, then a Fellow of the Society, after-
wards its President, and, subsequently, Bishop of
Rochester. After residing one year as a
June, 1590. J
Commoner, on his own resources, Laud
was chosen a Scholar of St. John's, on the nomi-
nation of the Mayor and Corporation of Reading.
This promotion might be considered in a certain
measure, as a tribute of respect for the worth of his
father. But it was, likewise, beyond all question,
an honourable testimony to the character which he
had already established in the University, as a labo-
rious and successful student. At the end of three
years from this time, he was admitted to a fellow-
1 Lloyd's Memoirs, &c. Laud, p. 255. ed. 1668.
2 Lloyd's State Worthies, p. 991, &c. ed. 1670.
I.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 5
ship, according to the custom of the Col-
lege ; and in June, 1594, proceeded to the June> 15
degree of Bachelor of Arts. In 1596, and 1597, he
suffered severely from indisposition. In 1598, he
was made Master of Arts, and was appointed reader
in Grammar for that year ; at the end of which, he
was again visited with sickness. In January, 1600,
he received Deacon's orders from Dr. Young, Bishop
of Rochester ; and was ordained Priest by the hand
of the same Prelate, in April, 1601. By this time
he had become an orphan ; having lost his father in
April, 1594, and his mother in November, 1600 .
In these his youthful days, " he was esteemed by
all who knew him, a very forward, confident, and
zealous person V And these indications of a mascu-
line energy were possibly the more conspicuous, as
contrasted with the smallness of his stature. It must
be remembered, however, that the condition of the
University was, at that period, such as naturally to
call forth the activity and watchfulness of a thought-
ful and studious young man, endowed with more
than ordinary strength of character, and maturity of
learning. When Laud commenced his academic resi-
dence, Oxford bore a greater resemblance, in many
respects, to a colony from Geneva, than to a seminary
of Anglo- Catholic Divinity. The genius of Calvin
presided in the Schools. The dark theory of pre-
destination was maintained as an essential ingredient
in the faith of a Christian man. The Apostolic suc-
cession of Bishops was treated as little better than a
fable. The authority of the Church was scornfully
1 Diary, p. 1, 2.
2 Such, at least, is the description of him recorded by Wood,
vol. Hi. col. 121.
6 LIFE OF [CHAP.
disregarded. The very existence of a visible Church,
during the long period of Papal predominance, was
gravely questioned by some distinguished divines,
while others maintained that it was to be sought for
only in the scattered Conventicles of Berengarians,
or among the Albigenses, or the mountaineers of
Piedmont, or perhaps, among the Wiclifites of Eng-
land, or the Hussites of Bohemia. In short, the
whole life and virtue of religion appeared to be well
nigh concentrated into one thing, an abrupt and
impetuous departure from the Church of Rome.
Now the theological studies of Laud had taught
him a very different lesson. They had been prose-
cuted in the spirit of the Canon of 1671 ; which
enjoined that the interpretation of Scripture should
be regulated, not by a licentious exercise of private
judgment, but by a strict regard to the doctrines
which had been collected from Scripture, by the
primitive fathers of the Church. It was remarked by
Dr. Young, by whom Laud had been ordained, that
his studies had not been confined to the narrow and
partial systems of Geneva ; but that his scheme of
divinity had been raised " upon the noble founda-
tions of the Fathers, the Councils, and the Ecclesias-
tical Historians." And, hence, he pronounced that,
if the young man's life should be spared, he would
become a fit instrument for the Church's deliverance
from the trammels of every modern school, and for
her restoration to the more free and comprehensive
principles of the first and purest ages l . The whole
plan and elevation of doctrine which this course of
inquiry had set before him, he found to be in strict
1 Lloyd's Memoirs, &c. p. 225, 226.
I.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 7
conformity with the original scheme of the Anglican
Reformation ; but, in many essential respects, at
mortal variance with the theory and the practice
which then had got possession of the schools. And
he was seized with a vehement desire to bring the
Church of England from this state of defection, back
to her native principles.
It was not long before an opportunity
was afforded for the manifestation of his
zeal) his forwardness, and his confidence, in the cause
of pure and primitive Christianity. Such was the
estimation in which he was held, as a scholar and
a divine, that, in 1602, he was admitted to read the
Lecture of Mrs. May's foundation, with the full
consent and approbation of his College 1 . And it
was either in this, or some other academical exer-
cise performed about the same time, that he resolved
to stand forward in vindication of the Articles and
Constitution of the Church. The adventure was
one which, in times like those, demanded an intrepid
resolution. But Laud had, doubtless, counted the
cost of his warfare : and he, accordingly, maintained,
in opposition to the predominant theology of the day,
" the constant and perpetual visibility of the Church
of Christ, derived from the Apostles to the Church
of Rome, and continued in that Church, as in others
of the East and South, until the Reformation 2 ." By
this exploit he marked himself out as an object of
1 His own words are: " Anno 1602, I read a divinity Lecture
in St. John's College. It was then maintained by Mrs. May.
I was the last who read it." Diary, p. 2.
2 This is Heylyn's statement of the doctrine affirmed by
Laud (p. 53). I am not aware that the discourse is extant.
8 LIFE OF [CHAP.
hatred to the Puritans *, and, more especially to their
patron and champion, Dr. George Abbot, Master of
University College, Dean of Winchester 2 ; and, in
1603, Vice Chancellor of the University. This
divine (who was afterwards elevated to the Primacy
of all England) was the foremost man
among those who affirmed that it was im-
possible to discern the visibility of the Church, other-
wise than by tracing it, through a straggling series
of sects, from the days of Berengarius 3 to those of
Luther and of Calvin. These opinions he did not
embody in writing till the year 1624 4 ; but they
were notoriously entertained, and urgently contended
for by him, at the time when the contrary position
was taken up by Laud. There is too much reason
to believe that Abbot never forgave this act of open
resistance to the authority of his name 5 . And it is
most certain that, from that moment to the end of
his days, Laud was detested and pursued by the
party of Abbot, as a confederate of Popery, and a
sworn enemy to the Gospel of Christ.
%
1 The name of Puritan, it must be kept in mind, is here used
historically, and not as a title of reproach. The actions and
principles of the party which bore that title, must, of course, be
estimated according to their own merits or demerits.
2 Wood, vol. ii. col. 561.
3 Berengarius, or Berenger, was an eminent ecclesiastic, who,
about the middle of the eleventh century, opposed the sacra-
mental doctrine, subsequently known by the name of Transub-
stantiation. For an account of him, see Mosh. cent. xi. pt. ii.
sect. xiii. &c.
4 There is a " Treatise of perpetual visibility and succession
of the True Church in all Ages," London, 1624, which is
without a name, but is generally ascribed to Abbot. Wood,
vol. ii. col. 562.
5 Heylyn, p. 53, 54. Rushw. vol. i. p. 434, 440.
I.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 9
In 1603, Laud was selected by his
College as a candidate for the office of
Proctor, and was chosen by the University on the
4th of May in that year l . He is said to have exe-
cuted the duties of that post with a fidelity and
activity which gave universal satisfaction 2 . In Sep-
tember, the same year, he was appointed Chaplain to
the Earl of Devonshire 3 . In July, 1604,
he became Bachelor of Divinity. From
the propositions which he undertook to defend, in his
exercises for that degree, it is evident that his spirit
was wholly undaunted by the resentment which his
first theological essay had so recently called forth.
He maintained, first, the necessity of Baptism ; and,
secondly, that there could be no true Church without
Diocesan Bishops. Two subjects more distasteful
to the Puritans could not easily have been selected.
They did not suffer the occasion to pass without
reminding Laud that their eye was constantly upon
him. His arguments for the necessity of Baptism
were treated with contempt, on the ground that they
were borrowed from the writings of Bellarmine ; as
if all reasoning must inevitably be vicious, which had
been resorted to by a Papist. For his vindication
of Episcopacy, he was severely assailed by Dr.
Holland, Rector of Exeter College, who had suc-
ceeded Laurence Humphrey in the divinity chair.
The mantle of his predecessor, as well as his office,
appears to have fallen upon Holland ; for he now
complained loudly that the disputant was casting the
torch of discord between the Church of England and
1 Lloyd's State Worthies.
2 Heylyn, p. 53. Diary, p. 2.
3 Diary, p. 2.
10 LIFE OF [CHAP.
the Reformed Churches beyond the seas *. The
result was a general conviction that Laud was be-
coming, every day, more thoroughly steeped in
Romish superstition.
The year 1605 was distinguished by an
event almost fatal to his peace of mind, and
highly injurious to his promotion. At this time,
he had been three years Chaplain to Charles Lord
Mountjoy, the Earl of Devonshire, a nobleman high
in the favour of James I., on account of his brilliant
services in Ireland. By the urgent and repeated
entreaties of this gentleman, Laud was prevailed on
to solemnize a marriage between the earl and the
Lady Penelope Devereux, daughter of Walter, Earl
of Essex, under circumstances which brought down
a load of obloquy on all the parties concerned. The
lady, it appears, had been divorced from her husband,
Lord Rich, in consequence of a criminal intercourse
with the Earl of Devonshire. The earl was desirous
of repairing, by marriage, the injury inflicted by him
on her reputation ; and of giving legitimacy to the
children which had sprung from their guilty inter-
course. It further appears that the parties had con-
ceived an ardent attachment for each other, while the
Earl was yet but a younger brother ; and that a ver-
bal, but unattested, contract of marriage had passed
between them, previously to her union with Lord
Rich, (a man of ungracious manners, and of austere,
1 Heylyn, p. 54. Laurence Humphrey was the biographer of
Bishop Jewel. He had drank deeply into the spirit of the
Helvetic School. Doctor Holland, who succeeded him in 1589,
had served in the Netherlands, as chaplain to the Earl of
Leicester, the notorious patron of the Puritanical faction. Wood,
vol. ii. col. Ill, 112.
I.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 11
unsociable temper,) which alliance had been forced
upon her by her parents. It should be recollected
that the legal principles applicable to such a case,
were, at that time, more unsettled than they are at
present : and Laud, overcome by the solicitations of
his patron, consented to adopt the more indulgent
construction of the law, and to unite the divorced
lady in matrimony with the man to whom she had
been originally engaged. The result of the transac-
tion was bitterly disastrous to all the parties con-
cerned. The countenance of the king was darkened
towards the earl ; and the effect of this alienation
was fatal to him. He sickened and died under
the humiliation, in the course of a twelvemonth ;
leaving the partner of his frailty to a sorrowful and
unhonoured widowhood. His Chaplain, Laud, was
overwhelmed with shame and remorse. His unfor-
tunate compliance exposed him, for a long time, to
the displeasure of the king, to the upbraidings of his
enemies, and to the reproaches of his own conscience.
He ever after converted the festival of St. Stephen
(on which day he had performed the unhappy solem-
nity,) into an annual fast, in penitential remembrance
of his error ; and composed a prayer for the pardon of
his offence, which remains to this time, as a monu-
ment of his sincere contrition 1 .
1 The affair is thus briefly recorded in his Diary : " Anno
1605. My cross about the Earl of Devon's marriage. Dec. 26,
die Jovis." The 26th of December is St. Stephen's day.
The following is the prayer composed by him on the occasion:
" Behold thy servant, O my God, and in the bowels of thy mercy
have compassion on me. Behold, I am become a reproach to
thy holy name, by serving my ambition, and the sins of others ;
which, though I did it by the persuasion of other men, yet my
12 LIFE OF [CHAP.
In the year 1606 Laud was again ex-
posed to the assault of his vigilant adver-
saries. On the 21st of October, in that year, he
delivered a sermon at St. Mary's, which was seized
upon as an additional proof of his Romish propen-
sities. The Vice Chancellor in that year was Dr.
Henry Airay, the Provost of Queen's College ; a
man of austere habits, recluse life, and high Calvin -
istic opinions. Among his publications, was a
"Treatise on Bowing at the Name of Jesus 1 ;" a
practice in which he conceived there was as much
Idolatry as in worshipping the Brazen Serpent 2 .
own conscience did check and upbraid me in it. Lord, I beseech
thee, for the mercies of Jesus Christ, enter not into judgment
with me, thy servant, but hear his blood, imploring mercies for
me. Neither let this marriage prove a divorcing of my soul from
thy grace and favour. For much more happy had I been, if,
being mindful of this day, I had suffered martyrdom, as did St.
Stephen, the first of martyrs, denying that which either my less
faithful friends, or less godly friends, had pressed upon me. I
promised myself that the darkness would hide me. But that
hope soon vanished away. Nor doth the light appear more
plainly, than I, that have committed that foul offence. Even so,
O Lord, it pleased thee, of thine infinite mercy, to deject me
with this heavy ignominy, that I might learn to seek thy name.
O Lord, how grievous is the remembrance of my sins to this
very day, after so many and such re-iterated prayers, poured out
unto thee, from a sorrowful and afflicted spirit. Be merciful
unto me. Hearken to the prayers of thy humble and dejected
servant; and raise me up again, O Lord, that I may not die in
my sin, but that I may live with thee hereafter; and, living,
evermore rejoice in thee, through the merits and the mercies of
Jesus Christ, my Lord and Saviour. Amen." " A brave ex-
ample," exclaims Heylyn, " of a penitent and afflicted soul ;
which many of us may admire, but few will imitate." See
Heylyn, p. 56, 59.
1 Wood, vol. ii. col. 177, 178- 2 Heylyn, p. 54.
1.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 13
The discourse of Laud had the effect of arraying
Dr. Airay among the number of his professed ad-
versaries ; with what justice it is impossible for us to
judge, as the composition has not been preserved.
Thus much however is known, that, in some way
or other, Laud was questioned by the Vice Chan-
cellor 1 ; but defended himself with such success, that
the storm, after growling for some time over his head,
rolled away, and left him untouched by any public
censure. Nevertheless, his old persecutor, Dr. Abbot,
fixed upon this occasion, and openly pointed at him,
as one deeply tainted with the Romish leprosy ; till,
at last, it was thought dangerous to approach the
heretic, or to salute him in the streets 2 ! Such was
the scandal raised by this discourse, that the report
of his unfaithfulness was spread from Oxford to
Cambridge ; and that Hall, who was afterwards the
exemplary and venerable Bishop of Norwich, was
generally believed to have addressed the following
expostulation to the preacher :
" I would I knew where to find you, then I could
tell how to take direct aims. Whereas, now I must
pore and conjecture. To-day you are in the tents
of the Romanists, to-morrow in ours, the next day
between both, against both. Our adversaries think
you ours, we theirs. Your conscience finds you with
both, and neither. I flatter you not. This of yours
is the worst of all tempers. Heat and cold have
1 This affair is thus briefly noticed by Laud in his Diary :
" The quarrel Dr. Airay picked with me about my sermon at St.
Mary's, Oct. 21, 1606,"
2 Heylyn, p. 54.
14 LIFE OF [CHAP.
their uses. Lukewarmness is good for nothing, but
to trouble the stomach. Those that are spiritually
hot, find acceptation. Those that are stark cold,
have lesser reckoning. The mean between both is
so much worse, as it comes nearer to good, and at-
tains it not. How long will you be in this indiffer-
ency ? Resolve one way ; and know, at last, what
you do hold, what you should. Cast off either your
wings or your teeth ; and, casting off this bat-like
nature, be either a bird or a beast. To die wavering
or uncertain, yourself will grant fearful. If you
must settle, when begin you ? If you must begin,
why not now? It is dangerous deferring that, whose
want is deadly, and whose opportunity is doubtful.
God crieth, with Jehu, who is on my side, mho ?
Look, at last, out of your window to him, and, in a
resolute courage, cast down the Jezebel that hath
bewitched you. Is there any impediment, which
delay will abate ? Is there any which a just answer
cannot remove ? If you would rather waver, who
can settle you ? But, if you love not inconstancy,
tell us why you stagger? Be plain, or else you
never will be firm V
Such (if we are not misinformed) was, in those
1 The above is an extract from a letter of Hall, (Decad. iii.
Epist. 5,) addressed to Mr. W. L., " expostulating the cause of
his unsettledness in religion, &c. &c." Like the rest of Hall's
letters, it is without a date. And though the initials (W. L.)
are those of Laud, it is not absolutely certain that he was the
person addressed ; neither is it positively known that the letter
was ever sent. It is stated, however, by Heylyn, p. 54, that, in
the general opinion, Laud was the person aimed at. And I am
not aware that this surmise has ever been questioned.
12
I.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 15
days, the language of Hall respecting Laud ! of Hall,
who lived to take up arms in defence of the Church,
under the auspices of the very man whom he now
felt himself impelled to rebuke and discipline ; of
Hall, who was doomed to suffer the bitterest perse-
cution from that same party, which he now was
honouring by his countenance and support.
Laud was now in the 34th year of his age.
His residence, up to this time, had been
constantly at the University. In 1607 he received
his first Ecclesiastical preferment, the Vicarage of
Stamford, in Northamptonshire, into which he was
inducted on the 13th of November. In
the following April, the living of North
Kilworth, in Leicestershire, was given him. In the
same year, (1608), he proceeded, without opposition,
to his degree of Doctor of Divinity l ; a step, which,
of itself, amounted to something like a public refu-
tion of the calumnies which had branded him as a
Papist. In the first place, he had enemies enough
at Oxford, ready to contest his advancement to that
degree, if, by any substantial proof, they could have
fixed upon him the charge of Romanism: and, besides,
it is scarcely credible that the University (pervaded
as it then was by a spirit of outrageous hostility
against the Papists), would lightly have conferred
this honour upon one who was a convicted adver-
sary to the Protestant faith. Neither could the
degree have been accepted by him if his heart
was secretly alienated from the Church of England,
" without a most perfidious dissimulation before
God and man 2 :" seeing that no one can take it,
1 Diai-y, p. 2. 2 Heylyn, p. 55.
16 LIFE OF [CHAP.
without subscribing an abjuration of Popery, as full
and distinct as can well be expressed in words l .
In the midst of the suspicion and evil will which,
even then, were thickly gathering around him, Laud
had the consolation to find that one man at least
was true and faithful to him, and was prepared to
do ample justice to his sincerity. In spite of the
unworthy surmises in circulation against him, his
honoured friend, and former tutor, Dr. Buckeridge,
scrupled not to recommend him to the kind offices
of Dr. Neile, Bishop of Rochester, as a person en-
tirely deserving of his confidence and patronage.
He was, accordingly, appointed Chaplain to that
Prelate, in August, 1608. On the 17th of Sep-
tember, 1609, he preached his first sermon be-
fore King James, at Theobalds. On the
1609.
28th of October, in the same year, he
exchanged his living of North' Kil worth for that of
West Tilbury, in Essex ; in order that his residence
might be nearer to that of his patron and protector.
On the 25th of May, he was collated by
1610. . . . .
Bishop Neile to the living of Cuckstone,
in Kent ; in consequence of which, he resigned his
Fellowship at St. John's College, on the 2nd of
October, and left the University on the 8th of the
same month. At his new benefice he was speedily
seized with what he calls a Kentish ague, which con-
tinued for two months. In the following November
he exchanged Cuckstone for Norton, a benefice of
less value, but with a better situation, and a more
healthy air 2 .
1 Namely, the three Articles of the thirty-sixth Canon of 1C03.
5 Diary, p. 2, 3. Heylyn, p. 60.
I.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 1?
Of the life and habits of Laud, as a parochial
clergyman, scarcely any notice has been preserved,
except, that one of his first acts, after taking posses-
sion of a living, was to assign an annual pension to
twelve poor persons ; that he laid aside one fifth part
of his income for charitable and pious uses ; and
that it was his invariable practice to put the glebe-
house into a state of substantial repair, and to see the
Church supplied with becoming furniture 1 . About
this time it was that Dr. Neile was promoted from
the See of Rochester to that of Lichfield ; on which
occasion, he resigned the Deanery of Westminster,
which he had held in commendam. Previously to his
resignation of it, he represented the merit of Laud so
warmly to the king, as to obtain for him the rever-
sion of a stall at Westminster. Neile was succeeded
in the Diocese of Rochester by Dr. Buckeridge, then
President of St. John's College. On his advancement
to the bench, Backeridge resigned the presidentship ;
and, at the same time, encouraged Laud to become a
candidate for that office. The post was one
for which he was eminently adapted. He had,
hitherto, as a comparatively obscure individual, stood
undaunted before the gathering hostility of the Cal-
vinistic party. A commanding official position might
enable him to offer a still more formidable resistance
to the spirit of disorder and confusion with which
the University had been long possessed. As might
be expected, the eye of Dr. George Abbot was keenly
fixed upon the movements, which tended towards the
establishment of Laud in the headship of St. John's.
Abbot had, some time before, removed to London, and
1 Lloyd's Memoirs, p. 228.
C
18 LIFE OF [CHAP.
there lie had the amplest facilities for labouring, with
good promise of success, to defeat an appointment,
which, of all others, he most cordially deprecated.
He did not suffer the opportunity to slip through his
hands. Being, at this period, Archbishop of Canter-
bury elect, he addressed himself at once to Thomas,
Lord Ellesmere, who had formerly been Lord Chan-
cellor of England, and who had recently been elected
Chancellor of the University of Oxford. He ur-
gently represented that Laud was, at the least, a Papist
in heart ; that he associated with none but those who
were either Roman Catholics professed, or under the
strongest suspicion of a secret attachment to Popery ;
and that, if he were elevated to any post of influence
and government in the University, his promotion
would infallibly be attended with serious injury to
religion, and with great dishonour to his Lordship.
His exertions were nearly fatal to the hopes of Laud ;
for his statements were immediately communicated
by Lord Ellesmere to the King. His designs, how-
ever, were disconcerted by the vigilant fidelity of
Bishop Neile ; who, fortunately, stepped in with
renewed commendations of the signal abilities of
Laud, and succeeded in overcoming those misgivings
of his Majesty, which had been excited by the alle-
gations of the Chancellor.
Nevertheless, much difficulty still remained to be
16H encountered. At the time of the election,
May 10. Laud was confined in London, with an ill-
ness so serious, as to disable him even from writing
to his friends on the subject. But, notwithstanding
his absence and his silence, his appointment would
have been effected without much difficulty, if the
party opposed to him had not resorted to a most dis-
I.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 19
orderly and scandalous proceeding. It appears that
among the competitors was one Rawlinson, formerly
a Fellow of St. John's, and, at that time, Principal
of St. Edmund's Hall. When the scrutiny was
completed, and the election on the point to be
declared, one of Rawlinson's supporters, perceiving
that the result would certainly be favourable to Laud,
suddenly snatched the scrutiny-paper, and, in a mo-
ment, tore it to pieces. By this outrage, some doubt
was thrown upon the regularity of his election, and
the matter was referred, by appeal, to the decision of
the King. No pains were spared by the enemies of
Laud, in taking a base advantage of their own wrong.
But their projects were, happily, confounded by the
royal justice. His Majesty sat to dispose of the cause
in person, on the 29th of August, at Tichburne,
in Hampshire, on his return from a progress in the
western parts of the kingdom : and, after a patient
hearing of three hours, he confirmed the election of
Laud, and decreed his admission to the Headship.
On the Michaelmas following, the order was carried
into execution ; and Laud was immoveably seated in
the Presidentship of St. John's l .
It was not to be imagined that even the sentence
of the King would silence, in an instant, the voice of
turbulence and disaffection in the College. Laud
himself allows that, for some time after his election,
1 Heylyn, p. 60, 61. And see Laud's own account of the
matter, in his " Answer to the speech of Lord Say and Sele,
touching the Liturgy," in 1641 ; p. 474. ed. 1695. Also his
Diary, p. 3, in which he writes, that Lord Ellesmere was incited
against him by Dr. Abbot, Lord Archbishop of Canterbury elect :
and afterward adds, " The Archbishop of Canterbury was the
original cause of all my troubles."
c 2
20 LIFE OF [CHAP.
the faction which had resisted his appointment
" continued very eager and bitter against him ;" and
their consciousness of sympathy in higher quarters,
assisted to keep alive the spirit of malevolence. In
the course of a few months, however, he succeeded
in restoring peace to the society. His election took
place in May; and the following November afforded
him an opportunity of displaying such patience and
moderation in the choice of College officers,, as de-
prived his ill-wishers of all pretence for persisting in
their opposition. His success, too, in this respect,
was not only complete, but permanent. It was his
boast that, during the whole period of his President-
ship, which was near upon eleven years, the College
never experienced the slightest interruption .of its
tranquillity ; and, for the truth of this averment, he
publicly appealed, in the days of his adversity, to
the knowledge of many individuals of eminent
worth in the Church, who were able and ready to
avouch it l .
There was one part of his conduct, more especially,
which could scarcely fail to disarm the hatred even of
those who had been most forward to injure him.
For the sake of example, it was necessary that some
punishment should be inflicted on Bayley, the indi-
vidual who had torn the scrutiny-paper. Laud,
however, perceiving him to be a young man of
promising taler.t, steady application, and intrepid
temper, thought it wiser, as well as more charitable,
1 See his" Answer to Lord Say and Sele, on the Liturgy," at
the end of the History of his Troubles, &c. p. 474 ; where he
vindicates himself from the disparaging assertion, that " his
comprehensions went no further than to carry on a side in a
College."
I.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 21
to win him by kindness, than to confirm him in his
alienation by severity. He accordingly released
him from the censure inflicted upon him, as soon as
was consistent with propriety; and, not content with
this, he bestowed upon the man his favour
and his confidence ; and, at length, made
him his Chaplain, advanced him in the Church,
married him to his brother's daughter, and, eventu-
ally, obtained his promotion to that very President-
ship which he had endeavoured to snatch from Laud,
and, with it, to one of the best Deaneries in the
kingdom 1 .
For the next four years, the life of Laud presents
little of interest or importance. The only additional
mark of favour conferred upon him, during that
period, was his appointment to a Royal Chaplaincy,
in November, 1611. His friend and patron, Neile,
then Bishop of Lichfield, it is true, never, for a mo-
ment, relaxed in his kindness. In his house, Laud
was always domesticated, whenever he had occasion
to visit London ; and, if his influence had been pre-
dominant, the President of St. John's would have
been speedily advanced to a more eminent position.
But, unhappily, the Primate, George Abbot, was
constantly on the watch, to intercept the royal
favour. He laboured to keep fresh in his Majesty's
recollection those fatal indications of a Popish heart,
which had made the President an object of suspicion
and dislike at Oxford; and never failed to dwell upon
his criminal weakness in uniting Lady Rich with her
guilty paramour, the Earl of Devonshire. For a
considerable time, the success with which Abbot
i Heylyn, p. 60, 61.
22 LIFE OF [CHAP.
plied these evil offices was all that he could desire.
For nearly four years together Laud remained
stationary ; till, at last, he began to lose all hope of
further advancement, and entertained serious thoughts
of devoting the remainder of his life wholly to the
government of his College. The friendship of Neile,
however, overpowered this resolution. At the urgent
request of the Bishop, Laud consented to postpone
his retirement for another year. In the mean time
Aprfl he had received the Prebend of Buckden
1614. from his Patron, who had been promoted
to the See of Lincoln; and, in December, 1615,
was appointed by him to the Archdeaconry of
Huntingdon 1 .
It was during this interval that Laud was exposed
to a trial of his patience much more severe than any
which he had yet been fated to experience. It
chanced that, in the course of a Sermon preached by
him before the University, on Shrove Tuesday, 1614,
he had ventured on some expressions bitterly offen-
sive to the Presbyterians. It also happened that the
Vice-Chancellor, for that year, was Dr. Robert Abbot,
a brother of the Archbishop, by whose interest he had
obtained the Rectorship of Exeter College. Robert
Abbot was a man of conspicuous learning ; but, in
some respects, according to the judgment of many, a
person of very suspicious moderation. A Calvinist,
indeed, he was ; but his Calvinism was of a degene-
rate growth* compared with that which had long been
predominant at Oxford. The Predestination which
he preached was only of the Sublapsarian grade ; and
was, therefore, an object of displeasure and contempt
1 Heylyn, p. 64, 65. Diary, p. 3.
I.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 23
with the Supralapsarian Divines. But, whatever
might be his defects in matters of pure theology,
there was not a Puritan of them all more thoroughly
orthodox than he, in his opinion of Laud. In this
respect, at least, he was a perfect representative of
his brother, the Primate. He had now a conspicuous
opportunity of putting forth his sentiments. On the
Easter day which followed, he preached at St.
Peter's, in the afternoon, and his Sermon was so
obviously directed against the Preacher of Shrove
Tuesday, that it was impossible for any one of the
congregation to mistake the individual at whom he
aimed. At this exhibition, Laud himself was not
present. His friends, however, thought it due to his
reputation that he should boldly make his appear-
ance at St. Mary's, on the following Sunday ; on
which day, conformably to the ancient custom of the
University, the same Sermon would be repeated.
Laud, though not without some reluctance, con-
sented : and the consequence was that, according to
his own account of the matter to Bishop Neile, " he
was fain to sit patiently, and hear himself abused,
almost an hour together; being pointed at as he
sat V
This circumstance is well worthy of attention, not
only because it illustrates the spirit which never
ceased to persecute him, till it brought him to the
scaffold, but, also, because it shows what were some
of the opinions, then stigmatized as treasonable to
the Protestant faith. The following is a specimen of
the language of the assailant :
"Some," said the preacher, "are partly Romish
1 Rushw. vol. i. p. 62.
24 LIFE OF [CHAP.
and partly English, as occasion serves them ; that a
man may say unto them, Noster es, an adversa-
riorum ? who, under pretence of truth, and preaching
against the Puritan, strike at the heart and root of
the Faith and Religion now established among us l .
They cannot plead that they are accounted Papists,
because they speak against the Puritan ; but, because,
being indeed Papists, they speak nothing against
them. If they do, at any time, speak any thing
against the Papists, they do but beat a little about
the bush, and that but softly, too, for fear of waking
and disquieting the birds that are in it. They speak
nothing but that, wherein one Papist will speak
against another ; as against Equivocation, and the
Pope's temporal authority, and the like; and perhaps
some of their blasphemous speeches. But, in the
points of Free Will, Justification, Concupiscence being
a sin after Baptism, Inherent Righteousness, and
1 This is precisely in harmony with Archbishop Abbot's
description of Laud : " His life in Oxford was to pick quarrels in
the lectures of the public readers, and to advertise them to the
then Bishop of Durham (Neile), that he might fill the ears of
King James with discontents against the honest men that took
pains in their places, and settled the truth (which he called
Puritanism), in their auditors. He made it his work to see
what books were in the press, and to look over epistles dedi-
catory, and prefaces to the reader, to see what faults were to be
found. It was an observation, what a sweet man this was like
to be," &c. &c. See Abbot's Narrative, Rushw. vol. i. p. 440.
TJiese are evidently the words of an inveterate enemy. It is
probable enough that Laud, when at Oxford, kept a watchful
eye upon the sermons and publications of the time. The only
question is, whether he was prompted to do this by a quarrel-
some temper, or by a dread of the tendency of the prevalent
opinions. And this is a question which no impartial reader will
be content to leave to the decision of Archbishop Abbot,
I.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 25
certainty of Salvation, the Papists beyond the sea
can say they are wholly theirs ; and the Recusants
at home make their brags of them. And, in all
things, they keep so near the brink, that, upon any
occasion, they may step over to them. Now, for
this speech, that the Presbyterians are as bad as the
Papists, there is a sting in the speech which I wish
had been left out ; for there are many Churches be-
yond the seas which contend for the Religion estab-
lished among us, and yet have approved and admitted
the Presbytery." Then, after some sentences in vin-
dication of the Presbyterian Discipline, the preacher
proceeded thus : " Might not Christ say, what art
thou ? Romish or English ? Papist or Protestant ?
Or what art thou? A mongrel, or compound of
both ? A Protestant by ordination ; a Papist in
point of Free Will, Inherent Righteousness, and the
like ? A Protestant in receiving the Sacrament ; a
Papist in the doctrine of the Sacrament ? What, do
you think there are two heavens ? If there be, get
you to the other, and place yourselves there. For
into this, w T here I am, ye shall never come 1 !"
This passage is extremely important and memo-
rable. The invective of Abbot very plainly discloses
to us certain of those ingredients which entered into
the composition of what has been sometimes com-
plained of by the vindicators of Puritanism, as the
Semi-Protestant Divinity of those days. And this
disclosure must be kept steadily in mind, if we would
duly estimate the justice of the charge, that, among
the theologians of James and Charles, several were
guilty of a perfidious approximation to the Romish
1 Heylyn, p. 65, 67. Rushw. vol. i. p. 62.
26 LIFE OF [CHAP.
scheme of doctrine. To exalt the Eucharist above a
mere act of commemoration, to maintain the freedom
of the human will, to doubt whether or not the elect
are favoured with a full and perfect assurance of sal-
vation, all these were infallible symptoms of a relapse
into superstition and corruption 1 ! Every step from
Calvinism was held to be towards Popery. All who
were not fixed and stationary at Geneva, were de-
nounced as meditating a desertion to Rome. By
artifices like these, it was that the character of Papist
was made to adhere to Laud so closely, that he could
no more shake it off, than he could escape from his
own shadow. Let him say or do what he would, he
was still, manifestly, no other than a servant of Anti-
Christ !
It will easily be imagined that the spirit
of Laud was sorely galled by this public
insult. On the very next day he dispatched an ac-
count of the affair to Bishop Neile ; and requested
his directions as to the course which it became him
to pursue 2 . On the one hand, his silence under the
1 Much in the same spirit is the speech of Serjeant Wilde
against Laud, on his impeachment. With reference to the
alleged design of a reconciliation, he says, " A bead-roll of par-
ticulars might be recited wherein this reconcilement was to be
wrought in the points of Free Will, Merit, Justification, Universal
Grace, Purgatory ; and, in effect, all the rest." Cobbett's State
Trials, vol. iv. p. 355.
2 In his letter to Neile, Laud writes thus, " For this present
abuse, I would have taken no notice of it, but that the whole
University apply it to me ; and my own friends tell me that I
shall sink my credit, if I answer not Dr. Abbot in his own.
Nevertheless, in a business of this kind, I will not be swayed
from a patient course. Only, I desire your Lordship to vouch-
safe to me some direction what to do," &c. Rushw. vol. i. p. 62.
I.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 2?
affront might be capable of a construction highly
injurious to his reputation ; while, on the other, it
might be imprudent to take any step which would
further exasperate his old enemies, or raise up a
swarm of new ones. What was the advice given
him by Neile, is not known. It is certain, however,
that Laud remained inactive ; so that the counsels of
his friend were, probably, of a pacific nature. The
man who had assailed him was, soon afterwards,
removed from Oxford, by his promotion to the
Bishopric of Salisbury : and this circumstance may,
possibly, have furnished an additional reason for
abstinence from further quarrel ! .
Laud had now completed his 43d year ; lfllg
and, hitherto, he had not been honoured November,
with any promotion in the Church, which was suffi-
cient to place him, in the public eye, among the rising
ecclesiastics of the time. And, if he was impatient
for wealth, his first step towards high preferment
must have been unsatisfactory enough ; for, in the
month of November, 1616, the King conferred on
him the impoverished Deanery of Gloucester 2 ; a
dignity which, nearly five years after, was described
by James himself, as " a shell without a kernel 3 ;"
but, for which he, nevertheless, resigned his living of
West Tilbury *. Unfortunately, too, it was a posi-
tion which brought him once more into conflict with
the fanaticism of the day. There was not a Church
in the kingdom which exhibited in more ample mea-
sure, the peculiarities of the Calvinistic discipline.
Every thing was in a state of scandalous disorder.
1 Heylyn, p. 68. 2 Diary, p. 3.
3 Diary, p. 4. An. 1621. * Ibid. p. 4.
28 LIFE OF [CHAP.
The cathedral was falling to decay : the worship was
assimilated, as nearly as might be, to the service of a
Conventicle. So notorious, in short, were the irre-
gularities which had long prevailed, that they had
excited the attention and the displeasure of the
King : and Laud departed for Gloucester, armed, not
only with his own zeal and resolution, but with the
strongest injunctions of his Majesty to effect a search-
ing reformation. The first measure of Laud was to
assemble the Chapter, to lay before them his Ma-
jesty's instructions, and to procure- their consent to
two acts, the one, for a speedy reparation of the
fabric ; the other, for removing the communion table
to the east of the choir, and placing it against the
wall, conformably to the usage of other Cathedral
Churches. He, further, recommended to the Clergy,
and to the subordinate officers of the Church, the prac-
tice of a reverent obeisance on entering the choir ; a
custom which, at that period, was generally observed,
in the chapels of the King, and of many among the
first nobility in the land. But, notwithstanding the
acquiescence of the Clergy, the difficulties which Laud
had still to encounter were numerous and formidable.
The Bishop of Gloucester, at that time, was Dr.
Miles Smith, who owed his advancement to his repu-
tation for Hebrew learning, and to his useful labours
as one of the Translators of the Bible. It is painful
to reflect that one, who had such substantial claims
to public respect, should be found in bitter opposition
to the redress of the abuses which deformed his own
Cathedral. Such, however, was the fact : Smith,
unhappily, was an inflexible Calvinist ; and so fierce
was his resistance to the restoration of order, that,
when he heard of the directions, given by Laud, for
5
I.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. ' 29
the removal of the communion-table, he vowed that,
if the Dean should persist in these innovations, he
would never more enter the walls of the Church.
And, to this resolution, it is said, he faithfully adhered
to the day of his death.
It appears that the Bishop had a Chaplain, named
White, who was quite as untractable as himself, and
much more openly turbulent. This man, in the
plenitude of his zeal, took upon himself to address an
inflammatory letter to the Chancellor of the Diocese ;
in which he bitterly complained of the proceedings of
the Dean, and the tame submission of the Chapter ;
and expressed his astonishment that not one among
them should be found, with a spark of the spirit of
Elias in his bosom, to speak a word in God's behalf.
The Epistle in question soon got abroad ; a copy of
it was thrown into the pulpit of St. Michael's Church,
where the Sub-dean usually was the preacher. T ne
parish clerk, having found it there, placed it in the
hands of the Curate. By the Curate it was commu-
nicated to others. Copies of it were speedily multi-
plied. The paper thus became divulged all over the
city, which then swarmed with Puritans. A cry
against Popery was raised among the populace : and
such was the tumult and confusion, that it became
necessary for the Magistracy to commit the most
violent to prison ; to threaten others with the exac-
tion of security for their peaceable behaviour; and
even to take measures for strengthening the local
authorities by a reference to the Court of High
Commission. In this stage of the matter, the Dean
addressed the Bishop of Gloucester, by letter, re-
questing his aid in the control of " such tongues and
pens as knew not how to submit to any law but their
30 LIFE OF [CHAP.
own ;" and stating that, if such outrages were not
instantly suppressed, it would become his duty to
represent the whole of these transactions to the King 1 .
He had but little expectation, however, that the
Bishop would be very active in the redress of mis-
chiefs, of which his own Chaplain had been the prime
mover. He, therefore, despatched a letter to the
Bishop of Lincoln ; in which he requested that his
Lordship would render him such lawful assistance
and support, as might enable him (the Dean) to vin-
dicate the insulted discipline of the Church 2 . It was
some time before the firmness of Laud was rewarded
by the restoration of peace and order. In the course
of less than a twelvemonth, however, he had the
satisfaction to find that the fury of the populace had
gradually sunk before the terrors of the law, and that
the disorders were effectually reformed. But then,
the reformer went forth more indelibly branded than
ever with the mark of an incorrigible and malignant
Papist 3 /
No sooner had Laud placed the concerns of his
Deanery in a course of due correction, than he
found himself engaged in another project of refor-
mation, which eventually furnished one more tri-
butary stream to the torrent of hatred that at last
overwhelmed him. The insult which had been
levelled at him by Abbot, from the pulpit of St.
Mary's, was reported by the Bishop of Lincoln to
the King ; and was represented to him as one, among
other formidable symptoms, of the danger which was
threatened both to the Church and the State, by the
1 Cant. Doom. p. 77. 2 Ibid.
3 Heylyn, p. 69. &c. 75. Cant. Doom. p. 78.
I.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 31
uncontrolled predominance of the Calvinistic principles
at the University. It was further submitted to his
Majesty, that much evil had arisen from a relaxation
in the practice of demanding subscription to the three
Articles contained in the 36th Canon ; since many
lecturers, and other preachers in and near the Uni-
versity, had been encouraged, by this remissness, to
venture on the promulgation of doctrines, which were
not maintained or allowed by the Church of England.
After much attentive consideration, the King gave
his sanction to certain Articles, drawn up by the
advice of such of the Bishops and Clergy as were
then about the court ; and, on the 18th
1617.
of January, 1617, dispatched them to the
authorities at Oxford, for immediate enforcement.
The principal points insisted on in these regulations,
were, that the three articles of Canon 36 should be
subscribed by all who were admitted to any degree ;
that the students should not desert St. Mary's for
any other Church ; that students in divinity should
confine themselves to the writings of fathers, school-
men, and councils, and to works of controversy and
ecclesiastical history ; that no man, either in the
pulpit or the schools, maintain dogmatically any
thing not allowed by the Church of England ; that
the Vice-chancellor, Proctors, or two Heads of Houses,
give an account to his Majesty, of the obedience ren-
dered to these instructions ; and, lastly, that trans-
gressors should be censured according to the statutes
of the University.
The consternation spread by this document among
the Puritans is scarcely to be imagined. If a con-
spiracy for the suppression of Christianity had been
detected, the clamour could hardly have been more
32 LIFE OF [CHAP.
loud and passionate. The agitation did not wholly
subside for many years. In 1636, the hateful articles
were called up in judgment against their reputed
author, by Dr, Burton, of Friday-street ; who num-
bered them among the innovations introduced by
Laud, together with others of the Prelatical party,
for the subversion of all true religion. By some it
has been thought that there was, in these directions,
a vigour beyond the law, even as the law
was then understood ; and that their ten-
dency was to make the King, not merely the visitor,
but the dictator of the University, and to place its
whole system of study and discipline at the discretion
of the Crown. After all, however, the injunctions
in question cannot reasonably be regarded in any
other light than that of a Royal Proclamation, call-
ing upon the Universities to act steadily up to the
spirit of their own laws and regulations 1 . That any
1 It is well known that, on the 13th of June, 1613, a letter
had been addressed by the King to the University of Cambridge,
in which he signified his pleasure that it might be ordained and
decreed by them, that no man should thenceforth have granted
to him the degree of Bachelor in Divinity, or of Doctor in any
Faculty, Divinity, Law, 'or Physic, unless he should first sub-
scribe the three articles in 36th Canon : adding, that, as he
understood, the University of Oxford had long since made a
public ordinance and constitution in that behalf; "insomuch
that they granted not so much as the degree of a Bachelor of
Arts, without subscription first had." And it is further noto-
rious, that, on the 7th of July, 1613, a grace was passed by the
senate of the University of Cambridge, strictly conformable to
the tenor of his Majesty's Letter; which grace became, of course,
a part of the Academic Law. This was followed on the 3d of
December, 1616, by the Royal Injunctions above mentioned,
which are somewhat more comprehensive than the former, in
exacting subscription ; for they require that " all who take any
I.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 33
design to enslave those seats of learning was delibe-
rately formed by the King, or h:s clerical advisers, is
altogether incredible. The alarm, which dictated the
articles, was, to say the least, as sincere as that which
the same articles excited ; and the events which fol-
lowed are sufficient to shew that it was much better
founded. But, be this as it may, the sound of the
proclamation was far more awful than its immediate
effects. For, though it was duly published, it ap-
pears that it was almost left to execute itself; and
that no very active measures for its execution were
taken, at the time, by the functionaries to whom it
was addressed 1 .
degree in the schools should subscribe to the three Articles." It
does not appear, indeed, that these last injunctions were formally
accepted by a grace to that effect. But the directions of the
King were not disputed, and they were, virtually, adopted as
Academic Law, by the subsequent practice of the University.
1 Heylyn.
34 LIFE OF [CHAP.
CHAPTER II.
A.D. 16171625.
King James's Journey to Scotland Articles of Perth Laud is
made a Prebendary of Westminster Is promoted to the
Bishopric of St. David's He resigns the Presidentship of St.
John's Misadventure of Archbishop Abbot Laud takes his
Seat in the House of Peers Censure of Knight's Sermon
Royal Injunctions of 1622 Laud's Conference with the Jesuit
Fisher His intimacy with Buckingham Beginning of his
misunderstanding with Bishop Williams Supply voted by the
Convocation Laud bitterly censured by Abbot for endeavour-
ing to procure some indulgence for the inferior Clergy, in the
period of payment He saves the Charterhouse from Confiscation
Death of King James.
THE year 1617 was remarkable for the
visit of King James to Scotland. He had
promised his ancient people that he would appear
among them every third year. Thirteen years had
now elapsed since his departure for England, and the
promise remained unfulfilled ; and perhaps it might
have been well for his Majesty's honour, if the diffi-
culties, which had hitherto stood in the way of its
fulfilment, had remained insuperable. The more im-
mediate motive which prompted him to the journey,
was his ardent and not unnatural desire to assimilate,
in all respects, the religious establishment of Scotland
with that of England. In the year 1612, Episco-
pacy had been set up again in Scotland ; but the
Scottish Communion was still unprovided either with
a Liturgy, or a body of Canons, or a National Con-
II.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 35
fession of Faith. This was a state of things which
James was unable to endure. He could not rest
until he had made a vigorous effort for bringing the
Articles of belief, the discipline, and the ritual, of his
Northern dominions to the nearest practicable confor-
mity with those of the Anglican Church. And, instead
of leaving this approximation to be gradually and
quietly attempted by the prudence and watchfulness
of the Scottish Prelates, he resolved that it should
be brought to pass by the personal exercise of his
own princely wisdom and sovereign authority. To
dwell at much length on this very unsatisfactory ex-
periment, would be to intrude on the province of
general history. Some brief notice of it is, however,
indispensable, in a biography of Laud.
It was held to be a matter of the highest import-
ance to the success of this attempt, that the King
should be attended by English Divines of such ex-
perience, ability, and learning, as should fit them for
an encounter with the Presbyterians of Scotland, if
the affair should be found to involve the necessity of
a disputation. The natural endowments and ample
erudition of Laud, marked him for one among the
worthy representatives of English theology on this
occasion. The personal cost of such an expedition,
he was aware would be heavy. But this was a con-
sideration altogether valueless, when compared with
the satisfaction of honourably standing forward in the
service of his Church and his Sovereign. On his
Majesty's arrival at Edinburgh, it soon became mani-
fest that he might have well spared himself the care
bestowed by him on the selection of his chaplains !
The first greeting which his Majesty received, was
the report of a sermon delivered by one Struthers, in
D2
36 LIFE OF [CHAP.
the presence of Laud and the rest of the Royal
Chaplains. In this very uncourtly exposition, the
preacher vehemently denounced all projects for an
ecclesiastical uniformity between the two kingdoms:
and, not content with this, he burst forth into invec-
tive against the rites and ceremonies of the Church
of England, and prayed God to save Scotland from
the same. Finding that little was to be done by
reasoning, or prerogative, the King had recourse to a
somewhat less dignified, but much more effective ex-
pedient. He suspended the allowances which he had
formerly assigned to the preachers out of his Ex-
chequer. This line of argument was found, beyond
all comparison, more persuasive than any to which
his Majesty had yet resorted. It produced, in the
following year, the celebrated assembly of Perth, and
the ratification of the five Articles which bear its
name. By these Articles it was agreed, 1. That the
holy Communion should be received by the people
kneeling: 2. That it might be privately administered,
in cases of sickness: 3. That Baptism, also, might be
privately administered in cases of necessity : 4. That
the birth, passion, resurrection, and ascension of
the Saviour, and the coming down of the Holy
Ghost, should be publicly solemnized : and, 5. That
children above eight years of age should receive
Episcopal confirmation 1 .
These forced concessions were but a sorry earnest
of any future coalition between the two Churches.
Indeed, the whole royal expedition was little more
1 Heylyn, p. 73, 74. 78, 79. These five Articles may be seen
at length, in their original terms, in Dr. Russell's History of the
x^hurch in Scotland, vol. ii. p. 108 111.
II.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 37
than a prologue to the fearful drama which was acted
twenty years afterwards, under James's unfortunate
successor. On the termination of it, Laud obtained
permission to go direct to Oxford, instead of attend-
ing the King in his more circuitous route. On the
2nd of August he took possession of the Rectory
of Ibstock, a living within the patronage of the
Bishop of Rochester, of whom he received it, in ex-
change for his Kentish benefice of Norton. On his
arrival at his college, he was greeted with a cordial
welcome by his friends ; and, what was still more
gratifying, he there received intelligence of the pacific
termination of the disorders at his Deanery of Glou-
cester.
The next symptom of his treachery to
the Protestant faith, was the introduction
of an organ into the chapel of St. John's College * ;
an innovation which was considered by his enemies
as little better than a design to aid the incantations
of the sorceress of the Seven Hills. The same year
was remarkable for an attack of indisposition, which
threatened, at the time, to deprive his adversaries of
all further opportunity of annoyance. On a journey
from London to Oxford, he stopped at an inn in the
town of Wickham ; and, there, was seized with a fit,
the severity of which is indicated by his own words,
that " he suddenly fell dead 2 ." " But God revived
him," his biographer observes, " to a life more emi-
nent, and a death more glorious 3 ." His progress
towards an "eminent life," however, had hitherto
1 Lloyd's Memoirs, &c. p. 228.
2 Diary, p. 4, ad An. 1619, Ap. 2.
Heylyn, p. 83.
38 LIFE OF [CHAP.
been singularly slow. It was not till January,
1621 *, that he came into possession of the
Stall at Westminster, the reversion of which
had been promised him ten years before. He was,
at this time, in the 48th year of his age ; so that the
prime and vigour of his manhood were passed. Up
to this time, therefore, his advancement was by no
means correspondent to his high reputation. What
may have been the value of his successive parochial
incumbencies, it would be difficult to ascertain. But,
if Clarendon may be credited, his chief preferment,
the Presidentship of St. John's, was no more than
sufficient "to give him bread 2 ." At court, he was
regarded rather as a retainer of Neile (now Bishop of
Durham) than as a servant of the King 3 . His old
detractor, Archbishop Abbot, had been constantly on
the spot, sitting cross-legged (if the phrase may be
allowed) upon the fortunes of the Papist, and pro-
viding him with abundant opportunities of shewing
how well he could endure the pains of hope deferred,
which maketh the heart sick.
But the time was now come, when, in spite of all
obstruction, he was to be promoted to the Bench.
On the 29th of June, the King signified his pleasure
that Laud should occupy the See of St. David's. For
this advancement he is said to have been indebted to
the friendly recommendation of the Marquess of Buck-
ingham, and of Bishop Williams. But there is great
reason to suspect that the good offices of Williams
were considerably quickened by his own desire to
1 January, 1620, according to the old style. See Diary, p. 4.
2 Clarend. vol. i. p. 160, Oxf. 1826.
3 Heylyn, p. 85.
II.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 39
retain the Deanery of Westminster, which he then
held ; a preferment which, it was confidently sur-
mised, would devolve upon Laud *, and which he
probably would have preferred to a remote and im-
poverished Bishopric. The interest of Bishop Wil-
liams was, at that period, in high ascendency. On
the 10th of June, he had been sworn as a Privy
Counsellor, and nominated to the See of Lincoln.
On the 10th of July, he was honoured with the
custody of the Great Seal, on the deprivation of the
Lord Chancellor, the illustrious Francis Bacon. He
was, further, allowed to retain, in commendam with
the See of Lincoln, that very Deanery at Westminster,
which the general expectation had assigned to Laud,
and, with it, his other ample preferments : namely, a
Prebendal Stall, and the office of a Residentiary, in
his own Cathedral Church of Lincoln ; and the Rec-
tory of Walgrave, in Northamptonshire. So that,
now, as Heylyn observes, " he was a perfect diocese
within himself ; as being Bishop, Dean, Prebendary,
Residentiary, and Parson, and all these at once 2 !"
It must be allowed, that these circumstances tend
strongly to confirm the suspicion, that this Leviathan
of preferment, when he bestirred himself for Laud's
promotion to St. David's, was anxious, chiefly for
the removal of a competitor, and " shewed himself
more a politician than a friend V
If we are to credit the account of this promotion,
*
1 Diary, p. 4.
2 They who may be curious to know his reasons for keeping
all these preferments, may find them, pretty much at length, in
Racket's Life of Williams, p. 62, 63.
3 These are the words of Anthony Wood, vol. iii. p. 123.
ed. Bliss. See also Laud's Diary, p. 4, and Heylyn, p. 85, 86.
40 LIFE OF [CHAP.
as given by those who were unfavourable to the
memory of Laud, it was not without the bitterest
reluctance that the King consented to it. We are
told by the biographer of Bishop Williams, that Laud
had already "fastened on the Marquess of Bucking-
ham, to be his mediator ; whom he had made sure by
great observances l ; but that the Archbishop of Can-
terbury had so opposed him, and represented him
with suspicion" (in the judgment of the biographer,
improbably grounded} "of unsoundness in religion,
that the Lord Marquess was at a stand, and could not
get the Royal assent to the promotion." Bucking-
ham, however, was not to be diverted from his pur-
pose ; and he was rendered the more inflexible by
the " sour and supercilious " demeanour of the Arch-
bishop, in his opposition to the appointment. His
1 An infamous and execrable story is related by Roger Coke,
which would make it disgraceful for any one, who could believe
it true, to undertake the biography of Laud. It is affirmed by
that writer, that Laud applied to Buckingham for his interest,
towards procuring for him the Bishopric of St. David's ; that
Buckingham received the applicant, in the morning, before he
had left his bed ; that he replied to the request by observing that
he (Laud) had a bad name for his excessive pride ; and that
Laud assured the Marquess that, on the contrary, he was the
humblest man alive. " I'll try that," rejoined the Marquess ;
and thereupon ordered his suitor to crawl, several times, both
under the bed, and over the bed, in which his Lordship was
lying with one of his mistresses. With this order, it is averred,
Laud immfdiately complied. Upon which Buckingham said,
" Now I believe you ; and you shall have the Bishopric of St.
David's." If this were fact, Laud would be one of the most
abject and despicable of human beings. It would be ignomini-
ous to waste a word or a thought upon him. But the whole
story is utterly incredible. See Roger Coke's Detection, &c.
p. 123. ed. 1697.
II.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 41
Lordship, accordingly, conjured Williams to stand
forward as the advocate for Laud : an office which
he did not hesitate to undertake, on the first favour-
able opportunity. The reply of the King was as
follows: "Well, I perceive whose attorney you are.
Stenny hath set you on. You have pleaded the man
a good Protestant, and I believe it. Neither did that
stick in my breast, when I stopped his promotion.
But was there not a certain lady who forsook her
husband, and married a Lord that was her paramour ?
Who knit that knot ? Shall I make a man a Prelate,
one of the angels of my Church, who hath a flagrant
crime upon him ? " " Sir," said the Lord Keeper,
" you are a good master ; but who will dare serve
you, if you will not pardon one fault, though of a
scandalous size, to him that is heartily penitent for
it ? I pawn my faith to you that he is heartily peni-
tent ; and there is no other blot that hath sullied his
good name." " You press well," said the King,
"and I hear you with patience. Neither will I
revive a trespass which repentance hath mortified
and buried. And, because I see that I shall not be
rid of you, unless I tell you my unpublished cogita-
tions, the plain truth is, I keep Laud back from all
place of rule and authority, because I find that he
hath a restless spirit, and cannot see when matters
are well, but loves to toss and change, and to bring
things to a pitch of reformation, floating in his own
brain, which may endanger the stedfastness of that
which is at a good pass, God be praised. I speak
not at random : he hath made himself known to me to
be such a one. For, when three years past, I had
obtained of the Assembly of Perth to consent to five
42 LIFE OF [CHAP.
articles of order and decency, in a correspondence
with this Church of England, I gave them promise
that I would try their obedience no further, anent
ecclesiastical affairs. Yet this man hath pressed me
to invite them to a nearer conjunction with the
Liturgy and Canons of this nation : but I sent him
back again, with the frivolous draught which he had
drawn. And now your importunity hath compelled
me to shrive myself thus unto you ; I think you are
at your furthest, and have no more to say for your
client." " May it please you, Sir, "replied Williams,
" I will speak but this once. You have convicted
your Chaplain of an attempt very audacious, and
very unbecoming. My judgment goes quite against
his ; yet I submit this to your sacred judgment : that
Dr. Laud is of a great and tractable wit. He did
not well see how he came into this error ; but he will
presently see the way how to. come out of it. Some
diseases, which are very acute, are quickly cured."
"And is there no rvhoe, but you must carry it?"
said the King : " Then take him to you ; but, on my
soul, you will repent it!" and so went away in anger,
using other words of fierce and ominous import, too
tart to be repeated l .
Such is the recital of Bishop Hacket. We are in
no condition to call in question the occurrence of this
curious scene. It is, indeed, far from improbable,
that James may have seen enough of the proposed
Bishop's impetuous temperament, to raise some occa-
sional and serious misgivings, as to the expediency
of his elevation to the Bench. But still it is difficult
to reconcile the alleged vehemence of his opposition
1 Racket's Life of Williams, Pt. i. p. 63, 64.
II.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 43
to the measure, with one undoubted fact, which seems
to indicate that Laud was still in full and secure
possession of the Royal favour, namely, that he
was honoured by his Majesty with permission to
retain the Presidentship of St. John's College, in
commendam with his Bishopric. Of this licence,
however, it should be remembered, to his honour,
he forbore to take advantage. The Bishopric was
poor enough to render the arrangement exceedingly
desirable. But, he himself has recorded the motive
for his abstinence. His words are " By reason of
the strictness of the statute, which I will not violate,
nor my oath to it, under any colour, I am resolved,
before my consecration, to leave it." And he did
leave it, accordingly, on the 17th of June, 1621, the
very day before his consecration '.
This consecration had been delayed for several
months, by an untoward occurrence which befel Arch-
bishop Abbot. Being on a visit to Lord Zouch, at
Bramshill Park, in Hampshire, his Grace was pre-
vailed on to attend a hunting party to the field, and
even to take a cross-bow in his hand. His bad
marksmanship, though not at all discreditable to his
sacred profession, was, unhappily, fatal to one of the
keepers, ; for, in shooting at a deer, it so chanced
that "he missed the beast and shot the man." The
accident was one which might have befallen the most
1 Diary, p. 4. an. 1621. Surely this fact should be recollected
by those enemies to the name of Laud, who, at this day, scruple
not to charge him with a want of all sense of duty to God an4
man. Laud's resignation of the Presidentship of St. John's was
unknown to Heylyn, who had not access to Laud's Diary, but
only to Prynne's infamous Breviate, in which the above passage
is omitted.
44 LIFE OF [CHAP.
experienced sportsman. But it was an awkward
incident in the life of a Churchman : more especially
of one who was at the head of a party professing
more than ordinary strictness of conversation. The
scandal occasioned by the circumstance will scarcely
be credited in these days. Many of the most
learned and conscientious Divines lamented it with
bitter tears. They considered our Church as dis-
honoured by it, in the eyes of all Christendom. It
was a matter of serious doubt among them, whether
the shedding of blood, although purely accidental,
did not utterly disqualify a Bishop for the perform-
ance of any sacred office. Nay, the fact afforded
matter of officious discussion to the foreign Univer-
sities. The Doctors of the Sorbonne, after three
solemn disputations, resolved that it amounted to a
clear canonical irregularity; in other words, to a
fatal incapacity for the exercise of all ecclesiastical
authority or jurisdiction ! The Archbishop himself,
was nearly inconsolable. He retired to Guildford,
to await the issue of this disastrous misadventure.
The circumstance, of course, produced considerable
agitation throughout the court of James. It was
generally surmised that the eye of Dr. Williams was
steadily fixed upon the Primacy : and the irregu-
larity of Abbot, if judicially established, might
probably make straight the way for the aspirations
of that ambitious Churchman. An immensity of
erudition was expended upon the question, by the
Civilians and the Canonists : and, for some time, it
was uncertain whether the See of Canterbury would
not be vacated by " the hunting of that day." The
Canons, on examination, were found to be so vaguely
worded, and open to so much subtilty of distinction,
5
II.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 45
that the Commissioners, to whom the matter was
referred, protested that they were "unable to return
to his Majesty any unanimous resolution or opi-
nion." In one thing, however, they were all agreed :
not only that a restitution or dispensation might be.
granted by his Majesty, under the Great Seal ; or,
(which, in all humility, they recommended) by the
hands of certain Clergymen delegated for that pur-
pose. And, at all events, they were of opinion that
the Reverend Father should sue unto his Majesty
for such dispensation, as a measure of needful pre-
caution, lest there should have been any irregularity
incurred. Conformably to this report, the dispensa-
tion was applied for, and obtained, in the shape re-
commended by the Commissioners. And this pro-
ceeding received afterwards the sanction of that great
oracle of the common law, Sir Edward Coke. When
the question was put to him, by Sir Henry Saville,
whether a Bishop might hunt in a park, by the laws
of the realm ? he replied, that a Bishop might do so,
by this very token, that there is an old law that a
Bishop, when dying, is to leave his pack of dogs to
the King's use and disposal. And it might reason-
ably be concluded that, if the King was to have the
dogs when the Bishop died, the Bishop might make
use of them, when he was alive *.
1 Heylyn, p. 87, 88. Coll. Eccl. Hist. vol. ii. 721, 722. The
Royal Dispensation is in the same volume, in the Collection of
Records, No. cviii. Collier is, evidently, much scandalized,
and not altogether without reason, at the royal assumption of
power, on this occasion : for, whatever might be the merits of
he case, it virtually overbore both the Ecclesiastical and Civil
Judicature.
The remarks of Racket on this affair are very sensible and
46 LIFE OF [CHAP.
In justice to the kindness of James's na-
ture, it should be mentioned, that, on hear-
ing of Abbot's misfortune, he is said to have exclaimed
that, " an angel might have miscarried in that sort."
He, further, addressed a letter of consolation to the
Archbishop; in which he assured him that "he
would not add affliction to sorrow, or take one far-
thing of his goods and moveables, which were forfeited
by the law V But neither the benevolence of his
Majesty, nor the prospect of his Royal Edict, were
sufficient to pacify the scruples of Laud, and the
other Bishops elect, who were waiting for consecra-
tion. In common with others of their brethren,
they said, " God forbid that those hands should
consecrate Bishops, and ordain Priests, or administer
the Sacrament of Christ, which God, out of his secret
judgments, had permitted to be imbrued in human
blood." Some of the Prelacy went so far as solemnly
acute : " The Decretals and Extravagants un-bishop a man,
that killed a man, and meant a beast ; nay, further, if a Bishop's
horse did cast the groom that watered him into a pond, and
drowned him ! But, if we appeal from them to a higher and
better learning, their rigour will prove ridiculous. Irregulari-
ties, in the superstitious Latin Church, are above number. But
what have we to do with them 1 That we did cut them off, we
did not name it, indeed, in our reformation under Edward VI.
&c.; for they were thrown out, with scorn, as not fit to be men-
tioned, among ejected rubbish. For we perceived they were
never meant to bind, but to open, I mean the purse. He that
is suspended may disentangle himself from the censure with a
bribe. The Canonists are good bone-setters, for a bone that never
was broken. Their Rubrics are filled with punctilios, not for
consciences, but for consciuncules : haberdashers of small faults,
and palpable brokers for fees, and mercenary dispensations."
Hackett's Life of Williams, p. 65.
1 Racket, p. 65.
II.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 47
to declare, that, " if they had fallen into the like mis-
chance, they would never have despaired of God's
mercy, for the other life : but, from this world they
would have retired ; and besought his Majesty for a
pension, to support them in their sequestered sad-
ness, where they might spend their days in fasting
and prayer." Besides, there was urgent cause to
apprehend that the succession of our hierarchy would
be impeached more loudly and maliciously than ever,
by the Romanists, if the continuation of it were
committed to hands of questionable power '. These
misgivings were respected by the King. A commis-
sion was directed by him to the Bishops of London,
Worcester, Chichester, Ely, Llandaff, and Oxford.
And, from them, by virtue of this Commission, Laud
and the others received Episcopal Consecration, in
the Chapel of London House, on Sunday, November
the 18th, 1621. The Royal dispensation to the
Archbishop, which Laud himself had joined in re-
commending, was not issued till the following De-
cember 2 .
On the next day after his consecration, Laud took
his seat in the House of Peers. The time was omi-
nous and critical. The Commons were exceedingly
untractable. James was impatient for supplies.
They answered him with petitions and remonstrances,
1 It is remarkable that Racket does not ascribe the scruples of
Laud and his brethren, to any feeling of malevolence towards
Abbot. He frankly acknowledges that it became the Bishops
Elect to be " most circumspect in this matter ; and to be informed
whether they should acknowledge the power of the Archbishop
to be integral and unblemished, in a casual homicide, and submit
to have his hands laid upon their heads." Hacket, pt. i. p. 66.
2 Collier, vol. ii. p. 721. and Reg. No. cviii.
48 LIFE OF [CHAP.
touching the growth of Popery ; and prepared to
address his Majesty with a proposal that he should
take the sword into his hand against the Spaniard,
and marry his son to a lady of the Reformed Reli-
gion. On hearing this, the King sent a letter to the
Speaker, forbidding the House to meddle with affairs
of state. But the voice which uttered the interdict,
was no longer the voice of Elizabeth. The Commons
replied with their celebrated Protestation : in which
they roundly asserted that the redress of all mischiefs
and grievances in the realm are proper subjects of
debate in Parliament ; that every member of the
House is entitled to unmolested freedom of speech ;
and that if any member be " questioned for any thing
done or said in Parliament, the same is to be showed
to the King, by the advice and assent of all the Com-
mons assembled in Parliament, before the King give
credence to any private information." This was a
startling sound of doctrine, at that time; however
familiar it may be to modern ears. In the judgment
of the King, it threatened no less, than to
1622
sever one of the strongest ligaments of his
regal power ; how formidably dangerous he thought
it, is manifest from the fact, that, on the 9th of Jan-
uary 1622, the Parliament was dissolved. The ses-
sion had been a short one ; scarcely above a month.
But, short as it was, it was a period of lengthened
experience, in the estimate of Laud ; and doubtless
helped to confirm him in the conviction, which,
with him, amounted almost to a passion, that " the
mystery of iniquity had long been working, not so
much in the Popish, as in the Puritan Faction V
1 Heylyn, p. 92, 93.
II.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 49
The King, being disappointed in his hope of
supply from his faithful Commons, was fain to have
recourse to the liberality of his Clergy. Letters
were accordingly addressed by him to the Archbishop,
and all the Bishops then near London, for the pur-
pose of raising a contribution towards the recovery of
the Palatinate. On the 25th of January, the Royal
application was forwarded by Laud into the Diocese
of St. David's ; which, as yet, he had not visited in
person, and which he did not enter till the month of
July following *. On the 17th of February, he
preached at Westminster ; and on the 24th of March,
at Court. The latter Sermon he was commanded to
print 2 . On the 16th of April, we find him engaged
in a conference with his Majesty, respecting a trea-
sonable Sermon, preached at Oxford, on Palm Sun-
day, the 24th of April, by one Mr. Knight of
Broadgate Hall 3 , known since by the name of Pem-
broke College. The text of this discourse was Ro-
mans xiii. 1. Let every soul be subject unto the higher
powers, <^c. Sfc. ; from which words the preacher
contrived to extract the doctrine, that " the inferior
magistrate had a lawful power to order and correct
the King, if he did amiss." And, by way of illustra-
ting the precept of St. Paul, he introduced the
speech of the Emperor Trajan, to the captain of his
guard, " Take this sword ; which you will draw for
me, if I shall have governed well ; if ill, against me V
For this ingenious commentary, the -man was in-
stantly questioned by the Vice-chancellor, Dr. Pierce,
1 Diary, p. 4, 5. 2 i b }d. p . 4.
* Accipe hunc gladium : qnem, pro me, si bene imperavero,
distrivges ; sin minus, contra me.
L:
50 LIFE OF [CHAP.
and ordered to deliver a copy of his Sermon : and
letters were immediately despatched to Laud, the only
Oxford Bishop then in London, requesting him to
represent the matter to the King. Upon this, both
the Preacher and the .Discourse were sent for. The
discourse turned out to be little more than a copy from
Parceus, a divine of Heidelberg : who, in his com-
mentary on the Romans, had vented precisely the
same doctrine, and fortified it with the same illustra-
tion. The preacher, it appeared, was a young and
inexperienced man, who might easily be misled by
the authority of so grave a minister. On this account,
his error was, eventually, remitted by the
King, at the suit of Bishop Williams l .
1 A very entertaining account of Williams's intercession is
given by his biographer. It appears that, about the same time,
a Sermon had been preached, at St. Paul's, by Dr. White (then
very aged), which was reported to the king to be as dangerous
as that of Knight. The doctor, in great alarm, resorted to the
friendly offices of the Lord Keeper. It happened that the royal
instructions for the regulation of the Pulpits were just then
under preparation : and Williams, one day, greatly astonished
his Majesty with a grave proposal, that a proviso might be in-
serted in those instructions, that none of holy calling should be
allowed to preach before the age of thirty years complete, nor
after threescore! "On my soul," said the King, "the Devil
or some fit of madness is in the motion. For I have many
great wits, and of clear distillation, that have preached before
me at Royston and Newmarket, to my great liking, that are
under thirty. And my Prelates and Chaplains, that are far
stricken in age, are the best masters in that faculty that Europe
affords." " I agree to all this," said the Lord Keeper; "and,
since your Majesty will allow both young and old to go up into
the pulpit, it is butjustice that you show indulgence to the young
ones, if they run into errors before their wits be settled (for,
every apprentice is allowed to mar some work, before he be cun-
ning in the mystery of his trade) ; and pity to the old ones, if
some of them fall into dotage, when their brains grow dry.
II.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 51
His venerable seducer, however, was by no means
deemed worthy of the same consideration ;
for, the book of Paraeus was condemned
to be publicly burned : and the sentence was exe-
cuted accordingly, in St. Mary's Church-yard, at
Oxford, on the 6th of June; and, at St. Paul's
Cross, London, on the 23rd of the same month ;
on which occasion a Sermon was preached by Dr.
Montaigne, then Bishop of London. The same so-
lemnity was afterwards repeated at Cambridge. And,
that the honour of the University of Oxford might
be effectually redeemed from the imputation brought
upon it by the indiscretion of one man, it was re-
solved, in Convocation, that no one should be ad-
mitted to a Degree in any faculty whatever, without
taking an oath, to the effect, that he condemned from
his heart the doctrine of Parceus, and that he would
never, for the future, preach or maintain the same l .
From these proceedings it might naturally be in-
ferred that the predominance of Calvinism was then
Will your Majesty conceive displeasure, and not lay it down, if
the former set your teeth on edge, sometimes, before they are
mellow-wise ; and if the doctrine of the latter be touched with a
blemish, when they begin to be rotten, and to drop from the
tree ?" " This is not unfit for consideration," said the King ;
" but what do you drive at ?" " Sir," said Williams, " first to beg
your pardon for mine own boldness. Then, to remember you,
that Knight is a beardless boy, from whom exactness of judg-
ment could not be expected. And, that White is a decrepit spent
man, who had not a, fee-simple, but a lease of Reason, and it is
expired ! Both these, that have been foolish in their several ex-
tremes of years, I prostrate at the feet of your princely clemen-
cy." Which was granted, as soon as the paradox was unriddled
to pitch upon them. Racket's Life of Bishop Williams, part i.
p. 88.
1 Heylyn, p. 95, 96.
E 2
52 LIFE OF [CHAP.
rather on the wane at Oxford. Nevertheless, mea-
sures of still closer precaution were thought necessary
by the King and his advisers. It is perfectly well
known that, in those times, the pulpit too often re-
sembled a watch-tower, from which the Passions of
the day delivered out their warnings and their fulmi-
nations. From the pulpit, the enthusiast declared
the mysterious decrees of God; the political sectarian
denounced the tyranny of kings ; and the zealot of
the Church brought railing accusations against both
Puritan and Papist. The tendency to these abuses
was considerably aggravated by the recent determi-
nations of the Synod of Dort ; in consequence of
which, we are told, "learned and unlearned did
begin to conflict, every Sunday, about God's eternal
election, efficacy of grace in our conversion, and
perseverance in it, with much noise, and little profit
to the people 1 ." Such was the discord and confu-
sion, that it was thought scarcely possible either for
the Church or the State to continue in safety, if this
strife of tongues should be left without control.
The matter was gravely considered by his Majesty
and several of his most distinguished Prelates ; and
the result of their deliberations was, that six injunc-
tions were drawn up ; and these, by the royal com-
mand, were despatched into every diocese, for strict
and general execution. The following is the sub-
stance of these Articles :
1 . That no person, under the rank of a Bishop or
a Dean, should take occasion to introduce into his
expositions of Scripture any matters which should
not be comprehended in the Articles, or Homilies, of
the Church.
1 H icket's Williams, part i. p. 88.
II.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 53
2. That the subjects of Sermons, preached by the
parochial clergy, should be taken from the Cate-
chism, the Creed, the Commandments, or the Lord's
Prayer.
3. That no one, of what title soever, under the
degree of a Bishop, or a Dean at the least, should
presume to preach, in any popular auditory, the deep
points of Predestination, Election, Reprobation, or of
the universality, efficacity, resistibilily, or irresistibi-
lity of God's Grace.
4. That no preacher shall, in any auditory, pre-
sume to limit, by way of positive doctrine, the
authority or duty of Sovereign Princes, or to meddle
with matters of state, otherwise than as they are in-
structed in the Articles and Homilies, more especially
the Homily of Obedience ; but rather confine them-
selves to the two heads of Faith and Good Life.
5. That no preacher shall fall into indecent railing
against Papists or Puritans ; but should, wisely and
gravely, vindicate the Church from the aspersions of
either.
6. That greater caution be used in the licensing of
preachers ; and that Lecturers (a new body, severed
from the ancient Clergy of England, as being neither
Parson, Vicar, nor Curate,) be licensed under the
hand and seal of the Bishop of the Diocese, with a
fiat from the Archbishop of Canterbury, and a con-
firmation under the Great Seal of England.
The above directions were to be observed by the
clergy, on pain of suspension, by the Bishop of the
Diocese, from office and benefice, for a year and a
day, until his Majesty, by the advice of the next
convocation, should prescribe some further punish-
ment.
54 LIFE OF [CHAP.
These six injunctions were promulgated in August
1622. And if the six sanguinary Articles of Henry
VIII. had been revived, the alarm and the outcry
against them could scarcely have been more passion-
ate l . By some it was given out, that they excluded
from the scheme of public religious instruction, the
most essential doctrines of the Christian Faith ; by
others, that they tended to scant the distribution of
the bread of life, by a formidable reduction of the
number of Sermons; while many deplored that a
yawning breach was opened, through which igno-
rance and superstition would speedily rush back
upon the people. It would be useless to interrupt
our narrative by a discussion of the necessity, the
expediency, or the legality of these directions, or to
examine the reasonableness of the agitation which
they excited. They have no very particular con-
nexion with the life of Laud. It cannot, indeed, be
questioned that he was among the Bishops by whose
advice they were put forth. But, there is no evi-
dence to prove that his share in their preparation
was at all more prominent than that of several
others : although, it certainly helped to swell the tor-
rent of calumny against him, and to fix the multitude
in a persuasion, that he was deep in a conspiracy
for the re-establishment of Popery 2 .
It is remarkable enough, that previous to the ap-
1 " These orders," says Racket, " were well brought forth.
But success was the step-mother ! Destinata salubriter, omni
ratione potentior fortuna discussit. (Curtius, lib. iii.) Crossness
and sturdiness took best with the vulgar ; and he was counted
but a cockney that stood in awe of his rulers." Pt. i. p. 90.
2 Heylyn, p. 97. 100, where the injunctions may be seen at
length.
II.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 55
pearance of these very Articles, the Popish conspi-
rator had been engaged in a triumphant conflict with
the superstition which he was accused of labouring
to restore ; for the early part of this same year, 1622,
was memorable for Laud's immortal conference with
the Jesuit Fisher. The occasion of this theological
encounter may possibly appear somewhat curious,
when viewed by the light of modern notions and
habits. The history of the affair is as follows :
While the sectarian spirit was busy among the mid-
dling and lower classes in this country, the genius of
the Church of Rome was on the wing, among the
more exalted regions of society. There was much,
at that time, to encourage the restless emissaries of
the Papacy. The King was notoriously bent upon
the Spanish match. His son devoted himself to the
prosecution of it with a passionate and romantic
ardour. And the project was urged onward by the
Marquess of Buckingham, who was afterwards the
Prince's confidential guide and companion in the
ridiculous adventure of the journey to Madrid.
Under these circumstances, to win over the all but
omnipotent statesman to the See of Rome, was,
manifestly, an object well worthy of the choicest arts
and resources of the school of Loyola. For, if that
object were once accomplished, there could be little
doubt that the Romish Creed would be favoured
with the amplest toleration, when the Infanta of
Spain should become the consort of the heir appa-
rent. The first attempt, it was resolved, should be
made upon the mother of the favourite ; and the en-
terprise was entrusted principally to John Perse, a
Jesuit, who usually bore the name of Fisher. His
success was answerable to the most sanguine wishes
12
56 LIFE OF [CHAP.
of his party. The illustrious lady was driven from
her stedfastness * ; and the Jesuit was actively fol-
lowing up his advantage, when the matter came to
the knowledge of the King. His Majesty was sorely
troubled with the report of these designs and prac-
tices. For some time he took the Countess under
his own especial tuition. But even the Royal The-
ologian was not a match for the wily Jesuit. And,
finding that he sped but poorly in his task, James
listened to the counsels of the Lord Keeper ; who,
on hearing of the lady's defection, had addressed a
letter to her son upon the subject, wherein the
wisdom of the children of light is curiously mixed
up with the wisdom of the children of this world.
"Your mother," he says, "is departed out of the
bosom of the Church of England I would we
could bring her home so soon, that it might not be
seen she had ever wandered ! .... It is time to let
your Lordship know that the mouth of clamour is
opened, that now the recusants have a potent ad-
vocate to plead for their immunity, which will in-
1 The Countess of Buckingham doated immoderately on her
son. " But yet," says Racket, " by turning her coat so wantonly,
when the eyes of all the kingdom were on his family, she could
not have wrought him a worse turn, if she had studied a mis-
chief against him. Many marvelled what rumbled in her
conscience at that time. For, from a maid to an old madam, she
had not every one's good word for practice of piety ; and she
suffered censure, to the last, that she left the company of Sir
Thomas Compton, her husband. But why should a libertine,
that cares not to live after the way of the Gospel, pretend to
seek more satisfaction than ordinary, about the true doctrine of
the Gospel?" (Pt. i. p. 171.) Surely Racket could not be
ignorant that a Jesuit was, of all spiritual advisers, the fittest to
still the rumblings of her ladyship's conscience !
II.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 5?
crease their number. When this is banded in the
high and popular court, by the tribunitian orators,
what a dust it will raise ! . . . . My Lord, your mother
must be invited, or provoked, to hear debates be-
tween learned men .... Let her Ladyship have her
champions with her. Let the conferences be as
solemn as can be devised, the King himself being
ever present at the disputes, and the conflux of great
persons as thick as the place will permit. Let your
Lordship's industry and earnestness be conspicuous,
&c. &c. &c. If her Ladyship recover of her unsta-
bleness, you have won a soul very precious to you.
But, if the light within her be darkness, the notice of
your Lordship's pious endeavours will fill the king-
dom with a good report, and will smell to every
nostril like a sweet savour. My Lord, courage 1 ," &c.
This counsel met with the approbation of the
King. It was, accordingly, agreed that an argu-
mentative conference should be held between the
Jesuit and some competent Divine of the Church of
England. The person first selected for the conflict
was Dr. White, then Rector of St. Peter's, Cornhill,
who had long been conspicuous for his zeal against
the Romanists, and was eminently accomplished in
all the arts of controversy. It was soon found that a
single disputation was wholly insufficient. A second
followed, which was honoured with the presence of
the King himself. But, even then, the question of
the visible and infallible Church remained to be dis-
cussed : this being, of all others, the point in which
the Protestant doctrines appeared to the Countess
1 Racket, pt. i. p. 172.
58 LIFE OF [CHAP.
to be hopelessly untenable. A third conference was,
therefore, held on the 24th of May. But, in this
debate, Dr. White was no longer the disputant.
Laud (who had been consulted, from the first, and
who held some private conversation with the Coun-
tess, both before and after the conferences) was the
antagonist appointed for the last struggle with the
Jesuit. And nobly did he justify the trust reposed
in his ability and learning. On each of these occa-
sions there were present the Lady herself (the prize
for which the polemics were contending) ; her son,
the Marquess of Buckingham ; the Lord Keeper,
Williams, who occasionally joined in the argument ;
and several other honourable persons of the court *.
So far as the Countess of Buckingham was con-
cerned, the labour of Bishop Laud and his colleague
was bestowed in vain. It is true, that their argu-
ments had a transitory success. But the convert
eventually relapsed into error; in consequence of
which, she declined in reputation at the court, and,
at length, was banished from it, for her alleged ob-
stinacy. The name of her son, on the contrary, de-
rived additional lustre from the adventure. He was
universally extolled, for a time, as an antagonist
to the revolt of his ^parent, whom, nevertheless, he
was known to honour with the most perfect filial
duty. How little he deserved the praises heaped upon
him for unshaken constancy of faith, has since been
clearly ascertained. It is now known that the arts
of the Jesuit had been nearly as fatal to him as to
his parent ; and that it required all the learning and
1 Heylyn, p. 100, 101.
II.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 59
perseverance of Laud, to efface his Lordship's impres-
sions in favour of the Romish Creed 1 .
It has, however, been generally acknowledged by
all Protestants, who, since that time, have most mi-
nutely examined the Popish controversy, that, in this
collision, the Jesuit was demolished. But, although
the achievement procured for Laud the venomous
hatred of the Papists, it was unable to win for him
one particle of good will from the most fanatical
enemies of Rome. The cause of this is notorious.
It was the avowed opinion of Laud (an opinion re-
corded in his publication of this very conference 2 ),
that Popery and Puritanism were as the upper and
nether mill-stones ; and that, between the two, the
1 Racket says that Buckingham " was blazed abroad for the
Red Cross Knight, that was Una's champion against Archimago"
p. 173. We learn from Laud that his Lordship stood in need
of the services of a Red Cross Knight, nearly as much as Una
herself! On his first day of hearing, at his trial, he said " The
Right Honorable the Lord Duke of Buckingham was almost lost
from the Church of England, by the continual cunning labours
of Fisher, the Jesuit, and the persuasions of the lady, his mother.
After some miscarriages, King James, of ever blessed memory,
commanded me to that service. I had God's blessing upon me
so far, as to settle my Lord Duke, to his death. And I brought
the lady, his mother, to the Church again ; but she was not so
happy as to continue with us." Troubles, &c. p. 226.
2 " This conference," says Wood, " was looked upon as a piece
so solidly compacted, that one of our historians (L'Estrange)
gives it the commendation of being the exactest master-piece of
divinity extant at that time." And Sir Edward Bering, a bitter
adversary of Laud's, confessed that he had muzzled the Jesuit,
and struck the Papists under the fifth rib ; that his monument
should be St. Paul's (which he had laboured to repair), and that
his book against Fisher should be his Epitaph, Wood, vol. iii.
p. 119. Ed. Bliss. Hacket, also, allows the work to be a
masterpiece, pt. i. p. 172.
60 LIFE OF [CHAP.
Church of England was in danger of being crushed
to atoms. And, hence, if he had preached a crusade
against the Vatican, the Calvinists would have re-
garded it merely as a stratagem, to betray the people
of God into the hands of her who was drunk with
the blood of the Saints.
From the 6th of July to the 15th of August Laud
was occupied in the visitation of his Diocese of St.
David's. Finding the Episcopal House at Aber-
guilly unprovided with a Chapel, he ordered a waste
room to be fitted up for that purpose, at his own cost :
and consecrated it, according to a form drawn up by
Bishop Andrews, not merely as a private oratory,
but as a place of Christian worship, in the fullest
sense of the term. For this, he was afterwards ac-
cused of outdoing Popery itself. The Papists, it was
said, consecrated Churches only ; but he must conse-
crate Chapels ! He was, likewise, maliciously and
falsely charged with lavish expenditure in the deco-
ration of the place *. And thus another element was
added to the popular estimate of his religious prin-
ciples.
The performance of Laud, in his conference with
Fisher, brought him into close and confidential inter-
course with Buckingham. On the 15th of June he
was appointed Chaplain to the Marquess, who, on
the very next day, received the Sacrament at Green-
wich ; and the notice of this circumstance, in the
Diary of Laud, would seem to intimate that this act
of Protestant devotion was the result of the Chap-
1 Heylyn, p. 94, 95. Troubles,. &c. Trial, &c. p. 342 ; from
which it appears that Heylyn was partially misled in his account
of the matter, by the misrepresentations of Prynne.
II.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 61
Iain's exhortations and instructions 1 . After his re-
turn from Wales, we find him again in occasional
conference with the King and his ministers ; and,
once in the presence of Buckingham, his lady, and
his mother. This intimacy contributed, like most of
the prominent occurrences of his life, to fix upon him
the suspicion of a treacherous design against the reli-
gion and the liberties of his country. Their inter-
course was marked, with sinister and ungracious
vigilance, by Archbishop Abbot, who represented
Laud as " the only inward counsellor with Bucking-
ham ; sitting with him sometimes privately, whole
hours, and feeding his humour with spite and
malice." The expedition of Prince Charles and
Buckingham into Spain had a still more injurious
effect upon the reputation of the Bishop. It is well
known that he has been charged with being acces-
sary to the whole design ; and the design itself was
firmly believed by many to involve no less than the
1 The entries in the Diary are as follow : " 1622, June 9,
being Whit Sunday, my Lord Marquis Buckingham was pleased
to enter into a near respect to me. The particulars are not for
paper. June 15th, I became C. to my Lord of Buckingham.
And, June 16th, being Trinity Sunday, he received the Sacra-
ment at Greenwich." It must be remarked that the initial,
C, in the above entry, has generally been understood to mean
Confessor, and is so interpreted by Heylyn. With regard to the
truth of this interpretation, Laud himself speaks somewhat am-
biguously. His words are, " It is said that I became C, that is,
Confessor, to the Lord Duke. If my Lord Duke would honour
me so far as to make me his Confessor, as I know no sin in it, so
it is abundantly proof that the passages before mentioned were
not fit for paper." Troubles, &c. p. 382. From which we may
gather that he considered himself as a confidential Chaplain and
Spiritual Adviser to the Duke ; but not as a Confessor in the
full Romish acceptation of the word.
62 LIFE OF [CHAP.
perversion of the Prince from the Protestant faith,
and the eventual re-establishment of Popery in the
realm. This suspicion is, at present, allowed to
have been altogether visionary. But it cannot be
denied that the King's > passion for the renown of
authorship had exposed him to perplexities, from
which he now found it difficult to extricate himself,
without some damage to his Protestant reputation.
In one of his printed works, he had spoken of the
Pope as Anti- Christ ; an interpretation of prophecy
which was found exceedingly embarrassing, when
the Papal Dispensation was wanted for the Spanish
match. He, accordingly, instructed the Prince
to signify, to all whom it might concern, that his
Majesty had written nothing on this point, by way
of conclusion, but only by way of argument 1 . So
that the Pope might, at least, have the satisfaction
of knowing, that his own identity with Antichrist was
a matter still fairly open to dispute ! This was weak
and indiscreet enough. But the other proceedings
of James, considering the temper of the times, were
imminently hazardous. At a period, when the eye
of Puritanism was scowling upon every shred and
remnant of Popery, which it could detect in the
National Church, he took upon himself to relax the
statutes against Popery itself. He discharged the im-
prisoned Jesuits and Priests. He inhibited, or super-
seded all processes against Recusants. And thus he
1 According to Laud's account, James's explanation was as fol-
lows : ",I maintain not that the Pope is Anti-Christ as a point of
faith, but only as a probable opinion ; and for which, I have more
grounds, than the Pope hath for his challenge of temporal power
over Princes. Let him recal this opinion, and I will recal that. '
Troubles, &c. p. 375.
II.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 63
laid himself open to the imputation of throwing down
the most essential safeguards, which had been raised
for the protection of the Reformed Religion ; and
of doing all this, purely for the purpose of propitiat-
ing the Vatican.
The tempest of discontent, which the king had
raised by these proceedings, was extremely perilous
to all who were nearest to him. Of course, Laud did
not escape without serious injury. His Majesty, as
every one knows, had very strong didactic propensi-
ties ; and these, naturally enough, were more than
usually active, when his son was about to embark on a
wild and perilous expedition. The paternal Lectures
then administered by his Majesty, were supposed to
contain much objectionable matter. And it was
considered, as a thing beyond all dispute, that Laud
must have been present at the whole course, and
must have assisted the Royal Mentor with the weight
of his prelatical authority. And not only so ; but
it was concluded that he must have been a prominent
party, in the whole of the Spanish plot; and that
it was his Jesuitical divinity which suggested the
notion of a merely argumentative imputation of the
character of Antichrist to the Pope 1 . But there was
still more cogent evidence than this to be produced,
when Laud was dragged forth to the public as a
Traitor. There was found among his papers, a
prayer, in which he commended the Prince and his
noble companion to the Divine protection ; and ac-
tually begged that " the way might be cleared before
1 If any one would see a curious specimen of muddy Logic,
let him peruse the argument of Prynne ; by which he demon-
strates that Laud must have been a prime mover in these theolo-
gical and political intrigues. Canterbury's Doom. p. 276.
64 LIFE OF [CHAP.
them, in their great adventure V With this docu-
ment before him, no good Protestant could entertain
a doubt as to the purpose for which the great adven-
ture was undertaken ! Argument or ridicule would
be wasted on reasoning like this. But, in addition
to the above evidence, it came out, at last, that Laud
had maintained a correspondence with Buckingham,
during his absence from England. What was the
subject of this correspondence, is by no means abso-
lutely certain : for not a fragment of it has been pre-
served. That it had any reference to the Spanish
alliance, or its apprehended results, is wholly matter
of conjecture. The probability, however, is that it
related chiefly, if not entirely, to the personal inter-
ests of Buckingham himself. The favourite was too
well acquainted with Courts, to be ignorant that his
power might be seriously endangered by his absence.
He was, therefore, naturally anxious to have some
friends on the spot, who might faithfully report to him
whatever symptoms might be discernible, of his de-
clining influence at Court. And it is not unlikely
that Laud was one among the persons to whom he
entrusted the execution of this good office. He had,
of late, bestowed the most unreserved confidence on
the Bishop. And Laud, on his part, was deeply
interested for the honour of a nobleman, who had
won him by kindness, and perhaps, had overpowered
his better judgment by the force of brilliant, but
unsubstantial qualities. The fact of his correspon-
dence with Buckingham, Laud never attempted to
deny. On the contrary, he avowed at his trial, that
he considered it as a great honour. " I have com-
1 Prynne, Breviat. p. 14. Heylyn, p. 107-
II.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 65
mitted," he adds, " some error in these Letters, or
none. If none, why are they charged ? If any, why
are they not produced ; that I may see what is, and
answer it l ?" The anticipations of Buckingham did
not deceive him. If we may judge by the prompt-
ness of the Bishop's first communication, (dated on
the fourth day after Buckingham's departure 2 ,) no'
sooner had the favourite quitted the shores of Eng-
land, than the royal ear was assailed by whispers
and murmurings to his disadvantage. It has been
affirmed, that the Lord Keeper Williams was promi
nently active against the favourite 3 . And it is cer-
tain, that soon after the return of Buckingham from
Spain, there were manifest symptoms of alienation
between him and the Lord Keeper. It is equally
certain, that, about the same time, commenced the
rupture between Williams and Laud, which after-
wards became irreparable.
It would be a perplexing and repulsive task, to
attempt unravelling the merits of the quarrel, by
which the lives of these two men were subsequently
embittered and disgraced *. Like most other quar-
1 Troubles, &c. p. 382.
2 The Prince and Buckingham embarked secretly on the 17th
of February, 1623. On the 21st of February, Laud wrote to
Buckingham ; and he received letters from him, out of Spain, on
the 31st of March, the 9th of April, the 13th of June, and the
17th of August. On the 5th of October, the Prince and Bucking-
ham landed at Portsmouth. These particulars are noted in the
Diary, p. 6,7-
3 Heylyn, p. 105. 113.
4 As to this matter, I am under the necessity of referring the
reader, who may be curious in such inquiries, to the voluminous
pages of Heylyn, and of Racket. The investigation would, of
itself, demand almost a volume.
66 LIFE OF [CHAP.
rels, its beginnings were, probably, too obscure to
enable even a living and impartial witness to fix
upon the point at which either party placed himself
decidedly in the wrong. It is manifest
from his Diary, that the matter weighed
most heavily on the spirits of Laud. The first men-
tion of it occurs on the 3rd of October, two days
previously to the landing of the Prince and Bucking-
ham : and this is followed by a frequent recurrence
to the same subject. It appears that on several
occasions this unhappy dissension haunted him in
his dreams : and, on another, extorted from him
complaints of " the envy and undeserved hate borne
him by the Lord Keeper ;" and drove him, for con-
solation, to prayer and meditation on the Scriptures.
From a notice, dated somewhat later, we learn that
Williams, at length, made his submission to the
Duke ; and avowed, that the cause of his alienation
from his Grace, was the countenance and favour he
had bestowed on Laud l . It must be allowed that
1 There are no less than eight passages in Laud's Diary, be-
tween the 3rd of October, 1622, and the 18th of February, 1623,
inclusive, respecting his own or Buckingham's misunderstand-
ing with Williams. Throughout, Laud speaks of himself as
" more sinned against than sinning." But his entries throw
scarcely any light on the origin or the particulars of the quarrel.
See Diary, p. 7, 8. 10.
Nothing can well be more iniquitous or absurd than the infer-
ences which have been sometimes drawn from the dreams
recorded in the Diary of Laud. " I am certain," says Hacket,
" it was for no goodwill that the Bishop of Lincoln was notched
so often upon the tally of his ill-boding dreams. God did pro-
mise that old men should dream dreams of holy revelation. Acts ii.
17. But these came from the old man which is corrupt ; Eph. iv.
22; who had art and part in all our Bishop's persecutions."
II.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 67
the whole affair has too much the aspect of a jealous
competition between two courtiers, for the favour
of a great man : and, even if we had all the particu-
lars before us, it might be no easy matter to make
an equitable adjustment of the blame between them.
At the same time, justice demands that we should
be very cautious in admitting that Laud was guilty
of base ingratitude towards Williams. This charge
has been frequently repeated : but the weight of it
will be greatly reduced, if it be true, that Williams's
anxiety for Laud's promotion to a Bishopric was
mainly prompted by his own desire to retain the
Deanery of Westminster. And we have already seen,
that there is too much reason for ascribing his good
otfices principally to this motive.
Independently, however, of all premeditated ag-
gression, on either part, it is manifestly impossible
that Laud and Williams could have moved long in
the same sphere, without constant danger of colli-
sion. Their characters, their views, their habits,
were directly opposed to each other. Both, indeed,
were fiery and impetuous. But, in all other respects,
the difference between them was such as might be
expected to grow almost into antipathy. Mutual
approximation was altogether hopeless. It has been
remarked, that Williams and Laud never seemed to
know each other l . The consequence was, that each
of them was perpetually brooding over the supposed
evil qualities of his antagonist. And in this temper,
Racket, p. ii. p. 65.) At the present day, we have too much phi-
losophy among us, if not too much charity, to attach the slightest
importance to any such interpretation of the unruly caprices of
the mind in sleep.
1 Echard's History of England, vol. i. p. 420.
F2
08 LIFE OF [CHAP.
they carried on a contest discreditable to themselves,
and infinitely mischievous to the public interest.
The opposition of their notions respecting the reli-
gious dissensions of the time was, of itself, sufficient
to cause their alienation. Laud was convinced, from
the bottom of his soul, that there was no safety for the
Empire or the Church, but in the suppression of the
Puritanical faction ; and, hence, he was stigmatized
as an inveterate Papist. Williams, on the contrary,
professed to believe that the Nonconformists might
be rendered comparatively innocuous, by gentle and
persuasive treatment l ; and, for this reason, he has
been frequently condemned as the avowed patron of
a dangerous and seditious party. Both imputations
were, doubtless, much exaggerated ; but their effect
was to place each of these two individuals upon a
different eminence, in the public eye ; and thus to
exasperate their mutual aversion.
Of that very remarkable personage, Bishop Williams,
we may here, once for all, observe, that he seems to
have been one of the most anomalous characters in
history. He was, undoubtedly, a man of extraordi-
nary powers, and vast attainments. It is, moreover,
unquestionable, that he was of a capacious and munifi-
cent heart, utterly unable to confine itself to a low and
narrow sphere of action. His preferments were enor-
mous. But it does not appear that he was prompted
to seek them by a sordid love of gain : for his reve-
nues were consumed by him in splendid hospitality,
in a generous encouragement of learning, and in the
charitable relief of indigence. That his sense of
religion was deep, may fairly be concluded from his
1 Racket, pt. ii. p. 3943.
II.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. . 69
expressions to a divine who came to him for institu-
tion : "I have passed," he said, "through many
places of honour and trust, both in Church and
State ; more than any of my order in England, these
seventy years before. But, were I but assured that
by my preaching I had converted one soul unto God,
I should take therein more joy and comfort, than in
all the honours and offices which have been bestowed
upon me." Of his faithfulness and loyalty, we may
judge by the fact, recorded by his biographer,
that, after the murder of the King, he passed his
time in sorrowful and devout retirement ; and that,
thenceforth, it was his constant practice to rise at
midnight, and to pray for a quarter of an hour on his
bare knees, without any covering but his night-dress
and waistcoat. Nevertheless, connected with his
great and admirable qualities, there was, evidently,
a worldly spirit of intrigue 1 ; a sleepless and insatiable
ambition ; a lust of advancement and power, which
is always of most pernicious example in the person
of a churchman. And to these (if Clarendon may
be credited) we must add, a genius for lying, so
active and inexhaustible, that a mere prosaic adhe-
rence to truth must have been positively wearisome
to him 2 . Now, this peculiarity may, at least, help
1 The intriguing and worldly spirit of Williams is manifest,
from the whole tenor of his history. The reader, who may wish
for some particular exemplifications of it, may find them in
Racket, pt. i. p. 25. 29, 30. 41. 44. 62. 190. 197201. Ft. ii.
p. 25. 160. &c. &c.
2 One astounding exhibition of the inventive faculty, which
Clarendon ascribes toWilliams, must be familiar to the readers of
the History of the Rebellion. It is much too long for insertion
here. But it may be found in vol. ii. p. 105 109. ed. 1826. In
spite of the grave and circumstantial manner of the narrative, one
70 LIFE OF [CHAP.
to guide us to a tolerably safe opinion, relative to the
merits of his protracted strife with Laud. Whatever
were the failings of the latter, duplicity, most cer-
tainly, was not of the number. It appears that even
his persecutors were compelled to bear witness to his
uncompromising plainness, and inflexible consis-
tency. Williams, on the contrary, if not shamefully
misrepresented, must have been habitually, and
almost constitutionally, a dealer in fiction. And who
would ever look for a scrupulous adversary in one,
by whom facts were not regarded as sacred things ?
And how formidable must have been the enmity of
a man, who was under the dominion of an aspiring
temper, but free from the restraints of strict and
lofty principle ! .
On the 19th of February, 1624, the Par-
liament assembled : the Convocation on the
20th. The Parliament met his Majesty with Peti-
tions, first, for the dissolution of the Spanish treaty ;
secondly, for a war with Spain; and thirdly, for a
general fast. The king complied ; and was rewarded
by his faithful Commons, with " the greatest aid that
was ever granted in Parliament, to be levied in so
short a time ;" the 16th of March, 1625, .being the
period limited for the payment. On the 23rd of
March, the rupture with Popish Spain was celebrated
with bells and bonfires. On the 24th of November,
can hardly suppress a rising of incredulity against it. And yet,
we find that Warburton, who is disposed to be rather the apolo-
gist of Williams, is unable to withhold his credence from it.
His words are, " I suppose the noble historian speaks this of his
own knowledge, as being one of the council at the meeting.
The confidence with which he tells the whole story shows it."
Warburton's Note to Clar. vol. vii. p. 546. ed. 1826.
II.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 71
the contract of alliance with Popish France was
honoured with similar solemnities ! In the mean time,
the Clergy were more confiding towards their Sove-
reign, than the Commons of England. The Convo-
cation granted him four entire subsidies, being at the
rate of four shillings in every pound ; and this with-
out condition or limitation. Unfortunately, however,
their liberality threatened to fall with a ruinous
weight, upon numbers of the poorer clergy ; who on
this occasion, found a sympathising and active friend
in Laud. He had himself been at one time the
Vicar of Stamford, in Northamptonshire, and his ex-
perience taught him how disastrous the levy must be
to his more indigent brethren, if it should be rigo-
rously enforced. He accordingly submitted their
case to the consideration of Buckingham ; and suc-
ceeded in obtaining from him a promise of interces-
sion with the Crown, for some indulgence in the
periods of payment. He then communicated the
favourable result of his application to the Lord
Keeper Williams, and to the Bishop of Durham.
Williams encouraged him with warm expressions of
approbation : and said that it was the best office
which had been done for the Church, for the last
seven years : and they both joined in recommending
that he should immediately acquaint the Archbishop
of Canterbury with the step he had taken. To his
severe mortification, he was repelled by Abbot, with
asperity, and even with insolence. The account of
the interview will be best given in his own words :
" His Grace was very angry, asked what I had to do
to make any suit for the Church ; told me, never any
Bishop had attempted the like, at any time, nor would
any but myself have done it ; that I had given the
72 LIFE OF [CHAP.
Church such a wound, in speaking to any Lord of the
Laity about it, as I could never make whole again ;
that if my Lord Duke did fully understand what I
had done, he would never endure me to come near
him again. I answered : I thought I had done a
very good office for the Church ; and so did my bet-
ters think. If his Grace thought otherwise, I was
sorry that I had offended him. And I hoped, (being
done out of a good mind, for the support of many
poor Vicars, abroad in the country, who must needs
sink under three subsidies in a year,) my error, if it
were one, was pardonable. So we parted. I went
to my Lord Duke, and acquainted him with it ; lest
I might have ill offices done me for it, to the King
and the Prince. So may God bless me, his servant,
labouring under the pressure of them, who always
wished ill to me M" It is difficult to perceive what
there was in the proposal of Laud, which could ex-
cite so much vehement opposition from the Head of
the Clerical Body. It was, indeed, most unfortunate
for the inferior Clergy, that he, who should have been
their protector, had never known the hard condition
of a poor incumbent. He had been advanced to the
Primacy without passing through the duties or the
trials of any one parochial cure : and was, therefore,
but ill prepared to enter cordially into the sufferings
of the humbler labourers. Besides, there seems too
much reason to suspect that his dislike of the mea-
sure was considerably strengthened by his antipathy
to the man.
' The settled aversion of Abbot for the Bishop, was
probably made keener by the confidence with which
he continued to be distinguished by Buckingham.
1 Diary, March 29, 1624. p. 11, 12.
'll.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 73
Such was the intimacy between them, that, during a
serious illness which fell upon the Duke this year,
in the month of May, Laud was in frequent attend-
ance upon him as his Chaplain. On several occa-
sions he watched by the bed-side of his patron, and
contributed, by his friendly offices, to mitigate the im-
patience of the sufferer, under the pains of his dis-
order l . But, whatever might be Laud's attachment
to Buckingham, it soon became manifest that it had
not broken down his independent spirit : for it was
about this time, that the funds of the Charter House
were rescued from spoliation by his uncourtly firm-
ness and integrity. The design of appropriating the
revenues of this House to the support of the army,
was opened to Laud by the Duke, on the 25th of
September 2 . But in vain was it urged by the minister,
that this application would both ease the subject, and
aid the urgent necessities of the King. The Bishop
resolutely opposed the scheme, at the hazard of the
favourite's resentment, and the monarch's serious dis-
pleasure. And by his faithful and intrepid bearing,
he preserved for ever, to the cause of charity and
literature, a noble establishment, the confiscation of
which would have afforded no permanent or sub-
stantial relief to the exigencies of the Crown 3 .
Towards the latter end of this year, 1624, the
learning and talents of Laud were again put in re-
quisition. On the 23rd of December, he delivered to
the Duke of Buckingham a little tract, on the subject
of doctrinal Puritanism ; a treatise which he had com-
piled at the request of the Duke, who was anxious
1 Diary, p. 12. Heylyn, p. 123. 2 Diary, p. 12.
3 Heylyn, p. 123.
74 LIFE OF [CHAP.
to be in possession of some distinct notions relative to
the Theological Disputes which were then distract-
ing, not England alone, hut nearly the whole of
Protestant Europe 1 . To what extent his illustrious
pupil profited by his instructions, it would be idle to
conjecture ; as a premature death cut off all his pro-
jects, whether of theological study, or political enter-
prize.
In the midst of all this ecclesiastical strife
and civil agitation, King James departed
this life. He expired at Theobalds, on the 27th of
March, 1625 : leaving the high prerogatives of the
Crown in mortal jeopardy, and " the Church be-
leaguered by two great enemies ; assaulted openly
by the Papist, on the one side, and undermined by
the Puritan, on the other 2 ." On the same day,
Prince Charles was solemnly proclaimed King. It
is scarcely possible to think, without an aching
heart, upon the secret prayer of Laud, on his Ma-
jesty's accession, " God grant to him a prosperous
and happy reign V
Diary, p. 14. Heylyn, p. 124., 2 Ib . p< i 28> 129 .
* Diary, p. 15.
III.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 75
CHAPTER III.
A.D. 16251627.
Charles's first Parliament Censure of Montague's Book by the
Commons Williams declines, and Laud rises, in the royal fa-
vour Laud assists at the Coronation He is charged with pla-
cing a crucifix on the Altar, and of altering the Coronation Oath
These charges examined He preaches at the opening of the
second parliament Committee of Religion Further proceed-
ings against Montague Proclamation of 1626 against novelties
in doctrine and discipline Second Parliament dissolved Dr.
Goodman, Bishop of Gloucester, suspected of Popery Laud ex-
posed to blame for aiding Buckingham in his defence against
his impeachment Also, for drawing up Speeches for the King
Laud is translated to the See of Bath and Wells Draws up
the royal instructions, for a supply His conduct and princi-
ples considered He is made Dean of the Chapel Royal Ser-
mons of Sibthorpe and Manwaring Sequestration of Archbishop
Abbot.
THE first Parliament of Charles assembled
on the 18th of June, 1625 : and Laud was
commanded to preach, on this occasion, before bis
Majesty and the House of Peers. It is manifest,
from his Sermon, that he looked with a far-sighted,
and almost with a prophetic eye, upon the designs of
that revolutionary faction, whose rancorous enmity
he earned by his devoted attachment to the Church
and to the throne. " They," he said, " whoever
they be, that would overturn the Sedes Eccles'ite,
the seats of ecclesiastical judgment, will not spare,
if ever they get the power, to have a pluck at the
76 LIFE OF [CHAP.
throne of David. And there is not a man that is for
parity, all fellows in this Church, but he is against
Monarchy in the State. And, certainly, he is half-
headed to his own principles, or he can be but half-
hearted to the throne of David V But, notwithstand-
ing the preacher's open denunciation of the destructive
party, for a short time all was serenity and sunshine.
At length, however, the Commons responded to his
Majesty's exposition of his wants, by a parsimoni-
ous supply, and an ample catalogue of grievances.
They, then, proceeded to exercise the office, with
which they had recently invested themselves, of
Theological Inquisitors. The first person who ex-
perienced their rigour, was a Divine named Monta-
gue. He had distinguished himself, in the preceding
reign, by a volume against Popery. His services,
however, found but little grace in the eyes of the
Calvinistic Legislators ; for his own book was
tainted with what they were pleased to stigmatise as
the Arminian heresy ; a perversion of the Gospel
almost as hateful, in their estimation, as Popery it-
self ! He, nevertheless, aggravated his offence, by a
vindication of his odious doctrines, under the title of
Appello Ccesarem ; and this work he dedicated to
the King. Upon this, the wrath of the Parliament-
ary Synod was extreme. On the 7th of July, they
summoned him to their bar ; and there, by the mouth
of their Speaker, they declared it to be their pleasure,
first, that their final sentence on his heretical opinions
should be deferred to the next Session ; secondly,
that during the interval, he should be committed to
the custody of the Serjeant-at-arms; and, thirdly,
1 Laud's Sermons, on Ps. cxxii.
III.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 77
that he should find bail for his appearance, to the
value of two thousand pounds 1 1
As the act of an assembly which was fighting the
battle of freedom against prerogative, this measure
was sufficiently astounding. Well might Laud ex-
claim, " Methinks I see a cloud arising and threat-
ening the Church of England. God, of his mercy,
dissipate it 2 !" The King was, beyond measure,
indignant at this flagitious oppression of one of his
own Chaplains ; and signified his displeasure to the
House. It appears, however, from a letter addressed
by Montague to the Duke of Buckingham, on the
29th of July, that the royal interference was but
partially effectual. He complains that the Commons
had returned no other answer to his Majesty, but
that he was free from imprisonment. And he be-
seeches the Duke to stand his friend so far as to re-
present his case to the King, in order to his absolute
discharge, and to the re-delivery of his bond, which
had been extorted from him by the Commons 3 .
It was not to be supposed that Laud would be a
passive spectator of this abuse of Parliamentary
power. After consultation with several of his
brethren, he joined the Bishops of Rochester and
Oxford in framing a letter to the Duke of Bucking-
ham, on Montague's behalf. In this address, the
writers declare that some of Montague's opinions
were neither more nor less than the settled doctrine
of the Church, which every minister of the Church
was bound to maintain ; that the rest were fit only
to be debated in the schools ; and that it was utterly
1 Heylyn, p. 153. 2 Diary) p . 27.
3 This Letter is in the Harl. MSS. 7000, No. 106.
78 LIFE OF [CHAP.
abhorrent from the moderation of the Reformed
Church of England, that any man should be brought
into jeopardy for a peaceable expression of his own
sense, upon matters of an abstruse and doubtful
nature. They further protest against the jurisdic-
tion of a merely secular tribunal, in the determina-
tion of questions purely theological. They advert, in
the strongest terms, to the manifold evils threatened
both to Church and State, by those fatal opinions
which Montague opposed. And, lastly, they insist
on the danger and the indignity of receiving the de-
crees of a foreign Synod l ; more especially of a
Synod which condemned the discipline and govern-
ment of the Anglican Church. The letter concludes
with expressions of satisfaction at the intelligence,
that "his Majesty had worthily referred the busi-
ness, in a right course, to Church consideration;"
and with commendations of Montague, as a person
"able, every way, to do great service to God, his
Majesty, and the Church of England V The date of
the above letter is the 2nd day of August, 1625.
In ten day safter this, the Parliament was dissolved 3 .
The King immediately commenced a progress to the
West, for the purpose of inspecting and hastening
the preparations of his navy. And Laud, at the
same time, set out for Wales, on his second visitation
of the Diocese of St. David's.
1 The Calvinistic Synod of Dort.
2 The whole of this letter is given at length by Heylyn, p.
136138.
3 " August 12, Friday, the Parliament was dissolved ; the
Commons not hearkening as was expected to the King's pro-
posals." Diary, p. 21.
III.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 79
On his return to London, in the middle
of the winter, he found that a considerable
change had occurred at the court, during his absence.
The Duke of Buckingham was one who never for-
gave an enemy, or forgot a friend. Among his
enemies, he was now pleased to number the Lord
Keeper Williams. It was beyond his power, how-
ever, to degrade the Bishop from his ecclesiastical
dignities and preferments. But his influence was
amply sufficient to deprive him of the King's esteem,
and, eventually, to wrest from him the Great Seal of
England. The decline of Williams was speedily
followed by the elevation of Laud. By the earnest
recommendation of his friend, Neile, the Bishop of
Durham, who was then disabled by sickness, he was
appointed to attend his Majesty, as Clerk of the
Closet. And, from that time, he advanced so rapidly
in the royal favour, that he became the King's con-
fidential adviser in all important matters relating to
the Church.
It was about this time that Laud, in common with
the other Bishops, was called upon to enforce the
existing laws for the preservation of the Protestant
Religion. In the late Parliament petitions had been
presented to the King, both by the Lords and the
Commons, in which they complained of the danger-
ous growth of Popery in the realm ; and, in reply,
his Majesty had promised a speedy attention to their
representations. In fulfilment of this promise, a
commission, under the great seal, was issued in
December, 1625, for the execution of the laws
against recusants ; and letters were dispatched to the
two Archbishops, requiring them to use all diligence
in the discovery and conviction of Jesuits, and Semi-
80 LIFE OF [CHAP.
nary Priests, and other seducers of the people. In-
structions were issued, accordingly, by Laud, to the
Ecclesiastical Officers of his Diocese, directed against
those "who were any way backward in points of
religion ; and, more especially, to known and pro-
fessed recusants." And a list was speedily trans-
mitted to him by his Chancellor, containing the
names of such persons of that description as were
living in the counties of Pembroke and Caermarthen,
which formed the chief portion of the Diocese of St.
David's l .
The coronation of King Charles was now ap-
proaching. And, on this occasion, Laud was again
distinguished by the favour of his Sovereign. He
was named by his Majesty one of a committee of
Bishops, appointed to consult respecting the various
ceremonies of that great solemnity : and he was
further selected to supply the place of Bishop
Williams, who was then Dean of Westminster, but
(being under the King's displeasure) was commanded
to forbear his attendance at the coronation 2 . And
here it may be observed that the conduct of Williams,
1 Heylyn seems to consider it as unquestionable, that the
King's letter was framed with an express view to Puritans, as
well as Romanists, p. 140, 141. But there appears no sufficient
ground for this surmise.
2 From a letter of Williams, to Buckingham, dated Jan. 7>
1626, it appears that he offered his services at the coronation ;
and this, with almost abject entreaties to the Duke, for his favour
and protection. For instance, " I do humbly beseech your
Grace to crown so many of your Grace's former favours, and to
revive a creature of your own, struck dead only by your dis-
pleasure, by bringing me to kiss his Majesty's hand ; with whom
I took leave in no displeasure at all. I never was brought into
the presence of a King by any saint besides yourself. Turn me
III.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 81
in this emergency, was marked by singular discretion
and address. Though forbidden to appear himself,
he still might have nominated one among his Pre-
bendaries to represent him. Of these dignitaries,
Laud was one ; and, moreover, he was the only
Bishop among them. Had Williams, therefore, fixed
upon a member of the chapter, inferior in rank, his
conduct would have been open to misconstruction
and blame. To nominate Laud, on the other hand,
would be to confer a signal honour upon one whom
he regarded as an adversary and a rival. He relieved
himself from this embarrassment, by sending to the
King the names of all the Prebendaries of the Church,
with their respective degrees and dignities affixed to
each ; leaving to his Majesty the choice of the fittest
person of the number. And, without a moment's
hesitation, his Majesty deputed Laud to the service 1 .
It was the business of Laud, in execution of the
duty which, on such occasions, belonged to the office
of the Dean, to inspect and to produce the regalia,
which are always laid up in a secret place in the
Abbey Church, and to receive them back into his
custody, on the conclusion of the ceremonial. Now
we are told by his biographer, that, among these
venerable trappings of royalty, he found an ancient
not over, most noble Lord, to offer my prayers at any other
altars r $c. $c. %c. Harl. MSS. 7000, No. 102.
After he was forbidden to attend, he wrote to the King, to beg,
first, 'that his Majesty would allay the Duke's displeasure against
him : secondly, that his Majesty would not believe the accusa-
tions with which he (Williams) was assailed : and, thirdly, that
his absence from Parliament might not be made use of, to wound
the reputation of a poor Bishop ! The letter is without a date.
Harl. MSS. 7000, No. 107.
1 Heylyn, p. 144.
G
82 LIFE OF [CHAP.
crucifix of silver ; that he brought it out, together
with the rest ; and that (conceiving it to form a cus-
tomary part of the apparatus of the coronation) he
placed it on the altar. It is well known that the
appearance of this crucifix (if crucifix there actually
were) was afterwards brought forward, among many
other proofs of the Romish propensities of Laud. At
this day, however, it is pretty generally allowed that
the charge was altogether frivolous and contemptible;
and such as almost carried its own refutation on the
face of it. In the first place, it must be recollected,
that the office of Laud, on this occasion, was purely
ministerial ; that he was acting merely, as the sub-
stitute and representative of another person ; and
that he could have no authority whatever to conceal,
or to withhold, any one article which he might find
among the coronation implements. It should also
be kept in mind that Abbot, as Primate, must have
presided over the ceremonial, and all the prepara-
tions for it ; and that if he did not think it necessary
to object to the crucifix, it must have been deemed
insufferably presumptuous in Laud to quarrel with
it. But, lastly, it is, after all, more than doubtful
whether any crucifix was actually produced. It is
scarcely credible that Abbot, of all men in the realm,
would have endured, for a moment, the exhibition
of the idolatrous symbol. This was the answer given
by Laud himself, when the charge was brought for-
ward against him, at his impeachment. And this
answer was accompanied with a positive declaration,
that he had no recollection whatever of the circum-
stance in question 1 .
1 See Heylyn, p. 144. Diary, p. 26. 27. 28. Troubles and
Trial, p. 318.
III.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 83
But a much graver charge than the exhibition of a
crucifix, was the consequence of Laud's employment
in this celebration. He was afterwards confidently
accused of introducing an alteration into the body of
the King's coronation oath ; and such an alteration,
too, as tended materially to weaken the security of
the subject. And it was said, at the time of his im-
peachment, that, if the imputation were made good,
this single delinquency might justly be deemed suffi-
cient to forfeit his life. Such, indeed, was the tragic
emphasis with which the Article was then insisted
upon, that it set the whole kingdom in a flame. It
is therefore proper, at this period of the narrative, to
show, by a simple statement of the facts, that the
charge was utterly destitute of foundation.
The first clause of the oath, as administered to
Charles 1., was in the following words : "Will you
grant and keep, and by your oath confirm, to your
people of England, the laws and customs to them
granted by the Kings of England, your lawful and
religious predecessors ; and, namely, the laws, cus-
toms, and franchises, granted to the clergy, by the
glorious King, St. Edward, your predecessor, accord-
ing to the laws of God, the true profession of the
Gospel established in this kingdom, and agreeably to
the prerogatives of the Kings thereof, and the ancient
customs of the land ?" Now, one accusation against
Laud was, that he had presumed to alter the oath, as
usually administered, by the insertion of the words
above printed in Italics. And this alteration, as he
himself tells us, was " highly insisted on, as taking
off the total assurance which the subjects have, by the
oath of their prince, for the performance of his lams.'"
It was further alleged that, as in this instance he
G 2
84: LIFE OF [cHAP.
had sinned by adding to the words of the oath, so, in
another instance, he had offended hy taking away
from them ; inasmuch as he had cancelled the words
quce populus elegerit from that clause of the oath
which relates to the royal assent to laws proposed
by the other branches of the Legislature. This latter
accusation, however, was much less "highly insisted
on" than the former. In spite of all their ingenuity
and perseverance, his enemies found it to be utterly
untenable.
In fact, both these charges were equally despicable
and false. For, in the first place, the oath, whether
altered or not, was administered to the King, not by
Laud, but by Abbot, then Archbishop of Canterbury.
And it is utterly impossible than any alteration could
have been introduced, without the privity and con-
sent of the Archbishop, and of the other Prelates,
who were more especially entrusted with the manage-
ment of the solemnity. If, then, there had been
any foul practice in the matter, Laud must have
been only one of a body of conspirators against the
liberty of the subject, with the Primate at their head.
But, in the next place, it is absolutely certain that no
alteration whatever was effected or attempted. For
it appears that, after much urgent application, Laud
at length succeeded in getting the form of King
Charles's coronation compared with that of his father
and predecessor, King James, " and they were found
to agree in all things, to a syllable."
With regard to the odious words, " agreeably to
the prerogative of the Kings thereof" it does not
seem to be clearly ascertained at what period they
were first introduced into the coronation oath. It
is, however, conjectured by Laud himself, and with
III.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 85
much appearance of probability, that they were
added in the time, either of Edward VI., or of
Queen Elizabeth ; and that they have no reference
whatever to the laws and customs, conceded by the
Kings of England to the people, as ^generally and
absolutely mentioned in the beginning of the oath :
but that they are to be referred, specifically, to the
franchises anciently granted to the Clergy ; the men-
tion of which immediately precedes those words. It
will easily be perceived that, at the period of the
Reformation, such an addition to the oath would be
highly expedient, for the purpose of arming the pre-
rogative of the King, not against the rights and
liberties of his people, but against the incroachments
of the Church, and the power and jurisdiction of the
Papacy. And, as Laud very justly observes, if this
were the purpose for which the words were inserted,
" he that made the alteration, whoever it were, de-
serves thanks for it, and not the reward of a
traitor 1 !"
On Monday, the 6th of February, 1626, the King
met his second Parliament : on which occasion Laud
was appointed to preach before his Majesty, in the
Abbey Church. The text selected by him was from
Psalm cxii. Jerusalem is like a city that is at unity
with itself. The object of the preacher was, to set
forth the blessedness of unity : and with this view,
he dwelled upon the glories of Jerusalem, as a type
of the Christian Church and State combined. By way
1 They who are desirous of seeing the emptiness and the
malice of this accusation completely exposed, must consult
Laud's full and irresistible reply to it, in his Troubles and Trial,
p. 318324.
86 LIFE OF [CHAP.
of a passing illustration, this might have been un-
exceptionable enough. But, in these days, there
was obvious danger in much pointed and emphatic
reference to Jewish history. A Bishop might appeal
to it, in support of his argument for unity and con-
cord. And a Puritanical Lecturer might appeal to
it, for the purpose of showing that the people of
God must be zealous, even to slaying, whenever the
enemies of God are to be smitten down. It was, in
truth, a sword with a double edge ; and Laud must
have known the fury with which the Calvinistie
faction had already wielded it ; more especially in
the northern dominions of the King. But let the
skill and capacity of the preacher be what they
might, his principles were such as many of his au-
dience had no ears to hear, or hearts to understand.
The tongue of men or angels might, then, have
preached in vain, on the blessings of union, or the
mischiefs of discord. A conflict between two great
principles had then commenced ; and the mighty
cause was coming on gradually to its arbitrament.
And accordingly, when the minister of God spake of
peace, the men of that generation made them ready
for battle.
In one respect, indeed, the Commons appeared to be
any thing but averse from the doctrine of ecclesiastical
and political union. For, after this time, there was
no Parliament without a Committee of Religion, and
no Committee of Religion which did not think itself
sufficiently instructed to manage the greatest contro-
versies of Divinity J . And, we may add, that there
1 There is something lively and amusing enough in the fol-
lowing remarks of Heylyn, on the usurpation of the Theolo-
gical Chair hy the wisdom of the honourable House : " At such
III.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 87
was no decision of theirs, in such controversial mat-
ters, which they were not prepared to enforce by the
secular arm of Parliamentary privilege and power.
In conformity with these notions of unity, the Com-
mons resumed their proceedings against Montague.
They referred his books to the consideration of their
Committee of Religion. The report of that Com-
mittee was brought up by Pym, on the 18th of April.
And thereupon, it was resolved, 1st, that Montague
had disturbed the peace of the Church, by publish-
ing doctrines contrary to the articles of the Church
of England, and the Book of Homilies : 2nd, that
there were divers passages in his book, especially
against those whom he called Puritans, apt to move
sedition between the King and his subjects, and
between subject and subject ; and 3dly, that the
whole frame and scope of his book was to discourage
the well-affected in religion, from the true religion
established in the Church, and to incline them, and
(as much as in him lay) to reconcile them to Popery.
Before this time, the works of Montague had been
assailed by various adversaries ; and, among them,
by several dignitaries of the Church. But the sound
of this thunderbolt now roused up against him
another host of enemies, so numerous, that " the
time as the former parliament was adjourned to Oxon, the Divi-
nity School was prepared for the House of Commons, and a
chair made for the Speaker in or near the place in which his
Majesty's Professor of Divinity did usually read his public Lec-
tures, and moderate in all public disputations. And this first
put them into conceit, that the determination of all points and
controversies in religion did belong to them, as Vibius Rufus,
in the story, having married Tully's widow, and bought Ceesar's
chair, conceived that he was then in a way to gain the eloquence
of the one, and the power of the other." Heylyn, p. 146.
88 LIFE OF [CHAP.
encounter seemed to be betwixt a whole army and
a single person V Hereupon, Laud, and some others
of his brethren, attempted to come in to the rescue :
and they conceived themselves sufficiently armed for
the adventure by a recent Proclamation of the King.
There can be little doubt that this edict had been
issued by the express advice of Laud himself,
and certain other Bishops, to whose further consi-
deration the case of Montague had been referred.
For we find that on the 16th of January, 1626, a
letter, dated from Winchester-house, had been pa-
dressed to the Duke by the Bishops of London,
Durham, Winchester, Rochester, and St. David's ;
in which, after repeating the opinion formerly given,
that Montague had affirmed nothing but the doctrine
of the Church of England, the writers proceed as
follows : " And for the preservation of the peace of
the Church, we, in all humility, conceive that his
Majesty shall do graciously, to prohibit all parties,
members of this Church of England, any further
controverting those questions by public preaching or
writing, or any other way, to the disturbance of the
peace of the Church, for the time to come. And, for
any thing that may further concern Mr. Montague's
person in that business, we humbly recommend him
to his Majesty's gracious favour and pardon 2 ." It
was not, however, till June 1626, that a Proclama-
tion was put forth, in conformity with the spirit of
these vigorous counsels. In that document, his
Majesty declares it to be his constant resolution, to
endure no innovation, either in the doctrine and
1 Heylyn, p. 155. Robert Bayley's " Examination," &c.
4to. 1643.
3 This Letter is in the Harl. MSS. 7000, No. 104.
III.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 89
discipline of the Church, or in the government of
the State. He commands all his subjects, the clergy
more especially, to abstain from the publication of
any new inventions or opinions concerning religion.
And he strictly charges the Bishops, the Privy Coun-
sellors, the Judges, and all the ministers of justice,
to repress those daring spirits, who should, there-
after, transgress against sobriety and peace. He,
moreover, intimates his royal pleasure, that all such
evil doers shall be visited with the severity which
their offences and contempts should be found to
deserve *.
By virtue of this Proclamation, proceedings were
instituted for the suppression of the writings against
Montague. Among various other authors, Burton
and Prynne, of notorious memory, were summoned f
before the court of High Commission. But, in the
very moment when the censures of that tribunal were
about to fall upon the delinquents, the blow was
intercepted by a Prohibition from the King's Bench.
And with such rudeness was this writ executed,
that Laud was on the point to take such steps as
should cause the officials to repent their insolence.
The conflict, therefore, was beginning to wax hot.
By this time, however, the Parliament had ceased to
exist. Their dissolution had taken place on the 15th
of June, 1626. For some time before this, the wrath
of the Commons had been diverted, by nobler game,
from the pursuit of an Arminian divine. Their
theological functions had been interrupted by their
impatience to effect the ruin of Buckingham. And
the King's resolution to protect his favourite minister
1 Heylyn, p. 154.
90 LIFE OF [CHAP.
abruptly put an end to their political functions also.
But for these occurrences, it might, probably, have
gone hard with Montague, and even with his eccle-
siastical friends and champions.
While these transactions were pending, the ser-
vices of Laud were required, in assisting to dispose
of another controversial matter. On the fifth Sunday
of Lent, a sermon had been preached before the
King, by Dr. Gabriel Goodman, then Bishop of
Gloucester ; in which the doctrine of the real pre-
sence was so closely urged, that the preacher was
thought to be hard upon the confines of Popery!
The matter occasioned some murmurings at the
Court ; and these were followed by an angry clamour
in the country. On the 29th of March, the doubtful
theology of Goodman was the subject of a warm
debate in the Convocation. And, on the 12th of
April following, the sermon, by his Majesty's com-
mand, was taken into consideration by three of the
Prelates, of whom Laud was one ; the other two
being Abbot, Archbishop of Canterbury, and An-
drews, Bishop of Winchester. It would appear, by
the result, that the outcry was vastly disproportioned
to the occasion. The Report of the three Bishops
to his Majesty was, that some things in the discourse
had been rather incautiously expressed, but nothing
falsely ; that nothing was innovated by the preacher
in the doctrine of the Church of England ; but that
it would be adviseable, for the satisfaction of the
public, that Goodman should deliver the same ser-
mon again, at sometime to be chosen by himself ;
and should then point out in what particulars he
had been mistaken by his auditors. With these
suggestions the Bishop complied. And if the course
III.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 91
adopted was satisfactory to Abbot, it may reasonably
be concluded that, whatever may have been Good-
man's secret persuasion, the Protestant doctrine of
the Sacrament had been but little endangered by his
public exposition of it 1 . Happy, indeed, would it
have been for the kingdom, if all the theological
disputes of the day could have been brought to as
peaceful a decision. What might have been the
consequence, if the Convocation had, likewise, em-
broiled itself with the interminable questions which
had been stirred by the publications of Montague,
and his antagonists, it is difficult to say. In that
case, the spirit which had presided at Dort, might
possibly have been let loose again at Westminster.
But, thanks to the pacific counsels of Bishop An-
drews, this additional infusion of discord was happily
prevented.
It would be wholly foreign to our purpose, to re-
late the stormy proceedings of the Commons against
the Duke of Buckingham, during the late short ses-
sion ; or to dwell on the fatal alienation between the
King and the Parliament, which grew up out of that
disastrous struggle. Some allusion to them, how-
ever, is unavoidable, in a history of Laud ; for he, in
the public opinion, was all but identified with his
noble patron. His constant intimacy with the Duke
was, of itself, sufficient to satisfy the enemies of both,
that the Bishop was, throughout, the adviser and the
champion of the man, to whom the Commons after-
wards ascribed all the evils and distractions with
which the kingdom was afflicted 2 . And so fully had
J Heylyn, p. 153. Diary, p. 30, 31.
3 Diary, p. 42.
92 LIFE OF [CHAP.
this persuasion fixed itself in the minds of many, that
the aid which he is supposed to have given to the
Minister, when he fell under the displeasure of the
Parliament, was afterwards produced against the
Bishop, at his trial, in 1644, and was placed in front
of the evidence, upon the 14th Article of his impeach-
ment. By that Article, he was accused of having
laboured to subvert the rights of Parliament, to set a
division between the King and his people, and to
ruin and destroy his Majesty's kingdom. In support
of these charges, it was affirmed, that " being then of
the Lords' House, and so to be one of the Duke's
judges, he made a speech for him ; and that he had
corrected another speech of his, in some particulars ;
and that, of a Judge, he had made himself an Advo-
cate." The speech which Laud is alleged to have
corrected, was that which was delivered by Bucking-
ham, in answer to his impeachment by the Commons.
The one which he is supposed to have penned, was
that which the Duke subjoined as a supplement to
his answer *. From the Bishop's reply to this charge,
it does not appear that he was at all anxious to deny
the fact, of his having rendered some such assistance
to the Duke on that occasion ; though not having
the papers themselves then in his possession, he was
unable to say, "what was, or what was not, under
his own hand. It was," he says, " but the office of
a poor friend to a great one ; to whom, being so
much bound as I was, I could not refuse so much
service, being entreated to it :" and he expressed him-
self persuaded, that what he had done for Bucking-
ham, was no more than what any member of either
1 Heylyn, p. 152.
III.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 93
house would do without scruple, for a friend, upon any
similar emergency. But, at all events, " the making
of one speech, and the mending of another," whether
strictly proper or not, under such circumstances, was
but poor evidence of a traitorous design against the
Majesty of Parliament. If it could be shown that
there was treasonable matter in these compositions,
the writer, as Laud allows, might be bound to answer
it. As it was, he could plead guilty to nothing but
compliance with the urgent request of a benefactor,
who stood in need of his assistance *.
But a further attempt was made to substantiate
this charge, by the production of the following entry,
from the Diary of Laud: " June 15, 1626. After
many debates and strugglings, private malice against
the Duke of Buckingham prevailed, and stopped all
public business. Nothing was done, and the Parlia-
ment was dissolved." Here, it was contended, was
a manifest imputation of private malice to the Parlia-
ment of England! That much private malice did
actually mix itself up with the patriotism of certain
honourable members, at that time, is a thing no more
to be questioned, than the manifold demerits of the
minister on whom they sat in judgment. Neither
can it be doubted, that private malice was quite as
busy without the walls of the House of Commons, as
within them. And this, as Laud, in effect, declares,
was all that he had in contemplation, when he wrote
the words. " I spake this," he says, " not of the
Parliament (collectively), but of some few particular
men : some of the House ; and more not of the
House, who went between, and did very ill offices,
1 Troubles and Trial, p. 400.
94 LIFE OF [CHAP.
and so, wronged both the King and Parliament;
which is no new thing in England." Besides, as
Laud further observes, the expression, private malice,
is scarcely intelligible, as applied to a public body, in
their collective capacity *. And, lastly, we may add,
whether the malice imputed were private or public,
there can be but one opinion respecting the iniquity of
branding any one as a traitor, for a written soliloquy
upon the conduct or the motives of public men.
A still more formidable proof of Laud's hostility
to Parliament, was discovered in two speeches de-
livered by the King : the one on the 29th of March,
to both the Houses of Parliament ; the other to the
House of Peers, on the 1 1 th of May. Each of these
speeches had reference to the Duke of Buckingham ;
and the latter of them complained that the honour of
the nobility was assailed by the malicious calumnies
of the members of the House, by whom the Duke
had been accused 2 . " Sour and ill passages" were to
be found in both : and for these, Laud was called
upon to answer, as being their notorious and un-
doubted author. He frankly admitted that the
speeches in question were drawn up by him. But
he added, that they were so drawn up in obedience to
the commands of the King ; and also with such faith-
ful adherence to his instructions, that the very words
and phrases of his Majesty were preserved as closely
as his memory would allow. He hoped it was no
crime to he trusted by his Sovereign. And, as for
the tartness of certain passages or expressions, he
declared himself heartily concerned, if they had given
1 Troubles and Trial, p. 403, 404.
2 Diary, p. 30. 33.
5
III.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 95
offence ; but he protested against their production as
a proof of his traitorous enmity to Parliaments l .
It has been thought that the line of defence, here
adopted by Laud, was much too frequently resorted
to by him, in the course of his trial, when he was
charged with practices supposed to be adverse to the
rights and liberties of his country. This sort of vin-
dication is, indeed, utterly unknown to the present
constitution of England. In these times, the maxim,
that " the King can do no wrong," throws the whole
weight of responsibility upon the ministers of the
King. But, in the age of Laud, the same maxim
was, on the contrary, often considered as extending
to the ministers and advisers of the Crown, something
of the same immunity which belonged to the Sove-
reign himself. And, hence, we find the Bishop occa-
sionally retiring, for protection, behind the shield of
the royal authority and power. To us, such a
spectacle may seem to indicate a want of magnani-
mity, and moral courage. This, however, is a defect,
which the whole course of his life shows to have been
altogether foreign to the nature of Laud. It may,
therefore, be reasonably concluded, that in pleading
the orders of his Majesty, he believed this mode of
defence to be perfectly legitimate and constitutional.
Laud had now presided for five years over the
Diocese of St. David's 2 . On the 4th of May, 1626,
the see of Bath and Wells became vacant by the
death of Dr. Lake. On the 20th of June, Laud
was nominated by the King to the vacant Bishop-
1 Troubles, &c. p. 402, 403.
2 On the 16th of March, 1626, we find, in Laud's Diary, no-
tice of a strange plan, proposed by an old Dutchman, named John
Oventrout, for transferring the West Indies from the dominion
96 LIFE OF [CHAP.
ric. On the same day, he was commanded to pre-
pare a sermon for the public fast which had been
appointed by proclamation for the 5th of July follow-
ing : partly on account of the pestilence which then
was raging in many parts of the kingdom ; and partly
on account of the dangers with which the country was
menaced by her foreign enemies 1 . On the 16th of
August, the Bishop was elected to the See of Bath and
Wells. It might have been well for his peace, if he
had instantly betaken himself to the care of his dio-
cese, and had withdrawn, for the rest of his days, from
the snares and the perils of political life. But, by this
time, his services had become indispensable both to
of Spain to that of the King of England. This notable enter-
prize was referred to the consideration of the Earl of Totness,
and of Lord Conway, then principal Secretary of State. And,
because the success of the stratagem was, somehow or other, to
depend upon religion, Laud was added to the Commission.
When they came to examine the man, they found, no doubt to
their great astonishment, that the Catechism of Heidelberg was
the wonder-working instrument by which the revolution was
to be accomplished ! The main thing to be achieved, was the
capture of a place called Arica. And in order to effect this,
nothing more would be needed, than to toss in, among the
inhabitants, the potent formulary in question. The minds of
the people would thus be divided in matters of religion ; and
the place would, consequently, become an easy prey to an enter-
prizing Protestant invader ! It will readily be imagined that
neither the Statesmen, nor the Divine, were much disposed to
put their trust in this sort of spiritual bombardment. The pro-
jector must have been some half- lunatic enthusiast; who, pos-
sibly, thought that if the blast of the rams' horns could prostrate
the walls of heathen Jericho, the Popish dominion of the West
must certainly fall at the sound of Heidelberg Divinity. The
commissioners, of course, sent the man away, to search for hearers
of greater faith. " We dismissed him," says Laud, "and re-
turned, never a wit the wiser !" ' Diary, p. 34.
12
III.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 97
the Sovereign and his Minister. The situation of the
King, at that period, was embarrassing, to a degree
which can scarcely be imagined by persons accus-
tomed only to the regular movements of our present
Constitution. The country was involved in a formi-
dable war, chiefly at the instigation of the House of
Commons. But, when the sinews of war were re-
quired of them, they replied by an exposition of
grievances, and by a demand for the ruin of the Duke
of Buckingham. Some inadequate supply, indeed,
was granted. But before the grant had passed into
a law, the Parliament was, unhappily, dissolved, by
the impatience of the king. Under these circum-
stances, one of two courses was open to him. Either
he must discontinue all warlike preparation, and so
expose the kingdom to danger and insult, and himself
to irretrievable dishonour: or, else, he must levy
money by irregular and arbitrary measures. He
chose the latter, as the less evil of the two. And the
Bishop of Bath and Wells was called upon to aid him
in the execution of the design. It was on Thursday
evening, the 14th September, that Laud was com-
manded to draw up " certain instructions, partly po-
litical, partly ecclesiastical" for circulation through-
out all the parishes in the kingdom ; and the object
of these instructions was, to inculcate a cheerful sub-
mission to taxes which, though they had never re-
ceived the final sanction of Parliament, had neverthe-
less been actually voted, as necessary to the general
peace of Christendom, and the welfare of the Protest-
ant Religion. By Saturday the 16th the task of Laud
was completed ! : and the result of his labour has
1 Diary, p. 35.
H
98 LIFE OF [CHAP.
been preserved to us, among the documents of the
time. The paper is much too long for insertion in
this volume. But its importance is sufficient to war-
rant some notice of its general tenor. It is addressed
to each of the Archbishops ; and begins by insisting
on the inseparable union between the Church and
State, and the necessity of mutual assistance and sup-
port, under the pressing exigences of either. It then
sets forth, at some length, the imminent peril which
was hanging, not over England only, but the whole
of Europe, from the vast resources, and the inordinate
ambition, of the House of Austria ; the re-instate-
ment of the Romish superstition, as the probable con-
sequence of her success ; and the ignominy which, in
that case, would be indelibly fixed on this country,
as the betrayer of the Protestant faith. It proceeds
to remind the people, that it was by the advice of
both Houses of Parliament, that all former treaties
had been cancelled, and matters brought to the deci-
sion of arms ; that, consequently, the King could not
now be deserted " but with the sin and shame of all
men ;" sin, because aid and supply, for the defence
of the realm, are, at all times, due to the King from
his people, by the laws of God and man, shame, if
the people were to forsake their King, when he was
but following their own counsel. It, further, deplores
the weakness and the misery which had been brought
upon the kingdom by that spirit of discord which
had long distracted the affections of the King's sub-
jects. And, after enjoining the cordial efforts of the
clergy for the suppression of the pervalent divisions,
it concludes as follows : " You are to be careful that
you fail not to direct and hearten our loving people,
in this, and all other necessary services, both of God,
III.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 99
his Church, and us ; that we may have the comfort
of our people's service, the State, safety, the
Church, religion, and the people, the enjoying of
such blessings as follow these. And we end with
doubling this case upon you, and upon all under you,
in their several places V
The policy, which dictated these instructions, was
by no means new. It had often been resorted to by
Queen Elizabeth, when she was desirous of prepar-
ing her loyal people for strong and unpalatable mea-
sures. And, in her time, the expedient was known
by the significant, but somewhat irreverent, expres-
sion, of tuning the pulpits. But the days were gone
by, in which harmony, or " healthful music," was to
be anticipated, from any such experiment upon the
tone of the public mind. The expedient was, neverthe-
less, applied, without hesitation, in the present emer-
gency. The letter of the King was communicated, by
the two Archbishops 2 , to their respective suffragans ;
together with instructions to call upon their clergy,
both " by preaching, and by private conference, to
stir up all sorts of people, to express their zeal to
God, their duty to the King, and their love to their
1 These instructions may be seen, at length, in Heylyn, p.
162165.
2 It appears that Abbot took no part in the deliberations pre-
paratory to the Loan, as it was called. His own words are, "If
I had been in Council, when the project of the Loan was first
handled, I would have used my best reasons to have it well
grounded. But I was absent ; and knew not whereupon they
proceeded. Only I saw that it was followed with much vehe-
mency. And, since it was put in execution, I did not inter-
pose myself to know the grounds of one, nor of the other."
Abbot's Narrative, Rushw. vol. i. p. 444.
H2
100 LIFE OF [CHAP.
country ;" and this, by submitting to taxation which
had never been imposed by their representatives in
Parliament !
Perhaps we may safely fix upon this as the very
first political proceeding, of a seriously questionable
nature, in which Laud had been engaged. It is to
little purpose to allege, that he was not to blame, be-
cause he acted merely in a ministerial capacity, as a
faithful subject to the King. The measure was one,
which, if successful and unresisted, must have been
a death-blow to a free constitution. And it is absurd
to contend that the agents of a monarch, who makes
any such attempt, may justly escape responsibility.
The only substantial vindication of Laud, and of others
who thought and acted like him, is to be sought in
the extreme indistinctness of the line which, in those
days, was drawn by the law, between the prerogatives
of the King, and the rights of the people. We can
perceive no reason whatever for believing that, when
Laud was preparing these instructions, he was at all
conscious of any breach of the constitution ; or guilty
of any thing like a settled design against the liberties
of his country, and the fundamental laws of the land.
There were many, in those days, who honestly held
it for one fundamental law, that, in cases of extreme
exigency, it was the duty of the subject to aid the
Sovereign, without waiting for the sanction of Parlia-
ment ; and that the right of calling for such aid, was
an inherent and unalienable prerogative of the crown.
And, it will scarcely be questioned, that, if ever there
was an emergency which seemed to warrant the exer-
cise of that prerogative, such an emergency had arri-
ved, when Parliament had driven the government
into a war, and then had left it destitute of supplies.
HI.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 101
It has sometimes been vehemently asserted, that a
fixed hatred of liberty was the principle of the whole
conduct of King Charles ; an imputation, which, if
well founded, would justly consign many of his ser-
vants to infamy, as agents and ministers of despotism.
It would surely be nearer to the truth to say, that his
ruling principle was the fear of Parliamentary en-
croachment ; a resolution to transmit the royal au-
thority, in its full integrity, to his children ; a desire,
in short, not to alter the constitution, but, rather,
to maintain the constitution, as he had been taught,
from childhood, to understand it. Whether these views
implied any defect of intelligence, or sagacity, is a
question totally distinct. But it would be most un-
reasonable to regard them as indications of a want of
patriotism. At the same time, it may be truly af-
firmed, that if ever a hatred of liberty did, for a mo-
ment, find its way into his heart, the circumstances
in which he was placed were precisely fitted to intro-
duce it there. He found himself in danger of being
exposed to degradation and contempt, in the eyes of
Europe. And, if such were to be the effects of free-
dom, is it altogether surprising that they should en-
gender some distaste for popular institutions, even in
the mind of the most patriotic prince on earth ? Can
it be a subject of wonder, that a monarch, thus sur-
rounded on all sides with difficulty and dishonour,
should begin to think it absolutely impossible to carry
on the government, without an occasional resort to
the only means yet remaining in his power ? Was it
wholly unnatural, that the royal prerogative should
appear, to a prince so circumstanced, as a necessary
moving force, in the absence of which the whole poli-
tical mechanism would be liable to perpetual and
102 LIFE OF [CHAP.
ruinous stoppage ? We have, doubtless, reason to be
most profoundly grateful that Charles was disabled
from following out any such formidable speculations
as these, into all their practical consequences. But
still it must be allowed that nothing could well be
more calculated, than the late proceedings of the Par-
liament, to drive him into such a train of thought *.
The next step of Laud was into the Deanery of
the Chapel Royal, which was vacated on the 21st of
September, by the death of Dr. Lancelot Andrews,
Bishop of Winchester ; a prelate in all respects so
admirable, that he is styled by his successor " the
Light of the Christian world 2 ." On Friday, the 6th
of October, Laud was admitted to the office by
Philip, Earl of Montgomery, Lord Chamberlain of
the Household, before whom he took the usual oath.
One of his first cares was to reform a very unbecom-
ing practice which had prevailed since the beginning
of the late reign. This custom was, that when the
King entered the Chapel, the service was broken
off, and the anthem sung, in order that the preacher
might ascend the pulpit. The extreme irreverence
of this usage was represented by the new Dean to
the King. His Majesty received the suggestion with
thanks. And, from that time, the prayers were
always continued to the end, at whatever part of
them the King might make his appearance.
To return to the instructions issued by
1 T97
the King : it appears that the views of
Laud, dangerous and unconstitutional as they must
1 Some notice of the views of Laud, on this subject, will be
found in the ninth chapter.
a Diary, p. 36.
5
III.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 103
be deemed by us, were warmly seconded by the zeal
of other Churchmen ; and, more especially, of two
Divines, by the name of Sibthorpe and Manwar-
ing. The former of these was Vicar of Brackley, in
Northamptonshire. At the Spring Assizes for that
county, he delivered a sermon on Rom. xiii. 7, Ren-
der unto all their dues ; the scope of which was to
maintain the lawfulness of the general loan, (for that
was the phrase by which the arbitrary levy was
spoken of,) and the imposition of taxes, in cases of
necessity, by the sovereign power of the King, with-
out the sanction or consent of the Parliament. And
the preacher, accordingly, laboured to persuade the
people that they were solemnly bound, in conscience
and religion, to abstain from all opposition to such
loans or imposts. When this sermon was offered to the
press, the King was extremely anxious that it should
be speedily licensed, in order that it might be circu-
lated throughout the country. And, if Abbot's own
suspicions are well-founded, the Duke of Bucking-
ham was earnest in recommending that the Discourse
might be sent to the Archbishop for that purpose,
with the view of bringing that uncourtly Prelate into
difficulty and embarrassment. For, if the imprimatur
should be granted by him, he would expose himself
to public obloquy, as a friend to arbitrary govern-
ment. If it should be refused, he would certainly
fall under the royal indignation, as an enemy to
the honour of the crown. Abbot was firm in his
resolution to brave the displeasure of his sovereign,
rather than betray what he regarded as the cause of
his country. When the sermon was presented to
him, he started various objections to its publication ;
of which the most important was, that it set forth
104 LIFE OF [CHAP.
certain doctrines in manifest opposition to the laws
and customs of the realm. These objections were
immediately referred to Laud l ; who, thereupon,
revised the sermon, with the aid of the Bishops of
Durham, Rochester, and Oxford. Their corrections
were submitted to Abbot 2 ; but in vain. He still
contended that, if he were to license the book,
and his Majesty were, the next day, to command
that he should send to the Exchequer all the money
and goods he had, he must, by his own rule, have
obeyed. The same might be said of every other
clergyman in the realm. Nay, if the doctrine of
Sibthorpe, fortified by the support of Laud and his
brethren, were to be held for law, it would place all
the wealth of the city of London at the mercy of the
King. It cannot be denied that all these extreme
consequences might follow from the positions of the
preacher. But the suggestion that any such abuse
could practically result from them, gave mortal offence
to his Majesty and his advisers. And this, together
with Abbot's inflexible refusal of the license, caused
him to be regarded at court as little better than a
traitor 3 .
It is affirmed by Prynne, that Sibthorpe had cun-
ningly attempted to sweeten his sour theme, by the
insertion of some popular passages against evil coun-
sellors, the toleration of Papists, and the profanation
1 On the 24th of April, 1627. Diary, p. 41.
2 These animadversions were the work of the whole Com-
mittee, but they were in Laud's hand-writing ; for, he being
then puny Bishop, the task of writing them was imposed on him.
Troubles, &c. p. 357-
3 See Abbot's Narrative of this affair, in Rushw. vol. i.
p. 436444.
HI.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 105
of the Sabbath ; but that these passages had been ex-
punged by Laud, when the discourse was submitted
to his inspection : probably, because the Bishop had
recently been made a Privy Counsellor ; and because
he was fearful lest " they should, one day, rise up
in judgment against him, and be applied to himself
in after times." The specimens of omission, pro-
duced by Prynne, are doubtless such as an enemy
might force under sinister construction. Laud's own
exposition of the matter is, that the passages in ques-
tion were objected to by him, as conveying imputa-
tions most scandalously dishonourable to his Majesty
and his Counsellors 1 . They represented the island
as in imminent danger of ruin and servitude, from the
indulgence granted to Papists. They threatened all
who should draw the prince to ill, with the fate of
Haman, and of them that meditated the destruc-
tion of the prophet Daniel. They compared the
permitted violation of the Sabbath to Solomon's
divided allegiance between idols and the living God :
which was recompensed by the loss and dividing of
his kingdom 2 . It will hardly be thought surprising
that complaints and denunciations like these should
be thought unfit for the public eye, in an age when
the press was legally subject to restraint ; and at a
period, too, when faction was incessantly at work,
to distort, to the uttermost, every action of the mo-
narch and his servants. And, at all events, the
appearance of this dangerous matter, in the discourse
of Sibthorpe, will sufficiently expose the falsehood
1 Troubles, &c. p. 357-
2 Canterb. Doom, p. 245, 246.
100 LIFE OF [CHAP.
of the imputation, that he was a creature of Bishop
Laud's, and a slavish instrument of the court.
But, though Abhot was inflexible, the sermon,
after all, was licensed : not by Laud, as Prynne
seems to insinuate *, but by Montaigne, Bishop of
London. It was then published, with a Dedication to
the King, under the title of " Apostolical obedience"
The exposition of Dr. Manwaring, however, had, if
possible, a still more formidable sound in the ears of
patriotism, than that of Sibthorpe. For this divine
ventured, at once, on the publication of two sermons,
preached by him before the King, in his capacity of
Royal Chaplain : the one at Oatlands, the other at
Alderton 2 . The tendency of both these discourses
was to establish the doctrine, not only that the King
was not bound to observe the ]aws of the realm, in
the imposition of taxes, or the enforcement of loans,
but that the royal will, in all such matters, could
not be resisted, without the peril of eternal damna-
tion 3 . This, as Collier honestly observes, was " a
most extravagant divinity, subversive of the consti-
tution ; and which, if pursued through all its conse-
quences, would make Magna Charta, and the other
laws for securing property, signify little 4 ." With
the publication of this specimen of extravagant divi-
nity, however, we find that Laud had no concern 5 .
We shall, hereafter, have occasion to remark the
manner in which the House of Commons were
1 Canterbury's Doom. p. 245.
2 Hacket, pt. ii. p. 74.
3 Heylyn, p. 167-
4 Coll. ad anno 1627.
5 Diary, p. 42.
III.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 10?
pleased to testify their sense of this exceedingly dan-
gerous, though not altogether uncanonical, doctrine l .
The resentment of the court was soon manifested
towards Abbot, by a most invidious and unwarrant-
able exercise of the King's Ecclesiastical Supremacy.
On the 9th of October, there was issued against the
Archbishop a commission of sequestration ; which
appears to have been executed with circumstances
of extreme harshness. The administration of his
Archiepiscopal jurisdiction was consigned to the
Bishops of London, Durham, Rochester, Oxford,
and Bath and Wells 2 . The offence which brought
this grievous insult upon the Primate has been a
matter of some dispute. By Abbot himself, how-
ever, the measure is, confidently and expressly, as-
cribed to the refusal of his Imprimatur for the ultra-
loyal discourse of Dr. Sibthorpe : and this, in all
probability, was the proximate cause of his disgrace.
At the same time, there can be no doubt that he had
long been heaping up wrath against himself; and
that his firmness, in the case of Sibthorpe, was but
the last of a continued series of indications, from
which the court had inferred, that Abbot was defec-
tive in allegiance to the King, and fidelity to the
Church. From the language of the commission
itself, nothing can be concluded ; for it merely states
that " the Archbishop cannot, at this present, attend
to the services, which are otherwise proper for his
1 The doctrine of passive obedience is strenuously inculcated
by the Bishop's book, 1537, in the exposition of the decalogue.
See Formularies, &c. p. 153. 159, Oxf. edit. And the trial of
Dr. Sacheverel shows with what uniformity the doctrine was
maintained, from that time, till the Revolution of 1688.
2 Diary, p. 42.
108 LIFE OF [CHAP.
cognizance and jurisdiction V But, whatever might
be the pretence for this proceeding, it would be idle
to attempt the vindication of it. The circumstance
is of no inconsiderable importance in the history of
Laud ; since it brought upon him the suspicion of
an unbecoming anxiety to step into the place of the
infirm and aged Prelate, while he was yet living.
There appears, however, no substantial ground for
this hateful imputation. It was, at this time, in-
deed, well known to him, that the King had designed
him to be the successor of Abbot, in the Primacy 2 .
Neither is it at all improbable that he, in common
with many others, had long been weary of Abbot's
administration. But we do not find the Arch-
bishop himself entertaining any suspicion that his
disgrace had been brought about by Laud's impa-
tience for his removal. The person to whom he
principally attributed his humiliation, was the Duke
of Buckingham ; who had long and bitterly resented
the Archbishop's independent bearing towards him-
self. He had already received some intimations of
the Duke's displeasure ; and he affirms that his
Grace was urgent with the King, that his sequestra-
tion should take place previously to the sailing of
the fleet ; lest the Primate should take advantage of
the Duke's absence, at Whitehall, and at the Council
table 3 . But, whatever might be the designs of the
1 Breviate, p. 12.
2 This appears from the following entry in his Diary, Oct. 2,
1626 : " The Duke related to me what the King had resolved
concerning me, in case the Archbishop of Canterbury should
die."
3 Abbot's Narrative, Rushw. vol. i. p. 435. 445. Those who
may be desirous of more detailed information, relative to this
III.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 109
Archbishop's enemies, their success was but partial
and transient. His banishment from the court was
of no long duration. At Christmas, in the following
year, 1628, he was honourably recalled from his re-
tirement, and was then restored to his metropolitan
jurisdiction; which he continued to exercise, without
molestation, till his decease in 1633.
discreditable transaction, may consult Coll. vol. ii. p. 742.
Racket's Williams, pt. i. p. 68. But, more especially, Abbot's
Narrative, Rushw. vol. i. p. 434457.
HO LIFE OF [CHAP.
CHAPTER IV.
A.D. 1628-1630.
Charles's third Parliament Petition of Right Proceedings
against Manwaring Remonstrance of the Commons Laud in
danger He draws up an answer to the Remonstrance He is
translated to the See of London Assassination of Buckingham
Laud's conduct at the examination of Felton Laud reforms
the disorders in the election of Proctors, at Oxford His zeal
for the advancement of Literature Reprint of the 39 Articles,
with the Royal Declaration prefixed Exasperation of the
Puritans The Vow, or Protestation, of the Commons Laud
draws up an Answer The wisdom and moderation of his
Views The third Parliament dissolved Laud is threatened
by the Puritanical faction- -Royal Injunctions of 1629 Laud's
apprehensions for the Church and State-^-He is made Chancellor
of the University of Oxford Punishment of Leighton for pub-
lishing " Ziorfs plea against the Prelates" Laud had no con-
cern in the Sentence He consecrates St. Catherine Cree, and
other Churches, and is charged with using Superstitious Cere-
monies This charge considered.
WHEN Charles's third Parliament assem-
1628.
bled, the nation was involved, by the in-
sane counsels of Buckingham, in a most unpopular,
and, hitherto, most unsuccessful, war with France.
At the opening of this Parliament, on the 17th of
March, Bishop Laud preached, once more, on the
excellence of unity. The text of this discourse was
echoed by the King in his speech to the two Houses ;
for his Majesty concluded his address by expressing
a hope " that they would follow the sacred advice
lately inculcated, to maintain tJie unity of the
IV.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. Ill
in the bond of peace." The Lord Keeper, then, en-
larged upon the formidable power of Austria, the
mighty preparations of Spain, the distractions preva-
lent in the Netherlands, the dangers of the Reformed
Religion in France, and the consequent necessities
of the Crown. The words, however, were addressed
to sluggish ears. The Commons seemed resolved to
think of nothing but the dangers which, as they
alleged, were besetting the Reformed Religion in
England; and, of the still more imminent peril
which threatened the personal liberties of English
subjects. Their first measure was to move the
House of Peers to join them in an address to the
King, for the more effectual suppression of Popery ;
their next, to digest the propositions which were
afterwards embodied in the celebrated Petition of
Right. But this was not all. " They thought they
had not done themselves right enough in disputing
their property with the King in Parliament, if they
suffered it to be preached down in the court and
country V The House of Commons, accordingly,
resumed the exercise of their inquisitorial power.
They drew up a declaration against Dr. Manwaring,
for the obnoxious sermons he had delivered ; and
this they presented to the Lords, at a conference, in
which Pym was the manager. The offensive pas-
sages were read, and aggravated to the very height ;
and the judgment of the Lords was demanded against
the writer. On the 13th of June he was brought be-
fore them, to answer for himself. The next day,
notwithstanding his humble, and almost abject sub-
mission, they sentenced him to imprisonment during
1 Heylyn, p. 179.
112 LIFE OF [CHAP.
the pleasure of the House ; ordered him to pay a
fine of 1000 to the King ; condemned him to make
such submission as should be set down by a com-
mittee, in writing, both at the bar, and in the House
of Commons ; interdicted him from ever preaching
again at court, and, for three years, from exercising
his ministry any where ; pronounced him disabled
from holding any ecclesiastical dignity, or secular
office; and, finally, resolved that his Majesty should
be moved to call in the book by proclamation, and
cause it to be publicly burned l !
Whatever might be the demerits of Manwaring, it
would be extremely difficult to reconcile the above
proceeding to the forms, or to the spirit, of the con-
stitution. It appears to have been something in the
nature of an impeachment ; though it had little of
the formality of that solemn process. At all events,
it was a most portentous stretch of Parliamentary
power. If the Commons regarded the discourses of
Manwaring as amounting to a dangerous political
libel, the Attorney General might have been in-
structed to deal with them accordingly. If they
considered those discourses as a scandal upon reli-
gion, they might have voted a resolution to that
effect ; and stigmatised the publication of them, as
calling for the censures of the ecclesiastical tribunal.
The irregular and summary course which they actu-
ally followed, and the outrageous sentence pro-
nounced by the Lords, at their imperious demand,
were exactly fitted to awaken the reasonable resent-
ments of the King, and the fears of his best coun-
sellors and most faithful subjects. The sentiments
1 See Rushw. vol. i. p. 585, 586. 593605.
IV.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 113
of his Majesty, respecting this proceeding, were,
soon after, very intelligibly manifested by the issue
of the Royal pardon to Manwaring, and by his pro-
motion, first, to the living of Stamford Rivers in
Essex ; next, to the Deanery of Worcester ; and,
finally, to the Bishopric of St. David's. So that, as
Heylyn observes, the Parliamentary thunders " did
rather affrighten than hurt him." The royal indul-
gence towards the delinquent, however, was angrily
remembered by the Commons ; who, doubtless, in-
tended to crush a man, whom they regarded as the
slavish advocate of despotism.
The sentence on Manwaring was but the prelude
to an assault on Bishop Laud, and other reputed
champions of Popery and Prerogative. On the llth
of June, the Commons had resolved, that the Duke
of Buckingham was the main cause of all the griev-
ances in the kingdom. On the 12th, they vented
their indignation against Laud, for having warranted
Dr. Manwaring's sermons to the press. On the
14th, they proceeded to a consideration of this
charge, which, on examination, appeared to be ut-
terly unfounded ] . On the same day, they were em-
ployed in the preparation of a remonstrance, in
which they complained of innovations in religion ;
of the countenance shown to Recusants ; and of the
daily growth of the faction of the Arminians, who
were said to be Protestants in show, but Jesuits in
opinion and practice : of which faction, they de-
nounced Neile, then Bishop of Winchester, and
Laud, Bishop of Bath and Wells, as the patrons and
the leaders. Having, then, produced a variety of
1 Diary, p. 42, 43.
I
114 LIFE OF [CHAP.
other grievances, they concluded by complaining of
the monopoly of offices in the person of the Duke,
and of his pernicious abuse of the power thus en-
trusted to him l .
There can be no doubt that this remonstrance was
but the visible eruption of a fire which had, for some
time past, been gathering beneath the feet of Laud,
and his ambitious patron. So long ago as the month
of October, 1627, the Dean of Canterbury, and Sir
Dudley Digges, had anticipated the failure of the
expedition to the Isle of Rhe, and had told Dr.
Williams, that there must be a Parliament ; in which
case, some sacrifices must be made ; and none more
likely than Bishop Laud. These whispers having
reached the ear of the Bishop, he communicated
them to the King ; whose reply was " Trouble not
yourself with any reports, till you see me forsake my
other friends V It was now evident, from the tem-
per of the House, that Laud was, more than ever, in
a condition to need all the comfort and encourage-
ment that could be derived from these gracious ex-
pressions of his master. For, in the course of the
debate upon the remonstrance) some honourable
member suggested, that, having named therein the
Bishops of Winchester and Bath, it might be as well
for them to think of some causes, why they did so.
Upon which, Sir Edward Coke instantly stood up,
and said, " Have we not named my Lord of Buck-
ingham, without showing a cause ? And may we not
be as bold with these two Bishops 3 ?" From which
1 See the remonstrance, in Rushw. vol i. p. 619626.
2 Diary, p. 42. Lloyd's Memoirs, p. 227. Ed. 1668.
3 Diary, p. 45.
IV.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 115
slight occurrence it is tolerably clear, that the time
was, even then, approaching, when the hot pursuit
of liberty would leave all sense of justice very far
behind it.
The remonstrance against Buckingham was, of
course, disagreeable enough to the King. The re-
monstrance against Tonnage and Poundage, which
was speedily to have followed it, was absolutely in-
tolerable. This blow, however, was intercepted by
Charles, in the very instant when it was about to
fall. On the 26th of June, while the Commons were
engaged in hearing that document finally read, the
King came suddenly to the House of Lords, sent for
the Speaker and the Commons, delivered a sharp
speech, in which he told them that their first remon-
strance was such as no wise man could justify *, and
that the second, which they were preparing, would
deprive him of one of the chiefest maintenances of
his crown ; and then prorogued the Parliament to the
20th of October. The session, however, was a
memorable one 2 . It had secured for the people of
England the glorious law known by the name of
the Petition of Right. From this moment, any
attempt to invade their property or personal free-
dom was sure to be resented, not only as tyrannical,
but as hatefully perfidious.
The remonstrance having been printed and circu-
1 This rebuke gave the bitterest offence to the popular party.
" The chief tribunes spake their discontents aloud, that they had
given a bountiful levy of five subsidies, and were called fools for
their labour !" Racket's Williams, pt. ii. p. 79. " And yet,"
adds Racket, " how many kings had treated both Houses more
sharply, upon less provocation !"
2 Rushw. vol. i. p. 628632.
I 2
116 LIFE OF [CHAP.
lated by order of the Commons, a proclamation was
issued by the King for its suppression : and, when
the session was ended, an answer to it was deemed
indispensable ; and Laud was commissioned to draw
it up. In this paper, his Majesty declares himself
quite as averse from innovation as they who think
they do well to fear it so excessively. He denies
that the alleged indulgence to the Papists amounted
to a dispensation of the laws against them. The
composition made with Recusants was, rather, a
financial measure, for the supply of the treasury,
which had been left unfurnished. With regard to
the daily growth of the Arminian faction, it was " a
mere dream of them that wake ; and would cause his
Majesty's loving and loyal people to think that he
slept the while." In that charge, too, his Majesty
added, great wrong was done to two eminent Pre-
lates, that attended on his person ; for they were
accused without the least show or shadow of proof.
Should they, or any other, attempt religious innova-
tion, either by open practice, or cunning device, his
Majesty would quickly dispose of them, without
staying for a remonstrance" The complaint respect-
ing the suppression of orthodox books, and the dis-
couragement of good preachers, he said, was equally
unfounded. The proclamation had commanded a
restraint on both sides, till such time as the passions
of men should subside ; and a due obedience to it
would have effectually prevented the present agita-
tion. As for the distribution of Church preferment,
he would take care that it should be the means of re-
warding desert and pains : but he would be, himself,
the judge of the desert, and not be taught by a re-
monstrance. With respect to Ireland (the state of
12
IV.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 117
which had been pointedly adverted to by the Com-
mons), it was, to say the least, in no worse condition
than that in which it was left by Queen Elizabeth :
and he had too much confidence in his Deputy and
Council there, to believe that they would leave him
in ignorance of the creation of new monasteries and
superstitious houses in that kingdom, if any such
establishments had been, in fact, attempted. In con-
clusion, he averred, that, whatever might be the vio-
lence with which religion might be threatened in
other parts, there was no undermining practice
against it, at home ; if they practise not against it,
who seem most to labour for it. And he recom-
mended to all, an amendment of life, as the best and
truest of all religious remonstrances l .
The language and tone of this paper was not,
perhaps, of that soft description which turneth away
wrath. The composition of it formed, afterwards,
one formidable item of accusation against Laud.
He pleaded, as was usual with him, on similar occa-
sions, that, in preparing it, he did but obey the ex-
press commands of his Majesty, as he was bound to
do, conformably to his oath as a sworn Counsellor ;
that he closely adhered to the royal instructions ; and
that, with regard to " the sour and bitter passages,"
which it was said to contain, there might be some
expressions in it too big for the mouth of a subject,
and yet, not unfit to be uttered by a King 2 . It
1 Heylyn, p. 182, 183.
2 Troubles, &c. p. 406, 407 = from which, it would appear
that, after all, the answer was not published. For Laud is
charged, among other things, with "being displeased that it was
never printed." Prynne, however, found a copy of it in the
Bishop's study.
118 LIFE OF [CHAP.
does not seem to have been understood either by
Charles or his advisers, that the language fittest for
a King is that of sedate and unimpassioned dignity ;
and that he does but degrade and enfeeble his au-
thority, whenever he shows himself capable of the
same tumultuous excitement which may agitate his
subjects.
On the 15th of July, in this year, Laud was trans-
lated to the See of London ; a post which brought
him into more immediate conflict with the faction,
which, in his deliberate belief, was engaged in one
incessant conspiracy against the Established Church.
One of his first acts was to assist at the consecration
of Dr. Montague, nominated by the King to the
See of Chichester. This was a promotion in which
his Majesty may be said to have shown more of
magnanimity than of prudence ; since it was sure
to exasperate the Commons, under whose censures
Montague had so recently fallen. It was on the
24th of August, while occupied in this solemnity at
Croydon, together with the Archbishop, and the
Bishops of Winchester, Ely, and Carlisle, that Laud
received the afflicting intelligence of Buckingham's
assassination by Felton. The grief of Laud for this
bereavement, is vividly painted in several of his
letters to J. G. Vossius ; more particular in one,
dated October 25, 1628, in which he thus expresses
himself: " I will say no more, lest my heart should
break, and my spirit take its flight. The man is
dead to whom we both owe so much/' And again,
" I return to the unutterable sorrows which over-
whelm me, for the slaughter of the illustrious Duke,
ever to be deplored. I doubt not that he has reached
heaven. We remain dwellers upon earth, which
IV.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 119
Astrea has abandoned. Consider well your own
loss, mine is infinite." In another letter he inti-
mates that this calamity threw him into a severe
illness, from which he scarcely had recovered 1 . The
depth and sincerity of his sorrow is further attested
by the language of his private devotions 2 . And it
appears from the same evidence, that, in his honest
persuasion, the death of his friend was to be ascribed
to the machinations of that party who were then
arrayed against the government. This suspicion,
however, seems to have been unfounded. The
assassin was one of those melancholy fanatics who
are always sure to be found, in times of fierce poli-
tical and religious agitation : but he was without the
slightest connexion, that has ever been discovered,
with any individual of note or influence; and he
died in penitence for his crime. Nevertheless, it is
scarcely to be doubted, that the atrocity must have
had the effect of deepening the antipathy of Laud
for the whole tribe of Puritans ; and must have
helped to fortify him in the conviction, that com-
promise with them was little less than treason to his
sovereign and his country.
On the 9th of September, Laud attended the
Court for the first time after the murder of the Duke.
1 J. G. Voss. Epist. 98. p. 62. Epist. 103. p. 65. Prest. Vir.
Epist. No. 460. p. 734. Diary, p. 43. September 27, 1628.
1 The prayer composed by him, on this occasion, contains the
following petition : " Lay open the bottom of that irreligious
and graceless plot that spilt his blood. Bless and preserve the
King from danger, and in security, in these dangerous times."
The constancy and fervency with which he used this prayer is,
of course, turned to his reproach by Prynne, who says " When
this Duke was slain, he used this special prayer, much daubed,
through frequent use, with his fingers." Breviate, p. 14.
w ft A t\\/ f r /"/%i I r/T*
120 LIFE OF [CHAP.
He was received with many gracious speeches by
the King ; and, thenceforth, appeared to occupy the
foremost place in his Majesty's confidence *. In
November, Felton was examined before the Council.
Laud, of course, was present : and it will scarcely
be thought surprising that he should be betrayed
into some passionate expression of his grief and
horror. But it is most deeply to be lamented, that
he was utterly unable to overmaster these emotions
during the solemn proceedings at the Council-table ;
and that he so far forgot the Statesman and the
Bishop, as to threaten Felton with the rack, if he
should persevere in refusing to discover his accom-
plices. On reference to the Judges, it was unanimously
declared by them, that no such punishment as torture
is known or allowed by our law. And the conse-
quence was precisely what might be expected from
this unfortunate eruption of violence and passion,
namely, the immediate circulation of the saying, that
" Crown Law was more favourable to the subject
than Crown Divinity 2 !"
But, although it must be admitted, that such a
proposal ought never to have fallen from the lips of
a Father of the Church, it should not be forgotten,
that, after all, the inhumanity of it belonged rather
to the age, than to the man. The application of the
rack might, indeed, be unknown to our law : but
it certainly was not unknown to our practice. To
mention no other instances, the rack had been re-
sorted to for the purpose of extorting a confession
from Guy Fawkes : and, under these circumstances,
1 Diary, p. 43.
2 Heylyn, p. 187. Rushw. vol. i. p. 637639.
IV.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 121
a churchman might well be excused for a mistake
upon a question, which required the decision of all
the Judges of the land. Besides, the practice was
then common in many other parts of Christendom :
and every one knows how prodigally it was applied
by Richelieu ; with whom Laud has sometimes been
compared, with a view to his disparagement.
One of the first cares of Laud, on his promotion
to the See of London, was to rescue the University
of Oxford from the scandal occasioned by the scenes
of disgraceful turbulence which were usually incident
to the annual election of Proctors. These disor-
ders he proposed to correct by the construction of a
Cycle, which should distribute the turns according to
the extent and importance of the foundations. The
measure was submitted by him to the Council-board ;
and, having first received the royal sanction, was
gratefully accepted by the University, in Convoca-
tion, without a single dissentient voice *. His zeal
for the advancement of literature was equal to his
anxiety for the preservation of discipline. He pre-
vailed upon the Earl of Pembroke to purchase no
less than 240 Greek manuscripts, and to present
them to the University : and, shortly after twenty-
eight more were sent to him, for the same desti-
nation, by Sir Thomas Roe, who had been King
James's Ambassador to the Mogul 2 , and had been
employed by Buckingham in making these literary
collections. These were peaceable and gratifying
offices. But his eminent rank in the Church now
called him to a much more dangerous field of exei-
1 Diary, p. 43. Heylyn, p. 193, 194.
2 Diary, p. 44.
122 LIFE OF [CHAP.
tion. He had perceived that the King's Proclama-
tion of 1626, had been very imperfectly observed
throughout the kingdom. Some respect had been
shown to it in the market-towns, in which it had
been published. But there were many ministers in
the country, who found it convenient to be ignorant
of these injunctions ; and who, up to that time, had
continued to disregard them with impunity. To
remedy this mischief, Laud advised his Majesty to
order a reprint of the Thirty-nine Articles, with a
Declaration prefixed, for the purpose of guarding them
from misconstruction. This counsel was adopted,
and the Declaration published. This document,
after some preliminary matter, reminds the people,
that the Sovereign is the supreme governor of the
Church of England, and that the Clergy, in Con-
vocation, are to settle all matters of ecclesiastical
polity : first, receiving permission so to do, under
the broad Seal ; and subsequently obtaining the royal
assent to their ordinances and constitutions. It
further alludes to certain unhappy differences by
which the Church had been distracted, in the inter-
pretation of her Articles ; and, then, concludes as
follows : " We will that all further curious search be
laid aside, and those disputes be shut up in God's
promises, as they be generally set forth to us in holy
Scripture, and the general meaning of the Arti-
cles of the Church of England, according to them :
that no man, hereafter, shall either print or preach, to
draw the Article aside any way ; but shall submit to
it, in the full and plain meaning thereof, and shall
not put his own sense or comment to be the mean-
ing of the Article, but shall take it in the literal and
grammatical sense : that, if any public reader in either
IV.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 123
of our Universities, or any head or master of a Col-
lege, or any other person respectively in either of
them, shall affix any new sense to an Article, or shall
publicly read, determine, or hold, any public dispu-
tation, or suffer any such to be held either way, in
either the Universities, or Colleges, respectively ; or
if any divine in the Universities, shall preach or print
any thing, either way, other than is established in
Convocation, with our royal assent ; he, or they,
the offenders, shall be liable to our displeasure, and
the Church's censure, in our commission ecclesiasti-
cal, as well as any other : And we will see there
shall be due execution upon them V
To any impartial and dispassionate inquirer, the
above instrument will appear to be little more than a
Proclamation, issued by the King, as Supreme Head
of the Church, for the purpose of protecting her from
the evils incident to a licentious exercise of private
judgment, and from the discord which must arise
from the fanatical perversion of her doctrines, and the
factious violation of her discipline. It introduces no
new principle. It threatens no unheard of or arbi-
trary punishment. It merely declares, in effect, that
all who abuse the office of exposition, or interpreta-
tion, to the disturbance of the Church's peace, shall
be objects of his Majesty's displeasure; and that
this displeasure shall be manifested by a vigorous
enforcement of ecclesiastical authority. Never-
theless, if we are to judge by the manner in which
it was received by the unquiet spirits of that ge-
neration, the document in question was neither
1 Heylyn, p. 188, 189, where the whole declaration is printed ;
but without a date.
124 LIFE OF [CHAP.
more nor less than an intolerable edict, involving
all the guilt of impiety and despotism ! The ex-
asperation produced by it, speedily became both
visible and audible. The Parliament*
1629.
which had been prorogued in October,
assembled on the 20th of January. The King sent
a message to the House, requiring them speedily
to take the bill for Tonnage and Poundage under
consideration. The Commons were in no humour to
comply : first, because the bill ought wholly to ori-
ginate with themselves ; secondly, because there was
much heavy work in hand, for their Committee of
Religion. The Calvinistic party proclaimed, that,
beyond all doubt, the recent declaration was designed
for no other purpose than the suppression of Calvin-
ists, and the encouragement of Arminians l : and
their fury knew no bounds. The depths of Satan,
they exclaimed, were opened ; the Arminians were
invited to sow their tares ; a Jesuitical plot was formed
for the subversion of the Gospel, and for the suppres-
sion of godly and painful ministers. A petition had,
accordingly, been prepared by certain London minis-
ters (which, however, was stopped before it reached the
throne), bitterly deprecating this restraint on the saving
doctrines of God's free grace, in election and predes-
tination, and predicting imminent ruin to the State,
from that enemy of God, Arminlus 2 . In the House
of Commons, learning, both sacred and profane, was
ransacked for terms of reprobation, to brand the
Armiman corruptions. One specimen may suffice.
1 Rushw, vol. i. p. 653.
3 Heylyn, p. 190. Cant. Doom. p. 164, 165, where the whole
of this petition is given.
IV.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 125
" I desire" said Rous, (afterwards the Speaker of
Cromwell's Parliament,) " I desire that we may con-
sider the increase of Arminianism ; an error that
makes the grace of God lackey it after the will of
man ; that makes the sheep to keep the Shepherd ;
and makes a mortal seed of an immortal God. Yea,
I desire that we should look into the very belly and
bowels of this Trojan horse ; to see if there be not
men in it, ready to open the gates to Romish tyranny,
and Spanish Monarchy. For an Arminian is the
spawn of a Papist ; and if there come warmth of fa-
vour upon him, you shall see him turn into one of
those frogs that rise out of the bottomless pit. And,
if you mark it well, you shall see an Arminian reach-
ing out his hand to a Papist, a Papist to a Jesuit ;
and a Jesuit gives one hand to the Pope, and another
to the King of Spain. And these men, having
kindled a fire in our neighbour country, they have
now brought over some of it hither, to set on flame
this kingdom also." The Arminians, in short, were
a band of subtle conspirators against the honour, the
liberty, and the religion of their country. Arminianism
itself was a prodigy, which combined all the abomi-
nations of Popery, Despotism, and Impiety. And,
of this three-headed monster, Laud was denounced as
the keeper : ready, at any moment, to unchain it, and
to let it loose, to hunt and tear in pieces the people
of God *. The zeal of the Commons, at last, collected
itself into the form of a solemn vow, or protestation,
to the following effect : " We the Commons, in Par-
liament assembled, do claim, protest, and avow for
1 See the debates and proceedings on this subject in Rushw.
vol. i. p. 645660. Cant. Doom. p. 165.
126 LIFE OF [CHAP.
truth, the sense of the Articles of Religion, which
were established by Parliament, in the thirteenth year
of our late Queen Elizabeth ! , which, by the public
act of the Church of England, and current exposition
of the writers of our Church, have been delivered
unto us. And we reject the sense of the Jesuits
and Arminians, and all others, wherein they differ
from us 2 .
A reader, not much acquainted with theological
controversy, might here, possibly, be induced to
pause ; and to ask, what was an Armmian ? What
were the opinions, and the practices, of the enemy
to God and man, who bore that name ? And he
would, doubtless, be much surprised to learn, that an
Arminian was one who rejected the doctrine, which
affirms that men are doomed to eternal happiness or
misery by an arbitrary and irrevocable decree, and
that the grace of God is so absolutely indefectible,
that the elect can never fall away ; one who believed
that the scheme of redemption was, in its design,
universal ; one who maintained that the human will
is not in a state of positive slavery ; one, likewise,
who did not hold it altogether damnable to entertain
some doubts, whether the Church of Rome were pre-
figured by the scarlet woman of the Apocalypse ; and
1 It is justly remarked by Heylyn, p. 192, that in Elizabeth's
time, some ministers being stiffly wedded to their old mumpsimus
of the mass, and others to their new sumpsimus of inconformity, it
was necessary that the doctrine of the Church should be kept
inviolate ; and that, for this end, subscription was required to
the Articles of 1562 : but that Parliamentary Committees of
Religion, either to examine the orthodoxy, or to fix the sense, of
the Articles, were things unheard of in that reign.
2 Rushw. vol. i. p. 649, 650.
IV.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 127
who, moreover, conceived it possible that a member
of that communion might be saved. These were the
opinions then branded by the title of Armmian ; as
if they had been so many pernicious novelties, with
which the Church of Christ had been infested by the
celebrated Dutch Divine, Armmius ; whereas, in fact,
the same opinions had been held, by many of the
wisest and most moderate of our own divines, long
before the name of Armmius was known in England.
Besides, what would be the astonishment of the in-
quirer, on learning, further, that the malcontents were
agitated with the fiercest spirit of Romish intolerance,
at the very moment when they were raving against
Rome ! In 1623, Archbishop Abbot had addressed a
letter to King James, in which he declared, that, to
grant a toleration in religion, would be to set up the
most damnable and heretical doctrine of the Church
of Rome, the whore of Babylon *. The recent remon-
strance of the Commons had pronounced all compo-
sition with Recusants, to be a toleration odious to
God 2 . And there can be no reasonable doubt, that
they who were thus clamorous for the suppression of
Popery, would have loudly hailed the royal declara-
tion, if it had laid an interdict on that spawn of
Popery Arminianism. It is notorious, that they
regarded a believer in free-will with nearly as much
abhorrence as a disbeliever in Revelation ; and would
have committed the preaching of the Gospel to an
atheist, almost as willingly as to an Arminian he-
retic.
Such were tempers which became half frantic,
because an attempt was made to banish the festering
1 Rushw. vol. i. p. 85. 2 Ibid. p. 621.
128 LIFE OF [CHAP.
plague of controversy, at a time when religious enthu-.
siasm and political discontent had formed the closest
alliance with each other. The wild strife and con-
fusion around him, appear to have had but little ter-
ror for Laud. To the memorable vorv, of the Com-
mons, he drew up the heads of a calm and sedate an-
swer ; which, however, was not published, but was
afterwards found among his papers. The most im-
portant sentences of this document, are those with
which it concludes ; " All consent, in all ages, (as far
as I have observed,) to an Article or Canon, is, to
itself, as it is laid down in the body of it ; and if it
will bear more senses than one, it is lawful for any
man to choose what sense his judgment directs him
to : so that it be a sense, secundum analogiam fidei^
and that he holds it peaceably, without distracting the
Church. And the wisdom of the Church hath been,
in all ages, or in most, to require consent to articles,
in general, as much as may be ; because this is the
way of unity. And the Church, in high points, re-
quiring assent to particulars, hath been rent. 1 " This,
undeniably, is, at least, the language of moderation :
and, that it was the dictate of an honest and single
heart, is evident, both from the tenor of his life, and
from his private correspondence. In a letter addressed
to J. G. Vossius, in the following year, 1629, (having
mentioned, as a reason for his silence on religious
matters in England, his unwillingness to anger a sore,
or to expose his own country) he expresses himself as
follows : "I have spared no pains to prevent these
dangerous and intricate questions from being handled
before the people : lest, under the colour of truth, we
1 See Heylyn, p. 192.
IV.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 129
should violate godliness and charity. I have always
been for moderate counsels ; lest men of hot tempers,
with whom religion is not the main object, should
throw all things into confusion. This course may
not, perhaps, have given satisfaction. Nevertheless,
I have kept in mind how solemnly our Saviour re-
commended charity to his followers ; and with what
caution and patience his apostle wishes us to treat the
weak. If I should perish by using arts like these,
my recompense will be with me : and except in God,
I will seek for no consolation beyond myself
With the blessing of God, I will endeavour that truth
and peace may embrace each other. If, for our sins,
God should deny us this blessing, my own hope will
be for the peace which is eternal V
The short remainder of this Session shows how vain
had been the efforts of the King to open it under pacific
auspices. Previously to its commencement, he had
issued a proclamation for the execution of the laws
against Jesuits and Recusants. He had ordered the
apprehension of one Smith, a Popish Priest, who, as
Bishop of Chalcedon, was exercising episcopal juris-
diction in this country. He had recalled Archbishop
Abbot to court, with circumstances of honour, and had
desired his attendance at the Council Board. He had
promoted Dr. Potter, then a decided Calvinist, to the
See of Carlisle. He had even called in the book of
Dr. Montague, as being " the first cause of all the
differences which had troubled the quiet of the
Church 2 ." But all these things had profited him
1 Prsestantium Virorum Epistolae ; Ep. 471. p. 740 (b); dated
July 14th, 1629.
2 Heylyn, p. 195.
130 LIFE OF [CHAP.
nothing. The last of his concessions, more especially,
was thought to be little better than a mockery. The
book of Montague, it was alleged, had been pub-
lished three years ; had been widely circulated ; and
had done its mischief: and the writer had been punished
with a good Bishopric. The discountenancing of
his work was scorned as a transparent artifice, adop-
ted only for the purpose of disarming the gainsayers.
These unfortunate impressions had been rendered
indelible, by the royal declaration. And the effect
was, that the House of Commons was converted, dur-
ing the Session, into a sort of General Assembly of
the Church. The Committee of Religion was over-
whelmed with work. Reports and Petitions were in-
cessantly rushing in upon it, from every quarter. Not
only the restraint of books against Popery and Armi-
nianism, and the prosecution of orthodox writers and
publishers, but the transformation of communion
tables into altars, the practice of standing up at the
reading of the Gospel and the Doxology, the bow-
ing at the name of Jesus, in short, all imaginable
abuses in discipline or doctrine, were dragged be-
fore this formidable inquest. The patience of his
Majesty was, at last, exhausted. On the 2nd of
March, he sent a message to the House, (which may
well make modern ears to tingle,) commanding their
adjournment. In obedience to this order, the Speaker
was about to leave the chair : but he was forcibly de-
tained in it, till three Resolutions were passed ; the
frst against innovators in religion ; the second against
those who should counsel the levying of tonnage and
poundage, without consent of Parliament ; the third
against all who should yield a voluntary submission
to the exaction, Having denounced all such persons,
IV.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 131
as capital enemies to the commonwealth, the House
admitted the Sergeant-at-arms ; and then adjourned
in the midst of unspeakable confusion 1 . On the 10th
of March, the Parliament was dissolved.
This dissolution was soon followed by a royal pro-
clamation ; in which, his Majesty began by censuring
the tumultuous occurrences which had attended the
close of the Parliament, and the false and pernicious
rumours, circulated by several members of the House
of Commons, that liberty and religion were in danger.
He, then, adverted to certain reports which had been
spread abroad, for evil purposes, to the effect, that a
new Parliament must soon be called 2 . And, he ad-
ded that, although "his Majesty had showed, by his
frequent meeting with his people, his love of Parlia-
ments, yet, the late abuse having, for the present,
driven him out of that course, he should account it
presumption for any to prescribe to his Majesty a
time for Parliaments ; the time for calling, continu-
ing, or dissolving them, being in the King's own
power 3 ." Upon grounds so light as these, if Cla-
rendon may be credited, it was commonly under-
stood that the King had inhibited all men even to
speak of another Parliament ; and the minds of many
1 Rushw. vol. i. p. 662.
2 That such an impression existed, is manifest, from the fol-
lowing passage in a letter of Sir H. Wotton to Sir Edmund Ba-
con, dated March 6th, a few days before the dissolution : " Some
think the Parliament doth yet hang upon a thread, and may be
stitched together again. But that is an airy conceit. Yet the
peace of Italy, and the preparations of France against us, are
voiced so strongly, that I verily believe we shall have a new stim-
mons." Reliq. Wotton : p. 444. Ed. 1685.
3 Parl. Hist. Col. 524, 525. Ann. 1629.
K 2
132 LIFE OF [CHAP.
were filled with apprehensions of a fixed design to
alter the form of government, both in Church and
State 1 . And, most unfortunately for Laud, both
this, and every other unpopular measure of the time,
was, without hesitation, and as matter of course,
principally ascribed to his traitorous and pernicious
counsels. The pardon and promotion of Montague
and Manwaring, the violation of the privileges of
the Commons by a Sheriff's officer, the Message of
the King to adjourn the House, and, finally, the
dissolution of the Parliament, all were charged,
more or less confidently, to this notorious heretic and
traitor ! By him, and his junta, was let loose the
whole legion of mischiefs which besieged the common-
wealth. And a proposition was once actually made
by Sir John Elliot, that the King should be peti-
tioned to leave him, and his confederate Neile, to the
mercy of the House 2 . Laud himself was painfully
conscious that the Parliament had sought his ruin :
though he congratulates himself that they were able
to " find nothing against him V It soon appeared
that his enemies out of the House, were quite as ac-
tive and virulent as those within it. On Sunday the
29th of March, two papers were found in the yard,
before the house of the Dean of St. Paul's. The one
was to this effect : " Laud, look to thyself. Be as-
sured thy life is sought. As thou art the fountain of
all wickedness, repent thee of thy monstrous sins,
before thou be taken out of the world. And assure
thyself, that neither God nor the world can endure
1 Clar., vol. i. p. 118, 119.
2 Heylyn, p. 197. Rushw. vol. i. p. 653660.
3 Diary, p. 44.
5
IV.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 133
such a vile counsellor or whisperer to live." The other
of these papers, equally furious, was directed against
the Lord Treasurer, Weston ; and both papers were,
that same night, delivered by the Dean into the hands
of the King. They extorted 'from Laud only a re-
corded acknowledgment, in his Diary, of his frailty as
a man ; with a brief appeal to the Almighty, for deli-
verance from them that" hated him without a cause 1 ."
By this time, the war with France and Spain was
terminated ; and the sovereign and his people were
left at liberty to cultivate the arts of peace. The
chief care of Bishop Laud was accordingly directed
towards the Church, the condition of which was such
as deeply to stir the spirit of one so devoted to its
prosperity and honour. " He saw her," says his
biographer, " decaying in power and patrimony :
her patrimony dilapidated by the avarice of several
bishops, in making havoc of their woods, to enrich
themselves ; and, more than so, in filling up their
grants and leases to the utmost term, after they had
been nominated to other Bishoprics, to the great
wrong of their successors. Her power he found
diminished, partly by the Bishops themselves, in
leaving their Dioceses unregarded, and living alto-
gether about Westminster, to be in a more ready way
for the next preferment ; partly by the great increase
of Chaplains in the houses of many private gentle-
men ; but, chiefly, by the multitude of irregular Lec-
turers, both in city and country, whose work it was
to undermine as well the doctrine as the government
of it 2 ." The truth of this representation is sufficiently
1 Diary, p. 44. 2 Heylyn, p. 198, 199.
134 LIFE OF [CHAP.
attested by a document which was prepared by Laud,
and speedily published under the title of " His Ma-
jesty's Instructions to the Archbishop of Canterbury,
containing certain orders to be observed by the several
Bishops in his Province." By these orders, their
Lordships were strictly enjoined to keep residence in
their Episcopal Houses, if such houses existed, to
enforce, in their Visitation Charges, the observance
of the King's Declaration, to be careful that their
Ordinations should be solemnly conducted, and
that Holy Orders should not be conferred upon un-
worthy persons. They were further instructed to
keep a vigilant eye upon the Lecturers ; to encourage
grave and orthodox Divines ; to suffer none but noble-
men, and persons qualified by law, to have domestic
Chaplains ; and to notice all who should absent
themselves, whether as Recusants or otherwise, from
Divine Service. They were forbidden, on pain of
forfeiting all hopes of translation, to execute ruinous
leases, or to cut down timber on the Episcopal
Estates : it being " a hateful thing that any man's
leaving a Bishopric should almost undo his succes-
sor." They were, lastly, commanded to render to his
Majesty a yearly account of their obedience to these
injunctions. Under the head of Lecturers, the same
paper contained the following regulations : 1. That
Catechising should, generally, be substituted for
Afternoon Sermons. 2. That the Lecturer should
read the Church Service, in his surplice, before the
lecture. 3. That the Lecturers, in market-towns,
should be orthodox Divines, and should preach in
gowns, and not in cloaks. 4. That no Lecturer
should be appointed by a corporation, but under the
IV. I ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 135
condition of his readiness to take a benefice with cure
of souls, as soon as one could fairly be procured for
himi.
These injunctions, perhaps, are such as no king
of England would think of issuing, in the present
state of the British Constitution. But to a person
who will throw his mind back into those times, the
greater part of them will, assuredly, appear to be, not
only far from unreasonable or tyrannical, but, in
their tendency, most salutary and admirable. They
were, nevertheless, extremely unsatisfactory to the
various parties who were touched by their provisions.
The holders of the poorer Bishoprics complained that
they were compelled to residence in their Episcopal
houses ; since this would involve a scale of hospitable
living, to which their revenues were unequal. They,
likewise, thought it hard that they should be obliged
to put up with the poverty which the acts of their
covetous predecessors had left them ; and yet should
be debarred from carving out a compensation for
themselves, by the application of similar practices.
The country gentlemen were sorely chafed by the
restraint upon their privilege of entertaining domestic
Chaplains : and the Chaplains were no better pleased
by a restriction, which tended to mar their hopes of
preferment, and to deprive them of the solace, which
they found in aristocratic licence and plenty, for the
scanty commons and austere discipline which they
had endured in their halls and colleges. The Puri-
tanical party were still more bitterly malcontent than
Chaplains, or country gentlemen, or Bishops. What,
they exclaimed, could be the object of these instruc-
1 Heylyn, p. 199,200.
136 LIFE OF [CHAP.
tions, but to suppress, or at least to fetter, the ordi-
nance of preaching ? And what must be the result,
but negligence in the priests, ignorance in the people,
and, eventually, the triumph of Popery and super-
stition throughout the realm ? And then, how into-
lerable was it that the office of Catechizing a task
fitter for pedagogues than for men mighty in the
Scriptures should be imposed upon preachers, who
rather were ordained to provide strong meat for men,
than milk for babes ? And how awful was the
thought, that their teaching must be restrained to the
exposition of God's will revealed, while his secret
purposes were to be kept sealed up under lock and
key ! And (to crown the whole of these gravamina)
was it to be endured that the Lecturers should be
dressed up in the Popish masquerade of gown and
surplice ; or shackled with parochial cures, and, con-
sequently, with articles and subscriptions ; all badges
of Antichrist, and clogs upon the freedom of the
Gospel l ?
The Lecturers of those times, it must here be
observed, stood towards the Calvinistic party in a
relation somewhat similar to that which, in former
days, was held by the mendicant orders towards the
Papacy. They constituted a sort of irregular levy,
unknown to the ancient parochial system of the
kingdom. They itinerated from house to house,
and from parish to parish. They intruded upon the
ministrations of the local Clergy. And, in some of
the larger market-towns, they formed a fraternity,
who were appointed to preach in rotation. Being
destitute of any permanent endowment, they were
i Heylyn, p. 202.
IV.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 137
placed in a state of slavish dependence on the caprices
of their congregations. They were, in short, the
originals and prototypes of all those religious
adventurers, who are ready to take service under
that which, in modern phrase, is termed the Volun-
tary System. Devout and zealous men might,
possibly, be found among them. But it scarcely can
be questioned that the spirit of faction and fanaticism
was, likewise, among the moving forces which pro-
duced their activity. And it is next to certain, that
no zeal or devotion of individuals can adequately
compensate the mischief which must be occasioned,
in the course of time, by the subversion of ecclesi-
astical discipline and order, and by the prostration of
the spirit of independence in the Clerical order.
Archbishop Abbot appears to have thought other-
wise. He could not refuse to circulate the royal
instructions ; but he took care to make it known
that he did so with no good will : for, when two in-
tractable Lecturers, named Palmer and Udnay, had
been suspended by the Dean and Archdeacon of
Canterbury, he restored them to their lectureships,
and inhibited the Archdeacon from the exercise of
his jurisdiction. By this proceeding, he held up the
King's injunctions to public contempt and scorn,
and fomented the spreading temper of disaffection
and sedition 1 .
In the midst of all this secret murmuring and open
clamour, Laud remained unmoved. He summoned
the Ministers of London and its neighbourhood to
appear before him ; pointed out to them the absolute
necessity of the Instructions ; and apprized them of
1 See Can t. Doom. p. 372, 373.
138 LIFE OF [CHAP.
his resolution to enforce them. He despatched letters
to every Archdeacon in his Diocese, requiring them
to insist on the publication of those orders, and to
furnish him with an account of their proceedings at
the end of their respective Visitations. For a time,
the other Bishops followed the same course, with a
considerable show of vigour : and, in some instances,
the more contumacious of the preachers were made
to pay dearly for their extravagance. But the zeal
and activity of the Prelates gradually languished,
when the first impulse began to exhaust itself. So
that, if the primacy of Abbot had been of much
longer duration, matters would probably have re-
lapsed into their former course *.
The extreme and bitter anxiety with which the
Bishop looked upon the condition both of Church and
State, about this period, is manifested in his corres-
pondence with Gerard Vossius. In January, 1629,
he says, " So may God love me, I know
not what can be done, especially by myself,
for the Church, in these festering times 2 ." Again,
in July, 1629, " Although I am unequal to the task
of stilling the tempests by which the Church is tossed,
yet you well know that, (with the blessing of God,)
I will not be wanting to her cause, or my own duty.
In the mean time, it is evident to all, how deeply the
State must be perilled, while the Church is drifting 3 !"
In the midst of all his cares, however, a fresh acces-
sion of honours now awaited him. On the 10th of
1 Heylyn, p. 202, 203.
2 " His exulceratis temporibus." Praest. Vir. Epist. No. 460.
p. 734. b. No. 493. p 758. b.
3 J. G. Voss. Epist. No 95. p. 74.
IV.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 139
April, 1630, the office of Chancellor of the Univer-
sity of Oxford became vacant by the sudden death of
William Earl of Pembroke. On the 12th, the Bishop
of London was chosen to supply his place. In spite
of some hasty opposition which was offered by the
Calvinistic party, with the aid of the four Colleges l
belonging to the Visitation of Dr. Williams, as Bishop
of Lincoln, his election was carried with little diffi-
culty. This unsolicited distinction must, doubt-
less, have been signally gratifying. The Bishop,
nevertheless, was anxious to decline the burdensome
and invidious honor. But his objections were over-
ruled by his Majesty ; who gladly and graciously
approved of the appointment 2 . On the 28th of April
he was solemnly invested with the office. And the
rest of his life shows how solicitous he was to justify
the choice of the University, by his sleepless care for
its prosperity, and by additional splendour of muni-
ficence in the encouragement of letters. In the
course of another month, he received a further mark
of the royal favour and regard. On the 29th of
May, the Queen was safely delivered of a Prince,
afterwards Charles the Second : and Laud " had the
1 Baliol, Oriel, Lincoln, and Brazennose. It is affirmed by
Prynne that Laud procured his election by foul play, in the scru-
tiny. (Cant. Doom. p. 71.) But this is mere fiction. It must
have been next to impossible for Laud, or his "creatures", to
concert any unfair measures. The Earl's death was quite sud-
den. Laud was in London at the time. And his election took
place on the second day after.
2 Laud expressly affirms that he was so far from seeking this
honour, that he laboured, by his letters, for another : and that
foreseeing the envy that would attach to the station, he begged
permission to refuse it : but that the King would not suffer him.
Troubles, &c. p. 305.
140 LIFE OF [CHAP.
happiness to see him, before he was full one hour
old 1 ." On the 27th of June, the royal infant was
baptized by the Bishop, as Dean of the Chapel Royal 2 ;
the Archbishop, to whom the performance of the rite
more properly belonged, being absent, either from
infirmity, or from a feeling of alienation towards the
Court. The event was hailed with joy, by all but
the Puritanical party. Their hopes and affections
were fixed on the family of the Queen of Bohemia,
sister to their King. Her children, they said, were
brought up in the Reformed Religion. But how
could any man know what would be the religion of
the King's children ; seeing they were nurtured by a
mother so devoted to the Church of Rome ? And
hence, while the rest of the kingdom was ringing
with festivity, the Calvinists wore an aspect of almost
funereal sorrow. Heylyn tells us that he was at a
town in Gloucestershire, when the intelligence arri-
ved ; and that, in honour of it, the bells rang, and the
bonfires blazed, and good cheer was distributed.
But, all this time, "from the house of the Presby-
terians there came neither man, nor child, nor wood,
nor victuals : their doors being shut close, all the
evening, as in a time of general mourning and dis-
consolation V
The same year was, most unhappily, distinguished
by the trial and punishment of the fanatical presby-
1 Diary, p. 45.
2 In the prayer used by Laud, on this occasion, were these
words, " Double his Father's graces upon him, O Lord, if that
be possible." This language might be injudicious and extrava-
gant. But it hardly merits the bitter censure bestowed on it by
Bishop Williams ; who called it " three piled flattery, and loath-
some divinity." Hacket, part. ii. p. 96.
3 Heylyn, p. 209.
IV.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 141
terian, Alexander Leighton, by birth a Scot, by pro-
fession originally a physician, and father to the cele-
brated Archbishop of that name. During the last
Session of Parliament, this man had published an
inflammatory, and all but treasonable volume, which
he was pleased to entitle *.' Zion's plea against the
Prelates." In this work, which he dedicated to the
Puritans, and presented in person to several members
of the House, he exhorted the godly to smite the
Bishops under the fifth rib, and to slay them ; and
branded the Queen as an idolatress, a Canaanite, and
a daughter of Heth. In short, the language of the
book was such as might be expected from a lunatic.
It showed that the author was fitter for Bedlam, than
the Fleet : and, in fact, the man died almost insane, in
1644. For this outrageous collection of libels, he was
brought before the Starchamber: and there,the two Chief
Justices declared, that it was solely of his Majesty's
mercy that he was not arraigned as a traitor, at ano-
ther bar. It cannot be questioned that, although the
writer was nearly a maniac, it was necessary to sup-
press, by a severe example, all such provocatives to
murder and insurrection. But the punishment actually
inflicted upon him, was horrible ! And, it was not
only an act of inhumanity, but a most egregious in-
discretion. It, at once, converted a crazy rebel into
a holy martyr. He was sentenced to imprisonment
at the King's pleasure ; to a fine of 10,000 ; to de-
gradation from his ministry l ; to the loss of both his
ears, and the slitting of his nose ; and to branding on
1 And yet this process must have been well nigh superfluous,
in the estimation of Leighton's judges : for it does not appear
that he received any other than Presbyterian ordination.
142 LIFE OF [CHAP.
his forehead with the initial letters of the words sedi-
tious slanderer. Aften ten months' imprisonment, he
was released by the Long Parliament ; and, by way
of compensation for his sufferings, he was made
Keeper of Lambeth Palace, then converted into
Lambeth jail !
It is a remarkable circumstance, that this enormity
was never laid to the charge of Laud, in the days
when heaven and earth were ransacked for matter of
impeachment against him. The repair of St. Paul's
Cathedral the setting up of some square feet of
stained glass at Lambeth Palace the rummaging of
an old crucifix from among the Regalia, all these
worthless shreds and remnants of evidence his per-
secutors were not ashamed, in their contemptible
exigency, to collect and patch together, in order " to
make up a show" of plausible arraignment. But not
one syllable occurs respecting the monstrous punish-
ment of Leighton ; though the man was then living,
and doubtless ready to come forth, if he could have
assisted to make good the charge. Prynne would
have, almost, gone a pilgrimage to the world's end,
to procure such proof against the grand Inquisitor of
the Church of England ! But Prynne himself was si-
lent. It has, indeed, been since confidently affirmed
that, while this merciless sentence was passing, Laud
pulled off his cap, and gave God thanks for it. But
this assertion was never heard of, till half a century
after the death of Laud ; and then, only on the au-
thority of an anonymous pamphleteer, who assumed the
name of Ludlow \ If there had been any foundation
1 This fact is asserted by Neale, vol. i. p. 548. 4to, 1754, but
no authority is produced for it. It is, indeed, affirmed by
IV.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 143
for the story, it is absolutely incredible that a fact
like this should have escaped the notice of that watch-
ful vengeance, which was seeking the Archbishop's
life.
The next important passage in the life
of Laud was the consecration of the Church
of St. Catherine Cree, and several other Churches.
Peirce, in his VindicicE^ that Laud was the author of all this
barbarity : and this, upon the authority of Ludlow. See Peirce,
p. 133 135, in the Latin copy, 1710, 8vo ; and p. 179181,
of the English Translation, second edition, London, 1718, 8vo.
But, there is the strongest reason for believing that the " Letter
of Ludlow to Dr. Hollingworth, 1692, 4to," (to which Peirce
refers) was not, in reality, the work of Ludlow. For Dr.
Hollingworth, in his " Second Defence of Charles I." addresses
the writer thus : " And now, sir, I come to examine your
Letter itself. The title page is, General Ludtow's Letter to Dr.
Hollingworth. Pray, sir, how durst you assume this name ?
For we are not so ignorant who you are, as it may be you think
we are." After this, appeared another Pamphlet, with the title,
" Ludlow no Liar," also in 1692, in reply to Dr. Hollingworth's
" Second Defence, &c." But it attempts no proof that the first
Letter was genuine. So that, with regard to Laud's concern in
" this barbarity," we have only the bare assertion of Neale, and
of some unknown writer, who, in 1692, thought fit to disguise
himself under the name of Ludlow.
Dr. Symmons, indeed, the editor of Milton, sagaciously dis-
covers evidence of guilt, in the entry of this matter in the Arch-
bishop's Diary ; and describes him as recording, " with calm
rancour and cold-blooded exultation, the execution of these judi-
cial barbarities." This is exquisitely ridiculous. The words of
the Diary are, " Nov. 4th, Leigh ton was degraded by the High
Commission. Nov. 26. Part of his sentence was executed upon
him, at Westminster." It might just as reasonably be concluded,
from the Diary, that Laud exulted in the assassination of Buck-
ingham, or the execution of Strafford. For he records them
with just as much apparent coldness of blood, as the cropping
144 LIFE OF [CHAP.
We may call it important, because the circumstances
were, afterwards, produced to piece out the proof of
his having traitorously endeavoured to subvert the
true religion, by the introduction of Popish cere-
monies. The Church of St. Catherine's had been
recently rebuilt: and Laud's predecessor, Bishop
Montaigne, had suffered it to be used for religious
offices, without any fresh consecration. When Laud
was advanced to the See of London, he suspended
the celebration of all divine service in the Church,
till it had been re-consecrated by himself. This
office he performed on the 16th January, 1631, in
the midst of a vast concourse of people. Every
reader of English history knows that, on this occa-
sion, the Bishop is supposed to have entered the
west door of the Church with a pompous retinue ;
then to have thrown dust in the air, and to have
uttered certain forms of execration against those who
should violate the sanctity of the place; to have
bowed repeatedly towards the altar, during the
solemnity ; and to have approached the sacred
elements with antic gesticulations. In a word, he
is charged with having followed the Romish Ponti-
fical, instead of observing the simplicity appropriate
to Protestant worship. His answer to this despic-
able charge, may be seen in his own history of his
trial: and the statements of his enemies, when com-
pared with his, are almost enough to make one
of Leighton's ears. The Diary, as Dr. Symmons must have
known, contains little but a dry mention of facts ; most com-
monly, without reflection or commentary. If Laud had lived to
witness the murder of Charles I., it is probable that his Diary
would not have been at all more pathetic, in the commemoration
of that event.
IV.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 145
ashamed of human nature. It turned out that the
pompous retinue consisted only of the officials, who
always attend at consecrations ; that the throwing up
of dust, and the uttering of curses, were pure fictions ;
and that the Pontifical supplied no more to the con-
secration service, than the Missal is known to have
done to our Liturgy. He confesses that he ap-
proached the Church door with the words, Lift up
your heads, ye gates, and be ye lift up ye ever-
lasting doors, and the King of Glory shall come ; a
passage which had been used at consecrations, from
time immemorial. He further allows, that he pro-
nounced the ground to be holy, in the name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
And he contends that there is- a derivative and rela-
tive holiness in places, as well as vessels, and other
things, dedicated to the service and honour of God.
He avers that he used no bowings (or cringings, as
they were called,) but such as were demanded by
the solemnity of the place and the occasion. And
he added, " are we, who have separated the chaff, to
cast away the corn, too ? If it come to that, let us
take heed that we fall not upon the devil's winnow-
ing, who labours to beat down the corn. It is not
the chaff that troubles him * !"
From this statement it may be collected, that, even
if the proceedings of the Bishop were, in any respect,
open to objection, it was only in the introduction of
some irregular and superfluous gestures. And to
what extent, if any, this indiscretion was actually
carried by him, it is far from easy to ascertain. We
are told by Heylyn, that he was himself present,
1 Troubles, &c. p. 339341.
L
146 LIFE OF [CHAP.
when Laud consecrated the Church of Stanmore, in
Middlesex ; that he observed every particular of the
service ; and that he could perceive nothing in it,
which savoured of superstition. And he adds, that
the form used by the Bishop had been digested by
Bishop Andrews, and followed (though, possibly, not
without some alterations) by most other Bishops, at
that time l . But Heylyn, it may be said, is a
witness too partial to be trusted: and Rushworth
has alleged, that the act of throwing dust in the air
was established by the deposition of two witnesses.
If so, the question arises, which are we to believe ;
the solemn asseveration of Archbishop Laud, or the
testimony marshalled and disciplined against him
by the rabid and most unscrupulous malignity of
William Prynne ? With regard to the manner in
which he approached the bread and wine, on the
Communion table, the averments of Laud are, un-
doubtedly, somewhat less explicit, than his denial of
casting up the dust. But, even admitting, for a
moment, the representation of his enemies, respect-
ing this fact, to be correct ; the very worst which, in
that case, could justly be urged against him, amounts
to no more than this, that he was betrayed into some
transgression of the rigid letter of the ritual, partly
by the fervour of his own devotional feelings, and
partly by his disgust at that sordid slovenliness,
which, of late years, had rendered the Protestant
worship contemptible ; and which, be it always re-
membered, was driving multitudes back within the
attraction of Romanism. The fanatics swaggered
into the Church with their hats on, and frequently so
1 Heylyn, p. 213.
IV.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 147
remained, during the whole of the divine service.
Laud, in his anxiety to correct their almost brutal
irreverence, was desirous that they who entered a
Church, should testify, by an obeisance directed
towards its most hallowed spot, that they were con-
scious of treading within a precinct dedicated to the
majesty of Heaven. The same feeling prompted
him to give peculiar solemnity to the rite of conse-
cration ; the Puritans having maintained, that the
sanctity of the place walked in, and walked out
again, together with the congregation! In short,
like many other wise and holy men, he apprehended
that " religion would grow strangely wild, if it were
left to the boisterous clowneries and unmannerly
liberties" of those who, in the pride of their humi-
lity, trampled on the decorous appointments and
ordinances of the Church. And, therefore it was,
that he sought to discourage that pernicious humour,
which was always ready to burst out into violent
alarm, as if " every man went about to cut the throat
of the Reformed Religion, who applied scissors, or
razor, to pare off rudeness and rusticity, or to trim
it into any decency of outward ministration." It is
not, indeed, impossible, that his zeal, in these re-
forms, may have stepped, some few paces, beyond
the boundaries of prudence. But what are we to
think of a tribunal, which could aggravate an un-
usual act of adoring reverence into proof of a rooted
affection for the mummeries of superstition ; or dis-
cern, in any such light matters, a single element
either of treason or apostacy ?
L2
148 LIFE OF [CHAP.
CHAPTER V.
A.D. 1631 1634.
The purchase of Impropriations by the Puritans The Scheme
overthrown by Laud Repair of St. Paul's Laud's benefac-
tions to the University of Oxford Theological disputes there
Laud unjustly charged with usurping patronage He procures
the appointment of well-affected men, to Dignities in the Church
The King's Printers fined for negligence Sherfield censured
for breaking a painted window The King's visit to Scotland,
and his Coronation there Laud is elevated to the Primacy
His policy, as contrasted with that of his predecessor, Abbot
A Cardinal's Hat is offered to Laud His refusal of it He is
elected Chancellor of Dublin He revives the practice of requir-
ing a title from Candidates for Holy Orders This reform is
resented as an innovation Book of Sports Conduct of Laud
respecting it Clamour of the Puritans against him Laud's
Metropolitical Visitation His power disputed by Bishop
Williams Williams' s Jurisdiction suspended Controversy
respecting the Altar.
lgsi AT the end of Bishop Laud's Diary, there
is a list of useful and munificent designs,
meditated by him, from time to time, to the number
of one-and-twenty. Of this number, no less than
sixteen were, wholly or partially, carried into execu-
tion by him ; as we find intimated by the word
" done" written against them. Among his success-
ful purposes, the following is one : " To overthrow
the feoffment, dangerous both to Church and State,
going under the specious pretence of buying in im-
propriations . Done. "
V.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 149
In order to understand the nature of the project
thus defeated, it will be necessary to go back, for a
moment, to the year 1626. At that time, the person
who exercised the most predominant influence among
the Puritans, was one Dr. Preston. .The national
Church he regarded, at once, with the eye of a bitter
fanatic, and an unprincipled spoiler. Towards the
close of the last reign, he got the ear of Bucking-
ham : and, not daring to propound the extirpation of
Bishops, while James was living, he earnestly re-
commended to the favourite, the destruction of the
Cathedrals and Collegiate Churches. The first and
chiefest reason produced by him, for this sweeping
confiscation, was, of course, the promotion of God's
glory. The auxiliary motives were, that the pro-
duce would, not only pay his Majesty's debts, but
afford the Duke himself abundant resources, for the
enrichment of his friends, and the propitiation of his
adversaries. Buckingham was, at first, quite tran-
sported with the proposal. And the plan would,
very possibly, have been attempted, if it had not
been put aside by the incomparable address and
promptitude of Bishop Williams l . It was during
the ascendency of this same man, Preston, that a de-
sign was formed among the Puritans, for the estab-
lishment of Lectureships in market towns ; and,
more especially, in those which were privileged to
send Burgesses to Parliament. And one grand
object was, to do this, at the least possible charge to
the people ; who, as Heylyn observes, " commonly
1 A very interesting and entertaining account of this matter
is given by Racket in his Life of Bishop Williams, in which he
calls Preston " a good crow to smell carrion," pt. i. p. 104, 105.
150 LIFE OF [CHAP.
love that religion best, which comes cheapest to
them." With this view, a sort of corporation was
formed, for the purchase of impropriations ; but
without the authority of the King's Letters Patent,
or of any Act of Parliament. The members of this
body, to use the words of Fuller, " were four divines,
to persuade men's consciences ; four lawyers, to draw
conveyances ; and four citizens, to command rich
coffers ; wanting nothing but some sword-men, to
defend all the rest." The work, however, had a
most imposing show of generosity and godliness ;
and the sums contributed towards it were incredible.
It so happened, that Peter Heylyn (the biographer
of Laud) in the course of his visits to a town in
Gloucestershire, had observed that the impropriation
of that place, under the new scheme, still remained
in Lay hands ; so that the Lecturer was, in fact, no
better than a stipendiary, whose emoluments were
precarious, and derived from the tithes of another
parish. He further discovered that the man was a
notorious nonconformist, who had been hunted from
Diocese to Diocese, for irregular practices ; and had,
at last, been silenced by the High Commission.
These circumstances engendered certain awkward
suspicions : to which, on further inquiry, Heylyn
(then Fellow of Magdalene) ventured to give very
plain utterance, in a sermon before the University of
Oxford, on the llth of June, 1630. The confusion
produced by this discourse is indescribable. The
peaceable, well-meaning members of society deeply
compassionated the rash and adventurous preacher.
The Puritans, on the contrary, were filled with
righteous indignation ; and breathed out threatenings
and the terrors of the law, against the evil- speaker.
V.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 151
The result was, that the sermon of Heylyn, and,
with it, the whole merits of the case, were brought
before the Bishop of London. And his Lordship's
personal judgment on the affair, is recorded in the
above recited entry of his Diary *.
From the investigation, upon which this resolution
of Laud was grounded, it clearly appeared, that the
incumbents of the parishes from which the impro-
priate tythes were respectively taken, derived little
or no benefit from the fund of patronage accumulated
by this corporation of feoffees, or purchasers ; that
the Lecturers, who were hired, not endowed, by that
body, were persons notoriously disaffected to the
discipline, if not the doctrine, of the Church of
England ; that the preachers were left entirely at
the mercy of their patrons, and were, consequently,
under the necessity of suiting their doctrine to the
taste of their employers ; that a considerable pro-
portion of the fund was assigned to school-masters,
and to students at the University ; that another part
was destined, not only to the support of silenced
ministers, but of their wives and children after their
decease ; and that all this power was assumed by men
who had formed themselves into a society, with-
out any legal authority or sanction. The conclusion
from all these premises, as expressed by Laud himself,
was no other than this, that the whole scheme was a
crafty device, under a glorious pretence, for the over-
throw of the church -government ; by placing a large
portion of the Clergy under a self-constituted body, in
1 See Heylyn, p. 209 -212. Fuller, b. xi. p. 136. 143. Trou-
bles, &c. p. 371 374. Diary, p. 47. in which Laud says of the
feoffees, that " they were the main instruments for the Puritan
faction to undo the Church."
152 LIFE OF [CHAP.
a state of dependence much more absolute than could
be imposed by the King, the Peers, and the Hie-
rarchy together. Under this conviction, the Bishop
of London never rested till the whole affair was sub-
mitted to the notice of Noye, the Attorney-General ;
and, by him brought before the Court of Exchequer.
By the judgment of that Court the feoffment was
overthrown in February, 1633; and the impropria-
tions bought by the feoffees were confiscated to
the crown. The criminal part of the charge against
them was referred to the Star-chamber, but was
never prosecuted further.
That Laud was no enemy to the recovery of
impropriations, with a view to their rightful applica-
tion, is manifest from the very next item upon his
catalogue of projects, namely, " To procure King
Charles to give all the Impropriations yet remaining
in the crown, within the realm of Ireland, to that
poor Church." And this design was afterwards
accomplished, during the Vice-royalty of the Earl
of Strafford. And, undoubtedly, it is much to be
lamented that, when the feoffment in question was
set aside, Laud did not adopt, upon a comprehensive
scale, the wisdom of the enemies to the Church, and
apply it to her benefit, upon sound and righteous
principles. If the forfeited impropriations had been
restored to the parishes to which they had originally
belonged, and if the Bishop had immediately called
upon those who loved the Church, to aid him, .in
the extension of a similar design to all the remain-
ing impropriations in the kingdom, he might have
rescued a vast number of incumbencies from beggary,
and have conferred a lasting and inestimable blessing
upon his country. But no one can reasonably be
V.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 153
surprised at his aversion for a project, which, if it
were left to have its perfect work, would have con-
stituted an Apocryphal l incorporation of rigid Cal-
vinists and Nonconformists, the prime patrons in the
kingdom ; and would have reduced a considerable
portion of the Clergy to a state of despicable thral-
dom. It was generally believed that, should the
system continue in operation for fifty years, pur-
chases, rather than money, would have been wanting:
for it appears that, for the most part, the impropria-
tions were bought in at twelve years' valuation ; and,
sometimes, at a still lower rate a . Nevertheless, the
efforts of Laud to protect the Church against this
antagonist influence, afterwards supplied his accusers
with one distinct article of impeachment, and his
chief persecutor, Prynne, with much matter of turbid
invective. The feoffment was extolled by them as
a pious and godly work, which none but a devil in-
carnate could dislike. And no better motive could
be found for the malignant prelate's opposition to it,
but his impious hatred to a preaching ministry, and
his desire to keep the souls of ignorant people in
blindness, and the chains of Satan 3 .
It may easily be supposed that the resentment
excited among the Puritanical party, by this inter-
ference with their plans, would be little assuaged by
the munificence with which the Bishop was fostering
the ancient institutions of the kingdom. A scheme
of biography more diffuse than ours, would here
call upon us for a detailed account of his splendid
benefactions to the University of Oxford ; and more
1 So Fuller, tells us, it was called. Ubi supra.
2 Ibid.
3 Troubles, &c. p. 371. Cant. Doom, p. 385388.
154 LIFE OF [CHAP.
especially to his own College, which he adorned with
an additional quadrangle, and an elegant gallery.
The first stone of this building was laid on the 26th
of July, 1631. In 1635, it was completed, after a
design hy Inigo Jones, and at a cost of 5000 *.
We must pass on to another enterprise, of greater
magnitude, and more immediately connected with
his office as Bishop of London, the repair of St.
Paul's Cathedral. When Laud was promoted to
the Diocese, he found this vast edifice in a state of
ruinous dilapidation. Some steps had heen taken
towards the preservation of it, in the course of the
last reign : for, in 1620, a commission had been
issued by King James, for the purpose of ascertaining
the fittest means for raising money sufficient for its
effectual repair. Unhappily, however, the Monarch
was necessitous, the kingdom discontented, and
Montaigne, (who succeeded Dr. King in the See of
London,) though well-disposed, was lamentably defi-
cient in activity. The business, accordingly, lan-
guished, until the advancement of Laud. With his
usual energy, he applied himself to the task of
wiping out this national reproach, and rescuing the
sacred fabric from destruction. For this purpose,
he procured a royal commission, under the Great
Seal, bearing date the 10th of April, 1631, and
addressed to the Archbishop of Canterbury, the
Lord Keeper, the Bishop of London, and several
other Prelates, and certain Aldermen, and other
officers of the city. By virtue of this Commission,
1 This is Heylyn's account, p. 223. But Laud himself, in the
History of his Chancellorship, has forborne to record what it cost
him. See Archdeacon Todd, on the services of Laud to Litera-
ture. Trans. Roy. Soc. Lit. vol. ii. p. 208, 209.
V.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 155
collections were made throughout the kingdom ;
Laud himself setting the example by an annual con-
tribution "of 100/. out of the revenues of the See.
Such was the animation which he threw into the
design, that the whole sum gathered in the course of
the eight or nine following years, amounted to more
than 100,000/.; of which, upwards of 10,000/. were
given by the King. In 1640, the work was rapidly
approaching to its completion. But then came the
day of Laud's adversity ; and, from that time, all
further progress was entirely suspended, and the
building was left unfinished *.
The chief difficulty which he had to encounter, in
the prosecution of his purpose, arose from the opposi-
tion of that party, who sickened at the very thought of
ecclesiastical magnificence. They declaimed loudly
against the folly of repairing and beautifying a rotten
relique. They contended that the cause of godli-
ness would be better served by the destruction of
these monuments of superstition and strong-holds of
idolatry. And some there were among them, who
scrupled not to affirm that the whole project, from
the beginning to the end of it, was a mere impos-
ture ; a fraudulent contrivance of the court, to raise
money for the King, without the aid of Parliament ;
and, consequently, part of a design for investing the
Monarch with arbitrary power, and making him
wholly independent of his people. And such was
the pertinacity with which these slanders were cir-
culated, that it was found necessary to instruct the
preachers at St. Paul's Cross, and at other public
places both in town and country, to disabuse the
1 Heylyn, p. 216223.
156 LIFE OF [CHAP.
public mind ; and to declare that all apprehensions
of a diversion of the money to any purpose but that
for which it was collected, were " the fancies of men
either grossly malevolent, or causelessly jealous and
distrustful V
But there was another cause of bitter discontent,
which threw upon this noble work all the obloquy
which could possibly be attached to a national abo-
mination ! The Archbishop was determined that the
moral discipline of the Church should be something
which men might feel, as well as speak of. And the
consequence of this resolution was, that the profligacy
of the wealthy and the great was dragged by him, to
the light of day, before the High Commission Court ;
and, moreover, that a considerable portion of the
pecuniary fines, which manifested their shame to the
world, were thrown into that treasury, which was
dedicated to the restoration of the Metropolitan
Church of London. This was an insult never to be
forgiven by the titled and privileged delinquents.
The heat of their resentments was speedily commu-
nicated to the multitude ; and at last, vented itself in
the cry, that St. Paul's was built up with the sins of
the people. It would seem as if the erection of St.
Peter's, by means of Tetzel's sale of Indulgences,
was scarcely a viler profanation, in the judgment of
many, than the repair of this Cathedral, out of the
penal exactions upon incontinence and vice ! Now,
whether the sins of the people ought ever to be visited
with pecuniary penalties, is a question which it is
not needful to discuss. But, if it was the practice so
to visit them, it would be difficult to imagine a more
1 Heylyn, p. 221, 222.
V.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 157
righteous or beneficial appropriation of their produce.
For, how could the wealth, which the laws withdrew
from the coffers of profligacy, be better applied, than
to the preservation of a venerable fabric, which, of
itself, was a visible witness against all ungodliness ?
It was, indeed, suspected that the edge of ecclesias-
tical discipline was sharpened by the exigences of
the work in hand ; that the suppression of vice was the
pretext, while the restoration of the Church was, in
reality, the object ; and that both the imposition, and
the exaction of the fines, was much more rigorous
than it would have been, if no such demand for them
had then existed. But, after all, it does not appear
that this was more than a suspicion. At all events,
we are ignorant of the extent to which any such
extortion was practised by the Censorial Court. It is
certain, however, that the belief of it was sufficient,
in those times, to aggravate the unpopularity of Laud,
and to exasperate the public against his whole
order 1 .
The enemies of Laud, however, were not content
with resistance to the reparation of the Cathedral.
They, afterwards, forced the design into the service
of his impeachment ! Well might he exclaim " the
repair of St. Paul's is a strange piece of treason /"
And well might he add, " So God be pleased, (as I
hope, in Christ, he will,) to pardon my other sins, I
hope I shall be able (human frailties always set aside)
to give an easy account of this." With equal justice
might he cry out against the iniquity of laying to his
charge the alleged losses of those persons, whose
houses it was necessary to demolish, in ordei to rescue
1 See Clar. vol. i. p. 166.
158 LIFE OF [CHAP.
the sacred building from defacement, and to proceed
with the restoration of it. It appears that the suffer-
ing parties had been indemnified to the amount of
eight or nine thousand pounds ; and that, besides
his care and pains, the work had cost the Bishop him-
self twelve hundred pounds, out of his own purse.
It is, also, undeniable that the whole of these pro-
ceedings had been regulated by the Council; at
whose deliberations, relative to the demolition of pre-
mises near the Church, he was never once present.
So that he might righteously ask, "Shall that be urged
as a treason against me, which is not imputed to
them, even as a misdemeanour l ?"
But it was, now, manifestly hopeless for Laud to
attempt any good work, that should not be evil-
spoken of by his adversaries. His elevation to the
Chancellorship of Oxford, brought upon him, about
this time, a fresh accumulation of obloquy and care.
The seats of learning had been long invaded by the
epidemic malady of insubordination ; and the discipline
of Oxford was, then, so deplorably in need of reform,
that, according to the complaints which reached their
. Chancellor, there was danger lest all semblance of an
University should be lost. It would be inconsistent
with our undertaking to enumerate the various
abuses and irregularities to which the Bishop applied
the needful correction. It must not, however, be
left unnoticed, that it was he who rescued the Royal
Professorship of Hebrew from abject poverty. He
found it, like the rest, endowed with a mere money
payment of 40 per annum. He left it enriched,
and ennobled, by the permanent annexation of a
1 See Troubles, &c. p. 244247. 413, 414.
V.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 159
Canonry of Christ Church : and for this service, he
received the thanks of the University. Unfortunately,
however, Oxford was then haunted by a spirit, which
no kind or generous offices could pacify. And, on
the 24th of May, 1631, that spirit spake, by the
mouth of Thomas Hill, of Hart Hall, after the follow-
ing fashion : "Here," exclaimed the preacher, "what
a tempting doth present itself, to show how rashly,
not to say how cruelly, our Pelagian votaries have
handled the decrees and statutes of the King of
Heaven. Scripture they use worse than Turks do
Christians at Tunis. They enslave it to the vassal-
age of the foulest error. According to their most
current garb, they employ it to defend Popery, or, as
bad, Pelagianism. Popish darts, whet afresh upon
a Dutch grindstone, have pierced deep," &c. &c.
The Dutch grindstone was, doubtless, that enemy of
God, Arminius. The Pelagians were they who
launched the shafts, to which the grindstone had given
keenness. For this unbecoming and very stupid
rhetoric, Hill was convened before the Vice- Chan-
cellor and Heads ; and compelled to a submissive
recantation. This censure only produced a fresh
eruption from the lips of three other sworn defenders
of the " enslaved and ill-used Scriptures ;" namely,
Thomas Ford, William Hodges, and Giles Thorne.
These men complained, in terms of furious invective,
that the Church was deformed and overrun by innova-
tions, under the treacherous disguise of renovations.
Their very texts were provocatives to contention,
almost to rebellion. Let us make a Captain, and let
us return into Egypt. And he cried against the altar
of the Lord, and said, altar, altar, &c. &c. So
that the King's declaration against the Babel strife
12
160 LIFE OF [CHAP.
of Pulpits, was not only forgotten, but audaciously
defied. Nevertheless, when the turbulent declaimers
were summoned before the Vice-Chancellor, they ap-
pealed to the Convocation : and, thereupon, the Vice-
Chancellor appealed to the King. At the request of
Laud, the whole matter was heard by his Majesty, in
person, at Woodstock: when the contumacious
preachers were expelled the University ; the Proctors
deprived of their office for receiving their appeal ; and
Wilkinson and Prideaux, who appear to have encou-
raged the contumacious parties, were dismissed with
solemn censure and admonition.
The next year brought retaliation with it ; for one
Rainsford was then summoned for defending the
Arminian doctrine of Universal Grace; and com-
pelled to make a public acknowledgment of his fault,
in discussing questions prohibited by the Royal
Proclamation. But this impartial dealing did little
to repress the fiery discontent of the Calvinising party.
For in September, 1632, the University was infested
with satirical verses, under the jingling title of the Aca-
demical Army of Epidemical Armenians, to the tune
of the Soldier; in which, several of the Arminian
Divines were ridiculously paraded, with Laud for their
general ! And one Rogers, of Jesus College, was ex-
pelled, on strong suspicion of being the author *.
These miserable brawlings threw the whole Uni-
versity into confusion. Worthless as they are, for
any other purposes of history, they are not altogether
unimportant, as indications of the temper, which
eventually convulsed the kingdom. They show the
1 Diary, p. 46. Heylyn, p. 214, 215. Fuller, B. xi. p. 141,
142. Cant. Doom, p. 173176.
V.~] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 161
manifold difficulties, which, at that critical period,
embarrassed the government of the Church. They,
further, make it evident, that the grand object of
the odious Royal Declaration was, not so much
the imperious correction of mere theological error,
as the suppression of those inflammatory conflicts,
which were then degrading the pulpits and the
schools.
It was during the investigation at Woodstock, that
Laud had the misfortune to furnish his adversaries
with an additional item to their copious stock of ca-
lumny : for he chanced to let fall some expressions in
the presence of the King, which were interpreted to
the disparagement of the married Clergy ; and which,
consequently, helped to confirm the belief, that the
whole complexion of his opinions was essentially
Popish. It is true that he himself remained un-
married to the end of his life : and, it is not impro-
bable, that he might wish all other men in holy
orders to remain so likewise. Indeed, the words
actually used by him at Woodstock seemed to imply
no less than this. In speaking of the incumbrance of
domestic cares, as an impediment to the usefulness of
a clergyman, he signified his resolution to prefer the
single to the married, in the exercise of his patron-
age, supposing the fitness of the individuals to be,
in other respects, the same. But, that he considered
celibacy as indispensable in the Clergy, was an in-
ference suggested only by the watchfulness of malice.
He soon gave the best of all possible answers to
this perversion, by marrying one of his own Chap-
lains, Thomas Turner, to a daughter of his intimate
and valued friend, Sir Francis Windebank : and,
by performing the ceremony himself, in his own
M
162 LIFE OF [CHAP.
chapel at London House, on Ash Wednes-
day, 1632 1 . And this event was followed,
on the 5th of June, by the appointment of Sir Francis,
the bride's father, at Laud's recommendation, to suc-
ceed the Viscount Dorchester, lately deceased, in the
office of Secretary-of-state 2 .
At this time, scarcely any act could be done by the
King, without furnishing matter of suspicion or accu-
sation against Laud. For instance, a dispute having
arisen between the Lord Keeper Coventry, and Lord
Cottingham, Master of the Wards, relative to their
rights of Church-patronage ; the matter was referred
to the decision of the King. His Majesty ordered
that the sealing of the warrants for the contested
benefices should remain with the Lord Keeper, until
further inquiry could be made, with a view to the
final settlement of the question : but, in the mean
time, he reserved to himself the disposal of those
benefices, in order that he might have some lesser
preferments to bestow on such ministers as might
serve as chaplains in the wars. The blame of this
transaction was subsequently thrown upon the
Bishop. He was charged on his trial, with usurping
the patronage of the Master of the Wards : whereas,
in fact, he never had the nomination to any one of
these preferments ; though the King, for the most
part, consulted him in the disposal of them 3 . With
1 Heylyn, p. 224. 2 Diary, p. 4?.
3 See Troubles, &c. p. 157- 368, 369. Heylyn, who never
saw Laud's own History of his Trial, was probably misled by
the false assertions of Prynne. For he says, " during the com-
petition between the parties, Laud ends the difference, by taking
all to himself. He takes occasion to inform his Majesty that, till
the controversy were decided, he might do well to take those
V.I ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 163
respect to the higher honours of the Church, how-
ever, it cannot be denied that his influence was put
forth, at this period, with a vigour and address which
incensed his enemies in precisely the same degree
that it tended to the depression of the Calvinistic
theology and discipline. Nothing could well be
more uninteresting than a list of preferments. It
may, therefore, be sufficient to notice, that the indi-
viduals selected by Laud for promotion to the Bench,
or other Dignities, were, for the most part, such as
were branded by the Nonconformists, for notorious
Armmians ; and all of them were firm asserters of
the Church's discipline and order. In other words,
they were exactly the men who, in his estimation,
were best fitted to co-operate with him in preserv-
ing the Church and State from ruin 1 . Whether his
judgment were right or wrong, may, probably, be
questioned, to the end of time. But the motives
which prompted his selection cannot rationally be
disputed. The Church, as we have seen, was then
infested by a multitude of lecturers, and was in im-
minent peril of a still further irruption : for the
scheme of purchasing impropriations was not yet
finally overthrown, but was still in existence and
activity. It was, therefore, of immense impor-
tance that the most arduous posts in the Church
should be committed to the hands of faithful men,
who were prepared for a courageous encounter with
the perils that surrounded her. Of course, the
advancement of such men w T ould mightily aggravate
livings to his own disposal. Which proposition being approved,
his Majesty committed the said benefices to the disposal of the
Bishop." Heylyn, p. 225.
1 Their names are given by Heylyn.
M 2
164 LIFE OF [CHAP.
the unpopularity of their patron. Nevertheless, he
never could be made to repent of his choice, even
in the darkest hour of his troubles. One charge
against him, on his impeachment, was, his promo-
tion of unworthy men, and semi-popish Arminians :
'* men so unworthy," he exclaims, " that they would
be famous both for life and learning, in any other
Protestant Church in Christendom : men so po-
pishly affected, that having suffered much, both in
state and reputation, since this persecution began,
(for less than persecution it hath not been,) no one
of them is altered in judgment, or fallen into any
liking with the Church of Rome V
It is, now, scarcely possible to recite a single in-
cident in the Bishop's life, which was not eventually
turned to his reproach. In the time of his calamity,
he was accused of tyrannical proceedings in the High
Commission, against his Majesty's Printers, and
Correctors of the Press. Such had been their neg-
ligence, that not less than a thousand errors were
found, in two editions of the Bible and the Common
Prayer ; one of which was, the omission of the word
not in the 20th chapter of Exodus, where the seventh
commandment was thus exhibited : Thou shall com-
mit adultery ! In consequence of this enormous
blunder, the whole impression was called in ; and
the Masters of the Printing-house severely cen-
sured, and fined to the amount of 300/ 2 . It will
scarcely be denied that their castigation was justly
merited : and yet this circumstance was afterwards
1 Troubles, &c. p. 366, &c. 417.
2 Heylyn, p. 228. Troubles and Trial, &c. Trans. Royal
Soc. Lit. vol. ii. p. 210,211.
V.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 165
brought in, to swell the charge of treason against the
Bishop. Malice itself, however, was unable to find
fault with the disposal of the fine levied upon the
delinquents ; for, a considerable portion of it was
applied for the purpose of enriching the press with a
complete set of new Greek types. Again, in the
Parish Church of St. Edmund's, at Salisbury, was
a window of great antiquity, on which the Creation
was storied out in painted glass, the Father being
represented in the form of an aged man. This mode
of exhibiting the Ancient of Days was far from un-
common, in times of less intelligence and refinement.
But in the year 1629, it happened to arrest the
attention, and to awaken the wrath of Master Henry
Sherfield, Recorder of Salisbury. This man, being ! v
consumed with zeal against all superstitious vanities,
obtained an order of the Vestry for the removal of
the window. And not content with this, when it
was removed, he nearly battered it to pieces with his
staff. For this sacrilegious outrage he was prose-
cuted in the Star-chamber ; and in February, 1632,
was fined a thousand pounds to the King, deprived
of his Recordership, bound to his good behaviour,
and ordered to make public acknowledgment of his
offence, not only in the Parish Church, but also in
the Cathedral, by way of atonement to his Diocesan,
(Bishop Davenant,) for this open contempt of his
authority.
The conduct of Laud, on this occasion, brought ;
upon him a clamour which, as Heylyn observes, not I
nly followed him to his death, but pursued his
emory afterwards. The sentence, after the usual
hion of those times, was undoubtedly severe : and
it is most certain, that not one syllable dropped from
166 LIFE OF [CHAP.
the Bishop, which tended towards its mitigation.
On the contrary, he maintained, with great warmth,
that such an assumption of power by an individual
was of most pernicious example, and that, if the
image of Jupiter were placed in the Church, it could
be properly removed, or demolished only by a legal
course of proceedings. And, in this, he did but
act conformably to the principles of his predecessor
Abbot ; who, when he opposed the restoration of the
Crucifix at St. Paul's, in 1600, yet contended that
such monuments ought, on no account, to be des-
troyed or altered, but by competent authority ; and
that, in this instance, an application should be made
to the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of
London l . It was, further, observed by Laud, that,
although the painting at Salisbury was not, in itself,
defensible, it might, after all, have originated in
nothing worse than a coarse and mistaken applica-
tion of a passage in the Prophet Daniel 2 . In this
view of the subject, there was, at all events, nothing
extravagantly Popish. But, nevertheless, it po-
tently confirmed the belief, that Laud was, not only
a merciless judge, but a resolute defejmElex.of all the
worst absurdities of Romanism 3 .
From these comparatively obscure mat-
1633. / i
ters, we must turn to an event or much
greater public importance. The year 1633 was remark-
able for King Charles's first visit to his Northern
dominions. The journey, it is well-known, from the
1 Biogr. Brit. Abbot.
2 " I beheld that the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient
of Days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair
of his head like the pure wool." Dan. vii. 9.
3 Heylyn, p. 228230. Cant. Doom, p. 102, 103. 491.
V.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 167
histories of the times, was, on the whole, singularly
inauspicious. It did but stir the elements, which
afterwards burst forth with ungovernable fury. His
Majesty arrived at Edinburgh on the 10th of June.
On the 18th, the solemnity of his coronation was per-
formed, at Holyrood House, with unusual pomp and
magnificence; and, to judge from external demonstra-
tions, never was a sovereign entertained with a more
cordial welcome by his people. But, though all was
bright at the Palace, the aspect of the Parliament
was lowering. The nobles were secretly exaspe-
rated by the threatened revocation of those royal
grants, by virtue of which they had long been
revelling in the spoils of the Church. The people
were agitated with fears, lest the visit of the King
should portend the renewal of his father's hateful
project, for the enforcement of conformity with the
Southern Church. And their apprehensions were
not much assuaged by the presence of Laud, or by
his performance of divine service in the Chapel Royal,
according to the formularies of the English Liturgy.
It is true, that the sermon delivered by him, on
that occasion, was listened to with much apparent
complacency and approbation ; although it urgently
recommended the adoption of the same ritual through-
out his Majesty's dominions. It soon appeared, how-
ever, that this was a very fallacious symptom of the
public feeling. It encouraged the King to propose
a bill for ratifying and confirming the act, which had
conferred on James an unlimited power of regulating
the habits of Churchmen. The attempt succeeded
for the time ; but as it were, through the fire. And
so great was the indignation of the defeated but
powerful minority, by whom it was opposed, that,
108 LIFE OF [CHAP.
from that moment, the King became an object of
suspicion to his discontented subjects ; and his
counsels were watched by them with incessant and
sleepless jealousy. Their resentment at the above
proceeding was aggravated by the establishment of
Edinburgh as a new Episcopal See ; a measure which
was spoken of, as a national grievance, and as indi-
cating no less than the projected introduction of
Romish superstition, and arbitrary power l . As if
to fill up the measure of the general alienation, the
Scottish Prelates were elevated to the highest secular
dignities. The Archbishop of St. Andrews was in-
vested with the office of Chancellor of the Kingdom,
and several of the other Bishops were made Privy
Counsellors, or Lords of Session. By this expedient
the King was in hopes of redeeming the heads of the
Church from contempt, and of repairing the loss of
reverence, which they had sustained by the reduction
of their ecclesiastical influence and power. Nothing
could well be more complete than the failure of this
design. It filled the whole nobility of the realm
with envy and indignation, and surrounded the
Bishops themselves with enemies and spies. The
discontent, however, though deep, was not loud ; so
that the King retired from Scotland in a dream of
complacency and satisfaction ; believing that he had
but to seize a favourable moment for the introduc-
tion of a Liturgy into his Northern dominions 2 .
It was generally surmised that his Majesty was
principally guided by the counsels of the Bishop of
1 Heylyn, p. 235241. Russell's Hist, of the Church of
Scotland, vol. ii. p. 117119.
2 Clarendon, vol. i. p. 146156.
V.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 169
London, in all the measures which related to the
Scottish Church ; and, more especially, in the accu-
mulation of honours upon spiritual men. There were
some substantial grounds for this suspicion, in the
principle notoriously entertained by Laud, that
nothing tended so effectually to the benefit and secu-
rity of the Church, as the advancement of Churchmen
to places of high trust in the State *. That he was
in the fullest enjoyment of the royal confidence, spee-
dily became more manifest than ever. Soon after the
King's return, Archbishop Abbot breathed his last,
in the 71st year of his age. It was pretty generally
understood that the King would not have to deliberate
for an instant, as to the appointment of his successor.
And accordingly, the first time that Laud appeared
at Court, after the death of Abbot, the resolution of
his Majesty was signified by the gracious address
" My Lord's grace of Canterbury ; you are very wel-
come." By the 19th of the following September, his
translation was formally completed, and was cele-
brated by him with a stately and solemn banquet, at
Lambeth Palace 2 . At the same time he procured the
promotion of his trusty friend and fellow collegian,
Dr. William Juxon, to succeed him in the Diocese
of London 3 .
The post to which Laud was now elevated was one
of tremendous difficulty and peril. His predecessor
at London House had been the passive and indolent
Bishop Montaigne. At Lambeth he succeeded a
Prelate, who is known to have brought with him to
the Primacy a rooted attachment to the theology of
1 Clarendon, vol. i. p. 152.
2 Heylyn, p. 250, 251. Clarendon.
170 LIFE OF [CHAP.
Geneva ; and who, it has been suspected, had no
very decided aversion for her discipline. At all
events, if he loved the Church of England well, it is
probable that he loved Calvinism better. On the
death of Archbishop Bancroft, it had been the wish
of many among the best friends of the Church, that
he should be succeeded by the incomparable Bishop
Andrews. But the influence of the Earl of Dunbar
prevailed : and Abbot, who had once been Chaplain
to that nobleman, was accordingly elevated to the See
of Canterbury. One favourite principle of his govern-
ment was liberality and moderation towards the men
whose consciences were afflicted by the ordinances
and ceremonies of the Church. And we are told,
that he was accustomed to give expression to this
principle by the maxim, " Yield, and they will be
pleased at last;" while Laud, on succeeding him,
instantly threw himself into the breach, with the di-
rectly opposite aphorism, " Resolve, for there is no
end of yielding." That Abbot's administration, how-
ever, was uniformly deficient in firmness, has some-
times been asserted with more confidence than the
evidence would appear to warrant. It cannot be de-
nied that he estimated very highly the usefulness and
the dignity of the High Commission Court ; that he
resolutely maintained its authority ; and that he man-
fully resisted the attempt to cripple it by writs of
Prohibition from Westminster Hall l . It is, never-
theless, certain, on the other hand, that he was
almost the idol of that party who were incessantly
complaining of the iron yoke of conformity. They
1 Biogr. Brit. Abbot. Rushw. vol. i. p. 453, &c.
V-J ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 171
seemed willing to pardon his severities l , from the
persuasion that his heart was with them, even when
his office compelled him to raise his hand against
them. They knew that, like themselves, he esteemed
an unqualified abhorrence of Popery, and of its
ricketty and ill-favoured progeny, Arminianism, to
be of the very essence of all pure religion. And
they further plainly saw, that he was by no means
disinclined to throw the gates of the Church wide
open to a tumultuary garrison of Lecturers and
Preachers, many of them animated by a fanatical
abhorrence of what they called the Antichristian doc-
trine of General Redemption; and some among them,
scornfully impatient of Canonical restraint, and in-
flamed by a rancorous spirit of sedition. His per-
sonal demeanour was grave and-solemn ; but, not un-
frequently, austere and supercilious, His life and
conversation were, in all essential respects, without
reproach. But, unless he has been grievously mis-
represented, there must have been something wilful
and eccentric in his humour. He is reported, for
instance, to have looked with an eye of coldness,
almost of unkindness and aversion, upon the humbler
brethren of his own profession, and to have princi-
1 That Abbot could be severe, may be concluded from the fact
alleged by Laud at his trial, that the suspensions, deprivations.,
&c. inflicted by the High Commission, during the primacy of
Abbot, were rather more frequent than in the time of Laud.
Troubles, p. 164. It also appears, from an account of his
Province, given by Abbot to Charles I., that Nonconformity had
been vigorously and successfully repressed. See the vol. of
Laud's Troubles, p. 519. One of the last acts of Abbot was to
order the parishioners ofCrayford, in Kent, to receive the Sa-
crament on their knees. Regist. Abb. fol. 123. cited in Biogr.
Brit. Abbot.
12
172 LIFE OF [CHAP.
pally affected the society of laymen *. This has
been, in part, ascribed to the peculiar circumstances
of his life. It has been said of him, that he first
crept, then run, then flew into preferment : his first
step of promotion having been to a Lectureship ; his
second to a Diocese ; his third to the province of
Canterbury 2 . So that he never knew the difficulties
and privations incident so frequently to a parochial
cure ; and, therefore, had scarcely one feeling in
common with the inferior Clergy. According to the
statement of some, towards the close of his days, the
habit of moroseness grew upon him, together with his
infirmities ; his house became the resort of men who
were bitter of heart towards both Church and State ;
and his visitors were known by the name of Nicode-
mites, because they usually assembled in his chamber
by night 3 . These, however, are assertions which
must be very cautiously received. They may, not
improbably, have originated in the jealousy of the
Duke of Buckingham ; who would, doubtless, have
gladly seen the gates of Lambeth Palace closed
against every man who was not slavishly devoted to
his interests 4 .
1 Lloyd, in his State Worthies, tells us, that, in his house,
Abbot respected his Secretary above his Chaplains ; and that,
out of it, he honoured cloaks above cassocks. 2 Ibid.
3 Fuller's Ch. Hist. b. xi. p. 128.
4 See Rushw. vol. i. p. 450, where Abbot says that he " gave
friendly entertainment to all of civil sorts ; not sifting what ob-
jections' the Duke might make against them." He, moreover,
declares that his house was watched for suspicious characters ;
and that \Ventworth was among them.
The difficulty of forming a perfectly satisfactory and impartial
estimate of Abbot's character and administration, will be per-
ceived by any one, who will consult the Biographia Britannica,
5
V.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 173
It must here be mentioned, that the very earliest
effect of Laud's advancement, was to call into activity
the arts and practices of the court of Rome. With-
out a moment's delay, the Jesuits were busy in their
vocation. For we learn that the remains of Abbot
were scarcely cold, when some person, now unknown,
waited upon his intended successor with the insidious
offer of a Cardinal's hat ; seriously averring that he
had ability to give effect to the proposal. The offer
was evidently one, which, whether refused or ac-
cepted, would sufficiently answer the purposes of its
authors. If accepted, it would convert their formi-
dable enemy into a firm ally ; and, even if refused,
it might help to ruin him, by engendering a sus-
picion that he was in secret correspondence with
the Vatican. The proposal was first made on the
4th of August. On the 17th of the same month, it
was repeated. And, on both occasions, it was met
by Laud with the same answer ; that " somewhat
dwelt within him, which would not suffer that, until
Rome were other than it is." His Majesty was, of
course, made acquainted with the mysterious affair :
and, after the second refusal, the tempter appeared
no more *.
The Puritans, for a time, were somewhat less
active than the emissaries of the Papacy. For up-
wards of twenty years, indeed, they had been look-
and the authorities there referred to. See, also, Fuller's Chi
Hist. b. xi. p. 128; Clarend. vol. i. p. 156158, 167, 168;
Abbot, in Lloyd's State Worthies. It is observed by Lloyd,
that if Laud had succeeded Bancroft, there would have been
good hope that our Jerusalem had been at unity with herself.
1 Heylyn, p. 252, 253. Diary, p. 49. Some further remarks
on this strange occurrence are reserved for the ninth Chapter.
174 LIFE OF [CHAP.
ing towards Lambeth with complacency and hope ;
and they, now, secretly scowled upon it, as the
strong-hold of iniquity and ungodliness. But the
promotion of Laud to Canterbury, had been so long
foreseen, that their hatred did not show itself by a
fresh eruption of any consequence. We find, indeed,
that, shortly after his translation, Lady Davies, a
notoriously eccentric personage, prophesied against
him, that he would not long outlive the 5th of
November; that one Richard Boyer was brought
into the Star-chamber for grossly railing at him, and
charging him with treason ; and also, that a needy
and half-lunatic printer, named Green, was com-
mitted to Newgate, for coming into the court at
St. James's with a sword by his side, swearing
that the King should do him justice against the
Archbishop, or that, else, he would take a different
course : although the only wrong the man had ever
sustained, was, that Laud had procured him a pen-
sion of five pounds a year for his life, from the Com-
pany of Stationers l . These matters were too trifling
to disturb his tranquillity, for a moment. Never-
theless, that the difficulties of his position would> at
times, weigh heavily upon his spirits, is evident,
from his correspondence with Wentworth, then Lord
Deputy of Ireland. On the 9th of September, in
answer to Stafford's congratulations on his late ad-
vancement, he expresses himself thus : "To speak
freely, you may easily promise more than I can per-
form. For, as for the Church, it is so bound up in
the forms of the common law, that it is not possible
for me, or for any man, to do that which he would,
1 Diary, p. 49.
V.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 175
or is bound to do. They which have gotten so
much power, in and over the Church, will not let go
their hold. They have, indeed, fangs with a wit-
ness ; whatsoever I have once said to have. And, for
the State, I am for thorough. But I see that both
thick and thin stays somebody, where I conceive
it should not. In truth, I have had a heaviness
upon me ever since I was nominated to this place :
and I can give no account of it, unless it proceed
from an apprehension that more is expected from
me, than the craziness of the times will give me
leave to do V Again, on the 14th of October, we
find him writing as follows, respecting his former,
and his present bishopric : " I must confess my
weakness, that, having been married to a very trou-
blesome and unquiet wife before, I should be so ill-
advised as now, being above sixty years of age, to
marry another, of a more wayward and troublesome
generation 2 !"
If honours "broad and deep," however, could per-
fectly reconcile a man to these great responsibilities,
Laud must now have been completely at his ease.
He received the cordial and respectful congratula-
tions of the University of Oxford ; and, afterwards,
those of several of the most illustrious scholars of
Europe 3 . On the 14th of September, he was elected
1 Stafford's Letters, &c. vol. i. p. 110. Ed. Knowler. The
word thorough seems to have been a favourite phrase with
Strafford and Laud. It occurs perpetually in their correspond-
ence ; and evidently indicates their belief that no half -measures
were suited to the times.
2 Stafford's Letters, &c. vol. i. p. 124.
3 J. G. Vossius to Laud, Freest. Vir. Epist. No. 519, p. 772. b.
Grotii Epist. No. 772, p. 130. b.
176 LIFE OF [CHAP.
Chancellor of the University of Dublin \ And being
thus invested with the primacy of England, placed
at the head of two of the famous Universities of the
realm, and admitted to the unreserved confidence of
his Sovereign, it might be truly said of him that he
was " without a rival in Church or State 2 . That his
courage was equal to his greatness, is evident from
the tone of his correspondence. " I am resolved,"
he says to Strafford, "to go steadily in the way
which you have formerly seen me go. So that, if
any thing fail of my hearty desires for the King's
and the Church's service, the fault shall not be
mine 3 ." With similar confidence he writes to
Vossius : " I well know the virulence of those who
assail my reputation, with their poison-fangs. But
such enemies must be disregarded ; or nothing
will be ever done for the benefit of the Church.
I hope that God will give me constancy and pa-
tience : and I heartily desire that you will commend
me to His protection, by your prayers. Thus for-
tified, I will go forward, whithersoever He shall
lead me 4 ."
The first measure of the Archbishop was, the re-
vival of an unpopular, but strictly canonical 5 , regu-
lation, that no person should receive holy orders,
without a title; in other words, without some specific
1 Diary, p. 50. 2 Clarendon, vol. i. p. 162.
3 Straff. Lett. vol. i. p. 155.
4 Praest. Vir. Epist. No. 528, p. 786 b,
5 By Canon 33 (Anno 1603,) no person can be admitted to
sacred orders, without a presentation to some ecclesiastical pre-
ferment, or without being provided of some Church with cure of
souls ; or of a fellowship or chaplaincy in a college, sufficient for
his maintenance.
V.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 177
appointment, or employment, in the Church, which
would supply him with a maintenance. That this
rule was conformable to the general practice of the
Church, is beyond all question. That it is eminently
wise and salutary, is evinced by the general adher-
ence to it, which has been continued to the present
day. At the time of Laud's advancement, its useful-
ness had received a negative, but irresistible proof,
in the miserable consequences of the long neglect of
it. It had never been enforced by Abbot : and the re-
sult was just what might be expected. The Church
was overrun by a vast multitude of indigent clerks,
wholly unprovided with any regular support. And
these clerical adventurers were, at all times, ready to
thrust themselves into gentlemen's houses, as tutors
to their children, " and sometimes to officiate divine
service at the table's end ;" sometimes to undertake
itinerant and other lectureships ; and, not unfre-
quently, to become the heralds of fanaticism and sedi-
tion, at the will of their Puritanical patrons, on whom
they were often entirely and most abjectly depen-
dent. The steady application of the rule in question,
by the predecessors of Laud, might doubtless have
prevented measureless confusion ; and protected the
Church against the influx of an irregular and undis-
ciplined force, whose operations were dangerous to
her order and stability. Unhappily, the long disuse
of this measure gave to the revival of it, by Laud,
the ungracious aspect of an arbitrary innovation. It
was reprobated, as a fresh instance of the Arch-
bishop's enmity to all genuine godliness, and of his
restless passion for the luxury of despotism. One
chief ground of this furious and vindictive clamour,
is now evident as the light. The regulation was
N
178 LIFE OF [CHAP.
fatal to the principle of popular election, and mere
stipendiary maintenance ; those vital elements of
nonconformity, and banes to the respectability and
true independence of the clergy. Laud, however,
was moved by none of these things. So long as his
influence predominated, the evil nearly disappeared ;
so that, to use the words of Heylyn, " from hence-
forth we hear but little of such vagrant ministers,
and trencher-chaplains, (the old brood being once
worn out,) as had heretofore pestered and annoyed
the Church 1 ."
The letter addressed by Laud to his suffragans, for
the enforcement of the above order, was dated on the
18th of October. On the very same day went forth
his Majesty's well-known declaration respecting the
lawfulness of Sunday sports. This was the begin-
ning of fresh unpopularity and trouble to the Arch-
bishop. It will be recollected by every reader of the
history of those times, that a " Book of Sports" had
been published by King James, in which his Majesty
maintained that certain recreations were not unlawful
on the Sabbath. He was tempted to this dangerous
experiment, by his desire to compose the strife, which
then was becoming vehement, between the spirit of
fanatical austerity, on one hand, and the festive pro-
pensities of his people, on the other. The success of
his . endeavours to settle the question, was far from
satisfactory. The Royal Manifesto was considered,
by the stricter Protestants, as a dangerous concession
to the Romanists, and a virtual surrender of all scrip-
tural views, relative to the sanctity of the day of rest.
It is not improbable, however, that the controversy
1 Heylyn, p. 253- 255.
V.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 179
might have slept, during the present reign, if it had
not been revived by one Theophilus Bradburn, a
Clergyman and Schoolmaster in Suffolk ; who, in
1628, put forth a book, in which he maintained the
moral and perpetual obligation of the Jewish sab-
bath ; and contended that it was no better than rvill-
rvorship, to make the observance of the Lord's day
binding by virtue of the fourth commandment. This
work he was rash enough to dedicate to the King :
and his recompense was a prosecution in the High
Commission, which brought him to a speedy acknow-
ledgment of his error. It was, nevertheless, thought
advisable that Dr. White, then Bradburn's Diocesan,
should draw up a refutation of these extravagant
opinions. The doctor's notions, however, were, in
some respects, too lax to find much favour in the eyes
of the more rigorous religionists. Hereupon, says
Fuller, books begat books ; and the controversy was
becoming intricate, and apparently interminable *.
In the mean time, certain magistrates, in various
1 Any discussion of the merits of this question would be in-
compatible with our limits. A good account of the prevalent
opinions, may'be found in Fuller. The Sabbatarians generally
maintained the principles of Bradburn. The Anti- Sabbatarians
" unhinged the day from off any Divine right, and hung it merely
on ecclesiastical authority." The moderate men grounded the
observance of one day in seven, " on the moral equity of the
fourth commandment; which" they said " was like the feet and
toes of Nebuchadnezzar's image, part of potters' clay, and part
of iron. The clay part, and ceremonial moiety of the command-
ment, (namely the observance of the seventh day^ was mould-
ered away, and buried in Christ's grave. The iron part thereof
(namely, a mixture of morality therein, one day in seven,) was
perpetual and everlasting." Fuller, Ch. Hist. b. xi. p. 144 149.
And these are, pretty nearly, the views of the moderate men* at
the present day.
N 2
180 LIFE OF [CHAP.
parts of the country, who had adopted the more
austere principles, had taken upon themselves to
restrain, by vexatious regulations, not only the
enjoyment of festivities and sports, but the exercise
of needful occupations, on the Lord's day. In 1631,
their severity was openly sanctioned by the injudi-
cious zeal of Richardson, then Chief Justice of the
King's Bench. At the Lent Assizes for the county
of Somerset, in that year, he had published certain
intolerable prohibitions, accompanied with an order
to the parochial clergy } for promulgation of them
from the desk. This was represented by Laud, (then
Bishop of London,) to the King, as an encroachment
upon the ecclesiastical jurisdiction : and, thereupon,
Richardson was immediately commanded to revoke
his order at the next Assizes. When the Assizes
came, Richardson, instead of obeying the royal
injunction, republished his regulations in a still more
peremptory form. Indignant at this contempt of his
authority, his Majesty required the Bishop of London
to ascertain, from his brother of Bath and Wells, the
manner in which all feast-days, and wakes, and re-
vels, were celebrated in his diocese. A certificate
was speedily returned by the Bishop, signed by se-
venty-two of his clergy, decidedly favourable to the
continuance of such practices. Upon this, the Judge
was summoned before the council, and positively
commanded to reverse his former orders. The un-
gracious office of reproof for his contumacy should,
undoubtedly, have been left to the other members of
the Board. Unhappily, however, the impetuous
temper of Laud disabled him from perceiving how
unseemly a spectacle it would be, for the Chief Jus-
tice of England to stand and hear his condemnation
V.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 181
from the mouth of a Bishop. And he, accordingly,
took upon himself to administer so stern a rebuke,
that Richardson came out, exclaiming " that he had
been almost choked with a pair of lawn-sleeves M"
It was in hopes of terminating this contest, and of
relieving himself from the torrents of petitions which
were pouring in from the opposite parties, that the
King resolved to interfere. He, accordingly, gave
orders to the Archbishop, that the declaration of law-
ful sports should be reprinted, word for word, as it
had issued from the press in the time of his father,
in 1618. To this document he subjoined his own
ratification ; in which he signified his royal pleasure
that wakes and other feasts should be observed, that
the Justices of Assize, and other magistrates, should
protect the people, in their lawful recreations, pro*
vided they had first attended to the religious duties
of the day, and, lastly, that the Bishops should take
order for the publication of his command, throughout
all the parish Churches of their respective dioceses.
The appearance of this declaration was the signal
for a general outcry from the more rigorous Sabba-
tarians. No better names could be found for it, than
a profane edict, a toleration for dishonouring the
Lord's Day, an unhallowed sacrifice of God's glory
to the power of the King. As usual, the main bur-
den of the obloquy fell upon the Archbishop. The
measure was imputed wholly to his evil counsels ;
and was, afterwards, stigmatized by Burton as the
first great exploit achieved by him, for the suppres-
sion of godliness, after he had taken possession of his
graceship 2 . Of course, it grew, in due time, into an
item of impeachment for treason. At his trial, he
was charged with labouring to put a badge of holi-
1 Heylyn, p. 255-257. 2 Ibid. p. 255-261.
182 LIFE OF [CHAP.
ness upon places, and take it away from days ; and
with encouraging Sunday recreations, for the pur-
pose of extinguishing the ordinance of preaching.
To all this he replied, that he acted by the express
command of the King, that none but lawful recrea-
tions were allowed and that the lawfulness of cer-
tain sports and pastimes, on the Sabbath day, was
acknowledged even in the practice of Geneva ; where,
after Evening Prayer, the elder were allowed to
bowl, and the younger to engage in manly exer-
cises. He was further accused of rigorous proceed-
ings against certain ministers, for refusing or neg-
lecting to publish the declaration in their Churches.
But it appears that no case of undue severity
could be substantiated ; and that, on the contrary,
he had executed the King's orders with considerate
lenity, more especially within his own peculiar dio-
cese 1 . This circumstance, however, was carefully
attributed by his adversaries to the very worst mo-
tives that perverse ingenuity could discover. They
ascribed it, says Fuller, not to his charity, but his
policy; and affirmed that, all this while, he was
preying, like the fox, furthest from his own den ; and
instigating other Bishops to greater activity, than
he would be seen to exercise himself 2 . Of this most
malicious imputation it can only be said, that no
proof was ever produced in support of it ; and that
nothing could be more opposite than such vile cun-
ning, to the directness and intrepidity which usually
marked the proceedings of the Archbishop, whether
they were right or wrong. At all events, his worst
enemies were unable to deny, that, whatever might
be his zeal against the Sabbatarians, the Lord's day
1 Troubles, &c. p. 343346. 2 Fuller, b. xi. p. 148.
V.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 183
was always most religiously honoured by him, in his
own person.
With regard to the Declaration itself, it is now
generally admitted to have been, at best, inexpedient
and unwise. Tn the first place, perhaps no subject ,
can be named, which more powerfully exposes the
impotence of mere law-giving, or proclamation, than
the observance of the Sabbath day l . The regulations
prescribed will, most probably, err, either on the side
of laxity or of vigour. And, even if they should be
framed with the most consummate wisdom, scarcely
any human authority would be sufficient for their
effectual and permanent enforcement. Besides, it
can scarcely be denied that the official promulgation
of an indulgent system is liable to a two-fold objec-
tion : it may, practically, invite the licentious to
abuse and excess ; and it may discourage and scan-
dalize the worthiest and most religious members of a
Christian community.
At the beginning of the year 1634, the
Archbishop resolved upon a Metropolitical
Visitation of the whole province of Canterbury ; in
other words, upon a course of warfare against the
manifold indecencies and abominations which, for a
1 It might, nevertheless, be well that our lawgivers should
deeply ponder the following words of Fuller: " We in England
are concerned now more strictly to observe the Lord's day than
ever before. Holy Days are not ; and Holy Eves are not ; and
Wednesday and Friday Litanies are not. And now, some out
of error, and others out of profaneness, go about to take away
the Lord's day also. All these things are against God's solemn
and public service. O let not his public worship, now contracted
to fewer channels, have also a shallower stream !" Fuller
b. xi. p. 149.
184 LIFE OF [CHAP.
long period, had disfigured the Church. One of his
first cares was. for the due position of the Sacramental
Table, and for its protection from irreverence and
desecration. It has already appeared, that, from the
moment of his first promotion, this had always held a
foremost place in his thoughts : and it has been con-
ceived by many that it occupied a disproportionate
share of his attention. In order to estimate his con-
duct rightly, it will be proper to take into conside-
ration the consequences which had resulted from a
neglect of this department of ecclesiastical discipline.
In the Cathedral Churches, then, and in the Chapels
of the nobility, that, which we now scruple not to call
the Altar, was usually placed, where we now uni-
formly see it, close to the Eastern wall of the Church ;
guarded by a decent railing from defilement and pro-
fanation. In many of the Parochial Churches the
case was widely different. It was dragged, by Pu-
ritanical scruple or caprice, into the body of the
Church, and treated as if no peculiar sanctity be-
longed to it. It often served the Churchwardens for
a parish-table, the school-boys for a desk, and the
carpenters for a working-board. In one place, we
are told, a dog had run away with the bread set apart
for the Holy Communion ; and, in many instances,
the wine had been brought to the table in pint-pots,
and bottles, and so was distributed to the people *.
Such were the effects of an indiscriminate aversion
for the practices of Rome ! It can hardly be thought
surprising that any man, whose mind was rich in
the knowledge of Christian antiquity, and whose
heart was warm with zeal for the glory of God,
1 Heylyn, p. 285.
V.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 185
should look upon these base and slovenly usages
with loathing and indignation ; more especially when
it was found that, by such practices, the Reformed
profession was identified with positive impiety, in
the estimation of the most sincere and sober-minded
Romanists.
The Archbishop felt it to be his duty to attempt a
reform of these unseemly abuses. And when he
was, finally, called upon to answer for his pro-
ceedings, he solemnly averred that his motive was
not a stupid attachment to Popish mummeries, but
solely a desire for the restoration of external and
visible Religion l . Of course, he had much resis-
tance to encounter when he undertook the task ; and
the opposition was renderecl more formidable and
more vexatious by the aid and countenance of Bishop
Williams. That Williams had no serious objection
to the ancient practice of the Church, is manifest
from the facts, that the Table occupied the place,
contended for by the Archbishop, in his own Cathe-
dral of Lincoln ; in the Abbey Church at Westminster,
of which he was Dean ; and in his private chapel at
Buckden-palace : and further, that he had, himself,
prevailed on the inhabitants of St. Martin's, at Lei-
cester, to place their Communion Table in a similar
position. Nevertheless, on a representation from the
Vicar, Churchwardens, and others of that same
parish, he issued letters, in December, 1633, grant-
ing them permission to bring the Table back to its
former situation in the body of the Church. And
this he did, in spite of an Order in Council to the
contrary effect, made with reference to the Parish
1 Troubles, &c. p. 150.
1S(> LIFE OF [CHAP.
Church of St. Gregory's, in St. Paul's Church-
yard ; which order was dated only in the preceding
November 1 .
The Archbishop considered this proceeding of
Williams as little less than a signal of hostility. He
therefore resolved to make the Diocese of Lincoln
the scene of his first Visitation ; and to inhibit the
Bishop and his Archdeacons from the exercise of
their jurisdiction, so long as the Visitation lasted.
Williams was not one of those who yield tamely to a
first assault. He contended that his own jurisdiction
had been exempted from such suspension, by certain
Bulls obtained from Pope Innocent the fourth, on
the procurement of Bishop Grosthead : and he more-
ever insisted that the threatened inhibition would
operate ruinously to himself, by diverting the fees
and procurations, which then formed the chief source
of the Bishop's maintenance 2 . Laud was, at first,
somewhat staggered by this remonstrance. But, on
a further investigation of his own rights, he deter-
mined to have the question argued before the Lords
of the Council. The claim of the Archbishop was
established by their decision. His Visitation ac-
cordingly proceeded, and the Churchwardens through-
out the Diocese were ordered to transpose the Table
to the East end of the Chancel, and to fence it with a
proper railing. But although Williams was thus, for
a moment, overthrown, he touched the earth only to
rise up from it with unabated vigour. The instant
he was relieved from the suspension, he visited his
1 Heylyn, p. 259, 260. 285287-
2 Williams's Letter to the Archbishop, on this subject, may
be seen in Hacket, pt. ii. p. 98, 99.
V.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 187
Diocese in person. On meeting with Dr. Bret, a
grave and reverend man, but of the school of Geneva,
he accosted him with the gracious words of St.
Augustine, "Although a Bishop is greater than a
Presbyter, yet is Augustine inferior to Jerome 1 ;" thus
gratifying the Puritans with a confession that Bret
was as much greater than Williams, as a Bishop is
above a Presbyter. And, still further to win them,
he gave order for placing the Communion Table in
the middle of the Church, with a rail about it ; and
not at the east end, with a rail before it 2 .
This encounter between the Archbishop and his
former rival, tended, of course, to widen the breach
between them. Williams lived to taste the luxury of
retribution. If the powers of the Diocesan of Lin-
coln were suspended, for a time, by Laud, the favour
was amply repaid, in after days, by the Archbishop
of York. For, Williams was the man, who, subse-
quently to his promotion to that dignity, instigated
the Lords to inflict the sequestration of his jurisdic-
tion upon the Primate of all England ! The more' im-
mediate result of the present conflict, was a series of
learned controversial writings between the Bishop of
Lincoln, and Dr. Heylyn, (the biographer of Laud,)
which our limits forbid us to notice in detail, and
which, at the present day, would be almost entirely
destitute of interest 3 . But, surely, without the as-
1 Quamvis Episcopus major est Presbytero, Augustinus tamen
minor est Hieronymo.
2 Heylyn, p. 286, 287-
3 Williams had thrown together his thoughts upon the ques-
tion, in the form of a " letter to the Vicar of Grantham," so long
before as 1627. The visitation of 1634 tempted Heylyn to pub-
lish this letter, together with an answer, under the title of " A
188 LIFE OF [CHAP.
sistance of much profound erudition, the essential
merits of the case may be summed up in very few
words. That the Sacramental table should be pro-
tected from profanation, will not, for a moment, be
disputed. Whether it should be called a table, or
an altar, became a matter of comparatively trifling
importance, when once the Sacramental doctrine had
been brought back to its original simplicity. Its po-
sition in the Church would be fitly regulated, partly
by considerations of convenience, but chiefly by a
reference to the practice of primitive antiquity. In
the earliest ages, beyond all question, its situation
was at the eastern end of the Church. And, whatever
might be its appropriate position, nothing but confu-
sion could be the effect of leaving the matter to be
decided by the caprice of ministers, who might be
ignorant of ecclesiastical history ; or of Church-
wardens, who were often ignorant, of every thing,
their own secular trade and mystery excepted.
Coal from the Altar." Williams replied, in 1637, by a treatise
entitled the " Holy Table, name and thing, &c." And Heylyn
rejoined by his " Antidotum Lincolinense." The Bishop was
preparing for his further vindication, when he was prevented by
his troubles in the Star-chamber, in consequence of which his
library was seized. " And how" says Racket " could he fight
without his arms ? Or, how could the bell ring, when they had
stolen away the clapper ?" Those who may be curious about
the whole history of this contest, will find it in Hacket, pt. ii. p.
99 109. It may be observed that Hacket ascribes Laud's
earnestness about this, and similar matters, to nothing worse than
an excess of piety ; vTrtpjSoX?) rrjg tvtrtfieiaz. p. 100.
VI.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 189
CHAPTER VI.
A.D. 16341637.
Laud endeavours to bring the foreign Protestant Churches to con-
formity with the Church of England He labours to improve
the condition of the London Clergy He obtains from the Crown
the restitution of Irish Impropriations The Church of Ireland
is brought to conformity with the Church of England Laud is
made a Commissioner of the Treasury He resigns the office,
and procures the appointment for Juxon He proceeds with his
Metropolitical Visitation Enforces the repair of Cathedrals,
and other reforms He is unjustly suspected of countenancing
the Popish designs of the Queen He establishes his right to
visit the Universities He obtains for Oxford a new body of
Statutes, and the Caroline Charter He is accused of aiming at
the office of Universal Lawgiver His charity and munificence
They cry against him as a persecutor He entertains the
King and Queen at Oxford Punishment ofPrynne, Bastwicke
and Burton Laud's vindication of himself from the charge of
bringing back Popery, Sfc. He is assailed with virulent libels
Prosecution of Bishop Williams.
AMONG the arbitrary acts imputed to Laud, was his
attempt to force upon the foreign Protestant Churches,
in this country, the Liturgy and discipline of the
Church of England. A full history of the proceed-
ings adopted by him, for the accomplishment of this
purpose, would occupy a much larger space than the
limits of our undertaking will allow. It may, how-
ever, be practicable to put the reader distinctly in
possession of his views and motives, without any
burdensome profusion of detail.
In the first place, then, when Laud was Bishop of
190 LIFE OF [CHAP.
London, his attention had been attracted to the dis-
creditable irregularities which had long prevailed
among the English factories and regiments, beyond
the seas. It would appear that our Chaplains and
Ministers abroad had almost, if not altogether, for-
gotten that they were clergymen of the Church of
England. The worship of God was, for the most
part, conducted by them conformably to the fashion
of Geneva. The state of the foreign congregations
in England was equally unsatisfactory. All thoughts
of compliance with the Anglican Formularies had
long been lain aside by the French and Walloon
Churches settled in various parts of England. And
such was their tone of independence, that, in 1632,
the Bishop thought it advisable to submit their doings,
as well as those of the English settlements in foreign
parts, to the attention of the Council ; and moreover,
to draw up certain stringent regulations for their
correction l . Tt was not, however, till his advance-
ment to the primacy, that Laud began to grapple
closely with these disorders. His first measure was,
to procure an order of Council, dated October J,
1633, by which the English Churches and military
Chaplaincies, in Holland, were enjoined to a strict
observance of the English Liturgy, with all the rites
and ceremonies prescribed by it. And similar in-
structions were, soon after, despatched to all the
English factories, and embassies 2 , in every part of
1 Heylyn, p. 231235.
2 It appears, from a story told by Lord Leicester, that Laud
was unwilling that our Ambassadors in France should attend
the Protestant service at Charenton. And this has been consi-
dered as indicating his Popish inclinations. The truth, how-
ever, is, that Laud was anxious that the King's ministers abroad
VI.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 191
the world. The next care of the Archbishop was to
reclaim the French and Dutch congregations settled
in England. In the prosecution of his purpose, he
began with his own diocese; and, in April, 1634,
addressed certain questions to the French Church at
Canterbury, and to the Dutch Churches at Maidstone
and Sandwich. One of these questions was, whether
such of them as were born subjects would conform
to the Church of England ? The congregations were
refractory ; and pleaded the exemptions and privi-
leges granted them by King Edward VI., and con-
firmed by subsequent acts of Council, in the reigns of
Elizabeth, King James, and his present Majesty.
The Archbishop was, notwithstanding, inflexible. It
was, of course, well known to him that Letters Patent
had been granted by Henry VIII. to John Alsaco,
and his congregation of strangers. But it was also
known that these same congregations were utterly
broken up in the time of Queen Mary ; and that their
privileges departed with them. He, likewise, recol-
lected, though the congregations seem to have for-
gotten it, that the policy of Elizabeth, with reference
to the foreign Churches, was distinctly recorded in a
letter of hers to the Lord Treasurer Pawlet, signed
with her own hand, in the second year of her reign ;
in which she signifies her pleasure, that the Church
of Augustine Friars should be delivered to the Bishop
of London, for the use of strangers resorting to the
city ; and that such ministers as he might approve,
should be appointed to those Churches ; but " so as
should be attended by Chaplains, faithful to the Church of Eng-
land, instead of joining the Calvinistic and Presbyterian worship
of the Huguenots. See Blencowe's Sydney Papers. Note (A.)
p. 261. &c.
192 LIFE OF [CHAP.
no rite nor use be therein observed, contrary or de-
rogatory to her laws 1 ." With this memorial of " the
wisdom of those times" before him, the Archbishop
persevered. And, after some contentious negotiation,
it was ordained, that those ministers, and others, of
the French and Dutch congregations, who were not
native subjects of the King, should be allowed to use
their own discipline as before ; but that, nevertheless,
the English Liturgy should be translated into French
and Dutch, in order that the children of the foreigners
should be brought up in the Communion of the
Church of England. It was further ordered, that, in
future, none but strangers should be admitted as
ministers in those congregations : and, that the Natives
should be bound to make collections for the mainte-
nance of their own ministry, and the poor of their
own Church. This last injunction was added, to
pacify the apprehensions which had arisen, lest these
proceedings should so far have the effect of natural-
ising the congregations, as to entitle their poor to
relief out of the parish rates 2 .
These proceedings were not forgotten, in the Arch-
bishop's impeachment ; one article of which, though
not much insisted upon, charged him with traitorously
suppressing the immunities of the foreign Churches.
His measures, were, doubtless, alien from our princi-
ples of toleration. In his time, however, those prin-
ciples were unknown to any party whatever : and to
him it appeared insufferable that these congregations
should be living, as he expressed it, on his trial,
like " a kind of God's Israel in Egypt," till they
became "a Church within a Church, and a State
1 Troubles, Sic. p. 166, 167-
2 Heylyn, p. 276280.
VI.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 193
within a State ' ;" to the great danger and dishonour
of that hospitable Church to which they, originally, fled
from persecution. That he was not singular in these
views, is manifest from the opinion of his adversary,
Bishop Williams ; who, in general, was notoriously dis-
inclined to measures of severity against the non-con-
formists ; but who, yet, was impelled by the example
of these very communities, to dissuade King James
from the introduction, of a colony of Bohemian Pro-
testants 2 . And, that the fraternities in question were,
in truth, little better than nurseries of disaffection,
was sufficiently obvious, from the fact, that they
were encouraged in their resistance by the English
puritans ; and animated with prodigal assurances,
that the liberty of the Gospel, and the deliverance of
the Church of England from episcopal tyranny, de-
pended chiefly on their firmness and resolution 3 .
Besides, in an estimate of this, and of all the
measures of Laud, it would be unjust to forget his
ardent love for the Church of England ; his passion-
ate persuasion that she was framed, more nearly
than any other, according to the model of Apostolic
sanctity and purity ; and his earnest, though chime-
1 Troubles, &c. p. 165.
2 " These Dutch and French," says Williams, " brought a
commodious manufacture into the realm. But they brought a
discipline with it, which was a suffocation to the temperate Crasis
of our own Church government. Which peril of distemper would
be increased by the access of the Bohemic congregation." *' A
sat forecast (Hacket observes), to keep our hierarchy sound
>m the contagion of foreigners. He (Williams) was more re-
*ious, to keep the Church of England in its sabbath, and holy
3st, than to help out the neighbour's ox, that was fallen into the
)it." Hacket, pt. i. p. 96.
Heylyn, p. 280, 281.
194 LIFE OF [CHAP.
rical, desire, that her discipline and worship should
be spread throughout all Christendom. In the esti-
mation of his enemies, indeed, this warmth of attach-
ment was among the blackest of his enormities. In
this propensity, as in almost every word, and deed,
and look, and gesture of his, they saw nothing but
symptoms of a rooted aversion for the Reformed
Faith, and a settled design for its final overthrow *.
There was another project, of more vital import-
ance, which had long been near to the heart of
Laud; and to the accomplishment of which, he
earnestly addressed himself about this time ; namely,
an improvement in the condition of the London
Clergy 2 . It would occupy us too long to enter into
the history of the claim of the city incumbents to the
payment of two shillings and nine pence in the
pound, upon the rents of houses, under an order, or
decree to that effect, made in the reign of Henry
VIII., and, subsequently, confirmed by Acts of
Parliament. It may suffice to state, that, in the
interval between those times, and the days of Laud,
this order had never been openly disputed. On the
contrary, the perfect legality of the demand was, vir-
tually, acknowledged, by the very artifices resorted
to for the purpose of evading it. It would be sick-
1 It is remarkable, that, although the above transactions fur-
nished, eventually, matter of crimination against Laud, the
charge was suffered to drop, when his trial came on. The
silence of his persecutors as to this Article, he himself attributes,
in part, to their dread of being confronted with the formidable
letter of Queen Elizabeth to the Lord Pawlet. Troubles, &c.
2 It is mentioned, among the designs contemplated by him, at
the end of his Diary : " To see the tythes of London settled
between the Clergy and the City." .
VI.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 195
ening to enumerate the despicably fraudulent con-
trivances, by which the city landlords conspired to
cheat the clergy of their rights. Their ingenuity
was as successful as it was infamous. The London
ministers were reduced by it to a state of such
miserable indigence, that, in 1618, they sought re-
dress in the Court of Exchequer. In vain, however,
did the Judges declare, that the payment ordered by
the Act was to be upon the true yearly value of the
premises. In vain did the Bishops exclaim that the
artifices of the landlords were iniquitous and sacri-
legious. There was no contending with the purse of
the city of London. The cause of the clergy be-
came more and more desperate, from year to year ;
till, at length, they were driven to cast themselves at
the feet of King Charles, and to supplicate for the
redress of oppressions, which were becoming insup-
portable. His Majesty, without delay, referred their
petition to the consideration of the Archbishop, and
other commissioners ; whose inquiries were con-
ducted in a manner which promised better days to
the unfortunate ministers. Their hopes were con-
siderably brightened by the appointment of Bishop
Juxon to the office of Lord Treasurer, in March,
1636. And, possibly, the labours of the Primate and
his colleagues might have ended in some equitable
and satisfactory adjustment, if the troubles which
had long been gathering had not interrupted this
work of righteousness and charity l .
It is scarcely credible, though it is absolutely cer-
tain, that the exertions of the Archbishop, on behalf
of his starving and defrauded brethren, were after-
1 Heylyn, p. 281285.
O 2
196 LIFE OF [CHAP.
wards numbered among the ingredients of his trea-
sonable guiltiness. " The business of the tythes of
London," he tells us, " was raised up in judgment
against him." No attempt, however, was made to
fix, upon any step of his proceedings, the charge of
illegality. Only one witness appeared : and that
one witness had nothing worse to say of him than
that he "pressed the matter much and often:" which
the Archbishop freely admitted to be true *. That
his activity was as bad as treason, in the estimation
of his accusers, may, indeed, be easily imagined.
For, in the first place, as Heylyn tells us, there were
men, in those days, who deemed that 2000 a year
was scarcely enough for an alderman; but that 100
a year was rather too much for a minister. But ava-
rice was not the only passion which helped to stamp
Laud as a traitor, on account of his zeal in the cause
of the parochial clergy. The lust of dominion had
some considerable share in getting up the accusation.
For, in proportion as the established local clergy
were depressed, the lecturers were sure to be had in
honour, or, at least, in request; and the lecturers
were a race dependent wholly on the caprices of the
people, or on the purses of the wealthier citizens.
An independent clergy was a sight, that neither the
disaffected populace, or citizens, could easily endure
to look upon 2 .
Before we proceed further in the history of Laud's
administration of the Church, in England, it will be
proper to notice the invaluable services rendered by
him to the sister Church, in Ireland. It is utterly
1 Troubles, &c. .p. 251.
2 Heylyn, p. 282. Is there any thing new beneath the sun ?
12
VI.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 197
impossible to describe, in few words, the miserable
condition of the Irish Church, at that period. They
who would form any adequate notion of it, should,
by all means, peruse the correspondence of the
Archbishop with Wentworth, when the latter held
the office of Lord Deputy ; from which, it appears
that spoliation, sacrilege, and criminal neglect, had
done their worst upon it. The attention of Laud
had been called to this afflicting subject, some years
before, by a report from the admirable Bishop Bedel ;
and, at length, on the suggestion of Primate Usher,
he resolved to obtain, if possible, from the King, a
restitution of all the Irish impropriations which had
not been granted by the Crown to laymen. The
time was fearfully unpromising for such an applica-
tion. The Exchequer was almost empty, and the
necessities of the King urgent. Such, however, was
Charles's warm devotion to the interests of religion,
that he readily assented to the proposal. The plan
was as heartily speeded as the Archbishop could
desire, by the energies of Wentworth: and, thus, a
considerable fragment of her revenues was restored
to that dilapidated Church 1 .
1 Stafford's Letters, vol. i. p. 81. &c. &c. Ed. Knowler, 1?39.
Life of Bishop Bedel. Heylyn, p. 268, 269.
The following may be taken as a general expression of the
honest zeal with which Wentworth prosecuted the redress of the
plundered Church : " Just at this present, I am informed that
my Lord Clanricarde hath engrossed as many parsonages and
vicarages, as he has mortgaged for 4000, and 80 rent. But,
in faith, have at him, and all the rest of the Ravens. If I spare
a man of them, let no man ever spare me. Howbeit, I foresee,
this is so universal a disease, that I shall incur a number of
men's displeasure, of the best rank among them. But were I
not better lose these, for God Almighty's cause, than lose Him
198 LIFE OF [CHAP
It is almost needless to state that this, like almost
every other public act of Laud, was afterwards voted
to be traitorous. It was said to intimate a design
for the abolition of all impropriations ; and, therefore,
was evidence of a desire to usurp no less than a Papal
power: and it was treasonable to the King, inas-
much as it amounted to " a robbing of the Crown."
The foregoing brief narrative contains, in effect, the
answer actually given by Laud to these ridiculous
imputations. The proposition, he says, had origi-
nated with the Lord Primate. It had been commu-
nicated to the great officers of the Exchequer. The
matter had been patiently considered. The free
eonsent of the King had been obtained. So much
for " robbing of the Crown." But then, as Laud
continues, " The increase of Popery is complained
of in Ireland. Is there a better way to hinder this
growth, than to place an able Clergy among the
inhabitants ? Can an able Clergy be had without
means ? Is any means fitter than impropriations
restored ? My Lords, I did this, as holding it the
best means to keep down Popery, and to advance
the Protestant religion. And I wish, with all my
heart, I had been able to do it sooner, before so many
impropriations were gotten from the Crown into
private hands V
In September, 1633, the connexion between the
Archbishop and the Church of Ireland had become
more intimate, in consequence of his election to the
Chancellorship of the University of Dublin. It ap-
pears from his correspondence with the Lord Deputy,
for theirs ?" Strafford's Letters, &c. vol. i. p. 298. August 23,
1634.
1 Troubles, &c. p. 297, 298.
VI.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 199
that he had accepted this honour with deep reluctance.
It had been his wish, that Wentworth himself should
occupy that important post ; on the ground, that his
commanding influence, and his presence on the spot,
would render him the most effectual guardian of that
learned body. Nevertheless, when once elected, Laud
applied himself, with his usual vigour, to the duties
of the office thus cast upon him ; and, eventually,
procured for the College a new Charter, together with
a Code of Statutes for its better government 1 . He
also felt himself engaged, by his closer relation to
the University, to a more vigilant care for the
honour of the Established Protestant religion. At
that period, the doctrines of the Church of England
seemed to be sinking fast into contempt and oblivion.
Little was there heard of, but the turbulent strife
between Popery and Calvinism. The vigour of
Wentworth, however, succeeded, for a season, in
putting a bridle in the jaws, and hook in the nostrils
of Popery. It now remained for him to tame the
spirit of her sullen antagonist, and thus to prepare
for the firm establishment of the Anglican faith and
discipline. The task was one which demanded all
his resolution and dexterity. It happened, unfor-
tunately, that Primate Usher, admirable and eminent
as he was in many respects, was somewhat defective
in that strength of purpose, which is required for
great public emergencies. Besides, he was still
tainted with those Calvinistic principles, under
the influence of which, before his advancement to
the Primacy, he had co-operated towards the intro-
duction of those Articles of religion, for the Irish
1 See the end of the Diary.
200 LIFE OF [CHAP.
Church, which had passed in the Convocation of
1615. These Articles, it is well-known, were con-
ceived in a widely different spirit from those of the
Church of England ; and, the effect of this was, that
the two Churches exhibited the spectacle, not of
sisterly concord, but of unseemly and quarrelsome
dissension; and that both of them1>ecame the objects
of bitter scorn to the adherents of Rome. It was,
therefore, of the highest importance to the peace and
honour of both, that the Church of Ireland should be
won over from her Calvinistic Articles, and prevailed
on to receive those of England in their stead.
The process by which this was effected would re-
quire a lengthened narrative. We must be content
to state that the purposes of Went worth and of
Laud (who acted together, with entire harmony,
throughout the whole course of these transactions)
were finally accomplished, in the Convocation held
at Dublin, in 1634 ; at which, the English Articles
and Canons were received, in their full integrity ;
and the two national Churches were brought into a
state of entire conformity with each other *.
In February, 1635, a strangely anomal-
ous distinction was conferred on Laud. The
Primate of all England was made a Member of the
Committee of Trade. By this appointment, however
unpopular it might be, the King, at least, secured one
good and faithful servant to watch over the improve-
ment of his revenue. In the March following, he was
1 Heylyn, p. 269 274. See also a long and very interes-
ting Letter of Wentworth to Laud, December 16, 1634, con-
taining a full account of this matter : from which it appears how
much the cause in hand was indebted to the address and firm-
ness of the Lord Deputy. Straff. Lett. vol. i. p. 342.
VI.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 201
named one of the Commissioners of the Treasury, on
the decease of the Earl of Portland * ; and, thus, he
was unfortunately plunged into a labyrinth of secular
business, and brought into perpetual collision with
the selfish designs and passions of men less honest
than himself. His zeal for the service of his royal
master impelled him to set his face, like a rock,
against the sordid machinations of those who sought
nothing but their own profit ; whether such persons
were to be found in high places or in low. The
same motive occasionally betrayed him into the
encouragement of projects, which greater knowledge
and experience would have led him to condemn ;
but which the want of all regular resources, and the
suspension of Parliament, seemed, at that period,
to render all but unavoidable. It is no subject of
wonder, that the Archbishop soon became weary of
the toil and vexation of an office, which only sur-
rounded him with enemies at Court ; and aggravated
the malice of all, throughout the country, who were
already disposed to look upon him with an evil eye 2 .
He was relieved from the burden in the following
year. On the 6th of March, 1636, at his recommen-
dation, and to his unspeakable satisfaction, Juxon,
Bishop of London, was promoted to the post of Lord
High Treasurer. The Archbishop was strangely
blind to the tendency of this appointment. He re-
marks, indeed, in his Diary, that no Churchman had
held this office, since the time of Henry VII.; a cir-
cumstance which, alone, might have awakened him
to the danger of bestowing it upon a Bishop, after
1 Diary, p. 51.
2 Clarendon, vol. i. p. 173176. Oxf. ed.
202 LIFE OF [CHAP.
so long an interval, and in a state of society so widely
different. But the warning was, unfortunately, lost
upon him. He prayed for God's blessing on the
choice, "that the Church might have honour, and
the state service and contentment by it. And, now,"
he added, " if the Church will not hold up them-
selves, under God, I can do no more V
These very words were produced against the Arch-
bishop, at his trial, among other evidence, in support
of the general charge, that he had traitorously assumed
a tyrannical power in temporal as well as in ecclesias-
tical matters. He replied, very justly, that he could
perceive neither treason, nor any other crime, in
what he had done or written. The -accusation, how-
ever, must have satisfied him, though unhappily, too
late that the time was gone by, in which ecclesi-
astics could prominently interfere, with dignity or
safety, in the management of secular affairs. At
the period of this appointment, his unpopularity had
nearly reached its height. "Whatsoever were the
cause," Clarendon continues, "this excellent man,
from the time of his promotion to the Archbishopric,
or rather, from that of his being Commissioner of
the Treasury, exceedingly provoked, and underwent
the envy, reproach, and malice of men of all quali-
ties and conditions, who agreed in nothing else. All
which, though well enough known to him, was not
enough considered by him, who believed (as most
men did) the government to be so firmly settled,
that it could be shaken neither from within nor
without ; and that less than a general confusion of
law and gospel could not hurt him. Which was
1 See Diary, p. 53.
VI.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 203
true, too : but he did not foresee how easily that
confusion might be brought to pass ; as it proved
shortly to be V
In the prosecution of his ecclesiastical duties, the
Archbishop, this year, proceeded with the Metropo-
litical visitation, which he had commenced in 1634.
The irregularities which called for redress, were
manifold ; and the spirit of resistance to reform,
was still active in many parts of the country. The
removal of the Communion-table to the upper end
of the Chancel, more especially, was a cause of bitter
discontent, In the first place, the new practice, as
it was called, was, in many instances, unavoidably
attended with some expense; and this alone was suffi-
cient to render it unpopular. Connected with this
subject, was the manner of celebrating the Eucha-
rist. And here, again, was a further complaint of
innovation 2 . The gesture and the posture furnished
inexhaustible matter of controversy : and the paper
war was carried on " with the same earnestness, and
contention for victory, as if the life of Christianity
had been at stake." In the midst of all this strife,
the Archbishop remained firm to his purpose. He
was conscious that his only motive was an ardent
zeal for the service of God. He, likewise, knew
that the charge of innovation was altogether ground-
less. He contended for nothing which had not the
sanction of primitive usage, and of the Canons and
1 Clarendon, vol. i. p. 180, 181.
2 This, says Clarendon, was an unlucky word, and cozened
very many honest men into apprehensions extremely injurious
to the King and the Church. The writings of Bishop Williams
on the Communion-table, helped to give it this dangerous cur-
rency. Clar. vol. i. p. 171.
204 LIFE OF [CHAP.
Constitutions of the Church. And, so far, he was
blameless and unassailable. It was thought, how-
ever, by many who esteemed and honoured him,
that his correction of the existing disorders was
considerably too precipitate ; and that he would
have done well to recollect, that the restoration and
maintenance of the spirit of conformity, was a work
which then demanded, not only great firmness of
purpose, but more than ordinary patience and ad-
dress 1 . His difficulties were augmented by the con-
flicting opinions of many of his Bishops. Besides
those who conscientiously seconded his views, there
were others who were bound to him, either by grati-
tude or hope ; and these, accordingly, were active
in the furtherance of his reforms ; and in some in-
stances, even injured his cause by a passionate
excess of zeal. Others again, smaller in number,
and less in reputation, who were not attached to
him by obligation or expectancy, were content to
render a languid and unsteady assistance to his
plans. They touched the burden with their little
fingers; and were not displeased to see the main
pressure of it resting upon the shoulders of the
Primate 2 .
1 From one of his own Reports to the King, respecting the
state of his Province, it would appear that he himself was not
always unmindful of the necessity for caution and moderation.
See the volume containing his Troubles, &c. p. 543.
2 This is Clarendon's representation of the case ; and he may
be quite safely followed, when he bears a qualified testimony
to the merits of Laud. A more detailed account of these trans-
actions, may be found in Heylyn and in Racket; both of
whom, however, must be consulted with some caution : for they,
each of them, write too much in the spirit of advocates and
partizans.
VI.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 205
Another most important care which fell upon the
Archbishop, was the restoration of the Cathedrals to
a fit condition for the due and becoming celebration
of Divine Worship. They were, most of them, in
a state which indicated a long period of irreverent
neglect. The Archbishop resolved to begin the work
of reformation in his own glorious Cathedral. His
first injunction was, that appropriate furniture should
be provided for the solemnity of the Eucharist. And
in order that this might be no transient regulation, he
compiled a complete body of statutes for the govern-
ment of the Church, with his own hand signed to
every separate leaf, and despatched it to the Chapter
under the authority of the Great Seal : and one of
the enactments was, that every Prebendary, at his
entrance into the Choir, and departure from it,
should bow towards the Altar, and so make due re-
verence to Almighty God. A similar code was pre-
pared by him for the Cathedrals of Winchester and
Hereford. In various other Cathedrals, he found
that the Chapters had been more careful of their own
emoluments than of the repair and decoration of the
fabric. And, with the aid of Bishops Davenant and
Morton, such effectual measures were taken for the
correction of these abuses, that the Cathedral
Churches began to recover something of their ancient
dignity and splendour, and to serve for an example
to the Churches connected with them l . That many
of the parochial edifices had long been in need of
some such influence to preserve them from ruin, is
undeniable. Of this, one instance may be mentioned,
as illustrating the feelings with which such profa-
1 Heylyn, p. 291294.
206 LIFE OF [CHAP.
nation was contemplated by Laud. At a visitation
held by him, when he was Bishop of London, the
preacher at St. Peter's, Cornhill, derived the word
Diaconus from KOVIQ (dust) ; as if the title were sig-
nificant of the dust and heat of a laborious life. " I
am sorry," said the Bishop, afterwards, in his charge,
" to find here so true an etymology. Here is dust,
and dirt too, enough for a Deacon, or a Priest, to
work in ; dust of the worst kind, from the ruins of
this ancient House of God l !" But of all the monu-
ments of neglect which Abbot had left behind him,
the Chapel of his own palace at Lambeth was, per-
haps, the most disgraceful. When first Laud came
to reside there, he could never enter it without dis-
gust. It was a scene of filth, disorder, and decay.
Among other deformities, the painted windows were
in some places broken to pieces ; and, in many,
they were miserably patched with the most ordinary
glass ; so that, as Laud avers, they had the appear-
ance of a beggar's coat 2 . This state of things was
not suffered by him to continue long. The whole
Chapel was properly repaired. The windows were
restored and beautified, as nearly as might be, ac-
cording to the original design. The Communion-
table was removed from the middle of the Chapel,
fenced with a costly railing, and decorated with
a suitable canopy. Plate and other furniture were
provided for the Sacramental Service. Copes (which
at that time were not wholly disused) were supplied
for the use of the officiating Chaplains. The broken
and tuneless organ was fitted up : till at length the
1 Lloyd's Memoirs, p. 232. Ed. 1668.
2 Troubles, p. 311.
VI.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 207
whole place wore an aspect no longer dishonourable
to the worship of God. The example of the Arch-
bishop was not lost upon his own University ; and
the College Chapels at Oxford gradually shook them-
selves from the dust l .
In the principles which dictated these improve-
ments there is surely nothing for intelligent and
sober-minded men to reprove. In these days, it is
difficult for us to imagine the perverseness which
then revolted against the spectacle of decent solem-
nity nay, of common cleanliness, in the public ser-
vices of Christian devotion. If Laud's proceedings,
relative to such matters, were Popish, then are we,
of the Reformed Establishment of England, now
living in the midst of an almost complete apparatus
of Popery ; for our Cathedrals and our Churches are,
for the most part, in a condition which Laud him-
self might have looked upon with complacency. In
those times, however, a reverence towards the Altar
was often thought to indicate a firm belief that Christ
was corporeally present in the Sacrament of the
Altar : and, in every painted window, was read no
less than a design to subvert the true religion, and
to set up Romish, or even semi-pagan, idolatry in its
stead. Besides, the outcry against the Romish prac-
tices and propensities of Laud was conspicuously
serviceable to the destructive political faction of the
day. It kept the people in a state of perpetual irri-
tation and alarm. It prepared them for the most
desperate extremities against the Church, as the
strong hold of superstition, and against the State, as
bound up with the Church in a dangerous and unhal-
1 Heylyn, p. 294.
208 LIFE OF [CHAP.
lowed alliance. And hence it was, that the exertions
of Laud, for the revival of outward decency of wor-
ship, not only raised much angry murmuring at the
time, hut were placed nearly in the front of that
evidence which was to stamp him as a traitor to his
country, and an apostate from the Reformation l .
There occurs in the diary of Laud, in the course of
this year, an entry, which, combined with two others,
(the one 1634, and the other in 1639,) have contri-
buted to fix upon him the suspicion of a perfidious
compliance with the designs of the Queen. On the
llth, of May, 1635, he writes as follows : " Whitsun
Monday, at Greenwich My account to the Queen
put off till Trinity Sunday, May 24 ; then given her
by myself. And assurance of all that was desired by
me, &c." On the 30th of August in the preceding
year, 1634, we find a similar memorandum. "At
Oatlands, the Queen sent for me, and gave me thanks
for a business, with which she trusted me. -Her pro-
mise, then, 'that she would be my friend, and that I
should have immediate access to her, when I had
occasion." The guilt implied in these dark sentences
was supposed to be placed beyond all doubt, by a
subsequent confession of the diary : " April 3, 1639,
Wednesday Before the King's going, (to the North,)
I settled with him a great business with the Queen ;
which, I understood, she would never move for her-
1 They who are desirous of seeing all the abuse and persecu-
tion suffered by the Archbishop, for these matters, must endure
the penance of looking into the tiresome pages of Prynne. Cant.
Doom. p. 462, &c. &c. They must, also, consult Laud's His-
tory of his Troubles, &c. c. xxxi. xxxii. p. 306', 307310.;
where they will, also, find his own irrefragable vindication of
himself.
VI.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 209
self. The Queen gave me great thanks. And this
day I waited purposely upon her, to give her thanks
for her gracious acceptance. She was pleased to be
very free with me, and to promise me freedom."
Nothing can be well more obscure than these frag-
ments. Heylyn, who was much in the confidence of
the Archbishop, confesses himself at a loss for any
satisfactory explanation of them : but conjectures
that they may have some reference to the suspicious
mission of Panzani, an agent of the Pope, who had
been dispatched to England for the ostensible purpose
of composing certain dissensions between the regulars
and the secular Priests, who were eternally quarrel-
ling with each other. It was well known that her
Majesty was anxious for the safe and honorable re-
ception of Panzani : but, that her conferences with
Laud related to this, or to any other matter con-
nected with religion, has been positively denied by
the Archbishop himself. " As for religion," he
observes, on his trial, " as there is no word of it in
my Diary, so neither was it, at this time, thought on.
But, it seems, it must be a crime, if I be but civil
and dutiful to the Queen, though it be but thrice
mentioned in so many years 1 ." Our belief in the
sincerity of this denial, is strongly warranted by an
entry in the Diary, on the 22nd October, 1637 ; in
which he speaks of himself as having incurred her
Majesty's displeasure, by the freedom with which
he had spoken, at the council, of the intrigues of cer-
tain Romanists about the Court. The adversaries of
Laud were, nevertheless, resolved that he should be
held up to scorn as "an instrument of the Queen's/*
1 Troubles, &c. p. 382, 383.
P
210 LIFE OF [CHAP.
i63g And, in aid of the judgment pronounced
upon him by his own journal, they insisted
loudly on the instructions issued by him, on his Me-
tropolitical Visitation, in 1636 ; by which he inhibited
public prayers for her conversion. Every one can now
perceive, that this interdict was nothing more than what
was required by the spirit of the marriage articles, which
protected her Majesty in the free exercise and profes-
sion of her own religion : and which would have been
egregiously violated by exposing her to public insult
from every fanatical preacher in the realm, who might
choose to libel her, in the form of a supplication for
the health of her soul. In those times, however, the
prohibition was considered as an irresistible evidence
of two things ; first, that "they who framed and issued
it would never attempt, by prayers, or conferences,
or otherwise, to rescue her Majesty from error ; and,
secondly, that they must certainly have regarded the Po-
pish Religion as true, and our own religion as false V
The earliest transaction, in the year 1636, of any
moment in the life of Laud, was the decision of a
question, to which the spirit of the times gave some
importance. The Archbishop was then proceeding
with his Metropolitical Visitation ; and finding that
there still prevailed at Cambridge some disorderly
practices which needed correction, he thought it ex-
pedient to extend the exercise of his authority to that
learned body. This attempt was vigorously resisted
by the University, as an encroachment upon their
ancient privileges ; by which, as they contended, they
were exempt from all visitation but that of the King.
They were supported in their opposition by their
1 See Cant Doom, p. 418, 419.
VI.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 211
Chancellor, the Earl of Holland : and it was found
necessary to refer the matter to his Majesty's deci-
sion. The case was, accordingly, argued before him,
in council, at Hampton Court, on the 21st of June,
in this year ; and judgment was given in favour of
the right of the Archbishop l . The actual exercise of
this power was, however, prevented by the gathering
difficulties of the time. But the mere name and rumour
of it was not without its effect. The College Chapels,
and other places of worship, began to assume a more
orderly and becoming aspect ; and, even at St. Mary's,
(the University Church,) the Communion-table
was speedily railed in, and was occasionally honoured
by a reverent obeisance towards it V
It would seem that this measure was resented by
the non-conforming party, as if it had been purely an
act of aggression against themselves ; for it was trea-
sured up by them, among their other resources of
attack. The Archbishop, however, was so completely
armed upon the point, that the charge was but feebly
insisted upon, and indeed was virtually abandoned 3 .
Nothing could well be more absurd than the accusa-
tion, that this was a treasonable invasion of the pre-
rogative of the Crown. The King himself had been
the Judge. His own visitatorial power had been
guarded by a savii>g clause. The whole question
had been solemnly debated before the council. And,
lastly, the privilege claimed by the Archbishop was
not unprecedented, but had actually been exercised
1 Diary, p. 53. 2 Heylyn, p. 314, 315.
3 " Mr. Brown" (says Laud) " wholly neglected this charge ;
which, making such a show, I think he would not have done,
had he found it well -grounded." Troubles, &c. p. 308.
P2
212 LIFE OF [CHAP.
by several of his predecessors. It was alleged, indeed,
that even Cardinal Pole had been resisted in his at-
tempt to visit the Universities ; and the allegation
was true. But it was also true, that the Cardinal
had been opposed, merely because he claimed this
power as Legate of the Pope ; whereas it was claimed
by Laud solely in right of his See. And yet, in the
teeth of this undeniable fact, the claim was reproba-
ted, by the persecutors of Laud, as an act of Papal
assumption * !
On the very day after the decision of this question,
a project was completed, upon which the Archbishop
had bestowed the most laborious care. It had long
been known to him, that the Statutes of the University
of Oxford had fallen into a state of almost inextrica-
ble confusion. Some had gone into desuetude : obe-
dience to others had, from various causes, become
impracticable ; and many of them were in direct con-
tradiction to each other. So that the oath which
enforced the observance of these laws was, in fact, a
snare to the conscience of all who were compelled to
take it. With a view to the remedy of these evils,
Laud undertook the task of forming this whole mass
of regulations into one intelligible digest, accommo-
dated to the existing condition of the University.
The Code was then submitted to their consideration ;
and, after a final revision by himself, was confirmed
by the King, and solemnly accepted by the Convo-
cation, on the 22nd of June, 1636. This service
was crowned by the further benefaction of obtain-
ing for them from the Crown the celebrated Caro-
line Charter ; which contained, not only a confirma-
1 Troubles, &c. p. 307, 308.
VI.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 213
tion of all their ancient privileges, but a grant of new
ones, as ample and honourable as those which had been
long enjoyed by the University of Cambridge *.
One would scarcely conceive it possible to extort
from these useful labours, any materials for arraign-
ment. But nothing is too hard for the perseverance
of a vindictive faction. These wise and generous
exertions of the Archbishop were afterwards produced
in support of a charge so incredibly impudent and
absurd, that nothing but the drunken wantonness of
power could ever have suggested it, or dared to make
it public, the charge that he had affected the office of
Universal Lawgiver! To this Laud replied in the
language, not merely of conscious innocence, but of
conscious merit. He expressed an honest exultation
in the accomplishment of the design ; and declared
that if there was any one action of his life, which called
for public gratitude, it was his zealous interference
for the prosperity of Oxford. " I wish, with all my
heart," he exclaims, " the times were so open, that I
might have the University's testimony, both of me,
and it. Since I cannot, a great Lord in this House,
when this charge was laid against me, supplied, in
part, their absence. For, he was overheard to say
to another Lord, I think my Lord Archbishop hath
done no good work in all his life, but these men will
object to it as a crime, before they have done 2 ."
One description of good works, however, there
was, in which the Archbishop was unwearied, and
which no perverse ingenuity could well transmute
into crime. The distracting responsibilities which
1 Diary, p. 53. 68. Heylyn, p. 316.
2 Troubles, &c. p. 305.
214 LIFE OF [CHAP.
came upon him daily, could never, for a moment,
divert him from his course of enlightened munifi-
cence. He continued to enrich the University which
bred him with a profusion of literary treasure, chiefly
manuscripts in various languages, ancient and
modern, European and Oriental, which he spared no
pains in seeking, or cost in procuring. Equally ad-
mirable was his care for the cultivation of those
Eastern tongues which were most eminently subser-
vient to the study of Theology. It has already been
noticed that, by his intercession, a Canonry of Christ
Church was permanently annexed to the royal pro-
fessorship of Hebrew l . His good offices were now ex-
tended to the Arabic language ; a lectureship in which,
was established, and afterwards endowed by him, in
perpetuity, with a revenue of 40 per annum, and of
which the first occupant was the illustrious Pocock.
He further obtained the annexation of another
Canonry to the office of public orator ; a benefit
which, however, was subsequently lost to literature,
during the period of successful rebellion and usur-
pation 2 . By these and various other instances of
noble and generous patronage, his ascendency at
Oxford became almost supreme 3 . So powerful was
his influence with that University, that the language
of gratitude and veneration, in which he was usually
addressed by them, exposed him to obloquy, and
themselves to the charge of abject, and almost blas-
phemous, servility. This, however, after all, was
1 Heylyn bears testimony, from personal knowledge, to the
beneficial effects of this encouragement to the study of Hebrew,
p. 317.
2 Transact. Royal Soc. Lit. vol. ii. p. 215, 216.
3 Heylyn, p. 316, 317-
VI.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 215
neither more nor less than a wilful misconstruction of
mere formulary phrases. It is true that they often
saluted him with the title of " Your Sanctity." But
it is perfectly notorious that this, and other similar
modes of speech, although they may be offensive to
our ears, were very commonly addressed to the
Bishops of the Primitive Church ; and, if so, they
might very innocently be used in Protestant Episco-
pal Communities l . They had, however, something
of a Popish sound ; and they furnished, accordingly,
very convenient topics of popular declamation, to
those who hated the Archbishop, and despised his
adherents and admirers 2 .
The Book of Sports, which had recently been re-
vived, was, at this period, contributing an ample
contingent towards the final ruin of the Archbishop.
Many of the clergy positively refused obedience to
the orders issued by their diocesans for the publica-
tion of this obnoxious document. They complained
that the Bishops outran the language of the procla-
1 Grotius begins his Letter of congratulation to Laud, on his
elevation to the Primacy, with the following words : " Reveren-
dissime et Illustrissime Domine, vix quenquam esse vestratarura
puto, cui tantum obtigerit gaudium, cum primum Sanctitatem
tuam provectam ad culmen illud Patriarchicum intelleximus,
quam mihi," &c. &c. Grotii Epist. No. 372, p. 136, b. Amst.
1687- Again, in another letter : " Tantam concepi in bonitate
Sanctitatis tua fiduciam," &c. &c. Grotii Epist. No. 402.
May, 1635. Grotius, it is true, was an Arminian, and an ad-
mirer of Laud. But it would be superlatively ridiculous to
suppose that Grotius was capable of coining, or of passing cur-
rent, phrases of profane adulation, even to the Primate of all
England.
2 The malignity which dictated these calumnies is tri-
umphantly exposed by Laud, in his " Troubles," &c. p. 284
286.
216 LIFE OF [CHAP.
mation ; that the business was more fit for constables
and ty thing-men, or, at least, for church- wardens,
than it was for ministers of Christ ; and, that the
clergy were the last persons who ought to be em-
ployed as the heralds of licentiousness and profana-
tion l . That the scruples of these men may, in many
instances, have been conscientious and honourable,
need not be disputed. That, in some cases, they
were grossly factious, is equally unquestionable.
But, be this as it may, their contumacy was thought
to need the exercise of some severity ; and this
severity was, of course, spoken of by them and their
friends, as so much vindictive persecution. The
most conspicuous, or, at least, the noisiest, of the
martyrs, was one Richard Culmer. His case stood
prominent among those afterwards produced against
the Archbishop, in support of the 7th Article of his
Impeachment; which charged him, among other
things, with a tyrannical abuse of ecclesiastical
power 2 . Unless he has been grievously belied,
Culmer was eminently worthy of a place among
William Prynne's sainted band of witnesses 3 . It is,
1 Heylyn, p. 295, 296.
2 Troubles, &c. p. 310. 344, &c.
3 In the first place, he was a notorious liar. He complained
that he had been deprived of his benefice ; whereas, he was only
a curate, and had no benefice to lose. He informed against a
gentleman, for saying that the Book of Sports was unfit to be
read in Churches ; and was laid by the heels for the falsehood of
his information. Moreover, he was a brutal and ruffian despiser
of all consecrated places. He obscenely defiled the Cathedral of
Canterbury, and demolished the glass windows with his own
hands. And these exploits he repeated in the parish Church of
Minster, in Thanet ; which benefice he afterwards usurped,
during the rebellion. " I have had," says Henry Wharton,
VI.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 217
however, undeniable that he was suspended from his
office for refusing to read the book of Recreations ;
and that, when application was made by him for a
revocation of the sentence, the Archbishop replied,
" if you know not how to obey, I know not how to
grant your petition." "And truly," Laud himself
observes, " finding him both wilful and ignorant, I
cannot tell what I could say less V It appears that
Culmer remained under suspension, until the assem-
bling of the Long Parliament ; and then was released,
on a motion to that effect, by Sir E. Dering, in the
House of Commons. This, and one or two other
cases of the same kind, the circumstances of which
were grossly exaggerated, produced a furious outcry
among the Non- conformists. The Archbishop was
reprobated as a sacerdotal Plenipotentiary, and ac-
cused of reviving the odious and profane Book of
Sports, purely that he might be armed with an in-
strument, wherewith to gall and vex the godly
divines, and drive them from their ministry. If
Prynne and Burton were to be believed, the perse-
cution was far heavier than that inflicted on the
Church by the bloody Queen Mary herself! The
"more particular opportunities to be informed concerning him,
from many yet alive, who know him well; and, upon the whole,
think him to be one of the greatest villains in the three king-
doms." Yet this man had the effrontery to plead, that he was
conformable in all things else, except in reading the Book of
Sports ! " For his conformity in other things," Laud observes,
" 'tis more than ever I heard of. This I can say for him, he is
good at purchasing a benefice. For he offered a servant of mine
150, so he could procure me to name him to the Parliament,
for Chartham in Kent." See Troubles, &c. p. 344, and Henry
Wharton's Note.
1 Troubles, &c. p. 344.
218 LIFE OF [CHAP.
resentments of the party were still more bitterly ex-
asperated by the continued vigilance and activity of
the Archbishop, for the suppression of lecturers, in
various parts of the kingdom. Such, it was said,
was the havoc of good and faithful ministers, more
especially in the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk,
that the flocks were left desolate, as sheep without a
shepherd l !
With the exception of certain festivities at Oxford,
at which their Majesties were entertained with dra-
matic performances, after the fashion of those times,
nothing further, of importance, occurred in the year
1636, particularly connected with the history of
Laud. On this occasion, he had the honour to
receive the King and Queen at his own College, -and
in the noble gallery erected by himself. The ban-
quet, was plenteous and splendid ; and the " pleasant
Comedy," enacted after dinner in the College Hall,
sent the guests away " wrapt up in measureless con-
tent." And it may be remarked, that all the scenic
representations were under the superintendence of
the celebrated Inigo Jones, Surveyor General of his
Majesty's Works, and " excellently skilled in setting
out a Court Masque to the best advantage 2 ." The
entertainment given by the Archbishop took place on
the day of St. Felix. And it would seem as if the
1 See Heylyn, p, 295, 295. 308 314. Cant. Doom. p. 100.
149 151. By his activity in these prosecutions, the Bishop of
Norwich, Dr. Wren, earned for himself the description of a
Wren soaring on the wings of an Eagle. He was resolved,
however, to show that neither his pinions, nor his beak, had de-
served this comparison. He caused his registers to be searched ;
and the result exposed the monstrous exaggerations of the mal-
contents. His report is given by Heylyn, p. 309, 310.
2 Heylyn, p. 318, 319.
VI.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 219
Saint himself had presided, in a manner worthy of
his name : for we find that " all passed happily l ; "
which is more than can always be said, even for
these schemes of transitory and superficial felicity.
It would have been well if the same auspicious power
had been permitted to spread sunshine over the more
arduous ways in which the Archbishop had to travel.
But, alas ! the gloom continued to thicken round his
path : though he, himself, appears to have stood
firm and unappalled amid the gathering darkness.
That his eyes were not yet opened to all the dangers
of his position, was evident from a measure to which
he was a party, in the following year, and
which appeared to argue an almost judicial
infatuation. It is well known that a collection of
enthusiasts had resolved to bid farewell for ever to
this land of bigotry and despotism. Old England,
they said, had been deserted by liberty and the
Gospel ; and they were determined to follow these
heavenly exiles to the shores of New England.
Eight ships had actually been chartered to convey
the suffering remnant to the paradise of civil and
religious freedom ; when an order from the Council
forbade their embarkation. This prohibition was
followed by another, declaring that no Clergyman
should be allowed to pass to the foreign plantations,
without the approbation of the Archbishop of Canter-
bury, and the Bishop of London. And thus, one
great safety-valve was madly closed up, at a time
when the internal pressure was becoming every hour
more violent and dangerous 2 !
1 Diary, p. 53.
2 Heylyn p. 369. In one of his letters to Strafford, Laud
220 LIFE OF [CHAP,
It may, here, be remarked, that New England
was, then, the general sanctuary of the Indepen-
dents : and became, at length, the seat of more
merciless intolerance, than was ever known since
the towering period of Romish domination l . It was
in contemplation to send out a Bishop to that dis-
tempered colony 2 : and, if the design had been
accomplished, it would, probably, have been found
the most ungovernable diocese in the Empire ! The
project, however, was defeated by the more formid-
able and pressing exigences of the time. The strug-
gle of the impatient elements in this country was,
at this period, manifesting itself, in the form of
libellous eruptions, more fierce and rabid than the
world had often witnessed. The names of Prynne,
Burton, and Bastwick, are so familiar to the readers
of English history, that a brief notice of these mas-
ters in the art of railing, may be sufficient for our
present purpose. Foremost, in this immortal trium-
virate, stands William Prynne. He was born in
1600 ; was admitted a Fellow Commoner of Oriel
College, Oxford, in 1616 ; and was afterwards called
to the Bar. The Puritanical infection seized upon
him, in his boyhood. He became an idolater of
Preston, who was himself an idolater of Calvin. The
disease, in the course of time, was aggravated almost
to lunacy. It would nearly occupy a small volume
to enumerate the works in which his ravings found
speaks of " the running to New England, as something mon-
strous." Straff. Lett. &c. vol. ii. p. 169.
1 It was the complaint of Principal Baillie, that "there was
no living in that country, for a Presbyterian, though he should
be an angel for life and doctrine."
2 Heylyn, p. 369.
VI.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 221
vent. At last the phials of his fury were poured out
upon the antichristian recreations of the theatre ; and
all abominations of the same pernicious family and
kindred. He had, for some time, been heaping up
incredible stores of useless learning, both sacred and
profane, with a view to the demolition of these " in-
ventions of the devil:" and in 1632, the whole
collection was discharged, in the shape of an enor-
mous volume, under the title of Histrio-mastix, or
the " Scourge of Players ; " which, however, he re-
tracted in 1649 ! In this book, says Heylyn, who
was employed to analyse it, " he seemed to breathe
nothing but disgrace to the nation, infamy to the
Church, reproaches to the Court, dishonour to the
Queen, and some things which were thought to be
tending to the destruction of his Majesty's person."
The music of Cathedrals, the Christmas festivities of
the gentry, the gallantries of the Court, the masqu-
ings and dancings of the King and Queen *, all
were mercilessly assailed by the lash of the avenger.
The Calvinists glorified him as a scourge in the
hand of God : and the Court thought it highly expe-
dient that he should enjoy the honours of martyr-
dom. He was, accordingly, turned over to the ten-
der mercies of the Star Chamber. His sentence
must have been highly gratifying to the libeller, if
his sole object was to bear an heroic testimony to the
truth ; but, like that pronounced on Leighton, it
was unspeakably disgraceful to the spirit of the age.
He was condemned to a fine of 5000/. ; to expulsion
1 " The whip," says Fuller, " was so used by his hand, that
some conceived the lashes thereof flew into the face of the
Queen herself." Fuller, Ch. Hist. b. xi. p. 152.
222 LIFE OF [CHAP.
from the University, and degradation from the Bar ;
to the loss of both his ears, in the pillory ; to the
ignominy of seeing his book burnt before his face by
the common hangman ; and, lastly, to imprisonment
for life 1 .
One part of this sentence was executed with
extreme severity ; for Prynne was almost suffo-
cated by the combustion of his own volume, under
his very nose. Another part of it was performed
with such exemplary lenity, that it gave rise to
the report of a miracle. His ears were so con-
siderately pared at their circumference, that there
were some, who believed that the martyr was
honoured by a preternatural reproduction of the
amputated organs. The indulgence of invective,
however, seems still to have been the first of earthly
enjoyments to Prynne: and, if so, he must have
continued to lead a very happy life, in spite of his
punishment. For, the interval between the execution
of his sentence and the present year, was distin-
guished by a series of publications, each, if possible,
more libellous than its predecessor. The last of
these was entitled *' News from Ipswich ;" in which,
amidst other sallies of rhetoric, the Archbishop was
termed the Arch-agent of the Devil ; the Prelates,
generally, Luciferian Lord Bishops, execrable trai-
tors, and devouring wolves; and Bishop Wren, bro-
ther of Sir C. Wren, more particularly, a monster of
persecution, such as could not be matched even in
the days of Queen Mary 2 . And thus, he became a
candidate for a second crown of martyrdom.
Dr. John Bastwick was a physician of considerable
1 Heylyn, p. 230, 231. 264, 265. 2 Ibid. p. 328, 329.
VI.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 223
scholarship, moderate wit, and very tumultuous
passions. He had been confined in the Gatehouse
since 1633, by a sentence of the High Commission,
for a Latin treatise, entitled Flagellum Episcoporum
Latialium, which was considered as a libel, by im-
plication, upon the Anglican Prelates, as well as
those of Rome. He solaced his imprisonment by the
composition of a fresh libel in English, which was
published in 1634, under the title of " the Litany of
Dr. John Bastwick." " The piece," says Heylyn,
" was so silly and contemptible, that nothing but the
sin and malice which appeared in every line thereof
could possibly preserve it from appearing ridicu-
lous V It reprobated the Bishops as invaders of the
prerogative, despisers of Scripture, patrons of idol-
atry, and servants of the Devil ; and consequently
marked the author as a very fit companion and fellow-
worker to William Prynne.
The third of these worthies was Henry Burton, a
turbulent Divine, who having aspired, in vain, to
the office of Clerk of the Closet, indemnified himself
for his disappointment by turning a seditious Lec-
turer 2 . He had long been dogging the path of
Laud ; and now sprung upon him and his brethren
with a tremendous yell. In November, 1636, he
delivered a sermon, at his Church in Friday- street,
upon the text, My son, fear thou the Lord and the
King ; and meddle not with them that are given to
change. Prov. xxiv. 21. ; in which he exhausted a
mighty magazine of invective against the whole order
of Prelates. They were miscreants, and sons of
1 Heylyn, p. 328.
2 Clarendon, vol. i. p. 350. 351. Oxf. Ed.
5
224 LIFE OF [CHAP.
Belial, factors of Antichrist, new builders of
Babel, robbers of souls, false prophets, and limbs
of the Beast, not pillars of the Church, but cater-
pillars; their houses haunted, and their chairs poi-
soned, by the spirit that bears rule in the air. Of all
these prodigies of iniquity, Wren was the most
odious and the most formidable. He was used to set
his foot on the King's laws, as the Pope did on the
Emperor's neck ; and was able, with his right hand,
to sweep down a third part of the stars in heaven *.
When these men were brought before the Star-
chamber, they did all they could to aggravate their
misdeeds, by artifices of contumacious delay ; by at-
tempting to file a cross-bill against " Canterbury and
his confederates ;" and by stuffing their answers with
matter as libellous as their publications. No counsel
could be found to affix his signature to such docu-
ments ; and the prisoners were consequently treated
as self-convicted men. Their sentence is well known.
Prynne was condemned to pay a fine of 5000 ; to
lose the remainder of his ears ; and to be branded
with the letters S.L. (Schismatical Libeller). Bast-
wick and Burton were likewise sentenced, each to a
similar fine, and to the loss of their ears in the pil-
lory : and all three were sent to remote, and sepa-
rate, places of imprisonment.
These punishments were frightfully excessive ; but
they were endured with astonishing heroism. Such
was the triumphant fortitude of Prynne, that he won
for himself the name of William the Conqueror! The
members of the three professions, Law, Medicine, and
Divinity, were, many of them, deeply outraged by
1 Heylyn, p. 329, 330.
VII.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 225
the ignominious fate of their suffering brothers. It
is infinitely to be deplored, that there was no warning
voice to remind the judges of the folly, as well as the
cruelty, of punishing men, till the sympathies of the
world are deeply engaged on their behalf. No writings
or ravings of these dogged enthusiasts could have
done the government half so much mischief as their
public exposure and mutilation. But whatever may
have been the absurdity or the barbarity of these in-
flictions, it would be monstrous to heap up their un-
divided enormity upon the head of Laud. Prynne
himself is contented with affirming that the prose-
cution originated principally with the Archbishop :
and even this is nothing more than his own bare as-
sertion *. Every member of the Court concurred in
the sentence : and although Laud " spoke his con-
science" on the occasion, he abstained from voting,
because the virulence of the delinquents was chiefly
directed against himself 2 . It further should be kept
in mind, that these coarse operations of penal justice
were the reliques of a sanguinary and uncivilized age.
They were the excesses of the times rather than of
individuals. In the days of Elizabeth, Stubbs had
his right hand cut off for too bold and rude an address
to her Majesty. And, as Laud observes, " Penry
was hanged, and Udal condemned, and died in prison,
for less than is contained in Mr. Burton's book V
1 Cant. Doom. p. 146. In the HarleianMSS. 6865. p. 81,
&c. is a " Brief Relation" of the prosecution of these men. And
it is very remarkable that, although the narrative is evidently
drawn up by one who entertained a cordial admiration for the
sufferers, it is silent as to the share of Laud in the proceedings.
2 Troubles, &c. p. 144, 145.
3 Troubles, &c. p. 145. Penry was the author of Martin
Marprelate ; and Udal was one of his auxiliaries.
Q
226 LIFE OF [CHAP.
No one, in our own age, will ever think of alleging
such instances, in vindication of the severity inflicted
upon these incendiaries. But they may very justly
be produced, to expose the malignity which seized
on every occasion to picture Laud as a monster of
inhumanity, and as an enemy to the liberties and
the religion of his country.
The prosecution of these brave fanatics furnished
the Archbishop with an opportunity of delivering an
elaborate vindication of himself, and his brethren of
the Bench, from the charge (with which the country
was ringing from one end to the other) of attempting
to bring back the dominion of Popery, and of cor-
rupting the simplicity of the Anglican Church by
pernicious novelties. This speech produced so deep
an impression on all who heard it, that the King
commanded him to print it 1 , in the hope that it
might have the effect of disabusing the public mind.
Laud, of course, complied. But it soon appeared
that this would be only speaking to the tempest.
The waters were rising, day by day, and there was
no human voice which could say to the deluge, Thus
far shalt thou go, and no further ! Libel upon libel
was scattered in the streets, and posted upon the
walls. On the 7th of July, a paper was fixed to the
Cross in Cheapside, declaring that " the Arch-Wolf
of Canterbury had his hand in persecuting the Saints,
and shedding the blood of the Martyrs." On the
23rd of August, the Lord Mayor sent to Lambeth
another paper, which had been found by the watch at
the South gate of St. Paul's, importing that the Devil
1 This speech is to be found in Laud's Remains ; and Heylyn
has given a copious abstract of it. Heyl. p. 335 340.
VI.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 22?
had let that house to his Grace. On the 25th, a
notice was fastened to the North gate, to the effect
that the Church of England was like a candle in the
snuff, going out in a stench. In the following night
a drawing was found hanging upon the standard in
Cheapside, exhibiting the Archbishop's speech in the
Star-chamber, set in something like a pillory. And,
four days afterwards, he was lampooned in a copy of
ribald verses l . The outrageous slanders of Prynne
and his companions, followed as they were by these
furious commentaries, gave abundant confirmation to
the remark of Laud, at the opening of his speech,
that the Saints and Martyrs of that day were them-
selves the most unscrupulous of innovators ; for they
had adopted a mode of defending religion unknown
to the primitive Christians, whom no heat of perse-
cution could betray into railing and invective. With
regard to himself, he declares at the conclusion of his
address that he was in a condition like that of Cy-
prian, who, when assailed by Schismatics, conceived
himself bound not to answer them by revilings, but
to write and speak only as became a Priest of God.
He added that, by God's grace, the reproaches of
such men should not cause him to faint, or start aside
from the rule of faith, and the right way of practice.
And he finished by thanking the Court for their just
and honourable censure of those libellers, manifested
in " their unanimous dislike of them, and defence of
the Church." But he excused himself from any
share in pronouncing sentence upon them, on the
ground that " the business had some reflection upon
1 Diary, p. 54, 55.
Q2
228 LIFE OF [CHAP.
himself." And so he left them to God's mercy, and
the King's justice 1 .
The year 1637 was remarkable for the issue of
another prosecution against a person of a very dif-
ferent stamp, the history of which would, of itself,
occupy an ample volume. Our notice of it must,
unavoidably, be brief. In 1627 the King held a
private conference with Bishop Williams, in which he
desired the counsel of the Bishop, respecting the best
course that could be taken for winning the confidence
and attachment of the Commons. The advice of
Williams was, that the King should secretly instruct
his Ministers to show some connivance and indul-
gence to the Puritans, whose numbers and influence
were far too formidable to be despised ; adding, how-
ever, that he could not undertake to promise that
they would long be trusty to any government.
Charles replied, that he himself had thought of the
same expedient, and that he would make trial of it
accordingly. Not long after, the Bishop was heard
to recommend, at his own table at Buckden, a con-
siderable relaxation of the severities against the non-
conforming party ; alleging as a reason, that the
King had signified to him, with his own lips, that
such was his royal pleasure. These words were
doubtless very unadvisedly spoken, and tended to
commit the Government to an extent that might be
found extremely inconvenient and embarrassing ; but
they could hardly have been uttered with a disloyal
or treacherous intent. Nevertheless, they were preg-
nant with calamity and disgrace to the speaker ; for,
1 Heylyn, p. 340.
VI.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 229
about three years afterwards, they were maliciously
reported to Laud, and by him communicated to the
King l . The consequence was, that a bill was filed
against the Bishop in the Star-chamber, for revealing
the secrets of the King ; himself bemg a sworn Privy
Counsellor.
It happened that, at that time, Williams was living
at Buckden, in a style of somewhat ostentatious
magnificence ; which, it was apprehended by the
Court, might invest him with a dangerous influence
among the Puritans, whom he had already shown a
strong disposition to protect. These fears were,
doubtless, aggravated by the discovery of his indis-
cretion in speaking so openly of the intentions of the
King : and to this cause may reasonably be ascribed
the severity with which his prosecution was driven
on. It is impossible for us to plunge into the laby-
rinth of these proceedings. We must be content to
state that, on the one hand, Williams has been ac-
cused of resorting to all the artifices of legal chica-
nery, and to practices still more unworthy and dis-
honourable : and that, on the other hand, Laud has
been condemned for the unfeeling and vindictive
malice with which he is alleged to have persecuted
his ancient rival. Such is the intricacy and obscu-
rity of the whole affair, in all its ramifications, that
the most dispassionate enquirer would, probably,
feel it difficult to satisfy himself as to the precise
amount of blame incurred by either party 2 . It is,
1 This is Racket's account, pt. ii. p. 80. Heylyn merely says
that the Bishop was complained of to some great men about the
Court, p. 172.
2 They who have patience and curiosity for the task, may
230 LIFE OF [CHAP.
however, but just to mention that, when, at last, a
new bill was filed against Williams, for tampering with
the witnesses in the original cause, a speech was de-
livered by the Archbishop, in which (after bitterly
lamenting that a distinguished Churchman should
have placed himself in a condition which would ex-
pose his sacred profession to vulgar obloquy) he pro-
tested that he had repeatedly and urgently interceded
with the King on his behalf, and once had saved him
from ruin; but, nevertheless, had been "coarsely
dealt with, and ill requited" for his services 1 . He
even averred that he had been five times on his knees
before his Majesty for the Bishop ; but, nevertheless,
he declared that now he would not interfere to screen
a suborner of perjury from the heaviest censure that
might fall upon him 2 . The censure, in truth, was
heavy enough to crush any man who was gifted with
a less inflexible spirit, or a less mighty purse. On
the 11th of July, in this year 3 , Williams was con-
demned to pay a fine of 10,000 to the King ; to be
suspended from all his benefices and offices ; and to
be imprisoned in the Tower at the King's pleasure.
And nothing can be more disgusting than the ra-
venous eagerness with which the harpies of confis-
cation flew upon his property.
But this was not all. The search of the Bishop's
premises at Buckden produced the materials of ano-
ther prosecution. A letter was found among his
papers, addressed to him by one Osbaldston, formerly
compare the diffuse narrative of Racket (pt. ii. p. Ill 139)
with the statements of Heylyn, p. 172. 343, &c. &c.
1 Rushw. vol. ii. p. 428 -435.
2 Heylyn, p. 344. 3 Diary, p. 54.
VI.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 231
master of Westminster School, then a prebendary of
Westminster, in which it was written, "that the little
vermin, the urchin, the Hocus Spocus, was at variance
with the Great Leviathan." And, as the stature of
Laud was diminutive, and he was known to have been
on unfriendly terms with the Lord Treasurer Weston,
at the time when the letter was written, it was con-
cluded that the above ambiguous and stupid pleasantry
must have been penned with reference to that dispute.
Another information was the consequence ; and the
issue of it was, that, in the next year, 1638, Williams
and his correspondent were found guilty of scandalum
magnatum ; that Williams was sentenced to an ad-
ditional fine of 5,000 to the King, and 3,000 to
the Archbishop ; and that Osbaldston was fined
5,000 to the King, 5,000, to the Archbishop, de-
graded from his preferments, and condemned to have
his ears nailed to the pillory ! Osbaldston thought
it prudent to save his ears by flight, and he left a
paper in his study, signifying that he was gone
beyond Canterbury 1 . Williams, of course, remained
in the Tower ; from which he was released, in Novem-
ber, 1640, by an order of the House of Lords, and
restored to his place among them, on the Bishops'
Bench. Shortly afterwards, he was received into
favour by the King, who ordered the record of all
proceedings against him to be taken off the file and
cancelled 2 .
1 Heylyn, p. 345, 346. Racket, ubi supra.
2 Racket, p. 138. On this occasion, Racket observes, "A
prisoner, whose liberty I much wished for, is released ; but out
of limbo, into Hell:" that is, out of the Tower, into the House
of Lords !
232 LIFE OF [CHAP.
CHAPTER VII.
A.D. 16371640.
Failure of the attempt to introduce the English Liturgy into Scot-
land Laud continues to prosecute his ecclesiastical labours
He denounces the intrigues of the Papists before the Council
He reprints his Conference with Fisher ; but is, nevertheless, as-
sailed as an inveterate Papist Chillingworth reclaimed from
Popery by Laud Laud's intercourse with Hales, for whom he
procures a Canonry at Windsor Laud enforces the censorship
of the press Is assailed for abusing this power- His answer
to the charge His continued munificence He engages Hall to
compose his Treatise on Episcopacy The corrections suggested
by him He procures the suppression of JBagshaw's readings on
Stat. 23. Edw. III. c. 7- He is assailed as an incendiary He
addresses a letter to the Helvetic Churches, protesting his de-
sire for peace joins Straff ord and Hamilton in recommending a
Parliament Precipitate dissolution of Parliament The Convo-
cation continues to sit, by order of the King, and with the sanc-
tion of the Crown Lawyers The Canons, and et cetera oath
The public fury directed against Laud The dreams and presen-
timents of the Archbishop, on his approaching fall The prog-
nostics and falsehoods circulated by his enemies Rome's mas-
terpiece.
THE inauspicious attempt to introduce the English
Liturgy, and, with it, a body of Canons, into Scot-
land, furnishes one copious chapter in the volume of
Laud's imputed delinquencies. This subject, in all
its details, would scarcely demand less than an elabo-
rate review of the History of the Protestant Scottish
Church 1 . Our office, however, is solely to deal
1 Fortunately, such a review would be wholly superfluous to
the readers of the Theological Library ; Dr. Russell having al-
VII.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 233
with that portion of it, which, more immediately,
involves the motives and the proceedings of Arch-
bishop Laud.
It is known to all, that Scottish episcopacy was
shattered by the iron hand of the Reformation ; and
that King James busied himself, almost his whole life
long, in collecting the fragments, and putting them to-
gether again. But the task was well nigh hopeless.
He did, indeed, contrive to cement the ruins, in such
a manner as to give the fabric something of the sem-
blance of what it once had been. After all, however,
it was but a frail and sorry structure. It had but
little appearance of grandeur or solidity. The work
was evidently ready to go to pieces at the first shock.
And this shock was given it, by the attempt of
Charles to force the detested service book upon his
northern subjects. The ultimate result of that at-
tempt, was, that episcopacy was laid in the dust ; that
the solemn league and covenant was substituted for
the oath of allegiance, and became the guide, or the
tyrant, of every conscience, throughout Scotland; and
that the people ran to subscribe it, some to escape
proscription, and others, as if they were writing their
names in the Book of Life. It had been asserted by
Prynne, in England, that Christ was a Puritan ; and
the Anti-Prelatists, in Scotland, discovered that Christ
was a Covenanter. The Covenant, in short, was
Christ's marriage contract. They who refused to
subscribe it, were no better than atheists. And, as
for the Prelates, the wrath of God would never leave
the kingdom, till they were all hanged up before the
ready put them in possession of it, in the second volume of his
History of the Church in Scotland.
234 LIFE OF [CHAP.
Lord ! The issue of all this fanaticism was, that the
power of the Crown was made to bow before that do-
minion, in which Kings and Nobles were "God's silly
vassals ;" and the Presbyterian Kirk was raised up
in such glory, that she was vaunted to be "fair as the
moon, and terrible as an army with banners."
It is evident that this dismal train of consequen-
ces had never once been anticipated by the King or
his advisers. It has already been intimated, that
Charles brought away with him from Scotland, in
1633, a firm persuasion that he had but to watch for
a seasonable moment, and that a Liturgy might then
be introduced into that country, without serious diffi-
culty or opposition. Since that time, the Irish Church
had been brought into strict conformity with that of
England : and the success of this attempt confirmed
the King, and his advisers, in the belief, that a simi-
lar design might be accomplished in Scotland. With
them, therefore, the only question was, whether the
English Liturgy should be proposed, or only a modi-
fication of it. The latter was contended for, with
urgent importunity, by the Scottish Bishops. They
represented, that the jealousies of their nation would
be in instant insurrection against a service book im-
posed by England ; and that this danger might be
avoided by such alterations, as might give to the New
Liturgy the semblance, at least, of a distinct compi-
lation. Upon this, certain of the Scottish Prelates
were entrusted with the task of making a collection
of Canons, out of the existing constitutions of their
own Church ; and of effecting the requisite changes
in the English ritual. And, both Canons and Li-
turgy, when completed, were to be submitted to the
revisal of the Archbishop of Canterbury, and of Juxon
VII.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 235
and Wren, the Bishops of London and Norwich, pre-
viously to their publication. With unaccountable
precipitancy, the Canons were published first : and
this mode of proceeding, besides alarming the peo-
ple with certain high doctrines relative to the King's
prerogative and supremacy, and with the enactment
of some ordinances, which were thought to savour too
strongly of Popery, disgusted the people by the ab-
surdity of enjoining a strict observance of the Liturgy,
which was not yet completed, and which did not make
its appearance till a considerable time afterwards.
Another fatal inadvertency was, that these Canons
themselves were published without the consent or
advice of any convocation of the Scottish clergy, and
without any communication with the Lords of the
Council.
The complexion of the Archbishop's thoughts, and
the tenor of his actions, relative to this critical and
interesting subject, may best be learned from his own
History of his Troubles. That he was, himself, in
correspondence with the Scottish Bishops, respecting
certain projected alterations, he distinctly avows. That
the intended Canons were submitted to him, for his
consideration, he also confesses. Neither does he
attempt to disguise that he assisted, by way of revi-
sal, in the preparation of the Service Book. But
he positively affirms, that he never obtruded himself
into these offices. On the contrary, he avers that
he acted, throughout, under the express injunction of
the King ; and that, with respect to the Liturgy, he
acted most reluctantly. He declares that, from the
beginning it was his own wish to introduce the ritual
of England, without the slightest alteration. Finding,
however, that this would hardly be endured, he was
236 LIFE OF [CHAP.
anxious to decline all further concern in the business :
but, being commanded to take a share in the work,
he gave his best attention to make it as perfect as
might be. It is likewise true, that he openly glories
in the design, although it was not precisely such as
he could have desired, and deeply regrets its ill suc-
cess. " I will never deny," he exclaims, " the joy,
while I live, which I conceived of the Church of Scot-
land's coming nearer, both in the Canons and the
Liturgy, to the Church of England. But the gross
unthankfulness, both to our God, and our King, and
our other many and great sins, have hindered this
great blessing. And I pray God that the loss of this,
which was almost effected, do not, in a short time,
prove one of the greatest scourges, that ever befel
this kingdom, and that too V Again, " the worst
thought I had of any Reformed Church in Christen-
dom, was, to wish it like the Church of England, and
so much better as it should please God to make it.
And I hope that this was neither to negotiate with
Rome, nor to reduce them to heresy in doctrine, nor
to superstition and idolatry in worship ; no, nor to
tyranny in government : all which are, most wrong-
fully, imputed to me. And, the comparing of me to
the Pope himself, I could bear with more ease, had I
not written more against Popish superstition than
any Presbyter of Scotland hath done. And, for my
part, I could be content to lay down my life to-
morrow, upon condition that the Pope and Church of
Rome would admit and confirm the Service Book,
which hath been here so eagerly charged against me.
For, were that done, it would give a greater blow to
1 Troubles, &c. p. 100.
VII.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 237
Popery, (which is the corruption of the Church of
Rome,) than any that hath yet been given : and that
they know full well. The Reformed Churches had
need look well to themselves. For, if they come out
of Bahel, to run down to Egypt, they'll get but little
by the bargain V
Now, whether, or not, all this is the language of
a mistaken man, may fairly and freely be left open
to discussion. But, it can hardly be questioned that
it is the language of a courageous, honest, and single-
hearted man : the language of a man who imagined
that he was employed in devising blessings for the
Scottish people, not in forging chains for their bodies
and their souls : of a man who believed himself en-
gaged in a work which entitled him to gratitude, and
not to hatred and persecution unto death.
It would be endless to speculate on the various
causes which conspired, with the aversion of the
Scots, to defeat the King's design for the assimila-
tion of the two Churches. It was, however, the de-
liberate opinion both of Strafford and of Laud, that
the project, though excellent in its original conception,
was wretchedly marred in the manner of conducting
it V The tumultuous rejection of the service book,
and the combination of dark fanaticism and base in-
trigue, by which the rejection was accomplished, are
related in all the histories of that tempestuous period.
The failure of the attempt was followed by a course
of deplorable misconduct, which ended in the wretched
pacification of June, 1639. The interval which
elapsed between those two critical events had been
a period of comparative tranquillity, in England.
1 Troubles, &c. p. 134, 135.
2 See Stafford's Letters, &c. p. 248. 262.
238 LIFE OF [CHAP.
The Archbishop's Metropolitical Visitation had been
gradually producing its desired effect. The contro-
versy respecting the position of the Communion-table
was beginning to subside. The Calvinists seemed
almost weary of opposition to the royal edicts against
the conflicts of the Pulpit. And the Book of Sports
itself was, gradually, losing its power to afflict the
public conscience. There was, doubtless, an active
sympathy between the Puritans and the Covenanters.
But the general heart of England was, to all appear-
ance, whole and sound ; or but very slightly touched
by treasonable infection. Under these circumstances,
the Archbishop had felt himself sufficiently at leisure
for the continued prosecution of his ecclesiastical du-
ties. Having made his office felt throughout Eng-
land, he turned his attention to the Channel Islands.
The Islanders had, hitherto, been in the habit of
sending their young men, who were designed for the
ministry, to receive their theological education at
Saumur or Geneva ; " from whence" (says Heylyn)
" they returned well seasoned with the leaven of
Calvinism." The best remedy for this inconvenience
would, obviously, be to allure the students of divi-
nity to Oxford or to Cambridge. And this object
the Archbishop hoped partially to accomplish by the
foundation of three fellowships, at Exeter, Jesus, and
Pembroke Colleges respectively, for so many natives
of those Islands. The funds for the endowment of
these fellowships were, fortunately, supplied out of
the property of Sir Miles Hubard, citizen and alder-
man of London, who had recently died without an
heir, and whose estate had, consequently, escheated
to the Crown. On the application of the Archbishop,
Ijis Majesty willingly consented that a portion of this
VII.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 239
property should be devoted to the purposes in ques-
tion \
The attention of Laud was painfully occupied, in
the course of the year 1637, by the sleepless spirit
of Papal intrigue. The Popish emissary, Panzani,
having succeeded in establishing a secret intercourse
between the Queen of England and the Vatican, left
the further prosecution of the work to a Scottish
Papist, by the name of Con, who was resident in
England as Nuncio of the Pope. The effects of this
arrangement soon became visible. The Countess of
Newport, a kinswoman of the late Duke of Bucking-
ham, professed her conversion to the Romish faith.
The Archbishop had been openly assailed as a secret
confederate of the Papal envoy. He now stood forth
to repel that most flagitious calumny. He appeared
at the Council-Board, to denounce the serpentine
policy of Rome. He arraigned, more particularly,
the insolence of Walter Montague, and of Sir Toby
Mathew, the unworthy son of the late Archbishop of
York ; both of whom had dared to practise on the
consciences of the King's subjects, within the very
verge of the Court, and had been mainly instrumen-
tal to the defection of Lady Newport. His remon-
strances were effectual : and each of the conspirators
was promptly banished from the royal presence. The
mortification and resentment of the Queen were, at
first, tempestuous. But her Majesty soon found her-
self under the necessity of digesting her displeasure ;
and at length resumed at least the appearance of
cordiality towards the inflexible Archbishop 2 .
1 Heylyn,p. 357,358.
2 Ibid. p. 358, 359. Diary, p. 55.
240 LIFE OF [CHAP.
I63g In the course of the following year, 1638,
he offered to the world a further pledge of his
fidelity to the Protestant Church of England, by enlar-
ging and re-printing his celebrated Conference with
Fisher, the Jesuit. Not only the personal friends of the
Archbishop, but the King himself, were beyond mea-
sure anxious for the appearance of this edition ; as fur-
nishing the best of all possible answers to the malig-
nant slanders then in general circulation. The work
was completed, and presented to the King, on the 10th
of February ; and the next day was exposed to sale.
The weapon was, nevertheless, repelled by the triple
brass which cased the hearts of his inveterate adver-
saries. The Puritans were fully resolved that Laud
should be a Romanist, and nothing but a Romanist,
in spite of himself. This determination was, soon
after, manifested in a manner disgraceful, not only to
Christian men, but to reasonable beings. It hap-
pened that one of the royal Chaplains had preached
two sermons, in January, 1638, on the parable of the
wheat and the tares. In a casual conversation, re-
lative to these two sermons, soon after the appear-
anceof the Archbishop's new edition of the Conference,
it was affirmed by some persons of moderate opinions,
that the preacher had pulled up Popery by the very
roots. Upon which, one of the company declared,
that the Archbishop might print, and the doctor might
preach, what they pleased against Popery ; but that
he should never believe either of them to be less a
Papist, for all that ! It is further remarkable that,
although neither Priest nor Jesuit could be found to
answer this new challenge, the gauntlet was taken up
by one who called himself " a witness of Jesus Christ/'
and who was generally believed to be a Presbyterian
12
VII.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 241
Scot. This anonymous antagonist published, with-
out licence, a " reply to the Relation of a Confe-
rence," &c. ; which showed that he was at least as
impatient for the ruin of the Archbishop, as for the
demolition of Popery itself. The whole work was a
tissue of cavil and distortion, from the begin-
ning to the end. And, to show that the impudence
of the writer was equal to his perverseness, the work
was graced with a dedication to the King ; in which,
among other demands, his Majesty was called upon
to overthrow the Altars, to call in the Book of Sports,
to revoke his orders for the restraint of preaching, to
restore all suspended ministers, and lastly, to set at
liberty the three exiled champions of the truth, " the
loud cry of whose oppressions might, otherwise, pro-
voke the thunderbolt of Divine vengeance V
The same year was further memorable for the
publication of Chilling worth's immortal work, " The
Religion of Protestants a safe way to Salvation."
And the mention of it may fitly be introduced, in
this place ; since, but for the kind offices of Laud,
who was his godfather, the author's mind might
never have been brought into the condition neces-
sary for the composition of such a volume. The
history of this extraordinary man is perfectly well
known. His argumentative powers were so acute
and active, that they drove him out to wander,
1 Heylyn, p. 360, 361. This work was printed in 1640 ; but
where, does not appear from the title page : probably in Holland.
It is preceded by " A sad and serious Consultation of a discon-
solate mother (the Church), with her twelve daughters, Faith,
Hope, Charity, Zeal, &c. &c." who, after the completion of the
conference, resolved to attend their mother, with a long petition
to the King !
R
242 LIFE 01? [CHAP.
for a considerable portion of his life, among the path-
less regions of scepticism. For some time, he was a
dupe to the artifices of the Jesuit Fisher ; and was
seduced by him to seek for the truth in the College
at Douay. Laud, then Bishop of London, was too
faithful to the office of a sponsor, to leave him in the
toils of the Romish Church, without a vigorous effort
for his deliverance. He commenced a correspond-
ence with him, which ended in Chillingworth's re-
turn to England, and his retirement to Oxford, for
the free and undistracted prosecution of his inquiries.
And, four years afterwards, the cares of his friend
and patron were rewarded by the appearance of a
book, which has, ever since, been extolled as one of
the most perfect models of controversial writing l .
It was, very probably, in the course of this year,
that Laud first became personally acquainted with
another illustrious man, the ever memorable John
Hales, of Eton ; whose name can never be mentioned
without reflecting honour on the kindness and liber-
ality of the Archbishop. Hales may be numbered
among the most eminent and consummate scholars of
that age ; but his studies had conducted him to some
conclusions, at variance with the principles of Laud,
1 The honour of recovering Chlllingworth is expressly claimed
by Laud, in his answer before the Lords, on the first day of his
trial. " Mr. Chillingworth's learning and abilities," he says,
" are sufficiently known to all your Lordships. He was gone,
and settled at Douay. My letters brought him back : and he
lived and died a defender of the Church of England. And, that
this is so, your Lordships cannot but know. For Mr. Prynne
took away my letters, and all that concerned him ; and they
were examined at the committee." Troubles, &c. p. 227.
Prynne, however, would have it, that, after all, Chillingworth
died a desperate apostate Papist. Ibid. Henry Wharton's note.
5
VII.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 243
relative to the power and authority of the Church.
At the request of some friend, he embodied his
thoughts on this subject in the form of a little tract
concerning Schism and Schismatics ; which, though
not published, had been circulated in manuscript
more widely than he had intended. At last, it came
into the hands of the Archbishop ; who discovered in
it, with much regret, some positions which he re-
garded as false and dangerous. On learning that
his grace was dissatisfied, Hales addressed to him a
letter of explanation and apology l ; which appears
to have produced an interview at Lambeth, of which
the following curious account is given by Dr.
Heylyn, who was at Lambeth palace when this
interview took place. Hales, having been invited to
a conference with the Archbishop, attended at the
time appointed, to know his grace's pleasure. The
Archbishop " took him into his garden, commanding
that none of his servants should come to him, on
any occasion. There they continued in discourse,
till the bell rung to prayers ; and, after prayers were
ended, till the dinner was ready ; and, after that,
too, till the coming in of Lord Conway, and some
other persons of honour, put a necessity upon some
of his servants to give him notice how the time had
passed away. So in they came, high-coloured, and
almost panting for want of breath ; enough to show
that there had been some heats between them, not
then fully cooled. It was my chance," says Heylyn,
" to be there that day, either to know his grace's
pleasure, or to render an account of some former
commands ; but 1 know not which. And I found
1 Des Maizeanx's Life of Hales.
R 2
244 LIFE OF [CHAP.
Hales very glad to see me in that place, as being
himself a mere stranger to it, and unknown to all.
He told me, afterwards, that he found the Arch-
bishop (whom he knew before for a nimble dis-
putant) to be as well versed in books as business ;
that he had been ferretted by him from one hole to
another, till there was none left to afford him further
shelter ; that he was now resolved to be orthodox,
and to declare himself a true son of the Church of
England, both for doctrine and for discipline ; that,
to this end, he had obtained leave to call himself his
Grace's Chaplain, that, naming him as his Lord and
Patron, the greater notice might be taken of the
alteration'."
It may be proper to observe, that some discredit
has been thrown upon the account of this conference,
as left us by Dr. Heylyn 2 . That an interview,
however, was actually held between Laud and Hales,
is placed, by the narrative of Heylyn, beyond all
reasonable doubt; though it is by no means impos-
sible that the result of that interview may have been
partially misunderstood, or exaggerated, by the nar-
rator. Thus much, at least, is certain, that the
1 Heylyn, p. 361, 362. - Life of Clarendon, vol. i. p. 5862.
2 See Des Maizeaux's Life of Hales ; where we are told that
Hales was then in his 54th year; and was not likely to be
ferretted out of his opinions, in a few hours, at that time of life,
by Laud, or by any man. It does not appear that Heylyn was
aware of Hales's apologetic letter to Laud. It is, further, clear
that Heylyn was mistaken in ascribing to Hales a Socininn
treatise, entitled Disquisitio Brevis, &c. It was the work of
Joachimus Stegmannus, a Socinian minister. So, at least, Des
Maizeaux asserts, on the authority of Sandius's Biblioth. Anti-
Trinitariorum, published in Holland, 1684.
VII.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 245
Archbishop was sufficiently satisfied, either with the
written explanation, or the personal conference, or
both, to procure for Hales a Canonry of Windsor 1 .
And it should be added, that nothing but strong
importunity could overcome the reluctance of Hales
to accept this preferment. He held, at that time, a
Fellowship of Eton College, together with the office
of Bursar ; and these, together, furnished him with
an income more than adequate to his necessities :
and, for this reason, he was unwilling to receive
what he considered as a mere superfluity. It has
been insinuated that he was enlightened rather by
his Grace's patronage, than by his arguments or his
abilities. It would be the most shameful of all in-
juries to his memory to deem a syllable necessary,
in answer to so disgraceful an imputation. The very
name of Hales, " the ever memorable," is sufficient
for its demolition. That he was accounted by the
republican faction to be, what he professed, a sound
and orthodox Churchman, in doctrine and in disci-
pline, is evident from the fact, that he lost all his
preferment on the first eruption of the civil war ;
and died in 1656, if not in actual beggary, at least
in comparative indigence. He retained the most
cordial veneration for his patron ; and, when he
heard of his execution, burst into tears, and ardently
i That the Canonry was procured by Laud, is beyond all
question : as appears by the following extract from the corres-
pondence of Sir Henry Wotton : " My Lord's Grace of Canter-
bury hath, this week, very nobly sent hither to Mr. Hales a
Prebendaryship of Windsor, unexpected, undesired." Reliquiae
Wotton. p. 369. The Patent is dated 23d May, 1639. Des
Maizeaux, p. 19.
246 LIFE OF [CHAP.
wished that he could preserve the Archbishop's life
by the sacrifice of his own l .
About this period, the Archbishop (still not hav-
ing the fear of the Puritans before his eyes) felt it
his duty to enforce the law for the suppression of
dangerous and fanatical publications. On the first
of July, 1637, a decree had been passed by the Star-
chamber, at his recommendation, for controlling the
unbridled licence of the press. The provisions of
this edict were sufficiently severe. It limited the
number of master printers, under the penalty of
whipping ; it forbade the printing, or re-printing, of
books, without a licence from the Archbishop, or the
Bishop of London, or their Chaplains, or from the
Chancellors or Vice- Chancellors of the Universi-
ties ; it prohibited the sale of imported books, with-
out a similar licence ; it authorized the Company of
Stationers to seize on all such books as they found
to be schismatical and offensive, and to lay them be-
fore the ecclesiastical authorities ; it enacted that no
one in England should cause to be printed any books
in English, beyond the seas, or to import them into
this country ; and, finally, it provided that offences
against this decree should be punished by the court
of Star-chamber, or High Commission 2 .
It would be an almost interminable labour to
inquire whether the power over the press which was
placed, by this decree, in the hands of the Arch-
bishop, or his Licensers, was used in every instance,
with consummate wisdom and moderation. If we
are to trust his enemies and detractors, it was shame-
i Biagr, Diet, Hales. * Heylyn, p. 363.
VI!.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 247
fully abused, and converted into an instrument for
the protection of Popery, and the suppression of all
scriptural truth. The calumny was indignantly re-
pelled by the Archbishop, at his trial. He affirms,
that the power in question was employed solely for
the preservation of the peace of the Church, and the
safety of the State. He does not, indeed, deny that
there may possibly have been cases, in which his
licensing Chaplains exercised their office with more
of zeal, than of knowledge or discretion. But he
protests against the injustice of loading him with
all the imaginable faults which may have been com-
mitted by his officers, in the discharge of duties
much too various and extensive for his perpetual
inspection. And he, further, contends that the
decree itself was absolutely indispensable for the
safety of the Church; which, he says, (certainly with
more truth than wit,) was almost pressed to death
by the liberty of printing V
Of all the publications of that day, none were more
savory to the palate of rebellion and fanaticism, than
the Genevan edition of the Bible ; garnished as it
was with notes, the spirit of which might, in some
respects, have done honour to Rheims or Douay !
1 More than one hundred of Prynne's closely printed folio
pages are filled with alleged instances of the abuse of the power
of licensing by the Archbishop and his Chaplains. Cant. Doom,
p. 245 348. It does not appear, however, that this matter was
very largely insisted on, at the Archbishop's trial. In the 9th
Article of his impeachment, he was accused of committing the
licensing of books to Chaplains notoriously disaffected to the
Reformed religion, and grossly addicted to Popish superstition.
But the charges under this head, together with his own answers,
occupy little more than five pages in the History of his Trou-
bles, &c. p. 348354.
248 LIFE OF [CHAP.
They proclaimed that Kings might be disobeyed,
and even murdered, if they were idolaters ; that no
bond or promise was binding, which had any ten-
dency injurious to the Gospel ; that the right of
the Presbytery was transcendently divine ; and that
Archbishops, and Bishops, and men in Episcopal
orders or Academical degrees *, were to be regarded
as no better than the locusts of the Apocalypse, that
came up out of the pit. The pontifical arrogance
of Hildebrand himself might be defied to go be-
yond this. King James was so disgusted with
these atrocious commentaries, that he forbade them
to be printed in his dominions, and ordered the
English version to be published without notes.
But, to the Non-conformists, the Geneva Bible was
almost a necessary of their spiritual life 2 . And,
accordingly, it continued to be printed in Holland,
(the strong-hold of Calvinism, and the common re-
ceptacle of English malcontents,) and to be thence
abundantly imported into England. It, moreover,
came recommended, not only by its seditious doc-
trines, but by the moderation of its price, and the
superiority of its paper, typography, and binding.
The Archbishop received intelligence from Sir Wil-
liam Boswell, the Resident at the Hague, that two
impressions of this Bible, in English, were ready
1 If we may venture to judge by certain recent proceedings,
a considerable revolution has taken place, since that time, in
the notions entertained by Dissenters, relative to the value and
honour of Academical Degrees.
2 Heylyn, p. 350, 351. Here, again, it may be observed, the
Dissenters of the present day are widely at variance with their
predecessors. For they now vehemently insist on the circula-
tion of the Scriptures, without note or comment.
VII.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 249
for transmission into this kingdom, the one with
notes, the other without ; and he was prepared to
meet this importation of mischief, with the terrors of
the above decree. He was, further, warned by John
Le Maire, one of the most distinguished preachers at
Amsterdam, that Holland was the place in which
the turbulent spirits of the time were perpetually
forging their weapons against the Church of England.
Upon which, he employed the agency of Sir William
Boswell so effectually, that the States were pleased
to put forth a proclamation, prohibiting all such libel-
lous and inflammatory performances. The Purita-
nical party, as may easily be conceived, was, beyond
measure, exasperated at these proceedings. Never-
theless, when these misdeeds were laid to the charge
of the Archbishop, he neither denied the fact of his
interference, nor affected remorse for it. He intre-
pidly declared that he neither was, nor could be,
sorry for what he had done l . One can hardly ex-
pect much cordial or general sympathy with his feel-
ings, in these more enlightened days of toleration.
But, it may, at least, be conceded, that, if the autho-
rity of a censor could ever be justified, it would be
when the strictest professors of Religion were the
heralds of disobedience, perfidy, and assassination.
And it should, further, be remembered, that, in the
days of their supremacy, the Presbyterians resisted
even the eloquence of Milton, when it pleaded for
the freedom of unlicensed printing.
In the midst of all this care and toil,
1 /oq
while his energies were tasked to the utter-
most for the honour and stability of the Church,
1 Troubles, &c. p. 350, 351.
250 LIFE OF [CHAP.
and his name was torn to pieces by ingratitude and
calumny, the Archbishop was unwearied in devising
liberal and glorious things for the cause of literature
and charity. He erected, at his own cost, a stately
pile at the west end of the Divinity School, at
Oxford ; the lower part for the assembling of Con-
vocations, the upper as a repository for learned writ-
ings. " And," as Heylyn quaintly remarks, " that
he might not be said to have given them nothing but
an empty box," he furnished it with no less than 576
manuscripts, in addition to 700 which he had sent
before; of which, one hundred were Hebrew, Arabic,
and Persian \ His munificence was, likewise, ex-
tended to his native town of Reading ; upon which
he bestowed a revenue of 200 per annum, to be
employed in apprenticing young men, in assisting
meritorious beginners in trade, in furnishing mar-
riage-portions to deserving female servants, and,
lastly, in augmenting the stipend of the minister of
the Parish Church of St. Laurence. He also pur-
chased the perpetual advowson of the same Church,
and annexed it to the patronage of St. John's Col-
lege. Certain other noble designs, of a more public
nature, were entertained by him ; some of which were
executed, and others interrupted by the calamitous
vicissitudes which fell upon him. Among those
which he was not spared to accomplish, may be
mentioned, his projects for increasing the poorer
vicarages, for the settlement of the London tithes,
for the establishment of a Greek press at Oxford, and
for obtaining a grant from his Majesty, for the pur-
chase of impropriations. He, further, intended to
1 Heylyn, p. 404. Diary, p. 56.
VII.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 251
procure, at his own charge, a copy, on vellum, of all
the Records in the Tower, relating to the Clergy,
from the 20th of Edward I. to the end of Henry
VIII. : but the troubles of the time prevented the
completion of this work to a later period than the
1 4th of Edward IV. * In order that the learned men
of Europe might be enabled to judge between that
Church and the faction which assailed it, he caused
the Liturgy which had been rejected by the Scots
to be translated into Latin : but the publication of it
was prevented by the same unhappy cause which
stifled several of his other undertakings. Fortu-
nately, the English Liturgy itself was already before
the world, in various tongues. The Service Book of
Edward VI. had been translated into Latin by Alex-
ander Aless, for the use of Martin Bucer ; and that
of Queen Elizabeth by Walter H addon, President of
Magdalene College, Oxford. A French version of it
had been prepared for the use of the Channel Islands ;
and, by order of King James, it had been rendered
into Spanish, under the patronage of the Lord Keeper
Williams. A Greek version was still wanting ; and
this deficiency was now supplied by the care of Arch-
bishop Laud, who encouraged Petley, of Oxford, to
the performance of the task. So that, at last, the
Eastern and Western Churches were placed in a con-
dition to compare our formularies of devotion with
those of the primitive ages 2 .
A much more arduous work was, about the same
period, committed by Laud to the hands of the
1 See the list of projects at the end of the Diary, p. 68, 69.
The copy of the Records was finished, thus far, in June, 1 637 '
and is now deposited in the Library of Lambeth Palace.
1 Heylyn, p. 397, 398.
252 LIFE OF [CHAP.
venerable Joseph Hall, then Bishop of Exeter* The
Covenanters had denounced Episcopacy, as not only
unlawful, but as positively an ti- Christian. Laud,
like the soundest and most faithful of his brethren,
was profoundly convinced that the institution was
divine : and he was extremely anxious that the task
of proving it to be so, should be undertaken by
Hall. The Bishop consented to grapple with the
enterprize. His first step was to frame a draught
or skeleton of his intended treatise ; which he des-
patched to Laud, in October, 1639. It occurred to
the Archbishop, on the perusal of this draft, that
Hall had taken his position on ground somewhat
lower and less advantageous than he was entitled to
occupy. The nature of his objections may be best
learned from one or two extracts of a letter addressed
by him to the Bishop, on the llth of November fol-
lowing. The following extracts will furnish the
reader with a distinct notion of the Archbishop's "
views on the subject of Episcopal authority. They
were stigmatized as insufferably Popish, in his own
time ; and, in some quarters, they may, possibly,
meet with no better a reception, at this present day.
" You say," Laud observes, " that Episcopacy is an
ancient, holy, and divine institution. It must needs
be ancient and holy, if divine. Would it not be
more full, went it thus : so ancient, that it is of
divine institution ? Next, you define Episcopacy as
being joined with imparity, and superiority of juris-
diction. But this seems short. For, every Arch-
bishop's, Archpresbyter's, and Archdeacon's place, is
so. And so was Mr. Henderson in his chair at Glas-
gow ; unless you define it by a distinction of order.
I draw the superiority, not from the jurisdiction,
VII.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 253
which is attributed to Bishops, jure positive, in their
audience of ecclesiastical matters ; but from that
which is intrinsical and original, in the power of ex-
communication. Again, you say, in the first point,
that where Episcopacy hath obtained, it cannot be
abdicated without a violation of God's ordinance.
This proposition, I conceive, is inter minus habentes.
For never was there any Church yet, where it hath
not obtained. The Christian faith never yet was
planted any where, but the very first feature of a
Church was by, or with, Episcopacy. And, where-
soever now Episcopacy is not suffered, it is by such
an abdication : for, certainly, there it was a principio.
In your second head, you grant, that the Presby-
terian government may be of use, where Episcopacy
may not be had. First, I pray you consider, whe-
ther this conversion be not needless here ; and, of
itself, of a dangerous consequence. Next, I conceive
there is no place where Episcopacy may not be
had, if there be a Church more than in title only.
Thirdly, since they challenge their Presbyterian
fiction to be Christ's kingdom and ordinance, (as
yourself expresseth,) and cast out Episcopacy as
opposite to it, we must not use any mincing terms,
but unmask them plainly. Nor shall I ever give
way, to hamper ourselves, for fear of speaking plain
truth ; though it be against Amsterdam or Geneva.
And this must be sadly thought on."
" Concerning your postulata, I shall pray you to
allow me the like freedom : among which, the two
first are true, but, as expressed, too restrictive. For,
episcopacy is not so to be asserted unto Apostolic
institutions, as to bar it from looking higher, and
from fetching it, materially, and originally, from Christ
254 LIFE OF [CHAP.
himself: though, perhaps, the Apostles formalized
it." He then goes on to show the necessity of so
vindicating episcopacy, against the "furious puri-
tans," as not to lay it open to more crafty and more
learned adversaries. The Romanists, he says, will
be content that it should be invested with Divine
right, on condition that the right be derived to the
Bishops, not immediately, but through the Pope;
that, so the government of the Church may be monar-
chical, in him. The milder Geneva school will,
likewise, allow the right to be divine, provided that
this be taken to imply no more than the divine ap-
probation of it, without claiming for it the sanction
of a command, divine and universal *. If this were
good divinity, it is manifest that the cause of episco-
pacy would have been destitute of all defence against
the pretensions of the Scots ; who contended that,
although they had episcopacy once, they were at
liberty to abandon it, upon wiser thoughts ; and so,
to reduce the government of the Church to a demo-
cracy. With regard to Hall's ninth postulatum,
(which maintained that the accession of honourable
titles and privileges made no difference in the sub-
stance of the calling,) the Archbishop recommended
the most cautious handling : lest the faction should
seize upon it, as a virtual admission, that, in calling
1 This was the view entertained by Grotius; who says, in a
letter to Bishop Overall, "Episcopatus vocem sumsi eo significatu,
ut TrpoffTctaiav (pnefecturam) indicet, non temporariam, sed
perpetuam. Hanc defendo juris esse diiv'im,'probantis et suaden-
tis, non tamen universaliter imperantis. Ceterum, irpoffTaaiav,
sumtam abstracts, citra considerationem durationis, esse juris
divini, etiam imperantis, ostendi ab ipso Beza agnosci." Praest.
Vir. Epist. p. 487. 6.
VII.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 255
and order, the Bishop and the Priest were one *, and
that the title of Bishop amounted to nothing more
than a mere honorary distinction.
It appears from the reply of Bishop Hall to these
animadversions, that he admitted their justice, as it
were, by anticipation : for he declares that he had
already amended several of the passages touched upon
by Laud, previously to the arrival of his criticism *.
The work was completed accordingly ; and then
was transmitted to the Archbishop, for his final
revision. It appears that, in several particulars,
something was yet wanting for his grace's perfect
satisfaction. He observed, that the foreign Churches,
and their authors, were still treated with a degree
of indulgence that might be dangerous to the cause
of the Church of England ; that it had been treated
as a matter of indifference whether episcopacy
were an order, or merely a degree ; and, lastly,
that the title of Anti-Christ had been, in several
places, bestowed upon the Pope, positively and deter-
minately ; whereas it was well known, that although
King James had written apparently to the same
effect, yet he had done so, " not concluding, but by
way of argument only ; that the Pope and his adhe-
rents might see, that there were as good, and better,
arguments, to prove him Anti-Christ, than for the
Pope to challenge temporal jurisdiction over Kings."
He adds that he had found himself under the necessity
of representing this matter to King Charles ; and
urges that it woujd be proper to qualify expressions, so
directly in opposition to the judgment of his Majesty's
Royal Father ; the rather, because Protestants were
1 Heylyn, p. 398402. Cant. Doom. p. 227238.
256 LIFE OF [CHAP.
far from unanimous in this opinion of Anti-Christ V
To these remarks, Hall returned a very courteous and
respectful answer : and (according to the statement
of Heylyn) " he qualified some of his expres-
sions, and expunged others ; to the contentment
of his Sovereign, the satisfaction of his metropoli-
tan, and his own great honour 2 ." And, to this
hour, the work maintains an honourable place in
the Theological Armoury of the Church of England.
The controversy which it produced with a five-
headed adversary, under the name of Smeclymnuus,
is well known to all the readers of English Ecclesias-
tical History.
It is unhappily notorious, that the temporal privi-
leges of the Bishops were, at that period, as furiously
assailed as their ecclesiastical dignity. In the course
of this year, the spirit of revolution found utterance
by the mouth of a Lawyer. One Bagshaw, a Bar-
rister, of the Middle Temple, being chosen Reader of
that Society, for the Lent vacation, selected for his
argument the Statute 25 Edw. III. c. 7. He distri-
buted his discourse into ten parts ; and each part
into ten sections : by which arrangement, says Hey-
lyn, " he must have had one hundred blows at the
Church, in his ten days' reading." His main design
was, to vindicate the Prohibitions issued from Westmin-
ster Hall to stop the proceeding of the Spiritual Courts,
and, more especially, of the High Commission. He
1 This letter of Laud is dated Jan. 14, 1639. It has already
been noticed that Prynne has, with admirable logic, concluded
from all this, that Laud must have been a prime adviser, in that
whole mystery of iniquity, the Spanish match, &c. &c. Cant.
Doom. p. 263, 264. 276.
2 Canterbury's Doom. p. 227238. Heylyn, p. 398406.
VII.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 257
commenced his lecture with the discussion of three
questions : first, whether an act of Parliament were
valid, without the assent of the spiritual Lords? se-
condly, whether a beneficed clerk were capable of
temporal jurisdiction, at the time of making that law ?
Thirdly, whether a Bishop, without calling a synod,
has power, as diocesan, to convict a heretic? The
first of these points he determined in the affirmative ;
the two latter, in the negative. Intelligence of these
learned decisions speedily reached Lambeth ; and, as
speedily, were reported by the Archbishop to the
King. Upon this, the Lord Keeper Finch received
immediate orders to interdict the lecturer ; and the
lecturer lost no time in making application to his
Grace, for a revocation of the sentence. Laud, how-
ever, was inflexible ; and replied that his Majesty
was otherwise resolved; and moreover, that "it
would have been more prudent in him to have de-
sisted at once, than to have moved his Majesty's
royal indignation by that unseasonable adventure."
This stern repulse drove the disappointed lawyer
from London. But in order that his retreat might
have some appearance of a triumph, he was accom-
panied out of town, with forty or fifty horsemen : a
band of brethren assembled to do honour to the victim
of prelatical tyranny 1 !
While the Archbishop was thus incessantly occu-
pied, for the protection of the Church, he was loudly
assailed by the clamours of the seditious, both in
England and in Scotland. On the 4th of June, 1639,
as he was on his way to the court, to attend upon the
Queen, he was met by the Lord Mayor of London ;
1 Heylyn, p. 406408.
s
258 LIFE OF [CHAP.
who delivered to him two inflammatory papers ; the
one addressed to the Chief Magistrate himself, and
to the Aldermen of the City ; the other exciting the
apprentices against the Archbishop. Each of these
papers was signed by John Lilburn *, perhaps, the
most turbulent and pugnacious individual in Eng-
land. He was a worthy proficient in the school of
Bastwick and Prynne ; and had been concerned in
the publication of the " News from Ipswich." For
this exploit, he had been condemned by the Star
Chamber, to flagellation, to a fine of 500, and to
imprisonment in the Fleet. His passion for licenti-
ous freedom of speech, and the constancy with which
he endured its penalties, had procured for him the
title of free-born John. And such was his love of
strife, that it was said of him, that if he were the only
man living, John would quarrel with Lilburn, rather
than John Lilburn should be left without a quarrel.
The invectives of this man, and of such as he, if not
among the causes, were, at least, among the signs, of
the approaching ruin of the Archbishop. Laud him-
self informs us, that " during the whole time, from
the publishing of the Service Book to the pacifica-
tion, he was voiced by the faction, in both nations, to
be an incendiary ; a man that laboured to set the
two countries in a bloody war 2 ." Among his im-
puted enormities, was a circular letter, addressed by
him to the Bishops, in January, 1639, exhorting them
and their clergy to generous contributions towards
the necessities of the King, then levying forces for
the chastisement of the Scots. The displeasure of
the patriots was aggravated by the fact that, through
1 Diary, p. 56. 2 Troubles, &c. p. 75, 76.
VII.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 259
the zeal and activity of the Archbishop and his bre-
thren, this application for aid was eminently success-
ful. The prelates were accused of stirring up the
Church to prodigal sacrifices, merely for the mainte-
nance of a conflict, which, after all, was nothing more
than an episcopal war : or which rather might be called
a pontifical war, seeing that the contributions of the
English papists towards its support, were quite as libe-
ral as those of the Protestant dignitaries themselves 1 .
It was conveniently forgotten that, in despatching
the address in question, Laud did but obey an order
of the Privy Council ; and that the duty thus impo-
sed upon him was one, which, when once hostilities
had been resolved upon, it was impossible for him
to decline. He, nevertheless, most solemnly declares,
that, previously to this resolution, he had laboured
for peace so long and earnestly, that he had often
been severely checked for his importunity ; and, more
particularly, that when war was spoken of at the
Council Table, on the first eruption of the troubles,
in 1638, his counsels were in favour of forbearance ;
in the hope that the Scots might be prevailed upon
to return to their allegiance 2 . The depth and sin-
cerity of his desire for a pacific end to these dissen-
sions, is strongly illustrated by a letter written by
him, on the 30th April, 1639, to the Helvetic Pas-
tors and Professors, in answer to an address he. had
received from them, lamenting the warlike prepara-
tions against the Scots. His reply to this address is
conceived in a spirit widely abhorrent from the as-
perity and sternness so frequently ascribed to Laud.
1 Prynne's Necessary Introduction, &c. p. 175 183. Heylyn,
p. 3KO, 381.
2 Troubles, &c. p. 76.
s 2
260 LIFE OF [CHAP.
The whole is considerably too long for insertion here.
But the following extract will be sufficient to show
the temper in which it is composed. Having, first,
enlarged on the obduracy of the insurgents, the scan-
dal which their outrageous proceedings might bring
upon the name of the Reformation, and the cordial
anxiety of the King to conciliate them by all conces-
sions not ruinously inconsistent with his honor, he
continues thus, " you have been prompted by your
friendly affection towards our country, (an affection
not recently conceived, but derived from your fore-
fathers,) to appeal to me : you adjure me, by all the
miseries and perils of intestine war, to consult the
peace of my own conscience, and the glory of my
name ; and to labour that the quarrel might not be
brought to the decision of the sword, but be settled
by the authority and the clemency of our King. You
implore that I would be pleased to effect all this ! I
beseech of you, brethren, to entertain better thoughts
concerning me. I protest that, if it depended on
my will, the thing would instantly be done. I call
God to witness, and his anointed servant our King,
and all of his Privy Council who have been present
at our deliberations, that, in private, and in public, I
have uniformly been the friend of pacific measures.
Nay, almost alone and unsupported, I have wrestled
with our King, both by arguments and by prayers.
And so far did I succeed, that he was prevailed upon,
not only once or twice, but repeatedly, to offer to his
rebellious people every condition of peace, which a
Monarch could honorably concede, or subjects could
reasonably or rightfully demand. From them, how-
ever, he has been able to obtain nothing. It seems
as if the Gorgon's head had looked upon them, and
12
VII.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 261
turned them into stone. And yet, even now, I desist
not from my purpose. My desire, at this moment,
is for peace ; and so would my voice be also, if our
adversaries were not inflexibly set against it. And
what, I would ask, in difficulties like these, can be
accomplished by my weakness : seeing that we have
to do with men that will either have no peace, or such
a peace as no kingly Majesty can endure ? If, in the
mean time, any one has reported me to you, as an
enemy to peace, (for I know how inveteratelylam ha-
ted by each faction,) I beseech of Almighty God to have
mercy upon him, and to bestow patience upon me V
It must not be forgotten, that these words were
addressed by Laud to the Helvetic Churches, with
the entire approbation of the King V They were,
in fact, in perfect unison with his own pacific senti-
ments. It is true, that the indignities heaped upon
his authority, at length, awakened him to the neces-
sity of an appeal to arms. And it has been thought
by many, that if the royal army had been faithfully
conducted, and promptly marched into the heart of
the country, the rebellious spirit of the Scots might
have been speedily subdued. But the King's merci-
ful and indecisive temper made him averse from all
sanguinary extremities. Unfortunately, too, his fond-
ness for magnificence and feudalism, betrayed him
into the pernicious resolution of calling his nobility
about him, to his camp. This was a proceeding,
which proved most fatal to his interests, by laying
open many of the English Lords to the crafty and
seductive representations of the Scots. The end of
1 Praest. Vir. Epist. No. 552. p. 799.
2 Clarend. Papers, vol. ii. p. 35. 37.
262 LIFE OF [CHAP.
these infatuated counsels was, the miserable pacifi-
cation of June, 1639, which dismissed the rebels
without punishment, grievously impaired the honour
of his Majesty, discouraged all his truly wise and
faithful servants, and imparted confidence to those,
who neither loved his person, nor were attached to
his service.
The notice of this disgraceful and " hollow truce,"
in the Diary of the Archbishop, is closed with the
following prayer: "God make it safe and honour-
able to the King and kingdom :" a petition which
could hardly have been accomplished, without a
miracle ! Instead of safety and honour, it produced
nothing but disaster and humiliation. The council
was involved in perpetual and anxious debate on
the most hopeful measures of deliverance. At these
deliberations, Laud, of course, assisted. But, again,
he protests that no clandestine advice was offered by
him to his Sovereign ; that his sentiments were
always openly delivered by him, in the hearing of
his colleagues, at the board ; and that his counsels
were never more violent than theirs. Still the cry
went forth, that he was the grand incendiary, and
that all the impending calamities were the result of
his overbearing and destructive influence 1 . At
length, the difficulties began to thicken so rapidly,
that the Archbishop joined Lord Strafford, and the
Marquess of Hamilton, in proposing that a Parlia-
ment should be called, as the only imaginable re-
source against probable ruin and confusion. At the
same time, it was determined, that if, after all, the
Commons should prove unmanageable, a resort to
1 Troubles, &c. p. 73.
VII.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 263
unusual means of supply would become inevitable.
The language in which this advice is recorded by the
Archbishop, was unfortunate enough. " A resolu-
tion," he says, " was voted to assist the King, in
extraordinary ways, if the Parliament should prove
peevish, and refuse." These words were afterwards
made public, when the Archbishop's private journal
was seized, among his other papers, in the Tower :
and the unhappy phrase "peevish" was, of itself,
atrociously treasonable, in the majestic ears of the
Long Parliament !
The 13th of April was the day fixed for the meet-
ing of this assembly. No sooner was it opened, than
complaints, more loud and tumultuous than ever,
were uplifted by the Covenanters, against the Bishops
of the Church of England. Religion was on the lips
of the fanatics, while treason was in their hearts. It
was the very life and soul of their hateful policy, to
direct the whole torrent of public execration against
the hierarchy. They knew that the Throne would,
probably, remain impregnable, so long as the Church
retained her authority and strength. And, accord-
ingly, they proclaimed aloud that the Reformed
Religion never could be safe, until the dignities of
the Church were trampled in the dust. And this
nefarious stratagem was adopted by them, with as
little remorse, as the men of carnal warfare resort to
the countermarch, or the mine, or the ambuscade.
In the meantime, although the rebellion was becom-
ing, every hour, more fierce and insolent, there ap-
peared no prospect whatever, of any supply for its
suppression. At length, Sir Henry Vane, the elder,
then Secretary of State, declared, in plain terms, to
264 LIFE OF [CHAP.
his Majesty, that, to his knowledge, it would be idle
to hope for any money against the Scots. This in-
formation was false, and, most probably, treacherous ;
and agonizing was the regret of Charles, for having
listened to it, in a moment of impatience and preci-
pitancy. The result of it was, that, on the 5th of
May, 1640, the short Parliament, as it was
1640.
called, was madly and fatally dissolved.
In the resolution for this measure, the dissentient
voices were only two ; those of the Earls of
Northumberland and Holland. It happened, acci-
dentally, that Laud arrived at the board too late to
join in the deliberations of the council, and so, co-
operated, only by his single vote. Nevertheless, the
whole guilt of the transaction was heaped upon him.
The outcry still was, that the dissolution was his
work. The very next day, libels were posted, in
various parts of the city, provocative of insurrection.
And, on Saturday the 9th of May, a paper was found
upon the Old Exchange, inviting the apprentices,
with others of the rabble, to assemble in St. George's
Fields, " to hunt William, the Fox, for breaking up
the Parliament." On the Monday night following,
an assault was made on Lambeth Palace by a mob
of 500 ruffians, who threatened to tear the Arch-
bishop in pieces. Fortunately, he had received
notice of the design, and had fortified the house in a
manner sufficient for his protection from personal
violence. Such, however, was the fury manifested
by the assailants, that, by the King's command, he
lodged, for several days and nights after the attack,
in the palace at Whitehall. "This scandalous and
headless insurrection" was quelled, by the apprehen-
VII.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 265
sion and execution of one of the most active ring-
leaders, who was hanged and quartered on Saturday,
the 23d of May l .
Previously to the ending of the Parliament, the
Convocation had agreed to grant his Majesty six
subsidies, amounting, in the whole, to 120, 000;
but payable in six years, by equal annual portions.
Immediately on the dissolution, the Archbishop sent
to terminate the Convocation likewise ; forgetting, in
the haste and agitation of the moment, that the
King's writ was requisite, as well for its dissolution,
as for its assembling. On being reminded of this,
he applied to his Majesty for a writ. To his great
surprise, the King signified his pleasure that the
Convocation should continue their session ; first, in
order that they might complete their grant of the six
subsidies ; and, secondly, that they might finish cer-
tain Canons, which were then under consideration.
The Archbishop was much perplexed and troubled
at this resolution. He had received no previous in-
timation of it ; and he considered both the lawful-
ness and the expediency of the measure, as ex-
tremely questionable. He was, nevertheless, unable
to shake the determination of the King ; and was
compelled to content himself with obtaining his
Majesty's consent to have the question submitted to
the Lord Keeper, and the Crown Lawyers, for the
better assurance and satisfaction of the Clergy. Their
answer was, that " the Convocation, being called
by the King's writ, under the Great Seal, doth con-
1 Troubles, &c. p. 79. Clarendon, vol. i. p. 252, 253. Oxf.
Ed. Diary, p. 59, 60. " My deliverance," says Laud, "was
great. God make me thankful for it !"
266 LIFE OF [CHAP.
tinue, until it be dissolved by writ, or commission,
under the Great Seal, notwithstanding the Parliament
be dissolved." The Convocation continued to sit,
accordingly, till the 29th of May. They perfected
their Act for the contribution to the King; and they
framed seventeen Canons for the better government
and peace of the Church. The only dissentient was
Dr. Goodman, Bishop of Gloucester, who had long
been suspected of a secret inclination to the Romish
doctrines ; and who, on this occasion, declared to
Laud, that he would be torn by wild horses, rather
than subscribe the Canon for suppressing the growth
of Popery 1 . On the first publication of these
Canons, they were received with general approba-
tion. Letters were addressed to the Archbishop from
the remotest parts of the kingdom, expressive of this
sentiment. But, within a little month after they
were printed, the London ministers began to whisper
against them ; then, to clamour loudly ; and, lastly,
to circulate their complaints in writing : till, at
length, this whole body of ordinances was vehe-
mently cried out upon ;- and, as usual, the main fury
of the tempest fell upon the head of the Archbishop.
Of all the proceedings of this Synod, there was
none which drew upon the Church a heavier load of
obloquy, than the insertion of an oath, which was to
be imposed, not only on all the Clergy, but on many
of the Laity ; and, by which, they were to declare,
that they never would consent to any alteration in
the government of the Church, by Bishops, Deans,
1 For this contumacy, he was placed under confinement ; hut
was afterwards released, on his submission. Troubles, &c.
p. 7983. 280284. Diary, p. 58.
VII.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 26?
Archdeacons, &c. Every one, in his right senses,
must have seen that this et cetera had been intro-
duced, solely for the purpose of avoiding a needless
enumeration of offices. Nevertheless, an insane,
and almost universal outcry was raised against it, by
the agitators of the day. It was spoken of as a
snare and pit-fall. It was denounced, as the en-
trance into a yawning abyss of perjury. It was
held up to universal detestation, under the name of
the et cetera oath ; and, by that name, it has, ever
since, been known. But, further, the whole oath
itself was furiously censured as "wicked and un-
godly;" and was, afterwards, condemned by the
Commons, as devised by the Archbishop, for the
purpose of " confirming the unlawful and exorbitant
power, which had been usurped over his Majesty's
subjects." It was, lastly, contended, that the impo-
sition of any oath whatever, was an act beyond the
legal power of the Convocation. This outcry,
though plausible enough, was, purely, the dictate of
malignity and faction. For, as Laud affirmed on his
trial, even if the law was against the Bishops, on this
point, still there were various precedents, hitherto un-
questioned, decidedly in their favour: so that, at the
very worst, their delinquency amounted to no more
than a mistake of the law, and not to a wilful and
treasonable violation of it 1 . Nevertheless, the at-
tempt was insisted on as conclusive of the malicious
and despotic temper which pervaded the whole
hierarchy !
The first of the obnoxious Canons was liable to
much more formidable objections. It proclaimed
1 Troubles, &c. p. 280283.
268 LIFE OF [CHAP.
that Monarchy was of Divine right, that the royal
authority is independent, not only of the Bishop of
Rome, but of every other earthly power, and that it
cannot be assailed, on any pretence, without resistance
to the ordinance of God. This dangerous doctrine
had sometimes been abused by servility and self-in-
terest ; and, at other times, had been too rashly held
up, by honest and devoted men, as a barrier against
the republican fury of the Puritans. It was now,
however, fiercely reprobated, as treason against the
majesty of the people ; and it contributed, most
powerfully, to place the Archbishop, and his bre-
thren, wholly beyond the pale of public sympathy.
And, in truth, it must be allowed that, not only this
Canon, but, in some respects, the whole body of them,
were of more arbitrary character than would be en-
dured in the present state of our constitution. It
must further be admitted, that the time was most un-
wisely chosen, for so vigorous a display of authority,
whether legally warrantable or not. The people were
intensely agitated by the sudden dissolution of the
Parliament. The nation was threatened with an in-
vasion by the Scots, who were then in treasonable
communication with France. A powerful sympathy
was in action between the Covenanters of the North,
and the most desperate leaders of the faction in the
South. The whole condition of the Empire was im-
minently critical. So that, as Clarendon very justly
remarks, " the season in which that Synod continued
to sit, was in so ill a conjuncture of time, that nothing
could have been transacted there of a popular and
prevailing influence V
1 Clarendon, vol. i. p. 360.
VII.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 269
One thing, however, may at least be concluded
from the tenor of these unpopular ordinances, it was
not a Popish spirit which presided over the assembly
by which they were enacted. In the first place, they
recommended, indeed, but they did not enjoin, the
observance of certain ceremonies, to which the Arch-
bishop was notoriously attached ; and they exhorted
that all should abstain from uncharitable judgments
of each other, touching these outward integuments of
Religion. Secondly, one of the most prominent and
severe among the Canons was framed " for suppres-
sing the further growth of Popery, and reducing Pa-
pists to the Church :" and this Canon was, undoubt-
edly, the work of the Archbishop l . It was, conse-
quently, his work, also, that the Romish propensities
of Bishop Goodman were detected and exposed. But
enough has been seen of the temper of those evil
times, to show that the testimony of an Angel from
Heaven would, then, scarcely have been sufficient to
rescue Laud from the imputation of apostacy.
We are now closely approaching the period of the
Archbishop's fall : and he appears, himself, to have been
somewhat troubled by certain prognostics of his im-
pending fate. " On the 24th of January," (he writes
in his Diary) " at night, I dreamed that my father,
who died forty-six years since, came to me ; and, to
my thinking, he was as well and as cheerful as ever
I saw him. He asked me what I did here. And,
after some speech, I asked him, how long he would
stay with me ? He answered, he would stay with
me till he had me away with him. I am not moved
with dreams ; yet I thought fit to remember this V
1 Heylyn, p. 425. 2 Diary, p. 5?.
270 LIFE OF [CHAP.
It may be doubted whether Laud was not " moved
by dreams" rather more than he himself suspected.
His Diary abounds in memoranda of these shadowy
visitations, to a degree which seems to show that the
visions of the night were seldom remembered by him
with perfect indifference. The 27th of October, how-
ever, was a day of waking augury, with him. " I
went," he tells us, " into my upper study, to see
some manuscripts, which I was sending to Oxford.
In that study hung my picture, taken by the life.
And, coming in, I found it fallen down upon the
face, and lying on the floor : the string being broken
by which it hanged against the wall. I am, almost
every day, threatened with my ruin in Parliament.
God grant that this be no omen." Now, some weeks
previously to this, he had received from a person
unknown to him, by the name of Rockel, a letter
importing that the writer had been among the Scots,
as he was travelling in the North ; and that he heard
them express their hope, that he, the Archbishop,
might come to his end, like the Duke of Buckingham,
by the dagger of an assassin ; and concluding with
advice that he should look well to himself l . The
mind must be of more than ordinary stedfastness,
which, either waking or sleeping, can repel the colour-
ing which intimations like this are apt to spread over
the imagination. And, here, it must not be forgotten
that those very Puritans, who turned such things to
the reproach of the Archbishop, were themselves the
first to discover the finger of God pointed against
him, in every casual occurrence which could, by pos-
sibility, be connected with his name. For example :
1 Diary, p. 58.
VII.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 271
it is contemptuously recorded by William Prynne,
that the Arch-Prelate took special notice of sundry
dreams, presages, and omens of his own downfall :
and yet the same William Prynne has been at the
pains of adding several to the number. One instance,
more especially, he has not been ashamed to borrow
from a lying pamphlet, published by the notorious
Richard Culmer, entitled " Cathedral News from Can-
terbury." According to that veracious narrative,
much heavy damage was done to the Church by a
tempestuous high wind, on the 27th of December,
1639. And this accident, aggravated in all its cir-
cumstances by the malicious rhetoric of the author,
is joyfully accepted by Prynne, as a miraculous omen
from heaven itself, indicating no less than the ruin of
the Archbishop, and the destruction of his See ; in
just retribution for his manifold enormities. This sad
omen, he further tells us, was seconded with others,
both at Lambeth and Croydon, on that very night.
The storm, which had been so prophetic at Canter-
bury, was equally formidable in the Thames. It made
grievous havoc among the boats of the poor water-
men at Lambeth : and, moreover, it blew down the
shafts of two chimneys at the palace, and, with them,
the lead and rafters, upon the bed of one of the Arch-
bishop's servants ; who must have perished if he had
not accidentally been absent. At Croydon, one of
the pinnacles fell from the Church steeple, and beat
in a large portion of the lead and roof. " All which,"
he adds, " compared with the sinking of the Lambeth
ferry-boat, with the Archbishop's coach-horses, coach,
and men, to the bottom of the Thames, Sept. 18, 1633,
the very first day he removed from Fulham to Lam-
beth-house, was, no doubt, an ominous presage of his
272 LIFE OF [CHAP.
own, and his Archbishopric's, sinking, through his
pride and violence." Another awful coincidence
was, that afterwards, in February, 1642, when the
King was at Canterbury, on his way to Dover with
the Queen, he affixed his signature to the Act, for de-
priving the Bishops of their votes in Parliament, at
the Abbey of Augustine, the first Archbishop of that
See. Here, again, the hand of heaven was clearly
manifested ! For this was the Act, " which unlorded
our lordly prelates, and gave them a fatal overthrow,
such as struck proud Canterbury dead at heart, and
undermined all his prelatical designs to advance the
Bishops' pomp and power." The libeller concludes
his long catalogue of prognostics with a most egregi-
ous falsehood ; which, nevertheless, upon the strength
of his testimony, was produced against the Archbishop
at his trial, like the fall of his picture, " to make a
scorn of him to the Lords and the people, and to try
whether any thing would break down his patience."
It is affirmed by Prynne, that, when Laud was a
" scholar at Oxford, he dreamed, one night, that he
came to far greater preferment in the Church, and
power in the State, than any man of his birth and
calling ever did before him ; in which greatness and
worldly happiness he continued many years ; but,
after all this happiness, before he awaked, he dreamed
that he was hanged. The first part of this dream,"
continues Prynne, " hath been long since really veri-
fied. And the conclusion of it is, in all probability,
like to be speedily accomplished, upon the close of
his trial." This story of the dream was received by
Prynne from a notorious separatist, named Badger,
who had married a near kinswoman of the Arch-
bishop's. The whole, however, was an infamous fie-
VII.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 273
tion. For Laud declares, upon his Christianity, and
hope of salvation, that he " never had this dream, or
any like it." But, what if the story were true ?
What are we to think of a judicial assembly, which
would suffer it to be produced in evidence, on a charge
of treason, that, forty or fifty years before, the pri-
soner had dreamed of being hanged * ?
But the hour was now at hand, when the purita-
nical enemies of Laud were to give a final and terri-
ble interpretation to all these signs and portents,
whether earthly or unearthly. In the mean time, he
was harassed by fearful presages from another 'quar-
ter. While the ultra-Protestant faction were rush-
ing on to the assault, the Papists, as usual, were busy
in the work of sapping and mining. That they cor-
dially hated the Archbishop, there can be little doubt.
The Jesuits were, more especially, inveterate against
him ; first, because all diocesan episcopacy, whether
Popish or Protestant, was odious to them ; and,
secondly, because they found the Primate utterly
unmanageable. The King had earned an equal
measure of their detestation, by his unassailable fide-
lity to the Reformed Religion. And it is scarcely
doubtful, that they had long employed all the darkest
resources of intrigue, to foment the broils which were
then distracting Scotland, and to bring on a crisis
which might involve both the King and the Arch-
bishop in destruction. But this was not all. On the
10th of September, 1640, Laud received a letter from
Sir William Boswell, then his Majesty's resident at
the Hague, containing intelligence of a savage plot,
1 Prynne's Breviat, p. 34, .35. Diary, p. 49. 57. 59. Trou,
bles, p. 409411. Heylyn, p. 450, 451,
T
274 LIFE OF [CHAP.
at that moment nearly digested and matured, for the
immediate accomplishment of the worst designs of
the Popish party. The discovery was made to Sir
William Bos well, by one Andreas ab Habernfield,
who was said to be a Chaplain to the Queen of Bohe-
mia. This man, it appears, was himself, originally,
a party to the whole enterprize ; but was impelled,
by the reproaches of his conscience, to reveal it to
Sir William ; having, first, bound him by an oath to
communicate it to no one but the Archbishop, and,
through him, to the King. According to the state-
ment of Habernfield, the grand patron of this conspi-
racy was Cardinal Barberini ; the principal agent, Con,
the papal Nuncio in England ; and the operative mi-
nisters, the Jesuits. The objects of it were, the com-
plete overthrow of the realm and state of England and
of Scotland, and the dethronement of the King ; and
these by means which would imminently endanger the
lives of his Majesty and the Archbishop. On the 1 1th
of October, this alarming intelligence was dispatched
by Laud to the King, at York, accompanied by ur-
gent entreaties that the affair might be kept secret,
and that his Majesty would not trust his pockets
with such dangerous papers ; and also by a request
for further instructions, as to the prosecution of the
business. On the 15th of October, more ample de-
tails were transmitted by Sir William Boswell. But
these, instead of exciting fresh activity in searching
out the plot, were thought by the King and the
Archbishop to throw some discredit on the whole re-
lation. Among the persons named as parties to the
design were the Duchess of Buckingham, the Coun-
tesses of Arundel and of Newport, Montague, Digby,
and Winter, of whose fidelity the King was unwil-
5
VII.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 275
ling to entertain suspicion. Besides these, were
mentioned the Earl of Arundel ; Windebank, the
principal Secretary of State, and the intimate friend
of Laud ; and Endymion Porter, one of the Grooms
of the Bed-Chamber : all of whom were denounced
as concealed enemies to their Royal Master, and as
engaged in a traitorous discovery of his secrets to the
Pope's Nuncio. The King's opinion of the loyalty
and affection of these individuals caused him to re-
gard the whole narrative with something like incre-
dulous hatred, and to relax in his desire for any fur-
ther prosecution of the matter 1 . With regard to
Laud, he was speedily disabled from any further
participation in the inquiry. The whole business
was examined, at a Committee of Lords, in the pre-
sence of the King : but Sir W. Boswell's last com-
munication, in answer to their questions, arrived
subsequently to the committal of the Archbishop ; so
that it was impossible for him to continue the inves-
tigation 2 . Nevertheless, the transaction must have
been sufficient to impress him with a painful suspicion
that hidden fires were beneath his feet, while the
tempest was loudly raging over his head. And thus
1 Heylyn, p. 451. 453. The details of this plot are to be
found in a tract, entitled " Rome's Masterpiece," printed at the
end of Henry Wharton's edition of Laud's History of his Trou-
bles and Trial. This tract, H. Wharton suspects to have been
the work of Prynne. It, certainly, is very much in his manner.
It is full of invidious commentaries on the conduct of the Arch-
bishop, and complains that there was no prosecution of the con-
spirators. The papers relative to the plot were found by Prynne
in the Archbishop's study, and were printed by order of a com-
mittee of the House of Commons.
2 Laud's note (c) to " Rome's Masterpiece," p. 596.
T 2
276 LIFE OF [CHAP.
much he afterwards expressed, in his Address to the
Lords, on the tenth article of his impeachment.
" This" he exclaims " is a hard strait into which
I am cast. The Pope's agent, as it is said, plots
my death, on one side, because I will not be wrought
upon to help to bring in the Roman superstition :
and the Parliament, on the other side, articles to
overthrow me, out of a jealousy that I go about to
bring it in. So that I am in the Prophet David's
case. (Ps. xxxi.) For I (also) have heard the
blasphemy of the multitude ; and fear is on every
side : while they conspire against me, and take coun-
sel, to take away my life. But my hope hath been
(and is) in thee, Lord V"
1 Troubles, &c. p. 163. 385.
VIII.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 277
CHAPTER VIII.
A.D. 16401645.
A Committee of the Long Parliament appointed to prepare charges
against Laud Scottish Articles against him Impeachment of
Laud His commitment to the Black Rod Articles of Im-
peachment Laud's address to the Lords His commitment to
the Tower His sufferings during his imprisonment Additional
Articles His trial and defence His recapitulation before the
Lords His defence before the Commons He is condemned by
an Ordinance of the two Houses His behaviour at the scaffold
His execution.
A VARIETY of momentous events, which followed
upon the dissolution of the last Parliamant, must,
here, be hastily passed over. We must confine our-
selves (to use the language of Laud himself) to such
particulars, as may be needful " to make his sad story
hang together V
The invasion of the Scots; the journey of the King
to the North ; the repetition of his error in once more
assembling the Peers at York ; the treaty at Rippon ;
the fatal transfer of the negotiations to London ; and
the meeting of the revolutionary Parliament; are
events familiar to every one tolerably versed in the
Troubles, &c. p. 85.
278 LIFE OF [CHAP.
history of those times. The interval which em-
braced all these occurrences was marked by various
circumstances, which seemed to indicate that the
Archbishop, and the Church which he ruled, were
doomed to destruction. On the 22nd of August, a
libellous paper was found in Covent Garden, excit-
ing not only the apprentices, but the soldiers, to fall
upon him, in the absence of the King. On the 22nd
of October, a sectarian rabble, chiefly of Brorvnists,
or Independents, to the number of 2000, collected
round St. Paul's, in which the Court of High
Commission then held their session. The tumult
speedily became outrageous. The rioters broke in,
tore down all the benches in the Consistory, and
cried out that they would have no Bishops, and no
High Commission *. " On the 3rd of November the
Parliament assembled, with sad and melancholic as-
pect, which presaged unusual and unnatural events 2 /'
On the following day, the Convocation met at St.
Paul's. On the llth, Lord StraiFord was impeached.
On the 4th of December, the King was prevailed on
to make the suicidal concession, that the members of
his Privy Council should be examined as witnesses
against the Earl. On the 16th of the same month,
the Canons, passed in the late Convocation, were
condemned in the House of Commons, as contrary
to the King's prerogative, to the fundamental Laws
of the Realm, and the liberty and property of the
subject, and as containing many things which tended
to sedition, and were of dangerous consequence,
1 Diary, p. 59.
2 Clarendon, vol. i. p. 295. Oxford edition.
VIII.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 279
Laud was openly denounced as the author and con-
triver of this institute of confusion ; and a committee
was appointed to examine into his actions, and to
prepare a charge against him *. On the same day,
the vengeance of the Scots appeared embodied in the
form of a set of Articles, which their Commissioners
presented to the House of Lords ; and in which they
challenged the Prelate of Canterbury as the prime
cause, on earth, of all the pernicious innovations
which had recently been attempted in their country.
During his subsequent imprisonment, he employed
himself in drawing up an answer to these atrocious
charges. One or two passages have already been
produced from his noble vindication, in order to
illustrate his conduct and his views respecting the
Scottish Liturgy and Canons. But they who would
form a righteous estimate of the principles and the
abilities of Laud, should, undoubtedly, peruse the
whole of this appeal to whatever intelligence and
justice was still extant among men. It is impossi-
ble for any mind, not absolutely deranged by its
prejudices, to contemplate this effort, without admi-
ration ; more especially when it is remembered that
its author was verging towards his 70th year, when
he was thus tied to the stake, to be " baited with the
rabble's curse." Every one must surely be struck
with his homely, but keen and vigorous, eloquence ;
with his profound erudition ; with his consummate
mastery over all the topics involved in the accusa-
tion ; with the consciousness of integrity which
breathes in every line ; with the high-minded scorn
1 Troubles, &c. p. 86.
\ r hm/4
280 LIFE OF [CHAP.
which he manifests for the combination of malice
and ignorance frequently betrayed in the proceedings
of his adversaries ; with the honest indignation with
which he hurls back the calumny, that he had acted
like a traitor to the religious liberties of England and
of Scotland, and that he bore within his bosom the
heart of an Apostate. On the 18th of December, after
half an hour's debate *, it was resolved that a mes-
sage should be sent to the House of Lords, to accuse
him of high treason. The speeches which preceded
this resolution were outrageously and infamously
virulent, more especially that of Sir Harbottle
Grimstone ; who described the Archbishop as " the
sty of all the pestilential filth which had infested the
State and Government of the Commonwealth 2 ." On
the same day, Denzil Hollis, the brother-in-law of
Strafford, appeared at the bar of the House of Lords,
in the name of the Commons of England, to impeach
the Archbishop of Canterbury of High Treason.
Upon this, he was consigned to the custody of Mr.
James Maxwell, the Usher of the Black Rod ; but
was first permitted to repair to Lambeth, for the pur-
pose of collecting such papers as might be required for
his justification, and of selecting some few books, for
his employment and recreation during his confine-
ment 3 . He remained at Lambeth till the night, in
order that he might avoid the intrusion of the gazing
populace. In the evening, he attended prayers in his
chapel ; where he derived great comfort from the 93d
1 Clar. vol. i. p. 309. Oxf. Ed.
2 Cobbett's State Trials, vol. iv. p. 317.
3 Troubles, &c. p. 144.
VIII.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 281
and 94th Psalms, and from the 50th chapter of Isaiah,
which formed a part of the services of the day : and,
assuredly, few portions of Scripture could be found
more exactly appropriate to his condition. He
afterwards prepared for departure. And, as he was
on his way to his barge, he found hundreds of his
poor neighbours waiting for him, and praying for his
safe return to his own house. Having given them
his parting benediction, he embarked for West-
minster. These simple particulars are noted in his
own Diary ; and they prove, beyond all question, his
habitual practice of liberality and kindness, and his
profound sense of religious consolation in adversity l .
Whether the Commons were, at this period, intent
upon his destruction, it may be difficult to pro-
nounce. He himself, it would appear, was, at one
time, under the impression, that his life was not
sought. On the second or third day after the meet-
ing of Parliament, he told Heylyn that he should
probably be sequestered from his Majesty's Councils,
and confined to his own Diocese ; professing, at the
same time,- that he should embrace that retirement
quite as willingly as his enemies would inflict it 2 .
Something to the same effect was hinted to him on
the 21st of January following, by several of the
Peers ; who stated that the moderation of his de-
meanour, since his commitment, had been noticed
by the upper House, and had considerably abated
the edge of their resentment ; so that he might pos-
1 Diary, p. 60. And yet it has recently been affirmed, that
Laud could not have been a good man in private life, and that
he was destitute of all sense of duty to God or man !
2 Heylyn, p. 464.
282 LIFE OF [CHAP.
sibly escape with banishment from Court, and the
loss of his Archbishopric. The tender mercies of
the wicked, we are told, are cruel. And this seems
to have been felt by Laud, on receiving the above
most gracious intimation. His reflection upon it is,
" I see what justice I may expect. Here is a reso-
lution taken, not only before my answer, but before
my charge was brought up against me V The pro-
bability, however, is, that no decided resolution had
been formed, by either House, with respect to the
ultimate disposal of their victim. Their more im-
mediate purposes were sufficiently answered by his
commitment. The next step was, to get him into
the Tower. And, when once there, he might either
be left to perish, broken-hearted, in imprisonment ;
or else, he might be tossed to the Scots, if their
vengeance should continue insatiably blood-thirsty.
The sequel seems to show that such was, in fact, the
tenor of their speculations.
After he was placed in the custody of the Black
Rod, all the winds of obloquy were let loose upon
him. The Council-chamber, the Star-chamber, the
Court of High Commission all were discovered to
have been the scenes of his triumphant iniquity. No
complaint could be made, in the upper or the lower
House, relative to any place or thing, in which he
had ever been concerned, but he was found to have
been the principal minister of evil. The agents of
mischief were unwearied in their search for excite-
ments, by which the hatred of the people might be in-
flamed to madness. The tumultuous ovation with
which Prynne, Burton, and Bastwick, were brought
1 Diary, p. 60. Troubles, &c. p. 147.
VIII. J ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 283
back to London, was the signal for a fresh discharge of
all the artillery of popular malice. Ballads and libels
were issued, prodigious in multitude, and monstrous
in scurrility and falsehood ; and all directed against
the person and calling of the Archbishop. The lies
went forth in swarms, unscared by censure or prohi-
bition from the Parliament ; to the scandal of honest
men and to the disgrace of a Christian community l .
Indeed, the whole treatment of the Archbishop, from
this time to the moment of his death, affords a splen-
did specimen of the justice and the mercy of revolu-
tionary tribunals. It would seem as if the malice of
his assailants, when baffled (as it long was) by the
difficulty of finding treasonable matter against him, in-
demnified itself by calculating on his demolition, at the
rate of so many grains a day. The period, for which he
remained under the charge of the Gentleman Usher,
was no less than ten weeks : and, during the whole of
this interval, the fees due to that functionary, together
with the expenses of the Archbishop's diet, amounted
to twenty nobles a day ; making, in the whole, a sum
of 436 and upwards ; all of which was received by
the head Lictor, without the abatement of a single
penny 2 . We learn from Heylyn, that, dur-
ing his confinement at Mr. Maxwell's, his
gentle and patient demeanour so completely won for
him the good opinion of the gentlewoman of the house,
1 Many of the libels vented against Laud, after his imprison-
ment, are still preserved in the " Collection of Pamphlets," in
the British Museum, 4to, 16401645. Those of them which
I have seen, are as dull and stupid as they are scurrilous. One
of them, with most impudent mendacity, charges him with pro-
moting dunces and profligates !
2 Troubles, &c. p. 145, 146.
284 LIFE OF [CHAP.
that she reported of him to her companions, that, al-
though he was but a silly fellow to hold converse with
a lady, he was the most excellent and pious soul she
had ever met with. But he was now about to appear
once more, before an assembly, who were unwilling
to give him credit for a single virtue. On the 26th
of February, 1641, the articles of impeachment were
brought up from the Commons to the Lords : and,
thereupon, a vote was passed for transferring him to
the Tower. The Archbishop was then ordered to
attend the House ; and there the Articles were read
to him, at the bar. They were fourteen in number.
It would be tedious and unnecessary to recite them
at full length. Their substance is as follows :
1. That the Archbishop had traitorously endea-
voured to subvert the fundamental laws of the Realm,
and to persuade the King that he might levy money,
without the consent of Parliament.
2. That he had encouraged sermons and publica-
tions tending to the establishment of arbitrary power.
3. That he had interrupted and perverted the
course of justice at Westminster Hall.
4. That he had traitorously and corruptly sold
justice : and advised the King to sell judicial and
other offices.
5. That he had surreptitiously caused a pernicious
Book of Canons to be published without lawful
authority ; and had unlawfully enforced subscription
to it.
6. That he had assumed a Papal and tyrannical
power, both in ecclesiastical and temporal matters.
7. That he had laboured to subvert God's true
religion, and to introduce Popish superstition and
idolatry.
VIII.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 285
8. That he had usurped the nomination to many
ecclesiastical benefices, and had promoted none but
persons who were Popishly affected, or otherwise
unsound in doctrine, or corrupt in manners.
9. That he had committed the licensing of Books
to Chaplains notoriously disaffected to the Reformed
religion .
10. That he had endeavoured to reconcile the
Church of England to the Church of Rome ; had
held intelligence with Jesuits and the Pope ; and had
permitted a Popish hierarchy to be established in
this kingdom.
11. That he had silenced many godly ministers;
hindered the preaching of God's word ; cherished
profaneness and ignorance ; and caused many of the
King's subjects to forsake the country.
12. That he had endeavoured to raise discord be-
tween the Church of England, and other Reformed
Churches ; and had oppressed the Dutch and French
congregations in England.
13. That he had laboured to introduce innova-
tions in religion and government, into the kingdom
of Scotland ; and to stir up war between the two
countries.
14. That to preserve himself from being ques-
tioned for these traitorous practices, he had laboured
to divert the ancient course of Parliamentary pro-
ceeding, and to incense the King against all Parlia-
ments l .
Such were the treasons gravely and solemnly im-
puted by the Commons of England to Archbishop
Laud ! When the articles had been read, he obtained
1 Troubles, &c. p. 150173.
286 LIFE OF [CHAP.
permission to speak a few words to their Lordships ;
and immediately addressed them to the following
effect : His charge he said was great and heavy.
He should, indeed, be unworthy to live, if it could be
made good. It denounced him as an enemy to God,
in point of religion ; to the King, in point of alle-
giance ; to the public, in point of safety. The king,
it was true, was but little named in the impeach-
ment : but, he held the civil and political union of
king and people to be so intimate, that no man could
be faithful to the one, and yet treacherous to the
other. Heavy, however, as his accusation was, he
was unable, as yet, correctly to estimate the entire
weight of it. At present, it dealt merely in general
charges. But he trusted, that, when his accusers
should enter into proof of each particular complaint,
his innocence would furnish him with a sufficient
answer. He might, indeed, have fallen into errors ;
but these, he hoped, would meet with an indulgent
construction from their lordships. The affairs which
had passed through his hands had been of great variety
and moment; such as might easily betray far abler men
than himself, into occasional mistake. With regard
to the charge of corruption in his office, he blessed
God that he feared no accuser that would speak the
truth. But that which moved him most, was, that
he should be deemed foul and false in the profession
of his religion ; that he should be thought to have
his heart at Rome, while his lips were with the
Church of England ; that he should be suspected of
labouring, with secret and treacherous craft, to bring
back the superstitions of Rome upon his country.
This, he confessed, did most exceedingly trouble
him. And if he should chance to forget himself, and
VIII.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 287
fall into passion when speaking of it, his case
would but resemble that of St. Jerome, who de-
clared that he knew not how to be patient, when
arraigned of falsehood in Religion ; and this was said
by Jerome upon infinitely less provocation than that
which was now laid upon him ; for he (the Arch-
bishop) was charged, not only with the baseness of
personal defection, but with a design to involve the
whole nation in apostacy. He then proceeded to
enlarge upon those parts of the impeachment, which
contained this falsehood *; and so, concluded an ad-
dress, which ought to have covered his accusers with
confusion.
On the petition of the Archbishop, his transfer to
the Tower was postponed till the following Monday,
the 1st of March, in order that there might be suffi-
cient time for the preparation of his lodging. On
that day, he was conveyed, at noon, by Mr. Max-
well, in his coach, to the plate of his long and last
imprisonment. His passage was free from insult or
disturbance, till he had passed Newgate-street, and
entered into Cheapside. At that spot, a clamour
was commenced by one or two apprentices. The
tumult grew louder and fiercer every instant. By
the time he had reached the Exchange, it became
outrageous. And it followed him, (as he himself
complains,) " beyond barbarity itself," even to the
very gates of the Tower. Mr. Maxwell, to his cre-
dit, was moved with grief and indignation, at this
outbreaking of brutality. But the patience of Laud
was not discomposed for a moment. " I looked" he
1 Troubles, &c. 159163.
288 LIFE OF [CHAP.
says, " upon a higher cause, than the tongues of
Shimei and his children V
The very day of Laud's commitment to the Tower
was rendered memorable by another formidable sign
of the times. A committee of religion was nomina-
ted in the House of Peers : to consist of ten Earls,
ten Barons, and ten Bishops. Of this body of re-
formers, Bishop Williams was the chairman. In the
preceding year, he had been released from the Tower,
and restored to his place in the House of Lords.
And now we find him content to preside over an
assembly, in which the votes of the Laity outnum-
bered those of the Clergy, in the proportion of two
to one ; and whose office was to inquire into all in-
novations in doctrine and discipline, since the refor-
mation. By Laud, the appointment of this conclave
was regarded, from the first, as pregnant with danger
and dishonour to the Church and State. His pre-
sages were defeated only by the impetuous progress
of still more calamitous and revolutionary designs.
In the May following, the committee was thrown into
a state of discord and confusion, by the recent intro-
duction of a bill for the abolition of Deans and Chap-
ters. Their deliberatious were, consequently, bro-
ken up ; and the whole project ended in a mere
abortion 2 .
Soon after the Archbishop's commitment to the
Tower, the work of vengeance and confiscation went
vigorously forward. An order was issued for com-
1 Troubles, &c.. p. 147.
2 Diary, p. 62. Troubles, &c. p. 174, 175. Heylyn, p.
472475.
VIII.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 289
pensation to Prynne and his brother incendiaries.
An assessment was. accordingly made, of sixteen
thousand pounds, on the estates of the Archbishop,
and his colleagues of the Star-chamber ; of which sum,
6,000 was awarded to Burton ; and 5000 each, to
Prynne and Bastwick ; of which, however, Prynne
afterwards declared that he never received one far-
thing. A fine of 20,000 was, moreover, imposed
on the Archbishop, for his share in the proceedings of
the late Convocation. In other respects, too, it will
appear that he was treated like one whose guilt had
already been established. In the midst of the insults
now heaped upon him, he had the comfort of receiv-
ing a visit of condolence from the celebrated Pococke ;
who had been employed by him to collect manuscripts
abroad, with a view to the advancement of oriental
literature at Oxford. A twelvemonth before, he had
written to Pococke, to apprize him that he was then
about to settle the Arabic Lecture, for ever, on the
University ; and he added, " I would have your name
on the deed, which is the best honour I can do to the
service." And this settlement he actually made in
June, 1641. Foreseeing the tempest which was
gathering, he sent to Oxford a grant of one-fifth part
of his lands at Bray, in Berkshire, for the perpetual
endowment of the Lectureship ; and, in the Novem-
ber following, he despatched thither an additional
collection of manuscripts, together with a letter de-
ploring the iniquity of the times. The first thought
of Pococke, on his return to England, in March, 1641,
was to pay his grateful and sorrowful respects to his
imprisoned patron. The Archbishop seized this
opportunity to declare, that, among the bitterest of
his afflictions, he reckoned his inability to testify his
u
290 LIFE OF [CHAP.
esteem for Pococke, by offering him the preferment,
which he had intended, and which he considered as
justly due to the eminent merits of this great scholar.
After some further converse, Pococke delivered to
him a message from Hugo Grotius, (then a fugitive,
at Paris, from the persecutions of the Calvinists,) by
which he urgently besought the Archbishop to follow
his example, and to seek safety in flight, until the
present tyranny should be overpast. The Lord
Keeper, and Secretary Windebank, had thus provided
for their security. But Laud inflexibly refused this
counsel. "An escape" he said, " is feasible enough.
Yea, it is, I believe, the very thing my enemies de-
sire. For, every day, an opportunity for it is pre-
sented ; a passage being left free, in all likelihood
for this purpose, that I should endeavour to take ad-
vantage of it. But they shall not be gratified by me.
I am almost seventy years old. Shall I now go
about to prolong a miserable life, by the trouble and
the shame of flying ? Should I go to France, or any
other Popish country, it would give some seeming
grounds for that charge of Popery, which they have
endeavoured, with so much industry, and so little
reason, to fasten upon me. But if I should get into
Holland, I should expose myself to the insults of
those sectaries there, to whom my character is odious ;
and have every Anabaptist come and pluck me by
the beard. No : I am resolved not to think of
flight ; but patiently to expect and bear what a good
and wise Providence hath provided for me, of what
kind soever it shall be V
Of the doom which awaited him, he speedily re-
1 Twells' Life of Pococke, p. 7 4, &c. Ed. 1816.
VIII.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 291
ceived a mournful warning, in the trial and execution
of his illustrious friend the Earl of Strafford. The
royal master of Laud, in the hour of agony which ex-
torted his consent to the sacrifice of that Earl, needed
the presence of an inflexible and courageous coun-
cellor, who would loudly protest against the abandon-
ment of a devoted and heroic servant ; one who
would not, like Williams, tell his sovereign that he
had a private conscience, and a public conscience ;
and that, on matters of public import, he was at liberty
to consult the one, and disregard the other. This
service, the adamantine integrity of Laud might have
rendered to his master, in that hour of darkness. But
the children of disobedience had been wise in their
generation. They had felt how expedient it was to
deprive the King's unsteady mind of all firm support;
and, accordingly, Laud was then in the Tower, in-
stead of being at the council table of his sovereign.
On the night previous to his execution, Strafford
urgently requested the Lieutenant of the Tower to
allow him an interview with the Archbishop ; offer-
ing that it should be in the presence of the Lieutenant
himself, " so that he might hear all that should pass
between them : for," said he, " it is no time now,
for him to plot heresy, or for me to plot treason."
The Lieutenant alleged that his orders were peremp-
tory against it ; and that the indulgence could only
be obtained by a petition to the Parliament. " No,"
replied Strafford, " I have gotten my despatch from
them, and will trouble them no more. I am, now,
petitioning a higher court ; where neither partiality
can be expected, nor error feared." He then turned
to the primate of Ireland, who had been permitted to
u 2
292 LIFE OF [CHAP.
attend him, and said, " I will tell you what I should
have spoken to my Lord's Grace of Canterbury.
You shall desire the Archbishop to lend me his
prayers, when I do go abroad to-morrow ; and that
he will be in his window, that by my last farewell I
may give him thanks for this, and all his former fa-
vours." The Archbishop, on hearing this message,
replied that he was bound, by every obligation of
conscience and affection, to comply with the request :
but feared that his weakness and passion would not
lend him eyes to behold the departure of his friend.
The next morning, when Strafford was on his way to
the scaffold, as he approached the lodgings of the Arch-
bishop, he remarked that he did not see his Grace ;
but, nevertheless, requested permission to do his last
observance towards his chamber. In the mean time,
the Archbishop, being apprised of the approach of
Strafford, appeared at the window. Upon which, the
Earl, bowing himself to the ground, exclaimed, " My
Lord, your prayers, and your blessing." Laud imme-
diately lifted up his hands, pronounced his parting
benediction, and then instantly fell back, fainting
under the anguish of that bitter moment. The last
words of Strafford to him, were, "Farewell, my Lord;
may God protect your innocence." The Archbishop, it
seems, was almost ashamed of having sunk under the
pressure of his feelings. He was fearful lest it should
be ascribed to effeminate weakness of spirit. And,
therefore, when he had recovered himself, he expressed
a hope, (which was amply and nobly justified by the
event,) that his own fate would be found to move him
less, than the execution of his friend. And good
reason there was, he added, that it should be so. For
VIII.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 293
neither he, nor any other Churchman, had ever ren-
dered such services to the Church as the Earl of
Strafford l .
In addition to this recital of the last moments of
Strafford, it should be stated, that, although no inter-
course between them had been permitted, in the
Tower, the Lieutenant, Sir William Balfore, had re-
ported to Laud the frequent expressions of affec-
tionate reverence towards him, to which the Earl had
given utterance. These circumstances are sufficient
to expose the turpitude of those falsehoods, which
were industriously circulated to the last, for the pur-
pose of exasperating the populace against Laud. It
was very generally and confidently affirmed, that
when the day of Strafford's execution was approach-
ing, he had broken out into passionate exclamations
against the Archbishop ; had declared that Laud, and
his counsels, had been the ruin of his house ; and had
vented his resentment and remorse in bitter execra-
tions 2 . The folly of such reports was at least equal
to theii malignity. In the first place, they who knew
any thing of the Earl, must also have known, that he
was not a man to be seduced, to his destruction, by
the counsels of an inferior mind. And it may be
said, without any invidious disparagement of Laud,
or of any other man of his day, that it would have
been difficult to name a mind which was not inferior
to that of Strafford. Besides, it is fully manifest,
from the whole extant correspondence between them,
that Strafford's estimate of Laud was, always, high
and honourable. The ecclesiastic is, uniformly, ad-
dressed by the statesman, in language of the most
1 Heylyn, p. 280. 2 Troubles, &c. p. 179.
294 LIFE OF [CHAP.
cordial veneration and attachment. In the Arch-
bishop, Strafford found a spirit exactly congenial with
his own. The result of this similarity, was an invio-
lable friendship, which kept them in steady co-ope-
ration, for the service of the crown, and the safety of
the Chnrch. The adherence of Laud to Bucking-
ham has been thought, by some, to have too much
resembled the fidelity of an adventurer to his patron.
But, be this as it may, his league with Wentworth
was, evidently, the union of two loyal and devoted
hearts.
No sooner was Strafford in the dust, than the
whole brood of libellers, who had pursued him even
to death, turned their undivided rancour against the
surviving partner of his counsels ! Every street
rung with ballads, every wall was pasted with lam-
poons, of which the Archbishop was the subject.
Base pictures were made, in which he was repre-
sented as confined in a cage ; or fastened to a post,
with a chain round his neck. The taverns and the
ale-houses echoed with the ribald merriment of revel-
lers, " who were as drunk with malice as with liquor,"
and who had been taught to execrate him as a com-
mon enemy ! . But, the outcry was not heard among
the rabble of London only. It was taken up by the
townsmen of Oxford. They actually sent up a peti-
tion to the House of Lords, in which they accused
the Chancellor of the University of treason, for pre-
suming to regulate the market, by a proclamation
in his own name ! From the days of Edward the
Third, to the hour in which the petition was signed,
the same had been the frequent practice of the Chan-
1 Troubles, &c.p. 180.
VIII.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 29,3
cellors. And, besides, if this were treason, the Lord
Mayor of London must, immemorially, have been
almost a traitor ex officio; for the daily edicts of that
Magistrate bear no other name but his. The stupi-
dity of the charge was so completely exposed by Laud,
that nothing more was heard of it l . Having dis-
posed of this affair, he proceeded to execute the reso-
lution he had, for some time, formed, of resigning
the office of Chancellor : and, accordingly, with the
consent of his Majesty, he addressed a letter to the
University on the 28th of June, 1641 ; in which,
after describing the misery and helplessness of his
present condition, and expressing a hope that they,
at least, would do justice to his memory, he added,
that when he first was invested with the honour of
being their Chancellor, he intended to carry it with
him to his grave ; but, that, finding the parliament
were pleased to procrastinate his trial, he resigned his
office, as thankfully as he had received it. He con-
cluded by entreating them to elect some honourable
person, who, upon all occasions, might be ready to
serve them. And he besought God to send them such
a one, as might do all things for his glory, and the
furtherance of their most famous University 2 .
The " honourable person" chosen to suceeed Arch-
bishop Laud, was Philip Earl of Pembroke, who had
long been impatient for the distinction. In his youth
he was known for a courtier and a sportsman. In
mature life, he was destitute of all credit and influ-
ence, either in the parliament or the country. His
understanding was mean, his spirit malicious, base,
and dastardly. From the first moment of Laud's
J Troubles, &c. p. 181. 2 Laud's- Remains, vol. ii. p. 217.
296 LIFE OF [CHAP.
adversity, he never ceased to pursue him with cla-
mour and detraction. And, in 1647, he crowned his
infamy, by betraying the rights and privileges which
he was solemnly sworn to defend, and by joining the
fanatics in their abortive attempt to force the covenant
upon the University *. And this was the man, who,
by the choice of a great and learned body, was to
supply the place of the munificent patron of their
literature, and the devoted guardian of their honour!
On the 23rd of September, the Archbishop had
the misfortune to lose an old and faithful domestic,
Adam Torless, who had served him with devoted
attachment, for two and forty years ; during the
latter part of which he had discharged the office of
steward with exemplary care and integrity. His
death was lamented by Laud, as a heavy addition to
the load of his calamities. He felt as if he had lost
a friend, who was the only comfort left him in his
affliction and old age 2 . The next ingredient in his
cup of bitterness, was the sequestration of his juris-
diction and patronage, by an order of the House of
Lords, dated 23rd of October, 1641. The interdict
was to continue until he should be either convicted
or acquitted of high treason. During the interval,
his authority was to be exercised by his inferior
officers ; and his nomination to preferments subject to
the approbation of the House. And this, as Laud ob-
serves, was the work of men who were eternally cla-
mouring against arbitrary government 3 . But he had,
now, unhappily, an enemy among the Peers, in Bishop
1 Troubles, &c. p. 181. Clarendon, vol. i. p. 105. vol. v.
p. 72, 73. 431, 432. Oxf. ed.
2 Troubles, &c. p 182.
3 Ibid, p. 103.
VIII.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 297
Williams ; who had brought back with him, from the
Tower, a bitter and vindictive mind. His first per-
formance, after his release, was to support and vin-
dicate Lord Say, a notorious enemy to the Church,
when he had uttered a rancorous invective against
the imprisoned Prelate. On that occasion, Williams
rose in his place, and declared " that he had long
known the noble Lord, and had always believed him
to be as well affected to the Church, as himself."
He afterwards professed the most cordial devotion to
the service of the King : and, in a sermon preached
by him, as Dean of Westminster, protested that the
Presbyterian discipline was a government fit only
for shoemakers and tailors, and not for noblemen
and gentlemen l . And yet he was now prepared to in-
sult and afflict the Church, in the person of his fallen
adversary. It was chiefly at the instigation of Wil-
liams that this order of sequestration was agreed to
in the House of Peers : an order, which consigned
the powers of the Primate of all England to obscure
officials ; and virtually placed his patronage at the
disposal of men who, day and night, were plotting
the subversion of Episcopacy. But, it seems as if
the eye of a retributive Providence was fixed upon
his baseness. For, on the 30th of December follow-
ing, this same man, then Archbishop of York, found
himself, once more, an inhabitant of the Tower ; ta
which he was consigned by that very faction, to
whose flagitious craft he had shown himself so sub-
servient a minister.
The occasion which brought him there, is well
known. He had prevailed upon eleven of his bre-
1 Clarendon, vol. ii. p. 109, 110. Oxf. ed.
298 LIFE OF [CHAP.
thren to join him in a protest against the validity of
every act of the House of Lords, passed since the
27th of December, 1641 ; on which day the Bishops
had been forcibly shut out from attendance on their
duty there, by the outrageous violence of the rabble.
The revolutionary party rejoiced in this paroxysm
of rashness ; and, incontinently, committed the pro-
testing Prelates to the Tower, as traitors ! It was
remarked by a member of the House of Commons,
that it would have been more " germane to the mat-
ter," to have committed them to Bedlam, as lunatics.
And, indeed, it scarcely can be doubted, that this
wild exploit of Archbishop Williams contributed, ma-
terially, to accelerate the downfal of the Church.
The year 1642 commenced without any
preparation for the trial of the Archbishop.
Nevertheless, the spirit of revenge and persecution did
not linger. The limits of this work, however, forbid us
to detail all the cowardly vexations heaped upon him,
during his long imprisonment. Our readers must be
content with a selection. On the 15th of May, he
was able to go to Church, for the first time after a rup-
ture of the tendon of his right leg, which had hap-
pened about six weeks before. The person appointed
to preach before him was one Mr. Jocelin; who seems
to have imagined himself invested with more than
the prerogatives of an ancient prophet. His text was
from Judges v. 23. Curse ye Meroz, &c. and he
abused the words of Scripture in a manner which
Pym and Vane might have listened to with rapture.
He made his sermon the vehicle of such coarse and
virulent invective against the Archbishop, that the
women and the boys stood up in the Church, to see
how he could endure it. But his patience remained
VIII,] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 290
unshaken ; and he prayed that the malice might be
forgiven *.
On the 19th of August, an order, which had been
made by the Lords, for seizing whatever arms might
be found at Lambeth Palace, was put in execution.
The messengers remained all night in the house.
They searched every room. They broke open every
door, if the key could not instantly be found. The
spoils were carried through the city, amid the execra-
tions of the mob. And it was given out that the
Archbishop of Canterbury was provided with arms
sufficient for ten thousand men. In fact, there were
scarcely sufficient for two hundred : and these had
been purchased by Laud from the executors of that
idol of the Puritans, Archbishop Abbot! On the 9th
of November, another search was made, not for steel,
but for gold, by two members of the House of Com-
mons, attended by a file of musqueteers. The sum of
78 was taken away, " for the maintenance of the
King's children." " God, in his mercy," exclaims Laud,
" look favourably upon the King, and bless his chil-
dren from needing any such poor maintenance !"
On the 23rd of December, Leighton, the fanatic
who had lost his ears, appeared at Lambeth, with a
warrant from the Honorable House of Commons, to
prepare the palace for the reception of prisoners.
The selection of this man for the purpose was another
proof that the party were resolved, if possible, to
"break down the patience" of their prisoner. In
this, their malice was egregiously baffled and defeated.
They persevered, however ; and, in a few months
1 Troubles, &c. p. 196.
300 LIFE OF [CHAP.
more, Lambeth palace became Lambeth jail ; and
Leighton was appointed jailor 1 .
On the 1st of May, 1643, a motion was
made in the House of Commons, chiefly
by the contrivance of that rabid fanatic, Hugh Peters,
for the transportation of the Archbishop of Canter-
bury, unheard and untried, to the Colony of New
England ; where he would find himself in the midst
of sectarians, to whom it would be almost as the
breath of life, to triumph in the calamity and dis-
grace of an exiled Prelate. But, either this mon-
strous proposal was too much even for the iniquity
of the Long Parliament ; or else, it was resolved
that his enemies, at home, should be gratified with
the spectacle of his destruction. The motion, ac-
cordingly, was lost ; but the faction, nevertheless,
continued to pour out the phials of their wrath, at in-
tervals, upon his head, in order that the poor rem-
nant of his life, in this country, might be as wretched
as brutal malignity could make it. His goods were
sold, for a third part of their value. He was re-
strained from quitting his lodging without the pre-
sence of a keeper, even for the purpose of needful
air and exercise. He was reduced to such indigence,
by the sequestration of his property, that he was
compelled to petition the Lords that something might
be allowed him out of his estate, to supply the ne-
cessities of life, and that he might not be suffered
either to beg or starve. The reply to this applica-
tion was, that he must instantly bestow the vacant
1 It has been said that Leighton's wits were unsettled by the
hardships of his imprisonment. If so, the Parliament thought
fit to entrust a lunatic with the custody of a prison !
VIII.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 301
benefice of Charthara, not according to the wishes of
the King, but according to the order of the House ;
and that, if he should refuse, he must expect no
allowance whatever for his support. At length, he
was consigned to the hands of his inveterate adver-
sary, William Prynne. That worthy minister of
revolutionary vengeance repaired to the Tower, on
the 31st of May, armed with full powers to search
and seize. That he should carry with him to the
execution of this office, some feelings of bitterness
against the man, whom he regarded as the principal
author of his mutilation, might, reasonably enough,
have been expected. But, on this occasion, he
demeaned himself, not only like an enemy, but like a
shameless villain. He found the Archbishop in his
bed ; and immediately began to ransack his pockets.
He then laid hands on a mass of papers, which
Laud had prepared for his defence ; on two letters
from the King, relative to Chartham and his other
benefices ; on his Scottish Service Book, with such
directions as were attached to it ; on his Diary, in
which he had briefly noted all the occurrences of his
life ; and he did not even spare the Archbishop's
Book of Private Devotions. All the money that he
discovered, was about 40 ; and this he was gra-
ciously pleased to leave untouched ; for revenge, and
not gold, was his object : and, speedily afterwards,
it was proclaimed from the Pulpit, that great and
fearful things had been discovered, in this search,
which would soon be brought to light. On the 10th
of June, an ordinance was passed, for a complete
sequestration of the temporalities of the See, and for
transferring the patronage to the Lords and Com-
mons ; by virtue of which, their own nominee,
302 LIFE OF [CHAP.
Corbet, was instituted to the rectory of Chartham.
This ordinance, which was designed for the bitterest
of humiliations, was accepted by Laud as the greatest
favour he could receive at their hand :. for it relieved
him from the vexation and the sin of admitting un-
worthy persons to the service of the Church, and
left the responsibility to his persecutors. In order
that the prisoner might not be left without spiritual
edification, under all these trials, one of the apostles
of Christian liberty appeared in the pulpit of the
Tower Church, on Sunday, the 20th of August, in a
buff coat and scarf, over which it was his pleasure to
wear a gown. His name was Kem, Vicar of Low
Leighton, and Captain of a troop of horse! He
exhorted the people to be of good courage ; and pro-
claimed the certain beatitude of all who should die
in the good and holy cause.
The Archbishop had now been languishing in
prison for nearly three years ; neglected, but not
forgotten. The whole of this interval was disas-
trously memorable. The work of demolition had
been advancing with gigantic strides. The Prelates,
who had, most unworthily, withdrawn from their
judicial functions, when Strafford was impeached,
soon found the reward which villainy has in store for
cowardice. The most desperate of the destructive
party, the root and branch reformers, persuaded Sir
Edward Bering to bring forward their Bill for the
extirpation of Bishops, Deans and Chapters, and all
ecclesiastical dignities connected with them. He
seized the axe ; he struck the first blow at the
cedars of Lebanon, and, more especially, at the
tallest among them, the Primate of all England.
Like Judas, he repented of his treachery, when it
VIII.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 303
was too late ; and, like him, he was greeted by his
impenitent confederates in evil : What is that to us ;
see thou to that. This attempt was speedily followed
by the destruction of the High Commission Court ;
and, with it, of the Church's salutary discipline.
Then came the insane crusade against the altars, and
the painted windows, and all the external monu-
ments and attributes of holiness ; the incessant ham-
mering and forging of petitions against Episcopacy,
suited to every degree and type of vulgar insolence
and folly ; the infamous and tyrannical suppression
of those better feelings, which, occasionally, revolted
against these atrocities ; the extinction of the right
of the Bishops to vote in the House of Lords ; the
final manifesto of rebellion, in the shape of a remon-
strance to the King ; the establishment of an inqui-
sition, for the reception of complaints against all
scandalous and malignant ministers ; and, lastly, the
convocation of the Assembly of Divines. In short, a
many-headed despotism had been set up, compared
with which, the abuses of the Prerogative, and the
excesses of the Star-chamber and the High Commis-
sion, were like mercy and loving-kindness. If the
monarchy and the Church had ever chastised the
kingdom with whips, the assailants of the monarchy
and the Church were, now, chastising it with
scorpions.
During the whole of this period, the malice of
Prynne against the Archbishop, had scarcely slept
for a moment. Like a staunch and sagacious blood-
hound, he had been almost incessantly on the quest.
But, with all his keenness and perseverance, he had
still been grievously at fault. His wishes, indeed,
had been swift to shed blood. But the scent lay so
5
304 LIFE OF [CHAP.
dull and cold, that his steps were tediously slow.
Any thing but revolutionary malice would have been
baffled and reduced to despair. At length, it became
necessary that something effectual should be done,
as Ludlow remarks, " for the encouragement of the
Scots." On the 25th of September, the covenant
was taken, in St. Margaret's Church, by -the House
of Commons, and the Assembly of Divines. On the
27th, it was administered, with no less solemnity, to
many of the lords, and knights, and gentlemen, and
soldiers, residing in, or near, the city of London.
As if this potion had infused new life into the veins
of persecution, on the 23rd of October ten new
Articles were brought forward. The original im-
peachment had been most amply garnished with
matters of religion : for religion was the only stimu-
lant, of potency sufficient to maintain the exaspe-
ration of the people against their victim. The
expedient had been tolerably successful. Never-
theless, the interval had been employed, with despe-
rate industry, in making a fresh collection of frag-
ments ; and these were now produced, in order to
whet the almost blunted appetite of the populace,
and to prepare them for the approaching sacrifice.
The following is the substance of those additional
Articles :
1. That the Archbishop had caused the dissolu-
tion of the Parliaments held in the 3rd and 4th years
of the King.
2. That he had laboured to advance the authority
of the Church, and the prerogative of the King, above
the law.
3. That he had procured a stop to his majesty's
writs of prohibition.
12
VIII.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 305
4. That he had caused execution of judgment to
be staid, in favour of a Clergyman, charged with
non-residence.
5. That he had imprisoned Sir John Corbet, for
causing the Petition of Right to be read at the
Quarter Sessions.
6. That he had suppressed the Corporation of
Feoffees, for buying impropriations.
7. That he had harboured several Popish Priests.
8. That he had averred that the Church could
never be brought to conformity, without a severer
blow than had yet been struck.
9. That he had introduced an unlawful oath into
the Canons.
10. That he had recommended extraordinary
ways of supply, if the Parliament should prove
peevish.
On the 24th of October, the Archbishop received
an order to make his answer, in writing, by the 30th
of the same month. He petitioned for further time ;
and it was granted. He also requested the restora-
tion of his papers. He was informed that he might
have copies of them ; but at his own charge. They
had laid their hands on his estate, and had sold his
goods : and now they brutally mocked him with the
answer, that he must pay for the transcription of a
voluminous mass of his own manuscripts ; three
bundles of which, out of twenty-one, were all that
had ever been returned to him by Prynne, notwith-
standing the most solemn promise of speedy restora-
tion. The Archbishop was thus placed absolutely
at the mercy of his enemies. His persecutor was,
now, at liberty to produce whatever might seem to
strengthen the impeachment; to suppress every
306 LIFE OF [CHAP.
syllable that might be needful for the purposes of
vindication ; and, in short, to embezzle and to gar-
ble, according to the shameful exigences of his cause.
And remorseless was the villainy with which he used
this most iniquitous advantage. Laud, then, desired
that he might be supplied with funds, sufficient for
retaining of counsel. But he was apprized that he
must expect no funds from them ; and that he, the
Archbishop of Canterbury, might proceed in forma
pauperis I It is impossible to relate, at length, the
tale of vexation and delay which followed these op-
pressions. Whitelock was the person who was first
thought of, as conductor of the evidence. But
Whitelock remembered the kindness and encourage-
ment he had experienced from Laud, while prose-
cuting his studies at Oxford : and he recoiled from
an office which must have branded him, for ever,
with the infamy of treacherous ingratitude. Upon
this, the indefatigable vengeance of Prynne was em-
ployed to put together the pieces of "this broken
business;" of Prynne, who, notoriously, "kept a
school of instruction for the preparation of the wit-
nesses, wherein his tampering was so palpable and
foul," that a barrister of credit, who was a stranger
to Laud, declared that " he could not but pity him,
and cry shame upon it !" It is evident that, by this
time, the hatred of his enemies was heightened to
desperation. Whatever might be his virtues, it was
needful for their interests, and even for their safety,
that he should be made a criminal. So atrocious
were the wrongs he had already endured, and those
which he foresaw would thicken upon him, that his
spirit was well nigh sinking under the weight of this
most odious conspiracy. This despondency, however,
VIII.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 307
he speedily shook off; and fixed his hopes, under
God, upon the honour and justice of the Lords. The
trial came ; and then it was apparent that, to rely on
their integrity, would be to lean on the staff of a
broken reed. The following statement must fix
indelible dishonour on the names of those who
formed the tribunal which condemned him. " It
did trouble me," he says, " to see so few Lords in
that great House. For, at the greatest presence that
was, any day of my hearing, there were not above
fourteen ; and, usually, not above eleven or twelve.
Of these, one-third, each day, took or had occasion,
to depart before the charge of the day was half
given. I never had, any one day, the same Lords
all the morning. Some leading Lords were scarcely
present at my charge four days of all my long trial,
or three at my defence. And, which is worst, no one
Lord was present at my whole trial, but the Lord
Gray of Wark, the Speaker!"
It was not till the 12th of March, 1644, that the
process commenced. The Scots had entered the
kingdom in the preceding January, It then became
needful that the preparations should be vigorously
expedited. Nevertheless, in spite of all his cordial
diligence, nearly two months elapsed before Prynne
could be ready to let slip his satellites. The busi-
ness began with a speech from Sergeant Wilde ; who
proclaimed that an atrocity was now brought to
light, such as no poet could feign, no actor repre-
sent, no mimic imitate l . The following is the man-
ner in which the trial was conducted. When the
hearing came on, each day, the charge against the
1 Cobb. State Trials, vol. iv. p. 353.
x 2
308 LIFE OF [CHAP.
prisoner usually lasted till two o'clock. He was
allowed till four only, to prepare his answer, scarcely
time enough even to peruse the evidence : and his
counsel were not permitted to come to him, till after
his answer had been made. His witnesses were not
allowed to be sworn ; and, after his answer, one or
more of the committee replied upon him. By this
time, it was, generally, about half-past seven : and
then, weary and exhausted, and with his clothes
ringing with perspiration, he was obliged to go back
in the evening by water, to the Tower. Such was
the treatment of the Primate of all England before
the assembly of his Peers ; and this, too, when he
was bowing with age and infirmity, and worn down
with a life of anxiety and toil. It is perfectly asto-
nishing that he was not crushed, long before the con-
clusion of the whole proceedings ; which were not
finally closed until the following November. But
his mighty spirit bore him bravely and stiffly up,
under all hardships and indignities : and, he says
himself, " I humbly thank God, He so preserved my
health, that I never had so much as half an hour's
head-ache, or other infirmity, all the time of this
comfortless and tedious trial V
Nothing could be more vain than to attempt an
abridgment of the " tedious trial." No art of con-
densation could exhibit, within the compass of a
few pages, the substance of a narrative, which, at full
length, would occupy a very considerable volume 2 .
1 Nearly all the foregoing particulars, relative to the treat-
ment of Laud, after his commitment to the Tower, are to be found
in his own History of his Troubles and Trial, p. 148 216.
2 It actually does occupy 223 folio pages of the Archbishop's
History of his Troubles ; including the period from the first day
VIII."] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 309
Some notice of the more momentous delinquencies
imputed to the Archbishop, and of the manner of his
reply to the charges, has been, occasionally, intro-
duced in the course of the foregoing history of his life.
And this mode has been adopted, in order that the
reader might be better able to form a judgment, re-
specting the merits or demerits of certain parts of his
conduct, while the particulars of each transaction were
fresh in his recollection. Any further remarks which
may appear to be required, will be reserved for the
following chapter ; in which, some estimate will be
attempted, of his personal character, and of the prin-
ciples which governed his administration. In the
mean time, it may be sufficient to state, that, in order
to prove him a satellite of Popery, his prosecutors
ripped up his whole life, from his admission at Ox-
ford to his commitment to the Tower. The painted
windows, the communion-table placed against the
wall, the obeisance towards it on entering the church,
the ceremonies of consecration, the promotion of men
who disapproved the theology and discipline of Ge-
neva, the alleged partiality of his Armiman licensers,
some courtesy and protection which he had shown to
a Popish priest or two, as his predecessors had done
before him, these, and a multitude of other matters,
had been diligently swept together, to show that he
had been, all his days, in deep collusion with the
Vatican. To prove that he was bent on the destruc-
tion of the reformed faith, the books of the Star-
Chamber, the High Commission, his own Regis-
tries, and the Registries of Oxford and Cambridge,
of his hearing, the 12th of March 1644, to the 3rd of January
1645, when he received the intelligence that the bill of attain-
der had passed the house of Lords.
310 LIFE OF [CHAP.
were " exquisitely searched for matter against him,"
while he was shamefully denied the use of them for
the purposes of his defence *. To establish that he
was an enemy of Parliaments, and a sub verier of the
Laws, his own diary, and the proceedings of the
Council, from the first moment that he became a
member of it, had been painfully ransacked ; and
every dubious or arbitrary measure had been ascribed,
exclusively, to his pernicious influence. To these
was added a variety of smaller charges, some of
which were contemptibly frivolous ; others scandalous-
ly false ; and which his accusers themselves must have
well known to be so : and several of which they were
compelled to abandon, as the trial went on. It is
satisfactory to know, that the cruelties inflicted upon
him, in his impeachment, his imprisonment, his trial,
and his condemnation, are now pretty generally con-
signed to the infamy they deserve. They are con-
demned even by those, who revolt most fiercely
against the principles, of which he is usually consi-
dered as the representative. They are viewed with
abhorrence, by all who retain any unperverted sense
of justice and humanity. With regard to the general
merits of the Long Parliament, there may, at this
hour, be every imaginable shade and variety of
opinion. But, surely, there can be but one judg-
ment formed respecting this ignominious exhibition
of its temper. We can scarcely figure to ourselves
a spectacle more wretchedly humiliating, than the
Grand Inquest of the British nation, sitting, day
after day, and week after week, while the patient
and unwearied malice of little minds was collecting
1 Troubles, &c. p. 413.
VIII.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 311
its paltry ammunition, and stoning its victim to death,
as it were with pebbles !
The trial, which commenced on the 12th of March,
continued, with some intervals of cessation, until the
end of July. The Archbishop vindicated himself
against every charge with such consummate ability,
such intrepid bearing, and such evident consciousness
of innocence and high desert, as won for him the
admiration of all * ; and extorted expressions of sple-
netic wonder, and bitter praise, even from William
Prynne himself. " To give him his due" says that
worthy " he made as full, as gallant, and as pithy a
defence of so bad a cause, and spake so much for
himself, as it was possible for the wit of man to in-
vent, and that, with so much art, sophistry, vivacity,
oratory, audacity, and confidence, without the least
blush or acknowledgment of guilt in any thing, as
argued him rather obstinate than innocent, impudent
than penitent, a far better orator and sophister, than
Protestant or Christian ; yea, a truer son of the
Church of Rome, than of the Church of England V
We may fully rely on the truth of the reluctant com-
mendation here pronounced. The value of the cen-
sure will be duly estimated, when we remember that
it came from one, who proclaimed Archbishop Laud
to be the most execrable traitor and apostate that
our English soil, or the whole Christian world, had
ever bred 3 ! Once, and only once, in the course of
this persecution, did the spirit of Laud break forth
into open and vehement indignation. One of the
managers, a foul-mouthed ruffian, by the name of
1 Troubles, p. 441.
2 Cant. Doom, p. 462. 3 Ib. p. 565.
312 LIFE OF [CHAP.
Nicolas, among other disgusting abuse, repeatedly
reviled him, as a pander to the whore of Babylon.
" I was much moved," says Laud, " and humbly de-
sired the Lords, that, if my crimes were such, that I
might not be used like an Archbishop, yet, I might
be used like a Christian : and that, were it not for the
duty I owed to God and my own innocence, I would
desert my defence, before I would endure such lan-
guage, in such an honourable presence." Their
Lordships were sufficiently touched by this appeal,
to desire that the speaker would lay aside his slan-
derous rhetoric, and proceed with the evidence *.
The trial being finished, all appeared ripe for a
sentence. But still there was more impediment than
was anticipated. To use his own expression, " he
had been sifted to the bran." Nevertheless, after
all this sifting, whatever else was discovered, no
residuum of treason could be found. On the 2nd of
September, he was allowed to deliver a recapitula-
tion of his impeachment and defence, before the
Lords. The instant he came to the Bar, he per-
ceived that every Peer in the House was provided
with a thin folio, in a blue cover. This turned out
to be the handy work of William Prynne ; who had
printed an infamously garbled Breviate of his Diary,
embellished with his own commentaries, and had
placed it in the hands of his Judges ; in order that
the sight of that secret record might strike a damp
upon his spirit, and chain up his tongue. His wick-
edness, however, was, herein, signally defeated. The
Archbishop " gathered up himself, and looked to
God," and pronounced his recapitulation. His ad-
1 Troubles, &c. p. 375.
VIII.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 313
dress produced such aggravated confusion among
his enemies, that, two days afterwards, the Commons
began to talk of having him sentenced by an ordin-
ance. An impeachment of high treason, they found,
would hardly reach him. But an attainder, by the
"bare-faced power" of the two Houses, would be
irresistible *.
After some further proceedings, and much clamour
on the part of Nicolas, (who loudly demanded that
the Archbishop should be hanged,) on the llth of
October, his Counsel were heard at the Bar of the
Lords, on two points : first, whether his imputed
offences amounted to treason ; secondly, whether
there were sufficient legal certainty and particularity
in the articles of impeachment 2 . With regard to the
former of these points, the Archbishop had already ap-
pealed, unaswerably, to the Lords, in his recapitula-
tion. " If no particular," he said, " which is charged
upon me, be treason, the result from them cannot.
For the result must be of the same nature and
species, as the particulars from which it rises :
and this holds in nature, in morality, and in law.
So, this imaginary result is a monster in nature,
in morality, and in law : and if it be nourished,
will devour all the safety of the subject, in Eng-
land, which now stands so well fenced by the known
law of the land." Yet was it now contended,
with shameless effrontery, by Sergeant Wilde, in
answer to the Archbishop's Counsel, that, although no
single crime of his amounted to treason, or to felony,
1 Troubles, &c. p. 41142]. Heylyn, p. 524.
2 The argument is said to have been supplied by the illustri-
ous Matthew Hale, then a young lawyer. Troubles, &c. p.
432, note.
314 LIFE OF [CHAP.
yet did all his misdemeanors, when put together,
form many grand treasons, by way of accumulation 1 .
But "nature, morality, and law," were, by this time,
set at nought by them that were assembled to ad-
minister justice. The appeal was now to a very
different authority. The passions of a delirious
populace were called in, to quicken the tardy pro-
ceedings of the Judges. Towards the end of Octo-
ber, petitions were got up by the most disgraceful
and inhuman artifices, for the speedy punishment of
all delinquents. And, on the 1st of November, the
Archbishop was summoned to appear at the bar of the
House of Commons ; who, in utter contempt of law
or right, were pleased to treat their prisoner as if he
were, already, degraded from the dignity of a Lord
of Parliament. Well knowing that resistance would
be useless, he obeyed the order. He was, then, ap-
prised by the Speaker, that the ordinance for his
attainder was actually drawn up, but was suspended
till he should hear, and answer, a summary of the
charge. On the 1 1 th of November he pronounced his
last defence. He began by acknowledging the com-
paratively moderate and civil manner in which the
proceedings against him, had been recapitulated by
Mr. Browne, the Clerk of the House. " For this," he
said, " I render him my humble thanks ; having, from
other hands, pledged my Saviour in gall and vinegar,
and drunk the cup of the scornings of the people,
to the very bottom. I shall follow every thing in
the same order he proceeded in ; so far, forth, at least,
1 To this combination of iniquity and nonsense, Hearne re-
plied, " I cry your mercy, Mr. Serjeant : I never understood,
before this time, that two hundred couple of black rabbits would
make one black horse." State Trials, ubi sup.
VII.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 315
as an old slow hand could take them, a heavy heart ob-
serve them, and an old decayed memory retain them."
Having accomplished this, he reminded the House
that they had before them, not the evidence itself,
but merely a report of it, furnished by the individual
who attended the House of Lords for that purpose :
and, further, that this person was not always present;
and was, consequently, able to supply them, as to
some particulars, only with a statement of what had
been reported to him by others. And he conjured
them to pause before they delivered a verdict upon
such grounds as these. He next desired them to
consider his calling, his age, his former life, his long
and rigorous imprisonment. And, lastly, he made a
solemn protestation, that, whatever might have been
his infirmities or errors, " he never intended, much
less endeavoured, the subversion of the laws of the
kingdom, nor the bringing in of Popish superstition
upon the true Protestant religion, established by law
in this kingdom." These words, however, might as
well have been addressed to the bare walls, as to the
men who sat within them. The mystery of iniquity
was now drawing towards its consummation. On
the 16th, the ordinance for his attainder was
passed, and instantly transmitted to the House of
Lords : and, there, it found an impatient and most
flagitious advocate, in the Chancellor of Oxford,
the Earl of Pembroke. He disgraced himself, and
his order, by the coarsest scurrility. He denounced
the Archbishop as a rascal and a villain. And he
had even the insolence and the turpitude to warn
the Lords against the* rashness of delaying their
consent, till the rabble should be collected at their
doors, to force it from them. He demanded of the
316 LIFE OF [CHAP.
Lords what they stuck at ? and asked them whether
they imagined that the Commons had no conscience
when they framed and passed the ordinance ? So
outrageous was his demeanor, that it was remarked,
that, if ever there should be a parliament in Bedlam,
his Lordship ought by all means to be chosen Speaker
of it. In spite of this, the business lingered till the
17th of December. It was then voted that the
Archbishop was, in fact, guilty of three things ; first,
of endeavouring to subvert the laws : secondly, of an
attempt to overthrow the Protestant religion : and,
thirdly, of being an enemy to Parliaments. The
question was then put to the Judges, whether, or
not, all this amounted to treason. Their unanimous
answer was, that nothing with which he was charged
by the impeachment, even if fully proved, would
amount to treason, by any known and established
law of the land.
The Lords had sufficiently degraded themselves by
consenting to the attainder of Strafford. Neverthe-
less, the above response of the sages of the law ar-
rested them, only for a moment, in their descent to
still lower depths of infamy. At a conference, held
on the 24th of December, they ventured to represent
to their masters, the Commons, that, after the most
diligent search, they were able to find no treason in the
acts of which the Archbishop was accused. Another
conference, however, took place on the 2nd
of January, 1645, by which their consciences
were so effectually enlightened, that, on the 4th of the
same month, the ordinance of attainder was passed,
by the voice of six Peers ; the rest of that Assembly
having absented themselves, through fear or shame.
On the 7th, a third conference was solemnized ; at
VIII.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 317
which the Lords informed the Commons, that the
Archbishop had pleaded a pardon from the King, in
arrest of judgment. This pardon had been granted
by his Majesty at the suggestion of Hyde, then Chan-
cellor of the Exchequer ; and had been secretly con-
veyed to Laud, before he was brought to trial. It
was received by him with great joy, as a testimony
of his Sovereign's affection and esteem. But, he
never imagined, for a moment, that it would protect
him against the fury of men, who were levying war
against the king himself. In fact, he might almost
as well have pleaded a pardon from the Pope ! The
royal act of grace was, of course, pronounced to be
of none effect against a judgment of the Parliament.
The only favour vouchsafed to the prisoner, was, that
the gibbet should be exchanged for the axe : and even
this boon was extorted with extreme difficulty. His
first application for it was brutally rejected. A se-
cond petition to the Lords was more successful. It
was felt, at last, that an Archbishop of Canterbury,
a Privy Counsellor, and a member of their own
House, could not be hanged up like a common felon,
without indelible disgrace to all concerned in his de-
struction. And the Commons, after some debate,
reluctantly consented to the commutation *.
The victory obtained by the Liberators of Eng-
land, over all that is usually held sacred among
Englishmen, was now complete. The Great Charter
had said, that no man should be imprisoned without
being brought to answer in due form of law, that no
man should be disseized of his freehold, but by the
known laws of the land, that no man should be put
2 Troubles, &c. p. 422443. Clar. vol. v. p. 33, 34.
Rushw. vol. ii. p. 834.
318 LIFE OF [CHAP.
to death, but by the legal judgment of his Peers.
But these bulwarks fell flat, at the blast which was
blown by the breath of the destructive faction. The
Archbishop had been three years imprisoned, without
being brought to answer ; he had been rifled of his
property, and stripped of his patronage and jurisdic-
tion ; and, lastly, he had been condemned to death : and
all, by the votes of two assemblies, who were utterly
destitute of legal power, over freedom, or property,
or life, without the consent of the Crown. The par-
ties to those votes must, therefore, be written crimi-
nals and murderers, to the end of time. It had been
provided in the act of attainder against Strafford,
that the measure should not be drawn into a prece-
dent. And, it must be allowed, that the precedent
was, now so much improved upon, that the condem-
nation of Laud appeared as a perfectly new and ori-
ginal atrocity. The assent of the king had been ex-
torted, to the sacrifice of the statesman. But when
the Archbishop was to be removed, the parliament
was in open rebellion ; and no act of rebellion could
well be more barefaced, than the ordinance by which
the Archbishop was destroyed. By this one blow,
the constitution of England was demolished.
But it would be puerile to dwell any longer upon
crimes, on which any schoolboy might declaim, without
much risk of exaggeration. We must hasten to the
close of the tragedy. The intelligence of his doom was
received by Laud, in the temper which became a
Christian Bishop. It had long been manifest that he
was neither ashamed to live, nor afraid to die. And,
when death was once before him, he instantly
broke off the history of his sufferings, and calmly
prepared himself for his departure. On the evening
VIII.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 319
of January the 9th, the day before his execution, he
refreshed himself with a moderate meal, retired to
rest, and slept so soundly, that his attendants had to
wake him when the hour was come. He then con-
tinued in prayer, until the officers arrived to conduct
him to the scaffold. He had requested that three of
his own chaplains might be with him in the Tower,
and at the place of execution. But even this com-
fort was inhumanly denied him. One chaplain, in-
deed, his persecutors allowed to attend him, at his
death : but, with him, they sent two of their own
incendiaries and fanatics. On his way, he was occa-
sionally assailed by the revilings of the lowest of the
populace, who were unwilling that he should pass
even to the grave in peace. But his composure was
unruffled by these insults ; and when he reached the
spot, he ascended the platform " with so brave a
courage, and a countenance so cheerful, as if he
mounted rather to behold a triumph, than to be made
a sacrifice." It was remarked, that four years of im-
prisonment and affliction had left the natural florid-
ness of his complexion wholly unimpaired. Being
permitted to speak to the people, he read to them a
paper of considerable length, which he had drawn up
for that purpose. In this address he acknowledged
that, although he felt the infirmities of flesh and
blood, and might have been glad that the cup which
was given him should pass from him, yet he was now
ready to drink it. He then reminded his hearers,
that, when God's servants were driven to enter the
Red Sea, their enemies were drowned in the pursuit.
He was well assured, that God was able, if it seemed
good to Him, to deliver him, even as He delivered
the three faithful ones from the fiery furnace. His
320 LIFE OF [CHAP.
resolution, too, was like theirs. He never would bow
down before the image which the people had set up.
Neither would he forsake the truth of God, as it were
to follow the bleating of Jeroboam's calves. The
people, he affirmed, were wretchedly misguided. He
prayed that God, in his mercy, would open their
eyes : for, now, the blind were leading the blind ;
and, if this should long continue to be so, both must
fall into the ditch together. He knew that certain of
his predecessors had been brought to a bloody grave.
But he was now called upon to follow them by a
path, before untrodden. He was not only the first
Archbishop, but the first man, in England, who had
died by an ordinance of Parliament. He trusted,
however, that his cause would appear, in heaven,
with a complexion very different from that which had
been given to it on earth. He next observed, that
our multiplied divisions had produced such a harvest
to the Pope, as had never been known in England,
since the Reformation. And he was deeply anxious
to vindicate his majesty from any share in fostering
that pernicious growth. On my conscience, he
said, I know him to be as guiltless of this charge,
as any man now living. I hold that he is as sound
a Protestant, according to the religion by law estab-
lished, as any man in his dominions ; and that no
one would more freely venture his life in defence of
it. Having, next, warned the people how fearful a
thing it was to fall into the hands of the Living God,
when He maketh inquisition for blood, he lamented
the condition of the Church of England, which had
become like an oak cleft into shivers with wedges
made out of its own body ; and, at every cleft, pro-
faneness and irreligion rushing in. He then pro-
VIII.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 221
ceeded to speak of himself: " I was born and bap-
tized" he says " in the Church of England : in that
profession I have ever since lived ; and, in that, I
come now to die. This is no time to dissemble with
God ; least of all in matters of religion. What cla-
mours and slanders I have endured, for labouring to
keep an uniformity in the external service of God,
according to the doctrine and discipline of that
Church, all men know, and I have abundantly felt.
And now," he added, " I am accused of high treason ;
a crime which my soul abhors. I am charged with
an endeavour to subvert the laws, and to overthrow
the Protestant Religion. In vain I protested my in-
nocence of these crimes. The protestations of pri-
soners, it was said, could never be received at the bar
of justice. I can bring no witness of my heart ! I
now, therefore, make my protest, in the presence of
God, and his holy angels, that I never did attempt
the subversion either of religion or of law. I, fur-
ther, have been maligned, as an enemy to Parlia-
ments. I know their uses too well to be their
enemy. But I, likewise, know that parliaments have
been sometimes guilty of misgovernment and abuse ;
and that no corruption is so bad, as the corruption of
that which, in itself, is excellent. From the power
of parliaments, there is no appeal. If, therefore,
they should be guilty of oppression, the subject is
left without all remedy. But I have done ;" he
said, in conclusion, " I forgive all the world ; all and
every of those bitter enemies which have persecuted
me. And I humbly desire to be forgiven of God
first ; and then, of every man, whether I have offen-
ded him or not ; if he do but conceive that I have,
Lord do thou forgive me, and I do beg forgiveness of
322 LIFE OF [CHAP.
him. And so, I heartily bid you join in prayer with
me." He then fell on his knees, and uttered the fol-
lowing memorable supplication, no word of which
should be suffered to perish from the annals of mar-
tyrdom :
" O eternal God and merciful Father ! look down
upon me in mercy, in the riches and fulness of all thy
mercies, look down upon me : but not till Thou hast
nailed my sins to the cross of Christ, not till Thou
hast bathed me in the blood of Christ ; not till I have
hid myself in the wounds of Christ, that so the
punishment due unto my sins may pass over me.
And since Thou art pleased to try me to the utmost,
I humbly beseech Thee, give me now in this great
instant, full patience, proportionable comfort, and a
heart ready to die for thine honour, the King's hap-
piness, and the Church's preservation. And my zeal
to this, (far from arrogancy be it spoken !) is all the
sin, (human frailty excepted, and all the incidents
thereunto,) which is yet known to me in this particu-
lar, for which I now come to suffer : I say, in this par-
ticular of treason. But otherwise my sins are many
and great : Lord, pardon them all ; and those espe-
cially (whatever they are) which have drawn down
this present judgment upon me ! And when Thou
hast given me strength to bear it, do with me as seems
best in thine own eyes ; and carry me through death,
that I may look upon it, in what visage soever it shall
appear to me. Amen ! And that there may be a
stop of this issue of blood in this more than misera-
ble kingdom, (I shall desire that I may pray for the
people too, as well as for myself ;) O Lord, I beseech
Thee, give grace of repentance to all blood-thirsty
people. But if they will not repent, O Lord, con-
5
VIII.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 323
found all their devices, defeat and frustrate all their
designs and endeavours, upon them, which are or
shall be contrary to the glory of thy great name, the
truth and sincerity of Religion, the establishment of
the King and his posterity after him in their just
rights and privileges, the honour and conservation of
Parliaments in their just power, the preservation of
this poor Church in her truth, peace, and patrimony,
and the settlement of this distracted and distressed
people under their ancient laws, and in their native
liberty. And when Thou hast done all this in mere
mercy to them, O Lord, fill their hearts with thank-
fulness, and with religious, dutiful obedience to Thee
and thy commandments all their days. Amen, Lord
Jesus, Amen. And receive my soul into thy bosom !
Amen. Our Father which art in heaven, &c."
When he had concluded this prayer, he delivered
the paper to his Chaplain, Sterne, who had been
permitted to attend him ; and begged of him to
communicate it to his brother Chaplains, all of
whom he commended to the mercies of God. And,
having observed that a person by the name of Hind
had been employed in taking down his speech, he
besought of the man not to misreport him to the
world : but faithfully and carefully to represent his
dying words and prayers. He then advanced to-
wards the block : but, finding the platform crowded
with spectators, he entreated that he might have
room to die peaceably, and so to escape the miseries
he had endured so long observing, that he was as
willing to leave the world as his enemies could be
to send him from it. On perceiving, through the
crevices of the scaffold, that some persons were col-
lected beneath, immediately below the block, he re-
Y 2
324 LIFE OF [CHAP.
quested that they might be removed, or that dust
might be spread over the spot : as it was no part of
his desire that his blood should fall upon the heads
of the people. " All this he did with so serene and
calm a mind, as if he had been taking order for some
nobleman's funeral, than preparing for his own."
One man there was, among the assembled multi-
tude, who seemed unwilling that his last moments
should be left without disturbance. This was Sir
John Clotworthy (a native of Ireland, and member
for some borough in Devonshire,) who had already
distinguished himself by his outrageous violence
against the Earl of Strafford, and who, afterwards,
(in 1648,) was imprisoned, by order of the House,
with several others of the Presbyterian party l . The
coarse fanatic began to harass the dying Prelate with
impertinent and insidious questions. He asked,
what was the most comfortable saying for a man at
the point of death ? The Archbishop meekly re-
plied, " I desire to be dissolved, and to be with
Christ :" (cupio dissolvi, et esse cum Christo. ) But
then, " what was the fittest speech with which the de-
parting Christian could manifest his assurance?" The
reply was, that such assurance was to be found
within, and that no words could fitly express it.
" The assurance, however," Clotworthy still insisted,
" was founded upon a word ; and that word should
be known." " It is founded on the knowledge of
Jesus Christ," said Laud, "and on that alone." How
much longer this insolent catechizing might have
lasted, it is impossible to say. But Laud naturally
grew weary of it, and turned away from his inquisi-
1 Clarendon, vol. i. 300, 301 ; vol. vi. 208. Oxf. ed.
VIII.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 325
tor, to the executioner, as the gentler and discreeter
person of the two. Having put some money into
the man's hand, he said to him, with unruffled coun-
tenance, " Honest friend, God forgive thee, as I do.
Do thine office upon me with mercy." He then
sunk, again, upon his knees, and prayed shortly in
these words : " I am coming, O Lord, as quickly as
I can. I know I must pass through death, before I
can come to see thee. But, it is only the mere
shadow of death ; a little darkness upon nature.
Thou, by thy merits, hast broken through the jaws
of death. The Lord receive my soul, and have
mercy upon me ; and bless this kingdom with peace
and plenty, and with brotherly love and charity, that
there may not be this effusion of Christian blood
among them ; for Jesus Christ's sake, if it be thy
will." Having laid his head upon the block, after a
few moments of silent supplication, he said aloud,
Lord receive my soul. This was the death-signal
agreed upon. The axe fell : and a single blow of it
delivered the Archbishop, for ever, from his perse-
cutors. The instant the head was severed from the
body, the countenance turned to an ashy paleness :
and thus gave the lie to the execrable calumny that
he had painted his face, in order that he might die at
least with the complexion of fortitude. But, even
so, the malice of his revilers was not left without
one miserable resource : for, some there were who
scrupled not to affirm that his courage was but arti-
ficial, and that he had braced up his nerves for the
last agony, by the help of some cordial preparation !
"Thus fell Laud," says Heylyn, "and the Church
fell with him : the Liturgy whereof was voted down,
about the same time that the ordinance was passed
326 LIFE OF [CHAP.
for his condemnation ; the Presbyterian Directory
authorized for the press, by ordinance, March 13th,
next following ; episcopacy, root and branch, (which
had before been pre-condemned,) suppressed by
ordinance, in like manner, October 9, 1646 ; the
lands of all the Cathedrals sold, to the exposing of
those stately fabrics to inevitable ruin ; the Bishops
dispossessed of their lands and rents, without the
charity of a small annual pension towards their sup-
port ; the regular and conformable clergy sequester-
ed, ejected, and turned out of all, to the utter un-
doing of themselves, their wives, and children ; a
wide gap opened for letting in of all sects and here-
sies, many of which had been exploded and con-
demned in primitive times, others so new (and every
day begetting newer,) that few of them have served
out their apprenticeship, and yet trade as freely, as
if they had served out all their time ; the sacred
Ministry, in the mean time, or that part of it, at
least, which consists in preaching, usurped by handi-
crafts-men, boys, and women, to the dishonour of
God, the infamy and disgrace of the English nation,
and the reproach of our religion, so much renowned
(as long as he continued in power) both for external
glory, and internal purity. And yet, it cannot be
denied, that he fell very opportunely, in regard of
himself, before he saw those horrible confusions,
which have since broken into the Church ; the dissi-
pation of the Clergy, the most calamitous death of
his gracious sovereign, and the extermination threat-
ened to the royal family. The opportunity of a
quiet and untroubled death, was reckoned for a great
felicity, in the noble Agricola ; who could not, save
in the course of a long life, have felt the hundredth
VIII.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 327
part of those griefs and sorrows, which would have
pierced the soul of this pious Prelate, had not God
gathered him to his fathers, in so good an hour V
The hody of the Archbishop was interred in the
Church of All-hallows, Barking, near the Tower. By
this time, the ordinance for the suppression of the
Liturgy had been passed. The funeral, neverthe-
less, was solemnized according to the proscribed
formulary ; so that it seemed as if the Establishment,
for which he died, had been buried with him 2 . It
had been his wish that his dust might repose within
the walls of his own college : and this desire was,
eventually, accomplished. For, after the restoration,
in July, 1633, his remains were transferred to the
chapel at St. John's ; and were there deposited, be-
neath the altar, close by the bones of Sir Thomas
Whyte, the munificent founder of the Institution. At
the same time, his memory was honoured with a fu-
neral oration, pronounced by the Vice-President, in
the presence of the Vice-Chancellor, several of the
heads of Houses, and a full assembly of the mem-
bers of the College. The remains of his own familiar
friend, Archbishop Juxon, and of Richard Bayley,
the President of the College, who had married his
niece, were, subsequently, consigned to the same
spot. So that the Archbishop rests in the immediate
neighbourhood of men, in company with whom, of all
others, he would probably have desired to meet his
God, in the great day of judgment.
By his last will, he declared that he died a true
and faithful member of the Protestant Church of
1 Heylyn, p. 539.
2 Book of the Church, vol. ii. p. 453.
328 LIFE OF [CHAP.
England. His chief bequests are as follows : First,
the sum of 800 towards the repair of St. Paul's, if
that work should be continued. This sum, however,
it would appear, had been already consigned to the
custody of some trustee, with a view to its application
to the purpose in question : for, he adds, " my exe-
cutors are not charged with this. It is safe, in other
hands." Secondly, he leaves 1,000 to the King,
besides remitting to his Majesty a debt of 2,000.
Thirdly, he bequeaths to St. John's College, his
chapel plate, furniture, and books ; together with
500, to be invested in the purchase of land ; the rent
of which was to be distributed, every fourth year,
among the Fellows and scholars. " Something else,"
he says, with modest reference to his own princely
benefactions, " I have done for them already, accord-
ing to my ability. And God's everlasting blessing
be upon that place, and that society, for ever." Then
follow various smaller legacies, to friends, servants,
and others, amounting in all to about 1,800. Among
these bequests, is the sum of 100, for the purpose
of translating his book against Fisher into Latin,
" that the Christian world might see, and judge of his
religion." If these dispositions were carried into
effect, it may be concluded, that, although his perse-
cutors kept him from the use of his property, during
his imprisonment, they did not aggravate their in-
famy, by confiscating the remnants of it, after his
death. His concluding words are, " Thus I forgive
all the world ; and heartily desire forgiveness of God,
and the world. And so, again, I commend and com-
mit my soul into the hands of God the Father, who
gave it ; in the merits and mercies of my blessed
Saviour, Jesus Christ, who redeemed it ; and in the
vin.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 329
peace and comfort of the Holy Ghost, who blessed it ;
and in the truth and unity of his Holy Catholic
Church ; and in the communion of the Church of
England, as it yet stands established by law 1 ." From
which solemn asseveration it follows, either that the
heart of Archbishop Laud was faithful to the religion
which he was accused of undermining ; or else, that
he was prepared to appear in the presence of God
with a lie in his right hand !
i Troubles, &c, p. 454. Harl. MSS. 4115.
330 LIFE OF
LCHAP.
CHAPTER IX.
General view of the character and principles of Laud.
IT has been remarked of Laud, that more good and
more evil has been said and written of him, than
of almost any other historical character that can be
named. By some he has been extolled as a miracle
of piety and beneficence, of learning and of wisdom.
By others, he has been stigmatized as an exemplifi-
cation of every thing that is inhuman in tyranny,
despicable in bigotry and superstition, diabolical
in temper, and narrow in understanding. By his
admirers, he has been held up as the mirror of loyalty
to his King, of fidelity to the Constitution, as it then
existed, and of enlightened zeal for the Church over
which he presided. By his adversaries, he has been
described as an abject worshipper of the royal pre-
rogative, and as a malignant conspirator against the
liberties and the religion of his country. And, by
some of those who profess to avoid each of these
extremities, it has been averred, that, notwithstand-
ing his unbounded devotion to the Church, he was,
in effect, one of her most pernicious enemies ; and
that his baleful administration, if it did not occasion,
at least accelerated, her downfal.
This latter accusation, if we recollect right, has
been adopted by Warburton, if it did not originate
with him. It is very much in his sweeping and
trenchant manner ; and like many other of his posi-
IX.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 331
tions, must be adopted with some caution, and
understood with considerable limitation. That the
administration of Laud was, in some respects, inju-
rious to the Church, can hardly by denied. Bu,t
then, it is most important to keep in mind, that the
injury was inflicted, not so much by the measures
which he adopted, as by the manner in which he
enforced them. There has seldom, perhaps, lived a
man, who contrived that his good should be so viru-
lently evil spoken of. From all that we learn of
him, his manner appears to have been singularly
ungracious and unpopular, and his temper offen-
sively irascible and hot. If we are to trust the re-
presentations of him, left us either by friend or foe,
he must have been one of the most disagreeable
persons in the three kingdoms, except to those who
were intimately acquainted with his worth. There
was nothing affable or engaging in his general beha-
viour. His very integrity was often made odious,
by wearing an aspect of austerity and haughtiness.
It would almost seem, as if prudence had been struck
out of his catalogue of the cardinal virtues. In him,
" discretion seldom fought against nature." He
never appears to have been aware, that the world is
governed or rendered ungovernable, by syllables,
and looks, and gestures, and tones of voice ; that
manner is something with every person, and every
thing with some. He was unable, as Warburton
remarks, to comprehend one important truth, with
which Richelieu was so familiar, when he said, that,
if he had not spent as much time in civilities, as in
business, he had undone his master l . The conse-
1 Warburton's note to Clarendon, vol. i. p. 165. in vol. vii.
p. 521. Oxf. ed. 1826.
332 LIFE OF [CHAP.
quence of this ignorance, or this disdain, of the ways
of the world, was unspeakably hurtful to the cause
which, at all times, was nearest to his heart. In the
minds of many who were ignorant of the essential
excellence of the man, the interests of the Establish-
ment were, by his demeanour, associated with almost
every thing that is harsh and repulsive. For a con-
siderable portion of his life, he was regarded not only
as the leader, but the representative, of the ecclesias-
tical body : and the impression which he communi-
cated to the public was, too often, that of unfeeling
arrogance, and lofty impatience of control. Whether
the Church could have been saved by any combina-
tion, in the person of its ruler, of those rare endow-
ments which secure at once both reverence and at-
tachment, no human sagacity can, at this day, be
competent to pronounce. But it certainly is not
altogether surprising that this one unhappy defect
should, even in the minds of judicious and impartial
men, have connected his administration with the ruin
of the Establishment. In such unquiet times, more
especially, a man like Laud would not only be
dreaded as a firm and conscientious disciplinarian,
but as the rigorous and overbearing priest. And the
Church would be sure to suffer most grievously for
the unpopularity of her governor. All this may
safely and reasonably be conceded. But it must,
likewise, be allowed, that nothing could well be more
disgraceful to his adversaries than their incurable
and wilful blindness to his virtues. His best friends
were sensible of his faults. His enemies had no eye
to see his manifold redeeming excellences !
Among his friends, there was no man of that age
who entertained a deeper sentiment, than Clarendon,
IX.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 333
of reverence and affection towards Archbishop Laud.
And yet, there was no man more painfully sensible
of the lamentable consequences of his infirmity of
temper. This appears very forcibly, in those pas-
sages of his History which relate to the Archbishop.
But it appears still more forcibly, from a very free
expostulation with him, upon which the historian
ventured, when he was only a young practitioner of
the law. In his History of his own Life, Clarendon
has given a very full and interesting account of a
conference between himself and Laud, in the year
1635 : from which it appears, that the youthful bar-
rister went pretty roundly to work with his Grace ;
and, it should be added, that his Grace was by no
means displeased, or alienated, by the freedom of his
monitor. It was the belief of Edward Hyde, that
the Primate needed nothing so much, as a true
friend, who would seasonably tell him of his weak-
nesses. And he, accordingly, mustered boldness to
take this office upon himself. He found the Arch-
bishop, one morning, early, in that part of his garden
which, to this day, is known as Clarendon's walk.
He was graciously received ; and asked, what good
news there was in the country. The answer of Hyde
was, that there was no good news ; that the people
were universally discontented ; and spoke of his
Grace as the cause of all that was amiss. Laud
replied, that he was sorry to hear this : but added,
that he knew that he had done nothing to deserve
the censure ; and that he must not desist from serv-
ing the King and the Church, in order to please the
people. Hyde then told him, that there could be
no necessity for an abatement of his zeal, either for
King or Church : but that it grieved him to find that
334 LIFE OF [CHAP.
many persons, of the best condition, who were well
affected to both, were, nevertheless, extremely ill-
disposed towards his Grace, and complained of the
treatment they experienced from him, whenever they
had occasion to resort to him. He then mentioned
several instances, in illustration and support of this
unwelcome remark. The Archbishop listened pa-
tiently to the recital : and his reply was abundantly
mild and candid. But it showed that the defect was,
then, inveterate and incurable. He said that he was
very unfortunate to be so misunderstood ; that, by
nature, the tone of his voice was sharp, and might
cause men to believe that he was angry, when it was
no such thing ; that with his pressing variety of oc-
cupations, he had no time to spare for compliments
(for which, however, Richelieu contrived to find
abundant leisure); that his integrity and uprightness
would be found beyond reproach ; and that, if these
could not preserve him, he must even submit to
God's pleasure. In spite of all this, Hyde still
pressed him close ; and wished that he would more
restrain his passion towards all men, however faulty
they might be ; and, particularly, that he would treat
persons of honour, and quality, and interest in the
country, with more courtesy and condescension ; es-
pecially when they came to visit him, and to make
offer of their service. All, however, would not do !
Laud was, then, sixty-two years of age ; and, at that
period of life, any essential alteration of his manners,
was a hopeless matter. He replied, smiling, that he
could only answer for his heart ; that his meaning
was good ; that, for his tongue, he could not under-
take that he might not, sometimes, speak more
hastily and sharply than he ought, (which, often-
IX.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 335
times, he was sorry for,) and that, consequently, he
might be liable to misconstruction with those who
knew not that such was his infirmity ; and that it
was so rooted in him by nature and education, that
it was altogether vain to contend with it. He then
adverted to the imputation of maintaining too stately
a distance towards those who resorted to him ; and
intimated that, really, it was no more than was suit-
able to his rank in the Church and in the State. He
then adverted to the behaviour of that grave reli-
gionist, his predecessor, Archbishop Abbot, towards
the greatest nobility of the realm : which, however,
he did allow to have been, frequently, most insolent
and inexcusable ; and which, as Hyde observes, was,
beyond all question, exceedingly ridiculous l .
Nothing could well be more base, than the advan-
tage often taken by the courtiers, of this infirmity
in the Archbishop's temper. It was their delight to
contradict him, for the express purpose of betraying
him into some excess of passion, which might render
him at once odious and contemptible. A remarkable
instance of this, which occurred about the year 1635,
is related by Clarendon, in his History. The King,
who, like his father, was passionately addicted to the
sports of the field, was desirous of enclosing a park,
between Richmond and Hampton Court. This,
however, could not be done, without the invasion of
many existing interests. The King was willing to
purchase, upon liberal terms. Most of the parties
consented : but others held out obstinately. His
Majesty, nevertheless, was resolved to persevere ;
and had actually commenced the wall which was to
1 Life of Clarendon, vol. i. p. 6974. Oxf. ed.
336 LIFE OF [CHAP.
enclose his hunting ground. Laud began to be
alarmed. He conceived that the King was about to
purchase his princely recreation at the price of a
ruinous sacrifice of popularity. He accordingly con-
ferred with Lord Cottington, and urged him to with-
draw his Majesty from a resolution so injurious to
his honour. To his utter astonishment, Cottington
gravely answered, that, in his judgment, the design
was both reasonable and lawful. To this, the Arch-
bishop replied, with great warmth, that such men as
he would ruin the King ; and that he (Laud), for his
part, would spare no pains to dissuade his Majesty.
The other rejoined, with unruffled calmness, that
such an attempt could proceed from nothing but
want of affection to the King's person. Nay, he
was not sure that it might not be high treason. For
they, who sought to deprive his Majesty of the
recreation needful for his health, might possibly be
thought guilty of the highest crimes ! On this, the
rage of the Archbishop became ungovernable. He
loaded Cottington with reproaches, and then left
him. It very soon appeared, that Cottington's sole
object, throughout this conversation, had been to pro-
voke the Archbishop to some ridiculous and degrad-
ing eruption of anger. For when he represented
the matter to the King, his Majesty replied,
" Cottington is too hard for you ! He has, actually,
incurred my displeasure, by his own pertinacious
opposition to this very same project. You see how
unjustly your passion has transported you V
It should be mentioned, however, to the honour
of Laud, that, notwithstanding the imputed stern-
1 Clarendon, vol. i. p. 176180. Oxford edition.
IX.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 337
ness of his temper and deportment, he does not seem
to have been capable of resenting the freedom of
zealous and affectionate remonstrance. Of this we
have one remarkable proof, in the fact, that Hyde,
although so much his junior in age, and his inferior
in station, was always received by him with more
gracious familiarity than ever, after the interview of
frank expostulation, above related. And hence he
concludes, that, if his Grace had been blessed with
some intelligent and true-hearted friend, who would
have dealt openly with him, on the most important
and critical occasions, he would gladly have accepted
such good offices, and would have derived from them
much unspeakable advantage l . As it was, however,
it appears, from nearly the whole tenor of his life,
that, what with a hasty temperament, and what with
an imperfect knowledge of mankind, and what with
an erroneous notion of the demeanour which became
his exalted rank, he contrived to array more hosti-
lity against his virtues, than many of the worst of
mankind have, often, armed against their vices. And
thus he may be said to have furnished some ground
for the charge of Warburton, by exasperating the
bad passions which, already, were let loose for the
destruction of the hierarchy.
There is, indeed, one occurrence in his life, which,
though in itself comparatively trifling, places him in
a more unamiable light, than almost any other which
has been recorded. It happened, on the llth of
March, 1637, that Archibald Armstrong, the King's
Fool, met his Grace as he was going to the council-
1 Life of Clar. ubi supra.
z
338 LIFE OF [CHAP.
table, and said to him, "Who is the fool now 1 ?
Has not your Grace heard the news from Scotland,
about the Liturgy ?" with some other words which
are not known, but which, probably, were disres-
pectful enough. This, we are told, was presently
complained of to the Council ; who, on that very day,
condemned the poor knave to lose his motley, and to
be sent away from the Court ! Such was the melan-
choly fate of the last of the English Court- Fools 2 !
It is possible, indeed, that the jester may have been
found more troublesome and mischievous than has
been related : or, perhaps, he may have chanced to
cross the Archbishop, at a moment, when he and the
whole Court were sorely chafed with the vexatious
affairs of Scotland. But, at all events, a few words
of stern rebuke from the Lord Chamberlain, might,
surely, have been sufficient for the correction of the
licensed dealer in humour and buffoonery !
But the meanest exhibition which has ever been
given of Laud, in former days, is, in some respects,
almost complimentary, when compared with the
portraiture with which we have been made familiar,
in more modern times. They who, in his own age,
most potently believed him to be a knave, never, for
a moment, imagined him to be an idiot. But, ac-
cording to more recent representations, he was,
almost without exception, the most contemptible
character in English History : and the Parliament
1 Or, in Archy's own pure Doric, " Wha's the fule now ?"
See Rushworth, ad ann. 1637, P- 470, 471.
2 A professional buffoon was not wanted at the court of
Charles II. His Majesty was surrounded with men, some of
whom were always ready to discharge the office, as amateurs.
IX ] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 339
was to blame for their treatment of him, not because
it was meanly vindictive, and detestably iniquitous,
but, because so much good and serviceable persecu-
tion was thrown away upon so insignificant an ob-
ject. It is distinctly allowed, indeed, that he was
no traitor within the statute ; but this was, purely,
because his capacities were too limited to advance
him to the dignity of treason: so that it was beneath
the majesty of a great nation to inflict upon him any
thing but contemptuous mercy. Worthless as he
was, the impeachment or the attainder, the gibbet or
the axe, would be positively degraded by their em-
ployment upon so poor an adventurer in crime l . In
support of this last version of his character, his Diary
has been referred to, as a performance which might
make us forget the vices of his heart in the feeble-
ness of his understanding. Now, undoubtedly, if
Laud had left us nothing but this private journal, we
should have been without any warrant for numbering
him among our distinguished scholars and divines.
But, even in that case, to estimate his powers by his
occasional notice of dreams and omens, would, surely,
be about as reasonable, as to measure the capacities
of Samuel Johnson by the scraps and fragments
which record his fits of melancholy or superstition ;
by his reminiscences of his wife ; and by his prayers
for the peace of her departed spirit. Again, to judge
of Laud's sagacity, or wisdom, by the entries of
matter of fact in his Diary, would be nearly as ridi-
1 This, also, appears to be the opinion of Godwin, who says,
that the spectacle of the Archbishop's age and infirmities "ought
to have disarmed his enemies, and induced them to dismiss him
to obscurity and contempt." Hist. Commonw. vol. i. p. 429.
Z 2
340 LIFE OF [CHAP.
culous, as it would be to look into the daily collection
of accidents or occurrences, for a test of ability in
the conductor of a public journal. The Diary of
the Archbishop consists chiefly of dry memoranda of
passing events, made, obviously, for his own private
convenience. Occasionally, it is true, he notices a
dream, or an accident, to which imagination might
give an ominous complexion. And, although he
disclaims all settled confidence in such shadowy
suggestions, it does, at times, appear as if they left
some vague impression upon his mind. But the
mightiest understandings will, now and then, be
crossed by gloomy associations, and dim forebod-
ings ; especially when harassed and excited by affairs
of overpowering interest. Besides, some allowance
must be made for opinions and prejudices still cur-
rent in an age not yet wholly cleared of popular
superstitions. It is quite notorious, that many of the
Puritans and Covenanters were firm believers in
sorcery and witchcraft ; and that their hatred was
seldom at a loss to discover signs and prognostics of
the Archbishop's fall. It is, therefore, most unac-
countable that any one should think of fixing upon
certain passages of these secret memoranda, extend-
ing, as they do, over a space of more than fifty years,
and of producing these as evidence of a mind en-
slaved and enfeebled by superstitious fancies.
But, though we cannot appeal to the Diary of
Laud, in support of his literary or theological repu-
tation, we may, assuredly, consult it for a much
higher purpose. It has been said, that his letters to
Strafford indicate no sense of duty to God or man ;
that his concern for the honour of the University, his
anxiety to improve the condition of the Clergy, his
IX.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 341
efforts to restore the decency and solemnity of public
worship, and his solicitude to preserve the sacred
edifices from ruin and profanation, all are to be as-
cribed to a feeling purely professional ; such as may
be often found in the most abandoned of human
beings, without implying either devotion to God, or
good will towards men. Now, if all this, for a mo-
ment, were admitted, we still might appeal to the
loose unpremeditated fragments of his journal ; and
we might ask, whether it is possible for any man to
witness the secret outpourings of the Prelate's heart,
and yet to charge him with a want of charity or
religion ? To what shall we ascribe his repeated ex-
pressions of trust in the merciful protection of Pro-
vidence, and his frequent invocation of forgiveness
on his enemies, persecutors, and slanderers ; breathed
and recorded, as they were, in the solitude of his
chamber? Must we attribute them to a habit of
professional hyprocrisy, so inveterate, as to pursue
the individual into his retirements from the world ?
At the end of his Diary, is printed a list of noble
and munificent projects, which the Archbishop had
formed, and some of which he lived to accomplish.
Are we to believe that these costly and charitable
designs were suggested by no higher or better feel-
ing than that of a bigotted devotion to his order ?
Are we to presume, that the person who could make
the following entry in his journal, was under no
sense of duty to his Creator, or his brethren. " The
way to do the town of Reading good, for their poor :
which may be compassed, by God's blessing upon
me, though my wealth be small. And I hope God
will bless me in it, because it was his own motion in
me. For this way never came into my thoughts
342 LIFE OF [CHAP.
(though I had much beaten them about it) till this
night, as I was at my prayers. Jan. 1st, 1633-4."
Can this have been the language of one who was
destitute of the elements which constitute an amiable
and worthy man, and who, throughout his life, was
a stranger to any better motive than the indulgence
of malignant humour ?
Very different from this, was the estimate formed,
by many of his contemporaries, of the heart, and the
principles, of Archbishop Laud. We learn from those,
who had opportunities of knowing, that he won the
blessings of the poor by weekly alms, and daily hos-
pitality ; and that, every where, he was tracked by
his benefactions l . In fact, he appears to have been
emulous of that ancient piety, to which we owe the
venerable edifices, and noble foundations, which form
both the strength and the glory of this land. His
vigilant and generous care for the interests of learn-
ing must, still further, entitle him to the grateful ad-
miration of his country, so long as literature shall be
cherished and honoured among men. His anxiety,
on this subject, is attested by the vast and costly
contributions to the literary treasures of Oxford. It
is attested, perhaps still more gloriously, by the il-
lustrious names which owed their advancement to
his patronage and favour 2 . They who are accus-
tomed to search out the worst of all imaginable mo-
tives, for every action that may wear the semblance of
virtue, may find delight in the belief, that the munifi-
cence of Laud, and his encouragement of distin-
1 Lloyd's Memoirs, &c. p. 228230.
2 Usher, Hales, Chillingworth, Morton, Montague, Pococke,
Hall, Bramhall, Saunderson, Sheldon, Juxon, Jeremie Taylor,
&c.
IX.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 343
guished men, was, after all, nothing more than so
much professional ostentation ; an artifice for con-
necting his own name with the honours of genius and
learning. But the heart which can please itself with
seeing the image and superscription of evil, thus im-
pressed on gracious and useful deeds, will hardly find
much sympathy among the wise or good. In spite
of all such detraction, Laud will, immoveably, main-
tain his station among the most eminent and single-
hearted benefactors to letters and religion 1 .
And, here, how can we forbear to warn mankind
against the voice of Judas, which, even now, is ever-
more crying out, why all this waste ? Why should
large revenues be placed at the command of men,
whom it would better become to emulate the poverty
of the Apostles, than to be revelling in affluence
which might almost befit a prince ? Is it nothing,
then, that wealth should, here and there, be placed in
the hands of those, whose very education and profes-
sion are constantly reminding them, that it is a part
of their office to show the world how wealth may best
be spent ; and who, if ever they should forget that
they are the stewards of the Lord, are sure to be
pursued by the scorn and execration of the world ?
Let any man search into the result of this distribu-
tion. Let him look back through a long range of
1 They who are desirous of forming any adequate conception
of the services rendered to literature by Archbishop Laud, should,
by all means, peruse a paper, on that subject, read by Archdeacon
Todd, before the Royal Society of Literature, March 15th and
April 5th, 1826. Transactions, &c. vol. ii. p. 205226. From
that statement it will appear, that the Archdeacon was guilty of
no exaggeration, in saying, that the bounty of this prelate was
more like that of a king than of a subject.
344 LIFE OF [CHAP.
centuries; and see whether the cause of civilization,
of letters, of morals, of charity, of religion, has,on
the whole, been best promoted by the wealth of lay-
men, or by the wealth of ecclesiastics. If church-
men had always been indigent stipendiaries, where
would have been numberless monuments of benevo-
lence and piety, to which all, save the children of
disobedience, look up, to this day, with affection, and
gratitude, and reverence? And, (to return to the
matter before us,) what would England have gained
what might she not have lost if the revenues of
Archbishop Laud had been consigned to the disposal
of any nobleman of his time ?
With regard to the intellectual powers of Laud,
something has been already said : more especially in
reference to his encounter with the Jesuit, and his
answer to the Covenanting Scots. On the first of
these occasions, he had to meet " the sharp fence and
the active practice" of a subtle antagonist ; and, in
the other, to repel the onset of fierce and fanatical
hostility. At this day, neither of these achieve-
ments is known so well as it deserves. In the first
place, the interest originally attached to the matters
in question has become well nigh obsolete. The
Presbyterian discipline has long been established in
the northern division of the kingdom, and is peace-
ably tolerated in every other. The controversy with
Rome has slumbered for upwards of a century ;
though it is scarcely probable that the slumber will
remain much longer undisturbed. If that conflict
should ever be generally renewed, we shall, doubtless,
be awakened to a due estimate of this, among many
other implements, in the magazines of our National
Theology. But, secondly, the style of Laud, though
IX.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 345
vigorous and pithy, is, undoubtedly, defective in
polish and refinement. There is something too
homely, and colloquial, about it. It has little either
of the terseness or of the dignity of written compo-
sition. It is, in general, scarcely more attractive
than that of Bishop Butler. Laud seems to have
written, for the most part, like Butler, in the man-
ner of one who thinks aloud. But the importance
of his subjects is not, like that of Butler's, of all
countries and of all times. And hence, the neglect
and oblivion into which his works have fallen. A
revival of the public attention to his writings, though
it might not elevate him to a place among the great-
est masters of composition, would, assuredly, put to
flight all doubts respecting the powers of his under-
standing, or the extent of his attainments l .
Respecting the personal habits and private life of
the Archbishop, our information is far from copious.
We learn, however, that his diet was uniformly tem-
perate, and his walk and conversation blameless.
Such was his circumspection, that no female domes-
tic was suffered in his establishment. That his
demeanour towards his dependents was kind and
1 No complete collection has ever been made of the writings
and correspondence of Laud. We learn from the Clarendon
Papers, vol. ii. p. 328, that his own College were, at one time, col-
lecting materials for his Life. It is much to be regretted, that
their design was never carried into execution ; especially if it
involved a collection of his works. In the MS. Closet of Cosin's
Library, at Durham, there is a Volume, No. 5, without a regu-
lar title, consisting, chiefly, of extracts from the works of emi-
nent men. Among the rest, is one collection, headed Laud-
eana : consisting of many of the most striking passages from his
writings. Some few specimens from this collection will be found
in the Appendix, at the end of this volume.
346 LIFE OF [CHAP.
affable, may be reasonably inferred from the fact,
already noticed, that his steward, Adam Torless,
lived with him two and forty years, and died in his
service, some time after his imprisonment. He was
singularly plain in his apparel ; and could not easily
endure in others, more especially in the clergy, any
departure from the simplicity which he exemplified
in his own person. Cardinal Wolsey is reported to
have been the first Prelate who introduced, by his
own example, a costly style of dress among the
clergy. And Laud was the first who inflexibly set
his face against that unseemly fashion. It has been
related, that he once openly reproved a Clergyman,
who appeared in a gallant habit, at a visitation held
by him in Essex, when he was Bishop of London,
and bade him compare his own finery with the plain
habiliments of his Diocesan. The minister replied,
" My Lord, you have better clothes at home, and I
have worse." The sternness of the Prelate was dis-
armed by the readiness and vivacity of the answer :
which seems to show that he was by no means in-
accessible to the influences of good humour. His
regard for his own connexions never degenerated
into partiality or nepotism. He is said to have re-
lieved his friends rather than raised them. " Breed
up your children well," he would say to his relatives,
"and I will do what I can, and ought, to provide for
them." But no tie of kindred or alliance could in-
duce him to promote any person, whom he deemed
unworthy of his patronage. Fuller, the Church
Historian, informs us, that he knew a near kins-
man of Laud's, in the University, not deficient in
scholarship, but withal, somewhat wild and lazy,
who could obtain no assistance or encouragement
from his Lordship, until his habits were thoroughly
IX.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 347
reformed. Covetousness he perfectly abhorred. He
scorned the accumulation of a private treasure, and
the thought of abusing the revenues or the patronage
of the Church, to the elevation of his name or family.
And, being himself unmarried, his resources were
the more at his disposal, for designs of public muni-
ficence. Of the sincerity and constancy of his reli-
gious exercises, it is almost needless to speak. The
moral and devotional habit of his mind is sufficiently
attested, both by his Diary and his private Prayers.
"He can hardly be an ill husband," says Fuller, " who
casteth up his receipts and expenses, every night :
and such a soul is, or would be, good, which enters
into a daily scrutiny of his own actions."
In the personal appearance of the Archbishop,
there was nothing stately or commanding. His sta-
ture was low ; and the whole frame of his body,
rather diminutive. His eye, however, was bright
and piercing ; and his countenance expressive both
of gravity and quickness. His complexion was of
a fresh and sanguine cast, which he preserved to the
end of his life, in spite of his anxieties and afflic-
tions. Tn one particular he resembled the party to
which he was constantly opposed : he wore his hair
so close, that, to judge by that, he might almost have
been taken for a Puritan, or a Roundhead. His
memory, almost to the last, was firm and tenacious ;
his mind singularly active and inquisitive ; and his
temperament fervid and impetuous. He was not con-
tent to serve his generation by himself alone ; but
endeavoured to communicate his own public spirit
to all who were ambitious of his esteem. It was
acknowledged by some who were his enemies, that
no man, whatever might be his station, was ever
348 LIFE OF [CHAP.
admitted to his confidence, without approving him-
self fit for it, by some act or purpose, which, in his
judgment, tended to the public good, or to the ho-
nour of religion. It was his habit to converse, often
and freely, with individuals of the best intelligence, in
various occupations or professions, whether Clergy-
men, or Lawyers, or even Mechanics. He was exact
in his correspondence, quick in the dispatch of busi-
ness, and keenly observant and curious in his inter-
course with all. Like the illustrious Lord Burleigh,
he kept by him a catalogue of the principal nobility
and gentry in the realm, with a notice of their res-
pective interests and inclinations. And it was ob-
served by him, that "no man was more perfectly
acquainted than he, with the joints, and flexures of
every party in the state V Whether he was gifted
with the highest qualities of statesmanship, may,
perhaps, be questioned : and it would have been well
for his peace and reputation, if he had never been
tempted to the trial.
There can be very little doubt, that Laud owed his
ruin, in a considerable degree, to the scarcely de-
fensible practice of investing spiritual persons with
arduous secular responsibilities. Neither Lords
nor Commons, nor populace, could endure to see
the post of Prime Minister filled by an Ecclesiastic.
The usage might be tolerable, and, at times, indis-
pensable, in those darker periods, when learning and
intelligence were nearly monopolized by the Clergy.
But those days of ignorance had long been passing
away. The Laity, no longer disqualified, by a de-
fective education, for the highest departments of pub-
1 Lloyd's State Worthies. See Warburton's Notes on Neale.
IX.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 349
lie duty, regarded the intrusion of Churchmen into
political office, with bitter jealousy and disgust. In
Protestant countries, more especially, this confusion
of worldly and sacred offices, was almost sure to be
indignantly reprobated. It is much to be lamented
that Laud failed to discern the spirit of the times ;
or that, perceiving it, he refused to respect a feeling,
which can hardly excite either wonder or condemna-
tion. The care of his diocese, or his province, must,
in the judgment of every enlightened Christian, be
the most appropriate sphere of action for a Prelate.
And most happy would it have been for Laud him-
self, if he had strictly conformed himself to these
reasonable views ; and had limited his concern in
matters of State to the discharge of his duty in the
House of Peers, and, on certain occasions, at the
Council table. But, even if he was insensible of
this, it still would be most unjust to ascribe his
blindness to the operation of a selfish appetite for
power. No man seems to have felt more deeply
than he, the weariness and painfulness of political
life. But his mind was full of energy and ardour ;
his courage was undaunted ; his zeal for the King's
service exalted ; and his indignation at the shameful
sacrifice of the royal interests, which his position at
court was constantly exposing to his view, seems to
have acted like a fire shut up within his bones. He
could not have withdrawn himself from the counsels
of his Sovereign, without feeling guilty of ungrateful
and almost treasonable desertion.
In order to illustrate these remarks, it may here
be fitly mentioned, that we find him, when he was a
Commissioner of the Treasury, in 1635, writing thus
to Strafford : " There is no speech, here, but who
350 LIFE OF [CHAP.
shall be Lord Treasurer. And, I would that the
King would name one, that our troublesome commis-
sion were at an end. And yet I cannot be so ill a
servant to my master and the public, as to wish an
end to this commission, for mine own ease, till the
King resolve of a good one. For, certainly, such a
one will he need : and perhaps more an honest
than a cunning one V And when he retired from
the Treasury, so utterly unconscious did he seem,
that the office was unfit for a clergyman, that
he laboured to procure Juxon for his successor ; and
expressed the highest satisfaction, on the accomplish-
ment of his purpose 2 . And, assuredly, never was
the exchequer consigned to more able or more honest
administration.
His own notions, relative to the lawfulness and the
expediency of employing Churchmen in state affairs,
are very copiously expounded, in his answer to the
speech of Lord Say against the Bishops 3 . His vin-
dication of the custom would scarcely be listened to,
for a moment, at this day. And yet, it will be found,
on examination, to contain some thoughts on the sub-
ject, which it might be much easier to deride, than
to answer. In one particular, it is most triumphant.
It exposes, without mercy, the despicable inconsis-
tency of those who were loudest in the condemnation
of the practice. " This lord," he says, " and others,
who would not have ministers meddle with civil
affairs, are content, not only to the disgrace of the
ministry, but even of religion itself, to hear felt-
1 Strafford's Letters, &c. vol. i. p. 438.
2 Clarendon, vol. i. p. 175, 176. Oxford edition.
3 Laud's Remains, vol. ii. p. 19 54.
IX.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 351
makers, and ironmongers, and gardeners, and brewers'
clerks, and coachmen, preach God knows what stuff,
and countenance them in this sacrilegious presump-
tion : nay, and are never troubled that these men have
all their time taken up in the affairs of the world ;
but, rather, say their gifts are greater, and they are
able to do both. Out of doubt, they hope that their
coachman-preachers shall hurry them to heaven in
some fiery chariot. And I myself, in time, might be
brought to think so too, did I not see Phaeton setting
the Christian world on fire ; but no Elias there * !"
That the puritanical ministers were not remarkably
fastidious, in digressing from their sacred calling, we
have, further, the testimony of Hacket, the biogra-
pher of Bishop Williams ; who observes, that many
of the zealots in England were abundantly ready to
serve their own turn, by entangling themselves in se-
cular matters. " I never saw any of our ministry," he
says, " more abstracted from their studies, (constantly
progging at the Parliament door, and in Westminster
Hall, for many years together, having no calling but
that of an evil spirit to raise sedition,) than those
who were most offended at a Bishop, for bestowing
some part of his time in a secular place V In truth,
it must have required the most consummate effron-
tery, for the Puritans to complain of worldly, ambi-
tious, and intriguing churchmen. For nothing is
more notorious than the fact, that, of all the agents of
revolution, none were more busy or more unscrupu-
lous than the disaffected ministers. Neither can it
be denied, that the sway of Marshall and Burgess with
1 Laud's Remains, p. 24, 25.
2 Hacket, pt. i. p. 56.
352 LIFE OF [CHAP.
the revolutionary faction, was far more powerful, than
the influence of Laud had ever been, in the counsels
of the King; or that Henderson was much more
deeply involved in temporal affairs, than all the
Bishops of Scotland together l .
With regard to the conduct pursued by the Arch-
bishop as a statesman, the question naturally presents
itself, was he, or was he not, in his heart, a deliberate
foe to the liberties and religion of his country ? Now,
in dealing with this question, it may be premised*
that nothing could be more rash or foolish than to
undertake a vindication of all his measures. It would,
indeed, be a desperate adventure, to defend every
article of his political creed. His greatest admirers
will never maintain, that his theory of the constitution
was otherwise than dangerous. Neither do they
delight in the spectacle of Episcopacy invested with
the robe of political and religious inquisition. They
reflect with no complacency on the apparition of a
churchman, holding the crozier in one hand, and the
seals of civil office in the other. And they heartily
rejoice that the elements of our polity have fallen
into a combination, which can scarcely ever produce,
or endure, a repetition of such phenomena. But
these avowals are perfectly consistent with a deep
respect for his memory, and with an aversion for the
virulent and contemptuous spirit with which his name
has been so frequently assailed.
With respect to his alleged political delinquencies,
the case appears to lie within a very narrow compass.
His own natural temper, we have seen, was some-
what arbitrary and austere. He could look with no
1 Clarendon, vol. ii, p. 25.
IX.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 353
indulgence on whatever tended towards anarchy and
confusion. His principles as a churchman were in
harmony with this disposition. As he, and as most
other divines, then read the Scriptures, rebellion was
one form of impiety ; and resistance to the prince
was treason against heaven. No wonder, then, that
he watched, with emotions of dismay, the spirit which
was abroad ; and which, as he believed, was threat-
ening the Church and the Monarchy with destruc-
tion. No wonder, if he wrought himself into a con-
viction that " thorough," and decisive measures were
required, to guard from invasion the legal rights of
the throne, and to preserve the empire from ruin and
dishonour. It would be mere infatuation to affirm
that his views, as a statesman, or a minister, were
always wise, or that his mode of prosecuting them was
uniformly prudent. A burning zeal, and a choleric
temperament, too frequently overpowered his better
judgment, and sometimes exposed him to public detes-
tation. Among other examples of this, may be noticed
his vote against, one Chambers, a merchant, who was
prosecuted in the Star-chamber, in 1629, for com-
plaining, in no measured language, of the vexatious
exactions he had suffered from the inferior officers of
the revenue. Laud, then Bishop of London, was for
a fine of 3000 ; which, at last, was lowered to
2000. This is among the instances usually pro-
duced to show, that he was, in his heart, an unfeeling
tyrant. But it is, generally, forgotten, that he did
not vote alone. Six other most distinguished mem-
bers, of the Court were for the same enormous penalty.
It is, likewise, forgotten that Laud, whether justly or
riot, was persuaded that the very existence of the
monarchy was placed in jeopardy by the spirit of con-
A a
354 LIFE OF [CHAP.
tumacious resistance to the demands of the public
service, and that he expressed himself to this effect,
on this very occasion l . And, hence it is, that his
severity was ascribed, not to his excess of zeal, but
to a cankered and malignant heart. The opinion of
Judge Whitelock was far nearer the truth. He said
of Laud, long before his highest advancement, that
he was a good and righteous man ; but so full of
fire, that his heat would probably set the kingdom
in a flame 2 . By many, his violence has been as-
cribed to a deliberate and traitorous design against
the fundamental laws of his country. It surely would
be more just to say, that his design was to support
the fundamental laws, as they were understood, not
only by himself, but by many other illustrious men
of his own day. And they who hate his memory
most bitterly, must allow that his purposes were
wholly untainted with sordid and worldly wisdom.
He followed his convictions, such as they were,
honestly, faithfully, and courageously. No perver-
sion has yet been able to defraud him of the praise of
disinterestedness, or to fix upon him the guilt of self-
ish duplicity and falsehood.
The cordial sincerity with which he contended for the
doctrine of what is called passive obedience, was mani-
fested by him, even in the very jaws of destruction.
He then, as on all occasions, verified to the full what
was said of him by Sir Edward Dering, (whose fate it
was to strike the first blow at him,) that he was always
one and the same man ; that, begin with him at Ox-
ford, and so go on to Canterbury, he would be found
1 State Trials, vol. iii. p. 374, &c.
2 Echard's History of England, vol. i. p. 420. b. State Trials,
vol. iv. col. 603. See Whitelock's Mem. April 13th, 1640, p. 32.
IX.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 3c)5
unmoved and unchanged. In the answer which he
drew up to the charges of the Scots, he resolutely
maintains the unlawfulness of resistance to consti-
tuted authority. He does not appear to consider it
at ail as a questionable matter. Though the enemy
was boarding him, he never thought, for a moment,
of hauling down these obnoxious colours. The Scots
had complained that, " for their protestations, and
other lawful means which they had used for their de-
liverance, Canterbury procured them to be pro-
claimed rebels." That he procured them to be pro-
claimed rebels, he positively denies. That he con-
sidered them, and spoke of them, as rebels, he broadly
admits. " Truly," he says, " I know of no law-
ful means that they used, but taking up arms
against the King ! And I, for my part, do not
conceive that to be lawful for subjects to do, in any
cause of religion or otherwise. And this, I am sure,
was the ancient Christian doctrine They say
that I did openly and often speak of them, as rebels
and traitors. That, indeed, is true. I did so. And I
spake of them, as I then thought, and as I think
Still. For it was as desperate a plotted treason as
ever was, in any nation. And if they did not think
so themselves, what needed their act of oblivion in
Scotland? or the like in England, to secure their
abettors here * ?" It would be a great mistake, to
imagine that this passage is produced, with the ex-
pectation, or the wish, that the doctrine in question
may find grace in the sight of the present generation.
It is adverted to, purely as indicating the high integ-
rity, and the noble and unabated courage, of the aged
1 Troubles, p. 125, 126.
A a 2
356 LIFE OF [CHAP.
prelate ; his profound reliance on the truth of his
own principles ; and his belief that the times de-
manded an open profession of those principles, even
to the death.
The notions entertained by Laud respecting the
extent of the royal prerogative, are, in like man-
ner, such as show him to have taken his stand as it
were on an old entrenched position, while the national
mind was moving irresistibly onward, towards another
state of things. His views upon this subject will be
best expounded in his own words. His language, it
is true, is widely different from that of the consti-
tution as finally modelled, in 1688 ; but it is such
language as was spoken, at that day, by multitudes,
who had no fixed hatred of liberty, and no attach-
ment to tyrannical government.
*' I did never," says he, " advise his majesty that
he might, at his own pleasure, levy money on his sub-
jects, without their consent in Parliament. Nor do I
remember that ever I affirmed any such thing as is
charged in the article. But I do believe, I may have
said something to the effect following : that howso-
ever it stands with the law of God, for a King, in the
just and necessary defence of himself and his kingdom,
to levy money of his subjects, yet when a particular
national law doth intervene in any kingdom, and is
settled by mutual consent of the King and his people,
these monies ought to be levied by and according to
that law. And by God's law, and the same law of
the land, I humbly conceive, the subjects so met in
Parliament ought to supply their Prince, when there
is just and necessary cause. And if an absolute ne-
cessity do happen, by invasion, or otherwise, which
gives no time for councils or law, such a necessity,
IX.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 357
but no pretended one is above all law. And I
have heard the greatest lawyers in the kingdom con-
fess, that, in times of such necessity, the King's pre-
rogative is as great as this V
Precisely similar to this is the language of the
Earl of StrafFord, in a Letter addressed by him to
Mr. Justice Hutton. " I do conceive," he says,
" that the power of levies of forces, at sea and land,
for the very, not feigned, relief and safety of the
public, is such a property of sovereignty, as, were
the crown willing, yet it cannot divest itself of.
Salus Populi, Suprema Lex : nay, in cases of extre-
mity, above acts of Parliament." Again, " It is a
safe rule for us all, in the fear of God, to remit these
supreme watches to that regal power, whose peculiar
indeed, it is : to submit ourselves, in these high
considerations, to his ordinances, as being no other
than the ordinance of God himself 2 ."
Now, in this age, no intelligent person could be
found in England, to speak of these views of prero-
gative, and divine right, otherwise than as he would
speak of the primum mobile, or of nature's abhor-
rence of a vacuum, or any other long-exploded ab-
surdity. But the question is, not so much whether
these doctrines are right or wrong, as, whether the
progress of our institutions has brought us to an ele-
vation, from which we may lawfully utter maledic-
tions, against all who may have been misled by such
false notions, during a more imperfect condition of
political science.
But, we must hasten to a moment's consideration
of the Archbishop's ecclesiastical government. For,
1 History of Troubles, &c. c. vii. p. 150.
2 Stratford's Letters, &c. vol. ii. p. 388. Sept. 13, 1639.
358 LIFE OF [CHAP.
it is here, that the evil qualities of his mind are sup-
posed to have been most hatefully manifested. He has
been painted not only as the presiding demon of the
Star-chamber, but, as the Arch-fiend of the English
Inquisition ; as the monster that never was at rest,
unless he had Puritans to pillory and to mangle.
On this matter, a word or two may be expedient ;
because it may be suspected, that, to this hour, there
is much confusion of thought prevailing, relative to
the subject, notwithstanding all that has been said
or written upon it.
It must be remembered, then, that the administra-
tion of the Church, in those days, involved two ob-
jects, in themselves distinct, though often much
entangled with each other. The first was, the treat-
ment of such persons as came under the general
description of Sectarians or Separatists. The second,
the exaction of uniformity in the celebration of divine
worship, within the established Church.
Now, with regard to the former of these two ob-
jects, it is scarcely possible, at this day, for any one
to open his lips in palliation of the conduct of such
men as Bancroft or of Laud, without some danger of
being saluted with a shout of derision and mockery.
We live, now, in an age of toleration, which recog-
nizes the right of every individual to leave the
Church for the Conventicle, and the Conventicle for
the Church ; or, to divide his favours impartially be-
tween them ; or, to abandon the Church and the Con-
venticle altogether. The consequence is, that most
men have well nigh lost the faculty of comprehending
how there ever could have been a time, when it was
thought lawful and right to punish, or to molest,
individuals, for worshipping God according to the
dictates of their conscience, or their caprice. ,It is
IX.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 359
needful, therefore, to remind them that there have
been such times ; and that, as the law then stood, it
fell within the positive duty of ecclesiastical gover-
nors to animadvert upon revolt from the National
Communion. It must, further, be acknowledged
that these rulers sometimes addressed themselves to
the discharge of this duty with a zeal and ardour
scarcely credible in these days ; and that their pro-
ceedings were, occasionally, such as must wear a
fierce, unfeeling aspect, when examined by the light
which we now enjoy. Neither must it be forgotten,
that such severities were sometimes loudly called for
by the popular voice ; and that, if they had been
directed against none but Papists and Arminians,
they not only would have escaped the censures of
the Puritanical party, but would have been hailed
by them with clamorous approbation. It must,
lastly, be stated, that the tribunal before which those
proceedings were chiefly carried on, was the Court
of High Commission ; a Court, for which (in spite of
the abuses which latterly disfigured it) much more
might be said, than our space will allow, or the temper
of the present age would, probably, endure ; but which
has, since, together with the Star-chamber, been in-
dignantly swept away from the constitution.
It is true, that these restraints were not very
patiently endured; and by none more impatiently
than by those very parties, who hotly desired to inflict
the same coercion, themselves, and whose fingers were
actually quivering with eagerness to grasp the two-
edged sword of temporal and spiritual authority. It
has been said by Warburton, that Laud was not only
for an arbitrary King, but for an intolerant Church !
If the Prelates were for an intolerant Church, that
many-headed Bishop, the Presbytery, was for a
360 LIFE OF [CHAP.
Church beyond all comparison more intolerant.
Every reader of the history of those times must
know, that the persecuted saints detested the rulers of
the Episcopal Establishment, not merely as tyrants,
but as usurpers. They looked forward with earnest
expectation to that blessed period, when the secular
arm should be at the command of God's elect, and
execute his righteous judgments against heretics,
Prelatists, and all other enemies of holiness. A
system of indulgence and toleration they loudly
scorned. They denounced it, as an abomination and
a snare ; as no less than a perfidious abandonment of
the cause of truth. And, when their day was come,
most luminous and faithful was their practical com-
mentary upon the texts which had been perpetually
in their mouths '. All this is perfectly notorious.
And all this was the natural result of that disregard
for the rights of conscience, which, then, was all but
universal. Why, then, we may demand, should
men like Laud be made a hissing and a curse ? as
if intolerance had been, exclusively, the vice of the
Establishment; as if the Sectarians sought nothing but
the peaceable enjoyment of their own discipline and
doctrine ; as if the faction which cried out against the
inhuman bigotry of the Church, were not intent
upon the moment when they might seize on a mono-
poly in the privilege of persecution.
1 " The little finger of Presbytery, and Independency," says
Gauden, " with the warts and wens of other factions grow-
ing upon them, have been heavier upon the Episcopal, (which
was the only legal Clergy of England, of late years,) than the
loins of any sober and godly Bishops, whatsoever, in any age :
yea, and equal to the burdens of the most passionate and im-
moderate Bishops, whatsoever." Gauden's Tears, &c. p. 227-
This is the language of truth ; albeit it cornes from the pen of
Gauden !
IX.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 361
An enforcement of uniformity, in the services and
ceremonies of the Church, formed another depart-
ment of ecclesiastical administration : and it would
be difficult to imagine anything much more unrea-
sonable, than a clamour against the hierarchy for a
firm and temperate discharge of their duty. That
we may be able to comprehend this, the more clearly,
let us consider, for a moment, what we should think
of any Bishop, in modern days, who should surren-
der the rites and formularies of the Church to the
caprices or the scruples, which might, at any time,
be wandering up and down his diocese ? What
should we say, if he were to suffer his Clergy to use,
or to omit, at their pleasure, the cross in baptism, or
the ring in matrimony, or the surplice at the desk or
altar; or, should allow the communion-table to be
dragged from the eastern wall into the middle of the
Church ? And what right could men, whether lay
or clerical, have to murmur against the supreme
authorities for enforcing, in these particulars, the
laws of the land, and the usages and canons of the
Establishment ? But, upon this matter, let us hear
the Archbishop himself. " All I laboured for in this
particular was, that the external worship of God in
this Church, might be kept up in uniformity and
decency, and in some beauty of holiness. And this
the rather, because first I found that, from the con-
tempt of the outward worship of God, the inward fell
away apace, and profaneness began boldly to show
itself. And, secondly, because I could speak with no
conscientious persons, almost, that were wavering in
religion, but the great motive which wrought upon
them to disafiect, or think meanly of the Church of
England, was that the external worship of God was
so lost in the Church, (as they conceived it,) and
362 LIFE OF [CHAP.
the churches themselves, and all things in them suf-
fered to lye in such a base and slovenly fashion in
most places of the kingdom. These, and no other
considerations, moved me to take so much care as I
did of it ; which was with a single eye, and most free
from any Romish superstition. As for ceremonies, all
that I enjoined were according to law V
It was, unhappily, the fate of Laud to succeed a
prelate, whose views and principles were widely dif-
ferent from his own. In the first place, the theology
of Abbot was, notoriously, Calvinistic. And secondly,
it is undeniable that the external decencies and so-
lemnities of religion engaged, comparatively, but lit-
tle of his solicitude and respect. There is, probably,
some exaggeration in the statements which have
reached us, relative to the general remissness of his
administration. But, still, it remains unquestionable,
that in some departments, he suffered an unseemly
dilapidation of the discipline of the Church. He al-
lowed the sacred edifices to become so ruinous and
filthy, that they almost caused the service of the Lord
to be abhorred by every one, except that party who
looked up to him as their patron and protector. In
short, he had allowed so much disorder to rush in, that
Laud felt himself called upon to perform, as it were,
a lustration of the sanctuary : and the ignorant rabble
were, therefore, taught to curse him, not only as the
minister of tyranny, but as the hierophant of supersti-
tion. The cry went forth that he was a Popish innova-
tor : whereas, the very worst that could righteously be
said of him, was, that he was a hasty and impetuous
reformer. It appears, from his own repeated declara-
tions, that Bishop Andrews was his model. And,
from all that is known of that eminent divine, it may
1 Troubles, &c.
IX.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 363
confidently be presumed that, if he had succeeded to
the primacy, (which, at one time, was very likely,)
he would have attempted all that was actually at-
tempted by Laud. But neither can it be reasonably
doubted, that Andrews would have brought with him
a spirit of much greater caution and moderation to
the work. He would have laboured to restore the
outward proprieties of worship, by a more gentle and
conciliatory process. The fault of Laud was, that
his honest zeal impelled him to proceed too rigor-
ously, and too imperiously ; and to venture on too
sudden a revival of some practices, which had been
allowed to sink into almost general disuse. And
hence it was, that the Archbishop was charged by his
adversaries with a sort of cumulative popery ; just as
he was, afterwards, accused of cumulative treason.
He was loaded with the infamy of a design to work
up the Church of England, by little and little, to a
conformity with Rome ; and to lay, once more, upon
her neck, the yoke which the martyrs and confessors
of the reformation had enabled her to shake off.
It was another serious accusation against Laud,
that he cruelly vexed and persecuted the pain-
ful and godly ministers of the Gospel. The plain
truth of this matter is, that he used, without sparing,
the power which the law placed in his hands, for the
suppression of polemical and inflammatory preaching ;
which was, then, prodigally employed to send through-
out the kingdom a spirit of frantic disaffection towards
the hierarchy and the throne. If the sanctuary were,
now, to be desecrated by similar abuses, the case
would, assuredly, be fit for the paternal castigation
of the diocesan ; or, for the cognizance of the grand
jury ; or, perhaps, for the more vigorous good offices
of his Majesty's Attorney-general. It can never,
364 LIFE OF [CHAP.
without imminent danger to the public peace, be en-
dured, that virulent libels against the Church and
state should, systematically, issue from the chair of
spiritual instruction ; or that the pulpit should be
converted into the rostrum of sedition l . It may be
true that the tribunal often resorted to for the punish-
ment of such outrages, had become formidably ad-
verse to the liberties of the country. But it would
be the consummation of all injustice, to make Laud
answerable for the vices of its constitution. But on
this point, again, let us hear him speak for himself.
" I have not by myself, nor by my command to
my officers, silenced, suspended, deprived, degraded,
or excommunicated any learned, pious, and orthodox
preachers, but upon just cause proved in court, and
according to law Nor have I, by their sus-
pensions, hindered the preaching of God's word, but
of schism and sedition ; as now appears plainly by the
sermons frequently made in London 2 since the time
of liberty given and taken, since this parliament first
began And whereas in their late remonstrance
they say the high commission grew to such excess of
sharpness and severity as was not much less than the
Romish Inquisition, and yet, in many cases, by the
Archbishop's power was made much more heavy, being
assisted and strengthened by the authority of the coun-
cil table I was much troubled at it, that such an
imputation from so great a body should be fastened
on me Therefore, to satisfy myself and others
in this particular, I did cause a diligent search to be
1 We know at this day, by bitter experience, the effects of suf-
fering the Romish altar to be converted into a rostrum of
sedition !
2 A very curious collection of specimens of puritanical elo-
quence may be found in Nicoll's " Arminianism and Calvinism
compared."
IX.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 365
made in the acts of that court, (which can deceive no
man,) what suspensions, deprivations, and other pu-
nishments had passed in the seven years of my time
before my commitment. Then I compared them with
every one of the three seven years of my immediate
predecessor (Abbot] for so long he sat, and some-
what over, and was in great esteem with the House
of Commons all his time and I find more by three
suspended, deprived, or degraded, in every seven years
of his time, than in the seven years of my time, so
cried out upon for sharpness and severity, even to the
equalling of that commission almost to the Romish In-
quisition. So safe a thing it is for a man to embark
himself into a potent faction ; and so hard for any other
man, be he never so intire, to withstand its violence V
We should hardly have been tempted to advert to
these topics so much at length, if it were not often,
and confidently, asserted, that the schism about
trifles, in the time of Elizabeth and the first Stuarts,
was converted, by persecution, into a systematic poli-
tical opposition. It is necessary to protest against
this averment, as egregiously insidious and unjust ;
as tending to arm all the resentments of mankind
against the hierarchy, and to engage all their sympa-
thies on the part of the non-conformists and sectarians.
It would be a much more righteous statement of the
case, to say, that the opposition in question was,
mainly, the result of a struggle for existence on the
part of the Anglican Church, and for supremacy on
the part of the ultra-Protestants. The mal-content
faction was, for a time, defeated ; and of course, it
was filled with "unconquerable hate ;" and became,
at length, the natural sanctuary for all the turbulence
1 Troubles, Src p. 163, 164.
366 LIFE OF [CHAP.
and disaffection which, before, might happen to be
afloat in the political system. Arid, hence, the con-
flict which terminated in the overthrow of the Church
and Monarchy. That Calvinism, and Presbyterianism,
and Independency, are no very destructive plagues at
the present day, has often been asserted : and, within
certain limits, the assertion may be true. Time and
circumstances may have done much to tame them.
At the period in question, however, their talons were
sharp, and their fangs venomous, and their temper des-
perately savage. It was necessary to protect the
public against their furious aggressions ; and the mea-
sures taken for this purpose, were not so much mea-
sures of persecution, as measures of precaution and
of self-defence. Whether, or not, the struggle was
maintained by Laud, and other rulers of the Church,
with greater keenness of spirit, and violence of action,
than the perils of the time demanded, is a vast and
complicated question, which, perhaps, no human sa-
gacity will ever completely set at rest. Of one thing,
however, there can be no reasonable doubt, that the
severities actually inflicted were most unscrupulously
exaggerated by the clamours of the suffering party l .
In truth, the furious outcry raised by the Calvinistic
1 We are told, for instance, in a work entitled Altare Damas-
cenum, that, in Bancroft's time, no less than three hundred
preaching ministers had been silenced or deprived ! Whereas, it
appears, from the Rolls produced by Bancroft, before his death,
that only forty-nine had been deprived, on all occasions, out of
our nine or ten thousand parishes ; and that even this measure of
severity was, for the time, so successful, that non-conformity grew
out of fashion. Heylyn, Aerius Redivivus, p. 376.
It has already been stated, that, when Bishop Wren was charged
with atrocious persecution, he, likewise, exposed the calumny, by
the production of his registers.
IX.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 367
faction of that age, against Archbishop Laud, as a
Popish persecutor, furnishes us with a singular illus-
tration of the deceitfulness of the human heart, or of
the hardness of the human forehead. For, of all the
repulsive peculiarities of the holy discipline, as it ex-
hibited itself in his time, there was none, perhaps,
so remarkable, as its coarse, hard-featured resem-
lance to that very Popery, which was the object of
its professed abhorrence. The Presbyterian system
was, in its original principles, as sternly and avowedly
intolerant as the pontifical chair. It extended no
hope of salvation, beyond the pale of its own commu-
nion. It affected a dominion, paramount to all
earthly magistracy. It proclaimed a war of extermi-
nation against heresy. It was ready to compass
earth and sea for proselytes. Violence and terror
were employed to establish its claim to infallibility.
And if Popery had its council of Trent, Calvinism
had its synod of Dort. If it abjured the idolatry of
the mass, it may fairly be said to have found a sub-
stitute, in the ordinance of preaching 1 : for to the
1 The almost superstitious estimation in which preaching was
held by the Puritans, is thus adverted to by Laud in his con-
ference :
" I have often heard some wise men say, that the Jesuit in the
Church of Rome and the precise party in the Reformed Churches
agree in many things, though they would seem most to differ.
And surely this is one : for both of them differ extremely about
tradition ; the one in magnifying it, and exalting it into Divine
authority; the other vilifying it, and depressing it almost beneath
human. And yet, even in these different ways, both agree in
this consequent : that the sermons and preachings by word of mouth
of the lawfully sent pastors and doctors of the Church, are able to
breed in us Divine and infallible faith ; nay, are the very word of
God. And no less than so, have some accounted their own fac-
368 LIFE OF [CHAP.
Presbyterian, the sermon was almost as much the life
and soul of public worship, as the sacrifice of the eu-
charist was to the Romanist. If it renounced alto-
gether the merit of ritual performances, it seemed to
indemnify itself, by setting up, instead, the merit of
neglecting them. If the Pope claimed power to hurl
monarchs from their thrones, the Presbytery, in like
manner, held itself commissioned to denounce them
as traitors to the majesty of the people, and enemies
to God. If the Pope could proclaim, that to keep
faith with heretics, was to be false to the Church, the
Presbytery could declare, precisely in the same spirit,
that oaths were nullities, whenever they tended to
the detriment of the holy cause. Nay, if the Pontiff
grasped the keys of St. Peter, the Presbytery wielded
the sceptre of Christ himself. And, lastly, to
complete the similitude, if the Romish discipline
transferred the care of his own conscience from the
sinner to the priest, very similar to this was the effect
of the system of Geneva : as we may distinctly learn
from the representation of it by Milton ; who has left
us a picture of the domestic conscience-keeper, touched
with inimitable force of caustic humour 1 . Such being
tious words as the word of God And it may be observed
too, that no men are more apt to say that all the Fathers were but
men, and might err, than they that think their own preachings
are infallible." Conference with Fisher, p. 100.
1 As the prose works of Milton are not, now, in the hands of
every one, we are quite certain that our readers will be glad to
see this picture introduced here : " A man may be a heretic in
the truth ; and if he believe things only because his pastor says
so, or the Assembly so determines, without knowing other reason,
though his belief be true, yet the very truth he holds becomes
his heresy. There is not any burden that some would gladlier
put off to another, than the charge and care of their religion.
IX.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 369
the notorious character and tendency of the Calvin-
istic fanaticism, in that age, we may readily imagine
the indignation of the Arminian, Laud, on finding
himself assailed and hunted down as a confederate of
the old persecuting religion. The preceding narra-
tive of his life, will enable us to trace the rise and
progress of this slander. And every one, conversant
with those times, must now perceive, that to charge
him with a design to subvert the religion of the refor-
mation, would be about as reasonable, as to affirm
There be who knows not that there be ? of Protestants and pro-
fessors, who live in as arrant and implicit faith, as any lay Papist
of Loretto. A wealthy man, addicted to his pleasures and to his
profits, finds religion to be a traffic so entangled, and of so many
peddling accounts, that, of all mysteries, he cannot skill to keep a
stock going upon that trade. What should he do ? Fain would
he have the name to be religious, fain he would bear up with his
neighbours in that. What does he, therefore, but resolves to
give over toiling, and to find himself out some factor, to whose
care and credit he may commit the whole managing of his reli-
gious affairs ; some divine of note and estimation that must be.
To him he adheres, resigns the whole warehouse of his religion,
with all the locks and keys, into his custody ; and, indeed,
makes the very person of that man his religion ; esteems his as-
sociating with him a sufficient evidence and commendatory of
his own piety. So that a man might say, his religion is now no
more within himself, but is become an individual moveable, and
goes and comes near him, according as that good man frequents
the house. He entertains him, gives him gifts, feasts him,
lodges him. His religion comes home at night, prays, is liberally
supped, and sumptuously laid to sleep ; rises, is saluted ; and (after
the malmsey, or some well-spiced brewage, and better break-
fasted than He, whose morning appetite would have gladly fed
on green figs between Bethany and Jerusalem) his religion walks
abroad at eight, and leaves his kind entertainer in the shop,
trading without his religion !" Milton's Areopag. Prose Works
v. i. p. 316, Ed. Symm. This was written in 1645, when the
Church was depressed, and the Presbyterian system triumphant.
B b
370 LIFE OF [CHAP.
that he was a party to the gunpowder plot. The
calumny, however, did its office. The falsehood was
eminently serviceable in its day. In the first place,
it helped to prepare the public mind for the overthrow
of the Church, which he ruled, and, with it, of the
throne, which he faithfully served. And, secondly,
(as he himself complains,) it contributed more to his
own personal ruin, than double of all the other machi-
nations against him. Even at this hour, it carries on a
sort of ambushed warfare against his fame. The hasty
and superficial student of history is still apt to rise
with a secret, undefined impression, that there must,
after all, have been something fatally unsound in the
religious principles of a man, who, all his life long,
was gored and worried by a faction, which seemed to
be incessantly thirsting for the blood of Papists.
Among the circumstances which contributed to
fix upon the Archbishop the imputation of a secret
attachment to Rome, may be reckoned the indulgence
occasionally shown to the Papists during his adminis-
tration. But, no one, who has the slightest ac-
quaintance with the history of those times, can possi-
bly be misled by this strange and very reprehensible
perversion. It was, notoriously, the policy of Eliza-
beth, of James, and of Charles, to let the laws against
the Romanists sleep, until they were awakened by
machinations which savoured of treason, rather than
of heresy : and, in this respect, those sovereigns were
far advanced beyond the intolerant notions of their
times. It must, further, be remembered, that the
Protestants of England, who were loudest in their
outcry for the persecution of Papists, were equally
loud in their demand for the intercessions of the
English government, in behalf of the suffering Pro-
IX.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 371
testants of France ; and that these intercessions were
always answered by similar demands, on the part of
the French court, in favour of the suffering Romanists
in England. This brief and indisputable statement
must, surely, be sufficient to dispose of a large por-
tion of the calumnies then vented against Arch-
bishop Laud; and against all, who, like him, had to
rule the Church of England, in times of unexampled
difficulty and embarrassment.
Another circumstance which in his own times,
greatly strengthened the belief of his apostacy, was
the offer of a Cardinal's hat, made to him on the very
morning that his predecessor expired. The affair,
unquestionably, has, at first sight, a very strange
appearance : and, to our apprehension, the mystery
is not cleared up by the language and demeanour of
the Archbishop, on the occasion. If, in this age, a
person, professing to be an emissary of Rome, were
to wait on the Primate of all England, with a similar
proposal, his Grace would, of course, lose no time in
dismissing the man, with all imaginable courtesy ;
and having, done so, he would, doubtless, congratu-
late himself on having got rid of a visitor not alto-
gether in his right mind. Nothing could be more
different from this, than the conduct of Laud. He
seems to have betrayed neither astonishment, nor
indignation, nor disturbance of any kind. He calmly
replied to the person who came to him, in secret, with
the offer, that "something dwelled within him, which
would not suffer that, till Rome was otherwise than
it was at that present time V To us, such an awswer
must appear strangely ambiguous and faint. We,
1 Diary, p. 49.
Bb2
372 LIFE OF [CHAP.
perhaps, should have expected that he would meet
the proposal much in the same manner that St. Basil,
or St. Ambrose, would have received an offer of elec-
tion into the College of Augurs, or the fraternity
of Flamens or Pontifaes. Whereas, the tone of his
refusal seems to imply, that there was nothing extra-
vagantly absurd in the arrangement, and that, if
Rome would but submit to some material reforms
in her system, the Archbishop of Canterbury might,
without any violation of consistency, become a mem-
ber of the sacred conclave.
The seeming faintness of Laud's refusal will, how-
ever, appear much less extraordinary, when it is
remembered that even his adversary and rival, Bishop
Williams, was, at one time, suspected of positively
aspiring to the same Popish honour ; and that there
is very substantial evidence to show this suspicion
to have been well-founded *. A little reflection may
be sufficient for the explanation of such facts as
these : which, otherwise, might seem almost inexpli-
cable. In these times, a reconciliation between the
Romish and the Reformed Communions, would be
thought scarcely less chimerical, than a coalition
1 We learn from Racket, in his Life of Williams, pt. i. p. 93, 94.
that, in 1622, a Cardinal's hat was rumoured to have been ac-
tually offered to Williams. And, in a Manuscript of the Earl
of Leycester, in the British Museum, it is asserted that, when
Williams was Lord Keeper, he tried to be made a Cardinal,
by Buckingham's interest ; and, further, that this statement was
solemnly confirmed by Endymion Porter, who, at that time, was
in the service of Buckingham : which shows, says the Earl, what
an excellent conscience Williams had ; desiring to be a Cardinal
when he was in favour, and betaking himself to the Puritans,
when he was in disgrace. See Blencowe's Sidney Papers, p.
261263. Note (a.)
IX.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 373
between the religion of the Cross, and that of the
Crescent. A Protestant Cardinal sounds, to our ears,
almost as odd, as a Christian Imam. But, in the
time of Laud and Williams, the case was widely
different. The breach between the Churches was,
then, by no means universally regarded as altogether
desperate 1 . It was, indeed, a most tremendous
schism ; but one which, (according to the views of
many,) it was not wholly beyond the power of wis-
dom and charity to repair. And, to an ardent wish
for its reparation, we may principally ascribe the
1 In the Harleian MSS. 3142, is a curious Letter to King
James, from a Dr. Carier, who had been converted to Romanism ;
in which, the writer says, " The reasons, or rather corruptions
of the State, have so confounded the doctrine of the Church of
England, and so slandered the Church of Rome, as it hath turned
men's brains ; and made the multitude on both sides, like two
fools, who being set back to back, do think they are as far asun -
der, as the horizons that they look upon. But, if it might please
your Majesty to command them to turn but a quarter about, and
look both one way, to the service of God and your Majesty, and
to the salvation of souls ; they should, presently, see themselves
to be a great deal more near together, in matters of doctrine,
than the puritanical preachers, on both sides, do make them
believe they are."
The prevalent feeling, that the breach with Rome was not
absolutely irreparable, may help to account for the very cour-
teous and complimentary style of intercourse which was occa-
sionally kept up with her by some distinguished Protestants.
Sully relates, (vol. iv. p. 20, English Translation,) that he re-
ceived from Paul V. a singularly nattering epistle, conceived in
the strongest terms of esteem and admiration, but expressive of
ardent wishes for his conversion. On the topic of conversion,
Sully, in reply, says not one syllable ; but, in the matter of com-
pliment, he pays his holiness in his own coin ; and even talks of
the honour of kissing his feet: a strain of civility which, he con-
fesses, might rather discompose his Protestant friends. It is
\vell known that James I. considered himself as a sort of martyr
374 LIFE OF [CHAP.
fact, that the Canterburian divines, (as they were
called,) ventured to put forth some divinity, in which
certain Romish practices and opinions were treated
with more of tenderness and indulgence, than would
now be thought defensible *. It is probable, indeed,
that no serious thoughts of compromise or union
were ever entertained, at Rome. But the mother
and mistress of all Churches would have strangely
forgotten her cunning, had she proclaimed to the
world, that the gates of reconciliation were shut for
ever ; or, had she renounced the advantage, likely to
certainly not less than a confessor of the Protestant faith ;
and yet did the Pope invite this Protestant confessor to send his
son, prince Henry, to Rome, for the completion of his educa-
tion ; a proposal which, though declined, was declined with cour-
tesy. It will also be recollected that Charles I. addressed the
Pope in a style which, in the present day, would hardly be re-
garded as consistent with sincere Protestantism. Now all this
leering and ogling between Rome and her revolted subjects
could hardly have taken place, if reconciliation had been consi-
dered as something perfectly visionary, and beyond the pale of
possibility.
1 In the Collection of Pamphlets, given by George III. to the
British Museum, vol. cxxix. No. 3. 4to. London, 1643, is an
" Examination of the Life of Laud," by Robert Bayley, the
Scottish Commissioner. It contains very copious quotations from
the wriiings of the " Canterburian Divines." In the whole of
these quotations, Bayley, of course, sees nothing but Popery ; and
this, too, in a multitude of instances, where the soundest divines
of the present day would discover no Popery at all. Some ha-
zardous and indiscreet passages, however, he undoubtedly has
produced. So that Heylyn, who stood forth as the apologist of
those writers, was compelled to admit, that " swelling words"
had been written by them, upon some topics, such as the ho-
nour due to the Virgin Mary, to Saints, Images, Reliques, &c.
But their chief object manifestly was, to show that these were
not matters which ought to cause an irreparable schism.
XI.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 375
result to her from an attempt, which might end in a
more full exposure of the disunion of her enemies.
There was nothing, therefore, in the proposal to
Laud, which was at all contrary to her policy. And
it had, moreover, this signal recommendation that,
whatever might be its success, the very offer itself
would, probably, throw suspicion and discredit on
one, whom she notoriously hated, as her most for-
midable adversary.
The above considerations may be sufficient to
render the whole of the above transaction quite in-
telligible. They may help both to account for the
offer itself, and to explain the reception given to it
by the Archbishop. The proposal was, certainly,
not treated by him, as it would be now. He did
not repel it as an insult. He did not reject it as a
visionary scheme. He calmly intimated that a great
change must take place in Rome, before an Anglican
Prelate could become a member of her hierarchy.
And there can be no question, that, when he gave
this answer, he contemplated, with perfect integrity
of heart, the possibility, at least, of such a coalition,
as might enable a Protestant Churchman to accept,
without breach of conscience, the patronage of the
Roman Pontiff. In his reply to that article of im-
peachment, which charged him with a traitorous
attempt to reconcile the two Churches, he most dis-
tinctly avows that he did both wish and labour for
such a reconciliation. He declares, that he ever
prayed heartily for the unity of the whole Church
of Christ, and for the peace of torn and divided
Christendom. His desire was, that England and
Rome might meet together, provided that their union
could be accomplished without a sacrifice of truth,
376 LIFE OF [CHAP.
or an abandonment of foundations. If this could be
done, God forbid, he exclaims, but I should labour
for a reconciliation. The language in which he
proceeds to repel the imputation of a traitorous
design against the Protestant faith, is such as might
be expected to burst from a heart outraged beyond
all endurance, by the remorseless iniquity of his
oppressors : " I do here make my solemn protesta-
tion, in the presence of God, and of this great Court,
that I am innocent of any thing, greater or less, that
is charged in this article, or in any part of it
Let nothing be tendered against me, but the truth,
and I do challenge whatsoever is between heaven
and hell, to come in, and witness whatever is against
me in this particular V
But, although Laud thus openly and intrepidly
avowed his desire for a reconciliation, which might
concede to Rome a precedency of honor among the
Christian Churches, we find that, at last, he had but
little hope of success. He was apprehensive as he
declares that " some tenets of the Roman party, on
the one side, and some deep and embittered disaffection
on the other," had rendered the design impracticable.
But, hopeless as the attempt might be, it still is
most revolting to see an Archbishop of Canterbury
pursued, and overwhelmed with obloquy, for a chari-
table project, which had the good wishes of many
illustrious men ; and which was actually revived by
another Primate 2 , though with no better success, in
the following century.
We might here introduce a vast mass of evidence,
to show the absurdity of the supposition, that Laud
1 Troubles, &c. p. 162. 2 Archbishop Wake.
IX.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD, 377
was in collusion with the Papacy, for the overthrow
of the reformed faith in England. To say nothing
of his controversy with Fisher, we might advert to
the individuals whom he preserved, or reclaimed,
from Popery; to his letter to Sir Kenelm Digby, on
his defection from the Church of England l ; and to
his labours for the reconciliation of the Calvinists
and Lutherans of Germany, with a view to more
compact resistance against Rome 2 . "We might pro-
duce the opinions of many among his Protestant
contemporaries, the fact, that Con, the Papal Nun-
cio, could never obtain access to him 3 , the inces-
sant exhortations, with which he encouraged and in-
cited Gerard Vossius, in the prosecution of his in-
tended labours against Baronius 4 the persuasion ex-
pressed by a Father of the English College at Rome,
that the measures of Laud tended to the serious
injury of the Papal Church, by attracting Romanists
to the Church of England, instead of merging the
Church of England in that of Rome 5 , to the joy
with which the intelligence of his death was received
1 Troubles, &o. p. 418. 610.
2 Above sixty letters were found in his study, relative to this
design. Troubles, &c. p. 419.
3 See Rome's Masterpiece, at the end of Laud's Troubles, &c.
Also Rushworth, vol. iii. p. 1320. 1327.
4 For instance i " I heartily approve your plan, with regard
to Baronius. . . The main point is, to show, succinctly, in
what particulars the Church of Rome has most widely receded
from the primitive Church, and to confirm the statement by
irrefragable arguments. Both of which, as I have always judged,
will be of easy accomplishment to you." Praest. Vir. Epist. No.
457. p. 732. (a). Again, " I never cease to press Baronius
upon you." Ibid, No. 505. p. 765. (a.) These exhortations are
perpetually reiterated in his correspondence.
5 Echard's Hist, of Engl. vol. 5. p. 483.
2
378 LIFE OF [CHAP,
by the Papists, who spoke of him as their most formi-
dable enemy, in this country, and as the mightiest
champion of the Anglican Church l . This, and a variety
of similar proof, might easily be accumulated. But
it would be almost superfluous ; and would occupy
much more space than this volume can afford.
One word must be said respecting the temper with
which Laud endured the calumny and persecution
which fell upon him. And for this we may appeal,
in the first place, to the folio wing testimony of Philip
Limborch 2 . "The most reverend William Laud,
Archbishop of Canterbury, who, on account of his
religion, was beheaded by fiery zealots, here shows
himself worthy of the highest admiration. Though
attacked with grievous accusations, and loaded with
numerous calumnies, in his most familiar letters to
Vossius, he gives no utterance to curses against his
ferocious enemies : but, imitating the example of his
Saviour, when reviled he reviled not again ; and,
when attacked, he threatened not ; but blessed them
who cursed him, and poured forth the most ardent
prayers for his persecutors." Now, even if the let-
ters of the Archbishop to Vossius were not extant,
to speak for themselves, the report of them, by Lim-
borch, would be superior to all exception. It is
true, that Limborch was an Arminian. But no man
1 The testimony of Evelyn is peculiarly valuable. He was at
Rome when a copy of Land's speech on the scaffold arrived
there. The English Fathers with whom he was in company
read it, " and commented upon it with no small satisfaction and
contempt : and looked upon him as one that was a great enemy
to them, and stood in their way : while one of the blackest
crimes imputed to him, was his being Popishly affected."
Printed at the end of the "Troubles, &c." p. 616.
2 In his preface to the Praestantium, &c. Epistolae.
IX.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 379
was ever less disposed to sympathize with bigots.
He was, notoriously, attached to the principles of
toleration ; and was the friend and correspondent of
Locke. The letters of Laud to Vossius, however,
have been preserved to us ; and they amply support
the description given by their learned editor. Several
instances of this have been produced in the course of
the preceding narrative. The following will furnish
another illustration of his forbearance, at a moment
when his evil days were approaching, and evil
tongues were loudest against him. On the 31st
August, 1640, he writes thus : " You are not igno-
rant of the great and bitter troubles brought upon us,
in England, by the Scottish affairs. Whither the
revolutionists ffuriosi novatores) are tending, I
well know. To what point they will actually ad-
vance, is known only to God. But, upon these
matters, I have neither leisure, nor inclination, to
write ; lest my paper should be stained with gall.
For I have learned that, even among foreigners, my
name is torn to pieces by the calumnies of these
men 2 ." His usual prayer, when writing on similar
occasions, is, that God would grant him patience, and
forgive his enemies.
In conclusion, then, what is to be said of this
man ? Was he faithless to his country, or his God ?
Was he without all sense of moral and religious obli-
gation ? Was he agitated incessantly with the furies
of a malignant temper ? Was he a conspirator
against the fundamental laws of England ? Was he
either a corrupter of the national faith, or a traitor to
it ? Or, if none of these, was he the driveller and the
1 This is not from Limborch's collection, but from the corres-
dence of Vossius, edited by Colomesius, 1690; Epist. 300.
p. 149.
380 LIFE OF [CHAP.
dotard which, in later times, he has been represented?
Was he, in short, as it has been affirmed, the mon-
ster or the idiot, on whom the Church, with maternal
infatuation, has lavished her especial favor and
protection ?
A juster estimate than this may, surely, be formed
of the worth of Archbishop Laud. In temper he
was un tractable ; in manner, often impetuous and
repulsive ; in opinion, stiff and occasionally obsti-
nate ; in the discharge of public duty, stern, inflex-
ible, and, doubtless, far too much disposed to ex-
tremities of rigour. His very virtues were, for the
most part, of an austere and somewhat forbidding
physiognomy. Both his excellences, and his fail-
ings, however, were intimately connected with a
detestation of iniquity. He seems to have had no
conception of a compromise with delinquency, whe-
ther in high places, or in low *. He was prepared,
at all times, to set his face, like a rock, against every
quarter, from which he apprehended danger to the
interests of virtue and religion, to the service of his
King, and to the honor and stability of the church 2 .
And hence it was, that he provoked the anger of the
Puritans, the pride and cupidity of the courtiers, and
1 It has been said, that " his rigid honesty made him fit for
primitive times ; while Bishop Williams's policy taught him to
manage the infirmities of his own. The one was fit to govern
saints ; the other to deal with men, which is far the more diffi-
cult task. Laud had always the innocence of the dove, with
not enough of the serpent's wisdom. Williams had very much
of the latter ; but, we have reason to fear, not the full perfec-
tion of the former." Echard's Hist, of England, vol. i. p. 421.
2 Laud's own view of his Church policy, was briefly expres-
sed by him to a friend, when he was in the Tower : " I have
endeavoured to repair an old house ; but it fell to ruin about my
ears!" Ib. p. 483. (a.)
IX.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 381
(more bitter than all) the malignity of the Cove-
nanting Scots. He abhorred and dreaded the demon
which seemed to possess the people; but he was
unable to cast it out: and, accordingly, the evil
spirit leaped upon him, and overcame him, and pre-
vailed against him. He despised the selfish arro-
gance of many among the aristocracy ; and con-
fronted it, perhaps, with too much of the pride of
Churchmanship. He was, further, anxious that the
discipline of the Church should be felt, as well as
spoken of; and, therefore, he essayed to drag the
vices of the great before the spiritual judgment-seat.
And thus, he armed against himself principalities
and powers of another kind : till, at last, the Court
and faction were emulous of each other, in their
zeal for his destruction. He, lastly, at the command
of his sovereign, made a rash assault on the religious
prepossessions of the Scottish nation: and this, at a
time, when all the elements within her were ripe for
commotion, at the very first signal. The weapon
was, unhappily, launched at the flanks of a monster
" teeming with arms." The presiding power was
instantly and implacably incensed ; and, shortly after,
the ministers of vengeance were seen rolling towards
him, to crush and to devour him.
In the midst of the perils with which his unflinch-
ing and stern integrity had surrounded him, his spirit
never seems to have quailed for an instant. For
years together, he heard the cry becoming deeper
and deeper : but yet, his eye was ever steadily fixed
upon his adversaries. His name was often placarded
over the town, as an enemy to God and man : but
there was within him a sense of duty to God and
man, which, whether mistaken or not, kept him
382 LIFE OF [CHAP.
unmoved, in the midst of the plague that walked in
darkness, and the arrow that flew by noon l . Even
when the dogs of persecution were at his heels, his
fortitude remained unshaken. He presented a firm
and undaunted front, to the very last : and came
forth to his death with the aspect of one who is con-
queror, and more than conqueror. And, let it be
remembered, that this was not the intrepidity of
brutal hardihood ; for his Diary speaks, at times, in
the language of human apprehension, respecting the
dangers that arrayed themselves against him ; and
it speaks too, in the language of heavenly forgive-
ness, of the fury of his enemies. Neither was his
firmness the result of a robust constitution : for suf-
fering and feebleness had been his portion from his
earliest childhood. His was an interior courage,
which made him strong in the midst of weakness,
and gave him youth and lustihood, while bowing
beneath the load of infirmity and age.
And does not his blood, even now, cry out of the
dust against the wickedness which sought his life ?
And does it not cry, as loudly, in accents of warn-
1 In the Mickleton and Spearman papers, in Bishop Cosin's
Library, at Durham, are several letters of Laud to Bishop Mor-
ton ; in one of which (46,30) he says, "your complaint is some-
what large, that there hath been sinister working against you,
through the sides of others. But your Lordship shall do well
not to trouble yourself much with it. For I know not that Bishop
whose place calls him to do any thing, but he is so served, so,
at least ! But for myself, 'tis not only so ; but, besides that, I am
publicly laid at, on all hands, and have no fence but to bear it"
In the same letter he remarks, " the times are so full of danger,
as I know not whom to believe." Lambeth, October 19, 1639.
The same sense of impending danger, and the same intrepid reso-
lution, are frequently expressed in his Letters to J. G. Vossius.
5
IX.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 383
ing to the men of the present generation ? And if
we are deaf to that call, are there not sounds and
voices now abroad to arouse us, from the visions of
other times, to sights of present, and scarcely less
appalling reality ? The reeking scaffold of Laud,
the triumphs of a fanatical and sanguinary rabble,
the spectacle of a prostrate throne, a ruined Church,
and a persecuted hierarchy ; all these are, to many
among us, like " the fierce vexation of a dream."
And when they awake, they find themselves in the
midst of a scene that bears an aspect of solid and
imperishable grandeur. The interval of two hun-
dred years has, doubtless, developed our national
resources, to an extent which our ancestors would
have regarded as absolutely chimerical. But then,
it must be remembered, the process of time has, like-
wise, brought with it a portentous fermentation,
which, at this moment, is spreading throughout the
whole mass of society : all the elements of which
appear to be in a state of deep and restless commo-
tion, and to be perpetually tending towards new
and untried combinations. Whether these symp-
toms promise a safe and prosperous result, or, whe-
ther they threaten a violent and ruinous explosion,
no limited acquaintance with the moral chemistry of
our nature can venture, with perfect confidence, to
anticipate. Thus much, however, is certain, that
the agitation ought to be watched by men of the
profoundest skill, and the most entire self-posses-
sion : lest by the withholding of the requisite ingre-
dients, or the infusion of pernicious ones, the mix-
ture should burst into conflagration ; and universal
havoc should result from the ignorance, the rashness,
or the trepidation of the experimenters.
384 LIFE OF [CHAP.
Such is the state of things to which thoughtful
minds must awaken, whenever they alight from their
visionary excursions among the generations that
have passed away. And in the midst of the " trem-
bling of heart, and the failing of eyes, and the sorrow
of mind," which will, at times, come over us, while
absorbed in meditations such as these, there is one
point to which our hopes and fears are constantly
reverting ; and that point is no other than the Na-
tional Church. We learn from history how salutary
and conservative a principle this was, in several other
awful vicissitudes, through which this our country
has passed. And we still fix upon it as the princi-
ple, which, if duly estimated, and faithfully applied,
will, under God's gracious providence, mainly con-
tribute to her preservation, in the midst of future
changes and convulsions.
But can the Church itself be preserved ? the
Church^ considered as a great National Institution ;
with all the rightful precedency and honour which,
in that character, belong to it. And, when we are
considering this tremendous question, it cannot,
surely, escape our observation, that there is, at this
day, a spirit on the wing, which is ready to combine
itself, either with Popery, or with Dissent, in all its
manifold varieties ; with any society, in short, or
with any interest, which may be supposed to con-
tain, within itself, the seeds of discontent or disaf-
fection. It is a spirit which is ready to become all
things to all men. To the nonconformist, it will
become as a nonconformist : to the Romanist, it will
become as a Romanist. To the weak, it will become
as weak ; and will use the accents of candour and of
moderation. To the daring, it will show itself full of
IX.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 385
hardihood and strength ; and will speak openly of
the things which pertain to anarchy and demolition.
Its secret object is, to banish all fear of God, and all
reverence for the powers that be. But, nevertheless,
it can take the form of an angel of light ; and burn,
like a seraph, when pointing to the glories of that
period, which is to witness the regeneration and the
perfection of the human race. It is a spirit, too,
which is constantly labouring to enter into the herd,
and to possess them : and, if it should be suffered,
the end would be, that they must be driven down the
steep ; where, at last, they would struggle and perish.
Now, it is the rooted conviction of many sober-
minded persons, that there is, also, an antagonist
spirit abroad ; able, and more than able, to encoun-
ter this minister of evil : in other words, that there
pervades the general mass of the British community
a principle of religion, broad and deep, which will
keep it safe from the assaults and the artifices of
the tempter. Let us allow this persuasion to be
just. Then there arises the consideration how is
the National Church to demean herself, in order that
she may contribute the amplest contingent towards
the moral preservation of the Empire? And this
question involves another ; how can the Church la-
bour most hopefully for the preservation of her own
life and vigour ? How can she best strengthen the
things that yet remain unto her ? Is she to concen-
trate her own powers ; and to occupy her own
ground ; and to do her own work ? Or, is she to
descend from her own position ; and to learn other
tactics than her own ; and to carry on the warfare
against Popery, or infidelity, or vice, under the ban-
ner of what is called our common Protestantism ?
c c
386 LIFE OF [CHAP.
We would gladly hope, that by far the greater
portion of her ministers, and the most intelligent of
her laity, will be at no loss for a reply to this ques-
tion. But, still, there seems to hang a sort of fas-
cination over the spectacle of a holy and catholic
league, between Christian men of every denomination
all banded together, as brethren, against the hosts
of ungodliness, all prepared for a charitable oblivion
of their subordinate differences, and all resolved to
know nothing but Christ, and Him crucifed. There
is no man, whose heart is right with God, but must,
occasionally, have felt the difficulty of resistance to
the power of this majestic vision. But, nevertheless,
when we are brought back to the " sober certainty"
of our waking thoughts, the question will intrude
itself, whether this vision ever can be realized,
without a virtual surrender of every thing that
constitutes the life and essence of a National and
Protestant-Catholic Church? whether the peculiar
efficacy of such an establishment must not be lost,
from the moment when it consents to number itself
merely among the multitude of sects, which form the
extended line of the Protestant battle ? and whether
the day, on which it abdicates its apostolic post of
honor, would not, likewise, be the day, from which
might be dated the decay of its influence and power,
as the grand conservative element of our social
system ? We might go still further than this, and
ask, whether the Protestant cause would not, in the
end, be fatally weakened and endangered, through-
out its whole length and breadth, by such a compro-
mise on the part of the Church of England ?
We regret that our space forbids us to work out
these thoughts, to their conclusion ; because it is
IX.] ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 387
much to be feared that those conclusions are by no
means so familiar as might be desired, to many of
the most active members of the Church. And, if
this fear be just, we would beseech of our brethren
to keep in mind, What are the views, and what the
persuasions, of those very parties, in whose alliance
they are seeking an accession to their strength ? Are
they aware, or are they not, that the same spirit,
which once animated the Puritanical body, and im-
pelled it to the destruction of the hierarchy, has
transmigrated, through successive generations, into
the ultra- Protestant body of the present day? Are
they aware, or are they not, that among the men
who are calling loudly for a promiscuous array of the
whole Protestant levy, against the thickening force
of Popery, there are numbers who stigmatize episco-
pacy as a remnant of Popish imposture and corrup-
tion ; and who denounce the clergy of the Establish-
ment, as little better, for the most part, than traitors
to the principles of the Reformation ? Are they
aware, or are they not, that the clamour, which
brought Laud to the scaffold, is, even now, vehement
and fierce against that very cause, for which Laud
counted not his life dear unto him ? If they are
aware of these things, and yet are impatient for
catholic coalition and confederacy, nothing is left
for us, but to pray that they may be brought to a
safer and a better mind. If they are not aware of
them, then let them give their days and nights to
the study of those annals, which record the tempo-
rary predominance of the ultra-protestant principle,
in these realms : and let them read, there, the perils
of a treaty, offensive and defensive, with it. Let
them ponder on the fact, that the parties who, then,
c c 2
388 LII E OF [CHAP.
were raving incessantly for the extirpation of Popery,
were also the parties who rested not, till they had
laid the Church in ruins.
Is it, then, expedient that the Church should at
any time be backward in coming to the rescue of the
truth, when threatened by the onset of heresy, or
superstition ? No not so. But it is expedient
nay, it is absolutely needful that she should fight
her own battle, with her own forces, and according,
to her own discipline. Let others be left to prose-
cute the warfare, with the weapons, and the strategy,
and the scheme of operation, to which they may be
most accustomed ; and let every impression made by
them upon the ranks of any common foe, be cheered
by her, with generous acclamation. But let her
columns be compact together, with her own men ;
with men of deliberate " valour and fixed thought ;"
with men " strong and skilful to their strength."
With this solid mass, let her be prepared to march
calmly onward, in legionary power and majesty ;
and, if need be, into the very heart of her enemy's
camp. But, if she once shall merge herself in a
miscellaneous, irregular, tumultuary force, her
strength will be dissipated and gone ; and her glory
will be lost : and it may be well if she is not tram-
pled down beneath the feet of her allies, in the throng
and fury of the assault.
In the mean time, we would invoke whatever
there is yet among us of constancy, of virtue, and of
devotion, to guard the sacred fire which burns upon
her altar. We would call on those, who name them-
selves the friends, the protectors, the children of the
Church, as they value the safety and grandeur of
their country, to see that the sanctuary be kept from.
IX
.1 ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 389
dishonor ; to labour that our Zion may be an eternal
excellency, and a joy of many generations. If they
would pray, and travail, for the prosperity of Jeru-
salem, that peace may be within her nails, and plen-
teousness within her palaces, let them remember, that
it is mainly for the sake of the House of the Lord, that
they should seek her good ; that her chiefest glory is,
that to her, the nations of the world are looking
up, as to the fortress, in which is deposited the ark
of the testimony of Israel ; and that, if this glory
should depart from her, the abomination which makelh
desolate will probably be nigh at hand.
Under these impressions it is, that the sons and
servants of the church, it is to be hoped, will re-
turn from expatiating over those times, when the
altar and the throne went down together. And,
feeling that an eminent portion of the Church's
strength is derived from the unsullied renown of her
fathers, her confessors, and her martyrs, they will
look indulgently on this attempt to rescue from foul
defacement one venerable name. In the endeavour
to discharge this sacred duty, it has not been the
purpose of the writer of these pages to conceal the
frailties of the man ; but to vindicate him from un-
merited contempt and infamy, and to give him his
due rank, among the ancient worthies of the realm.
And, so long as perfect integrity and sanctity of pur-
pose, with a heart devoted to the service of his God,
his sovereign, and his country, can win, for any
human being, the reverence of posterity, so long
must an illustrious place, among English Prelates,
be assigned to Laud.
APPENDIX.
THE following extracts from the collection, entitled Laud-
eana, (which forms part of the MS. No. 5. in Bishop Cosin's
Library at Durham,) are here subjoined, as illustrative of
Laud's manner of thinking, and writing. There are no
references, in the MS., to the writings of Laud from which
the sentences are taken. But the following are, mostly,
if not entirely, from his published sermons. His senti-
ments, on certain subjects of great moment, are pithily,
though, perhaps, somewhat quaintly, put forth. But,
whatever may be thought of the literary merits of these
specimens, it is devoutly to be wished that the spirit, which
gave birth to them, may never wholly depart from among
us!
" It is fit, very fit, the court, and the great temple of
God's service, should be together: That God and the King
may be neighbours : That as God is always neer to pre-
serve the King ; so the King may be neer, to serve God ;
and God and the King cannot meet, at Jerusalem, with-
out a solemnity.
When statesmen sit down to consult, they must not
forget the Church. And when clergymen kneel down to
pray, they must not forget the State : both are but one
Jerusalem.
To have peace without plenty, is but a secure possession
of misery.
1 For these extracts, I am indebted to the friendly and cour-
teous attentions of the Rev. Dr. Gilly, Prebendary of Durham.
APPENDIX. 391
It is commanded thus (Ps. Ixviii. 32.) Sing unto God,
O ye kingdoms of the earth ; there is the exercise of reli-
gion : And then it follows, (xxxv.) God will give strength
and power unto his people ; there is the blessing.
Doubtless the Spirit of God sees prayer wonderfully
necessary for Jerusalem, that He made that, as it were,
the door of entrance, both into the seats of judgment
among men, and the places of divine worship and adora-
cion of God.
A King in honour and in plenty, and a King that hath
added Jerusalem to Hebron, eleven tribes to one, may
make it his high honour, Rogare pacem Jerusalem ; to pray
to God, and perswade with men, for the peace of Chris-
tendom.
The same men, which, in respect of one allegiance, make
the commonwealth, do, in respect of one faith, make the
Church. No building can stand, if the foundacion be
digged from under it.
The children of the Jewish Church will rise up in
judgment against the pillage of Christendom : for the
children of that Church left not their mother without
walls for defence, nor without palaces for honour.
Some children of the substantial Church have shewed
themselves base and unnatural towards the clergy ; and
instead of palaces, to think cottages good enough for them.
As if it were; a part of religion, that Christ and his priests
must have less honour in the substance than they had in
the ceremony.
Seldom mean they well to princes that against the
phrase of the Holy Ghost (Ps. xxi. 6.) i. e. dedisti eum,
thou hast given him as blessings, will needs be thought
blessers of the people. For, such men do but fish, and
bait, in troubled waters, to their own advantage.
Hope follows the nature of faith ; and such as the faith
is, such is the hope : Both must be in Domino, in the
Lord ; or neither can be true.
The people cannot hold their places in gaudio, in joy,
if the King sit not sure in His: and it is an excellent
392 APPENDIX.
observacion made by Cassiodore, (a senator he was, and
Secretary of State to Theodoricus, and, after, a most sjtrict
and devoted Christian,) He makes all sad, that endeavours
not the King's joy ; Et, omnes affiigit, qui Regi aliquid
necessarium substrahit.
Though David never took any war in hand, but with
God's approbacion, and against his enemies, yet we find
1 Chron. xxh. 8. that his battles and his blood were the
cause why God would not suffer him to build his temple.
He might sing before the ark, he might serve in the
tabernacle, but no temple would God have built by hands
of blood. Solomon's hands, hands of peace, might do
that. .
The Papists keep many of their ffrenzies locked up ;
and we publish them in print
These two, to love, and to pray for the State and the
Church, make one in my text, (viz. Ps. cxxii. 70 ffor, no
man can pray heartily for them, but he that loves them ;
and no man that truly loves them, can abstain froui pray-
ing for them, and the peace of them. This is certain :
Neither love nor prayer can stand with practising against
either ; nor with spoil or rapine upon either.
The strength of the King is in the multitude of his
people. Prov. xiv. 28. His supply and his defence is
there. And the strength of a people is in the honour and
renown of their King. His very name is their shield
among the nations ; and they must make account to bear,
if they will be borne.
If you will have God arise, you must arise too. Arise
in soul, by devotion ; arise in life, by the works of sanc-
tification ; and arise in prudence, and in provident care to
be up, and not found sleeping in riot and excess, where
an enemy is, or ought to be, feared.
GH.BTRT & RIVUNGTON. Printers, St. John's Square, London.
UDKAKT 31. IY1MKI
283,092 1159U8
Le Has, Charles
283.092
Le Bas, diaries
!The life of Archbishop Laud
