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THE LIFE OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD.
By the same Author.
i.
In Demy 18mo., price Is. 6d. ; paper cover, Is.
TALES OF THE EMPIRE;
OR,
Scenes from tljc "Distort? of tlje Ijousc of linuslmrg.
ii.
"DANGER TO THE FAITH:"
A Sermon preached in S. John's Chapel, Haverstock Hill,
November 17, 1850.
Price 6d.
in.
" HONOURABLE SEPULTURE, THE CHRISTIAN'S
DUE :"
Preached on the occasion of the Duke of Wellington's Funeral.
Price 6d.
IV.
" THE WISDOM OF BEZALEEL :"
A Sermon.
(Skeffington, Piccadilly.)
Price 6d.
WILLIAM LAUD,
ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY, AND MARTYR.
HV THE
REV. JOHN BAINES, M.A.,
8. JOHN'S COLLKOK, OXON.
LONDON :
JOSEPH MASTERS, ALDERSGATE STREET,
AND NEW BOND STREET.
MOCCCLT.
LONDON :
PRINTKI) BY JOSEPH MASTERS AND CO.
AI.DKRSOATK STREET,
129406
TO ALL MEMBERS
or THB
COLLEGE OF S. JOHN BAPTIST,
AT OXFORD,
{This j'ttrmotr
OF
OUR GREAT PRESIDENT
18 INSCRIBED.
PREFACE.
THE following pages make no pretension to original
discovery. They have been drawn up from materials
accessible to all, and aim simply at placing facts
before the attention of readers.
Without disparaging existing biographies of Laud,
it may be fairly asserted that they fail in making us
acquainted with the inner life of this great Prelate,
(a defect even of Heylin's who knew him well) ; nor do
they seem to the author sufficiently to point out how
the principles and practices, for which Laud laid down
his life, have been in all main points adopted by
the English Church since his day.
It has been the object of these pages (while avoid
ing a controversial tone) to display the Archbishop as
he really was a man of austere and saintly life, and
the great restorer of a Church feeling in this country.
VI PREFACE.
The two spirits evoked by the great religious move
ment of the sixteenth century the one, (the true
principle of the English Reformation) which laying
aside all Roman novelties, looked to the primitive
I Church as its model, and aimed at restoring primitive
discipline, which we have called the Catholic spirit,
I and the other, which made Christianity synonymous
with Calvinism, which we have designated the Puritan
or Genevan spirit, after many years of indecisive con
flicts, were at last in Laud's time brought face to
face.
It has been the author's wish to misrepresent no
one, to sketch the struggle in a candid manner, and
to have it clearly understood that the real point at
issue was the integrity of the English Church.
It is not too much to say that the whole future well
being of the Anglican Communion depended on the
line adopted by Laud, and that we are indebted to
X him for our present Creeds, Episcopacy, and Sacra-
ments. The tide was setting in very strong against
anything like Church principles, when he was called
to preside over the Church of England. . There
was need of great firmness and decision, if her
Catholic character was to be maintained. These
qualities (his enemies being judges) were found in
Laud. He stopped our progress downwards, and
saved us from becoming what Geneva has become.
This is the key to a right estimate of Laud's character.
PREFACE. Vll
Unless we bear this in mind, he will seem only a nar
row-minded stickler for ceremonial uniformity.
We shall hope to make this clear in what follows :
as we pursue his career and trace the motives which
actuated it, and the results which, spite of its apparent
failure, have issued from it, we shall see how truly
the Archbishop loved his Church; how he/ devoted
himself to her restoration ; how he died for her, and, by
dying, effected more than if he had lived.
It is hoped therefore this little book may, by the
Divine blessing, be the means of causing Churchmen
to appreciate more the character and motives of one
whose name has for many years been a proverb of re
proach, and for whom even those friendly to him have
apologized too much. To assert that he was faultless,
that his government was without flaw, that every
thing was done at the right time, in the right place,
and in the right manner, were to claim for the Arch
bishop prerogatives more than human ; and the author
has not hesitated to note defects of personal character,
or of civil and ecclesiastical administration.
The impression he has aimed at producing on the
mind is this, that the English Church owes a great
debt of gratitude to Laud ; and he therefore makes
bold to claim for him, from all who are thankful that
GOD has cast their lot in a Church, whose special
mission it seems to be to witness to the Creeds of
undivided Christendom, and in which they can enjoy
Vlll PBEFACE.
certainty of faith, the beauty of holiness, and all pre
cious sacramental blessings, a heartfelt and a generous
sympathy, as for one, who in troublous times did battle
for our rights as Churchmen, and who in order that
we might not be defrauded of one morsel of that
heavenly food, which it is the duty of the Church to
provide for her children, " loved not his life unto the
death."
The references are to the edition of Laud's Works
in the Anglo-Catholic Library. The edition of Hey-
lin which has been used, is .that of 1671.
LONDON,
Eve of the Purification, 1855.
TABLE OF CONTENTS,
I. Introductory . . . . .1
II. Laud at School and College ... 14
III. The false step . . . . .21
IV. The Parish Priest . 24
V. The Dean of Gloucester . . . .30
VI. Laud at S. David's .... 34
VII. The Duke of Buckingham and the Spanish match . 41
VIII. King Charles I. . . . .'51
IX. The Royal Declaration the Lecturers ". .60
X. The Primate ..... 78
XI. Laud and the Universities learning and patronage 107
XII. Relations of the Church of England to Foreign
Reformed Bodies . . . .124
XIII. The Anglo-Irish Church Laud and Strafford . 146
XIV. The Scotch Church . . . .165
XV. Laud as a Statesman Relations to Rome Use of
the Regale Private life . . , 182
XVI. Convocation of 1640 . . .212
XVII. The beginning of sorrows . .* . 218
XVIII. The Prison .224
XIX. The Trial . . . .232
XX. The Martyrdom . . . . 249
XXI. The Triumph . . . .260
THE
LIFE OF WILLIAM LAUD,
ARCHBISHOP OP CANTERBURY.
CHAPTEE I.
INTRODUCTORY.
IT is not our intention, in this chapter, to take our
readers through the oft-trodden ground of the Re
formation in England. The history of that period
has been brought before us in every possible shape,
from the ponderous folios of Burnet to the lighter
epitomes of Blunt or Massingberd. The corruptions
which provoked it, the success which attended it, the
principles which guided it, the mighty and varied
effects which have followed it, have been depicted for
us in the liveliest colours, over and over again ; whilst
the motives which actuated the prime agents in it,
have been sifted and analysed with care, till we are'
enabled to enter fully into their characters, and under
stand, to a very considerable extent, what sort of per
sons were King Henry, his roval daughter, and their
coadjutors, whether clerical or lay. It would be, there
fore, simply wearisome to drag the reader through
such well-known passages of history, important though
they be, and of untold influence upon the past, pre
sent, and future position of the Church of England.
B
2 LITE OF AECHBISHOP LATJD. [CHAP.
Yet, inasmuch as the Prelate in whose life and
actions we hope to interest our readers, had to grapple
with a state of things which arose out of this mighty
change ; and as his labours, though at the cost of his
own life, issued in rectifying some of its most extreme
developments, it would be impossible for us to pass it
by altogether, or to expect that any of our readers
will be able to throw themselves into the important
events of the Laudian era, without some acquaintance
with those of the Reformation period.
But, in order that we may not, as we said, weary
them by the repetition of trite and familiar themes,
we shall content ourselves in this chapter with point
ing out the immense influence which the foreign
reformed theology came to exercise over our Church,
its baneful effects, and the consequent confusion and
disorder which ensued. For it was against this foreign
influence that Laud directed all the energies of his
v 'soul : it was to purge the Church of England of the
foreign leaven which had nearly transformed her into
another being, to aid her in throwing off the yoke of
Calvin, Zuingle, and the like, and to return to the
true principles of her own reformation, that he lived
.Jus toilsome life, and died his violent death. Unless
we understand this, we shall misapprehend and be un
just to Laud, his actions will appear strange, uncalled
for, and unwarranted. But when we do understand it,
we shall not be surprised at the throes and convulsions
of society which ushered in the birth of a sounder
school of theology : a school which for awhile beaten
down and "trodden under foot of man," was strong
enough in less than twenty years from the martyrdom
of its chief, to procure a revision of the Book of Com
mon Prayer on its own principles, and to turn the
whole current of English theology.
It may then not only be interesting as a matter of
historical research, but absolutely necessary to enable
us to form a true estimate of Laud's character, to trace
the rise and growth of this foreign influence, whose
I.] THE ENGLISH HEFOBMATION. 3
torrent he strove, to all appearance so unsuccessfully
to stem, but which, nevertheless, did receive from his
hands " a heavy blow and serious discouragement."
It is not -too much to say that, humanly speaking, we
owe everything to this uncompromising Primate, and
that it is, under GOD, due to his indefatigable* exer
tions in arresting the downward progress of our
Church, that we still retain the Catholic faith, and are
not floundering in that slough of nationalism, Socinian-
ism, and Infidelity, into which many of the "Churches"
at one time looked to as models for our own, have
fallen, and are content to remain.
In order to understand this history aright, our
readers must bear in mind that the principle on which
the English Eeforraation proceeded was by appealing
as against Rome, to Holy Scripture as interpreted by
the Primitive Church. This principle was embodied
in the First Prayer Book of king Edward, which is
I the real exponent of the views of theTmglish Re
formers, when acting by themselves and on their own
principles. We wish they had been content to pursue
their own way without seeking the aid of the religious
bodies on the Continent, whose reformation had been
conducted on diametrically opposite principles, and
who received the dicta of Luther or Calvin as if
inspired by the SPIBIT. The English Reformation on
the other hand, in its intentions and first issues, was
I neither Lutheran nor Calvinistic, but a return to
I primitive ancient Catholic Christianity. We do not
wish to speak harshly of the Churchmen of that diffi
cult period. We do not forget that many things of
necessity appear to us in a very different light to that
in which they did to the Reformers. Under the very
peculiar 'and very trying circumstances in which they
were placed, it was natural for them to cast their eyes
round everywhere for help and assistance. Hence
their attention was naturally drawn to their Conti
nental brethren whose indignation had first been
aroused by the practical corruptions of the Church,
4 LIFE OF AECHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
and whose struggle to shake them off preceded their
own. Aiming at one common end, led by kindred
motives, believing that they were engaged in a revival
of Gospel truth, that Rome was Babylon and the
Pope the Man of Sin, what wonder that they should
seek to unite their forces, to be content to waive their
differences, and without prying too closely into each
other's creed or discipline, take their stand upon the
broad common ground of hostility to the Roman
Antichrist ? Is it surprising, therefore, that corres
pondences were entered into, coalitions formed, propo
sitions entertained, for drawing up a common con
fession of faith, which should include all who were on
the Protestant side, whether Lutherans, Calvinists, or
Zuinglians ? We say that this was the natural thing
to do : we should probably under similar circumstances
have done the same. But this does not make us
regret the less, that the experiment was ever tried,
and the theology of Geneva imported to our country.
It would seem that of the chief communications
with the foreign Reformers, Archbishop Cranmer was
the originator and prime agent. It was the conse
quence both of his natural bias and position. He had
at an early period of his career been brought into
contact with Osiander, whose niece he had married,
and the question of the divorce had been submitted at
his suggestion to the foreign Protestants as well as to
the Roman Catholic Universities. Further negotia
tions had also passed in Henry's reign. In 1535, Fox,
Bishop of Hereford, had been sent to treat with the
Protestant princes of Germany, in order to press them
to unity of doctrine with the English Church. The
diplomatic skill of Gardiner, however, broke the matter
off, and though ambassadors from the confederates
arrived in England, accompanied by Bucer and Me-
lancthon, in ] 536, nothing was done. On the strength
of this opening, in 1538 the Germans remonstrated
with Henry respecting the slowness of his Reforma
tion ; and in the next year Melancthon was so troubled
I
I.] FOBEIGN lyFLUEKCE : CRAITMEB. 5
at the state of the English affairs, that he actually
ventured to write to Henry, urging him on. But
during this king's reign, the political element prepon
derated in everything over the religious, and Cranmer's
natural tendencies towards uniting with the foreign
bodies, had to remain unsatisfied till the accession of
Edward placed him in a different position, and enabled
him to give full play to his own views.
By this time, too, the Archbishop would seem to
have veered round from the Lutheran tenets which he
first professed, to the Reformed or Calvinistic. His
proposals for the drawing up a common Protestant
confession of faith were made known to Melancthon,
the least Lutheranised of his party, to Henry Bullin-
ger, and John Calvin. The master-mind of the latter
was now drawing multitudes within its influence, and
Cranmer, infinitely his inferior in critical skill or in
clearness and vigour of intellect, soon bowed before
the superior genius of the French Pastor. Accord
ingly, two leading men of the Calvinistic school, IVter
Martyr and Bucer, were invited over to this country,
and while Martyr was installed as Regius Professor of
Theology at Oxford, Bucer was elevated to the same
post at Cambridge, with his associate Fagius as occu
pant of the Hebrew chair. Martyr came willingly,
but Bucer' s reluctance was only overcome by pressing
and repeated invitations from Cranmer. Urged on by
the necessities of their position, and indisposed natu
rally to habits of reverence or devotion, they treated
the most sacred mysteries of the faith in the most un
becoming manner, and encouraged the people in jest
ing and jeering at the most solemn things. Their
positive teaching was of a most vague and unsatisfac
tory kind, particularly on the Holy Sacraments. Dis
liking the nakedness of the Zuinglian scheme, and yet
afraid of attributing too much to those means of grace,
they floundered about in a sea of inconsistencies and
contradictory statements, often using language which
seems consonant to Catholic truth, and then immedi-
6 LIFE OF ABCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
ately afterwards depriving it of its vitality and mean
ing, by the introduction of some Genevan restrictions
and limitations.
Active, energetic, zealous, and sensible of their in
tellectual superiority to the men among whom they
sojourned, the foreigners soon made themselves felt,
and showed pretty clearly they would not let things
remain as they were. They even persuaded Cranmer.
to submit to them the Prayer Book, which was an em-
boaiment of the desire of the English Church to
restore ancient and primitive doctrine and worship,
and which consequently had already fallen under
Calvin's censure. The result is notorious ; the book
was altered, "at the incitement," says Heylin7"of
that (busy-body)" Calvin. It would be needless to
proceed further. A series of irregularities set in.
Foreign influence was everywhere, Foreigners were
in high posts ; foreigners were allowed to found inde
pendent communions in London, and encouraged in
disagreement with the Church of England. Swarms
of Frieslanders, under John a Lasco, of Dutchmen,
and of Frenchmen, settled in the metropolis, and were
either specially recommended to the good offices of the
, Bishops, or exempted by name from their jurisdiction.
I Thorough-going Puritans, as Coverdale and Hooper,
were thrust into Bishoprics : in the case of the latter,
against his own wish. Altars were torn down, and
moveable tables substituted; services performed in
Genevan gowns ; and the Eucharist reduced to a mere
memorial. Constant correspondence was kept up with
Calvin, Bullinger, and other chiefs of the Reformed
party abroad, while, at home, dreadful irreverence pre-
^vailed. Pothouses resounded with ribald jests upon
the most sacred mysteries, or blasphemous travesties
y of holy offices ; morals were relaxed, and plunder and
profanity were rampant everywhere. Such was the
issue of the introduction of Genevan doctrine into
our Church.
So notorious, indeed, was the fact, that in the latter
I.] CALYINISM. 7
part of Edward's reign the English Church had been
thoroughly imbued with Calvinism, that when, on the
accession of Mary, the Protestants hastened into exile,
the Lutheran states would not receive them, but ex
pelled them from their cities. We are not defending
the barbarity of this act, only stating what foreign
bodies thought of the English Church after its
connection with Geneva. The fugitives, therefore,
were forced to take refuge in Basle, Frankfort, Zurich,
Geneva, where they were received with open arms,
and carefully tended by the affectionate sympathy of
their co-religionists.
If our leading Englishmen had been admirers of the
"Reformed" 1 doctrine and discipline, when seen only
through the medium of correspondence, the actual
sight rekindled their affections. Besides, while Luther
ans had looked coldly on their sufferings, the Calvin-
istic communions had received them as brethren. Nor
would their affection for their own formularies be in
creased, when during the troubles at Frankfort, Ridley
' advised the surrender of the surplice ; and it was cur
rently reported that Cranmer had said he would more
thoroughly have reformed the Book of Common
Prayer, but that he was matched with a wicked
>Clergy and Convocation, and other enemies. 2
I Accordingly, on Queen Elizabeth's accession, the
flood of Calvinism poured with renewed strength into
England. The Queen was sore puzzled what to do.
She had an intense dislike of Calvinism; it did not
fall in with her natural bias, or with her prejudices.
Besides, she had read " The Regimen of Women," the
E reduction of one of the chiefs of that party, the cele-
rated John Knox ; and she was too sharpsighted not
to understand it might mean more than at first
appeared. But in spite of all, she was surrounded
by Calviniste, the harvest sprung from the seeds sown
1 We use the word Reformed as distinguishing the Calvinists
from the Lutherans.
Neal, Vol. I. p. 68.
8 LIFE OF ABCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
by Martyr and Bucer, for it is quite incorrect to sup
pose that it was their residence on the Continent
which made our English divines disposed to the tenets
or discipline of Calvin. Mr. Hallam is an impartial
witness, and he says : " The current opinion, that these
scruples were imbibed during the banishment of our
reformers, must be received with great allowance.
i The dislike to some parts of the Anglican ritual had
' begun at home ; it had broken out at Frankfort. It
is displayed in all the early documents of Elizabeth's
reign far more warmly than, by their Swiss corre
spondents." 1
Under these circumstances, Elizabeth, frightened
by the machinations of the Pope's adherents, and
eager to rally her people round her, did the best she
i could. Jewel, Pilkington, Grindal, Cox, Horn, Park-
' hurst, and others, were made Bishops ; whilst the
smaller fry, as Sampson, Nowel, Humfrey, Hardman,
were placed in deaneries and stalls ; the queen trusting
to her strong Tudor arm to keep the refractory crew
in order. They indeed gave her plenty of trouble.
In the midst of their dignities they sighed after the
greater liberty of Zurich or Geneva. They poured
out their complaints, in no measured strains, into the
sympathising ears of Beza, Bullinger, and Martyr (as
the two goodly octavo volumes published by the Parker
Society testify at almost every page), and pathetically
I lamented their miserable bondage in being compelled
to clothe themselves in the "relics of the Amorites,"
and to say the prayers in a surplice. "We cannot help
fancying the foreigners must have thought them
rather a bore, at last. They gave them, however,
sensible advice, for they saw clearly it would be ruining
their cause to leave their posts for the sake of a vest
ment. They therefore counselled them to remain,
hoping for better times. Their advice was accepted
and acted upon ; but their expectations, we are thankful
to say, were not realised. Parker had his orders, and
1 Hallam, Constitutional Hist., Vol. I. p. 232.
I.] PURITANISM. 9
was faithful to them. He watched their movements
closely, and acted with such vigour, that, frightened
by the Queen's determination to have her own way, as
shown in the deprivations of Sampson and others, the
Bishops seem pretty generally to have acquiesced ;
and even Jewel, once the foremost in grumbling,
I ceased to complain, and actually enforced the ob
noxious surplice in his diocese.
The opposition to this vestment was not, however,
confined to a few Calvinistic Prelates: the popular
feeling ran with the dissentients. So thoroughly had
the leaven worked among the Clergy, that in Con-
location of 15 62^ a proposition to abolish saints' days,
to compel the minister to turn his face to the people
in saying the prayers, to abandon the sign of the Cross
at Baptism, to leave kneeling at the Communion to the
discretion of the ordinary, to wear the surplice once,
and afterwards to officiate in a decent habit, and to
^remove organs, was onlyJost by a majority of one!
It is observable that NoweM, whose catechism once re
ceived the sanction of Convocation, Calfhill, Becon,
and Sampson voted in the minority. Their doctrines,
too, found favour out of doors. 'The popular feeling was
entirely with the ministers who refused conformity, and
were in consequence suspended. " Many churches were
shut up," says Neal, "and the people ready to mutiny
for want of ministers. Six hundred persons came to a
church in London to receive the Communion on Palm
Sunday ; but the doors were shut, there being none to
officiate." 1 All during the remainder of the reign of
I Elizabeth, Puritanism was the popular religion ; wit
ness the immense circulation of the Mar-prelate tracts.
The citizens in the towns, and the country gentlemen
I who composed the parliaments, were of one mind, in
their admiration of the doctrinal principles of Geneva.
Attempt after attempt at further reform was made in
the House of Commons ; but Elizabeth immediately
frowned down all who were bold enough to propose to
Neal, Vol. I. p. 182.
10 LIFE OF ABCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
her any deviation from the course of conduct she had
marked out for herself. She had a definite line of her
own, and she was determined to adhere to it. Her
firmness, humanly speaking, stopped our progress
downwards.
But though Elizabeth succeeded tolerably well m
preserving outward conformity, she could not stop the
progress of opinion, or prevent the spread of Calvinistic
teaching. Once, indeed, some of the Bishops went
too far, when conscious that the existing authorised
formularies would not bend to their views, they coolly
proposed to alter them, and to enforce, as authorita
tive, "the Lambeth Articles." This was too much
for the Queen's patience. She indignantly tore the
obnoxious articles from the presumptuous hands which
had drawn them up. But the Bishops were generally
persuaded that there was no difference between the
English and foreign doctrines. Grind_al, Bishop of
^London, and afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury,
writing to Henry Bullinger, August, 1566, after
stating that he and his brethren had fought as long as
they could against the surplice, adds, "that in the
pure doctrine of the Gospel (notwithstanding the at
tempts of many to the contrary) we most fully agree
with your churches, and with the confession you have
^lately set forth." This was the Helvetic confession
of 1566, which is entirely, in all its parts, decidedly
Calvinistic in its tone, and something worse. " We
have throughout England the same ecclesiastical doc
trines as yourselves," says Horn, Bishop of Winchester,
to the same Bullinger, December, 1563. " As to mat-
Iters of doctrine," writes Jewel, 1563, "we have pared
away everything to the very quick, and do not differ
from your doctrines by a nail's breadth." 1
With such sentiments prevalent in the episcopate,
1 Zurich Letters, Parker Soc., First Series. Part II., pp. 169,
135, 100. The contempt with which Lutheranism is spoken of in
these letters is very remarkable. Vide Zurich Letters, First
Series, p. 169 ; and Second Series, p. 157.
I.] PUBITANISM : WHITGIFT. 11
though directly opposed to the authorised formularies
of the Church itself, (for Parker and Whitgift, though
zealous for uniformity, were of the same theological
school,) and Calvinist after Calvinist promoted to the
Divinity Professorships ; Oxford disgraced by the, ele
vation of a rabid fanatic, as Sampson, to the deanery of
Christ Church; Humphrey, of whom Wood says,
" He sowed in the Divinity schools such seeds of Cal
vinism," "he brought back with him at his return
to England so much of the Calvinian;" Holland,
Humphrey, Abbot, and Prideaux, all of the same
school, occupying the chairs of the Eegius Professor
of Divinity; while Calfhill, who had voted in the
minority of 1562, Benefield, and the like, were elected
by the faculty to Lady Margaret's Professorship;
Cambridge delivered over to the tender mercies of
Hutton, Cartwright, &c. ; what wonder that belief in
the five points of Calvinism became the teat of ortho^
I doxy, and the loudest declaimers against Home passed
I as tne most faithful ministers of the Gospel ?
Accordingly, it is not surprising to find the follow
ing order issued (1586) by the Archbishops and
Bishops, " that every minister having cure, and being
under degrees of M. A. or B.C.L., and not licensed to
be a public preacher, shall, before February next,
provide a Bible and Bullinger's Decade in Latin or
English, . . . and shall every week read over one
sermon in the said Decade, and note the same," in a
book which he was to provide.
Quite in keeping with this was the statute of the
(University of Oxford, " that the studenlsTshould use
either NowelFs Larger^ Catechism, or Calvin's;" and
(that " to these might be added Bullinger's Catechism
for Adults, and Calvin's Institutes, or the Apology, or
Thirty-nine Articles.
And, similarly, Whitgift. in 1595, tried hard to en
force the Lambeth Articles already alluded to ; so that
Heylin's melancholy statement seems no longer strange.
*"Of any man who publicly opposed the Calvinian
12 LIFE OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
tenets in the University (of Oxford) till after the
beginning of King James' reign, I confess I have
found no good assurance, though there were some who
spared not to declare their dislike thereof, and secretly
^trained up their scholars in other principles. We
find but two (Dr. Buckeridge and Dr. Hanson) named
for anti-Calvinists in the five controverted points." 1
In a disputed case at Cambridge, when Barp was com-
polled to resign his professorship, for Denying some
article of the popular creed, he would seem to have
been supported only by Andrewes, Overall, and Har-
snet ; all men destined to have some share in the re
action which was about to set in.
Towards the latter part of Queen Elizabeth's reign
I there were symptoms of the rise of different feelings
with regard to doctrine and practice. Irreverent arid
unseemly as had been the general performance of
Divine service, there had been all along some excep
tions. The Queen's private tendencies were towards
ceremonial, and, spite of the whinings of the Bishops,
she indulged them. In her chapel had stood from the
first, the altar, with the crucifix and the lights, the
service was sung with the sound of organs, cornets, and
sackbuts ; the singing men were arrayed in surplices,
-/the priests in copes. It was said it only differed from
the Eoman so splendid was it in being in the Eng-
v lish tongue. 2 The service in Canterbury Cathedral
was conducted with such pomp and splendour, and
accompanied with such exquisite music, that a stranger
from foreign parts protested " that, unless it were in
the Pope's Chapel, he had never seen a more solemn
y sight, nor heard a more solemn sound."
IThe canons of 1571, which had ordered the study of
the primitive fathers, produced their effect. Higher
j views respecting ordination began to be entertained :
I the want of episcopal laying on of hands was fatal to
Travers. Bancroft's celebrated sermon, preached at S.
Paul's Cross, was a symptom of deeper study ; above
1 Heylin's Tracts, p. 96. 2 Neal, Vol. I. p. 133.
I
II.] KING JAMES. 13
all, Hooker's immortal work was sufficient indication
that a school was forming which would reverence the,
Fathers more than modern d~Ivmes x and !>< <riiided bv
Catholic precedentsln preference to those of later date.
The accession of King James gave to this school a
distinct and recognised position. Without professing
to believe that the Puritans were fairly dealt with at
the Hampton Court conference, there can be no doubt
that it resulted in the further development of the Ca
tholic element of our Church, which had all along
been maintained in theory. The addition of the sacra;
mentalquestions to the Catechism, which were drawn
up by Bishop Overall, (may we not suppose Andrewes'
influence was at work ?) and which state so plainly
the Catholic doctrine on these important points, is
sufficient proof of this. The fact of this work being
entrusted to Overall is a strong indication that the
rising party was beginning to attract notice. The
tone of the canons of 1603 is a clear advance in the
right direction, and intimates a waning of the foreigjo.
influence. 1 So that, tEoughriBe CaTvinisticTtheology
stuTTcept its ground in high places, and Oxford espe
cially, as we shall see, was one of its strongholds, an
acute observer might have detected signs of a coming
struggle, when it would have to fight for its existence.
Such struggle came ; and from the first the Calvinistic
party seem to have felt a presentiment that Laud was
destined to lead the onslaught upon them. Hence
their hatred and persecution of him from the com
mencement of his career, which ceased not till they
yhad brought him in his old age to the scaffold.
We shall trust to make this clear in the following
pages, having endeavoured, in this chapter, to place
before our readers a sketch of the Calvinistic era of
our Church, as well as the signs at the commence
ment of the seventeenth century, of a reaction against
it ; so that when Laud fairly came upon the scene of
action, he found some material to work upon, and was
1 See this brought out at length, Ecclesiastic, Vol. III. p. 353.
14 LIFE OP ABCHBISHOP LATJD. [CHAP.
enabled, by using the weapons made ready to his hand,
to eject the Genevan teaching from its pride of place,
and though unable utterly to subdue it, to provide
effectually, we trust, against its ever becoming the
authorised teaching of the Church of England.
CHAPTEE II.
A.D. 15731606.
LAUD AT SCHOOL AND COLLEGE.
" This Prelate,
Though from an humble stock, undoubtedly
Was fashioned to much honour."
Henry VIIL, Act iv. s. 2.
BEADING, a town of some importance in our early
history, and a fortified place even in 871, when Danes
and Saxons were battling for the mastery of the soil,
was the birthplace of William Laud, Oct. 7, 1573. He
was no scion of a noble house, nor could he boast any
pride of ancestry. His father was a plain tradesman, a
clothier ; his mother's parentage of corresponding rank :
so that his high position was attained by his own ef
forts, talents, industry, and perseverance. And galling
as doubtless it was to the Howards, Talbots, and other
" haute noblesse" of England, when the clothier's son
took precedence of them, it was a salutary lesson to
human pride, and an evidence to all men how little
earth-born distinctions are accounted in the Church
of GOD.
The glorjes of Beading had to a considerable extent
departed at the time when Laud was born. The
spoiler's hand had laid waste its glorious abbey, dedi
cated to S. Mary and S. John, whose abbot had of
olden time "reared his mitred front in courts and
parliaments." It had shared the fate of the other re-
II.] SCHOOL DAYS. 15
ligioua houses, and the patrimony of the poor passed,
at Beading as elsewhere, to swell the rent-roll of some
dissolute favourite or courtly sycophant. Something,
however, of the good works of men of old time still
remained. Thome, Abbot of S. Mary's in the *eign
of Edward IV., had turned a decayed house of the
knights hospitallers of S. John of Jerusalem into a
grammar-school, for the training and right education of
the neighbouring youth. Dean Sherborne had carried
out this work of Thome's, and materially contributed to
its prosperity ; so much so, that it attracted the notice
of King Henry VII., who endowed it with 10 a year.
The royal liberality was imitated by Sir Thomas White,
who annexed to Beading Grammar-school two of the
fellowships on his foundation at Oxford.
At this school Laud received the rudiments of hia
education, distinguishing himself, in spite of all the
drawbacks consequent upon a sickly childhood, by his
diligent application, and quickness in acquiring know
ledge. In due time he was transferred to S. John's
College, Oxford, newly founded out of the rums of an
qldCistercian monastery by the princely munificence
of~Sir Thomas White, already mentioned, a merchant
and alderman of the City of London. The mayor and
corporation of his native town nominated Laud to a
fellowship in their gift in July, 1593 ; and in 1594 he
attained that eagerly-desired step in an undergra
duate's career his B.A. degree.
Having now brought our hero to the University of
Oxford, and established him in a fellowship therein, it
may be as well to give our readers some idea of the con
dition of Oxford at the time ; and in so doing we think
it best to transcribe Heylin's lively and amusing ac
count, premising that they ought to be prepared, from
what we said in the previous chapter, for a state of
things very different to that which prevails now in
that ancient and venerable seat of learning. Heylin
then tells us :
" By the power and practices of these men, the dis-
16 LIFE OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
position of those times, and the long continuance of
the Earl of Leicester (the principal patron of that
faction) in the place of Chancellor, the face of that
University was so much altered, that there was little
to be seen in it of the Church of England, according
t to the principles and positions upon which it was at
first reformed. All the Calvinian rigours in matters
of predestination, and the points depending thereupon,
received as the established doctrines of the Church of
England; the necessity of the one Sacrament, the
eminent dignity of the other, and the powerful efficacy
of both unto man's salvation, not only disputed, but
denied ; the article of CHRIST'S local descent into
hell, so positively asserted in two Convocations, A.D.
1552 and 1562, at first corrupted with false glosses,
afterwards openly contradicted, and at last totally dis
claimed, because repugnant to the fancies of some
foreign divines, though they were at odds among them
selves in the meaning of it ; episcopacy maintained by
halves, not as a distinct order from that of the Pres
byters, but only a degree above them, or perhaps not
that, for fear of giving scandal to the churches of
Calvin's platform ; the Church of Eome inveighed
against as the "Whore of Babylon, or the Mother of
Abominations ; the Pope as publicly maintained to be
Antichrist, or the Man of Sin, and that as positively
and magisterially as if it had been one of the chief
articles of the Christian faith ; and then, for fear of
having any good thoughts for either, the visibility of
the Church must be no otherwise maintained than by
looking for it in the scattered conventicles of the Be-
rengarians in Italy, the Albigenses in Trance, the
Hussites in Bohemia, and the Wickliffites among our
selves. Nor was there any greater care taken for the
Forms and Orders of this Church, than there had
been for points of doctrine. The surplice, so disused
in officiating the Divine service of the Church, so
slubbered over in most of the colleges, that the Pre
lates and Clergy assembled in Convocation, anno
II.] OXFOHD THE EA.BL OF LEICESTER. 17
1603, were necessitated to frame two Canons that is
to say, Canon XVI. and XVII. to bring them back
again to the ancient practice ; particularly the bowing
at the Name of JESUS, commanded by the injunctions
of Queen Elizabeth, anno 1559, and used in Ynost
churches in the kingdom, so much neglected and
decried, that Airy, Provost of Queen's College, writ a
tract against it ; the habits of the Priests, by which
they were to be distinguished from other men, (not
only by the Queen's injunctions, but also by some fol
lowing Canons made in Convocation,) so much de
spised and laid aside, that Dr. Keynolds had the con
fidence to appear in the conference at Hampton Court
in his Turkey gown, and therefore may be thought to
have worn no other in the University ; and, in a word,
the books of Calvin made the rule by which all men
were to square their writings, his only word (like the
ipse Sixit of Pythagoras) admitted for the sole canon
to which they were to frame and conform their judg
ments, and in comparison of whom the ancient Fathers
of the Church (men of renown, and the glories of their
several times) must be held contemptible ; and to
^oflend against this canon, or to break this rule, es
teemed a more unpardonable crime, than to violate
the Apostles' Canons, or dispute the doctrines and
determinations of any of the four first general Coun-
-, cils ; so as it might have proved more safe for any
man, in such a general deviation from the rules and
dictates of this Church, to have been looked upon as
an heathen or publican, than an anti-Calviuist."'
Such was the state of things under the chancellor
ship of the celebrated Earl of Leicester, immortalised
in the pages of our greatest novelist ; and though Lei
cester was dead before Laud's entry at S. John's, the
spirit he had fostered still remained dominant.
Fortunately however for himself and the Church,
the young man seems to have felt an innate aversion
to the cold and hollow popular system ; and these
1 Heylin, p. 47, 8.
18 LIFE OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
feelings were encouraged by his tutor, Mr. Buckeridge,
one of the faithful remnant \vho would not believe
that the most imminent danger to the English Church
at that time was from the Eoman extreme. In that
controversy indeed he had distinguished himself, as
also in the Puritan question : and Laud did not forget
the debt he owed him, for Buckeridge became Bishop
of Rochester, and eventually, through his pupil's in
fluence, Bishop of Bath and Wells.
Under the guidance therefore of this sensible man,
Laud pursued his studies, directing them after the
Canon of 1571^ which enjoined the study of theJFa-
tHersTand ancient doctors, as the best commentary
upon the sacred writings. As a matter of course, his
impressions of the unscripturalness of the popular
system were materially strengthened, and it was
doubtless a great encouragement to persevere in the
path he had marked out for himself when Bishop
Young, of Rochester, from whom he received Priest's
orders in 1601, congratulated him upon his ad
herence to the old paths, and asserted "that if he
lived he would be an instrument of restoring the
Church from the narrow and private principles of
modern times,' to the more free, large, and public
sentiments of the purest and best ages."
But we must not suppose that Laud's course was a
smooth one, far from it. The public was as furious
then as now against any one who dared to contradict
its favourite superstitions, and Laud had to pay the
penalty of being slandered, misrepresented, scouted as
a Papist, a Jesuit in disguise, a traitor ; in fact to
endure to hear himself abused with all the epithets
which the upholders of ultra-protestant systems know
o well how to apply to those who differ from them.
The Vice-Chancellor in 1600 was Dr. Gr. Abbott,
Master of University College, a Puritan of the first
water. He had just been successful in preventing
Bancroft's plan for the re-erection of the Cross at the
Conduit, in Cheapside, approving, he said, " rather of
II.] DB. ABBOTT. 19
a pyramid or some matter of mere ornament." This
pyramidical preference naturally raised him higher
than ever in the estimation of his party, and rendered
him more than usually intolerant of any opposition.
It so happened, that in 1602, Laud had to read the
Divinity Lecture on Mrs. May's foundation in his
College. He was not a man to flinch from stating
his opinions when fairly called upon, and accordingly
in this lecture he maintained, Heylin says, " the con
stant and perpetual visibility of the Church of CHBIST,
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." 1 There is nothing
in this to startle us at this day, for as we all know,
our best divines, however strongly they may speak
against the corruptions of the Roman Church, always
allow that she is part of the Catholic Church of
CUBIST, just as Judah, though degenerate, was still
the Church of GOD. But the popular opinion of the
day set in the contrary direction. Divines, such as
Abbott, encouraged the belief, that from the times of
the Apostles up to Luther and Calvin, the whole
Church had apostatized and become Papal ; that is,
that Romanism was as old as A.D. 100, and that the
true Church was to be discovered among the Albi-
genses, Waldenses, and such other heretical and Ma-
nicheau bodies. Abbott was a great champion of
these views, and could not endure that a D.D. Head
of a H ouse, Dean of Winchester, and Vice-Chancellor
of the University of Oxford, should be bearded by a
simple Fellow of S. John's. His wrath was fearfully
excited against Laud, but nothing came of it. The
sour old Puritan contented himself with growling.
He never however forgot it, and years afterwards
Laud had reason to remember bis theological exercise
of 1602.
Other persons too, besides the Vice-Chancellor,
were ready enough to fasten upon him.
1 Heylin, p. 49.
20 LIFE OF ABCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
It is the custom of the University, that before any
of its members pass to his divinity degree, he shall
read a public exercise on some theological thesis.
Nothing daunted by the symptoms of Vice-cancel-
larian wrath which had greeted the appearance of his
college lecture, Laud spoke out boldly on the necessity
of Baptism, and the Episcopal form of Church go
vernment. Upon this up rose Dr. Holland, Rector of
Exeter College, and Regius Professor of Divinity,
who if not quite such a thorough Calvinist as Hum
phrey, whom he succeeded, yet was equally violent
against such notions as Laud had the boldness to put
forth. He took up charitable grounds, and talked of
Laud's unchurching foreign Protestants, &c., as if the
truth of Laud's positions could be affected by the
consequences which he fancied resulted from them. It
was nothing to Dr. Holland that Scripture and primi
tive antiquity were for Laud, these must be sacrificed
sooner than foreign Protestantism be thought de
fective.
The attack of the Eegius Professor however, like
that of the Vice- Chancellor, ended in nothing except
personal annoyance, such as any man would naturally
feel at knowing everybody was anxious to find some
cause of complaint in his conduct. It would seem as
if the successive Vice-Chancellors thought it a duty
they owed to the Protestant public of the day, to keep
a strict watch over Laud.
The next actor in this drama of persecution was a
Dr. Airy, Provost of Queen's and Vice-Chancellor.
Laud had preached a sermon on October 21, 1606,
before the University, which grievously offended this
great official. When we inform our readers that he
was so carried away by ultra-Protestantism as to have
published a work, in which he had attacked the scrip
tural and ancient custom of " bowing at the Name of
JESUS" (enjoined by the Canons of his own Church),
a practice which he considered as idolatrous as that
ot worshipping the brazen serpent, they will know
IH.J A LAPSE. 21
bow to value his opinion on Church matters. Laud
however again emerged successful from the struggle.
The Vice-Chancellor fumed and raged, but did no
thing. This was too much for Abbott's patience : he
flew upon his old victim, and showered down upon
him such a storm of calumnies, that Laud himself says
it was at one time dangerous to speak to him in the
streets. The news of the bold Fellow of S. John's
was carried to Cambridge. Its ultra- Protestant zeal
was aroused, and even Dr. Hall, a good man, and
afterwards a sufferer for righteousness' sake, attacked
him in no measured strain.
So that up to thirty-three a cloud hung over him.
Wherever he went, the grim puritanical form of Abbott
dogged his steps, and longed for his destruction.
CHAPTER III.
DEC. 26, 1605.
THE FALSE STEP.
" Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall."
1 Cor. x. 12.
WE are not describing a paragon of perfection, but
relating the life of a man of like passions with ourselves.
Most men have their falls in some way or other. Laud
had his. The difference is that he repented, while men
in general do not. The occasion of his lapse was his
joining together in holy matrimony Mountjoy, Earl of
Devonshire, and Lady Rich, her husband being alive,
and only a sentence of separation a mensdet toro having
issued from the spiritual court. The circumstances were
these : Sir C. Blount, brother of Lord Mountjoy, had in
early life formed an attachment to the Lady Penelope
Devereux, daughter of Walter, Earl of Essex, a lady
22 LIFE OP ABCHBISIIOP LAUD. [CHAP.
of great beauty and ability. His affection was re
ciprocated, but worldly wisdom interfered. A younger
son might not hope for the hand of an Earl's daughter.
They could only plight their troth in secret, and part.
Blount went to court, and soon by the aid of his po
sition and address made his way. The lady after a
time was wedded to Lord Eich, an austere man, but
of great wealth, and an eligible match, as the world
said. The marriage was an unhappy one ; and when
Lady Eich met Sir C. Blount (now by his brother's
death Lord Mountjoy, and high in the Queen's favour),
passion overcame principle, and they sinned. They
met again on Mountjoy's return from the Irisb war,
in which he had distinguished himself, first under Lord
Essex, and then as Lord-Lieutenant, which post was
conferred on him 1599. He had returned covered
with glory, having won, 1601, the great victory at
Kinsale with the loss of only twenty men ; and having,
1603, captured the Earl of Tyrone, the rebel leader,
whom he brought a prisoner to England. Honours
flowed in upon the successful warrior. James I. made
him a Privy-Councillor, Master of the Ordinance, and
Earl of Devonshire. He met, as we said, his partner
in guilt, her reputation gone, and separated from her
husband by decree of court. Drawn within the range
of her fascinations, he yielded to temptation, and
after much persuasion induced Laud, whom he had
appointed his chaplain, to marry him to her, on S.
Stephen's Day, 1605.
Now sad as this was, and we do not wish to deny
that Laud was guilty of a great sin, let it be remem-
| bered that the law of the land was by no means so
I clear then as it is now, as to the liberty allowed per
sons divorced a mensd et toro of marrying again. As
j to the religious question, the Lutheran and Calvinist
i preachers held that after divorce pronounced, both the
innocent and guilty party might marry again. The
Church of England however (and in this respect she
agrees with the Church of Eome) does not allow divorce.
III.] PENITENCE. 23
She only in special cases partially separates the parties
in the spiritual court. It is the State, which pretends
by Act of Parliament, to sunder those whom GOD has
joined. The Church holds that the bond is indissoluble,
and that neither party may marry after separation
while the other lives. Had Laud then done what his
adversaries were always accusing him of doing, acted
upon Roman principles, he would have been spared
this lapse. As it was, he unhappily for himself acted
upon ultra- Protestant doctrines, and fell.
But the sin brought its punishment. Society was
greatly scandalised. The King looked coldly on the
Earl of Devonshire, and withdrew his favour. The
Earl's spirits sank, and before the anniversary of the
unhallowed nuptials had come round, both himself
and hia victim had gone to their account.
> And Laud, what did he, when sober conviction
showed what occasion he had given to the enemies of
the LOED to blaspheme ? Did he banish his sin from
his remembrance, make light of it, and treat as of no
consequence ? No indeed, his repentance was deep,
real, and lasting. To his dying hour he kept the
day of his fall as one of fasting and humiliation be
fore GOD ; and the following prayer discloses how
thoroughly he felt that he had sinned a great sin in
the sight of GOD and man. The entry in his diary is
"December 26, 1605, Die Jovis. My cross about
the Earl of Devon's marriage. O GOD, look upon
Thy servant, and pity me according to Thy loving-
kindness. I am become a scandal to Thy Name,
serving my own ambition, others' sins. Others per
suaded, but mine own conscience loudly forbad me.
Let not this marriage divorce my soul from Thy
bosom. Ah ! how much better had I suffered martyr
dom with Thy protomartyr upon his commemoration
day, than have done the pleasure of two faithless, care
less friends. I promised myself darkness in my crime,
but lo it flew out ; I became more open than the day-
Alight. So didst Thou choose of Thy undeserved
24 LIFE OP ABCHBISHOP LATJD. [CHAP.
mercy to me, to fill my face with shame, that I might
learn to seek Thy Name. Even to this day, after so
many repeated prayers, and sorrow, and confusion pt
soul, again and again poured out before Thee, my sm
weighs heavily." There is another sin alluded to in
this prayer as committed the same day, into which he
says he fell, not being made humble or cautious enough
by the first. " I am not stoned for my sins, but stoned
by them. Now raise me up again, that I may die no
more, but live, and living rejoice in Thee." 1
Laud too had to pay the temporal penalty of sin.
Such a fall was made the most of by his adversaries, and
hindered bis rise for many years. Abbott was beside
himself for joy, and took good care that the marriage-
of the Earl of Devon should not be forgotten.
CHAPTEE IV.
A.D. 16071616.
THE PARISH PEIEST.
" He gave much alms to the people, and prayed to Goo alway."
Acts x. 2.
IT is much to be regretted that we have such scanty
accounts of Laud as a parish priest. His diary
merely contains notices of the facts of his different
preferments, nor has there any record been preserved
beyond testimony to his self-denial and charity. Lloyd
^informs us that "no sooner was he invested in any
living, than he invested twelve poor people in a con
stant allowance out of those livings, besides his
constant repairing of the houses, and furnishing of the
> churches wherever he came." This was the line of
conduct which he pursued at Stanford, in Northamp
tonshire, into which vicarage he was inducted Nov. 13,
1 Laud's Works, vol. iii. p. 81,
IV.] HEADSHIP OF S. JOHN'S. 25
1607, and the following year he received the advowson
of North Kilworth, in Leicestershire. This latter
living he exchanged, 1609, for that of West Tilbury, in
order that he might be near his patron, Bishop Neale
of Eochester, to whom he had been introduced by
Buckeridge, the President of S. John's, and whose
Chaplain he was. The same year he took his D.D.
degree, and such was the result of his firm and digni
fied bearing uuder the former assaults which had been
made upon him, that no one ventured to make any
opposition. There is little to relate of this period of
his life. The important result, however, of his intro
duction to Xeale (who, though not a man of much
learning himself, compensated for it by the patronage
he extended to others,) was his appointment to preach
before King James at Theobald's, 1608. James was
no mean theologian himself, and liked a good sermon.
He was therefore, doubtless, disposed to listen favour
ably to Neale's recommendation of his chaplain, and
promised to give him a stall at Westminster. Neale
had previously presented Laud to the living of Cuck-
stone, in Kent, upon which he had resigned his fellow
ship of S. John's, and left the University. Cuckstone
he exchanged soon after for Norton, a more healthy
situation. 1
The translation of Neale to Lincoln made a vacancy
at Eochester, which was filled by the promotion of Dr.
Buckeridge. This in turn left an opening at S. John's,
as Buckeridge resigned the Headship. His wish was
that Laud should succeed him. He consented to
stand as a candidate : for, in such a position, he would
be able to keep a watch over his implacable foes, the
Puritans, and to detect their plots, whether directed
against himself or the Catholic element of the English
Church which he represented. The Puritans, on the
other hand, clearly saw it would never do to have
Laud head of a College. They posted to Abbott, who
was then elect of Canterbury, poured their griefs into
1 Vide Diary, Laud's Works, vol. iii. p. 134, 5.
26 LIFE OF ABCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
his sympathising ear, told him the danger to the
Genevan faith, should such a semi- Papist, Arminian
person as Laud be allowed to succeed to the Headship.
Abbott, nothing loath, set to work, and frightened
Lord Ellesmere, then lately elected to the Chancellor
ship of the University, by telling him that Laud was
" at least a Papist at heart, and cordially addicted to
Popery; that he kept company with none but pro
fessed or suspected Papists, and that if he were
suffered to have any place of government in the
University, it would undoubtedly turn to the great
detriment of religion, and dishonour of his Lordship."
Ellesmere, alarmed in turn, told the King. The King
wavered and hesitated : he liked Laud, but he dared
not promote him if he favoured Popery. Bishop
Neale, however, came to the rescue, and explained to
his Majesty the old grudge which Abbott had against
his chaplain. The election therefore proceeded, and
though one of Rawlinson's party (who opposed him)
tore the balloting-papers to pieces, 1 when he found
they were in Laud's favour, justice was not thus
thwarted. An appeal was made to the King, Aug. 29,
1611 ; and the whole result of the election had better
be given in Laud's own words :
"When I was chosen President of that College,
there was a bitter faction both raised and coun
tenanced against me, (I will forbear to relate how and
by whom,) but this is certain, I made no party then ;
for, four being in nomination for that Headship, I lay
then so sick at London, that I was neither able to go
down, nor so much as write to my friends about it.
Yet, after much trouble, a major part of the votes
made choice of me. Thus I was chosen President
1 How well Laud understood the Christian precept of forgive
ness of injuries, is shown by his conduct towards the person who
offended, as mentioned above. For the sake of discipline he could
not pass over his conduct, but he soon forgave him, and stood his
friend through life, marrying him to his niece and promoting him
eventually to the Headship of his College and a Deanery.
IT.] HEADSHIP OF 8. JOHN'S. 27
May 10th, 1611. After this, my election was quar
relled at, and great means made against me ; insomuch
that the most gracious King, King James, sate x to hear
the cause himself, for the space of full three hours, at
Tichburn, in Hampshire, as he returned out of the
Western Progress. Upon this hearing, his Majesty
approved my election, and commanded my settlement,
which was done accordingly at Michaelmas following.
But the faction in the College finding such props
above, as they had, continued very eager and bitter
against me. The audit of the College for the year's
accompts, and choice of new officers, followed in
November. There, so GOD blessed me with patience
and moderation in the choice of all offices, that I made
all quiet in the College. And I governed that College
I in peace, without so much as the show of a faction, all
my time, which was near eleven years. And the truth
of all this is notoriously known, and many yet living of
great worth in the Church, able and ready to avow it.
And this, I hope, was not to lead on a side." 1
When after-events called men's attention to omens
and coincidences, it was recollected that the day of
Laud's election to the Presidentship was the Decolla
tion of S. John Baptist.
But although Abbott could not hinder Laud's suc
cess, he did not cease to harass him ; and Heylin's
pages have recorded at full length a virulent attack
made upon the President of 8. John's, by Robert
Abbott, brother of the Archbishop, Master of Balliol
and Regius Professor of Divinity. By Neale's advice
he took no notice of it, and as it is exactly like the
others in its falsehood, rancour, and virulence, we shall
not transcribe it, merely remarking that it was called
forth simply by Laud having made, in a sermon, some
disparaging remarks upon Presbyterianism : no great
offence, one would think, in a Priest of the Church of
England. 9
1 Laud's Works, vol. vi. Speech to Lord Say.
* Vide Heylin, p. 61.
28 LIFE OF ARCHBISHOP LATJD. [CHAP.
The following extracts from his Diary will show
what kind of a man this was whom ultra- Protestantism
was thus cruelly persecuting. They display to us a
conscience sensibly alive to the goodness of GOD, and
its own imperfection, a heart deeply penetrated by
sense of sin, a broken and contrite spirit. Follow
Laud from the controversies of S. Mary's to the retire
ment of the President's lodgings at S. John's, and you
find him on his knees, pouring out his soul iu prayer,
in these touching strains. The Diary merely records,
" 1617. Cum E. B., July 28, die Lunse." In his private
devotions we find : " Julii 28, 1617, die Lunse, E. B."
What the allusion is, is not known, but it clearly
refers to some sin, of which he thus repents :
" O Merciful GOD, Thou hast showed me much
mercy, and done great things for me ; and as I was
returning, instead of thankfulness, I wandered out of
my way from Thee, into a foul and a strange path.
There Thou madest me see both my folly and my
weakness : LOUD, make me ever see them, ever sorry
for them. O LOED, for my SAVIOTJE'S sake, forgive
me the folly, and strengthen me against the weakness
for ever. LOED, forgive all my sins, and this ; and
make me by Thy grace, Thy most true, humble, and
faithful servant, all the days of my life, through
JESUS CHEIST our LOED. Amen." 1
In the same year, we find noted in his Diary : " S.
John's College on fire under the staircase in the
Chaplain's chamber by the library, Sept. 26, die
Veneris. Both these days of observation to me."
In his book of private devotions is the following
prayer, again alluding to some cause for repentance :
" Sept. 26, 1617, die Veneris. Fire and danger. O
Merciful FATHEE, whither shall I turn, who in my
going out and my coming in, have sinned against
Thee? I have gone with the Prodigal into a far
country. I have expended my substance, rather
Thine, in riotous living. There, I perceived every
1 Laud's Works, vol. iii. 81.
IV.] PENITENTIAL PRATERS. 29
thing was consumed, and that I was fit for no better
company than the swine, yet neither that foul life nor
the famine of Thy grace made me even think of re
turning to better food. Lo, Thy judgments pursue
roe on my return from an ill-omened journey. The
fire hath seized upon the roof which shelters me, for
GOD saw it and delayed not. ' The fire was kindled in
Jacob, and sore displeasure in Israel.' My sins, I
doubt not, were perilling my College and myself. For
whilst I was intent upon extinguishing the flame, it
almost extinguished me. Lo, Thy goodness, O LORD,
snatched me from the flames, I may almost say,
miraculously : for whilst a friendly hand removed me
perforce, the fire, hitherto pent up, leapt forth from
the place where I had purposed treading, the stairs
fell into the fire, and I, had I been there, must have
fallen too. O sins of mine, not yet sufficiently be
wailed ! O mercy of GOD, not yet sufficiently ac
knowledged ! O penitence, more than ever necessary
to me ! O grace of GOD, to be implored humbly and
meekly. I arise, O FATHER, and lo, I come : with
slow and faltering step, indeed, but I come and con
fess, I have sinned against heaven and before Thee,
and am no more worthy to be called Thy son. Let
"'me be, O LORD, what Thou wilt, so long as I am
Thine. Wash me in Thy SON'S Blood, that 1 may
become Thine. Grant, I pray Thee, that this affright
I and daily remembrance of this fire, may burn out the
dross and remains of sin ; that the better fire of love
and devotion may inflame me, walking more cautiously,
with love to Thy Name, and hatred of sin, through
i JESUS CHRIST our LORD. Amen."
Such is the picture of Laud's inner life, presented
to us in his own writings. It does not differ from
that of other heroes of the Church. \Vheu engaged
in conflict with the world, they are stern, uncompro
mising, and unyielding. In their closets, they are
humble, gentle, penitent, weary of the burden of their
sins, clothed in sackcloth, with eyes dimmed with
30 LIFE OF ABCHBISHOP LATJD. [CHAP.
tears, full of godly fear lest from the very fact of their
high and lofty position, Satan should gain an advantage
over them. How little are the men, who, generation
after generation, have passed judgment upon Laud,
acquainted with his inner life. They know the poli
tician, the statesman, the royal favourite, the Arch
bishop, but they do not know the contrite, the humble,
the broken-hearted, self-abasing solitary. Like his
great predecessor, S. Thomas, Laud fought and bled
for the Church: like him, too, the purple robe of
metropolitical rule hid the serge and sackcloth beneath
its folds. 1
I
CHAPTEE V.
A.D. 1616.
THE DEAK OF GLOTJCESTEB.
" Ye shall reverence My sanctuary." Lev. xii. 20.
" MASTEE CH ANCELLOTJ B I pray you certifie me how
things stand at Gloucester ; wee heare strange things
of late here with us, that seeme almost incredible. It is
1 The religious point of view in which Laud regarded what are
generally called accidents is very remarkable. On Feb. 5, 1628,
he broke a sinew on a journey, which his private devotions notice
thus : " O Merciful GOD, Thy Blessed Name be glorified. As I
was travelling with the king upon duty, forgetful of Thee and
human accidents, and full of self-confidence, I trod upon treache
rous earth, and broke my sinew. I was lifted into a carriage, and
taken to Hampton. My nerves felt excruciating tortures. I
should certainly have fallen into a raging fever, had not an efflux
of blood relieved me. I laboured under great infirmity, and
walked lame for two years. I feel some infirmity still ; but, im
mortal thanks to Thee, O most Blessed TRINITY, Thou didst
restore me the perfect use of my feet, and strengthened my goings.
Direct them now, O LORD, in the way of Thy Commandments,
that I halt not between the world and Thee. I will run the way
of Thy testimonies when Thou hast set my heart at liberty.
Defer not, I pray, my heart's liberty, my foot's establishment in
Thy righteousness." Laud's Works, vol. iii. 83.
V.] CHUECH BE8TOBATI01T. 31
reported here for a truth, that the Communion Table in
your cathedrall church is removed by your new Deane,
and put up close at the upper end in the place^ where
the high Altar heretofore stood, and that they make
low obeysance to it with great reverence, as if CHBIST
were there upon it, and that this hath much offended
the whole citie almost, and yet that not any one of
the Prebends did so much as offer by word or deed
to resist him, or to tell him what harrae this example
might doe, and how much hereby the secret Papists
would be stirred up to rejoice, hoping for that which
they have long looked for now to be neere at hand.
Was there no man had any sparke of Elias' spirit to
speake a word in GOD'S behalfe? Oh, lamentable
times in which we live, that these things are swallowed
down by your preachers in silence ! I forbear to say
much till I be certified from you the truth of all mat
ters. I hope it is not so, for I cannot thinke your
Prebends would be so fainte-hearted (having also the
law of the land on their side, that it ought not to
stand where the Altar stood) as to shriuke at the first
wetting, without any pressing. Speedily send me
word, I pray you, and so with my hearty commenda
tions I end.
" Tour loving friend,
" JOHN WHITE.
" Winchcombe, 12th of Feb. 1616."
The reader (unless he is previously acquainted with
the absurdities and irreverence of Puritanism,) will be
surprised to hear that all this disturbance arose from
Laud, who had now been appointed Dean of Gloucester,
having persuaded the Chapter to remove the Communion
Table to the east end of the church, in the place where
the High Altar formerly stood, and to make the enjoined
reverence on entering the sacred building. Laud had
received this preferment from the King in 1616, with
an injunction from his Majesty to put matters right in
what he was pleased to call the worst governed church
32 LIFE OF ABCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
in England. The Bishop at that time was DJT Miles
Smith, a man of great tut rather ponderous Teaming,
being not only a Greek and Latin, but also a Hebrew,
Chaldee, Syriac, and^Arabic scholar, and known by
the sobriquet of the "walking library." He was
one of the translators of the Bible, and (as the dedi
cation, of which he was the author, proves) not averse
to flattery of kings. But Smith was a rigid Puritan,
and it was nothing to him that the Communion Table
was standing in the midst of the choir, without any
thing to save it from irreverence, or that the fabric
was rapidly tumbling to pieces. His indignation con
sequently knew no bounds when Laud introduced the
reverent customs, which prevailed in the King's Chapel,
and other cathedral churches into Gloucester. He
fretted and fumed, and talked of innovations, un-Pro-
testantism, semi-Popery, and the like; but finding
the Chapter, or rather the Dean, inexorable, he con
tented himself with making a vow that he would never
enter the cathedral again, a vow which he is said to
have kept strictly, though he did not die for eight
years after.
Seeing how little the Bishop's remonstrances pre
vailed, one White, his chaplain, determined to call in
the public to his rescue, and addressed the letter with
which we have opened this chapter to the chancellor
of the diocese. Somehow or other this letter was
found by the parish clerk in the Church of S. Michael's,
as he was shaking the pulpit cushions and putting
every thing into proper order for the convenience of
the sub-Dean, who was to preach there. It spread
from one to another, and the ultra-Protestant spirit
of the town was fired. Fancying themselves Eliases,
with a mission to testify against the abominations of
Popery, the good folk of Gloucester proceeded to
such unseemly and riotous behaviour, that the ma
gistracy were forced to commit the most troublesome
to prison, and order others to find security for good
v behaviour. They even went so far as to request the
V.] HOTAL INJUNCTIONS OF 1616. 33
aid of the Court of High Commission. Tin's prompt
ness, and Laud's firmness, were successful. Before
the year ended, the tumult had subsided. Th more
sensible part of the citizens began to see they were
no nearer Popery, because they could no longer make
the Holy Table a place for depositing their coats and
hats. The Bishop's absence does not seem to have
been regretted, and Laud's first attempt at bridling
* Puritauism was successful.
There were some other steps taken for the same
purpose about this time. The reader will remember
Dr. Abbott's attack upon Laud, of which by Neale's
advice he took no notice. The Bishop however seeing
that something ought to be done, and that through
non-subscription to the Three Articles of the 36th
Canon of 1603, all kinds of erroneous doctrines \vere
being promulgated at Oxford, persuaded the King to
issue some injunctions, (1616) which are given at length
in Heylin! Those which gave most oifence to the Pu
ritans were the 1st, in which his Majesty expressed
his pleasure " that all who took scholastic degrees
should subscribe the three Articles of the 36th
Canon":" the 2nd, "which enjoined that no preacher
should be permitted in the town unless he subscribed
and conformed:" the 7th, "that youug students in
divinity be directed to study such books as be most
agreeable in doctrine and discipline to the Church of
^England, and incited to bestow their time on the
Fathers, and Councils, Schoolmen, histories, contro
versies, and not to insist too long upon compendiums
and abbreviations, making them the grounds of their
ystudy in divinity :" and the 8th, " that no man, either
in pulpit or schools, be suffered to maintain dogma
tically any point of doctrine that is not allowed by
the Church of England." Had Popery been estab
lished by a royal proclamation, the rage and alarm of
the ultra- Protestant party could not have been greater.
(They never forgave the preference of the Fathers and
ecclesiastical history over Calvin's Institutes which was
D
34 LIFE OF ABCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
thus given ; whilst to be forced to preach the doctrines
of the Church whose revenues they were enjoying, was
even then an intolerable bondage. The royal injunc
tions were treasured up in their remembrance, and
charged afterwards upon the Archbishop as not the least
dangerous and Popish of his innovations. They are all
of them now fully adopted by the English Church, as
are many other things which Laud did to the great
disgust of the Puritans. These were followed in 1622^
by a royal declaration forbidding the handling of the
deep points of GOD'S predestination, election, repro
bation, the universality, efficacity, resistibility or irre
sistibility of GOD'S grace, by any preacher under the
degree of a Bishop or Dean. Catechizing was also
strongly recommended on Sunday afternoons as the
ancient and laudable custom of teaching in the Church
of England, while invectives, and indecent and railing
speeches against Papists and Puritans were strictly
forbidden. It is more than probable that Laud had
a hand in drawing up this paper ; and Henry Burton
vehemently attacked the Archbishop in after times for
having " inhibited young ministers" from preaching
on such abstruse points as GOD'S secret decrees. Our
experience of young ministers leads us to think Laud
was quite right, and most Churchmen at the present
day would agree with us.
CHAPTEE VI.
A.D. 16211625.
LATJD AT 8. DAVID' 8.
" If a man desire the office of a Bishop, he desireth a e-ood
work." 1 Tim. iii. 1.
KING JAMES, with all his faults and absurdities, knew
the value of good men. He had not forgotten his
YI.] JLBCHBISHOP ABBOTT. 85
promise to Laud when he told him that the deanery
of Gloucester was a shell without a kernel ; and
Laud's success there in the correction of the prevail
ing irregularities, gave an additional claim on the
royal favour. The court quidnuncs supposed that
Laud would have been rewarded with the deanery of
Westminster, which ought to have been vacant by
Williams' promotion to the see of Lincoln. He
managed however to procure a commendam for hold
ing it in addition to his bishopric, and the great seal.
Laud was accordingly nominated to the see of S.
David's. His election took place October 10, and he
immediately resigned the Headship of S. John's.
" The King gave me leave," he says in his diary, " to
hold the Presidentship of S. -John's College in Oxon
in my commendam with the bishopric of S. David's.
But by reason of the strictness of that statute, which, 1
will not violate, nor my oath to it under any colour, I
am resolved before my consecration to leave t'f." 1 This
latter clause, which we have put in italics, was omitted
by Prynne when he published the Archbishop's diary ;
a striking instance of the want of straightforward
honesty and truthfulness which is an unhappy cha
racteristic of Puritanism. The consequence was, that
for many years Laud lay under the obloquy of being
almost as great a pluralist as Williams.
His consecration was delayed by an untoward acci
dent which happened to the Primate Abbott. This
Prelate had the misfortune, while enjoying the chase
in the park of his friend Lord Zouch, to miss the
deer and kill the keeper. Williams was immediately
on the alert. His line clearly was to make the most
of the accident, procure the Archbishop's suspension
or deposition, and himself installed as Primate. Ac
cordingly he wrote to the Duke of Buckingham, then
the all-powerful Minister, detailing the penalties to
which Abbott had rendered himself liable at Canon and
statute law, and setting forth the inconvenience of the
1 Laud's Works, iii. 137.
36 LIFE OF ABCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
King's having " virum sanguineum, a man of blood, as
Primate and Patriarch of all his churches." 1
The King issued a commission to the Lord Keeper
Williams, the Bishops of London, "Winchester (the
saintly Andrewes), S. David's (elect), Exeter (elect),
two Judges of the Common Pleas, and two Doctors
of the civil law. For a long time the delegates were
divided. At last the more merciful course, of which
Andrewes and Dr. Martin, Dean of the Arches, were
the champions, prevailed. Andrewes could not bring
himself to strain obsolete Canons, even to condemn a
man he disliked, for what clearly might happen to any
of his brethren at any time. Besides he knew, that
bad Archbishop as Abbott was, "Williams would be
worse. These considerations influenced him to take
the side of moderate counsels, and he had the satis
faction of finding his view of the case endorsed by the
great legal authority of Sir E. Coke, who when asked
if a Bishop might hunt lawfully in his own or any
other's park, replied, that by law the Bishop's dogs
belonged to the King at his death, and that therefore
there could be no doubt but that the Bishop might
use them when alive. 2
The Archbishop therefore escaped without any
punishment inflicted ; and as we have not much which
we can record to his credit, it would not be fair to
omit, that he ever kept the day of his misfortune as
one of fasting and penitence, besides settling a pen
sion on the widow.
The Bishops elect, S. David's (Laud), Salisbury
(Davenant), Lincoln (Williams), Exeter (Carey),
however, scrupled to have the hands even of an in
voluntary homicide laid upon them, and on November
18, they were consecrated to the Episcopate by the
Bishops of London, Worcester, Chichester, Ely, Llan-
daff, and Oxon, acting under a commission under the
broad seal.
The village of S. David's, which gives its name to
1 Heylin.p. 81. 2 Heylin, p. 82.
VI.] CONSECRATION OF CHURCHES. 37
the see to which Laud was elevated, was not at the
time the residence of the Bishop. The invasions of
the Danes, Norwegians, &c., had in earlier timeswlriven
the Bishops to the village of Aberguilly, near Car
marthen. The glories of the see too had passed. In
earlier times S. David had translated thither from Caer-
leon his metropolitical chair, and borne primatial rule
over the Welsh Churches ; nor was it till Henry the
First's time that his successors acknowledged the au
thority of Canterbury. But from that time S. David's
has remained in the condition of a suffragan see.
At the period of which we are speaking, the church
and episcopal residence were in a sadly neglected
state (S. David's having had the misfortune to fall
into the hands of one of the worst kind of Puritans
as its Bishop after the Reformation), and the whole
diocese sadly in need of churches. Finding no chapel
at his house at Aberguilly, Laud built one which
he intended should serve both for the use of his
family and also be open to the inhabitants. His
reverential mind thought it was only seemly and be
coming to dedicate GOD'S house to His service by
special and peculiar solemnities, and he accordingly
did so. But in this it was his misfortune to run
counter to the spirit of his age. For unhappily such
a flood of fanaticism had poured in after the return
of the exiles from Geneva, that every thing which
partook of reverence or care for GOD'S honour was
denounced as Popish. Among these things was the
consecration of churches.
"NYhen Archbishop Parker could speak disparagingly
of consecrations of churches, it is no wonder that
such little folk as Tindal, "Wfaughton, Pilkiugton, Bale,
Becon, and Calfhill, should open their mouths in loud
condemnation of consecrations, as, to use the words of
John Fox, " superstitious, Jewish, Popish, anti-Chris
tian, ridiculous, rather a conjuration than a consecra
tion, invented only by and reserved to Bishops, for
lucre's sake alone." Hence there can be no doubt
38 LIFE OF AECHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
that the most violent, and therefore the most popular,
of the Eeformers could be appealed to in condemnation
of such practices. But Laud knew that the English
Church appealed to the Primitive Church, and wished
her reformation to be judged by its conformity to the
best and holiest times, rather than the private opinions
of a few obscure Calvinistic preachers. Accordingly,
I following the example of the holy Andrewes, he con
secrated his chapel at Aberguilly. He thus speaks,
Diary, August 28, 1625 : " I consecrated the chapel
or oratory, which I had built at my own charge in my
house, commonly called Aberguilly House. I named
it the chapel of S. John the Baptist, in grateful re
membrance of S. John Baptist's College, in Oxford, of
which I had been first fellow, and afterwards presi
dent. And this 1 had determined to do. But another
thing intervened (of no ill omen, I hope) of which I
had never thought : it was this. On Saturday, the
evening immediately preceding the consecration, while
I was intent at prayer, I know not how, it came
strongly into my mind that the beheading of S. John
Baptist was very near. When prayers were finished,
I consulted the calendar. I found that day to fall
upon Monday, to wit, the 29th of August, not upon
Sunday. I could have wished it had fallen upon that
same day when I consecrated the chapel. However, I
was pleased that I should perform this solemn conse
cration at least on the eve of that festival ; for upon
that day His Majesty King James heard my cause
about the election to the Presidentship of S. John's
College, in Oxford, for three hours together, at least,
and with great justice delivered me out of the hands
of my powerful enemies." 1
One would scarcely have imagined that the con
secration of this chapel was a proof of supersti
tion and Popish tendencies. The Puritans, however,
I thought so; and among the Papistical innovations of
I which he was accused at his trial, the consecrations
1 Laud's Works, vol. iii. p. 171.
VI.] CONSECBA.TIOIT OF CHURCHES. 39
of the chapel at Aberguilly, of S. Catherine Cree,
8. Giles, and Great Stanmore, stand prominently for
ward. At the latter place (such is the revulsion of
feeling) the structure is allowed to remain as a ruin,
instead of being ruthlessly swept away, because it was
consecrated by this martyred prelate. The memory of
the just still hangs round the hallowed walls, and
screens them from the destroyer.
Among the other "palpable, idolatrous, Romish
superstitions and innovations" with which Laud was
charged, there are two closely connected with this sub
ject which we will here introduce : one not formally
preserved to ourselves (though there is no law against
it), the other of everyday occurrence. We allude to
the consecration of vessels for the Blessed Eucharist,
and the religious service in use at the laying the first
stone of churches and chapels. Laud practised both
these. That they were innovations on the order of
things since the days of Calvinistic ascendancy, we
admit; that Fox, and Bale, and Filkington, and
Cartwright, would have denounced them as idol
atrous, we are aware ; but, in spite of them, these
ceremonies, though they were innovations, were nei
ther idolatrous, Eomish, nor superstitious, but seemly,
reverential, and Catholic. On the first of these
points, one Mr. Board man, a reverend minister, de
posed that he saw the Archbishop at Lambeth Chapel,
vested in a rich cope, set down divers chalices and
flagons on the altar, and after reading the Scripture
relating to the consecration of the temple, use a form
of prayer, wherein he begged of GOD to bless and
accept these vessels, which he severally touched and
elevated, offering them to GOD. Where is the impro
priety of this ? of solemnly dedicating to the service
of GOD those vessels which are to be used in the most
solemn service His creatures can offer Him the com
memoration of the SAVIOUB'S death, the Eucharistic
Sacrifice.
Equally natural is the feeling which has always led
40 LIFE OF ABCHBISHOP XATTD. [CHAP.
men to dedicate the first stone of a new building for
GOD'S worship with prayer. Thank GOD ! we are so
accustomed to this decent solemnity, that wonder now
is only excited when the pious ceremony is omitted ;
I and for this we are indebted to Laud's firmness in per
sisting in these religious practices, although the whole
Puritan party was open-mouthed against him. Prynne
had the audacity to produce, on the Archbishop's trial,
as a proof of his treason and unfaithfulness to the
Church of England, the following prayer, which he
found in his study :
" At the laying of the first stone of a chapel. 1
" LOED, merciful and gracious, these Thy people
are preparing to build a place for Thy service. Ac
cept, I humbly beseech Thee, their present devotion*
and make them perfect, both in their present and
future duty; that while Thou givest them ease to
honour Thee, they may with the greater alacrity go
on in Thy service. And now, O LORD, I have, by
Thy mercy and goodness, put to my hand to lay the
first stone of this building : 'tis a corner-stone make
it, I beseech Thee, a happy foundation, a durable
building. Let it rise up, and be made, and continue
a house of prayer and devotion through all ages, that
Thy people may be taught to believe in JESUS CHBIST,
the True Corner-stone, upon Whom they and their
souls may be built safe for ever. Grant this for the
same JESTJS CHEIST, our most blessed LOED and
SAVIOTJE ; to Whom, with the FATHEB and the HOLT
SPIEIT, be ascribed all power, majesty, and dominion,
this day and for ever. Amen." 2
Prynne, little remembering that the substance of
| the English Prayer-Book is to be found in the Eoman
Missal and Breviary, was indignant at discovering
this prayer was in the Pontifical. Laud's answer is
1 Hammersmith Chapel.
8 Laud's Works, vol. iii. p. 96.
VII.] THE DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM. 41
worth noticing : " It may be so, and yet be good. I
hope there is no high treason to be found either in the
one or the other, in consecrating churches, chapels, or
foundation stones."
The further we go into this history, the more we
shall see how much we are indebted to Laud for
throwing himself boldly against the flood of Puritan
irreverence, which threatened to sweep away the most
sacred things. True, he paid the penalty of his bold
ness with his life ; but here, as in other portions of the
vineyard at other times, the blood of the martyrs waa
the seed of the Church.
But we must turn .now to another incident, in which
he had the opportunity of exhibiting the reverential
tone of his mind towards sacred things.
CHAPTEB VII.
A.D. 1622.
THE DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM AND THE SPANISH MATCH.
" The man whom the King delighteth to honour." Esther vi. 6.
THE year 1622 was a remarkable one for Laud ; for
it brought him into connection with the great states
man of the day, the celebrated Villiers, afterwards
Duke of Buckingham. George Villiers, a young man,
of an ancient Leicestershire family, was the third son
of Sir George Villiers, and born August 28, 1592.
He waa brought up by his mother, a very accom
plished woman, till he was eighteen, when he was sent
to France. On his return, he attracted the notice of
King James, was made his cup-bearer in 1C 13, and
rose rapidly in favour. In 1615 he was made earl,
and in 1617 Marquis of Buckingham and Lord High
Admiral. At the same time his mother was elevated
42 LITE OF AECHBISHOP LATJD. [CHAP.
to the rank of countess. "When she joined the Roman
communion is not certain. In 1623 Laud speaks of
her as still wavering in point of religion, and his having
been sent for by the King on that subject. The in
strument of her conversion was one Fisher, a name
assumed by an English Jesuit of the name of Percy ;
and through her influence over her son, aided by the
Marchioness (Lady Katherine Manners), who was
also a Roman Catholic, it was hoped to effect the con
version of the all-powerful favourite. Fisher must
I have been no ordinary controversialist, for he prevailed
for a period over the hard head and logical mind of
Chillingworth. Hence, what with his subtleties, and
. the influence of wife and mother, we can easily imagine
the truth of Laud's assertion, " that the Right Ho
nourable the Lord Duke of Buckingham was almost
lost from the Church of England, between the con
tinual increasing labours of Fisher, the Jesuit, and the
^lady his mother." 1
King James was naturally alarmed. He was al
ready sufficiently suspected by the people for non-
enforcement of the penal laws. If his favourite and
minister became a Roman Catholic, the popular sus
picion of his own leaning to that communion would
be more than ever confirmed. He accordingly pro
posed a conference between divines of both churches,
nominally for the sake of the countess, really on ac
count of her son. Dr. White, Rector of S. Peter's,
Cornhill, a royal chaplain, and divinity lecturer at S.
Paul's, afterwards Bishop of Ely, was the person
chosen to meet Fisher. 2 Two conferences were the
result, but the lady's mind was not settled. She
needed satisfaction on the point of a visible infallible
Church, and at the King's command Laud entered
i the lists. This famous conference had for the time
I the effect of winning back to the English communion
1 Laud's Works, vol. iv. p. 64.
* With true greatness of mind Laud, on one occasion, saved
his opponent from punishment under the cruel penal laws.
VII.] CONVERTS FROM ROME. 43
the countess ("though," says Laud, "she was not so
happy as to continue with us"), and the more satis
factory one of steadying the duke. 1 In fact, this was
the commencement of a great intimacy between the
two. Laud has recorded it thus :
" 1622, June 9. Being Whit-Sunday, my Lord
Marquis Buckingham was pleased to enter upon a
near respect to me ; the particulars are not for paper.
"June 15. I became C. to my Lord of Buck
ingham.
" June 16. Being Trinity Sunday, he received the
Sacrament at Greenwich."
It was far from Laud's wish not to present the
Church of England in her fulness to those whom he
retained in her communion ; and hence, when Buck
ingham, as the Church advises, " wished to open his
griefs to some learned and discreet minister of GOD'S
holy Word, that he might receive the benefit of abso
lution," Laud had no hesitation in acting as his spiri-
1 On his trial, Laud enumerated the following persons whom
he had won over to the English from the Roman communion :
1. Henry Berkinstead, of Trinity College, Oxon.
2. Two daughters of Sir R. Lechford.
3. Two scholars of S. John's College, Cantab.
4. Sir W. Webbe and his two daughters.
5. A gentleman whose name he could not recall.
6. Lord Mayo.
7. The Marchioness of Hamilton.
8. Mr. Digby, a Priest.
9. Mr, James.
10. Dr. Hart.
11. Mr. Seaburne.
12. Mr. Chillingworth.
13. The sons of Mr. Winchecombe and Mr. Wollescott.
14. Sir W. Spencer, and the old Countess of Buckingham.
These afterwards relapsed, " it being only in GOD'S power, not
mine, to preserve them." All the rest continued faithful to the
Church of England.
We will only remark, that no person is anxious to bring others
to a communion which he does not love. Indifference never
proselytises.
44 LIFE OF ABC1IBISHOP LAUD. [CHA.
tual guide ; or, in his own ecclesiastical language,
becoming his confessor. 1
His views upon the subject of voluntary unburden
ing the conscience are well expressed in the following
remarks on the Scotch Canon : " And for the matter
of the Canon, if here be anything to establish Popish
Confession or Absolution, I humbly submit it to the
learned of the Keformed Churches throughout Chris-
^tendom: all men, for aught I yet know, allowing
' Confession ' and ' Absolution,' and condemning only
the binding of all men to confess all sins, upon abso-
yf lute danger of salvation. And this, indeed, some call,
' carnificiuiam conscientia?,' the rack or torturing of the
conscience, but impose no other necessity of confess
ing than the weight of their own sins shall lay upon
them, nor no other enforcement to receive Absolution
than their Christian care to ease their own consciences
j shall lead them unto; and in that way Calvin com-
" mends Confession exceedingly. And if you mark it,
i you shall find that our SAVIOUR CHRIST Who gives
I the Priest full Power of the Keys, to bind and loose,
that is, to receive Confession, and absolve or not ab
solve, as he sees cause in the delinquent, yet you shall
not find any command of His to enforce men to come
1 The value Laud set upon Buckingham's friendship will be
seen from the following prayer composed by him on the occasion.
All things, whether of joy or sorrow, were sanctified by Laud
with prayer.
" Gracious FATHER, I humbly beseech Thee, bless the Duke of
Buckingham with all spiritual and temporal blessings, but espe
cially spiritual. Make and continue him faithful to his prince,
serviceable to his country, devout in Thy truth and Church ; a
most happy husband, and a blessed father, filled with the constant
love and honour of his prince ; that all Thy blessings may flow
upon himself, and his posterity after him. Continue him a true-
hearted friend to me, Thy poor servant, whom Thou hast ho
noured in his eyes. Make my heart religious and dutiful to Thee,
and in and under Thee true, secret, and stout and provident in
all things which he shall be pleased to commit unto me. Even so,
LORD, and make him continually to serve Thee, that Thou mayest
bless him, through JESUS CHRIST, our only LORD and SAVIOUR.
Amen." Laud's Works, vol. iii. p. 75.
VII.] LAYING ON OF HANDS. 45
to the Priest to receive this benefit. 'Tis enough that
He hath left power in the ministry of the Church to
give penitent Christians, this ease, safety, and comfort,
if they will receive it when they need. If they need
and will not come, or if they need and will not believe
they do so, let them bear their own burden." 1
He was now at liberty to visit his diocese ; and his
Diary records his progress :
" 1622. July 5, I first entered into Wales.
" July 9, I began my first Visitation at the College
at Brecknock, and preached.
" July 24, I visited S. David's, and preached.
" July 25, Aug. 6, 7, I visited at Carmarthen, and
preached. The Chancellor and my Commissioners
visited at Emlyn.
" July 16, 17, and at Haverfordwest, July 19, 20.
"Aug. 15, I set forward towards England from
Carmarthen." 2
"1622. Feb. 9, I ordained Edmund Provant, a
Scot, Priest. He was my first-begotten in the LOBD."
The private devotions show how heavy the responsi
bility of laying-on hands was felt by Laud :
" LOBD, I am now at Thy Altar, at Thy work, keep
me, that I lay not my hands suddenly upon anv man,
lest 1 be partaker of other men's sins, but that I may
keep myself pure in JESUS CHBIST our LOBD. Amen.
LOBD, give me grace, that as oft as they shall come in
my way, I may put them in remembrance whom I have
ordained, that they may stir up the gift of GOD,
which is in them, by the laying-on of my hands,
through JESUS CHBIST our LOBD. Amen."
Another entry shows he guarded carefully entrance
into the Priesthood, excluding the unworthy : " Sept.
24, One only person desired to receive Holy Orders
from me, and he found to be unfit, on examination. I
sent him away with an exhortation, not ordained."
The intimacy which had sprung up between Laud
1 Laud's Works, vol. iii. p. 332.
a Laud's Works, vol. iii. 139.
46 LIFE OF ABCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
and Buckingham soon furnished the former an oppor
tunity of evidencing his love for the English Church.
"VVe have already seen that it was Laud's fixed deter
mination that the children of the Church should have
from his hand their full portion of privileges, and
that he had thus no hesitation in allowing the Duke
to pour his griefs into his priestly ear. Nor did he
afterwards shrink from casting the mantle of his
authority over those Clergy, whom the Puritans would
have hunted down for receiving the confessions of
those stricken souls, who could not quiet their own
conscience. Laud knew the best way to prevent
secession to Home, was to present to waverers the
Church of England in her entirety and fulness, as she
is in her Prayer Book and authoritative acts, pure from
all taint of Geneva, and not to pare her down to suit
Puritanical fancies and caprices. Consistently, there
fore, was he moat anxious, on the occasion of the
Prince of Wales' romantic journey to Spain, in 1623,
to provide for the due celebration of Divine Offices
according to the English rites, in the capital of a
strictly Roman Catholic country. We shall not enter
into the details of the journey : suffice it to say, that
as soon as it was ascertained the Prince had arrived
safely at Madrid, King James immediately sent two
Chaplains (Maw and Wren,) to whom he gave the
following instructions which had been drawn up by
Laud and some other Bishops :
" 1. That there be a convenient room appointed for
Prayer : the said room to be employed, during their
abode, to no other use.
" 2. That it be decently adorned chapelwise, with
an altar, font, palls, linen coverings, demy carpet,
four surplices, candlesticks, tapers, chalices, patens, a
fine towel for the Prince, other towels for the house
hold, a traverse of water for the Communion, a bason,
and flagon, two copes. '
" 3. That Prayers be duly kept twice a day, that all
reverence be used by every one present, being un-
VII.] THE PRINCE'S JOUBNET TO SPAI3T. 47
covered, kneeling at due time, standing up at the
Creeds and Gospel, bowing at the Name of JESUS.
" 4. That the Communion be celebrated in due
form, with an oblation of every communicant, and
mixing water with the wine. The Communion to be
as often used as it shall please the Prince to set down.
Smooth wafers to be used for the bread."
The Chaplains were further forbidden to indulge in
controversy, and were specially instructed to preach
CHBIST JESUS Crucified. They were also to take
with them the Articles and Prayer Book in various
languages.
These are clearly the acts of one who loved his
Church, and wished her to be well represented when
sojourning among strangers. They also show con
siderable forethought for Buckingham and Charles iu
a foreign land. But his care for them was not limited
to paper instructions. Day by day, wheu they were
travelling by land or by sea, mingling unknown amidst
the gay revelries of Paris, or receiving the intoxicating
draught of the homage of Madrid, did there go up
from the retirement of his closet the Bishop's prayer
for the wanderers :
" O Most Merciful GOD and Gracious FATHER, the
prince hath put himself to a great adventure. I
humbly beseech Thee make a way clear before him.
Give Thine Angels charge over him : be with him
Thyself in mercy, power, and protection, in every step
of his journey, in every moment of his time, in every
consultation and address for action, till Thou bring
him back with safety, honour, and contentment, to do
Thee service in this place.
" Bless his most trusty and faithful servant, the
Lord Duke of Buckingham, that he may be diligent
in service, provident in business, wise and happy in
counsels, for the honour of Thy Name, the good of
Thy Church, the preservation of the Prince, the con
tentment of the King, the satisfaction of the state.
Preserve him, I humbly beseech Thee, from all envy
48 LIFE OF AECHBISHOP LATJD. [CHAP.
that attends him, and bless him that his eyes may see
the Prince safely delivered to the King and State, and
after it, live long in happiness, to do them and Thee
service, through JESTJS CHBIST our LOBD. Amen." 1
~* The leaves of his Private Devotions, which contained
these prayers, bore marks of constant use, as Prynne
maliciously pointed out, little thinking what testimony
he was affording to the really Christian character of
v his victim, and his faith in the efficacy of prayer.
While Laud was thus fostering and striving to
elicit the good points of the Duke of Buckingham,
the gay favourite, in his turn, seems to have conceived
a great esteem and regard for the Prelate to whom he
committed the disposal of his ecclesiastical patronage.
The great influence which Laud had over him, was
I seen in his abstaining at his entreaty from confis-
1 eating the property "of the Charterhouse, for the
expenses of the army. His mind was at this time,
probably, more open to good impressions, as he had
recovered from a sickness, in which Laud not only
visited him as his ghostly adviser, but also affectionately
nursed him, and spent more than one night at his sick
couch. We have been so accustomed to think of
Laud as the mere statesman, that these gentler traits of
his character have entirely escaped our notice, and few
of us have ever thought of the unyielding lion-hearted
Prelate watching the sleep and soothing the restless
ness of a sick friend. Such traits are, however, worth
dwelling upon, not merely for our imitation, but also
^ as displaying a great man in an aspect which com-
v mands the respect of all. Nor were his sympa
thies only with dukes : he was always kind to the sick,
(his own ailments taught him gentleness) ; and we read
of him, on another occasion, coming from Hampton
Court to London, to visit one of his servants, William
Pennell, " whom I left sick at home." We shall return
v to this.
1 Laud's Works, vol. iii. 76.
VII.] LORD KEEPER WILLIAMS. 49
But if Laud had a strong friend in Buckingham, he
had also powerful enemies. Many years of his life
were embittered by the treatment he experienced from
the celebrated Williams, the Lord Keeper, afterwards
Archbishop of York. These two men never seemed
to understand each other from the first. Laud, whose
vision was the keener of the two, saw clearly the only
chance for the Church of England was the develop
ment of the Catholic element in her : Williams, on the
other hand, was for concession to the Puritans. Laud
was particuhirly truthful, (his honesty is particularly
noted by Clarendon,) whereas Williams was by nature
a liar. Laud could not take a crooked course :
Williams preferred it. Laud shrunk from dissimula
tion : Williams revelled in it. There is no occasion,
therefore, to search far for the reasons of the mutual
dislike they had for each other ; it was instinctive.
Laud's single eye penetrated at once Williams' tricks,
and Williams felt that in Laud's presence he was un
masked. Laud seems to have regarded Williams as
men do a serpent, and Williams to have taken his re
venge as a serpent does, by biting when he dared.
The difference between them is first noted by Laud
in his Diary, October 3, 1623 : " I was with my Lord
Keeper, to whom I found some one had done me very
ill offices." And similar entries occur in abundance.
So great was the annoyance, that Williams even
figured in his dreams, and on one occasion, he seems
to have made it special subject of communion with
GOD, and to have experienced much consolation by re
calling to mind Psalm Ivi., " The LORD, is my Helper;
I will not fear what man can do unto me. Who is
not safe under that shield ? Protect me, O LORD my
GOD."
Abbott, Archbishop of Canterbury, already men
tioned, was another of Laud's enemies ; " a man,"
says Clarendon, " totally ignorant of the true constitu
tion of the Church ot England, and the state and
interest of the Clergy." His whole life was an evidence
x
50 XIFE OF AECHBISHOP LATJD.
of this, while his utter want of forethought for his
poorer brethren was shown by his treatment of a pro
position which Laud made to him for the purpose of
lightening the burden of taxation which fell upon the
poorer Clergy. The Convocation of 1624 voted a
large subsidy to the King on occasion of the rupture
with Spain; but the time for levying it was limited
from February 19 to March 16, 162f . Laud who
had once been a Parish Priest, (which Abbott never
was,) knew this would press hard upon the country
Clergy, and devised a plan for lightening its burden,
which met with the approbation of Buckingham
and "Williams. Abbott thought differently, however,
and " was very angry ; asked what I had to do to
make any suit for the Church ; told me never any
Bishop attempted the like at any time, nor would
any but myself have done it ; that I had given the
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 1 had
done, he would never induce me to come near him
again. I answered, I thought I had done a very good
office for the Church, and so did my betters think.
If his Grace thought otherwise, I was sorry I had
offended him, and I hoped (being done out of a good
mind, for the support of many poor Vicars in the
country, who must needs sink under three subsidies a
year,) my error, if it were one, were pardonable. So
we parted May GOD bless me, His servant,
labouring under the pressure of them who always
wished ill to me. 1
1 Laud's Works, vol. iii. p. 151.
51
CHAPTER VIII.
A.D. 16251626.
KINO CHARLES I.
" Our own, our Royal Saint."
Christian Year.
" GOD grant King Charles a prosperous and happy
reign!" was Laud's pious aspiration, as he noted in
his Diary the accession of the young King. Even at
this distance of time, the words are very touching,
when we think of the end of both.
Charles's accession was the turning-point in the
history of our Church. The King was grieved at the
spread of Calvinistic theology, which had gained such a
hold on the affections of the people, and was eating out
the heart's life of the Church. He saw and mourned
over the downward progress which she was making
under the Metropolitan rule of Abbott, and, invested
by the law with great powers over her, he resolved
that lie \\uiilil use tln-m fur her nMr>rat inn. and (/ause
her, as far as he could, to realise the position she
claimed, of being reformed upon the model of the
ancient Church.
At this distance of time, we can scarcely realise
what a deadly evil Puritanism was, nor the dreadful
heresies to which it gave birth. What is left of it is
innocent compared with the Puritanism of the time of
Charles I. It was, in fact, a system of opinions which
had grown up in the Church, at utter variance with its
doctrines and discipline. The Church of England
appealed for her justification to the early ages : Pjiri-
taiii>in laughed antiquity t sn>rn. The Chureh
limit. -d private judgment l>y re<v|iii,.n <!' the Creeds
of the Undivided Church: Puritanism claimed for
itself the most unbridled licence, and profanely attri
buted to its most intemperate sallies, the authority of
52 LIFE OF ABCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
the SPIRIT. The Church of England believed our
LOBD'S words, "Except a man be born of water and
the SPIRIT, he cannot see the Kingdom of GOD ":
i Puritanism denied the necessity and efficacy of
1 Baptism, and reduced it to a naked sign. Con-
X firmation was the subject of profane jesting. The
IEeal Presence in the Blessed Eucharist denied and
reviled. The Church placed prayer above preaching:
Puritanism exalted preaching above prayer. The
Church adhered to the necessity of Episcopal Ordina
tion : Puritanism held that any one who fancied he
was called by GOD might lawfully serve in the sacred
I ministry. All the pious ceremonies retained by the
I Church were laughed at and set at nought by the Puri
tans. They would neither stand at the Gospel, nor bow
at the Name of JESUS, nor receive the Communion in the
attitude of suppliants. They tore the altar from its
position in the east, and rejoiced to see it in the body
of the church, a receptacle of hats or books. They
could not endure painted glass, and shut their ears to
the sweet influences of sacred music. The beautiful
order of the Church's Calendar had no charms for
them, the Christian seasons in honour of our LORD,
the minor commemorations of the Apostles were sub
jected to their utmost scorn. In a word, Puritanism
robbed religion of all that was high and noble, and
tender, and graceful, and winning, and affectionate,
and reverent, and threw over her a dark, gloomy, and
repulsive vestment ; deprived her votaries of all the
high and thrilling associations which the feeling of
membership in CHRIST'S Holy Catholic Church and
the Communion of Saints have such power to bestow,
and could see no Christianity before the days of
I Calvin. Eejecting the authority of (Ecumenical
I Councils, she bowed down before the Swiss Pastor,
and, careless of orthodoxy on cardinal points, assured
her votaries of salvation, if they felt they were among
the elect and abused to the best of their ability the
Church of Home.
1
Till.] KING CHABLES. 53
Such were the principles which Charles saw per
vading the length and breadth of the land-over which
GOD'S Providence had caused him to reign. Brought
up in the true principles of the Church of England, and
himself no mean theologian, he saw at once that if
this heresy obtained the upper hand, the Church of
England would soon cease to be a witness for the
" faith once delivered to the saints," and forfeit her
claim to be considered a branch of the Church Catholic.
Laud saw the same thing, and the Crosier and the
Sceptre entered into a firm alliance. We, at this day,
are reaping the fruits of their penetration and de-
cision. They both, indeed, laid their heads upon the
block, but their vindication is the present English
Church.
While Charles, too, saw the danger which threat
ened the Church, he was not less alive to the evils to
State^ which were connected with Puritanism.
penetrated the thin, disguises of constitutional
monarchy, balance of power in the State, rights of
Parliament, and the like, beneath which Pym, Vane,
Hampden, and others masked their designs ; and saw
clearly that they meant Republicanism. The Repub
lican tendencies of Genevan doctrines had been well
known to his predecessors, and hence the gulph be
tween Charles and these gloomy fanatics widened
daily. The inheritor of a mighty prerogative, wielded
within the recollection of those living with uncon
trolled authority, Charles saw himself and in him
the monarchy, threatened with the utmost violence.
Hence his antipathy to the innovators, and his deter-
initiation, at all risks, to uphold the monarchy with
which all the past glories of England were bound up.
What would be utterly illegal in the occupant of our
constitutional throne, was quite lawful in Charles.
We are not to judge him by notions of prerogative
derived from 1688.
Some such digression as this has been necessary for
the right understanding of the position assumed by
54 LIFE OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
the saintly monarch, whom we have introduced in this
chapter. We are not going into his history, nor
the details of the civil war. He outlived Laud, and
I threw the protection of his prerogative over him to
' the last. The only monarch that has actively used
I the powers which the Church placed in his hands,
for her real exaltation, he comes down to us with
special claims on our gratitude as Churchmen.
Brave, generous, princely in his bearing, and yet
capable of inspiring the most devoted attachment,
refined and elegant in his tastes, and above all pure
in private life, a good husband and a good father
with a soul deeply penetrated by religion, and a heart
which beat in unison with the precepts of the Church ; it
is impossible to withhold our sympathy from him in the
long and cruel struggle he maintained with the enemies
of the Church and Crown. Were there indeed no other
title to our love, his deep penitence for his one great
sin, and his saintly death, not to speak of the title of
Martyr, formally given him by our Church, would
forbid us to think of him with any feelings save those
xof affection and reverence.
With so much sympathy between Charles and Laud,
it was not to be expected that Laud would much longer
remain in the back ground. Charles early gave him
proofs of his confidence, requiring him to give him a
list of his Chaplains with the letter 0. and P. (Ortho
dox and Puritan), affixed to their names ; and also in
structing him to consult Andrewes as to the expediency
of attempting a condemnation of the Five Calvinistic
Points in Convocation. Andrewes' advice was, to let
the matter alone, probably not being able to trust
Convocation with the settlement of doctrine. 1 The
question accordingly was not mooted when Convoca
tion met in June, 1625, simultaneously with Charles's
first Parliament. Laud preached from Psalm cxxii. 3, 4 ;
and set forth the necessity of unity in Church and
State. The whole sermon is remarkable as a statement
1 Laud's Works, vol. iii. p. 160.
VIII.] THE PLAGUE BISHOP MONTAGUE. 55
of his high views of the Regale, and the close connec
tion he conceived desirable between Church and State.
But wishing as much as possible to avoid politics, we
shall not quote it, but rather retire with the Prelate,
and witness him on his knees in his closet, pouring out
his soul to GOD.
The pestilence was raging fiercely, and at the King's
command July 2nd was observed as a day of fasting
and humiliation. Laud's religious mind seems to have
been much impressed by this visitation, and he notes
the sudden death of one of the Bishop of Gloucester's
servants, as having particularly struck him : " GOD be
merciful to me and the rest." After stating the terrible
nature of GOD'S judgment, the prayer proceeds, " We
have no whither to go, but to mercy : we have no way
to that, but by the all-sufficient merit of Thy SON our
blessed SAVIOUR. LORD, for His merit and mercies'
sake, look down upon us Thy distressed servants :
command Thine Angel to stay his hand, and remember
that in death we cannot praise Thee, nor give thanks
in the pit. Go forth with our armies where they go,
and make us remember that all our strength and de
liverance is in Thee. Clear up the heavens over us,
and take not from us the great plenty with which Thou
hast crowned the earth : but remember us, O Thou
that feedest the young ravens when they call upon
Thee. LOHD, we need all Thy mercies to come upon
us ; and thy mercies are altogether in CHRIST, in whom,
and, for whose sake, we beg them of Thee, who livest
and reignest in the unity of the Spirit, one GOD,
v world without end. Amen." 1
In this devout communion with his GOD did Laud
gather strength to meet the coming struggle. The
Commons had fastened upon Montague, one of the
King's Chaplains, committed him to the custody of
the Sergeant-at-Arms, and made him give his bond
for 2,000, for his appearance for final sentence next
session. This was not for any civil offence, but because
1 Laud's Works, vol. iii. p. 130.
56 LIFE OF ABCHBISHOP LATJD. [CHAP.
Montague had published some theological books which
were displeasing to the Puritan country gentlemen,
who composed the Lower House. Laud soon saw
this would never do, and with the Bishops of Kochester
and Oxford, addressed Buckingham in his behalf, al
leging that some of Montague's opinions were the doc
trines of the Church, and others abstruse and difficult
_ Theological points, which had always been left open.
*And they proceed : " May it please your Grace further
to consider, that when the Clergy submitted themselves
in the time of~Henry VIII., the submission was so
ma'de, that if any difference, doctrinal or other, fell
in the Church, the King and the Bishops were to be
the judges of it in the National Synod or Convoca
tion, the King first giving leave under his broad seal,
to handle the points in difference. But the Church
never submitted to any other judge, neither indeed can
v,she, though she woum." And they conclude by ex
pressing their confidence in Montague, and their satis
faction that the King was about to refer the matter
to Church consideration. 1
The dissolution of the Parliament, August 12th,
saved Montague for the present, but Charles' second
Parliament, which met February 2, 1626, renewed the
attack. Laud stood by his friend, and even when the
King (thus early showing signs of his chief fault, in
decision) faltered before the storm, protected him.
The Parliament was dissolved, and Montague made
Bishop of Chichester, 1627.
That Laud was aware of the importance of making
a stand in Montague's case, is clear from his words
and his deeds. In order to connect them, we have
digressed a little, for the Coronation of the King inter
vened between the meeting of the first and second
Parliament ; and Williams, the Dean of Westminster,
being under the Koyal displeasure, his place was sup
plied by Laud.
The Dean of Westminster, by virtue of his office,
1 Heylin, p. 131.
Till.] CORONATION OP CHARLES. 57
has the custody of the Regalia, and the chief nianage-
ment of the ceremonial. It was just exactly the work
for Laud, and, during the interval, the diary discloses
him now busy with the Bishops, now hurrying to
the King, now inspecting the regalia, now correcting
the deficiencies in the late ceremonial.
" It was a very bright sunshiny day," that Candle
mas day, 1625, when Charles I., amid the shouts and
acclamations of an immense concourse of people,
entered the ancient abbey of Westminster. They
traced upon his kingly brow the sign of redemption,
with the consecrated unguent, and as he stood before
the altar, whence looked on him the image of his
crucified Redeemer, the Bishop thus spake : " Stand
v/ and hold fast from henceforth, the place to which you
have been heir by the succession of your forefathers,
being now delivered to you by the authority of Almighty
GOD, and by the hands of all us the Bishops and
servants of GOD. And as you see the Clergy to come
nearer the altar than others, so remember that in place
convenient you give them greater honour, that the
(Mediator of GOD and man may establish you in the
kingly throne, to be the Mediator between the Clergy
and Laity, that you may reign for ever with JESUS
CHRIST the King of Kings, and LORD of Lords, who
with the FATHER and HOLY GHOST, liveth and reigneth
for ever. Amen." " Let him obtain favour for the
people." continued the sacred strain, " like Aaron in
toe tabernacle, Elisha in the waters, Zacharias in the
temple : give him Peter's keys of discipline, and Paul's
doctrine."" Then he swore to confirm to the people of
England, the laws and customs granted by bis prede-
^cessors; and they placed the crown of S. Edward on
his head, and tne people shouted " GOD save the
King !" What a contrast was Whitehall, on that sad
January 30th.
There was soon evidence of the influence Laud had
over his Sovereign. As soon as Montague had been
dragged out of the jaws of the Commons, a Royal pro-
58 LIFE OF ABCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
clamation made its appearance, forbidding any of his
Majesty's subjects from the publication of any new
inventions or opinions concerning religion ; and in
1626, Laud was translated to the See of Bath and
"Wells. One of his first acts there was to draw up by
order of Buckingham, instructions for the Bishops and
Archbishops, for circulation through the kingdom,
exhorting the people to contribute to the support of
the Monarch, who had been plunged into war by his
Parliament, and then left by them without money.
The conclusion is very beautiful, and worthy of being
recorded.
" The three great and usual judgments, which He
darts down upon disobedient and unthankful people,
are pestilence, famine, and sword. The pestilence did
nevermore rage in this kingdom than of late, and GOD
was graciously pleased in mercy to hear the prayer
which was made unto Him, and the ceasing of that
judgment was little less than a miracle. The famine
threatened us this present year, and it must have
followed, had GOD rained down His anger a little later
upon the fruits of the earth ; but upon our prayers
He stayed that judgment, and sent us a blessed season,
and most beautiful harvest. The sword is the thing
which we are now to look to, and you must call the
people to their prayers again, against that enemy, that
GOD will be pleased to send the like deliverance from
this judgment also ; that in the same mercy He will
vouchsafe to strengthen the hands of His people : that
He will sharpen their sword, but dull and turn the
edge of that which is in our enemies' hands, that so
while some fight others may pray for this blessing." 1
"In every thing by prayer, let your request be
made known unto GOD," saith the Apostle. 2 Laud
thoroughly believed this : prayer pervades this paper ;
so too, his private devotions, under the head "Bellum,"
illustrate this feature of his religious character. The
prayers are mostly, as will be seen, compiled from Holy
1 Heylin, p. 156. 8 Philip. i v . 6,
Till.] DEVOTIONS IN WAR TIME. 59
Scripture, for Laud was no stranger to the language
of the Sacred Volume.
" O my GOD, though mighty nations gather together
on heaps, yet let them be broken in pieces ; though
they take counsel together, bring it to nought. For
though they pronounce a decree, yet it shall not stand,
if Thou, O GOD, be with us. Be with us, therefore,
O GOD, for JESUS CHRIST His sake. Amen.
> " O make the wars to cease in all the world, break
the bow, and knap the spear in sunder, and burn the
chariot in the fire : that men may be still, and know
that Thou art GOD : that Thou wilt be exalted among
ythe heathen, and in the earth. Amen.
" Hast Thou forgotten us, GOD ? and wilt not
Thou, O GOD, go forth with, our Hosts ? help us
against the enemy : for vain is the help of man. O
LORD, help us. Amen.
" O LORD, bless the King : all his commanders under
him : and all his soldiers. Cover all their heads, his
especially, in the day of battle. Teach all their hands
to war, and their fingers to fighfr. And bless all the
guides and conductors of his armies under him, with
wisdom and courage, and faithfulness, and watchful
ness, and diligence, and whatsoever else may lead on to
good success. And set a happy end, we humbly
beseech Thee, to all these- bloody distractions, and
restore peace, and preserve religion in integrity among
us, even for JESUS CHRIST His sake. Amen.'^ 1
V His next step shall be given in his own words, and
we shall see him upholding the honour of Almighty
GOD, the authority of the Church, and the reverence
due to consecrated houses of prayer, even before
Kings. Much as he loved Charles, he loved reverence
more, and shrunk not when his duty called him, from
rebuking one whose office and person he so deeply
^venerated.
"It was Friday November 14th, or thereabouts
taking occasion, from the abrupt both beginning and
1 Laud's Works,- vol. oil. p. 50.
60 LIPE OF AECHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
ending of public prayer on the 5th of November, I
| * desired his Majesty King Charles that he would please
to be present at prayers, as well as sermon every Sun
day ; and that at whatsoever part of the prayers he
came, 1 the priest then officiating might proceed to the
end of the prayers. The most religious King not only
assented to this request, but also gave me thanks.
This had not before been done from the beginning of
King James's reign to this day. Now, thanks be to
y,GoD, it obtaineth." 2
CHAPTER IX.
A.D. 1628.
THE EOTAL DECLAEATION THE LECTUEEBS.
" Kings shall be thy nursing fathers." Isa. lix. 23.
THE third Parliament of King Charles, March 17,
1628, opened with a sermon by Laud from Eph.
iv. 3, words which the King echoed in his speech to
the assembled Lords and Commons. He spoke in
vain. The Commons soon showed the unruly material
of which they were made, and proceeded to busy them
selves in condemning Dr. Main waring, but with no
better success than to expedite his promotion to the
See of S. David's. His elevation to the Episcopate
had been already determined on, and Laud considered
it matter of conscience not to allow the King to sur
render the responsibility of appointing Bishops, which
the Constitution imposed upon him.
Enraged at this, the Commons now pointed at Laud
by name as an Arminian and a Jesuit, coupling with
him Neil, Bishop of Winchester. This was no more
than Laud expected, having been warned before Par-
1 The custom was, that when the King entered, Prayers
stopped, and Preaching began.
2 Laud's Works, vol. iii. p. 197.
IX.] DEATH OF BUCKINGHAM. 61
liament met that he would be aimed at. His lion
heart, however, quailed not, his courage bore him
through victoriously. The King's favour too was not
wanting. The see of London became vacant, and the
congt tTelire nominated Laud. He had scarcely been
called to this high post, when the first serious blow
fell upon him in the assassination of Buckingham, by
Felton.
This nobleman was at this time in the highest dis
favour with the Commons. His unsuccessful expe
dition to Khe had added to the weight of unpopu
larity under which he laboured, and he became the
subject of innumerable complaints on the part of the
Lower House. The assassin's knife saved him from
their fury, and though the nation wept him not, the
tears of Laud flowed bitterly over his friend's un
timely death. 1 Thus he records his feelings : " O
merciful GOD, Thy judgments are often secret, always
just. At this time they were temporarily heavy upon
the poor Duke of Buckingham, upon me, upon all
that had the honour to be near him. LOBD, Thou
hast, I doubt not, given him rest, and light, and bless
edness in Thee : give also, I beseech Thee, comfort to
his lady, bless his children, uphold his friends, forget
not his servants. Lay open the bottom of all that
irreligious and graceless plot that spilt his blood.
Bless and preserve the King from danger and from
insecurity in these dangerous times. And for myself,
1 The following prayer was used by Laud during the Duke's
absence at Rhe : " O most gracious GOD and merciful FATHER,
Thou art the LORD of Hosts ! all victory over our enemies, all
safety against them is from Thee ; I humbly beseech Thee go out
with our armies and bless them. Bless my dear Lord the Duke,
that is gone Admiral with them, that wisdom may attend his coun
sels, and courage and success his enterprise ; that by his and their
means, Thou wilt be pleased to bring safety to this kingdom,
strength and comfort to religion, victory and reputation to our
country, and that he may return with our navy committed to him,
and with safety, honour, and love of princes and people. Grant
this for Thy dear SON'S sake, JESUS CHRIST our LORD. Amen."
Laud's Works, vol. iii. p. 76.
62 LIFE OF ABCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
LOBD, thcmgh the sorrows of my heart are enlarged
in that Thou gavest this most honourable friend into
my bosom, and hast taken him again from me, yet
blessed be Thy Name, O LOBD, Thou hast given me
patience. I shall now see him no more till we meet
at the Resurrection. O make that joyful to us, and
to all Thy faithful servants, even for JESUS CHBIST
His sake. Amen."
His correspondence with Vossius runs in the same
strain, and when we remember that for the sake of
greater devotion Laud led a solitary life, we shall the
better understand the severe loss he experienced in
the death of the Duke.
The murder of Buckingham brought Laud forward.
He was now the chief adviser in Church and State, and
perceiving that the King's late injunctions had been
but badly obeyed, obtained from him (1628) the cele
brated Declaration, which finally rescued the Thirty-
nine Articles from" the grasp of the Calvinists, and con
tains the Royal promise that matters of doctrine shall be
left to the settlement of the Convocation. Our readers
will find it prefixed to the Articles as they are generally
boundup with their Prayer Books; we need not therefore
quote it. Its acceptance by the Church has been of un
told value, seeing it requires subscription to the Articles
only in the natural and grammatical sense, and thus
leaves a wide and generous liberty. Professing to silence
all parties, it really only gagged one, and the Commons
felt this. " We, the Commons in Parliament assem
bled, do claim, protest, and avow for truth, the sense
of the Articles of Eeligion 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 by the general and current expositions of
the writers of our Church, have been delivered unto us.
And we reject the sense of the Jesuits, Arminians, and
all others wherein they differ from us " (i.e., we are
Calvinists, and Calvinistic therefore the Articles shall
be). To this Laud replied by a temperate declaration,
IX.] THE KINO'S DECLARATION. 63
vindicating liberty of subscription, in opposition to
Puritanical exclusiveness. It will repay careful study.
" And first (saith he), the Public Acts of the Church
in matters of Doctrine are Canons and Acts of Coun
cils, as well for expounding as determining ; the Acts
of the High Commission are not in this sense Public
Acts of the Church, nor the meeting of a few or more
Bishops Extra Concilium unless they be by lawful au
thority called to that work, and their decision approved
by the Church,
> " Secondly. The current Exposition of writers is a
strong probable argument, de sensu, canonis Ecelesiee
vel Articuli ; yet but probable. The current expo
sition of the Fathers themselves have sometimes
v missed sensum Ecclesice.
. " Thirdly. Will you reject all sense of Jesuit or
1 Arminian ? May not some be true ? May not some
be agreeable to our writers, and yet in a way that is
stronger than ours to confirm the Article ?
" lourthly. Is there by this Act any interpretation
made or declared of the Articles or not ? If none,
to what end the Act ? If a sense or interpretation
be declared, what authority have laymen to make it ?
For interpretation of an Article belongs to them only
that have power to make it.
"Fifthly. It is manifest that there is a sense declared
by the House of Commons, the Act says it (' We
avow the Articles, and in that sense, and all other that
agree not with us in the aforesaid sense, we reject')
these and these go about misinterpretation of a
sense ; ergo, there is a declaration of a sense ; yea,
but it is not a new sense declared by them, but they
avow the old sense declared by the Church (the public
authentic Acts of the Church, &c.) ; yea, but if there be
no such public authentic Acts of the Church, then here is
a sense of their own declared under the pretexts of it.
" Sixthly. It seems against the King's Declaration,
1, That says, We shall take the general meaning of
the Articles : this Act restrains them to consent of
64 LIFE OF ABCHBISHOP LATJD. [CHAP.
writers 2, That says, The Articles shall not be drawn
aside any way, but that we shall take it in the literal
and grammatical sense. This Act ties us to consent
of writers, which may and perhaps do, go against the
literal sense ; for here is no exception, so we shall be
perplexed, and our consent required to things contrary.
" Seventhly. 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, requiring assent to
particulars, hath been rent, as de transubstantiatione." 1
> The King had long borne the insolence of Parlia
ment patiently, but at last he could endure no longer.
They would vote no supplies, and spent their time in
theological and ritual disputes, assuming to themselves
the authority of the entire Episcopate, censuring this
doctrine and that ceremony, till the royal writ dis-
v/ solved them, March 10, 1629.
Laud was quite aware how obnoxious he was to the
malcontents. His Diary records how the Parliament
laboured for his ruin, " but GOD be ever blessed, for it
found nothing against me." " LOUD, I am a grievous
einner, but I beseech Thee deliver rny soul from them
that hate me without a cause," 2 is his pious ejacula
tion in recording the scurrilous and threatening papers
which were scattered in the streets. Wearied with
the strife of tongues, he found his refuge in commu'
nion with GOB, and our readers will not be sorry to
exchange the heated atmosphere of controversy for' the
more genial regions of devotion, or to turn from the
statesman bravely battling for his master's rights,
1 Heylin, p. 181. 2 Laud's Works, vol. iii. p. 210.
IX.] PRATERS FOR ENEMIES. 65
drawing up state papers, and confronting an infuriated
* Commons, to the Christian on his knees, thus praying
to GOD for his enemies and persecutors, while he
begs deliverance from their malice.
" O LORD, I beseech Thee forgive mine enemies all
their sins against Thee, and give me that measure of
Thy grace, that for their hatred I may love them, for
their cursing I may bless them, for their injury I may
do them good, and for their persecution I may pray for
them. LORD, I pray for them ; forgive them, for they
know not what they do. Amen.
" GOD of peace and charity, give to all my enemies
peace and charity, forgive all their sins, and deliver
me from their snares, through JESUS CHRIST our
y LOBD. Amen.
*****
" Oh LORD, consider mine enemies how many they
are, and they bear a tyrannous hate against me. LORD,
deliver me from them. Amen.
" Almighty GOD, I humbly beseech Thee, look upon
the hearty desires of Thy humble servant, and stretch
out the right hand of Thy- Majesty to be my defence
against all mine enemies, through JESUS CHRIST our
LORD. Amen."
" Be merciful unto me, Oh GOD, for mine enemies
would swallow me up, and many they are which fight
against me, Oh Thou Most Highest ! They gather to
gether and keep themselves close, they mark my steps,
because they lay wait for my soul. But when I was
afraid I trusted in Thee ; and when I cry, then shall
mine enemies turn back. This Thou wilt make me
know, when Thou art with me ; be with me therefore,
Oh LORD, and let me see deliverance. Amen.
" Oh LORD, let not them that are mine enemies
triumph over me, neither let them wink with their eyes
that hate me either without a cause or for Thy cause.
Amen.
" Oh LORD GOD, in Thee have I put my trust, save
me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me,
66 LIFE OF ABCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
lest they devour my soul like a lion and tear it in
pieces while there is none to help. Lift up Thyself,
Oh GOD, because of the indignation of mine enemies ;
arise up for me in the judgment which Thou hast com
manded, that my help may still be from Thee, Oh GOD,
Who preservest them that are true of heart. Amen.
" Have mercy upon me, Oh GOD ! consider the
trouble which I suffer of them that hate me, Oh Thou
that liftest me up from the gates of death. Amen.
" Hear my voice, Oh GOD, in my prayer, preserve
my life from fear of the enemy ; hide me from the
conspiracy of the wicked, and from the rage of the
(workers of iniquity. They have whet their tongues
like a sword, and shoot out their arrows, even bitter
words ; LOED, deliver me from them. Amen." 1
The following extract from a letter to Vossius, is
worthy of notice by those who would wish to see what
manner of person Laud really was. The unbending
statesman was not made of iron, after all ; he was
'^ still flesh and blood. " I have left no stone unturned,
I that those difficult and intricate questions should not
be handled publicly, for there is a risk of violating
PJety and charity under the plea of truth. I have
i always counselled moderation, lest fervid minds, in
I whom religion is not the chief thing, should disturb
every thing. Perhaps this has not pleased, but I
remember how earnestly the SAVIOUR enjoins charity
on His followers, how cautiously and patiently the
Apostle would have weak brethren dealt with. If I
i perish through their arts, I am made a prey to the
I conqueror, but my reward is with me, nor will I seek
comfort any where out of myself save in GOD. Mean
while I hope less than I fear. The Reformed Church
tas nothing which she has more 16 guard against than
i this, lest being attacked on all sides, and torn by her own
I children's hands, she be divided and rent into little bits
and so vanish away. I seem to foresee something else
too. But it is better to pray that it come not to pass
1 Laud's Works, vol. iii. p. 64.
IX.] C1IUBCH PROPERTY AND RESIDENCE. 67
than to predict that it will. I would have you know
this of me, I_will strive that truth and peace shall
kiss each other. If for our sins GOD denies us this,
FwuThope for peace for myself, leaving those who are
its hindrance to GOD, either to be converted (which is
what I wish for) or to be punished." 1
Laud was not allowed to remain long unemployed ;
and his whole attention was needed to check the pro
gress of Puritanism. In this work he regarded not
the opposition of his own order, any more than that
of the mere rabble, and his acuteness perceived that
there were two things very much at fault with his
right reverend brethren : 1st, the scandalous manner
in which they dealt with Church property, enriching
theinsely.es by the leases wliicli they granteJTto the
injury of their successors, and the reckless cutting
down timber which they practised ; 2ndly, their non-
residence. To expect Abbott to exercise any~3is-
clpllne"" was quite out of the question ; but great
was the astonishment and indignation of the Bishops
when all who had country houses were ordered, by
the King's injunctions of 1629, to reside in their
djoceses. The same document also somewhat re-
slrainecl their ability to turn the Church property
to their own profit, by the prohibitions it contained
against executing ruinous leases, or felling timbej, on
pain, continued the King, in the language that many
of them best understood, "of forfeiting all hope of
translation."
The Bishops were thus despatched to their dioceses,
with strict orders to enforce obedience to the King's
injunctions respecting lecturers and chaplains j two
classes of divines that gave Xaud a great deal of
trouble. In fact, they constituted the mainstay of
Puritanism; and orthodox~Churchmen in vain were
placed in parochial cures, while there were never
wanting some of these lecturing fanatics to stir up
strife and sedition. The exaggerated importance
1 Epist. Vir. Priest., p. 741.
-63 LIFE OF ABCHBISHOP LATJD, [CHAP.
which most of the Eeformers attached to preaching
had naturally resulted in " itching ears," and Eliza
beth had to silence Archbishop Grindal for his con
nivance at the "prophesy ings" which formed the vent
for the discontented and restless spirits of the time.
That the Church was not insensible to the evils is
evidenced by the Canons (1603) LXXIL, LXXIII.
The evil, however, had spread, and developed itself.
The Church's regulation about titles for orders had
been set aside, and a door was opened for the entrance
of numbers of half-educated men, who, being fixed in
no cure, fancied themselves bound to no uniformity,
and whose special delight it was to "exercise " before
sympathising audiences, in as different a manner from
the Church's order, and with as near an approach to
yGrenevan fashions, as they dared. Of these lecturers
there were three kinds : 1st, the stationary lecturer
of any particular town, whose ministrations in the
pulpit were either added to, or superseded those of the
parish Priest. These probably owed their origin to
the lack of learning of the Clergy soon after the Ke-
formation, and the inability of many of them to preach,
and are the subjects of sundrv regulations in the
Canons of 1603, (vid. XL VI., XL VII., LVI.) These
lecturers, supported by the people, of course reflected
the popular views, and were constantly plunging their
hearers into the mazes of the predestinarian contro
versy, and lamenting the Egyptian bondage in which
the pure Gospel w r as held by Arminian and E-omaii-
ising Kings and Prelates.
Besides these, there were combination lectures,
(mostly under the authority of the Ordinary,) when
the Clergy of a district agreed to take - a sermon in
turns on some weekday in a market-town. These
lectures were generally preceded by the prayers, which
was not always the case with the others, and were the
least objectionable of all three.
The third were commonly called "running" lec-
turersj or men who went about from parish to parish,
IX.] THE LECTUBEES. 69
giving notice after each sermon of the place of their
next assembling. These were the least given to con
formity, and most fanatical of all ; and great mischief
was caused by the seeds of heresy and sedition thus
sown broadcast over the land.
The support of all these "painful" ministers was
of course a great tax upon the Puritan party, and
some of the longer-headed among them bethought
them of a scheme for procuring, by a present outlay,
a settled revenue for the future. Accordingly, a trust,
consisting of four ministers, four lawyers, four citizens,
was formed, for the purpose of buying up impro-
priated tithes, and restoring them to religious uses.
The plan at first looked well, but " latet anguis in
herba" It was soon found that the most notorious
ministers for nonconformity were in the highest
favour, and that the Puritan " feoffements," as they
were called, in no respects benefited the parochial
Clergy, but were applied to the support of their fa
vourite lecturers.
^The scheme was first blown upon by Heylin, in a
sermon before the University of Oxford, which was
afterwards published and presented to Laud. His
diary records his opinion that the feoffees were the
main instruments for the PuritanTaction to undo the
Church ; and among the things set down by him to
be done, and which he lived to see accomplished, is
their destruction. " To overthrow the feoffement,
dangerous both to the Church and State, going under
the specious pretence of buying in lay impropri-
ations." 1
It was not long, therefore, before Attorney- General
Noy brought the question before the Exchequer
chamber, when it was replied to the Puritan argu
ment that it was a good work to restore alienated
tithes to the Church, that the tithes thus recovered
were not applied to their proper use by the parishes
whence they came ; that so far from being settled on
1 Laud's Works, vol. iii. p. 253.
i
70 LLFE OP ARCHBISHOP LAUD. [C11AP.
the incumbents, they were disposed of by the feoffees
at their pleasure, who made a point of keeping the
most disaffected of the Clergy in their pay, and under
their control; that a great proportion of the funds
was spent in supporting the ministers who had been
silenced for nonconformity, and in establishing a
daily morning exercise at S. Antholin's, where young
men were trained to teach heresy and sedition ; and
i that such proceedings were clearly illegal, and such
powers unlawfully assumed. So thought the Ex-
* chequer court : the trust was dissolved, and the moneys
I confiscated to the crown. " As touching the buying
of these impropriations," ran the sentence, " the
Court thought it a pious work ; but the distribution
of the profits, as is before declared, would have grown
to a great inconvenience, and prejudicial to the govern
ment of the Church. And his Majesty's pleasure
was made known, that whatsoever had been thus be
stowed should be employed wholly to the good of the
Church and the maintenance of conformable preachers,
in the right and best way." 1
"We have digressed a little from our main history,
in order to let our readers understand how it was that
the King's very moderate injunctions respecting the
lecturers caused such an outcry. By the first he sub
stituted catechising for the Sunday afternoon sermon ;
by the second he ordered the lecturers to say the
prayers in a surplice, previously to preaching ; by the
third, that they should preach in gowns, not cloaks ;
by the fourth, that, as soon as possible, any lecturer
' appointed by a corporation should be inducted into a
cure of souls. There is nothing here to frighten any
body ; nothing with which we are not familiar. But
v the Puritans could talk of nothing but the indignity
to which the lecturers were subjected, in being turned
into "mummers and masquers," through the neces
sity imposed of arraying themselves in " the Anti-
~y Christian rag," the surplice. Catechising they reviled
1 Rush worth, vol. ii. p. 152.
IX.] THE CHAPLAINS. 71
as only milk for babes, and abused all subscription to
Creeds and Articles, as casting chains and fetters upon
the pure liberty of the Gospel. We ask the reader,
Upon whose side is the present English Church
Laud's, or the Puritans' ? The answer is plain. Yet
all these things, which are in all important points recog
nised now, were charged upon Laud, (not in mere
gossip, but before the House of Lords,) as evidence
of his Romanising tendencies; and people actually
believed he was in treaty with the Pope, because he
made clergymen wear surplices, and catechise chil
dren. What would they say now that these things
are universally accepted ? We have again an instance
of Laud's forethought ; one more point in which pos
terity, though it may be unconsciously, has declared
that be was right, and that with no doubtful accents.
We mentioned the chaplains as another class of
Clergy who occasioned Laud much trouble. The
fashion of those days was, that not only persons en
titled by law, but any country gentleman or other who
pleased, retained a chaplain as part of their establish
ment. They treated him, it is true, little better than
a menial, (perhaps his manners and breeding were not
much superior,) out he was a very useful instrument
wherewith to worry the parochial Clergy. A godly
squire, who Relieved the Gospel comprised in the
Lambeth Articles, who thought it a bondage to
kneel, and Antichristian to bow his head at the ador
able Name, and whose political principles savoured
considerably of republicanism, found an inexpressible
delight in baiting any orthodox minister who came in
his way, and in setting on his chaplain to contradict
his teaching, and undermine his influence with his
parishioners. Nor had he any difficulty in procuring
one. Abbott allowed him to give a title ; or, at the
worst, many a poor and " painful " minister was glad
to exchange the tyranny of a congregation for the
yoke of an individual, accompanied as his change of
service was with a greater portion of the good things
72 LIFE OF AECHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
of this world than otherwise would have fallen to his
share.
Accordingly, both country gentlemen and chaplains
i were most indignant at the King's determination not
I to suffer any save noblemen and qualified persons to
retain these functionaries ; and when this was followed
up a few years afterwards by the enforcement of
Canon XXXIII., requiring a title for ordination, their
dismay was very great. 1 But Laud was not to be
daunted by the whinings of the ministers or threats of
county members. He persevered, and sorely against
their will the chaplains had to wing their flight from
their patrons' comfortable quarters, muttering No
Popery, and invoking heaven's vengeance upon the
hinderer of the Gospel. Off, however, they were sent,
I and they have never made their appearance'again. Pos
terity has again vindicated the careful forethought, the
clear prescience of the Archbishop.
As far as Laud's own diocese was concerned, the
royal injunctions were fairly carried out. He called
the lecturers together, and informed them of his de
termination to be obeyed, at the same time instructing
his Archdeacons to enforce conformity. Had his brother
Prelates properly seconded him, sound doctrine would
probably have superseded the imperfect teaching of
the Puritan ministers. But they were not all in
earnest or gifted with wisdom.
Bishop Wren indeed seems to have seen the necessity
I of meeting the public craving for preaching, and to have
filled up with sound men the vacancies caused by his
suppression of the combination lecturers. Others
were more injudicious, putting down and not building
up, as Bishop Pearce of Bath and Wells, who wrote
that he had not a lecturer left in his diocese. Other
Prelates again did not interfere at all; and Abbott
dozed at Canterbury, and let things take their course.
1 We reserve for another chapter the subject of the royal de
claration respecting the Book of Sports, which was issued at the
same time (1633).
IX.] PURITAN SCURRILITY. 73
It was not to be expected that Puritanism would
1 submit quietly to be thus shackled. It has always
been foul-mouthed, and never very truthful; it was
quite equal to itself on these occasions. It spoke by
the mouth of Leightpn (1630), in his " Zion's Plea
against the Prelates;" by Prynne (1632), in his
" Histrio-mastix ;" by the same worthy, Burton, and
Bastwick, (1636). We have doubted whether to
transfer to our pages any of the irreverence, the scur
rility, the profaneness of these men's writings ; but so
much is now said of their zeal and their piety, and so
much sympathy is expressed for them as being the
religious people of their day, engaged in a vital struggle
for the pure light of the Gospel, against formality and
^superstition, that it is perhaps as well our readers
should judge for themselves what manner of spirit
they were of, and contrast their effusions with the
extracts we have given from the writings and devotions
of their great opponent. Thus, then, Leighton :
"The articles, homilies, and public liturgy" are
" stuffed with blasphemous untruths," " the sign of
the Cross is the mark of the beast," " the parliament
is exhorted to smite the Prelates under the fifth rib."
"The Church is as full of ceremonies as a dog of
fleas," says Bastwick ; " the Prelates are the tail of
the beast," continues the worthy; "they are step
fathers for fathers." " Caterpillars for pillars," echoes
Burton ; " their houses haunted, their episcopal chairs
poisoned by the spirit that bears rule in the air ; limbs
of the beast, of Antichrist ; miscreants ; trains and
wiles of the dragon's dog-like flattering tail ; new
Babel builders, blind watchmen, dumb dogs, thieves,
false prophets, ravening wolves, Antichristian mush-
rumps, trampling under feet CHRIST'S kingdom, that
they may set up CHRIST'S throne ; sons of Belial," 1 &c.
" What an apish imitation of the Leviticall Priest
is in the minister's going into the chancell ! ... As
for the Litanie well naturing the name of a laborious
1 Quoted by Heylin, p. 330.
74 LIFE OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
service in the dust and dirt, (for so Homer and others
useth the name,) it is borrowed from the practice of
the heathen, as Casaubon observeth, out of Dionysius
of Halicarnass ; and is in verie deed nothing but an
impure mass of conjuring and charming battologies,
whereby the Name of GOD is highly profaned, His
howse and worship abused, GOD'S people by it aban
doned the sanctuarie ; and the profane love no worship
so well as it. Polybius useth a prettie phrase to dis
play the nature of it, fia^apeveiv TT/>OS rows 0GOVS,
with a multitude of inticeing, flattering speeches (to
say no worse), to allure the gods ; but not to trouble
your ears with the particular blasphemies of it, is it
not matter of wonder that they pray to be delivered
from lightening, haile, tempest, &c., yet not one word
of that which is prescribed in the litanie of Edward VI.,
namelie, to be delivered from the tyranny of the
Bishop of Home, which is worse than all the fire and
lightening that can befall us. But they know well
enough that that prayer striketh at the root of their
being ; and therefore they have cut it off their expur-
gatorious index ; and in stead of this, they press the
ministers to pray for their lordships, which in effect is
to pray for the establishing of Antichriste, and keep
ing CHBIST still out of His kingdom. Thence it is
that it sticketh on the stommachs of good men, and
putteth them divers times to a stand ; but compelled
prayers (as we speake) doe neither partie good." 1
The above is a fair specimen of Puritan feeling to
wards the Church services. Is it wonderful, then,
that Laud, who really loved the Prayer-Book, should
so perseveringly have opposed these men ? We have
been the more anxious to draw attention to their lan
guage, because they claimed to be the only religious
people of their day ; they professed the utmost rever
ence for Scripture. One thing is clear ; they chose to
forget all that holy Scripture says about evil-speaking.
There perhaps never was a more cruel calumny
1 Zion's Plea, p. 316.
IX.] PBOSECUTION OF PUBITAN8. 75
I than that which connects the name of Laud with the
severe and barbarous punishment which these men re
ceived. They were tried in the Star Chamber, where
Laud, indeed, (such was the constitution of the court,)
sat as one of the judges ; but he had no share in the
framing or passing the sentence. The lawyers are
responsible for tnat ; and according to the existing
laws, which had come down from a rude age, no other
sentence could have been passed. Had they been
I tried before the ordinary tribunals, their lives must
' have been forfeited. In Queen Elizabeth's time, in-
I deed, Penry was hanged, and Udal died in prison, for
' less than these men had said. In the case of Leighton,
the accusation against Laud was never heard of till
years after his death, and was not even mentioned on
nis trial, when everything that could be was raked up
against him ; while in the trial of Prynne, though he
spoke at length, he abstained from voting, because he
had been personally attacked; and the author of a
MS. account of the trial, preserved in the British
Museum, is quite silent as to any attempt on Laud's
part to influence the court. Afterwards, indeed, he in
terceded with the judges, on an aggravation of Prynne's
offence, for a remission of part of his punishment.
The extract from his diary, which we subjoin, is ex
plained by the following quotation from Kushworth :
* "'My lords,' said the Archbishop, on Prynne's
being again brought before the court for a virulent
libel on himself, 'he hath undergone a heavy pun
ishment ; I am heartily sorry for him : and Mr.
Prynne, I pray GOD forgive you for what you have
done amiss. I confess I do not know what it is
to be a close prisoner, and to want books, pen, ink,
and company. Certainly, a man alone in that case,
who knoweth how he may be instigated ? And as
Mr. Attorney saith he is past all grace and modesty,
surely then he had need to be more free, and have
books, and go to Church, that he may become better.
>I shall therefore be a humble suitor to your lord-
76 LIFE OF ABCHBISHOP LAUD. [dlAP.
ships, that he may have the privilege to go to
Church." 1 And in his diary we find : " 1634, June
18. Mr. Attorney for this brought him into the Star
Chamber, when all this appeared, with shame enough
to Mr. Prynne. I then forgave him," &c. 2
Let us dismiss this painful subject by the expression
of our deep thankfulness that such scenes cannot occur
again ; that the liberty of the press is better under
stood than it was two hundred years ago, and that
controversy has moderated its tone. Nor would we
desire to be less thankful that those enactments which
disgraced our statute-books have been torn away, and
that Star Chamber and High Commission are num
bered among the things that were, never, we trust,
to be revived.
"We shall defer to another chapter Laud's zealous
exertions for the rebuilding S. Paul's, and the main
tenance of the Clergy ; concluding this chapter with
the birth of the Prince of "Wales (1630), which called
forth the following prayer :
" Oh, most merciful GOD and gracious FATHEB,
Thou hast given us the joy of our hearts, the content
ment of our souls for this life, in blessing our dear
and dread sovereign and his virtuous royal queen with
a hopeful son, and us with a prince, in Thy just time
and his to rule over us. We give Thy glorious Name
most humble and hearty thanks for this. LOUD, make
us so thankful, so obedient to Thee for this great
mercy, that Thy goodness may delight to increase it
to us. Increase it, good LOED, to more children, the
prop one of another against single hope ; increase it
to more sons, the great strength of his Majesty and
his throne ; increase it in the joy of his royal parents,
and all true-hearted subjects ; increase it by his Chris
tian and happy education both in faith and goodness,
that this kingdom and people may be happy in the
1 Rushworth, part ii. vol. i. p. 247.
2 Laud's Works, vol. iii. p. 221. We shall see, when their
positions were reversed, how differently Prynne behaved to Laud.
IX.] BIRTH Of THE ROYAL CHILDREN. 77
long life and prosperity of our most gracious sovereign
and his royal consort. And when fulness of days
must gather time, LORD, double his graces, and
make them apparent in this his heir, and his heirs
after him for all generations to come, even for JESUS
CHRIST His sake, our LORD and only SAVIOUR.
Amen."
Again, November, 1631 :
" Oh, most gracious GOD and loving FATHER, we
give Thee, as we are bound, most humble and hearty
thanks for Thy great mercy extended to us and this
whole state, in blessing the Queen's Majesty with a
happy deliverance in and from the great pains and
perils of childbirth. We humbly beseech Thee to
continue and increase this blessing ; to give her
strength, that she may happily overcome this and all
dangers else; that his most gracious Majesty may
long have joy in her happy life ; that she may have
joy in his Majesty's prosperity ; that both of them
may have comfort in the royal Prince Charles, the
new-boru Princess the Lady Mary, and with them in
a hopeful, healthful, successful posterity ; that the
whole kingdom may have fulness of joy m them, and
that both they and we may all have joy in the true
honour and service of GOD; that both Church and
kingdom may be blessed, and their royal persons filled
with honour in this life, and with eternal happiness
in the life to come, even for JESUS CHRIST His sake,
our only LORD and SAVIOUR. Amen." 1
1 Laud's Works, vol. iii. p. 103-4.
78 LIFE OF AECHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
CHAPTEE X.
A.D. 16331640.
THE PBIMATE.
" And he repaired the altar of the LORD that was broken
down." 1 Kings xix. 30.
, " MT Lord's Grace of Canterbury, you are very wel-
I come," was the King's warm reception of Laud on his
first audience after the death of Abbott. This pro
motion had long been looked for, for Laud and the
King were of one mind as regarded Church matters,
and the necessary formalities were soon despatched.
He was now in as high a position as subject could
well aspire to. Shortly before his elevation he had
been elected Chancellor of the University of Oxford ;
and he had scarcely been seated in the chair of S.
Augustine, before news came that the choice of the
X University of Dublin had fallen upon him as its Chan
cellor. This brought him into connection with the
Irish Church, the history of which, as well as his
Chancellorship of Oxford, we reserve for future con
sideration. In addition to these honours, he was
known to be the bosom friend of the King, (there is
no doubt that Charles consulted him as a spiritual
adviser in cases of conscience,) and assured of his
favour and protection against his enemies. There was
need of this, for his foes were to be found not only
among the Puritans, but at court. The impartiality
with which he administered the High Commission,
which then took cognisance of cases which the ordi
nary tribunals passed by, provoked many against him ;
I for Laud was determined that the noble and wealthy
should feel the discipline of the Church, as well as the
low-born and obscure. Lords and ladies, whose pro-
J fligacy was notorious, were sentenced to heavy pecu
niary fines, and of course passed into the ranks of the
l] DEFECTS OF MANNER. 79
Archbishop's enemies. There is no doubt, too, that
Laud sadly wanted the graces of manner ; that he was
very deficient in courtesy, and, satisfied of his own in
tegrity, did not sufficiently appreciate the great in
fluence which a winning demeanour has over most or
all persons. Hence he went to work in his "un
polished integrity," without making sufficient allowance
for the stress others lay upon the courtesies of life ;
and being by^ nature irritable, and easily provoked,
(as his prayers for the bridling his tongue testify, 1 )
and withal too honest to conceal his feelings, it is no
wondeFne was unpopular with mere courtiers. " He
had no time for compliments," he told Clarendon, who
ventured to remonstrate with him upon this infirmity
of manner ; a sentence which may give us a good
idea of a man bent upon doing a great work, yet not
sufficiently alive to the necessity of using all lawful
means. Clarendon, who knew him well, and had the
very highest opinion of his worth, speaks of " his siu-
1 " Li Figure Frsenum. Let the words of my mouth, and the me
ditations of my heart, be always acceptable in Thy sight, O LORD,
my strength and my Redeemer. Amen.
" LORD, keep my tongue from evil, and my lips that they
speak no guile ; that so I may eschew evil and do good, seek
peace and ensue it. Amen.
" O LORD, give me the mouth of the righteous, that it may be
exercised in wisdom, and that my tongue may be talking of judg
ments. Amen.
" LORD, I have said in Thy grace, I will take heed unto my
ways, that I offend not in my tongue. Give me, O give me that
grace, that I may take this heed, that I may keep my mouth as it
were with a bridle, especially when the ungodly is in my sight, be
it never so much pain and grief to me. Hear me, and grant, even
for CHRIST JESUS His sake. Amen.
" Let the free-will offerings of my mouth please Thee, O LORD,
and teach me Thy judgments. Amen.
" O LORD, set a watch before my mouth, and keep the door of
my lips ; and let not my heart be inclined to anything that is evil.
Amen.
" O LORD, set a watch before my mouth, and a seal of wisdom
upon my lips, that I fall not suddenly by them, and that my
tongue destroy me not. Amen." Laud's Works, vol. iii. p. 45.
80 LIFE OF ARCHBISHOP LATJD. [CHAP.
gular abilities and immense virtue," and tells us, " He
was a man of great courage and resolution, and being
Imost assured within himself that he proposed no end
in all his actions or designs than what was pious and
just, (as sure no man had ever a heart more entire to
the King, the Church, or the country,) he never
studied the" best ways to those ends ; he thought, it
may be, that any art or industry that way would dis
credit, at least make the integrity of the end suspected,
let the cause be what it will. He did court persons
too little ; nor cared to make his designs and purposes
appear as candid as they were, by showing them in
any other dress than their own natural beauty and
roughness; and did not consider enough what men
said, or were like to say of him. If the faults and
vices were fit to be looked into and discovered, let the
persons be who they would that were guilty of them,
they were sure to find no connivance or favour from
him. He intended the discipline of the Church should
be feliL as well as spoken of, and that it should be
applied to the greatest and most splendid transgres
sors, as well as to the punishment of smaller offences
and meaner offenders; and thereupon called for or
| cherished the discovery of those who were not careful
' to cover their own iniquities, thinking they were above
the reach of other (men), or their power or will to
v chastise. Persons of honour and great quality, of the
court and of the country, were every day cited into
the High Commission Court, upon the fame of their
incontinence, or other scandal in their lives, and were
y there prosecuted, to their shame and punishment.
And as the shame (which they called an insolent
triumph upon their degree and quality, and levelling
them with the common people) was never forgotten,
but watched for revenge, so the fines imposed there
twere the more questioned and repined against, because
they were assigned to the rebuilding and repairing S.
Paul's Church ; and thought therefore to be the more
severely imposed, and the less compassionately re-
X.] LETTEBS TO 8TBAFFOED. 81
duced and excused ; which likewise made the juris
diction and rigour of the Star Chamber more felt and
murmured against, which sharpened many men's hu-
| mours against the Bishops, before they had any ill
' intention towards the Church." 1
Aware of their combinations against him, no wonder
that he received the investiture of the Metropolitan
dignity with fear and trembling. To be without a
rival in Church or State was indeed a dizzy height
whereon to be placed ; and it was enough to sober
the most anxious aspirant for power to know how
eagerly those below were looking for a fall. It was
not " a time for eating and drinking, and making
merry, for receiving money and garments, and olive-
yards and vineyards, and sheep and oxen, and men-
servants and maid-servants," but for humiliation, for
fasting, for retirement, for prayer, for devout com
munion. The Archbishop's letters to Strafford show
*that it was with no feeling of exultation or pride he
took his place as Metropolitan. Ever since the dis
putes about Montague, he bad seen a cloud threaten
ing the Church of England, and it was now getting
^darker.
" I heartily thank your lordship for all your love,
and for the joy you are pleased both to conceive and
express for my translation to 'Canterbury ; for I con
ceive all your expressions to me are very hearty, and
such as I have hitherto found them. And now, since
I am there, I must desire your lordship not to expect
more at my hands than 1 shall be able to perform,
either in Church or State ; and this suit of mine hath
a good deal of reason in it, for you write that ordi
nary things are far beneath that which you cannot
choose but promise yourself of me in both respects.
But, my lord, to speak freely, you may easily promise
y more in either kind than I can perform ; 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
1 Clarendon, bk. i. s. 196.
G
82 LIFE OF AECHBJSHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
man to do that good which he would, or is bound to
do. For your lordship sees no man clearer that
they which have gotten so much power in and over the
Church, will not let go their hold ; they have indeed
fangs with a witness, whatsoever I was once said in
passion to have. And for the State, my lord, indeed
I ain for thorough, but I~iee that both thick and thin
stays somebody where I conceive it should not ; and
it is impossible for me to go thorough alone. Besides,
private ends are such blocks in the public way, and lie
so thick, that you may promise what you will, and I
must perform what I can, and no more."
There is a touching air of melancholy in the words
that follow : " Next, my Lord, I heartily thank you
for your kind wishes to me, that GOD would send me
many and happy days where I now am to be. Amen.
I can do little for myself if I cannot say so. But,
truly, my Lord, 1 look for neither : not for many } for
I am in years, and have had a troublesome life ; not for
happyj because I have no hope to do the good I desire j
and besides T doubt I shall never be able to hold my
health there one year, for, besides all the jolting which
I had over the stones, between London House and
Whitehall, which was almost daily, I shall now have
no exercise, but slide over in a barge to the Court and
Star Chamber. And in truth, my Lord, I speak
seriously, I have had a heaviness hang upon me ever
since I was nominated to this place, and I can give
myself no account of it, unless it proceed from an ap
prehension that there is more expected from me than
the craziness oT these times will give me leave to do."
The conclusion of this letter displays Laud in a
pleasing light. The cloud seems for a moment re
moved, and he rallies Straffbrd, who it would seem,
feeling that the relations between them were altered
by Laud's elevation to the Primacy, had addressed
him less freely than usual, in a jocular way, upon his
change of style. The banter about Cambridge often
occurs in their letters.
X.] LETTEHS TO STBAFFOBD. 83
" Now, my Lord, why may you not write as you did
whilom to the Bishop of London ? The man is the
same, and the same to you ; but I see you stay for bet
ter acquaintance, and till then you will keep distance.
I perceive also my predecessor's awe is upon you, but
I doubt I shall never hold it long, and I was about to
swear by my troth, as you do, but that I remember
oaths heretofore were wont to pass under the Privy
Seal, and not the ordinary seal of letters. Well,
wiser or not, you must take that as you find it, but I
will not write any long letters, and leave out my
mirth ; it is one of the recreations I have always used
with my friends, and 'tis hard leaving an old custom,
neither do I purpose to do it ; though I mean to make
choice of my friends to whom I will use it. For proof
of this, I here send your Lordship some sermon notes
which I have received from Cambridge, and certainly
if this be your method there, you ride as much astride
as ever Croxton did towards Ireland. I wish your
Lordship all health and happiness, and so leave you to
the grace of GOD, ever resting
" Your Lordship's very loving poor servant,
" W. CANT. Elect Seignior."
Those to Vossius run in the same train, but they at
the same time display the undaunted courage of the
man : " I am resolved to go forward in the way you
have seen me go. I hope GOD will give me constancy
and patience, and I heartily desire that you will com
mend me to His protection by your prayers. Thus
fortified, I will go forward whithersoever He shall lead
me." And his Devotions record the fervour with
which he himself sought for strength at the Throne of
Grace:
" O GOD, the Pastor and Guide of all the faithful,
mercifully regard me Thy servant, whom Thou hast
willed should preside over the Church of Canterbury ;
grant me, I most humbly beseech Thee, to profit both
by word and example those over whom I am set, that,
84 LIFE OF ABCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
together with the flock entrusted to me, I may attain
to everlasting life, through JESTJS CHEIST our LOED.
Amen.
" O my GOD, Most Merciful FATHEE, may Thy
grace so work in me, that I may be humble in refusing
all great office, but prepared in undertaking, faithful
in preserving, strenuous in following it out, vigilant in
ruling Thy people, earnest in correcting them, ardent
in loving them, patient in bearing with them, prudent
in restraining them, that I may be between those o\er
whom I am set, and GOD, when consulting for their
good, and offer myself to Him when angry, in faith,
and for the merits of JESUS CHEIST our SAYIOUE.
~# " O LOED, as the rain cometh down from heaven,
and returns not thither, but waters the earth, and
makes it bud and bring forth, that it may give seed to
the sower and bread to him that eateth, so let Thy
Word be that goeth out of my mouth, let it not return
to me void, but accomplish that which Thou wilt, and
prosper in the thing whereto Thou hast sent it, that
the people committed to my charge may go out with
joy, and be led forth in peace to Thy freshest waters
~of comfort, in JESUS CHEIST our LOED. Amen.
" O SON of GOD, Thou "Which takest away the sins
of the world, have mercy upon me in this heavy
charge. Amen." 1
Laud had scarcely been invested with his new
dignity, than the machinations of the Papal party
were set in motion against him. The most fatal
thing to the pretensions of Home is the development
of the Catholic element of the English Church ;
the showing men that the English Communion holds
all saving truth, and is able to supply the spiritual
wants of all her members, that reverence, and de
votion, and earnestness, and zeal can find in her a
home, that stricken souls can pour their griefs into
her ear, and penitence be deepened and holiness
1 Laud's Works, vol. iii. p. 66.
.] PRETENSIONS OF HOME. 85
developed, and the elect be trained to perfection.
And it has always been the policy of Rome to repre
sent the English Church as incapable of satisfying the
wants of the awakened heart, as destitute of creed
and Priesthood and Sacraments, as a branch cut oft'
from the true Vine, that is withered and dead. Hence
the attempts she has ever made to win over all those
who have felt themselves called to the work of
strengthening the Catholic element of the English
Church, and the pains she has taken to shake people's
confidence in them, as if they were traitors to their own
Communion. The Archbishop was no exception, and
advantage was taken of his zeal to represent him as
friendly to the claims of Rome. His Diary records the
proposal made to him to procure a Cardinal's hat, im
mediately after his elevation to the Primacy, 1 and his
answer is worth noting, as evidencing that however
he might feel the 'sad disordered state of a divided
Church, he was satisfied concessions could not be on
the English side alone.
" August 4th. That very morning, at Greenwich,
there came one to me, seriously, and that avowed
ability to perform it, and offered me to be a Cardinal.
I went presently to the King, and acquainted him
both with the thing and the person."
"August 17th. I had a serious offer made to me
again to be a Cardinal. I was then from Court, but
so soon as I came thither (which was Wednesday,
August 21), I acquainted His Majesty with it. But
my answer again was, that somewhat dwelt within me
which would not suffer that, till Rome were other than
it t*." 8
Wielding thus the highest ecclesiastical power in
1 It is worthy of note, that the great Episcopal champion of
Puritanism, Bishop Williams of Lincoln, actually intrigued with
Con, the Pope's Nuncio, for a Cardinal's hat, and disappointed in
this quarter, and falling into disgrace at Court, he turned Puritan.
Sydney Papers, 1.
* Laud's Works, vol. iii. 219.
86 LIFE OF ARCHBISHOP LATTD. [CHAP.
the Church, and backed by the supreme authority of
the State of England, Laud was at last in a position
to attempt at least his long cherished scheme of
reformation. He had a wide field of action, for his
operations were not to be confined to England. The
"* Irish Church committed by her hasty adoption of the
Articles of 1615, to the worst points of Calvinism,
had sunk lower than her English sister, and needed a
strong hand to drag her out again, and place her on
f the sure ground of Catholicity. The Scotch Church
existed merely in name : Genevan doctrine, Genevan
discipline were entirely in the ascendant. In England
Puritanism threatened to change the very essence of
the Church, while the confusion and disorder which
prevailed at Oxford required the vigilant eye and
careful arm of the Chancellor. The relations with
foreign Protestants were far from satisfactory. The
French and Walloon congregations in England, ex
empted from ecclesiastical jurisdiction, presented a
strange anomaly, and were nests of sedition and
heresy. The condition of English congregations
abroad cried aloud for reformation : they neither
conformed to the English nor any other Communion,
but seemed to think they were at liberty to act as
they pleased, regardless of the scandal they caused,
and the discredit they cast upon the Church of
England. We propose saying something on each of
these heads, and in so doing shall class together under
its respective bearing the whole proceedings of the
Archbishop, rather than pursue a strictly chronolo
gical account of each year of his life, our purpose in
these pages being rather to give the reader some idea
of the changes wrought in our Church by Laud, and
of the great debt we owe him (humanly speaking) in
saving her from falling as low as the Swiss bodies of
our own day, rather than furnishing a strictly bio
graphical memoir in the usual acceptation of the word.
The struggle between the Church and Puritanism
might well be symbolized by describing it as a contest
X.] THE ALT A If. 87
between the altar andjthe pulpit ; the one as typifying
the presence of GOD, the other the presence of man ;
the one worship, the other instruction ; the one the
affections, the other mere intellect. Accordingly in
the Church the pulpit has always been subordinated
to the altar. It has occupied its secondary place, but
never intruded into the first ; and to this day, in a
well-ordered church, the first thing that meets our eye
is the altar, while in a Puritan assembly the pulpit
stands out foremost. For as we said from thevery first,
the Church set great store upon the altar. Scanty as are
the records of the Apostolic ritual, still we find the altar. 1
In the long subterraneous galleries which wind be
neath the eternal city, and where during the age of
persecution the early Christians fled to worship, rude
and imperfect as were the appurtenances of their ritual,
there is the altar, which " stands as it now does in our
Churches, but is usually the hollowed tomb of some
saint or early Christian covered with stone. In front
of the altar there is nearly always a low stone balus
trade, to prevent the too near approach of the con
gregation." 2 But when the sword of persecution had
been sheathed, and the sceptre of Constantiue done
homage to the Cross, the instinctive feeling of the
Christians led them, whilst they reared churches " ex
ceeding magnified," to lavish their chief care and
treasure on their altars. They reared them of costly
stones, they assigned them the most prominent posi
tion, they placed upon them rich canopies, and clothed
them with splendid coverings, and surrounded them
with gorgeous hangings : and the vessels of their mi
nistration were of gold and silver, glittering with
jewels, and the holy Cross was there, and the bright
light to typify Him " Who is the true light that light-
eneth every man that cometh into the world." Such
were the feelings with which the early Christians
regarded the altar, for there the tremendous mysteries
1 1 Cor. z. 21 ; Heb. xiii. 10.
* Macfarlane's Catacombs of Rome, p. 109.
88 LIFE OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
were celebrated, there the SAVIOUR manifested the
reality of His Presence, there the fainting soul was
fed with the true bread which came down from hea
ven. No wonder then that the affection and love of
Christians lingered round the altar, and that reverence
for it and its furniture was interwoven with every re
ligious thought and act. And by natural consequence,
the unhappy controversy which agitated men's minds
respecting the mode of CHRIST'S presence in the Eu
charist, the tendency of one party to limitations and
strict definitions of that which is beyond definition,
of the other to reduce the Sacrament to a mere me
morial of an absent LORD, instead of realising the
blessings of His presence, must have shaken men's
reverence fearfully. We have alluded to the effect of
this strife of tongues in our introductory chapter.
The first book of King Edward indeed, which is the
real embodiment of the views of the English Re-
formers, is not wanting in reverence for the altar and
its mysteries. It occupies its proper place, the lights
stand upon it, the Priest is to wear his chasuble, the
blessed Sacrament is celebrated daily, the Sacrifice is
recognized, the Real Presence asserted. This was be
fore Cranmer had yielded to the seductive eloquence
of Calvin's master-mind, for things were soon changed.
The State, thank GOD not the Church, ordered the
pulling down and desecration of the old altars, and
the substitution of moveable tables. Loud was the
Puritan rejoicing, for the greater indignity put upon
the altar the greater was the indignity to the Holy
Eucharist, the more the Divine element was depressed
the greater the importance attached to the ministra
tions of man. Hence the exaltation of preaching
which ensued, hence the alterations of the Second
Book, hence Bucer's eager desire to level chancels,
hence the hatred for the priestly vestments, the zeal
displayed for the teacher's gown.- The Puritans were
wise in their generation. There was no likelihood of
men believing the Real Presence, or thinking much of
X.] CHUECH DESECBATION. 89
the Christian sacrifice, when the altar was dragged
into the middle of the church and made the receptacle
of hats and caps. How shocked should we be now
to enter an English church in the time of Edward
after Genevan influence had pushed aside that truly
Catholic and Scriptural Liturgy which the Church of
England had adopted in 1548, the first book of King
Edward. Let us try to describe it.
We will pass over the fabric, (though probably that
was in as bad a condition as could be, the lead stripped
off the roof, the rain entering, the pavement defiled
by birds, the windows broken and patched up, the
bells melted down,) and enter the church. Our eyes
would instinctively seek the east end, it is filled with
pews. Where is the altar ? we ask ourselves ; and if
v we look again, we should see in the middle of the
church a poor common table, such as we would not
have in our own dressing-rooms, and this man as he
passes flings his hat upon it, and that man lounges
against it ; or if it happened to be the Sunday on which
the sacred mysteries were celebrated, instead of the
jewelled plate which ancient piety had dedicated to
the service of the LORD, but which Genevan piety
has transferred to its own sideboard, we should see
the elements placed on vessels of pewter, and even
v in tavern stoups. And then the service would pro
ceed ; there would be no chanting, no priestly vest
ments even of pure linen, but the Minister would
read in his black gown, and the people sit and loll and
take no part ; and the sermon would be a tirade against
the Roman Antichrist, or one bewildering the hearers
with abstruse and hard disquisitions respecting GOD'S
predestination, or an exhortation to the elect " to sin
boldly." 1 If we communicated we should miss the
oblation, and there would be no commemoration of
1 The author of this advice is Martin Luther. The man who
could utter this atrocious sentiment, allow polygamy, and scoff* at
Holy Scripture which did not fall in with his own views, can be
no safe guide for English Churchmen.
90 LIFE OF ABCliBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
the faithful departed (though our hearts might be
broken at the time), and we should be told to eat and
drink this in remembrance of what CHIIIST has done
for us at Calvary. Is this at all like an English church
of the present day ? Is not the worst conducted in
finitely better ? Is there one where the altar is not
placed properly? Are there not many where the
Church's song is again heard, and sweet music wafts
the worshippers heavenward, and the windows are
bright with fair colours and speak of sacred things,
and the gold, and the silver, and the precious stones,
and fairest linen, again testify the devotion -of the
faithful ; while above all, the oblation, and the com
memoration, and the Real Presence, have been re
asserted in plainer accents in the Liturgy. And to
whom do we mainly owe this but to the lion-hearted
Prelate who purchased our Church's liberty with hia
life ? Who under GOB has restored to us the beauty
of holiness but "William Laud? And this we will
try to make more clear.
The irreverence towards the altar and its mysteries
which characterized Puritanism, was not unnoticed by
Queen Elizabeth. She did what she could to check
it, for it ran counter to all her religious prejudices.
By her injunctions she ordered the holy table ordi
narily to stand at the east end of the chancel, and
though popular feeling compelled her to allow its re
moval at actual celebration, she never contemplated
its being carried beyond the chancel. The permission
however thus unfortunately given, was of course ab
used ; chancels were no more sacred than any other
part of the church in Puritan eyes, and so the altar
was soon moved any where on the slightest excuse.
Of course, the consequence had been a woeful fall
ing off of all high and sound views regarding the
Holy Eucharist. The notion of the oblation and com
memorative sacrifice, to a great extent, soon wore out ;
the Eeal Presence, though all along maintained by
divines, as Ridley, Poynet, Hooker, and others, was
X.] RESTORATION OF THE ALTAB. 91
scoffed at, and naturally communion decreased. The
slight sketch we have given of the Church Service in
Edward's time, would be true in all its main features
of its mode of performance by the Puritan Clergy in
the time of Laud. It was clear, that if things went
on much longer, Puritanism would destroy the very
vitals of the English Church, and incapacitate her
from discharging the office she had taken upon herself
of witnessing for primitive truth. It was simply ri
diculous with such ritual arrangements as most of the
English churches then presented, to talk of the pure
and ancient times of Christianity being revived in the
seventeenth century, or to pretend that there was any
harmony between the teaching of the Fathers and
that which resounded from most of our pulpits. In
(the ancient Church, the Eucharist occupied the most
prominent position, was the centre of every thing, was
the Service. In the Puritanized Church of England
it was thrust into the lowest place, kept as much
in the back ground as possible, and celebrated as sel
dom as it could be. Laud saw this, and felt that his
reform must begin here, that he must strike a vigorous
blow here if the Church of England was ever to lift
up her head again as a witness for the primitive faith.
His own views of the Eucharist were in the strictest
accordance with Holy Scripture and the faith of the
undivided Church. " The altar is the greatest place
of GOD'S residence upon earth ; I say the greatest,
yea, greater than the pulpit, for there it is Hoc et
corpus meum, This is My Body, but in the pulpit it
is at most Hoc est verbum meum, This is My word ; a
greater reverence is due doubtless to the Body than
to the word of the LORD, and so in relation answering
^ to the throne where His Body is." 1
So again in his conference with Fisher : " As CHRIST
offered up Himself once for all, a full and sufficient
Sacrifice for the sins of the whole world, so did He
institute and command a memory of this Sacrifice in
1 Speech in Star Chamber.
I
92 LIFE OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
'a Sacrament, even till His coming again. For at and
in the Eucharist we offer up to GOD these sacrifices :
one by the Priest only, that is the c^mrnemoratiye
Sacrifice of CHRIST'S death, represented in bread
broken and wine poured out : another by the Priest
and people jointly, and that is the sacrifice of praise
and thanksgiving, for all the benefits and graces we
receive by the precious death of CHRIST : the third,
by every particular man for himself only, and that is
the sacrifice of every man's body and soul to serve
Him in both all the rest of his life for this blessing
^thus bestowed on him." 1
" For the Church of England, nothing is more plain
than that it believes and teaches CHRIST'S real and
true presence in the Eucharist." 2
Hence it is not surprising that he should have pro
tected Montague from the Commons, or licensed 'the
publication of works containing such statements as
this of Heylin's :
" A Sacrifice it was in figure, a Sacrifice in fact, and
so by consequence a Sacrifice in the commemorations,
or upon the post fact. A Sacrifice there was among
the Jews, showing forth CHRIST'S death unto them,
before His coming in the flesh ; a Sacrifice there must
be among the Christians, to show forth the LORD'S
death till He come in judgment : and if a Sacrifice
must be, there must be also Priests to do, and Al
tars whereupon to do it, because without a Priest and
Altar there can be no Sacrifice, yet so that the pre
cedent Sacrifice was of a different nature from . the
subsequent, and so are also both the Priest and Altar
from those before ; a bloody Sacrifice then, an un
bloody now : a Priest derived from Aaron then, from
Melchisedec now ; an Altar for Mosaical Sacrifices
then, for Evangelical now ; for visible and external
Sacrifices, though none for bloody and external Sa
crifices : not an improper Altar and an improper Sacri
fice, as you idly dream of; for Sacrifices, Priests, and
1 Conference, Works, vol. ii. p. 340. 2 Ib. p. 328.
X.] EUCHARISTIA. 93
Altars being relatives, as yourself confesseth, the Sa
crifice and the Altar being improper, must needs in
fer that even our Priesthood is improper also." 1
How the Holy Eucharist was the support of his
own inward life how fully he realised the Heal Pre
sence of his LOED, and rejoiced with joy unspeakable
and full of comfort in the heaven opened to his faith,
his devotions testify. It was at the Altar he received
strength for his arduous struggle, and his love and
gratitude were great, his preparation sincere.
EUCHARISTIA.
WHATEVER sins I have committed against Thee, O
GOD, from my infancy to this moment, wittingly or
unwittingly, externally or internally, sleeping or wak
ing, in word, thought, or deed, through the fiery darts
of the wicked one, or the unclean desires of the heart,
have mercy upon me, and remit them to me, through
JESUS CHRIST our LORD. Amen.
Almighty GOD and Most Merciful FATHER, give me,
I beseech Thee, that grace, that I may duly examine
the inmost of my heart, and my most secret thoughts,
how I stand before Thee. LORD, I confess all my
sins, and my unworthiness to present myself at Thy
altar. But Thou canst forgive sin, and give repent
ance ; do both, gracious FATHER, and then, behold, I
am clean to come unto Thee. LORD, make me a
worthy receiver of that for which I come CHRIST,
and remission of sin in CHRIST : and that for His own
mercy's sake and Thine. Amen.
O LORD, into a clean, charitable, and thankful
heart, give me grace to receive the blessed Body and
Blood of Thy SON, my most blessed SAVIOUR ; that it
may more perfectly cleanse me from all dregs of sin ;
that being made clean, it may nourish me in faith,
1 Heylio, Anti-dot. Lincoln, p. 617.
94 LIFE OF AECHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
hope, charity, and obedience, with all other fruits of
spiritual life and growth iu Thee ; that in all the fu
ture course of my life, I may show myself such an in
grafted member into the Body of Thy SON, that I may
never be drawn to do anything that may dishonour
His IVame. Grant this, O LORD, I beseech Thee,
even for His merit and mercy's sake. Amen.
O LORD GOD, hear my prayers ! 1 come to Thee
in a steadfast faith ; yet for the clearness of my faith,
LOED, enlighten it ; for the strength of my faith, LOBD,
increase it. And behold, I quarrel not with the words
of Thy SON, my SAVIOUE'S blessed institution. I
know His words are no gross, unnatural conceit, but
they are spirit, and life, and supernatural. While the
world disputes, I believe. He hath promised me, if I
come worthily, that I shall receive His most precious
Body and Blood, with all the benefits of His Passion.
If I can receive and retain it, (LoED, make me able,
make me worthy,) I know 1 can no more die eternally,
than that Body and Blood can die, and be shed again.
My SAVIOUE is willing in this tender of them both
unto me : LOKD, so wash and cleanse my soul, that I
may now, and at all times else, come prepared by
hearty prayers and devotion, and be made worthy by
Thy grace of this infinite blessing, the pledge and ear
nest of eternal life, in the merits of the same JESUS
CHRIST, "Who gave His Body and Blood for me. Amen.
O GOD the FATHEE, of heaven, Who for us gavest
Thy Only-begotten SON to death ;
O GOD the SON, Kedeemer of the world, Who hast
washed us from our sins in Thy precious Blood ;
O GOD the HOLY GHOST, the Comforter, AVho
visitest and strengthenest \\ith Thy grace the hearts
of the saints ;
O Holy, Highest, Eternal, Blessed TEINITT ; O
Good FATHEE ; O Holy SON ; O Benignant SPIRIT,
Whose work is life, Whose love is grace, Whose con
templation is glory, Whose majesty is ineffable, Whose
power is incomparable, Whose goodness is inestimable,
X.] ECC11AUI8TIA. 95
Who art the LORD of the living and the dead! I
adore Thee ; I invoke Thee ; and with the affection of
my heart bless Thee now and for ever. Amen.
O LOED JESUS, give to the living mercy and grace.
K ule Thine own, and give them perpetual light ; to
Thy Church, truth and peace ; to me, the most mise
rable of sinners, penitence and pardon. O LOED, cor
rect the erring ; convert the unbelieving ; increase the
faith of Thy Church ; destroy heresy ; discover her
wily foes : bruise the violent and impenitent : through
JESUS CHBIST our LOED. Amen.
O merciful FA.THEE ! for all the benefits which they
have given me, requite my earthly benefactors with
eternal rewards in heaven. I also pray, that with
those for whom I am bound to pray, and with all the
people of GOD, I may enter into Thy kingdom, and
there appear in righteousness, and be satisfied with
glory ; through JESUS CHBIST our LOED. Amen.
O LOBD, consider my complaint, for I am brought
very low. O LOBD, how long wilt Thou be angry
with Thy servant that prayeth ? O LOBD, give me
grace and repentance, and Thou canst not be angry
with my prayer. LOED, I am Thine : save me, and
deliver me not into the will of mine enemies, especially
my ghostly enemies. LOED, I am Thy servant,
Thy unprofitable, wasteful servant, yet Thy servant.
LOBD, set my accounts right before Thee, and par
don all my mis-spendings and misreckonings. O LOED,
1 am Thy son, Thy most unkind, prodigal, runaway
son, yet Thy son. O LOED, though I have not re
tained the love and duty of a son, yet do not Thou
cast off (I humbly beg it) the kindness and compassion
of a father. O LOED, in Thy grace I return to Thee ;
and though I have eaten draff with all the unclean
swine in the world, in my hungry absence from Thee,
yet now, LOBD, upon my humble return to Thee, give
me, I beseech Thee, the Bread of Life, the Body and
Blood of my SAVIOUE into my soul, that I may be
satisfied in Thee, and never more run away from Thee,
96 LIFE OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
even for JESUS CHEIST His sake, that gave Himself
for me. Amen.
At the Altar.
As if before Thy tremendous tribunal, where there
will be no respect of persons, accusing myself before
the Day of Judgment comes upon me, prostrate before
Thy holy altar, in Thy presence, and Thy mighty an
gels', cast down by my own conscience, I bring my
wicked and bad thoughts and actions. Look upon my
humility, I pray Thee, O LORD, and forgive all my
sins, which are more than the hairs of my head. What
evil is there which I have not planned in my mind ?
and many are the wicked things I have done. I am
convicted of envy, of appetite ; I have polluted all my
senses, all my members. But the multitude of Thy
mercies cannot be reckoned ; and Thy goodness which
taketh away my sins is ineffable. Wherefore, O King
greater than all wonder, long suffering one, be glorified
in Thy mercy to me, a sinner ; manifest the power of
Thy loving-kindness ; display the power of Thy readi
ness to pardon, and raise me, a returning prodigal ;
through JESUS CHRIST our LORD. Amen.
After receiving the Bread.
O LORD GOD, how I receive the Body and Blood
of my most blessed SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST, the price
of my Redemption, is the very wonder of my soul, yet
my most firm and constant belief, upon the words of
my SAVIOUR. At this time they are graciously ten
dered to me and my faith : LORD, make me a worthy
receiver, and be unto me as He hath said. Amen.
After the receiving of either kind.
LORD, I have received this Sacrament of the Body
and Blood of my dear SAVIOUR. His mercy hath
X.] CHURCH BEFOBMS. 97
given it, and my faith received it into my soul. I
numbly beseech Thee speak mercy and peace unto
my conscience, and enrich me with all those graces
which come from that precious Body and Blood, even
till I am possessed of eternal life in CHBIST. Amen.
O Thou Who sittest at the FATHER'S right hand ; Be
present invisibly with us ; come and sanctify these gifts,
both those for whom, and those by whom, and those
things for which they are offered. Amen. 1 * *
As long as Abbott lived it was hopeless to bring
about any restoration for the better, and when the
whole Church was in disorder, it was little use at
tempting to reform a single diocese. Laud therefore
waited patiently till he was armed with full metro
politan powers, and then commenced his great reform
a work which yet lives, and which DutTFor "him
would probably have never been effected the restora
tion of the altars throughout England.
His mind was turnedto one point the foundations
had to be laid. Nothing could be done till the holy
table stood in its old place at the east end of the
chancel, and was secured from unseemly intrusion.
It was in vain under existing arrangements to look for
any improvement in doctrine. And probably many of
our readers will be surprised, and some disappointed
at the extreme simplicity of Laud's "innovations." He
ordered that the position of the holy tables in parish
churches should follow that of the cathedrals, and that
where they had been removed they should be restored
to the east end. This was all. There is no_imposi-
tioii of vestments, no multiplication of ceremonial, no
grand development of ritual. Everything is as simple
as it can be. But the rage of the Puritans knew no
bounds; they poured out all their vessels of wrath
upon the Archbishop, and declared that to be hindered
from making GOD'S altar a receptacle for hats, a desk
for school boys, or a place for casting accounts, was a
most intolerable infringement of " Gospel liberty."
1 Laud's Works, vol. iii. pp. 71 75.
H
98 LIFE OF ABCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
The case was brought to an issue by the perversity
of the inhabitants of S. Gregory in the City, who had
disobeyed pertinaciously the injunctions in this matter,
pF their Ordinary the Dean and Chapter of S. Paul's.
The case was heard before the King in Council, and
judgment was given on the side of order. Laud then
(proceeded to make his brethren feel, that he was really
their metropolitan and ecclesiastical superior. For
the inherent powers in the see of Canterbury are so
great, that by making a metropolitical visitation of the
dioceses of his suffragans, their jurisdiction and that
of their archdeacons, officials, &c., is suspended for the
time. The Archbishop and his Vicar-general and sub
ordinates supply the place of the Ordinary. These
powers Laud set in motion, and brought them first to
bear upon Williams, Bishop of Lincoln. There were
many reasons for this ; for Williams, with his usual
want of principle, seems to have been delighted at the
prospect of throwing impediments in the way of the
work Laud had so much at heart. In his own Cathedral
at Lincoln, in the Abbey Church of S. Peter's, West
minster, of which he was Dean, in his own private
Chapel, the altar stood in its proper place. He had even
on one occasion rescued the chancel of S. Martin's,
Leicester, from a threatened conversion into a library ;
so that he could have had no scruples of conscience in
the matter. Nevertheless as soon as he heard of the
Primate's regulations he set himself in determined
hostility, and allowed the parishioners of S. Martin's
to return to their old irreverent ways. His diocese
was therefore the first visited ; and though the great
i Puritan Bishop claimed exemption under papal bulls,
I the right of the Archbishop was established, and the
Churches in most cases arranged properly. But
Williams, as soon as the suspension was over, did
what he could to frustrate the Primate's intentions,
though happily without any permanent success.
The other dioceses were in turn visited and re
formed ; and many of the Bishops, particularly Pearce,
of Bafti and Wells, Wren of Norwich, Lindsay of
*] . CATHEDRAL REFORMS. 99
Peterborough, Montague of Chichester, Skinner of
Bristol, threw themselves heart and soul into the
Archbishop's designs for promoting reverence. Others
stood coldly by, published his orders, but cared little
about enforcing them, and were not displeased to
leave him to bear the burden of the odium attaching
to these " innovations" as they were called.
But whilst anxious to recall the parish Churches to
conformity with their Cathedrals, Laud was well aware
of the necessity of a sweeping reform there also. For
| the Deans and Chapters having been more active in
' enriching themselves and families than in benefiting
the Church, the fabric had been suffered to crumble, the
services were slovenly performed, the appointed vest
ments often disused, the enjoined ceremonies omitted.
His own Cathedral was the first visited : the choir was
choked with pews; they were swept away, and the
altar left free. Upon it were placed the candlesticks,
and it was decked with rich cloths, and furnished with
vessels suitable to the dignity of the holy mysteries.
A new body of statutes, compiled by himself and signed
by his own hand in every leaf, testifies to his zeal for the
house of GOD. One of these enactments ordered the
i Prebendaries to make due reverence to Almighty GOD
in entering the choir by reverently bowing the head.
This was a point on which he laid great stress, and it
appears again in the code of statutes he prepared for
Winchester : nor was it any novelty in the Church of
England. It had been authorized by Queen Eliza
beth, King James, and had met with the approbation
of one whose sympathies were certainly not with cere
monial, Bishop Jewel. 1 The Knights of the Garter
had never laid it aside, and Laud's own words in the Star
Chamber are the best interpretation of his motives :
1 " They are all (kneeling, bowing, standing at the Gospel)
commendable gestures and tokens of devotion, so long as the
people understand what they mean, and apply them unto Goo."
Jewel's reply to Harding. Art. III. 29.
" So Morton defends the bowing not to the Table of the LORD,
but to the LORD of the Table, to testify the communion of all
the fakhful communicants therewith, even as the people of Goo
100 LIFE OF ABCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
" GOD forbid we should worship anything but GOD
Himself. If to worship GOD when we enter into His
house or approach His altar be an innovation, it is
a very old one. He then instances Moses (Numbers
xx. 6*,) Hezekiah (2 Chron. xxix. 29,) David (Psalm
xcv. () which latler Psalm being retained in the Service
~Book of the Church of England, the Priest and people
both are called upon for external and bodily reverence
and worship of GOD in His Church. For my own
part I take myself bound to worship with body as well
as in soul whenever I come where GOD is worshipped.
And were this kingdom such as would allow no holy
table standing in its proper place (and such places
some there are,) yet I would worship GOD when I
came into His house. And were the times such as
would beat down Churches and all the curious carved
work thereof with axes and hammers, as in Psalm
Ixxiv. 6, (and such times have been) yet would I
worship in what place soever I came to pray, though
there were not so much as a stone laid for Bethel. But
this is the misery ; it is superstition now-a-days for a
man to come with more reverence into a Church than
a tinker into an ale-house. The comparison is too
homely, but my just indignation at the profaneness of
the times makes me speak it." 1
He thus went steadily on : at Winchester the altar
was railed in, and the lay clerks forbidden to read the
Epistle and Gospel, a regulation which was enforced
at Lincoln and Lichfield. At Hereford the Preben
daries were ordered to use the vestments 2 enjoined
in adoring Him before the ark His footstool." Quoted by Heylin,
Cyp. Ang., p. 293.
So again Laud on his trial : " Shall I bow to men in each
House of Parliament, and shall I not bow to GOD in His House,
whither I do, or ought to come, to worship Him ? Surely I must
worship GOD and bow to Him, though neither altar nor communion
table be in the Church." Laud's Works, vol. iii. , p. 20 1 . (Trial.)
1 Speech in the Star Chamber, p. 378.
2 This Canon was founded on the following rubric of King Ed
ward's first Prayer Book : " Upon the day, and at the time ap
pointed for the ministration of the Holy Communion, the Priest
that shall execute the Holy Ministry shall put upon him the
X.] CHAPEL OF LAMBETH PALACE. 101
by Canon XXIV., to stand at the Creeds and Gos
pels and Doxologies, and bow at the Name of JESUS.
At Worcester Mainwaring erected a marble altar,
with fair hangings, and a rich frontal, besides procuring
the proper vestments, and making the scholars of the
King's School come into the Church in orderly pro
cession, two and two, instead of straggling in as they
pleased. At Norwich the old hangings were renewed,
and at Gloucester proper vestments were purchased.
There was another work which engrossed much of
his time and money, and which furnished his adver
saries with most of their absurd and foolish accusations,
viz., his restoration of the chapel belonging to the
palace at Lambeth. It had been shamefully neglected
I by Abbott, and allowed to fall into the most dreadful
state of dilapidation and decay. Laud's own expres
sion is a very strong one, " It was lying nastily."
This never troubled Abbott, for Puritanism has never
cared about the condition of GOD'S dwelling places,
while they have ever been among the objects most
dear to the hearts of all true sons of Holy Church.
There were no complaints made about the condition of
Lambeth palace that was sound enough, in good re
pair. Any defects there, broken roofs, or patched
windows, would have interfered materially with the
Puritanical Archbishop's comfort, which of course could
not have been tolerated. But GOD'S dwelling place
Vesture appointed for that ministration, that is to say, a white alb
plain, with a vestment or cope." This " vestment" is the same
as the chasuble, by which name it is sometimes called. Probably
the intention was to use the cope, when there was no actual cele
bration, and reserve the " vestment" or chasuble for the full Eucha-
ristic Service. It was clearly the wish of our Reformers, that the
Holy Communion, as being the highest act of worship, should be
distinguished by a peculiar dress of the officiating Priest. Our
present Prayer Book ratines this direction of King Edward's, and
orders that " such ornaments of the Church and of the Ministers
thereof, at all times of their ministrations, shall be retained, and be
in use, as were in the Church of England, by the authority of
Parliament, in the second year of King Edward the Sixth."
Vide Rubric before the ' Order for Morning Prayer." This Ru
bric bears clear traces of Laud's influence having outlived his fall.
102 LIFE OF AECHB1SHOP LAUD. [dlAP.
was a different thing, and so the sour old Puritan was
content to dwell in his "ceiled house and let GOD'S
house lie waste," thanking GOD, may be, he was not as
other men, superstitious enough to fancy that GOD
was honoured by the beauty or grandeur of His temple.
Among the memorials of past piety which had
suffered first from the outbreaks of fanatic zeal at the
Reformation, and afterwards from Abbott's incapacity
for appreciating the beautiful, and his Puritan dislike
of art were the stained-glass windows in the chapel.
Laud found tEem battered and broken, patched up
with plain glass, he says, "like a beggar's coat." He
repaired them, and restored the original designs. They
have (we believe) all perished again again we doubt
not, to be restored by some future occupant of the
see. They contained the leading incidents in the In
carnation with the Old Testament types, so that nearly
the whole of the Bible history was represented. In
the east window, which consisted of five lights, was the
Crucifixion depicted in detail, our Blessed LORD occu
pying the centre ; the crosses of the thieves the third
and fourth lights, while the outside ones represented the
Sacrifice of Isaac, and the Brazen Serpent. On the south
side there were four windows; the first containing Jonah,
the Resurrection, Samson carrying off the Gates of
Gaza. The second : the Translations of Enoch and
Elias, with the Ascension as a centre. The third : the
giving the law at Sinai, the descent of the HOLY
GHOST on the day of Pentecost, the fire descending to
consume the sacrifice of Elijah. In the fourth was
represented CHRIST on the Judgment seat; and in the
side lights King Solomon's Judgment, and King
David sentencing the Amalekite. There seem to have
been only three stained windows on the North side, of
which the subjects were, of the first : the resurrection
of Lazarus, with the raising of the widow's son by
Elijah; oftheShunammite'sbyElisha. The second, the
adoration of the Magi, the visit of the Queen of Sheba,
the coronation of King David at Hebron. The third,
the Annunciation, the Burning Bush, Gideon's fleece.
r.] CHAPEL OF LAMBETH PALACE. 103
It was a privilege to Laud to be allowed to restore
these memorials of early piety, and we can easily
imagine with what care he would trace the pattern in
the pieces that were left, supply designs for what was
deficient, and preserve what was whole. That he took
particular pains with and was much interested in this
work, is evidenced by his words on his trial, when
this restoration was looked upon as an evidence of his
Romanizing tendencies.
In a similar spirit he brought back to its proper
place the altar which had stood in the centre of the
chapel during Abbott's misrule ; erected a costly rail
ing before it, placed upon it candlesticks, (as required
by the law of the Church, which remains to this day) an
elaborate almsdish, costly-bound books,and fixed behind
it an arras representing the Institution of the Holy Eu
charist. The vestments naturally followed. The organs
were restored and the serviceachan ted, external reverence
was enforced, all stood up at the singing the " Gloria
Patri," 1 and did lowly reverence at the Name of JESUS.
. Our readers are now prepared to hear that all this
was brought forward against the Archbishop as clear
and certain evidence of his unfaithfulness to the
English Communion. Yet what was there here but
an attempt to bring the practice of the Church into
conformity with its written laws? The_Bubric8 and
Canons enjoined these things, and it was not sufficient
reason Tor abandoning them, that the Puritans disliked
them. The time had come when one or other must
have given way, the Church or the Puritan element
in her which liad almost transformed her into another
being. Laud chose that Puritanism should be sacri
ficed to the Catholic faith, and not- the Catholic faith
to Puritanism. The Church of England as she spake
in her formularies had asserted her adherence to the
faith once delivered to the saints, and claimed union
1 This last custom aroused Prynne's ire to an extraordinary
extent. What would he have said, had he seen us standing not
merely at the Gloria, but all through the Psalms ? Puritanism in
those days was even more addicted to sitting than it is now.
104 LIFE OF AECHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
with the Church of CHBIST in all ages, by the pos
session of common Sacraments and a common Episco-
I pate. She appealed neither to Luther nor Calvin, but
to Holy Scripture interpreted by primitive antiquity.
Her services were intended to embody this appeal, and
when she acted for herself her intentions were carried out.
But Puritanism had eaten like a canker into the
Church's fair order, and hence the disgraceful state of
all things pertaining to GOD'S worship at this time.
How low our Church must have sunk is evidenced by
the opposition Laud experienced in enforcing such
simple things as the right position of the altar, an<$
the lowly adoration at the name of JESUS. "We feel
now the importance of these things ; we see that
sound doctrine is closely connected with them. More
over, they are nothing strange. Laud was right in
rescuing devotion and reverence from Puritanism,
though it cost him dear. The factions of his day
worried him to death on account, inter alia, of his res
toration of his chapel, and his mode of performing
Divine service. But all that he did is sanctioned now.
The altar, with its rich furniture and embroidered
frontals, is no strange thing ; the restoration of the
sanctuaries of GOD is the mission of our age ; the aid
of art is ungrudgingly sought to decorate the palaces
of the King of kings ; the storied window again adorns
our churches ; the praises of the Most High are sung
in solemn chants, and the choral anthem everywhere
*is wafted to the skies. Architecture, and painting, and
poetry, and music, it is now acknowledged, have their
true home in the Church, and in her hands fulfil their
-, highest destinies. But had Laud shrunk from his
post had he quailed before the howling multitude
had he been content to keep things quiet we might
havebeen as Scotland, or made like unto Geneva. Thank
GOD ! Laud did not fail. He counted the cost, and
he took his line. He would not believe that GOD had
preserved the English Church merely to engulph her
an Puritanism. He had faith in the Church of Eng
land, and he acted on his faith. He determined to
X.] BE8TOBATION OF 8. PATJI/S. 105
rescue her from Puritanism, or perish : he did both,
j The price of her liberation was his life ; he paid it, and
the Church was freed.
Thoughts of this kind the ratification of Laud's
work by posterity are so vividly present to our mind,
that our anxiety to make our readers share our con
viction that Laud was GOD'S instrument for preserving
the Church of England from committing herself to
some irrevocably false step, which might have issued
in her utter destruction, must be our excuse for this
digression. We have been led away from two points
which serve to illustrate Laud's regard for sacred
things, the restoration of S. Paul's, and the care for
the poor Clergy ; for, stern and severe towards his
own order, he was kindly disposed, and even affable,
towards the humbler labourers in the vineyard.
The Cathedral Church of S. Paul, which had suffered
severely from fire in 1561, had been partially restored,
at the expense of the clergy and citizens, in 1566.
Much however was yet to be done, and advantage
was taken of King James' state visit, 1620, to interest
bis Majesty in its behalf. A royal commission issued,
but with little result, owing chiefly to the indolence
of Bishop Mountain. But when Laud held the see,
and the Cathedral again received a royal visit (1631),
a new commission was granted, which set to work
more vigorously than its predecessor. Money came
pouring in from the Clergy and rich citizens, and in
one year the proceeds amounted to 5,416. The
fines levied by the High Commission Court upon
richer offenders swelled the treasury, and also gave
occasion to Puritan misrepresentation as to the mo
tives for their imposition. True to their principles,
they could only see in this pious work the adorning a
I" rotten relic," and a device of the King's to raise
money without the consent of Parliament. The work,
however, prospered, the King gave 10,295, the Bishop
100 per annum from the revenues of the see ; and be
fore 1640, when the work stopped, in consequence of
the troubles, more than 100,000 had been expen-
106 I/rFE OF A&dHBISHOP LAUD. [dlA?'.
ded, and the Cathedral restored to something like
order.
"We spoke also of the Archbishop's care for the
poorer Clergy. An instance of this we have, already
mentioned, in his lightening, as far as possible, the
heavy burdens of a subsidy voted by Convocation. It
was also displayed in the contest he entered into
with the City authorities on behalf of the parochial
clergy, who were plundered in every conceivable way,
and defrauded of their rightful and legal dues, by the
civic maguates. Puritanism was strong in the city, and
lecturers dependent on the people were in high favour
with the aldermen, while they complacently avowed
their conviction that 100 per annum was too much
for a regular clergyman. The injustice on the part
of the citizens became so intolerable, that the clergy
were driven to solicit the interference of the King,
who immediately issued a commission to the Arch
bishop of Canterbury and others, to inquire into the
points in dispute. Several flagrant abuses were re
dressed, and the clergy's hopes of fair play revived ;
when the Scotch troubles, and the consequent war,
compelled the King to turn his attention to other
matters, and soon Church and State were swept away
in common confusion.
We have endeavoured in this chapter to represent
the Archbishop as engaged in a holy warfare against
negligence and irreverence, and that of such a kind as
would not be tolerated anywhere now, but which were
then regarded as signs of spiritual mindedness. The
improvement is mainly due to his bold grappling with
the evil spirit which possessed his Church. And we
cannot do better than close this imperfect sketch of a
great man's struggles, by quoting his own memorable
words, which supply his principle of action and need
in many quarters to be still laid to heart.
- "I never endeavoured to alter or subvert GOD'S
true religion, established by law in this kingdom, or
to bring in Romish superstition ; neither have I de
clared, maintained, or printed any Popish doctrine
XI.] APOLOGY FOE REVERENCE". 107
or opinion contrary to the articles of religion esta
blished, or any one of them, either to the end men
tioned in this article, or any other. I have neither
urged nor enjoined any Popish or superstitious cere
monies without warrant of law ; nor have I cruelly
persecuted any opposers of them. But all that I
I laboured for in this particular was, that the external
I worship of GOD in this Church might be kept up in
I uniformity and decency, and in some beauty of holi
ness. And this the rather, because, first, 1 found that
Iwith the contempt 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
1 wrought upon them to disaffect, 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 the churches themselves, and all things in
them, suffered to lie 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 in anything. As for cere-,
y monies, all that I enjoined were according to law." 1
CHAPTER XI.
A.D. 16301641.
LAUD AND THE UNIVERSITIES LEARNING AXD
PATRONAGE.
" In bestowing
He was most princely."
Henry VIII., Act iv. s. 2.
HOWETER deficient in many kingly qualities James
the First may have been, there can be no doubt either
1 Laud's Works, vol. iii. p. 403. (Troubles.)
108 LIFE OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
of his own great learning or of his love of it in
others.
His appointments to offices of trust in the Church,
show his preference for scholar-like and deeply-read
divines, over the shallow and unlettered Puritans to
whom Calvin's Institutes were the sum total of the
ology. Hence his affection for the University of
Oxford, which he honoured with his presence early
in his reign, even condescending to perform exercises
(for the good man was very vain of his acquirements)
in the divinity, law, physic, and philosophy schools.
His interest was not however confined to such empty
demonstrations, but was evidenced in more substan
tial manner. A canonry of Christ Church and the
rectory of Ewelme, annexed to the chair of the Regius
Professor of Divinity ; a prebendal stall in Salisbury
Cathedral to that of Civil Law ; the headship of the
Hospital at Ewelme to that of Medicine, were evidences
i of the King's desire to place the professors of that
' ancient seat of learning on a better and more inde
pendent footing. The royal bounty soon found imita
tors. SirH. Savil founded two Mathematical Lectures ;
Sir "W. Sedley one in Natural Philosophy ; Dr. White
one in Moral Philosophy; Mr.Tomlins one in Anatomy,
Besides these the reign of James witnessed the erec
tion of a college by Nicholas Wadham and Dorothy
his wife, 1612 ; Broadgate Hall turned into Pembroke
College, 1624 ; the Schools rebuilt ; a new quadrangle
added to Merton ; new chapels and halls to Exeter
and Jesus College, and the laying out the physic
garden. A better tone pervaded also the religious
feeling of the place. The consecration of the chapels
of Exeter and Jesus, by the Bishop of Oxford, the
restoration of the choirs of Christ Church and Magda
len, the erection of organs in the cathedral and S.
John's, tEe latter under the presidency of Laud, were
all signs and symptoms that Puritanism was relaxing
^its hold upon the intelligence of the age.
It was not likely that when the Providence of GOD
called Laud to higher and more important posts than
XT.] CHANCELLORSHIP OF OXFORD. 109
the headship of a college, he would forget the Univer
sity which had fostered his early years. There was a
necessity for friendly offices, seeing that the disturbed
and stormy condition of the times had thrown the
University into great disorder. Laud exerted himself
strenuously to restore a better state of things, and
was the author of the proctorial cycle which put an
end to the disgraceful contests which had "been of late
carried on to the discredit of the University. At the
same time be proposed certain alterations in their
statutes, which were willingly accepted by the Con
vocation, 1628 ; the same year in which the public
library received two hundred and forty Greek manu
scripts, which the Earl of Pembroke, the Chancellor,
had bought at his suggestion ; and twenty more from
Sir Thomas Roe, who had lately returned from the East.
In 1630, the death of William Earl of Pembroke,
made the Chancellorship vacant. It seemed natural
to offer it to Laud, who was now Bishop of London,
and after a contest with the Earl of Montgomery,
Pembroke's brother, his election was carried, and the
King paid him the gracious compliment of saying,
" That he knew none more worthy of it than himself,
and that he should rather study how to add further
honours to him, than take any from him." According
to the custom of the University, a Convocation was
holden at London House for the investiture of the
Chancellor. Laud's speech on that occasion contains
some graceful compliments to his predecessor, and
hints as far as was consistent with such an occasion,
at future reform. He says himself in his History of
his Chancellorship :
" So soon as I was admitted to the Chancellorship
(which GOD knows I little expected), I thought it my
I duty to reform the University, which was extremely
sunk from all discipline, and fallen into all licentious
ness; insomuch that divers of the governors there
(complained to me, that if remedy were not applied in
time, there could scarce any face Jbe left of a Univer-
110 LIFE OF ARCHBISHOP LAT7D. [CHAP.
sity. Hereupon I resolved within myself to set close
to a reformation. And though I understood most of
the defects of the University, (as having lived there
many years, and for divers of them a governor), yet
the first thing I thought fit to do, was to lay a com
mand upon the Vice-chancellor for the time being, that
he should give me an account by letters, every week,
of all necessary occurrences which happened in the
University pertaining to exercise or manners ; with a
promise, that he should weekly, without fail, receive a
letter from me, expressing what I disliked or approved,
and with directions what should further be done for
the good of that place. This course I constantly
held, and found so much good by it, that I resolved,
as often as I made a new Yice-chancellor, to renew
the like charge, and to pursue it with like diligence ;
which, when time served I did, and shall (Goo willing)
so continue to do, as long as I shall live Chancellor of
the University.
" The statutes of the University had lain in a con
fused heap for some ages, and extremely imperfect in
all kinds. The reformation of the abuses, which grew
thereby, and the reducing of the statutes into order
and form, with the addition of some new, for the neces
sity of the present times, had been often attempted,
and particularly by Cardinal Wolsey and other great
men in their several times ; but was never brought to
any perfection ; nor indeed to anything at all : but
the business left where it was first undertaken. I did
ever foresee that it was not possible to make a refor
mation, or settle that body, unless the statutes were
first perfected. And yet it was evident, also, what
great difficulties attended that work : for it had been
twice undertaken during my own time in the Univer
sity, and both times it came to nothing. At the last
time it was attempted, I w r as named in Convocation
one of the delegates myself ; by which means I had
opportunity to see where the difficulties and impedi
ments lay, but was. not then able to remove them.
XI.] UNIVERSITY BEFOEM. Ill
Afterwards coming to be Bishop of London, and
finding my Lord the Earl of Pembroke much troubled
at some unworthy proceedings there ; I told him he
would never have remedy until the statutes of the
University were reduced into a body and settled ; and
withal acquainted his Lordship wherein the difficulties
lay. Hereupon, at his entreaty, I set down what way
was to be taken and followed for effecting that work,
and began at the naming of the delegacy below in.
Convocation ; which delegacy was no sooner named
and my directions sent into them, but my Lord of
Pembroke died, and I was chosen Chancellor after
him, and took up his work where it was then left, and
resolved to go on against all difficulties which were
like to oppose me in the body of that University ;
which, being very sick, was desirous enough to be
well, but not pleased with the sourness of the cure.
Besides, such bodies never want factions ; and many
there that were willing enough to have a cure, were
not so well pleased it should be wrought by my hand.
But this and many other difficulties I overcame with
care and patience ; and went on with the work." 1
A few years passed before his plans could be carried
out, for matters affecting the whole Church had en
gaged bis attention. He had been raised to the
metropoliticai dignity, and the great work of the res
toration of the altars was going on. In the course of
it he determined to make the Universities subjects of
special visitation. Cambridge particularly, was far
gone in Puritanism ; and the Earl of Holland, '"Her
Chancellor, stoutly resisted the Primate's right to
visit. Some little improvement had indeed taken place
at Cambridge of late years, but in most colleges things
were as bad as ever. Some had no chapels ; others
used uuconsecrated rooms. In Sidney the old dormi
tory of the Franciscans had been converted into a
chapel, but there, as at Emmanuel, GOD'S dwelling-
place had never been formally hallowed by special
1 Laud's Works, vol. v. p. 13. (Hist, of Chancellorship.)
112 LIFE OF ABCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
dedication. No wonder then the University disliked
the idea of an Archiepiscopal visitation, and took
measures to resist it. The King heard the cause in
person, and decided in favour of the right of the Pri
mate to visit. The Scotch troubles however staved it
off; but the threat of it worked wonders. The Puritan
heads grumbled, but nevertheless set their houses in
order. The altar was restored in S. Mary's to its
right place, vessels for the blessed Eucharist were pre
sented in many instances, and encouragement given
to the better affected to proceed in their work of
restoration.
But at Oxford he was absolute, and he was naturally
more interested in his own University. The Chan
cellor of the University visitor of several colleges in
virtue of his see, while the Bishop of Winchester
(Curie), to whom the right of visiting Magdalene, New
College, Corpus, S. John's, and Trinity, belonged, was
devoted to his interest ; his right to visit as Primate
established by law, there was no one to resist his
will. Nor did the Oxonians wish to do so. The days
of Calvinistic ascendancy were at an end. They
eagerly carried out his wishes, and looked up to him
with the greatest reverence. " Your Holiness," " Holy
Father," and the like terms, constantly occur in their
letters ; and Laud, in striking contrast, beseeches
their prayers as often as they kneel before the altar,
for himself, a miserable sinner.
The day after the Royal decision had established
his right to visit the University, the new code of
statutes, which he deemed necessary for the well-being
of Oxford, was promulgated by him. They were thank
fully received by the University, and passed Convo
cation unanimously. But the gratitude of Alma
Mater was increased, when the Chancellor's interest
with the King procured a new charter, which not only
confirmed their ancient privileges, but raised them to
an equal level with Cambridge. The same influence
procured also a royal patent for printing Bibles and
XI.] ENCOUBAGEMEWT OF LEABNING. 118
Prayer Books, and set apart a portion of the fine
imposed upon the King's printer, in consequence
of their negligent printing the Holy Scriptures, for
the purchase of a Greek type for the University
press.
The higher classes of studies were peculiarly inte
resting to Laud, and to him the University is indebted
for the encouragement of Hebrew and Arabic learn
ing. To the first chair he procured the perpetual'
annexation of a Canonry at Christ Church, a privilege
he likewise obtained for the public orator, though this
was afterwards lost; the latter he founded himself,
and endowed in perpetuity. In a similar spirit he
procured an order from the King that every Turkey
merchant should bring home one Persian or Arabic
book, except the Koran, of which there were abundant
number of copies in England. He was thus enabled,
in 1634, 1 to present the University with fourteen He
brew, fifty-five Arabic, seventeen Persian, lour Turkish,
six Russian, two Armenian, twelve Chinese MSS., be
sides forty-four Greek, three Italian, three French,
forty-six English, and more than two hundred Latin.
Besides these, he obtained a present of many MSS.
from Sir K. Digby, and in 1636 2 forwarded many more
MSS., including eighteen Hebrew, fourteen Persian,
fifty Arabic, one Armenian, two^Ethiopic, one Chinese,
and a valuable collection of coins, which he had pur
chased at the suggestion of Ussher. In 1639 s many
''more MSS. and books were added to his former pre
sents, among the latter a book on the Liberties of
the Gallican Church, whiclf had heen suppressed in
France, and which Laud was desirous of preserving,
as it would never be reprinted, he said, "and the
opinions the French Church entertained of the Papal
^claim to supremacy ought to be put upon record. "
He hints further, that Cardinal Biorligo had connived
at its publication. And in 1640,* the same munificent
1 Laud's Works, vol. v. p. 125. * Vol. v. p. 135.
VoL v. p. 225. (Hist Can.) Vol. T. p. 293. (Hist. Can.)
I
114 LIFE OF AKCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
hand sent a hundred and forty-eight more MSS., in
cluding thirty-four Arabic.
His princely spirit was seen too in the buildings
wherewith he graced Oxford. The second quadrangle of
S. John's College was built by him at the cost, Heylin
tells us (for Laud himself in his History of his Chan
cellorship had left the space blank) of 5000. The
(erection of the Divinity Schools is another evidence of
' his liberality. The south porch of S. Mary's was re
stored at the cost of 230 under his superintendence,
by Dr. Owen, his Chaplain, and adorned with a figure
of " the blessed among women," and her Divine Son.
> It could not but be that such munificence would
produce a similar spirit. In 1636 the King attached
three Fellowships for Jersey and Guernsey men to
the Colleges of Exeter, Jesus, and Pembroke. Mag
dalene Chapel was restored, and stained glass placed
in Queen's College Chapel, both of which incidents
are deemed worthy by Laud's reverent mind of being
. recorded in his History of his Chancellorship.
The same religious spirit breathes through the fol
lowing letter sent (1636) to the Vice-Chancellor. It
is given in Laud's own words, that men may judge
for themselves of the true character of the innova
tions charged upon this Prelate. Innovations they
were on the slovenliness and irreverence of Puritanism,
and thank GOD that Laud had courage to make them.
But they were simply in accordance with the orders
of the Church ; and therefore odious to the Puritans.
Thanks to Laud, however, the language of the learned
is still consecrated by the Latin sermon and Holy
Communion each first day of Term ; and the chancel
of S. Mary's to this day witnesses the celebration of
the Holy Bite. Posterity has again vindicated Laud.
" SALUTEM iw CHBISTO.
" SIE, The sickness of these times, and my many
other occasions, made me forget to write to you be-
II.] LATH* PRAYERS AT OXFORD. 115
fore the beginning of Michaelmas Term last, concern
ing the Sermon and Prayers usually had at S. Marie's
at the beginning of Terms, which were wont to be
not so orderly as they should, nor with so good ex
ample to other places at large in the kingdom, as such
a University should give.
"For,first, the Communion was celebrated in the body
of the church, and not in the chancel, which though it
be permitted in the Church of England in some cases
of necessity, where there is a multitude of people;
yet very undecent it is, and unfitting in that place
where so few (the more the pity) use to communicate
at these solemn times. But this abuse I caused to
be rectified in Dr. Duppa's time, and I hope neither
you nor your successors will suffer it to return again
into the former indecency.
" Secondly, though none do come to these solemn
prayers and sermons but scholars, and these too of the
best rank, yet to no small dishonour of that place, the
sermon is in Latin, and the prayers in English : as if
Latin prayers were more unfit for a learned congre
gation, than a Latin sermon. And the truth is, the
thing is very absurd in itself, and contrary to the di
rections given at the beginning of the Reformation of
this Church ; for in the Latin Service Books, which
were first printed in the beginning of Queen Elizabeth,
there is an express, both direction and charge, that
notwithstanding the altering of the ordinary Form of
Prayers throughout the whole body of the kingdom
from Latin into English : yet in the Universities such
Srayers, unto which none but they which were learned
id resort, should be in Latin. And for my part, I
do much wonder, considering how public that direc
tion was, that the University at the beginning of
Terms should fall from this ordinance, and so divide
the service and sermon between Latin and English.
" Upon consideration of this, I acquainted his Ma-
iesty both with that printed direction of Queen Eliza
beth, and with the breach of it by the University at
116 LIFE OF AECHBISHOP LATTD. [CHAP.,
the beginning of Terms : whereupon his Majesty was
pleased to give me in charge to see this ordered, and
to take a course for a remedy in the future, and that
hereafter Service, Sermon, and Communion, should be
at all beginnings of Terms uniformly in Latin, since
none resort to either but such as well understand it.
These are therefore to pray and require you at some
convenient meeting of the Heads, to acquaint them
with this direction of his Majesty, and to take care
that both at the beginning of the next Term, and of
all Terms following, the Service and Communion be in
Latin, as well as the Sermon. And that such as are
not furnished may the better provide themselves with
Service Books in Latin, so soon as conveniently they
can, you shall do well to make it so much the sooner
known to the Heads. And this I must not forget to
tell you, that when 1 took this first into consideration,
it was thought fitting to put it into the University
statutes. But afterwards I considered, that since the
statutes were to remain to posterity, it would lay no
small scandal upon these times, when they should see
by the very statute itself, what a stranger the Uni
versity was to the prayers of the Church in a learned
language. And hereupon, having first acquainted his
Majesty with this also, I thought it better to leave it
out of the statutes, and to reduce it to this privater
way, which opinion of mine his Majesty was pleased
graciously to approve.
" Two things there are, which you and the Heads
must take present care for. The one is, that the Vice-
Chancellor, and he that helps him to execute (whoso
ever he be), be in surplices; but whether the Vice-Chan
cellor will put on This surplice, when he goes to the
Communion, or put it on at the first, and so read
Service, and sit at the Sermon in it, I leave it to his
own judgment; but I lite the latter better, and the
surplice must be under both the habit and the hood.
The second is, that there must be care taken with the
singing men, that they may answer the Litany and
II.] UITIFOBM HOTJB OF SEEVICB. 117
all other places of the Service, where they interpose,
in Latin, which they may easily practise and be ready
to perform at the beginning of the next Terra ; but if
they cannot, the Litany must be sung or answered by
the Masters without the organ, till they can : for the
main business to have all things in Latin must go on.
So wishing you all health and happiness, and the Uni
versity that honour that belongs unto her entire, I
leave you to the grace of GOD, and rest.
" Your very loving friend,
" W. CANT."!
How beautifully does the spirit too of the following
letter to Dr. Fell contrast with the supercilious dis
regard evinced by Puritans for all associations con
nected with the communion of saints :
" Concerning the hour of your Vespers, I would
have you to weigh well one main thing, which is, that
as the Morning Service is every where to end by
twelve at farthest, BO the Vespers must never begin
before three and end by five. And this I take it is
universal. And the reason of it (as I conceive) is,
that the prayers of the Church, howsoever different
in place, might be jointly put up to GOD in all places
at the same time. How fit it will be upon particular
respects to vary such an universal tradition, would be
well thought upon. As for the hour they say they
shall gain to their studies by this change, that works
little upon me. For if men be so studiously-minded,
that hour may be taken as well after prayers as before.
And prayers coming between, will rather be a relaxa
tion to them than a hindrance. Besides, I cannot
foresee what example this may produce in other cathe
drals. And I would be very loath they should learn
an ill example from the University. Therefore I pray
think well of these and other circumstances, before
you make any change." 8
1 Laud's Works, vol. v. p. 166. (Hist. Can.)
1 Vol. T. (Hist. Can.) p. 235.
118 LITE OF ABCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
There is one feature which strikes us very forcibly
in reviewing this portion of his life, viz., the extreme
comprehensiveness of his mind. He seems to have
his eyes everywhere, to be constantly pen in hand,
directing the most minute details. Nothing escapes
him. He is ever ready to advise and direct the most
commonplace matter, provided it affected the interest
of his beloved university. When we remember that
he was Primate of all England, and engaged in the
grand work of religious restoration, that upon him
came the care of the Anglo-Irish and Scotch Churches,
that in both these countries he was fighting a fa
natic Clergy and unprincipled aristocracy, and was
besides the King's responsible adviser in matters of
State, the points which he deigns to notice relating
to the University are sometimes almost ludicrous.
We of course naturally expect him sharply to watch
sermons and theological exercises, and occasionally
punish an obstinate Puritan ; but we are scarcely pre
pared for his interference in the appointment of the
clerk of S. Mary's Church. Tet as this functionary
used to alter the clock to suit the convenience of the
respondents in the different exercises, the Chancellor
finds it out, and the charge of the clock is taken from
him.
Similarly all infractions of the privileges of the Uni
versity, down to an illegal rise by the aldermen in the
price of candles, are noted. Does a Jesuit manage,
under a false name, to creep into the University, Laud
detects him, and astonishes his Vice-Chancellor by
telling him the real history of the delinquent. Is an
undergraduate secretly converted to Rome, or does
the young organist of S. John's suddenly " slip away"
from the University for the same reason Laud knows
all about it, and can even tell the name of the priest
who seduced them. Do the printers venture to
print books without permission they are threatened
with suppression. Are innovations introduced in
dress, or men walk about in boots and spurs, or the
XI.] PATRONAGE OF LEARNING. 119
sons of noblemen take too much upon them all is
known to the watchful Primate. Is the "Westminster
supper an occasion of excess in eating and drinking it
is at once abolished, as being, in consequence of always
taking place on Friday night, "contrary to the
Canons of the Church and laws of the realm, and to
the great scandal of all sober men that hear of it."
The University of Dublin, of which he was also
Chancellor, received from him a new charter and sta
tutes ; and the interest he evinced in its well-being
appears throughout his correspondence with Strafford.
Through his discernment, too, the Anglo-Irish Church
was graced with the holiness of Bedell, and the learn
ing of Bramhall. His prescient eye detected the
genius ofthe young Jeremy Taylor, and provided him
with the means of prosecuting nlsT studies by the gift
of a fellowship of All Souls. In England, Juxon and
Sanderson owed their promotion to him ; and while
the learning of Montague and "Wren recommended
them to his notice, the less brilliant virtues of Buck-
eridge, White, and Morton were not forgotten. By
his means Chillingworth's great intellect was for a
while retained in the service of the English Church ;
he promoted Hales, and was the patron of Mede,
Pocock, Selden, Sheldon, Spelman, and Heylin. Nor
was the rising genius of the young Mr. Hyde, 1
then fighting his way at the bar, unnoticed by the
Primate. He seems to have had a peculiar felicity
of attracting useful people, and attaching them to his
interests; and the immense patronage which he
wielded gave him the opportunity of rewarding all
who rendered him service. There is no denying he
looked sharply after the patronage ; for he well knew
men could not live on fair words, and that those who
did the Church's work ought to live by the Church's
revenues. Heylin relates the following story :
" A difference having arisen between Sir F. Cot-
tingtou, who had been appointed to the Mastership of
1 Afterwards the celebrated Lord Clarendon, the historian.
120 LIFE OF ABCHBISHOP LATJD. [CHAP.
the wards and liveries, and Lord Coventry, Keeper of
the Great Seal, about disposing of such benefices as
belonged to the King during the minority of his wards,
Laud ends the matter by taking it all to himself, and
proposes to his Majesty that, until this ' controversy
be decided, he might do well to take those livings into
his own disposing, for the reward of such divines as
had done him service in the wars, or should go forth
hereafter on like employment.' Many divines, for
instance, had served as chaplains in his Majesty's
ships, and ventured their persons in the action at the
Isle of Hhe, during the late engagement with France
and Spain. Some reward must be given them for ser
vice past, the better to encourage others for the time
to come. ' It is cold,' he says, ' venturing into hot
services without some hope of reward.' The King
approved the proposal, and committed the said bene
fices to Laud's disposal, knowing well he would faith
fully discharge the trust for the advancement of his
Majesty's service, the satisfaction of the suitors, and
the peace of the Church. Neither did Cottington
seem displeased, being more willing that a third man
should carry away the prize, than to be overtopped by
Coventry. By the accession of this power, as he in
creased the number of his dependents, so he gained
the opportunity by it to supply the Church with
regular and conformable men, for whom he was to be
responsible both to GOD and the King ; which served
him for a counterbalance against the multitude of
lecturers established in so many places, especially by
the feoffees for impropriations, who came not to their
doom till February 13 of this present year, as before
was said." 1
But all the influence he thus obtained he honestly
and conscientiously disposed of. Nothing vexed his
righteous soul more than to see Church revenues
wasted in advancing an ecclesiastic's own name, or
1 Heylin's Life, p. 263. Vide Laud's account of these matters,
Works, vol. iii. p. 408. (Troubles.)
II.] NICHOLAS FKKUAU. 121
the selfish interests of his family. Nepotism he ut
terly abhorred, and Fuller mentions a kinsman of his
at the University, whose idleness kept him from re
ceiving any portion of the archiepiscopal bounty. Nor
was he guilty of the indiscretion which often attaches
to those who have made their own fortunes, of thrust
ing his relatives into high posts. He rather helped
them in their respective stations, than raised them out
of them. How little he spent upon himself is evi
denced by the little he left behind him. He ever
laboured for others, not himself; the poorer Clergy
always found him their champion, and the less wealthy
bishoprics by his influence were enriched with good
commendams. He it was who attached Cuddesden
to Oxford.
Nor must we forget to record here the protection
he extended to the holy community of Little Gidding.
A man of deep piety himself, leading a solitary life,
often on his knees before GOD, pouring out his soul
in the most abasing accents of penitence, sharply
judging himself, disciplining his flesh by fasts and
vigils, the holy round of services at Little Gidding
(where, amid troublous times, when the strife of
tongues was waxing louder and louder, the sound of
prayer and praise never ceased, but every hour as it
passed, of night or day, brought its appointed homage
to the King of kings) commended itself to his love
and regard. He himself laid hands on Nicholas
Ferrar, admitting him to the office of a deacon ; and
interested the King in behalf of the ascetic establish
ment, which Charles even visited in person. The
productions of their press polyglot bibles, bound
with their own hands, and adorned as became presents
made to royalty were humbly presented, and gra
ciously accepted by the King. For young Ferrar,
too, Charles evinced great interest, and took upon
himself his maintenance at Oxford, though his early
death prevented the royal intentions being carried
into effect. When the youth left the Archbishop, we
122 LIFE OF AECHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
are told, "be knelt down, and took his hand, and
kissed it. The Archbishop took him up in bis arms,
and laid his hand upon his cheek, and earnestly be
sought GOD to bless him, and increase all graces ill
him, and fit him every day more and more for an in
strument of His glory here upon earth, and a saint in
heaven. ' GOD bless you ! GOD bless you ! I have
told your father what is to be done with you after the
holidays ; GOD will provide for you better than your
father can. GOD bless you and keep you !' " The
statesman and metropolitan could unbend sometimes.
Another name, ever dear to Churchmen, and the
memory of which will remain as long as gentleness,
and charity, and true devotion are venerated, that
of the poet priest, George Herbert, is closely con
nected with Laud. Xaud's earnest entreaties alone
overcame his reluctance to take upon himself the
office and work of the priesthood, and enter upon
the cure of souls at Bemerton, to which Charles pre
sented him. There can be no doubt, too, that Laud
gladly welcomed Cosines attempt to supply the English
ladies of the courf witfi books of devotion ; and rejoiced
in being able to roll away the reproach, urged with such
effect by the Queen and her foreign attendants, that
while the Eoman communion provided manuals in
abundance for her children, the English Church left
them without any aids to devotion. Certain it is that
Cpsin's beautiful book, which has been ever since the
companion and solace of thousands, was brought as
evidence against Laud at his trial. Here, again, the
verdict of posterity has been given for the calumniated
Prelate.
We have slightly digressed from the main point of
our chapter, but the opportunity seemed a fitting one
for speaking of Laud's patronage generally, and show
ing how conscientiously, and for the advancement of
learning, it was exercised.
We must now return to him as Chancellor of Ox
ford, though it be only to record his resignation. A
II.] BESIQNATION OF CHANCELLOBSHIP. 123
prisoner in the Tower, and not certain of a single day,
he laid down his high trust in the following letter to
the Vice-Chancellor and Convocation : l
" My present condition is not unknown to the whole
world, yet by few pitied or deplored. The righteous
GOD best knows the justice of my sufferings, on
Whom both in life and death I will ever depend ; the
last of which shall be unto me most welcome, in that
my life is now burdensome unto me : my mind at
tended with variety of sad and grievous thoughts, my
soul continually vexed with anxieties and troubles,
groaning under the burden of a displeased Parliament,
my name aspersed and grossly abused by the multi
plicity of libellous pamphlets, and myself debarred
from wonted access to the best of princes ; and it is
vox populi that I am Popishly affected. How earnest
I have been in my disputations, exhortations, and
otherwise to quench such sparks, lest they should
become coals, I hope, after my death, you will all
acknowledge ; yet in the midst of all my afflictions
there is nothing more hath so nearly touched me as
the remembrance of your free and joyful acceptance
of me to be your Chancellor, and that I am now shut
up from being able to do you that service which you
might justly expect from me. When I first received
this honour, I intended to have carried it with me to
my grave ; neither were my hopes any less, since the
Parliament (called by his Majesty's royal command)
committed me to this royal prison. . But sith (by
reason of matters of greater consequence yet in hand)
the Parliament is pleased to procrastinate my trial, I
do hereby as thankfully resign my office of being
Chancellor, as ever I received that dignity ; entreating
you to elect some honourable person, who upon all
occasions may be ready to serve you ; and I beseech
GOD send you such an one as may do all things for
1 Laud's Works, vol. v. (History of Chancellorship) p. 299,
124 LIFE OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
His glory, and the furtherance of our most famous
University. This is the continued prayer of,
" Your dejected friend and chancellor,
" being the last time I shall write so,
" W. CANT.
" Tower, June 28, 1641."
CHAPTER XII.
A.D. 16311639.
DELATIONS OF THE CHUECH OF ENGLAND TO FOEEIGN
EEFOEMED BODIES.
" No man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called
of GOD, as was Aaron." Heb. v. 4.
said in our introductory chapter that it was
natural for the reformed in all countries to be anxious
for union with each other, that they might oppose
something like a common confession to Rome's definite
creed. They thought that agreeing in the broad
principle that the Pope was Antichrist, they might
merge what they called " minor questions," and agree
to differ on comparatively such unimportant points as
the doctrine of the Incarnation, or the grace of the
Sacraments. Various circumstances, however, hin
dered the carrying out this design : among them
politics exercised no unimportant influence, for the
Reformation was as much a political as a religious
movement, and the scheme of union fell to the ground.
Each nation did what it could for its own people, and
there was a tacit understanding, that, though not
formally united, the reformed in different counties
were to regard each other as brethren, and hold all
possible intercommunion. The ground indeed which
the English Church had taken up of appealing to
XII.] EPISCOPAL OBDINATIOK. 125
Scripture as interpreted by primitive antiquity, and
her professed desire to reproduce the Christianity of
early ages, separated her very widely from those bodies
who acknowledged no authority, save of Luther or
Calvin. The retention of Episcopacy too was another
feature, distinguishing her from the reformed commu
nions of Germany or Switzerland ; for there is much
more in Episcopacy than a form of government. But
this was not seen at first ; the primary impression
of many of the Reformers being that they were
all, episcopal or otherwise, on an equal footing. This
will account for the evident unwillingness on the part
of the rulers of the English Church at the time of the
Reformation to commit themselves to any statement
on the subject of orders, which might have the effect
of cutting off the foreigners from communion. This
was only natural, for foreigners were invited and en
couraged to come ; it would have therefore been most
unmannerly to have passed any enactment against
i them. The validity of orders conferred by the foreign
I consistories was therefore looked upon as an open
question. Many who had received no other ordina
tions were admitted to livings, and divines, sound
in the main, were unwilling to pass any decided
opinion. Even Hooker takes no higher ground than
the lawfulness of Episcopacy, and allows necessity as
ajustification of Ordination by Presbyters ; while the
more advanced in the new doctrine thought this
an unnecessary limitation, and that under all circum
stances Presbyters were equal to Bishops. Hence
the uncertainty in which the question was enveloped
during Queen Elizabeth's reign. The law required
Episcopal Ordination, and the want of it was made the
pretext for getting rid of Travers, but he had been
allowed to officiate for some time, though his want of
Ordination must have been known. Whittinghfcm,
Dean of Durham, who had notoriously only Genevan
Ordination, stoutly maintained that English law re
cognized his Orders, and was backed in that position
126 LIFE OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. [OHAP.
by the Dean of York, one of the Commissioners
appointed by the Queen to examine into the charge
of irregularity made against him. The question in that
case was never decided, for the Dean died : still our
impression on the whole is that, though strictly speak
ing illegal according to English law, such Ordinations
were allowed occasionally by Bishops, whose sympa
thies led them to fraternize with the foreigners, and
that there was something to be urged from the loose
wording of 13 Eliz. Such proceedings had been con
tinued through James and Charles' reign ; for Cosin,
in a letter to Mr. Cadel, says, " if a Minister so
ordained in these French Churches came to incor
porate himself into ours, and to receive a public charge
or cure of souls among us in the Church of England,
(as I have known some of them to have done so
of late, and can instance many others before my time)
our Bishops did not re-ordain him before they ad
mitted him to his charge, as they must have done, if
his former Ordination here in France had been void.
Nor did our laws require more of him than to declare
his public consent to the religion received amongst us,
and to subscribe the Articles established."
With such natural tenderness towards the foreign
reformed, it was to be expected that when they were
driven from their own lands by persecution, they
should be gladly received here, churches be granted
to their use, and themselves exempted from all obliga
tions to conform to English laws, or to obey English
ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Edward granted John a
Lasco, who brought over a tribe of Walloons and Fries-
landers, the Church of the Augustines. The crypt of
Canterbury was assigned to the French Protestants,
and congregations of these religionists settled during
Elizabeth's reign in Sandwich, Maidstone, Southamp
ton, Colchester, Yarmouth, Norwich, as well as Can
terbury and London.
The same feeling of fraternization which led the
English to allow foreigners the use of their own rites,
in.] FOREIGN REFORMERS. 127
exhibited itself by a curious perversity in the English
congregations abroad, by a dislike of their own Prayer
Book, and an adoption of foreign ways. The English
soldiers serving in the Dutch service were attended by
Chaplains who " exercised" after the Genevan fashion;
the English merchants at Hamburgh and elsewhere
were strangers to the English rite, the use of Geneva
having superseded it. Even the ambassadors forgot
their duty to their Church, and by their attendance at
Huguenot or Calvinist assemblies declared to the
world how little difference there was between the
Church of England and the consistories of the foreign
Beformed.
But what had been quite natural and unavoidable
at the beginning of the Reformation, assumed after
wards a very different aspect. The inherent defect in
the constitution of the foreign reformed bodies was
making itself felt. There had been now for many
yt-urs Bishops who were not in communion with
Koine, but no steps had been taken to restore the
broken link of Apostolic succession : there had been
no movement to restore the ancient creeds, and so
connect themselves with the early Church. On the
contrary, the idea of their own completeness and per
fection was growing stronger, when the progress of
decay was already visible to any impartial eye. It
seemed to Laud better to break off, even violently,
any supposed communion with these irregular bodies
before they fatally compromised the Church of Eng
land, and the result has proved his forethought and
sagacity. His worst fears respecting the foreign com
munions have been realized; they have sunk lower
and lower into the depths of heresy, and the Divinity
of the SAVIOUE and His Atonement on the Cross have
ceased to be regarded by them as necessary articles of
faith. Who can say that, had it not been for Laud,
what with loose laws and weak Bishops, our Church
might have followed in their wake by this time?
There were three ways in which this over-affection
128 LIPE OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
for foreign Protestants showed itself in Laud's days.
First, the non-conformity to the English Church of
the English factories and regiments abroad ; Secondly,
the encouragement given to the foreigners in Eng
land ; thirdly, the attendance of the ambassadors at
the foreign Protestant places of instruction.
The state of the English congregations on the
Continent is well exemplified by a story which Hey-
lin has preserved in his lively gossiping way. Our
readers will find it at length, page 218 ; but the
pith of it is this :
It so chanced, circa 1631, that the ambassador to
Denmark and the ambassador from the Emperor met
at Hamburgh on their respective journeys. Admiral
Pennington was also there waiting for winds to take
the ambassadors on their way. There was an English
population at Hamburgh and an English Church, and
the chaplains of the ambassadors were requested to
give their countrymen the benefit of their ministra
tions. The reverend gentlemen, pleased at the com
pliment, consented, and it would seem, nothing loth,
fell into the prescribed order of the place, gave out a
psalm, then ascended the pulpit, and extemporised to
the delight of the auditory, after the most approved Ge
nevan mode. Thewinds were still contrary, and, anxious
for a variety, the good people asked the Admiral to
allow his Chaplain " to exercise." He said he had no
Chaplain, but his kinsman, Dr. Ambrose, who was on
board his ship, would doubtless gratify them, if in
vited. The Doctor was asked and consented. Sunday
arrived, the congregation was seated, the hymn was
sung. To the great dismay of the Elders (for the whole
Genevan platform had been introduced) the Doctor
stirred not. A " Deacon" was sent to jog his memory
and bid him ascend the pulpit. To his horror the
Doctor asked for a Bible and Prayer Book. The
" Deacon" presented a Bible, "but Prayer Book we
have none! we don't use such things," was the reply.
" O then," said the Doctor, " I must e'en do as best I
III.] . THE ENGLISH CHURCH ABROAD. 129
can," and, taking a Prayer Book from his pocket,
began the sentences. Great was the indignation of
the assembled congregation to be thus delayed from
their favourite exercise of preaching, by anything so
unspiritual as the worship of GOD, great the wrath
of the Elders. The Deacon was sent back to bid him
ascend the pulpit, and not trouble them with prayers :
they did not want prayers. " You are a Church of
England congregation, and the Church Service you shall
have," was Ambrose's reply ; " no prayers, no sermon."
The Deacon returned to the Elders, and took back to the
faithful Priest a peremptory message to forbear. Not
wishing to have an open rupture in GOD'S house, Am
brose thought it most prudent to comply, closed his
book, and left the Church, followed by the Ambassa
dors, Admiral, and crest-fallen Chaplains.
But though defeated for the time, the cause of
order and common sense prevailed at last. Laud
seems to have heard of this, (he had his eyes and ears
everywhere) and in 1632 he laid the condition of the
English congregations abroad before the Council-
board. The Council referred the matter to him, and
he drew up sundry regulations respecting Chaplains.
The Puritans of course reviled them as oppressive ;
but what member of the present Church of England
would object to an order, " that every Minister or
Chaplain in any factory or regiment shall read the
Common Prayer, administer the Sacraments, catechise
children, and perform all other public ministerial
duties, according to the rules and rubrics of the English
Liturgy and Canons."
It was not likely this could be effected without
a struggle. Sir W. Boswell and Mr. S. Goffe struggled
vigorously, but the Archbishop carried the day, and, in
1634, all English Churches and regiments in Holland,
Hamburg, Turkey, India, the Indian Isles, Virginia,
and Barbadoes were required to conform to the English
use, and made responsible to the Bishop of London,
and a Mr. Beaumont sailed for Delf not only with
K
130 LIFE OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. [-CHAP.
private instructions punctually to observe and keep
the orders of the Church of England, as they are pre
scribed in the Canons and Liturgy, but with the
following letter to the merchants.
After certifying that Mr. Beaumont comes with his
Majesty's authority, and is to be received accordingly,
the Archbishop proceeds :
" And further we are to let you know, that it is his
Majesty's express command, that both you, the deputy,
and all and every other merchant, that is, or shall be
residing in those parts beyond the seas, do conform
themselves to the doctrine and discipline settled in
the Church of England : and that they frequent the
Common Prayers with all religious duty and reve
rence at all times required, as well as they do sermons :
and that out of your company, you do yearly, about
Easter, as the Canons prescribe, name two church
wardens and two sidesmen, which may look to the
orders of the Church, and give an account according
to their office. And Mr. Beaumont himself is hereby
to take notice that his Majesty's express pleasure and
command to him is, that he do punctually keep and
observe all the orders of the Church of England,
as they are prescribed in the Canons, and the Rubrics
of the Liturgy. And that if any of your company
shall show themselves refractory to this Ordinance of
his Majesty, (which we hope will not be) he is to
certify the name of any such offender, and his offence
to the Lord Bishop of London for the time being,
who is to take order and give remedy accordingly.
And these letters you are to register and keep by you,
that they which come after may understand what care
his Majesty hath taken for the well ordering of your
company in Church affairs. And you are likewise to
deliver a copy of these letters to Mr. Beaumont, and
every successor of his respectively * * * *
" Tour very loving friend,
" W. CANTERBUBY." 1
] Rushworth, vol. ii. p. 250.
XII.] THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 131
Pryune could see nothing here but a desire to em
broil the English congregations, so that Koine might
profit by the confusion. Posterity has, however,
again vindicated Laud. The state of the foreign
Communions has long been such that our Church
cannot consistently with her witness to the Catholic
faith hold intercourse with them. And she has not
done so. It is a recognized principle that wherever
English are, there should be an English Clergyman
and English service ; that our people shall not have to
seek instruction at the lips of men whom the LOBD
hath not " appointed to keep knowledge," or be left
to the ministration of those who have " not been
called of GOD as was Aaron." Even in the holy city
of Puritanism itself, Geneva, there is an English
Church.
"We may refer to this head the pains Laud took to
raise the tone of Church feeling in the islands of
Jersey and Guernsey. These islands, originally part
of the Duchy of Tsormaudy, and in the diocese of
Coutance, are the only remnants of our once great
continental possessions. The spiritual superinten
dence of the inhabitants had been transferred at the
Reformation to the Bishop of Winchester, in whom it
is still vested. The islanders, probably from their
vicinity to France, very soon showed signs of their
affection for the Genevan discipline, which was, for some
reason or other, granted to them by Queen Elizabeth,
1565. They were, however, received again into com
munion with the English Church in the reign of King
James, who revived the old office of Dean, had the
Book of Common Prayer translated into French, and
procured the adoption of sundry canons of discipline,
1623.
Things were thus in tolerable training, and had
Laud been able to carry out his design of prosecuting
his archiepiscopal visitation there, much good would
have been effected. More important matters, how
ever, claimed his attention, and he was never able to
132 LIFE OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
proceed. He, nevertheless, did what he could ; and
wisely judging that the best way to disseminate
sounder Views was to provide a more learned Clergy, he
procured from the King a portion of the estate of Sir
Miles Hubbard, which in consequence of the Knight
having died intestate without heir, had lapsed to the
Crown, for the purpose of endowing fellowships in
Exeter, Jesus and Pembroke Colleges at Oxford.
But this was all he was able to effect, and the islands
have never shaken off their Puritanical tendencies.
At the same time that the council referred to him the
matter of the English congregations abroad, they asked
his opinion respecting the French and Walloon
Churches in England. And in estimating Laud's con
duct with regard to them, we must bear in mind his
zeal for the English Church, and his desire for her true
restoration, that she might serve as a light to others.
This will sufficiently account for his whole career : and
further, we must remember, that the principles of tole
ration as we understand them, were utterly unknown
at this time in England. It was a settled maxim of the
State, that the nation was to follow the faith of the
Prince. Nay, half a century later, English people so
little understood toleration, that they drove James II.
from the throne for his endeavours to bring it about.
So that we cannot condemn Laud if his conduct with
regard to these foreigners was different to the maxims
of the nineteenth century. His dislike of the foreigners
was shared by the Puritan Bishop Williams, who had
formerly dissuaded King James from allowing a num
ber of Bohemians to settle here, and Laud's argument
before the council (while he praised the piety of the
State in allowing them a shelter when persecuted)
was, that it never could be intended they were to
exist for generations. The truth is they were nurse
ries of disaffection seed plots of sedition and false
doctrine ; and it seemed inconsistent to restrain
English Puritanism and encourage the foreign. Laud
could not understand the right or reason of so doing.
XII.] FRENCH PROTESTANTS IN ENGLAND. 133
t- The religious tenets of the foreign bodies were of the
worst kind of Calvinism, their political ones were
closely allied to republicanism . Their own countries
had not been able to endure them ; the demands made
by the French Protestants on the French King, their
I claims to levy taxes and drill militia, went to consti-
I tute such an imperium in imperio as was inconsistent
with any civil government. The bad character they
brought with them clung to them in the country of
their adoption, they formed a rallying point for the
Puritans, who encouraged them with all sorts of flat
teries, by telling them the maintenance of the Gospel
depended upon them, and that they were the destined
instruments for ridding the Church of England of the
tyranny of the Bishops. Politically too they were
dangerous ; and their religious assemblies exempted
from the ecclesiastical la\v, might easily be made
y/ schools of treason. Laud himself says that he invaded
no privileges, that he only interfered with them because
they did not use their privileges and immunities with
that gratitude to his Majesty, the State, and the
^ Church of England, as they ought to have done He
said at his trial :
" 1. That their living as they did, and standing so
strictly to their own discipline, wrought upon the
party in England, which were addicted to them, and
made them more averse than otherwise they would
have been to the present government of the Church
of England.
> " 2. That by this means they lived in England, as if
they were a kind of GOD'S Israel in Egypt, to the
great dishonour of the Church of England, to which
at first they fled for shelter against persecution. And
in that time of their danger, the Church of England
was in their esteem not only a true but a glorious
Church. But by this favour,which that church received,
it grew up and encroached upon us, till it became a
Church within a Church, and a kind of State within a
NJ State. And this I ever held dangerous, how small
134 LIPE OF ABCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
beginning soever it had ; and that upon two main
reasons. The one because I find the wisdom of GOD
against it. For He says plainly to His prime people,
one law, (and especially for Divine worship), shall be
to him that is home-born, and to the stranger that
sojourns among you. (Exod. xii.) And the other, be
cause I find the wisdom of this State against it. For
this Parliament in their remonstrance, give the self-
I same reason against the Papists which must hold
' good against all sects that labour to make strong
. and enlarge themselves. The words are these: 'another
State, moulded within this State, independent in
government, contrary in interest and affection, secretly
corrupting the ignorant or negligent professors of our
religion; and closely uniting and combining them
selves against such as are sound, in this posture
waiting for an opportunity, &c.' And the words are
as true of the one faction as of the other ; and I ever
pressed the argument against both ; as I can prove by
..good witness, if need be. And I pray GOD this faction
too little feared, and too much nourished among us,
have not now found the opportunity waited for." 1
The truth was, that many of the members of these
foreign communions were borta fide the King's natural
born subjects, and toleration being as we said, a prin
ciple repudiated by all parties in those days the Pu
ritans being as much opposed to it as any they were
bound to obey the King's laws. It might reasonably
be asked, moreover, what right the foreigners had to
expect to be tolerated, when the native-born subjects
of his Majesty who adhered to the Communion of
Rome were not tolerated. And, if the foreigners re
plied they were the same religion as the King, this
retort was easy "Why did they not then conform ?
In 1634, Laud made some inquiries respecting the
French and Dutch congregations in the country, and
was met on the part of the general Consistory, by a
Declinator or claim of exemption from his jurisdiction,
1 Laud's Works, vol. iii. p. 422.
XII.] BEGULATIONS FOE FOREIGNERS. 135
by the letters patent of King Edward VI. Laud had
them now at his mercy ; for Edward's letters were
merely personal to Alasco and his friends, and when
I Queen Elizabeth restored the Augustin Church to the
Dutch, she had especially enjoined the celebration of
the English service, though she permitted the use of
a foreign language. Legal status therefore they had
none. He might have crushed them if he had pleased,
as nests of sedition and republicanism and centres
of unsound doctrine. But he did not do so. He con
tented himself with reclaiming the King's own subjects
from the erroneous and imperfect teaching of these
bodies. His injunctions were, first, that all the
natives should conform to the English Church, and
attend their parish churches. Secondly, that the
aliens should use the English Liturgy in their own
. language. They appealed to the King, and great
interest was made in their behalf, but with no better
success than to procure a modification of the second
injunction ; so that the aliens were left at liberty to
retain their own discipline. The Book of Common
Prayer was however to be translated. This first the
King strongly insisted on. Subsequently another
modification took place, none but aliens being allowed
to be ministers ; and the affair died a natural death.
Considering the principles which prevailed at that
time, and remembering Laud's great dislike of these
foreign bodies, which he never took any pains to con-
7 ceal, we must say he dealt very leniently with them,
much more so than his brother metropolitan of York,
who made them all, natives or aliens, conform. They
felt this, and returned him formal thanks for his treat -
-, ment of them, in a letter he produced on his trial.
We have more than once spoken of Laud's anxiety
to prevent the Church of England committing herself
to the recognition of the foreign reformed bodies, and
the incident we are about to relate, will serve to show
how watchful he was, what a vigilant ever-active mind
he possessed.
136 LIFE OF ABCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
All of our readers have heard of King James's
beautiful and ill-fated daughter Elizabeth, the wife
of the Elector Palatine, afterwards placed by the
Protestant party on the throne of Bohemia. The
Eoyal Princess was the political idol of the Puri
tans ; and the recovery of the Palatinate for the Elector
(coward and poltroon as he was), was the secret
of all the eagerness for war which characterized
James' and Charles' parliaments. The Palatine was
known as a staunch adherent of the Eeformed or
Calvinistic party, and had signalized his zeal by putting
down the Lutheran ministers in his dominions, a feat
which endeared him doubly to the English Puritans.
His wife, whose influence over her husband seems only
to have been exerted for ambitious purposes, embraced
the same views, and as she stood next to Charles in
the order of succession to the English throne, the
chagrin of the Puritans (which they took no pains to
conceal,) at the birth of Charles's children, may easily
be conceived. And their attachment to the Lady
Elizabeth and her offspring, seems to have taken so
very disloyal a turn towards King Charles, that he re
moved his sister's and her children's names from the
prayers for the Eoyal family. That this professed
affection for the Princess was merely assumed, as a
vent for expressing their dislike of their own Monarch,
is clear from the systematic refusal of the Parliament
to vote supplies for the war. Her husband was how
ever an ally of England, and for political reasons the
King had rendered his sister such aid as he could.
Many of her letters to Laud, who was the King's chief
political adviser, exist in the State Paper office. The
following extract places the Prelate in pleasing relief
to the ambitious woman, and shows that he did not
forget his holy calling in the excitement of politics.
" Your Majesty," he adds, " denies that you said to
my Lord Marshal that you would rather have your
son, the prince, restored by force than by treaty ; but
you grant it all one to you by what way he be restored,
XII.] THE PALATINATE MINISTERS. 137
so he be restored fully and honourably. Under favour,
good madam, not so. For it cannot be all one to
Christendom, nor to yourself, to have him restored, be
it never so honourably, by arms as by treaty. It may
be there is soldier's counsel in this, madam ; but I am
a priest, and as such, I can never think it all one to
recover by effusion of Christian blood, and without it,
provided that without blood right may be had." 1
But he did not allow political relationships to entrap
him into ill-advised concessions. In 1635, at the request
of Elizabeth, he persuaded the King to issue his letters
patent, authorizing a collection for the poor exiled
ministers gf the Palatinate. They were drawn up as
usual, and brought to Laud, who indignantly rebuked
the officer whose province it was to prepare them, for
having asserted that the reb'gion of the Palatinate and
of England was the same, and that the Communion
of Koine was an Antichristian yoke. Our readers
will remember, this latter was the doctrine of Puri
tanism, a belief of which was the distinguishing
characteristic, in their estimation, of the spiritual
mind. But Laud was unwilling that such a statement,
going beyond any thing the Church of England had
ever said, should seem to have authority given it by
the great seal ; moreover the statement concerning
agreement in doctrine with the foreigners, was not-
true. Laud would give his alms to distressed ministers
of the reformed bodies, but it was quite another thing
to acknowledge their Calvinism as sound doctrine, and
to assert that the Church of England held the same
views. Hence his anger, and the exhibition of temper
he seems to have made, when he read these obnoxious
paragraphs. He lost no time in going to the King,
and the letters patent were altered.
In a similar way his courteous treatment of the
Prince Charles Louis, Elizabeth's eldest son, who
came over to England in 1655, and paid considerable
1 German Correspondence, State Paper Office, quoted in Green's
Princesses, vol. v. p. 552.
138 LIFE OF AECHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
attention to the Archbishop, did not cause him to
overlook the interests of the Church. His diary
records :
" Nov. 30th. Saint Andrew's day, Monday ; Charles,
Prince Elector Palatine, the King's nephew, was with
me at Lambeth, and at solemn evening prayer.
" Dec. 14th, Monday ; Charles, Prince Elector, came
suddenly upon me, and dined with me at Lambeth.
" Dec. 25th, Christmas day ; Charles, Prince Elector,
received the Communion with the King at Whitehall.
He kneeled a little beside on his left hand. He sat
before the Communion upon a stool by the wall before
the traverse ; and had another stool and a cushion
before him to kneel at." 1
The Prince, by the advice of the council, published
one or two political pamphlets to justify his proceed
ings, and these were allowed to circulate. But a book
entitled a declaration " Of the faith and ceremonies of
the Palsgrave's Churches," which repeated the false
statements of the letters patent, was called in.
The third point which we said Laud proposed to
rectify, was the little regard the English ambassadors
had shown the English Church. Heylin says that up
to this time they had been careless about conformity,
but were now made to set apart a room at their
chapel, provide the proper vestments, and attend the
English service. What Laud's wishes were, we have
already seen in the instructions issued to the Chaplains
who attended Prince Charles in Spain, and we can
easily conceive his anxiety to have the Church of
England well represented in the capitals of Christen
dom. Clarendon too (while regretting it) bears his
witness to the different tone assumed towards the
foreign Protestants under the Laudian rule. 2
He says, " And that it might be sure to look like
more than what was necessary to the civil policy
of the kingdom, whereas, in all former times, the
1 Laud's Works, p. 225.
2 Laud's Works, Book vi. p. 328. (1642).
XII.] THE ENGLISH AMBASSADORS. 139
ambassadors and all foreign ministers of State, em
ployed from England into any parts where the
reformed religion was exercised, frequented their
Churches, gave all possible countenance to their pro
fession, and held correspondence with the most active
and powerful persons of that relation, and particu
larly the ambassador lieger at Paris, from the time of
the Reformation, had diligently and constantly fre
quented the Church at Charenton, and held a fair
intercourse with those of that religion throughout the
kingdom, by which they had still received advantage,
that people being industrious and active to get into
the secrets of the State, and so deriving all necessary
intelligence to those whom they desired to gratify :
the contrary whereof was now with great industry
practised, and some advertisements, if not instruc
tions, given to the ambassadors there, ' to forbear any
extraordinary commerce with that tribe.' And the
Lord Scudainore, who was the last ordinary ambassa
dor there, before the beginning of this Parliament,
whether by the inclination of his own nature, or
by advice from others, not only declined going to
Charenton, but furnished his own Chapel in his house
with such ornaments (as candles upon the commu
nion-table, and the like,) as gave great offence and
umbrage to those of the Eeformation, who had not
seen the like : besides that he was careful to publish,
upon all occasions, by himself, and those who nad the
nearest relation to him, ' that the Church of England
looked not on the Hugonots as a part of their commu
nion,' which was likewise too much and too indus
triously discoursed at home.
" They who committed the greatest errors this way,
had, no doubt, the least thoughts of making any
alterations in the Church of England, as hath been
uncharitably conceived: but (having too just cause
given them to dislike the passion and licence, that
was taken by some persons in the Reformed Churches,
under the notion of conscience and religion, to the dis-
140 LIFE OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
turbance of the peace of kingdoms,) unskilfully be
lieved, that the total declining the interest of that party,
where it exceeded the necessary bounds of reformation,
would make this Church of England looked upon with
more reverence ; and that thereby the common adver
sary, the Papist, would abate somewhat of his arro
gance and superciliousness ; and so all parties, piously
considering the charity which religion should beget,
might, if not unite, yet refrain from the bitterness and
uncharitableness of contention in matters of opinion,
severed from the practical duties of Christians and
subjects. And so, contracting their considerations in
too narrow a compass, (these men) contented them
selves with their pious intentions, without duly weigh
ing objections, or the circumstances of policy. And
they who differed with them in opinion in this point,
though they were in the right, not giving, and, it may
be, not knowing the right reasons, rather confirmed
than reformed them in their inclinations : neither of
them discerning the true and substantial grounds
of policy, upon which those conclusions had been
founded, which they were now about to change : and
so the Church of England, not giving the same coun
tenance to those of the religion in foreign parts, which
it had formerly done, no sooner was discerned to be
under a cloud at home, but those of the religion
abroad were glad of the occasion to publish their
malice against her, and to enter into the same con
spiracy against the Crown, without which they could
have done little to hurt the Church." 1
Whilst thus actively engaged in elevating the
Church over which he presided by action, he was
no less busy in procuring the defence of his proceed
ings in writing. Many were the persons he set to
work for him ; among them Heyjin^ Pocklington, and
Mede. He seems to have feltacutely the need of
some work on Episcopacy, which should handle the
matter more vigorously and boldly than had hitherto
1 Clarendon, book vi. s. 185.
XII.] APO8TOLICA.L SUCCESSION. 141
been the case. For as we said, the position hitherto
assumed was by no means satisfactory. English
writers seem always to have been afraid of offending
the foreign Protestants, and hence the various expe
dients of the plea of necessity or supernatural call,
to justify this want of the chief order of the Christian
ministry, the existence of which in all Churches, from
the days of the Apostles, is a clear fact of history.
Under Laud's patronage a bolder school had been
fostered, and our readers cannot fail to see the advan
tage in definiteness and clearness his own, as well
as the statements of Montague, possess over those of
"''their predecessors. " This 1 will say and abide by it,
that the calling of Bishops is Jure Divino, by Divine
right ; and this I will say, in direct opposition to the
Church of Rome as to Puritan humour ; and I say
further, that from the Apostles' times in all ages, in
all places, the Church of CHEIST was governed by
^Bishops." 1
Again, " There was no Church of CHBTST upon
| earth ever since the Apostles governed otherwise than
by Bishops, thus successively (after decease) ordained.
* " This course of government thus set by the Apostles
in their life time, by the special direction of the
HOLT SPIRIT, is not alterable by any human authority,
but ought to be perpetuated in the Church to the
end of the world."*
I" There is no Priesthood save in the Church ; there
is no Church without a Priesthood. By Ordination I
x understand the laying on of the hands of a Bishop.
For as to the pretence that the ordinary method is to
be retained, employed and adhered to, except in case
of necessity, it is absurd. Such a predicament never
has existed, and never can happen, unless GOD, Who
has promised that the gates of hell shall not prevail
against His Church, can deceive us." 8
1 Speech in Star Chamber, p. 347.
2 Laud, quoted by Prynne, p. 238.
1 Montague, quoted in Laud's Works, vol. iii. p. 461.
142 LIFE OF ABCIIBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
It was time indeed that the Church should take
higher ground, for the reasons which had operated in
preventing her taking a better position had ceased to
exist. There was no longer any hope that the conti
nental bodies would seek for the supply of their
deficiencies at the hands of the English Church, or
that they would accept the symbols of the faith
stamped with the authority of undivided Christendom.
They had by degrees become more and more accus
tomed to their own condition, and even claimed a super
natural call as warranting the irregularities, of which
they could not but be conscious they were guilty.
And in England the Puritans had begun loudly to
declare Episcopacy was unlawful, and to clamour for
its destruction.
Laud in this matter proceeded with singular dis
cretion and wisdom. Probably guided by recollections
of Andrewes' advice (whom he looked upon as Jus
master J"iiT "th e matter of the five Calvinistic points,
he made no attempt (although he seems at one time
to have entertained the idea of holding a Synod of the
three nations) to procure a decree from convocation on
the subject of Orders. Perhaps it would have been
difficult to have procured one entirely to his mind, and
any appearance of dissension would have marred his
plans grievously. He did not therefore force matters,
but bided his time, and prepared men's minds through
the medium of the press, trusting that when the time
had arrived for a formal expression of the Church's
mind, she would be guided to make one according to
the analogy of the faith. "With this view, in 1629, he
1 published Andrewes' Letters concerning Bishops,
"that they are jure divino." 1
Dr. Hall, the Bishop of Exeter, a man of real piety
and considerable learning, and much respected by
the Church at large, was selected by the Archbishop
as the champion of Episcopacy. Hall had been one
of Laud's early opponents, and had assailed him in a
1 Laud's Works, vol. iii. p. 199.
XII.] BISUOP HALL ON EPISCOPACY. 143
very bitter way ; but he had grown wiser as he bad
grown older, and the Archbishop was too high-minded
to bear malice. The offer was made, and after a little
proper coyness accepted. Hall in a letter dated Nov.
28th, 1639, thus apprized the Archbishop of the posi
tion he should take up :
" First, That Episcopacy is a lawful, most ancient,
holy, and diviue institution, (as it is joyned with im
parity, and superiority of jurisdiction), and therefore
where it hath through GOD'S providence obtained,
cannot by any humane power be abdicated without a
manifest violation of GOD'S ordinance. And, secondly,
That the Presbyterian government, however vindicated
under the glorious names of CHRIST'S kingdom and
ordinance, hath no true footing either in Scripture or
the practice of the Church in all ages from CHEIST'S
time till the present ; and that howsoever it may be
of use in some cities or territories, wherein Episcopal
government through iniquity of times cannot be had ;
yet to obtrude it upon a Church otherwise settled
under an acknowledged Monarchy, is utterly incon
gruous and unjustifiable." 1
Laud at once saw that this would never do. Here
was the old fault of indecision, the old fallacy of
man's supposed necessity justifying a departure from
an ordinance of CHRIST. The draft was returned
with the following remarks :
" The rest of your letter is fitter to be answered by
my own hand, and so you have it. And since you are
pleased so worthily and brother-like to acquaint me
with the whole plot of your intended work, and to
yield it up to my censure and better advice, (so you
are pleased to write), 1 do not only thank you heartily
for it, but shall in the same brotherly way, and with
equal freedom, put some few animadversions, such as
occur on the sudden, to your further consideration,
aiming at nothing but what you do, the perfection of
the work in which so much is concerned. And, first,
1 Heylin, p. 374.
144 LIFE OF ABCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
for Mr. George Graham, (whom Hall had signified to
have renounced his Episcopal function), I leave you
free to work upon his business and his ignorance as
you please, assuring myself that you will not depart
from the gravity of yourself, or the cause therein.
Next you say in the first head, that Episcopacy is an
antient, holy, and divine institution. It must needs
be antient and holy, if divine. Would it not be more
full if it went thus ? So antient that it is of Divine
Institution. Next you define Episcopacy by being
joyned with imparity and superiority of jurisdiction ;
but this seems short ; for every Archpresbyter's or
Archdeacon's place is so, yea, and so was Mr. Hender
son in his chair at Glasco ; unless you will define it
y by a distinction of order. I draw the superiority not
from the jurisdiction which is attributed to TSishops
jure positivo, in their audience of Ecclesiastical matters:
but from that which is intrinsical and original in the
.power of Excommunication. Again, you say in the
'*nrst point, That where Episcopacy hath obtained, it
cannot be abdicated without violation of GOD'S ordi
nance. This proposition I conceive is inter minus
habentes ; for never was there any Church yet where
it hath not obtained. The Christian faith was never
yet planted any where, but the very first feature of
a Church was by or with Episcopacy ; and whereso
ever now Episcopacy is not suffered to be, it is by
such an abdication, for certainly there it was a prin-
cipio. In your second head you grant that the Pres
byterian government may be of use where Episcopacy
may not be had. First I pray you, consider whether
this conversion be not needless here, and in itself of
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 CHEIST'S
kingdom and ordinance, (as yourself expresseth) and
east out Episcopacy as opposite to it, we must not use
any mincing terms, but unmask them plainly ; nor
XII.] EPISCOPACY. 145
BhalJJ[ ever give way to hamper ourselves for fear of
sneaking plain truth^ though it be against Amsterdam
^.or Treneva : and this must be sadly thought on."
. The book was published, and of course nothing but
I Popery was seen in it. The leaven worked however,
and penetrated the minds of thoughtful men. The
seed was sown, and after many storms had passed over
it, so that many said it was dead it sprung up. Hall
was ^despoiled of his goods and suffered imprisonment
foFnghteousness' sake. Laud perished on the scaffold ;
the whole Episcopal order was so far as man's power
could reach, rooted out from the land- But when
*tKe nation after years of spiritual anarchy, gladly
welcomed back the Church it had exiled, the first care
of her spiritual rulers was to strengthen her position
as regards the grace of orders. That which Laud
could not have obtained, was accomplished by one upon
whom his mantle had descended. A formal decree l
I declared the absolute necessity of Episcopal ordination
I as a qualification for ministering at the English altars.
Laud's triumph is complete. Communion with the
-^foreign Reformed has been rendered impossible.
1 The declaration in the Ordinal that no one shall be counted law.
ful Bishop, Priest, or Deacon, unless he has been ordained according
to the form of this book, or hath had formerly Episcopal conse
cration or ordination, was the production of the convocation of
1662. This is the law to the present day ; and heavy penalties
attach to any infringement of it. Some of our readers will re
member how the attempt to fraternize with the foreign pastors,
1851, on the part of a few English clergymen, was rendered
abortive by this important clause. It is the key of our position.
140 LIFE OF ABCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
CHAPTEE XIII.
A.D. 15661635.
THE ANGLO-IEISH CHTJECH LAUD AND STEAFFOED.
" They were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their deaths
they were not divided." 2 Sam. i. 23.
WE have endeavoured to give our readers some idea
of the method Laud adopted to restore to. the Church
of England soundness of doctrine and the beauty of a
well-ordered ritual. In carrying out this work he
scrupled not to exercise his metropolitan powers beyond
their assigned limits, and to astonish his suffragans by
a display of vigour they little thought of. The times
were such as baffled ordinary machinery of Church
government, and emergencies had arisen which called
loudly for the interposition of the central authority.
Hence the prerogatives of the metropolitan throne of
Canterbury were of necessity developed into some
thing approaching those of a patriarchate and not
merely the suffragans proper of the see, nor the English
Bishops of the sister province, but the Prelates of
Scotland and metropolitans of Ireland were forced to
bow before them. Laud's was a centralizing mind.
He saw the need of a point of attraction, and he did
what he could to supply the want of a spiritual head
which the Reformation had created, but hitherto had
been unable to supply.
Our readers have some idea of the confusion which
Puritanism had caused in England : in Scotland things
were worse. Violent as many of the English Eeformers
had been, they were meek and gentle compared with
John Knox and his adherents. Sound doctrine was
there unknown. The Episcopate restored by King
James, had never won the people's affections, and was
paralyzed in all its efforts for the restoration of a better
XIII.] THE CHURCH IN IRELAND. 147
state of things. In Ireland the Anglo-Irish Church
differed from both her English and Scotch sisters. She
had formerly lapsed into neresy, and by a synodical
act of 1615 T had established Calvinism as her creed.
It is clear what a wide scope there was here for the
enemy three countries three religions. In England
a Catholic Liturgy, in Scotland, no Liturgy at all,
in Ireland the Lambeth articles. It was enough to
make an irreligious man smile, a religious one sad.
Laud did what he could to remedy it, and out of the
unpromising materials he formed one Church. We
will endeavour in this and the following chapter, to
give some idea of his influence upon the Scotch arid
Irish churches. And first of Ireland.
There is no need to pursue the details of the Irish
Reformation ; suffice it that Ireland was regarded as
a conquered kingdom, and treated accordingly, re
ceiving its orders from the English government, which
were obeyed by Prelates aud Parliaments of the con
quering race so that there were soon formed two
Communions in Ireland, the one adhering to the
creeds of the undivided Church, and retaining the
succession of S. Patrick though separated from Home,
composed of the English and English party, and which
which we may call the Anglo-Irish Church, the
other made up of the native Celtic population, which
continued in the Roman obedience, and received a new
line of Bishops from the Pope,in the person of Richard
Creagh. The records of the times are but scanty, but
there is sufficient evidence that the troubles which
attended the Reformation in England, were not wanting
in Ireland. Plunder, profaneness, and rapacity, soon
rose into the ascendant, and the Church's heritage
became the prey of penniless adventurers and flattering
courtiers. The Crown, too, contented with having
gained the acknowledgment of its supremacy from the
representatives of the Irish Church and nation, troubled
itself very little about the spiritual welfare of the
native Celtic population. No pains were taken to
148 LIFE OF ABCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
translate the Holy Scriptures into the vernacular, or
provide them (notwithstanding the outcry raised
against the Latin Service), with a form of prayer
" understanded of the people." Indeed, Queen Eliza
beth's Act of Uniformity enjoined the celebration of
Divine offices in Latin, in all such places where the
minister had not use or knowledge of the English
tongue. The turbulent spirit too of the native Princes
kept the country in a constant state of agitation, so
that there was little hope of religious progress. The
report of the privy council to the Lord Deputy Sydney,
1565, which we quote, discloses a state of things bor
dering upon anarchy. The Church suffered as a
matter of course, and though in 1566, certain articles
were agreed upon (corresponding to our own XXXIX),
and promulgated by the Archbishops, Bishops, and
Lord Deputy, little good resulted,
v " The pale was overrun with thieves and robbers.
.... The soldiers so beggarly that they could not
live without oppressing the subject. Leinster was ha
rassed by the Tooles, Birns, &c But especially
the county of Kilkenny was almost desolate. Munster
by the dissensions between the Earls of Desmond and
Ormond was almost ruined, &c. Conuaught was
almost wasted by the feuds between the Earl of Clan-
ricarde and Me William Ouchter, &c And
Ulster .... was in open rebellion under Shane
O'Neal. As for religion, there was but small appear
ance of it : the churches uncovered, and the clergy
scattered, and scarce the being of a GOB known to
those ignoraut and barbarous people." 1
A few other attempts were made in Elizabeth's
reign to spread the religion of the conquerors. A free
school under an English master, was established in
every diocese of Ireland, 1570, but a bill to repair the
parish churches was not passed into a law. In 1571,
N. "Walsh, the Chancellor, and J. Kearney, the Trea
surer of S. Patrick's, Dublin, were successful in pro-
1 King's Primer of Irish Church History, vol. ii. p. 768.
xiii.] TIIE ciiUBcn nr IEELAND. 149
curing an order from the government that the Book
of Common Prayer should be printed in Irish, and
Service performed in the vernacular in one church of
the county -towns. The Queen entered heartily into
the design, and furnished the types at her own cost.
The New Testament commenced by these, assisted by
Donellan Archbishop of Tuam, was not finished till
1603, and the Book of Common Prayer was delayed
till 1608, while the Old Testament 'Scriptures were
not in the hands of the people till 1685, though Bishop
Bedell (a Prelate in Laud's confidence) had finished
them in 1641. In 1592^ Trinity College, Dublin, was
founded by the Queen. It so happens that there have
been preserved two cotemporary accounts of the
Anglo-Irish Church in this reign, from which we shall
make a few extracts, that our readers may see what a
chaotic mass it fell to Laud's lot to reduce to order.
The first is a letter of the Lord Deputy Sir Henry
Sidney, to the Queen, dated autumn of 1575, and is
the production of one who did not trust for informa
tion to others, but had spent six months examining in
person into the state of the country.
" In his letter, by way of example, he describes par
ticularly the circumstances of the diocese of Meath ;
having received an account of the state of each church
in that Bishopric, ' the best inhabited county of all
this realm,' from ' the honest, zealous, and learned
Bishop of the same, Mr. Hugh Brady, a goodly min
ister of the Gospel, and a good servant of the Queen's
highness, who went from church to church himself to
examine the condition of his charge. He found that
there were in his diocese 224 parish churches, 105
of which were impropriate, and their possessions
leased out to farmers ; ' no parson or vicar resident
upon any of them, and a very simple or sorry curate
for the most part appointed to serve them ; among
which number of curates only eighteen were found able
to speak English; the rest, Irish Priests, or rather
Irish rogues, having very little Latin, less learning or
150 LIFE OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. [dlAP.
civility,' and having nothing to live upon but the
' bare altarages,' i. e., emoluments connected with the
services of the altar, &c., and ' no one house standing for
any of them to dwell in ; in many places the very walls
of the churches down ; very few chancels covered,
windows and doors ruined or spoiled.' >:
Sir Henry then adds, that there were fifty-two other
parish churches in the same diocese, having vicars
endowed upon them, and better served and maintained
than the former, though still but badly; and fifty-two
others again (belonging to various particular Lords)
whose circumstances were better than those of the rest,
but yet far from satisfactory. Such being the state of
things in the most flourishing part of the country, some
conjecture may be formed as to what must have been
the case elsewhere. In fact, adds this writer, ' your
Majesty may believe it, that upon the face of the
earth, where CHRIST is professed, there is not a Church
in so miserable a case ; the misery of which consisteth
in these three particulars : the ruin of the very temples
themselves, the want of good ministers to serve in
them when they shall be re-edified, competent living
for the ministers being well chosen." l
Things were not much better in 1593, when we have
an account of the state of Ireland, furnished us by
the poet Spenser. Speaking of the clergy, he says :
" Whatever disorders you see in the Church of
England, ye may find these, and many more : namely,
gross simony, greedy covetousness, fleshly incontinency,
careless sloth, and generally all disordered life in the
common clergymen. And besides all these, they have
their particular enormities; for all Irish Priests
which now enjoy the church livings, they are in a
manner mere laymen, saving that they have taken holy
orders ; but otherwise they do go, and live like laymen ;
follow all kinds of husbandry and other worldly affairs,
as other Irishmen do. They neither read the Scrip
tures, nor preach to the people, nor administer the
1 Mant's Irish Church, vol. ii. p. 783.
XIII.] THE IBISH BISHOPS. 151
communion ; but baptism they do, for they christen
yet after the Popish fashion, only they take the tithes
and offerings, and gather what fruit else they may, of
their livings, the which they convert as badly ; and
some of them (they say) pay as due tributes and shares
of their livings to their Bishops (I speak of those that
are Irish) as they receive them duly."
Nor were the Bishops any better ; for when
Eudoxus asks " But is that suffered amongst them ?
It is wonder but that the governors do redress such
shameful abuses ;" I renieus replies " How can they,
since they know them not ? for the Irish Bishops have
their clergy in such awe and subjection under them,
that they dare not complaiu of them ; so as they may
do to them what they please ; for they knowing their
own uuworthiness and incapacity, and that they are
therefore still removable at their Bishop's will, yield
what pleaseth him, and he taketh what he listeth : yea
and some of them whose dioceses are in remote parts,
somewhat out of the world's eye, do not at all bestow
the benefices which are in their own donation upon
any, but keep them in their own hands, and set their
own servants and horseboys to take up the tithes and
fruits of them, with the which some of them purchase
great lands and build fair castles upon the same. Of
which abuse, if any question be moved, they have a
very seemly colour and excuse, that they have no
worthy minister to bestow them upon, but keep them
so bestowed for any such sufficient person as any shall
bring unto them." l
Things were not much better in King James's time.
In the year 1607, the then Lord Deputy Sir Arthur
Chichester, made a visitatorial tour of Ulster. His
report runs in the same strain of churches in ruins,
clergy in rags, vicarages plundered of everything. In
the same year the formidable conspiracy of the Earls
of Tyrone and Tyrconnell having been crushed, and
the property of the chief rebels confiscated, King
1 Spenser's View of the state of Ireland.
152 LIFE OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
James gave it to different settlers, and among others
he presented great tracts of land to the city of London,
while he did not forget the interests of religion and the
Church. He found that the greedy rapacity of the nobles
had not spared even the sites of cathedrals or residences
of Bishops, under colour of the patents of the forfeited
monastic lands. This he strove to rectify, ordering
restitution, and also set apart glebes in each parish for
the parochial clergy and increased the endowment of
Trinity College, Dublin.
He was not however fortunate in his colonists. They
were for the most part Scots, filled with rabid hostility
to Catholic truth, and deeply enamoured of Calvinistic
teaching, bold, headstrong, irreverent and restless.
These men very soon made known their inveterate dis
like of the English rites, and speedily formed congre
gations of their own under the direction of their
ministers, and the patronage of the Lord Deputy,
himself a pupil of Cartwright, the noted Puritan and
opponent of Hooker. In 1615, the harvest of the
seed thus sown was reaped. Parliament met, and with
it a Convocation. Ever since 1562 the Irish Clergy
had signed the English articles, but now either weary
ing of this badge of subjection, and desirous of main
taining an independent action, or probably from a
consciousness that the articles of the Church of
England did not represent the real opinion of the
Irish clergy as being a restraint upon the Calvinistic
views which were prevalent, it was resolved to frame
new ones. The task was committed to Usher, the
most learned man among them, and thoroughTyTmbued
with the popular prejudices in favour of Geneva.
The opportunity of committing a national Church
to the peculiar tenets of Calvin, was too good to be
lost. The attempt had been made in England and
failed. The English Church had coquetted with Cal
vinism, but had finally rejected it. But now, if the
Anglo-Irish Church boldly enunciated these views,
who could tell whether there might not be sufficient
XTII.] THE IRISH ARTICLES USHER. 153
pressure brought to bear upon the ecclesiastical authori
ties iu England to compel them to accept, for the sake
of uniformity, the same opinions. Accordingly, Con
vocation nothing loath, embodied in its formularies
the worst points of Calvinism, as stated in the Lambeth
articles. The articles as agreed to were confirmed by
the Lord Deputy Chichester on behalf of the King,
and were thus fully established. And so it came to
pass that a whole Church through its neglect of an
tiquity and perverse following of human traditions,
was committed to statements which were in direct
opposition to the Word of GOD, and declared its belief
in such unscriptural dogmas as the eternal reprobation
by Almighty GOD of many of His creatures to eternal
death, and the limitation of the effects of CHRIST'S
death to a select few. And when the author of all
*this mischief, James Usher, was promoted by King
James a few days before his death, to the Primacy of
Ireland, the restoration of the Anglo-Irish Church to
sound doctrine, seemed hopeless. However, when the
night is darkest day is nearest. The liberator was
-,,at hand.
He appeared in the person of one who in degenerate
times seemed an embodiment of the ancient chivalry,
so brave, so noble, so true-hearted, so sensitively alive
to the call of honour, so intolerant of oppression and
of wrong, and withal so dutifully loyal to his Sovereign,
was Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Strafford, GOD'S
I chosen instrument for bringing the Anglo-Irish com-
1 inunion to a better mind. Of ancient family (for the
Wentworths dated from the Conquest) and bearing on
his escutcheon the royal lions by virtue of his descent
from Margaret, grandmother of Henry VII. ; his
natural abilities strengthened by a studious career at
Cambridge, his mind enlarged by foreign travel, of
noble mien and dignified features, with a large revenue
and unencumbered estates, he seemed born to command.
It was long however before he took his position, but
w hen he did it was heart and soul to throw himself on
154 LIFE OF ABCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
the King's side, and to do battle to the death for his
rights. He had been some time acquainted with
Laud, and they seem to have understood each other
from the first. Their intimacy ripened into friendship,
and the Statesman and Prelate entered into a firm
alliance. Their career was short but brilliant, and
their end glorious. " They were lovely and pleasant in
their lives, aud in their death they were not divided."
Laud had for some time meditated the restor
ation of the Anglo-Irish Church. The remonstrances
of the Commons respecting the vigour displayed by
the Eoman Communion in that country, 1628, pressed
the matter more closely upon his mind. He lacked
however instruments for his purposes. Abbott of
course was secretly delighted at the testimony thus
born to Calvinism by the Irish branch of the Anglican
communion. Usher was committed to the same side.
Laud wanted some one whom he could trust, to let
him know exactly how things were going on, the real
conditions of the clergy and the people, that he
might ascertain the best point for commencing his
meditated assault. He first procured the appointment
of Bishop Bedell to the see ofKilmore and Ardagh,
and gave him instructions to report to him the state
of the Church. Our readers will not be surprised to
hear that the see had been most scandalously stripped
by Bedell's predecessors of all that was valuable. We
subjoin an extract from Bedell's letter :
" Right Reverend Father, my honourable good Lord,
" .... I have not been unmindful of your Lord
ship's commands, to advertise you of the state of the
Church, which I shall now do better because I have
been about my dioceses, and can set down out of my
own knowledge and view, what I shall relate : and
shortly to speak much ill matter in a few words, it is
miserable. The cathedral' church of Ardagh, one of
the most ancient in Ireland, and said to be built by S.
Patrick together with the Bishop's house there, down
to the ground. The church here, built, but without
XIII.] LOED DEPUTY STEAFFOED. 155
bell or steeple, font or chalice. The parish churches
all in a manner ruined, and unroofed, and unrepaired."
Then he proceeds to contrast the number ot Roman
Catholic churches, Priests, &c., and their activity. 1
But in 1633 the time was come for bolder measures.
Laud was Archbishop of Canterbury, and his friend
Wentworth Lord Deputy. He arrived in Ireland in
July in that year, attended by Bramhall as his Chap
lain; to whose learning, judgment, and discretion
Ee was much indebted for the success which at
tended his measures. The election of Laud to the
Chancellorship of the University of Dublin also gave
him a position of advantage, and furnished him with a
reason for visiting Ireland, had he so wished.
He did not do so ; but, satisfied of Wentworth's
good faith and Bramhall' s prudence, left the matter
in their hands. He forwarded, however, a letter to
the Lord Deputy, containing instructions for his con
duct, and stating the King's willingness to restore the
impropriations which were in the gift of the crown.
Strafford (for we will call him by the name by which
he is best known, though it is rather anticipating)
needed no urging. His great soul was moved within
him when he saw the profaneness and irreverence of
the people, the rapacity and greediness of the nobles and
dignified clergy. Bramhall's letter to Laud (August,
1633) will give some idea of the state of things :
" Right Reverend Father,
"My most honoured lord: presuming partly
upon your licence, but especially directed by my Lord
Deputy's commands, I am to give your fatherhood a
brief account of the present state of the poor Church
of Ireland, such as our short intelligence here, and
your lordship's weightier employments there, will
permit.
" First, for the fabrics : it is hard to say, whether
the churches be more ruinous and sordid, or the
1 Mant's Irish Church, vol. i. p. 435.
156 LIFE OF AECHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
people irreverent, even in Dublin, the metropolis of
this kingdom, and seat of justice. To begin the in
quisition where the reformation will begin, we find
one parochial church converted to the Lord Deputy's
i stable, a second to a nobleman's dwelling-house, the
choir of a third to a tennis-court, and the vicar acts
the keeper.
v " For Christ's Church, the principal church in Ire
land, whither the Lord Deputy and council repair
every Sunday, the vaults from one end of the minster
to the other are made into tippliug-rooms, for beer,
wine, and tobacco, demised all to Popish recusants,
and by them and others so much frequented in
time of Divine Service, that though there is no
danger of blowing up the assembly above their heads,
yet there is of poisoning them with the fumes. The
table, used for the administration of the blessed Sa
crament in the midst of the choir, made an ordinary
v seat for maids and apprentices.
1" I cannot omit the glorious tomb in the other ca
thedral church of S. Patrick, in the proper place of
the altar, just opposite to his Majesty's seat, having
his father's [Lord Cork] name superscribed upon it, as
if it were on purpose to gain the worship and reverence
which the chapter and the whole Church are bound
by special statute to give towards the east. And
either the soil itself, or a licence to build and bury,
and make a vault in the place of the altar, under seal,
which is a tantamount passed to the earl and his heirs.
Credimus esse Deos ? This being the case in Dublin,
your lordship will judge what we may expect in the
country." 1
And if further evidence were wanting of the appa
rently hopeless condition of this Church, it may be
found in the history of two ministers named Blair and
Livingston, to gratify whose scruples respecting epis
copacy, Bishops Echlin of Down, and Knox of Eaphoe,
1 Mant's Irish Church, vol. i. p. 448.
xin.] STHAIFOBD'S RETOBMATIOBS. 157
hesitated not to divest themselves as far as they could
of their sacred character, and avowedly act as mere
presbyters in conveying ordination. It was clear the
time had come for the strong hand, if better things
uvre ever to be expectt-il.
Strafford lost no time. Down came the Deputy's
I pew in the vice-regal chapel; down came my Lord
Cork's tomb, which occupied the place of the altar,
not without sundry remonstrances from the great
man, backed by Usher, who, thorough Puritan as he
was, (his own chapel at Drogheda had no altar,) con
sidered it rather an ornament than otherwise. Altars
* were restored, vestments enforced, conformity en
joined, commissions issued for rebuilding the parish
churches, pluralities restrained, and a sounder school
> of theology fostered.
. But there was more work to be done. The extreme
I poverty of the Church was the great hindrance to its
efficiency. " Poor churches made ignorant priests."
At Laud's suggestion, the King was graciously pleased
to restore all the crown impropriations. The Lord
Deputy followed the royal example, with several of
the nobility ; and Laud advanced 40,000, for the
purpose of buying up the alienated tithes. Strafford,
too, received orders to proceed vigorously against all
spoilers of Church land. It was just the work that
^ suited him, though he says, "I foresee this is so uni
versal a disease, that I shall incur a number of men's
displeasure, of the best rank among them. But were
I not better lose them for GOD ALMIGHTY'S sake, than
lose Him for their's ? So, you see, I shall quickly
^bave as few friends as may be."
We have seen that Laud (thoughtful and consi
derate for the poorer Clergy) had no mercy upon the
greed of his own order. The same spirit is visible in
his correspondence with Strafford. He gives him
I especial injunctions to keep the " Bishops from their
sacred alienations," " to turn the chief offenders out of
their bishoprics;" and throws no obstacle in the way
158 LIFE OF AECHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
of his friend " trouncing a Bishop or two in the council-
chamber, ""warming the Bishop of Killaloe's old sides,"
or compelling his grace of Cashel, their lordships of
Down, Cork, "Waterford, to " disgorge their ill-gotten
pelf." There was no respect of persons ; and the
Church dignitaries, who were equally guilty with the
lay lords, had the same measure of punishment meted
out to them as my Lord Cork, my Lord Clanricarde,
Sir D. O'Brien, and Sir Henry Lynch. 1
But all this was but preparatory to the master
stroke of these great minds. The fans et origo mali
was still existing ; the Lambeth Articles were the
faith of the Anglo-Irish Communion. No half mea
sures would do here. Laud and Strafford had both
made up their minds that the Articles of 1615 must
be repealed, and those of England accepted : it was a
bold game, but it was one of life or death.
There were many difficulties in the way ; not least
the primate Usher. Laud had never trusted him, and
had previously sent Bedell instructions to watch well
the books he licensed. But Usher was Primate, and
the project could not be kept from him. There were
some Bishops in the Upper House who could be de
pended on, as Bramhall now promoted to Derry, and
Bedell of Kilmore, but the majority were Calvinists,
and very sore at the late trouncings they had received.
Strafford had promoted several Orthodox men in Ire
land, whom government influence would probably
return to the Lower House ; among them one Croxton,
who did good service in the debate. But in the
Lower House too, Puritanism was very strong.
The plan of action had been decided on in the last
year, for we find Laud, in a letter to Strafford, Octo
ber 20th, 1634, thus speaking :
" I knew how you would find my Lord Primate
affected to the Articles of Ireland ; but I am glad the
trouble that hath been in it will end there, without
advertising of it over to us. And whereas you propose
1 Vide the Strafford Letters.
XIII.] PRIMATE USHER. 159
to have the Articles of England received in ipsissimis
verbis, and leave the other as no way concerned, neither
affirmed nor denied, you are certainly in the right ;
and so says the King, to whom I imparted it, as well as I.
Go, hold close, and you will do a great service in it." l
There was not however so much difficulty with Usher
as was supposed. He professed conviction as to the
desirableness of undoing his own work, and engaged to
follow the bidding of the see of Canterbury. Convo
cation accordingly met in conjunction with the Par
liament, July 14th, 1635 ; and while Strafford was
confronting the first assembly and carrying all before
him, Usher brought forward the proposition for union
with England in the Convocations. He did not how
ever carry all before him. The Irish spirit was up.
The Articles of 1615 they would have ; and the resto
ration of the Anglo-Irish Church seemed further
removed than ever. Straftbrd had trusted too much
to Usher, whose heart was evidently not in the matter,
and the whole plan was nearly shipwrecked. Strafford
, shall tell his own tale :
" In a former letter of mine," he says, " I mentioned
a way propounded by my Lord Primate how to bring
upon this clergy the Articles of England, and silence
those of Ireland without noise, as it were aliud agens,
whicfi he knew would pass among them.
" In my last I related to you how his Grace grew
fearful he should not be able to effect it ; which
awakened me, that had rested hitherto secure upon
that judgment of his, and had indeed leaned upon that
belief so long as, had I not bestirred myself, though I
say it like a man, I had been fatally surprised, to my
extreme grief, for as many days as I have to live.
" The Popish party growing extreme perverse in the
Commons House, and the Parliament thereby in great
danger to have been lost in a storm, had so taken up
all my thoughts and endeavours, that, for five or six
days, it was not almost possible for me to take an ac-
1 Mant's Irish Church, vol. i. p. 485.
160 LIFE OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
compt how business Went among them of the clergy.
Besides I reposed secure upon the Primate, who all
this while said not a word to me of the matter. At
length I got a little time, and that most happily
too ; informing myself of the state of those affairs,
and found that the lower house of Convocation had
appointed a select committee to consider the Canons
of the Church of England ; that they did proceed in
the examination without conferring at all with their
Bishops : that they had gone through the Book of
Canons, and noted in the margin such as they allowed
with an A ; and on others they had entered a D, which
stood for deliberandum ; that into the fifth article they
had brought the Articles of Ireland, to be allowed
and received under the pain of excommunication ; and
that they had drawn up their Canons into a body, and
were ready that afternoon to make report in the Con
vocation." *
A less bold man than Strafford would have quailed,
or at best temporized, the Lord Deputy, however,
was determined. He had made up his mind to save
the Anglo-Irish Church in spite of herself; and he
would not allow even her Convocation to stand in his
way. Accordingly the Primate and some Bishops,
together with the Prolocutor and several members of
the Committee of the Lower House were summoned
to the castle, and enjoined on their allegiance to pro
pose nothing to Convocation save simply aye or no, to
the propositions for receiving the English Articles.
The Primate was further instructed to draw up a
Canon for that purpose. He did so, but it was not
satisfactory ; Strafford indited one himself. Usher
was alarmed. He said it could never pass. Strafford
replied it should. And so it did. Strafford shall again
relate in his own words the issue. "We subjoin a copy
of the Canon :
" Without any delay then, I writ a letter to Dean
Leisley, (the Prolocutor,) with the Canon enclosed,
1 Mant's Irish Church, vol. i. p. 486.
XIII.] ENGLISH ABTICLES AND CANONS. 161
which accordingly was that afternoon unanimously
voted ; first with the Bishops, and then with the
Clergy, excepting one man, you shall find his name
amongst the committees, who singly did deliberate
upon the receiving the Articles of England." l
The Canon runs as follows :
" For the manifestation of our agreement with the
Church of England in the confession of the same
Christian faith, and the doctrine of the Sacraments,
we do receive and approve the Book of Articles
of Religion, agreed upon by the Archbishops and
Bishops, and the whole Clergy, in the Convocation
holden at London in the year of our LORD 1562, foi
the avoiding of diversities of opinions, and for th<
establishing of consent touching true religion. And
therefore if any hereafter shall affirm that any ot
those Articles are in any part superstitious or errone
ous, or such as he may not with a good conscience
subscribe unto, let him be excommunicated, and not
absolved before he make a public recantation of his
f error." 8
The victory thus gained, it only remained to follow
up the success. Bramhall accordingly moved that as
they had received' the English Articles, they should
also receive the English Canons. Usher, however,
. strongly deprecated it, talking of the independence ol
1 national Churches in matters of discipline, and the
feeling of Convocation ran with him, for reasons which
it is easy to see. The reception of Canons was a more
practical thing than the acknowledgment of Articles
of Religion. The one was connected with opinion,
the other with daily practice. And it was not to
be expected that an Anglo-Irish Convocation, which
which had so reluctantly parted with the Lambeth
Articles, would willingly receive the injunctions to the
observance of a decent ritual with which the English
Canons abounded. These considerations seem to have
1 Stratford Letters.
1 Mant's Irish Church History, vol. i. p. 491.
M
162 LIFE OF AECHBISHOP LATTD. [CHAP.
had their weight with Bramhall and Strafford, who
content with the victory which they had gained, pru
dently refrained from driving the Puritanical assembly
to extremities, particularly as the task of drawing
up the new Canons for the guidance of the Anglo-
Irish Church was entrusted to Bramhall. The result
was the production of one hundred Canons, in which
most of the English were incorporated, in some re
spects falling short of, in others speaking more dis
tinctly than those of England. Thus no special
postures are prescribed at prayers as in our XVIII.,
while the Irish XIX. and XLIII. and XLIX. might
with advantage be transferred to the English Code ;
the first enjoining the Minister the afternoon before
the administration of the Holy Communion to give
warning by the tolling of a bell, or otherwise, to the
intent, that if any have scruple of conscience, or desire
the special ministry of reconciliation, he may aiford it
to those who need it. And the people are exhorted
that " when they find themselves on examination either
extremely dull or much troubled in mind, they resort
unto GOD'S Ministers as well for advice and counsel,
as for the quieting of their consciences by the power
of the keys, which CHEIST hath committed to His
Ministers for that purpose :" XLIII. directs that
as often as Churches are newly built where for
merly they were not, or churchyards appointed for
burial, they shall be dedicated and consecrated, pro
vided that the ancient Churches and churchyards shall
not be put to any base and unworthy use ; whilst
XLIX. forbids marriage at Lent, or during any pub
lic fast, or the feasts of the Nativity, Eesurrection,
Ascension of our LOKD, or the Descension of the
HOLT GHOST.
The Canons thus passed by Convocation received the
King's assent and became law. The Articles of 1615
died a natural death. Attempts were made for a short
time to bolster them up by requiring double sub
scription i.e., to them as well as the XXXIX. The
Mil." DISUSE OF IRISH AKTICLES. 163
subterfuge, however, did not long satisfy their friends,
and one last effort was made to intercede with Straf-
ford, to procure for them the authority of an Act of
Parliament. Strafford's reply was, that unless they
minded what they were about, he would have the
Articles of 1615 burnt by the hands of the common
hangman. After this we hear nothing of them. Of
course in the troubles all subscription was at an end ;
but when the Church was restored in 16J62. the wis
dom of Laud and Strafford's conduct was publicly
recognized. Bramhall was promoted to the Primacy,
and no attempt has ever been made since to enforce
subscription to the Lambeth Articles. And though
the Anglo-Irish Communion has never been able en
tirely to surmount the difficulties of her position, and
to this day bears but a faint witness to Catholic truth
and Apostolic order, she is, nevertheless, indebted to
the great Primate for all that is sound and good
within her. Had he left her to herself, she would
have drifted hopelessly away. As it is Laud and
Strafford, at any rate, saved her from utter de
struction.
We shall meet the noble-hearted pair again, but
under different circumstances, prisoners, expecting
death, with mobs howling for their blood. Sad end
to all the glowing hopes that appear in their cor
respondence. Still they had laid their foundations
deep, and cemented by their blood the superstructure
they reared has lasted to this day.
We will conclude this chapter with Laud's letter
to Strafford, congratulating him on his good work of
reformation.
"SALUTKM IN CHBISTO.
" My very good Lord,
" I thank you heartily for your letters, and am
as heartily glad that your Parliament and Convocation
are so happily ended, especially for the Church ; and
that, both for the particular of your letting leases,
164 LIFE OF AKCHBISHOP LAUD.
which is for maintenance, and for the quiet, and well
ordering, and ending of your book of canons. I hope
now the Church of Ireland will begin to flourish
again, and that both with inward sufficiency and out
ward means to support it.
" And for your Canons, to speak truth, and with
wonted liberty and prudence, though I cannot but
think the English Canons, especially with some few
amendments, would have done better ; yet since you,
and that Church have thought otherwise, I do very
easily submit to it, and you shall have prayers that
GOD would bless it. As for the particular about sub
scription, I think you have couched that well, since, as
it seems, there was some necessity to carry that Article
closely. And GOD forbid you should, upon any occa
sion, have rolled back upon your former controversy
about the Articles. For, if you should have risen
from this Convention in heat, GOD knows when or
how that Church would have cooled again, had the
cause of difference been never so slight. By which
means the Eomanist, which is too strong a party
already, would both have strengthened, and made
a scorn of you. And therefore ye are much bound to
GOD that, in this nice and picked age, you have ended
all things canonically, and yet in peace. And I hope
you will be all careful to continue and maintain that
which GOD hath thus mercifully bestowed upon you.
" Tour Grace's very loving friend and brother,
" W. CANT.
" Lambeth, May I0th, 1635."
165
CHAPTEE XIV.
A.D. 15601637.
THE SCOTCH CHUBCH.
" A self-formed priesthood and the Church cast forth
To the chill mountain air."
Lyra Apottolica.
MOST of our readers are acquainted with the un
happy troubles which attended the Reformation in
Scotland. The name of John Knox has passed into a
proverb, as synonymous with irreverence and pro
fanity. If we could put aside from our remembrance
the confusion his teaching has wrought in the Church
by the introduction of " another Gospel which is not
a Gospel," his conduct to the unhappy Mary, who
with all her faults and sins was his lawful sovereign,
must ever convict him in the minds of all right-think
ing persons, as one who, with all his pretensions to
holiness, was nevertheless a stranger to that SPIRIT
of GOD, Whose works are gentleness, meekness and
charity. He stands out among the actors in the great
religious drama of the sixteenth century, emphatically
" a profane person." It was therefore quite in ac
cordance with the headstrong proceedings of this tur
bulent man, violently to substitute a discipline of his
own for that which for 1500 years had prevailed in
the whole Catholic Church. It was known by the
name of the Superintendent System. The General
Assembly, in the year l-">r>u. cstablislied in place of
the Apostolic bishops, priests, and deacons, the novel
orders of superintendents, preachers, and readers.
The former were mere presbyters, invested with the
oversight of a certain portion of the country, so that
there was no power to transmit the succession, and
even had there been, the abolition by the book of
166 LIFE OF ABCHBISHOP LATTD. [CHAP.
discipline of the imposition of hands, would have
rendered their attempt at ordination invalid.
This miserable sham lasted till 1572, when it was
succeeded by something even worse. The Convention
met at Leith, on January 12 of that year, and agreed
to the following resolutions :
" It is thought good in consideration of the present
state,
" I. That the names and titles of the Archbishops
and Bishops be not altered, nor the bounds of the
dioceses confounded, but that they continue in time
coming as they did before the Reformation of religion,
at least till the King's Majesty's majority, or consent
of Parliament.
" II. The Archbishoprics and Bishoprics vacant,
shall be conferred on the men endowed, so far as may
be, with the quality specified in the example of Paul
to Timothy and Titus.
" IV. That the spiritual jurisdiction should be ex
ercised by the Bishops in their dioceses.
"VIII. That Ministers should receive Ordination
from the Bishop of the diocese, and where no Bishop
was as yet placed, from the Superintendent of the
bounds," Ac. 1
The result of this was, that the sees were again
filled with men bearing the title of Bishops, without
any rightful claim to it. Douglas, who was chosen
to the see of S. Andrew, was consecrated by a lay
man and two presbyters. The rest of the Episcopate
received its so-called mission in the same ridiculous
way. This wa& the era of what is called the Tulchan
Bishops, a phrase which owes its origin to the Scotch
custom of stuffing a calf 's-skin with straw and placing
it before the mother to induce her to give milk, the
word really meaning a model or close resemblance.
The Scotch were too sharp-witted to be taken in by
such an imposture. The "Tulchans" met with uni
versal contempt, were treated with the greatest con-
1 Alexander, Hist. Ch. in Scotland, p. 10.
I1T.] SCOTCH PBESBTTBEIANI8M. 167
tumely by ministers and laity, and brow-beaten by
tbe General Assembly. It needed only a bold stroke
from a bold man to shake the whole superstructure to
the ground.
Such a man was Ajndrew Melville^ who made his
appearance in Scotland in 1574 r fresh from Geneva
and breathing Calvinism. There was a rough honesty
about him which made him especially disgusted
with this wretched so-called Episcopate, possessing
no claim whatever to ecclesiastical jurisdiction or
authority. Hence his settled determination to uproot
it and introduce an entire conformity to Geneva.
"f In 1575 Melville and his friends were strong enough
to procure from the General Assembly a declaration
that the name of Bishop was an injury " to all them
who had the charge of a particular flock : and that by
the Word of GOD his chief function consisted in the
preaching of the Word, the ministration of the Sa
craments, and the execution of ecclesiastical disci-
is pline with consent of the elders.
" That from among the ministers some might be
chosen to oversee and visit such reasonable bounds
besides their own flock, as the Kirk might appoint.
" That the ministers so selected might on these
bounds appoint preachers, with the consent of the
ministers of that province and consent of the flock to
which they were to be admitted.
" That they might suspend ministers from the ex
ercise of their office upon reasonable causes, with the
consent of the ministers of the bounds." 1
Once set in motion, the tide of popular opinion
ran violently against the " Tulchans." In 1581, a
proposition for dividing Scotland into Presbyteries waa
successfully propounded to the General Assembly,
and partially carried out, as a corollary from their
declaration of the previous year, when it was ruled
that the office of a Bishop, as then used within the
realm, was " unlawful in itself, as having neither foiin-
1 Alexander, Hist. Ch. in Scotland, p. 10.
68 LIFE OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
dation, ground, nor warrant within the Word of
GOD;" and it was ordained, "that all such persons
as hold, or shall hold hereafter the said office, shall be
charged simpliciter to demit, quit, and leave the same,
as an office whereunto they are not called by GOD,
and to desist and cease from all preaching, ministra
tion of the Sacraments, or using any way the office of
pastors, until they receive de novo admission from the
General Assembly, under the pain of excommunica
tion to be used against them if they be found dis
obedient, or contravene this act in any point." 1
In 1592, the Genevan system was recognised by
the legislature, and was firmly established ; though
there were not wanting signs on the King's part of
his intention to wait for a turn in the tide of public
opinion, as, in 1597, he reserved to himself, by Act of
Parliament, a power " of appointing any one to the
office of a 'Bishop, Abbot, or other Prelate."
The interval which elapsed between 1592 and King
James' accession to the English throne, 1603, was
signalised by the usual extravagances and irreverences
which universally attended the triumph of Puritanism.
The Holy Communion was received sitting ; the pul
pits resounded with Calvinism, and the rigour of Pres
byterian discipline was soon felt to be an intolerable
burden. It was most inquisitorial, prying, and offen
sive, stretching beyond its province into the details of
domestic life, and trenching upon the prerogative
of the civil magistrate. Hence James, who was jealous
of his power, hated Presbyterianism most thoroughly,
even when forced to tolerate it. He bided his time,
however, and he found it when the death of Elizabeth
placed the sceptre of S. Edward in his hands. His
tendencies were soon displayed at the Hampton Court
conference; and when, in 1610. the legislature had
put things into a train for the introduction of the
episcopate, Spotswood, Lamb, and Hamilton were con
secrated, per saltum, to the sees of Glasgow, Brechin
1 Alexander, Hist. Ch. in Scotland, p. 11.
XIT.] EESTOBATION OF SCOTCH EPISCOPACY. 169
and Galloway. They, on returning, invested Glad
stone, the titular of S. Andrew's, with episcopal
authority ; and Scotland once again returned to the
unity of the Catholic Church.
Not content with having restored to his native
country the blessing of a true episcopal succession,
King James proceeded cautiously and gradually in
bringing the Church in other respects nearer Apos
tolical models. The assembly (1616) was persuaded to
issue orders for the preparation of a Liturgy, Canons,
md Catechism; and when, next year, James, (attended
by Andrewes, and Laud, then chaplain to Bishop Neile,)
visited Scotland, he took care to make known his wishes
for unity between the two churches. The chapel at
Holyrood was repaired, and the English service was
sung by a full choir clothed in surplices. On Whit
sunday, June 8, Andrewes preached before the King,
and the Blessed Eucharist was celebrated according to
the English rite, all devoutly kneeling. Trinity Sun
day was not without its proper service when, at the
King's command, all the bishops and noblemen in
Edinburgh communicated. But with what suspicion
all this was regarded by the fanatical Presbyterians,
may be guessed from the odium excited against Laud,
for having ventured to put on a surplice during the
solemnization of a funeral of one of the King's Scotch
guard!
A parliament met, and gave legal sanction to the
King's wishes respecting the election of Bishops,
Chapters, and the like. James took the opportunity
of speaking his mind to the Bishops at a conference
to which he summoned them at S. Andrew's, 1617.
He told them he was excessively displeased at their
delay in bringing about four things which he deemed
very important, viz. : 1, the observance of Christmas,
Passion-tide, Easter, Ascension-day, and Whitsunday ;
2, the private administration of both Sacraments in
cases of necessity ; 3, the more reverent administra
tion of the Holy Eucharist, including kneeling at its
170 LIFE OF ABCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
reception ; 4, Confirmation of children. And he warned
them that, if they did not procure the recognition of
these things from the assembly, he would establish
^them by his own prerogative. 1
The assembly was summoned for November 25, and
King James shortly returned home. But they were
too deeply leavened with Puritanism to yield at once.
They would only pass two of the articles in question,
those relating to private administration of the Blessed
Eucharist, and its more reverent celebration in public ;
and these they clogged with conditions (e.g. requiring six
to communicate with the sick man), which materially
affected any practical benefit from the concessions.
The rest they referred to another assembly.
The King was very angry. He wrote to the Arch
bishops of S. Andrew's and Glasgow, requiring the
celebration of the ensuing Christmas ; and, knowing
his men, forbade the payment of the stipends of any
ministers who refused to comply. These instructions
were to be conveyed to the suffragans, and the King
added, " Since your Scottish Church has so far con-
| temned my clemency, they shall now find what it is
* to draw the anger of a King upon them."
The King's firmness prevailed. In 1618, when the
general assembly met at Perth, the five Articles were
passed. It was a great step in the right direction ;
nevertheless, the habits of the people were inveterately
irreverent. They were forced now to kneel at Com
munion, but they were still without altars. They
placed tables in the churches, and knelt at them.
Some years ago, however, they would not have done
that ; and, on the whole, Laud might be satisfied with
the results of his first visit to Scotland.
Charles's known .-iH'cc-turn for the Church of England
was a sufficient warrant he would be no less zealous
than his father respecting the real interests of the
Scotch Church. James had restored the Episcopate.
1 Nicholl's Progresses, King James, vol. iii. p. 344 ; quoted
in Laud's Works, vol. iii. p. 136.
IIT.] THE CHUECH TS SCOTLAJTD. 171
The Liturgy was reserved for Charles ; for hitherto
no form of public prayer had been used, and all that
King James ventured upon was an injunction for the
celebration of the English Service daily in his chapel
Koyal. The subject of a Liturgy had occupied indeed
James's mind, and a commission for the purpose had
issued, but the breach with Spain brought with it such
an accession of political business that the Ecclesiastical
was of necessity laid aside. In 1629, however, Max
well, one of the Edinburgh preachers, sounded Laud,
who was now powerful at court, on the subject of a
Liturgy. Laud advised that they should take the
English book as it stood. So said the King. The
Scotch bishops however talked about the independence
of national churches, and insisted on having a Prayer
Book of their own. So matters stood till Charles's
visit to Scotland, 1633, when he received the crown of
that ancient kingdom. This journey, which was full
of important consequences, deserves separate mention.
Charles's interest in the Scotch Church had been
previously shown by his interference in the matter of
teinds or tithes. At the Eeformation all the Church
lands, whether cathedral, Episcopal, or monastic, were
forfeited to the Crown, but during the troublous
times of King James VI. 's minority had (together with
the rights and tithes belonging to the old Ecclesiastical
corporations), been by the successive regents alienated
to the different nobility. The nobles were soon found
(as they have always been) more oppressive than
either Church or King. They lorded it with a high
hand; kept the clergy on miserable stipends, and
grievously oppressed the peasantry. King James had
often longed to re-claim the tithes, but lacked courage.
Charles made the attempt, but the proposal raised
such a storm that he was forced to abandon it, and
resort to a legal process. Several of the nobility were
cast, others submitted ; and some, true Scotsmen,
made a bargain. But the result was the recovery of
many Church lands to the Crown, which Charles con-
172 LIFE OF ABCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
scientiously restored to their original purposes, (1629)
and making at the same time a better arrangement for
the payment of the parochial clergy. The " four sub
missions" and "decrees arbitral," form the basis of
the present Scotch Establishment. But from this time,
says a Presbyterian writer, " the nobles suspected the
King, and began to play underhand the game against
his government. With a view to coalesce with a pow
erful opposition party, they became avowed champions
of Presbytery, and from pecuniary motives in their
opposition to the Bishops, artfully laid the blame of
every misfortune upon Episcopacy. By thus making
religion a mere stalking horse to their own interests,
they verified the general remark, that at the bottom
of the purest boilings of patriotism, there often lies a
thick sediment of gross selfishness." l
There were no signs however of the coming storm
when Charles, attended among others by Laud, Bishop
of London, set out, May 13th, 1633, for Scotland. He
did not reach York till May 24th ; into which city
he made a solemn entrance ; and June 8th, crossed
the border. On the 15th he entered Edinburgh on
horseback, and after attending Divine Service on
Sunday, the 16th, at the Chapel Royal, was crowned
therein, on Tuesday, June 18th.
The ceremony was as imposing as it could be ren
dered. However bare in some places the ritual might
be, it received no sanction from the Coronation. We
can trace Laud's hand in several details , and our
readers will remember he had arranged the ceremonial
at Westminster, in 1625. We can pretty well guess
who took care that the altar should be properly decked
with rich plate, and wax candles, and costly hangings,
wherein was woven the image of the crucified Ee-
deemer ; that the praises of GOD should be sweetly
sung, that the Bishops should appear in their vest
ments, and that the strictest attention to ancient
precedents should mark Charles's reception of his
1 Life of Henderson, p. 135.
XIY.] LAUD IW SCOTLAND. 173
ancestral crown. It was the work which had special
claims for the reverent mind of "William Laud, and
one recognizes his constitutional anxiety for the right
observance of sacred offices, in the hint he gave to
Archbishop Lindsay, (of Glasgow) to move from the
King's side, because he was not vested in his Episco
pal habit. The Scotch treasured this last in their
memories, and were not over pleased when Laud
ascended the pulpit of the Chapel Koyal, on Sunday,
June 30, " which scarce any Englishman," says Cla
rendon, " had done before." On the whole, however,
things passed off very satisfactorily ; the nation was
pleased to have its King among them, and many, says
the same historian, " are of opinion that if the King
had proposed at that time the English Liturgy, it
would have been received without opposition." Charles
however did not think the time was come, and returned
home, July 16th, having appointed a committee of
Bishops to prepare a Book of Prayers with instruc
tions to communicate with Laud on the subject.
Laud did not accompany the king to England, but
stayed behind to visit Archbishop Spotswood, at S.
Andrew's, and Bishop Bellenden, at Dumblaue. When
he did return, it was to receive the promotion the
King had long destined for him ; and the death of
Abbott made him Archbishop of Canterbury.
The result of Charles's visit was soon apparent. In
September, 1633, Edinburgh was raised to an Episco
pal see, having been hitherto included in the Arch
diocese of S. Andrew's. The King at the same time
having recovered from the Duke of Lennox the lands
belonging to the Priory of S. Andrew's, constituted
the church of S. Giles, the cathedral, and appointed a
Dean and twelve Prebendaries. The first Bishop was
Dr. William Forbes, of Aberdeen, who is commended
by Clarendon as an eminent scholar, and of good
family. His appointment shows, a sounder theological
school had been gradually growing up in Scotland,
and doubtless, the intimation it conveyed was not lost
174 LIFE OF ABCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
upon a sharp-witted people like the Scots. Charles
was also vexed to find his father's injunctions respect
ing the performance of the English Service had been
neglected in his Chapel Royal, and on the 8th of Oc
tober, 1633, the following instructions, in which Laud's
hand is clearly traceable, were sent to Bellenden,
Bishop of Durablane and Dean of the Chapel Eoyal.
" CHABLES BEX.
" 1. Our express will and pleasure is, that the Dean
of our chapel that now is, and his successors shall be
assistant to the Eight Reverend Father in GOD, the
Archbishop of S. Andrew's, at the Coronation, so
often as it shall happen.
"2. That the book of the form of our Coronation,
lately used, be put into a little box and laid into a
standard, and committed to the care of the Dean of
the chapel successively.
" 3. That there be Prayers twice a day, with the
choirs, as well in our absence as otherwise ; according
to the English Liturgy ; till some other course be
taken for making one that may fit the customs and
constitution of that Church.
" 4. That the Dean of the chapel look carefully, that
all that receive the blessed Sacrament there, receive it
kneeling ; and that there be a Communion held in that
our chapel, the first Sunday of every month.
" 5. That the Dean of our chapel that now is, and
so successively, come duly thither to Prayers upon
Sundays, and such holidays as the Church observes,
in his whites, and preach so whensoever he preach
there ; and that he he not ahsent thence but upon
necessary occasions of his Dioceses, or otherwise, ac
cording to the course of his preferment.
" 6. That these orders shall be our warrant to the
Dean of our chapel, that the Lords of our Privy
Council, the Lords of the Session, the Advocate, Clerk,
"Writers to the Signet, and Members of our College of
XIV.] KEFOBMS IN SCOTLAND. 175
Justice, be commanded to receive the Holy Com
munion once every year at the least, in that our
Chapel Royal, and kneeling, for example's sake to the
kingdom : and we likewise command the Dean afore
said, to make report yearly to us how we are obeyed
therein, and of whom ; as also if any man shall refuse,
in what manner he doth so, and why.
" 7. That the copes which are consecrated for the
use of our chapel, be delivered to the Dean to be
kept upon inventory by him, and in a standard pro
vided for that purpose, and to be used at the celebra
tion of the Sacrament in our Chapel Royal. To these
orders we shall hereafter add others, if we find others
more necessary for the worship of GOD there." 1
Bellenden, however, wanted keeping up to the mark,
and Laud dealt with him in a way he understood. The
Bishopric of Edinburgh fell by the death of Forbes,
(1634), and Bellenden applied for it. " The King,"
replied Laud, " did not take it well that you had
omitted the Prayers in the Chapel Royal ;" and
the Bishop of Brechin received the promotion. Bel
lenden apologized, said the singing men could not
come through fear of arrest, their agent having ab
sconded with the money which was their due. " If the
Prayers could not have been sung," replied Laud,
" your Chaplain might have read them." Bellenden
took the hint ; was more vigorous in enforcing con
formity, resolutely wore his surplice, celebrated the
Holy Communion with care, and finally received the
Bishopric of Aberdeen, with a strict injunction to
residence. Laud seems to have entertained very low
opinions of his brother Prelates, and to have seldom
given them credit for very high motives. Our readers
will remember that he procured an order restraining
the English Bishops from cutting down timber, on
pain of forfeiting all hopes of translation. So here,
Bellenden is made to do his work by a prospect of
preferment, and with his usual sagacity Laud took
1 Heylin's Life, part ii. book iv. p. 247.
176 LIFE OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
care to remove him from the capital, where he wanted
a man he could thoroughly trust.
Most important events were close at hand. "The
Liturgy was proceeding, and Charles deceived by the
semblance of respect with which he was received by
the Scotch nobles and gentry, fondly hoped that he
was destined to unite England and Scotland in one
Communion. It was a noble, Christian wish, and
worth the trial. Btft influences were at work of which
he little dreamed. He had mortally offended the
nobles by compelling them to surrender some portions
of the church lands; he had hurt their pride by ad
vancing Archbishop Spotswood to the Chancellorship ;
and by substituting four Bishops for four nobles in
the Treasury Commission. They were willing enough
to patronize the Church, but they were enraged be
yond all measure at having to play a secondary part.
Besides the expenses of the Coronation had saddled
them with debt, and taxes pressed heavily upon their
impoverished estates. Hence they were ripe for mis
chief; and in secret correspondence with the disaffected
Puritans in England, only waited the signal to attempt
the overthrow of the Church. The publications of the
Canons and Liturgy gave them the opportunity for
which they longed. The Canons were set forth by
Eoyal authority, 23rd May, 1635, and though exceed
ingly moderate and free from any excess of ritualism,
were received with a howl of anger. It is quite
ludicrous to read of these Puritan extravagancies.
Thanks to the firmness of Laud, we are so accustomed
to the very things which aroused the ire of these
fanatics, that it is scarcely possible to throw oneself
into that state of mind which denounced everything
that was reverent and comely, as Popish and super
stitious. Take these Canons for example, what Church
man objects to " fonts being placed in churches," or
a " comely and decent table for celebrating the Holy
Communion being provided and placed at the upper
end of the chancel or church, to be covered at times e.
XIV.] THE SCOTCH PBA.YEB BOOK. 177
Divine Service with a carpet of decent stuff, and at
the time of ministration, with a white linen cloth : or
to its being furnished with vessels of some pure metal,
to be reserved for its use only." Yet in the 17th
century these things, to us necessaries, as well as in
junctions to kneel at the Confession, and at Holy
Communion, and to stand at the Creed; the private
Baptism of Children, the absolution of penitents, and
the being restrained from fasting on Sundays, were
regarded as evident marks of Antichrist, and denounced
as Komish superstitions, and idolatrous, by the loud-
tongued Puritans. The mention too, of a Liturgy,
aroused their worst fears. But it was not till 1637,
that it appeared. It was unfortunately, as everybody
knows, a failure, and was ushered in by a series of
mistakes.
Laud had all along endeavoured to persuade the
Scotch Bishops to adopt the English Liturgy, but
they resolutely adhered to their original intention
of drawing up one slightly different, as evidence of
their independence. The book subscribed by the
Archbishops of S. Andrew's and Glasgow, and the
Bishops of Moray, Ross, Dunblane, and Brechin, was
submitted, by the King's command, to Laud, Juxon of
London, and Wren of Norwich. The occupations of
Juxon (he was treasurer) prevented his taking any
active part in the revision, but Wren's liturgical
learning was great, as was his interest in the work.
Various alterations were suggested ; some for the sake
of conformity to the English Book ; others improving
the Scotch arrangements. Among other points the
Ordinal, which was faulty, was reformed, and the
transmission of the HOLY GHOST plainly asserted, as
in our own book.
The Scotch Prayer Book, which had been in hand
since 1G16, was now complete, and a Royal Proclama
tion of December 20th, 1636, ordered its use the next
Easter.
Pains had been taken in several instances to meet
178 LIFE OP ABCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
the prejudices of the Presbyterians ; the word priest
had been changed to presbyter ; only two chapters of
the Apocrypha were read ; the new translation of
King James used instead of the old. On the other
hand, we must allow that in some points the Scotch
Liturgy took higher ground than the English. It
is true that the Eucharistic Oblation and Sacrifice are
all clearly and plainly stated in the English Book,
but in the Scotch they are more prominently put
forward. And in this respect the Scotch is nearer
the primitive models.
By some unhappy mischance Easter, which was the
time originally fixed for its introduction, was changed.
Laud had reposed great confidence in the Earl of
Traquair, who indeed owed his rise to him, (he was a
simple Scotch gentleman, and became treasurer of
Scotland) and professed great devotion to the cause of
the Church. So far was he in the Archbishop's con
fidence, that the Scotch Archbishops were particularly
requested to consult him in all they did. He advised the
delay mentioned above, and, as events showed, did so to
allow the opposite party to mature their plans. Laud,
generally sharp-sighted, was deceived in his man, and
a sad mistake it was. Traquair played him false, and
gave information of all his intentions to the adversary.
The Lords of the Council too were jealous they had
not been consulted by the bishops ; some of the
bishops said they were taken by surprise, and so
the use of the Liturgy was put off till July 23rd.
Laud had seen some of the dangers which were in its
way, and had warned against them, but to no purpose.
Meanwhile the Puritans were not idle. The nobles
remembered their lost lands, and egged on the people,
telling them that the Book was little better than the
Mass, and the prelude of a plot to introduce " Popish
tyranny and arbitrary power." The citizens became
dreadfully excited, meetings were held, pamphlets
published, and everything betokened a storm.
The 23rd July (1637) dawned ; Traquair, on pre-
XIT.] PRESBYTEBIA3T BIOT. 179
tence of being present at the marriage of a kinsman',
had left Edinburgh for the Earl of Morton's the day
before. The Presbyterians, according to the pre
concerted scheme, thronged the principal churches.
Their plans had been all arranged beforehand by
the preacher Henderson, Lord Balmerino, and Sir T.
Hope ; l even the old women, who played such a con
spicuous part, were ready drilled, and were encouraged
to commence the uproar by the assurance that the
men would take it up ; and for this purpose some men
were acually dressed in women's attire, and placed
at their post. Archbishop Spotswood as Lord Chan
cellor, the Archbishop of Glasgow, several Bishops,
Lords of the Council, and Magistrates of the city,
wended their way on that " stony Sabbath," as the
Scots called it, to S. Giles' Church. They were sur
rounded by all the insignia and paraphernalia of their
office, that nothing might be wanting to shed a lustre
of importance round the inauguration of a work the
King was known to have so much at heart. At nine
A.M. the Dean began the service. And thus, fearing
neither GOD nor King, unawed by the sanctity of the
place or sacredness of the occasion, the true fanatical,
ignorant, irreverent Puritan spirit burst forth. In
stead of falling on their knees and confessing their
sins, they hooted, they shouted, they hissed, they
stamped, they swore, they blasphemed, they gave vent
to all sorts of filthy indecencies, and called it religion.
The Dean went on, and then they raged still more
furiously. Amid oaths, and curses, and ribald jests
they flung bibles, stones, sticks, stools at his head ;
they advanced to the prayer-desk, and seized hold of
him, but he escaped, leaving his surplice in their
hands. In vain Bishop Lindsay ascended the pulpit,
and strove to recall the fanatic horde to a sense of
decency and respect for the consecrated dwelling of
the ALMIGHTY. They only howled the more, and
made him the aim of their missiles. The Chancellor
1 Disraeli, vol. ii. p. 16.
180 LIFE OF ABCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
rose, but his voice was drowned immediately in a
chorus of imprecations. As the chief civil authority,
he straightway ordered the magistrates to clear the
church. "With great difficulty his orders were obeyed,
the doors locked, and the service concluded ; but the
populace, not to be baulked of their unholy sport, bat
tered the windows with stones, and raised the Pu
ritan war-cry till they were hoarse " a Pape a
Pape pull him down." When the bishops left the
church they found the streets crowded by a mob of
ruffians clamouring for vengeance. They had already
profaned the LOBD'S Day and desecrated a Church
the latter a special treat for Puritans ; but if they
could have killed a Bishop, their joy would have
known no bounds. The life of the Bishop of Edin
burgh was only saved by the servants of Lord Wemyss
carrying the prelate by force into their master's
house. Evening prayer was said with closed doors,
but the godless crew again sought their bishop's
life on his return. Not even the presence of the
popular Lord Roxburgh, in whose carriage he was,
protected him. They assaulted the coach, and the
swords of the soldiers alone saved him. And so ended
Sunday, July 17th, the greatest exhibition of profanity
and wickedness perpetrated under the name of re
ligion by any so-called religious party. The Puritans
professed (let us never forget it) to be the only spirit
ually-minded people of their day. We have here a
specimen of their right to what they claimed. They
professed great veneration for the Sunday, yet they
scrupled not to disgrace it by riots unparalleled in the
annals of the Church, with exception of those raised by
the Arians in primitive times, against the professors
of the Catholic faith.
Into the sequel of these disgraceful tumults we will
not enter, for they can be found in any political
history of the times. The indecision of the King ruined
all, and the Scotch rebellion was but the prelude of
the English. Laud saw that unless vigorous measures
XIV.] THE SCOTCH PBA.TEB BOOK. 181
were adopted, all was lost. He wrote to Spotswood,
to Traquair, to the Council, to Strafford. His words
found a responsive echo in the great layman's heart.
" It was ever clear in iny judgment, that the busi
ness of Scotland, so well laid, so pleasing to GOD and
man, had it been effected, was miserably lost in the
execution, yet could never have so fatally miscarried,
if there had not been a failure likewise in the direc
tion, occasioned either by over-great desires to do all
quietly without noise, by the state of the business mis
represented, by opportunities and seasons slipped, or by
some such like. Besides it sometimes falls forth, that
out of an easiness and sweetness of nature some men
insensibly suffer oppositions, which at first were easily
brought to obedience, to grow and go on so far as
thereby to difficult their own affairs and discourage
their own party most extremely, which I have often
observed in a hundred men.
"Nevertheless, in my opinion, that error would not be
seconded with a far greater, which would be indeed
more grievous, more terrible ; for should these rude
spirits carry it thus from the King's honour to their
own churlish wills, it would have been a most fearful
operation, I few, as well upon England as themselves,
therefore GOD Almighty guide his Majesty's counsels
and strengthen his courage. For if he master not
them, and this affair tending so much and visibly to
the tranquillity and peace of his kingdoms, to the
honour of Almighty GOD, I shall be to seek for any
probable judgment what is next like to befall us at
after."i *
But regrets were vain. Scotland was not worthy of
the blessing her king designed for her. She cast in
her lot with Calvinism, and she has been taken at her
word.
Politically speaking the Scotch Prayer Book was a
great mistake. Whether as Churchmen we should deem
Laud worthy all the vituperation that has been cast upon
1 Stafford's Letters, vol. ii. p. 250.
182 LIFE OF ABCH.BISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
him is another question. Holy Scripture says, " Blessed
are the peacemakers ;" and it was surely a desire not
unworthy of a Christian Prelate which so anxiously
led him to wish for unity of religious doctrine and
discipline within the realms subject to the sceptre
of his Sovereign. It was perhaps impossible to attain
it, but that was not so clear then as it is now. The
maxim of the day was then, " cujus est regio, illius
religio," faulty and unsound it is true ; yet, possi
bly, the best that could be devised for those troublous
times. Laud believed it, and acted upon it. And
even if we disagree with a man, candour compels us to
respect him when acting upon his convictions.
CHAPTEE XY.
LAUD AS A STATESMAN RELATIONS TO HOME USE
OF THE BE GALE PRIVATE LIFE.
" From his cradle
He was a scholar, and a ripe and good one ;
Exceeding wise, fair spoken, and persuading,
Lofty and sour to them that loved him not,
But to those men that sought him, sweet as summer.'*
Henry VIIL, Act iv. Sc. 2.
IT is not our intention in this chapter to embark
the reader in the strife of politics. We shall only
refer to them as affecting the Church. So stirring
were the events which were enacted in that era, that
it is scarcely possible even at this distance of time, to
review them impartially. The questions which then
agitated men's minds involved the most important
interests, and affected their relations to GOD as well
as to Cffisar. The same questions are still agitated,
the same divisions distract men's minds, almost the
XT.] THE CHURCH OP ENGLAND. 183
very same words are banded to and fro by heated
partizans.
In the seventeenth century men's thoughts had
not yet settled down from the mighty ferment of
the Reformation. The cauldron was still seething.
The ecclesiastical polity and traditions of centuries
could not be torn up without affecting the whole com
munity. And though the points which were stirred
at that great era were primarily of religious rather
than of temporal interest (as the controversy respect
ing justification which commenced the movement
shows), yet it was very soon seen that civil relation
ships as much as religious were involved in working
out the principles of the Reformation. The great
problem the Reformation had to solve, was what was
the authority in matters of faith. The foreigners re
plied by placing the Scriptures in the hands of the
people without any guidance whatever : the Church
of England, while she freely restored the Bible to
her children, retained at the same time as her standard
the three Creeds which had received the assent of
universal Christendom. Henceforth her peculiar mis
sion has been to witness to the true Catholic faith,
the faith of the primitive and undivided Church, and
to transmit it unimpaired either by Roman additions
or Puritan subtractions. The English Church in
vented no new doctrines : she adhered to the old.
She makes her appeal to Scripture as interpreted by
antiquity, by the teaching and practices of the holiest
and best times of ancient Christianity.
Now in carrying out her internal reformation, the
English Church, from the necessity of her position,
was driven to call in the aid of the King. We shall
pursue this at greater length afterwards. It may be
sufficient to say, now, that the sovereign henceforth
appeared to his people in a different light to what he
had done hitherto. He was no longer the ruler in
temporals only : their religion was influenced by him.
Hence when, as in the case of Charles, the sceptre
184 LIFE OF AECHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
was in the hands of one who really loved the Church,
the turbulent, restless Puritan temper which had al
ways been fretting against all spiritual authority,
waxed tenfold fiercer against the monarch, who was
bent upon enforcing by the authority of his prero
gative the true interests of the Church. Simulta
neously too with the Eeformation, or perhaps in con
sequence of the measures taken for the repressing
popular excesses by the civil rulers, even in countries
which had withdrawn from the Roman obedience,
there arose a strong tendency to republicanism. The
revived study of the classics gave this feeling an
impetus, and the heroes oTriepuhlican antiquity hence
forth exercised no inconsiderable influence on men's
minds. Geneva was not merely the nursery of heresy,
but of sedition also. J^hn Knox, Calvin's most
thorough disciple in these parts, made no scruple of
raising his arm against his sovereign and adding re
bellion to profaneness. These feelings were wide
spread ; to men's excited vision the monarchy was
the bar to all improvement in Church and State.
The mass of the people have never acquiesced in the
real principles of their Church ; and in the sixteenth
century they greedily listened to the propagators of
the new doctrines, which promised at the same time
emancipation from the regal yoke and the hated juris
diction of the bishops.
On the other hand, the leading English Reformers
had always discouraged any attempts to intrench upon
the prerogatives of the Crown. Their politics were
strictly monarchical. They never courted the people,
though they flattered kings. They found themselves
under a monarchy, a real monarchy, which not merely-
reigned but governed ; and they willingly acquiesced^
The King upheld them against the Pope, they upheld
him against the people, and loyalty became synonymous
with Anglicanism.
When Charles therefore found himself opposed by
the rebellious spirit of his Parliament, which mag-
XV.] THE ENGLISH PARLIAMENT. 185
nifiecl fancied grievances into real ones (for the
absence of any true ground of complaint is very
remarkable), he instinctively felt that he was em
barked in a struggle for the very existence of the
monarchy. ~He Knew very well that the opposing
faction would never (despite their fair speeches) stop
short of a republic. He looked back on the long line
of his ancestors, and could not but perceive that the
whole glories of England had been achieved by Her mo-
narchs. Her kings bad been her legislators, her states
men, her warriors. Parliament had had no influence
in the law-giving of the Third Edward, the wisdom of
the Seventh Henry, or the valour of the First Richard.
On the contrary, parliamentary influence had always
characterized feeble governments. Hence Charles
felt that every concession was only bringing nearer
the consummation he dreaded ; hence his undisguised
dislike of Parliaments, his many years' rule without
them. The event has proved his prescience. Re
gicide was the inevitable result of rebellion ; the first
year of Tiis martyrdom was signalized as the first " year
of liberty restored," alias republicanism.
Nor has the Monarchy recovered itself since. The
Republic perished " unwept, unhonoured, and unsung."
But neither Charles II. nor James II. could revive the
prerogatives of the old Kings of England. Defeated for
a time, the republican spirit has revived with a double
force. For~nearly two hundred years we have been in
name a Monarchy, in reality a Republic, with an
hereditary President. We are not regretting this ;
we only state facts. On the contrary, we thankfully
accept it, and look back with gratitude to the emanci
pation of the Church from the too great power the
Sovereign possessed over her. And if the Revolution
of 1GB8 were on no other grounds entitled to gratitude,
the nnal abolition of the High Commission Court and
Oath of Supremacy, would make us feel thankful
towards it. By this time the dangers of the powers
vested in the Crown were seen : and it was necessary
186 LIFE OF AECHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
to restrict them. The Church of England had to learn
i the lesson of the Psalms, "put not your trust in
Princes." She had done so, but now she can do so
no longer. The political constitution of the country
while in other respects it so admirably ensures the
liberty of the subject, effectually prevents the Church
again relying on the arm of flesh. A change has
passed over our political relationships: we have a
constitutional, not an absolute Monarchy : the Church
really occupies a higher position. But this has
not been worked out in a day; it has taken more
than one century to develop. It is no reproach
to Charles that he was not gifted with such deep po
litical foresight, and that he could not read the history
of the future. He did what he thought best. He was
Iborn a King, and he resolved to die a King. Monarchy
was to him a sacred trust ; and this may help to inter
pret his motives.
It is only natural therefore, to find Laud a strict
monarchist. It was the line marked ouTTT)y the an
tecedent history of the Reformed English Church.
He saw no reason to change it. There was nothing
inviting in the opposite ranks. He could not
(indeed have sided against the king without doing
violence to all his feelings as a bishop, a Christian, a
f man. He loved the monarchy, he loved Charles
Stuart. He shrank from no laboiir to serve him in
any department of state service. The King wielded
9 his prerogative for the protection of the Church, for
her elevation and development. Laud felt this, and
the influence of the Church whatever it might be, was
gladly thrown into the scale of monarchy, against
^parliament, of order against disorder.
Laud had played some part in politics during the
administration of the Duke of Buckingham, having had
the distribution of ecclesiastical patronage entrusted
to him. He had nothing openly to do, strictly speak
ing, with civil politics, till March 14th, 1634, when
the death of Weston made him Chief Commissioner
xv.] LAUD'S CIVIL POLICY. 187
of the Treasury, with Cottington as Chancellor, and
Cooke and Windebauke as Secretaries. Noy was the
Attorney- General, and "VVentworth Lord- Lieutenant
of Ireland. On March 16th, he was called by the
King into the foreign Committee. " The Cabinet"
was of course ruled by Strafford and Laud, Strafford
in Ireland, Laud in England, gave the tone to every
* thing. History has done justice to Strafford' s admin
istration of Ireland. From a perpetual state of poverty
and a constant expense to the Crown, it brought in
under his hands, a large revenue. The public debt
was liquidated ; the oppression of the nobles restrained ;
the army reduced to order; the petty tyranny of
government officials curbed ; order re-established, agri
culture flourished, trade prospered, manufactures in
creased. Indeed Ireland owes its linen trade to
Strafford. We have seen how he saved the Anglo
-Irish Church from being swallowed up by Puritanism.
All this is now acknowledged : but our Archiepiscopal
treasurer has not received such justice. Yet there is
not an historian who has treated on the subject, who
does not bear witness to the good government the
country enjoyed during the reign of Charles, apart
from Parliamentary control. Thus Clarendon :
" The happiness of the times I mentioned, was envi
ously set off by this, that every other kingdom, every
other province were engaged, many entangled, and
some almost destroyed, by the rage and fury of arms ;
those which were ambitiously in contention with their
neighbours, having the view and apprehensions of the
miseries and desolation which they saw other States
suffer by a civil war ; whilst alone the kingdoms we
I now lament were looked upon as the garden of the
world. Scotland (which was but the wilderness of that
garden) in a full, entire, undisturbed peace, which
they had never seen ; the rage and barbarism (that is,
the blood, for of the charity we speak not) of their
private feuds, being composed to the reverence, or to
the awe, of public justice ; in a competency, if not in
188 LIFE OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
an excess of plenty, which they had never hoped to see,
and in a temper (which was the utmost we desired
and hoped to see) free from rebellion. Ireland, which
had been a sponge to draw, and a gulph to swallow
all that could be spared, and all that could be got from
England, merely to keep the reputation of a kingdom,
reduced to that good degree of husbandry and govern
ment, that it not only subsisted of itself, and gave
this kingdom all that it might have expected from it ;
but really increased the revenue of the Crown forty or
fifty thousand pounds a year, besides much more to
the people in the traffic and trade from thence ; arts
and sciences fruitfully planted there ; and the whole
nation beginning to be civilized, that it was a jewel of
great lustre in the royal diadem.
" When these outworks were thus fortified and
adorned, it was no wonder if England was generally
thought secure, with the advantages of its own climate,
the court in great plenty, or rather (which is the dis
credit of plenty) excess and luxury ; the country rich,
and which is more, fully enjoying the pleasure of its
own wealth, and so the easier corrupted witli the pride
and wantonness of it. The Church flourishing with
learned and extraordinary men, and (which other good
tirae wanted) supplied with oil to feed those lamps ;
and the Protestant religion more advanced against
the Church of Rome by writing, especially (without
prejudice to other useful and Grodly labours) by these
two books of the late Lord Archbishop of Canter
bury his Grace, and of Mr. Chillingworth, than it had
been from the Reformation ; trade increased to that
degree, that we were the exchange of Christendom, (the
revenue thereof to the Crown being almost double to
what it had been in the best times,) and the bullion of
all other kingdoms was brought to receive a stamp
from the mint of England ; all foreign merchants
looking upon nothing as their own, but what they had
laid up in the warehouses of this kingdom ; the royal
navy, in number and equipage much above former
IV.] CIJABACTEB OF CHABLEB' GOYEBKMEKT. 189
times, very formidable at sea ; and the reputation of
(the greatness and power of the King much more with
foreign princes than any of his progenitors ; for those
rough courses which made him unhappily less loved at
home, made him more feared abroad ; by how much
the power of kingdoms is more reverenced than their
justice by their neighbours ; and it may be, this con
sideration might not be the least motive, and may not
be the worst excuse for those counsels. Lastly, for a
complement of all these blessings, they were enjoyed
by, and under the protection of a King, of the most
*" harmless disposition, and the most exemplary piety,
the greatest example of sobriety, chastity and mercy,
that any prince hath been endowed with, (and GOD
forgive those that have not been sensible of, and thank
ful for those endowments,) and who might have said
that which Pericles was proud of upon his death-bed,
'That no Englishman had ever worn a black gown
through his occasion.' In a word, many wise men
thought it a time wherein these two miserable adjuncts
which Nerva was deified for uniting, imperium et liber t as,
y were as well reconciled as possible." 1
So Hume: 2 "Thejjieyances under which the English
laboured^ when considered in themselves, without re
gard to the Constitution, scarcely deserve the name ;
nor were they either burdensome to the people's pro
perties, or any way shocking to the natural humanity
of mankind. . . . . . All Ecclesiastical affairs were
settled by law and uninterrupted precedent, and the
Church was become a considerable barrier to the
powers both legal and illegal of the Crown : peace too,
(industry, commerce, opulence, nay even justice and
lenity of administration, notwithstanding some very
few exceptions, all these were enjoyed by the people ;
i and every other blessing of government except liberty,
I or rather the present exercise of liberty, and its proper
security."
1 Clarendon, Hist. Rebellion, vol. i. p. 106.
* Hume.voLvi. p. 224.
190 LIFE OF ABCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
And later, Disraeli and Gruizot bear the same tes
timony, the latter sorely against his will.
" Clarendon hardly exceeded the truth in his descrip
tion of the state of the kingdom during this singular
period, as ' enjoying the greatest calm and the fullest
I measure of felicity that any people, in any age, for so
' long time together have been blessed with.' In con
firmation of Clarendon's view, we find in the Mercure
Francois, more than one allusion to the undisturbed
and envied happiness of the English nation. A letter
"* from Borne, in 1633, notices the high opinion that
Court entertained of ' the virtues, and discreet govern
ment of Charles the First, with the general and quiet
peace his people enjoy, all Europe being in war,
which makes England enjoy what the rest of the world
envies at, they being the only spectators of the rest of
>0the world's miseries.' The description of England in
1633, by a resident foreigner, confirms all these
''accounts. 'It is pleasant to reside in England, where
every one lives joyously, without other cares than those
of his profession ; finding that prosperity in repose
which others are compelled to look for in action, and
divided as they are from the rest of the world, they
^take the least concern possible in its distractions.'
This sort of evidence from foreign quarters frequently
occurs. The King himself has a pathetic passage,
where he "complains of the famous remonstrance of
* the Commons, ' Laying before us, and publishing to
all the world, all the mistakes and all the misfortunes
which had happened from our first coming to the
Crown, forgetting the blessed condition (notwithstand
ing the unhappy mixture) all our subjects had enjoyed
in the benefit of peace and plenty under us, to the
,^envy of Christendom.' " l
" For some time, government was an easy matter
enough. The citizens for awhile took heed only to
their private interests ; no discussion, no warm excite
ment agitated the gentry in their country meetings,
1 Disraeli's Commentaries, vol. i. p. 375.
XV.] CHARACTER OF CUA.BLES* GOVERNMENT. 191
the burghers in their town-halls, the sailors in their
ports, the apprentices in their shops. It was not that
the nation was languishing in apathy, but its activity
had taken another direction ; it seemed to have for
gotten in labour the defeat of~liberty. Less ardent
than haughty, the despotism of Charles interfered with
itjrery, slightly in this new state ; the Prince meditated
no vast designs, he had no uneasy desire for extended
and hazardous glory ; he was content to enjoy with
dignity his power and his rank. Peace dispensed him
from exacting from his subjects heavy sacrifices ; and
the people gave itself up to agriculture, to commerce, to
study, and no ambitious and restless tyranny inter
posed to impede its efforts, or compromise its interests.
Public prosperity accordingly rapidly advanced, order
reigned, and this regular and flourishing condition
gave to power the appearance of wisdom, to the
^ country that of resignation." 1
Nay, Mr. Hallam himself cannot disprove it. Let
him rail as long as he will, the facts remain unshaken.
" We may acknowledge without hesitation, that the
kingdom had grown during this period into remarkable
prosperity and affluence. The rents of land were very
considerably increased, and large tracts reduced into
cultivation. The manufacturing towns, the sea-ports,
became more flourishing and populous. The metropolis
increased in size with a rapidity that repeated pro
clamations against new buildings could not restrain.
The country-houses of the superior gentry throughout
England were built on a scale which their descendants,
even in the days of more redundant affluence, have
seldom ventured to emulate. The kingdom was in-
^debted for this prosperity to the spirit and industry of
the people, to the laws which secure the commons
from oppression, and which, as between man and man,
were still fairly administered, to the opening of fresh
channels of trade in the eastern and western worlds,
(rivulets indeed as they seem to us, who float in the
1 Guizot's Hist. Rev. in England, p. 3&.
192 LIFE OP AECHBISHOP LATJD. [CHAP.
full tide of modern commerce, yet at that time no
slight contributions to the stream of public wealth) ;
but above all, to the long tranquillity of the kingdom,
ignorant of the sufferings of domestic, and seldom much
affected by the privations of foreign war. It was the
natural course of things that wealth should be pro
gressive in such a land." 1
So much for Laud's general administration. The
particular department of the treasury he did not hold
very long. But during the period he presided there,
he was most conscientious in the discharge of its
^ official duties. He looked into every corner, detected
secret frauds, reformed various abuses, and busied him
self in divining means whereby the collection of the
King's dues might be rendered less onerous to the
subject. There was a class of persons who jobbed the
revenue for their own gain, who were Laud's special
^abhorrence, and as these gentry had swarmed under
his predecessor, who made bargains with them, we can
easily understand the outcry they raised against him.
Clarendon tells us the principles which guided him,
and gives us some idea of his practical common sense,
in cultivating the society of the merchants and great
traders. And this may account for his successful
administration of the treasury. There is an interesting
story in Clarendon's life relative to the upsetting the
monopoly which the Customs House Quay enjoyed,
in consequence of a job of Westou's, arid which, as he
found it operating to the injury of trade, was removed
by Laud. It was the occasion of Mr. Hyde's intro
duction to Laud ; but it is too long to transcribe.
But these petty offenders, Laud knew, were not the
I only ones at fault. Little harm could be done if the
I Treasurer himself were honest. It seemed, on pur
suing his inquiries into all the mysteries of the office,
that the Treasurer might honestly make about 7,000
a year : how much more, dishonestly, does not appear.
But certain was it, that many Treasurers of mean
1 Hallam's Constitutional History, chap. 8, vol. i. p. 540.
XT.] BISHOP JUXO1C. 193
extraction had managed to raise themselves to the
titles and fortunes of Earls. This he determined to
stop, and to leave as his successor one who should be
independent of all family claims. It was time, for his
own peace, a successor should be appointed. Laud
was already overwhelmed with business. He was too
honest to be popular with mere officials and " red-
tapists." His infirmity of temper, too, gave an ex
cellent opening for Cottington, who disliked him, to
play upon. Hence differences arose, which are noted
in his Diary : particularly a question about the soap
boilers, which was carried against Laud (though his
offer was better for the King), when the desertion of
his old friend, Sir F. Windebanke, grieved him sorely.
It was better a successor should be found who should
be able to devote himself to the King's interests, and
his choice (here Laud certainly did not discern the
signs of the times), passing over the Earls of Bedford
and Essex, and others of the " popular nobility," fell
upon Juxon, Bishop of London. His Diary records
the appointment in the following remarkable language,
which is quite that of a man who is hoping against
hope:
* "1635, Mar. 6, Sunday. William Juxon, Lord
Bishop of London, made Lord High Treasurer of
England. No Churchman had it since Henry Vll.'a
time. I pray GOD bless him to carry it so, that the
Church may have honour, and the King and the State
service and contentment by it. And now if the
Church will not hold up themselves under GOD, I can
ydo no more." 1
f Bishop Juxon did not fall short of the expectations
of hTs metropolitan. He carried himself in so con
scientious and conciliatory a manner that he won the
respect of all, and even Lord Falkland, in a bitter
speech against the bishops, praised his moderation
and humility, "being neither ambitious before, nor
y proud after, either of the Crozier or the White Staff."
1 Laud's Works, vol. iii. p. 226 (Diary).
O
194 LIFE OF ABCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
He remained Treasurer till 1641, when he was suc
ceeded by the Earl of Bedford, and, to the honour of
the Puritan faction, was left unmolested. Once again
indeed did he appear in public in those troublous
times, for he was privileged to prepare the Royal
Martyr for his agony, and receive the last instructions
of the saintly King. So, when peaceful days were
restored, the meek Juxon was called by GOD'S good
Providence, to preside over the Church of England.
And "life's fitful fever" over, the ashes of the good
old man repose beneath the altar of his own College
chapel, and, side by side with his martyred brother,
await the Resurrection and the Judgment.
"We have given some idea of Laud's qualities as a
statesman ; but though not in office after 1635, he
was the ruling spirit of the royal councils. To pursue
his political career would take us beyond the bounds
assigned us. We are only concerned with it as affect
ing the Church ; and it is quite clear that the exalta
tion of the Church gave the tone to this great
Prelate's career. He laboured that she might become
in reality what she claimed to be, a reflection of the
Primitive Church. Hence his struggle with Puritan
ism, which stood in the way. Perhaps he had, too,
some idea, visionary and impracticable as it may have
been, of uniting the kingdom in one religious creed.
It was, as we have said, a political principle of the
day, that the King's subjects should be of the King's
religion ; and Laud (presiding over a Church which,
after having successfully and distinctly removed Roman
novelties from her faith, had retained unaltered the
Creeds of the Universal Church and the Apostolic
Succession of the Episcopate,) might think himself
called upon by peculiar circumstances to reunite the
jarring elements around him. He had to deal with
Roman Catholics and Puritans. The former were
embodied in an organised Communion, with rival
Priests and rival altars, and in Ireland a rival Hier
archy. The latter were not formally separate from
XV.] POSITION OF THE ENGLISH CHTTECH. 195
I the Church of England, but were only restrained by
I legaT penal ties from open Nonconformity, and were in
" their hearts opposed to all her doctrines and discipline.
There were, besides, a few foreign bodies of Protest
ants whose sympathies were naturally with the Puri
tans. Among these stood the English Church offering
a ground of union in the ancient Catholic Faith
which she professed. In her formularies, in which she
stated her principles and her claims to men's allegiance,
the English Church took Catholic ground, but a {*reat
proportion of her practice was uncatholic, unscnptu-
ral, Puritan. Either her principles must have been
sacrificed, or her practice made to square, with her
principles. Laud chose the latter alternative. He
saw clearly that the tendency of the day was to drift
more and more from primitive models, and that the
^ work of reform had gone far enough. Hence he built
up rather than pulled down ; and all who feel thankful
they have not to choose between Rome and Geneva,
but are able to worship GOD in the beauty of holiness,
in a Church which has retained all the essentials of an
^ Apostolic Communion, ought to be grateful to Laud.
But this by the way. If ever he entertained the hope
of bringing the adherents of the Papacy into commu
nion with the English Church, it was clear that such
a consummation could only be effected by a clearer
expression of her Catholic character. Irreverence,
profaneness, mocking at Sacraments, desecration of
altars, were not likely to win back the Romanist sub
jects of his master. Independently of his love for
the Sacramental system and deep conviction of its
truth, which led him to such a bold aggression upon
the prevalent Puritanism, may there not have been
*some hone that when the adherents of the foreign
Communion found that the religion of England was
no longer Genevan, but reverent, holy, and Catholic,
they might by degrees lay aside their prejudices and
be won over to its ranks, and so the sons of England
.^might, as before, worship GOD in one language and
196 LIFE OF AECHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
profess one creed. Let us not smile at the failure of
any scheme for unity. Our LOED says, " Blessed are
the peacemakers." How thankful should we be now,
and our rulers too, if any means could have been de
vised by which the English adherents of the Papacy
could have been gathered within the bosom of the
English Church.
The same desire to conciliate his Roman Catholic
fellow citizens, and to cause them to think better of
the English Church, (which we have ventured to sug
gest might have been present to the Primate's mind,)
would appear to be visible in his civil administration.
"We all know that it was an age of severe penal laws,
and though the leniency of James and Charles took
away some of their persecuting edge, they still re
mained a terrible weapon for discontented Parliaments
to unsheath. The pious squires who sat in the Com
mons were perpetually crying out for the enforcement
of the laws against recusants ; and here Laud was
again opposed to the popular cry. There is no deny
ing that under his administration these wicked laws
were materially suspended, and the populace cheated
of its prey. We who live under a system of tolera
tion, think no worse of Laud because he interfered to
prevent Jesuits being hanged for saying Mass, or lay
men being heavily mulcted for attendance at the most
sacred rite of their religion. "We have, thank GOD,
got rid of penal kyj but in Laud's time they were
frightful, and the Puritans, who clamoured loudest for
their own freedom, were their stoutest supporters,.
James and Charles did what they could to relax them,
and often baulked the bloodthirsty Commons of their
prey. They shielded more particularly those of the
Bomanists who were willing to take the Oath of
Allegiance, and, may be, entertained the hope of
winning them back to the Church of England.
Possibly it was not so very visionary then as it
seems now. Old men must have heard their fathers
tell how in the great Queen's time, before the
XV.] TEEATMHyT OF BOMANISTS. 197
deposing bull came from Pope Pius, by which the
Roman Communion in England was constituted a
separate body, there had been but one worship.
Perhaps, too, the same conciliatory motives made
themselves felt in the endeavour of both monarchs to
divest the Sunday ofThe' over-gloomy strictness which
Puritanism had thrown round it, and to impart more of
a festival character. 1 For the same reason, in conduct
ing the controversy with Rome, Laud never encouraged
railing against her as Antichrist. It was going beyond,
he said, anything the Church of England had authorita
tively determined, and was not the way to conciliate.
Now, of course, it is easy to say, Charles and
Laud were ready to conciliate the Roman Catho
lics, because they were secretly unfaithful to the
Church of England. It has been and is often said
now. We shall not condescend to refute the calumny.
However anxious Laud may have been for unity in his
master's dominions, (and beyond that he never seems
to have entertained a thought,) he was never guilty of
any breach of faith towards his own Church. He
loved her too well, and was too well convinced that
her position as a witness to the old Catholic creeds
was an impregnable one, to swerve in his allegiance.
1 The Book of Sports, about which so much has been said, was
published first by King James (1618), and afterwards by his son
Charles (1633). Its object was to make Sunday more attractive
to the poor than Puritanism, which considered the Jewish Sabbath
still in force, permitted. It therefore allowed the people to join
in all innocent recreations on Sunday afternoons after Divine Ser
vice, while it especially prohibited all brutalising amusements,
such as bull-baiting, &c. It was in effect an attempt to wean the
people from their old rude ways, and as this could not be done at
once, it was thought better to tolerate harmless recreations, and so
by degrees draw the nation into better habits. The Book of Sports
was a great improvement on the preceding state of things, when
bulls were baited and bears worried on Sundays : though, of
course, it is very difficult to regulate by law the due observance of
Sunday. Political reasons for making Sunday more like a festival,
a character almost eliminated from it during the days of Puritan
ascendancy, we have hinted above.
198 LIFE OF ABCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
p
He brought back numbers to her pale ; he defended her
with learning, temper, and ability ; he would never see
the envoys from the Pope^ who under cover of minis
tering to the spiritual wants of the Queen, were at
several periods in this country. A foreigner had no
right in his view to interfere with the religion of the sub
jects of the King of England. Attempts were made to
^bribe him. He was offered a Cardinal's Hat : his only
reply was one which shows the position of the two
Churches was well defined in his mind. " My answer
again was, that somewhat dwelt within me which would
', not suffer that, till Rome was other than it is." 1 His
distress too (as noted in his Diary), " by reason of
the errors of that Church" when "I dreamt I was
reconciled to the Church of Rome," is very notice
able ; while, to a lower class of minds who can only
imagine others actuated by the same mercenary motives
which govern themselves, the following extract from
his defence will speak more plainly and intelligibly:
" Seventhly. I think the greatest enemies I have are
of opinion, that if I would have turned to the Uoman
party, especially if I would have been such an active
instrument for them as this Article would make me,
I might have been welcome to them, and should have
been rewarded by them ; at least, that I should have
been made able to live in credit, if not in honour.
And this being granted, I would fain know what could
stay me here, save only my conscience in and to the
truth.
" Surely, not any care of wife and children, for I
have them not ; and as this storm drives upon me, I
most humbly and heartily bless GOD for it, that I
have not any of these clogs to hang to me.
" Not the greatness of my place ; for if, in this pre
sent tumble, anything be put either upon it or me,
that a knowing conscience ought to check at, the
world shall soon see how little I value Canterbury in
regard of conscience.
1 Laud's Works, vol. iii. p. 219. (Diary.)
IV.] FIDELITY TO THE ENGLISH CHURCH. 199
** " Not the honour of my place neither ; for if I stood
upon that, I cannot but see how malice hath lain that
in the dust, or lower, if it may be. And can any man
think, then, that I would endure so much hatred, and
so many (sixty-six) base libels, as have filled the streets
against me, and such bitter revilings of me in print, as
the gall of some pens have cast upon me, when I might
go live elsewhere with content and reputation ? Sure
I nothing but conscience could stay me here in such a
.9 condition ?
" Not the wealth to be gotten in my place ; for the
Archbishopric of Canterbury is far short of the value
put upon it, (according as I have given a faithful ac
count to his Majesty.) And if it were of never so
great a value, I have made it manifest to the world
I that wealth is not my aim ; for whatsoever benefit
hath accrued to me, over and above my necessary and
decent expenses, I have refunded back upon the poor,
* or the public, or the Church from whence I had it, as
in better times Churchmen were wont to do. So
there could be no external motive to work upon me to
make me stay here, if my conscience went along with
Borne. And my conscience being not that way set,
(as most certainly it is not,) no man can so much as
probably think I should, with hazard of my life, and
honour, and all things, practise the change of religion,
and that against my conscience." 1
We may dismiss this part of our subject with two
more extracts. The first will show the opposition he
made to foreign interference with the religion of Eng
lishmen ; the second how gladly he would have wel
comed the union of Englishmen in one Creed :
" And for the latter part of this Article, it is utterly
untrue that ever I either permitted or countenanced
any Popish hierarchy or ecclesiastical government to
be established in this kingdom ; and if any such be
established, it is more than I know to this instant.
But this I am sure of, and can prove, that when the
1 Laud's Works, vol. iii. 416.
200 LIFE OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
Queen's almoner was to be made a Bishop, I laboured
as much against as I could ; whereupon he delayed
the taking of his bishopric upon him for a good time.
And when divers offers were made on his behalf, and
the Queen grew earnest for his preferment, I was
called again by his Majesty, in the presence of a secre
tary of state, and commanded to speak my judgment
and my conscience ; and I did so, and declared clearly
against any Bishop of the Roman party, his coming
into the kingdom to reside, or exercise any juris
diction here. And I gave then for my reason, the
very self-same which is since published by the House
of Commons in their Remonstrance ; a different and
inconsistent Church within a Church, which ever
brought hazard upon the State. And in this judg
ment I persisted, and never permitted, much less
countenanced, any Popish hierarchy to settle in this
kingdom, but hindered it by all the ways and means I
" And surely I may not deny it : I have ever wished
I and heartily prayed for the unity of the whole Church
of CHEIST, and the peace and reconciliation of torn
iand divided Christendom. But I did never desire a
1 reconciliation, but such as might stand with truth, and
j preserve all the foundations of religion entire. For I
have learned from a prime schoolman of their own,
that ' every union doth not perfect the true reason or
definition of that which is good ; but that only upon
which depends esse perfectum rei, the perfect essence
of that thing.' So that in this particular, if the sub-
I stance of Christian religion be not perfected by any
union, that union itself canfiot have in it rationem
boni, the true being and nature of good. And there
fore I did never desire that England and Rome should
Imeet together, but with forsaking of error and super
stition ; especially such as grate upon and fret the
foundations of religion. But were this done, GOD
forbid but I should labour for a reconciliation, ;if -some
1 Laud's Works, vol. iii. p. 419.
XV.] THE KOTAL SUPREMACY. 201
tenets of the Roman party on the one side, and some
deep and embittered disaffections on the other, have
not made it impossible, as I much doubt they have." 1
To return to Laud's measures for the raising the
character of his own Church. There was onepoin^
which pressed upon him sorely; the Eraatiamsm of
the English Church, her subserviency to the SJatfl, tCf
X absolute control over -her claimed by the civil power,
were blots easily hit by the sharp eyes of Romanists
and Puritans. We have already hinted at the neces
sity felt for supplying, by some living authority^ the
place formerly occupied by the Pope, this was
thought to be effected by the union of the national
I Clergy and the King; their decisions were considered
binding upon aTT Immense powers naturally became
(vested in the King, who very soon showed his inten
tion of reducing the clerical influence to the lowest
minimum ; and many of the Clergy, feeling themselves
powerless against, acquiesced in the aggressions of the
Begale. Thus Cranmer not only allowed the King's
Bright to ordain, but ventured to support this position
by the assertion, that the Apostles themselves formed
only a provisional government for the Church, which
they were ready to surrender to any prince who would
take it upon himself: a strange statement for one who
professed to draw his religion from Scripture alone.
Accordingly, it is not surprising to find Cranmer and
his colleagues begging of Edward a continuance of
their episcopal powers, which they said expired with
<pthe royal breath of his father.
We naturally therefore look in Ed ward's reign for the
extreme development of the Regale. Tfie King was
termed in the Articles " Head of the Church ;" the ser
mons to be preached by the Clergy were composed by
the State ; congts <felire were abolished ; all writs from
the ecclesiastical courts ran in the King's name ; the
King's arms were engraved on the episcopal seals, and
royal injunctions defined the qualifications of persons
1 Laud's Works, vol. iii. p. 412.
202 LIFE OF AECHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
to be ordained. The second Prayer-Book, including
the Communion Office and the Ordinal, had only civil
sanction ; decrees of council tore down altars and re-^
moved painted windows. No fewer than six Bishops
i (Bonner, Gardiner, Heath, Day, Tunstal, Ferrar)
were removed from their sees by royal commission ;
Ferrar for having exercised jurisdiction in his own
"^narne. T^e_]^Jprmatip__Legugi (providentially hin
dered from passing into a law) openly asserted the
derivation of all spiritual authority from the King,
and converted him into a lay Pope.
So went matters on in Edward's time. When the
nation, at the accession of Elizabeth, for the third
time changed its religion at the bidding of its sove
reign, many objections were urged by the Puritans
against the excess of royal authority. To please their
scruples, the Queen consented to lay aside the title of
i Head of the Church, and the objectionable phrase was
' for ever erased from the Articles of religion. Her in
junctions also, to which reference is made in the
Thirty-Seventh Article, breathe the same spirit of
moderation, when compared with the acts of her boy
brother. But Elizabeth was fond of her supremacy,
"*and with the appointment of Bishops (though she res
tored in England the form of the Cong6 d'elire) and
j the entire control of Convocation in her hands, and
i the Court of High Commission, to execute her be
hests, she was completely master of the position.
Take it on the whole, she exercised her powers wisely,
^and preserved the Church from confusion. Her pre
rogatives descended unimpaired to James and Charles.
IButTmperceptibly there had been growing up among
the Clergy higher views of their holy calling. They
i felt that they never could with effect claim the allegi-
' ance of the people, if they only rested upon a royal
commission. That which was hinted at by Bancroft at
Paul's Cross, and of which Whitgjft, said he wished the
Doctor were true, but feared the contrary, the abso
lute independency of the Episcopate in spirituals as
xv.] LAUD'S TTSE OF THE EEQALE. 203
derived from JESUS CHEIST, was in after years more
loudTjTenunciated, more boldly promulgated. Laud
made no scruple of claiming &jus divinum for Bishops
as well as for Kings. " My order as a Bishop and my
power of jurisdiction, is by Divine Apostolical right,
and unalterable as far as I know in the Church of
CHEIST." 1
But while thus convinced of the real source of his
spiritual authority, we do not deny Laud made un
sparing use of the immense powers vested in the
Crown. Montague was consecrated in spite of objec
tions regularly urged at his confirmation. As Elizabeth
had suspended Grindal, so Charles suspended Abbott.
Numberless injunctions were issued by the Crown ;
regular accounts of the state of the various dioceses
were laid before the King; all opposition was silenced
by the interposition of the royal authority. The
Scotch Canons and Liturgy were promulgated by an
alarming stretch of prerogative, and Laud at his trial
constantly pleaded his Majesty's commands as his jus
tification. Nevertheless Laud was no Erastian. He
used the Regale indeed, but how ? for the exaltation
qJTthe Church, to free her from her subserviency to
the State. The King could do almost what he pleased,
and under Laud's guidance he was pleased to exert
his power for the Church's true interests. Laud soon
found that opposition to the work of Church emanci
pation would not come from the Eegale. It resided
in tKe seventeenth century where it now resides, in
Parliament and the law courts. He had no weapon
to fight them" with" Tut the Regale, shall we blame
him for his use of it ? Had he not done so the Church
could never have attained that comparative freedom
she now enjoys.
We contend therefore, that Laud in his exercise of
the Regale was no Erastian, though he used an instru
ment which might easily, and has been perverted to
Erastian purposes, and so far the degradation of the
1 Laud's Works, vol. iii. p. 406.
204 LITE OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
Church. Laud on the contrary, used it to support
those higher views of her real nature and constitution
which were developing themselves within her. It was
a two-edged weapon, that old English Regale, and was
very soon turned against the very school that upheld
it. It has now been removed from the Sovereign's hands,
and it is matter of thankfulness that the King is no
longer a despot in the Church. She can now dispense
with the arm of flesh, she could have done so at any
time ; still there can be no doubt that her progress
would have been infinitely slower if she had not at a
critical period met with such a nursing father as King
Charles. And therefore we make no apology for his
exercise of his spiritual prerogative, nor for Laud's
using for the Church's good, those powers which he
found in the Crown, but which he had not placed
there, and which, had he been asked for the first time
to do, he would probably have refused to concede. We
cannot imagine Laud playing the part of some of his
predecessors, in his subserviency to the civil power.
The Church soon showed signs of increasing vigour.
A solemn decision of the judges asserted the rights of
the Bishops to issue their decrees in courts ecclesias
tical in their own name. Books, too, issued from the
press, asserting higher claims for the spirituality than
suited nobles and country gentlemen, while the ma
chinery this last class enjoyed for degrading the
Clergy, by hiring them as chaplains and lecturers, was
soon broken to pieces.
Simultaneously with this, and of necessity connected
with it, arose higher and deeper views of the Sacra
ments. We mentioned in our last chapter the names
of several theologians who owed their promotion to
Laud's recommendations. Higher views of the Sa
craments involved more careful celebration ; the
King's heart was with a more comely ritual than
characterised Genevan devotion ; and what was want
ing in archiepiscopal, was made up by the exercise of
the regal authority ; for Laud, as a practical man, made
XT.] CONDITION OF THE CLERGY. 205
the best use of the state of things which he found ex
isting. Laud also sought to raise the tone of the
Church by the elevation of the Clergy. He not only
stood up for their legal rights, and encouraged the
assertion of higher claims for them than heretofore,
but boldly advanced them to positions they had hitherto
not occupied. Thus Spotswood was made Chancellor
of Scotland, and several Bishops Privy Councillors ;
while Juxon, as we have seen, became Treasurer
of England. There is no doubt Laud carried this too
far, and his elaborate answer to Lord Say and Sele
Hoes not prove the desirableness or wisdom of appoint
ing clergy to posts of secular trust. But, probably, it
was necessary (owing to the degraded condition of the
clergy) to carry matters rather to an extreme. That
the clergy, as clergy, were entitled to any deference,
was a notion not at all in accordance with the views
of the nobility and gentry. They were glad enough
to patronize them, to feed them at their tables, to
retain them as dependants, almost on a level with
their hired lacqueys, and so control them. But this
did not suit Laud. He was determined the Clergy
should occupy their proper place, and have a recog
nized position, thai the priesthood should make
itself felt; for he well knew religion suffered when
her_ministers were contemptuously treated. And so
successful was he in his attempts to raise his order,
that Heylin notes that under his rule "the Clergy
grew to such esteem for parts and power, that the
gentry thought none of their daughters to be better
disposed of than such as they had lodged in the arms
of a Churchman ; and the nobility had grown so well
affected to the state of the Church, that some of them
designed their younger sons to the Order of Priest
hood, to make them capable of rising in the same
ascendant." And the clergy themselves felt their*
position was improved ; instead of crouching like syco
phants, they carried themselves boldly as became ambas
sadors of CHRIST, to the great chagrin of course of those
206 LIFE OF ABCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
who wished to retain them still in servitude, " and who,
says Clarendon, " did observe the inferior Clergy took
more upon them than they had used to do, and did
not live towards their neighbours of quality, or their
patrons themselves, with that civility and condescen
sion they had used to do." "We all know this means
they began to recognize they had a higher mission
than that of being Chaplains to landed gentry.
We have already alluded to the discipline Laud
exercised by means of the High Commission Court.
This naturally tended to exalt the ecclesiastical ele
ment, probably unduly ; but no one can blame him
for making nobles, equally with the poor, feel the
sharp edge of discipline. Laud knew no respect of
persons, and however the aristocracy might resent the
" insolent triumph upon their degree and quality, level
ling them with the common people," Laud knew no
reason why gentle blood should be exempted from
penalties imposed by law for breaches against morals,
any more than those of meaner origin ; of course
gentle blood did not think so, and was very angry,
and when the time came took its revenge. English,
i Irish, Scotch nobles all had something against the h'on-
| hearted man, who had wrested from them their spoil,
and made them smart under the reality of ecclesi
astical discipline. Full of anger they opened upon
i him at his trial, and rejoiced when the man that had
I so nobly reproved their misdeeds was taken out of the
4 way.
Such was Laud as a statesman, and Church ruler.
We do not claim perfection for him, or exemption
from the failings of humanity. To suppose that a
man could act as Prime Minister of England, Foreign
Secretary, Chancellor of two Universities, and Arch
bishop of Canterbury, and not make some mistakes,
would be absurd. We have not hesitated to point
them out. Take it all in all, it is surprising the
work was done so well as it was. The country
prospered, the Church was elevated under the Laudian
XT.] LAUD'S PEATERS. 207
administration, and the effects of his Church rule have
lasted to this day.
It may be interesting in concluding this chapter,
to say a few words respecting his private relations,
though we have endeavoured all along to make our
readers acquainted with the inner life of this great
Prelate. We shall note therefore only the salient
points which attract us most.
All Christians know the secret of success is prayer,
that without prayer the best laid schemes have no
certainty of success. And those who have been much
mixed up with the business of the world, must be
well aware of the great temptation to forget this great
truth of prayer, and to trust for success to -human
plans and human ability. Now Laud was a man of
prayer. The distractions of the times, the multiplicity
of occupation, the troubles of his position, prevented
not the communion of his soul with his heavenly FA
THER. Seven times a day did he pour out his con
fessions, prayers, thanksgivings, at the throne of grace ;
nor were the dark and silent watches of the night un
provided in his manual with suitable devotions, the
language of which is remarkably scriptural, and evi
denced a mind deeply imbued with knowledge of Holy
Writ. The same book contains special prayers for
prosperity, for adversity, for the State, the King, the
Church, the Clergy. His own failings are subject of
particular note : the prayers for bridling of the tongue
we have already alluded to, and we know the bitter
penitential mournings each anniversary of his fall
wrung from him. If the pestilence raged, or war
broke out, or famine, Laud made it a subject of prayer.
In poverty, and sorrow, and infamy, in fear of vio
lence, of fraud, of treachery, the Prelate's soul vented
its wants in prayer. His enemies were not for
gotten, and the SAVIOUB'S precepts of forgiveness
were embodied in the language of devotion. The
extracts we have given from his manual, relative
to the Blessed Eucharist and the Episcopate, will
xv.] LAUD'S FRIENDSHIPS. 209
" Jan. 1. The way to do the town of Beading good
for their poor, which may be compassed by GOD'S
blessiug 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 (though I had much beaten them about
it) till this night as I was at my prayers. Amen,
LORD."
Laud's kindly heart is evidenced further by the
strong friendships he formed, and the bitter grief he
felt when his friends failed him. Thus Sir K. Digby's
secession to Borne, unknown to Laud, who was on
very intimate terms with him, caused him much pain.
His desertion in the Council Chamber by Sir F.
Windebank, whose fortunes he had made, is chronicled
as matter of grief. How deeply he felt Buckingham's
death, has been already seen. His abrupt and un-
courteous manner was probably excited by the honest
indignation he felt at Bishops who were hangers-
on of the Court, nobles who patronized the Church,
and squires who lorded it over the Clergy. What
we have said above, proves he was a man of en
larged sympathies; and the affection the inferior Clergy
had for him t shows they understood him. It is a very
pleasing trait too in his character, to find him nursing
the sick bed of his friend the Duke of Buckingham,
while his kindly feeling towards a class generally but
little regarded by great men, domestic servants, shows
that he felt the bond of Christian brotherhood made
all men one. Such extracts as these respecting Adam
Torless and William Pennell, speak for themselves,
and ought to dissipate preconceived prejudices. They
show that, if stern to the worthless, he was very
gentle to all that deserved well of him.
" Oct. 2. Saturday, in the evening, at Mr. Win
debank' s, my ancient servant, Adam Torless, fell into
a swoon, and we had much ado to recover him ; but
I thank GOD, we did.
" Thursday, Sept. 23, 1641. Mr. Adam Torless, my
p
210 LIFE. OF AECHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP..
Y ancient, loving, and faithful servant, and then my
steward, after he had served me full forty and two
years, died, to my great both loss and grief. For all
my accounts since my commitment were in his hands ;
and had he not been a very honest and careful man,
I must have suffered much more than I did ; yet I
suffered enough, besides the loss of his person, who
was become almost the only comfort of my affliction
and my age. So true it is, that afflictions seldom
v come single.
*// " Oct. 26, Monday. This morning between four and
five of the clock, lying at Hampton Court, I dreamt
that I was going out in haste, and that when I came
into my outer chamber, there was my servant William
Pennell, in the same riding-suit which he had on that
day seven-night at Hampton Court with. me. Me-,
thought I wondered to see him, for I left him sick
at home, and asked him how he did, and what he made
there. And that he answered me he came to receive
my blessing ; and with that fell on his knees. That
thereupon I laid my hand upon his head and prayed
over him, and therewith awaked. When I was up, I
told this to them of my chamber, and added, that I
(should find Pennell dead or dying. My coach came,
and when I came home I found laim past sense, and
giving up the ghost. So my prayers (as they had
^frequently before,) commended him to GrOD." 1
There is another point worthy of notice, as evi
dencing the high Christian principle which actuated
Laud. Statesmen constantly make enemies. Laud
was no exception. He was too honest not to raise
foes on every side. Among them Bishop Williams
was the most inveterate and unprincipled. From the.
first he ran counter to Laud, blackened his character,
and tried to ruin him with the King ; and afterwards,
with pen and counsel, as well as by personal influence,
Williams most vigorously aided the Puritan faction in
their opposition to Laud's reform and restoration of the
1 Laud's Works, vol. iii. 224, 249.
xv.] LAUD'S ENEMIES. 211
altars. At last the day of retribution came : "Williams
fell into disgrace, and had to suffer the tender mercies
of the Star Chamber. That the man who could in
such Christian strains pray for his enemies, and freely
forgive them, as we have seen Laud do, should take
advantage of "Williams's position, we feel unlikely;
and we have his own words for it, that so far from ex
citing the King's anger against his former rival and
inveterate antagonist, he went down on his knees
three times to his Majesty, beseeching him to pardon
the offending Bishop ; nor did he desist b.is intercession
till he found Williams had been guilty of subornation
of perjury, a crime so grievous in a Bishop that he
could say no more. When we remember the immense
hindrance Williams had been to all Laud's plans for
the improvement of the Church, we shall best
appreciate his earnest entreaty for mercy to his
fallen foe.
The last point we shall notice (for we would wish
our readers to gain an impression of Laud from his
whole life, rather than any summary of character,) is
the religious point of view in which he regarded acci-
(fents. He seems thoroughly to have believed our
LORD'S saying, that "not a sparrow falleth to the
ground without our FATHER." Thus he doubted not
but that the fire at S. John's, 1617, had a warning to
himself; and his breaking~lf sinew of his leg, as noted
Feb. 5, 1628, was also regarded as a call to repentance.
All through his Diary and Devotions he never seems
totliink that GOD'S judgments have been provoked by
others, but are sent as punishments for his own sins.
This is indeed a feature of the highest saintliness.
" Less than the least of all saints," "of whom I am
chief," are the natural expressions of the deep loath-,
ing of themselves which the saints ever entertain.
Prynne could only suppose from the strong peniten
tial feelings evinced by Laud on every occasion of
recognising GOD'S hand, that he had been abandoned
to wretchlessness of unclean living. His coarse mind
212 LIFE OF ABCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
could not appreciate the language of sanctity. But
the world never has understood the Church, and never
will, till the end of all things.
CHAPTEE XVI.
A.D. 1640.
THE CONVOCATION OF 1640.
" And the Apostles and Elders came together, for to consider
of this matter." Acts xv. 6.
IT was not to be expected that Laud's measures for
the elevation of the Church passed unnoticed by the
Puritans. He had contrived to some extent to gag
them by the strict censorship exercised over the press,
while every encouragement was given to sound and
orthodox publications. Their chief resource was
therefore libelling, pasting up papers at Cheapside
about the " Arch Wolf" of Canterbury shedding the
blood of the martyrs, setting his Star Chamber speech
in a kind of pillory, and the like. Laud was accus
tomed to this, and was too much occupied at the time
in the affairs of Scotland, which was in open rebellion,
to attend to such petty annoyances. The history of
the proceedings which led to the pacification of Ber
wick, is foreign to our purpose. Suffice it, that in
1640, the Scotch Rebellion still continuing, it was
thought expedient to call a Parliament, which met
April 13, 1640. "With it a Convocation of the Clergy
assembled, according to custom, at S. Paul's, whence,
after a sermon by Dr. Turner, they adjourned to
Westminster, when Laud produced a Commission
under the Broad Seal, empowering them to treat on
matters ecclesiastical, subject to the royal approval.
The first thing to be done was to vote the King six
subsidies for the Scotch war, for six years ; after which
XYI.] EIOT AT LAMBETH PALACE. 213
they enacted various Canons for the restraint of the
Roman Catholics and the suppression of Socinianism,
which it seemed was making way. Measures were
also taken to ensure conformity on the part of the
Brownists and other Separatists, by compelling them
to attend their parish churches ; but, as we have no
sympathy with compulsion in religion, we pass them
by. All that can be said is that these Canons were in
accordance with the political maxims of the age and
country.
Meanwhile, matters had not gone well in Parlia
ment. The King had offered to abandon ship-money,
if they would vote supplies, and Laud had proposed
on the part of the Convocation, a conference with the
Commons on matters of religion, but to no purpose.
They refused to proceed, and the King, in an evil
hour, gave way to his impatience, and dissolved them.
" This is the doing of ' William the Fox,' " exclaimed
the City democrats, and papers were posted on 'Change,
exciting the apprentices to attack Lambeth. Laud
had notice of the storm, and slept that night at
Whitehall, having first fortified Lambeth, round
which a riotous mob howled for two hours past
midnight, May II. 1 One of the ringleaders was
1 " GOD be thanked, I had no harm : my deliverance was
great. GOD, make me thankful for it !" ia his way of recording
it. As was his wont, this trouble was sanctified by prayer. " O
Eternal GOD and my Most Merciful FATHER, as this day the fury
of the enraged multitude was fierce upon me and my house, to de
stroy me and to pillage it, it pleased Thee in mercy to preserve both,
and bring some of them to shame and punishment. I have sinned
many ways against Thee, O LORD, and this was a loud call of
Thiue, and a merciful, to bring me to repentance, which I beseech
Thee, give me grace to hear and obey. But what I have done to
hart or offend them, that should stir up this rage against me, I
know not. LORD, in Thy mercy look down upon me ; fill my
heart with thankfulness for this great deliverance, and suffer me
not to forget it, or the examination which I took of myself upon
it. And as for them and their like, let them not have their desire,
O LORD ; let not their mischievous imaginations prosper against
me, nor their fury lay hold upon me, lest they be too proud, and
214 . LIFE OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
executed. But riots were of constant occurrence. In
this case the popular opinion was wrong, as Laud says
the resolution to dissolve Parliament was taken before
he entered the Council Chamber, though he voted for it.
A difficulty now arose respecting the continuance
of Convocation. Laud prepared to dissolve it, but the
King, who wanted money, ordered him to proceed.
Anxious to avoid collision with Parliament, he for
got at first that Convocation could not be dissolved
without the King's writ. On application the King,
to Laud's surprise and chagrin, told him that the
Lord Keeper Finch had advised him Convocation
might continue to sit, notwithstanding the dissolution
of Parliament. Laud seems to have shown he was
hurt at the King's having kept the matter from him,
but obeyed. Some members of Convocation, however,
were more timid, and required further satisfaction,
and to please them Charles referred the matter to the
Lord Privy Seal (Montague), the Chief Justices of
the King's Bench and Common Pleas (Bramstou and
Littleton), Serjeant Whitfield, Bankes, the Attorney-
General, and Serjeant Heath. Their answer was,
V " The Convocation being called by the King's writ,
under the great seal, doth continue, until it be dissolved
by writ or commission under the great seal, notwith
standing the Parliament be dissolved.
'H. MANCHESTEB,
" May 14th, 1640. ' JOHN BBAMSTON,
" J. FINCH, C. S. 'EDWAED LITTLETON,
'RALPH WHITFIELD.
'JOHN BANKES,
HEATH."
lest I end my weary days in misery. Yet forgive them, O LORD,
for they know not why they did it ; and, according to Thy wonted
mercy, preserve me to serve Thee, and let the same watchful pro
tection which now defended me, guard me through the remainder
of my life. And this for Thine own goodness' sake, and the
merits of my SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. Amen." (Laud's Works,
vol. iii. p. 83.)
xvi.] CANONS OP 1640. 215
* Thus fortified, Convocation proceeded to perfect its
acts of subsidies, and returned them to the King.
They then proceeded with the Canons, but so great
was the fury of the people, that it was necessary to
surround the Convocation House with a guard of the
Middlesex Train Bands under Endymion Porter, a
*bad augury of success.
In these Canons, the Convocation laid down very
high notions of prerogative, asserting the jliyine
right of the high and sacred order of Kings a moot
point of politics which the Clergy had better have ab
stained from settling. They then proceeded to de
clare their views respecting his supremacy in matters
ecclesiastical.
v / ~~ Tr AT supreme power is given to this most excellent
Order by GOD Himself in the Scriptures, which is,
That Kings should rule and command in their several
dominions all persons of what rank or estate soever,
whether ecclesiastical or civil, and that they should
restrain and punish with the temporal sword all stub-
.Jborn and wicked doers." 1
Having established the royal rights against Pope
and people, the Convocation proceeded to impose an
oath, to be taken by all ecclesiastics, that they ap
proved the doctrine and discipline of the Church
of England, would never bring in any Popish doc
trines, or consent to alter the government of the
Church by Archbishops, Bishops, Deans, Archdeacons,
&c., an unhappy termination which gave occasion to
malicious Puritans suggesting that a loophole had
been left designedly for the entrance of all Papal
innovations, and procured for it the title of "the
Et csetera " oath.
But the chief work of the Synod was the declaration
concerning rites and ceremonies, of which we subjoin
the principal part.
After a preamble about the desirableness of unity
of faith, and uniformity of practice, and the objec-
1 Laud's Works, vol. T. Part ii. p. 614.
216 LIFE OF ABCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP,
tions which had been taken against the Communion
table standing at the east end of the Church as sa
vouring of Popery, it proceeds : " yet notwithstanding
it was then ordered by the injunctions and advertise
ments of Queen Elizabeth, of blessed memory, that
the holy tables should stand in that place where the
altars stood, and accordingly have been continued in
the Royal Chapels of three famous and pious Princes,
and in most cathedral and some parochial churches,
which doth sufficiently acquit the manner of placing
the said tables from any illegality or just suspicion of
Popish superstition or innovation. And therefore we
judge it fit and convenient that all Churches and
Chapels do conform themselves in this particular to
the example of the Cathedral or mother Churches,
saving always the general liberty left to the Bishop by
law, during the time of administration of the Holy
T Communion. And we declare that this situation of
, the holy table doth not imply that it is or ought to be
| esteemed a true and proper altar, wherein CHEIST is
again really sacrificed ; but it is and may be called an
altar by us in that sense in which the primitive
^Church called it an altar and in no other.
y "And because experience hath showed us, how
irreverent the behaviour of many people is in many
places, some leaning, others casting their hats, and
some sitting upon, some standing, and others sitting
under the communion table in time of divine service ;
for the avoiding of these and the like abuses, it is
thought meet and convenient by this present Synod,
that the said communion tables in all chancels or
chapels be decently severed with rails to preserve.
v them from such or worse profanation.
"And because the administration of holy things is to
be performed with all possible decency and reverence,
therefore we judge it fit and convenient, according to
the word of the Service-Book established by Act of
Parliament, ' Draw near,' &c., that all communicants,
with all humble reverence, shall draw near and approach
XVI.] BITES AND CEREMONIES. 217
"'to the holy table, there to receive the divine mysteries
which have heretofore in some places been unfitly car
ried up and down by the Minister, unless it shall be
otherwise appointed in respect of the incapacity of the
T jurisdiction, and other ordinaries respectively in theirs.
" And lastly, whereas the Church is the house of
GOD, dedicated to His holy worship, and therefore
ought to mind us both of the greatness and goodness
of His divine majesty ; certain it is that the acknow
ledgment thereof, not only inwardly in our hearts,
but also outwardly with our bodies, must needs be
pious in itself, profitable unto us, and edifying unto
others. "VVe therefore think it very meet and behove-
ful, and heartily recommend it to all good and well-
affected people, members of this Church, that they be
ready to tender unto the LOBD the said acknowledg
ment by doing reverence and obeisance both at their
coming in and going out of the said churches, chan
cels, or chapels, according to the most ancient custom
of the primitive Church in the purest times, and of
this Church also for many years of the reign of Queen
Elizabeth. The reviving therefore of this ancient and
laudable custom we heartily commend to the serious
consideration of all good people, not with any inten
tion to exhibit any religious worship to the commu
nion table, the east, or church, or anything therein
contained in so doing, or to perform the said gesture
in the celebration of the Holy Eucharist upon any
opinion of a corporal presence of the body of JESUS
CUEIST on the holy table, or in mystical elements,
but only for the advancement of GOD'S majesty, and
to give Him alone that honour and glory that is due unto
Him, and no otherwise ; and in the practice or omis
sion of this rite, we desire that the rule of charity
prescribed by the Apostle may be observed, which is,
that they which use this rite, despise not them who
use it not, and that they who use it not condemn not
those that use it." 1
1 Laud's Works, vol. v. Part ii. p. 625.
218 LIFE OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
Here then is the best proof that the Church had
made way, and Laud's labour not been in vain. What
a different tone of mind with regard to GOD'S worship
must have possessed this Convocation of 1640, to that
which actuated the Convocation of 1562, when the
surplice and other ritual observances were carried only
, by a majority of one. And what is more, the improved
! feeling has lasted, and in all main points this Canon,
though declared void in law, has continued in force.
Our altars are still railed from intrusion, and we kneel
before them at communion. Posterity has again prac
tically vindicated Laud.
The remainder of their time was occupied in res
training the greedy practices of the officials of the
Ecclesiastical courts. Their deliberations were em
bodied in seventeen canons, which after some opposition
from Bishop Goodman, of Gloucester, who afterwards
died in the Roman communion, and was now suspended
by Laud, were signed by the Prelates and Clergy.
Convocation was then dissolved, their acts transmitted
to York, and after receiving the subscriptions of that
province laid before the King, who by letters patent,
of June 13th, confirmed them collectively and singly.
The quiet with which they were first received, com
pared with the noise they created afterwards, is very
remarkable.
CHAPTER XVII.
A.D. 16401.
THE BEGINNING OF SOEHOWS.
4 ' Then the Presidents and Princes sought to find occasion
against Daniel concerning the Kingdom." Dan. vi. 4.
WHEN Mr. Hyde, an hour after the dissolution,
met St. John, the parliamentary lawyer, he noticed-
that his brow, usually so dark and gloomy, was bright
.XVTI.] THE LOXG PABLIAMENT. 219
and cheerful. Hyde on the contrary, was sick at
heart, and in answer to the other's question, as to the
cause of his sadness, replied, that he was troubled that
in such a time of confusion so wise a Parliament which
could only have found a remedy for it, was so unsea
sonably dismissed. " All is well," replied the other,
" it must be worse before it can be better ; this Par
liament never would have done what was necessary to
be done." The event proved Hyde had too good
reason for his grief. The dissolution was indeed a
fatal mistake. The King on discovering his betrayal
I b~y~Tane7 would have done any thing to recall his
' edict. But it could not be. Recourse was therefore
*had to voluntary loans, (for the King wanted money)
and in less than three weeks, 300,000 was paid into
the exchequer ; the army was raised, and the command
^given to the Earl of Northumberland, with Stratford
as Lieut. -General, and Lord Conway as master of
the horse ; a nobleman who had managed to ingratiate
himself into Laud's good opinion, by the ability of his
speeches in Church affairs ; though those who knew
him best, were aware he privately thought all creeds
alike. His moral character was but doubtful; but
his great learning, vivacious manners and powers of
conversation, secured him a welcome with most people.
Northumberland's illness hasted Stratford's march
northward, but before he arrived, the battle of New-
burn had been fought, and the Scots were masters of
Newcastle. Stratford himself was worn by sickness,
and finding the army terribly demoralized, he did not
venture to give battle, but fell back upon York, where
the King had arrived. A great Council of Peers as
sembled at York, and it was finally resolved to call
another Parliament^ It met, Tuesday, Nov. 3rd, 1640,
aTiTtime when the fanaticism of the people was at its
I height ; the very soldiers of the Royal army, dese-
crating churches, burning surplices, maltreating the
clergy on their march. Serious riots too had taken
place in London, where the mob had burst into the
High Commission Court, and torn up the benches,
220 LIFE OF ABCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
amid shouts of " No Bishops, no High Commission ! "
Seditious papers also, urging an attack upon Laud,
were circulated, and there is reason to believe, from
the language used in the rebel camp, that plots were
laid for his assassination.
The day on which Parliament met, Nov. 3rd, was a
memorable one in English history, for on that day the
Parliament of Henry, which voted the dissolution of
the monasteries, and brought about the fall of the
great statesman Wolsey, had assembled. Laud's at
tention was drawn to this, but it was not to be
expected it would influence him. Yet he could not
but have been anxious, for everybody predicted his
ruin when the Parliament assembled ; and he records
almost as if he accepted the omen, that on his entry
into his study, Oct. 27th, he found his picture fallen
on its face lying on the floor. The Parliament met ;
the King, sick at heart, went privately to Westminster,
and opened the session without the usual pomp. Before
it closed, Laud, Straftbrd, and Charles had bowed
beneath the headsman's axe.
Laud did not quail. He took his place in Parlia-
1 ment. He preached before Convocation, advising all
to remain faithful to their parts, though troublous
times might be at hand. Nothing was done by the
clergy, though several matters had stood over from the
last synod, amongst them, the framing a pontifical,
"^which in addition to the offices of Ordination and
Confirmation should contain forms for the consecration
of churches and churchyards, reconciling of penitents,
reception of those who had lapsed to Mahometanism,
>.~and the coronation of the Sovereign. A new Welch
translation of the Bible, and a Latin version of the
Prayer Book for the use of the Universities, had been
also deferred. But matters in Parliament henceforward
engrossed every thing. The Commons soon showed
they too were for "thorough." 1 On Nov. llth, Straf-
ford was followed into the House of Lords by Pym, and
1 A word much used in Laud's correspondence with Strafford,
to express vigorous counsels.
XYII.] IMPEACHMENT OF LAUD. 221
accused of high treason in the name of the Commons
of England. On Dec. 16th, the Canons were con
demned in the Lower House, as being against the
King's prerogative, the fundamental laws of the realm,
the liberty and property of the subject, and contain
ing divers other things tending to sedition, and of
dangerous consequence. 1
On Friday, Dec. 1th, (the anniversary of his con
secration to S. David's) Mr. D. Hollis, in the name
of the people of England, accused William, Lord Arch
bishop of Canterbury, of high treason, and prayed
he might be committed to safe custody, promising at
a convenient time to specify the charges. The Arch
bishop was ordered to withdraw : he craved leave to
speak, and expressed his sorrow at such a charge being
made against an innocent man. He was rudely inter
rupted by Lord Essex, brow-beaten by Lord Say, and
finally committed to the charge of Mr. J. Maxwell,
the Usher of the black rod. 2
"With difficulty the Archbishop obtained leave to
return to Lambeth to arrange his papers. And when
at the hour of evening prayer, he entered the chapel
he had so piously restored, it may be that a saddened
1 Laud's Works, vol. iii. p. 238. (Diary.)
3 The following prayer was composed by Laud on this occasion :
" O eternal GOD and merciful Father, I humbly beseech Thee look
down upon me in this time of my great and grievous affliction.
LORD, if it be Thy blessed will, make mine inuocency to appear,
and free both me and my profession from all scandal thus raised
upon me. And howsoever, if Thou be pleased to try me to the
uttermost, I humbly beseech Thee, give me full patience, propor
tionable comfort, contentment with whatsoever Thou sendest, and
an heart ready to die for Thy honour, the King's happiness, and
this Church's preservation. And my zeal to these is all the sin
(human frailty excepted) which is yet known to me in this parti
cular for which I thus suffer. LORD, look upon me in mercy, and
for the merits of JESUS CHRIST, pardon all my sins many and
great, which have drawn down this judgment upon me, and then
in all things do with me as seems best in Thine own eyes ; and
make me not only patient under, but thankful for whatsoever
Thou dost, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer. Amen."
Laud's Works, vol. iii. p. 84.
222 LIFE OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
feeling came over him as he gazed upon its fair beauty,
for the last time. But GOD was with His servant,
and the service of the day carried with it consolation ;
>and as the choir wafted in melodious strains the in
spired words " The floods are risen, LOUD, the floods
have lift up their voice, the floods lift up their waves.
I The waves of the sea are mighty, and rage horribly :
but yet the LOED, Who dwelleth on high, is mightier."
Or, "Blessed is the man whom Thou chastenest,
LORD: and teachest him in Thy law." Or, "In the
multitude of the sorrows I had in my heart, Thy com
forts have refreshed my soul. They gather them to
gether against the soul of the righteous, and condemn
the innocent blood : but the LORD is my refuge, and
my GOD is the strength of my confidence. He shall
recompense them their wickedness, and destroy them
in their own malice : yea, the LORD our GOD shall
destroy them." 1 Every word of those evening Psalms
spoke comfort ; and the voice of the Prophet, in the
first lesson, had its own message.
" For the LORD GOD will help me ; therefore shall I
not be confounded : therefore have I set my face like
a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed."
" He is near that justifieth me ; who will contend
with me ? let us stand together : who is mine adver
sary ? let him come near to me."
" Behold, the LORD GOD will help me ; who is he
that shall condemn me ? Lo, they all shall wax old
as a garment ; the moth shall eat them up."
" Who is among you that feareth the LORD, that
obeyeth the voice of His servant ; that walketh in dark
ness and hath no light ? let him trust in the Name of
the LORD, and stay upon his GOD."
" Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, that compass
yourselves about with sparks : walk in the light of
your fire, and in the sparks that ye have kindled.
This shall ye have of Mine hand ; ye shall lie down in
^ sorrow." (Isaiah 1.'7.) 2
1 Ps. xciii. and xciv. 2 First Evening Lesson, Dec. 18th. .
XVII.] POPULAR BANCOUB. 223
And the chief of the Apostles too seemed to speak
to him, and remind him that he must shortly put off
this tabernacle r 1 and so the Service closed. The organ
ceased, the chant died away, the closing prayer
was said, one last look the Prelate cast upon the fair
altar he had raised, the glowing windows he had res
tored, and then, at eventide took boat, and amid the
blessings of his poorer neighbours, who crowded the
portal and loudly prayed for his safe return, departed
to his prison-house. And so great an impression did
that service make upon his mind, that ever after till
the day of his death, the Psalms 93 and 94, which
were then sung, were recited by him daily.
It was now that the real motives of the enmity
aroused against him came out. Sir B. Howard, who
had been imprisoned formerly by the High Commission
Court for adultery" with Lady Purbeck, applied to
Parliament for damages, and this body in their hatred
toXaud, sympathizing with the adulterer, ordered the
Archbishop (though he had been one of many judges)
to pay damages 500, and his officials 250 each.
Meanwhile in the Houses examination was made into
his whole past life, with all the eagerness which malice
and hatred could supply. The town teemed with
scurrilous ballads, on his person and calling. " They
that sat in the gate spake against him, and the drunk-
ards made songs upon him." One favourite caricature
was to represent him in a cage, fastened by a chain.
"I thank GOD He made me patient," " GOD forgive
them," " it grieved me much more for my calling than
my person," are his only rjpiarks.
At length, after ten weeks' imprisonment at Max
well's, where he~~was put to ruinous charges, every
penny of which was exacted, these sticklers for the
liberty of the subject condescended to let him know
of^ what they accused him. It seems they had talked
oTremoving him from the country without trial, but it
was resolved at last to bring him into open court. On
1 2 S. Peter i. 14. The. Second Evening Lesson, Dec. 18th.
224 LIFE OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
February 26th, 1644, fourteen articles were presented
by Sir H. Vane, the younger. Laud spake something
to each, and the Lords finally committed him to
the Tower. He did not, however, leave Maxwell's
(whose wife he seems to have quite charmed, so light-
hearted, and yet so religious in his troubles, was he)
till the next Monday, March 1st, when, amid the
shoutings and hootings of a villainous rabble which
followed him to the Tower gates, he entered the State
prison. He felt deeply (for he was very sensitive) the
revilings of the multitude, " but I bless GOD," he says,
" my patience was not moved. I looked upon a higher
cause than the tongues of Shimei and his children."
The charges on which he found himself a prisoner
we reserve for another chapter.
CHAPTER XVIII.
16411643.
THE PBISON.
" In the multitude of the sorrows I had in my heart, Thy com
forts have refreshed my soul." Ps. xciv. 19.
THOSE who are disposed to moralize on the insta
bility of earthly greatness, may find a fit subject
for their meditation in the change that passed over
the fortunes of Laud. A few hours transformed him
from the first man in the kingdom to a prisoner
in danger of his life. But we prefer to follow him
into his dungeon, and witness him on his knees.
Thus he poured out his soul in prayer, a prisoner
in his solitary old age.
" SENECTTJS.
" LOED, cast me not off in the time of mine age ;
XVIII.] DEVOTIONS IN PRISON. 225
forsake me not now my strength begins to fail me.
Amen.
"Forsake me not, O GOD, in mine old age, now
I am grey-headed, until I have declared Thy strength
unto this generation, and Thy power to all them that
are to come. Amen.
" LOED, though Thou hast shortened the days of my
youth, yet cover me not with dishonour. Hide not Thy
self from me for ever, but remember how short my time
is, and make me remember it, O LORD. Amen.
" O LORD, teach me to number my days, that I may
apply my heart unto wisdom. Amen.
" O LORD, hide not Thy face from me in the time of
trouble, for my days are consumed away like smoke,
and my bones are burnt up like afire-brand. My days
are gone like a shadow, and I am withered like grass.
Thou, O LORD, hast brought down my strength in my
journey, and shortened my days. But, O GOD, take
me not away, but in the timeliness of my age, that
I may continue to serve Thee and be faithful to Thy
service, till Thou remove me hence. Amen.
" O LORD, have mercy upon me, and bring ray soul
out of prison, that I may give thanks unto Thy Name,
even in JESUS CHRIST our LORD. Amen.
" O LORD, blessed is the man that hath Thee for his
help, aud whose hope is in Thee. O LORD, help me
and all them to right that sutler wrong. Thou art
the LORD Which Tooselh men out prison, Which
helpeth them that are fallen. O LORD, help and
deliver me when and as it shall seem best to Thee,
even for JESUS CHRIST His sake. Amen.
" LORD, Thine indignation lies hard upon me ;
and though Thou hast not (for Thy mercy is great)
vexed me with all Thy storms, yet Thou hast put my
acquaintance far from me, and I am so fast in prison
that I cannot get forth. LORD, I call daily upon
Thee, hear and nave mercy, for JESUS CHRIST His
sake. Amen." 1
1 Laud's Works, vol. iii. p. 78.
Q
226 LIFE OF ABCHBISHOP LATJD. [CHAP.
The imprisonment of Laud was of course a triumph
for Williams. He was set at liberty and reinstated
in thlT Abbey Church, November 17th, with great
pomp. For a time this subtle Prelate was popular,
but the tide was nevertheless setting daily against
his order. To please the people the King nominated
him to the Archiepiscopal See of Tork, made vacant
by the death of Neile ; and to secure his hold on
popular affection, he procured the formation of a
committee of religion in the House of Lords, con
sisting often Earls, ten Bishops, and ten Barons, for the
purpose of examining into all innovations in doctrine
and discipline, and thus superseding the action of
Convocation. " What use will be made of this Com
mittee for the present, I shall expect ; but what it shall
produce in future, I dare not prophesy. But, it may
be, it will prove in time superior to the National Synods
of England, and what that may work in this Church
and State GOD knows." 1 As it was a packed Com
mittee and called Calvinistic preachers to its counsels,
our readers will anticipate its verdict.
Meanwhile the Commons were not idle. They
summoned before them Drs. Pocklington and Bray,
Heyliii, Cosin, and others, true sons of the Church,
?on the charge of being Popishly affected ; the proofs
being that they had railed in their altars, compelled their
parishioners to communicate at it, preached in surplices,
celebrated in the proper Eucharistic vestments, erected
^painted windows, and caused the Te Deum to be sung.
It is not worth while pursuing the history of such fanati
cism, but it is right our readers should see that almost
every thing which is now deemed by all parties right
and comely, was denounced by the Long Parliament as
superstitious. For it is only thus we can gain a right
idea of our obligations to Laud.
Laud was not a. solitary prisoner in the Tower. Its
walls contained thegreatEarl, the Archbishop's constant
friend; but no intercourse was permitted between them.
1 Laud's Works, vol. iii. p. 438.
XVIII.] ATTAINDER OF 8TBAFFOBD. 227
At length Stratford's trialcame on. The evidence broke
down. It was impossible to convict him according to
law. But the Commons did not care for that. Justice
was nothing to men who were eager for blood. They
therefore passed a bill of attainder, ordering his exe
cution. The King came during its progress to the
House, and declared he would on no account put his
hand to a measure so destructive of the eternal prin
ciples of justice. The bill, however, was pressed on ;
the rabble surrounded the House of Lords, and in
sulted the peers who were opposed to it. After its
second reading, the names of the fifty nobles who had
had the courage to vote against it were posted in
Palace Yard as " Straffordians," and enemies to their
country. At length the bill passed, and then com-
Imeuced that fearful struggle with his conscience, the
memory of which haunted Charles to his dying day.
(Overcome by the sophistry of Williams, the royal assent
was given, but Charles from that hour knew no peace.
It was the great sin of bis life ; and though he re
pented it all the remainder of his days, retribution
in mercy to him, followed in this world ; and the fate
of Stratford was his own.
On Sunday, May 9th, the bill of attainder became
law ; the same night Sir D. Carleton announced to
Stratford he was to die on Wednesday. The message
was received with great " courage and sweetness," for
I Stratford was prepared to meet his Maker, and indig
nantly refused to save himself by engaging to persuade
the King to abolish Episcopacy. " He would not buy
his life at so dear a rate" was his heroical reply. 1 The
v great Earl was assisted in his preparations for death
by Usherj the Archbishop of Armagh, and through
him he sent his dying request to Laud, that on
the morrow he would be at his window, and give
him his benediction. As he passed to the scaffold,
Stratford kneeled down and said, "My Lord, your
v prayers and your blessing." Laud gave him both.
1 Laud's Works, vol. hi. p. 442.
228 EIFE OF AECHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
" Farewell, my Lord," returned Strafford, " may GOD
protect your innocence." It was too much for the
old man, and Laud fell back in a swoon. When
he recovered it was all over, and the blood-thirsty
populace was shouting in its mad joy, " His head is off!
his head is off!"
How nobly Strafford met the raging multitude,
how meekly he laid his head upon the block, what a
true Christian hero he was in his last moments, is
foreign to these pages to record. " While I live shall
I honour his memory," writes Laud. "He was more
serviceable to the Church (not to mention the State)
than myself, or all the Churchmen that had ever been."
It is no wonder that the excitement and confinement
affected Laud's health. He fell into a tertian ague,
" which was comfortless in a prison. But I humbly
praise GOD for it ; after seven or eight fits He re
stored me to my health ; the only comfort which I
have of Him in time of my affliction." 1 His demean
our under sickness (from which he suffered more
or less through life, for his constitution was very
weakly) will be best estimated by the following extract
from his Devotions :
" O LOED, the sorrows of death compass me, and the
snares of it are ready to overtake me. When Thou
wilt dissolve my tabernacle, Thou alone knowest :
therefore in this my trouble I will call upon Thee my
LOED, and will complain unto my GOD. O be with
me at the instant of my death, and receive me, for
JESUS CHEIST His sake. Amen.
" O LOED, the snares of death compass me round
about, the pains of hell get hold upon me. I have
found trouble and heaviness, but will call upon Thy
Kame, LOED ; O LOED, deliver my soul. Deliver
my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet
from falling ; that I may walk before Thee in the land
of the living. Amen.
. " There is no health in my flesh by reason of Thy
1 Laud's Works, vol. iii. p. 446. Troubles.
mil.] DEMOLITIONS OF THE COMMONS. 229
wrath, neither is there any rest in my bones by reason
of my bin. Yet, O LORD, be merciful unto me, and
heal me, even for Thy Name's sake. Amen.
" O LORD, I give Thee humble and hearty thanks
for the great and almost miraculous bringing of me
back from the bottom of my grave. What Thou hast
further for me to do or to suffer, Thou alone knowest.
LoRD, give me patience and courage, and all Christian
resolution to do Thee service, and grace to do it. And
let me not live longer than to honour Thee, through
JESUS CHRIST. Amen." 1
It was now plain to all that Strafford and Laud
were no longer in the King's Councils. The new
administration consisted of the Earl of Bedford as
Treasurer, Lord Say, Master of the Wards, Mr. Hollis,
Secretary of State, Mr. Hyde, Chancellor of the Ex
chequer, and St. John, as Solicitor-General. They
advocated concession. The King went to Scotland
* and abandoned the Church to its fate, for which good
service . the citizens of Edinburgh illuminated their
city and received him with noisy demonstrations of joy.
^The Commons took advantage of the King's absence
to issue instructions respecting the performance of
Divine Service, enjoining Churchwardens to remove
the altars, destroy the rails, level the steps, break"
painted windows, and put down bowing at the Name
of JESUS. They had already procured the abolition of
the High Commission Court, and the coercive jurisdic
tion of the Bishops ; though foiled for the present in
their attack on Cathedrals. Their next step was
to commit the Archbishop of York and eleven Bishops
to the Tower, for having signed an ill-advised protesta
tion against the legality of the Parliamentary pro
ceedings in their absence from the House of Lords,
the violence of the rabble having rendered their pro
gress thither impossible. This was December 30th,
1641. On January 4th, 1642, Charles made his in
effectual attempt to seize the five members. How
-y sorely must he have missed Strafford ! The great Earl
1 Laud's Works, vol. iii. 49. Devotions.
230 LIFE OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
would have dragged them from any hiding place,
but Charles alone was no match for a Puritan
Parliament.
The cry was now for no Bishops, and Saturday,
Feb. 6th, 1642, the bill abolishing the Episcopal votes
in Parliament was passed. Laud carefully noted all
proceedings from his prison, the rigour of which does
not seem to have been increased, though he was not
allowed to communicate with his brother Prelates.
His jurisdiction was next sequestered ; he was ordered
to refer his patronage for approval to the Commons ;
and traps were laid to ensnare him into admissions
fatal to his cause, but he was on his guard, and
foiled their machinations. An additional trial also
befell him. He broke the sinew of his leg in the
old place, and was confined two months to his room.
He was thus cut oft' from the public worship of GOD,
a great deprivation to him ; but May 15th, " made shift
between his man and his staff, to go to church." The
preacher so far forgot Christian charity and common
courtesy, as to preach a violent invective against him,
from Judges v. 23. " Curse ye Meroz, said the angel
of the LOUD." So that the women and boys, he said,
stood up in the church to look at him. I humbly
thank GOD for my patience, he adds. 1 On which side
Christianity and the spirit of the Gospel were with
Laud, or this fanatical party, whose powers of abuse
have always been remarkable, let the subjoined extract
from his devotions testify.
" If I find favour in Thine eyes, O LORD, Thou
wilt bring me again, and show me both the ark and
the tabernacle, and set me right in Thy service, and
make me joyful and glad in Thee. But if Thou say,
(0, for JESUS His sake, say it not,) I have no pleasure
in thee ; behold, here I am, do with me as seemeth
good in Thine own eyes. Amen.
" O LORD, whatsoever Thou shalt lay upon me, I will
hold my peace, and not open my mouth ; because it is
Thy doing and my deserving. Amen.
1 Laud's Works, vol. iii. p. 248.
XVIII.] DEVOTIONS. 231
> " O LORD Almighty, O GOD of Israel, the soul that
is in trouble, and the spirit that is vexed, crieth unto
Thee. Hear, O LORD, and have mercy, for Thou art
merciful, and have pity upon me, because I have sinned
before Thee. For Thou endurest for ever ; but un
less Thou have mercy I utterly perish. Have mercy,
v therefore, even for JESUS CHRIST His sake. Amen.
" Gracious Father, the life of man is a warfare upon
earth, and the dangers which assault us are diversely
pointed against us. I humbly beseech Thee, be present
with me in all the course and passages of my life ; but
especially in the services of my calling. Suffer no
I malice to be able to hurt me, no cunning to circumvent
me, no violence to oppress me, no falsehood to betray
me. That which I cannot foresee, I beseech Thee
prevent ; that which I cannot withstand, I beseech
Thee master ; that which I do not fear, I beseech Thee
unmask and frustrate ; that being delivered from all
danger, both of soul and body, I may praise Thee the
Deliverer, and see how happy a thing it is to make
the LORD of Hosts my Helper in the day of fear and
trouble. Especially, O LORD, bless and preserve me
at this time from, &c., that I may glorify Thee for
this deliverance also, and be safe in the merits and the
mercies of JESUS CHRIST my only LORD and SAVIOUR.
Amen.
^r " O LORD, Thou hast fed me with the bread of
affliction, and given me plenty of tears to drink. I am
become a very strife to my neighbours; and mine
enemies laugh me to scorn. But turn Thee again,
Thou GOD of Hosts ; show me the light of Thy coun-
^ tenance, and I shall be whole. Amen." 1
1 Laud's Works, vol. Hi. p. 451.
232 LIFE OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
CHAPTEE XIX.
A.D. 16434.
THE TRIAL.
" They have spoken against me with false tongues : they com
passed me about with words of hatred, and fought against me
without a cause." Psalm cix. 2.
ALTHOUGH Laud was committed on charge of high
treason, 1640, he was not brought to trial till 1643;
a piece of injustice and oppressive cruelty far exceed-
ing anything of which he or the King have ever been
accused of. The Commons were always crying out about
the fundamental laws of the realm, but most shame
lessly violated them to suit their purpose. They had
already broken the pledge of Magna Charta, " That the
Ch\irch oF~England should be free," by their forcible
ejection of the Bishops from their places in Parliament.
They had already violated another of its articles, which
forbad " a free man to be imprisoned without cause
shown, or detained without being brought to his answer
in due form of law," by their illegal detention of Laud.
They committed greater illegalities before the end,
and all the while were talking of the rights of the
subject, and the liberties of Englishmen.
The interval between his committal and trial, was
signalized by the events of that sad war, which devas
tated England so fearfully. We must pass it all by,
being concerned neither with the chivalry of Rupert,
nor the gallant bearing of the King, but with an old
man of three-score years and ten, immured within the
walls of the Tower, and who has left an account with
his own pen of the way in which he passed his time and
the indignities he had to endure.
As if the very existence of the Episcopate was bound
up in Laud, no sooner was his presence withdrawn,
than the two Houses voted the abolition of Arch
bishops, Bishops, Deans, Archdeacons, and Chapters,
XIX.] DEPRESSION OF THE CHUKCH. 233
and, October 15th, sequestered all their property
sS
Laud was now penniless, and was supported by the
cKarity of friends, for the cruel Commons would grant
the old mail no maintenance. In pursuance of this
decree of the Houses, Capt. Brown and a company
of soldiers took possession of Lambeth Palace, and
though instructions were given "to preserve the pro
perty, the fanatical soldiery broke open the chapel
and defaced the organ, till they were stopped by
their commander. Leighton, the libeller, soon after
waited upon Laud to demand the keys, as it was
to be converted into a state prison. "All was done,"
says Laud, on being subjected to the insolence of
this villain, " to break my patience. I referred myself
to GOD, that nothing might trouble me." 1
He also was perpetually annoyed about his patron
age, the Parliament insisting on his inducting their
nominees, the King requiring him to lapse all presen
tations to himself, if harassed by Parliament. Laud
as might be expected, obeyed the King ; so Parliament
took the patronage into its own hands, by an ordinance,
dated June 10th, 1643, which under the circumstances,
was a relief to his mind, as he was thus freed from the
trouble and sin of admitting unworthy persons into the
Church's service.
The year 1643 opened with the final abolition of
Episcopacy, by the House of Lords. " GOD be mer
ciful to this sinking Church," notes Laud. In May
it was coolly proposed by Hugh Peters and Wells, two
Puritan preachers, to transport the aged Prelate and
his brother of Norwich (Wren) to New England,
but it was too barbarous even for a Puritan House of
Commons. Out of doors stormy events had occurred.
Edgehill had been fought last year, and blood was
up on either side. Wars and rumours of wars reached
the Tower walls, and Laud had to record the death of
Lord Brooke the great enemy of the Church, before
Lichfield, whose cathedral he had devoted to destruc-
1 Laud's Works, vol. iv. p. 14. (Troubles.)
234 LIFE Or ARCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
tion. Laud notes "his fearful manner of death in
such a quarrel," and the coincidence of its having hap
pened on S. Chad's day, the saint whose name the
cathedral bore. 1
Sorrow and grief must have taken a deep hold of
the Archbishop when he heard of his beautiful stained
glass windows at Lambeth having been defaced, the
removal of the sign of redemption from Cheapside,
and the profanation of Canterbury cathedral, by Cul-
mer. Matters of this kind would affect him more
than the sale of his goods at Lambeth, or his close
confinement to his lodging, which was ordered May 9th,
when the hard-hearted Parliament forbad him even
to take the air. On May 31st, the Archbishop was
aroused from sleep by the entrance of P^rjrnne and
three musketeers into his bed chamber. His room
was subjected to a rigorous search, and even his person
was not exempt. This man took away twenty bundles
of papers which Laud had prepared for his defence,
and actually deprived him of his book of private devo
tions. "He must needs see," says Laud, "what passed
between GOD and me, a thing I think scarce ever
offered to any Christian. I was somewhat troubled
to see myself used in this manner, but knew no help
but in GOD and the patience which He had given me.
And how His gracious Providence over me, and His
goodness to me, wrought upon all this, I shall in the
end discover, and will magnify, however it succeed
The assembly of the Westminster Divines (although
prohibited by the King) caused Laud sad musings.
" I shall for my part never deny that the Liturgy of
the Church of England may be made better, but I am
sure withal it may easily be made worse ; this will
bring forth a schism firm enough to rend and tear re
ligion out of this kingdom, which GOD for the merits
and mercies of CHRIST forbid." 3
1 Laud's Works, vol. iv. p. 18. " Laud's Works, vol. iv. p. 26.
3 Laud's Works, vol. iv. p. 29.
XIX.] THE TBIAL. 235
So passed the time, the Prelate being continually
subjected to scurrilous abuse from the preachers, on
Sundays, some of whom ascended the pulpit in buff
coats and scarfs, with the gown thrown over them.
Meanwhile the Parliament alarmed at the King's suc
cesses, invoked the aid of the Scots, and Oct. 3rd,
took the covenant. " By this time," says Laud,
" Mr. Prynne's malice had hammered out something,"
and a copy of ten additional articles was served on
the Archbishop. On Nov. 13th, 1 he appeared at the
bar of the House, with his counsel, Mr. Hearne, who
joined in his last communion, Mr. Chute, Mr. Hale
(the celebrated Sir Matthew Hale), and Mr. Gerrard,
and pleaded not guilty. It seems the Lords expected
an ebullition of temper, " but I praise GOD the Giver,
I am better acquainted with patience than they think
I am." 2 His request to have the treason distinguished
from the misdemeanour, with both of which he was
charged, was refused, of which he justly complains, as
also of his being compelled when pillaged of his estate,
to find copies of his own papers at his own charges.
He was not again called to appear till Monday, Jan.
22nd, 1644. He wished to have gone by water, but
the Thames was frozen, and was therefore taken in the
coach of the Lieutenant of the Tower, guarded by
twelve warders with halberds. The people flocked to
hoot, revile, and rail at him. " GOD of His mercy for
give the poor misguided people," writes the holy man.
The trial formally commenced, March 12th, 1644,
* * His prayer on this occasion is as follows: " O eternal GOD
and merciful Father, after long imprisonment I am now at last
called to answer ; I most humbly beseech Thee to strengthen me
through this trial, to preserve the patience with which Thou hast
hitherto blessed me through this affliction. Suffer no coarse lan-
gnage, or other provocation, to make me speak or do anything that
may misbecome my person, mine age, my calling, or my present
condition. And, LORD, I beseech Thee, make me able to clear
to the world that innocency which is in my heart concerning this
charge laid against me. Grant this, O LORD, for JESUS CHRIST
j His sake. Amen." Laud's Works, vol. iii. p. 84.
2 Laud's Works, vol. iv. p. 40.
236 LIFE OF AJRCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
and lingered till January, 1645, and we will endeavour
to give our readers some idea of it, and the wickedness
of its promoters. Prynne's tampering with the wit
nesses was so notorious, that it attracted the attention
of utter strangers. Common decency was constantly
violated, and while every facility was given to the
prosecutors to prepare their charges, Laud was only
allowed from two to four o'clock each day to arrange his
defence. If he produced witnesses they were not
allowed to be sworn, and weary with speaking, and
wet to the skin with his exertions, the grey-headed old
man was day by day dragged down to the steps of
"Westminster Hall, and conveyed along the river to
the Tower. " Yet I humbly thank G-OD for it, He so
preserved my health, as though I were weary and faint
the day after, yet I never had so much as half an hour's
head-ache, or other infirmity all the time of this com
fortless and tedious trial." 1
Our readers will bear in mind he was accused of
high treason, and the charges against him resolved
themselves into three heads :
I. A traitorous endeavour to subvert the funda
mental laws of the realm, and instead thereof to
introduce an arbitrary and tyrannical government
against law.
II. A traitorous endeavour to subvert G-OD'S true
religion by law established, and instead thereof to set
up Popish superstition and idolatry.
III. That he laboured to subvert the rights of Par
liament, and the ancient course of Parliamentary
proceedings, and by false and malicious slanders to
incense his Majesty against Parliaments.
With regard to the first and third we shall say but
little, we are not concerned with Laud's political
opinions. Suffice it that there was literally no evi
dence. Garbled extracts from his diary ; hasty words
which had fallen at the council-table, taken up and
misquoted, were unscrupulously produced ; while in one
1 Laud's Works, vol. iv. p. 50.
XIX.] THE TBIAL. 237
"* instance an unblushing lie was uttered when they
accused him of having altered the King's coronation
oath. The oaths made by James and Charles were
~, produced, and found to agree to a word. All the un
popular acts and arbitrary proceedings of the Star
Chamber and High Commission Courts were laid to
his sole charge, and his endeavours to free the action of
the Church from the prohibitions at common law
brought to swell the accusing testimony. But in
vain, the case broke down. There is no treason in
hasty temper or excited words. The arguments of his
counsel were unanswered, and the judges unanimously
declared that nothing charged against him amounted
to treason by any known and established law of the land.
But {hough we pass by mere politics, we propose to
give our readers some idea of the evidence adduced to
prove Laud's unfaithfulness to the Church of Eng
land, that they may understand the miserable state of
the Church at the time, and how we are indebted
to him for the preservation of everything that is
comely and beautiful in public worship.
Laud had some idea of not pleading at all, but
on consideration decided to do so, trusting to the
honour and generosity of the peers. He says, " I con
sidered what offence I should commit thereby against
the cause of justice, that might not proceed in the
ordinary way, what offence against my own innocency
and my good name, which I was bound in nature and
conscience to maintain by all good means, which by
deserting my cause could not be, but especially what
offence agaiust GOD, as if He were not able to protect
me, or not willing in case it stood with my eternal
happiness, and His blessed will of trial in me in the
meantime ; I say when I considered this I humbly
besought GOD for strength and patience, and resolved
to undergo all scorn, and whatsoever else might happen
to me, rather than betray my innocence to the malice of
any." 1
1 Laud's Works, vol. iv. p. 49.
238 LIFE OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
In accordance with this he first pleaded generally,
asserting his innocence and love for the Church of
England, as shown in the numbers he had brought
back to her communion, as we have already noted,
and then day by day battled with the voluminous little
nesses which were raked up. Spiteful Puritans whom
he had suspended, disaffected sectaries who had been
scandalized at no longer being allowed to profane the
altar, groups of either sex who had gone about picking
up tittle tattle about the Archbishop's doings, crowded
to accuse him. His memory of such minute incidents
is extraordinary ; he thrusts the witnesses through
and through, and entirely exposes them. But it is
time that our readers should have some idea of the
evidence adduced to prove the weighty charges that
the Metropolitan of England had been guilty of ad
vancing the interests of the Papacy, and betraying
the liberties of his own Church. We shall see how in
all main points the verdict of posterity has been given
for Laud, and the very things which caused his
death are now the recognized practices of the Church
of England.
Tor instance, in the opinion of the Puritan Com
mittee who managed this trial, it was deemed a great
proof of Laud's leanings to the Papacy, that when he
was at Oxford he had maintained in a theological
treatise the necessity of baptism, and that the gloomy
Calvinists who abounded in his younger days at Ox
ford had looked upon him in consequence as a secret
adherent of the Pope. The evidence then pursued him
through all his career, branding every improvement
he had introduced as Romanizing. Thus the conse
cration of churches, the restoration of his chapel at
Lambeth, the erection of painted windows, his careful
performance of the coronation, the reverence he en
joined and practised on entering churches, and even
the sacred pictures in the gallery of Lambeth Palace,
(most of which had been there since Pole's time) a
book with pictures, illustrating our LOBD'S life, a
XII.] CHARGES AGAINST LAUD. 239
Bible with the five wounds embroidered on the cover,
the gift of a devout lady, found in his library, were
adduced as evidences of his unfaithfulness to the
Church of England. Would it not be simply absurd
and ludicrous to bring forward such things now, as
evidence of a like charge ? There is scarcely a day
but we hear of restored churches, stained glass, elabo
rate ornaments, careful ritual, taking the place of
decayed buildings plain appurtenances and slovenly
celebration of religious offices. In other words, the
Church of the nineteenth century has accepted that
which Laud did, and for which he suffered death.
Of course the crowning proof of all was the removal
of the holy table to the east end, placing it altarwise,
railing it round, and saving it from profanation. It
must have been an intense pleasure to the Puritau
I mind to desecrate the altar, judging from the fury ex-
' hibited by them when such proceedings were stopped.
This alteration is referred to again and again till toe
smile. Thanks be- to Laud this obtaineth in every
church and chapel in England.
The further one goes in this trial, we are the more
struck by the grotesque absurdities of the Puritanical
Commons. Did Laud ask the prayers of the Univer
sity when prostrate before the altar ? It is evidence of
a design to change the religion of the realm. Did the
University apply to him in the exuberance of their
gratitude the titles which were commonly given to
the Bishops of the primitive Church, as Sanctitas tua,
Summus pontifex, Archangelus, &c. ? Parliamentary
eyes, unused to the writings of the Fathers, can only
v discover treason. Did Laud stop temporal courts
being held in churches and churchyards, or rpstrain
the irregular marriages of the Tower, or fine the
printers for having carelessly printed the seventh
commandment ? (they actually left out the word not.)
Behold the arbitrary power and hateful tyranny of
the Archbishop over freeborn Englishmen ! Dia he
claim his jurisdiction from CHRIST ? Behold he has
240 LIFE OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
spoken against the King, resistance to whose simplest
commands in matters of religion, these unprincipled
fanatics claimed as a privilege of the elect ! Had he
been heard to express a wish that the condition of the
clergy might be raised ? this is adduced as proof of
his conspiracy to exempt the clergy from the civil
magistrate.
The same petty malevolence pursued the prosecutors
in their attempt to support the charge of a conspiracy
to alter the religion of the country by adducing the
passages his chaplains had cut out from published books,
and those they had allowed to stand. Laud very fairly
disclaimed being made responsible for the acts of his
chaplains, on whom the duty of acting as censors of
the press devolved. And it was not to be expected
that having in their hands a power of gagging Puri
tanism, they would not use it. Overwhelming evi
dence was adduced to show that Laud had allowed
page after page of Calvinistic teaching, (which limited
CHBIST'S death, and dispensed with good works, and
systematized GOD'S secret decrees) to be erased, and
that many a man who had relieved his mind by a hearty
denunciation of the Pope as antichrist, was inexpres
sibly disgusted to find his book appear minus his
malediction. " Many Protestants and those very
learned," says Laud, "are of opinion he is not. 'Tis
true I did not, I cannot approve foul language in
controversy. Nor do I think the calling the Pope
antichrist, did ever yet convert an understanding
Papist." It is the voice of common sense making
itself heard among the screams of fanaticism.
In a similar way his correspondence with Hall, in
which he so strongly asserted the distinctness of the
order of Episcopacy, and his allowing Pocklington to
say it was " a happiness that the Bishops of England
could derive their succession from S. Peter," were all
in the eyes of Puritans signs of disaffection to the
Church of England. " If there be any crime in this,"
replies Laud, " Dr. Pocklington is to answer it, and
XIX.] CHARGES AGAINST LAUD. 241
not I. Secondly, he may scorn what he will ; but wise
men know 'tis a great honour to the Church of Eng
land, and a great stopple in the mouths of the
Romanists, that her Bishops can derive their calling
successively from S. Peter, especially considering how
much they stand on personal succession." 1 .
It may also interest our readers to see what doctrines
those were, the circulation of which brought such
odium upon the Archbishop. There is scarcely any
Church doctrine, for allowing the publication of
which he was not censured. Matters which are familiar
to every Churchman now, were brought up against him.
Did a Divine write that GOD has given " power
and commandment to His Ministers to declare and
pronounce to His people, being penitent, the absolution
and remission of their sins ;" or bid penitents if they
cannot quiet their own consciences, unburden them
selves to a spiritual guide, here (although the Prayer
Book said the same thing) was popery. So again the
assertion of the Christian sacrifice, the real spiritual
presence of CHRIST in the Holy Eucharist, the ne
cessity of good works, the denial of GOD'S reproba
tion of His creatures to eternal misery irrespective of
their own sins, the possibility of falling from grace,
the assertion that CHRIST died for all men, that
Bishops derive their authority by uninterrupted suc
cession from S. Peter and S. Paul, that Churches
are made holy by consecration, and that painted
windows may lawfully be erected, all these recog
nized doctrines and practices of the English Church
at this day, were solemnly produced as evidences
of Laud's unfaithfulness to his own communion. We
may well ask who would now be thought the Church
man, Laud or Prynne, who collected these charges !
The Book of Sports of course figured largely in the
evidence. Laud thus stated his view of the case,
" The book was printed at the King's command. For
the day (Sunday) I ever laboured it might be kept
1 Laud's Works, vol. iv. p. 340.
242 LIFE OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
holy, but yet free from a superstitious holiness ; till
afternoon Service and Sermon were done, no recreation
is allowed by that book, nor then to any but such as
have been at both. Therefore it could not be done to
take it away (preaching). Thirdly, the book names
none but lawful recreations, therefore if any unlawful
were used, the book gives them no warrant. And
that some are lawful (after the public Service of GOD
is ended) appears by the practice of Geneva, where,
after evening prayer, the elder men bowl and the
younger train." He then argues with regard to the
abuses attending the anniversary festivals of the conse
cration of churches, which of necessity sometimes fell
on the LORD'S Day, that though doubtless the feast
of dedication was abused by some Jews, yet our LORD
kept it. 1 " So again they say I expunged some things
out of it, (Dr. Sibthorp's Sermon) as first, the ' Sab
bath,' and put instead of it the ' LORD'S Day.' What's
my offence ? ' Sabbath' is the Jews' word, and the
'LORD'S Day' the Christian's." 2
The silencing of the lecturers, the suppression of
feoffments, the preferments of Montague, Corbet,
Pierce, Lindsay, Neale, Cosin, Potter, and Heylin,
were all brought up against him. But probably our
readers by this time have had sufficient specimens of
Puritan malevolence, and are quite satisfied of the
Archbishop's innocence. We hasten therefore to the
last of these weary days, during which the old man
was assailed with such coarse language by the counsel
for the prosecution, that he was more than once 3 com
pelled to crave the protection of the court. Yet in
spite of all he made " as full, as pithy, as gallant a
defence, and spake as much for himself as was possible
for the wit of man to invent, and that with so much
vivacity, oratory, audacity and confidence," as to extort
the admiration of Prynne himself, whose words we have
1 Laud's Works, vol. iv. p. 252. 2 Ibid. vol. iv. p. 273.
3 The epithets applied to Laud by the counsel for the prosecu
tion are too indecent to repeat.
III.]
EDITION Of THE DIAHT.
243
quoted. It did not however produce any practical effect
upon him, for this bad man printed a mutilated copy
of the Archbishop's Diary, which he placed in the
hands of the Lords. 1 " Then came Monday, Sept. 2nd,
1 The following are specimens of the unprincipled manner in
which this trial was conducted.
DIARY AS WRITTEN BT
LAUD.
1621, June 29. The King
gave me leave to hold the Pre
sidentship of S. John Baptist's
College, Oxon., in my com-
mendam with the Bishopric of
S. David's. But by reason of
the ttrictnett of that ttatute
which I am determined not to
violate, nor my oath to it, tin-
tier any colour, I am retolved
before my contecration to leave
it. Oct. 10th, I was chosen
Bishop of S. David's.
Sundry passages relating to the Countess of Buckingham and
her settlement in religion by Laud, are also omitted.
DIART AS PUBLISHED BT
PRYNNE.
1621, June 29. The King
gave me leave to hold my Pre
sidentship of S. John Baptist's
College, in Oxon., in my com-
mendam with the Bishopric of
S. David's. Oct. 10th, I was
chosen Bishop of S. David's.
The night following I dreamed
I had been reconciled to the
Church of Rome. This dis
heartened me, and I wondered
much whence it happened, being
troubled at the scandal, &c.
1626, March 8. The night
following I dreamt that I was
reconciled to the Church of
Rome. This troubled me much,
and I wondered exceedingly how
it should happen. Nor was I
aggrieved with myself, only by
reaton of the error* of that
Church, but otto on account of
the scandal which from that my
fall would cast upon many emi
nent and learned men in the
Church of England.
We have said above, that Prynne could only imagine Laud's
allusion to his sins could, from the strong language used, refer to
sins of the flesh. Thus he notes, " He fell into another sin, per
haps uncleanness." Laud's remark on this have lately been pub-
lished for the first time in the edition of his works in Angl. Catb.
Lib. " I bless GOD for His grace in it, there never fastened on me
the least suspicion of this, in all my life, till this unclean pen of his
hath brought it in with a perchance." Works, vol. iii. p. 268.
244 LIFE OF ABCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
and according to the order of the Lords, I made
the recapitulation of my whole career in matters of
greatest moment in this form following. But so soon
as I came to the bar, I saw every Lord present with a
new thin book in folio, in a blue coat. I heard that
morning that Mr. Prynne had printed my Diary, and
published it to the world to disgrace me. Some notes
of his own are made upon it. The first and last are
two desperate untruths, besides some others. This
was the book then in the Lords' hands, and I assure
myself that time was picked for it, that the sight
of it might damp me, and disenable me to speak.
I confess I was a little troubled at it, but after 1 had
gathered up myself and looked up to GOD, I went on
to the business of the day, and thus I spake :
" My Lords, being come near an end, I am by your
grace and favour, and the leave of the gentlemen of
the honourable House of Commons, to represent to
your Lordships and to your memories, a brief sum of
my answers to this long and various charge
I humbly desire your Lordships to look upon the whole
business, with honourable care of my calling, my age,
my long imprisonment, of my sufferings in my estate,
of my patience in and through this whole affliction,
the sequestration having been upon my estate above
two years." 1
He then proceeded to comment upon the unfairness
with which he had been treated, having been deprived
of his papers and books ; his very private diary and
manual of devotions having been taken from him ; all
records of the council, high commission court, star
chamber carefully searched, witnesses instructed before
hand, and cases which had been settled in open court
laid open again. After disposing one by one of the
various " proofs" of his disaffection to the Church of
England, he proceeded to rebut the charge of treason,
and thus concluded, "And now, my Lords, I do with
all humility lay myself low at GOD'S mercy-seat, to do
1 Laud's Works, vol. iv. p. 370.
XIX.] FAILURE OF THE PBO8ECUTIOW. 245
with me as He pleases, and under GOD I rely upon
your Lordships' justice, honour, clemency, which I
cannot doubt. And without being further tedious to
your Lordships, (who have with very honourable
patience heard me through this long and tedious trial)
I shall conclude with that which 8. Augustine said to
Banauianus, a man that had tried both fortunes as
well as I, ' If the providence of GOD reaches down to
us (as most certain it doth) sic tecum agi oportet, sicut
agitur, it must be done with thee (and so with me
also) as it is done. And under that providence which
will I doubt not work to the best of my soul that
loves GOD, I repose myself.' " l
On Wednesday, Sept. llth, Mr. Brown replied on
behalf of the Commons, and on Oct. llth, Laud's
counsel were heard on points of law. Their argument
is still extant, and most conclusive, most telling, most
crushing is it. And so the Commons felt it, for their
lawyers attempted no reply.
It was clear the case for the prosecution had broken
down, there was not a tittle of evidence to support
the charges made, and it was impossible to procure
a conviction. The Commons retired gnashing their
teeth at the prospect of their victim's escape, but
Puritan malevolence was at no loss for means to effect
its settled purpose. If he was likely to be acquitted
according to law, then they must condemn him con
trary to law. Had they not executed Strafford by
Act of Parliament, though they could in his case prove
no treason ? Why not repeat the experiment. The
mob was howling as before for the punishment of
"delinquents," there seemed no other way of pacifying
them. But the King, he never could be brought to
sacrifice Laud as he had Strafford, so these sticklers
for the rights of Englishmen and the fundamental
laws of the kingdom, determined to put the Archbishop
to death without the King's consent, by an ordinance
of both Houses^f Parliament.
"TF is'aTfundamentaT law of English liberty," says
1 Laud's Works, vol. iv. p. 383.
246 LIFE OF ABCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
^Heyiin, commenting on these proceedings, "that no
man shall be condemned or put to death but by the
lawful judgment of his peers, or by the law of the
land, i.e., in the ordinary way of trial ; and sure an
ordinance of both Houses, without the royal assent, is
no part of the law of England, nor held an ordinary
of trial." 1
So, all else failing, an ordinance was resolved on ;
but first (Nov. 11 and 13) they had him down to the
bar of the House of Commons, and baited him with
their lawyers ; while the old man still defended him
self with unusual vigour, so as even to extort the ad
miration of his implacable foes. "I was exceeding
faint, with speaking so long, and I had great pain and
soreness in my heart for almost a fortnight after ; then,
I thank GOD, it wore away." 2 The moment the pri
soner was gone, they called for the ordinance, and
voted him guilty of high treason : on Saturday, No
vember 16, sent it to the Lords.
The Lords were in a difficulty. They had no good-
i will to Laud ; but to put him to death in this way
was establishing a very awkward precedent, which
might easily be turned against themselves. They de
bated and debated, and put the matter off, notwith
standing Lord Pembroke pressed them to destroy the
"rascal," " the villain," as he was courteously pleased to
1 Heylin, 495.
2 Laud's Works, vol. iv. p. 413.
" O merciful LORD, I have had a long and a tedious trial, and
1 give Thee humble and hearty thanks for the wonderful strength
that I have received from Thee in the bearing up of my weak
ness. LORD, continue all Thy mercies towards me, for the storm
gathers and grows black upon me, and what it threatens is best
known to Thee. After a long trial, I am called to answer in the
House of Commons, and that not to evidence, but to one single
man's report of evidence, and that made without oath. What
this may produce, in present or in future, Thou knowest also. O
LORD, furnish me with patience and true Christian wisdom and
courage, to bear up against this drift ; and send not out Thy
storms to beat upon me also, but look comfortably upon me to
my end, in and through the merits of JESUS CHRIST, my LORD
and only SAVIOUR. Amen," Laud's Works, vol. iii. p. 85.
III.] COSTDEMKATIOW BY ORDINANCE. 247
term the Metropolitan of England. The Commons,
too, were not behind in "urgency," and sent a mes-
Isage, bidding them agree to the ordinance, or " else the
multitude would come down and force them to it."
This threat aroused the fast ebbing spirit of the Upper
House, and their answer was worthy of English gen
tlemen. But, unfortunately, they contented them
selves with words. "When the crisis came, they lost
heart, and voted the Archbishop, December 17, guilty
of the facts charged under the three heads mentioned
above, and put it to the Judges whether they amounted
-^to treason : the Judges unanimously replied, " No."
Here was a new difficulty tor the Lords. On
Christmas-eve they desired a conference with the
Commons, and said they could not find him guilty of
treason by any law. They were simply bidden to
pass the ordinance. Christmas-day, for the first
time in the annals of Church history, was kept as
a fast. The end was drawing on. The Commons in
turn, January 2, 1645, requested a conference, to sa
tisfy the Lords in the matter of law. Of course none
of Laud's counsel were present at this conference,
though all the Parliamentary lawyers were ; and it
had the effect of satisfying the Upper House. On
January 2, the ordinance adjudging an innocent man
to death, and an Archbishop to the gibbet, passed the
Lords, that august assembly being represented by
the Earls of Kent, Pembroke, Salisbury, Bohngbroke,
and the Lords North, and Grey of Wark. And so
justice was once again dethroned, and law and
equity superseded, at the bidding of the Commons of
England.
"f But the day of retribution was at hand. Strafford
had suffered death by an act of the three estates of
the realm ; two concurred in the sacrifice of Laud.
But when these same men, abandoned more and more
to a reprobate mind, stretched forth their hand against
the LORD'S anointed, there was but one estate left.
The Lords had crouched to the Commons, and done
248 LIFE OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
their behests of blood ; and, as their reward, were
themselves destroyed by the very monster they had
fostered. Eetributive justice is often visible, even in
-J;his life.
Word was brought to the Archbishop on January
4th, that he was to die on the 10th, by hanging. He
was not afraid to die, but he thought it only his duty
to the sovereign he loved so well, and served so faith
fully, to lay before the Houses a pardon which he had re
ceived from his Majesty, and which had been suggested
by his friend Mr. Hyde. It was the only thing the
King could do to show he loved him, and would try
to save him ; and though, as he expected, it was con
temptuously rejected, it was nevertheless very sooth
ing, as a token of Charles' affection. His last hope
j * gone, he petitioned that the mode of death might be
1 altered to beheading, and that his chaplains, Dr. Sterne,
Dr. Heywood, or Dr. Martin, might attend him. The
I Lords granted both prayers : the Commons refused
both. They afterwards relented so far as to alter the
sentence to beheading ; but they would not allow the
attendance of Dr. Sterne, unless he were accompanied
by Dr. Marshall or Mr. Palmer, two noted Puritans.
They would not leave even the last moments of their
victim in peace ; they would tease him with contro
versy, and deprive him, all that lay in their power, of
peace and comfort. There is something fiendish in
such a refinement of cruelty. But he who was so
soon to be a martyr, calmly and quietly set about his
preparation, and meekly on his knees made his peace
^ with GrOD.
The same day that the Lords consented to the at-
Itainder, they also passed an ordinance that the Book
of Common Prayer should be laid aside, and the form
prepared by the Assembly of Divines be substituted.
Laud lived, it would seem, only to protect the Church.
Her existence (so far as her outward establishment
went) was bound up with that of her chief pastor.
Laud did not survive the Church, and the Church (in
XX.] PBEPABATIOIT FOE DEATH. 249
relation to all its human accidents) did not survive Laud.
They perished together. But who would wish for a
nobler testimony to the importance of the struggle he
had maintained ? Who would wish for a nobler fate ?
CHAPTER XX.
THE MABTYBDOM.
" Cyprian is ours, since the high-soul 'd Prelate laid
Under death's murderous blade his silvered head."
Lyra Apostolica.
Tin: u K was no wailing and weeping when the sheriff
announced to Laud the ordinance had passed. He
had long ceased to wish for life : he was prepared to
die. A man who had led such an austere, hard life as
he had, in constant battle with the flesh, in fastings
often, in watchings often, in prayer instant, could find
little charm in the world, or experience much regret
at his summons to leave it.
v From that moment the Archbishop devoted himself
to prayer. He would not even finish the history of
his own vindication. He left off abruptly, for the
time was short. How he employed himself let these
y devotions testify.
" O LOBD, quicken and convert my soul, for I have
sinned against Thee. LOBD, I call to mind all the
years of my life past in the bitterness of my soul for
my sin. My misdeeds have prevailed against me : O
be Thou merciful unto my sin. O, for Thy Name's
sake, be merciful to my sin ; for it is great.
" O let the depth of my sin call upon the depth of
Thy mercies, of Thy grace. LOBD, let it come, that
where sin hath abounded grace may superabound.
" Though I walk through the valley of the shadow
of death, I will fear no evil ; for I hope verily to see
the goodness of the LOBD in the land of the living.
250 LIFE OF AECHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
" O let this cup pass from me : nevertheless, if it
may not pass from me, but that I must drink of it,
Thy will be done.
i " For I will take it as the cup of salvation, and give
j thanks to Thy Name, O LORD.
" Say unto my soul, say it now, I am thy salva
tion.
" Command my spirit, whenever Thou wilt command
it, to be received up to Thee in peace.
" O LOED, Thou Blessed TEINITY, Three Persons
and one GOD, have mercy on me.
v "I commend myself into Thy hands as to a faithful
Creator. Despise not, LOED, the work of Thine
own hands.
" I commend myself into Thy hands as to a most
gracious Redeemer ; for Thou hast redeemed me, O
LOED, Thou GOD of truth.
" I commend myself into Thy hands as my most
blessed Comforter. LOED, I am weary and heavy
laden, and I come to Thee to be refreshed by Thee.
Behold, O LOED, I have been the temple of Thy
HOLT SPIEIT : I have, I confess, strangely polluted it,
yet destroy me not, but dedicate me anew, and sanc-
v tify me to Thyself yet once again.
" O LOED, I wear Thy Name ; 'tis Thy Name that
is called upon me : for Thy Name's sake, therefore, be
merciful unto me. O spare, LOED, if not me, yet
Thine own Name in me. And do not so remember
my sin, O LOED, do not, as that, in remembering it,
Thou forget Thine own Name. I have desired to
fear Thy Name, to love and honour Thy Name ; and
I now desire to depart this life in the invocation and
confession of Thy Name. LOED, I confess it, and call
upon it : O come, LOED JESUS. Amen.
"I have sinned, O LOED.
" But I have not denied Thee. Let not the enemy
prevail to cause me to deny Thee.
" I believe, O LOED : increase my faith, and let me
never be confounded. I hope : and, LOED, what is
XX.] PREPABATIOS FOB DEAT1I. 251
my hope, but Thou alone ? Raise me according to
Thy Word, and let me not be disappointed of my
hope.
"I have prepared and directed my heart to seek
Thee : and though it be not according to the cleansing
of the sanctuary, yet, O LORD JESUS, break not the
bruised reed, nor quench the smoking flax.
" Not for my own sake, O LORD JESUS, or anything
of mine, but for Thine own self, for Thy Name, the
glory of Thy Name, for Thy truth and manifold mer
cies' sake, for CUBIST the Mediator's and the SPIRIT'S
sake, receive me returning to Thee.
" O LORD GOD, between me and Thee I offer, com
memorate, and place
CHBIST, the Priest, the Lamb, the Sacrifice :
" Between Satan and me, I place
CHBIST, the King, the Lion, the Triumphant :
" Between my sins and me, I place
CHBIST'S innocency of life:
" Between the punishment of sins and me, I place
CUBIST'S satisfaction His Passion, His Blood :
" Between the want of righteousness and me, I place
CHRIST'S righteousness and absolute obedience :
" Between the want of merits and me, I place
CHRIST'S merits :
" Between want of sorrow for sin and me, I place
CHRIST'S tears and bloody sweat:
" Between want of fervency in prayer and me, I
place
CHRIST'S intercession:
"Between the accusations of Satan or mine own
conscience and me, I place
CHRIST, as my Advocate :
" Between concupiscence and me I blace
CHRIST'S charity. Accept it, LORD, for JESUS'
sake.
" I have sinned, O LORD, but I hide not my faults.
I excuse them not ; I confess them ; I remember them
in bitterness of my soul. I hate myself for my sins.
252 ' LIFE OP AECHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
Grant me grace to judge myself, that I may not depart
this miserable life without pardon.
" O LOBD, I have not only sinned, but provoked
Thee with many and grievous sins ; yet I beseech
Thee remember that I am but flesh, even a wind that
passeth, and cometh not again.
" O LORD JESUS, for that bitterness which Thou
enduredst on the Cross for wretched me, specially in
that hour when Thy most noble soul passed from Thy
blessed body, I pray Thee pity my soul at its depar
ture, and lead it to everlasting life. Amen." 1
f So calm, so resigned, so prepared to meet his GOD
was this great Prelate, that on the fatal morning his
attendants had to awaken him out of a quiet slumber,
to announce the hour had come. He rose, and
kneeled upon his knees, and made his last Commu
nion. When Pennington came to conduct him to the
scaffold, he was praying still. Then, with a firm step
and cheerful, earnest manner, he passed on to his
triumph. What recked he of the insolence of the
rabble, their brutal shouts, their vile mockings, (for
they would not let the old man's grey hairs go down
to the grave in peace,) to whose faith the heavens
were already opened, and in whose ears the echoes of
the celestial strains were ringing ?
But in that trying hour he was not alone. True,
he was on a scaffold, about to perish by a violent
death, the object of the gaze of a thousand faces up
raised to curse him, with only one friend near him,
far away from all he loved in Church or State, never
theless the presence of the FATHER was in his heart,
and the love of the SON, and the communion of the
SPIRIT. Nor was he, lone as he seemed, forgotten by
his fellows. Even in that dense crowd there must
have been those whose hearts were touched with some
feeling of pity for the grey hairs so soon to be stained
in blood. But more than this, there were the seven
thousand faithful Israelites, who had not bowed the
1 Works, vol. iii. p. 90. (Devotions.)
XX.] SPEECH ON THE BCATFOLD. 253
knee to Baal : all through the length and breadth of
England there were hundreds praying that GOD would
strengthen the martyr in his agony. From the royal
closet, where the LORD'S anointed, in penitential
abasement, knelt that sad morning on which his long-
tried friend was to die ; from the retirements where
the Prelates of the Church were sheltering themselves
from the pursuer ; ay, from the very prison-house
where stout-hearted Wren was wearing away his life ;
from hiding-places where Clergy, dispossessed of their
lawful cures, were subsisting on the charity of the
faithful ; from sheltered nooks and quiet homes, where
dwelt the sons and daughters of England's Church
whom he had instructed by his precepts, and guided by
his example, whose secret thoughts he had shared,
whose doubts he had solved, whose difficulties he had
removed, to whom he had displayed their Church in
its fulness, and taught them now in it they might
find certainty of faith, and the means of satisfying
their most ardent longings after saintliness ; from the
dwellings of CUBIST'S poor who had fed upon his
bounty, and in him lost their best friend, went there
up on that January 10 the united prayer of interces
sion for him whose death-struggle it witnessed. Their
prayers were heard. The Archbishop played the man :
he advanced to the front of the scaffold with a firm
step, and thus spake :
t " Good people, This is an uncomfortable time to
E reach, yet I shall begin with a text of Scripture,
leb. xii. 2. 'Let us run with patience the race
which is set before us, looking unto JESUS, the Author
and Finisher of our faith, Who for the joy that was
set before Him endured the Cross, despising the
shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne
of GOD.' I have been long in my race, and how I
have looked to JESUS, the Author and Finisher of my
faith, He best knows. I am now to come to the end
of my race, and here I find the cross a death of shame :
but the shame must be despised, or no coming to the
254 LIFE OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.,
right hand of GOD. JESUS despised the shame for
me, and GOD forbid but that I should despise the
shame for Him. I am going apace (as you see) to
wards the Red Sea, and my feet are now upon the
very brink of it ; an argument, I hope, that GOD is
bringing me unto the land of promise, for that was
the way through which He led His people. But
before they came to it, He instituted a Passover for
them, a lamb it was, but it must be eaten with sour
herbs. I shall obey, and labour to digest the sour
herbs as well as the lamb ; and I shall remember it is
the LOBD'S Passover. I shall not think of the herbs,
c nor be angry with the hand which gathereth them ; but
look up only to Him Who instituted that, and governs
Ithem : for men can have no more power over me than
that which is given them from above. I am not in
love with this passage through the Bed Sea, for I have
the weaknesses and infirmities of flesh and blood plen
tifully in me : and I have prayed with my SATIOUR,
ut trangiret calix iste, that this cup of red wine might
pass from me; but if not, GOD'S will, not mine, be
done, and I shall most willingly drink of this cup as
deep as He pleases, arid enter into this sea, yea, and
pass through it, in the way that He shall lead me.
"But I would have it remembered, good people,
that when GOD'S servants were in this boisterous sea,
and Aaron amongst them, the Egyptians which perse
cuted them, and did in a manner drive them into that
sea, were drowned in the same waters while they were
in pursuit of them. I know my GOD, "Whom I serve,
is as able to deliver me from the sea of blood as He
was to deliver the three children from the furnace ;
and (I humbly thank my SAYIOUB for it) my reso
lution is now as theirs was then. They would not
8 worship the image the king had set up, nor will I the
imaginations which the people are setting up; nor
will I forsake the temple and the truth of GOD, to
follow the bleating of Jeroboam's calves in Dan and
Bethel. And as for this people, they are at this day
H.] SPEECH ON THE SCAFFOLD. 255
miserably misled (Goo of His mercy open their eyes,
that they may see the right way) ; tor at this day the
blind lead the blind, and if they go on, both will cer
tainly fall into the ditch. For myself, I am (and I
acknowledge it in all humility) a most grievous sinner
many ways, by thought, word, and deed ; I cannot
doubt but that GOD hath mercy in store for me, (a
poor penitent,) as well as for other sinners. I have
now, and upon this sad occasion, ransacked every
corner of my heart, and yet, I thank GOD, I have
not found, among the many, any one sin which
deserves death by any known law of this king
dom ; and yet hereby I charge nothing upon my
judges : for if they proceed upon proof, (by valuable
witnesses,) I, or any other innocent, may be justly
condemned. And I thank GOD, though the weight
of my sentence lie heavy upon me, I am as quiet
within as ever I was in my life ; and though I am not
only the first Archbishop, but the first man that ever
died by an ordinance in Parliament, yet some of
my predecessors have gone this way, though not by
this means. For Elphegus was hurried away, and
lost his head by the Danes ; and Simon Sudbury, in
the fury of Wat Tyler and his fellows. Before these,
S. John Baptist had his head danced off by a lewd
woman ; and 8. Cyprian, Archbishop of Carthage,
submitted his head to a persecuting sword. Many
examples, great and good, and they teach me patience ;
for I hope my cause in heaven will look of another dye
than the colour that is put upon it here. And some
comfort it is to me, not only that I go the way of
these great men in their several generations, but also
that my charge (foul as it is made) looks like that of
the Jews against S. Paul (Acts zxv. 3) ; for he was
accused for the law and the temple, i.e. religion ; and
like that of 8. Stephen (Acts vi. 14), for breaking the
ordinance which Moses gave, i.e. law and religion, the
holy place and the temple (verse 13). But you will
then say, Do I then compare myself with the integrity
256 LIFE OF AHCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
of S. Paul and S. Stephen ? No, be that far from me.
I only raise a comfort to myself, that these great
saints and servants of GOD were laid at in their time,
as I am now. And it is memorable that S. Paul, who
helped on this accusation against S. Stephen, did after
fall under the very same himself. Tea, but here is a
great clamour that I would have brought in Popery ;
I shall answer that more fully by and by. In the
meantime, you know what the Pharisees said against
CHEIST Himself: 'If we let Him alone, all men will
believe in Him et venierit Romani and the Romans
will come and take away both our place and nation.'
Here was a causeless cry against CHEIST, that the
Romans would come; and see how just the judgment
was they crucified CHRIST, for fear lest the Romans
should come, and His Death was it which brought in
the Romans upon them, GOD punishing them with
that which they most feared. And I pray GOD this
clamour of venient Romani, (of which I have given no
cause,) help not to bring them in ; for the Pope never
had such a harvest in England since the Reformation
as he hath now, upon the sects and divisions that are
now amongst us. ' In the meantime, by honour and
dishonour, by good report and evil report, as a de
ceiver, yet true, am I passing through this world.' "
(2 Cor.vi. 8.) 1
He then proceeded to declare solemnly his innocence
of any attempt to alter the laws or religion of the
kingdom, avouching with his dying breath both
Charles's and his own great attachment to the Eng-
lish Church. " What clamours and slanders I have
endured for labouring to keep an uniformity in the
external service of GOD, according to the doctrine
and discipline of the Church, all men know, and I
have abundantly felt."
The holy martyr continued : " I do here in the pre
sence of GOD and His holy Angels, take it upon my
death, that I never endeavoured the subversion of law
1 Heylin's Life, p. 498.
XX.] LAST DEVOTIONS. 257
or religion ; and I desire you all to remember this
protest of mine for my innocency in this, and from all
treasons whatsoever But I have done ; I forgive
all the world, all and every of those bitter enemies
which have persecuted me, and humbly desire to be
forgiven of GOD first, and then of every man, whether
I have offended him or not, if he do but conceive that
I have. LORD, do Thou forgive me, and I beg for
giveness of him. And so I heartily desire you to join
in prayer with me." 1 Which said, with a distinct and
audible voice he prayed as followeth :
" O Eternal GOD and Merciful FATHEE, 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 CHEIST, not
till I have hid myself in the wounds of CHEIST ; 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
happiness, and this 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 parti
cular, for which I now come to suffer, I say in this
particular 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 eyes, and carry me through death, that
I may look upon it in what visage soever it shall ap
pear to me. Amen. And that there may be a stop of
this issue of blood in this more miserable kingdom (I
shall desire that I may pray for the people too, as
well as for myself), O' LORD, I beseech Thee, give
1 Heylin's Life, p. 501.
8
258 LIFE OF AECHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
grace of repentance to all blood-thirsty people ; but if
they will not repent, O LOBD, confound all their de
vices, defeat and frustrate all their designs and en
deavours upon them, which are or shall be contrary
to the glory of Thy great Name, the truth and sin
cerity of religion, the establishment of the King and
his posterity after him in their just rights and pri
vileges, 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 mere mercy to
them, LOED, fill their hearts with thankfulness and
with religious, dutiful obedience to Thee and Thy
Commandments all their days. Amen, LOED JESUS,
Amen. And receive my soul into Thy bosom. Amen."
He rose from his knees, gave his papers to Sterne,
and approached the block. The scaffold was crowded
with people who had come to see him die, and he had
difficulty in making his way through. As he passed
he besought them to let him have an end of the mi
series he had endured very long. " GOD'S will be
done," he again meekly said, as he put off his doublet ;
" I am willing to go out of this world, none can be
more willing to send me." Then when he saw there
were chinks in the scaffold, he said, " Let them be
filled up, I would not have my blood fall upon the
heads of this people."
y So patient was this man of GOD, though even his
last moments were embittered by the fanatic malice
of his foes. Not even the spectacle of the grey-haired
man unrobed for the block touched their hearts. En
raged that their malice could not work him into anger,
grieved at the triumph of grace which had transformed
the hasty, impetuous Prelate into the meek and gentle
confessor, disappointed in their diabolical endeavours
to send him out of life in an angry and vengeful mood,
Sir John Clotworthy stepped forward, and with the
XX.] MABTYBDOM. 259
usual Puritan impertinence asked, " "What is the com-
fortablest saying for a dying man to have in his
mouth ?"
" I desire to depart and to be with CHBIST," was
Laud's answer.
" There must be a ground of assurance," continued
Clotworthy.
" The assurance is to be found within, and no words
can express it rightly," was the martyr's meek reply.
" It must be founded upon a word or place of sacred
Scripture," pertinaciously urged his persecutor.
"That word is the knowledge of JESUS," replied
Laud. And wishing to be rid of this importunity,
and to escape the malice which persecuted his last
moments with controversy, he turned to the execu
tioner, and without a change of muscle said, as he
gave him money, " Here, honest friend, GOD forgive
thee, and I do ; do thy office with mercy."
Once more the Archbishop kneeled upon his knees
and prayed to his GOD : " LORD, I am coming as fast
as I can. I know I must pass through the shadow of
death before I come to see Thee. But it is but
umbra mortis, a mere shadow of death, a little dark
ness upon nature ; but Thou by Thy merits and Pas
sion hast broken through the jaws of death. So, LOUD,
receive my soul, and have mercy upon me, and bless
this kingdom with peace and plenty, and with bro
therly love and charitv, that there may not be this
effusion of Christian blood amongst them, for JESUS
CHBIST His sake, if it be Thy will."
He laid his head upon the block, and for a few mo
ments he was silent, but his lips moved as in prayer.
Once more he spake aloud : " LOBD, receive my soul."
lt was the signal to the headsman. And so be died.
So he died, and " faithful men bare his body to the
burial " and laid it in a vault at All Hallows, Barking^
and the martyr's glondW~T)ody~wa8 committed to
the earth in sure and certain hope of the resurrec
tion to eternal life. For though proscribed by law
260 LIFE OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
^
I the solemn office of the Church he loved was said
over his grave, no one venturing to interrupt it,
and his obsequies were witnessed by faithful hearts
who had learned from him how to die, and who
I left that open grave braced and nerved to do and
suffer all things for their Church. And doubtless
in the cruel persecutions which ensued, the thought
of the Archbishop's triumphant martyrdom lightened
many a sorrow, and was blessed by GOD to strengthen
.jnany for their last struggle.
So he died ; and his mangled corpse lay at Barking
till the tyranny was overpast. Then when the Church
once again lifted up her head, and the Second Charles
sat on the throne of his fathers, the Fellows of the
College over which he had presided thought it but
right that he should repose beneath the shadow of
their own consecrated house of prayer. And so on
July 4, 1663, his remains were solemnly conveyed to
the chapeTof S. John Baptist, at Oxford, and there
with his dear friend William Juxon, and the pious
founder of the College, slumbers all that was mortal of
"William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury and MAETTK.
CHAPTEE XXI.
THE TEITJMPH.
"Though they be punished in the sight of men, yet is their
hope full of immortality." Wisdom iii. 4.
IT was all over. The Archbishop was dead, the
Bishops were in peril of their lives. The Church
property was confiscated, the orthodox clergy ex
pelled, hunted down, shipped as slaves to the colonies.
As far as human eye could reach the Church was
destroyed. At last the rebels sealed their iniquity by
the murder of the King. And then the full tide of
III.] RESULTS OF LAUD*S LABOURS. 261
profanity and irreverence set in upon tin's unhappy
land, and day after day witnessed some fresh develop
ment of false doctrine and heresy.
Such was the issue of Laud's death. The Puritan
ical faction obtained a signal triumph beyond their
most sanguine expectations. " The righteous was in
deed taken from the evil to come."
Where then, it may be asked, is the fruit of Laud's
labours? His administration cost the lives of his
friend, his King, himself. It was followed by the
ruin of the Church. It was clearly a failure. It
would have been better surely had he conciliated
instead of opposing the Puritans : all would have then
been well. We reply to this, that all perhaps would
have been well with the property of the Church :
there might not have been such a wholesale plunder,
or so many Clergy driven into exile. But what would
have become of the Church itself? It would by de
grees have vanished away. First one pious ceremony
would have been surrendered, then another; then
after the outposts had gone, the doctrines they em
bodied would next have fallen; then, on plea of
assimilating discipline as well as doctrine to the
foreign models, Episcopacy itself would have degene
rated into Presbyteriauistn. Laud saw this. He
knew the strength of the Puritanical element in the
Church of England, thatTor the last hundred years it
had been gaining ground, and nearly destroyed all that
was sacred and reverent ; he felt no _conce8siqn_woul^
satisfy it, and therefore he resolved to fight it, and if
possible, to uproot it. Queen Elizabeth is reported
to have said, that she knew what amount of concession
would satisfy the adherents of Kome, but she never
could discover what would satisfy the Puritans. The
effect of a " conciliating" policy was seen in the result*
of Abbott's administration. His maxim was, " Yield,
and they will be satisfied at last." And he did yield
till almost every thing was gone, and yet they were not
satisfied, because every thing had not been yielded.
LIFE OF AECHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
knew them better, and would yield no more.
He knew th'ey hated the whole Church system, creeds,
episcopacy, sacraments, ritual, vestments, holy seasons,
order, decorum, reverence. It was not a question of
a ceremony more, or a ceremony less. It was Church
or no Church, Catholicism or Calvinism, communion
, with the primitive ages or Geneva. Had Laud sur
rendered every thing they asked, they would only have
been encouraged to demand more. They would have
felt their strength, and by degrees have effected their
cherished object, the destruction of the primitive
Catholic character of the Church of England. The
event proved it. Laud was worsted, and the Puritans
triumphed. They did not attempt, when they had
the power, to reform the Church ; they destroyed
it. They did not pretend to restrain the power of the
Episcopate ; they abolished the order ; they did not
.profess to amend the Prayer Book, they forbad its
use ; they did not try to reduce the Church services
to what they deemed was their order before the time
of Laud, but ruthlessly swept them all away. They felt
the Prayer Book and Church system were against
theirs, and therefore the moment they had the op
portunity they put an end to them. And if any
think the Prayer Book was worth fighting for, they
are bound not to withhold their sympathy from Laud,
now that the animus of his opponents is so mani
fested, and their hatred not of any particular school in
the Church, but of the Church itself, made clear. As
Charles felt in matters of State, so did Laud in
matters of the Church. To the one it was a struggle
(despite the fair professions of the Parliament) for
monarchy against republicanism, and the event showed
what the opposition to him really meant. To the
other it was a battle not for rites or ceremonies
merely, but for the Church of England against G-e-
nevq. The issue showed, that Laud had not any more
than his Sovereign mistaken the true intentions of his
adversaries.
XXI.] RESULTS OF LAUD'8 LABOURS. 268
But in spite of the apparent failure of the Laud inn
reformation, it really produced a most wonderful effect
for good upon the Church of England.
1. In the first place it gave strength to the Catholic
element, which, though never lost in our Church, had
been considerably overlaid by the spread of Puritan
ism. The principle of the English Keformation was
not an appeal to the writings of Martin Luther or
John Calvin as standards of orthodoxy, nor to the
private opinions of its promoters in this country, but
as embodied in its Canons and laid down by its
apologists, to Holy Scripture as interpreted by the
Undivided Church in the pure and primitive ages.
The oft-quoted Canon for Preachers is a proof of this.
" The Preachers chiefly shall take heed that they teach
nothing in their preaching which they would have the
people religiously to observe and believe, but that
which is agreeable to the doctrine of the Old Testa
ment and the New, and that which the Catholic
Fathers and ancient Bishops have gathered out of that
doctrine." 1 And similarly the Prayer Book itself
speaks of the Order of Service being agreeable "to
the mind and purpose of the old fathers." 2
Neither was the platform of Geneva the model
proposed for our discipline, but it was fondlv hoped
that the best features of the Primitive Church might
be revived in England : and the First Prayer Book of
King Edward VI. was the outward expression of this
feeling. But, side by side with this, was that fierce,
intolerant, fanatical spirit, whose whole religion was
opposition to Home, and which derived all its inspira
tion from Geneva. This party hated primitive an
tiquity, for this reason, that the moment they studied
it, they perceived how opposed it was to the doctrines
and discipline of Calvin. And as extreme opinions
are always more popular than moderate counsels,
these notions were soon entertained by the vast
1 Canons of 1571, quoted by Sparrow, Rat. 202.
2 See " Concerning the Service of the Church," in Prayer Book.
264 LIFE OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
majority of Englishmen. The pressure from without
was sufficient to induce a revision of the Book of
Common Prayer : and Edward's Second Book was the
first trophy of Puritanical aggression. But this again
was materially modified by the Convocation of IB61,
which had inherited the principles for which Laud
shed his blood, and distinctly stated it had rejected
every thing which struck at any " laudable practice of
the whole Catholic Church of CHBiST." 1 "We have
entered into this at length in our Introductory
Chapter : we merely revert to it to remind our
readers that Laud's mission was to impart strength
to the fast- decay ing principle which kept the English
Church in communion with the Church Catholic.
The feeling after better things than Geneva could
supply was represented by Hooker, and afterwards by
Andrewes. !Yom Andrewes^Ws maintenance de-
volved on Laud^ How he cherished it and encou
raged it, how hVthrew himself into the real spirit of
the Church of England, and sought guidance from
the sources to which she sent him, even in his younger
days, it has been the purpose of these pages to
exhibit, how, not only by his own holy life and
arduous exertions, but by the protection he afforded
to men of like principles, he saved the Church- of
England from being surrendered to Puritanism ; and
these principles have ever since kept their ground in
the English Church, and are influencing it at this day
more than ever.
j^ II. Again : his administration was not without its
effect upon the Church, in the encouragement it gave
to the development of those yearnings after holier
and stricter lives than mere Puritanism could supply.
Saints have only been formed in the Church. Systems
opposed to it may make men good, religious, even
holy, but not in the highest sense, Saints. And one
reason is, that the temper of little children, which our
Blessed LOED sets before us as the perfection of the
1 See Preface to Prayer Book.
XXI.] RESULTS OF LAUD'S LABOURS. 265
saintly character, implies, among other graces, those
of gentleness, docility, humility, and obedience, for
which the Church so admirably provides, and for
which other systems do not. Laud nourished and
fostered all traces of saintliness, and warmly cherished
all efforts after perfection which were made by
^Churchmen. His own life was one far above that of
the mere decent ordinary professor. His celibacy, his
prayers seven times a day, his fastings and vigils, his
deep penitential feelings, made him sympathise with
all who strove to raise themselves above the conven
tional religion of the day. Hence his patronage of
Little Gidding, and its inmates, the first religious
brotherhood the Reformed Church of Eugland had
7/ seen. The fruits of his influence too may be traced in
the saintliness of George Herbert, and in the purity,
gentleness, and devotion so eminently displayed m
" The English Churchwomen of the Seventeenth
Century." And, praised be GOD, the feelings he
thus cherished, have ever since been fostered by the
^Church of England : witness the long array of wor
thies who have shed unfailing honour on the Church
which has produced them, Ken and Wilson and
Butler and Bull, and Nelson, Kettlewell, and Sher
lock. But had it not been for Laud, how^ would these
TioTy men have been able to satisfy their longings ?
How could the English Communion have met the
cravings of such souls, had she been pared down to
Puritanical Genevan proprieties ? How could she
do it, as she is doing it at this day, had not the
greatest of her Archbishops bidden devotion and
self-denial and Christian love tarry in the Church over
which he ruled, and laid down his life in the cruel
conflict with those who were fraying them away.
Again, we say, all honour be to Laud for his manly
struggle.
III. And another great result of Laud's work, was
that he afforded a scope for the exercise of those
feelings which ever accompany strivings after perfec-
266 LIFE OF AHCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
tion, the desire to dedicate to the service of GOD the
best of all things. The material fabric of GOD'S house
first received its due attention in Laud's time, and men
began to act upon the suggestion of Hooker, that
" GOD had nowhere revealed He delighted to dwell
beggarly." Hence the lavishing his treasures on S.
Paul's, his restoration of his palace Chapel, the protec
tion he vouchsafed to all who dedicated their best to
GOD, his anger at those who dared to destroy church
decorations (e.g., Sherfield, who brake the painted win
dows at Salisbury,) on their own authority. The mean
vessels, too, which had been used in the Eucharistic
Service were now replaced by silver and gold ; altars
were decked with rich hangings, and chancels were
not merely decently but splendidly furnished. The
Church was beginning to recover from the long thral
dom of Calvinism, and to realise the presence of her
LOKD. Hence nothing was thought too costly for the
altar ; and this feeling has lasted, though trampled
under for a time ; our churches are daily enriched
with the most precious things the earth affords, and in
the universal adoption of the solemn consecration of
the Houses of GOD in the land, and the increasing
reverence for them as the dwelling-places of the
ALMIGHTY, we see a vindication (if any were needed)
of Laud's resolute maintenance of this service.
IV. As closely connected with the preceding, we
may notice the impetus he gave to a sound school of
theology. The royal injunctions which ordered the
study of the fathers rather than moderns at the Uni
versities, were procured by him. Their effect was
soon seen. In Chapter XII. we noted a few of the
names who owed their celebrity to Laud's patronage
Wren, Montague, Taylor, Cosin, Mede, and Bramhall.
And these again trained another generation, and in a
great degree influence our own. How immeasurably
superior are the divines of the Caroline era to those
which preceded them ! how are^ they to this day the
most powerful and only consistent exponents of Angli-
III.] HESTTLT8 OF LAUD*8 LABOUBS. 267
Tcan doctrine ! what a thorough revolution was effected
in English theology by the firmness of one man who
simply did what his Church told him to do follow
the primitive interpretation of Holy Scripture ! That
we nave any theology at all, of which we can speak
^without a blush, we may thank Laud.
V. When we call to mind the progress made by
Calvinism during the reigns of Elizabeth and James,
how many Bishops hem its doctrines, and how its
dogmas resounded in high places, while even Oxford
was its chief nursery, we cannot but remember with
gratitude that we owe to Laud the royal declaration
which prefixed to TKe Articles and ever since accepted
by the Church, has finally rescued them from the
Genevan party. Having been foiled in their attempt
to substitute ffie "Lambeth" for the "XXXIX.," they
argued that in consequence of the known opinions of
some of the compilers, they could only be honestly
signed in a Genevan sense. It was evident bow things
were tending, and Laud stopped the mischief. The
royal declaration which he procured left them open,
and ordered them to be subscribed in their plain,
natural, grammatical sense. Henceforth the supposed
views of the compilers are nothing whatever to the
clergy, who are the -only persons whom the Articles
concern. Here again we may thank the great Arch
bishop that our Articles have been left open, and may
honestly be signed by all who are satisfied that Calvin
ism is unscriptural, and who could not have signed
them had a Calvinistic interpretation been authorita
tively put upon them, as the Puritans wished.
VI. When we think upon the apparent failure of
Laud's movement, we should remember the improve
ment of the Prayer Book in which it resulted. The
Book fell with Laud ; a season of spiritual anarchy en-
i sued, and then the nation wearied and disgusted with
the excesses of Puritanism, threw itself once more into
the arms of the Church. Many were dead who by the
great Archbishop's side had fought the good fight,but as
268 LIFE OF ABCHBISHOP LAUD. [CHAP.
a matter of course those that remained and with them
the pupils they had trained, were called to preside over
the Church of CHEIST once more established in these
realms. Now was seen the fruit of that sound school
of theology which it had~been the aim of the Arch
bishop to cherish, for the principles for which he laid
down his life were in the ascendant. Juxon sat in the
chair of S. Augustine ; Wren returned to Ely ; Cosin
was enthroned in the palatinate of Durham. To men
trained in the school of Laud, who had known him
personally, who had imbibed his principles, who had
learnt from him what the Church of England really
was, and who at the hazard of their lives had adhered
to her communion, was entrusted a work which had
been denied to their great chief, the supplying admitted
delects in the Church's Liturgy, and bringing her
nearer to the models of primitive antiquity. This
was Laud's great triumph, this the proof that he had
" not run in vain nor laboured in vain." And the high
'tone taken by the commissioners at the Savoy is very
striking. They had caught the spirit of their master,
they would make no concession, and the Puritans
| after having destroyed one Prayer Book, had to wit-
I ness the production of another still more Catholic,
.still further removed from Genera. It is to the convo
cation of 1662, many of whom had been confessors for
righteousness' sake, that we owe our present Prayer
Book. Their work has never been undone. It has
lasted and will last. To them we are indebted for the
oblation and the commemoration of the faithful de
parted in the Liturgy ; by their direction the manual
signs were inserted in the prayer of consecration, which
then first received its proper name ; to them is due the
improvement of the ordinal, and the prohibition of any
save those who have received episcopal ordination,
ministering at our altars. There is no doubting whose
spirit breathes forth here, or in whose school those
ho made these alterations had been trained.
A similar tone pervades all their other additions.
XXI.] RESULTS OF LAUD'S LABOURS. 269
^ There is a special petition for the consecration of the
water in the Baptismal service, the Absolution is re
stricted to Priests ; there is a table of vigils ; there
are prayers for the Ember seasons, for all conditions of
men, especially the good estate of the Catholic Church ;
there is a new service for the baptism of adults, wherein
the 3rd chapter of S. John is authoritatively inter
preted of the sacrament of regeneration. In vain the
Presbyterians begged the sign of the Cross might be
sacriBced, the" Communion office performed in the
desk, or the season ef Lent be given up as an expe
dient to peace. We seem to catch the Archbishop's
voice in the answer of the episcopate : " It were in
effect to desire that our Church may be contentious
for peace' sake, and to divide from the Church Ca
tholic, that we may" five at unity among ourselves.
For~S. Paul reckons them among the lovers of con
tention who shall oppose themselves against the cus-
~ toms of the churches of Q-OD." 1
* VII. But the greatest triumph of the Archbishop is \
the complete adoption, by the whole English Church,
of the principle he enunciated with regard to the
position of the altar. There was nothing which en
raged the Puritans more than this, nothing which he
had greater trouble in enforcing, nothing which was
more dwelt upon at his trial. Yet at this day there
is not a church in England where the holy table does
not stand altarwise at the end of the church, and is
fenced round by railing from intrusion.
But had not Laud laid the utmost stress upon this,
had he not taught his disciples to regard it as the
centre of all sound restoration, we might at this day
have been sitting at communion times round a com
mon table, and passing the elements from hand to
hand. Shocking as this is, and repugnant to all
Church feeling, it is what the Puritans wanted, and
what, when they had the ascendancy, they did. Jf
are grateful for our escape from such irreverence,
1 Vide Proceedings of Savoy Conference.
270 LIFE OF AECHBISHOP LAUD.
let us remember that we owe it to Laud, and let us
see, in the position occupied by the Holy Table in our
churches at this day, the most complete answer to all
who would sneer at his career, and insinuate it has
been barren of results. His blood was not shed in
vain ; and every time we enter a church we have a
witness of the reality of his work, an evidence that his
principles were founded upon truth, and therefore,
though he himself perished, destined for a brilliant
glorious triumph.
And now, Christian reader, in closing this little
book, we would fain specially acknowledge GOD'S
love to our Church, in having so mercifully led her on,
and in having enabled her, at each turning-point of
her history, to witness more plainly to His Truth, as
enshrined in the ancient Creeds of His one holy
Catholic and Apostolic Church. He has never failed
her; for He has never suffered her adversaries to prevail
against her. Let us, from the history of this holy
Prelate, and the great work, which, amid much seeming
failure, he accomplished, be encouraged to take heart
for the future, and each, in our respective spheres,
battle as resolutely, and struggle as manfully as he,
for the Church in which GOD has cast our lot, that we
may hand down to our children, unmutilated and
unimpaired, the precious inheritance which his mar
tyrdom has preserved to ourselves.
APPENDIX.
A.
THE ABCHBISHOP'S LAST WILL A.HTD TESTAMENT.
" Jan. 13, 1641.
" In Dei Nomine, Amen. I, William Laud, by
GOD'S great mercy and goodness, Lord Archbishop
of Canterbury, being in perfect health, Ac., do hereby
make and ordain this my Last Will and Testament,
" And first, in all humility and devotion of a
contrite heart, I heartily beg of GOD pardon and
remission of all my sins, for and through the media
tion of my alone SAVIOUR JESUS CHBIST. And
though T have been a most prodigal son, yet my hope
is in CHBIST, that, for His sake, GOD, my Most
Merciful CBEATOB, will not cast off the bowels and
compassion of a Father. Amen, LOBD JESU. In
this hope and confidence, I render up my soul with
comfort, in the mercies of GOD the FATHEB, through
the merit of GOD the SON, and in the love of GOD
the HOLT GHOST." * *
Then follows a protestation of forgiveness of all
who have injured nim, and a prayer for forgiveness
from those he has offended. The Will thus proceeds :
" For my faith : I die, as I have lived, in the true
Orthodox profession of the Catholic Faith of CHBIST,
foreshowed by the Prophets, and preached to the
world by CHBIST Himself, His blessed Apostles, and
their successors ; and a true member of His Catholic
Church, within the Communion of a living part
thereof, the present Church of England, as it now
stands established by law."
272 APPENDIX.
He then directs his body to be buried beneath the
Altar of S. John's College, Oxford, if possible, and
earnestly requests not to be buried in the Tower,
should he die a prisoner. And after directing the
payment of his debts, which he thanks G OD are small,
he proceeds to bequeath :
" To S. Paul's, 800, if the repairs are continued.
" To my dear and dread Sovereign King Charles,
whom GOD bless, 1,000, and forgiveness of a debt
of 2,000.
" To S. John's, Oxford, his chapel plate and furni
ture, his books, and 500, to be laid out in land."
Then follow remembrances of the Duchess and the
young Duke of Buckingham, the Duchess of Rich
mond, and the Marquis of Newcastle, and legacies to
the children of his half-brothers and sisters.
His Chaplains are not forgotten, nor the poor of the
parishes of S. Mary Magdalen, and S. Giles, Oxford,
Standforth, North Kilworth, and many other places
with which he had been connected.
His servants are all mentioned by name, and
legacies bequeathed.
After various other instructions to his executors, he
proceeds :
" And I do heartily pray my executor to take care
that my book written against Mr. Fisher the Jesuit,
may be translated into Latin, and sent abroad, that
the Christian world may see and judge of my
religion.
" Thus I forgive all the world, and heartily desire
forgiveness of GOD and the world ; and so again
commit and commend my soul into the hands of GOD
the FATHER, Who gave it, in the merits and mercies
of my Blessed SAVIOUR JESUS CHEIST, "Who redeemed
it, and in the grace and comfort of the HOLY GHOST,
"Who blessed it, and in the truth and unity of His
APPENDIX. 273
Holy Catholic Church, and in the Communion of the
Church of England as it yet stands established
by law."
* * *
" For the money to bear the charge of these
Legacies expressed in my "Will, and other intend-
ments, I have, for fear of the present storm, com
mitted it to honest and true hands, and I doubt not
they will deliver the money in their several custodies,
to my executor, for the uses expressed ; but I forbear
to name them, lest the same storm should fall on
them, which hath driven me out of all I have con
siderable in my own possession.
W. CAWT."
The Will was proved by Dr. E. Baily, the executor,
in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, on the 8th
of January, 166J. 1
B.
The following remarkable testimony, borne by his
Koman opponents, to Laud's faithfulness to the
English Church, has been preserved iu a letter of
John Evelyn.
From John Evelyn to the Bishop of Lincoln
(Dr. Tenison}.
" "Wotton, 29 May, 1694.
" Mr LORD,
* * * *
" Mr. Pepys sent me, last week, the Journal of Sir
John Nasborough and Captain "Wood, together with
Mr. "Wharton's Preface to his intended History of the
Life of Archbishop Laud. I do not know whether I
might do the learned editor (for it seems he only
1 Laud's Works, vol. IT. pp. 441 151.
T
274 APPENDIX.
publishes a MS. written by that great Prelate of his
own life,) any service, by acquainting him with a
passage relating to that person, namely, the jubilee
which the sacrifice of the Bishop caused some at Rome,
it being my hap to be in that city, and in company of
divers of the English Fathers, (as they call them,)
when the news of his suffering, and the sermon he
made on the scaffold, arrived there ; which, I well
remember, they read and commented on with no
small satisfaction, and (as I thought) contempt, as of
one taken off who was an enemy to them, and stood in
their way ; whilst one of the blackest crimes imputed to
him teas (we may well call to mind) his being Popishly
affected.
* * * #
"Yours, &C." 1
See also the testimony of the Rev. Jonathan Whiston,
who had been informed by Sir L. Tolmach, of the re
joicing at Rome, on the receipt of the news of Laud's
death. They spoke of his murder as " the greatest
enemy of the Church of Rome in England being cut
off, and the greatest champion of the Church of England
silenced." 2
1 Vide Evelyn's Diary and Correspondence, vol. iii. p. 341,
Edit. 1852. ..-.
2 Laud's Works, vol. iv. p. 504.
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M. A. C. Cloth, Is. 6d. ; wrapper, Is. *6\
EVERLEY. A Tale. Second Edition, fcp. 8vo. 6s.
"Nicely written, in a fresh and pleasant style: Evelyn's character not
without faults, and truer to nature than most heroines is charmingly feminine,
yet earnest and sensible Its high principles and earnest tone deserve
warm commendation." Literary Churchman.
" The chief intention is to teach young ladies how to make themselves useful
and pleasant hi their own homes, and there is much good counsel that they
would be all the better for taking to heart." Alhentntm.
8
Present Books Tales,
FIVE TALES OF OLD TIME. Separately in cloth. Follow
Me. (C. E. H., Morwenstow) Is. Shepherd of the Giant
Mountains. (Fouque) Is. The Knight and the Enchanters.
(Fouque) Is. The Stream. Is. The Castle on the Rock. Is.
FLOWER. CLASSICAL TALES AND LEGENDS. By the Rev.
W. B. Flower. 2s., cheap edition, Is.
These Tales are free translations from parts of Ovid and other authors, and
adapted to the minds of children.
FLOWER. TALES OF FAITH AND PROVIDENCE. 2s., or
in a packet, 2s., cheap edition, Is.
"Taken from ancient sources, and related with considerable spirit." Ec
clesiastic.
FLOWER. LUCY ASHCROFT. A Tale of the North. Cloth,
gilt edges. 3s.
The story of a Manufacturer who was led, under GOD, by his daughter's
influence, to see the only true way in which the relation of master and servants
can become a blessed and Christian union.
FLOWER. THE WIDOW AND HER SON ; and other Tales.
Translated from the German. 18mo. 2s.
FORBES. SNOWBALL, and other Tales. By Isabella Forbes.
2s. 6d.
CONTENTS: Snowball; or, the Little Lambs The House and the Hut; or,
the Promise of a Home in Heaven The Day's Journey; or, the Wide and
Narrow Way The Good Physician; or, Disobedience, &c.
FOX. THE HOLY CHURCH THROUGHOUT ALL THE WORLD.
By the Rev. S. Fox. 2s.; cheap edition, Is.
Being an account of the Church from the time of the Apostles to the present
day, simply told for the use of young people.
FREDERICK GORDON, or the Storming of the Redan. By
a Soldier's Daughter. Royal 18mo., Is. 6d.
A Tale of the courage and perseverance of a young officer in the Crimean
War, with an account of the founding of the Military Hospital at Netley
near Southampton.
GERTRUDE DACRE. By the Author of " The Sunbeam."
Fcap. 8vo., 3s.
GLORIOUS CITY (The); An Allegory for Children. By
M. A. 0. 2s. 6d.
GOING HOME. A Story. By F. G. W. Second Edition.
Is. 6d. cloth.
" Well written and admirably suited to its purpose, and as such likely to
obtain a full share of popularity. Though serious it is not too dry, the interest
of it being belter sustained than is usual in works of this style." Ecclesiastic.
4
J. Matters, London.
GOULD. THE PATH OF THE JUST. Tales of Holy Men and
Children. By S. Baring Gould, B,A. 2s.
GRESLEY. THE PORTRAIT OF AN ENGLISH CHURCHMAN.
A new and cheaper edition. By the Rev. W. Gresley. 2s. 6d.
This is an attempt to paint the feelings, habits of thought, and mode of
action which naturally flow from a sincere attachment to the system of belief
and discipline of our Church.
GRESLEY. BERNARD LESLIE. (1838.) 4s. 6d.
A Tale of the Early Time of the Revival of Church Principles in England :
containing the events happening to a Young Clergyman in his endeavour to
carry them ont.
GRESLEY. BERNARD LKSLIE. Second Part. 4s.
" The object of this volume, as of the former, written fifteen years ago, is to
illustrate passing events by actual facto, at the same time avoiding per-
sonality." Preface.
GRESLEY. THE FOREST OF ARDEN. A Tale illustrative of
the English Reformation. 4s. ; cheap edition, 2s.
The author has here diligently endeavoured to write on the Reformation
without the spirit of partizanship, to describe things as they were.
GRESLEY. THE SIEGE OF LICHFIELD. 4s. ; cheap edition,
Is. 8d.
The narrative commences early in the year 1842, and carries us through th
Great Rebellion, when England was convulsed with faction, showing the
sufferings and miseries that attended it.
GRESLEY. CON ISTON HALL; or, the Jacobites. A Tale of
the Revolution of 1688. 4s. 6d.
"No time in English History is more calculated to supply materials for
graphic fiction than the last days of the Stuarts. There are no morbid feelings
in the characters pourt rayed, no fictitious means of creating excitement, tie
treatment of the subject of the affections is singularly pure, and the political
disquisitions are sensible and high toned." Eccitritutic.
GRESLEY. CHARLES LEVER ; the Man of the Nineteenth
Century. 3s. 6d. ; cheap edition, Is. 8d.
Written with a view to show the mutual bearing of difierent classes on each
other ; how ambition and lax principles in the rich lead to the demoralization
of the poor ; how the demoralization of the poor reacts on those above them.
GRESLEY. CLEMENT WALTON ; or, the English Citizen.
3s. 6d. ; paper, Is. 8d.
The object of this Tale is to draw a picture of one, who in all the social re
lations of life acts on Christian principle.
GRESLEY. CHURCH CLAVERING ; or, the Schoolmaster.
4s. ; cheap edition, 2s.
Consists of a series of lessons, given partly in narrative, partly in conversa
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of youth to live to the glory of GOD.
GRESLEY. FRANK'S FIRST TRIP TO THE CONTINENT.
4s. 6d. ; cheap edition, 3s.
" A most interesting account of a visit to France, with much historical in-
formation. It contains a practical view of education in France, the School* of
the Christian Brothers and their founder Pere de la Salle, Sinters of Charity,
and other institutions." John Bull.
6
Present Books Tales.
GRESLEY. HOLIDAY TALES. 2s. ; wrapper, Is. 6d.
CONTENTS : The Magical Watch, Mr. Bull and the Giant Atmodes, Old Pe
dro. Adventures of a Bee.
HENRIETTA'S WISH. A Tale, by the author of "The
Heir of Redclyffe." Fourth Edition, 5s.
" We have seldom seen a book for the young less exaggerated, or more true
to nature. The gulf between good and bad is generally so wide that no child
can ever aspire to being so saintlike as the one, or dread being so criminal as
the other. ' Henrietta's Wish" is clear of these extremes." Morning Chronicle.
" The characters, dialogue, the tenderness and beauty of many of the scenes
are remarkable ; the reality and vigour of the conversations are delightful."
Christian Remembrancer.
HEYGATE. WILLIAM BLAKE ; or, the English Farmer. By
the Rev. W. E. Heygate. 3s. 6d.
An attempt to rouse the mind of the English Farmer to a sense of the res
ponsibility which attaches to him in the body politic; full of domestic and
familiar incidents which add naturalness to the story.
HIGHER CLAIMS ; or, Catherine Lewis the Sunday School
Teacher. Edited by the Rev. R. Seymour. Is. ; cloth, Is. 6d.
Sets forth the great advantage that would accrue to the Church if the younp
persons of the middle classes were aroused to consider the full extent of her
claims upon them, as well as on their superiors in wealth or station.
HILARY S. MAGNA; or, The Nearest Duty First. A Tale.
Fcp. 8vo. 4s.
ION LESTER. A Tale of True Friendship. By C. H. H.
Fcp. 8vo., 4s. 6d.
A Tale of one who, born to riches and with every inducement to make this
world his chief concern, yet devotes himself nobly to the good of his friends
and people, and passes unhurt through all the flattery and luxury consequent
on his position.
IVO AND VERENA ; or, the Snowdrop. By the author of
"Cousin Rachel." In cloth, 2s.; stiff cover, Is. 6d.
A Tale of the conversion, life, and influence of an early convert to the Chris
tian Faith, in the countries of the North.
Sufomle Englishman's f&istortcal Hifcrarg.
Edited by the Rev. J. F. Russell, B.C.L.
ENGLISH HISTORY FOR CHILDREN. By the Rev. J. M. Neale.
2s. ; school edition, Is.
The object is to give children a Churchman's view of the history of their own
country, and to secure correct first impressions on their minds, dwelling at
length on events of interest or importance.
HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. By the Rev. W. B. Flower. 2s.;
school edition, Is.
Contains an account of its early kings, David the First Alexander Bruce
the Stuarts Robert James I. to VII. Prince Charles Edward to the times
following the Battle ol Culloden.
6
J. Masters, London.
HISTORY OF IRELAND. Edited by the late Rev. T. K. Arnold.
2s.; school edition, Is.
" Within the compass of a very small volume a History of Ireland from the
days of the two SS. Patrick, to our own time. In which not only all important
facts appear to be accurately stated, bat where is also a considerable amount
of anecdote and reflection." Ecclesiastic.
" A very well written and interesting compendium." English Review.
HISTORY OF ROME. By the Rev. Samuel Fox. 2s. ; school
edition, la.
Aims at giving within small limits a sufficiently lengthy history for schools j
actions are judged throughout in it on sound principle* of morality: it starts
from the earliest times of Rome.
HISTORY OF GREECE. By the Rev. J. M. Neale. 2s. ; school
edition, Is.
"The events are judiciously abridged and related with a due appreciation
of those characteristics most likely to affect the mind of a child." Cirencester
Express.
HISTORY OF FRANCE. By the Rev. Canon Haskoll. 2s.
school edition, Is.
Contains all the most remarkable facts from the time of Julius Ctesar Gawl
nnder the Romans through the reigns of Clovis, Dagobert, Charles Mattel,
Pepin, and Charlemagne The Feudal System Philip and all the Louis's the
Revolution till its present establishment as an Empire. Compiled carefully
from the best authors.
HISTORY OF SPAIN. By the Rev. Bennett G. Johns, Chaplain
to the Indigent Blind School. 2s. ; school edition, Is.
Begins at the first settlement of the Phoenicians 1000 years before our Loan.
The history of this interesting country is carried on to the time of Isabella
Maria, in 1833.
HISTORY OF PORTUGAL. By the Rev. J. M. Neale. 2s.
school edition, Is.
" The early history of that unhappy country was peculiarly romantic, and it
has been fortunate to find a well informed and accomplished historian ; every
one who begins to read it will find himself irresistibly carried on to the end."
English Review.
Subemle (nglis!)man's litarg.
In enamelled paper covers, one shilling each.
TALES OF TUB VILLAGE CHILDREN. 1st Series. By the Rev.
F. E. Paget. 2s.
COVTKKTS : The Singers The Wake The Bonfire Beating the Bounds-
Hallowmas Eve A Sunday Walk and a Sunday Talk,
TALES OF THE VILLAGE CHILDREN. 2nd Series. By the Rev.
F. E. Paget. 2s.
CONTENTS : Merry Andrew ; or the high-spirited lad brought low and Uught
the blessings of sickness The Pancake Bell, a Story of Old Customs on Shrove
Tuesday, and the meaning of that day and the Fast of Lent The April Fool,
or a warning against following bad customs.
7
Present Books Tales.
THE HOPE OF THE KATZEKOPFS ; or, the Sorrows of Selfish
ness. A Fairy Tale. By the Rev. F. E. Paget. 2s.
To illustrate the ill effects of spoiling a child by indulgence.
HENRI DE CLERMONT ; or, the Royalists of La Vendee : a
Tale of the French Revolution, 1788. Also, The English
Yeomen ; a Tale. By the Rev. W. Gresley. 2s.
" A miniature romance of the history of the wars of La Vendee ; will lead to
the perusal of more enlarged editions, and teaches in the tale the uses of ad
versity." Atlas.
POPULAR TALES FROM THE GERMAN. 1 Vol. By Fouque.
Is. 6d.
CONTENTS : S. Sylvester's Night, An Allegory Hauff's Cold Heart; or the
Effects of the Love of Gold The Red Mantle : a Fabulous Tale.
EARLY FRIENDSHIP; or an Account of Two Catechumens, and
their walk through life. Is. 6d.
THE SWEDISH BROTHERS. A Tale founded on the true History
of Gustavus, King of Sweden. By Sir Charles Anderson.
Is. 6d.
THE CHARCOAL BURNERS ; a Story of the Rise of a young
Artist. From the German. Is. 6d.
GODFREY DAVENANT ; a Tale for School Boys. By the Rev.
W. E. Heygate. 2s.
Contains the whole of a boy's School Life on leaving Home First Sunday
Quiet Endurance The Head Master The Poor Weakness and Self-De
lusion More vacillation affliction a quarrel disappointment and renewed
hope, &c.
GODFREY DAVENANT AT COLLEGE. By the Rev. W. E.
Heygate. 2s.
CONTENTS : First Impressions The Freshman Routine First Vacation
Social and Religious Character of the Collegiate System, &c.
" A lively description of the characteristic dangers, temptations, advantages,
and pleasures of a college life at Oxford." English Review.
" His view of the ' Collegiate System ' is admirable, and especially that part
on the religious character of the system." Ecclesiastic.
LUKE SHARP ; or Knowledge without Religion. By the Rev.
F. E. Paget. 2s.
A Tale for lads just going out to service, to show that to resist the many
temptations which are put in the way of youth, a strength is needed which no
secular education can supply, but which a faithful training in Church principles
will alone give.
TALES OF CHRISTIAN HEROISM. By the Rev. J. M. Neale. 2s.
CONTENTS: S. Perpetua, A.D. 202; S. Dorothea, 300; The Cross of Con-
stantine, 312 ; The Death of Arius, 336 ; The Siege of Nisibis, 350 ; The Death of
Julian, 363 ; S. Martin's Pine, 380 ; The Sack of Funchal, 1444 ; The Battle of
Varna, 1666; The Martyrs of Yatzuxiro, 1609; The Plague at Eyam, 1665;
Brick's Grave ; The Helmsman of Lake Erie.
STORIES FROM HEATHEN MYTHOLOGY, AND GREEK HISTORY.
By the Rev. J. M. Neale. 2s.
CONTENTS : Perseus and the Gorgons Hercules Admetus and Alcestes
Theseus The Lotus Eaters Ulysses The Sirens Arion and the Dolpliin
Antigone, ike.
" The spirit of this book is admirable, and deserves carrying out to a far
greater extent. We quite agree that Mythology is one of the subjects which
the Church has failed to turn to her own purposes." Ecclesiastic.
8
J. Masters, London.
TALES OP CHRISTIAN ENDURANCE. By the Rev. J. M. Neale.
Price 2s.
CONTENTS: The Thundering Legion, A.D. 178; The Statues of Antioch, 387 j
The Com Ship. 690 j The Defence of Porto Santo. 1510; The Eclipse at Pekin,
15*0: The Battle of Lepanto, 1S7I j The Tiger of Lahore, 1588; The Bridge
House, 1803 ; The Sure Walk, 1812 ; The Rocks of Minehead. 1897.
" We think that the service done to the cause of troth by a careful and ju
dicious selection and publication of such stories, is very considerable."
Eccletiaitic.
COLTON GREEN ; a Tale of the Black Country, or the region of
Mines and Forges in Staffordshire. By the Rev. W. Ores-
ley. 2s.
Contains an account of the state and reform of a colliery district, and the
building of a new Church there.
THE MANGER OF THE HOLT NIGHT. A Sketch of the Christ
mas festivities and their attendant circumstances, from the
German. 2s.
It is the history of a proud, prosperous king and his two children, who are
brought to their senses by a series of disasters and the severe schooling of
misfortune.
POYNINGS; a Tale of the Revolution of 1688, laid in Sussex.
Price 2s.
CONTENTS: Who made Kings? The Plot The Warning The Journey The
First Blood shed- The King's Flight His Captivity.
At the end are a few words to show that the iniquity of the Revolution,
putting it at its worst, need be no stumblingblock to a tender conscience at
the present day.
LAYS OF FAITH AND LOYALTY ; or Narratives in Verse,
selected from History. By Archdeacon Churton. 2s.
STORIES FROM FROISSART. Illustrating the History, Man
ners, and Customs, &c., of the Reign of Edward III. By
the Rev. H. P. Dunster. 2s.
CONTENTS : Scotch and English Border Warfare Death of Robert Bruce
The Earl of Uer by Battle of Crecy Queen Philippa Invasion of France The
Invasion of Brittany, &c.
We welcome this present attempt to make that fine and gentle spirited
writer better known." Morning Pott.
" Will give young people that interest and acquaintance with Medieval His
tory, which some knowledge of the original scenes from whence history is
drawn is alone able to afford." John Bull,
LANGLEY SCHOOL. By the author of " Kings of Eng
land." 2s. 6d.
The work of one who has a thoroughly practical knowledge of the subject ;
will be found valuable by all teachers of country schools, whilst they them-
elves may derive many excellent hints from it.
LEVETT. GENTLE INFLUENCE; or, The Cousin's Visit. By
Miss F. M. Levett. Second edition, Is.
B2 9
Present Books Tales.
^LEVETT. SELF-DEVOTION ; or the Prussians at Hochkirch.
From the German. 6d.
A sketch of a fine character in the fidelity and devotion of an old servant.
LITTLE ALICE AND HER SISTER. Edited by the Rev.
W. Gresley. 2s. 6d.
The account of a little Girl who learned to deny herself, and think of others
before herself.
LITTLE ANNIE AND HER SISTERS. By E. W. H.
Is. 6d., paper Is.
LORD OF THE FOREST AND HIS VASSALS (The). By
the author of " Hymns for Little Children." 3s., paper 2s.
An allegory representing the real strife against Sin, the World, and the
Devil, which all have to fight.
LUCY AND CHEISTIAN WAINWKIGHT, and other Tales.
By the author of " Aggesden Vicarage," " The Wynnes,"
&c. Fcp. 8vo., cloth, 3s. 6d.
LUCY, or the Housemaid, and Mrs. Browne's Kitchen. By
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MAIDEN AUNT'S TALES. By S. M., author of ' The Use
of Sunshine," " Nina," &c. 3s. 6d.
" The moral of the whole is the happy influence of such a frame of mind,
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into contact." John Bull.
MALAN. BETHANY, a Pilgrimage ; and MAGDALA, a Day by
the Sea of Galilee. By the Rev. S. C. Malan, Vicar of
Broadwindsor, Dorset. Second Edition. Is. 6d.
" This very beautiful little work seems to us to exhibit precisely the temper
and feelings with which the holy scenes of our LORD'S life on earth ought to
be visited. This little volume tends to elevate the mind, and to shame us out
of our earthly thoughts." Ecclesiastic.
" A graphic account of what Mr. Malan saw and felt. It will be of service
to a large class of readers." Clerical Journal.
MALAN. THE COASTS OF TYRE AND SIDON, a Narrative. Is.
" No one can follow Mr. Malan in his reverent and truthful description of
these holy places, without feeling that the scenes have a life and reality im
parted to them that in our minds they did not possess before." Churchman's
Companion.
MASON. THE OLD LIBRARY AND ITS TALES. By Elizabeth
Mason. Fcap. 8vo., 3s. 6d.
MEETING IN THE WILDERNESS (The). An Imagina
tion, wherein Divine Love is set forth. By the author of
" The Divine Master." Is.
MILMAN. THE WAY THROUGH THE DESERT; or, The
Caravan. By the Rev. R. Milman, author of the " Life
of Tasso," &c. Is. ; cloth Is. 6d.
An allegory, showing how we should walk here to attain life eternal here-
alter.
in
J. Matters, London.
MILMAN. THE VOICES OF HARVEST. 8d. 5 cloth, IB.
"An eloquent and religion breathing little book, in which the marvellous
operations of the harvest are pointed out in beautiful language, and occasion
thence taken to remind the reader of the necessity of cultivating the soul and
heart, that we may reap the harvest of eternal happiness." Morning Putt.
MILMAN. MITSLAV; or, the Conversion of Pomerania. A
True Story of the Shores of the Baltic in the Twelfth
Century. 5s.
" Agreeably written, it presents a picture of Sclavonic manners and religion,
that hardly exists in English literature, and cannot fail to be of interest."
Colonial Church Chronicle.
MILL Y \\ 1 1 1 ! KLER. By the author of " Amy Wilson." 9<L
MINNIE'S BIRTHDAY, and other Stories for Children. By
Marietta. With four Illustrations by Cuthbert Bede.
Fcp. 8vo. 2s.
MOBERLY. STORIES FROM HERODOTUS. By the Rev. C. E.
Moberly. 2s.
"Written with remarkable vigour and freshness, and Indicate a thorough
appreciation of the author. The great charm of Herodotus, Mr. Moberly be
lieves to consist in the religious temper of his mind, and he considers him to
have collected all the traditions and remembrances of heroism whether native
or foreign, with the view of counteracting that corruption of principle which
was then pervading the people of Greece." Kcclesitutic.
MONRO. WALTER THE SCHOOLMASTER; or, Studies of
Character in a Boys' School. By the Rev. E. Monro.
Third edition, cloth, 2s. 6d.
" Brings out the religion* aspect of the Schoolmaster's office hi its bearing
on the moral training of the Christian soul, to whom he is hi some measure a
Pastor." Gutriinn.
MONRO. BASIL THE SCHOOLBOY ; or, the Heir of ArundeL
A Story of School Life. Third edition, cloth, 3s. 6d.
" Intended to paint the characters of boys in large modern Schools j the
characters have had their types in most Schools, and are painted with a con.
sistency that gives a life-like character to every cei\c."Kceletiastie.
MONRO. LEONARD AND DENNIS. A Tale of the Russian
War. In one vol., 7s. 6d.
" Exhibits some strong and effective writing." CAri<iai Remembrancer.
MONRO. TRUE STORIES OP COTTAGERS. Cloth, 2s. 6d. ; in
packets, 2s.
CONTKNTS : The Railroad Boy The Drunkard's Boy The Cottage In the
Lane Robert Lee Annie's Grave Mary Cooper.
MONRO. THE DARK RIVER. An Allegory on Death. 2. ;
cheap edition, Is.
In this allegory the " Dark River" is emblematical of Death and the need of
preparation ; and the true supports through that last trial are set forth.
MONRO. THE VAST ARMY. An Allegory on fighting the
good Fight of Faith. 2s.; cheap edition, Is.
" The handling of the subject is most admirable ; we must especially com.
mend the way in which that old, so often said, and alas so little acted truth
that we are to do our duty in that state of life to which it pleaseth GOD to caO
us, is set before the reader." Kcdrntutic.
MONRO. EUSTACE ; or, the Lost Inheritance. A Tale of
School Life. 2s.
11
Present Books Tales.
MONRO. THE COMBATANTS. An Allegory showing how a
Christian should contend with and overthrow his enemies.
2s.; cheap edition, Is.
"The images are vivid and the interest sustained, and the parable not so
transparent as to break down with its own weight." Ecclesiastic,
MONRO. THK REVELLERS. An Allegory on the LORD'S
Second Coming, and our Duty to Watch. THE MID
NIGHT SEA ; or the Great Pilot our only Refuge in storms.
THE WANDERER ; or Sheep without a Shepherd. 2s. ;
cheap edition, Is.
MONRO. THE JOURNEY HOME. An Allegory. Intended
to illustrate some of the leading features of the Christian
life, and the earlier temptations and difficulties of the
spiritual warfare. 2s. ; cheap edition. Is.
MONRO. THE DARK MOUNTAINS. A Sequel to the Journey
Home. 2s. ; cheap edition, Is.
This sequel contains an account of the trials and temptations most frequent
as life draws to an end and death is near.
The above 6 vols. bound together, 7s. 6d. cloth ; 12s. morocco. ;
or in 2 vols. cloth, 4s. each.
MONRO. HARRY AND ARCHIE ; or, First and Last Com
munion, and the danger of delay. Part I. 6d. Part II.
6d. ; together, Is. ; cloth, Is. 6d.
MONRO. NANNY : a Sequel to " Harry and Archie." 6d. ;
cloth, Is.
MONRO. CLAUDIAN ; a Tale of the Second Century. Part I.
Fcap. 8vo., 2s.
MRS. BOSS'S NIECE. By the author of " Stories on Pro
verbs." 18mo. cloth, 2s.
MY BIRTHDAY EVE. A Waking Dream. With orna
mental borders. 2s.
NEALE. HIEROLOGUS; or the Church Tourists. By the Rev.
J. M. Neale. In Two parts, 3s. 4d.
Descriptive of the architecture and local history of the parts visited Croy-
land, Peterborough, Geddington, York, Marston Moor, Chester, S. Ataph,
Ruthin, &c.
NEALE. THEODORA PHRANZA ; or, the Fall of Constan
tinople. 5s.
" Will be read with interest, affording as it' does an accurate picture of the
manners and condition of society in Byzantium on the eve of the overthrow of
the Christian Empire of the East by the Turks, as well as a most detailed and
higlily dramatic narrative of that event itself." Atlas,
" A readable story. The historical portions are sufficiently learned for all
practical purposes, but the interest centres in the human characters whose
story is interwoven with the fate of the doomed city." Athenaeum,.
NEALE. THE UNSEEN WORLD ; Communications with it, real
or imaginary. New edition, with considerable additions.
Fcp. 8vo., 2s. 6d.; cheap edition, Is. 6d.
CONTKNTS : Apparitions Warnings Arial Visions Prophecies, &c.
12
J. Masters, London.
NEALE. STORIES FROM THE CRUSADES. 3s.
" Displays an extraordinary acquaintance with the manner* and customs of
the age. as well as great powers of description. Each page almost is a picture
which seems to us to fairly represent both what was good and what was eril in
the system which it illustrates." Ecclesiastic.
NEALE. DUCHENIER, or the Revolt of La Vended. 3s. 6d.
" It is not too much to say that the vivid and truthful descriptions of Mr.
Neale in the present tale, founded in all its chief incidents on historical (acts,
reproduce the sensations and impressions of the truth which is stranger than
fiction ." Kcclesiattic.
NEALE. THE EGYPTIAN WANDERERS. A Tale of the Tenth
Persecution. 18mo. 2s. 6d.
" Mr. Neale's command of the facts of early Church History is well known,
and his power of using his great knowledge in the composition of picturesque
and striking Children's Books, most of our readers are well acquainted with.
This book will be found by no means his least successful effort." Guardian.
NEALE. EVKNINGS AT SACKVILLE COLLEGE. 18mo., cl., 2s.
CONTENT*. S. Thomas, and King Gondophorus The Storm on Lake
Wener The Burial of Raymond The Relief of Antwerp, 1682 The North-
side Pit, 1851, &c.
NEALE. LENT LEGENDS. Stories for Children from Church
History. 2s. 6d.
CONTKNTS : The Siege of Omura The Wolf of the Spessart Wold The
Challenge of Lucius The Circus of Gaza The Supper of S. Spiridion, &c.
NEALE. THE FOLLOWERS OF THE LORD ; Stories from
Church History. 2s.
CONTNTS : The Martyrdom of S. Ketevan The Tunny Fishers The The-
ban Legion The Mountain Lights, &c.
" Not at all behind its predecessors in interest." Eccleriaitic.
NEALE. SUNDAY AFTERNOONS AT AN ORPHANAGE, contain-
in^ Twenty-three Stories and Lessons for Children. 2s.
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B 3 13
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14
J. Masters, London.
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15
Present Books Tales.
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16
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VOICES OF CHRISTMAS. A Tale. By Louis Sand. With
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17
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WILBRAHAM. THE LOYAL HEART, and other Tales for
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20
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BRAUNE. THE PERSONE OF A TOUN ; The First Book.
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EVANS. DAILY HYMNS. A Volume of Poems. By the
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GOODRICH. CLAUDIA: THE DAYS OF MARTYRDOM. A
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HAWKER. ECHOES FROM OLD CORNWALL. By the Rev.
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22
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KEN. PREPAKATIONS FOE DEATH. Being Selections from
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CONTBVTS : The Miser ; Now ; Days Numbered ; Conscience ; Time to be
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LADY ELLA, or the Story of Cinderella in Verse. 3s. 6d.
LAST SLEEP OF A CHRISTIAN CHILD : a Poem, show
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23
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34
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25
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26
J. Master 9 1 London.
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27
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28
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29
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30
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32
J. Masters, London.
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Conceited Pig." 2d.
READY AND DESIROUS; or, A Lent's Lessons. 6d.
RECOLLECTIONS OF A SOLDIER'S WIDOW. 6d.
A true Tale ; related as told by the Widow herself. She followed the for-
tunes of the 28th Regiment for eleven years of fatigue, danger, and death, at
Copenhagen, Comma, and Barossa.
RICKARDS. BIRD-KEEPING BOT (The); or, the Lowest /
Occupation may be sanctified to GOD 8 Service. By the /*
Rev. S. Rickards. 6d.
ROCKSTRO. THE CHORISTERS OF S. MART'S. A Legend
of Christmas-tide, A.D. circa 1143. By W. S. Rockstro,
author of " Stories on the Commandments," &c. 4d.
RUTH OSBORNE, the Nurse. 6d.
A lesson to nurses of patient and untiring attention, supported by true reli
gious principles.
S. ANDREW'S DAY; or, the Brother's Influence. By the
Author of " the Sunbeam." 3d.
SECRET (The) ; a Tale of Christmas Decoration*. By the
author of " Susan Carter." 4d.
33
Present Books Smaller Tales.
SCHOLAR'S NOSEGAY (The). Being a series of Tales and
Conversations on Flowers. In a neat box, or bound in
cloth, Is. ; cloth gilt, Is. 6d.
1. Introduction; the Good Shepherd and the Lily of Purity. 2. The Daisy ;
or, Loving One Another. 3. The Violet; or, Humility. 4. The Arum; or,
Baptism. 5. The Crocus ; or, The Holy Trinity in Unity. 6. The Strawberry
Blossom; or, Modesty (inverse). 7. The Dandelion ; or, Lent. 8. The Palm;
or, Bearing the Cross. 9. The Hawthorn; a Lesson for Good Friday. 10. The
Tulip; or, The Resurrection. 11. The Sunflower; or, Reverence. 12. Grass?
or, Contentment. 13. The Forget-me-not, and the Lessoo its name implies.
SEVEN CORPORAL WORKS OF MERCY (The). In a
Packet, or bound in ornamental cover, 6d.
1. Feeding the Hungry. Need and Charity. 2. Giving Drink to the Thirsty.
The Old Man by the Well. 3. Clothing the Naked. Ellen the Parish Child.
4. Taking in the Stranger. Mary Howard. 5. Visiting the Sick. Watching.
6. Visiting the Prisoner. Phojbe and her Friend. 7- Burying the Dead.
Shirley Church.
SEVEN SPIRITUAL WORKS OF MERCY (The). In a
Packet, or bound in ornamental cover, 6d.
1 . Counselling the Doubtful ; or, the Little Sisters of Mercy. 2. Teaching
the Ignorant, or, the Shepherd Boy of Aragon. 3. Admonishing the Sinner;
or, the Little Milk Boy. 4. Comforting the Afflicted ; or, a Day in Bessie's
Life. 5. Forgiving Injuries; or, Nonnia the Captive. 6. Suffering Wrongs
Patiently ; or, the Path to Glory. 7. Praying for Others ; or, the Story of
Little May.
SHEPHERDS OF BETHLEHEM : a Story of the Nativity
of our LORD. 6d.
SISTER'S CARE ; or, How a very young girl took care of
her little orphan sister. By the author of " Michael the
Chorister." 6d.
SNOWDROP, an Old Woman's Story. A Tale for Christmas-
tide. Is.
SPRAINED ANCLE (The) ; or, the Punishment of Forget-
fulness. By the author of " The Conceited Pig." 2d.
STONE. ANGELS. By Mrs. Stone. In ornamental borders.
6d.
STRAY DONKEY (The). A Lesson on Cruelty to Animals.
By a Donkey himself. 2d.
STORIES ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. By the author of
" Amy Herbert." 6d.
Containing eight incidents in the Life of a Young Widow, illustrating; the
eight petitions.
STORY OF A PRIMROSE ; wherein is shown the Results
of Disobedience to Parents, and a Lesson in Kindness is
given. 2d.
34
J. Matters, London.
STORY OF A PROMISE THAT WAS KEPT. 2d.
SUSANNA : a Home Tale. 6d.
A Tale of patient suffering and the influence of example of a little girl during
a long sojourn in the Ward of a Hospital.
SUSAN SPELLMAN : a Tale of the Trials she met with in
the Silk Mills at Horton. 6d.
SUNSET REVERIE; an Allegory: in which Mirth and
Earnest pass through the trials of this world. Gd.
SUNSETTING ; or, Old Age in its Glory. A story of hap
piness, peace, and contentment. 6d.
A Tale showing the blessings of old age when it is allowed to see the fruits
of Its labour in bringing up its children in the nurture and admonition of the
Loao.
TALE OF A TORTOISE with its Adventures ; and A STOKY
OF KINO ALFRED THE GREAT. 2d.
THE THREE S. STEPHEN'S DAYS. 6d.
THE THREEFOLD PROMISE AND THE THREEFOLD
BLESSING. Published in aid of the Funds of the Mis
sion Church, S. George in the East, London. 18mo. 6d.
THE TWO BIRTHDAYS, and other Tales. By the author of
" Harold : a Ghost Story." In a packet, 6d.
1. The Two Birthdays. a. Mary's Sorrow. 3. " I Wish." I. The Little
Pharisee. 5. Carelessness sometimes Dishonesty. 6. Bessy and the Sheep.
TOWER BUILDERS (The), and THE Two MERCHANTS. 9d.
Two Allegories, showing (I) how we should be built up in our Christian
Faith } and (S) where we should lay up our treasure.
TREASURE IN HEAVEN. By H. M. E. H. 6d.
TREBURSAYE SCHOOL ; or, the Power of Example. A
Story for Choristers and Schoolboys. 6d.
TWLNS (The). A Tale of Warning to Boys; showing the
misery caused by giving way to angry and unkind temper.
8d.
TWO FRIENDS (The) ; or, Charley's Escape. 6d.
A Tale of the influence of a good companion, and the warning of his sudden
death.
TWO SHEEP (The) ; a Lesson from the Adventures of an
Erring or Stray Sheep. 2d.
UPWARD AND ONWARD. A Story for Girls. 4d.
VILLAGE STORY ; a Tale of a Lacemakers' Village, and the
good influence of the chief family in a Village. 6d.
Present Books Smaller Tales.
VIOLET : a Tale for Easter-tide. By the author of " Ready
and Desirous." 8d.
WHITE RAIMENT, a Tale on the Sinfulness of Gaudy and
Showy Dress, chiefly intended for Sunday School Teachers
and Sunday School Girls. 2d.
WILFORD. JOY IN DUTY. By the author of "The Master
of Churchill Abbots, and his Little Friends," and "Play
and Earnest." Demy 18mo. 6d.,
WILLIAM DALE ; or, The Lame Boy. 2d.
WILLIE COLLINS AND THE PONY FROSTY. By
B. E. B. 6d.
WILLIE GRANT; or, Honesty is the Best Policy. A Tale
of the Fidelity and Reward of a Lad in very humble life.
4d.
WILLY MORGAN. A Tale for Good Friday. By a Clergy
man's Daughter. 3d.
WOOD CARVER (The) ; or, S. Barnabas' Day. 2d.
YOUNG CHRISTIAN'S LIBRARY; Containing Tales and
Lessons on all the Festivals and Holy Days of the Church's
Year. In 32 little books, 2s. 6d. the set, in a neat orna
mental Box. In 3 vols., ornamental cloth, 3s.
Advent
Christmas Day
Epiphany
Ash Wednesday
Good Friday
Easter Eve
Easter Day
Ascension Day
Whit Sunday
Trinity Sunday
S. Andrew
S. Thomas
YOUNG CHURCHMAN'S ALPHABET. The leading events
of our LORD'S Life, illustrated in verse, with an en
graving to each letter. 6d.
YOUNG SOLDIERS (The), or the Double Birthday: and
other Tales. A Packet of Seven Tales, 6d. ; bound, 6d.
1. The Young Soldiers. Part I. 2. The Young Soldiers. Part II. 3. Ash-
grove Fete. 4. The Little Sisters. 5. They do so in my Country. 6. Herbert
and Lizzie; or, the Morning Ramble. 7. Christmas ; or, the German Fir Tree.
YOUNG ANGLERS OF VICHY, (The). By the author of
" Willie Grant ; or, Honesty is the best Policy." Reprinted
from the Churchman's Companion. 6d.
36
S. Stephen
S. Barnabas
S. John the Evan
S. John the Baptist
gelist
S. Peter
The Holy Innocents
S. James
Circumcision
S. Bartholomew
Conversion of S .
S. Matthew
Paul
S. Michael and All
Purification
Angels
S. Matthias
S. Luke
Annunciation
SS. Simon and Jude
S.Mark
All Saints.
SS. Philip and James
BX 5199 L28B34 1855 TRIN
Baines, John.
The life of William Laud,
Archbishop of Canterbury,
BX 5199 L28B34 1855 TRIN
Baines, John.
The life of William Laud,
Archbishop of Canterbury,
and
and
