4.34 fbe HISTORY of the PURITANS. Chap. L EingJames 1. to grant a toleration to papifts ; which offence the judges conceived to Et 60 be heinoufly fineable by the rules of common law, either in the King's Bench, or by the king in council ; or now, Pnce the ftatute-of 3 Hen. VII, in the Star Chamber. And the lords feverally declared, that the king Kin was difcontented with the Paid falfe rumour, and had made but the day gJames's before a proteftation to them, that he never intended it, and that he would protection. fend the laß drop of blood in his body before he would do it ; and prayed; that before any of his Olefhould maintain any other religion than what he truly profefed and maintained, that God would take them out of the world. The reader will remember this folemn proteftation hereafter. After thefe determinations the archbifhop refumed frefh courage, and purfued the puritans without the leaft compaflion. Amore grievous per- fecution of the orthodox faith (fays my author) is not to be met with in any prince's reign. Dr. yohn Burges, redór of Sutton Colfeld, in one ofhis letters to King names, fays the number of non- conformifts in the Bbridgment counties he mentions, were fix or (even hundred, agreeable to the addrefs of ofLine. add. theLincolnfhire minifters hereafter mentioned, viz. p. 52. Numbers of ' Oxfordfhire 9 Stafjordfhire 14. nonfubfsnb- Dorfetfhire 27 Hertfordfhire 1 OM . Nottinghamfhire 20 Surrey 7 `Norfolk 28 Yliilf 21 ire 35 Buckinghamfhire 33 St9ex 47 inLeice/lerfhire 57 Chefhire l a Bedfordfhire 16 In Somerfitfhire 17 20 Lancafhire 21 Kent 23 London 30 Lincolnfhire 33 Warwickfhire 44 ;Devon and Cornwal p t Northamptonfhire 57 `Suffolk 71 Efx. 57 In the twenty-four counties abovementioned -- 754 From whence it is reafonable to conclude, that in the fifty-two counties of England and Wales, there were more than double the number.. The whole clergy of Landau being fummoned to Lambeth, in order to fubfcribe over again, many abfconded, and fsch numbers refufed, that the church was in danger of being disfurnifhed, which awakened the court, who had been told that the non-conformifts were an inconGder- able body of men. Upon this furprifing appearance, the bi(hops were obliged to relax the rigour of the canons for a while ; and to accept of a. promife from tome,, to ufe, the crofs and furplice; from others to ufe the furplice
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