440 The HISTORY of the PURITANS. Chap. I. KingTamesl. the houle of lords, and Guy Vaux with a dark lanthorn in the cellar, wait. r 6 ing to let fire to the train when the king fhould come to the houle the next morning. Vaux being apprehended confefíed the plot, and impeached feveral of his accomplices, eight of whom were tried and executed, and among them, Garnet provincial of the Englìfh jefuits, whom the pope afterwards canonized. Rapin, The difcovery of this murderous coorfpiracy was afçribed to the royal tOtbóne, penetration ; but Mr. Ofbórne and others with great probability fay, that 438. the.firft notice of it came from Henry IV. king of France, who heard of it from the jefuits ; and that the letter to Monteagle was an artifice of Cecil's, who beingg acquainted beforehand with the proceedings of the con- HH}. Prefb. fpirators, fuffered' them to go their full length. Even Heylin fays, that P. 37$ the king andhis council mined with them, and undermined them, and byfo To be father- doing blew up their whole invention. However it is agreed on all hands, edon the pu- that if the plot had taken place it was to have been fathered on the pu- ritans. ritans; and as if the king was in the fecret, his majefly in his fpeech to the parliament November 9th, takes particular care to bring them into reproach ; for after having cleared the roman catholick religion from en- couraging fuch murderous praélices, he adds, that the cruelty ofthepuri- tans was worthy offire, that would not allowfalvation to any paps. So that if thefe unhappy people had been blown up, his majefly thinks they had met with their deferts. Strange! that a puritan fhould be fo much worfe than a papift, or deferve to be burnt for uncharitablenefs, when his majefty knew that the papifts were fo much more criminal in this refpeét than they, not only denying falvation to the puritans, but to all who are without the pale of their own church. But what was all this to the plot ? except it was to turn off the indignation of the people from the papifts, whom the king both feared and loved, to the puritans, who in a courfe of forty years fufferings had never moved the leaft fedition againfi the fiat; but who would not be the advocates or dupes of an unbounded prero- gative! Oath of at- The difeovery of this plot occafioned the drawing up the OATH OP tegiance ALLEGIANCE, Or ffubmillion and obedience to the king asa TEMPORAL framed. SOVEREIGN, independent of any other power upon earth; which quickly paffed both houles, and was appointed to be taken by all the king's fubjeéls ; this oath is diftinét from the oath of Supremacy, which obliges the fubje& to acknowledge his majefty to be fupreme headof the church as well as the fate, and might therefore be taken by all fuch roman ca- tholicks as did not believe the pope had power to depofe kings, and give away their dominions. Accordingly Blackwell their fuperior, and molt of the englrfh catholicks fubmitted to the oath, though the pope abfolutely forbid them on pain of damnation ; which occafioned a new debate, con- cerning
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