Chap, III. The HISTORY of the PURITANS. 525 You muff know the council is engaged to of ift the king by wayof K. C6rlea I. " prerogative, in cafe the parliament fail. You (hall fee this parliament " will refemble the pelican, which takes pleafure to dig out with her " beak her own bowels. " The ele&ions have been in fuch confufion of apparent fa&ion, as that " which we were wont to procure with much art and induftry, when the " Spanifh match was in treaty. " We have now many firings to our bow, and have rirongly fortified our " fa&ion, and have added two bulwarks more ; for when king James " lived, he was very violent againft arminianifm, and interrupted our " ftrong defigns in Holland. " Nowwe have planted that fovereign drug arminianifm, which we " hope will purge the proteftants from their herefy, and it flourifhes and bears fruit in due feafon. " The materials that build up our bulwark, are the projeétors and beg- " gars of all ranks and qualities ; however, both thefe fa &ions co- operate " to deftroy the parliament, and to introduce a new fpecies and form of " government, which is'oligarchy. " Thefe ferve as mediums and instruments to our end, which is the uni- " verfal catholick monarchy; our foundation mutt be mutation, and mu- " tation will caufe a relaxation.-- We proceed now by counfel and mature deliberation, how and when to work upon the duke's [Buckingham's] jealoufy and revenge; " and in this we give the honour to thofe that merit it, which are the " church catholicks. " There is another matter of confequence which we mull take much " into our confideration and tender care, which is to slave off puritans, " that they hang not in the duke's ears : They are an impudent fubtile " people, and it is to be feared left they fhould negotiate a reconciliation " between the duke and the parliament at Oxford and WJlminller; but " now we assure ourfelves, that we have fo handled the matter, that both. " the duke and parliament are irreconcileable. " For the better prevention of the puritans, thearminians have already " locked up the duke's ears, and we have thofe of our own religion that " ftand continually at the duke's chamber, to fee who goes in and out. "'We cannot be too circumfpe& and careful in this regard. I cannot _" choofe but laugh to fee how fouie of our own coat have accoutred them- " felves ; and it is admirable how in fpeech and gefture they a& the puri- " tans. The Cambridge- fcholars, to their woful experience fhall fee, we can ad the puritans a little better than they have done the jefuits. They " have abufed our facred patron in jeft, but we will make them (mart . for " it in earnett. a' But
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=