604 ?hie HISTORY of the PURITANS. Chap. V. K. Charles I. " in the church ofRome are not fo Riff, appears from the teflimon of rf3i " the archbifhop of Spalato, who acknowledged that the articles ofthe church of Englandwere not heretical, and by the treatife ofFrancifcus 00 de Clara. Now ifwithout prejudice to truth, the controverfies might be " compofed, it is moll probable that other proteftant churches would have " flied to be included in the peace ; if not, the church of England will " lofe nothing by it, as being hated by the calvins, and not loved by the lutherans." This was the ridiculous court fcheme which archbifhop Laud ufed all his interefl to accomplifh ; and it is no impertinent flory to our prefent purpofe, becaufe it is well attefted, that a certain countefs (whole hufband's father the archbifhop hadmarried, and thereby brought himfelf into trouble) having turned papìfl, was aikcd by the archbifhop Fuller's ap- the caufe of her changing ; to whom fhe replied, It was becaufe ¡he a1= peal, P. 61. ways hated togo in &crowd. Being afked again the reafon of that expref- fion, the anfwered that fhe perceivedhisgrace andmany others were making hafe toRome, and therefore to prevent going in a pref fhe had gone before them. Lawsagadnfl 'Tis certain the papifts were in high reputation at court; the king ended. fuf counted them his heft fubje&s, and relaxed the penal laws, on pretence that hereby foreign catholick princes might be induced to /hew favour to their fubjefls of the reformed religion. Within the compafs of four years, fevénty- four lettersof grace were figned by the king's own hand ; fixty-four priefls were difmiffed from the Gate-Houle, and twenty-nine by warrant from the fecretary offtate, at the inflanceof the queen, the queen mother, or fome foreign ambaffador. Proteétions were frequently granted, to put a Tcxer and flop to the proceedings of the courts of juflice againft them. I have Firebrands, before me a lift of popifh reculants conviëted in the twenty-nine englifh counties of the fouthern divifion, from the firft of king Charles to the Ru8sw. fixteenth, which amounts to no lefs than eleven thoufand nine hundred P. 284. and feventy, (as the account was brought into the long parliament by Mr. john Pulford, employed in their profecution by the king himfelf) all of whomwere releafed and pardoned. And iftheir numbers were fa great in the fouth, how muff they abound in the northern and welch counties, where theyare computed three to one! They are ft- Many of themwere promoted toplaces of the higheft honourand .trait .; mired and Sir Richard Weflon was lord high treafurer, Sir Francis Windebank fecre- u `vied at tary of late, lord Cottington was chancellor of the Exchequer, and Mr. Porter of the bed-chamber ; befides thefe, . there was lord Conway, Sir KenelmDigby, Sir %by Mathews, Mr. Montague, jun. the dutchefs of Montague, the countefs of Newport, and many others, all papilla, who were in high favour, and had the king and queen's ear whenfoever they pleafed. The pope had a nuncio in England, and the queen an agent at Rome
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=