J:;hap. IV. The HIST 0 R Y of the PuRITANs. 537 " ciled to the church of Rome at St. Germains in France. Nor were Inter- " feveral of the then fuffcring bifhops and cle:gy ignora~t of this.• tho' R;~~~~· " they had neither integrity nor courage to gtve the ?atlon warmng ~f~. " it," Bifi1op Burnet in the hijlol)' qf his lift and ttmes, .confirms th~s tefl:imony from the cardinal minifler, who fent an adv~rtJfement of .1t to the biiliop himfelf; he fays, " that before the kmg left Parts, Burnet, p; " (which was in June I654,) he changed his religion, but by whofe73· " perfuafion is not yet known, only cardinal De Retz was in the fe- " cret, and lord Aubigny had a great band in it. Chancellor Hyde bad '' fome fufpicion of it, but would not fuffer himfelf to believe it quite." And Sir Alien Broderick declared upon his death-bed, that king Charles the fecond made profeilion of the popiili religion at Fontainbleau, before he was fent out of France to Cologn. The dutch protefl:ants fufpeCl:ed the change, but the king denied it in But de.11ies il the mofl: public manner; for when he was at Brz!lfels in the year I 658, tofomgn he writ the following letter to the reverend Mr. Ca~vton, the prefhyterian protejlants. minifl:er of the englijh congregation at Rotterdam. CHARLES REX. " TRUSTY and well-beloved, we greet you well. We have re- King's lette,. ) " ceived fo full tefl:imony of your affeCl:ion to our perfon, and tea Mr. " 1 f r · h 'll' d rr. awton. zea or our 1ervtce, t at we are w1 mg to recommen an arra1r to " you in which we are much concerned. We do not wonder, that " the malice of our enemies Chould continue to lay all manner of fcan– " dais upon us, but are concerned that they fhould find credit with any " to make our qfj'eflion to the protf!lant religion Jujpetled, jince the wor!d " cannot but take notice if our conjlant and uninterrupted prifelfion of it '' ;n all places.--No man has, or can more manfj'ejt his afj'eflion to, " and zeal }or the protrjlant religion, than we have done. Now as you " cannot but have much converfation with the minifl:ers of the dutch " church, we prefume and expect that you will ufe your utmoll: dili– '' gence and dexterity, to root out thofe unworthy afperfions, fo malicioufly " and groundlefly laid upon us by wicked men ; and that you aifure all " that will give credit to you, that we value ourfelves fo much upon that " part of our title, of being defender if the faith, that no worldly con– " fideration can ever prevail \vith us to [werve from it, and the pro– " tefl:ant religion in which we have been bred, the propagation where– " of we ~all endeavour with our utmoft power. Given at Bruxels, " Nov. 7, 111 the I oth year of our reign." To carry on the difguife, Dr. Morley afterwards bifhop of Winchef K. Chron.; ter, was employed to write an apologetical letter to Dr. 'Irigland, the P· 96. Y OL, II. Z z z dutch
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