Chap. II. The HIS T 0 R Y of the PuRITANS. 67 " make a profeffion thereof in our own d.ominions, but to fl:rengthen it K. Charles I. d h l . h ' 1643. " abroa as muc as tet m our power. ~ " This m ofl: holy religion of the anglicane church, ordained by fo " many convocations of learned divines, confirmed by fo. many aB:s of " parliament, and fl:~·engt~e~ed. by fo m~ny royal p;oclamatwns, tog~ther " with the ecclefiafbcal dtfclplme and bturgy, whtch the mofl: emment ." protefiant authors, as well as germans, french, danes and.fwedes, dutch " and bohemians, do with many elogies, and not without a kind of en– " vy, approve and applaud in their public writings, particularly in t~e " tranfactions of the fynod of Dort, wherein (befides others of our dt– ,, vines who were afterwards prelates) one of our bifhops affifl:ed, to ~· whofe dignity all due refpeCl:s and precedency were given; this reli– " gion, we fay, which our royal father of ble!fed memory, cloth pub– " lickly a!fert in his famous conceilion. addre!fed to all chrifl:ian princes, " with the hierarchy and liturgy thereof, we folemnly protefl:, that by '' the help of God, we will endeavour to our utmofl: power, and lafl: " period of our life, to keep intire and inviolable; and will be care– ,, ful, according to our duty to heaven, and the tenor of our oath '' at our coronation, that all our ecclefiafl:ics, in their feveral degrees and " incumbencies, fhall preach and praCl:ife. Whereof we command all " our minifl:ers of fiate beyond the feas, as well ambaffadors as refidents, " agents and meifengers; and we defire all the refl: of our loving fub– " jeCl:s that fojourn in foreign parts, to communicate and aifert this our "- folemn and fincere protefl:ation, when opportunity of time and place ~· fhall be offered." Given in our imiverjity and City qf Oxford, May 14. 1644. This declaration did the king little fervice among foreign protefl:ants, Remarks. for though it a!fured them his majefl:y would not turn papifl:, it convinced them that no alteration in the englijh hierarchy was to be expeCted. His marrying his daughther to the prince of Orange was perhaps the only evidence of his charity for the dutch reformation ; his appeal to the education of his children was trifling, when all the world knew they were under popijh i'!flruClors, in purfuance of a marriage contract, tlil twelve or fourteen years of age, and had received impreffions not to be eafily defaced. His infinuating to the foreign churches, that their mofl: learned divines preferred the e11glijh hierarchy to the government of their own countries, convinced them they ought to be more fparing of their compliments for the future, to perfons who would draw fuch conclufions from them. As to the fynod of Dort, no precedence was given to the K 2 bithop
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