ney was to reconcile himself to the church of Rome. It is certain the pope wrote to the bishop of Conchen, to lay hold of this opportunity to convert him ;* and directed a most persuasive letter to the prince himself to the same purpose, dated April 20, 1623, which the prince answered June 20th, in a very obliging manner, giving the pope the title of most holy father, and encouraging him to expect, that when he came to the crown there should be but one religion in his dominions, seeing, says he, that both catholics and protestants believe in one Jesus Christ. He was strongly solicited to change his religion by some of the first quality, and by the most learned priests and jesuits, who caressed his highness with speeches, dedicated books to him, invited him to their processions, and gave him a view of their most magnificent churches and reliques; by which artifices, though he was not converted, he was confirmed in his resolution of attempting a coalition of the two churches ;† * Wilson, p. 230; Rapin, vol. ii. 221, folio edit. "This," says bishop Warburton, "is an utter calumny; a coalition of the two churches was never in the king's thoughts; happy for him if he never had worse; what he aimed at was arbitrary power." It is strange, how his lordship could give his pen a licence to pass this unjust censure on Mr. Neal: when the conduct of Charles I. furnished so many proofs of his wishes and endeavors to coalesce with the church of Rome. His letter to the pope from Madrid; the articles of the marriage treaty to which he solemnly signed and swore; and the private articles to which he also swore, are witnesses to the truth of Mr. Neal's assertion. If he had not aimed at this, why did he disown the foreign protestants? Why did he restrain the press with respect to books written against popery, and licence publications in favor of it? Why was popery not only tolerated, but countenanced and favored? See the facts to this purpose fully stated in Towgood's "Essay towards a true Idea to the Character of Charles I." chap. ix. So far did he carry his views and endeavors, on this business. Whitelocke informs us, a scheme was in agitation to set up a new popish hierarchy by bishops in all the counties in England, by the authority of the pope. Memorials, p. 72. And the jesuit Franciscus a Clara, the queen's chaplain, certainly thought that things were in a train for such a coalition; for in one of his publications, he asserted, "that if any synod were held NON INTERMIXTIS PURITANIS, setting puritans aside, our articles and their religion would soon be agreed." May's History of the parliament, p. 74. Dr. Grey also aims to controvert this passage of Mr. Neal, and with this view refers us to Rushworth, Frankland, Hacket, and Burnet; but the quotations he adduces from these writers are not to the point; and prove only, as Mr. Neal allows, that Charles was not converted to popery. See Dr. Grey's Examination of Neal, vol. ii. p. 71. Ed. for the attempting of which he afterwards lost both his crown and life. It was happy, after all, that the prince got safe out of the Spanish territories, which, as Spanheim observes, that politic court would not have permitted, had they not considered, that the queen of Bohemia, next heir to the crown, was a greater enemy to popery than her brother.† But after all, when this memorable treaty of marriage bad been upon the carpet seven years, and wanted nothing but celebration, the portion being settled, the pope's dispensation obtained, the marriage articles sworn to on both sides, and the very day of consummation by proxy appointed, it was broke off by the influence of the duke of Buckingham upon the prince, who ordered the earl of Bristol not to deliver the proxy till the time limited by the dispensation was expired; the king of Spain, suspecting the design, in order to throw all the blame upon the king of England, signed a promise with his own hand, and delivered it to the ambassador, wherein he obliged himself to call the Palatinate to be restored to the elector of Palatine, in case the marriage took effect; but his highness was immovable, and obliged the king to recal his ambassador. From this time the prince and duke seemed to turn puritans, the latter having taken Dr. John Preston, one of their chief ministers, into his service, to consult him about alienating the dean and chapter lands to the purposes of preaching. They also advised the king to convene a parliament, which his majesty did, and made such a speech to them, as one would think impossible to come from the same lips with the former. "I assure you," says he, speaking of the Spanish * Rapin, vol. ii. p. 226, vide note, folio edit. † Dr. Grey censures Mr. Neal for not quoting Spanheim fairly; and this writer as Tyndal and Welwood, from whom he borrows the passage, represent his words, does not, it is true, say that the queen of Bohemia was a greater enemy to popery than her brother; but only resolves the conduct of the court of Spain into the consideration of her, and her children being next heirs to the crown of England. Mr. Neal, therefore, is to be understood as suggesting the reason, why the consideration of her, and her children had so much weight with the court of Spain.Few who reflect on the firm attachment of that lady to the protestant cause, will suspect Mr. Neal of mistaking the cause of the Spanish policy. It would have been, however, more accurate in him to have quoted at large the words of Spanheim; and then to have subjoined his own suggestions as explanatory of them. Ed. "match, on the faith of a christian king, that it is res integra 'presented unto you, and that I stand not bound, nor either 'way engaged, but remain free to follow what shall be best advised." His majesty adds, "I can truly say, and will 'avouch it before the seat of God and angels, that never 'king govern with a purer, sincerer, and more uncorrupt heart than I have done, far from ill-will and meaning of the least error and imperfection in my reign.-It has 'been talked of my remissness in maintenance of religion, 'and suspicion of a toleration [of popery; *] but as God 'shall judge me, I never thought nor meant, nor ever in 'word expressed any thing that savored of it.-I never in all my treaties agreed to any thing to the overthrow and 'disannulling of those laws, but had in all a chief regard to 'the preservation of that truth which I have ever professed." The reader will remember how this agrees with the marriage articles above-mentioned, to which the king had sworn. But the parliament, taking things as the king had represented them, advised his majesty to break off the match and to declare war for the recovery of the Palatinate; and at the same time petitioned his majesty, that all jesuits and seminary priests might be commanded to depart the realm; that the laws might be put in execution against popish recusants; that all such might be removed from court, and ten miles from London. To which the king made this remarkable answer, which must strike the reader with surprise and wonder, "What religion I am of my books declare; I wish it 'may be written in marble, and remain to posterity as a 'mark upon me, when I shall swerve from my religion; for 'he that dissembles with God is not to be trusted with men. "I protest before God, that my heart hath bled when I have heard of the increase of popery. God is my judge, it ⚫ hath been such a grief to me, that it hath been as thorns in 'my eyes and pricks in my sides.It hath been my desire to hinder the growth of popery; and I could not be an hon'est man, if I had done otherwise.I will order the laws to be put in execution. against popish recusants, as they VOL. II. * Rapin, vol. ii. p. 227-28, folio edit. 21 'were before these treaties, for the laws are still in being, and were never dispensed with by me; God is my judge, they were never so intended by me." What solemn appeals to heaven are these, against the clearest and most undeniable facts! It requires a good degree of charity, to believe this prince had either religion or conscience remaining. For though he assured his parliament, that his heart bled within him when he heard of the increase of popery, yet this very parliament presented him with a list of fifty-seven popish lords and knights who were in public offices, none of whom were displaced, while the puritan ministers were driven out of the kingdom, and hardly a gentleman of that character advanced to the dignity of a justice of peace. The parliament being prorogued, the king, instead of going heartily inio the war, or marrying his son to a protestant princess, entered into a treaty with Louis XIII. king of France, for his sister Henrietta Maria.* Upon this occasion the archbishop of Ambrun was sent into England, who told the king, the best way to accomplish the match for his son, was to grant a full toleration to catholics. The king replied, that he intended to grant it, and was willing to have an assembly of divines to compromise the difference between protestants and papists, and promised to send a letter to the pope to bring him into the project. In this letter, says Monsieur Deageant in his memoirs, the king stiles the pope, Christ's vicar, and head of the church universal, and assures him, he would declare himself a catholic as soon as he could provide against the inconveniences of such a declaration; but whether this was so or not, it is certain he immediately relaxed the penal laws against papists, and permitted Ambrun to administer confirmation to ten thousand catholics at the door of the French ambassador's house, in the presence of a great concourse of people. In the mean time the treaty of marriage went forwards, and was at last signed Nov. 10, 1624, in the thirty-three public articles, and three secret ones, wherein the very same, or greater advantages were stipulated for the catholics than in those of Madrid ;† but before the dispensation from the +Ibid. 233-34. · Rapin, vol. ii. p. 281-82, folio edit. pope could be obtained, his majesty fell sick at Theobalds of a tertian ague, which put an end to his life, not without suspicion of poison, March 27, 1625, in the 59th year of his age.* To review the course of this reign. It is evident that both popery and puritanism encreased prodigiously, while the friends of the hierarchy sunk into contempt; this was owing partly to the spiritual promotions, and partly to the arbitrary maxims of state that the king had advanced. In promoting of bishops the king discovered a greater regard to such as would yield a servile compliance to his absolute commands, than to such as would fill their sees with reputation, and be an example to the people of religion and virtue, of which number were bishop Neile, Buckeridge, Harsnet,† Laud, &c. The fashionable doctrines at court were such as the king had condemned at the synod of Dort, and which, in the opinion of the old English clergy, were subversive of the reformation. The new bishops admitted the church of Rome to be a true church, and the pope the first bishop of Christendom. They declared for the lawfulness of images in churches; for the real presence; and that the doctrine of transubstantiation was a school nicety. They pleaded for confession to a priest; for sacerdotal absolution, and the proper merit of good works. They gave up the morality of the sabbath, and the five distinguishing points of Calvinism, for which their predecessors had contended. They claimed an uninterrupted succession of the episcopal character from the apostles through the church of Rome, which obliged them to maintain the validity of her ordinations, when they denied the validity of those of the foreign Rapin, p. 235; Welwood's Memoirs, 6th edit. p. 35; and Dr. Harris's Life of James I. p. 237–242. 66 This prelate, bishop Warburton says, was a man of the greatest learning and parts of his time." This he might be, and yet advanced not on account of his learning, but because his courtly dispositions recommended him to the royal taste. Fuller speaks of him "as a zealous 'asserter of ceremonies, using to complain of CONFORMABLE PURITANS." So that the justness of his claims to be considered as a man of erudition being admitted, neither the candor or veracity of the historian, for elassing him as he does, is impeached by it. Learning and soundness of mind are by no means inseparable. Ed. |