sent of the whole bench, made an order, that these feasts should be suppressed on Sundays. But the chief justice, Richardson, being commanded to attend the council board, was severely reprimanded, and injoined (by the king) to revoke the order made at the assizes, as he would answer the contrary at his peril."-Ibid. p. 120. -Fuller, Book xI. p. 147.-Rapin, Vol. x. p. 272.-Hist. Stu. p. 121.

Many, notwithstanding the late king's proclamation, affecting still to forbid their servants to play, to go to ale-houses, or use any recreations on Sundays, king Charles renewed and confirmed the proclamation (of his blessed father) COMMANDING, that the people should not be troubled or molested in their recreations: and declaring it his express will and pleasure that these FEASTS, WAKES, &c. shall be observed: and that all neighbourhood and freedom with man-like and lawful exercises be used: and the justices of peace are commanded not to molest any in their recreations: and the king farther requires, that publication of this his COMMAND be made by order from the BISHOPS, through all the PARISH CHURCHES of their several dioceses respectively."-Neal, Vol. 11. p. 250. Many moderate inen," says Dr. Fuller,

66

are

of opinion that this abuse of the Lord's Day was a principal procurer of God's anger since poured out upon this land, in a long and bloody civil war."-Fuller's Ch. Hist. p. 147.-" Instead of convincing the sober part of the nation, it struck them with a kind of horror, to see themselves invited by the authority of the king and church, to that which looked so like a contradiction to the command of GOD. It was certainly extremely out of character, for bishops and clergymen, who should be the supporters of religion, to draw men off from the practice of it in their families and

closets, by enticing them to public recreations. The court had their balls, masquerades, and plays on the Sunday evenings; while the youth of the country were at their revels, morrice dances, May games, church and clerk ales, and all kinds of recreations."-Neal, Vol. 11. p. 250.

"The severe pressing this declaration made sad havock among the puritan clergymen for seven years. Many strained their consciences to read it. Some, when they had read it, immediately read the fourth commandment to the people, Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy; adding, This is the law of GOD; the other, the injunction of

man.

"In this king's reign also a severe order was published for the putting down all afternoon sermons, under pretence of complying with his Majesty's instructions of catechising by question and answer: and not only all other catechisms, except that in the common prayer, prohibited, but all expositions even of this catechism, which Bishop Wren declared as bad as a sermon. Dr. Pierce bishop of Bath and Wells so effectually suppressed the dangerous and ill practice of preaching twice a day, that he gave GOD thanks he had not one lecture left in all his diocese. The minister of Bridgwater was suspended by him for preaching on the Sunday evening, though a funeral sermon; and another called to an account for having two sermons in his church on the parish revel day; the bishop alleging, "It was an hindrance to the revel, and to the utterance of church ale."-Bennet's Mem. p. 239.

The king was indeed zealous for episcopacy, and struggled hard to maintain it, and has therefore been represented as dying a martyr for it; but entirely without reason. For Anno 1641, he solemnly passed an act in Scotland, which con

demned the government of the church by archbishops and bishops as contrary to the word of God, and the propagation of religion; and gave away the church lands to some of the covenanters."-Hist. Stu. p. 179.-Clarend. Vol. 11. p. 308, 9, 10. "While he was in person in Scotland, he resorted frequently to their exercises of public worship.”Ibid. Vol. III. p. 67.-" And in his proposals at Newport he agreed to reduce episcopacy to a very small matter here in England."-Rapin, Vol. XII. p. 585.

To his honour it must be owned, that he was temperate, sober, chaste; nor was any king, perhaps, more punctual and regular in his devotions both public and private.* But whether an attempt violently pursued, and obstinately continued in, to overthrow the constitution and government of a nation; and to rob a flourishing people of liberties and rights dear to them as their lives -Whether the bringing a variety of fopperies and superstitions into the worship of GOD, and persecuting with extreme and unrelenting severity great numbers of his people, both clergy and laity, for not complying with his injunctions, or presuming to express their disapprobation of them -Whether, in matters of the highest moment, on which the happiness of society greatly depended the dealing doubly and insincerely; the using artful equivocations and mental reservations; the breaking solemn promises, and promising things in a solemn manner with an intention to revoke them when it should be in his power:-Whether the encouraging by his example, and by his authority commanding revels and plays and all man

King Charles like his blessed father, swore frequently in conversation: being once genteelly reprehended by Mr. B-y for it, his majesty gave him thanks, and said he had done. more than all his chaplains had done for him.

ner of recreations and sports on the Lord's day; and the silencing, depriving and subjecting to extreme sufferings hundreds of godly ministers for not publishing from their pulpits this command of the king, to break the COMMAND OF GOD:Whether finally, the great corruption, prophaneness, and dissolution of manners which confessedly reigned both in his court and in his camp whether these, I say, are apt to give, or will suffer any one to have, any exalted idea of this prince's piety and religion;-the reader is left to form what judgment he pleases.

As to the manners and behaviour of those who attended him, Lord Clarendon every where complains of the outrages and violence they committed upon the people. "Those under the king's commanders grew insensibly into all the licence, disorder and impiety* with which they had reproached. the rebels; and they into great discipline, diligence, and sobriety; which begot courage and resolution in them, and notable dexterity in atchievements and enterprises."-Clarend. Vol. 111. p. 384. To conclude this head, let it only be remembered-That a kingdom or commonwealth hath its properties and rights as much as a single person: now if violently to invade and seize the properties of a single man be undoubtedly a great crime; much greater, surely, must it be to lay violent

* Instead of a thousand instances with which the history of those days is full, I shall mention only one as a sample of the times. "Some of Gerrard's forces (a commander under the king) fired the house of one who refused to pay a tax assessed on him by Gerrard: the house being on fire, the master of it and his two sons leapt through a window from the rage of the flames; but Gerrard's men took and murdered them: The man's wife and his other children were burnt in the fire. By this may be seen the nature of many other the like great miseries under which our poor country laboured at this time."-Whitelock's Mem. P. 134.

hands upon those of a body politic, to seize and to ravish from them properties and rights upon which they put the highest value; and in the preservation of which the happiness of millions is deeply concerned. But of this high and great crime it is impossible to acquit the king.

CHAP. XIV.

Of the Rebellion and Miseries in IRELAND:How far the KING is supposed to have had any culpable concern in them?

"It was Ireland," says Lord Clarendon," which drew the first blood. If they had not at that time rebelled, and in that manner, it is very probable all the miseries which afterwards befel the king and his dominions had been prevented. This rebellion proved of infinite disadvantage to the king's affairs, which were then recovering new life."Clarend. Vol. VI. p. 508.-Ibid. Vol. 11. p. 299.

"While his majesty was in Scotland, he received the news of this horrible rebellion and massacre in Ireland; where the papists rose upon the protestants on the 23d of October 1641. Never was there such a dreadful butchery seen or heard of, either as to the number of those who were butchered or the variety of cruelties inflicted; cutting of throats and stabbing were the mildest treatment the protestants met with. Some had their eyes plucked out, and were several days dying in the most exquisite torment: they were drowned, burnt, buried alive, mothers hung on the gallows with their children about their necks; they were driven naked from their houses into bogs and

I