virtue and innocence of these people's intentions may go far to justify those actions that were immediately influenced and

reason for it; That God had already better provided for us than we had deserved, in giving such a hopeful progeny by the Queen of Bohemia, brought up in the Reformed Religion; whereas it was uncertain what religion the King's children would follow, being to be brought up under a 'mother so devoted to the Church of Rome.' And I remember that being at a town in Gloucestershire, when the news came of the Prince's birth, there was great joy shewed by all the rest of the parish, in causing bonfires to be made, and the bells to be rung, and sending victuals unto those of the younger sort, who were most busily employed in the public joy: But so, that from the rest of the houses, being of the Presbyterian or Puritan party, there came neither man nor child, wood nor victuals; their doors being shut close all the evening, as in a time of general mourning and disconsolation."

This is one of the most complete and undesigned developements of the just apprehensions, entertained by the mass of the people, respecting the union of Charles I. with a Popish Princess. When Dr. Heylin wrote it, the restored monarch was in the prime of life, and likely to become the father of many generations. But the signal punishment which Heaven generally inflicts on princes who are guilty of fornication and adultery, was not with-held in this instance: For Charles the Second died childless, and his brother James soon alienated the affections of the people, and abdicated the throne. After the reign of his two successors, both of whom died without issue, the crown devolved on a branch of the Queen of Bohemia's family; whose daughter the Princess Sophia was first addressed by a royal suitor, Prince Adolphus, brother to the King of Sweden, but at length became the consort of the Elector of Hanover, and the mother of George the First. Consequently, the Queen of Bohemia may, in some degree, be regarded as the founder of the royal house of Hanover: Thus the very event, which Dr. Heylin regarded as a calamity that was already over-past, and for which the Puritans had often and earnestly prayed, finally succeeded according to the wishes of the latter. Such changes as these, in States and Illustrious Families, prove the existence of a God, who, as Governor Supreme, ruleth in the earth, "putting down one, and setting up another." (Psalm lxxv. 7.)

During the Queen of Bohemia's forty years' sojourn in Holland, she promoted several matrimonial alliances, which proved exceedingly felicitous. One of the earliest was the marriage of Frederic Henry, the Prince of Orange, with Amelia de Solms, daughter of Albert Count of Solms. This illustrious young lady had come with the Queen of Bohemia to the Hague, in 1621; and at the close of the year 1624, when Prince Maurice was on his death-bed, he recommended her to his brother Frederic Henry, as a wife of extraordinary merit. This Princess gave birth to a son, in 1626, who was named WILLIAM, after his illustrious grandfather.-The Queen of Bohemia lived long enough to promote another auspicious match, between the young Prince William, whose birth has just been related, and her royal niece, the Princess Mary of Englaud, who was the eldest daughter of King Charles the First, and who became the mother of William the Third, Prince of Orange, and afterwards King of England, in right of his marriage with another Princess Mary, daughter of King James the Second.

But these, and many other occurrences, in which the Queen of Bohemia bore a conspicuous part either by her presence or her counsels, will soon receive ample illustration from the elegant pen of Miss Benger, and will be clothed in that fascinating dress in which " Mary, Queen of Scots," and "Anne Boleyn," have lately appeared; by which, and by her other popular productions, she has most deservedly procured for herself an increasing reputation, and has conferred a signal benefit on her cotemporaries. The interesting story of the Princess Elizabeth,-from her early marriage with the Palsgrave, and her departure from England, till her return to her native country, just to witness the glorious restoration of her royal nephew to the throne of his ancestors,-wears in many parts of it the air of romance, and is a noble subject for the exercise of Miss Benger's approved literary

governed by those intentions, (although those people should have been mistaken,) yet who can see, that those prime intentions are to justify all the actions that followed, with all their several consequences? I hope, with my whole heart, that all who had occasion to re-consider the share they had in bringing so many dreadful mischiefs on their country, when they thought of repenting, sought not for justification from their first honourable and good intentions, but had recourse to the sure sanctuary, the mercies of God in Jesus Christ. I own it, I would rather cover (if I could) than exaggerate the offences of our fathers, with respect to the wars that occasioned so much misery to this nation, and laid the foundation of that fatal tragedy that makes this day so hard to be forgotten, and so hard to be remembered. But I would not that any one should think he came off innocent, because he entered on them at first with laudable designs and good intentions; without considering how many intervening acts were cruel and outrageous; and how he was trained on, by slow insensible degrees, to be instrumental in abundance of barbarous and brutal facts, to embrue his

prowess. Through the whole range of English History, I do not know a lady whose name so frequently yet incidentally occurs, in the historical and biographical productions of the age in which she flourished, as that of the Queen of Bohemia, whose fate was commiserated by the greatest and the wisest men in Europe. In a letter addressed to her Majesty in exile, by Lord Bacon, he says, "I have yet some spirits left, and remnant of experience, which I consecrate to the King's service and your Majesty's; for whom I pour out my daily prayers to God, that he would give your Majesty a fortune worthy your rare virtues,-which, some good spirit tells me, will be in the end."-In STEPHENS'S Letters and Memoirs of Sir Francis Bacon, it is said, "To her who had been so much injured by Spain, my Lord St. Alban presents his Discourse touching a war with Spain, in acknowledgment of the favour of her Majesty's letter. Sir Harry Wotton professed no less admiration of this Queen, and the splendour of her virtues under the darkness of her fortunes."-In Sir Harry's LIFE, which was written by Isaac Walton, that most noble and chivalrous of our old biographers, is related a fine instance of the warmth and delicacy of the Ambassador's friendship for his royal mistress: He accepted" a jewel of diamonds of more value than a thousand pounds, as a testimony of good opinion," from the Emperor of Germany, after the unsuccessful termination of his "eight months' constant attendance" at the Court of Vienna, "for the restoration of the Queen of Bohemia and her descendants to their patrimonial inheritance." But the next morning, after the receipt of this present, when departing from Vienna, "at taking leave of the Countess of Sabrina, in whose house the Emperor had appointed him to be honourably entertained," the gallant Ambassador "besought her to accept of that jewel as a testimony of his gratitude for her civilities: Which being suddenly discovered, and told to the Emperor, was by him taken for a high affront; and Sir Henry Wotton told so by a messenger. To which he replied, that though he received it with thankfulness, yet he found in himself an indisposition to be the better for any gift that came from an enemy to his royal mistress the Queen of Bohemia;' for so she was pleased he should always call her."-This excellent Queen's great solicitude to preserve her young royal relatives from the baneful Popish influence of their mother, Queen Henrietta Maria, is displayed, greatly to her honour, in several of the letters which have obtained a place in BRAY'S Memoirs of Evelyn.

hands at last in innocent and sacred blood, and to the enslaving of his country. Whoso should then have said—“ You are now angry with some needless ceremonies, which yet are fewer and more decent than ever were in use in any Christian Church, protected by the State, for 1300 years, and without which no Christian Church did ever yet serve God in public 'that we know of: Angry to have a form of public prayer pre'scribed,* proper and suited to the wants of all Christians, "though you may use what liberty you will in your retired ' and family devotions betwixt God and you: And to get rid ' of these so easy impositions, you will pull down all the fences 'that secure the christian faith and discipline, and let in 'wolves and foxes, that will prey upon the christian flock, and ‹ bring in heresies and all licentious errors, and drive away the shepherds that should feed them and secure them; extirpate an order that is as old as Christianity within this kingdom, and put a thousand and a thousand families to seek their 'bread in desolate places. You are now jealous and tenacious ' of your liberties; but, by the courses you are taking to secure "them and enlarge them, you, in time, will come to take them away from every one besides, and lose them yourselves at last: You will raise armies, and become their subjects; make to yourselves Captains of thousands and ten thousands, and submit your necks to their imperious orders; involve your 'country in desolation and much blood; trample down ancient 'honour and nobility; disperse your Princes into foreign coun'tries, where they shall take up manners that you hate, maxims 'destructive of your liberty, and a religion you abhor:† Van

* "Dr. Sanderson hoped to have enjoyed himself at Boothby Pannel, though in a poor, yet in a quiet and desired privacy; but it proved otherwise. For all corners of the nation were filled with covenanters, confusion, committee-men and soldiers, defacing monuments, breaking painted glass windows, and serving each other to their several ends, of revenge, or power, or profit; and these committee-men and soldiers were most of them so possest with this covenant, that they became like those that were infected with that dreadful plague of Athens, the plague of which plague was, that they by it became maliciously restless to get into company, and to joy (so the historian Thucydides saith) when they had infected others, even those of their most beloved and nearest friends or relations: and so, though there might be some of these covenanters that were beguiled, and meant well, yet such were the generality of them, and the temper of the times, that you may be sure Dr. Sanderson, who, though quiet and harmless, yet was an eminent dissenter from them, could therefore not live peaceably; nor did he. For the soldiers would appear, and visibly oppose and disturb him in the church when he read prayers, some of them pretending to advise him how God was to be served more acceptably; which he not approving, but continuing to observe order and decent behaviour in reading the Church-service, they forced his book from him, and tore it, expecting extemporary prayers." WALTON'S Life of Bishop Sanderson.

This is a just remark. Notwithstanding Daillée's eulogy on the Protestantism of Charles II., (p. 606,) no one can doubt that he was from his very boyhood attached to Popery," which he sucked in with the milk of his

quish your King, deprive him of his friends and servants: distress him to distraction; force him to fly into the very arms ' of mischief, from whence you will redeem him, like a slave, to cast him into fetters of your own; despoil him of his regal honours; straitly imprison him; and put him to the sword at last, (horror to think upon!) with all the circumstances of scorn and ignominy possible. These are the things that you will do, to secure your christian and your civil liberties.' Whoso should thus have prophesied, should certainly have had my text returned upon him-What! is thy servant a dog that he should do these great things? Yet these great things were done; and in a manner worse than I express them. These great things are past and gone; and I have no worse purpose, in remembering them, than to advise, that all who had no hand therein, should be as careful to avoid all manner of occasions of evil, as they, we think, ought to have been who were the most concerned in them. But there is need of all imaginable caution, that people do not readily engage in matters of importance, especially relating to the public, trusting to good intentions only, and to the mind they are at present in, without considering what may follow. Men's heats are heats of zeal at first, benign and gentle; but little accidents may raise them to a hot consuming fire, that may, in time, destroy their neighbours and themselves. It was the turbulent and restless humour of private people, and the conceit of their abilities, thrusting themselves into public matters, and stirring up their neighbours to complain and shew themselves uneasy, that contributed a great deal to the misfortune of those days, that brought this anniversary amongst us, so grievous both to friends and enemies. And can we do a better thing, upon it, than advise all men to study to be quiet, and do their own business; to keep within their proper compass; reform themselves and all that are within their care; but leave the public matters to the hands to which they are entrusted; give no disturbance to their management; nor distract them from attending to the great affairs, on which depends our very civil life and being, by little private differences and poor debates that may be very safely laid aside for ever, or, at the least, suspended for a while, and easily resumed again (if there be need) when the great struggle of the world is over, and the fortune of us and our posterity decided!

“Those wicked men had no prophet sent to them from God,

royal mother:" In this manner were fearfully realized the sad forebodings of the Puritans. P. 817.) The dissolute foreign "manners" which he imported, and "the maxims destructive of liberty," have become matters of national history, and are too revolting to be often described. What portion of this monarch's crimes and indiscretions were chargeable to the Puritans, it is not the part of mortals to decide.

to tell them what great things would befal them ;* but yet there' were not wanting men that undertook to lead them, by the word of God, to all the mischievous designs imaginable. They were not tempted to engage in these affairs by any such prediction as Elisha uttered to Hazael: but they found men, in prophets' clothing, that both excited them, and promised them success in the name of the Lord. The word of God, I own, was never worse used, by furious, ignorant, misguided (but still,' I hope, not profane †) spirits. The word of God can never contradict his will, which is, that peace and righteousness, truth and goodness, should for ever flourish on the earth, and that men should live in quiet, order, and good government, and enjoy the happy fruits of that good stock. And whenever you find the Scriptures leading men into any evil, or doing any mischief' to mankind, especially to government, you may be sure they are misapplied, perverted, and abused.

"This day is, through the excessive partiality of some of both sides, become a day of great trial to the preachers. Talk of the duty, honour, and obedience of the subject to the Prince, and you are thought by some to preach away the people's liberties, and make them slaves. Talk of the people's liberties, and you are opening presently a door to mutiny, disloyalty, and flat rebellion, with some others. They are both of them, God be thanked, in the wrong; and the truth is (like our happy Constitution) betwixt them. The Crown has many and excellent prerogatives, and will, I hope in God, never have less or fewer. The people have great liberties, and will, I hope, deserve them and enjoy them whilst they are a people. Who are these people but ourselves? All but the Prince are comprehended in that word. The priests must preach up, tribute to whom tribute is due, fear to whom fear, and honour to whom 'honour;' and must affirm all that St. Peter and St. Paul have said, of people's being subject to the powers that are set over them for good. They cannot else discharge their duty, nor the people else enjoy the benefits of a good government. But may it not be lawful also for the priests to tell the people, in proper season, of their liberties, and shew them wherein they are so happy, above all the people of the earth besides? That they' may understand, know how to value, be careful to preserve, and to continue to posterity, and thank God for these singular inestimable blessings. May not these things be said, without

*Though no man received a message from God for this purpose, yet far more prophets than those whom I have specified, made pretences to such a Divine commission. See pages 255-284.

This is a proof of great candour in Bishop Fleetwood; few persons, however, who have read many of the productions of that æra, will feel inclined to subscribe, without qualification, to such an opinion. For the abuse of the Word of God, see page 436.