byterians of Scotland he had said, "I thank God that I am king of the sincerest kirk in the world; sincerer than the kirk of England, whose service is an illsaid mass in English: it wants nothing of the mass but the liftings," meaning the elevation of the host*. At the same time he had laid up, deep in his heart, a hatred for the presbyterian establishment, which had offended his majesty, as he owned on his arrival in England, by presuming to contradict him to his face, and attempting to reduce him, together with the whole nation, to obedience to their discipline. While he was making these hypocritical professions, he was carrying on a correspondence with the English nobles and bishops, and promising to continue the liturgy, which he derided as an ill-said masst. For queen Elizabeth and her courtiers had seen through this shallow monarch, and discovered, as Burnet says, that he was either inclined to turn papist, or to be of no religion; or, according to Warner, that he had no other religion than what flowed from a principle, which he called kingcraft. On his entrance into this land of promise, as he termed it, the puritans met him by the way, and presented to him a petition, called the Millenary, as it professed to convey the wishes of a thousand ministers for further reformation. The universities, alarmed at these applications, opposed them by an angry reply, and a threatening decree. Cartwright, the famous literary champion, presented to James a Latin commentary on the book of Ecclesiastes, gratefully acknowledging his obligations to his ma Calderwood, p. 286. Robertson, vol. II. p. 204–8. + Burnet's History of his Own Times, vol. I. p. 7, 8. + Ibid. jesty, who had formerly nominated him to the divinity chair in the univerty of St. Andrews. But to get rid of his old friends with a good grace, and display to advantage his skill in theological disputation, on which he piqued himself; James appointed a conference between the high church party and the puritans, to be held at Hampton Court. The disputants on both sides were nominated by the king, of course, with the advice of his privy council. For the establishment there were eight bishops, and as many deans; to whom we may add the king, and the lords of his council. The puritans had only four advocates. However unfair this disproportion may appear, was it not a high compliment to these champions, or their cause, to match them against such a host? For who would raise an army to break a fly upon the wheel? The account of the conference was published by Dr. Barlow, dean of Chester, who was one of the advocates for the establishment; and though the puritans accused him of gross misrepresentation, which he is said to have confessed in his last moments, we need no other document to prove that it was "a ridiculous farce, compounded of kingcraft and priestcraft, in which the actors forgot nothing but their masks." James, instead of acting as dignified moderator, was greedy to become a party, to prove that he called the conference only to please the bishops, by browbeating the puritans. The advocates for things, as they were, showed plainly enough that they were in the secret, and behaved like men, who were not called to produce their reasons, but to display their authority. Regardless of the apostolic canon, that a bishop should not be soon angry, Bancroft flew into a passion with Dr. Reynolds, divinity professor at Oxford, the principal advocate for the puritans, and protested that a schismatick ought not to be allowed to speak against his bishop. While Sir Edward Peyton confessed that the puritans, not having liberty of speech, saw that they might as well be silent, the bishops were in raptures with their king, and declared, that, for learning and piety, he was the Solomon of his age. Bancroft, bishop of London, falling down on his knees, said, "my heart melteth for joy, that almighty God, of his singular mercy, hath given us such a king, as, since Christ's time, the like hath not been." His grace of Canterbury, charmed with the wisdom of this Solomon, exclaimed, “undoubtedly your majesty speaks by the special assistance of the Spirit of God." The head which wore the crown was too weak to bear the intoxicating fumes of such fragrant incense; and as the puritans were no match for the bishops in tossing the censer with courtly air, James ended the conference, by declaring that he would make them conform, or hurry them out of the land, or do worse*. Other writers have given a different colouring to some parts of this scene, affirming that, on one of the days of debate, the king himself played the puritan to such lengths, that the bishops, on their knees, entreated him not to alter any thing, lest it should be thought they had unjustly persecuted men for non-conformity. It is evident, however, that the convocation, which met this year, were well assured of his majesty's favour, for they ventured to publish a hundred and forty-one canons, which were afterwards ratified by his letters patent; but not being * Warner and Fuller. sanctioned by parliament they bind only the clergy. Bancroft, exalted to the see of Canterbury, persecuted the puritans with such fury, that a contemporary writer has observed, in this year three hundred ministers were suspended, deprived, excommunicated, imprisoned, or forced to leave the country. Mr. Parker having published a treatise against the sign of the cross in baptism, was answered by a royal proclamation, offering a reward for his apprehension. But with all the injury which the puritans suffered from the conference at Hampton Court, they have the honour of procuring there the new translation of the Bible, which is in present use. When Dr. Reynolds, in the name of his brethren, requested that this work might be undertaken, as the Bibles then extant were not according to the original; the bishop of London replied, "if every man's humour were followed, there would be no end of translating." The king, however, approving of the proposal, a committee of divines was appointed to undertake the work. The instructions given to them were wise and good; and indeed almost all the wisdom which James ever displayed, centred in this affair. There were too many learned puritans on the watch to allow of unfair liberties with the translation; so that, when it appeared, there were but few marks of a sectarian spirit*. King James bent all his authority to bring his The words church, bishop, easter, and infidel, are managed with some art; though it is rather curious, that to make the apostles bishops a bishoprick is given to Judas Iscariot, and to gain the name of church to a building, it is applied to idolatrous temples §, in a way that no unbiassed scholar would have translated the original words. Acts, i. 20. § Acts, xix. 37. mother-kirk, which he had declared the purest in the world, to adopt what he had before called popish, or anglicane episcopacy. Returning from his tour to Scotland, he was grieved to see his English subjects given to the puritanic sin of keeping the Sabbath too strictly, so that to make them more merrily religious, he published a declaration to encourage sports on the Lord's-day; though he had before ratified the articles of the church of Ireland, in which the morality of the Sabbath is asserted. The declaration for Sunday sports was drawn up by bishop Moreton, and recommends dancing, archery, leaping, vaulting, may-games, whitsun ales, morrice dances, setting up may-poles, and carrying rushes into the churches*. Ireland, however, received some benefits during this reign. The colonies of Scotch presbyterians, which settled in that country, carried with them a large portion of knowledge and religion; and the venerable Usher diffused a spirit of piety and moderation which formed a striking contrast to the violence and bigotry of the prelates in the other the empire. parts of The famous gunpowder-plot, which rendered the papists odious to the nation at large, only frightened James into lenity towards the priests, and offers for reconciliation with Rome by meeting half way t. As this project had no charms for any but himself, the parliament often pressed him to execute the laws against papists; and on one occasion, presented to him a list of fifty-seven popish lords and knights, who were in the principal offices of government ‡. Because the principles of the calvinistic puritans were Fuller, b. X. p. 74. † Warner, vol, II. p. 486. Ibid, 506, |