conscious; for he speaks of his being fallen from the eminence on which he once stood, to a state of religion inferior to many whom he knew and envied. His morals, however, are unimpeached*, except by slanderers, who love accusations, but hate proofs; and if his profession of religion had been insincere, would he never have dropped the mask? His fanatical expressions, as they have been called, were the language of the day, which had become habitual to him, before he appeared on the public stage. As the able historian of Phillip the second says of that monarch's zeal for the catholic religion, we may say of Cromwell's devotedness to the protestant cause †, "it was too steady, uniform, and ardent to have been entirely hypocritical." Nor can it be proved, that he ever deceived any party, or violated the professions he made.

His chaplains were the most able and faithful men that England, or any other country, has ever known ; the sermons they delivered to him were superior to any which crowned heads now hear; and Howe preached a discourse expressly to confute the notion of a particular faith in prayer, to which he knew the protector was attached. Though Cromwell may be thought to have favoured these divines, because they were the principal men among the independents, and might serve his political purposes; Howe was too catholic to be a partisan of that or any other opinion, Warner, 591.

† Bishop Burnet has given a singular display of the unrivalled services which the protector performed for the protestant religion, and of the dread which the pope and his partisans felt at the name of Cromwell. He says that king James, gave this reason for turning to the Roman catholic religion, because he found all the zealous protestants great friends of Cromwell. Own Times, p. 73.

which divides Christians, and Dr. Owen challenged all the world to prove that ever he had been active in setting up or pulling down any political party. His chaplains are said to have declared, that God had promised them he should not die in that which proved his last illness; but this, and the story of his comforting himself on his death-bed with assurance of heaven, because he was once converted, are alike destitute of proof, and of probability.

Cromwell's ashes were scarcely cold before the officers of the army wrested the sceptre from the hands of Richard, his son and successor. The civil histories of this period record the struggles of the various parties, which led to the restoration. When the presbyterians had determined to invite the return of Charles and monarchy, general Monk, who returned from Scotland with his army, dexterously fell in with the current, and secured to himself the praise and the reward. Charles, while on tip-toe for his crown, was lavish of promises to forget injuries, to grant liberty to tender consciences, and never to forget the services of the presbyterians*. To preserve appearances, ten divines of that persuasion were nominated as chaplains in ordinary, from whom he heard three sermons. The book of common prayer was restored, and before the end of the year, those who refused to make use of it were harrassed with severe prosecutions.

When Cromwell was advised to restore the prince, with legal restraints for the security of liberty, he replied," he is so damnably debauched, he will undo us all." Charles now did honour to his enemies' penetration. From the constrained decency of the commonwealth, all ranks now burst forth into the * Warner, vol. ii. p. 593. † Burnet's Own Times, 79.

most profligate debaucheries. Patronized by the king, the stage presented scenes which might make a harlot blush. The lewdest intrigues were the whole business of the court*. To drink the king's health to beastly excess was the only proof of loyalty. The puritans wept aloud over their country, now become as Sodom, which, before its destruction, was the focus of lust, and afterwards, the lively image of hell. Yet, where was the consistency of lamenting the ruin of the church of Christ, which still retained as many genuine members as before, except where death had thinned their ranks? Instead of conceiving that the nature of things was reversed, that the sun moved towards the east, and rivers flowed back to their source; it was but an exemplication of the prophetic axiom, "the wicked will do wickedly." None were become profane but those who were not before pious. This reverse in the face of society, only proved the folly of introducing a system of ecclesiastico-military tactics to reduce a whole nation into the forms and movements of a church.

But while the opinion we before expressed is thus awfully confirmed, that there was less religion than was pretended, during the period of the commonwealth; when we hear the debauchees at the restoration revile all the puritans as hypocrites, and insinuate that every appearance of superior morality must be hollow deceit, we know not whether it should excite more indignant surprise, or contemptuous ridicule. For who were the hypocrites? Those who, when the foaming polluted tide, which had. been long pent up, broke down its mounds, and carried every thing else before it, still stood, like a * Burnet's Own Times, p. 93. Warner, vol. II. p. 594.

rock," among the faithless, faithful only they?" Those who, having professed a heartfelt attachment to pure and undefiled religion, when it enjoyed the smiles of the state, retained their profession, when it cost them all that was dear to them in life? Or those who, having canted, as they would call it, when canting was in fashion, suddenly turned with the returning tide, and, from a demure appearance, outraged all decency, and treated religion itself as mere grimace? Yet these were the men who (perhaps to purge themselves from suspicion) flung about so profusely their accusations, which have been since retailed by a servile herd of imitators.

The complete failure of the scheme for giving dominion to religion, affords, however, an additional exposition of the Redeemer's words, " my kingdom is not of this world." To say nothing of the unpleasantness of the post, it may be questioned whether Gabriel would be equal to the task of ruling in Pandemonium; and as Christians must expect to be outnumbered in the ordinary state of the world, they should be thankful that they are not called to sway the sceptre of their Redeemer, who alone is able to rule in the midst of his enemies. The influence of believers in the world, must be by the gradual effects of the Gospel on the hearts of individual converts, and the elevated tone of morals, which their sentiments and example will secretly inspire in the public mind. After some consultation with the presbyterian divines, Charles published a royal declaration concerning religion, which being very liberal, was thankfully recived; but the king took care that it should not become a law*. On the terms of this declara

* Warner, vol. II. p. 598-600.

tion many conformed to the episcopal establishment, and Dr. Reynolds accepted the bishoprick of Norwich. At length, to get rid of the presbyterians with a good grace, a conference was appointed; but, as was then observed, the divines nominated on behalf of the establishment were the most rigid men, who were exasperated against the puritans; so that the two parties were, by this farce, thrown to a greater distance than before*.

In the convocation, the prayer-book was altered from bad to worse. To accommodate those who objected to the use of the apocrypha in the liturgy, the edifying story of Bell and the dragon was now added+. Dr.Sheldon, bishop of London, who is said by Burnet to have regarded religion only as an engine of state, hearing the earl of Manchester say to the king, "the terms are so hard, I am afraid the presbyterians will not conform," replied, "I am afraid they will; but now we know their minds, we will make them all knaves if they do." Indeed this was the study of the bishops, to make the terms of conformity as hard as possible; for they wished to wrest from the presbyterians many of the good livings which they then held. The king, his mistresses, and the secret cabal of papists at court, were bent on throwing such a number out of the establishment, that a toleration might become necessary, under the shelter of which they might skreen the papists. Almost all the sufferings which the non-conformists endured, was to force them to yield to this project which they dreaded and abhorred.

p. 224.

† Burnet's Own Times, p. 182. The Conformists' Plea for the Non-conformists. Warner.

Warner, vol. II. p. 606. Burnet's Own Times, p. 182.