they were most numerous,' one of the churches was obtained for their use, on the condition that they should conform to the French in doctrine and ceremonies, and subscribe their confession of faith. Here was the beginning of troubles. The French used the liturgy of Calvin, and the English were induced to leave out the responses, the litany, the use of the surplice, and to make other alterations so as to accommodate the order of their service as nearly as possible to that of the French. They also elected John Knox, the Scotch reformer, who was then with Calvin at Geneva, to be their minister. The English at Zurich and Strasburg remonstrated at this proceeding, and urged them to continue the order which had been established in the reign of Edward. Knox appealed to the judgment of Calvin, who immediately en tered into a contest which related to the merits of his own mode of worship. He reproved the English divines who preferred the English liturgy to that of Geneva, spoke contemptuously of it as containing many sufferable fopperies (tolerabiles ineptias) and advised its advocates to lay aside the remains of popery, and not to value themselves upon their own whims, nor check the edification of the church by peevishness and pride." Knox afterwards preached against the prayer book, charging it with superstition, impurity, and imperfection, and the governours of the church with slackness in reformation, and want of discipline. Knox, however, was soon afterwards accused, by the magistrates of the city, of treason against the emperour, and compelled to retire to Geneva. Most of his party followed him, and those who remained returned to the use of the liturgy. This peace, however, was of no long continuance. A dispute arose between Dr. Horn their pastor, and a lay gentleman of the

*Strype says they amounted in all to sixty-two. Mem. vol. ii. p. 241. Grindal, in a letter to bishop Ridley, speaks of nearly one hundred students and ministers then in exile. Stillingfleet, Unreas. of Sep. p. 8.

name of Ashley, which was conducted with great imprudence and violence on both sides. The congregation at length determined to adopt the system of ecclesiastical discipline established by Calvin, and their pastor Dr. Horn withdrew to Strasburg. The English who had retired with Knox to Geneva, published in 1556 a form of worship bearing this title, "The service, discipline, form of common prayers and administration of sacraments used in the English church of Geneva." This was wholly upon the Calvinian plan.

Upon the accession of queen Elizabeth, in 1558, the exiles returned to their country, bearing with them those seeds of dissent which had thus unhappily been sown in a foreign land. Those of Frankfort, however, exhibited greater moderation than those of Geneva. The former declared their determination to acquiesce in the publick establishment, provided nothing immoral was imposed, and to submit to what should be determined on by the clergy, and sanctioned by the royal and parliamentary authority. The latter were disposed to insist upon the adoption of the Genevan system of discipline and worship as the only plan of agreement, because it would create a broader distinction between the reformed and the Roman communion. By that arbitrary association which is so common when the mind is heated, they considered every practice of the church of Rome as inseparably connected with her corruptions. To them the slow employment of separating the gold and precious stones of antiquity from the wood and stubble which superstition, cupidity, and ignorance had intermixed, appeared to be an unworthy caution and they wished at one sweep to level the whole building to the foundation, that they might erect thereon the modern structure of the Genevan reformer.

Such was the origin of those who were afterwards called puritans; and even from this cursory and imperfect statement it will appear that they were

divided into two classes.* The more moderate had scruples of conscience about wearing the surplice, the episcopal habits, and the four-cornered hat, kneeling at the communion, and the sign of the cross in baptism. But while they had these scruples, as to their own practice, they were content to let others conform to these habits and ceremonies. On the other hand, the more violent were for imposing their own scheme upon the whole nation. They considered the ceremonies and ordinances of the church as absolutely unlawful, "accounting," says Fuller, " every thing from Rome which was not from Geneva; endeavouring in all things to conform the government of the English church to the presbyterian reformation."

Of the moderate class were Coverdale, the ex-bishop of Exeter, Fox, the martyrologist, Dr. Humphreys, and many others. And with regard to such men, the greatest tenderness was exhibited. Coverdale was one of the consecrators of archbishop Parker, and because he had scrupled about wearing the episcopal robes, he was permitted to appear on that occasion in a long gown.

He would have been restored to his bishoprick, but refused to be so, probably on account of his attachment to the puritans. Fox was made a prebend in the church of Salisbury, and would have been raised to very considerable preferments if he had not declined them, being always unwilling to subscribe the canons, and disliking some of the ceremonies. When archbishop Parker summoned him to subscribe, he produced the new testament in Greek, saying, "To this I will subscribe."

* Fuller, who published his history in 1656, and cannot be considered as having any bias against that party, gives the same account. "The puritans," he says, "of this age [queen Elizabeth's reign] were divided into two ranks; some mild and moderate, contented only to enjoy their own conscience. Others, fierce and fiery to the disturbance of the church and state." Church Hist. lib. ix.

P. 76.

When subscription to the canons was required of him, he refused; yet he was permitted to retain his prebend till the day of his death. Dr. Humphreys was regius professor of divinity, and president of Magdalen college, in Oxford, and continued so, notwithstanding his non-compliance with the appointed habits. He was made successively dean of Gloucester, and dean of Winchester, and " notwithstanding his non-subscribing," says Fuller, "he kept his professor's place and deanery of Winchester as long as he lived." Church Hist. lib. ix, 501. Mr. Neal himself allows that so late as 1586, twenty-eight years after queen Elizabeth's accession to the throne, the puritan platform, entitled the holy discipline, was subscribed by above five hundred puritan clergymen, all bene ficed in the church of England," and, to use his own words, "useful preachers." On that occasion they passed a resolution," that since the magistrate could not be induced to reform the discipline of the church, by so many petitions and supplications, that therefore, after so many years waiting, it was lawful to act without him, and introduce a reformation in the best manner they could." If they were all beneficed, and not only beneficed, but licensed to preach, and had been so many years waiting, and petitioning, and supplicating to alter the constitution of the church, surely they must have been treated with some indulgence! Among these beneficed and licensed puritans, we find all their great leaders, Cartwright, Travers, Field, Snape, Johnson, Sparks, Cawdrey, Payne, Udale, &c. about fifty of whom Mr. Neal has particularly enumerated.

Sir Francis Walsingham, who favoured the presbyterians, who was one of the most honest, wise, and virtuous ministers of that or any other age, and who may therefore be considered as a credible and impartial witness, has given the following testimony respecting the conduct and motives of the

queen. "I find her majesty's proceeding to be grounded upon two principles. The one, that consciences are not to be forced, but to be won, and induced by force of truth, with the aid of time, and the use of all good means of instruction and persuasion. The other, that causes of conscience when they exceed their bounds and grow to be matter of faction, lose their nature, and that sovereign princes ought distinctly to punish their practices, and contempt, though coloured with the pretence of conscience and religion." He then proceeds to show how lenient her conduct had been towards the conscientious papists, "her majesty not liking to make windows into men's hearts and secret thoughts, except the abundance of them did overflow into overt or express acts or affirmations: nor was it till after the pope had excommunicated and proscribed her, ab solving all her subjects from allegiance, and after rebellions had been excited, and there was fear of foreign invasion, that severe laws were enacted against them. Elizabeth has been reproached by Neal and other puritan writers, for leaning too much towards the papists,but this able state paper, as it may be called, will convince every candid mind with what an even hand she held the balance between the disaffected parties in her kingdom. It may be found at large in vol. ii. of Burnet's history of the reformation, and well deserves the attention of your readers. I proceed to give an extract from that part of it which relates to the puritans.

"For the other party which have been offensive to the state, though in another degree, which named themselves reformers, and we commonly call puritans; this hath been the proceeding towards them; a great while when they inveighed against such abuses in the church as pluralities, non-residence and the like, their zeal was not condemned, only their violence was sometimes censured; when they refused the use of some ceremonies and rites, as su

perstitious, they were tolerated with much connivancy and gentleness; yea, when they called in question the superiority of bishops, and pretended to [bring] a democracy into the church, yet their propositions were here considered, and by contrary writings, debated and discussed. Yet all this while it was perceived that their course was dangerous and very popular; as because papistry was odious, therefore it was ever in their mouths, that they sought to purge the church from the relicks of papistry; a thing acceptable to the people who love ever to run from one extream to another.

*

"But now of late years when there issued from them that affirmed, the consent of the magistrate was not to be attended; when under a pretence of a confession, to avoid slander and imputations, they combined themselves by classes and subscriptions; when they descended to that vile and base means of defacing the government of the church by ridiculous pasquils; when they began to make many subjects in doubt to take oaths, which is one of the fundamental parts of justice in this land, and in all places; when they began both to vaunt of their strength, and the number of their partisans and followers, and to use comminations that their cause would prevail, through uproar and violence; then it appeared to be no more zeal, no more conscience, but meer faction and division; and therefore though the state were compelled to hold somewhat a harder hand to restrain them, than before, yet was it with as great moderation as the peace of the state or church would permit. As things themselves altered, the queen applied her religious wisdom to methods correspondent unto them; still retain ing the two rules beforementioned, and dealing tenderly with consciences, and yet in discovering faction from conscience, and softness from singularity."

It will now, I think, be apparent to your readers that with regard to the

moderate party of the puritans, there was the greatest disposition in the rulers of the church to exercise indulgence. And if all the dissenters had been thus moderate and peaceable, they would have been suffered quietly to dispense with the obnoxious ceremonies. Nay, what is more, the ceremonies they complained of, would have been abolished, if by so doing the peace of the church could have been restored; for sir Francis Walsingham was authorized by the queen to offer, that provided they would conform in other points, the three shocking ceremonies, as they considered them, kneeling at the communion, wearing the surplice, and the cross in baptism, should be expunged from the common prayer. To these concessions they replied in the language of Moses to Pharaoh, (Exod. x. 26,) "There shall not a hoof be left behind." They wished to have the church liturgy wholly laid aside, and to introduce one of their own making.* This arrogant answer lost them the affections of Walsingham, for he saw clearly that nothing would content them but the overthrow of the church.

Contrast this lenity on the part of the government with the conduct of the more violent class of puritans, and it will be seen on which side modera

To see how far their designs extended with regard to the liturgy, lord Burleigh tried the following experiment: he asked, "Whether they desired the taking away thereof? They answered No; but only the amendment of what was offensive therein. He required them to make a better, such as they

would have settled in the stead thereof. Whereupon,

"The first classis framed a new one, somewhat according to the form of Geneva. "The second, DISLIKING it, altered it in six hundred particulars.

“The third QUARRELLED at these altera

tions, and resolved on a new model. "The fourth classis DISSENTED from the former.

"Thus, because they could not agree among themselves, that wise statesman put them off for the present, until they should present him a pattern with a perfect consent," Fuller, Church Hist. lib. ix. p. 178.

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tion lay. Presbyteries were formed in every part of the kingdom; disaffected lecturers and tutors obtained entrance into the universities to corrupt the students; and itinerant preachers went through the country to preju dice the minds of the people against the liturgy, conforming ministers, and bishops. The clergy who wore the habits prescribed by law, were mobbed in the streets, reviled as they went along, and their faces spit upon. In 1562, one preacher," says Strype, "not of the baser sort or estimation, did glory and boast that he made eight sermons in London, against surplices, rochets, tippets, and caps, counting them not to be perfect that did wear them, &c." The populace were stirred up even to fighting in the church. The elements prepared for the holy communion were forcibly taken away even when the piously disposed were ready to receive. Clergymen, while they were celebrating the holy offices, were turned by violence out of the church only because they wore surplices. A variety of abusive epithets were heaped upon the conforming clergy. "Some,' says Cambden, "who had a profound veneration for the Geneva platform of church discipline, imagined there was no surer or nearer way for erecting it in England than by loudly railing against the English forms and rites, and rendering the names of bishop and prelate as odious as they could to the common people. Their first essay, therefore, was to put out scurrilous pamphlets against church order and prelacy." (Ann. Eliz. 1588.) In consequence of this design, the highest encomiums were bestowed upon the Genevan plan, the church at Geneva being appealed to as the most perfect model. They called it "the venerable doctrine of discipline, the most beautiful order of ecclesiastical regiment; the substantial form of Christ's government, the most holy discipline; the true discipline by God's word, without which no true religion can be; the