While Mr. Darrel was in the prison, he wrote an apology, to shew that people in these latter days may be possessed with devils; and that by prayer and fasting the unclean spirit may be cast out. In the end of which he makes this protestation; "If what I am accused of be true, (viz. that I have been accessary to a vile imposture, with a design to impose on mankind) let me be registered to my 'perpetual infamy, not only for a notorious deceiver, but such an hypocrite as never trod on the earth before; yea, Lord! for to thee I convert my speech, who knowest all things, if I have confederated more or less with Somers, Darling, or any of the rest; if ever I set eye on them be'fore they were possessed, then let me not only be made a laughing-stock, and a by-word to all men, but rase my name also out of the book of life, and let me have my 'portion with hypocrites."

6

It has been observed, that the bishops had now wisely transferred the prosecution of the puritans from themselves to the temporal courts, so that, instead of being summoned before the high commission, they were indicted at the assizes, and tried at common law; this being thought more adviseable, to take off the odium from the church. Judge Anderson discovered his zeal against them this summer in an extraordinary manner, for in his charge to the jury at Lincoln he told them, that the country was infested with Brownists, with disciplinarians and erectors of presbyteries ; which he spoke with so much wrath, with so many oaths, and such reviling language, as offended the gentlemen upon the bench. He called the preachers knaves, saying, that they would start up into the pulpit and speak against every body. He was for extending the statute of recusancy to such who went at any time to hear sermons from their own parish churches, though they usually attended in their places, and heard divine service dutifully.When lord Clinton, and the deputy lieutenants, and justices of those parts, obtained the bishop's allowance for a day of fasting and prayer at Lowth, upon an extraordinary occasion, his lordship urged the jury to find a bill against them, upon the statute of conventicles.

↑ Strype's Ann. vol. ult. p. 264.

Mr. Allen minister of that parish, being indicted by means of a revengeful justice of peace, for not reading all the prayers at once, (he using sometimes to omit part of them for the sermon) was obliged to hold up his hand at the bar, when judge Anderson standing up, spoke to him with a fierce countenance; and having insinuated some grievous faults against the man (though he named none) called him oftentimes knave, rebellious knave, with more such opprobrious language, though it was known all over the country that Mr. Allen was a good preacher; that he had subscribed; was esteemed by the bishop; was conformable in his affections; and behaved upon this occasion with all humility and submission. But his lordship had said in his charge, that he would hunt all the puritans out of his circuit. One thing was remarkable in Mr. Allen's arraignment, that when upon some point wherein judgment in divinity was required, Mr. Allen referred himself to the bishop (his ordinary then sitting upon the bench) the judge took him up with marvellous indignation, and said, he was both his ordinary and bishop in that place.

Thus the puritan clergy were put upon a level with rogues and felons, and made to hold up their hands at the bar among the vilest criminals; there was hardly an assize in any county in England, but one or more ministers, through the resentments of some of their parishioners, appeared in this condition, to the disgrace of their order, and the loss of their reputation and usefulness; besides being exposed to the insults of the rude multitude. "But I would 'to God (says my author) that they which judge in reli'gious causes, though in the name of civil affairs, would either get some more knowledge in religion and God's 'word than my lord Anderson hath, or call in the assist'ance of those that have."*

Archbishop Whitgift was busy this summer about elections for the ensuing parliament, which was to meet Oct. 24, 1597. Mr. Strype says, his grace took what care he * Strype's Ann. vol. ult. p. 267.

These are not the words of Mr. Strype himself, as they may appear by the manner of quotation, but are part of a letter "from a person unknown of the clergy to a person of quality" on judge Anderson's proceedings. ED.

could to prevent such as were disaffected to the constitution of the church, that is, all puritans, from coming into the house; but some thought it a little out of character for an archbishop to appear so publicly in the choice of the people's representatives.§ The house being thus modelled, did not meddle with the foundations of discipline, or form of public worship; but several bills were brought in to regulate abuses in spiritual courts, as against licences to marry without bands, against excessive fees, frivolous citations ex officio, and excommunications for little matters, as two pence or three pence. These and all other bills of this nature were, according to custom, quashed by a message from the Queen, forbidding them to touch her prerogative; and assuring them, that she would take the aforesaid grievances into her princely consideration. Accordingly her majesty referred these matters to the convocation; it being her steady maxim, not to proceed in matters of the church by statutes, which the parliament alone could repeal, but rather by canons, which she could confirm or dispense with at pleasure. The convocation drew up some regulations upon these and other heads, relating to ecclesiastical courts, which the Queen confirmed by her letters patent January 18th, in the 40th year of her reign. They were printed the same year by her authority, and may be seen in bishop Sparrow's collection of articles, injunctions, &c.

But still the ecclesiastical courts were an insufferable grievance the oppressions which people underwent from the bottomless deep of the canon law, put them upon removing their causes into Westminster-hall, by getting prohibitions to stay proceedings in the bishops courts, or in the high commission. This awakened the archbishop, who, in order to support the civilians, drew up certain queries to be considered by the lords and judges of the land touching prohibitions; of which this was the principal, "That seeing ecclesiastical authority is as truly vested in the crown as temporal, whether the Queen's temporal au'thority should any more restrain her ecclesiastical, than her 'ecclesiastical should her temporal? And seeing so many,and

§ Life of Whitgift, p. 508.

so great personages with some others, are trusted to do her majesty service in her ecclesiastical commission, whether it be convenient, that an offender, ready to be censured,should obtain, and publicly throw into court a prohibition, to the delay of justice, and to the disgrace and disparagement of 'those who serve freely, without all fee therein." The archbishop caused a list to be made of divers cases, wherein the christian court, as he called it, had been interrupted by the temporal jurisdiction; and of many causes that had been taken out of the hands of the bishops courts, the high commission, and the court of delegates; the former authorized by immediate commission from the Queen, and the latter by a special commission upon an appeal to her court of Chancery. But notwithstanding all these efforts of Whitgift and his successor Bancroft, the number of prohibitions increased every year; the nobility, gentry, and judges, being too wise to subject their estates and liberties to a number of artful civilians, versed in a codex or body of laws, of most uncertain authority, and strangers to the common and statute laws, without the check of a prohibition; when it was notorious, that the canon law had been always since the reformation controled by the laws and statutes of the realm. Thus the civilians sunk in their business under the two next archbishops, till LAUD governed the church, who terrifying the judges from granting prohibitions, the Spiritual courts, Star-chamber, Council table, and high commissioners rode triumphant, fining, imprisoning, and banishing men at their pleasure, till they became as terrible as the Spanish inquisition, and brought upon the nation all the confusions and desolations of a civil war.

From this time to the Queen's death, there was a kind of cessation of arms between the church and puritans; the combatants were out of breath, or willing to wait for better times. Some apprehended that the puritans were vanquished, and their numbers lessened by the severe execution of the penal laws; whereas it will appear, by a survey in the beginning of the next reign, that the non-conforming clergy were about fifteen hundred. But the true reason was this, the Queen was advanced in years, and could not live long in

* Life of Whitgift, p. 537.

a course of nature, and the next heir to the crown being a presbyterian, the bishops were cautious of acting against a party for whom his majesty had declared, not knowing what revenge he might take, when he was fixed on the throne; and the puritans were quiet, in hopes of great matters to be done for them upon the expected change.

Notwithstanding all former repulses from court, the Queen's last parliament, which sat in the year 1601, renewed their attacks upon the ecclesiastical courts; a bill being brought in to examine into bishops leases, and to disable them from taking fines; another against pluralities and nonresidents; and another againt commissaries and archdeacons courts. Multitudes of complaints came to the house against the proceedings of the ordinaries ex mero officio, without due presentments preceding, and against the frequent keeping their courts, so that the church-wardens were sometimes cited to two or three spiritual courts at once ;* complaint was made of their charging the country with quarterly bills; of the great number of apparitors, and petty summoners, who seized upon people for trifling offences; of the admission of curates by officials and commissaries, without the bishop's knowledge, and without testimonials of their conversation; of scandalous commutations of penance, and divers abuses of the like kind; but the Queen would not suffer the house to debate them, referring them to the archbishop, who wrote to his brethren the bishops, to endeavor as much as possible to reform the above-mentioned grievances, which, says he,† have produced multitudes of complaints in parliament ; and had they not been prevented by great circumspection, and promise of careful reformation, there might, perhaps, have ensued the taking away of the whole, or most of those courts." So prudently diligent was the archbishop (says Mr. Strype) to keep up the juris'diction of the bishops courts, and the wealthy estate of the clergy, by preserving non-residencies to them."

There was another bill brought into the house, to punish voluntary absence from church; the forfeiture was to be twelve pence each Sunday, to be levied by distress, by a war+ Life of Whitgift, p. 547, 549,

* Life of Whitgift, p. 546, 547.