"
Public agitation steadily rose. Evelyn tells us, "he dare not
write all the strange talk of the town." Distrust of the king,
fear of his brother, hatred of popery and papists, filled men's
minds and blinded their reason with prejudice. That the city had
seven years ago been destroyed by fire, in accordance with a
scheme of the wicked Jesuits, was a belief which once more
revived: the story of the gunpowder plot was again detailed.
Fearful suspicions sprang up and held possession of the vulgar
mind, that the prosecutions suffered by protestants under Queen
Mary might be repeated in the reign of the present monarch, or of
his brother. That heaven might defend the country from being
overrun by popery, the House of Commons besought his majesty to
order a day of fasting and humiliation. And by way of adding
fury to the gathering tempest, the bishops, Burnet states,
"charged the clergy to preach against popery, which alarmed the
court as well as the city, and the whole nation."
The king therefore complained to Dr. Sheldon, Archbishop of
Canterbury, that the discourse heard in every pulpit throughout
the capital and the kingdom was "calculated to inflame the
people, and alienate them from him and his government. "Upon
which Dr. Sheldon called the bishops together, that he might
consult with them as to what answer he had best make. Whereon
these wise men declared "since the king himself professed the
protestant religion, it would be a thing without a precedent that
he should forbid his clergy to preach in defence of a religion,
while he himself said he was of it.
Pages:
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331