lasting salvation. And when any party of men are so unreasonable, as to take it ill at our hands for discharging our duty and our consciences herein, we shall say unto them the same, which the apostle did unto the Jews in the like case, whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken to you, more than unto God, judge ye.

"But secondly, as God and our consciences oblige us to the discharge of this duty, so do we take it, that we have full license from the king's most excellent majesty to authorize us so to do; and that not only by his laws, which are the most authentic expressions of his will, but also by his late declaration, wherein, out of his abundant clemency he hath given full liberty to all men in this realm to own and profess each their own religion, according as their consciences shall direct.

-And seeing by virtue of this liberty so many now a days do take it upon them to oppose the doctrines of our church, and set up their own errors against them; who can with any reason deny us the benefit of this same liberty to defend ourselves; for since so many make use of the privilege of this liberty now granted to them, not only to preach up their erroneous doctrines against us, but also to hunt after the souls of men from house to house, seeking whom they can devour; without permitting those, whom they think they can have any advantage over, either to live in quiet or die in quiet, in our communion; if we only, amidst this liberty, were to sit still with our hands upon our mouths, and silently behold those to be daily torn from us, for whose souls we are to answer, if they perish through our neglect, our case would of all men be the hardest. It can never enter into my thoughts that so just a prince as our present majesty is owned to be, ever designed to put any such thing upon us. This declaration is general to all his people, which is demonstration to me, that he intended the benefit of it for all, that is, as well to those who had the laws on their side, as to those, who have not. And therefore by virtue of that declaration, as well as the impulse of my own conscience, I have thus taken it upon me to discharge my duty in this particular, and think nothing can be more unreasonable, than that those, who have

no right at all but by this declaration, should take any exceptions at it. But be that as it will, since God hath called me to this ministry, I am not ashamed of, neither will I be afraid, to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ.” These two sermons having angred the papists, Mr. Acton, the Jesuit, who was chief mass priest of a popish conventicle, then set up in Norwich, at a place formerly made use of as a granary, sent two of his perverted disciples to the doctor, to demand an account of the said sermons; to which he answered, that he knew no obligations he had to be accountable to the men of the granary for what he had preached in the cathedral: if they had a mind to know what he delivered there, they might come and hear him, and that was all the answer he would give them. This expression, the men of the granary,' gave great offence, and produced a very angry letter from Mr. Acton, in which among other expressions of his resentment, he told the doctor, "that it was expected the king, ere long, would be at Norwich, when he hoped to see him upon his knees in their oratory: and must he be then called one of the men of the granary too?" This was such foolish stuff, that the doctor thought it proper, from thence, to despise the man, and take no more notice of him.

All these particulars of the doctor's behaviour having made him very obnoxious to the popish party, as they had nothing else to object to him, they challenged him for not answering a letter written by Mr. Acton, which the doctor supposed could be none but the last, he received from Mr. N. for he knew, that all the controversial letters sent to him in his name, were written by Mr. Acton. Upon this, he gathered together the papers he had formerly written in that controversy; and in order to let those, who had called upon him for an answer, know that he was prepared to give it, sent them to the press, from whence they were published in the ensuing summer, under the title of, The Validity of the Orders of the Church of England, made out against the objections of the Papists, in several letters to a gentleman of Norwich, that desired satisfaction therein. After Dr. Prideaux had preached in the cathedral

the two sermons abovementioned, most of the other ministers in Norwich taking courage from his example, preached in their respective churches against the errors and impiety of popery. This was an opposition, those of that sect could not bear with any patience, in a cause, which now they reckoned as their own; and looking upon all as excited by the doctor's example, resolved to be revenged on him, for this and the other matters, in which he had offended them: and to this end, applied to a popish gentleman of considerable figure in Norfolk, and who had an interest in king James' court, to go thither, and complain of him to the king. But this had no effect; for as they had a design there, to strike at the whole body of the Protestant clergy, it was no longer worth their while, to concern themselves with a particular person apart.

And this design was laid in the following manner: the king had about a year before published his declaration of indulgence and general toleration to all the different sects of Christians in his dominions, that all might worship God in their own way, and thereby had let the papists into the public exercise of their superstition in all parts of the kingdom. Now that he might farther and more effectually advance their interest, he took a resolution, and accordingly by his own authority, ordered, that this declaration should be read by the ministers in all the churches in this realm, during the time of the celebration of divine service, with an intention of ejecting all such, as should refuse to comply with him herein, from their respective churches, and supplying the vacancies with priests of the church of Rome. This order bore date the 4th of May, 1688, and enjoined the said declaration to be read at the usual time of divine service, on the 20th and 27th of the same month, in all churches and chapels within the cities of London and Westminster, and ten miles round about, and upon the 3d and 10th of June following, in all other churches and chapels throughout the kingdom; and the bishops were thereby commanded to send and distribute the said declaration through their several and respective dioceses, to be read accordingly. For which purpose, bundles of the said declaration

were sent from the king's printing-house to every bishop in the kingdom, according to the number of churches and chapels in their respective dioceses. What followed upon this, how the bishops petitioned the king, were imprisoned for the cause, and brought to their trial, are all particulars so well known, that they need not be here mentioned.

Two or three of the bishops, whose inclinations were in all things to comply with the king's measures, and had been promoted by him for that end, scandalously obeyed his order, and sent out this declaration to the clergy of their dioceses, to be read by them in their churches on the days appointed; but all the rest refused, and thereby screened their clergy from the blow, that was aimed at them.

However, that they might not be surprised by having this declaration and order obtruded upon them from such other hands as were then busily employed in promoting the popish cause, a letter was drawn up by the earl of Halifax, directed to all the clergy of England, persuading them not to read the declaration. And this carried with it such strength of reason, as convinced every one, who intended to adhere to the Protestant religion, rather to incur the king's displeasure, than obey his orders in this matter. This letter was privately printed and carefully dispersed in all parts of the kingdom, before any copies of it were given out in London; so that it had every where its effect, and the court was prevented from any opportunity of opposing it.

Dr. William Lloyd, then bishop of Norwich, was 'not wanting on this occasion to exert himself to the utmost for the Protestant cause. Archbishop Sancroft, who had great confidence in his wisdom and integrity, sent for him, as soon as the order came out, to consult together with the other bishops then in London, what was properest for them to do in this critical juncture; and that his letter might not be stopped at the postoffice, where all suspected letters were every night opened, sent his servant on the Norwich road, with orders to give it in at the first country post-office he should meet with, to be sent forwards with the Nor

wich bag. But it happened by the neglect of the post-master, to whom it was delivered, that it did not reach Norwich, till a post after it was intended; so that before the bishop could get to London, the petition of the seven bishops was presented, and the petitioners sent to the tower. However they had this advantage thereby, that his lordship being at liberty had the opportunity of serving them as their solicitor, and conveying to them those advices of the nobility, lawyers, and other friends, by which they governed their conduct through the whole course of this affair; and this his assiduity was so much taken notice of, that he was more than once threatened to be sent to keep company with those, whose cause he so diligently solicited.

The letter of my lord Halifax abovementioned being just printed off on his arrival at London, he got two thousand of them for his diocese, and sent them down to Dr. Prideaux, to be dispersed among the clergy. And this was executed so successfully, that before the 3d of June, on which the declaration was to be read, every clergyman in the diocese was furnished with one of these letters against it, which had so good an effect, that out of one thousand two hundred parishes in the diocese of Norwich, there were not above four or five, in which it was read, and in those the ministers were obliged to read it out of the Gazette.

Dr. Prideaux, in the distribution of these letters, undertook a dangerous task; they were conveyed down to him in the stage coach, in a box, under the care of an old gentleman in the neighbourhood, whose niece the doctor had married; and as soon as the old gentleman was come home to his house, the doctor immediately went thither to inquire for the box, where he found the old gentleman's servant opening the box, to give one of them to a lewd physician of Norwich, who had gotten into his acquaintance. This coming of the doctor's was very fortunate, and prevented the whole design from being betrayed; for had the box been opened, and but one of the letters been delivered out, it would have made the affair too hazardous for a prudent man to have meddled any farther with it.