cleansed, and fitted up for the Sunday gathering,-and thousands of hearts made glad by signs which promised that once more they should "sit under their vine and figtree, none daring to make them afraid." "On the 10th April," adds my authority, "Mr. James Hannot preached both parts of the day, when was a great auditory; for these were permitted by the King to meet by a declaration from him dated April 4th."* It appears that Mr. Hannot, who was invited to be the pastor, and at length accepted the invitation, was deputed to wait upon the king at Windsor with an address, which was well accepted. Addresses of thanks to his Majesty were presented by the various denominations of Nonconformists; some, in terms of flattery and submission, which the more eminent ministers disapproved; and others, sufficiently laudatory, yet expressing nothing more than gratitude for his Majesty's indulgence.t It was a great matter with the Court party to secure addresses from the Dissenters, and means were industriously used for the purpose, but the number presented altogether by Nonconformists did not amount to more than seventy-seven out of the hundred and eighty addresses from various civil and ecclesiastical bodies." 66 Though the Dissenters generally accepted the indulgence, they were jealous of the King's proceedings. They saw through his designs, and rejoiced with trembling. Thankful, as they were, for their liberty," says Lord Halifax, "they were fearful for the issue, neither can any member of consideration among them be charged with hazarding the public safety, by falling in with the measures of the Court, of which they had as great a dread as their neighbors." They were as much opposed to the principle of the King's power of dispensing with the laws, as † Neale, vol. iv. p. 569. *See Note [26]. they ever were, deeming it fatal to the constitution of the country; and many of them, through their terror of Popery, were even averse to the repeal of the Test Act; choosing rather to suffer exclusion from civil offices than open the door for the admission of Papists. Some, who were advocates for occasional conformity with the Church of England, (that is, communicating now and then with their Episcopal brethren at the Lord's table, on the principle of promoting Christian unity,) suffered no personal inconvenience from the Test Act, and therefore advocated its continuance. Among these was Sir John Shorter, the Presbyterian Lord Mayor of London, in the year 1687, who preferred occasionally attending the Church of England during his mayoralty, to availing himself of the Indulgence proclaimed by James. Without impugning the motives of such persons, there was an apparent inconsistency in their conduct; and, certainly, if they confined their occasional conformity to their year of office, which, however, in some cases, we know was not the fact, they laid themselves open to the suspicion of a temporary sacrifice of principle. The Nonconformists, at this time, were placed in a situation of great perplexity; here were privileges offered, to which they had a perfect right, yet offered through a medium, and under circumstances, which alarmed them for the consequences. However the wisdom of their proceedings in some instances may be called in question, their deep-seated attachment to the cause of civil and religious liberty is beyond a doubt. A remarkable example of the perplexity just mentioned is given in the manuscript history of the Suffolk Churches. Among the particulars relative to his own Church at Wattisfield, Mr. Harmer notices the piety, zeal, and essential services of Mr. Baker, a gentleman of opulence, who resided at Wattisfield Hall, and was a member of the Independent Church" An affair happened," he says, " in the year 1688, relating to civil government, which gave Mr. Baker extreme uneasiness, in which, without doubt, his friends here must have considered themselves a little concerned. The state of affairs occasioning King James to propose calling a Parliament, the Dissenters of Bury St. Edmunds proposed choosing Mr. Baker one of the representatives of that town, in which the Mayor (the town was at that time governed by a Mayor,) who was a Papist, and Lord Dover, who had at that time a great influence at Bury, and was a great courtier, readily concurred. This would have been extremely entangling to Mr. Baker, and might have brought on many reproaches perhaps from both parties. But that Parliament never sat, and Infinite Wisdom freed the Dissenters from the difficulty." The affairs of James II. were now approaching a crisis. He had quarrelled with the Church and with both Universities. His designs in favor of Popery were manifest. His indulgences were obviously but a cover for the prosecution of those designs. The Clergy refused to read the declarations. The seven Bishops resisted the King's assumed prerogative, and were committed to the Tower. Lord Sunderland, the King's chief minister, avowed himself a convert to Popery. The birth of a Prince of Wales threatened a Popish succession. Affairs were now ripe for the interference of the Prince of Orange. Sailing from Holland, with a fleet of vessels twenty miles in extent, he passed the Straits of Dover, while multitudes lined the opposite shores of France and England, to look, with different feelings, on the proud armament which was to decide the fate of the British empire, now trembling in the balance. On the 5th of November, 1688, the Prince * See Note [27]. ↑ Rapin, History of England, vol. iii. p. 285. He says, "For my part, who was on board the fleet, I own it struck me extremely." landed at Torbay, to ascend the English throne; and among the early consequences of that great revolution, was the passing of the Act of Toleration, which, though it granted but imperfect liberties to the Nonconformist, stayed the furious hand of persecution, that had so often smitten the peace, the property, and the lives of the noblehearted Puritans. CHAPTER XII. THE THREE DEATH BEDS. "That strain again-it had a dying fall, SHAKSPEARE. OWEN, Baxter, Howe, were "three mighty men," like David's "three," mighty among a host of heroes. Gifted with uncommon natural endowments, they were rendered still more distinguished by the eminent piety which Divine grace inspired and nourished in their souls. They were specimens of humanity such as the Father of Spirits occasionally furnishes to the world, to inspire us with reverence for our common nature, by showing us what his noble creature man may be: "One star differeth from another star in glory ;” and in like manner, these three great moral luminaries shone with varied lustre. Not more diversified were their faces than their mental idiosyncracies. Owen's grave and majectic countenance was the image of his profound and noble mind. Baxter's prominent and manly features, with his dark piercing eyes, betokened his robust, vigorous, and acute intellect; while Howe's face, which shone as it had been the face of an angel, with blended dignity and beauty, was the index of his harmonious soul. Owen was a pattern of self-control; Bax |