is a commiffion that shall lafh the Proteftants of Ireland." The mayor's woman fervant (being a Proteftant) on hearing this, watched an opportunity, took out the commiffion, and put in a pack of cards, with the knave of clubs at the top and before another commiffion could be obtained from England, Queen Mary died with a broken

heart.

CHAP.

CHA P. IX.

From the Acceffion of Queen Elizabeth, to the death

of Charles I. including a space of near go years.

QUE

UEEN Elizabeth, Daughter to Henry VIII. (by Ann Boleyn his fecond wife,) fucceeded Queen Mary in 1558.

In her first Parliament the laws made by Mary for establishing Popery were repealed; for which Elizabeth was excommunicated by a bull of Pope Pius V. and her fubjects abfolved from subjection to her. And foon after an Act of Uniformity was passed.

Mary, Queen of Scots, was kept a prisoner in England eighteen years, then brought to trial, and (fome fay without fufficient

proof

proof of guilt) beheaded the eighteenth of February 1585.

Elizabeth was profperous both by land and fea. She affifted the Scots against the French, the Hugonots or French Proteftants against the Papists, and both against the Spaniards; and for fome time cherished the new-fprung ftates of Holland.

It is faid that this learned Princes could speak five or fix different languages.

In the begining of her reign fome of those Proteftants returned to England, who in Mary's reign had fled into Germany, where fome of them were for confining. themselves to the use of forms, as they had been established at home, and others were for improving their liberty to the utmost, in reforming what ever they thought exceptionable in them.

But

But when they came to England they found the terms of conformity fo narrow that many could not in confcience comply with them; for the Queen was fond of ceremonies and extending her authority in Church affairs.

And by the Act of Uniformity they were not left at liberty to worship God according to the dictates of their own confciences, but were obliged to comply with the rules of conformity and the Common Prayer Book: though it ftill contained many Popish fentences and ceremonies none dared to speak against it, under pain of fix months imprisonment without bail or mainprize, and for the fecond offence during life. See the Act of Uniformity at the beginning of the Common Prayer Book.

One of the Popish sentences is as follows, in the visitation of the fick, "And by his authority committed to me, I abfolve thee

from

from all thy fins, in the name of the Father, and of the fon, and of the Holy Ghoft. Amen." And there is a fentence in the catechism that teaches the child to fay of its baptism, "wherein I was made a member of Chrift, a child of God, and an inheritor of the kingdom of Heaven." From this the child is taught to conclude, that its being baptized in a lawful manner delivers it from the curfe of Original fin, which" in every person born into this world, it deferveth God's wrath and damnation" as 'tis faid in the ninth article of Religion.

If an heir of wrath be made an heir of glory only by the rite of circumcifion, or baptifm without faith, then it would seem as if the death of Chrift was of no account: for if the person that has been lawfully baptized live ever fo wicked a life and die withoutany signs of repentance, he is buried "in fure and certain hope of the refurrect'on to etrunal life." See theburial fervice.

At