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Show A Col/eCiio1t, oj 'tbe F duitieJ, ofQ!!_een Elizabeth. of the CounfelJ;-o; Privy to the Enterp rife; But t'hat, fome of them, became the wicked Infiruments onely, of other Mens Mal-. lice. Notwithftanding, this is true, and witneHed, by the Contd iions of many, that almoft all the Pric.fl.r, which were fent into this Kingdome, from that aforenamed year , unto the Tnjrtieth year of ~ecn Eliza,bcths Raign ; (At what time , that Defign of the rope, and Spain, was put into execution, by thofe memor.ible Preparations, of the Na1'J , and Land-Force~,) Had in their ~nfirutl: ions, befides other Parts of their Function>to difri ll') and Infinu at e, ir to the People, thefe Particulars; It was impojjible,Things fhou /d contimte, d th'h flay ; They jh v1dd fee, ere long, a great cbange, in this St~te; 'J hat the Pope, and C atholicft Princes, were carefit!l for the · Englijlo, if they would, not be wanting to them:/clzieJ. Again , fundry of the I'rtejis , did manife!Hy i~ t rpofe themfdves,, into_ t~ofe Confu l tati on ~, and Plots, whtch tended _, to the uodermmtng, and Ruining, of this Kingdonte: And, (whtch cfpecially moved her ) Letters were intercepted, out of divers parts, that di fcovered: the true Face of the Plot ; In which was wri tten, that they doubted not, to go beyond, the vigilaocy, of the ff2!!:een, and State, in the Matter of Catbolick.f:For the ffl.!!een would nely have an eye, leafl: there fhould arife, any Fi~ Head , in the Perfon of fome Lord, or other Eminent Gentleman of quality, under whom the Catholic/zr might unite: But they had thought upon another courfe ; A£ namdy, by private i'Yfen, and thofe but of mean l\ank, that iliould not confer, nor fcarce know, of each others employ· ment, to prepare, and mat-ure, the Bufine.ffe, by the Secrecy of C onfeffion. And thefe were their Engi1zes then, w hi.:h, (as hath appeared fince, in a cafe not much unlike,) are ufualJ, and familiar, to that Order of Men. In this great Deluge of Danger, there was a Neceffity im pofed, u_pon ff2!!_een Eliz.,abeth, to refrrain, by fome £harper Bands of Lawu, that part of her Subje&s, which were alienated fron1 her, and had drunk, too deep a Draught, of this Poyfon, ever to recover; And furthe r, which by their reti- · red Living, and Exemption from publick Offices, were grown very Rich : And moreover, the Mifchief daily growing, when as the Caufe t hereof, wasafcribe~, to none other,then the Sentinary I'riefls; Who had been nounilied, in Forrain Parts, and received Exhibition, from the Bounty, and Almes, of Forrain Princes, profeffed Enemies to this State; And who had converfed in fuch ' places, where the Name of ~eeN Elizabeth, was never heard, but as of an Heretick., and Excommunicate, and Accurfed Per {on; And who, though tbemfelves, (fometip1es,) had no hand jn Treajon, yet they were known, to be the intimate Friends, of them that had; And lafily, who by their Arts, and Poyfons , had infeCted, and foured) the Maffe, and tuwp, of the Catholic~<!, which, be· fore, was more Sweet, and Harrnldfe, with a new kind of Leven, and defper.ate .Malicioujnej{e; There could no other Remedy be devifed, but by forbidding fuch Perfons) to enter into this King-dome, A Collection, of' the FelicitieJ, of ~~n Elizabeth. 191 _ dome, upon pain of their Lives: Which~ atlaft, in the 27 rh. year ofher Raign, was done accordingly. Nay, and when the event it fd~ had confirmed this to be true; ( l mean, immtdiatl y after . that the dreadful! Tempelt, arofe from Spain,rhre~tning no le!fe then utter defolation ;) yet did it nothing mollifie, or turn, the edge, ofthefc Ment:, MaHice, and Fury; but rather whetted it ; As if they had cafi: off, all Naturall Afftction, to their Com;try. As for the Times fucceding ~ (I mean after the Thirtieth yt-ar of her Raig1t,) though indeed our Fear of spain, which had been theSpur to this Rigour)had £1irdy breathed out,or was well aba .. ted; yet confidering the Memory of Times pafr, had made fo deep Impreffion, in Mens Heart~-, and Cogitations; And that it would have feemed, either Inconflancy, to repeal thofe former Lan;es, or. sloath, to negletl: thtrn; The very Confiilution of Thmgs, d1d fuggefi to the ff2.!!een, that it was not fafr, to reduce them unto that State, wherein they had eon inuef;l, untill the three & twentieth year of her Raign.Herennto may be added ,the Induftry of fom " PcrfonsJ in improving the Revenues of the Ex~ chequer; And t he Ze;d of fome other Minifleri of )uflice, which did never think their country fafe, unleife the L4wes were .rigoroully executed; All which, did importune, and prelfe, th~ Execution, of the Lawes. Notwithfianding the ff2!!ce1t· font manifefr Token, of her RoyaU Nature, did fo dull~ the edge~£ the Lawes,that but a very few I'riejh, in refpeCt of their Number, did fufferdeath. Now all this, which I have faid, is not by way of Defence: For the Matter needesit not: For neither, could this Kingdom, have been fafe without it; Neither were the Proceeding~, ~ n y way, c?mpar~ble_, or ofkinn, to thofe bloody, and unchnfl: tanly MaJ/~tcru, .tn the C atholic/tCoHntries; Which proceeded, meerely, from Rancour, and Pride, and not from any neceffity of State. Howfoever, I hope, I have made my firfr A.f{ertion .good; That lhe ~as Moderate in the Point of Religion; And that the change, wh1ch happened,, was not in her Nat11re, but upon the Neceffity of the Timet. Now· for the ConjianCJ', of !f2!!een Elizabeth, in Religion, and the obfervance thereof, I know no perter Argument then this; · ~hat although lhe found the Rnmifh Religion, confirmed, in her sifters dayes, by Ali of Parliament; And eil:ablillied,by all !hong and potent, Meanes, that could be devifed; And to have taken' deep R.~ot, in this King do'!'; And that all thofe, which had any Authonry, or ba.re Oflice In the St11te, had fubfcribed to it j yet for th~t ~~ faw, tt was not agreeable, to the fVord of God, nor to the PrunztlVe Purity, nor to her own Confcience, lhe didj with a ~reat de~l of Courage, and with the afiiftance, of a very few Perf? n.s, qune expelJ, andabo,lifh it. Neither, did ilic this> by pr~ctpttat~, and Heady Courfes, but Timing it wifely, and foherly. And thts may well be conjectured, as from the Thing it fel£ fo alfo by an Anfwer of hers, which fue made upon occafion. For within |
