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did that stick in my breast, when I stopt his promotion. But was 

 there not a certain lady that forsook her husband, and married a 

 lord, that was her paramour ? Who knit that knot ? Shall I make 

 a man a Prelate, one of the angels of my church, who hath a fla- 

 grant crime upon him?" Alluding to the infamous affair of So- 

 merset and the Countess of Essex. When the Lord Keeper per- 

 sisted, he added : " I see I shall not be rid of you, unless I tell you 

 my unpublished thoughts. The plain truth is, that I keep Laud 

 back from all place of rule and authority, because I find he hath a 

 restless spirit, and cannot see when matters are well, but loves to 

 toss and change, and to bring matters to a pitch of reformation 

 floating in his own brain, which may endanger the steadfastness of 

 that, which is in a good pass, God be praised. When three years 

 since I had obtained of the Assembly of Perth to consent to five ar- 

 ticles of order and decency, in correspondence with the Church of 

 England, I gave them promise by attestation of faith made, that I 

 would try their obedience no further anent ecclesiastical affairs ; yet 

 this man hath pressed me to invite them to a nearer conjunction with the 

 liturgy and canons of this nation; but I sent him back withthe frivolous 

 draught he had drawn. For all this he feared not my anger, but as- 

 saulted me again with another ill-fangled platform, to make that stub- 

 born Kirk stoop more to the English pattern : but I durst not play fast 

 and loose with my word. He knows not the stomach of that people ; 

 but I ken the story of my grandmother the Queen Regent, that 

 after she was inveigled to break her promise, made to some muti- 

 neers at a Perth meeting, she never saw good day, but from thence, 

 being much beloved before, was despised by all the people." When, 

 at last, he yielded to his importunity, he said, " Then take him to 



