ess 
LAUD, 
teen hundred manufcrlpts in Hebrew', Syriac, Chaldee, 
Egyptian, Ethiopian, Armenian, Arabic, Perfian, Turkiffi, 
Ruffian, Ciiinefe, Japanefe, Greek, Latin, Italian, French, 
Saxon, Englifh, and Irifli; an invaluable collection, pro¬ 
cured at a prodigious expenfe. 
In the year 1631, bifhop Laud difplayed great zeal and 
activity in caufing St. Paul’s cathedral, which was in a 
decayed fiats, to be repaired and beautified in a very ex- 
penfive and magnificent manner. For thispurpofe, a fub- 
fcription and contribution was appointed all over the 
kingdom. But he is alfo laid, that he might fupport the 
expenfe, to have reforted to many oppre-ffive and unjufti- 
fiable methods of railing money, by exorbitant fines in 
the ftar-chamber and high-commiffion courts, compoft- 
tions with recufants, and commutations of penance ; fo 
that it became a proverb, that “ St. Paul’s was 'repaired 
with the fins of the people.” Our prelate was alfo fuffi- 
ciently attentive to the external rites and ceremonies of 
the church, and prefied a ftrict conformity to them, even 
thofe of the moft trifling and infignificant kind, with the 
greatelt zeal and ardour. He caufed the churches in dif¬ 
ferent parts of the kingdom to be adorned with pictures, 
images, and altar-pieces; and procured orders to be given 
and rigoroufly infilled on, that the communion-table 
fliould be removed from the middle of-die area, where it 
had hitherto flood in moft churches, except in cathedrals; 
and it was now to he placed in the eali end, railed in, 
and denominated an altar. Kneeling at the altar, and the 
tiling of copes, a fpecies of embroidered veftmenf, in ad- 
miniftering the facrament, were alio enjoined. And the 
violence and heat with which thefe alterations and cere¬ 
monies were enforced, occafioned great clamours in molt 
parts of the kingdom ; and the more fo, as they were ge¬ 
nerally conlidered to be fo many fteps towards the intro¬ 
duction of popery. A remarkable inflance of his fond- 
21 efs for luperltitious ceremonies, was difplayed in the 
manner of his confecrating St. Catheririe-Creed church ; 
the account of which is too long to be detailed by us, 
but may be found in the Appendix to Dr. Wei wood’s 
Memoirs, No. vii. and in the fecond volume of Neile’s 
Hiftory of the Puritans. In 1632, Laud made a declara¬ 
tion before the king at Woodftock, which tended to 
ftrengthen the fufpicions which had been entertained of 
his inclination to popilh doClrines : he declared that, in 
the difpofal of all ecclefialtical preferments, he fliould 
give the preference to frrigje men before thofe vvho were 
married, fuppofing their abilities to be otherwule equal. 
This expoled him to much cenfure; to put a flop to 
which, lie negociated a marriage between one of his chap¬ 
lains and a daughter of his friend Francis Windebank ; 
and performed the marriage-ceremony himfelf in his own 
chapel at London-boufe. In 1633, our prelate attended 
the king on his journey into Scotland, when he went to 
be crowned in that kingdom ; which ceremony was per¬ 
formed by archbifliop Spotfvvood, in the abbey-church of 
Holyrood-houfe. While at Edinburgh, he preached in 
the royal-chapel, which fcarcely any Englifliman had ever 
done before in the king’s prefence; and the principal ob- 
jefl of his difcourfe, as lord Clarendon informs us, was 
to enforce the benefits of conformity, and the reverend 
ceremonies of the church. Indeed he never loft fight of 
liis favourite defign, to bring the church of Scotland into 
an exait conformity with the church of England .; but lie 
had the mortification to find, in the iffue, that his endea¬ 
vours for this purpofe, inltead of producing fuccefs, had 
the effeCt of uniting the people of Scotland againft his 
plans, as one man. Before he-left Scotland, lie was fwom 
a privy-counfellor for that kingdom. 
About a week after the king’s return from Scotland, a 
vacancy took place in the archiepifcopal fee of Canterbu¬ 
ry, by the death of archbifliop A.bbot. The king did not 
lofe time in appointing his fucceflor, but, two days after¬ 
wards, when bifhop Laud came to court, his majefty ad- 
/Jreffed him in thefe terms : “ My lord’s grace if Canter¬ 
bury, you are very welcome;” and gave orders the fame 
day for the difpatch of all neceffary forms for the transla¬ 
tion. On the fame day, a perfon came to him in private, 
and ferioufly made him an offer of a cardinal’s hat, avow¬ 
ing that iie was fully empowered to fecure to him that 
dignity ; and the fame offer was afterwards made to him 
a fecond time ; but he declined it, his anfwer each time 
being, as he himfelf fays in his diary, “ that fomewhat 
dwelt within him, which would not fuffer that, till Rome 
were other than it is.” Mr. Whitelock affigns this reafon 
for his refufal ; that he was “ as high already as England 
could advance hi n, and he would not be fecond to any 
in another kingdom.” In 1634. he commenced his me- 
tropoiitical vifitation, in which an exact conformity to all 
the ecclefiailical rites and ceremonies which were now en¬ 
joined was enforced with great rigour. Among other 
things, the churchwardens in every parifh were enjoined 
to remove the communion from the middle to the e.ift end 
of the chancel, to raife the ground on which to place it 
altarwife, and to fence it in with decent rails.; and thofe 
vvho refufed to do fo, were profecuted in the high-com- 
miflion or ftar-chamber courts. He alfo fummoned before 
him the miriifters and elders of the Dutch and French 
churches, and, without any regard to their charter of pri¬ 
vileges, granted by king Edward VI. and confirmed twice 
even by king Charles himfelf, enjoined fuch of them as 
were born in England to repair for divine worlhip to the 
feveral parilh-churches where they inhabited, and to per¬ 
form all duties and payments required in that behalf; and 
thofe of them, minifters or others, v. ho were aliens born, 
to ufe the Englilh liturgy, tranflated into French or Dutch. 
But many, rather than comply, chofe to leave the king¬ 
dom, to the great detriment of our manufactures. About 
this time, the archbifliop caufed feveral clergymen to be 
deprived and filenced, for not reading the king’s declara¬ 
tion for allowing lawful fports on Sundays after divine 
fervice; which he was accufed of having revived, and en¬ 
larged. But he was ftill more fevere againft thofe clergy¬ 
men, who, from their attachment to puritan principles, 
did either preach or write any thing to the prejudice of 
the eftabliflied hierarchy. Some of them were fined, and 
imprifoned, and even whipped, and kept to hard labour. 
Among the many fevere perfections in which Laud was 
concerned, and which were carried on at his mitigation, 
thofe of Prynne, Baltwick, and Burton, made a great noife 
all over the nation. Thefe profecutions were cruel, ille¬ 
gal, and tyrannical; and fuch barbarous and unjuft treat¬ 
ment of men of the three liberal profelfions of law, phy- 
fic, and divinity, (fee vol. ii. p. 794.. vol. iii. 540. and 
the article Prynne,) greatly inflamed the minds of the 
people againft all who were concerned in thefe proceed¬ 
ings, particularly againft Land, who was confidered to be 
the chief author of all their fufferings. The fame prelate 
alfo proved the perfecutor of liis brother-prelate, and for¬ 
mer benefactor, Dr. Williams, bilhop of Lincoln. Upon 
being deprived of his office of lord keeper, he had retired 
to his diocefe, where he fpent his time in reading, and 
the good-government of his charge, and became exceed¬ 
ingly popular, entertaining the clergy at his table, and 
difcourfing freely about affairs of church and ftate. He 
fpoke with forne fmnrtnefs againft the new ceremonies ; 
and faid once in converfation, “ that the puritans were 
the king’s beft fubjects, and he was fure would carry all 
at laft ; and that the king had told him, that he would 
treat them more mildly for the future.” Laud, being in¬ 
formed of this expreffion, caufed an information to be 
lodged againft him in the ftar-chamber, for revealing the 
king’s fecrets; but, the charge not being well fupported, 
'a new bill was exhibited againft him for tampering with 
the king’s witneffes ; and, though there was very little 
ground for the charge, his lordfltip was fufpended in the 
high-commiffion court from all his offices and benefices ; 
he was fiaed ten thoufand pounds to the king, and one 
one thoufand pounds to fir John Mounlon ; and con¬ 
demned to imprifonment in the Tower during the king’s 
pleafure. The bilhop was accordingly feat from the bar 
to 
