History of the Church of England from 1660 (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: !660.] CHARACTER OF CHARLES II. 13 of a peculiarly un-English character and complexion. He was a trifler and an idler, destitute of all political and religious principle. In his serious moments he was a Roman Catholic; in his seasons of recreation, in which the greater part of his time was spent, destitute of all religion, a scoffer and a blasphemer. Secretly sold to the French monarch, yet not keeping the bargain he had made with him. Zealous for nothing, yet pretending an earnest zeal for Protestantism whenever he wanted to extract money from the pockets of his subjects. For the present, however, the victorious cavaliers would see nothing but the bright side of the "Merry Monarch." They greatly exaggerated his good qualities. They threw a veil over his vices, and hoped that as he grew older he would conceal or discard them. On the other hand, they magnified his geniality, his affability, his readiness to enter into conversation with all persons who approached him, if only they did not bore him or require him to attend to any serious business. These were qualities which, lying as they did on the surface and being visible to all men, made him popular with those of his subjects who were thrown into his company. The moment that it became evident that a restoration of the Stuarts in the person of Charles was imminent, the representatives of the two great religious parties into which the nation was then divided, naturally sought to gain the patronage and protection of the returning monarch. The religious communion that was at the time of the Restoration in possession of almost every benefice in England, and was virtually by law established, was the Presbyterian. Its ministers were not only in possession, but most of them had all along been favourable to the exiled family. They ...