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to them, and refuse to bind themselves to observe that abstinence, the only merit of which, if any it had, must consist in its being purely voluntary. Of the comparative purity of life and chaste conversation of the Protestant and the Popish clergy respectively, they will judge who are acquainted with both, either from personal knowledge, or from books. And we are content to refer in this case to books which have been published by writers of the Romish communion; nay, by grave and dignified ecclesiastics, if necessary.

We have been led into a longer discussion on this point than we intended, from the apprehension lest the language of those unprincipled revilers should accidentally be adopted, even in part, by some of those liberal men among our senators, who seem only to be fearful lest they should appear too partial to their own church, and their own people. We have seen such instances of this, as convince us that nothing is so trivial, or so glaringly false as not to call for an answer.

We ought now to pass on to the second head, that of the inquisition; but want of room compels us, though very reluctantly, to reserve what we have written for our next number.

(To be continued.)

BIOGRAPHY OF ARCHBISHOP KING.

(Continued from p. 39.)

In the year 1687, Mr. King published his answer to Dr. Manby's apology for embracing the Roman Catholic religion. This answer was comprised in one quarto volume, and appeared in London at a time when Popery was in power, the Protestant religion in danger, and the defenders of it not safe from persecution.-Mr. Breviter, who published a letter in defence of the mission of the clergy of the church of England in 1722, signed, (a presbyter of the diocese of Derry), observed in a note at the end of it, that Mr. King wrote against the Papists when Popery was in its zenith-that he was the only clergyman in Ireland who did so, and that his book was twice reprinted in England.*

a Preservative against

* Mr. Breviter was the author of a valuable tract called "" Popery," in answer to a book entitled Fifty Reasons why the Roman Catholic Apostolic Religion ought to be preferred to all the Sects this day in Christendom.—Mr. Breviter's answer is out of print, whilst a cheap edition of the Fifty Reasons is to had in almost all the book-shops in Ireland, whether these shops are kept by Protestants or Papists. "The preservative against Popery," and many other valuable and scarce tracts on the same subject, are to be found among the books of the Rev. Mr. Waddy, Rector of Kilrea, in the county of Londonderry, being part of the library of his learned and in

In 1688, Dr. King was instituted President of the Chapter of St. Patrick's, Dublin, upon the death of Dean Worth: and on the 26th of January following, was elected dean of that church. His residence in Dublin, when most of the clergy were obliged to fly from Popish persecution, was of singular service in forwarding the reduction of the Irish rebels. When he saw the act of settlement broken, and more than two thousand six hundred Protestants proscribed, he thought the law of nature as well as Christianity, obliged him to defend his religion and liberty: and, therefore, he earnestly persuaded the Protestants to embrace the

genious ancestor Dr. William Nicholson, Archbishop of Cashel, and his grandfather the Rev. Bellingham Mauleverer, the archbishop's son-in-law.-A list of a few of these tracts may not be unacceptable to the Protestant public, viz.

1. The Mission of the Clergy of the Church of England vindicated, in Answer to a Treatise printed at Rouen in 1722, By a Presbyter of the diocese of Derry.-Dublin, 1728.

2. An Answer to two Papers said to be wrote by the late King Charles II., and one by the late Duchess of York concerning the authority of the Catholic church, &c.— Dublin, 1728.

3. A Sermon preached in St. Andrew's Church, Dublin, before the honourable House of Commons, on Monday the 23d of October 1721, being the anniversary of the Irish rebellion, by Thomas Bolton, D.D, &c. &c. Dublin, 1722.

4. Good and solid Reasons why a Protestant should not turn Papist; or Protestant prejudices against the Roman Catholic religion, proposed in a letter to a Romish priest, by a person of quality.-London, 1688.

5. Why are you not a Roman Catholic? a discourse occasioned by the pamphlet, entitled, Why are you are a Roman Catholic?-London, 1679.

6. The Last Legacy of Henry Care, Esq. relating to several of the most important points in controversy between us and the Romanists.-London, 1688.

7. A plain Defence of the Protestant Religion, fitted to the meanest capacitiesbeing a full Confutation of the Net for the Fishers of Men, published by two Gentlemen, lately gone over to the Church of Rome. Written for the public good by L. E, a Son of the Church of England, as by Law established.-London, 1687.

8. Reflections upon Mr. Varillas, his History of Heresy, as far as relates to English Matters, more especially those of Wicliff; with Wickliff's Creed in Black Letter.London, 1688.

9. The true Mother Church-a short practical Discourse upon Acts ii-41, 42. concerning the first Church at Jerusalem. A short but admirable Sermon.-London, 1688.

10. A Letter of Advice to a Young Lady; being motives and directions to establish her in the Protestant Religion, written by a Person of Honour, and made public for the use of that Sex.-London, 1688.

11. Contemplations on the Life and Glory of Holy Mary, the Mother of Jesus, with a Daily Office agreeing to each Mystery thereof, by I. C. D. D. Paris, Anno Domini, 1685. (This curious document is dedicated to the Queen Dowager), Permissu superiorum.

deliverance offered to them by Divine Providence, to acknowledge the Prince of Orange for their king, and to submit to his government. This had a wonderful influence on the spirits of the people, and disposed them to a zealous defence of their religion and civil rights.

The Protestants, with that confidence which they never fail to repose in such of their clergy as they find disposed to maintain the cause of the true Christian faith established amongst us, had recourse to Mr. King for advice how to conduct themselves, in such critical and dangerous times; and this was of singular service, in directing their endeavours to forward the revolution in Ireland. The friends of King James and Popery, industriously circulated a character of the great mildness and lenity of that unhappy prince, towards the Protestants of Ireland; (not unlike the late pictures of Popish liberality, exhibited by the advocates of Popery in the imperial parliament), au artifice not without its effect upon many deluded Protestants in England and Scotland; Mr. King, however, took great pains to obviate its fatal tendency, as far as he could, by writing private letters to undeceive the people of England. These timely communications settled the wavering minds of many, who had a disposition still to adhere to the interest of King Janies, though a Papist; provided they could have any hopes of preserving the constitution in church and state.

In 1689, Mr. King took his degree of Doctor of Divinity; and on the 29th of July that year, was, together with Dr. Foy, (who was afterward- Bishop of Waterford) and many others of the Protessant clergy, committed prisoners to the castle of Dublin, by judge Nugent, and confined for half a year. Dr. Foy was an Englishman, who had been educaved in the University of Dublin, and became a senior fellow of Trinity College. When Popery was almost triumphant, he made a glorious stand in defence of the established religion; not only publicly disputing with the most eminent Popish Doctors, but, with uncommon resolution, and to the manifest hazard of his life, he supported the controversy between the Protestants and Papists; every other Sunday from the pulpit in St Bridget's Church, answering and confuting the discourses delivered by a Doctor of the Sorbonne, the preceding Sunday at Christ Church,before King James the Second. This task he performed by the assistance of a few gentlemen, who furnished him with a stenographic abstract of his antagonist's arguments. Multitudes flocked from all parts of the city, rejoicing to hear the Protestant cause so well defended. But this his courage in defending the sacred doctrines of primitilve Christianity, in opposition to the Romish superstition, subjected him to the violence of his Popish enemies; and, at this time, with his excellent friend and

fellow labourer, Dr. King, and many other clergymen of the Church of Ireland, he was thrown into prison, by a Popish judge. Dr. Foy was afterwards assaulted by soldiers, while he was performing the funeral service in his church-yard (St. Bridget's) and he was hindered from preaching, by the menaces of some of King James's guards, who surrounded the church with their fusees, and swore they would shoot him, if be attempted to preach; and this, only because he had taken notice from the pulpit, that one Hall, in a sermon preached before King James, in Christ Church, had corrupted his text, by rendering the passage instead of repent, do penance, a false translation which is yet to be found in the Popish translations of the New Testament, published in Ireland. Thus whilst the few Protestant clergy, who dared to defend their tenets, at this melancholy period, appealed to the Holy Scriptures, and the common sense of mankind for the truth of their doctrine, the ferocious bigots, who were opposed to them," employed force instead of argument, imposed silence where they could not convince, and endeavoured to propagate their opinions by the sword.”

In the mean time, many endeavours were used to have a bill of indict ment found against Dr. King, for high treason, grounded upon a false affidavit. During his confinement in the castle, he suffered great hardships, being deprived of all his effects, and having nothing left him to subsist on but the charity of the people. He was at last enlarged, and afterwards, in 1696, apprehended again, without any reason assigned, and thrown into the public guard-house, to lie amongst common soldiers, without a bed, for several nights; and they afterwards endeavoured to ruin his reputation, by circulating notoriously false and malicious stories; some of which they published in print though without any success. During his confinement, he had frequent conferences, both with Jacobites and Williamites, and was privately furnished with exact and particular accounts of every public transaction, and with copies of all the proclamations and orders of council, &c. out of which he collected materials, for compiling that excellent book, called "The State of the Protestants of Ireland under King James's Government."

Bishop Burnet gives the following character of this work in the second volume of his history of his own times, page 443, and in his letter to Sir Robert Southwell,-"I will not enlarge more upon the affairs of Ireland; both because I had no occasion to be well-informed about them, and because Dr. King, now Archbishop of Dublin, wrote a copious History of the Government of Ireland, during the reign of James the Second, which is so well received and so universally acknowledged to be as truly as it is finely written, that I refer my reader to the account of

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those matters, which is fully and faithfully given by that learned and zealous prelate."

The letter to Sir Thomas Southwell, contains the following passage: "King's state of the Protestants of Ireland under the Government of James the Second, is not only the best book that hath been written for the service of the government; but without any figure, it is worth all the rest put together, and will do more than all our scribblings, for settling the minds of the nation.'

Dr. King was now enlarged from imprisonment, upon giving sufficient security, by the interest and good offices of Herbert, then appointed by King James Lord High Chancellor of England; who though attached to that monarch's interest, yet was a zealous Protestant, and upon all occasions the chief patron and protector of the distressed people of his own religion,

Being set at liberty, he returned to the discharge of his cure, where he with great constancy visited and comforted his flock. Francis Marsh, Archbishop of Dublin, a mild, grave, learned and unblameable prelate, was about this time forced for the safety of his person to withdraw into England. He subsituted Dr King his commissary, to visit and take care of his diocese, during his absence. But, not conceiving the commission to be legally executed, Dr. K, declined the office, and procured the two chapters to elect Anthony Dopping, Bishop of Meath, administrator of the spiritualities during the absence of the archbishop; and thus, in conjunction with Bishop Dopping, he governed the churches of the diocese, and took care to supply the deserted parishes, (from which the ministers were compelled, by violent persecution, to fly to England) with well qualified curates; so that scarcely a parish was destitute of a pastor. This was a great comfort and advantage to those poor Protestants, who con tinued at home, to preserve their small effects which had escaped the plunder of the Irish army, or who had not money to pay for their passage to England.

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Notwithstanding he had obtained his liberty, yet he suffered many attempts on his person in those unhappy times on account of his religion and principles, and his zealous endeavours in discharging the duty of a faithful pastor, and preserving his flock from the infection of Popery. He was assaulted in the streets, and a musket with a lighted match levelled at him. The public service in his church was often disturbed, particularly on the first of February 1689, by seven officers who swore aloud they would cut his throat. He was again thrown into confinement in 1690, when the Protestants of Dublin and more particularly the clergy, began to feel the lash of persecution in an intolerable degree, hardly one of them escaped affronts and abuses, or could walk the streets unmolested. The soldiers especially the French, railed at them, calling

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