e or more, we agreed upon his
going this week, towards the latter (end) of the week, and so dismissed
him, and Mr. Blackburne and I fell to talk of many things, wherein I did
speak so freely to him in many things agreeing with his sense that
he was very open to me: first, in that of religion, he makes it great
matter of prudence for the King and Council to suffer liberty of
conscience; and imputes the losse of Hungary to the Turke from the
Emperor's denying them this liberty of their religion. He says that many
pious ministers of the word of God, some thousands of them, do now beg
their bread: and told me how highly the present clergy carry themselves
every where, so as that they are hated and laughed at by everybody;
among other things, for their excommunications, which they send upon the
least occasions almost that can be. And I am convinced in my judgement,
not only from his discourse, but my thoughts in general, that the
present clergy will never heartily go down with the generality of the
commons of England; they have been so used to liberty and freedom, and
they are so acquainted with the pride and debauchery of the present
clergy. He did give me many stories of the affronts which the clergy
receive in all places of England from the gentry and ordinary persons of
the parish. He do tell me what the City thinks of General Monk, as of
a most perfidious man that hath betrayed every body, and the King also;
who, as he thinks, and his party, and so I have heard other good friends
of the King say, it might have been better for the King to have had his
hands a little bound for the present, than be forced to bring such a
crew of poor people about him, and be liable to satisfy the demands of
every one of them. He told me that to his knowledge (being present at
every meeting at the Treaty at the Isle of Wight), that the old King
did confess himself overruled and convinced in his judgement against the
Bishopps, and would have suffered and did agree to exclude the service
out of the churches, nay his own chappell; and that he did always say,
that this he did not by force, for that he would never abate one inch
by any vyolence; but what he did was out of his reason and judgement. He
tells me that the King by name, with all his dignities, is prayed for by
them that they call Fanatiques, as heartily and powerfully as in any of
the other churches that are thought better: and that, let the King think
what he will, it is them that mus