ellion partly
purged, and that she feared at that time no foreign invasion, and much
less the attempt of any within the realm not backed by some potent
succour from without, she contented herself to make a law against that
special case of bringing and publishing any bulls, or the like
instruments; whereunto was added a prohibition, upon pain, not of
treason, but of an inferior degree of punishment, against the bringing
in of _agnus Dei_, hallowed bread, and such other merchandise of Rome,
as are well known not to be any essential part of the Romish religion,
but only to be used in practice as love-tokens to inchant the people's
affections from their allegiance to their natural sovereign. In all
other points her majesty continued her former lenity: but when, about
the twentieth year of her reign, she had discovered in the king of Spain
an intention to invade her dominions, and that a principal part of the
plot was, to prepare a party within the realm that might adhere to the
foreigner; and after that the seminaries began to blossom, and to send
forth daily priests and professed men, who should by vow taken at shrift
reconcile her subjects from their obedience, yea, and bind many of them
to attempt against her majesty's sacred person; and that, by the poison
which they spread, the humors of papists were altered, and that they
were no more papists in conscience, and of softness, but papists in
faction; then were there new laws made for the punishment of such as
should submit themselves to such reconcilements, or renunciations of
obedience. And because it was a treason carried in the clouds, and in
wonderful secresy, and came seldom to light, and that there was no
presupposition thereof so great, as the recusants to come to divine
service, because it was set down by their decrees, that to come to
church before reconcilement was absolutely heretical and damnable.
Therefore there were laws added containing punishment pecuniary against
such recusants, not to enforce conscience, but to enfeeble and
impoverish the means of those of whom it resteth indifferent and
ambiguous whether they were reconciled or no. And when, notwithstanding
all this provision, this poison was dispersed so secretly, as that there
were no means to stay it but by restraining the merchants that brought
it in; then, lastly, there was added another law, whereby such seditious
priests of new erection were exiled, and those that were at that time
within the lan