JAMES THE SECOND.

53

in the hearing of magistrates, churchwardens, and constables.Modest buildings for the worship of God after the Puritanfashion began to rise all over England. An observant travellerwill still remark the date of 1687 on some of the oldest meetinghouses. Nevertheless the offers of the Church were, to aprudent Dissenter, far more attractive than those of the King.The Declaration was, in the eye of the law, a nullity. Itsuspended the penal statutes against nonconformity only forso long a time as the fundamental principles of the constitutionand the rightful authority of the legislature should remainsuspended. What was the value of privileges which must beheld by a tenure at once so ignominious and so insecure?There might soon be a demise of the crown. A sovereignattached to the established religion might sit on the throne.A Parliament composed of Churchmen might be assembled.How deplorable would then be the situation of Dissenters whohad been in league with Jesuits against the constitution! TheChurch offered an indulgence very different from that grantedby James, an indulgence as valid and as sacred as the GreatCharter. Both the contending parties promised religiousliberty to the separatist: but one party required him topurchase it by sacrificing civil liberty; the other party invitedhim to enjoy civil and religious liberty together.

For these reasons, even if it could be believed that theCourt was sincere, a Dissenter might reasonably have deter-mined to cast in his lot with the Church. But what guaranteewas there for the sincerity of the Court? All men knew whatthe conduct of James had been up to that very time. It wasnot impossible, indeed, that a persecutor might be convincedby argument and by experience of the advantages of tolera-tion. But James did not pretend to have been recently con-vinced. On the contrary, he omitted no opportunity of pro-testing that he had, during many years, been, on principle,adverse to all intolerance. Yet, within a few months, he hadpersecuted men, women, young girls, to the death for theirreligion. Had he been acting against light and against theconvictions of his conscience then? Or was he uttering adeliberate falsehood now? From this dilemma there was no

CHAP.

VII.

168 T.