CHAPTER XVII.
Leaving the Colonies, the reader's attention will now be directed to other relations of a religious nature—relations which the Lord Protector entered into with some of the Churches on the Continent, and which, in reference to those Churches, he sustained towards different European powers.
In approaching the subject we meet with a singular individual, whose activity prepared for negotiations respecting spiritual matters which were carried on with foreign States through the Commonwealth ambassadors. A few notices of his early history are necessary for a clear understanding of what he did in connection with the events about to be described.
Durie and Laud.
John Durie was a Scotch Presbyterian, whose father—banished for opposing King James the Sixth of Scotland and his Bishops—went over to the city of Leyden, and there laboured as pastor of a Church consisting of British refugees. The son, who had been educated at Oxford, settled for a while at Elbing, in Prussia, just after Gustavus Adolphus had won that city from the Poles; and it happened that whilst he was residing there, he received from Casper Godeman, the Swedish Jurist, suggestions respecting a scheme of Protestant union, to which he devoted the greatest part of his life. As early as the month of April, 1633, we find him writing from Frankfort to Sir Thomas Roe—a distinguished person who was sent as ambassador to several Courts—informing him that the Swedish Chancellor, Oxenstiern, was strongly in favour of a close union between the Lutheran and Reformed Churches; and, at the same period, we discover Roe, who was then in London, corresponding with Oxenstiern, and commending such an union as of the highest importance to the interests of Germany. Hope, however, soon began to waver in the breast of the Scotch minister with regard to the Chancellor's steady pursuit of the object; on account, as he said, of "political ends and respects." Yet, in the winter of 1633, the former rejoiced in the favourable impression which his great project had produced upon the mind of Secretary Coke, and in the expectation which had been awakened of his obtaining assistance even from so influential a personage as Archbishop Laud, through Secretary Windebank. Durie succeeded in gaining access to the Prelate, and had also correspondence with him upon the subject of a Protestant union. Although it appeared that political interests came in the way of the full success which this warm advocate so much desired, yet he expressed it as his decided opinion, that his Grace of Canterbury was well affected towards the cause.[537] Like other penniless men, John Durie laboured in his self-chosen vocation at a great disadvantage, and was constrained to mix up petitions for personal assistance with appeals on behalf of his cause; but it ought to be remembered that his whole life proved the latter to be dearer to him far than any pecuniary interest whatever. The young Ambassador Oxenstiern, son of the great Chancellor, on his reaching London in March, 1634, encouraged Durie to return to Germany, where he would find that the state of affairs promised more than ever a favourable issue; at the same time assuring him also, that his father had no greater desire than to see this work of Christian charity and brotherhood perfectly accomplished. There can be no doubt that Durie's own desires were more sincere and earnest than the Chancellor's; of this he gave proof in the honest enthusiasm with which he declared to Sir Thomas Roe, that if not prohibited he would persevere; and, to use his own words, where he could not ride he would go afoot, and when he could not walk he would creep on all fours rather than not proceed. It was so grievous, he added, to see such an enterprise as his so little cherished, and he was led to suspect that a main hindrance to a prosperous result would be the complication of spiritual with political affairs.[538]
Strange as it may appear to some readers, Laud himself wrote to Roe upon the subject, and told him that he had prepared letters to both Lutherans and Calvinists, so far as it was in "any ways fit;" and that he wished Durie's labours might be crowned with a happy success. If a public act, he proceeded to observe, could be gained at the Frankfort meeting, for a reconciliation between the Churches, he thought that a footing might be thereby secured for further proceedings; but until that preliminary was accomplished he could not discern much hope. He also informed him, that although the King highly approved of the object, his Majesty could not publicly take part in the negotiations; that, as to himself, he could assure him that though he was at Court, yet he was almost as far from being able to render assistance, as was Sir Thomas Roe—inasmuch as business of this description was handled by a foreign committee, of which he did not happen to be a member.[539]
Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia, took an interest in this "treaty of the ecclesiastical peace," as Sir Thomas Roe termed it; and, in a letter to that illustrious lady, he spoke of Durie as an excellent man, whom God had "raised up to be an instrument of the greatest treaty of the age." Roe felt persuaded he should see the purpose accomplished, if, as he remarks, "it fall not by us who should most affect both the benefit and honour." Whilst Roe was writing to the Queen, Durie was writing to Roe, full of anxiety as to whether he could start equipped with such authority as he sought from princes and prelates, or "proceed in a private way;" also as to the manner in which the Hollanders, "the stiffest of all," were likely to behave; and further as to the mode in which he should proceed with the Churches of the Low Countries, because the business trenched upon their domestic controversies. The French and Swiss, he believed, were well disposed, and if he himself could but subsist in ever so mean a way, but for a year or two, his heart told him that the seed which he was sowing would spring up, although no sunshine should fall, nor any shower from England should rain upon it.[540]
Episcopal patronage and the diplomacy of statesmen effected nothing for this sanguine Apostle of union. He was left single-handed to plead the cause, as best he could, at the Evangelical Congress of Frankfort, in the year 1634, having been allowed by Sir Robert Anstruther to travel thither with him in his coach—Durie's man being "shifted sometimes in the baggage waggons, and sometimes afoot, and sometimes in the second coach." As lodgings were dear during the Diet, the good man's chamber cost him nine shillings a week, and he had "to put himself in some fashion for clothes."[541]
In the same year, Durie published his "Aliquot Theologorum Galliæ, et trium ecclesiæ Anglicanæ Episcoporum, sententia de pacis rationibus inter Evangelicos usurpandis." Davenant, Morton, and Hale, were the three Bishops referred to in the book. Other Latin treatises, on the same absorbing theme, from the same pen, followed, but without effect. The Churches of Transylvania, indeed, sent their advice and counsel; and the Divines of Sweden and Denmark listened to what the Scotchman had to say; but after all this correspondence, and after a consultation with Universities to boot, this indefatigable minister, was as far from realizing his dreams of union when Oliver Cromwell became Lord Protector, as when he waited at the doors of Lambeth Palace upon Archbishop Laud.
Protestant Alliance.
A sweeping method of promoting the Protestant Alliance was recommended by a correspondent of John Milton—which there can be no doubt would have been found quite as inoperative for the accomplishment of the end in view as the official position and influence at which it ill-naturedly sneers. "Mr. Durie," said the writer, "has bestowed about thirty years' time in travel, conference, and writings, to reconcile Calvinists and Lutherans, and that with little or no success. But the shortest way were—take away ecclesiastical dignities, honours, and preferments on both sides, and all would soon be hushed; the ecclesiastics would be quiet, and then the people would come forth into truth and liberty."[542]
Protestant Alliance.
Civil establishments of Christianity have doubtless greatly complicated such difficulties as exist in the way both of international and domestic religious union; but the deepest and most lasting source of difficulty is to be found lower down than any ecclesiastical organizations, even in human nature itself, in its blended good and evil—on the one hand, in its mistaken but honest conscientiousness, and on the other, in its selfishness, prejudice, and pride. When much ecclesiastical wealth had been confiscated, and all ecclesiastical dignities had disappeared in England, the great Protestant Alliance, floating before Durie's imagination, approached no nearer its realization than it had done before. Real Christian union can never be reached through any diplomacy of that kind, nor even through persistent endeavours such as those of the zealous individual whom we have described. It must come as the unforced result amongst sects and parties of a divine temper, such as we have never yet seen, and which we find it not in human power to command. We can but intercede that God would inspire it through His own good Spirit.
Cromwell was, perhaps, as desirous of active fellowship between Protestant Churches as was Durie; and the latter, with such a powerful person to countenance his mission, might well imagine himself within sight of the port towards which he had been steering for so many years. Thurloe, Secretary of State, and Dr. John Pell, who was the Protector's minister abroad, entered largely into the plans of this enthusiastic individual, the latter of the two being engaged in performing important missions to foreign Protestants, especially the Swiss.[543]
After repeated discouragements the ecclesiastical diplomatist returned to England, and found, to his great joy, the Protector most gracious, and the Parliament most friendly. He forwarded to Pell a resolution of the House, that his Highness "would be pleased to encourage Christian endeavours for assisting the Protestant Churches abroad"—a few kind words which Durie fondly hoped would "open a door for action." His hands might appear to be strengthened by this vote; yet he still went on spending his strength for naught. It is needless to follow him any further through his fruitless negotiations, except to state, that without "bating one jot of heart or hope," he still pressed onward; and when Cromwell's death, and the Restoration of Charles had left him without any aid from the English Government, this man of unquenchable ardour published another book on his favourite theme. Fourteen more years of Sisyphus-like labour did, indeed, dishearten him in the attempt to draw together the Lutheran and the Reformed Churches, only however, to inspire him with the resolve to attempt union upon a still larger scale; and at the same time he sought, amidst his disappointments, consolation in the study of the Apocalypse, a part of Scripture which, in his view, satisfactorily explained his want of success, its cause and its remedy. This singular person, so generous in purpose, and so persistent in toil, ended his days in Germany.[544]
Persecution of the Vaudios.
John Durie's name is further connected with the earliest intelligence conveyed to England, respecting the persecutions of the Piedmontese Protestants by the Duke of Savoy. On the 24th of February, 1655, he wrote from the pleasantly-situated town of Aarau, in Switzerland, to Mr. Pell, informing him that the Lords of Zurich had been entreating help on behalf of their brethren in Piedmont, who were now commanded either to go to mass, or to leave their native hills.[545] Just one month before this letter was written, an edict had been issued to that effect, in consequence of tumults which had disturbed the peaceful valleys, and which had arisen out of the propagandist labours of certain Capuchin friars. The zeal of the proselyting Roman Catholic had come into collision with the zeal of the primitive Vaudois. Assassinations and abductions had been added to arguments on the one side; natural indignation against such violence had arisen on the other. Savoyard troops troubled and oppressed the peasantry; the peasantry resisted the Savoyard troops; war was blazing in the green glens under the snowy hills. Then came the edict of expatriation, terrible as death to those mountaineers, who clung to the land of their fathers' sepulchres as fondly and closely as the pine trees cling to the rocks on which they grow. Totally unprepared for travelling, the peasantry received orders to depart from their native country within the space of twenty days. They were now obliged to desert their village homesteads, and make rude encampments upon heights in the neighbourhood. On the 21st of April, the sufferers wrote to the French ambassador, declaring that they were, at last, forced to take up arms in self-defence, against enemies who came to burn their houses; that never had they entertained an idea of rebelling against their royal master, the Duke of Savoy; nay, that they were ready to change their weapons "into mattocks" if he would but place them in their former condition. They referred to Roman Catholics in the vicinity as witnesses of their wrongs. They challenged investigation. They begged for mediators. They would leave all in their hands.[546] On the very day these brave and pious people thus appealed to France, Pell, in the city of Geneva, was watching the movements of Savoy, and he intimated to Secretary Thurloe that a massacre was in the wind—that the Duke took counsel from those who, under the pretence of propagating Christian faith, minded nothing so much as the advancement of the Pope's interest. Before he sealed his letter, the diplomatist added, that the Canton of Berne had sent to the Lords of Zurich, to signify that the Duke with his army was certainly descending upon the poor Protestants, so that it would be a wonder if they were not utterly destroyed before any one could come to their help. Direct intelligence of the horrid cruelties perpetrated upon the Vaudois was dispatched by Pell to Thurloe the last day of April; and upon the 8th of May following, Thurloe thus wrote to Pell:—"I do assure you it is a matter which his Highness lays very much to heart, and will rejoice to hear that other Protestants do think themselves concerned in it also. And I do not doubt but you and Mr. Durie will also contribute your utmost endeavours to make the Protestants in those parts sensible of this horrid action, and to get a true measure of their intentions about it, and to certify them hither by the first opportunity."[547]
The lion was roused; and from Cromwell's Council Chamber there went forth in that month of May such letters to foreign powers as have been rarely read—being filled with Cromwell's decision and Milton's eloquence, and with the Protestant anger which was fiercely burning in the hearts of both. Religion, and hatred of the hellish wrongs committed in its name, then stirred the government of England, and lifted her foreign diplomacy into a region far loftier than that which comes within the range of vulgar and selfish politics. Despatches—which, for their spirit, argument, and language an Englishman may be proud to read—were sent to Louis XIV., to the Duke of Savoy, to the Prince of Transylvania, to Gustavus Adolphus, to the United States of Holland, to the evangelic cities of Switzerland, to the King of Denmark, and to the Consul and Senators of Geneva. All these letters may be found in Milton's prose works; and let not the unmistakeable threat of something beyond words of indignation be overlooked in these missives. The threat did more than anything else to stop the bloodshed, and prevent its recurrence; only the wily power of France played its part of mediatorship so quickly and so cunningly, as to settle the business upon terms far less just than the Lord Protector would have exacted, had the winding up of the affair fallen into his vigorous hands.
Cromwell's Interference.
Cromwell dispatched Sir Samuel Morland as ambassador to the Duke of Savoy, and put in his possession the following speech, prepared by the same pen as that which wrote those magnificent letters:—"My most serene master, Oliver, Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland, has sent me to your Royal Highness, to whom he bids all health, life, and a long and prosperous reign, which he trusts you may enjoy, amid the greetings and good wishes of a hearty and well-affected people. He is encouraged to hope this by merits of your own—regarding the noble disposition of your Royal Highness—your birth, the high expectation formed of you, no less than the old historical amity existing between the old Kings of this realm and the House of Savoy, which he calls to mind. My most serene and good master it has pleased, to send me on a mission of importance, though I am but a youth, unripe and unpractised, yet devoted to your Royal Highness, and a hearty friend to the interests of Italy. King Crœsus, according to the old story, had a son who was born dumb, yet he, the moment he saw a soldier aiming a wound at his father, recovered his tongue. Even so it is with me. My tongue this day is unloosed by those cruel wounds dealt at our mother, the Church—unloosed to plead a cause on which the safety and all the hopes of many turn, trusting, as they do, by loyalty, obedience, and lowliest prayers, to pacify the heart of your Royal Highness, now turned against them. In the cause of these distressed people—if even pity may improve their plight—his Highness, the Protector of England, comes forward as a suitor, and earnestly prays and beseeches your Royal Highness to vouchsafe to grant mercy to these poor and exiled subjects, who, dwelling at the roots of the Alps, in certain vales under your rule, have given their name to the religion of Protestants. He has heard a fact—no one will dare to say it was done by consent of your Royal Highness—that these wretched people have been, some of them, cruelly slaughtered by your troops—some of them driven out by force, thrust out from their dwelling-place and country, homeless, houseless, penniless, utterly destitute, have gone over rough and inhospitable tracts, over hills heaped high with snow—gone as vagrants with their wives and children. If there be any truth in the report everywhere heard—would, indeed, it were a false report!—what deed of horror was not done, or unattempted in those days. Everywhere was the sight of smoking houses, mutilated limbs, and the earth reeking with blood, nay, maidens expired in wretched agony, after being atrociously violated—even the aged and the sick were burnt with fire, infants were dashed on the rocks, and the brains of others cooked and eaten,—horrible wickedness, and unheard of before cruelty. O good God! such as the heroes of all times and ages, if they were to come to life this very day, would have been ashamed of, seeing that they had never invented aught so inhuman. Nay, even angels shudder, mortals are amazed, the very heaven itself seems astonished at these outcries, and the earth blushes at the blood of so many innocent persons overspreading it. Do not thou, O God, Most High!—do not thou require the vengeance due to this deed! Wash out, O Christ! with Thy blood this stain. Nay, I will not tell them in order, nor dwell longer on these details; and what my serene master asks, you will better learn from his letters."[548]
Several ministers of the City of London waited upon the Protector to solicit his sympathy and assistance on behalf of the sufferers, for which request he thanked them, and declared that he was extremely shocked at the tidings which he had received. He afterwards assured the Dutch ambassador that he was moved to his very soul by all he had heard—that he was ready to venture his all for the protection of Protestantism—that in this cause he would swim or perish—and that the example of Ireland was fresh in his memory, where he said 200,000 souls had been inhumanly massacred.[549]
Collections for the Sufferers.
By the end of June, 1655, collections were on foot throughout England; and even the French ambassador was not exempted from contributing to the fund, although, he says, he had as much need of charity as the Piedmontese. A few days later, the same gentleman wrote home declaring, that the gatherings amounted to a vast sum, for everybody gave something, to seem charitable, and the ministers "played their parts to some purpose to stir the people up to assist their persecuted brethren."[550] How the clergy in Genevan cloaks, with hour-glasses by their side, thundered forth anathemas against Rome, and appealed to the hearts and purses of their crowded congregations in those summer weeks, can be readily imagined; and that the appeals were followed by great success the Dutch ambassador indicates when, writing to the States General on the 16th of July, he says: "Several persons have assured me that the collection doth amount to above £100,000."[551]
Proceedings of the Committee.
A committee was formed by order of his Highness and the Council, to superintend the business involved in this enterprise of beneficence, and the members of that committee appear to have diligently discharged their duties; for they collected information respecting the whole subject, they corresponded with the sufferers, they consulted as to the best methods of relief, and they bestowed much time and thought upon the appropriation of the money, minute accounts of it being kept, and carefully audited from time to time.[552] In the month of June we find them resolving to prepare a narrative of events, to be accompanied by letters patent for making collections through the medium of ministers and churchwardens, both publicly and from house to house,—each contributor being requested to write down his name with the amount of his donation, and each parish to return an accurate schedule of subscriptions. When some of the money had been distributed to meet immediate necessities, the committee further resolved in the following January to request his Highness to take into consideration how the poor Piedmontese Protestants were to be provided for in the future—because the residue of the money raised would be in time exhausted, and then they would be left in a lingering condition, if their security and their subsistence were not provided for in some other way. A paper, laid before them by Morland the same month, suggested—forasmuch as letters from Geneva and other places recently received, had informed them of the roads to the valleys being stopped up by an abundance of snow, and as, in all probability, the inhabitants were in great extremities, and the remittances last sent were exhausted—that his Highness and the Council would be graciously pleased to consider what sum should be forwarded for their relief. In a letter from Geneva, dated the 14th of February, 1657, it is related—"our poor people are in extreme necessity, the greatest part of our families being destitute of houses, movables, cattle, or anything else whereby to subsist. For although there was lately a considerable distribution made, yet the greatest part of our people were more indebted than their portion amounted to, for bread and other sustenance, which they had been forced to take upon trust before, to preserve themselves from perishing with hunger. If you did but know, sirs, the greatness of our miseries, you would certainly have compassion on us, and pity our sad condition. God is now in good earnest chastising us for our sins and iniquities, to which we most willingly submit, kissing the rod, and confessing that He is still just and righteous."
Under date June the 5th, 1657, there exists a document signed by the Protector (with a trembling hand) recommending that the widow of one of the Vaudois, who had been put to death in the massacre, should receive an exhibition of £100, and such further sum as "will release her son out of prison and be a little help to her present support." Probably to the same year belongs another paper, in which war is anticipated between the Protestant cantons and their Popish enemies. It contains proposals to aid the belligerents by means of the remainder of the funds which had been collected two years before. "This just and seasonable way of the disposal of these moneys will yet more fully appear if it be considered, that a good part thereof hath been already sent for the relief of the present necessities of the Waldenses, and that the portion intended for the succour of the Protestant cantons is only to be lent to them upon very good security, to be repaid, for the use of those to whom it was given—there being likewise a very considerable sum still remaining in readiness for them, as their urgent pressures shall require, and they be able to receive it. To all which we may add the necessity of this proceeding in regard to that sum, the late collection—such great alterations have happened both by the wars amongst the cantons, and that unhappy compliance of the Waldenses with the Duke of Savoy (formerly related), as that a great part of the money collected will otherwise be as a dead stock in Guildhall; the loan of which for a little time may, by God's blessing, be a means to preserve both the Protestant cantons and also the distressed Waldenses for whom the collection was made."[553]
The pacification which had taken place in the month of August, 1655, putting a stop to the outrages upon the Protestants, was, as to its terms, considered by Morland, the envoy, very unsatisfactory; for which terms he greatly blamed the Swiss ambassadors. He looked on such a peace as worse than the continuance of war, and mourned over the scandal that the sufferers should have been forced to confess themselves guilty of rebellion. Thurloe, representing the Government at home, sent out instructions to the minister to complain to the Bernese of the unfair conditions which they had sanctioned; to let them know it was everywhere amongst Protestants "laid to heart;" to attempt arresting the ratification of the treaty; and to "prosecute its amendment." Allusion occurs to "the sixty thousand pounds voluntarily gathered in England for the relief of these people;" and then the instructions end with the clause—"that the treaty between his Highness and the King of France is agreed, but that his Highness will not sign it until he have satisfaction in this business of Piedmont—and that as he hath caused a large contribution to be made for them, so that he cannot nor will not desert them."[554] To write thus, however, was at that time too late, the Swiss States, through fear of France, having already agreed to the ratification.
Cromwell and Louis XIV.
Three years afterwards, Cromwell, upon learning that the treaty had been violated, and apprehending the occurrence of fresh massacres, wrote once more to Louis XIV. In a letter dated May, 1658:—"New Levies," he said, "are privately preparing against 'em, and all that embrace the Protestant Religion are commanded to depart by a prefix'd day; so that all things seem to threaten the utter extermination of those deplorable wretches whom the former massacre spar'd. Which I most earnestly beseech and conjure ye, most Christian King, by that RIGHT HAND which sign'd the League and Friendship between us, by that same goodly ornament of your Title of MOST CHRISTIAN, by no means to suffer, nor to permit such liberty of Rage and Fury, uncontroul'd we will not say, in any Prince (for certainly such barbarous severity could never enter the breast of any Prince, much less so tender in years, nor into the female Thoughts of his mother), but in those sanctify'd cut-throats who, professing themselves to be the Servants and Disciples of our Saviour Christ, who came into this World to save Sinners, abuse His meek and peaceful name and precepts to the most cruel slaughter of the Innocent. Rescue, you that are able in your tow'ring Station, worthy to be able, rescue so many Suppliants prostrate at your feet, from the hands of Ruffians who, lately drunk with Blood, again thirst after it, and think it their safest way to throw the Odium of their Cruelty upon Princes. But as for you, great Prince, suffer not, while you reign, your Titles, nor the Confines of your Kingdom, to be contaminated with this same Heaven-offering Scandal, nor the peaceful Gospel of Christ to be defil'd with such abominable Cruelty."[555]
1658.
Whether prevented by Cromwell's remonstrance or not, the horrors anticipated did not occur; although, after the Protector's death, and the restoration of Charles II., the unhappy Vaudois were again plunged into the miseries of war. The letter just quoted ends Milton's immortal correspondence on the subject—a correspondence which moves with admiration the depth of one's soul: whenever since that time has the Protestantism of England burnt with such a vivid and steady light in the midst of her foreign diplomacy?
Other Persecuted Protestants.
Nor were the Piedmontese the only foreign Protestants who excited sympathy in the breast of the Protector, and amongst the reformed Churches of England. Brethren in Poland and Silesia had suffered exile for their faith; and, on their behalf, as in the case of the Vaudois, collections were promptly ordered to be made. The same thing was effected in the case of the persecuted Bohemians. A committee was appointed in this instance, as in the former one, and a declaration was drawn up touching the condition of the Polish Protestants. "If a cup of cold water," says that document, "given to one disciple as such, shall not lose its reward, how much more when a bountiful relief is given to more than five thousand disciples; which we should be the more forward to advance, because they acknowledge they have received much confirmation in the religion for which they suffer by light received from our countryman, John Wicklif, that famous witness of Christ against Antichrist, even in the darkest times of Popery." A letter, by John Durie, begged an extension of charity to other suffering Protestants in Germany; and another letter, by Morland, stated:—"There are above five thousand left whom God hath snatched out of their cruel rage, wandering miserable, naked, and, indeed, reduced unto plain beggary. There remains no refuge for them but in God, and those who in God's stead do watch for the good of the Church."
Upon its being represented that the Papists had burned Bibles printed in the Bohemian and Polonese languages, and that the exiled Protestants were in great want of the Scriptures, it was ordered that out of the fund collected for the relief of the sufferers, the sum of £1,000 should be paid to procure for them copies of the Word of God. In another document amongst the papers of the Committee, it is said:—"The poor exiled Churches are in great want of this spiritual food, as of their daily bread, and desire rather to take something from their mouths to supply the necessity of their souls." The Committee was resolved that the cause of these sufferers should be commended to the King of Sweden, to be remembered in any treaty of peace between him and the King of Poland.[556]
1658.
The French Protestants were indebted to Cromwell for effectual protection when they were exposed to imminent danger. Some of them, who were citizens of Nismes in Languedoc, had, amidst the excitement of a municipal election, been betrayed into acts of very great violence, and had even assailed their opponents with a volley of musket shot, upon which the French Government despatched a party of troops to take vengeance upon the offenders. The successors of the Huguenots in that ancient city, justly fearing, that as chastisement had been entrusted to the hands of the soldiers, the innocent would be liable to suffer with the guilty, despatched a representative to Cromwell to request his intercession on their behalf. The Protector gave him an audience immediately upon his arrival, and invited him to "refresh himself after so long a journey, and he would take such care of his business that by the time he came to Paris he should find it despatched." That very night he sent a messenger to his ambassador Lockhart, with a despatch commanding him to secure mercy on behalf of the Protestant citizens of Nismes, or take his departure from the French Court. Mazarin complained of this as being too imperious, but confessed that he could not help himself in the matter; and orders were forthwith sent to arrest the march of the troops. "So that nobody," remarks Clarendon who relates this incident, can wonder that Cromwell's "memory remains still in those parts, and with those people, in great veneration." In other ways also the Protector made the Cardinal feel and acknowledge his great power. For, as his Eminence told Madame Turenne, "he knew not how to behave himself; if he advised the King to punish and suppress" the insolence of the Protestants, Cromwell "threatened him to join with the Spaniards, and if he shewed any favour to them, at Rome they accounted him a heretic."[557]
Cromwell's Foreign Policy.
Nothing could surpass the zeal of Cromwell in the support of the Protestant interest at home and abroad. Burnet, on the authority of Stoupe,[558] informs us that he contemplated a sort of anti-propagandist society, to be conducted by seven councillors and four secretaries for four provinces. France, Switzerland, and the Valleys were to be the first; the Palatinate and other Calvinistic countries the second; Germany, the North, and Turkey, the third; and the East and West Indies the fourth. The secretaries were to maintain a correspondence throughout the world so as to watch and promote the spread of Protestantism everywhere. They were to be paid salaries of £500 a year each, and to have at their disposal a fund of £10,000 for ordinary contingencies. Chelsea College, then an old and decayed building, was constituted the head quarters of this mission; and thus, as it was said, those premises were restored to something like the very purpose in reference to which Laud had nicknamed the place "Controversy College"—whilst "the Papists, in derision, gave it the name of an alehouse."[559]
Treatment of the Jews.
The condition of the Jews received attention from the Protector principally with regard to their social status in England. Cromwell wished to concede to them liberty of trade and of worship, and to grant them both synagogues and cemeteries; but prejudice against the people of Israel, which had been nursed throughout the middle ages, and had not yet expired, proved too strong even for the iron will of England's ruler to overcome. The inveterate intolerance which down to our day excluded them from a full share in political rights, then resisted even their moderate claims to a home, a house of prayer, and a grave on British soil. Not only the narrow-minded Mr. Prynne, but even Durie—with all his zeal for union amongst Protestants, as fellow-religionists—contended earnestly against the participation of the Jews in the social rights which were enjoyed by Christians. Men of that class contended that to tolerate Israelites was a sin; that they would seduce the English people; that their possession of religious freedom would be a scandal to Christian Churches; that their customs were unlawful; and that association with them would prove injurious to morals and mischievous to trade. It was all in vain to answer, as did certain Divines—who were themselves by no means free from popular prejudice—that no civil or ecclesiastical authority was intended to be conferred upon the Jews; that they would not be allowed to defame the Christian religion, or work on the Christian Sabbath, or have Christian servants; that they would not be allowed to discourage efforts for their conversion; and that penalties would be inflicted on any person who might apostatize from Christianity to Judaism. The ground of defence thus laid for the scanty toleration which was proposed indicates what erroneous ideas existed, even under the Commonwealth, as to the fundamental principles of civil and religious liberty.[560] But Cromwell, though not perceiving all which the subsequent teaching of Divine Providence has made known to us, saw much further than many of his contemporaries who in theological matters were more learned than himself. Guided by the instinct of genius, and moved by the impulse of charity, he was prepared to allow, even to the hated sons of Jacob, the rights of industry and worship; and doing so, this great man aroused unfair suspicions on the part of people who ought to have known better.[561] A feeling of interest respecting the children of Israel appeared in other quarters, and certain individuals, with no mere proselyting zeal, watched the movements of God's ancient nation, and longed to witness its conversion to the faith of Jesus Christ.[562]
