Untitled - Rore Sanctifica

1636 and 1866. 119
and saw -with regret the steady widening of
that breach which had been by some so rashly
and by others so deliberately created. Few,
even of the farsighted, perceived the full drift
of what had been done, while none realized how
thoroughly a principle
of disunion had been
accepted and acted upon in the changes,
efficiently made, of the last eighty years. Yet
the memorials of the
past were not altogether
lost, and the wisest of those who welcomed the
new king saw that what had been so unhappily
effected in previous reigns, might by tact and
co-operation be considerably weakened or un
done now. Complications of difficulties, both at
home and abroad, led to a seeking out of the
ancient and long-forgotten principles
of au
. so
thority and obedience ; while the religious
sentiments of the many, which were deeply
seated, efficiently aided the search. For awhile
the stern authority of those in high places,
boldly exercised, was sufficient to keep law
lessness and licence in check. Acts of Parlia
ment and Privy-Council warrants were found
tf
to be exceedingly powerful for the work in
hand : so that, after the changes of the Reo
formation, the great bulk of the people were
legally compelled to be grateful for blessings
and benefits which seemed to a clear majority
of them rather losses and misfortunes than
otherwise; while Antinomians, Brownists, and