“the serpent with seven heads cast out of his mouth water after the woman like a flood, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood:  But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon had cast out of his mouth.”  For the Queen having changed her ministry suitable to her own wisdom, and the wishes of her subjects, and having called a free Parliament; at the same time summoned the convocation, by her royal writ,[10] “as in all times had been accustomed,” and soon after their meeting, sent a most gracious letter[11] to the Archbishop of Canterbury, to be communicated to the bishops and clergy of his province; taking notice of “the loose and profane principles which had been openly scattered and propagated among her subjects:  that the consultations of the clergy were particularly requisite to repress and prevent such daring attempts, for which her subjects, from all parts of the kingdom, have shown their just abhorrence.  She hopes, the endeavours of the clergy, in this respect, will not be unsuccessful; and for her part, is ready to give them all fit encouragement, to proceed in the dispatch of such business as properly belongs to them; and to grant them powers requisite to carry on so good a work.”  In conclusion, “earnestly recommending to them, to avoid disputes, and determining to do all that in her lies to compose and extinguish them.”

It is to be hoped, that this last part of her Majesty’s letter, will be the first she will please to execute; for, it seems, this very letter created the first dispute.[12] The fact whereof is thus related:  The Upper House having formed an address to the QUEEN, before they received her Majesty’s letter, sent both address and letter together, to the Lower House, with a message, excusing their not mentioning the letter in the address, because this was formed before the other was received:[l3] The Lower House returned them, with a desire, that an address might be formed, with due regard and acknowledgments for the letter.  After some difficulties, the same address was sent down again with a clause inserted, making some short mention of the said letter.  This the Lower House did not think sufficient, and sent it back again with the same request:  whereupon the archbishop, after a short consultation with some of his brethren, immediately adjourned the convocation for a month, and no address at all was sent to the QUEEN.

I understand not ecclesiastical affairs well enough to comment upon this matter;[14] but it seems to me, that all methods of doing service to the Church and kingdom, by means of a convocation, may be at any time eluded, if there be no remedy against such an incident.  And if this proceeding be agreeable to the institution, spiritual assemblies must needs be strangely contrived, very different from any lay senate yet known in the world.  Surely, from the nature of such a synod, it must be a very unhappy circumstance, when the majority