“A solemn conference both by word and writing betwixt him and the Prior of the English Benedictines at Paris, supposed to be Robinson.  The argument was concerning the validity of the ordination of our priests, &c., in the Church of England.  The issue was, our Doctor had the better so far, that he could never get from the Prior any reply to his last answer.  This conference was undertaken to fix a person of honour then wavering about that point; the sum of which conference (as I am informed), was written by Dr. Cosin to Dr. Morley, the now Right Reverend Lord Bishop of Winchester, in two letters bearing date June 11, July 11, 1645.”

The substance of this conference has been preserved among the Smith Manuscripts in the Bodleian Library; but it is not in the form of letters to Dr. Morley.  Vol. xl. of this valuable collection of manuscripts contains (as described in Smith’s table of contents):—­

    1.  “Papers of Bp.  Cosins in defence of the Ordination of the
    Church of England against father Prior.

    “The first of these is Bp.  Cosin’s Review of the Father’s
    Letter, &c. [the title-page is placed at p. 77.]

    “Then follows a letter (which is indeed the Bishop’s first
    paper, and should be put first) from Bishop Cosin to the Father.

    “After that the Father’s Answer to Bishop Cosin’s Review at p.
    81.

    “Then come two other papers about the validity of our
    Ordination, with a preface concerning the occasion, p. 89.”

    2.  “Then, p. 101., A Letter from a Rom.  Cath. to a Lady about
    communicating in one kind,—­with Bishop Cosin’s Answer.”

    3.  “Lastly, in p. 123., is A Letter of Bp.  Cosin’s to Dr.
    Collins concerning the Sabbath.”

The order in which the papers under the first head, about our English ordination, should fall, appears to be as follows:—­

1.  There is a note attached to p. 65., evidently written by Dr. Tho.  Smith himself in the following words: 

    “Transcript of several papers of Bishop Cosin’s sent to me by
    Dr. J. Smith, Prebendary of Durham.—­T.S.”

2.  At p. 77. the title-page is given thus: 

“A Review of a Letter sent from F.P.R. to a Lady (whom he would have persuaded to the Rom. party) in Opposition to a former paper given him for the defence of the Church of England in the Ordination of Priests.”

To this are appended the respective forms of ordering priests used in the Church of England and in the Roman Church.

3.  Then, at p. 89., we have the “occasion of this ...  Discourse concerning the Ordination of Priests,” &c.  This is a kind of preface, which contains the first paper that was given to the Prior, dated June 14, 1645; also another paper, bearing date July 11, 1645, but ending abruptly in the middle of a sentence, and having written below it (probably in Dr. J. Smith’s hand) the following note: