amusements of the people were restored, and once more the village green was the scene of mirth and jollity. It seemed as if Puritanism was dead, so great was the change from the days of Cromwell. Nevertheless, the sober middle class of England was still Puritan, and the earnestness and strong sense of duty which marked Puritan teaching left a lasting impression on the English people. Meanwhile many improvements had been introduced during the preceding fifty years. In James I’s. reign, the post office for foreign letters had been established; silk-weaving had been encouraged; low-lying lands had been drained; and improvements had been made in agriculture. A little later, stage-coaches began to run between the chief towns, and letters were carried more frequently from place to place. The north of England was thinly inhabited, and highwaymen levied toll at pleasure from travellers over the lonely moors. Even judges had to be protected while going on circuit.
4. Religious Persecution.—And now the Puritans and Presbyterians were to find out how much truth there was in Charles’ promise of religious freedom. In Scotland, where Charles had signed the Covenant, bishops were forced upon the people, and the Covenanters were fiercely persecuted and hunted down. The Cavalier Parliament was resolved that no form of religious worship should be allowed except that of the English Church in the time of Laud; so it passed, in 1661, a “Corporation Act” which compelled all officials in the towns and cities to take an oath of non-resistance to the king, and to receive the sacrament in the English Church. The next year, 1662, an “Act of Uniformity” was passed, which allowed no minister to preach or act as pastor unless he was ordained by a bishop, and used the Prayer-Book. So, on St. Bartholomew’s Day, Aug. 24th, 1662, more than 2,000 of the ablest and most devoted of the English Church clergy were driven from their charges. They formed congregations of their own, which became known as “Dissenters,” the name yet given to all Protestants in England who do not belong to the English Church. Not content with these cruel laws, a “Conventicle Act” was passed in 1664, forbidding the Dissenters from worshipping in chapels or conventicles; and in 1665, the “Five Mile Act” forbade their ministers from preaching or teaching within five miles of any
