The Oaths of Allegiance had at an early period been readily taken by the Commons, only two of them refusing to swear. In the other House a vast majority of the lay and spiritual Lords had complied with the law, but certain Bishops had been incapacitated, or were reluctant in compliance; others altogether refused to submit to authority. In the Journal of the Lords for the 18th of March, amongst notices of absence, we find the Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield described as “ill of the strangury and the stone;” the Bishop of Worcester as “weak in body,” and very aged; and the Bishop of St. David’s as writing a letter of excuse, not at all satisfactory. This last Prelate, who had for some time been mistrusted by his brethren, consulted Sir John Reresby, who told him to fall back on his own conscience. The next day the Bishop took the oath.[122] But the Primate Sancroft, Lake of Chichester, Turner of Ely, Lloyd of Norwich, Ken of Bath and Wells, Frampton of Gloucester, White of Peterborough, and Thomas of Worcester, steadily refused, and came forward as vanguard to that body of which we shall have more to say hereafter. The oath was taken by the Clergy in various ways. Some, who objected to its being imposed, felt they could adopt it conscientiously. Some questioned the lawfulness of it, and did not blame the Nonjurors, but themselves took the benefit of the doubt. Some swore with a certain reserve, expressing the sense in which they explained the obligation with “an implicit relaxation” of the meaning of the words. Others, at a loss to determine the point, yielded to the opinions of lawyers and divines.[123] [Sidenote: 1689.]