About the beginning of 1637, “an order came from the archbishop (Laud) to this town, that the ground at the east end of the churches should be raised; the communion table (or altar) placed at the upper end of the churches, under the east windows; and that they be decently railed in, and steps made to ascend thereto.”—This was evidently undoing what Elizabeth and her reformers had done at the beginning of her reign; for the ground at the upper or east end of the churches was then ordered, as we have seen, to be levelled with that in the other parts of them. That queen and her prelates were certainly quite high enough in their notions about these matters, and yet we see that they come not nearly up to Charles and Laud. Neither of these had any dislike to popery, provided they could be themselves at the head of it. Nor would it be a very easy matter to point out the time when the spirit of popery was more predominant, than it was in the church of England in the detestable reign of the first Charles, and under the vile administration and superintendence of archbishop Laud. The latter was a sworn and mortal enemy to both civil and religious liberty, as the whole tenor of his conduct shews. In short, he was no less superstitious, than intolerant, tyrannical, and cruel, as this order which he sent to Lynn, and many other parts of his conduct clearly evince: and he may be very safely said to have contributed largely to accelerate the ruin of the cause which he had espoused, and the downfal of the church of which he was unworthily the chief metropolitan. Laud has been often represented as very learned: but it was paying learning but a poor compliment, as it appears to have done little, or rather nothing at all towards humanizing him, or softening his hard heart, and subduing the bigotry, intolerance, and unfeelingness, which were in him so preeminently conspicuous and predominant. Severities and terrors which most of the vulgar or unlearned protestant persecutors would have deemed sufficient, could not satisfy him: cropping or cutting off the ears, and slitting the noses of those who openly objected to his proceedings, were among his favourite forms of discipline, and what passed with him as justifiable and wholesome severities. His atrocities at last recoiled upon him with a vengeance, and he became the unpitied victim of his own system of terror and tyranny. CHAP. III. Account of reputed WITCHES, of this and subsequent periods, at Lynn and some other places—inexcusable severity of their sufferings—brutality of their persecutors—barbaric stupidity and infatuated credulity of the people and their rulers.