Considering that the king had been led to distrust the Catholics through
the two lately discovered plots in which some of their number had taken
part, the best policy for those who remained loyal, and these were by
far the majority, would have been to have taken every opportunity of
displaying their faithfulness to their sovereign, and, for those whose
position so entitled them, to present themselves as often as they
conveniently could at his Court, even if their welcome was somewhat
cold. Digby chose to follow an exactly opposite course. He went to Court
on James's accession and received knighthood, and then he returned to
the country, only visiting London occasionally, and then not going to
Court. Like his fellow-Catholics, he at first entertained hopes that the
new king was about to exhibit toleration, and as much as any of them was
he disappointed and embittered as time speedily began to prove the
contrary. One cause of Sir Everard Digby's disgust at the aspect of
affairs, early in James the First's reign, may have been that, as a
courtier, he had expected much from the Queen's being a Catholic,[82]
and that not only did no apparent good come of it, but her example gave
the greatest discouragement, as well as grave scandal, to such of her
subjects as professed her own religion. Indeed, all that can safely be
said of her Catholicism, is that she was[83] "a Catholic, so far, at
least, as her pleasure-loving nature allowed her to be of any religion
at all." Nevertheless, "she took great delight in consecrated,"--or, as
Catholics would say, blessed or sacred--"objects." She had allowed
herself to be crowned by[84] "a Protestant Archbishop; but when the time
arrived for the reception of the Communion, she remained immovable on
her seat, leaving the King to partake alone." "Enthusiastic Catholics
complained that she had no heart for anything but festivities and
amusements, and during the rest of her life she attended the services of
the church sufficiently to enable the Government to allege that she was
merely an enemy of Puritanical strictness." On one occasion, the
king,[85] "with some difficulty," had actually "induced her to receive
the Communion with him at Salisbury, but she had been much vexed with
herself since, and had refused to do it again. On Christmas Day she had
accompanied him to Church, but since then he found it impossible to
induce her to be present at a Protestant service. At one time Sir
Anthony Standen, a Catholic, was employed by James on a mission to some
of the Italian States, and he brought home with him some objects of
devotion, as a present from the Pope to the Queen of England. These
delighted her; yet, when the king heard of them, they were returned to
the Pope through the Nuncio in Paris."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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