and of a revived attachment to the
reigning House were becoming daily more numerous.

Before he had had a chance to test the strength of the existing
political parties and to know how things really stood, Charles had
borne himself very discreetly toward the Presbyterians, and had
held out hopes to them which, as the event proved, were destined
never to be realized. In a declaration put forth in the autumn of
1660, after he had been for some months on English soil, he had even
gone so far as to say: "When we were in Holland we were attended
by many grave and learned ministers from hence, who were looked
upon as the most able and principal asserters of the Presbyterian
opinions; with whom we had as much conference as the multitude of
affairs which were then upon us would permit us to have, and to
our great satisfaction and comfort found them persons full of
affection to us, of zeal for the peace of the Church and State, and
neither enemies, as they have been given out to be, to episcopacy
or liturgy, but modestly to desire such alterations in either,
as without shaking foundations might best allay the present
distempers."

By the time the conference met it had become evident, from votes
taken in Parliament and otherwise, that the Churchmen could sustain
toward their opponents a somewhat stiffer attitude than this without
imperilling their cause. Another great advantage enjoyed by the
Episcopalians grew out of the fact that they were the party in
possession. They had only to profess themselves satisfied with the
Prayer Book as it stood, in order to throw the Presbyterians into
the position of assailants, and defense is always easier than
attack. Sheldon, the Bishop of London, was not slow to perceive
this. At the very first meeting of the conference, he is reported
to have said that "as the Non-conformists, and not the bishops, had
sought for the conference, nothing could be done till the former
had delivered their exceptions in writing, together with the
additional forms and alterations which they desired." Upon which
Bishop Burnet in his _History of his own Times_ remarks: "Sheldon
saw well what the effect would be of putting them to make all their
demands at once. The number of them raised a mighty outcry against
them, as people that could never be satisfied."

The Presbyterians, however, took up the challenge, set to work at
formulating their objections, and appointed Richard Baxter, the most
famous of their numb