THE

DUCHESS OF YORK'S PAPER DEFENDED.

PROLEGOMENA.

SOON after the Accession of James the Second,
was published by his Majesty's order, and dispersed
very sedulously throughout England, " Copies of two
Papers written by the late King Charles the Second,
and found in his strong-box;" the tendency of which
was, to prove that there could be but one true church,
which was that of Rome. To these was subjoined,
A Copy of a Paper written by his first wife, Anne,
Duchess of York; in which, for the satisfaction of
her friends, she stated the motives that induced her
to become a convert to the Roman Catholick religion.
An ANSWER to these three papers was written by
Dr. Edward Stillingfleet, and published in 4to. in
1686; which produced in the same year,
FENCE of the Papers written by the late King, of
blessed Memory, and the Duchess of York, against
the ANSWER made to them: By command:" to which
in January, 1686-7, Stillingfleet replied, in a piece
containing 118 quarto pages, and entitled "A
VINDICATION of the ANSWER," &c.-His name is
not annexed to either of the tracts.

"A DE

The DEFENCE, which is anonymous, has been attributed to our author; but it appears from his own

"

statement in the Preface to THE HIND AND THE PANTHER, that he was the author of only the Third Part of that tract, namely, that which concerns the Duchess of York. "I refer myself (says he) to the judgment of those who have read the Answer to the Defence of the late King's Papers, and that of the Duchess, (in which last I was concerned,) how charitably I have been represented there." That the words-in which last, mean, not the DEFENCE in general, as contradistinguished from Stillingfleet's ANSWER, but the Defence of the Duchess of York's paper, as distinguished from those of the King, appears from what he adds afterwards in that preface, which relates solely to the paper of her Royal Highness. It may also be added, that the colour of the style in this Defence of the third or Duchess of York's paper, is very different from that of the two preceding parts, (which contains many extracts from the Fathers,) and that it has much of our author's

manner.

COPY OF A PAPER

WRITTEN BY

THE LATE DUCHESS OF YORK, &c.

Ir is

T is so reasonable to expect that a person always bred up in the church of England, and as well instructed in the doctrine of it, as the best divines, and her capacity could make her, should

be liable to many censures for leaving that, and making herself a member of the Roman Catholick Church, to which, I confess, I was one of the greatest enemies it ever had; that I rather choose to satisfy my friends by reading this paper, than to have the trouble to answer all the questions that may be daily asked me. And first, I do protest in the presence of Almighty God, that no person, man or woman, directly or indirectly, ever said any thing to me since I came into England, or used the least endeavour to make me change my religion: it is a blessing I wholly owe to Almighty GOD, and I hope, the hearing of a prayer I daily made him ever since I was in France and Flanders; where, seeing much of the devotion of the catholicks, (though I had very little myself,) I made my continual request to Almighty God, that, if I were not, I might, before I died, be in the true religion. I did not in the least doubt but that I was so, and never had any scruple till November last, when reading a book called THE HISTORY OF THE REFORMATION, by Dr. Heylin, which I had heard very much commended, and have been told if ever I had any doubt of my religion, that would settle me; instead of which, I found it the description of the horridest sacrileges in the world ; and could find no reason why we left the church, but for three, the most abominable ones that were ever heard of among Christians. First, Henry VIII. renounces the Pope's authority, because he would not give him leave to part with his wife,

it

and marry another in her life-time. Secondly, Edward VI. was a child, and governed by his uncle, who made his estate out of church lands; and then Queen Elizabeth, who, being no lawful heiress to the crown, could have no way to keep it but by renouncing a church that could never suffer so unlawful a thing to be done by one of her children. I confess I cannot think the Holy Ghost could ever be in such counsels; and it is very strange, that if the Bishops had no design but (as they say) the restoring us to the doctrine of the primitive church, they could never think upon it, till Henry VIII. made the breach upon SO unlawful a pretence. These scruples being raised, I began to consider of the difference between the catholicks and us, and examined them as well as I could by holy scripture, which, though I do not pretend to be able to understand, yet there are some things I found so easy, that I cannot but wonder I had been so long without finding them out; as, the real presence in the blessed Sacrament, the infallibility of the church, confession, and praying for the dead. After this I spoke severally to two of the Bishops' we have in England, who both told me there were many things in the Romish church, which it were very much to be wished we had kept; as confession, which was no doubt commanded by God; that praying for the dead was one of the ancient things in Christianity;

5 Sheldon, Archbishop of Canterbury. - Blanford, Bishop of Worcester.-Original Note.

that for their parts, would not own it.

they did it daily, though they And afterwards, pressing one of them" very much upon the other points, he told me, that if he had been bred a catholick, he would not change his religion; but that being of another church, (wherein he was sure were all things necessary to salvation,) he thought it very ill to give that scandal, as to leave that church wherein he received his baptism.

All these discourses did but add more to the desire I had to be a catholick, and gave me the most terrible agonies in the world within myself; for all this, fearing to be rash in a matter of that weight, I did all I could to satisfy myself; made it my daily prayer to GOD, to settle me in the right; and so went on Christmas-day to receive in the King's Chapel: after which, I was more troubled than ever, and could never be at quiet, till I had told my design to a catholick, who brought a priest to me; and that was the first I ever did converse with, upon my word. The more I spoke to him, the more I was confirmed in my design; and as it is impossible for me to doubt the words of our blessed Saviour, who says-the holy Sacrament is his body and blood, so cannot believe that he, who is the Author of all truth, and has promised to be "with his church to the end of the woild," would permit them to give that holy mystery to the laity but in one kind, if it were not lawful so to do.

"Bishop of Worcester.-Original Note.