Page:General History of Europe 1921.djvu/484

 360 General History of Europe III. THE RESTORATION 615. The Restoration; Charles II (leeo-iess). After Crom- well 's death his son Richard, who succeeded him, found himself unable to carry on the government. He soon abdicated, and the remnants of the Long Parliament met once more. But that bdfly soon peacefully disbanded of its own accord. The nation was glad to acknowledge Charles II, whom everyone preferred to a govern- ment by soldiers. A new Parliament, composed of both houses, was assembled, which welcomed a messenger from the king and solemnly resolved that "according to the ancient and funda- mental laws of this kingdom, the government is, and ought to be, by king, lords, and commons." Thus the Puritan revolution and the short-lived republic were followed b<y the Restoration of the Stuarts. Charles II was quite as fond as his father of having his own way, but he was a man of more ability. He disliked to be ruled by Parliament, but, unlike his father, he was too wise to arouse the nation against him. He did not propose to let anything happen which would send him on his travels again. He and his courtiers led a gay life in sharp contrast to the Puritan ideas. 616. Religious Measures adopted by Parliament. Charles's first Parliament was a moderate body, but his second was made up almost wholly of Cavaliers, and it got along, on the whole, so well with the king that he did not dissolve it for eighteen years. It did not take up the old question, which was still unsettled, as to whether Parliament or the king was really supreme. It showed its hostility, however, to the Puritans by a series of intolerant laws, which are very important in English history. An effort was made to exclude Presbyterians and Independents from town offices. By the Act of Uniformity (1662) any clergyman who refused to accept everything in the Book of Common Prayer was to be excluded from holding his benefice. That many disagreed with the Anglican Church is shown by the fact that two thousand clergymen thereupon resigned their positions for conscience' sake. These laws tended to throw all those Protestants who refused