Page:History of England (Froude) Vol 7.djvu/42

 22 REIGN OF ELIZABETH. [CH. 41. they were prepared for immediate rebellion they must move more cautiously. itfa. The first effect of their disappointment was August a cur i ous one> On the 7th of August de Qua- dra wrote to the Spanish minister at Rome begging him to ask the Pope in the name of the English Catholics whether they might be present without sin at i the com- mon prayers/ ' The case,' de Quadra said, ' was a new and not an easy one, for the Praj^er-book contained neither impiety nor false doctrine. The prayers them- selves were those of the Catholic Church, altered only so far as to omit the merits and the intercession of the saints ; so that, except for the concealment, and the in- jury which might arise from the example, there would be nothing in the compliance itself positively unlawful. The communion could be evaded : on that point they did not ask for a dispensation. They desired simply to .be informed whether they might attend the ordinary services/ The Bishop's own opinion was that no general rule could be laid down. The compulsion to .which the Catholics were exposed varied at different times and places ; the harm which might arise to others varied ; nor had all been equally zealous in attempting to prevent the law from passing or in afterwards ob- structing the execution of it. While therefore he had not extenuated the fault of those who had given way to the persecution, he had in some cases given them a hope that they had not sinned mortally. At the same time he had been cautious of weakening the resolution of those who had been hitherto constant. If the Pope