King of England.
THE King can do no wrong, that is, no Process can be granted against him. What must be done then? Petition him, and the King writes upon the Petition soit droit fait, and sends it to the Chancery, and then the business is heard. His Confessor will not tell him, he can do no wrong.
There’s a great deal of difference between Head of the Church, and Su∣pream Governour, as our Canons call the King. Conceive it thus, there is in the Kingdom of England a Colledge of Physicians, the King is Supream Gover∣nour of those, but not Head of them, nor President of the Colledge, nor the best Physician.
After the Dissolution of Abbies, they did not much advance the King’s Su∣premacy, for they only car’d to exclude the Pope: hence have we had several Translations of the Bible upon us. But now we must look to it, otherwise the King may put upon us what Religion he pleases.
’Twas the old way when the King of England had his House, there were Canons to sing Service in his Chappel; so at Westminster in St. Stephen’s Chappel (where the House of Commons sits) from which Canons the Street call’d Canon-row has its Name, because they liv’d there, and he had also the Abbot and his Monks, and all these the King’s House.
The three Estates are the Lord’s Temporal, the Bishops are the Clergy, and the Commons as some would have it [take heed of that] for then if two agree the third is involv’d, but he is King of the Three Estates.
The King hath a Seal in every Court, and tho the Great Seal be called Sigillum Angliae, the Great Seal of Eng∣land, yet ’tis not because ’tis the King∣dom’s Seal, and not the Kings, but to di∣stinguish it from Sigillum Hiberniae, Sigil∣lum Scotiae.
The Court of England is much al∣ter’d. At a solemn Dancing, first you had the grave Measures, then the Corran∣toes and the Galliards, and this is kept up with Ceremony; at length to French-more, and the Cushion-Dance, and then all the Company dances Lord and Groom, Lady and Kitchen-Maid, no Distinction. So in our Court, in Queen Elizabeth’s time, Gravity and State were kept up. In King Jame’s time things were pretty well. But in King Charles’s time, there has been no∣thing but French-more, and the Cushion-Dance, omnium gatherum, tolly, polly, hoite come toite.