LAUD, WILLIAM, was the son of a clothier at Reading in Berk shire, where he was born ou the 7th of October 1573. Laud was sometimes reproached during his prosperity with the meanness of his birth, which however was not more humble than that of most of the churchmen of his time, and indeed of preceding times; for in truth Laud himself was mainly instrumental in rendering the Church of Eugland the resort of men of good or noble family as a profession. Laud received his early education in the Free Orammar-School of Reading, from whence, in July 1589, he was removed to Oxford and entered a commoner of St. John's College, where he successively obtained a scholarship and fellowship. Even at the univeraity Laud had the character of being "at least very Popishly inclined." Heylyn informs us that Dr. Abbot, master of University College, who was afterwards archbishop of Canterbury, "so openly branded him for a Papist, or at least Popishly inclined, that it was almost made an heresy (as I have heard from his own mouth) for any one to be seen in his company, and a misprision of heresy to give him a civil salu tation as be walked the streets." In 1605 Laud had been appointed chaplain to Charles Lord Mount joy, earl of Devonshire. Laud, who held marriage to bo an indis soluble sacrament, who raised a flame in Scotland by enforclog this point, and who censured in the high commission, and even imprisoned for adultery (which imprisonment he himself allows in his diary to be more than the law allowed), nevertheless performed tho rites of mar riage between his patron and Lady Rich, whose husband was then living, and who had previously carried on an adulterous intercourse with Lord Mountjoy. On the death of the Earl of Devonshire in 1608, Laud was appointed one of the chaplains of Neile, then bishop of Rochester, from whom he obtained considerable church preferment. His patron Neile, ou his being translated to the see of Lichfield, and before his giving up the deanery of Westmiuster, which ho held in commendam with his bishoprio of Rochester, obtained for him the reversion of a prebendal stall there. In 1611 he became president of St. John's College, Oxford.
In 1616 the king conferred upon him the deanery of Gloucester, having some time previously appuinted him one of his chaplains in ordinary. In 1617 he accompanied King James into Scotland for the purpose of modelling the Scottish Church after the fashion to which he and Laud were desirous of bringing the Church of England. On the 22nd of January 1620 he was installed preheudary of Westminster, and on the 18th of November 1621 consecrated bishop of St. David's. It was expected that Laud would have been made dean of Westminster in the place of Williams, who having been sworn privy-councillur, and nominated to the ace of Lincoln, received on the 10th of July the custody of the Circlet Seal on Its being taken from Bacon. But Williams
possessed such interest at court, that when he was made bishop of Lincoln be retained his deanery in commendam, together with the other preferments which he held at that time.
Laud saya, in his Diary,' that he resigned his presidentship of St. John's College, November 17, 1621, "by reason of the strict.
ness of that statute, which I will not violate, nor my oath to it under any colour :" yet the king had given him leave to bold it; but in truth avarice was never one of Laud's vices. In May 1622 the conference between Laud and Fishej the Jesuit took place. It was held in the presence of the Marquis of Buckingham, who shortly after, as Laud himself informa us, " was pleased to enter upon a near respect to him, the particulars of which were not for paper." On the 15th of June he became C.' to Buckingham. It is thus he writes it in his 'Diary :' Some call it chaplain; others, among whom is Heylyn, confessor. It is certainly not usual for a nobleman even of the highest rank to have a bishop for his chaplain.
Laud wawa great dreamer of dreams, and though he repeatedly affirms the contrary, be evidently attached much importance to them. The following extract from his ' Diary' is a apecimen :—" December 14, Sunday night, I did dream that the lord keeper waa dead; that I passed by one of his men that was about a monument for him ; that I heard him say his lower lip was infinitely swelled and fallen, and be rotten already. This dream did trouble me." The lord-keeper (Williams) had become jealous of Laud's growing favour with Buckingham, and lie was incautioua in betraying thia jealousy. "January 11, I was with his majesty to show him the epistle that was to be printed before the conference between me and Fisher the Jesuit, Mali 21, 1622, which he was pleased to approve. The king brake with me about the book printed then of the visitation of the church. He was hard of belief that A. B. C. was the author of it. My lord keeper mett with me in the withdrawing-chamber, and quarrelled me gratis." Land's rise was now rapid. In 1626 he was made bishop of Bath and Wells, and dean of the Chapel Royal. On March 8th of this year he has the following entry in his 'Diary '—" Dreamed that I was recon ciled to the Church of Rome." In 1627 be was made a privy-coun cillor. On the 11th of July 1628 he says, " My cong6 deslier was signed by the king for the bishopric of London." About thia time, ou his acquainting the king with certain rumours spread abroad against him (Laud), Charles replied, "That he should not trouble himself with such reporta, till be saw him forsake his other friends." On the death of Buckingham, Laud plunged completely into his political career. Charles now looked upon him as his principal minister. It was at this time that the close union commenced between Laud and Strafford.