He was to prove his devotion over and over
again; but I fear that Catholics of to-day would view with suspicion his
views on ecclesiastical authority. In his dedication of his _Treatise on
the Soul_ to his son Kenelm, there is a spirited defence of the right, of
the intelligent to private judgment in matters of doctrine. Nevertheless,
his Catholicism, though rationalist, was sincere, and he spent much energy
in propaganda among his friends--witness his rather dull little brochure,
the _Conference with a Lady about Choice of Religion_ (1638), and his
correspondence with his kinsman, Lord Digby, who did, indeed, later, come
over to the older faith. Ere long he earned the reputation of being "not
only an open but a busy Papist," though "an eager enemy to the Jesuits."
From this time dates his close friendship with the Queen, Henrietta Maria,
and her Catholic friends, Sir Tobie Matthew, Endymion Porter, and Walter
Montague. He and Montague were specially chosen by the Queen to appeal to
the English Catholics for aid towards Charles's campaign in Scotland.
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