The Low Church clergymen were a minority, and
not a large minority, of their profession : but their
weight was much more than proportioned to their
numbers : for they mustered strong in the capital :
they had great influence there ; and the average of
intellect and knowledge was higher among them than
among their order generally. We should probably
overrate . their numerical strength, if we were to
estimate them at a tenth part of the priesthood* Yet
it will scarcely be denied that there were among them



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M2G. WILLIAM AND MART. 77

as many men of distinguished eloquence and learning
as could be found in the other nine tenths. Among
the laity who conformed to the established religion
the parties were not unevenly balanced. Indeed the
line which separated them deviated very little from
the line which separated the Whigs and the Tories.
In the House of Commons, which had been elected
when the Whigs were triimiphant, the Low Church
party greatly preponderated. In the Lords there was
an almost exact equipoise ; and very slight circum-
stances sufficed to turn the scale.
The head of the Low Church party was the King.
