As the young prince advanced in years, the religious and political
difficulties in the English nation increased, and by the time that he
had arrived at an age when he could begin to receive impressions from
the conversation and intercourse of those around him, the Parliament
began to be very jealous of the influence which his mother might exert.
They were extremely anxious that he should be educated a Protestant,
and were very much afraid that his mother would contrive to initiate
him secretly into the ideas and practices of the Catholic faith.

She insisted that she did not attempt to do this, and perhaps she did
not; but in those days it was often considered right to make false
pretensions and to deceive, so far as this was necessary to promote
the cause of true religion. The queen did certainly make some efforts
to instill Catholic principles into the minds of some of her children;
for she had other children after the birth of Charles. She gave a
daughter a crucifix one day, which is a little image of Christ upon
the cross, made usually of ivory, or silver, or gold, and also a rosary,
which is a string of beads, by means of which the Catholics are assisted
to count their prayers. Henrietta gave these things to her daughter
secretly, and told her to hide them in her pocket, and taught her how
to use them. The Parliament considered such attempts to influence the
minds of the royal children as very heinous sins, and they made such
arrangements for secluding the young prince Charles from his mother,
and putting the others under the guidance of Protestant teachers and
governors, as very much interfered with Henrietta's desires to enjoy
the society of her children. Since England was a Protestant realm, a
Catholic lady, in marrying an English king, ought not to have expected,
perhaps, to have been allowed to bring up her children in her own
faith; still, it must have been very hard for a mother to be forbidden