CHAP. I. The Introduction.

THE Motives that incouraged me, to write this ensuing Trea­tise, were such as these, viz.

1. The deceas'd Bishop had conferred many Favours upon me, and I thought this was a fit opportunity to publish my Gratitude, for them.

[Page 2]2. That his Life was worthy to be trans­mitted to Posterity; and that it would be more acceptable to the Learned, that it should be done by me, as well as I could, than not at all; for I have not yet heard of any person who has designed, or at­tempted it, tho there are more than eight years past, since he died.

3. I am not altogether unprovided for such a Work, having, during my long Ac­quaintance with Him, and his Friends, in­form'd my self, of most of the considera­ble Circumstances of his Life.

4. And in the fourth and last place, be­cause I shall run no risque in so doing: for tho some may blame my Performance, yet, even they, cannot but approve my pious Intention; and the worst that can be said against me, if I do not attain my end, will have more of Praise, in it, than Reproach, 'tis what Ovid says of Faeton, Magnis tamen excidit ausis, i. e. 'Twas a no­ble Attempt, but the Success was not answer­able.

I at first design'd to have written it in a continual Narration, without breaking it into Chapters, making any Reflections, or adding any Digressions; but upon second thoughts, which usually are the best, I steer'd another Course, I have cut it into [Page 3] Chapters, which may serve, as Benches in a long Walk, whereupon the weary Rea­der may repose himself, till he has reco­vered Breath, and then readily proceed in his way. I have also interwoven some Di­gressions, which, if they are not too fre­quent, forein, impertinent, and dull, will afford some Divertisement to the Reader. But I fear the Gate is too great for this lit­tle City.

CHAP. II. Of the Bishops Parentage, Birth, and Education, till he was sent to Cam­bridge.

I Think it not worth my pains, to play the Herald, and blazon the Arms belonging to the numerous Family of the WARDS, or to tell the World the Antiqui­ty of it; that that Name came into England with William the Conqueror; that there is at present one Lord, and very many Knights and Gentlemen of very conside­rable Estates who are so called: For sup­posing this to be true, as it is, it makes little, if any thing, to the Praise of the [Page 4] the Person whose Life I am now writing. Vix ea nostra voco. Vertuous Actions, not great Names, are the best Ensigns of Nobi­lity. There are now, always were, and ever will be, some bad Men, even of the best Families, I shall therefore go no fur­ther back than to his Grandfather, who li­ved near Ipswich in Suffolk, and had the mis­fortune to lose a considerable hereditary Estate; whereupon the Bishops Father, whose Name was Iohn, settled himself at Buntingford in Hertfordshire, following the Employment of an Attorney, and was of good Reputation, for his fair Practice, but not rich. His Mothers Maiden Name was Dalton; I have often heard him com­mend her extraordinarily, for her Vertue, Piety, and Wisdom, to whose good Instructi­ons and Counsels, he used to say, he ow'd whatever was good in him. And that this Character was due to her, I have the testi­mony of that worthy Gentleman, Ralph Free­man Esq, of Aspenden in Hertfordshire, who has faithfully served his Country, as Knight of the Shire for that County in several Par­liaments; this Mr. Freeman liv'd in the same Parish, and well remembers the Bishops Mother. I never heard the Bishop speak of his Father, possibly he died before his Son came to years of Discretion; on the con­trary, [Page 5] I find Horace never mentions his Mother, but is very frequently praising his Father; but to proceed.

Iohn Ward left three Sons, and as many Daughters, the Sons were Iohn, Seth, and Clement, Iohn died a Batchelour, Clement left three Sons, and several Daughters, to the Care of his Brother Seth, who had then no other Preferment or Income, than the Place of the Savilian Professor of Astro­nomy in Oxford, and even then, he gave two hundred pounds to one of his Sisters in Marriage, which Summ he borrowed of a Friend of his, whom I knew, who lent it him upon his own Bond, without any other Security, [...], which let me thus translate, since 'tis not è Cathedra, nothing doubting, or not despairing to be repaid, as he was, in a short time, with Thanks and Interest. This Friend of his perceived evident signs of a rising Man in Mr. Ward, which must infallibly advance him, if Merit alone can elevate, as it has often, without Friends, under some Kings, and some Archbishops: and it will certain­ly, at long run, if, as the Saying is, The Horse does not die, before the Grass is grown.

For all these Male and Female Children, and Relations before mentioned, he provi­ded [Page 6] more than a competent Maintenance, binding some of them Apprentices, breed­ing others at Schools and Universities, till they were fit for the Ministry, and then placed them in good Benefices, where­of he had the Presentation. He also took care of his Nieces, and provided them Husbands, or to speak more truly, they married themselves to deserving Men, and he preferred their Husbands. I remember he once shew'd me a Letter, he had lately received from a Sister of his, who was a Dissenter, which began thus, Brother, for she would not call a Bishop Lord, Since there is Corn in Egypt, it is not meet that the Children of Israel should want. I cannot say that this Address prevailed with him, but I am sure it did not hinder him, from fil­ling her Sack. I will anticipate no more of the Bishops Life, but henceforwards proceed methodically.

He was born at Buntingford, in the year of our Lord 1618, famous for the appear­ing and long duration of a great Comet, which some will have to prognosticate the German Wars, which happened not long af­ter; but I may as truly say, it foreboded the Greatness of this Man, and I do as much believe the one as the other, that is, not at all.

[Page 7]His good Mother, whom we have men­tioned in the beginning of this Chapter, taught him her self, till he was fit for the Grammar School, bending the young Twig to Vertue, and inculcating to him all things that were good and praise-worthy, wherewith he was so well imbued, that he lost not the Savour of her Education till his death. I have often heard him say, that the Precepts which his Mother gave him both Moral and Political, were not inferiour to those which he afterwards found in the best Filosofers.

He had his first rudiments of Latin in the Grammar School at Buntingford, tho not the benefit of an happy Institution, his Master being a weak Man; yet by the en­couragement of his Mother, and his own Industry and Parts, he made such improve­ment, that, by competent Judges, he was esteemed fit for the University, at the age of fourteen years, and accordingly he was sent to Cambridge, and admitted into Sid­ney College, Anno Dom. 1632.

He was recommended to Doctor Samuel Ward, the Master of that College, by Mr. Alexander Strange, Vicar of Bunting­ford, a Person of great Integrity and Piety, by whose care and solicitation, the Cha­pel and School-house of that place were [Page 8] erected. This Dr. Samuel Ward was a Per­son of that eminency for Piety and Learn­ing, that King Iames I. made choice of him amongst others, to assist at the Synod of Dort, and a great Friend to Mr. Strange, upon whose Recommendation, he took young Seth into his more especial care, lodging him in his own Apartment, and al­lowing him the use of the Library; in a word, treating him, as if he had been his own, and onely Son.

CHAP. III. Of his being at Cambridge.

WHEN he first went to the Univer­sity, he was young and low of stature, and as he walked about the streets, the Doctors, and other grave Men, would frequently lay their Hands upon his white Head, for he had very fair Hair, and ask him of what College he was, and of what standing, and such like Questions, which was so great a vexation to him, that he was asham'd to go into the Town, and, as it were, forc'd to stay in the College and study. I said before, that he had the bene­fit of the College Library, and our young [Page 9] Student shew'd this Favour was not ill be­stow'd upon him, by making good use of it, and so happily improving that advan­tage, that in a short time he was taken notice of, not only in that College, but also in the University, as a Youth of great Hopes and Learning, beyond what was u­sual in one of his age, and standing.

All his Improvement was the product of his happy Genius and Love to Learning, and not due to any Instructions he received either from his School-master or Tutor, for Mr. Pendrith his Tutor, tho he was a very honest Man, yet he was no Conjurer, nor of any fame for Learning. I have often heard the Bishop repeat some part of his Tutors Speeches, which never fail'd to make the Auditory laugh.

To omit his other Studies, for there were no Regions of Learning which he had not visited, I think it not improper here to relate, that his Genius led him to those which are above vulgar Capacities, and re­quire a good Head, and great Application of Mind to understand.

In the College Library he found, by chance, some Books that treated of the Mathematics, and they being wholly new to him, he inquired all the College over for a Guide to instruct him that way, but all [Page 10] his Search was in vain, these Books were Greek, I mean unintelligible, to all the Fel­lows of the College. Nevertheless, he took courage, and attempted them him­self, proprio Marte, without any Confede­rates, or Assistance, or Intelligence in that Countrey, and that with so good Success, that in a short time he not only discovered those Indies, but conquer'd several King­doms therein, and brought thence a great part of their Treasure, which he shew'd publicly to the whole University not long after. When he was Sosister, he dispu­ted in those Sciences, more like a Master than a Learner, which Disputation Dr. Bam­bridge heard, greatly esteemed, and com­mended. This was the same Dr. Bambridge who was afterwards Savilian Professor of Astronomy at Oxford, a learned and good Mathematician; yet there goes a Story of him, which was in many Scholars Mouths when I was first admitted there, That he put upon the School Gate an Affiche, or written Paper, as the Custom is, giving notice, at what time, and upon what Sub­ject the Professor will read, which ended in these Words, Lecturus de Polis & Axis, under which was written by an unknown Hand, as follows,

But this by the by, let us return to our Charge, at his Act for Batchelour of Arts, his Questions were concerning the Iulian and Gregorian Account of the Year, which gave occasion to Mr. Thorndike, then Proctor, to take especial notice of him, and intitled him to the Acquaintance and Friendship of most of his ingenious Contemporaries, a­mongst whom, some prov'd afterwards ve­ry eminent, as Dr. Pearson, the learned Bishop of Chester, Sir Charles Scarborough, Mr. Rook, &c. Of some of them, I shall have occasion to speak elsewhere.

In the year 1640. Dr. Cousins was Vice-chancellour, and he pitcht upon Mr. Ward to be Praevaricator, which in Oxford we call Terrae-filius, and in that place he behaved himself to the general Satisfaction of the Auditory; but yet, it must be acknow­ledged, that the Vice-chancellour took some offence at his Speech, and suspended him his Degree.

Dr. Cousins was not an Enemy to Wit, but perhaps he thought not fit to allow it [Page 12] to be so freely spoken, in so sacred a Place. I say he took some offence against him, but whether 'twas given or only taken, I de­termine not, but however the next day before the end of the Commencement, for what at Oxford is called the Act, is stiled by that Name at Cambridge, he revers'd his Censure. The Reader may imagine his Fault was not great, when so severe a Judge, as Bishop Cousins, should impose no greater Punishment upon him, and take it off in so short a time. I had not mention'd this his Suspension, neither ought I, had it not, many years after, made a great noise at Oxford, which we shall mention in its proper place. Both Dr. Cousins, and Mr. Ward, were, not long after, Fellow Sufferers in another and far greater Cause; and he certainly suf­fer'd without any Fault then, whatever he did before.

The Civil Wars breaking out, the Ef­fects of them were first felt by the Bishops, and afterwards by the Universities: Cam­bridge suffer'd first, lying in the associated Counties, and subject to the Parliaments Power; Oxford, which was then a Garri­son, and the Kings Head-quarters, drank of the same bitter Cup some years after. At Cambridge, several Heads and Fellows [Page 13] of Colleges and Halls were imprisoned, for refusing the Covenant, some in the Town, and some in St. Iohns College, made a Gaol by the Parliament Forces, comman­ded by the Earl of Manchester; and amongst the rest Dr. Samuel Ward, Master of Sidney College was imprisoned, whither Mr. Ward accompanied him voluntarily, and submit­ted to that Confinement, that he might as­sist so good a Man, and so great a Friend in that Extremity. I have heard him say, that Imprisonment seem'd at first to him very uneasie, but after he had been a little time used to it, he liked it well enouf, and could have been contented, not to have stir'd out all the days of his Life. The great Inconvenience of so close a Confinement, in the heighth of a hot Summer, caused some of Doctor Wards Friends to mediate for his Removal, at least for some Weeks, which was gran­ted, and in the beginning of August, the Doctor was permitted to go to his own House, to which also Mr. Ward accompa­nied him, and carefully ministred unto him. Within a Months time after his In­largement, the good old Man fell into a dangerous Distemper, caused by his Impri­sonment, whereof he died the seventh of September following, in the year of our [Page 14] Lord 1643. Mr. Ward, who never left him, was with him in the last moments of his Life, and closed his Eyes, after having received his last Words, which were these, God bless the King, and my Lord Hopton, who then commanded a great Army in the West. What befel him afterwards, during his stay at Cambridge, shall be the Subject of the next Chapter.

CHAP. IV. A Continuation of the Precedent Matter.

UPON the Death of Dr. Ward, the Fellows assembled to chuse a new Master, Mr. Ward, with nine of them, gave their Suffrages for Mr. Thorndike of Trinity College; for Mr. Minshull there were eight Votes, including his own, but while they were at the Election, a Band of Sol­diers rusht in upon them, and forcibly car­ried away Mr. Parsons, one of those Fel­lows who voted for Mr. Thorndike, so that the number of Suffrages for Mr. Mynshull, his own being accounted for one, was e­qual to those Mr Thorndike had. Upon which Mr. Mynshull was admitted Master, the other eight only protesting against it, [Page 15] being ill advised, for they should have ad­herd to their Votes. Two of them, where­of Mr. Ward was one, went to Oxford, and brought thence a Mandamus from the King, commanding Mr. Mynshull and the Fellows of Sidney College, to repair thither, and give an account of their Proceedings, as to that Election, this Mandamus or peremtory Summons was fix'd upon the Chapel door, by Mr. Linnet, who was afterwards a Fel­low of Trinity College, but at that time at­tended on Mr. Thorndike. On the other side, one Mr. Bertie, a Kinsman of the Earl of Lindsey, being one of those who vo­ted for Mr. Mynshull, was also sent to Ox­ford in his behalf; this Gentleman, by the Assistance and Mediation of my Lord of Lindsey, procur'd an Order from the King, to confirm Mr. Mynshulls Election, but he, not thinking this Title sufficient, did cor­roborate it with the Broad Seal, to which Mr. Thorndike consented, Mr. Mynshull pay­ing him and the rest of the Fellows the Charges they had been at, in the Manage­ment of that Affair, amounting to about an hundred pound. The next Spring Mr. Ward and Mr. Gibson were summoned to appear before the Committee of Visitors, then sit­ting at Trinity College, and tender'd the Covenant, and other Oaths, which they [Page 16] refused, declaring themselves unsatisfied as to the Lawfulness of them. Then they de­sired to know if the Committee had any Crime to object against them? they answe­red they had not; they declared the reason why they ask'd was, that they understood, some were ejected for not taking the Co­venant, and others for Immoralities; to which they received this Answer, that those were words of course, put into all their Or­ders of Ejection. Such was the Carriage of those Commissioners, not only to take away the Livelyhood of those they expell'd, but also their good Name and Reputation, and so render them unpitied, and not wor­thy to be relieved.

In the Month of August following, Mr. Ward, who was then absent, received the news, that his Ejection was voted and put into Execution.

Being now exil'd from Cambridge, he di­verted himself with Dr. Wards Relations, in and about London, for a season, and sometimes with the Reverend Divine and Learned Mathematician, Mr. William Ough­tred, invited thereto by his Love to those Sciences, in which Mr. Oughtred had shew'd his Ability, and acquir'd a great Name by publishing his Clavis Mathematicae, a little Book as to the bulk, but a great one as to [Page 17] the Contents, as the understanding Reader must acknowledge.

Mr. Ward was so well known, and of so good a reputation at Cambridge, that in his Exile he wanted not places of resort and re­fuge. He was invited by the E. of Carlile, and several other Persons of high Quality, with proffers of large and honourable Pensions, to come and reside in their Families: Nay, I have heard him say, that even then when he was in those straights, and might have truly said, Silver, or Gold, or Preferment I have none, he was proffer'd several rich Matches, but he had no inclination to Matrimony, whilst he labour'd under those Circumstan­ces. At last he chose to accept the Invita­tion, or to speak more properly, to yield to the importunity of his Friend and Coun­try-man Ralf Freeman Esquire, of Aspenden in Hertfordshire, in the Parish wherein he suck'd his first Milk, and imbib'd his first rudiments of Vertue, about five and twenty mile distant from Ladon; he instruct­ed his Sons, and continued there off and on, till the Year 1649. Then he was earnest­ly invited by my Lord Wenman of Tame-Park in Oxfordshire, about ten miles distant from that City, thither he went, and liv'd some time with him, rather as a Compani­on than Chaplain, it being more safe for [Page 18] him to be near Oxford than Cambridge, and as it prov'd in the event, much more ad­vantageous, for this was the first visible step to his preferment. He was not in this Family many months before the Visitation of the University of Oxford began; the Effect whereof was, that many Heads of Colleges and Halls, as also many Fellows of Colleges were turn'd out, as before at Cam­bridge, and at last the Visitation reach'd the learn'd and eminent Person Mr. Edw. Greaves, Savilian Professor of Astronomy, and Fellow of Merton-College, the same who had but a lit­tle before publish'd that learned Exercitati­on concerning the Measuring of the fam'd Egyptian Pyramides near Grand Cairo.

Altho' this Gentleman was for a season skreen'd against the fury of the Visitation by some powerful Friends, yet finding that 'twas impossible for him to keep his ground, he made it his business to procure an able and worthy Person to succeed him. Upon that design he took a Journey to London, to advise with some knowing Persons con­cerning that Affair; and amongst the rest with Dr. Scarborough, who had then very great Practice, and liv'd magnificently, his Table being always accessible to all learned Men, but more particularly to the distressed [Page 19] Royalists, and yet more particularly to the Scholars ejected out of either of the Uni­versities for adhering to the Kings Cause. After mature Consultation, it was agreed upon by a general consent, that no Person was so proper and fit for that employment as Mr. Ward. Mr. Greaves, who had heard much of Mr. Ward, but had no acquaintance with him, readily consented to what they had concerted, and undertook to find Mr. Ward out, and make him the proffer, and accordingly he made a Journey to Oxford. Mr. Ward wholly ignorant of this design upon him, or rather for him, rides casually from Tame-Park to Oxford, as he frequently us'd to do, either to consult some Books in the public Library, or to visit his Friends and Acquaintance. Just as he was entring the Bear-Inn, luckily meets Mr. Greaves coming out of it, who being inform'd who he was, accosted and courteously saluted him, testifying his great joy by many kind Expressions, for this fortunate and unex­pected rencounter; after which, taking him aside, he imparted his business, the design he had to have him for his Successor, urg­ing him with great importunity, not to deny him this favour. I remember I have heard the Bishop say, that amongst other Arguments, Mr. Greaves told him, if you [Page 20] refuse it, they will give it to some Cobler of their Party who never heard the name of Euclid, or the Mathematics, and yet will greedily snap at it for the Salaries sake. But Mr. Greaves was out in his Divination, for the other Place, I mean the Professors of Geometry, was fill'd with a very learned Man in that Science, as his elaborate Works have sufficiently manifested to the World. This Address of Mr. Greaves did so surprize Mr. Ward, that it did at once assault his Modesty, and perplex his Council. After many thanks for so great and unexpected a Favour, he objected the difficulty of effect­ing it, saying, he could not with any rea­son expect, to enjoy quietly a public Pro­fessors place in Oxford, when 'twas noto­riously known, that he was turn'd out of Cambridge for refusing the Covenant. Mr. Greaves reply'd, that he and his Friends had consider'd that Obstacle, and found out a way to remove it, and it was effectually remov'd a little while after by the means of Sir Iohn Trevor, who tho' of the Parlia­ment Party, was a great lover of Learning, and very obliging to several Scholars who had been turn'd out of the two Universities. Sir Iohn had great Interest in the Committee which dispos'd of the Places of those who were ejected, and by that brought Mr. Ward [Page 21] into the Professors Chair, and preserv'd him in it, without taking the Covenant, or En­gagement. So that the very same thing that caus'd his ejection out of Cambridge, was the cause also of his preferment in Ox­ford. The first Astronomy Professor, I mean of Sir Henry Saviles Foundation, was a Cambridge Man, plac'd in by the Founder, as was also the Geometry Professor put in now by the Visitors, the difference of Uni­versities being not esteem'd a sufficient ob­stacle to hinder any deserving Persons from obtaining either of these Places. Mr. Ward being now settled in the Professors Chair, was in the first place careful to express his Gratitude to those Persons, by whose assi­stance he had obtain'd it; and first to Mr. Greaves, for whom he procur'd the full Ar­rears of his Salary, amounting to five hun­dred pound, for part, if not all the Land allotted to pay the Savilian Professors lies in Kent, which County was in the power of the Parliament, who with-held the Money, and it had been difficult, if not impossible, for Mr. Greaves, who was not Rectus in Curia, ever to have recover'd it; and he also de­sign'd him a considerable part of his Salary, but he, I mean Mr. Greaves, died soon after. To Sir Iohn Trevor, Father of that Sir Iohn, who was afterwards Secretary of State in [Page 22] the Reign of King Charles the Second, he dedicated one of his Books, and therein pub­licly declares to the World, how many and great Obligations he had to that worthy Person. How Mr. Ward behav'd himself at Oxford, and what befel him there, will be the Subject of the ensuing Chapters.

CHAP. V. Of his being at Oxford.

AND now I have brought him to Ox­ford, where I first became acquainted with him, I can proceed upon more certain grounds; I promise not to put any thing upon the Reader now, but what either I knew, or have heard attested by those whom I could trust. Hitherto I have been guided, for the greatest part, by what I have recived from the Bishop himself, casu­ally, and at several times. I am also in­debted, for the Names of the Bishops Re­lations, to that worthy Person Ralf Free­man Esquire, whom I have had occasion so often to mention before, and shall again; one whom he lov'd and honour'd all his Life, and to whom, and his Heirs, he left, at his Death, the sole power of put­ting [Page 23] in his Alms-men, as will be related in its due place.

The greatest Light concerning the Cam­bridge Transactions before related, I re­ceived by a few short indigested Notes, which Dr. Sherman had collected, in order to write the Bishops Life, this Dr. Iohn Sherman, was the Bishop of Salisburys Chap­lain, and Arch-deacon of North Wiltshire, a very learned Person, and would, had he out-liv'd the Bishop, been the fittest Man in the World to have undertaken the Task, which I, for want of others, am engaged in. But he was untimely cut off by the Small Pox, at the Bishop of Salisburys Lodg­ings in Charterhouse-yard, March 24. Anno Dom. 1671. many years before the Bishop, whose Life he had designed to have writ­ten.

The first thing Mr. Ward did, after his Settlement in Oxford, was to bring the A­stronomy Lectures into Reputation, which had been for a considerable time disused, and wholly left of. He therefore read ve­ry constantly, and, that being known, he never fail'd of a good Auditory; I have heard him say, and he was no Lyar, that in all the time he enjoy'd the Astronomy Professors Place, he never miss'd one read­ing Day. Besides this, he taught the Ma­thematics [Page 24] gratis to as many of the University, or Foreigners, as desired that Favour of him. I remember he told me that a cer­tain German Nobleman made application to him upon that account, and that when Mr. Ward was in the middle of a hard Demonstration, which required the utmost Intention of Mind to understand, for if by Inadvertency, one Link of it is lost, all the rest is to no purpose and unintelli­gible; this Person interrupted him and said Sir you have a fine Key, his Key by chance lying then upon the Table; 'tis so, re­ply'd the Professor, and put an End to his Lecture, and would read no more to that Pupil.

Besides this, he preach'd frequently, tho' he was not obliged to it, for Sir Henry Savile had exempted his Professors from all University Exercises, that they might have the more leisure to mind the Employ­ment he designed them for. His Sermons were strong, methodical and clear, and, when Occasion required, pathetical and eloquent: for, besides his Skill in the Ma­thematics, he was a great Lover of Tully, and understood him very well. In his Dispu­tations his Arguments were always to the purpose, and managed with great Art, his Answers clear and full. I remember I heard [Page 25] him oppose, in the Act time, a Head of a House, who then did his Exercise for Do­ctor in Divinity, the Question was, concer­ning the Morality of the Fourth Command­ment, against which he urged, ‘That the same time might be Saturday, Sunday and Monday, or Sunday and any two other days equally distant from it: for suppo­sing two Ships to set sail from the same Port, one westward, according to the Motion of the Sun, it will make every day longer than four and twenty Hours, and consequently there must be fewer days in that Year; and the other, which we sup­pose holds its course Eastward, must have the contrary Effect, and consequently make more days in the same space of time. Let us then suppose that these two Ships sail'd at the same time from the same place, and return thither that day twelve-month, it shall be to one of them Monday, and to the other Saturday. Or, supposing two Swallows, with grea­ter Celerity, to make the same Voyage, both of them starting upon the same Sun­day from the same place, and granting one of them to gain, and the other lose, about half a quarter of an hour, or eight minutes in four and twenty hours which they may do, at their Return to the [Page 26] place from whence they set forth, tho 'twill be Sunday to those who remained there, it shall be to one of these Swal­lows Tuesday, and to the other Friday. Again, if the Sabbath is to be accounted from Sun-set to Sun-set, as some observe it, then to those who inhabit under the Poles, it must be a year long for the Sun under the Northern Pole sets only in Sep­tember, at the Autumnal Equinox, and to those under the Southern Pole it sets only in March or the Vernal Equinox. To those who lie more Northward than the Arctic Circle, or more Southward than the An­ctartic, the Sunday shall not only be seve­ral Days, but Weeks and Months long.’ And several other Arguments of this Na­ture: To all which the Respondent vouch­safed no other Answer than this, Omnia hu­jusmodi Argumenta sunt mere Astronomica. As much as if he should have said, These are all but Demonstrations, and therefore, I think them not worthy of an Answer.

Whilst he continued in that Chair, be­sides his Public Lectures he wrote several Books, one De Astronomia Eliptica, one a­gainst Bullialdus, one about Proportion, one of Trigonometry, one against Mr. Hobbs, who never pardoned him for it to his dy­ing Day, as we shall have occasion to shew [Page 27] hereafter, and one, in English, and a jocose stile, against one Webster, asserting the Use­fulness of the Universities. He also preach'd often, at St. Maries, to the Admiration of all the Auditory, some of which Sermons are published in the Collection printed for Iames Collins.

At his first coming to Oxford, he made choice of Wadham Col. to reside in, invited thereto by the Fame of Dr. Wilkins Warden thereof, with whom he soon contracted an intimate Acquaintance and Friendship, their Humours and Studies lying the same way; but Dr. Wilkins was so well known, that I need not dilate in his Praise, for if I should, my near Relation to him, might make my Character of him suspected, therefore I shall say no more of him at present, but that he was a Learned Man, and a Lover of such; he was of a Comely Aspect, and Gentle­man-like Behaviour; he had been bred in the Court, and was also a piece of a Tra­veller, having twice seen the Prince of Au­ranges Court, at the Hague, in his Journey to, and Return from Heydelburgh, whither he went to wait upon the Prince Elector Palatine, whose Chaplain he was in Eng­land. He had nothing of Bigottry, Unman­nerliness, or Censoriousness, which then were in the Zenith, amongst some of the [Page 28] Heads, and Fellows of Colleges in Oxford. For which Reason many Country Gentle­men, of all Persuasions, but especially those then stiled Cavaliers and Malignants, for adhering to the King and the Church, sent their Sons to that College, that they might be under his Government. I shall instance but in two eminent Sufferers for that Cause, Colonel Penruddoc who was murder'd at Exeter, and Judge Ienkyns, who was kept a close Prisoner till the Kings Return, for not owning the Parliaments usurp'd Authority, these two had their Sons there. I could name many more, who for Dr. Wards sake, left Cambridge, and brought their Pupils with them, and settled them­selves in Wadham College, as Dr. Gaspar Needham, and Mr. Lawrence Rooke, of whom I have much to say in its due place.

The Affluence of Gentlemen was so great, that I may truly say of Wadham College▪ it never since, or before, was in so flourishing a Condition, I mean, it never had so many Fellow Commoners as at that time, tho it cannot be denied, but that it has always had more than its proportion; may it for ever flourish and encrease in Riches and Re­putation: this I heartily wish, for the Kind­ness I have received from it.

[Page 29]At this time there were several Learned Men of the University and in the City, who met often at the Wardens Lodgings in Wadham College, and sometimes elsewhere, to improve themselves by making Filosofi­cal Experiments. Some of these, for I will not undertake to reckon them all up, were Mr. Robert Boyle, then well known, but since more famous in all parts of Europe, for his great Piety, and Skill in Experimen­tal Filosofy, and other good Literature; Mr. Matthew Wren, afterwards Secretary to the Duke of York; Dr. Willis, Dr Goddard, Warden of Merton, and Professor of Fysic at Gresham College in London, Dr. Wallis, Dr. Bathurst, Mr. Rooke, &c.

About this time that Learned and Reve­rend Person Dr. Brownrig, the ejected Bi­shop of Exeter, came and lived a retired Life, at Sunning in Berkshire, whither Mr. Ward, who was his Chaplain us'd to go of­ten to wait upon him. This Bishop sent once for him, and collated on him the Pre­centorship of the Church of Exeter, the In­cumbent whereof was lately Dead, and at the same time told him, That he was con­fident the King would be restored, and you may live, said he, to see that happy day, tho I believe I shall not, and then this, which seems now [...], may be of some [Page 30] Emolument to you. It fell out as the good Bishop foretold, for he died in the dawn of the Restoration, and Mr. Ward lived to en­joy this collated Benefice, which was worth to him several thousand pounds. I have heard him often declare, that had he not been Chanter of Exeter, he could not have lived at the rate he always after did, and done those Deeds of Charity, without im­mersing himself into so great Debt, that he could never be able to pay, and he ha­ted nothing more, than to lye in any Mans debt. To evidence this, I remember, that afterwards, when he was Bishop of Salisbury, he never would go out of the Town, ei­ther to London, whither his Business often called him, or elsewhere, if he intended to make any stay, before he paid all the Tradesmen, with whom he dealt, the ut­termost Farthing.

But to proceed, for this Instrument of his Collation, he paid Bishop Brownrigs Se­cretary the full Fees, as if he were presently to take possession of the Place, tho this happened in the darkest night of Despair, when there appeared no Probability, scarce­ly any Possibility, that the Sun would ever rise again; I mean, the King, Laws, and Church should ever be restor'd. I know he was sufficiently laught at, by some of [Page 31] his Friends, for so doing, I have heard them tell him, they would not give him half a Crown for his Procentorship, to whom he reply'd, since it was the good Bi­shops Kindness, tho he should never make a peny of it, it was as acceptable to him, as if he were to take possession the next mo­ment.

This was the first fair Flower that ever grew in his Garden, and the foundation of his future Riches and Preferment.

Anno Domini 1654. both the Savilian Professors did their Exercises in order to proceed Doctors in Divinity, and when they were to be presented, the other claim'd to be Senior. Mr. Ward demanded what pre­tence have you for this demand, you can't deny, but that I was your Senior in Cam­bridge. The other urg'd that he was suspen­ded from his Degree, as we have mention­ed before in the Second Chapter, not re­membring, or at least not calling to mind, that he was restor'd before the End of the Commencement, and completed Master, by the Vice-Chancellors putting on Mr. Wards Cap before his. When this pretence fail'd, he had recourse to another, and own'd him­self to be possest of an Estate, whose value put him into the number of Grand Com­pounders, who because they pay greater [Page 32] Fees, have the privilege to be Seniors in all Faculties and Degrees of their Year. Thus he obtain'd the Seniority, and pay'd for it, and enjoy'd it, till Dr. Ward was made a Bishop. But since this slight difference bred no Animosities, or ill blood, betwixt the two Professors, and they liv'd in mutual kindness till Bishop Ward's death, I shall insist no longer upon it.

Tho' he was so complyant and useful in his Station at Oxford, yet he could never wear off, neither indeed did he desire it, the imputation of being a Cavalier, and Episcopaly inclin'd, this was often hit in his teeth, as the unpardonable Sin, and the Leaven of the Farisees, but it did him no hurt. Amongst the rest a Person of Honour, afterwards married to a Peer of this Realm, who then lived about twenty miles distant from Oxford, in a Family well known to Dr. Wilkins and Dr. Ward, and often visited by them. This Lady drolling with him, used these words. Doctor Ward, I am con­fident you believe▪ the King will come in, and that you shall be a Bishop. Madam, replyed he, I think neither the one or the other im­possible. But I esteem it so improbable, said she, that if it happens in my life-time, I pro­mise, before these Witnesses, to present you with a pair of Lawn Sleeves of mine own [Page 33] handiwork, which would be no small Mortifica­tion to one of our perswasion, said she laugh­ing, for she was a Presbyterian, and yet, nevertheless, which is remarkable, a very Ingenious Lady. Doctor Ward return'd her his humble thanks, adding, If there should be an occasion, he would give her La­dyship timely notice. And he was as good as his word, giving her advice of his Nomi­nation to the Bishopric of Exeter. She al­so was not worse than hers, presenting him the first Lawn Sleeves he ever wore; and still, notwithstanding his being a Bishop, kept the same Friendship and acquaintance with her, as before. About this time hap­pened a Controversie in the University of Oxford about Formalities, in which I bore a great part, and for varieties sake, would have related here, but because this Chapter is long enouf, I reserve it to the next.

CHAP. VI. The Controversie concerning CAPS and HOODS.

IN the Year 1658. the reigning Party in the University of Oxford, or if you will stile them by the name they assum'd to themselves, the Godly Party, began to put all things into Confusion; and to that end, in the first place they resolv'd to take away those decent distinctions of Degrees, Caps, and Hoods, and they had done it by a Law, had not I stood in the Gap. Meme­nisse juvat, the remembrance whereof is pleasant, Sumo superbiam quaesitam meritis, Let no Man rob me of my deserved Ho­nour. The manner was thus; but before I enter into that Narration, I'll tell you one property of this Party: They continually complained of Persecution; I heard one of them Preach at St. Marys, his design was to prove, that Afflictions were the lot of the Righteous; but he made this Objection against his Doctrine; How is this, said he, true of us, can we say, we are afflicted and persecuted? When we have all the good things our hearts can wish, we are the Favourities of [Page 35] the Government, and in possession of the best Places, both in the University and Country. To which, said he, thus I answer; We are, my beloved, Tongue-persecuted; the Wicked for­bear not to say of us, we are Knaves and Hy­pocrites, which was too true of a great number of them. But to return to my Re­lation: This Party resolv'd to abolish the Statute, enjoyning the wearing of Caps and Hoods, crying out against them as Re­liques of Popery, and Rags of the Scarlet Whore. To effect this their design, they sent an Envoy to me to engage me to com­ply with them, well knowing that without my concurrence their design would prove abortive. The Person whom they employed, was a Schoolfellow and intimate Friend of mine, who altho' the Son of a Royalist, upon some disappointments, especially a great one, that happened to him at West­minster by the means of Mr. Busby, of which perhaps more hereafter: I say, upon this, and other Misfortunes, he became a Pres­byterian and Commonwealths-Man, if this addition be not superfluous. He was a Man of Learning, and knew it, and very hot and zealous in his way; he, I say, came to my Chamber and told me his Message. Well, said I to him, what have you to say against Caps and Hoods? He made a long [Page 36] Discourse, which I heard with patience; and when I perceiv'd he was silent, Ned, said I to him, prithee go back to thy Cham­ber, and put in writing all that thou hast said, and bring it to me. And what will you do with it then, said he? I will, I reply'd, blot out the words Caps and Hoods, and in their places insert Gowns; will not your Arguments be every whit as strong a­gainst them, as against Formalities? I con­fess they will, he answer'd, but we are not come thither yet. I replyed, I'd make it my endeavour to keep you where you are, and so we parted.

As I was confident the Party would drive on the design furiously, so I saw that with­out me they could never bring it to take effect; there being a Statute, which says in express Terms, That no Statute be deem'd abrogated or repeal'd, without the attesta­tion of the Vice-Chancellor, and both the Proctors, under their hands, that it was for­mally taken away in the Convocation. But before I proceed any further in this Contest, give me leave to make a small digression, and recount what afterwards befel this my Friend. I hinted before a great disappoint­ment he had received from Mr. Busby the School-master of Westminster, the matter of Fact was thus; Mr. Vincent the second [Page 37] Master, left that Station, and went to Tra­vel for his Health, then did Mr. Busby write to my Friend, who was Master of Arts, and Student of Christ-Church, to come and be Second Master. After he had receiv'd this Letter, brimful of joy, he brought it me, thinking I should, as his Friend, be also much pleas'd at this good News, and en­courage him to accept of this proffer: But I, contrary to his expectation, us'd my ut­most endeavour to diswade him from it. He answer'd, that I spoke out of prejudice a­gainst Mr. Busby, but he knew better things. 'Tis true, when he was a Kings Scholar at Westminster, he was a little, well-favour'd, white-hair'd Youth, and his Father was li­beral to the Master; all which concurring with a good docible Inclination, made him one of Mr. Busbys White Boys, or chief Favourites. But I foresaw the Case would soon be alter'd, when he should pretend Equality, and not content himself to keep at such a distance as the former Usher did; I told him, there is a great difference be­twixt you and Mr. Vincent; he was a very honest and learned Man, but of mean Pa­rentage, Mr. Busbys Servitor at Oxford, and but one remove from it, at Westminster, you are a Gentleman, and of no submissive Temper, you have had liberal Education, [Page 38] and kept good Company, and know the World, 'tis impossible you can submit to such Usage, as you will find there. For I very well knew both their Humours, and easily foresaw, that 'twas absolutely impos­sible for those two, as the Saying is, to set their Horses together. The event prov'd that I was on the right side of the Hedge, he found such Usage as I foretold, and I doubt not, but his Behaviour was, as I con­jectur'd it would be, but the particulars thereof are too long, and not necessary to be here related. Upon this he turns, turns with a vengeance, goes over to the Gen­tiles, and that he might be reveng'd upon Mr. Busby, Sacrifices to Moloch, worships, and adores the worst of Men, even the Judges of King Charles the First; but Mr. Busby, who Plow'd with the same Heifers, had too much complyance, cunning, and money, to be hurt by him. Upon this, he returns to his Students Place at Christ-Church, makes me a Visit, and rails so bit­terly against Mr. Busby, that, even I was forc'd to take his part. He remain'd at Oxford, propagating his Commonwealth Principles, and when he was Censor, which Office in other Colleges is call'd the Dean, whose business 'tis, to Mode­rate at Disputations, and give the Scho­lars Questions; he gave some in Politics, [Page 39] and order'd the Respondents to maintain them against Monarchy and Episcopacy. There he continued till the King was restor'd, then some considerable Friends of his, whom I knew, advis'd him to go into the Country, and there to live peaceably, and conformably, for the space of one Year, at the end of which, they assur'd him, they would procure him some considerable Preferment in the Church. Accordingly he went, and tryed, but not being able to hold out so long, in a short time he repair'd to London, seven times more imbitter'd against Ecclesiastical and Kingly Government than when he went into the Country: And now he sides Tooth and Nail with the Fanatics, and made a great Figure amongst them, ex­ceeding most, if not all of them, in Natu­ral and acquir'd parts. King Charles sent for him, designing to work some good up­on him, and do him a kindness; but he found him so obstinate and refractory, that he was forc'd to leave him to his own Ima­ginations; he afterwards married a blind Woman, who fell in Love with him for his Preaching; after which I met him in Covent-Garden, and accosted him freely; after the usual Complements past, Ned, said I to him jocularly, I hear thou hast married a blind Woman, dost thou intend to beg with [Page 40] her? Upon this I perceiv'd his Countenance change, and he return'd me this Answer; What's that to you; may not I Marry whom I please? Nay, said I, if you are pleas'd, I have no reason to be offended, and so we parted, and I never saw him after, but I understood since, that he died a Prisoner in a House near Newgate, whither he was committed for his violent opposition to the Government. It is now full time I should reassume the Clue of my Narration. The Vice-Chancellor summons a Convocation, having most of the Heads of Houses, and many Masters of Arts on his side. It was very remarkable, that all the Antediluvian Cavaliers, I mean Fellows of Colleges, who had the good fortune to survive the Flood of the Visitation, and keep their Places, and who had ever since that liv'd retir'd in their Cells, never medling with Public Affairs in the University, nor appearing in the Convocation, or Congregations, came now as it were in Troops, Velut Agmine facto, habited in their Formalities, to give their Votes for their Continuation, most of whose Faces were unknown to the greatest part of the Assembly; with these unexpect­ed recruits we easily carried our Cause, tho' we could have done it without their Assist­ance. After the Cause of the Convocation [Page 41] was declar'd, as the Custom is, the Vice-Chancellor put it to the Vote, Whether the Statute commanding the Use of Caps and Hoods, should be abrogated, or not: After the Scrutiny, he declar'd, tho' he knew no­thing of the matter, that it was taken away, the other Proctor not resisting or opposing, then I took the boldness to tell the Vice-Chancellor, that the majority of Suffrages was to the contrary, as it was in truth; but if it had not been so, I had a Sheet Anchor in reserve, which I would have cast out, ra­ther than have lost my Ship. That was this; There is a Statute, amongst others to which we were Sworn, that declares their Votes Null who are not in Habits suitable to their degrees; almost all their Party, not knowing, or not minding this, came and Voted without their Habits, and conse­quently lost their Votes; but I was not forc'd to make use of this last Shift, I told the Vice-Chancellor that the Statutes intrust the Proctors only, to gather and compare the Suffrages, and pronounce where the Majority fell, and that, with his favour, he had nothing to do in that Affair; to which he reply'd, Egregie Procurator tace, Good Mr. Proctor hold your tongue: Up­on this, the Masters, in a tumultuary man­ner, rose from their Seats, and began to [Page 42] Mutiny, which caus'd the Vice-Chancellor to Dissolve the Convocation. One would have thought this business should have ended here, but it did not, for the very next day the Vice-Chancellor sent one of the Beadles to me, desiring me to come to his Lodgings, and there attest under my hand, that the Statute in debate was legally abro­gated in the Convocation held the day be­fore. I was wonderfully amaz'd at this Message, I therefore bid him that brought it, to present my Service to the Vice-Chan­cellor, and withal, to tell him, that I won­der'd he should esteem me so great a Fool, Knave, or Coward, or all of them together, that I should be prevail'd upon to give it under my hand, that I was Perjur'd, when I had acted according to my Oath, and the Truth; I bid him tell him farther, that I should as soon, nay sooner, cut off my Hand and send it to him, as to do what he requir'd, to which there was no rejoyn­der, and so this Affair ended. The event whereof was, that they who before car'd not whether they wore Caps or Hoods, or not, now immediately procur'd them; ne­ver had the Makers and Sellers thereof a better vent for their Ware, as it appear'd the next Sunday, for there was then a greater number of Scholars at St. Marys in their [Page 43] Formalities, than ever I saw before or since, that time, and the Use of them continued, tho' not to that heighth, till the happy Re­storation of King Charles, which was in less than two Years after.

CHAP. VII. What happened to Dr. Ward at Oxford.

'TIS the natural effect of Eminency, to create Envy in those who despair to arrive to it; the brighter the Sun shines upon any body, the darker is the Shadow, which is inseparable from it. 'Twas well said of Cleaveland, 'Tis Heighth makes Gran­tham Steeple stand awry. Upon this account, Dr. Ward, as well as Dr. Wilkins, became liable to the Persecutions of those peevish People, who ceas'd not to Clamour, and even to Article against them, as Cavaliers in their hearts, meer Moral Men, without the Power of Godliness; for you must know, that a Moral and unblameable Person, if he did not Herd with them, was an Abomination to that Party. I have heard one of the chiefest of them out of St. Marys Pulpit, deliver himself concerning them in this manner; There's more hope of a Whoremonger, [Page 44] a common Drunkard, a profane Swearer, than of these Moral Men; they justifie their selves; Do not we, say they, do our Exercises constant­ly, do we ever miss College Prayers? Are we out of the Town after Tom has Toll'd, and the College Gates shut? Do we Injure any body, do we not pay our Battles and Debts? Are we Drunkards, Swearers, or Whoremasters? Who can say black is our Eye? My Beloved, such are in a desperate Condition, Iesus Christ can take no hold upon such Persons; and much more to this purpose.

Dr. Ward rid out this Storm, but Dr. Wil­kins put into the Port of Matrimony, mar­rying the Protectors Sister, Widow of Dr. Peter French, a Canon of Christ-Church, who really was a Pious, Humble and Lear­ned Person, and an excellent Preacher, and, if I should say the best of all that Party, I should not give him more than his due praise; in a word, this Party were rigidly and unmercifully Censorious against the Moral Men, and fondly and ridiculously tender towards those of their own Com­munion: If a Woman happened to be got with-Child by a Moral Man, 'twas in him a reigning Sin; but if it was by a Church Member, 'twas a failing, whereunto the best Saints were subject, not excepting the Man after Gods own heart. This Matrimony of [Page 45] Dr. Wilkins, before-mentioned, did him good Service at hand, gain'd him a strong Inte­terest, and Authority in the University, and set him at safety, and out of the reach of his Adversaries, and also preserv'd the Uni­versity from running into Disorder and Con­fusion; but after the Kings Return, it was for a while a Spoke in his Cart, and hin­der'd his Preferment, as we shall make ap­pear in its due place.

About this time the Headship of Iesus College became vacant, and by the direction of Dr. Mansell, the legal, but ejected Prin­cipal, who liv'd privately in that College, and by the Votes of the Fellows Dr. Ward was chosen and admitted Principal, but he was thought too dangerous by the Ruling Party, and they complained of it to the Proctor; whereupon he, and the Fellows who chose him, were cited to appear at White-Hall, and being there, were severely reprimanded, and in particular Mr. Vaughan, Brother to the late Lord Chief Justice, and threatned to be all Expell'd, but Dr. Ward was treated with great Civility, and highly Complemented, and dismiss'd, not without promise of particular Favour. But he was no sooner return'd to Oxford, but he found there an Order to yield Possession to Mr. Howell, one of the other Party, and then [Page 46] Fellow of Exeter Cellege, and he, I mean Dr. Ward, was promis'd upon so doing, a Stipend of Eighty pounds per Annum, which promise was never perform'd, and so he was defeated; but as all disappointments prov'd generally to his advantage, so did this also, for a short while after, he was not only chosen, and admitted, but enjoy'd a better Place. Dr. Wilkins, Dr. Goddard, and perhaps two or three more, whom I need not name, us'd their constant endea­vour to oppose the Fury, and moderate the Heats of the fiery, giddy Party, and to advance the interest of Learning, and in order to that, they concluded to get Dr. Ward more firm rooting amongst them, and did not despair of it, notwithstanding this disappointment. But here it is necessary for me to look a little backwards: In the Year of our Lord 1649. Dr. Kettle Presi­dent of Trinity College died; he was, as I have heard, an honest Man, and a good Governour, but in his latter time peevish, and froward, and had never any great stock of Learning. When Oxford was a Garrison for King Charles the Martyr, he would stand at the College Gate, and observe what Per­sons came to walk in Trinity Grove, for that was then the Oxford Hide-Park, the Ren­desyous of the Nobility and Gentry. I say, [Page 47] he took notice of all, and usually had a Saying to every one of them, which in­stead of vexing them, made them laugh, then would tell the next of the Fellows he chanc'd to see, I met some Iack Lords go­ing into my Grove, but I think I have nettled them, I gave them such entertainment they little look'd for. At my first coming to the University of Oxford, there were innu­merable Bulls and Blunders father'd upon him, as afterwards upon Dr. Boldero of Cam­bridge. Upon Dr. Kettles death, the Fel­lows proceeded to an Election of a President, and it lay betwixt Mr. Chillingworth, a Per­son justly of great Fame for his Learning, and Dr. Potter. Mr. Chillingworth had the majority of Votes; but being then at a considerable distance from Oxford, and not able to come suddenly, and take Possession, Dr. Potter laid hold upon this advantage, and was admitted; in a short time after when the University was Visited, Dr. Potter was Ejected, and Dr. Harris, Rector of Hanwell in Oxfordshire, put into his place. This Dr. Harris was a very eminent Preacher, his Hair rather white than gray, his Speech Grave, Natural, and Pathetical; I never heard any Sermons which became the Per­sons who pronounc'd them, so well as his did him. After Dr. Harris's decease, the [Page 48] Fellows chose Mr. Hawes, a Loyal, Learned and Modest Person, but of an infirm con­stitution of Health; he enjoy'd this Head­ship but a little time, and some days before his death resign'd it; whereupon Dr. Ward, to the great contentment and joy of the Moral, Sober Party, was elected President, which he accepted, and accordingly took possession of it. He us'd great diligence and care to put all things in order, and settle the troubled Affairs of it, governing with great Prudence and Reputation; but he continued in that Station a very little while, only till 1660, that memorable Year, for the happy Return of King Charles the Second, when he resign'd it to Dr. Potter; 'tis true, he left Trinity College, and Oxford, [...], with an unwilling wil­lingness, for he was contented with his Condition, and so pleas'd with a Collegial Life, and the Charms of that sweet place, that he would willingly have remain'd there the rest of his days, and in order to that, proffer'd Dr. Potter an Equivalent, which was refus'd, but yet, had he resolv'd to have kept it, he had not wanted sufficient ground to dispute the Title at Law; for tho' it must be confess'd, Dr. Potter was il­legally turn'd out, yet he never had a Sta­tutable right to that place, as is before made [Page 49] manifest. But Dr. Ward not being willing to contend, lest it, and also resign'd his Savilian Professors Place, and retir'd to Lon­don; what he did there, shall be the Sub­ject of the next Chapter.

CHAP. VIII. Of Dr. Wards being in London.

WE have observ'd before, that all Dis­appointments which happened to Dr. Ward, even since his first ejection out of Cambridge, have prov'd to his advantage; but this last of not retaining the President­ship of Trinity College, turn'd more notori­ously not only to his private Emolument, but to the public good also: For had he kept that Headship, I mean been buried alive in Trinity College, hiding his glorious Light under that Bushel, Exeter and Salis­bury could not have boasted of so good a Bishop, and Benefactor; the Church of England had wanted such a Pillar, and As­serter of its Rights, and the Poor the Houses and Benefactions he has provided for them; he might have publish'd more Treatises in Divinity, and Mathematics, but he could not possibly have done so much good.

[Page 50]On May the 29th. since made a perpetual Holiday by Act of Parliament, King Charles return'd in Glory to his Kingdoms, from which he had been unjustly Exil'd for many Years. He was no sooner fix'd in his Throne, but he resolv'd to settle the Church, as by the Ancient Laws Establish'd, to re­store and to confirm it, all its Lands, Rights and Privileges of which it had been Sacri­legiously robb'd and despoil'd. To this end, several new Bishops were Consecrated, who, together with those who out liv'd the Storm of the Persecution, were commission'd by the King to do it effectually. Those Ministers who were ejected out of their Livings for adhering to the King's Cause, were restor'd, and notice was given to all who had any pretension to any Ecclesiastical Places or Dignities, at, or before such a day, nominated, to appear, and enter their Claims, for after that day the Commissio­ners intended to fill all the Vacancies in the Churches. You may remember what I said in the Fourth Chapter, that Bishop Brounrig had conferr'd the Precentorship of the Church of Exeter upon Dr. Ward many Years before. And now that Title which had lain so long dormant, and as to outward appearance dead, awak'd, reviv'd, and took place, and was accepted [Page 51] by the Commissioners, by whose order he was admitted Precentor, not long after he was chosen Dean, and in the same Year consecrated Bishop of Exeter. During these Transactions, Dr. Ward had frequent occa­sion to ride betwixt London and Oxford, which Journey he always perform'd in one day, upon a high-mettled, dancing, I might say, a run-away Mare, for almost any bo­dy besides him would have found her so; but he was indeed a good Horseman, and valu'd himself upon it: I have heard him say when he was a young Scholar in Cam­bridge, and us'd to ride in company of o­thers to London, or elsewhere, he frequent­ly chang'd Horses with those who could not make theirs go, and with those tir'd Jades lead the way; but this is to be reckon'd amongst the least of his Accomplishments. By so often taking this Journey in the heat of the Year, he threw himself into a dan­gerous Fever, and lay long sick of it in Gresham-College, which not being well Cur'd, by reason that Dr. Goddard his Fysician, was then very full of Employment, and could not give him due attendance; I say it was not well Cur'd, he having not Purg'd after it, as it was necessary, it left in him an ill constitution of Health during the rest of his Life, and tho' he wrestled with it, and [Page 52] bore up against it for many Years, yet he could never subdue it; Morbum tolerare po­tuit, superare vero non potuit.

Upon the promotion of Dr. Reynolds to the Bishopric of Norwich, the Church of St. Laurence Iewry became Vacant, and it be­ing in the Kings Gift, was conferr'd upon Dr. Ward, who kept it till he was nominated Bishop of Exeter, and upon his resignation procur'd it for his Friend Dr. Wilkins, who was at that time wholly destitute of all Employment and Preferment; for upon the Kings Restoration, and the new Modelling of the University of Cambridge, he lost the Mastership of Trinity-College, having no o­ther Title to it than the Presentation of Richard Cromwell the short-liv'd Protector; however, he wrong'd no body, for the In­cumbent was dead, and none pretended any Right or Claim to it. And as if For­tune took delight in persecuting of him, and to heap Afflictions upon Afflictions, not long after, I mean in that dreadful and almost Universal Conflagration of Lon­don, he lost not only his Books, an irrepa­rable loss, as I my self have also since ex­perienc'd, but the unsatiable and devouring Flames, consum'd and reduc'd to Ashes all his Houshold-stuff, his House, and his Par­sonage also. Add to this, he, I mean Dr. [Page 53] Wilkins, was out of favour, both at White-Hall and Lambeth, for his Marriage menti­oned before in the Sixth Chapter; upon that account Archbishop Shelden, who had the Keys of the Church for a great time in his power, and could admit into it and keep out of it whom he pleas'd, I mean dispos'd of all Ecclesiastical Preferments, entertain'd a strong prejudice against him, so that he was now not only without any Place, but also without probability of obtaining one; so that his Fortune was as low as it could be, but he did not stay there long. I re­member Bishop Ward told me at that time, I am much concern'd for your Brother, and write to him oftner than I otherwise should, to keep up his Spirits and assure him of my utmost assistance, for the bettering of his Condition, lest he should imagine that I, in my Prosperity, should be unmindful of him in Adversity. And these good words were soon followed with answerable Acti­ons, he procur'd for him the Precentors place at Exeter, which was the first step he ascended towards a better Fortune; then did also the Honourable Society of Grays-Inn make choice of him for their Lecturer, and not long after, upon the death of Bi­shop Hall, he was made Bishop of Chester, not only without, but against the Consent [Page 54] of the Archbishop of Canterbury. After which, Bishop Ward introduc'd him into the Archbishops presence and favour, who entertain'd him very obligingly, declaring that the prejudice he had against him was unjust, and if he had known him sooner, he would have been sooner preferr'd. Be­fore Dr. Wilkins was settled in his Bishop­ric, a certain Person address'd himself to the Archbishop, and desir'd his Graces Re­commendation to him for a Place in his Gift. No, reply'd the Archbishop, that I can by no means do, it would be a very unreasonable thing in me, to desire a Favour from one whose Promotion I oppos'd; and they ever afterwards kept a fair Correspondence. The two other Bishops continued their old Friendship till death, tho' it is not to be deny'd, that they afterwards differ'd in their Opinions concerning the Bill of Compre­hension, the Bishop of Salisbury opposing it, and the Bishop of Chester with great zeal espousing it. Upon the translation of Bi­shop Gauden to Worcester, Dr. Ward, with­out knowing any thing of it, by the Inte­rest of the Duke of Albemarle, and Sir Hugh Pollard, then Controller, and some other of his Western Friends, whom he had oblig'd during his residence at Exeter, was nomi­nated the Bishop thereof An. Dom. 1662. [Page 55] After he was compleated Bishop, he put all things in order to go to his Diocess, and reside there; accordingly he went to Exeter, whither we will accompany him, and relate what he did there in the next Chapter.

CHAP. IX. Of his being Bishop of Exeter.

UPON his arrival at Exeter, he found all things in Disorder; the Bishops Palace was in the possession of a Sugar-Baker, and put to that sweet use; the Church was parted by a Traverse, the Presbyterians and Independants dividing it betwixt them, which Inconveniences the former Bishop took no care to remove, expecting to be translated to a better Bishopric, as after­wards he was. But before we speak of Dr. Ward as a Bishop, give me leave to take a short view of what he did when he was Dean of Exeter. He first cast out of the Temple the Buyers and Sellers, who had usurp'd it, and therein kept distinct Shops to vent their Ware. At his Majestys Re­storation the Nonconformists there being buoy'd up by some powerful Friends, who for their private Interest drove on, and hop'd [Page 56] to obtain a general Toleration of all Reli­gions, excepting Popery, took the boldness to petition the King, that the Partition in the Cathedral might not be taken down, that they might enjoy Altare contra Altare. But to give them their due, they were so generous, as to allow one half of the Church to the use of the Episcopal Party, to whom all did of right belong, that therein Divine Service might be celebrated according to the Act of Parliament for Uniformity of Worship, reserving the other part to their selves to Meet and Hold-forth in; but their design was prevented by the early applica­tion of the Dean to the King and Council, from whom he procur'd an Order, to restore the Church to its ancient Form and Shape, and remove the Innovations; he according­ly caus'd the Partition to be pull'd down, and repair'd and beautified the Cathedral, the Expences whereof amounted to twenty five thousand Pounds; he also bought a new pair of Organs, esteem'd the best in England, which cost two thousand Pound. But it may be demanded, how came he by such vast Sums of Money? I answer, it was not done out of his private Purse, but out of the Church Revenues; for all the Leases belonging to that Ancient and Rich Church being expir'd, the renewing of them caus'd [Page 57] that plenty. But now let's consider him as Bishop: He first retriev'd the Palace out of the hands of the Sugar-Baker, whom his Predecessor found and left in quiet possessi­on; he repair'd it, and made it habitable, for it was very ruinous, having been desert­ed before the Civil War, by the Bishops, who liv'd in other Houses; he took care of executing his Majestys Letters, com­manding the Augmentation of poor Vica­rages in that Diocese, and did it effectually; he also encreased the Prebends Stipends, from Four, to Twenty Pounds a Year: He kept his constant Trienial Visitations, in the first whereof he Confirm'd many thou­sands of all Ages and different Sexes; he also settled the Ecclesiastical Courts, and without any Noise or Clamour, reduc'd that Active, Subtile, and then Factious People, to great Conformity, not without the ap­probation even of the Adversaries them­selves. At this time Falmouth, from an in­considerable Village, usually call'd Penny­come-quick, being grown a great and beauti­ful Town, equal, if not superiour to Truro, procur'd a Charter from King Charles, wherein the new name of Falmouth was establish'd, and a Penalty put upon those who should call it by its old scandalous Nick-name. The People of this New Town [Page 58] had also built a stately Church, and sent to the Bishop entreating him to Consecrate it, which he did, dedicating it to the blessed Memory of King Charles the Martyr, ha­ving first taken care, that about a hundred pound per annum should be settled for the maintenance of the Minister. During his residence at Exeter, he gain'd the love of all the Gentry, and had particularly the help and countenance of the Duke of Al­bemarle, who in all things shew'd himself most ready to assist him in the execution of his Jurisdiction. The Bishop did not leave Exeter till he had made that Bishopric better than he found it, which he did by procuring the Deanery of St. Burien, near the Lands-end in Cornwal, to be settled up­on the Bishops of Exeter for ever, by the Kings Letters Patents, after the death of Dr. Weeks, who then was the Incumbent; he did not this to profit himself, for he had no prospect of ever being the better for it, 'twas only for the pleasure of doing good: It did not become void till Bishop Sparrows time, who was Bishop Wards immediate Successor; he first enjoy'd it, and it does still, and I hope ever will continue in the possession of the Bishops of Exeter, and their Successors.

[Page 59]Dr. Thomas Wykes the last Dean of St. Burien, was heretofore Chaplain to Arch­bishop Laud, I have often seen his Name to the Licensing of Books particularly to O­vids Metamorfosis Translated by Mr. Sandys, and Printed Anno Dom. 1640. He had Wit enouf, but it was not in a wise Mans keep­ing, as it often happens; this appears by an Answer he gave to King Charles the First when he was in Cornwal, in the time of the Civil Wars. The Doctor being well mounted, and near his Majesty, the King spoke thus to him, Doctor you have a pretty Nag under you, I pray how Old is he? To which he, out of the abundance of the Quibbles of his heart, return'd this Answer; If it please your Majesty, he is now in the Second Year of his Reign, pleasing himself with the ambiguity of the sound of that word, signifying either Kingship or Bridle. The good King did not like this unman­nerly Jest, and gave him such an Answer as he deserv'd, which was this; Go, you are a Fool. While the Bishop was at Exeter, as he told me at my return from Italy, he receiv'd a Letter from me, dated at Rome; when there were some of the Church and Citizens with him, he craved leave to open and read it, and when he had done put it up into his Pockets; then some of the Com­pany [Page 60] took occasion to ask him whence it came; he replyed, from Pope at Rome. In a trice it was buzz'd abut the City, that the Bishop was a Papist, and held Corre­spondence with the Pope; and this would have been believed, and have past for cur­rent amongst those who rejoyce to hear ill of Bishops, if he had not timely undeceiv'd them. Upon the Exaltation of Bishop Shel­don to the See of Canterbury, Doctor Hench­man Bishop of Salisbury, was translated to London, and Dr. Alexander Hide, a Kinsman of the Chancellor, from being Dean of Sa­lisbury was made Bishop thereof upon his death, for he enjoy'd it but a small time. The Bishop of Exeter by the Kings favour, was made Bishop of Salisbury A. Dom. 1666. After the Ceremony of the Translation was over, he set forward for Salisbury; I waited on him at his first going thither as Bishop, and spent much time with him there. He was very acceptable to his Diocese, innu­merable Persons coming in throngs to meet him, and striving who should be forwardest in shewing him Respect; but what was more remarkable, the tide of their Love and Affection for him was not then at the highest, but still flow'd and encreas'd as long as he liv'd, as we shall make appear in the next Chapter.

CHAP. X. Of his being Bishop of Salisbury.

AFter his public Entry and Reception, which was as great as the place could afford, the Mayor and Aldermen in their Formalities welcoming him, the School-ma­sters of the two Free Schools at the head of their Scholars Congratulating him, two choice Boys pronouncing Latin Orations upon that Subject, full of his Praises, and declaring how happy they esteem'd their selves to have such a Bishop, sent them as it were from Heaven. His first care was to beautifie and repair the Cathedral, tho' it did not want much reparation; for to the eternal Honour of the Loyal Gentry of that Diocese, whose Names I wish I knew, that I might, as much as in me lies, Conse­crate them to Posterity, during the whole time of the Civil Wars and the Kings Exile, when there was neither Bishop nor Dean to take care of it, they employ'd Workmen to keep that Sacred and Magnificent Pile in repair. I have been told by some who then liv'd in Salisbury, that they have several times seen Men at Work, sometimes on the [Page 62] inside of the Church, and otherwhiles on the outside; and asking them, by whom they were set on Work, receiv'd this Ans­wer; They who employ'd us will pay us, trouble not your selves to inquire who they are, whoe­ver they are, they do not desire to have their Names known. There being therefore not much to be done as to the reparation, he employ'd himself in the Decoration of the Cathedral: First, at his proper Charges, Paving the Cloyster, I mean that side of it which leads out of his Garden into the Church. At his Exhortation, and more than proportinable expence, the Pavement of the Church was mended where it was faulty, and the whole Quire laid with white and black Squares of Marble, the Bishops, Deans, and all the Prebendaries Stalls made New and Magnificent, and the whole Church was kept so clean, that any one who had occasion for Dust to throw upon the Superscription of a Letter, he would have a hard task to find it there. I have seen many Metropolitan Churches, but never any, nay, not that glorious Fabrique of St. Peters at Rome, which exceeds the ima­gination of all those who have not beheld it, was kept so neat as this in his time: Nay, the Sacrifice therein was as pure; there might be heard excellent Preaching, [Page 63] and Divine Service celebrated, with exem­plary Piety, admirable Decency, and Ce­lestial Music. His next care was to repair, I might almost say rebuild his Palace, which was much ruin'd, the Hall being pull'd down, and the greatest part of the House converted to an Inn, having a Passage o­pen'd thro' the Close Wall to give Entrance to the Market People, and other Travellers who came thro' Harnham from the Western parts; what remain'd of the Palace was di­vided into small Tenements, and let out to poor Handicraft-men. This dilapidati­on and spoil was the work of one Van Ling a Dutch-man, by Trade a Taylor, who bought it of the Parliament, when Bishops Lands were expos'd to Sale: See Salisbury Canto, Part 1. Stanza 20. His Expences in altering, repairing, and rebuilding, a­mounted to above two Thousand Pounds, there being little or nothing done in order to it by his Predecessors, who had the Cream of the Bishopric. While he was thus employ'd, I remember he came to me one morning and desir'd me to take a turn in the Church with him, he having a private way, as I have said before, thro' his Gar­den and the Cloysters; when we were en­ter'd, Come, said he to me, which think you will be the most convenient place for me to be bu­ried [Page 64] in? Oh my Lord, said I, may that day be far off. Come, come, said he tell me your opinion, for I am in earnest. Whereupon we view'd several places, and at last agreed upon that wherein he now lies interr'd; so that it is not true of him, what Horace said of a Noble Roman in his time, Struis do­mos, Immemor Sepulchri. i. e. You build Pa­laces and are unmindful of your Grave. While he was Bishop of Exeter, he had made, as I may call it, the Notitiae of that Bishopric, with no small pains and industry, which he bestow'd, upon his removal to Salisbury, upon Bishop Sparrow his Successor; which prov'd not only an ease, but a light and guide to him in the management of his Affairs. After he settled at Salisbury, he began, and in a short time finish'd such ano­ther Book for that Diocese, wherein were par­ticulariz'd all the Rectories and Vicarages in that Bishopric, all the Patrons Names, with their undoubted and disputable Titles; as also the Names of all the Incumbents, with their several qualifications, as to Con­formity, or Nonconformity, Learning, or Ignorance, peaceable, or contentious Con­versation, Orthodox or Heretical Opinion, good or scandalous Lives; for all which he had fram'd peculiar Marks, which he shew'd and explain'd to me: He found by [Page 65] daily experience, that this stood him in great stead, and did him eminent service: For when any Clergy-man of his Diocese came to him, as soon as he heard his Name, he knew his Character, and could give a shrewd guess at his business, and so was out of danger of being surprizd. He had not been long thus employd, after his arrival at Salisbury, when he was seizd with a vio­lent Looseness, and a Scorbutical Atrosie, for which, by Dr. Sydenhams advice, he be­took himself to riding upon Salisbury Plains, which he continued the latter part of the Summer, all the Autumn, and as often as the Weather permitted in Winter: That he might perform this Exercise with more convenience, and not neglect the Affairs of his Bishipric, he borrowed a House of the Earl of Abington at Bishops-Lavington, situ­ated in a pleasant and healthful Air, near the End of the Plains Northward of Salis­bury, and the Center of Wiltshire, and so more convenient for any of that County who had business with him, than Salisbury; it was also about four miles distant from the Devizes, a good Market-Town. Hence he set out every day, except Sundays, if the Weather permitted, nay, and sometimes when it was not seasonable, for we have been often caught in Storms of Rain and [Page 66] Snow, and forcd to seek shelter on the Lee-side of the next Hay-Rick we could gallop to: We us'd to ride ten miles for­wards or tantamount by our Watches, be­fore we returnd, and after Dinner, we re­peated the same, or the like Journey. The Bishop continued this Exercise, till upon account he had travelld more than three thousand miles. The longer he rid, the stronger he grew, so that he did not only tire me, but even the Grooms and Servants who usd to attend him, that he has some­times been forcd to content himself with the Company of one of his meanest Ser­vants. This Exercise set him right, and I may truly say, it was the only time that ever any Fysicians Recipe did him good; yet he was a great lover of them and their Pre­scriptions, and very Liberal, I may say Prodigal in his Fees to them: He also de­lighted much in Fysic Books, which wrought the Effect upon him, which they usually do upon Hypocondriacal Persons, that is, made him fancy that he had those Diseases which he there found describd, and accordingly take Remedies for them. He would take Pills and Potions when he had no need of them, from which, not only I endeavourd to divert him, telling him 'twas spending the Ammunition before the Town was be­siegd, [Page 67] but even Mr. Eyres his Apothecary, a very honest and skilful Person, who died Mayor of Salisbury, has joynd with me in that request, even against his own Interest.

To keep his Diocese in Conformity, he took great care to settle able Ministers in the great Market and Borough Towns, as Reading, Abingdon, Newbery, the Devizes, Warminster, &c. and because they are for the most part Vicarages of small value, as Prebends in the Church fell void, he be­stowd them on the Ministers of these Towns He also us'd his endeavour to sup­press Conventicles, which so angerd that Party, that in the Year 1669. they forgd a Petition against him, under the Hands of some chief Clothiers, pretending that they were Molested, and their Trade ruind, and that some of them imployd a Thou­sand Men, others eight Hundred, and that this Persecution took away the Livelihood of eight Thousand Men, Women and Chil­dren. But it was made appear at the Council-Table, that this Petition was a no­torious Libel, and that none of those there mentiond to be Persecuted and Ruind, were so much as Summond into the Eccle­siastical Court; as also, that many whose Names were subscribd to that Petition, knew nothing of it: So that instead of [Page 68] lessening the Bishops Favour with the King, they augmented it. Let this be said once for all, he was no Violent Man, nor of a Persecuting Spirit, as these Petitioners re­presented him; but if at any time he was more active than ordinary against the Dis­senters, it was by express Command from the Court, sometimes by Letters, and some­times given in Charges by the Judges of the Assizes, which Councils alterd fre­quently; now in favour of the Dissenters, and then again in opposition to them; as it is well known to those who livd then, and had the least insight into public Affairs. 'Tis true, he was for the Act against Con­venticles, and labour'd much to get it pass, not without the Order and Direction of the greatest Authority, both Civil and Ecclesi­astical, not out of Enmity to the Dissenters Persons, as they unjustly suggested, but of Love to the repose and welfare of the Go­vernment; for he believd if the growth of them were not timely suppressed, it would either cause a necessity of a standing Army to preserve the Peace, or a general Tolera­tion, which would end in Popery, whether all things then had an apparent tendancy. That Act had this Effect, it shewd the Dis­senters were not so numerous and conside­rable as they gave themselves out to be, [Page 69] designing thereby to make the Government believe it was impracticable to quell them; for where this Act was duely executed, it put an end to their Meetings, as it was evident in his Diocese; for in Salisbury there was not one Conventicle left, and but a few in the skirts of Wiltshire, bordering upon Somerset-shire, where for want of a settled Militia, by reason of the non-age of the Duke of Somerset, the Lord-Lieutenant of that County, they sometimes met in Woods, but upon Complaint their Meetings were suppressed, and his Majesty was pleasd to own and accept this as good Service to the Publick, and to incourage the Bishop in it. But a little after, I know not upon what ground, the Weather-Cock of the Court-Council turnd to the contrary Point, and one BLOUD, a Person notorious for stealing the Crown out of the Tower, and offering that barbarous violence to the Duke of Ormond, being of a sudden become a great Favourite at Court, and the chief Agent of the Dissen­ters; this BLOUD, I say, brought the Bishop of Salisbury a verbal Message from the King, not to Molest the Dissenters; up­on which he went to wait on his Majesty, and humbly represented to him, that there were only two troublesom Nonconformists in his Diocese, whom he doubted not, with his [Page 70] Majestys permission, but that he should bring to their Duty, and then he named them. These are the very Men, replyed the King, you must not meddle with; to which he obey'd, letring the Prosecution against them fall.

CHAP. XI. Concerning the Bishops Hospitality.

BIshops are commanded by St. Paul to be Hospitable; never did any yield more punctual obedience to that Apostoli­cal Injunction, than this Bishop of Salisbury did; for, be it spoken without any reflecti­on, no Person in that County, or the Diocese, that ever I heard of, kept constantly so good a Table as he did, which also as oc­casion requir'd, was augmented. He usd to say, that he expected all his Brethren of the Clergy, who upon any business came to Salisbury, should make use of his Table, and that he took it kindly of all the Gen­try who did so. Scarce any Person of Quality pass'd betwixt London and Exeter, but if their occasions permitted, Din'd with him. The meanest Curates were welcome to his Table, and he never fail'd to drink [Page 71] to them, and treat them with all affability and kindness imaginable. He often told his Guests, they were welcome to their own, for he accounted himself but their Steward. Never was there a more hearty Entertainer; I have heard him say, 'Tis not kind nor fair, to ask a Friend that visits you, Will you drink a Glass of Wine? For be­sides, that by this Question you discover your inclination to keep your Drink, it al­so leads a modest Guest to refuse it tho' he desires it: You ought to call for Wine, drink to him, fill a Glass and present it; then, and not till then, it will appear whe­ther he had any inclination to drink or not. When any Persons of greater quality than himself came to Salisbury, as there not infrequently did in their way to Ireland, he went to their Lodgings and invited them himself, and never fail'd to Treat them very splendidly. He knew not who Din'd with him, unless, as I said just now, they were of his own Invitation, till he saw them at the Table. After Morning Prayers, which he seldom, unless upon urgent occasions, miss'd; he constantly walk'd up to his Chamber, and stay'd there till a Servant brought word that Dinner was upon the Table. After Dinner, if any extraordinary Company were present, he would stay with [Page 72] them, drink a Dish or two of Coffee or Tea, while they, who had a mind to it, drank Wine, whereof there was plenty, and of the best. When the Bell Tilld, to use the Salisbury Frase, to Evening Prayers, then he call'd for his Habits and went to Church, carrying with him, for the most part, all the Company, who were obligd to go to Prayers with him out of Civility, if not Devotion. Besides what he gave away at the Palace-Gate, where he constantly re­lievd a great number of Poor, he inquird after those the French call Paures honteaux, who wanted and were ashamd to beg, and sent them Money to their Houses. He had also a Band of Pensioners, if I may so call them, the number whereof were limit­ed, but I do not remember of how many it consisted; these were payd Weekly, and as one dy'd another was substituted in his place; and those poor People who could get their selves listed in this Troop, count­ed their selves sufficiently provided for, if not for their own, yet for the Bishops Life, for the continuation thereof they dayly and heartily put up their Petitions. He never went to take the Air, which he usd to do very frequently, but he gave liberally to the Poor, not staying till they askd, 'twas enouf if they stood in the way, or casually [Page 73] met him on the Plains; nay I have often seen him call those who were at a distance from him and expected nothing, and give them Money. When his Coach, or if he went out a Horseback, or any of his Re­tinue appeard in Harnham, thro' which we usually passd to the Hare-Warren, all the Children would immediately leave their Play and cry out, My Lord Bishop is coming, my Lord Bishop is coming: Upon which A­larm, all the poorer Inhabitants appear at their doors, praying God to bless his Lord­ship, and receivd his Alms. He never went from Salisbury to London, or upon his Visitation, but he was accompanied part of his way by many of the Citizens, I may say of all, who either had Horses of their own, or could procure them for Love or Money, wishing him a happy Journey, a speedy and safe return. Both at his going forth, and returning back to the City, all the way from the Palace to the Close-Gate, usd to be lind with regiments of Poor, many whereof upon their Knees, with their Hands elevated to Heaven, loudly, and I dare say, devoutly and heartily, praying God, either for his good Journey, or praising him for his return in safety: I write not this by hear-say, but as an Eye and Ear wit­ness, and that not once only, but very fre­quently. [Page 74] I have said before, he often rode out for his Health, and when we were up­on the Plains, I say We, for I was his Fidus Achates, as constant to him as the Shadow to the Body; sometimes we by chance chopt upon the Dogs, and sometimes by my con­trivance, knowing whereabouts they intend­ed to Hunt, but however, and whenever it happened, the Bishop would ride a Ring or two very briskly, but w [...]en it came to Pick­ing work, or Cold H [...]ting, he would leave them, and proceed in his Promenade; but first I was sent to invite all the Gentlemen to Dine with him, whether he knew them or not; and this not once only, but Toties quoties, as long as his Health permitted. Our Airing was usually to a Hedge in Shaftsbury Road, about ten mile distant from Salisbury, thence we returnd and reachd home by Dinner time. Yet not­withstanding his hospitable way of living, and splendid treating of Persons of Quality, his Alms, his private and public Benefacti­ons, of which we shall treat in the next Chapter, I may boldly and truly say, there never was in that, or any other Episcopal See, so careful a Steward, for so he us'd to term himself, or so good a manager of the Episcopal Demeans. I have heard him say, If these Lands had been mine own, [Page 75] either by Purchase or Inheritance, I could not have been so solicitous to preserve them from damage. He had good Woods about six or seven mile from Salisbury, of which he cut down annually only so much as he made use of in repairing or building the Palace, and sold only so much as defrayd the price of the Coals which he burnt in his Kitchin; neither would he suffer one Stick to be cut down for any other pur­pose, tho' often solicited thereunto. I re­member he told me, I am resolvd, who e­ver succeeds me, shall have no occasion to be sorry that I was his Predecessor in this Bishopric, for I will leave it better than I found it; and he did not fail to be as good as his word, as we shall make manifest in the next Chapter. He us'd once every Year, and sometimes oftner, ride to the Woods above-mentiond and visit all the Coppices, and ask the Woodward several Questions, and give him strict charge con­cerning the Mounds, Fences, &c. But for all this, said he to me, for I always accompa­nied him when ever he rid out, these Fel­lows may easily Cheat me, but I suppose my fre­quently coming hither, unawares to them, and seeming so inquisitive, will make them more cautious. To shew his care yet farther, even when the Kings Commissioners came to [Page 76] Salisbury to buy Timber for the Royal Navy, he would not consent to the felling of one Tree, till he had received the Kings express Orders for so doing.

CHAP. XII. Concernings his Acts of Charity.

WE have declard in the Ninth Chap­ter what he did for the Church of Exeter, I mean his procuring the Deanery of St. Burien, to be annext to the Bishops of that Place. It our is work now, to shew what good he did to the Bishopric and City of Salisbury, and whether he left them better than he found them. He was very kind to the City, granting them what ever they desird of him, and in particular, his Picture at full length in his Garter Robes, the work of Mr. Iohn Greenhill, who was a Scholar of Sir Peter Lelies, an excellent Painter; this Piece is set up in the Town House, and esteem'd as an inestimable Re­lic. He also renewd to the City a Lease of the Mansion-House, and some Lands, which were formerly my Lord Awdleys, Earl of Castle-Haven in Ireland, which, for that Lords committing Crimes not fit to be nam'd, and being Convicted and Executed, [Page 77] became forfeited to the Crown, and so fell to the Bishop, to whom all Forfeitures are granted by the Kings Letters Patents. For doing this, he would accept of no other gratuity than a pair of Gloves, as an ac­knowledgment. He also contributed large­ly towards making their River Navigable, not only with his Money, but Advice, and dug the first Spadeful himself when they began that Work. He also made several Journeys in their behalf to the King and Council, and answerd the Objections which several Hampshire Gentlemen made against it, as I have briefly mention'd in the Salis­bury Canto, Part 1. Stanza 23. To the Bi­shopric of Salisbury he was also a great Be­nefactor, by prevailing with the King to annex and unite to it for ever, that Honou­rable and not unprofitable Place, the Chan­celorship of the most Noble Order of the Garter, the Ensigns whereof are, a Medal of Gold hanging upon a Chain of the same Metal, and he was the first Protestant Bi­shop who had the honour to wear it. And here I think it will not be impertinent to give a short History of this Office. The first Chancellor of the Garter was Bishop Beauchamp, Anno Dom. 1450, and that Ho­nour was enjoy'd by his Successors the Bi­shops of Salisbury, till the time of Cardinal [Page 78] Campeggio, who having incurrd the displea­sure of King Henry the Eighth for differing from him in the matter of the Divorce, re­tird to Rome, and died there, A. D. 1539. and lies buried in the Church of Santa Maria Tras Tevere. Then had the Bishops of Salisbury enjoyd that Honour Eighty nine Years, since which time it has always been in the hands of Laymen, till it pleasd King Charles the Second, upon the humble petition and claim of Dr. Ward, to restore it to him and his Successors the Bishops of Salisbury for ever, after the death of Sir Henry de Vic, the last Lay-Chancellor, and after it had been out of the See one hundred thirty and two Years: The Letters Patent bear date Novemb. 25. Anno Domini 1671. He was also very forward and liberal in promoting any good design in the way of Learning, as Dr. Castle in his Epistle Dedi­catory before his Learned Lexicon testifies, in these words. Enimvero universae hae li­terae, plus minus septingentas libras tantum mi­hi porrexerunt, ad promovendum opus, in quo millenas plures infaustus exhausi, praeter pluri­ma, atque ingentia valde, quae contraxi debita, Quid quod praenominatae Collectae summae pars maxima, quadringenta scilicit librae, procura­tione atque opera solertissima prudentissimaque Reverendi admodum in Deô Patris Sethi Do­mini [Page 79] Episcopi Sarisburiensis, intra quatuorde­cem dies fuerant conquisitae. That is,

But all these, speaking of the Kings, the Arch­bishops and other Bishops Commendatory Letters, produced me but seven hundred pound, a little more or less, and that to promote a Work wherein I had spent some thousands, be­sides contracting some very great Debts. The major part of which Collection, viz. Four hun­dred pound, was procurd for me in fourteen days, by the care and diligence of the Right Reverend Father in God Seth Lord Bishop of Salisbury. I have heard the Bishop speak with pleasure concerning this Collection, saying, the four hundred pound was con­tributed by the Clergy of the Dioceses of Exeter and Salisbury only; but his Modesty would not permit him to tell me what pro­portion thereof he gave. But the greatest and most seasonable Act of Charity, and public Benefaction, was building and en­dowing that Noble Pile, I mean the Col­lege of Matrons, for the entertainment and maintenance of Ten Widows of Orthodox Clergymen. I have often heard him ex­press his dislike, if any one call'd it an Hospital; for, said he, many of these are well descended, and have liv'd in good re­putation; I would not have it said of them, that they were reduc'd to an Hospital, but [Page 80] retird to a College, which has a more ho­nourable sound. He accounted himself for­tunate in purchasing Free Land whereupon to erect this Fabric, and yet more fortu­nate, that it was in the Close; for had it lain any where else, he must have been at the charges of a greater Structure, and en­dowing a Chapter, which was now need­less, the Cathedral being so near, where­unto they might with ease, and were all of them engaged to repair both Morning and Evening, and stay out the whole time of Prayers, under a pecuniary penalty. Du­ring his Life he put in the Widows himself, and at his Death, he left a Catalogue of of the Names of others whom he knew, or by the recommendation of others, believ'd to be fit objects of his Charity, these were next in succession, and afterwards the Electi­on was to be in the Dean and Chapter, and the Bishop of Salisbury, Alternis vicibus, by turns. This College of Matrons is a strong regular Building, within the Close of Salisbury, and a great Ornament to it. It is fitted for the reception of Ten Women, the Widows of Orthodox Ministers of the Diocese of Sa­lisbury; and in case there should not be found so many therein, their vacancy is to be supplied out of the Bishopric of Exeter, but I fear this will never happen. They [Page 81] have each two Chambers and a little Garden peculiar to their selves. To the maintenance thereof the Bishop settled more than two hundred pounds a year in Free Land, which lies in the Neighbourhood; over the Gate is written in Letters of Gold, the Inscripti­on following. ‘D'. O'. Mo. Collegium hoc Matronarum Humillime Dedicavit Sethus Episcopus Sarum Anno Domini MDCLXXXII.’

That is, ‘To the Honour of Almighty God This College of Matrons Was most humbly Dedicated By Seth Bishop of Salisbury, In the Year of our Lord 1682.’

Two Years after he built an Hospital at Buntingford in Hertford-shire, the place of his Nativity, for Ten poor aged Men, al­lowing each of them Ten pound per annum, which is also a Noble Structure, and bears this Inscription. ‘[Page 82]Anno Domini 1684. This Hospital was Erected and Endowed By Seth Ward, Doctor of Divinity, Lord Bishop of Salisbury, and Chancellor of the most Noble Order Of the Garter. Who was Born in this Town, within the Parish of Aspenden, and Educated In the Free-School of Buntingford.’

These poor Men are put in by Mr. Free­man and his Heirs for ever. Besides this, he augmented the Stipend of the Minister and the School-Master in that Town.

Tho' I am conscious that I have not en­numerated all his Benefactions, yet I will conclude this Chapter with his Erecting of four Scholarships at Christs-College in Cam­bridge, and endowing them with pound per Annum, which in that University is a considerable Allowance, the Scholarships there being generally inferiour to those at Oxford, as the Fellowships better. He had designd to have placd this his Benefaction at Sidney-College, but upon some disgust al­tered his intention, tho it is not improbable but that that College might refuse his prof­fer upon very good Reasons: For at Oxford no College will accept a Benefaction which [Page 83] only increases the number of Fellows, or Scholars, for thereby the Society is rather injured, than profited, unless the Benefactor also builds Chambers for their reception; for taking away so many Chambers, takes away from the Fellows so many Pupils; but on the contrary, a Benefactor who will in­crease the Stipends of the Members of the Society, will always be very gratefully em­braced.

CHAP. XIII. Of his Friends.

SHould I enumerate all his Friends whom I knew, I must fill two or three Leaves with Names and Titles, and this Chapter would look like a Money Act, wherein the Commissioners were all parti­cularly set down. I shall not therefore use that dry way, I will insert but few, and those distributed into several Classes; ac­cording to the laudable Custom of England, giving Precedence to the Female Sex, and placing them in the Van. Even from his unjust expulsion out of Cambridge, which we have mentioned in its due place, he never was destitute of Friends of the fair [Page 84] Sex, till some few Years before his Death, never without prossers of Wives, much be­yond his deserts; as the Markets go in Smithfield, to several of whom, he, to my knowledge, recommended good Husbands, and his recommendation was effectual; of these I will mention but one, for whom he also procured a good Parsonage, and he shall be Mr. Gibson, a Contemporary, a Fellow-Collegian and Fellow-sufferer in the Common Cause; he many Years after, when his Children were like Olive Branches about his Table, came from Hertford-shire to Salisbury to give the Bishop a Visit, and accosted him in this manner: ‘My Lord, I am come to wait upon your Lordship, and to return my most humble and hearty Thanks for your many and great Kindnesses to me, I owe all to you, you have got me all that I have in this World, except my Children.’ The reason why he did not Marry then, as I have received from himself, was this; he had not an Estate or Preferment sufficient to maintain a Wise suitable to the Fortunes which was prosserd with them. And that he would not put it into the power of any Woman, if they should happen to disagree, as there are few, very few, if any Marriages without Dissentions, those being the happiest where they are less frequent, to upbraid [Page 85] him that she had made him a Man, and that had it not been for what she brought, he would not have been worth a Groat. Being made a Bishop, first of Exeter, and afterwards of Salisbury, and consequently be­come greater and richer, 'tis not to be imagin'd those proffers should diminish, I am certain they increased; I knew several Persons of great Quality and Estates, who found ways to make it known to him, that if he would address himself to them in the honorable way of Marriage, he should not want a kind entertainment. But at that time he was furnished with another reason to con­tinue in Celebacy; he thought it not un­lawful, but undecent, for a Bishop to Mar­ry; perhaps he had in his eye the Fate of one of his Predecessors, Bishop Iewell, who married after he was Bishop of Salisbury, and upon that account received so severe a Reprimand from his Brother the Archbishop of Canterbury, and laid it so much to heart, that it accelerated his death. Upon these rea­sons he continued unmarried till his death. But this rare Example has been followed by none of his Profession, except only Dr. Bar­row, as we shall have occasion to shew here­after. 'Tis time now to take my leave of the Ladies, and proceed. While Bp. Ward resided at Exeter, George Duke of Albemarle began [Page 86] his Friendship with him, which continued, and augmented till his Graces death; he did him many good Offices at Court, and defended him against the Clamours and Calumnies of the Fanatics. The Bishop al­so was serviceable to the Duke, he instruct­ed his Son in the Mathematics, he also waited upon him frequently while he was in Health, and was never absent from him in his Sickness; he was with him in the last moments of his Life, he gave him the Holy Sacrament, closd his Eyes, and preachd his Funeral Sermon, which was printed, both by it self, and amongst his Works, published by Iames Collins as above-mentioned. To him I will add the Earl of Sandwich, Vice-Admiral of England, who was his Contemporary in Cambridge, a great lover and very well skilld in the Mathe­matics, but most famous for his skill in Maritime Affairs, for his not only ad­venturing, but sacrificing his Life for his Country. The next shall be my Lord Chancellor Hide, who had the Bishop in great esteem, and treated him with intimate Familiarity. I remember when we were at Astrop Wells, he sent the Bishop a pleasant Letter by his youngest Son, wherein a­mongst other things, he strictly enjoyns not to infuse any Mathematics into him, [Page 87] for fear they should render him unfit to be a Politician. To which the Bishop return'd in answer, That he would obey his Lord­ships Commands, and principally because De Wit was a famous Instance, That a good Mathematician could not be an able States­man. The Gentleman who brought this Letter, together with my Lord Faulkland, my Lord Roxborough, and several other of the Nobility of England and Scotland, pe­rished in the memorable Shipwrack of the Gloucester, which was then carrying the Duke of York to Scotland, upon the Lemane Ore, on Friday May 5. 1682.

This Story is so wonderful and honou­rable for the English Seamen, that I cannot forbear telling it here; 'tis an amazing thing, that Mariners who are usually as rough as the Element they converse in, when inevitable Death was before their eyes, and to be incurred within a very few mi­nutes; that Mariners, I say, should have that presence of Mind, that inestimable value and deference for the Duke of York, as being of the Blood-Royal, and Brother to their King, as to take care of his safety and neglect their own, to put him into a Boat, and permit no other Persons to enter into it, but those he called out of the sink­ing Ship, for fear of over-lading it, and as [Page 88] soon as they perceiv'd the Boat clear of the Ship, and the Prince out of danger, that they all of them should throw up their Caps, and make loud Acclamations and Huzzas of Joy, as if they had obtained some signal Victory over their Enemies, and in this rapture sink to the bottom im­mediately, at the same instant concluding their Lives and their Jubilation. Many Reflections may be made upon this remark­able Story, but I being in haste, leave that work to others.

I cannot positively determine, whether my Lord Clarendon was in earnest, and be­lieved that Mathematics would render those who understood them, unfit to manage State Affairs; but if he did, I put into the Scale against him another great Man, and Politician, I mean the late Duke of Lauder­dale, who has often declard in the presence of divers Persons of Quality, from some of which I had it, that in his opinion the Bi­shop of Salisbury was the best Speaker in the House of Lords. I will muster but one more, that shall be Anthony Earl of Shafts­bury, who was for a considerable time a great Friend to our Bishop; they enter­changed many Visits, as they might con­veniently do, their Houses in the Country being but at a small distance one from the [Page 89] other, and often consulted about Public Affairs; nay, after they went several ways in Parliament, tho their Intimacy was at end, yet their mutual Esteem continued: I have seen a printed Speech of the Earls, wherein he Treats the Bishop very honoura­bly, preferring his Speeches before the rest of his Opponents, as having more of Ar­gument in them, and being closer to the purpose.

CHAP. XIV. A Continuation of the former.

IF I should persist in this way of enumera­ting the Bishops Friends Dr. Lluellyn.; There's one, there's two, and so on like Faggots, I should tire the Reader and my Self; therefore as to those that remain, I shall serve them up in Clusters, excepting two or three, concerning whom I intend to treat more at large. The Bench of Bishops had that esteem for him, that they selected him to observe and reply to the Earl of Shafts­bury, if he should move any thing to the detriment of the Church; for this Earl was a Person of great Ability, and had a pecu­liar Talent to promote or hinder any thing passing the House of Peers. To mount a [Page 90] step higher, our Bishops Probity, Wisdom, and Ability to manage the great and Ardu­ous Affairs of State, was in so great esteem for a considerable while, that he was spoke of both at Court, and in the City, as the fittest Person to supply the place of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord-Keeper, or Lord-Treasurer, if any of them should be­come vacant. And I am confident it pleased him more to be esteemd worthy of such Trusts, than to have enjoyd the best of them I well remember the time, when he told me, he had the proffer of the Bi­shopric of Durham, after Bishop Cousins death. Pray my Lord, said I, accept it, we shall have brave Horses there, and the long Journey betwixt Bishops-Auclands and London, will conduce much to the meliora­ting of your Health He replied, I just now enterd it in my blue Book, that this day I refusd it. I replied, and pray my Lord, why did you so? Because, said he, I did not like the Conditions; but what they were, it would have been unmannerly for me to inquire, and he did not think it convenient to tell me. This is refusing so rich a Bishopric, is so great an Act of Self­denial, that I have reason to fear, 'twill not be credited upon my single Testimony; I shall therefore call in another Witness, [Page 91] against whom there can be no Exception, to corroborate mine; he shall be no lesser a Person than the present Bishop of Durham, whom not long after I met at Reading, be­ing then there with the Bishop of Salisbury in his Visitation, I having had the honour to have been acquainted with the Bishop of Durham, even from his first admission into Lincoln College in Oxford, laid hold on this occasion to felicitate his promotion to Durham: He replied, 'Twas proffered to your Bishop, meaning the Bishop of Salisbury, but he did not think fit to accept of it. And here now I should add the Nobility and Gentry of Wiltshire, Berkshire, Devonshire, and Cornwal, whose Diocesan he had been, but I remember my promise, to ease both the Reader and my Self. I proceed to the greatest of his Friends situated in high Places: He was very much in favour with the King, and the Duke of York, before he declared himself of the Romish Perswasion, whom he Treated magnificently at Salisbury, and also with the Archbishop of Canterbury, who used to entertain him with the greatest kindness and familiarity imaginable; in his common discourse to him, he used to call him Old Sarum: And I have heard the Archbishop speak of him more than once, as the Person whom he wished might succeed him.

[Page 92]About this time, as it is notoriously known, there were Intrigues carried on by a Party at Court, to introduce the Romish Religi­on, and make the Power of the King Un­limited, and Arbitrary, whereunto all Per­sons were to obey without reserve; which words were in one of the Proclamations sent to Scotland. But the Bishop of Salis­bury not swimming with the Stream▪ he lost at least one of his great Friends, and with him his favour at Court; the Effects where­of appeared not long after, the manner thus.

The Revenue belonging to the Order of the Garter, was usually received by the Chancellor, and he paid the Officers and the poor Knights of Windsor, the Surplus the King had formerly granted to Sir Henry de Vic, and it was quietly possest by him till he died, out of which he was to defray the Charges and Fees of Admission of fo­reign Princes and Noblemen who were elected into that Order: For this also, the Bishop of Salisbury had the Kings Hand, which Grant had been firm and irrevocable, had the Bishop Seald it with the Seal of the Order, which he kept in his possession, or causd it to pass the usual Offices, which had been easie for him to have done then, being in much favour at Court. But he made use of neither of these Corroborati­ons, [Page 93] and afterwards smarted for it suffici­ently. In the last Year of the Reign of King Charles the Second, and the first of the precipitous decay of the Bishop of Sa­lisburys Intellectuals, some sagacious Cour­tier found out a Flaw in this Grant; where­upon the Bishop was sent for up to London, and obliged to refund the uttermost peny, which in so many Years amounted to a considerable Sum, all which his Majesty took, without any scruple or remorse.

CHAP. XV. Concerning my Self.

YOU may remember, at the beginning of the last Chapter, I threatned to treat at large, of two or three of the Bi­shops second rate Friends; and here, as the Saying is, I will make bold to Christen mine own Child first, for Charity begins at home, and take this opportunity to put in my claim to that glorious Title. I say therefore, and proclaim it to the World, that I was his hearty, intimate, and un­feigned Friend; I doubt not but that this proud Assertion will provoke some testy old-fashion Filosofer, to take me up severely, [Page 94] that such an inconsiderable Fellow as I, should presume to stile my self a Friend to so great a Prelate, since it is evident out of Aristotle, that Amicitia est inter pares, Where there is no Equality there can be no Friendship. But, I pray you Sir, have a little patience, and hear how I defend my self against Ipse dixit, I will make use of the Shield of Horace, who lived in a greater Court, and may be presumd to understand good Man­ners as well as Aristotle, and I make no doubt, but that he had as much Wit too. This I rather believe, because he did not think fit to trouble the World with entele­cheias, entities and quiddities, and such other abstruse unintelligible Metafysical Notions. I say, this Horace uses the word Friend reci­procally betwixt Mecenas and himself; Quod te sortitus Amicum. i. e. That you are my Friend. And in another place, Iubesque esse in Ami­corum numero. That is, You have orderd me to be registerd amongst your Friends. Nay, he goes yet farther, and boldly averrs, that he deservd to be so, and that, whoever doubted of it, must esteem Mecenas a Fool, and not able to choose a worthy Friend, when he took so much care and caution about it. Presertim cautus dignos assumere. That is, You do not choose your Friends hasti­ly and hand over head. But I shall not bear [Page 95] pace with Horace so far, I only assert, that there was not a greater inequality betwixt the Bishop of Salisbury and Me, than be­twixt Mecenas and Horace. Our Poet was meanly descended, and Poor, Mecenas had the Etrurian Kings Blood in his Veins, and was immensly Rich, and, what is yet greater, chief Favourite to Augustus, the most hap­py and glorious of all the Roman Empe­rours, and Governour of Rome, the Queen of Cities, and at that time, the greatest and richest Town in the known World. Ha­ving thus made the way plain, I hope I may say without contradiction, that I was the Bishop of Salisburys Friend, and he was mine. But some may yet object, how will you make this appear? Have a little pati­ence, and read on. I did him all the Ser­vices in my power, I sufferd Cold with him upon Salisbury Plains, and Heat in his Chamber where there was always a great Fire, tho he did not use to sit by it; I made it my business to delight him, and divert his Melancholy, nay I may truly say, I profited him too. I presented him with an excellent Pad Nag, in whom he took much delight, not permitting any one to ride him besides himself, and valued him so highly, that he refusd fifty five Guineas, which Mr. Baptist May, Privy Purse to King [Page 96] Charles the Second profferd for him; but this Nag afterwards unfortunately died, by a tread upon one of his hinder Heels, not­withstanding the joint endeavours of the best Farriers to cure him: But I forget my self, I am writing the History of Horses. This Nag was given me by my honoured Friend Charles Lord Clifford, whose kindness I can never enouf acknowledge, and whose death I can never sufficiently lament. I present­ed him also with some curious Books which I had collected in my Travels, and I taught him French and Italian, and went through several Treatises with him in those Langu­ages. I read to him frequently, till my Eyes, by a vehement Inflammation, were useless to me, and renderd me less service­able to him, for above a Years time. This Malady was perfectly curd, by Gods bles­sing upon Dr. Turberviles application, as I have gratefully acknowledged in the eigh­teenth and nineteenth Stanzas of the First Part of the Salisbury Canto. I hope there­fore, twill not be thought that the Bishops kindness to me was wholly undeservd, for Amor, ut Pila, vices exigit. That is, Love, like a Ball or a Shuttle-cock, must be returnd, and held up on both sides. I acknowledge he was very kind and obliging to me, but yet I would not have the Reader run away [Page 97] with an opinion, that he heapd mountains of Gold upon me; I had, I acknowledge, my Diet and Lodging with him as long and as often as I pleasd; and when we Traveld together, or to speak with more respect, when I accompanied him or attend­ed him in any Journey, he defrayd my Charges, as one of his Retinue. Besides this, I never received of him, directly or indirectly, in Money, or Moneys-worth, to the value of Ten Pounds; and after his death, my Name was not so much as men­tioned in the Will, and it cannot be ima­gind that I expect any Reward for writing his Life now, so many Years after he has been bereavd of it; tho' I confess he did, more than once, proffer me Money when I was Sick in London. To what I said be­fore, that his Favours were not wholly un­deservd, I will take the boldness to add here, neither were they wholly cast away, for they fell into good Ground, and have produced a Gratitude in me, which lives, and encreases still, tho' he is dead. 'Tis not every one that will continue his De­votions and Thanks-Offerings, when the Altar is turnd to Dust, and the Saint re­movd. He did as great and greater Fa­vours to many others, which puts me in mind of that Saying in the Gospel, Nonne [Page 98] Decem facti sunt mundi? Sed ubi sunt novem? That is, Were there not Ten cleansed? but what's become of Nine of them? not any re­turning Thanks besides this one. There are yet two other good Friends of the Bishops, and mine also, who must not be passd over in silence; Persons of that Eminency for Learning, Piety, and Vertue, that I never thought my self worthy to unloose their Sh [...]o-latchets, tho' they did not make that figure in the World, as those great ones mentiond in the last Chapter. These were Mr. Laurence Rooke, Professor of Geometry in Gresham-College, and Dr. Isaac Barrow, of whom we shall treat in order, in the ensu­ing Chapters, only begging leave for a small digression between, concerning. Dr. Turbervile,

CHAP. XVI. Of Doctor Turbervile.

HAving casually mentiond Dr. Turbervile in the precedent Chapter, I should esteem my self unpardonable, as guilty of the greatest Ingratitude, to dismiss him in so few words; him, to whom, under God, I owe my Sight, a blessing, in my opinion, equal, if not preferable, to Life it self, without it▪ It was he, who twice rescued [Page 99] me from Blindness, which without his aid, had been unavoidable, when both my Eyes were so bad, that with the best I could not perceive a Letter in a Book, nor my Hand with the other, and grew worse and worse every day. Therefore, tho I might treat of him as a Friend to the Bishop, I chose rather to introduce him as mine, be­cause I was more intimately acquainted with him, and as it appears, by what has been said before, infinitely obliged to him.

Dr. Turbervile was born at Wayford, in Somerset-shire, Anno. Dom 1612, of an anci­ent Equestrian Family, there being in the Church of Beer only, the Tombs of no less than fifteen Knights of that Name, as I am credibly informd, for I confess I have not seen them. By his Mothers side he was Nobly extracted from the Family of the Da [...]bignies, which has afforded this King­dom many Peers; this Name did his Mo­thers Father, who was also his Godfather, give him when he was Baptized. Upon his going to the University, his Mother advisd him to make the Diseases of the Eyes his principal study, assuring him, he would find it turn to a good account. He was admitted in Oriel College in Oxford, and there took the Degree of Dr. of Fysic▪ When the Civil Wars broke out, he left the [Page 100] University, and bore Arms in defence of the King, Church, and the Establisht Laws; he was in Exeter when it was besiegd, and till it was surrendred to the Parliament Forces. Whilst he was shut up therein, he and his Comrade run in Debt a hundred pounds each, in Chalk behind the Door; he told me, that his Landlord came into their Chamber, leading his Daughter by the hand, and courteously profferd to Can­cel the Debts of either of them who should Marry her: The Dr. valiantly resisted this Temptation, and chose rather to pay his Debts in ready Money, which he did short­ly after; the other accepted the Terms, and had his Wifes Portion presently paid him; viz. His Scores wiped out with a wet Dishclout.

By the Articles, the Garison might re­turn to their Dwellings, and live there un­molested; he accordingly went to Wayford, and Married his only Wife, by whom he had no Children, and who died a few Months before him. At his own House, and at Cr [...]okhorn, the next a [...]jacent Mar­ket-Town, he practisd some time, but find­ing those Places not capable to entertain the multitude that resorted to him, he re­movd to London, with an intent to reside there; but the Air of that City not agree­ing [Page 101] with his Constitution, he left it, and fixd his abode in Salisbury, whence he made several Journeys to London, either upon his own occasion, or calld thither by some Persons of Quality, wanting his Advice. Once he was sent for by the Dutchess of York, to Cure the Princess of Denmark, then a Child, labouring under a dangerous In­flammation in her Eyes, and a breaking out in her Face, the Cure of which had been attempted in vain by the Court Fysicians. These despisd Dr. Turbervile, looking on him as a Country Quack, and demanded what Method he would use, and to see, approve, or reject his Medicaments, before he applyd them, which he refusd, telling her Royal Highness, that if she pleasd to commit her Daughter to his sole manage­ment, he would use his utmost endeavour to Cure her, but he would have nothing to do with the Fysicians. He told me, he expected to learn something of those Court Doctors, but, to his amazement, he found them only Spies upon his Practice, and wholly ignorant as to the Ladys Case; nay farther, that he knew several Midwives and Old Women, whose Advice he would ra­ther follow than theirs. The Dutchess yielded, the Surgeons and Fysicians were dismissd, and he alone intrusted with the [Page 102] Lady, whom, to his great reputation and some profit, in few months, fewer than could be expected, he perfectly cured of both those Distempers. I said some profit, for tho the Duke orderd him six hundred pound, he could never receive more than half of it; which, considering the Quality of the Pati­ent, the Expence of the Doctors Journey to and from London, and for Lodging, and Diet there, his long attendance at Court, and neglecting other Patients, cannot be esteemd a competent Gratuity.

Many Years after he was calld up again, by one of the greatest and ancientest Peers of this Kingdom, to whom, after having attentively inspected his Eye, he spoke af­ter this manner; My Lord, I might bear you in hand, a Western Frase, signifying to delay or keep in expectation, and feed you with promises, or at least hopes, that I should Cure you in some competent time, and so cause your Lordship to be at great expence to no pur­pose; I cannot Cure you, and I believe no Man in England can. The Earl answerd, Such and such will undertake it for a hundred pound. To which the Dr. replied, I have so great an Honour for your Lordship, and so much wish your Welfare, that I will joyfully give a hundred Guineas out of my own Purse, to the Person who shall restore your Sight in that Eye. [Page 103] I confess I am not able to Cure it, but I can reduce it to a better figure. Thus they part­ed; this Nobleman is living, and in a very Eminent Station at my writing this, but has not recoverd that Eye, nor is in any hopes of it, being long since convincd it is in­curable.

Dr. Turbervile was no boaster, nor would he promise to Cure any Distemper; but when Patients came, he would first look into their Eyes, then tell them their Di­seases, and his opinion concerning th [...]m; to some he would say, you're Incurable, and would not meddle with them; to others, that he had often Cured such a Malady, and sometimes faild of it, but if they would make use of him, he would do his best.

He generally prescribd to all, shaving their Heads and taking Tobacco, which he had often known to do much good, and never any harm to the Eyes. He did not rely upon two or three Waters or Powders, as most do, for he throughy understood all the Simples and Ingredients, conducing to the Cure of Eyes, compounding Medicaments out of them, with the manner and season of ap­plying them. He has often said to me, during my long being under his hand, af­ter inspecting my Eyes, I know what to give you now, but cannot tell what I shall to mor­row; [Page 104] this Water would make others blind, but your Eyes will bear it. Hence it follows, that it is at best, but by Chance, if such Maladies are cured at a distance, I mean, when the diseased are so far removd from the Artist, that he cannot visit them often, and observe the Operation of his Medica­ments.

I have said before, that the Doctor was Loyal, I will add, he was also a Pious Man▪ and a good Christian, that he constantly frequented the Public Prayers, and Sermons, and often receivd the Holy Sacrament with exemplary Piety and Devotion.

Add to this; He was far from being Covetous; he Curd the Poor Gratis, and receivd from others what they pleasd to give him; never, that I knew, making any Bargain for so much in hand, and the rest when the Cure is perfected, as some do. I could not force any thing upon him, for his Medicines and extraordinary Care, un­less it were a Cane, a Tobacco-Box, or some new Book, tho I was indebted to him for all the Comforts of my Life.

He has curd several who were born blind, but I do not look upon that as so great a thing; for the cure of such, if curable, for there are several sorts of Cataracts uncu­rable, consists wholly in this; viz. In know­ing [Page 105] when the connate Cataract is fit to be Couchd, in having a steady Hand, and skill to perform that Operation, to be able to prevent, or at least, remove the pains which usually fol­low, and sometimes kill the Patient: But to reduce fallen and inverted Eye-lids to their proper place and Tone, to cure inveterate Ul­cers, and Inflammations of a blackish colour, requires a consummate Artist. Hic Labor, hoc opus est.

To proceed; his Fame brought multi­tudes to him, from all parts of this and the neighbouring Kingdoms, and even from America, whereof take this Instance: I met casually a Friend upon the Exchange, who told me, as he was walking upon Tower-Wharf that morning, he saw a young Woman coming out of a Boat, who as soon as she had set foot on Land, kneeld down and said these words, which he being near overheard. Oh Lord God, I pray thee, that I may find Dr. Turbervile living, and not make this long Voyage in vain. To whom he replied, Madam, be of good comfort, he is alive, and in good health, I have receivd a Letter from him very lately. Your News, she answerd, is more acceptable to me than if you had given me a thousand pounds. What follows I had from the Doctors own mouth: She went to Salisbury, and by Gods blessing [Page 106] on the Doctors endeavours, was perfectly cured; but her Joy did not last long, for in her return to Iamaica, of which Island her Husband was one of the principal In­habitants, she died of the Small-Pox in London.

This Concourse forementioned, was very beneficial to the Inns and private Houses in Salisbury, being dispersd thro' all the quarters of the City, insomuch, that one could scarce peep out of doors, but he had a prospect of some led by Boys, or Wo­men, others with Bandages over one, or both Eyes, and yet a greater number wear­ing green Silk upon their Faces, which if a Stranger should see, without knowing the reason of that Fenomenon, I should not wonder, if he believd and reported the Air of Salisbury to be as pernicious to the Eyes as that of Orleans is to the Nerves, where almost one third of the Inhabitants are Lame. The Rendevouz of these Hood­winkt People was at the Doctors House, whither I frequently resorted, either to be dressd my self, or see others: I saw many remarkable Passages, whereof I shall relate but two.

The first is of a Country-man, whose Eye was Blood-shot, who spoke thus to the Doctor: I am a little troubled with a sore [Page 107] Eye, which I am come to thee to mend. Which Eye is it, said the Doctor? This, he reply­ed, pointing to it. The Doctor answerd, That is your best Eye. I see as well with that, replied the Country Fellow, as thee dost, or any Man in England. Whereupon the Doctor claps his Hand before that Eye he complaind of, and askd, What see you now? At which he cried out, I see nothing, I am blind; tho to all the rest who were there, that seemed a good Eye.

The other is of such another Person who came to the Doctor upon the like account; his Eye was Protuberant and could not be containd within the Lids, and seemd like a piece of raw Flesh; the Doctor placd him in a Chair, and with a pair of Scissors cut large Gobbets, the blood trickling down his Cheeks in abundance, and yet he seemd no more concernd, than if it had been a Barber cutting his Hair: I was surprizd at his behaviour, and said to one of the by­standers, Without doubt, this is a Married Man, otherwise 'twere impossible he should be so patient: Which he over-hearing, in the midst of his Torment, burst out into a loud laughter, and replied, No indeed, I am but a Batchelor.

To conclude this long Chapter, Dr. Tur­bervile died at Salisbury the 21st. of April, [Page 108] in the Year of our Lord▪ 1696, and of his Age the 85th. and left a considerable Estate in Money, betwixt a Neice of his Wifes, and his Sister Mrs. Mary Turbervile, who now practises in London with good Repu­tation and Success: She has all her Brothers Receipts, and having seen his Practise du­ring many Years, knows how to use them. For my part, I have so good an opinion of her Skill, that should I again be afflict­ed with sore Eyes, which God forbid, I would rely upon her Advice, rather than upon any Pretenders or Professors in Lon­don, or elsewhere. He is Buried in the Cathedral Church in Salisbury.

ADIEU my dear Friend, à rivederci, till we meet and see one another again, with Eyes which will never stand in need of a COLLYRIUM.

CHAP. XVII. Of Mr. ROOKE.

MR. Laurence Rooke was born in Kent, of a good Family, and educated in Cambridge, and when Dr. Ward was trans­planted to Oxford, he came thither, and seated himself in Wadham-College, for the benefit of his Conversation, bringing with him two young Gentlemen of the Family of Oxenborogh, to whom he was Tutor. He was very eminent in the famous Filosofical Meeting, which was after turnd into the Royal Society. After the Kings Return, he left Oxford, and repaird to London, with his Friend Dr. Ward, and was chosen, first Professor of Astronomy, and afterwards of Geometry, in Gresham-College. He was also one of the first Members of the Royal So­ciety. He was of a melancholy Temper and Aspect, his Complexion swarthy, his Eyes sunk in his Head more than ordinary, his Voice hoarse and inward, a sign that his Lungs were not sound; he was also much subject to the Scurvy, for which he usd frequently to take the Juice of Scurvy­grass pressd out of the Leaves without any [Page 111] other Preparation. He was profoundly skilld in all sorts of Learning, not except­ing Botanics and Music, and the abstrusest Points of Divinity. He was my intimate Friend, and in my judgment, the greatest Man in England for solid Learning, Semper excipio Platonem, Tranne Rinaldo, for Dr. Barrow had not then reachd his Zenith. I durst venture my Life upon the Truth of any Proposition he asserted, either in Ma­thematics, Natural Filosofy, or History; for I never knew him affirm any thing positive­ly, that was dubious. I have said to him, Mr. Rooke, I have found out the reason of such a Fenomenon▪ and given him my Argu­ments for it, which when he had heard, he has often replied in this manner; And why may it not as well be thus, bringing his reasons for another Hypothesis. Lord, said I then to him, now you confound me, pray tell me what is your Opinion? To which his usual Answer was, I have no Opinion. He was very modest and sparing of his words, unless amongst intimate Friends, and never talkd idly; I may truly say, I never was acquainted with any Person, who knew more, and spoke less. I usd in all Company to magnifie and extol his Lear­ning and Ingenuity, as it deservd; inso­much, that an eminent Citizens Wife de­sird [Page 112] me to help her to a sight of this pro­digy of Perfection, and to bring him upon a day appointed, to Dine with her Hus­band, who was an ingenious Person, and well known to us both. I prevaild with him to go, tho' not without some reluctancy. Thither we went, and found there several Strangers, whom Madam had invited, like the Widow in the Gospel, with a Come, come Neighbours, and for the Man that is so Famous. Amongst the Guests there were some who valued their selves for their Wit and Learning, more than they ought; these towards the latter end of the Dinner, began to shew their Parts, and fell upon several Arguments, talking ignorantly, dog­matically, and ridiculously, which Mr. Rooke heard, I cant say with patience, but with­out interposing one word. After Dinner, the Mistress of the House came insultingly to me, saying, I'll never take your word more for an Ingenious Man; you saw, how he let my Friends assert what they pleasd, and was not able to hold up the Cudgels against them; nay he did not speak one Quibble, or make one brisk Repartee all Dinner time; is this your magnifyd Wit? Madam, I replied, there's a time for all things; I assure you he can discourse as well as those City Wits your friends, but I cannot tell [Page 113] you the reason of his silence. Afterwards I askd him why he let those Fools run on at such a rate, when it had been easie for him, with one word, to have convincd them of their ignorance, and put them to silence. I remember he gave me this Ans­wer. 'Tis true, they were a company of posi­tive, ignorant, and self-conceited Fools; if I had interposd, it was a thousand to one, I should not have made them wiser, and as much odds, that I should have made them mine E­nemies. I will make bold with my Self, and here relate a Passage, which equally shews my Folly, and his Wisdom and Saga­city.

When I was a young Student at Oxford, I had an old cast Soldier for my Bed-ma­ker, amongst other questions, I askd him where he had servd; he answerd, both in Flanders and France: Then you speak French, I replied: Yes, Master, said he, and very well: What, said I, is French for such and such a thing? To which when he had answerd, Will, said I, you shall be my Ma­ster, and teach me French: With his help, and some silly Books, I soon thought I had attaind to the mastery of the French Lan­guage; and not long after I went to London, carrying this opinion of my self with me. Being arrived there, I wishd with great im­patience, [Page 114] for Sunday: Sunday came, I re­paird early to the French Church in Thread-Needle-street: I was very attentive, and staid there a considerable time, but, to my great mortification, I understood not one word the Minister spoke. I was amazd, and considerd how this could be; at last it came into my remembrance, that I had heard, the French and Dutch did once a Month interchange Churches, which was true, and that it was my misfortune to come upon that Day. This satisfied me, and kept alive my good opinion of my skill in French, which this accident had al­most destroyd. Upon this I went to Mr. Rooke, and declard to him my Adventure; Mr. Rooke, said I to him, you know I under­stand French very well: I know, said he, that you say so: I'll tell you, I replied, a strange Accident that befel me: I went to the French Church, and tho I was very attentive for a good while, I came away as ignorant as I enterd the Church, not understanding so much as one word. But at last I found out the reason of it, and contented my self, considering that it might be the turn of the Dutch to Preach there that Sunday, for you know they once a Month change Churches. 'Tis true, said he, it might be so, but answer me one Question; Did the Minister Preach with his Hat on or off? I [Page 115] replied, His Head was covered: Then, said he, 'twas a French Sermon; and now I hope you are convincd how well you understand that Language. This just reproof abated my Pride, and made me entertain a meaner opinion of my Accomplishments, and went a great way towards my Cure, which was afterwards compleated by an Accident which befel me in France, and I think I have had no return of that Disease since. Which Story, tho' it makes little to my Credit, take as follows.

In making the Grand Tour of France, we lodgd at a Village near La Rochelle, whose Name I have forgot; the Travellers were so many, that we were forced to Sup in a Barn, upon several Tables and Forms, there being no room in the Inn capable of so great a Company. The Supper and Wine was good, and I had taken a chear­ful Cup, tho not to excess, yet sufficient to cause me to do that, which otherwise I should not have done. The Scholars of Oxford, and I amongst the rest, had a foolish Frolic when they were in their Merriment, to twirle round the Hats of those who sate near them, and call them Cuckolds. This did I, not considering where, or in what Company I was, to a French Gentleman who sate over-against me: upon which he [Page 116] immediately leaps from his Seat, runs to me, and kisses me on both Cheeks, adding these words; Sir, I am more obliged to you than to any Person in the World. And why, Sir? replied I. Because, said he, you have pickt me out for so good a naturd Man, that would not take this action of yours for an Affront. I replied, with much shame, Sir, you have Cured me, I humbly thank you for it; had I met with a Person of less discretion, who could not distinguish betwixt an ignorant Stran­gers Frolic, and a designd Affront, it might have endangered my Life, whereas I shall now only lose an ill Custom, which is better lost than retaind.

But to return to Dr. Rooke: He had with great Study, and many Observations, al­most completed the Theory of the Satellites of Iupiter; I say almost, for he told me, he wanted but one Observation more, up­on such a Night, which happened when he was sick in Bed, and very near his death. He desired me to go to the Society, who were then sitting, and present his Service to them, and acquaint them, that if he had been in Health, to have made an Observa­tion that ensuing Night, he should have compleated the Theory of the Satellites of Iupiter, but since now it was impossible for him to do it, he desired some others might [Page 117] be employed; but nothing came of it, and his Papers, which he left to the Bishop of Exeter, for ought I know, have since perisht. Dr. Scarboroughs House was, as I have de­clared before in the Third Chapter, the Rendezvous of most of the learned Men about London, especially of those of the Royal Party, in the Year 1649, but how long before I cannot exactly pronounce, but I guess it must be about three Years, that is from the Surrender of Oxford, after the King had made his escape thence in disguise, and retird to the Scotch Army, who then, in conjunction with the English, besieged Newark, Anno Dom. 1646. At which time, Dr. Scarborough left Oxford, and began to practice in London; amongst those who frequented his House, was Mr. Hobbs, then newly arrived from France, where he had obtained a great reputation for his Book De Cive, which is a good Book in the main, and much better than his Leviathan; for in the first, there is Verbum Sapienti, enouf said, to let the intelligent Reader know what he would be at; but in his Leviathan he spreads his Butter so thin, that the course­ness of his Bread is plainly perceived under it. This Mr. Hobbs, I say, was just come from Paris, in order to Print his Leviathan at London, to curry favour with the Govern­ment. [Page 118] He had a good conceit of him­self, and was impatient of Contradiction: As he was Older than any of that Conven­tion, he also thought himself Wiser; if any one objected against his Dictates, he would leave the Company in a passion, saying, his business was to Teach, not Dispute. He had entertaind an aversion to Dr. Ward, for having written something against him, as we have mentioned in the Fourth Chapter; and before he would enter into the Assem­bly, he would enquire if Dr. Ward was there, and if he came not in, or if Dr. Ward came thither while he was there, Mr. Hobbs would immediately leave the Company. So that Dr. Ward, tho he much desird it, ne­ver had any conversation with Mr. Hobbs. About this time Mr. Hobbs published a lit­tle Treatise concerning Mathematics, where­in, amongst other things, he pretends to give the Square of a Circle; which when Mr. Rooke read and considerd, he found it false, and went to Mr. Hobbs to acquaint him with it, but he had no patience to hear him; therefore when he went next to visit Mr. Hobbs, he carried with him a Con­futation of his Quadrature, and left it be­hind him at his departure. Mr. Hobbs finds and reads it, and by want of attention, casts it up wrong, for it was accurately Cal­culated, [Page 119] and truly written, and thence in­sultingly concludes, since that Learned Per­sons Confutation was false, his own Qua­drature must of necessity be true. A Year or two before Mr. Rookes death, the Mar­quis of Dorchester, who professd so great knowledge in almost all sorts of Learning, being a Doctor of Fysic, admitted into the College and practising, a Counsellour at Common Law, and at Doctors-Commons, &c. was pleasd to make choice of Mr. Rooke for his Companion, and Fellow-labourer in Filosofy and Mathematics; the Marquis lived then at his House at Highgate, from whence every Wednesday, he used to bring Mr. Rooke in his Coach to the Royal Society, then sitting at Gresham-College. The last time Mr. Rooke came from thence, he walkd it, and that so fast, in the heat of Summer, that he sweat, and caught Cold upon it, and finding himself much indisposd, lodgd at his Chamber in the College that Night. Next morning I went to visit him, and per­ceived his Countenance much altered, more than is usual in sick Persons, in so short a time; he was not very hot, nor was his Pulse high, his Feaver being Internal and very Malignant. All the best Fysicians in London, for they were all his Friends, and Acquaintance came to see him, and went [Page 120] away presently, shaking their Heads, and despairing of his recovery; but yet that they might seem to do something, they or­dered him to Bleed, to be Blisterd, to have Plaisters applied to his Wrists, and the soles of his Feet: when the Surgeon came, he appointed him to open such a Vein, for under that there lies no Artery; this he did to prevent an Aneurism. He made a Nuncupatory Will, leaving what he had to his old Friend Dr. Ward, then newly nomi­nated to the Bishopric of Exeter; the Bi­shop Buried him decently, at St. Martins Outwich, near Gresham-College, and his Corps was attended to the Grave by most of the Fellows of the Royal Society who were then in Town, lamenting theirs, and the Learned Worlds loss. In his Will he ordered that his Executor might receive what was due to him by Bond, if they who were bound did proffer the payment willingly; but I would not, said he, have him Sue the Bonds; for as I never was in Law, or had any Con­tention with any Man in my life, neither would I be after my death. In the Memory of his deceased Friend, Bishop Ward gave to the Royal Society a large Pendulum Clock, made by Fromantel, and then esteemed a great Rarity, and set it up in the Room of their Meeting, upon which were engravd these words:

[Page 121] Societati Regali ad Scientiam Naturalem promovendam institutae, dono dedit. Reveren­dus in Christo Pater Sethus Episcopus Exon, ejusdem Societatis Sodalis, in memoriam Lau­rentii Rooke viri in omni literarum genere in­structissimi, Collegii Greshamensis primum Astro­nomiae deinde Geometriae Professoris dictaeque Societatis nuper sodalis, Qui obiit Junii 26. Anno Dom. 1662. That is,

Seth Bishop of Exeter, gave this to the Royal Society to be set up in the place of their Meeting, in Memory of Mr. Lawrence Rooke, a Person throughly skilld in all sorts of good Literature; first, Astronomy, afterwards Geo­metry Professor in Gresham-College, who died the 26. of June, in the Year of our Lord, 1662. What I have more to say of him, shall be delivered in the ensuing Chapter.

CHAP. XVIII. A Continuation of the precedent Chapter.

THey who are desirous to know more of Mr. Rooke, may, if they please, have recourse to what Dr. Barrow says of him in his Auguration Speech, when he succeeded him in the Professor of Geome­trys place in Gresham-College. This Oration [Page 122] is printed in the fourth Volume of Dr. Bar­rows Works; and what concerns Mr. Rooke, begins in the Ninety third Page, towards the bottom of it. There they will find a great, and yet a just and true Character of him, as all those who knew him must acknowledge, and that managed with much Art, and writ­ten with great Eloquence; but what is most remarkable, he begins with an admirable turn of Wit, making use of a Topic to gain Credence with his Auditory, which seems adapted to work the contrary Effect. Be­fore he enters upon his Panegyric, he franc­ly confesses that he did not know Mr. Rooke; now one would think, this should strike a damp upon the Auditors, and cause them to reason thus: If this Orator knew not the Person whom he undertakes to praise, what reason have we to believe what he says of him? certainly we have none at all. Which Objection he thus anticipates: Even for that, says he, you ought to give greater Credit to my Words; for had he been my Acquaintance, near Relation, or intimate Friend, I might have been bribd by my Love to him, and suspected to have lookt on him with Magnifying Glasses, and have both perceivd and represented his Vertues greater than they were; but now I am free from any such suspicion, speaking [Page 123] of him only by Hear-say, or Report; but what Report? The constant, universal, and uncontradicted Suffrage of all Learned and Wise Men: But it sounds better in his own Words. Antecessorum, ut tempore postremus, ita nulli postponendus, vir infelici ne dissimu­lem mihi, non nisi de longinquo & famae tan­tum beneficio cognitas, famae tamen haud vul­garis aut dubiae, sed optimorum complurium & prestantissimorum virorum consona autoritate subnixae quo paratiorem mea verba, non ab effectu privato dictata sed veritatis vi ex­pressa, non Amicitiae juri debita sed virtutis reverentiae data, sibi fidem deposcant. Quid enim qui virtutum suarum segniter animos ir­ritanti fama, non admodum credulae facilitatis homines admiratione perculit, corripuitque a­more, qui sibi necdum visos penitasque ignotos studio devinxit sui, & desiderio inflammavit, qualem quantumque esse virum oportuit? Tui certe similem, Divine Laurenti, ut potein quo, cum omnigena Scientia rerum, incorrupta Pro­bitas morum, cum intelligentia magis quam virili, plus quam virgi pudor, cum sagacissima prudentia, candidissima simplicitas, cum pro­funda soliditate judicii perspicax Acumen in­genii, cum vivida alacritate mentis, invicta laboris patientia, cum illibata denique severitate vitae suae, suavissima conversandi tenitas, raro quodom, & vix credibili temperamento conspi­rarint. [Page 124] Non unius, is scilicet aut alterius Scientiae tenui rore aspersus, sed omnium fuit denso imbre perfusus, nec extimam duntaxat cutem rerum perstrinxit notitiae, sed abstru­sissima viscera pervasit, &c. That is,

Before the Bishop of Exeter resolvd to give a Pendulum Clock to the Royal So­ciety, to preserve Mr. Rookes Memory, he design'd to have put up an Inscription over or near the place of his Interrment; for that end, Dr. Bathurst, now Dean of Wells, composd an ingenious Epitaf, very worthy to be here inserted, this was communicated to me by my worthy Friend Abraham Hill Esquire, so often before mentioned, 'tis as follows.

In English thus.

[Page 128]Doctor Barrow did not only succeed Mr. Rooke in his Place at Gresham-College, but also in his intimate Friendship with Bishop Ward; and as such, I shall treat of him in the ensuing Chapter.

CHAP. XIX. Of Doctor Barrow.

IT is not my design to write Dr. Barrows Life, and if it were, I am not furnish­ed with sufficient Materials for that under­taking. It is already done, tho with too much brevity, by a better hand, dedicated to the Reverend Dr. Tillotson, then Dean, and afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury, by my worthy, learned, and ingenious Friend, Abraham Hill, Esq out of whose Account I shall take what I before was ig­norant of, concerning his Birth and Edu­cation, before he arrivd to be so Eminent at Cambridge, adding thereunto, several par­ticular Accidents which happened during my intimate acquaintance with him, and sometimes going out of the way for a sea­son, to make the Narration more delight­ful. I may possibly insert some particulars, which will seem trivial, tho in my opinion, [Page 129] the less considerable Words, and Actions, and Circumstances of great Men, amongst whom, he has a just title to be inrolld, are worthy to be transmitted to Posterity.

Mr. Hill fixes Dr. Barrows Birth in the Month of October, A. D. 1630. But I hope he will not be offended if I dissent from him, both as to the Year and Month, and produce Reason for so doing; tis this: I have often heard Dr. Barrow say, that he was born upon the Twenty-ninth of Feb­ruary; and if he said true, it could not be either in October, or in 1630, that not be­ing a Leap-Year. I would not have asserted this, merely upon the credit of my Memo­ry, had it been any other Day of any other Month, it being told me so long since, had I not this remarkable Circumstance to con­firm it: He used to say, it is in one re­spect, the best Day in the Year to be born upon, for it afforded me this advantage over my Fellow Collegiates, who used to keep Feasts upon their Birth-day; I was treated by them once every Year, and I entertaind them once in four Years, when February had nine and twenty Days.

Dr. Barrow was born in London, and well descended; his Great Grandfather was Fil­lip Barrow, who published a Method of Fysic, whose Brother Isaac was a Doctor of [Page 130] Fysic, and a Benefactor to Trinity College in Cambridge, as also a Tutor therein to Robert Cecill Earl of Salisbury, and Lord-Treasurer of England. His Grandfather was Isaac Barrow Esquire, of Spiney-Abbey in Cambridge-shire, a Person of a good Estate, and a Justice of Peace during the space of fourty Years. His Fathers Name was Tho­mas, a reputable Citizen of London, and Linnen-Draper to King Charles the First, to whose Interests he adherd, following him first to Oxford, and after his Execrable Mur­der, he went to his Son Charles the Second, then in Exile, there with great patience expecting the Kings Restoration, which at last happened, when twas almost despaird of. I remember Mr. Abraham Cowley, who also was beyond Sea with the King, told me, at our first coming into France, we ex­pected every Post would bring us News of our being recalld; but having been frustra­ted for so many Years, we could not be­lieve it when the happy News arrivd. This Thomas had a Brother whose Name was Isaac, afterwards Bishop of St. Asaf, whose Consecration Sermon, his Nevew and Name­sake our Dr. Barrow, preachd at Westmin­ster-Abbey. His Mother was Ann, Daugh­ter of William Buggins Esq of North-Cray in Kent. This Genealogy, tho short, has [Page 131] quite tird my patience, it so little concerns him, for it is certainly the least of his Praises, if it be any at all. To be Nobly or Royally extracted, is the gift of blind Fortune; A Principibus nasci fortuitum est. This may happen to an ill and ignorant Person, but to be eminently Learned and Pious, cannot be obtaind, without indefa­tigable Industry, and a sincere love and constant practise of Vertue. He was first put to the Charterhouse School, where he made little or no progress, there appearing in him an inclination rather to be a Soldier than a Scholar, his chief delight being in Fighting himself, and encouraging his Play-fellows to it; and he was indeed of an undaunted Courage, as we shall make evident in its place. His Father finding no good was to be hopd for there, removd him to Felstead in Essex, where contrary to his expectation, and even beyond his hopes, his Son on a sudden, became so great a proficient in Learning, and all other praise-worthy Qua­lifications, that his Master appointed him Tutor to the Lord Viscount Fairfax, of Emely in Ireland, who was then his Scholar. During his stay at Felstead, he was admit­ted into Peter-House, of which College his Uncle the Bishop had formerly been a Mem­ber. When he was fit for the University [Page 132] he went to Cambridge, and was admitted in Trinity in Febr. A. D. 1645. He was there kindly treated by Dr. Hill, whom the Par­liament had put in to that Mastership, in the place of Dr. Comber, ejected for adhering to the King. This Dr. Hill, I say, one day laying his Hand upon young Isaacs Head, Thou art a good Lad, said he, tis pity thou art a Cavalier; and afterwards, when he had made an Oration upon the Gun-powder Treason, wherein he had so celebrated the former Times, as to reflect much on the present. Some of the Fellows movd for his Expulsion, but the Master silencd them with these word, Barrow is a better Man than any of us. This is very remarkable, and an e­vident Testimony of our young Scholars irresistible Merits, which could, as the Poets feign of Orfeus,—Lenire Tigres rapidesque Leones; that is, Tame Savage Tigers and fierce Lions, make a Presbyterian kind to a Cavalier, and Malignant, which Names the adherers to the King, Church, and Laws went under in those days. Anno Domini 1649. He was chosen Fellow of the Col­lege, carrying it merely by the dint of his Merits, having no Friend to commend him, as being of a contrary Perswasion to those who then carried all things in that Univer­sity. This brings to my Memory, a Cer­tificate [Page 133] or Testimonial, which my worthy Friend Dr. Gilbert Ironside, then Warden of Wadham-College in Oxford, and now Bishop of Hereford, gave to a Member of that Col­lege, who was Candidate for a Fellowship in another College, it was to this purpose. If this Person, whom I recommend to you, be not a better Scholar than any of those who are his Competitors, choose him not; and he did upon Examination and Trial so far surpass the rest, that they could not refuse him, without being, and appearing Partial, and unjust. I mention this as a Parallel to Dr. Barrows Case.

When Doctor Duport resignd his Greek Lecture, he recommended his Pupil Mr. Barrow for his Successor, who justified his opinion of his fitness for that Employment, by an excellent performance of the Proba­tion Exercise; but the governing Party thinking him inclind to Arminianism, put him by it. This disappointment, the melan­choly aspect of Public Affairs, together with a desire to see some of those places menti­oned in Greek and Latin Writers, made him resolve to Travel; which, that he might be better inabled to do, he converted his Books into ready Money. He began his Travels, Anno Dom. 1654, and went first to Paris, to crave his Fathers Benedicti­on, [Page 134] who was then in the English Court praying for, but scarce hoping, much less expecting the Kings Restoration, to whom, his pious Son, out of his small Stock, made a seasonable Present. After some Months stay there, he went to Italy, and remained some time at that most beautiful City of Florence, where he had the favour, and neg­lected it not, to peruse many Books in the Grand Dukes Library, and ten thousand curious Medals, and to discourse concerning them with Mr. Fitton, who found his abili­ty so great in that sort of Learning, that upon his recommendation, the Grand Duke invited Dr. Barrow to take upon him the Charge and Custody of that great Treasure of Antiquity. From Florence he went to Leghorne, Anno Dom. where he was much Caressd by the English Merchants re­siding there: Thence he saild to Smyrna, where he met with the like kindness and entertainment from Consul Breton, and the rest of that Factory: As he did also after­wards at Constantinople, from Sir Thomas Bendish the English Ambassador at the Ot­toman Court, Sir Ionathan Dawes, and the rest of the English Merchants, from whom he received many Favours, and with whom he ever after continued an intimate Friend­ship. At Constantinople the See of St. Chry­sostom, [Page 135] he read all the Works of that Father, whom he much preferrd before the rest. He remained in Turkey more than a Year, and then returnd to Venice, where he was no sooner Landed, but the Ship which brought him took Fire, and was, with all its Cargo, consumd to Ashes, the Men only savd. From Venice, in his way to England ▪ he passd by through Germany and Holland, and has left a Description of some parts of those Countries in his Poems.

Anno Dom. 1660, He was chosen with­out a Competitor, Professor of the Greek Tongue in Cambridge; two Years after, he was elected Professor of Geometry at Gre­sham-College, in the place of Mr. Laurence Rooke, concerning whom, we have discoursd at large in the two preceding Chapters.

Anno Dom. 1669, Mr. Lucas Founded, and richly endowd a Mathematical Lecture in Cambridge, which his Executors, Mr. Raworth and Mr. Buck, conferrd upon Dr. Barrow, enjoyning him to leave every Year Ten Lectures in Writing to the University, the better to secure the End of so Noble and Useful a Foundation. The Lectures which are printed, and others of his, ready for the Press, will give the best Account how he behavd himself in that Employment. Almost all I have hitherto said, is, I ac­knowledge, [Page 136] taken out of Mr. Hills Account of Dr. Barrows Life; but now I am got within mine own knowledge, and can pro­ceed securely without his Clue, or the help of any other Guide. I promise, I will ad­vance nothing, but what I have good Au­thority for, but what I have either known my self to be true, or heard from Dr. Bar­rows mouth.

I am not unmindful of my promise, to make it appear in its due place, that Dr. Barrow was endued with an undaunted Courage; to prove which, I think these two instances following will be sufficient. In his passage from Leghorn to Constantinople, the Ship he saild in was attackd by an Al­gerine Pyrate; during the Fight, he betook himself to his Arms, staid upon the Deck, chearfully and vigorously fighting, till the Pyrate perceiving the stout defence the Ship made, steerd off and left her. I askd him, why he did not go down into the Hold, and leave the defence of the Ship to those to whom it did belong: He replied, It concernd no Man more than my self; I would rather have lost my Life, than have faln into the hands of these merciless Infi­dels. This Engagement, and his own slout and intrepid behaviour in it, to defend his Liberty, which he valued more than his Life, [Page 137] as he asserts in that Verse, Almaque libertas vitali charior Aura, he describes at large, in a Copy of Verses in the Fourth Volume of his Works, Printed by Brabazon Aylmer. To this I will add another Accident, which befel him in England, it being of the like nature: He was at a Gentlemans House in the Country, if I mistake not in Cambridge-shire, where the Necessary House was at the end of a long Garden, and consequently at a great distance from the Room where he lodgd, as he was going to it very early, even before Day, for, as I shall shew here­after, he was sparing of sleep, and an early riser, a fierce Mastiff, who used to be chaind up all Day, and let loose late at Night for the security of the House, perceiving a strange Person in the Garden at that un­seasonable time, set upon him with great fury. The Dr catchd him by the Throat, threw him, and lay upon him, and whilst he kept him down, considered what he should do in that Exigent; once he had a mind to kill him, but he quite alterd this resolution, judging it would be an unjust Action, for the Dog did his duty, and he himself was in fault for rambling out of his Lodgings before twas light. At length he calld out so loud, that he was heard by some of the House, who came presently [Page 138] out, and freed both the Doctor and the Dog, from the eminent danger they were both in.

Anno Dom. 1672, Upon the death of Bishop Wilkins, Dr. Pearson, Master of Tri­nity College in Cambridge, was promoted to the Bishopric of Chester, and the vacant Mastership was, by the King, conferrd up­on Dr. Barrow. I will leave him possest of that Post, and look a little backward, and declare some Accidents of his Life, which happened before he had arrivd to that emi­nent Dignity; but because this Chapter is long enouf already, for the Readers sake and mine own, I will here make a Halt, reserving what remains, to the following Chapters.

CHAP. XX. The same Matter continued.

AS soon as Dr. Ward was made Bishop of Exeter, he procured for his old Friend Dr. Wilkins, the Rectory of St. Lau­rence-Iewry, who was then destitute of any Place, the reason whereof I have given be­fore: He being Minister there, and forcd by some Indisposition to keep his Chamber, [Page 139] desird Dr. Barrow to give him a Sermon the next Sunday, which he readily consent­ed to do. Accordingly, at the time ap­pointed, he came, with an Aspect pale and meagre, and unpromising, slovenly and carelesly dressed, his Collar unbuttond, his Hair uncombd, &c. Thus accoutred, he mounts the Pulpit, begins his Prayer, which, whether he did Read or not, I cannot posi­tively assert, or deny: Immediately all the Congregation was in an uproar, as if the Church were falling, and they scampering to save their Lives, each shifting for him­self with great precipitation; there was such a noise of Pattens of Serving-Maids, and ordinary Women, and of unlocking of Pewes, and cracking of Seats, causd by the younger sort hastily climbing over them, that I confess, I thought all the Congrega­tion were mad: But the good Doctor seem­ing not to take notice of this disturbance, proceeds, names his Text, and preachd his Sermon, to two or three gathered, or rather left together, of which number, as it for­tunately happened, Mr. Baxter, that Emi­nent Non-conformist was one, who after­wards gave Dr. Wilkins a Visit, and com­mended the Sermon to that degree, that he said, he never heard a better Discourse: There was also amongst those who staid [Page 140] out the Sermon, a certain young Man, who thus accosted Dr. Barrow as he came down from the Pulpit; Sir, be not dismayd, for I assure you, twas a good Sermon. By his Age and dress, he seemed to be an Ap­prentice, or at the best, a Fore-man of a Shop, but we never heard more of him. I askd the Doctor, what he thought, when he saw the Congregation running away from him? I thought, said he, they did not like me, or my Sermon, and I have no reason to be angry with them for that. But what was your opinion, said I, of the Apprentice? I take him, replied he to be a very Civil Person, and if I could m [...] with him I'd present him with a bottle of Wine. There were then in that Parish a company of formal, grave, and wealthy Citizens, who having been many Years under famous Ministers, as Dr. Wil­kins, Bishop Ward, Bishop Reynolds, Mr. Vines, &c. had a great opinion of their skill in Divinity, and their ability to judge of the goodness and badness of Sermons: Many of these came in a body to Dr. Wil­kins, to expostulate with him, why he sufferd such an Ignorant, Scandalous Fel­low, meaning Dr. Barrow, to have the use of his Pulpit. I cannot precisely tell, whe­ther it was the same day, or sometime af­ter in that Week, but I am certain it hap­pened [Page 141] to be when Mr. Baxter was with Dr. Wilkins. They came, as I said before, in full Cry, saying, they wonderd he should permit such a Man to Preach before them, who lookt like a starvd Cavalier who had been long Sequesterd, and out of his Living for Delinquency, and came up to London to beg, now the King was restord; and much more to this purpose. He let them run their selves out of breath, when they had done speaking, and expected an humble sub­missive Answer, he replied to them in this manner: The Person you thus despise, I assure you, is a Pious Man, an Eminent Scholar, and an Excellent Preacher: For the truth of the last, I appeal to Mr. Baxter here present, who heard the Sermon, you so vilifie: I am sure you believe Mr. Baxter is a competent Iudge, and will pronounce according to Truth; then turning to him, Pray Sir, said he, do me the favour to declare your Opinion concer­ning the Sermon now in Controversie, which you heard at our Church the last Sunday. Then did Mr. Baxter very candidly give the Sermon the praise it deservd, nay more, he said, That Dr. Barrow Preachd so well, that he could willingly have been his Auditor all day long When they heard Mr. Baxter give him this high Encomium, they were prickt in their hearts, and all of them became a­shamd, [Page 142] confounded, and speechless; for, tho they had a good opinion of their selves, yet they durst not pretend to be equal to Mr. Baxter; but at length, after some pause, they all, one after another, confessd, they did not hear one word of the Sermon, but were carried to mislike it, by his unpromising Garb, and Mien, the Reading of his Prayer, and the going away of the Congregation; for they would not by any means have it thought, if they had heard the Sermon, they should not have concurrd with the Judgment of Mr. Baxter. After their shame was a little over, they earnestly desird Dr. Wilkins to procure Dr. Barrow to Preach again, enga­ging their selves to make him amends, by bringing to his Sermon their Wives and Chil­dren, Man-servants, and Maid-servants, in a word, their whole Familes, and to enjoyn them not to leave the Church till the Blessing was pronouncd. Dr. Wilkins promised them to use his utmost endeavour for their satis­faction, and accordingly solicited Dr. Bar­row to appear once more upon that Stage, but all in vain, for he would not by any perswasions be prevaild upon to comply with the Request of such conceited, hy­pocritical Coxcombs. Some time after, the Bishop of Salisbury, I mean Dr. Ward, in­vited Dr. Barrow to live with him, not as a [Page 143] Chaplain, but rather as a Friend and Com­panion, yet he did frequently do the duty if the domestic Chaplain was absent. Whilst he was there, the Arch-deaconry of North-Wiltshire became void, by the death of Dr. Childerey, if I mistake not; this the Bishop profferd Dr Barrow; but he modestly and absolutely refused it, and told me the rea­son, which it is not necessary I should de­clare. Not long after a Prebendary died, whose Corps, I mean Revenue, lay in Dor­setshire, this also the Bishop offerd him, and he gratefully accepted it, and was Installd accordingly. I remember about that time, I heard him once say, I wish I had five hundred pounds. I replied, Thats a great Sum for a Filosofer to desire, what would you do with so much? I would, said he, give it my Sister for a Portion, that would procure her a good Husband: Which Sum, in few Months after he received, for putting a Life into the Corps of his new Prebend; after which he resignd it to Mr. Corker, a Fellow of Trinity College in Cambridge. All the while he continued with the Bishop of Salisbury I was his Bedfellow, and a witness of his in­defatigable Study; at that time he applied himself wholly to Divinity, having given a divorce to Mathematics, and Poetry, and the rest of the Belles lettres, wherein he was [Page 144] profoundly versd, making it his chief, if not only business, to write in defence of the Church of England, and compose Sermons, whereof he had great store, and, I need not say, very good.

We were once going from Salisbury to London, he in the Coach with the Bishop, and I on Horseback; as he was entring the Coach, I perceivd his Pockets strutting out near half a Foot, and said to him, What have you got in your Pockets? He replied, Sermons. Sermons, said I, give them me, my Boy shall carry them in his Portmanteau, and ease you of that luggage. But, said he, sup­pose your Boy should be robbd: Thats pleasant, said I, do you think there are Parsons Padding upon the Road for Sermons? Why, what have you, said he, it may be five or six Guineas, I hold my Sermons at a greater rate, they cost me much pain and time. Well then, said I, if you'll insure my five or six Guineas against Lay-Padders, I'll secure your bundle of Ser­mons against Ecclesiastical Highway-men. This was agreed, he emptied his Pockets, and filled my Portmanteau with Divinity, and we had the good fortune to come safe to our Journeys end, without meeting either sort of the Padders forementioned, and to bring both our Treasures to London. He was of a healthy Constitution, used no Ex­ercise, [Page 145] or Fysic, besides smoaking Tobacco, in which he was not sparing, saying, it was an instar omi [...]um, or panfarm [...]con: He was unmercifully cruel to a lean Carcass, not allowing it sufficient Meat or Sleep: du­ring the Winter Months, and some part of the rest, he rose always before it was light, being never without a Tinder-Box and o­ther proper Utensils for that purpose; I have frequently known him, after his first sleep, rise, light, and after burning out his Candle, return to Bed before Day. I say, I have known him do this; I report it not upon hear-say, but experience, having been, as I said before, is Bedfellow whilst he livd with the Bishop of Salisbury. There cannot be a more evident proof of his in­defatigability in Study, immense Compre­hension, and accurate Attention to what he sought after, than what Mr. Hill attests he saw written with his own Hand, at the end of his Apollonius. April. 14./Ma [...]. 10. Intra haec temporis intervalla peractum hoc opus: That is, In twenty seven or twenty eight days, this Work was finished: For there may be five, and must be at least four Sundays, whereon I suppose he was otherways employd, be­twixt those days. He was careless of his Cloaths, even to a fault; I remember he once made me a Visit, and I perceiving [Page 146] his Band sate very auwkardly, and askd him, What makes your Band sit so? I have, said he, no Buttons upon my Collar. Come, said I, put on my Night-Gown, here's a Taylor at hand, for by chance my Taylor was then with me who will presently set all things right. With much ado I prevaild with him; the Buttons were supplied, the Gown made clean, the Hands and Face washt, and the Cloaths and Hat brushd; in a word, at his departure he did not seem the same Man who came in just before. He had one Fault more, if it deserves that name, he was generally too long in his Sermons; and now I have spoken as ill of him as the worst of his Enemies could, if ever he had any: He did not consider, that Men can­not be attentive to any Discourse of above an hours duration, and hardly so long, and that therefore even in Plays, which are Discourses made for Diversion, and more agreeable to Mankind, there are frequnt Pauses and Music betwixt the Acts, that the Spectators may rise from their Seats and refresh their weary Bodies and Minds. But he thought he had not said enouf, if he omitted any thing that belongd to the sub­ject of his Discourse, so that his Sermons seemd rather complete Treatises, than O­rations, designd to be spoke in an hour; [Page 147] hereof I will give you two or three In­stances. He was once requested by the Bishop of Rochester then, and now Dean of Westminster, to Preach at the Abby, and withal desird not to be long, for that Au­ditory lovd short Sermons, and were usd to them. He replied, My Lord, I will shew you my Sermon; and pulling it out of his Pocket, puts it into the Bishops hands. The Text was in the Tenth Chapter of the Pro­verbs, the latter end of the eighteenth Verse, the words these; He that uttereth Slander is a Lyer. The Sermon was accordingly divided into Two Parts, one treated of Slander, the other of Lyes. The Dean desird him to content himself with preach­ing only the First Part, to which he con­sented, not without some reluctancy, and in speaking that only, it took up an hour and an half. This Discourse is since pub­lished in two Sermons, as it was preachd. Another time, upon the same Persons In­vitation, he preachd at the Abby on a Ho­liday: Here I must inform the Reader, that it is a Custom for the Servants of the Church upon all Holidays, Sundays excep­ted, betwixt the Sermon and Evening Prayers, to shew the Tombs, and Effigies of the Kings and Queens in Wax, to the meaner sort of People, who then flock thi­ther [Page 148] from all the corners of the Town, and pay their Twopence to see The Play of the Dead Volks, as I have heard a Devonshire Clown not improperly call it. These per­ceiving Dr. Barrow in the Pulpit after the hour was past, and fearing to lose that time in hearing, which they thought they could more profitably employ in receiving. These, I say, became impatient, and causd the Organ to be struck up against him, and would not give over playing till they had blowd him down. But the Sermon of the greatest length was that concerning Chari­ty, before the Lord Mayor and Aldermen at the Spittle; in speaking which, he spent three hours and an half. Being askd, after he came down from the Pulpit, whether he was not tird; Yes indeed, said he, I began to be weary with standing so long.

Hence I infer, if Dr. Barrow thought, as other Men do, which without doubt he did, these Sermons must be of a prodigious length when they came fire-new from the Forge. For every Man who collects Ma­terials for a Building, lays in more than he shall have occasion for. Every Statuary provides more Marble than is necessary to make his Image, much whereof must be cut off with the Chissel, before any pro­portion or design of the Workman can ap­pear. [Page 149] Every Carpenter makes some Chips, and he is the best Workman who makes fewest, in bringing the Timber to the Fi­gure he designs. It is very easie to make a long Discourse, or a prolix Letter, but to contract it, to remove the Rubbish, to amputate the needless Branches, which keep out the Light, and bear no Fruit; in a word, to leave nothing but what is necessary, or at least convenient, is very difficult.

The first Schetse of a Comedy calld the Pa­radox, which has never seen the Light, was five times as long as the whole when it was finished; and yet were I to review it, I make no doubt, of making more Weeds, and make it yet shorter. In my opinion, the wittiest Paragraf in Monsieur Voitures Letters, which are all written with a great deal of Spirit, and Humour, is the Apology he makes for a long Letter, 'tis to this sense: Pray Sir excuse the length of this, for I had not sufficient time to write a shorter: Than which, nothing can be bet­ter and more agreeable. The same Rule is good in Books, as well as Letters; a little time is enouf to write a great Book, as they go now, and a great deal, not too much, to write a little one as it should be: Tho I am sensible this Chapter is too long, yet the next will be longer.

CHAP. XXI. A Digression containing some Criticisms.

THIS Chapter is guilty of great Crimes, which it would be no small folly in me to conceal: First, it is too long, and secondly, which is worse, 'tis a Digres­sion upon a Digression. I esteem my self obligd to declare this to the Reader, at the Threshold, before he enters into the Chap­ter, to the intent, that if he pleases, he may pass it over, as a long Parenthesis, and pro­ceed to the next. But, if notwithstanding this Caution, he will be so hardy, or cu­rious to read it, and afterwards shall not like it, let him blame himself, not me, for I honestly set up a Beacon to prevent his splitting upon this Rock. I presume, it will be objected, Since you knew its faults, why did you publish it? I answer, Not so much to trouble others, as to ease my self, and rid my hands of it. For I am not now in circumstances to get it Companions, or Play-fellows, as I once intended, being be­come impotent by the loss of my Tools, my Books they being all burnt by that sudden Fire, which broke out with irresist­able [Page 151] violence, after Midnight, in Lombard-street, Nov. 18. A. D. 1693. Neither can I endure to keep it at home alone, and hear it eternally bawling for Liberty, like a Cat pent up in a close Room; and besides, I am not without hopes, there may be found some few, to whom this will not appear so very much disagreeable. Mr. Hill, to whose account of Dr. Barrows Life I have so fre­quent recourse, says, he was addicted to Poetry, and well skilld therein, but that he never wrote any Satyrs; to which I add, that the greatest part of his Poems were writ­ten in Hexameter and Pentameter Verses, after the manner of Ovid, whom he had in great esteem, preferring him even before the Divine Virgil: I have heard him say, that he believed Virgil could not have made the Metamorfosis so well as Ovid has. Concer­ning which, there have been often betwixt us several sharp, but not bitter Disputes; for herein I confess, I differd from him, tho we were, as to all other things, gene­rally speaking of the same mind, as Horace says of his Friend Fuscus Aristius, and him­self.

[Page 152]That is,

It is next to an impossibility, to write either good Sense, or Latin, in that sort of Metre, wherein so many hobling Dactyls knock one against another. How often has Martial Pontice, Pontiliane, crede mihi, and innumerable such botches, forcd to the use of them by writing thus in Shackles. Well fare Horace, who amongst all his variety of Verse, never split upon this Rock. It can­not be denied, but that Ovid had Wit, and a fluent negligent Stile, an easie way of making Verses, which, as he says, dropt from his Pen, when he thought not of them. Quicquid conabar dicere, Carmen erat. That is, Whatever I endeavour to speak, falls into a Verse without my designing it. He could make a hundred Verses, Stans pede in uno, while he stood upon one Foot, but either he wanted Judgment or Patience to File and Correct them. It is recorded of him, that his Judgment was good, that he knew his Faults, but he was enamourd of them, and would not part with them: I have read this Passage, but I cannot tell where, want­ing [Page 153] Books to have recourse to. The Story, as well as I remember it, is this: Ovid shewed a Copy of his Verses to some of his learned Friends, desiring their impartial Censure of them. Upon perusal they ap­provd them all, except one, which they de­sird him to alter. He replied, he would be ruld by them, and mend any Verse they should except against, but one, which he had such a kindness for, that he could by no means part with it; which was this.

This was the Verse which his Friends had unanimously pitchd upon, to be erasd or reformd. Add to this, Ovid generally stumbles at the Threshold, which is a sign of ill Luck, and shuffles like a Jade, before he can get into his right goings, beginning most of his Books ill. His Metamorfosis begins thus: In nova fert Animas mutatas dicere formas, Corpora. That is, I intend to discourse of new Bodies, in changd forms, instead of Bodies changd into new forms. This is not at all mended, by the Grammarians making it a Figure; if it is a Figure, 'tis such a one that a School-Boy would deserve whipping for imitating. His Book De Tristibus begins thus:

Here I demand, if he had envied his little Books Voyage to Rome, and sed had been the second word in the first Verse, in the place of nec, would not the short Verse been as much, or more to the purpose then, than it is now. Which of these two Sen­tences is most agreeable to Reason? Little Book, thou art going to Rome without me, I envy thee not, yet I account my self the most miserable Man in the World, because my Cir­cumstances will not permit me to accompany thee. Or this: Little Book, thou wilt short­ly see Rome, and the Court of Augustus, from which I am for ever banisht; I envy this happiness, and cannot sufficiently lament my Condition, which makes it impossible for me to bear thee Company. Ovids Art of Love be­gins thus:

What heinous Crime has Artem committed, that deservd clapping into Little-Ease, be­twixt hoc and populo the Bark and the Tree. Could he have considerd but half a minute, [Page 155] he might have placed it more conveniently thus: Si quis in hoc populo est, qui Artem non novit Amandi. Or in lieu of Artem, he could have contented himself with an equi­valent, as Leges, or Methodum, he might have shunnd that inconvenience, and the Verse would have run thus:

I am also much offended at that frivolous definition, or description of the fluctus de­cumanus, or the tenth Wave, in these words: Posterior nono est, undecimoque prior. That is, That Wave which is after the ninth, and before the eleventh. Nothing can be more ri­diculous, for this Character, mutatis mutandis, will fit indifferently all the Waves in the Ocean, except the first; for the second is, after the first, and before the third; the third is, after the second, and before the fourth and so on for ever. This Problem of Ovid, What number is betwixt Nine and Eleven, is much easier, than that wherewith young Arithmeticians usd to be confounded. If a Herring and a half cost three Halfpence, how many are there for a Peny? I shall mention but two Distichs more, and then, having made a short visit to the Metamor­fosis, [Page 156] conclude this Digression. The Verses are these:

Who can endure temporibus signifying ali­quando, and the nauseous repetition of the same word thrice in two Verses. The se­cond long Verse is subject to the same Ob­jection, but the short one is intolerable; yet methinks I am so well acquainted with Ovids Humour, that he would not have been prevaild with to alter it, if he had made it thus:

Horace will not allow those Verses to be good, whose words being rendred in Prose, do not sound well: Whoever therefore takes the pains to bring these to that touch, and compare them with these, or almost any other of Horace, will find them to differ as much as Chalk and Cheese.

Ovids Metamorfosis has fewer Faults than the rest of his Works, but is not wholly exempt; I shall at present take notice but of three or four. In his description of the Chaos, that Hemystich, Sine pondere, haben­tia pondus, is improper, and absurd, and to be understood, must be thus filld up: Cor­pora habentia pondus, pugnabant cum iis quae erant sine pondere: Or thus; Corpora quae e­rant sine pondere pugnabant cum iis quae erant habentia pondus. Tis evident that every Body, considerd absolutely and by it self, is heavy, that is, in Ovids Frase, pondus ha­bet; and being compard with another Bo­dy that is more heavy, it is comparatively light, but not sine pondere, that it weighs nothing. This Sentence then thus sifted, amounts to this: Every body fought with no Body: Impar congressus, a very unequal Battle.

The next place I shall take notice of, is in the description of the Conflagration of the Earth, causd by Faetons ill management of the Horses of the Sun. Tis palpable that therein the Suns Diurnal and Annual Motion are confounded: For Faeton de­sird to drive the Chariot but for one day, [Page 158] as it appears by this Testimony of Ovid himself.

And yet he is told by Febus, who ought to know his Trade better, that he must pass by all the Signs, and so make the Sun finish his annual Course, and produce the four Seasons of the Year in twenty four hours, which requires three hundred sixty five days, and some hours, minutes, and seconds more; and consequently, taking one day with a­nother, the Sun does not move one degree in twenty four hours. But some may re­ply, This is a Fault against Astronomy, not Poetry. I answer, That does not mend the matter, for a Poet ought to be a tho­row-pacd Scholar, or at least have so much discretion, as not to meddle with Sciences he understands not. He should have been mindful of that Rule, or Axiome of Horace: Scribende recte, sapere est, & Principium, & Fons. That is, No Fool, or ignorant Persons, can Write well. Now I reason thus; Either Ovid knew this Fault, or not; if he did not, then he is to be blamd for his Ignorance: If he did, and presumd that his fine descri­ptions of the terrible Beasts in the Zodiac [Page 159] would cast a mist before the Readers Eyes, and hinder them from taking notice of it, then is he guilty of Vanity and Presumpti­on. I shall not insist upon his description of the Galaxy, or Milky Way, which is in these words:

Tis evident that Lactea ought to be in the same Cafe with Nomen; but I believe the Chain of his Thoughts, if he did think, was this, he would have said Dicitur, or Vocatur, but it would not serve in the Verse: Then it came into his mind, that nomen ha­bet, and Vocatur were tantamount, and so down it goes, without minding the Solo­cism; whereas had he made the Verse thus, he might have shunnd it.

I am apt to believe, that Iuvenal usd the same way of Hunting, when he caught the word Septem and made use of it, when al­most any other Number would have served as well.

[Page 160] That is, Cruel Viper, what, eat two at a meal! yes more: How many? Then he counts upon his Fingers, three, four, five, six, se­ven, that will do, go Boy write it in my Book, then down goes Septem, which if he had chanced to have skipt, he must have run on to a hundred, before he could find one fit for his purpose, and a hundred Cen­tum would have done as well as seven Septem. So the same Poet in another place:

That is, verbatim; If it be a very broad Torch, removd from death four or seven Inches. Not to mention the harshness of the Me­tafor, a Torch for a Plank, or the impropri­ety, of using breadth for thickness. Men in a Ship, cannot be properly said to be distant from death, or drowning, by the breadth, but by the thickness of the Planks; and who ever heard of Boards seven Inches thick? But if they exceed four, the neces­sity to make them fit to do service in Verse, requires they must either be seven, or a hundred. Notwithstanding what is here said, I would not by any means, have it thought that I despise either of these Poets, nor that I could make better Verses, than [Page 161] even these upon which I Criticize, this I have done only to divert my self and the Reader, not to diminish their Reputation. It can­not be denied they were both great Men, especially Ovid, his Metamorfosis is a Noble Piece, the Language Lofty and Elegant, it contains many excellent Descriptions, and pathetical Orations, and the Connexion of the Fables is admirable; yet I would not have him equalizd, much less preferrd to the Divine Virgil. Ovid, I confess, says, that he intended to have mended his Me­tamorfosis, but he deferrd it till it was too late: It should have been done whilst he was in Rome, and Prosperity; had he done it then, he might have been a formidable Competitor with Virgil for the Crown of Bays; but when he went into Exile, he left his Wit behind, as appears by his Book De Tristibus. This was the difference be­twixt these two Poets; Ovid could never begin, and Virgil make an end of Correct­ing; as appears by his ordering his Eneads to be burnt: So that tis evident they did not please him, tho then brought to the perfection wherein we now have them, and they had been consumd to Ashes, to the irreparable loss of the Learned World, had not Augustus opportunely interposd his So­veraign Authority, and dispensed with the [Page 162] Testamental Laws, as appears by those Verses:

Ovid says he burnt his Metamorfosis when he left Rome, but finding he could not whol­ly stifle it, there being many Copies there­of in several hands, he was willing it should live, and have six Verses, which he men­tions, prefixd before it, they are in the First Book De Tristibus; but hear him speak in his own words:

That is,

The Verses are these.

[Page 163]Which may be thus made English

Or these, out of the Third Book, which will serve as well.

In English thus.

Both which Copies are indifferent; so much does Adversity depress the Spirits of those, who stand not upon the sure basis of Ver­tue.

[Page 164]To conclude this long, but I hope not te­dious Chapter: All Ages, and Countries, even ours, might produce excellent Poets.

That is, If every one of them were not terrified, and discouragd, by the prospect of the great labour which they must undergo, and the length of time, which must be employd in filing and po­lishing.

CHAP. XXII. Of Doctor Barrow.

ANno Domini 1672, Doctor Wilkins Bi­shop of Chester, departed this Life, and that eminently Learned Divine Doctor Pearson succeeded him, by which Promotion the Mastership of Trinity-College in Cam­bridge became vacant; this King Charles conferrd upon Dr: Barrow; and speaking of it afterwards, he said, he had given it to the best Scholar in England. Dr. Barrow was then the Kings Chaplain in Ordinary, and much in favour with the Duke of Buckingham, then Chancellor of the Univer­sity of Cambridge, as also of Gilbert Lord [Page 165] Archbishop of Canterbury; both which were ready, if there had been any need, to have given him their assistance to obtain this Place. When the Patent for the Mastership was brought him, wherein there was a clause permitting him to Marry, as it had been made before for some of his Predecessors, he causd the Grant to be alterd, judging it not agreeable to the Statutes, from which he neither desird, nor would accept any Dispensation: Nay, he chose rather to be at the expence of double Fees, and procure a new Patent, without the Marrying Clause, than perpetually to stand upon his Guard against the Sieges, Batteries, and Importu­nities, which he foresaw that honourable and profitable Preferment would expose him to. Imitatus Castora, qui se Eunuchum ipse facit, &c. in this wisely imitating the Bea­ver, who knows for what he is hunted. Thus making Matrimony a forfeiture of his Preferment it was as effectual a way to se­cure him from all dangers of that kind, as Castration it self could have been; for Wo­men in this Age, like Hens, desire only to Lay where they see Nest-Eggs.

To shew his Humility and care of the College Revenue, he remitted to them the charge of keeping a Coach for his time, which they had done a long while before [Page 166] for other Masters. This Preferment so well bestowd, gladded the hearts, not only of the Members of that College, but of the University, and all lovers of Learning. Up­on this, he left the Bishop of Salisbury, and was then so kind to me, that he earnestly invited me to spend one Winter with him at Cambridge; few Arguments were suffici­ent to make me yield my consent. The last time he was in London, whither he came as it is customary, to the Election of Westmin­ster, he went to Knightsbridge to give the Bishop of Salisbury a visit, and then made me engage my word, to come to him at Trinity-College immediately after the Mi­chaelmas ensuing: I cannot express the rap­ture of the joy I was in, having, as I thought, so near a prospect of his charming and in­structive Conversation; I fancied it would be a Heaven upon Earth, for he was im­mensly rich in Learning, and very liberal and communicative of it, delighting in no­thing more, than to impart to others, if they desired it, whatever he had attaind by much time and study: but of a sudden all my hopes vanisht, and were melted like Snow before the Sun. Some few days after he came again to Knightsbridge, and sate down to Dinner, but I observed he did not eat: Whereupon I askd him, how it was with [Page 167] him: He answerd, that he had a slight In­disposition hanging upon him, with which he had struggled two or three days, and that he hopd by Fasting and Opium to get it off, as he had removd another, and more dange­rous Sickness, at Constantinople some Years before. But these Remedies availd him not, his Malady provd in the event, an inward, malignant, and insuperable Fever, of which he died, May 4. Anno Dom. 1677, in the 47th Year of his Age, in mean Lodgings, at a Sadlers near Charing-Cross, an old, low, ill-built House, which he had usd for several Years: For tho his Condition was much betterd by his obtaining the Mastership of Trinity-College, yet that had no bad influence upon his Morals, he still continued the same humble Person, and could not be prevaild upon to take more reputable Lodgings: I may truly say, Multis ille bonis flebilis occi­dit, Nulli flebilior quam mihi. It was a great loss to all good Men, but greatest to me. He left his Manuscripts, I mean his written Works, to Dr. Tillotson, and Mr. Abraham Hill, committing it to their discretion to publish which of them they should think fit. My Lord-Keeper sent a Message of Condo­lence to his Father, who had then some Place under him, importing, that he had but too great reason to grieve, for never Father lost [Page 168] so good a Son, and also that he should mitigate his sorrow upon that consideration. For want of sufficient instruction, I shall pass over in silence his Government of the University, when Vice-Chancellor, of the College, whilst he was Master, his public Exercises, his writing numerous and various Letters to procure Money for the building of the magnificent Library, &c. contenting my self to have set down some of the par­ticulars which happened during my ac­quaintance with him, and now I shall here put a period to this Discourse, which for his, and mine own sake, I wish had been better performd. He was Buried in Westminster-Abby, where his Friends erected a Monu­ment for him; the Bust, or half his Body in white Marble, placed upon a Pedestal of the same matter, whereon this Epitaf, composd by Doctor Mapletoft, is engravd.

In English thus.

CHAP. XXIII. Of the Bishops Enemies.

THO they who have many Friends, have usually also many Enemies; yet this was not the Bishops lot, for never any Person in his station was more universally belovd. Amongst his Enemies, I shall not reckon the Dissenters, for their Enmity was [Page 171] rather against his Function than his Person; and long before his Death, as all Prosecu­tion against them ceasd, so did their Ani­mosities also. The Dean of Salisbury stirrd up a Faction against him, taking the ad­vantage of a great, and almost total decay of his Reason; with him some of the Pre­bends took part, of whom the Bishop de­servd a better Treatment; these flock of Hares had the boldness to insult, and pull by the Beard the dying, or rather dead Lion. But this Storm was soon laid, and the Bi­shop vindicated in hs Rights, by an Arch-Episcopal Visitation, as we shall shew here­after.

After the Bishops death, one Anthony A. Wood of Merton-College in Oxford, took the liberty in his Athenae Oxonienses, to use him very irreverently, as he had done many other worthy Persons, whom it is needless for me to particularize. Tis an easie thing for a melancholy Monkish Scholar, to sit in his Study, to invent and write Calumnies a­gainst whom he pleases; but the best of it is, the Dirt which he has thrown against the Bishop, is easily washt off, and that without leaving any stain. But supposing all that he says there against him to be true, it amounts but to very little, so lit­tle, that I should not have thought it wor­thy [Page 172] of my taking notice, had I not been desird by some of the Bishops surviving Friends. The summ of what he objects against him is, in short, this; That he was a Complyer during the Kings Exile; That he put in, and put out; That after the Kings return, he boasted of his Loyalty. As to the first; Tis true, from his coming to Oxford he livd peaceably, as Mr. Wood himself did, and the rest of the Scholars of the Univer­sity, but he was far removd from any base complyance; he never was admitted a Mem­ber of the Presbyterians, Independents, or any seperated Congregation; he never fre­quented their Meetings, never pretended to be, or desird to be reputed against Mo­narchy in the Right Line, or Episcopacy, as it was notorious to all, and as we have made appear in the former parts of this Book.

The second Accusation is, that he put in and put out: What he means by putting in, I confess I know not, neither have I ever heard of any Person in that time, he put in to any Place: As to the other Clause of putting out, I suppose he means Mr. Greaves and Dr. Potter. To which take this answer: The Bishop of Salisbury never had but two Places in Oxford, in which he succeeded the Persons above written: How he ob­taind [Page 173] the Savilian Astronomy Professorship, or rather, how it was forced upon him, we have truly and amply deliverd in the third Chapter; where it appears, he did not turn out Mr. Greaves, as it is here ma­litiously insinuated. As to his being Pre­sident of Trinity-College, after Mr. Hawes had resignd, he was chosen by the Suffrages of the Fellows, who had a legal Authority to Elect, neither can he, by accepting of this Place, be truly accounted to put Dr. Potter, who was Ejected by the Visitors many Years before, as we have declard in the seventh Chapter, or so much, as to keep him out; for he was, as the Times went then, uncapable of being Elected, and of enjoying it, if he had been chosen. As to the last part of his Accusation; His boasting of his Loyalty to the King and Church, after his Majestys Restoration. Why might he not glory in a laudable Action, and a Matter of Truth? For, as we have made it appear in the second Chapter, he was an Actor, and great Sufferer in that Good Cause.

Mr. Wood had for a long time usd the li­berty to revile and speak disrespectfully of several Eminent Persons, movd thereunto, either by a private pique, or to please some others, who lookd upon their Promotion with an Evil Eye; this I say he had done [Page 174] for a long time, with Impunity, but Ven­geance, or Punishment, at last, tho late, overtook him: It cannot be said of him, Distulit in seram, commissa piacula mortem; that is, He went to his Grave unpunisht; for he livd to see his Book censurd and burnt, himself expelld the University, obligd to Recant, and give security not to offend any more in that kind; and this he underwent for writing too lavishly concerning a Great Man, dead long since, upon the complaints of some of his Relations; whereof take this Authentic Proof, as it is Registred in the Chancellors Court at Oxford, and Printed by Authority, in the Gazette, Numb. 2893, from Monday the 31. of Iuly, to Thursday August 3. 1693, in these words.

This Punishment was severe enouf, and may warn little ones, not to provoke the Powerful. But as to what he has written against the Bishop of Salisbury, I freely for­give him, for this reason; but before I de­clare it, give me leave to tell a short Story, which I heard at Rome. There was hereto­fore in that City a famous Confessor, who finding that Age and Infirmity had impaird his Memory, fearing this might render him unfit for his Profession, made use of this Invention to remedy that defect: He had always in readiness, when any Penitent re­paird to him to Confess a Board, and a piece of Chalk, with which he scord their Sins, using several Marks, according to their de­grees. It happened, that one confessd he had kild a Man. That's a great Sin, said the Father, and made a long Chalk upon the Trencher: After that he confessd he had got a Bastard. Was it, said the Ghostly Fa­ther, [Page 176] very gravely, a Male, or Female? The Penitent answerd, it was a Man-Child. Say you so, replied the Priest; A Man is Kild, and another got in his stead, set one against the other, then spitting upon his Fingers, rubs out the Chalk. To apply this, the reason I promised to give for my Absolving Mr. Wood is this; He had written much good of the Bishop of Salisbury, and truly, and but a little bad, and that falsly: Set one against the other, and let it be, as if he had never done either the one, or other. And here I should dismiss Mr. Wood, and close this Chapter, had I not a just cause of quarrelling with him upon mine own account, for having endeavourd to rob me of my deserved Praise, and to obscure the most glorious Action of my Life.

In not mentioning that famous Contestation concerning Formalities, which I have de­scribd at large in the fifth Chapter, or my being Proctor, but out of Ignorance or De­sign, either of which is sufficient to ruin the Credit of an Historian, he has falsified the History; having made the Proctors Bifield and Conant, serve for the Years 1657, and [Page 177] 1658, which is not only notoriously untrue, but also, it thrusts my College and my self out of the Fasti, or the University Chro­nicles; which is an intolerable grievance to Persons thirsty of Fame, and ambitious of Honour: But for our comfort, whoever consults the University Register, or the Convocation Books, will be easily and clear­ly convincd of the truth of what I have here asserted.

Hence I conclude, if he may not be cre­dited in a Matter so notoriously known, and of such importance to his History, we may, with good reason, suspect the Cha­racter he gives of a Person, with whom, I firmly believe, he never had any Conversa­tion.

CHAP. XXIV. Of the Bishops Sickness and Death.

THE Bishop of Salisbury dated his in­disposition of Health, from a Fever he had in London, in the Year 1660, which was not well cured, as we have mentioned before; he was very ill when he was to be consecrated Bishop of Exeter, and not with­out apprehension that he should not survive [Page 178] that Solemnity. It was a cold rainy mor­ning when I waited on him to Lambeth when he was to be consecrated, and he had not been out of his Chamber for some Weeks before. He went Sick to Exeter, and was confind to his Chamber a long while, yet he remitted nothing of his Study; during that time he made the Notitiae of his Diocese mentioned in the ninth Chapter. But his often travelling betwixt Exeter and London, conduced much to the meliorating of his Health, and enabled him to endure his Ma­lady, tho not wholly to subdue it. I have heard him say, that Colds, to which he was very subject, never accompanied him the whole Journey, but always left him before he reachd Salisbury, either in his going to London, or returning to Exeter. After he was Bishop of Salisbury, he was seizd by a dangerous scorbutical Atrofy and Looseness, as we have said in the ninth Chapter, which was cured by riding; tis a very good Re­cipe, but a dear one, ℞ caballum, that is, Up and ride. After he left off this Exercise, by which he receivd so much good, he com­plaind of a pain in his Toe, tho, I believd then, that the Malady was in his Head, but I found he was displeasd at my telling him so. I went upon this reason, upon Inspecti­on no Artist could tell, which Toe was faul­ty; [Page 179] nay, I have seen the Surgeons handle and squeeze it without causing him to com­plain. This Malady cost him many hundred pounds in Spirit of Wine, totus ardens, as the Chymists call it, in dry and wet Baths, Apo­thecaries and Surgeons, who took his Money and laught at him in their sleeves. I have of­ten wisht him a smart fit of the Gout, having known by the experience of others, that it clears the Head, and I doubt not, but if he had arrivd to it, it might have prolongd his Life. They who are usd to this Distemper, so frequent in the Western parts of England, esteem every new access a renewing the Lease of their Lives. I know a Gentleman who lived in the Close in Salisbury, who told me, I am not well, nor ever shall be, till I have a fit of the Gout, and for want of it, he in a little time died. I have heard some of those Arthritic Persons say, that the Gout it self is more tolerable than the distraction in their Thoughts, and hypochondriacal Imaginations, which succeed a Fit, if the Gout does not return in a convenient time. I have also heard, that the Archbishop of Canterbury, I mean Shelden, did not only wish for the Gout, but profferd a thousand pound to any Person who would help him to it; looking upon it as the only remedy for the distemper in the Head, which he feared, [Page 180] might in time, prove an Apoplexy, as in fine it did, and kild him. In what I come from saying, by the word Gout, which is sometimes desirable, I mean the acute Pain, collected and fixd, during the Fit, in parts remote from the Head, and Heart, as in the Fingers, Hands, Legs, and Toes.

The Bishop had an ill Memory, even when he was in his best Health, which he empaird, by committing all things to writing, and so found by experience the Italian Saying true.

That is, Writing destroys the Memory. If you would make a Servant good, you must trust and employ him

He having left off all Exercises, as I said before, his melancholy Distemper, and decay of Memory gaind upon him sensibly, of which I shall give you a few Instances. At the Visitation of the Church, of which I shall speak presently, he askd several times for one of the Commissioners, who sate next to him at Dinner, which was taken notice of by all the Company. When he took the Air in his Coach, which he usd to do, almost to the day of his death, he has several times said to me, Come bear me company once more, for twill be the last time of my going abroad; and perceiving me to smile, what, said he, do you rejoyce to see me so Ill? [Page 181] No, my Lord, I replied, I should be very sorry, if I had the same opinion of your Health, as I perceive you have; but I have heard these words so frequently, and doubt not but I shall again, that they put me not in fear. When he has been upon the Plains, he has imagind himself so weak, that he could neither walk, or stand upon his Legs; then I have said, my Lord, you know not your strength, pray be pleasd to light out of the Coach and try; I have prevaild with him, and he has walkd near half a mile. He usd to be carried from one part of his Chamber to another in a Chair; I once went down and left him reading, and at my return, observd several Books had been removd from one Table to another; where­upon I askd him, whether any body had been there since my departure: He answerd no; but why ask you that question? Then I replied, I congratulate your Strength, for either you can go, or these Folio's fly, I left them percht upon that Table, from whence they are removd. But to draw to a Con­clusion. Some unkind usage, which he thought he received from the Court, which we have related in the thirteenth Chapter, together with the bad prospect of the public Affairs, all things tending to Popery and Confusion, concurring with the unjust Facti­on [Page 182] in his Church, raisd by the Dean, and fomented by some of the Prebendaries, joynd with his natural Distemper, took a­way his Memory, almost intirely; so that for some Years before his death, he was so alterd, that he seemd only the shadow of himself. I stile this Faction Unjust, for it was judgd so by the Visitors, who condem­ned the Dean to beg the Bishops pardon, which I saw him do. These Visitors were, the Right Reverend Fathers in God, Thomas Lord Bishop of Rochester, my ancient Ac­quaintance Fellow Collegian, and ever-ho­noured Friend; and Dr. Lake, then Lord Bishop of Chichester, empowerd by a Com­mission from his Grace Dr. Sandcroft, then Lord Archbishop of Canterbury, to inspect and compose the Differences in that Church, as I have mentioned in the additions to the Salisbury Canto, Stanza 4. While the Bishop was in this declining condition, I gave him a visit at Knightsbridge; he being informd I was below, sent for me, and after saying he was glad to see me, he askd me, How does your Brother? I replied, whom does your Lordship mean? He answerd, Bishop Wilkins, who had been dead near then four­teen Years. He attempted to speak to me again, beginning thus; Were not you sur­prizd to hear, to hear, to hear; but he could [Page 183] proceed no further, having▪ in that short time, irrecoverably forgot what he intended to have spoke. Thenceforward he continu­ed, for it cannot be properly said he livd, almost void of Reason. I have known, at his return from taking the Air, in a very hot Summers day, the Nurse used this Argu­ment to prevail with him to come out of the Coach; My Lord, theres a very good Fire in your Chamber: He did not then know his House, or his Servants; in a word, he knew nothing. I had him in my eye, when I made the fifteenth Stanza of the WISH, which begins thus:

He had also strange imaginations of things which never were, and firmly believd them, One Example whereof, is too much, that one of his Servants had got so much under him, that he built a whole Street in London, and married a rich Lady.

Poor Gentleman, the Evil that he most feard, and I may say, even foresaw, fell up­on him. He has often discoursd with me concerning some Persons, whom we both knew, and who were thus decayd, and be­came the Properties of those who first seizd on them, who kept them to their selves, made their Wills, and disposd of their E­states as they thought fit. If you ever see me [Page 184] in such dangers, said he, pray give me war­ning; but his decay was so precipitous, that twas impossible to relieve him. This sad Story would afford many useful Corollaries, which I leave to the Reader to find out, and apply.

To conclude, he died Ianuary 6. Anno Dom. 168 [...], knowing nothing of the Revo­lution that had happened. He was carried from Knightsbridge to Salisbury, and buried in the place, which, he and I, had long before concerted, and agreed on, as I have deliverd in the ninth Chapter. His Nevew Mr. Seth Ward, has erected a Monument for him, with a Latin Inscription, which I once re­solved to have omitted, for it is long, and erroneous; but upon second considerations, I thought my self obligd to Copy and Tran­slate it, that there might be nothing want­in this Account.

CHAP. XXV. The Bishops Epitaf in Latin. H. S. E.

REverendus in Christo Pater, Sethus Ward, Ecclesiae Sarisburiensis Episcopus, & No­bilissimi Ordinis, à Periscelide dicti, Cancella­rius, [Page 185] Ab Ecclesia Exoniensi (in qua etiam Prae­centor primum, deinde Decanus fuerat) in hanc sed [...]m translatus, in utraque aeternum colendus.

Buntingfordiae, in Agro Hertfordiensi natus, Cantabrigiae in Collegio Sidneiensi educatus, ejusdemque (dum per temporum iniquitatem li­cuit) socius. In tam privata sortis umbra, tot optimarum Artium, virtutumque dotibus efful­sit, ut frustra latere cupientem, prodiderint, in­que lecem simul, & utilitatem publicam protax­erint.

Quippe ab ista Academia, ad alteram Oxo­niens [...]m evocatus, Astronomiae primum. Pro­fessor Savilianus, Collegii deinde Sacro Sanctae Trinitatis Praeses electus, ambo, licet dispavis ingenii munia, sapientia administravit & pru­dentia pari, Siderum, simul & animarum, In­dagator perspicax, & in amborum motibus re­gendis, vigilans, peritas, foelix. Praelectionum suarum famam qua claruerit foris, testatur Bullialdus. Adversus, insaniam & impiam Fi­losofiam, quid meruerit domi, abunde sensit, pri­mipilus Hobbius, contra ingruentem Fanatico­rum barbariem quid literis ubique praestiterit, vindicatae agnoscunt Academiae. Hae res per inquissima tempora, tam praeclare gestae, probatum satis, & bene praeparatum, meliore jam rerum vice, hominum & ingeniorum peritissimo judici Carolo Secundo, commendarunt, ut secum restau­randis Ecclesiae Anglicanae ruinis, non Erube­scendus [Page 186] opifex allaborarit, ut prudentia, pietate, usu rerum, & praecipue moderato animo spectabi­lis, Civium aestus, nondum bene sedatos, compo­neret, inveterata ulcera leniret, concionator fa­cundus, & potens, inculpabile gregis Exemplar, mox & Pastorum futurus, siquidem per hos la­borum & meritorum gradus, ad Episcopale cul­men provectus Ecclesiae suae Candelabrum, ip­samque domum Dei, non impari lumine imple­vit, & illustravit. In officiis erga omnes, cujus cunque sortis & Ordinis homines exequendis, aequi & decori observantissimus, cum confratri­bus, & Dominis suis Episcopis, inviolata con­cordia, absque omni, (nisi mutuo benefaciendi) certamine semper vixit. Apud Clerum suum, tanquam fratres, & filios dilectissimos, autori­tate & reverentia, non metu, aut fastu dignita­tam Praelati illibatam conservavit. Nobiles, & Cives, munificentia, domesticos liberali tractati­one, devinxit. In asserendis Ecclesiae juribus, ut vindex acerrimus, ita nec deses in suis, Cancel­lariatum Periscelidis, sedis suoe antiquum de­cus, postquam per CL. circiter annos, penes Lai­cos subsedisset, secundum vindicias sibi postula­vit, & recepit. Palatii Episcopalis, largus, & Sedulus Instaurator, nec minus erga Templum munificus, sed praecipua, & palmaria illi fuit Pauperum cura, in hac, neque metas, neque ter­minos, aut vivens, aut moriens pietati suae prae­scripsit. Subsidum sine fine parans.

[Page 187]Buntingfordiae, Caenobium quatuor Viris toti­demque feminis copioso, & honesto, apparatu instructum fundavit. Cantabrigiae, in Collegio Christi, sex Scholarium numero, aequo jure, & Privilegio cum caeteris gaudentium, pristinam fundationem adauxit.

In hac Urbe, Collegium Decem Presbytero­rum viduis, Apostolico ritu instituit, primitiva munificentia donavit. Haec omnia agentem, & peragentem, Senectus primum deinde mors, utra­que pariter tranquilla, pariter matura, praemuni­tum, & praeparatum, occuparunt.

• Anno AEtatis suae LXXII.
• Anno Translationis XXII.
• Anno AErae Christianae MDCLXXXIII.

I, Lector, & plures illi similes operarios, huic Vineae apprecare.

CHAP. XXVI. The Epitaf in English.

THis good Bishop deservd a better E­pitaf, this is heavy, long, and tedi­ous, but being sifted, and garbled, it may be thus rendred into English, viz.

CHAP. XXVII. The Conclusion.

IF you tell an Italian, such a one is vast­ly Rich, his usual reply is, Dam mi lo morto: that is, It will appear at his death whether he be or not. Ovid, not without reason, enlarges the time, in these words:

That is, No Man ought to be accounted happy, b [...]fore he is dead and buried. So Petrarch,

That is, Call not the day fair, wherein it rains before Sun-set; Nor that life happy, which does not end well.

[Page 191]I should have accounted this Bishop of Salisbury invidiously happy, had his Exit been answerable to his glorious Acting up­on the Stage of the World: Had he either died sooner, or lived longer, I mean, had he died before that great, I may say, Total decay of his Senses and Reason befel him, or livd with them intire, Integra cum mente, to have born his share, and added one more to the number of those Faithful Bi­shops, whose Imprisonment, Tryal, and Deliverance, ought never to be forgotten, had he livd to have seen those Clouds blown over, the Church and Civil Rights of England restord and securd.

Altho I do not pretend to what follows:

Yet, I believe, this Book will be longer livd than the Author, and that I shall be consumd by Worms, before the Moths shall have devoured it. I have, I say, finisht the Task I imposd upon my Self, as to the Performance, the Readers will be Judges, according to their Capacities and Inclina­tions; but if they pronounce Sentence a­gainst me, I have this to hold up my Spi­rits, [Page 192] that I am certain, No Man could have written this Life better, or so well, without my assistance.

Now one word to thee, my little Book, if the Fanatics rise up in Arms and assault thee;

That is, Let not thy noble Courage be cast down. Fight it out to the last drop of Blood, never yield, never beg Quarter, for they will give thee none, for having spoken well of a Bi­shop. Let this be thy comfort, the more they rail against thee, the more despiteful­ly they use thee; thou shalt be so much the more in my favour, and I shall think it a sufficient reason to believe, that there is something good in thee, whereat they are so much offended.

And now I have no more to say of the Bishop of Salisbury, and only this concer­ning my Self. I thank God for prolong­ing my days, till I have given the World this public Testimony of my Gratitude; and here, without begging the Reader to be Courteous, or making Apologies for my Stile, for my long frequent, and, as they will be thought by some, impertinent Di­gressions, I shall conclude with those Verses of Imperiale.

Which may be thus Translated,

I have disingaged my Soul, I have paid my Debt to my deceased Friend, I am, I thank God, arrivd to a good Old Age, without Gout or Stone, with my External Senses, but little decayd, and my Intel­lectuals, tho none of the best, yet as good as ever they were. Lord, now dismiss thy Servant in Peace, according to thy Word.