They shall not undertake the following of others mens Causes and Suits nor procure the molestation of trouble or expence of other the Kings Subjects by their suggestions or informations upon pain of paying what Mulct the Master by the Ordinances can impose upon them and abiding the Governours further Censure 21 Junii 1627. All other Duties to be performed after their Admission as daily frequenting the Chappel Reverent behaviour at Prayers Civil fashion of Feeding Cleanly and decent Cloathing Neat and wholsom Lodging Friendly and Brotherly Conversing and Living together shall be referred to the Masters discretion to direct and to the power given him to correct 21 Junii 1627. At an Assembly of the Governours 27 February 1656. It is Ordered That whensoever any Pensioner or poor Man of this Hospital shall with leave or without leave go into the Country and be absent from the Hospital or shall live in or about the City of London Westminster or elsewhere and shall not be Abiding Lodging and Resident at and in the Hospital he shall have no allowance at all in mony or otherwise for his Commons or Diet during any such time as he shall be absent from the Hospital And those that are now absent are at their perils to take notice of this Order and to return home to the Hospital by the Feast of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary now next ensuing Neither shall any Pensioner or poor Man that lodgeth in the Hospital and goeth abroad into the Town be suffered to be out of Commons nor be paid any mony for or in lieu of his Commons but shall take and eat his Commons in kind in the common Dining-Hall of the Hospital according to the Orders of the House and shall carry none of it away uneaten and what he cannot eat there shall be there left and given to the poor women that are appointed to do service in the Hospital And We the Governours do charge the Receiver not to pay any of them any mony or allowance contrary to the intent of this our Order upon pain not to be allowed the same upon his Accompt besides incurring our further Censure Provided always that if any of the said Pensioners shall be sent or go away out of the Hospital upon the Dismission of the House in the Sickness time in respect of the danger of the Plague then in such case during such time of Dismission and Absence he shall have his full Allowance in mony for Commons and Diet as hath been formerly given in such case There are divers other Orders made by the Governours concerning the poor Men and Brothers of this Hospital which are not so proper to be comprehended in this Table but are with these herein mentioned transcribed into a Book remaining in the Vestry whereunto any Pensioner or poor Man of this Hospital may at convenient times repair to see and read for his better knowledge and observation My House shall be called THE HOUSE OF PRAYER Mark 11. â— Spare the People 〈…〉 Let the Priests the Ministers of the Lord Weep between the 〈◊〉 and the Altar and let them say Spare thy People O LORD Ioel. 1.17 London Printed for Henry Bromâ—â— 1677. PRAYERS UPON Several Occasions Fitted for the PRIVATE DEVOTIONS OF THE Ancient Gentlemen IN THE CHARTER-HOVSE c Vpon their Admission into the House O Thou Lord of Hosts and God of Battels The great Preserver of Men I adore reverence and magnifie thy holy Name that after the skirmishes of a tedious and uneasie life I have the blessed Opportunity of retiring and making my peace with thee O God my Life has been a real warfare I have been exposed to the dangers of Night and the discoveries of Day to the fury of unkind Weather and the rage of Enemies but yet thou wast my defence and shield the support of my Soul and my great Deliverer Therefore blessed be the God of Heaven I will take the Cup of Salvation and praise thy glorious Name I will never cease to cry out Holy holy holy Lord God of Hosts Blessed be thy Name for ever and ever O Father who hast looked upon me in the times of hazard and sear mou'd and frame my mind into acknowledgment and thankfulness Thou who art absolute in thy Providence hast wonderfully raised means to succour and relieve thy Servant in danger may thy grace and goodness never forsake me but continue to be my loving God Helper and Saviour unto the worlds end How many are in â—onds and Distress when I am Free and provided for How many are in wars and necessity when I am in peace and encompas't with plenty Though I have justly deserved many years ago to have been cut off from the Land of the Living and by reason of my sins to have been sent early to the House of Mourning yet thou hast drawn out my life to a great length thy mercy has saved and protected me all the time of my Pilgrimage and now I remain as a signal Monument of thy loving kindness O grant that the remainder of my time may be spent in Thanksgiving and Repentance that all the days of my appointed time I may patiently wait until my change come Let my Admission into this Religious house be an Emblem of my Entrance into Heaven above that my Life may be a continual walking with Thee that the main tendency of my thoughts may be heaven-wards and my conversation there also Grant O Lord that my entring into this Society of Grey-hairs below may be an Earnest of my joyning with the Elders that are before thy Throne above That when I first put on these Garments of Charity I may resolve to endeavour that my Soul may be cloathed with humility and gratitude and the robes of Righteousness I am sensible O Lord of the weakness of my Body and the decays of Nature but our Souls are of another frame and complexion Therefore be pleased to quicken and revive my thoughts to awaken the powers faculties of my Soul that the feebleness of my Body may be recompenced with the strength of my mind that the declination of my outward man may be in order to the Ascension of my Soul into the Heaven of Heavens Not long since the sorrows of my heart were enlarged but now thou hast graciously brought me out of all my trouble I have nothing now to do in this place of Retirement but to live well and love thee from whom I receive my daily bread who art the Fountain of all I drink Therefore O my Soul praise that God who is so great a lover of the sons of men Thou hast not dealt so with every man neither have the wicked a desire to praise thee Thou hast plentifully prepared all things for me thy aged and infirm Servant so that I must confess I want nothing but thankfulness to Thee What Reward shall I give unto thee or what Sacrifice shall I pay for all thy benefits Now I am setled in this Religious
instrument of my eternal Happiness that from this temporal Commemoration I may rise to the blessed Vision of my sweet Redeemer I am now almost in the Suburbs of Death grant that it may be in order to my entrance into the heavenly Jerusalem 't is not long before I shall try the Grand Experiment for now my Pulse beats about threescore and much further the strength of man cannot go Therefore I desire to settle the affairs of my Soul before I go hence and be no more seen I cannot tell whither I shall have another opportunity to partake of thy holy Table Therefore let this present participation of the holy Sacrament be a Seal and Testimony for the Remission of my Sins Though I have not long to live yet I will enter into covenant with my Soul to serve and obey thee to love the Lord my God with all my heart and with all my strength for the Righteousness of thy Testimonies is everlasting give me understanding and I shall live O thou who art the appointed Heir of all things the express Image of thy Fathers Person let thy Grace comfort and refresh me who hunger and thirst after eternal life let my Soul never faint in the Courts of the Lord as long as my heart and my flesh cryeth out for the living God Let Satan never find an opportunity to tempt and ensnare my Soul may I ever be diligent to prevent a surprize and abstain from transgressions lest my portion be among sad and accursed Souls As for me I will call upon God and the Lord shall save me Evening and Morning and at noon day will I pray and cry aloud and he shall hear my voice he hath delivered my Soul in peace from the Battel that was against me therefore I will put my trust in him for ever I confess I have omitted much good and am guilty of many Offences of Ignorance Infirmity and Knowledge therefore thy pardon I still beg and assistance of thy Grace that I may bring forth fruits worthy of Repentance Make thy Church happy in a Moses and Aaron in Nursing Fathers to go in and out before thy people and holy Ministers to stand before thee our God Preserve them from the malice of their Enemies and the strivings of the people let their lips preserve knowledge that we may seek the Law at their mouth Spare thy people bless them in their Souls Bodies and Estates that this Nation may be at length as great an instance of thy mercy as it has been of thy wrath and fury Every one of us more or less has contributed to the vast heap of crying sins yet seeing thou hast graciously afforded us a space for repentance and suspended the dreadful execution let our sorrow procure the continuance of thy Favours that Peace and Plenty may be within our Borders and no Invasion in the Land I thank thee O merciful Father for the freedom of thy Gospel the food of the Word the sweet refreshings of thy Sacraments publick Communions in thy Church and for all the benefits which are enjoyed by the society of Saints and good men Pitty all those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of Death who are not acquainted with thy Name or knowing it are nevertheless carried away by strong delusions into the ways of errour and mischief Bless all the sons and daughters of affliction strengthen them in the hour of tryal that neither the love of this world nor the loss of light neither the fear of death nor the terrors of Hell may make them unwilling to depart this life And now at length I humbly desire thee to give me wisdom to order my life aright from henceforth that I may be wary and circumspect in all my actions a careful and an understanding Hearer of thy Word a constant frequenter of thy Courts sober and temperate exercising my self unto all godliness that my whole Spirit Soul and Body may be kept blameless unto the end Plant in my Soul a deep detestation of all evil that when I see my sins I may also behold my Redeemer Bless this Religious Society the pious and aged Brethren that Peace and Love may endear and unite us all together that we may faithfully communicate heavenly things one to another temper our minds with submission and reverence that we may honour our Governours and pay our just duty to all our Superiours and no way carry our selves insolently to our Inferiours O Father Son and Holy Ghost the Blessed Three in One the All in All accept of these and all my hearty Prayers through Jesus Christ my God and Saviour Amen In the time of Sickness O Thou determiner of my days in whose hands are the Issues of Life and Death behold and pity thy aged and sinful Servant diseased in body and distressed in mind turn thy face unto me send down thine aid to comfort me for I am in pain desolate and poor Speak peace unto my Soul and say thou art my Salvation O dearest Jesus the brightness of thy Fathers Glory dispel these Clouds of Darkness and Despair thou who art the Souls Physician arise with healing under thy wings and shew thy skill in my weakness If it be thy Will and uncontroulable Decree by this thy Chastisement to finish my days draw near to my humble and afflicted Soul support it by thy strength in this day of Trial as I have alwaies endeavoured to live so let me now dye the death of the Righteous diminish the fears of death by the hopes of a blessed life hide not thy face from me in the time of my trouble hold not thy peace at my tears now my Soul cleaveth unto the dust but let the last Minute be the best of all my life Many days have I enjoyed the Comforts of Life in this quiet and Religious Sanctuary and all I ascribe to thy particular mercy and gracious instances of Providence But now my spirits faint my eyes wax dim my hands shake and the pillars of my house tremble now I find the time of my dissolution approaches by the regular Course of Nature therefore what is my Hope O Lord truly my hope and affiance is even in Thee O Lord my heart is smitten down and wither'd like Grass so that I forget to eat bread there is no health in my flesh because of thy displeasure and no rest in my bones by reason of my sin Therefore dear Saviour pardon me forgive me all my sins comfort me in this day of sorrow ease my pains and satisfie my doubts strengthen my hopes and relieve my Soul Thou who are the First-born from the dead the appointed Heir of all things uphold my faint and trembling Soul in the conflict and agony of death that I may utter nothing displeasing to thee O God and give me assurance that my portion shall never be among hopeless and accursed Souls in the Regions of Torment and Despair Welcome blessed Hour the period of my Pilgrimage the term of my
Obijt Decemb. 12o. 1611 Aetati s Suae 79. Thomas Sutton Deo Dante Dedit F.H. Van Houe Sculp Domus Carthusiana OR AN ACCOUNT OF THE MOST NOBLE FOUNDATION OF THE CHARTER-HOVSE NEAR Smithfield in LONDON BOTH Before and since the REFORMATION WITH THE Life and Death of Thomas Sutton Esq the FOVNDER thereof And his last WILL and TESTAMENT To which are Added several Prayers fitted for the Private Devotions and Particular Occasions of the Ancient Gentlemen c. By SAMVEL HERNE Fellow of Clare-Hall in CAMBRIDGE Bona Fama est propria Possessio Defunctorum LONDON Printed by T.R. for Richard Marriott and Henry Brome at the Gun in St. Paul's Church-yard the West end MDCLXXVII IMPRIMATUR Antonius Saunders Reverendissimo Archi-Episcopo Cantuariensi à Sacris Domesticis TO THE MOST REVEREND FATHER in GOD GILBERT Lord Arch-Bishop of Canterbury his Grace c. TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE RIGHT REVEREND AND MOST WORTHY GOVERNOURS OF THE Charter-House May it please your Lordships AS your Honours bear a particular Relation to that Goodly and Noble Foundation whereof I design to give an Account I had been unjust if I had deprived your Lordships of the Patronage of That which is confirmed unto you by a Royal Hand for which you have his Majesties Letters Patent Therefore in your most Noble Breasts is justly lodged the Right and Management of this glorious and weighty Benefaction and the Trust is so judiciously seated that all Wise men conclude our Generous Founder added more Glory to the Reformed Religion by choosing such Honourable Patrons than ever he could expect from the single Instance of his own Bounty and so he is become a double Benefactor I find since the first Foundation a considerable accession of Revenues added by the care and diligence of your Lordships Wisdom as also a numerous Train of Excellent Orders made for the better Government and Regulation of the Members therein contained After all this I could not satisfie my self why all these Great and Magnificent Actions should lye dormant and be buried within the narrow bounds of this Religious House and not appear to the World in their full Beauty and Proportion Nor could I render any tolerable Account of this long continued Silence unless your Lordships labour to be as Eminent for Humility and a generous Contempt of Glory as you have approved your selves for Fidelity and Conduct Upon this Account I am bound to beg your Honours Pardon seeing I not only begin this way to Trespass but also add another Crime by presuming to undertake a Labour so much above my feeble Strength and Capacity However I am resolved in some measure to have a regard to my Duty as well as I can and recommend that to Posterity which it would be a Sin to conceal For I must needs declare I could do no less than pay this humble Acknowledgment to the lasting Glory of our Founder the deserved Honour of your Lordships and the Memory I owe to that Place wherein I had the Happiness to be Educated How often has the warm Influence of your Religious Cares visited these Walls of Retirement and refreshed the fainting Spirits of the poor Inhabitants This cannot but make you the happy Returns of Joy and Glory hereafter For the Interrogations at the last Day will relate to those Duties which now are the kind Purposes and constant Entertainment of your Souls That Heaven would graciously bestow on your Lordships a long Life and a continued Happiness with all the Blessings of this and the endless Joys of that World to come is the hearty Prayer of Your Honours most humble and most faithful Servant Samuel Herne THE PREFACE I Serve no other ends in piecing together these few Collections than to give an honest Instance of my Duty and Thankfulness for wherever any Obligation lies upon a man common honesty leads him to endeavour to pay the Debt Now seeing it is impossible for me according to my small Talent to discharge the Total Sum I am resolved as much as in me lies to make this publick Acknowledgment viz. to be just and thankful For the Apostle makes Ingratitude the Compendium of all Impiety 2 Tim. 3.2 in these two words unthankful unholy Thus you see the plain reason why I bestow my thoughts upon the Memory of this Great man to whom I and many others owe all we can express not that I reflect upon the silence of any man who for ought I know may in his private Closet give more substantial Testimonials of his Thankfulness than I can by this faint endeavour in a publick way besides though in general all men who receive favours are bound to be thankful yet I am apt to think every single man has as much right to choose the way of expressing his Thanks as he has a propriety to his Complexion and Fortunes In digging up the Foundations of Ancient and Religious Houses 't is usual to find Vrns and old Reliques of Men and Times sometimes the uncorrupted Carkass of a great and celebrated Person These and the like Curiosities are thought worthy to be exposed to common view if so this I hope may in part excuse my present Attempt For occasionally searching in the Dust and Foundation of the present Charter-house now and then I could not but meet with a Leg or an Arm some strokes of the Ancient Model some few fragments of the old Foundation But at last I met with the Original Grants and Charters for this Carthusian Monastery in the most elaborate Works of that Excellent Antiquary of our Age Mr. Dugdale Why therefore should I be so rude as not to take notice of Sir Walter de Manny whose Memory the very worms dare not assault Brit. p. 117. Says Cambden Fuerant Regnante Hen. 8. fas sit meminisse avitae pietatis monumenta c. Ille autem quasi Torrens rupto aggere irruit Orbe stupente Anglia ingemente omnia funditus prostravit p. 311. Latifundia sibi arripuit quae piissimo instituto ad Dei gloriam consecrata in Sacerdotum Eleemosynis Pauperum refectione captivorum Redemptione Ecclesiarum reparationibus per Ecclesiae scita expendenda c. I know an Attempt of this Nature is an Imployment far beneath men of singular Parts and high Atchievements yet in the advancement of Knowledge some body must moyl and drudge some Persons must clear and labour in the Foundation who though they seem buried alive and make no flourishes above ground yet they prove full as useful and beneficial to mankind Thus men awake Antiquity by searching into Dormitories and places of long repose thus they bring Mortar and unpolisht stone to be made smooth by a more curious hand to be placed in order by the skâ—ll of the Great Surveyer Much of the same nature I conceive these lose and rude Collections to be and that they would puzzle the skill of another Inigo to bring them into shape and figure That which some Historians complain of is my comfort
they say to write soon after the matter of fact is to tread too close upon the heels of time c. I am glad I speak to the face of Time for many Persons are now alive who knew the Founder he having been dead not above 66 years so that if it be my misfortune to transcribe any Errours I hope they may be discerned and I will engage they shall thankfully be amended Some small pleasure and satisfaction may possibly be found in things of this nature for I have heard say that he whose understanding is not elder than himself looseth the noblest Inheritance of his Ancestors and stick 's in the worst kind of minority Some wise men therefore have thought Works of this nature very necessary for the improvement of Virtue and Goodness for Example is observed to have more force and virtue among men than the Legislative Power the Fundamental Laws of States and Kingdoms what penal Laws Courts of Judicature the Rods and the Hatchet are designed to effect by Legal Force and Compulsion that Example will perform with the unresisted eloquence of its own nature without the formidable Retinue of Guards and Tumult According to the Kings of Israel so varied the Worship of God for Examples are the Springs from whence human actions derive their motion The power of the Laws may pursue and seize upon the body but Example surprises and attacks the soul it invades and charms the mind with the secret Magick of love and imitation It represents vertue to the world not in faint and languishing colours but moving full of life and vigour It propounds Reason not as imperious and tyrannical in its precepts but eloquent and attractive in its Operations Thus the great difficulty of Obedience is master'd and made easie by our desire of imitation I thought therefore it would not be amiss when I undertook this innocent diversion at spare hours to propound our great Founder to the World as a mighty Example of Charity and Benevolence For it is no small Honour to our Country that we can give such a famous Instance of the warmth richness of its Soyl when without any auxiliary Charity by the scattering of a single Hand it has brought forth so much piety such unparallel'd Benevolence Yet these great men meet with some strokes of misfortune from the ruder Ages wherein they live for as the highest Mountains are most subject to the storms of Thunder and the batteries of Hail so these who are placed on high are the usual marks at which the Instruments of Envy and Malice are levelâ—d Some men love to look on the knotty side of the Arras and take little notice of the comely figure that is wrought upon the right side of the Hangings The same indignities and affronts were offered to our generous Founder or at least it was so suspected which are fully wiped off in the body of his life But what will not the licentious Stage traduce when Socrates himself was the unexpected subject of Aristophanes's Buffoonry I wish we could find many Suttons so long liv'd to their Country by their Fame and Munificence and so long liv'd to themselves by their temperance and sobriety If he seem'd to the world something too sparing this may suffice at present Si non errâsset fecerat ille minùs The Instances I bring of the Carthusian Order are faithfully taken from Petrus Sutor one of their own Fraternity If any Person be more curious Lib. de vita Carth. be may read Johannes Morocurtius's Poem upon the Life of Bruno in four Books printed at Antw. 1540. 4 o. and now to be found in the Oxford Library The helps I found in the composure of Sutton's life were many of them scatter'd here and there laid hold on rather by chance than direction For the World has not been so kind to this Great man as to represent him to the open view with those graceful lines and fair advantages his Actions really have deserved Sir Richard Baker Dr Heylin and Mr. Fuller say little of him and that little very full of mistakes for they call him Richard Sutton and affirm he lived a Batchelor and so by his single life had an opportunity to lay up a heap of mony whereas his dear wife is with much honour and respect mentioned in his Will Others give him bad words say he was born of obscure and mean Parents and married as inconsiderable a wife and dy'd without an Heir but then to give some reason for his Wealth having no time nor desire to enquire into the means of his growing rich to cut short the business they resolve all into a Romantick Adventure they say it was all got at a lump by an accidental shipwrack which the kind waves drove to shore and laid at his feet whilst the fortunate Sutton was walking pensively upon the barren Sands They report in the Hulk Coals were found and under them an inestimable Treasure a great heap of Fayery wealth This I fancy may go for the Fable and his farming the Coal-mines as may be seen hereafter for the Moral The Errors of the former and dreams of the latter will be sufficiently discovered by the following History of his Life some Remarks whereof I had from creditable and worthy men bred in this Foundation long ago Others by a Commemoration Sermon of Mr. Burrel's preached in a fit time to declare the truth for several of the first list of Governours were then living and one of the Founders Executors viz. Sir Richard Sutton This I have by me in print I had likewise assistance from the Records of the House and lastly from an Anonymous and Imperfect MS. left not long since in the Booksellers hands which did me very good service I shall now only offer a word or two in the behalf of good Works and then proceed to the Historical part Nothing is more pleasing to him who is the Giver of good Gifts unto men than to see his own Blessings rightly placed and bestowed upon Objects of pitty and compassion Moreover by this we shew our thankfulness to God for the truest Notion of Gratitude is never to give an occasion that our Benefactour should repent that he bestow'd his Bounty upon us By Charity also we do good to men we oblige and endear our Neighbour we imitate the good Angels nay our Saviour himself who went about all Judea doing good though his Estate and Kingdom was not in this World yet among his few Disciples he chose one an Almoner to scatter his Benevolence and to distribute his small Treasure Love and Charity are as necessary to the well-being of States and Communities in the Body Politick as union of parts is in the material and Philosophical World Furthermore by acts of mercy and pitty we are kind to our own selves for no good man can without grief behold the gaping wounds of a poor Lazarus this makes his bowels yearn and his own Soul bear a part in sorrow so that by
who taught us to speak to proclaim his Charity by which we live to commend that Temperance which affords us affluence and plenty to admire his Self-denyal who was to do little less than a Miracle to feed a Multitude There are few such Usurers who design to receive their interest in Heaven few such Benefactors whose comprehensive Bounty embraces all Mankind from the Cradle almost to the grayest Head from the tender and helpless Youth to the most Impotent and Infirm old Age. Had our Founder gained that by unlawful Usury which he disposed to pious uses which is a sin almost to suppose unless we had evidence yet Restitution is the best sign and the greatest testimonial of sincere Repentance and where particular Restitution cannot be made to the parties wronged God requires it should be given to relieve the poor Thus Zacheus Luke 19.8 upon his Repentance and Conversion made an Overture of Restauration to all that he had wronged nay fourfold and gave half of his Estate to Souls that were in want this is recorded for our Example But this Accusation can lay no hold on Mr. Sutton for his Estate was gotten by Trade and Offices and never laid out for Interest until his years admonished him to quit his business and leave it for younger and more active people who could not undertake it unless he lent them mony and what Injury did he to any man to let him have that at 6 l. per Cent. which he was able to improve to 30 or 40 per Cent. Besides in his latter time his mony was chiefly laid out upon Annuities It was observed that when he lent mony he would enquire how it was spent and if he found that it was laid out for Necessaries Food and Rayment he never could be perswaded to take any Use No doubt but he rose by the Steps of Thrift and Frugality by being diligent in a lawful Calling nor was he Prodigal because he intended to be Magnificent Observe this Story which is told of his Parsimony Whilst he was busied in Forreign Trade and Commerce with other Nations he contracted a Familiar Acquaintance with a Merchant his Companion in Travel who though he did equal Sutton in Trade yet had not so well learned the Elements of Thrift For when on a Journey he called for his Pint of Wine Sutton called for a Gill and for every other Liquor doubled the Quantity At length this Merchant dyes and by Computation leaves an Estate of Fifty thousand pounds which Report coming to Sutton's Ears he said Alas I alwaies pitied him I thought he would dye no rich man This was in the person of his Friend to correct the Surfets and Extravagancies of a Profuse Age For a rich man is no way happier than another man but that he has more Opportunities ministred unto him of doing more good than his Neighbours Therefore Diogenes ask't of the Thrifty man but a half penny of the Prodigal a pound the former he said might give him often but the latter would shortly have nothing to give Good Husbandry is the fuel of Liberality He chose rather to deny himself in his Superfluities to retrench vain Expences that he might be able to refresh others in their day of sorrow not to rake from others wants that he might riot and rejoyce in their miseries The Fame and Credit of our Generous Founder brought him to share in many Offices at the Court and at the Custom-house where they had occasion for his mony for when an Industrious man has once rais'd his Fortunes to a considerable pitch he there grows rich apace by sharing in the constant Labours of many of the under sort of men He was a sharer in several publick Farms a Partner in Forreign Adventures especially in Muscovy and Hamburgh insomuch that he had no less than Thirty Agents abroad Thus he toyl'd and wrought as if he coveted all and gave away and he desired nothing He looked upon himself aâ— if he desired Steward of the Great God thriving as all should not for himself but others unwilling to lavish what he could spare from his own occasions on Pride or Ambition the Luxury and Vanity of a trifling World when God appointed it to be the Portion of his Fellow-Creatures Mr. Sutton according to the Methods of Wise men who mean to be wealthy appointed his Ordinary Expences to be but half of his Incomes when they were at the lowest and when they increased he ordered a third part and at the highest he determined to be charitable to an eighth part or thereabouts while living When his Estate was Two thousand pound per Ann. he designed one Thousand for himself and Family in House-keeping and Board-wages Two or Three hundred pounds for Charity Four hundred pounds for Law and Physick and many other necessaries the rest for extraordinary Emergencies not thinking it any way dishonourable to have a Personal Inspection over his own Affairs He was happy in a Wife as well as Estate which was advanced by her near Twenty thousand pounds She was the Lady Popham and so enjoyed the Wealth of great Rich Popham He had no Issue by his Beloved Wife for God Almighty had designed him a numerous train of Children to be adopted into his Family and nursed up tenderly as if they came from his own Loyns His Addresses were manly and taking his Discourse clear and full of Eloquence He did not interrupt his Resolutions with fearfulness and too much caution nor deprive himself of the great Instrument of Action Trust or Belief These good Qualifications with the glad Circumstances of a large Fortune and a long Age near 80 years in a Peaceable and Flourishing Reign after the troublesome days of Queen Mary and before the late unhappy Rebellion could not but conspire to make him Considerable The Benefices that were in his Patronage he dearly bought that he might bestow them upon men fit to be burning and shining Lights in the Church of God One of which Divines was Dr. Fish of Hallingbury in Essex who has often testified Mr. Sutton's Integrity in this point He received his Presentation of Him Ann. Dom. 1610. and heard him say That he never desired any thing of a Minister of Gods Word but his Prayers and the due performance of his Office He was a good Parishioner where he had Land and no Living as well as a good Patron where he had both encouraging all People by his early presence at Church doing good Offices as repairing Churches and decently adorning those holy Places where God has said his Name shall dwell He was remarkable for the Compassion and Relief he bestowed on the Widows and Children of good Ministers and this more particularly incited to by the excellent Examples he had seen of Charity of this Nature in the Low-Countries He was very Temperate moderating his natural Appetite by Abstinence he was sober and vigilant and moderate in all his Recreations The outward Ornaments of his Body were clean and becoming neither