ex Speed Chron. 7. Sir Nathaniel Barnardiston enjoyed his Father a less time than his Grand-Father his Father being removed by Death long before his Grand-Father but yet we may easily gather what his Carriage to him was from the high and extensive Value he set upon his Memory as he used to please himself to Discourse of his Father affirming That he was a very Godly Man and that it was a great Disadvantage for him to part with him so young These things and others he would often declare to his Children and Friends dropping many Tears to shew his great and strong Affection and when he made his Will he there exprest an importunate Desire to his Executors that the Bones of his Father might be digged out of the Earth where they were buried and laid by his own Body in a new vault he order'd his Executors to erect for the same purpose Thus though he could not live with his Father as long as he would have desired yet he designed that their Bodies or Relicks should lie together 'till the happy Resurrection-Day which certainly did denote a Noble Veneration and a most raised Filial Affection See his Life CHAP. LIV. Remarkable Instances of an Early Piety or Children Good betimes TO see young Trees newly planted hopeful and promising is a very lovely and inviting sight A Jeremiah sanctified from his Mother's Womb a Joshua pious in his young years a Timothy well instructed in the Scriptures from a Child are very pleasant in sacred Records And when we see the Seeds of Piety spring up so soon we are ready to impute it to the Influence of Heaven and the Efficacy of Divine Grace And though sometimes these Blossoms die before any Fruit appears and a good Beginning hath not always a good Ending yet certainly and Lot Solomon or our Senses be Witnesses in the case 't is the likeliest way to end well when we begin well 1. Mr. Samuel Crook to shew that his Heart even in his Youth was drawn up towards the Pole of Heaven translated divers of David's Psalms and composed several Hymns of his own Some of which he sung with Tears of Joy and Desire in his last Sickness See his Life p. 4. 2. Origen when a Child was mightily inquisitive into the Meaning of the Scriptures even tiring his Parents with asking Religious Questions comforting his Father in Prison with Letters and hardly forbearing to offer himself to Martyrdom Dr. Cave 's Prim. Christian 3. K. Edward VI. took Notes of such things he heard in Sermons which more nearly related to himself Hist of the Reform 4. Queen Elizabeth wrote a good hand before she was Four years old and understood Italian Ibid. 5. Sir Thomas Moore never offended his Father nor was ever offended by him 6. Arch-bishop Vsher at 10 years old found himself wrought upon by a Sermon on Rom. 12.1 I beseech you Brethren by the Mercies of God c. Dr. Bernard in his Life 7. Dr. W. Gouge when at School was continually studious even at play-hours conscionable in secret Prayer and sanctifying the Sabbath Clark 's Lives 8. Mr. Tho. Gataker was often chid by his Father from his Book Ibid. 9. Mr. Jeremy Whitaker when a School-Boy would frequently go in company 8 or 10 miles to hear a warming Sermon and took Notes and was helpful to others in repeating them and though his Father often and earnestly endeavoured to divert him yet when a Boy he was unmoveable in his Desires to be a Minister Ibid. 10. Mr. Herbert Palmer was esteemed sanctified even from the Womb at the Age of 4 or 5 years he would cry to go to his Lady Mothers Sir Tho. Palmer being his Father that he might hear somewhat of God When a Child little more than Five years old he wept in reading the Story of Joseph and took much pleasure in learning Chapters by heart he learned the French Tongue almost so soon as he could speak he often affirmed that he never remembred the learning of it by his Discourse he could hardly be distinguished from a Native French-man When at the Latin-School at vacant hours others were at play he was constantly observed to be reading studiously by himself Ibid. 11. Mr. Tho. Cartwright in his younger years rose many times in the night to seek out places to pray in Ibid. 12. Mr. Rich. Sedgwick when he was a School-boy and living with his Uncle and the rest of the Family were at their Games and Dancing he would be in a Corner mourning Ibid. 13. Mr. Julius Herring when a Boy was noted for his Diligence in Reading the Scriptures On Play-days he with 2 or 3 more School-fellows would pray together repeat the Heads of the Catechism with the Sermons which they heard last Lord's-day Ibid. 14. Mrs. Margaret Corbet Daughter of Sir Nathaniel Brent Warden of Merton-Colledge whom about 14 years of Age wrote Sermons with Dexterity and left many Volumes of such Notes writ with her own Hand Ibid. 15. Mrs. Elizabeth Wilkinson was from her Childhood very Docile took much pains in writing Sermons and collecting special Notes out of Practical Divines When I was saith she in a Narrative written with her own Hand about Twelve years old upon reading in the Practice of Piety concerning the happy State of the Godly and the miserable Condition of the Wicked in their Death and so on to all Eternity it pleased the Lord so to affect my Heart as from that time I was wrought over to a desire to walk in the Ways of God Ibid. 16. Mr. Caleb Vernon could read the Bible distinctly at Four years old and by six became very apt in places of Scripture the Theory thereof and moral Regard thereto exactly observant of his Parents with ambition to serve and please them in love To begin a Correspondency with a good Friend of his Mr. R. D. then in London he wrote this his first Letter at Ten years of age Dear Sir I Received your kind Letter for which I thank you and desire the Book which you sent me may be made of good effect to my Soul and that my Soul may be filled with the Love of God ' being ready for the Day of his coming to judge the World in Righteousness when the Kings of the Earth shall tremble and the Rulers shall be astonished at the Brightness of his coming when he shall come with his Holy Angels in Power and Glory to judge the Earth in the Valley of Jehoshaphat O! that my Soul was fit for his Coming that I may be like a flourishing Flower in the Garden of Eden prepared for the Lord Christ This is a Trying-day the Lord is searching Jerusalem with Candles to find out out-side Professors who do make clean the out-side of the Cup and Platter when their Hearts are full of Deceit Oh! that we might be comforting one another with his coming putting on the Breast-plate of Faith and laying aside the Traditions of Men. O! how near is his coming even at the
their Idolatry and Superstition in which they were bred I have not the Writings of Sozomen by men at present and therefore put this Relation to my Reader only upon the Authority of Mr. Clogie in his Vox Corvi p. 81. See the Chapter of Persons strangely Admonished Sect. 4. 8. Anne Bodenham a Witch near Salisbury was famous for making Discovery of Things lost and Predicting Things to come of whom we have occasion to speak elsewhere in this Book 9. Philippus Comineus Reporteth That the Arch-bishop of Vienna said after Mass to King Lewis the Eleventh of France Sir Your mortal Enemy is dead At which time Duke Charles of Burgundy was Slain at the Battel of Granson against the Switzers Bacon's Nat. Hist Cent. 10. p. 211. 10. In Barbary are Wizards who do smear their Hands with some black Ointment and then do hold them up to the Sun and in a short time you shall see delineated in that black Stuff the likeness of what you desire to have an Answer of It was desired to know whether a Ship was in safety or no There appear'd in the Womans hand the perfect Lineaments of a Ship under Sail. This Mr. W. Cl. a Merchant of London who was Factor there several Years protested to me that he did see He is a Person worthy of belief 11. The last Summer on the Day of St. John Baptist 1694. I accidentally was walking in the Pasture behind Montague-House it was Twelve a Clock I saw there about two or three and twenty young Women most of them well Habited on their Knees very busie as if they had been Weeding I culd not presently learn what the Matter was at last a young Man told me that they were looking for a Coal under the Root of a Plantain to put under their Heads that Night and they should Dream who would be their Husbands It was to be found that Day and Hour 12. The Women have several Magical Secrets handed down to them by Tradition for this purpose as on St. Agnes Night 21th Day of January Take a Row of Pins and pull out every one one after another saying a Pater Noster or Our Father sticking a Pin in your Sleeve and you will Dream of him or her you shall Marry Ben. Johnson in one of his Masques makes some mention of this And on sweet Saint Agnes Night Please you with the promis'd sight Some of Husbands some of Lovers Which an empty Dream discovers Another To know whom one shall Marry You must lie in another County and knit the left Garter about the Right Legg'd Stocking let the other Garter and Stocking alone and as you rehearse these following Verses at every Comma knit a Knot This not I knit To know the thing I know not yet That I may see The Man that shall my Husband be How he goes and what he wears And what he does all the Days Accordingly in your Dream you will see him if a Musician with a Lute or other Instrument if a Scholar with a Book c. 14. A Gentlewoman that I knew confessed in my hearing that she used this method and dreamt of her Husband whom she had never seen About two or three Years after as she was one Sunday at Church up pops a young Oxonian in the Pulpit She cries out presently to her Sister This is the very Face of the Man that I Saw in my Dream Sir William Somes's Lady did the like as also did Sir T. Williams's Lady 15. Another way is to Charm the Moon thus At the first appearance of the new Moon after New-Years-Day go out in the Evening and stand over the Sparrs of a Gate or Stile looking on the Moon and say All hail to the Moon all Hail to thee I prithee good Moon reveal to me This Night who my Husband must be You must presently after go to Bed 16. I knew two Gentlewomen that did thus when they were young Maids and they had Dreams of those that Married them I don't think any stress is to be laid upon such Practices but finding 'em all Inserted in Mr. Aubrey's Collections I was willing to take Notice of them 17. Dr. Pocock of Oxford in his Commentary on Hosea hath a Learned Discourse of the Vrim and Thummim as also Dr. Spenser of Cambridge That the Priest had his Visions in the Stone of the Breast-plate 18. The Prophets had their Seers viz. Young Youths who were to behold those Visions of whom Mr. Abraham Cowley writes thus With hasty Wings Time present they out-fly And tread the doubtful Maze of Destiny There walk and sport among the Years to come And with quick Eye pierce every Causes Womb. 19. James Harrington Author of Oceana told me That the Earl of Denbigh then Ambassador at Venice did tell him That one did shew him there several times in a Glass things past and to come 20. When Sir Mermaduke Langdale was in Italy he went to one of those Magi who did shew him a Glass where he saw himself kneeling before a Crucifix He was then a Protestant afterwards he became a Roman Catholick He told Mr. Thomas Henshaw R. S. S. this himself 21. A Clothier's Widow of Pembridge in Herefordshire desired Dr. Shirbârn one of the Canons of the Church of Hereford and Rector of Pembridge to look over her Husbands Writings after his Decease among other things he found a Call for a Crystal The Clothier had his Cloaths oftentimes stolen from his Racks and at last obtain'd this Trick to discover the Thieves So when he lost his Cloaths he went out about Midnight with his Crystal and Call and a little Boy or little Maid with his for they say it must be a pure Virgin to look in the Crystal to see the likeness of the Person that committed the Theft The Doctor did burn the Call 1671. 22. About the latter end of the Reign of King James the First one a Taylor in London had several Visions which he did describe to a Painter to paint and he writ the description himself in an ill Taylor-like hand in false English but legibly It was at least a Quire of Paper I remember one Vision is of St. James's Park where is the Picture of an Altar and Crucifix Mr. Butler of the Toy-shop by Ludgate one of the Masters of Bridewel had the Book in Anno 1659 The then Earl of Northampton gave Five Pounds for a Copy of it Thus far Mr. Aubrey CHAP. XI Of Astrology THO there be much Vanity and Vncertainty in Judicial Astrology and therefore it hath been decried and run down with much Satyr and Tartness even by Wise and Good Men as St. Augustine Perkins c. And very strong Arguments brought against it S. Scriptures the Writings of the Fathers the Reason of Things yet whether or no there may not be a modest use made of it I appeal to the Writings of the Learned Melancthon Alsted and several others who wrote in defence of it and so commit these following Relations
with shame See his Life by Mr. Clark p. 296. And another Lady Wife to the Lord Mordant confirmed by occasion of the Jesuit's absenting from the Disputation and sending his excuse that he had forgot all his Arguments tho' he had them before as ready as his Pater Nâster as he believed through the just Judgment of God because he had undertaken to Dispute with so worthy a Man without License of his Superiour Ibid. p. 278. 4. One Mr. Charles Langford in a Book Published by him called God's wonderful Mercy in the Mount of woful Extremity A. C. 1672. Tells us that for near Forty Years he had been Buffeted severely by Satan who had left no Stone unturn'd to do him all the mischief that he could For the space of Forty Years saith he or thereabouts hath it pleased the Hand that took me out of my Mother's Womb to train me up and lead me along in this uncomfortable Wilderness of Temptation tho' I cannot say that in all these Years he hath left me to the violence of Spiritual Conflicts for then the Burthen had been too heavy for Flesh to stand under so long Yet must I needs say my clearest Day all that time was but clark and however I seemed to others in point of Comfort outwardly sure I am my Soul enjoyed not her rest nor could I ever say I was all that while more than a Prisoner of hope still subject unto Bondage and not discharged of the Debt nor delivered from my Fears It was but a hard shift that I made to hold up my head when I was at best my worst cannot be expressed until now at last that God for whom I waited in the way of his Judgments and from whom were my Expectations in the use of appointed means all this while came and was found of me when I look'd not for him and delivered me from my strong Enemy set my Feet upon a Rock and Established my goings I can say by experience Now I know there is a God and now I know there is a Devil Such have been the Delusions cursed Injections of Blasphemous Thoughts and dreadful Temptations wherewith he hath endeavoured to âll my Soul till the day the Lord by his great power delivered me out of his Hands That I have cause to know him and to make him known as I am able to the World In short tho' he had been tempted to Murder his Wife and made Provision for it and she knew it yet she still performed the duty of a faithful Yoke-fellow and upon April 16. 1669. a day for ever to be Solemnized as Glorious and Honourable by me his poor Creature They are his own words she going on in her constant course of Prayer after she had given the Lord his Holy and Reverend Titles using Moses's Arguments brake forth into these words My Father my Father What wilt thou do with my Husband He hath been speaking and acting still in thy cause Oh! Destroy him not for thine own Glory Oh! What dishonour will come to thy great Name if thou do it Oh! Rather do with me what thou wilt On Rather Do what thou wilt But spare my Husband c. He that is pleased to stile himself a God hearing Prayer and in most of his great works delights to advance his own power by using small and unlikely means after long tarrying and in a time when I looked not for him came now and owned his own Ordinance crowned the Cries and Faith and Patience of a poor Woman with such success that my praise shall be continually of him The proud may scorn but the humble shall hear thereof and be glad That roaring Lion mine Adversary the Devil that old Serpent that red Dragon that unclean Spirit that Liar that false Accuser Murderer Appollyon Abaddon even now when he thought himself almost settled in the Possession of his long sought Dominion and that there was no casting him out of my Soul which he had abused making it his Dung-hill whereon he laid all the fifth of Hellish Thoughts and Abominations that he could now was sent to his own place by my dear Lord Christ who broke the Doors of Brass and rescued me from the Rape of Hellish Furies c. See the Book writ by his own Hand p. 53 54. c. 5. When I was Minister of Shipley in Sussex a certain Man of another Parish on a Lord's Day after Evening Service came to me and desired to speak with me about some particular Case of Conscience I think it was concerning the Sin against the Holy Ghost after some discourse upon the point he told me that he had for many Years been haunted with doubts and great fears about his Salvation and could enjoy no comfort but at last unexpectedly as he was at his Loom for he was a Weaver by Trade a certain Text of Scripture was suggested to his mind by he knew not what secret Impulse and thereupon all the thick Fog which he had so long laboured under was scattered and the Room was filled with Light and he enjoyed a great Serenity and Peace and Comfort afterwards 6. Mrs. Polsted of Bednel Green for a great while was in great Darkness and Deserted It prevailed even to the uttering of words dreadful to her Friends But drawing near to her end she desired my Sister Dunn to stay with her that Night she died and to close her Eyes She lay by her upon the Bed when she spake to her thus O Mrs. Dunn it is a dreadful thing to be separated from Christ for ever for ever Yes so 't is says her Friend but I am perswaded it shall never be your Portion She fell into a kind of a Slumber and a little after spake Mrs. Dunn Christ is come let us haste to meet him let us haste to meet him She ask'd her if she had now closed with Christ yes said she I stick to my first choice I stick to my first choice What shall I render to the Lord What shall I render to the Lord And so died praising the Lord. 7. Mrs Charlton once told me That after a Desertion of about Eight Years she had such a Floud of Spiritual Joy that when she walk'd in the Streets they seem'd to her Pav'd with Gold for a Fortnights time and she was fain to beg of God to stay his Hand Her Body being not able to bear it 8. Mr. Nutkin of Okingham told me That once after near Fifty Years Profession upon a Day of Thanksgiving observed by himself upon a recovery from Sickness and to beg a Sanctified use of Health restored on a sudden a dark Cloud fell on him that all his Profession had been Hypocrisie That Day and the Night after which he passed without Sleep it continued and he was so held down by the Temptation he had not power to look into his Bible The next Day he thought thus Have I been so long acquainted with the Lord and shall not I dare to look into his
seeking to direct your Life after it you shall be an Inheritour of such Riches as neither the Covetous shall take from you neither shall Thieves steal nor Moth corrupt Desire with David dear Sister to understand the Law of the Lord God live still to die that by Death you may purchase Eternal Life and trust not that the tenderness of your Age shall lengthen your Life for as soon if God calls goes the Young as the Old Labour therefore always to learn to die Defie the World deny the Devil despise the Flesh and delight your self wholly in the Lord be penitent for your Sins and yet despair not be strong in Faith and yet presume not and desire with St. Paul to be dissolved and to be with Christ with whom even in Death there is Life Be like the good Servant and even at Midnight he waking lest when Death comes and steals upon you you be with the evil Servant found sleeping and lest for lack of Oyl you be found like the foolish Virgins and like him that had not on the Wedding-Garment and so you be shut out from the Marriage Rejoyce in Christ as I do follow the Steps of your Master Christ and take up his Cross lay your Sins upon him and always embrace him And as touching my Death rejoyce as I do Good Sister that I shall be delivered of this Corruption and put on Incorruption for I am assured that I shall for losing a Mortal Life win an Immortal Life the which I pray God to grant you and send you of his Grace to live in his Fear and die in the True Faith of Christ from which in the Name of God I exhort you that you never swerve neither for Hope of Life nor Fear of Death for if you deny his Truth to lengthen your Life God will deny you and shorten your Days and if you cleave unto him he will prolong your Days to his Glory and your Comfort To which Glory God bring me now and you hereafter when it shall please him to call you Fare you well Good Sister and put your only Trust in God who only must help you The next Morning with a Book in her Hand she made a pathetical Speech upon the Scaffold kneeled down to Prayers repeated over the 51st Psalm prayed for the Executioner laid her Head upon the Block and ended her Life with these words Lord into thy Hands I commend my Spirit Aged Sixteen Fox Martyrol Concerning the Respect of the Jews to the Law the Mahometans to their Alchoran c. see my History of all Religions 37. I had almost forgot to make mention of the Practice of my dear Friend and Correspondent Mr. Henry spoken of in the last Chapter which I am very unwilling to omit because I would provoke myself and others to some degree of Emulation in the Case besides his Exercise on the Lord's Days mentioned before every Day of the week his Custom was every Morning and Night to Read a Chapter to his Family and Expound it distinctly and clearly and after Singing a Psalm and Prayers to appoint his Children to retire by themselves and write over a Copy of his Exposition by which means as himself once told me every one of his Children Five in Number One Son and Four Daughters had the Exposition of the whole Bible by them written with their own Hands This Custom he kept up constantly in his own House for above Twenty if not above Thirty Years together without any intermission except in Cases of Absence from Home which happened but seldom 38. Dr. Harris in all his Wills always renewed this Legacy Item I bequeath to all my Children and to my Childrens Children to each of them a Bible with this Inscription None but Christ See his Life 39. Philip Melancthon always used to carry his Bible along with him wherein he read often Clark's Exampl Vol. II. p. 336. 40. Mr. William Garaway hath told me of a certain English Gentleman a Member of the House of Commons that never came into the Parliament-House without a Bible in his Pocket which he used to consult upon occasions 41. Mrs. Catherine Stubbs was seldom seen without a Bible or a good Book in her Hands See her Life 42. John Prince of Saxony had Six Pages attending on him in his Chambers that every day read to him Six Hours out of the Bible Luther Coll. Mens p. 462. 43. Mr. Fox tells a Story of one Crow a Sea-man who being Shipwreck'd lost all his Money and Goods but put his Bible about his Neck and swam with it to Shoar Mr. Barker's Flores 44. After Ptolomy had furnish'd his Library with so many Thousand Books Aristaeus told him It was but a poor Library being without the Sacred Volume of God the Book of Books the Holy Scripture So is all Knowledge but poor Knowledge without the Right Knowledge of God revealed in his Word Mr. Barker's Flores 45. I have read of one Cramerus a School-Master who had a Scholar who had in a Writing in his own Blood promised to give his Soul on certain Conditions to the Devil which Writing Cramerus got from him and the Devil in the Night knock'd at his Chamber-door and demanded the Paper of him but he answered I have laid the Paper in my Bible and in that Page where it is written The Seed of the Woman shall bruise the Head of the Serpent and take it thence Satan if thou canst And thereupon the Devil departed and left the Paper behind him and came no more Mr. Barker's Flores 46. Mr. Cotton Mather tell us in the Life of Mr. Nathaniel Mather That this young Man had a principle regard unto the Scriptures for the Subjects of his Meditations and he was very expensive of his Thoughts on the Book of God He was daily digging in the sacred Mines and with deligh he fetched thence Riches better then those of both the India's and he could say O how I love thy Law it is my Meditation every day Even in the time of his mortal Sickness he was very angry at himself if he had not heard a Portion of the Bible read unto him from day to day Once when he was near his End a good part of a day having pass'd before he had enjoyed his Meal of Scripture be said unto his Sister with some impatience Alas What an ungodly Life do I lead pray come and read my Bible to me and read me the forty ninth Psalm Indeed he read the Scripture not cursorily but very deliberately and considerately and as an effect of his doing so he could give such an account of the Difficulties in it as the most not only of Christians but of Divines too would judge an Attainment extraordinary Not long before he died he had read over all the large and great Annotations on the Bible lately published by Mr. Pool and some other Non-conformist Ministers but having dispatched those two noble Folio's he said unto one that was intimate with him Thus
ever open to all that he thought Objects of Charity Thus did this pious Gentleman honour God with his Substance and adventure upon the Royal Prophet's Words to cast his Bread upon the Waters which though the unbelieving World accounts Folly and usually reckon it among their Losses yet he to his advantage according to the Promise thereto annexed found it again not after many Days This Bread like the Loaves which Christ fed the Multitude with was multiplied in his Hands and his Oyl increased by pouring out He was but a younger Brother and the Etate setled upon him was but 800 l. a Year or thereabouts and yet notwithstanding I had almost said this Excess of Charity his Estate was so far from being ruined or impaired as that not only the same bare Measure he received but much greater pressed down and running over was meeted out to him and his Posterity There is now left to his Heirs an Estate of more than the double value of what he received from his Father besides the Portions which he gave to all his Daughters Five in Number which were very considerable to some of them more than 2000 l. 15. Dr. William Gouge late Pastor of Black-Fryars a Man eminent as in other Graces so in this of Charity used to say That the Tenth part of a rich Man's Estate was a fit Proportion to be devoted to God for charitable Vses but himself as his Son tells us he collected from his own Papers gave the Seventh part of all his yearly Comings-in towards the Maintaining poor Scholars at the University and the Relieving poor Families and distressed Persons And how wonderfully God blessed as his Ministry so his outward Estate is so well known to all who lived in his Days that as his Son saith it is needless to say any thing of it only there may be truly applied to him the Words of the Psalmist He was ever merciful and lending and his Seed is blessed Mr. Tho. Gouge 's Surest and Safest Way of Thriving p. 16 17 18 19 20 c. From whence I have extracted all this Chapter almost entirely It were easie to multiply Instances of this nature but we will pass to another of somewhat a different kind The Story of SYNESIUS and EVAGRIUS LEontius Apamiensis a most faithful religious Man that had lived many Years at Cyrene assured them that Synesius who of a Philosopher became a Bishop found at Syrene one Evagrius a Philosopher who had been his old Acuquaintance Fellow-Student and intimate Friend but an oââââate Heathen and Synesius was earnest with him to become a Christian but all in vain yet did he follow him with those Arguments that might satitfie him of the Christian Verity and at last the Philosopher told him That to him it seemed but a meer Fable and Deceit that the Christian Religion teacheth Men that this World shall have an end and that all Men shall rise again in these Bodies and their Flesh be made immortal and incorruptible and that they shall so live for ever and receive the Reward of all that they have done in the Body and that he that hath pity on the poor lendeth to the Lord and he that gives to the poor and needy shall have treasures in heaven and shall receive an hundred-fold from Christ together with eternal Life these things he derided Synesius by many Arguments assured him That all these things were certainly true and at last the Philosopher and his Children were baptized A while after he comes to Synesius brings him 300 l. of Gold for the Poor and bid him take it but give him a Bill under his Hand that Christ should repay it him in another World Synesius took the Money for the Poor and gave him under his Hand such a Bill as he desired Not long after the Philosopher being near to Death commanded his Sons that which they buried him they should put Synesius's Bill in his Hand in the Grave which they did The Third Day after the Philosopher seemed to appear to Synesius in the Night and said to him Come to my Sepulcher where I lie and take thy Bill for I have received the Debt and am satisfied which for thy assurance I have subscribed with my own Hand The Bishop knew not that the Bill was buried with him but sent to his Sons who told him all and taking them and the chief Men of the City he went to the Grave and found the Paper in the Hands of the Corps thus subscribed Ego Evagrius c. I Evagrius the Philosopher to Thee most Holy Sir Bishop Synesius Greeting I have received the Debt which in this Paper is written with thy Hands and I am satisfied and have no Action against Thee for the Gold which I gave to Thee and by Thee to Christ our God and Saviour They that saw the thing admired and glorified God that gave such wonderful Evidence of his Promises to his Servants And saith Leontius this Bill thus subscribed by the Philosopher is kept at Cyrene most carefully in the Church to this Day to be seen of such as desire to see it Baron Annal. ad An. 411. Ex Sophron. Praet Spir. c. 155. See the Story of the Lord Cromwel's Gratitude to Frescobald a Florentine Merchant mentioned in the Chapter of Remarkable Gratitude CHAP. LXXIV Present Retribution to the Observers of Sabbaths AS God hath inflicted remarkable Judgments upon those that have profaned his Sabbaths so he hath remarkably blessed them who have been careful to observe them according to his Promises made upon that point Isa 58.13 14. If thou turn away thy Foot from the Sabbath from doing thy pleasure on my holy Day and call the Sabbath a Delight the Holy of the Lord Honourable and shalt honour him not doing thine own ways nor finding thy own pleasure nor speaking thy own worlds then shalt thou delight thy self in the Lord and I will cause thee to ride upon the High places of the Earth and feed thee with the Heritage of Jacob thy Father for the Mouth of the Lord hath spoken it 1. Bishop Jos Hall observed that according to his Care of observing the Lord's-Day he commonly prospered in his Undertakings the Week following 2. The Lord Chief Justice Hales hath made the very same Remark upon himself See my Christian's Companion where both these Examples are cited And if I mistake not the late Lord Delamere did the same 3. Towns and Families that have been more strict and regular upon that Day have commonly fared better than their Neighbours who have been profane and licentious Even within the Circuit of my own Knowledge the Town of Whitchurch in Shrop-shire escaped Publick Calamities better than some of her Sister-Towns as Draiton Wem Newport c. where frequent and sometimes dreadful Faires made great Devastations And which deserves not to pass without a Nota Bene the Difference of their Devotions upon that Day was notable to a common Eye In the former you should scarce see
of the Innocent Blood crying from Earth to Heaven for Vengeance and immediately God himself came down to make Inquisition and Arraign the Murderer The Divine Character imprinted upon Man hath set such a Price and Vatue upon him that it is Treason against Heaven to deface the Image and Superscription Of all the sins that God hath forbidden by his Sacred Laws we find him soverer against none than Blasphemy and Murder the one being a defiance and flying in the Face of him that made w and a Contempt of the First Table the other the highest breach of Charity and a trampling under Foot the Second Table of the Decalogue And therefore no wonder if Divine Providence be more jealous upon these Points and more ingeniously active in the Discovery 1. A Soldier of King Pyrrhus being slain a Dog which he had could by no means be enticed from the dead Body But the King coming by he fawned upon him as it were craving help at his hand whereupon the King caused all his Army to march by in Order and when the Murtherers came the Dog flew fiercely upon them and then fawned upon the King The Soldiers being hereupon examined confessed the Fact and were hanged for their Labour Plut. Clark's Mirror c. 86. 2. Plutarch also relates a Story of one Bessus who having murthered his Father was so pursued with a Guilty Conscience that he thought the Swallows in their chattering Language said one to another Bessus hath killed his Father whereupon not being able to conceal his Guilt he confessed the Fact and received condign Punishment Plutarch de serâ numinis vind 3. Anno Christi 1551. at Paris a Young Woman as she was going to Midnight-Mass was brained with an Hammer which was stollen from a Smith hard by which being known the Smith was suspected and so strictly examined by Torture that he was lamed and died in misery But about Twenty Years after the Murtherer arraigned and condemned for another Offence confessed this Murther to the clearing of the Smith's Innocency and God's Righteous Judgments upon him Pasquier Clark's Mirror c. 86. 4. Within these few Years the Lord Saint-John going his Circuit there was a Man Arraigned before him for Murther and it was proved by many Witnesses that the Party murthered being laid in the Grave till the coroner could come when the Body was again taken up this Murtherer being suspected was sent for and when he came where the Body lay she dead Corps opened his Eyes and fell into a Sweat This I had from a Godly Minister to whom that worthy Judge related it Clark's Mirror c. 86. 5. Luther tells a Story of a certain Almain who in his Travel fell amongst Thieves and they about to cut his Throat the poor Man espied a flight of Crows and said O Crows I take you for Witnesses and Revengers of my Death About two or three days after these Thieves Drinking together at an Inn a company of Crows came and lighted on the top of the House at this the Thieves began to laugh and say one to another Look yonder are they who must avenge his Death whom we lately slew The Tapster over-hearing them declares it to the Magistrate who caused them to be Apprehended and upon their disagreeing in Speeches and contrary Answers urged them so far that they confessed the Truth and received their deserved Punishment Beard 's Theatre l. 2. c. 11. 6. A Murderer at Tubing betray'd his Murder by his own sighs which were so deep and incessant in grief not of his Fact but of his small Booty that being but asked the Question he confessed the Crime and underwent deserved Punishment Ibid. 7. Henry Renzovius Lieutenant to the King of Denmark in the Dukedom of Holsatia in a Letter of his to David Chytreus writes thus A Traveller was found murdered in the High-way near to Itzehow in Denmark and because the Murderer was unknown the Magistrates of the Place caused one of the Hands of him that was slain to be cut off and hung up by a string on the top of the Room in the Town-Prison About Ten Years after the Murderer coming upon some occasion into the Prison the Hand that had been a long time dry began to drop Blood upon the Table that stood underneath it which the Gaoler beholding stayed the Fellow and advertised the Magistrates of it and examining him the Murderer giving Glory to God confessed his Fact and submitted himself to the Rigour of the Law which was inflicted to him as he well deserved Ibid. 8. At Tiguri a certain Vagabond Rogue in the Night had kill'd his Companion that lay with him in a Barn and having first removed the dead Corps somewhat out of sight fled betimes in the Morning towards Eglisavium a Town under the Government of the Tigurines But the Master of the Barn having in the Morning found the Signs of a Murder soon after found also the dead Body In the mean time the Murderer was got far upon his way yet by the Noise of Crows and Jays which follow'd and assaulted him he was taken notice of by some Reapers then in the Field who were somewhat terrified at the Novelty of so unusual a thing The Murderer for all this held on his way and now might he seem to be out of Danger when there came such as were ordered to make Pursuit after him who enquired of the Reapers if any Man had passed by that way who told them they had seen none besides only one Fellow who as he passed was ever and anon molested with the Crows and Jays that they thence did conjecture he was some Villain and that if they made hast they might undoubtedly take him The Wretch was soon after seiz'd by them and broken upon the Wheel At his Execution I heard him acknowledge the Providence of God a clear Instance of which he had received in so unusal a Detection of himself Wanley's Wonders c. c. 41. l. 1. 9. In the Second Year of King James his Reign a strange Accident happened to the Terror of all Bloody Murderers which was this One Ann Waters enticed by a Lover of hers consented to have her Husband strangled and bury'd under the Dunghil in a Cow house Whereupon the Man being missing by his Neighbours and the Wife making shew of wondring what was become of him it pleased God that one of the Inhabitants of the Town dreamed one Night that his Neighbour Waters was strangled and buried under the Dunghil in the Cow-house and upon declaring of his Dream Search being made by the Constable the dead Body was found as he had dreamed And thereupon the Wife was apprehended and upon Examination confessing the Fact was burnt And now what hope can Murderers have of being concealed when they are subject to be discovered by any Man's Dream Baker's Chron. p. 614. Wanley's Wonders ibid. 10. A Merchant of Lucca travelling to Roan in Normandy was in the way murder'd by a French Man his Servant and thrown amongst
while was not because I forgot or neglected them but that I might have the daily happiness of meditating upon them and might so imprint them in my Mind and Memory that I might afterwards answer them with all the Power and Skill I have I do therofore joyfully observe and honour that tender and fatherly Affection which you do therein express towards me and do beseech God that you may live many years and that you would still continue as my Godly Father to instruct me with your wholesome and godly Counsel and Advice for I desire to embrace Religion and Godliness above all other things for St. Paul saith That Godliness is profitable for all things I wish your Fatherhood many years of Health and happiness Your well-affected Son Edward Prince He had a particular Reverence for the Scriptures For he took it very ill when one about him laid a great Bible on the Floor to step upon for somewhat that was out of his reach He at 8 years old writ Latin Letters frequently to his Father King Henry VIII and to Queen Katherine Parre and his Uncle the Earl of Hartford c. Young Man's Calling p. 204. Dr. Burnet's Abridgment Hist Ref. Book 2. p. 2. 23. Queen Elizabeth writ a good hand before she was 4 years old and understood Italian for there are Letters extant written by her in that Language to Queen Jane when she was with Child in which she subscribed Daughter Ibid. 24. Zebertus Th. D. testifies That Delrius at 19 years of Age quoted 1100 divers Authors in divers Languages with very great Labour and Judgment in his Adversaria which he published for the Illustration of Seneca Drexel Aurif CHAP. XXIX Instances of An Extraordinary Memory WIsdom is the Daughter of Experience Memory the Repository of Experiences certainly then those have an Advantage by Nature above others who excel in this Faculty and 't is very strange that a little Cell or Apartment of Brain should be able to receive so many Ideas of Things and histories of Life without disorder and confusion as would be enough to fill a Volume of the largest Folio and yet such there are Persons of a good Commixture of Humours and a dry Brain that can carry in their Heads more than some can take in 1. Avicenna could repeat Aristotle's Metaphysicks without Book Zuin. Theat vol. 1. lib. 1. pag. 34. 2. Cineas the Ambassador of King Pyrrhus the very next day after he came to Rome both knew and also saluted by their Names all the Senate and the whole Order of the Gentlemen in Rome Solinus c. 7. p. 195. 3. Hortensius sitting at Rome in the Market-place for a whole day together recited in order all the things that were sold there their Price and the Names of the Buyers 4. Lucius Lucullus a great Captain and Philosopher was able to give a ready account of all Affairs at home and abroad Cicero Commends Hortensius's Memory for Words Lucullus's for Things Zuing. v. 1. l. 1. p. 34. c. 5. Carneades a Grecian is Celebrated for his singular Memory by Pliny l. 7. c. 24. So is Pertius Latro by Seneca and Zuinger c. 6. Antheny Walleus in 6 months learn'd by heart the whole Epitome of Pagnine Clarks Mar. of Eccles Hist 7. Antonius the Egyptian Eremite without knowledge of Letters had the whole Scriptures without Book Zuing. v. 1. l. 1. p. 33. Ex Aug. de Dectr Christ 8. Cardulus was able to write two Pages entire which any other man should read in due order or if they pleased repeat them backwards Ibid. p. 34. 9. J. Lipsius offered in the presence of a German Prince thus Set one here with a Poynard and if in repeating of Tacitus all over I shall miss but in one Word let him Stab me and I will freely open my Breast or Thorat for him to strike at Jani Nicii pina Coth 2. Imag. 1. pag. 2. 10. Pomp Gariglianus could repeat on occasion any Sentence of Plato Aristotle Hippocrates Galen Theinistius Tho. Aquinas c. Ibid. p. 69. 11. I could repeat saith Seneca 2000 Names in the same Order as they were spoken and when as my Masters Scholars above 200 in all brought each of them several Verses to him beginning at the last I could recite them orderly unto the first c. Senec. Controv. l. 1. Proaemio 12. Joseph Scaliger in 21 days committed all Homer to his Memory Wanley's Wonders l. 2. c. 2. 13. Mr. Humphry Burton of Coventry aged 83. Anno 1676. could give the sum of any Chapter in the New Testament and of the Chapters in divers Books of the Old Testament in a Latin Distich with great readiness Ibid. 14. Pontanus of Spoleto a Lawyer could recite not only the Titles but the entire Bodies of the Laws Hakew. Apol. l. 3. c. 6. Sect. 1. p. 226. 15. Fr. Suarez had St. Augustine ready by heart alledging every where as there was occasion fully and faithfully his Sentences and which is very strange his Words Strada prolus Acad. l. 1. Prolus 1. p. 7. 16. Dr. Raynold's excelled this way to the astonishment of all that were inwardly acquainted with him not only for St. Augustine's Works but also all Classical Authors Hakew. Apol. l. 3. c. 6. Sect. 1. p. 226. 17. Bishop Jewel was raised by Art and Industry to the highest pitch of human possibility for he could readily repeat any thing that he had Penn'd after once Reading And therefore usually at the Ringing of the Bell he began to commit his Sermons to Heart and kept what he had learn'd so firmly that he used to say That if he were to make a Speech premeditated before a thousand Auditors shouting or fighting all the while yet could he say whatsoever he had provided to speak Many barbarous and hard Names out of a Kalendar and 40 strange words Welsh Irish c. after once or twice Reading and short Meditation he could repeat both forwards and backwards without any hesitation Sir Fr. Bacon reading to him only the last Clauses of ten lines in Erasmus his Paraphrase in a confused and dismembred manner he after a small pause rehearsed all those broken parcels of Sentences the right way and the contrary without stumbling clark's Mirror c. 81. p. 356. 18. Murctus tells of a young Man of Corsica Student in the Civil Law at Padua who could repeat 36000 Latin Greek or barbarous Words significant or insignificant upon once hearing without any Hesitation in what order so ever a Person pleased Muretus saith he made trial of him several times and avers it to be true Murct Variar lect l. 3. c. 1. p. 54. c. 19. Francis King of France Jerome of Prague Longolius Matochites c. are mentioned as Persons of an excellent Memory by Zuinger As was also Dr. Fuller Ve ejus vitâ CHAP. XXX Instances of extraordinary Fatness c. EVery thing in the extremes in natural Bodies is an irregularity and distemper whether it be excess or defect a due
is required Nothing makes us more Ingenious than Necessity Rather than Men will suffer all the Inconveniencies consequent upon a Total Eclipse of any of their Senses especially that of Sight and the comfortable use of the Sun they will set their Brains upon the rack and use the greatest intention of Thought to procure a Compensation 1. Esther Elizabeth Van Waldkirk Daughter of a Merchant of Shaffhausen Residing at Geneva aged Nineteen Years having been Blind from two Months old by a Distemper falling on her Eyes nevertheless hath been put on to the Study of Learning by her Father so that she understands perfectly French High-Dutch and Latin she speaks ordinarily Latin with her Father French with her Mother and High-Dutch with the People of that Nation She hath almost the whole Bible by Heart is well skill'd in Philosophy plays on Organs and Violin and which is wonderful in this condition she hath learned to write by an Invention of her Fathers after this manner There was cut for her upon a Board all the Letters of the Alphabet so deep as to feel the Figures with her Fingers and to follow the traces with a Pencil till that she had accustomed her self to make the Characters Afterwards they made for her a Frame which holds fast her Paper when she writes and which guides her Hand to make strait Lines She writes with a Pencil rather than with Ink which might either foul her Paper or by failing might cause her to leave VVords imperfect 'T is after this manner that she writes often in Latin to her Friends as well as in the other two Languages This is an Extract of a Letter written from Lyons by M. Spon M. D. c. From the Journal des Scavans set forth March 25. 1680. 2. John Ferdinand born in Flanders being blind yet overcame that which most learned Men find hard For he was at once a very Learned Poet and Philosopher he was also an excellent Musician and play'd skilfully on divers kinds of Instruments Camer Hor. Subscis p. 171. 3. Vldaricus Schonbergerus a Doctor in Philosophy though blind yet he was Learnedly skill'd in the Latin Greek Hebrew and Syriack Languages an excellent Naturalist an Acute Disputant in Philosophy Skilful in Musick Studious both in Picture and Sculpture he would discharge a Gun with that dexterity that the Builet should oft hit the Mark he died of late Years at Regioment of which unusual Example Simon Dachius hath left to Posterity an Elegant Elegy Barthol Hist Anatom Cent. 3. Hist 44. p. 87 88. 4. James Vsher Lord Primate of Ireland was taught to read by his two Aunts who were Blind from their Cradles yet were they admirably vers'd in the Scriptures being able suddenly to have given a good Account of any part of the Bible Clarks Lives p. 190 191. 5. Count Manifield though Blind yet with the touch alone was able to distinguish white from black Barthol Cent. 3. Hist 44. p. 87. 6. Schenckius tells of one that though Blind yet received visible Species through his Nostrils Zacch quest Med. Legal l. 5. Tit. 3. p. 325. Schen Obs p. 1. 7. Sir Kenelme Digby says he saw one so blind that he could not discern when the Sun shined yet would play well at Cards and Tables Bowls and Shovel-Board discern the Gestures of his Scholars by their Voice walk in a Chamber or long Alley strait and turn exactly at the ends and by an effect of the Light upon his Body but chiefly on his Brain know when the Sun was up and distinguish exactly between a clear and cloudy Day Sir Kehelme Digby's Treatise of Bodies c. 28. p. 253 254. CHAP. III. Persons Deaf and Dumb much Improved by Art ONE would think this Defect of Nature very deplorable and hardly capable of any Alleviation for by it is barr'd and obstructed all Correspondence with the Reasonable Soul no information can be taken in no Communication permitted without The Ears are stopt so that the Person cannot learn from others nor he express the Sense of his own Mind to others So that what remains in such a case where all the Intercourse of Reason is damm'd up but the Expectation of a Bruitality and Sottishness of Nature to follow yet even here the Wit of Man hath found out something like a Remedy to Cure or in some measure to alleviate and assist this great Malady by finding out some uncommon way of conveying Intelligence to the immured Soul and pumping it of its own Sense and Conceptions 1. Mr. Increase Mather of New-England tells us of a Man and of a Woman at Weymouth both of them Deaf and the Woman so from her Infancy and yet that she understands as much concerning the State of the Country and of particular Persons therein and of observable Occurrences as almost any one of her Sex and which is more wonderful tho she is not able to speak a Word she has by Signs made it appear that she is not ignorant of Adam's Fall nor of Man's Misery by Nature nor of Redemption by Christ and the great Concernments of Eternity and of another World and that she her self has had experience of a Work of Conversion in her own Soul I have made Enquiry about this Matter of some that are fully acquainted therewith and have from a good Hand receiv'd this foregoing Account 2. Matthew Prat aged about Fifty-five Years was in his Minority by his godly Parents educated Religiously and taught to read when he was about Twelve Years old he became totally deaf by Sickness and so hath ever since continued after the loss of his hearing he was taught to write his Reading and Writing he retaineth perfectly and makes much good Improvement of both but his Speech is very broken and imperfect not easily intelligible he maketh use of it more seldom only to some few that are wonted to it He discourseth most by Signs and by writing He is studious and judicious in Matters of Religion hath been in Church Fellowship a Partaker of all Ordinances near Thirty Years hath approved himself unto good Satisfaction therein in all ways of Church-Communion both in publick and private and judged to be a well-wrought Convert and real Christian 3. Sarah Prat his Wife being about Forty-three Years old was also quite deprived of Hearing by Sickness when about the third Year of her Age after she could speak and had begun to learn Letters having quite lost her Hearing she lost all Speech doubtless all remembrance and Understanding of Words and Language her Religious Parents being both dead her godly Brother Ephraim Hunt yet surviving took a Fatherly Care of her she also happily fell under the Guardianship and Tuition of the Reveread Mr. Thomas Thatcher who laboured with design to teach her to understand Speech or Language by Writing but it was never observed that any thing was really effected she hath a notable Accuracy and Quickness of understanding by the Eye she discourseth altogether by Signs that they that
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Of heraldy p. 14. Chap. 10. Improvements in the military art p 16. Chap. 11. Improvements in Architecture p. 17. Chap. 12. Improvements in mechanicks agriculture c. p. 20. Chap. 13. Improvements in fowling fishing hunting p. 25 Chap. 14 Curiosities in writing cyphering c. p. 26. Chap. 15. Improvements in sculpture picture c. p. 27. Chap. 16. Curiosities in the hydratilick art or water-works p. 27. Chap. 17. Artificial knick-knacks projects and curiosities p. 30. â The NAMES of those modern Authors and Persons of note from whose Printed Works or Manuscripts c. the Author has received great Assistance in the Compiling of this Bookâ to name all would be Tedious and the more Vnnecessary because the Reader will find them Cited in the Work it self but those which follow are enough to give an Idea of the undertaking ELias Ashmole Esq Dr. Annesley Mr. Abbot Mr. Adams Dr. Addison Mr. Albin Mr. Allen Mr. Alsop Dr. Atherton Physician of Carmarthen John Aubery Esq Mr. Baxter Dr. Barrow Dr. Bates Sir Nath. Barnardiston Dr. J. Bathurst Mr. Barker Mr. Brand Mr. Beard Dr. Bernard Mr. Boil Mr. Bohun Dr. Bretton Sir Tho. Pope Blunt Mounsieur Brousson Dr. Burnet Lord Bishop of Salisbury Dr. Burthogg Dr. Cave Mr. Edm. Calamy Countess Dowager of Warwick Mr. Claude Mr. Clark Camerarius Mr. Chetwind Mr. Clogie Minister of Wigmore Roger Coke Esq Mr. Crook of Wrington in Somersetshire Gervase Disney Esq Mr. Eliot of New-England Mr. Ereeve Mr. Sam. Fairclough Mr. Flavel Mr. Firmin Dr. Fowler Lord Bishop of Glocester Mr Foe Mr. Francius Tho. Fludd of Kent Esq Mr Fuller Will. Garraway of Ford in Sussex Esq Mr. Grevius Mr Henry Gearing Mr. Glanvil Mr. Goldsmith Dr. Grew Mr. Tho. Gouge Sir Matthew Hale Dr Hammond Mr Hammond Mr Hales of Eaton Mr Henry Henry Hilton Esq Mr. Tho. Hill of Westminster Dr. Horneck Mr. Howe Dr. Hopkins late Bishop of London-derry in Ireland Dr. Holder Mr. Hook Mr. Hurst Mr. Janeway Dr. Johnson Mr. Herbert Jones of Monmouth Mr. J. Jones of Jesus Colledge Oxon. Monsieur Jurieu Mr. Samuel Lawrence Minister at Namptwich in Cheshire Mr. Langford Mr. John Lane of Horsly Lane in Southwark Mr. Lewis of Cardigan-shire Dr. Lightfost Lewis du Moulin Mr. Jo Lydal Mr. Increase Mather of Harvard Colledge in New-England Mr. Cotton Mather of New-England Dr. Mayo Mr. Mead Mr. Machin Andrew Mackpherson of Scotland Mrs Elizabeth Moore Mr. Morden Dr. More Dr. Needham Mr. Knight Sir John Norris Mr. Norwood of Deptford Mr. Ortwinius Mr. Parsons Sir Will. Petti Dr. Perizonius Philosophical Transactions Sir Peter Pet Dr. Plot Mr. Henry Read of Barnham Mr Geo. Ridpath Paul Ricaut Esq Mr Tim. Rogers Dr Sherlock Mr Sinclar Mr. Sacheverel Dr. Salmon Mr. Simpson Mr. Singleton of Hogsdon Square Dr. Stern Mr. Slingsby Bethel Dr. Stillingfleet Lord Bishop of Worcester Mr. John Showers Mr. Slater Mr. Smithies Mr. Spademan of Roterdam Mr. Steel Mr. Joseph Stevens Mr. Spanhemius Mr John Stewart Provost of Aaire in Scotland Mr. Stubbs Dr. Jer. Taylor Dr. Thomas Taylor Mr. Nathanael Taylor Dr. Edmond Trench Mr Thomas Tilson Minister of Aylesford in Kent Dr Tenison Archbishop of Canterbury Dr. Tillotson late Archbishop of Canterbury Mr. Tyson Mr Veal Mr Nath Vincent Bishop Vsher Dr Wallis Dr Wake Dr Walker Mr Wanley Sir Christopher Wren Dr Willis Bishop Wilkins Daniel Waldow Esq Mr Dan Williams Counsellor Wiat of Serjeants Inn near Fleet-Street Mr Nicholas West of Putney in Essex Sir Peter Wyche Mr Patrick Wian Minister of Lesbury Mr Woodcock Mr Wilson Mr White Mr John Young M A of Magdalene Hall Mr. HERBERT's POEM upon Providence O Sacred Providence who from End to End Strongly and sweetly movest Shall I write And not of thee thro' whom my fingers bend To hold my Quill Shall they not do thee ãâã Of all the Creatures both in Sea and Land Only to Man thou hast made known thy ways And put the Pen alone into his Hand And made him Secretary of thy Praise Beasts fain would sing Birds ditty to their Notes Trees would be running on their native Lute To thy Renown But all their Hands and Throats Are brought to Man while they are Lame and Mute Man is the World's High-Priest He doth present The Sacrifice for all while they below Vnto the Service mutter and assent Such as Springs use that fall and winds that blow He that to Praise and Laud thee doth refrain Doth not refrain unto himself alone But robs a Thousand who would Praise thee fain And doth commit a World of Sin in one The Beasts say Eat me but if Beasts must teach The Tongue is yours to Eat but mine to Praise The Trees say pull me But the hand you stretch Is mine to write as it is yours to raise Wherefore most sacred Spirit I here present For me and all my fellows Praise to thee And just it is that I should pay the rent Because the Benefit accures to me We all acknowledge both thy Power and Love To be exact transcendent and Divine Who dost so strongly and so sweetly move While all things have their Will yet none but thine For either thy Command or thy Permission Lay hands on all They are thy right and left The first puts on with speed and expedition The other curbs Sins Stealing Pace and Theft Nothing escapes them both All must appear And be dispos'd and dress'd and tun'd by thee Who sweetly temper'st all If we could hear Thy Skill and Art what Musick would it be Thou art in small things great not small in any Thy even Praise can neither rise nor fall Thou art in all things one in each thing many For thou art infinite in one and all Tempests are Calm to thee they know thy hand And hold it fast as Children do their Fathers Which cry and follow Thou hast made poor sand Check the Proud Sea even when it swells and gathers Thy cupboard serves the World The meat is set Where all may reach No Beast but knows his feed Birds teach us Hawking Fishes have their Net The great prey on the less they on some weed Nothing ingender'd doth prevent his Meat Files have their Table spread e're they appear Some Creatures have in Winter what to Eat Others do sleep and envy not their cheer How finely dost thou times and seasons spin And make a twist Checker'd with Night and Day Which as it lengthens winds and winds us in As Bowls on but turning all the way Each Creature hath a wisdom for his good The Pigeons feeds their tender off-spring crying When they are Callow but withdraw their Food When they are Fledge that need may teach them flying Bees work for Man and yet they never bruise Their Masters Flow'r but leave it having done As fair as ever and as fit to use So both the Flow'r doth stay and Honey run Sheep Eat the Grass and Dung the ground for more Trees after bearing drop their Leaves for soil Springs vent their Streams and by expence get
to serve my God my own God The Lord hath been my God all this time and wilt thou forsake me now He hath promised never to forsake me I 'll never forsake you let me never come into the World more Lord have mercy Lord c. Christ have Mercy Christ c. For the Lord's sake come fetch one of thy Angels Lord have Mercy upon me Lord sure you will sure you will sure you will Oh! I 'll lend thee my hand I that have been begging upon my Knees or upon the Bed all this while Lord have pity on me Beat them Beat them Beat them I can Beat them Lord I am thy child I am thy child I am c. I have been in Heaven among your Angels ' O 't is rare Let me for the Lords sake go thither again Oh! For Christ his sake for Christ his sake for Christ's sake O let me in I have fenc'd against the Serpent and now I cannot get in The Lord send the back again I have beat Satan Oh! 't is a deluding Serpent Come unto me all you that have been in Oh! You must have an Eye to Satan Oh! You must have an Eye to Satan I 'll never come again into this World O 't is a rare being in Heaven For the Lord's sake restore me for the Lords sake restore for the Lord's sake c. Oh! For the Lords sake restore me I am none of yours I am one of the Holy Angels I suppose she meant of the Holy Angels company O for Christ's sake the other end and I 'll meet you there Oh? What do ye do Do not disturb me I am going a journey I am going to Heaven Oh! What shall I do to get in there How shall I get in there Here I lack to go in I have been at Heaven Oh! 't is a rare place And Satan would fain have me and I have much ado to get in again Stay for me for Christ's sake stay for the Lord's sake stay Lend me your hands For Christ's sake do not go away without me Here they come thick upon me Christ came and took me by the Coat and yet I could not follow I cannot come for the Crowd Here 's the side Lord Jesus help me I have labour'd hard to keep to thee I have labour'd hard to keep to thee I have labour'd hard c. This hand this hand I have labour'd hard to keep to thee Lord Jesus take me Lord Jesus take me O from whence you will O from whence you will O from whence you will I am one of thy children and cannon tell which way to get to thee Oh! which way can I come to thee I have stood very hard Unlock the key I suppose this must go for a slip of the Tongue and let thy ANGELS in For Christ's sake lend's any hand 't is not THEE I call get thee gone get thee gone get thee gone get thee gone Lord have Mercy Lord have Mercy Go ye out of my sight what will you be reveng'd against me for What do ye holding a curtain there What do ye stand there for Get ye in again Lord have Mercy Lord have Mercy O whither shall I get to Christ I Believe we can get up now cannot we Cannot we I believe we can get up now cannot we OH HOW WILL GOD GET HIS ANGELS IN OH HOW WILL GOD GET HIS ANGELS IN Here 's one yet HFRE'S ONE YET HERE' 's ONE YET Stay let me alone will ye I am going up with these Angels Ye don't know what I do sure You don't know what I do sure Oh! Ye han't me yet Cannot ye pull me up a little further Pull me up a little further Angels have ye pull'd it there Angels have ye c Take hold by my hand and get me through there somewhere I 'll go round to the Door and meet you there I am coming I am coming I am coming Lord have Mercy upon us Put a string down put a string down put a string down My Dear Christ my Dear Christ pull me up pull me up pull me up Have me in some-how Oh! The bravest Angels that Christ hath Her Mother coming to her and finding her upon her Knees in this conflict and calling upon her to lye down and sleep She made Answer Ah! Christ will forget me then And when she bid her take her Rest she replied Rest quoth you I shall Rest enough when I get to Heaven And afterward O to see how the Ugly one stands Said she I do not know how to get thither not I. When they would have laid her down instead of kneeling O saith she Mother what do you do I wonder you 'll be so obstinate If you did but know c. I must pray heartily And afterwards Saith she Christ hath carried away my Soul already We can Dance about when we are in Heaven Oh! Heaven is a Rare place And now Christ is come to the bottom of the Stairs to fetch away my Body But how will Christ get my Body thither Said she When it was Answer'd her at the Resurrection he will have it O said she that will be a long while to To the Truth of this I my self my Wife her Father still living and one or both of the Women that watch'd with her are ready to give Testimony After the Afore-mention'd Agony she died within a few hours to the best of my Remembrance at most before the following day was expired 10. Gervase Disney Esq among the Remarkable Passages of his Life Writ with his own Hand and Published A. C. 1692. Tells us that December the 3d 1685. Being at Family-Prayer at Night through Extraordinary Drowsiness he fell asleep two or three times and awaking again did not use the best means he could and should of standing up to prevent the Drowsiness hoping it might go off without it Upon which being dropt again asleep something gave him a great Blow upon the middle of his Back which presently awak'd him in a fright which he did really feel paining him some minutes after he was awaken p. 111. Upon this the same Author tells another story of a like nature Viz. That his Eldest Brother being to repeat the Sermon in his Father's Family he Gervase being then very young and cryed to go to Bed which was indulged him and he with his Brothers being after some repulse allowed to depart and got into Bed Gervase before he fell asleep felt the bottom of the Bed-cloaths lift up where presently something pull'd him by the Toe and yet there was nothing to be seen This he saith affrighted him when young and he concluded it to be a rebuke for hindring a pious exercise Idem p. 112. I am not sure that these stories are set in their proper places but I am sure that they have the token of Credibility and are Remarkable either here or somewhere If I have mistaken I desire the Reader 's Candor 11. Even Plato himself in his Theage tells us that Socrates
an Angel that gave the Boy Bread and Cheese Manlius Folio 17. Batman's Doom p. 421. 18. Mr. Patrick Simpson's Wife Martha Barson in her last Sickness was sorely Assaulted by Satan who suggested to her that she should be given over into his hands And it ended in a Visible Distraction which for a time grew upon her So that most unlike to her former practice she would break forth into dreadful and horrid Expressions and it was most violent on a Sabbath Morning when Mr. Simpson was going to Preach whereupon with an heavy Countenance he stood silent for a time and at last kneeled down and Prayed which she no whit regarded After which he turned to the Company that were present and said that he was sure that they who were now Witnesses of that sad hour should yet see a Gracious change and that the Devil's Malice against that poor Woman should have a shameful toil Her Distraction still continued untill Tuesday August the Ninth which Morning at the very dawning of it he went into his Garden and shut the Door where for many hours he was alone But a Godly VVoman one Mrs. Helen Garner VVife to one of the Bayliffs of Sterling who had been with his VVife all Night apprehending that Mr. Simpson might much wrong himself by much grief and fasting by some help she did climb over into the Garden But as she came near to the place where Mr. Simpson was she was terrified with an Extraordinary Noise which made her fall to the Ground It seemed to her like a mighty Rushing of Multitudes running together and withal she heard such a Melodious sound as made her Judge that it was more then humane VVhereupon she prayed to God to pardon her Rashness which her Affections to that Good Man of God had carried her to Yet afterwards going forwards she found him lying upon the ground she earnestly intreated him to tell her what he had from God He whom she had promised not to reveal it so long as he lived said O what am I being but Dust and Ashes that the Holy ministring Spirit should be sent by the Lord to deliver a message to me Adding that he had seen a Vision of Angels who did with an audible Voice give him an Answer from the Lord concerning his Wife's condition And returning into his House he said to all that were present Be of good cheer for e're ten hours be past I am sure that this Brand shall be plucked out of the Fire After praying by his VVife's Bed-side and making mention of Jacob's wrestling in Prayer she sate upright in the Bed and drawing aside the Curtain said Thou art this day Jacob who hast wrestled and also prevailed And now God hath made good his words which he spake this Morning to you for I am plucked out of the hands of Satan and he shall have no more Power over me This Interruption made him silent a while as I remember my self was in the Case of my Maid Mary Holland mentioned before But afterwards with great melting of heart he proceeded in Prayer and Magnified the Riches of Gods Love towards her And from that hour she spake most Comfortably and Christianly even to her Death which was Friday following Aug. 13. A. C. 1601. Her last words were with a loud Voice Come Lord Into thy hands I commend my Spirit Clark's Lives last Vol. p. 217 218. 19. In the Year 1539 not far from Sitta in Germany in the time of a great Dearth and Famine a certain Godly Matron having two Sons and destitute of all manner of Sustenance went with her Children to a certain Fountain hard by praying unto Almighty God that he would there relieve their Hunger by his infinite goodness As she was going a certain Man met her by the way and saluted her kindly and asked her whither she was going who confessed that she was going to that Fountain there hoping to be relieved by God to whom all things are possible for if he nourished the Children of Israel in the Desart 40 years how is it hard for him to nourish me and my Children with a Draught of Water And when she had spoken these Words the Man which was doubtless an Angel of God told her that seeing her Faith was so constant she should return Home and there should find Six Bushels of Meal for her and her Children The Woman returning found that true which was promised Beard 's Theat p. 442. 20. Under the Emperor Mauritius the City of Antioch was shaken with a terrible Earthquake after this manner There was a certain Citizen so given to bountifulness to the Poor that he would never Sup nor Dine unless he had one poor Man to be with him at his Table Upon a certain Evening seeking for such a Guest and finding none a Grave Old Man met him in the Market-place cloathed in white with Two Companions with him whom he entreated to sup with him But the Old Man answered him That he had more need to pray against the destruction of the City and presently shook his Handkerchief against One part of the City and then against another and being hardly entreated forbore the rest Which he had no sooner done but those Two parts of the City terribly shaken with an Earthquake were thrown to the Ground and Thousands of Men slain Which this good Citizen seeng trembled exceedingly To whom the Old Man in white answered and said by reason of Charity to the Poor his House and Family were preserved And presently these three Men which to question were Angels vanished out of sight This Story Sigisbert in his Chronicle reporteth Anno 583. 21. Hottinger tells a strange Story out of Nauclerus and Evagr. to this purpose it was an ancient custom at Constantinople at Communion to call for the Young Children that went to School and give them the Parcels of Bread and Wine that were left at doing of which the child of a certain Nobleman a Jew was with the Children who took of the Bread and Eat with them his angry Father who was a Glass-Maker put him into an Oven burning hot with Coals his Mother after Three Days finding him alive in the Furnace he told her a Woman in Purple habit came often to him and brought VVater to quench the Coals and Meat to allay his Hunger The Mother and the Child were afterwards Converted and Baptized and the Father Crucified by command of Justinian the Emperor Mr. Beard relates the same out of Nicephorus Lib. 17. Chap. 35. See more in The Chapters of Miraculous Cures of Diseases and Earnests of a Future Retribution and the last Example in the Ch. of Prediction of Prophets c. 22. Oh! said Mrs. Katharine Stubs upon her Death-bed if you saw such glorious Sight as I see you would rejoyce with me for I see a Vision of the Joys of Heaven and of the Glory that I shall go unto and I see infinite Millions of Angels attendant upon me and watching to carry
a Pin and squeez'd out the Blood and put it into a Pen and put the Pen in the Maids Hand to write in a great Book and one of the Spirits laid his Hand or Claw upon the Witch whilst the Maid wrote and when she had done writing whilst their Hands were together the Witch said Amen and made the Maid say Amen and the Spirits said Amen Amen And the Spirits Hand did feel could to the Maid as it touched her Hand when the Witches Hand and hers were together writing And then the Spirit gave a piece of Silver which he first bit to the Witch who gave it to the Maid and also stuck Two Pins in the Maids Head-cloaths and bid her keep them and bid her be gone and said also I will vex the Gentlewoman well enough as I did the Man in Clarington Park which I made walk about with a Bundle of Pales on his Back all Night in a Pond of Water and could not lay them down till the next Morning All these things the Maid deposed upon Oath and I think it now beyond all Controversy evident that unless she did knowingly forswear her self that they are certainly true For they cannot be imputed to any dreaming Fancy nor melancholly Now that the Maid did not forswear herself nor invent these Narrations she swore to many Arguments offer themselves for Eviction As first that it is altogether unlikely that a sorry Wench that could neither write nor read should be able to excogitate such Magical Forms and Ceremonies with all the Circumstances of the effects of them and declare them so punctually had she not indeed seen them done before her Eyes Secondly if she had been so cunning at inventing Lies she could not but have had so much wit as to frame them better for her own Advantage and for theirs by whom she was imployed or told so much only of the truth as would have been no Prejudice to her self nor any else to have it revealed For in brief the case stood thus her Mistriss either had or feigned her self to have a Suspicion that her Two Daughters in Law Mrs. Sarah and Mrs. Ann Goddard complotted to poison her Hereupon this Maid Anne Styles was sent to the Witch upon pretence to know when this Poysoning would be and how to prevent it and at the Second time she consulted her the VVitch sent her to the Apothecaries to buy her some white Arsenick and bring it her which she taking told her she would burn it and so prevent the poysoning of her Mistress The buying of this Arsenick was the great occasion of the Maids flying for it coming to the knowledge of the Two Sisters how they were suspected to endeavour the poysoning of their Mother and that they had bought an Ounce and half of Arsenick lately at the Apothecaries they to clear themselves from this Suspicion made diligent Enquiry at all the Apothecaries Shops throughout Sarum and at last found where the Poison was bought Hereupon the Maid was desired by her Mistriss to go away and shift for her self to avoid that trouble and disgrace that might come upon them if she should stay and be examined before some Justice VVhile she was upon her Journey Mr. Chandler Son in Law to Mr. Goddard hearing how his Mother in Law was in danger of being poysoned and that a Servant of hers that had bought the Poison was fled he forthwith with another Man made after her overtook her near Sutton had her there into an Inn where she confessed what has been above related VVhich Confession I say cannot be any feignment or forged Tale but certain Truth it making nothing for the Parties Advantage or their that imployed her but rather against them and mainly against her self when as if she had confessed the buying of the Arsenick with the purpose of preventing her Mistress being poysoned by the help and skill of the VVitch or VVise-VVoman it might have gone for a tolerable piece of Folly and could not seem so criminal and execrable as these other Acts do Nothing therefore but a guilty Conscience and the power of truth did extort from her this impartial Confession which thus every way touches her Friends her Self and the VVitch Thirdly that her Compact with the Devil was no Fable but a sure Truth and if that be true there is no reason to doubt of the rest was abundantly evinced by the real effects of it For after she had delivered the Piece of mony above-mentioned and the Two Pins to Mr Chandler she said she should be troubled for not keeping these things secret For the Devil told her so long as she kept them secret she should never be troubled but now she said having revealed them she feared she should be troubled At her Recovery of the first Fit she fell into both Mr. Chandler and William Atwood the man that went with him saw a black Shade come from her whereupon presently she came to herself Again she was so strong in her Fits that Six Men or more could not hold her and once as they were holding her she was caught up from them so high that her Feet touched their Breasts As also at another time about midnight she being miserably tormented and crying out the Devil will carry me away she was pulled from them that held her and cast from the low Bed where she lay to the top of an high Bed with her Cloaths torn off her Back and a piece of her Skin torn away The Candle in the Room standing on the Table was thrown down and put out at which time there being a little Boy that was almost asleep but with this noise being affrighted had no power with the rest to go out of the Room stayed there and saw a Spirit in the likeness of a great black man with no Head in the Room scuffing with the maid who took her and set her into a Chair and told her that she must go with him he was come for her Soul she had given it to him But the maid answered that her Soul was none of her own to give and he had already got her Blood but as for her Soul he should never have it and after a while tumbling and throwing about of the maid he vanished away And that which the Boy heard and saw was no Fancy of his own but a real object of his Senses the Witches condition in another Chamber at the same time does not obscurely argue for she was then seen with her Clothes off in her Fetters running about like mad and being asked why she ran about the Room she replied she could not keep her Bed but was pulled out by violence and being asked the Reason why she replied pray you what is the matter in your Chamber Nothing said they but a Child is not well To which she answered Do not you lie to me for I know what is the matter as well as your selves But to return to the maid from whom we may draw further
Condemned and Executed but I could never hear that they confessed the Fact There were some that reported that the Apparition did appear to the Judge or the foreman of the Jury who was alive in Chester in the street about ten years ago as I have been credibly informed but of that I know no certainty There are many Persons yet alive that can remember this strange Murder and the discovery of it for it was and sometimes yet is as much discoursed of in the North Countrey as any thing that almost hath ever been heard of and the Relation Printed tho now not to be gotten I relate this with the greater confidence tho I may fail in some of the Circumstances because I saw and read the Letter that was sent to Serjeant Hutton who then lived at Goldsborugh in Yorkshire from the Judge before whom Walker and Mark Sharp were tried and by whom they were condemned and had a Copy of it until about the Year 1658 when I had it and many other Books and Papers taken from me And this I confess to be one of the most convincing Stories being of undoubted verity that ever I read heard or knew of and carrieth with it the most evident Force to make the most incredulous Spirit to be satisfied that there are really sometimes such things as Apparitions Thus far he This Story is so considerable that I make mention of it in my Scholia on my Immortality of the Soul in my Volâmen Philosophicum Tom. 2. which I acquainted a Friend of mine with a Prudent Intelligent Person Dr. J. D. he of his own accord offered me it being a thing of such consequence to send a Friend of his in the North for greater assurance of the truth of the Narration which Motion I willingly embracing he did accordingly The Answer to his Letter from his Friend Mr. Shepherdson is this I have done what I can to inform my self of the Passages of Sharp and Walker There are very few Men that I could meet that were then Men or at the Tryal saving these Two in the inclosed Paper both Men at that time and both at the Tryal And for Mr. Lumley he lived next Door to Walker and what he hath given under his Hand can depose if there were occasion The other Gentleman writ his Attestation with his own Hand but I being not there got not his Name to it I could have sent you Twenty Hands that could have said thus much and more by hear-say but I thought these most proper that could speak from their own Eyes and Ears Thus far Mr. Shepherdson the Doctor 's Discreet and Faithful Intelligencer Dr. H. Moor's Letter to Mr. Joseph Glanvil Sadducism Triumphat p. 17 18 c. 8. This Story Dr. More has transcribed out of Mr. Webster's Display of supposed VVitchcraft which he himself though otherwise an affected Caviller against all Stories of Witchcraft and Apparition is constrained to assent to as we may see from his own Confession On Sunday the 15th of November 1657 about Three of the Clock in the Afternoon Richard Jones then a Sprightly Youth about Twelve Years old Son of Henry Jones of Shepton Mallet in the County of Somerset being in his Father's House alone and perceiving one looking in at the windows went to the door where one Jane Brooks of the same Town but then by Name unknown to this Boy came to him She desired him to give her a piece of close Bread and gave him an Apple After which she also stroked him down on the Right Side shook him by the Hand and so bid him good night The Youth returned into the House where he had been left well when his Father and one Gibson went from him but at their Return which was within an Hour or thereabout they found him ill and complaining of his Right Side in which the Pain continued the most part of that Night And on Monday following in the Evening the Boy roasted the Apple he had of Jane Brooks and having eaten about half of it was extreamly ill and sometimes speechless but being recovered he told his Father that a woman of the Town on Sunday before had given him that Apple and that she stroked him on the Side He said he knew not her Name but should her Person if he saw her Upon this Jones was advised to invite the women of Shipton to come to his House upon the occasion of his Son's Illness and the Child told him that in case the woman should come in when he was in his Fit if he were not able to speak he would give him an intimation by a Jogg and desired that his Father would then lead him through the Room for he said he would put his Hand upon her if she were there After this he continuing very ill many women came daily to see him and Jane Brooks the Sunday after came in with Two of her Sisters and several other women of the Neighbourhood were there Upon her coming in the Boy was taken so ill that for some time he could not see nor speak but having recovered his sight he gave his Father the item and he led him about the Room The Boy drew towards Jane Brooks who was behind her Two Sisters among the other VVomen and put his Hand upon her which his Father perceiving immediately scratched her Face and drew Blood from her The Youth then presently cried out that he was well and so he continued Seven or Eight Days But then meeting with Alice Coward Sister to Jane Brooks who passing by said to him How do you my Honey he presently fell ill again And after that the said Coward and Brooks often appeared to him The Boy would describe the Cloths and Habit they were in at the time exactly as the Constable and others have found upon repairing to them though Brooks's House was at a good distance from Jones's This they often tried and always found the Boy right in his Descriptions On a certain Sunday about Noon the Child being in a Room with his Father and one Gibson and in his Fit he on the sudden called out that he saw Jane Brooks on the Wall and pointed to the place where immediately Gibson struck with a Knife Upon which the Boy cried out O Father Cuz Gibson hath cut Jane Brooks's Hand and 't is bloody The Father and Gibson immediately repaired to the Constable a discreet Person and acquainting him with what had passed desired him to go with them to Jane Brooks's House which he did They found her sitting in a Room on a Stool with one Hand over the other The Constable askt her how she did She answered not well He ask'd again why she sat with one Hand over the other She replied she was wont to do so He enquired if any thing were amiss with her Hand Her Answer was it was well enough The Constable desired he might see the Hand that was under which she being unwilling to shew him he drew it out and
her in the bewitching of Peter and John Newman At another time she was carried to a Meeting in the Night to a green place near Marnhull as she was then told where were present Ann Bishop Eliz. Style Mary Penny and some unknown to her Then also an Image in Wax was Baptized by the Devil in the fore-related manner by the Name of Ann or Rachel Hatcher one of Marnhull as she was then informed After the Ceremony was ended they had Wine Cakes c. She likewise confesseth that she was at another such Meeting where twelve Persons were present many of whom were unknown to her but she took notice of one lame Man in blackish hair among them and of the Devil as before She saith that after their Meetings they all make very low Obeysance to the Devil who appears in black Cloaths and a little Band. He bids them welcome at their coming and brings Wine or Beer Cakes Meat or the like He sits at the higher end and usually Ann Bishop sits next him They Eat Drink Dance and have Musick At their parting they use to say Merry meet Merry part and that before they are carried to their Meetings their Foreheads are anointed with greenish Oyl that they have from the Spirit which smells raw They for the most part are carried in the Air. As they pass they say Thou tout a tout tout throughout and about Passing back they say Rentum Tormentum and another word which she doth not remember She confesseth that her Familiar doth commonly suck her right breast about Seven at Night in the shape of a little Cat of a dunnish Colour which is as smooth as a Want and when she is suck'd she is in a kind of a Trance That she hurt Thomas Garret's Cows because he refused to write a Petition for her That she hurt Thomas Conway by putting a Dish into his hand which Dish she had from the Devil she gave it him to give his Daughter for good hansel That she hurt Dorothy the Wife of George Wining by giving an Iron slate to put into her Steeling Box. That being angry with Edith Wats the Daughter of Edmond Wats for treading on her foot she cursed Edith with a Pox on you and after touched her which hath done the said Edith much harm for which she is sorry That being provoked by Swanton's first Wife she did before her Death curse her with a A Pox on you believes she did thereby hurt her but denies she did bewitch Mr. Swanton's Cattle She saith that when the Devil doth any thing for her she calls for him by the Name of Robin upon which he appears and when in the shape of a Man she can hear him speak but his Voice is very low He promised her when she made her contract with him that she should want nothing but ever since she hath wanted all things Taken before me Rob. Hunt The Witnesses were Thomas Conway of Wincaunton in the County of Somerset Mary his Wife Edward Wats of Wincaunton in the aforesaid County 11. Anno 1664. Christian the Wife of Robert Green of Brewham in the County of Somerset Aged about thirty three years being examined before the aforesaid Robert Hunt Esq made this confession as follows That about a year and a half since she being in great Poverty one Catherine Green of Brewham told her that if she would she might be in a better condition and then perswaded her to make a Covenant with the Devil Being afterwards together in one Mr. Hussey's ground in Brewham Forrest about Noon Catherine called for the Devil who appeared in the shape of a Man in blackish Cloaths and said somewhat to Catherine which Christian could not hear After which the Devil as she conceived him told the Examinant that she should want neither Cloaths Victuals nor Money if she would give her Body and Soul to him keep his Secrets and suffer him to suck her once in twenty four hours which at last upon his and Catherine Green's perswasion she yielded to then the Man in black prickt the fourth Finger of her Right hand between the middle and upper joynts where the Sign yet remains and took two drops of her Blood on his Finger giving her four-pence-half-penny with which she after bought bread in Brewham The he spake again in private with Catherine and Vanished leaving a smell of Brimstone behind Since that time the Devil she saith hath and doth usually suck her left Breast about five of the Clock in the Morning in the likeness of an Hedg-hog bending and did so on Wednesday Morning last She saith it is painful to her and that she is usually in a Trance when she is suckt She saith also that Catherine Green and Margaret Agar of Brewham have told her that they are in Covenant with the Devil and confesseth that she hath been at several Meetings in the Night at Brewham Common and in a Ground of Mr. Hussey's that she hath there met with Catherine Green and Margaret Agar and three or four times with Mary Warberton of Brewham that in all those Meetings the Devil hath been present in the shape of a Man in black Cloaths at their first coming he bids them welcome but always speaks very low That at a Meeting about three Weeks or a Month since at or near the former place Margaret Agar brought thither an Image in Wax for Elizabeth the Wife of Andrew Cornish of Brewham and the Devil in the shape of a Man in black Cloaths did Baptize it and after stuck a Thorn into its Head that Agar stuck one into its Stomach and Catherine Green one into its Side She further saith that before this time Agar said to her this Examinant that she would hurt Eliz. Cornish who since the Baptizing of the Picture hath been taken and continues very ill She saith that three or four days before Jos Talbot of Brewham Died Margaret Agar told her that she would rid him out of the World because he being Overseer of the Poor he made her Children to go to Service and refused to give them such good Cloaths as she desired And since the Death of Talbot she confessed to the Examinant that she had bewitcht him to Death He died about a year since was taken ill on Friday and Died about Wednesday after That her Mother-in-Law Catharine Green about five or six years ago was taken in a strange manner One day one Eye and Cheek did swell another day another and so she continued in great pain till she died Upon her Death she several times said in the hearing of the Examinant that her Sister-in-Law Catharine Green had bewitched her and the Examinant believes that she bewitcht her to Death That a little before Michaelmas last the said Catharine Cursed the Horses of Rob. Walter of Brewham saying a murrain on them Horses to Death Upon which the Horses being three all died Taken before me Robert Hunt 12. In 1665. Margaret Agar of Brewham in the aforesaid County
was safely carried by the Angels into Abraham 's Bosom so that 't is plain that the Angels are employed to convey the Souls of true Believers into a fixed State of blessedness But because Men are very apt to be incredulous in these Cases my Design is to enquire in their Chapter what knowledge we can pick up concerning the Existence of particular Souls after their Separation out of Antient and Modern Histories and I believe it will appear by what follows that the Soul is really alive and active and concerned after Death I Insist not on the Parable to the Rich Man and Lazarus mention'd by our Saviour nor any particular Instances out of Sacred Writ Read the following Stories and if all of them are not credibly and rightly interpreted and applied if Satan may in some be concerned on purpose to put Tricks upon poor Incredulous shall I say or Credulous Souls yet 't is strange if they are all untrue 1. A Narrative of an Apparition which a Gentleman in Boston had of his Brother just then Murthered in London It was on the Second of May in the Year 1687 that a most ingenious accomplished and well-disposed Gentleman Mr. Joseph Beacon by Name about Five a Clock in the Morning as he lay whether Sleeping or Waking he could not say but judged the latter of them had a View of his Brother then at London altho he was now himself at our Boston distanced from him a Thousand Leagues This his Brother appeared to him in the Morning about five a Clock at Boston having on him a Bengal Gown which he usually wore with a Napkin tied about his Head his Countenance was very Pale Gastly Deadly and he had a Bloody Wound on one side of his Forehead Brother says the affrighted Joseph Brother answered the Apparition Said Joseph What 's the matter Brother How came you here The Apparition replied Brother I have been most barbarously and injuriously Butcher'd by a Debauch'd drunken Fellow to whom I never did any wrong in my Life Whereupon he gave a particular Description of the Murderer adding Brother This Fellow changing his Name is attempting to go over unto New England in Foy or Wild I would pray you on the first Arrival of either of these to get an Order from the Governour to Seize the Person whom I have now described and then do you Indict him for the Murder of me your Brother I 'll stand by you and prove the Indictment And so he vanished Mr. Beacon was extreamly astonished at what he had seen and heard and the People of the Family not only observed an extraordinary Alteration upon him for the Week following but have also given me under their Hands a full Testimony that he then gave them an Account of this Apparition All this while Mr. Beacon had no Advice of any thing amiss attending his Brother then in England but about the latter end of June following he understood by the common ways of Communication that the April before his Brother going in haste by Night to call a Coach for a Lady met a Fellow then in Drink with his Doxy in his Hand Some way or other the Fellow thought himself affronted with the hasty passage of this Beacon and immediately ran into the Fire-side of a Neighbouring Tavern from whence he fetch'd out a Fire-fork wherewith he grievously wounded Beacon in the Skull even in that very part where the Apparition show'd his Wound Of this Wound he Languished until he Died on the Second of May about Five of the Clock in the Morning at London The Murderer it seems was endeavouring to Escape as the Apparition affirmed but the Friends of the Deceased Beacon seized him and prosecuting him at Law he found the help of such Friends as brought him off without the loss of his Life since which there has no more been heard of the Business This History I received of Mr. Joseph Beacon himself who a little before his own pious and hopeful Death which follow'd not long after gave me the Story written and signed with his own Hand and attested with the Circumstances I have already mentioned See Mr. Cotton Mather's Wonders of the Invisible World 2. In the City of Athens there was a goodly Lodging which yet was out of Request as a Place very dangerous for in the Night there was a Spirit that walked in it drawing a Chain and making a Noise and seemed as if he came afar off and then would suddenly be hard by After that there would appear a great Old Man his Flesh all worn away having a Long Beard his Hair standing an end and all tangled Fetters on his Feet a Chain at his Hands which he would always be shaking They that dwelt in the house could never rest in the Night but would grow heavy and pensive and so fall sick and dye For in the very day time though they saw not the Spirit yet they would think he always was in their sight and that the ringing of his Chain did always beat in their Ears Upon this the Lodging stood empty though it was by Bills exposed to sale After some time Athenodorus the Philosopher came to Athens lacked a House and purchasing this at a small Rate the first Night put his Servants into the back-part of it to lodge chose for himself the forepart where he had a Bed placed his VVriting-Tables brought and a Lamp well lighted Here he betook to Read VVrite and Study very earnestly And late in the Night the Spirit came with his old Noise Chain and Fetters the Philosopher continuing still earnest at his Business 'Till at last the Spirit shaking his Chain over his Head made a Sign to him as if he desired the Philosopher to follow him Upon which he obeyed taking a Light in his Hand and following till such time as the Ghost vanished away in the Street Athenodours marked the Place with some Grass and Leaves which he laid upon it and the next Day went to the Council of the City desired the Place might be searched which being done they found a Dead body all rothen nothing left but Bones and Chains which they took up and buried elsewhere After which the House was no more Haunted Camerar Hist Med. l. 4. ex Plen. 2d Epist l. 3. 3. The Elder Countess of Donagal a Lady Pious Discreet and Credible told me That one of her Husband's Tennants near Belfast or Carickfergus where he was Lord agreed with him for to put his Son's Life with his own Life in a renew'd Lease of a Farm and he paid part of the Money and dy'd before the Lease was made and seal'd His Wife marry'd another Man and paid the rest of the Money out of her second Husband's Purse and therefore put in his Son's Life instead of her Son by the former Husband into the Lease The Earl of Donagal going into England and being then in the West a Servant of his in Ireland his Porter a stout lusty Man was haunted with the
tell any one of it The Gentlewoman died and afterwards in a Tavern in London he spake of it and there going to make Water the Ghost of the Gentlewoman did appear to him He was afterwards troubled with the Apparition of her even sometimes in Company when he was drinking but he only perceiv'd it Before she did appear he did find a kind of a Chilness upon his Spirits she did appear to him in the morning before he was kill'd in a Duel This Account I have from an intimate Friend of mine who was an Acquaintance of his 13. In James-street in Covent-Garden 1647. did lodge a Gentlewoman a handsome Woman but common who was Mr. Mohun's Son to the Lord Mohun Sweet-heart Mr. Mohun was murthered about Ten a Clock in the Morning and at that very time his Mistress being in Bed saw Mr. Mohun come to her Bed-side drew the Curtain looked upon her and went away She call'd upon him but no answer She knock'd for her maid ask'd her for Mr. Mohun she said she did not see him and had the Key of her Chamber Door in her Pocket This Account I had from the Gentlewoman's own mouth and her maid's A parallel Story to this is That Mr. Brown Brother-in-law to the Lord Conningsby discover'd his being murther'd to several His Phantome appear'd to his Sister and her maid in Fleet-street about the time he was Killed in Herefordshire which was about a Year since 1693. 14. I must not forget an Apparition in my Country which appear'd several times to Dr. Turbervile's Sister at Salisbury which is much talk'd of One marry'd a second Wife and contrary to the Agreement and Settlement at the first VVife's marriage did wrong the Children by the first Venter The Settlement was hid behind a VVainscot in the Chamber where the Doctor 's Sister did lie And the Apparition of the first VVife did discover it to her By which means Right was done to the first Wife's Children 15. One Mr. Towes who had been School-fellow with Sir George Villers the Father of the first Duke of Buckingham and was his Friend and Neighbour as he lay in his Bed awake and it was Day-light came into his Chamber the Phantome of his dear Friend Sir George Villers Said Mr. Towes to him Why you are Dead what make you here Said the Knight I am dead but cannot rest in Peace for the Wickedness and Abomination of my Son George at Court I do appear to you to tell him of it and to advise and dehort him from his Evil ways Said Mr. Towes The Duâe will not believe me but will say that I am Mad or Dâat Said Sir George Go to him from me and tell him by such a Token some Mole that he had in some secret place which none but himself knew of Accordingly Mr. Tomes went to the Duke who laugh'd at his message At his return home the Phantome appear'd again and told him that the Duke would be stabb'd he drew out a Dagger a quarter of a Year after and you shall outlive him half a Year and the Warning that you shall have of your Death will be That your Nose shall fall a-bleeding All which accordingly fell out so 16. The Learned Henry Jacob Fellow of Merton-College in Oxford died at Dr. Jacob's M. D. House in Canterbury About a Week after his Death the Doctor being in Bed and awake and the Moon shining bright saw his Cousin Henry standing by his Bed in his Shirt with a white Cap on his Head and his Beard mustaches turning up as when he was alive The Doctor pinched himself and was sure he was awaked He turned to the other side from him and after some time took Courage to turn the other way again towards him and Henry Jacob stood there still he should have spoken to him but did not for which he has been ever since sorry About half an Hour after he vanished Not long after this the Cook-maid going to the Woodpile to fetch VVood to dress Supper saw him standing in his Shirt upon the VVoodpile This Account I had in a Letter from Dr. Jacob. 1673. relating to his Life for Mr. Anthony Word which is now in his Hands 17 Mr. T. M. an old Acquaintance of mine hath assured me that about a quarter of a Year after his VVives Death as he lay in Bed awake with his little Grand-child his Wife open'd the Closet Door and came into the Chamber to the Bedside and looked upon him and stooped down and kissed him her Lips were warm he fancied they would have been cold He was about to have embraced her but was afraid it might have done him hurt When she went from him he asked when he should see her again she turn'd about and smiled but said nothing The Closet Door striked as it uses to do both at her coming in and going out 18. Mr. Jo. Lydall or Trinity-College Soc. Oxon. March 11. 1649 50. Attests the ensuing Relation in a Letter to Mr. Aubrey thus Mr. Aubrey Concerning that which happened at Woodstock I was told by Mr. W. Haws who now lives with Sir William Fleetwood in the Park That the Committee which sat in the Mannor-house for Selling the King's Lands were frighted by strange Apparitions and that the Four Surveyors which were sent to measure the Park and Lodged themselves with some other Companions in the Mannor were pelted out of their Chambers by Stones thrown in at the Windows but from what Hands the Stones came they could not see that their Candles were continually put out as fast as they lighted them and that one with his Sword drawn to defend a Candle was with his own Scabbard in the mean time well Cudgell'd so that for the Blow or for fear he fell Sick and the others forced to remove some of them to Sir William Fleetwood's House and the rest to some other places But concerning the cutting of the Oak in particular I have nothing Your Friend To be commanded to my power John Lydall 19. A Minister who liv'd by Sir John Warre in Somersetshire about 1665 walking over the Park to give Sir John a Visit was rencounter'd by a venerable old Man who said to him Prepare your self for such a day which was about three Days after you shall die The Minister told Sir John Warre and my Lady this Story who heeded it not On the Morning fore-warn'd Sir John calls upon the Parson early to ride a Hunting and to Laugh at his Prediction His Maid went up to call him and found him stark dead This from my Lady Katherine Henly who had it from my Lady Warre 20. Dr. Twiss Minister of the New Church at Westminster told me That his Father Dr. Twiss Prolocutor of the Assembly of Divines and Author of Vindiciae when he was a School-Boy at Winchester saw the Phantome of a School-fellow of his deceased a Rakehell who said to him I am damned This was the occasion of Dr. Twiss the Fathers Conversion who had been before
against Heresies saith That some in his time had the spirit of Prophecy to foreknow things to come they saw Divine Dreams and Visions Ibid. 3. Cyprian in his 4th Epistle sets down this Vision with a Respect to the Persecution then raised by Aemilianus President of Egypt Paternus c. There was saith he an aged Father sitting at whose Right Hand was a young Man very Pensive and Sorrowful with his Hand on his Breast on the other Hand another Person with a Net in his Hand as threatning to catch those Men that were about him Whilst Cyprian was wondring hereat he seem'd to hear a Voice saying unto him The young man is sorrowful because his Precepts are not observed he on the Left Hand danceth and is merry for that hereby occasion is given him from the Antient Father to afflict Men. This was long before the Persecution happened Ibid. Cyprian faith he was by another Vision admonished to use a Spare Diet and he sparing in his Drink Ibid. 4. Valens the Emperor fully purposing to drive Basil out of Cesarea was warn'd by his Wife to desist for that she had been troubled with dreadful Dreams about him and their only Son Gallates was desperately ill at that time in the Judgment of the Physitians and this she imputed to the ill Design of the Emperor against Basil Valens hereupon sent for Basil saying thus to him If thy Faith be true pray that my Son die not of this Disease To whom Basil answer'd If you will believe as I do and bring the Church into Vnity and Concord your Child shall doubtless live The Emperor not agreeing to this Basil departed and the Child presently died Ibid. 5. Antonius Physitian to Augustus was admonished in a Dream by a Daemon that appeared to him in the form of the Goddess Pallas that altho' Augustus was sick yet he should not fail to be present in the Battle which was next day to he given by Brutus and Cassius and that he should there abide in his Tent which he would have done but by the Physicians deep Perswasions to the contrary For it came to pass that the Enemy's Soldiers won the Tents where questionless they had slain Augustus if he had been present there So upon this Dream he prevented his Death won the Day and remain'd sole Monarch of the Roman Empire and under his Reign was born the Saviour of the World Mexico's Treasury of Antient and Modern Times Book 5. C. 25. 6. Quintus Curtius declares in the Life of Alexander That when he laid Siege to the City of Tyre he being intreated for Succour of the Carthaginians who said they were descended of the Tyrians concluded to raise his Siege as despairing of ever surprizing it But in a Dream a Satyr appear'd to him after whom he follow'd as he fled before him into a Chamber his Interpreters told him that it was a sure Sign he should take the City if he pursued and continued the Siege which fell out to be true Idem ex Qu. Curtio 7. Katherine de Medicis Queen of France and Wife to King Henry the II. dream'd the day before the said King was wounded to Death That she saw him very sickly holding down his Head as he walked along the Streets of Paris being followed by an infinite number of his People that lamented for him Hereupon she most earnestly intreated him with wringing Hands and bended Knees not to adventure in the Rank of Tilters on that Day But he giving no Credit to her words the last Day of Feasting for the Marriage of Madam Margaret his Sister to Emanuel Philibert Duke of Savoy entred the Lists of Honour and running to break the Lance against a bold and worthy Knight the Count of Montgomery happened to be wounded of which wound the King died soon after Aged about 40. leaving his Kingdom sadly mourning for him Ibid. l. 5. c. 25. 8. His Son King Henry the third three days before he was murdered at St. Clou beheld in a Dream all his Royal Ornaments viz. his Linnen Vesture Sandals Dalmatian Robe Mantle of Azure Sattin Crowns Scepter and Hand of Justice Sword and gilt Spurs all bloody and soil'd with the Feet of Religious Men and others and that he was very angry with the Sexton of St. Dennis And though good Advice was given him to stand upon his Guard yet so it fell out that he could not avoid the fatal Chance Ibid. 9. Calphurnia Wife to the Adopted Father of Caesar having dreamed That she beheld Caesar slain and massacred gave him notice thereof but he in despite of the Dream went jocundly to the Senate next day where he found the sad Effect and Consequence of this Dream Ibid. Mr. Chetwind in his Hist Collections gives us the Account more at large thus viz. Caesar in the fifty sixth year of his Age was slain in the Senate Seventy of the chief Senators conspiring his Death he having the Night before when a Question was asked What Death was best answered The suddain and not propensed His Wife dreamt that Night That he lay dead in her lap and Spurina warned him to have heed to the Ides of March and a Note was given to him going to the Senate discovering the Conspiracy which he began to read but was interrupted and died with it in his hands 10. Bradwarain in his Preface to his Learned Book de Causa Dei tells us of a Dream he had in the Night when he was about his Book in Confutation of Pelagius he thought he was caught up into the Air and Pelagius came and took hold of him to cast him down head-long upon the Earth but he prevailed against him after much strugling and cast down Pelagius so that he brake his Neck and he lay dead upon the Earth Whereby he faith he was much comforted and strengthened Mr. Barkers Flores 11. Thomas Wotton Esq of Bocton Malherb in Kent Father to the Famous Sir H. Wotton a little before his death dreamed That the Vniversity-Treasury was Robbed by Townsmen and poor Scholars in number Five and wrote this Dream the next day by way of Postscript in a Letter to his Son Henry then of Queens Colledge The Letter dated 3 days before out of Kent came to his Son's hands the very Morning after the Robbery was committed The Letter being Communicated by Mr. Wotton gave such Light to this Work of Darkness that the Five guilty Persons were presently discovered and apprehended Dr. Plat's Nat. Hist of Oxfordsh c. 8. p. 47. 12. Astyages last King of the Medes saw in his Dream a Vine springing forth from the Womb of his only Daughter and at last so Flourish and Spread out it self that it seemed to overspread all Asia The Sooth-sayers being Consulted about it answered him That of his Daughter should be born a Son that should seize on the Empire of Asia and divest him of his Tertified with this Prediction he bestowed his Daughter on Cambyses an obscure Person and a Foreigner When his
to the sober consideration of an Intelligent Reader 1. The Magi or Wise Men of the East were directed by a Star to the very Countrey and Place where our Blessed Saviour was Born and this method God seemed to take for their Conduct rather then another because they were trained up according to the custom of the Oriental Countreys in these studies See Doct. Gell's Serm. in defence of Astrlogy 2. Our Saviour at his Crucifixion to denote the horror of the Act and the Extinction of Light in the Jewish Church gives notice to the whole World by a dismal Eclipse of the Sun what a Bloody Act that People were a doing at that time and what a Calamitous season was approaching that Nation There was Darkness upon the Face of the Earth from the 6th to the 9th hour This Eclipse Dionisius is said to have seen in Egypt and in Astonishment to cry out Either Nature or the God of Nature suffers And tho this be accounted not in the Number of natural but supernatural Eclipses because if there be any credit to be given to the Writings of Dionysius it was obsered by him and the Philosopher Apollophanes to happen not at the time of the Conjunction of Sun and Moon but at their opposition Viz. At full Moon this doth no hurt to my cause at all For I plead only for this point that God is pleased to make significations of his will in the discovery of things not well known in the outward Face of the Heavens Eusebius also tells us that Phlegon made observation of this Eclipse Alsted Eucyel l. 20. c. 10. Hist Eclips 3. A little before the Death of Charles the great A. C. 814. There happened another Famous Eclipse of the Sun of which Eginardas in his Life as he is cited in fascical tempt saith thus Many Signs preceeded the Death of the Glorious and Holy Emperour Charles for there was an unusual Eclipse of the Sun and Moon there appeared for seven days a spot of black colour in the Sun Ibid. 4. June 17th 1415. When John Husse was tried at Constance by the Cardinals and Bishops in the Convent of the Franciscans there fell out so great an Eclipse that the Sun was almost Darkened After which John was Condemned and a dismal Persecution followed upon all his Disciples that breathed after a Reformation Clark's marr of Eccl. Hist p. 123. 5. A Greek Astrologer the same that had predicted the Dukedom of Tuscany to Cosmo de medices foretold also the Death of Alexander and that with such confidence that he described the Murderer to be one of this familiar Acquaintance of a slender Body small Face Swarthy Complexion and of an unsociable reserved temper by which description he did as good as point out with the Finger Lawrence Medices who Murdered the same Alexander in his Bed-Chamber Dinoth memorab l. 6. p. 394. Jovii Elog. p. 320. 6. Pope Paul the 3d wrote to Petrus Aloides Farnesius his Son that he should take special care of himself upon the 10th of September for the Stars did then threaten him with some signal Misfortune Upon which the Incredulous young Man was slain by thirty Men who had joyned in Conspiracy against him Sleiden Comment l. 19. Zuing. Theat vol. 5. l. 3. 7. Basilius the Mathematician predicted to Cosmo Medices when as yet but a private Man that a mighty Rich Inheritance would fall to him before the Ascendant of his Nativity was Illustrated by a happy Conspiracy of Stars in Capricorn in such manner as had heretofore fallen out to Augustusâ Caesar and Charles the 5th Emperor and accordingly upon the 5th of the Ides of January he was advanced to the Dukedom of Florence Dinoth memorab l. 6. p. 390. 8. The Famous Picus Mirandula for his invective Writings against the Astrologers of his time called Flagellum Astrologorum or Astrologo-Mastix the Scourge of Astrologers met at last with one Bellantius of Syena who upon a Scheme of his Nativity gave this Judgment upon him that he should dye the thirty fourth year of his Age Which accordingly came to pass Gaffarell Curios c. 7. p. 252. 9. Guido Bontius foretold to Guido Count of Monts-ferat the day wherein he might if he would sally out of Forolirium and attack his Enemies and might defeat them but withal himself should be wounded in the Hip. Which accordingly he did and prospered the Astrologer himself being in Company with him and providing a medicine for the wound before-hand which the Count as was predicted received at the same time Wanley's Wonders of the little World l. 6. c. 4. Fulges Ex. l. 8. c. 11. 10. Within three or four days after King Charles the Second died I being then Minister of Shipley and considering with my self of how great importance the knowledge of such an Accident might be to the Nation concluded that if they were any thing of moment in the Science of Astrology sure some prediction might be expected from our Prognosticators in this case Upon which I went streight to a Countrey Shop where Almanacks were sold and enquired what old ones lay upon their hands they produced all out of which I singled out so many as pretended to Astrological Observations and Prognostications in one of them which I think was Gadbury's I found to this purpose That that year by the then Configurataions of the Heavens should be much such another as was that of 1660 which was so happy for the settlement of the late King in his Throne but now as then there would be a Party of Saturnine humours that would by their murmuring and discontents be in danger of bringing Punishment upon their own Heads After I had read over this I passed on to another where I found words of the like import Upon which I returned home pausing upon the case not knowing whether to resolve it into the Science of Astrology or something else And so I leave it to the censure of my Reader For Comets I declared that I do not believe the Governour of the World puts out such Flameaus sets such Beacons on fire in the upper Regions for no purpose Nature doth not saith the Philosopher and shall the Christian say the God of Nature doth any thing in vain Two and Fifty years ago Decemb. 1638. There was a Blazing Star seen upon which followed the Irish Massacre and the late Civil Wars In December and March 1664. There were two Comets seen which were followed by that sad and dreadful Plague whereof died that were taken notice of 98596 besides many others which escaped the Bills of Mortality and that lamentable fire which in London destroyed so many Stately Buildings and Parish Churches 11. In Dec. and Jan. 168â Another Great Comet appeared to the Amusement or Terrour of all considering Spectatours beginning in Sagittarius or the latter end of Scorpio about the beginning of November thence proceeding to Capricorn c. Concerning which said John Hill a Physician and Astrologyer in his Alarm to Europe Printed by H.
from their very Enemies The Prodigies of our Saviour's Crucifixion procured a free Confession from some of his Enemies that certainly he was the Son of God See more Instances 1. Polycarp when first apprehended was pitied by many of his Enemies that so holy honest and aged a Man should be put to death After his Prayer at the Stake the flame framed it self in manner of a Vault or Sail of a Ship with the blustering Blasts of Wind so that it touched not the Holy Martyr's Body which sent forth a fragrant Smell like Frankincense but the cruel Persecutors thereupon call'd for a Tormentor to thrust him thro' the Side with a Spear which being done Blood issued out so abundantly that it quenched the Fire to the Astonishment of all Beholders Clark's Marr. of Eccl. Hist. 2. Dionysius the Areopagite being aimed at by the Idolatrous Priests who envied his Success in the Ministery with his gracious Lustre and Radiancy of Countenance abashed and so affrighted his Adversaries that they fled away Ibid. Some say that by the order of Sisinnius the Prefect of Gaul being thrown to wild Beasts they would not tear him put into a hot Oven it would not burn him at last was condemned to Decollation Ibid. 3. Justin Martyr seems accomplish'd by the Divine Providence to make a stout Apology to the Heathen Emperors for his Christian Brethren by passing first through all the famous Schools of the Heathen Philosophers by which means he was enabled and fitted to attack them with their own Weapons which he did ingeniously and couragiously and effectually in his Plea to Antoninus Pius c. Ibid. 4. Tertullian was raised in a seasonable time by God Almighty to plead the Cause of his Church against their Adversaries and slanderous Accusations for he ingeniously shew'd them that they never intended any Stirs or Rebellions against the Empire it being the Frinciple of the Christians to pray for all Men and render Good for Evil and whereas they were slander'd for murdering Infants how can that be saith he when their Custom is to abstain from all things strangled and from Blood c. Ibid. By his excellent Apologies he prevailed with Severus to favour the Christians 5. Cyprian vindicates the Christians from the Scandals charged upon them in his time by telling them that the Publick Calamities were not owing to the Christians but to the Idolatry of their Enemies that they were long before prophesied by Christ and the Heathens had no reason to expect any better than Famine Wars and Pestilences for their Wickedness and Cruelty in shedding so much Blood of the Christians Ibid. 6. Lactantius wrote seven Books of Institutions in the Behalf of the Christians against the Gentiles 7. Athanasius being accused by the Miletians to the Emperour that he had imposed a Tribute of Linnen Garments upon the Egyptians and had gathered the same it pleased God that Alipprius and Macarius two Presbyters of Alexandria happen'd to be present who easily wip'd off this false Charge afterwards he was accused that he had sent a Sum of Gold to one Philumenus to take away the Emperor but he easily clear'd himself of this too At last he was taxed that he had broken the sacred Chalice and cut off the Arm of one Arsenius that was slain and kept it for an Instrument in Magick Arsenius was a Presbyter who for some great Fault had hid himself Athanasius finding it difficult to clear himself in this Case employ'd one of his Deacons to enquire out this Arsenius who with some difficulty found him out which so satisfy'd the Emperor Constantine that he clear'd him and sent him back with Commendations to his Office requiring that this Epistle which he wrote upon this Score might be read in the Church to the Terror of his Adversaries Yet he was after some time effectually prosecuted by his Restless Adversaries and injuriously deposed Ibid. 8. The Arians prevailing for the Banishment of Basil Bishop of Caesarea and the writing being brought to Valens the Emperour to sign the Pens would not write the least tittle tho' often tried and when the Emperour being mad with rage endeavour'd still to confirm the Edict his Right Hand was struck with a great Trembling so that at last being terrified with these Judgments he tore the Writing in pieces Ibid. 9. Mr. John Husse who was condemn'd by the Council of Constance for Heresie was acquitted in a solemn Letter from any such fault in his Doctrine by the Bishop of Nazareth who was appointed and deputed by the See of Rome to be Inquisitor of Heresie in the City of Prague Martyrol p. 549. and more than that was commended for his Life and Conversation by the Testimony of no less than 54 of the Nobles of Moravia in a Letter written by them in his Behalf to the Council of Constance Which Letter and the Names of the Peers See Martyrol p. 386 387. 10. Edwond Everard Esq being an Agent in the French Court for the English Militia by Acquaintance and Discourse with the Lady Gourdon Sister to the Marquess of Huntley in Scotland then in a Popish Convent at Paris and with Collonel Richard Talbot and Peter his Brother Titular Arch-Bishop of Dublin got some small glimmerings of a grand Design on Foot for the publick Settling of Popery in England dissolving the Parliament or at least raising a Misunderstanding between them and His Majesty for Relieving the Catholicks in Ireland for killing His Majesty and setting up the D. of Y. coming over into England and making an Essay towards the Discovery of it at Court was by Malice and Arts of his Enemies falâly Accused and sent to the Tower and there kept a close Prisoner four Years and never in all that time called to a fair Hearing yet at last when the Plot broke out by other Instruments and Means which God in his Wisdom produced and made use of He was Released from his illegal Confinement and brought upon the Stage as an Innocent Person and had Liberty granted him to Accuse his Accusers Anno Christi 1679. It were an endless Task to recount over the many Instances that are in the World even within ken of the present Generation of Persons who have been one while Afflicted Disgraced Fined Imprisoned c. as Persons not fit for common Society among their Fellows who have been afterwards received into Favours preferred to Places of Trust and Honour dandled upon the Knee of a benign Providence and died in the Vogue of the World good and honest Men. 11. Dr. Vsher wanted not Enemies who sought to scandalize him to King James under the Title of a Puritan which was very odious to the King in those Days hereby to prevent his further Preferment but God so order'd it that it proved an occasion of his Advancement For King James being jealous of him upon that score by reason of the Eminency of his Learning fell into Serious Discourse with him and thereby was so well satisfied in the Soundness of
his Judgment and Piety that notwithstanding the Opposition made by some great ones without his own seeking he was made Bishop of Meath in Ireland which just then fell void while he was in England and the King often boasted That he was a Bishop of his own making Clark in his Life 12. The Papists very rashly and hastily had Publish'd a Libel against Luther supposing he was deâd because he was constrained for his own safety to use caution in appearing abroad by rââon of his many Enemies that laid wait for him signifying How the Devils had carried away his Body c. Which Libel came to Luther's hands two Years before he died and he reading of it thank'd God that the Devil and his Instruments were such Tools that they could not stay till his Death Pref. to Luther 's Sermons I pass over the Story of Queen Emma Mother to King Edward the Confessor who is said by our Historians to be causlesly suspected of too much Familiarity with Alwinus Bishop of Winchester of which Suspicion she purged herself and him by the Fire-Ordeal walking bare foot over nine red-hot Plough-shares without any hurt in thankfulness for which 't is said they gave each of them nine Manours to the Church of Winchester Dugdale Monast. Angl. Vol. 1. inter Addenda p. 980. 13. A. C. 1650. Anne Green a Servant-Maid to Sir Tho. Read of Duns-Tew in Oxfordshire being with Child by some one of the Family through over-working her self in turning of Malt fell in Travail about the fourth Month of her time but being but a young Wench and not knowing how it might be repairs to the House of Easement where after some Straining the Child scarce above a Span long and of what Sex not to be distinguished fell from her unawares She was three Days after conveyed to the Castle of Oxford and there Sentenc'd to be Hang'd She hung half an Hour was pulled by the Legs and struck on the Breast by divers of her Friends and after all had several Stroaks given her on the Stomach with the But-end of a Soldier 's Musket Afterwards being cut down and put in a Cossin and brought away to a House to be dissected though the Rope still remained strait about her Neck they perceived her Breast to rise whereupon one Mason a Taylor in Charity to her set his Foot upon her Breast and Belly and as some say one Orum a Soldier struck her again with the But-end of his Musket After a while they perceived a small Rattling in her Throat and then they used means for her Recovery by opening a Vein laying her in a warm Bed and causing another to go into Bed to her and using other Remedies with respect to her Senselesness Head Throat and Breast insomuch that within 14 Hours she began to speak and the next Day Talk'd and Prayed very heartily In the mean time her Pardon was sued out from the Powers then in being and Thousands of People came to see her magnifying the just Providence of God in thus asserting her Innocency of Murder She affirmed that she neither remembred how the Fetters were knock'd off how she went out of the Prison when she was turn'd off the Ladder whether any Psalm was sung or not nor was she sensible of any Pains that she could remember but which is most observable she came to her self as if she had awakened out of her Sleep not recovering the use of her Speech by slow degrees but in a manner altogether beginning to speak just where she left off on the Gallows She lived afterwards and was Married and had three Children not dying till 1659. Dionysius Petavius takes notice of it in his Continuation of the Hist of the World so doth Mr. Heath and Dr. Plot in his Natural Hist of Oxfordsh p. 193. 14. I shall only take notice further of an awful Example mentioned by A. B. Spotswood in his History of Scotland p. 449. His Words are these This Summer viz. Anno 1597. there was a great Business for the Tryal of Witches amongst others one Margaret Atkin being apprehended on Suspicion and threatned with Torture did confess her self Guilty being Examined touching her Associates in that Trade she named a few and perceiving her Delations find Credit made offer to detect all of that sort and to purge the Country of them so she might have her Life granted For the reason of her Knowledge she said That they had a secret mark all of that sort in their Eyes whereby she could surely tell how soon she looked upon any whether they were Witches or not And in this she was so readily believed that for the space of three or four Months she was carried from Town to Town to make Discoveries in that kind many were brought in question by her Delations especially at Glasgow where divers Innocent Women through the Credulity of the Minister Mr. John Cowper were condemned and put to Death In the end she was found to be a meer Deceiver and sent back to Fife where she was first Apprehended At her Tryal she affirmed all to be false that she had Confessed of her self or others and persisted in this to her Death which made many fore-think their to great forwardness that way and moved the King to re-call his Commission given out against such Persons discharging all Proceedings against them 15. There was in the Year 1649. in a Town called Lauder in Scotland a certain Woman accused and imprisoned on Suspicion of Witchcraft when others in the same Prison with her were Convicted and their Execution ordered to be on the Monday following she desired to speak with a Minister to whom she declared freely that she was guilty of Witchcraft acknowledging also many other Crimes committed by her desiring that she might die with the rest She said particularly that she had Covenanted with the Devil and was become his Servant about Twenty Years before and that he kissed her and gave her a Name but that since he had never owned her Several Ministers who were jeasous that she accused her self untruly charged it on her Conscience telling her That they doubted she was under a Temptation of the Devil to destroy her own Body and Soul and adjuring her in the Name of God to declare the Truth Notwithstanding all this she stiffly adhered to what she had said and was on Monday Morning Condemned and ordered to be Executed that Day When she came to the place of Execution she was silent until the Prayers were ended then going to the Stake where she was to be burnt she thus expressed her self All you that see me this Day know ye that I am to die as a Witch by my own Confession and I free all Men especially the Ministers and Magistrates from the guilt of my Blood I take it wholly on my self and as I must make answer to the God of Heaven I declare I am as free from Witchcraft as any Child but being accused by a Malicious Woman and
Augustine's Table was engraven Quisquis amat dictis absentem rodere amicum Hanc Mensam indictam noverit esse sibi He that doth love an absent Friend to jeer May hence depart no room is for him here Which Rule one of his Fellow-Bishops upon a time forgetting St. Augustine sharply rebuk'd him for it and told him That he must either blot those Verses out of his Table or arise from his Dinner and go to his Chamber Clark 's Marr. of Eccl. Hist 2. Crispin a Donatist Bishop being fined in two Pounds of Gold by the Proconsul for abusing one of Augustine's Society the Catholick Bishops and especially Augustine so prevailed with the Emperour that the Rigour of the Sentence was taken off from him which Piety and Charity of theirs much conduced to the increase of the Church Clark 's Marr. of Eccl. Hist 3. It was Mr. Palmer's saying the Martyr None are to be counted valiant but such as contemn Injuries Fox 4. It 's reported of St. Katherine that she suckt the invenom'd Wounds of a Villain who had wronged her most impudently Dr. Taylor 5. Anthony the Great was wont in his Exhortations to the People to wish them to keep in mind that of the Apostle Let not the Sun go down upon thy Wrath. Drexel upon Eternity 6. John Patriarch of Alexandria in a Controversy with one Nicolas a chief Man of the City to be tryed by Law John being for the Poor Nicolas for his Money after a private Meeting for Peace-sake and much Contention and Choler used till night and they were parted the Good Bishop weighing with himself and arguing to this purpose Can I think God will be pleased with his Stubbornness c. could not rest till he had sent Messengers to Nicolas charging them to say no more to him but only this The Sun is going down On the hearing of which there was such a sudden Alteration wrought in Nicelas that his high Stomach came presently down he began to melt and his Eyes stood with Tears and he had much ado to keep them in out of doors he ran presently after the Messengers and making haste to speak with the Patriarch he came to him and saluted him thus Holy Father I am willing to be ruled by thee in this or in any other matter So they embraced lovingly and became good Friends Idem 7. A Suit of Law is of it self lawful But certainly he had need be an Angel that manageth a Suit innocently and he that hath so excellent a Spirit as with Innocence to run through the infinite Temptations of a Law-Suit in all probability hath so much Holiness as to suffer the Injury and so much Prudence as to avoid the Danger Idem 8. I will rather suffer a 1000 Wrongs than offer one I will rather suffer a 100 than return one I will suffer many e're I complain of one and endeavour to right my self by contending I have ever found that no Content with my Superiours is furious with my Equals doubtful with my Inferiours sordid and base Dr. Hall 9. Deschartes is said to be no Detractor nor injurious to any Person never committing Injuries to Memory but to Oblivion See his Life by Borellus p. 23. 10. There was one who did Sir Matthew Hale a great Injury which it is not necessary to mention who coming afterwards to him for his Advice in the Settlement of his Estate he gave it very frankly to him but would accept of no Fee for it and thereby shewed both that he could forgive as a Christian and that he had the Soul of a Gentleman in him not to take Money of one that had wronged him so hainously And when he was asked by one How he could use a Man so kindly that had wronged him so much His Answer was He thanked God he had learned to forget Injuries See his Life written by Dr. Burnet p. 93. CHAP. XLI Remarkable Instances of Munificence WE are to do Good and to distribure according to our Power and the number of those Talents which God hath bestowed upon us He that hath little ought to give of that little but to whom much is given of him much is required A pair of Turtle Doves or two young Pigeons was a pretty reasonable Offering from those who had but little for the support of their own Families's the poor Widow's Mite in the Gospel was accepted kindly and interpreted favourably by our Saviour But if those who have large Estates and heavy Purses and no great Necessities near home do not build Synagogues or Schools or Hospitals or mend High-ways or disburse with a greater Freedom and more Generosity than others however their Estates may be great their Souls are but little and their Spirits narrow and their Accounts will not be easily made up hereafter For though Men may be deceived at the present and their poor fellow-Creatures may be put off with weak Pretensions there is a God in Heaven that will not be mocked but will give them a Harvest in the other World according to their Seedness in this and They that sow sparingly shall reap sparingly But every Body is not so stingy and close-fisted there are those in the Church of God who are not willing to stand to the adventure and hazard of a cheap Seedness but give plentifully with an open Breast full of Charity and a Hand full of Good-works and Alms-deeds As for Instances 1. In the Reign of Queen Elizabeth and in the Year 1596. Ralph Rokeby one of Her Majesty's Masters of Request then dying gave by his Will to Christ's Hospital in London One hundred Pounds to the Colledge of the Poor of Queen Elizabeth One hundred Pounds to the poor Scholars in Cambridge One hundred Pounds to the poor Scholars in Oxford One hundred Pounds to the Prisoners in the two Compters in London One hundred Pounds to the Prisoners in the Fleet One hundred Pounds to the Prisoners in Ludgate One hundred Pounds to the Prisoners in Newgate One hundred Pounds to the Prisoners in the King's-Bench One hundred Pounds to the Prisoners of the Marshalsea One hundred Pounds to the Prisoners in the White-Lion Twenty Pounds A liberal and pious Legacy and not worthy to be forgotten 2. Richard Sutton Esq born of Gentile Parentage at Knaith in Lincolnshire sole Founder of the Charter-House Hospital which he called the Hospital of King James for the Maintenance thereof he settled these Mannors in several Counties 1. Dasham-Mannor in Cambridgeshire 2. Bastuogthorp-Mannor in Lincolnshire 3. Black grove-Mannor in Wiltshire 4. Broadhinton-Land in Wiltshire 5. Castlecamps-Mannor in Cambridgeshire 6. Chilton-Mannor in Wiltshire 7. Dunby-Mannor in Lincolnshire 8. Elcomb-Mannor and Park in Wiltshire 9. Hackney-Land in Middlesex 10. Hallinburg Bouchiers-Mannor in Essex 11. Missanden-Mannor in Wiltshire 12. Much Stanbridge-Mannor in Essex 13. Norton-Mannor in Essex 14. Salthrope-Mannor in Wiltshire 15. Southminster-Manner in Essex 16. Tottenham-Land in Middlesex 17. Vfford-Mannor in Wiltshire 18 Watalescote-Mannor in Wiltshire 19. Westcot-Mannor in Wiltshire
be paid by 40 shillings apiece 13. For the Marriages of poor Maids in Reading in the same manner 100 l. 14. For the Marriages of poor Maids in Newbery that have served 7 years the same Master or Mistress 50 l. 15. To set on work idle vagrant Boys in Bridewel 200 l. 16. Towards Finishing the Pinacles of the Steeple of S. Marys in Reading 50 l. 17. To be lent upon Bond with Sureties to several honest industrious poor Clothiers in Reading first for 7 years then for 3 years to others and so on gratis for ever 500 l. viz. 50 l. apiece 18. To the Clothiers of Newbery the same Sum for the like use viz. 500 l. 19. To poor industrious Merchant-Adventurers in London to be lent by 300 l. in a parcel gratis from 3 years to 3 years in like manner as before 300 l. 20. To his Brother William Kendrick and Children 2000 l. and a Gold-Ring 21. To his Sister Anna Newman of Reading 1000 Marks 22. To her Children 2000 Marks c. 23. To his Sister Alice Vigures of Exeter 500 l. 24. To her Children 1000 l. 25. To his Brother James Winch of Purley in the County of Berks and Children 1000 l. 26. To old Elizab. Kendrick his Uncle's Daughter 50 l. 27. To Tho. Newman at Delf in Holland Servant to his Partner 1000 l. 28. To his Kinsman and late Servant Sim. Gaudy 1000 l. 29. To Arth. Aynscomb Merchant then at Antwerp Shearer with him in Trade 500 l. 30. To Barney Reymes Merchant at Delf another Shearer 500 l. 31. To Mr. John Quarles who was his Master and then kept his Accompts 500 l. forgiving him also a Debt of 300 l. 32. To Mr. George Lowe Merchant and former Partner 300 l. 33. To Tho. Billingslie Son of Sir H. B. 200 l. forgiving him also a Debt of 200 l. more 34. To the Executors of Tho. Jackson Merchant 300 l. 35. To Luces van Punon of Middleburgh 50 l. 36. To Jeremiah Poets of Middleburgh 20 l. 37. To William Powle his Covenant-Servant 200 l. 38. To And Kendrick his Apprentice 300 l. and in lieu of what he had received with him 100 l. 39. To another Apprentice Chr. Packe 100 l. 40. To his House-keeper 20 l. To two of his Maids 20 l. apiece To his Drawer 50 l. to another Drawer 25 l. To his Drawers Servants 25 l. To his twelve Clothworkers Rowers and Shearers 130 l. To Bigge and Salisbury that pressed and folded his Cloth 25 l. To his Porters at the Water-side 10 l. To Packers 10 l. To his Water-bearer 3 l. To the Washer 5 l. To W. Bealde of Reading Clothier 50 l. to another Clothier 50 l. To another Clothier Tho. Newman 100 l. To John Skegmere Secretary to the Merchant-Adventurers 100 l. To R. B. a Partner 300 l. To Mr. W. T. 5 l. To Officers of the Company 15 l. For Service at 6 a Clock in Reading 250 l. the like at Newbery 250 l. to another 100 l. For a Dinner for the Drapers at his Funeral 40 l. Extracted out of the Copy printed A. C. 1625. 23. The Lady Alice Dutchess Dudley gave many hundred pounds toward the Building of St. Giles's Church the Church being finished she gave Hangings of Watchid Taffety to cover the upper-end of the Chancel and those bordered with a silk and silver Fringe Item For the back of the Altar a rich green Velvet Cloth with these three Letters in Gold IHS embroidered on it Two Service-Books in Folio embossed with Gold A gree Velvet Cloth with a rich deep Gold Fringe to cover the Altar on Sundays A Cambrick-Altar Cloth with a deep Bonelace round about another fine Damask-Altar Cloth Two Cusâins for the Altar rickly embroidred with Gold A large Turkey Carpet to be spread on the Week-days over it A beautiful Skreen of Carved Work which was placed where the former in the old Church stood Moreover she gave a neat Pair of Organs with a Case richly Gilded Item Ver costly handsom Rails to guard the Lord's Table from prophane uses It. The Communion-Plate of all sorts in Silver and gilt for that sacred use she was at the Charge of Paving the upper-end of the Church wih Marble-stones She gave the great Bell and was at the Charge of Casting and Hanging the other five Bells She gave to the Church of Stonelay in Warwickshire as also to the Churches of Mancester Leke-Wotton Ashow Kenelworth and Monks-Kirby Twenty pounds per Annum apiece for a perpetual Augmentation to the poor Vicaridges of those respective Churches for ever She bestowed on the same Churches as also upon the Churches of Bedford Acton St. Albans Patshill divers pieces of costly Plate for the Celebration of the Holy Communion in each of them And she purchased a fair house and Garden near the said Church of St. Giles's and gave it for a perperual Mansion to the Incumbents after three Lives She also allowed a yearly Stipend to the Sexton of that Churchââ Tole the great Bell when the Prisoners condemned to die were passing by and to Ring out after they were executed She likewise gave great Sums of Money for the Repairing the Cathedral Church of Litchfield and for the Re-edifying of St. Sepulchres in London All these with many more were the Product of her great Charity whilst she lived and thereby made her own Eyes her Overseers and her own Hand her Executors At her Death she gave for Redemption of Christian Captives from the Hands of Infidels One hundred pounds per Annum for ever To the Hospital in St. Giles's Four hundred pounds for Twenty pounds a year for ever For the placing out for ever of poor Parish-Children of St. Giles's Apprentices Two hundred pounds to purchase 10. l. per Annum To the Poor of the Parishes of Stoneley Kenilworth Leke-Wotton Ashow Bedford and Passhill aforesaid and also of Lichborow and Blakesley One hundred pounds per Annum And upon the Day of her Funeral Fifty pounds to be distributed among the Poor She gave to Fourscore and ten Widows according to the number of the years she had lived to each one a Gown and fair white Handkerchief to attend the Hearse wherein her Body was carried and One shilling apiece for their Dinner after that Solemnity was performed which was on the 16th of March 1668. She gave to every place where her Corps should rest in its passage from London unto Stoneley aforesaid in Warwickshire where she had a Noble Monument prepared by her self She ordered that Six pence should be given to every poor Body that should meet her Corps on the Road. She gave to Blakesley Lichborow and Patshill Ten pounds apiece to be distributed among the Poor the same day her Corps was interred to Stoneley Fifty pounds distributed the same day Thus this Illustrious Dutchess did in her Life and at her Death and doubtless for all her good Deeds she has her Reward in Heaven by God's Mercy and Christ's Merits See the Narrative of her Life
Whereupon the young Man fearing now least he should be conquered by Folly who was Conqueror over Fury bites off a piece of his Tongue with his Teeth and spits it into the Whore's Face and so prevented the hurt of Sin by the Smart of his Wound 9. Emme the Mother to King Edward the Confessor being charged for Incontinency with Aldwin Bishop of Winchester to clear herself from that Imputation being Hood-winked went bare-foot over nine Coulters red hot in Winchester-Church without any Harm an usual kind of Trial in those days then called Ordalium making her Chastity by so great a Miracle famous to Posterity Cam. Brit. p. 211. 10. Our Henry the Sixth was so chaste a Prince that when certain Ladies presented themselves before him in a Mask with their Hair loose and their Breasts uncovered he being then at Man's Estate and unmarried immediately rose up and departed their Presence saying Fie fie forsooth you are much to blame Sp. Chron. 11. King James used to say of them that went with naked Breasts that they either were or would be 12. How many profess openly their inward Uncleanness by laying open to the common view their naked Breasts as though it were a Bill affixed to the Door-posts to signify to the Passers by that within that place dwells an unclean Heart and that whosoever will may there buy Honesty and Chastity at an easy rate Bp. Downam on Hos 2.2 CHAP. XLIII Remarkable Meekness Quietness and Peaceableness A Meek Heart and quiet Spirit is in the sight of God saith the Apostle of great price and I will add in the sight of Man too for it procures Admiration Esteem Love and contributes much to our peaceable Enjoyment of this Life And therefore our Saviour hath annexed that Blessing to this Grace Blessed are the Meek for they shall inherit the Earth that is they shall be exempt in great measure from the Thorns and Briars the Quarrels and Law-Suits the will Effects of Pride and Revenge which contentious Men are commonly embroiled in 1. Irenaeus a true ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã loving Peace mightily and endeavouring to procure Unity in case of Controversies especially when Victor Bishop of Rome would have excommunicated the Church as Schismaticks upon their Disagreement in keeping of Easter Irenaeus with other his Brethren of the Gallic Church met in Council and consented together to write Letters subscribed with their Names unto Victor to stop his hand in point of Excommunication though themselves agreed with Victor in observing Easter at the same Time Clark 's Marr. of Eccl. Hist. He went also himself in the name of his Brethren with Letters to Eleatherius Bishop of Rome desiring him heartily to endeavour to keep the Church in Unity and Peace Ibid. 2. Ephrem Syrus though by nature and all his Youth very cholerick yet afterwards was never seen to be angry with any Man Ibid. 3. Gregory Nazianzen in his Disputations with Eunomius so contained himself within the bounds of Defence of the Catholick Truth that he never brake forth into any Reproaches and whatever Argument he handled wholesome and pleasant Speeches were never wanting to him and those not acquired but natural Ibid. 4. S. Augustine was much employed in determining Controversies with much Patience and Prudence hearing both Parties sometimes spending a whole Day fasting to hear the same always takeing advantage thereby to do what good possible he could to their Souls Many Letters he wrote to such as sought to him for Counsel and Direction in secular Affairs though he complained of this as a Trouble to him and an Hindrance from better Offices Ibid. 5. Theodosius Senior knowing his own hasty Disposition used not to determine of any thing till he had repeated over the Letters of the Greek Alphabet for in that space his Wrath would be tempered He commanded also that they which reviled and spake Evil of him should not be punished Because saith he if it proceed of Levity it is not to be regarded if of Madness it is to be pitied if of an Injury received it is to be pardoned Clark in his Life out of Socrates Scholast c. 6. Sir Matthew Hale was as he said himself naturally passionate I add as he said himself for that appeared by no other Evidence save that sometimes his Colour would rise a little but he so governed himself that those who lived long about him have told me they never saw him disordered with Anger though he met with some Trials that the nature of Man is as little able to bear as any whatsoever See his Life written by Dr. Burnet p. 95. 7. Dr. Sands when his Stable was robbed of four excellent Geldings and an Inventory taken of his Goods and he was carried on a same Jade through London in scorn a base Woman throwing a Stone at him and hitting him to full on the Breast that he was near falling from his Horse he return'd no other than this mild Answer Woman I pray God forgive thee And going through Tower-Street a Woman in her Door said to him Fie on thee Thou Knave thou Traitor thou Heretick at which he only smiled See his Life by Mr. Clark p. 8. 8. Mr. Eliot was a great Enemy to all Contention and would ring a loud Courseu-Bell where-ever he saw the fires of Animosity When he heard any Ministers complain that such and such in their Flocks were too difficult for them the Strain of his Answer still was Brother compass them and Brother learn the Meaning of those three little words Bear Forbear Forgive yea his Inclinations for Peace indeed sometimes almost made him to sacrifice Right itself When there was laid before an Assembly of Ministers a Bundle of Papers containing Matters of Difference between some People which he would rather unite with an Amnesty upon all their former Quarrels he with some imitation of Constantine hastily threw the Papers into the fire before them all and with a Zeal as hot as that fire said immediately Brethren wonder not at what I have done I did it on my Knees this Morning before I came among you Cott. Mather in his life p. 43. Wherever he like another old John with solemn and earnest Perswasives to Love when he could say little else he would give that Charge My little Children love one another Ibid. 9. Ephrem Syrus having fasted divers days one of his Servants that was bringing him his Supper brake the Earthen Pitcher wherein it was Ephrem seeing him over-whelmed with Fear and Shame said to him Be of good cheer let us go to our Supper since it will not come to us and so sitting down by the Fragments of the Pot in an humble and self-denying manner eat his Supper Clark's Marr. of Eccl. Hist One being voted to an Episcopacy he ran into the Market-place and made as if he were Crack-brained and at last fled privately away till they had chosen another Bishop to that place Ibid. 10. Gregory the Great being made choice of by the
you put your Endeavours that Christ his Religion may be brought again unto a chast and simple Purity For what should be desired of all Godly Hearts than that all things by little and little should be clean taken away and cut off which have very little or nothing in them that can be referred wholly to Edification but rather be judged of the Godly to be superfluous 8. Bishop Latimer speaking to the Clergy saith How think ye by the Ceremonies that are in England oftentimes with no little Offence of weak Consciences continued more often with Superstition so defiled and so depraved that you may doubt whether it were better for them to tarry still or utterly to take them away Have not our Fore-Fathers complained of the Ceremonies of the Superstitions and Estimation of them In Concione ad Clerum 9. Bishop Vsher then Mr. Vsher when a Commission was granted by K. James to Sir Arthur Chichester then Lord-Deputy of Ireland to Assemble the Irish Bishops and others together to consult about the Reduction of Ireland to the same Ecclesiastical Government of England but willing them to consult with Mr. Vsher about it and do nothing without his Approbation Bishop Vsher I say finding by accident his own Name in the Commission by glancing upon a letter which he saw laid down in the Window by a Bishop whom he went to visit communicated the same to Dean Hill his Good Friend and a Devout Man desiring his Prayers to God for him in that Obscure Case and hearing what the business was when the Assembly was summoned made his Appearance and being demanded his Consent to what they had agreed upon he replied That the Matter concerned more than himself for said he if I had all Mens Consciences in my keeping I could in these Disputable Cases give Laws unto them as well as unto my self but it 's one thing what I can do and another thing what all other Men must do c. Adding The Kings and Queens of England imposed those Ceremonies that thereby they might decline the charge of Schismaticks wherewith the Church of Rome laboured to brand them seeing it did appear hereby that they left them only in such Doctrinal Points wherein they left the Truth Again Hereby they would testify howfar they would willingly stopp to win and gain them by yielding to meet them as far as they might in their own way But saith he the Experience of many years hath shewed that this Condescension hath rather hardned them in their Errours than brought them to a liking of our Religion this being their usual Saying if our Flesh be not Good why do you drink of our Broth c. See his Life by Mr. Clark p. 286. 10. Dr. Wilkins afterwards Bishop of Chester a Man of as great a Mind as true a Judgment as eminent Vertues and of as good a Soul as any I ever knew together with the Lord-Keeper Bridgeman setting up for a Comprehension of the Dissenters and a limitted Indulgence towards others got Sir Matthew Hale Lord-Chief-Baron on their side who after several Meetings and Conferences with two of the most eminent Presbyterian Divines and Heads were agreed upon the Lord-Chief-Baron put them in form of a Bill to be presented to the next Session of Parliament CHAP. XLV Retractations of Censorious Protestants LEwis du Moulin Doctor of Physick being in his last Sickness visited by Dr. Burnet and admonished of the foul Language used in his Books against Dr. Stillingfleet Dean of Pauls Dr. Durel Dean of Windsor Dr. Patrick Dean of Peterborough c. desired Dr. Burnet to ask them pardon in his name and when he spake of the Dean of St. Pauls he expressed much Sorrow and shed some Tears and upon their motion sign'd this Recantation following As for my Books in which I mixed many personal Reflections I am now sensible I vented too much of my own Passion and Bitterness and therefore I disclaim all that is Personal in them and am heartily sorry for every thing I have written to the defaming of any Person I humbly beg God and all those whom I have so wronged pardon for Jesus Christ his sake and am resolved if God shall spare my Life never to meddle more with such Personal things and do earnestly exhort all People as a dying Man that they will study more Love and mutual Forbearance in their Differences and will avoid all bitter and uncharitable Reflections on one anothers Persons And as I earnestly pray those worthy Men of the Church of England to have Charity and Tenderness for the Dissenters from them so I beg of the Dissenters that they would have a due Regard and Respect to those of the Church of England Of many of whom I say now Let my Soul be with theirs and that all true Protestants among us may heartily unite and concur in the Defence and Preservation of the holy Reformed Religion now by the Mercy of God settled among us And that Men of all sides may according to St. Paul's Rule Cease to bite and devour one another lest we be destroyed one of another and that whereunto we have already attained we may walk by the same Rule hoping that if any Man is otherwise minded in some lesser things God shall either reveal that to them or mercifully forgive it through Jesus Christ into whose hands I commend my Spirit and desire to appear before God in and through him Who gave himself for me and the refore do now study to learn of him to be meek and lowly in Heart and to love all the Brethren as he loved me This is Sincerity of Heart I Sign Lewis du Moulin Octob. 5. 1680. See his last Words p. 12. Mr. John Child having written a Book called The Second Argument for a more firm Vnion amongst Protestants where he fell foul upon the Nonconformists was thereupon smitten with Remorse and to one Mr. H. C. coming to visit him taking up the Book in his Hand began to read where he saith The greatest number of Disseners do hold Principles dangerously heretical and most abominably abusing the most Holy God c. But before he could end that Paragraph being under extream Agony of Mind and weeping bitterly put the Book from him and spake to this effect viz. I have represented those Calvin's Principles beyond whatever they conceived strained their Opinions beyond their Intentions and drawing such Consequences as never were in their Minds And striking his Breast with uch Anguish said These words lie close I shall never get over this I write in Prejudice against them calling them a villanous Body of People which was unjust Professing that be could not repent and with a very grim Countenance said I shall go to Hell I am broken in Judgment when I think to pray either I have a Flushing in my Face as if I were in a flame or I am dumb and cannot speak or else I fall asleep upon my Knees all the Signs of one whom God hath left
forsaken and hardned Another time to Mrs. N. How deplorable a thing is this that I who have preached so much of the Glory of another World should now be deprived of it all You will as surely see me damned as you now see e stand here And again being prest to publish his Repentance for his Book that had caused him so much Trouble he answered I have thought sometimes so to do but I am so confused and confounded in my Mind that I know not what to do I can do nothing to purpose Again with a deep Sign said The black Tokens of Reprobation are upon me I cannot stoop to the Sovereignty of God I would be above him In short he drew three Papers of Recantation written with his own Hand The first of which begins thus That it is a Dishonour to the Church and Clergy of England to have such an one that hath no more Wit so little Justice Reason and Conscience plead for them that the Author of this Libel is worthily so represented appears by divers base false devillish and most scandalous Passages therein contained They are represented as a People weak and phantastical and not rendring a tolerable Reason for their differing from others which is a devillish stroke made by a black blow to assert the Nonconformists have no kind of Order in sending forth their Ministers that Preachers run on their own Head upon a phansiful Supposition that they are able to Preach or at the most have but the Consent and Connivance of a few weak Persons is a Devillish Lie as thousands can witness to say it is a true State or the Case being truly thus as we are able to make it good is a Lie if possible more than damnable c. After which he miserable destroyed himself Octob. 13. 1684. See the Narrative attested by Tho Blunt and Ben. Dennis and printed May the 7. 1688. CHAP. XLVI Good People extreamly Afflicted and mightily Comforted THE sharpest Afflictions often befal the best of Men not only Outward and Temporal but Inward and Spiritual insomuch that they are ready sometimes to cry out with our Blessed Saviour Eli Eli Lama-Sabachtheni God withdraws his glorious Countenance and Satan shews his ugly Visage and all this on purpose to rouse and startle a secure World and convince us that it is no very easy matter to get to Heaven and that 't is the safest way to work out our Salvation with Fear and Trembling Besides it serves to shew the Sincerity of the poor deserted Christian for in such cases the Man is mightily humbled and confesseth all his Sins and strips himself stark naked of any Merit or Conceit of his own inherent Righteousness and freely acknowledges that he hath none else to fly to for Succour and Consolation but God only 1. Mr. Tho. Peacock Batchelor of Divinity and Fellow of Brazen-Nose Colledge in Oxford in his Illness was strangely Afflicted and as strangely comforted as may be collected by these Despairing and Comfortable Expressions of his in the time of his Visitation compared together 1st His Despairing Expressions were such as these ' I thought I had been in a good Estate but I see it now sat otherwise for these things my Conscience lays against me First I brought up my Scholars in Gluttony while I was talking they did undo themselves And further I did unadvisedly expound many places of Scripture many times at the Table and for these I now feel a Hell in my Conscience Again I have procured my own Death by often eating like a Beast when I came jostling up and down to my Friends in the Country and now I see before my Face those Dishes of Meat wherewith I clogged my Stomach Sin Sin Sin I am uncapable of Prayers A damnable wretched c. O! how woful and miserable is my Estate that thus must converse with Hell-hounds The Lord hath cursed me I have no Grace I was a foolish glorious Hypocrite it is against the Course of God's Proceeding to save me he hath otherwise decreed he cannot I can put my Trust in God no more than a Horse I desire to believe no more than a Post than a Horse-shooe I have no more Sense of Grace than these Curtains than a Goose than that Block O! O miserable and woful the burden of my Sin lieth heavy upon me I doubt it will break my Heart Comforts They are nothing to me hold your Peace do not trouble your selves idly you vex me your words are as Daggers to my Heart To one saying Good Sir endeavour to settle your Mind he answered Yes to play with Hell-hounds I cannot desire Grace I can as well leap over the Church I fear to be damned for my Sins I cannot so much as name Jesus I had rather be in the Fire than here Cursed be the day when I took Scholars c. 2d His Gracious and Comfortable Expressions As O if God! O God give me a Spark of Grace c. O if God would give me a drop O if I had O if it would please God! I had rather than any thing in this or other three thousand Worlds I thank God he hath began to ease me O I love your Company to Dr. Aiery and Mr. Dod c. for the Graces in you O God reconcile me unto thee that I may taste one dram of thy Grace Being put in mind of that place Isaiah 45.8 11 c. he lift up his Eyes saying Take heed be not too bold look to the Foundation Lord grantme the Comfort of the Deliverance c. Blessed be God! blessed be God! blessed c. I am a thousand times happy to have such Felicity thrown upon me a poor wretched Miscreant Lord Jesus unto thy hands Lord receive my Soul Lord lift thou up the Light of thy Countenance upon me and be merciful unto me Then very weak he repeated the Lord's-Prayer twice his Belief once with a strong Voice and so slept in the Lord. The last Conflicts and Death of Mr. Tho. Peacock Published by E. B. 1646. 2. See the Story of Mrs. Joan Drake and her great Afflictions together with her subsequent Comforts in the foregoing Chapter Of Earnests of a Future Retribution of Mr. Honywood and others in the Chap. of Doubts strangely Resolved 3. Mr. Paul Baynes on his Death-Bed had many Doubts and Fears upon him so that he went out of the World with her less Comfort than many weaker Christians saith my Author Mrs. Harris Dr. Harris's last Wife though a pious Woman yet was much afflicted and delivered up to the Buffetings of Satan and such hellish Temptations that the ablest Divines were at their Wits-end to answer them and her poor self was put even beyond herself But as her Husband would often say The Difference is not great whether Comfort come a little before Death or an hour after Death See Dr. Harris 's Life 4. Mr. Richard Rothwell that bold Divine that often encountred the Devil with a Courage extraordinary yet was
their proper Offices to attend upon the Soul 's or at the least were not able to perform them when the Soul was determined to be throughly employed Sabell Ex. L. 2. T. 7. p. 91. 18. Joseph Scaliger then at Paris when the horrible Butchery and Massacre was there was so intent upon his Study of the Hebrew Tongue that he did not so much as hear the Clashing of Arms the Cries of Children the Lamentations of Women nor the Clamours and Groans of Men. Heinsii Orat. 1. p. 4. Wanley's Wonders c. L. 3. C. 41. 19. Justin Martyr would not be satisfied in his Mind 'till he had got Instructers singularly seen in all the kinds of Philosophy Stoic Peripatetick Pythagorean and Platonist Clark's Marr. of Eccles History 20. Tertullian was In omni genere Doctrine paritus Lactant. inter Latinos omnes facilè princeps judicandus Vincent Lirin Excellently versed in Physicks Mathematicks History and Civil Law Clark's Marr. of Eccles History 21. Ephrem Syrus without the help of an Instructer attain'd to an excellent Skill in the Syrian Tongue and was also a great Philosopher and a very good Orator mightily admir'd by Basil for his Learning and for Three hundred thousand Verses which he wrote much esteem'd in which Abbas Zenobias Abraham Meras and Simeon endeavour'd much to imitate him Ibid. 22. Hierom distributed his time into two parts one for Study the other for Meditation and Prayer wherein also he spent a good part of the Night he allow'd himself the least part for Sleep less for Food none for Idleness when weary of Study he prayed or sung a Psalm and then to his Study again He read over all his Library and then rubbed up his old Readings he learned most of the Scriptures by Heart and read over Commentaries upon them not pretermitting the Works of Heathens and Hereticks and collected out of the Egyptian Writers but especially he read the Works of Origen whom he called Suum His own With great Charge he learned the Hebrew Chaldee and Syriac yet in this Course he took much pleasure Ibid. 23. Gregory the Great was very exact in spending his time saying That he was to give an Account of it unto God Ibid. p. 96. 24. Bernard living privately in his Cell spent his time in Study Meditation and Prayer often saying to himself Bernard Bernard remember for what end thou camest hither He allow'd himself very little time for Sleep often complaining that all that time was lost and so sparing was he in his Diet that less Sleep was necessary he never eat nor slept to satiety yea by his rigid Abstinence he so weakned his Stomach that he was scarce able to retain Food when he had eaten it and that little he did retain served rather to retard Death than prolong Life Yet all this while he remitted nothing of his Studies and Labours but equalled the other Monks in digging the Ground carrying Wood upon his Shoulders and busying himself about meaner Services and in the Intervals of these Labours he prayed and meditated Ibid. p. 104. 25. Zuinglius used to study standing and tied himself to certain Hours which he would not omit unless necessity compelled him from his first Rising 'till Ten a Clock he employed himself in Reading Writing Interpreting the Scripture and making his Sermons after Dinner 'till about Two a Clock he conferred with his Friends or gave Counsel to such as sought it and so to his Study 'till Supper after which having walk'd a-while he busied himself in Writing Letters which sometimes held him 'till Midnight Ibid. p. 153. 26. John Picus Mirandula read over whole Libraries both of Latin and Greek Authors with a wonderful celeâity and yet culled out the most useful things s he went through them he was so versed in the Ancient Fathers as if he had made them his only Study all his Life long he was so well acquainted with Modern Writers that if any Difficulty were proposed to him out of them he could presently resolve it Concerning his Study of the Scriptures see under its proper Head Clark in his Life 27. Sir John Jeffery was born in Sussex and so profited in the Study of our Municipal Laws that he was preferred Secondary Judge of the Common Pleas and thence advanced by Queen Elizabeth in Michaelmas-Term the Nineteenth of her Reign to be Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer which place he Discharged for the time of Two Years to his great Commendation This was he who was called the Plodding Student whose Industry perfected Nature and was perfected by Experience It is said of him Nullus illi per otium dies exit partem noctium studiis vindicat non vacat somno sed succumbet oculos vigiliâ fatigatos candenetsque in opere detinet He spent no Day idly but part of the Nights he devoted to Study he had no leisure to Sleep but when surprized by it for wnat of it his weary Eyes when closing and falling by reason of his over-watching he still held to their work and compelled to wait upon him Floyd's State-Worthies p. 223. 28. Aristotle to hinder his being overtaken with Sleep he used sometimes to apply a Vessel of hot Oyl to his Stomach and when he slept he would hold a Brasen Ball in his Hand over a Basin that so when the Ball should fall down into it he might again be awaked by the Noise of it Laert. L. 5. p. 117 118. 29. Callistus the Third at Fourscore Years of AGe remitted nothing of his usual Industry and Constancy in his Studies but both read much himself and had others who read to him when he had any time to spare from the great Weight of his Affairs Plat. de Vitis Pontif. p. 320 321. 30. Jacobus Milichius a German Physician when Old Age began to grow upon him was so careful and sparing afterward of his time that no Man could find him at his own House but he was either Reading or Writing of something or else which was very rare with him he was Playing at Tables a Sport which he much delighted in after Dinner After Supper and in the Night he was at Studies and Succubrations which was the reason that he slept but little and also the cause of that Disease which took away his Life for the over-constant and the unseasonable Intentions of his Mind in his Studies was doubtless the occasion of the Apoplexy of which he died 1559. Melch. Adam in Vit. Germ. Med. p. 96. 31. Jacobus Schegkius when Aged Blind and Apoplectical had one to read to him and even then put forth most Learned Commentaries upon the Topicks of Aristotle Ibid. p. 295. 32. The Worshipful William Garaway Esq my Honoured Friend and Neighbour of Ford in Sussex now living and in the 81st Year of his Age in competent Health and great Vigour of Mind thô of excellent Natural Endowments and great Reading yet is still very inquisitive after more Knowledge careful to purchase all Books of worth as they come from
were very brave Minded and valiant Men. As for her Daughters over and besides their Happiness to marry with wise and worthy Knights so were they well Educated in Houshold-Discipline by their excellent Breeding and famous Houses of generous Nourishing Treasury of Ancient and Modern Times C. 8. p. 761. 14. Madam Margaret de Savoy Wife to the Deceased Anne de Montmorency Constable of France who had Five Children all worthily Educated and evermore most lovingly affected unto the Crown of France as being very remarkable for their Fidelity as also well provided of Honourable Estates When News was brought her That one of her Sons was dead named Mombrum whom she most dearly affected above all the rest and was slain in the Battel at Dreux fought against the French Protestants in the Year 1562 and also That her Husband being wounded was there surprized she said blessed be God as well for the bad as the good and gave him hearty Thanks not only because her Son was slain but that her Husband remained wounded and a Prisoner for the Service of the King c. Ibid. 15. Madam Katherine du Salaignat Wife to Messiere Geffrey de Saillet a brave and hardy Knight in his Life-time she sending her Sons in their very young Years to Paris for Instruction was advised by some familiar Friend to keep them as yet at home because they were but young and tender She made Answer That her Children resembled Vessels wholly new wherein if good Liquor were put at the first they would savour thereof so long as Nature lasted In like manner if Children embrace good Doctrines in their Young Age they will relish always after thereof even to Old Age. Which they cannot do being kept under the Mother's Wing as we term it where neither are like Masters or commodious Means as it is in such places where all Vertues are taught to such as will seek for them For this good Lady added That she desired rather to be without Children than that they should not be vertuous And indeed such did her Sons prove to be and good Servitors to their King notwithstanding all the partiality in France Ibid. p. 763. 16. Under this Head of Good Wives may very fitly be inserted a short Narrative of the Life of Mrs. E with whom I was well acquainted her Love to her Husband proved to be that Non-such Love which she was prest too in her Wedding-Sermon such an unpresidented Love and Tenderness she had for him that there has not been a greater Instance of Conjugal Affection on her part neither cou'd it be known which of the two were most obliging and therefore it was that once upon a very remarkable occasion she told a young Lady That he lov'd her even to an excess if such a thing cou'd be between Man or Wife This is certain if there was any Contest between 'em 't was only which of the two loved most or which of 'em was most happy in their Married State Before their Marriage there was a Day of Prayer kept in order to it and one of the Divines that prayed had this Expression Let 'em never give Ear to those that may go about even in the least thing to divide ' em Which they both promised when the Day was concluded and subscribed their Hands to a formal Agreement as to this matter to shew their hearty Consent to it This incomparable Person was Descended from very Honourable Parents and had an extraordinary Education and I may sincercly say of her as Dr. Walker did of the Countess of Warwick That there many Daughters yea all their Daughters did vertuously but she I shall therefore Draw her tho' but in little who had nothing little nothing mean but a little esteem of her own Perfections and being mean in her own Eyes She was a Person of that great Piety that when the was but in the 34th Year of her Age I sound she had kept a Diary of her Soul-concerns for above Sixteen Years Her Honoured Father has given this Character of her That of all his Children she was the only one that had never once disobeyed him in her whole Life And her Husband lately told me for he 's still living and has enjoyn'd me to conceal her Name it being contrary to her Inclinations to have any thing she ever said or writ publish'd to the World for the whole time he was married to her which was many Years she never once omitted Secret Prayer twice a Day and was for all that time as constant in Reading the Scriptures in private besides what they read in the Family Her Husband by going to Bed before her has been often wak'd out of his Sleep by the extraordinary Goings-forth of her Soul in private Devotion And as to Publick Worship she never omitted going to the Sacrament and hearing two Sermons every Lord's Day from the Sixteenth Year of her Age to the time of her Sickness 'T will be of no small use to the Reader to insert here what I find in one of her Diaries it being the Rules she walked by in the management of her whole Life and I shall first insert Her Resolutions about Marriage which I found in the Journal of her Life written with her own Hand Her own Words were these viz. What I intend to do if it please God to bring me into a marry'd State For the Choice of a Husband his Person shall be such as I can entirely love and delight in His Humour as near as I can judge suitable to mine so that we may delight in each others Company I would not have him Hasty nor Passionate no not to others A Competency of Estate so that we may live and not be beholding to Friends is all I desire For I do not nor never did reckon that the Comforts of ones Life will or doth consist in having abundance of the World I would chiefly and above all have one that doth truly fear God not only a Professor but one that is seriously Godly and whose chief Delight is as near as I can judge and learn by others in the things of God I will if I can possibly have my Judgment go before my Affection in the Choice of a Husband If it please God my Parents live to see me married I will not entertain any Discourse with any that I intend to marry without their consent and liking If I am able too keep Servants they shall be as near as I can discover and by enquiring know of others those that truly sear God at least they shall be Civilized As for Men-Servants if I should marry a Citizen I shall think it my Duty to let my Husband alone with them but if he doth neglect his Duty to them by not calling them to an Account for the Sermons they hear Reading c. If I can't perswade him to it I shall then think I may and must take some care of their Souls As for Maids I 'll before ever I hire them tell them
Things He could not endure to be put to Bed without Family-Duty but would put his Parents upon Duty and would with much Devotion kneel down and with great Patience and Delight continue 'till Duty was at an end When he had committed any fault he was easily convinced of it and would get into some Corner and Secret Place and with Tears beg Pardon of God and Strength against such a Sin He had a Friend that oft watched him and listned at his Chamber-door from whom I received this Narrative A Friend of his asked him Whether he were willing to die when he was first taken sick he answered No because he was afraid of his State as to another World Why Child said the other thou didst pray for a new Heart for an humble and a sincere Heart and I have heard thee Didst thou not pray with thy Heart I hope I did said he Not long after the same Person asked him again Whether he were willing to die He answered Now I am willing for I shall go to Christ He still grew weaker and weaker but carried it with a great deal of sweetness and patience waiting for his Change and at last did cheerfully commit his Spirit unto the Lord and calling upon the Name of the Lord and saying Lord Jesus Lord Jesââ in whose Bosom he sweetly slept dying as I remember when he was about Five or Six Years old 8. Of a little Girl that was wrought upon when she was between Four and Five Years old Mary A. when she was between Four and Five Years old was greatly affected in hearing the Word of God and became very solicitous about her Soul and Everlasting Condition weeping bitterly to think what would become of her in another World asking strange Questions concerning God and Christ and her own Soul So that this little Mary before she was full Five Years old seemed to mind the one thing needful and to choose the better part and sate at the Feet of Christ many a time and oft with Tears She was very Conscientious in keeping the Sabbath spending the whole time either in Reading or Praying or learning her Catechism or teaching her Brethren and Sisters See took great delight in Reading of the Scripture and some part of it was more sweet to her than her appointed Food she would get several choice Scriptures by heart and discourse of them savourly and apply them suitably A little before she died she had a great Conflict with Satan and cried out I am none of his Her Mother seeing her in trouble asked her what was the matter she answered Satan did trouble me but now I thank God all is well I know I am none of his but Christ's After this she had a great Sence of God's Love and a Glorious Sight as if she had seen the very Heavens open and the Angels come to receive her by which her Heart was filled with Joy and her Tongue with Praise Being desired by the Standers-by to give them a particular Account of what she saw she answered You shall know hereafter and so in an Extasie of Joy and holy Triumph she went to Heaven when she was about Twelve Years old Hallelujah 9. Of a Child that began to look towards Heaven when she was about Four Years old A certain little Child when she was about Four Years old had a Conscientious Sence of her Duty towards her Parents because the Commandment saith Honour thy Father and thy Mother And though she had little advantage of Education she carried it with the greatest Reverence to her Parents imaginable so that she was no small Credit as well as Comfort to them She would be very attentive when she read the Scriptures and be much affected with them and would by no means be perswaded to prophane the Lord's Day but would spend it in some good Duties When she was taken sick one asked her Whether she were willing to die she answered Yes if God would pardon her Sins Being asked How her Sins should be pardoned she answered Through the Blood of Christ. There were very many observable Passages in the Life and Death of this Child but the Hurry and Grief that her Friends were in buried them 10. Charles Bridgman had no sooner learned to speak but he betook himself to Prayer His Sentences were wise and weighty and well might become some ancient Christian His Sickness lasted long and at least Three Days before his Death he prophesied his Departure and not only that he must die but the very Day The last Words which he spake were exactly these Pray pray pray nay yet pray and the more Prayers the better all prospers God is the best Physician into his Hands I commend my Spirit O Lord Jesus receive my Soul Now close mine Eyes Forgive me Father Mother Brother Sister all the World Now I am well my Pain is almost gone my Joy is at hand Lord have mercy on me O Lord receive my Soul unto thee And thus he yielded his Spirit up unto the Lord when he was about Twelve Years old This Narrative was taken out of Mr. Ambrose 's Life's Lease 11. Of a poor Child that was awakened when she was about Five Years old A certain very poor Child that had a very bad Father but it was to be hoped a very good Mother was by the Providence of God brought to the sight of a Godly Friend of mine who upon the first sight of the Child had a great pity for him and took an Affection to him and had a mind to bring him for Christ It was not long before the Lord was pleased to strike in with the Spiritual Exhortations of this good Man so that the Child was brought to a liking of the things of God He would ask very excellent Questions and Discourse about the Condition of his Soul and Heavenly Things and seemed mightily concerned what should become of his Soul when he should die so that his Discourse made some Christians even to stand astonished He was greatly taken with the great kindness of Christ in dying for Sinners and would be in Tears at the mention of them and seemed at a strange rate to be affected with the unspeakable Love of Christ After the Death of his Mother he would often repeat some of the Promises that are made unto Fatherless Children especially that in Exod. 22.22 Ye shall not afflict any Widow or the Fatherless Child if thou afflict them in any wise and they cry at all unto me I will surely hear their cry These words he would often repeat with Tears I am Fatherless and Motherless upon Earth yet if any wrong me I have a Father in Heaven who will take my part to him I commit myself and in him is all my trust Thus he continu'd in a Course of Holy Duties living in the fear of God and shewed wonderful Grace for a Child and died sweetly in the Faith of Jesus My Friend is a Judicious Christian of many Years Experience who was
no ways related to him but a constant Eye and Ear-witness of his Godly Life and Honourable and Cheerful Death from whom I received this Information 12. Of a notorious wicked Child who was taken up from begging and admirably converted with an Account of his holy Life and joyful Death when he was Nine Years old A very poor Child of the Parish of Newington-Butts came begging to the Door of a Dear Christian Friend of mine in a very lamentable Case so filthy and nasty that he would even have turned ones Stomach to have looked on him but it pleased God to raise in the Heart of my Friend a great pity and tenderness towards this poor Child so that in Charity he took him out of the Streets whose Parents were unknown who had nothing at all in him to commend him to any ones Charity but his Misery A Noble Piece of Charity And that which did make the kindness far the greater was that there seemed to be very little hopes of doing any good upon this Child for he was a very Monster of Wickedness and a thousand times more miserable and vile by his Sin than by his Poverty But this Sin and Misery was but a stronger Motive to that gracious Man to pity him and to do all that possibly he could to plack this Firebrand out of the Fire The Lord soon struck in with his godly Instructions so that an amazing Change was seen in the Child in a few Weeks space he was soon convinced of the Evil of his Ways no more News now of his calling of Names Swearing or Cursing no more taking of the Lord's Name in vain now he is Civil and Respective and such a strange alteration was wrought in the Child that all the Parish that rung of his Villany before was now ready to talk of his Reformation his Company his Talk his Employment is now changed and he is like another Creature so that the Glory of God's Free Grace began already to shine in him He was made to cry out of himself not only for his Swearing and Lying and other outwardly notorious Sins but he was in great horrour for the Sin of his Nature for the Vileness of his Heart and Original Corruption under it he was in so great anguish that the Trouble of his Spirit made him in a great measure to forget the Pains of his Body Being informed how willing and ready the Lord Christ was to accept of poor Sinners upon their Repentance and Turning and being counselled to venture himself upon Christ for Mercy and Salvation he said He would fain cast himself upon Christ but he could not but wonder how Christ should be willing to die for such a vile Wretch as he was and he found it one of the hardest things in the World to believe But at last it pleased the Lord to give him some shall hopes that there might be Mercy for him The Wednesday before he died the Child lay ãâ¦ã for about half an Hour in which time be thought he saw a Vision of Angels ãâã he was out of his Trance he was in a little Pett and asked his Nurse Why she did not let him go Go whither Child said she Why along with those brave Gentlemen said he but they told me they would come and fetch me away for all you upon Friday next And he doubled his Words many times upon Friday next those brave Gentlemen will come for me And upon Friday Morning he sweetly went to rest using that very Expression Into thy Hands Lord I commit my Spirit He died punctually at that time which he had spoken of and in which he expected those Angels to come to him He was not much above Nine Years Old when he died This Narrative I had from a Judicious Holy Man unrelated to him who was an Eye and Ear-witness to all these things 13. Of a Child that was very serious at Four Years old John Sudlow was born of Religious Parents in the County of Middlesex whose great Care was to instil Spiritual Principles into him as soon as he was capable of understanding of them whose Endeavours the Lord was pleased to Crown with the desired Success so that to use the Expression of a Holy Man concerning him scarce more could be expected or desired from so little a one The first thing that did most affect him and made him endeavour to escape from the Wrath to come and to enquire what he should do to be saved was the Death of a little Brother when he saw him without Breath and not able to speak or stir and then carried out of Doors and put into a Pit-hole he was greatly concerned and asked notable Questions about him but that which was most affecting of himself and others was Whether he must die too which being answer'd it made such a deep Impression upon him that from that time forward he was exceeding serious and this was when he was about Four Years old When any Christian Friends have been Discoursing with his Father if they began to talk any thing about Religion to be sure they should have his Company and of his own accord he would leave all to hear any thing of Christ and creep as close to them as he could and listen as affectionately though it were an hour or two When he was Reading by himself in Draiton's Poems about Noah's Flood and the Ark he ask'd Who built the Ark It being answered That it was likely that Noah hired Men to help him to build it And would they said he build an Ark to save another and not go into it themselves Another Question he put was this Whether had the greater Glory Saints or Angels It being answered That Angels were the most excellent of Creatures and it 's to be thought their Nature is made capable of greater Glory than Man's He said He was of another Mind and his Reason was Because Angels were Servants and Saints are Children and that Christ never took upon him the Nature of Angels but he took upon him the Nature of Saints and by his being Man he hath advanced Human Nature above the Nature of Angels In the time of the Plague he was exceedingly concerned about his Soul and Everlasting State very much by himself upon his Knees This Prayer was found written in Short-hand after his Death O Lord God and merciful Father take pity upon me a miserable Sinner and strengthen me O Lord in thy Faith and make me one of thy Glorious Saints in Heaven O Lord keep me from this poisonous Infection however not my Will but thy Will be done O Lord on Earth as it is in Heaven but O Lord if thou hast appointed me to die by it O Lord fit me for Death and give me a good Heart to bear up under my Afflictions O Lord God and merciful Father take pity on me thy Child teach me O Lord thy Word make me strong in Faith O Lord I have sinned against thee Lord pardon my Sins I had been
a very strong Faith in the Doctrine of the Resurrection and did greatly solace her Soul with excellent Scriptures which do speak the happy state of Believers as soon as their Souls are separated from their Bodies and what she quoted out of the Scripture she did excellently and sutably apply to her own use incomparably above the common reach of her Sex and Age. That in 1 Cor. 15.42 was a good support to her The Body is sown in Corruption but it should be raised incorruptible it is sown in dishonour it shall be raised in glory it is sown in weakness but it shall be raised in power And then she sweetly applies it and takes in this Cordial Behold thus it is and thus it shall be with my poor mortal Flesh Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord because they rest from their labours and their works do follow them The righteous perish and no Man layeth it to heart and the upright are taken away and no Man regardeth it that they are taken away from the evil to come they shall enter into peace they shall rest in their Beds every one who walked in their uprightness Behold now Father I shall rest and sleep in that Bed-chamber Then she quoted Job 19.25 25 26 27. I know that my Redeemer liveth and that he shall stand at the latter end upon the earth and though after my skin worms destroy this body yet in my Flesh shall I see God whom I shall see for my self and my eyes shall behold and not another though my reins be consumed within me Behold now Father this very Skin which you see and this very Flesh which you see shall be raised up again and these very Eyes which now are so dim shall on that day see and behold my dear and precious Redeemer albeit the Worms eat up my Flesh yet with these Eyes shall I behold God even I my self and not another for me Hear last words were these O Lord God into thy hands I commit my Spirit O Lord be gracious be merciful to me a poor Sinner And here she fell asleep She died the first of September 1664. betwixt seven and eight in the Evening in the fourteenth year of her Age. 18. Jacob Bicks the Brother of Susanna Bicks was born in Leyden in the year 1657. and had Religious Education under his Godly Parents the which the Lord was pleased to sanctify to his Conversion and by it lay in excellent Provisions to live upon in an hour of distress This sweet little Child was visited of the Lord of a very sore Sickness upon the sixth of August 1664. Once when his Parents had prayed with him they asked him if they should once more send for the Physician No said he I will have the Doctor no more the Lord will help me I know he will take me to himself and then he shall help all When his Parents had prayed with him again he said Come now dear Father and Mother and kiss me I know that I shall die Farewel dear Father and Mother Farewel dear Sister farewel all Now shall I go to Heaven unto God and Jesus Christ and the holy Angels Then with a short word of Prayer Lord be merciful to me a poor Sinner he quietly breathed out his Soul and sweetly slept in Jesus when he was about seven years old He died August 8. 1664. 19. John Harvey was born in London in the year 1654. His Father was a Dutch Merchant he was piously Educated under his vertuous Mother and soon began to suck in Divine Things with no small delight The first thing very observable in him was that when he was two years and eight months old he could speak as well as other Children do usually at five years old It was his Practice to be much by himself in secret Prayer and he was careful to manage that work so as that it might be as secret as possible it might be but his Frequency and Constancy made it to be so easily observed upon which one time one having a great mind to know what this sweet Babe prayed for got into a place near him and heard him very earnestly praying for the Church of God desiring that the Kingdom of the Gospel might be spread over the whole World and that the Kingdom of Grace might more and more come into the Hearts of God's People and that the Kingdom of Glory might be hastened He was wont to continue half an hour sometimes an hour upon his Knees together He would have a savoury word to say to every one that he conversed with to put them in mind of the Worth of Christ and their Souls and their nearness to Eternity He was next to the Bible most taken with reading of Reverend Mr. Baxter's Works especially his Saints Everlasting Rest and truly the Thoughts of that Rest and Eternity seemed to swallow up all other Thoughts and he lived in a constant Preparation for it and looked more like one that was ripe for Glory than an Inhabitant of this lower World His Mother asked him whether he were willing to die and leave her he answered Yes I am willing to leave you and go to my Heavenly Father His Mother answered Child if thou hadst but an assurance of God's Love I should not be so much troubled He answered and said to his Mother I am assured dear Mother that my Sins are forgiven and that I shall go to Heaven For said he here stood an Angel by me that told me I should quickly be in Glory At this his Mother burst forth into tears O Mother said he did you but know what Joy I feel you would not weep but rejoyce I tell you I am so full of Comfort that I can't tell you how I am O Mother I shall presently have my Head in my Father's Bosom and shall be there where the Four and twently Elders cast down their Crowns and sing Halleujah Glory and Praise to him that sits upon the Throne and unto the Lamb for ever CHAP. LV. Good Parents Remarkable PArents are not only obliged to provide a temporal Livelihood a Purse and Wife and calling for their Children but especially to see that they be brought up in the Fear of God and set out in a fair way to Heaven and the Salvation of their Souls and they that do the one and not the other had better never have been the Instruments or Means of conveying them into the World for certainly 't is better for us not to be at all than be miserable for ever 1. Eusebius the Father of Hierom was very careful of the Education of his Son and his Mother was a religious Woman and therefore from his Infancy he was trained up like another Timothy in the Knowledge of Christ and the sacred Scriptures Clark 's Marr. of Eccl. Hist 2. Mariana the Mother of Fulgentius after the Death of her Husband was very careful to train her Son up in Learning causing him to be instructed in the Greek
Princes he had brought home with him he answered That he had brought home incomparable Treasure for the good of his whole Dukedom which he preferred before all his Delights and presently after he made him Bishop and Superintendant over all his Churches in that Country with an ample Salary for the same Clark's Eccl. Hist p. 190. 9. Capito was very dear to the Elector of Mentz for his rare Wisdom joyned with Piety his Elocution and Mildness of Nature so that by him he was sent upon many Embassies And February 7. he was by the Emperour Charles the Fifth endowed for himself and his Posterity with the Ensigns of Nobility under the Imperial Seal Ibid. p. 192. The Fame of Capito being spread abroad Margaret Queen of Navar and SiSter to Francis King of France sent James Faber Stabulensis and Gerard Rufus privately to him and Bucer to be informed in their Principles of Religion Ibid. p. 192. 10. Spanhemius being chosen first of all Professor of Philosophy at Geneva and then Professor of Divinity and next Rector of the University at last the Bernates consulted about drawing him to Lausanna to succeed in the Place of James à Portu they of Groning endeavoured to get him to them and the Prince Elector Palatine sought also the same at last Leiden obtained him tho' with much difficulty the Magistrates and Church of Geneva much opposing it Yet the Curators of Leiden insisted so earnestly by their frequent Letters to which were added the Request of the King of Bohemia of the Illustrious States of Holland and West-Friesland and lastly of the States-General that with much ado at length they extorted rather than obtained his Dismission from Geneva But it 's worth observation what Means they used to retain him with what Grief and Sorrow they parted with him what a Confluence of People brought him forth of the City and with what Sighs and Tears they parted with him as if in losing him they had lost a principal Member of their Body He had almost as many Friends as Acquaintance especially of those that excelled in Learning in England Vsher Selden Prideaux Morton and Twisse in France Molinaeus Trouchinus Rivet Parissaeins Beaumontius Mestrezatius Drelincourtius Bonterovius Muratus Blondellus Ferrius Pelitus Croius Vincentius Bochartus almost all of them famous for their Writings in Germany Zuingerus Vlricus Buxtorfius Crocius c. yea out of Sweden the Queen herself the Miracle of her Sex did kindly Salute him by her Bishop and by her Letters did signifie how much she esteemed him and was delighted with his Works Salmasius was his dear Friend the Prince of Orange had a singular kindness for him and to the Queen of Bohemia he was most dear Ibid. p. 503. 11. Constantine the Great at the Council of Nice when it was first opened coming in with an humble Countenance and modest Aspect all the Bishops and Ministers rose up but he continued to stand a-while at the upper end of the Hall and would not sit down 'till he had given a Sign to the Bishops to sit down also He used to kiss the hollow of old Paphnutius's Eye which he had lost for the Cause of Christ in the former Persecutions and was so tender of the Honour of the Clergy that he used to say If he saw a Bishop committing Wickedness he would rather cast the Skirt of his Gown over it than by speaking of it dishonour his holy Calling Clark in Vit. Constantin Sparsim 12. Erasmus an Ingenious Learned and Good Man when he was scarce crept out of his Shell pronounced a Panegyrick of his own Composure before Philip Father to Charles the Fifth as he came out of Spain into Germany for which he honoured him with a yearly Pension during Life King Henry the Eighth of England wrote to him with his own Hand offered him a goodly House belike some dissolved Abbey worth 600 Florins yearly and besides gave him several Tastes rather than Surfeits of his Princely Bounty Francis the French King wrote likewise unto him offering him a Bishoprick and 1000 Florins per Annum to set up his rest in France Charles the Fifth offered him a Bishoprick in Sicily made him of his Council and besides many other Expressions of his Liberality bestowed upon him a yearly Pension of 200 Florins Ferdinand his Brother King of Hungary made him a tender of 400 Florins yearly with promise to make them up 500 to profess at Vienna Sigismund as much to come into Poland and further with a Royal and Liberal Hand supplied his present Necessities Mary Queen of Hungary wrote to him often and ever with her own Hand her Bounty without question equalled her exceeding Humanity Anne Princess Veriana gave him a yearly Pension of 100 Florins Frederick Duke of Saxony presented him with two Medals one of Gold the other of Silver George Duke of Saxony with divers Ingots of Gold dug out of his own Mines and a great Drinking-Bowl of the same William Duke of Gulick imitated him in the latter but outstript him in the Capacity Adrian the Sixth to whom he Consecrated Arnobius wrote to him thrice which Grand Respects from the Pope much abated the Fury of the Friars his Enemies He Congratulated the Papacy to Clement the Seventh who in requital sent him 500 Florins and by his Apostolical Letters invited him to Rome Paul the Third had brought him into the College of Cardinals but that he was prevented by Death in the Interim he sent him a Collation to the Praepositure of Daventry which he refused saying He was now near the end of his Journey and hoped to get thither without it William Warham Arch-Bishop of Canterbury changed his Prebend into a Pension and scarce ever wrote to him but in Letters of Gold his last Token was a Gelding of whom he used to say That tho' he wanted Original Sin he was guilty of two Mortal Ones Sloth and Gluttony Cardinal Wolsey a stately Prelate yet wrote unto him Letters full of singular Humanity and besides other Remembrances bestowed on him a Pension out of a Prebend in York The Bishop of Lincoln and Rochester bountifully supplied him upon all occasions Hammond and Vrswick sent him a Brace of Geldings Polydore Virgil Money to buy a Third Cromwel the First out of his Sacrilegious Brokage at twice Thirty Angels Montjoy More Tonstal and Colet were his containual Supporters to say nothing of many others within this Kingdom Cardinal Matthaeus offered him a yearly Pension of 500 Duckets to live at Rome and sent him a Cup of beaten Gold He received another from Albert Arch-Bishop and Cardinal of Mentz of the same Metal but greater and more curiously graven with sundry Poetical Fancies Cardinal Gambegius amongst other Tokens sent him a Diamond Ring of no mean value Stanislaus Olmucensis a Silver Bowl double Gilt with Four Pieces of Gold the Coyn of Ancient Emperours The Bishop of Basil offered him for his Society half his Bishoprick which alluding to the Name he termed
from Thee that when thou shalt call me hereunto I may practise this my Resolution through Thy Assistance to forsake all that is dear unto me in this World rather than to turn from Thee to the Ways of Sin and that I will watch against all its Temptations whether of Prosperity or Adversity lest they should withdraw my Heart from Thee beseeching Thee also to help me against the Temptations of Satan to whose wicked Suggestions I resolve by thy Grace never to yield myself a Servant And because my own Righteousness is but menstruous Rags I renounce all Confidence therein and acknowledge that I am of my self a hopeless helpless undone Creature without Righteousness or Strength And for as much as Thou hast of Thy bottomless Mercy offered most graciously to me wretched Sinner to be again my God through Christ if I would accept of Thee I call Heaven and Earth to Record this Day that I do here solemnly avouch Thee for the Lord my God and with all possible Veneration bowing the Neck of my Soul under the Feet of Thy most Sacred Majesty I do here take Thee the Lord Jehovah Father Son and Holy Ghost for my Portion and Chief Good and do give up myself Body and Soul for Thy Servant promising and vowing to serve Thee in Holiness and Righteousness all the Days of my Life And since Thou hast appointed the Lord Jesus Christ the only Means of coming unto Thee I do here upon the bended Knees of my Soul accept of him as the only new and living Way by which Sinners may have Access to Thee and do here solemnly joyn myself in a Marriage-Covenant to him O blessed Jesus I come to Thee hungry and hardy bestead poor and wretched and miserable and blind and naked a most loathsome polluted Wretch a guilty condemned Malefactor unworthy for ever to wash the Feet of the Servants of my Lord much more to be solemnly married to the King of Glory but sith such is thine unparallell'd Love I do here with all my Power accept Thee and do take thee for my Head and Husband for better for worse for richer for poorer for all Times and Conditions to love and honour and obey Thee before all others and this to the Death I embrace Thee in all Thine Offices I renounce my own Worthiness and do here avow Thee for the Lord my Righteousness I renounce mine own Wisdom and do here take Thee for my only Guide I renounce my own Will and take Thy Will for my Law And since Thou hast told me that I must Suffer if I will Reign I do here Covenant with Thee to take my Lot as it falls with Thee and by Thy Grace assisting to run all Hazards with Thee verily purposing that neither Life nor Death shall part between Thee and Me. And because Thou hast been pleased to give me Thy Holy Laws as the Rule of my Life and the Way in which I should walk to Thy Kingdom I do here willingly put my Neck under Thy Yoke and set my Shoulder to Thy Burden and subscribing to all Thy Laws as holy just and good I solemnly take them as the Rule of my Words Thoughts and Actions promising that tho' my Flesh contradict and rebel yet I will endeavour to order and govern my whole Life according to thy Direction and will not allow myself in the neglect of any thing that I know to be my Duty Only because through the frailty of my Flesh I am subject to many Failings I am bold humbly to protest that unallowed Miscarriages contrary to the settled Bent and Resolution of my Heart shall not make void this Covenant for so Thou hast said Now Almighty GOD. Searcher of all Hearts Thou knowest that I make this Covenant with Thee this Day without any known Guile or Reservation beseeching Thee that if Thou espiest any Flaw or Falshood therein thou wouldst discover it to me and help me to do it aright And now Glory be to Thee O God the Father whom I shall be bold from this Day forward to look upon as my God and Father that ever thou shouldst find out such a way for the Recovery of undone Sinners Glory be to Thee O God the Son who hast loved me and washed me from my Sins in thy own Blood and art now become my Saviour and Redeemer Glory be to Thee O God the Holy Ghost who by the Finger of Thine Almighty Power hast turned about my Heart from Sin to God O dreadful Jehovah the Lord God Omnipotent Father Son and Holy Ghost Thou art now become my Covenant-Friend and I through Thine Infinite Grace am become thy Covenant-Servant Amen So be it And the Covenant which I have made on Earth let it be ratified in Heaven HENRY GEARING April 11. 1667. 16. For the Christians better Help for the keeping of this Covenant Mr. Allen in his Allarm to the Vnconverted gives this Advice about it This Covenant says he I advise you to make not only in Heart but in Word not only in Word but in Writing and that you wou'd with all possible Reverence spread the Writing before the Lord as if you would present it to him as your Act and Deed and when you have done this set your Hand to it keep it as a Memorial of the solemn Transactions that have passed between God and you that you may have Recourse to it in Doubts and Temptations Mr. Corbet in his Enquiry into the State of his Soul has these Expressions I do not cease says he to lament the more heinous Sins of my Life and cannot forbear the continual imploring of the Pardon of them I do not return again to them and I resolve never so to do I Watch and Pray and strive against all Sin but especially against those Sins to which I am more especially inclined my Conflicts are daily and am put hard to it But I do not yield up my self to any Sin nor lie down in it yea I do not suffer sinful Cogitations to lodge in me I find upon the review of my Life past according to the clearest Judgment that I can make that I have not gone backward but proceeded forward in the ways of Godliness I have been grieved that I am no more elevated in the hope of Heaven and that I cannot attain to a longing desire to be gone hence and to be there with Christ I think with my self sometimes were my Evidences clear for Heaven I would exult to be gone hence this very Hour but I find not this readiness at all times O Lord forgive my ten Thousand Talents I come to Jesus Christ who hath made satisfaction and lay this heavy Reckoning to his Account Lord forgive my Iniquity for it is exceeding great I have done what in me lies to call to remembrance all my remarkable Sins from my Childhood and Youth till now And as far as I can judge I have repented of them both generally and particularly And I now repent of them all from
Affairs 9. My Heart doth truly rejoyce and bleS God when I see or hear of the Courage of his faithful Ministers or other private Christians in opposing or withstanding the Storm of these wicked Times and upon serious deliberate Consideration I had abundantly rather suffer with them then enjoy Peace and Prosperity upon the sinful Terms of these wicked Times 10. I most of all desire and delight to hear such Preaching as is most searching and that gives most plain and practical Directions for the leading of a holy Life 11. I have the highest Esteem of and most affection are Love to those in whom I see the most hopeful Signs and Fruits of a Work of Grace in their Hearts 12. I endeavour to shun and avoid all loose and vain Company and Associate my self with those that are more solid and prositable in their Conversation for Religious Advantages 13. I humbly and heartily desire the gracious Assistance of God's most holy Spirit to discover unto me the true and real worth of my own Soul and that of all other Evils I may be preserved from Errors and Mistakes in this Business of such Weighty and infinite Concernment 14. I have often heard in many Sermons divers distinguishing Characters of true saving Grace and upon serious Reflection upon my own Soul I find that my Heart doth not totally condemn me in any of them but that God hath wrought some real tho' weak Impressions of them in me for which I humbly desire more and more Strength and Ability to Praise him in Heart and Life 15. Notwithstanding all which wherein I have truly so far as I am able exprest the Truth yet fear and tremble least my own Heart should deceive me herein and tho' I daily beg of God a renewing of an Addition to Spiritual Strength yet desire to rely only upon the free and rich Mercy of God through the All-sufficient Merits of Jesus Christ for the Pardon of my Sins and Salvation of my Soul desiring to receive him upon his own Terms as my King Priest and Prophet Mr. Albyn sent these his Evidences for Heaven to Mr. Calamy with this Letter Mr. Calamy I Humbly entreat you to Peruse and Consider the Particulars afore-written and to afford me your Judgment in Writing under your own and some other godly Ministers Hands subscribed thereunto Yours in all Christian Obligations B. A. London July 4th 1650. To which Mr. Calamy returned his Answer I Am verily perswaded from infallible Grounds out of God's Word that whosoever can own these fifteen Particulars above-mentioned in Truth and in Sincerity is a true Child of God and shall certainly inherit everlasting Life Edm. Calamy Minister of God's Word in Aldermanbury We whose Names are under Written are of the same Perswasion with our Reverend Brother Mr. Calamy above Written John Fuller Matth. Newcomen These Evidences for Heaven were delivered to me by the very Person who Transcribed them from Mr. Albyn 's own Writing which he kept by him to his Death 19. The Heavenly Instructions senthy Mrs. Lydia Carter in several Letters to her Relations which being Writ whilst she was very Young deserve a place under our present Head of Extraordinary Zeal and Devotion The Letters were Five in Number and were Directed to Benjamin Carter Jeremiah Carter her Sister Child her Aunt Child and to her Sister Desborrow all of Chesham in Buckingham-shire Mrs. Lydia Carter's Letter to her Brother Benjamin Carter Loving Brother WHen you consider how Priscilla expounded the Way of God more perfectly unto Apollos I hope you will take in good part the sincere and cordial Wishes of a weaker Vessel Providence hath set our Bodies at a great Distance yet how near and dear you are unto my Soul the Lord knows whose eternal Welfare I as vehemently desire as my own and should be unspeakably glad if as we have lain in one Mothers Belly and Bosom together we might also lie down in the same Divine Embraces of infinite Love Brother I know not whether I shall ever see your Face any more not that I speak in respect of present Sickness but in regard of the uncertain brevity of Life Man giveth up the Ghost and where is he Oh that same Expression And where is he hath often put my Soul into a wondering Frame because the Scripture saith after Death cometh Judgment Brother I humbly and ingeniously confess that I am less then the least of all those who look Heaven-ward yet that I am a bruised Reed or as smoaking Flax I cannot deny But oh Brother I would have you a tall Cedar in Religion a Pillar in the Church of God a valiant Champion for the Truth one that may attain unto the full Stature of a perfect Man in Christ. Brother believe me I blush at these Scriblings of mine yet how fain would I write unto you seeing I cannot speak with you that I might put you in mind of Eternity of Eternity that little Word of the greatest Concernment But when this thought first entred into my Heart I bewailed oh I bewailed mine own Ignorance Unbelief Inconsideration and want of Zeal and I thought you might justly smile at my forwardness in exhorting you who am so unable myself and might say Who is this that darkneth Counsel with Words without Knowledge Yet because the Widow's Mite was kindly accepted of by Christ Brother do you vouchsafe a benign Aspect upon this weak Attempt otherwise you will discourage a young Writer quite Indeed I want skill to write my Words and Words to express my Mind What shall I say Oh would to God the grave and gracious Counsels of that holy Man now in Heaven might always sound in both our Ears Shall I wish he were alive again that we might be blessed with his Fatherly Admonitions and Instructions concerning that one thing necessary Or may not we be known to be the Spiritual Children of our Father Abraham if we walk in the Steps of his Faith though he knows us not being Dead Alas alas I am sure I may speak it of my self tho one should arise from the Dead it would be nothing available unless God did bring my unsensible and unteachable Heart under the powerful Convincements of his Word which is a more sure Word of Prophecy then a ghostly Relation unto which we are all bound to take good heed Brother search the Scriptures for in them you shall find eternal Life and they testified of Christ I profess unto you I know nothing in all this World worth the knowing but a Crucified Christ and to be fully perswaded upon unquestionable Grounds of a saving Interest in him Undoubtedly the pale Horse is prancing up and down in the World upon which Death Rides and we know not how soon he may have us under his Feet But that we may escape out of the Hands of that Horsemans Page Rev. 6. ver 8. that we may so live in Christ that Death may be an Advantage to us that we may so walk in
Sermon in that place he and I walk'd together a considerable time before the People came he behaved himself reverently and very gravely in the Church during the Service stood up commonly at Prayers and always in my time wrote a Sermon after the Minister when the Morning-Service was ended he commonly invited the Minister to Dine with him who seldom refused and many others who either lived at distance as Mrs. Hanmer Sir Job Charleton's Daughter married to a Justice of Peace in that Country of else such as were poor and needy His Discourse homewards was sweet and spiritual at Table it was seasoned as well as his meat edifying and yet pleasant and taking never wild or inoffensive After Meat and Thanks returned they commonly I think constantly before departure from Table sung the 23d Psalm Sometime after when the Servants had dined he propounded to such Guests as he thought in prudence he should not be too free with to retire into the Parlour for a while till he had attended upon his Family repeated over the Sermon and prayed with them after which he returned to his Guests again and having entertained them with some short Discourse he retired a while himself and by and by called upon his Family to go to Church After Evening Service and Sermon ended he retired again till six a Clock then called for Prayers catechised took an account of Children and Servants of what they remembred at Church which accounts were given sometimes very largely and particularly sung a Psalm kneeled down to Prayers which consisted more of Praise and Benediction then at other times and at last his Children kneeling down before him to beg his Blessing he blessed them all and concluded the Service of the day with the 123 Psalm save that after Supper he retired for about half an hour more into his Study before Bed-time Sometimes after the publick Service ended at Church he gave some spiritual Instructions and Preached in his House to as many as would come to hear him and in his last Years when the Incumbents grew careless in providing Supplys for two or three neighbouring Churches and Chappels and the People cry'd out for lack of Vision he set up a constant Ministration and Preaching at home never taking any thing by way of Reward for his Pains unless with a purpose to give it away to those who were in greater necessities See more in my Christians Companion and History of all Religions CHAP. LXVI Remarkable Love of the Holy Scripture THE Sacred Scriptures were written for our Learning and contain in them such Doctrines Precepts Prophecies Promises Threatnings and Judgments as concern us all and therefore we are commanded to study the Law to search the Scriptures to meditate on the Word of God to make it our delight to talk of it to our Children and acquaint our selves with the Will of God And 't is good Advice which a worthy Divine gives us in this case In Reading Holy Scripture saith he take heed that an holy and humble Mind always bear thee company be humble and not proud sober and not curious study to obey not to dispute turn not Conscience into Questions and Controversies draw not all to Reason leave something for Faith where thou canst not sound the Bottom admire the Depth kiss the Book and lay it down weep over thine Ignorance and send one hearty Wish to Heaven Oh! when shall I come to know as I am known Go not without nor before thy Guide but let thine Eye be always toward the Lamb who only can open this Book and thy Understanding and then blessed is he that reads c. 1. Theodosius Sen. wrote out the whole New Testament with his own Hand accounting it a great Jewel and read a part of it every Day Clark in his Life 2. Theodosius Jun. learned much of the Holy Scriptures without Book and so reasoned of them with the Bishops as if himself had been an experienced Minister Clark in his Life 3. Origen when a Child was very inquisitive into the recondite meaning of the Scriptures D. Cave's Prim. Christianity 4. King Alphonsus read over the Bible Fourteen times with Commentaries 5. John Picus Mirandula addicted himself seriously to the study of Sacred Scripture and at Eight and twenty Years of Age wrote a learned Tractate of the Six Days Work of God and another of the Sabbath for the Publick Benefit of the Church he was mightily affected with the Elegancy of the Scriptures in their Original especially of Paul's Epistles which he preferred before all humane Eloquence whatsoever professing that the Writings of Tully Demosthenes c. were not to be compared with them he wrote much also for interpreting the Old Testament and reconciling seeming Differences he justified the Translation of Hierome against the Calumnies of the Jews He also defended the Septuagint Translation principally with respect to the Psalms Clark in his Life 6. Tho. Cromwel Earl of Essex in a Journey to and from Rome learned the whole Testament translated by Erasmus without Book Clark in his Life 7. Beza when about Eighteen Years old could say by Heart perfectly any Greek Chapter in St. Paul's Epistles 8. Cranmer and Ridley learnt the New Testament by Heart the former in his Journey to Rome the other in Pembroke-Hall Walks in Cambridge Fox's Martyrol 9. The Council of Trent because Bishops must be blameless exhorts that above all things every one keep Sobriety at his Table c. And because oftentimes idle Discourses are wont to arise that at the Tables of Bishops themselves the Holy Scriptures be read Decret 1. Sess 10. One of Bishop Latimer's Injunctions to the Prior and Convent of St. Mary's House in Worcester was thus Item That the Prior have at his Dinner or Supper every Day a Chapter read and to have edifying Communication of the same Hist of the Reformation by Dr. Burnet 11. Cardinal Pool in the Platform of his Reformation requires Bishops to have at their Tables the Scriptures or other good Books read mixt with pious Discourses Ibid. 12. We had the same Exercise in my time appointed by Dr. Tully then Principal of St. Edmond-Hall in Oxford viz. a Part or Paragraph of the Latin Testament read by some Servitor when we were at Dinner 13. Bishop Jewel had usually a Chapter read at Meals after which he would recreate himself with Scholastical Wars between young Scholars whom he maintained at his Table See his Life 14. King Edward the Sixth when very young and one of his Play-fellows or Servants being about to take something down that was above his reach took a great Bible to stand upon with a holy indignation reproved him for it some say he took it up and kissed it saying That it was unfit that he should trample that under his Feet which he ought to treasure up in his Head and Heart Fuller's Ch. Hist p. 424. 15. Hierom calls the Books of Kings his own because by frequent use and reading he had got them
Liquors unless now and then a Glass by way of Cordial CHAP. LXXII Present Retribution to the Devout and Praying Or Prayers answered in Kind NEver did God say to any of the Seed of Jacob seek my face in vain Our Saviour hath resolved us by the Authority of his Word the Example of the Syrophoenician Woman Mat. 15 22. And the Parable of the Importunate Widow Luke 18.2 That Prayer is no vain or fruitless Point of Devotion Let Elijah Daniel David Jesus the Apostles and all the sincere Votaries of the Church of GOD give their Suffrage in the Case 1. Alexander Bishop of Constantinople when Arius was sent for thither by the Emperour to give an Account of his unquiet Behaviour at Alexandria shut himself up in the Church and there fell to Fasting and Prayer begging of God Night and Day with Tears That if Arius were true in his Opinion he might never see the Day of his Trial but if not that God would inflict some visible Judgment upon Arius the Author of so much Mischief Arius before the Emperour subscribed and swore to the Decrees of the Nicene Council but with Fraud and Equivocation for swearing that he heartily assented to what he had written he meant only a Form of Faith which he had purposely put in his Bosom upon this the good Emperour was satisfied and commanded Alexander to receive him into his Communion This was upon Saturday but the next Day expecting to the admitted he goes out of the Palace with Eusebius and many Followers in great Pomp and Pride but by and by in the chief Marker-place of the City his Conscience accused him his Belly loosened he called for the next Jakes whither he retired immediately and there his Fundament coming out he voided much Blood together with Bowels Spleen and Liver and so died wretchedly Clark's Marr. of Eccl. History 2. St. Augustine when the Goths and Vandals were broke into Africa and besieged Hippo sitting at Table one Day with his Presbyters and the Bishops that were fled thither from other places for Refuge said to them You know Brethren that from the beginning of this Siege my daily Prayers have been That God would either free us from it or give his Servants Patience and Courage to undergo what he imposeth or to take me out of this present evil World and I believe that God will answer my desire And accordingly the Third Month of the Siege he fell sick of a Fever and died Ibid. And Dr. Jer. Tailour Life of Christ. He was very powerful in Prayers so that sometimes thereby he hath cast out Devils Clark Ibid. I have mention'd formerly in my Christian 's Companion out of his Confessions that once being extreamly afflicted with the Tooth-ach so that he could not speak by writing he requested his Friends that came to visit him to pray with and for him which they did and immediately whilst they were at Prayers his Pain ceased and his Speech was restored 3. Luther being present at the Marriage of Philip. Duke of Pomerania with Mary Daughter to the Elector of Saxony prayed for a Blessing and taking Philip by the hand said The Lord God be with you and keep your Posterity from failing but his Wife continuing barren Four Years all his Male-stock was like to be extinct yet at length by God's Blessing according to Luther's Prayer he had Seven Sons by her which wonderfully increased the Family Clark's Marr. of Eccl. Hist p. 141. 4. Mr. Hugh Latimer used constantly in his Prayers to beg That God would restore the Gospel to England once again Which blessed be God hath been granted Clark's Exam. p. 461. 5. Luther is said to be able to prevail with God at his pleasure to obtain what he list according to that of Prov. 12.2 Once praying for the Recovery of Myconius he let fall this rapturous Expression Fiat voluntas mea Let my Will be done and then sweetning it Mea voluntas Domine quia tua My Will because thine which was granted Ibid. p. 466. 6. Henry late Lord Delamer in his Advice to his Children tells them That he had observed any Morning that he had hurried over his Devotions the Day following was not prosperous and that thing which particularly occasioned him to such haste met with ill success Lord Delamer's Works p. 3. 7. A. C. 1584 near Bern in Switzârland a certain Hill in an Earthquake was carried violently over and beyond other Hills and covered a whole Village consisting of Ninety Families one Half-house only excepted wherein the Master of the Family with his Wife and Children were earnestly praying unto God This is attested by Polanus who lived in those parts Syntag. p. 841. Present Retribution to the Devout Prayers answered in kind c. 8. IF Mr. Elliot said of any Affiar I cannot bless it it was a worse omen to it then the most inauspicious Presages in the World but sometimes after he had been with God about a thing he was able successfully to foretel I have set a Mark upon it it will do well I shall never forget that when Enland and Holland were plunged into the unhappy War which the more sensible Protestants every-where had but sorrowful Apprehensions of our Elliot being in the height and heat of the War privatly asked What News we might next look for Answered unto the surprize of the Enquirer Our next News will be a Peace between the two Protestant Nations God knows I pray for it every day and I am verily perswaded we shall hear of it speedily And it came to pass accordingly There was a godly Minister of Charles-Town one Mr. Foster who with his Son was taken Captive by Turish Enemies much Prayer was made both privately and publickly by the good People for the Redemption of that Gentleman but we were at last informed that the bloody Prince in whose Dominion he was now a Slave was resolved that in his Life-time no Prisoner should be released And so the distressed Friends of this Prisoner now concluded Our hope is lost Well upon this Mr. Elliot in some of his next Prayers before a very solemn Congregation very broadly begg'd Heavenly Father work for the Redemption of thy poor Servant Foster and if the Prince which detains him will not as they say dismiss him as long as himself lives Lord we pray thee to kill that cruel Prince kill him and glorifie thy self upon him And now behold the Answer the poor captivated Gentleman quickly returns to us that had been Mourning for him as a lost Man and brings us news that the Prince was come to an untimely Death by which means he was now set at liberty Cotton Mather in his Life p. 50. 9. In 1642 One Mary Glover a Merchants Daughter in Thames-street being bewitched by one Mother Jackson who was arraigned at Newgate in London continuing every second day in most strange and dreadful Fits and Torments for about three Weeks or a Month after the Witch was condemned several Ministers and
a Staff only And now he is greatly increased in Strength feeds moderately sleeps well and his Intellects and Faculties are become exceeding clear and strong His Wife behaved herself toward him all the while he lay under this great Affliction with great Care and Affection and by an honest and industrious course of Life supported him and his Children Attested by Rich. Parr D. D. of Camerwel Tho. Gale D. D. Will. Perry M. A. N. Paget M. D. Elias Ashmole And. Needham Curate of Lambeth c. 6. In the Year 1676 about the thirteenth or fourteenth of this Month October in the Night between one and two of the Clock Jesch Claes being a Dutch Woman of Amsterdam who for fourteen Years had been Lame of both legs one of them being dead and without feeling so that she could not go but creep upon the Ground or was carried in peoples Arms as a Child being in Bed with her Husband who was a Boatman she was three times pulled by her Arm with which she awaked and cryed out O Lord What may this be Hereupon she heard an Answer in plain Words Be not afraid I come in the Name of the Father Son and Holy Ghost Your Malady which hath for many Years been upon you shall cease and it shall be given you from God Almighty to walk again But keep this to your self till further Answer Whereupon she cryed aloud O Lord that I had a Light that I might know what this is Then had she this Answer There needs no Light the Light shall be given you from God Then came Light all over the Room and she saw a beautiful Youth about ten Years of Age with curled yellow Hair Clothed in White to the Feet who went from the Beds-head to the Chimney with a Light which a little after vanished Hereupon did there shoot something or gush from her Hip or diffuse it self through her Leg as a Water into her great Toe where she did find Life rising up felt it with her Hand crying out Lord give me my Feeling now which I have not had in so many Years And further she continued crying and praying to the Lord according to her weak Measure Yet she continued that Day Wednesday and the next Day Thursday as before till Evening at six a Clock at which time she sate at the Fire dressing the Food Then came as like a rushing Noise in both her Ears with which it was said to her Stand your going is given you again Then did she immediately stand up that had so many Years crept and went to the Door Her Husband meeting her being exceedingly afraid drew back In the mean while she cryed out My dear Husband I can go again The Man thinking it was a Spirit drew back saying You are not my Wife His Wife taking hold of him said My dear Husband I am the self-same that hath been Married these thirty Years to you The Almighty God hath given me my Going again But her Husband being amazed drew back to the side of the Room till at last she claspt her Hand about his Neck and yet he doubted and said to his Daughter Is this your Mother She answered Yes Father this we plainly see I had seen her go also before you came in This Person dwells upon Princes Island in Amsterdam This Account was sent from a Dutch Merchant procured by a Friend for Dr. R. Cudworth and contains the main Particulars that occur in the Dutch Printed Narrative which Monsieur Van Helmont brought over with him to my Lady Conway at Ragley who having enquired upon the spot when he was there at Amsterdam though of a genious not at all credulous of such Relations found the thing to be really true As also âhilippus Lambergius in a Letter to Dr. Henry Moor sent this Testimony touching the Party cured That she was always reputed a very honest good Woman and that he believed there was no Fraud at all in that Business Glanvile's Saducism Triumph p. 427. 7. In this place may be accounted the strange way of curing the Struma or Scrophula commonly called the Evil which took its Derivation first of all from King Edward the Confessor and hath in after Ages been effected by the Kings of England and of France Concerning which take only this Story discoursing upon a time with Mr. Philip Caryll of Shipley in Sussex a Roman Catholick concerning Miracles done in this last Age in this Nation he produced this for an Instance That his Son being affected with that Distemper he having no Faith in the case was earnestly perswaded to address himself to King Charles the Second for a Touch of his Hand which having procured his Son was restored to perfect Health which he declared to me calling his Son into company and shewing him perfectly healed 8. Galen had a Man in Cure that had an Artery in his Ankle-bone half cut in sunder whereby he lost all his Blood before any Remedy could be applyed to him He writeth That he was advertised in his Sleep by some God or Angel that he should cut the Artery quite in sunder and the Ends would retire to each side and so lock together again When he awaked he executed what his Dream had represented to him and by that means cured the Man Treas of Ancient and Modern Times l. 5. p. 475. 9. A young Woman Married but without Children had a Disease about her Jaws and under her Cheek like unto Kernels and the Disease so corrupted her Face with Stench that she could scarce without great shame speak unto any Man This Woman was admonished in her Sleep to go to King Edward and get him to wash her Face with Water brought unto him and she should be whole To the Court she came and the King hearing of the matter disdained not to undertake it but having a Basin of Water brought unto him he dipped his Hand therein and washed the Womans Face and touched the diseased Part oftentimes sometimes also signing it with the Sign of the Cross When he had thus washed it the hard Crust or Skin was softned the Tumors dissolved and drawing his Hand by divers of the Holes out thence came divers little Worms whereof and of corrupt Matter and Blood they were full The Kings still pressed it with his Hand to bring forth the Corruption and endured the Stench of it until by such pressing he had brought forth all the Corruption This done he commanded her a sufficient Allowance every day for all things necessary until she had received perfect Health which was within a Week after and whereas she was ever before Barren within one Year she had a Child by her Husband This Disease hath since been called the Kings Evil and is frequently cured by the Touch of the Kings of England Stew's Annals p. 98. 10. Sir John Cheeke was once one of the Tutors to King Edward the Sixth afterwards Secretary of State much did the Kingdom value him but more the King for being once desperately
living in the same Family with David Wright we were Eye and Ear-witnesses of the Truth of the foregoing Particulars concerning him and in confirmation of the Verity thereof we have hereto put our Hands both Sons to Wright 's Mistress Slape Drever Thomas Drever Thomas Child Joseph Morgan Ibid. See more in the Chapters of The Existence of Good Angels and Present Retribution to the Devout and Praying c. 13. We have this Account from a credible Hand viz. That about two Years ago the Apprentice of Mr. Welby in East-Smithfield was taken Dumb but recovered by the help of a neighbouring Doctor After a few days he lost his Speech again but by the direction of a second Doctor recovered it once more but falling into a third Relapse the Physicians could give him no help About two Months the young Man had a Vision in his Dream of a Man that advised him to take the Fat of a Lamb and anoint himself therewith and apply the Heart hot to his Throat he had the same Apparition a second time upon which Physicians and Divines were consulted who thought it a Delusion of the Devil and disswaded him from it The Apparition coming the third time told him 'T was no Delusion and as a Token that it was not he should lose the Vse of his left Arm which fell out accordingly and he advised him to use the Remedy upon the â4th of August and to take the Air for a Month or it would be worse for him Upon which he went to High-Gate and applying the Remedy recovered his Speech next day and had the Use of his Arm restored Postscript to the Flying-Post Aug. 22. 1696. 14. Sozomen tells us That the Queen of Iberia being taken with an incurable Disease was miraculously restored to perfect Health by a Christian Woman at the Invocation of the Name of Christ I shall give my Reader the Story at length out of Socrates Scholasticus There was saith he a certain Godly and Devout Woman taken Captive of the Iberians a People dwelling nigh the Euxine Sea this Woman being a Captive and having her Conversation with Barbarians gave herself wholly to Godliness for she exercised very much the Discipline of Continency using a severe kind of Abstinence and applying herself wholly to fervent Prayer which when the Barbarians perceived they wondered at the strangeness of the Act. It fell out that the King's Son of very tender Years fell into a dangerous Disease the Queen after that Countrey-manner sent the Child to other Women for Physick to try if Experience had taught them any Medicine that might Cure that Malady But when the Nurse had carried the Child about to every Woman I suppose he means every neighbouring Woman that made any Profession of Skill that way and could procure Remedy of none at length he is brought to this Captive Woman who in the presence of many more Women who without the Application of any other Salve or Medicine took the Child laid her Sack-cloth upon him and said only these Words Christ which healed many will also heal this Infant When she had uttered these Words and prayed unto God for his Aid and Assistance the Child forthwith recovered and from that time enjoyed perfect Health The fame of this Act was bruted abroad among all the Barbarian Wives and at length came to the Queen's Ear so that the Captive Woman was much talked of A while after the Queen herself fell sick and this simple Woman was sent for she refused to go lest peradventure some Violence contrary to the Modesty of her Nature should be offered to her the Queen then was conveyed to her she practised the like as she had done before unto the Child the Queen is rid of her Disease thanks the Woman for the Cure but the Woman answered 'T is not my doing but Christ's the Son of God and Maker of Heaven and Earth She exhorts the Queen to call upon him and acknowledge him for the True God The King marveling at this strange Cure commanded that the Woman should be bountifully rewarded Who made Answer That she wanted no Riches but esteemed Godliness a great Treasure and that the King should receive a precious Jewel if he would acknowledge that God whom she professed with these Words she returned back the Rewards The King laid up all these sayings in his Breast the next day as the King went a Hunting the Hills and Forest where his Game lay were over-cast with dark Clouds and a thick Mist the Game was uncertain and doubtful the way stop'd and intricate the King being at his Wits end not knowing what was best to do calls upon the Gods whom he accustomed to serve but they stood him in no stead it came to his mind to think upon the God of the Captive Woman unto him he turns and cries for Help as soon as he had Prayed unto him the Cloud was dissolved and the Mist scattered and the King wondring returns home to his Wife and told what had happened Immediately he fends for the Captive Woman and after some Instructions from her turns Christian erects a House of Prayer and makes a Proclamation to his People to receive the same Faith Sozom. l. 2. c. 6. Socrat. Schol. l. 5. c. 16. Ruffin l. 1. c. 10. Theodorat l. 1. c. 23. Centur. Magd. cent 4. c. 13. Ruffinus saith The King of the Iberian 's Name was Bacurius In the Preface of a French Treatise Entituled Harmonie des Propheties anciennes avec les Modernes which was Printed at Cologn in the Year 1687 I find this very wonderful Passage which I choose to mention in this place as contributing to the Explication of them that are to follow Madam Mingot the Widow of a Chyrurgion of the City of Caen in Normandy had several unaccountable Revelations made unto her that she kept wholly secret but there was one which by a Miracle that accompanied it was put beyond the possibility of Secrecy She was afflicted with a Palsey eight or ten Years together in her Limbs which rendred her altogether Impotent and her Impotency was not the less for her being fourscore Years of Age. But one Day when she was at Prayer before the God of Heaven for the Deliverance of his Church from the Confusions then upon it in the heat and heighth of the French Persecution it was audibly said unto her Thy Prayers are heard the afflicted Church shall be speedily and gloriously delivered but it has yet something more to suffer She was commanded herewithal to make this Revelation known unto her Brethren and that they might give credit unto her Words it was added The Lord has restored thy Health and Strength unto thee She was immediately and miraculously Healed of her Malady and she walked her self and carried unto her Pastors the Account of this Revelation They wondered at the Miracle and would fain have concealed the Prophecy but the Prophecy could not possibly be hid because of the famous Miracle that attended it
who had been less guilty were forced to run the Gantlet Twenty more who had no great inclination yet had been seduced to those hellish Enterprises because they were very young were condemned to be lashed with Rods upon their Hands for three Sundays together at the Church-door and the afore-said six and thirty were also doom'd to be lashed this way once a Week for a whole Year together The number of the seduced Children was about three Hundred On the 25th of August Execution was done upon the notoriously Guilty the Day being Bright and Glorious and the Sun shining and some Thousands of People being present at the Spectacle The Order and Method observed in the Examination was thus First The Commissioners and the neighbouring Justices went to Prayer this done the Witches who had most of them Children with them which they either had seduced or attempted to seduce from four Years of Age to sixteen were set before them some of the Children complained lamentably of the Misery and Mischief they were forced sometime to suffer of the Witches The Children being asked whether they were sure they were at any time carried away by the Devil they all declared they were begging of the Commissioners that they might be freed from that intollerable Slavery Hereupon the Witches themselves were asked whether the confessions of these Children were true and admonished to confess the Truth that they might turn away from the Devil unto the Living God At first most of them did very stifly and without shedding the least Tear deny it though much against their Will and Inclination After this the Children were examined every one by themselves to see whether their Confession did agree or no and the Commissioners found that all of them except some very little ones who could not tell all the Circumstances did punctually agree in the Confession of Particulars In the mean while the Commissioners that were of the Clergy examined the Witches but could not bring them to any Confession all continuing stedfast in their denials till at last some of them burst out into Tears and their Confession agreed with what the Children had said And these expressed their abhorrency of the Fact and begged Pardon adding that the Devil whom they called Loeyta had stopp'd the Mouths of some of them and stopp'd the Ears of others and being now gone from them they could no longer conceal it for they now perceived his Treachery Glanvil's Sadduc Triumph p. 579 580 c. I am unwilling to leave this Chapter 'till I have represented the Murderous Nature of Satan and displayed the Devil in his own Colours And this I will endeavour to do in a few Instances which shall be irrefragable beyond all Exceptions and Confutation as I think these before Recorded are enough to make the Atheist bite his Nails and our Witch-Advocates scratch their Heads to find out an Evasion or Scape-hole for themselves to shelter in 7. In 1618. happened a very sad Tragedy in the Family of the Right Honourable the Earl of Rutland whose Children were Bewitched and one Murthered by the Devilish Malice of Joan Flower and her two Daughters Margaret and Philip who dwelt near Belvoir-Castle in Rutland-shire the Residence of that Noble Earl and where they were not only relieved but entertained as Cheerwomen After which Margaret was admitted to live in the Castle as a Servant-maid 'till at length the Countess had Information of some Misdemeanours they were guilty of having Notice that the Mother was a very malicious Woman and much given to Swearing Cursing and Atheistical Imprecations and that of late Days her Countenance was strangely altered her Eyes fiery and hollow her Speech fierce and envious and her whole Demeanour strange and ridiculous being much alone and having divers other Symptoms of a notorious Witch and her Neighbours reported she had Familiar Spirits and terrified 'em all with her Curses and Threats of Revenge upon the least Displeasure was done her She likewise heard That her Daughter Margaret often carried such great Quantities of Provision from the Castle to her Mother as was unfit for a Servant to purloyn and at such unseasonable Hours that it was believed they could never maintain their extraordinary Riot and Expence without robbing their Lady to maintain several debauched Fellows who frequented her Mother's House for the Love of her youngest Daughter Philip who was likewise leudly transported with the Love of one Thomas Symson insomuch as he was heard to say she had Bewitched him for he had no power to leave her though he found himself much altered both in Body and Mind since he kept her Company Such Discourses passed concerning them several Years before they were Apprehended or Convicted of which the Earl and Countess took little Notice by reason of their cunning Observance and modest Carriage toward them At length my Lord had some suspition of the Mother and estranged himself from that Familiarity and Discourse which he used to have with her for one Peak having wronged her she complained to the Earl whom she found unwilling to encourage Clamours and malicious Informations And the Countess discovering some Incivilities in her Daughter's Life and her Neglect of Business discharged her for ââing any more in the Castle yet gave her Forty Shillings a Bolster and a Bed commanding her ãâã âome Upon this the Mother being upbraided by her Neighbours and told that her Daughtââ ãâã ââurned out of Doors she cursed all that were the Cause of it and studied to Revenge herself upon that Honourable Family The Devil perceiving the malicious Temper of this Wretch and that she and her Daughter were fit Instruments to enlarge his Kingdom offered them his Service and that in such a manner as should no way terrifie them nor could thââ be suspected to be concerned appearing in the shape of a Dog Cat or Rat telling them That if they would make a Contract with him they should have their Will upon their Enemies and do them what Damage they pleased The Thoughts of doing Mischief to their Ill-willers easily induced them all to agree to his damnable Proposals and they consented to be his Body and Soul confirming their Agreement with abominable Kisses and an odious Sacrifice of Blood with certain Charms and Conjurations wherewith the Devil deceived them After this these Three Women became Devils Incarnate and grew proud in the Power they had got to do Mischief by several Spells and Incantations whereby they first killed what Cattel they pleased which so encouraged them that they now threaten the Earl and his Family who soon after fell sick with his Countess and were subject to strange and extraordinary Convulsions which they judging only to proceed from the Hand of God had not the least Jealousie of any evil Practice against them At last as Malice increased in them so the Earl's Family felt the smart of their Revenge for Henry Lord Ross his Eldest Son fell sick of a very unusual Disease and soon after died His
stay Elizabeth Clark said If they would tarry a little and do her no hurt she would call one of her White Imps and play with it in her Lap but they told her they would not allow it After which she in Discourse confest she had Carnal Converse with the Devil six or seven Years who came to her Bed three or four times a Week in the shape of a proper Gentleman with a Lac'd-band and would say Bessy I must lie with you which she never refused About a Quarter of an Hour after this Discourse there appeared an Imp somewhat like a white Dog with red Spots and short Legs which soon vanish'd she said his Name was Jamara Then another appeared like a Greyhound with long Legs which she called Vinegar Tom. She told them the next would be a black Imp and should come for Mr. Stern which came accordingly and instantly was invisible The last that appeared was like a Poll-Cat but the Head bigger She likewise confest That she had five Imps of her own and two of the Old-Beldam Anne Wests and that their Imps sucked upon each other and that Satan would never let her rest 'till she consented to kill the Cattel of Mr. Edwards of Mannintree and the Horse of one Robert Taylor Matthew Hopkins likewise affirmed That going from the House of this Mr. Edwards to his own about Ten that Night with this Greyhound the Dog suddenly gave a Leap and ran as if he had been in a full Course after an Hare and he hastning to see what it was spied a white Thing like a young Cat and the Greyhound standing a-loof off and that soon after the Imp or Kitling danced about the Dog and bit off a piece of Flesh from his Shoulder which made him come crying to his Master He also declared That coming that Night into his own Yard he spied a black Thing in shape like a Cat thrice as big sitting on a Strawberry-bed and looking steadfastly on him but going to it it leaped towards him as he thought and ran quite through the Yard and the Greyhound after it to the great Gate which it threw wide open and then vanish'd the Dog returned shaking and trembling exceedingly Mr. John Sterne confirms the aforesaid Information adding That after five Imps had appeared Elizabeth Clark said she had one more called Sack and Sugar who had been hard at work but would not be long e're he came and then he should tear Mr. Sterne And soon after she told him That it was well he was so quick otherwise her Imp had soon skipped upon his Face and perhaps had got into his Throat and then there would have been a Nest of Toads in his Belly she said likewise that she had one Imp for which she would fight up to the Knees in Blood before she would lose it Francis Mills Grace Norman Mary Philips and Mary Parsly who all watch'd with Elizabeth Clark declared upon Oath That about twelve a Clock that Night she smackt with her Mouth and beckned with her Hand and instantly there appeared a white thing about the bigness of a Car. They also saw five Imps more whom she called by the Names afore-mentioned and told them that the Old Beldam Anne West did by Witchcraft kill Robert Oakes Wife of Lawford and a Clothier's Child of Dedham in Essex both which died about a Week before She added That old West had the Wife of William Cole of Mannintree in handling and she died accordingly of a pining and languishing Disease George Turner informed upon Oath That going to see Elizabeth Clark after she was apprehended and asking her Whether she had any hand in the Drowning of one Thomas Turner his Brother who was cast away at Sea about two Years and an half before she answered That the old Beldam West raised that Wind which sunk his Hoy and that she had no Hand in it Upon these and other Informations and her Confessions Elizabeth Clark was Arraigned Convicted and Executed at Chelmsford March 27. 1645. Inform. Witches p. 6. 13. In the last place we will remove the Scene into New-England as we find a Discovery made lately and Published by the Special Command of the Governour Take it in the Words of the Author Mr. Câtton Mather WE have now saith he with horrour seen the Discovery of a great Witchcraft An Army of Devils is horribly broke in upon the place which is the Center and after a sort the First-born of our English-Settlements and the Houses of the good People there are filled with the doleful Shrieks of their Children and Servants tormented by invisible Hands with Tortures altogether preternatural After the Mischiefs there endeavoured and since in part conquered the terrible Plague of Evil Angels hath made its Progress into some other Places where other Persons have been in like manner Diabolically handled These our poor afflicted Neighbours quickly after they become infected and infested with these Demons arrive to a Capacity of Discerning those which they conceive the Shapes of their Troubles and notwithstanding the great and just suspicion that the Demons might impose the Shapes of innocent Persons in their Spectral Exhibitions upon the Sufferers which may perhaps prove no small part of the Witch-plot in the issue yet many of the Persons thus represented being Examined several of them have been Convicted of a very damnable Witchcraft yea more than one twenty have confessed that they have signed unto a Book which the Devil shewed them and engaged in his Hellish Design of Bewitching and Ruining our Lands We know not at least I know not how far the Delusions of Satan may be interwoven into some Circumstances of the Confessions but one would think all the Rules of understanding Human Affairs are at an end if after so many most voluntary harmonious Confessions made by intelligent Persons of all Ages in sundry Towns at several times we must not believe the main Strokes wherein those Confessions agree especially when we have a thousand preternatural Things every Day before our Eyes wherein the Confessiors do acknowledge their Concernment and give Demonstration of their being so concerned If the Devils now can strike the Minds of Men with any Poisons of so fine a Composition and Operation that Scores of innocent People shall unite in Confessions of a Crime which we see actually committed it is a thing prodigious beyond the Wonders of the former Ages and it threatens no less than a sort of a Dissolution upon the World Now by these Confessions 't is agreed that the Devil has made a dreadful Knot of Witches in the Country and by the help of Witches has dreadfully increased the Knot that these Witches have driven a Trade of Commissioning their Confederate Spirits to do all sorts of Mischiefs to the Neighbours Whereupon there have ensued such mischievous Consequence upon the Bodies and Estates of the Neighbourhood as could not otherwise be accounted for The Wonders of the Invisible World p. 11. 14. In the Year
witness against the Ministers of England as false Prophets and Priests of Baal All the Night after he was much troubled with Dreams about his Sins and when he awaked as he thought thereon he perceived something lighting on his Neck and giving him a great Stroke which caused much Pain and so a second third and fourth each less then other discerned something to enter into his Body which Satan suggested to be the Spirit of God like a Dove and he thought he heard a Voice within him saying Is is Day Adding twice As sure as it is Light so surely shall Christ give thee Light Two or three days after he still waited for more light and walking into his Garden he lay down with his Face to the Ground at which time his right Hand began extreamly to shake and he was in a great Rapture of Joy apprehending it to be a Figure of his spiritual Marriage and Union with Christ Then did the Power within raise him and set him on his Feet and afterwards laid him on his Back brought his Sins into his remembrance causing his Hand at every Sin to strike the Ground and he heard a Voice saying Now is such a Sin mortified Then he arose up and it was said unto him Ask what thou wilt of the Father in my name and he will give it thee Then said Gilpin What shall I ask It was answered Ask Wisdom in the first place which he did and it was answered That his Request was granted and that he should be endowed with the Gift of Prophecy and Singing Praise to God Presently after at another of their Meetings after one Atkingson had spoke and one John Audland was speaking Gilpin was drawn out of his Chair and thrown upon the Ground where he lay all Night all which time his Body and Members were all in Mortion being turned from his Back on his Belly and so back again several times making Crosses with his Legs and his Hands moving on the Ground as if he had been Writing and he heard as he thought a Voice saying That that Writing with his Hand on the Ground signified the Writing of the Law in his Heart Then were his Hands moved to his Head and he heard the Voice saying Christ in God and God in thee Which Words he was compelled to sing forth in a strange manner as also dives Phrases of Scripture then the Devil raised him up and did him be humble then brought him on his Knees again saying Stoop low low Then he was drove down the Street to a Fidler's House where his Hand was forced to knock at the Door and a Voice bid him say Behold Christ stands at the Door and knocks where entring in and taking down a Base Viol he Played upon it and Danced The Voice answering him This is not beeause I love Musick but to signifie the Joy in Heaven for thy Conversion c. Then being carried through the Town he proclaimed as he went I am the Way the Truth and the Life Once being cast upon his Back on the Ground the Voice said Thou shale two Angels to keep thee and immediately two Swallows came down the Chimney and sat on a Shelf near him whereupon he cryed My Angels my Angels which presently flew up the Chimny again though the Doors and Windows were open Then was he cartied upon his Hands and Knees out of the Door into the Streets saying He must forsake Wife Children and all to follow Christ. Thus went he up the Street till some pull'd him out of the Mire and by force carried him into his House his Wife and Family going to Bed he remained alone trembling and questioning what these strange Actions should mean whereupon his Hand was forced to take up a Knife which lay by and to point it to his Throat and the Voice said to him Open a Whole there and I will give thee eternal Life But he threw away the Knife and by his Wife's perswasions went to Bed and in the Morning he roared out now the Devil is gone out of me at which instant he and his Family heard it Thunder Shortly after the Devil came to him again and told him that it was Satan that had possessed him hitherto but now Christ was come and had cast out Satan and that now what he had done before in his Clothes in obedience to Satan he must undoe in his Shirt in obedience to Christ Whereupon he rose out of his Bed went into the Street in his Shirt 'till being stopped the Devil told him That he must be carried into the House by four Women or else for ever stand there like a Pillar of Salt c. Then four Women carried him to his Bed where he played topsey turvey from one Bed to another the Devil bidding him not to fear c. Promising him also to give him Bread of Life to Eat an Water of Life to Drink and that out of his Belly should flow Rivers of Living Water Then were his Teeth moved as if he were eating and he thought that he felt in his Belly a flowing up and down of Waters and being told that Christ's Angels should now wait upon him he saw two Butter-flies in the Window he swallowed one and put the other to his Throat which the Voice said should enter in there nothing being impossible to him that believeth Then was he forced to make Circles on the Bed whereupon suspecting that he was acted by Satan and being in great fear crying Lord what wilt thou have me to do The Devil answered It is too late for thee to cry unto God for Sentence is already passe aginst thee Hereupon he lay down in dispair but presently the Devil told him the third time That is was a white Devil that had deluded him this second time but that now Christ was come indeed and would cast him out and accordingly he thought the Devil was ejected But then all his Members fell on working as if the Pangs of Death had been upon him the Voice telling him That they were the Pangs of the New-birth and that now Chrost was New-born in him Thus he continued a whole day and the Devil told him That now he should work Wonders and cast out Devils in Christ's Name c. A while after he began again to question whether in all this he were not deluded by Satan which made him fall into great fear and then the Devil told him That all this while he had been serving him and blaspheming God and that now it was too late to repent hereupon he fell into a Despair and great Terrors when at last it pleased God to give him Repentance and Peace in his Conscience Whereupon he published a Narrative of these things for a Caution to others This was arrested under the Hand of the Mayor of Kendal the Minister School-master c. Clark's Exampl Vol. 1. C. 63. 4. A. C. 1653. Some Quakers came out of the North into Wales about Wreâham at their Meetings after long silence
went of Church leaving their only Daughter Alice at home and whilst they were there the said Alice heard a Noise in the Yard and looking out at the Window she saw a Man of a middle stature with light flaxen Hair standing at the Stable-door upon which she called out at the Window and demanded of him what he did there he returned that he came for a Horse which he borrowed of her Father She made him answer again that she knew nothing of it and that he should have none 'till her Father came home He received the Answer and went away for that day The next day her Father and Mother being gone to Sleeford Market she saw him again at the Stable-door and demanded of him as before he told her she might go look then he asked her where the Horses were she answered him as short told him he might go look Upon this he began to sooth and flatter her and gave her many softning Words going towards the Door as he spake as if he intended to go in to her which she observing she hastened and bolted the Door fast upon which he threatned her what these Threats were she cannot recal but some body knocking at the Door on the other side of the House and she understanding it was a Neighbour opened the Door and told her Neighbour all that had passed and upon it they both âan together into the Yard to see if he were there but they could not find him neither knew they which way he went After this she was quiet for some time only about two Weeks before Shrove-tide one Follet a Cobler and suspected to be the occasion of all that happened came to the House and they did set him to work moved thereto I suppose by Fear for he had threatned the Daughter but for what I cannot learn Whilst he was working he began to discourse to the Mother to this effect That her Daughter should die that Year that he had examined some Books which he had and that he understood so much by them And when he had done his Work he bid them farewel telling them He was sure they would think of Follet when they did not see him Soon after this Alice fell sick and her Mother was somewhat doubtful of her recovery but as it pleased God she was restored again to her former health and continued undisturbed 'till May the Week before Whitsuntide And them as she was drawing Water at a Well in the Yard she saw the same Person again which I first described at the House-door with a great Club endeavouring as she thought to break the Door open Upon this she called to him and as'd him what he did there upon the speaking he flung down the Club among a great many earthen Milk-pans or Panchins as they call them and with so great Violence that she could not conceive but that he had broken many of them but afterwards upon Examination she found them all whole As soon as he had done this he went away and she leaving her Pail at the Well followed him and saw him go down the Street but at the turning of the Lane lost the sight of him and could not recover it This was on Monday and she saw him every Day that Week but nothing passed between them and several times she called her Father out that he might see him but he never could On Saturday he appeared to her in a more dreadful manner at the Hall-window when she saw him she ask'd him what his business was there he told her he would speak with her She ask'd him what he had to say and desired him to speak it but he said he would not yet tell her then he shewed her a Knife and that passed between them then On the Sunday she saw him again run by the Window with a Knife in his Hand as before and she told her Father and Mother of it and they both ran out but could not see him On the Monday whilst she was Milking she saw him with his Knife as before and thus he often afterwards appeared to her especially at the Parlour-Window having opened it which had not they think been opened for many Years before and holding a Knife only sometimes it was a shorter and sometimes a longer but always bloody and so was the Hand that held it In the Week also before Whitsuntide one Richard Cosins a Youth about eighteen or nineteen Years old and then living with Goodman Medcalfe and now most commonly working for Sir William York having heard Alice describe this Man which she so often saw as he was walking towards Rocksome a little place belonging to Lessingham Parish he met a Man which he thought to he very much like the Man which she described He went home and told his Master upon which he and his Daughter walked out that way to see if they could meet him they were not gone far but the Daughter saw him and told her Father and pointed which way he went that he might see him but still as he went one way to see him the Daughter presently saw him go the contrary way so that he never could obtain the sight of him Once coming from Milking she had a good Club in her Hand and he met her and asked her what she did with that Club she being more then ordinary couragious told him she had a good mind to lay it about his Pate He made her no answer but went away Another time in July as near as they can remember Alice made her a mess of Furmety for her Breakfast in was made as she tells of new Milk which I take notice of because of what follows As soon as she had began to eat it the fore-mentioned Follet came to the Door and asked whether they had any Shooes to mend she told him she thought they had though indeed she knew of none but spake it out of fear but that her Father and Mother being gone out she knew not where they were So he went away and she returned designing to fall again to her Breakfast but found it turned to a hard Curd at which she was much surprised and resolved to set it by to shew her Father and Mother but she had no sooner turned her Back but the Dish danced about on the Table 'till it fell on the Ground and spilt all in the Floor which a Neighbours Dog as they thought coming in lick'd up The same day as she was raking Hay she was taken Lame and continued so a quarter of a Year After this she was quiet again for a while and the next time she saw him was when going behind the Barn upon some occasion she espied him standing at some distance from her and a sudden blast of Wind took her Hat from off her Head and carried it to his Feet but she was not much daunted at it but ran to him and took it up and then he disappeared One Sunday in the middle of all her Troubles as she was stooping to
of destroying herself and have had oftentimes a Knife put into her Hand to do it so that she durst not be left by herself alone and when she had considered what the Cause of it might be her Conscience did hint most her neglecting of Duties to have performed they being the Ordinances of God Thus she continued 'till two Years ago she buried her Child the which was a very great trouble to her to part with and then was she more convinced of Sin which caused her Burthen to be the greater so that she could seldom have any other Thoughts but of Desperation but the Lord keeping her by his great Mercy so that sometimes she could pray with Devotion and discerning the Lord to remove this great Trouble from her she did plainly find that those great Temptations were very much lessened the which is a great Comfort unto her Spirit Believers Experiences p. 25. CHAP. XCI Satan Hurting by Dreams That God hath made use of Dreams and Visions of the Night to awaken Men to their Duty and a Sence of the Dangers they were in is demonstrated already and it is not unreasonable to believe that the Devil can in this Case too transform himself into an Angel of Light and impose upon the Imaginations of Men by strange deluding Fancies and Idea's formed on purpose to trick their Minds into a Snare and to allure them into some Trap of either Sin or Misery that he hath laid for them 1. King James the Fifth of Scotland was a great Enemy to the Light of the Gospel which in his Days broke forth in that Kingdom viz. about the Year 1541 and out of a blind and bloody Zeal was heard to say That none of that Sort should expect any Favour at his Hands no not his own Sons if they proved guilty But not long after Sir James Hamilton being suspected to incline that way was falsly accused of a Practice against the King's Life and being Condemned was Executed Shortly after the King being at Linlithgow on a Night as he slept it seemed to him That Thomas Scot Justice-Clerk came unto him with a Company of Devils crying Wo-worth the Day that ever I knew thee or thy Service for serving thee against God and against his Servants I am now adjudged to Hell torments Hereupon the King awaking called for Lights and causing his Servants to arise told them what he had heard and seen The next Morning by Day-light Advertisement was brought him of this Scot's Death which fell out just at the time when the King found himself so troubled and almost in the same manner for he died in great extremity often uttering these words Justo Dei Judicio comdemnatus sum by the righteous Judgment of God I am condemned Which being related to the King made the Dream more terrible 2. Another Vision he had in the same place not many Nights after which did more affright him Whilst he lay sleeping he thought He saw Sir James Hamilton whom he had caused to be Executed come with a Sword drawn in his Hand wherewith he cut off both his Arms threatning also to return within a short time and deprive him of his Life With this he awaked and as he lay musing what this might import News was brought him of the Death of his two Sons James and Arthur who died at St. Andrews and Strinling at one and the same Hour The next Year viz. 1542 being overcome with Grief and Passion himself died at Faulkland in the Thirty second Year of his Age. Arch-bishop Spoteswood 's History of the Church of Scotland Clark's Mirrour Ch. 7. p. 34 35. I am not sure that these particular Instances are properly placed under this Head I leave it to my wise and judicious Reader to consider whether or no these were Divine Admonitions or Satanical Illusions Mr. Clark hath accounted them as Satanical But 't is certain the Vulgar sort of People are so fond of observing their Dreams and some pretended wise Men and Women of a superstitious Kidney do promote this Fancy extreamly and undertake to prescribe Rules for the making a Judgment upon them and by that means do no small hurt to some weak hypochondriacal and melancholick Spirits How often shall we hear them whining out their Complaints upon the Account of some late Dream in expectation of some sad Disaster or Malady that they believe with much Confidence will befall them And sometimes fretting and pining to that extremity that no Comfort will down with them 'till the Date of their Dream be fully expired And I doubt not but Comfort will down with in promoting these silly and troublesome Conceits CHAP. XCII Satan Hurting by Witchcraft ATheism and Sadducism have got such Ground in the World of late Ages that 't is no vain Vndertaking to write of Devils and the Mischief done by them to Mankind by the Mediation of a sort of People that have Familiar Communion with them To transcribe all has been writ upon this Subject by Dr. More Mr. Glanvil Mr. Baxter Scheggius Remigius Delrio Mather c. would make up a large Volume enough to confute any whose Faces are not harder than Brass and their Hearts than Iron it shall be enough to say so much as shall suffice to convince those who are industrious enough to read patient enough to deliberate and have humility and honesty enough to be serious and impartial And as for the rest Qui vult Decipi decipiatur 1. In Pinola there were some who were much given to Witchcraft and by the Power of the Devil did act strange Things Amongst the rest there was one Old Woman named Martha de Carillo who had been by some of the Town formerly accused for Bewitching many but the Spanish Justices quitted her finding no sure Evidence against her with this grew worse and worse and did much harm when I was there two or three died withering away declaring at their Death That this Carillo had killed them and that they saw her often about their Beds threatning them with a frowning and angry Look the Indians for fear of her durst not complain against her nor meddle with her Whereupon I sent saith my Author unto Don Juan de Guzman the Lord of that Town that if he took not Order with her she would destroy the Town He hearing of it got for me a Commission from the Bishop and another Officer of the inquisition to make diligent and private Enquiry after her Life and Actions Which I did and found among the Indians many and grievous Complaints against her most of the Town affirming that she was certainly a most notorious Witch and that before her former Accusation she was wont to go as she had occasion about the Town with a Duck following her which when she came to the Church would stay at the Door 'till she came out again and then would return with her which Duck they imagined was her beloved Devil and Familiar Spirit for that they had often set Dogs at
much of a white Angel which did use to forbid them what the Devil bid them to do and assure them that these doings would not last long but that what had been done was permitted for the Wickedness of the People This white Angel would sometimes rescue the Children from going in with the Witches VIII The Witches confess'd many Mischiefs done by them declaring with what kind of enchanted Tools they did their Mischiefs They thought especially to kill the Minister of Elfdala but could not But some of them said that such as they wounded would be recovered upon or before their Execution IX The Judges would fain have had them show'd some of their Tricks but they unanimously declared That since they had confessed all they found all their Witchcraft gone and the Devil then appeared very terrible unto them threatning with an Iron Fork to thrust them into a burning Pit if they persisted in their Confession X. There were discovered no less then Threescore and Ten Witches in one Village Three and Twenty of which freely confessing their Crimes were Condemned to Die The rest one pretending she was with Child were sent to Fahluna where most of them were afterwards Executed Fifteen Children which confessed themselves engaged in this Witchery died as the rest Six and Thirty of them between Nine and Sixteen Years of Age who had been less guilty were forced to run the Gantlet and be lashed on their Hands once a Week for a Year together Twenty more who had less inclination to these Infernal Enterprizes were lashed with Rods upon their Hands for three Sundays together at the Church-door The number of the seduced Children was about Three Hundred This Course together with weekly Prayers in all the Churches through the Kingdom issued in the Deliverance of the Country XI The most accomplish'd Dr. Horneck incerts a most wise Caution in his preface to this Narrative says he There is no publick Calamity but some ill People will serve themselves of the sad Providence and make use of it for their own ends as Thieves when an House or Town is on Fire will steal what they can And he mentions a remarkable Story of a young Woman at Stockholm in the Year 1676. who accused her own Mother of being a Witch and swore positively that she had carried her away in the Night the poor Woman was Burnt upon it professing her Innocency to the last But though she had been an ill Woman yet it afterwards prov'd that she was not such an one for her Daughter came to the Judges with hideous Lamentations confessing that she had wronged her out of a wicked spight against her whereupon the Judges gave order for her Execution too Thus far Mr. Cotton Mather The Truth of the Matters of Fact here related are attested in the most Authentick manner that is possible The Attestation runs thus The Reverend and Worthy Author having at the Direction of his Excellency the Governour so far obliged the Publick as to give some account of the Sufferings brought upon the Country by Witchcraft and of the Tryals which have passed upon several executed for the same upon perusal thereof we find the Matters of Fact and Evidence truly Reported and a prospect given of the Methods of Conviction used in the Proceedings of the Court at Salem Boston Octob. 11. 1692. William Stoughton Samuel Sewall The Author tells us there were in all nineteen Witches Executed one whereof was a Minister and that two Ministers more are accused That there were a hundred Witches more Imprisoned which broke Prison and two Hundred more accused and that some men of great Estates in Boston have been accused for the same Crime And lastly that those hundred now in Prison were accused by fifty of themselves being Witches some of Boston but most about Salem and the Towns adjacent The Court for the Tryal of the Nineteen Condemned and Executed was held at Salem 1692. 11. But among the rest one Martha Carrier was none of the least Notorious among the Wretches Convicted for this black Crime For to omit other Particulars several of her own Children confessed that they were Witches and that their Mother had made them so which confession they made with great shews of Repentance and much demonstration of Truth particularising Place Time Occasion Journeys Meetings and Mischiefs done by them c. which were verified by other concurring Testimonies and Effects But there was Evidence enough against her besides theirs One Foster who confessed herself also a Witch affirmed she had seen Martha Carrier at their Witch-Meetings and that it was she that had perswaded her to be a Witch adding this Circumstance of Proof That as the Devil was one time carrying them both upon one Pole to a Witch-Meeting the Pole broke and she catching hold about Martha Caerrier's Neck they both fell to the Ground and she then received a Hurt of the Fall of which she was not yet quite Cured Also one Lacy another confessing Witch testified she had once seen Martha Carrier bodily present at a Witch-Meeting in Salem Village and that she knew her to be a Witch and to have been at a Diabolical Sacrament and that she had been the undoing of her and her Children by enticing them into the Devils Snare Another confessing Witch of the same Name affirmed likewise that Martha Carrier was at a Witch-Meeting in Salem where they had Bread and Wine Administred to the and in the time of the said Martha's Tryal one Susanna Sheldon had both her hands unaccountably tied together in open Court with a Wheel-band so fast that without cutting it could not be loosed it was done by a Spectre and the Sufferer affirmed it was that of the Prisoner In fine the said Martha Carrier was the Person of whom the Confessions of other Witches and of her own Children among the rest agreed That the Devil had promised her she should be Queen of Hell Observations on the late Tryals of the New-England Witches by the Author of the Compleat Library I. FIRST 'T is very remarkable to see what an impious and impudent Imitation of Divine Mysteries is Apishly affected by the Devil whereof the Confessions of these Witches and the Afflictions of the Sufferers have informed us For the Witches affirm that they form themselves into Assemblyes much after the manner of the Congregational Churches and that they have a Baptism and a Supper and Officers among them abominably representing those of our Lord. And indeed besides these sacramental Imitations their striking down the bewitched Persons with a fierce Look and their making them rise again with a Touch of their Hand their Transportation through the Air their Travelling in Spirit while their Body is in a Trance their causing of Cattel to run Mad and perish their entring their Names in a Book their coming together at the Sound of a Trumpet their appearing sometimes clothed with Light or Fire and their clothing themselves and Instruments with Invisibility are but so many sorts
so ascended upwards that he caused one member after another to be cut off and so he died miserably Acts and Monuments 17. There was one Christopher an Unmerciful Courtier who suffered a poor Lazar to die by him in a Ditch and himself shortly after perished in a Ditch Idem 18. Laurentius Valla Censured all that wrote before him and Erasmus comes after and Censures him as much Trapp 19. A. C. 1628. A Debauch'd Fellow in Banbury in Cheshire by Name Robinson by Profession a Beat-ward following that unlawful Calling and especially upon Festivals was cruelly rent in pieces by a Bear and so died fearfully M. S. of Mr. Burghal's of Acton 20. An Attorney approving of Mr. H. Burton's losing his Ears and Cursing him with a What a Pox c. his own Ear fell immediately a Bleeding plentifully See the Chapter of Divine Judgments upon Cursing the last Example CHAP. C. Divine Judgments upon Superstition To do what is not Commanded or to insist upon little observances which are no part of Religion as if they would commend us to God is that which we commonly call Superstition Such were the ââraclites forbearance to eat of the Sinew which shruck Gen. 32.32 Gideon's Ephod the Philistines not treading on the Threshold 1 Sam. 5.5 Racher's Stealing her Father's Idols Micha 's House of Gods Worshipping in High Places The Scribes and Pharisees Traditions their frequent Washings c. and such Vnscriptural Preciseness God hath in all Ages declared himself against For who more fit to prescribe in his own Worship than himself If Men will therefore presume to amend by their own Devices and make Supplies for the Defects of Infinite Wisdom they do it to their Peril For who hath required those things at their hands 1. Observable are the Words of Holy Humble Self-denying Musculus on 1 Cor. 11. Now a-days thou shalt find very many who in very many years do not so much as once partake of this Sacrament especially the Swenckfeldians who did so reject the Ecclesiastical Communion of all Churches that they themselves had none at all When at Ausperge I once asked a Ring-leader of the Sect when he had partaken with the Church of Christ of the Bread and Cup of the Lord he expresly answered he had then abstained about twelve years from the Communion being demanded why he had so done he reply'd That he had as yet not found any Church which was inwardly and outwardly Adorned with the Gifts and Vertues of the true Spouse of Christ and therefore he did put off and deferred his Communion untill he could find such a Church rightly Settled or Ordere This Principle carried a Pious Gentleman of a good Family in England much farther Mr. Edward Grefwold shut up himself and his Children in his House and would come at no Man nor suffer any Man to come at him lest he shoud communicate with them in their sin Sustenance for him and his Children was brought unto them and put in at some hole or window but he suffered no Man to come in and minister unto them no not when his Children and himself lay sick in great misery when by Order his House was broken open for the Justices of Peace in consideration of his Case were constrained so to do two of his Children were found dead in the House and one had lain so long unburied that the Body was Corrupted and did annoy the Room the Gentleman himself sick on his Bed in woful plight He had gone through his Bible and cut out the Contents Titles and every thing but the Text it self It is very likely that if hearing the Doctrine of Grace he did communicate with them in their sins much more was guilt contracted by civil conversings and if it be tried in right Reason I cannot see how that Consequence can be avoided Now he desirous to stick to what he had learned and not to delude himself with vain distinctions as too many of the Separation do fell first into deep perplexities and then at last came unto that desperate conclusion to shut up himself and his Children Mr. H. Hickman 's Sermon at St. Aldate's Oxon 1664. p. 39 40. 2. The Superstitions of the Heathen World are Gross and Notorious the Egyptians Worshipping a dead Isis Serapis Anubis living Dogs Cats Crocodiles c. The Carthaginians Romans Scythians Gauls Indians c. Sacrificing Mens Flesh to Saturn or rather Sathan Moloch c. At Nagracut in the Great Mogul's Countrey thousands of Indians cut out their own Tongues and Offer them in Sacrifice to an Idol called Matta The Peruvians often put out their own Eyes that they may with more Reverence serve the Sun Moon and Stars this is certainly a blind Devotion Amongst the Mahometans there are a great many Superstitious Sects concerning which I have said so much in my History of all Religions that I will say no more here but only Remark to the Reader That such mufled Superstition is a Punishment to it self by producing only a wild dark confused and groundless Peace and Satisfaction to the Consciences of the Votaries 3. A. C. 1170. In the Reign of King Henry II. Thomas Becket Archbishop of Canterbury but a Rebel and Traytor to his King and Countrey being Murdered was at first obscurely buried but shortly after his Body was taken up and laid up in a most sumptuous Shrine in the Cathedral of Canterbury by his Successor Stephen Langton and by the Pope he was made a Martyr to whose Shrine People of all Degrees and from all Parts flocked in Pilgrimage and loaded it with such large Offerings that the Church round about did abound with more than Princely Riches the meanest whereof was of pure Gold garnished with many precious Stones The chiefest whereof was a Rich Gem Offered by King Lewis of France and such pressing there was to touch his Coffin and such creeping and kneeling to his Tomb that the prints of their Devotion in the Marble Stones remain to this day Yea the Church it self that was Dedicated to Christ was forced to give place to the Name of St. Thomas his Blood was almost matched in Vertue with our Saviour's and his old Shooe was devoutly kissed by all Passengers His Shrine was built about a Man's heighth all of Stone and above of plain Timber within which in an Iron Chest were his Bones The Timber-work was covered with Plates of Gold garnished with Branches Images Angels Chains Precious Stones and great Orient Pearls of inestimable value Erasmus when he was in England went to visit it but laughs at the Superstition of the Age which was so Prodigal upon a Dead Carcass when so many Living Christians were ready to Starve with Poverty and extreamly wanted the Charity of their Neighbours Erasm Colloq But in the Reign of King Henry VIII A. C. 1538. the Shrine was spoiled and the Spoils were so great that they filled two great Chests one of which six or eight strong Men could scarce carry out of the Church
and will restore it if thou wilt promise me my Life The Father being wonderfully disturbed promised that which he desired But the devilish Moor answered I know thou wilt not keep Promise with me therefore take thy Child unto thee and threw her out of the Window where she was quashed in pieces and then threw himself down headlong from the top of the House that he might avoid the Vengeance of his Master This Story was related unto Philip Count Nassau by the Secretary of the Count of Hainault 7. Anno Christi 1586. One Walsh B. B. of Ossory in Ireland a Man of Honest Life together with his two Servants were stabbed to Death by one Dulland an Irish old Soldier whilst he gravely reproved him for his foul Adulteries And the wicked Murtherer escaped away who had now committed Forty Five Murthers with his own Hand But ere long Vengeance found him out for he was by another Bloody Fellow Donald Spaniah shortly after slain himse f and his Head presented to the Lord Deputy of Ireland Camb. Clark's Mirrour Chap. 86. Ibid. 8. Anno Christi 1625. at Castleblanes in the County of Monoghan in the North of Ireland dwelt one Hugh Enratty and Lord Blaynes Bailiff who entertained a lusty Young Man into his House that was reported and strongly suspected to have committed a Murther in the Province of Leinster About a quarter of a Year after the Bailiff went abroad about his Lord's Affairs and when he was half a Mile on his way he returned home not knowing well himself what moved him so to do Entring into his House he found his Chamber-door fast barred on the inside and looking through the Wall which was made of Wattles undaubed he beheld his Guest upon his Bed and his Wife under him at which sight Enratty was so enraged that taking up a great Stone he flung it over the Wall which fell upon the Young Man's Head and dashed his Skull in pieces Presently after his former Murther came to light and the Justice of God appeared in punishing him for it when he thought himself most secure This I had from Doctor Teate upon his own knowledge Clark's Mirrour Chap. 86. Ibid. 9. Some Clothiers coming from Colebrook on a Shrove-Tuesday in the Morning through the Town of Branford as they passed by the Market-Place a certain Boy throwing with a stick at a Cock by chance hit one of them on the Foot the Man for the present finding no hurt from the stroke passeth on in his journey but before he came to London it began to pain him After he had disposed of his Horse he goes to a Cousin of his a Box-maker in Friday-street where pulling off his Boots he complained of a strange Pain in his Foot Upon which a Chirurgeon was sent for who told him 't was gangreen'd and must be cut off The Man was unwilling of so severe a Cure but would stay till Night At Night the Chirurgeon returns again tells him 't was now got into his Thigh or higher and that he was a dead Man And accordingly he died that Night but before his Death he confessed he had murder'd a Man in Gloucestershire and told whom and how and where c. viz. That he was a Lady's Steward who had bene keeping some Courts and getting in some Moneys and upon his return home this Person way-laid him and murdered and robb'd him and upon Enquiry afterwards it was found that the Boy which threw this stick at the Cock which gave occasion to this Gangreen was the Steward's Son whom he had murdered For the Family being reduced to Povery by the Death of the Father this Child was by some Friend recommended to a Place under a Tapster in Branford This Story Mr. John Lane of Horslydown-Lane Southwark doth attest to me upon the Credit of one Camping a Carpenter in Coleman-street who knew that Box-maker in Friday-street And I heard it lately reported from the Mouth of a very worthy Gentelman in the East of Sussex 10. William Writtle condemned at Maidstone Assizes for Murder mentioned in the following Chapter told a Minister that after he had murder'd Ann James going out of the Copice the Devil appared to him in the likeness of a Man and bid him go and murder the Boy And also how afterwards he saw her perfectly stand before him which made him so full of Horror that he had a Hell within him See the Narrative entituled News from Maidstone Assizes 11. Mr. Francis Cartwright clouded from his Youth with a stubborn and head-strong Disobedience to his Parents not bearing the Private and Publick Rebukes of his Minister Mr. Will. Storr of Market-Rason in Lincolnshire was at last so enraged against him that he was resolved to be revenged upon him and drawing his Sword with design only to give him some slight Wound it proved Mortal He clogg'd with guilt of Blood went for his escape to Berwick and there was apprehended but escaping thence he went for Plymouth By the way he was questioned at Warwick as suspected of Robbery thence to St. Malo's in France and in the Passage was in great danger by the Winds and Seas the Main-Mast being spent by the board So coming on Shoar in the Isle of Guernsey he passed to Rhodez and so to Roan where he lived in great misery and perplexity six Months thence to Rotterdam and Delph in Holland where Sir Fr. Vere entertained him sometime as Gentleman of his Company During his abode here he was continually sollicited to Repentnace by a Reverend Divine Mr. Trigg of Longledenham in Lincolnshire His Pardon being procured in England by his Father he is sent for home but no sooner Ship'd but the Seas swell as angry to bear his sins and the Tempest-beaten Vessel is chased by a Dunkirk Man of War No sooner is he come home but the Wife of the slain sueth out an Appeal against him and though a Ne Recipiatur was obtained for him yet his Pardon was question d at the Bench of Assize for Five Years together His Father dies He makes Submission in the Convocation-House before the Archbishop of Canterbury and other Bishops and Clergy Marries comm t s another in his own Defence is Apprehended Bailed again Imprisoned his Child is sick without hopes of Recovery the Mother weeps the Bell tolls the Grave is prepared he in Irons led to see his Departure The Child recovers most of his Estate is sold to satisfied Engagements his Money put to Usury most of it lost He goes to the Straights of Gibralter but going and returning is pursued with fresh dangers at Sea c. To conclude he now confessed to the World made his Publick Recantation with his own Hand and promised a serious Course of Reformation See the Life Confession and Hearty Repentance of âran Cartwright Gent. written with his own Hand 1621. CHAP. CXIII Murthers strangely Discovered WHEN Cain murdered his Brother Abel we do not read of any other Informer that appeared against him but the voice
at Prayer Afterwards the Minister reading Psal 91. the Man standing by him to hold the Candle somewhat presently beat out the Light whereupon the Man said Some body else must hold the Candle Presently a Knife was thrown at the Minister which fell behind him his Brother said that he saw it come Then a Chopping-knife was thrown it was supposed at the Man's Wife Whereupon the Man said These things are thrown at others for my sake At length he fell down upon his Knees and confessed That he had been an Hypocrite and a Pilfering Fellow and that he had Robbed his Master c. and he was willing to separate the Things which he had taken wrongfully from the rest and did accordingly laying forth several things which he said were none of his naming the Persons from whom he had taken them And as a great Chest was carrying forth Trenchers Platters and other things were thrown about in so dreadful a manner that one not much noted for Religion said Pray you let us go to Prayer and indeed that was their only Refuge Praying Reading and Singing Psalms And tho' divers things were thrown as a Dish several times which gave Mr. Bennet once a smart Blow on the Cheek the Man's Boots a Chopping-knife twice Crabs out of a Tub standing in the midst of the Room a Firebrand a Hammer and a Bible yet at Prayer all was quiet In the Morning after Mr. Bennet and his Brother were come away before they got home they heard that the House was on fire Mr. Bennet was thereupon sent for again in the mean time they had carried away their Goods pulled off the Thatch and quench'd the Fire yet it kindled again and again till all th Man's Goods were carried out And when these People whose House was burnt down to the Ground together with all their Goods were removed into the Field all was quiet in the second House but some things were thrown in the Field and some noise heard among the Houshold-stuff Thus these poor Creatures were distressed their House burnt down that to which they removed several times fired and they with their Goods forced to lie in the open Fields for several Days and Nights together being made a sad Spectacle to all sorts of People that came far and near to see and hear of the Business Afterwards a Fast-day was kept by four neighbouring Ministers and Sermons preached on these Texts Job 11.13 Amos 3.6 Luke 13.2 3. Isa 33.14 15 16. The Congregation was great and the distressed Persons diligently attentive After which they were not at all troubled any more in that manner See the Narrative written by Mr. Bennet and published by Mr. Clark in his Examples Vol. II. p. 594 c. See more of the Darbyshire Woman that cozen'd a Boy of some Money in the Chapter of Divine Judgments upon Cursing and of John Duncalf that stole a Bible in the Chapter of Lying and Slandering Humane Judgments are so often inflicted in these Cases and our Prisons are so loud with the Cries of poor guilty Malefactors and the Gallows so conspicuous in every Country that it is less necessary to enquire for particular Instances of Divine Vengeance CHAP. CXV Remarkable Instances of Restitution We find in the old Mosaic Oeconomy strict Laws for Restitution Exod. 22.1 Lev. 6.2 c. Prov. 6.31 Scripture Precedents 1 Sam. 12.2 3. Nehem. 6.11 12 13. Luke 19.8 In short these four Reasons are urged by a late Author for the Necessity of it God doth strictly require it be severely punisheth the Neglect of it accepts of no Service till it be performed nor is there any true Repentance or Salvation without it 1. The Turkish Religion requires it Their Law is If any Man hath any Ill-gotten Goods in his Possession he must make speedy Satisfaction and if not able he must give a Bill under his Hand to restore it so soon as he is able Smythy's Treatise of Restitution p. 10. Selymus a Turkish Emperor lying upon his Death-bed tormented in Mind Pyrrhus one of his Basha's advised him for the quieting of his Thoughts to bestow the Wealth which he had wrongfully taken from the Persian Merchants upon a Hospital for the Poor But that would not satisfie his guilty Conscience and therefore he required that the Money should be returned to the Merchants themselves saying They are without the Obedience of God that do not Repent and Restore Ibid. 2. A Person in London having stole a Child and conveyed him beyond the Seas was so mightily disquieted in his Mind that he wrote to Mr. Smythy Curate at St. Giles's Cripplegate earnestly desiring him in his next Preparatory Sermon for the Sacrament to resolve two Questions 1. Whether one that hath stolen a Child and conveyed him beyond Sea could by any means be a worthy Communicant 2. If he might what was necessary in order to it The Questions were answered But there was no more possible to be done in that case the Child being not to be found and the Parents I suppose dead but to give the Money received for the Child to the Poor Which was done accordingly Ibid. 3. A younger Brother being covetous of an Estate sold his eldest Brother and conveyed him beyond the Seas Afterwards the Remorse of his Conscience was so great that he could not rest till he had used all possible Means for the Regaining of him Merchants engaged their Factors to enquire for him He had run away from his Master herded with a wild savage sort of Brutish People who lived in Woods and Forests with a Gun or Bow to get their Living was sent back to the Possession of his Inheritance but not capable of enjoying it being for the most part raging Mad and in his Intervals nothing would satisfie him but to return again to that wild foraging course of Life Ibid. 4. Mr. Burroughs in his Sermon on that Text Psal 17.14 hath these Words These Hands of mine had once that given to them to be a means to convey to restore that which was taken wrongfully 50 Years before The Wrong was 50 Years ago and after 50 Years the Conscience of the Man troubles him and he comes to bring to restore that wrong and desires it may be conveyed to such a place where he had done the wrong Burroughs's Gospel-Conversation p. 357. 5. Mr. Samuel Fairclough at Thirteen Years of Age hearing his Godfather Mr. Samuel Ward of Haveril Preaching upon Zacheus his Restitution and oft repeating Non dimittitur peccatum nisi restituatur oblatum was so touch'd with remorse for the robbing of one Goodman Jude's Orchard together with another School-Boy one John Trigg afterwards a Famous Physician in London that after a restless Night on Monday Morning he goes to Trigg tells him he was going to Goodman Jude's to carry him Twelve Pence for his Three penny-worth of Pears of which he had wrong'd him Trigg fearing a Whipping from his Master answer'd Thou talkest like a Fool Sam God will forgive us ten
times sooner than Old Jude will forgive us once But Sam was of another Mind goes to Jude's House confesseth the Injury offers the Money Jude Pardons him but would take no Money This grieved him more upon which he goes to his Spiritual Father Mr. Ward opens to him the whole state of his Soul who in great tenderness poured Wine and Oyl into his Wounds See his Life See the Story of the Fire at Brightling in the last Chapter as also of the Staffordshire man that stole a Bible in the Chapter of Cursing c. 6. Rich. Rogers of Middle near Salop had a Bible stollen out of his Seat in the Church and a while after his Daughter one Morning found another thrown by the House Door which he made publick Proclamation of at Church and no body own'd or claim'd it From his own Mouth 7. Mr. Mackerness in the Narrative which himself hath publish'd of his own Life confesseth his stealing a Duck near Oxford and eating it and with great trouble of Spirit professeth himself willing to make four-fold Restitution if he knew to whom CHAP. CXVI Divine Judgments upon Sacrilege Simony SAcrilege is the Diversion of Holy and Ecclesiastick things to Profane and Secular use As Simeon and Levi so Theft and Sacrilege be evil Brethren saith Sir H. Spelman Theft robs our Neighbour Sacrilege God God himself hath told us That Lands and Houses may be sanctified to the Lord but things devoted are most Holy to the Lord Lev. 27.28 and not redeemable And the Charters of our Foundations of Monasteries and Abbies were generally in these words Concessi Deo Ecclesiae Offero Deo confirmavi Deo Ecclesiae c. Cook Magn. Chart. fol. 2.1.6 c. Simony is the Purchasing of what is Sacred and Spiritual with things of Secular Nature and Consideration Both which sins God hath appeared plainly against as may be made appear to any one that is acquainted with the History of the Church Uzzah died because be did but touch the Ark to save it He that prosaned the Sabbath was stoned Corah and his Company who medled with the things of the Priesthood wire swallowed up quick Ananias died Simon Magus was accursed 1. When Heliodorus was present in the Temple with his Soldiers ready to seize upon the Treasury by the Prayers of the People of Jerusalem the Lord of all Spirits and power shewed so great a Vision that he fell suddenly into an extream fear and trembling For there appeared unto him an Horse with a terrible Man sitting upon him most richly trapped which came fiercely and smote at him with his fore-feet Moreover there appeared two Young Men notable in Strength excellent in Beauty and comely in Apparel which stood by him on either side and scourged him with many stripes so that Heliodorus that came in with so great a company of Soldiers and Attendants was stricken dumb and carried out in a Litter upon means shoulders for his strength was so abated that he could not help himself but lay destitute of all hopes of Recovery so heavy was the Hand of God upon him until by the Prayers of Onias the High-Priest he was restored then he confessed that he which dwelt in Heaven had his Eyes on that Place and defended it from all those that came to hurt and spoil it Josephus 2. Sir Henry Spelman instanceth in these Examples following 1. William the Conqueror fires St. Peter's Church in York rifles the Monasteries destroyed Thirty Six Mother-Churches in Hampshire to make his New-Forest takes all their Plate Treasure Chalices c. Afterwards Robert his own Son rebels beats his Father and wounds both his Person and Honour Richard his beloved Son is killed in his Father's New-Forest by the goring of a Stag as Speed saith by ill Air as Cambden After which he burns the City of Manuts and Church of St. Mary's with two Anchorites upon which his Horse gives him a fall breaks his Belly his Body is forsaken by his Nobles and Servants but by the Courtesie of a Country Gentleman brought after three days to Caen in Normandy but there a Fire happening an Interruption is made again and afterwards Burial denyed by one that claimed the Ground At last a Composition being made he is Interred but the Town being afterwards taken by an Enemy his Bones are digged up and scattered as Chaff before the Wind. 2. His Son Henry Hunting in the New-Forest is Struck through the Jaws with the bough of a Tree 3. His Grandchild William second Son to Robert Eârl of Flanders in a War against his Uncle Henry the First received a small Wound in his Hand and died of it 4. Robert of Normandy the Conqueror's Eldest Son is disinherited by his Father imprison'd by his Brother Henry the First for 26 Years hath both his Eyes put out and is starved in Cardaff Gaol 5. William Rufus stores his Treasury by the Sale of Chalices and Church-Jewels and is afterwards killed by Sir Walter Tyrrel shooting at a Deer in New-Forest in the same place where a Church stood His Funeral was interrupted as his Fathers his Corpse brought by a âiâây lean Beast to Winchester the Cart breaks by the way he is buried unlamented and his Bones after taken up and laid in a Coffin with Canutus his Bones c. 6. Hugh Earl of Shrewsbury 11th kennell'd his Dogs in the Church of S. Frydame where in the Morning they were found mad and himself afterwards fighting with the Enemy was shot dead in the Eye 7. King John rifled the Abbeys of Peterborough and Croyland and carrying his Sacrilegious Wealth to Lincoln the Earth swallows up Carts Carriages Horses and all his Church-Spoil and all the Church-spoilers the King passing the Washes in another place receives the News together with his own Sickness whereof he died 8. William Marshal Earl of Pembroke in the Irish War takes from the Bishop of Furnes two Mannors belonging to his Church is Excommunicated dies and is buried in the Temple-Church at London The Bishop sues to the King to return the Lands the King requires the Bishop to Absolve the Earl Both King and Bishop go to the Earl's Grave the Bishop is obstinate the Earl's Son is obstinate too the Bishop tells the King Sir what I have said stands immutable the Punishment of Malefactors is from the Lord and the Curse written in the Psalms will fall heavy upon Earl William in the next Generation shall his Name be forgot and his Sons shall not share the Blessing of Increase and Multiply and some of them shall die miserable Deaths and the Inheritance of all be dispersed and scattered and all this my Lord O King you shall see even in your Days With what Spirit soever the Bishop spake it in the space of Twenty Five Years all the Earl's five Sons inherited successively all die Childless particularly one in Prison and another by a fall from his Horse 9. Cardinal Woolsey while free from Sacrilege was the Catalogue of Humane
Blessings but when by the King and Pope's leave he had dissolved Forty small Monasteries to Erect two Colleges the one in Oxford the other in Ipswich the King seizeth upon his Palace at Westminster takes the Great Seal Wealth and Liberty from him his College at Ipswich destroyed before it was built that at Oxford receives a new Name himself is arrested of High Treason and to prevent a Publick and Ignominious Death Poisons himself 10. The Cardinal in dissolving his Forty Monasteries had made use of five Men besides Cromwel whereof two fought a Duel in which one was slain and the other hanged for Murder a third drowns himself in a Well a fourth a Rich Man too lives to beg his Bread from door to door the fifth a Bishop was cruelly murdered in Ireland by Tho. Fitz-Garret Son to the Earl of Kildare Pope Clement the Seventh that gave consent to this Dissolution is forced out of his Palace besieged at his Castle constrained there to eat Asses Flesh and at last dies of a miserable Disease Cromwel Cardinal Woolsey's Servant and Successor whilst sitting at the Council-Table is suddenly Apprehended sent to the Tower and thence to the Place of Execution 11. King Henry the Eighth who engrossed Sacrilege and entailed it to Posterity is afflicted with the Rebellion of his Subjects in Suffolk Lincoln Somerset York-shire the North Ireland c. with a great Dearth falls from one sin to another in the case of his Wives the three last die Childless the Children of the two first are declared Illegitimate And though he entail'd the Crown upon his Children and they all successively wore it yet they all die Childless and his Family is extinct and not to be mentioned but with his Crimes 12. Charles Brandon was an Active Man and aiding to Henry the Eighth in the Dissolution of Monasteries and received great Rewards out of his Church-Spoils and though he had four Wives yet by the fifth of Edw. 6. the Name Title and Family of Brandon was extinct 13. The Duke of Norfolk had by the Statute of Hen. 8. c. 13. the Monastery of Sibaton in Suffolk and the Lord Cobham the Chantry of Cobham in Kent since which time my Author remarks how heavy the Hand of Justice hath fallen upon those two Families 14. The Duke of Somerset had in the First Year of Edward the Sixth procured the Dissolution of some Chantries Free-Chapels and Hospitals defaceth part of St. Paul's Church converts the Charnel-House and a Chapel by it into Dwelling-Houses destroys the Steeple and part of the Church of St. John's of Jerusalem and with the Stone begins to build his House in the Strand but the consecrated Stone becomes unsuccessful so as the Builder doth not finish his House nor his Son Inherit it Afterwards the Duke was Indicted of Felony found Guilty and suffered by a Law that was but the year before passed by himself Sir Hen. Spelman De non Temerand Eccl. Epist to the Reader p. 28-38 CHAP. CXVII Divine Judgments upon Treachery TReachery had ever an ill Name and not undeservedly for it discovers the falseness of a Man's Heart and represents him to the World as a Man to fit to be trusted For who dares lean with any confidence upon a broken Reed And accordingly though it meets often with fine Promises yet is often served in self as it serves others with poor and miserable Performances Every one is ready to retort upon the traitor in the words of the Emperor Aâno proditionem odi proditorem I love the Treachery but hate the Traitor 1. Sir Robert Carre afterwards Earl of Somerset a great Favourite of King James admitted Sir Thomas Overbury into his Favour and put him in Trust with his most Secret Employments in which he behaved himself so discreetly and honestly that afterwards when the Earl of Somerset falling in Love with the Lady Frances Howard late Wife of the Earl of Essex but then divorced or intended to be divorced consulted with Sir Thomas about it and Sir Thomas freely disswading him from the Match with words reflecting much on the Countess's Reputation and doing this upon a Principle of unfeigned Love the Earl with the Advice of the Countess resolved upon Revenge and contrived the murdering of Sir Thomas afterwards in the Tower but after a mighty Celebration of the Wedding the Murder was discovered the Instruments hanged the Earl and Countess both convicted their Estate seized only their Lives by the King's favour were reprieved Select Lives of England 's Worthies p. 286 287. Detect of the Court and State in the Four last Reigns p. 39 40 c. 2. Nicholas Keretschen Governour of Gyula in Transylvania betrayed the same unto the Turks for a great Sum of Money but when he expected the Reward he was by the Command of Solyman the Great Turk thrust into an Hogshead stuck full of Nails with the points inward with this Inscription upon it Here receive the Reward of thy Treason if thou beest not faithful to thy Master neither wilt thou be so to me And so he was rolled up and down till he died Turk Hist p. 824. 3. Banister Servant to the Duke of Buckingham in the Reign of Richard the Third upon the Promise of a Thousand Pounds basely betrayed his Lord and Master from whom he had formerly received great Favours but after this base Treachery he never had the Reward promised and beside had these Judgments befel him His Eldest Son fell Mad and so died in a Swine-stye His second Son became deformed in his Limbs and fell Lame His third Son was drowned in a small Puddle of Water His Eldest Daughter was suddenly struck with a Leprosie and himself in his Old Age was arraigned found guilty of Murther and escaped Hanging very narrowly Speed Chron. p. 97. 4. One Mr. Roscadden going on Pilgrimage according to the Blindness and Superstition of those Times his Wife had in his absence one if not more Children Whereupon at his return one John Tregoss advised and perswaded him to settle his Estate upon some Friend for the Use and Benefit of his Wife and Children lest after his Death the Heir at Common Law should turn his Wife and Children out of Doors Mr. Roscadden entertained and approved the Motion and entreated him to accept of the Trust which Request the said John Tregoss readily embraced But instead of a Deed in Trust he made it Absolute to himself and his Heirs for ever And accordingly so soon as Mr. Roscadden was dead he entred upon all his Lands and turned his Children out of Doors who for some time were fain to lie in a Hog-stye and every Morning went forth to the Dunghil and there upon their Knees imprecated and prayed that the Vengeance of God might fall upon this Tregoss and his Posterity for this so perfidious and merciless dealing And after this God's severe but righteous Judgments fell upon Tregss's Family For his Son Walter one day riding upon a Horse in a fair way
Liquor whereof one died presently and the other lingring died with great pain Clark's Examp. 10. A Man coming home drunk would needs go to swim in the Mill-Pond But is Wife and Servant knowing that he could not swim disswaded him and once by entreaty got him out but afterwards going in again he was drowned Ibid. 11. At the Plough in Barnwel near Cambridge a lusty Young Man with two of his Neighbours and one Woman in their Company agreed to drink up a Barrel of strong Beer which accordingly they did but within Twenty Four hours three of them died and the fourth hardly escaped after great Sickness Ibid. 12. A Butcher in Haslingfield having heard his Minister inveigh against Drunkenness in his Cups at the Ale-House fell a justing and scoffing at the Minister's Sermon But as he was drinking God's Hand fell upon him for the Drink stopping in his Throat choaked him that he died presently Ibid. 13. At Bungey in Norfolk three Drunkards coming out of an Ale-House in the Night swore that they thought it was not darker in Hell But as they went home one of them fell over a Bridge and was drowned A second fell from his Horse The third sleeping on the Ground by the River-side was frozen to death 14. A Bailiff of Hedley upon a Lord's-day being Drunk at Melford got upon his Horse to ride through the streets saying That his Horse would carry him to the Devil and presently his Horse cast him and brake his Neck Ibid. 15. Some drinking in an Ale-House at Harwich in the Night over against the Mayor's House Mr. Russel who sent to them to depart but they refused whereupon he went himself and took one of them by the Hand as if he would lead him to Prison who drawing his Knife ran from him and three days after was found drowned in the Sea with his Knife in his Hand Ibid. 16. At a Tavern in Breadstreet certain Gentlemen drinking Healths to the Lord on whom they had dependance one of them with an Oath drinks off a Pottle of Sack to his Lord After which he could neither rise up nor speak but falling into a sleep died within two hours after Ibid. These Five following Examples saith Mr. Beard were reported unto me by a worthy Minister and written with his own hand Mr. George Nelson Preacher of the Word of God in Godmanchester 17. Anno Christi 1629. There was one Thomas Wilson a notorious Blasphemer and Drunkard upon a small occasion being angry with his Wife not daring to proffer Violence to her drew his Knife and stabbed himself 18. The same Year one John Bone of Ely a Gentleman's Coachman being exceedingly given to Swearing and Drunkenness drinking himself Drunk on a Sabbath in Sermon-time fell from his Coach-box and was killed by his Horses 19. Anno Christi 1621 One Richard Bourne of Ely who used to Travel on he Sabbath-days seldom or never coming to Church as he went to the Market at St. Ives being drunk God's Judgment overtook him for going up the River in his Boat he fell over into the Water and was drowned 20. Anno Christi 1618. One Thomas Alred of Godmanchester being a common Drunkard was entreated by a Neighbour to unpitch a Load of Hay and being at that time Drunk the Pitch-fork slipt out of his hand which he stooping to take up again fell from the Cart with his Head downwards and the Fork standing with the Tines upward he fell directly upon them which striking to his Heart killed him immediately 21. Anno Christi 1628. John Vintner of Godmanchester a known Drunkard and Scoffer at Religion fell from the top of a Pear-Tree and brake his Neck All these are attested by sundry Godly Ministers and recorded both by Dr. Beard and Mr. Clark 22. Anno Christi 1551 -in Bohemia five Drunkards were Quaffing and Blaspheming the Name of God And the Picture of the Devil being painted upon the Wall they drank Healths to him who the Night after paid them their Wages For they were found dead with their Necks broken and quashed to pieces as if a Wheel had gone over them the Blood running out of their Mouths Nostrils and Ears in a lamentable manner Clark out of Fincelius 23. I find this Story in Philip Lonicerus p. 486. A certain Man saith he that gave himself to the study of Godliness was daily assaulted with the Temptation of the Devil who perswaded him if he would be quiet to choose one of these three Sins either to make himself Drunk or to commit Adultery with his Neighbour's Wife or to kill his Neighbour himself The poor Man thinking Drunkenness the least sin chose that but being enraged with Wine he was easily drawn to the committal of the other two for the Wine inflaming him with Lust he feared not to vitiate his Neighbour's Wife nor yet to kill her Husband coming in the mean while and seeking to be revenged of him So giving himself to Drunkenness he involves himself in all other Wickedness 24. A Knight notoriously given to Drink carrying sometimes Pails of Drink into the open Fields to make People drunk withall being upon a time drinking with Company a Woman comes in delivering him a Ring with this Poesie Drink and die saying to him This is for you which he took and wore and within a Week after came to his end by Drinking Reported by sundry Persons and justified by a Minister dwelling within a Mile of the Place 25. In Deâgy Hundred near Mauldon about the beginning of His Majesty's Reign there fell out an extraordinary Judgment upon five or six that plotted a Solemn Drinking at one of their Houses laid in Beer for that purpose drunk Healths in a strange manner and died thereof within a few Weeks some sooner and some later Witnessed to me by some that were with one of them on his Death-bed to demand a Debt and often-times spoken of by Mr. Heydon late Preacher of Mauldon in the hearing of many The particular Circumstances were exceeding Remarkable but having not sufficient Proof for the Particulars I will not report them Ibid. 26. Mr. Baxter tells us this Story for a certain Truth There is now in London saith he an Understanding Sober Pious Man oft one of my Hearers who hath an Elder Brother a Gentleman of considerable Rank who having formerly seemed pious of late Years doth oft fall into the sin of Drunkenness He oft Lodgeth long together here in this his Brother's House and whenever he is drunken and hath slept himself sober something knocks at his Bed's-head as if one knock'd on the Wainscot when they remove his Bed it followeth him Besides loud noises in other Parts where he is that all the House heareth They have oft watched and kept his hands lest he should do it himself His Brother hath oft told me and brought his Wife a discreet Woman to attest it who averreth moreover that she watching him hath seen his Shooes under the Bed taken up and nothing visible touch them
CXXX Divine Judgments upon Discontentedness Ill Nature c. FRowardness and Discontent are certainly Diagnosticks of an ill Nature and Prognosticks of an unhappy Life 'T is hardly possible where these Qualities are Natural and predominant quite to Conquer them For which Reason Bishop Jos Hall prefers Good Nature before Grace in the Election of a Wife because saith he it will be a hard Task where the Nature is peevish and froward for Grace to make an entire conquest whilst Life losteth 1. Mr. John Mackerness Born in Northamptonshire gives us under his own Hand this ill Account of himself That he was an uncleanly Child every Night almost till the Eighth or Ninth year of his Age defiling his Bed negligent of Sports and Games not respected by other Companions but often thrust out of their Society abiding at Northampton-School with much regret and discontent never returning back from his Friends to School but with great sorrow and crying wishing that his Eyes were out rather than to learn his Book there When there out of Sullenness refusing all Victuals but Bread and Butter telling his Guardian that he wanted Victuals when indeed he voluntarily pinched his own Belly to bring an Odium upon the House which occasioned his remove to Daintry from whence he returned to his Guardian without taking leave of his master He was sent afterwards to London put to a Merchant but within three Weeks an Ague seized him and made him so peevish that he resolved not to stay He was sent for down and put to Wadham College in Oxford Anno 1669. but being always of a troubled and tumultuous Spirit and that Temper improved with Discontent Slothfulness and Pride he scorned the Company he was sorted with and those that were his Seniors scorned him so that he was fain to walk by himself and lead a solitary Life He grew unsetled began to think meanly of both the Ministry and the study of Physick had a desire to be a Lawyer promising himself thereby great Riches and brave things in abundance His Guardian not giving way to it he makes a Journey to London having Sold all his Goods in the College to enter himself at the Inns of Court his Tutor once disswaded him but the second time he went privately but not speeding he returns privately to the College Next he would be a Clerk to an Uncle of his but his Guardian not approving of that that Design was broken off At the University he learnt to Drink please himself with Womens Company abuse Scripture in Jests once stole a Duck when Batchelor of Arts he bought a Horse took Money in his Pocket resolved to Travel into divers Parts of England but knew not whither steering his Course towards Nottingham he was by an Acquaintance recommended to a Doctor 's House in the Country about Twenty Miles distant from Oxford where he stayed and spent his Time in Gluttony After a quarter of a Year he would to Oxford again with great eagerness hires a Horse for the purpose but not having gone two Miles he fears the badness of the Ways and foulness of Weather and returns with design to stay at his former Quarters but turning again on a sudden resolves for Oxford again where his Companion being dead he lived more privately and studied more closely which got him some Repute and that making him proud he began to be glutted with Books and returned into the Country and thence to Oxford again and falling upon Hobbs his Book examined his Principles and so proceeded to the study of other Points of Divinity grew Proud of his Parts began to think of Practising Law Physick and Divinity together Till at last being toss'd with thousands of Thoughts going out of Oxford three times with a purpose to come thither no more before he took his Degree of Master of Arts being returned to Oxford out of the Country and told of a Man that are any manner of raw Flesh and that continually without ceasing Night or Day he was struck so deeply that he could not forbear Tears his Company that told him leaving him about Nine of the Clock he goes to his Study and stays a while to Pray but in the midst of his Prayer had a sense that God had forsaken him which made him cry out louder than usually Lord forgive me Lord forgive me a cool Numbness came over his Sinews and his Hands were clenched one Finger n another so that he could hardly sever them Upon which he calls his Bedfellow to bear him Company burns some Papers wherein he had writ some Notions that had been the occasion of his Spiritual Pride and Discontent falls into a violent heat of Blood and Sweating so that he verily thought he should die before Morning And thus toiling his Brain with variety of Conceits and Fancies his Anguish was unexpressible his Conscience clog'd Scriptures did but increase his Doubts he look'd upon fine Cloaths and Men of Repute as Reprobates condemn'd all but the Poor condemns the way he was in as too broad for Salvation The disquiet of his Mind caused a great Pain in his Head his Brains were disordered look'd about every Morning to know if he were distracted consults the Physician Physick doth no good Next he would go Preach in the Country And gather the People together to examine the Progress and Benefit made of Christ's Commands to repeat the Lord's Prayer remember his Death in the Sacrament and make Provision for the Poor and study to do all good possible But when he came he was ashamed to make any such Proposal Upon a plentiful Meal he became strangely distemper'd his Head violently pained his Teeth fixed as in the Falling-Sickness his Hands knit so fast together that he could hardly dissever them he fell low in the sight of all Men Removed to Astrop provided Oyls for his Head used Diversions as Riding Bowling Hunting fine Cloaths c. but found no Relief was troubled with Blasphemous Thoughts a coolness came upon his Head and took away his Senses One Night after some lavish Mirth and obscene Discourses used in the Day awaking in a strange kind of Discontent he gaped three or four times and conceived some unclean Spirit had entred every time of his gaping into him and that he should be shortly tormented which accordingly happened for he was no sooner fallen into a slumber but he perceived an Obduction of his Senses and was most grievously tormented in his Soul beyond all the sharpest pains of the Body Upon Prayer he was relieved but afterwards cast down more than before At the writing hereof November the last 1675. or 1676. he felt his Pains again in his sleep and continued still to think that some Evil Spirit infested him And hereupon he resolved to make this full and publick Confession to the World concluding thus Lord be merciful be pitiful unto me for I am even nothing before thee c. Heartily begging the prayers of all good Christians for him praying and entreating them
of Kings Companion of the Stars and Brother to the Sun and Moon to Constantine my Brother wishes Health Or rather let us borrow Names from the Bisnagentian King who was wont to be saluted The Bridegroom of Good Luck the God of great Provinces the King of most potent Kings Lord of all the Armies of Horse the Master and Teacher of those that understand not how to speak Emperor over three Emperors Conqueror of whatever he saw Preserver of his Conquests whom Eight Parts of the World fear a Knight to whom there is none to be compar'd a Vanquisher of every one that boasts in Strength the Hunter of Elephants Lord of the East South North West and Sea All this Peter Irricus relates Are here Titles enough If you please let us add a Series of Eulogies which the Soldan sets before his Epistles in this order Omnipotent Salmander before Carthage Lord of Jordan Lord of the East Lord of Bethlehem Lord of Paradise Praefect of Hell Supremest Emperor of Constantinople Lord of the Dry Fig the Lord by whom the Sun and Moon steer their course Protector of John the first Priest Emperor King of Kings Lord of the Christians Jews Turks the God's Friend In a Style not much unlike to this Solyman wrote to our Caesar To Charles the Fifth always most August Emperor Solyman his Contemporary sprung from the Victorious and most Noble Family of the Ottomans Emperor of Trebizond and Constantinople Lord of the World and Conqueror of the Earth c. What wou'd ye have more O truly Splendid Misery O Ashes and Nothing O Vanity of Vanity Most shameful is that Ignorance when Man forgets himself to be Man Wouldst thou have an Abstract an Epitome of all Humane Life Daniel the Archbishop and Elector of Mentz in Germany in a little Book of Prayers wrote with his own Hand these Precepts of Living 1. Life short 2. Beauty deceitful 3. Money flies away 4. Empire envy'd 5. War pernicious 6. Victory doubtful 7. Friendship fallacious 8. Old Age miserable 9. Death happiness 10. Wisdom Fame Eternal That Heavenly Wisdom that brings us to Kingdoms never destitute never to be invaded eternal A Nation bordering upon the Thracians and in Customs agreeing with them has this one peculiar to themselves That when an Infant is born the Relations sitting about it weeping and wailing enumerate the Miseries which the Child is to endure On the other side when a Man dies they bury him with Joy and Exultation recounting from how many Miseries he is deliver'd Deservedly this Nation claims to it self the Applaute of Wisdom who celebrate the Birth of Man with Tears and his Funeral with Pomp and Gladness Elegantly answered Laeâius that Wise Man to a certain Person saying I am Sixty Years of Age. Thou callest these Sixty answered he which thou hast not Neither what is past nor what is to come is thine We depend upon a point of flying Time and it is the part of a great Man to have been moderate Plato was of Opinion that any Man became so much the wiser by how much the more lively he considered Death Therefore he gave this Law to his Disciples studious in Philosophy that when they went a Journey they should never cover their Feet whereby that wise Man insinuated that the end of Life was always to be thought on Nicholas Christophorus Radzivile Prince of Poland affirms that in Egypt they who excelled others in Prudence and Age were wont to carry the long Bones of dead Men carved out of Wood or Ebony shew them one to another and thereby exhort one another to Contemplation They also introduce the Remembrance of Death at their Tables and conclude their Banquets with this sad Sentence Memento Mori Remember to Die Caleph King of the Tartars in the City of Bagdat upon a Festival Day which they call Ramadan being resolved to shew himself to the People rode forth upon a Mule clad in Vestments that glistered with Gold Silver and precious Stones but over his Tulipan he wore a black Veil signifying that all his Pomp was one day to be clouded by the shades of Death Justinian the Emperor being dead a Coverlet was thrown over him wherein were wrought in Phrygian Work the Essigies and Figures of the Vanquished Cities and Barbarous Kings whom he had overcome Behold the Image of Death among Pageants Scaffolds Triumphs and Victories Death plays with Empires and knocks as well at the Towers of Kings as at the Cottages of the Poor Pope Martin the Fifth had this Symbol of a speaking Picture or of silent Poesie Upon a Funeral Pile kindled and ready to burn lay the Popes Triple Crown the Cardinals Hat the Archbishops Cap the Emperors Diadem the Kings Crown the Ducal Cap and Sword with this Motto Sic omnis gloria Mundi Thus all the Glory of the World I cannot but approve the Answer of a certain Mariner who being ask'd where his Father dy'd In the Sea said he And when the other ask'd him the same Question concerning his Grandfather his Great Grandfather and his Great Great Grandfather the Mariner still returned him the same Answer Then inferred the other And dost not thou fear to go to Sea To which the Seaman waving a Reply And where did your Father die In his Bed said the other where your Father your Grandfather and the rest of your Ancestors They all said the other died in their Beds Then said the Mariner And do not you fear to go to Bed so Fatal to all your Predecessors Very Elegantly and somewhat above a Sailor's Genius John Patriarch of Alexandria who took his Name from giving Alms while he was living and in health caused his Monument to be built but not to be finished for this Reason that upon Solemn Days when he performed Divine Service he might be put in mind by some of the Clergy in these Terms Sir your Monument is yet unfinished command it to be finished for you know not when the Hour may come When the Emperor of the East was newly chosen no Person had liberty to speak to him before the Stone-cutter had shewed him several sorts of Marble and asked him of which his Majesty would be pleased to have his Monument made What was the meaning of this but only to intimate these Words O Emperor exalt not thy self thou art but a Man thou shalt die like the meanest of Beggars therefore so govern thy Kingdom which thou art to lose that thou may'st gain an Eternal Kingdom Domitian the Emperor gave a Banquet to the Chief of the Senate and the Order of Knighthood after this manner He hung his House all with Mourning the Roofs Walls Pavements Seats were all covered with black bespeaking nothing but sorrow Into this Funeral Dining-room were all the Guests introduced by Night without any Attendants By each was placed a Bier with every one his Name inscribed upon it with such Candles as they were wont to burn in their Monuments They that waited were dad in black
Basil the Great lying at the last period of Life after he had piously instructed his own Friends breathed out his Soul with these last words Lord into thy Hands I commend my Spirit Cardan relates of a Man in Milan who having in Sixty Years been never without the Walls yet when the Duke hearing thereof sent him peremptory Command never to go out of the Gates during Life He that before had no inclination to do so yet soon died of Grief to be denied the Liberty of doing it Chetwinds Hist Collections The Customs of several Nations in the Burial of their Dead Many Persons 1. Kiss and kindly Salute their dead Friends and Relations to shew the natural tenderness and love they had for the deceased but this Custom is now quite abolished with us in many places though this Peactice ought not to be altogether discommended 2. As for the usage that is in some Countries of washing the Dead St. Chrysostom tells us that it was derived at first from the Person of our Lord and Saviour whose precious Body was washed as soon as they took it down from the Cross And we read in the Ninth Chapter of the Acts of the Apostles that a Woman of Joppa called Tabitha whom St. Peter restored to Life had been wash'd before she was laid out for the Grave The Indians burn their Dead 3. The Custom of Perfuming and Embalming the Corps hath in our days been especially in England much observed And indeed the very reason why the Primitive Christians were so careful to Perfume the Dead was because they regarded them as so many Members of the Mystical Body of the Redeemer of the World Tertullian in his Apology upbraiding the Heathens with the vast Expences of sweet Scents and Perfumes consumed in the Temples tells them that those Odours would be better employed in Perfuming and Embalming the Bodies of Christians and their dear Friends departed At the Canary Islands they bury their Dead with a Bottle of Wine standing by them 4. As concerning the manner of Apparelling the Dead all Christians use not the same Practice for some do only cover them with a large Winding-sheet as they do in France And others dress them in the very same Cloaths they were wont to wear as in Italy and several other places And others dress them and lay them in their Coffin in a white Shirt a clean Cap and sometimes as a late Act of Parliament enjoyns in Flannel this is the Custom in England The Chinese always before they bury their Dead if he was a Married Man bring him to his Wife that so she might first kiss him and bid him farewel The Method that ought to be observed in Funeral Processions for most Ranks ad Degrees of Men. First Children of the Hospital Two Conductors Poor Men. Gentlemens Servants in Cloaks Gentlemen in Cloaks Gentlemen in Gowns Aldermen in Black The Preacher A Penon of his own Arms Helm and Crest The Coat of Arms. Chief Mourners Two Assistants Aldermen not in Black Master of the Company if c. Master of the Hospital Then all Gentlemen not in Black Neighbours and others I might here enlarge upon Mourning for and the Ancient Customs and Manners of Burying the Dead in all Nations throughout all the habitable World The Ancient Romans did use them that were dead after two manners and they had two kinds of Obsequies the first and most Ancient was to cover the dead with Earth and to bury them as we do the other to burn their Bodies but this manner did not continue long Numa Pompilius was the Inventer of Obsequies and he instituted a High-Priest who had the Charge The first Honour which they used to perform in the Obsequies of Famous Persons was to commend the Party by an Oration Valerius Publicola made a Funeral Oration on the Death and in the Praise of Brutus In like manner Julius Casar being but Twelve Years old commended his Grandfather and Tiberius at the Age of Nine Years praised his Father The second Honour was to make Sword players to Fight Marcus and Decius Sons to Junius Brutus were the first that did practise this in Honour of their Father The third Honour was to make a Feast of Magnificent Furnishment The fourth was a distribution of Meat to all the common People And such a I have said before as could not be buried with the like and so great Pomp for the Expences were insupportable were buried in the Night-time by the Vespiliones cloathed all in white who carried the dead Body to his Grave They had likewise an Order that within some while after the Obsequies they would strew divers Flowers nd sweet Odours upon the Sepulchre as the Roman People did upon the Funeral Monument of Scipio And also they accustomed Yearly to Garnish Deck and Adorn the Tombs or Graves of the Dead with Posies Crowns and Garlands of all sorts of Flowers Husbands saith St. Jerom ad Pammachium were wont to strew spread or scatter over and upon the Graves and Sepulchres of their deceased dear Wives Violers Roses Lilies Hyacinths and divers Purple Flowers by which Vxorious Office they did mitigate and lessen the grief of their Hearts conceived by the loss of their Loving Bedfellows The like expression of Mutual Love Wives shewed to their buried Husbands Now above all Flowers in these Ceremonious Observances the Rose was in greatest request and had the sole preheminence as Kirman relates The Ancient Ethnicks did hold the springing of Flowers from the Grave of a deceased Friend as an Argument of his Happiness and it was their universal wish That the Tombâstones of their dead Friends might be light unto them and that a perpetual Spring-tide of all kind of fragrant Flowers might incircle their verdant Graves According to this of Persius Sat. 7. Dii majorum umbris tenuem sine pondere terram Spirantesque crocos in urna perpetuum ver Lie Earth light on their Bones may their Graves bear Fresh fragrant Flowers let Spring-tide still live there But to come back again The Magnificence in burning the Bodies of the Dead did far exceed in charges all other kinds of Funeral for with the Bodies of Persons of Principal regard as you may read in the Travels of George Sandys they burnt rich Odours Gold Jewels Apparel Herds of Cattel Flocks of Sheep Horses Hounds and sometimes the Concubines and Slaves whom they most respected to supply their wants to serve their delights and attend upon them in the lower Shades With the like Solemnity or far greater the Funerals of Patroclus were performed by Achilles for with him were burned Oxen Sheep Dogs Horses and twelve stout and valiant Sons of Noble Trojans Achilles pulls off the Hair off his Head and casts it into the Flame and besides institutes certain Funeral Games to the Honour of his slain Friend the Glory of the Greekish Nation Patroclus which is recorded by Homer in the 23d Book of his Iliads They used to quench these Funeral
ghostly Child but notwithstanding let the Superiors of the Society bury it where they list Of the Temporal Things granted me by the Apostolick See or gotten any other way I dispose in this manner I nominate and make my general Heir the House of the professed Fathers in Rome of the Society of Jesus of which Order I was but first of all I will that my Debts he paid if there be any and all Duties discharged to whom they are due then for Forty Days as is the Fashion let there be given to my Family such things as pertain to their Diet that is to say so much as is allotted them in Money for their Bread Wine and Victuals I am able to leave them nothing else because I desired this leave of making my Will to bestow all I had on pious Uses as Churches and Poor People and for that cause gave every one of them Wages or some Allowance beside their Diet. Let there be restored unto my own Brother or his Heirs an Image in a Frame of Robert Clement VIII Let there be given to my Nephew Angelo also a little Picture in a Frame of Robert Cardinal de Nobilibus and one of the two in Frames of S. Charles Borromeus and one of the little Crosses which I wear about my Neck with the Relicks that are in it Let there be restored to the Roman College Six Tomes of the Annals of Baronius which it lent me that the other Six of mine might be given to the same for on this Condition I received of the College the first Six Tomes which was given thereunto in my Name by the Author himself that after my death I should leave them all his Works entire To the sam College I leave one of my three best Vestments with the Stole and Manuple which they please also all my Writings and my whole Library unless it shall please our most Reverend F. General to bestow the Library upon some other House of the Society that is in greater Want To our Blessed Lady's Church in Via which is my Titular I leave another of my three best Vestments such as it shall please mine Heir to give I leave no more to that Church because as the Friars know I have been at great Charge in Building of the same and they requested that of me in lieu of other Ornaments which I had determined to have brought them Whatsoever else doth belong unto me or shall belong whether Immoveables Moveables living Things Duties or Debts owing to me whether Sacred belonging to the Chapel or Profane belonging to my Wardrobe or to my Cellars or other Places whether ready Money or whatsoever else I will as is said that all intirely belong to the Heir viz. to the House of the Professed Fathers in Rome And I appoint and nominate the same for Heir in all and every of these Things For the Help of my Soul I leave or prescribe nothing because very little will come unto my Heir as I suppose seeing I never took care to heap up Money or gather Wealth as also for that I trust or rather know the pious Charity of my Mother the Society of Jesus will not be wanting to help me as it is never wanting to other of her Children and as my self have never been wanting all my Life-time to offer Sacrifices and Prayers for such as were departed out of the same I nominate for Honour's sake my most Illustrious and Reverend Lord Cardinal Aldobrandino for the Executor of this my last Will. I hope there will need no labour in the Execution thereof And I leave unto the said most Illustrious Lord than which have nothing more dear a wooden Cross filled with most precious Relicks the Names of which he shall find in a little Desk covered with red Silk This Will and Testament I will have to stand in force the former two being annulled which in all things and for all I revoke make void and annul notwithstanding this Will hath not perhaps been made with wonted Solemnities as the Law requireth for the Bull of Clement VIII in which leave is given me to make my Will doth expressly grant me this Liberty and further to make it by simple Letter or any other Writing subscribed with my own Hand I Robert Bellarmine do Dispose Ordain Bequeath and Appoint by Testament as above not only in the aforesaid but in any other better form whatsoever Jan. 23. 1611. In his Sickness he used often to kiss a little Cross of Silver and therewith to bless himself and mutter over some Prayers In his last Hours after the Pater-Noster and Ave Maria repeated over and over again together with the Creed he breathed his last Sept. 17. about Six or Seven in the Morning In the Relation of his Death published by J. C. 1621. I put this Copy of Bellarmine's Will the rather in this Place to oppose it to Calvin's mentioned before because Opposites set one against another give the greater Light one to another I might have set down a Parcel of Luther's Will too Lord I thank thee that thou wouldst have me live a poor and indigent Life upon Earth I have neither House nor Land nor Possessions nor Money to leave Thou Lord hast given me Wife and Children them Lord I give back to thee c. See the Chapt. of Good Pastors c. Luther had a Wife and Children but no Estate to leave them Calvin's Inventory according to Computation amounted not to above a Hundred Pound Bellarmine's seems to consist mostly in a Library of Books Vestments and Pictures 13. Oecolampadius in the 49th Year of his Age falling sick of an Ulcer that broke forth about the Os sacrum sent for the Ministers of the Church and bespake them to this purpose Oh my Brethren the Lord is come He is come he is now calling me away c. I desired to speak with you to encourage you to continue faithful Followers of Christ to persevere in Purity of Doctrine in Lives conformable to the Word of God Christ will take care for the Defence of his Church therefore Let your Lights so shine before Men c. Continue in Love unfeigned walk as in God's Presence adorn your Doctrine with Holiness of Life A Cloud is arising a Tempest is coming and some will fall off but it becomes you to stand fast and God will assist you c. For my self I value not the Aspersions that are cast upon me I bless God I shall with a clear Conscience stand before the Tribunal of Christ I have not seduced the Church of Christ as some affirm but leave you all Witnesses that at the last gasp I am the same that formerly I was He had nothing to give and therefore made no Will but calling for his Children he stroked them on the Head and tho the Eldest was but three Years old bid them See that they loved God and desired his Wife and Kindred to take care they might be brought up in the Feat of
And so fell asleep A. C. 1590. aged 61. Ibid. p. 389. 49. Robert Rollock being sick of the Stone which came upon him at last with great violence set his House in Order and commended his Wife after Ten Years Barrenness then with Child to the Care of his Friends requested two Noblemen his Visitants to go from him to the King and entreat him in his Name to have a care of Religion and to persevere in it to the end as hitherto he had done and to Reverence and Esteem the Pastors of the Church as it was meet And to the Pastors of Edinburgh he made an excellent exhortation and Profession of his Sincerity he made such a Divine and Heavenly Speech as astonished the Hearers And when the Physicians were preparing Physick he said Thou Lord wilt heal me Then he prayed fervently that God would Pardon his Sins for Christ's sake and that he might have an Happy Departure and enjoy God's Presence which he had long breathed after Desired the Magistrates to be very careful of the University desiring them to chuse in his room Henry Charter and commended his Wife to their care professing that he had not laid up one Penny of his Stipend and therefore hoped they would provide for her And when he had their Promise for these things he said I bless God I have all my Senses entire but my Heart is in Heaven And Lord Jesus why shouldest not thou have it It hathbeen my care all my Life long to dedicate it to thee I pray thee take it that it may live with thee for ever Come Lord Jesus put an end to this Miserable Life Haste Lord and tarrâ not Come Lord Jesus and give me that Life for which thou hast redeemed me And when some told him that the next day was the Sabbath he said Thy Sabbath O Lord shall begin my Eternal Sabbath The next Morning to Mr. Belcanqual praying for his long life he said I am weary of this Life all my desire is that I may enjoy the Coelestial Life that is hid with Christ in God And so quietly resigned to his Spirit A. C. 1598. aged 43. Ibid. p. 412. 50. Nic. Hemingius a little before his Death expounded the 103 Psalm with so much Fevour Efficacy and Power of the Holy Ghost that all that heard him wondred at it and shortly after resign'd up his Soul Anno 1600. aged 87. Ibid. p. 414. 51. Chytraeus before his Death made a Confession of his Faith received the Sacrament and lying sick on his Bed if any Discourse were raised about a Controversie called to them to speak out for that he should die with more Comfort if he could learn any new thing before his departure Ibid. p. 421. 52. Tossanus being grown very old and infirm laid down his Professors Place tho' with the Reluctance of the University of Heidelberg and having in his Lectures expounded the Book of Job to the end of the 31st Chapter he concluded with these words The words of Job are ended And presently after falling sick he comforted himself with these Texts of Scripture I have fought the good Fight c. Be you faithful unto the Death and I will give thee a Crown of Life We have a City not made with hands eternal in the Heavens c. And when he had made a good Confession of his Faith c. he departed quietly A. C. 1602. aged 61. Ibid. p. 430. 53. Bishop Andrews was not sick in Thirty Years except once till his last Sickness at Downham in the Isle of Ely the Air of that Place not agreeing with the Constitution of his Body But there he seemed to be prepared for his Dissolution saying often-times in that Sickness It must come once and why not here And at other times The days must come when whether we will or nill we shall say with the Preacher we have no pleasure in them Eccles 12.1 Of his Death he seemed to Presage with himself a year before he died and therefore prepared his Oyl that he might be admitted in due time into the Bride-Chamber That of qualis vita c. might be truly verified of him for as he lived so he died As his Fidelity in his Health was great so the strength of his Faith in his Sickness increased His Gratitude to Men was now changed into Thankfulness to God his Affability to incessant Prayers his Laborious Studies to restless Groans Sighs Cries and Tears his Hands labouring his Eyes lifted up and his Heart beating and panting to see the Living God even to the last of his Breath He departed this Life A. C. 1626. aged 71. Mr. Isaacson in his Life 54. Dr. Whitgift Archbishop of Canterbury Twenty Years and Five Months used these his last words to His Majesty who in Person visited him the day before he died when he could hardly be understood Pro Ecclesia Dei pro Eclesiâ Dei c. For the Church of God for the Church of God Fuller Abel Rediviv p. 463. 55. Beza on the Lord's-day Octob. 13. 1605. rising early and calling his Family to Prayers afterwards Prayers ended walked up and down some few Paces and receiving some small quantity of Wine repaired to his Bed again demanding whether all things were quiet in the City and when Answer was made they were he forthwith gave up his Soul into the hands of Almighty God with all alacrity and chearfulness aged 86. Ibid. p 474. 56. Dr. John Reynolds on his Death-bed being desired to obviate some scandalous Reports raised concerning him by the Papists as if his Conversion were not sincere and a form of Confession being offered him to Subscribe he shook his Head called for his Spectacles and signed the Writing with his Name in very fair Characters at which they all admired because he had that Morning assayed to write but could not through extream weakness The next day he resign'd his Ghost being Holy-Thursday May 21. 1607. Ibid. p. 490. 57. Mr. Tho. Holland born in Shropshire and Regius Professor at Oxford in his old Age growing sickly spent all his time in Fervent Prayers and Holy Meditations and when his End approached he often sighed out Come O Come Lord Jesus thou Morning-star Come Lord Jesus I desire to be dissolved and to be with thee and so quietly departed in the Lord A. C. 1612. aged 73. Ibid. p. 501. 58. John Gerardus having desired the Communion to be administred to him and told his Wife what he would have done after his Death and instructed his Children and laid his Hand on his Youngest Son with those words Disce mi fili Learn my Son the Commandments of the Lord and he will provide for thee and at last turning to the Neighbours and declaring in what Faith he died he fell asleep Anno 1564. aged 53. Ibid. p. 518. 59. Archbishop Parker before his decease some space of time the better to mind him of his Mortality caused his Monument to be made of plain black Marble and to be placed in
He hath done it already Brother And to one that had been helpful to him in his Sickness The God that made you and bought you with a great Price Redeem your Body and Soul unto himself Which were his last words Decemb. 23. 1652. aged 68. Ibid. p. 229. 94. Dr. Will. Gouge after three days illness complained Alas I have lost three days And to a Friend visiting him I am willing to die having I bless God nothing to do but to die And to his Sister being afraid to leave him alone Why Sister said he I shall I am sure be with Christ when I die Which he did Decemb. 12. 1653. aged 79. Ibid. p. 246. 95. Mr. Tho. Gataker gave this his last Charge to his Relations Sister Son Daughter c. My heart fails and my strength fails but God is my Fortress and the strong Rock of my Salvation into thy hands therefore I commend my Soul for thou hast redeemed me O God of Truth Son you have a great Charge look to it Instruct your Wife and Family in the fear of God and discharge your Ministry conscientiously To his Sister two Years older than himself he said Sister I thought you might have gone before me but God calls for me first I hope we shall meet in Heaven I pray God to bless you He admonished his Daughter to mind the World less and God more for that all things without Piety and the true fear of God are nothing worth Advising his Son Draper to Entertain some Pious Minister in his House to teach his Children and instruct his Family exhorting them all to Love and Unity And then commanded them all to withdraw He died July 27. 1654. aged near 80. Ibid. p. 259. 96. Mr. Bolton dying told his Children That none of them should dare think to meet him at God's Tribunal in an unregenerate Estate And when some of his Parish desired him to express what he felt in his Soul of the exceeding Comforts that are in Christ answered I am by the wonderful Mercy of God as full of Comfort as my heart can hold and feel nothing in my Soul but Christ with whom I heartily desire to be And looking upon some that were weeping said Oh what a deal of do there is ere one can die Chetwind's Collections 97. Mr. Whitaker Do not complain but bless God for me and entreat him to open the Prison-door He died 1654. aged 55. Ibid. p. 272. 98. Mr. Rich. Capel Sept. 21. 1656. preached twice taking his leave of the World by pressing Faith in God That Evening he repeated both his Sermons in his Family read his Chapter went to Prayer and so to Bed and died immediately Sept. 21. 1656. He often said That if God saw fit one had better die of a quick than lingring Death Ibid. p. 313. 99. Mr. Jessey the last Night he lived cried out Oh the unspeakable Love of God! Oh the vilest Oh the vilest that he should reach me when I could not reach him And then rehearsing over and over Blessed be that ever ever ever Blessed and Glorious Majesty And when a Cordial appointed for him was brought Trouble me not upon your own Peril trouble me not Then shewing his care for the Poor Widows and Fatherless and desiring Prayers and afterwards repeating Acts 2.27 and calling for more Julip more Julip meaning more Scriptures by and by he sang this Hymn Jerusalem my heart's Delight I come I come to thee Then shall my sorrows have an end When I thy Joys shall see Then often repeating those words Praises for ever Amen Amen Praises to the Amen for ever and ever Amen After a while he fell asleep Sept. 4. 1663. aged 63. Mr. Collier in his Life and Death p. 94. 100. Mr. Brand thus Oh! my God my God what is sinful Man Worm-man what manner of Love is this Love indeed O I cannot express it Oh! let me be with thee with thee O my God! Oh! I long for Heaven Oh! welcome Death Oh! happy Death that will put an end to all my Troubles and Afflictions one Moment in Abraham's Bosom will make amends for all turn Sorrow to Joy What a dreadful Appearance will there be at the Great Day what a sad thing to be disappointed and come short of Heaven O my Redeemer liveth I have served a good Master I would not desire Life for a Moment unless to promote the Interest of Christ If God would give me my choice what I would ask I would not ask Life Nay I have prayed to God that I might die Why so said a by-stander That I may be said he with God! O my God I would come to thee Let me live with Thee As he was going to Bed with much concernedness of Mind he said There will be a Cry at Midnight Prepare Prepare Which came to pass accordingly for after going to Bed he was taken with a Vomiting of Blood and after that died Dr. Annesly in his Life 101. Mr. John Janeway for the latter part of his Life he lived like a Man that was quite weary of the World and that looked upon himself as a stranger here and that lived in the constant sight of a better World He plainly declared himself but a Pilgrim that looked for a better Country a City that had Foundations whose builder and maker was God His Habit his Language his Deportment all spoke him one of another World His Meditations were so intense long and frequent that they ripened him apace for Heaven but somewhat weakned his Body Few Christians attain to such a holy contempt of the World and to such clear believing joyful constant Apprehensions of the transcendent Glories of the unseen World On his Death-bed he thus express'd himself O help me to Praise God I have now nothing else to do I have done with Prayer and all other Ordinances I have almost done conversing with Mortals I shall presently be beholding Christ himself that died for me and loved me and washed me in his Blood I shall before a few hours are over be in Eternity singing the Song of Moses and the Song of the Lamb. I shall presently stand upon Mount Zion with an innumerable company of Angels and the Spirits of the Just made perfect and Jesus the Mediator of the New Covenant I shall hear the voice of much People and be one amongst them which shall say Hallelujah Salvation Glory Honour and Power unto the Lord our God and again we shall say Hallelujah And yet a very little while and I shall sing unto the Lamb a Song of Praise saying Worthy art thou to receive Praise who wert slain and hast redeemed us to God by thy Blood out of every Kindred and Tongue and People and Nation and hast made us unto our God Kings and Priests and we shall Reign with thee for ever and ever Methinks I stand as it were with one Foot in Heaven and the other upon Earth methinks I hear the Melody of Heaven and by Faith I see the Angels waiting
Therefore have charitable Conceit of me That I know to swear is an Offence to swear falsly at any time is a great Sin but to swear falsly before the Presence of Almighty God before whom I am forthwith to appear were an Offence unpardonable Therefore think me not now rashly or untruly to confirm or protest any thing As for other Objections as That I was brought perforce into England That I carried Sixteen Thousand Pounds in Money out of England with me more than I made known That I should receive Letters from the French King and such like with many Protestations he utterly denied England's Worthies by Will. Winstanley p. 303. 119. The Death of Henry Bullinger Mr. Bullinger falling Sick and his Disease encreasing many Godly Ministers came to visit him but some Months after he recovered and preached as formerly but soon Relapsed when finding his vital Spirits wasted and Nature much decayed in him he concluded his Death was at hand and thereupon said as followeth If the Lord will make any farther use of me and my Ministry in his Church I will willingly obey him but if he pleases as I much desire to take me out of this miserable Life I shall exceedingly rejoyce that he will be so pleased to take me out of this miserable and corrupt Age to go to my Saviour Christ Socrates said he was glad when his Death approached because he thought he shou'd go to Hesiod Homer and other Learned Men deceased and whom he expected to meet in the other World then how much more do I joy who am sure that I shall see my Saviour Christ the Saints Patriarchs Prophets Apostles and all Holy Men which have lived from the beginning of the World These I say I am sure to see and to partake with them in Joy Why then should I not be willing to die to enjoy their perpetual Society in Glory And then with Tears told them That he was not unwilling to leave them for his own sake but for the sake of the Church Then having written his Farewel to the Senate and therein admonished them to take care of the Churches and Schools and by their permission chose one Ralph Gualter his Successor he patiently resigned up his Spirit into the Hands of his Redeemer dying Anno Christi 1575. and or his Age 71. 120. Mr. Haines Minister of Westminister was acquainted with a Gentleman of a very Holy Life and Conversation Which said Gentleman as he lay in his Bed one Morning a Boy of about twelve Years of Age appeared to him in a radiant Light and bid him prepare to Die in twelve Days He being surprized at it sent for Mr. Haines and told him of it who perswaded him from believing of it telling him 't was only a Fancy But within six Days he was siez'd with a violent Fever and four or five Hours before his Death the same Boy came and sate upon his Pillow and as the Gentleman grew paler he changed colour too and just as the Breath went out of the Body he disappeared This is attested by the Gentleman's Family for they all saw it and Mr. Haines related it to a Person of good Reputation from whom I received it 121. The Last Will of Mr. Henry Stubbs Deceased July â 1678. Published at the Desire of his Widow Mrs. D. S. KNowing that I must shortly put off this my Earthly Tabernacle I make my Last Will and Testament Imprimis I commend my Soul into the Hands of God wholly trusting in Jesus Christ my dear Lord and Saviour through his All-sufficient Satisfaction and powerful Mediation to be accepted Eph. 1.6 Item I commit my Body to the Earth from whence 't was taken in sure and certain Hope of a Resurrection to Life Eternal building upon that sure Word John 6.40 Item I leave my Fatherless Children to the Lord who hath promised to be a Father to the Fatherless Ps 68.5 And to preserve them alive Jer. 49.11 Commanding them to keep the way of the Lord Gen. 18.19 Item I âxhort my Widow to trust in the Lord of whose care she hath had no little Experience and therefore should trust in him Psal 9.10 And I desire her to read often Jer. 49.11 Psal 68.5 Heb. 13.5 Item The Congregations to which I have been formerly a Preacher and that with which I now am by a special Hand of Providence I commend to God and the Word of his Grace which is able to build them up and to give them an Inheritance amongst all them which are sanctified Acts 20.32 beseeching them by the Lord Jesus That as they ahve received of me how they ought to walk and please God so they would abound more and more 1 Thes 4.1 Item And for my Kindred according to the Flesh my Hearts Desire and Prayer to God for them is That they may be saved Rom. 10.1 Item And for all those yet living and who have seriously and earnestly desired my Prayers my earnest Request to God for them is That it would please him to do for them all as the Marter shall require 1 Kings 8.59 Item And for my Brethren in the Ministry my Prayer is That they may take heed to themselves and to all the Flock over which the Holy Ghost hath made them Overseers to feed the Church of God which he hath purchased with his own Blood Acts 20.28 Item And for the People my Prayer is That they may obey them that have the Rule over them Heb. 13.17 Item And for Professors of Religion my Prayer is That they may walk worthy of God unto all well-pleasing being fruitful in every Good Work Col. 1.10 11. Item And for the King my Prayer is That Mercy and Truth may preserve him Prov. 26.28 And for Him and all that are in Authority my Prayer is That they may so lead their own Lives that the People under them may lead quiet and peaceable Lives in all Godliness and Honesty 1 Tim. 2.2 Item And for the whole Land of my Nativity my humble Prayer to the Lord of all Grace and Mercy is That the Power and Purity of the Gospel together with a Learned and Faithful Ministry to dispence the same may be continued and preserved therein The Last Words of those Eminent Persons who fell in the Defence of the Protestant Religion and the English Liberties both in London and the West of England from the Year 1678. to this time IN the two last Reigns many of the Flower of our Nobility and Gentry either lost their Lives or Estates or Liberties or Country whilst a Crew of Parasites triumphed and fluttered in their Ruins To see a Russel die meanly and ignobly in the Flower of his Age an Essex or a Godfry sacrificed to the insatiable Ambition and Revenge of their Enemies who yet not content with their Lives would like the Italian stab on after Death and tho' they could not reach their Souls endeavour to damn their Memories These and too many other such melancholy Instances would be
to call for it and I desire to offer up my All to him it being but my reasonable Service and also the first Terms that Jesus Christ offers That he that will be his Disciple must forsake all and follow him and therefore let none think hard or be discouraged at what hath happened unto me for he doth nothing without cause in all he hath done to us he being Holy in all his ways and Righteous in all his works and 't is but my Lot in common with poor desolate Sion at this day Neither do I find in my heart the least regret for what I have done in the Service of my Lord and Master Jesus Christ in succouring and securing any of his poor Sufferers that have shewed favour to his Righteous Causeâ which Cause though now it be fall'n and trampled upon as if it had not been anointed yet it shall revive and God will plead it at another rate than ever he hath done yet and reckon with all its Opposers and malicious Haters And therefore let all that love and fear him not omit the least Duty that comes to hand or lies before them knowing that now it hath need of them and expects they shall serve him And I desire to bless his Holy Name that he hath made me useful in my Generation to the Comfort and Relief of many desolate Ones and the Blessing of those that are ready to perish has come upon me and help'd to make the Heart of the Widow to sing And I bless his Holy Name that in all this together with what I was charged with I can approve my Heart to him that I have done his Will tho' it does cross Man's Will and the Scriptures that satisfie me are Isaiah 16.4 Hide the Outcasts bewray not him that wandereth And Obad. 13.14 Thou shouldst not have given up those of his that did escape in the day of his distress But Man says You shall give them up or you shall die for it Now who to obey Judge ye So that I have cause to rejoyce and be exceeding glad in that I suffer for Righteousness sake and that I am accounted worthy to suffer for Well-doing and that God has accepted any Service from me which has been done in Sincerity tho' mixed with manifold Infirmities which he hath been pleased for Christ's sake to cover and forgive And now as concerning my Fact as it is called alas it was but a little one and might well become a Prince to forgive but he that shews no Mercy shall find none And I may say of it in the Language of Jonathan I did but tast a little Honey and lo I must die for it I did but relieve an unworthy poor distressed Family and so I must die for it Well I desire in the Lamb-like Gospel Spirit to forgive all that are concerned and to say Lord lay it not to their Charge but I fear he will not Nay I believe when he comes to make Inquisition for Blood it will be found at the Door of the furious Judge who because I could not remember things through my dauntedness at Burton's Wife and Daughter's Vileness and my Ignorance took advantage thereat and would not hear me when I had called to mind that which I am sure would have invalidated their Evidence though he granted something of the same nature to another yet denied it to me My Blood will also be found at the door of the unrighteous Jury who found me Guilty upon the single Oath of an Out-law'd Man for there was none but his Oath about the Money who is no legal Witness though he be pardoned his Outlawry not being recall'd and also the Law requires two Witnesses in point of Life And then about my going with him to the Place mentioned 't was by his own Words before he was Out-law'd for 't was two Months after his absconding and though in a Proclamation yet not High-Treason as I have heard so that I am clearly murder'd by you And also Bloody Mr. A. who has so insatiably hunted after my Life and though it is no Profit to him through the ill-will he bore me left no stone unturn'd as I have ground to believe till he brought it to this and shewed favour to Burton who ought to have died for his own Fault and not bought his Life with mine and Capt. R. who is cruel and severe to all under my Circumstances and did at that time without all Mercy or Pity hasten my Sentence and held up my Hand that it might be given all which together with the Great One of all by whose Power all these and a multitude more of Cruelties are done I do heartily and freely forgive as against me but as it is done in an implacable Mind against the Lord Christ and his Righteous Cause and Followers I leave it to him who is the Avenger of all such Wrongs who will tread upon Princes as upon Mortar and be terrible to the Kings of the Earth And know this also that though ye are seemingly fix'd and because of the Power in your Hand are writing out your Violence and dealing with a despiteful hand because of the old and new Hatred by impoverishing and every way distressing of those you have got under you yet unless you can secure Jesus Christ and all his Holy Angels you shall never do your Business nor your Hands accomplish your Enterprizes for he will be upon you e're you are aware and therefore O that you would be wise instructed and learn is the Desire of her that finds no Mercy from you ELIZABETH GAVNT POSTSCRIPT SUch as it is you have it from her who hath done as she could and is sorry she can do no better hopes you will pity and cover weakness shortness and any thing that is wanting and begs that none may be weakned or humbled at the lowness of my Spirit for God's Design is to humble and abase us that he alone may be exalted in this Day and I hope he will appear in the needful time and it may be reserves the best Wine till last as he hath done for some before me None goeth to Warfare at his own Charge and the Spirit bloweth not only where but when it listeth and it becomes me who have so often grieved quenched and resisted it to wait for and upon the Motions of the Spirit and not to murmure but I may mourn because through want of it I honour not my God nor his blessed Cause which I have so long ââed and delighted to love and repent of nothing about it but that I served him and it no Latter 7. The Earl of ARGYLE ââE must now take a step over into Scotland that poor Country which has been harrass'd and tired for these many Years to render them perfect Slaves that they might help to enslave ãâ¦ã prevent which and secure the Protestant Religion which 't was grown impossible ãâ¦ã but by Arms this good Lord embark'd from Holland about the same time with the
that unhappy Accident which threatned the putting a Stop to it for I ever esteemed Platonick-Love to be the most Noble and thought it might be allowed by all but some wise Persons are afraid least the Sex should creep in for a share Here was no Danger for tho' Nature and Art have done their utmost to make Cl s Charming to all her Wit c. being beyond most of her Sex yet P t having for many Years given such Testimonies of a Conjugal Affection even to excess if such a thing can be that I fanned their Friendship might have been honourably continued to the End of Time I hope what Difficulties they meet with at their first setting out will heighten their Friendship and make it more strong and lasting So wishes August 27. 1695. Your Humble Servant E This Letter was occasioned by a Misconstruction put on the Correspondence then carried on 'tween P t and the aforesaid Lady but E being universally Religious by consequence is universally Charitable and therefore as she knew no Harm thinks none but encourages the Correspondence Mr. Richard Mays was a Man of sincere Godliness A (r) Mr. Singleton worthy Person sufficiently known in this City for his great Skill and Pains in training up of Youth was the Happy Instrument which Providence made use of for the first awakening and enclining him to look out after God I have often heard him speak with great thankfulness both to God and him of that Mixture of Love and Prudence whereby he gained upon him Throughout the Whole of his Sickness of Six Weeks continuance all was clear between God and him 2 Sam. 23.4 His End was like the Light of the Evening when the Sun setteth an Evening without any Clouds He said to my self when I enquired of him concerning that Matter I have not indeed those Raptures of Joy which some have felt tho' yet he added blessed be God I have sometimes tasted of them too but I have a comfortable well-grounded Hope of Eternal Life Another time I have had my Infirmities and Failings but my Heart hath been right with God as to the main and I look for the Mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to Eternal Life Again another time I know that I have passed from Death to Life And again Blessed be God for our Lord Jesus Christ who hath delivered me from the Wrath to come In the Presence of others that stood by him when the sudden Blast was so strong as almost to puff out the Lamp of Life expecting to die in a very few Moments he said in the Words of the Psalmist Into thy Hands I commit my Spirit thou hast redeemed me O Lord God of Truth and this was uttered by him with a more than ordinary Chearfulness visibly spread on his Face He would often say in his Sickness If God hath any Pleasure in me and any more Work for me to do he will raise me up but if not lo here am I let him do with his Servant what seemeth him good In short I could neither observe my self nor learn from those that were constantly about him who must know this Matter better than any others and would not Lye for God himself that he had the least Darkness upon his Spirit as to his present and future State from the beginning of his Sickness till he gave up the Ghost which he did the last Lord's-Day about Five in the Morning the time when he was wont to arise and prepare himself for his Sacred Work Mr. Nathaniel Taylor in his Sermon at Mr. Mayo 's Funeral Dr. Samuel Annesley was reconciled to Death yea so desirous of it as hardly induced him to have his Life prayed for But hearing some Ministers had been fervently praying for his Life he replied I 'm then more reconciled to Life than ever for I 'm confident God will not give a Life so eminently in answer of Prayer as mine must be if he would not use it to greater purposes than ever before Yet some little time before his Change his Desires of Death appear'd strong and his Soul filled with the fore-tasts of Glory oft saying Come my dearest Jesus the nearer the more precious the more welcome Another time his Joy was so great that in an Ecstasie he cried out I cannot contain it What manner of Love is this to a poor Worm I can't express the thousandth part of what Praise is due to thee We know not what we do when we offer at praising God for his Mercies It 's but little I can give but Lord help me to give thee my All. I 'll die praising thee and rejoyce that there 's others can praise thee better I shall be satisfied with thy likeness satisfied satisfied Oh my dearest Jesus I come See a larger Account in Dr. Annesley's Funeral Sermon preach'd by Mr. Daniel Williams The Death of Old Mr. Eliot of New-England While he was making his Retreat out of this Evil World his Discourses from time to time ran upon The Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ It was the Theme which he still had recourse unto and we were sure to have something of this whatever other Subject he were upon On this he talk'd of this he pray'd for this he long'd and especially when any bad News arriv'd his usual Reflection thereon would be Behold some of the Clouds in which we must look for the Coming of the Son of Man At last his Lord for whom he had been long wishing Lord come I have been a great while ready for thy Coming At last I say his Lord came and fetched him away into the Joy of his Lord. He fell into some Languishments attended with a Fever which in a few Days brought him into the Pangs may I say or Joys of Death And while he lay in these Mr. Walter coming to him he said unto him Brother Thou art welcome to my very Soul Pray retire to my Study for me and give me leave to be gone meaning that he should not by Petitions to Heaven for his Life detain him here It was in these Languishments that speaking about the Work of the Gospel among the Indians he did after this Heavenly manner express himself There is a Cloud said he a dark Cloud upon the Work of the Gospel among the poor Indians The Lord revive and prâââer that Work and grant it may live when I am dead It is a Work which I have been doing much and long about But what was the Word I spoke last I recall that Word My Doings Alas they have been poor and small and lean Doings and I 'll be the Man that shall throw the first Stone at them all Mr. Cotton Mather tells us of Mr. Elias That the Last of his ever setting Pen to Paper in the World was upon this Occasion I shall transcribe a short Letter which was written by the shaking Hand that had heretofore by Writing deserved so well from the Church of God but was now taking its leave of Writing for
ever It was written to the Person that was Engaging for us and thus it ran Reverend and Beloved Mr. Increase Mather I Cannot write Read Neh. 2.10 When Sanbalat the Horonite and Tobijah the Servant the Ammonite heard of it it grieved them exceedingly that there was come a Man to seek the Welfare of the Children of Israel Let thy blessed Soul feed full and fat upon this and other Scriptures All other things I leave to other Men and rest Your Loving Brother JOHN ELIOT It has been observed that they who have spoke many considerable things in their Lives usually speak few at their Deaths But it was otherwise with our Eliot who after much Speech of and for God in his Life-time uttered some things little short of Oracles on his Death-bed which 't is a thousand Pities they were not more exactly regarded and recorded Those Authors that have taken the Pains to Collect Apophthegmata Morientum have not therein been unserviceable to the Living but the Apophthegms of a Dying Eliot must have had in them a Grace and a Strain very extraordinary and indeed the vulgar Error of the signal Sweetness in the Song of a Dying Swan was a very Truth in our expiring Eliot His last Breath smelt strong of Heaven and was Articled into none but very gracious Notes one of the last whereof was Welcome Joy and at last it went away calling upon the Standers-by to Pray pray pray which was the thing in which so vast a portion of it had been before employ'd This was the Peace in the End of this Perfect and Upright Man thus was there another Star fetched away to be placed among the rest that the third Heaven is now enriched with He had once I think a pleasant Fear that the old Saints of his Acquaintance especially those two dearest Neighbours of his Cotton of Boston and Mâther of Dorchester who were got safe to Heaven before him would suspect him to be gone the wrong way because he staid so long behind them But they are now together with a Blessed Jesus beholding of his Glory and celebrating the high Praises of Him that has called them into his marvellous light Whether Heaven was any more Heaven to him because of his finding there so many Saints with whom he once had his Delicious and Coelestial Intimacies yea and so many Saints which had been the Seals of his own Ministry in this lowe World I cannot say but it would be Heaven enough unto him to go unto that Jesus whom he had lov'd preach'd serv'd and in whom he had been long assured there does All Fulness dwell In that Heaven I now leave him but not without Grynaeus's pathetical Exclamations O Beatum illum Diem Blessed will be the Day O blessed the Day of our Arrival to the glorious Assembly of Spirits which this great Saint is now rejoycing with Bereaved New-England where are they Tears at this Ill-boding Funeral We had a Tradition among us That the Country could never perish as long as Eliot was alive But into whose Hands must this Hippo fall now the Austin of it is taken away Our Elisha is gone and now who must next Year invade the Land The Jews have a Saying Quando Luminaria patiuntur Eclipsin malum signum est mundo but I 'm sure 't is a dismal Eclipse that has now befallen our New-English World I confess many of the ancients fell into the Vanity of esteeming the Reliques of the Dead Saints to be the Towers and Ramparts of the Place that enjoy'd them and the dead Bodies of two Apostles in the City made the Poet cry out A Facie Hostili duo propugnacula praesunt If the Dust of dead Saints could give us any Protection we are not without it Here is a Spot of American Soil that will afford a rich Crop of it at the Resurrection of the Just Poor New-England has been as Glastenbury of old was called A Burying-Place of Saints But we cannot see a more terrible Prognostick than Tombs filling apace with such Bones as those of the Renowned Eliot's the whole Building of this Country trembles at the Fall of such a Pillar For many Months before he died he would often chearfully tell us That he was shortly going to Heaven and that he would carry a deal of good News thither with him He said He would carry Tydings to the Old Founders of New-England which were now in Glory that Church-work was yet carried on among us That the Number of our Churches was continually encreasing And that the Churches were still kept as big as they were by the daily Additions of those that shall be saved But the going of such as he from us will apace diminish the Occasions of such happy Tydings What shall we now say Our Eliot himself used most affectionately to bewail the Death of all useful Men yet if one brought him the notice of such a thing with any Despondencies or said O Sir such a one is dead What shall we do He would answer Well but God lives Christ lives the Old Saviour of New-England yet lives and he will Reign till his Enemies are malle his Foot-stool This and only this Consideration have we to relieve us and let it be accompanied with our Addresses to the God of the Spirits of all Flesh That there may be Timothies raised up in the room of our departed Pauls and that when our Moses's are gone the Spirit which was in those brave Men may be put upon the surviving Elders of our Israel Thus died the first Preacher of the Gospel to the Indians in New-England Aged 86. Thus far Mr. Cotton Mather I wou'd here insert some Account of the Deaths c. of the Reverend Mr. James and Mr. Oldfeild but have not room so referr the Reader to their Funeral Sermons preached by Mr. Slater and Mr. Shower CHAP. CXLIV The Last Speeches of Dying Penitents abbreviated 1. NAthanael Butler executed in Cheapside for killing his Fellow-Prentice 1657. after his Shackles were taken off a Friend to try his Willingness to Die told him he would get him freed c. But he clapping his Hand on his Breast replied That if he knew his Heart aright he would not for Ten thousand Worlds lose the Opportunity of that Morning c. declaring the dark Dungeon was the best Room he ever came in c. p. 9. Being at the Place of Execution he warned the People to beware of the beginning of Sin saying When I was first enticed into Evil I was tender and fearful of it but not diligently hearkening to the Word of God nor the Voice of Conscience which checked me I went on So that by degrees I was emboldened in Sin and at last it became as familiar as my daily Food Therefore as you love your Souls take heed of the Beginnings of Sin If I had so done I had escaped this Punishment O that I could prevail with every young Person to cast away Sin betimes and check it in the first
imagine that there hath been nothing omitted to induce her to discover her pretended Accomplices But she hath still answered all these Interrogatives with so much Justness and Discretion and with so many marks of Sincerity That the most able Advocate in the Kingdom could not form a better Reply after fifteen days study upon the Interrogatives These are the very words of our Relations and of the Offices of Justice that have examined her She answered to every thing they ask'd her with very good sense and not without quickness of Wit she renders a Reason for her Faith and easily confounds all such as come to Pose her with Questions She hath been removed from Place to Place first to Crét then to the Hospital at Grenoble In all which Places she continues to fall into her Trances and to Discourse in her Fits They have shaved her Head and taken away all the Cloaths and Linen she had pretending she might have some Charm hid somewhere about her Nay some Priests came and exorcised her with Holy-Water as tho' she had been possessed with some Evil Spirit But to no purpose at all she is still the same Sometimes they have given way to some of the New Converts to approach her in the Day-time while she was in Prison or in the Hospital at Grenoble But they would never give leave to any of them to pass the Night in her Company nor to be Witness of what she said when she fell into her Ecstasie The last Letters say That the Rage of the false Devotees was so great against her that she could not be thought secure of her Life but for certain Persons of the first Note in tha Country who gave Orders about her All that I have here said is the naked Truth but it is not all the Truth For we give you no Particulars of what she hath either said or done There are some discreet able and unprejudiced Persons of that Country who labour to make an Exact Collection of all that is certain and well proved about her And we have most assured hopes that the Time is now coming in which it will be both safe and free to see it Reflections of Monsieur Jurieu upon the Strange and Miraculous Ecstasies of Isable Vincent p. 1. 11. One must be very dull in my Opinion saith the same Author not to see and not to feel the Hand of God and his very Finger in what happened in the Church of St. Malo's by the fall of a Thunder-bolt and in the strokes of Heaven which have burnt and beaten down so many Churches within these two last Years in this dreadful shaking of the Earth which hath overturned great Cities in Italy the Country of Antichrist and which hath caused a Trembling to the very Root of the Vatican the Seat of the Beast And lastly I see no cause why one should be so obstinate as not to see a Miraculous Token of the Will of God in those Singings that have been heard in the Air at the beginning of this Persecution Not to be touched with this Miracle Men will be wilful Doubters and yet there may be found in France above Thirty Thousand Witnesses of it Monsieur Vivens who was a Preacher in the Cevennes and held Assemblies there for the space of almost two Years brought us about Thirty or Forty at one time and we have it from his own Mouth that he himself heard these Wonderful Singings several times Now to have the satisfaction of treating this as a Fiction it is suggested by some that even in our seventh Letter of the first Year of our Pastorals we have related nothing but hear-says Yet notwithstanding would they but take the pains to read they would find that I have given the Certificates of Monsieur Maupoey Monsieur Bergeret Monsieur de la Bordette Madamoiselle de Formalagues Monsieur de Vallescure a Gentleman of the Cevennes who said he heard sung in the Air five or six Verses of the Fifth Psalm Since which I have received and have now in my Custody the Testimony of MOnsieur de la Bastide of Tourtelon Son to the said Vallescure who Attests the same thing with his Father I have also reported the Testimony of Madamoiselle de Vebron who assures me that she has distinguished in these Miraculous Singings above Thirty of our Psalms I have besides all this the Attestation of Monsieur de la Gardicolle a Gentleman of Honour who is now in this Country who hath deposed betwixt my Hands and in the Presence of five other Gentlemen all the Circumstances of these Singings he having heard them himself within Two Hundred Paces of the Town of Vigan The Truth whereof he assured me upon Oath nay with Tears in his Eyes being sensibly touched I have also the Depositions of two Inhabitants and Burgesses of the Town of Mauvezin in Armagnac who speak of it as Eye-Witnesses And last of all here is the Letter of one Monsieur de Besse written from Swisserland It is too Remarkable upon the Subject not to be made Publick Ibid. 11. The Divine Judgments upon the Jewish Nation may not iproperly come under this Head of which take this short Account The Jews which crucified the Lord of Life and wished That his Blood might be upon them and their Children presently after through the just Judgment of God had Blood to drink in full Measure There were slain in Caesarea Twenty Thousand in one day At Alexandria Fifty Thousand another day At Zabulon and Joppa Eight Thousand Four Hundred besides the burning of the Towns At Damascus Ten Thousand had their Throats cut In the Siege of Jerusalem they were so famish'd that Oxen's Dung was accounted good Meat Others fed upon old Leather and some Women boiled their own Children and did eat them Many thinking to save their Lives by flying to the Romans were slit in pieces to search for Gold and Jewels in their Guts Two Thousand died thus miserably in one Night Ninety seven Thousand were taken Prisoners at the Taking of the City by Titus and Eleven Hundred Thousand were slain As for the Prisoners some of them were carried to Rome in Triumph Others were slain in sundry Places at the Conqueror's Will Some were torn in pièces and devoured by Wild Beasts Others were compelled to march in Troops against their Fellows and to kill one another to make the Spectators Sport The Reliques of these wretched People were dispersd into all Nations under Heaven having no Magistrates of their own to Protect them but were and still are altogether at the Will and Discretion of the Lords of those Countries where they sojourn So that no Nation in the World is so vile and contemptible as the Jews In the time of Julian the Apostate leave was given to the Jews to re-build the Temple at Jerusalem but so soon as they had laid the foundations thereof all was overthrown by an Earthquake many Thousands of them being over-whelmed with the Ruines Then came forth a Fire
what I write proceeds not from any fantastick Terror of Mind but from a sober Resolution of what concerns my self and earnest Desire to do you more Good after my Death than mine Example God of his Mercy pardon the badness of it in My Life-time may have done you harm I will not speak ought of the Vanity of this World your own Age and Experience will save the Labour But there is a certain Thing that goes up and down in the World called Religion dress'd and presented fantastically and to purpose bad enough which yet by such evil dealing loseth not its Being The great and good God hath not loft it without a Witness more or less sooner or later in every Man's Bosome to direct us in the pursuit of it and for the avoiding of those inextricable Difficulties and Intanglements our own frail Reason would perplex us withal God in his infinite Mercy has given us his Holy Word in which as there are many things hard to be understood to quiet our Minds and direct us concerning our future Being I confess to God and you I have been a great Neglecter and I fear Despiser of it God of his infinite Mercy pardon me that dreadful Fault but when I retired my self from the Noise and deceitful Vanities of the World I found no true Comfort in any other Resolution than what I had from thence I commend the same from the bottom of my Heart to your I hope happy use Dear Sir Hugh let us be more generous than to believe we die like Beasts that perish but with a Christian manly brave Ambition let us look to what is Eternal I will not trouble you farther The Only Great and Holy God Father Son and Holy Ghost direct you to an happy End of your Life and send us a joyful Resurrection So prays Your Dear Friend MARLBOROUGH Old James near the Coast of Holland the 24th of April 1665. I beseech you commend my Love to all my Acquaintance particularly I pray you that my Cousin Glascock may have a sight of this Letter and as many of my friends besides as you will or any else that desire it I pray grant this my Request To William Glascock Esq Dear Cousin May 23. 1665. IN case I be called away by God in this present Employment I have recommended these few Lines to you first earnestly begging God Almighty his most merciful Pardon and yours for the very bad Example and many Provocations to Sin I have given Next I do most heartily desire you to make use of your remaining Time in bestowing it upon his Service who only can be your Comfort at your Latter End when all the former Pleasures of your Life shall only leave Anguish and Remorse If God had spared me Life instead of this Paper I would through his Grace have endeavoured to have been as Assistful to you in minding you of true Piety as the care of mine own Life could have enabled me Do not think that melancholy Vapours cause this It is God's great Mercy that by this Employment hath made me know my self for which his Name be for ever praised Lastly I pray shew these few Lines to my Lord of Portland by which I in like manner and for the sarne cause crave his Pardon wishing you both the blessed Peace and Content of a good Conscience towards God and a happy End of your Lives Your truly Loving Cousin MARLBOROUGH The Gentleman who hath communicated to us these Letters sent by the Earl of Marlborough to Sir Hugh Pollard and Mr. Glascock is a Person of Quality now living in London and if any one hath the Curiosity to be satisfied from his own Mouth about the perfect certainty of the Matters therein related if he repairs to Mr. Darker in Bull-head Court near Cripplegate he will be always ready to bring any Gentleman to speak with him for further Confirmation 3. Mr. Hobbs who was so much noted in the World for his Atheistical Writings insomuch that his Book intituled The Leviathan was condemned by the Parliament in their Bill against Atheism and Profaneness Octob. 1666. and both that and his Book de Cive by the Convocation July 21. 1683. Yet the Earl of Devon's Chaplain hath left it on Record concerning him That he received the Communion from his Hands with much seeming Devotion about two Years before his Death than which there cannot be a more express Acknowledgment of the Truth of Christianity And this methinks should daunt the Confidence of his Followers the HObbists who because he was born on Good-friday are not ashamed blasphemously to say That as our Saviour Christ went out of the World on that Day to save Men of the World so another Saviour came into the World on that Day to save them Ath. Oxon. Part II. P. 483. 4. But the next Instance of the Earl of Rochester is still more convincing who as it appears by his Funeral Sermon did with very much abhorrence exclaim against that absurd and foolish Philosophy which the World so much admired and was propagated by the late Mr. Hobbs and others which had undone him and many more of the best Parts of the Nation My Lord Rochester being awak'd from his Spiritual Slumber by a pungent Sickness as appears by his Funeral Sermon preached by Mr. Parsons August 9. 1680. Upon the Preacher's first Visit to him May 26. my Lord thank'd God who had in Mercy and good Providence sent him to him who so much needed his Prayers and Counsels acknowledging how unworthily heretofore he had treated that Order of Men reproaching them that they were Proud and Prophesied only for Rewards but now he had learn'd how to value them that he esteem'd them the Servants of the most High God who were to shew to him the way to everlasting Life At the same time continues our Author I found him labouring under strange Trouble and Conflicts of Mind his Spirit wounded and his Conscience full of Terrours Upon his Journey he told me that he had been arguing with greater vigour against God and Religion than ever he had done in his Life-time before and that he was resolv'd to run them down with all the Arguments and Spite in the World but like the great Convert St. Paul he found it hard to âick against the Pricks for God at that time had so struck his Heart by his immediate Hand that presently he argued as strongly for God and Vertue as before he had done against it that God strangely opened his Heart creating in his Mind most awful and tremendous Thoughts and Idea's of the Divine Majesty with a delightful Contemplation of the Divine Nature and Attributes and of the Loveliness of Religion and Vertue I never said he was advanc'd thus far towards Happiness in my Life before tho' upon the commissions of some Sins extraordinary I have had some Checks and Warnings considerable from within but still struggl'd with them and so wore them off again The most observable that I remember
to reduce 'em from their Sins to a Holy and Religious Life that so their Souls may be saved in the great Day of the Lord is the earnest Desire of their Languishing and Sorrowful Friend DUNCOMB COLCHESTER Who desires this may be read in the Parish-Churches of Michel Dean and Westbury and shewn to such Gentlemen Friends and others as may bring God most Glory Nov. 1693. Signed and Delivered in the presence of several of his Friends 6. The Remarkable Penitence of J. H. The next Letter is written by a Woman and one of inferior Quality in the World but not at all inferior in her Repentance It was that and the Grace of God in her Heart which moved her to do it long before it was done and it was the pure effect of that when at last it was done and all her own Composure we are assured by Mr. Stephens an ancient Divine now living in London who gave her Absolution approved her Purpose in it and perused it when she had done it and hath seen other Letters of her Writing by which he could easily discern the Composure of this if there had been any other hand in it or any Reason to suspect it It is published with her Consent who is very ready to embrace any Motion tending to the Honour and Service of God or her own Humiliation Her Letter was directed to Mr. Minister in Portsmouth and is as follows viz. Reverend Sir I Have put Pen to Paper humbly beseeching you to hear me of your Charity a few Words The Enemy of my Soul hath raised many Objections to hinder my intended purpose and I have been almost perswaded to give it over but now having the Advice of a Pious Holy Minister of God who says it may be of great use I desire to take Shame to my self and to give Glory to the Majesty of Heaven who in great Love and Pity hath pluck'd me as a Firebrand out of the Fire and I am this Day a Living Monument of Mercy I cannot but be grieved at the many sad Examples I have given at Portsmouth My Sins have encreased the heap of the publick Impieties and made them cry the louder to Heaven for Vengeance both there and here too It is very meet right and my Duty to confess to the Glory of God and Praise of his Grace my crying Sins committed in that Place that some of my Companions in Evil may hear and fear and do no more such Wickedness About Nine or Ten Years agone I came a young Woman if I deserve that Name to P my Husband Cook of a Ship in that Harbour a very ill Husband no Excuse for me Almighty God did suffer two Sinners to come together in plague one another and whilst he acted the Part of a Drunkard with Shame and Confusion of Face be it spoken I acted the part of a Harlot giving my self over to work all Vncleanness with greediness insomuch that my very Name was a Proverb of Reproach to all Civil Women Two or Three Years I lived openly Scandalous and then it pleased the Almighty to visit me with a sore Fit of Sickness even to the Loss of my Limbs for a Season at which time I did beg of God to restore me to my Health and did faithfully promise never more to defile my Marriage Bed and the Lord was entreated at that time also and hath added to my Life these remaining Years Some time after it pleased the All-wise Providence to make me a Mother I was very thankful for the Mercy and was much reclaimed and I was in some measure convinced of the great Evil of sin and did put Pen to Paper with intent it should come to the Ministers hand but the Enemies of my Soul prevented and hindred that reasonable Design and I was again lull'd to sleep in the Bed of Carnal Security where I continued three or four Years with little Interruption in which time I buried my Husband and two Children After this I was in danger of being as bad as ever living at Service in the very midst of Temptation at Portbridge I continued there but a short space for the good Hand of Providence brought me to London where I had Time and Opportunity to reflect upon my ill-spent Life O that I might improve the Mercy O that I could tell you what God hath done for my Soul He hath brought me out of Darkness into his marvellous Light O that I could prevail with my Companions in Evil to seek the Lord while he may be found and call upon him while he is near Some of them are old Sinners grey hairs are upon them and they know it not I could be content to stand in a white sheet in your Church if I might but prevail with any one Soul to see the heinousness of my sin Nay I could be content to be stoned without the Walls of the Garrison so I might but be a means of the Conversion of any one Sinner O that I could write these Lines with my purest Blood I am grieved for the Dishonour I have done to God by my abominable sin and heartily wish my Head were Waters and mine Eyes were a Fountain of Tears that I might weep day and night for abusing Mercy O Sir you live in a place relating to Sodom cry aloud spare not to tell the Flock over which the Holy Ghost hath made you Overseer their Sins and my Companions in Evil their Sins The Lord is coming to reckon with the Nations and with you God grant you may be found among the Faithful Shepherds watching them and giving them their Meat in due Season I humbly beg your Blessing desiring to be remembred in your Prayers and I humbly beseech the Almighty that this poor Paper may have its designed Effect that God may be glorified and our Souls saved in the day of the Lord Jesus Amen and Amen J. H. Jan. 22. 1693 4. 7. Sir Alan Broderick who was a Gentleman of Extraordinary Learning and Accomplishments did own with much Contrition that a long Scene of his Life had been acted in the Sports and Follies of Sin that he had sometime pursued a Pagan and abandon'd way Scepticism it self not excepted wherein the poignancy of his Wit and the strength of his Reasoning even in that very Argument the using of which proclaims a Man in the Language of the Holy Scriptures a Fool may have been the occasion of a great deal of Mischief towards some that are already gone to their Accounts Yet some Years before his Death the bent and tendency of his Life and Actions was Devout and Religious and in his Private Conversation with his Minister he would always be Discoursing some Cases of Conscience about retir'd Closet-Prayer or the Nature and Necessity of True Religion and in his last Sickness he thought himself under a mighty Incumbency to Pray but was much harassed and anxious what to do because of his fear of not performing it with all becoming Reverence and Seriousness
he should expose himself to was very terrible for as he had had some share in the management of the Affairs of the Reformed Religion in France before the entire Desolation of their Churches some of those Disorders which happened in the Year 1683 in Dauphine Vivares and Cevennes were partly tho' he were innocent imputed to him and the Zeal also which he had manifested divers ways during his Exile for the Truth Service of God and the Consolation of his desolate Church had more and more irritated the Court Clergy and Jesuits against him So that he clearly saw he could not return into France without exposing himself to extream Danger But the Motions of his Conscience were more vigorous than all the Considerations in the World wherefore he prepared himself for this dangerous Journey by frequent Fastings and continued Prayer And as he had resolved to go into France in company with some other Servants of God and that he saw the departure of one and another was deferred for Reasons that savoured too much of human Prudence He felt in himself a Fire which consumed him without intermission and which at last threw him into a slow Feaver which most People thought to be Mortal but whereof they knew not the cause he saw now clearly that God would infallibly make him die on 't if he did any longer withstand the Motions of his Spirit wherefore he concluded with himself that if he must die it were much better he went into France and died there in following the Motion of his Conscience than to pine away elsewhere and die without the discharging of his Duty In order whereunto he met the other Servants of God who were willing to depart without any more delay and they divided themselves into several Companies because of their number among whom were the Brethren Vivers Lapiere Serein Boisson Dombres Poutant Papus c. Brousson was still very weak and much wasted but God confirmed him in his Health while upon his Journey he entred France in company with Mr. Debruc an ancient Minister who for some time had Refugiated himself in Switzerland they had not been long in France but Debruc finding himself in eminent Danger departed again out of the Kingdom however the rest afore-mentioned continued to instruct the People according to Opportunity and their Abilities but many Months were not elapsed when two of them viz. Boisson and Dombres after they had preached the Gospel in Cevennes with extraordinary success suffered Martyrdom with unshaken Constancy they went to the place of Punishment singing God's Praises but least the Faithful and Roman-catholicks themselves might be edified by their pious Demeanour and Exhortations at the time of their Death they ordered the Drums to Beat all he while which has been a frequent Practise with them on several occasions 2. About the same time a young Man of about Seventeen whose name was Soveirain alias Oliver suffered Martyrdom at Mompellier with that marvellous Constancy that the Intendant sometime after taking occasion to Discourse upon this Subject with Monsieur de Villeveille Colonel of one of the Regiments that had been for a long time in Cevennes and Languedâc to hinder such Assemblies of the Reformed he told him If the God whom these People serve be the same with that whom we adore we run a risque of being one day very miserable But notwithstanding any present Remorse on went the Fury of these Men and among others the Soldiers seized a young Man in Cevennes whose name was Roman a Student in Divinity and who had for a considerable time preached the Gospel there they carried him to the Castle of St. John de Gardonnenques where he was sentenced to die but here Divine Providence interposed for the Night before the Day wherein he was to suffer a young Maiden who served in the Castle as Chamber-maid having passed the Guards that were asleep before the Room wherein he was looked up found a way through the Window to cut the Cords wherewith he was bound and so he made his escape next Day when none of the Prisoner was to be found Monsieur de Montvaillant to whom the Castle belonged and who was of the number of the pretended new Converts was accused of setting him at liberty But the young Woman camein of her self and freely confest she was the Person without the Intervention of any other who had freed him because she believed him to be innocent and so ought to have compassion upon him for which Fact she was sentenced to be Whipt by the common Hangman and to perpetual Imprisonment in a place called Sommieres where if alive she is to this Day But to return to Brousson when he had got to Cevennes and found he could not find a way whereby by to get those Pieces he had Printed before in Switzerland into France and which he hoped he might have been able to have got dispersed through the Kingdom he immediately fell to instruct and comfort some of his Brethren by short Exhortations in Reading and Expounding to them the Holy Scripture or in dispersing one way or another those small Writings which he had composed for their instruction and of which he made many Copies Some Months after his arrival in France that is in December 1689 being with a small Company of the Faithful upon one of the high Mountains of Cevennes covered with Snow and in a Cottage where he had dwelt for some Days with several of his Brethren all these Faithful entreated and adjured him in the Name of the Lord to preach the Gospel and to administer the Lord's Supper unto them Vivens who was also with him in the same Cortage exhorted him to the same thing It is true Brousson had found himself disposed of a long time to Labour by Writing according to his ability to advance the Kingdom of God but on the other hand he had not yet entirely forsaken his secular Imployment for during his Exile he had from time to time exercised the Function of his old Profession of Advocate though with some regret and so far as was necessary for the subsistence of himself and Family having been dispossest of all his Estate before Though at the same time he had not yet applied himself publicly to Preach the Holy Gospel Wherefore being stirred up by the unanimous Exhortations of his Brethren to preach the Word of God and then to administer unto them the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper he told them he now clearly saw God had put that into their Hearts and that he had a call to consecrate himself to his Work and Service in a more particular manner then he had done till that time wherefore he prayed to God with his whole Hear that he would be pleased to grant unto him those Graces that were necessary for so great a Work But before he began his Preaching Brother Vivens sought God in a very fervent Prayer that he would be pleased to grant him the assistances of his Holy
him a thousand Blessings and God at the same time made him also taste in his Mind ineffable Consolations but above all he knew not how to express those Comforts he felt in the Holy Assemblies and particularly in those where he administred the Lord's Supper In the mean time he had daily Experience of a very remarkable thing which the rest of God's Servants did doubtless experience as well as he and that is that thô he were surrounded with an Army of Enernies who ran about and made continual Search after him to take him yet while he was in these Religious Meetings and opened his Mouth to call upon the Name of the Lord to sing his Holy Praises and to preach his Word he had commonly as calm a Mind as if he had been in a free Country and the like Tranquility he also enjoyed when he took his Pen in Hand to labour for the Advancement of God's Kingdom and for the Consolation of his desolated Church and if God shall be pleased to favour him with Life and Means to publish some Works which he has composed in the midst of so many Dangers and which he sent to the Court for to vindicate the Doctrine which he preached the Reader will doubtless be surprized that amidst so many Troubles he could be possest with a Mind so calm as to write Things of that nature but God perfecteth his Strength in the Weakness of his Children On the other hand he had the Comfort to be a Witness of all the Wonders which God did for the Salvation of his poor People he could not but admire the Graces he bestowed on so many faithful Servants which he raised up daily in an extraordinary manner who were weak and contemptible in the Eyes of the Flesh but whom he strengthned by his Spirit whereby he accompanied at the same time his Word with a wonderful efficacy and of which many from time to time sealed the Truth by their own Blood with an unshaken Constancy thô they were pleased to Honour him so far as to look upon him as their Brother and Colleague in the Work of the Lord and that they esteemed him also as a Person to whom God was pleased to give greater Degrees of Light than to many others and that he edified then by his Conversation yet he never compared the Graces which they had received of the Lord with those which it pleased God to bestow upon him but that he found very great matter of Humiliation administred to him and that he esteemed those faithful Servants of God much more excellent than himself he saw plainly that God was pleased to lay up Treasures in Earthen Vessels that it was his Spirit which made those dumb Ones to speak which drew forth Praises from the Mouths of those little Babes and which made those mystical Stones to cry out One Night as he was going towards a place which he had appointed for a Meeting as he drew nigh unto it be heard the Voice of a Person who spake in the midst of the People whereupon he drew somewhat nigher and finding that he who spoke prayed to God he fell down upon his Knees as 't is a constant usage in the Religious Meetings of France and there be heard a long and excellent Prayer wherewith he was much edified when it was ended he drew nigh to the Person that pray'd and he found him to be a young Man and a poor Trades-man to whom he said Brother if you be disposed to make some Exhortation to the People you may proceed Alack replied that poor Trades-man how hould I do it I can neither Write nor Read Some time after this young Man as he went from place to place to pray for the Consolation of the People being taken with another young Man named Compan who together with him did what he could in that kind for the Peoples support they were both of them condemned to the Gallies and suffered their Punishment boldly confessing the Name of the Lord. I have noted before that Brousson had made choice of Henry Poutant for his Guide and Companion in the Work he was engaged in who was a young Man of about Five and twenty Years old full of Zeal and Piety and of unblamable Life and who having learnt to write in the Woods while he was with Brousson he put him upon Copying his Sermons as he had done himself and to disperse them in such Places where himself could not go to preach the Gospel But as he had Copied about a Dozen and that he saw that Brousson who had declined in his Health was then sick at Nismes he told him he was very desirous to go and visit their Brethren from place to place and read his Sermons unto them which Proposal being well liked of by Brousson he recommended him to the Grace of God and so Poutant went from place to place labouring every-where for the Instruction and Comfort of his Brethren when he had got together some faithful Ones he began with the Confession of Sin then sung a Psalm after which he pray'd again the second time to implore the Aid of the Holy Spirit in the succeeding Exercise then he read some Chapter in the Scripture and some Sermon the reading whereof was followed by a warm Exhortation which he made to those that were present upon the Things which they had heard and lastly he concluded the whole with an excellent Prayer which he made with admirable servour of Spirit as Brousson found that God bestowed a particular Blessing on his Labour he told him when he returned to him That he ought to continue his Work it was what himself greatly desired but finding Brousson somewhat re-established in his Health and that he was now in a Condition himself to go and preach the Gospel in Person as he had constantly done by Writing during the time of his Sickness by sending up and down Copies of his Sermons among the Faithful he had some regret to abandon Brousson knowing the need he had of his assistance for Poutant knew perfectly well all the Country whereas another faithful Friend whom Brousson had pitched upon for his Companion and who had already been some time with him did not know it near so well but Brousson told him he had rather want his assistance than that the People should be deprived of the Edification which they might receive by his Labours and that God who knew the sincerity of his Intentions would take care of him insomuch that being separated from him after that Brousson had again recommended him to the Grace of God God hath since that time done great things by his Ministry Brousson on his part set himself again to gather Meetings but as he found himself still very feâble he could not from thence forward but every Eighth Day or thereabouts exercise his Function in the mean time he found the Zeal of the People much inflamed during his Sickness whether arising from the fear they had of being deprived of
Happiness Death and Judgment Arch-bishop Tenison 's Sermon preached at the Funeral of Her late Majesty 41. In this Princess Authority Majesty and Humility met together That dwelt in her to such a degree that in her Presence or within her Hearing the speaking of this which I have said or any thing like this would have been exceedingly offensive But the Justice of Nations gives those Praises to the Merit of good Princes which their own Modesty would not bear An ordinary Instance may suffice for the shewing her averseness not only to Flattery but to Praise Of a Book addressed to her she said She had read it and lik'd it well but much the better because the Epistle was a bare Dedication Ibid. 42. Her Graces and Vertues were not blemished by Vanity or Affection Had that been so she would scarce have made such a Profession as this a little before her Death I know said she what loose People think of those who pretend to Religion they think it is all Hypocrisie Let them think what they will I may now say and I thank God I can say it I have not affected to appear what I was not Ibid. 43. Seeing God had determin'd this good Queen must die the Christian Manner in which she went out of the World is in some sort an Alleviation of the Grief of those whom she has left behind her who have indeed Reason more than enough to mourn but yet not as Persons without hope Ibid. 44. I will not say that of this Affliction she had any formal Presage but yet there was something which look'd like an immediate Preparation for it I mean her choosing to hear read more than once a little before it the last Sermon of a Good and Learned Man now with God upon this Subject What! shall we receive Good from the Hand of God and shall we not receive Evil Job 2.10 Ibid. 45. She fix'd the Times of Prayers in that Chamber to which her Sickness had confin'd her On that very Day she shewed how sensible she was of Death and how little she fear'd it She required him who officiated there to add that Collect in the Communion of the Sick in which are these Words That whensoever the Soul shall depart from the Body it may be without Spot presented unto Thee I will said she have this Collect read twice every Day All have need to be put in mind of Death and Princes have as much as any Body else Ibid. 46. She seem'd neither to fear Death nor to covet Life There appear'd not the least Sign of Regret for the leaving of those Temporal Greatnesses which make so many of high Estate unwilling to die It was you may imagine high Satisfaction to hear her say a great many most Christian Things and this amongst them I believe I shall now soon die and I thank God I have from my Youth learned a true Doctrine that Repentance is not to be put off to a Death-bed Ibid. 47. On Thursday she prepared herself for the blessed Communion to which she had been no Stranger from the Fifteenth Year of her Age. She was much concern'd that she found herself in so Dozing a Condition so she expressed it To that she added Others had need to pray for me seeing I am so little able to pray for my self 48. When a Second Portion of a certain Draught was offer'd her she refus'd it saying I have but a little Time to live and I would spend it a better way Ibid. 49. In all these Afflictions the King was greatly afflicted how sensibly and yet how becomingly many saw but few have Skill enough to describe it I 'm satisfied I have not At last the Helps of Art and Prayers and Tears not prevailing a Quarter before One on Friday Morning after two or three small Strugglings of Nature and without such Agonies as in such Cases are common having like David serv'd her own Generation by the Will of God she fell on sleep Thus far Arch-bishop Tenison 50. Before the Queen had exceeded the Age of Childhood when in the midst of her Play she was imitating the Dutch March with her Hands upon the Cover of a Chest and was admonish'd not to mind the Dutch the King her Uncle's Enemy but on the other side France and the Dauthin were commended to her with a Divine and Prophetic Utterance she made answer I care not for France 't is Holland I desire Not many Words indeed but certainly Prognosticating and apparently then foretelling that fame Wedlock from Heaven conferr'd upon us and upon all Europe Dr. Perizonius 's Oration on the Queen in Holland 51. She had a greater Regard to the Dignity of those on whom she conferr'd her Bounty than to her own Fame in so fruitful a Field of Honour nor would she endure it should be spread abroad how many or who they were whom she supported by her Liberality Therefore she sate by herself and four times a Year alone in her Closet carefully computed what she had formerly determin'd to give to every one She view'd the Accompts of her Beneficence herself and distributed it from those Notes to several parts of the World by Letters written with her own Hand no Body being admitted to assist her in so Noble an Office because it was not her pleasure that any Body should be concern'd in the Testimony of her Conscience This was that which the ancient Stoics so studiously inculcated but very difficulty perswaded either others or themselves to observe That Vertue was to be desir'd for its own sake without any respect of Profit Praise or in hopes of great Advancement Ibid. 52. After the Expedition for England the Queen being tyr'd out with Grief and Mourning she order'd a Lady to be sent for of approved Probity and Illustrious Quality into whose Breast she might discharge the Sighs and Afflictions which then oppress'd her And then it was that she poured forth these Expressions sad indeed but worthy to be Engraven in Gold or carv'd in Cedar That if the only thing contended for were the Right which her Birth and the Laws of the Land had given her to the Inheritance of three Kingdoms she would never assent that it should be justify'd and recover'd by Arms from her Father but that she was over-rul'd by this Perswasion alone that the Laws of her Country and the Safety of the true Reformed Religion were in apparent danger Otherwise that she would reddily and patiently acquiesce and be satisfi'd with the Fortune which she had obtain'd in this Country with the Love and good Will of all Men which was dearer to her than a Kingdom And that she could not but extol the wonderful Goodness of God toward her that tho' she spent her brittle Years in a Court besieg'd with Vice and Impiety and tho' after the Death of her Mother she grew up under a Step-Dame and a Father devoted to the Church of Rome and were little minded by her Vncle yet she had so
after his waking led him to another Bed lay his Head on a Pillow on the Beds-feet and in his Gown they commit him to his Rest when he waked in the Morning they stood by him and when he denied that he had risen and read and written such things they convinced him by so many circumstances 'T is wonderful that he remembred nothing that he read and writ in his Sleep he saith he observed him for 3 or 4 hours at a time walking in the Night reading and writing and which was more wonderful his Pronounciations was the same as in the day Having left the Schools a long time he married a Vertuous Wife yet concealed it from her he would rise take his Child walk about his House his Wife following him being asked by her he would answer to her demands and discover the Secrets of his Heart with exact Truth c. Henab Heer 's Obs. Med. l. 1. Obs. 2. p. 32. 33. 4. Platerus saith that Johan Oporinus an excellent Printer Night growing on was shut out of the City together with his Father and that they might pass the Night the better they set upon the Correction of a Greek Copy Opirinus read the Text and though falling asleep yet ââe continued reading being afterwards awaked he remembred nothing that he had read although it was an intire Page Plater Obs. l. 1. p. 12. 5. Horstius writes of one in his Sleep that rose up in his Cloaths Boots and Spurs got up into the Window where he sate stradling smiting the Walls with his Spurs till he awaked Schenck Obs. l. 1. p. 65. 6. Schenchius writes of a Man at Helmestadt who rose in his Sleep went down the Stairs into a Court from thence towards the Kitchin near which there was a deep Well into this he went down holding fast to the Stones by his Hands and Feet but when he touched the Water with the Cold thereof he was awaked and finding in what danger he was made a pitiful Out-cry which awaked those in the House who having found him got him out and brought him into his Bed where he lay many days Speechless and immoveable being extreamly weakned with Fear Cold and Crying ibid. 7. Strange is the Story of a young Gentleman who in his sleep arose Naked carrying his Shirt in his Hand and by the help of a Rope clambered up to a high Turret in the Castle where he was at that time here he found a Nest of Magpies which he Robbed and put the young ones into his Shirt and so by the same Rope descended and returned to his Bed The next morning being awaked he told his Brother how he dreamed that he had Robbed a Pies Nest and withal wondred what was become of his Shirt rose and found it at his Beds-feet with the young-ones wrapt up in it Schenck Obs. l. 1. Obs. 1. p. 65. 8. Horstius tells of a Kinsman that dwelt with him at Wittenberg who came home in the Evening somewhat in Drink to bed he went slept till Midnight then he got up in his Sleep walked to and fro for a while then hastily went to the Window and got out He lying in the same Chamber awoke called his Servant and asked him if the young-man was in Bed with him who replying no they got up went to the Window hoping to have found him sticking there and to have pulled him back but just as they came he fell into the Paved Street below 14 Ells high where he lay for sometime Speechless and Immoveable and though much hurt yet after sometime he was recovered Fabrit Obs. Chirurg t. 2. Obs. 84. p. 159. CHAP. XVIII Persons remarkable for Waking long HEre certainly the Causes must be contrary to those of the foregoing Chapter and therefore there is less necessity of Descant and Commentary for Opposites set one against the other give a mutual Illustration one to the other and methinks this may suggest to us an occasion of Complaining that we spend too much of our Life in unnecessary repose Nature certainly would be content with much less than we take Lust is a Great Tyrant and an unmerciful Devourer of our Time and Spirits 1. Fernelius speaks of one who lived without sleep 14 Months but this Man was possest with Madness and his Brain it should seem being heated with Melancholy did beget Animal Spirits without much wasting of them Schenck Obs. Med. l. 1 p. 64. 2. Arsenius the Tutor of Arcadius and Honoricus the Emperours being made a Monk did satisfie Nature with so short a sleep that he was used to say that for a Monk it was enough if he slept but one hour in a Night Zuing. Tha. Vol. 2. l. 5. p. 415. 3. George Castriot called Scanderberg was content with so little sleep that it is reported of him that for the whole time he Governed Epirus he never slept above two hours in one Night yet he died in the 63 year of his Age. ibid. 4. Seneca reports of Maecanas Augustus's Favourite that he lived three years entire without sleep and was at last cured of the Distemper by Musick Sen. de Providentiâ 5. It is reported of Nizolus the Treasurer of Ciceroes Words and Phrases that he lived 10 years without sleep Schenck Obs. l. 1. p. 64. Heurinus prax l. 2. c. 7. Ross arcan Microcosm p. 99. 6. We Read of a Noble Lady saith Schenkius that for 35 years lived without sleep and in good Health as her Husband and Family could and did Witness but we leave this to the Faith of the Reader who may take his liberty ibid. CHAP. XIX Abstainers from Drink THE two Grand Precepts of the Stoick Philosophers were ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã Sustine Abstine âeaâ and forbear or abstain certainly 't is worthy of Remark how far Powers of Nature and âââwill will go with a Man even upon the Stock of Common Gâace The Government of the Sensitive Appetite especially in respect of Drinks is none of the easiest âasks incumbent upon Humane Nature and yet we shall find some in this respect commanding themselves to Admiration thô sometime it must be confest the very Texture and Mixtion of Humours with their Constitutions gives an Advantage and sometimes fear of some imminent Danger adds a Spâr to their Nature 1. A Noble Man of Piedmont being Sick of the Dropsie sent for Doctor Albertus Roscius who finding the Dropsie confirmed and the Patient averse from all Remedies he told him that he must abstain from all Liquors The Nobleman at the hearing of this did so far abstain from all kind of Drinks that he did not so much as tast of any thing that was Liquid for a Month's time by which means he was restored to his former Health Fab. Obs. Chirurg Cent. 4. Obs. 41. p. 319. 2. It is said of Abraames Bishop of Carras that he drank not nor made use of Water wherein to boil his Herbs but his manner was to feed on Endive Lettuce and Fruiâ and from these also he used
in the Womb both Suck together or are both equally desirous of Nourishment together They were Christned by the Names of Aquila and Priscilla See the Printed Relation 22. Anno 1691. March 25. There was Calved about 8 miles from Bath in Somersetshire a Calf having the resemblance of a Woman 's Head-dress call'd a Commode near half a yard in height growing on its Head which hath been exposed to publick view in the Tower of London CHAP. XXVIII Instances of an Early or rather Ripe Wit THere is something in earliness of Parts that pleaseth mightily whether it be the preciousness of time much whereof is saved by this means or the hopes it gives of growing apace towards an Excellency and Perfection or the security of a present improvement which future Aâcidents of Life cannot endanger Whatever 't is it delighteth and obligeth and allureth both Eye Admiration and Affection And I was the more willing to insert this Chapter and muster up these instances for a spur to Childhood and Youth to provoke tender years to a virtuous Emulation and to make dull Flegmatick Souls that are overtaken with the Noon-Sun before they have done any thing of any value Ashamed and Penitent 1. Salmasius interpreted Pindar very exactly in the 10th year of his Age. L. Ant. Clement de ejus Laud. Vitâ 2. Avicenna born at Bochara at 10 understood human Sciences and the Alchoran and went through all the Encyclopedia before 18 during which time he slept not one whole night and minded nothing but Reading In and difficulty he went to the Temple and Prayed Hottinger 3. Thomas Aquinas is reported when a Child to take his Book always to Bed with him Pontan Attic. Bellar. 4. Cardinal Bellarmine whilst at School Interpreted publickly Cicero's Oration pro Milone at 16 began to Preach and openly Read the Grounds of Divinity Author of the Education of Young Gentlemen 5. Torquato Tasso spoke plain at 6 months old at 3 years went to Schook at 7 he understood Latin and Greek and made Verses before 12 he finished his Course of Rhetorick Poetry Logick and Ethicks At 17 he received his Degrees in Philosophy Laws and Divinity and then printed his Rinaldo Idem 6. Cardinal du Perron Read over all the Almagest of Ptolomy in 13 days before he was 18 years old Ibid. 7. Augustus at 19 contrary to the Advice of his Friends put himself upon the Management of Affairs claimed his Fathers Inheritance and Succession of his Uncle Julius Ibid. 8. Cosmo Medici took upon him the Government of Florence at 17. Ibid. 9. Vesalius when a Child began to cut up Rats and Mice Ibid. 10. Mich. Angelo when a Child began to draw Figures Ibid. 11. Galen when a Child began to compose Medicines Ibid. 12. Joha P.c. Mirandula out-went his Teachers The 900 Conclusions which he proposed to Defend against all Opposers he being but 21 years of Age shew what he was and he never retired till his Death Ibid. 13. Jos Sealiger all the time he lived with his Father in his Youth ever day Declaimed and before 17 he made his Tragedy of Oedipus Ibid. 14. Grotius at 8 years old made Verses and performed his publick Exercises in Philosophy before 15 he put forth his Comment upon Martianus Capella at 16 he pleaded Causes and at 17 he put forth his Comment upon Aratus Idem See his Life 15. Lipsius writ his Books Variarum Lectionum at 18 years old Ingenium habuit Docile omnium capax praeter Musices Ibid. 16. Sir Philip Sidney saith Sir Foulk Grevill though I knew him from a Child yet I never knew him other than a Man with such staidness of Mind and early and familiar Gravity as carried Grace and Reverence above greater years Lanquet and William Prince of Orange kept a Correspondence with him when a Boy 17. Calvin Printed his Iustitutions before he was 25. 18. Tostatus learned all the Liberal Sciences without being Taught and writ in the 40 years he lived as much as most in that time can Read And yet at the same time he was Councellor to the King Refendary Major of Spain and Professor of Philosophy Divinity and Law in Salamanca 19. Chreighton the Scotch-man at 21. understood 12 Languages and had Read over all the Poets and Fathers disputed de omni Scibili and answered ex tempore in Verse 20. Monsieur Pascal observing the Sound of an Earthen Dish at Table enquired the Reason and presently after made a Treatise concerning Sounds about 11 years of Age At 12 he read and comprehended Euclid's Elements with great Facility without and Master At 16 he composed a Treatise of Conics At 19 he invented that Instrument of Arithmetick now in Print At 23 he added a great number of Experiments to those of Torricelli 21. Mr. J. Janeway of Hertfordshire born Anno 1633. at 11 years of Age took a great fancy to Arithmetick and the Hebrew Tongue Before he was 13 he read over Oughtred with understanding whilst a Scholar at Eaton he made an Almanack at 17 was chosen Fellow of King's Colledge Cambridge See his Life 22. King Edward VI. with his Sister Elizabeth in his tender years was committed to the Tuition of Dr. Cox and Sir John Cheek wherein he profited to Admiration having in a short time attained to speak most usual Languages as Greek Latin French Italian Spanish and Dutch and also to know many other Sciences that he seemed rather to be Born than Brought up to them Nor was he ignorant in Logick Natural Philosophy or Musick and as he wanted not Happiness of Wit Dexterity of Nature nor good Instructions so neither was he himself wanting in Diligence to receive their Instructions for in the midst of his Recreations he would always be sure to observe his hours for Study where he was serious and intent during that time and would then return to his Pastime again Bishop Cranmer observing his readiness in the Greek and Latin Tongues declared to Dr. Cox That he could never have thought that to have been in him if he had not seen it himself When he was not above 7 years of Age he wrote two Letters to his Godfather Archbishop Cranmer in Latin Thus Englished Most Reverend Father and my most Dear God-Father I Wish you all Health and Happiness having been a good while from you I should be glad to hear of your good Health however my Prayers are continually for you that you may live long and may go on to promote the Gospel of God Farewell Your Son in Christ Edward Prince Another Letter of King Edward's to Archbishop Cranmer written in Latin which is thus Englished Most Reverend God-Father ALthough I am but a Child yet I am not altogether insensible or unmindful of your great love and kindness towards me and of your daily care for promoting my Good and Benefit Your kind and loving Letters came not to my hands till the Eve of St. Peter and the reason that I did not answer them all this
Lord Bacon casts up her Age to be 140 at least adding withal that she recovered her Teeth after casting them 3 several times Rawleigh Hist World l. 1. c. 5. p. 166. Fuller p. 310 13. Garsius Aretinus lived to 194 years in good state of Health and deceased without being seized with any apparent Disease only perceiving this Strength somewhat weakned Thus writes Petranch of him to whom Garsias was great Grandfather by the Fathers side Fulgos. l. 8. c. 14. p. 1096. 14. Thomas Parre Son of John Parre born at Alderbury in the Parish of Winninton in Shropshire he was born in the Reign of King Edward IV. Anno 1483. at 80 years he marryed his first Wife Jane and in the space of 32 years had but two Children by her both of them short lived the one lived but a Month the other but a few years being Aged 120 he fell in Love with Katherine Milton and got her with Child He lived to above 150 years two Months before his Death he was brought up by thomas Earl of Arundel to Westminster he slept away most of his time and is thus Characterised by an Eye Witness of him From Head to Heel his body had all over A Quick set Thick set Natural Hairy Cover change of Air and Dyet are conceived to Accelerate his Death which happened November 15 Anno 1634 and was buried in the Abby Church at Westminster Fullers Worthies p. 11. Shropshire 15. John of Times was Armour-bearer to Charles the Great by whom he was also made Knight being a Man of great Temperance Sobriety and Contentment of Mind in his Condition of Life lived unto the 9th year of the Emperor Conrade and died at the Age of 361 years Anno 1128. 1146 saith Fulgosus Bakers Chron. p. 73. 16. Guido Bonatus a Man of great Learning saith he saw a Man whose name was Richard Anno 1223 who told him that he was a Soldier under Charlemain and that he had now lived to the 400th year of his Age. Fulgos. l. 8. c. 14. p. 1098. CHAP. XXXIII Examples of a Vegete and Healthful Old Age. I have often look'd upon Old Age as the very Dregs of Life the Sediment of our Natural Humour 's a Complex of Infirmities but the following Instances would tempt one to love Temperance for Lifes sake and Life for it self for no doubt but the Sweetness of Life consists much in the Healthful and Vegete Temper of our Bodies and a Virtuous course of Life and due Abstinence Conduceth much thereto when the Debauch'd Sensualist lies down under the Burden of his Carelesness and the Sins of his Youth never able to retrieve the Damages of his former Lusts 1. Sir Walter Rawleigh in his Discovery of Guiana reports of the King of Aromaia being 110 years Old came in a Morning on foot to him from his House which was 14 English Miles and returned on foot the same day Hakew. Apolog. l. 3. c. 1. p. 166. 2. Buchanan in his Scottish History speaks of one Lawrence who dwelling in one of the Orcades marryed a Wife after he was 100 years of Age and more and that when he was 140 years old he doubted not to go a Fishing alone in his little Boat though in a rough and Tempestuous Sea Camor Hor Subs. c. 2. cap. 68. p. 277. 3. Sigismemd Polcastrus a Physician and Philosopher of Padua Read there 50 years in his Old Age he buried 4 Sons in a short time at 70 years of Age he married again and by his second Wife he had 3 Sons the eldest of which called Anronius he saw dignified with a Degree in both Laws Jerome another of his Sons had his Cap set upon his Head by his Aged Father who Trembled and Wept for Joy not long after which the Old Man died Aged 94 years Schenck p. 539. 4. Platerus tells of Thomas Platerus His Father upon the Death of his first Wife Anno 1572. and the 73 year of his Age married a second time within the compass of 10 years he had 6 Children by her 2 Sons and 4 Daughters the youngest of his Daughters was born in the 81 year of his Age two years before he died J Foelix was born Anno 1536 and my Brother Thomas 1574 the distance between us being 38 years and yet my Brother is all Gray and seems Elder then my self possibly because he was gotten when my Father was stricken in years Pl. Obs. p. 275. 5. M. Valerllus Corvinus attained to the fulfilling of 100 years betwixt whose first and sixth Consulship there was the distance of 47 years yet was he sufficient in respect of the entireness of his bodily Strength not only for the most important Matters of the Common-wealth but also for the exactest Culture of his Fields a Memorable Example Val. Max. l. 8. c. 13. p. 236. 6. Metellus equalled the length of his Life and in extream Age was created Pontiffe for 22 years he had the ordering of the Ceremonies in all which time his Tongue never faultred in Solemn Prayers nor did his Hand tremble in the Offering of the Sacrifices Val. Max. ibid. p. 238. 7. Nicholaut Leonicenus was in the 96 year of his Age when Langius heard him at Ferrara where he had Taught more then 70 years he used to say that he enjoyed a Green and Vegete Age because he had delivered up his Youth chast unto Man's Estate Melch. Adam in Vit. Germ. Med. p. 141. 8. Massanissa was the King of Numidia for 60 years together and excelled all other Men in respect of Strength and of an admirable Old Age that for no Rein or Cold he would be induced to cover his Head they say of him that when he was on Horseback he would lead his Army for the most part both a compleat day and the whole Night also nor would he in extream Age omit any thing of that which he had accustomed to do when young and after the 86th year of his Age he begat a Son and whereas his Land was was waste and desert he left it fruitful by his continual Endeavours in the Cultivation of it he lived till he was above 90 years of Age. Val. M. p. 236. 9. Cornarus the Venetian was in his Youth of a Sickly body began to eat and drink first by measure to a certain weight thereby to recover his Health this Cure turned by use into a Diet that Diet into an extraordinary long Life even of 100 years and better without any decay of his Senses and with a constant enjoyment of Health Verulam's Hist of Life and Death p. 134. 10. Appius Claudius Coecus was blind for the space of very many years yet notwithstanding he was burden'd with this mischance he govern'd 4 Sons and five Daughters very many Dependants upon him yea and the Common-wealth it self with abundance of Prudence and Magnanimity when he had lived so long that he was even tired with living caused himself to be carried to the Senate for no other purpose then to perswade them
both in publick Repositories and in private Hands two such as these the one 10 foot long were presented not long ago to the King of Denmark being taken near Nova Zembla and I have seen some full 15 foot long some wreath'd very thick some not so much others almost plain some largest and thickest at the End near the Head others are largest at some distance from the Head some very sharp at the end or point others blunt My Honoured Father Sir Tho. Brown had a very fair piece of one which was formerly among the Duke of Curland's Rarities I have seen a Walking Staff a Scepter a Scabbard for a Sword Boxes and other Curiosities made out of this Horn c. But of these Unicorns the King of Denmark and his Father had so many that he was able to spare a great number of them to build a Magnificent Throne out of Unicorn's Horns Dr. Browns Trav. p. 101. c. CHAP. XXXIX Strange Fish I remember when I was a little Boy and went first a Angling I brought home two or three small Dace and Breams with no little Joy and a secret promise of Applause to my self for my Success in the Game but my Mother with some Indignation refused to give her consent fro the Dressing of them I have not served my Reader so here No the Watry Element is so stored with such abundance of these Animals and the Sea takes up so great a part of this lower World that I have passed by all the common Species and present my Reader with the Huge Leviathan the Loving Dolphin the great Manaty and others strange and admirable for some Property or other that I promise my self my Reader will not serve me now as my Mother did then 1. The Whale is the greatest and chief of all Fishes That Whale taken in the Scheld 10 Miles from Antwerp Anno 1677 was of a blackish blue colour he had a Snout on his Head wherewith he belch'd up Water with great force he was 58 foot long 16 foot high his Tail was 14 foot broad from his Eye to the tip of his Nose 16 foot his lower Chap 6 foot of each side armed with 25 Teeth and there were as many holes in the Upper Chap where Teeth had been the longest of his Teeth 6 Thumbs long A Whale taken at Sceveling near the Hague was 60 foot long Johnston Class 9. cap. 3. p. 290. In the 6th year of Queen Elizabeth in the Month of December at Grimsby in Lincolnshire was driven on shoar a Monstrous Fish in length 19 Yards his Tail 15 foot broad and 6 yards between the Eyes 12 Men stood upright in his Mouth to get out the Oyl In the 17th Year a vast Whale was cast upon Thanet Isle in Kent 20 Ells long and 13 foot broad from the Belly to the Back-bone and 11 foot between the Eyes one of his Eyes being taken out of his Head was more then 2 Cart with 6 Horses could draw the Oyl being boiled out of his Head was Parmacittee Bakers Chron. The ordinary Dimension of the Whale is 36 Cubits in length and 8 in thickness yet Nearchus in Arianus is said to have measured one in the Indian Seas 50 Cubits long and proportionably broad Pliny exceeds all bounds of Credibility when he tells of some 960 foot or 4 Acres long Heylin's Cosmogr p. 876. 2. The Dolphins are so swift that they swim faster then a Shp under Sail before the Wind saith Bellonius when they play on the calm Sea they foreshew which way the Wind will blow and when they cast up Water the Sea being troubled they foreshew a Calm Thomas thinks that Exhalations rising from the bottom of the Sea when a Storm is at hand in Winter is the cause of it and he thinks that the Dolphin feels heat thereby and so breaks forth the oftner but Rondeletius thinks they are affected in the Water with the motion of the Air as those that are Sick are wont to be when the South Wind begins to blow Johnston p. 294. The last Year of King Edward VI. was taken at Quinborough three Dolphins and at Blackwall 6 more the last of which was bigger then a Horse Baker 3. The Manaty is a great Fish taken in the Rivers of Hispaniola his Head is like an Ox-head or bigger his Eyes in respect of his body are small he hath two thick Feet like Wings in the place of Gills with which he swims he hath a thick Skin and no Scales He is so great that there needs a Yoke of Oxen to carry him sometimes he is 14 or 15 foot long and 8 hands thick he hath two stones or rather bones in his Head so great as little hand-balls he wants Ears but in their place he hath small holes by which he hears His Skin is like the Skin of a shrevell'd Ox a Finger thick Ash colour and thin of Hairs the Tail is all Nervous which being boiled or fryed it resolves into fat Johnston p. 296. 4. The Swordfish hath a beck on both Chaps but the lower of them is short and triangular the upper is more bony and harder and far longer sometimes two Cubits long In the Indian Sea they grow so great that they will pierce the sides of the strongest Ship a hand and a half in thickness sometimes Gesner writes that a faithful Friend of his saw a Man when he sailed to Syria thar swam by the Ships side and he was cut in the middle by the beck of this Fish Johnston p. 304. 5. The Torpedo has his name because he benums the Hands and he doth this so effectually that before he is taken he will do it by the Net or the Rod. Johnston p. 303. 6. The âunies are chiefly caught about Constantinople for when they are past Chalcedon a certain white Rock appears to them and so terrifies them that immediatly they put over to the farthest Bank and being taken by the swift Current of the Waters turns their course to Constantinople so that they are tkane in their Snares in great numbers they are bred in the Lakes of Maeotis 9. The Remora is said to stay Ships Petrus Melaras of Bononia reports That the Ship of Francis Cardinal of Troas when he went by Sea out of France was held frst in the swiftness of its course Many have sought the cause but no Man hath certainly found it Saith Johnston Hist Nat. Class 9. c. 7. p. 331. 8. Tritons or Fishes having the Face Lineaments and shape of Man's body one was seen in the days of Tiberius another in the time of Augustus a third under Nero Aelian Theodor. Gaza Trapezuntius Alex. ab Alex. Scaliger and divers others affirm the Truth of this yet these Tritons or Nereides cannot be called nor are they Men though they have the outward shape for it is not the matter nor outward Lineaments but the form that gives Essence and Denomination Ross Arcana Microcosin l. 2. p. 18. In King John's Reign such a Fish was taken
Fume whereby the Beams of the Eyes they corrupt the Visive Spirit They go half upright and have a Comb like a Cock fear'd by all other Serpents if seen or heard but they themselves fear the Weasel Ibid. 19. Sagitta Jacularis Serpens volens the Dart so called because he will leap or shoot himself at least 10 yards he is about 3 or 4 foot long Its Poison is present Death scarce Curable Ibid. 20 The Salamander is a four footed Creature a kind of a Lizard black and full of yellow specks with a great Head It is a bold Creature delights in moist places and clear Springs They are reported to live in Fire but that is a Story for they no otherwise live there but by quenching it by a cold moist humour which issues from them when that is exhausted if the Fire continues they are subject to destruction They have as many Venoms as colours If they once Bite they never let go The Cure is by Decoction of Frogs drink Milk c. Ibid. 21 Seps Sepidon Selsiâ has a broad Head slender Tail of many colours about a yard long He causes the part to Rot which he bites For the Cure wash with Vinegar and Oximel Ibid. 22. The Serpent ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã is a kind of Snake a crafty Creature lying all the Winter under the Earth or Roots of Birch or Hasel casting its Skin every Spring and Autumn They are best in the Spring when they have cast their Skins and recruited their Flesh with Food The Head Gall and Tail and to be cast away The Heart Liver Flesh and Bones are a precious Treasure in Physick concerning which see more in Salmon's Dispensatory l. 2. c. 5. p. 252. 23. The Snake Anguis Chersydrus the Water Snake their Poison is not inferiour to that of other Serpents when they Bite there ensueth great Pain Inflammation blackness in the Wound the Vertigo and Death within four days The Water Snake has a fiery Poison which disperses it self over the whole Body which when it comes to the Heart the Creature immediately falls down dead Therefore it is best if a part be bitten presently to cut it off otherwise to apply Organy beaten with Oil of Tartar and Oil Olive or Oak-Ashes mixt with Barly-Meal Pitch Water and Honey boiled to Poultis 1. The Liver of a Snake breaks the Stone in the Bladder 2. The Flesh eaten cures the Leprosie and Pox applied it helps Wounds 3. The Skin boiled in Wine and that Wine Dropt into the Ears easeth the Pains of them Ibid. p. 247. 24. The Viper ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã is a Creature that brings forth alive exceeding other Serpents in Venom sleeping all the Winter under the Earth in Rocks The young Females are the best being taken in the Spring Vipers have stronger Virtues than Serpents and they have also the same preparation In the Viper there is nothing Venemous but the Head and Gall. Concerning its excellent Virtues in Physick See Salmon's Dispensatory p. 253. Having given this Account of the Particular Species of Serpents out of Mr. Salmon we will conclude with some general Remarks out of Jo. Jonston's History of the wonderful things of Nature In the Province of Caraia under the King of Tartary some Serpents are 10 yards long and 10 hands broad some want fore feet but have Claws in the room of them their Eyes are as great as two small Loaves for which he cites Paul Venetus Americus Vespasius saw some in the Indies which Men did Eat as big as Kids a yard and an half long with long feet strong claws of divers colours nosed like Serpents having from the Ears to the Tail a certain Bristle going quire through the Back Ludovic Rom. Sais Calicut breeds the like as great as Boars with fore-feet no Venom yet biting dangerously Anno 1543. there appeared four footed Beasts in the Borders of Germany near to Styria like Lizards with Wings whose Biting was incurable Anno 1550. about St. Margarets-Day in Hungary near Zisca about the River Theysse they were found in the Bodies of many They killed about three thousand men Some came out of Men's mouths but they went in again It is almost incredible what is reported of those places that multitudes of them were found in piles or handfuls of Wheat and when the Countrymen thought to burn them there came a great many more forth and charged them with Man's Voice to forbear saying That they were not bred naturally but sent by God to punish Men for their Sins Johnston's Nat. Hist Class 7. c. 33. This puts me in mind of a Story related by Matt. Paris which is this Anno 1234. Walter Grey Archbishop of York having 5 years Corn under hand would not thresh it out for the Relief of the Poor in three year Famine hoping still that the price would encrease being told by his Officers it was greatly to be fear'd least the Corn were consumed by Mice he willed them to deliver it to Husbandmen who dwelt in his Mannor upon Condition they should pay him as much new for it after Harvest They attempting to take down a great Mow of Corn which he had at Rippon saw the heads of many Snakes Toads and other Venemous Creatures peering out at the end of the Sheaves The Bishop hereupon forces certain poor Men to go up with Ladders they were scarcely up when they saw a great Smoak rising out of the Corn and felt withall a loathsome Stink which compelled them with all haste possible to hasten down again Moreover they heard an unknown Voice saying unto them Let the Corn alone for the Archbishop and all that he has belongs to the Devil In fine saith the Story they were fain to build a Wall about the Corn and then set it on Fire fearing least such a huge number of Venemous Creatures should impoison or annoy the whole Country Charles Fitz-Jeffery's Curse of Corn-holders p. 24. Schiltbertus a Hollander tells a Story of a Combat between Sea and Land Serpents thus In the Kingdom of Genyck there is a City called Sampson where Water-Snakes and Land Serpents innumerable did surround it for a Mile about These came forth of the Woods which are many in the Countries adjoyning and these forth of the Sea Whilst these met for 9 days no man for fear durst stir forth yet they hurt neither Man nor any other living Creature On the 10th day these two kinds of Serpents began to fight early in the morning and continued till Sun-set and then the Water-Serpents yielded to the Land-Serpents the next day 8000 of them were found dead It is most certain that there are Serpents in the Sea Aristotle says they will overthrow Gallies and kill Men. Olaus Magnus writes That about Norway when the Sea is Calm Serpents will shew themselves that are an hundred or two hundred foot long and sometimes will catch Men from their Ships Johnst Nat. Hist c. 9. c. 18. Jacob Hollerius writes that by the frequent smelling of the
above a Miller hard by was called to their assistance who also suddenly fell down upon them and dyed to whom after some deliberation taken another Ventures down with a Rope about his middle but he fell from the Ladder in just the same manner and though presently drawn up by the People above yet was scarcely recovered in an Hour or more And on the 20th of Augusst 1674 upon a Buckets falling casually into a Well on the South-side of the said Town about a Furlong from the former a Woman calls her Neighbour a lusty strong Man to go down by a Ladder to fetch up her Bucket who also unmindful of the former accident soon granted her unhappy request for by that time he came half way down he fell dead from the Ladder into the Water the Woman amazed calls another of her Neighbours a Lusty young Man about 28 who hastily descending to give his assistance much about the same place also fell down from the Ladder and dyed without giving the least sign of his Change so suddenly Mortal are the Damps of that place Dr. Plots Nat. Hist of Oxfordshire p. 61. The Doctor advises all such as are to go down into any deep Well that may be suspected to have any Malignant noxious Steams or Vapours first to throw down into them a Peck of good Lime which slaking in the Water and fuming out the Top will so effectually dispel all such Poysonous Vapours that they may safely go down and stay sometime unhurt Ibid. p. 63. CHAP. LII Rain Hail Snow Frosts c. THE Governor of the World to shew his Wisdom and make his power known hath set the Sun in the Firmament among other Offices to exhale and draw up the Vapours and moisture from the Earth into the Vpper Regions of the Air and when they are condensed into Clouds he hath the Winds ready to carry them about from place to place and when they are Sunn'd and Fann'd sufficiently there and made pure and fit for our use he doth again either dissolve or congeal them and send them down to us in the several Species of Rain Hail Snow c. O Lord our Governor how excellent is thy Name in all the Earth 1. The 30th of July Anno 1662. was a very stormy and tempestuous day in Cheshire and Lancashire At Ormskerk there was such a Storm of Hail as brake the Glass-Windows and did much hurt to the Corn. Mr. Heywood the Minister measured an Hail-Stone after some of it was wasted and found it 4 Inches about others were judged to be greater 2. The 13th of October Anno 1666. there was in Lincolnshire a dreadful Storm of Thunder and Hail-Stones much bigger than Pidgeons Eggs and some fell as large as Pullets Eggs. Ibid. 3. The 26th of June Anno 1682. in New England there were the most amazing Lightnings that had been known grievous Hail falling with it At Springfield it was most dreadful where great pieces of Ice some 7 some 9 Inches about fell down from the Clouds with such violence that the Shingles upon some Houses were broken thereby and holes beat into the Ground that a Man might put his Hand in Several Acres of Corn were beat down and destroyed by the Hail c. Mather's Remarkable Providences p. 318. 4. In the 23th year of King Henry II. a shower of Blood rained in the Isle of Wight which continued two hours together Clark's Examples p. 571. 5. In June Anno 1653. a black Cloud was seen over the Town of Pool which a while after was dissolved into a shower of Blood that fell warm upon Men's hands Some green Leaves with those drops of Blood upon them were sent to London attested by Eye-witnesses Clark's Mirr p. 484. 6. Before Caesar's Death no only drops of Blood fell from Heaven but also Pitts and Pools flowed with Blood Plutarch 7. Anno 1620. it Rained Blood in Poland so abundantly that the drops fell very fast from the tops of the Houses Soon after the Tartars with 40000 Men invaded Poland exercising incredible cruelty killing in one place above 3000 Polanders And the Turks with 90000 men fell into Walslady where they had a bloody Encounter with 12000 Poles led by the Great Chancellor of the Kingdom who himself with the whole Army were slain few or none escaping Burtons Surp Mir. of Nature p. 99. 8. The 16th of July Anno 1622. in the Dukedom of Wittenburg it Rained Blood on the Hands and Clothes of Labouring-men and likewise upon Trees Stones and other places in the Fields In these parts at Noringen many thousands were slain Ibid. p 101. 9. The 29th of June Anno 1625. at Constantinople began a most terrible Tempest with Thunder and Lightning that all the City shewed as if it had been on Fire at the end whereof fell a Storm of Hail that brake Tiles and Glasses so that Stones were taken up of 150 Drams and the next morning some of them being weighed they were about 7 and 8 Ounces a piece wherewith they were sore wounded and the 3d of July after fell another Tempest of Thunder and Lightning which burned a Woman and Child and slew much Cattle in the Field Clarks Example c. 103. p. 490. 10. Anno 763. when the Turks first brake forth from about the Caspian Sea there was such an extraordinary cold Winter that the Euxine Sea was frozen 30 foot thick Men walked upon the Ice for 100 miles into the Sea yea all the Country from Lycia to Denubius and on the other side as far as Euphrates were so associated by the Frost as if they had been all one Country Some pieces of Ice like unto Mountains fell upon and beat down the Walls of several Cities Ibid. 11. In the Reign of King John were great Thunders and Lightning and Showers with Hail-Stones some as big as Goose Eggs. Clark's Mirr p. 571. 12. Anno 1568 upon All-Saints Eve the Sea excessively swelling in some places over-flowing and in others bearing down the Banks such a prodigious and unheard of Deluge covered certain Islands of Zealand with a great part of the Sea-Coast of Holland and almost all Friezeland as destroyed much Land and many Men. In Friezeland alone were 20000 Persons drowned whose Bodies with the Carcasses of Cattle Houshold Goods and broken Ribs of Ships floated all over the Fields the Land being indistinguishable from the Sea Many were saved from the tops of Hills and Trees being ready to starve by Boats Strada Clarks Examples p. 490. 13. Anno 1586. it Rained Locusts in Thracia and Ducks and Geese in Croatia as Leonclavius testifies who was an Eye witness of it The Locusts fell in such multitudes that they devoured all the Country And on the contrary the Ducks and Gâese fed and nourished many Cluverius Hist Mundi p. 742. Clark Ibid. 14. Anno 1608. a Frost began in December and continued till the April following with such violence that not only the Thames was so frozen that loaded Carts were driven over
Silver Sphere a most exquisite Piece of Art which ws sent by the Emperor Ferdinand to Soliman the Great Turk is mentioned by Paulus Jovias and Sabellicus It was carried by twelve Men unframed and re-framed in the Grand Seignor's Presence by the Maker of it who likewise delivered him a Book containing the Mystery of using it of which Du Bartus thus Nor may we smother or forget ungrately The Heav'n of Silver that was sent but lately From Ferdinando as a famous work Vnto Bizantium to the greatest Turk Wherein a Sprite still moving to and fro Made all the Engine orderly to go And tho' th' one Sphere did always slowly glide And contrary the other swiftly slide Yet still the Stars kept all their Courses even With the true Courses of the Stars of Heaven The Sun there shifting in the Zodiack His shining Horses never did for sake His pointing Path there in a Month his Sister Fulfill'd her Course and changing of her lustre And form of Face now larger lessor soon Follow'd the Changes of the other Moon Knowles Turk Hist p. 713. 2. The Duke of Holsteine hath order'd a Globe to be made in the City of Cottorp it is a double Globe made of Copper ten Foot and half in Diameter so that within it ten Persons may sit at a Table which with the Seats about it hangeth at one of its Poles There a Man may see by means of an Horizontal Circle within the Globe how the Stars and Sun its self out of its Center moveth of its self through its Ecliptick Degrees and riseth and setteth regularly The Motion of this Globe exactly followeth that of the Heavens and deriveth that Motion from certain Wheels driven by Water which is drawn out of a Mountain hard by and let in as it requireth more or less according to the swiftness of the Spheres Olearius Travels p. 339. 3. A. 1635. There was at Leige an English Jesuit named Linus who had saith Kircher a Phial or Glass of Water wherein a little Globe did float with the 24 Letters of the Alphabet described upon it on the inside of the Phial was an Index or Stile to which the Globe did turn and move it self at the Period of every Hour with that Letter that denoted the Hour of the Day successively as tho this little Globe kept Pace and Time with the Heavenly Motions And Kircher himself had a Vessel of Water in which just even with the Surface of the Water were the 24 Hours describ'd A piece of Cork was set upon the Water and therein were put some Seeds of the Heliotrope or Sun-Flower which like the Flower it self did turn the Cork about according to the Course of the Sun and with its Motion point out the Hours of the Day Gass in Vit. Paeiresk 1.5 p. 185. Hist Man Arti. c. 1. p. 10. 4. Galileo could by the help of a round Box held towards the Sun produce a Light that would shoot it self into a very dark Room and ascend by Degrees as a Vapour that is kinded by the Sun to the admiration of all Spectators It was a Concave Box that he used Fortes Feriae Ac. p. 123. Curious Inventions of Clock-work 5. Gaffarel tell us That he saw at Leghorn a Clock brought thither by a German to be sold which had many Rarities in it for besides an infinite number of strange Motions which appear'd not at all to the Eye you had there a Company of Shepherds some of them playing at Bagpipes with such Harmony and exquisite Motion of the Fingers as that one would have thought they had been alive others dancing by Couples keeping exact Time and Measure whilst others caper'd and leaped up and down with so much nimbleness that my Spirits were wholly ravish'd with the Sight saith he Gaffar Curios c. 7. p. 236. 6. Copernicus made an excellent Clock in which there was not only to be heard a number of different Noises occasioned by its various Motions but also most exactly to be discovered the Circuitions of all the Coelestial Orbs the Distinctions of Days Months Years there the Zodiack did explicate its Signs So performing the Circle of the Year there the playing Ram began the Spring Cancer produces the Summer Libra enriches it with Autumn and the Slothful Scorpio makes the Winter Here also the Moon changes in the Nones shines out more bright in the Ides and shamefully conceives her Conjuction with the Sun in the Kalends But those things which the Ingenious Artificer presented and as it were produced in the Scene upon the entrance of every Hour marvellously delighted the Spectators every Hour made Shew of some Mystery in our Faith The first Creation of the Light the powerful Separation of the Elements and all other intermediate Mysteries he had traced upon this Engine even to the great Eclipse that was when our Saviour suffered on Mount-Calvary to insist upon the particulars was the work of an Age the Eye that is the Devourer of such Beautiful Objects embrace more in an Hour than the Tongue is able to represent in a considerable space of time Fortes feria Acad. pag. 58. 7. A. 1571. Conraldus Dusipodius invented the most famous Clock at Strasburg Before the Clock stand a Globe on the Ground shewing the Motions of the Heavens Stars Planets namely of the Heaven carried about by the first Mover in 24 Hours of Saturn by his proper Motion carried about in 30 Years of Jupiter in 12 of Mars in 2 of the Sun Mercury and Venus in one Year of the Moon in a Month. In the Clock it self there be two Tables on the Right and Left Hand shewing the Eclipses of the Sun and Moon from the Year 1573. to A. 1624. The third Table in the midst is divided into three Parts In the first Part the Statues of Apollo and Diana shew the Course of the the Year and the Day thereof being carried about in one Year the second Part shews the Year of our Lord and of the World the Equinoctial Days the Hours of each Day the Minutes of each Hour Easter-day and all other Feasts and the Dominical Letter the third Part hath the Geographical Description of all Germany and particularly of Strasburgh and the Names of the Inventors and of all the Work-men In the middle Frame of the Clock is an Astrolabe shewing the Sign in which each Planet is every Day and there be the Statues of the seven Planets upon a round piece of Iron lying flat so that every Day the Statue of that Planet that rules the day comes forth the rest being hid within the Frames till they come out by course at their day as the Sun upon Sunday and so for all the Week And there is a Terrestrial Globe and the Quarter and the Half Hour and the Minutes are shew'd there There is also the Skull of a dead Man and two Statues of two Boys whereof one turns the Hour-Glass when the Clock hath struck the other puts forth the Rod in his Hand
A COMPLEAT HISTORY Of the MOST Remarkable Providences BOTH OF Judgment and Mercy Which have Hapned in this PRESENT AGE EXTRACTED From the Best WRITERS the AUTHOR' 's own OBSERVATIONS and the Numerous RELATIONS sent him from divers Parts of the Three KINGDOMS To which is Added Whatever is Curious in the Works of Nature and Art THE Whole Digested into One VOLUME under Proper Heads being a Work set on Foot Thirty Years ago by the Reverend Mr. POOL Author of the SYNOPSIS CRITICORUM And since Undertaken and Finish'd By WILLIAM TVRNER M. A. Vicar of WALBERTON in SUSSEX Recommended as useful to Ministers in Furnishing Topicks of Reproof and Exhortation and to Private Christians for their Closets and Families One Generation shall praise thy Works to another and shall declare thy mighty Acts. Psal 145.4 LONDON Printed for Iohn Dunton at the Raven in Jewen-Street MDCXCVII TO THE Right Reverend FATHER in GOD JOHN Lord Bishop of Chichester My LORD THE Dedication of Books to some Worthy Persons seems to be very natural For tho' Men of Great Abilities and Fame may appear in the World without any such Patrons to make Way for their Admittance yet we that are in a Lower Sphere stand in need of a Person of Figure and Value to give some Countenance to such Undertakings 'T is to you My Lord I therefore make my Application whose Genius according to what I have heard and from that short Conversation I have had with you I judge suitable to the Toyl and Greatness of that Province you are called to Preside over This is a Work I acknowledge if faithfully Discharged may perhaps offend and exasperate some and if not impartially Executed the God of Heaven will be Displeased and your own Conscience be Disobliged But I come not here so much to be your Monitor as with this small Present a Token of my Spiritual Fealty to bid your Lordship Welcome into our Diocess Where I pray you may do much Good and enjoy many Good Days and at last in God's good time may be removed to a better place I am My LORD Your most Humble Obedient and Faithful Son WILLIAM TURNER TO THE Courteous Reader THE Work I have undertaken is so difficult and obnoxious to Doubt and Error so slippery and obscure that it must be confest by any Man of a solid Judgment that I have been bold to make an Adventure upon such a Subject But the Genius of it being so generally acknowledg'd it will admit of much Candour and Alleviation from all Men of an honest Principle and sober Understanding 'T is true I have scaled the Mountains and scrabbled above the Clouds and open'd a little the Curtains that hid and separated the Secrets of Heaven from Common View and sometimes likewise have dived into the profoundest Secrets and Depths of Nature and at a distance look'd into the Divine Councels and made Enquiry into the Affairs of the other World but with so much Modesty and so little Pragmaticalness that it will not be easie for any but a man of a contentious Spirit to find out Matter to accuse me of If there be any that will take upon him to be my Adversary I challenge him to outvy me and if he can as I question not but he may find out new Matter and a better Method I shall thank and commend him for his Industry But if Men can only pick out a single Paragraph or particular Circumstance and nibble at it with their Teeth and bawl loud with their Tongues and proceed no further 't is a poor Game for a Man of good Sence to play at But I hope this Book will not meet with any Reader of this Tribe But if it do I desire and entreat him to go on with my Observations to the end and put all the ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã and strange Appearances of Providence Nature and Art into one Text and meditate seriously upon them and try to solve all the Difficulties of them and give us one more System of Philosophy that may give a full Satisfaction to Humane Reason in these Things to the World's end What I have done was undertaken with a Probity of Intention and managed with such a Competency or Portion and Pittance of Reason and Prudence as I was endowed with And no Man is answerable for more than he hath receiv'd I have been true and just to all Parties Jews and Gentiles and the Church of God to Protestants Papists Dissenters of all sorts so far as I know never daring wittingly and willingly to tell a Lye in the Cause of God or for Gods â Glory And no Body can in Justice tax me for Partiality in that Point for the Discourse must always suit with the Text and a History of Providence must be as extensive as the Subject itself And it is plain that the Divine Care and Government is spread over the whole Creation God commands his Sun to shine and his Rain to fall upon just and unjust and therefore I resolved at the first Enterprize of this Work Tros Tyriusque mihi nullo discrimine agentur I 'll make no difference but speak Truth of all Men that the Sun shines upon and the Divine Providence is concern'd with Let those little Narrow-Soul'd Christians that appropriate their Faith and Charity to a Canton live in a little Corner of the World by themselves they are hardly worthy to enjoy the Benefit and Influence of an Universal Sun and Gospel and Government For my part I have long ago challeng'd the Epithet of Catholic so far as 't is lawful and commendable But else I protest against a real Heretic or Schismatic as unworthy of Catholic Favour and Communion As to the Work itself 't is of no dishonourable Original all the Historians that ever writ almost have given a Touch upon it both Ethnic and Christian many Christians have made Essays upon it but none more particularly that I know of than Mexico Camerarius Pontanus Delrio Dr. Beard Dr. Tho. Tailour Mr. Clark Mr. Mather c. And of late in our own Church and Nation Dr. More Mr. Glanvile and Mr. Baxter c. I have tried what I could to comprize the Substance of all in a little room and given my Reader the Extract of my Collections here in one Volume and to them have added my own Observations and other Relations never before in Print For which I stand Indebted and Obliged to several Friends and some worthy Personages who have given in their fresh Informations and Encouragements to this Undertaking from divers Parts of the Three Kingdoms A Work of this Nature was set on Foot about Thirty Years ago by Mr. Pool Author of the Synopsis Criticorum but or what Reason I know not it was laid aside and nothing has since appeared on that Subject but a small Essay written by Mr. Increase Mather Rector of Harvard Colledge in New-England to invite some others to go on with the Work and finding that 't was not attempted by
any other Hand I was resolved to go on with it as being fully satisfied that a Work of this kind must needs be of Great Use especially to such pious Minds as delight to observe the Manifestations which God doth give of himself both in his Works of Creation and Providence the former are sufficient to render those who have no other Instructers inexcusable as we are taught by the Apostle Rom. 1.20 And the Excellency of the latter consists in this That they are the real Accomplishments of his written Word So that to Record Providences seems to be one of the best Methods that can be pursued against the abounding Atheism of this Age For by Works of Providence the Confession of a God and the Truth of his Word have been extorted from those very Persons who have boldly denied it Memorable is that Passage of Aeschyles the Persian in Traged who relating his Country-mens Discomfiture by the Greeks gives us this Observation That when the Grecians pursued them furiously over the great River Strymon which was then frozen but began to thaw he did with his own Eyes see many of those Gallants whom he had heard before maintain so boldly that there was no God every one upon their Knees with Eyes and Hands lifted up begging for Mercy and that the Ice might not break 'till they got over The Scepticks of this Age may possibly call such a Passage in Question but what can the most obdurate Atheist say to those Providences about the Jews which were so clearly foretold in the Scriptures and part of 'em are visible to their own Eyes Is not this sufficient to convince them of the Being of an Omniscient God that the Sacred Scriptures are his Revealed Will and that Christianity is the only true Religion We doubt not but those Men who are able to hold out against such a convincing Demonstration will flout at this Undertaking and expose it all they can but they may remember the Conquest which Truth made over their great Champions my Lord Rochester Sir Alan Broderick and Sir Duncomb Colchester all mentioned in the following Work Providences which merit their Thoughts and may serve to stop their Mouths To Name all my Authors would be tedious in the Front of the Book and the more unnecessary because the Reader will find most of them cited in the Work itself Which I believe will not be either unprofitable or unpleasant to any one that reads with Judgment nor unsatisfactory to any that reads without Prejudice I pray my Reader 's Candour if any particular Relation be not reduced to its proper Head or if there be any Repetition of the same Story without necessity or any other Error of the Press that is venial I crave that I may have but due Grains of Allowance made to me as are commonly made in such Cases For I am at least Forty Miles distant from the Press and cannot with any Conveniency to my other Concerns attend the Ingress of it into the World I grant the Work is not Omninibus numeris absolutum in every respect answerable to the first Proposals but so are almost all the Undertakings of finite Reason upon some Account or other short of the first Intentions To be perfectly Wise is the Property of God Almighty For my part I am very sensible of the Depths I have here taken upon me to fathom and do declare openly to the World That the Ways of God are unsearchable and his Footsteps cannot perfectly be traced He doth so tread upon the deep Waters and sometimes flies upon the Wings of the Wind and hides himself in Clouds from common view employing Spirits for his Angels and Flames of Fire at other times for his Messengers For so I think we may justly invert the Order of our common Translation that I declare freely my Comment is infinite short of my Text and my Paraphrase doth not and cannot reach my Subject And indeed who can by searching find out the Almighty to Perfection If some studious and skilful Reader would cause this Book to be Interleaved and add some New Heads of his own and make a Supply for the Defects of the Old Ones it might in process of time be made exceeding useful for Common Places In the mean time I desire my Reader only to look over all these Secondary Causes and little Instruments that are moved here below and look up to and fix his Eye upon the Spring and Original Wheel that gives Motion to all the rest And if there be any thing within the Cope of our Horizon that will give Satisfaction to the Brain on Man this will certainly do it And if it do not the next Step is a sinful Curiosity and dangerous and whatsoever is more than that comes of Evil. From which Evil the God of Heaven deliver us all Amen WILLIAM TURNER A Practical Introduction TO THE History of Divine Providence Being the Author's MEDITATIONS On On The Being of a GOD. On The Works of Creation and Providence On The Existence of a Separate Soul On The Ministry of Angels And On The Future State c. I. The Being of a GOD. NOtwithstanding the Being of a GOD is laid down as the First Principle of our Faith and Religion own'd acknowledged and believed by all yet because in this debauched Age there want not some Monsters that question this Article and are ready if not with their Tongues yet with their Hearts to deny the Lord that made them I shall by way of Introduction to the following History of Divine Providence 1. Prove That there is a God I confess I konw not any that I suspect guilty of profess'd yet since there want not Arguments to implead too many at least accessary to Pratical Atheism I go thô sadly to my ABC to lay down the First Rudiments of Christianity 1. Then I may prove it from the Book of Nature Come thy ways unbelieving Atheist and turn over this Great Volume of the Divine Creation see what a Bible Nature herself presents thee with unclasp'd and open'd the Letters for the most part capital and legible that he who runs may read a God in every Leaf in every Line in every Creature Go gaze a-while at the next little Fly or Flower or but Spire of Grass thou meetest with see the curious Workmanship Artifice Wisdom and Power there is discernable in the make of it and resolve me what Man with all his Wit and Skill is able to make the like to exceed or equallize it Job 12.7 8 9. Or if that will not do take but one of thy Fellow-Beings Man into a studious Disquisition dissect him in all his several Parts tell his Bones his Nerves Veins Ligaments with all the Branches Postures and Vses of them Trace his Nourishment from his Hands to his Teeth to his Palate to his Stomach to his Guts and Milkey Veins to his Liver to his Vena Cava to the right Ventricle of his Heart thence into the Vena Arteriosa and so
continued in London Teaching and Preaching the Gospel so long as the Strength of his Body would permit and at length being old and stricken in Years he died comfortably and peaceably in the Lord being about Eighty Years old January 20. A. C. 1568. See his Life CHAP. L. Remarkable Silence or Reservedness of Men c. As also of Retirement SOme People love to make a loud Noise in the World but they are rarely the most wise and solid for the deepest Waters are generally the calmest and the emptiest Barrels in a Sea the greatest Sound and a Dear Friend of mine now Deceased Mr. J. Tutte no impolitick or irreligious Man commended this as his last Farewel-Admonition to his Step-Son upon his Death-Bed That he should fear God and endeavour to pass through the World without making any great Noise as he went 1. St. Basil affected a solitary Life 2. St. Hierom was in love with a Monastick Life that he might have more freedom to attend his Studies with a good Library and Heliodorus for his Companion retired into Syria and afterwards Heliodorus leaving him he betook to a Wilderness between the Syrians and the Saracens where he continued Four Years in great Solitude Clark's Marr. of Eccl. Hist 3. Bonosus Hierom's Fellow-Student having settled his Affairs forsaking his Country Parents Friends and onely accompanied with a few Books departed into a solitary Island to extricate himself from the Snares of the World and enjoy more Freedom in the Service of Christ Ibid. 4. Fulgentius a Year before his Death retired with some Brethren into the Island of Circina and there lived a most strict Life but the Necessities of his People requiring and their Importunity prevailing he returned to them and then fell into most grievous Sickness Ibid. p. 94. 5. Gregory the Great after his Father's Death having given his Estate to the Relief of the Poor betook himself to a Monastical Life first under Hilarion and afterwards under Maximianus both famous for Learning and Piety Ibid. p. 96. 6. John Picus of Mirandula Three Years before his Death retired himself from the Pleasures Profits and Honours of the World that he might live a more private Life and made over almost all his Estate in the Earldoms of Mirandula and Concordia to his Brother's Son and distributed a great part of his Money Plate and Jewels amongst the Poor Clark in his Life 7. Thomas Aquinas was called Bos or Ox by his School-fellows because he was also silent Textor 8. Mr. Samuel Daniel the English Poet being a Servant in Ordinary to Queen Anne and thereupon having a fair Salary allowed him kept a handsome Garden-House in Old-street near London where as a Tortoise burying himself in the Ground all Winter long he lay obscure some Months together that he might in Retirement enjoy the Felicity he aimed at and then afterwards he would appear in Publick to enjoy and converse with his Friends whereof the Two principal were Dr. Cowel and Mr. Cambden In his Old Age he turned Husbandman and Rented a Farm in Wiltshire nigh the Devises it is thought not so much for the hopes of Profit as to enjoy the Retiredness of a Country-life No question he pleased himself with Contentedness and Freedom from the Troubles of City and Court his Fancy being too fine and sublimated to be wrought down only for private Profit Select Lives of Worthies in England p. 338. 9. Mr. Michael Drayton another famed English Poet was very temperate in his Life and slow of Speech and inoffensive in Company Ibid. p. 341. 10. Mr. Abraham Cowley another excellent Man to make up the Triumovirate thô he took well at Court yet seems to resent the Inconveniences that attended it for he makes this his serious Wish To retire from the Buz and Noise of the City into some place of privacy where he might enjoy the pleasant Correspondence of many Books and a few Friends and one Wife and a pleasant Garden Thus he delivers himself in one of his Poems and in a Letter to Mr. Evelyn Author of the Kalendarium Hortense he declares it more at large professing that he had been then a pretty while aiming at it but was not yet arrived at that State of Mortal Happiness 11. One of the Cato's having attained to the Age of Eight and fifty Years gave over his Publick Charge and Travel in Affairs of the Roman Common-wealth and went to wear out the remainder of his Days near to Naples in a Country Village which then was called Picenum but now it is named Marca de Aââa where he maintained his Faculties and nourished himself with such Conveniences as his poor Lands and Living afforded him This Good and Vertuous Cato keeping a simple Cottage one while perusing his Books and other whiles looking to his Vines and Plants His Neighbours had written ãâã a Coal over his Door these words How happy a Man art thou O Cato because thou only knowest what it is to live in this World amongst other Men. Treasury of Anâ and Modern Times p. 735. 12. Lucullus the Consul and Roman Captain continued at the Wars against the Parthians Sixteen Years together during which time he won much Honour to Rome many Provinces to the Common-wealth great Renown to himself and mighty Treasures for his Houses This Man after his Return from Asia to Rome found the State full of Partialities and Dissensions through the Quarrels between Marius and Sylla he resolved to leave Rome which forthwith he did put in effect causing certain places of sumptuyous Workmanship to be builded near Naples along by the Sea-side in a place now called Castello di Lupo There he made his Sojourning for the space of Eighteen Years in quite Repose and silent Pleasure free from all the Turmoils and Travails of State and in this Contentment he ended his Days Ibid. 13. Dioclesian after he had governed Rome 18 years and had attained to very old Age he gave over the Empire from whence he dismissed himself into Nicomedia with no other Intention but only to return home to his own House and there in Peace and Quiet to spend the rest of his Life and accordingly at Salon he dealt in Husbandry 12 years together After two years spent in this Retirement the Romans sent two worthy Ambassadors to entreat him to return to Rome again The Ambassadors found him in his Garden weeding his Beds of Lettis and other Herbs whom he answered thus My Friends do not you think it more honest and better that he who digged and planted these Lettis should eat them peaceably and quietly in his own House than to forsake such wholesome Fare and return to the Tumults and Rumors of Rome I have now made good proof both what it is to command and what Benefit ensueth by labouring and deliving in the Ground Leave me then to my self I entreat you in this private State of Life for I much rather affect to maintain my Life by the labour of my Hands than to be
troubled with the charge of the Roman Empire With this Answer the Ambassadors took their Leave and parted 14. Doris the Athenian having governed the Common-wealth Six and thirty years in upright Sincerity and Justice became aged and weary with Publick Negotiations Wherefore he dislodged from Athens and went to a Country-House or Farme which he had in a not far distant Village and there reading Books of Husbandry in the night-time and practising the Exercise of those Instructions in the day-time he wore out the space of 15 years Upon the Front-piece of his Gate these Words were engraven Fortune and Hope Adieu to ye both seeing I have found the true entrance to Rest and Contentment Ibid. All these excellent Men of whom we have spoken and an infinite number more left their Kingdoms Consulate Dignities Governments Cities Pallaces Favours Courts and Riches to the end that they might live peacefully And it is the more memorable in that no Slanderers Tongue can avouch that any of them forsook their Countries as being infamous wretchedly poor or banished but only being thereto moved in pure and simple Goodness and on their own liberal Free-will for the more commodious Order and Direction of their Lives before Death should tyrannize over them Ibid. 15. Democritus when he had reformed the Common-wealth of the Abderites and instituted Governors in all places on the Frontiers as also on the Sea-Coasts such as were honest minded Men and not ambitious Which being done he lived with the Citizens some years and perceiving them to be well reformed and that they had no more need of his Laws he made his Retirement to a solitary place to attend on his Philosophy highly contemning all matter of the World which are nothing but true Vanities well knowing that they deserved not to be sorrow'd for because Heraclitus did nothing else and daily therefore he laughed them to scorn Without the City and very near unto the Walls there was a Tree which we commonly call a Plane-tree somewhat low yet extending his Branches very amply under which he sat upon a Stone continually alone having no other Garment but a long Gown of coarse Stuff bare-footed his Visage pale with a long Beard and his Body very meager Somewhat near unto him there ran a River descending out of a Neighbouring little Hill whereon stood a Temple dedicated to the Nimphs round environed with wild Vines having good store of Books by him and diversity of Creatures whereof he dissected some setting instantly down what his Experience taught him Ibid l. 5. c. 19. 16. Charles the Fifth laid down first some of his Hereditary Dominions A. C. 1556. and the rest with the Empire not long after he had now enjoyed the one Forty years and the other Thirty six He was much disabled by the Gout he had been in the greatest Fatigues that ever Prince had undergone even since the Seventeenth year of his Age. He had gone nine times into Germany six times into Spain seven into Italy four into France had been ten times in the Netherlands ahd made two Expeditions into Africk had been twice in England had crossed the Seas eleven times had not only been a Conqueror in all his Wars but had taken a Pope a King of France and some Princes of Germany Prisoners but at last grew weary of this Pomp and Greatness of the World and retired to a place within the Confines of Castile and Portugal pleasant and of a temperate Air where he had seven Rooms twelve Servants about him and some other Servants sent to stay in the Neigbouring Towns At first he gave himself to Mechanick Studies making Clocks c. afterwards to Gardening c. and afterwards more to his Devotion using Discipline to himself with a Cord marked with the Severity he had used to himself with it and reserved by his Son afterward among his Rariries went often to the Chappel and Sacrament and was supposed to be in most Points a Protestant before he died Hist of the Reform 17. The Lord-Chief-Justice Hales having laid down his Place about a year before his Death betook himself to a retired Privacy in order to a Preparation for his Departure according to his own Paraphrase of Seneca's Thyestes Act 2. ' Let him that will ascend the Tottering Seat ' Of Courtly Grandeur and become as Great ' As are his mounting Wishes as for me ' Let sweet Repose and Rest my Portion be ' Give me some mean obscure Recess a Sphers ' Out of the Road of Business or the Fear ' Of falling lower wherre I sweetly may ' My self and dear Retirement till enjoy ' Let not my Life or Name be known unto ' The Grandees of the time tost to and fro ' By Censures and Applause but let my Age 'Slid gently by not over-thwar the Stage ' Of publick Action unheard unseen ' And unconcerned as if I he're had been ' And thus while I shall pass my silent days ' In shady Privacy free from the noise ' And bustles of the mad World then shall I 'A good old innocent Plebeian die ' Death is a meer Surprize a very Snare 'To him that makes it his Life's greatest care 'To be a publick Pageant known to all ' But unacquainted with himself doth fall See his Life written by Dr. Burnet 18. Mr. Abraham Cowley had much in the like manner retired from Publick Business to prepare for Death as he tells us in his Poem ' Well then I now do plainly see ' This busy World and I shall ne're agree ' The very Honey of all earthly Joy ' Doth of all Mears the soonest cloy ' And they methinks deserve my Pity ' Who for it can endure the Stings ' The Crowd the Buz and Murmurings ' Of this great Hive the City ' Ah! yet e're I descend to the Grave ' May I a small House and large Garden have ' And a few Friends and may Books but true ' Beth Wife and both delightful too c. And again Whilst this hard Truth I teach methinks I see The Monster London laugh at me ' I should at thee too foolish City ' If it were fit to laugh at Misery ' But thy Estate I pity ' Let but the wicked Men from out thee go ' And all the Fools that croud thee so ' Even thou who dost thy Millions boast 'A Village less than Islington will grow 'A Solitude almost See his Poems 19. Renatus Deschartes when he found that there were nothing worth his Knowledge among Men he made choice of a Desart at Egmond in Holland and there lead a solitary Life for the space of Five and twenty years and discovered many admirable things by hs Contemplation and composed his so much applauded Works A Summary of his Life by Borellus p. 13 17. 20. Gabriel Dugres speaketh of Cardinal Richlieu in these words The old Latin Proverb saith that Vir sapit qui pauca loquitur A Man is wise that sayeth but little We have likewise two old Proverbs
door therefore we should be watching for we know not what hour he will come My Brother John and Cousin Deb. thank you for your kind Letters I remain April 1663. Caleb Vernon After some time falling sick he earnestly desired to be Baptized I suppose being born of Anabaptist-Parents saying Father pray have you come to any Conclusion to day about my being baptized I pray Father do for indeed I cannot be satisfied and I would fain be in Christ's Fold After which being admonished and many gracious Expressions uttered he died comfortably See his Life printed An. 1665. 17. A Child of one Master Maxey of Lime when it was but Two years old would use to kneel down often and with his Eyes and Hands lift up towards Heaven seemed to be very serious in Prayer and as it grew older would often be at Prayer by it self and ask very strange Questions of its Mother concerning Spiritual Matters much beyond its Age The Mother expounded all these things as proceeding rather from childish Imitation than from any Relish or Understanding that it had of those things At last when the Child was Five years old in the midst of his Sports as he was Whipping-top on a sudden he cast away all and went to his Mother saying to her with much Joy Mother I must go to Heaven will you go with me asking her the same Question the second time His Mother answered Yes dear Child when God shall please But how dost thou know that thou shalt go to Heaven The Child answered God hath told me so I must go to Heaven for I love God and God loves me After which time he never played more About three Weeks or a Month after he sickned and died speaking much during his Sickness of his going to Heaven still asking his Mother whether she would not go with him And when his Mother asked him whether he would not stay with her here he refused rather desiring that she should go with him Master White 18. A nameless Person J. B. gives this Relation concerning her self About seventeen years since a Child of mine about six years of age when I have bid him go forth to play he hath come in again very solitary and other Children would swear and be very debaucht I would ask him Robert what aileth you why do you not go to play He would answer That he had no Fellows to play withal but such as would swear and the like and they could not be said he God's Children I would say why not Child then he would say No Mother though I am but a little way in my Book yet I have learnt that God will not pardon such Sins as Swearing I have sometimes said yes Child I hope God will pardon them else God help thy Father and God help us all Then he hath replied Mother with great Repentance God can forgive for his Mercies are great but good Mother let us forbear that which is evil And many times I had such conference with that Child who seeing me troubled about it he hath said Good Mother be content their Parents are such and they must needs learn after them I thought upon my Child's words and having before often offended God about gathering of Flowers in my Garden on the Lord's-days and the Thoughts of other Failings in my Conversation it wrought great trouble upon my Heart so that I was much afflicted in Soul considering that my Child so young should give me such Instructions which hath proved a Blessing to me to bring me home to him I did make then some doubt whether God would forgive me those Sins and about that time hearing Dr. V. preach several Sermons at O. and particularly upon that Text That we are but Sojourners and Travellers here and shewing That we are not at home therefore we must keep on the straight-way to Heaven and take heed of the broad-way which leadeth to Hell which then as also other means since did much throw me down low under the sense of Sin yet not without sometimes some Refreshments Believers Experiences p. 54. 19. Bishop Vsher at Fourteen years old was judged fit and admitted to the Sacrament of the Lord's-Supper and his usual Custom was the Afternoon before to retire himself in private and to spend it in a strict Self-Examination and deep Humiliation for all his Sins wherein he had such Enlargements of Heart that a Stream of Tears flowed from his Eyes which afterwards he oft recalled to mind both as a Provocation and Censure of himself When he was elder of years there was a certain place by a Water-side whither he oft resorted sorrowfully to surveigh his Sins and with Floods of Tears to confess and bewaile them wherein he found so much Sweetness and Communion with God that he thirsted for such comfortable Opportunities and it was his usual Custom to spend Saturdays in the Afternoon in these Duties Amongst other Sins he much bewailed his too much love to Humane Learning which made him as glad when Munday came that he might renew his Studies as he was when Sabbath-day came wherein he was to apply himself to the Service of God and it cost him many Tears that he could not be more Heavenly-minded at that Age. See his Life 20. Lancelot Andrews Bishop of Winchester from his Youth declared an extraordinary worth that he was made up of Learning and Vertue in both of them so eminent that it was hard to judge which had the Precedency and greatest Interest though it was truly asserted from his Comtemporaries that there was not any kind of Learning that he was a stranger to but in his Profession admirable which was as well if not better known abroad than admired at home England's Worthies by Will. Winstanley p. 366 367. 21. Mr. Bernard Gilpin being yet a very Child gave Testimony of a future Holiness upon this Occasion A begging Frier lodging at his Father's House one Saturday Night in order to preach the next day but eating at Supper like a Glutton and drinking like a Beast in the Morning as if he had been some young Saint lately dropped from Heaven he caused the Bell to tole to the Sermon and in the midst there of blustering out certain good words he presumed to grow hot against some Sinners of the time and amongst the rest to thunder boldly against Drunkenness Young Gilpin who had but newly got the use of his Tongue having observed as it seemed the hateful Baseness of the Man by his Oversight the Night before and now hearing the Beast cry out so loud against these Crimes which himself had so lately been guilty of as he was sitting in his Mother's Lap in the Church suddainly cryeth out in these words O Mother do you hear how this Fellow dates speak against Drunkenness who was drunk himself yester-night at our House The Mother made speed to stop the Child's Mouth with her Hand that he might speak no further Mr. Gilpin 's Life by Bp. Carleton p. 2. 22. Mr.
Samuel Fairclough at 13 years of Age upon hearing a Sermon of Mr. Ward 's concerning Zacheus his Restitution began to be very serious and devout as will be shewed under the Chapter of Restitution 23. Jabez-Eliezer Russel Son to William Russel in the Parish of St. Bartholomew the Great London was remarkable in his Life for his Obedience to his Parents in what they commanded him For his addicting himself to the reading of the holy Scriptures For his great Memory he was able to give a particular Account of most of the memorable Passages both in the Old and New Testament with the Names of Persons their Actions and the Circumstances thereof To say no more his retentive Faculty was so capacious that what-ever he read he made it his own His Meditations in the Word of God in the Practice of which he was both frequent and serious His frequent Praying taking notice of the Words and Works of God fearing Sin greatly wishing he had died when he came first out of the Womb because then he should not have sinned c. And in his Sickness having a great sense of both Original and Actual Sin using such Expressions as these I shall see the holy Angels and I shall be ashamed they will be so glorious for I am Dust and Ashes and there I shall see the Twelve Apostles sit upon Twelve Thrones c. And to his Mother ' Prayer will do me more good and is better than Sleep I am best when I pray And at last enquiring after his Sisters Names because as was supposed he thought he should know them in Heaven though he never saw them on Earth and so fell asleep in the Lord Feb. 19. 71. aged 9 years 2 months and 6 days See the Account of his Life and Death 24. Mrs. Luce Perrot late Wife of Mr. Rob. Perrot of London Minister amongst her last Speeches hath these I would not for ten thousand Worlds but have began to seek God betimes he then took me off from other Delights and carried me on step by step I then could see nothing in the World to delight in I then thought Holidays a Wearisomness to me would sometimes sit and see others play but took no delight therein for which they would laugh at me and tell me I studied Divinity c. When Children grow crooked at first they are hardly ever set streight again afterwards c. See the Printed Account of her Speeches p. 1 2. 25. Tho. Aquinas is reported to have loved his Book so dearly when he was but a Child that he must have it constantly to Bed with him and if at any time when he awaked out of Sleep he missed it he would fall a crying Pontan Attic. Bellar. 26. Susanna Bickes who died in the 14th Year of her Age Sept. 1. 1664. of a Pestilence at Leyden The first night she was seized betook her self earnestly to Private Prayer breaking forth into those words Psal 119. If thy law were not my Delight I should perish in my Affliction and Heb. 12.10 11. No chastening for the present seems joyous c. and then sighing to God with her Eyes up to Heaven she said Be merciful to me O Father be merciful to me poor Sinner according to thy Word Commending that Text Ps 55.23 to her sorrowful Parents and Isaiah 49.15 16 addding ' O comfortable words for both Mothers and Children c. Upon the Lord's-day she minded her Father of having her Name given up to be remembred in the Publick Prayers saying she had learned That the effectual fervent Prayer of the Righeeous availes much Yet out of Tenderness for their Safety would not have the Ministers to visit her but rather cast her self upon the Lord 's own Hand and accept of the Visits of others whom the Providence of God should send unto her One of her Visitants having told her that the Minister was taken ill at Church she wept bitterly saying to her Father Have I not matter enough for weeping having heard but just now that Domine de Wât was taken sick in the Pulpit and went home so ill It is a sad Token for the People for when God is about to smite a Land or a City oftentimes he smites and removes their Pastors and ought we not then to lay such a thing to heart although for my part I know that I shall not long live to behold the Evil which may come and which I have helped to procure as well as others And I therefore pray with David Ps 25. Remember not O Lord the Sins of my Youth nor my Trespasses according to thy tender Mercy Remember thou me for thy Goodness sake O Lord. O how do I long Even as the Hart panteth c. Ps 42. and Ps 51. to the 11th verse which she enlarged upon much especially the 5th verse Behold I was shapen in Iniquity and in Sin did my Mother conceive me citing other Texts to the same purpose as Gen. 5.3 Eccl. 7.29 c. She desired her Father to go to Domine de Wit and Ardenois and thank them for the Learning and Instruction she had received by their Catechising O! that sweet Catechising said she unto which I did always resort with Gladness and waited upon it without Weariness until it were ended I have seen and understood that there is so little Comfort and Good and so much Vanity in the Kermis and idle Holidays of Play that I have grieved and been ashamed both for young and old People to see them so glad and mad upon Vanity Also dear Father ye shall give Thanks to my School-master and School-mistress who taught me the first beginnings of my Reading Professing that her Parents Carefulness for her Education and Instruction had been better to her than if they had provided ten thousand Gilders of Portion for her With many Arguments and Texts she comforted her Parents as 2 Sam. 24.14 2 Sam. 12.23 adding so ought ye to comfort your self after my Death and say Our Child is well for we know that they who trusted in God are well My dear Mother who hath done so much for me you must promise to me that after my Death ye shall not sorrow so much for I am afraid for you when I consider your Grief for me and for my other Sister and Brother who are gone through Death before me And consider your Neighbour who hath lost her two Sons and hath no more Children Ye shall both of ye promise me that ye will comfort one another Comfort your selves with Job who having lost all his Children said The Lord hath given c. And John 16.33 c. O Dear Father and Mother I wax more and more feeble and weak Oh! that I may quietly fall asleep in his Bosom Mark 10.14 16. I he here as a Child O Lord I am a Child receive me into thy gracious Arms. O Lord Grace Grace and not Justice for if thou enter into Judgment with me I cannot stand yea no Man living shall in
thee to Morrow Sigismund the Second King of Poland because of his perpetual delay and heaviness in weighty Affairs was called the King of to-morrow Such are we certainly Men of to-morrow we delay all things most willingly also if we could to put off Death it self but the business of dying admits of no delay suffers no put-offs Francis the First King of France being taken by Charles the Fifth when he had read at Madrid Charles's Impress upon the Wall Plus ultra Farther yet added thereto To day for me to morrow for thee The Victor took it not ill but to shew that he understood it wrote underneath I am a Man there is no Humane Accident but may befal me Barlaam the Hermit an Old Man of Seventy Years when Jehosaphat the King asked him how Old he was Answered Forty five at which when the King admired He reply'd that he had been absent rom his Studies Twenty five Years as if those Years which he had spent upon the Vanity of the World had been quite lost Sir Tho. Moor that no Age might delude a Person with the hopes of a longer Life gives this Admonition As he that is carried out of a Prison to the Gallows though the way be longer yet fears not the Gallows the less because he comes to it a little the later and though his Limbs are firm his Eyes quick his Lungs sound and that he relish his Meat and Drink yet this is still his Affliction that he is upon his Journey Thus are we all carried to the Gibbet of Death we are all upon the way only parted by some little Intervals The Elector of Brandenburg came to Visit Charles the Fifth being Sick of the Gout and advised him to make use of his Physicians To whom Charles replied The best Remedy in this Disease is Patience The compleat Armour of a Sick Man is Patience being so guarded he need fear neither Sickness Pain nor Death He is Proof against the blows of his Enemies and shall certainly overcome for Patience overcomes all things St. Austin Bishop of Hippo went to visit another Bishop of his Familiar Acquaintance lying in Extremity to whom as he was lifting up his Hands to Heaven to signifie his Departure St. Austin replyed That he was a great support of the Church and worthy of a longer Life To whom the sick Person made this Answer If never 't were another thing but if at any time why not now Thus Sitenus being taken by Midas and asked what was the best thing could happen to Man For a while stood silent At length being urg'd to speak he answer'd That the best thing was never to be born the next to die the soonest that might be This I must not omit very wonderful unheard-of and pleasant in the Relation Lodowick Cortusius a Lawyer of Padua forbid to his Relations all Tears and Lamentations by his Will And desir'd that he might have Harpers Pipers and all sorts of Musick at his Funeral who should partly go before partly follow the Corps leaving to every one of them a small Sum of Money His Bier he ordered to be carry'd by Twelve Virgins that being clad in green were to sing all the way such Songs as Mirth brought to their remembrance leaving to each a certain Sum of Money instead of a Dowry Thus was he buried in the Church of St. Sophia in Padua accompanied with a Hundred Attendants together with all the Clergy of the City excepting those that wore black for such by his Will he forbid his Funeral as it were turning his Funeral-Rites into a Marriage-Ceremony He died the 17th of July 1418. Admirable was the saying of St. Bernard Let them bewail their Dead who deny the Resurrection They are to be deplor'd who after Death are buried in Hell by the Devils not they who are plac'd in Heaven by the Angels Cyrus being about to die My Son said he when I am dead close up my Body neither in Silver nor in any other Metal but return its own Earth to the Earth again His last words were Be grateful to your Friends and you will never want the Power to punish your Enemies Farewel my dear Son and tell these my Words to your Mother also Wisely said Theophrastus upon his Death-Bed Many fine and pleasant things doth Life impose upon us under the pretence of Glory than the love of which there is nothing more vain Hither may be referred the saying of Severus the Emperor I was all things but nothing avails Alexander after many and great Victories overcome at length he fell not only into his Bed but into his Tomb contented with a small Coffin Peter Alphonsus reports That several Philosophers flock'd together and variously descanted upon the King's Death One there was that said Behold now four Yards of Ground is enough for him whom the spacious Earth could not comprehend before Another added Yesterday could Alexander save whom he pleas'd from Death to Day he cannot free himself Another viewing the Golden Coffin of the deceased Yesterday said he Alexander heaped up a Treasure of Gold now Gold makes a Treasure of Alexander This was their Learned Contention yet all ended in this Then he fell sick and died Lewis King of France gave these his last Admonitions to his Son Beware my Son that thou never commit any deadly Sin rather suffer all manner of Torments First chuse such about thee as will not be afraid to tell thee what thou art to do and what to beware To thy Parents give all Obedience Love and Reverence Ferdinand the Great King of Castile falling sick of his last Sickness caused himself to be carried to the great Church in all his Royal Robes where putting off all his Royal Ornaments and as it were restoring God his own he put on a Hair-Clââ and casting himself upon the Ground with Tears in his Eyes Lord said he the Kingdom which thou gavest me I return to thee again seat me I beseach thee in Eternal Light Charles King of Sicily spoke these words Oh the Vain Thoughts of Men Miserable Creatures we are delighted with Honour heap up Treasure and neglect Heaven O the happy Fate of the Poor who content with little sleep in Tranquility What does now my Kingdom what do all my Guards avail me I might have been miserable without all this Pomp. Where is now the power and strength of my Empire The same necessity involves me as hampers the meanest Beggar Of so many Thousands of Clients Servants and Flatterers there is not one that will or can accompany me to the Tribunal of God Go Mortals go and swell your Breasts with great Thoughts to Day or to Morrow ye must die Farewel Earth would I could say welcom Heaven Dionysius the Areopagite being condemned to lose his Head with a Christian Generosity contemning the Reproaches of the Spectators Let the last words of my Lord upon the Cross said he be mine in this World Father into thy Hands I commend my Spirit