who were unacquainted with him, to be

tied (upon so short warning) to receive the communion upon a day, all could not be in charity, after so late contentions in the house: many must needs come without preparation, and eat their own condemnation : that himself required all his whole houshold to receive the communion, but not all the same day, unless at Easter, when the whole Lent was a time of preparation. He bad me to tell them, I hoped they were all prepared, but wished they might be better; to exhort them to unity and concord; to love God first, and then their prince and country; to look to the urgent necessities of the times, and the miserable state of Christendom, with bis dat qui citò dat.”—This kind of talk would have suited well enough the mouth of some honest, well-meaning ecclesiastic, and edified, no doubt, very much those who heard it. But it sounds strange from James, who was addicted to so many vices, and whose oaths and imprecations were so common. Shall we suppose him wholly hypocritical in these speeches, and entirely unconcerned about the things he talked of; though from other parts of his behaviour, one might be led to make this conclusion, yet, perhaps, we should be mistaken in so doing. For, however it be, men's characters are too often inconsistent, and they strangely blend what they call religion, with the practice of the most odious and detestable vices. By a concern for the one, they excuse to themselves the other, and so come at length to imagine, that they are acceptable to the Deity, though they break the most sacred of his laws. Thus we read of John Basilides, great duke of Muscovy, the

Usher's Life and Letters by Parr, p. 17, 18. Lond. 1686. folio.

lieve that he had a more than ordinary de

most wicked of men, the most detestable of tyrants, that he would pray and fast in a most extraordinary manner, and be as devout as possible himself, and make others so too 2. And, in the same manner, numbers of cruel persecutors, and ambitious, selfish, avaritious wretches, are exceedingly zealous and exact in their devotions, and come not behind, in these things, the most sincere and virtuous persons. So that 'tis not improbable James might be in earnest when he talked in these strains, and please himself to think, that he was both so wise and so religious a king. Amazing delusion! terrible deceit! To the all-piercing eye of heaven all is naked and open, no disguises can conceal from, no artifices impose on it; and therefore men should look well to it, that they are what they would seem to be. A prince openly vicious and profane, only hurts the interest of religion, by appearing, on occasion, its votary. Standers-by will look with ridicule and abhorrence on his interesting himself in its affairs, and will not be prevailed on to believe that he is in earnest about it.- -Hence possibly it has come to pass, that courts have been so little famed for the practice of religion. For the manners of the generality of princes being not over good, those about them think they shall pay their court to them more by conforming to their example, than by obeying their edict. When they speak therefore of religion, they are not listened unto; when they command, by those about them, they are not obeyed: for they are considered as only acting a part, and there

* See Casaubon of Enthusiasm, p. 279. 8vo. Lond. 1656.

gree of sanctity. Hunting 36 was a fa

fore having no real concern about what they seem to engage in.

36

Hunting was a favourite diversion with him, &c.] Let us hear Sully. "From this subject [the insincerity of the Spaniards] the king of England passed to that of the chace, for which he shewed me an extraordinary passion. He said he knew very well that I was no great lover of the chace; that he had attributed the late success of his sport to me, not as marquis of Rosny, but as ambassador from the king, who was not only the greatest prince, but the greatest hunter in the world; to which, with the greatest politeness, he added, that Henry was in the right not to carry me to the chace, because I was of greater service to him elsewhere; and that if I pursued the chace, the king of France could not. I replied, that Henry loved all the exercises; but that none of them ever made him neglect the care of his affairs, nor prevented him from a close inspection into the proceedings of his ministers." Had James imitated his brother of France in attending his affairs, and inspecting the proceeding of his ministers, he might have enjoyed the pleasure of hunting without censure. For 'tis but reasonable that princes should have a relaxation from business as well as other men.

But says Mr. Chamberlaine to Mr. Winwood, in a letter dated Jan. 26, 1604, "the king finds that felicity in that hunting life, that he hath written to the council, that it is the only means to maintain his health, which being the health and welfare of us all,

Sully, vol. II p. 29.

vourite diversion with him, which he practised so much, as to neglect the great and

he desires them to take the charge and burden of affairs, and foresee that he be not interrupted nor troubled with too much business." A man who preferred hunting to the affairs of state, was unworthy of the crown he wore, and undeserving the regard of his people. For such a one neglected the end of his appointment, and therefore merited the contempt he met with. James never loved business. "In Scotland, says Melvil, the earl of Arran desired him to recreate himself at hunting, and he would attend the council, and report again at his majesty's return, all our opinions and conclusions." He hearkened to his advice, or rather followed his own inclinations, and thereby numberless mischiefs ensued. He was never the wiser for this we see; for his aversion to business was the same, and so was his passion for hunting: so that he had lived to no purpose, and was incapable of being taught by experience.

Osborn tells us, he saw "him dressed in colours green as the grass he trod on, with a feather in his cap, and a horn instead of a sword by his side." A pretty picture this of a prince, and tending to excite much reverence in the beholders. But when men's minds are bent on diversions, they care for nothing more than their own pleasure and amusement, and are thoughtless of what standers-by think or say of them.

-I will give the reader some fine observations on this subject of hunting, from a writer whose great genius and elevated rank entitle him to be heard with deference and respect, and with them conclude the

weighty business of state, and leave every thing of consequence to be transacted by his council, to his no small dishonour.

note. "Hunting is one of those sensual pleasures which exercise the body, without affecting the mind'; it is an ardent desire of pursuing some wild beast, for the cruel satisfaction of destroying it; an amusement which renders the body robust and active, and leaves the mind fallow and uncultivated. Sportsmen, perhaps, will reproach me here with gravity and preaching, and alledge, that I assume the prerogative of a priest in his pulpit, who may assert whatever he pleases, without being afraid of contradiction. Hunting, say they, is the noblest and most antient of all amusements: the patriarchs and many other eminent men were hunters; and by this we continue to exercise that dominion over the beasts, which God vouchsafed to give Adam. But no folly is the better for being antient, especially if it is carried to extravagance: many great men, I own, have been passionately fond of this diversion; but these had their weaknesses as well as perfections: Let us imitate their great qualities, without copying after their little and idle occupations. The same patriarchs were not only given to hunting, but to polygamy, nay, would marry their own sisters, and had many other customs which savoured of the barbarous ages wherein they lived. They were rude, ignorant, and uncultivated idle men, who, to kill time, employed it in hunting, and threw away those moments in useless amusements, which they had no capacity to employ in the company and conversation of men of understanding. Let me now ask whether these are examples to be imitated; whether