In all his sensible intervals, during his last illness, he enjoyed an uncommon serenity of mind; and behaved becoming a Christian and a minister.* This peaceful state of mind and comfortable hope he possessed to the last. † About a month before his death, he appeared to his fellow-worshippers, at the Lord's supper, with an air so extraordinarily serious and heavenly, as made some present say, "he looked as if he were not long for this world." The preceding particulars and his writings will, in part, enable the reader to form for himself a just opinion of Mr. Neal's character: and will certainly give credibility to what is reported concerning it. He filled the relations of domestic life with integrity and honour; and left a deep and fond regret in the hearts of his family.t In his public connexions, he was the prudent counsellor, and a faithful, steady friend. His labours in the pulpit, and his visits in families, while his health continued firm, were edifying and entertaining. He had an easy agreeable manner, both in the style and in the delivery of his sermons, free from affectation. In conversation, he knew how to mix grave and prudent instruction or advice with a becoming cheerfulness, which made his company to be pleasing and profitable. He was honoured with the friendship of some in very high stations; and in early life contracted an acquaintance with several, who afterward made a considerable figure in the learned world, both in the established church and amongst the dissenters. The repeated and frequent invitations he received to appear in the pulpit, on singular and public occasions, especially the share he had in the lectures at Salters'-hall, against Popery, are honourable proofs of the respect and estimation in which his abilities and character were in general held, even by those who differed from him in their sentiments on many questions of doctrine and churchgovernment. His own doctrinal sentiments were supposed to come nearest to those of Calvin; which he looked upon as most agreeable to the sacred Scriptures, and most adapted to the great ends of religion. But neither were his charity nor his friendships confined to men of his own opinion. The Bible alone was his standard for religious truth: and he was willing and desirous, that all others should be at perfect liberty to take and follow it, as their own rule.-The unchristian heats and unhappy differences, which had arisen amongst Christians by the restraints that had been laid, more or less, by all parties, when in power, on the faith or worship of their fellow-Christians, had fixed in him an utter aversion to imposition upon conscience in any shape, and to all such party distinctions as would naturally lead to it. Mr. Neal married Elizabeth, the only daughter of the reverend Richard Larduer, many years pastor of a congregation at Deal § and sister of the great Letters to and from Dr. Doddridge, 1790, p. 358. Dr. Jennings's Funeral Sermon, and the MS. account. Of this we have a proof in the expressive and affecting manner in which his son wrote concerning his death, to Dr. Doddridge. "The report which you had heard of my honoured father's death was too well founded, if it is becoming the filial gratitude I owe to his memory to seem to repine at my own loss, which I am satisfied is greatly his gain; especially when his nobler powers were so much obscured, even to the sight of his friends, as they have been for some time past by the bodily decays he laboured under. But notwithstanding all the admirable reliefs which reason and faith afford under the uneasiness which nature feels on the loss of so near and (who had been) so desirable a relation, and the many circumstances of weakness which seemed to make dissolution less formidable, yet the parting season will be gloomy, the breathless corpse of a once dear and valuable friend will affect us, and the carrying out of our house, and leaving behind us in a solitary tomb, all that was visible (when at the same time it was so venerable) of a father, strikes a damp on the spirits, which is not easily overcome or forgotten." Letters to and from Dr. Doddridge, p. 355, &c. § The character of Mr. Lardner, drawn by his son-in-law Mr. Neal, forms the sixth number of the Appendix to Dr. Lardner's life, prefixed to the new edition of his works in 8vo. lii MEMOIR OF THE LIFE OF MR. DANIEL NEAL. and excellent Dr. Lardner. She survived Mr. Neal about five years, dying in 1748. They left a son and two daughters: one of these ladies married Mr. Joseph Jennings, of Fenchurch-street, the eldest son of the Rev. Dr. David Jennings; the other the Rev. Mr. Lister, minister of the dissenting congregation at Ware. His son, Mr. Nathaniel Neal, was an eminent attorney, and secretary to the Million-bank. He wrote a pamphlet, entitled, “A free and serious remonstrance to Protestant Dissenting ministers, on occasion of the decay of religion;" which was republished by the late Rev. Job Orton, in 1775. Many admirable letters of this gentleman to Dr. Doddridge, are given to the public in that instructive and entertaining collection of letters to and from the doctor, which we owe to the Rev. Thomas Stedman, vicar of St. Chad's, Shrewsbury; and who, to the mention of Mr. Nathaniel Neal, adds from a correspondent, "whose character I never think of without the highest veneration and esteem, as few ever possessed more eminently the virtues of the heart, united with a very superior understanding and judgment *." * Letters, and P. 353. Note. to Vol. IV. of the Original Edition Advertisement to Vol. I. of Dr. Toulmin's Edition Advertisement to the Edition of 1822 XXV XXX xxxii XXXV xxxvii . xxxviii CHAP. I. Reign of Henry the Eighth. A. d. 1509-1547 CHAP. II. Reign of King Edward the Sixth. A. D. 1547-1553 separation of the Protestant Nonconformists. A. D. 1558-1566 CHAP. V.. From the separation of the Protestant Nonconformists 156 CHAP. II... From the death of archbishop Bancroft to the death of CHAP. III.. From the death of king James I. to the dissolution of the third parliament of king Charles I. in the year 1628 CHAP. IV. . From the dissolution of the third parliament of king Charles I. to the death of archbishop Abbot. A. D. 1628-1633 CHAP. V. . From the death of archbishop Abbot to the beginning of the commotions in Scotland, in the year 1637 CHAP. VI.. From the beginning of the commotions in Scotland, to 529 557 60-1 HISTORY OF THE PURITANS. CHAPTER I. REIGN OF HENRY VIII. KING William the Conqueror, having got possession of the crown of England, by the assistance of the see of Rome; and king John, having afterwards sold it, in his wars with the barons; the rights and privileges of the English clergy were delivered up into the hands of the pope, who taxed them at his pleasure, and in process of time drained the kingdom of immense treasures; for, besides all his other dues, arising from annates, first-fruits, Peter-pence, &c. he extorted large sums of money from the clergy for their preferments in the church. He advanced foreigners to the richest bishopricks, who never resided in their diocesses, nor so much as set foot upon English ground, but sent for all their profits to a foreign country; nay, so covetous was his holiness, that before livings became void, he sold them provisionally among his Italians, insomuch, that neither the king nor the clergy had any thing to dispose of, but every thing was bargained for beforehand at Rome. This awakened the resentments of the legislature, who in the twenty-fifth year of Edward III. passed an act, called the statute of provisors, to establish, "that the king, and other lords, shall present unto benefices of their own, or their ancestors' foundation, and not the bishop of Rome." This act enacted, "that all forestalling of benefices to foreigners shall cease; and that the free elections, presentments, and collations, of benefices, shall stand in right of the crown, or of any of his majesty's subjects, as they had formerly enjoyed them, notwithstanding any provisions from Rome,' But still the power of the court of Rome ran very high, for they brought all the trials of titles to advowsons into their own courts beyond sea; and though by the seventh of Richard II. the power of nomination to benefices, without the king's licence, was taken from them, they still claimed the benefit of confirmations, |