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me St Austin wrote at 90; Judge Coke at 84; and Bp. Hall, of Norwych, at 8.. His house is over against the middle of Lincoln's Inne garden, in Chancery Lane. Two dayes before the king, Charles 1st, was beheaded, he wrote a Protestation against the intended murther of the King, and printed it, and caused it to be put upon the posts. When all the courts in Westminster-hall were voted downe by Barebones Parliament, he wrote a booke to justifie the right use of them, and Lenthall (the speaker) and the keepers of the Libertie did send him thanks for saveing of the Courts.

SR JOHN POPHAM,

(Ld Chiefe Justice of ye K.'s Bench,)

Was the son of.... Popham, of. . . . in the countie of Somerset. He was of the Societie of... and for severall yeares addicted himselfe but little to the studie of the lawes, but profligate company, and was wont to take a purse with them. His wife considered her and his condition, and at last prevailed with him to lead another life, and to stick to the studie of the lawe, which, upon her importunity, he did, being then about thirtie yeares old. He spake to his wife to provide a very good entertainment for his camerades to take

his leave of them; and after that day fell extremely hard to his studie, and profited exceedingly. He was a strong, stout man, and could endure to sit at it day and night;* became eminent in his calling, had good practice, called to be a serjeant. a judge.

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Sir.... Dayrell, of Littlecote, in com. Wilts, having gott his Lady's waiting woman with child, when her travell came, sent a servant with a horse for a midwife, whom he was to bring hood-winked. She was brought, and layd the woman, but as soon as the child was borne, she sawe the knight take the child and murther it, and burn it in the fire in the chamber. She having done her businesse was extraordinarily rewarded for her paines, and sent blindfolded away. This horrid action. did much run in her mind, and she had a desire to discover it, but knew not where 'twas. She considered with herself the time that she was riding, and how many miles she might have rode at that rate in that time, and that it must be some great person's house, for the roome was 12 foot high; and she should know the chamber if she sawe it. She went to a Justice of Peace, and search was made. The very chamber found. The knight was brought to his tryall; and to be short, this judge had this noble house, parke,

*The picture of a common lawyer :-He must have an iron head, a brazen face, and a leaden breech.

and mannor, and (I thinke) more, for a bribe to save his life.* I have seen his picture; he was a huge, heavie, ugly man. He left a vast estate to his son, S. Francis (I thinke ten thousand pounds, per annum), he lived like a hog, but his sonne John was a great waster, and dyed in his father's time. He was the greatest house-keeper in England; would have at Littlecote 4 or 5, of more lords at a time. His wife (Harvey) was worth to him, I thinke, 60001. and she was as vaine as he, and sayd that she had brought such an estate, and she scorned but she would live as high as he did; and in her husband's absence would have all the woemen of the countrey thither, and feaste them, and make them drunke, as she would be herselfe. They both dyed by excesse, and by luxury; and by cosenage of their servants, when he dyed there was, I thinke, a hundred thousand pound debt. Old S: Francis, he lived like a hog, at Hownstret, in Somerset. all this while with a moderate pittance. Mr. Jo. would say that his wife's estate was ill got, and that was the reason they prospered no better; she would say that the old judge got the estate unjustly, and thus they would twitt one another, and that with matter of trueth. I remember this Epitaph was made on Mr. John Popham

* Sir John Popham gave sentence according to lawe, but being a great person, and a favourite, he procured a noli prosequi.

Here lies he, who, not long since,
Kept a table like a prince,

Till Death came, and tooke away,

Then ask't the old man, What's to pay?

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Mem. At the hall, in Wellington, in the countie of Somerset, the ancient seate of the Pophams, and which was this Sir John's, Lord Chiefe Justice, (but qu. if he did not buy it?) did hang iron shackells, of which the tradition of the countrey is, that long agoe, one of the Pophams (Lord of this place) was taken and kept a slave by the Turkes, for a good while, and that by his Ladie's great pietie, and continuall prayers, he was brought to this place by an invisible power, with these shackells on his legges, wch were here hung up as a memoriall, and continued till the house (being a garrison) was burnt. All the countrey people steadfastly believe the trueth hereof.

He first brought in (i. e. revived) Brick building in London. (Sc. after Lincolne's Inne and S: James's.) And first sett afotte the Plantations, —e. g. Virginia,—which he stockt or planted out of all the gaoles of England.

FRANCIS POTTER, B.D.

Was borne at the Vicaridge-house, at Mere, in the county of Wilts, Anno Dai 1594, upon Trinity Sunday Eve. His father was minister there, and also of Kilmanton, in com. Somerset, about 3 miles distant, and was also a prebendary of y" Cathedral Church of Worcester. He had three sonnes, Hannibal, Francis, and

His wife's name was Horsey, of the worshipful and ancient family of the Horseys, of Clifton, in com. Dorset. He was taught his grammar learning, by Mr. Bright (the famous school-master of those times) of the schoole at Worcester. An. atat.... he went to Trinity Colledge, in Oxon, (where his father, who was an Oxfordshire man borne, had been a fellowe). His brother Hannibal was his tutor. Here he was a commoner twentyseaven yeares, and was senior to all the house, but Dr. Kettle and his brother. His genius lay most of all to the mechanicks; he had an admirable mechanicall invention, but in that dark time wanted encouragement, and when his father dyed (wch was about 1637) he succeeded him in the parsonage of Kilmanton, worth, per annum, about 1401. He was from a boy given to drawing and painting. The founder's picture in Trinity Colledge hall is of his copying. He had excellent notions for the raysing of water; I have heard him say, that he would rayse the

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