of Mr. Hooker's virtues and learning; but it fo fell out, that about the faid third or fourth year of the Long Parliament, the prefent parfon of Borne was fequeftered (you may guess why), and a Genevian minifter put into his good living. This, and other like fequeftrations, made the clerk exprefs himself in a wonder, and fay, "They had fequeftered fo many good men, "that he doubted if his good mafter, Mr. Hooker, had lived ❝till now, they would have fequeftered him too."

It was not long before this intruding minifter had made a party in and about the faid parifh, that were defirous to receive the facrament as in Geneva; to which end the day was appointed for a felect company, and forms and stools fet about the altar or communion-table for them to fit and eat and drink; but when they went about this work, there was a want of fome joint-ftools, which the minifter fent the clerk to fetch, and then to fetch cushions. When the clerk faw them begin to fit down, he began to wonder; but the minifter bade him "ceafe won"dering and lock the church-door:" To whom he replied, Pray, take you the keys and lock me out, I will never come "more into this church; for all men will fay my Mafter Hooker << was a good man and a good scholar, and I am fure it was "not used to be thus in his days:" And report fays, the old man went presently home and died; I do not say died immediately, but within a few days after 9.

But let us leave this grateful clerk in his quiet grave, and return to Mr. Hooker himself, continuing our obfervations of his Chriftian behaviour in this place, where he gave a holy valediction to all the pleafures and allurements of earth; possessing his foul in a virtuous quietnefs, which he maintained by conftant study, prayers, and meditations: his ufe was to preach once every Sunday, and he or his curate to catechife after the fecond lefson in the evening prayer. His fermons were neither long nor earnest, but uttered with a gravé zeal and humble

p"Of thofe great and wise men who compofed this Parliament of "1641, and greater and wifer, or more of them at one time, England "never faw." (Preface to the first edition of the Confessional, p. xxviii.) Thus has the author of "The Confefsional" characterifed that Parliament, which involved three enslaved kingdoms in confufion and ruin; which, under the vain pretence of reformation, destroyed one of the beft of our Kings, and laid wafie the church of England; that church, which under God hath been long the ornament and fupport of the Proteflant religion.

q Our biographer has lamented that it was not in his power to recover the name of Mr. Hooker's worthy schoolmafter. That of his grateful parish-clerk was Sampfon Horton. It appears from the parish-regifter of Bishop's-Borne, that " Sampfon Horton was buried the 9th of May 1648, an aged man, who had bin clarke to this pith, by his own relation, "threefçore yeares.'

voice; his eyes always fixed on one place, to prevent his ima gination from wandering; infomuch that he feemed to study as he fpake. The defign of his fermons (as indeed of all his difcourfes) was to how reafons for what he fpake; and with these reasons fuch a kind of rhetoric, as did rather convince and perfuade, than frighten men into piety: ftudying not fo much for matter (which he never wanted), as for apt illuftra tions to inform and teach his unlearned hearers by familiar examples, and then make them better by convincing applications; never labouring by hard words, and then by needlefs diftinctions and sub-diftinctions to amuse his hearers and get glory to himfelf, but glory only to God. Which intention, he would often fay, "was as difcernible in a preacher, as an arti"ficial from a natural beauty s."

"He was," fays Dr. Gauden, "fo confident of the facred power and "efficacy of the matter he delivered, that he thought it needed no great fetting off: This made him fo far from any life in his looks, geftures, "or pronunciations, that he preached like a living but fcarce moving "ftatue, his eyes fieadfafily fixed on the fame place from the beginning to "the end of his fermons, his body unmoved, his tone much to an unifon, "and very unemphatic; fo variously doth God diftribute his gifts." (Life of Hooker, p. 30.)

s In the printed fermons of Mr. Hooker there are, indeed, many inftances of juft and animated application. In his difcourfe on "the Certainty and Perpetuity of Faith in the Elect," there are few who will not admire the following pafsage: "It was not the meaning of our "Lord and Saviour in faying, Father, keep them in thy name, that we "fhould be careless to keep ourfelves. To our own fafety our own "fedulity is required. And then blefsed for ever and ever be that mo"ther's child whofe faith hath made him the child of God. The earth may flake, the pillars of the world may tremble under us; the countenance of heaven may be appalled, the fun may lofe his light, the moon her beauty, the stars their glory; but concerning the man that "trufied in God, if the fire have proclaimed itself unable as much as to "finge a hair of his head; if lions, beafis ravenous by nature and keen

with hunger, being fet to devour, have, as it were, religioufly adored "the very flesh of the faithful man; what is there in the world that "fhall change his heart, overthrow his faith, alter his affection towards God or the affection of God to him? If I be of this note, who fhall "make a feparation between me and my God? Shall tribulation, or anguish, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? "No: I am persuaded, that neither tribulation, nor anguish, nor perse"cution, nor famine, nor nakedness, nor peril, nor sword, nor death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor "things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall ever "prevail so far over me: I know in whom I have believed; I am not ignorant whofe precious blood hath been fhed for me; I have a fhepherd full of kindness, full of care, and full of power; unto him I commit my felf; his own finger hath engraven this fentence on the tables of my heart. Satan hath desired to winnow thee as wheat, but I have prayed that thy faith fail not: therefore the assurance of my hope I "will labour to keep as a jewel, unto the end; and by labour, through "the gracious mediation of his prayer, I shall keep it."

He never failed the Sunday before every Ember-week to give notice of it to his parishioners, perfuading them both to fast, and then to double their devotions for a learned and pious clergy, but especially for the laft; faying often, "that the life "of a pious clergyman was vifible rhetoric, and fo convincing "that the moft godlefs men (though they would not deny "themselves the enjoyment of their prefent lufts) did yet fe"cretly with themselves like thofe of the ftrictest lives." And to what he perfuaded others, he added his own example of fafting and prayer; and did ufually, every Ember-week, take from the parifh-clerk the key of the church-door, into which place he retired every day, and locked himself up for many hours; and did the like moft Fridays, and other days of fasting.

He would by no means omit the customary time of proceffion, perfuading all, both rich and poor, if they defired the prefervation of love, and their parish-rights and liberties, to accompany him in his perambulation; and moft did fo: in which perambulation he would ufually exprefs more pleafant difcourfe than at other times, and would then always drop fome loving and facetious obfervations to be remembered against the next year, especially by the boys and young people; ftill inclining them, and all his prefent parishioners, to meeknefs and mutual kindnesses and love; because "Love thinks not evil, but covers "a multitude of infirmities"."

He was diligent to inquire who of his parish were fick, or any way diftrefsed, and would often vifit them unfent for; fuppofing that the fittest time to discover thofe errors, to which health and profperity had blinded them. And having, by pious reafons and prayers, moulded them into holy refolutions for the time to come, he would incline them to confefsion, and bewailing their fins, with purpose to forfake them, and then to receive the communion, both as a ftrengthening of thofe holy refolutions; and as a feal betwixt God and them of his mercies to their fouls, in cafe that prefent ficknefs did put a period to their lives.

And as he was thus watchful and charitable to the fick, fo he was diligent to prevent law-fuits, ftill urging his parishioners and neighbours to bear with each other's infirmities, and live

t It was among the injunctions given by Queen Elizabeth in 1559, on the abolition of thofe ceremonies, which attended the Popish proceffions, "that the parishioners fhall once in the year, at the time accu "tomed, with the curate and the fubftantial men of the parith, walke "about the parishes as they were accufiomed, and at their returne to the "church make their common prayers." Many reafons concur to evince the necessity of reviving the cuftom of holding these perambulations frequently and regularly. See in "The Book of Homilies," p. 314 (Oxford edit. 1683), an exhortation to be spoken to fuch parithes where they use their perambulation in Rogation-week for the overfight of the bounds and limits of their town,

in love, becaufe (as St. John fays) "he that lives in love lives "in God; for God is love." And to maintain this holy fire of love, constantly burning on the altar of a pure heart, his advice was to watch and pray, and always keep themfelves fit to receive the communion, and then to receive it often: for it was both a confirming and a ftrengthening of their graces. This was his advice, and at his entrance or departure out of any house, he would ufually fpeak to the whole family, and bless them by name; infomuch, that as he feemed in his youth to be taught of God, fo he seemed in this place to teach his precepts, as Enoch did by walking with him in all holiness and humility; making each day a ftep towards a blefsed eternity. And though in this weak and declining age of the world fuch ex- amples are become barren, and almoft incredible; yet let his memory be blefsed with this true recordation, because he that praises Richard Hooker praises God, who hath given such gifts to men; and let this humble and affectionate relation of him become fuch a pattern as may invite pofterity to imitate his virtues ".

This was his conftant behaviour at Borne; thus as Enoch, so he, walked with God; thus did he tread in the footsteps of primitive piety; and yet, as that great example of meekness and purity, even our blessed Jefus, was not free from falfe accufations, no more was this difciple of his, this most humble, moft innocent, holy man. His was a flander parallel to that of chafte Sufannah's by the wicked elders; or that against St. Athanafius, as it is recorded in his life (for that holy man had he

u We may furely apply to this good man these lines of Mr. Cowley: his harmless life

"Does with fubflantial blessedness abound,

"And the foft wings of Peace cover him round.”

The Editor of this Work reads this description with inexpressible fatisfaction, as it recalls to his remembrance the character of a muchhonoured parent, the Rev. Charles Zouch, M. A. Vicar of Sandal Magna, near Wakefield, Yorkshire; who, in the inftances of duty here related, literally trod in the fieps of good Mr. Hooker; a bright example of primæval piety, adorning all the acquirements of a scholar and a divine with an unblemished fanctity of life and mauners.

"Nil me pœniteat fanum patris hujus."

HOR.

x" Scribit Theodoretus (lib. i. cap. 3.) fubornatam ab Arianis mu«lierem poftulâfse Athanafium illati fibi per vim flupri, cum illum fufce"pifset hofpitio. Cum igitur mulier in Athanafium fuas querelas pro"poneret, progrediens Timotheus Prefbyter, Egone, ait, mulier, vim tibi et stuprum intuli? Tum ipfa credens efse fibi, ignotum Athanafium, "convitiis facerdotem excipiens, rem præfractiùs afseverat, et judicum "fidem contra Timotheum obteftatur ad fceleris vindictam."

(Notitia Conciliorum, &c. p. 123.)

retical enemies), and which this age calls trepanning. The particulars need not a repetition; and that it was falle needs. no other teftimony than the public punishment of his accusers, and their open confefsion of his innocency. It was faid, that the accufation was contrived by a difsenting brother, one that endured not church-ceremonies, hating him for his book's fake, which he was not able to anfwer; and his name hath been told me; but I have not fo much confidence in the relation, as to make my pen fix a scandal on him to pofterity; I fhall rather leave it doubtful till the great day of revelation. But this is certain, that he lay under the great charge, and the anxiety of this accufation, and kept it fecret to himself for many months; and, being a helpless man, had lain longer under this heavy burthen, but that the Protector of the innocent gave fuch an accidental occafion as forced him to make it known to his two dear friends, Edwyn Sandys and George Cranmer, who were fo fenfible of their tutor's fufferings, that they gave themselves no reft, till by their difquifitions and diligence they had found out the fraud, and brought him the welcome news, that his accufers did confefs they had wronged him, and begged his pardon: to which the good man's reply was to this purpofe, "The Lord "forgive them; and the Lord bless you for this comfortable "news". Now I have just occafion to fay with Solomon,

Upon the other were a spy;

"That to trepan the one to think

"The other blind, both ftrove to blink."

(HUDIBRAS, Part III. Canto II. ver. 356.)

Trepann'd the flate, and fac'd it down, "With plots and projects of our own."

Ib. ver. 832.

z "A certain lewd woman came to his chamber, and folicited his charity under this cogent argument, that if he should deny her, she "would lay bafe attempts to his charge;' and by this means, at several times, he had gotten money from him; until at last Providence was pleafed to concern itself for the righting wronged innocence. It fo "fell out, that this woman came to him when his two dear friends Mr. Sandys and Mr. Cranmer were with him: wondering to fee fuch a "perfon come with fo much confidence, they inquired of their tutor the "occafion of it, who in a little time tells them the truth of the whole "abuse. Upon which they contrive a way to be prefent in his chamber, "where they might hear the whole difcourfe at her next coming. An opportunity foon offered, and the lewd woman perfifting in her threats "of laying ill things to his charge, if the was denied what the came for, "money, his two friends ftepped forth from behind the curtains to her "confufion and the fhame of those who had employed her in fo vile an "action; for his flanderers were punished for this their vile attempt, who "at their fuffering fhowed a penitent behaviour, and made an open con"fefsion." (Prince's Worthies, &c. p. 396,) e