now he had a fit occafion to fhow that piety and bounty that was derived from his generous mother, and his other memorable ancestors, and the occafion was this.

This Layton Ecclefia is a village near to Spalden", in the county of Huntingdon, and the greatest part of the parishchurch was fallen down, and that of it which stood was fo decayed, fo little, and fo useless, that the parishioners could not meet to perform their duty to God in public prayer and praises; and thus it had been for almost 20 years, in which time there had been fome faint endeavours for a public collection, to enable the parishioners to rebuild it, but with no fuccefs, till Mr. Herbert undertook it; and he by his own and the contribution of many of his kindred, and other noble friends, undertook the re-edification of it, and made it so much his whole business, that he became reftlefs till he faw it finished as it now ftands: being for the workmanship a coftly Mofaic; for the form an exact crofs; and for the decency and beauty, I am afsured, it is the most remarkable parish-church that this nation affords. He lived to fee it fo wainscotted, as to be exceeded by none; and by his order, the reading-pew and pulpit were a little diftant from each other, and both of an equal height*: for he

patron of learning and learned men. Twelve perfons from one Society, that of Trinity College in Cambridge, were distinguished by him, and advanced to preferment. Among thefe we obferve Dr. Creighton, Mr. George Herbert, Dr. Anthony Scattergood, Mr. James Duport, Mr. Herbert Thorndike, names dear to literature. When the See of Exeter was vacant, he feized the opportunity of gratifying two worthy Divines, his old friends, "who had been both bred in the house of wisdom with Lord "Chancellor Egerton," Dr. Carew, who had been his Chaplain, and Dr. Dunn, who had been his ́ Secretary, “a laureat wit, neither was it pofsible that a vulgar foul fhould dwell in fuch promifing features." Thefe two prevailed by the Lord Keeper's commendation against all pretenders; the Bishopric of Exeter was conferred upon Dr. Carew, and Dr. Dunn fucceeded him in the Deanery of St. Paul's. (Hacket's Life of Archbishop Williams.)-Mr. Herbert did not long continue Orator after his promotion to this Prebend, Mr. Robert Creighton his fuccefsor being appointed in 1627.

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Spalden, or Spalding, is a town in Lincolnshire. Mr. Walton has miftaken the name for Spaldwick, or Spaldick, in Huntingdonshire.

* It appears from a recent furvey of this church, that the reading-desk is on the right-hand in the nave, just as you enter the chancel, and that its height is feven feet four inches; and that the pulpit is on the lefthand, and exactly of the fame height. They are both pentagonal. The church is at prefent chiefly paved with bricks: the roofs both of the church and chancel are tyled, and not under-drawn or ceiled. There are no communion-rails; but, as you advance to the communion-table, you afcend three steps. The windows are large and handfome, with fome fmall remnants of painted glafs. The feats and pews both in the nave, the cross-aifle, and the chancel, fomewhat resemble the ftalls in cathedrals, but are very fimple, with little or no ornament, nearly alike, and formed of oak. It was evidently the intention of Mr. Herbert that in his church

U

there

would often fay, "They fhould neither have a precedency or "priority of the other; but that prayer and preaching, being "equally ufeful, might agree like brethren, and have an equal "honour and eftimation Y."

Before I proceed farther, I must look back to the time of Mr. Herbert's being made Prebendary, and tell the reader, that not long after, his mother being informed of his intentions to rebuild that church, and apprehending the great trouble and charge that he was likely to draw upon himfelf, his relations, and friends, before it could be finifhed, fent for him from London to Chelfea (where the then dwelt), and at his coming faid, "George, I fent for you, to perfuade you to commit Simony, "by giving your patron as good a gift as he has given you; namely, that you give him back his Prebend: For, George, "it is not for your weak body and empty purfe to undertake "to build churches." Of which he defired he might have a day to confider, and then make her an answer: And at his return to her the next day, when he had firft defired her blessing, and she given it him, his next request was, "That the would at the age of thirty-three years allow him to become an un"dutiful fon; for he had made a vow to God, that if he were "able, he would rebuild that church:" And then fhowed her fuch reafons for his refolution, that the presently fubfcribed to be one of his benefactors; and undertook to folicit William

there fhould be no diftinction between the feats of the rich and thofe of the poor. During Divine Service the men have from time immemorial been accustomed to fit on the fouth-fide of the nave, and the women on the north-fide, In the crofs-aifle, the male-fervants fit on the fouth-fide, and the female-fervants on the north-fide.

The strongest and best part of the church is the tower, which is of moft durable and excellent ftone, dug out of the quarries of Barnock in Northamptonshire. It is confidered as a fine fpecimen of good architecture.

Mr. Walton feems to have been misinformed when he writes, that the workmanship of the church was a coftly Mofaic, and that Mr. Herbert lived to fee it wainfcotted. No traces of either are difcoverable. The church is now, in 1795, dilapidated in feveral parts.

y An ill cuftom prevailed at Court after the accefsion of James I.; whenever the King came to the Chapel, Divine Service was fuddenly broke off, and an anthem lung to make immediate way for the fermon. This cuftom, as implying a contempt of the liturgy, or at least a preterence of preaching to prayer, was fet afide by Dr. Laud, while he was Dean of the Chapel.

"Refort to fermons, but to prayers moft:
Praying's the end of preaching,

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(Mr. George Herbert's CHURCH PORCH.) "In the church of Little Gidding the pulpit was fixed on the north, "the reading-defk over against it on the fouth-fide of the church, and "both on the fame level; it being thought improper that a higher place "fhould be appointed for preaching than that which was allotted for prayer."

Memoirs of the Life of Mr. Nicholas Ferrar, p. 178)

Earl of Pembroke to become another, who subscribed for fifty pounds; and not long after, by a witty and perfuafive letter from Mr. Herbert, made it fifty pounds more. And in this nomination of fome of his benefactors, James Duke of Lenox, and his brother Sir Henry Herbert, ought to be remembered; as also the bounty of Mr. Nicholas Farrera, and Mr. Arthur Woodnot; the one a gentleman in the neighbourhood of Layton, and the other a goldfmith in Fofter-lane, London, ought not to be forgotten: For the memory of fuch men ought to outlive their lives. Of Mr. Farrer I fhall hereafter give an account in a more feasonable place; but before I proceed farther I will give this fhort account of Mr. Arthur Woodnot:

He was a man that had confidered overgrown eftates do often require more care and watchfulness to preferve than get them; ́and confidered that there be many difcontents that riches cure not; and did therefore fet limits to himself as to defire of wealth and having attained fo much as to be able to fhow fome mercy to the poor, and preferve a competence for himself, he dedicated the remaining part of his life to the service of God; and to be useful for his friends: and he proved to be fo to Mr. Herbert; for, befide his own bounty, he collected and returned most of the money that was paid for rebuilding of that church; he kept all the account of the charges, and would often go down to state them, and fee all the workmen paid. When I have faid, that this good man was an useful friend to Mr. Herbert's father, and to his mother, and continued to be fo to him, till he clofed his eyes on his death-bed; I will forbear to fay more, till I have the next fair occafion to mention the holy friendship that was betwixt him and Mr. Herbert. From whom Mr. Woodnot carried to his mother this following letter, and delivered it to her in a fickness, which was not long before that which proved to be her last.

z He was the fon of Efme Stuart, Duke of Richmond, and brother to Lodowick the laft Duke, who was the particular friend of Mr. Herbert. This great and excellent man, as Echard calls him, who had never once deviated from his honour and loyalty, and had feen three of his brothers die in the royal caufe, died in the beginning of 1675, having never had his health nor yet his fpirits, fince the deplorable murder of his beloved Mafter; for the faving of whofe life he had the honour to offer his own, See Echard's Hift. of England," Vol. II. p. 782.

a Or rather FERRAR, from the Latin word ferrarius. The arms of this family have three horfe fhoes on a bend, as appears from a brass-plate in the chapel of Little Gidding, affixed to the tomb-ftone of John Ferrar, Efq." late Lord of this manour, who departed this life the 28th of Sep"tember, 1657."

⚫ According to an old obfervation,

"Non minor eft virtus, quàm quærere, parta tueri."