After some year and half, it pleased God inexpectedly to contrive the change of my station.

My means were but short at Halsted; yet such as I oft professed, if my then patron would have added but one ten pounds by year, which I held to be the value of my detained due, I should never have removed. One morning, as I lay in my bed, a strong motion was suddenly glanced into my thoughts of going to London. I arose, and betook me to the way. The ground, that appeared of that purpose, was to speak with my patron Sir Robert Drury; if, by occasion of the public preachership of St. Edmund's Bury then offered me upon good conditions, I might draw him to a willing yieldance of that parcel of my due maintenance, which was kept back from my not over-deserving predecessor: who, hearing my errand, dissuaded me from so ungainful a change, which had it been to my sensible advantage, he should have readily given way unto; but not offering me the expected encouragement of my continuance.

With him I stayed, and preached on the Sunday following. That day Sir Robert Drury, meeting with the Lord Denny, fell belike into the commendation of my sermon. That religious and noble Lord had long harboured good thoughts concerning me, upon the reading of those poor pamphlets, which I had formerly published; and long wished the opportunity to know me. To please him in this desire, Sir Robert willed me to go and tender my service to his Lordship; which I modestly and seriously deprecated: yet, upon his earnest charge, went to his Lordship's gate; where I was not sorry to hear of his absence.

Being now full of cold and distemper in Drury-lane, I was found out by a friend, in whom I had formerly no great interest, one Mr. Gurrey, tutor to the Earl of Essex. He told me how well my Meditations were accepted at the Prince's Court *; and earnestly advised me to step over to Richmond, and preach to his Highness. I strongly

*Prince Henry.

pleaded my indisposition of body, and my inpreparation for such work; together with my bashful fears, and utter unfitness for such a presence. My averseness doubled his importunity in fine, he left me not, till he had my engagement to preach the Sunday following at Richmond. He made way for me to that awful pulpit; and encouraged me by the favour of his Noble Lord, the Earl of Essex. I preached. Through the favour of my God, that sermon was not so well given, as taken: insomuch as that Sweet Prince signified his desire to hear me again the Tuesday following. Which done, that labour gave more contentment than the former: so as that Gracious Prince both gave me his hand and commanded me to his service.

My patron, seeing me, upon my return to London, looked after by some great persons, began to wish me at home; and told me, that some or other would be snatching me up. I answered, that it was in his power to prevent: would he be pleased to make my maintenance, but so competent as in right it should be, I would never stir from him. Instead of condescending, it pleased him to fall into an expostulation of the rate of competencies; affirming the variableness thereof, according to our own estimation, and our either raising or moderating the causes

of our expences. I shewed him the insufficiency of my means: that I was forced to write books to buy books. Shortly, some harsh and unpleasing answer so disheartened me, that I resolved to embrace the first opportunity of my remove.

Now, while I was taken up with these anxious thoughts, a messenger (it was Sir Robert Wingfield of Northampton's son) came to me from the Lord Denny, now Earl of Norwich, my after-most-honourable patron, entreating me from his Lordship to speak with him. No sooner came I thither, than, after a glad and noble welcome, I was entertained with the earnest offer of Waltham. The conditions were, like the mover of them, free and bountiful. I received them, as from the munificent hand of my God;

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and returned, full of the cheerful acknowledgments of a gracious providence over me.

Too late now did my former Noble Patron relent; and offer me those terms, which had, before, fastened me for

ever..

I returned home, happy in a new master, and in a new patron: betwixt whom, I divided myself and my labours, with much comfort and no less acceptation.

In the second year of mine attendance on his Highness, when I came for my dismission from that monthly service, it pleased the Prince to command me a longer stay; and, at last, upon mine allowed departure, by the mouth of Sir Thomas Challoner, his Governour, to tender unto me a motion of more honour and favour than I was worthy of: which was, that it was his Highness' pleasure and purpose, to have me continually resident at the Court as a constant attendant, while the rest held on their wonted vicissitudes: for which purpose, his Highness would obtain for me such preferments, as should yield me full contentment. I returned my humblest thanks, and my readiness to sacrifice myself to the service of so gracious a master; but, being conscious to myself of my unanswerableness to so great expectation, and loth to forsake so dear and noble a patron who had placed much of his heart upon me, I did modestly put it off, and held close to my Waltham: where, in a constant course, I preached a long time, as I had done also at Halsted before, thrice in the week; yet never durst I climb into the pulpit to preach any sermon, whereof I had not before, in my poor and plain fashion, penned every word in the same order, wherein I hoped to deliver it; although, in the expression, I listed not to be a slave to syllables.

In this while, my worthy kinsman, Mr. Samuel Barton, Archdeacon of Gloucester, knowing in how good terms I stood at Court, and pitying the miserable condition of his native Church of Wolverhampton, was very desirous to engage me in so difficult and noble a service, as the re

demption of that captivated Church. For which cause he importuned me to move some of my friends, to solicit the Dean of Windsor, who by an ancient annexation is patron thereof, for the grant of a particular Prebend, when it should fall vacant in that Church. Answer was returned

me, that it was fore-promised to one of my Fellow-Chaplains. I sat down, without further expectation. Some year or two after, hearing that it was become void, and meeting with that Fellow-Chaplain of mine, I wished him much joy of the Prebend. He asked me if it were void : I assured him so; and, telling him of the former answer, delivered to me in my ignorance, of his engagement, wished him to hasten his possession of it. He delayed not. When he came to the Dean of Windsor for his pro mised dispatch, the Dean brought him forth a letter from the Prince, wherein he was desired and charged to reverse his former engagement, since that other Chaplain was otherwise provided for; and to cast that favour upon me. I was sent for, who least thought of it; and received the free collation of that poor dignity. It was not the value of the place, which was but nineteen nobles per annum, that we aimed at; but the freedom of a goodly Church, consisting of a Dean and eight Prebendaries competently endowed, and many thousand souls lamentably swallowed up by wilful recusants, in a pretended fee-farm for ever.

O God, what a hand hadst thou in the carriage of this work!

When we set foot in this suit (for another of the Prebendaries joined with me) we knew not wherein to insist, nor where to ground a complaint: only we knew that a goodly patrimony was, by sacrilegious conveyance, detained from the Church. But, in the pursuit of it, such marvellous light opened itself inexpectedly to us, in revealing of a counterfeit seal, found in the ashes of that burned house, of a false register; in the manifestation of rasures and interpolations, and misdates of unjustifiable evidences; that, after many years' suit, the wise and honourable Lord Chancellor Ellesmere, upon a full hearing,

adjudged these two sued-for Prebends, clearly to be re turned to the Church, until, by Common Law, they could, if possibly, be revicted. Our great adversary, Sir Walter Leveson, finding it but loss and trouble to struggle for litigious sheaves, came off to a peaceable composition with me of forty pounds per annum for my part, whereof ten should be to the discharge of my stall in that Church, till the suit should by course of Common Law be determined: we agreed upon fair wars. The cause was heard at the King's Bench Bar: where a special verdict was given for us. Upon the death of my partner in the suit, in whose name it had now been brought, it was renewed; a jury empannelled in the county: the foreman, who had vowed he would carry it for Sir Walter Leveson howsoever, was, before the day, stricken mad, and so continued. We proceeded with the same success we formerly had. While we were thus striving, a word fell from my adversary, that gave me intimation, that a third dog would perhaps come in, and take the bone from us both: which I finding to drive at a supposed concealment, happily prevented; for I presently addressed myself to his Majesty, with a petition for the renewing the charter of that Church; and the full establishment of the lands, rights, liberties, thereto belonging; which I easily obtained from those gracious hands. Now Sir Walter Leveson, seeing the patrimony of the Church so fast and safely settled, and misdoubting what issue those his crazy evidences would find at the Common Law, began to incline to offers of peace; and, at last, drew him so far, as that he yielded to those two main conditions, not particularly for myself, but for the whole body of all those Prebends which pertained to the Church: First, that he would be content to cast up that fee-farm, which he had of all the patrimony of that Church and, disclaiming it, receive that which he held of the said Church by lease, from us the several Prebendaries, for term, whether of years, or, which he rather desired, of lives: Secondly, that he would raise the maintenance of every Prebend, (whereof some were but forty shillings,