Baxters Narrative of His Life and Times, Part 2 · Section 11 · Letter 1
To my noble Friend Sir Ralph Clare, These.
SIR,
I Am a little out of Countenance, that after the discovery of such a desire in his Majesty, that Mr. Baxter should be setled at Kidderminster, as he was heretofore, and my promise to you by the King's Direction, that Mr. Dance should very punctually receive a Recompence by way of a Rent, upon his or your Bills charged here upon my Steward; Mr. Baxter hath yet no fruit of this his Majesty's good intention towards him: so that he hath too much reason to believe that he is not so frankly dealt with in this particular as he deserves to be. I do again tell you, that it will be very acceptable to the King, if you can perswade Mr. Dance to surrender that Charge to Mr. Baxter: and in the mean time, and till he is preferred to as profitable an Imployment, whatever Agreement you shall make with him for an Annual Rent, it shall be paid Quarterly upon a Bill from you charged upon my Steward Mr. Clutterbucke; and for the exact performance of this, you may securely pawn your full Credit. I do most earnestly intreat you, that you will with all speed inform me what we may depend upon in this particular, that we may not keep Mr. Baxter in suspense, who hath deserved very well from his Majesty, and of whom his Majesty hath a very good Opinion, and I hope you will not be the less desirous to Comply with him for the particular Recommendation of,
SIR, Your very affectionate Servant, Edw. Hyde.
§ 156. Can any thing be more serious and cordial and obliging than all this: For a Lord Chancellour that hath the Business of the Kingdom upon his hand, and Lords attending him, to take up his time so much and often about so low a Person, and so small a thing? And should not a Man be content without a Vicaridge or a Curatship when it is not in the power of the King and the Lord Chancellour to procure it for him, when they so vehemently desire it? But, O thought I, how much better a Life do poor Men live, who speak as they think, and do as they profess, and are never put upon such Shifts as these for their present Conveniences! Wonderful! thought I, that Men who do so much over-value worldly Honour and Esteem, can possibly so much forget futurity, and think only of the present day, as if they regarded not how their Actions be judged of by Posterity. For all this extraordinary favour, since the Day that the King came in, I never received as his Chaplain, or as a Preacher, or upon any account, the value of one farthing of any Publick Maintenance: so that I and many a hundred more had not had a piece of bread, but for the voluntary Contribution (whilst we preached) of another sort of People. Yea, while I had all this excess of favour, I would have taken it indeed for an excess, as being far beyond my expectations, if they would but have given me liberty to preach the Gospel, without any Maintenance, and leave me to beg my Bread.
§ 157. And this bringeth to my remembrance the Motion which I oft made to my Brethren when they were oft admitted to the King, and thought themselves in so great favour, and had Bishopricks and Deaneries offered them, and the Ministers of the Land had such high Expectations: I motioned to them that now while the World would blush at the denial, we might Petition for a bare Liberty to preach for nothing, in the Publick Churches, at those hours of the Lord's Day, and those days of the week, when the Ministers that are put into our Places are vacant, and are not there. But the Brethren thought this was to come down our selves before they took us down. But the time quickly came when we would have been glad of this much.
§ 158. A little after this, Sir Ralph Clare, and others, caused the Houses of the People of the Town of Kidderminster to be searcht for Arms, and if any had a Sword, it was taken from them! And meeting him after with the Bishop, I desired him to tell us why his Neighbours were so used, as if he would have made the World believe that they were Seditious, or Rebels, or dangerous Persons that should be used as Enemies to the King. He answered me, That it was because they would not bring out their Arms when they were commanded, but said they had none, whenas they had Arms upon every occasion to appear with on the behalf of Cromwell. This great disingenuity of so ancient a Gentleman, towards his Neighbours whom he pretended kindness to, made me brake forth into some more than ordinary freedom of reproof; and I answered him, That we have thought our Condition hard in that by Strangers that know us not, we should be ordinarily traduced and misrepresented; but this was most sad and marvellous, that a Gentleman so Civil, should before the Bishop speak such words against a Corporation, which he knew I was able to confute, and are so contrary to truth! I asked him whether he did not know that I publickly and privately spake against the Usurpers, and declared them to be Rebels; and whether he took not the People to be of my mind: and whether I and they had not hazarded our Liberty by refusing the Engagement against the King and House of Lords, when he and others of his Mind had taken it? He confessed that I had been against Cromwell, but they had always on every occasion appeared in Arms for him. I told him that he struck me with admiration, that it should be possible for him to live in the Town, and yet believe what he said, to be true, or yet to speak it in our hearing, if he knew it to be untrue. And I professed, that having lived there Sixteen years since the Wars, I never knew that they once appeared in Arms for Cromwell or any Usurpers; and challenged him upon his word to name one time. I could not get him to name any time till I had urged him to the utmost; and then he instanced in the time when the Scots Army fled from Worcester. I challenged him to name one Man of them that was at Worcester Fight, or bare Arms there, or at any time for the Usurpers: And when he could name none, I told him that all that was done to my knowledge in Sixteen years of that kind, was but this, that when the Scots fled from Worcester, as all the Country sought in covetousness to catch some of them, for their Horses, so two idle Rogues of Kedderminster, that never communicated with me any more than he did, had drawn two or three of their Neighbours with them in the Night as the Scots fled to catch their Horses: And I never heard of three that they catcht: And I appealed to the Bishop and his Conscience, whether he that being urged could name no more but this, did ingenuously Accuse the Corporation, Magistrates and People to have appeared on all occasion in Arms for Cromwell. And when they had no more to say, I told them, by this we saw what measures to expect from Strangers of his mind, when he that is our Neighbour, and noted for eminent Civility, never sticketh to speak such things even of a People among whom he hath still lived!
§ 159. About the same time, about Twenty or Two and twenty furious Fanaticks, called Fifth-Monarchy-men (one Venner a Wine-Cooper, and his Church that he preached unto) being transported with Enthusiastick Pride, did rise up in Arms, and fought in the Streets like Mad-men against all that stood in their way, till they were some kill'd and the rest taken, judged and executed. I wrote a Letter at this time to my Mother-in-law, containing nothing but our usual matter, even Encouragements to her in her Age and Weakness, fetcht from the nearness of her Rest, together with the Report of this News, and some sharp and vehement words against the Rebels. By the means of Sir Iohn Packington, or his Soldiers, the Post was searched, and my Letter intercepted, opened, and revised and by Sir Iohn sent up to London to the Bishop and the Lord Chancellour: so that it was a wonder that having read it, they were not ashamed to send it up: But joyful would they have been, could they but have found a word in it, which could possibly have been distorted to an evil sence, that Malice might have had its Prey. I went to the Lord Chancellour and complained of this usage, and that I had not the common liberty of a Subject, to converse by Letters with my own Family. He disowned it, and blamed Mens rashness, but excused it from the Distempers of the Times; and he and the Bishops confessed they had seen the Letter, and there was nothing in it but what was good and pious. And two days after came the Lord Windsor Lord Lieutenant of the Country, and Governour of Iamaica, with Sir Charles Littleton the King's Cup bearer, to bring me my Letter again to my Lodgings; and the Lord Windsor told me, The Lord Chancellour appointed him to do it: After some expression of my sense of the Abuse, I thanked him for his great Civility and Favour. But I saw how far that sort of Men were to be trusted.
§ 160. And here I will interpose a short Account of my Publick Ministry in London: Being removed from my ancient Flock in Worcestershire, and yet being uncertain whether I might return to them or not, I refused to take any other Charge, but preached up and down London (for nothing) according as I was invited. When I had done thus above a year, I thought a fixed place was better, and so I joyned with Dr. Bates at St. Dunstan's in the West in Fle…tstreet, and preached once a week, for which the People allowed me some Maintenance. Before this time I scarce ever preached a Sermon in the City, but I had News from Westminster that I had preached seditiously, or against the Government, when I had neither a thought nor a word of any such tendency. Sometimes I preached purposely against Faction, Schism, Sedition and Rebellion, and those Sermons also were reported to be Factious and Seditious. Some Sermons … Covent Garden were so much accused, that I was fain to print them, (the Book is called The Formal Hypocrite detected, &c) But when the Sermons were printed, I had not a word more against them. The Accusations were all general (of Sedition and Faction, and against the Church) but not one Syllable charged in particular.
§ 161. The Congregations being crowded was that which provoked Envy to accuse me: And one day the Crowd did drive me from my place. It fell out that at Dunstan's Church in the midst of Sermon, a little Lime and Dust (and perhaps a piece of a Brick or two) fell down in the Steeple or Belfray near the Boys, which put the whole Congregation into sudden Melancholy, so that they thought that …he Steeple and Church were falling; which put them all into so confused a haste to get away, that indeed the Noise of the Feet in the Galleries sounded like the falling of the Stories; so that the People crowded out of Doors; the Women left some of them a Skarf, and some a Shoe behind them, and some in the Galleries cast themselves down upon those below, because they could not get down the Stairs. I sate still down in the Pulpit, seeing and pitying their vain Distemper, and assoon as I could be heard, I intreated their Silence, and went on. The People were no sooner quieted, and got in again, and the Auditory composed, but some that stood upon a Wainscot-Bench near the Communion Table, brake the Bench with their weight, so that the Noise renewed the Fear again, and they were worse disordered than before; so that one old Woman was heard at the Church Door asking forgiveness of God, for not taking the first warning, and promising if God would deliver her this once, she would take heed of coming thither again. When they were again quieted, I went on. But the Church having before an ill name (as very old, and rotten, and dangerous) this put the Parish upon a Resolution to pull down all the Roof and build it better, which they have done with so great Reparation of the Walls and Steeple, that it is now like a new Church, and much more commodious for the Hearers.
§ 162. While I was here also the daily Clamours of Accusers even wearied me: No one ever questioned me; nor instanced in any culpable words, but in general all was against the Church and Government: Upon which (and the request of the Countess of Balcaries, one of my Hearers, a Person of exemplary worth) I was fain to publish many of my Sermons verbatim, on 2 Cor. 13. 5. in a Book called [The Mischiefs of Self-ignorance, and Benefits of Self-acquaintance]: And when the Book was printed (without alteration) then I heard no more of any Fault.
§ 163. Upon this Reparation of Dunstan's Church, I preached out my Quarter at Brides Church in the other end of Fleetstreet; where the Common Prayer being used by the Curate before Sermon, I occasioned abundance to be at Common Prayer which before avoided it: And yet my Accusations still continued.
§ 164. On the Week days, Mr. Ashurst with about Twenty more Citizens, desired me to preach a Lecture in Milkstreet; for which they allowed me 40l. per Annum, which I continued near a year, till we were all Silenced. And at the same time I preached once every Lord's Day at Blackfryars (where Mr. Gibbons a judicious Man was Minister.) In Milkstreet I took Money because it came not from the Parishioners, but Strangers, and so was no wrong to the Minister (Mr. Vincent, a very holy, blameless Man): But at Blackfryars I never took a Penny, because it was the Parishioners who called me, who would else be less able and ready to help their worthy Pastor (who went to God by a Consumption a little after he was silenced and put out). At these two Churches I ended the Course of my Publick Ministry (unless God cause an undeserved Resurrection).
§ 165. Here also my Accusations followed me as maliciously and falsly as before; and I was fain to clear my self by printing some of my Sermons, in a little Book called Now or Never, and in part of another called a Saint or a Bruit.
§ 166. Before this I resolved to go to the Archbishop of Canterbury (then Bishop of London) to ask him for his License to preach in his Diocess: Some Brethren blamed me for it, as being an owning of Prelatical Usurpation. I told them that the King had given him a power to suffer or hinder me; and if he had no power at all, I might lawfully desire any Man not to hinder me in my Duty; much more having power as the Church-Magistrate or Officer of the King: And though I was under no necessity, I would not refuse a lawful thing, when Authority required it. The Archibishop received me with very great expression of Respects; and offered me his License, and would let his Secretary take no Money of me: But he offered me the Book to Subscribe in: I told him that he knew that the King's Declaration exempted us from Subscription: He bid me write what I would: I told him that what I resolved to do, and I thought meet for him to expect, I would do of choice, though I might forbear: And so (in Latin) I subscribed my promise not to preach against the Doctrine of the Church, or the Ceremonies established by Law, in his Diocess, while I used his License. And I told him how grievous it was to me to be daily haunted with such general Accusations behind my back, and asked him why I was never accused of any Particulars: And he confessed to me, That if they had got any Particulars that would have deserved it, I should have heard particularly from him. I scarce think that I ever preached a Sermon without a Spy to give them his report of it.
§ 167. But my last Sermon that ever I preached in Publick being at Blackfryars, was defamed with this particular Accusation, That I told them that the Gospel was now departing from them: Insomuch as the Lady Balcarres told me, That even the old Queen of Bobemia told her, she wondered that I was so impudent, as to say, the Gospel was going away, because that I, and such as I were silenced, while others were put into our places. But all this was the breath of Mis-reporters, without any colour of ground from any thing that I had said, as may be seen in the printed Sermons.
§ 168. For when the Ministers were all silenced, some covetous Booksellers got Copies of the last Sermons of many of them, from the Scribes that took them from their Mouths. Some of them were taken word by word (which I heard my self): but some of us were much abused by it; and especially my self: for they stiled it A Farewel Sermon, and mangled so both Matter and Style, that I could not own it; besides the printing it to the offense of Governours. So that afterwards I writ out the Sermon more at large my self (on Col. 2. 6, 7.) with another Discourse, and offered them to the Press, but could not get them Licensed*But since it is licensed and printed, called Directions for weak Christians, &c.: for Reasons afterwards to me mentioned.
§ 169. On April 23. was his Majesty's Coronation Day; the Day being very serene and fair, till suddenly in the Afternoon, as they were returning from Westminster-hall, there was very terrible Thunders, when none expected it. Which made me remember his Father's Coronation, on which, being a Boy at School, and having leave to play for the Solemnity, an Earthquake (about two a Clock in the Afternoon) did affright the Boys, and all the Neighbourhood. I intend no Commentary on these, but only to relate the Matter of Fact.
§ 170. To return at last to our Treaty with the Bishops: If you observe the King's Declaration, you will find, that though Matters of Government seemed to be determined, yet the Liturgy was to be reviewed, and reformed, and new Forms drawn up in Scripture phrase, sui…ed to the several parts of Worship, that Men might use which of them they pleased] (as already there were some such variety of Forms in some Offices of that Book). This was yet to be done, and till this were done, we were uncertain of the Issue of all our Treaty: but if that were done, and all setled by Law, our Divisions were at an end. Therefore being often with the Lord Chancellour on the forementioned occasions, I humbly intreated him to hasten the finishing of that Work, that we might rejoyce in our desired Concord. At last Dr. Reignolds and Mr. Calamy were authorized to name the Persons on that side, to manage the Treaty; and a Commission was granted under the Broad Seal to the Persons nominated on both sides. I intreated Mr. Calamy and Dr. Reignolds to leave me out: for though I much desired the Expedition of the Work, I found that the last Debates had made me unacceptable with my Superiours; and this would much more increase it, and other Men might be fitter, who were less distasted. But I could not prevail with them (unless I would have peremptorily refused it) to Excuse me. So they named, as Commissioners, Dr. Tuckney, Dr. Conant, Dr. Spurstow, Dr. Manton, Dr. Wallis, Mr. Calamy and my self, Mr. Iackson, Mr. Case, Mr. Clark, and Mr. Newcomen, besides Dr. Reignolds then Bishop of Norwich: And for Assistants (being the other Party had Assistants) Dr. Horton, Dr. Iacomb, Dr. Bates, Mr. Rawlinson, Mr. Cooper, Dr. Lightfoot, Dr. Collins, Mr. Woodbridge, and Dr. Drake. According to the King's Commission we were to meet and manage our Conference, in order to the Ends therein expressed. The Commission is as followeth: