1662. nights, where the fermons were talked over; and every one, women as well as men, were defired to fpeak their fenfe and their experience: And by these means they had a comprehenfion of matters of religion, greater than I have seen among people of that fort any where. The preachers went all in one track, of raifing obfervations on points of doctrine out of their text, and proving thefe by reasons, and then of applying thofe, and fhewing the use that was to be made of fuch a point of doctrine, both for instruction and terrour, for exhortation and comfort, for trial of themselves upon it, and for furnishing them with proper directions and helps: And this was fo methodical, that the people grew to follow a fermon quite through every branch of it. To this fome added, the refolving of doubts concerning the state they were in, or their progrefs or decay in it; which they called cafes of confcience: And thefe were taken from what their people faid to them at any time, very oft being under fits of melancholy, or vapours, or obstructions, which, tho' they flowed from natural caufes, were looked on as the work of the spirit of God, and a particular exercise to them; and they fed this disease of weak minds too much. Thus they had laboured very diligently, tho' with a wrong method and wrong notions. But as they lived in great familiarity with their people, and used to pray and to talk oft with them in private, fo it can hardly be imagined to what a degree they were loved and reverenced by them. They kept fcandalous perfons under a fevere difcipline: For breach of fabbath, for an oath, or the leaft diforder in drunkennefs, perfons were cited before the Church feffion, that confifted of ten or twelve of the chief of the parish, who with the Minifter had this care upon them, and were folemnly reproved for it: For fornication they were not only reproved before thefe; but there was a high place in the church called the ftool or pillar

of

of repentance, where they fate at the times of wor- 1662. fhip for three Lords-days, receiving admonitions, and making profeffion of repentance on all thofe days; which fome did with many tears, and ferious exhortations to all the reft, to take warning by their fall: For adultery they were to fit fix months in that place, covered with fackcloth. These things had a grave appearance. Their faults and defects were not fo confpicuous. They had a very scanty measure of learning, and a narrow compass in it. They were little men, of a very indifferent size of capacity, and apt to fly out into great excefs of paffion and indifcretion. They were fervile, and too apt to fawn upon, and flatter their admirers. They were affected in their deportment, and very apt to cenfure all who differed from them, and to believe and report whatfoever they heard to their prejudice. And they were fuperftitious and haughty. In their fermons they were apt to enlarge on the ftate of the present time, and to preach against the fins of Princes and Courts: A topick that naturally makes men popular. It has an appearance of courage: And the people are glad to hear thofe fins infifted on, in which they perceive they have no fhare, and to believe that all the judgments of God come down by the means and procurement of other mens fins. But their opinions about the independence of the Church and Clergy on the Civil power, and their readiness to stir up the people to tumults and wars, was that which begot fo ill an opinion of them at this time in all men, that very few, who were not deeply engaged with them in thefe conceits, pitied them much under all the ill ufage they now met with. I hope this is no impertinent nor ungrateful digreffion. It is a juft and true account of these men and those times, from which a judicious reader will make good inferences. I will conclude this with a judicious anfwer that one of the wifest and beft of them, Colvil, who fucceeded Leigh

toun

1662. toun in the Headship of the College of Edinburgh, made to the Earl of Midletoun, when he prefs'd him in the point of defenfive arms to tell plainly his opinion, whether they were lawful or not. He faid, the queftion had been often put to him, and he had always declined to answer it: But to him he plainly faid, he wifhed that Kings and their Minifters would believe them lawful, and fo govern as men that expect to be refifted; but he wished, that all their fubjects would believe them to be unlawful, and fo the world would be at quiet.

Prejudices

infufed against Epifco

pacy:

I do now return to end the account of the state of that country at this time. The people were much troubled, when fo many of their Minifters were turned out. Their Minifters had, for fome months before they were thus filenced, been infufing this into their people, both in publick and private; that all that was defigned in this change of Church government was to destroy the power of godliness, and to give an impunity to vice; that Prelacy was a tyranny in the Church, fet on by ambitious and covetous men, who aimed at nothing but authority and wealth, luxury and idlenefs; and that they intended to encourage vice, that they might procure to themselves a great party among the impious and immoral. The people, thus prepoffeffed, feeing the Earl of Midletoun, and all the train that followed him thro' thofe Counties, running into exceffes of all forts, and railing at the very appearance of virtue and fobriety, were confirmed in the belief of all that their Ministers had told them. What they had heard concerning Sharp's betraying thofe that had employed him, and the other Bishops, who had taken the Covenant, and had forced it on others, and now preach'd against it, openly owning that they had in fo doing gone against the exprefs dictate of their own confcience, did very much heighten all their prejudices, and fixed them so in them, that

it was scarce poffible to conquer them afterwards. 1662. All this was out of measure increafed by the new incumbents, who were put in the places of the ejected preachers, and were generally very mean and defpicable in all refpects. They were the worft preachers I ever heard: They were ignorant to a reproach: And many of them were openly vitious. They were a difgrace to their orders, and the facred functions; and were indeed the dreg and refufe of the northern parts. Thofe of them, who arose above contempt or scandal, were men of fuch violent tempers, that they were as much hated, as the others were defpifed. This was the fatal beginning of reftoring Episcopacy in Scotland, of which few of the Bithops feemed to have any fenfe. Fairfoul, the most concerned, had none at all: For he fell into a paralytick state, in which he languished a year before he died. I have thus opened the first fettlement in Scotland: Of which I my felf obferved what was visible, and understood the more fecret tranfactions from thofe, who had fuch a fhare in them, that it was not poffible for them, to mistake them: And I had no reason to think they intended to deceive, or misinform me.

fairs of

England.

I will in the next place change the climate, 1660. and give as particular an account as I can of the n fettlement of England both in Church and State : Which, tho' it will be perhaps imperfect, and will in fome parts be immethodical, yet I am well affured it will be found true; having picked it up at several times, from the Earl of Lauderdale, Sir Robert Murray, the Earl of Shaftsbury, the Earl of Clarendon the fon of the Lord Chancellour, the Lord Hollis, and Sir Harbottle Grimstone, who was the Speaker of the House of Commons, under whofe protection I lived nine years when I was preacher at the Rolls, he being then Master of the Rolls. From fuch hands I could

1660. not be mifled, when I laid all together, and confidered what reafon I had to make allowances for the different accounts that diverfity of parties and interefts may lead men to give, they too eafily believing fome things, and as easily rejecting others, as they itood affected.

After the King came over, no perfon in the House of Commons had the courage to move the offering propofitions, for any limitation of prerogative, or the defining of any doubtful points. All was joy and rapture. If the King had applyed himself to bufinefs, and had purfued thofe defigns which he ftudied to retrieve all the reft of 'his reign, when it was too late, he had probably in thofe firft tranfports carried every thing that he would have defired, either as to revenue or power. But he was fo given up to pleasure, that he devolved the management of all his affairs on the Earl of Clarendon; who, as he had his breeding in the law, fo he had all along declared himfelf for the ancient liberties of England, as well as for the rights of the Crown. A domeftick accident had happened to him, which heightened his zeal for the former. He, when he began to grow eminent in his profeffion, came down to fee his aged father, a gentleman of Wiltshire: Who,, one day, as they were walking in the field together, told him, that men of his profeffion did often ftretch law and prerogative, to the prejudice of the liberty of the fubject, to recommend and advance themselves: So he charged him, if ever he grew to any eminence in his profeffion, that he fhould never facrifice the laws and liberties of his country to his own interefts, or to the will of a Prince. He repeated this twice: And immediately he fell into a fit of an apoplexy, of which he died in a few hours. This the Earl of Clarendon told the Lady Ranelagh, who put him often in mind of it: And from her I had it.

He