His mar riage with station must confine him conftantly to Court, which was inconfiftent with his Epifcopal Function, he defired leave to refign his Bishoprick. The King was much furprized at the Propofal, to which he would by no means confent: However, finding our Author perfifted in it, he was at length prevailed on, to agree, that the Duke fhould refide all the fummer at Windfor, and that the Bishop should have ten Weeks allowed him every year, to visit the other parts of his Diocese. The method he purfued in the Duke of Gloucefter's education, and the amazing progrefs made in it, during the fhort time that Prince was under his care, are mentioned in the History: To which I fhall only add, that he conducted himself in fuch a manner, that the Princefs of Denmark ever after retained a peculiar regard for him, of which he received fome fenfible marks, when he came to the Throne, even at times when he was engaged in a publick oppofition to the measures of her Minifters, The affiduous attendance our author was obliged Mr. Be to, whilst he was Preceptor to the Duke, and the tender age of his own children, made it requifite to look out for a proper miftrefs to his family. He fix'd upon Mrs. Berkeley, a Lady of uncommon degrees of Knowledge, Piety and Virtue; as may appear from Her Method of Devotion, which bore feveral impreffions in her Life-time; and was reprinted after her death, with an account of her Life, by Dr. Goodwyn, (the late Archbishop of Cafhels in Ireland) which renders it unneceffary here to enlarge upon her character. He writes In the year 1699, our Author published His an Expo- Expofition of the Thirty-nine Articles of the fition of Church of England. He was firft engaged in this the Thirty nine Ar undertaking by Queen Mary, who had fo highly ticles. approved of his Four Difcourfes to his Clergy, and his Treatife of the Paftoral Care, that She, as well as Archbishop Tillotfon, judged no man fa fo proper as himself, to render this important fervice to the Church. At their intreaty therefore, he undertook this laborious task, which he perform'd in lefs than the compass of a year, though he kept it by him five years, for correction. It was first revised, and in many places altered by Dr. Tillotson, whofe opinion of this performance will beft be learnt from one of his own letters. '' "I My Lord,* Lambeth-Houfe, Oct. 23, 1674Have with great pleasure and fatisfaction read over the great volume, you fent me; "and am aftonifh'd to fee fo vaft a work, begun "and finifh'd in fo fhort a time. In the article "of the Trinity you have faid all, that I'think "can be faid upon fo obfcure and difficult an tr argument. The Socinians have juft now pub"lished an answer to us all; but I have not had 66 a fight of it. The negative articles against the "Church of Rome, you have very fully ex"plained, and with great learning and judgment. Concerning thefe, you will meet with no op"position amongst ourselves. The greatest danger was to be apprehended from the points in "difference between the Calvinifts and Remon"ftrants, in which you have fhewn, not only great skill and moderation, but great prudence "in contenting yourfelf, to reprefent both fides "impartially, without any pofitive declaration "of your own judgment. The account given. "of Athanafius's Creed, seems to me no-wife "fatisfactory; I wish we were well rid of it. "I pray God long to preferve your Lordship, to "do more fuch fervices to the Church. I am, "My Lord, "Yours most affectionately, An attefted copy of this letter, in the hand-writing of the prefent Archbishop of Dublin, is in the Editor's mands. This work was afterwards perufed and approved by Archbishop Tennifon, Archbishop Sharp, Bishop Stillingfleet, Patrick, Lloyd, Hall and Williams: The last of these ftrongly recommended, the confidering them only as articles of peace, in which men were bound to acquiefce without contradiction; not as articles of faith, which they were obliged to believe. There might perhaps be reafon to wifh, that they had only been impofed as fuch, but there was nothing in our Conftitution to warrant an expofitor, in giving that fenfe to them: The book likewife pafs'd through the hands of many learned men in both Universities, and was generally applauded. Upon its first appearance in print, it was univerfally well received; thofe, who had been employed to criticise every work the Bishop had published for fome years, were filent as to This. Indeed when the Convocation met, and the two Houses were warmly engaged in difputes, relating to their refpective privileges, in which our Author bore a confiderable fhare; the Lower Houfe, in refentment, brought up a general cenfure of his Expofition, but refufed to point out the particulars upon which it was grounded: Though the Upper House remonstrated, how neceffary that was, in in order to enable them to concur in the cenfure, which they could not pretend to do, till they were informed of the reafons for it. For five or fix years before his death, our Author grew more abftracted from the world, than the fituation he had been in, during the former parts of his life, had permitted. To avoid the distraction of ufelefs vifits, he fettled in St. John's Court in Clerkenwell, and kept up only an intercourse with his moft felect and intimate acquaintance: Their names will be an honour to his memory, and therefore I beg leave to mention the most confiderable amongst them. Such were the late Dukes of Marlborough, Newcastle and and Shrewsbury; the Earls of Godolphin, Cowper and Halifax; the Lord Somers and Pelham: And the present Dutchefs Dowager of Marlborough, the Dukes of Montrofe and Roxburgh; the Lord Townshend, the Lord King, the Mafter of the Rolls Sir Jofeph Jekyll, the Lord Chief Juftice Eyre, and Mr. Baillie of Jervifwood, who, as he was his near relation, fo he always lived with him in the friendship and freedom of a brother. I have faid nothing in relation to the part our Au- His dilithor acted in Parliament, in Convocation, or in the gence in his calling feveral matters of ftate, wherein he was confulted whilst in and employed; this is fully and impartially fet London. forth in the Hiftory itself. Yet I ought to inform the reader, that the Bishop's neceffary attendance on the House of Lords, in the winter feafon, was not a means of abating his diligence in the duties of his calling, though it diverted the exercife of it, from the proper fcene, his diocese. For whilst he ftaid in town, he failed not of preach. ing every Sunday morning, in fome church or other in London; and as he was much followed, he was generally engaged for charity fermons, at which he himself was always a liberal contributor: In the Sunday evening, he had a Lecture in his own house, upon fome select portion of Scripure; to which many perfons of diftinction reforted, though at firft it was only intended, for the benefit of his own family. As he lived to fee the turn, which the affairs of Great Britain, I might fay of Europe, took upon the death of Queen Anne, for whom he had always the highest perfonal veneration, but whom he thought unwarily engaged in measures, which might have proved fatal: I need not fay, with what comfort he faw a fucceffion take place, of which he himself had been the firft mover; and a Family established, in whofe interefts he had been fo stedfaft and zealous, and by whom he had third volume as a fupple had been fo much entrusted. He published a Writes a third Volume, as a fupplement to his two former, of the Hiftory of the Reformation, at the time of his late Majefty's arrival in England, to whom it was dedicated. And as if his life had his Histo- only been prolonged to fee this great work comry of the Reforma pleat, and the proteftant intereft in a fair profpect of fecurity, he died foon after. ment to tion. His do meftick Thus I have endeavoured to give fome account of our Author's behaviour, in all the character. different stations he pass'd through in publick: it may be expected, I fhould fay fomething of him, in domeftick life. His time how employed. His time, the only treasure of which he feemed covetous, was employed in one regular and uniform manner. His conftant health permitted him to be an early rifer; he was feldom in bed later than five a-clock in the morning during the fummer, or than fix in the winter. Private meditation took up the two firft hours and the last half-hour of the day. His first and laft appearance to his family was, at the morning and evening prayers, which were always read by himfelf, though his chaplains were prefent. He drank his tea in company with his children, and took that opportunity of inftructing them in religion; he went through the Old and New Teftament with them three times, giving his own comment upon fome portion of it, for an hour every morning. When this was over, he retired to his ftudy, where he feldom fpent lefs than fix, often more than eight hours in a day. The reft of his time was taken up with bufinefs, exercife and neceffary reft, or beftowed on friendly vifits and chearful meals. As he kept an open table, in which there was plenty without luxury, fo no man was more pleafed with innocent mirth there, no man encouraged it more, or had a larger fund of entertainment to contribute towards it. His equipage, like his table, was decent and plain; and |