the pulpit. Once indeed he preached before Cromwell, but neither did he in that sermon flatter, nor, in a conference he had with him afterwards, did he express either affection to his person, or submission to his power, but quite the contrary. He came to London a little before the deposition of Richard Cromwell. At that time Mr. Baxter was looked upon as a friend to monarchy, and with reason, for, being chosen to preach before the parlia ment on the 30th of April 1660, which was the day preceding that on which they voted the king's return, he maintained, that loyalty to their prince was a thing essential to all true protestants, of whatever persuasion. About the same time likewise he was chosen to preach a thanksgiving sermon at St. Paul's, for General Monk's success; and yet some have been so bold as to maintain, that he attempted to dissuade his excellency from concurring in, or rather from bringing about, that happy change.

*The Earl of Warwick and the Lord Brogbill were the persons who drew him to preach before the Protector, and the words he made choice of were these: Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no di visions among you, but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind, and in the same judgment. He levelled his discourse against the divi sions and distractions of the church, shewing how mischievous a thing it was for politicians to maintain such divisions for their own ends, that they night fish in troubled waters, and keep the church by its divisions in a state of weakness, lest it should be able to offend them. A while after Cromwell sent to speak with him, and when he came he had only three of his chief men with him. He began a long and tedious speech to him of God's providence in the change of the government, and how God had owned it, and what great things had been done at home and abroad, in the peace with Spain and Holland, &c. When he had continued speaking thus about an hour, Mr. Baxter told him, it was too great condescension to acquaint him so fully with all those matters, which were above him; but that the bonest people of the land took their ancient monarchy to be a blessing and not an evil, and humbly craved his patience, that he might ask him how they had forfeited that blessing, and unto whom this forfeiture was made? Upon that question he was awakened into some passion, and told him there was no forfeiture, but Gor had changed it as pleased him; and then he let fly at the parliament, which thwarted him, and especially, by name at four or tive members, which were Mr. Baxter's chief acquaintance, whom he presumed to defend against the Protector's pas-ion. And thus were four or five hours spent, though to little purpose. Some time afterwards the Protector sent for him again, under pretence of asking his judgment about liberty of conscience, at which time also he made a loug tedious speech himself, which took up so much time, that Mr. Baxter desired to offer his sentiments in writing, which he did; but, he says, he questions whether Cromwell read them. We have also a character of Cromwell drawn by the pen of our Author, which, though too long to be inserted here, is one of the most just and impartial that we have of that very extraordinary man.

change. After the Restoration he became one of the King's chaplains in ordinary, preached before him once, and had frequent access to his royal person, and was always treated by him with peculiar respect. At the Savoy conferences, Mr. Baxter assisted as one of the commissioners, and then drew up the reformed liturgy. He was offered the bishopric of Hereford, by the Lord Chancellor Clarendon, which he refused to accept, for reasons which he rendered in a respectful letter to his Lordship. Yet even then he would willingly have returned to his beloved town of Kidderminster, and have preached in the low state of a curate. But this was then refused him, though the Lord Chancellor took pains to have him settled there as he desired.

When he found himself thus disappointed, he preached occasionally about the city of London, sometimes for Dr. Bates at St. Dunstan's in the West, and sometimes in other places, having a licence from Bishop Sheldon, upon his subscribing a promise, not to preach any thing against the doctrine or ceremonies of the church. The last time he preached in public was on the 15th day of May 1662, a farewell sermon at Blackfriars. He afterwards retired to Acton in Middlesex, where he went every Lord's day to the public church, and spent the rest of the day with his family, and a few poor neighbours that came in to him. In 1665, when the plague raged, he went to Richard Hampden's, Esq. in Buckinghamshire, and returned to Acton when it was over. He staid there as long as the act against conventicles continued in force, and when that was expired, he had so many auditors that he wanted room. Hereupon, by a warrant signed by two justices, he was committed for six months to New Prison jail, but got an habeas corpus, and was released and removed to Totteridge near Barnet.* At this place he lived quietly and without

In this affair, as Mr. Baxter met with some hardship in the commitment, so he experienced the sincerity of many of his best friends, who on this occasion stuck by him very steadily. As he was carried to prison, he called upon Serjeant Fountain to ask his advice, who, when he had perused the mittimus, gave it as his opinion, that he might be discharged from his imprisonment by law. The Earl of Orrery, the Earl of Manchester, the Earl of Arlington, and the Duke of Buckingham, mentioned the affair to the King, who was pleased to send Sir John Baber to him, to let him know, that though his majesty was not willing to relax the law, yet he would not be offended, if by any appli cation to the courts in Westminster Hall he could procure his liberty; upon this a habeas corpus was demanded at the bar of the common-pleas, and granted. The judges were clear in their opinion, that the millimus was insufficient, and thereupon discharged him. This exasperated the

justices

out disturbance. The king was resolved to make some concessions to the dissenters in Scotland, and the Duke of Lauderdale, by his order, acquainted Mr. Baxter, that if he would take this opportunity of going into that kingdom, he should have what preferment he would there; which he declined on account of his own weakness and the circumstances of his family. His opinion however was taken on the scheme for settling church disputes in that country. In 1671, Mr. Baxter lost the greatest part of his fortune by the shutting up of the king's exchequer, in which he had a thousand pounds. After the indulgence in 1672, he returned into the city, and was one of the Tuesday lecturers at Pinner's Hall, and had a Friday lecture at Fetter Lane; but on the Lord's days, he for some time preached only occasionally, and afterwards more statedly in St. James's market-house, where in 1674 he had a wonderful deliverance, by almost a miracle, from a crack in the floor. He was apprehended as he was preaching his lecture at Mr. Turner's, but soon released, because the warrant was not, as it ought to have been, signed by a city justice. The times seeming to grow more favourable, he built a meeting-house in Oxendon Street, where he preached but once before a resolution was taken to surprise and send him to the county jail on the Oxford act, which misfortune he luckily escaped; but the person who preached for him was committed to the Gatehouse, and continued there three months. Having been kept out of his new meeting-house a whole year, he took another in Swallow Street, but was likewise prevented from using that, a guard being fixed there for many Sundays together, to hinder him from coming into it. On Mr. Wadsworth's dying, Mr. Baxter preached to his congregation in Southwark for many months. When Dr. Llyod succeeded Dr. Lamplugh in St. Martin's parish, Mr. Baxter made him an offer of the chapel he had built in Oxendon Street, for public worship, which was very kindly accepted. In 1682,

justices who committed him, and therefore they made a new mittimus, in order to have him sent to the county jail of Newgate, which be avoided by keeping out of the way. The whole of this persecution is said to have been owing to the particular pique of Dr. Bruno Rives, Dean of Windsor and of Wolverhampton, rector of Haselly and of Acton, and one of the King's chaplains in ordinary. The reason that he pushed this matter so far was, because Mr. Baxter had preached in his parish of Acton, which he fancied some way reflected upon him, because Mr. Baxter had always a large audience, though in truth this was in a great measure owing to the imprudence of the dean, whose curate was a weak inan, and too great a frequenter of alehouses.

1682, he suffered more severely than he had ever done on account of his nonconformity. One day he was suddenly surprized in his house by many constables and officers, who apprehended him upon a warrant to seize his person, for coming within five miles of a corporation, producing at the same time five more warrants, to distrain for one hundred and ninety-five pounds for five sermons. Though he was much out of order, being but just risen from his bed, where he had been in extremity of pain, he was contentedly going with them to a justice, to be sent to jail, and left his house to their will. But Dr. Thomas Cox, meeting him as he was going, forced him again into his bed, and went to five justices and took his oath, that he could not go to prison without danger of death. Upon this the justices delayed till they had consulted the king, who consented that his imprisonment should be for that time forborne, that he might die at home. But they executed their warrants on the books and goods in the house, though he made it appear they were none of his, and they sold even the bed which he lay sick upon. Some friends paid them as much money as they were appraised at, and he repaid them. And all this was without Mr. Baxter's having the least notice of any accusation, or receiving any summons to appear and answer for himself, or ever seeing the justices or accusers; and afterwards he was in constant danger of new seizures, and thereupon he was forced to leave his house, and retire into private lodgings.

Things continued much in the same way during the year 1683, and Mr. Baxter remained in great obscurity, however, not without receiving a remarkable testimony of the sincere esteem, and great confidence, which a person of remarkable piety, though of another persuasion, had towards him: The Rev. Mr. Thomas Mayot, a beneficed clergyman in the church of England, who had devoted his estate to charitable uses, gave by his last will £600 to be distributed by Mr. Baxter to sixty poor ejected ministers, adding, that he did it not because they were nonconformists, but because many such were poor and pious. But the king's attorney, Sir Robert Sawyer, sued for it in the chancery, and the Lord-keeper, North, gave it all to the king. It was paid into the chancery by order, and, as Providence directed it, there kept safe, till King William the Third ascended the throne, when the commissioners of the great seal restored it to the use for which it was intended by the deceased, and Mr. Baxter disposed of it accordingly. In the following year, 1684, Mr. Baxter

fell

4

fell into a very bad state of health, so as to be scarce able to stand. He was in this condition, when the justices of peace for the county of Middlesex granted a warrant against him, in order to his being bound to his good behaviour.

They got into his house, but could not immediately get at him, Mr. Baxter being in his study, and their warrant not impowering them to break open doors. Six constables, however, were set to hinder him from getting to his bed-chamber, and so, by keeping him from food and sleep, they carried their point, and took him away to the sessions house, where he was bound in the penalty of four hundred pounds to keep the peace, and was brought up twice afterwards, though he kept his bed the greatest part of the time. In the beginning of the year 1685, Mr. Baxter was committed to the King's Bench prison, by a warrant from the Lord Chief Justice Jefferies, for his paraphrase on the New Testament, and tried on the 18th of May in the same year in the court of King's Bench, and found guilty, and on the 29th of June following received a very severe sentence *. In 1686, the king, by the mediation

This trial of Mr. Baxter was by much the most remarkable transaction in his life; and therefore, though we by no means affect long citations, yet, in such a case as this, we are under a necessity of stating things from a person who has given us the fairest account of them, for the sake of authority. On the 6th of May, being the first day of Easter Term, 1685, Mr. Baxter appeared in the court of King's Bench, and Mr. Attorney declared he would file an information against him. On the 14th the defendant pleaded not guilty, and on the 18th, Mr. Baxter being much indisposed, and desiring farther time than to the 30th, which was the day appointed for the trial, he moved by his counsel that it might be put off; on which occasion the Chief Justice answered angrily, I will not give him a minute's time more to save his life. We have had (says he) to do with other sorts of persons, but now we have a saint to deal with, and I know how to deal with saints as well as sinners. Yonder (says he) stands Oats in the pillory (as he actually did in New • Palace-vard), and he says he suffers for the truth, and so does Bax'er; but if Baxter did but stand on the other side of the pillory with him, 1 would say two of the greatest rogues and rascals in the kingdom stood 'there' On the 30th of May, in the afternoon, he was brought to his trial before the Lord ("hief Justice Jefferies, at Guild-ball. Sir Henry Ashurst, who could not forsake his own and his father's friend, stood by him all the while Mr. Baxter came first into court, and with all the Inarks of serenity and composure waited for the coming of the Lord Chief Instice, who appeared quickly after with great indignation in his face. He no sooner sat down, than a short cause was called, and tried; after which the clerk began to read the title of another cause, • You blockhead you (says Jefferies), the next cause is between Richard Baxter and the king Upon which Mr. Baxter's cause was called The passages mentioned in the information, was his Paraphrase on Matth. Mark, ix. 39. Mark xi. 31. Mark xii. 38, 39, 40. Luke

V. 19.