illustrious memory. My object has not been to write with a view to please one or another party, but as a dutiful son and faithful servant of the Church of England to illustrate her history and theology with impartiality, and at the same time with the conviction that to no period can the minds of my brethren in the sacred ministry of Christ's Church more profitably revert than to that of Hooker, Field, and Andrewes. I have long felt that those can never live effectively for the present, who can find no delight in living much in the past. Our Church may have had, in common with others, her seasons of declension; she may have, in common with other communities, her trials at the present time: but on many a bright spot, both in the past and at the present day, the hearts of her devoted children may rest with both gratitude and hope,—with gratitude that the hand of God hath visibly made use of this Church for the establishing of His pure Word and worship in these realms, and with hope that He will never fail to answer the prayers of those who rejoice in her prosperity.
May our good Lord and Saviour be with you, my dear Sir, to support and bless you in the years that yet remain
to you. enjoyment to your days, beneath the shadow of that noble.
And may these my poor labours add some little
edifice in which Andrewes and Field both ministered before