nefs to the rules he had fet himself. A gentleman had fent him a buck for his table, that had a trial at the affizes; fo when he heard his name, he asked if he was not the fame perfon that had fent him venifon?' and finding he was the fame, he told him, he could not fuffer the trial to go on, till he had paid him for his buck.' To which the gentleman answered, that he never fold his venifon, and ⚫ that he had done nothing to him, which he did not do to every judge that had gone that circuit,' which was confirmed by feveral gentlemen then present: but all would not do, for the lord chief baron had learned from Solomon, that a gift perverteth the ways of judgment; and therefore he would not fuffer the trial to go on, till he had paid for the prefent; upon which the gentleman withdrew the record. And at Salisbury the Dean and Chapter having, according to the custom, prefented him with fix fugar loaves in his circuit, he made his fervants pay for the fugar before he would try their caufe.

It was not fo eafy for him to throw off the importunities of the poor, for whom his compaffion wrought more powerfully than his regard to wealth and greatnefs; yet when juftice was concerned, even that did not turn him out of the way. There was one that had been put out of a place, for fome ill behaviour, who urged the lord chief baron to fet his hand to a certificate to restore him to it, or provide him with another; but he told him plainly, his fault was fuch that he could not do it; the other preffed him vehemently, and fell down on his knees, and begged it of him with many tears; but finding that could not prevail, he faid, he fhould be utterly ruined if he did it not ; and he should curfe him for it every day:' But that having no effect, then he fell out into all the reproachful words that paffion and defpair could infpire him with; to which all the answer the lord chief baron made was, that he could very well.

6

• bear

bear all his reproaches; but he could not for all that fet his hand to his certificate.' He faw he was poor, fo he gave him a large charity, and sent him away.

But now he was to go on after his pattern, Pompo nius Atticus, ftill to favour and relieve them that were lowest. So befides great charities to the Nonconformists who were then, as he thought, too hardly used, he took great care to cover them all he could, from the feverities fome defigned against them, and difcouraged those who were inclined to stretch the laws too much against them: He lamented the differences that were raised in this church very much, and, according to the impartiality of his juftice, he blamed fome things on both fides, which I fhall fet down with the fame freedom that he spake them. He thought many of the Nonconformifts had merited highly in the business of the king's restoration, and at least deserved that the terms of Conformity fhould not have been made ftricter than they were before the war. There was not then that dreadful profpect of Popery that has appeared fince. But that which afflicted him moft was, that he faw the heats and contentions which followed upon thofe different parties and interefts, did take people off from the indifpenfable things of religion, and flackened the zeal of (other ways) good men for the fubftance of it, fo much being spent about external and indifferent things. It alfo gave advantages to Atheists, to treat the most facred points of our holy faith as ridiculous, when they faw the profeffors of it contend fo fiercely, and with fuch bitterness, about leffer matters. He was much offended at all those books that were written to expofe the contrary Jest to the scorn and contempt of the age, in a wanton and petulant ftyle; he thought fuch writers wounded the Chriftian religion through the fides of those who differed from them: while a fort of lewd people, who having affumed to themselves the title of the Wits (though but a very few of them have a right to it)

took

took up from both hands what they had faid, to make one another fhew ridiculous, and from thence perfuaded the world to laugh at both, and at all religion for their fakes. And therefore he often wifhed there might be fome law, to make all fcurrility or bitterness in difputes about religion punishable. But as he lamented the proceedings too rigorously against the Nonconformifts, fo he declared himself always of the fide of the Church of England, and faid, those of the feparation were good men, but they had narrow fouls, who would break the peace of the church about fuch inconfiderable matters as the points in difference

were.

He scarce ever meddled in ftate-intrigues; yet upon a propofition that was fet on foot by the lord keeper Bridgeman, for a comprehenfion of the more moderate diffenters, and a limited indulgence towards fuch as could not be brought within the comprehenfion, he difpenfed with his maxim, of avoiding to engage in matters of State. There were feveral meetings upon that occafion. The divine of the Church of England that appeared moft confiderably for it, was Dr. Wilkins, afterwards promoted to the bifhopric of Chester, a man of as great a mind, as true a judgment, as eminent virtues, and of as good a foul, as any I ever knew. He being determined, as well by his excellent temper, as by his forefight and prudence, by which he early perceived the great prejudices that religion received, and the vast dangers the reformation was like to fall under by thofe divifions; fet about that project with the magnanimity that was indeed peculiar to himself; for though he was much cenfured by many of his own fide, and feconded by very few, yet he pufhed it as far he could. After feveral conferences with two of the eminenteft of the Prefbyterian divines, heads were agreed on, fome abatements were to be made, and explanations were to be accepted of. The particulars of that project being thus concerted, they

were

were brought to the lord chief baron, who put them in form of a bill, to be prefented to the next feffion of parliament.

But two parties appeared vigorously against this defign; the one was of fome zealous clergymen, who thought it below the dignity of the church to alter laws, and change fettlements, for the fake of fome whom they esteemed Schifmatics. They alfo believed, it was better to keep them out of the church, than bring them into it, fince a faction upon that would arife in the church which they thought might be more dangerous than the fchifm itself was. Befides they faid, if fome things were now to be changed in compliance with the humour of a party, as foon as that was done, another party might demand other conceffions, and there might be as good reafons invented for these as for thofe: many fuch conceffions might alfo fhake those of our own communion, and tempt them to forfake us, and go over to the church of Rome, pretending that we changed fo often, that they were thereby inclined to be of a church that was conftant and true to herfelf. Thefe were the reasons brought, and chiefly infifted on against all comprehenfion; and they wrought upon the greater part of the House of Commons, fo that they paffed à vote against the receiving of any bill for that effect.

There were others that oppofed it upon very different ends: They defigned to shelter the Papists from the execution of the law, and faw clearly that nothing could bring in Popery fo well as a toleration. But to tolerate Popery bare-faced, would have ftartled the nation too much; fo it was neceffary to hinder all the propofitions for Union, fince the keeping up the differences was the best colour they could find, for getting the toleration to pass, only as a flackening the laws against Diffenters, whofe numbers and wealth made it advifeable to have fome regard to them; and under this pretence Popery might have crept in more covered, and lefs regarded: So thefe councils

VOL. I.

D

councils being more acceptable to fome concealed Papifts then in great power, as has fince appeared but too evidently, the whole project for Comprehenfion was let fall, and those who had fet it on foot, came to be looked on with an ill eye, as fecret favourers of the Diffenters, underminers of the Church, and every thing else that jealoufy and diftafte could caft on them.

But upon this occafion, the lord chief baron, and Dr. Wilkins, came to contract a firm and fami liar friendship; and the lord chief baron having much business, and little time to fpare, did to enjoy the other the more, what he had fcarce ever done before, he went fometimes to dine with him. And though he lived in great friendship with fome other eminent clergymen, as Dr. Ward, bishop of Salisbury; Dr. Barlow, bishop of Lincoln; Dr. Barrow, late mafter of Trinity-College; Dr Tillotfon, dean of Canterbury; and Dr. Stillingfleet, dean of St. Paul's, (men fo well known, and fo much efteemed, that as it was no wonder the lord chief baron valued their converfation highly, fo thofe of them that are yet alive will think it no leffening of the character they are fo defervedly in, that they are reckoned among Judge Hale's friends) yet there was an intimacy and freedom in his converfe with Bifhop Wilkins, that was fingular to him alone: He had, during the late wars, lived in a long and entire friendship with the apoftolical primate of Ireland, Bishop Uiher: their curious fearches into antiquity, and the fympathy of both their tempers, led them to a great agreement almost in every thing. He held alfo great converfation with Mr. Baxter, who was his neighbour at Acton, on whom he looked as a perfon of great devotion and piety, and of a very fubtile and quick apprehenfion : their converfation lay moft in metaphyfical and abftracted ideas and fchemes.

He looked with great forrow on the impiety and atheifin of the age, and fo he fet himfelf to oppofe