1821. 



Jlia Son's Cliaravtei 



reuce to the memory of ihe best of fa- 

 thers, and the kiudest and wisest friend 

 1 ever mett with ; according to whose 

 CDiinsftlls I pray God I may regulate 

 ray actions, and live and dye according 

 to his practice, in imitation of his 

 vertne, and honesty towards man ; his 

 integrity and duty to the King, though 

 uiislakeu and rejected by him. and liis 

 piety and resignation to God Almighty. 

 In those accedents of his life which 

 might seem to lesse good christians 

 and lesse prepared minds, might seem 

 a little hard and unequall, to the best 

 and most prepared, great tryalls of pa- 

 tience and victorys over great afflic- 

 tions, for 1 can give him this testimony 

 upon my owne knowledge, haveing had 

 the good fortune to attend liim twice 

 in those seven y^ears of his banishment; 

 and spent, indeed,ouely fi ve weeksin botli 

 times with him, at which time wherein 

 he was pleased to discourse with me of 

 severall actions of liis life, more like a 

 friend, and upon more equall termes 

 then like a father, and gave me tiie p;'- 

 rusallofseverallof his writings, wheiein 

 his mind niiglit ye(t be more cleerly 

 iliscerned. That I never saw a inau 

 iinfler so great, so nudeserved, and so 

 unjust afllictions, (I would be under- 

 stood witli reverence to God AUmighfy, 

 according to th*' measure of men's jus- 

 tice, and the appellation by which it is 

 known amongst thern,) preserve a mind 

 so undisturbed from any tiling from 

 without, so full of duty to the K., and 

 so full of charity io even his enemys ; 

 so calme and so varaiir to his i)inoceut 

 employments, wlioily t.iken up in writ- 

 ing or reading some good worke, for 

 wliich that age that slui!! iiave the hap- 

 ncsse to have them revealed to the.n, 

 will c:'r!ainly esteem him, which must 

 make me conclude, if I hi'.d never had 

 any other acquainiance or relation to 

 hini. that it wasimiiossible, witimut the 

 snp|!ort of a good conscience and the 

 most unspotted inuocency. to have re- 

 sisted so impetuous assaults of for- 

 tune. 



Happy are those men that, even with 

 those divine assistances, have strength 

 enougii to striiiigle with snch difficul- 

 ties; I (liinke, for I am sure all hu- 

 mane j)olicy or dissim'slati ii must 

 have shrunk(; and vanislied under siurii 

 an insn|)port;d)!e load of the foulest ca- 

 lumnys, the blackest and most mali- 

 cious conlrivance.i to take aw:iy a good 

 name and innociuicv from any yucli 

 man wlio, had not fiis integrity alone 

 preft;rred l)efore all the favour and for- 



• of Lurd Clarendon. 1-13 



tune of the world, and to ruiue his 

 creditt with his master, whicli he card 

 not to preserve so much out of vanity 

 or ostentation, or for the providing 

 better and more securely for liis family 

 (which is a more justifiable desire of 

 greatness) as ovit of kindnesse and 

 affection to a master whom he had so 

 long served and conducted out of some 

 ditficultys, and whose easy nature, he 

 knew well enough, would lead him 

 into more, if men of such tempers, as he 

 saw were ready to succeed him, should 

 be admitted into the nearest places 

 about him. How fatally that appre- 

 hension hath fallen out to be true, is so 

 notorious that I need not pursue this 

 digression to say any thing of it, but 

 will returne to my reflections, and first 

 upqn those friends and relations, who 

 appear to me so altered even in their 

 judgments and their moralitys, since 

 his removall from us, upon his first 

 goeing out of England — how soon did 

 we see must of those lords who had so 

 eminently appeared to preserve him 

 from the violence of the proceedings 

 against him (wherein they did but as 

 well preserve themselves, and secure 

 their owne birthrights, as doe him jus- 

 tice) turne in a manner his prosecutors 

 and speake more bitterly of him upon 

 the occasion of his going out of Eng- 

 land, which was so unavoidably putt 

 upon him ; then they who liegan first 

 the prosecution against him, upon this 

 pretence, that he had made himselfe 

 unwortiiyof their pi(ron;ige by flying 

 from justice, when, alas ! it was but too 

 cviilent that they were weary of sup- 

 porting wronged innocency; that they 

 had a mind to make their peace with 

 tiie flirty th'-y had offended, from 

 whence encrease of power, and places, 

 and profitts were to be expected from 

 the other side; nothing but the solitary 

 praise of a quiet conscience, which they 

 tliought better to stifle and subniitt to 

 the conditions of (he conqueror; from 

 hence came the bill of banishment, first 

 a care to locke him fast out, wherein 

 every hody was to make amends for his 

 former kindnesse, or respect at any 

 tiuK! expressed towards him, was to 

 bring a closer barr and stronger locke 

 against him, and then follouivl the se- 

 curity of sinning against one whom 

 they" intended never to see more, as if 

 they had no regard to any other eye or 

 ear that might behold (heir inj 'stice, 

 their flattery, and their ohsequiousniissu 

 to the times, and as if th(!y had been 

 moreafTraid to be reproached by him for 



tbeix 



