: : hall, to which the parish-church or chapel adjoined here he settled. And his father having been intimate with Sir Walter Raleigh, Sir John Hawkins, and Sir Francis Drake, and other famous navigators, he was, in 1624, by means of some lords in the Virginia company, chosen a member of the house of commons; in which capacity he distinguished himself by his eloquence and activity: but having, in a short trial of a public life, experienced the folly and vanity of worldly pursuits, he took a resolution to abandon them and, first, he made suit to his diocesan, that his mother and he might be permitted to restore the tithes of the rectory which had been impropriated; and accordingly the church was endowed therewith; which was no sooner done, than he, with the rest of the family, entered into a course of mortification, devotion, and charity. The society consisted of himself, a very aged mother, four nieces, and other kindred; and servants: and amounted in number to about thirty,-exclusive of the neighbouring clergy, who frequently resorted thither, and for a week together would join with, and assist, and ease them in their watchings and devotions. And this was their regimen: The season of Lent, the Ember weeks, Fridays, and the Vigils of Saints, they observed strictly; exercising abstinence and prayer. Mr. Farrar himself, who had been admitted to deacon's orders, took upon him to be pastor of this little flock; and accordingly, at ten and four every day, read Common Prayer in the church, which for the purpose he had both repaired and adorned: besides which, he, at the hour of six in the morning, constantly read matins, either in the church, or an oratory in their common dwelling, the manor-house. These were but the ordinary exercises of devotion. The account of their severities in watching is to come; for we are told that, after these early prayers were ended, many of the family were accustomed to spend some hours in singing hymns or anthems, sometimes in church, and often to an organ in the oratory. Farther, those that slept were oftentimes, by the ringing of a watch-bell in the night, summoned to the church or oratory; or, in extreme cold nights, to a parlour in the house that had a fire in it; where they betook themselves to prayers and lauding God, and reading those psalms that had not been read in the day,— for, it seems, their rule required, that among them the whole Psalter should be gone through once in every twentyfour hours: and when any grew faint, the bell was rung,— sometimes after midnight,—and, at the call thereof, the weary were relieved by others, who continued this exercise until morning. And this course of piety, accompanied with great liberality to the poor, was maintained till the death of Mr. Farrar, in 1639. The recreations of this society were suited to the different sexes for the males,-running, vaulting, and shooting at butts with the long bow; for the females,-walking, gardening, embroidery, and other needle-works: and for both, -music, vocal and instrumental; reading voyages, travels, and descriptions of countries, histories, and the Book of Martyrs. Moreover, they had attained to great proficiency in the art of binding and gilding books; and with singular ingenuity and industry, compiled a kind of Harmony of sundry parts of the holy Scriptures, by cutting out from different copies the parallel passages, pasting them in their order on blank paper, and afterwards binding them with suitable cuts in a volume.* And that their benevolence * They made three such books; one they presented to King Charles the First, another to Charles the Second,--one of which is now in the library of St. John's College, Oxford; a third was in the custody of the family in 1740. This is the account which the authors of the Supplement to the Biographia Britannica, wherever they got it, give of these books, (art. Mapletoft); but one, more accurate, is to be found at the end of Hearne's Caii Vindicia which makes them seven in number: the third in order, was by the compilers called "The whole law of God;" but Hearne, in loc. cit. has given the title in terms that more fully declare its contents. The book consists of sundry chapters of the Pentateuch, and other parts of the Bible of the last transla might be as diffusive as possible, a school was kept, in the house, for grammar, arithmetic, and music; to which all the neighbouring parents had permission to send their children. It is true, that this society excited a notion in some, that it was little better than a Popish seminary; and there are extant, in the preface to Peter Langtoft's Chronicle, edit. Hearne, two tracts, in which it is termed a reputed nunnery: but upon a visit made to it by some inquisitive persons, nothing to warrant this suspicion appeared. Whoever would know more of this singular institution, is referred to the authorities mentioned at the bottom of this page; in some of which it will be found, that King Charles I. once honoured the house with a visit: and that, Little Gidding being in the diocese of Lincoln, Williams, at that time being bishop thereof, and their neighbour at Bugden, ―induced by motives of charity, at first perhaps mingled with curiosity,― frequently did the same: when, finding there nothing to blame, and much to commend, he more than once preached, and exercised his episcopal function of confirmation on the young people there assembled. tion, pasted down on leaves equal in size to the largest Atlas; together with such commentaries thereon as they could find in the printed works of Mr. Farrar's friend, Dr. Thomas Jackson, and other expositors: to these were added and pasted in the margin, from a small impression of the New Testament-all such passages in St. Paul's Epistles as tend to the explanation of the law, and particularly of the types: and for the better illustration of the whole, were inserted cuts,-taken out of printed books, and otherwise collected, referring to the subject matter of the book,-amounting in number to upwards of twelve hundred. This stupendous work was, in the month of March, 1776, purchased by the Rev. Mr. Bourdillon, minister of the French protestant church in Spitalfields, at a sale of the library of the Rev. Mr. De Missey, and is now, January 1784, in his possession. At the same auction, was also sold to a bookseller, for four guineas, another book of the like kind, compiled by the same persons, entitled, "Actions, Doctrines, and other Passages touching our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." The title at length, of this also, is given by Hearne in loc. cit. * Preface to Peter Langtoft's Chron. edit. Hearne. Papers at the end of Caii Vindicia. Hacket's Life of Archbishop Williams, part ii. p. 50. Biogr. Brit. Supplement, art. Mapletoft. Life of Mr. Nicholas Farrar, written by Dr. Turner, bishop of Ely, in the Christian's Magazine for the months of July, August, September, and October, 1761. Two nieces of Mr. Farrar offered to make a vow of perpetual chastity, with the solemnity of episcopal blessing and ratification; but the bishop, doubtless considering that vows which oblige us to a perpetual conflict with our natural affections, do oftener prove snares to the conscience of the votary than acceptable services in the sight of God, dissuaded them from such an engagement; and, being thus left at liberty, one of them was afterwards well bestowed on a husband. Mr. Nicholas Farrar, though the younger of two brothers, had, it seems, the government of this fraternity: he is, by all that have written of him, celebrated as well for his learning as his piety: yet has he left nothing of his writing, save a short Preface to his friend Herbert's Poems, and a translation of a book much applauded in his day, The hundred and ten Considerations of Signior John Valdesso.* It is needless to add what was the subsequent fate of this harmless society. Mr. Farrar died: the Rebellion broke 'Popery and superstition" was the cry, out; and when " alas! how could Little Gidding hope to escape the calamities of the times? in short, it was plundered and desolated! All that the Farrars had restored to the [parochial] church, all that they had bestowed in sacred comeliness, was seized upon as lawful prey taken from superstitious persons: and finally, the owners themselves were compelled to flee away and disperse in all which persecutions we are Grown old, he * John Valdesso was of noble extraction, by birth a Spaniard, a soldier by profession, and a follower of the emperor Charles the Fifth. obtained leave of the emperor to quit his service, assigning as a reason for his request, this most sage and pious aphorism, Oportet inter vitæ negotia et diem mortis spatium aliquod intercedere; or, to give it in English, "It is fit that between the business of life and the day of death, some space should intervene." The reflection on which is supposed to have moved the emperor to resign his dignities, and betake himself to an ascetic life. In his retirement, which was to the city of Naples, Valdesso wrote the book above mentioned in the Castilian language; and the same being translated into Italian by Cælius Secundus Curio of Basil, was out of that language translated into It was printed in 4to. at Oxford, 1638, and is often English by Mr. Farrar. enough to be met with. told that, applying to their wretched circumstances the words of the Apostle, they took joyfully the spoiling of their goods."* SANDERSON was a man of very acute parts, and famous for his deep skill in casuistry: that sort of learning was formerly much cultivated among the Romish divines, with a view to qualify the younger clergy for the office of confession; and it continued in fashion here, longer after the Reformation than it was useful. In the year 1647 he drew up the famous Oxford Reasons against the Covenant; which discover amazing penetration and sagacity, and so distinguished him, that at the Restoration he was promoted to the bishopric of Lincoln. In 1661 he, by virtue of a commission from King Charles the Second, assisted at a conference at the Savoy, between the episcopal clergy and non-conforming divines, for settling a Liturgy; and, upon a review of the book of Common Prayer that followed it, composed sundry of the new collects and additional offices,— it is said that the form of general thanksgiving is in the number of the former,—and drew up the Preface,“ It hath been the wisdom of the church," &c. This great man died the 29th of January, 1662. There are extant, of his works -besides a volume of Sermons, in folio-a treatise, De Juramenti Promissorii Obligatione, which was translated into English by King Charles the First, while a prisoner in the Isle of Wight; and several other pieces, the titles whereof may be seen in the Catalogue of the Bodleian Library. Walton's acquaintance with him had a very early commencement; and what degree of intimacy subsisted between them, will appear by the following account, which sufficiently characterizes the humility of the good doctor, and the simplicity of honest Isaac. "About the time of his printing this excellent Preface (to his Sermons, first printed in 1655,) I met him accidentally in London, in sad* Epistle to the Hebrews, chap. x. verse 34. |