TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE LIONEL CRANFIELD, EARL OF MIDDLESEX, BARON CRANFIELD OF T. PAUL gave a great charge to 13. ments. Here we have the inventory 2 Tim. iv. of a preacher's estate, consisting of a few clothes and books, what he wore, and what he had written. But the apostle's care was not so much concerned in his clothes (which might be bought new) as in his writings, where the damage could not be repaired. I am sadly sensible (though far be it from me to compare scribbling with scripture) what the loss of a library (especially of manuscripts) is to a minister, whose books have passed such hands which made riddance of many, but havoc of more. Was it not cruelty to torture a library, by maiming and mangling the authors therein? neither leaving nor taking them entire. Would they had took less, that so what they left might have been useful to me, or left less, that so what they took might have been useful to others. Whereas now, mischievous ignorance did a prejudice to me, without a profit to itself, or any body else. But would to God all my fellow brethren, which with me bemoan the loss of their books, with me might also rejoice for the "dlesex. In this office he had disobliged the prince when "he was in Spain, by dissuading and diverting those large supplies which were "required for the maintaining "of his post in a foreign king"dom. And he had disobliged "the duke, by joining in some "secret practices to make him grow less and less in his majesty's favour. They had both served the turn of the commons, in drawing the king by their continual im"portunities to dissolve the treaty; and the commons "must now serve their turn "in prosecuting this man to "his final destruction. Which "they pursued so effectually, recovery thereof, though "that in the end he was sen"tenced in the house of lords "to be deprived of the office "of lord high treasurer of, "England, to be fined 50,000l., "and remain a prisoner in the "Tower during his majesty's "will and pleasure. It was "moved also to degrade him "from all titles of honour; "but in that the bishops stood "his friends, and dashed the "motion." Life of Laud, p. 122. Some account of this nobleman's father and family may also be found in The Worthies, &c. Art. London, p. 211. ed. fol. 1662, and more fully in Goodman's Memoirs, I. p. 296.] |