under her roof. Thus he had reason to view the crosses which lay in his path as no more than necessary memorials that the christian must not set his affections on the things of the earth, and, as he passed through them, God gave him strength and cheerfulness; the wilderness and solitary place were made glad for him by the light of God's countenance, and the desert could rejoice and blos

som as a rose.

To the lights and shadows of the latter days of this good man's pilgrimage we shall now call the reader's attention.

On his arrival in London, he was most kindly received by the countess of Peterborough. This was in June 1646; from which time he commonly resided with her in one of her houses till his death.

Some little annoyances awaited him on his arrival in the `neighbourhood of parliament. That imperious body had issued an order, that whosoever should come from any of the king's garrisons to London must signify their names to a committee which sat at Goldsmiths' Hall, and there give notice of their being in town, and where they lodged. "Accordingly," says Dr. Parr, " June 18th, he sent me to Goldsmith's Hall, to acquaint them that the archbishop of Armagh was in town, and at the countess of Peterborough's house, but they refused to take notice of his being in town, without his personal appearance." Upon a summons from the committee of examination,' at Westminster, he afterwards appeared before them, and underwent strict questioning, both as to where he had been and what he had been doing since he left London; and whether he had used any influence with the king in behalf of the catholics. After this the committee proposed to him an oath which had been framed for those who had favoured the king's cause, but he desired time

to consider of that, and so was dismissed, and appeared no more; for the learned Selden and others of his friends in the House made use of their interest to put a stop to that trouble."

Soon after, he retired with the countess of Peterborough to her house at Reigate in Surrey, where he often preached in her chapel and in the parish church; and the report of his piety and learning induced the most estimable persons in that neighbourhood to cultivate his acquaintance.

Early in the year 1647, with much difficulty, and through the interest of great friends (of whom Selden was one), he obtained leave to preach publicly in London; and the honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn immediately chose him to be their preacher, and appropriated to him some handsome apartments, ready furnished, in which he afterwards placed that library which had escaped the fury of the rebels in Ireland.

Mr. Hale, afterwards lord chief justice, was at that time one of the benchers of Lincoln's Inn, and he and the other members of the Society are said to have been fully alive to the value of their spiritual instructor, who continued to exhort them with all long-suffering and doctrine, during term, for eight years, that is till within two years of his death, when the failure of sight and loss of teeth compelled him to resign that charge, to their mutual regret.

Thus placed in a condition of tranquillity and independence, he was able to resume the correspondence with learned men, which had always afforded him so much pleasure. That it had been greatly interrupted by the unsettled state of his affairs appears from a letter which he wrote in Latin to the celebrated Gerard Voss; in which, after expressing his regret at his delaying to

F

acknowledge the receipt of a recent work sent to him by that learned professor, he goes on to say that “he has some little excuse which he is sure so kind a person as his friend will accept." Ireland he says, 66 was at that time seized by a flame which has not yet burned out, but creeps on daily, and rather increases." "Thereby," he proceeds, "in addition to the public losses, and the most barbarous and savage massacre of protestants that was ever perpetrated, I am myself despoiled of all those external possessions which we commonly denominate goods. My library alone was snatched from the flames; but even that is not yet in my possession, for I again met with tumults and excesses in England, which drove me from Oxford into Wales, where I suffered under a distressing disease for full eighteen weeks, and was at length saved, as it were, from the very jaws of the tomb, by the great mercy of God. I am unwilling to say anything about my reception on my return to London; nor would I have recalled to memory those other sad occurrences, were it not with a view to show you how I have been withheld from literary pursuits and communication with men of letters. Now, however, immediately upon my recovery, I have dedicated to you the accompanying short treatise upon the Creeds, a subject familiar to you."

Early in the next year we meet with a letter from the excellent and devout bishop Hall, dated from his little cottage at Higham. The bishop wonders that Englishmen are not ashamed to neglect so great a man as the friend he is addressing. "With gratitude," he says, "did I receive yesterday, most reverend primate, your letters and your books, which I accept as gifts of the highest value. O how will foreigners stand amazed at those elaborate works, so stored with learned research, and pronounce the author happy in the command of so

much leisure and learning! And how shall not our own countrymen blush to think of their neglecting a man so distinguished! But what is hatred or tyranny to you?" he asks ;—“ you, whom piety has raised so far above earthly things as to make you regardless alike of the neglect and the contempt of this most ungrateful age? All that you care for is to deserve a better lot; and with this feeling you can dwell in an obscure corner of Lincoln's Inn, though your merits would not have been too highly rewarded by a patriarchate of the whole eastern world. But what can so poor a man as I send as an acknowledgment of the munificent presents of your works! I lately ventured to publish a little book, but it was so very inconsiderable, that I was indeed ashamed. to send such a new-year's offering to so distinguished a person. But now I have taken courage to do so, and beg you, of your great generosity, to excuse the errors of the style and the author." This letter also is written in Latin.

This year, (1648,) while the king was a prisoner at Carisbrook castle in the Isle of Wight, and when loyalty was accounted a crime, archbishop Usher did not fear to brave the consequences of publicly confessing himself to be guilty of it. He preached at Lincoln's Inn, taking for his text, Isaiah viii. 12,13. His chaplain's report of the sermon is, that "he sufficiently expressed his dislike of those covenants and confederacies which the two Houses had entered into, contrary to that oath which they had taken already; and that we should not fear man more than God, when we were to do our duty to our prince or our country."

It was not long afterwards, that the jealousies and mutual distrust which prevailed amongst the enemies of the king induced the presbyterian party to vote a treaty with him, hoping to strengthen themselves against the

independents. The king always loved to have the company of his chaplains. He looked upon the learned, discreet, and godly persons whom he had chosen to that office in the light of good angels, whom, as he said, "for their functions I reverence, and for their fidelity I have cause to love." On the present emergency, therefore, he desired their friendly presence, particularly as religion was to be a principal topic of discussion; and, amongst others, sent a summons to our archbishop.

And what a change did the chaplains behold in their royal master on this occasion! Within a year his hair had become almost entirely grey, and, with his beard, which he had allowed to grow, appeared dishevelled and neglected. But the vigour of his mind was unbroken and undecayed. The parliamentary commissioners would allow none of his council to be present, and refused to discuss the matter at issue with any but himself: and he alone, during the transactions of two months, was obliged to maintain the argument against fifteen men of the greatest parts and capacity in both Houses; and no advantage, we are told, was ever obtained over him.

The king, of course, prepared for these discussions by consulting with the friends who then attended him; and in matters concerning religion, archbishop Usher was his frequent adviser.

The demands of the parliamentary commissioners extended to the establishment of presbytery, the sale of the chapter lands, the abolition of all forms of prayer, and the enactment of strict laws against papists. The king stated, in reply, that he only wished to retain in the church what he believed to be most accordant with the form of government in the primitive and purest times; and declared himself ready to agree to the total suspension of episcopacy for three years, after which time it should be restored only