THE unfortunate Favourite: OR, MEMOIRS ON THE LIFE AND ACTIONS OF THE LATE Lord chancellor Of ENGLAND, From his Cradle, to his Grave.  
With what Remarkably happened in his Proceedings.  
Together, With a Discourse by way of Funeral SERMON, On the Fall of AMBITION.  

licenced according to Order.   
Printed for P. Brookthy, at the Golden-Ball, in pie-corner, 1689.   

THE Unfortunate Favourite, &c.  
WHEN we enter upon matters of this kind, they ought not to be lightly and floridly passed over, but require a grave and serious consideration, though the subject may seem strange to many, therefore before we further proceed, it is convenient to mind the Reader, that what is intended relates for the most part in matter of subject to a person who has tried the smiles and frowns of Fortune, in their most alluring and amazing Circumstance; wherefore not longer to detain you by way of Prologue, or needless discourse, let us come seriously to enter upon what is materially intended.  
The person who occasions this History or Discourse, has been of late the discourse not only of particular persons, but of the three Kingdoms, in whose prospect Ambition raised him like a pyramid: As for his Birth it was not altogether inconsiderable; he was born in a village of Flintshire in Wales, for indeed there are no considerable Cities in those parts; his Parents lived, during his Infancy, upon a competency very frugal, having sufficiency to bring up this Son and others; but above the rest, finding him, as soon as he came to any years of discretion, to be of a towering Spirit, and hardly amongst the Youths that were conversant with him as his boyish Consorts, would he brook an Equal, much more a superior, especially where he was capable of getting the mastery, which according to the presages of the Ancients tending to something great though dangerous, his careful Parents sought as much as in them lay to stifle those sparks of Ambition that seemed so early to fly upward, yet seeing they would have their course, and there was no reasonable way to prevent them by mildred and moderate Exhortations, his Father especially gave way to what his Son most passionately desired, so that suffering him to begin first with such Learning as that Country afforded him, and finding him exceeding prompt therein, he at the persuasion of some Gentlemen in those parts sent him to Westminster School, in order to furnish him with a higher strain of Education and Learning, where he very much improved, insomuch that the good Old Gentleman his Father, upon knowledge that his Son was grown an expert Orator, prophetically declared his misfortune, by saying his parts would ruin him; and if we credit famed, it is reported soon after his coming thither, he dreamed he should be the head of that School, as by way of Captain, a term Familiar amongst Youths or School boys, and that he should after that become the greatest Man in the Kingdom, and flourish for a time, but then some extraordinary misfortune should overtake him, and bring all his towering greatness to ruin; and this, if we rightly consider, was fulfiled in the several Periods, as will in the Series of this discourse appear; and indeed there is more in Dreams by a Prophetical Impulse of the Souls of men, however some may redicule it, than we are ware of: But to come nearer those that know him in his younger days, to whom we appeal, are sensible that the first clause of hi● Dream was no fable; and as for the rest, few are ignorant he grew we say to be a proficient in Learning, and might have stood high in the opinion of good men, had not Ambition been his bane.  
When this person still soaring towards greatness found himself capable of removing from that School, eminent for raising many to unexpected advantages, tho' many things were proposed, yet nothing suited so well to his Inclinations, as the study of the Common-Law, and to that end he earnestly, not only by himself but his Friends, solicited his Father almost with importunity to enter him a Student in one of the four Inns of Court, and in an unlucky hour so far prevailed, that he was received into the Inner-Temple, and by forward performance, almost before the usual time, procured to be called to the Bar, and although his practise at Westminster, was not at first considerable, restless and impatient of delay he tried the inferior Courts and places of Judicature, and found them so beneficial by the way of a Crown for a Fee, that by the help of some Persons who took no small liking to his promptitude, he was encouraged especially in those holden at Guild-Hall, London, where an eminent Citizen of his name, tho' no Relation to him, getting the advantage of a Cause, wherein he was Counsel, so far advanced his Credit, by supplying with what money he at any time wanted to purchase any place, or raise himself as opportunity served, that by his, and the interest of others he got to be Common sergeant of the City, in which station he carried himself so cunningly, that he gained the concern of many Eminent men, and not a few of the Majestracy, so that getting a first Wife of a considerable Fortune, with hers, and what himself had gotten, he was not wanting to let the World see it in some florrid entertainments and antic humours, especially amongst his country Relations, proving himself a Man of infinite Jest, and indeed his talent lay much that way, nor did he refrain it v. hen he rose to higher Degrees even in the midst of judgement.  
The Recordership of London being vacant by Sir John Howels giving place about the year 1677, he mist no opportunity to ingratiate himself with the Aldermen and Commoners, and by the smoothness of his Tongue and help of his Friends, wrought himself into that important trust, and had the Papers and Writings of the Cities great concerns put into his hands, which swelled him in thought even above the grandeur of the City itself; for by this place having an opportunity to be often at Court, he began to thirst after Court Favour, thinking what he already possessed not sufficient for his Ambition, and from that time he dated, as we may say, his misfortune; for now the Popish Plot being discovered by Dr. Oats and others, he acted a while in his station somewhat severe for the suppression of it, and pleaded strongly against such as were brought to Justice; and in his station passed Sentence in the Old-Baily on several Priests and Jesuits; but no sooner did he find that the minds of some great persons at Court were wholly bent to shamm and ridicule that Plot, but he turned his Sails to the Wind, and winked at the Papists, attempting to turn it on the Dissenters, and shift it from themselves; and when the People humbly Petitioned and besought that a Parliament might be called to redress Grievances, he protested against their way of proceeding by open abhorrence in Courts of Judicature, for which he was called the Abborrer; and some way or other at the procession of Burning the Pope on the Birth-day of Queen Elizabeth, set a person to ride with his face to the Horse-tail, with the Words, viz. I am an Abborrer, on his back; so that the City having found him too familiar at Court for their interest at that time, sent for their papers, and decently laid him aside, choosing the worthy Sir George Treby Recorder in his stead: This nettled a Man of his Spirit, although King Charles had cast his Favours on him, by making him Chief Justice of Chester, where his countrymen of wales began to have the first bad opinion of him, for causing one to be Drawn, Hanged and Quartered, a thing not often done amongst those Mountaineers. And now the Papists raising their heads by laying the stress of their Design upon the Dissenters, he was made chairman at Hicks's-Hall Sessions, &c, But this being too low in his esteem, though he did some persons notable service by it, the next thing we found he struck at was the City Charter, and so actively he laboured that a Quo Warranto was brought, and in fine, judgement was had against it, and divers eminent persons were brought in for Rioters, and severely Fined, against whom he managed the business; nor is his vehemeney against the Lord Russel at his trial in the Old Bayly to be forgotten, for his pressing the matter with his Oratory, did not( in the opinion of many) contribute the least to the Verdict that passed against that Unfortunate Gentleman; so that after the death of the Lord Chief Justice Saunders, he was made Lord Chief Justice of England, and in this station he first proceeded to bail the Popish Lords out of the Tower, who had been Committed by Parliament, and whose bailing had been refused by several Lord Chief Justices.  
King Charles the Second dying, and his Brother succeeding to the Throne, the Papists appeared bare-faced, and with so high a hand, that many who had Evidenced against them were forced to abscond or fly; however, two Informations for Perjury having been Exhibited against Dr. Titus Oats, he proceeded to Try him at the Kings-Bench-Bar, and being cast by Popish-Evidence, who Witnessed in a manner in their own cause, he received an unparalleled Sentence to be Whipped, Fined, Stand in the Pillory Yearly, and Imprisoned for Life; which was put in Execution with extraordinary Rigour. Thomas Dangerfield run in a manner the same risk, which cost him his Life, a Stick being run into his Eyes as he returned from his last Whipping.  
And now the Duke of Monmouth Landing in the West, and being there discomfited, after a bloody Harvest, this person was sent down to Try such as were taken, and proved to the poor miserable people a greater terror than the Sword, condemning them by Hundreds, and causing their Quarters to be set up before the Doors of their Friends, and all along the Roads, even to the Infection of the Country; and many who did not die by the hand of the Executioners, were thrust on Shipboard and sent as Slaves to the Plantations; Others were forced to fly into the Woods where they perished for want; some were Executed for harbouring their Friends, and particularly the Lady Lisle Beheaded, and a Woman Burnt at Tyburn; and for these good Offices done, soon after his return in Bloody Triumph, he had the Chancellorship of England conferred upon him, and his Children by a first and second Marriage highly promoted.  
Now he being mounted on the High Commission-Chair, suspended the Bishop of London, awed the Clergy, outed the Corporations by his influence, and stood upon the very pinnacle of Greatness; but as the old proverb has it, the Proud and haughty mind shall have a fall, for the Popish-measures being broken by the Trying and clearing the seven Bishops, the cause began to droop, although this person had required the Names of such as had refused to red the Declaration for Liberty of Conscience in the Churches, during Divine Service; that business was laid aside, and all of a sudden the wind changed, the Dissenters were turned out, the Churchmen restored, the Cities and Corporations had their Charters, and on 11th. of Dec. 1688, this great man who had over-awed the Kingdom, and had his Ante-chambers crowded with throngs of Suitors, in the height of his Riches and Honour sneaked away, and was the next day taken in Hope and Anchor Alley, in the disguise of a poor Tarpaulin, endeavouring to make his escape beyond the Seas; and being brought before the Lord Mayor of London and sent to the Tower, where he was charged with a Warrant from the Lords, after having moved in vain for his Habeas Corpus, afflicted with the ston and Gout, worn out with sorrow, and not able to bear an affliction he reduced many to undergo, and far greater by excess in drinking to wash away his sorrows, after some Languishment and expressions of grief for his misspent time, and warning all to beware of Ambition, desiring to be happy in another Life however he had lived in this: He dyed on Thursday the of April, and on Sunday following, to prevent any violence that might be offered by enraged persons in another place, was butted, after a view of the Body, in the Tower chapel: And by this mans fall we may see what little trust there is to be given to the flatterers of Fotune or Greatness, of which I shall show in the following discourse, by way of Sermon to his Funeral Memory.  
The End of his Life.   

The Humble and Meek shall be Exalted, but the Proud shall be Abased and brought low.  
HAppy is that Man whose Soul inclines him not to soar above the reach of Reason and Discretion, weighed with a sound judgement, for he shall stand fast, when Ioarus, like others, mounting too near the Sun, shall melt their waxed Wings: Ambition is the bane of happiness, and where it intrudes it renders the person restless and uneasy, raising a Tempest in his mind, and tossing his thoughts like a troubled Ocean; which made the wise men of all Ages, shun it as the mischief of the world; for to what madness does it forbear to carry and hurry Mankind, raising itself an Altar upon Ruin and Desolation, laying Cities waste and Kingdoms in blood; which caused the wise man to call it a Dead Evil; and others have named it the Plague of the world, the Misfortune of Mankind. If we remember we were nothing before we were Conceived, and very inconsiderable in the first Regions of our dwellings, and many years weak and not capable of ourselves, even weak beyond all other creatures, and in the rest of our lives great sinners against that Almighty Creator that gave us being; a debtor to Parents, to Creaures; and to the Elements; we would in this Remembrance swell beyond our bounds, and strive to raise ourselves on Precipices and pyramids of Danger, only to over-top and have power over our Neighbours: But Ambition, Pride and Haughtiness, blind the Souls of Men, that they consider not these things: But although they grow up to their first wishes, there they stop not, but are restless and uneasy, till like flamme, they may be ascending higher; some greater thing stands in their way, or some taller Cedar drops upon their Branches, or hinders them from a fuller prospect of the Sun; and let them but remove this, or ascend above the other, and they will promise to ask no more; but this obtained, they find the Clouds yet Screen them from the purer Skies, and they must needs rise higher, not minding to what Storms and Thunders such lofty Aspirings expose them, which sooner or later will rend them up by the roots, and leavel their tops with the humble Shrubs: Nor has any Age in the world wanted Examples of this kind; Cain, to raise himself higher in esteem, built the Stairs on his Brothers blood, and lost the favour of Heaven. Nimrod's project was overthrown by the confounding of Languages: Ely's Sons for their pride and Insolence, fell in the Battle: Proud Senaccherib was humbled by the destruction of his host: Nabel, for his pride and Churlishness, lost his life: Absalom and Adonija, for too early Aspiring, set in Blood: and nabuchadnezzar was driven out from amongst Men, to dwell on the Mountains, and with the wild Beasts of the Forrests: Herod, for his pride in Oratory, and refusing to give Glory to God, was eaten of Worms: And all along, those that followed the steps of Ambition, and proudly pressed to heights unmannageable, have sunk as low, and found their folly in their ruin; and known at last, that it is better to be Good than Great. A good Conscience( says the Wise Man) is a continual Peast, but the end of Pride is bitterness. Had this person seriously weighed, it might have stopped him in the career of Pageantry Glory, and not in the end have left a sorrowful remembrance. From what a dangerous height he is fallen! great things oppress themselves, and at all times want a firm foundation to support them; for if they are built on Sand, the Storm will come, and the Floods will beat, till great is their Fall. Holy Job says of the proud and wicked Man, That they are as Stubble before the Wind, and as Chaff that the Storm carrieth away: God layeth up his Iniquity for his Children; he rewardeth him, and he shall know it: His eyes shall see his destruction, and he shall drink the Wrath of the Almighty, Job 21.18, 19, 20. For although for a time God may seem to wink at Cruelty and Oppression, yet his Bolts are sure; his hand is not short'ned; for, as the same person says, How often is their Candle put out? and how often cometh their destruction on them? God distributes Sorrow in his Anger, ver. 17. The cries of the Widdows and Fatherless, come up before him, and he will remember the Iniquities of their Oppressors; even the Poor are precious in the sight of the Almighty, and he will avenge their Blood upon the destroyer, and will soon let him see, that Pride goeth before Destruction, and a Haughty mind before a Fall, Prov. 16.18. And that Better it is to be low and of an humble Spirit with the lowly, then to divide the Spoil with the proud, ver. 19. Things gotten by Violence, are of short duration; or at least, are no sooner gained, but the possessor is snatched away from them in a moment; for Holy Writ tells us, That the Wicked and Blood-thirsty Man shall not live out half his days: And where Ambition taints the Soul, there nothing is thought too cruel to gain those ends the Ambitious Man aims at, though he is sure to have a Fall; which makes the Almighty Expostulate with them, viz. Have all the workers of Iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as they eat Bread, and call not upon the Lord, Psal. 14.4. They die in Youth, and their life is amongst the unclean, Job 36.14. There is nothing like a good Conscience, to carry a Man through all the Affairs of the world; to live a life voided of offence, towards God and Man; which will bear us up in all afflictions; whilst the Guilty person trembles and faints under momentary sorrows, because he has a Storm within, that in hurry of Affairs, was not roused nor awaked; but when the Winds of Fear and Confusion rouse the angry Billows, then he sadly sees the lowly and meek are exceeding happy, while he is miserable: then may he truly say with Job, though in a different manner, viz. I was at ease, but he hath broken me asunder; he hath also taken me by the Neck and shaken me to pieces, and set me up for his Mark, Job 14.12.  
These Considerations might move the minds of Men to consider in their highest Station, they are but Dust, and caution them to do Justice, love Mercy, and walk humbly with their God; since a proud and haughty mind, is an abomination to the Lord: The wicked man traveleth with pain all his days, and the number of his years is hidden to the oppressor; a dreadful sound is in his ears; in his prosperity the destroyer shall come upon him; he believeth not he shall return into Darkness, and he is waited for of the Sword; he shall not depart out of Darkness; the flamme shall dry up his Branches, and by the breath of his mouth shall be go away: Let not him that is deceived, trust in Vanity, for Vanity shall be his recompense, it shall be accomplished before his time, and his Branch shall not be Green; he shall cut off his unripe Grapes as the Vine, and cast off his Flower as the Olive.  
Thus Holy Scripture has characterized the proud and Ambitious, who work Deceit to bring their designs to pass; for the Congregation of Hypocrites shall be desolate, and Fire shall consume the Tabernacles of Bribery; they conceive Mischief, and bring forth Vanity, Job 15, &c. And to conclude, Though Wicked Men may flourish for a time, yet their end shall be bitterness, for their ways shall not prosper.  
FINIS.