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 THE 
 
 F E 
 
 OF THE 
 
 RIGHT HONOURABLE 
 
 FRANCIS NORTH, 
 
 Baron of GUILFORD, 
 
 Lord Keeper of the Great Seal, under King 
 CHARLES II. and King JAMES II. 
 
 Wherein are inferted 
 
 The CHARACTERS of 
 
 Sir MATTHEW HALE, Sir GEORGE JEFFRIES, 
 SirLEOLiNE JENKINS, SIDNEY GODOLPHIN, 
 and others the moft eminent Lawyers and Statefmen 
 of that Time. 
 
 By the Honourable ROGER NORTH, Efq; 
 Unus oculafus tejlh prajlat auritis decent. 
 
 LONDON, 
 
 Printed for JOHN WHISTON, at Mr. Boyle's Head in Fktt-Jirtet. 
 MDCCXLII,
 
 D/7 
 
 TO THE 
 
 RIGHT HONOURABLE 
 
 FRANCIS, 
 
 Lord NORTH and GUILFORD, 
 
 One of the Lords of the Bedchamber to his 
 Royal Highnefs the Prince of WALE S. 
 
 MY LORD, 
 
 IT is a Piece of Juftice done to the Memories of great 
 and good Men, who have been active in the Service 
 of their Country, when their Conduct and Behaviour 
 is fet in a true Light, and their Characters cleared from 
 all Exceptions whatfoever, which may proceed either from 
 Ignorance of the Truth, or Party Rage. And it muft 
 afford no lefs Encouragement to the prefent Age, to fol- 
 low their Steps, when they fhall find it is not often that a 
 Man of Worth appears upon the great Stage of the World, 
 but after he has fmim'd the Part he was to act, and made 
 his Exit, fome one or other rifes up, and undertakes to 
 vindicate the Character of his departed Friend. 
 
 The 
 
 2218774
 
 DEDICATION. 
 
 THE Performance of this, My Lord, appears to tave 
 been one of the principal Ends the honourable Author had 
 in View, when he compofed the following Sheets : For 
 though Truth in Hiftory, and the publick Good flowing 
 from thence, had ever the greateft Share in his Induce- 
 ments, whenever he fet Pen to Paper; yet here there muft 
 be fomething put to the Account of Gratitude. And how 
 large a Debt* of this Nature muft be due, from any one, 
 to him that was the beft of Brothers and the beft of 
 Friends, the whole World muft be fenfible. How well 
 the Writer has fucceeded in his Attempt to difcharge it, 
 muft be left to the Determination of thofe who (hall per- 
 ufe this Work. 
 
 And the fame Arguments ought to be no lefs prevalent 
 with me towards the fending it abroad into the World, 
 and preferring my Requeft unto your Lordfhip, that it 
 may have Leave to pafs under your Protedion. ^ For as 
 my Father thought it his Duty to leave behind him thefe 
 Papers, not only for the Sake of Truth but, to make fome 
 Return for the Benefits heaped upon him by this illuftri- 
 ous Anceftor of your Lordfliip's, and his beft Brother ; fo 
 I .think myfelf bound to make them publick, for the for- 
 mer Reafon, and to beg they may be honoured with your 
 Lordfliip's Name in the Front, as a publick Acknowledg- 
 ment of the many Favours your Lordftiip has conferred 
 
 upon 
 
 MY LORD, 
 
 Tour Lordfhtp's 
 mofl obedient, 
 and obliged 
 
 humble Servant, 
 
 MOUNTAGU NORTH.
 
 THE 
 
 - W U T H O Rs 
 
 PREFACE 
 
 /T may not be improper to acquaint the Reader, in fome fort, with Defign of the 
 , r- I - r , , m , -r^ r- f 1 ' 1 ' following 
 
 'what is to bejound in the following Sheets-, the Dejign of which is Work% 
 
 to make fome Apology for an officious, I might fay unqualified, Un- 
 dertaking to be a Life-Writer, and, asfuch, to drefs up my Remembrances 
 if three honourable Brothers and Friends, the late Lord-Keeper North, 
 Sir Dudley North, and Dr. John North. They were allPerfons of cele- 
 brated Worth and Ability in their federal Profeffions -, and whofe Be- 
 haviour upon the publick Stage, as well as in their Retirements, was 
 'virtuous, wife, and exemplary. But now, if they are not quite for- 
 got, that little, which is whifpered of them, inclines to the Sinifter> 
 and is wider from Truth, than the Dijiance which we are now affront 
 the Time when they four ijhed : And, if^we look out for their Names 
 in Hi/lory,' all is the fame. There is a two-handed one * in Folio, 
 *whofe Excellency is coming after a worfe. The Author^ among bis 
 Eulogies, could not find Room to drop a good Word of any of thefe y 
 though he hath condefc ended to adorn the Characters of departed Quacks, 
 Poets, Fanaticks, and Almanack-Makers. When he could fay no III of 
 them, it was prudent Malice to fay Nothing. Better to forego the 
 very Marrow of Hiftory than do Right to any of thefe. And if the 
 Confideration of Common Good, which always Jlowsfrom the bright Ex- 
 amples of good Men, were not Inducement enough, yet the Ufage tffuch, 
 poor-fpirited Writers, that hunt counter to that Good, is a fufficient 
 Call to this Undertaking ; whereby I hope to refcue the Memories of 
 theje dijlingui/hed Perfons from a malevolent Intent to opprefs them, 
 and, for. that end, bring their Names and Characters above-board, that 
 all People may judge of them as they fiall appear to deferve. I have 
 
 Reafon 
 
 * Mr. E(b*rJ. 
 
 A
 
 ii The AUTHOR'S PREFACE. 
 
 Reafon to be concerned, left my Tenuity of Style and Language, not meet- 
 ing with candid Interpretation may, Infomefort, diminijh the Worth 
 that belongs to them. But I have no Means of Improvement in that Affair ; 
 and muft lay ajide that Scruple ; for it is an Office, devolved upon me y 
 which I cannot decline. T^here is no Perjbn, now living, who can, of 
 at leaft will, do any thing towards it. 'Therefore, hoping for Indul- 
 gence, I march on, and endeavour to rectify Want of Art by Copia of 
 Matter, and that, upon Honour, punctually true. But I am not at 
 all concerned leaft frequent Eulogies (which, by way of avant propos, / 
 muft here declare will advance themf elves) Jhould make me appear as par- 
 tial to my Subject. For who is partial that fays what he knows, and 
 Jincerely thinks? I would not, asfome, toj'eem impartial, do no Right 
 to any. When Actions are honourable, the Honour is as much the 
 Hiftory as the Fatt; and fo for Infamy. It is Juftice, as well hlftori- 
 cal as civil, to give to every one his Due. And whoever engageth in 
 fuch Deftgns as thefe, and governs himfelf by other Meafures, may bs 
 a Chronographer, but a very imperfect, or rather injipid, Hiftorian. 
 incidents / muft here juft mention fome things which concern all thefe three 
 ST3iw,tS Brothers In common-, and that is their Parentele and Family Relation: 
 be remember- ^ n d then proceed to the Lives, beginning with the eldeft the Lord 
 Guilford, Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of England, then the 
 fecond, Sir Dudley North, and come at laft to Dr. John North, Mafter 
 of Trinity College, Cambridge. 
 
 The Parentele, Sir Dudley North, Knight of the Bath, and Lord North, Baron of 
 and firft at De' Kirtling (vulgo Catlidgc) in Cambridgmire, was their Father. His 
 fcendantsof an Father was Dudley alfo, and had three other Children. Firft, a Son 
 fy Danes. *~ named John, who had three Wives, of whom the firft beft deferves to 
 be remembered; for Jhe left him an Eftate in St. John's-Court by Smith- 
 field, upon the Ground where the chief Houfe and Garden was placed-, 
 and now a Set of fair Houfes are built, making three Sides of a 
 Square, and is called North's- Court. He furvlved all his Wives, and 
 died without Iffue. 'The old Lord had alfo two Daughters, of whom one 
 died ftngle, the other, Dorothy, married the Lord Dacres of the South^ 
 and, by that Match, had a Son and a Daughter ; the Son married the 
 Irim Lord Loftus'j Daughter, and had diverfe Children. He had an 
 Eftate given him on purpofe to change his Name from Leonard (that of 
 the Dacres Family) to Barret. His eldeft Son is alfo matched, and 
 
 hath
 
 The AUTHOR'S PRRFACE. iii 
 
 hath Children. His Seat is at Bell-Houfe Park near Purflcet in Effex ; 
 and they write their Name Barret, alias Leonard. The Lord Dacres 
 bad IJJue by a former Wife, of whom the now Earl of SufTex is defc end- 
 ed. After the Death of the Lord Dacres, his Widow, the Lord North's 
 Daughter, marn'edChaloner Chute who was once Speaker to the PJeudo- 
 Houje of Commons. She had no IJJue by him -, but his Son Chaloner (by 
 a former Wife) marrying his Wife's Daughter (by the Lord Dacres) 
 had IJJue three Sons and a Daughter. Chaloner, the eldejl, died Jingle; 
 Edmund, the fecond, married the Widow of Mr. Tracey, a Daughter 
 of Sir Anthony Keck, and having diverje Children, lives * at the Vine 
 in Hampshire. 'The youngeft, Thomas, was once Clerk of the Crown 
 in Chancery, and married the Daughter of 
 
 Rivet of Brandefton in Suffolk, and left Children, of whom 
 Thomas Leonard Chute, the eldejl Son, now lives at Pickenham in Nor- 
 folk. And here concludes all the Defcent from the old Lord North by 
 bis only married Daughter the Lady Dacres. 
 
 'That Nobleman was a Perfonfull of Spirit and Flame; yet, after An Account of 
 be had confumed the greateji Part of his Eflate in the Gallantries gather, and Fa" 
 -King James'j Court, or rather his Son Prince Henry 's, retired, and *^ ^^ 
 lived more honourably in the Country upon what was left, than ever lation. 
 be had done before. He bred his eldejl Son Dudley, the Father of thefe 
 three Brothers, after the bejl Manner ; for, bejides the Court, and choiceft 
 Company at home, he was entered among the Knights of the Bath, and 
 fent to travel, and then into the Army, andferved as a Captain under 
 Sir Francis Vere. At length he married Anne, one of the Daughters 
 and Coheirs of Sir Charles Mountagu. Heferved his Country in diverfe 
 Parliaments, and was mi/led to Jit in that of Forty, till he wasfecluded. 
 After which he lived privately in the Country, and, towards the lat- 
 ter End of his Life, entertained himfelfwith Juftice-Bufmefs, Books, and 
 (as a very numerous IJJue required) O economy. He put out a little Trafl 
 of that Subject, with a Preface lightly touching the chief Crifes of his 
 Life. Afterwards hepublifoed afmallPiece entitled, PafTages relating to 
 the Long Parliament 'with an Apologetic, or rather, Recantation Preface. 
 He wrote alfo the Hiftory of the Life of the Lord Edward North tbefirft 
 Baron of the Family, from whofe Daughter the Dukes of Beaufort 
 
 * This is to be underftood of the Time when the Author wrote this. 
 
 .! ! ' '' 
 
 A 2 are
 
 iv The AUTHOR'S PREFACE. 
 
 are defcended. He 'was a Chriftian fpeculativcly Orthodo x and Goody 
 regularly charitable and pious in his Family, rigidly juft in his Deal- 
 Ing, and exquijitely virtuous and fob er in his Perfon. All which will 
 appear in his Writings, although the Style is not fo poignant as his 
 Father s was. But, to purfue the Relation, his Lady., by the Mother's 
 Side, was defcended of Sir George Whitmore, once, Lord Mayor of 
 London ; which opens a large Kindred towards Wales, of which it is 
 faid that above thirty came into coparcenary Shares of the Eft ate of 
 Sir Charles Kemim. Her Father was the before mentioned Sir Charles 
 Mountagu, of Jive the youngeft Brother, of the Boughton Family 9 . 
 now honoured with a Dukedom. From the other Brothers as many no- 
 ble Families are alfo derived, as Manchefter, Sandwich, and Halli- 
 fax. Sir Charles had two other Daughters., one married the Lord 
 Hatton, and had diverfe Children, and, among ft the reft, the * incom- 
 parable Captain Charles Hatton. The other Daughter married Sir 
 Edward Bam of Hertford/hire, who died without Iflue; then fle mar- 
 ried Mr. John Cary of the Falkland Family, and Mafter of the Buck- 
 Hounds under King Charles II. and died alfo without IJfue. 
 
 The Sons of <]f/j l a ji Dudley Lord North and his Lady had fix Sons and four 
 Dndiy Lord Daughters who li'ved to appear in the World, befides fome who died 
 Matches Minority, viz. Frances, Edward, and Dorothy. The eldeft Son was 
 Charles, who received the Honour of Knighthood, and married Ca- 
 therine the Daughter of William Lord Grey of Wark, and was, in his 
 Father's Life-time, called by Writ to the Houfe of Peers, by the Ti- 
 tle of Charles Grey of Rollefton. They had two Sons and two Daugh- 
 ters who furvived. The eldeft Son, William, is the prefent Lord North 
 and Grey, who is matched with Maria Margareta one of the Daughters 
 of Afr,C.de jonge van Ellemete, late Receiver of the United Netherlands. 
 The fecond Son, Charles, a Major in the 'late Wars in Flanders, died 
 there of a Calenture. The eldeft Sifter Catherine died at Sea coming 
 from Barbadoes: And the youngeft named Dudleya, having ema~ 
 dated herfelf with Study, whereby fee had made familiar to her, 
 not only the Greek and Latin, but, the Oriental Languages, under the 
 Infliction of a fedentary Diflemper, died alfo ; and both without IJfue. 
 Her Library, conftfting of a choice Collection of oriental Books, by the 
 
 * The Reafon why the Honourable Author joins the Epithet incoinparable to this Gentleman's 
 Name will be feen from a Story which will be related in the Life of Dr. John North. 
 
 prefent
 
 The AUTHOR'S PREFACE. v 
 
 frefent Lord North and Grey her only furvlvlng Brother, was given to 
 the parochial Library of Rougham in Norfolk, where it remains. The 
 Lord North'; J'econd Son y Francis, the third Son, Dudley, and the fourth , 
 John, are the Subject of the three Life Treatifcs intended ta follow, 
 where will be remembered the State of their Families. The fifth Son 
 * was Mountagu, a Levant Merchant ', who died without IJ/ue. The 
 youngeft, Roger, married Mary the Daughter of Sir Robert Gayer of 
 Stoke Poges near Windfor, and having had two Sons, Roger and Moun- 
 tagu, and jive Daughters , Elizabeth, Ann, Mary, Catherine, and 
 Chriftian, lives (out of the way) at Rougham in Norfolk. 
 
 Of the four Daughters of Dudley Lord North, the eldefl, Mary, The Daugh- 
 was married to Sir William Spring of Pakenham by Bury in Suffolk, fame, and their 
 She had I flue a Son, but lived not to have any more, and the Son died Matche , s > no - 
 
 M . J ting alfo the 
 
 In his Infancy. The fee on d Daughter, Ann, married Mr. Robert Foley, Benefit of an. 
 
 a younger Branch of the (now) Lord Foley 'j Family, and their eldeji e 
 
 Son North Foley, having married a Daughter of Sir Charles Holt 
 of Warwickmire, lives now at Stourbridge In Worceftermire. The 
 third Daughter, Elizabeth, married Sir Robert Wifeman, a younger 
 Son of the Rivenhall Family in Effex, Dean of the Arches, who dying 
 without IJ/ue, Jhe is Jince married to the Earl of Yarmouth. The 
 fourth and youngeft Daughter , Chriftian, married Sir George Wenieve 
 of Brettenham in Suffolk. And they have left diverfe Children ; of 
 whom the eldeji, John, married a Daughter of Sir Chriftopher Muf- 
 grave, and now rejides in the Place of his Father at Brettenham. This 
 is the Family Relation of thefe three Brothers whofe Lives are upon the 
 Carpet before me. So much of Particularity concerning them (although 
 a juft Pedigree ought to have taken In much more) may perhaps be 
 thought fuperfluous, as not being of any general Concern. Tet really 
 the Cafe is memorable for the happy Circumjlance of a Flock, fo nu- 
 merous and dlffufed as this, of the loft Dudley Lord North 's, was y 
 and no one fcabby Sheep in it, confiderlng what Temptations and Snares 
 have lain In their Way, is not of every Days Notice. It was their 
 good Fortune to be furrounded with Kindred of the great eft Eftlma- 
 tion and Value, which are a fort of Obligation to a good Behaviour. 
 It is very unfortunate for any one to Jiray from the Paths of Virtue, 
 who hath fuch Precautions, and fonorous Memento s, on all Sides of 
 him : And it is almojl enough to be educated In a Family wherein was no 
 
 Inftancs
 
 vi The AUTHOR'S PREFACE. 
 
 Jnftance of Irreligicn or Immorality either praffifed or allowed. Such 
 Virtue, or Efficacy ', hath an early Example to affett the Manners of goo d- 
 natur d Youth. I would not have it thought that, beyond this Advantage, 
 I hold forth a Family Relation, as Matter of Merit, to any one in 
 particular', but Jay only that, allowing no peculiar intrinjick Worth, in 
 a particular Perfon, derivable from the Honour of his Family (becaufe 
 his own Value, and not his Ancejlors, muft fet him off) although fuch a 
 Qircumjlance is not to be Jlighted, yet there is fome Good comes of it; 
 which is that the Defcendants muft know that the World expects 
 more from them than from common Men : And fuch a perpetual Mo- 
 nitor is an ufeful Companion. And if there be any Perfons of fuch 
 upftart Principles that, with them, Antiquity of Families is rather 
 Matter of Ridicule than of Honour, let them enjoy their Epicurean 
 Profpett, and fee their Pojlerity run Riot into Dejlruftion, before the 
 Earth covers the corruptible Ingredients of their 
 
 THE
 
 Vll 
 
 THE 
 
 LIFE 
 
 Of the RIGHT HONOURABLE 
 
 FRANCIS NO RTH, 
 
 Lord G u i L F o R D, 
 
 LATE 
 
 LORD KEEPER 
 
 OF THE 
 
 GREAT SEAL of ENGLAND. 
 
 MY Defign is to leave behind me all that I can remember, n 
 or warrantably collect, concerning the Lifeof the Lord De%" g and 
 Keeper North. A Work much needed ; and to which I Reafon. 
 am indeed provoked, becaufe I find an affected Endeavour of a pre- 
 vailing fort of Men in thefe latter Times, and efpecially the more 
 folemn Writers of EngKfh Affairs, to fupprefs all Memory of his Lord- 
 fhip's Name and Worth : To the end that his Character, and Beha- 
 viour in the Courfe of his great Employments, mould be utterly un- 
 known to After-times; as if no fuch Perfon had ever lived in the 
 World. I (hall alledge but one Inftance, and that is an egregious one. 
 A late double-column'd Hiftorian in Folio, of whom Mention has been 
 made already in the Preface, writing the Affairs of England^ and in 
 particular what fell out in the Reign of King Charles II. hath taken 
 upon him to characterife the famous Men that died in his feveral Years r 
 And yet of the Lord Keeper North no fingle Word flips from his Pen; 
 and one muft look very hard to find fo much as his Name in the 
 whole Work: And, confidering the Value of that great Juflitiar 
 (which I hope will be made appear in what follows) is not fo no- 
 torious Partiality , in fuch a pompous Writer of Hiftory, wonderful ? 
 
 But
 
 4 The LIFE of the late 
 
 But, not only there but, in all the other Writers of thofe Times, when 
 the Quality of thofe Things related require him to be named, how- 
 ever the Actions or Occafion might deferve, it is done in an ill-na- 
 tur'd Manner, and with a Leer, implying rather Difgrace than any 
 Honour to his Memory. And, fince his Death, we do not find in 
 ordinary Converfe, or Confultation of Things part, any Mention 
 of him, or, at moft, but as one that had been preferred to ferve Turns; 
 and fo, dying, there was an End of him. 
 
 Declined Now here, to make the faireft Conftruction of this Silence in a 
 
 Fame in all Cafe fo eminent, and afcribe it chiefly to Ignorance, although I think 
 Time-fervingnefs and Malice hath the greateft Share, I will mew that, 
 in his Lordfhip's Cafe, there was lefs obvious Means for Fame than 
 in any other great Man's Cafe whatever. For, firft, he was quite out 
 of Favour with the bufy agitating Party of Men in his Time, then 
 termed the Fanatic Party; and thofe are the chief Architects of 
 Fame: And, having nothing ill to fay of him, they would fay no 
 Good, and therefore chofe to fay nothing at all. If he had aded in 
 thefe Men's Meafures, and, betraying his Mafter, took in with them, 
 and become their Property, he had certainly been the mofl illuftrious 
 Hero in the Law that ever was heard of. Another Reafon is derived 
 from his Lordmip's own Conduct of himfelf, which was always with 
 the greateft Modefly and the leaft Affectation of Fame that could be. 
 He rather withdrew himfelf from it, as being, in his Opinion, an 
 empty Vanity; and ever labouring to act well and fubftantially, as con- 
 cerned for the Truth and Intelligence of Things, and not for any Ho- 
 nour to be got thereby, he fcarce ever did any Thing for Shew, or 
 fpoke a Word for the fake of meer Sound or Oftentation : But, in all 
 he did, to have Heafon on his Side, and .to make himfelf therein rea- 
 dily underftood, was all that he aimed at : Otherwife he bore him- 
 felf retired from Publick View and Eclat as much as ever he could. 
 It is no great Wonder therefore that nothing pompous hath been re- 
 membered of him. If he had carried it high, headed Parties, and em- 
 braced the Management of what had not belonged to him, and the 
 like, it had been otherwife. Or if he had printed his Collections in 
 the Law, of which he had made fome confiderable, or the other 
 Trails he had in his Mind to make fit for the Ufe of his Time, 
 or done any Thing elfe, Which ordinarily great Men do, for Fame 
 and Honour, he might have left a Name behind him, great as he de- 
 ferved. But he never let any Thing come to the Prefs under his 
 Name, but what belonged to his Office, or was abfolutely neceffary 
 for his Vindication. It is no Wonder therefore that (the Malice or 
 Ignorance of Hiftorians apart) there is fo little Remembrance of this 
 noble Perfon'sLife and Actions (fo near his Time as we are) now ex- 
 tant:
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 9 
 
 tant: And, probably, after a Reign or two more, bating a formal Lift 
 of Lord Keepers, that lets none efcape, his very Name will be forgot. 
 
 Here is Reafon enough to incline any one, endued with competent The 
 Information of the Subject, and a literate Capacity to digeft and exprefs S ents zn *?- 
 
 ... r i i Means to this 
 
 what he knows thereof, to relcue tins honourable rerlon and his great Work. 
 Abilities, his approved Juftice and Integrity, and univerfal good Will, 
 from utter Oblivion, by writing the Hiftory of his Lordfhip's Life. 
 But where do thofe Qualifications concur ? The very Expectation of 
 them puts me in mind of latter Lammas. But it is ufual to fay what 
 Good cannot be done in Perfection, as it mould be, ought to be done, 
 though but in Part, or as it may be. And, upon Force of that Con- 
 fideration, I am inclined to undertake it; for, if lam wanting in Ca- 
 pacity to write as the Subject deferves, I am capable of informing 
 others who may do it better; and am therein farther urged by the 
 Confideration of my former Felicities. For it was my good Fortune 
 to be fo nearly allied to him, and, by Circumftances cf Education 
 and Profeffion, fo clofely attached to his Perfon, that we were almoft 
 infeparable. Therefore, upon the Strength of the latter of thefe Qua- 
 lifications, whatever becomes of the former, which, in Senfe of my 
 own Inability, I forbear to claim, I am induced to undertake this great 
 Work, which I would have underftood to be rather Inductions, than 
 Hiflory. And if I am required to give an Account of my great Con- 
 fidence therein, I mufl alledge that, if I am not the beft inftructed of 
 any Man living for it, it is my own Fault; becaufe I palled almoft all 
 the active Time of my Life in his Company. And now almoft all 
 Perfons of his Intimacy, capable or concerned to remember much of 
 him, are dead, or at leaft, after fo many Years, thoughtlefs of all they 
 might once have known concerning him. But I am at this Time 
 left a living and fenfible Witnefs of his molt publick and moft retired 
 Behaviour; and moreover a well qualified Comptirgator of all his 
 Thoughts and Actions: And who elfe mould be called upon to mew 
 to Pofterity what he was ? And alfo that there was once a Magiftrate of 
 a Kind, fince the Lofs of him (barring all Comparifons) rather to be 
 wifhed than hoped for. And not only to fupply Hiftory, which 
 (after the partial Gree of the late Authors) has been, to all good Purpofes, 
 filent of him, but alfo to refel Calumny, whether fpread abroad in his 
 Life, to fupplant his Interefts, and to enervate his Authority, or late, 
 publimed after his Death, to depreciate his Memory; of which feveral 
 Species of Malice we had, and have yet, fome extant, but little, and 
 even that little very impotent and inconfiderable: Yet I cannot but 
 think it in me a fort of Duty to pufFaway fuch Slight Duft, becaufe 
 Calumny, which rifeth after a Man's Death (the moft unworthy and 
 degenerous of all) needs moft aFriend to retund it 5 becaufe, as a Man's 
 
 B Authority
 
 J0 The LIFE of the late 
 
 Authority and Power ceafeth, Impudence gets Ground, and thinks to 
 ramp it without Check: But, of thete Affairs, the Particularities are re- 
 ferred to their proper Situation. And here I mufl not omit one of the 
 chief Impulfes upon my Spirits to undertake this Work; I mean Gra- 
 titude: For as, on the one fide, no Man is obliged to ferve a Friend or 
 Benefactor by any grofs Immoralities, for that muft be termed Confpi- 
 racy, not Friendfhip, fo on the other Side, no Man ought to be wanting 
 to a Friend, in any manner of Juftice, for no better Reafon than that 
 fome Folks will mifconftrue it, as being done for Partiality. I own 
 that all my Portion of Knowledge and Fortunes are owing to him ; 
 which makes me a Debtor in Account of Juftice and Honour due to 
 his Memory: And, for clearing myfelf as well as 1 may (protefting 
 in the mean while to fay nothing falfe, or difguifed) (hall I not fay 
 what is juft and true of him ? I defy all Calumny on that Account, 
 and I hope to acquit myfelf accordingly. And whereinfoever I may 
 fail, or come fliort of the Fullnefs or Ornament fuch a Subject requires, 
 I defign fecurely to fet down Nothing but what either perfonally I know 
 and can atteft, find declared in his Writings, received from his own 
 Mouth, or have from indubitable Report of others nearly enough in- 
 formed to be efteemed punctually true. I have another Reafon yet, 
 which, for true Value, may furmount all thefe; and that is a Tendency 
 to publick Good: A Charm that all Writers anoint their Front with. 
 Therefore I fay only this, that if, in the Character of a Perfon of Ho- 
 nour, I mew an Example of Induftry, Ingenuity, Probity, Virtue, 
 Juftice, and, in the Courfe of all thefe, defervedly fuccefsful, without 
 one Minute retrograde, but concluding all at once by a natural Death, 
 and that in the Height of his Honour, I fhall commit no Act of Dif- 
 fervice to Mankind in general j and leaft of all to thofe of the Nobility, 
 whofe Descendants, embarking in the Profeflion of the Law, may find 
 the gresteft Encouragement from it. It may be thought I have touch- 
 ed here too much upon the Panegyric, and forget how hard it is to 
 make good fuch Promifes. I muft truft to that; and do but alledge 
 here that the Nature of this Work, and my Reafons for undertaking 
 it, required no lefs. Which being the proper Introduction, I have not 
 formalifed upon what I am fully pofleffed is moft true. 
 Method or j t w jjj be hard t j d Thread, in good Order of Time, through 
 
 Difpoiition. v- T j/i i i T /- r ' Y i 
 
 ms Lordinip s whole Lire ; lor there are many and various Incidents to 
 be remembered, which will interfere, and make it neceiTary to ftepback 
 fometimes, and then again forwards: And, to fay Truth, I have not the 
 Punctualities of Times at my Command, and may err in fome Points of 
 Chronography. I mall therefore, forDiftindion fake, break the Courfe 
 of his Lordmip's Life into four Stages; whereof the firft mall be 
 from his Lcrdlhip's Infancy to his being qualified to practife in the 
 
 Law,
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. Ix 
 
 Law, and called to the Bar. The fecond (hall be from the Time of 
 his firft Practice until he was advanced to the Poft of a Judge, and 
 made Lord Chief Juftice of the Common Pleas. The third, while he 
 acted as Judge of the Common Law, until he was preferred to be 
 Lord Keeper of the Great Seal. And the fourth and lad Stage, while 
 he fat as Judge of Equity in the Chancery, and attended the Affairs of 
 State at Court, until the Time of his Death, which happened ^Wrox- 
 ton on the 5th of September, 1685. And, in this Method, I hope to 
 evacuate my Mind of every Matter and Thing I know and can remem- 
 ber materially concerning his Lordfhip. And, if fome things arc 
 fet down which many may think too trivial , let it be confidered, 
 that the fmaller Incidents in the Life of a bufy Man, are often as 
 ufeful to be known, though notfo diverting, as the greater: And Pro- 
 fit muft always (hare with Entertainment. And let this be the Apo- 
 logy for fome light Paflages that will be found related in the Courfe 
 of this Work. 
 
 HisLordihip left many Papers wrote with his own Hand, fome more Wr;t|n show 
 perfect than others, and very few entirely fo: And thofe, which are difpofcd. 
 finimed, or nearly completed according as he intended them, I have 
 put together in Collections : But as for thofe which are fhort and im- 
 perfect, confiding of fome Sketches of Deiigns, Hints, Confutations, 
 Collections, Enquiries, and the like, which commonly were the Re- 
 fult of his Thoughts and Refearches upon Affairs then in Agitation 
 abroad, and are like Painters firlt Scratches, which commonly have 
 more Spirit than their more finim'd Pieces ; I ihall infert the moft 
 material of them in the Text of the Relations to which they belong. 
 For thefe will reprefent his Lordfhip's Way of Reafoning with him- 
 felf and others, and how clofe his Thoughts were applied to the Sub- 
 fiance and Truth of Things, more perhaps than (as was hinted of 
 Painters) his fuller Tracts will appear to do. And, by this Means, I 
 hope to give a clear Account of all I know or can gather of his Lord- 
 fhip's Life, interior and exterior, whereby, in one Place or other, there 
 may be found a great Man's Life and entire Character; and, betides, 
 what will ferve to entertain any one who hath a Mind to drone away a 
 few Minutes that Sleep will not confume; and alfo improve (perhaps) 
 fome whom the Love of Truth, Reafon, and Rectitude of Will, (hall 
 difpofe to be more attentive. 
 
 His Lordfhip was the third Son of the fecond Dudley Lord North Family and 
 Baron of Kirtling, &c. as is to be found in the Preface be- Parcmdc. 
 fore this Work, and therefore (hall not reiterate it here. We have lit- 
 tle to fay of him during his minor Years, but {hall make Amends af- 
 terwards; for, from the firft to the laft of his Manhood, he walked 
 the Publick Stage of Bu finds, ever erect and rifing, and made no Re- 
 
 B 2 treat
 
 I2 Tbt LIFE of the late 
 
 treat or Exit but one, and that (as I faid before) was from the Top of 
 his Preferment, and the World together. 
 School Educa- {-jj s Lordfhip was very young when he was firft put out to School, 
 i" and then had but indifferent Tutorage, for his firft Matter was one 
 Mr. Willis that kept a School at IJleworth. That Man was a rigid 
 Prefbyterian, and his Wife a furious Independant. Thofe two Seels, 
 at that Time, contended for a Pre-eminence in Tyranny, and reaping 
 the. Fruits of too fuccefsful Rebellion; which conjured up a Spirit of 
 Oppofition betwixt them, fo that they hated each other more than ei- 
 ther the Bifhops, or even Papifts themfelves. Such is the ordinary 
 Curfe of God upon Men permitted to profper in Wickednefs. And 
 this Woman was fo zealoujs in her Way that, thinking it a Sin, (he 
 would fcarce let her carnal Hufband have conjugal Intimacy with 
 her. She ufed to inftrudt her Babes in the Gift of praying by the Spi- 
 rit ; and all the Scholars were made to kneel by a Bed-fide and pray : 
 But this petit Spark was too fmall for that Pofture, and was fet upon 
 the Bed to kneel with his Face to a Pillow: And, in this Exercife of 
 fpiritual Prayer, they had their Directory from her. I have heard his 
 Lordmip fay, that all, he could remember, of his Performances, was 
 praying for his diftrefled Brethren in Ireland. Very often Men, in 
 their Lives, crofs the Humour of the Age in which they had their 
 firft Education: And in Fad: it happened fo here; for this Youth 
 went from one of thefe Fanatick Schools to another for diverfe Years, 
 and afterwards, being grown up, was very averfe to Fanaticifm ; as if 
 he had in his Education contracted rather a Prejudice than a Favour 
 for it. 
 
 Cava- But much may be attributed to the finifliing of him at Bury School, 
 un( ] er )n Stevens, a Cavalier Mafter. He was fo forward and exact a 
 Scholar there, that the bulky Do6lor, in his pedantick Strain, ufed to 
 fay he was the Crown of all his Endeavours. Before he went to Cam- 
 bridge, the Mailer employ'd him to make an alphabetical Index of all 
 the Verbs Neuter ; and he did it fo completely, that the Doctor had 
 it printed with Lilly's Grammar, for the proper Ufe. of his own School. 
 This, however eafy to be done (being only tranfcribing out of the 
 Dictionary) was commendable; becaufe Boys ordinarily have not a 
 fleddy Application, and, being required, feldom perform, induftrioufly 
 and neatly, fuch a Talk as that is. 
 
 'At st.Jotot From this School he was tranflated to St. Johns College in Cam- 
 
 c*mfa<!for-^ r ^ e ' w ^ ere ^ e was admitted Fellow-Commoner under one Mr. 
 
 ward and fa- Froft, the 8th Day of June, 1653. And there he improved at the 
 
 ccuous. fame Rate; and, being a Fellow-Commoner, was acceptable to the 
 
 very beft of the Society, as well for his Company, which was more 
 
 than ordinarily agreeable, and facetious, as for his Forwardnefs in all 
 
 ingenuous
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 13 
 
 ingenuous Studies, and the Sciences called liberal. Here he learnt what 
 was to be had of Univerfity Philofophy, old and new. Applied to 
 Mathematics, and made great Advances in them ; capable of the ut- 
 moft Courfe therein, if 'other Affairs of his Life, inconfiftent with fuch 
 Applications, had not forbad that. But he was ever a Judge of new 
 Propofitions after the fynthetic Way (for the analytic was not then much 
 proferTed) and, if they failed, could {hew where. And here he began 
 his Ufe of Mufick, learning to play on the Bafs-Viol, and had the 
 Opportunity of Practice fo much in his Grandfather's and Father's 
 Families, where the Entertainment of Mufick in full Confort was fo- 
 lemn and frequent, that he outdid all his Teachers, and became one of 
 the neateft Violifls of his Time. He was much encouraged and affifted, 
 in all ingenuous Studies, by the Converfation of one Mr .Matthews of 
 Sidney College, who was his elder Brother's Tutor, and very eminent 
 for a Matter (literally) of all Arts and Sciences, and was entrufted 
 with the Education of diverfe Noblemen as their Tutor : And a fa- 
 mous Man he had been indeed, if his Heart could have been mewed 
 without a Microfcope. 
 
 His Lordmip was originally defigned for the Profeffion of the Law -, Admitted of 
 and accordingly, after two or three Years fpent at the Univerfity, 
 removed to the Middle Temple into a Moiety of a petit Chamber, 
 
 which his Father bought for him. He was admitted in the Year 
 
 when old Chaloner Chute was Treasurer. It was he that fometime. 
 officiated as Speaker to the Pfeudo-Houfe of Commons, and had mar- 
 ried the Lady Dacres, his Lordfhip's Aunt, and fo was in the Place of 
 an Uncle. This Mr. Chute was a Man of great Wit, and ftately Car- 
 riage of himfelf. I mall mention here what I have been credibly 
 told as one Inftance of his Loftinefs, even while he practifed in Chan- 
 cery. It was in fhort but this: If he had a Fancy not to have the 
 Fatigue of Bufinefs, but to pafs his Time in Pleafure after his own 
 Humour, he would fay to his Clerk, Tell the People I 'will not prac- 
 tife this Term ; and was as good as his Word : And then no one durft 
 come near him with Bufinefs. But, when his Clerks fignified he would 
 take Bufinefs, he was in the fame advanced Poft at the Bar, fully 
 redintegrated, as before j and his Practice nothing fhrunk by the Dif- 
 continuance. I guefs that no eminent Chancery Practifer ever did, 
 or will do, the like. And it {hews a tranfcendent Genius, fuperior 
 to the Slavery of a gainful Profeffion. But, to proceed: When Sir 
 Dudley North, his Lordfhip's Father, carried him to his Brother-in-Law, 
 then Treafurer of the Middle-Temple, to be admitted, he treated hard 
 with him about the Fine of Admiffion, which is in the Treafurer's 
 Power to tax ; and he may ufe any one well if he pleafeth. Mr. 
 Treafurer afked Sir Dudley what he was willing to give ; and (the 
 
 common
 
 The LIFE of the late 
 
 common Fine being Five Pounds) he anfwered, Three Pounds Ten 
 Ess. Well, faidthe Treafurer, lay doun the 'Money. Which 
 be ng done, he called for the young Ma^s Hat^nd fwept it all in 
 and gave it him, and marking the Admiflion Nill, or Nothing, Let 
 Ms, Cud he, be a Beginning of your getting Money here; where his 
 Lordmio made good the Omen. 
 
 v* the How feMouly he applied himfelf to the Study of the Law, I need 
 Lawftudied Uedge . his Performances in the Courfe of his Profeffion, to fay 
 
 Langu a a n g d e, nothing of his Preferments (though fometimes perhaps owing to good 
 Fortune) demonftrate he was not wanting in that Application But 
 ft was Angular and remarkable in him that together with the Study 
 ef the Law, which is thought ordinarily to devour the whole ftudious 
 Time of a young Gentleman, and, at heft, is but an impolite Study, 
 he continued to purfue his Enquiries into all ingenious Arts, I ifto- 
 ry, Humanity, and Languages. Whereby he became, not^only a good 
 Lawyer, but, a good Hiftorian, Politician, Mathematician, Natural 
 Philofopher, and, I muft add, Mufician in Perfection. I have heard 
 him fay, that if he had not enabled himfelf by thefe Studies, and 
 particularly his Praftice of Mufick upon his Bafe, or Lyra Viol (which 
 he ufed to touch, Lute fafliion, upon his Knees) to divert himfelf a- 
 lone, he had never been a Lawyer. His Mind was fo airy and vola- 
 tile, he could not have kept his Chamber, if he muft needs be there 
 ftakeddown purely to theDrudgery of the Law, whether in Study or Prac- 
 tice- And yet upon fuch a leaden Propofition, fo painful to bnlk Spi- 
 rits all the Succefs of the Profeffion, regularly purfued, depends. 
 And, without acquiring a Capacity of making a folitary Life agreeable, 
 let no Man pretend to Succefs in the Law. I have heard his Lord- 
 fliip often remember a Leffon the Citizens ufed to their Prentices, 
 Keep your Shop, and your Shop 'will keep you, as being no lefs true of a 
 Lawyer with refpecl to his Chamber. But he was far from being a 
 Reclufe; and, as he loved Convention, fo, at fit Times, he was a- 
 broad with agreeable Company, at Entertainments, fuch as the Inns 
 of Court Gentlemen ordinarily ufe. 
 
 Declined the I never heard that he frequented either Dancing or Fencing Schools; 
 ufcgesof bad which two Rendezvoufes are very dangerous, as well as expenfive, to 
 young Gentlemen: And that Confideration outweighs all the pretended 
 Advantages that the Female Fadion propofe from thofe Affembhes. And 
 for Security of future good Confequences, and efcaping the bad, I think 
 it may be a general Rule, in the Inftitution of a Lawyer, never to 
 come to either. For fmce it is well known that the Accidents of 
 good or bad Company determines, ordinarily, a young Man to his 
 Happinefs or Ruin , and that the worft of Company is to be : met 
 with there, one may bate the Decorums of the Step, or the Skill of 
 
 Parry,
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. ij 
 
 Parry and Thruft, in one who is to wear a long Robe, and contend 
 only with his oral Faculty. I might fay as much of Places of Game; 
 but that Entertainment is a Gulph which fwallows more elder, than 
 younger, Brothers, and more that have Money gotten to their Hands, 
 than fuch as have but enough to live in a way as may enable them 
 to get more. But I cannot fay that his Lordmip was a Stranger to a- 
 ny Art or Skill that was practifed amongft the better fort of Company. 
 He joined in every decent Thing; and whatever Games were ftirring, 
 at Places where he retired, as Gammon, Gleek, Piquet, or even the 
 Merry Main, he made one; but ever had a notable Regard to his Purfe, 
 to keep that from overfetting, like a Veflel at Sea that hath too much 
 Sail and too little Ballaft. 
 
 It is impoffible for any Youth to gather fociable good Qualities Hazards and 
 without running fome Hazard of the bad; and much of the better, Youth!* 8 
 where it happens, will be afcribed to a well-inclined Nature, that, af- 
 ter Exceffes (which Youth cannot wholly avoid) difcerning the Incon- 
 venience, takes up. But yet, in fome of the wavering and lefs think- 
 ing Genius's, the worft of Company will caufe the worft of Effects; 
 whereas, in a tolerable Society at firft, fuch Natures might have come 
 off well enough. It were rare Sailing if Winds and Weather were 
 either at Command or forefeen. So, in the launching young People 
 into the World, it were happy if natural Propenfities and Company 
 could be known beforehand, or modelled to the Occafion. Therefore 
 that great Work ever did, and ever will, depend much upon the com- 
 mon Accidents of human Life j and it is a great Queftion, whether too 
 much, or too little Ufe of over-ruling Authority, or perfuafive Dif- 
 courfes, do moft or leaft Harm. Probably either, coming opportune- 
 ly, may do good ; but, inopportunely, excites Averfion rather than Recon- 
 ciliation to what is fo. Let a Youth be prepared at Home, without any 
 Prejudice of evil Examples or Encouragements, and then be fent out, 
 as his Lordmip was, to fhift for himfelf; the reft muft be left to Pro- 
 vidence. 
 
 His Lordmip had Reafon, and alfo the good Hap, to be fenfible of Confined his 
 his Condition, and that it concerned him in the laft Degree to make 
 the beft of his Profeflion. For his Family was not in a Pofture to 
 fuftain any of the Brothers, by Eftates to be carved out of the main 
 Suftentation of the Honour. It was apparent that his Lordmip was far 
 from a morofe, or fo much as a retired Difpofition ; he had fprightly 
 Motives to follow the Joys his Fancy fuggefted, as much as any Wit 
 of them all, and was fenfible of the Labour and Pains he was to un- 
 dergo, and fet himfelf to it as Labourers to their Work, for a Liveli- 
 hood ; and after he had broke himfelf to the Study of the Law, fo as 
 might have r ender'd it eafier to him, yet he had his Inclinations to di- 
 vert
 
 The LIFE of the late 
 
 vert himfelf, and ramble as Perfons of better Fortunes did. But, through 
 the Strength of hisReafon, he recollefted himfelf, and perfevered, and 
 engaged in no Entertainments abroad, that were inconfiftent with 
 his Studies. I have heard him fay more than once, that, if he had been 
 fure of a Hundred Pounds a Year to live on, he had never been 
 a Lawyer. 
 
 His Lordfliip's Grandfather/took a Fancy to have him be with him 
 in the Country ; for he loved to hear him talk of News, Philofophy, 
 butftudied. am i plages in London. He made him play at Back-Gammon, and 
 fiddle when ever he thought fit; for which, all he got was faving a 
 little Charges at the Temple, and an Annuity of Twenty Pounds a 
 Year ; which latter was taken away from him in Difpleafure, as is 
 related afterwards. But 'this Courfe of Life, together with Bowling, 
 Fiming, Billiards, Park, Hunting, Vifiting, and fuch Country Diver- 
 fions, which might have plunged a young Man in Idlenefs, and Re- 
 fignation of all Endeavours towards aProfellion, did him no Hurt at 
 all; but rather the contrary, for he always had his Boxes of Books up 
 and down, by the Carrier; and, in the Country, alone by himfelf, 
 read in his Courfe, and commonplaced full as much, or perhaps more 
 than he mould have done in London. And the only Difadvantage he 
 had there, was Want of a ftudious Society; but conflantly at Terms, 
 he got Leave to repair to London, and there recruited his difconti- 
 nued Friendfhips, which were of vaft Benefit to him, as will be re- 
 lated afterwards. 
 
 Ufed Com- He l1 ^ conflantly the Commons in the Hall at Noons and Nights, 
 monsandput- and fell into the Way of putting Cafes (as they call it) which much 
 ting Cafes, improved him; and he was very good at it, being of a ready Appre- 
 henfion, a nice Diftinguimer, and prompt Speaker. He ufed to fay 
 that no Man cou'd be a good Lawyer that was not a Put-Cafe. Read- 
 ing goes off with fome Cloud, but Difcourfe makes all Notions limpid 
 andjuft; for, in fpeaking, a Man is his own Auditor (if he had no others 
 at Hand) to correct himfelf. Befides, there are Diverfities of Opini- 
 ons, and Contentions in Reafoning, which excite Thoughts that other- 
 wife would never have rifen. And Miftakes, almoft incredible to the 
 Miftaker, being obferved, caufe a Recurrence, for Surety, to the Au- 
 thorities, where an Infpe&ion convinceth, and withal corrects the faulty 
 Aflurance fome will have in a mere Memory. 
 
 Of common- It was his Lordmip's con ft ant Practice to commonplace as he read, 
 placing in the Jje had no bad Memory, but was diffident, and would not trufl it. 
 Suuiyoi e jj ac q u j re ^ a ver y f ma u b ut legible Hand; for, where contracting is 
 the main Bufmefs, it is not well to write, as the Fafliion now is, un- 
 cial or femiuncial Letters, to look like Pigs Ribs. His writing in his 
 Commonplaces was not by way of Index > but Epitome ; becaufe, as 
 
 he
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 17 
 
 he ufed to fay, the looking over the Commonplace Book on any Oc- 
 cafion, gave him a fort of Survey of what he had read about Matters 
 not then inquifited, which refrefhed them fomewhat in his Memory : 
 And that had not been obtained in a way of mere what and where, 
 as the Style of moft Indexes runs. When this manner of Writing is 
 comprehenfive, or pregnant, it is called Abridgment, of which there 
 are diverfe large ones of the Common Law in Print, as Fitzherbert y 
 Brook, &c. and are like thofe the Civilians call Summifts, which, with 
 them, are not allowed as Authority. Certainly it is an Error for a 
 Student to perufe fuch; it being like reading over a Dictionary, which 
 never teacheth a Language. And, for that Reafon, Coke's Comment 
 upon Littleton ought not to be read by Students, to whom it is, at 
 leaft, unprofitable; for it is but a Commonplace, and much more ob- 
 fcure than the bare Text without it. And, to fay Truth, that Text 
 needs it not; for it is fo plain of itfelf that a Comment, properly fo 
 call'd, doth but obfcure it. In the Difpofition of the Titles, he chofe 
 rather to take many than few, and thereby to become forced (as fome 
 have done) to make out the reft by Sub-divifions; for it is eafier 
 to confult with many Generals, to which the Alphabet leans, than 
 few with many Sub-divifions ; the latter requires an exact Skill in 
 the Method, which, though well underftood, is often forgot: And 
 therein Mr. Keeble's Table to his Statute-Book is faulty; for if one 
 would look for the Title Executors , he muft go to Title Admi- 
 niftratorsy becaufe the Author thought fit to make that the gene- 
 ral Title for all, or moft, Teftamentary Matters. Were it not better 
 to make Executors, Probate, Devaftavit, &c. Titles exprefs? He 
 made diverfe E flays towards a Commonplace, which did not fucceed: 
 But it purchafed Experience, at the Expence of fo much Paper, before 
 his Method and Way of Writing was fettled and obvious to him; and 
 then he made a very good one, fuch as may be ftyled an Abridgment, 
 which now remains with the Right Honourable the Lord Guilford. 
 He ufed to fay that no Writing, though in a Commonplace, however 
 improper, was of any ill Confequence; for, by making Searches dif- 
 ficult, the very going to feveral Titles, for the fame Enquiry, refrem- 
 ed the Memory of other Things : And it was not at all amifs that 
 commonplace Sentences, as fome may touch diverfe Matters, mould 
 be wrote under as many Titles. He ufed to fay that the Advantage 
 of his Commonplace was not, as a Parfon's Concordance, to help him 
 to Cafes, but, when he remembered he had read of a Cafe, to help him 
 to find it ; and then his little Note, there, brought into his Mind the 
 Agitation of the Matter at large in the Book : And, for this Reafon, 
 the Commonplace Book is of little Ufe to any but to him that made 
 it. For the Law is inculcated by reading the long Arguments to be 
 found in the Books, where Reafons are given fro and con, and not by 
 
 C any
 
 1 8 The LIFE of the late 
 
 any Extracts, however curioufly made. And the great Art of com- 
 monplacing lying in the judicious, but very contracted, Note of the 
 Matter, a Stranger may pafs it by, and not know whether it concerns 
 his Enquiry or not. 
 
 M.-. Attorney His Admiffion into the Converfation of Mr. Attorney- General Palmer , 
 2^ C Favour (whereof the happy Confequences are noted afterwards) proved of great 
 Ufe to him in the Direction of his Reading. For Mr. Attorney (whole 
 Good nature and Affability was fuch, that a young Gentleman might 
 demand anything of him that tended to the Advancement of his Stu- 
 dies j and he would anfwer fully and friendly to it) was a very great 
 Book Lawyer, and yet never made any Commonplace j which is a 
 rare Inftance, and a Sign of a great and diftinct Memory : But yet not 
 fo great as fome have had, who have been fo full of Titles of Books and Fo- 
 lio's that their Underftanding was kept truly under, and they knew nothing 
 elfe. For thisReafon old Serjeant Waller was called Index-, and People 
 went for his Opinion, only to bring away a Lift of Quotations to af- 
 iift other Counfel that underftood better. I doubt not but his Lord- 
 fhip was encouraged by Mr. Attorney to commonplace fo much as he 
 did, whereof the Want might be fenfible to himfelf that had not done 
 fo, but, too late perhaps, wifhed he had done it. And the Courfe and 
 Method of Study, which his Lordfhip ufed and recommended to his 
 Friends, was derived from the fame Fountain. And of that, as far as 
 I have obferved from his Lordmip's Difcourfe, was to ufe a Variety, 
 and not to plod on in the fame Tract too long. 
 
 choice ot There are of Law-Books Inftitutions of various forts, and Reports 
 Book?, of Cafes (now) almoft innumerable: The latter bear moft the Contro- 
 verfial Law, and are read as Authority fuch as may be quoted: And 
 I may fay the Grofs of Law Lecture lies in them. But to fpend 
 Weeks and Months wholly in them, is like Horfes in a String before 
 a loaden Waggon. They are indeed a careful fort of Reading, and 
 chiefly require commonplacing, and that makes the Work goon (lowly. 
 His Lordfhip therefore ufed to intermix fome inftitutionary Reading 
 with them, as, after a Fulnefs of the Reports in a Morning, about 
 Noon to take a Repaft in Stamford^ Crompton, or the Lord Coke's Pleas 
 of the Crown, and Jurifdiffion of Courts, Manivood of the Foreft 
 Law, Fitzherbert's Natura Brevium-, and alfo to look over fome of 
 the Antiquarian Books, as Briton, Brafton, Fleta, Forte/cue, Heng- 
 ham* the old Tenures, Narrationes Nova, the old Natura Brevium, 
 and the Diverfity of Courts. Thefe, at Times, for Change and Re- 
 fremment, being Books all fit to be known. And thofe, that, as to 
 Authority, are obfoleted, go rounder off-hand, becaufe they require lit- 
 tle commonplacing, and that only as to Matter very fingular and re- 
 markable, and fuch as the Student fancies he (hall defire afterwards to 
 recover. And, befides all this, the Day afforded him Room for a little 
 
 Hiilory,
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 19 
 
 Hiftory, efpecially of England, modern Books , and Controverfy in 
 Print. But now, as to the Englifo Hiftory, I may add a modern Im- 
 provement; inz. the two Volumes of Dr. Bradfs are added to the 
 Store, and compiled fo religioufly upon the very Text, Letters, and 
 Syllables of the Authorities, efpecially thofe upon Record, that the 
 Work may juftly pafs for an Antiquarian Law-Book. In this Man- 
 ner he ordered his own Studies, but with Excurfions into Humanity 
 and Arts, beyond what may be fuitable to the Genius of every young 
 Student in the Law. 
 
 And he was mofl fenlible of the Benefit of Difcourfe, which I men- Employment 
 tioned before ; for I have obferved him often fay that, after his Day's 
 Reading (as in London if he had the Opportunity) at his Night's Con- 
 grefs with his Friends, either at Commons or over a Chop, whatever 
 the Subject was, he made it the Subject of his Difcourfe in the Com- 
 pany : For, faid he, I read many Things which I am fenfible I for- 
 got; but I found withal that, if I had once talked over what I had 
 read, I never forgot that. This agrees with a Direction to a Student, 
 faid to have come from the Earl of Nottingham, 'That he fhould Jludy 
 all the Morning^ and talk all the Afternoon j becaufe a ready Speech 
 (if it be not Nature's Gift) is acquirable only by Practice, and is very 
 neceffary for a Bar-Pradlifer. I remember that, after the Fire of the 
 Temple, it was confidered whether the old Cloifter Walks fhould be re- 
 built, or rather improved into Chambers ; which latter had been for 
 the Benefit of the Middle Temple. But, in regard it could not be done 
 without the Confent of the Inner Houfe, the Mailers of the Middle 
 Houfe waited upon the then Mr. Attorney Finch, to defire the Concur- 
 rence of his Society, upon a Propofition of fome Benefit to be thrown in 
 on that Side. But Mr. Attorney would by no Means give Way to it, and 
 reproved the Middle Templers very wittily and eloquently, upon the Sub- 
 ject of Students walking in Evenings there, and putting Cafes; which, 
 he faid, was done in his Time, as mean and low as the Buildings were 
 then, however it comes, faid he, that fuch a Benefit to Students is now 
 made fo little Account of. And thereupon the Cloyfters, by the Order 
 and Difpofition of Sir Chrijiopher Wren, were built as they now ftand. 
 And, agreeable to this, Serjeant Maynard, the beft old Book Lawyer 
 of his Time, ufed to fay that the Law was Ars Bnblatl^a-, which 
 humourfomely enough declares the Advantage that difcourfing brings to 
 the Students of the Law. And certainly, above all things, the Art of 
 prompt fpeaking is to be cultivated, as far as may be, according to the 
 apteft Rules of Oratory, becaufe it wonderfully fets off a Bar-Practifer: 
 And many, by that very Talent uncultivated, and owing to pure Na- 
 ture, have fucceeded beyond others much more learned. He had fuch 
 a Relifh of the old Year Books, that he carried one in his Coach to 
 
 C 2 divert
 
 10 The LIFE of the late 
 
 divert his Time in Travel, and faid he chofe it before any Comedy. 
 A true Notion of the Ufe of any Thing, however out of the Road of 
 common Approbation, will adminifter fuch a fuperlativeTafte. 
 ufe of the I do not know that his Lordmip had read over, in Courfe, all the 
 Year Books. y ear B oo k s . but I verily believe he had difpatch'd the greateft Part, 
 and that he began with the Book termed Hen. VII. which hath fome 
 Years in the antecedent Reigns. That Book he ufed to fay was the 
 moft ufeful, or rather necefTary for a Student to take early into his 
 Hand, and go through with, becaufe he had obferved much of the 
 common Law, which had fluctuated before, received a Settlement in 
 that Timej and from thence, as from a copious Fountain, it hath 
 been derived, through other Authors, to us, and now is in the State 
 of common Erudition, or "Maxims of the Law. He thought a Lawyer 
 could not be well grounded without a Knowledge of thefe ancient 
 Reports: For they were compiled by Men folemnly authorifed, and 
 not as now, when every ordinary Practifer (to fay nothing of the late 
 Judges ; and even their Reports have been moft taken when they were 
 Practifers) publimeth his Reports as he pleafeth; and the Bookfeller 
 procuring an Imprimatur, there is no more to be faid. And thus the 
 Shelves are loaded with Reports ; all which to read, much more to 
 commonplace, is, not only Labour but, hardly poffible to be done. 
 And how erroneous and contradictory, not only to other Books, and 
 even in the fame Cafes, but alfo to themfelves, in many Inftances, are 
 moft of them ? And what Student or Lawyer ever pretended (ingenu- 
 oufly) to know what was in them all ? Or what Queftion can hap- 
 pen that may not be very plaufibly argued pro and con out of them ? 
 Or what Arguers, on either Side, can now want a Cafe in Point ( as 
 they value themfelves) to conclude with? 
 
 Ancient Me- Thus it is become almoft necefTary to make a Pandect of Law, by 
 thod of plead- e ftabli{hing the Authority of fingle Points that are clear, fuppreffing 
 all the reft ; and thereby purge out all Inconfiftencies, Contradictions, 
 and Dubitations; which being once done, the Law Learning may 
 have more Credit, and not be call'd foft Wax. But, to return to the 
 Year Books, it is obvious what Deference ought to be had to them, 
 more than to the modern Reports ; for, paffing by the very fhort and 
 material rendering the Senfe of the Pleaders and of the Court, it muft 
 be obferved that the whole Caufe, as well the fpecial Pleadings as the 
 Debates of the Law thereupon, was tranfacted orally at the Bar, and 
 the Prothonotaries, ex officio, afterwards made up the Records in Latin. 
 And the Court often condefcended to difcourfe with the Serjeants a- 
 bout the Difcretion of their Pleas, and the Confequences, with refpedt 
 to their Clients. And the Court did all they could to prevent Errors 
 and Overfights. And Reafon good j for elfe their Records muft go up 
 
 to
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. n 
 
 - to the Kings-Bench to be canvafled for Error, which they did not de- 
 fire ihould be. And thefe Tranfactions, faithfully reported, was an- 
 ciently a Code of the Common Law, which the Courts deferred very 
 much to, and the Practifers had by Heart. But, now, the Pleadings 
 are all delated in Paper, and fo pafs the Offices, and the Court knows 
 nothing of much the greater Part of the Buiinefs that paffeth through 
 it : And when Caufes, which they call real, come on, and require 
 counting, and pleading at the Bar, it is done for Form, and unintel- 
 ligibly ; and, whatever the Serjeant mumbles, it is the Paper Book 
 that is the Text: And the Court as little meddles with, as minds, what 
 is done of that Sort at the Bar ; but the Queftions, that arife, are con- 
 fider'd upon the Paper Book. All the reft of the Bufinefs of the Court 
 is wrangling about Procefs and Amendments, whereof the latter had 
 been moftly prevented, if the Court (as formerly) had coniider'd the 
 firft Ads of theCaufe at the Bar, when ofFer'd by the Serjeants. And 
 this Way alfo the Skill of pleading lies not in a Student's Notice, for 
 him to gather up together with the Law Part of the Cafe; but he 
 muft read over Records and Entries, a Difcipline that would fplit a 
 brifk Gentleman, by making a Jade of his Patience. And really 
 Forms are better underftood and learned by writing than by reading; 
 for that Exercife allows Time : Which Confideration hath made 
 Clerkmip fo recommendable to Beginners, that moft enter the Profef- 
 fion of the Law that Way. It was not Morofenefs, but Reafon, that 
 inclined his Lordmip to deal fo much as he did with the Year Books > 
 and however, at prefent, that Sort of Reading is obfolete and defpifed, 
 I guefs there will not be found a truly learned, judicious common 
 Lawyer without it. 
 
 After a good Foundation out of Books, his Lordmip, together with Attendance on 
 his farther Studies, join'd an Attendance on the Courts of Juftice. For the Courts - 
 an Obfervation of the Practice, gave a great Life and Spirit to what 
 had been gain'd by reading. His Defign, with the Community of his 
 Profeffion, was to enter his Claim to Buiinefs at the King*s-Bench Bar, 
 which inclined him to make his preparatory Attendance there; but 
 yet he thought fit, as he had been alfo advifed, to attend, as a Stu- 
 dent, moft at the Common Pleas : For there all Suits are drawn forth 
 upon the ancient and genuine Procefs of the common Law; and, as 
 the Lord Nottingham, in one of his Speeches, exprefleth, The Law is 
 there at home. The Time of that Court is not taken up with factious 
 Contentions, as at the Kings-Bench^ where more News than Law is 
 ftirring. And his Lordmip, wherever he was 'in the way of learning 
 any Thing, never fail'd to have his Note Book, Pen and Ink ready : 
 And in that he wrote as a Reporter, and afterwards, generally that 
 very Day, he polled his Gatherings into a fair Book ; for then he 
 
 could
 
 iz The LIFE of the late 
 
 could fupply, out of his Memory, what was imperfectly taken, and 
 recover Things that had not been noted, and difpofe all into fome 
 tolerable Order : Fora young Reporter's Note Book is ib diforderly 
 wrote, or rather fcratched, that none but himfelf, nor he, after a 
 few Days, can make any Thing of it. 
 
 Reports of I do not find that he had Opinion enough of his early Reports, 
 Cafes, and taken while he was a Student, to preferve them either fair or foul ; 
 Law French. ^ ^Q^Q fuch are come to my Hand. But juft upon his coming to 
 the Bar, he attended at the Common Pleas whilft Hales was a Judge 
 there. And fome Cafes are found at the Beginning of his Reports, 
 taken there. And I perceive, by that Book, that one Year's Reports 
 to Hill. 1657-8, are of the Common Plea$> and from thence they 
 run all as of the Kings-Bench. By this time he found his Strength 
 at that Exercife, and began to be very careful of his Reports. He 
 was alfo an Attendant (as well asExercifer) at the ordinary Moots in 
 the Middle Temple and at New-Lin ; whereof the former is the fupe- 
 rior, and governs the Exercifes, and took Notes. In thofe Days the 
 Moots were carefully perform'd, and it is hard to give a good Rea- 
 fon (bad ones are prompt enough) why they are not fo now. And 
 he contrived to ftay in London to be prefent at famous Pleadings, as 
 particularly that of Sir Heneage Finely and fome others. The ready 
 Ufe of the Law French came eafily to him, becaufe he well under- 
 flood the vernacular ; and he had acquired fuch a Dexterity in writ- 
 ing it with the ordinary Abbreviations, that he feldom wrote haftily in 
 any other Dialect : For, to fay Truth, barbarous as it is thought to be, 
 it is concife, aptly abbreviated, and fignificative. And I believe his 
 Aptnefs, when in hafte, or writing to himfelf only, to write in Law 
 French, proceeded from his long Ufe and Practice of noting at the 
 Bar; which had created in him both an Eafe and a Dexterity in it. 
 When he had Time and Place to write at his Eafe, he ufually wrote 
 Englifh, and accordingly drew up his Reports. 
 
 Applied to His Lordmip, long before he was call'd to the Bar, undertook the 
 Court-keep- p ra fti ce o f Court-keeping. His Grandfather thought he preferred 
 him mainly, when he made him Steward of his Courts. And the 
 young Lawyer procured of other Neighbours and Relations, to have 
 the Charge of their Manors j and fo made the Employment confiderable 
 to him. He did not, as many others of late, take a Share of the 
 Profits, and make fome Attorney a kind of Subftitute to do all the Bu- 
 finefs ; but kept all his Courts himfelf, and wrote all his Court Rolls, 
 and made out his Copies with his own Hands; for he pretended to 
 no Clerk then. His Grandfather had a venerable old Steward, care- 
 ful by Nature, and faithful to his Lord, employing all his Thoughts 
 and Time to manage for Supply of his Houfe, and upholding his 
 
 Rents :
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 23 
 
 Rents: In mort, one of a Race of human Kind, heretofore frequent, 
 but now utterly extinct ; and there is fcarce any of the Breed left, 
 that is, affectionate as well as faithful, and diligent for Love rather than 
 for Self-Intereft. This old Gentleman, with his Boot-hofe and Beard, 
 ufed to accompany his young Mafter to his Court-keeping ; and ob- 
 ferving him reafon the Country People out of their Pence for Effoines, 
 &c. he commended him, faying, If he could be contented to be a great 
 while getting a little ', he would be a little while getting a great deal-, 
 wherein he was no falfe Prophet. I have heard his Lordfhip fay, he 
 thought this Court-keeping Bufinefs (which he ufed to recommend to 
 others) did him a great deal of Service 5 for it fhevv'd him the Hu- 
 mours of the Country People, and accuftom'd him to talk readily 
 with them, and to meet with their Subtiities. They ieldom came 
 forward without fome formed Stratagem to be too hard for Mr, 
 Steward. Some would infifl to know their Fine, which he would not 
 tell till they were admitted, and then he infifted for his Fees ; no, they 
 would know the Fine, and fome cunning Fellow would jog and ad- 
 vife them to pay the Fees, and not difpute that. And abundance more 
 of their Contrivances he ufed to fpeak of. 
 
 He was moft put to it in Cafes of Infancy, and Ufes declared in copyhold and 
 Deeds that did not appear. As for the former, if none came for the infancy. 
 Infant to be admitted, he feifed, not as for a Forfeiture but, quoufque, 
 &c. and made a Warrant to the Bailiff, quod refpondeat Domino de 
 Proficuis; which did not, as he faid, make the Lord accountable, who, 
 in that Refpect, had a Prerogative, as, upon a Reverfal of an Out- 
 lawry, no Money goes out of the King's Coffers j but, if any Friend 
 would pay the Fine, he admitted the Infant, and him Guardian. As 
 to latent Ufes, which often happen in Wills (and fometimes referring 
 to Deeds of Settlement) for long Terms of Years, he would not ad- 
 mit at all; and no Action lay becaufe he had the Lord's Order: For 
 though he might fine to the Value, it did not anfwer, becaufe at that 
 rate, Men might enfranchife the Copyhold, in fpite of the Lord's 
 Teeth. He hath faid that the greateft Trouble he had in thofe Af- 
 fairs, was to fatisfy fome greedy Lords, or rather Ladies of Manors, 
 in fetting the Fines, and in being, in fome Meafure, an Executioner 
 of their Cruelty upon poor Men. And, in very good earneft, it is a 
 miferable Thing to obferve how Sharpers, that now are commonly 
 Court-keepers, pinch the poor Copyholders in their Fees. Small Te- 
 nements, and Pieces of Land, that have been Mens Inheritances for 
 diverfe Generations, to fay nothing of the Fines, are devour'd by 
 Fees, So that, if it were only to relieve the pooreft of the Land 
 Owners of the Nation from fuch Extortions and Oppreflions, with- 
 out more, there is Reafon enough to abolifh the Tenure. It was fome- 
 
 what
 
 Managed 
 fome Law- 
 Suits. 
 
 14 Tie L I FE of the late 
 
 what unequal, when the Parliament took away the royal Tenures in 
 Capite, that the lefier Tenures of the Gentry were left expofed to as 
 grievous Abufes as the former. The State of that Matter feems now at 
 the worft; for Copyhold Tenures continually wafte, and cannot be 
 renewed or encreafed : So that moft Manors are more than half loft. 
 Either abolifh all bafe Tenures, or let Gentlemen enlarge them as they 
 pleafe ; and that perhaps may tend to fome Repopulation, which is 
 more needed than any Means of Extortion. 
 
 His Lordmip, while he was a Student, and during his Incapacity 
 to practife aboveboard, was contented to underpull, as they call it, 
 and managed diverfe Suits for his Country Friends and Relations; 
 which he faid was ufeful to him in letting him into a Knowledge of 
 the Offices, and the Methods ufed there ; for he was always in Per- 
 fon prefent at every Turn in whatever Bufmefs he undertook. In a 
 Caufe for his Father againft Sir John Lawrence, he recover'd 3oo/. 
 and brought in a very moderate Bill of Charges ; which pleafed his 
 Father, who expeded a great deal more. He made ufe of Mr. Baker, 
 a Solicitor in Chancery, who, for his fmgular Integrity, was famous, 
 and, on this Occafion, ought to be remember'd with Honour. His 
 Lordmip had a Veneration for this Mr. Baker as long as he lived. 
 When his Lordmip paid his Bill, the virtuous Solicitor laid by a Sum 
 (according to an ufual Rate) for him, faying that it was their Way, 
 and they were allow'd at the Offices fomewhat for Encouragement to 
 them that brought Bufinefs. By this we fee what Country and other 
 Attornies get by Chancery Suits. But his Lordmip would not touch 
 a Penny, but turn'd it back upon the good Man's Hands. 
 The like for He alfo managed a Suit for his Grandfather with the likeSuccefs; 
 
 h u S Gra j d |V and, in the Clofe of that, fomewhat comical happening, I am pro- 
 trier, and his ' . . . . ' . . . * r /- 
 vindication, vokcd to relate St. And indeed what have we to remember of a young 
 
 Man, but Things that really fell out, and, in his Circumftances, not 
 inconfiderable ? After this Suit ended, his Lordmip fent to his Grand- 
 father the bitter Pill, the Solicitor's Bill of Cofts, and the old Man 
 fent him the Money, and he paid it. And afterwards, the noble 
 Client review'd his Bill over and over; for, however moderately and 
 huibandly the Caufe was managed, he thought the Sum Total a great 
 deal too much for the Lawyers. And, among other Items, he ob- 
 ferved great Numbers of Sheets in the Bill, and fo for the Anfwer and 
 Depofitions, befides many Breviates, Orders, &c. as belong to a Chan- 
 cery Cafe And he had heard in the Country of fuch Bills whereof 
 no Entry at all was in the Offices (no Miracle in our Days) and then, 
 knowing Frank North to be a nimble Spark, he concluded that thefe 
 Items wereSuppofitions, and that he had fwallowed the Money : And, 
 after the Way of wilful People, upon a bare Sufpicion, concluding a 
 
 Certainty,
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 
 
 Certainty, he deliberated how to catch him, (as it were) in the Fact, 
 and then to expofe him to perpetual Shame and Ruin. And, purfuant 
 to this pious Refolution, he writes to Mr. Langhorn of the Temple 
 (who afterwards fuffer'd in Oates's Plot) to caufe Searches to be made, 
 and to fend him Word if any fuch Proceedings, of which he gave 
 him the Account, were enter'd in the Offices. Whether it was by 
 Guefs, perfunctory Searches, or the Perfon employ'd took the Money 
 and cheated the Offices, I know not j but it is certain that Langhorn 
 return'd Anfwer, that no fuch Proceedings 'were to be found upon the 
 File in any of the Offices where they Jhould have been enter d, or any 
 Copies of fuch made out. This was Nuts to the old Lord, who 
 thought he had outwitted Frank-, and, while he was in London, ufed 
 to talk very myflerioufly of him ; as that, Frank had Wit enough, but 
 thisHoneJly, Honefty, was a rare Thing. The Meaning of all which, 
 the Family about him did not in the leaft apprehend. When Frank 
 was about to come down, the old Man wrote to him to bring with 
 him the Papers that belonged to his Cafe. And fo it refted till the 
 young Man arrived j and then, for about a Week, all was well ; in 
 which Time, all the News and London Matters were talk'd over and 
 difpatch'd. And then, after Dinner, the old Lord turn'd to Frank, 
 and Where are the Papers, faid he ? The other anfwer'd, he 
 would go fetch them. This did not work well, but ftill the Event 
 was expected ; and, after a little Paufe, Frank return'd with a Bale of 
 Papers under his Arm, and fet it down upon the Table, {landing by 
 it in Expectation of what would be faid to him. The old Lord, 
 being utterly frustrated in his Expectations, turn'd about the Room 
 quicker than ordinary ; and, as he mended his Pace, Frank was in 
 great Doubt what was to become of him. At laft he ventured to fay, 
 My Lord, what is your Pleafure I jhall do with thefe Papers ? The 
 old Lord ftopt mort, and turning, faid, Wipe your A e with them. 
 That Anfwer was not at all expected ; and, after a little Paufe, he 
 ask'd again what he Jhould do with them? And his Lordihip ftopt 
 ihort again, and, twice as loud as before, faid he, Why, don't I tell 
 ye ? wipe your A e with them. And there ended all his Concern 
 about thofe Papers ; and Frank was reftored to Favour. This Hifto- 
 riette manifefts the little Safety there is in falfe Dealing, as much as 
 the loftier Accounts of Hazards, or Decadences of great Minifters of 
 the Court : For if this young Lawyer, for want of Experience, or 
 (we muft fay) of Honeity, had dabbled in a very common Practice, of 
 ihamming a falfe Bill, he had been caught and undone. And on 
 the other Side, being faithful and juft, with the Teftimony of Things 
 to difculpate him, what a Triumph had he over a fevere old Man, 
 that had rejoiced to have expofed him? And how ftrongly is the 
 
 D Con-
 
 i6 The LIFE of the late 
 
 Confequence of a very trite Maxim (in Mouths, but rare in Hearts) 
 verified by this Inftance, that Honejiy is the beft Policy? And there is 
 this farther LefTon, in it, that young Men, in making their Fortunes, 
 muft depend, and are obliged to. bear with Humours and Injuftices 
 from thofe they depend on : And, in that School of the World, they 
 learn to be reafonable and juft themfelves ; for few Men ever value 
 Reafon and Juftice, till they have fharply felt, and fo have been made 
 fenfible of the contrary. 
 
 Concern'd in There was an Emergence in the Family of his Lordfhip's Grand- 
 a Family Re- at j ier which, as to the Oeconomy of it, was of the laft Importance: 
 
 Volution, tO i . -i i r l/l 1 1 i / A r 1 
 
 his Lofs. And in regard it drew m his Lordihip to be the chief Actor in the 
 Scene, and, as Things then flood, a bold Undertaker, and mews him 
 fo early thought fit to be employ 'd and entrufted in nice Performan- 
 ces, I (hall give a Relation of it. The old Lord, belides his reverend 
 Steward mention'd before, had two other Servants of a French Race, 
 who were his Favourites. One was call'd Bertram St. Genes, that 
 had fcarce Englijh enough to make himfelf underftood ; but a grofs 
 Sycophant, and (if honeft) moft unfit for Bufinefs. He had married 
 the other's Sifter, and had Children, for whom a Habitation was pre- 
 pared near Hand. He was a very little Fellow, and ferved as a Valet 
 de Chambre, and had thereby Means to infmuate to the Prejudice of 
 the reft of the Family. But the other, Monfieur le Blanc, in Englijh 
 (as he was called) White, was a brifk, gay Spark, that had been bred 
 at Court (fuch as it was) a Page to Sir John Dangers, one of the 
 King's Judges. He could dance, fing, and play very neatly on the 
 Violin, was good Company, and ferved as a Gentleman Waiter, and 
 was moft acceptable in his mufical Capacity. It fell out, very un- 
 luckily for the Family, that the old Lord quarrelled with, his good 
 Steward ; and, as his Humour was to be very tyrannical and vindica- 
 tive, fo he had taken a Refolution never to be in the wrong. And he 
 cared not whom he perfecuted, nor how unjuftly or unreafonably, if 
 it tended, as he thought, to juftify any Thing he had done : And the 
 more miftaken he found himfelf, the more violent was he in his Pro- 
 ceedings; as if, by that Means, he was to fet himfelf right. Thefe 
 are the Dregs of an old Courtier. But furely he tormented the poor 
 old Man by Revilings, and Law Suits, and at laft broke his Heart j 
 and he died. But, upon the firft turning him off, there was a Place 
 fallen, no lefs than the premier Minifter in that Family ; and the 
 Queftion came, who mould fucceed him ? Sir Dudley North, his 
 Lordfhip'* Father, was really afflifted at the hard Ufage of the old 
 Steward ; and more at the Ruin he forefaw would follow, if that 
 rafcally Monfieur, who was worfe than good for nothing, was made 
 Steward. There never was an Inftance of filial Duty to a Parent 
 3 more
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 
 
 more eminent than that of Sir Dudley North to his Father. He lived 
 to a good old Age before the Barony defcended upon him, and had 
 flood as an eldeft Son of a Peer, at the State in the Houfe of Lords, 
 at Sixty- three. He never would put on his Hat, or fit down before 
 his Father, unlefs enjoined to do it. So far was he from moving any 
 Thing to him that he knew would difpleafe him ; and fo egregious 
 was this dutiful Demeanour, that all People took Notice of and ad- 
 mired it. And fome were fo affured to fay, that Sir Dudley had his 
 Reward in living to fee all his own Children, who were not a few, 
 male and female, both dutiful to him, and fettled profperoufly, ac- 
 cording to their feveral Pretenfions, in the World. But Sir Dudley^ 
 dreading the Advancement of this Bertram, encouraged his Son Frank, 
 who feem'd a Favourite alfo, to reprefent to the old Lord the Un- 
 fitnefs of that Fellow to be his Steward j and he accordingly ventured 
 to fay, he hoped his Lordjhip did not intend to make Choice of him. 
 Why fo ? faid the old Lord. What can you charge Bertram 'with ? 
 He anfwered, that for many Tears he had the Charge of his Wine 
 and Jlrong Beer Cellar, and never gave his Lordjhip an Account of 
 that, or any Thing be was entrujled with. This was but too true, 
 and could not be denied. Then the old Man, rearing himfelf a lit- 
 tle, Who then, faid he, would you have to be Steward ? He anfwer'd, 
 Mr. White. And that was worfe and worfe, becaufe he was a Favou- 
 rite alfo 5 and Frank North's Defignation of him, in that Manner, 
 could not fairly be quarrelled with. Whereupon the old Lord rofe 
 up, and, lapping his Cloak about, as he ufed when angry, without 
 faying more, went out, leaving the young Man in great Sufpence, not 
 knowing what was to become of him. The old Lord went to his 
 Cabinet, and took out a Codicil he had made to his Will, and car- 
 ried it to his Son Dudley ; and, Look here, Son, faid he, / had given 
 Frank Twenty Pounds a Tear, but he has offended me, and here is his 
 Reward-, fo threw it into the Fire : And, from that Time, contrived 
 all the Ways he could to defame and ruin him. Sir Dudley repaired 
 his Son Frank by a Leafe of a Houfe in London, and encouraged him 
 by his Approval of his Fidelity and Courage. But the old Man flill 
 made Ufe of Frank for his Diverfion ; and, Teeth outwards, was kind 
 to him : But he muft fometimes bear a Gird or two upon account of 
 the Steward, which, at laft, proved to be the Monfieur. But he lived 
 not long enough to do muchMifchief ; for a Government, long kept 
 in good Order, will not be put out all at once. And, after Frank 
 (at his next Term) was gone to London, the old Lord made a Servant 
 write to him, and at the Bottom were thefe Words : In Confilium ne 
 accefferis antequam voceris ; that is, Do not offer your Advice bejore 
 it is ajked. The Reafon of which was, that the Bitternefs of his Re- 
 
 D 2 pentance
 
 2 S The LIFE of the late 
 
 pentance might not wear off. This was the laft Tranfaction, in that 
 Family, which much concern'd his Lord (hip: And, if thefe Relations 
 are thought of fmall Import; to mend that Fault, I can- add only, that 
 they concern my Subject, and are true: And, from a private Family, 
 let the Imagination transfer the Scene to fome royal and imperial Court, 
 changing the Names of Perfons and Offices, and the whole may be 
 feen fprout up into the Altitude of State Intrigues. 
 
 charatfer. I have fo far conducted his Lordfhip, as to be ready for the Bar. 
 But, before I touch upon that, I {hall take fome Notice of his Cha- 
 racter, as the fame appear'd in this firft Stage of his Life. He was of 
 a low Stature, but had an amiable ingenious Afpedt, and his Conver- 
 fation was anfwerable, being ever agreable to his Company. His 
 Hair grew to a confiderable Length, but was hard and ftiff, and did 
 not fall as the reft of the Family, which made it bum fomewhat, and 
 not without a Mixture of red and grey. As to his Humour, he was 
 free from Vanity himfelf, and hated it in others. His youthful Habits 
 were never gay, or topping the Mode, like other Inns of Court Gen- 
 tlemen, but always plain and clean, and (hewed fomewhat of Firm- 
 nefs or Solidity beyond his Age. His Defire was rather not to be feen 
 at all, than to be marked by his Drefs. In thofe Things, to the Ex- 
 treme was his Aim ; that is, not to be cenfured for a carelefs Sloven, 
 rather than to be commended for being well dreiTed. But, as to his 
 appearing in publick, the Compofition of his Temper was extraordi- 
 nary ; for he had Wit, Learning and Elocution, and knew it, and 
 was not fenfible of any notable Failings, whereof to accufe himfelf; 
 and yet was modeft even to a Weaknefs. I believe a more fhamefaced 
 Creature, than he was, never came into the World : He could fcarce 
 bear the being feen in any publick Places. I have heard him fay, that, 
 when he was a Student, and ate in the Temple Hall, if he faw any 
 Company there, he could not walk in till other Company came ; 
 behind whom, as he enter'd, he might be fhaded from the View ^of 
 the reft. And he ufed to ftand dodging at the Screen, till fuch Op- 
 portunity arrived ; for it was Death to him to walk up alone in 
 open View. This native Modefty was a good Guard againft Vice, 
 which is not defperately purfued by young Men, without a fort of 
 Boldnefs and Effrontery in their Natures. Therefore Ladies, and other 
 fond People, are greatly miftaken, when they defire that Boys mould 
 have the Garb of Men, and ufurp Aflurance in the Province of Shame- 
 facednefs. Bamfulnefs in the one, hath the Effect of Judgment m 
 the other. And where Judgment, as in Youth, is commonly wanted, 
 if there be not Modefty, what Guard has poor Nature againft the In- 
 centives of Vice? Therefore it is an happy Difpofition ; for when 
 Bamfulnefs wears off, Judgment comes on : And, by Judgment, I mean 
 
 a real
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 2 j> 
 
 a real Experience of Things that enables a Man to chufe for him- 
 felf, and, in fo doing, to determine wifely. 
 
 His loofe Entertainments, in this Stage, were, as ufual with Gen- His Diver- 
 tlemen Cadets of noble Families in the Country, fporting on Horfe- flaus - 
 back ; for which there was Opportunity enough at his Grandfather's 
 Houfe, where was a very large and well-ftock'd Deer Park ; and, at 
 leaft twice a Week, in the Seafon, there was killing of Deer. The 
 Method then was for the Keeper, with a large Crofs-bow and Arrow, 
 to wound the Deer, and two or three difciplined Park Hounds pur- 
 fued till he dropped. There was moft of the Country Sports ufed 
 there for diverting a large Family, as Setting, Couriing, Bowling ; 
 and he was in it all ; and, within Doors, Back- gammon and Cards 
 with his Fraternity and others : Wherein his Parts did not fail him, 
 for he was an expert Gamefter. He ufed to pleafe himfelf with Rail- 
 lery, as he found any that, by Minority of Age, or Majority of Folly 
 and Self-Conceit, were expofed to be fo practifed upon. I could give 
 Inftances enough of this Sort, and not unpleafant, if fuch Trifles 
 were to be indulged in a Defign fuch as mine is. His mofl folemn 
 Entertainment was Mufick, in which he was not only Mafter, but 
 Doctor. This for the Country 5 where, to make good his Exhibition, 
 he was contented (though, in Truth, forced) to pafs the greater Part 
 of his Time, But, in Town, he had his Select of Friends and Ac- 
 quaintance ; and, with them, he pafied his Time merrily and profi- 
 tably, for he was as brifk at every Diverfion as the beft. Even after 
 his Purfe flowed fufHciently, a petit Supper and a Bottle always pleafed 
 him. But he fell into no Courfe of Excefs or Vice ; and, whenever 
 he was a little overtaken, it was a Warning to him to take better Care 
 afterwards : And, againft Women, his Modefty was an effectual Guard j 
 though he was as much inclined as any Man, which made him de- 
 iirous to marry. And that made his Continence a pofitive Virtue ; 
 for who may not be good, that is not inclined to evil ? The Virtue 
 of Goodnefs is where a contrary Inclination is ftrove with, and con- 
 quered. He was, in Town, a noted Hunter of Mufick Meetings ; 
 and very often, the Fancy prevail'd to go about Town and fee Trades 
 work ; which is a very diverting and inftructive Entertainment.. There 
 was not any Thing extraordinary which he did not, if he might, vifit, 
 for his Information as well as Diverfion ; as Engines, Shews, Lectures, 
 and even fo low as to hear Hugh Peters preach. I have heard him 
 fay, that when Hugh had made his Clofe, he told his Congregation 
 that a gifted Brother had a Defire to hold forth j and then up rofe Sir 
 Peter Pet ; and he, though a mere Layman, prayed and preached 
 his Turn out. That Gentleman lived to be an old Man in Town; 
 and moft People knew him, that little thought he had been once a 
 
 Preacher,.
 
 3 o The LIFE of the late 
 
 Preacher. The old Lord and Lady Anglefey (while fhe lived) fup- 
 ported him ; and, at the Revolution, Sir Peter and his Lordfhip pub- 
 Mi'd Books wherein one of the chief Performances lay in the com- 
 mending each other: Which notable Band of Friendfhip had its Root 
 in the Time of the Irijh Rebellion. 
 
 Called to the Now, being to leave his Lordmip in this Stage, inverted with a 
 Bar without Title, and beginning to practife the Law, I muft obferve his Prepa- 
 Favour. ratives. He was not call'd to the Bar ex Gratia, or for Favour, as 
 when the Perfon is not of {landing, or hath not performed his Exer- 
 cifesj but being early admitted, his Time was fully run out, and he 
 perform'd all his Moots both in the Inns of Chancery (for it is the 
 Cuftom for the Inns of Court to fend down Readers, to moot, in the 
 Inns dependent on them) and alfo in the Hall j and not perfunctorily, 
 as of latter Times the Ufe is, by way of Opus operatum^ as for Tale 
 and not for Weight, but in well-ftudied Arguments, wherein he fol- 
 lowed the Example, it may be the Inflation, of his Friend and Pa- 
 tron Sir Jeofry Palmer^ whofe Moots are excellent Readings, as the 
 original Manufcripts, refting in my Cuftody, may (hew: And I have 
 alfo fome 1 ike Tefti monies of his Lordfhlp's endeavours that fame Way. 
 1 have heard him fay that it is p; intent not over foon to launch into 
 Practice ; for it is obferved tkit no Peifon encreafeth his Store of Law 
 after he is called to the Bar and enteis upon Practice. His Judgment 
 and Knowledge of Forms may encreafe, but his Book Learning is at 
 a Stay, becaufe Bulinefs, either found, or purfued, fills his Head j fo 
 that even reading doth him little Good. Wherefore' it is faid that he, 
 who is not a good Lawyer before he comes to the Bar, will never be a 
 good one after it. After he was called to the Bar (which, as they term 
 it, was ex Debito Jujlitia) he did not, as many lefs qualified have 
 done, buftle about Town, and obtrude themfelves upon Attornies, 
 and perhaps bargain for Bufinefs; but lay quiet: And the chief Alte- 
 ration in his Way of appearing, was this. Inftead of his being potted 
 within the Court, as a Student to take Notes, he did the fame ftand- 
 ing at the Bar; and if Chance, or a Friend, brought a Motion, of 
 Courfe it was welcome. 
 
 xt hib plTndt f The Exhibition > allow'd his Lordmip by his Father, was, at firft, fixty 
 *T!f. redu- Pounds per Annum. But the Family being hard pinched, for Supplies, 
 d to fifty, towards educating and difpofing many younger Children, and his Pa- 
 rents obferving him to pick up fome Pence by Court-keeping, befides an 
 Allowance of twenty Pounds/><?r dnnumfrom his Grandfather, and a little 
 by Practice, they thought fit to reduce him to fifty Pounds. This fat hard 
 upon his Spirits, and produced diverfe notable-penn'd Letters, Pod after 
 Port, complaining upon all the Topicks of an hard Cafe, that could 
 be thought of. He never pleaded fo earneftly for the beft Fee that 
 
 ever
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 31 
 
 ever he had. At length there comes a Letter from his Father, which 
 he opened with precipitous Hafte, in Hopes of a favourable Anfwer; 
 
 and there he found Frank, I fuppofe by this Time, having vented 
 
 all your Difcontent, you are fatisfied with 'what I have done, &c. 
 There funk all his Hopes upon that Point. But, to do Right to his 
 good Father, he paid him that Fifty Pounds a Year, as long as he 
 lived, faying he would not diicourage Induflry by rewarding it, whea 
 fuccefsful, with Lofs. 
 
 One of his Lordmip's firfl Clients, and for whom he had a great Re- Affixed in car- 
 fpect, becaufe he had the Office of keeping his Courts early, was Mr.n^sj^fc 
 Stutvile of Dalham near New-market. This Gentleman was a Com- ^ 
 pound of Irregularity, and one of his Feats had like to have coft him 
 dear; for he was taken napping with the Wife of one Robinfon", on 
 which, Death, without honourable Satisfaction, was to follow. The 
 giving the low Satisfaction, that is Money, was the milder Dofe of the 
 two; and that muft be a peremptory Bond for the Payment of Fif- 
 teen Hundred Pounds, on which Condition the Bond was to be void. 
 This Bond was made by a Scrivener, and very well ; though at the 
 
 Oofe of the Condition, the Words elfe to remain in full Force, were 
 
 not added. After the Sealing, Mr. Robinfon brought his Bond to the 
 Scrivener, and fwore to be the Death of him if he did not mend it, 
 by adding thofe Words. Here is a Condition, faid he, fo make the 
 Bond void, but none to make it good. It is good, faid the Scrivener, if 
 there be no Words to avoid it-, and 1 mayfpoil, but cannot mend the 
 Bond. That was all one, he muft do it, and did it. And then the Scri- 
 vener honeftly told the Obliger, what he had been forced to ; fo that 
 was laid up for a Plea to avoid the Bond. But Mr. Robinfon, advifing. 
 with Counfel about fuing, was told his Bond was utterly voided by 
 his adding Words to the Condition after Sealing. Then he was advifed 
 not to put it to Suit till the Scrivener was dead. His Lordmip, and other 
 of Mr. Stutvile's Counfel, perceiving that, contrived to bring the Point 
 foon to a Trial,, by preferring an Information, in the King's Bench, a- 
 gainft Robinfon for Forgery ; and if, upon the Scrivener's Teftimony, 
 he fhould be convict, that Record would remain againft the Bond for 
 ever. Robinfon, finding himfelf caught, and no Remedy, complied 
 by delivering up the Bond ; and fo got rid of the Information. But 
 this unexpected Succefs made fuch an Impreffion on Stutvile's wild 
 Brains, that he thought there could be no Law-fuit defperatej and, 
 from that Time, he never did any Manjuftice, but ruined himfelf by 
 perverfe Law-fuits, and at laft, died in a Gaol. Perhaps, if he had 
 paid the Fifteen hundred Pounds, his Punifhment had been lefs. 
 
 After his Lordmip was called to the Bar, the firft Thing, he took Provides a 
 care for, was a Practifing Chamber, as they call thofe which are not p r h a a ^ c b e er a ^ 
 
 above. Books"'
 
 32 The LIFE of the late 
 
 above two Pair of Stairs high. The Ground Chamber is not fo well 
 efteemed as one Pair of Stairs, but yet better than two ; and the Price 
 is accordingly. He fold his little Student's Chamber, and alfo the Leafe 
 of a Houfe his Father gave him, which raifed near Three hundred Pounds ; 
 and, with that Sum, he bought his Life in a Corner Chamber, one 
 Pair of Stairs in Elme Court. A difmal Hole for the Price; for it 
 was not only dark next the Court, but, on the Back- fide, an high 
 Building of the Inner Temple flood within five or fix Yards of his Win- 
 dows : But yet, fome more Room, and a large Study being gained, he 
 thought himfelf greatly preferred: And he foon filled his Shelves 
 with all the ufeful Books of the Law which he wanted. His Mo- 
 ther had made a Collection of Legacies and Gifts to him, when very 
 young; and, when he firft went to the Inns of Court, fhe gave him an 
 exact Account, to the Time, caft up with the Intereft, and paid him 
 the Sum total at once j and, with that Stock, he made out a good 
 Student's Library. 
 
 AiMedaBro- About this Time, his Brother Dudley, who had lived in London di- 
 therat parting. V erfe Years, in the feveral States of Preparation for Trading ? s a Turkey 
 Merchant, was fent abroad, by his Mafter, in a long round-about Voyage, 
 by Archangel in Ruffia, to Smyrna j an Account of which Voyage will 
 be found in the Relation of that Gentleman's Life. He had, at his 
 going out, from his Father, but a fingle Hundred pound Stock to 
 trade with j and his Lordfhip augmented it by lending him two hundred 
 Pounds, which was all the Wealth he could value himfelf upon, before 
 hand j and of that, by the Voyage and Mortality, he run no fmall Rifque. 
 This was a melancholy Parting ; for they had been bred, and much con- 
 verfant together, and, fraternal Relation apart, were joined in theftricteft 
 perfonalFriendfhip : And now, when they were arrived to a State of en- 
 joying each other in Perfection, worldly Engagements obliged them to 
 feparate. But this Kindnefs of his Lordfhip's was rewarded, by living to 
 fee his Brother come home wealthy, and, foon after, flourifliing, not 
 only in the City but alfo, at Court in the King's Service. 
 
 Correfponded, Thefe two Brothers and Friends held a continual Correfpondence 
 e by Letters ; but more frequent and expatiated at firft than afterwards, 
 when Bufinefs encreafed fo much upon both as abated the Ardor of 
 writing often and long. It fell out that when Mr. Dudley North firft 
 arrived at Smyrna, or foon after, the Factory was ferved by one Broad- 
 gate, as their Chaplain, fent out, for that End, by the Turkey Com- 
 pany. He had been a Fellow of St. Johns College in Cambridge, 
 ,and preferred to a Living in Effex, where the Gentleman, there refiding, ' 
 was fo offended at hisUnfitnefs and ill Carriage, that, to get rid of him, 
 he made an Intereft, and paumed him upon the Turkey Company, and 
 Jo he came to be fent to Smyrna. The young Factors are commonly 
 
 generous
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 33 
 
 generous Fellows, and ftand much upon Honour (in thofe Parts at leafr, 
 whatever they prove when they come home) they revere and gratify 
 their Pappas, as they call him, if he behave himfelf well; but, if other- 
 wife, they lead him a Life (as they fay) like a Dog. This Perfon was 
 a Prefbyterian Bigot, and not without a Flaw in his Cranium. And 
 he made Account that he was to prefide over Boys, and to teach them 
 Religion: And, to that End, had framed a Catechifm, and got it print- 
 ed; and a Bale of thefe, ftitched in blue Paper, went along with him, 
 and were delivered out to all the Factory ; and he took particular No- 
 tice of Mr. Dudley North, telling him that his Brother Francis was 
 his Fellow Collegiate and intimate Friend, and, for his fake, he would 
 be very kind to him. But the Parfon was guilty of fo many barbarous 
 Impertinences (as may be found particularifed in that Gentleman's 
 Life) that the young Factor wrote to his Brother Francis, telling the 
 various Extravagances and Follies committed by him there, and defiring 
 to have an Account of him and his Character. His Lordfhip foon 
 wrote, and informed him that Broadgate was the Laughing-flock of 
 the College; and fo made good Payment in Stories of him here. This 
 Letter was communicated about in the Factory, and the Parfon under- 
 flood how he came to be fo derided as he was. Upon ^hat, he goes 
 to Mr. Dudley North, and defired to have his Brother's Letter, that he 
 might fue him in England for taking away his Reputation. The 
 Merchant would not do that ; but told the Parfon, that, if he had it, 
 it would do him no Service, for he would prove that he had no Repu- 
 tation before the Letter came, fo could lofe none by that: And then, 
 turning over his Copy-book of Letters, he read to him his leading Let- 
 ter to his Brother, in which were all the Stories and Terms of Derifion. 
 as could be, to make him contemptible. This was plain enough to the 
 Parfon ; and it was all he got by his Attempt. This was one of thofe 
 notable Men that obliged the little Fellow-Commoner of St. Johns 
 College with Opportunities of making ridiculous Remarks. As, for 
 Inftance, that he fpent his Time watching at his Window; and if he 
 faw Strangers in the Court, then he made his Clock ftrike, that it 
 might be plain to them that a Clock flruck in his Chamber. And, 
 if many Scholars were in the Court, he went down on Purpofe to 
 make them cap him. And the Book, that lay on his Table, had broad 
 Pieces in the Leaves, which Vifitants, opening, might diicover; and 
 other iuch kind of vain Follies, whereof the early Obfervation might 
 poffibly help to make his Lordfhip naufeate all Kind of Vanity, as 
 he did for ever after. 
 
 The Lofs of this good Brother was, in fome Meafure, repaired by Endearment 
 the frequent Enjoyment of another, John North, who had alfo, for 
 fome Years, been bred with him; but, being fettled in another Way ' 
 
 of Study in the Univerfity of Cambridge, they came not often together, 
 
 E but
 
 34 The LIFE of the late 
 
 but at Friends Houfes in Times of Recefs, and, fometimes, by Recourfe 
 of the Scholar to London. And their Endearments encreafed conti- 
 nually, ending in a perfect and untainted Love and Friendfhip to each 
 other ; of which more may be faid in the Life of this Brother John, 
 afterwards Dr. North. 
 
 Solicitous a- About this Time his Lordfhip, notwithftanding his being called to 
 Health" 3 ^ le Bar ' fU wed ^is Studies very clofe, and attended the Courts at 
 Wejlminjier, and reported diligently; and if there were any famed 
 Caufe to be argued and determined, in what Court foever it was, he 
 would be a prefent Auditor and Reporter of it; efpecially before Hales 
 while he fat in the Common Pleas. And, obliging himfelf to that 
 Spider-kind of Life which a young Lawyer leads in his Chamber, he 
 began to contract certain fplenetick Reflections touching his Health, 
 always thinking fome Fever, Confumption, or other Difeafe, creeping 
 upon him, and inclined much to Phyiick for Prevention. Once he re- 
 paired to Dr. Bokenham of Bury with a Lift of Complaints. But the 
 Doctor could find no Ground for any of them, nor to fufpect him 
 ill ; but laughed at him, and fent him away. This Correction a- 
 fwaged the Spleen a little; but he was not cured till a Deluge of 
 Bnfinefs drowned all fuch Kind of Thoughts. But he had one Symp- 
 tom which often alarmed him, which was much Spitting; but, in 
 Truth, it was a Benefit of Nature : For it was plain that a noxious 
 Phlegm difcharged itfelf that Way ; for, while his Spitting continued, 
 he was always well, but, if that flopped, he was as furely ill. He 
 was all his Life felicitous about his Health, and fearful of getting 
 Cold; for which End he went thick clad, and wore a broad Sto- 
 macher on his Breaft ; and, commonly, a little Leather Cap, which 
 Sort was then called Sculcaps; but thofe devolved to other Ufes I mall 
 mention after v/ar as. 
 
 Soon after his being called to the BaI " J he began to feel himfelf Jl1 
 Bufinefs, and, as a frem young Man of good Character, had the Fa- 
 vour of diverfe Perfons that, out of a good Will, went to him, and 
 fome near Relations. He was once afked if he took Fees of fuch. 
 TeSy faid he; they come to do me a Kindnefs; and what Kindnefs have I 
 if 1 refufe their Money? The Attornies alfo were very civil to him, 
 and brought him Motions, which gave him Opportunity of /hewing 
 himfelf; and thefe Obligations he remembered to the laft, and returned 
 them when it came to his Turn to oblige with any juft Favour he 
 could (hew : And he never failed to do it. His Acquaintance was fa 
 diffufed through the whole Relation and Dependance of Sir Jeofry 
 P aimer > that he had them all entirely, and indeed, as well before as 
 after he was called to the Bar, he lived as one almoft ingrafted in 
 the Family; and, not only his Intereft was greatly derived from thence 
 but t his Convcrfation was almoft confined to them ; and they were all
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 
 
 {Q eafy and friendly to each other, that they lived and converfed as if 
 they had been literally of a Family. His Wheel of good Fortune 
 turned upon the Favour of Mr. Attorney Palmer, whereon the Crifis 
 of his Preferments in the Law moved. But before I come to fet 
 forth the Hiftory of that, and enlarge farther upon his Lorddiip's 
 better Fortunes, I will difpatch one or two of his moft fenfible Griefs. 
 
 The firft was the Lofs of a Sifter, named Mary, who was married 
 to Sir William Spring in Suffolk, and died not long after the Birth of ter, and her 
 her firft Child, and the Child not long after her. He had a parti- Charaftcr. 
 cular Engagement of Friendmip and brotherly Love to that Lady, 
 who, befides the Advantage of her Perfon, had a fuperior Wit, pro- 
 digious Memory, and was moft agreable in Converfation. I do juft 
 remember fo much of her (for I was very young when me married) 
 that, for Hours and Hours together, fhe diverted her Sifters and all 
 the female Society at Work together (as the Ufe of that Family was) 
 with rehearfing by Heart prolix Romances, with the Subftance of 
 Speeches and Letters, as well as Paflages ; and this with little or no 
 Hefitation, but in a continual Series of Difcourfe: The very Memory 
 of which is to me, at this Day, very wonderful. She inftituted a fort 
 of Order of the Wits of her Time and Acquaintance, whereof the 
 Symbol was a Sun with a Circle touching the Rays, and, upon that, 
 in a blue Ground, were wrote * cLvra^K^ in the proper Greek Charac- 
 ters, which her Father fuggefted. Diverfe of thefe were made in Sil- 
 ver and Enamel, but, in Embroidery, Plenty, which were difperfed 
 to thofe wittified Ladies who were willing to come into the Order; 
 and, for a while they were formally worn, till the Foundrefs fell 
 under the Government of another, and then it was left off. 
 
 Next to this, the Lofs of his Lordfhip's Bofom Friend Mr. Edward Lofs of Mr. 
 Palmer, Mr. Attorney Palmer's younger Son, afflicted him. I have 
 heard him fay he never was fo fenfible of a Paffion of Grief, as upon 
 his Death: And, for a long Time after, he eafed himfelf often upon the Attorney's Fa- 
 Impotence of Crying. For, beiides the living Amity between them, in 
 that Moment, loft, he was prefent, embraced, and held him in his 
 Arms when he died ; than which nothing could more aggravate his 
 Sorrow. This Friendmip began by Mefs-making in the Temple-Hall, 
 and brought his Lordmip into other beneficial Acquaintance, as of 
 the Hydes, then, related to the greateft Employments in the Law: One 
 of that Name, whofe younger Son was of the Middle rfemple, had the 
 Great Seal as Lord Chancellor, and another was Lord Chief Juft ice of 
 the King's- Bench; and this Acquaintance owned his Lordfhip for a Re- 
 lation, and was cultivated by him with all the Application he could 
 
 * That is felf-fufficient. 
 
 E 2 make.
 
 3 J The LIFE, of the late 
 
 make. But this Mr. Palmer firft brought his Lordmip to the Attor- 
 ney General's Knowledge and Familiarity, and the very great Benefits 
 to him thereby. For he, not only had his Direction and Affiftance, as 
 well as Encouragement, in his Studies but, was by him, as it were, 
 led by the Hand into the Highway of Preferment. For that great 
 and fudden Encreafe of his Lordmip's Practice, which I mentioned 
 before, may not be entirely afcribed to Capacity. It is more than pror 
 bable that, in Procefs of Time, he had advanced himfelf by the pure 
 Strength of his Genius, but not by fuch large Strides as he made in 
 getting Money and loping into Preferments, as he did, without the 
 Aid of Friends and good Fortune; for Circumftances of Perfons and 
 Times were moft propitious to his Character. And, of thofe happy 
 Contingents, the firft was this Friendmip of Sir Jeofry Palmer, which 
 conduced much to the Luftre of his Lordmip's Reputation. 
 Serviceable to And therein the Attorney General did no lefs ferve himfelf; for he 
 Ge'nerT ^ made ufe of his Coufm North (as he moft kindly ufed to ftyle him) 
 in being perfonated by him in WeJlminJler-Hall, and otherwife by his 
 Confults upon Motions of Law depending: For, at the latter End 
 of his Time, he grew very infirm and weak; and when he could not 
 attend in the Court of King's-Bench to give Accounts and Anfwers 
 to the Court in the King's Affairs, as belonged to his Office, he di- 
 rected his Lordfhip with Inflructions to do it for him, and he acquit- 
 ted himfelf therein with fuch decent Modefty, as well as neat and 
 concife Speaking, as got him no little Credit. Mr. Jones at the Bar, 
 who had the capital Practice of that Court, was much difturbed at the 
 Advances this young Gentleman made fo near his Territory, and 
 could not forbear flirting at him, as - Come^ Mr. Deputy Attorney^ 
 what have you to fay now? You are to be of the King's Counfel Jhortly ; 
 and the like: Which mewed a Spirit of Ambition and Envy, and 
 was an Occafion of fome Inconvenience to his Lordfhip, as will be 
 Shewed elfewhere. I have heard his Lordfhip fay, that once, at the 
 Defire of the Attorney General, he had confulted Books, and gathered 
 together, upon a Paper, the Reafons of Law upon a Cafe he (the At- 
 torney) was to argue ; and that he ufed that very Paper, and argued 
 almoft Word for V/ord out of it. And I have fuch a Paper wrote 
 by his Lordfhip, with fome Notes, of the Attorney's Hand, in the 
 Margin. But his Lordmip faid he never mentioned it to any of 
 his Family, but to me only, left they mould think him vain and. 
 fictitious. 
 
 Argued forthe Another fingular Opportunity, by Means of the Attorney, he had of 
 
 Af/and^ ^ ew ^ n himfelf ; which was the arguing in the Houfe of Lords upon 
 
 ade"' the a Writ of Error for the King ogainft Hollis, Gfr. The Story of the five 
 
 ' ' 
 
 King's Coun- Members, in King Charles the Firft's Time, is well known, who, be- 
 
 ing
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 3/ 
 
 Jng profecuted for the Riot committed in the Houfe of Commons, in 
 holding the Speaker down in his Chair, were convicted. After the 
 Reftauration, the Commons thought that the Record of this Con- 
 viction might be prejudicial to the Privilege of that Houfe, and or- 
 der'd a Writ of Error to be brought, and Mr. Attorney was to find 
 Counfel to argue for the King againft the Lord Hollis, who was one 
 of the Five, and firft named in the Record. Mr. Attorney, being an 
 AfMant in the Houfe of Lords, could not argue, nor could he pre- 
 vail upon any of the Serjeants, or other eminent Practifers, to do it ; 
 for they faid it was againft the Commons of England, and they dare 
 not undertake it. At laft the Attorney faid his Coufin North mould do 
 it; and accordingly, at different Times, as his other Practice would 
 allow him, he prepared his Argument, which was perform'd at the 
 Bar of the Houfe, and (with efpecial Notice taken of his comely 
 Youth, and modeft, but cogent Reafoning) his Argument was ap- 
 proved; and, although the Commons carried the Caufe, he was imme- 
 diately thereupon made of the King's Counfel j which gave him the 
 Privilege of Pre-audience, and coming within the Bar. This Action 
 and its Confequence, had the Effect of a Trumpet to his Fame ; for 
 the King had no Counfel at Law, then, except Serjeants. But I fhall 
 beg Leave to enlarge a little upon this Matter, with fome farther Cir- 
 cumflances; which I am encouraged to do by a Paper I found, in 
 which his Lordmip had noted his feveral Steps of Preferment, with In- 
 tent, at Leifure, to have drawn them into a Relation or fhort Hiftory. 
 He had made Preparatives, fuch as thefe, concerning publick Matters ; 
 but he never had Time to purfue them : All or mod of which I fhall 
 infert in their proper Places throughout this Work, and annex what 
 occurs to me that may appertain to them. But, as to the Cafe before 
 us, his Lordfhip's Note is as follows. 
 
 How King's Counfel, 7 This Cafe of Hollis and other the five Mem- Hi 
 Hollis 3 berSj and his Lordfhip's undertaking to ar- 
 
 gue for the King, was at a Time when his Hands were full of Bufi- 
 nefs, and he was very much ftraightened in his Preparations ; and he 
 came up with the greateft Reluctance; and nothing but a right rea- 
 foned Refolution could have conquered his Modefty. But that which 
 gave him moft AfTurance was, that he was fatisfied he argued on the 
 right Side, and that, upon the Face of the Record, the Law was for 
 the King. The Information (among other Things) was for a violent 
 holding the Speaker in the Chair, in Breach of the Peace. Hollis 
 pleaded the Privilege of the Commons, that all Offences, committed 
 in the Houfe by the Members, were punifhable only by the Houfe it- 
 felf: And the Attorney General demurs, and the Court of Kite's* Bench 
 gave Judgment for the King ; and this was the (chief) Error. His 
 Lordfhip infilled, that, i. This was an Offence againft the Peace, with 
 
 the
 
 A Difpute 
 with the 
 Benchers of 
 the Middle 
 Temple. 
 
 V. Chap. 
 Pref. vol. 2. 
 
 The LIFE of the late 
 
 the Aggravations, for it was fo admitted by the Plea ; and 2. That if 
 the Houfe had punifh'd it, and it had been fo pleaded, it had been 
 well. But 3. their not punifhing left the Offence at large, which 
 ought to be punifh'd fomewhere : And the Authorities cited, were 
 clear that Privilege did not extend to Offences againft the Peace ; and 
 that fuch might be punifli'd out of Parliament ; and future Parlia- 
 ments could take no Notice of them. This was the chief Point; but 
 there were, in the Cafe, diverfe other Chicaneries, as would appear in 
 the Argument itfelf, if made publick. The Duke of Tork was pleafed 
 to enquire who that young Gentleman was, who had argued fo well ; 
 and Mr. Thomas Gray, who attended as a Lord's eldeft Son, told the 
 Duke that he was a younger Son of the Lord North ; and what Hopes 
 he gave of his being a very able Lawyer, and, what was rare at that 
 Time, of loyal Principles ; and moved his Royal Highnefs to prevail 
 with his Majefty to encourage him by making him one of his Majefty 's 
 Counfel. And all this was only as the Occafion offer'd, without any 
 Suit or Contrivance, on his Lordmip's Part, to bring it about. His 
 Lordmip feared that the Lord Keeper Bridgman, who, by his Place, 
 fuperintends the Preferments in the Law, might take it ill that his 
 Lordmip did not move by him ; therefore he waited upon him, and 
 gave him an Account how it fucceeded. And the Lord Keeper, hav- 
 ing Knowledge of the Matter before-hand, acquitted his Lordmip of 
 all Blame towards him, and, wifhing him much Joy, gave him all the 
 Encouragement that could have been wifti'd for or expected. 
 
 LTpon his Lordmip's being made of the King's Counfel, there hap- 
 pen'd a Difpute in his Society of the Middle Temple ; which ended 
 favourably to him, and augmented his Reputation in WeftminJler-Halt. 
 The Rulers of the Society, call'd Benchers y refufed to call his Lord- 
 {hip, after he was King's Counfel, up to the Bench ; alledging that, if 
 young Men, by Favour fo preferr'd, came up ftraight to the Bench, 
 and, by their Precedence, topt the reft of the ancient Benchers, it 
 might, in Time, deftroy the Government of the Society. Hereupon 
 his Lordmip forbore coming into WeftminJler-Hall for fome {hort 
 Time, hoping they would be better advifed ; but, they perfifting, he 
 waited upon the feveral Chiefs, and, with Modefty enough, acquainted 
 them of the Matter ; and that, as to himfelf, he could fubmit to any 
 Thing; but, as he had the Honour to be his Majefty 's Servant, he 
 thought the Slight was upon the King, and he efteem'd it his Duty to 
 acquaint their Lordfhips with it, and to receive their Directions how 
 he ought to behave himfelf, and that he mould act as they were pleafed 
 to prefcribe. They all wim'd him to go and mind his Bufmefs, and 
 leave this Matter to them, or to that Effect. The very next Day, in 
 WeJiminJler-Hall, when any of the Benchers appear'd at the Courts, 
 they received Reprimands from the Judges for their Infolence ; as if a 
 3 Perfon,
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. , 
 
 O/ 
 
 Perfon, whom his Majefty had thought fit to make one of his Counfel 
 extraordinary, was not worthy to come into their Company ; and fo 
 difmiffed them unheard, with Declaration that, until they had done 
 their Duty in calling Mr. North to their Bench, they muft not expect 
 to be heard as Counfel in his Majefty 's Courts. This was Englifh-, and 
 that Evening they conformed, and fo were reinfrated. It is one of the 
 Properties of an Ariftocracy, to hate that any Perfons {hould come a- 
 mongft them, but of their own cboofing. I have heard that, fince 
 the Revolution, whereby (as they term'd it) they were manumifed, 
 they have not call'd any of the King's Counfel extraordinary (who arc 
 now become numerous) to the Bench ; which {hews the different Walks 
 fome Matters will take in different Times. 
 
 I have already mention'd his Lordfhip's happy Acquaintance with of sh 
 Mr. Edward Palmer, the Attorney General's younger Son, which was P*&er,' 
 the Rife of all the Favour and Approbation Mr Attorney (hewed him j jj 1 ^^ 
 and that, the Rife of his Lordfhip's fucceeding Courfe of Preferments, Lady. 
 And how helpful and affiftant he was to the Attorney in his Declen- 
 fion j and the Repute gain'd thereby, with the Emulation of Sir Wil- 
 liam Jones, that happened thereupon, hath been already fet forth in 
 the Examen. I {hould here have thought it reafonable to have given 
 fome Account of that worthy Perfon, on whom his Lordfhip's For- 
 tunes fo much depended : But fince I have faid fo much of him 
 in the Examen, I think there is no Need of infifting any farther 
 upon his Character herej and therefore {hall only relate the fol- 
 lowing remarkable Story. He had married a Lady, who was a Ro- 
 man Catholick, upon Terms not to meddle with each others Religion ; 
 but each to enjoy their feveral Church Profeffions, without any Men- 
 tion to the contrary ; and both kept parole reHgioufly : And yet, by 
 Dint of his egregious Piety and Integrity, without any other Argu- 
 ments or Eloquence, he converted her to the Communion of the 
 Church of England-, and it fell out thus. One Sunday Morning, his 
 Lady would rife with him, which me had ufed not to do, and he told 
 her (he need not, for her Church began later, and asked, Why Jhe 
 would rife fo foon ? She anfwer'd, 70 go to Church with him ; and 
 fo {he did, and continued fo doing all the reft of her Life. And, to 
 fome of her Family, me declared that {he found his Knowledge fo 
 great, and his Courfe of Life fo truly pious and virtuous, that me con- 
 cluded that he muft needs be in the right, and that fhe would fubmit 
 her Judgment to his, rather than to any other human Authority upon 
 Earth. This was the good Man that embraced his Lordfhip as if he 
 had been his Child ; and, loving his Company, received him into Fa- 
 miliarity of Difcourfe, Conferences, mutual Intercourfe of Affairs, and 
 reciprocal Acts of good Will and Friendfhip, as if, even before he 
 was King's Counfel, he had been a Co-Attorney General. And he 
 
 was
 
 40 The LIFE of the late 
 
 was not only the great Caufe of his Lordfhip's Proficiency, and fud- 
 den rifing in the Law, but his mere Acquaintance and Favour may be 
 juflly accounted one of his Lordfhip's capital Preferments. 
 
 ufed the NOT- Thefe Opportunities may be efteemed, as they really were, moft 
 folk Circuit, benign to tne Credit of a young Counfel, yet the Virtue, intriniically 
 moved from his own Capacity; for, without fome Tranfcendency on 
 that Side, the Effect had been reverfed, and proved Lofs rather than 
 Gain of Reputation. There were fome more fuch Accidents, which 
 augmented his Lordfhip's Efteem in the Law ; which I (hall touch 
 upon, but firfl mention his going the Circuit, to which they properly 
 belong. And here I am to mew what great Application and Induftry 
 he ufed in that Branch of his Practice which, in a few Years, raifed 
 him to the Pott (as they call it) of Cock of the Circuit; which fup- 
 pofetli him (as truly he was) a Courfel, of one Side or other, in eve- 
 ry Caufe of Value to be tried. His Lordfhip flayed not long after 
 he was call'd to the Bar, before he took upon him to go Circuits. 
 His Choice was that ftyled of Norfolk, where he was befl known, 
 and that by Employments and Performances, as well as Family and 
 Acquaintances. He refolved to go through, although the firft Coun- 
 ties, as Bucks, Bedford/hire, Huntingdon/hire and Cambridgeshire are 
 very fteril to a Beginner ; and no young Man, at his firft Entrance 
 into Practice, can expect much Bufinefs under the Service of an Ap- 
 renticemip and Succeffion to thofe who have the Pofleffion, 'till they 
 fall away. But his Refolution was to perfevere, knowing Succefs in 
 Circuit Bufinefs to be a cardinal Ingredient in a Lawyer's good Fortune. 
 And he order'd the Matter fo that, whether he had much or little to 
 do, he did not lofe his Time ; for he was a diligent Noter of every 
 Paffage that was in the Court or elfewhere, in the Law, new, or he 
 thought material. And he made himfelf judge fo far that, if a good 
 Sentence came from the Mouth of an indifferent Judge, or even of the 
 Counfel, he noted it j and whatever the beft Judjje might fay, if it did 
 not agree with his Reafon, he took no Notice of it. So Bees, gather 
 Honey from all Sorts of Flowers. He was exceeding careful to keep 
 fair with the Cocks of the Circuit, and particularly Serjeant Ear/, who 
 had almoft a Monopoly. The Serjeant was a very covetous Man j and, 
 when none would ftarve with him in Journies, this young Gentleman 
 kept him Company. Once at Cambridge, the Serjeant's Man brought 
 his Lordfhip a Cake, telling him, He ivci'Id want it, for he knew his 
 Maflcr would not draw Bit till he came to Norwich ; and it proved fo. 
 They jogged en, and at Barton Mills, his Lordmip asked the Serjeant 
 if he would not take a Mouthful there. No, Boy, faid he, will light 
 at every 'Ten Miles End, and get to Norwich 'as foon as we can. And 
 there was no Remedy. Once he ask'd the Serjeant in what Method he 
 kept his Accounts; for you have, faid he, Lands, Securities, and great 
 
 Comings-
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 41 
 
 Comings-in of all Kinds ? Accounts^ Boy, faid he ? / get as much as I 
 can y and I jpend as little as I can ; and there is all the Account I 
 keep. But hisLordfhip was fure to keep the Serjeant's Difcourfe flow- 
 ing, all the Way they rode; for being moflly of Law, and Tricks, and 
 fometimes of Purchafes, Management, and the like, it was very be- 
 neficial to one who had his Experience to gather : And all he received 
 from others, he made his own. And, in the Court, if he was con- 
 cern'd as Counfel, he flood in great Awe of the chief Practifers ; for 
 they, having the CondudT. of the Caufe, take it ill if a young Man 
 blurts out any Thing, though poffibly to the Purpofe, becaufe it feems 
 to top them > and fometimes, if it doth not take with the Court, 
 throw up, faying, The Caufe was given away ; which almofl blafls a 
 young Man. Therefore, when he thought he had a fignificant Point 
 to offer, he firfl acquainted the Foreman with it, which was common- 
 ly well taken ; and he, in Return, would fay, Move it yourjelf^ and 
 then he feconded it. Thefe Difcretions, refpecting the Counfel, did 
 him great Service; and I have more to remember anon, that refpeft the 
 Judge. 
 
 But firfl, I mail remember fome of the Advantages which brought Govcm'd the 
 his Lordfhip fo foon into Circuit Bufinefs. One of which was his J^-]^ 011 
 being put into the Commiffion, purfuant to theA<t of Parliament, for theFen?,w1th 
 dividing the great Level of the Fens ; and which conduced much to Applaufe. 
 his Lordfhip's Fame. And that was done to the Intent his Lordfhip 
 /hould take the Chair, and dired: in the Execution of it. When this 
 Commiffion firfl met, and he was put in the Chair, he obferved that 
 they had no Copy of the A6t before them, but only that which was 
 printed for common Ufe: And he did not think that fufficient; for it 
 was but a private A<fl, of which the Judges did not, ex Officio, take 
 Notice ; and there might be Errors of the Prefs : And accordingly he 
 took Care to have an authentick Copy examined by the Record itfelf. 
 After that, he propofed to the Commiffioners fuch apt Methods for 
 their Proceedings in that Commiffion, that the Gentlemen were ex- 
 tremely pleafed: For they were fatisfied that all, that he propofed, 
 would be for the Eafe of the Commiflioners and of the Country, and 
 alfo conducive to an equal Diflribution of Juflice to particular Perfons, 
 who, for their Interefls, appear'd before them. And thefe Methods 
 being fo fairly and ingenuoufly difplay'd at the firfl, the Gentlemen of 
 the Commiffion admired the Invention and Dexterity of one fo young, 
 and accordingly agreed to every Thing he propofed. And afterwards, 
 through the whole Courfe of that Commiffion, he had the Authority 
 of a Judge amongfl them, and was feldom interrupted, or oppofed 
 in any Thing he dictated to them ; for they faw plainly he had both 
 Skill and Will to do Right in every Thing, And the Country People, 
 
 F feeing
 
 4 z The LIFE of the late 
 
 leeing him rule the Roaft (as they fay) there, took him for the Judge 
 in earned. And if any of them had a Cafe to come before the Com- 
 miffioners, of which there was like to be any Doubt or Conteft, they 
 would, if pofllble, come along with a Client to him at the Affifes 
 (of which Practice I referve to fpeak afterwards) and there bow and 
 cringe that they might be known again at the Commiffion. Thus 
 every Opportunity of tranfacting, put into the Hands of a Perfon ca- 
 pable of doing well, proves an Ingredient of Fame, which, in Pro- 
 feffions precarious and competitory, as the Law is, perpetually, and 
 in a geometrical Proportion (to ufe the Allufion) enlarges the Sphere 
 of his Practice, and with thofe, that are uncapable, or do not acquit 
 themfelves well, it hath the contrary Effect. 
 
 Conftituted Another Employ fell to his Lordfhip's Share, which did him Cre- 
 ifl d8e fE/ the ^ tj an( *> con f ec l uent ly> augmented his Bufinefs in the Country. And 
 that was his being made Judge of the royal Franchife of Ely. He 
 was constituted by Dr. Lane, then Biftiop. He fucceeded Wren-, one 
 of whofe Sons, Mr. William Wren, was high Bailiff of the Liberty, and 
 took the Seat of an high Sheriff j and fo the Judge, with all the Titles 
 of a Judge of Affife. This was the firfl Bench of Juftice (if the 
 Commiffion is not accounted one) that his Lordmip fat on ; and, to 
 fay Truth, is a very excellent Judge School : For there is all Sorts of 
 Law Bufinefs come before him, Arrefts, Attachments, Demurrers, 
 Pleadings, Iffues and Trials, and all that Chicane in WefkminJler-Hall, 
 the Difference lying chiefly in greater and lefs. Diverfe of the Circuit 
 Counfel, and neighbouring Attornies have Bufinefs and attend there. 
 The worft of the Court is, that the Pleadings are de Hora in Horam ; 
 and the Records are kept by Papers filed, and not (as I know) ever 
 made up into Rolls. It is fo in the Court of the County Palatine of 
 Durkam. But thofe, and even the ordinary Courts of Affifes, as to 
 the Fairnefs and Regularity of the Plea Rolls, muft yield to that of 
 Lancafter ; and the Curiofity there, is (or was) fuch, that the Prifo- 
 ners were arraigned upon the Roll, and not upon the Bill found ; and 
 the whole Proceeding, to Judgment and Execution, was alfo enter'd 
 up, and not kept in Minute Books, as at the Affifes j which is exceed- 
 ing commendable in the Prothonotary and his Clerks there. But, as to 
 the Ifle of E/y, whether fince that Time I write of, in which the 
 Seffions have been neglected, and new Difcouragements continually 
 growing, the Court hath not fo well anfwered the Attendance of a 
 Judge, as it did then, I cannot fay. 
 
 Regulated the His Lordfhip found the Ways of the Attornies, in their Practice, very 
 Praftice, and \QQ{Q . and fcarce any of them could be pofitive what the Rules of the 
 
 demanded a . , J r> i / / i mi i r 
 
 Cognifance. Courtwcre; but, upon any Doubt, fome faid one Thing, and fome 
 another : And the Bufinefs was done in a Huddle, almoft by Word of 
 
 Mouth,
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 4J 
 
 Mouth, there being nothing but a Paper upon the File in order for a 
 Trial. His Lordmip endeavour'd to regulate all thefe Diforders ; 
 making a Beginning in the Method, which he afterwards purfued in 
 ail his judicial Places : That is, firft, by informing himfelf, as well 
 as he could, what were the Rules, and then, by flow Steps, one Thing 
 after another, making Alterations for the better. But one Thing hap- 
 pen'd which his Lordfhip, with no ordinary Exactnefs of Skill in the 
 Law, carried through. A Suit was commenced in the Court of Com- 
 mon-Pleas at Weftminfter, for a Caufe which arofe in the royal Fran- 
 chife of Ely. The Bifhop expected that his Judge mould fee Right 
 done to his Franchife, which might be hurt if fuch Precedents were 
 let pafs. And his Lordfhip thereupon took Care that due Authorities, 
 regarding this particular Cafe, mould be fign'd and executed by the 
 Bimop, directed to him, requiring him to repair to the Court of 
 Common-Pleas, and for him, and in his Name, to demand of the 
 Court the Cognifance of that Caufe then depending in the Court. 
 And his Lordmip went to the Bar and, as Bailiff of the Bimop, made 
 his Demand in due Form. And the Court, who are hardly enough 
 brought to oufl themfelves of any Jurifdiction, fcrutinated all Points of 
 Form, and, finding nothing amifs in the Demand, granted the Cogni- 
 fance, and the Caufe was removed from that Court to the Court of 
 the Franchife. 'I know no Footfteps for many Years before, or at any 
 Time lince, of any fuch Demand made or allowed. But the Law 
 was plain, and, the Forms being out of the common Road, not, with- 
 out great Care, Forefight and Skill, to be purfued, and ftrict Excep- 
 tion and Cavil to be expected, the Cafe required fuch a Counfel, as his 
 Lordmip was, to prevail in it. I had this Matter from his Lordmip's 
 own Mouth ; but, finding no Papers concerning it, I cannot point to 
 the Time when the Transaction was. 
 
 There was another Opportunity fell in his Way as propitious as he Great Benefit 
 could have wimed, not only for Fame but, for Learning j and that by Attendance 
 was a formal Iter, or Juftice-Seat of the Forefts, that was ordered and at 
 proclaimed, and Judges were appointed to aifift the Lord Chief Juftice 
 in Eyre, the, then, Earl of Oxford-, and Counfel for the King were 
 alfo declared; and they were Serjeant Mayndrd, his Lordfhip, and 
 who elfe I do not remember. Thefe went all out together, and patted 
 from Place to Place ; and the Judges were folemnly received, by the 
 Countries, as in a Circuit: And thus all the greater Part of the Forefts, 
 on this fide Trent, were vifited. The Counfel for the King, in all 
 Caufes in which the King's Title was not in Queftion, had Liberty 
 to advife and plead ; fo good Money, befides a Gratuity and riding 
 Charges was picked up. But it is not readily conceived what Advan- 
 tage here was by gaming an Idea of the ancient Law in the immediate 
 
 F 2 Praftice
 
 44 We LIFE of the late 
 
 Practice of it.. For the Court of the Foreft is in Nature of an Iter; 
 and the Juftices proceed, as anciently the Juftices in Eyre did, by Pre- 
 fentments, Claims, Seifures, Replevins, &c. very unlike the ordinary 
 Procefles of the common Law in Courts of Pleas. It is true that the 
 Commiffions of Oyer and Terminer, and Gaol Delivery, are Eyre 
 alfo, but reftrained to perfonal Crimes. Here it is of Rights, and thofe 
 after a peculiar Law of Forefts, as Privileges, Franchifes, Grants, Cu- 
 ftoms, Purpreftures, and Offices of diverfe Authorities and Jurifdic- 
 tions ; whereof the Learning would coft a Student much Time and 
 Pains, befides going out of the Way of his more beneficial Studies, to 
 acquire. And here the whole Time of the feveral Seffions being ta- 
 ken up with the Tranfactiori of Caufes of this Nature, the Judges, 
 well {killed in the old Crown Law and the Prerogative, and no Per- 
 fon more deeply learned than Serjeant Maynard who, though a Coun- 
 fel, was alfo an A flirt ant to the Court; one, who had the Opportunity 
 of attending, much more an Employment in, thefe Courts, as his 
 Lordmip had, muft needs perfect himfelf in the general Knowledge 
 of the Foreft Law, and the Jurifdiction of the Lord Chief Juftice in 
 Eyre. This was an Opportunity that rarely happens; many Reigns 
 pafs before there is another ; For it is a great Charge to the Crown in 
 Salaries, Expences, and Rewards ; and the Profits redounded to the 
 Lord Chief Juftice in Eyre. And it was faid, at that Time, that the 
 King's Intent, in ordaining a Seffions of Eyre, was purely to gratify 
 the Earl of Oxford who was one that ever wanted Royal Boons. But, 
 as to his Lordmip and his Advantages, befides the Credit of fuch an 
 Employ, which was great, this Service made him Study the Foreft 
 Law a little more than otherwife he had done. But now the Fo- 
 refts feem to be neglected, or rather granted out by Piece-meal, which, 
 kept in due Order, as in elder Times, and deftructive Encroachments 
 of the Countries fupprefled, not only the Deer (which are a Trifle) 
 but Timber would have fuch Encreafe, as would fupply Shipping, 
 and fave great Charges, and be a vaft Accommodation of the Royal 
 Navy. And it is not to be wondered that this Oeconomy of the Fo- 
 refts is laid afide, faving only as to Offices for Wardmips ; for the 
 Subject Matter is unpopular, and the Officers are> on the one Side, cor- 
 rupt, and yield to all Abufes, and, on the other Side, opprefs, and ex- 
 tort Money of all they can ; and, as if that were the End of their ln- 
 ftitution, mind little elfe. 
 
 His Lordmip was not without eminent good Fortune, as well as Dif- 
 cretion, to help him forward in his Circuit Practice; which made him 
 rife in it fafter than young Men have commonly done. As when 
 the Lord Chief Juftice Hyde was alive, he ufually went the Norfolk 
 Circuit. The Chief Juftice was a Weftera Man, but would not 
 
 take
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 4S 
 
 take the Circuit fo called, becaufe he would not break a Law with a 
 Non objlante. And this Judge was induftriouily favourable to his 
 Lordmip, calling him Coufin in open Court, which was a Declara- 
 tion that he would take it for a Refpect to himfelf to bring him 
 Caufes: And that is the beft Account that can be given of a Favourite ; 
 in which Capacity a Gentleman pretends to be eafily heard, and that 
 his Errors and Lapfes, when they happen, may not offend the Judge, 
 or hurt a Caufe; beyond which, the Profeffion of Favour is cenfura- 
 ble both in Judge and Counfel. But this Benefit grew, like that un- 
 der Sir Jeofry Palmer, at firft, out of a Temple Acquaintance, which 
 confifted of young Mr. Palmer, and Mr. Edward Hyde the Lord Chan- 
 cellor's Son, and fome others of that Family, who introduced his 
 Lordmip to their Patrons: Which (hews that, in the Erecting of a 
 Lawyer, Inns of Court Commons and Converfation may be of vaft 
 Ufe. In Circuit Practice there is need of an exquifite Knowledge of 
 the Judge's Humour, as well as his Learning and Ability to try Caufes. 
 And his Lordfhip was a wonderful Artift at nicking a Judge's Tendency, 
 to make it ferve his Turn, and yet never failed to pay the greateft 
 Regard and Deference to his Opinion : For fo they get Credit ; becaufe 
 the Judge, for the moft Part, thinks that Perfon the beft Lawyer, that 
 refpects moft his Opinion. I have heard his Lordmip fay that, fome- 
 times, he hath been forced to give up a Caufe to the Judge's Opinion, 
 when he was plainly in the Wrong, and when more Contradiction had 
 but made him more pofitive; and, befides that, in fo doing, he him- 
 felf had weakened his own Credit with the Judge, and thereby been 
 lefs able to fet him right when he was inclined to it. For, when he 
 found it went againft the Grain, he would not teife, as the Way is, 
 to get Credit with the Countrymen, who would be apt to fay, Look 
 what Pains he takes ; but, for that Time, fince there was no Remedy, 
 let the Matter go. And all this without Blame with Refpect to his 
 Clients ; for he could do no more in any Refpect, but might do worfe 
 by many. And a good Opinion, fo gained, often helps, at another 
 Time, to good Purpofe, and, fometimes, to ill Purpofe; as I heard it 
 credibly reported of Serjeant My d, that being the leading Counfel 
 in a fmall-fee'd Caufe, would give it up to the Judge's Miftake, and 
 not contend to fet him right, that he might gain Credit to miflead 
 him in fome other Caufe in which he was well fee'd. 
 
 There were fome Judges came that Circuit, of whofe Abilities Time Great riveifi 
 hath kept no Record, unlefs in the finifter Way; as Morton^ Archer - <>' ot 
 &c. If fuch exprefTed any thing in favour of his Lordfhip's Client, he 
 would echo Ay, my Lord; and then the other Side fretted at him as 
 one that, knowing better, ought not to fay fo. Once Archer noted a 
 Difference between a Renunciation of an Executormip upon Record, 
 
 and.
 
 4 <S The LIFE of the late 
 
 and in Paijs. Ay, my Lord, quoth the Counfel ; which made the 
 Judge as fierce as a Lion, when he was fo backed; and wo be to the 
 other Side if they contradicted it; though it was no better than ar- 
 rant Nonfenfe. There came other Judges who were, and ever will be, 
 famous among the Learned in the Laws ; as Wadham, Windham, and 
 the Lord Chief Juftice Hales. His Lordmip had no Way to court 
 thefe, but by his Learning and Strength of Reafon. Hales had an early 
 Opinion of his Lordmip's Skill in the Law, and believed he would 
 grow eminent in the Profeflion. For once, when the Court was fat, 
 he perceived him crouding very hard to get in, and, from the Bench, 
 fpoke to the People to make make Way for the little Gentleman, for, 
 faid he, he ivillfoon make Way for himfelf. In ftiort; his Lordmip 
 took all the Pains he could to fettle himfelf well in Circuit Practice. 
 He ufed to fay that the Circuit found him Bufmefs for the Town, and 
 the Town for the Circuit. 
 
 Moftcarefulto One Thing was principally his Care; which was to take good In- 
 beinftruaed. ftrudions in his Chamber. He examined carefully the Iflue, as the 
 Pleadings derived it; and perufed all the Deeds if it were a Title, 
 and not feldom examined the Witnefles if it were Fad: : By this he was 
 enabled to make a Judgment of the Caufe, and to advife his Client as 
 to going on or not. And the Attorney, as well as the Client, by his 
 Care and Dexterity in probing the Caufe, ftarting Objections, inventing 
 Points, foretelling Events, and what the Judge will fay, and the like, 
 obferved his Character, and that he might be depended on; which en- 
 gaged both afterwards to come to him again ; efpecially the Attornies, 
 who love fuch as have Skill, and take Pains to credit them by fecuring 
 the beft Event a Caufe will bear. 
 
 j am advanced fo far in thefe Obfervations as, without more, it 
 ma y plainly be perceived that, from an humble Beginner, rejoicing 
 at a Caufe that came to him, his Lordmip foon became Cock of the 
 Circuit; and every one, that had a Trial, rejoiced to have him on 
 his Side. There was another Gentleman, who grew up together with 
 his Lordmip in the Circuit Practice, with nearly the fame Speed, one 
 Mr. Coleman of the Burnt Ely Family in Suffolk. And, as it happily 
 fell out, there was no fort of Emulation or Competition to create Un- 
 eafinefs betwixt them ; for they were, for the moft Part, oppofed ; if 
 one of them was for the Plaintiff the other was for the Defendant, and, 
 from the Beginning to the End, held not only a fair Correfpondence, 
 but were very good Friends: And how could it be otherwife, when 
 both were ingenuous, good Lawyers, ready fpeakers, candid Gentlemen, 
 and who, in Purfuit of their own, improved each other's Interell? 
 Mr. Coleman had a very comely Afpecl. and a very voluble Tongue. 
 Jt was faid that an Attorney alked his Client, that flood behind him, 
 
 which
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 47 
 
 which of thofe two Gentlemen mould be hisCounfel? Who, faid he? 
 Why that nimble Chaps there. It fell out that this Gentleman died 
 immaturely; elfe, he had fallen into that Track of Preferment as Sir 
 William Jones fell into; of which there is an Account elfewhere. There 
 were diverfe Serjeants, and others, that went the fame Circuit, but none 
 that could cope with thefe two. I have heard them relate PafTages in 
 their Circuit Practice, to make the Company merry. As when they 
 two have been together, and a Brace of Serjeants to boot, and they 
 knew a flat Nonfuit in the Caufe, which the others did not fee, they 
 flood afide and left the Brethren to wrangle with the Court about No- 
 thing, till, having laughed and fneered enough, one ftept forward, and, 
 cutting the Thread, the Caufe fell all at once. 
 
 I have here {hewed diverfe Inftances of his Lordfhip's favourable Cafe of his 
 Means of mewing his Abilities, but little or nothing of his Conduct in ^ theLady 
 any particular Matter: And becaufe his Character may better appear 
 by fuch, than by general Eulogies, I will fubjoin one or two of his 
 dexterous Exploits. The Lady Dacres had Suits depending againft 
 Chute^ the eldeft Son of her Hufband then deceafed, for a Sum of 
 Money fecured upon Land by her Marriage Contract; which Chute 
 had married her Daughter, and, dying, left upon her Hands four 
 Grandchildren to take Care of. She entered upon the Eftate, and 
 took the Profits for diverfe Years, by which me became accountable. 
 His Lordfliip, being fenfible that his Aunt run great Hazards of being 
 called to an Account by the eldeft Son at his full Age, and, inftead of 
 having Debt, being made a Debtor, advifed her to get a Decree, 
 and a Manager appointed, and me to anfwer only what Monies me 
 actually received : And, as Things fell out afterwards, the Reafons 
 for this Precaution appeared moft lively; for it preferved her (who 
 kept no good Account) from oral Teftimonies of imaginary Values, 
 which had pinched her to the Quick, if me had not had that Defence. 
 That Courfe in Chancery is more common of late than it was then ; 
 and it fell not under every ones Cap to give fo good Advice. His 
 Lordmip had much to do with this Aunt, who ufed him but fcurvily j 
 as will appear from what I am going to relate. 
 
 She had a Bill in Chancery againft her, and his Lordmip muft draw sh e under- 
 her Anfwer; which Serjeant Fountain perufed, and directed to be more ^ehhr^and 
 full in a chief Point of Fact. Which was done ; and then other his Humanity, 
 Counfel told her, (he had confeffed too much, and the Anfwer muft 
 be taken off the File and mended; which, with Leave of the Court, 
 was alfo done, and no Harm yet. But his Lordmip's Father aiked her, 
 jocularly, If Jhe gave bis Son any Fees for the Bufinefs he did her? 
 This made her think it a Plot of the young Lawyer (but far from 
 any Colour of Truth) to get Money out of her ; for he never faw a 
 
 Penny 
 
 3
 
 48 The LIFE of the late 
 
 Penny of her Money for all his Pains in trotting to and fro, and do- 
 ing Bufinefs for her. And, from that Time, (he threw him off, ac- 
 cufing and railing at him, all the Town over, for falfifying her An- 
 fwer, and making her fwear what was not true (if it had flood) to the 
 Ruin of her Caufe. And herein (he ferved herfelf another Way ; for 
 her Adverfary defamed her for fwearing and unfwearing ; and it was 
 not amifs to have a Button in the Room. But (he carried the Quarrel 
 fo high as to get one of no fmall Account to let Sir Jeofry Palmer 
 know what a Snake (meaning his Lordmip) he had in his Bofom. 
 In fliort, me intended his Ruin if poflible. But the Merriment which 
 the good Attorney General made with his Coufin North for his early 
 Practice, was a Diverfion fufficient. All this is not unfeafonable to be 
 remember'd, becaufe it reflects upon his Lordmip the fingular Vir- 
 tue of Humanity. For, all the while me defamed him in this Man- 
 ner, which was for feveral Years, he made no Replies, but byfmiling, 
 and paid her all the Devoirs due to fuch a Parent, and ferved and af- 
 fifted her in all her Exigences ; me never failing to make Ufe of him, 
 when me found it might be of Profit to her: And yet me never 
 could afford him a good Word to his and her dying Days. 
 A Piece of ^* s Lordmip had a Relation, one Mr, Whitmore^ of Balms near 
 Art in a Trial London, an humourfome old Gentleman, but very famous for the 
 for Tuhcs. m eer eating and drinking Part of Houfe- keeping. He was Owner of 
 Water beach near Cambridge, and took a Fancy that his Eftate ought 
 not to pay Tithes, and order'd his Tenants exprefly to pay none, with 
 Promife to defend them. The Parfon had no more to do but to go to 
 Law, and, by Advice, brought an Action of Debt, for treble Da- 
 mages, upon the Statute againfl Subftraction of Tithes. The Tenants 
 got the whole Demand to be put in one Action -, and that flood for 
 Trial at the Affifes. Then he confults his Coufin North, and retains 
 him to defend this Caufe ; but mews him no Manner of Title to a 
 Difcharge. So he could but tell him he would be routed, and pay 
 treble Value of the Tithes, and that he muft make an End. This fig- 
 nified nothing to one that was abandon'd to his own tejfty Humour. 
 The Caufe came on; and his Lordfhip's utmoft Endeavour was to 
 fetch him off with the fingle Value and Cofts; and that Point he ma- 
 naged very artificially: For, firft, he confider'd that Archer was the 
 Judge ; and it was always agreeable to him to ftave off a long Caufe. 
 After the Caufe was open'd, his Lordmip, for the Defendant, ftept 
 forwards, and told the Judge that cc this would be a long and in- 
 " tricate Caufe, being a Title to a Difcharge of Tithes, which would 
 " require the reading a long Series of Records and ancient Writings. 
 " That his Client was no Quaker, to deny Payment of Tithes where 
 " due, in which Cafe the treble Value was by the Law intended as a 
 
 " Sort
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFOUD. 49 
 
 Sort of Penalty. But this was to be a Trial of a Title, which his 
 * c Client was advifed he had to a Difcharge: Therefore he moved 
 <{ that the fingle Value might be fettled -, and, if the Caufe went for 
 " the Plaintiff, he fhould have that and his Coils (which Coils, it 
 " feems, did not go if the treble Value was recovered) and then they 
 <c would proceed to their Title." The other Side mutinied againft 
 this Impoiition of Mr. North-, but the Judge was for him, and 
 they muft be fatisfied. Then did he open a long Hiftory of Matters 
 upon Record, of Bulls, Monafteries, Orders, greater and leflerHoufes, 
 Surrenders, Patents, and a great deal more, very proper if it had been 
 true j while the Counfel, on the other Side, flared at him ; and, hav- 
 ing done, they bid him go to his Evidence. He leaned back, as fpeak- 
 ing to the Attorney j and then, My Lord, faid he, we are very un- 
 happy in this Caiife. 'The Attorney tells me, they forgot to examine 
 their Copies 'with the Originals at the Tower-, and fo (folding up his 
 Brief) My Lord, faid he, they muft have the 7 /erdift, and we muft 
 come better prepared another Time. So, notwithstanding all the Mu- 
 tiny the other Side could make, the Judge held them to it, and they 
 were choufed of the treble Value. This was no Iniquity, becaufe it 
 was not to defraud the Duty, but to ihift off the Penalty. But the 
 old Gentleman told his Coufm North, he had given away his Caufe. 
 His Lordihip thought he had done him Service enough; and could but 
 juft (with the Help of the beforefaid Reafon) fatisfy himfelf that he 
 had not done ill. 
 
 Before I mention the farther Steps of his Lordmip's rifing, I muft in a Debauch; 
 get rid of a fcurvy Downfal he had, which had well nigh cofl him efc Tu d near j? 
 
 P. T . .- _, i , 11 i / t -rt / 11 with ms Luc, 
 
 his Life. That he was what was called a fober Perfon, was well 
 known ; but withal, that he loved a merry Glafs with a Friend. But 
 once, in the Circuit, being invited, with the reft of the Counfel, 
 to dine at Colchefter with the Recorder Sir yohn Shaw, who was well 
 known to be one of the greateft Kill-Cows atDrinking, in the Nation ; 
 he, with the reft of his Brethren, by Methods too well known, got 
 very drunk. They were obliged to go on, and, in that Condition, 
 mounted} but fome dropt, and others proceeded. His Lordihip had 
 a Clerk, one Lucas, a very drunken Fellow, but, at that Time, not 
 far gone. He thought it his Duty to have a tender Care of hisMafter, 
 who, having had one Fall (contrary to the found Advice of his expe- 
 rienced Clerk) would needs get up again, calling him all to nought 
 for his Pains. His Lordihip was got upon a very fprightly Nag, that 
 trotted on very hard, and Lucas came near to perfuade him not to go 
 fo faft j but that put the Horfe upon the Run, ^nd away he went with 
 his Mafter, full Speed, fo as none could follow him. The Plorfe, 
 when he found himfelf clear of Purfuers., ftopt his Courfe by Degrees, 
 
 G and
 
 S o Tae LIFE of the late 
 
 and went with his Rider (faft afleep upon his Back) into a Pond to 
 drink ; and there fat his Lordfhip upon the Sally. But, before he fell, 
 Mr. Andrew Card, now an eminent Practifer of conveyancing in Grafs- 
 Inn, and then Mr. Co/emans Clerk, came up Time enough to get the 
 Horfe out of the Pond before he fell off; elfe he had been loft: For 
 which Service his Lordftiip ever had a Value for Mr. Card. 
 
 They took him into a publick Houfe nigh at Hand, and left him to 
 t ^ e Care of his Man ; but fo dead drunk, that he knew nothing that 
 happen'd to him. He was put into a Bed; and the reft of the Com- 
 pany went on, for Fear of lofing their Market. Next Morning, whea 
 his Lordfhip awaked, he found he was in a ftrange Place, and that, 
 at a Fire Side in that Room, there were fome Women talking foftly 
 (for talk they muft) he fent out all his Senfes to fpy, if he could, what 
 the Matter was. He could juft perceive they talked of him. Then 
 he call'd for Lucas, and bid all go out of the Room but him; and 
 then, Lucas, faid he, Where am 1? He was glad the Danger (of 
 which Lucas gave him a fenfible Account) was over, and got him 
 up to go after his Fellows. 
 
 I remember, when his Lordihip told this Story of himfelf, he faid 
 fa Q Image he had, when his Horfe firft trotted, and fo fafter and 
 fafter, was as if his Head knocked againft a large Sheet of Lead, as a 
 Cieling over him ; and, after that, he remember'd nothing at all of 
 what happened till he awoke. His Lordihip, of one that was not 
 rnorofe and uncomplaifant, was the moft fober that ever marched 
 through the World as he did. I, that was almoft continually with 
 him, never faw him in a Condition they call overtaken ; and the moft 
 hath been but juft difcoverable in his Speech ; for he had Strength of 
 Head to bear a great deal : And when he found that Infirmity com- 
 ing upon him, he ufed to fit fmiling, and fay little or nothing ; fo 
 harmlefs a Thing of a petit good Fellow was he : And this only in 
 Company that, in fome Sort, conftrain'd him ; and that was very fel- 
 dom. As once, when he was Attorney General, he dined with the 
 Earl of Sandwich, and, in the Afternoon, went to the privy Council 
 to plead, upon a Petition, before the King : And the next Day after, 
 the Earl asked one of the Lords how Mr. Attorney behaved himfelf ? 
 Very well, faid that Lord. / thought fo, anfwer'd the Earl, for 1 Jent 
 him inftruffed with at leafl three Bottles in his Belly. That was a 
 good Medicine for his Modefty, and, perhaps, at Court, no ill Prepa- 
 rative. But, fetting afide that Rhodomontade, his Lordihip, by a 
 fteddy Temperance, and Sobriety, held the Empire of hisReafon, and 
 Vigour of his Conftitution, fafe and upright till, under the cold Hand 
 of Death, both fell together. But, as for fuch Entertainments as 
 thefe, it is great Pity that the Tokens of Barbarity fhould yet remain; 
 
 and
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. ji 
 
 and much more that the Confequences, often fatal, mould be as Braves 
 of Conquefts, with a People who would take it ill not to be accounted 
 civilifed, wife and learned. 
 
 His Lor dfh ip's Courfe of Life, while he was in great Bufmefs, was HOW his ici. 
 moft philofophical, till he was Solicitor General, and married j and fure Time 
 then he kept Houfe, and, at Meals, fcarce ever failed his Family : But, pa 
 before, he ufed the Commons in the Hall, at Dinner, perfonally, and, 
 at Night, in his Chamber. And when he was out of Commons, the 
 Cook ufually provided his Meals ; but, at Night, he defired the Com- 
 pany of fome known and ingenious Friends, to join in a Coflelet and 
 a Sallad at Chattelm's, where a Bottle of Wine furliced, and the Com- 
 pany drefled their own Feaft, that confided in friendly and agreeable 
 Converfation. But in Term, and while Bufmefs was ftirring, he kept 
 his Chamber, becaufe (in order to next Day's Work) the Attornies and 
 Agents came in at all Hours; and then he defired the Company of a 
 Friend or two, that, in the Intervals of taking Inftrudtions, he might 
 come out and folace a little with them, and return when he was fum- 
 moned. And the Repaft among us all, was only his Commons and a 
 fingle Bottle : But what is that to the Feaft I mentioned, which was 
 never wanting? When his Practice was but little, and, for the moft 
 Part, when he was a Student, he made it a Rule not to leave his 
 Chamber before Eight at Night ; and if he had no appointed Com- 
 pany, he hath often taken me to walk about in the Gardens with him 
 till Bed-Time ; for he never loved at fuch Times to be alone ; bur, 
 having any Company, he could difcharge his Thoughts by Difcourfe. 
 After he was of the King's Counfel, he kept a Coach, and, at leifure 
 Times, ufed to air himfelf in that ; but with a Friend to receive his 
 Difcourfe, and give Handles for more. But, while I was with him, 
 which was, firft, while Sir Jeofry Palmer was but jufl alive, I cannot 
 -fay J ever knew him to have been twice at any Tavern. 
 
 Here we drop our Circuiteer ; which Character lafted till his Lord- Made Solicitor 
 fhip was made the King's Solicitor General : And that was when Sir 
 .Edward Turner was made Lord chief Baron : For, upon the Death 
 of the Attorney General Palmer, Mr. Solicitor Finch was made At- 
 torney ; and there being an Oppofition made by the Duke of Bucks, 
 in Favour of Mr. Jones, againft his Lordfhip, who had much the 
 fairer Pretence, an Expedient, for that Time, was found, by making 
 the then Speaker, Sir Edward Turner, Solicitor. But of this Affair 
 we have his Lordihip's Notes, which I mall infert and add a Comment, 
 .according to Promife. 
 
 His (Sir Jeofry Palmers) Death 7 This Incident made the Wheel His Note a ; 
 
 made a Contrail 3 of Preferments turn. Sir Heneage bout "' 
 
 Finch, who was Solicitor, was made Attorney General. Then the 
 
 G 2 Queflion
 
 J2 The LIFE of the 
 
 Queftlon came who (hould fucceed him ? The Lord Keeper Br//g- 
 ma'n, and the new Attorney, befides the indifferent Intereft at Court, 
 and, I believe, the King himielf, were for his Lordfhip ; and why not? 
 For he was next Oars, the King's Servant already, and had not deme- 
 rited. It had been ungracious to have poftponed him, and taken in a 
 new Man that never had ferved ; and none might guefs at his Inclina- 
 tions to ferve well, And this was Mr. Jones, who, being a proud Man, 
 could fcarce bear his Lordfhip to go on, ftepping before him. He 
 applies to the Duke of Buckingham, who, at that Time, was refpected 
 as a premier Minister at Court. But his Character little fuited that 
 Pretenlion ; for he commonly turned Day into Night, and Night into 
 Day, and knew no Order of Life, or Time, but after the Calls of hi-s 
 Appetite; and thofe were either leud or profane. While he was in 
 Affairs, he favoured the true Enemies of the Court, the Fanatics - y and 
 when he was out, he fet up for one of the Heads of that Faction. 
 He was fo entirely abandon'd to his Pleafures and Eafe, that he fel- 
 dom regularly attended on any Account ; but yet, for Revenge or 
 Faction, he was a diligent Solicitor ; and undertook to get Mr. Jones. 
 the Solicitor's Place. He plied the King fo clofe, that he knew not 
 how to clear himfelf of him. But it was underftood that the King 
 could not be brought to dafh cold Water in Mr. North's Face, againft 
 all Reafon, Juftice, and his Majefty's own Intereft ; and fo it depended 
 fome Time. At laft an Expedient was found, viz. 
 
 Sir Edward Turner made Solicitor. 7 This Gentleman had ferved 
 His Promotion made no Contrail. 3 long as Speaker of Parliament, 
 and had been ufeful to the Crown, and alfo to himfelf. But, on the 
 Difcovery of a fmall Prefent made him by the Eajl India Company, 
 he was blown in the Houie of Commons. The anti-court Party took 
 all Advantages againft the Court, and made a Mountain of this 
 Moufe 3 for it was but a Trifle. However, it loft him much of his 
 Credit and Authority in the Chair, which he was ufed to have -, and 
 he thought fit to give Way, and not fit there longer to be expofed to 
 the Affronts which would continually be thrown at him. This made 
 him incline to accept the Solicitor's Place, until fomewhat better fell, 
 and then the King was at Eafe. About fix Months after, Sir Edward 
 turner was made Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer, and the Soli- 
 citor's Place fell void. The King refolved to have no more fuch 
 Trouble about filling it ; but forthwith declared that Mr. North (then 
 Sir Francis) fhould fucceed. 
 
 Sir William Jones,} And, to fatisfy the Duke of Bucks in fome 
 
 King's Counfel. ) Meafure, his Friend, Sir William Jones (then 
 
 alfo knighted) was made of the King's Counfel. And fince (as they 
 
 fay) half a Loaf is better than no Bread, this Promotion, in Part, 
 
 though*
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. J3 
 
 though not altogether, fatisfied his Ambition ; for it was fufficiently 
 thereby declared that, if not to lead, he was fure enough to follow, 
 in the Track of Preferments. 
 
 And becaufe it is impoffible to account for the Lives of bufy Men, Rcafons for 
 without touching upon fome certain Dealings of thofe Perfons with s u ' ln the 
 whom they tranfacted ; whofe Behaviour and Tempers will be inter- (bm^Pofon 
 woven, and make good theFulnefs of the Relation, as Things of dif- Cotcmora- 
 ferent Complexions diftinguifh each other ; and the mod retired Con- 
 verfe is material to Characters, becaufe a Man is known by the Com- 
 pany he keeps ; it will be proper to infert in this Work, the 
 Pourtraits of fome Perfons, cotemporary with his Lordmip, Con- 
 forts and Coadjutors, as well as Adverfaries in Bufmefs. And hence 
 will refult a petit Biography, wherein the Remarkables may affift the 
 Theory of human Nature, which conlifts in the Knowledge of its 
 Perfections and Infirmities. And none more famous for both of thefe 
 than Sir William yones> who, upon the Strength of the Duke of Bucks, 
 fet his Lordmip fo hard for the Solicitor General's Place. But having 
 faid fo much of him already in the Examen, I mall make no Repe- 
 tition here. I will only add that, 
 
 If I may have leave to guefs, the greateft Load, of all that fat upon, Certain Mif- 
 and oppreiTed, his Spirits, was his undue Fervor in profecuting Men to takes thac 
 Death, for HighTreafon, upon the Foot of Oates's Plot. There are Sy'upon 
 Reafons to make one believe he was at the Bottom of the whole Stra- his Mind, 
 tagem; which, if the Truth were fo, ftains his Character, and evacu- ^. 
 ates all that hath been faid of his Probity, unlefs the heathen Sentence, pi ot s, 
 regnandi caufa, or for the fake of Governing, pafs for good Morality. 
 His rigging about at the firft Entrance, and fooner than it could be 
 known that Godfrey was in Danger, except by his not dining at Home: 
 His running from one great Man to another, as he did, to fay it was 
 thought that Godfrey was made away with by the Papifts : And once, 
 being at his Villa in Hampftead, when the whole Faction laboured to 
 fcatter Terrors about the Town and Nation, as if nothing was fafe 
 from the Papifts, he fent an Exprefs to London to have his Billets re- 
 moved from the fore, to the back, Cellar of his Houfe in London for 
 Fear of the Fireballs of thejefuits: And hisufing all the Arts of hisPro- 
 feffion againft the Lives of fo many poor Men, asheconvicted to Death 
 for the Plot, and fome no very commendable ones to be ufed even in com- 
 mon Caufes of Property, as have been touched eliewhere ; and, after 
 that, fetting up the Ignoramus Practices, by juftifying the Perjury in 
 Print ; which was when the Tables were turned, and his Friends were 
 obnoxious; as if the Law were a Party Weathercock : And then writing 
 to juftify the exorbitant Doings of the Weftminfter Houfe of Commons, 
 after the whole Nation refented them, by a Pamphlet in anfwer to the 
 
 King's
 
 54 The LIFE of the late 
 
 King's Declaration of his Reafons: All thefe Matters were falfe, and, 
 as proved, vain Efforts in Party Work, which he was fenfible turned 
 upon him, and, flaring him in the Face, told him he ought to have 
 been wifer. One thing his Lordfhip remarked of him ; which was 
 that, when any notable Party Project was in Embryo, he made him a 
 Vifit either to terrify or efpy, and, by the Air of his Countenance, to 
 gather fomewhat. And this more efpecially when any Harm was in- 
 tended his Lordmip through the Houfe of Commons. Once he came 
 to fee him, and told him that, Now they had them fajl. It was a- 
 bout the Time of the Reform of the Council, and when he had quitted 
 his Place. Whitehall, faid he, mitft render injix Months; and what 
 will you do then? His Lordfhip anfwered quick, I will join with thofe, 
 that flail turn you out. This Anfwer made him look very 
 dull, being not that which he came for. Thefe Inftances made his 
 Lordmip conclude that, whenever he had the Honour of a Vifit from 
 him, there was fomewhat very finifter in the Wind; and the ill Omen 
 appeared. But, to conclude, if this Gentleman could have been purged 
 of an immane Conceit of himfelf and of his own Worth, and made 
 clean from his Difaffection to the Crown and Monarchy of England, 
 which always warped his Engagements towards the Sectarian and Re- 
 publican Model, and made him reftlefs and untoward in all his Actions, 
 he had been defervedly a famous ProfefTor of the Law, and, as fuch, 
 celebrated in after-times equally with, if not fuperior to, the reft of 
 his Cotemporaries. 
 
 Attended Rut, to return. His Lordfhip, as well before as after his being 
 
 Court 7 of * S made Solicitor General, and while he was King's Counfel, made the 
 chancery, ' belt of his Time in Wejlminjler Hall. And however, at firft, he 
 and why. p i ante d himfelf in the Way of King's Bench Praftice, he found fuch 
 .beneficial Calls to other Courts, efpecially to the Chancery, that he 
 thought it belt to comply with them. And fo to the Exchequer, 
 Duchy, &c. which filled him exceedingly with Bufinefs; and none 
 .more gainful than that of the Chancery, in which he got fo much 
 Credit that, at Length, he made that Court his Home, and went off 
 to other Courts only on great Occafions, as when folemn Arguments, 
 Trials at the Bar, and the like, engaged him. But this I have heard 
 him fay, and fometimes obferved, that, when he was not concerned 
 in the Caufes at hearing in Chancery, he ufed to go over to the King's 
 Bench; which being a Court of Law, his vacant Time, fpent there, 
 would be more beneficial to him. And fo he fat within the Bar, with 
 his Note Book, reporting, as the Students, about the Court, did. He 
 as little neglected Opportunities of acquiring Knowledge in the Law, 
 as of getting Money by the Practice of it. Witnefs this one Inftance; 
 Every Chriftmas, during all the Time of his Pactice, he read Littleton 
 
 all
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 5J 
 
 all over. And this he enjoined himfelf for a Tafk : For that Book 
 having gained an Authority, as a Tract of Law, and the Foundation 
 of Conveyancing, he judged it neceflary to be punctually remem- 
 bered, without giving Time the Advantage to obliterate, or corrupt 
 any Part of it from his juft Thoughts. 
 
 It is obvious to imagine that a Perfon, preferred, and in capital Chief in Prac- 
 Praclice of the Law, muft needs be noted for many excellent Perfor- t ! ce Re P uta - 
 
 , . T n /- X / i i tionandTruft. 
 
 mances, as he was in numerous Inltances of nice Caufes that he con- 
 dueled. But it is not poffible to go over the Lift of his Clients, and 
 {hew what Part he had in their feveral Hearings, Arguments, Trials 
 at Law, and the like, unlefs a Diary of Caufes had been kept for that 
 Purpofe; and that muft have been a large one, for he was in every 
 Caufe of Moment. Norcan I fay, upon my Memory, how many Fami- 
 lies of Nobility and others, having once madeufeof his Advice, made him 
 afterwards Arbiter of all their Concerns; nor is it to any good Purpofe 
 fo to do, unlefs it might be alfo demonftrated wherein hisLordmip's Sa- 
 gacity, or Management, was fuperlative. It may be equally alledged of 
 every eminent Practifer in the Law, that he was concerned in great Caufes, 
 whereof fome went on his Side. So that a general Obfervation of Confe- 
 quences, fuch as his never lofing Ground, but, rather, rifing in Reputa- 
 tion, from the firft to the laft, and that, palling thro' the meaneft, his 
 Lorddiip arrived at the utmoft Preferment, and all without Obloquy 
 or Reprehenfion, implies all that can be inferred to his Advantage, even 
 from the Particulars, if we had them. But yet I {hall mew fome In- 
 ftances that fell within my own Obfervation, which were of an extra- 
 ordinary Nature, and {hewed his Lordfhip's iingular Application and Suc- 
 cefs in Caufes that refted wholly upon his Advice and Conduct. 
 
 And here I might properly infert the great Caufe between Soams why the Cafe 
 and Bernardifton, which was recovered from a defperate malign Influ- ? and 
 
 ence of the Times, purely by the Strength of his Reafon and Debate, 
 againft a Torrent of Authority. But fince it is particularly related in 
 the Examen, and a clear Account of the feveral Steps it took in Weft- 
 minfter Ha/I, and how it was finally adjudged in Serjeants Inn Halt, 
 by his Lordfhip, when he was Chief Juftice of the Common Pleas, 
 may be feen there, I {hall fay nothing of it here, but refer the 
 Reader to it. It will alfo be found declared in that Book, in what 
 Manner his Lordmip was profecuted in the Houfe of Commons upon Ac- 
 count of this Judgment of his j and therefore, I fliall not make any Repeti- 
 tion of it here, but only obferve one or two Things upon the Whole of the 
 Profecution. And, firft, that the Lords, at a jocular Motion of the Lord 
 Wbarton, made Holiday of this Day of the Motion in the Houfe of Com.- 
 mons, which {hews that the Party, in both Houfes, were fet for the Pur- 
 pofe. For if the Lords had fat in the Morning, the Defign, to be exe- 
 
 cuted 

 
 y( J The LIFE of the late 
 
 cuted at One a Clock, might have taken Wind. 2. That although 
 this Stir was made, on his Lordftiip's Account, for Malice and 
 Revenge; or, rather, Ambition of his Place, yet his Name was not 
 touched, by any Mention, from the Beginning to the End. The Rea- 
 fon of which was becaufe his Intereft and Friendmips, among the beft 
 Quality, were great, and alfo his Character, for Juftice, fo well known, 
 that, upon a declared, perfonal Attack, a fiercer Oppofition had been 
 made. 3. That a Perfon of a found and valuable Reputation, and e- 
 fleemed ufeful to the Publick. (hall have Friends unknown appear, in 
 Time of Need, to aflift, and fee Juftice done him. 4. That the Sin- 
 cerity of any Bufinefs may be known by the Means ufed to accom- 
 plifh it; for, if either be falfe and perfidious, the other will be fo alfo; 
 and they counter refer to each other. If a Bufinefs be bad, honeft 
 Means will never be ufed to come at it; and, if Tricks and Falfenefs 
 appear in the Approaches, the End is the fame. 5. That Shifts and 
 Subterfuges, and clancular Compofitions, are of the worft Confequence 
 to a juft Magiftrate, who is upon his Defence; for, being difcovered, 
 they lofe a real Intereft, and, of Friends, create Enemies, which, in 
 thofe Times, appeared in diverfe Inftances. 
 
 AfterhisLord- \ faa\\ no t be juft to his Lordfhip's Memory, if I do not fubjoin the 
 hisjudgment reft of this Profecution, which, after his Death, was refumed, and with 
 confirmed in what Defign it was carried on. Upon the Revolution, diverfe Perfons, 
 W ^ ^ a d f u ff ere d for their Crimes in the foregoing Reigns, thought that an 
 Opportunity was fallen in their Way to be revenged, and reimburfcd 
 their Fines, and what elfe their Malice or Avarice fuggefted, not by 
 any flow Procefs of Juftice, but, by Act of Parliament, all at once. 
 And how far this Defign extended, what Prefers were made, and how 
 they came ofF, was a Work of another * Undertaking ; and here I muft 
 deal with what concerned only his Lordfhip, whereof this revived 
 Cafe was one. The Sheriff Soams had been long dead, and his Family 
 fo low that nothing was expected to be got from thence; yet Sir Sa- 
 muel Bernardijlon brought a Writ of Error of this Exchequer Chamber 
 Judgment into the Houfe of Lords; and there the Knight la wed by 
 himfelf, for no Perfon oppofed him, and, upon hearing, the Lords, 
 affifted by the Judges, confirmed the Reverfal, which was befide all Ex- 
 pectation. Pending this Writ of Error, his Lordfhip's Friends, whom 
 he had entrufted with the Affairs of his Family, had certain Intelli- 
 gence that the Defign was (if this Reverfal had been reverfed) to have 
 fued to the Parliament for an Act to pafs for charging the Reimburf- 
 ment of the Damages, recovered by Sir Samuel Bernardiflon^ upon 
 the Eftate of the Lord Chief Juftice North, upon a Surmife that his 
 
 * See the Examen. 
 
 Judgment
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 
 
 Judgment was reverfed by Means of his Lordfhip's undue Solicitation. 
 And if the Lords had fet afide the Reverfal as illegal, who would 
 doubt of the reft ? At leaft a Vote would put it out of Doubt. It 
 was a moft incredible Surmife that his Lordmip, who was known to be 
 a ftrict Obferver of the Rules and Decorum of a Judge, and never 
 would bear with any undue Solicitation to himfelf in Matters depend- 
 ing, mould fo criminally, as they would have prefumed, folicit other 
 Judges in that Manner. But corrupt Intereft and Faction will prefume, 
 and, having Power, perpetrate any Thing, though never fo falfe, to 
 ferve the Turn. 
 
 While this dernier Writ of Error hung in the Houfe of Lords unde- 
 termined, his Lordfhip's faid Friends were folicitous how to behave Argument 
 themfelves. For, after they knew that the Shot was made at them, rscandaH 
 it was not advifeable to make any Appearance, or Pretence to defend ; preflsd. 
 for that would have had an evil Conftruction. And they durft not 
 fo much as fpeak to any of the Judges, or Lords, for the like Reafon : 
 And negative Errors being beft, not knowing what to do, they did 
 nothing at all. At length one of them leaned againft the Stall of Fox 
 the Bookfeller, not a little penfive ; and Fox leaned over, and Sir, faid 
 he, there is much Difcourfe of a Cafe between Soams ^WBernardifton, 
 judged by the Lord Keeper North. / have a Copy of his Lord/hip's 
 Argument, and, with your Leave, I will print it-, and, perhaps, it 
 may do fome Service. The Hint inftantly took Place; and, Leave be- 
 ing given, it was printed and publifhed, very fair and well; and, com- 
 ing among the Lords, it difcharged the Prejudices the Caufe lay un- 
 der, and prepared them to admit the Reafons the Judges gave in the 
 Houfe, and alfo to create fome Favour to the opprefTed : And fo ended 
 this long Tale. But, by way of Remark, to mew how Faction will 
 get the better of common Senfe and Truth, even in Men great Pre- 
 tenders to both, I muft add that Pollexfe?i, an Arguer for Sir Samuel 
 Bernardifton, fmce the Revolution, publifhed (or fitted for the Prefs) 
 a Book of Reports, as they are called, confifting, chiefly, of his fa- 
 ctious Arguments; and particularly in this Cafe: But moft brazenly and 
 untruly, in his Preface, tells bow he had carried the Caufe, if the Lord 
 Chief Jujlice North bad not folicited the Judges to give a contrary 
 judgment ; or to that Effect. This Book and Preface was fhewn to 
 the, then, Lord Chief Juftice Holt, who did a fingular Piece of Juftice 
 to his Lord (hip's Memory and Honour ; for he fent for the Bookfeller 
 to anfwer it before him, and had fupprefled the Book, if he had not 
 promifed to change the Preface, and leave out that Scandal : Which 
 was done ; but fome Copies had efcaped before. 
 
 The Reader will alfo find, in the aforefaid Examen, a particular Note upon 
 Account of the Defjgns of fome Gentlemen, that had been of the lI 
 
 o __ -r- n.- o 
 
 H Faction
 
 5 8 
 
 The LIFE of the late 
 
 Fa&ion in King Charles the Second's Time, after the Revolution, top- 
 charge the Fines of the Rioters, by Ad: of Parliament, upon the Eftates 
 of fome particular Perfons, of whom his Lordfhip was one ; and how 
 it 'was fruftrated, and came to nothing: So 1 mail let that pafs, and 
 obferve only that his Lordmip's Friends were the lefs furprifed at this 
 Attack, and others of like Nature threatened, by Reafon of Advice 
 they had from Holland, that the common Difcourfe of the Fugitives, 
 and others of the Party there, was of their firm Purpoie to take away 
 the Eftates of the Tories, by Act of Parliament. But the Times fell 
 into fuch a thorough Settlement, that fuch Injuftice was not encou- 
 raged. How they would have ufed his Lordmip, if he had lived, I 
 cannot fay ; bad enough, if fome had had their Wills. We were in- 
 formed that, in the Houfe, upon Mention of the State and City Af- 
 fairs, diverfe Members were pleafed to name him, and made fharp 
 Clofes to the Prejudice of his Name and Family.. But there were al- 
 ways fome, efpecially of the Wejlern Gentlemen, who, interpofing, 
 fcreened both. Therefore, as it is an hard Cafe that an upright Ma- 
 giftrate mould ever be fo expofed, fo it is a Comfort that his Sincerity 
 will create Friends who, unafked, will fliew themfelves in his Fa- 
 vour : Whereby the old Saying is verified, viz. Honejly is the bejl Po- 
 licy. 
 
 This is one of thofe capital Caufes, in which his Lordmip's fingular 
 Application and Sagacity appeared : But I mall give an Account of 
 one more, which I think will fully anfwer my Deiign. And that was 
 the Caufe of Cuts and Pickering. Sir "John Cuts, of Cbilderjly in 
 Cambridgejhire, had an Aunt, one Mrs. Weld, who married Mr. 
 Pickering, and, by his Will, gave her an Eftate called Drayton, Value 
 300 /. per Annum, for Ninety-nine Years, if /he Jhould fo long live. 
 Mr. Pickering, defiring not to hang upon the Thread of his Wife's 
 Life for fuch an Eftate, but to have it, for the Term, abfolute, which 
 is very near equal to the Inheritance, thought fit to erafe, from the 
 Will, thefe Words of Reference to her Life. He had Opportunity 
 to do it j for he was made Executor, and accordingly had the Will 
 in his Keeping, which, in his good Time, was proved, and lodged 
 in the Prerogative Office. The Relations, that were the Heirs and 
 Devifces of the capital Eftate, and (among other Things) of this 
 (fubjecl to Mrs. Pickering's Life) were Minors, and their Affairs managed 
 by their Mother. I think the eldeft of thefe, not long iince, was 
 made a Peer, and was called my Lord Cuts. But his Lordfhip's firft 
 Acquaintance with the Family went no farther than Sir "John Cuts y 
 and this Mr. Pickering and his Wife. He was a fubtile Fellow, Mo- 
 ney Hunter, but a great Trifler, and very avaricious; but, withal, a 
 mighty Pretender to Puritanifm, and feeming to be more godly than 
 
 other
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. y? 
 
 Bother Men, He ufed to frequent the Rolls Chapel, and moft bufily 
 write the Sermon in his Hat, that he might not be feen. And he ufed 
 to vifit the Lord Chief Juftice Hales; and, by canting, had perfuaded 
 him he was a moft religious Man. He was not without Sufpicion 
 that fome Suits might be ftirred, by the Cutss, againft him, upon this 
 Will; and much dreaded a Difcovery of this Rafure; (a guilty Con- 
 fcience needs no Accufer) he was almoft continually upon the watch 
 at the Temple, and among the Lawyers ; fometimes with one, and 
 then with another, eaves-dropping for Intelligence, but dropping no 
 Money: And, for a whole Term, almoft every Day, at one Time or 
 other, he called upon his Coufm North (there was fome Relation, 
 but remote, between him and Pickering's Wife) thinking him- 
 felf to be thereby privileged to be impertinent, with his importune 
 Queftions, whenever he pleafed. He never had the Civility to offer a, 
 Fee, or to afk his Lordfhip to be of Counfel with him in general, or 
 particular, or on any Account whatfoever. I remember, one Night, 
 his Lordfhip came out from his Study, having juft parted from him, 
 in a great Pett, wifhing heartily that his Adverfaries would come and 
 retain him, that he might (hake off fo troublefome a Fellow: And, 
 the next Day, Mrs. Cuts came, with much Apology for her Prefump- 
 tion, in tendering a Retainer in her Caufe againft Mr. Pickering, feap- 
 ing he might be under Engagements to him. His Lordmip told her 
 No, and took her Fee, and wrote her down in his Book of Retainers; 
 fo (he went away fatisfied : And well (he might ; for that Minute's 
 Work faved the Eftate. Pickering, that dogged this Gentlewoman to 
 fee where fhs went, perceived her go up to and return from his Coufm 
 North's Chamber ; and then he concluded {he was in earneft, and up 
 he goes, and offers his retaining Fee : No, his Lordmip told him, be 
 was already retained on the other Side, and mewed him his Book. 
 His Difcourfe upon the Matter fignified nothing j he muft have Pa- 
 tience, and provide himfelf elfewhere. He might repent his Negledt> 
 but it was too late. 
 
 After this, Mrs. Cuts came to his Lordmip in a very great Concern, Difcovery of 
 faying {he had very credible Information that there was a foul Rafure a 
 in Sir John Cuts' s Will, that, in Confequence, loft Drayton, after Mrs. 
 Pickerings Death, from her (Mrs. Cuts 's) Children. His Lordfhip 
 immediately took Coach, and went to Doctors Commons, to view the 
 original Will. There he found the Rafure moft evident, and not 
 done fo carefully, but, by the Bottoms and Tops of the long Letters, 
 and the Diftances that determined the intermediate ones, the Words, if 
 Jhe foould Jo long live, might be read. Thereupon he took a Paper, 
 and made what they call a fac Jimile of the Marks and Diftances of 
 thofe fmall Specks as were not fcraped out. Then his Lordfhip called 
 
 H 2 the
 
 rfo , $he L If-E-Gfrike late 
 
 the Officers, and {hewed them the Rafure, and the Marks, with the 
 Refemblance he had made of them, and charged them all to take 
 Care that none mould fee the Will but in the Prefence of an Officer ; 
 for there would be a Suit at Law, to be determined upon View of 
 that Rafure. This Matter being fixed, the Lady went into Chancery^, 
 and, having filed her Bill for a Difcovery, Pickering anfwers fully, 
 and denies the Rafure j and, at the Hearing, a Trial was directed to be 
 had, to find if this Rafure was fince the Publication, and by whom. 
 The Caufe came to be tried at the King's Bench Bar, before the Lord 
 Chief Juftice Hales y arid the reft of the Juftices of that Bench 5 and 
 his Lordmip managed in chief for the Cutss. 
 
 A Trial at Bar It was then believed that Pickering had found Means to infinuate to 
 thereon. ^ e Chief Juftice, that this was a malicious Profecution, and raifed up 
 againft him by a pert young Lawyer, of a different Perfuafion and 
 Tendency from him ; but that he himfelf was innocent. But, how- 
 ever it happen'd, the Chief Juftice took in violently on the Side of 
 Pickering^ afifuredly believing better of him than he deferved. It is 
 always an hard Caufe upon a Lawyer, when he is to manage againft 
 the Prejudice of a Court ; for what is to be faid or done, when Pre- 
 fumptions pafs on the one Side, and the other Side is held to pofitive 
 Proof, and no lefs than Demonftration ? The Chief Juftice was fo very 
 hard upon his Lordmip and his Caufe, that, if there had not been an 
 uncontroulable Evidence of the Fraud, the Caufe had mifcarried. But 
 it happen'd that, as his Lordmip, upon the Bench, was going to direct 
 the Jury (as everyone expected) to acquit Pickering, one of the Coun- 
 fel mention'd another Witnefs they had to prove Pickerings own Con- 
 feffion that, when the Will was firft open'd, thofe Words were in. 
 The Witnefs came in, and fwore it pofitively. Well, faid the Chief, 
 now you Jhall hear 'what Mr. Pickering 'will fay to that. He there- 
 upon, being called, came down into the Court, and flood directly op- 
 pofite to the Witnefs that confronted him. Now, what Jay you to 
 this ? faid the Chief. My Lord, faid he, / was not bound to fay t what 
 the Truth was, to him. There was an Inftance of the Value of Face 
 to Face. The Anfwer was fo knavifh and filly withal, that the Chief 
 Juftice let fall his Countenance, and, knocking his Stick, left the Caufe 
 to the Jury's Cognifance, without a Word of Direction given them 
 one Way or other; and they, without going from the Bar, found 
 Pickering Author of the Rafure fince the Will publifhed. Such cut- 
 ting Difcoveries Knaves will make of themfelves, when furprifed, and 
 not allow'dTime to drefs up their Anfwers in the beft Accoutrements; 
 efpecially before fagacious Men. And none was ever more fo than 
 that famous Chief Juftice, who, although fubjedt, as moft mortal Men 
 
 are,
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. <Ji 
 
 are, to Prejudices, yet, upon a clear Conviction, facrificed his Propo- 
 fition to Truth. 
 
 It was the Lord Keeper North' 's good Fortune to enter his Practice in The Lord 
 the Circuits under this Judge, whofe Reputation for his great Ability in ^^j^ 106 
 the Law, and rigorous Juftice, will be very long lived in Weftminfter- great 'Leam- 
 Hall, and the Inns of Court and Chancery ; for there was a Conjunction jj^' ai ^ gs * 
 of Characters ; his and the Times confpiring to aggrandize it. After fp e ^ Jo_ e " 
 having improved his Knowledge, as a Student, by reporting from him ward his 
 when he fat as Judge of the Common Pleas, and as a Practifer in Lordftll P- 
 the Northern Circuits, it fo happened that, in the unaccountable rol- 
 ling of Preferments in the Law, it became his Lordfhip's Province 
 to judge of and, for Caufe apparent, to correct the Errors of that 
 great Man. The Truth is, his Lordfhip took early into a Courfe dia- 
 metrically oppofite to that approved by Hales : For the Principles of 
 the former, being demagogical, could not allow much Favour to one 
 who rofe a Monarchift declared. Then, after the latter, by being 
 made Chief Juftice of the Common Pleas, together with the other 
 Judges of that Court, and thofe of the Exchequer, had Jurifdiction 
 of Errors in Judgment given by the Court of Kings-Bench, the Se- 
 paration was wider -, and the old Judge, by a certain formal overlook- 
 ing of him, and refining of Arguments againft all he appeared for, 
 affected to mew it. And, to fay Truth, that Judge had acquired an 
 Authority fo tranfcendent, that his Opinions were, by moft Lawyers 
 and others, thought inconteftable ; and he was habituated in not bear- 
 ing Contradiction, and had no Value for any Perfon whatever that 
 did not fubfcribe to him. His Lordfhip knew him perfectly well, and 
 revered him for his great Learning in the Hiftory, Law and Records 
 of the Englijh Conftitution. I have heard him fay that, while Hales 
 was chief Baron of the Exchequer, by Means of his great Learning, 
 even againft his Inclination, he did the Crown more Juftice, in that 
 Court, than any others, in his Place, had done with all their good Will 
 and lefs Knowledge. But his Lordfhip knew alfo his Foible, which 
 was leaning towards the Popular ; yet, when he knew the Law was 
 for the King (as well he might, being acquainted with all the Records 
 of the Court, to which Men of the Law are commonly Strangers) he 
 failed not to judge accordingly. 
 
 He was an upright Judge, if taken within himfelf; and when he H r s Manner 
 appeared, as he often did, and really was, partial, his Inclination O r 
 Prejudice, infenfibly to himfelf, drew his Judgment afide. His Bias 
 lay ftrangely for, and againft, Characters and Denominations ; and, 
 fometimes, the very Habits of Perfons. If one Party was a Courtier, 
 and well dreffed, and the other a Sort of Puritan, with a black Cap 
 and plain Cloaths, he infenfibly thought the Juftice of the Caufe 
 with the latter. If the difTenting, or anti-court Party was at the Back 
 
 of
 
 61 ne LIFE of the late 
 
 of aCaufe, he was very feldom impartial; and the Loyalists had al- 
 ways a great Difadvantage before him. And he ever fat hard upon 
 his Lordmip, in his Practice, in Caufes of that Nature, as may be 
 obferved in the Cafes of Cuts and Pickering, juft before, and of Soams 
 and Bernardiflon elfewhere, related. It is faid he was once caught, 
 A Courtier, who had a Caufe to be tried before him, got one to go 
 to him, as from the King, to fpeak for Favour to his Adverfary, and 
 fo carried his Point ; for the Chief Juftice could not think any Perfon 
 to be in the right, that came fo unduly recommended. 
 His excellent He became the Cufhion exceeding well: His Manner of hearing 
 
 Exprefiion patient, his Directions pertinent, and his Difcourfes copious and, al- 
 and, leeming, *. i < * f n TT n /* \rr 11 i T- 
 
 Courage, that though he hefitated often, fluent. His Stop, for a Word, by the Pro- 
 is, as to the duce, always paid for the Delay ; and, on fome Occafions, he would 
 popularly 11 ' utter Sentences heroic. One of the Bankers, a Courtier, by Name Sir 
 timid. Robert Viner, when he was Lord Mayor of London, delayed making a 
 
 Return to a Mandamus, and the Profecutor moved for an Attachment 
 againft him. The Recorder Howel appeared ; and, to avert the Rule 
 for an Attachment, alledged the Greatnefs of his Magiftracy; and the 
 Diforder that might happen in the City, if the Mayor were im- 
 prifoned. The Chief Juftice put his Thumbs in his Girdle, as his 
 Way was, and, Tell me of the Mayor of London, faid he ? Tell me 
 of the Mayor of Queenborough : But ftill this was againft the Court. 
 He put on the Shew of much Valour, as if the Danger feem'd to lie 
 . on that Side, from whence either Lofs of his Place (of which he really 
 made no great Account) or fome more violent, or, as they pretended, 
 arbitrary Infliction might fall upon him. Whereas, in Truth, that 
 Side was fafe, which he muft needs know, and that all real Danger, 
 .to a Judge, was from the impetuous Fury of a Rabble, who have as 
 little Senfe and Discretion as Juftice ; and from the Houfe of Com- 
 mons, who feldom want their Wills, and, for the moft Part, with the 
 Power of the Crown, obtain them. Againft thefe Powers he was very 
 fearful; and one bred, as he was, in the rebellious Times, when the 
 Government, at beft, was but Rout and Riot, either of Rabble Com- 
 mittees, or Soldiers, may be allow'd to have an Idea of their Tyranny, 
 and confequently ftand in Fear of fuch brutifh Violence and Injuftice 
 as they committed. But it is pleafant to confider that this Man's not 
 fearing the Court was accounted Valour ; that is by the Populace, 
 who never accounted his Fear of themfelves to have been a mere 
 Timidity. 
 
 Taken out of Whatever his Courage or Fear was, it is moft certain his Vanity was 
 cm ^Tre* exce ^ lve > which grew out ofafelf Converfation, and being little abroad, 
 tender, and, But when he was off from the Seat of Juftice, and at Home, his Con- 
 by Severi- verfation was with none but Flatterers. He was allowed on all Hands 
 
 to
 
 LORD KEEPER GDILFORD. rfj- 
 
 to be the mod profound Lawyer of his Time; and he knew it: But ties unfortu- 
 that did not ferve him, but he would be alfo a profound Philofopher, ^^ his 
 Naturalift, Poet, and Divine, and meafured his Abilities in all thefe by 
 the Scale of his Learning in the Law, which he knew how to va- 
 lue: And if he poftponed any, it was the Law to all the reft; for he 
 was fo bizarr in his Difpofitions, that he almoft fuppreffed his Col- 
 lections and Writings of the Law; which were aTreafure, and, being 
 publimed, would have been a Monument of him beyond the Power of 
 Marble. But, inftead of that, he ordered them to be locked up in 
 Lincoln's Inn Library ; and made no Scruple to fend forth little Tracts 
 in Philofophy, as the Non Gravitation of Fluids, Difficile* Nugce, pro- 
 fecuting the fame Nugtf, or Trifles, upon the Barofcope ; which made 
 Sir William Jones fay that his whole Life (meaning in private, as I 
 fuppofe) was nugarum plena, or made up of Trifles : His Origina- 
 tion of Mankind, in Appearance, a great Work, with nothing in it, 
 and that which fcarce any one ever read or will read. And what 
 is very remarkable, the very childim Ignorance of his Subject, 
 mewed in thefe Books, is drefled in moft accurate Method, proper 
 Expreffion, and fignificant Engli/h Style, better than which one 
 would not defire to meet with as a Temptation to read. He publifh- 
 ed much in fpeculative Devotion, partProfe, part Verfe; and the latter 
 hobbled fo near the Style of the other, as to be diftinguimed chiefly 
 by being worfe. But his Matter, and Language not in Rhyme, was 
 pious and good. He took a Fancy to be like Pomponius Atticus y or 
 one that kept above Water in all Times, and well efteemed by all 
 Parties. He publimed a fhort Account of that noble Romans Life, 
 and, at the Entrance, a Tranflation of the fame in Cornelius Nepos ; but 
 fo ill done as would have brought the Rod over the Back of a School- 
 Boy. An hard Cenfure without Proof: Therefore take the following 
 Inftances. i. Et elatus eft in Leclicula-, which means that (after he 
 was dead) he was carried out upon a Bier. The Word Ejferre is pe- 
 culiarly proper in that Place. But he rendered it be was lifted up 
 in his Bed. Then 2. Et Jic Globus ifteConfenfionis, Diffenfione unius. 
 Ho minis, disjeftus eft. That is And Jo that confederated Party was 
 broke by one Mans leaving them. But \\^Andfo that Ball of Con- 
 tention, by the Dijfent of one Man, was let fall. So miferably will the 
 learnedeft Men err, that prefume out of their Sphere, and fail in that 
 great Point of Wifdom, the knowing one's felj. This great Man was 
 moft unfortunate in his Family; for he married his own Servant Maid,, 
 and then, for Excufe, faid there was no Wifdom below the Girdle. All 
 his Sons died in the Sink of Lewdnefs and Debauchery; and if he was 
 to blame in their Education , it was by too much of Rigour rather 
 than of Liberty; which (Rigour) Montague fays feldom fails of that 
 Confequence. Although he was very grave in his own Perfon, he loved 
 
 the
 
 64 ^e LIFE of the late 
 
 the moft bizarr and irregular Wits, in the Practice of the Law before 
 him, moft extravagantly. And, befides, he was the moft flatterable 
 Creature that ever was known ; for there was a Method of Refigna- 
 tion to him, and treating him with little Meals, and private, with 
 his Pipe, at Eafe, which certainly captivated him. So Sir George 
 Jeffries gained as great an Afcendant, in Practice, over him as ever 
 Counfel had over a Judge. In mort, to give every one his Due, there 
 was in him the moft of Learning and Wifdom, joined with Ignorance 
 and Folly, that ever was known to coincide in the Character of any 
 one Man in the World. 
 
 Hisjufticewas His Lordfhip, of whom I write, by his Extent of Bar Practice, while 
 wdhisArbitra* k e ^ O0(i * n the Front, on the one Side or the other, in moft, or, rather, 
 rinefs in great every great Caufe that moved in We/tminfter Hall^ had a full View 
 Things. His o f this great Man; and very often obferving him a Slave to Prejudice, 
 Authority'* a Subtililer, and Inventor of unheard of Diftinctions, and exercifing Cri- 
 caufed his ticifms to get the better .of known Maxims of the Law, and thereby 
 
 Lordfliip's to tran f m j t great Eftates and Interefts from fome Perfons and Families 
 notes or nun. . , , . n t / / /-. 
 
 to others, and knowing well thefe Infirmities of his, was not moved 
 
 at all at what he did. And this over-ruling Temper of his did not fo 
 much take Place in fmall Concerns, and in thofe between common 
 Men; for there his Juftice mined moft, and armed him with Re- 
 putation that fuftained his Authority to do as he pleafed in greater. 
 Whereby it feems that if he never had dealt in other but great 
 Caufes, to hear and determine them, he might have been accounted 
 the worft Judge that ever fat. But although his Lord (hip was not 
 furprifed at this Behaviour of the Chief Juftice, yet he was very 
 much concerned to fee the Generality, both Gentle and Simple, 
 Lawyers and Laymen, idolife him as if there had never been fuch 
 a Miracle of Juftice fince Adam. His Voice was Oracular, and his 
 Perfon little lefs than adored. And his Lordfhip knew alfo that this 
 Fafcination proceeded from Faction, and had, at the Root, more of 
 Confederacy than Judgment ; for becaufe the Chief Juftice was, in 
 Principle, averfe to Monarchy and the Court, they all, with one 
 Voice, exalted him, in order to have him lead the Law, and all the 
 Lawyers, that Way; and left no Room for juft Thoughts of him, 
 which attributed enough of Honour and Commendation, but all that 
 he faid was right, and whoever faid to the contrary was wrong. 
 In oppofition to this impetuous, or, rather, Rage of, Reputation 
 (under which his Lordmip himfelf was a Sufferer, as may be feen 
 elfewhere) his Lordfhip thought fit to note down the feveral Inftar.ces in 
 his own Obfervation of this Judge's Fondnefs and Partiality; which he 
 intended to have explained at large, when he was at Leifure, and fhould 
 have had a Difpofition fo to do. Thefe Notes are come to my Hand, 
 
 . and.
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. <?y 
 
 and, being willing to declare the Scope of them as well as I can, I 
 will pafs them one by one as follows. 
 
 Nofwortby verfus Baffef. Trials directed? It is ufual in dark Mat- NT / 1M "^ **- 
 with all Art andCare, yet flighted. I tersof Fact, to refer them{ ^el"" 
 
 to Trials at Common Law, and a Verdict upon one Trial, is alwayswhetrnot for 
 allowed to be given in for good Evidence upon any other Trial o f hisTll - a * 
 the fame Fact. Nofworthy had married a Daughter of Serjeant 
 Maynard, who urged very hard againft Sir William Baffef, an old 
 Cavalier, or Loyalift. There lay -the Characteriftic. Care was taken 
 to fettle the IfTues for two Trials fucceffive, and with all the Arfthat 
 might be, to give Nofworthy the Advantage. If either of them had 
 taken accordingly on his Side, there was no Doubt but the Autho- 
 rity of them had been great in the Confequence of future Proceed- 
 ings : But it happened that both went for Bajjet. Notwithstanding 
 that, another Trial was directed to be at the Bar, before Hales him- 
 felf; and, when the Authority of two Verdicts was alledged, he flight- 
 ed, and had no Regard to them. 
 
 Hyde verftts Emerton^ Marriage 1 The Principal depended in the strove to PT ^ 
 affectedly tried to prejudice ano-> Court of the Arches in a Trial ^ d J" an , Ec ' 
 
 ^ ' /- -Ti^'i C r JT , i ^. clefiaftical 
 
 dious Caufe agamft Right. } of Marriage. And the Queftion Caufe by a 
 
 was whether the Son of the Lord Treafurer Danby, or Mr. Emerton, Temporal 
 a fort of DifTenter, was married to Mrs. -Hyde. The Caufe was whol- Tr 
 ly ecclefiaflical j and, from the Arches, mufl (upon Appeal) goto 
 the Delegates, and could by no Poflibility be drawn, from that Ju- 
 rifdiction, to the Common Law: And all Titles whatever, under that 
 Marriage, muft (even at Common Law) ftand and fall by the Sentence 
 in the Ecclefiafticai Court. Emerton was advifed to bring an Ejectment 
 -for the Lady's Land, and to get thatCaufe tried at the Bar before Hales. 
 It was alledged, in Delay of the Trial, that the Right of the Mar- 
 riage depended in the Arches, and, till Sentence, the Right could not 
 appear at Lawj for that Court was deci five. The Matter of Delays 
 'in the Arches was ftood upon as a Reafon to proceed, and, however 
 ^anfwered upon the Neceffity by their Courfe and Rules, if pafled ; and 
 the Trial went on. And it was managed by Hales with frequent 
 Exclamations at the Clearnefs of Emertens Title, and Proof of the 
 Marriage. The Pinch was that, by the Matrimonial Law, Fathers 
 and Mothers are not Witnefles to Matches for Preferment of Chil- 
 dren j but the Common Law allowed them: And, in that, lay the 
 Clearnefs. But it was thought that fuch a Trial, carried with the O- 
 pinion of fo popular a Judge, would awe the Ecclefiafticai Court, and 
 io be of Service towards the fuftaining a Caufe grounded upon a very 
 odious Practice ofEmerfon to gain-that Lady. The Characterise of this 
 Caufe was evident enough ; and fo it was in the Cafe ofSoams and Ber- 
 
 I nardiftm \
 
 66 The LIFE of the late 
 
 nardifton ; fee the Examen. In that, Hales faid he would not try the 
 Caufe before the Houfe of Commons had decided the Right j but 
 there the Reafon lay counter, as was (hewed in that Book. 
 
 Cafe of Mil- Cafe of Mildenhall Encount : Aft ~) I cannot well make out this 
 jeahatt, fided o f parliament ; otherwife in the > Comparifon ; but only remem- 
 Haccagainft Cafe of the London Judicatory. ) ber that the Mildenball Cafe 
 the Lord. was upon the Title of Sir Henry North, Lord of the Manor, and a 
 Cavalier, again ft the Populace of the Town, touching a Right loan 
 Allotment upon the Divifion of the common Fens. The Townfmen 
 diftinguifhed it from Common, by calling it their fola & feparalis 
 Pajlura. It was tried before Hales in the Exchequer : And, in that 
 Cafe, he did not allow the Sentence of the Commiffioners to be con- 
 clulive; but, upon the London Commiflion of fettling Rights after 
 the Fire, he ruled it was fo, though both flood on equal Height, viz. 
 the Adi of Parliament. That, as I take it, is the Inconfiftency here 
 noted. But, to do him Right, though he leaned as much as he could 
 to end the Caufe with Advantage on the popular Side, he never would 
 fay that fuch a Cuftom to exclude the Lord, who had no Profit 
 otherwife, was good in Law j but rather the contrary. But, here, the 
 Lord of the Manor had no Benefit of his Opinion; but, for Fear 
 of worfe, was conftrained to go off upon a Reference ; for the ill 
 Confequence, by offending if he refufed, made the Compliance ne- 
 ceflary. 
 
 jtcEtiams, Ac Etiams, in the Common Pleas,! The Secret of this Matter de- 
 Law JOB. R. condemned, when ufed in the King's-* pends on the Hiftory of the 
 xTe? 01 Bench, and the Cafe but altered. } two Courts, the Kings-Eench, 
 
 and Common Pleas, ftriving for Jurifdiftion, or, rather, encreafe of Bufi- 
 ncfs ; which will be found more largely treated of elfewhere. The Court 
 of Common Pleas had been outwitted byiheKifig's-Bencb, till his Lord- 
 (hip came upon the Cufhion ; and that by an Artifice in Procefs called 
 jic Etiams. HisLordfhip ufed the fame Artifice in the Procefs of his 
 Court, where it was as good Law as above. But Hales exclaimed 
 againft it, and call'd it altering the Procefs of Law ; which very fame 
 Thing his own Court had done, and continued to do every Day. 
 Agiuift fining That Juries cannot be fined for ^ This was popular, and the 
 of Juries, a- flighting Evidence, and Directions, C Law ftands fo fettled. The 
 contrary to Reafon, and the whole T Matter is Truft; whether the 
 Courfe of Precedents. ) Court or the Jury. The 
 
 Court may abufe a Truft in an undue Punimment of Jurymen, as in 
 -any other Aft of Juftice; and, on the other Side, Juries may abufe 
 their Truft ; as, foon after, was done with a Vengeance, in the fcan- 
 dalous Inftances of Ignoramus Juries. The Precedents run all for the 
 
 Truft
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 67 
 
 Truft on the Side of the Court : What Reafon to change it (which 
 was changing the Law) but Popularity ? 
 
 Fojler verfus Ramfay, againft Lord 7 This Matter is fomewhat 
 
 upon a metaphyfical Notion, S- dark to me ; but if the Cafe 
 
 hard to the Party that loft it. j be any where reported, it 
 
 may be cleared. I think the Caufe went againft the Duke of Lau- 
 derdale, his Majefty's moft loyal and wife Commiffioner of Scotland-, 
 where, upon a Point of Defcent, the Lord Chief Baron Hales diftin- 
 guifh'd away a Right by Defcent, which had been fettled by exprefs 
 Judgment of Law, by the Invention of a Medium different, a Chi- 
 mera to ferve a Turn, without Reafon or Authority to warrant it, 
 and never heard of in the Law before. 
 
 The Cafe of the Lord Fitzwalter ? This was a Trial for a feve- Affcfted A P - 
 pro Eurnam verfus Touts. 3 ral Fifhing of the River Bur- P h " fe of a " 
 
 ' r^fr- iii i 11 T^'/I Evidence, be- 
 
 nam in Effex, which had been taken to have been a common Fiihing: fore the other 
 But it was the Title of the Lord Fitzwalter, whofe Name was Mild- si(is heaid - 
 may, a Characteristic in EJ/ex. The Counfel for that Lord made a 
 long Deduction of Evidence by Offices pofl Mortem, Charters, Pedi- 
 grees, and diverfe Matters of Record. When they had done, the Lord 
 Chief Juftice Hales, who carefully went along with them from Point 
 to Point of the Evidence, inftead of calling on the other Side to give 
 an Anfwer, fell to eulogifing the Evidence given, calling it over and 
 over, a noble Evidence. This his Lordfhip thought not the Office of 
 a Judge, to commend an Evidence before the other Party was heard. 
 It gave a Prejudice with the Jury: And what Matter was it to the 
 Right, whether the Evidence were noble or not ? The Countrymen, 
 on the other Side, by an ignoble Prefcription, might have a better 
 Title. 
 
 Cafe of Sir William Drake, Prefump- -\ I have no Report, and can- prefumpMW- 
 tions, very ftrong Evidence prevailed,/ not account for Drake's for sir "//# 
 
 iir^jr j i i-xi i^Vx^i/- T- Drake, but no*; 
 
 till Deed found, then Deed prevailed : > Cafe. But rememoer a f or p 
 Earl of Peterborough had not that good C Trial at the King's-Bencb rough. 
 Fortune. 3 Bar, between the Lord Pe- 
 
 terborough, and his Brother the Lord Mor daunt ^ before the Lord Chief 
 Juftice Hales. The Earl's Title depended on a Deed, of which only 
 a Copy could be produced j but it was very ftrongly to be prefumed 
 to be a true Copy; for it had been deliver'd out to be perufed by Coun- 
 fel, and admitted on all Hands to be a true Copy -, and this long be- 
 fore any fuch Queftion, as at the Bar, could be dreamt of: Above 
 Thirty Years before ; and it had remain'd in the Gentlemens Hands 
 ever fmce, as it was mewed, and unaltered. One would think, after 
 luch Length of Time and other Circumftances, this might have been 
 
 I 2 admitted
 
 <J8 . The LIFE of the late 
 
 admitted as Evidence of the Deed: No, it was not proved exprefly to 
 have been examined with the Original. But, it feems, in Drake's 
 Cafe, Prefumptions, or lefs Evidence, in Cafe the Deed had never been 
 found, would have done as well. 
 
 Countenanced Marriage of Quakers found ~) This was grofs in Favour of thofe 
 ^s" f Specially at Gi/</Atf//. 3 worfl of Sectaries j for v if the Cir- 
 
 cumftances of a Quaker's Marriage were ftated in Evidence, there 
 was no Colour for a fpecial Verdict; for how was a Marriage by a 
 Layman, without the Liturgy, good within the Acts that eftablifh 
 the Liturgy? The Slur, in fuch Cafes, ufed to be this. In Evidence, 
 a Cohabitation, and owning the Children, as Man and Wife, pafTeth 
 without entering into the Queftion of the Right; that properly belongs 
 to another Jurifdiction. But here, though the Right was debated, and 
 could not be determined for the Quakers, yet a fpecial Verdict, upon 
 no Point, ierved to baffle the Party, that would take Advantage of the 
 Nullity. 
 
 Soams wrfu-s Bernardiflon, 1 This relates to his making that 
 , tried Opinion afked ; but when he ( Trial a Table Cafe in Serjeants- Inn 
 could not govern according to C Hall. The Manner of it was this, 
 hisWill, flighted, and went on. ) When Mr Attorney North moved 
 flighted. to arre fl- t he Judgment againft Bernardifton, with a Vigour that needed 
 fome Aid to repel, Hales, who was lenfible that the Objections were 
 weighty y had a Mind to implant his Notions in the reft of the JudgeSj, 
 before whom it was poffible the Caufe might come, by Writ of Error, 
 to be determined anew; for he could, leaft of any Thing, bear that 
 his Judgment mould not prevail. And one Day at Dinner, when the 
 Caufe was adjourned, in Serjeants-Inn Hall, he put this Cafe to his 
 Brethren the Judges and Serjeants prefent ; and, as his Way was, to 
 bis Queftions he annexed his Reafons before he took their Anfwer ; 
 for thofe Reafons might poffibly lead them into his Opinion : And, 
 then, his Sentence in Court had been adorned with the Adjunct of the 
 Opinions of the Serjeants Bench; to whom (as fometimes is done) 
 the Cafe had been put.. But, upon the Proof, diverfe of the other 
 Judges, and Serjeants, were of an Opinion different from his; and 
 fome doubted, and thought it a Cafe that deferved to be better confi- 
 der'd ; and very few were clear with him* Upon this Difappointment,. 
 he thought fit to flight them all, and made no more Words about it. 
 Elfe, their Opinions had been quoted in Court, or, at leaft, put un- 
 der a Prejudice againft a Writ of Error mould come ; of which, Hales 
 bad a prophetick Forefight
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 6 9 
 
 jftkinfs Cafe, whether a Privilege j This was the Cafe of the Law Againft the 
 the King had enjoy'd for a hundred / Patent, by which the King's ^r" g f 01 Pr L '" w 
 Years, were a Monopoly. Re- ^> Patentees claim'd the fole print- Books fe? W 
 verfed by Parliament, and Liberty \. ing of Law Books. This was, Ti g ht in . thc 
 of arguing denied. J by Hales, adjudged a Mono- Lords. 
 
 poly. But, upon a Writ of Error brought in Parliament, the Lords 
 reverfed the Judgment, without folemn Argument. I remember about 
 that Time, it was commonly faid in WeJtminfter-Hall t that the beft 
 Reafon the Judges had to make that Patent a Monopoly, was that, 
 they might have the Benefit of printing their own Reports. 
 
 Scroggs's Cafe of Serjeants'? Sir IWHiam Scroggs, when he was a Difallowed 
 in Common-Pleas. practifing Serjeant, was arrefted by a Ser J ean t 
 
 Kings-Bench Procefs ; and he pleaded his Privilege- as a Serjeant at p^vlfegi of 
 Law, attendant on the Common Pleas, to be fued only in that Court, the common 
 and by Bill, and not Capias, as Officers of the Court are proceeded n *' 
 againft. But Hales difallowed it ; and it was thought very injurious 
 to the Coif, and againft all Authority of Precedent and Ufage. 
 
 Succefs of Applications, 7 This was touched before; and was when impofedupon 
 on the contrary Party, j a Courtier carried his Caufe by getting, by a Trick. 
 one, as from the King, to fpeak to Hales as for his Adverfary. 
 
 Here I have done with this very great Lawyer, the Lord Chief. Protection 
 Juftice Hales. And I muft not part without fubjoining my folemn of the Truth, 
 Proteftation, that nothing is here fet down for any invidious Purpofes, JeffityofrfTe 
 but merely for the Sake of Truth; firft, in general, for all Truth is Subjea, and 
 profitable ; and, fecondly, in particular, for Juftice to the Character I 
 write of, againft whom never any Thing was urged fo peremptorily 
 as the Authority of Hales ; as if one muft of Neceffity be in the 
 Wrong, becaufe another was prefumed to be in the Right. Thefe 
 two Chiefs were of different Opinions in Matters of private Right, as 
 well as touching the Publick. And if one were a Solomon, Saint, and 
 Oracle, what muft the other be taken for? Therefore I have under- 
 ftood it abfolutely neceffary. for me, as (affifted with his Lordmip's 
 own Notes) I have done, to fhew Hales in a truer Light than when 
 the Age did not allow fuch Freedom, but accounted it a Delirium, or 
 Malignancy at leaft, not to idolife him ; and thereby to manifeft that 
 he had his Frailties, Defects, Prejudices r and Vanities, as well as Ex- 
 cellencies ; and that he was not a very Touchftone of Law, Probity y 
 Juftice and publick Spirit^ as, in his own Time, he was accounted r 
 But .that fome, that did not agree with him, might have thofe Vir-^ 
 tues as eminently, in the. Eye of a juft Obferver. This is the only 
 Confideration that moved me fo freely, to difplay the Matters afore-r 
 going; wiming only that I. had Means, cr Ability, of doing it with- 
 more Punctuality.. I conclude with thia Obfervation $ that it is a ge-. 
 
 nerafi
 
 70 The LIFE, of the late 
 
 neral Error of the Community, learned and unlearned, when a Man 
 is truly great in fome Capacities, by the Meafure of them to magnify 
 him in all others, wherein he may be a fhallow Pretender. But it is 
 the Office of a juft Writer of the Characters of Men, to give every 
 one his Due, and no more. 
 
 I fhould earlier have mentioned a great Piece of Service his Lord- 
 mip did to his College, that of St. Joh?i's, in Cambridge ; whereby 
 they were enabled to recover a confiderable Eftate, which they had 
 laboured in feven Years Suit for, and had been always baffled. It hap- 
 pened that when the Fellows were about to give up the Caufe, and to 
 look no more after it, it carne into one of their Heads to propofe they 
 fhould make one Experiment more, which was to confult their little 
 Fellow Commoner (as they ufed to call him) who, after a Circuit or two, 
 and other Dealings in the Country, was reputed the hopefullefl young 
 Lawyer in England. This was agreed to, and they went to him. 
 The Hiftory of the Caufe was this. There was a grave old Gentle- 
 man that had a Title to an Eftate ; but it was of that Nature, as could 
 only be recovered by a Writ of Right : And accordingly, by Advice 
 of Counfel, his Writ was fued out, and the Summons given. The 
 Defendant appear'd, and pleaded to Iflue by Battle (which Law was 
 then, and is yet, in Force, though obfoleted) the Confequence of 
 which was, that the Plaintiff muft either fight, or find a Champion 
 to fight for him, or elfe, his Caufe would be adjudged againft him 
 for his Default, and he be barred for ever. The good Man was of 
 Opinion, that it was utterly againft the Law of God to join, or to 
 hire any one to join, in mortal Battle for worldly Interefts ; and fo he 
 let his Writ go. But, in his laft Will (taking himfelf to have a Right 
 ftill) he gave the Land to St. Johns College for ever. And he de- 
 clared his Gift to them to be, in Truft and Confidence that they would 
 ufe all their Interefts and Endeavours to obtain of the Parliament a 
 Repeal of that ungodly Trial by Battle. After this Will proved and 
 known, the College went to Counfel, and proved diverfe Ways at 
 Law to come at this Eftate ; but all in vain, as was faid before. 
 When they attended his Lordmip, with their Compliments of the 
 great Aflurance of his Skill and Integrity in advifing them, having 
 been educated in their College, he told them plainly, they had not 
 taken one right Step j for, as they had proceeded, the Law was every 
 Way againft them. But if they caufed an Information, or Bill in 
 Chancery , in the Name of Mr Attorney General, to be preferred, as 
 for having the Benefit of a pious and charitable Ufe (in all which, the 
 Crown is interefted, and may, by the Attorney, in that Manner, call 
 for a due Application of it) the Court, by Virtue of an original Ju~ 
 rifdictlon of Charities, will decree it; and no Battle, nor other impe- 
 dimental
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 71 
 
 di mental Forms of Law (hall ftand againft that Equity. They took 
 the Courfe he directed, and obtain'd a Decree for the Eftate, which 
 they hold at this Day ; and have own'd his Lordmip's good Advice 
 to them, as the greater Benefaction of the two. This Counfel, now, 
 would feem no great Reach ; becaufe that Courfe is become more fre- 
 quent : But, before that Time, it was a Learning that lay out of the 
 common Road, and had been very rarely practifed ; and, I prefume, it 
 might be gathered by his Lordfhip, in his Dealing under Sir Jeofry 
 Palmer ; for there is little directly in the Books tending to it. 
 
 I (hall recite no more of thefe particular Cafes, wherein his Lord- A good Con 
 {hip fignalifed himfelf, but proceed to another Head ; and that is Con- ve y ancer - 
 veyancing. I can, with AfTurance, fay that he was no lefs expert, at 
 that Sort of Practice, than any one of his Time, although profeffing 
 no other. And he difpatched a great deal, efpecially of the moft in- 
 tricate Kind ; that is, Settlements in noble Families, who entirely re- 
 lied upon him. And in thefe, are commonly found fo many Entails, 
 Trufts, Terms, Powers, Jointures, Rents, &c. that it is very difficult 
 to clear the Way to come at a new Settlement; and then, to compile 
 it fo as to anfwer all the Ends, and Exigences of the Families, will 
 always require a Workman. But, betides his Knowledge of the Law, 
 gain'd by Reading, he had, as I muft always remember, the Benefit of 
 many ufeful Notions and Hints from Sir 'Jeofry P aimer \ not one Jota 
 of which, was loft upon him. 
 
 He had a comprehenfive Turn of Thought, and a dexterous Appli- Methods of 
 cation of it to the Subject before him ; and he always crept as near to 
 the Truth of Things as was poflible; and as he had a great Command 
 of Language and Words, he had alfo a Judgment to choofe the moft 
 apt and intelligible, and withal a natural Clearnefs of Difpofition and 
 Method ; all which, as I faid, rendered him a Conveyancer inferior to 
 none, At the Beginning of his Bufinefs he had no Clerk, and, not 
 only drew but, engrofled Inftruments himfelf, and, when he was in 
 full Practice, he fcrupled not to write any Thing himfelf. A Lady in 
 Norfolk told me he made up fome Agreements for her; and, at the 
 Sealing, a Bond was wanted, and there was no Attorney, or Clerk, at 
 Hand to draw it, fo they were at a Stand: And then he took the Pen, 
 and faid I think it will not foul my Fingers if I do it myfelf; and, 
 thereupon he made the Bond, and it was fealed. I have often heard 
 him complain of the Community of the Conveyancers, and fay that 
 fome of them were Pack-Horfes, and could not go out of their Road. 
 After his Bar Practice grew up to engrofs his whole Time, and the 
 Bufinefs of the Crown in Weftminfter Hall began to lean upon him, 
 he only fuperintended in the Conveyancing Province; leaving Searches, 
 Perufals, and Extract making to others that he thought fit to recommend, 
 
 and,.
 
 71 The LIFE of the late 
 
 and, after he had directed, took the Finifhing to himfelf. By this 
 Way of committing Clients to certain Practifers, on whom he could 
 rely for the working Part, he helped them into Credit and Bufinefs; 
 and particularly one Mr. Thomas Syderfin (an Author of Reports) was 
 introduced, and, under his Lordfhip, and in very important Concerns, 
 in fome Families, relied on. 
 
 :harafter of This Mr. Syderfin was a Svmerfetjhire Gentleman, and proved a very 
 ?ftralS!iif- S ooc ^ L aw ye r > as the Book, two Volumes in Folio of Reports of his, (hews, 
 ortuneofhis But he was not a better Lawyer than a kind and good natur'd Friend; 
 having very good Qualities under a Ruftic Behaviour and more un- 
 couth Phyfiognomy. He ufed at the Temple to be defcribed by his 
 Hatchet Face, and' Shoulder of Mutton Hand, and he walked fplay, 
 (looping and noddling. His Lordmip ufed his Converfation chiefly 
 for his Afliftance in Matters of Law, wherein he was of great Ufe 
 and Service to him. For when his Multiplicity of active Bufinefs 
 would not allow him to confult in Cafes that he wifhed well to as 
 well for Friendship and Relation as for Fees, he ufually fubftituted 
 Mr. Syderfin to confult the Books for him, as he himfelf had done be- 
 fore for Sir Jfofry Palmer. And this leading the Perfons concerned to 
 attend him by Mr. Attorney's Direction, they, finding him induftrious, 
 careful, and learned, continued to ufe him as their immediate Coun- 
 fel in other fmaller Concerns, wherein Mr. Attorney was not con- 
 cerned; which brought him into very considerable Bufinefs, as well 
 in conveyancing as at the Bar. For his Probity, and exact Juftice to 
 his Clients, was a great Recommendation of him; for he had no Ten- 
 ters to hang their Dependences upon, to make them drop Fat, as fome 
 have had and done. But he died before his Friend Mr. Attorney was 
 made the Chief of the Common Pleas ; elfe, it is probable he might, 
 by his Means, have been taken into the Wheel of Preferment. The 
 only Thing which I ever heard him blamed for, was the marrying a 
 Lady, that was his Ward, before her Minority was expired ; which, 
 by the World's Allowance, makes her entirely capable to difpofe of 
 herfelf. And it feems an ill Ufe made of a Truft, and the Authority 
 of a Guardian, to take Advantage of a Minor's being a great Fortune 
 much above him, and anticipate her free Choice, by influencing her 
 -to marry him. But the Lady had no Caufe to repent ; for he was 
 fo good a Man, as could not but make her happy ; and that proba- 
 bly, young as (he was, {he was fatisfied of, by Experience of his ge- 
 jieral Behaviour towards her and others; which might make her de- 
 termine fo early. For me had a very good Understanding, and had 
 .Occafion to ferve herfelf of all her thinking and Judgment under 
 an immenfe Misfortune that befel her when me was a Widow. For, 
 i>eing a great Fortune, one Sarsfield ran away with her, and carried 
 
 her
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 7j 
 
 her over into France, where, by the greateft Accident, the Abufe was 
 difcovered, and the Raptor feifed, (he protected, and both fent home; 
 and the former, upon her mod ingenious Relation of the Fact, fvvorn 
 in a Trial at the King's Bench Bar, convict and punimed. 
 
 His Lord(hip, having taken that advanced Poft, and defigning to Am (led a Re- 
 benefit a Relation * who was a Student in the Law, and kept him Com- !itlon< 
 pany, caufed his Clerk to put into his Hinds all his Draughts, 
 fuch as he himfelf had corrected, and after which Conveyances had been 
 engrofled, that, byaPerufal of them, he might get fome Light into the 
 formal Skill of Conveyancing. And that young Gentleman inflantly 
 went to work, and firft numbered the Draughts, and then made an Index 
 of all theClaufes, referring to that Number and Folio: So that, in this 
 flrict Perufal and Digeflion of the various Matters, he acquired, not only 
 a formal Style but, alfo apt Precedents, and a competent Notion of In- 
 ftruments of all kinds. And to this great Condefcenlion was owing that 
 little Progrefs he made, which afterwards ferved to prepare fome Matters 
 for his Lordfhip's own Perufal and Settlement. 
 
 It fell out that his Lordmip, by a Caft of his Skill in this kind, pre- Happi i y cor . 
 vented his Father's being utterly difappointed of the Effect intended by retted his Fa- 
 his laft Will : For the good Lord had the general Notions of the Law, 
 as many others have; who neverthelefs, coming to the Execution of 
 Bufmefs, blunder mod abominably. And it is very ftrange, but very 
 true, that if a Layman (as the Lawyers ftile thofe not bred to the 
 Profeffion) ftudies the Law never fo hard, and purfues in a Courfe of 
 reading and commonplacing with all imaginable Perfeverance, yet he 
 fhall be far from competent to judge of, or capable to direct in 
 Bufmefs. So this good Nobleman, intending to give his Lady all his 
 perfonal Eftate, free from Debts and Legacies, and to charge thofe up- 
 on his Land and (fubject, &c.) to fettle it ftrictly upon his Family, 
 had contrived thus. He made his Wife his Executrix, and charged 
 Debts and Legacies upon the Land, and limited it efpecially on his 
 Sons and their IfTue male fucceffively, without Truilees to fupport, 
 &c. When this was done, he bethought himfelf that, however in 
 Prudence it did not become him to truft his nimble young Lawyer to 
 draw his Will, and fo give him an Opportunity to deal in fomewhat 
 for himfelf, unawares to him, yet, after the Will was made, he ought 
 not to fecrete it from fo great a Lawyer as he was. And thereupon he 
 fent for him, and, with a Speech, let him know that however (for 
 Reafons that fatisfied himfelf) he was not confulted in the making his 
 Will, yet now he mou'd fee it. But he mud not expect to alter 
 one Tittle, or Syllable in it; for he had confidered it fo well that he 
 mould not need, if he were difpofed to trud, his Advice. His Lord- 
 
 K (hip 
 
 * His youngeft Brother Roger, the Honourable Author of this Work.
 
 74 The LIFE of the late 
 
 {hip perufed it over, and his Father afked him how he liked it. He 
 anfwered with a Queftion, Whether he intended that Lady North 
 fhould have any Thing of his perfonal Eflate, or nothing. / Intend 
 her all, and have, faid he, given it her by making her file Executrix. 
 That was his Skill. But the Lawyer told him that would not do, 
 but only in Cafes where no Debts were : And charging his Land did 
 not eafe his perfonal Eflate, unlefs it were made an exprefs Legacy, 
 with a Declaration to exempt it. For the Heir had an Equity to turn 
 all Debts upon the perfonal Eflate in Eafe of the Land-, and the latter 
 Jhould not be charged till the other was exhaufted. This was News 
 to the Lord, and made him ftart. Then the Lawyer afked farther, 
 if it was his Intent that any of his Sons might fell his Eftate, and 
 fruftrate their own Children, and the reft of his Remainders. No, 
 faid he, / intend none of them ft all fell. But here they may, faid the 
 Lawyer, for the Remainders to Sons, before any born, are contingent , 
 and a Feojfment, or Fine of the Tenant for Life, deftroys the Con- 
 tingencies, and his Eftate becomes a Fee fimple. Thefe Difcoveries made 
 fuch an Impreffion upon the Spirits of the old Lord, that he faid, 
 Son, you fee my Intent, go and make it as it Jhould be. Which was 
 done, and, as Things fell out in that Family, that Action of his Lord- 
 fhip's was a Prefervation of the Eftate, and prevented the good old 
 Lady from being left deftitute; who, otherwife, had been left with- 
 out a Bed to lie on, but what (he muft have purchafed by anticipa-* 
 ting her Jointure. So it is when Men will purfue in Profeffions they 
 were not educated in. 
 
 His Behaviour We have now, from a plain King's Counfel, got a Solicitor Ge- 
 nera ^> wno > * n fome R ef P e( ^ s > is co-ordinate with the Attorney, that 
 is in drawing up and paffing Royal Grants, which are to go to the 
 great Seal. As to Patents of Honour, indeed, thofe are, as I take it, 
 claimed by the Attorney, to pafs only by him; but, elfe, the Signet 
 Warrant may go to the Solicitor as well as the Attorney, as the 
 Suitor will pleafe to inftance or prevail at the Secretary's Office. His 
 Lordmip did not like this competitory Bufinefs, but fecured his Share 
 as well as he could, not only by confidering well his Duty, and the 
 Truft of that Employment, and what Cares belonged to it, but by 
 ufing Mr.Johnfon to be his Clerk of the Patents, who had done all 
 like Bufmefs under Sir Jeofry Palmer : And his Reputation and In- 
 tereft brought many Patents to the Solicitor, which, otherwife, had 
 not come ; for he was reputed to have a Magazine of the beft Prece- 
 dents. 
 
 Read pub- During his Solicitormip, his Lordmip kept his Publick Reading 
 in tne Tem P Je Hall, in the Autumnal Vacation, in the Year . 
 He took for his Subject the Statute of Fines and, under that, found 
 
 Means
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 7J 
 
 Means to exhauft all his Learning upon that Branch of the Law 
 which concerned Titles, and the transferring them : And the Arguers 
 againft him did their Parts alfo, who were the befl Lawyers of the 
 Society in that Time. As for the Feafting Part, it was iumptuous, 
 and, in three or four Days Time, coft One Thoufand Pounds at leaft. 
 The Grandees of the Court dined there, and of the Quality (as they 
 call it) enough; for his diffufed Relation, general Acquaintance and 
 Station, as well as Profpect of his advancing in the King's Service, 
 made a great Rendefvous of all the better Sort, then in-TeAvn, at his 
 Feafts. 
 
 He fent out the Officers with white Staves (for fo the Way was) Manner of 
 and a long Lift to invite ; but he went himfelf to wait upon the j^'^"" 
 Archbifhop of Canterbury, Sheldon; for fo alfo the Ceremony requi- 
 red. The Archbifhop received him very honourably, and would not 
 part with him at the Stairs Head, as ufually had been done; but, 
 telling him he was no ordinary Reader, went down, and did not part 
 till he faw him pafs at his outward Gate. I cannot much commend 
 the Extravagance of the Feafting ufed at thefe Readings; and that of 
 his Lordmip's was fo terrible an Example, that I think none hath 
 ventured fmce to read publickly ; but the Exercife is turned into a Re- 
 venue, and a Compofition is paid into the Treafury of the Society. 
 Therefore one may fay, as was faid of Cleomenes, that, in this Relpedt, 
 his Lordmip was ultimus Heroum, The laft of the Heroes. And the 
 Profufion of the beft Provifions, and Wine, was to the worft of Pur- 
 pofes, Debauchery, Diforder, Tumult, and Wafte. I will give but 
 one Inftance ; Upon the grand Day, as it was called, a Banquet was 
 provided to be fet upon the Table, compofed of Pyramids, and fmal- 
 ler Services in Form. The firft Pyramid was at leaft four Foot high, 
 with Stages one above another. The conveying this up to the Table, 
 through a Croud, that were in full Purpofe to overturn it, was no 
 fmall Work: But, with the Friendly Affiftance of the Gentlemen, it 
 was fet whole upon the Table. But, after it was looked upon a little, 
 all went, Hand over Head, among the Rout in the Hall, and, for 
 the more Part, was trod under Foot. The Entertainment, the Nobi- 
 lity had out of this, was, after they had tofs'd away the Difhes, 
 a View of the Croud in Confufion, wallowing one over another, and 
 contending for a dirty Share of it. 
 
 It may be faid this was for want of Order ; but, in Truth, it was The Benefit of 
 for want of a regular and difciplined Guard of Soldiers; for nothing Reading EX- 
 lefs would keep Order there. I do not think it was a juft Regulation, erclfes> 
 when, for the Abufe, they took away fuch a profitable Exercife. But, 
 in England, it is a common Way of reforming, even in State Mat- 
 ters, inftead of amending, or paring away, what is amifs, to kick 
 
 K 2 down
 
 7 6 The LIFE of the late 
 
 down whole Conflitutions, all at once, however, in themfelves, ex- 
 cellent. Could not the whole Propofition of Feafting have been laid 
 afide, and nothing but ordinary Commons allow'd? But, as to the 
 Exercife, now it is gone, we can fee the Want of it ; and never more 
 Want than now, when Statutes of broad Influence upon the People's 
 Concerns, are fo frequently fent out from the Parliament. It was the 
 Defign of thefe Readers to explain to the Students the Conftrudtions 
 that were to be made upon new Statutes, for clearing a Way that 
 Counfel might advife fafely upon them. And the Method of their 
 reading, was to raife all imaginable Scruples upon the Defign, Pen- 
 ning, and Senfe of fuch new Adts as they chofe out to read upon, 
 and then to give a careful Refolution of them ; as we may fee done in 
 thofe Readings that are in Print. But now there is fcarce a Lawyer fo 
 hardy to advife a Client to try a Point upon a new Statute, whereof 
 the Event is at the Peril of Cofts, and fometimes Ruin of a poor Man 
 that pays for the Experiment j for how can the Counfel forefee the 
 Judge's Sentiments? and how contrariant to his Advice they may 
 prove? As, for Inftance, upon the Law of Diftrefs and Sale for Rent, 
 fome have faid it is to deveft Property, and, fo far, in Nature of a 
 penal Law, and ought to be conftrued ftridtly. Others have faid it is 
 .a remedial Law, and ought to be enlarged by Conftruction. And who 
 doth not know the wide Difference in the Confequences of Law, in 
 fome Points, upon thefe various Grounds of Conftru&ions ? Now, if 
 a previous Reading had been had upon this Statute, faving better Judg- 
 ments, it had been declared a remedial Law, and to be conftrued in 
 Favour of Remedy. And, probably, a fingle Judge, at the Affifes, 
 would not have oppofed his Sentiment againft the learned Determina- 
 tion of a Reader, fo folemnly and publickly held forth (as, at thefe 
 Exercifes, in the Inns of Court is done) which Counfel at the Bar, in 
 nice Queftions at Law, are allow'd to appeal to for Authority. But, 
 as the Cafe is now, till fome hardy Client hath pufh'd his Point, upon 
 fome new provifionary Law, to a Trial, and obtain'd a Refolution on 
 his Side ; or elfe, to his immenfe Cofts (which properly converts it to 
 a penal Law) finds that he is in the Wrong, Counfel care not to ad- 
 vife a Law Suit, or give a clear or pofitive Opinion in any queftiona- 
 ble Matter, arifing upon fuch a new Law. 
 
 of his Lord- It may be wonder'd at, that, as his Lordmip was fo great a Lover of 
 fhip's Mar- Regularity, we hear nothing all this while of his matching himfelf. 
 To that I anfwer, that no Perfon could be more difpofed that Way 
 than he was ; and it was about this Time that he made his firft E flays 
 towards it ; and, for that Reafon, I think this a proper Place to bring 
 forward an Account of them, as I intend to do of all his Lordmip's 
 Concerns and Reflections, as well of thofe in which himfelf alone was 
 
 intere ft ed
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 77 
 
 interefted, as others which might affect and influence the Publick ; 
 fuch as Matching, Refidences, Fortunes, Entertainments, Reflections, 
 Doubts, Melancholies, Confidences, with his Arts of governing him- 
 felf and his Paflions. And although I may by this Means introduce 
 many PafTages, which, to fome, may feem of lower Importance than 
 what are proper to have Place in a Life of fo great Confequence, yet 
 I am almoft of Opinion, that moil Perfons will look into fuch a Cata- 
 logue as readily as any other in the whole Undertaking. If the Hiftory 
 of a Life hangs altogether upon great Importances, fuch as concern 
 the Church and State, and drops the peculiar Oeconomy and private 
 Conduct of the Perfon that gives Title to the Work, it may be an 
 Hiftory, and a very good one; but of any Thing rather than of that 
 Perfon's Life. Some may think Defigns, of that Nature, to be, like 
 the Plots of Mr. Bays, good only to bring in fine Things : But a Life 
 mould be a Picture ; which cannot be good, if the peculiar Features, 
 whereby the Subject is diftinguim'd from all others, are left out. Nay, 
 Scars and Blemilhes, as well as Beauties, ought to be expreffed - y other- 
 wife, it is but an Outline fill'd up with Lillies and Rofes. And, to 
 this Intent, what I have to produce here, will be found more con- 
 ducing than all the Incidents of State, Law, and Juftice, to be found 
 in the other Parts of the Work ; and that will engage me to be more 
 felicitous and declaratory than elfewhere. 
 
 After he was called to the Bar, he applied himfelf clofely to the Dcfired a Set 
 Attendance and Operations of the Law, and wanted Refreshment, fuch tlement by a 
 
 r 11 i j n-i' i i Match, and 
 
 as was reafonable to be enjoy d at vacant Times j and he was weary the i n a uce _ 
 of being at the loofe Hand as to Company, which he could not have, ments. 
 at all Times, to his Mind. He was no Clubfter, lifted among good 
 Fellows; and often pafled his Evenings in walking, or folitary (if 
 it may be fo term'd, when he had only me with him) rather than join 
 in any promifcuous Society, or of fuch as were not either in his 
 Friendship, or diflinguifh'd by fome notable Talents that recommended 
 them. And he thought it would be an Eafe to his Mind to know 
 continually, after his Bufinefs done, what was to become of him ; 
 and that he thought beft provided for by a Family and Houfekeeping ; 
 which is never well fettled without a Miftrefs, as well as a Mafter of 
 a Family. Thefe Confiderations inclined him to look out for a fuita- 
 ble Match. And, to fay Truth, his Conftitution required it as much 
 as any Man's whatever ; but, being exceffive modeft, and by Refolu- 
 tion virtuous, he was felicitous and ardent in the Purfuit of it, and 
 not a little encouraged by a manifeft Feeling he had of Succefs in his 
 Profeffion, which difmifTed all Fears of the lean Wolf. And not be- 
 ing infenfible of a fair Character in general, which, together with 
 fome Quality and happy Relation that fell to his Share, he fancied he 
 
 might
 
 7 8 The LIFE of the late 
 
 might pretend to as good a Fortune in a Match, as many others had 
 found, who had lefs Reafon to expect it ; but, without fome Advance- 
 ment in that Way, he was not difpofed to engage himfelf. 
 
 A Match pro. That, which fat hardeft upon his Spirits, was, how he mould give 
 poftd,but ^fair Anfwer to theQueftion, What 'Jointure and Settlement? He ufed 
 ceft. l c " to own but one Rood of Ground in the World, that yielded him any 
 Profit, which was Weftminjler-Hall: A meagre Particular, unlefs he 
 might have added, as Finch did, his Bar Gown 20,000 /. There came 
 to him a Recommendation of a Lady, who was an only Daughter of 
 an old Ufurer of Grays-Inn, fuppofed to be a good Fortune in pre- 
 fent, for her Father was rich ; but, after his Death, to become worth 
 no Body could tell what. His Lordmip got a Sight of the Lady, and 
 did not diflike her : Thereupon he made the old Man a Vifit, and a 
 Propofal of himfelf to marry his Daughter. There appear'd no Symp- 
 toms of Difcouragement; but only the old Gentleman afked him what 
 Eftate his Father intended to fettle upon him for prefent Maintenance, 
 Jointure, and Provifion for Children. This was an inaufpicious Que- 
 ftion ; for it was plain that the Family had not Eftate enough for a 
 Lordmip, and none would be to fpare for him. Therefore he faid to 
 his Worfhip only, That when he 'would be pleafed to declare 'what 
 Portion he intended to give his Daughter, he would write to his Fa- 
 ther, and make him acquainted with his Anfwer. And fo they parted; 
 and his Lordmip was glad of his Efcape, and refolved to give that 
 Affair a final Difcharge, and never to come near the terrible old Fel- 
 low any more. His Lordmip had, at that Time, a ftout Heart, and 
 could not digeft the being fo flighted ; as if, in his prefent State, a 
 profitable Profeffion, and future Hopes, were of no Account. If he 
 had had a real Eftate to fettle, he mould not have ftooped fo low as 
 to match with his Daughter; and thenceforward defpifed his Alli- 
 ance. 
 
 Courted a His Lordfliip's next Amour was, in all Refpects, better grounded; 
 
 \vidcw, and but, againft all Senfe, Reafon, and Obligation, proved unfuccefsful. 
 Kr ! jikS W . hen Mr - Edward Palmer, his Lordfhip's moft intimate and dear 
 Friend, died, he left a flourishing Widow, and very rich. The At- 
 torney General, and all his Family, had projected a Match of their 
 Coufin North with this Lady, who were no Strangers to each other: 
 Nor was there wanting fufficient Advices, or, rather Importunities, 
 of the whole Family, for her to accept him ; againft which me did 
 not feem to reluct, but held herfelf very referved. In the mean 
 Time, his Lordmip was excited to make his Application ; which he 
 had never done, or, at leaft, not perfifted fo long as he did, but out 
 of Refpect and Compliance with the Senfe of that worthy Family, 
 which continually encouraged him to proceed. Never was Lady more 
 
 clofely
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 79 
 
 clofely befieged withWoers: She had no lefs than five younger Bro- 
 thers fat down before her at one Time ; and flie held them in Hand, 
 as they fay, giving no definitive Anfvver to any one of them, till me 
 cut the Thread, and, after a clancular Proceeding, and Match with a 
 jolly Knight of a good Eftate, (he dropped them all at once, and fo 
 did herfelf, and them, Juftice. There were many comical Paflages in 
 this wooing, which his Lordfhip, with much Pleafantry, ufed to re- 
 member; and, however fit for a Stage, would not mufter well in an 
 hiftorical Relation ; for which Reafon, as his Lordfhip was dropped, 
 I drop them. The Unhappinefs was, that he never could find cut 
 her Refolution as to him ; for {he flood in fome Awe of Sir Jeofry 
 Palmers Family, and would not break with them, till me had pro- 
 vided for herfelf another Intereft ; and his Lordfhip would not flight 
 their exceffive Kindnefs to him, by deferting his Poft, at which they 
 had placed him : So, between the one and the other, he was held at 
 the Long Saw above a Month, doing his Duty as well as he might; 
 and that was but clumfily, for he neither drefled nor danced, when 
 his Rivals were adroit at both; and the Lady ufed to muffle her Fa- 
 vours amongft them affectedly, and on Purpofe to mortify his Lord- 
 mip ; and, at the fame Time, be as civil to him, with like Purpofe to 
 mortify them: And his Lordfhip was not fo miftified, by his Amour, 
 as not to difcern thefe Arts ; and nothing, but the Refpecls I hinted, 
 could have held him in Harnefs fo long. For it was very grievous to 
 him, that had his Thoughts upon his Clients Concerns, which came 
 in thick upon him, to be held in a Courfe of bo-peep Play with a 
 crafty Widow. And I have heard him often fay, that he never was, 
 in all his Life, more rejoiced, than when he was told that Madam was 
 married; whereby he was efcaped from a miferable Confinement. 
 And the Faflidium, upon this Occafion contracted, and his Encreafe 
 of Bufinefs, which gave him little Time to think of any Thing elfe, 
 diverted his Mind from undertaking any more fuch Projects; and fo 
 he went on in his Way. 
 
 Another Propofition came to his Lordfhip, by a City Broker, from An advaira- 
 Sir John Lawrence, who had many Daughters, and thofe reputed g iou 5 offer 
 
 J i i T- i J , , TT- T T/i r upon Difguft, 
 
 Beauties; and the tortune was to be oooo/. His Lordmip went and rejefted. 
 dined with the Alderman, and liked the Lady, who (as the Way is) 
 was drefled out for a Mufler. And coming to treat, the Portion 
 fhrank to 5000 /. and, upon that, his Lordfhip parted, and was not 
 gone far before Mr Broker (following) came to him and faid, Sir John 
 would give 500 /. more, at the Birth of the firfl Child; but that 
 would not do, for his Lordmip hated fuch fcrewing. Not long after 
 this Difpatch, his Lordfhip was made the King's Solicitor General, 
 and then the Broker came again, with News that Sir John would give 
 
 10,000 /,
 
 80 The LIFE of the late 
 
 io,ooo/. No; his Lordmip faid, after fitch Ufage, he would not pro- 
 ceed\ if he might have 2O,ooo/. So ended that Affair; and his 
 Lordfhip's Mind was once more fettled in Tranquillity. 
 
 chance pro- It is faid that Marriages are made in Heaven ; and if frequent and 
 ciucedagio- un f ore f een Accidents (often to be obferved productive of them) are 
 
 nous rropoii- \ iii/^, r r i i 
 
 any Argument, the Proverb hath Countenance ; for lo it happen d in 
 his Lordfhip's Cafe: For, out of a contingent Interview, a Propofition 
 fprang, pregnant with all Advantages of Honour, Perfon, and Fortune ; 
 more than which was not to be defired or expected. And it was for 
 a Match with the Lady Frances Pope, the middle Daughter of three 
 Coheirs of Thomas Earl of Down, who lived at Wroxton in Oxford- 
 jlnre. The eldeft was married to Mr. Soams, of T 'hi 'r low in Suffolk, 
 within four Miles of Catlidge, the Seat of his Lordfhip's Father. And, 
 as the Ufe is, the grave Countefs of Down, with her two younger 
 Daughters, attended the new-married Couple to their Habitation, and 
 made fome Stay there; during which Time the Vifits of Joy came in, 
 and, amongft the reft, the Family from Catlidge made their Ap- 
 pearance ; and the Countefs, and her Daughters, in due Time, made 
 their Return, which happen'd to be at a Time when his Lordmip was 
 at Catlidge. His Mother laid her Eyes upon the eldeft unmarried 
 Daughter, and, when they were gone, turn'd about and faid, Upon 
 my Life, this Lady would make a good Wife for my Son Frank. 
 And, in fhort, at the next Vifit, with his Lordfhip's fair Confent, me 
 moved it to the Countefs, who confented that his Lordmip might 
 make his Advances. His next Bufinefs was to mufter what Sums of 
 Money he could, in order to make an honourable Propofition ; and, 
 with 600 /. borrow'd of a Friend, he could compafs but 6000 /. in 
 all to join to her Fortune, which was efteem'd at 14,000 /. for mak- 
 ing the Jointure and Settlement intended to be iooo/. per Annum. 
 After this, he ventured down with a decent Equipage and Atten- 
 dance, and, in lefs than a Fortnight, fixed his Point with the Lady, 
 and appointed another Time to come and finifh what was fo aufpici- 
 oufly begun. And then his Lordmip went with full Attendance, and 
 fome Friends ; and, after the neceflary Writings were fealed, the Lo- 
 vers were happily married in Wroxton Church. But I well remem- 
 ber, the good Countefs had fome Qualms, and complain'd that fhe 
 knew not how {he could juftify what (he had done (meaning the mar- 
 rying her Daughter with no better Settlements) Madam, faid his Lord- 
 fhip, if you meet with any Queftion about that, fay that your Daughter 
 has iooo /. per Ann. Jointure. It is certain that (befides fome private 
 Reafons the Countefs might have) the Friends of the Family look'd upon 
 this as a very defirable Match, not on Account of an Eftate in prefent, 
 but of much greater, little lefs than certain, to come; for his Lordmip 
 
 was
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. Si 
 
 was Solicitor General, and, I may fay, a Favourite of the Law, and 
 his Character unexceptionable, befides his Family, which was ftyled 
 Honourable. 
 
 It is not eafy, nor very material, to defcribe the Feafting and Jol- Muchrejo'c- 
 lities, that were in the Country round about, upon this Occafion. It '"S ar th= 
 was a Cavalier Country, and the Popes eminent Sufferers for their sl^ t " g ' 
 Loyalty in the late Wars: And his Lordmip having the like Chara.cter, Maintenance 
 and known to be an obliging, as well as a flourifhing, Loyalift, there "^ lnhftcd 
 was fcarce a Family which did not fhew all Refpecl imaginable to 
 the new-married Folks, by Vifits, Invitations, and feftival Rejoicings. 
 So that it was about three Weeks before his Lordfhip could clear him- 
 felf of thefe well-intended Importunities. At length we decamped for 
 London ; and his Lordmip took, firft, Lodgings, and then an Houfe, 
 and lived, confiilent with his Bufinefs, in a Way moft agreeable to 
 him. It was wonder'd that this Lady, being fuch a Fortune, had no 
 feparate Maintenance affign'd her. I believe the true Reafon was 
 that, confidering his Lordfhip's known Good-nature and Honour, they 
 thought there would be no Need of it, and it would, as a Diftruft, 
 have difobliged him to have mention'd it ; and I am, partly, certain 
 he would not have agreed to it: And, in the fame Family, the younger 
 Sifter was matched with a large feparate Maintenance. And, to mew 
 how little fuch Provifions (except in extreme Cafes, the Suppofition of 
 which, almoft in Poflibility, is fufficient to divert a Match) fignify ; 
 a Lady, though fuffering in her Perfon for want of reafonable Sup- 
 plies, never profited the leaft by it; but, upon Expoftulation, the An- 
 fvver was, Get you to your 'Truftees. But, for certain, the Lady Fran- 
 ces Pope was matched into the Land of Plenty ; and, in faying that, 
 I have faid all. 
 
 Thefe Ladies Fortunes confifted in Eftates of Inheritance, come to Great Lofsk 
 them by Defcent, as Coheirs under certain Settlements in the Family, t a io ^ mF fl " 
 to be made good by a due Execution of feveral Fines and Recoveries 
 formerly had. The Lady Eliz. Lee fet up a Pretence again ft them, 
 as Heir General, let in by Failure of Iflue Male; and Suits being com- 
 menced, and ready for Trial, his Lordmip, being then Counfcl for 
 the Lady Lee (thoughtlefs of his future Concerns) was at a Confult 
 preparatory to a Trial the next Day, which was to determine, once 
 for all, whether thefe Ladies mould be great Fortunes, or worth 
 nothing at all ; and, perhaps, be found in Debt for their Charges and 
 Living in the Interim. And the whole Board (as I may call it) agreed 
 in Opinion that their Client, the Lady Lee, had no Title at all. But 
 the Truftees for the Ladies were towards the Law ; and, being won- 
 derfully fcrupulous, had a different Notion, and, confidering the Con- 
 fequence, that might be fatal to the Ladies, advifed a Compofition ; 
 
 L and
 
 The LIFE of tie late 
 
 and, in the Morning, before the Trial, attended her Ladymip to know 
 herPleafure; and me furioufly protefted me would have half. This 
 was a fevere Sentence, but yielded to -, and, afterwards, the Eftates, 
 fubject to this Queftion, were fold, and the Money divided, of which 
 his Lordmip came into his Wife's Part : And he ufed merrily to fay, 
 He had been a Counfel againft himfelf. And if this Queftion had 
 not come to fuch a Compofition, which diminifhed the Ladies For- 
 tunes, he had never compafled his Match. 
 
 His Lordmip, by the Means of his Brother-in-Law, Mr. Robert 
 Hyde> fettled himfelf in the great Brick Houfe, near Serjeants-Inn, in 
 Chancery-Lane, which was formerly the Lord Chief Juftice Hyde's-, 
 and that he held till he had the great Seal, and fome Time after. 
 And when he came to fettle in this Houfe, he confider'd his Oecono- 
 my, and what Method to put it in : He appointed his trufty Clerk in 
 chief to pay all Bills weekly, and keep all his expenfive Accounts. 
 This Gentleman, not only kept his Books fair but, had Vouchers to 
 every Item. And it was well for his Lordmip that he did fo ; for one 
 Bran/by, an Upholfterer, brought in a Bill of 200 /. for Furniture fup- 
 plied two Years before; excufing himfelf, that he knew his Lordmip's 
 Pay was good, and, not needing the Money, he was content to let it 
 lie in his Hands. His Lordfhip believed he was paid ; but that was 
 no Anfwer, fo referred him to his Clerk, who, looking back, found 
 his Bill, and the Acquittance in full. Then, good lack ! his Man had 
 JQrgot to cancel Ms Book. He fuppofed that his Lordmip had not 
 fuch regular Accounts ; and, then, Tradefmen take the Advantage, and 
 are paid double. 
 
 When his Lordfliip lived in this Houfe, before his Lady began to 
 want her Health, he was in the Height of all the Felicity his Nature 
 was capable of. He had a Seat in St. Dunftans Church, appropriated 
 to him, and conftantly kept the Church in the Mornings. He had 
 the Efteem of the royal Family, and of all the loyal and conforma- 
 ble People in the Nation. His Houfe was to his Mind; and, having, 
 with Leave, a Door into Serjeants- Inn Garden, he palled daily with 
 Eafe to his Chambers, dedicated to Bufinefs and Study. His Friends 
 he enjoy'd at home ; but formal Vifitants and Politicones often found 
 him out at his Chambers. Thofe were proper and convenient for all 
 his Purpofes; but the Afcent to them was bad : And, being fcandalifed 
 at the Poornefs of the Hall, which was very fmall, and, withal, rui- 
 nous, he never left till he brought his Brethren to agree to the new 
 building of it; which he faw done with as much Elegance and Ca- 
 pacity, as the Place would admit of, and thereby gain'd a decent 
 v Avenue, with Stone Steps, to his Chamber, as may be feen at this 
 Day. His Lordfhip procured to be done another good Work, which 
 
 exceedingly
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 83 
 
 exceedingly improved the Dwellings, in all Chancery Lane, from Jack- 
 anapes Alley down to Fleetftreet. He found in his Houfe a fmall 
 Well in the Cellar, into which all the Draining of the Houfe was re- 
 ceived; and, when it was full, a Pump went to work to clear it into 
 the open Kennel of the Street. But, during this Pumping, the Stench 
 was intolerable, and offended, not only his Lordfhip, but all the Houfes 
 in the Street, and alfo Pafiengers that paffed to and fro in it. And other 
 Houfes there, which had any Cellars, were obnoxious to the fame In- 
 conveniences, His Lordmip propofed to them to join in the Charge 
 of making a Drain, or Sewer, all along the Street, deep enough to dif- 
 charge into the grand Common Sewer in Fleetftreet. The Inhabitants 
 would not join, alledging Danger to their Houfes, and other frivolous 
 Matters, and thereupon his Lordfhip applied to the Commiflioners of 
 Sewers, and obtained a Decree, by Virtue of which it was done whe- 
 ther they would or no, and the Charge paid by a Contribution levied up- 
 on them; and then they thanked his Lordfhip, as for a fingularGood 
 done them. Which is an Inftance ihewing that the common People 
 will be averfe to their own Intereft, till it is forced upon them; and 
 then be thankful for it. 
 
 But amidft all thefe Comforts, his Lordfhip's Happinefs was not a HisLady-j 
 little curtailed by the Bitternefs poured into his Cup from his Lady's sicknefs. 
 Sicknefs, which began about the Year 1674, and, atlaft, brought her 
 to her Grave; for he had fo much good Nature as to refent all her 
 Pains as if they were perfonally his own. Of all the three Daughters 
 of the Countefs of Down, ihe had the leaft good Health; but, about 
 the Time of her Match, me was very flourifhing and well. 
 
 When this Lady began to appear infirm, his Lordmip, for the Ad- Removed f 
 vantage of better Air, which was thought -beneficial for her, took a ^. r ^ tt 
 Country Houfe in Hammerjmith, where, in the mild Times of the ^mlxtcn, 
 Year, Ihe refided. And he came to her every Evening, and repaired there died. 
 to London in the Morning, as his Bufinefs required. And, in his Cir- 
 cuit Time, he left her there with all fitting Company and Attendance. 
 But her Diftemper, which was a violent Cough attended with a fpit- 
 ting of Blood, that followed upon the Abatement of an acute Fever 
 {he had had but juft before, proceeded from bad to worfe; and, at 
 length, his Lordmip went with her to Wroxton, and, faving the necef- 
 fary Attendances at London, was continually with her. There wanted 
 not Doctors and Apothecaries in thofe Parts. She had Dr. Trifs, a 
 Neighbour, and Dr. Danvers, from Northampton^ almofl continually 
 with her. But the Diftemper exafperated, till it was manifed: ihe 
 could not laft many Weeks, and foon after, a' large blood Veflel being 
 broke by a violent Fit of Coughing, it carried her off. It was his 
 Lordfhip's good Stars that forced him to London about a Fortnight 
 
 L 2 before
 
 84 The LIFE of the late 
 
 before {he died; for every one knows what Offences, nay Hazards, 
 a Nearnefs to Perfons, that expire gradually in fuch Confumptions, 
 induceth; for he would not be abfent from her more than was con- 
 fiftent : And when me muft expire, and, probably, in his Arms, he 
 might have received great Damage in his Health. 
 
 Her Funeral After this good Lady was dead, Care was taken (in his Lordfhip's 
 me d m MonU ~ Abfence) for her Interment, which was performed in the Chancel of 
 Wroxton Church, near the reft of her Family, with Attendance and in 
 Manner honourable, and according to her Quality. His Lordfhip or- 
 dered a black Marble Stone to be laid upon the Place, and, after- 
 wards, a Monument of white Marble to be put in the Wall, being 
 an oblong Semiurn upon a large Face of a Cube, with this Infcription 
 compofed by Dr. Henry Paman fometime Orator of the Univerfity of 
 Cambridge^ who was, not only Writer but (knowing her well) a 
 Witnefs of what he penned, viz. 
 
 Diem bic denuo oriturum Gf decretonum 
 Praftolatur leftiffima Fcemina Domina FRANCISCA 
 lllujlrijjimi Domini FRANCISCI NORTH Equit. Aurat. 
 Capitalis communium Placitorum Juji. Uxor. 
 
 Magna G? inclyta utroque Parente, 
 
 Pat re TuoMAComtte apud Hybernos Dunenfi, 
 
 Mat re Fill a HENRICI POOL/W Agro Gloc. Baronetti, 
 
 Fratre itidem THOMA Comite pariter Dunen^ 
 
 Eoque defunfio cum duabus fororibus Coheres. 
 
 Virtute tamen knge ditior quam Dote, 
 
 Utpote cui Pietasjine Fuco, Gravitas Jinefaftu, 
 
 Sine Levitate Comitas, & grata ubique Amcenitas, 
 
 Modeftia autem & Pudicitia etiam in Uxore Virginalis, 
 
 Lenta bic JEgritudine detent a quaji tremula penjitabat 
 
 An pott its pramiffis Liberis POPIO ^FRANCISCA 
 
 Se denuo ftatim adjungeret, an tenellosfuperjiites 
 
 FRANCISCUM, ANNAM G? CAROLUM molli adhuc finu foveret. 
 
 Maritus mceftus bane Mortem tarn acerbe tulit 
 
 Ac Ji ipfe Ambiret. 
 
 Hoc igitur in Memoriam Conjugii^ perfex Annos & quod excurrit 
 Felicijfime tranfatti> fummo Dolor e & Pietate pofuif. 
 
 m-* XT . A I Salutis MDCLXXV1II. 
 Qbnt 15 Nov- Anno | 
 
 ufe of Monu- It may be thought that this Monumental Infcription hath too 
 
 ^o C ns alInfCliP " much f thc Pane y ric - And J confefs the Practice is modern j for 
 the Ancients affected the greateft Brevity, and Titles only expr.efled in 
 
 Letters
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. Sj 
 
 Letters and Syllables : And I have heard the great Sir Chrijlopher Wren 
 fay, that he did not like Epigrams upon Stone. And here, perhaps, 
 the commendatory Part had been better left out, becaufe it is in the 
 Power of every Cobler to ufe the like. But, as to the Account of Fa- 
 milies, which makes the greateft Part of this, for the fake of Pedigree, 
 they cannot be too much extended. In former Times, Offices poft 
 mortem, and the Herald's Office, preferved the Notice of Births, 
 Matches, and Defcents, which (faving the dark Parim Regifters) 
 are not ordinarily difcoverable to after-times, otherwife than by fe- 
 pulchral Infcriptions. As here his Lordmip's Match, with a Daughter 
 of Thomas Earl of Down, is remembered, with their five Children, 
 Francis, Pope, Anne, Charles, and Frances, whereof Pope and Frances 
 died young, and the three others furvived their Mother. 
 
 After this Funeral was over, his Lordmip's great Concern was how Difpofmon of 
 to difpofe of his three furviving Children; and he found Means to do hisLordfnip's 
 it amply to his Satisfaction. For his Mother, an excellent Lady, a vin C gChiidr~en. 
 Compendium of Charity and Wifdom, took home to her his two 
 Sons, Francis, afterwards Lord Guilford, and Charles-, and (he placed 
 them at School in the Neighbourhood, and was wanting in nothing of 
 maternal Care and Nurture of them while me lived. And the Daugh- 
 ter Anne was accepted by his Lordmip's Sifter the Lady Wifeman, 
 afterwards Countefs of Yarmouth, who refided then at Chelfea ; where 
 alfo was a good School for young Ladies of Quality, which was an 
 Advantage. His Lordmip did not live to fee them grow up to a full 
 Age, but fo fairly advanced, as if he had no Reafon to doubt their 
 doing well j and fo it proved. After the good Lady North's Death, 
 he removed his eldeft Son to Winchejler School for his better Educa- 
 tion, but left his younger in Suffolk, where fome neighbouring Rela- 
 tions had an Eye over him; for he was very valetudinary. His 
 Lordmip, by his Will, committed the Guardianship of thefe Minor 
 Children to his three furviving Brothers, and fettled the Remainder of 
 his Eftate, after the Deaths of his two Sons without Iffue, upon them ; 
 'which was ajlngular and great Truft ; and it was no lejs jujily and ho- 
 nourably performed. 
 
 His Lordmip ferved as a Member of the Houfc of Commons, but His Lordfhip 
 in one Parliament, which was that called the Long Parliament; for, f rved hut 
 when he was Solicitor General, it was thought fit that, with the firft c n e r ' n j^' 
 Intereft that could be made for him, he mould be chofen. And it fell was for Lynn 
 out opportunely enough that, by the Death of Sir Robert Stuart, as I by the Lord 
 
 r r-r-.- , J r T- n *r /-n 11 Sfaftfltirf* 
 
 remember, fome Time Recorder of Lynn Regis in Norfolk, and then undue Wr j t . 
 Burgefs for the Town, that Place fell void> and none could make a 
 fairer Pretence to ftand for that Election than Mr. Solicitor General; 
 for what with his being Commiiiioner for dividing the Fens, and 
 
 Judge
 
 TheEleftion 
 
 hi^Lordfhlp 
 aain chofen. 
 
 vay pre- 
 vented a Pcti 
 
 The LIFE of the late 
 
 Judge of the Ille of Ely, and what with his conftant Circuits and 
 eminent Practice in Town and Country, he was, not only efteemed 
 but, popular, in all thofe Parts; and there was yet more to complete his 
 Intereft there; for this Vacancy happened during the Dutch War, and 
 the Town had need of a Court Intereft to procure Convoys and Guard- 
 Ships for them, which Mr. Solicitor effectually did. The Lord Shafts- 
 bury was Lord High Chancellor, and carried it high, in Appearance, for 
 the Prerogative. The Character and Hiftory of which noble Perfon, 
 and an Account of his fending out undue Writs in Vacation of Parliament, 
 are fo fully difplayed in the Examen, that it is needlefs to mention it 
 here. 
 
 His Lordmip did not approve of this practifmg Novelties wkh the 
 Parliament, and was afraid of what happened, but conform he muft. 
 When it was made known at Lynn that his Lordmip intended to 
 ftand for Burgefs, the Magiftrates intimated that they would ferve 
 him with their Intereft; and other Encouragements he had: And, be- 
 fore the Writ came down, he made the Town a Vilit, and regaled the 
 Body with a very handfome Treat, which coft him above One hun- 
 dred Pounds; and they complimented him highly with Affurances of 
 all their Interefts, which they doubted not would be fuccefsful againft 
 any Oppofition; but they believed there would be none. He was 
 made free, and had the Thanks of the Body for his favourable Affift- 
 ance in procuring them Convoys, &c. So far was well : And when 
 the Writ was fent to the Sheriff of Norfolk, his Lordfhip's Engage- 
 ments were fuch that he could not go down to the Election him- 
 felf, but fent a young Gentleman, his Brother, to ride for him (as 
 they call it) and Mr. Ma ft hew Johnfon, fince Clerk of the Parliament, 
 for an Oeconomift, of which there was need enough. The Rule they 
 dbferved was to take but one Houfe, and there to allow Scope for all 
 Taps to- run. Nor was there Need of more, for, as had been fore- 
 told, there was no Oppolition : Which was a Difguft to the common 
 People, for they wanted a Competition to make the Money fly ; and 
 they faid Hob/on sCho'ice was no Choice. But all paffed well, and the 
 Plenipos returned, with their Purchafe, the Return of the Election, back 
 to London. 
 
 The Parliament met; and, at the very firft, the new Members were 
 attacked ; for one flood up and recommended it to their Modefty to 
 withdraw while the State of their Election was under Debate; as they 
 ; did, and were foon difmembered by Vote of the Houfe; as is more 
 -fully related in the aforefaid Examen. But thereupon the Speaker's 
 Warrants went to the great Seal, and new Writs iffued. This caufed 
 his Lordmip to difpatch his Plenipos once more, on the like Errand, 
 to his Majefty's ancient Borough of Lynn. Regis. At firft, all Things 
 
 feemed
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 87 
 
 feemed fair; but, the Night before the Election, there was Notice 
 given that Sir Simon Taylor, a wealthy Merchant of Wine in that 
 Town, flood, and had produced a But of Sherry, which But of Sherry was 
 a potent Adverfary. All that Night and next Morning were fpent 
 in making Difpofitions for Conduct of the Intereft, and fuch Matters 
 as belong to a contefted Election. But the greateft Difficulty was to 
 put off the numerous Suitors for Houfes to draw Drink, of which 
 every one made Friends to infinuate in their Favour, as if the whole 
 Intereft of the Town depended upon it. But thefe Gentlemen P tempo's 
 determined to take no other Houfe; but, where they were, to let the 
 Quill, as well as the Tap, run freely, which made an Account of 
 above Three hundred Pounds. After the Election and Poll clofed, all the 
 Chiefs, on both Sides, met to view the Poll Books ; and Sir Simon 
 Taylor, being, on his own Knowledge of the People's Names, fatisfied 
 that the Election was againft him, called for the Indenture, and figned 
 it with the reft. This was an Act of generous Integrity fcarce ever heard 
 of before or fince; and is what I have, on all Occafions, mentioned 
 for his juft Honour; and it would be ftrange if I mould leave it out 
 here. And it is material alfo; for, when his Lordmip came into the 
 Houfe, being a very good Advocate, and generally well thought of, the 
 Party, there ftyled of the Country, thought his fitting in the Houfe 
 might be an Acceffion to the Court Intereft of too much Confequence 
 to be let pafs, if it might be hindered; and accordingly they expected 
 a Petition (as almoft of Courie) to come in againft him, and an Op- 
 portunity, thereupon, to try the Experiment of heaving him out of the 
 Houfe : For, at that Time, who would not prove a Petition againft a 
 declared Courtier? His Lordmip was generally acquainted, and patted 
 well, with the Gentlemen of all Sides. But, in the Houfe, none of the 
 Country Party came near him, or cared that he fhould fpeak with 
 them. So it patted till the fourteenth Day; and there was but fifteen 
 Days of Liberty to petition. Then, one of them ventured to welcome 
 him into the Houfe, but afked if his Election was not like to be que- 
 ftioned. No, faid he, it cannot be-, for my Adverfary figned the Re- 
 turn for me. Within an Hour or two after, at leaft twenty more, of 
 the fame Intereft, came and faluted him, as very well pleafed with 
 
 his Company; as much as to fay "Since tbou art chofe y ivko would 
 
 not have it fo ? 
 
 HisLordmip fat in the Houfe till he was made Attorney General ; and Being made 
 then the fame good Friends began to difcourfe of his Incapacity of fitting Attorney Gc- 
 as a Member of that Houfe, there being an Order, as they faid, againft it, ^ t "7?fh 
 whereof the Reafon was that the Attorney is, ofCourfe, an Affiftant of the LordiWp 
 Houle of Peers. This was enough to engage his Lordmip to fearch that might fit. 
 Matter to the Quick ; as he did, that he might, if put to it, not be tempted 
 
 to
 
 88 7%e LIFE of the late 
 
 to fay any thing without Book, and that he might give his Friends, that 
 were Members, juft Notices of the Grounds of the Pretence. But the 
 Country Party never ventured upon the Point; for, in Truth, they had 
 not that Advantage as they pretended. 
 
 Attorney Ge- So now let us pafs on to find his Lordmip in the Attorney General's 
 neral. Errors p} ace> w hi c h fell out upon the Promotion of Sir Heneage Finch to the 
 6 1C Great Seal. But, before this, there had been a notable Time; for the 
 King was befet by a double viiaged Miniftry, half Papift, and half 
 Phanatick, who co-operated in Mifchief, the former to favour their 
 Party, and the other to ruin the King. The Lord Clifford and Ar- 
 lington of the former, and Bucks and Shaftjbury of the latter Party. 
 And the Game lay by foothing up the King, and puming him on in 
 Defigns of advancing his Prerogative. And they took, or made, fome 
 Colours by the Dutch War, and other Neceffities of the Crown. 
 Hence proceeded the Stop of the Exchequer, Commiifion of Mar- 
 tial Law, enjoining Actions againft the Bankers, Indulgences again ft 
 Law, and huffing the Parliament ; as the Hiftories of that Time (if 
 true) but particularly the Examen, will demonftrate. But thefe Par- 
 ties had different Aims? the Popim really to enhance the King's 
 Power, in order to have the Sway of it on their Side; the other to 
 loofen the King from the Affedions of his People, and fo directly to 
 deftroy him. They faw the Crown, in mighty Credit and Intereft 
 with the Parliament ; and that it was capable of being deftroyed on- 
 ly by high Flights of arbitrary Power: For a few Difficulties, fuch as 
 great Occafions, and little Supplies, being once brought upon the 
 Crown, to be followed (as they iuppofed) by either his Majefty's 
 truckling to the Parliament, or elfe ufing Violence for Money, would 
 bon bring it under: And, upon this Scheme, they pumed hard, 
 of After the Stop of the Exchequer^ whereby the Bankers fell expofed 
 to Aft" lons at Law, the Point was to get the Lord Keeper Eridgman 
 to enjoin thofe Adions. He had been a celebrated Lawyer, and fat 
 with high Efteem in the Place of Lord Chief Juftice of the Common 
 Pleas. The removing him from thence to the Chancery^ did not at 
 all contribute any Encreafe to his Fame, but rather the contrary; for 
 he was timorous to an Impotence, and that not mended by his great 
 Age. He labour'd very much to pleafe every Body j and that is a 
 Temper of ill Confequence in a Judge. It was obferved of him that, 
 if a Caufe admitted of diverfe Doubts, which the Lawyers call Points, 
 he would never give all on one Side; but either Party mould have 
 fomewhat to go away with. And, in his Time, the Court of Chan- 
 cery run out of Order into Delays, and endlefs Motions in Caufes; fo 
 that it was like a fair Field overgrown with Briars. And, what was 
 worft of all, his Family was very ill qualified for that Place; his 
 
 Lady
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 8? 
 
 Lady being a moil violent Intriguefs in Bufinefsj and his Sons kept 
 no good Decorum whilfl they praftifed under him : And he had not 
 a Vigour of Mind, and Strength, to coerce the Caufe of fo much 
 Diforder in his Family. He bogled at diverfe Things required of 
 him, and particularly flopping the Law Suits againfl the Bankers by 
 Injunction, and the Commimon of martial Law; although, at that 
 Time, there was Colour for it by a little Army encamped in Black- 
 heath. And there was a Meeting of the Attorney and Solicitor Gene- 
 ral at his Houfe ; where it was agreed that thefe were Rocks they 
 muft all fplit upon, if they could not be avoided. The Lord Shaft f- 
 bury took Advantage of this Difficulty, and, as was fuppofed, by un- 
 dertaking to do whatever the Lord Keeper Erldgman refufed, got him 
 removed, and flipt into his Place. But all thefe fine Doings came to 
 nought. The King agreed with the enfuing Parliament j and then 
 the Lord Shaftsbury, pretending, for faving himfelf, to turn into the 
 difcontented Party, in the Confequence of Affairs, mewed himfelf to 
 be, at Bottom, an utter Enemy to the King and his Family 3 and fo, 
 in Truth, he continued, with remarkable Perfeverance, all the Days 
 of his Life. But his whole Hiftory, the Reader will find particularly 
 related in the Examen, 
 
 After he was turn'd out, and Sir Heneage Finch placed in his Room, MadeAttor. 
 the King afked his new Lord Keeper who they mould have to fucceed "^ SS 
 him? He anfwer'd, Who Jhould fuceeed the Captain, but the Lieute- (hip's Note. 
 nant? And thereupon his Lordfhip was made the King's Attorney 
 General. Of which Paffage his Lordfhip has left the following Note. 
 Finch, Lord Keeper, Attorney, 1 Here his Lordfhip fkips over the 
 And Sir William Jones, Solicitor. 3 Earl of Shaftsbury, who had the 
 Seal not much more than nine Months. This Change did not affecl: 
 his Lordmip, fo he pafs'd it by in his Catalogue. He was well pleafed 
 with his SuccefTor; for he knew the Ability of the Man, and how 
 well, for that Reafon, he was entitled to the Place. And he thought 
 it a Credit to the King's Affairs, when Men, moil: eminent for Learn- 
 ing, and Difpatch of Bufinefs in the Law, were taken into his Majefty's 
 Service. His Lordmip was fo far from retaining any Offence at what 
 was paft, that he readily went in with the Promotion of Sir William 
 Jones. And if he had not conforted with a Party diametrically oppo- 
 fite to the Interefl of the Crown, his Lordfhip had join'd in Amity 
 with him, and gone Hand in Hand in Confults, and tranfa&ing what 
 belong'd to their Offices ; which (as the modern Courfe is) are nearly 
 co-ordinate. But fuch different Aims, as they had, could not but 
 make a Fiffure which would not be clofed. And thereof, and the 
 Confequences, fome Account may be given elfewhere ; and is already 
 related in the Examen. 
 
 M His
 
 Privacies and 
 Defires de- 
 clining the 
 Court. 
 
 The LIFE, of the late 
 
 His Lordfliip's Acquifitions by Practice, while he attended only the 
 Kings-Bench, had been very confiderable ; but after he, as King's 
 Counfel, came within the Bar, he began to have Calls into the Court 
 of Chancery, which he liked very well, becaufe the Quantity of Bufi- 
 nefs, as well as the Fees, was greater : But his Home was the Kings- 
 Bench, where he fat and reported like as other Practifers. And when 
 his Practice was greateft in Chancery, he hath come, as an Officer, 
 and fat on the Bench, under the Judges, by the Prothonotary. His 
 Bufinefs encreafed, even while he was Solicitor, to be fo much as would 
 have overwhelmed one lefs dexterous j but when he was made Attor- 
 ney General, though his Gains, by his Office, were great, they were 
 much greater by his Practice ; for that flow'd in upon him like an 
 Orage, enough to overfet one that had not an extraordinary Readinefs 
 Bufinefs. His Skul-Caps, which he wore when he had Leifure to 
 
 in 
 
 obferve his Conflitution, as I touched before, were now deftined to 
 lie in a Drawer to receive the Money that came in by Fees. One had 
 the Gold, another the Crowns, and half Crowns, and another the 
 fmaller Money. When thefe VefTels were full, they were committed 
 to his * Friend, who was conftantly near him, to tell out the Cam, and 
 put it into Bags according to the Contents j and fo they went to his 
 Treafurers Blanchard and Child, Goldfmiths at Temple-Bur. This 
 fame telling the Money was a great Truft j and he was fatisfied of the 
 Integrity of his Friend, wherein he was confirm'd by a very little Ac- 
 cident : For, while they were walking together, that young Gentle- 
 man, newly come from telling his Money, accidentally feeling in his 
 Coat Pocket, ftartled and faid, Here's an half Crown (fuppofed, by 
 Accident, to have flipt in there) but it proved only a Piece of Glafs. 
 His Lordmip, from the Manner of that Behaviour, concluded his 
 Friend to be (as he was) moft ftrictly juft to him. 
 
 After the Death of Sir Jeofry Palmer, his Lordmip had the Advan- 
 tage to come into his Chambers, which were very commodious, hav- 
 ing a Gallery and, at the End, a Clofet, with a little Garden. This 
 ferved him to walk in, and Turn about with a Friend, continually 
 interchanging Difcourfe; than which, no Entertainment better pleafed 
 him : For that help'd him to form his Notions, and to teft them upon 
 thofe of his Friend. But his greateft Content was, that they afforded 
 an Accommodation for his Brother from Cambridge, when he thought 
 fit to come to London, fo near that he could, at any Time, go from 
 his Bufinefs to him, and return to it again when he pleafed ; which 
 was a Practice he very much delighted in, and ufed. Such Intercourfe, 
 though with Perfons raw, and little experienced in Affairs, he liked 
 better than to be wholly alone ; for he confider'd that, if he did not 
 
 His youn^'-'fl. Brother the honourable Author of this Work. 
 
 learn,
 
 , -<ii 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 
 
 learn, he taught ; which, to him, was near as well : For as he, being 
 young, had received great Benefit by the Advices and Inftrudion of his 
 Betters; fo he defired to profit others, coming up under him, with 
 the beft Counfel and Information he could give them. He never lay 
 there, but always went home to his Family, and was feldom an Even- 
 ing without Company agreeable to him. Nothing was difficult but his 
 Attendance upon, and Dealing with, the Court. His Modefty, and 
 Diffidence, and infinite Cares not to flip, or commit any Abfurdities 
 in that captious Nation, made him uneafy, fleeping and waking. 
 Thofe, who are fo far from knowing what is fit to be done, as to pro- 
 fefs Hatred of all Bufinefs, which was pretty nearly the State of the 
 Court at that Time, will yet prefcribe to fuch as have Reafon to 
 know better, and will not allow them the Liberty of being explain'd, 
 without being alfo accounted morofe, and unfit for the Court. So 
 that his Lordmip lived in a perpetual Stretch, as to his Behaviour 
 there ; and, with all that, did not come off wonderful well ; or, at 
 leaft, he thought he was often not well ufed : For he was continually 
 tormented with rafcally Projects, and the unreafonable Importunities 
 of great Men (ufually) at the Heels of them. Befides a Sort of Falf- 
 nefs and Treachery, he obferved in moft of the Court, made him de- 
 cline having any Attachments to any of their Interefls ; but made it 
 his Rule to ferve the King, and the legal Government of England, 
 with all the Fidelity and Skill he had, and to do nothing that was not 
 juftifiable by Law, nor make himfelf obnoxious to any Perfons who 
 might, for his Principles (which were always loyal) malign him. 
 And, however the Profits were great, and he was fatisfied of the good 
 Opinion the King had of his Judgment and Fidelity; befides that the 
 Lord Keeper Finch, and the Chiefs of the Law, were moftly his 
 Friends, and did not know of any Slips he had committed j yet, al- 
 ways fearing the worft, he was weary of his Pofl, and wifh'd for ano- 
 ther in a calmer Region, though lefs profitable. And, among all the 
 Preferments of the Law, his Thoughts fixed upon the Place of Lord 
 Chief Juftice of the Common Pleas ; for he knew his own Skill in 
 the Law fo well, as to be aflured he was not unfit for it ; and chofe 
 it the rather, becaufe the Bufinefs was wholly Matter of pure Law, 
 and had little to do in criminal Caufes, or Court Intrigues: And he 
 could anfwer for the rigid Integrity of his Determinations. And, in 
 the Intervals of Bufinefs in that Station, which were conftant and co- 
 pious, he fhould have more Time and Latitude to expatiate in Enter- 
 tainments that were agreeable to him, and fettle himfelf in a Way of 
 Living at Eafe with his Family, and enjoy his Friends with more Sa- 
 tisfaction. Upon which Account, although he could not expect to 
 receive fo much there, as in the Attorney's Place, by 2000 /. per Ann. 
 yet he would have been glad, fo, to have purchafed his Eafe. 
 
 M 2 As
 
 9 i The LIFE of the late 
 
 Mr. secretary As to the Affairs tranfacted in Parliament, his Lordfhip had no 
 C ood W M V ina- great Difficulty ; for little or nothing of the King's Bufmefs, in the 
 gcr Then Houfe of Commons, leaned upon him, becaufe Mr. Secretary Coven- 
 Undertakrrs. f r y was there, who managed for the Court; and no Man was ever 
 prefe^edl? better qualified for that Pod : For he was an ancient Member, and 
 the common had the nice Step of the Houfe ; and withal was wonderfully witty, 
 
 Sfa'clwfc^t ancl a ^ an ^ ^ reat Veracit y- ** e ^ ad never ^ aid an y T nin g in tne 
 
 avaftErf- Houfe, which afterwards proved a Lyej and had that Credit there, 
 pence. that, whatever he affirm'd, the Houfe believed. After he was gone, 
 
 the Court loft Ground; for there came forward a Sort of People call'd 
 Undertakers: For the Court was negligent, and did not think of the 
 Parliament till within a Month of their meeting; and, then, were in an 
 Hurry how to order Matters. Whereupon, fome one, or more, of the 
 Court Party in the Houfe, who had a good Opinion of their own Skill, 
 ufually ftept in, and undertook for the Management of the King's 
 Bufinefs that Seflions; and his Majefty need not be farther concern 'd 
 at prefent. And this Kind of Service, in the Overture, was always 
 acceptable; efpecially in a Place where all Kinds of Bufinefs was im- 
 eafy, that is, in his Majefty's Court. But the Houfe always found out 
 who were their Guardians and Sponfors, to anfwer for them : And fuch 
 never fail'd, through their Indifcretions, Preemptions, Importunities, 
 Subterfuges, or Tricks, to give Advantage againft themfelves, and, in 
 a few Days, commonly, were routed Horfe and Foot. And then there 
 was no Way but to quit them, and agree with the more friendly Part 
 of the Houfe. All which muft be readily own'd by fuch as remem- 
 ber Sir William (or Sir Francis) Wheeler^ to name no others. Managers 
 for the King in the Houfe of Commons. When there is a Set of ho- 
 neft Gentlemen, as there was in that long Parliament, nothing lofeth 
 them fo much as Difingenuity, and underhand Dealings, For the ad- 
 verfe Party contrive to expofe them with fatyrical Reflections, and 
 make thofe honeft Gentlemen almoft afhamed of their own Party. 
 No other was to be expected,, but that his Lordfhip fhould be entirely 
 for the Intereft of the Crown; not fo much upon Account of his 
 Place, for that never carried him into any indirect Action, but from 
 his Judgment, of which I have given an Account elfewhere. And he 
 was fo far from lofing his Intereft with his Friends, by his Behaviour 
 there, that he became more firmly allied to them ; for his Senfe was, 
 commonly, theirs. He could not attend the Houfe conftantly, but 
 took the Liberty of purfuing his Practice in WeJlminfler-Hall. And, 
 being there, what he did, was occaiional, and confided, chiefly, in 
 refolving the Fallacies of the Country Party: Whom to oppoie in 
 gaining the Point of a Money Bill, and anfwering to the Artillery of 
 Grievances, which were always erected, and pointed at the Money De- 
 
 figns,
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. ? j 
 
 figns, was the chief of the Court Employ, in Parliament, till about 
 the Time of Gates' s Plot, when the Country Party went off with all 
 at once. But, long before that Time, his Lordmip was removed into 
 the Common Pleas, and Mr. Coke of Norfolk fucceeded him in the 
 Burgesmip of Lynn : But not fo eafy and cheap ; for his Managers 
 did not keep in due Bounds, but let loofe the Tap all over that large 
 Town, and made an Account of 7000 /. or more, retting due to the 
 Town, befides what had been paid for the Expences. Sir Simon Tay- 
 lor oppofed, and thought he had the Return ; and, being refolved to 
 petition, was courted by the Earl of Danby, at the Price of all his 
 Charges, which were not Trifles, to forbear j as he did : Elfe, his 
 Lordihip's Son-in-Law, Coke, at that Conjuncture, had been turn'd 
 out. 
 
 Whatever his Lordmip fignified to the Court Intereft, during the of the Am of 
 Time he fat in Parliament, it is fure enough that he ferved himfelf, Parliament 
 by improving his Knowledge of Men, and their Ways in great Af- 
 femblies. And the Arts of driving are no where fo eminent, as at the 
 Committee of Elections. And it were well if all Gentlemen, that 
 come to fuch public Employments, would obferve thefe Arts; but 
 with a Sort of Contempt and Scorn, and not think them Matter of 
 Imitation ; or, indeed, any Arts fo to be, but what tend to favour 
 Truth and Juftice. It was not without Reafon that the beft Orators of 
 the Ancients determined that a Man could not be a good Orator, un- 
 lefs he was an honeft Man. For Art is a good Engine to fubdue Ig- 
 norance, or Malice ; but to fupport the Latter againft Juftice, is, not 
 an Art but, a diabolical Subtil ty. 
 
 In the Procefs of this Stage of his Lordfhip's Life, his Condition The circum- 
 was like that of a Plant fet in a proper Soil, growing up, from fmall i anc f S o nd r 
 
 n IIT-VI /> it 11 Conductor 
 
 Beginnings, into expanded Employment ; lo much, that one would his whole 
 think it fcaice potnble for one Man to find Time to difpatch the Af- Employment, 
 fairs of it. One Help he had, which was good Servants, when he had 
 moft Need of them. Mr. Matthew Johnfon, one bred in the Office 
 of Clerk of the Patents, was in that Province, and Mr. Robert North 
 for his chief Clerk, viz. for the Confeffions and other Affairs of Trull:. 
 And, when Bufinefs of Titks of Eftates came to him, he often re- 
 commended his Clients to fome induftrious and able Counfel ; as was 
 before obferved. His Lordfliip's great Labour was to get Time to be 
 inftructed well in Caufes of great Confequence, as Trials at the Bar, 
 and Hearings in Chancery ; and, for that Work, he took the Freih of 
 the Morning. He had a very trufty Boy, who never fail'd, Winter 
 and Summer, to come into his Chamber at Four in the Morning. He 
 could, over Night, juft, and but juft, admit his Clients and their 
 Agents; and, being inform 'd, by them, in the Hiftory of the Caufe, 
 
 and
 
 LIFE of the late 
 
 and where the Pinch was, he was then prepared, next Day, ta perufe 
 his Breviate, and the Papers left with him ; which was impoffible to 
 be done for one, whilft others waited without. The Office of At- 
 torney hath little or no Vacation ; fuch continual Attendance on the 
 Court, did that Office require. But he was more capable of conform- 
 ing to it, becaufe, being then married, his Habitation was in or near 
 the Town, and he had no Country Concerns to call him from thence. 
 But, till his Lady came with him to London, he kept no Houfe in 
 Town, but ordinarily dieted in the Temple; that is, at Noon's, in the 
 Hall, and, at Nights, in his Chamber ; where the ordinary Commons, 
 with a Bottle or two, was a Regale to him, and two or three conftant 
 Friends with him. But that was, like the Harpies Supper, by Snatches, 
 for he could feldom get many Minutes to enjoy himfelf and his Friends ; 
 fuch was the Importunity of his Bufinefs. But yet he took great Plea- 
 fure in thofe little Liberties j and he was not pleafed when he had not, 
 at leaft, a third Man (for I was always one) to help out his fingle 
 Bottle, and, for fail, ufed to fend for a choice Friend or two. He 
 ufed to fay that a Glafs of Wine, to fedentary Perfons, was equivalent 
 to Exercife. He could never fit up late; for he muft be up early. 
 And, after Dinner, a fhort Turn in the other World, was, not only 
 an exceeding Refremment but, almoft neceflary to him ; for his Con- 
 ftitution required more Sleep than many others needed. 
 
 Such was his Lordfhip's Courfe of Life, during his Celibacy ; abfo- 
 lutely void of all Manner of Vice, Excefs, and Incontinence : Of which 
 (ingle, at- I am yet a living Witnefs, that fcarce was ever from him, but in the 
 very Employ of Bufinefs. I do not remember that he fo much as 
 took the Air in his Coach without me ; and fo, when he dined or 
 fupped abroad, unlefs with Grandees of one Sort or other, I was with 
 him. He never was in Danger of being overtaken with Wine to Ex- 
 cefs, from his own Seeking ; but only when confined to Company, 
 efpecially of Superiors, and that was very feldom, and fo far as clip- 
 ping only ; for he had Strength of Head to bear a great deal. He 
 was always fenfible of this Infirmity coming upon him, and could 
 curb his Speech, but not his Merriment, as I have obferved already. 
 Married.no After he was married, and his Lady come to Town, he became an 
 ordaly * Houfe-keeper ; but ufed Lodgings for a confiderable Time, till he 
 could accommodate himfelf with an Houfe ; which, at Length, he did 
 to his Content, in Chancery- Lane, as has been related. His Courfe 
 of Life was now much alter'd from what it was; but all for the bet- 
 ter, as well in all Kinds of Accommodation, 'as the Regularities of 
 Life, which he greatly affected. In this State he kept a plentiful, but 
 very plain Table, and had great Refort of his Friends to him ; at Din- 
 ner fufficient, but much more at Supper: For then he was more loofe 
 
 from
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 9 y 
 
 from Bufinefs, and Company was moft acceptable to him. And he, 
 confequently, held to his Cuftom of eating Suppers, and counted it 
 the beft Refremment he had in the four and twenty Hours. And how 
 he diverted himfelf with his Family, when alone, will be {hewed 
 elfewhere. 
 
 I cannot vary his Character much, in this Stage, from that fubjoined Friend to 
 to the former, only, now he had a Superiority, and his Thoughts were f vlTuofo" 4 
 ever intent upon Methods for Rectification and Improvement, where- 
 ever his Views extended. And, as he had profited extremely by the 
 Encouragements, in his Studies, he had received from others, fo he 
 did what he could to adminifter like Advantages in Study, to fuch as 
 came in his Way to inftruct : Inftances of which good Will, I mall 
 take Occafion particularly to relate elfewhere. The State was not very 
 much roiled with Faction, till he was taken from Practice, to the 
 Seat of Juftice, and had more Latitude to divert himfelf with Inge- 
 nuities ; fuch as Mufick, Philofophy, Painting, Mechanicks, and the 
 like ; which, in the Abfence of Strangers, were the Subject of his do- 
 meftick Converfation, as will appear in proper Place. 
 
 He had acquired, in this bufy Time of Life, a general Skill in the Inftances of 
 European Languages, as French, Italian, and Spanifc. And, now, he a A n " niverfal 
 
 r 11 i n r 11 & T-S / i i r It- r i r Application 
 
 fell, laft of all, upon Dutch, and was very defirous to make himfelf to improve. 
 Matter of that. His Friend Sir Peter Lely (of whom elfewhere) had 
 infpired him with an Inclination to it -, telling him what fumptuous 
 Libraries they had, and magnifying the Elegance and Significancy of 
 his Country Dialect ; and, as if there needed no other Books to make 
 Men exquifite Scholars and Politicians, he recommended to him a vo- 
 luminous Collection in Folio, called Saken van Staten; fuch a Sort of 
 Book as our "Rujhwortb : And, in order to gather this Part of the 
 Belles Lettres, he got a Dutch Bible, and ufed to carry it to Church. 
 To be fhort; in his greateftFlow of Bufinefs, he let flip no Opportu- 
 nity of improving himfelf, as well in the Law, as in other valuable 
 Accomplifhments. He had a very good Memory, but never trufted 
 it with his independent Remarks 5 which made him (as I have faid 
 elfewhere) fo given to note all ufeful Occurrences j for, of fuch Mat- 
 ters, Multitude confounds the Remembrance. So neceffary is it to have, 
 as it were, a Bafket to put them in. And this he did with no lefs 
 Conftancy and Application, after he was Judge, nay, Lord Keeper of 
 the Great Seal, than when he was a Student, or minor Practifer. He 
 was alfo a dexterous Index Maker: If he procured any good Law 
 Book in Manufcript, which he thought worth the reading over, he 
 certainly made an Index to it; but every notable Difcovery, or Light,- 
 in the Law, derived upon good Authority, he crowded into his folemn 
 
 Common- 

 
 j><5 The LIFE of the late 
 
 Common Place Book. He would not reflect with himfclf that he had 
 once got, but now had loft any Thing. 
 
 Made Lord Come we now to the third Divifion of his Lordmip's Life, which 
 
 chle * J ufticc - -commenced from the Time he was advanced to the Poft of Lord 
 
 Chief Juftice of the Common Pleas ; and that was foon after the 
 
 Death of the Lord Chief Juftice Vaughan. Of this Preferment his 
 
 Lordftiip has left the following Note. 
 
 Lord Chief Juftice without"? I have mentioned that his Lordmip 
 foliciting. I grew weary of the Attorney General's 
 
 Place, and why, and how much he defired a quieter Poft, and particu- 
 larly that of the Common Pleas. Now we have it intimated, here, 
 that his Defires were accomplished ; for, upon the Death vtVaughan^ 
 the Chief in that Court, his Lordmip was looked upon, on all Hands, 
 to be the fitted Perfon to fucceed him. His Lordmip had but one 
 Scruple, which made him a little deliberate about his Acceptance; 
 and that was the Difference of Profit ; for the Attorney's Place was 
 (with his Practice) near Seven thoufand Pounds per Annum; and the 
 Cumion, of the Common Pleas, not above Four thoufand Pounds. And 
 fo far the Reafon wrought upon him, that he would expect that the 
 Offer of it mould be made him ; and that he would not feek, although, 
 for cogent Reafons, he much defired it ; but, if fuch Offer came, he 
 was determined to accept it: And if the Court mould ufe him fo ill, 
 as not to give him fuch Profer, he mould not be very much morti- 
 fied. But, accepting, he ihould account himfelf enfranchifed from 
 the Court Brigues and Attendances, and other Labours of his Practice, 
 at the Price of the Difference. 
 
 A Difappoint- One Thing fell out unhappily in this Affair ; which was a Neceffity 
 to crofs the Defires of a near Relation, for whom he had no flight 
 Refpect; and it was Sir William Mountagu^ one of the Boughton 
 Family, his Lordfhip's Mother's Coufin German. Sir William preffed, 
 with extreme Earneftnefs, that his Lordmip would give Way that he 
 might obtain that Place, alledging, that fome of his Anceftors had 
 been in it. And he teifed with a World of fuch weighty Reafons, 
 to induce his Lordmip to refufe it ; and, after that, he faid he doubt- 
 ed not of obtaining the Place. All, that his Lordmip faid to him, 
 was that he would not fue for it ; but, if it was offered, he muft 
 hold him excufed if he accepted it. This did not fuffice; and Sir 
 William took it defperately ill of his Lordmip, that he would not, 
 for his fake, decline it. Such Compliments are a little too coftly to 
 be expected, how near foever the Relation is; and, in fuch Cafes, 
 the ill Manners lie in the afking, and not in refufing when afked. But 
 this Incident bred no ill Humour between thefe two noble Relations. 
 Sic William was made Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer ; and his 
 
 Lordfhip,
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 97 
 
 Lordmip, while Chief Juftice of the Common Pleas, lived in perfect 
 Amity with him ; and he had a due Refpecl for his Lordfhip while 
 they lived together. It is neither unlawful nor undecent for Rela- 
 tions to be Competitors ; but, to fuffer Rancor and ill Will to grow 
 thereby, is a Sign of an upftart and degenerous Race. But Perfons 
 of honourable Families, as thefe two were, will, as they did, be 
 careful in fortifying their Friendmips fo as no unlucky Event may 
 corrupt them. 
 
 His Lordmip forbore fitting in Court for diverfe Days, to the End Afted as Chief 
 that fuch Caufes, as had been agreed by the Court, might receive J uftice of th ~ 
 Judgment without farther Argument. And, then, his Lordmip fat C<> 
 conftantly, according to the Duty of his Place. The Court (anfwer- 
 ing the Title Common Pleas) was placed next the Hall Door, that 
 Suitors and their Train might readily pafs in and out. But the Air 
 of the great Door, when the Wind is in the North, is very cold, 
 and, if it might have been done, the Court had been moved a little 
 into a warmer Place. It was once propofed to let it in through the 
 Wall (to be carried upon Arches) into a Back Room which they call 
 the Treafury. But the Lord Chief Juftice Bridgman would not agree 
 to it, as againft Magna Charta, which fays that the Common Pleas 
 (hall be held in certo Loco, or in a certain Place, with which the 
 Diftance of an Inch, from that Place, is inconfiftent; and all the 
 Pleas would be cor am non'Judice. Although at the fame Time, others 
 thought that the Locus, there, means the Villa only, fo that the Re- 
 turns being apud Wejlmonafierium, the Court might fit on the other 
 Side of the Abbey, and no Solecifm of Jurifdidtion happen. But yet 
 that formal Reafon hindered a ufeful Reform ; which makes me think 
 of Erafmus, who, having read fomewhat of Englijh Law, faid that 
 the Lawyers were docJiJ/imum Genus indoftiffimorum Hominum. 
 
 It feems that, in old Time, the Bufinefs of the Court was very officers of the 
 great, becaufe the Officers are numerous. So it appears, at this Day, Common fleas ' 
 in the Chancery, that the Clerks are multiplied. Firft, the Six did 
 all the Work that originally might be done by a fingle Secretary; and 
 then their Clerks, that rofe to ten a piece, mere Copiers under them, 
 have got to be Officers, and thirty more added to them. And ftill all 
 of them have Clerks, who may, in Time, hope to be Officers to, and 
 beard their Mafters, as they do the Six Clerks. The Curfitors made 
 out Procefs de Curfu. Special Writs are Magi/lralia. The Mafters in 
 Chancery are Twelve. The Curfitors are by Counties; thefe are the 
 Lord Chancellor's. The Philizers and Exigenters are by Counties alfo, 
 and are of the Common Pleas. The Prothonotaries are three, now, as 
 it were, co-ordinate, but grew up with the Bufinefs ; for it feems, 
 at firft, there was but one, as in the Kings Bench. He was the pro- 
 
 N per
 
 j>8 The LIFE of the late 
 
 per Officer of the Court, who was to enter up the Replications, 
 Rejoinders, Rebutters, &c. (pronounced in Law French) upon the 
 Record in Latin, and not by Paper Books brought in by Attornies, 
 with Serjeants Hands, as now the Ufe is. But yet the Fees are taken 
 as if the Prothonotary did all, as his Office required, by himfelf. If a 
 Serjeant faid Judgment, that was a Demurrer ; if Prift, that was an 
 Iffue to the Country ; and the Form belonged to the Prothonotary. 
 But then the Crown would needs have a peculiar Prothonotary, who 
 ihould take Care of the King's Profits, and Rights that arife in, or 
 come before, the Court; and then, who mou'd deny him adling, in 
 all Caufes, as the others did? Thefe were fo bufy they had no Time 
 for Paupers ; fo another Prothonotary crept in upon Charity, that the 
 Paupers, who could not pay Fees, might be difpatched. And now, 
 of all thefe, it is hard to know which is which. They have their 
 fccondary Clerks, and ride in Coaches all alike; and, being a co-ordi- 
 nate three, are no fmall Nufance to the fearching Bufinefs. The 
 Chief Juftice hath the difpofing of the Officers of the Court; but, at 
 the Admiffion, the other Judges, not caring to fee the Pudding creep, 
 and have no Share, expect to be attended ; the Confequence whereof 
 is a fmall Prefent. I have cbferved that, upon Change of fome Of- 
 ficers, there were Bickerings, againft this Power of the Chief Juftice, 
 in a Manner Ariftocratical ; as if placing of Officers was the Adi of 
 the Court, in which they fat as Judges in Parity of Voice with his 
 Lordmip, and were alfo alike trufted in the Approbation of Fitnefs, or 
 to that Purpofe. 
 
 Keeper of the j e j s t h e Keeper of the Records, and makes the Returns of Writs 
 Treafu-y. ^ Error, and puts in a Clerk of the Treafury where the Records are 
 kept; which is of confiderable Value. When his Lordmip came into 
 his Place, he found the Clerkfhip of the Treafury in Grant to the 
 Lord Berkley. The Crown had granted that Place diverfe Times, 
 but it was always refifted by the Chief Juftices, who infilled upon 
 the Nomination to the Place, not more by a Prefcription than, from 
 the Nature of it, being the Office and Charge of the Chief Juftice, 
 and the Clerk his Deputy for whom he is to anfwer; and that the 
 Patent was void in Law, as it was alfo for the Nomination to other 
 Offices that the Chief Juftice claimed by Prefcription. Upon this 
 Conteft with the Lord Berkley, in Confederation he was a deferving 
 Perfon, and it would not be well taken to be fevere with him, his 
 Lordmip let go about half the Profits, and, naming his own Clerk, 
 allowed the Lord Berkley Five hundred Pounds per Annum, while 
 he lived. But, after his Death, his Lordfhip gave way to no Patentee, 
 if there was any j and if a Patentee had claimed, he would not have 
 allowed it. How that Matter hath gone fince I know not. His Lord- 
 fhip
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 99 
 
 ihip always fearched to the Bottom of Authority, and Reafon, in e- 
 very thing he undertook, which was relevant, and above the common 
 Notion of Things; as will appear by the next Inftance of an impor- 
 tant Alteration he made and fucceeded in. 
 
 Notwithftanding this long Catalogue of Officers, hisLordmip found Contention 
 the Court ill fupplied with Bufinefs to keep them all employed; for, f ? T 
 as Matters had been ordered in Wejlminjler Hall, the Court of Kings ^ 
 Bench went away with much the greateft Share of the Suits pro- 
 moted by London Writs ; and the proper Court fat idle, and had fcarce 
 enough to countenance their coming to Weflminfter-Hall every Day 
 in the Term: And it was thought that if the Country Attornies, 
 who were moft of the Common Pleas, had not, by taking Apprentices, 
 continued a Succeffion of fuch as brought their Bufinefs to that Court, 
 it had been utterly deferted. This may feem wonderful, but really 
 fo it was: For, the two Courts being upon Terms of Competition, 
 the Kings Bench outwitted the Common Pleas : And it was by gain- 
 ing an eafy Way of holding to fpecial Bail upon Latitats; for Plain- 
 tiffs are commonly very outragious, and love to turn the firft Procefs 
 (by a barbarous Abufe of fpecial Bail) into an Execution, which ought 
 to come after Execution, and be the laft. And the Common Pleas 
 was rightly ferved; for they thought to exclude the King's Bench 
 by getting an Aft of Parliament that none fhould be held to Bail un- 
 lefs the Caufe of Action was exprefled in the Writ. That was done 
 of Courfe in the original Writs returnable in the Common Pleas-, but 
 not in the Kings Bench, whofe the Procefs of Latitats was, viz. 
 in T^ranjgrejjione fuper Cafum. There the Common Pleas thought they 
 had nicked them. But the Kings Bench was not fo fteril of Inven- 
 tion as to want the Means of being even with that Device ; and there- 
 fore they added in their Writs ac etiam Billte to the 'Tranjgrejfione fu- 
 per Cajum (for Inftance) Centum Librarum ; and then, faid they, the 
 Caufe of Adion is mentioned in our Writs. This was Advantage 
 enough over the Common Pleas-, for their Originals were fineable; 
 and not fo expedite to be put in due Form as the common Tranf- 
 grejjlone fuper Cafum-, for, upon that, the Party, being (as the Style of 
 the Court is) in Cuftodia Marefchalli, may declare for any Caufe of 
 Action whatever. The late Chief Juftice, Sir Orlando Bridgman, and 
 his Officers of the Common Pleas, gave this Way of Proceeding by the 
 Kings Bench very ill Language, calling it an arbitrary Alteration of the 
 Form of the legal Procefs, and utterly againft Law. But the Lofers 
 might fpeakj they got nothing elfe; and the Triccum in Lege carried 
 it for the Kings Bench, which Court, as I faid, run away with all 
 the Bufinefs. 
 
 N 2 In
 
 ioo The LIFE of tie late 
 
 In this melancholy State, his Lordmip found his Court of Com- 
 mon Pleas, when firft he fat there; and his Mind was much taken up 
 with Speculations concerning it, and deliberating whether or no a 
 Way might be found out to fet themfelves upon a Level (at leaft) with 
 the King's Bench as to Common Pleas. He thought it hard that the 
 Court, inftituted for fuch, fhould be deprived by a Court that was 
 inftituted for Pleas of the Crown ; and that it was a mame to be out- 
 witted. He did not fee but they had as much Power over the Pro- 
 cefs of the Law as the King's Bench had ; and, at laft, determined 
 to put in Execution the fame Device that they had ufed, which, 
 being good Law at one End of the Hall, would not be againft Law 
 at the other. And it was by doing the fame Thing in their Writs 
 called Claufum Fregits, upon which a Capias lies; and, after Ap- 
 pearance, the Plaintiff may declare for Debt, or affumpfit, Off. and 
 filing a proper Original at any Time, before a Writ of Error brought, 
 warrants the Judgment. This was by adding the fame Words ac 
 etiam Billa, &c. and then they, upon the Claufum Fregits (without 
 Fine or Delay) might hold to Bail, as the other Court did upon 
 the Latitats. But this was not done without very much Confidera- 
 tion, and weighing all Confequences, and all Objections, and com- 
 promifing all Interefts, that the Regulation might pafs fmooth, and 
 without Oppofition from any but the King's Bench, for whom they 
 had an Anfwer ready. For whereas the Lord Chief Juftice Hales- 
 exaggerated the fame Objections againft the Common Pleas, as Bridg- 
 man had before urged againft the Kings Bench ; it was afked how 
 he could criminate the Common Pleas for that which his Court had 
 done, and continued to do every Day. 
 
 The great Difficulties, to be got over, were, firft, to reconcile the 
 King's Intereft, and, next, the Lord Chancellor's. The King had 
 Fines upon the Originals, and the Lord Chancellor difpofed of the 
 Curfitors Places, that made them out. But his Lordmip furmounted 
 them by {hewing that Care mould be taken (and Orders, for that End, 
 were effectually eftablifhed) that Originals fliould be filed where they 
 were neceflary, and they were not otherwife filed before; and the Ac 
 Etiams mould not take Place, but in fuch Cafes only where a Latitat 
 would ferve. So the Officers, or the Crown, did not lofe any Thing; 
 but, on the contrary, were like to be great Gainers by bringing in Flow 
 of Bufinefs into the Court, which would have that Effect. For what 
 was got by forcing all Suitors to proceed by Latitat, which could 
 produce no Original, and fo decline this Way that, fometimes, 
 would produce them? And to mew the Neceffity of it, it was made 
 appear that, for the Eafe of Arrefts and Bail, even the Attornies of 
 the Common Pleas ufed the Kings Bench Writs, by dealing in the Names 
 
 of
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. I0 i 
 
 of the proper Attornies of that Court. I remember that, when this 
 Matter began to be formed in his Lordmip's Mind, he thought of 
 ufing the Words nee non inftead of ac etiam ; and then the Writs, for 
 Diftindtion fake, mould be called nee nons : But, at length, he thought 
 fit not to vary a Syllable; for, however, the Thing was the fame, the 
 different Sound would ferve to quarrel at; and, in captious Matters, 
 it is beft to give no Handles. I have walked over this Alteration of 
 the Common Pleas Procefs (which was wholly owing to his Lordmip's 
 Invention and Formation, as it is now practifed) in an hiftorical ra- 
 ther than a legal Style. But it is not for want of a good Guide ; for 
 I have a complete Account of it together with, not only the hifto- 
 rical Part but, all the Confults, Deliberations, and Comparifons of his 
 Lordmip's, belonging to it, from his own Pen. And though it is of 
 that Kind which few, but profefTed Lawyers, may comprehend, be- 
 caufe it falls upon Forms, and Terms of Law; each of which needs 
 a GlofTary to explain it: Yet the Matter and Confequence in his Lord- 
 fhip's Conduct, by whofe Skill it was eftabliftied, was too bulky to 
 be here let pafs in Silence. After this Procefs came into common 
 Ufe, it is fcarce to be conceived how the Court revived, and flourimed j 
 being, inftead of Vacation in Term, rather Term in Vacation. So 
 large was the Encreafe of Trials, by nifi prius out of the Court, as 
 alfo of Motions and Pleas in the Court. Not a little of which En- 
 creafe was alfo owing to the Fame and common Opinion of his 
 Lordmip's Juftice and Steadinefs in his Adminiftrations; whereby 
 Counfel would advife, and Attornies afTuredly depend upon Succefs, 
 if their Caufes were found and good. Cofts not & 
 
 His Lordmip made another Regulation, which, being but a Direction lowed Attor - 
 
 _ . _ f . . -. . ,-, .^1 nit* .11 nie s m Pro- 
 
 of the Court, without any folemn Act or Order regifter d, 1 will men- pium*. 
 
 tion here. The allowing Propriums to the Attornies, in taxing of 
 Cofts, was a very great Abufe ;- For, if they have their Bufinefs pafs 
 the Offices for nothing, it is Favour enough for them; but if they 
 prevail and recover, fo that Cofts are to be taxed, and, in doing that, 
 the Officer allows them the Coft of the Offices, which they never 
 paid, they gain by frivolous Suits : For, if they recover but i /. Da- 
 mages, or fnap a Judgment againft a poor Man by a Turn of Art, 
 they mall, not only have Cofts taxed for what they laid out, but for 
 what they did not lay out; which is clear Gains to them, out of the 
 Purfe of a poor Man, whether they had Reafon or not. This was 
 manifeftly theCaufe that Attornies multiplied Propriums ; out of which, 
 by meer Cofts, they made a certain Profit. His Lordmip confider'd 
 this as an Abufe of the Privilege of Attornies, and would not permit 
 that they fhould have any Cofts allow'd, which they did not expend : 
 And fo the Court thought fit to declare to the Prothonotaries. But this 
 made almoft a Mutiny of the Officers and Attornies: The latter are 
 
 always
 
 ,02 The LIFE of the late 
 
 always Favourites of the former, becaufe they bring Grift ; and they 
 clamour'd, faying that this made the Privilege of the Attorney become 
 the Privilege of the Adverfary j and that it indeed deftroy'd their Pri- 
 vilege; and that, if one Party muft gain by the Allowance of it, as 
 formerly, it is more reafonable it (hould be the Attorney, than the 
 other Party. To this it was anfwer'd, that if the Attornies were, 
 weary of their Privilege, they might quit it, and be upon the Square 
 with other Men. But if the Court finds their Privilege turns to a 
 common Nufance, it is high Time to take it away. So it flood in 
 his Lordftiip's Time : I know not how it hath gone fince, whether 
 they have prevail'd to get this good Order antiquated, or not j nor doth 
 it much concern my prefent Defign. 
 
 There was an Incident, that happen'd not long after his Lordfhip 
 came into the Place of Chief in that Court, which though, in i?:felf, 
 and in the End of it, ridiculous, yet, being an Affront to the Court, 
 and in particular to the Lord Chief Juftice, and by the whole Bar of 
 Serjeants, all in a Lump together, ought to be related, as I fhall do, 
 really as it was acted by them. It hath been the Ufage of the King's- 
 Bench, at the Side Bar below in the Hall ; and of the Common Pleas, 
 in the Chamber within the Treafury, to hear Attornies, and young 
 Counfel, that came to move them about Matters of Form and Practice. 
 His Lordfhip had a younger Brother, * who was of the Profeffion of the 
 Law. He was newly call'd to the Bar, and had little to do in the 
 Kings-Bench ; but the Attornies of the Common Pleas often retain'd 
 him to move for them, in the Treafury, fuch Matters as were proper 
 there, and what they might have moved themfelves. But however 
 agreeable this Kind of Practice was to a Novitiate, it was not worthy 
 the Obfervation it had ; for once, or twice a Week, was the utmoft 
 Calculate of thefe Motions. But the Serjeants thought that Method 
 was, or might become, prejudicial to them who had a Monopoly of 
 the Bar, and would have no Water go by their Mill, and fuppofed it 
 was high Time to put a Stop to fuch Beginnings, for Fear it might 
 grow vvorfe. But the Doubt was, how they mould fignify their Re- 
 fentment, fo as to be effectually remedial. At length they agreed, for 
 one Day, to make no Motions at all ; and Opportunity would fall for 
 fhewing the Reafon how the Court came to have no Bufinefs. When 
 the Court (on this dumb Day, as it was called) was fat, the Chief 
 Juftice gave the ufual Signal to the eldeft Serjeant to move. He 
 bowed, and had nothing to move : So the next, and the next, from 
 End to End of the Bar. The Chief, feeing this, faid Brothers, I think 
 we muft rife j here is no Bufinefs. Then an Attorney fteps forward, 
 and call'd to a Serjeant to make his Motion ; and, after that, turned 
 
 * Roger, the honourable Author of this Work. 
 
 to
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 103 
 
 to the Court and faid, that he had given the Serjeant his Fee, and In- 
 ftrudtions over Night, to move for him, and defired he might do it. 
 But profound Silence ftill. The Chief look'd about, and afked, What 
 was the Matter ? An Attorney, that flood by, very modeftly faid, 
 that be feared the Serjeants took it ill that Motions were made in the 
 tfreafury. Then the Chief fcented the whole Matter ; and, Brothers , 
 faid he, / think a very great Affront is offer d to us, which we ought ', 
 for the Dignity of the Court, to refent. But that we may do nothing 
 too fuddenly, but take Confederation at full Leifure, and maturely, let 
 tts now rife, and to Morrow Morning give Order as becomes us. And 
 do you Attornies come all here to Morrow, and Care Jhall be taken for 
 your Difpatch ; and, rather than fail, we will hear you, or your Cli- 
 ents, or the Barrifters at Law, or any Perfon that thinks Jit to ap~ 
 pear in Bufinefs, that the Law may have its Courfe ; and fo the Court 
 rofe. This was like Thunder to the Serjeants ; and they fell to quar- 
 relling, one with another, about being the Caufe of this great Evil 
 they had brought upon themfelves : For none of them imagined it 
 would have had fuch a Turn as this was, that fhaked what was the 
 Palladium of the Coif, the fole Practice there. In the Afternoon, 
 they attended the Chief, and the other Judges of the Court, and, in 
 great Humility, own'd their Fault, and begged Pardon, and that no 
 farther Notice might be taken of it; and they would be careful not 
 to give the like Offence for the future. The Chief told them, that the 
 Affront was in Publick, and in the Face of the Court, and they muft 
 make their Recognitions there next Morning, and in fuch a Manner as 
 the Greatnefs of their Offence demanded ; and then they mould hear 
 what the Court would fay to them. Accordingly they did ; and the 
 Chief firft, and, then the reft, in Order, gave them a formal Chiding 
 with Acrimony enough ; all which, with dejected Countenances, they 
 were bound to hear. When this Difcipline was over, the Chief 
 pointed to one to movej which he did (as they faid) more like one 
 crying than fpeaking : And fo ended the Comedy, as it was acted in 
 Weflmnjler-Hall, called the dumb Day. 
 
 His Lordfhip was exceedingly troubled with the Importunities of Recovery of 
 great Men. As, for Inftance, the Lord Bruce, who had married the InrantSl 
 Sifter and Heir of the Duke of Somerfet, and the Lord Willoughby, 
 who married Mrs. Wynn, and diverfe others, whofe Eftates were fet- 
 tled, and their Sons Tenants in Tail vefted. Thefe Perfons impor- 
 tuned him to give Way that privy Seals, to enable thefe Heirs to join 
 in common Recoveries for barring the Entails, might take Effect ; and 
 that Recoveries, under Colour of thofe privy Seals, might be allow'd 
 to pafs in Court. Several of them had petitioned his Majefty, and 
 had References to him depending. But his Lordfhip was fb averfe, 
 or rather pofitive to the contrary, that they defifted. He alledged that
 
 104 7^ LIFE of the late 
 
 if a Guardian, regularly affign'd by the Court to plead for the Infant, 
 would let a Recovery pafs, they had nothing to fay to it. Their only 
 Care, in fuch Cafe, was not to admit a Guardian irrefponfible; for 
 the Infant had an Adion, or an Account, againft fuch Guardian, as 
 fora Breach of his Truft; but no Perfon of Value was willing to 
 venture that. And as for the Opinion that a privy Seal, if the Court 
 allow'd of it, would take away the Error, and that a Suit, for Amends 
 to the Infant, would not lie againft the Guardian, or that a Guardian 
 that was a Beggar, might be affign'd, they would all fail them - y for 
 the privy Seal alter'd no AfTurance, nor Right, and imported only that 
 the King would not punifti his Judges for the Mifdemeanor: And, 
 perhaps, not that neither j for an illegal Licence, to the Injury of a 
 particular Perfon, is void, even againft an Indictment. And, faid his 
 Lordfhip, either fuch Recovery of an Infant is lawful or not. If 
 lawful, it ought to be let pafs by the Judges, without more ado ; and 
 if it is not lawful, the King ought not to be troubled about it. 
 His Lordfhip was not fo utterly againft this Practice, without Reafon; 
 and that fettled upon great Deliberation, and Confultation of former 
 Attempts and Proceedings. For, his Lordfhip had caufed Searches to 
 be made for Precedents of Recoveries of Infants by Guardian, and 
 had a long Lift return'd him. It would be well if the Judges of the 
 Law, in all Times, fworn to ad: according to Magna Chart a, as in 
 the Place of Majefty, nulli negabimus, nulli dijferemus Juftitiam, 
 would be as careful of the Rights of the Subject, according to Law, 
 as his Lordmip was. What is here alledged of Recoveries of Infants, 
 is a fignal Inftance, on his Part, that he preferred the Duty of his 
 Office to all Intereft at Court: And, in fuch Cafes, the Courtiers are 
 often furious and (according to the Doctrines there) criminative againft 
 the Judges, that are not eafy, as being morofe, ill bred, and difre- 
 fpectful, and fcarce to be endured in their Places. But Comparifons 
 of Times, Perfons, and Things, however juft, are, for the moft Part, 
 invidious j therefore I carry this no farther, but proceed to another 
 eminent Inftance of his Lordfhip's religious Punctuality in the due 
 Performance of the Duty of his Office, wherein any Perfon, in the 
 World, was, or might be, confequentially interefted, or concern'd. 
 And I have heard him fay, more than once, that he would have it in 
 his Power to fwear upon his Death Bed that, in all his Employments, 
 and Trufts, he never knew any Thing out of Order, which he did 
 not endeavour to fet right as foon and as well as he could. 
 Fines of In- The Lord Chief Juftice of the Common Pleas, by Virtue of his Of- 
 fants. ce> takes Recognitions of Fines, out of Court, which are afterwards 
 
 recorded in Court. But the other Judges do it by Virtue of a Dedimus 
 Poteftatem-, but only their Caption is return'd and recorded without 
 
 Oath:
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 105 
 
 Oath : Whereas, where the Dedimus is to ordinary Perfons, it is re- 
 turn'd upon Oath : Unlefs, as they fay, there be a Knight in the Com- 
 miffion ; and, in that Cafe, it comes in without Oath; which, by the 
 Way, being fo, is a fair Pathway to Frauds as to Infants and feme 
 Coverts. But this Advantage of the Chief Juftice brings more Fines, 
 in and about London, to be taken by him j and he hath a Clerk called 
 his Clerk of the Fines. There are, fometimes, Frauds in the undue 
 Captions and Returns of Fines, which are of great Confequence to 
 Mens Titles ; and although a Fine be never fo fairly enter'd and re- 
 corded, yet, if, upon Complaint, and hearing of Parties, it be found 
 to have paffed unduly, the Court vacates the Fine, as if none fuch 
 had ever been. And, particularly, the Chief Juftice, knowing of any 
 fuch Abufe, by what Means foever it is, ought, ex Officio, to call the 
 Parties, and, after due Examination had, do right. Now, when a co- 
 vetous, or needy Man, hath Occafion for his Wife's Land, to alien, or 
 to referve for himfelf, and it happens that the Woman is under Age, 
 and cannot, regularly, fettle, then the Trick of a furreptitious Fine is 
 tried. And there is a flrong Temptation to it; which is that, if the 
 Woman dies before a Fine levied, her Eftate goes away j but if her 
 Fine pafs during her Minority, and (he lives to be of Age, all is fafe ; 
 for, after full Age, a Writ of Error doth not lie, for the Caufe of In- 
 fancy, to reverfe any Fine: And that for a very odd Reafon, viz. that 
 Infancy is to be tried only by Infpection of the Perfon, which cannot 
 be done after full Age : Therefore, unlefs a Man gets his Wife's Fine 
 during her Minority, he runs the Rifque of her Death before. But 
 yet, even after the full Age (as I take it) if the Court, upon Examina- 
 tion, find a Fraud in the Commiffi oners, and that the Party was really 
 under Age at the Time of the Caption, they will vacate the Record 
 of the Fine, as unduly obtain'd and enter'd, though a Writ of Error, 
 in fuch Cafe, could not be brought to do it. 
 
 It happen'd that his Lordmip came in the Way of a Difcovery of Fines vacated 
 the like Practice in two Cafes. One of them was from a Slip in the torlnfan ^ 
 Difcourfe of an intimate Friend, who was, at vacant Times, feldom 
 abfent from him. This Perfon was told (inadvertently) by a Gentle- 
 man of Value, that he had obtain'd of his Wife, an Inheritrix., a 
 Fine during her Minority ; and he (more unthinkingly) fpoke of it in 
 his Lordfhip's Hearing: And, after this, no Intereft, or Entreaty, would 
 prevail with his Lordmip to pafs it by; but he immediately fent his 
 Order for the Gentleman, his Lady, and the Commiflioners, to attend 
 in Court, and, upon hearing all Parties, vacated the Fine. If the 
 'Lady had died before her full Age, the Eftate had gone away ; but me 
 lived to levy another Fine; and, fo, no Harm was done, but only the 
 ,Difgrace of having plaid a falfe Trick to no Purpofe. And he did the 
 
 Irke
 
 jorf ?kc LIFE of the late 
 
 like in another Cafe, which he catched a Knowledge of by like Acci- 
 dent. So rigorous was he to his Purpofe, I touched before, viz. Nil 
 canjcire fibi. 
 
 Mature and And, as for Fines thernfelves, they are no other than an Accord of 
 Antiquity of a L aw 3 u j t enter'd among the Acts of the Court upon Record ; and. 
 now, as well by the Tenor of them, as by Uiage, and certain Statutes 
 interpofing, they are become a common, and the firmed, AfTurance of 
 Lands. The ufual Import of them, for AfTurance of Freehold, is a 
 Cognifance of Right founded upon fome legal Conveyance, prefup- 
 pofed ; which implieth an antecedent Feofment ; and therefore a Fine 
 is called a Feofnaent upon Record. This Courfe is the moft ancient 
 of any in our Law, and is coeval with the County Court, which was 
 the ordinary Court of Juftice, in the Times before the Conqueft. It 
 was, then, a common Practice to recognife Deeds, Concords, and laft 
 Witts there j which being enter'd in the Acts of the Court, or wrote 
 in the Margin of God's Book (the Mafs Book, or of the Bible itfelf) 
 was irrefragable j as who will may fee in the learned epiftolary DhTer- 
 tation of the ReverendDr.H/V>b, in his great Thefaurus. But, after the 
 Norman Conqueft, when the King's Courts were eftablimed, and Titles 
 of Lands, which were feudal, only triable there (for Freehold, at this 
 Day, oufts the County Court of Jurifdiction) after the older Ufage of 
 tecognifing in the County Court (then deprived as to Land) they came 
 to recognife in the King's Court of Common Pleas ; but it muft be 
 wkh royal Leave, and paying to the King a Fine for the Liberty of 
 agreeing: Becaufe, if the Suit had gone on, the Party, in the Wrong,, 
 was to be amerced. Then, after the Licence actually obtained, and 
 the King's Silver paid, without which the Concord is no Fine, the 
 Fine is perfected, though, in fome other Refpects, deficient. Hence, 
 as I take it, the Concord is calFd a Fine levied, and not becaufe it is 
 Finis Liiium. I have here but touched fo much as I am apprifed of 
 the ancient Hiftory of the Law, as to Fines, in Conformity to what 
 his Lordfhip ufed to recommend to his Friends, who were ftudioufly 
 inclined j encouraging the Speculation of Originals, or the Hiftory of 
 the common Law ; as will be mewed in proper Place. 
 
 i?r///r$ While his Lordftiip fat as Chief in the Common Pleas, he, and the 
 
 Pr..- ft of the other Judges, were exceedingly troubled with a very impertinent Pro- 
 Greco Wax. J^Q^ one ^ n(r ^/,/ y w ho pretended to make great Improvements to 
 the Crown, by the Revenue of the Green Wax ; which is that which 
 comes, or ought to come, into the Exchequer, by Eftreats from the fe- 
 veral Courts of Juftke, and confifts of the Mulcts of Jurors for De- 
 fault of Appearance, and other M'uldts, which are fent from thence 
 down in Schedules, under a Seal of green Wax, by way of Warrant,, 
 ta the Sheriffs and Bailiffs of Liberties,, to be levied*. His Lordfhip
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. I07 
 
 (and the Judges) being tormented with References, from the Court 
 .and the Treafury, about a Patent which this Brun/kill was fuing out 
 concerning this Revenue, applied his Thoughts chiefly to it, that he 
 might be able to anfvver thofe great Men, who (as in all rafcally 
 Projects, which come with Pretence of great Gains, and are little un- 
 derftood) from behind the Curtain, folicited the Project, and were to 
 be Sharers in it. And, having fearched all Corners to find what had 
 pafled formerly in that Matter, and defigning thoroughly to expofe 
 the Vanity, or rather (with Refpect to the Quiet of the People) the 
 Peftilence of it, he left in Writing, what he was pleafed to entitle, An 
 Hiftory of the Green Wax ; and it is fufficient to inform any one that 
 is defirous to underftand the Walks this Project hath had, and the true 
 Intrigue of it. But in Regard I find a Paper of his Lordfhip's upon 
 the fame Subject, which I prefume was wrote more early, in order to 
 anfwer fome great Man's Importunity, I fhall fubjoin that here; 
 which, for the prefent, may give an Account fatisfactory enough. 
 
 " The Green Wax was in the Survey of one Mr. Aram^ when Sir Account of it 
 " Robert Howard held the Farm of it, who appointed the beft Men he ^. hls Lord - 
 <c could get for the Service. It was reprefented to the King that the 
 e Judges and Juries were difcou raged, and that the Revenue went to 
 " private Hands; and thereupon the King bought in the Farm for 
 <{ Six thoufand Pounds. Then Mr. Brunjkiir* Project was fet on 
 Foot to improve this Revenue to Twenty thoufand Pounds, Sixty 
 " thoufand Pounds, and, afterwards, to Four hundred thoufand Pounds 
 tc per Annum. Upon the firit, Mr. Aram'?, Patent was determined, and 
 " the King expreiled fome Diflike to Mr. Aram. Afterwards Mr. 
 Brunjkill kept a fluttering to fet up an Office in the Temple, and 
 " great Lords to be Commimoners, which alarmed all the World, 
 " And Mr. Brim/kill would never take the ordinary Care that belong- 
 " ed to the Bufinefs, but preffed the Judges to make fuch Rules and 
 " Orders as they could not do by Law; and he complained of them 
 " to the King, and entered into Controverfy with them ; fo that, for 
 f c feveral Years, upon the Pretence to improve, the Care of this Re- 
 " venue was wholly neglected. I, thereupon, mentioned to my Lord 
 i " Rochejier a Neceility of having a Surveyor, that is a reafonable Man, 
 " and recommended Mr. Coltchugb, and promifed my AfTiftance and 
 Inftructions; and he was employ'd by the Commiffioners of the 
 <c Treafury, and I gave him Instructions how he mould proceed. 
 " But my Lady Tarmouth y Mr. Brunfkilfs Patronefs, hearing o^ it, 
 " went to the King, and claimed it as right that Mr. Brunfkill {hould 
 have it, and no Man elfe employed: And fo flopped Mr. Coltclougb's 
 " Patent; and it hath been neglected ever fince. The King is now 
 pleafed to declare he will have this Revenue taken Care of, and 
 
 O 2 " recom-
 
 108 
 
 }ftheNecef- 
 ity of Regu- 
 itions in the 
 
 The LIFE of the late 
 
 " recommended it to the Lords of the Treafury, to find a fit Per- 
 " fon. Mr. Brunjkiir^ Patent, if he hath any, muft firft be deter- 
 " mined." 
 
 It feems this Green Wax Project began with a Pretence of pure 
 Collection, but foon became an Intereft : And, at firft, the Difcourfe 
 ran only upon the cafual Profits; but, afterwards, all Penalties of 
 Statutes were to be put into the Patent. And that explains the Ineffi- 
 cacy, and, then, the Reftlefnefs of BrunJk'ilL For, firft, he would 
 not collect the Revenue, that it might feem little, and be the readier 
 granted. And nothing would ferve him but a Grant of all the Re- 
 venue arifing by the King's Courts. And when Bufinefies, of this Na- 
 ture, want Shoulders at Court to heave them forwards, then great Men, 
 and topping Ladies (hopeful Solicitrixes) are taken in for Snares, and 
 fo let into the Secret. And if it had not been for fuch knotty in- 
 flexible Pieces, as thefe Judges, and particularly his Lordfhip who 
 had the labouring Oar, and took Care rightly to inform his Majefty 
 and his Minifters, of the foul Practices (intentionally) couched under 
 fair Pretences, the Project, to the infinite Vexation of the People, and 
 little or no Profit to the Crown, had, probably taken Effect. 
 
 I have not here obferved any Order of Time, in the Mention of 
 thefe Paflages; nor do I intend it more in thofe that follow ; it being, as 
 I take if, not material, fo long as I keep myfelf within the proper 
 Stage of his Lordfhip's Life; that is, his being a Judge of the Com- 
 mon Law. I muft needs fay that that was his peculiar Faculty; 
 wkhin the Sphere of which he was fcarce ever at a Lofs, or failed 
 to extricate, even an a fudden, themoft perplexed CaufesandQueftionsof 
 Law. I may not he-re give a Character of his Juftice without Re- 
 petition, and that of the Panegyric Kind ; of which too much, though 
 never fo true, is fulfom. But I may knowingly affirm that his IIT- 
 tegrity was untainted; and he never warped to grieve any Adverfary 
 for Party, or in particular, nor was (hy in doing Right to his Friends 
 for fear of Obloquy; for he knew what he did, and always gave Rea- 
 fons in Publick that would fuftain it. But he {hewed his univerfitl 
 good Will by nothing more than a Reftlefnefs under Abufes that tencr- 
 ed to grieve Mankind. No one can think any Man, not ambitious of 
 doing good, could be fo taken up with fpying out what was amifs, 
 and fuggefting Remedies, as he was. Of all which I {hall, in the f&K 
 lowing Sheets, give a particular Account. 
 
 All the while his Lordfhip was Chief Jiiftice of the Common Pleas^ 
 and had Leifure, he bent his Thoughts very much to regulating what 
 was amifs in the Law. For it is impoffible but, in Procefs of Time, 
 as well from the Nature of Things changing, as Corruption of 
 Agents, Abufes will grow up; for which Reaioiv the Law muft be 
 
 kept
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 109 
 
 kept as a Garden, with frequent digging, weeding, turning, Gfr. That, 
 which, in one Age, was convenient, and, perhaps, neceffary, in an* 
 other, becomes an intolerable Nufance. His manner was, as any Abufe, 
 or Regulation, came in his Mind (of which very many, from the 
 Multitude of Bufmefs, that patted him, muft happen) he fet it down 
 upon fome By paper, or Book, he ufed for noting. And then, upon, 
 a fecond View, and Reconfideration, he digefted his Thought, and 
 brought what he had fo digefted, into the Form of a Tract, and thereon 
 defigned to prepare Acts of Parliament, as he had Encouragement and 
 Opportunity. He- had a great Hand in the Statute of Frauds and 
 Perjuries, of which the Lord Nottingham faid that every Line was 
 worth a Subfidy. But, at that Time, the Lord Chief Juftice Hales 
 had the Pre-eminence, and was chief in the fixing that Law: Although 
 the urging Part lay upon him, and I have Reafon to think it had the 
 firft Spring from his Lordfhip's Motion. For I find in fome Notes 
 of his, and Hints of Amendments in the Law, every one of thofe 
 Points which were there taken Care of; and diverfe other Matters, 
 which he fet his- Mark upon, have fince been regulated by A6ts of 
 Parliament exprefs. 
 
 He was extremely defirous that a Regifter of Titles, to Land mould His Lord/Hip 
 be fettled, and he worked ferioufly upon it. There were frequent J J j^ 21 ? J cr . 
 Attempts in Parliament to eflablim one; but none ever was prefented 
 to them tolerably digefted; and fo they came to nothing. And be- 
 fides, the Matter being a Subject of great Skill, as well asForefight, 
 in the Law, the Gentlemen of the Country are afraid, and hearken 
 to the learned as when they fettle their Eftates; and fuch learned 
 Gentlemen, admitting. they were willing to. it (as they are reputed, 
 for the fake of Intereft in Practice, not to be) they would be fcru- 
 pulous enough; but, being averfe,, they raife a Mift of Scruple upon 
 every fuch Bill, and reprefent the Poffibility of Frauds in the Offices 
 to be fo dangerous to Men's Titles,, that the Country Gentlemen, 
 who do not take upon them to judge, and will truil nobody, fly 
 back; and there falls' the Bill. And fo it will ever be until they 
 truft fome Perlons with the Conduct of it, who -.are capable and wil- 
 ling to promote it. . For, as to the tremendous Frauds, that are.fo 
 much exaggerated by fome, I muft needs alledge that Records of every 
 Court of Juftice. are obnoxious to ten Times more ; and if thofe Courts 
 were now to be fettled, no Man could agree to fuch Loofenefs of 
 keeping Records, that concern Mens Eftates, as there is to be obfer- 
 ved: And yet they do. the Work the/ were inftituted for; and fo 
 . would Re^ifters, if they were . once eftabHflied. As, for Inftance, the 
 Regifter of the Fens hath not had one Fraud exercifed upon that Of- 
 fice fince,, by the Act for dividing the great Level, it was erected. 
 
 Myu-
 
 no The LIFE of the lafe 
 
 Hales wrote fo My Lord Chief Juftice Hales had turned that Matter in his 
 Thoughts, and compofed a Trcatife, not fo much againft the Thing 
 (for he wifhes it could be) as againft the Manner of eftabliftiing of 
 it; of which he is not fatisfied, but fears more Holes may be made 
 than mended by it. My Lord Chief Juftice North, on the other 
 Side, thought that it was not only practicable, but abfolutely necefTa- 
 ry, and, if it were not done, that Forgery would foon be the beft 
 Trade in England. That ufed to be his Expreffion. 
 
 And becaufe fome ufed to fay that Forgeries were not frequent, or 
 ^ at tnev were commonly unfuccefsful, becaufe, on careful Exami- 
 Hules. nation at Trials, they were, for the moft Part, detected ; he bethought 
 
 himfelf of all the fuccefsful Forgeries that came to his own Know- 
 ledge, or that he really thought to be fo in the Courfe of his Bufi- 
 nefs; and of them he made a Lift. The modern Way of Convey- 
 ancing is fo private that no wife Man, be he never fo careful, can be 
 aware of it; and his Lordfhip thought the Law ought to be fo fettled 
 that a wife and careful Man might be fure of his Title, whatever be- 
 came of the fupine and negligent, and that the old Rule is true, viz. 
 ^uod vigilantibus & non dormientibits obveniunt leges. That is, that 
 Laws are made for the Benefit of thofe that are watchful and dili- 
 gent, and not of the carelefs and negligent. 
 
 of Afts of After his Lordftiip's Death, I found, among his Papers, feveral 
 Parliament. Dnmgtits of Acts of Parliament, which he had prepared to put for- 
 ward as Opportunity offered, By thofe I perceive his Intent was not 
 to croud into one Bill many Matters ; but to pafs them in feparate 
 Bills, for readier Difpatch in the two Houfes. Elfe, any one Matter, 
 of long Debate, retarded all the reft upon which no Qu eft ion was 
 made. If the Gentlemen of England in Parliament would find in 
 their Hearts to truft fit Perforis, as the Chiefs of the Law for In- 
 ftance, (who, by their publick Stations, are anfwerable to all Mankind 
 for their Behaviour) taking whom they would to their AfTiftance, and 
 act, debate, and hear in Public; to draw up a Law out of Particulars, 
 as the ancient Way was, and then, unlefs grofs Miftakes are (hewed, 
 to pafs it upon their Authority, there would be fome Hopes of an 
 effectual Regulation, in a Multitude of Particulars that all agree need 
 it. And it is believed that the Vetera Statuta^ or ancient Laws were 
 fo made, by the Judges and great Men, in Vacation of Parliament, 
 either purfuant to Petitions, before, or afterwards, authenticated there; 
 otherwife they could not have been framed fo orderly, concife, and 
 proper as they are. I muft not enlarge upon thefe Subjects here, 
 left I anticipate the proper Place of them, or, what is worfe, repeat 
 When I come there. 
 
 But,
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. in 
 
 But, as to his Lordfhip's Method of trying Caufes, in which his Ju- Endured no 
 ftice was moft confpicuous, it may be well conceived that he, who, Q^^ * 
 as a pleading Counfel, had run through the whole Courfe, and had p^dSg. e " 
 all pollible Experience of that Practice, and being, withal, capable 
 and upright, as he was, coming to fuperintend others, muft needs be 
 a Mafter Workman. Who fo fit to command in the Place of General* 
 as he who had trailed the Pike, and was, afterwards, through all the 
 Services of War, advanced to the Poft of Chief ? In the firft Place, he 
 would not endure that, in private Converfation, with, or about him, 
 any one (hould fpeak of Caufes depending in his Court. It was faid 
 of a great Mafter of Painting, Lefy, that he would not willingly fee a 
 bad Picture ; for he never look'd upon one, but it tainted his Pencil : 
 So there can be no Difcourfe of a Controverfy, which doth not leave 
 a Tinct of Prejudice. A Man cannot read of fuch Matters, nay, 
 overlook Gamefters, without entering into Party. Juftice therefore 
 fhould be deaf, except in the Seat, and blind there. Sometimes, very 
 great Men would be fo overfeen, as to fpeak to him of Caufes, whom 
 he could not flight ; and, to fuch, his Carriage was paffive, mewing Re- 
 fpect, but faying nothing, or what fignified as little; and he ever fuf- 
 pected a Caufe that ufed fuch Means, and hath often reflected on them in 
 Court. The * Gentleman, whom hisLordfhip favour'd to be almoft con- 
 tinually in his Converfation, and even to ride with him, in his Coach, 
 to and from his Courts, when he fat upon Trials, had the Honour of 
 his Lordmip's exprefs Declaration that, in all the Courfe of his Pra- 
 ftice under him, he never fpoke privately of any Caufe depending : 
 Which, considering the conftant Society, and Familiarity, few would 
 imagine ; but I can affirm it to be critically true. 
 
 Next, in his Lordfhip's Conduct of Trials, he was very careful of Conduft in- 
 three Matters, i. To adjuft what was properly the Queftion, and Tmls ' 
 to hold the Counfel to that; for he, that has the worft End of the 
 Staff, is very apt to fling off from the Point, and go out of the right 
 Way of the Caufe. 2. To keep the Counfel in Order; for, in Trials,,, 
 they have their Parts and their Times. His Lordfhip ufed frequently 
 to inculcate to Counfel the Decorum of evidencing Practice. 3. To 
 keep- down Repetition, to which the Counfel, one after another, are 
 very propenfe; and, in fpeeching to the Jury, one and the fame Mat- 
 ter, over and over again,, the Waft-e of Time would be fo great that, 
 if the Judge gave Way to it, there would fcarce be an End 5 for moft 
 of the Talk was not fo much for the Caufes, as for their own Sakes, 
 to get Credit in the Country fo*" notable Talkers. And his Lordfhip 
 ften told them that their confufed Harangues diftucbed the Order of. 
 
 * His Brother Roger*, the honourable. Author of ihis Work. 
 
 lia
 
 in The LIFE of the late 
 
 his Thoughts ; and, after the Trial was over, it was very hard for 
 him to refume his Method, and direct the Jury to comprife all the 
 material Parts of the Evidence. Therefore he was poiitive not to per- 
 mit more than one Counfel of a Side to fpeech it to the Jury, by 
 Way of fumming up the Evidence ; and he permitted that in fuch a 
 Way as made them weary of it. For, in diverfe Sorts of Trials, he 
 wholly retrenched it ; and where he obferved much StifFnefs, and Zeal 
 of the Parties in a Caufe, then, after the Evidence was over, he would 
 fay, Come, make your Speeches ; and then fat him down : And that 
 look'd with a Sort of Contempt of their Talents, which gave them 
 a Diftruft, and difcompofed their Extempore fo much that, for the 
 moft Part, they faid, No y ive will leave it to your Lordfhip. And 
 thus the Abufe, by faftidious Talk, wore away ; and the Practice, be- 
 fore him, was fo well known, as it became, at Length, a pure Ma- 
 nagement of Evidence, and Argument of Law. 
 
 He made a great Difference in the Nature of Caufes; for if there 
 was a Sufpicion of Fraud, falfe Dealing, or Forgery, he was a moft 
 flricl Examiner, and would canvafs the Evidence to a Scruple, giving 
 all Latitude to the Counfel to refine, and fnggeft where he might, if 
 poffible, lay hold of a Thread, in order to gain a clear Solution of 
 the Fact : For it was not enough that he, in his private Opinion, 
 .thought a Deed forged, or the like j but he muft have Evidence, by 
 the Force of which he might mew it fo plain as would fatibfy the 
 Auditory, as well as the Jury. And, after all, if he could not arrive 
 at that, he let it go, and directed the Jury upon the Cafe, as it flood 
 upon the Evidence, whatever it was. I wonder'd, once to find him, 
 after an Hour's flicking and picking upon an Evidence, at laft, all at 
 once, give it up. I asked him, Why he left off fo abruptly ? He told 
 me, that he difcern'd a Roguery ; but the Evidence was not fufficient 
 to juftify him to direct the Jury to find it; and, thereupon, he di- 
 rected as the Strength of the Evidence required to find, even contrary 
 to his own private Judgment. For, in Pointt of Fact, whereof he 
 was neither Judge nor Witnefs, he muft have warrantable Reafons for 
 what he faid, or infmuated to the Jury, who only were the proper 
 Judges ; and the rather, becaufe they feldom found againft his decilive 
 Directions ; and his Sufpicions were not to guide their Verdict upon 
 Oath. But, in other Sorts of Caufes, as about Boundaries, Ditches, 
 Ways, Trees, and the like, which depend upon mere Teftimony, and 
 not Sagacity and Penetration, for extracting Facts out of Circumftan- 
 ces, he took lefs Pains, and, after the Queftion was ftated, he ufed to 
 fay, Call your Witneffes ; and fat down till fomething call'd him to 
 obferve. He allow'd no crofs examining, till one Side had done with 
 the Witnefs ; nor would he allow the Defendant to fay any Thing, but 
 
 only
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. u 3 
 
 only to crofs examine, till the Plaintiff had made an End ; and then 
 he heard the Defence at large, and did not allow the Plaintiff to in- 
 terpofe, but in the fame Manner; and always took Care that the Coun- 
 fel examined all their Witneffes, till they faid they had no. more : 
 Knowing that a Countryman never thinks his Caufe tried, unlefs all 
 his Witneffes are heard. 
 
 He was very good at Way-laying, and difappointing the Craft of SuppUnte,: 
 Counfel; for he, as they fay, had been in the Oven himfelf, and J^/p* 
 knew where to look for the Party. Serjeant Maynard was a very 
 able Praclifer, and ufed to lay Traps for the Judges, and very cunning 
 ones; but if he difcerned that he was obferved, he ftreight gave it 
 up, and contended not upon a Fallacy, which he forefaw would be 
 refolved. Sir William Jones fometimes came before his Lordfhip at 
 the Nifi Prius, and ufed Art enough, and was very angry when it did 
 
 not fucceed : As, for Inftance, by fuch Forms as thefe If (my 
 
 "Lord) we prove fo and fo, . then, fo and fo and, after that, 
 wait for the Judge's Anfwer. If the Judge faid, Ay, if you prove 
 that indeed^ then, &c. the Lawyer concluded the Jury was prepared 
 fo far ; and if, in the Courfe of his Evidence, he could charm them 
 to think he had proved that Matter, although not fufficiently, he car- 
 ried the Caufe: At leaft, in the Proceeding, he fo entangled the Judge, 
 that he could fcarce get clear. His Lordfhip, in fuch Cafes, always 
 declined anfwering any Thing, but faid only, Call the Witneffes, and 
 prove what you can. Then the Counfel at it again : But if we prove 
 i When you have proved, faid the Judge, 1 will tell you what I 
 think, and not before. For his Lordfhip knew that Way of evidencing 
 to be a fure Sign that the Proof did not come up to the Point ; and 
 fo muft be fupplied by Opening and Conceffions before-hand. This 
 was one of the chief Arts pra&ifed by Sir William Jones, upon Trials 
 at Law ; which the Judges meeting with, in the Manner I have men- 
 tioned, ufually put him out of Temper. 
 
 It would be endlefs to mew all the remarkable Trials that came be- A rafl-d and 
 fore his Lordfhip : I (hall therefore, only as a Diver (ion, fubjoin one or f r ; f r e a d n( f e c ~ 
 two of them. Once, a Cook brought an Action, againft one Mr. Grant, - 
 of the Inner Temple, for Diet deliver'd in his Chamber. This Grant 
 had a Brother and a Mother ; and they dieted together in this Cham- 
 ber. At the Trial, the Defence was, that the other Brother, by Agree- 
 ment, was the Houfekeeper, and was to pay for the Provifions: The 
 reft did but diet with him ; and the Mother was the Witnefs to prove 
 it : So the Cook had miftaken his Cuftomer. But his Lordmip was of 
 Opinion, that the Owner of the Chambers was the Houfekeeper, as to 
 all Foreigners, who look upon, and truft, the vifible Owner, what- 
 ever the Agreements, among themfelves, may be, Then they faid they 
 
 p would
 
 ii4 The LIFE of the late 
 
 would prove the Cook paid off to 1677, and gave him his Acquit- 
 tance. The Cook ftarted forth from the Croud ; and, My Lord (faid 
 he, very quick and earneft) I 'was paid but to \ 676. At that Mo- 
 ment his Lordfhip concluded the Cook faid true; for Liars do not 
 ufe to buffi out in that unpremeditated Manner. This was one of 
 his Lordfhip's Marks, whereby he judged of Mens Sincerity ; and it 
 feldom fail'd him. Having therefore this Opinion of the Fact, he 
 eyed the Acquittance thoroughly, and faw 77 as plain as could be . 
 He aflced the Cook, again and again, if he was fure ; to fee if he 
 would ftammer or hefitate, as Lyars will often do ; but his Anfwer 
 was blunt and pofitive, as before. Then his Lordfhip, in the Nifi 
 Priiis Court in London, fitting under a Window, turn'd round, and 
 look'd through the Paper againft the Light ; and fo difcover'd plainly 
 the liaft Figure, in the Date of the Year, was 6, in Rafure ; but was 
 wrote feven with Ink. He made the Jury look through it, as he did; 
 and the Caufe was, in that Point alfo, determined for, which, elfe, 
 had gone againft, the poor Cook. The Moral, of all this, may be 
 that Falfity is never fafe. 
 
 of a comical Mr. Serjeant Maynard had a Mind to punifh a Man who had voted 
 br?uh't b a g a i n & his Intjereft in a Borough in the Weft, and brought an Action 
 Serjeant Afoy. againft him for fcandalous Words, fpoke at a Time when a Member, 
 nard. to f Eve j n t jj e Houfe of Commons for that Borough, was to be chofen. 
 
 And, after his great Skill, he firft laid his Action, in the County of 
 Middlefix : And that was by Virtue of his Privilege, which fuppofes 
 a. Serjeant is attendant on the Court of Common Pleas, and not to be 
 drawn fron* the County where the Court fat. And then, in the next 
 Flacei he charged tile Words in Latin, that, if he proved the Effect, 
 it would be fufficient; whereas, being in Englijh^ they rnuft prove the 
 very Words to a Tittle ; and thofe were a long Story that ufed to be 
 told of Mr. N-oy, and all the Cock Lawyers of the Weft. And this 
 was tried before his Lordfhip at the Nifi Prius, for the ^Common Pleas 
 for Middlefex. The Witnefs, telling the Story, as he fwore the De- 
 fendant told it, faid that a Client came to the Serjeant, and gave him 
 a Bafket of Pippins, and every Pippin had a Piece of Gold in it. 
 ^hofe were Golden Pippins, quoth the Judge. The Serjeant began to 
 puffi not bearing the Jeft : So the Witnefs went on. And then, faid 
 he, the other Side came and gave him a roafting Pig (as it is call'd 
 in the Weft) and, in the Belly of that, there were fifty broad Pieces. 
 nat's good Sauce to a Pig, quoth the Judge again. This put the Ser- 
 jeant out of all Patience ; and fpeaking to thofe about him, This, faid 
 he, is on. Purpofe to make me ridiculous. This Story being fworn, 
 the Judge directed the Jury to find for the Serjeant ; but in the Court, 
 the Judgment was arrefted, becaufe the Words were but a Land Story, 
 
 and
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. lly 
 
 and went, as mere Merriment, over Ale, without Intent to flander. 
 Such Bitternefs fows from the fower Spirits of old pretended Repub- 
 licans. It had been well if no other Inftances, but fuch as this, were 
 extant to fhew it. This happen'd when I attended ; and fo, know 
 the Matter to be, as above, literally true. But it is hard to believe 
 that fuch a poor Revenge could have been put into Act by fo great a 
 Man. And I mould almoft diftruft myfelf, if I had not been Par- 
 taker of a more wretched Come-off with the fame Perfon j which f 
 fhall relate ; conceiving it to be full as material to (hew little Things of 
 great Men, as great Things of little Men. One Afternoon, at the 
 Nifi Prius Court of the Common Pleas, in WeftminJler-Hall, before 
 the Judge fat, a poor, half-ftarved, old Woman, who fold Sweet- 
 meats to Schoolboys and Footmen, at the End of the Bar, defired the 
 Serjeant to pay her two Shillings, for keeping his Hat two Terms. 
 She fpoke two or three Times, and he took no Notice of her j and, 
 then, I told the Serjeant, the poor Woman wanted her Money , and I 
 thought he would do well to pay her. The Serjeant fumbled a lit- 
 tle, and, then, faid to me, Lend me a Shilling. Ay, with all my 
 Heart, quoth I, to pay the poor Woman. He took it, and gave it 
 her ; but (he afked for another. I faid, / would lend him that alfo, 
 to pay the Woman. No, dont Boy (faid he)/0r I never intend to pay 
 you this. And he was as good as his Word ; for, however he came 
 off with that Woman, having been, as they fay, a wonderful chari- 
 table Man, I am fure he died in my Debt. But, in this Manner (as 
 I guefs he intended) I flood corrected for meddling. 
 
 This great Man, as I muft call him, fince his natural and acquired Of his R 
 Abilities, and the immenfe Gains he had by Practice, juftly entitle his| a r ^' e an< 
 Name to that Epithet, was an anti-Reftauration Lawyer. In 1684, 
 I heard him fay in the Court of Chancery, of a Caufe then at hear- 
 ing, tjiat he was a Counfel in that Caufe in the Year 1643. His 
 Name is in Crook'?, Reports, in 3 Car. His Actions, in the rebel- 
 lious Times, made the Act of Indemnity fmell fweet. And, after- 
 wards, he had the Cunning to temporife, and get to be made the 
 King's eldeft Serjeant ; but advanced no farther. His Lordmip muft 
 needs have much Converfation, as well as Intercourfe in Bufinefs, with 
 this eminent Practifer in the Law; but, as in other Cafes of adverfe 
 Party-Men, fo, here, there could be no cordial Friendfhip between 
 them; but a fair .and reafonable Correfpondence there always was. 
 The Serjeant ever took in with Proceedings that maligned his Lord- 
 mip ; but he never outwent Difcretion, fo far as fome did, to appear 
 directly, and nominally, againft him, which muft have certainly re- 
 fcinded all Kind of Correfpondence. When his Lordmip fat in the 
 Chair of the Common Pleas, he pradtifed under him, and had always 
 
 P 2 the
 
 n6 The LIFE of the late 
 
 the Refped due to his known Abilities. But though the Serjeant ne- 
 ver faiFd to conform to all Things required of him in Publick, as 
 Oaths, and Tefts, &c. yet, for all that, he continued a Favourite in 
 the Pre/bytenan Congregations ; and is at this Day, among them, ex- 
 toll'd as a Saint, and his wonderful Charities, and other good Works, 
 related : And, to give him his Due, he was, to his laft Breath, at the 
 Bottom, true, as Steel, to the Principles of the late Times, when he 
 firfl enter'd upon the Stage of Bufmefs. And, whatever we, that were 
 frequently at his Elbow, knew of his Saint-like Adminiftration of him- 
 felf and his Wealth, it is fit to be filent, becaufe we mould not fpeak 
 ill of the Dead. And, in that Tendency, I (hall only obferve farther 
 of him, that he practifed before his Lordmip in all the King's Courts 
 where he had fat as Judge ; and, being an artful, as well as learned, 
 Lawyer, would lay notable Snares j but, when difcover'd, never per- 
 fifted, but fat down ; and, for the Decorum of Bar Practice of the 
 Law, was an excellent Pattern, and held a fair Correfpondence, and 
 ufed a decent Refpect towards hisLordfhip all his Time. 
 
 intereft in the Now it is high Time to bring his Lordfhip forward, into that Part 
 Weft. of his Office that requires him to be a Judge in the Country Circuits; 
 
 which is all the Shadow we have of the ancient Iters, which, now, 
 are reftrained to the Crown Law wholly, except the Commiffion of 
 Affifes and Nifi Prius, which come in by Statute Provifion. But, an- 
 ciently, the Judges Itinerants were for all Pleas which, after the Con- 
 queror had taken Cognifance of the Debts of the Laity to his own 
 Court, was a great Eafe to the Country, who, for their greater Mat- 
 ters, muft have follow'd the King's Court, wherefoever he might hap- 
 pen to be. His Lordmip had no Charge of determining capital Of- 
 fences, but here ; and that was one Thing which made him efteem 
 his Office in the Common Pleas fo much : Whereas the Chief Juftice 
 of the Kings-Bench hath almoft continually that Kind of Work upon 
 his Hands. He made the Weftern Circuit his Choice; not for the 
 common Caufe, it being a long Circuit, and beneficial for the Officers 
 and Servants, but becaufe he knew the Gentlemen to be loyal and 
 conformable, and that he mould have fair Quarter amongft them. 
 And, in that, he was not miftaken ; for, after a few Circuits palTed 
 over, they found his Meafures and their Defiresconfonant in all Things; 
 whereby he became not only well accepted, but did alfo contract a 
 Sort of Alliance and ftrict Friendship with much the greater, and 
 moft considerable, Part of them. And that Intereft flood him in good 
 Stead, in Time of Need : For fo considerable a Body, and fo united, 
 as the Wejiern Gentlemen in Parliament were, did fo firmly enfconce 
 him, that his Enemies could never yet get a clever Stroke at him. 
 Dr. Mew, late Bifhop of Wincbefter, whom (from a black Plaifter, he 
 
 always
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 117 
 
 always wore on his Cheek, to cover a Place where, in the late Wars, 
 he had been wounded) they call'd Patch, in his ftiff Way, ufed to 
 fay that the Lord Chief Juftice North was Delicitz Occidentis, or the 
 Darling of the Weft. But once his Lordmip, and all of us of his 
 Train, had like to have come off but poorly at Exeter Affifes. It was 
 well for us that we were known there, or to Pot we had gone. It 
 will be guefs'd that fomething comical is coming; and really fo it is, 
 and fell out thus. There was one Mr. Duke, a bufy Fanatic, whom 
 old Sir Edward Seymour, Father of the late Speaker, ufed to call Spirit 
 Po-y that is, a petit Triable, that was Prejlo at every Conjurer's Nod. 
 He was a common Runner up and down on factious Errands ; and 
 there could not be a Meeting in the Country, for Bufinefs or Mirth, 
 but Spirit Po was there. This Gentleman, with irrefiftible Importu- 
 nity, engaged the Judges to take a Supper, and lie at his Houfe in 
 the Way to Exeter. It was impoffible we could reach fo far that 
 Night; and his Lordfhip was not averfe to feeing Variety of Gentle- 
 mens Seats in the Country; and that was (juftly) reputed a neat one: 
 So, little fufpecting what happen'd, we complied. All Things, but 
 one, were well ; and that was very unexpected and rude. The Gen- 
 tleman had not the Manners to engage the Parifh Minifter to come 
 and officiate with any Part of the Evening Service before Supper ; but 
 he himfelf got behind the Table in his Hall, and read a Chapter, and 
 then a long-winded Prayer, after the Pre/byterian Way. The Judges 
 took it very ill, but did not think fit to affront him in his own Houfe. 
 Next Day, when we came early in the Morning to Exeter, all the 
 News was that the Judges had been at a Conventicle, and the Grand 
 Jury intended to prefent them and all their Retinue for it ; and much 
 Merriment was made upon that Subject. 
 
 Befides feeing the moft confiderable Seats of the Nobility and Gen- The cob oF 
 try, in the Countries where lie went; which, to fay Truth, he could 
 not well avoid, being fo much invited, and nobly entertain'd as he 
 was; not more out of the ordinary Refpect paid to Judges, but as one 
 of his Majefty's bed Friends, and whom they regarded, not more on 
 Account of his Quality, than .for his perfonal Character and Qualifi- 
 cations, which had entitled him to their Efteem and Friendmip. His 
 Lordmip took the Opportunity to join thereunto an Infpection of fuch 
 Curiofities as were famed in the feveral Countries he paded thorough ; 
 as, in particular, the Cob at Lyme, a fmall Port in Dorfetjhire 9 that 
 is fituate in the Cod, (as they term it) of a Bay, where there was no 
 River, or Land- Lock, provided by Nature to prevent the certain Lofs 
 of Ships at Anchor there ; and, of all Places upon the Coaft of Eng- 
 land, leaft to be fufpected for a good Port: But Art and Induftry will 
 do Wonders ; for all the Requilites of a fafc Harbour are fupplied by 
 
 this
 
 The LIFE of the late 
 
 this Cob. The fmall VefTels, which ferve the Trade of the Town, 
 confiding chiefly in Woollen Manufacture of that Country, carry on 
 the Trade outwards; which is very beneficial. And, in that Refpecl, 
 King Charles II. allow'd, out of the Cuftoms of that Port, ioo/. per 
 Annum towards the Charge of maintaining the Cob. But whether 
 the fame be continued or begg'd off, I know not. His Lordfhip had 
 the Compliment of a Ship Mafter, who clear' d his Veflel, and came 
 to an Anchor without the Cob, and invited him to come on board 
 and take a Turn at Sea ; which he accepted, and we went on board 
 and, weighing Anchor, flood Weft about an Hour and a Half, and 
 then returned and landed at the Cob-, and furely a moft delicious Turn 
 it was, for the Weather favour'd us. The Cob is a Mole built in the 
 Sea, about two Furlongs from the Town, and named from the Cob- 
 ble Stone, of which it is compiled. There is not any one like it in 
 the World: For though it is an immenfe Mafs of Stone, of the Shape 
 of a Demilune, with a Bar in the Middle of the Concave, no one 
 Stone, that lies there, was ever touch'd with a Tool, or is bedded in 
 any Sort of Cement ; but all, being Pebbles of the Sea, are piled up, 
 and hold by their Bearings only, and the Surge plays in and out, 
 through the Interfaces of the Stone, in a wonderful Manner. That 
 this muft often decay, is certain ; for the beft cemented fquare Stone 
 will fcarce hold againft the Surge. But there is Warning enough to 
 alarm the Town to repair, and, thereby, to prevent any great Ruin 
 of it ; for, fometimes, a Swamp will appear in the flat Top where 
 they walk ; and, when that is perceived, they go to Work, and take 
 down all that Part, and build it up from the Bottom ; and nothing 
 lefs will prevent the Downfal of much more, fooner or later, as the 
 Seas rage more or lefs againft it. And it may happen that fome new 
 Foundation Stones are to be laid. Thofe are of the largeft Sort that 
 can be got ; and they fearch them out upon the Coaft, and, mount- 
 ing them upon Cafks chain'd together, with but one Man mounted 
 upon them, he, with the Help of a Pole, conducts it to the Place 
 where it is to lie ; and then, ftriking out an Iron Pin, away go the 
 Cafks, and the Stone falls in its Place. The VefTels of Burthen are 
 loaden and unloaden by Horfes, turning and returning upon the Sand, 
 between the Cob and the Town : And they have no Drivers, but are 
 charged with Bales (for Inftance) at the Warehoufe, and away they 
 trot to the Ship Side, and ftand fair, fometimes, above the Belly in 
 Water, for the Tackle to difcharge themj and then, they gallop back 
 to the Warehoufe for more; and fo they perform the Tide's Work, 
 and know, by the Flood, when their Labour is at an End. I muft 
 own, I could fcarce have believed this Defcription, if I had not feen 
 the Place, and the poor Horfes at Work : And I cannot but wonder 
 
 that
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. up 
 
 that our Topographers have taken no more Notice than they have 
 done of it. And it is not the only obvious Curiolity in England 
 that the beft of them have left out. 
 
 His Lordmip vifited the Town of Pool, the Place that gave the Harbours in 
 Spring to Quo Warrantees, as is related in the Examen. In that'Jjjj Wc , ft 
 Harbour, the Ebb and Flood work alternately every fix Hours; and 
 his Lordfhip was informed that the like was obferved in the Ports of 
 Southampton and Cbichefter : but nothing fo regular and ftrong as herej 
 and, being inquifitive into the Reafon of it, he was told that the Ebb 
 at low Water, between Hampjhire and the Ifle of Wight, run fo 
 ftrong that it mot into the Harbour of Pool lying in the Line of 
 its Courfe; fo that when it was low Water at Hurft, it was high 
 Water at Pool. It appears by all the Harbours of this Coaft, that the 
 Convenience is owing to a large Inlet of Water, within the Land,, 
 every Tide; which, venting at low Water, fcours the Channel. It 
 is wonderful that, at Yarmouth^ they do not provide to pen in a back 
 Water rather than build Promontories which mail fill up fafter than 
 they can build, and fo, literally, make Ropes of Sand. 
 
 His Lordfhip, agreeably to his great Mafterfhip of Mufick, to k 
 great Notice of the Organ in the Cathedral Church at Exeter, where 
 the two fide Columns, that carry the Tower, are lined with Organ- 
 Pipes, and are as Columns themfelves. His Lordmip defired the Di- 
 menfions of the great double Diapafon ; and the Account, as returned^ 
 is thus. 
 
 f. I. 
 
 Speaking Part long * - 20 6 
 
 Circumference . - _ 3 j i 
 
 Hogf s Gall* 
 
 Content of the Speaking Part 3 8 
 
 J-i. 
 
 This is heard plainer at a Diftance than when near, as alfo louder; 
 and, behind that, and the other large Doubles, are placed large 
 wooden Pipes to help them into their Sound, which, other wife, 
 would come on very flow, or, perhaps, not at all. One, being near 
 enough, may, by the Touch of the Hand, difcern when it fpeaks and 
 when not. How it is tuned, whether by Meafure or the Beats, we 
 were not informed ; and, bating their Account of it, which was cu- 
 rious and diverting enough, I could not be fo happy to perceive that, 
 in the Muiick, ihey fignifkd any thing at all, but thought them 
 
 made
 
 110 
 
 Cermetl. 
 
 The LITE of the late 
 
 made more for Oftentation than Ufe: For there are Terms in Sound 
 which will not be exceeded; for, when the vibratory Pulfes are fo 
 flow as may be diftinguimed, found vanimethj which is, nearly, 
 the Cafe of this great Pipe. His Lordfhip was always well pleafed 
 when his Stages lay fo that the Sunday was fpent in a Cathedral 
 Town. For he was always affected with the Church Service, and 
 had the Books of the Hymns and Anthems always brought to 
 him. 
 
 His Lordmip went down to Plymouth, and faw the Town which, 
 as other marine Towns, is crouded together, and the Streets are nar- 
 row. But the Fort, which was built by King Charles II. with the 
 Marble of the Place, and Lime of the fame fort of Stone burnt, is a 
 worthy Spectacle, efpecially for its glorious Profpect, overlooking the 
 Harbour which confifts of two Waters, one called Hamofe, and the 
 other Cafivafer. And, as the Voyage is out or Home, the Ships are. 
 moored in one or other j becaufe, then, whatever Wind ferves for the 
 Voyage, takes the Ship out of the Harbour ; which is a Perfection 
 that few, if any, Ports in the World can boaft of. All this lies be- 
 low the Caftle, and in View of the Fort, being feen as in a Map, 
 or, rather, a flying Profpect; and Ships, under Sail, look like Cock- 
 boats. So high above them is the Fort mounted. Oppofite to the 
 Caftle lies Mount Edgcomb, where his Lordfliip and his Company 
 were nobly entertained by Sir Richard Edgcomb, whofe Lady was a 
 near Relation. The Hall rifeth, and is lighted above the reft of the 
 Houfe that turns round it; which the Architects call a Grecian Hall. 
 The Park, on more than three Sides, is paled with the Sea; and the 
 Deer-hunting is as much by Water as by Land. I ftole from the 
 Company, and walked to the Cliff to wards the Main, and found Means 
 to get down, and patted on hideous Rocks towards the Sea; but, re- 
 turning, I thought I (hou'd never have gained the Top again. Such a 
 vaft Height was I furprifed with in my Afcent. 
 
 There was no Opportunity of penetrating into Carnival yet, becaufe 
 the Judges, for Compendium of Travel, took the firft Town, upon 
 the Borders, capable of receiving them ; which is Launcefton, where 
 is an old ruined Caftle, and nothing elfe worth naming. The Cor- 
 nijh Men are very fierce and contentious, and ftrangely given to indict 
 one another. The Traverfes of thefe Indictments, tried at the Aflifes, 
 make good Fodder for the Lawyers; for they are always many, and 
 beyond what are had in molt of the Circuit betide, and well-metal'd 
 Caufes. But this, as they fay, prevents Bloodshed; which would 
 follow if Revenge had not that Vent. The Trade, here, lying moft- 
 ly with Londoners and Foreigners, the People have a better Englijh 
 
 Dialect
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 
 
 Dialed than thofe of Devon/hire, whofe common Speech, I think, 
 is more barbarous than in any other Part of England, the North 
 not excepted. We were told that Saltafh, three Miles up the River 
 from Plymouth, was, anciently, the Port Town; for, in old Time, 
 fo high within Land was fafer than nearer the Sea: And well it 
 might be fo to fmall Veflels. But ever fince Ships have been built 
 larger, partly for better Roads, and partly for better Pilotage, the 
 Port Towns have crept nearer the Main ; as they fay would happen 
 upon the Tyne; and Sbieh would become the Port Town, if Newcaftle 
 had not a Privilege that no common Baker, or Brewer, (hall fet up be- 
 tween them and the Sea. 
 
 The Return from the Circuit was ufually by tfaunton-Dean in Win- Taunt D 
 ter, and by Wells and Brijlol in Summer. Both of them are great ml1 ^ and 
 Towns, and, to Grangers, very remarkable. The latter is the Ca- 
 thedral of the Bifliop of Bath and Wells-, the other a very populous, 
 but, withal, a rugged unhewn Town, and the Roads of the Country 
 mere Caufeways of (harp Flints. Near this Place were two great Fa- 
 milies, one called Orchard Port man, the other Orchard Windham, 
 at both which Places, his Lordfhip had princely Entertainment. The 
 Places, noted to be feen there, are Oaky Hole, Chedder Cliffs, and 
 Mendip Hills. But I (hall not flay to defcribe them, but make for 
 Brijlol, which is a marine trading City, with a fmall Cathedral. It 
 is remarkable there, that all Men, that are Dealers, even in Shop 
 Trades, launch into Adventures by Sea, chiefly to the Weft India 
 Plantations and Spain. A poor Shopkeeper, that fells Candles, will 
 have a Bale of Stockings, or a Piece of Stuff for Nevis, or Virginia^ 
 &c. and, rather than fail, they Trade in Men; as when they fent fmali 
 Rogues taught to pray, and who accordingly received, actual Tranf- 
 portation, even before any Indictment found againfl them; for which 
 my Lord Jejfries fcoured them, as is related elfewhere. In a Word ; 
 Pride and Oftentation are publicly profefled. Chriftenings and Burials 
 pompous beyond Imagination. A Man, who dies worth Three hun- 
 dred Pounds, will order Two hundred of it to be laid out in his 
 Funeral Proceflion. 
 
 His Lordfhip was there in Summer, 1680, which was next before incidents 
 that Seflion of Parliament that purfued the Abhorrers; and, as the there - 
 Times then fhewed fome Dawnings of Loyalty to the Crown, it 
 appeared more in Briftol than one would have expected. One Floyd 
 was there, a true Weljhman, as I believe; for I never faw or heard a- 
 ny human Thing fpeak fo lofty as he did, and all in Humour and 
 Tags of Latin. He declared for fub and Jupra, and much more at 
 that Rate. There was one Row in Office of Swordbearer; which, 
 in that Town, is pronounced Sorberer. I thought it founded like 
 
 Cerberus-,
 
 
 J22 The LIFE of the late 
 
 Cerberus; and not amifs, for the Fellow was deep in the Rye Plot, 
 for which he fled. He was ftrangely fawcy and impertinent in his 
 Office. And once the Judge looked back for one of his Servants, and 
 he comes forward, and /'// waif on your Lordjhip, faid he. Tou 
 'wait on my Lord, Sirrah, faid the Mayor ? you foall wait upon me> and 
 III wait upon my Lord. 
 
 Account of His Lordfhip efcaped a Scouring here in the Year in which Oafes's 
 Exa- plot raged. For Captain Bedloe came down to the Affifes with a 
 Defign to enter into his Lordfhip's Converfation, and, what with Dif- 
 coveries, and pretended Difcoveries, to have put the Sham Plot upon 
 him ; as, probably, he had done if Providence, and his ufual Forecafl 
 and Caution, had not kept him at a Diftance. I am not concerned 
 to difplay the Particulars here, becaufe they are fully related in the 
 Examen; but however think it proper to infert his Lordmip's Nar- 
 rative for the fake of his Juflification in this Affair, in his own 
 Words, as he fent it to Secretary Jenki?is, with his Letter. 
 
 HisLo-dfhip's " Account of the Examination of Captain Bedloe at Briftol, 16 Au- 
 guft, 1680, Given to the Houfe of Commons. 
 
 " At my firil coming to Mr. Rumfey's> where I was to lodge at 
 " Briftol, upon Monday the i6th Day of Auguft, in the Afternoon, 
 " being the firft Day of the Aflifes, Sir John Knight came to me and 
 " faid that Mr. Bedloe lay dangeroufly ill of a Fever, and had little 
 * { Hopes of Life, and defired that I would give him a Vifit, that he 
 11 might impart fomething of great Confequence before his Death. 
 " I told him I would give him a Vifit that Night after Supper a- 
 " bout Nine o' Clock, if I might be fatisfied of two Things: Firft, 
 <e That there was no Infection in his Diftemper : Secondly, That the 
 " Time would not be inconvenient, but he might difcourfe to me 
 " without Prejudice to his Condition. After a little while his Phy- 
 " ficians came to me, and affured me there was no Danger of In- 
 " feclion, and the Time I had appointed would be moft proper, for 
 u commonly he took his Repofe in the Afternoon, and at Nine o* 
 " Clock he would in Probability be refrefhed, and fit to difcourfe 
 <c with me -- Thereupon I declared my Refolution of going; 
 " and defired the Company of the two Sheriffs, and my Brother Ro- 
 " ger North, and appointed my Marmall William Janes to go with 
 *' me. As we were upon the Way, Mr. Crofsman, a Minifter in that 
 414 City, told me Mr. Bedloe had defired him to come with me to him. 
 <e I faid it was very well, and I mould be glad of his Company. 
 ** Whereupon we went all together, and being come into the Room 
 " where Mr. Bedloe lay, I faluted him, and iaid, I was extreme for- 
 
 3 "ry
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 
 
 ry to find him fo ill. I did imagine he had fomething to im- 
 ct part to me as a Privy Counfellor, and therefore, if he thought fit, 
 " the Company (hould withdraw. He told me, that needed not 
 tc yet, for he had much to fay which was proper for the Compa- 
 " ny to hear: And having fainted the Sheriffs, and Mr.Crofsman, 
 " he began to this Purpofe. 
 
 " That he looked upon himfelf as a dying Man, and found with- 
 in himfelf that he could not laft long, but muft fhortly appear 
 < before the Lord of Hofts to give an Account of his Actions; 
 and becaufe many Perfons had made it their Buiinefs to bafrle 
 and deride the Plot, he did, for the Satisfaction of the World, 
 <c then declare upon the Faith of a Dying Man, and as he hoped 
 for Salvation, that whatsoever he had teftified, concerning the Plot, 
 < c was true; and that he had wronged no Man by his Teftimony, 
 but had teftified rather under than over what was Truth; that he 
 { had nothing lay upon his Confcience upon that Account, that he 
 fhould appear cheerfully before the Lord of Hofls, which he did 
 
 verily believe he muffc do in a mort Time. He faid he had 
 
 many WitnefTes to produce who would make the Plot as clear as 
 <c the Sun, and he Jiad other Things to difcover which were of great 
 Importance to the King and Country; hereupon, he making fome 
 <c Paufe, I told him the Plot was fo evidently made out, that no 
 c reafonable Man, noProteftant, I was fure, could doubt of the 
 <c Truth of it; but he ought not to conceal any thing that con- 
 " cerned the King fo highly: He ought to difclofe his whole 
 ** Knowledge in Matters of Treafon, that Traitors may be apprehend- 
 ed, and fecured, who otherwife may have Opportunity to execute 
 
 " their treafonable Defigns. To this he replied that much of that 
 
 " which he had not difcovered, was to corroborate his former Tefti- 
 mony; that he had concealed nothing that was abfolutely necefTary 
 to the King's Prefervation ; that he thought not fit to accufe more 
 Perfons till he had ended with thofe he had already accufed. He 
 expreffed great Grief and Trouble at the Condition of his poor King 
 and Country (fohe termed them) whom he knew at that time in im- 
 <c minent Danger from the Jefuits, who had refolved the King's Death, 
 and he was fure they would fpare him no longer than he conti- 
 < nued to be kind to them. He faid he was privy to their Conful- 
 tations at Salamanca and Valladolid , where they ufed to ob- 
 ferve the favourable Conjuncture they had to introduce their Religion 
 " into England \ which confifted in their having a Head, who muft 
 be fet up whatfoever came of it, and if they let flip that Oppor- 
 " tunity they mould never have fuch another; for, without an Head, 
 they could do nothing. He faid farther, he knew the Wicked- 
 
 C2 " nefs
 
 LIFE of the late 
 
 " nefs and Refolution of Jefuits, they ftuck at nothing to compafs 
 " their own Ends. They had attempted to poifon him, but he had 
 " efcaped. 
 
 Manner of his "When he had finimed this Difcourfe (which lafted about a 
 Examination. <c Quarter of an Hour) I afked him if the Company fhould now 
 " withdraw, and he faid, Yesj and ordered his Nurfes to go out, 
 " and only his Wife to flay to tend him. And thereupon all went 
 " out, faving Mrs. Bedloe and myfelf, and my Servant William Janes. 
 Then I told him I thought it convenient that what he mould fay 
 " unto me mould be upon Oath; he replied, it was necefTary it 
 " mould be fo, and called for a Bible; but my Servant having brought 
 " a Book with him, adminiftered the Oath to him, and, laying his 
 " Paper on a Chair by the Bed- fide, wrote down his Depofition as he 
 
 " delivered it. When Mr. Bedloe had concluded, and faid that was 
 
 " all he had to inform me of, I took the Paper, and read it over 
 if to him diftinctly, and he approved it, and figned it, laying the Pa- 
 cc per upon a Pillow, I thought it not fit, confidering his Condi- 
 " tion, to perplex him with Queftions, but took his Information as 
 " he offered it, and held no Difcourfe with him when the Company 
 c was withdrawn, but concerning the true fetting down his Depofi- 
 " tions. And when he feemed to be weary, to mind him of taking 
 tc Cordials, which his Wife reached to him as he defired them. 
 Copy refufed. " The next Day Mr. Bedloe 's Brother came to me, and told me 
 " his Brother defired a Copy of the Depofition he had made before 
 " me, but I told him I had well confidered it, and could not give 
 " him a Copy without the King's Leave, but I would move the King 
 " in it, and, if he gave Leave, I would take Care to fend one to him - y 
 " and Mr. Bedloe' Brother told me, that it was his Brother's De- 
 " fire that I mould recommend to his Majefty his Condition ; that 
 " his Sicknefs was very chargeable, and move his Majefty for fome 
 " Supply of Money for his Subfiftence, which I promifed to do. 
 " This is all I can recollect of what pafled upon this Occafion, and 
 < { is in Subftance true, but the very Words or Order I cannot re- 
 " member. 
 
 " Letter to Mr. Secretary Jenkins. 
 " Sir, 
 
 the " * a ^ wa y s inten ded to wr i te fr m hence, to pay my Thanks for 
 " the whole Circuit, which was much more pleafant by your Fa- 
 " vour of holding a Correfpondence with me, but now I have fome. 
 " Bufinefs of Importance For as foon as I came to this City, I 
 " received a Letter from Mr. Bedloe by Sir John Knight ', that he be- 
 < ing very ill, and in the Judgment of Phyficians in great Danger of 
 
 Death
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. i ly 
 
 c Death, had fome Bufinefs of great Moment to impart to me. I 
 
 c knowing the Man and the Seafon, would not refufe the Pains to 
 
 give him a Vifit ; and being fatisfied by Phyficians that there was 
 
 no contagious Quality in his Diftemper (tho' I did not much fear 
 
 " it) I went well accompanied; and, in thePrefence of the Company, 
 
 " he declared that whatever he had faid, concerning the Plot, was true, 
 
 " and he, being a dying Man, had nothing lay upon his Confcience 
 
 on that Score. The greateft Trouble he had, was the Danger the 
 
 t{ King, whom he loved above all things, was in from the Papifts 
 
 at this Time, who would attempt his Life as foon as ever he mould 
 
 " ceafe to be kind to them. After I had afked him if he had any thing 
 
 c < to impart to me in private; he told me he had, and having made 
 
 " the Company withdraw, all but my Clerk, I took the inclofed Ex- 
 
 animation upon Oath. You may imagine I was not curious to per- 
 
 " plex him with Queftions, I took it juft as he delivered it, of what 
 
 Signification it will be, I leave to wifer Men. I think it my Duty 
 
 " to fend it to you that you may inform his Majefly of the Truth. 
 
 I {hall wait upon you at Windjbr upon Sunday next, to receive your 
 
 farther Commands. Ten at Night; the Copy inclofed ill ta- 
 
 ken; I {hall bring the Original with me. 
 
 cc The Examination of Captain William Bedloe, taken upon Oath 
 before the Lord Chief Jujlice North at Briftol, 16 Auguft, 
 1680. 
 
 " The Examinant faith that the Duke of Tork hath been fo far 
 " engaged in the Plot, as he hath feen by Letters in Cardinal Barbarini's 
 " Secretary's Study, that no Part hath been proved againft any Man al- Examination 
 " ready that hath fuffered, but that to the full thofe Letters have made him icfcif - 
 " guilty of it all but what tended to the King's Death.- At 
 " Rome I aiked Father Anderton and Father Lodge ', two Jefuits, what 
 " would the Duke do with his Brother when he was King? And they 
 " anfwered me they would find Means for that, they would give 
 
 him no Trouble about it. Then I told them I believed the Duke 
 
 " loved his Brother fo well, he would fuffer no Violence to be done 
 to him, they faid No; if the Duke could be brought to that, as he 
 had been religioufly to every thing elfe, they might do their Work, 
 their other Bufinefs was ready, and they might do it prefently, but 
 they knew they could not bring him to that Point; but thejr 
 would take Care of that themfelves; they had not begun with 
 < { him to leave him in fuch Scruples as that, but they would fet him, 
 " into his Throne, and there he fhould reign blindfold three or four 
 Days, for they had fettled fome, they mould pitch the Action upon,, 
 c who {hould clear their Party, and then he mould fly upon them with 
 
 " the
 
 n6 The LIFE of the late 
 
 <f the Sword of Revenge. .And this Examinant doth further add, 
 " that the Queen is not to this Examinant's Knowledge, nor by any 
 " Thing he could ever find out, any Way concern'd in the Murder 
 V of the King ; but barely by her Letters confenting and promifing 
 " to contribute what Money (he could to the introducing the Catho- 
 " lick Religion : Nay, 'twas a great while, and it made her weep, be- 
 " fore me could be brought to that." 
 
 Imprimatur 
 
 io th Nov. 1680. Wi. WILLIAMS. 
 
 The private As to the true Intent and Defign of this Expedition to Erijlol, I (hall 
 intent of this f av nothing here, becaufe it is fully accounted for in the Examen. But as 
 ffL asT' to ^ Lordfhip's private Concern in particular, it is to be known that 
 concem'd his nothing was more defired by the Party, than to remove him (who 
 was an inflexible Loyalift) out of -their Way; .and, in Order to that, 
 to faften fome Trapan upon him, or -get fome Advantage of charging 
 him with Matter of difcouraging, ridiculing, tampering, or ftifling the 
 Plot; all which were Sins in an high Degree, and Ground enough 
 for an Addrefs to remove, &c. 
 
 Now in this Expedition, Bedloe, by Defign, having his Lordmip (as 
 he might think) to himfelf, by often repairing to him, frequenting his 
 Table (as his Brother was fo brafen-faced to do) and pretending to 
 make known horrid Facts againft the Queen, and the Duke ; at which, 
 as was prefumed, his Lordmip might ftart, and wifh him -to have a 
 Care, and the like. And then, if a formal Depofition was taken, he 
 might fay that, in Difcourfe, he had difcover'd much more, but his 
 Lordmip perfuaded him to fupprefs it, or any thing elfe, that, having 
 had Opportunities, he had been pleafed to fay or fwear; and his Bro- 
 ther and Wife, and fome Body eife (perhaps) at Hand to fwear Mat- 
 ters call'd circumftantial Evidence. And this is not fuch a Romance 
 of pure Invention, as may feem ; for, after this Bilk of a Difcovery 
 was known, it was reported, and by many really expected, or believed, 
 that Bed/oes Wife was coming to Town, and would teftify that her 
 Huiband had difcover'd other Matters, and more pofitive, but his 
 Lordmip had fupprefs'd them. But after {he was come up, {he had 
 no Difcovery to make, but of her Wants; and, after having got what 
 {he could, ihe vanim'd. And thus his Lordmip reap'd the Fruit of his 
 good Fortune, and Caution ; for without the former, I queftion whe- 
 ther all his Stock of the Hatter, would fo clearly have brought him 
 off. 
 
 His
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. u 7 
 
 His Lordfhip was not long come to Town, before he was Aim- Called to the 
 mon'd to attend the Houfe of Commons, to give an Account of what "Ii f l of 
 Difcoveries, touching the Plot, had been made to him at Brijlol. This 
 gave him Occafion to ruminate all the whole Proceeding, to find if there, 
 any Slip had been made (for he all along trod upon Eggs) and he 
 could find nothing poffible to be cavilled upon, but (perhaps) a Slip 
 
 in his Letter to the Secretary, in thefe Words " You may ima- 
 
 " gine I was not curious to perplex him with Queftions." As if 
 
 he was wilfully wanting in fearching out the Truth by Queftions ; 
 but the Anfwer was obvious, and no Notice was taken of it. His 
 Lordfliip was not ufed to afford any Umbrage of ill Conftruction a- 
 gainft himfelf; but this came out on Account of Familiarity with the 
 Secretary, not dreaming of a publick Scrutiny ; and, in fuch a Cafe, 
 it might have proved a great deal worfe : But now, for the Houfe of 
 Commons, his Lordfhip attended at the Time, and, having a Chair 
 fet for him by the Table, after fitting a while, he flood up and re- 
 lated the PalTage fhortly; and, as to the Circumftances, there was his 
 Narrative of every Particular. And then he gave in the original Exa- 
 mination (which, for this Purpofe, he had obtain'd from the Secre- 
 tary) and he laid down the very Letter he wrote to the Secretary 
 (obtain'd as before) in which had been inclofed the Copy fent up from 
 Brijlol. And having faid that this was all he knew, or could recol- 
 lect concerning that Matter, he was difmifs'd. It is to be fuppofed 
 that all this Gear was fufficiently canvafs'd, but nothing to be got out 
 of it ; fo, after a confiderable Time, it was order'd to be printed, as 
 before was mention'd, and he never heard more of the Matter. I do 
 not mention here the Snare laid for the Judges, by the Earl of Sun- 
 derlandj when Secretary, becaufe the fame is particularly related in 
 the Examen. And I lay afide the Voyaging Part, at prefent, and re- 
 turn to his Lordfhip's Conduct of himfelf in the Execution of his Com- 
 miffions of AfTife, &c. in the Wejlern Circuit. 
 
 His Lordfhip took Care always to declare the Laws to the Country His cautious 
 with all .the Exactnefs pofiible, and without making any Diftinctions Bthavlour - 
 of Favour, of any Party or Denomination of Men ; and, according 
 as the Tenour of our Law Books runs, he exhorted to Loyalty, and 
 to fupport the royal Prerogative by Law ; mewing that the Safety of 
 the national Religion and Property depended on the People's dutiful 
 and legal Obedience to the Crown : And, for this Purpofe, he ufed 
 fome fhort Harangue at the Entrance of his Charges. When he firft 
 came the Circuit, for two or three Years, the factious Gentlemen 
 came to him, and, for aught that appear'd at firft to the contrary, 
 for Refpect, as others did; 'but, in Truth, it was to found, and pra- 
 ftife Experiments upon him ; but more efpecially if any factious Caufe 
 
 was
 
 The LIFE of the late 
 
 was to be tried, as again ft a Juftice of Peace for difturbing Conven- 
 ticles, a Mayor of a Town, for fome Slip of Authority exerted againfl: 
 the Party, or, perhaps, where fome Party Men were Defendants, or 
 the like, either to found his Lordfhip's Temper, or tempt his Judg- 
 ment by Flatteries, or, at a Diftance, Shews of Terror, and the like ; 
 as his Lordmip foon found was manifeftly their Drift. He received 
 them with all the Civility that was decent, and difcourfed with them 
 amicably and freely upon indifferent Matters -, and, while they glanced 
 at what he did not like, he gave them the Hearing, and ferved him- 
 felf of their Difcourfe, to conjecture what was upon the Anvil, and what 
 they drove at. But, in his own Talk, gave no Umbrage for them to 
 think him ductile, or to be wrought upon againfl: his Principle, or 
 that their Difcourfe made any Impreffion upon him ; and wonderful 
 careful he was not to give Handles againfl: himfelf j fuch as, among 
 that Party, might be wrefted to Calumny, as if he favour'd Popery, 
 or arbitrary Power : All which they earneftly defired mould be believed 
 of him. And fo amongft the Gentlemen of the loyal Side, who, in 
 moft of the Counties, were almoft the whole Body, he ufed no other 
 Terms in his private Difcourfe, than might have been pronounced 
 upon the Bench: For there is found, in moft Men, either an Itch, or 
 elfe, a Vanity of Talking, which difpofeth them to report what their 
 Superiors fay ; and is, fometimes, the Caufe of great Mifconftructions 
 and Inconveniences. For which Reafon, Men, in Authority, cannot be 
 too folemn, and attach'd to a true Senfe and Principle in their ordi- 
 nary Converfation. 
 
 And his Lordmip, when the factious Caufes came to be tried before 
 him, and, by the Mufter, he obferved the Tendency of the Matter, 
 and, fometimes, thought it was brought forward to try him rather 
 than the Parties, managed with abfolute Regard to the ftricteft Forms 
 of Law, and Juftice of Trials, gave full Hearing, and allow'd of no 
 Indecency, or Diforder, of Counfel, took no Notice of what fome, 
 upon the Bench, would infinuate (for the Gentlemen were warm, and, 
 on one Side as well as the other, apt to meddle) but, before he had 
 done, reduced the Fact to a State of Clearnefs ; and fo, after all Im- 
 pertinences pared off, the Law was feldom doubtful ; and, if it were, 
 he gave fuch Reafons, asjuftified his Determinations: And fo he fail'd 
 among the Rocks, gave full Satisfaction to active Gentlemen that the 
 Law was his Rule, and the Forms of it his Direction. And the Faction 
 had no Handle for any Complaint that Wrong was done, either in 
 the Matter or Manner of his Trials. Only fome of them faid that 
 he never bit but in the right Place ; and, to fay the Truth, of that 
 he feldom fail'd. In this Manner the Faction proved him till, after 
 two or three Years experimenting, they defpaired of making any Im- 
 
 preflion
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 
 
 preffion upon, or getting any Advantage againft him ; and fo they 
 gave him over. For the Chief of them, as for Inftance, Sir Francis 
 Rolls in Hampftire (but there is no Need of Names) and others, for- 
 bore the Affifes, and came no more there while he came that Circuit. 
 I mould here account for the Occafion of that famous Practice of Sur- 
 renders and Renewals of Charters, and of Quo Warrantors againft 
 fome Corporations, which, at firft, moved from fome Gentlemen of 
 Dorfetfhire and Devon/hire, provoked by the impudent and audacious 
 Behaviour of fome Corporations, and, through his Lordmip, came to 
 his Majefty's Ear. But all this is inferted in the Examen- 3 where the 
 whole will appear. 
 
 As to the ordinary Bufinefs of the Affifes (efpecially on the Crown in Matters 
 Side) he was never eafy till, by examining over and over, and over a- 
 gain, aiking Parties Queftions, as Attornies, and every one that he 
 thought could help to clear up an intricate Fact ; and fcarce gave 
 over till he had brought it to fo clear a State, as that the Audience 
 mould think as he declared. He had certain Marks or Notes, by 
 Means of which, however People fhifted and prevaricated, he con- 
 cluded what the Truth was; and then the Work was to make it plain 
 to every Body. Of this the Cafe of Granf, touched before, was an In- 
 ftance ; where, by the Start of a Speech, he concluded it true. He 
 had alfo obferved that Men, inclined to Paffion, had more of Truth 
 than thofe who were unconcern'd. In Trials of fome Criminals, 
 whofe Cafes proved very obfcure, or doubtful ; as to fuch, efpecially 
 if they were capital, he was infinitely fcrutinous ; but never more puz- 
 zled than when a popular Cry was at the Heels of a Bufinefs ; for 
 then he had his Jury to deal with, and, if he did not tread upon Eggs, 
 they would conclude finiftroufly, and be apt to find againft his Opi- 
 nion. And, for this Reafon, he dreaded the Trying of a Witch. It 
 is feldom that a poor old Wretch is brought to Trial upon that 
 Account, but there is, at the Heels of her, a popular Rage that does 
 little lefs than demand her to be put to Death : And, if a Judge is fo 
 clear and open as to declare againft that impious vulgar Opinion, that 
 the Devil himfelf has Power to torment and kill innocent Children, 
 or that he is pleafed to divert himfelf with the good People's Cheefe, 
 Butter, Pigs, and Geele, and the like Errors of the ignorant and foolim 
 Rabble; the Countrymen, (the Triers) cry this Judge hath no Reli- 
 gion, for he doth not believe Witches ; and fo, to fhew they have 
 fome, hang the poor Wretches. All which Tendency to Miftake, re- 
 quires a very prudent and moderate Carriage in a Judge ; whereby to 
 convince, rather by detecting of the Fraud, than by denying authori- 
 tatively fuch Power to be given to old Women. 
 
 His 
 R
 
 130 The LIFE of the late 
 
 His Lordmip was fomewhat more thoughtful upon this Subject ; 
 becaufe that, in the Year in which Mr. Juftice Raymond was his Co- 
 Judge in that Circuit, two old Women were hurried out of the Coun- 
 try to be tried at Exeter for Witchcraft ; and the City rang with 
 Tales of their preternatural Exploits, as the Current of fuch Tattle 
 ufeth to overflow. Nay, they went fo far as to fay that the Judges 
 Horfes were at a Stand, and could not draw the Coach up the Cajlle 
 Lane: All which the common Sort firmly believed. It fell out that 
 Raymond fat on the Crown Side there; which freed his Lordmip of 
 the Care of fuch Trials. But he had really a Concern upon him at 
 what happen'd ; which was that his Brother Raymond's paffive Beha- 
 viour mould let thofe poor Women die. The Cafes were fo far clear, 
 viz. that the old Women confefled, and owned in Court, that they 
 were Witches. Thefe were two miferable old Creatures, that, one 
 may fay, as to Senfe or Underftanding, were fcarce alive ; but were 
 overwhelm'd with Melancholy, and waking Dreams, and fo ftupid as 
 no one could fuppofe they knew either the Construction or Confe- 
 quence of what they faid. All the reft of the Evidence was trifling. 
 I, fitting in the Court the next Day, took up the File of Informa- 
 tions, taken by the Juflices, which were laid out upon the Table, and, 
 
 againft one of the old Women, read thus. " This Informant faith 
 
 " he faw a Cat leap in at her (the old Woman's) Window, when 
 " it was Twilight; and this Informant farther faith, that he verily be- 
 <{ lieveth the faid Cat to be the Devil, and more faith not." The 
 Judge made no nice Diftinctions, as how poflible it was for old Wo- 
 men, in a Sort of melancholy Madnefs, by often thinking in Pain, and 
 Want of Spirits, to contract an Opinion of themfelves that was falfe ; 
 and that their Confeffion ought not to be taken againft themfelves, 
 without a plain Evidence that it was rational and fenfible, no more 
 than that of a Lunatic, or diftradted Perfon : But he left the Point 
 upon the Evidence fairly (as they call it) to the Jury, and they con- 
 victed them both, as I remember ; but one moft certainly was 
 hanged. 
 
 The firft Circuit his Lordmip went Weftward, Mr. Juflice Rainf- 
 fordj who had gone former Circuits there, went with him ; and he 
 faid that, the Year before, a Witch was brought to Salijbury^ and 
 tried before him. Sir "James Long came to his Chamber, and made 
 a heavy Complaint of this Witch, and faid that if me efcaped, his 
 Eftate would not be worth any Thing j for all the People would go 
 away. It happen'd that the Witch was acquitted, and the Knight 
 continued extremely concern'd ; therefore the Judge, to fave the poor 
 Gentleman's Eftate, order'd the Woman to be kept in Gaol, and that 
 the Town mould allow her zs. 6d. per Week; for which he was 
 
 very
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. i 3I 
 
 very thankful. The very next Affifes, he came to the Judge to de- 
 fire his Lordmip would let her come back to the Town. And why? 
 They could keep her for i s. 6 d. there j and, in the Gaol, me coft 
 them a Shilling more. 
 
 His Lordmip had not the good Fortune of efcaping all Bufinefs of An old Man 
 that Kind ; for, at Taunt on- Dean, he was forced to try an old Man tr j ed for * 
 for a Wizzard ; and, for the Curiolity of obferving the State of a male ^ 
 Witch, or Wizzard, I attended in the Court, and fat near where the 
 poor Man flood. The Evidence againft him was, the having bewitch'd 
 a Girl of about Thirteen Years old : For {he had ftrange and unac- 
 countable Fits, and ufed to cry out upon him, and fpit out of her 
 Mouth ftreight Pins j and, whenever the Man was brought near her, 
 fhe fell in her Fits, and fpit forth ftreight Pins. His Lordmip won- 
 der'd at the ftreight Pins, which could not be fo well couched in the 
 Mouth as crooked ones ; for fuch only ufed to be fpit out by People 
 bewitched. He examined the Witnefles very tenderly and carefully, 
 and fo as none could colled! what his Opinion was; for he was fearful 
 of the Jurymens Precipitancy, if he gave them any Offence. When 
 the poor Man was told he muft anfwer for himfelf, he enter'd upon a 
 Defence as orderly and well expreffed as I ' ever heard fpoke by any 
 Man, Counfel, or other ; and if the Attorney General had been his 
 Advocate, I am fure he would not have done it more fenfibly. The 
 Sum of it was Malice, Threatening, and Circumftances of Impoflure 
 in the Girl ; to which Matters he called his Witnefles, and they were 
 heard. After this was done, the Judge was not fatisfied to direct the 
 Jury before the Impofture was fully clear'd, but fludied, and beat 
 the Bufh a while, afking fometimes one, and then another, Queftions 
 as he thought proper. At length he turn'd to the Juflice of Peace 
 that committed the Man, and took the firft Examinations, and Sir, 
 faid he, pray will you ingenuoujly declare your thoughts, if you have 
 any, touching thefe fir eight Pins which the Girl fpit', for you Jaw 
 her in her Fit? Then, My Lord, faid he, / did not know that I 
 might concern my f elf in this Evidence, having taken the Examina- 
 tion, and committed the Man. But, Jince your Lordfhip demands it, 
 I mujl needs fay I think the Girl, doubling herfelf in her Fit, as be- 
 ing conmdfed, bent her Head down cloje to her Stomacher, and, with 
 her Mouth, took Pins out of the Edge of that, and then, righting 
 herfelf a little, fpit them into fome By-ftanders Hands. This caft an 
 univerfal Satisfaction upon the Minds of the whole Audience, and the 
 Man was acquitted. As the Judge went down Stairs, out of the Court, 
 an hideous old Woman cried, God bleft your Lordjbip. What's the Mat- 
 ter, good Woman ? faid the Judge. My Lord, faid fhe, Forty Tears a^o y 
 
 R 2 they
 
 The LIFE of the late 
 
 they 'would have hangd me for a Witch, and they could not j and, now, 
 they would have hangd my poor Son. 
 
 One Year his Lordfhip, concluding at Briftol, made a Vifit at Bad- 
 
 m ' mtm to the Duke of B eau f orf > and ftaid about a Week. For the 
 Duke was defcendcd from a North of his Lordfhip's Family, viz. one 
 of the Lord Edward North's Daughters, whom a lineal Anceftor of 
 his Grace married. So, befides Conformity of Principle, with Refpect 
 to the Publick, they were, by this Relation, qualified for mutual Re- 
 fpect and Honour. I mention this Entertainment as an Handle of 
 {hewing a princely Way of Living, which that noble Duke ufed, a- 
 bove any other, except crown'd Heads, that I have had Notice of in 
 Europe -, and, in fome Refpects, greater than moft of them, to whom 
 he might have been an Example. He had above 2000 /. per Annum 
 in his Hands, which he managed by Stewards, Bailiffs and Servants j 
 and, of that, a great Part of the Country, which was his own, lying 
 round about him, was Part, and the Hufbandmen, &c. were of his 
 Family, and provided for in his large expanded Houfe. He bred all 
 hisHorfes, which came to the Hufbandry firft Colts, and, from thence, 
 as they were fit, were taken into his Equipage ; and, as by Age, or Acci- 
 dent, they grew unfit for that Service, they were returned to the Place 
 from whence they came, and there expired ; except what, for Plenty, 
 or Unfitnefs, were fold or difpofed of. He had about two Hundred 
 Perfons in his Family, all provided for ; and, in his capital Houfe, 
 nine original Tables cover'd every Day : And, for the Accommodation 
 of fo many, a large Hall was built, with a Sort of Alcove, at one 
 End, for Diflinclion j but yet the whole lay in the View of him that 
 was Chief, who had Power to do what was proper for keeping Order 
 amongft them : And it was his Charge to fee it done. The Tables 
 were properly affign'dj as, for Example, the chief Steward with the 
 Gentlemen and Pages j the Mafter of the Horfe with the Coachmen 
 and Liveries ; an under Steward with the Bailiffs and fome Hufband- 
 men ; the Clerk of the Kitchen with the Bakers, Brewers, Gfc. all to- 
 gether ; and other more inferior People, under thefe, in Places apart. 
 The Women had their Dining Room alfo, arid were distributed in like 
 Manner. My Lady's chief Woman with the Gentlewomen ; the 
 Houfekeeper with the Maids, and fome others. The Method of go- 
 verning this great Family was admirable and eafy, and fuch as might 
 have been a Pattern for any Management whatever. For if the Duke 
 or Duchefs (who concern'd herfelf much more than he did ; for every 
 Day of her Life, in the Morning, me took her Tour, and vifited 
 every Office about the Houfe, and fo was her own Superintendent) 
 obferved any Thing amifs or fufpicious> as a Servant riding out, or the
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 133 
 
 like, nothing was faid to that Servant ; but his immediate Superior, 
 or one of an higher Order, was fent for, who was to enquire and 
 anfwer if Leave had been given or not; if not, fuch Servant was 
 flreight turn'd away. No Fault of Order was palTed by ; for it may 
 be concluded there are enough of them that pafs undifcover'd. All 
 the Provifions of the Family came from foreign Parts, as Merchan- 
 dife. Soap and Candle were made in the Houfe, fo like wife the Malt 
 was ground there ; and all the Drink, that came to the Duke's Table, 
 was of Malt Sun-dried upon the Leads of his Houfe. Thofe are 
 large, and the Lanthorn is in the Centre of an Afteriik of Glades, 
 cut through the Wood of all the Country round, Four or Five in a 
 Quarter, almoft apert de vieu. Diverfe of the Gentlemen cut their 
 Trees and Hedges to humour his Viftos; and fome planted their Hills 
 in* his Lines, for Compliment, at their own Charge. All the Trees, 
 planted in his Parks, and about, were fenced with a dry Wall of 
 Stone, taken out where the Tree was fet. And with all this Menagery 
 and Provifion, no one, that' comes and goes for Vilits, or Affairs with 
 the Duke (who was Lord Lieutenant of Four or Five Counties, and 
 Lord Prefident of Wales) that could obferve any Thing more to do 
 there, than in any other Nobleman's Houfe. So little, of vain Often- 
 tation, was to be feen there. At the Entrance, where Coaches ordina- 
 rily came in, the Duke built a neat Dwelling Houfe, but pompous 
 Stables, which would accommodate Forty Horfes, as well as the befl 
 Stables he had. This was call'd the Inn, and was contrived for the 
 Eafe of the Suitors, as I may call them ; for, inftead of half a Crown 
 to his Servants at taking Horfe, Six-pence there, for Form, ferved the 
 Turn ; and no Servant of his came near a Gentleman's Horfe ; but 
 they were brought by their own Servants, except fuch as lodged, whofe 
 Equipages were in his own Stables. 
 
 As for the Duke and Duchefs, and their Friends, there was no More of the 
 Time of the Day without Diverfion. Breakfaft in her Gallery that fame< 
 epened into the Gardens ; then, perhaps a Deer was to be killed, or 
 the Gardens and Parks with the feveral Sorts of Deer, to be vifited ; 
 and if it required mounting, Horfes of the Duke's were brought for 
 all the Company. And fo, in the Afternoon, when the Ladies were 
 difpofed to Air, and the Gentlemen with them, Coaches and Six came 
 to hold them all. At half an Hour after Eleven the Bell rang to 
 Prayers, fo at Six in the Evening; and, through a Gallery, the beft 
 Company went into an Ifle in the Church (fo near was it) and the 
 Duke and Duchefs could fee if all the Family were there. The 
 ordinary Paftime of the Ladies was in a Gallery on the other Side, 
 where me had diverfe Gentlewomen commonly at Work upon Em- 
 broidery and Fringe-making; for all the Beds of State were made 
 
 and
 
 134 7&* LIFE of the late 
 
 and finished in the Houfe. The Meats were very neat, and not grofs; 
 no Servants in Livery attended, but thofe called Gentlemen only; 
 and, in the feveral kinds, even down to the Small Beer, nothing 
 could be more choice than the Table was. It was an Oblong and 
 not an Oval ; and the Duchefs, with two Daughters only, fat at the 
 upper End. If the Gentlemen chofe a Glafs of Wine, the civil Offers 
 were made either to go down into the Vaults, which were very large 
 and fumptuous, or Servants, at a Sign given, attended with Salvers, &c. 
 and many a brifk Round went about ; but no fitting at a Table with 
 . Tobacco and Healths, as the too common Ufe is. And this Way of 
 entertaining continued a Week, while we were there, with incom- 
 parable Variety: For the Duke had always fome new Project of build- 
 ing, walling, or planting, which he would mew, and afk his Friends 
 their Advice about; and nothing was forced, or flrained, but eafy 
 and familiar, as if it was, and really fo I thought it to be, the com- 
 mon Courfe and Way of living in that Family. 
 
 strufture and One Thing more I muft needs relate, which the Duke told us 
 Education. f m iK n g an( j j t was this. When he was in the midft of his Building, 
 his Neighbour, the Lord Chief Juftice Hales, made him a Vifit ; and 
 obferving the many Contrivances the Duke had for the difpofing of fo 
 great a Family, he craved Leave to fuggeft one to him, which he 
 thought would be much for his Service ; and it was to have but one 
 Door to his Houfe, and the Window of his Study, where he fat mofl, 
 open upon that. This (hews how hard it is for even wife and learned 
 Men to confider Things without themfelves. The Children of the 
 Family were bred with a Philofophical Care. No inferior Servants 
 were permitted to entertain them, left fome mean Sentiments, or 
 foolifh Notions and Fables, mould fteal into them; and nothing was 
 fo ftrongly imprefled upon them, as a Senfe of Honour. Witnefs the 
 Lord Arthur, who, being about five Years oldj was very angry with 
 the Judge for hanging Men. The Judge told him that if they 
 were not hanged they would kill and ileal. No, faid the little Boy, 
 you fiould make them promlfe upon their Honour^ they will not do Jo, 
 and then they will not. It were well if this Inftitutionary Care of 
 Parents were always correfpondent in the Manners of all the Children ; 
 for it is not often found to prove fo. 
 
 Entertainment But now to return to his Lordfhip, and his Circuiteering. He took 
 an Opportunity one Summer, to turn by the North, which begins at 
 Tork, and concludes at Lancafter; but, in Winter, it is ufual to omit 
 the Counties of Durham, Northumberland^ Cumberland, and Weft- 
 moreland. His Lordthip was curious to. vifit the Coal Mines in Lum- 
 /y Park, which are the greateft in the North, and produce the befl 
 Coal, and, being exported at Sundtrland t are diftinguimed as of that 
 
 Place.
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. , 3 y 
 
 Place. Thefe Collieries had but one Drain of Water drawn by two 
 Engines, one of three Stories, the other of two. All the Pits, for 
 two or three Miles together, were drained into thofe Drains. The 
 Engines are placed in the lowefl Places, that there may be the lefs 
 Way for the Water to rife ; and if there be a running Stream to work 
 the Engines, it is happy. Coal lies under the Stone; and they are 
 twelve Months in finking a Pit. Damps, or foul Air, kill infenfibly; 
 finking another Pit, that the Air may not fiagnate, is an infallible 
 Remedy. They are moft in very hot Weather. An infallible 
 Trial is by a Dog ; and the Candles fhew it. They feem to be heavy 
 fulphurous Air not fit for Breath; and I have heard fome fay that they 
 would fometimes lie in the midft of a Shaft, and the Bottom be clear. 
 The Flame of a Candle will not kindle them fo foon as the Snuff; 
 but they have been kindled by the flriking Fire with a Tool. The 
 Blaft is mighty violent; but Men have been faved by lying flat on their 
 Bellies. When they are by the Side of an Hill, they drain by a Level 
 carried a Mile under Ground, and cut through Rock to the Value of 
 5 or 6000 /. and where there is no Rock it is fupported with Tim- 
 ber. 
 
 In the Way towards the North his Lordmip vifited the Lord Rut- Brfiwr Caffie, 
 land at Behoir Caftle, where the Profpect is much as that is from Tork > and Dm 
 Windfor; but hath this Advantage, that the fubjacent Country is moft 
 of it Chace Ground ; and that is fo detrimental that the People offer- 
 ed 1 5 oo /. per Annum^ Rent Charge of Inheritance, to be releafed; but 
 that is kept againft an Exigence in the Family (if any mould happen), 
 and fo to preferve a better Eftate. There was little of Curiofity to 
 be obferved in the City of York, befides the Metropolitan Church 
 which is a ftately one indeed, only difgraced by a wooden Roof fra- 
 med Arch wife, but manifeftly feen. The Gentry affect much to walk 
 there to fee and be feen; and the like Cuftom is ufed at Durham. 
 In thefe Churches, Wind Mufick was ufed in the Choir; which I ap- 
 prehend might be introduced at firft for want of Voices, if not of Or- 
 gans; but, as I hear, they are now difufed. To fay the Truth, no- 
 thing comes fo near, or rather imitates fo much, an excellent Voice, 
 as a Cornet Pipe; but the Labour of the Lips is too great, and it is 
 feldom well founded. His Lordmip was well enough known in all 
 the Choirs where ever he came ; and the Boys failed not to bring 
 him a fair Book of the Anthem and Service, and fometimes the 
 Score if they had it, expecting, as they always had, a Compenfa- 
 tion for their Pains. At Durham, the Bimop entertained, who 
 is a fort of Sovereign, or Count Palatine, there, but much flirunk 
 below the ancient Authority and Dignity. Ail Procefs of Law is 
 
 originals
 
 136 The LIFE of the late 
 
 original, without Dependance on London. The Cathedral Church 
 fhews the moft of Gothick Antiquity of any in England-, and the 
 Marks of old Ruin are to be feen by the different Orders of the 
 Supports: Thofe, which are very large and round, with femicircular 
 Arches, are the moil antique. The Biftiop carried his Lordfhip to 
 his ancient Seat called Aukland, which is to Durham as Croydon to 
 Lambeth ; and the Entertainment was in all Points, while his Lord- 
 fhip ftaid in that Palatinate, as I may term it, truly great and gene- 
 rous. And thence the Road lay to Newcaftle over a very delightful 
 Plain, having Lumly Caftle in View, on the left Hand, moft Part of 
 the Way, 
 Entertain- His Lordihip's Entertainment at Newcaftle, was very agreeable, be- 
 
 caufe it went moft upon the Trades of the Place, as Coalmines, 
 Saltworks, and the like, with the Wonders that belonged to them ; 
 and the Magiftrates were felicitous to give him all the Diverfion they 
 could : and one was the going down to Tinmouth Caftle in the Town 
 Barge. The Equipment of the Veflel was very {lately j for, a-head, 
 there fat a four or five Drone Bagpipe, the North Country Organ, and 
 a Trumpeter a-ftern; and fo we rowed merrily along. The making 
 Salt I thought the beft Sight we had there. The other Entertain- 
 ment was a Supper in the open Air upon an Ifland in the T'yne, 
 fomewhat above the Town; and all by the Way of Ligg and fit upon 
 the Ground 3 but Provifions for a Camp, and Wine, of all forts, very 
 fine. In mort, all Circumftances taken together, the Cool of the E- 
 vening, the verdant Flat of the Ifland with Wood difperfed upon it, 
 and Water curling about us, View of the Hills on both Sides of the 
 River, the good Appetites, beft Provifions, and a World of merry 
 Stories of the Scots (which by the Way makes a great Part of the 
 Wit in thofe Parts) made the Place very agreeable, where every one 
 walked after his Fancy, and all were pleafed. 
 
 of a Drain to Some of the Aldermen related ftrange Hiftories of their Coal Works : 
 and C wl 7 Mine ' An< ? one was b 7 Su William Blacket who cut into an Hill in order to 
 leaves. drain the Water, and conquered all Difficulties of Stone, and the like, 
 
 'till he came to Clay, and that was too hard for him; for no Means 
 of Timber, or Walls, would refift, but all was crouded together; 
 and this was by the Weight of the Hill bearing upon a Clay that 
 yielded. In this Work he loft 20,000 /. Another thing, that is re- 
 markable, is their Way leaves j for, when* Men have Pieces of Ground 
 between the Colliery and the River, they fell Leave to lead Coals over 
 their Ground; and fo dear that the owner of a Rood of Ground will 
 expedt 20 /. per Annum for this Leave. The Manner of the Car- 
 riage is by laying Rails of Timber, from the Colliery, down to the 
 River, exadly ftreight and parallel; and bulky Carts are made with 
 
 four
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. I37 
 
 four Rowlets fitting thefe Rails; whereby the Carriage is fo eafy that 
 one Horfe will draw down four or five Chaldron of Coals, and is an 
 immenfe Benefit to the Coal Merchants. Another Advantage of the 
 Coafters upon the River, was fhewed his Lordfhip: And that was 
 what they call Ballaft Wharfs. Any Land Owner may make that 
 which they call a Key, next to the River, and fell Leave to Ships to 
 throw out their Ballaft there, which the Town will not permit to 
 be tofled into the River; and the Loading of Coals is Ballaft enough 
 to return with home towards London. So it feems that the mifting 
 of the Ballaft, out and home, is no fmall Incumbrance to the Coal 
 Trade. 
 
 From Tinmouth his Lordmip, by Invitation, went to dine at Sea- The fmaii 
 ton Delaval. Sir Ralph Delaval entertained us exceeding well ; and Port of Seatm 
 not fo much with eating and drinking, which appertains properly to 
 the Brute, and not to the Man, but with very ingenious Difcourfe, and 
 mewing to us many Curiofities, of which he himfelf was Author, 
 in that Place. The chief remarkable, there, was a little Port which 
 that Gentleman, with great Contrivance, and after many Difap- 
 pointments, made for fecuring Small Craft that carried out his Salt 
 and Coal ; and he had been encouraged in it by King Charles the Second, 
 who made him Collector and Surveyor of his own Port, and no Offi- 
 cer to intermeddle there. It ftands at the Mouth of a Rill (as it is 
 called) of Water, which, running from the Hills, had excavated a 
 great Hollow, in the Fall, as it run. The Ground, at the Sea, is an 
 hard impenetrable flat Rock; and, for Cover of the VefTels, which, 
 elfe, in the Rage, muft be darned to Pieces, Sir Ralph had built, or, 
 rather, often rebuilt a Pier of Stone that fended off the Surge to the 
 North-Eaft, and, at High Water, gave Entrance near a little Pro- 
 montory of the Shoar, turning in by the North; and, at Low Wa- 
 ter, the Veffels lay dry upon the Rock. This had been built of 
 fquare Stone, with, and without, Cement; but all was heav'd a- 
 way with the Surge; and, for a great while, nothing could be 
 found ftrong enough to hold againft the lifting and fucking of the 
 Water. At length, Sir Ralph, at an immenfe Coft, bound every 
 Joint of the Stone, not only laterally, but, upright, with Dovetails 
 of Heart of Oak let into the Stone; and that held effectually: For, 
 if the Stones were lifted up, they fell in their Places again. This 
 little Harbour was apt to flit up with the Sea Sand; for remedying 
 of which, he ufed the back Water of his Rill, and that kept the 
 Channel always open: And, for that End, he had an eafy and fure 
 Device; which was Sluice-gates built crofs theChannel of the Rill, 
 which, during Tide of Flood, were mut, and fo the Water gathered 
 to a great Head above, till Low Water ; and then the Sluices opened, 
 
 S let
 
 138 The LIFE of the late 
 
 let the gathered Water come down all at once, which fcoured away 
 the Sand that, every Tide, lodged upon the Rock, and warned it as 
 clean as a Marble Table. All this we faw, with his Salt-pans at 
 Work about it, and the petit Magazines, of a marine Trade, upon the 
 Wharf: and fo he reaped the Fruits of his great Cofl and Invention; 
 and, if, in the whole, the Profit did not anfwer the Account, the Plea- 
 fure of defigning and executing, which is the moft exquifite of any, 
 did it. 
 
 A Colliery j mu ft no t omit one PafTage, which {hewed the fteddy Conftancy 
 drowned. Q f t k at Q ent i eman ' s Mind ; which was that, at the beginning of Din- 
 ner, a Servant brought him a Letter, wherein was an Account of a 
 Bag of Water which was broke in his greateft Colliery. Upon which, 
 folding up the Letter, faid he, My Lord, here I have Advice fent me 
 of a Lojs, in a Colliery, which I cannot ejlimate at lefs than 7000!. 
 and now you /hall fee if 1 alter my Countenance or Behaviour, from what 
 you have feen of me already. And fo fell to difcourfing of thefe Bags 
 of Water, and the Methods to clear them, as if the Cafe had been 
 another's, and not his own. He faid his only Apprehenfion was that the 
 Water might come from the Sea; and then, faid he, the whole Colliery 
 is utterly loft : Elfe, with Charge, it will be recovered. Whereupon he 
 fent for a Bottle of the Water, and, finding it not faline, as from 
 the Sea, was well fatisfied. Afterwards we enquired if the Water was 
 conquered, and we were told it proved not fo bad as he expected* 
 For it feems that although 17007. was fpent upon Engines, and they 
 could not fink it an Inch, yet 600 /. more emptied it; fo that it had 
 no more than the ordinary Springs; and, in about fix Weeks, he raifed 
 Coal again. He faid that Chain Pumps were the beft Engines, for 
 they draw conflant and even ; but they can have but two Stories of 
 them, the fecond being with an Axle-tree of feven or eight Fathom; 
 and the deepeft Story is wrought by Buckets, and a Wheel and Ropes, 
 with the Force at the Top. 
 
 Commiffion T ^ e Count y *~ Northumberland hath been exceedingly infefled 
 with thieving of Cattle, which is the Remains of the Border Trade, 
 fince the Union with Scotland, after the Way ufed, in Time of Peace,, 
 before. For as, in Italy, the Murderer, running into the next Terri- 
 tory, was fafe; fo here they flole on either Side, and the other, under 
 a different Jurifdiftion, was an Afylum. This was fo great a Mifchief 
 that all the confiderable Farm Houfes (the Houfes of Gentlemen 
 were Caftles of courfe) were built of Stone in the manner of a fquare 
 Tower, with an over hanging Battlement, and, underneath, the Cat- 
 tle were lodged every Night. In the upper Room the Family lodged,, 
 and, when the Alarm came, they went up to the Top, and, with hot 
 Water and Stones from the Battlement, fought in Defence of their 
 
 Cattle,.
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 
 
 Cattle. The Advantage of the Union was fo great to thefe Countries, 
 that the Lord Grey of WarK* Eftate, which, before, was not above 
 1000 /. per Annum^ hath fince rifen to 7 or 8000 /. which is, at leaft, 
 a ftxfold Improvement. After the Union, to prevent this thieving 
 Trade, the Crown fent Commiffioners of Oyer and Terminer, directed 
 to an equal Number of JLnglifo and Scotch, extending to certain Li- 
 mits on each Side of the Border j and, being continued, it is there- 
 fore call'd the Border Commiffion. And thefe meet in their Seffions, 
 and hang up at another Rate than the Afiifes ; for we were told that, 
 at one Seffions, they hang'd Eighteen for not reading Jicut Ciena. 
 
 This hath made a considerable Reform ; but yet there is Need of an of 
 Officer they call a Country Keeper, who hath a Salary from theCoun- 
 try, and is bound to make good all the ftolen Cattle, unlefs found out 
 and reflored. When his Lordfhip was there, one Mr. Widdrmgton 
 was Keeper, with 500 /. per Annum Salary. The Country is yet very 
 fharp upon Thieves ; and a violent Sufpicion, there, is next to Con- 
 viction. When his Lordmip held the Affifes at Newcaftle, there was 
 one Mungo Noble (fuppofed to be a great Thief) brought to Trial 
 before his Lordfhip, upon Four feveral Indictments ; and his Lordmip 
 was fo much a South Country Judge, as not to think any of them 
 well proved. One was for ftealing an Horfe of a Perfon unknown ; 
 and the Evidence amounted to no more than that a Horfe was feen 
 feeding upon the Heath near his Shiel (which is a Cottage made in 
 open Places of Turf and Flag) and none could tell who was the 
 Owner of it. In fhort, the Man efcaped, much to the Regret of di- 
 verfe Gentlemen, who thought he deferved to be hang'd ; and that 
 was enough. While the Judge, at the Trial, difcourfed of the Evi- 
 dence and its Defects, a Scotch Gentleman upon the Bench, who was 
 a Border Commiffioner, made a long Neck towards the Judge, and 
 My Laird., faid he, fend him to Huzz, and yees neer fee him mere. 
 This Country was then much troubled with Bedlamers. One was 
 tried before his Lordmip. for killing another of his own Trade, whom 
 he furprifed afleep, and, with his great Staff, knocked on the Head ; 
 and then bragged that he had given him a Sark full of fere Benes ; 
 that is, a Shirt full of fore Bones. He would not plead to the Coun- 
 try, becaufe there were Horfecopers amongft them, till the Prefs was 
 ready ; and then he pleaded, and was, at laft, hanged. They were 
 a great Nufance in the Country, frighting the People in their Houfes, 
 and taking what they lifted : So that a fmall Matter, with the Coun- 
 trymen, would do fuch a Fellow's Bufmefs, 
 
 From Neivcajlle, his Lordfhip's Rout lay to Carlijle. The Nortbum- oskioufneft 
 berland Sheriff gave us all Arms; that is, a Dagger, Knife, Penknife, 
 
 and Fork, all together. And becaufe the hideous Road along by the 
 
 S 2
 
 LIFE of the late 
 
 T'pie, for the many and (harp Turnings, and perpetual Precipices, was 
 for a Coach, not fuftain'd by main Force, impafiable, his Lord(hip 
 was forced to take Horfe, and to ride moft Part of the Way to Hex- 
 bam. We were (hewed where Coal Mines burnt under Ground ; but 
 could difcern nothing of it, befides the Deadnefs of all Plants there. 
 We were (hewed the Pi&s Wall ; but it appear'd only as a Range, or 
 Bank of Stones all overgrown with Grafs, not unlike the Bank of the 
 Devil's Ditch at Newmarket, only without any Hollow, and nothing 
 near fo big. Here his Lordmip faw the true Image of a Border Coun- 
 try. The Tenants of the feveral Manors are bound to guard the 
 Judges through their Precindj and out of it they would not go, no, 
 not an Inch to fave the Souls of them. They were a comical^Sort of 
 People, riding upon Negs, as they call their fmall Horfes, with long 
 Beards, Cloaks, and long, broad Swords, with Bafket Hilts, hanging 
 in broad Belts, that their Legs and Swords almoft touched the Ground ; 
 and every one, in his Turn, with his ftiort Cloak, and other Equipage, 
 cam'e up Cheek by Joul, and talk'd with my Lord Judge. His Lord- 
 .{hip was very well pleafed with their Difcourfe ; for they were great 
 Antiquarians in their own Bounds. 
 
 We came, at length, to Hexham, formerly a Metropolis of a famous 
 Shire of that Name. From the Entertainment and Lodging, there, 
 it might be miftaken; but whether for a Scotch, or for a Weljh Town, 
 may be a nice Point for the Experienced to determine. The reft of 
 the Country to Carlijle was more pleafant and direct ; and, bating 
 Hunger and Third, which will not be quenched by any Thing to be 
 faftened upon there, but what the Bounty of the Skies affords, was 
 patted over with Content. At Carlijle, nothing extraordinary occur- 
 red, but good Ale and Small Beer, which was fupplied to their Lord- 
 fhips from the Prebends Houfes; and they boafted of brewing it at 
 Home: But, being aiked with what Malt? they made Anfwer, that 
 it was South Country Malt. For, to fay Truth, the Big (viz. a Four- 
 rowed Barley) is feldom ripe ; and the Oats, which they call Teats, 
 are commonly firft cover'd with Snow. In Cumberland, the People 
 had join'd in a Sort of Confederacy to undermine the Eftates of the 
 Gentry, by pretending a Tenant Right ; which, there, is a cuftomary 
 Eftate, not unlike our Copyholds: And the Verdict was fure for the 
 Tenants Right, whatever the Cafe was. The Gentlemen, rinding that 
 all was going, refolved to put a Stop to it by ferving on common Ju- 
 ries. I could not but wonder to fee Pantaloons and Shoulder Knots 
 crouding among the common Clowns ; but this Account was a Sa- 
 tisfaction. 
 
 From hence we went, through a plain, but ftony, Road, in the 
 View of hideous Mountains, called Foulnefs Hills, to Applcby in Weft- 
 
 more/and.
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. I4I 
 
 moreland. There is little of a Shire Town to be found there, being 
 but, as it were, a Village , only there is the Caftle, an ancient forti- 
 fied Seat of the Earl of Tbanefs. Not long before the Judge came 
 there, the Counteis of Pembroke made it her ordinary Habitation ; 
 but me was then dead. She was a magnificent and learned Lady, and 
 had named diverfe of the Towers of her Caftle ; one was Pendr agon's 
 Tower, another "Julius Ctefar's Tower. The Earl of Tbanet is the 
 hereditary Sheriff of that County ; the only one, of that Quality, in 
 England, and had order'd a fumptuous Entertainment to be given by 
 one Mr. Gambetes, his Steward, to the Judges. His Lordfhip was very 
 much pleafed with the Infcriptions the Countefs had made in diverfe 
 Places about the Caftle, and under old Pictures, containing much of 
 Hiftory, and Pedigree of the Family. And it was faid that Hales, 
 afterwards Chief Juftice, affifted her in the Perufal and methodifing 
 of her Evidences and Muniments, and made her fair Extracts of them. 
 I muft mention one Thing more, for the Honour of this incomparable 
 Lady j and that was her Generality. It was affirmed, by thofe that 
 knew it to be true, that no Perfon ever made her a Vifit, that went 
 away without a Prefent ingeniouily contrived, according to the Quality 
 of the Perfon. And we were forry we could not be WitneiTes of that 
 Piece of Grandeur. 
 
 There was a high Feud, that had been carried on in this Country A great Feud 
 with a World of Heat, between the Mu/graves and their Friends on 
 the one Side, and the Lowthers, Fletchers, and diverfe other Gentle- 
 men on the other. And if one may borrow a DiftindHon of much 
 later Date, I may fay the former were Tory, and the other Whig. 
 It is certain that the Mil/graces were envied by their Neighbours ; for 
 they were Courtiers, and having been Cavaliers, and alfo very fer- 
 viceable in Parliament (it feems that fome fo early knew how to va- 
 lue their Services there) were favour'd, having the Government of 
 Carlijle, a Sort of Frontier, and alfo were Farmers at eafy Rates, of 
 a Duty upon Cattle out of Scotland; which Duty, fome faid, as they 
 had order'd the Matter, was gain'd from the Parliament on Purpofe 
 to be granted to them whofe Project it was. The Difference form'd 
 itlelf upon the Divilion of the Country (if I may borrow the Words) 
 into Cifalpine and Tranfalpine Regions ; and the Queftion was in 
 which, of thefe, the general Seffions mould be held ; each Side hold- 
 ing ftiffly to his own Convenience : And, fometimes, they had the ge- 
 neral Quarter Seffions at both Places, which was very abftird. And 
 this Difpute had its Purlieus fraught with general and original Slan- 
 ders, raifed on either Side againft the other ; which run fo high that 
 the whole Country run into the Faction : Good People were icanda- 
 lifed, and the King himfelf importuned and troubled about it. And
 
 LIFE of the late 
 
 his Majefty was pleafed to recommend the Matter to his Lordfhip to 
 compofe in his Circuit, if he could. At his Arrival at Appleby, he 
 appointed the Gentlemen to attend him ; which they did. The Mttf- 
 graves fpoke for themfelves ; the other Side had a Counfel, but left 
 little to him ; but Sir "John Lowther, fince Lord Lonfdale, managed 
 moft on that Side. His Lordfhip gave neither a Victory over the 
 other (which, in the North, is much defired) but propofed an Expe- 
 dient which was, then, new, though, of later Years, much in Ufe in 
 diverfe Counties. And it is expreffed in a Memorandum his Lordfhip 
 took in an Almanack, viz. " There being a Controverfy concerning 
 " holding the Quarter Seffions at two Places in Wejlmoreland, Mr. Ba- 
 " ron Berty and myfelf, upon Conference with all the Juftices, de- 
 " liver'd our Opinions that there could be but one general Quarter 
 " Seffions, in one County, for one Quarter ; and that, if Conveniency 
 xt required Attendance at other Places, it muft be by Way of Adjourn- 
 " ment: And we propofed that Way; to which they readily agreed. 
 < And we advifed that, at the Clofe of every Seffions, Order mould 
 " go for fummoning the next, which mould be done by Writ under 
 " the Seal of the Court ; and we directed the Form of a Precept, 
 " 1676." And thus this mighty Difference was compofed, and all 
 the Bufinefs of the Seffions hath proceeded accordingly ever fince. 
 Morton Pike, His Lordfhip had a fingular Pleafure in viewing, from Appleby 
 Lunwjier, Caftle, the vaft Mountains that furround it ; and particularly one call'd 
 County pSa- C ' Morton Pike, which rofe in the low Country, in the Shape of an Heap 
 tins Caftle. of Corn rounded up, and feem'd as green and fmooth as a Bowling 
 Green : One would be almoft ready to leap from the Caftle upon it; 
 fo near it feem'd, but was, in Truth, half a Day's Journey off. His 
 Lordfhip's next Remove was to Lancajler ; but he lodged at Kendal 
 by the Way. That is a fcatter'd Town in an inclofed Country, very 
 flony and dirty; and we could not, without a Chagrin, obferve the 
 common People walk barefoot, and the Children leaping as if they 
 had Hoofs, and thofe fhod with Iron ; but it is almoft the fame all 
 over the North. This Town, fo fituated, and out of the Way, is yet 
 celebrated for much Woollen Manufacture fent from thence to moft 
 Parts of England. They could write to moft trading Towns, and 
 have Anfwers by the Packs (for all is Horfe Carriage) with Returns 
 (Time being allow'd) as certain as by the Poft. From hence to Lan- 
 cafter is a very rugged Journey, and, upon the Tops of fome Hills, 
 one would not give a Groat for all the Land he could fee ; it being 
 nothing but hard and impenetrable Rock, white as Snow ; but, in the 
 Vallies, there was Fertility enough. Nothing happen'd to his Lord- 
 fhip at Lane after, worth noting. This County (as that of Durham) 
 is Palatine, but more auguft and regular, and, all the Proceedings. 
 
 com-
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 143 
 
 commencing and ending there, afforded more Law Bufinefs than other 
 Counties, that deal only by Nifi Prius-, which made his Stay longer. 
 The chief Curiofity of the Place is the magnificent old Caftle, where 
 the great John of Gaunt kept his Court ; and, now, in the great Hall, 
 the Affife Courts are placed. There is enough left to fhew that, in 
 fuch old Times, their Structures, and their Minds alfo, were as great 
 and magnifick, as mofl Ages fince have had Reafon to boaft of. 
 
 In the Return homewards from Lancajler^ his Lordfhip took all the Can( ji e Coa ^ 
 
 Advantage he could of feeing great Towns and Places of Note. He Burning wdl, 
 
 ftaid fome Days with Sir Roger Brad/haw, whofe Lordfhip is famous Ma nct> 
 
 for yielding the Canal (or Candle) Coal. It is fo term'd, as I guefs, 
 
 becaufe the Manufacturers, in that Country, ufe no Candle, but work 
 
 by the Light of their Coal Fire. The Property of it is to burn and 
 
 flame, till it is all confumed, without leaving any Cinder. It is light- 
 
 ed by a Candle like Amber, and the Grate ftands not againft the Back 
 
 of a large Chimney, as common Coal Grates ; but in the Middle, 
 
 where Ballads are pafted round, and the Folk fit about it, working or 
 
 merry-making. His Lordfhip faw the Pits, where vafl Piles of that 
 
 Coal were raifed ; and it is Pity the Place wants Water Carriage ; elfe r 
 
 London would be, in the better Part, ferved with it. But the greateft 
 
 Wonder, his Lordmip faw, was that which they call the burning Well, 
 
 The Manner of it is this. Firft, in fome Place, where they know the 
 
 fulphurous Vapour perfpires (often in a Ditch) they dig up a Turf, 
 
 and clap it down in its Place again ; and then they are ready for Pro- 
 
 jection. When the Shew Company are come, a Man takes up the Turf 
 
 and, after a little puffing of a brown Paper Match, gives Fire, and 
 
 inftantly the Hole is fill'd with a blue fpirituous Flame like Brandy. 
 
 It feem'd to wafle, and I believe would not have burnt in that Man- 
 
 ner long; but, while it was burning, they put Water in the Hole, and 
 
 the Flame continued upon the Water as if it had been Spirits. And 
 
 fome People faid they ufed to boil Eggs there. That, which feem'd 
 
 mofl ftrange, was that the Vapour mould come through the Water, 
 
 and burn, and no bubbling of the Water appear. It feems to infer 
 
 that the Vapour permeates the Body of the Water, as Water through 
 
 Sands. But I queftion, if the Body were not fluid, but rigid, as Glafs, 
 
 whether the Vapour would fo eafily pafs it ; for the perpetual Action 
 
 of the fluid Parts, facilitates thePaflage. And it is fome Demonflra- 
 
 tion how eafily the Effluvia of a Magnet may permeate Glafs, Metals, 
 
 and every palpable Subflance we are acquainted with, as we continually 
 
 obferve of them. 
 
 His Lordfhip pitched next at the City of Litcbfield -, and, as his 
 
 ll fe was, took the Advantage of fpending his Sunday there. I touch'd ' 
 
 h of dh e 
 before how much affected his Lordfhip was with the folcmn Church service there, 
 
 Service
 
 144 ^ >e LIFE of the late 
 
 Service in the Cathedrals ; which is not to be wonder'd at, confidering 
 how he was, in general, devoted to Mufickj and he could not be in- 
 fenfible, where fo good Ufe was made of it. For the Service was per- 
 form'd, in that Church, with more Harmony, and lefs Huddle, than 
 I have known it in any Church in England, except, of late, in St. 
 Paul's. This Cathedral Church was beaten to Pieces in the late Wars ; 
 but, by the Zeal and Diligence of Bifhop Hacket y was rebuilt as en- 
 tirely as if it had never been injured ; and chiefly with the Money he 
 raifed by barefaced begging. No Gentleman lodged, or fcarce baited 
 in the City, to whom he did not pay his Refpects by Way of Vifit, 
 which ended in plaufible Entreaties for fome Afliflance towards refcu- 
 ing his diftrefled Church from Ruin. And that he brought about fo 
 effectually, and adorn'd his Choir fo completely and politely, as I 
 have not feen a more laudable and well-compofed Structure for the Pur- 
 pofe, in the Country, any where. He did not live to finifh the Pa- 
 lace ; nor did his Succeflbr IVood^ though rich, willingly do any Thing 
 to it. Sir Simon JDegg, a Gentleman of that Country, to incite him 
 to undertake it, dedicated to him a Book entitled, The Parfon's Coun- 
 fellor j and there, in the Preface, compliments him upon the Subject of 
 having moft nobly reftored, to the Church, that demolifhed Fabrick, 
 for the Good of his Succeftors ; although, at that Time, he had not 
 fo much as turn'd over one fingle Stone towards it. But I think the 
 good Archbifhop Bancroft^ by his Authority, forced him, at laft, to 
 do fomething, though full againft his Will. So vaft is the Difference 
 in the moral Characters of Men under the fame Call and Obliga- 
 tion. 
 
 Fanatic News It was in this Circuit that, as his Lordfhip pafled along, diverfe 
 Letters. Gentlemen fhew'd him circular News Letters that came to them ; 
 and he perceived that the Scope of thefe was to mifreprefent and mif- 
 conftrue all the publick Tranfactions of State, and might have been 
 properly filled Fanatic News Letters, contrived and diipatch'd to di- 
 verfe Places to ftir up Sedition. And, upon his Lordfhip's Enquiry, 
 he was told that they came from Mr. Coleman, then, the Duke of Tbrk's 
 Secretary. His Lordfhip, at his Return, made a Reprefentation to the 
 King of this News Letter from fuch a Perfon, and the ill Confequen- 
 ces of it. Whereupon Mr. Coleman was turn'd out of the Duke's 
 Service ; but never much blamed ; for he was afterwards made the 
 Duchefs of Tory's Secretary. Which fhews Two Things; i. That 
 notwithflanding all the Far,atic Noife, at that Time, againft Popery, 
 the Papifts and Fanatics join'd in Proceedings to weaken and deftroy 
 the eftablim'd Government. 2. That what Coleman did, was by Di- 
 rection, founded upon the Policy of the Roman Catholic Party, at that 
 Time. 
 
 His
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 145 
 
 HisLordfhip went but once as Judge in his own Country, that \sMUdietm 
 the Norfolk Circuit. But there, befides the univerfal Honour and Re- T wcr> Nor ' 
 fpect he had in thofe Parts, where had been the Scene of his firft and 
 rifing Practice, I know little to note more than what, in fiich Cafes, 
 is obvious to every one's Imagination. There is a Piece of Antiquity 
 in Middleton, near Lynn, which, though it ftands in Sight of that great 
 Town, is not taken Notice of by any of the Topographers. It is 
 call'd Middleton Tower; but it is only a great Gatehoufe, fomewhat 
 like that old one (if it be (landing) at Hampton Court. There are 
 two large Turrets, and a broad Flat between, through which, the En- 
 trance is through a lofty Arch ; the firft Floor was a Vault, and a very 
 large Room above. There appear the Footfteps of a very large Pa- 
 lace, being a fquare Court built round to it, all within a Moat. It 
 formerly belong'd to the Lord Scales, and ftands, now, in a Valley 
 fo low, that the Ground, about it, is little better than Moor. By 
 which we fee the Alterations of Places, that Time hath made ; for 
 without Doubt, anciently, the Valley was good Land, and water'd 
 only with a little Rivulet that runs in the Middle of it, and not fa 
 filted up as it is now; and, for Unwholefomnefs, become almoft un- 
 inhabitable. 
 
 But now, to flep a little back, his Lordfhip, coming out of his oxford Par- 
 Weftern Circuits, had two Adventures. The one was meeting the King foment. 
 and Parliament at Oxford. His Time would not let him arrive at the 
 Opening of it, but two or three Days after; fo that the Place was, 
 to him, as a Theatre; and he might have afked what Play was to be 
 acted ? He knew no more of the Intrigues on Foot than any Stranger 
 did, much lefs dreamt of a poiitive Armament againft the King, as 
 manifeftly fhew'd itfelf there ; which difpofed the King to take Ad- 
 vantage of the Difference between the Two Houfes, upon the Matter 
 of Fitzharris ; and, after five Days fitting, to diffolve them. This 
 fudden and refolute Ad: the Party did not expect ; and, inftead of be- 
 ing Aggreflbrs, as they intended to be, they were paffive, and, as un- 
 happy Defendants, fha'mefully fcatter'd and confounded. For they 
 thought themfelves fo confiderable, and the King fo defirous of his 
 Quiet, that he would not (durft not, as fome faid) have d involved them. 
 His Lordmip was conveniently fituated in Trinity College, his Lady 
 being one of the Coheirs of the Founder of it. He kept a Table there, 
 and his Family were allow'd to battle in the Butteries. He was very 
 much at Eafe about Company ; for none came near him but real 
 Friends and Acquaintance : For all the factious People look'd mali- 
 cious and fower, and herded together. The Days patted eafily ; for, 
 as I faid, we were in a Theatre ; no ftirring without meeting Ac- 
 quaintance and News. 
 
 X
 
 I4 6 The LIFE of the late 
 
 llets Trial. His next Adventure was this. When he was in his We/tern Circuit, 
 he and his Brother Jones, the other Judge, were, with the Judges of 
 . the Midland Circuit, put into a Commiffion of Oyer and Terminer 
 extraordinary, for the trying of Stephen College : An Account of which, 
 with a threatening Letter deliver'd into his Lordfhip's Hands, is already 
 fet forth in the Examen ; fo we (hall pafs that by, and {hall only fpeak 
 a little of his Lordfhip's Conduct therein. His Lordfhip had not been 
 long in Oxford, before Word was brought to him that fome Stranger 
 had put a Roll of Paper into his (Colleges) Hands. Thofe were or- 
 der'd to be brought and infpected; and thereupon it appear'd that 
 fome concern'd his Defence, and theTeftimony he was to produce at 
 his Trial. Thefe were all deliver'd back to him. Others were found 
 to be downright Libels, molt artfully and malicioufly penn'd, to re- 
 flect upon the Government, and tending to Sedition in the Form of 
 Speeches, to be prick'd in at the Trial, as the Cues were given. As, 
 for Inftance, when Mr Attorney hath open'd the Evidence, fay thus , 
 and the like at other Paufes. Thefe were detain'd ; for it had been a 
 prime Jeft if, under the Pretence of a Defence, the Criminal fhould 
 be allow'd to vent feditious Libels, full of Mutiny and Reflection, to 
 amufe the People ; and fo to come forth and be publim'd in Print : 
 When, as the Law then flood, they were not allow'd Counfel to 
 plead, but upon Queftion of Law (hewed, and to be affigned, who 
 fhould behave themfelves modeftly. Criminals, of that Sort, mould 
 not have any Affiftance in Matters of Fact, but defend upon plain 
 Truth, which they know beft, without any Dilatories, Arts, or Eva- 
 iions. But this was the chief, if not the only, Pretence of Clamour 
 againft the Conduct of that Trial, which was with all the Indulgence 
 in Form and Matter that could be demanded. 
 
 That the Defence was intended to be tumultuous, was apparent 
 from many Circumftances. I mail inftance in one; which was the 
 Behaviour of one Aaron Smith, the Solicitor for the Prifoner. His 
 Bufmefs formerly lay in the Chancery ; but he took into the Treafon 
 Trade. He was afterwards, in the Rye Plot, iSnt, from the Council 
 of Six, to negotiate with the Earl of Argyle in Scotland, for a rifing 
 there. He was a violent Monfler ; and his Friends, for his Excufe, 
 ufed to fay he was half mad : But that would not have faved his Neck, 
 if he had been caught. He took Occafion to apply to the Court for 
 fomewhat concerning thefe Papers; and, being anfwer'd, he ftretched 
 him over the Bar, and " Have we not Reafon, faid he, when our Lives 
 " and Eftates are bejet here ? The Lord Chief Juftice rofe up and, 
 without any Emotion, faid to the Clerk, Record thefe Words ; and fat 
 down again. TheConfequence of that had been a Judgment of Mif- 
 demeanor, as effectual as after a common Procefs and Trial. Aaron 
 
 inflantly
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. I47 
 
 inftantly perceived what was to follow, and fell to explaining, ex- 
 cufing, and varying the Words, which he faid were not intended of 
 the Court. But the Judges would not be fevere upon him at prefent, 
 out of Tendernefs to the Prifoner, and not to give Occafion for any 
 to fay they were prepared to fall hard upon him. But the Court took 
 Security of him not to depart without Leave of the Court; and fo he 
 efcaped, for nothing was done farther in that Matter. As to the Trial 
 in general, it is in Print, and will fpeak for itfelf. But this Paflage 
 of Aaron Smith is not fo fully reprefented there, as I know the Truth 
 was. 
 
 I fhall conclude this Part of my Work, concerning his Lordfhip's The circuits 
 going the Circuits as Judge, with this Note, viz. That, confidering to ufcful. 
 what Station he came to be advanced in Truft and Favour at Court, 
 which made him very obnoxious to the ill Effects of Envy, and Ma- 
 lice of Faction ; nothing could have been more propitious to him 
 than his vifiting moft Parts of England in this Manner ; whereby he 
 had the Opportunity to fhew to all the Gentry, where he came, his 
 Humanity, as well as Juftice, and Learning in the Law. And alfo to 
 make, as he did, many engaging Friendships with the better Sort. 
 Whereby it became impoflible, for the Mouth of Slander itfelf, to 
 blacken him in the Opinion of the Englijh Nobility and Gentry ; as if 
 he had been, what the Fanatics labour'd to have believed of him, an 
 arbitrary, unjuft Judge, a Slave to the Court, and a Papift in Maf- 
 querade. 
 
 His Lordfhip was ever a Profeflbr of Loyalty ; that is, for the legal HisLordfoip's 
 Intereft and Prerogative of the Crown, and the Proteftant Religion as Principles and 
 by Law eftablifhed : All which is comprifed under the Word Loyalty, 
 which, in that Time, was much in Ufe. And as for the noify Run- 
 ners about with that Word in their Mouths, but nothing moderate, 
 or juft, in their Actions, his Lordmip tolerated, and did not difcou- 
 rage them, becaufe their Tendency was oppofite to the other Extreme, 
 then termed Fanaticifm ; and, in managing all popular Elections, did 
 very great Service. For the common People are not taken or drawn 
 by theReafon of Things, but by Shews, Pretenfions, and Noife : And 
 the juft Adherents to Monarchy were defamed by the Characters,, in- 
 vented and inflicted by thefe Men, as being, at beft, High Fliers for 
 Prerogative. His Lordmip had an univerfal Acquaintance, and dif- 
 fufed Sort of Amity with moft Perfons confiderable, in England-, and 
 all Sorts of People, at Times, had Refort to him either upon Vilits, 
 or for Bufinefs : He never declined difcourfing freely, and made no 
 Secret of his Sen-timents, which were entirely in Pavour of all juft 
 Ways that fupported the Church and Crown, and againft all the Op- 
 pugners of either. So that whoever came to fpy upon him, got nothing 
 
 T 2 but
 
 The LIFE of the late 
 
 but what he publickly profefled. Therein he avow'd his Conftancy to 
 the Laws that were furficiently declared to that End ; to all which, no 
 Exception could be made. But yet the Faction, who had the Law 
 and the Proteflant Religion fo much in their Mouths, hated him 
 heartily for it ; as for a Principle, of all others, the moft pernicious to 
 their Projects. Accordingly, whatever Sort of People came to him, 
 whofe Characters he partly knew, if they were, in any Refpect, plau- 
 fible, he declined them not, hoping that if they made no Imprerfions, 
 in their Way, upon him, he might make fome, in his Way, upon 
 them : And, with that Defign, I have known him hold long Dif- 
 courfes with fome Relations and others, of the Country for the moft 
 Part, whom he had an Efteem for, to convince them, if poffible, 
 how miftaken they were in having fuch a mean Opinion of the King 
 and his Meafures, as Lyes had infpired into them ; and to perfuade 
 them that the daily Reports, fpread abroad for fuch Purpofes, were 
 falfe. And I remember moft of them, with whom he had (out of a 
 Sort of Friendship) taken Pains, fat giving him the Hearing, but were 
 not one Whit moved ; but, as I guefs, look'd upon him as a Court 
 Lawyer that fpoke to his Point. His Lordihip hath recommended this 
 Demonft ration to diverfe of them. Keep a Book, faid he, with two 
 Columns-, and, in one, write the daily News and Stories, and, in the 
 other, again/I them, whether they prove true or falfe: And he be- 
 lieved that not one in fifty would be found to be true. Why then, faid 
 he, foould you let the News of the T'own Jink at all with you ? For 
 he found that, when they were prefled, they laid a frefli Story in his 
 Difh j and fo wonderful abfurd as almoft amafed him : As that the 
 King had made a League with France, in order to acquire an arbitrary 
 Power in England. That the King had fold to the French, the Ship 
 Timber out of his Yards, and fent Carpenters to teach the Frenchmen 
 Shipbuilding, and the like: And, if hisLordmip had not had an admira- 
 ble Temper, he muft have quarrelled. Thefe were the Innocents that 
 pinned their Faith upon fome that would be thought of the Country 
 Party in the Houfe of Commons, who ufed to fubtilife with thofe 
 honeft Gentlemen, and fend them away, as his Lordfhip ufed to fay, 
 foxed with Politics. 
 
 As his Lordmip's Opinion was no Secret, fo he had acquired a Way 
 of expreffing himfelf habitually fecure. For, although all the Com- 
 pany underftood him perfectly well, yet his Senfe was fo couched, 
 that, if it had been deliver'd in the Centre of his Enemies, no Crimi- 
 nation, with any Force, could have been framed out of it: And this 
 Way he ufed as well with his intimate Friends, as with Strangers. 
 This is an Art worthy to be exercifed by all People, and is ufeful in 
 all Times. For if Men do not qualify their Difcourfe, when they 
 
 have
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 
 
 have their Wits about them, and thereby create an Habit of Caution, 
 itwill fall out that, when diflurbed with Wine andPaffion, they will, 
 in all Companies, certainly let fly, without Guard, juft as, at other 
 Times, they ufed to do, and fo expofe themfelves to Trouble, or worie 
 Hazards. But his Lordmip, befides his Caution in fpeaking, even in 
 his political Writings, though his Reflections were of the Actions and 
 Perfons in his own Time, his ExprelTions were of fuch an univerfal 
 Nature, that no Matter, or Perfon in particular, might own them. 
 And what fignified the ranting Dialect, fome ufed, but to indicate a 
 falfe Heart rather than a true one? And fo his Lordmip found, as may 
 be touched afterwards. 
 
 Upon this Account his Lordmip was very free from Trapans, as be- Frcs flom 
 ing known to be fagacious and cautelous, and not apt to give Oppor- 
 tunities : For he enter'd not into promifcuous Companies, nor dealt in 
 the Bottle ; but had his Friends often, and his Servants always about 
 him. Once, after Dinner, a Servant told him a Gentleman waited in 
 the next Room (which he ufed as a Clofet) to fpeak with him : And 
 his Lordmip, as he pafled by, faw a Couple of Fellows ftand in the 
 Paflage, which made him think of Evefdropping. And, being enter'd, 
 the Gentleman came up to him and, My Lord, faid he, my Name is 
 Claypole. His Lordfhip inflantly knew him to be (as he was) a De- 
 fcendant of the once Lord Claypole, one of Cromwell's Sons-in Law; 
 and then turn'd round upon his Heel and, pafling his two Evefdrop- 
 pers who were come nearer the Door, went to his Company, and 
 merrily told them what a Vifion he had feen. What his counterfeit 
 Lordmip's Buiinefs was, could neither be known or guefled at. But, 
 in fuch Cafes, being alone with any Perfon, that Perfon is Mafter, and 
 may fwear his Pleafure. 
 
 His Lordmip, at his Chambers in Serjeants Inn, was always obnox- vifits, 
 
 ious to promifcuous Converfation ; for many would chufe to vifit , 
 
 1 i j i i i i i T~V /- his Lor 
 
 when they had him alone ; where, commonly, the Defign was to pump R ej a rd to sir 
 him: For he was look'd upon to be lefs guarded than really he was, Jeofypalmer's 
 and that, from whatever he faid, fomething might be gather 'd. All F ' 
 which he knew beforehand, and framed his Difcourfe accordingly. 
 But his old Acquaintance of the Law, as Mr. Longuevile, Mr. Johnjbn y 
 and others, were as at home with him. His Lordmip retained fuch a 
 Veneration for the Memory of his noble Friend and Patron Sir Jeofry 
 Palmer, that all the old Rendefvoufers with him, were fo with his 
 Lordmip ; and, all his Life, he ufed the fame Tradefmen, as Barber, 
 Bookfeller, Shoemaker, Sadler, &c. whom he employ'd fo long as any 
 of them lived : And all the Kindred of that Name, of which there 
 were not a few, were courted by his Lordmip. And his Daughter, 
 Mrs. de la Fountain, he revered ; and, in her Family, though her 
 
 Hufband
 
 1 50 The LIFE of the late 
 
 Hufband was, in good Order and Virtue, (and who was not?) inferior to 
 her, his Lordfhip was next to a Domeftic. But he never was fo well, 
 as when any of his Family Relations, whom he was continually ob- 
 liging, one Way or other, were with him. And how he extended 
 his Benevolences to the remoteit of his Kindred, will be fhewn in 
 fit Place. 
 
 Sufpicious Ac- His Lordlhip, at his Meals, had ufually none but Acquaintance, or Re- 
 lations, fuch as had a fort of Title to be fo free j for he kept no publick 
 Table, though a plentiful one. And, of thefe, fome were in the 
 Confidence of the anticourt Party. As, particularly, Mr. Paul Fo/ey y 
 who became an Acquaintance through a fort of Relation, and im- 
 proved it much by communicating his Obfervations in the Learning 
 of Records, to which he had applied himfelf veiy clofely. He fhewed 
 his Lordfhip a Book which he had compiled, which was defigned to 
 go beyond the ordinary Collectors, fuch as Cotton, Prin, &c. His 
 Lordfhip grew every Day more and more fond of that Knowledge, 
 and was glad of fuch an Acquaintance, whofe Difcourfe was incentive 
 to hisDeliresj and, at that Time, he had more Leifure to attend to it, 
 than when he was a Practifer. But more of this elfewhere. How this 
 Gentleman fignalifed himfelf, afterwards, is no fecret. But I can re- 
 member, fo early, that I heard him fay in his Lordfhip's Houfe, 
 that Things would never go well till forty Heads few for it. He had 
 alfo very fingular Opinions j one was that all foreign Trade was Lof$ y 
 and ruinous to the Nation. But fome Proceedings about that Time, 
 touched upon in the Examen, interpreted that Paradox : For the mor- 
 tal Evil of foreign Trade was the great Supply it brought to the 
 Crown, by which it could be fupported, without being continually 
 at the Mercy of the Parliament for Supplies. When his Lordfhip was 
 named in the Houfe of Commons, in order to be criminated, he was 
 pleafed to fay in the Houfe, that be certainly knew that Per/on to bs 
 of arbitrary Principles^ becaufe be had heard him difcourje to that 
 Purpofe at his own Table. This Behaviour of that Gentleman, when 
 his Lordfhip flood moft in need of the Service of his Friends, doth 
 fufficiently demonstrate the NecefTity of his Lordfhip's conftant Cau- 
 tion in Converfation with all forts, Friends and Enemies. For the 
 Time was fo nice that a Word awry did a Man's Buiinefs, if he 
 were unpopular ; elfe, one would think I have too much exaggerated 
 the cautious Practice in all his Lordfhip's Converie. And yet, with 
 ill People, even the utmoft Caution falls fhort, as was the very Cafe 
 with that Gentleman. Mr. Tirrel alfo ufed to come freely to his 
 Lordfhip. I do not remember he then owned the Defign, which 
 he hath, in Part, executed fince, of writing an Hiftory of England. 
 But his Difcourfe, falling on fuch Subjects, was very agreeable to his 
 3 Lordfhip-
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. Iyi 
 
 Lordmip; though, at that Time, he was looked upon as one of the 
 Antimonarchifts. 
 
 His Lordmip did not often dine from his own Houfe ; and, when s.srpr:fed into 
 he did, it was commonly at a particular Virtuofo's, as with Sir Peter 3 famous din- 
 Lefy, MY. Hugh May, Sir Sam. More/and, or the like. Once, dining i!1 2 Ciba! - 
 with Mr. Hugh May in Scotland Yard, * Sir Henry Capel, who was of 
 his Lordmip's Relation, and long Acquaintance, made one. Among 
 other Difcourfe, Sir Henry Capel was urged much to fay why they, 
 meaning the Country Party, urged a certain Matter fo violently in the 
 Houfe of Commons ; and yet there was no tolerable Reafon, in all 
 the Debate, given for it. At laft, he anfwered that they did not uje 
 to give the true Reafons that fwayed them in Debates, to the Hoiife. 
 His Lordmip thought it a ftrange Account. But I believe, if it was fo 
 then, it hath been much more fo fince; and, as ftrange as it may 
 feem to be, it is commonly the Parliament driving Principle. As 
 the Times grew warmer, his Lordmip endeavoured to be more re- 
 tired, and lefs cared to dine where was any Diverfity of Company. 
 But once he was caught in a Trap, and found himfelf in the Head 
 Quarters of a dangerous Cabal. It happened thus. Sir William Scroggs, 
 a Ranter, but (except in the Affair of Oates) on the right Side, was 
 promoted to the Chief Juftice's Place in the King 3 Bench. But, 
 when the Court Intereft in Parliament was wavering, and very like to 
 fall, and my Lord Shaftjbury, with his Followers, appeared to have 
 an Afcendant, and was actually taken into the Privy Council, his 
 King's Bench Lordmip thought the Intereft not to be flighted; and, 
 accordingly, he opened a focial Commerce with them, and made one 
 at their Circulary Dinings; and the Turn came to dine with him. 
 He was fo obliging as to invite his Brother Chief of the Common 
 Pleas, who went, not dreaming of his Company, but expected that 
 fome Noblemen, of another Order, might be there. When the Com- 
 pany was affembled, it confifted of the Earl of Sbaftjbury t the Bifhop 
 of London, the Lord Macclesfield, and others of the moft diftinguifhed 
 Oppofers of the Court. They careffed his Lordfhip very much as a 
 new Comer, whom they were glad of the Honour to meet, and talked 
 about a Time to dine with him ; all which (as they fay) was Water in 
 his Shoes. But after Dinner he got himfelf clear, and was as careful 
 not to be fo complimented any more. And he was much difpleafed 
 with his fuperior Chief, for engaging him fo uncowardly. 
 
 This Sir William Scroggs was made Lord Chief Juftice of the changer of t 
 King's Bench while his LordOiip fat in the Common Pleas. He was* 
 of a mean Extract, having been a Butcher's Son, but wrought him- 
 felf into Bulinefs in the Law, was made a Serjeant, and praetifed 
 
 under 
 
 * He was one of the Surveyors of the King's Buildings, and was the Regulator of Wmdfw Caftle.
 
 The LIFE of the late 
 
 under his Lordmip. His Perfon was large, Vifage comely, and Speech 
 witty and bold. He was a great Voluptuary, and Companion of the 
 high Court Rakes-, as Ken, Guy, &c. whofe Merits, for ought I 
 know, might prefer him. His Debaucheries were egregious, and his 
 Life loofe ; which made theLord Chief Juftice Hales deleft him. He 
 kept himfelf very poor, and, when he was arrefted by Kings Bench 
 Procefs, Hales would not allow him the Privilege of a Serjeant; as is 
 touched elfewhere. He had a true Libertine Principle. He was pre- 
 ferred for profeffing Loyalty : But Oates coming forward with a 
 fwinging Popularity, he (as Chief Juftice) took in and ranted on that 
 Side moft impetuoufly. It fell out that when the Earl of Shaftjbury 
 had fat fome fhort Time in the Council, and feemed to rule the Roaft, 
 yet Scroggs had fome Qualms in his politic Confcience; and, coming 
 from Wind/or in the Lord Chief Juftice North's Coach, he took the 
 Opportunity, and defired his Lordmip to tell him ferioufly, if my 
 Lord Shaftjbury had really fo great Power with the King as he was 
 thought to have. His Lordmip anfwered quick, No, my Lord, no more 
 than your Footman hath with you. Upon that, the other hung his 
 Head, and, confidering the Matter, faid nothing for a good while, 
 and then paffed to other Difcourfe. After that Time, he turned as 
 fierce againft Oates and his Plot, as ever, before, he had rantg& for 
 it; and, thereby, gave fo great Offence to their Evidencefhips, the 
 Plot Witneffes, that Oates and Bedloe accufed him to the King, and 
 preferred formal Articles of diverfe Extravagances and Immoralities 
 againft him. The King appointed an Hearing of the Bulinefs in 
 Council, where Scroggs run down his Accufers with much Severity 
 and Witj and the Evidences fell fhort; fo that, for want of Proof, 
 the Petition and Articles were difmiffed. But, for fome Jobs in the 
 King's Bench, as difcharging a Grand Jury, &t\ he had the Honour 
 to be impeached in Parliament, of which nothing advanced. At laft 
 he died in EJJex-Street of a Polypus in the Heart. During his Pre- 
 ferment, he lived well and feathered his Neft; for he purchafed the 
 Manor of Burntwood in Effex. It was obferved of him, that every 
 Day, in his Houfe, was Holyday. His Lady was a very matronly good 
 Woman; me died long before him. He had one Son who lived not 
 many Years after him; for he was a Sufferer in the Wars of Amour. 
 He had two Daughters ; one of whom was married to Sir Robert 
 Wrigbt, and lived to fee his Misfortunes; for, at the Revolution he 
 was clapt up in Newgate, and there died. The other Daughter, 
 fometime the Widow of Mr. Kilbie a Lawyer, married the truly no- 
 ble Charles Hatton, and may be yet living. 
 Of Putting About this Time, Sir William Jones being his Majefty's Attorney 
 C ffeC " General, ^re was fach licentioufnefs of feditious, and, really, treafon- 
 
 able
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. i J3 
 
 able Difcourfe in Coffee- houfes, of which there were Accounts daily 
 brought to the King, that it was confidered if Coffee- houfes might not 
 be put down. Then it was fcarce poffible to cohibite People's Talk; 
 but, if the Opportunities of promifcuous and numerous Aflemblies of 
 idle Spenders of Time were removed, ill Men would not be able to 
 make fuch broad Impremons on Peoples Minds as they did. And 
 the moft likely Way to do it was thought to be by a Proclamation 
 recalling all their Licences, and prohibiting the granting any new 
 ones; and, under this, diverfe Points of Law were ftarted, whereupon 
 the King commanded that all the Judges fhould attend, to give their 
 Advice touching the Proclamation: And his Lordmip and five other 
 Judges, being all that were in Town, attended. His Lordmip, upon 
 the main, thought that retailing of Coffee might be an innocent Trade ; 
 but as it was ufed to nourifh Sedition, fpread Lies, fcandalife great 
 Men, and the like, it might alfo be a common Nufance. But I 
 wave here the flating the feveral Points, and the Refolutions of the 
 Judges, and wherein they differed in Opinion, becaufe it is fully ac- 
 counted for in the Examen. But I remember well that the Faction 
 was much incenfed at this Suppreffion of Coffee-houfes, without 
 which it was impoffible for them to carry on their Trade. And, in 
 particular, they faid that Mr. Attorney mould anfwer it in Parlia- 
 ment; and although the Leaders, then, were his good Friends, 
 and he had Reafon to think jefted with him, yet this fame Anfwer- 
 ing in Parliament was a ferious Bufinefs with one who had a natu- 
 ral Timidity which his Reafon could never conquer: And it occa- 
 fioned him no flight Raillery from his Party Friends. 
 
 As to the Bufinefs of Lies and Libels, which, in thofe Days, were of L'es and 
 an intolerable Vexation to the Court, efpecially finding that the Com- Llbds> 
 munity of Gentle and Simple ftrangely ran in with them; it was 
 moved that there {hould be more Meffengers of the Prefs, and Spies, 
 who mould difcover fecret Printing-houfes (which, then, were againft 
 Law) and take up the Hawkers that fold Libels, and all other Per- 
 fons that difperfed them, and inflict fevere Punimments on all that 
 were found Guilty. But his Lordmip was of a very different Opi- 
 nion, and faid that this Profecution would make them but the 
 more enquired after; and it was impoffible to hinder the Promul- 
 gation of Libels: For the Greedinefs of every one to get them, and 
 the high Price, would make Men, of defperate Fortunes, venture 
 any thing: And, in fuch Cafes, Punimments never regulate the Ab- 
 ufe; but it muft be done, if at all, by Methods undermining the En- 
 couragement : Yet, if any were caught, he thought it was fit to make 
 fevere Examples of them. But an extraordinary Inquifition to be fet 
 up, and make fo much Noife, and the Punifhment falling, as was 
 
 U moil
 
 jj4 Th e LIFE of the late 
 
 moft likely, not on the Authors and Abettors but, fome poor Wretches 
 that fought to get a Penny by felling them, would, as he thought, 
 rather incenfe, than abate the Abufe. His Notion was that his Ma- 
 jefty mould order nothing extraordinary, to make People imagine he 
 was touched to the Quick; but to fet up Counter Writers that, as 
 every Libel came out, mould take it to Tafk, and anfwer it. And, 
 fo, all the diurnal Lies of the Town alfo would be met with: For, 
 faid he, either we are in the Wrong, or in the Right ; if the former, 
 we mujl do as tifurped Powers, ufe Force, and crujh all our Enemies, 
 right, or wrong. But there is no need of that, for we are in the Right ^ 
 for who will pretend not to own his Majeflys Authority according to 
 Law ? And nothing is done, by his Majefly and his Minijiers, but 
 *what the Law will warrant, and what Jhould we be afraid of? 
 Let them lye and accufe till they are weary, while we declare at the 
 fame time, as may be done with DemonJI ration, that all they fay, is 
 falfe and unjuft-, and the better fort of the People, whom Truth Jways 
 when laid before them, will be with us. This Counfel was followed ; 
 and fome clever Writers were employ'd, fuch as were call'd the Ob- 
 fervator and Heraclitus, for a Conftancy, and others, with them, oc- 
 cafionally; and then they foon wrote the Libellers out of the Pit, and, 
 during that King's Life, the Trade of Libels, which, before, had been 
 in great Requeft, fell to nothing. And this was one of the vifible good 
 Effects of the Meafures of the Court and Miniftry, at that Time, which 
 were, in all Things, to act conformably to the eftablimed Religion 
 and the Laws. I will not meddle here with the Plots of Oates and 
 Fitzharris, and all the other, both mam, and real, in that King's- 
 Reign, becaufe they are fully fet forth in the Examen- t only, in order 
 to introduce his Lbrdfhip's Opinion and Reafonings upon them, I 
 mall juft walk over them in the following Manner. 
 
 E7 tob?* After the Year l666 ' the Rei S n of Kin S Carles II. was happy in 
 hecked by a being free from Plots, I mean fuch as publickly appeared, until about 
 September 1678, when that devilifh Impofture ftiled of Oates, came 
 forth, and afterwards there followed the horrid Confpiracy, called the 
 Rye Plot, and, as Fringes to thefe, other Minor Plots, as will be found 
 in the Accounts given of them in the Examen. During this Time 
 his Lordmip fat in holy Peace, under his old Oak the Court of Com- 
 mon Pleas, which had nothing to do with Criminals ; and in the grand 
 Commiffion of Oyer, &c. at the Old Baily, where the Oatefian Storms 
 . were moil impetuous, the Lord Chief Juftice of the King's Bench 
 fleered the Veflel, and the other Judges had little or no Share in the 
 Conduct, whereby his Lordmip, in the main, was rather an Obferver,. 
 than an Actor, in thofe Proceedings to which hung the Iffues of Life 
 and Deafly He was not a little concerned to fee Men noifed out of 
 
 thek
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. i 
 
 their Lives, as the twelve Priefts were, and that nothing could refift 
 the Fury of the People, that, like a Hurricane, purfued them. And 
 that which was molt lamentable was, that the King's Attorney fhould 
 be poffefs'd, and the Chief Juftice, that prefided, mould betaken in the 
 Head, and even the Parliament founding loud, and the Populace little 
 lefs than diftradted; and all tending to Blood, of which no End was 
 difcerned; but it feemed that Queftion and Conviction, were one 
 and the fame Crifis. His Lordfhip faw plainly that this popular In- 
 fanity could not even by the ftrongeft Reafoning be moderated, but 
 to do that muft be a Work of Time : And as for open Oppofition 
 by Pamphlets, there was enough published by fome Roman Catholicks', 
 but inftead of making any Impreffion, however cogent their Rea- 
 fons and Arguments were, the Attempts were cried out upon, as fo ma- 
 ny Inftances of a fhamelefs Impudence, pretending to prove falfe 
 what the Community were refolved fhould be true, and the Party- 
 name (that is Papift) held forth, was a fufficient Confutation of them, 
 all. Neverthelefs hisLordfhip was of Opinion that a Pamphlet might 
 be contrived and wrote with fuch hiftorical Deductions and Temper, 
 that might in fome Meafure, if not wholly, qualify this Diftemper of 
 the Publick, and that, what direct Oppofition could not, Infinuation 
 might effect. 
 
 Purfuant to this Thought his Lordfhip applied himfelf to prepare The 
 Inftructions for fome expert Pamphleteer, who had a popular Stile and r { 
 Addrefs, to treat upon the Subject of Oatc s's Plot ; and after his Way 
 of extempore Writing, which was familiar, and juft as he ufed to fpeak, 
 he drew up thefe Inftructions which, fo far as they go, might have 
 paft for the Pamphlet itfelf; but he ftopt at the Facts, which were 
 left to the Writer to deduce as he faw Occafion. He had no Opinion 
 of his own Pen for fuch Purpofes as thefe, and it alfo required more 
 Time and thought, than he could fpare, to work them up to an Height 
 fufficient to fall upon and crufh a popular Prejudice. I do not know 
 that thefe Inftructions were ever delivered out to be made ufe of, but 
 believe they were not, and that he kept them by him fo long, that, 
 new Scenes of Affairs emerging, they were become lefs needful. Af- 
 ter the Difcovery of the Rye ConfpJracy, his Lordfhip's Mind was fo 
 touched with the difmal Effects of Faction and Sedition, in the Reign 
 of King Charlesll. that he fancied to compofe their Hiftory, which, 
 in the fame extemporary Way he deduced from the Reftauration down 
 to the Conclufion of that Difcovery, and gave his Paper to a Friend, 
 defiring he would write it over with large Margins, that he might ad- 
 join fuch Additions and Alterations as he fhould think fit to make; 
 which was done ; and he made fome, but very little, Alteration, as 
 
 U 2 putting
 
 i $6 The LIFE of the late 
 
 putting out a Name, or the like, that might give Offence *. As to 
 his Lordfhip's perfonal Acting and Concern in the Proceedings ground- 
 ed on the many Plots that appeared in his Time; firft, as to Dates, he 
 had not the leaft Hint or Intimation of any fuch Roguery, as his was, 
 before the Information or Narrative was fworn before Juftice Godfrey ', 
 and then not early, but as the Matter became bruited abroad. He once 
 heard Oates preach at St. Dunftans, and much admired his theatrical 
 Behaviour in the Pulpit, he prayed for his very good Lord and Patron 
 the Duke of Norfolk, which made his Lordfhip fufpect him to be warp- 
 ing towards Popery. And when his Lordmip came to know the 
 Particulars of his Difcovery, although the King's Life (forfooth) was 
 to be faved, he took the Whole to be an Impofture calculated to di- 
 fturb the Publick, and bring Evils upon his Majefty, and after he 
 had difcourfed with the Earl of Danby, who at firft appeared a 
 Fautor of it, his Lordmip found fuch defultory Steps taken, as could 
 agree with nothing but a Cheat, and was confirmed in his Opinion 
 accordingly. 
 
 Concerned I mention'd his Lordfhip's Felicity in having, by his Place, little to- 
 r nl L^J he f do with Criminals; he had but one of the many Plot Trials to manage, 
 Nat. Reading's an ^ that was of Nat. Reading, who was not charged forTreafon, but 
 TmJ.but little for Subornation and Tampering. He acted as Counfel for one of the 
 mothers. Lords in the Tower, committed upon Teftimony of Oates, and his 
 Collegue Bedloe ; and treated with Bedloe for a Reward, if he would 
 foften his Evidence againfl his Client ; and Bedloe, by crafty Ad- 
 vice, drew him into a Snare, fo that there was clear Evidence of 
 Subornation againft him. Whatever the Plot was, this was as foul a 
 Fact as could be, when a Counfel at Law mall tamper, and by Bribes 
 corrupt the King's Evidence, in a Cafe of high Treafon: And upon 
 his Trial he was convicted, and punifh'd with the Pillory. In the 
 reft of the Trials, as they are printed, his Lordmip fcarce fpoke, but 
 Chief Juftice Scroggs led the Van. I find in one of them, his Lord- 
 hip took Occafion to fay, As for the Plot, that is as clear as the 
 Sun ; which mining Irony might have been fpared. But the Behaviour 
 of all the Judges, except the aforefaid Chief, was paffive; that is 4 
 without interpoling their Opinions of the Evidence, and the Credibi- 
 lity of their Story ; which is often done by Judges, for Affiftance of 
 the Jurymen, in common Trials; and many, in latter Times, have- 
 thought that the fame ought to have been done here. And nothing 
 can qualify the Silence, but the inconceivable Fury and Rage of the 
 Community, gentle and fimple, at that Time, and the Confequences 
 of an open Oppofition to the Chief, whofe Part it was to act, as he 
 
 * The greateft Part- of thcfe Papers are published already in the Examen. 
 
 did,
 
 LORD KEEPER GUiLFORD. 
 
 did, demanding no AfTiftance of any of them; which Oppofition might 
 have been fatal in many Refpects : For the Credit of the Witnefles 
 muft have been impeach'd, which the Time would not bear; and it 
 was not in their Office to intermeddle ; for, as to the Fact, the Jury 
 is to anfwer. When it is fo done by the Co-afferTors, it is for Difcre- 
 tion, and not Duty; the mofl cogent Reafon was, that the Prejudice 
 was fo univerfal, and ftrong, that if an Apoftle had fpoke againft it, 
 no Impreffion had taken Place, nor had it done the Prifoners any Ser- 
 vice ; but on the other Side, not only the Rabble but, even the Par- 
 liament itfelf, had flounced at it ; which Confideration turn'd the Scales 
 of the Discretion, and made thofe Judges rather let a Veflel drive, 
 which they could not flop, and referve themfelves for fairer Oppor- 
 tunities, when fuch might happen, for them to do fome Good, with- 
 out pretending to remove Mountains. Thus much I have thought to 
 alledge in Favour of the Judges Paffivenefs at thofe Trials ; whereof 
 the full Strength of Reafon can fcarce be made appear fo fufficiently 
 as the proper Time, in real Circumftances, demonftrated. 
 
 That which, in all the Courfe of thefe Outrages, moil affected his Er 
 Lordfhip with Admiration, as well as Commiferation, was the deplo- ^ 
 rable Cafe of the Earl of Stafford, who was pronounced guilty, 
 feemingly, upon the grofteft Error, in common Juftice, that ever was 
 known. Very few, if any, of the Peers that condemned him, would 
 own that they believed the Witnefles, who fwore the Treafon againfl 
 him; and his Lordfhip expoftulated with fome of them (that he could 
 be free with) to know how it was poifible, being fo perfuaded in their 
 own Minds, they could declare him guilty? Their Anfwer was, that 
 they were not free in the Cafe, but were bound to judge according to 
 the Proof of Facts ; and here Witnefles fwore the Facts, Ergo, &c.. 
 His Lordmip replied that this was contrary to the very Inftitution of 
 Trials; for it is the proper Bufinefs of Peers and Juries to try, not the 
 grammatical Conftruction of Words, which every School-boy can tell, 
 but the Credibility of Perfons, and Things; which require a Colla- 
 tion of Circumftances, and a right Judgment thereupon ; and God 
 forbid that the worft of Villains mould have it in their Power, by po- 
 fitive Swearing, to take away any Man's Life, or Eftate ; and it is fo 
 far from that, that it is every Day's Direction of Judges to Jurors, 
 viz. if you believe the Witnefles, find, elfe not. This Error is reafo- 
 nably to be fuppofed to have happened to many in Sincerity, tho' fome 
 fancied a Spice of the Politick in the Cafe, left it might prove as hap- 
 pen'd, when the not guilty Lords were mobbed in C&6. 1's-Time. But 
 here the Cafe was fo far otherwife, that, of the Two, the guilty Side 
 Was in more Danger of popular Infults than the not guilty. 
 
 I might, 
 
 rror n con-
 
 1 5* 'The LIFE of the late 
 
 His Majefty's I might properly here enumerate and particularifc the many falfe 
 Cemenc 11 / Shams, which, after the mighty Oatefian Engine fallen, troubled the 
 and Candour Court, and alfo at large decypher the Rye Confpiracy, becaufe his 
 of all the Pro- Lordmip had the moft to do in conducting the feveral Examinations 
 of the Secretary's Office, and to fee that what was done mould be in 
 due Form, and according to Law; but all thofe Matters arefo well de- 
 fcribed by his Lordfhip, in his Papers before touched, that a Tranfcript 
 would be the beft Account, which here would be fuperfluous, becaufe 
 it is already to be found in the Examen. His Lordihip's greateft 
 Content lay in his Majefty's Prefence, who almofl conftantly attended, 
 and was himfelf Witnefs of the Sincerity, Diligence, and Prudence of 
 his Minifters; whereas Accounts, coming to him by the Report of 
 others, would be defective, and, probably, not without fome finifter 
 Mifreprefentations. And, on the other Side, the Miniflers, and particu- 
 larly his Lordlhip, as he often declared, had the Pleafure of obferving 
 his Majefty's Clemency, Juftice, and Inclination to Mercy ; which, 
 through the whole Proceeding, were egregious. He punimed no Man, 
 againft whom the Evidence did not charge 'the Treafon home (though 
 in other Refpects they were guilty enough) in Cafe they declared all 
 they knew ; nay diverfe Traitors, that made ingenuous Confeffions, were 
 fpared, tho' no great Ufe was to be made of them; and the King 
 faid, be would not take away any Man's Life, becaufe he knew no 
 more. Of thefe diverfe brought before the King, came on their Knees, 
 holding up their Hands, begging his Mercy, for their poor Wives and 
 Childrens Sakes; which gave the King (always facetious) Occafion to 
 fay, -he wifoed all his Subjects had Wives and Children, for whom they 
 had moft Regard. And for the Honour of his Majefty and his Mi- 
 nifters, I mufl obferve that no Man was kept long in Prifon, without 
 Bail, or Trial, and none brought to Trial without a convicting Evi- 
 dence, no Rewards, nor tempting Encouragements, leading Qt^eftions, 
 Threats, or other undue Means held forth to draw from them far- 
 ther than plainly to declare all they knew. And after all, that the 
 Effects of the chief Criminals, that fuffer'd, were not made a Prey to 
 Courtiers, but, in diverfe Inftances* graciouily reftored to the Wives and 
 Children of the Sufferers. And if ever, in Cafe of a Confpiracy lefs 
 execrable than this of the Rye, there is an Inftance of Juftice fo 
 legally purfued, and, in the Conclufion, well temper'd as here, I defire 
 it may be brought forth and known, as this now is, to the Intent it 
 may never be forgot. 
 
 homc'iobc 111 Among other guilty Perfons, fome Scotchmen were difcover'd and 
 
 tried.' taken ; and, becaufe their Scene lay in Scotland, they could not be 
 
 indicted and tried here ; therefore it was thought fit to fend them into 
 
 their own Country to be tried. But the Time being nice, and the 
 
 Court
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. ij ? 
 
 Court defirous that no Meafurcs mould be taken, which might be 
 pretended not legal ; and it being the Mode to cavil at every Step, and 
 raife Moot Points, like finding Knots in Bulrumes, as was done in this 
 particular Cafe, whether thefe Men might be fent into Scotland or not: 
 The King thereupon order'd his Attorney General to give his Opinion 
 in Writing; which was, that his Majefty might fend his Scotch Sub- 
 jects into Scotland^ to be punifh'd for Offences committed there. 
 
 Before we part from this grand Confpiracy, I mufl remember that Penned the 
 it was thought fit for the Satisfaction of the People's Minds, who Declaration, 
 
 r i r ii-vi/'AT^,. f a d 'hat well 
 
 were in a great Amafe, and confequently Doubt of the Reality of accepted. 
 this enorme Plot, to publifh a royal Declaration of the very Facts of 
 it, and of all the material Circumftances, punctually ftated, and all 
 out of the Depofitions of the WitnefTes ; to the Veracity whereof it 
 jfhould not remain in any one's Power to object : And fo as to leave no 
 Colour for any Perfon to doubt the Juftice of his Majefty 's Proceed- 
 ings thereupon. This was prepared and compofed moftly, if not 
 wholly, by his Lordfhip ; which I will with more AfTurance profefs, 
 becaufe I have heard his Lordfhip often, in Difcourfe, exprefs mod of 
 thefe fmgular Notions and Turns that are in it ; and the like may be 
 found in his Writings : As for Inftance that, after all Endeavours 
 by V/ay of Sedition failed^ the Rebels reforted to Arms, and dffaffina- 
 tion; with other as fignificant Pa/Tages. The Declaration 'itfelf is 
 penned with that Exquifitenefs and Caution, and all upon the Steps of 
 Truth, made good by Teftimony, as may well be afcribed to one of 
 his Lordfhip's accomplim'd Knowledge of the Law, Experience of 
 Affairs, and happy Turns of Thought, and Expreffion in Bufinefs, 
 And I might have inferted this in the very Words, as Part of his Lord- 
 fhip's Pen- work; but have declined fo to do, becaufe, at the Time, it 
 muft needs have been laid before, and confider'd by, the reft of the 
 Miniftry, and by them, in fome Refpects, alter'd or corrected, as they 
 might think proper. After this Declaration was publifh'd, and (as 
 was commanded) read in Churches, the People return'd their joyful 
 Senfe of the King's Safety, after the great Danger he had been in, by 
 numerous Addrefles from all Parts of the Kingdom ; which gave fuch 
 a Stun to the rebellious Party, and their Friends abroad, that little 
 Sign of any Refurrection to Action appear'd in them, while that good 
 King lived ; tho' it's prefumed their Trance was not fo profound, but 
 they lay watching for frem Opportunities, from Alterations in the Me- 
 thods of the Government, and theMiniftry, to be moving again, and, 
 at length, they were gratified fufficiently, and due Ufe thereof was 
 made, by the Changes that foliow'd. 
 
 But
 
 LI F E of the late 
 
 T>r.spr*t\ But his Lordihip did not think this Declaration enough; for, by 
 
 Hiftoryof the man y Years Practice of Lies and Mifconftructions of the publick Ad- 
 fneakingly miniftration, the Peoples Minds had been too much corrupted towards 
 recanted! a Prejudice againft their Government, and they were become inclined 
 to believe all the Evil that was lyingly affirm'd of it: And this Difeafe 
 could not be cured on the Sudden, but by Time and Application of 
 due Remedies to fet them right. Therefore hisLordmip advifed that 
 not only all the Depofitions, as they were fworn, mould be publim'd 
 in Print, but alfo, confidering fuch Matters would not be pleafant or 
 inviting to be read by the common People, that a well-penned Rela- 
 tion of the whole Confpiracy mould introduce them ; which mould 
 be made as inviting to read, as the others apt to convince, which muft 
 happen, being all along referred to them. The Advice was approved, 
 and Doctor Sprat, then Bifhop of Rochejier^ a moft polite Englifo 
 Writer, was employ'd to do it j and, having all the Depofitions truly 
 copied before him, he perform'd the Tafk moft completely, as the 
 Book itfelf fufficiently demonftrates. This had been a ftately Monu- 
 ment of Honour to that reverend Prelate, if he had not kick'd down 
 all the Merit of it, by a pufillanimous Behaviour j for, after the Re- 
 volution, when he fear'd being call'd to an Account for acting in King 
 James the Second's high Commiffion Court, he publim'd in print two 
 degenerous Epiftles of Recantation to the Earl of Dorfet j the Latter 
 moft fneakingly apologifeth for his writing this Book, in which I 
 have not obferved one Sentence, which, even in that Time, could juftly 
 be made criminal : He fays it was unwillingly drawn from him j and 
 he hopes he is not to anfwer for what he did not, as well as for what 
 he did write ; and that it was mewed to the Lord Keeper North y who 
 added fome Things, that had efcaped him ; whence we are to fuppofe, 
 that all, which did not then pleafe, muft be attributed to the Lord 
 Keeper, and not to him. A ftately Apologetick! But grant half of it 
 had been added, or corrected by the Lord Keeper; who could better 
 adjuft fuch a Relation, than he who was at the Helm of all the Exa- 
 minations, and had both Skill and Will to do it according to Truth? 
 His epifcopal Lordmip had done well to have mewn, in his Letter, 
 what was fo added, and then the Saddle would have fallen on the right 
 Horfe, or at leaft to have exprefled wherein he was to have been a 
 Sufferer, if he had been call'd to anfwer for the whole as it was ; 
 but fome Mens Timidity offufcates their Underftandings, tho' other- 
 wife never fo bright. 
 
 TheVindica- ^ wou ^ De an ungrateful Thing to pafs over in Silence the greateft 
 tionof vindi- Vindication of all thefe Proceedings againft the Rye Plotters (in the 
 cations, by the pi re ftion of which his Lordfliip had the greateft Share) that ever hap- 
 pened
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. itfi 
 
 pened to a Government, and its Minhtry, fince the World began. Committee 
 And that is (I fay not of the Plotters themfelves, but leave that to ofEnc i uir y- 
 fober Reflection, but) of the adverfe Party, in full Rage and Power, 
 and breathing all that Revenge which formerly they had menaced, 
 and confirm'd with numberlefs Oaths, and Execrations. If this be the 
 Cafe, it will not be thought I have here dealt in Hyperbole. After 
 the Revolution, when the Affemblies of Lords and Commons met at 
 Wejlminfter, the Matters, by Way of Inquifition retrofpected, are re- 
 ducible to two Heads. One was concerning the Proceedings in the 
 City of London, in the Choice of Sheriffs, and the Confequences ; and 
 the other was the Trials and Convictions of the Culpables in the Rye 
 Confpiracy. The former was undertaken by the Commons, and the 
 other by the Lords. The. Commons fummon'd Sir John Moor, that 
 had been Lord Mayor, and Sir Dudley North, with Sir P. Rich, his 
 Partner, Sheriffs, and all Perfons who had to do in the City, about the 
 Common Hall. And thefe were examined touching their Right, and 
 the Manner of their Behaviour, and they anfwer'd plainly and candidly; 
 and tho' tempted to accufe Perfons who were dead, as the Lord Keeper 
 North, and Sir Leoline Jenkins, of fomewhat they could have called 
 Crime, anfwer'd negatively, and, to their own Charge, fully, and went 
 no farther: And finally, there being no Fault found in them, they 
 were all difcharged, and nothing more faid to them. The other In- 
 queft, concerning the Rye Criminals, went deeper, and every one, that 
 was examined, was fworn ; for the Lords may adminifter an Oath, 
 but the Commons may not. The Executions of the Criminals (for 
 Brevity) were pre-judged to have been illegally inflicted, and fo not en- 
 quired into ; but the Suffering Perfons were pre-fuppofed to have been 
 murthered; and the Committee of Lords was appointed to enquire by 
 what and whofe Means thofe Perfons came to be murthered, or to 
 that Effect, as the Journals will {hew : And for this Reafon, that 
 Committee was call'd the Committee of Murther; which muft needs 
 terrify thofe that were fummon'd to appear before it. In fhort, they 
 fummon'd all the Officers, Witneffes, fome Counfel, and every particu- 
 lar Perfon who had, as they were inform'd, faid or done any Thing 
 relating to any of thofe Trials; and, as I faid, examined all upon 
 Oath, in order to find out fome Irregularity, or Corruption, in what 
 had been done in thofe Matters. And after all the teiling, fcrewing, 
 good Words, and bad Words, as fome thought fit to ufe towards par- 
 ticular Perfons examined, there was not any one Peccadillo difcover'd, 
 nor any Action or Speech of any Perfons, in or out of Authority, 
 made known, which could be laid hold on as an Abufe or Mifde- 
 rneanor, that might be cenfured ; and fo the Committee fell, and no 
 more News of Murther. And this is that Vindication of Vindications 
 
 X I men-
 
 ,rf> The LIFE of the late 
 
 I mention'd before ; which, for the Honour of his LorcKhip, as well 
 as the reft of the loyal Party, I have extended more fully than other- 
 wife needed to have been. And, for the Clofe, I muft needs obferve, 
 that it was wonderful, that in the Ardor of thofe heated Times (which 
 may be imagined, but hardly exprefled) the Minifters and Agents 
 mould not only be fo intelligent, but withal careful of the Forms 
 and Subftance of Juftice, and their Duty, that, on fuch a dire In- 
 queft as was not forethought ever to come over them, not one Fault 
 fhould be found, neither wilful, nor out of human Infirmity or Ofci- 
 tancy. O the Virtue couched in Horace! Integer 'vitas fcelerifque 
 purus. 
 
 Made a P ; ivy B utj to return ; in the greateft Difficulty, that ever fell upon King 
 an^taken into Charles the Second, from the Parliament, and indeed the whole Na- 
 the Cabinet, tion, which was corrupted with the Air of Oates's Plot, the King 
 made a dangerous Experiment; which was a Reform of his Privy 
 Council, diffblving the old one, and conftituting one anew ; which 
 took in the Lord Shaftjbury as Prefident, and the Heads of the Male- 
 content Party of both Houfes ; as may be feen in the Examen. This 
 ftruck the loyal Party to an Aftonifliment; but the King made Ufe of 
 his beft Friends, and, among others, took in the Lord Chief Juftice 
 North; which made him wonder to find himfelf in fuch Company: 
 But all turn'd right at laft. Not long after this, his Lordfhip was 
 taken into the Cabinet j where, as to all Matters that related to the 
 Law, and ordinary Policy, upon the Foot of the King's true Intereft, 
 he had almoft a judicial Regard. 
 
 Earl of Ddnby The ar j o f J) a nby thought he could ferve himfelf of this Plot of 
 pTrdcmed. ' Oates, and accordingly endeavoured at it ; but it is plain that he had 
 pleaded, dif- no Command of the Engine ; and, inftead of his fharing the Popularity 
 of nurfing it, he found himfelf fo intrigued that it was like a Wolf 
 by the Ears; he could neither hold it, nor let it go; and, for certain, 
 it bit him at laft : Juft as when a barbarous MaftifF attacks a Man, 
 he cries poor Cur, and is pulled down at laft. So the Earl's Favour 
 did but give Strength to the Creature to worry him. Herein he fail- 
 ed, i. in joining to aid a Defign of which he did not know the 
 Bottom. 2. In thinking a Lord Treafurer, that had enriched himfelf 
 and his Family, could ever be popular. And the Plot went fo far a- 
 gainft him that he was within an Ace of being accufed of Godfrey's 
 Murther: But this was late. In the mean Time, upon the producing 
 of fome Letters of his to Mr. Mountagu the Embaflador in France, 
 in the Houfe of Commons, importing a Treaty between the King of 
 England and the King of France, for Money to be paid upon the 
 Peace, he was impeached; Articles of HighTreafon were brought up, 
 
 and
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. I( j 3 
 
 and he was committed, and, afterwards, pardoned, the Pardon plead- 
 ed, and the Validity of it difputed by the Commons., It was firft con- 
 fidered if the Earl fhould venture to plead the Pardon, or no, left (in 
 Cafe the Pardon were difallowed, and his Plea over-ruled) it would be 
 peremptory, and he not be admitted to plead over, as non Cut, or what 
 other fpecial Matter he had to defend by. 
 
 But notwithstanding this Hazard, that if the Lords had judged a- Cafe of ti- 
 gainft the King's Power to pardon after an Impeachment lodged in Eauf p,. 
 the Houfe of Peers, he might not be allowed to have pleaded over, ^nudS" 
 taking the Pardon pleaded, as is ufually held, to be a Confeffion of the 
 Fact ; yet he did plead his Pardon to the Impeachment, and relied up- 
 on it. And fo it flood, at the Diflblution of the Weftmlnfter Parlia- 
 ment, ready to be argued and debated in the Oxford Parliament. And, 
 if the expedite Diflblution had not prevented, it might have made 
 much ado between the Lords and Commons; for it was not probable 
 that the Lords, by enervating the King's Pardon, would have left 
 themfelves liable to be impeached, and out of the Power of the King's 
 Mercy. But the Faction, in all Difcourfe and Writing, afferted the 
 Non- Validity of the Pardon, with all the Earneflnefs that could be ; 
 and, at the fame Time, the Men of Law flared at fuch a Pretence, 
 as an unheard-of Innovation, accounting the Offence in the Impeach- 
 ment to be the fame as in other Courts that have Cognifance of it; 
 that is, Treafon againfl the King ; which, as all Felonies and Mifde- 
 meanors are, is punifhable at the King's Suit, and may be releafed by 
 him ; the Impeachment being but as an Indictment in the high Court of 
 Parliament, which is the King's Suit. 
 
 There is a certain. Heathen Englift Philofopher that fays, when TheExtrm- 
 Reafon is againfl Men, Men will be again]} Reafon ; which notable, s "fr Ar ~ ! 
 worldly, Saying never mined brighter in any Inflance than in this; for fu^PrldLT- 
 it is hard to pick, out of the whole Law, a Maxim more fure than ""nations. 
 that the King can pardon all high Treajons, univerfally. And yet, 
 when Paffion was at Work, and Refolution taken to urge the Lord 
 Danby to the Death (for what Reafons ; whether to prefs fome Secrets 
 out of him, or otherwife, touching the defperate Dependences of the 
 Time, I attempt not to fay here) it's no Wonder that Arguments, fuch 
 as they were, grew up like Mufhrooms. His Lordfhip ufed to ob- 
 ferve the Method, when Points were previoufly refolved upon, which 
 could not be maintain'd directly; as here, that the King cannot par- 
 don. Firfl, fay they to themfelves, is there any Cafe of Offences by 
 Law, that the King cannot pardon ? Yes; private Rights, as Appeals, 
 and common Nufances. Say you fo ? Then this Impeachment is for 
 a Right of the People, and is their private Suit by their Repreientatives 
 the Commons ; and, rather than fail, call the Offence a Nufance. And, 
 
 X 2 turning
 
 1<J 4 Me LIFE of the late 
 
 turning the Tables, fee how with pofitive naming and averting, if 
 People importunely give Way to it, and quit the plain Text of the 
 Law, any Thing may be flood upon. It may be proved that the 
 King can pardon Bonds and Mortgages. For afk, firft, what can the 
 King pardon ? Anfwer, Outlawries, and TrefpafTes *ut & armis. Then, 
 becaufe a Man may be outlawed in Debt, call the Bond an Outlawry j 
 and, becaufe a Man may enter by Virtue of his Mortgage, call it a 
 Trefpafs with Force. It will be faid that thefe Points are too impu- 
 dently urged : I grant it. And what is to be faid of the other , for, 
 in Kind, they are the fame ? His Lordmip was always of Opinion 
 that all falfe Reafonings, in Matters of Life and Property, were of 
 dangerous Confequence ; and that Men are not aware of the Mifchiefs 
 to the Publick, when, from high Places, Times ferve themfelves of 
 them. For which Reafon his ordinary Sentence, on fuch Occafions, 
 was Nova, non vetus Orbit a fallit. 
 
 The bailing I do not meddle here with the Hiflory of the Cafe of the Earl of 
 by !he tin's- & an fy at l ar g e - I* ma 7 be found in the Examen, and, for fail, in 
 tench-, which his own Memoirs. But I cannot omit one PafTage, touching only his 
 !hon^htno P ^ordfhip's Concern refpecting the Parliament: And that is the Point 
 f his being bail'd ; wherein his Lordmip dirTer'd from fome of his 
 Brethren. The Queftion turn'd upon the Authority of Parliament. 
 He flood committed by the Lords, upon his Impeachment, when the 
 Weftminfter Parliament was diffolved ; and, at the fame Time, the 
 untried Lords, committed for Oafes's Plot, lay there on the like Ac- 
 count. And now both the Earl and the Popifo Lords thought that, 
 by joint Influence, they might get to be bail'd. Accordingly, upon the 
 Return of an Habeas Corpus, his Lordmip, the Earl of Danby> was 
 brought up and appear'd in the King* s-Bencb Court. The Cafe made 
 a great Noife, and raifed a great Expectation what would be the liTue. 
 His Lordfhip, being confulted (though not of that Court) anfwer'd 
 that he was of Opinion that the Court of Kings-Bench, being inferior 
 in Jurifdiclion to the Houfe of Lords, could not bail their Priibner, 
 after he had been charged by fpecial Articles : For they had no Means 
 to bring down the Record, whereby to determine any Thing of the 
 Caufe of his Commitment j and, for ought that they could judicially 
 know, he might be attainted of the Treafon. It is certain that the 
 Lord Jeffries, then Chief Juftice, in Court, refufed it ; and yet he 
 was a great Stirrer up of the Point, in order to gain the other Judges 
 to countenance his (then declared) Opinion for the Bailing ; which 
 was taken ill, as may be touched elfewhere. So the Lords were not 
 bailed at that Time. But, in the Reign of King James II. they were 
 fet free; and (with the Peace of all Forms) I think very juftly; for 
 it is a prodigious Injuftice to hold Men in Prifon perdue, without any 
 
 Trial,
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 
 
 Trial, or Recourfe for Liberty : And, if the giving it was irregular, 
 it was erring for Juflice ; and one would think that fuch Confidera- 
 tion might purge the Irregularity. But nothing hath ever been faid 
 againft it, in Publick, yet ; and, fo far, all is well. His Lordmip 
 had a Revelation in his Mind, that this bailing of Danby was a Thorn 
 pufhed towards him ; though nothing came of it. 
 
 While the Cafe of the Earl of Danby depended in Parliament, An High 
 there was a factious Pamphlet publimed, which aim'd to prove the cefi ard u ne " 
 Judicature of the Lords almoft fovereign ; and that all Courts, eccle- impeLh- P D 
 fiaftical as well as temporal, were fubjecl: to it, and appealable; that ments -. His 
 theHoufe was the Magnum Concilium, or great Council, in the Senfe riwuehttof 
 of ancient Records; that, in Trials for Treafon, the Peers were Judges the Magnum 
 of the Court ; and that there was no other Court but the Houfe it- ConcUium - 
 felf ; and that there was no Need, nay, it was an Ufurpation to have 
 a Lord Steward. For the Commons demanded of the Houfe of Lords 
 that they mould pafs Sentence upon the Earl's Plea of his Pardon ; 
 and the Lords addrefTed the King to appoint an High Steward, in 
 order to the Trial of thefe Impeachments ; and fo it was wrangled off 
 and on till the Seffion ended. But his Lordmip, provoked by this 
 Pamphlet, but more to fee People miftake the Laws, and ftrike fo 
 hard at Foundations, compofed an Anfwer to that Pamphlet, (hewing 
 that a Lord Steward and his Court, as well in Parliament as out of it, 
 are neceflary to the Trial of a Peer ; and that the Lords take the 
 Place of Parity, purfuant to Magna Charta. But the Law and the 
 Sentence are of the Court, and not of the Peers ; and farther, that the 
 Magnum Concilium in Parliamento, or the great Council in Parliament 
 was, anciently, not the Peerage but, all the Officers of State, and 
 fuch as the King fhould call to ferve in that Capacity ; and that the 
 Placita in Parliament, or Pleas in Parliament, came before the great 
 Council juridically, and not before the Peers. But, of late Years, that 
 Jurifdiction, which is the King's, is executed by the Peerage ; and the 
 Council remains only in the Capacity of Amftants : And fo it is like 
 to continue. 
 
 It may be expected here that an Account mould be given how, and His Lord/hip's 
 in what Manner, as well as to what Purpofe, his Lordmip was con- 
 cern'd in that great Affair, promoted and known by the Term Exclu- 
 fion. It was a Bill, promoted by the Commons in the little and latter 
 Wejlminfler Parliaments, to exclude the Duke of Fork, by Name, from 
 fucceeding to the Crown of England. The Steps and Conduct of it, 
 and what Difappointments it had, Hiflory muft mew. I know only 
 fo much, viz. That his Lordmip look'd upon it not to attack the 
 Succeffion more than the prefent Monarch. For, if fuch a Founda- 
 tion were once laid, whatever Importunity prevail'd to gain it, there 
 
 would
 
 Tie LIFE of the late 
 
 would be the fame, with very large Encreafe, to obtain all the Power 
 of the Government out of the King's Hands, upon Pretence to f r- 
 tify the Exclufion : For it would be faid, it is true, there is a Law ; 
 but what is that without Power ? Meer Paper. And, then, the Mi- 
 litia, and all the civil CommifTions, muft fall, as a Sacrifice to the 
 Exclufion, into the Hands of the King's Enemies. 
 
 About this Time, in the Houfe of Commons, it was made a Queftion 
 whether they had a Right to impeach Commoners, in the Houfe of 
 Peers, capitally, or not ? Againfl that Power it was alledged that, if 
 Commoners are condemned by the Lords, they lofe their Challenges; 
 and their humble Eftate is not fo fenfible to thofe great Men, as it 
 would be to their Equals. Therefore it was provided by Magna 
 Charta Quod fuper nullum ibimus nifi per Judicium parium, ant 
 per Legem Terra. Which Sentence couched two Sorts of Trials ; one 
 of the Fact, the other of the Law. The latter cannot be per pares i 
 but by the Court who judge upon the Fact per Legem Terra - 9 
 and the Fact, which to try is the Work of the Peers, may be confefled 
 exprefly, or by a Pardon pleaded, or a Demurrer. Therefore the Lex 
 tferrte was put in to anfwer thofe Cafes, whereof the Fact was ftated 
 by Trial and Confeffion; and the Judgment of the Fact, guilty or 
 not, and of the Law, whether Judgment of Death or not, are two 
 Things anfwer'd. i. By Pares, and, 2. Legem Terra. Sir William 
 Jones, who took the Conduct of this whole Affair, in the Houfe, upon 
 himfelf, and was the chief Dictator of the terrible Votes againft the 
 Lords, upon that Monday on which the Parliament was diflblved, en- 
 ter'd upon his folemn Argument, to fhew that the Commons had a 
 Right to bring a Commoner to Trial for his Life by an Impeachment 
 in the Houfe of Peers, and infifted that it was confident with Magna 
 Charta -, for, although the Peers Sentence is not per Pares, yet it is 
 per Legem Terra?. And, as that Word was out of his Mouth, the 
 black Rod knocked. This Matter came not to the Judges to give any 
 Opinion; and, if it had, they had a Declinatory of Courfe, viz. That 
 Matters of Parliament were too high for them. But, neverthelefs, 
 his Lordfhip confider'd all Points, and particularly what were moved 
 in this Cafe. 
 
 Arrival of Sir In the Time when the Publick was intrigued, and indeed tired with 
 the blundering Proceedings of Gates and his Plot, his Lordfhip had 
 the great Coniblation of the Arrival of his Brother, Mr. Dudley North, 
 who, having reiided at Smyrna and Conjlantinople^ above twenty 
 Years, as Factor and Merchant in the Way of the Turky Trade, and 
 had got a fair Eftate, returned to England to enjoy it. I mail not 
 characterife this Gentleman, nor enlarge much concerning his great 
 Dealings abroad and at home, having referred all thofe Matters to the 
 
 Account
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. I( J 7 
 
 Account of his Life. But the moft remarkable Obfervation of this 
 Mercantile Spark, was that he came with fuch an idolatrous Refpect 
 for Gates and his Plot, as if he had been truly, what Oates blafphe- 
 moufly arrogated to himfelf, the Saviour of the Nation. This was in- 
 ftilled into him by the Merchants of the Turky Company in England '-, 
 who, being generally factious, in the Flame of the Plot, had fent Ac- 
 counts abroad which created fuch enorm Imaginations in the Factors. 
 But when, by a long Converfe with his Lordmip, (for a little Time 
 would not do) the Myftery of Iniquity was unveiled, and the Mer- 
 chant faw that his Idol was fuch a Heap of Naftinefs, he wondered 
 fufficiently at the Stupidity, or Knavery of his Correfpondents here. 
 There was little or no Intercourfe, by Letters, between his Lordmip 
 and him in T^urky^ for diverfe Years before he arrived. Both had fo 
 much Bufmefs, of other kinds, that they had left off writing long Letters 
 to each other, as formerly they had done. However, it had not 
 been fafe to have committed to a written Difpatch, fuch Freedoms 
 about the Plot, as was needful to do Right to it ; nor was it thought 
 material, at that Diftance, to tranfmit fuch nice and amufing Intelli- 
 gences. But the factious Party made it Religion to propagate the Faith 
 of the Plot, all the World over, as far as they could carry it by their 
 Correfpondences. All which was agreeable to Proceedings here; for 
 the Impudence, as well as Shame, of fo great a Faliity, was fcreen'd 
 by Publick Authority and Violence ; under the Cover of which, the 
 Belief of it was obtruded, and all open Contradiction fupprefled. 
 And, from this Inftance, let it be obferved that, where Force and Vi- 
 olence njurps the Office of found Teftimony, and deprives Men of the 
 Liberty of judging^ Falfity andWickednefs lies at the Bottom. 
 
 Thefe Brothers lived in this manner with extreme Satisfaction in Difccurfes of 
 each other's Society; for both had the Skill and Knowledge of the Trad '- 
 World, as to all Affairs relating to their feveral Profeffions, in Perfec- 
 tion ; and each was an Indies to the other, producing always the richefl 
 Novelties, of which the beft Understandings are greedy. And it muft 
 be thought Trade andTraffick in the World at large, as well as in par- 
 ticular Countries, and more efpecially relating to England^ was often 
 the Subject. And Mr. Dudley North , befides what muft be gathered 
 from the Practice of his Life, had a fpeculative, extended Idea; and 
 withal, a Faculty of expremng himfelf, however without Shew of 
 Art, or Formality of Words, fo clear and convincingly, and all in a 
 Style of ordinary Converfation, witty and free, that his Lordfhip be- 
 came almofl intoxicated with his Difcourfes. And thefe new Notions 
 did fo poflefs his Thoughts, and continually affume Shapes and Forms 
 in his Mind, that he could not be eafy till he had laid them alide, as 
 it were upon Paper, to which he might recur, when Occafion was, 
 
 to
 
 xrf8 The LIFE of the late 
 
 to reconfider, or apply them. And if, at the Council-Table, Trials 
 of IfTues, or by probable Relation, any thing touching the Publick, 
 occurred (which he would not lofe, and yet not have the Burthen of 
 it lie a Charge upon his Memory) if not upon the Spot, yet, when he 
 came to his Clofet, he difpofed it. 
 
 Trade, like the But here, having mentioned fome new Lights ftruck about Trade, 
 Sea, univcrfal. more than were common, it may be thought a jejune Difcourfe, if 
 1 fhould pafs on without giving fome Specimens of them : Therefore 
 I add a Note, or two, that I could not but obferve. One is that Trade 
 is not diflributed, as Government, by Nations and Kingdoms; but is 
 one throughout the whole World; as the main Sea which cannot be 
 emptied, or replenimed, in one Part, but the whole, more or lefs, 
 will be affected. So when a Nation thinks, by refcinding the Trade 
 of any other Country, which was the Cafe of our prohibiting all 
 Commerce with France, they do not lop off that Country, but fo 
 much of their Trade of the whole World as what that, which was 
 prohibited, bore in Proportion with all the reft ; and fo it recoiled a 
 dead Lofs of fo much general Trade, upon them. And as to the 
 pretending a Lofs by any Commerce, the Merchant chufes, in fome Re- 
 fpects to lofe, if by that he acquires an Accommodation of a profitable 
 Trade in other Refpects. As when they fend Silk home from *Turky, by 
 which they gain a great deal, becaufe they have no other Commodity 
 wherewith to make Returns. So, without Trade into France, where- 
 by the Englijh may have Effects in that Kingdom, they could not fo 
 well drive the Italian, Spanijh, and Holland Trades, for want of Re- 
 mittances and Returns that Way. 
 
 Money can- Another Curiofity was concerning Money; that no Nation could 
 * b f d long want Money ; and they would not abound in it : Which is meant of 
 abound.' Specie for the Ufe of ordinary Commerce and Commutation by Bar- 
 gains. For if a People want Money they will give a Price for it; 
 and then Merchants, for Gain, bring it and lay it down before them. 
 And it is fo where Money is not coined ; as in Turky, where the Go- 
 vernment coins only Pence or Half-pence, which they call Parraws, 
 for the Ufe of the Poor in their Markets : And yet vaft Sums are 
 paid and received in Trade, and difpenfed by the Government; but 
 all in foreign Money, as Dollars, Chequeens, Pieces of Eight, and the 
 like, which Foreigners bring to them for Profit. And, on the other 
 Side, Money will not fuperabound; for who is it that hath great Sums 
 and doth not thruft it .from them into Trade, Ufury, Purchafes, or 
 Cafhiers, where the Melting-pot carries it off, if no Ufe, to better Pro- 
 fit, can be made of it. People may indeed be poor and want Money, 
 becaufe they have not wherewithal to pay for it; which is not Want of 
 Money, but want of Wealth, or Money's Worth; for where the one 
 is, the other will be fupplicd to Content. Mr. Dudley North was fur- 
 
 prifed
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. T 
 
 pri&d With the Lombard-Jtreet Cafh Trade, and would not come in- 
 to' it a great while, and then not much. He was at great Defiance 
 with the dipt Money, and made War upon it in all his publick and 
 private Difcourfes; and laid the Foundation of the Reform that was af- 
 terwards made: Though his Project' was fpoiled by thofe that (with- 
 out Thanks to his Memory) took it up and put it in Execution. 
 As will be related more at large in the faid Gentleman's Life. 
 
 Not long after Sir Dudley North's Arrival, he was called upon to Dctail 
 ferve the King in the Office of Sheriff of London and Middlefex, in o 
 der to refcue that City out of the wretched State it was brought into and other Prq- 
 by a certain Monfter, that raged in the Years 80, 81, 82, ftiled Ignor^^ ^ 
 ramns. Of which 1 (hall give no farther Account here, nor of the Dif- given here^ 
 putes about choofing Sheriffs of London, becaufe the whole Proceeding and wji y- 
 is fully accounted for in the Exameh; I mall therefore infift more 
 particularly upon fome few Paffages only, which may tend to difplay 
 his Lordfhip's Zeal and Sincerity in ferving his Country and his Ma- 
 fter, and are not exprefly mentioned in the Examen. 
 
 When it was intimated at Court that Mr. Dudley North was every The King de- 
 way qualified for the Office of a Sheriff if he might, by Means of his S^^* 
 Lordmip, be prevailed upon to hold; the King very much approved cept. 
 of the Perfon, but was very dubious whether his Lordmip, with his 
 much Caution and Wifdom, would advife his Brother to ftand in a 
 litigious Port. His Majefty knew that, unlefs his Lordmip cordially 
 Undertook it, he might appear, to him, heartily to confent/ and yet, 
 like a tricking Courtier, underhand infinuate to the Merchant not to 
 Hand, and openly charge it on his Brother's Refufal; which would 
 have Colour enough. But yet he refolved to try: And, one Day, he 
 fpoke to his Chief Juftice, with a World of Tendernefs, nd defired 
 to know -if it 'would be too much to ajk of his Brother, Mr. Dudley 
 North, to hold S her if tif on my Lord Mayor s Drinking. His Lord- 
 fhip anfwered that he was affured his Brother was difpofed to ferve 1 
 his Majefty to the utmoft of his Capacity. But, as to this Matter, 
 he begged his Majefty's Leave to acquaint him with his Pleafure ; 
 and, then, he would return to his Majefty his Brother's Anfwer. So 
 far this went well enough; and the King conceived great Hopes that 
 he had found his Man. 
 
 Now came on the main Pinch of the Bufinefs; which was to make His Lord(hip' 
 Sir Dudley North fenfible of his Intereft in complying with the King. Arguments to 
 His Lordmip was clear of Opinion that his Brother mould hold; for Bother 6 to'* 
 lie knew well that nothing at all againft Law, or extraordinary, hold. 
 would be required of the Sheriffs ; and, as for Matters of the Law, 
 they would be re-committed to the Secondaries and Under-fheriff; and, 
 then, nothing relied on the Sheriff but to hold his white Staff, and 
 
 Y make 
 
 *
 
 170 The LIFE of tke late 
 
 make Feafts. And, for Matter of Title, he thought there was more 
 Squeak than Wool; for, whatever People thought was at the Bottom, 
 if a Citifen be called upon an Office, by the Government of the City, 
 r.nd obeys, where is the Crime of that? But he knew alfo that my 
 Lord Mayor was in the Right, and that his Proceeding would be ju- 
 ilified. But then fuch a terrible Fear was artificially raifed up in the 
 City, as if this Service was the greateft Hazard in the World; at leaft 
 that a powerful Band of Faction was collegued, right or wrong, to 
 refent it, which would bring certainly Trouble, and, probably, Lofs ; 
 and Juftice has feldom fo much Credit in England as to be relied 
 on. All which, befides the faftidious Forms, and Expence of the 
 Year, had caufed fo many knowing and able Citifens to decline the 
 Office, and made it not to be expedited that his Brother fhould be 
 free from all thofe Qualms; efpecially being fo much a Stranger, as 
 he was, to Englifh Affairs, which tended to encreafe his Diffidence 
 of himfelf, and Diftruft of the Matter. But his Lordfhip knew 
 withal that his Underftanding was fuch that, having full Informa- 
 tion of the State and Circumftances of the Bufmefs, and of all poffi- 
 ble Confequences, he would certainly determine according to the true 
 Reafon of the Cafe, whether to hold, or not. And, with this Con- 
 fidence, his Lordfhip, with all the Freedom of a Bofom Friend, en- 
 tered into Converfation with him. He put on no Authority, and re- 
 quired no Truft implicit to be repofed in him ; nor did he advance 
 the leaft Shew that he expected his Compliance herein as any Adi of 
 Friendship towards him, or as if he made his own Court at his Bro- 
 ther's Rifk; but laid before him an Opportunity that profered itfelf, 
 whereby he might make a Fortune if he wanted it, and much enlarge 
 what he had, befides great Reputation to be gained, which would 
 make him, all the Days of his Life, very confiderable. He left the 
 objecting Part to himfelf, and took his Rife accordingly to diflblve all 
 the fallacious Reafonings, that commonly pafled in Difcourfe, of the 
 Dependance. 
 Determines to j e \^ open the Cafe of the Lord Mayor's Right, very clear and 
 
 * * plain, againft which, in common Senfe, there was no Reply ; for the 
 Noife, made by Faction again ft it, was brutal, and raifed up to ferve 
 the prefent Turn only, and would vanifh when that was paft : Befides, 
 there was all the valuable Part of the City for it. But the Merchant 
 did not much heed that, becaufe he was fatisfied that a private Citifen 
 was no Judge; and what had he to do but, according to his Oath 
 of Freedom, to obey? And, as for fining off, it was, in Reality, as 
 much a Fault as ferving. So that, if the Magiftrates called and en- 
 joined him, he did not fee how, with Honour, he could cpme off 
 one Way or other ; and, if it was a Matter of great Moment, he 
 
 was
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. I7 i 
 
 was as ready to hold as to fine off. But the Point was what it 
 would fignify to him to bear a tedious Formality, and fpend two or 
 three thoufand Pounds to purchafe it. As to that, his Lordfhip (hew- 
 ed him that, if he ferved, the Obligation was fo tranfcendent in this 
 Conjuncture, even in his Majefty's own Sentiment of it, that there 
 could be no Employment, by Commiffion from the Crown, which * 
 would not fall to his Share: For the Court was a little, like the City 
 in that. They thought the Service much greater than really it was. 
 So terrible an Apprehenfion had they of the Fiercenefs of this Fad ion, 
 and the Advantage they had over the Court at that Time. Every 
 Man, that intends for Employments, muft ferve in fome fort, or other, 
 to fhew himfelf capable; and what Opportunity could he expect 
 fhould drop from Heaven more propitious to his Advancement 
 than this ? He could never expect another ; nay, the refuting of this, 
 when fo fairly offered, was a poiitive Demerit which would difable 
 any other Pretenfion as might fall in his Way. This Office would 
 fall to his Share, early or late; and if it be with fo fair a Profpect, 
 why not at any Time? Now as well as hereafter? And, as for the 
 Charges, his Lordmip faid, Here, Brother, take loool. to help 
 make good your Account -, and if you never have Opportunity , by Pen- 
 fans or Employments, to reimburfe you and me, 1 will lofe my Share; 
 elfe Ifiall be content to receive this thoufand Pounds out of one half of 
 your Penfiom 'when they come in; and, other wife, not at all. A Day 
 or two's Converfation of this kind, wherein more was confidered than 
 I can reprefent, entirely reconciled the Merchant to his Office, and, 
 having taken a Refolution upon clear Reafon, he fet his Mind at Reft, 
 and thought no more of the Adventure or Confequence, than he did 
 in (hipping a Bale of Cloth. And, afterwards, like a great Veffel a- 
 gainft the Waves, he flemmed the Rage of the Town-talk that flew in 
 his Face wherever he came; as is already related in the Examen, and 
 will be more particularly exprefled in the Courfe of that Gentle- 
 man's Life. 
 
 His Lordmip was one of thofe Perfons whom the King appointed Attended 
 to be in the City, not far from Guildhall, when the Sheriffs were to^f/ h f 
 be chofenj and he flaid, during the Election, at Sir George Jeffries'* tion of she- 
 Houfe; and Sir George himfelf, through his Intereft in the City, had rifci - 
 no fmall Share in the Conduct of this Affair. This was to the end. 
 that, if any Incident required immediate Advice, or if the Spirits of 
 the Lord Mayor fliould droop, which, in outward Appearance, were 
 but faint, there might be a ready Recourfe. So the factious Side had 
 the Lord Grey of Wark^ and the whole green Ribbon Council (el&- 
 where characterifed) and other Sages of the Party all equally concern-* 
 cd in what was doing, 
 
 V2 
 
 neat 
 du-
 
 was in, 
 
 ved 
 
 rous 
 
 i 7 1 The LIFE of the late 
 
 Some Doubts When Parties of Men are concerned ngainft each other in civil Broils, 
 r^M^or ^ ' 1S ft ran g e how fertile all Things will be of moot Points. After the 
 "refol. old Sheriffs had taken upon them to declare ''Papjl'iofi. and Duboi *."&&- 
 gene- ] v ehofen, many of the reafonable Citifens thought my Lord Mayor's 
 by his Lor". Point in a worfe State than before; for here was a new Cafe 
 top. ftarted. Here, faid they, are two Sheriffs declared, Jo they are Of- 
 
 ficers de facT:o; and how canyon fupcr- cleft y and fet up Anti-Jkeriffs to 
 oujl them before their T^itle is tried? Upon this difficult Matter; the 
 Court adjourned again ; and, in the Interim, the Lord Mayor and Al- 
 dermen were fent for, or went, to attend the King in Council ; and 
 there they were told that the Proceedings of the Sheriffs at the com- 
 mon Hall, after the Adjournment, were not only utterly void and null, 
 but the Perfons were 'guilty of an audacious Riot and Contempt of 
 lawful Authority ; for which, by due Courfe of Law, they would be 
 feverely punifhed. But, in the mean Time, it was his Lord (hip's 
 (the Lord Mayor's) Duty, and his Majefty's Pleafure, that, they fhould 
 go back to the City, andfumrnon the common Hall, and make E- 
 ledion of Sheriffs, for the Year enfuing, according to the ancient U- 
 fages of the City; and this (by his Majefty's Order in Council) they 
 fhould have with them. The Lord Mayor had found a different Sen- 
 timent of his Cafe upon thrs Alteration; and fome had inlinuated that 
 thefe Courtiers would thruft him forward, and be under no Engage- 
 ment themfelves. So he was very full of Doubts; and, while the Lord 
 Chief Juftice North was fpeaking to the Matter, as he did with great 
 Clearnefs, and plain Reafons given, was very attentive; for. he had a 
 great Value and Efteem of his Lordmip's Knowledge and Integrity. 
 When his Lordfhip had done, he crept down towards the End of 
 the Table where his Lordfhip fat, and, with a fummifs Voice and Af- 
 pedt, My Lord, faid he, will your Lordjhip be pleafed to give me this 
 under your Hand? Now the King, and all the Board, eyed the Man, 
 to fee what he went about, and, hearing what he faid, they all thought 
 he had put the Dor, as they fay, upon the Chief Juftice, and ex- 
 peeled fome Turn of his Wit to fetch himfelf off; and diverfe thought 
 to have fome Sport in feeing how wobdenly he would excufe himfelf. 
 ut his Lordfhip, mewing an uncommon Firmnefs of Mind, cheated 
 them all; for he anfwered, without any Hefitation, Tes, and he JJjould 
 have it prejently. So his Lordfhip took the Pen and Paper, that lay 
 before him, and wrote to this Effect, viz. I am of Opinion that it is 
 in the Lord Mayor's Power to call, adjourn, and dijolve the common 
 Hall at bis Pleafure\ and that all Acts done there, as of the common 
 Hall, during fuch Adjournment, are mere Nullities, and have no legal 
 Effect: And to that fet his Name, and gave it him all of his own 
 Hand-writing; and, after he had it, he came up to his Place again. 
 -'-' < ' This
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 17J 
 
 This Paflage pleafed the King ; for he was not ufed to fuch generous 
 Dealing in touchy Matters among his Counfellors. 
 
 I have here touch'd upon fome PafTages only which might tend to de- His Lordn 
 monftrate his Lordmip's Sincerity and Refolution in a clear Cauie, and thechiefCo 
 wherein he was fatisfied that the Law was with him, becaufe the 
 whole Proceeding is fully related in the Examen. It was of the laft fons for not 
 Confequence to the Crown at that Time ; for the Queftion was, whc- 
 ther Treafon and Sedition, in London and Middlefex, \vere criminal, 
 or not. And this in a Time when it was believed, though not fo foon 
 evidentially difcover'd, that a Rebellion was ready to break out, and 
 the Game was actually begun in Scotland^ but happily quelled at Both- 
 well Bridge. Was it not a ftrange Circumftance, in fuch a Conjun- 
 cture, that the Traytors themfelves mould be the Minifters of Juftice, 
 to judge and condemn their Fellows; againft whom Difcoveries were 
 already had, though the whole Scheme was not yet brought forth, as 
 afterwards happen'd by the Means of one Keiling? Neither do I give 
 here the Chicaneries of Law upon this Point, becaufe they may be 
 found, as far as was thought neceffary, in the Examen. And indeed 
 they may not be thought worth remembering ; and, as for themfelves-, 
 I grant it. But, as they are the Hiftory of fome Mens Impudence, 
 they are not inconfiderable j for they mew that Men, in Parties, will 
 affirm any Thing (however nonfenfical it is) againft each other j and, 
 what is worfe, when Things are thus confidently affirm'd by Num- 
 bers, the People, and, of them, fuch as mould know better, will think 
 there is fome Reafon in it. But, of all Sorts, none fo brafed, in this 
 Kind, as demure Pretenders, who complain of Popery and arbitrary 
 Power, and, of all Men, are the moft irreligious and unjuft them- 
 felves. And fuch this Faflion was. His Lordmip was a Sort of Pilot 
 in the Conduct of this Affair ; and moft of the Acts turned upon his 
 Judgment and Authority. There were others who blufter'd, and made 
 a great Noife ; but none penetrated to the Bottom of the Matters in 
 Queftion, but himfelf. His Lordmip was fo much concern'd that a 
 Matter of this Nature and Confequence fhould be tofled upon Mens 
 Tongues as it was, and fcarce any one either mention'd, or, indeed, 
 knew the true Diftindtion upon which it was turned, that, for fetting 
 People's Thinking right, he drew up Inftrudtions for fome of the em- 
 ployed Writers, whereby to drefs out a Pamphlet, which he fuppoled 
 would be dane, Author like, by cafting the Materials into fome plau- 
 fible Form, and fetting them off with quaint Sentences, as might in- 
 vite People to read, who care not for a Lawyer's Notes of Argument^ 
 as in a Law Cafe. But whofoever it was that undertook it, he pub- 
 limed the Notes verbatim 5 adding only a Sort of Prologue and aa 
 Epilogue; which made his Lordmip very angry: And, ftom that 
 
 Time>
 
 i/4 The LIFE of the late 
 
 Time, he refolved to give out no morelnftructions, and not to under- 
 take any Thing he could not finifh himfelf. 
 
 of tumul- It is related in the Examen, how bufy the laft Weftminfter Parlia- 
 ruousPetiti- men t was about the Exclufion; and alfo how Money Matters fluck, 
 though an a&ual War with France was loudly call'd for; and Trea- 
 ties abroad, touching Peace, between the French and the Confederates, 
 viz. Spain, Germany, and the Dutch (whereof the King was Media- 
 tor) were depending ; fo that the King had Reafon to make a long 
 Recefs of that Parliament, to the End that Matters might digeft, and 
 come to fome Maturity, as was hoped, and intended to be laid before 
 the Houfe of Commons, in order to put them, if poflible, into a bet- 
 ter Humour. But the Faction, at that Time, thought that future 
 Elections would prove, as at the prefent, propitious to their Hopes ; 
 and therefore, partly, to make bad Blood, and, partly, to force the 
 King to let the Parliament meet and fit, which, by diverfe Proroga- 
 tions, had been put off, and might be fo again, they instituted a Me- 
 thod of petitioning the King that the Parliament might meet and fit. 
 And it is fcarce credible with what faucy Impudence diverfe came to 
 the King with Petitions fign'd with numberlefs Hands, and frightful 
 Hieroglyphicks ; but with ten Perfons only in Company, fo as not to 
 offend againft the Statute about tumultuous Petitions : All which was 
 fully ftopt by a Proclamation which his Lordmip penned. This alfo, 
 with the Turns it had in the Houfe of Commons, is inferted there ; 
 fo {hall pafs it over here, and infift only upon fome few Incidents, 
 with Regard to his Lordfhip, which have not been fo particularly fet 
 down there. 
 
 Direrfe Tra While the Perfecution of Abhorrers, and queftioning the Proclama- 
 P3ns ^laid on t " 10n * n ^ e next S e fli ns ^ Parliament, were talk'd of by the factious 
 this" Account! P ar ty i n Town, and terrible Doings were expected, his Lordmip was 
 paffive, and appear'd not to have any Concern upon his Spirits ; but 
 confulted his beft Friends, and, (hewing them the Proclamation, afked 
 if they could find any Caption to be made upon it ; and every one, 
 even old Parliament Men, ufed to the Trade, could find none. But 
 his Lordmip neverthelefs held himfelf under the Guard of his Cau- 
 tion, left, when the Enemy had none, he might adminifter Weapons 
 againft himfelf; for he did expect, as it proved, that he fliould be 
 furrounded with Trapans. One was a grand one, and of a Secretary 
 of State, the Lord Sunder land. He, and the reft of his Party at Court, 
 pretending to be fierce againft the Petitioners, thought to pufh on 
 fuch as they would ruin, to act intemperately in that Caufe, and fo to 
 become expofed to the Parliament : And, purfuant to this pious De- 
 Cgn, when he fignified his Majefty's Pleafure to his Lordfhip and Judge 
 Jones, to fufpend the Execution of the Laws againft Proteftant DifTen- 
 
 ters,
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. , 7y 
 
 ters, he added that they fhould by all Means difcourage the Petitioners, 
 and encourage the Anti-Petitioners. But his Lordfbip was aware of 
 his Trap, and, in the Country, took thereof no Manner of Notice. 
 Afterwards, when the Proclamation was voted a Ground for an Im- 
 peachment, and made a great Noife, but the Committee, to draw Ar- 
 ticles, could make no Work of it, his Lordmip's Brother-in Law, Mr. 
 Soams, in extreme Hafte, found out his Lordfhip, and told him he 
 came from the Earl of * S. ; for he (Mr. Soams) having often urged 
 that Lord to find fome Means to abate this Rigour, of the Commons, 
 againft his Lordfhip, that Morning the Earl wifh'd him immediately 
 to find his Lordfhip out, and to let him know that a Way 'was dijco- 
 verd for him to come off. And it was that he mould go immediately 
 (Time would not ftay) and, fpeaking to the Commons, give tip the 
 Proclamation as unlawful. That was a Point they would certainly 
 carry ; it being againft the Right of Petitioning, and Privilege of Par- 
 liament : And they had no Enmity to his Lordfhip, but regarded the 
 Matter; which fet right, they would drop Perfons ; but, if refifted, 
 they would purfue, through all, with the Rigour of Impeachments : 
 And this muft be quick, quick j for, if they farther engaged them- 
 felves, it would be too late. His Lordfhip could hold out no longer, 
 but laughed in his Friend's Face. The Gentleman thought him mad. 
 Why Brother, faid his Lordfhip, Do you not fee through this tinfel 
 Device? And then he unfolded to him the Snare ; which was, in mort, 
 that, if he went and fneaked, in that Manner, he mould lofe every 
 Friend he had in the Houfe $ and all would unanimoufly join to crufh 
 him : And that he mould do fo, was the Defign of this Meffage. 
 Somewhat, like this, happen'd in the Houfe of Lords, where the Lord 
 Lovelace, after much faid of his Relation, Honour, and RefpecT:, afked 
 his Lordfhip why he did not go and fpeak to the Commons ? for, 
 faid he, they are very angry with you. Are they indeed fo angry as 
 your Lordjhip fays ? Ay by G d are they^ very angry. His Lord- 
 fhip anfwer'd that he did net care to come near angry People. So 
 ended that Dialogue. But thefe Lords, not ufed to much Contra- 
 diction, thought all Men Fools but themfelves: For, if they had had 
 any judgment, they muft have known his Lordfhip better, and not 
 have ventured fuch Flams at him, who could fmell Powder farther 
 than they could fee. But where is the Senfe of Truth, to fay nothing 
 of Honour, in the Adls of fuch falfe Friendfhip ? 
 
 His Lordfhip faid often that this Queftion, raifed upon him in the Difficult and 
 Houfe of Commons, was much e*ler in the Defence, than the for- 
 
 mer about Solicitation; for, then he bad a Majority of the Houfe, Houfe of 
 
 Commons. 
 
 * I believe, Sunderlmtd, 
 
 fully
 
 I7 6 Tloe LIRE' of tbe^late 
 
 fully aflcmbled, bis Friends, at leaft, not. ayerfe, or irr Party again ft 
 him; fo that the War was carried on by Tricks and Surprifes, and 
 needed Watching and Informing. And this puts me in Mind of a 
 merry Conceit of his Lordfhip's Aunt, the Lady Dacres. She was ac- 
 quainted with Mrs. Baker ^ the old Lord Anglefey'% Sifter, who was a 
 zealous Prejbyterian, and pretended to have a vaft Intereft in that 
 Party. She told the Lady Dacres that (he could fetch off her Nephew 
 (then upon the Tenters) when (he pleafed, by making all the Prejby- 
 terians in the Houfe for him. Upon this, the Lady Dacres fent for 
 her Nephew to come to her, as he did, and told him what Mrs. Baker 
 could do for him. His Lordmip anfwer'd, that he fhould be thank- 
 ful for any Acts of Friendmip in that Kind. But i'faifh, Nephew, 
 faid {he, there mujl be Money. To which his 'Lordmip replied, that 
 he would not give one Brafs Farthing to buy all the Prefbyterians in 
 England : And fo ended that Scheme. But to return to the Cafe of 
 the Proclamation. Elections had been fo varied that he could not 
 pretend to have half the Members indifferent to him. The reft were 
 all in the Confederacy againft him 5 and it was to no Purpofe, or ra- 
 ther, to ill Purpofe, to apply to any of them. Thofe, who were his 
 Friends (by that I mean the Court Party) were fure to be for him, 
 and the reft as fure againft him, in every Queftion that mould be put 
 to injure him. And fome of the old Stagers of his Party, told him 
 plainly, he might take his Eafe and fit ftill ; for his Friends, out of 
 the Houfe, by foliciting, could do him no Service. The Matter was 
 very well underftood; and they within, that ftood together, would be 
 vigilant as to Surprifes, and act for his Indemnity, as Occafion mould 
 ferve. 
 
 ity of I cannot omit here the doing Right to his Lordfhip's Memory, in 
 sSl P> & ewir >g a Piece of Humanity that few Perfons, but his Lordfhip, in 
 Le~ his Circumftances, would have done. And that refpected Sir Crefwell 
 Levtnz, the Attorney General, who named his Lordmip in the Houfe 
 pf Commons. For although his Lordmip knew that the Party in- 
 tended to work through him, yet he never conferred with, or fo much as 
 fpoke to him, concerning his Behaviour, when he mould be called to 
 ,anfwer in the Houfe of Commons : For nothing could be advifed, in 
 his Cafe, but to act the Brave, and to own and juftify his Proclama- 
 jion to contain nothing againft Law, or to have refufed to name his 
 Affiftants when the Act was his own ; either of which might have 
 fent him to the Tower ; which had interefted the King in his Cafe, 
 who would have protected himjj^nd, perhaps, they might not have 
 ventured to fend fuch a capital Officer to the Tower, but impeach'd 
 him in Manner as they proceeded againft his Affiftant; which would 
 have gain'd hiaMajefty's ultimate Favour, and been, on that Account^ 
 
 his
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 
 
 his wifeft Courfe. But his Lordmip knew him to be a mere Lawyer, 
 and a timidous Man, and accordingly left him to himfelf. And his 
 Lordmip did not in the leaft refent the naming him (fo degeneroufly) 
 as he did, but ever after held fair with him as before, and gave him 
 common Affiftances and Countenance, as if no ftich Proceeding had 
 been. Which, as I faid, was a Species of Humanity feldom practifed 
 in the World. 
 
 But ftill, although the Matter of the Proclamation came to nothing, OftheReb-L 
 the Sky was black, and good Men were not at Eafe while this Par- lioninS "*- 
 liament fat. They flew fo fiercely at the Abhorrers, and at the Sue- l^puckm Af- 
 ceffion, and under that, as fome thought, at the Crown itfelf, that ftfrtl "nofthe 
 none could forefee what might happen. The King offer 'd diverfe Ex- 
 pedients and Qualifications of Power in the SuccefTor, which were li 
 (moft wonderfully) refufed ; which fome thought was only becauie 
 they did not affect the Pofleffion. But what the King might, by Im- 
 portunity and Inconvenience, be drawn to yield to for the Mifchief 
 of the Nation, no Perfon knew, or, by any Forefight, was fecure of. 
 The Lord Shaft/bury headed the Faction, and made an incentive Speech 
 in the Houfe of Lords, of which numerous Copies were fent the fame 
 Night, by the Port, to Edinburgh. And thereupon the Rebellion 
 broke out ; of which a full Account is to be found in the Examen. 
 The fame Faction ftarted a Queftion about the Lawfulnefs of fending 
 Forces into Scotland to quell that Rebellion, and whether it was not 
 againft the Articles of the Union, in the Reign of King James I. as 
 is more largely fhewed in the faid Examen. His Lordmip was of 
 Opinion there was no Ground for the Scruple at all ; and, afterwards, 
 fet it down among fome other Petitions, which he titled impudent 
 Affertiom of the Faction. But however, that did not fatisfy fome 
 Counfellors (for the late Regulation, or Reform, as it was called, was 
 then in Being) and that Quaere had got abroad among the Officers. 
 Thereupon the King, to proceed formally, order'd Sir William Jones> 
 his Attorney General, to confider the Treaty and the prefent Circum- 
 ftances, and give his Judgment whether Forces might be fent or not ? 
 And he returned that they might ; for Forces, fent in Aid, and at the 
 Defire of the Government in Scotland, could not be conftrued an hoftile 
 Invafion in the Senfe of that Article. And thereupon the Council 
 came to a Conclufion, and the Commifllons were order'd. For the 
 Court of England was now fo fleddily determined to act, in all Things, - 
 according to Law, that the Faction could find no Way to annoy them 
 but by corrupting the Law itfelf \ and what they, forfooth, would 
 have to be Law, muft be fo, and nothing elfe : AJthough, at the fame 
 Time, when thus they {trained at Gnats, they fw'allow'd whole Ca- 
 mels, and confequently fully demonftrated the fame. It is Pity hone/I 
 
 Z Men
 
 Tbe LIFE of the late 
 
 Men fliould be fo mealy-mouthed and fcrupulous, as they are apt to 
 be, when, upon the Stability of the Government, their All is at Stake. 
 So, in the Time of the Rebellion of Forty-one, when, in the Mid- 
 land Counties, the Rebels raged in Arms, and acted downright Hofti- 
 lities againft the Crown, the honeft Gentlemen, in other Parts of the 
 Kingdom, viz. towards the Weft, were fneakingly difputing whether 
 the King's Array were lawful, or not. 
 
 Duke of Lau- His Lordfhip had, at this Time, few Friends in Court; but, next to 
 Fniendihip ^ e King, who was always fure to him, the Duke of Lauderdale was 
 andDiflblu'ti- in his perfect Amity. TheDuchefs, when fhe was Countefs of Dyfa rt, 
 Yive& it Fakenbam in Suffolk, near to To/lock, where his Father lived ; 
 and the Lady refided there for the Sake of bringing up her Children at 
 Bury School ; and, as, in fuch Cafes, is ufual, his Lordfhip's Brothers 
 and her Sons, at Breakings-up, were Playfellows. This Acquaintance 
 made no great Advance ; but the Lady, being a Politician profeffed, 
 and afterwards married to the Duke of Lauderdale, after his Lordmip 
 became con fiderable at Court, call'd upon his Acquaintance, and brought 
 her Hufband to be a familiar Friend, who, before, had but valued him 
 for his Abilities, and Service to the Crown. And his Lordfhip's Bro- 
 ther, Mr. John North, for general Learning eminent, was alfo taken 
 into the Duke's Confidence and Friendship ; and the Duke himfelf, 
 being alfo learned, having a choice Library, took great Pleafure in 
 Mr. North's Company, and in hearing him talk of Languages and 
 Criticifm. And thefe Brothers were not feldom entertain'd at the great 
 Houfe at Ham, and had the Freedom of the Gardens and Library. 
 This great Man was a folemn Confolation to his Lordmip, becaufe he 
 could open his Mind freely to him, and rely upon his Sincerity. I 
 muft never forget one Paffage, which happen'd at Dinner at Ham. I 
 have mention'd how his Lordmip was touch'd in the laft Wejlminjler 
 Parliament, but the Duke much more fiercely ; for he kept the Scotch 
 Gates faft, fo that Rebellion could not enter on that Side; which 
 diftreffed the factious Party in the higheft Degree, and drew upon the 
 Duke more than one or two Addreffes to part him from the King; 
 but the King would on no Account part with him. So that both 
 thefe Counfellors were as blown Deer, and would be glad to have the 
 Parliament dififolved ; of which, to fay Truth, the whole Nation was 
 weary. And, at this Time, the Froft was very fharp, and the Com- 
 pany at Dinner complain'd of Cold. The Duke turned and, looking 
 back towards the Window, laid there 'will be a Thaw fo on. None at 
 the Table, but his Lord(hip, guefled at his Meaning. And fo he in- 
 tended it; for he knew that the Parliament would, in a few Days, be 
 dhTolved; but his Lordfliip did not, till he guefTed fo from that Sen- 
 tence of the Duke's ; and it proved accordingly. And fo the Duke 
 
 difcover'd
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 
 
 difcover'd and, at the fame Time, kept the grand Secret, which was a 
 true Turn of a Politician. 
 
 About this Time, a fatal Stroke happen'd to his Lordfhip, viz. the The Death of 
 Lofs of Dr. North, Mafter of 'Trinity College in Cambridge, his dear Dr - Ncrth - 
 Brother and familiar Friend. I call it Lofs ; but it was much worfe, 
 for he was maimed by an Apoplexy, and difabled both in Body and 
 Mind, which, more or lefs, is always the Effect of that Difeafe : But 
 when it is in a high Degree, as his was, the Cafe is moft deplorable. 
 It proved that which they call an Hemiplegia, which refcinded the 
 chief Ufe of one Leg and one Arm, and diftorted his Countenance, 
 corrupted his Speech and, what was more than ordinary, caft him into 
 Convulfion Fits, which returned, for the moft Part, monthly, and, not 
 only tormented but, difpirited him, and made the little "Life, he had 
 left, a Grievance to him. His Friends would willingly have follow'd 
 him to his Grave, unlefs they might have feen him reftored to a to- 
 lerable Health, and to become that bright and witty, as well as learned 
 and accomplifh'd, Divine as he was before. But they were forced, 
 prefent or abfent, to fympathife in his Sorrows ; for, between four and 
 five Years that he lived in this mortified State, he came to a full Un- 
 derftanding of his Condition ; which made it worfe, as appear'd by 
 diverfe pathetick Letters he wrote from his College in Cambridge. 
 I do not enlarge here upon the Circumftances of this good Divine's 
 Life and Death, becaufe I have a fmall Volume exprefs on that Sub- 
 ject. Therefore mail only add here, that his Lordfhip was made the 
 Doctor's fole Executor, whereby he came into an excellent Library, 
 efpecially of Greek Books, which the good Doctor left, and alfo a 
 perfonal Eftate of about 4000 /. one Fourth of which, by Direction of 
 the Doctor's laft Will, was given to poor People. 
 
 I have already taken Notice of his Lordmip's being made a privy Note of the 
 Counfellor, and of the Company that came in with him, who were y l l n 52j t j5y en 
 the ftifFeft Oppofers of the Court in Parliament. For the Earl of was taken 
 Shaft/bury was made Lord Prefident, the Lord Sunderland Secretary into th P riv 7 
 of State; the Earl of Effex, Lord Ruffe I, Henry Powell, and fome 
 others, of the Malecontent Party, were taken in. But this, being one 
 of the chief Incidents in his Lordmip's Life, may require a fair Ac- 
 count to be given of it. The long Parliament, as to all Ufe to the 
 Crown, was grown effete, or rather unfafe j for the Court Party were 
 become a Minority ; and the Faction, in Hopes of a better, did all 
 they could to get it diflblved ; which gave Rife to all that Noife and Stir 
 as was made about Penfions. Nothing, that the King defired, could 
 prevail ; but, on the other Side, Plots, and Exclufion of the SuccefTor, 
 were exaggerated to his great Difquiet : And, after this Parliament was 
 diffolved, another was chofen, call'd the little Weftminfter Parliament, 
 
 Z 2. which,
 
 i8o The LIFE of the late 
 
 which, proceeding upon the batter'd Topicks of Plots, Exclufion, 
 Popery, and the French, were averfe enough to the King's Affairs ', 
 but yet not fo bad as fome would have had it; for no Popery, no Pref- 
 bytery, was heard founding in the Houfe of Commons, which thofe, 
 of the anti-court Party, did not like, becaufe it mewed a Difpofition, 
 upon fair Opportunity, to piece with the Crown. Thofe Perfons 
 therefore, who had Influence at Court, and favour'd the Faction, ne- 
 ver left till they got this little Parliament diffolved, as is more particu- 
 larly mewed in theExamen-, for it was prefumed that, as the Publick 
 was feafon'd, every Election would be more and more averfe : And fo 
 it proved j for the next Parliament flew againft the Court with more 
 Rancor and Fiercenefs than any other had done. The King, hoping 
 to gain a better Humour, had done fome confiderable Things, as fend- 
 ing away the Duke of York, offering Expedients, and, with others, re- 
 forming the privy Council : For, having diffolved the old one, he 
 made a new Appointment, and (as I faid) took in the chief Leaders 
 of the Faction in both Houfes, that it might not be faid he wanted 
 good Counfellors. But, that he might not be left alone with them, 
 he join'd fome that were, as he knew well, affuredly his Friends, a- 
 mong whom his Lordmip had the Honour to be one. In the Courfe 
 of thefe troublefome Times, the Loyalifts were never fecure in their 
 own Minds, that the King would ftand the Siege, which had environ 'd 
 him, but, at length, he muft be brought (as the Faction thought and 
 verily expected) to furrender at Diffcretion j and then they mould lie 
 at the Mercy of the King's, and their own, implacable Enemies. And 
 this Pafs of reforming the Council, in that Manner, feem'd an Over- 
 ture of it, as may be found particularifed in the Examen. But his 
 Lordmip, in a fhort Time, could, by his Majefty's Behaviour amongft 
 them, difcern his firm Purpofe not to quit the Reins, nor to let go the 
 Magiftracy into the Hands of his Enemies, as was defign'd he fhould: 
 And then his Majefty's Friends were at Eafe, and took Heart a Grace 
 to act vigoroufly againft the feditious Practices of the Faction ; and 
 the Nation, in general, were fatisfied that the King had done enough. 
 And, from that Time, the State of his Authority was redintegrated ; 
 as the Relations of thofe Times, if any good ones appear, will at large 
 demonftrate. As for his Lordmip's being taken into the Cabinet, it 
 was but a Token of a more entire Confidence in his Fidelity and Judg- 
 ment 3 and that he might be affiftant, not only in the formal Proceed- 
 ings of the privy Council, but alfo in the moft retired Confultations 
 of his Majefty's Government. 
 
 Reafons for After the King was return'd from the Oxford Parliament, the Court 
 fnSthe was at Lel ^ ure to l ok about them. For though the Faction had a 
 King's Decla- great Shake 3 yet it was not fallen j for Ignoramus was ftill on Foot, and
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 181 
 
 the Sound, of Mifchief hatching, was heard by certain Buzzings about 
 Plots. His Lordftiip therefore thought fit to advife, or, at leaft, to 
 concur in Advice to, his Majefty, to publifh his royal Declaration to 
 his People, of the Caufes that moved him to diflblve the two laft Par- 
 liaments, of Weftminjler and Oxford; which was done and publiih'd. 
 And though it was tart enough upon thofe Parliaments, which one 
 would not think, whatever the Caufe was, mould be very popular, 
 yet, on the contrary, it took fo with the Sen fe of the People, that the 
 Fancy of addreffing went on [as was hinted) in a furprifmg Manner. 
 The Declaration was penned, or adjufted, with all the prudent Cau- 
 tions imaginable ; and by his Lordmip himfelf, as I verily believe, and 
 do think that, by the Style, it is demonstrable. His Lordmip was 
 then, and had been fometime before, of the Cabinet Council, ami was 
 the chief Director in thofe importune Pretences to Plots and Difcove- 
 ries, that grew very troublefome till that of the Rye. But he had the 
 Satisfaction of having the King, for the moft Part, prefent at the Ex- 
 aminations? and alfo Opportunity to infmuate Matters of Law, and 
 Cautions, to his Majefty, that Knaves, by coming into his Prefence 
 alone, might not have a Poflibility to forge Colours to betray, or to 
 defame him. For that Defign was ftiil driven, that he might be 
 thought a falfe Suborner, and Confounder of Protejlants. 
 
 His Lordmip, in this Work, had an efpecial 4ffiftant of the Secre- Examination 
 tary, Sir Leoline Jenkins, a Perfon of great Worth, Learning (in the of Llfe Plots * 
 Civil Law) and Fidelity. His Lordmip had no fmall Occafion for the 
 Help of fuch an extraordinary Perfon, when he had fo much upon 
 his Hands, in the Examinations of the Sham Plots of Dangerfield> 
 and the reft of thofe Importers, that wrought between the Plot of 
 Oafes, and the Difcovery of Keiling, and held his Lordmip in conti- 
 nual Stretch of Penetration and Caution, that the King might be ap- 
 prifed of his Danger in letting fuch Cattle, as the pretended Difco- 
 verers were, come into his Prefence, which they always preffed for; 
 and the King, who loved to judge for himfelf, was too much inclined 
 to give Way to, and even, fometimes, alone, which might have been 
 of the laft Confequence to him. But the referring thefe Fourbs to the 
 Secretary's Office to be examined, always frustrated their Defigns, and, 
 not only his Lordmip but, the King himfelf, ordinarily attended at the 
 Examinations; which let him into the Secret of Plot Knavery, to his 
 no little Edification. And however his Majefty 's Enemies, abroad, de- 
 famed him, a true Account of thefe Matters, which is to be found in 
 theExamen, will Shew that he inquilited with Juftice and Decorum, 
 and determined with as much Lenity towards his Enemies, as ever 
 Prince did. And to prick in here one Memorial of that good King's 
 Understanding, as well as Equity, I heard his Lordmip fay that, in 
 
 Matters
 
 181 Tkt LIFE of the late 
 
 Matters heard at the Council Table, he never knew him determine 
 otherwife than was right. But, to fhake off all thefe illufive Difco- 
 veries, the only Stain they left was a Loathing of all Manner of Plots ; 
 and it naufeated the Minifters to hear of any new Difcovery : Where- 
 by any, that profer'd, came on againfl all the Prejudice and Sufpi- 
 cion that might be. 
 
 Prudent Ad- In the Interval between the Arreft of the Lord Mayor, and June 
 miniftration. 
 
 a ll was, j n Appearance, hum; and the ordinary Proceedings 
 of State went on orderly and well; and his Lordfhip was in very 
 good Company at Court. For the Earls of Halifax and Rochefter, 
 and Secretary Jenkins and his Lordfhip conforted together to 
 fit Bufmefs for his Majefty's Cognifance and Determination; and very 
 often met over Night at the Secretary's, for like Purpofes, that they 
 might not be furprifed, and hazard the not underftanding each other 
 the next Day: And all meaning truly the King's Service, they were, 
 in moft Things unanimous; and, to hold that firm, his Lordmip per- 
 petually inculcated the adhering entirely to the Law, and to do no- 
 thing which might give Handles to ill People to pretend the con- 
 trary. They had Power enough, that Way, to make Examples of 
 thofe that were caught offending; and, if fome efcaped, it were bet- 
 ter than to ftrain Points to crufh them. And they had often Dif- 
 courfes of recommending Men to Places of Truft: And therein his 
 Lordfhip and the Earl of Rochefter, as to a ftanding Rule, differed. 
 The latter was for preferring Loyalifts, which were fuch as run about 
 drinking and huzzaing, as deferving Men, and to encourage the 
 King's Friends. His Lordmip was for bringing Men forward in Of- 
 fices that had dealt long, and were forwarded in them, as moft like- 
 ly to underftand the Bufinefs, rather than the moil willing Friends 
 that underftood nothing. But, in this Method of Adminiftration, the 
 King's Affairs went on to the Satisfaction of all (honeft) People ; and 
 the chief Virtue of it was owing to his Lordmip, who would not for- 
 fake the Law upon any Account. But thefe Minifters of State little 
 thought of a peftiferous Cloud that hung over their Heads, and was 
 to have broke full upon them the March following; when an infer- 
 nal Combination of Men were to have attacked the King's Coach, as 
 he returned from Newmarket. 
 
 How Helling Keiling, one of the Affiftants at the Arreft of the Lord Mayor, a Sec- 
 made the Dif- 1 and deluded by a Faction, otherwife a good Liver, and honeft 
 
 covery of the , ' _ . > . _ _.*, /- t i , -r^ r TXT-I 
 
 Rye Plot, at the Bottom, made the firft Difcovery of this horrid Defign: Whe- 
 ther pure Confcience, or Deteftation of the Mifchiefs he knew were 
 to be perpetrated, moved him, I know not; but it is certain that no 
 Combination, Temptation, or Profpect of Reward drew him forth. 
 He firft made Means, by the Lord Dartmouth, then belonging to the 
 
 Tower.
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 183 
 
 Tower, to be brought to the Secretary's, and there, in a plain Man tier,, 
 declared the whole. His Lordmip was at the Examination; and, 
 when he came home at Night, he told us that a Difcovery had been 
 made of a moft horrid Plot againft the King and Duke; but he could 
 not tell what to fay to it yet: For the Court had been fo fatigued with 
 fearching into falfe Plots, that they came to an Examination of a true 
 one, as Bears to the Stake ; and, as to crediting, were very nice and fcru- 
 pulous. They fcarce believed Keiling, who was but a fingle Witnefs. 
 But he, either out of Zeal to prevent fo much Mifchief as he faw com- 
 ing on, or left, if he were feen at the Secretary's Office by any of the Con- 
 fpirators, it might coft him his Life, went away, and next Day 
 came again, and brought his Brother with him, who confirm'd what 
 Keiling had difcover'd, and fully convinced the Lords that he fpoke 
 true. Then Warrants ifTued, and Proceedings were had : And when 
 his Lordmip came home that very Night, he told us that he believed 
 the Difcovery was true. But, as Perfons were taken up, and confefTed, 
 the Evidence was yet more full and inconteftable; as is particularifed 
 in \hzExamen. And the Part, his Lordmip acted in the Difcovery, is 
 already related. 
 
 Now, as concerning the State of his Lordmip's Intereft, it was HisLordfhif 
 moft notorious that, by eminent Services perform'd, through all the Abilit <f 
 Troubles of the Court ; and now finally in contributing fo largely, as 
 he did, towards clearing up all thefe Brigues and Embroils of the City, 
 and all clear and hearty, and as done cordially, and ex Animo, and 
 not after the adulatory Manner of a Court, he was now fo confirm'd 
 in the King's good Opinion, not only for his Knowledge in the Law, 
 and all Abilities, but alfo for his fincere good Will to do him Service, 
 that no Art or Induftry of any Perfon, or Party, or Intereft in Eng- 
 land (although great Endeavours, and of ftrong Parties, were ufed) 
 could make the leaft Impreffion on the King's Mind to his Prejudice, 
 Once, at a Couchee, a Courtier was pleafed to fay that his Lordmip 
 was no Lawyer. The King, over-hearing, look'd fourly over his 
 Shoulder, and faid that whoever faid fo, did not know the Lord Chief 
 Juftice North. And although, at Court, there are always a Sort of 
 Underminers, who would, if they durft, have been nibbling at him, 
 they never could, in that King's Reign, gain the leaft Glimpfe of En- 
 couragement that Way. I might have mention'd in a more proper 
 Place, a Paffage which muft not be forgot, which happen'd fitting the 
 Weflminfter Parliament ; when his Lordmip was, at that Time, faid 
 to be impeach'd for the Proclamation againft the Petitioners. Whilft 
 he was fitting upon the Woolfack (as the King thought,) penfive, his 
 Majefty came and clapped himfelf down clofe by him, and, My Lord y . 
 faid he, be of good Comfort ; / will never forfake my Friends, as mf 
 
 Father
 
 184 
 
 about a Pro- 
 p h w tary ' s 
 
 Th* LI F E of th late 
 
 Father did ; and rofe up, and went away, without faying a Word 
 more. And this Encouragement was welcome, and gratefully ac- 
 cepted. At length Sir George Jeffries was made Chief Juftice of the 
 Kings Bench, and took upon him the Conduct of that great Work i 
 I mean of working counter to bis Lordjhip ; as will appear in the next 
 Stage of his Life. 
 
 Before I lift his Lordmip up into his next and laft Stage, I mall re- 
 member an Incident or two, that fell out in the Common Pleas^ before 
 he left the Cumion there. One was a Trial at the Bar, which, in 
 Weftminfter Hall, was call'd the Trial of the Lord Chief Juftice North; 
 which drew Abundance of Auditors, more than ufed to be at fuch 
 Trials. The Fancy was, that one of the Parties was the Father of 
 Mr. Robert Foley, his Lordfhip's Brother-in Law ; and many con- 
 cluded that he would difcover a Partiality in it. The Bench always 
 carried themfelves fair, and without any affected Oppofition to his 
 Lordfhip; except Judge Atkins, who took all Opportunities to crofs 
 him, and thought to have done it fufficiently in this Trial. The Caufe 
 was of a Bill of 800 /. whether fatisfied in Accounts or not 3 if not, it 
 was with Foley ; otherwife, with one Sands the Defendant. The Mat- 
 ter was very intricate; and his Lordmip conducted the Trial with exact 
 Order, and full Latitude to the Counlel. He fifted all the Evidences 
 with his ufual Sagacity and Judgment ; and no one could perceive any 
 Tendency of Opinion, one Way or other, till he came to fum up the 
 Evidence, and direct the Jury. And then he recapitulated the Evi- 
 dence, and gave to every Article and Circumftance its full Force ; and, 
 {hewing how the Ballance fell, concluded that the Weight was on the 
 Plaintiff's Side, for whom he thought they had Reafon to find. The 
 two next Judges the fame. But Atkins thought to direct as clearly on 
 the other Side, and began moft furioufly that Way ; but, in the Mid- 
 dle of his Talk, found himfelf in a Wildernefs, and that he could not 
 carry it through; and thereupon, in a moft furprifing Manner, fhifted 
 his Sails, and fell into the fame Strain as the other Judges had dif- 
 courfed, and concluded for the Plaintiff; and fo, the Court being una- 
 nimous, the Verdict went accordingly. And this was fuch a Turn in 
 fpeaking as I never obferved, before or fince, to be made by a Judge 
 upon the Bench. 
 
 This Judge Atkins made an open Oppofition to his Lordmip, about 
 the Difpofal of a Prothonotary's Place, which is known to belong to 
 the Chief Juftice. But he thought fit to ftir up his Brethren to put in 
 for a Share ; and there were fome Words and Altercation paffed in 
 Court about it. His Lordmip told his Brother Atkins y That he jhould 
 know here was no Republick ; and the other anfwer'd No, nor Monar- 
 chy. But the new Officer was at laft fworn. His Lordmip hath left 
 
 a Note
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 
 
 a Note of thefe Bickerings from his own Pen, whk:h I think, for full 
 Intelligence of the Matter, to fubjoin in his Lordfhip's own Words. 
 
 " 1680. In the lafl Vacation, Mr. Townfiend, the fecond Protho- 
 <c notary of this Court, furrender'd into the Hands of the Cuftos Bre- Accoun - 
 <( vium ; and the Cujlos Brevium prefented to me 'Thomas Winj'ord 
 " (who had formerly been Philazer of Surrey, &c. and furrender'd 
 " that Office into my Hands) and defired me to admit him. Where- 
 < upon I did adminifter to him the Oaths of Allegiance and Supre- 
 <c macy, and the Oath of his Office. And this was done by the Pre- 
 " paration and Advice both of the Cuftos Brevium, and Mr.Ro&z'nfon, 
 <c the chief Prothonotary. But being about to put him in corporal 
 " PofTeffion of his Office, the other Judges alledged they ought to al- 
 <c low him ; for his Admiffion was an Ad of the Court, being done 
 in Court. I infixed upon it that it was incident to my Office, and, 
 in that Right, I put him into PofTeffion. I undertook to fatisfy 
 <c them of it the next Day. And, accordingly I mewed them the Cafe 
 <c in Movie's Entries, Fol. 3. Trin. 12. Edw. IV. Rot. 494. and Pafch, 
 " 3 Car. Rot. 42. and all late Entries, 'which exprefly fay it is done 
 " by the Chief Ju ft ice, in Right of his Office: Nothing being men- 
 " tion'd of the Confent of his Companions, or of the Acl: of the 
 <c Court. Dyer, 150, faith that the Chief Juftice contidlt Officium 
 <c Capi tails Prothonotarii contraVoluntatem aliorumyufticianorum qui 
 " judicabant alium ejje magis idoneum. This (hews that, if he, who 
 cc gives an Office, finds one that is idoneus, it is fufficient, although 
 t another Man may be more fit. That, to remove an Officer, it muft 
 " be the Acl: of the Court; and therefore D. 115. a. faid that a Dif- 
 " charge was ex dffenfu Sociorum fuorum. That I thought he might 
 " be fworn in my Chamber, as Mr. Wirley was, who was never 
 " fworn in Court; and Neceffity fpeaks when the Office becomes void 
 <c in Vacation Time. Nevertheless I did not oppofe ; but he fhould, 
 " for Solemnity, take his Oaths in Court, as Mr. Rbbinfon did, after 
 t{ he had been privately fworn. Whereupon, my Brothers infifting no 
 " farther, he was fworn in Court, and I put him in PofTeffion, and 
 " put on his Cap, and declared I did it in my own Right, and not as 
 <c an Acl of the Court; which was in no Ways contradicted; and I 
 /* order'd Mr. Robin/on to make his Entry as in former Times, which 
 <c did fully explain it." 
 
 But, in this confirm'd State of Credit with the King, it cannot ap- Sat as Speaker 
 pear ftrange that, during the Infirmities of the Lord Chancellor Not- of the ^ oufe 
 tingham, his Lord (hip, in a Senfe almoft univerfal, was his prefumed 
 SuccefTor, as if he had been previoufly declared fo. For, while his 
 Lordfliip was Chief Juftice of the Common Pleas, he often was con- 
 flrained to take the Place of Speaker, and prefide in the Houfe of Lords 
 
 A a in
 
 i86 The LIFE of the late 
 
 in the Room of my Lord Nottingham, the Chancellor, who, towards 
 the latter End of his Time, was much afflicted with the Gout, and, 
 in other Refpects, very valetudinary. I have known him fit to hear 
 Petitions in great Pain, and fay that his Servants had let him out, 
 though he was fitter for his Chamber. It was the Care of the King's 
 Minifters to have always a CommilTion dormant in the Houfe for ap- 
 pointing a Speaker in the Abfence of the Chancellor ; elfe, the Lords, 
 coming to fit, and finding none to take theWoolfack, would be apt 
 to choofe of themfelves; which was a Precedent the Court did not 
 care ihould be made. By thefe vicarial Offices in the Houfe, his Lord- 
 fliip was educated to the Employ there, when it mould fall to his 
 Share in chief. Having therefore brought his Lordfhip to the ne plus 
 ultra of all that his Profeffion of the Law could, by any Means, en- 
 title him to, we reft him here, and, after fome few Reflections upon 
 his Conduct and Character, take the Rife of a new Pofture of his Em^ 
 ploymentsj which is the fourth and laft Stage, as I have defign'd, to 
 diftinguifh in the Courfe of his Life, and which I have prelumed to 
 entitle his Mini/try: And, for that Station of Authority, if Knowledge 
 be an apt Qualification, he was a Non-pareil 5 for, next to Machiavel, 
 none ever underftood human Nature better. He had noted down, one 
 would think, all the Difguifes and falfe Pretences that ill Men ufe, 
 and, not only all the common Frauds of Men but, alfo, the great 
 Cheats of the Court, and Officers of the Revenue. All which are 
 brought together, and put with fome Matters historical and political ; 
 which, if required, may fpeak for themfelves, and prove that what I 
 fay is neither hyperbolical nor partial. 
 
 HisLordfln'p But this Diftinction of his Lordfhip's Miniftry is not defign'd to 
 howrcfpefted exclude the former Time ; that is, after he was call'd to the privy 
 Council, and then to the Cabinet, which happen'd before he had the 
 great Seal committed to him j for, then alfo, he was really a Minifter 
 of State, and was fo look'd upon, and refpected at Court. And this 
 brings into my Mind fome Pleafantries of his Lordfhip upon that Sub- 
 ject. Once, in a good Humour, and laughing at himfelf, he told us 
 that he found, by two infallible Tokens, he was thought to have a 
 confiderable Interest at Whitehall. One was the Refpect paid him by 
 the foreign EmbafTadors, and the other .was the Lord Craven's whif- 
 pering. As for the firft, he obferved that, in the Rooms at Whitehall^ 
 whenever any of the Embafladors look'd towards him, and thought he 
 perceived it, they very formally bow'd : And for the other, that is the 
 Lord Craven, he was an old Soldier of the German Difcipline, and, 
 being alfo an old Cavalier^ had a chief Command in the Guards. 
 Among other of his Foibles, which were not a few, one was to feem 
 intimate with riling Men, and that by moft faftidious whifpering of 
 
 Politicks
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 187 
 
 Politicks in their Ear. This Inconvenience had found his Lordmip 
 out; and when he was put paft his Patience, and efcaped to his Friends, 
 he ufed to call him an Ear-wig. To conclude this with a merry 
 Story. The King, feeing the Lord Dorfet, a prime Wit of the Time, 
 {landing ferioufly under the Infliction of the Lord Cravens Whifper- 
 ing for a confiderable Time together, after they were parted, afked 
 him very gravely, What it was that my Lord Craven Jaid to him ? 
 He anfwer'd, as gravely, That my Lord was f leafed to ivhijper, but 
 he did not think it Manners to hearken. 
 
 But to proceed, as I hinted, to fomewhat of Character, fuch as might Carried him- 
 :be obfervable in this Stage of his Lordfhip'sLife. Now, in the Height JJji^Si 
 of his Reputation, he knew well that the two grand Parties, Papijl privy Coun- 
 and Fanatic, were always urging their feveral Projects at Court ; ana 1 , fclk>r - 
 jf either got Ground, it would be to his Difadvantage ; the former to 
 remove, and the other to ruin him. And he confider'd alfo that no 
 Stability at Court will continue long, but Novelties will, more or lefs, 
 obtrude. Thefe Conliderations fill'd him with Thought ; the rather 
 becaufe he could difcern a rifing Emulation, under him, of fuch as, 
 -if they could not wound, labour'd to defame him; whereof I mall 
 have enough to fay afterwards. Thefe Matters made him carry him- 
 felf fteddily in the King's Service, not only as Judge, but Counfellor ; 
 and in fuch Manner as, living and dying, whatever happen 'd, he 
 fhould have his Juftification (in his own Mind at leaft) full and com- 
 plete. 
 
 The Family, of which his Lordfhip was defcended, in almoft all Coerced all 
 the Branches of it, was m oft fufceptible of Paflion. But his Lordfhip |^^' in _ 
 was efteem'd free from that Weaknefs, being, in all his judiciary c iin"d to it. 
 Courfe, a moft patient Hearer, and fcarce ever perceived to fall tinder 
 the Impotence and Indifcretion, either in Speech or Behaviour, which 
 angry Men are obnoxious to. He ufed to argue Men into good Order, 
 rather than^hide. He was not eafy under Impertinence; but g;tve 
 Way to it, if it came in the regular Courfe of Pradice ; but, when out 
 of Order, he lefs endured it. And when Men were pervicacious be- 
 fore him, and would not acquiefce in his Reafons, his Way was to 
 jfting with a pointed Word or two ; but never loft himfelf fo as to vi- 
 lify and revile over and over again, or difcover any Diftemper in his 
 Mind. And, for all this, I know he was, at the Bottom, as much 
 inclined to Paflion, as any one of his Race ever was; but his Judg- 
 ment (hewed him the Vanity, or rather Mifchiefs, of fuch Diforders ; 
 and .his Reafon, and the Force of his Refolutions, enabled him, on all 
 Occaiions, to contain himfelf, and to curb the very firft Rifings of 
 Paflion ; and that in fuch a Degree, that he was taken almoft for an 
 Jnfeniible 5 and fome of the Courtiers fancied that he was a Man that 
 
 A a 2 any
 
 i88 The LIFE of the late 
 
 any Thing might be put upon. It frequently happen'd that his LorcT- 
 fhip, being provoked, would warm, as I could difcern by the Air of 
 his Countenance ; but few, lefs acquainted with him, could perceive 
 any Thing of it ; and he was the more filenr, as he difcerned any 
 fuch Emportment in himfelf ; and accordingly affected a Temper, and 
 forbore to fay many Things he mould have utter'd, if he had not di- 
 cern'd the Rifing. Sometimes ill People, efpecially of the Fanatics, 
 would importune him in a Manner that made him believe they did it 
 on Purpofe to divide him from his Temper, and, by fome imprudent 
 Behaviour or Speeches, expofe himfelf: For they, who were Offenders, 
 and muft abide the Correction of the Law, defired that the Judge 
 fhould mew an inordinate Paffion, that it might be thought they fuf- 
 fer'd under his Difpleafure, rather than as Breakers of the Law. In 
 thefe Cafes, which were very frequent before him, he ufed to be as 
 tame as a Lamb; but failed not to pronounce critically the Law, with 
 m*inifeftReafoning, which difappointed them every Way. And fure- 
 ly, if ever there was a Workman at curbing all Efforts of Paffion, it 
 was he : And thofe, in whofe Way he ftood, and were called the Fa- 
 natic Party, had an inveterate Defire, if by any Means they could, to 
 get rid of him ; for he was one againft whom no Snares had any Suc- 
 cefs, and no Advantage could be gain'd. If he had been a diffolute, 
 ranting Man, as fome were, or a weak, impofable Wretch, they had 
 liked him much better. In a Word : Of one, by Nature, paffionate, 
 Ufe had made him habitually mild and temperate. 
 
 His Lordfhip was bred in Foro contentiofo^ and had ftudied the Art of 
 Advantages, as Gamefters exquifitely pradtife; and, in that School, it 
 is a principal Maxim, that if you cannot gain upon the Adwrfary, be 
 fure let him not gain upon you. Accept the Play offered-, but offer 
 none, for Fear of being crofs bit. And the Foundation of this noble 
 Art is to manage fo as to put the Adverfary into a Paffion, and to 
 be calm yourfelf. I have heard his Lordmip difcourfe much upon this 
 Subject ; and he faid that Paffion had a Credit with him ; for where- 
 ever it appeared, he commonly found the Honefty lay. He could dil- 
 cern often, when Wrangles came before him, the Steps of a Knave, in 
 working the Adverfary, and then making his Advantage againft him. 
 As for Inftance, the Knave would ftand the being accufed of all the 
 Evil that could be uttered by an intemperate Man againft him, and 
 not be moved; for, perhaps, he knew it all to be true. Then would 
 he give the other a dry Lam or two, that put him into a Paffion that 
 made him guilty of many Indecencies. And then he would reply 
 mildly, Pray, Sir, contain yourfelf] I fo all fay nothing but what is 
 true. True? faid the other in a Rage, and went on. Then the 
 
 Knave
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 
 
 Knave turned to the Judge, and, my Lord y faid he, you fee this Gen- 
 tleman hath conceived a Dtfpleafure againft me ; / know not for what; 
 I never did him any wrong. And then proceeded to charge all their 
 Difference upon the other's paffionate quarrelfome Humour. His 
 Lordfhip was, for this Reafon, apt to think paffionate Men honeft, 
 becaufe Paffion, from the Nature of the Thing, is always in earneft. 
 But as to his Lordmip's Command of his own Paffion in Cafes of Dif- 
 pleafure, and how, with nice Turns of Speech, he often ufed to di- 
 vert the Matter, I mall give an Inflance or two. Once a Carrier had 
 grofly abufed him, and to a confiderable Lofs. Now, {aid he, if 1 
 bad not been a Lawyer , I jhould certainly have fued this Man. And 
 upon a like Abufe, which no Man could well have born with Patience, . 
 he only faid, Now /hould I be very angry with this Fellow, if it would 
 do me any good. I remember, at his Table, a ftupid Servant fpilt a 
 Glafs of red Wine upon his point Band and Cloaths. He only wiped 
 his Face and Cloaths with the Napkin, and, Here, faid he, take this 
 away, and no more. I do believe that this feeming Apathy, which 
 was the Effect of his Reafon, and jufl Eftimate of Things with refpecl: 
 to his Character, and good, or evil Confequences, was prejudicial to 
 him at Court ; far the Trickers and Jefters there (as I hinted before) 
 thought he would bear any thing. But he fhewed moft of them, and 
 to their Faces, that he knew how to refent; as I have touched, on Oc- 
 cafion of the Calumny of the Rhinoceros, in proper Place. 
 
 There were yet fomeOcca lions of his Juftice, whereupon he thought Impudence 
 it neceffary to reprehend marply. As when Counfel pretended folemn- Counfel fliar 
 ly to impofe Nonfenfe upon him, and when he had dealt plainly with 
 them, and yet they perfifted, this was what he could not bear, and, if 
 he ufed them ill, it was what became him, and what they deferved. 
 And then his Words made deep Scratches; but ft ill with Salvo to his 
 own Dignity, which he never expofed by impotent chiding. The 
 propereft Inftances, that I can give of this Temper, will be the fhewing 
 fome impudent Afiertions of the Times urged to him, or where he 
 came, with no Reafon or Law, but being utterly againft: both, and 
 only the Will and Pleafure of a Faction, to warrant the brafen Non- 
 fenfe, was extant to maintain them. Thefe his Lordfhip had fet down 
 in a Paper, and titled them Im-pudent AJfertiom, to which I will an- 
 nex a Poftil for Explanation. 
 
 j. That a Certiorari 1 In the famous Reign of 7^0rtf#z#.f, the Grand impudent V 
 {hould not remove an > Jury of Middlejex thought fit to indict the fertions - 
 Indictment. j Duke of York, the King's Brother, for not 
 
 coming to Church for a Month, that is, for Recufancy ; and it was 
 thought fit that the Indictment {hould be removed, from the Seffions 
 at the Old Bailey , up to the Kings, Bench), in order to a mnfirof. there ;
 
 The LIFE of the late 
 
 and, accordingly, a Certiorari was brought and delivered to the Offi- 
 cer. Then comes a Serjeant at Law to move that it might not be allow- 
 ed. His Lordihip was then the fenior Judge upon the Bench, and 
 gave the Rule. He afked the Serjeant with what Confidence he could 
 .come there to pretend that the Court of Oyer and Terminer mould not 
 obey the Procefs of the fuperior Court of King's Bench? But nothing, 
 that he could fay, would filence the Serjeant, who ftill urged that the 
 Indictment ought not to be removed ; than which Nothing could be 
 more provoking to his Lordmip, who only told the Serjeant he fpoke 
 with a Cadence, but all, that be faid, fignified nothing. This fhort 
 Reproof fell fo unluckily, that the worthy Serjeant, for many Years 
 after, among 'the Lawyers, was called Jack Cadence. 
 
 2. That .the Sheriffs of London were 1 
 
 Judges in the common Hall, and that > Of this in the Examen. 
 it was the Huft ings Court. } 
 
 3. That an Habeas Corpus did not lie ^ Thefe Gentlemen had, 
 tfor Mr. Pepys and Sir Anthony^ Dean, C in their Hands, the Af- 
 
 and they not delivered upon it 'till a C fairs of the Navy; and 
 Diflblution. ) being Creatures (as it was 
 
 'termed) of the Duke of Tork (and their Places very profitable) there 
 was a fierce Difpofition to remove them. And, thereupon, factious 
 -Crimes were ftirred up; as (for Inftance) that they revealed to the 
 French the State of our Navy : For which the only Evidence 
 was a Gentleman who faw, at Paris, a Lift, which mufl be pre- 
 fumed to have come from them. Whereas it was no other but a 
 Lift formerly publimed by order of the Admiralty, and -cried about 
 the Streets in London. But, in Fact, thefe Gentlemen were com- 
 mitted by the Houfe of Commons, as for Crimes at large, triable at 
 the common Law, and not for either Contempt of the Houfe, or 
 Breach of Privilege. But, -notwithftanding all that, upon Counfel 
 urging that the Habeas Corpus did not lie, they could have no Law 
 for their Liberty, ^till the Parliament was diflblved. His Lordfhip 
 was no Judge where that Caufe came; but he ufed to exaggerate the 
 monftrous Impudence of Counfel that infifted fo iniquitably. 
 
 4. That the King cannot 7 This is largely treated of in the Examen. 
 , pardon an Impeachment, j But, in his Lordihip's Senfe, the Que- 
 ftion was juft as fair, as if they had faid that the Government of 
 'England was not monarchical. The King was the Proprietor of all 
 publick Juftice; which all People allow. And what fhould diftinguifh 
 away his Right in one Court, viz. the Houfe of Peers, more than in 
 all the reft ? And likewife, when one Body of Men are the Accufers ; 
 hat is, have the Part to inflame, more than another ? Unlefs it be faid 
 that the < are Sharers in the Sovereignty. 
 
 5. Prifoner
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. i pr 
 
 5, Prifoner not acquit, but ") This is the Cafe of Whitebread the 
 the Jury difcharged, and the ( Jefuit, and will be found more 
 
 fame Witnefs afterwards fpake f fully in the "Examen. There was* 
 fuller, and convicted, j a double Enormity here ; firft, not 
 
 trying the Prifoner when all Things were ready, and the Jury charged. 1 
 Next, taking the fame Teftimony, only new inftructed. But his Lord- 
 fhip might be inwardly difpleafed at this and the next. It is fure 
 enough he did not appear in Public to refift either. Which muft be 
 charged upon the Ardor of the Times, and the Fruitlefsnefs of appear- 
 ing; and, if that be not Caufe enough of Silence, .it muft remain, on-, 
 his Lord(hip's Part, unanfwered. 
 
 6. Confute dying Sayings, 7 This was under the fame Rage of the 
 in order to convict others, y Times. His Lordfhip was not Prefi- 
 
 dent to manage the Trials. 1 can well remember him bitterly con-' 
 cern'd at the Impudence of fuch Proceedings; but he knew not how 
 to help them. 
 
 His Lordihip was commonly reputed an high Flier, or Prerogative- His Judgment 
 Man. It is true enough that his Judgment was to give the Crown all of thcPrcro->- 
 its lawful Prerogatives ; and he would willingly have confented that^ 
 it mould have had, in fome Cafes, Title to more ; as I have mewed 
 in his Lordmip's Miniftry. But that he was not equally juft to the 
 People in all their Rights, as well of Form as Subftance, is utterly 
 falfe. If we juftly regard hisCenfurers, it will be found that his chief 
 Blame, at the Bottom, was only that he would not facrifice the Law 
 to the Iniquity of the Times, and, contrary to manifeft Duty, deny 
 Juftice to the Crown ; and fo in other Circumftanees, as Faction fa- 
 vour'd. This was demonftrated by the Sequel > for while he was of 
 Opinion that the Tory Party, in the Temper of thofe Times, purfued 
 the true Interefl of England^ that is to fupport the Church and Crown; 
 according to the legal Eftablimment of both, he was a Tory, as they 
 call'd it. But when the Tory Party, or rather fome pretended Leadersi 
 exceeded in joining with fuch as exalted the Power of the Crown a- 
 bove the Law, and fought to pull down the Church ; then he was 
 dropped from the Tory Lift, and turn'd Trimmer. And fo any firm 
 honeft Man mall find himfelf, as it were, changed; when, in Truth, , 
 he is the fame ; only the World, to which the Change belongs, paiTeth 
 by him. 
 
 I have heard his Lordmip difcourfe much of ignominious DiftinctK- H%andr;y. 
 ons, and particularly that of Whig and 'Tory. I have given the Hifto- 
 ry of this Party Diitinction in the Examen ; where I have (hewed that 
 the Faction began the Game, and not the loyal Party, as fome now 
 would perfuade us: So (hall fay only that when the Exelulion Bill, -to 
 difinherit the Duke of Tork, was brought forth, all the factious People, 
 
 and
 
 191 The LIFE of the late 
 
 and their Libels, chimed in to defame the Duke ; and, among other 
 Topicks, that of entertaining the Irijb Men was one. Whereupon 
 his Friends were termed Bog-Trotters, 'wild Irijh, or, which means 
 the fame Thing, Tories. And there was fuch a Pregnancy of Contempt 
 in that Word, as made it current ; and the Lcyalifts had it at every 
 Turn, with the Epithets of damn'd, confounded, and the like. His 
 Lordfhip obferved that the Loyalijh were not at all aftiamed of the 
 Name, but took and own'd it as their Honour; which he faid was the 
 beft Way to fruftrate the wicked Intent of the other Side, which was 
 to caft an Ignominy upon them. And fo the primitive Chrifliam did; 
 for that, which the Heathen caft in their Faces as the greateft Re- 
 proach, they accounted their Glory, which was the Crofs. But it was 
 not long before theTories made full Payment by the Term Whig-, as 
 will be found more particularly related in that Book. 
 
 Orthodox, I mould do an Injuftice to the Honour of his Lordfhip's Memory, 
 juft, and con- jf j mO uld go about, by airy Reafoning of mine, to vindicate either 
 
 .loanable. , . ^ , . & cr . /. n < n 7- i i , 
 
 his Probity, Virtue, or Juftice; all which were amply conceded to 
 him, even, by his Adverfaries ; which they exprefied by owning him 
 an excellent Jufticiar; and that includes all the reft. An excellent 
 Account (indeed) of a Betrayer of his Country, as fome labour'd to 
 'have him thought ! And how little a Difpofition he had to be a Pa- 
 pifl, or popifhly affected, as, in thofe Times, was canted, the whole 
 Series of his Behaviour demonftrated : For, as to his Perfon, he ever 
 kept his Church, and frequented the Sacraments, as the Congregation 
 of St. Dun/lan's and St. Giles's could teftify for many Years ; in which 
 Churches he had a Seat for himfelf and his Family. If, at any Time 
 in his Life, he failed, it was when he was overwhelmed with Bufi- 
 nefs ; and then indeed he took Liberty fometimes, faying that Sunday 
 was a Day of Reft. But he was fcrupuloufly conftant in thofe Days 
 >when he was a Judge, and his Perfon confpicuous, that he might be 
 neither wanting in good Example, nor be pofitively a bad one. As to 
 his Juftice, no Man was more exquifitely bred a Judge than he was; 
 for, befides his Acquilitions by the Study of the Law, in the greateft 
 Fulnefs of it, join'd with general Scholarship, he had been, for many 
 Years, a leading Pradifer under Judges of all Capacities and Humours; 
 -and knew the Trick of blinding a Judge by railing Mifts, or impofing 
 falfe Colours. No Art or Cunning in Bufinefs was new to him; and, 
 when it was his Turn, no Counfel could gain upon his Steddinefs, by 
 any Stratagem they could invent to put upon him. He was ever be- 
 forehand with them, and {hewed he knew their Tendencies ; though 
 the greateft Artifts that have been known in Weftminfter Hall, as Mai- 
 .nard, Jones, Gfr, pradifed under him. 
 
 At
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 
 
 At his firft Entrance upon his judicial Employment, he bent his 
 Mind to find out Ways of eafing the People, that had the ill Fortune ble *? Fraud '> 
 to be brought under the Jurifdidion of Wcjlminjler Hall, either as an 
 Plaintiffs or Defendants. I have already {hewed how much a Friend 
 he was to a publick Regifter of Titles. He was a declared Adverfary 
 of all Frauds, fraudulent Conveyances, and Forgery. He was never 
 fo alert in all his Faculties, as when, upon Examination or Trial, he 
 fufpected any fuch Falfities. After he had fat on Nijt prius Caufes in 
 London and Middlefex> where commonly a conftant Set of Men at- 
 tended upon Juries, efpecially in London, a competent Time, he was 
 fo much in Credit with them by his clear Way of prefenting the Facts 
 to their Con federation, and his juft Reafoning thereupon, that they 
 very feldom, if ever, found againft his Opinion. And, with this Cha- 
 racter, I clofe this third, or judicial, Stage of his Lordfhip's Life : As 
 to which, and the reft, I may be thought over much his Friend in 
 exprefling fo much Good, and fo little Evil, of his Lordmip ; which, 
 with fome, may feem above human frail Nature to allow. But I am 
 ferious, and write as if 1 were fworn ; entirely allured that all the Good 
 is true, and the Evil of him no other, nor more in any Refpect, than 
 in this Work I have exprefled. 
 
 The Lord Keeper Finch (as was hinted before) had been an unhap- Friend fhip to 
 py Valetudinarian} and, about the Time when the King began to bejJ dNiwr ^ 
 at Eafe, and free from the Brigues of Plots, declined very faft, and, 
 at Length, feldom came forth, and was juft able to do Bufmefs in 
 Chancery, which was familiar and eafy to him ; but the Affairs at 
 Court had forfaken him, or rather he them, and all fettled upon his 
 Lordihip's Shoulders, who dealt with all imaginable Friendmip and 
 Candor, with Refpect to my Lord Chancellor ; kept troublefome Mat- 
 ters from him, and when it was neceffary for him to be troubled, or 
 if any Perfons were perceived to be creeping towards him with fnaring 
 Propofitions, his Lordmip always prevented them, by giving the Chan- 
 cellor Intimation, and friendly Hints; fo that, in his Weaknefs, he was 
 feldom or never furprifed j than which there could not have been greater 
 Inftances of Service done him. And I believe there never was Prede- 
 ceflor and Succeffor fuch cordial Friends to each other, and, in every 
 Refpect, mutually afliftant, as thofe two were. His Lordmip's often 
 taking his Camion in the Houfe of Peers in his Abfence, and acting, 
 in many Things, as Co-chancellor, made it no Wonder if, at his ut- 
 moft Declenfion, his Lordmip was, by the whole Nation, voted into 
 his Seat. 
 
 And therefore I come now to his Lordfhip's laft and higheft Step of intelligence 
 Preferment in his ProfeiTion, which was the Cuftody of the great Seal at w "*! m 
 
 B b of
 
 I?4 735* LIFE of the late 
 
 of England. And, for Conformity of Language, I call this a Prefer- 
 ment; but, in Truth (and as his Lordmip underftood) it was the De- 
 cadence of all the Joy and Comfort of his Life ; and, inftead of a Fe- 
 licity, as commonly reputed, it was a Difeafe, like a Confumption, 
 which render'd him heartlefs and difpirited, till Death came, which 
 only could complete his Cure. When the Lord Keeper lay languifhing, 
 his Lordmip (being newly return'd from Wind/or) with a Charge of 
 Privacy, told us that he had there received an Intimation that the great 
 Seal would be put into his Hands; and that he had reprefented him- 
 felf as moft unfit for the Place, and, with all his Art and Skill, had 
 declined it. It feem'd that this Intimation was from the King himfelf. 
 His Lordmip feem'd then inclined, or rather refolved, if it were offer'd, 
 to refufe it. 
 
 Reafons, ss to The Tenor of our Difcourfe with him, on this Occafion, was, that 
 ^ ^ eem '^ impoffible for him to carry it off fo ; for all agreed, that, as 
 Things then flood, he was the only Perfon capable of the Place: And 
 while it appear'd that the King's Service was deeply concern'd, if his 
 Majefty commanded, how could he refufe ? It would be faid that, 
 having been already fo well preferred and honoured by the King, who 
 had a fingular Value and Refpect for him, and, by the Influence of 
 his Majefty 's Favour, he had greatly advanced his Fortunes; now, in 
 the Crifis of his Affairs, when his Lordfhip's Service, in that Poft, was, 
 not only ufeful but, in a Sort, neceffary, he muft fubmit as a con- 
 demned Perfon, or incur the Cenfure of Tergiverfation and Ingratitude, 
 and have no Eafe in his Thoughts, on that Account, as long as he 
 lived, if he mould not conform to his Majefty's Pleafure in this great 
 Emergence. So We. But he might think, and not without Reafon, 
 that we regarded our own Advantage by his Promotion : So there was 
 Self-Intereft in perfuading him fo much to his Inconvenience. But, 
 at length, he own'd himfelf convinced that he could not peremptorily 
 refufe the Seal ; not fo much for what we had alledged to him, but 
 the State of the Times, which inextricably obliged him to the Service 
 of the Crown in this Conjuncture. Betides, if he rudely broke off, 
 he wounded his Intereft, and could not anfwer that Favour enough 
 would furvive to keep him in the Place he now had ; nor that Faction 
 would not play higher at him than ever it had done. Therefore he 
 muft make good his Ground, and not be retrograde, and fo keep en- 
 tire his Protection. But yet, as he faid, he would never accept the 
 Seal without a Pennon along with it. And this is plain enough from 
 the Hints his Lordihip left behind him, which I have fet down as 
 follows. 
 
 Defire
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 
 
 Dcfire to avoid, and filcnce. ^ Thefe are all in Series of the fame Hint, of hi, 
 Lord Chancellor dies, No- r Matter : Therefore I fliall purfue Lord{h! P- a - 
 tice, and decline without > them as they lie. It appears firft, s a T ths g 
 Penfion. Seals deliver, and I that, when the Intimation was given 
 
 Manner. J to his Lordfhip, he made no An- 
 
 fwer j which is underftood by the Word Silence. After the Lord 
 Chancellor Finch was dead, and fome Time before, all the Handles, 
 that could be, were held out as Temptations to him to fue for the 
 Place. This was the Cunning of the Lord RocheJIer, then chief in the 
 Treafury, who was working the hulbandly Point to fave the Penfion; 
 which he might, perhaps, do better if the Place were afked, than if 
 it were profer'd. But his Lordmip, as he wrote, anfwer'd all with 
 Silence. But this artful Proceeding of the Lord Rochejler was plain 
 enough to be difcern'd ; and his Lordfhip would have fmelt a fubtiler 
 Trap than that. When the Time was taken at Whitehall, to make 
 the Profer from the King directly, his Lordmip infifted not to accept, 
 unlefs a Penfion was added. For the Charge, of living in that high 
 Station, was not anfwer'd by the ordinary Profits of the Seal ; and he 
 could not, without his Majefty's Bounty, fuch as had been allow'd to 
 his Predeceffor, undertake to comport with that Dignity as his Maje- 
 fty's Honour and Service required, and would be expected from him. 
 His Lordmip was much oppofed, and argued with upon this Point, 
 with Perfuafions not to capitulate. It was dangerous to do it, and not 
 for the King's Service ; for fuch, being now yielded to, would rivet 
 a Precedent. The Lord Nottingham had indeed a Penfion ; and now 
 another would turn it to a Salary, as of Courfe, to charge the Crown. 
 It would be much better to accept the Seal, and rely upon his Majefty's 
 Goodnefs, who doubtlefs would do better Things in a Way of Bounty, 
 than upon Terms. But thefe, and other Court Syllogifms, were fitter 
 for Chickens, that would peck at Shadows, than for his Lordfhip, 
 who, all the while, refented their ill Ufage, and mean Opinion of 
 him ; and one, of lefs Temper than his Lordmip, would fcarce have 
 born it. But, his Lordmip perfifting, it was condefcended to, that he 
 (hould have a Penfion of 2000 /. per Annum ; and then his Lordmip 
 feem'd contented to accept, and the King came, and put the Seal (in 
 the Purfe) into his Lordfliip's Hand, faying Here, my Lord, take it ; 
 you <will find it heavy. And therein his Majefty acted the Prophet, as 
 well as the King ; for, not long before his Lordfhip's laft Sicknefs, he 
 told me, and diverfe other of his Friends, that he had not enjoy d one 
 eajy and contented Minute Jince he had the Seal. 
 
 The Evening when he went, upon this Errand, to Whitehall, fome PaiTion at ill 
 of us ftaid in Expectation of his coming home, which was not till ufage% 
 near Ten ; little doubting the Change that was to happen. At laft he 
 
 B b 2 came
 
 The LIFE of the late 
 
 came with more Splutter than ordinary, diverfe Perfons (for Honour) 
 waiting upon him, and others attending to wifh him Joy, and a 
 Rabble of Officers, that belong'd to the Seal, compleating the Croud, 
 which fill'd his little Houfe. His Lordfhip, by difpatching thefe In- 
 cumbrances, got himfelf clear as faft as he could ; and then I alone 
 ilaid with him. He took a Turn or Two in his Dining Room, and 
 faid nothing; by which I perceived his Spirits were very much roiled : 
 Therefore I kept Silence alfo, expecting what would follow. There 
 was no Need of afking what News, when the Purfe, with the great 
 Seal, lay upon the Table. At laft his Lordmip's Difcourfes and Actions 
 difcover'd that he was in a very great Paffion, fuch as may be term'd 
 Agony 5 of which I never faw in him any like Appearance fince I firfl 
 knew him. He had kept it in long; and, after he was free, it broke 
 out with greater Force : And, accordingly, he made ufe of me to eafe 
 his Mind upon. That, which fo much troubled him, was the being 
 thought fo weak as to take ill Ufage from thofe about the King (mean- 
 ing the Earl of Rochefter) with whom he had lived well, and ought 
 to have been better underflood. And, inflead of common Friendship, 
 to be haggled withal about a Penfion, as at the Purchafe of an Horfe 
 or an Ox; and after he had declared pofitively not to accept without a 
 Penfion, as if he were fo frivolous to infill and defifl all in a Moment ; 
 and, as it were, to be wheedled and charmed by their infignificant 
 Tropes ; and, what was worft of all, as he more than once repeated, 
 to think me worthy of fo great a Truft, and withal fo little and mean 
 as to endure fuch Ufage, as was difobliging, inconfiftent, and unfuffe- 
 rable. What have 1 done, faid he, that may give them Cauje to think 
 me of fo poor a Spirit as to be thus trifled with ? And fo on, with 
 much more of like Animofity, which I cannot undertake to remem- 
 ber. And, after thefe Exhalations, I could perceive that, by Degrees, 
 his Mind became more compofed; and Time, that conquers all Things, 
 diflipated thefe perfonal Refentments, and made Way for Troubles of 
 a llrongerlmpreflion. And afterwards, like a good Chriflian, he for- 
 got and forgave, making no Dependances, or Troubles, to himfelf or 
 others, efpecially not to offend the King, on Account of any Diflafte ; 
 but corresponded and co-operated, with all thofe which his Majefly 
 thought fit to ferve him, with all Eafinefs and Affability. This is a 
 Method not much praclifed by Courtiers and infulting Favourites, who 
 breath nothing but Ruin and Definition to all that offend them; but, 
 in the Eafe and Happinefs of a Monarch, a Jewel not inferior to any 
 that can fhine in his Crown. After this, his Lordfhip applied himfelf 
 to the Eflablifhment of his Family and Officers. He went to Weft- 
 minjler Hall, the firfl Time, as ufual, with an honourable Parade of 
 Nobility, &c. for Honour attending him. It was fome Time before 
 
 he
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. J97 
 
 he could be poflefTed of the great Houfe in ^ueen-ftreet^ where the 
 Seal had been formerly kept, and had a Room fitted for hearing Mo- 
 tions, and Caufes in Equity. And, till then, he kept his Days in the 
 Middle-Temple-Hall) elfe he moved not but when he went to take his 
 ultimate Reft at Wroxton. 
 
 By his Acceptance of the great Seal, he became, as before of the His Burthen 
 Law, fo now of Equity, a Chief, or rather fole, Juftice. And, more enaeafed. 
 than that, he muft be a Director of the Englijh Affairs at Court, as 
 chief Minifter of State with Refpect to Legalities, for which he was 
 thought refponfible. So what with Equity, Politicks, and Law, the 
 Cares and Anxieties of his Lordmip's Life were exceedingly encreafed : 
 For either of thefe Provinces brought too much upon the Shoulders of 
 any one Man, who cordially and confcientioufly efpoufeth the Duty 
 required of him, to be eafily born. 
 
 As for the Bufmefs of the Chancery, our Work will be mort; be- TheChance- 
 caufe that Province was eafy to his Lordfhip ; except only when his ry , c : ourt "^ 
 
 __,. i i /* i i 11 //*! i TT tohis Lord- 
 
 Time was retrenched fo that he could not fufnciently attend it. He fhj p . T h e 
 
 had been a capital Practifer there as Solicitor and Attorney- General, R ife and En- 
 and in the Front of Bufmefs for many Years ; which made the whole cri 
 Tour of that Court familiar to him. The greateft Pain he endured, 
 moved from a Senfe he had of the Torment the Suitors underwent by 
 the exceffive Charges and Delays of the Court. For the eafing of whom, 
 he was always in Thought, more or lefs, to contrive ways and means 
 of Expedition, and Retrenchment of Charges. As the Bufinefs of that 
 Court is more, and of greater Value than that of other Courts, fo are 
 the Abufes more felt; and, confequently, his Lordmip was more in- 
 tenle in his Meditations to regulate them. And the Truth is, a Court, 
 as that is, with Officers and Fees proper for a little Bufinefs, fuch as 
 the judiciary Part anciently was, coming to poiTefs aimed all the Ju- 
 iVice of the Nation, muft needs appear troubled. For it began with 
 common Petitions, and the Defendant's Anfwer wrote on the back of 
 ir. And, when the Procefs was young, a Subpoena,, which was a legal 
 Writ, and Attachment upon it for Difobedience, carried great Terror, 
 But when the Terror of that abated, and Defendants came in but flack- 
 ly, then Addition was given to the Terror, and Proclamations were 
 to be made upon the fecond Attachment, if the Party hid away from 
 the firft ; and if that fecond Proclamation did not fright him in, then 
 he was a Rebel, and Commiffioners, that is, a petit Army, was railed 
 to fetch him in, as ftanding out in Rebellion j and there was an End. 
 But if he was caught and efcaped, then the King's Serjeant at Arms 
 went to look for him. But Sequeftrations were not heard of tHl the 
 Lord Coventry'?, Time, when Sir John Read lay in the Fleet (with 
 10000 /. in an Iron Caih-Cheft in his Chamber) for Difabedience to a 
 
 Decr.ee>
 
 The LIFE of ihe late 
 
 Decree, and would not fubmit and pay the Duty. This being repre- 
 fented to the Lord Keeper as a great Contempt and Affront put upon 
 the Court, he authorifed Men to go and break up his Iron Cheft, and 
 pay the Duty and Cofts, and leave the reft to him, and difcharged his 
 Commitment : From thence came Sequeftrations j which now are fo 
 eftablifhed as to run of courfe after all other Procefs fails, and is but 
 in Nature of a grand Diftrefs, the beft Procefs at Common Law after 
 a Summons, fuch as a Subpcena is ; what need all that Grievance and 
 Delay of the intervening Procefs ? 
 
 His Lordmip was fenfible of the prodigious Injuftice and Iniquita- 
 and defirous b] e Torment inflicted upon Suitors by vexatious and falfe Adverfaries, 
 allEvils1n i08affifted b 7 the knavifh confederating Officers, and other Chicaneurs 
 that Court, that belong to the Court. He was no lefs defirous heartily to apply all 
 the Remedy he was able to fo malignant a Difeafe, of which he had 
 had full Experience ; and he had frequently obferved it in the Courfe 
 of his Practice. For the Lord Keeper Bridgman, and Lord Netting- 
 ham y gave all Liberty to Counfel and Officers j fo that then the not 
 very commendable Trade of the Court ran high. 
 
 of the Lord ^he Lord Bridgman, who was a very good Common Law Judge, 
 -BrUgmnn, Ld made a very bad Chancellor. For his timidous Manner of creating 
 Nottingham, anc j j u dgi n g abundance of Points, fome on one fide, and fome on an- 
 r}< other ; and, if poffible, contriving that each mould have a competent 
 Share, made Work for Regifters, Solicitors, and Counfel, who dreffed 
 up Caufes to fit his Humour. Then came my Lord Sbaftjbury like' the 
 Month of March> as they fay, in like a Lion, and out like a Lamb. 
 For he fwaggered and vapoured what AfTes he would make of all the 
 Counfel at the Bar; but was foon reduced, as is more fully declared 
 in the Examen. The Lord Nottingham, formerly Attorney-General, 
 came in and fat there a great many Years. During his Time, the Bu- 
 fmefs, I cannot fay the Juftice, of the Court flourifhed exceedingly. 
 For he was a Formalift, and took Pleafure in hearing and deciding j 
 and gave way to all kinds of Motions the Counfel would offer : Sup- 
 pofing that, if he fplit the Hair, and, with his Gold Scales, determin- 
 ed reafonably on one fide of the Motion, Juftice was nicely done. Not 
 imagining what Torment the People endured, who were drawn from 
 the Law, and there toft in a blanket. 
 
 Hisj.ord- His Lordfhip coming after, and knowing how much the Suitors 
 and Mtthod endured by this flourishing of the Court, and having no Content in any 
 oHmroducing Thing but the Subftance of Juftice, and Difpatch of the Suitors, anc 
 his Amend- ever accO unting that unreafonable Delays were the fame in the Mean, 
 
 merits in the T/T i m i 11 r i i <-> i 
 
 Court of as Injuitice was in the End j and that it often made the buitor quit his 
 
 chancery. Right, rather than live upon the Rack in purfuing it j bent his Thoughts 
 
 to compafs a tolerable Regulation of the Court. It may be afked what 
 
 came
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. I$ > 9 
 
 came of all this? For furely fomewhat confiderable muft be done by 
 way of Reform, when his Lordmip not only faw the Neceffity, but 
 had Power to amend Faults. As for that, I muft inform that his 
 Lordmip confidered the Nature of Alterations ; and that, when Folks 
 defign very fairly to flop one Hole, two or more mail fpring in the 
 Room of it. So very hard is it to forefee Events, and to meet with 
 the bad Practices of corrupt Agents. He was refolved to make and 
 publim a Book of Rules and Orders for the Direction of the Officers, 
 Clerks, and Solicitors, in their Practice, and for the Advantage of the 
 Suitors, in the beft Manner he could contrive. But he thought it not 
 a right Method, as fome have done, at the very firft to fall on with a 
 Volume of Alterations, before he had made fome Experiences in the 
 Court, and confulted the Clerks, and the Bar, as he often did after- 
 wards in Public, to hear what they could alledge for, or againft, any 
 Thing he thought fit to propofe to them, when the Inconvenience, to 
 be removed, was flagrant in Court. And, accordingly, he fat and 
 difpatched the Bufinefs of the Court, and, as Occafion profered, he 
 declared his Mind, and retrenched many Superfluities, or rather Nu- 
 fances, in the Court. Another Thing, that made him decline falling 
 fo early upon a Book of Orders, was, that it would give fo great Alarm 
 to the Bar, and Officers, with the Solicitors, as would make them 
 confederate, and demur, and, by making a Tumult and Diilurbance, 
 endeavour to hinder the doing any Thing of that kind, which they 
 would apprehend to be very prejudicial to their Interefls. Whereas, if 
 the Matters were prefented in Court on fit Occaiions, which would offer 
 themfelves frequently, the Work would almoft do itfelf by degrees - y 
 which, all at once, would meet with great Oppofition. And after he 
 had thus occafionally put in Practice the chief of his intended Regu- 
 lations, and feen, in fome meafure, the Confequences of them, he 
 might, with more Affurance, and better Satisfaction to himfelf and 
 others, bring all together into a firm Eftablifhment, by an ample Set- 
 tlement of the Courfe in Practice, to be obferved for the future. 
 
 And, purfuant to this Propofition made to himfelf, he began firfl to Retrenched 
 refcind all Motions for fpeeding and delaying the hearing of Caufes be- fc?" e 8 dino . 
 fide the ordinary Rule of Court. And this lopped off a Limb of the a nd delaying 
 Motion Practice. ^ have heard Sir John Churchill, a famous Chan- Hearings. 
 eery Practifer, fay, That in his Walk, from Lincoln* $- Inn, down to the 
 female-Hall^ where (in the Lord Keeper Bridgmans Time) Caufes 
 and Motions (out of Term) were heard, he had taken 28 /. with Bre- 
 viates, only for Motions and Defences for hastening and retarding Hear- 
 ings. His Lordmip faid that the Rule of the Court allowed Time 
 enough for any one to proceed or defend ; and if, for fpecial Reafons, 
 he mould give way to Orders for timing Matters, it would let in a 
 
 Deluge
 
 200 
 
 Me ordered 
 the Parries to 
 fliew the Ma- 
 fters any Er- 
 rors ; but that 
 turned to ill 
 EfFcft. 
 
 He ftopt the 
 Courfe of 
 Injunctions 
 upon Excep- 
 tions to an 
 Anfwer filed. 
 
 The LIFE of the late 
 
 Deluge of vexatious Pretences ; which, true or falfe, being aflerted by 
 the Counfel with equal Aflu ranee, diflracted the Court, and confound- 
 ed the Suitors. He ufed to commend the Common Law for the Pre- 
 cifenefs of its Rules. There Men knew their Times to plead, to give 
 Notices, to enter Judgments, &c. and he would have the Like done 
 in the Chancery. Therefore, faid he, look to your Hits : Tou know 
 the CourJ'e and theTime; do accordingly ', andyoujhall have the Benefit, 
 and not be hajiened or delayed. 
 
 Then, he found very great Mifchief by Errors in Mafters Reports, 
 which, (hewn to him, had been fet right : But the Parties craftily let 
 the Report go, and depended to bring it back by Exceptions, and fo 
 torment the Court with abundance of frivolous Matters for Experiment, 
 and come off at lafl with fuch a Slip which carries the Cods, and is 
 an immane Vexation to the Parties. His Lordmip ordered that each 
 Party fliould have a Copy of the Report before it was delivered out 
 figned j to the End they might, if there were Caufe, (hew the Mafter 
 any grofs Miftakes : For fuch often happened by Inadvertence, and 
 were made a Foundation, by way of Trick, to lodge Exceptions upon, 
 and fecure Cofls. But I am apt to think that, if his Lordmip had 
 itaid much longer in the Court, that Order would have received very 
 great Alteration ; for, with all the Good intended, and manifeftly ap- 
 pearing in the Front of it, yet, in Practice, it turned to Delay and 
 Vexation, as bad, if not worfe than before. For it introduced two 
 Reports inftead of one, and multuple Attendances. For the vexatious 
 Side baffled before the Mafter, as long as he could, upon Trifles, keep- 
 ing back the true Points ; and then, after the Report was drawn, and 
 Copies delivered out, there come in the Exceptions in Writing, and 
 the Caufe, before the Mafter, was but beginning. And thefe Excep- 
 tions, before the Mafter, were added in the Caufe; and it is become 
 aim oft of courfe to prefer them ; as if Exceptions to the Court had not 
 been Vexation and Delay enough. 
 
 He was a profefled Adverfary to all Attempts for flopping the Courfe 
 of the Common Law. I remember one Barebones, that was called 
 Doctor, a famous builder, that over-traded his Stock about 1000 /. 
 per Ann. and often wanted Injunctions to flay Suits at Law, rinding 
 his Defigns, that way, now failing, faid to me, 'That his Lord/hip had 
 not J at yet long enough to be a good Chancery Man : For it is the Foible 
 of all Judicatures to value their own Juftice, and think, or at leaft 
 pretend, that there is none fo exquilite as Their's j and, fpeaking of 
 other Courts, it is commonly with an Air of Contempt ; while, at the 
 bottom, it is the Profits accruing that fanctify any Court's Authority. 
 And, upon this Account, the Court of Chancery had been very liberal 
 in the Matter of Injunctions to flay Suits at Law. But his Lordmip 
 
 thought
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 101 
 
 thought fit to deny them in many Cafes where they ufed to go almoft 
 of courfe. As, for inftance, upon Exceptions filed to an Anfwer 
 which ufed to be a bar to the Motion for diflblving the Injunction up- 
 on coming in of the Anfwer ; which Injunction ufed to go of courfe, 
 upon an Attachment fued out, for want of an Anfwer, or Dedimus 
 ifiiiing to take an Anfwer in the Country. But his Lordfhip required 
 the Counfel, that would continue the Injunction, to mew that the 
 Anfwer was infufficient in a material Point. And the like was done 
 in fome other Cafes ; I do not inftance in all. 
 
 His Lordfhip alfo fet himfelf to flop the Superfetation of Orders. Retrenched 
 And they were a Subject of his daily Reprehenfion ; for the Caufes theSupe \ te ~ 
 came often to an Hearing, with a File of Orders in the Solicitor's Bun- ta locator y 1 " 
 die, as big as the Common- Prayer-Book, for Commimons, Injun- Orders. 
 ctions, Publications, Speedings, Delayings, and other Interlocutories ; 
 all dear Ware to the Client in every Refpect. But, in a few Terms, 
 his Lordfhip reduced the Quantities ; for he was ftrict to the Obfer- 
 vance of his Rules ; and, for the moft Part, refufed to make Orders 
 nift t &c. as commonly was prayed when Notice was not given of the 
 Motion ; but held the Solicitors ftrictly to their Notices to be made 
 appear by Affidavits (and thofe to be filed) or they took nothing by 
 their Motion. Nor would he, without apparent Equity demonftra- 
 ted, grant any Thing to divert a Caufe out of its due Courfe. And 
 thus the tricking Sort of Practice, fo much ufed in the Court formerly, 
 was greatly diminifhed. And the Solicitors were fearful of ufing 
 Art; for, being taken napping, they never efcaped fharp Reproof, 
 and the Caufe fared no whit the better for it, and their own Credit 
 fuffered. 
 
 His Lordfhip fet his Face alfo againft the infinite Delays by Re- Very difficult 
 hearings, Re-references, and new Trials ; in all which Cafes, he was aboutRe-hear- 
 fo difficult that nothing but the plaineft Reafon in the World, or ra- 
 ther Neceflity, drew him to yield to grant them. 
 
 The laft Inftance of his Lordfhip's Care of the Suitors, was to His Method 
 quicken the Difpatch at the Regifter's Office, and (if poffible) to break of comroul- 
 the Neck of thofe wicked Delays ufed there. This was the hardeft l 
 Matter to redrefs that belonged to the Court. The Regifter's is a Pa- 
 tent Office, and the poor Men, the Deputies, come into their Em- 
 ploy upon very hard Terms, and the Charge of Prefents and New- 
 Year's Gifts adds to the Weight upon them ; fo as they are forced to 
 bum about for Ways and Means to pay their Rent and Charges, and 
 gather an Eftate, as they think muft be done, in a few Years ; where- 
 in they are not wanting to ufe their beft Endeavour, left they fufFer 
 in the Reputation of their Skill. And, accordingly, fcarce an Order 
 pa fTeth without Bribes for Expedition in that Quarter; and that is an 
 
 C c Article
 
 loz The LIFE of the late 
 
 Article, in the Solicitor's Bill, as much of courfe as the Fee for the 
 Order. His Lordfhip ufed to chide them publickly, when juftly com- 
 plained of (and it could fcarce be otherwife than juftly) and alfo be very 
 ready and eafy to admit of Complaints. And to prevent the Colour 
 they ufed for Delay in Cafes decreed upon Points nicely decided, and 
 alfo to prevent Motions for fettling fuch Orders, which often was done 
 to jog the Matter again, and fee if the Opinion of the Court would 
 alter, his Lordfhip hath frequently ordered the Regifter to attend him 
 in the Afternoon, and take the ordering Part penned by himfelf. And 
 his Lordfhip was defirous, for his own Satisfaction in many Cafes, to 
 do fo j for if the Reafons of his Decree were fpecial, and fuch as came 
 not under every Cap, he cared not to leave the Expreffion of them to 
 the precipitate Difpatch of a blundering Regifter. At length the Re- 
 gifters, rinding what was agreeable to his Lordfhip's Mind, and what 
 kind of Orders he was careful in pronouncing, thought fit, of their 
 own Accord, in fuch Cafes, to attend his Lordfhip with their penning, 
 and receive his Lordfhip's Senfe and Corrections; and he always took 
 it well when they did fo, and was never uneafy to them. And the 
 memorable Regifter, Mr. Henry Devenifh^ was very well thought of 
 by his Lordfhip for his candid Applications to him in that Kind, 
 is Lord- Here it will be proper to thofe who may fay, Since his Lordfhip knew 
 
 ip aB C o f ok n " tl?e Di feafes fo well, and had fo much bufied himfelf in the Cure, why 
 f\uks and was- Time loft, and no general Regulation of the Courfe and Practice 
 rders. of the Court made ? To that I muft anfwer with bitter Laments for 
 the Shortnefs of his Lordfhip's Life, which allowed but three Years 
 to his fitting upon that Bench. He was naturally very quick of Appre- 
 henfion, but, withal, very deliberative, and would not only think 
 long, but confult Perfons to be concerned, and confer with the Skil- 
 ful, and take the Thoughts of his ordinary Friends, whenever he was 
 to do any Thing that had a long Train of Importances to follow; and, 
 being once fatisfied within himfelf, he was not wanting to ftrike deci- 
 fively and effectually. And it is to me very certain, that if his Lord- 
 fhip had fat in that Court a Year or two longer, with tolerable Quar- 
 ter from the Publick, he had publifhed a Book of Rules and Orders, 
 which had gone a great way towards purging out the peccant Humours 
 of the Court, at leaft fo far as the Lord Keeper had it in his Power to 
 do : And it muft be confefled that is fomething reftricted as to Refor- 
 mation of the Offices ; becaufe Equity is due to the Officers as well as 
 His Lord- to others. 
 
 ihipconfcrved. And, in all hisDefigns, he fhewed no Difpofition to retrench Offi- 
 Offi i r! h rnd fcers ' or the J uft Profits f tneir Places; but only that he would have 
 aimed only them held ftrictly to their Duty, and not have it in their Power to aid 
 to obviate Abufes f or their peculiar Profit 5 and to be fubiect to Correction, when 
 Abufcs ' either
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 203 
 
 either negligent, or ignorant j and to make Amends to the Suitors, who 
 fuffer thereby. Now moft think that the Offices themfelves are the 
 Abufe, and ought to be retrenched; for, what fignify the fix Clerks, 
 but to keep Checks upon Numbers of Sheets that they may reckon 
 ftrictly with the Under- Clerks, and not be impofed on, as to their 
 Dues, by them ? What fignifies all the Procefs between a Subpana and 
 a Sequeltration, and the Officers that depend thereon, when the former 
 is a Summons, and the latter a Diftringas, anfwerable to the common 
 Law ? And the like in feveral Inftances. But I guefs his Lordfhip con- 
 fidered that there was a Juftice due as well to the Crown, which had 
 Advantages growing by the Difpofition of Places, Profits by Procefs of 
 all forts j as alfo the Judges and their Servants, and Counfel at the Bar, 
 and Solicitors, who were all in PofTeffion of their Advantages, and by 
 publick Encouragement to fpend their Youth to make them fit for 
 them, and had no other Means, generally, to provide for themfelves 
 and their Families j and had a Right to their reafonable Profits, if not 
 ftrictly by Law, yet through long Connivance. And Men, not irre- 
 gular, or undeferving, ought to have, not only Protection but, En- 
 couragement. 
 
 If any publick Order of Men, or their Employments, were mif- He left Re- 
 chievous to the Publick, it was for the Parliament to remove them j formation of 
 and even they have always had a Regard to the Profits of Officers, and p^"^^ 2 
 feldom do any thing to their Prejudice -, and it is pretended that fuch his Juftice' 
 Interefts hinder Regulations in Parliament. But that need not be fo; J^^j to 
 for the Parliament can make them Compenfation, but a Judge hath t h a t. 
 no Power or Reafon to alter the State of the Offices under his Judica- 
 ture ; but to reduce them to Order, and keep them up to Reafon and 
 Duty, is fufficient. 
 
 In all his Model of Regulation there was not the leaft Oftentation or He had no 
 Vanity, no formal Inventions, but a direct Intention to follow the ^ a e " 1 ^i fc t to 
 Truth of Things, and to reprefent them pure and fincerely, with in- Tmthwith 
 finite Caution that nothing he propofed, as far as he could forefee, ^ P"^ ble 
 might poffibly turn to the Prejudice of any Perfon, at lean: not irre- 
 trievably ; but that they might be as a Fence or Guard to Rights, and 
 to keep them from being oppreffed by Colour of Law, and the courfe 
 of the Court, as they call it. 
 
 He was no Collector, as fome may be, who pretend to a great deal Touched no- 
 more than his Lordmip did -, and fit, as at a Receipt of Cuftom, and, Jjjj^g uc 
 hearing diverfe People talk, from thence imbibe Projects, of the knew expc- 
 Practice of which they know little, but as they are infinuated (for the rimentai!>-. 
 moft Part) infincerely, by defigning Officers and others, who project 
 for their own private Intereft, and, under Colour of the publick Good, 
 when nothing is lefs in their Thoughts, fuggeft what makes for them- 
 
 C c 2 felves,
 
 204 The LIFE of the late 
 
 felves. And fometimes they prevail with great Men, who do not 
 plumb to the Bottom, nor difcern the Drift or Confequence, to put 
 forward authoritatively their Contrivances, by the Name of Regula- 
 tions. But his Lordfhip touched nothing but out of his perfonal Ob- 
 fervation and Experience; and, being wonderful fagacious to under- 
 ftand the Drift of all People in their Bufmefs, was capable to know 
 from Things, and not from Relation, what was amifs, and how (pro- 
 bably) to amend them, without introducing (as often happens) worfe 
 Inconveniences. For he had feen acted to the Life, all the difmal 
 Troubles Men brought upon one another, by Delays and Shifts in Chan- 
 cery Caufes, together with all the bad Qualities of an unjuft, beggarly, 
 crafty Suitor, to the Mortification of a poor Client. I have often 
 heard him mention a poor Gentleman that had a very juft Caufe, and 
 was of himfelf very honeft, but had not fo much Craft as his Adver- 
 fary, who, according to the Forms and Liberties given in the Court 
 and the Offices of it, had Snares laid for him which caught him ; fo 
 that the Counfel of his Adverfary, with their ufual Art, drefled him 
 up in Circumftances, colourable as they fet them out, and made him 
 look as like a very Knave, as if he had been fo in earnefi. This was 
 all Surprife to him ; and his own Counfel was not inftrucled and ready 
 enough to wipe him clean; and he, not having Elocution to fpeak for 
 himfelf, took the Matter fo to Heart, as that he went home and, in a 
 Fit of Sorrow, died. 
 
 But to proceed : Nothing fat heavier upon his Spirits, than a great 
 Arrear of Bufinefs, when it happen'd; for he knew well that, from 
 thence, there fprang up a Trade, in the Regifter's Office, called He- 
 raldry, that is buying and felling Precedence in the Paper of Caufes, 
 than which there hath not been a greater Abufe in the Sight of the 
 Sun. If Men are not forward, the Officers know how to make them 
 come on and pay; for they will exprefly poftpone the unprofitable 
 Cuftomers, and fo bring them to a Sort of Redemption. Therefore if 
 the Paper of Caufes is not well watched by the Court, and the Offi- 
 cers fometimes checked (for which, at beft, there will be Occafion 
 enough) no Man, without a vaft Expence, fhall know furely when his 
 Caufe will come on. And, as a poorTreafury makes a rich Treafurer, 
 fo this Grievance is greateft, when the Court itfelf wants Difpatch. 
 For the Caufes, left one Day, are Remanets to the next, and fo on to 
 the next, that there are Attendances enough on that Account. But 
 when, over Night, a Man fees his Caufe the firft in the Paper, and, 
 next Morning, finds it at the Bottom, his Difappointment is great ; 
 and he will be told that, without a Touch of purchafeable Heraldry, 
 he will never be fure of his Time. I have heard his Lordfhip fay that 
 he never flept well if, in his Paper over Night, he found a great Ar- 
 rear
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 20 j 
 
 rear of Caufes : So concern'd was he, left he might not be able to dif- 
 patch them. And, according to this compaffionate Intention, he la- 
 bour'd continually to retrench Superfluities, as well in the Modes of 
 the Bar Practice, as in the paffing Orders, and other Office Difpatches. 
 By which Means, at Length, he got the Maftery of the Court ; and his 
 Remanets (if any) were few, and a moderate Day often fpent them ; 
 and then his Heart was at Eafe. This continued till the Parliament 
 and (more unhappily) his own Weaknefs came on, and made him un- 
 able to continue that clofe Application to the Bufinefs of the Court ; 
 and, for want of due Time allow'd for hearing of Caufes, the Reins 
 of the Court grew loofe, and the Paper became loaded with Rema- 
 nets, which to fee was of itfelf, to him, a Sicknefs. And I am con- 
 fident it was one, and not theleaft, Ingredient in bringing forward upon 
 him that fatal Diftemper which, after it had once feifed, never left 
 him till he died. 
 
 It was his Lordfhip's Manner, when he fat in the Court, to hold in His Lord fhip's 
 his Hand, the Paper of Caufes ; and if any Thing moved in his ordersV^th 
 Thoughts confiderable, either towards Regulation of Abufes, improv- Court, and 
 ing the Forms and Courfe of the Court, or (in the hearing of Caufes) preferring his 
 of nice Reafon, and difficult to determine, he call'd for the Regifter's 
 Pen, and wrote it upon the Day Paper. He was much ufed to write 
 upon his Hand, and could do it very fteddily ; and, when he came 
 home, he laid by the Paper, with others he had fo wrote upon, that 
 if he would form a more folemn Report of the Cafe, he had the Hint 
 eafily to do it. But he might alfo have another End in it; for if (as 
 was touched before) a Decree was pronounced, with exquifite Terms 
 and Diftinctions, his Lordmip did not always leave the Drawing of the 
 Order to theRegifter; for, if he miftook the Senfe of the Court, then 
 certainly followed Re-hearings, or Motions to fettle the Order; and 
 fometimes the Regifter himielf, if he doubted, would come to his 
 Lordfhip to explain his Senfe to him. But his chief Care of this 
 Kind, was when the Subject Matter of the Caufe was touchy, and 
 great Men, or great Parties, concern'd themfelves in it, and there might 
 afterwards follow fome Calumny or Complaint. 
 
 I fhall not have Occafion here to touch more at large any of the Libellers fay 
 efpecial litigated Caufes which he decreed. As for the few which were JTnotabkT 
 publickly taken Notice of, and made the Subject of News, and, by cer- Tmi ot his 
 tain vile Writers, traduced; amongft which are the Cafe of Mr.Mayot's j^te'l^the 
 Will, which is already fully related in the Rxamen ; and the Cafe of CafeofF/Vw*. 
 the Duke of Norfolk againft his Brother; they mall be fully accounted 
 for afterwards. It is the Practice of Libellers to take, or make, any 
 Pretences for Calumny; but if never fo many Things are done well, 
 there is no Notice taken of them. And any Hiftorian, that doth the 
 
 one }
 
 20 <5 The LIFE of the late 
 
 one, and not the ether, is a partial Tool, and no better than a Libeller, 
 Therefore, againft the Reflections falfely caft at the before- mention'd 
 Cafes, I will fubjoin one, wherein his Lordfhip's Conduct, as well as 
 Decree, may juftly, and even in the Meafure of his Adverfaries (if it 
 were not for his Commendation) be accounted beyond the ordinary, 
 even to a Pitch of heroical Juftice. And it was in 1684, i Ja. II. 
 between Fitton and my Lord Macclesfield *, formerly Gerrard. The 
 Caufe was firft decreed Twenty-two Years before ; and now came to 
 be heard before his Lordfhip, upon a Bill of Review, to reverfe the 
 old Decree. Mr. Fitton had lived very poor, and moftly in Prifon, 
 ever fince the Decree, which had undone him. He was a notable, 
 bufy, foliciting Man, and a Papijl; and that was a Character of no- 
 table Recommendation in the Court of King "James II. Upon this Ac- 
 count, Fitton had worm'd himfelf into much Favour j for the Opi- 
 nion they had entertain'd of his Induftry and Ability was extraordi- 
 nary: And, on the other Side, the Earl of Macclesfield was ftiff of the 
 Anti-court Party. Fitton thought that, by Virtue of his Advantage in 
 this Reign, if he brought his Caufe about again, he mould get the 
 better of his Adverfary. Accordingly he went to work j and there 
 being nothing in the Caufe, but the Errors affign'd in his Bill of Re- 
 view, it foon came into the Paper to be heard j and that was the Time 
 to ply his Fare at Court, to get an Intereft fo ftrong as might fecure 
 my Lord Keeper, and then the Work was done : And, accordingly, 
 the King himfelf was fo far overfeen as to fpeak to his Lordmip for 
 Fitton -, which he did upon the ufual Topick, of giving a favourable 
 and patient Hearing -, and, in the main, recommended the Caufe to his 
 Juftice. But all the Lords, of that Intereft, and fome others of moft 
 potent Influence, at that Time, applied to his Lordmip more directly 
 for his Favour, as to a poor, opprefled Man. I believe his Lordmip 
 was never fo befieged in all his Life j and I believe it irritated his Spi- 
 rits fo much that, if he would have been partial, it had been for the 
 other Side. But the Caufe came on, and the Council ftrong on both 
 .Sides. The Earl himfelf was in Court, without any Company of his 
 own. He, knowing the State of Affairs, concluded his Caufe, at this 
 Time, loft, and depended upon fome After-Game to retrieve it. But 
 there might be obferved, about the Court, enough of the oppofite Party. 
 His Lordmip took himfelf to be upon the Tenters of his Behaviour ; 
 and, for that Reafon, determined to let the Counfel, on both Sides, 
 have their full Swing j and, however importunate, not to correct them 
 for any Thing, but only to hold them clofe to the Points, and then to 
 
 * This Cafe is already related in the Examen ; but as I find fome more Circumftances, of a pretty 
 extraordinary Nature, added to this Account oi it, 1 thought proper to infert it in this Life. 
 
 let
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 107 
 
 let them talk their Fill. I muft confefs that, being prefent at the 
 Hearing, and obferving fo much Impertinency, and fome Indecencies 
 of Counfel, and no Reproof at all from the Court, as ufeth to be in 
 fuch Cafes, I wonder'd at the different Method. For he fat ftill, and 
 foinetimes afked if they had all done, or if they had any Thing more 
 to fay? Which often drew on more Talk, though no other than Re- 
 petition j all which, contrary to Cuftom, he bore, till all faid they had 
 done, and had no more to fay. It may not fall under every one's 
 Obfervation, that Counfel at the Bar will ever leave a Caufe, when it 
 is fome Way hinted to them that the Court is inclinable on their 
 Side j for Judges, that have a Bias, will feem to bear hard againft the 
 Side they intend to determine for, and, at laft, come round off; the j 
 Meaning of which is obvious. In this Cafe, his Lordfliip coming to 
 his Decree, took Notice that there was fomewhat very extraordinary, 
 that made this Caufe to be brought on now before him, when fo many 
 worthy and learned Judges had fat in his Place, during the intervening 
 Time lince the firft Decree; and he could not conceive what could be 
 expected from him more, or otherwife, than from any of them. Butfince 
 he was chofen out to determine this Caufe, he would do it according 
 to the beft of his Judgment and Confcience, and fo difmiffed the Bill. 
 He faid he would not declare what he might have done, if the Caufe 
 had come before him when recent, or in a decent Time after the firft 
 Decree, when Fad: of Forgery (as was in the Cafe) might reafonably 
 be examined ; but after great Length of Time, and fince the Parties, 
 having had full Liberty allow'd them to proceed in due Time, had 
 done nothing, they had flipt their Opportunity. And now, after fo 
 many Chancellors, and Seffions of Parliament let pafs, to come at laft 
 to him, that had no Reafon to value himfelf againft thofe great Au- 
 thorities, he thought he could not, and therefore would not alter the 
 Decree. When this was done, the Earl of Macclesjield, who little 
 expected his Eafe fo foon, for he had always join'd with his Lord- 
 fhip's Enemies (which fuppofed Prejudice in a Judge, many think, 
 hath not a good Influence upon a Man's Caufe) went out of the Court 
 down into the Hall, and walked gravely and iilently to a Bookfeller's 
 Shop, and aiked for his Lordmip's Picture (then newly printed and 
 fold) and, having paid down his Shilling, rolled it up and, without 
 faying a Word to any Body, went away. Whether he was ever the 
 more or lefs Friend or Enemy to his Lordfhip, after this, I know not. 
 But it is fui/e enough that the Roman Catholick Party took Umbrage, 
 from this judicial Sentence, among other Actions of his Lordfhip, to 
 conclude he was inflexible to any Purpofes of theirs ; and it confirm'd 
 a Refolution, taken by the bufy Part of them, to heave him out of the
 
 20 8 The LIFE of the late 
 
 Way, before any of their critical Defigns were, or well could be, 
 
 brought forward. 
 
 Cafe of the And now I proceed to the other before- mention'd remarkable Cafe 
 ? ke ^ f F or ~ decreed by his Lordmip: but it ended not fo. And it was this. The 
 
 folk and his .. y .- _. *- iritr 11 
 
 Brother. And Point was of a Term of two thoufand Years, whether it may be en- 
 Jtffntfs ill tailed, or not ; but it did not turn upon the common Law, for, there, 
 it is clear not, but proved to be a Right in Equity, being a Truft. If 
 this Entail flood, Efme Howard, a Brother of the Duke of Norfolk, 
 had the equitable Right ; if not, then the Duke himfelf. And he was 
 a Proteftant, but the other a Papift ; and it will appear what Influence 
 that had. The Earl of Nottingham heard the original Caufe, and cal- 
 led to his Affiftance the three Chiefs, Pemberton, of the Kings Bench, 
 his Lordmip, of the Common Pleas, and Mount agu^ of the Exchequer. 
 And, after the Hearing, the Lord Nottingham defired their Opinions, 
 which were clearly that the Truft ought to follow the Law. When 
 they had done, the Chancellor did not (hew them the Refpect of de- 
 bating any of their Reafons intheleaft; but, in a formal, and, feem- 
 ingly, prepared Speech, decreed the direct contrary. When his Lord- 
 ihip had the Seal, and fat there, the Caufe, upon a Re-hearing, or 
 Review, came again to be heard before him; and he, knowing no 
 Rule but his Judgment of the Law, and Confcience in Equity, re- 
 verfed the Decree. Afterwards, Efme Howard preferred an Appeal to 
 the Houfe of Lords. It feems Sir George Jeffries was then Chief 
 Juftice of the King's Bench-, and he, by Means of fome Encourage- 
 ment he had met with, took upon him the Part of flighting, and in- 
 fulting his Lordmip on all Occafions that profer'd. And here he had 
 a rare Opportunity ; for, in his rude Way of talking, and others of a 
 Party after him, he batter'd the poor Decree, not without the moil 
 indecent Affronts to his Lordmip that, in fuch an AfTembly, ever were 
 
 heard. His Lordmip, whofe Part it was tojuftify his Decree, took 
 
 not the leaft Notice of any Indecency, or Reflection, that regarded 
 him, but made a Deduction of the Cafe, and gave his Reafons amply, 
 and with calm and exquifite Temper. But his Decree was reverfed. 
 I heard a noble Peer fay that be never f aw his Lordfoip in fo much 
 Luftre as he appear d under the ill Ufage of that Day -, and he was 
 more admired, than any Succefs of his Reafons could have made him. 
 But now, having open'd this Scene, we are not to expect other than 
 Oppofition, Contempt, and brutal ill Ufage of that Chief towards his 
 Lordmip, while he lived. The Earl of Nottingham's was printed, 
 but his Lordmip did not think fit to intereft himfelf, in a private 
 Caufe, fo far as to become a Party in Print, although all the Chancel- 
 lor's Flcurifhes were fully anfwer'd and refolved. And as for certain 
 
 Scandals
 
 - 
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 20p 
 
 Scandals and Lies, raifed and printed by a * foul Libeller, relating to this 
 Caufe, I do not think them worth taking Notice of. 
 
 But as to Sir George Jeffries, having faid fo much of his ill Ufage short Account 
 of his Lordfhip, I think it proper to give fome particular Account of of the chief 
 his Character- which I mail, for the mod Part, do by annexing fome i u S" ; from 
 fhort Explanation to his Lordfhip's own Notes of him : And thofe are w? Begin-"*" 
 more explicite of him, than of any other Per fon ; for all the other nin ' tohis 
 Men of Law in England, in Place and out of Place, mufterd toge- ^wer"' 
 ther, did not fo much affect his Lordfhip's Quiet, as the Behaviour of 
 that Chief did; of which a juft View is prefented elfe where. To 
 take him from his Beginning, he was a Gentleman's Son in Wales, of 
 whom it was reported that he ufed to fay George (his Son) would die 
 in his Shoes. His Beginnings at the Inns of Court, and Practice, were 
 low. After he was called to the Bar, he ufed to lit in Coffee-houfes 
 and order his Man to come and tell him that Company attended him 
 at his Chamber ; at which he would huff, and fay, Let them flay a 
 little ; I will come prefently. This made a Shew of Bufinefs ; of which 
 he had Need enough, being married, and having feveral Children. 
 One of the Aldermen of the City was of his Name; which, probably, 
 inclined him to fteer his Courfe that Way : Where, having got Ac- 
 quaintance with the City Attornies, and drinking defperately with them, 
 he came into full Bufinefs amongft them, and was chofen Recorder of 
 the City. That let him into Knowledge at Court, and he was enter- 
 tain'd as the Duke of York's Solicitor, and was alfo of the King's 
 Counfel. He continued Recorder till the Profecution of Abhorrers, and 
 faved himfelf (as he took it) by Compofition for his Place. There- 
 upon, having furrender'd his Recordermip, he obtain'd the Place of 
 Chief Juflice of the King's Bench ; and, after the Death of the Lord 
 Keeper Guilford, the great Seal; which he held till the Prince of 
 Orange landed ; and then he abfconded in Difguife, in order to fly be- 
 yond Sea; but, being difcover'd at flapping t efcaiped narrowly being torn 
 in Pieces by the Rabble. He was fecured by the Lord Mayor, and 
 fent to the Tower, where he died. The Incidents of his Life, which 
 I mall take Occafion to remember, may aptly be placed againft his 
 Lordmip's Notes concerning him. 
 
 Began with a turbulent Spirit } This Method was the direct con- Began wi;h 
 againft the Mayor and Court ( trary to what raifed him, and, in Oppofinon tc 
 of Aldermen, taking Part with C his following Behaviour, he practif- ^ A1 a J 
 the Commons. ) ed: For he became an high Flier, men. 
 
 for the Authority of the Mayor and Court of Aldermen. He was of a 
 fierce, unquiet Difpofition, and, being at firft but low himfelf, could 
 act only among Inferiors, whom he inftigated to be troublefome ; and, 
 like others of ambitious Tempers, or, which is nearly the fame, ne- 
 
 * The Author of the Lives of the Lord Chancello-s. 
 
 D d ceffitou?,
 
 2IO 
 
 The LI PR of the late 
 
 ceffitous, he put himfelf into all Companies ; for which he was qua- 
 lified, byufing himfelf to drink hard; and fo made himfelf a general 
 Acquaintance, and fome Friendships, in the City. And, upon this 
 Courfe originally taken, he grounded his Pretenfions to an Intereft in 
 the Citifens. 
 
 Then, being acquainted with 
 
 Will Chiffinch (the trufty Page 
 
 of the back Stairs) ft ruck in 
 
 Then the 
 Puke's Soli- 
 citor. 
 
 and was made Recorder. 
 
 This Mr. Chiffinch was a true Se- 
 cretary as well as Page; for he had 
 a Lodging at the back Stairs, which 
 might have been properly termed 
 the Spy-Office ; where the King fpoke with particular Perfons, about 
 Intrigues of all Kinds : And all little Informers, Projectors, Gfc. were 
 carried to Chiffincb's Lodging. He was a moft impetuous Drinker, 
 and, in that Capacity, an admirable Spy ; for he let none part from 
 him fober, if it were poffible to get them drunk ; and his great Arti- 
 fice was puming idolatrous Healths of his good Mafter, and being al- 
 ways in Hafte ; for the King is coming ; which was his Word. Nor, 
 to make fure Work, would he fcruple to put his Mailer's falutiferous 
 Drops (which were called the King's, of the Nature ofGoddards) into 
 the Glaffes; and, being an Hercules, well breathed at the Sport him- 
 felf, he commonly had the better ; and fo fifhed out many Secrets, 
 and difcover'd Mens Characters, which the King could never have ob- 
 tain'd the Knowledge of by any other Means. It is likely that Jeffries, 
 being a Pretender to main Feats with the Citifens, might forward him- 
 felf, and be entertain'd by Will. Chiffinch, and, that, which, at firft, 
 was mere fpying, turn to Acquaintance, if not Friendmip, fuch as is 
 apt to grow up between immane Drinkers; and from thence might 
 fpring Recommendations of him to the King, as the moft ufeful Man 
 that could be found to ferve his Majefty in London ; where was Need 
 enough of good Magiftrates, and fuch as would not be, as diverfe were 
 accounted, no better than Traitors. 
 
 Afterwards the ") Having once got a Footing in Court, and found 
 Duke's Solicitor. 5 Means to hold forth great Aflurances of future 
 Services at large, it is no Wonder that he was taken in on that Side 
 of the Court, that defired fuch Men as would act without Referve, as 
 it was termed. While he was in this Poft, he made a great Buftle in 
 the Duke's Affairs, and carried through a Caufe which was of very great 
 Confequence to his Revenue; which was for the Right of the Penny 
 Poft Office. It was the Invention of one Docivra, who put it into 
 complete Order, and ufed it to the Satisfaction of all London, for a con- 
 fiderable Time. The Duke of York was Grantee of the Revenue of 
 the Poft Office; and his Counfel, finding this Project, of a Penny Poft, 
 turn out fo well, and apparently improvable, upon confulting the Act, 
 thought the Duke had a- Right to all Poft, and, confequently, to that. 
 
 Thereupon
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 2Il 
 
 Thereupon an Information, grounded on the Poft Act, was exhibited 
 againft Docwra, and, upon a Trial at the King's Bench Bar, he was 
 convicted; and ever fince, the Crown hath had the Benefit of the Penny 
 Poft. Docwra would not fubmit himfelf, but infifted on his Right to 
 the laft ; otherwife it was thought he might have fecured to himfelf a 
 good Office, by being ComrnifTioner for Life, to manage that Revenue. 
 But his Way wardnefs to the Court would not give him Leave to be fo 
 wife. 
 
 Upon Troubles in Parliament, "} This whole Affair, and all the Left the Place 
 he would notftand his Ground, Circumftances of it, is fully ac- ^ 
 but quitted his Recorderfhip in ^ counted for in the Examen, fo: 
 Fear, and with great Entreaty. | (hall fay little here; only that 
 Whereupon Sir G-eorge reby this Sir George Treby, who fuc- 
 was made. j ceeded Jeffries in the Recorder- 
 
 fhip, was no Fanatic; but, of the Fanatic Party, true as Steel. His 
 Genius lay to Free-thinking, and, conformably to his Fellows at that 
 Time, made the Scriptures and Chriftianity, or rather all Religion, a 
 Jeft 5 and fo conftant in his Way, that no Man could fay that ever he 
 was the firft, and not the laft, that left the Bottle. 
 
 He aim'd at the Place of Chief "\ It was a cruel Thing in Jeffries His Ambition 
 Juftice of the Common Pleas, 
 after the Judgment, in the quo 
 
 to prefs fo very hard, as he did, to 
 
 come over the Head of Mr. Juftice Men!" Some 
 
 dice of better 
 
 Warranto, fettled to the Preju- Jones, againft whom there was no No . tes of the 
 dice of Jones, who had ferved Sort of Objection j but, on the con- ^J* f a Vthe 
 
 in giving it j and Expedient be- 
 ing found by Room in B. R. 
 
 trary, a Merit in doing the King Lofs of sir 
 Juftice, in fo great and confequen-7'* ch * rle ">> 
 
 was made fo. J tial a Caufe as that, againft the 
 
 City, was. And, in the End, Saunders, the Chief Juftice, being dif- 
 abled by his Apoplexy, Jones pronounced that Judgment, and ex- 
 prefTed the Reafons fo mort and found, and, deliver'd with that Gra- 
 vity and Authority, as became the Court, and Greatnefs of the Occa- 
 fion. And one, that had a Grain of Confideration of any Thing but 
 himfelf, and being of the fame Intereft and Sentiment, would not 
 have pufh'd, with a flaming Violence at Court, to the Injury of fo ve- 
 nerable a Perfon as that Judge was j whofe Character I mould have 
 particularly fet forth here, if it had not been done already in the 
 Examen. Jeffries did not gain his Point of him ; but Matters refted 
 a while, and the Place of Chief Juftice of the Common Pleas being 
 void by his Lordihip's Promotion to the Seal, Jones was placed there, 
 which was his Advantage, and Jeffries took the Cufhion in the Kings 
 Bench. This was not the onlylnftance of the unreafonable Ambition 
 of Jeffries, to the Prejudice of deferving Men. For he laid his Eye 
 on the Place of Chief Juftice of Chejier, which was full of Sir Job 
 
 D d 2 Cha-leton t
 
 212 The LIFE of the late 
 
 Charleton, than whom there was not a Perfon better qualified for his 
 Majefty's Favour ; an old Cavalier, loyal, learned, grave, and wife. 
 He had a confiderable Eftate towards Wales, and defired to die in 
 that Employment. But Jeffries, with his Intereft on the Side of the 
 Duke of Tork, prefled the King fo hard that he could not ftand it ; 
 but Sir Job Charleton muft be a Judge of the Common Pleas, and 
 Jeffries at Chejler in his Place, being more Welfiman than himfelf. 
 Sir Job laid this heavily upon his Heart, and defired only that he 
 might fpeak to the King, and receive his Pleafure from his own 
 Mouth ; but was diverted, as a Thing determined. But once he went 
 to Whitehall, and placed himfelf where the King, returning from his 
 Walk in St. James's Park, muft pafs ; and there he fet him down like 
 Hermit poor. When the King came in, and faw him at a Diftance, 
 fitting where he was to pafs, concluded he intended to fpeak with 
 him, which he could not, by any Means, bear : He therefore turn'd 
 fliort off, and went another Way. Sir Job, feeing that, pitied his 
 poor Mafter, and never thought of troubling him more, but buckled 
 to his Bufmefs in the Common Pleas. And may WeJiminfler-Hall ne- 
 ver know a worfe Judge than he was. 
 
 A fiaitious Then received a Ring from the ^ What concerns this artificial Fame, 
 
 and the Ufe that was made of it 
 in Favour of Recufants, as alfo 
 the Confequence of Merit for pro- 
 curing Surrenders of Charters, is 
 expreffed among the Emergences, 
 
 Greatnefscon- 
 
 King before the Circuit to blow 
 duceVshew' his Fame as Favourite, and <$uo 
 Power Warrantors fent to terrify, and 
 Jof" the Charters falling to him was 
 rhV Abufe of luftily cried up as a Service, which 
 
 of his 
 
 was all laid beforehand. j during his Lordmip's Miniftry, 
 
 in this fourth Stage of his Life. And as for the Matter of Charters, 
 a Bufinefs of great Remark in thofe Times, and not like to be well 
 underflood in the future, I have endeavoured to ftate what I know of 
 thofe Proceedings by Quo Warranto, and procuring Surrenders, in 
 the Examen. I think it will appear there, that the original and chief 
 Inftances of them were not only juft, that is according to Law, and 
 prudent, but alfo neceflary to the Continuance of the publick Peace ; 
 and alfo that this Method of Law fo reafonably begun, and juftly pur- 
 fued, after a few Years, corrupted into a Courfe of Violence and Op- 
 preffion ; that is when Men interpofed either to court or fright harm- 
 lefs and orderly Corporations to furrender, and, upon Refufal, plun- 
 ged them into the chargeable and defencelefs Condition of going to 
 Law againft the Crown, whereby that, which would not come by fair 
 Means, was extorted by Violence. This was one of the Troubles of 
 Mind which his Lordlhip laboured under in the latter End of King 
 Charles's Reign, as of a Devil railed, which could not readily be laid. 
 Nor could he refifl the Pretenders to Merit 5 fince all was reckoned 
 
 good
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 
 
 good Service at Court, that gave the King any Addition of Power, 
 without confidering the Defalcations, on the other fide, from the fierce 
 and irregular Means of obtaining it. And his Lordfhip was not want- 
 ing to difcountenance all fuch Practices, which made him be lifted a- 
 mong the Trimmers, as touched elfewhere. However, there was 
 Hopes, in that Reign, of bringing all to rights again. But, after the 
 Death of that good King, the Flood-Gates were opened, and a Deluge 
 of Abufe, upon that Topick, entered, but came not up fo high as to 
 overwhelm all, till his Lordfhip died, who, as long as he lived, was 
 fome Obftacle to the Courfe of thofe many Inconveniences that fol- 
 lowed. But then, among many others, this Trade of Charters run to 
 Excefs, and turned to an avowed Practice of garbling Corporations in 
 order to carry Elections to the Parliament j and a Committee of Coun- 
 cil was appointed to manage the Regulations, as they were called ; and 
 there was an itinerant Crew of the worft of Men, that wrought in the 
 Towns, to be regulated, under Direction of the Committee. Thefe 
 were termed Regulators ; and, according to their Characters, and De- 
 fignations, Mayors, Aldermen, Recorders, Common Councils and 
 Freemen, were modified and eftabliihed. The Lord Chief Juftice 
 Jeffries was capitally concerned in the firft of thefe Exorbitances, and 
 pufhed Matters, through all the Degrees, into thofe ExcefTes I men- 
 tioned. At firft it was his Way of making Court, but, at laft, it was 
 his Shield and Defence. For he and his Clan, one Sir N. Butler, and 
 (I mould have firft faid) the Lord Sunder land were, by thefe Practices, 
 become fo obnoxious in the Reign of King James II. that, knowing 
 they could not ftand the Fury of any Parliament, they laboured, by 
 manifeft Provocations of the People, carried on affectedly by them, at 
 length to come to that Height, as to be able to fliew the King that all 
 Parliaments were impracticable, and to prevail upon him to live with- 
 out any at all. And, by that means, they might continue great, and 
 be fecure -, otherwife, that is, if ever there was a Parliament, they muft 
 certainly fall a Sacrifice to the Fury of the Commons. But thefe 
 Extremes afperfed the whole Subject- Matter, as well what wasjuft as 
 unjuft, reafonableas unreafonable, all alike fufTered under the Obloquy ; 
 and none ever concerned themfelves to diftinguifh more than if there 
 had been no Difference at all from the firft to the laft. And the very 
 Law itfelf, that is, the known legal and (fometimes) neceffary Procefs 
 of Quo WarrantO) came well nigh to be entirely abolifhed. For fo 
 Men run from one Extreme to another, and, as the Englijh Mode is, 
 reform, not by reftoring, or mending, but, by kicking down all at 
 once whatever is abufed, though, in itfelf, never fo good. This is 
 what I'have thought fit to fay "here touching the Subject of Charters; 
 
 which.
 
 2I 4 
 
 The LIFE of the late 
 
 which doth but very little, if at all, interfere with fo much as is faid 
 of it in the Examen. 
 Great at Court The Companies, and City Bufi-^ This Confequence is elfewhere ob- 
 
 made him 
 great in the 
 City, and e 
 contra. 
 
 nefs make him great, being put 
 into his Hands ; and then he is 
 
 ferved of him. Only it is to be 
 noted, that he prevailed to have all 
 cried up as having the City at his >the Affairs, concerning the City of 
 
 w*. \ f I . . 1 rt i i 
 
 1 London, put into his Hands ; which 
 made many Citifens obliged to 
 court him that were not very much 
 
 Diverfe Mat- 
 ters furioufly JuilicCS. 
 and oddly 
 driven by 
 ihim. 
 
 Devotion. 
 
 Qu. <i$uidproinde? 
 >u. What then ? 
 
 really his humble Servants : But no Remedy ; and he was their. Gran- 
 dee. 
 
 Sir William Smith and Baily 
 Inde ardor cum Intern- \ 
 Thence he took Occafion 
 
 This is mentioned elfewhere, fo 
 far as I can remember of it ; as 
 
 perie. Thence he took Occalion>alfo the fpeaking in the Council 
 to fcold violently. ^ drunk, and inveighing againft 
 
 Trimmers. 
 
 Poft, accufatio Com. Serjeant, ") One Mr. Crifp was, in thofe times, 
 fine Fundamento. He afterwards Qthe common Serjeant in London, 
 accufed the common Serjeant upon f an Office of confiderable Account, 
 no Grounds. )efpecially in the Orphanage. He 
 
 was an honeft, reafonable, Gentleman, and very loyal j but, it feems, 
 was not one that would go into all Meafures ; therefore caufelefs blame 
 was laid upon him. I do not call to mind what it wasj but it did not 
 fucceed to his Prejudice. 
 
 Pcft Rofewell, mo' in Arreft, & iThis Rofeivell was attaint, by Ver- 
 gavifus de Errore. Urged the Pro- Qdict, of High Treafon in London, 
 fecution of Rofewell, and laughed( and, having made his Peace with 
 at the Miitake. \ the Lord Chief Juftice, moved by 
 
 his Counfel to arrefl the Judgment for an Error of Form in the Record. 
 The Lord Chief Juftice could not contain himfelf, or be concealed, but 
 openly rejoiced at the Accident, and was tickled with mirth and laugh- 
 ing at the King's Counfel. But the ferious Obfervation was that, af- 
 ter he had urged the Profecution of Rofewell, and a Fault flipt, he 
 mould fo merrily difcharge him. 
 
 A *tt 1 f H 1 ^is wasa Citifen that he caufed to be pro- 
 3 fecuted for High Treafon; and then, at the 
 
 Trial, apparently helped him off with the Jury : Which, it may be, 
 was not without Reafon; for Evidences, at fuch Trials, ought to be 
 above all Exception. But fince nothing new fprung at the Trial, which 
 was not feen before, it was pleafant to fee a Man hunted into the Toils, 
 and then let go. So fuddenly may Enemies become Friends. Upon 
 what Terms who knows ? 
 
 Motion
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 2I , 
 
 Motion for delivering the 7 . 
 
 Papiftsoutof Jail. J Thls 1S at lar S e declared afterwards. 
 
 Profecution of Will. 1 This his Lordmip thought ill advifed ; for he 
 Williams. 3 was Speaker of the Houfe of Commons, and 
 
 had figned diverfe Matters, as Commitments, Addrefles, Votes, and 
 fuch Acts as the Houfe thought fit fhould be done ; but if they were, 
 as was fuppofed, criminal in their Nature, as Libels, falfe Imprifon- 
 ments, &c. no Privilege, in ftrict Rigour of Law, excufeth them. But to 
 profecutea Speaker, in Vacation of Parliament, for what he had done 
 by the Order of the Houfe of Commons in the laft Seffions of Parlia- 
 ment, was by no means gracious, or like to be well taken in any fuc- 
 ceeding Parliament, but tended rather to irritate than reconcile ; which 
 was more for the King's Service. But Williams had been {harp upon 
 Jeffries when he was upon his Knees at the Bar of the Houfe for ab- 
 horring j and they were both Welshmen : Therefore Williams muft be 
 profecuted. 
 
 It may conduce fomewhat to the understanding this, to relate what Caughtby a 
 I clearly remember. It was the Cafe of Samuel Verdon y a famous bold Aftion 
 Norfolk Attorney. He was ordered by the Houfe of Commons to be a^LTa-' 
 taken into Cuftody, and the Warrant figned William Williams. The bout Parlia- ; 
 Serjeant's Men went down and took him j but he, out of an acquired 
 Obftinacy, would conform with the Meffengers in nothing. But, in 
 bringing him up, he would not be prevailed with either to mount or 
 difmount his Horfe j but forced the Meffengers, at every Turn, to lift 
 him on and off; and, at the fame Time, had his Clerks taking Notes, 
 in order to teflify thefe Affaults of his Perfon ; for every one of which, 
 he intended to bring an Action of Battery. It fo fell out that, as he 
 was upon the Road, about Midway between Norwich and London, the 
 Parliament was prorogued, by which the Warrant ceafed, and, after 
 that, the Cuftody was a falfe Imprifonment; and Verdon brought his 
 Action for it againft the MefTengers, which Action was tried at the Ex- 
 chequer Bar. The Speaker (Will. Williams) himfelf, was the Front 
 Counfel for the Defendants, and Jeffries for Verdon. Williams faid 
 much to excufe the Men, upon Account of their invincible Ignorance 
 of the Prorogation. Upon that, Verdon fteps forth, and, My Lord, 
 faid he, if Sir William Williams will here own his Hand to the War- 
 rant y 1 will ftraight difcharge thefe Men. Jeffries was fo highly 
 pleafed with this Gafconade of his Client, that he loved him ever af- 
 ter $ of which Verdon felt the good Effects, when his learned Counfel 
 came that Circuit as Chief Juftice ; for although many Complaints 
 were intended againft him, and fuch as were thought well enough 
 erounded, yet he came orT Scot Free. 
 
 tffft
 
 The LIFE of the late 
 
 T ,- n 7 This was the great Caufe that depended, 
 
 Com P an y- \ at that no* pft sw, for iLriop: 
 
 ing ; but concern'd the Merchants in London, who complain'd againft 
 the Ea ft India Company for being a Monopoly, and began almoft to 
 form an interloping Company. But the Judgment of Law, being for 
 the Company, put a Stop to it. jfeffries efpoufed the Matter with 
 great Fury ; and though not much given to argue Law Matters, he, in 
 giving his Judgment, made a prolix Argument, as the Reports of the 
 Cafe, wherever they appear, will {hew. There was fomewhat extraor- 
 dinary at the Bottom. But I have no Ground to fay what. 
 
 T, ,, r *. j i 7 There is no Account to be given of 
 y fe " mtr0duCed 3 this Affion of Jeffrie,, but that he 
 
 was making Friends with the Anti-Court Party. For this Pollexfen 
 was deep in all the defperate Defigns againft the Crown, He was the 
 Advifer and Advocate of all thofe who were afterwards found Traitors. 
 In a Word, a thoroughftitch Enemy to the Crown and Monarchy in 
 his Time. A Fanatic, and (in the Country) Frequenter of Conven- 
 ticles j and one, more notorious of this Character, was not to be found. 
 And yet, when Jeffries went down into \htWeft, with his CommirTion 
 of War, as well as Oyer and for miner, he takes this Pollexfen into the 
 Service, to be the King's Counfel, in thofe furious Profecutions. And 
 it may be he knew him prophetically to be fit for the Purpofe ; for, 
 upon the Revolution, he was made a Judge, and, from a Whiner for 
 Favour to Criminals, he proved the verieft Butcher of a Judge that 
 hath been known. But to pafs to the Chief Juftice. It feems here 
 that this Service was to be a Step, upon which Jeffries intended to 
 lift him into the King's Service, as his Majefty's Counfel, or Serjeant, 
 if not Judge. Nothing could be more counter to the hectoring Hu- 
 rnour of the Chief Juftice, that ufed to batter Whigs, and even Trim- 
 mers, without Mercy, than this employing of Pollexfen. 
 
 There is one Branch of that Chief's Expedition in the Weft, which 
 5s his Vifitation of the City of Erijlol, that hath fome Singularities, of 
 a Nature * ftrange, that I think them worth my Time to relate. 
 There had been an Ufage among the Aldermen and Juftices of the 
 Q t y ( w here all Perfons, even common Shop-keepers, more or lefs, 
 trade to the American Plantations) to carry over Criminals, who were 
 pardon'd with Condition of Tranfportation, and to fell them for Mo- 
 ney. This was found to be a good Trade; but, not being content to 
 take fuch Felons as were convict at their AfTifes and Seffions, which 
 produced but a few, they found out a morter Way, which yielded a 
 greater Plenty of the Commodity. And that was this. The Mayor 
 and Juftices, or fome of them, ufually met at their Tolfey (a Court 
 Houfe by their Exchequer) about Noon, which was the Meeting of 
 
 the
 
 LORD KEEPER GU1LFORD. 
 
 the Merchants, as at the Exchange at London ; and there they fat and 
 did Juftice Bufmefs, that was brought before them. When fmall 
 Rogues, and Pilferers, were taken and brought there, and, upon Exa- 
 mination, put under the Terror of being hanged, in order to which, 
 Mittimus's were making, fome, of the diligent Officers attending, in- 
 ftrudled them to pray Tranfportation, as the only Way to fave them ; 
 and, for the mod Part, they did fo. Then, no more was done ; but 
 the next Alderman in Courfe took one and another, as their Turns 
 came, fometimes quarrelling whofe the laft was, and fent them over 
 and fold them. This Trade had been driven for many Years, and no 
 Notice taken of it. Some of the wealthier Aldermen, although they 
 fat in the Court and connived, as Sir Robert Cann for Inftance, never 
 had a Man ; but yet they were all involved in the Guilt, when the 
 Charge came over them. It appears not how this outragious Practice 
 came to the Knowledge of the Lord Chief Juftice ; but, when he had 
 hold of the End, he made thoroughftitch Work with them; for he 
 delighted in fuch fair Opportunities to rant. He came to the City, 
 and told fome that he had brought a Broom to fweep them. The City 
 of Brillol is a proud Body, and their Head, the Mayor, in the Affife 
 CommifTion, is put before the Judge of Affife ; though, perhaps, it 
 was not fo in this extraordinary Commiffion of Over and Terminer. 
 But for certain, when his Lordmip came upon the Bench, and ex- 
 amined this Matter, he found all the Aldermen and Juftices concern 'd 
 in this kidnapping Trade, more or lefs, and the Mayor himfelf as bad 
 as any. He thereupon turns to the Mayor, accoutred with his Scarlet 
 and Furs, and gave him all the ill Names that fcolding Eloquence could 
 fupply; and fo, with rating and flaring, as his Way was, never left 
 till he made him quit the Bench, and go down to the Criminal's Poft 
 at the Bar; and there he pleaded for himfelf, as a common Rogue, or 
 Thief, muft have done: And when the Mayor hefitated a little, or 
 flacken'd his Pace, he bawl'd at him, and, ftamping, call'd for his 
 Guards; for he was General by Commiffion. Thus the Citifens faw 
 their fcarlet chief Magiftrate at the Bar, to their infinite Terror and 
 Amafement. He then took Security of them to anfwer Informations, 
 and fo left them to ponder their Cafes amongft themfelves. At London 
 Sir Robert Cann applied, by Friends, to appeafe him, and to get from 
 under the Profecution, and at laft he granted it, faying, Go thy Way, 
 fin no more, left a ivorfe Thing come unto thee. The Profecutions de- 
 pended till the Revolution, which made an Amnefly; and the Fright 
 only, which was no fmall one, was all the Punifhment thefe juridical 
 Kidnappers underwent ; and the Gains acquired by fo wicked a Trade, 
 refted peacefully in their Pockets. 
 
 E e Sir
 
 2i 8 Tie LIFE of tie late 
 
 S\r John Trevor. } ^ was a C^yman r f the . Lord T Chief 
 brought 7 3 Juiticc Jeffries, and his Favourite. It may 
 
 in, and foon not t> e am ifs to {hew a little of him, that it may appear what Sort of 
 ^nr?ng P " 'Men that Chief brought forward. He was bred a Sort of Clerk in old 
 J (fries. Arthur Trevor's Chamber, an eminent and worthy Profeflbr of the 
 Law in the Inner Temple. A Gentleman, that vifited Mr. Arthur 
 Trevor, at his going out, obferved a ftrange-looking Boy in his Clerk's 
 Seat (for no Perfon ever had a worfe Sort of Squint than he had) and 
 afed who that Youth was ? A Kinfman of 'mine -, faid Arthur Trevor, 
 that I have allow' d to Jit here, to learn the knavijh Part of the Law. 
 This yohn Trevor grew up, and took in with the Gamefters, among 
 whom he was a great Proficient: And, being well grounded in the 
 Law, proved a Critick in refolving Gaming Cafes, and Doubts, and 
 had the Authority of a Judge amongft them ; and his Sentence, for 
 the moft Part, carried the Caufe. From this Exercife, he was recom- 
 mended by Jeffries to be of the King's Counfel, and then Mafter of 
 the Rolls, and, like a true Gamefter, he fell to the good Work of 
 fupplanting his Patron and Friend ; and had certainly done it, if King 
 9 James's Affairs had ftood right up much longer ; for he was advanced 
 Jo far with him, as to vilify and fcold with him publickly in White- 
 ball. He was chofen Speaker in King James's Parliament, and ferved 
 in the fame Poft after the Revolution. Once, upon a Scrutiny of Bri- 
 bery in the Houfe of Commons, in Favour of one Cook, a Creature 
 of Sir Jofiah Child's, who ruled the Eaft India Company, it was 
 plainly difcover'd that the Speaker Trevor had 1000 /. upon which 
 the Debate run hard upon him, and he fat above fix Hours as Prolo- 
 cutor in an Aflemblythat paft that Time with calling him all to naught 
 to his Face , and, at length, he was forced, or yielded, to put the 
 Queftion upon himfelf, as in the Form, as many, as are of Opinion 
 that Sir John Trevor is guilty of corrupt Bribery by receiving, &c, 
 and, in declaring the Senfe of the Houfe, declared himfelf guilty. 
 The Houfe rofe, and he went his Way, and came there no more. But 
 whether the Members thought that the being fo baited in the Chair 
 was Punifhment enough, or for his taking fuch grofs Correction fo 
 patiently and conformably ; or elfe, a Matter, once out of the Way, 
 was thought of no more j it is certain that he never was molefled far- 
 ther about that Matter j but continued in his Poft of Mafter of the 
 Rolls, equitable Judge of the Subjects Interefts and Eftates, to the 
 great Encouragement of prudent Bribery for ever after. 
 
 Undertook to ... ~> This hath been touch'd elfe- 
 
 About bailing of the Lords Hi. de- ) 
 
 bail .h^ord,, out aiing o te ors i. e- , Th L d h 
 
 "1 - I f lb . era ! ln .8' * ef ! A T n> \ Five the Tower for the 
 
 fulnefs m that Affair, N r>< j > 
 
 J Ptot; and it feems that his 
 
 Paffages. . . . 
 
 determining
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 2I9 
 
 determining upon the Queftion to bail them, help'd to lift him into 
 
 his Place of Chief of the Kings Bench ; but, at the Touch, he failed. 
 Offer to come upon *) This was a Prefumption no Englifo Coun- 
 the Scotch Affairs. feHor, but the premier Minifter, pretended 
 
 toj and {hews a violent Forwardnefs, as if it aimed at no lefs. 
 
 Trimming pro Sacbevere/, ^ Mr. Sacbeverel was a fierce Hero a- 
 Redarg. Attorn. Trimmed / gainft the Court in theHoufe of Com- 
 for the Side of Sacbeverel, ^> mons ; and, being profecuted by the 
 and reproved the Attorney v Attorney General for fome Mifdemea- 
 General. J nor, the Lord Chief Juftice fided with 
 
 him, and reproved the Attorney General. It is only an Inftance of 
 
 his taking in with the Heads of the anti- court Party. 
 
 Introduftio Roe "> This was another like Inftance -, for Roe was a 
 Introduced Roe 5 clofe Servant of Monmoutb's : Which comes vile 
 
 near fiding againft his Mafter and Benefactor, the Duke of Tork. 
 
 Noify in Nature. Turbulent -\ This, to conclude, is the fummary The general 
 at firft fetting out. Deferter / Character of the Lord Chief Juflice SS^*^ 
 in Difficulties. Full of Tricks. > Jeffries, and needs no Interpreter. a remarkable 
 Helped by fimilarFriendfhips. \ And, fince nothing hiftorical is a- P ifcovei 7 of 
 
 TT n_ T T> i 1-1 i / T^ r i-i i T 'ii hirn ; hisln- 
 
 Honefty, Law, Policy, alike. J mifs in a Deugn like this, I will difference to 
 fubjoin what I have personally noted of that Man j and fome Things the Juftice of 
 of indubitable Report concerning him. His Friendship and Converfa- Court - 
 tion lay much among the good Fellows and Humourifts ; and his De- 
 lights were, accordingly, Drinking, Laughing, Singing, Kiffing, and 
 all the Extravagances of the Bottle. He had a Set of Banterers, for 
 the moft Part, near him ; as, in old Time, great Men kept Fools to 
 make them merry. And thefe Fellows, abuling one another and their 
 Betters, were a Regale to him. And no Friendfhip or Dearnefs could 
 be fo great, in private, which he would not ufe ill, and to an extra- 
 vagant Degree, in Publick. No one, that had any Expectations from 
 him, was fafe from his publick Contempt and Derifion, which fome 
 of his Minions, at the Bar, bitterly felt. Thofe above, or that could 
 hurt, or benefit, him, and none elfe, might depend on fair Quarter at 
 his Hands. When he was in Temper, and Matters indifferent came 
 before him, he became his Seat of Juftice better than any other I ever 
 faw in his Place. He took a Pleafure in mortifying fraudulent Attor- 
 nies, and would deal forth his Severities with a Sort of Majefty. He 
 had extraordinary natural Abilities, but little acquired, beyond what 
 Practice in Affairs had fupplied. He talk'd fluently, and with Spirit; 
 and his Weaknefs was that he could not reprehend without fcolding; 
 and in fuch Billinfgate Language, as fhould not come out of the 
 Mouth of any Man. He call'd it giving a Lick 'with the rough Side 
 of his Tongue. It was ordinary to hear him fay Go, you ere flthy, 
 
 E e 2
 
 220 The LIFE of the late 
 
 loit/y, knittyRafcal; with much more of like Elegance. Scarce a Day 
 paft that he did not chide fome one, or other, of the Bar, when he 
 fat in the Chancery: And it was commonly a Lecture of a Quarter of 
 an Hour long. And they ufed to fay, Ihis is yours; my Turn will 
 be to Morrow. He feem'd to lay nothing of his Bufinefs to Heart, 
 nor care what he did, or left undone; and fpent, in the Chancery 
 Court, what Time he thought fit to fpare. Many Times, on Days of 
 Caufes at his Houfe, the Company have waited five Hours in a Morn- 
 ing, and, after Eleven, he hath come out inflamed, and flaring like 
 one diffracted. And that Vifage he put on when he animadverted on 
 fuch as he took Offence at, which made him a Terror to real Offen- 
 ders ; whom alfo he terrified, with his Face and Voice, as if the Thun- 
 der of the Day of Judgment broke over their Heads: And nothing 
 ever made Men tremble like his vocal Inflictions. He loved to infult, 
 and was bold without Check; but that only when his Place was up- 
 permoft. To give an Inftance. A City Attorney was petition'd a- 
 gainft for fome Abufe; and Affidavit was made that, when he was 
 told of my Lord Chancellor, My Lord Chancellor, faid he, I made him; 
 meaning his being a Means to bring him early into City Bufinefs. 
 When this Affidavit was read, Well, faid the Lord Chancellor, then I 
 will lay my Maker by the Heels. And, with that Conceit, one of his 
 beft old Friends went to Jail. One of thefe Intemperances was fatal 
 to him. There was a Scrivener of Wappmg brought to hearing for 
 Relief againft a Bummery Bond; the Contingency of lofing all being 
 fhewed, the Bill was going to be difmiffed. But one of the Plaintiff's 
 Counfel faid that he was a ftrange Felbw, and fometimes went to 
 Church, fometimes to Conventicles ; and none could tell what to 
 make of him ; and it was thought he was a Trimmer. At that the 
 Chancellor fired ; and A trimmer, faid he ! / have heard much of 
 that Monjler, but never Jaw one. Come forth, Mr. Trimmer, turn 
 you round, and let us fee your Shape : And, at that Rate, talk'd fo 
 long that the poor Fellow was ready to drop under him ; but, at laft, 
 the Bill was difmiffed with Cofts, and he went his Way. In the Hall, 
 one of his Friends afked him how became off? Came off, faid he, I 
 am efcaped from the 'Terrors of that Mans Face, which 1 would 
 fcarce undergo again to fave my Life ; and I flail certainly have the 
 frightful Impreffion of it as long as I live. Afterwards, when the 
 Prince of Grange came, and all was in Confufion, this Lord Chancel- 
 lor, being very obnoxious, difguifed himfelf in order to go beyond 
 Sea. He was in a Seaman's Garb, and drinking a Pot in a Cellar. 
 This Scrivener came into the Cellar after fome of his Clients ; and his 
 Eye caught that Face, which made him ftart ; and the Chancellor, 
 feeing himfelf eyed, feign'd a Cough, and turn'd to the Wall with his 
 
 Pot
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 22I 
 
 Pot in his Hand. But Mr. Trimmer went out, and gave Notice that 
 he was there ; whereupon the Mob flow'd in, and he was in extreme 
 Hazard of his Life; but the Lord Mayor faved him, and loft him- 
 felf. For the Chancellor being hurried with fuch Croud and Noife 
 before him, and appearing fo difmally, not only difguifed but, difor- 
 der'd; and there having been an Amity betwixt them, as alfo a Vene- 
 ration on the Lord Mayor's Part, he had not Spirits to fuftain the 
 Shock, but fell down in a Swoon ; and, in not many Hours after, died. 
 But this Lord Jeffries came to the Seal without any Concern at the 
 Weight of Duty incumbent upon him ; for, at the flrft, being merry 
 over a Bottle with fome of his old Friends, one of them told him 
 that he would find the Bufinefs heavy. No, faid he, /'// make it light. 
 But, to conclude with a ftrange Inconfiftency, he would drink, and 
 be merry, kifs and flaver, with thefe bon Companions over Night, as 
 the Way of fuch is, and, the next Day, fall upon them, ranting and 
 fcolding with a Virulence unfufferable. 
 
 Some Time before his Lordfhip was preferred to the great Seal, Digreffion to . 
 the Lord Chief Juftice Pemberton was removed, and was fucceeded J^nment hd 
 by SIT Edmund Saunden. Both of whom, being eminent in the Pro- Reafon,at 
 feffion of the Law, and Cotemporaries of his Lordmip, I mail take |^ Time, to 
 this Opportunity of faying fomething of their Characters : But, before whaTj^dges 
 I proceed fo far, it will be proper to folve a Queftion much toiled were truftofc, 
 about in thofe Days. And that was whether the Court was not to 
 blame, for appointing Men to Places of Judgment, when great Mat- 
 ters of Law, and of mighty Confequence, depended to be heard and 
 determined, whofe Opinions were known before-hand; of which it is 
 eafy to fay (as the Anti-court Party did) that Judges were made to 
 ferve Turns. This Queftion turns upon the fuppofed Integrity of the 
 Government.. They are, as all Governments muft be, entfufled with 
 Power j which Power may be ufed to good or ill Purpofe. If it be 
 to ill, it is no Objection to the Reafonablenefs of the Power, becaufe 
 Power mufl: be. Here a Government is befet with Enemies, ever 
 watching for Opportunities to deftroy it; and, having a Power to choofe 
 whom to truft, the taking up Men, whofe Principles are not known, 
 is more than an even Chance that Enemies are taken into their Bofom, 
 Here the Government firft confulted of the Juftice by Law againft 
 the City's Charter, and found, by clear Advice, that it was forfeited, 
 and ought to be accordingly condemned ; and, upon the Event, vaft 
 Importances hung ; even the Peace of the Nation. Would any Go- 
 vernment in the World, truft that Juftice to the Ai bitriment of Ene- 
 mies, or run the Hazard of having fuch ? Or, were it a Doubt of 
 Opinion only, would they not be fure of Men to judge, whole Un- 
 derftandings and Principles were foreknown ? What is the Ufc of
 
 III 
 
 Mortified an 
 Attorney to 
 Death. 
 
 The LIFE of tie late 
 
 Power but to fecure Juftice ? It may, it's true, protect the contrary; 
 and fo Men may kill one another j as they lay that every fingle Man 
 hath the Power of Life and Death. But that is not an Exception a- 
 gainft the juft Ufe of a Power, or that Men may not carry Knives in 
 their Pockets. But it is to be obferved that thefe kind of Objections 
 are commonly Wheedles; and, if Governours hearken to them, they are 
 probably loft j and thofe, who are the Objectors, laugh in their Sleeves, 
 and, in their Turn, outdo, many Bars, all that themfelves found Fault 
 with. The true Diftinction is when Governments ufe Powers that 
 do not belong to them (as high Courts of Juftice) ; and when they 
 ufe only fuch Powers as are properly lawful, as the ordinary Courts of 
 the common Law. It is a Maxim of Law that Fraud is not to be af- 
 jlgned in lawful A5ls. If Governments fecure their Peace by doing 
 only what is lawful to be done, all is right. If they fuffer Encroach- 
 ments, and, at length, Diflblution, for want of ufing fuch Powers, 
 what will it be called but Stupidity and Folly ? But to proceed to what 
 I intended. 
 
 The Lord Chief Juftice Pemberton was a better Practifer than a 
 Judge ; for, being made Chief Juftice of the Kings Bench, he had a 
 towering Opinion of his own Senfe and Wifdom, and rather made, than 
 declared, Law. I have heard his Lordmip fay that, in making Law, 
 he had outdone King, Lords, and Commons. This may feem ftrange 
 to fuch as fee not the Behaviour of Judges, and do not confider the 
 Propenfity of almoft all to appear wifer than thofe that went before 
 them. Therefore it is the moft impartial Character of a Judge to defer 
 toElderfhip, or Antiquity. But to proceed: This Man's Morals were 
 very indifferent j for his Beginnings were debauched, and his Study 
 and firft Practice in the Goal. For, having been one of the fiercefl 
 Town Rakes, and fpent more than he had of his own, his Cafe forced 
 him upon that Expedient for a Lodging : And there he made fo good 
 Ufe of his Leifure, and bufied himfelf with the Cafes of his Fellow 
 Collegiates, whom he informed and advifed fo fkilfully, that he was 
 reputed the moft notable Fellow within thofe Walls j and, at length, 
 he came out a Sharper at the Law. After that, he proceeded to Study 
 and Practice, till he was eminent, and made a Serjeant. After he was 
 Chief Juftice of the Kings Bench, he proved, as I faid, a great Ruler, 
 and nothing muft ftand in the Way of his Authority. I find a few 
 Things noted of him by his Lordmip. 
 
 Cafe of Lady Ivye, where ad- )The Lady profecuted Johnfon for 
 vifed that there was Subornation, (this Subornation, by Information 
 for which yohnfon was ruined, andMn the King's Bench, and the caufe 
 Heart broke. jwas tried before Pemberton. It 
 
 appeared
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 223 
 
 appeared that Jobnfon had no Concern, or Words, but by way of Ad- 
 vice to his Client ; but he was born down and convict ; at which the 
 Fellow took defpair and died. It was thought his Meafure was very 
 hard and cruel ; and that fome mighty Point of Intereft, in her Lady- 
 fhip's Law-Suits, depended upon this Man's Suffering. 
 
 Doyly 's Settlement a Cheat, for > This fraudulent Conveyance was 
 want of Words ufual. >. by( managed between Sir Robert Bal- ^Sent 1 " 
 whofe Contrivance. But he z.<\-?dock and Pemberton. It is certain Conveyance 
 vifed. jit was paffed by Pemberton, who^,f r ^^ w> 
 
 was the Counfel chiefly relied on ; but not fo certain it was his Con- 
 trivance ; for Baldock had Wit and Will enough to do it. The De- 
 vice was to make two Jointures, as of the Manors of A and B, com- 
 plete, and without Words of Reference of the one to the other, as in 
 
 Party &c. or together with in full, whereby the one called upon 
 
 the other. The Ufe made of this Trick was mortgaging both thefe 
 Eftates as free, but, in Truth, encumbered with the Jointure and Set- 
 tlement. For, upon the Prefer of A to be mortgaged, and the Coun- 
 fel demanding a Sight of the Marriage Settlement, that of B was mew- 
 ed. Then, upon the Profer of B, the Settlement of A was {hewed - f 
 and fo the Cheat pafTed of both. 
 
 This Chief Juftice fat in the King's Bench till near the Time that Removed be 
 the great Caufe of the $uo Warranto againft the City of London was for ethejudg. 
 to be brought to Judgment in that Court ; and then his Majefty thought SS^upon 
 fit to remove him. And the Truth is it was not thought any way rea- the gtuw*. 
 fonable to truft that Caufe, on which the Peace of the Government rant0 ' 
 fo much depended, in a Court where the Chief never (hewed fo much 
 Regard to the Law as to his Will; and notorious as he was for little 
 Honefty, Boldnefs, Cunning, and incontroulable Opinion of himfelf. 
 After this Removal, he returned to his Practice, and by that (as it 
 feems the Rule is) he loft his Style of Lordfhip, and became bare Mr. 
 Serjeant again. His Bufinefs lay chiefly in the Common Pleas, where 
 his Lordmip prefided: And however fome of his Brethren were apt to 
 infult him ; his Lordmip was always careful to reprefs fuch Indecen- 
 cies; and, not only protected but, ufed him with much Humanity. 
 For nothing is fo fure a Sign of a bad Breed as infulting over the De- 
 prefTed. 
 
 The Lord Chief Juftice Saunders fucceeded in the Room of Pern- The Lord 
 berton. His Character, and his Beginning, were equally ftrange. He ^JJ^ ce 
 was at firft no better than a poor Beggar Boy, if not a Paridi Found- wonderful 
 ling, without known Parents, or Relations. He had found a way to& " 
 live by Obfequioufnefs (in Clemenfs-Inn, as I remember) and courting g 
 the Attornies Clerks for Scraps. The extraordinary Obfervance and fi 
 Diligence of the Boy, made the Society willing to do him Good. He 
 
 appeared
 
 LIFE of the late 
 
 appeared very ambitious to learn to write ; and one of the Attornies 
 got a Board knocked up at a Window on the Top of a Staircafe j and 
 that was his Defk, where he fat and wrote after Copies of Court and 
 other Hands the Clerks gave him. He made himfelf fo expert a Wri- 
 ter that he took in Bufinefs, and earned fome Pence by Hackney-wri- 
 ting. And thus, by degrees, he pufhed his Faculties, and fell to 
 Forms, and, by Books that were lent him, became an exquifite enter- 
 ing Clerk; and, by the fame courfe of Improvement of himfelf, an 
 able Counfel, firfl in fpecial Pleading, then, at large. And, after he 
 was called to the Bar, had Practice, in the King's Bench Court, equal 
 with any there. As to his Perfon, he was very corpulent and beaftly - 
 a mere Lump of morbid Flefh. He ufed to fay, by his Troggs, (fuch 
 an humourous Way of talking he affected) none could fay he wanted IJJue 
 of his Body, for he had nine in his Back. He was a fetid Mafs, that 
 offended his Neighbours at the Bar in the fharpeft Degree. Thofe, 
 whofe 111 Fortune it was to ftand near him, were Confeffors, and, in 
 Summer-time, almoft Martyrs. This hateful Decay of his Carcafe 
 came upon him by continual Sottifhnefs j for, to fay nothing of Bran- 
 dy, he was feldom without a Pot of Ale at his Nofe, or near him. 
 That Exercife was all he ufed ; the reft of his Life was fitting at his 
 Defk, or piping at home ; and that Home was a Taylor's Houfe in 
 Butcher-Row, called his Lodging, and the Man's Wife was his Nurfe, 
 or worfe ; but, by virtue of his Money, of which he made little Ac- 
 count, though he got a great deal, he foon became Mafter of the Fa- 
 mily ; and, being no Changling, he never removed, but was true to 
 liis Friends, and they to him, to the laft Hour of his Life. 
 
 So much for his Perfon and Education. As for his Parts, none 
 had them more lively than he. Wit and Repartee, in an affected 
 Rufticityj were natural to him. He was ever ready, and never at a 
 Lofs ; and none came fo near as he to be a Match for Serjeant Main- 
 ard. His great Dexterity was in the Art of fpecial Pleading, and he 
 .would lay Snares that often caught his Superiors who were not aware 
 of his Traps. And he was fo fond of Succefs for his Clients that, ra- 
 ther than fail, he would fet the Court hard with a Trick ; for which 
 he met fometimes with a Reprimand, which he would wittily ward 
 ,off, fo that no one was much offended with him. But Hales could 
 not bear his Irregularity of Life; and for that, and Sufpicion of his 
 Tricks, ufed to bear hard upon him in the Court. But no ill Ufage 
 from the Bench was too hard for his Hold of Bufinefs, being fuch as 
 fcarce any could do but himfelf. With all this, he had a Goodnefs of 
 Nature and Difpofition in fo great a Degree that he may be defervedly 
 flyled a Philanthrope. He was a very Silenus to the Boys, as, in this 
 Place, I may term the Students of the Law, to make them merry 
 
 whenever
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 115 
 
 whenever they had a Mind to it. He had nothing of rigid or auftere 
 in him. If any, near him' at the Bar, grumbled at his Stench, he ever 
 converted the Complaint into Content and Laughing with the Abun- 
 dance of his Wit. As to his ordinary Dealing, he was as honeft as the 
 driven Snow was white ; and why not, having no Regard for Money, 
 or Defire to be rich ? And, for good Nature and Condefcenfion, there 
 was not his Fellow. I have feen him, for Hours and half Hours toge- 
 ther, before the Court fat, ftand at the Bar, with an Audience of Stu- 
 dents over againft him, putting of Cafes, and debating fo as fuited their 
 Capacities, and encouraged their Induftry. And fo in the Temple, he 
 feldom moved without a Parcel of Youths hanging about him, and he 
 merry and jelling with them. 
 
 It will be readily conceived that this Man was never cut out to be a Taken into 
 Prefbyter, or any Thing that is fevere and crabbed. In no Time did ^^ff t'hei 
 he lean to Faction, but did his Bufinefs without Offence to any. He ch.Juft.ofth 
 put off officious Talk of Government or Politicks, with Jefts, and fo &*'* '*. 
 made his Wit a Catholicon, or Shield, to cover all his weak Places and * ^Apo- 
 Infirmities. When the Court fell into a fteddy Courfe of ufing the plexy and 
 Law againft all Kinds of Offenders, this Man was taken into the King's Palf ^* 
 Bufmefs ; and had the Part of drawing, and Perufal of almoft all In- 
 dictments and Informations that were then to be profecuted, with the 
 Pleadings thereon if any were fpecial j and he had the fettling of the 
 large Pleadings in the Quo Warranto againft London. His Lordfhip 
 had no fort of Converfation with him, but in the Way of Bufinefs, 
 and at the Bar ; but once, after he was in the King's Bufinefs, he dined 
 with his LordQiip, and no more. And there he (hewed another Qua- 
 lification he had acquired, and that was to play Jigs upon an Harpfi- 
 chord; having taught himfelf with the Opportunity of an old Vir- 
 ginal of his Landlady's j but in fuch a Manner, not for Defect but Fi- 
 gure, as to fee him were a Jeft. The King, obferving him to be of a 
 free Difpofition, Loyal, Friendly, and without Greedinefs or Guile, 
 thought of him to be the Chief Juftice of the Kings Bench at that 
 nice Time. , And the Miniftry could not but approve of it. So great 
 a Weight was then at ftake, as could not be trufted to Men of doubt- 
 ful Principles, or fuch as any Thing might tempt to defert them. 
 While he fat in the Court of Kings Bench, he gave the Rule to the 
 general Satisfaction of the Lawyers. But his Courfe of Life was fo 
 different from what it had been, his Bufinefs inceffant, and, withal, 
 crabbed; and his Diet and Exercife changed, that the Constitution of 
 his Body, or Head rather, could not fuftain it, and he fell into an A- 
 poplexy and Palfy, which numbed his Parts j and he never recovered 
 the Strength of them. He out-lived the Judgment in the %uo War- 
 
 F f ranto
 
 125 The LIFE of tke late 
 
 ranto-, bat was not prefent othervvife than by- fending his Opinion, by 
 one of the Judges, to be for the King, who, at the pronouncing of 
 the Judgment, declared it to the Court accordingly, which is frequently 
 done in like Cafes. 
 
 His Lordfliip But, to return to his Lordfhip. I may ftate another Cafe, in which 
 em[nent an ** appear'd his Lordfliip's Confideration of Juftice furmounted his 
 Lawyer to Will, which was always inclined to be good to thofe of his Profeflion, 
 y rhe S Dukf efpecially if he had a real Value and Efteem for them. The Duke of 
 of Buiks. Bucks was difpofed to fell an Eflate in Leicefterjhire. It was while 
 my Lord Nottingham had the great Seal. His Son Heneage, a cele- 
 brated Orator in Chancery Practice, had formerly bought of the Duke 
 an Eflate at Aldborough in Suffex : And not a few Suits depended in 
 Court between his Grace and his Creditors and Truflees, in which 
 the Contention ran high. Mr. Ambrofe Philips^ an eminent Praftifer 
 In the Court, fought to buy this Leiceflerfhire Eftate of the Duke of 
 Bucks, and contrived to ufe the Name of Mr. Heneage Finch in the 
 Treaty. On the other Side, it was told the Duke that, if he let Mr. 
 Finch have the Purchafe at an eafy Rate, it would be taken as a 
 Refpeft, and turn to Account in his Caufes. So the Matter went on, 
 and the Purchafe, by Payment and Sealing, finimed. Then the Duke 
 found out that he had been impofed on, and that Philips, and not 
 Finch, was the real Purchafer; which if he had known before, he 
 would not have taken under 2000 /. more than the Price he had re- 
 ceived. He was fo unfatisfied. that he brought a Bill againft Philips 
 to be relieved as to this 2000 /. and, by Circumftances in the Caufe, 
 it was plain to his Lordfhip that the Duke's Price took in that 2coo/. 
 but that, for Mr. Finch's Sake (or rather his Father's) he had bated 
 itj and alfo that it was fo pretended to him only to make him bate 
 that Sum; fo that his Lordfliip decreed Philips to pay that Sum, over 
 and above his Purchafe Money ; which 2000 /. he had got off by a 
 wily falfe Pretence of Mr. Finch's being the Purchafer. 
 
 Conclufion as I (hall not feled any more of his Caufes, here. Thefe were fuch as 
 none ever tra duced 5 an ^ they may be collated with fome others that 
 have been fo ufed, to be found in fit Place; where it will appear that 
 Intereft and FacYion will attack the beft, as well as worft, Actions of 
 a Magiftrate : For Slander is an Accufer, and not a Defender, and 
 Places of makes the worft Conftrudion, even of the worthieft Proceedings; and, 
 Chfncw when ftri( % J uft > allows none at all to be, as they ought to be, 
 efieemed good. But I muft not forget to mention one ferious Delibe- 
 ration, his Lordfliip had with himfelf, touching the Places of Matters 
 in Chancery ; whether he (hould fell them for a Price, or give them 
 freely. And once he was inclined, and almoft refolved to give them, 
 being of Opinion that the Court had not fb much Power to coerce 
 
 Exorbitances,
 
 LORD KEEPER GUiLFORD. 227 
 
 Exorbitance?, or to controul their Profits, \vhen they bought their 
 Places, as if they were conferred gratis: For, upon the leaft Rumour 
 of a Reform, they cry out Purcka/e, valuable Confederation, fr. 
 O:herwife, there might be a Power, for the Good of the Suitors, and 
 Advancement of Juflice, to curtail even their accuftom'd Profits. But, 
 upon mature Confideration of the Matter, it did not appear certain to 
 his Lordmip, that pure Gift would entitle him to that Arbitration 
 over them as he delired, and thought to ufej but, as foon as they 
 were touch'd, they, and all their Tribe of Relations, Friends, and In- 
 tereft, nay, other Officers, with theirs alfo, would raife as hideous a 
 Clamour, and be as troublefome to his Lordmip, as if he had beftow'd 
 them free. And then he could not hope to return the whole Twelve, 
 while he fat there, whereby to lay all under an equal Circumftance : 
 And it was a Regulation that could not be made but by publick Au- 
 thority, which migftt controul all alike; and he had no Reafon to 
 quit a certain Advantage to himfelf, upon a very doubtful Profpedt to 
 do any Good thereby. And he alfo reflected how indifferently fuch a 
 generous Act would be accepted by the Publick. It would have been 
 termed either Vanity, or Folly 3 and, perhaps, both: And all the Skil- 
 ful had reputed no better of him ; and fo, inftead of having the Action 
 approved, he had been render'd contemptible for it, as one that did 
 not underftand his own Advantages. If felling fuch Places was in- 
 convenient, conftant Ufage, that eftablim'd it, muft anfwer. A thank- 
 lefs good Will is a weak Virtue, and apt to yield to Intereft. So his 
 Lordmip gave Way to follow the Steps of his PredecefTors, and dif- 
 pofed thofe Places for a Price, as they had done before him j but with- 
 al, to be fatisfied of the Character and Fitnefs of the Perfon preferred 
 to him. 
 
 We here take Leave of the high Court of Chancery (a grofs Cargo The State am 
 upon the Shoulders of the Lord Keeper) having little or nothing more S"|jy n J 
 to fay of that grand judicial Province, and repair to the State Court, Council. 
 where the King was left in full Honour and Tranquillity. His Lord- 
 fhip defign'd to have left behind him the Tranfactions of the Court, 
 during his Miniftry as Lord Keeper, compiled by himfeF. I have 
 heard him commend the Paflage of Tacitus in his Hiftory, to begin 
 with the Characters of Perfons active in publick Affairs, and then the 
 State of the Empire. And he had gone fo far towards it, as to note 
 down fome Names of Perfons confiderable at Court, whom he intended 
 to characterife and decypher ; with abundance of Items of Paflages : 
 But he had no Time, nor Life, to bring any fuch Defign to Perfection. 
 He begins with the State of the Cabinet Council, that confifted of 
 thofe few great Officers, and Courtiers, whom the King relied upon 
 for the interior Difpatch of his Affairs. And as Offices of the Law, 
 
 F f 2 out
 
 zz8 The LIFE of the late 
 
 out of Clerkftiips, fpawn other Offices, fo this Council was derived 
 from the privy Council, which, originally, was the fame Thing, and 
 derived out of the magnum Concilium, by that Name, mentioned in 
 the Rolls of Parliament; and the fame, out of Parliament, authorifed 
 by King Henry VII. was known by the Place where it fat, viz. the 
 Star-Chamber. Afiemblies, at firft, reafonably conftituted of a due 
 Number and Temper for Difpatch of Affairs committed to them, by 
 improvident Encreafe, came to be formal and troublefome, the cer- 
 tain Confequence of Multitude, and thereby a new Inftitution becomes 
 neceflary : Whereupon it is found eafierand fafer to fubftitute than to 
 difTolve. Thus the Cabinet Council, which, at firft, was but in the 
 Nature of a private Converfation, came to be a formal Council, and 
 had the Direction of moft T ran factions, of the Government, foreign 
 and domeftick. The Spaniards have peculiar Councils, call'd Juntos, 
 affign'd to each great Branch of the royal Power, which prevents fuch 
 fub-emergent Councils as thefe. 
 
 HisLordftip's His Lordfhip's firft Note is, " Seymour lately withdrawn." 
 
 Notes ; and 
 
 firft, concern- This Mr. Seymour was eldeft Son of Sir Edward Seymour of De- 
 *$*m rd vonjhire, one of the Knights of the Bath. From being a wild Spark 
 about Town, he came early into the Court, and was of that Gang 
 that routed the Lord Chancellor Hyde. His Entrance was through the 
 Parliament -, for, being buoyed upon the Wejiern Alliance, he was con- 
 fiderable in the Houfe of Commons. He ferved, as Speaker there, 
 diverfe Years, and, as fuch, was call'd to the privy Council. He was 
 ambitious and proud in the higheft Degree ; and was fuppofed to de- 
 "eline no Means that tended to his Advancement. When he was of the 
 privy Council, he fcorn'd to fpeak at the lower End, where his Place 
 was, but commonly walked up nearer the King, and, ftanding behind 
 the Chairs of the Chancellor, or other great Lords, fpoke to the King. 
 And, as his Nature, fo his Speeches were often arrogant and difrefpect- 
 ful. Once, at the Council, he faid to the King, Sir, how long will 
 your Majefty prevaricate with yourfelf? The King, muttering, re- 
 peated the Word prevaricate diverfe Times, but made no Reply. 
 This, probably, join'd with other like temper'd Speeches, loft him the 
 King's Favour. It is very imprudent to give Offence to great Men ; 
 and nohoneft Meaning will fet it right: For it loofens the perfonalln- 
 tereft of the Advifer, and, confequently, the Efficacy of the Advice. 
 It is faid that Mfop reproach'd Solon for his unfavoury Anfwer to 
 Crcejus-y for, faid he, What did you come for, if you did not intend 
 to pleafe the Man? His Lordfhip was very forry that Seymour was 
 gone j becaufe his aiTuming Temper might have allayed the over- 
 weening Forwardnefs of fome others of the great Men; and he thought 
 
 him
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 219 
 
 him to be a Man of Honour, and cordial to the true Envlijh Inte- 
 reft. 
 
 His Lordfhip's State of the Cabinet was wrote thus. 
 
 " Pofture of the Cabinet Thepofture 
 
 Earl of Radnor, Lord Prefident. netfand ct 
 
 " Marquifs of Ha/tifax, Lord Privy Seal. rafters of th, 
 
 " Lord Conway, 1 c CounfeEors. 
 
 Secretary Jenkins, \ Secretanes - 
 " Lord Roche ft er of the Treafury. 
 " Duke of Ormond t 
 " Sidney Go dolphin. 
 
 This Pofture of the Cabinet pleafed his Lordfhip well enough j and 
 it is plainly that which flood when he enter'd, becaufe no Notice is 
 taken of the Earl of Nottingham, Lord Chancellor. The Earl of 
 Radnor ; formerly Lord Roberts of Cornwall, was a good old Englijh 
 Lord, who was a Malecontent when that, called the Cabal, reigned 
 under the Influences of Clifford and Shaftjbury. But, upon the rifing 
 of the contrary (or, rather, Fanatick) Party, that apparently diftrefled 
 the King, and thereby forced him upon Meafures of Safety, which 
 were alfo the true Intereft of his Government, the Lord Roberts came 
 in, and, notwithstanding his uncontroulable Teftinefs, and perverfe 
 Humours, did the King very good Service. The Marquifs, formerly 
 Sir Henry Savile of the North, was a Perfon of incomparable Wit, 
 formerly a Malecontent alfo, but came in to refcue the Crown, and 
 continued firm all King Charles the Second's Reign ; but then, and af- 
 terwards, he openly oppugned Popery, and particularly in the Reign 
 of King James II. For when the Point, of taking away the Teft and 
 penal Laws, was urged, with Pretnce of an Equivalent, he wrote a 
 Irnall Tradt call'd, The Anatomy of an Equivalent. Of the Secretaries, 
 the Lord Conway was rather a Perfon of great Intereft, Fortune, and 
 Pleafure; than cut out for Application to much Bufmefs. But Sir 
 Leoline Jenkins was the moft faithful Drudge of a Secretary, that ever 
 the Court had. He was a civil Lawyer, bred and praclifed; and, from 
 the Top of that ProfefTion, was taken into the Court. For he was 
 Dean of the Arches, Judge of the Admiralty for diverfe Years, and 
 withal (as the Way, of that Faculty, is) practifed as Advocate in all 
 Courts where he was not Judge. He was alfo his Majefty's Advocate 
 General. This good Man was EmbafTador, and went through the 
 Treaty of Nimeguen, and, coming home, was made Secretary. His 
 Learning, and Dexterity in Bufinefs, was great ; but his Fidelity fur- 
 mounted all ; for which Reafon he was maligned, by the Fanatics, in 
 the highefl Degree, even to perfecute his Name and Fortunes after he 
 
 was
 
 230 The LIFE of the late 
 
 was dead ; as is mewed in the Examen. His Lordfhip contraded an 
 Intimacy with this Gentleman, which I might call Friendship ; but 
 the Character is too general ; and their Union was purely refpecling 
 the King's Affairs, in which they laboured with an exemplary Accord. 
 The Lord Rocbejter, formerly Lawrence Hyde, one of the younger 
 Sons of the Earl of Clarendon, was a Perfon adroit in all Matters of 
 'Wit and Bufmefs, being obferved to be always early, plodding at the 
 Scrutiny of Accounts and Eflimates, before the other Lords came. His 
 Infirmities were Paffion, in which he would fwear like a Cutter, and 
 the indulging himfelf in Wine. But his Party was that of the Church 
 of England, of whom he had the Honour, for many Years, to be ac- 
 counted the Head. For all Men, that aim to become great, efpoufe 
 a Party, and, if poflible, get to be trufled as the Head of it, for, then, 
 they have fomewhat wherewith to terrify, and, on the other Side, for 
 their own Intereft, to fell, or betray. The Duke of Ormond was a No- 
 bleman of rigorous Honour, and who, next the Crown, had the chief 
 Authority in Ireland. He was an old Cavalier, and inexpugnable 
 Loyalift. Mr. Godolphin was a Courtier at large, bred a Page of Ho- 
 nour ; he had, by his Study and Diligence, mattered, not only all the 
 claflical Learning but, all the Arts, and Entertainments of the Court > 
 and, being naturally dark, and referved, he became an Adept in Court 
 Politicks. But his Talent of unravelling intricate Matters, and expo- 
 flng them to an eafy View, was incomparable. He was an expert 
 Gamefler, and capable of all Bufinefs in which a Courtier might be 
 employed. All which, joined with a Felicity of Wit, and the com- 
 municative Part of Bufinefs, made him be always accounted, as he 
 really was, a rifing Man at Court. 
 
 His Lordfhip's next Note ftands thus, " Alterations. 
 " Lord Sunderland introduced, and made Secretary in the Room of 
 " the Lord Conway" 
 
 T ^ S Change was very myfterious at that Time; but the Se- 
 Behaviour, be- c[ ue ^ hath demonftrated that the Duke of York brought it about; 
 tweenwhom for the Lord Sunderland had engaged in all his Meafures, and 
 ftip^herewas wrou g nt accordingly, till he had his own Defign accomplifhed in 
 a natural And- the Ruin of his Mafter. He had been Secretary before, and came in 
 paity- when the Lord Shaft/bury was made Lord Prefident of the Council, 
 
 and then was looked upon as an Omen of a falling Court: So early was 
 he underftood. It is well remembered, that, when the faclious Side 
 of that Council, and no lefs the Houfe of Commons, were intent upon 
 turning out the King's Friends, and placing the Oppofites in their 
 Room, and diverfe Heaves were made at the Duke of Lauderdale, and 
 the Lord Keeper North, and the Commiflions of the Peace and Lieutenancy 
 were to be reformed, there was not a little Oppofition made j and the 
 
 King
 
 LORD KEEPER GU1LFORD. 
 
 King was careful, by not yielding to thefe Men, to fave himfelf. The 
 Speech of this noble Lord at the Council, in his drawling Way, is re- 
 lated in the Examen, and will ferve to illuftrate the Politicks of that 
 Peer. The King could not, at that Time, bear with him long, but 
 turned him cut ; and fo the Council was purged j for the reft of the 
 Party were difbanded, or left out, or deferred about the fame Time. 
 All this was lefs ftrange than his coming in again. We thought that 
 the Duke of Tork had not Intereft enough to have done it without the 
 Adjunct of the French Ladies, whofe Favour, with Money and Court- 
 fhip, he failed not to purchafe. It is certain that he was a moft fafti- 
 dious Averfion to the Lord Keeper North. They fay that Animals,. 
 out of a Contrariety of their Natures, have a mutual Antipathy, and can 
 fcarce bear the Sight of each other. I know well that his Lordmip 
 fcarce ever faw, or fpoke of him, without a Chagrin ; and, after he 
 was reftored to the Secretary's Office, and Place in the Cabinet, his 
 Lordfhip declared he had no Hopes of any Good at Court. Nor was- 
 this noble Lord behind-hand with his Lordmip, in his kind Thoughts 
 towards him ; which, fproutingout in Speeches and Actions, were asvene- 
 mous as the deadly Nightfhade ; but, for want of apt Concurrents, as to 
 all Harm to his Lordfhip, or his Reputation, vain and enervous. He 
 laid a Plot to faften a Whore upon his Lordmip, that he might lofe 
 the Reputation he had of Moral Virtue untainted. That he rode upon a 
 Rhinoceros, that he might be defpifed ; and other Stratagems as filly, 
 of which a particular Account will be given elfewhere : And all this 
 without the leaft Offence, by Word, or Action, on his Lordfhip's Part 
 to difguft him. But the Canker was his Lordfhip's unmoved Con- 
 ftancy and Fidelity to the Church and Monarchy fettled by Law, both 
 which his Lordfhip (the Earl) wrought to overturn : And he could not 
 bear fuch an Obftacle in his Way, without attempting to remove it. 
 However, fuch Enmities, at Court, have the Effect of Friendfhips 
 elfewhere : For a Man is known by his avoiding, as well as by his herd- 
 ing, with particular People. I muft not forget to add here, that his 
 Lordfhip, by his external Behaviour, with Refpect to this State Secre- 
 tary, made no Refentments for his Clandeftine Injury, but kept that 
 even Temper with him as the King's Affairs required he fhould do. His 
 Lordfhip had a Brother in Law, who, being a Courtier, and of a lofty 
 Genius, habituated in the gaming Society of that Lord, and was fo 
 far impofed on as to mediate a nearer Converfation with him j and it 
 went fo far, that his Lordfhip yielded to a Project of an Invitation by 
 dining with the Secretary ; and I had the Honour to be there : But I 
 muft fay, that I never faw fo filent a Feaft as that was. There was 
 little to be amended, for little was faid on either Side. We came away; 
 and his Lordfhip chofe to be fo far rude as not to crois, invite,, rather 
 
 than*
 
 231 The LIFE of the late 
 
 than bear the like Confequences of fuch another Intercourfe of his 
 own defigning. 
 
 The next Note runs thus, " Spring 1684. Secretary Jenkins quits 
 " to Sidney Go dolphin. 
 
 The worth of The Lofs of this Secretary was a great Mortification to his Lord- 
 sjrifi7- (hip. I have often heard him fay, upon that Occafion, that he was 
 Chang" much absolutely alone in the Court ; and that no one Perfon was left in it, 
 tor the worfc. with whom he could fafely confer in the Affairs of the Publick. While 
 the Secretary flood, and the Lord Hallifax, and the Lord Hyde, who 
 had Spirits, and were hearty, they often met at the Secretary's in Even- 
 ings, to confider of fuch Dependances as were to come before the King 
 the next Day. The Benefit of which was very confiderable to the 
 King's Affairs, as well as to themfelves; for fo the Matters were bet- 
 ter underfbod than if no previous Deliberation had been taken; and 
 they were not unprepared to fpeak to them in Terms proper for his 
 Majefty to entertain without Miftakes, or claming one with another ; 
 as happens, fometimes, about mere Words, when the Thing is agreed. 
 But, after this Change, they all began to look gravely upon one an- 
 other, and to talk only of indifferent Things. This Secretary was not 
 turned out, but quitted for Confideration, as the Note implies. He 
 was a Perfon that, together with incomparable Veracity, Fidelity, In- 
 duftry, and Courage, had fome perfonal Failings; for, being ufed to 
 Forms, he was a little pedantic, and of a tender Vifage; for being 
 inclined to laugh immoderately at a Jeft, efpecially if it were fmutty, 
 the King found him out, and failed not, after the Tendency of his 
 own Fancy, to ply his Secretary with Conceits of that Completion ; 
 and fo had the Diverfion of laughing at the Impotence of the other's 
 Gravity. It is not amifs to fubjoin here an Hiftoriette to fhew the 
 Value of this Minifter. In the fVeflminfter Parliament, the Houfe of 
 Commons was very averfe to the Court, and, from a Party very pre- 
 valent there, the Loyalifts fell under great Discouragements. Amongft 
 the reft, this good Secretary was found Fault with for fomething rele- 
 vant he had uttered on the Court Side. Diverfe Members, from the 
 Humility of his Manner in fpeaking, fuppofed him to be a- mild 
 yielding Man, and, to expofe him, confulted about cenfuring his 
 Words, and ordering him to the Bar, and to afk Pardon upon his Knees. 
 And if this Experiment had been pullied, and he had fqueaked, as 
 they call it, 'that is recanted, and whined for an Excufe, then he had 
 been loft in every Refpect; for a fneaking Man is defpifed and re- 
 jected on all Sides. But for fear this, in the Execution, might have 
 an unlucky Return upon them, they refolved firft to found him; for 
 a Secretary of State is no flight Perfon to fend to the Tower, as muft 
 
 have
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 233 
 
 have been done of Courfe, if he had flood firm. Thereupon, fome 
 half-faced Friends told him that he would be accufed, and muft kneef. 
 He anfwered them, in his formal Way, that he was a poor Creature, 
 not 'worth the Refentment of the HouJ'e : He fiould be always fub- 
 mijfive to fuch great Men as they were, in every 'Thing that con- 
 cerned bimfilf. But, as he had the Honour to be his Majeftfs Secre- 
 tary of State, the Cafe was not his, but his Majlcrs, and, by 'the Grace 
 of the living God, he would kneel to, and ask Pardon of, no Mortal 
 upon Earth, but the King he ferved, and to him only would he give an 
 Account of any Thing done with Intent toferve him. This mewed that 
 the Bufmefs was like to be too hot for that Time, and the Defign of 
 it like to fail ; and fo it was let drop. But the Secretary was met 
 with at Oxford, when he was ordered to carry up the Impeachment 
 againfl Fitzharris ; and, after all his huffing and ilriving, he found 
 it beft to do it. But, to return, it was notorious that, after this Se- 
 cretary retired, the King's Affairs went backwards; Wheels within 
 Wheels took Place; the Minifters turned Formalifers, and the Court 
 myfterious. And no Wonder when the two then Secretaries, profeff- 
 ed Gameders and Court-Artifts, fupplied the more retired Cabals, 
 and, being habituated in Artifice, efteemed the honeft plain Dealers, 
 under whofe Miniftry the King's Affairs were fo well recovered, to be 
 no better than Beafts of Burthen. And the next Note mews the Re- 
 fult of this mercurial Courtmip. 
 
 " Upon Difcovery of the Confpiracy D. Y." 
 
 The Subject of thefe Notes being the Cabinet, it is here plain that an The Duke of 
 Handle was taken from that Difcovery, to let in the Duke of York. The ^ r/ ' came >""> 
 common Obloquy, upon the Court, had all along been that the Duke, and, Cow of "the 
 confequently, thePapifts, had Influence upon thepublick Counfels: And ty* Plot, 
 not long before this Time, fuch a Step, as this was, would have been 
 loudly ventilated abroad, as a plain Declaration that Popery was to go- 
 vern, with Defign to have ruined the King's Intereft and Credit with 
 the Gentlemen of England. But now Faction was low, though not 
 dead ; and the new Courtiers thought any Thing might be done. And 
 in Truth, though little appeared to them, yet, to fuch as converfed 
 more promifcuoufly, it was plain that Faction warmed upon it. But 
 this was to be faid for it. The Rye Confpiracy was aimed as well at 
 the Perfon of the Duke, as of the King; for one Dofe of Pills ferved 
 for both : And it was very reafonable that the Duke mould be prefent 
 at the (having his own Beard. This did a little fcreen the Truth of the 
 Matter; which was that the Papifts, through the Duke, intended, 
 under the Umbrage of this Confpiracy, to make fome Advances at 
 Court; but the Sequel will fliew more. 
 
 G g " After
 
 234 *flw LIFE of the late 
 
 of the Lord After, Northern Circuit 1685, Lord Chief Juftice Jeffries appoint- 
 chief Juftice ec | Ql . -j. 
 
 his fup'pofi- This Note concludes his Lordfhip's State of the Cabinet, and the 
 titious Great- f ever al Poftures it had, in the Reign of King Charles II. after his Lord- 
 fhip had the Seals. And now, from this broad Hint, I take the Rife 
 of a notable Piece of Hiftory. After the Lord Chief Juftice Jeffries 
 (of whom I have faid fomewhat before) was arTumed into the King's 
 Privy Council, which was fome time before he came into the Cabinet, 
 there went forth a mighty Fame of his Greatnefs at Court ; which was 
 moftly artificial, although fuch Incidents commonly blow up Reports 
 far beyond Truth. When this Chief Juftice had chofen the Northern 
 Circuit for his Expedition, it was fo contrived that, on a Sunday 
 Morning, when the Court was full, the King fhould take Notice of 
 his good Services, and, in Token of his Majefty's gracious Acceptance 
 of them, give him a Ring from his Royal Finger. This was certainly 
 fo done, by way of Engine, to rear up a mighty Machine of Autho- 
 rity j and the printed News informed the whole Nation of it. Where- 
 upon the fame Lord Chief Juftice was commonly reputed a Favourite 
 and next Door to primier Minifter ; fure enough toeclipfe any Thing 
 of the Lav/ that ftood near him. It is to be remembered that, at this 
 Time, the Trade of procuring Charters to be furrendered was grown 
 into a great Abufe; and nothing was accounted at Court fo merito- 
 rious as the procuring of Charters, as the Language then was. There- 
 fore, as it was intended that the Chief Juftice mould be ingratiated 
 into his Majdfty's good Opinion and Favour, as much as was poflible ; 
 this Care was taken that, through the Fame of his great Honour, he 
 fhould have appeared fo to the Country, and, in confequence of that, 
 wherever he went, all Charters muft needs fall down before him} and, 
 for that Reafon, the Towns were to be prepared by Qi/o Warrantor 
 fent down. This affords an ufeful Speculation how mean Perfons de- 
 rive to themfelves Merit from the Power of great ones, who (ball a- 
 fcribe to their Inferiors thofe very Events which flow really from their 
 own Power. Here the Chief Juftice is made to feem powerful by the 
 King, with whofe Authority he is graced ; and that makes the frighted 
 Towns, at his Inftigation, furrender. This muft be argued to de- 
 monftrate to the King that the Chief Juftice had a mighty Influence 
 upon the Country, having done greater Things, in his Majefty's Ser- 
 vice, than any Judge had ever done before ; when, in Truth, it was 
 not his own proper Influence, but the King's Power, through him, that 
 had fuch Virtue in the Country. It was fo alfo with Refpect to the 
 - City of London; over which the Chief Juftice exercifed a fort of vio- 
 lent Authority. That he had a great Influence there was true ; but it 
 was becaufe the Citifens thought him a great Man at Court ; and he 
 
 obtained
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 13; 
 
 obtained Favour at Court, becaufe he was thought to have a great In- 
 fluence in the City. Thus the Court conferred their own Influences, 
 and took them back by Rebound, as fo much Merit reflected from the 
 Perfon that managed them. Then it is alfo to be remembered that the 
 North of England is the Seat of the Roman Catholick Intereft ; and 
 fome Things were to be managed by this Chief Juftice, with Refpect 
 to them, which no other of the twelve Judges would have done, and 
 I am about to relate. 
 
 In the courfe of this Northern Voyage, which was carried with Lord Jeffries 
 more Loftinefs, and Authority, than had been known at any Aflifes oftheC ^ bi - 
 before, the Charters (as was to be expected) tumbled down, and the Chief "Jd for a Pa- 
 Juftice ordered all the Under- (her iffs and Bailiffs, to give him perfect don of all 
 Lifts of all Perfons who, upon account of Recufancy, lay under Com- Recufanu 
 mitment. When he returned to London, and his great Services, which 
 argued no lefs Abilities to ferve the King, were difplayed, the next 
 Step was his being appointed to attend his Majefty at the Cabinet. 
 The Lord Keeper, who was but an Obferver of thefe Motions, did 
 imagine that fomewhat extraordinary was to come forth at the next 
 Meeting ; the rather becaufe, on Sunday Morning (the Meetings were 
 ufually on Sunday Evenings) the Duke of York fpoke to his Lordfhip 
 to be Afliftant to a Bufmefs which ^ that Evening, would be moved to his 
 Majefty; and that Morning, his Lordfhip obferved a more than ordi- 
 nary Shynefs in the Countenances of the great Men, whofe remark- 
 able Gravity fatisfied him that they were upon their Guard. But 
 what the Matter was, his Lordfhip did not difcover till he came to 
 the Cabinet ; where, after the King was come, and they were fat, my 
 Lord Chief Juftice Jeffries flood up, and, with the Rolls of Recu- 
 fants before him, Sir, faid he, 1 have a Bufmefs to lay before your 
 Majejly, 'which I took Notice of in the North, and which will de/erve 
 your Majefty' s Royal Commiferation. It is the Cafe of numberlefs 
 Numbers of your good Subjects that are imprifoned for Recufancy. I 
 have the Lift of them here, to juftify what I fay. They are fo many 
 that the great Gaols cannot hold them without their lying one upon an- 
 other. And then he let fly his Tropes and Figures about rotting and 
 linking in Prifons, concluding with a Motion to his Majefty that he 
 would, by his Royal Pardon, difcharge all the Convictions for Recu- 
 fancy, and, thereby, reftore Liberty and Air to thefe poor Men. This 
 Motion, at that Time, was indeed a Swinger ; for, in confequence, 
 the Execution of it, by fuch a Pardon of all Convictions, had loft the 
 King irrecoverably, fpoiled all future Parliaments, fet up the Fanatick 
 Intereft, his Majefty's declared Enemies, and difabled his Friends from 
 appearing, with any Countenance, for him. The Language had been 
 
 now it is plain you would not believe us. What is Popery, if this 
 
 G g 2 be
 
 LIFE of tbe late 
 
 be not? Wlat fignify the Laws? Will you not expeft fome letter Se- 
 curity ? And the like. 
 
 Plis Lordfhip was not to learn fuchConfequences as thefe. But there 
 was yet more, and what directly concerned himfelf in the Duty of his 
 Office. He could turn hisThoughts no way clear of Precipices, which, 
 to him, were fatal, though others made Account to leap over them. 
 It muft needs occur that fuch a Pardon muft pafs the great Seal, of 
 which he was the Keeper, whofe Office it was to affix it : And altho', 
 in Strictnefs, he could not difobey the King's exprefs Command in 
 that, or any Thing elfe that might be called an Act of Grace, nor be 
 rendered criminal for fo doing; yet all the loyal Party of England, 
 who were his fure Friends, would have expected from him fuch ftrong 
 and plain Advice to the King, as might have averted him from fuch a 
 pernicious Step, whatever the confequence was to himfelf, who ought, 
 as many would have faid, to have quitted the Seals rather than held 
 them on fuch Terms j and, for certain, the next Parliament had. re- 
 fented it in all Extremity. Now let us fee with what Temper, Pru- 
 dence, and Courage, his Lord (hip comported under this fudden and 
 defperate Trial. After the Lord Chief Jnftice Jeffries had done, and 
 compofed his Rolls and Papers upon the Table (which none there ca- 
 red to infpect) his Lordmip, the Lord Keeper, fat a while filent, as 
 the reft, expecting fome of the Lords, eminently in the Proteftant In- 
 tereft, as Haiti fax, Rocbefter, &c. fhould begin to fpeak ; but finding 
 co Probability of their faying any Thing, but rather a Difpofition on 
 their Parts, at that Time, to let the Thing pafs, he applied himfelf 
 to the King, and Sir, faid he, I humbly entreat pur Majejly that my 
 Lord Chief Jufiice may declare 'whether all the Perjons, named in 
 thefe Rolls, were actually in Prifon or not. The Lord Chief JufHce 
 haftily interpofed, faying, he did not fure imagine any one could fuf- 
 pect his Meaning to be that all thefe were actual Prifoners ; for all the 
 Gaols in England would not hold them. But if they were not in Pri- 
 fon, their Cafe was little better j for they lay under Sentence of Com- 
 mitment, and were obnoxious to be taken up by every peevifh Sheriff, 
 or Magiftrate, and were made to redeem the Liberty they had with 
 grofs Fees, which was a cruel Oppreffion to them and their Families- 
 Then the Lord Keeper turned to the King, and Sir, faid he, I beg 
 your Majefty will confider what little Reafon there is to grant fuch a 
 general Pardon^ as this is, at this 'Time. For they are not all Roman 
 Catholicks that lie under Sentence of Recufancy, but Sectaries of all 
 Kinds and Denominations ; perhaps as many or more,who are allprofejjed 
 Enemies to your Majejly and your Government in Church and State* 
 They are a turbulent People, and always ftirring up Sedition; and if 
 they do fo much when they lie obnoxious to the Laws, which your Ma.-
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 
 
 jefty may in/lift upon them at your Pleafure, what will they not do, if 
 your Maj eft y gives them all a D if charge at once'? 'That would be to quit the 
 great eft Advantage you have of fecuring the Peace of the Nation. Is 
 it not better that your Enemies Jhould live under fome Dif advantages, 
 and be obnoxious to your Majefty's Pleafure, who may, if they are tur- 
 bulent and troublefome, infiff the Penalties of the Law upon them "4 
 And as to the Roman Catholicks, if there be any Perfons to whom your 
 Majefty would extend the Favour of a Pardon, let it be particular 
 and cxprefs, and not univerfaHy, tofet your Enemies, as well as Friends, 
 at Eafe. And, after all, the Difadvantage they lie under, is but the 
 Payment of Jo me Fees to Officers, which is compenfated by the Exemp- 
 tion they have from ferving in chargeable Offices, which other conform-- 
 able Perfons fujlain. But, in a general View of the ill Ufes, that 
 would be made ofjuch a Step, in the Nation at large, to the Prejudice 
 of your Miijeftys Inter eft and Affairs, both in and out of Parliament, 
 as they were obvious, Jo the Extent of them is beyond my View, and, as 
 I think, have no End, or to this Effect. The King gave great At- 
 tention, and the other Lords wondered -, but no farther Word was 
 made of the Matter; and they proceeded to other Bufirtefs. That 
 Night his Lordfhip came home full of Melancholy ; and it was fome- 
 time before any Perfon, near him, knew the Occafion of it. But he 
 would fometimes break out in Exclamations, as what can. be the Mean- 
 ing ! Are they ailjlark mad! and the like. That, very Night he took 
 his Pocket- Almanack, and, againft the Day, wrote 
 
 " Motion, cui folus obftiti. 
 Motion, which I alone oppofed. 
 
 For he accounted this Action of his the moft memorable that he had 
 ever done. He was not without a Jealoufy that one great End, of 
 that peflilent, abfurd Motion, was to put a Thorn in his Foot, and, 
 by way of Dilemma, heave him out of his Place. For, if the King 
 had commanded, and he refufed to put the Seals to fuch a Pardon, 
 then he deferved to be removed by a juft Difpleafure. If he had com- 
 plied, then the Parliament had effectually done it. And the Shift the- 
 Lord Nottingham ufed, in fealing the Earl of Dan&y's Pardon, that- 
 is by furrendering the Seal to make it the King's Act (which he called, 
 a Stamp of Creation) might not have ferved his Lordihip's Turn fo 
 well, whom both Papift and Fanatick flrove, with all their Might, to 
 remove out of their way : And fmall Pretenfions had ferved their Turn,., 
 as appeared in diverfe Attempts of that Sort, which are. largely difplaid 
 elfewhere, and particularly in the Examen. But thus much I am led^ 
 by his Lordfhip's Notes., to fay of the Cabinet Council. 
 
 His
 
 ; 8 The LIFE of the late 
 
 sm<- DC- His Lordfhip was not altogether a Stranger to this Difpofition touch- 
 ,n Foot j n g imprifonments ; for the King had been troubled about them be- 
 fore, or, at leaft, thought to mention the hard Cafes to his new Lord 
 Keeper, urging him to get due Information of them, and to find fome 
 Expedient for their Relief. There was no Doubt but this proceeded 
 from Solicitation in Favour of the Recufants on the Side of the Pa- 
 pifts ; though, at firft, it bore the Vifage of a Sectarian Party. For,, 
 about that Time, many Quaker s^ and Conventiclers of all Sorts, had 
 been profecuted for not coming to Church, and lay under Sentence of 
 the Law, partly, as Recufants, and, partly, on other Accounts, whereof 
 fome were in Prifon, and others not ; and very few Popijh Recufants, 
 purely for Recufancy. His Lordfliip applied himfelf to the Means of 
 gaining a regular and ftric"l Information of this whole Affair, in order 
 to lay the fame before the King, and fo advife what was fit to be done 
 thereupon. And, accordingly, in February 1682, which was not long 
 before the vernal Circuit that Year, his Lordftiip wrote to Mr. Juftice 
 Jones, and, probably, to the reft of the Judges, then preparing for 
 their Circuits, the following Letter. 
 
 cc Mr. Juftice Jones, 
 
 (( TJIS Majefty, having received Complaint that many Perfons, 
 " L of mean Condition, lie in Prifon, upon criminal Prcfecu- 
 
 " tions, in feveral Gaols of this Kingdom, where they endure great 
 " Hardmips and Miferies, becaufe of the Straightnefs of the Prifons, 
 " in Refpect of the Number of Prifoners, and for want of Neceffaries, 
 " is defirous, for their Relief, to extend his royal Companion to fuch 
 <c of them as fhall be capable thereof upon their particular Cafes. In 
 " order whereunto, his Majefty would be inform'd by his Judges of 
 " Affife, in their feveral Circuits, or by fome Juftices of the Peace, 
 <c in the feveral Counties and Places where the Prifons are, who may 
 < receive an Account thereof from the Sheriffs, Gaolers, or other Per- 
 " fons of Credit, 
 
 1. " Whether the Number of Prifoners is fo great that the Prifons 
 tc cannot conveniently contain them ; and if it be, then farther to cer- 
 " tify the Names of fuch Perfons as are in Prifon upon fuch Profecu- 
 c tions ; and if any be under the Age of Twenty-one Years, and 
 " what the Offences are, and how long they have lain there ? 
 
 2. <( Whether they are poor, and unable to maintain themfelves, 
 " and whether they are Papifts y Quakers, or other Sects, if it can be 
 c known? 
 
 Thefe are to defire you, in your Circuit, to receive an Account 
 " of the Particulars above-mentioned, and to bring it with you at 
 cc your Return j* or elfe to give it in Charge to two or three of the moft 
 
 difcrete
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 
 
 < l difcrete Juftices of fuch Counties, that may fend it to me, to be laid 
 before his Majefly; when he (hall think fit to declare his Pleafure 
 " farther thereupon." c. S. 
 
 This Letter, as to the prudent and cautious Part, admits a fenfible 
 Comment, refpecting this latter Purliiit through other Hands; of 
 which the Account is already given. Thefe Points are touched, 
 i. Actually -in Prifon, or not. 2. The Prifons capable to hold them, 
 or not. 3. The Names of the Perfons. 4. If under Twenty-one Years. 
 5. How long in Prifon. 6. Whether poor or not. 7. Whether Pa- 
 pifts or Sectaries. All which Matters were the Subject of the Lord 
 Jeffries'* extreme Reprefentation. And to what End? Not, as he 
 moved, a general Pardon of all Recufants, but Capacity of Favour, 
 according to particular Cafes ; which is what his Lordmip moved in 
 Anfwer to Jeffries. So that, upon the whole, this very Project of get- 
 ting the general Gaol Delivery of Recufants,, viz. their abfolute Dif- 
 charge by a general Pardon, was jogged upon his Lordfhip, to have 
 had it been moved by him. And, probably, it might have been men- 
 tion'd to him before, by the King, as a proper Remedy ; but that his 
 Lordmip put it off. But not altogether to refill his Majefly's Difpofi- 
 tion to Clemency, where it might be properly placed, and not be 
 turn'd upon him in evil Conductions, he then put the Bufmefs into 
 this formal Way of writing to the Judges. But that did not anfwer 
 the End of the Roman Catholicks, whofe Work it was (though I be- 
 lieve his Lordmip thought there was a flrong Spice of the Fanatick in 
 it) therefore thefe former Returns were not calPd for ; but the Bufi- 
 nefs was now put into a better Hand, from which it would come 
 roundly off to thePurpofe intended, viz. a general Pardon of all Con- 
 victions for Recu fancy ; which his Lordmip again flopped, as I related 
 before. But yet his Lordmip, by feveral Means, which, by Reafon 
 of his Authority, he might effect, had full Accounts brought him of 
 thofe Items, or the greateft Part of them. When his Lordmip firft 
 thought fit to difcourfe with his Intimates concerning this flagrant At- 
 tempt of Jeffries, he expreffed the greatefl Refentment at his being 
 deferted by the other Lords, of whom not one either led, or follow'd, 
 or gave any Countenance or Support in a Caufe that fo much concern'd 
 the King's Service. And from thence he faw what he mud trull to 
 amongft them, that is, only his own Integrity and open Dealing, with- 
 out any Support from them; and he never after expected an Ally or 
 Friend in his Bufinefs at Court. The rifing Sun hath a charming Ef- 
 fect, but not upon Courtiers as upon Larks; for it makes thefe fing, 
 and the others filent. Thefe Things I have thought fit to join to his 
 Lordfhip's Notes of the Poilure and Changes in the Cabinet Council, 
 
 when
 
 2 4 o 77;-? LIFE of the late 
 
 when he fat there as Lord Keeper ; and now I proceed to other Mat- 
 ters. 
 
 isLordfrip's I have mewed the Company his Lordfhip had in the publick Service, 
 political Aim, during his Miniftry at Court, and their Characters, and, in Ibme Re- 
 fpects, their Behaviour. It may not be amifs, now, to mew what were 
 his Lordmip's Sentiments, and the Meafures that influenced his Acti- 
 ons, and were often the Subject of his Difcourfes to others. I can, 
 with great AiTurance, affirm that, about thefe Times, and for diverfe 
 Years, while he fat in the Common Pleas, his Thoughts were bent upon 
 ferving his Country. And indeed, from the very firft of his acting ju- 
 dicially, he ftudied Amendments of every Thing, as might beft be by 
 him done for the Benefit of the Suitors. And, after he was taken into 
 publick Counfels, he, not only courted but, laid to Heart the Nation's 
 Good ; and, as he faw that decline, he grieved ; and, as he thought 
 it gained a little, he rejoiced. This was eafily to be difcern'd by all 
 his Friends, with whom he freely converfed. And that Kind of Pa- 
 ilime, when he had Liberty to enjoy himfelf, was the moft agreeable 
 of any j I mean the walking to and fro, and difcourling freely with 
 .his Friends j as will be fhewed more exprefs afterwards. But, after 
 that Manner, he ufed to propofe his Doubts and Fears, as well as 
 .Hopes, of the Publick, and take their Sentiments. This was his 
 Way of refining his Notions, viz. upon the Teft of the Opinion of 
 his Friends j to which he gave great Regard, and never difcouraged 
 their Freedom. And, when he waited at Court, this Sort of Conver- 
 fation ferved to initruct, as well as to divert him. And even in the 
 Prefence of King Charles the Second, who was a free Talker himfelf, 
 and encouraged it in thofe ,about him, Matters of very great Confe- 
 quence would fall in the Difcourfej and his Lordmip had Art enough 
 to fpeak his Thoughts truly and agreeably. As once, when the Dif- 
 courfe was upon the Subject of ufmg Lenity, or Severity, in Cafes of 
 Tumult or Sedition, fome thought that Rigours, others that Pardon 
 was more proper ; and many were for crufhing Enemies with open 
 Force. His Lordmip faid to the King, that his Majejlys defenfive 
 Weapons were his Guards, and his ofenfive Weapons the Laws; and 
 that Enemies were to be refijled by oppofing Force to Force, but to be 
 purified only by Law. I remember this Saying of his was taken No- 
 tice of. as an admirable Temper in ftating the Matter of Force to the 
 King j and his Lordmip had a general Applaufe for it. Great Men 
 and Governors are very propenfe to err in the Notion of Power, and, 
 out of Impatience of Oppofition, and Defire of Revenge, refort to 
 Force, which, early or late, turns the Evil upon them (elves ; and, 
 with thefe Men, any one, that argues againfl fuch Methods, is look'd 
 upon as a faint Friend_, or Enemy difguifed. .But, to give the due 
 
 Office
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 24 , 
 
 Office to Po\ver, and proper Efficacy to the Law, this Rule to the 
 King admitted of no ill Conftruction ; neither one Way, by undermin- 
 ing the Guards and the Militia (which was the Drift of the Faction) 
 nor the other Way, by fetting up the Militia againft Property (which 
 then was calumniated) and, being fo fairly infinuated, was, at that 
 Time, no mean Service to the Crown and Nation. 
 
 His Lordmip was perfectly at Eafe in the Confcience of his Beha- The Power oi 
 viour, and fcorn'd the vulgar and Fanatic Calumnies, that he wasa theCr own 
 Prerogative Man, and labour'd to fet up arbitrary Power: But, not- J t nou?h> 
 withftanding all that, he labour'd as much as he could to fet up the fons. C 
 juft Prerogatives of the Crown, which were well known in the Law, 
 and to the Lawyers; although it had been much the Famion, as well 
 in W eft minfter -Hall, as at St. Stephens, to batter the Prerogative. He 
 has faid that a Man could not be a good Lawyer, and honefl, but be 
 muft be a Prerogative Man : So plain were the Law Books in thefe 
 Cafes. He was fincerely of Opinion that the Crown wanted Power by 
 Law; fo far was it from exceeding. It was abfolutely necefTary that 
 the Government mould have a due Power to keep the Peace, without 
 trefpaffing upon the Rights of any one - y and if it had not fuch Power 
 rightfully, either it would aflume and exercife Powers that were wrong- 
 ful (and then what Bounds?) or elfe Sedition would prevail, and, 
 pulling down one, fet up another Government entirely wrongful; to 
 which all Law and Truth being oppofite, confequently fuch a Go- 
 vernment would be oppofite to them, and meditate no Security but 
 actual Force. And what can the People, that are always defigning to 
 diminifh the juft Powers of the Crown, expect, but that the Crown 
 {hould always defign to repair itfelf by a Provifion of Force? Nothing 
 is fo fure as that Government will be fupported by Means either right- 
 ful or wrongful ; if Subjects will not have the one, they (hall have the 
 other. Thefe Confiderations made his Lordmip ever fet himfelf againft 
 the Republicans, and refill their intended Encroachments upon the 
 Crown. He thought the taking away of the Tenures, a defperate 
 W r ound to the Liberties of the People of England, and muft, by eafy 
 Confequence, procure the Eftablimment of an Army. For when the 
 legal Dependance, of the Monarchy and the Country upon each other, 
 is difTolved, what muft fucceed but Force? He ufed often to inveigh 
 again ft thofe, who perpetually projected to weaken the Monarchy, as 
 a Sort of Meri, either corrupt and falfe-hearted, or, elfe, mort-fighted 
 and ignorant. The yet living Hiftory of the late Times concurred ; 
 for what did the People get by robbing the Crown of the Power to dif- 
 folve the Parliament, and of the Militia ? There cannot be a more 
 fal-fe Illufion than it is to fuppofe that what Power the Crown loft, 
 was fo much Liberty gain'd to the People. And yet, in thefe Times, a 
 
 H h broad-
 
 24* The LIFE of the late 
 
 broad-fpread Party went about with fuch Syren Songs to engage the 
 Community to join in their Project of diverting the King of his Com- 
 miffions of the Peace and Lieutenancy, Sec. All which his Lordfhip 
 law plainly and detefted. I have heard him fay, that if the People 
 knew what Miferies would be the Confequence of thofe Mens having 
 their Wills, they would ftone theni, as they would mad Dogs in the 
 Street. It may be efteemed one of his Lordmip's chief Felicities that 
 his real Principles of Honour and Probity exactly fquared with his En- 
 gagements and Services at Court. He never had the Remorfe to 
 have, in the leaft, dif-ferved his Country, by ferving the Crown j and 
 the difcerning Court, and the much more difcerning King, faw plain- 
 ly that he acted from the Bottom of his Heart, and did nothing fervile, 
 or for Flattery, that any Way contradicted the Series of his Conduct 
 and Advice ; which is more than can be truly faid of any of the Pre- 
 ferment-Hunters of that, or almoft any Time. 
 
 Kis Lordfhip's I {hall enlarge no more upon Character here, having defigned Places 
 w^lo^Hng' a P art for thofe Matters, but proceed. And, in the firft Place, I. enter 
 the Court en- this general Proteft, that, to my own certain Knowledge, his Lordmip's 
 ll r ? y int r thc great ftudy and Labour was to convince and to difpofe his Company, 
 
 Policy of the 5 1-11 i .,,..* , Jl- v 
 
 Law,- and the f as "^7 might heartily co-operate with him in the glorious Work 
 good Saccefs it of bringing the King into the foundeft Meafures of the Englifh Go- 
 vernment, which were to rule wholly by Law, and to do nothing which, 
 by any reafonable Conftrudtion, might argue the contrary. In this 
 Defign he was, in one Refpect, fingularj for he had no Self-Intereft, 
 no Boons to afk, no Party to head, nor means to fuftain an Intereft at 
 Court ; depended on nothing but merely the Character he bore, and his 
 own perfonal Qualifications. Some had the Protection of the Duke of 
 Tork y and of the French Ladies ; others were of the Lord Hallifax's 
 Party ; and fome of the Lord Rocbefter's. But he was in the Midft of 
 all the Court, fo/us cutnfolo, alone by himfelf; at leaft after Jenkins 
 withdrew. But yet he urged continually the fame Doctrine, that, hold- 
 ing to the Law (wherein I always include the eflablifhed Church of 
 England) his Majefty was, not only fafe but, growing in Power and 
 Credit; which, ifheforfook the Lav/, would all fall retrograde, and 
 fcarce ever be recovered. His Majefty had good Hold, and ought to 
 make his Station firm. And, as this was his Lordfliip's Endeavour, fo 
 it was his Pleafure to fee the Crown recovered from all Troubles 
 and Hazards brought over it by Faction, that had no Advantage at 
 all againft the King, but what Sowed from their affected Surmifes, to 
 the People, that his Majefty leaned to Popery, affected arbitrary 
 Power, and, for aiding thefe Defigns, allied with the French. The 
 falfe Steps of the Court by improvident War, and, its certain Train, 
 Ncceffityj and then undue Means. for Money, courting Papifts, and 
 
 Fanaticks t
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 143 
 
 ickSy by Indulgences againft the Law, and the like, gave Handles 
 which the Fanaticks (though acceflary in procuring the Indulgences) 
 improved to the King's Prejudice in his Affairs; and that, even till 
 they thought his Credit and Authority almoft funk. But, in the Rage 
 of thofe Times, when Plots, like Serpents from Corruption, bred out 
 of Iniquity, the King faw his Danger, and, with the Help of a faith- 
 ful Miniftry, in which his Lordfhip had no mean Part, and a Refolu- 
 tion to let the Laws have their Courfe, recovered his State, and, about 
 the Time when his Lord (hip received the Great Seal, had fupprefled 
 all the Forces of his factious Enemies, and reduced them to utter Si- 
 lence in Corners where they were very glad to be covered in Safety. HI-, LordiMp 
 As this was his Lordmip's greateft Pleafure, fo the Sequel brought di fcc rnc <? the 
 
 i i T-> c \ i i T> /i n. i- i f Underininers 
 
 over him a bitter Portion of melancholy Reflections. For he faw im- at \y or k, but 
 menfe Troubles a great Way off, and, nearer Hand, not a little of clou- hoped well of 
 dy Prognoftick at Court : For, not only the Papifts but, vain Projec- lhs King ' 
 tors of Change, and Flatterers of Power, efteeming the King's Au- 
 thority then fafe and inexpugnable, began a new Game by endeavour- 
 ing to bring the King off from the found Meafures of his faithful Mi- 
 niftry. His Lordmip was the laft that ftuck firm to him, and kept 
 himfelf from being tainted, with Courtmip of the Succeflion, by any 
 Compliances in Matters of Religion, and undue Attempts againft 
 Law. But, on the other Side, much Endeavour was ufed to get fuch 
 a Rock of Offence, as he was, out of the Way ; and that was a Fruit 
 expected to fall from the Reform of the Cabinet, as I mention'd be- 
 fore, and by puming extravagant Things towards his Lordmip, one 
 Way or other, to break him. But his Credit (as I faid) was fuch with 
 the King, that no Court Tricks would faften to his Prejudice i but 
 his Majefty fupported him, not only in Authority but, in Honour, all 
 his Life, and would not bear any indecent Reflections againft either. 
 And his Lordmip had alfo the Comfort to perceive what few People, 
 even of the Court Projectors themfelves, difcerned ; which was that 
 the King grew weary of his Sunder I and* ^ Jefries's, and other (more 
 latent) Operators of the new Model; and that if his Majefty had lived 
 iix Months longer, probably, he had removed them ; for he found his 
 Affairs move untowardly, and Faction, in frefti Hopes of a new 
 Game, began to be bufy, and to caft Sheeps Eyes (as they fay) towards 
 Elections, in Order to corrupt the next Parliament, and, if that had 
 happened, it had been fcarce poffible for the King to have held fa ft 
 the then general good Opinion which the People had of his Royal In- 
 tentions and Government; which being well taken Care of and pre- 
 ferved, had certainly procured him a good Parliament : And then, and 
 not otherwife, all had been well. And, accordingly, as there was a 
 Neceffity of calling a Parliament foon, his Lordmip often put his 
 
 H h z Majefty
 
 LIFE of the fate 
 
 Majefty in Mind of that, and to have a Care that no unpopular Steps 
 might corrupt the next Elections. As to Jeffries, he began to fmell 
 a Rat, and warped towards Mutiny, that he was not rewarded enough - y 
 as if he thought of turning into the male-content Party. Thefe are 
 the main Lines of his Lordfhip's Miniftry as to Politicks ; which will 
 be verified by the juft Hiftory of King Charles II. and (if no better ap- 
 pear) in the Exatnen, together with fome particular Matters I mall 
 mention in the Courfe of this Relation. 
 
 is Lordftip's His Lordfhip's Method of Living, with Refpect to his great Em- 
 surft of Life, pl y me n t, was very commendable: For all his Time was devoted to 
 Orafc^dof!' the'Bufinefs incumbent upon him. He put but very little of it to his 
 s hU Mini- own Ufe ; and what patted in eafy Converfation, which was the chief 
 of his Pleafures, had ftill a Regard to his Employ, by inquiring, can- 
 vatting, and debating, with thofe of his Society, fuch Points as con- 
 cerned the Republick. He had no Kind of Vice or Immorality with- 
 in his Walls: And of what Sort his Remifiions were (for fome are 
 neceflary to Life) I fhall give a fuller Account afterwards. But it is 
 decent here to name the chief j which was a folitary, or, rather, fpe- 
 culative Ufe of Mufick; of which he commonly took a Relifli at his 
 going to Bed ; for which End he had an Harpfichord at his Bed- 
 chamber-Door, which a Friend touched to his Voice. But he cared 
 not for a Set of Matters to confort it with him. And, unlefs it were 
 once, under Purce/'s Conduct, I never knew him ufe fuch ; for there 
 was fomewhat ftifT in that Way, that was not eafy. The Mornings 
 were, for the moft Part, devoted to the Juftice-Seat of the Chancery, 
 either in the Court at Weftminfter, or in the Caufe-Rocm at home, 
 during the ufual Periods ; and not feldom in Attendances upon Peti- 
 tions, and difpatching the perpetual Emergences of the Seal. His 
 Houfe was kept in State and Plenty, though not fo polite as the Court 
 Mode was. The Nobility, and chief Gentry, coming to London, 
 were frequent at his Table j and, after a folemn Service of Tea in a 
 withdrawing-Room, the Company ufually left him ; and then the Caufe- 
 Room claimed him, and held him in Pain, with Caufes and Excep- 
 tions, often till late. He had little Time to himfelf; for he had this 
 Infirmity, that he could not bear to make any one wait ; but if his Ser- 
 vant told him of any Perfon, great or fmall, that waited without, he 
 could not apply to think of, or do any Thing,, till he had difpatched 
 him. The Interval, between the Bufinefs of the Day, and going to 
 Bed, was his chief Refrefhment; for then his moft familiar Friends 
 came to him, and the Time patted merrily enough. And there it was 
 that the Court Spies found Accefs to plumb his moft free Sentiments $ 
 but with fmall Profit, for he had the fame Face and Profeflion in pub- 
 lick, as he had in private. They could difcover only that he was an, 
 
 honeft
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 245 
 
 honeft Man : But more of this elfewhere. His Attendances at White- 
 hall were, chiefly, at folemn Times j as on Sunday Morning, 
 to wait on the King to Chapel. That was ufually a grand AflembFy 
 of the Court ; and the great Men had Opportunity to fpeak in Dif- 
 courfe to the King as he gave them Occafion, of which his Majefty 
 was no Niggard ; and very excellent Things, faid there on the one 
 Side and on the other, were an high Regale to fuch as had the Advan- 
 tage to ftand within Hearing. On the Week Days, thofe, called 
 Council Days, always, and fometimes, Committees of Council, re- 
 quired his Lordfhip's Attendance ; and Thurfday was always publick : 
 Others for private Bufinefs upon Summons. His Lordmip managed 
 at the Council Table; though there was a Lord Prefident, who, re- 
 gularly, mould take up that Part. But it doth not always happen 
 that great Men, ported there, have the Art of examining into, and 
 developing intricate Matters, as are commonly brought to hearing. 
 When the King was at Windjbr, the Publick Council was commonly 
 held at Hampton-Court ; which was for the Eafe of Attendance. His 
 Lordmip had a Lodging, both at Whitehall and Hampton-Court, to 
 retire to upon thefe Occafions. The Cabinet Council ufually fat on 
 Sunday Evening ; and when the Court was at Windfir, that was al- 
 ways a travelling Day, and a Lodging was provided for his Lordfhip in 
 the Dean's Houfe. His Lordmip was neceflitated to be a Courtier, 
 although he had no Step of a Court, nor delighted at all in fuch an 
 Affemblage of Eyes and Ears, always open to Caption. He never flat- 
 tered any Man ; unlefs giving no Offence, which he extended even to 
 his Enemies, may be accounted Flattery. He liked neither the Begin- 
 ning nor End of a Fray, while it was fuch. And this made the great 
 Judges of the Circle agree he might be a good Lawyer, but they were 
 lure he was no Courtier. He lifted in no Party or Intereft but the King's; 
 and neither had nor cared for Friends who were Enemies to his Ma- 
 jelly and his Government. And, on that Side only, he lay open ; 
 for it was poffible, and many did come near to a Confidence with 
 him, by pretending great Services in an orthodox Way to his Maje- 
 fly ; though at the fame Time Enemies to both. I could name fome, 
 but for Refpect to their Ames (which are much more worthy than ever 
 their Perfons were) I forbear them. If there was any Incident, upon 
 which his Lordmip thought fit to take the King's Pleafure from his 
 own Mouth, or if he had any Thing to acquaint his Majefty with, 
 that required Privacy, his Lordmip's Way v/as to go to Court ex- 
 prefs, and choofe the fitteft Times, when he thought the King would 
 be leaft engaged, that he might have more ample DHcourfe. And, 
 commonly, he went directly to the Bedchamber, and there fat him 
 down. There was. always, in that Part of the Courtj Attendants wha 
 
 flraighfi. 
 
 *
 
 The LIFE of the late 
 
 ilraight found where the King was, and told him my Lord Keeper 
 was there, and the King, knowing he had fomewhat to fay to him, 
 never failed to come to him, and that without any Delay. Which I 
 have heard his Lordmip fpeak of as a very gracious Refpecl: towards 
 him; enough to have obliged him, if poflible, more to his Service. 
 King Charles was one that pafied much of his Time in difcourfing, 
 and ufed to do it freely with his Lordfhip, when alone together j by 
 which his Lordmip picked up fome Fragments of Hiftory, many of 
 which are inferted in the Examen ; and fomewhat of King James 
 too, but not fo much. This is the fhort Account of his Lordlhip's 
 Courfe of Life, with Refpecl: to his great Office and Miniftry, that I 
 am capable to give. And I think I have not cantoned much from 
 the Places intended exprefs for Particularities of this Nature. So I 
 proceed to fuch Affairs as more efpecially concerned his Lordmip. 
 
 It was touched before that the Lord Chief Juftice Jeffries was 
 fcts up to op- brought forwards, and buoyed up by the adverfe Party of the Court, on 
 fhf' h fir S ftI rd " P ur P ofe to ruffle m 7 Lord Keeper, and, by fuch Ways and Means as 
 when tiding- they might lay hold of or invent, to have him out : In order to which, 
 field was made Affronts, Difappointments, falfe Stories, and Calumnies were, for fuch 
 Attacks, a choice Artillery. And, that Point being once gained, it was 
 prefumed that the Lord Chief Juftice Jeffries, one ready to do all that 
 was required of him, mould fucceed. Among other Opportunities of 
 this Kind, fome related to the Law, in the Appointments of Judges 
 into Vacancies ; and, in thofe Affairs, of common courfe, the Lord 
 Keeper is confulted, and hath the Nomination to the King, of fit Per- 
 fons to be trufled as Judges. There was one Serjeant Bedingfield, a 
 grave, but rather heavy, Lawyer; but a good Churchman, and loyal 
 by Principle. His Lordmip had caft his Eye upon him, and intended 
 to nominate him to the King, for fupplying a Place in one of the 
 Benches then vacant, but thought fit firft to fpeak with him. Being 
 fent for, he came, and was told what was defigned for him. He was 
 exceeding grateful in Acknowledgments of fo great a Favour and Ho- 
 nour done him by his Lordmip, in thinking of him without his feek- 
 ing ; and faid he mould ever own his Preferment, as long as he lived, 
 to his Lordfhip, and to no other Perfon whatever. All which was 
 well. This Serjeant had a Brother, a Woollen-draper in London, who 
 was a Creature and Companion of the Lord Jeffries. That Chief, un- 
 derftanding fome Way that his Friend's Brother was to be a Judge by 
 the Lord Keeper's Means, fent for the Draper, and told him plainly, 
 that, if his Brother would not take the Judge's Place as of his Provi- 
 iion and Intereft, and not my Lord Keeper's ; or if he fo much as went 
 to the Lord Keeper, on fuch an Account, he would oppofe him, and 
 he fhould not be a Judge at all. After this, the poor Serjeant, again ft 
 
 his
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 247 
 
 his Defire, was forced to conform ; his Spirits were not formed for 
 the Heroicks, and, accordingly, to facrifice the Intereft of himfelf and 
 his Brother to Gratitude. His Lordmip, rinding how the Wind fat, 
 difpenfed with the Man's Infirmity, although he never came at him ; 
 and fo, by common Confent, he was made a Judge. In this Inftance 
 we may difcern the Extremes of impertinent Arrogance, and true 
 Worth. 
 
 Another Inftance, of the like Impertinence, was aded in the ma- Another in. 
 king Sir Robert Wright a Judge. He was of a good Family, fettled f^^eTm" 
 near Tbetford in Suffolk, and, when he was young, he married one of wngkt a judge 
 the Daughters of Dr. Wren Bimop of Ely. He came up, in his Pra- g^. ^ 
 ctice, together with his Lordmip 5 and they went the Norfolk Circuit judgment* and 
 together. Wright had more Bufinefs, for many Circuits, than his a11 Senfe and 
 Lordmip had. He was a comely Perfon, airy and nourifliing, both in Reafoa - 
 his Habits and Way of Living j and his Relation Wren (being a power- 
 ful Man in thofe Parts) fet him in Credit in the Country : But, with- 
 al, he was fo poor a Lawyer, that he could not give an Opinion on a 
 written Cafe, but ufed to bring fuch Cafes, as came to him, to his 
 Friend Mr. North, and he wrote the Opinion on a Paper, and the 
 Lawyer copied it, and figned under the Cafe, as if it had been his own. 
 It run fo low with him that, when Mr. North was at London, he fent 
 up his Cafes to him, and had Opinions returned by the Poft j and, in 
 the mean time, he put off his Clients upon pretence of taking more 
 ferious Confideration. One cannot conceive that this Man could get 
 much by the Law, nor did he j but, by Favour, he was made Trea- 
 furer to the Chefl at Chatham, and, by his voluptuous, unthinking 
 courfe of Life, he run in Debt, and ufed frequently to eafe himfelf upon 
 his Friend North, by borrowing Money at Times. The Debt, at 
 length, grew fo confiderable, that his Lordmip thought fit to pay off 
 his other Debts, and take in the Mortgage of his Eftate, which he held 
 charged with 1 500 /. Afterwards, and not many Years before he put 
 in for a Judge's Place, he borrowed of Sir Walter Plummer 500 /. upon 
 an original Mortgage of the fame Eftate, and made an Affidavit that 
 it was clear from all Incumbrances. Which Affidavit Sir Walter Plum- 
 mer afterwards brought to his Lordmip, even while the Mortgage was 
 in his Hands ; which amafed him j but he took his Money and affign- 
 ed to Sir Walter Plummer. One would think that this was a compe- 
 tent Knowledge of that Man's Character. But he, being upon the 
 Brink of utter Ruin, applied to Jeffries to refcue him, by getting him 
 made a Judge. W T hen the Time came, and his Lordmip was with the 
 King, confulting about a fit Perfon, the King laid, My Lord, what 
 think ycu of Serjeant Wright ? Why may not he be the Man ? His Lord- 
 fhip anfwered that be kne-w him but too well, and was J'atisficd be 'was 
 
 tb*
 
 248 The LIFE of the late 
 
 the mojl unfit Perfon in England to be made a Judge. Then, faid the 
 King, it muji not be ; and fo it went off at that Time. But Wright 
 ftill, by his Friend Jeffries, pufhed his Point ; and, in the Interim, 
 worked all he could, by moft importunate Applications, and bitter 
 Tears, (but for no other Reafon than that, if he failed now, he was ut- 
 terly ruined] to gain his Lordmip to yield that he might be a Judge: 
 But to no Purpofe ; his Lordmip was inflexible: And though he wilh- 
 ed the poor Man well, upon Account of old Acquaintance, he would 
 not gratify him at the Coil of his own Breach of Duty, or rather, in 
 that RefpecT:, Perjury. The King took his Time, more than once, to 
 fpeak again to his Lord Keeper, faying, as before, /F^ may not Wright 
 
 be a Judge ? And, at lafl, is it impoffible my Lord? His Lordmip, fee- 
 ing the King's Pangs, (for it was plain that this Man, by the fecret 
 Court Clan, was determined to be preferred; for he was a Creature of 
 Jeffries, and a Tool that would do any Thing ; and they wanted only 
 the Formality of my Lord Keeper's Concurrence, to whom the King 
 pofitively would have a due RefpecT: paid) took the Freedom to fay 
 that the making a Judge was his Majefty's Pleafure, and not his choice; 
 that he was bound to put the Seal as he commanded, whatever the 
 Perfon was; for, of that, his Majefly was to judge, and finally deter- 
 mine. He could but do his Duty by informing his Majefty of what 
 he knew to be true; and particularly of this Man,, whom he perfo- 
 nally knew to be a Dunce, and no Lawyer ; not worth a Groat, ha- 
 ving fpent his Eftate by debauched Living; of no Truth, nof Honefty, 
 but guilty of wilful Perjury to gain the borrowing a Sum of Money : 
 and then he opened more at large the Matter of the Affidavit. And 
 now, faid the Lord Keeper, 7 have done my Duty to your Majefty, 
 and am ready to obey your Maje fly's Commands in Cafe it be your Plea- 
 fure that this Manjhall be a Judge. My Lord, faid the King, I thank 
 you ; and went away ; and, foon after, the Warrant came, and he was 
 inflated. 
 
 AvainTri- Here was, underhand, a Court Experiment made whether of the 
 two ^ ad l ^ e g reater Power with the King ; the Lord Keeper, or the 
 Lord Chief Juflice. There wasalfo the Vanity of the latter, of which 
 I (hall give Demonflration. But his Lordmip was above making 
 Contefts of that Nature. If he had took Pet, and made a publick 
 Feud, as mofl of his Enemies expected, and alfo that he would not 
 have endured that the Chief Juftice mould tread on his Heels at that 
 Rate, he might have flown high in ExpoftulatioiiSj and made fome- 
 what crack, before fuch Time as the King (whole Judgment of Men 
 was great) would have parted with the beft Minifler in the Law that 
 fhe Nation afforded, not knowing where to get another fo faithful, 
 ,as well as able, and willing, truly to ferve him. But, as I faid, his 
 
 Lord-
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 
 
 Lordmip was above perfonal Competitions, and fatisfied himfelf in 
 having done his Duty, with which, the making flagrant Difputes at 
 Court, and embroiling the King's Affairs, did little confift; and fome 
 Grandee alfo lay behind the Curtain, of whofe Concern his Lordfhip 
 was tender. But now, to mew the Effects of upftart Court Vanity, I 
 muft here fubjoin a Paffage acted in Weft minfler- Hall. It is the Cu- 
 ftom of the Chief Juftice, and his Brethren of the King's Bench, in 
 the Morning, to robe themfelves at a Bar below in the Hall, before 
 they go up to the Court. This is called the Side Bar j and there they 
 hear the Attornies wrangle about Matters of Practice. It ftands juft 
 before the Chancery Court, and in full View of the Lord Keeper, as 
 he fits upon the Bench ; and the Chancery ufeth to fit long before the 
 Judges of the King's Bench come to the' Hall. After this Point, of 
 Wright's being a Judge or no, was determined at Whitehall, as I re- 
 lated, the Lord Chief Juftice, at his fide Bar, feeing Serjeant Wright 
 walking in the Hal!, extended his Arm, and beckoned him ; and 
 ftraight, with all the Humility and crouching imaginable, the Ser- 
 jeant hailed to him. And then the chief Juftice only leaned over the 
 Bar, and compaffed the Serjeant's Shoulders in his Arms, and, after a 
 Whifper in his Ear, flung him off from him, holding out his Arms, 
 fome fhort Time, in that Poflure. This was a publick Declaration 
 that, in fpite of that Man above there, Wright mould be a Judge. 
 His Lordmip faw all this, as it was intended he mould, and it caufed 
 him fome Melancholy ; though not at all as concerning himfelf, 
 or the Vanity of the Chief Juftice; but for the Nature of the Affair, 
 and the Manner of its Proceeding j which he forefaw would have 
 worfe Turns, if fo done, as was like to be, in other Affairs of larger 
 Denominations. 
 
 I know that many will be apt to inquire how I came to know, fo Apology 
 particularly, thefe Court-Dialogues, tete a fete, between the King and 
 his Minifter. I can readily Anfwer, by means lawful enough ; as alfo 
 for more, of like Nature, in the courfe of this Relation : And thofe, 
 who obferved my courfe of Life and Converfation, could make no 
 doubt by what means. Some may alfo alledge that I bring forward 
 Circumftances too minute, the greater Part of which might be drop- 
 ped, and the Relation be more material, and, being lefs incumbered, 
 eafier underftood and retained. I grant much of that to be true; but 
 I fancy myfelf a Picture- Drawer, and aiming to give the fame Image 
 to a Spectator, as I have of the Thing itfelf which I delire mould here 
 be reprefented. As, for inftance, a Tree, in the Picture whereof, the 
 Leaves, and minor Branches, are very fmall and confufed, and give 
 the Artift more pain to defcribe, than the folid Trunk and greater 
 Branches. But, if thefe fmall Things were left out, it would make 
 
 I i but
 
 2 jo The LIFE of the late 
 
 but a forry Pidure of a Tree. Hiftory is, as it were, the Pourtrait, 
 ! or Lineament, and not a bare Index or Catalogue of Things done ; and, 
 without the How and the Why, all Hiftory is jejune and unprofi- 
 table. 
 
 An indecent There was an odd PalTage at the Council-Board, which, for its 
 S^T f A ^ mt y to wliat 1S paffed, fhall be fuperadded. The Juftices of the 
 Chiefjuftice Peace, about Stepney and Wapping, had great Differences one with 
 Jefriej. another, which embroiled the very Seffions, and hindered the Proceed- 
 ing of the ordinary Bufinefs of that Court. One Smith headed one 
 Party, and one Baily another. Thefe two ufed always to fall foul on 
 one another, in Publick, with injurious Reflections: And the Mat- 
 ter run fo high, between them two, that it came before the King, and 
 there was an Hearing before the Council His Lordfhip faw no Rea- 
 fon why the King mould be troubled with fuch Squabbles ; but if 
 either had received Injury, he might right himfelf by the common 
 courfe of Law. The Lord Chief Juftice, it feems, had taken the Pa- 
 tronage of one of the Parties, I think it was Smith j and, being flam- 
 ing drunk, came up to the other End of the Board, and (as in that 
 Condition, his way was) fell to talking and flaring like a Madman, 
 and, at length, bitterly inveighed againfl Trimmers, and told the King 
 that he had Trimmers in his Court, and he would never beeafy fo long 
 as the Trimmers were there. When he had done, the Lord Keeper, 
 knowing thtfe Darts were intended towards him, flood up and faid 
 only, " that he did not apprehend there was fo much Concern in this 
 " Bufinefs; and my Lord Chief Juflice appearing fo well informed of 
 " it, he moved that his Majefly would refer the whole to be examin- 
 " ed into by his Lordfhip, and that the Parties attend him ; and then 
 " his Lordfhip making a Report of the whole Controverfy to his Ma- 
 " jefly in Council, he might thereupon order as he fhould think fit." 
 The Parties being thus referred to the Chief Juflice, the Scandal con- 
 tinued ; but, in the End, it was fo ordered that Baily (as I take it) was 
 undone. I fuppofe I need not here ufe many Words to interpret the 
 Word trimmer ^ which was taken up to fubdivide the Tory Party, of 
 whom all (however loyal, and of the eflablimed Church profeiTcd) 
 that did not go into all the Lengths of the new high flown Party at 
 Court, were fo termed. I can place under this Paffage no better Co- 
 rollary than that all Times have their Crifis in Authority ; and no In- 
 decencies are fo great, but forrie will bear them. 
 
 i-:isLord(hip His Lordihip always declined giving any Opinion in that Branch 
 
 .-leclincd join. o f royal Oeconomy, call'd Foreign Affairs. He could not avoid be- 
 
 ; g of foreign * n g * n the Way of the ordinary Deliberations of that Kind, by Reaion 
 
 .4&irs. of his Attendance on the ufual Councils. And although he was, for 
 
 the mofl Part, at the Committees of the privy Council, as for Trade 
 
 and
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 2JI 
 
 and Plantations, &c. which might be call'd Englijh Bufinefs, he never 
 cared to attend at the Committee for foreign Affairs. He profefled 
 himfelf, for Want of a fit Education, and Study, incompetent to judge 
 at all of thofe Matters. I have heard him fay that, of all the Sub- 
 jects, that he had ever come in the Way of, to hear debated, he could 
 leaft bring himfelf into a fatisfadory Refolution concerning foreign 
 Affairs, even when he was prefent at Councils of that Sort ; and then 
 no Wonder he declined giving any Judgment thereupon. But yet he 
 hath often ventured fo far, among his Friends, as to declare that he 
 thought King Charles II. underftood foreign Affairs better than all his 
 Councils and Counfellors put together j for, by Reafon of his unhappy 
 Exile and Travels, he had either a perfonal Acquaintance with moft 
 eminent Statefmen in Europe; or elfe, from fuch as could inftruct, re- 
 ceived their Characters, on whom the Crifis of moft Courts depended. 
 And this Knowledge he perpetually improved by converfmg with Fo- 
 reigners, as they came over, Men of Quality, and Embaffadors, whom 
 he would fift, as being a good Judge of their Veracity, and ferve him- 
 felf, one Way or other, of their Converfation, and poffibly drunk as 
 well as fober. And, when they thought to fift him, who, to give 
 him his Due, was but too open, he faiPd not to make his heft of 
 them. It was his Lordfhip's Fortune to clear the Doubt of a T'urkljh 
 War, contrary to the Opinion of all the Foreign Miniflers, by the 
 Means of his Brother Sir Dudley North, whom, for that End, he 
 caufed to attend the King in Council : But this Paffage hath been ac- 
 counted for in the Examen. I might touch here upon an unhappy 
 Difference that fell out between the Earl of Hallifax, and the Lord 
 Rocbefter, about the Bargain made with the Farmers of the Excife, 
 which Quarrel his Lordmip had fome fmall Share in; but as Sir Dud- 
 ley was the chief Actor therein, I fhall leave it to its proper Place in 
 that Gentleman's Life. 
 
 His Lordmip took Notice that the King, having had fome aguifh The King be." 
 Attacks at Windfor, appear'd to be more confiderative, and grew more 1^ 
 fenfible of the Niceties of State Government, than he had been before, Bufinefs than 
 efpecially relating to the Treafury. He found that to be his Sheet An- 
 chor ; for the Parliament would not always be in a giving Humour ; 
 and the lefs, if he could not fubfifl without their Help; for that ani- 
 mated his Enemies, by giving Hopes that his Neceflities would, at 
 length, reduce him to the State of Carte Blanche. He ufed to be often 
 prefent at the Treafury, and faw the Eftimates and Difpofitions of his 
 Minifters in that Office, and what Hands were capable to fupply what 
 he had feriouily in his Mind to perform ; and particularly the providing 
 for his natural Children, and building the new Houfe at Winchefter, 
 which he thought to be a better Air than Windfor. And Reafon good ; 
 
 I i 2 for
 
 z 5 1 The LIFE of the late 
 
 for the latter ftands on a fharp Cliff refpecting the Norfb, where all 
 the Air of the Valley, from that Quarter, pinches upon the Caftle, as 
 Water, entering at the great End of an hunting Horn, paffeth through, 
 at the leffer End, with much more Violence and Swiftnefs. His Ma- 
 jefty was very much concern'd and impatient to have this new Building 
 iinim'd, faying, A Tear was a great Time in his Life. And fo truly 
 it proved ; and the more unhappy, becaufe now he was paft the Gaie- 
 ties and Pleafures to which he had been furioufly addicted, and which 
 had almoft difabled him as to Government. Such fupine Errors and 
 Neglects had he been guilty of; and without a fingular Penetration, 
 and good Judgment of Men and Things, which he was egregioufly 
 Matter of, and, at fit Times, exerted, he had been, as his Father was, 
 loft. Nay, probably, if his Father's Example had not been flagrant 
 before his Eyes, and if, of the two, it had been his Chance to have 
 been the earlier Subject of the factious Practice, and thereby, as his 
 Father was, furprifed into a fond Way of trufting Perfons, in all Pro- 
 bability, his Majefty had not efcaped fo well as he did. But now he 
 was fo timely inftructed, and alfo, by Experience, capacitated, and, 
 withal, very good natured, and beloved, that, had he lived long, his 
 Reign had been the moft happy and glorious that the Englifi Hifto- 
 ries could boaft of. And whereas fome of our barbarous Writers call 
 this awaking of the King's Genius to a Sedulity in his Affairs, a grow- 
 ing cruel, becaufe fome fuffer'd for notorious Treafons, I muft inter- 
 pret their Meaning ; which is a Diitafte, becaufe his Majefty was not 
 pleafed to be undone as his Father was ; and, accordingly, fince they 
 failed to wound his Perfon and Authority, they fell to wounding his 
 Honour. But more of this in the Examen. 
 
 The King's I am now come to that moft funeft Alteration of Affairs, by the King's 
 Sicknefs, De- Sicknefs and Death; of which I (hall mention only what took in his 
 Repor^lh Lordfhip and his Miniftry, leaving theHiftory, more at large, to the 
 being poi- Examen. The Attack was at the Levee, when the Room was full, 
 fooed. anc i phyficians in waiting ; and then the King fell back in his Chair; 
 
 with fome Exclamation, as one that dies fuddenly. The Phyfician 
 ftraight blooded him in the Arm, and he recover'd a little Lite and 
 Senfe, and fo was convey'd to his Bed, where he languim'd about a 
 W^ek, and then expired. The privy Council fat almolt continually 
 in the next Room, and the Phyficians parTed to and fro, as Occafion 
 reqviired, to give them Satisfaction of the King's Cafe, and their Me- 
 thods. His Lordmip never came from the Council but in a profou-,d 
 Melancholy; for, from the Beginning, he faw no Hopes of his Lift, to 
 continue long. He told us that, obferving the Difcourfe of the Doctors 
 to run all upon Indefinites, what they oblerved, their Method intended, 
 
 and Succefs hoped, and the like. He faid to them, That tbefi 
 
 Matters,
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 253 
 
 Matters were little Satisfaction to the Council, unlefs they would de- 
 clare in the main, what they judged of the King's Cafe ; whether his 
 Majefty was like to recover, or not. But they would never be brought to 
 that; all lay in Hopes. But one Day they came into the Council, and 
 had fuch. chearful Countenances, that their Lord/hips thought fome 
 good News was at Hand. The Bufinefs was to acquaint their Lord- 
 Jhips that now, all was like to be well, for the King had a Fever. 
 At this his Lordfhip ftarted, and Gentlemen, faid he, what do you mean? 
 Can any Thing be worfe ? One anfwer'd that now they knew what to 
 do. And what is that? replied his Lordfhip. The Doctor faid, To 
 give him the Cortex. And fo they proceeded whilft Life lafted. I am 
 not to enter into all the fatal Circumftances, and libellous Reports ven- 
 tilated abroad upon this difmal Incident : But mall touch one, which 
 was, that the King's Sicknefs was the Effect of Poifon, to make Way 
 for the Succeffion. There are many Reafons, againft this, to be found 
 in the Examen ; and therefore (hall mention here only what I obferved 
 of his Lordfhip, which weighs with me as much as any Thing ; and 
 that is his Lordfhip's never fufpecting, or mentioning fuch a Thing; as 
 he would have done, had there been Reafbn. And if any Perfon a- 
 bout the King, on the Proteflant Side, had, in the leaft, fufpected fuch 
 foul Play, his Lordfhip would have had an Intimation of it ; which 
 I believe he never had; nor did it enter into his Thoughts, no more 
 than it appear'd in his Difcourfe. But, with the Death of this good 
 Matter and Sovereign, all his Lordfhip's Joys and Hopes perim'd; 
 and the reft of his Life, which lafted not long after, was but a flow 
 dying. 
 
 It pleafed God that the Temper of the Nation was, at this Time, fb The state qm- 
 univerfally fettled in Loyalty (faving only the very Dregs of a malevo- et!y fettled in 
 
 ~ 7 , ' 7 , & , / ,~ f j ^-r i -i the Succeffioa 
 
 lent Party) that there was no Apprehennon 01 any Dilorder, either O f King 
 during the King's Sicknefs, or after his Demiie ; but, on the contrary, > n. 
 almoft every living Soul cried before, and at, his Deceafe, as for the ^ e Repar " 
 Lofs of the beft Friend in the World. The Remembrance of which, 
 other Notices apart, makes it wonderful to me, that have lived into 
 fucceeding Times, to hear this good King's Reign referred to as a 
 Touch-ftone of Tyranny. But no more of that. The next Work 
 was for the Council, and great Men in and about London, to meet and 
 order the Proclamation of the SuccefTor King James II. which was 
 done the fame Day; and then all the great Officers waited upon his 
 Majefty, and render'd their feveral Offices and Charges into his Ma- 
 jefty's Hands, and he return'd them back to them again. After this, 
 the Proclamation ifTued to continue all Country Commi (lions, and Au~ 
 thorities whatfoever, till farther Orders fhould be taken ; and fo, in a 
 few Hours, the Government was upon Wheels again, without any 
 
 ConcufTion
 
 254 Tfc* LIFE of the late 
 
 Concuffion at all ; which fucceeded according to the known Law of 
 the Engliflj Monarchy, viz. that the King never dies ; whereof the 
 Virtue may be fenfible to thofe who have felt a Republick. I remem- 
 ber his Lordmip told us that a great Man of the new Court, in a ban- 
 tering Way, attack'd him ; and What is the Reafon, faid he, that you 
 Lawyers Jay the King never dies, and we are now conjidering how to 
 order the King's Funeral? His Lordmip anfwer'd quick that, by Law, 
 it was not the Death, but Demife of the King. Which, by the Way, 
 was a Law Banter back upon him j and fo Fools are often anfwer'd in 
 their Folly. How neceflary it is for a Courtier to be expert at Re- 
 partee, I may (hew by one Inftance. After this Demife of the King, 
 and the Duke's Acceflion to the Throne, the Lord Rochejler bore the 
 greateft Sway in the Court and Treafury. His Lordmip and that Lord 
 were once confulting about Meafures to be taken in preferring Men to 
 Places of Trufl and Management in Offices under the Crown : And 
 his Lordmip was for taking in thofe who had been bred in the Bufi- 
 nefs, and had gone through the fervile Part of the Offices, and were 
 gradually come up to the Station of directing others, as moft like to 
 ferve profitably ; for none could underftand the Bufinefs better than 
 they. The Lord Rochejler was for preferring Tories and High Fliers, 
 whom he call'd the King's Friends, for Encouragement of others -, and 
 
 G ds W ds, my Lord, faid he, do you not think I could under- 
 
 jiand any Bujinefs in England in a Month ? Tes, my Lord, anfwer'd 
 the Lord Keeper, but I believe you would under Jiand it much better 
 in two Months -, which made a full Clofe of the Argument. 
 
 After this happy Inauguration of the Government, the firft great 
 Batter, ^ at came f rward to be wifely determined by his Majefty's 
 Council and Miniftry, was to fettle the Collection of the Tonnage and 
 Poundage, and other Duties given by Parliament only for the Life 
 of King Charles II. and by his Demife, in all legal Senfe, determined: 
 About which, the Difficulties feemed almoft infuperable. The valu- 
 able Merchants of London came to the Commiffioners of the Cuftoms, 
 and entreated of them that the Cuftoms might be gathered as former- 
 Jy. Otherwife we, faid they, that have great Stocks in our Ware- 
 houfes, for which we have paid Cuftom, are undone ; for the unfair 
 Traders, and Runners, andfuch as come in before the Duties are re- 
 charged, will underfell us, as they well may, paying no Cuftom. There 
 is no Doubt but the Parliament will give the Cuftoms for the whole 
 Time ; and why Jhould they not be collected in the mean Time ? The 
 Commiffioners were careful not to do a Thing, however reafonable, 
 fo obnoxious as that was ; for the levying Money of the Subject:, with- 
 out any Law to warrant it, was a Cafe utterly defencelefs in Parlia- 
 ment ' f and they would not fland in the Gap to be buffetted, in Cafe 
 
 any
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 
 
 any Members mould ftir up a Charge upon them for fo doing. There- 
 fore, defigning to difengage the Thorn, and fix it in the Foot of their 
 Superiors, they attended the Treafury in a Body, and made a Repre- 
 fentation of the Requefl of the Citifens, their Reafons, and the un- 
 doubted ill Confequences to the King and People, if the Revenue of 
 the Cuftoms was not collected, and prayed their Lordfhip's Directions 
 how they mould behave themfelves in the Matter. There fat Lord 
 Godolphin, Sir Dudley Norfb, and other judicious Perfons Commiffio- 
 ners. They faw the Intent of thefe Gentlemen, which was to fcreen. 
 themfelves by their Order j wherefore, calling them in, they told them 
 that they were his Majefty's Commiffioners for collecting the Cuftoms, 
 and had all the Laws, touching the Revenue, before them j which 
 Laws they would do well to perufe carefully, and govern themfelves 
 accordingly ; and that was all the Anfwer they could give them. This 
 was cold Comfort ; but foon after, the Bufmefs preffing, the King laid it 
 before the Council, and demanded their Advice what would be the 
 beft Method for managing this Affair. The Lord Chief Juftice Jef- 
 fries moved that his Majefty fhould caufe his Royal Proclamation to 
 iflue, commanding all Officers to collect, and the Subjects to pay the 
 Revenue, as formerly. My Lord Keeper North was not of Opinion 
 that to iffue fuch a Proclamation, at this Time, would be for the 
 King's Service ; becauie it would have the worft Turn that fuch an 
 Affair could take ; that is giving a direct Handle to his Majefty's Ene- 
 mies to fay, that his Majefty, at the very Entrance upon his Government, 
 levied Money of the Subject without Act of Parliament. There was 
 no Doubt but the Parliament would renew the Act as full as before; 
 and, if the Collection might be carried on without fuch Mifconftruc- 
 tion, it were better. Therefore he propofed that the Proclamation 
 fhould require the Duties to be collected, and paid into the Exchequer^ 
 and that the Officers of the Exchequer mould keep the Product, re- 
 turned, fafe, and apart from other Revenues, until the next Seffion 
 of Parliament, in Order to be difpofed of according as his Majefty, 
 and the two Houfes, fhould think fit. One would have believed this 
 Expedient plaufible enough, and calculated to obviate the ill Ufe a re- 
 pullulefcent Faction might make, if the other Way was taken. But, it 
 feems, this was too low and trimming for the State of the Court at 
 that Time, and a pofitrve Proclamation iffued. The Temper of the 
 Public was, then, fo propitious to the Crown, that almoft any Thing- 
 would be born with, which, in other Times, would have raifed a Flame. 
 All which was owing to the Recovery in the PredecerTor's Times, which, 
 as a Force impretred, carried the Humour deep into the next Reign ; 
 though the moving Caufe was, in great Meafure, loft out of Men's 
 Minds. Thus v/as the grand Revenue, by Law precarious, put into 
 
 a
 
 2j<5 The LIFE of the late 
 
 a Way of being collected, and anfwered, by Virtue of a diredl 
 Proclamation. 
 
 The Parlia- The next great Incident was the fummoning a Parliament; and, 
 memfum- accordingly, Writs iffued returnable Feb. 1684-5. All People interefted 
 met 0Cd Hii d themfelves, one Way or other, to procure or difappoint, Elections: 
 Lordfliippre- And the Court was not idle; his Lordfhip got as many of his Friends 
 P^ d e g f F ak and Relations to be chofen as he could ; in which, befides his own In- 
 hJg, e but P no~t ftuences, he had the Nomination to fome of the King's Boroughs. 
 permitted. Thofe, who came in by his Recommendation, were, for the mod 
 Part, Gentlemen of Honour and Eftates, as well as Credit, in their 
 Countries; fuch as Sir Henry North, and Sir George Winieve in Suffolk ; 
 Mr. Robert Foley, and others I might name, whofe Memories are re- 
 fpeded, in their Countries, at this very Day. And, to make the At- 
 tendance eafy to thefe Gentlemen, whofe Concerns were in the Coun- 
 try, he took diverfe of them to rack and Manger in his Family, 
 where they were entertained while the Parliament fat. His Lordfhip's 
 Defign was to have the Parliament truly Church of England Prote- 
 Jlanfs, and loyal to the Crown; which Character he thought apteft 
 to eftablim the Religion and Laws of the Kingdom, and to refift all 
 Attempts of altering any of our Fundamentals in Church and State. 
 And he was not happy in not feeing it diflblved ; for he died before that 
 happened. It may be his Wifdom and Forefight might have prevented 
 that fatal Stroke, But that was not to be accounted the only State 
 Error which his Death made Way for ; fince it is well known how 
 precipitoufly they flowed in one after another, as foon as he was gone. 
 How far his Lordmip concerned himfelf to keep the King in a Way 
 of ufing Parliaments, and for the preferving this, with his Reafons, 
 will be (hewn in a proper Place. His Principles and Refolutions, 
 firm to the national Eflablifhment, were fo well known at Court, that 
 he was not trufted in any important Step that was made. He confi- 
 dered -well, that, at the Meeting of this Parliament, it was his Office, 
 and had been formerly the Ufage of the Great Seal, to declare at 
 large the Caufe of calling, and the King's Pleafure to the Parliament; 
 and he had framed a Speech * to be made at the Opening, and calcu- 
 lated 
 
 * For the entire Juftification of his LordfViip, and in Order to demonftrate the Sincerity and 
 Uprightnefs of his Intentions, I have thought fit to fubjoin the Speech itfelf, as it was found a- 
 mong his Papers. It is as follows, 
 
 A Speech prepared for opening the Parliament I Jac. II. in Cafe the King had commanded 
 it, and had not taken the whole upon himfelf. 
 
 My Lords and Gentlemen, 
 
 The Caufes of fummoning every Parliament, exprefTcd in his Majefty's Writs, are certain. The 
 Writs, by which you are called to attend his Majefty for the holding this Parliament, exprefj 
 
 the
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 157 
 
 luted it to the happy Genius of the Aflembly, as he underftood it, 
 tending all to a Continuation of Settlement of Peace, and Refiftance 
 of Innovation. In which Speech he had employed more of Oratory 
 
 than 
 
 th- Caufe of Summons in the ufual Manner for certain weighty and urgent Affairs concerning the 
 King and the State, and the Defence of his Kingdom and the Church of England. 
 
 If at any Time there arife weighty Affairs, and if at any Time they are urgent, it is at the En- 
 trance of a King upon his Government. For that is the Time upon which both King and Peo- 
 ple make a Judgment of their Condition. If the Beginnings prove aufpicious, they give Aflur- 
 ance of a ferene and happy Reign. 
 
 It hath pleafed Almighty God hitherto to blefs his Majefty with Profperity. His Acccflion 
 to the Throne was calm and peaceable, notwithstanding all the former Threats of Faction ; and 
 the People have, not only fubmitted to him according to their Duty buf, with great Zeal given 
 early Demonftration of their Affection, by waiting upon him from all Parts, with AddrefTes 
 and Congratulations ; and none have departed without entire Satisfaction by thofe gracious Ex- 
 prcflions of his Goodnefs, which his Majelty was pleafed to make them. 
 
 The Coronation was folemnifed with an univerfal Joy and Acclamation, and had the mo ft nu- 
 merous and fplendid Attendance of the Nobility that any Age hath feen. 
 
 Nothing can equal the Luftre of it but the folemniling of this Day, when it is truly faid the 
 King is feated mod high in his Eftate Royal, being attended by his three Eftates, whofe Advice 
 and AfYiftance makes him the greateft Prince in Europe. 
 
 And this Day is no lefs aufpicious by the Appearance of fo many Perfons of eminent and con- 
 flint Loyalty, who have, in all Times of Difficulty, given abundant Teftimony that they can never 
 fail the Service of the Crown. 
 
 May the good Omens be continued to his Majefty, not only in this happy Meeting between him. 
 and his People but, through the whole Courfe of his Reign, to make him the greateft and happieft 
 of Princes. 
 
 If we look back a few Years, and confider to what Diftrefs the Crown was brought by the 
 Power and Infolence of Faction, which was grown to that formidable Height that it had almoft 
 taken PoffeiTion of the Government, had overfpread the Kingdom, and by its falfe Arts, and the 
 Activity of its Emiffaries, prevailed, not only in the Choice of Magiftrates but, to bring the moft 
 violent of their Party into the Houfe of Commons, whereby to render Parliaments, the nioft firm 
 and powerful Support of the Crown, ufelefs. 
 
 It was hardly fafe to fpeak in Defence of the King whilft Treafon was talked in the Streets, 
 and the faction openly provided Arms, and every Day threatened Rebellion. 
 
 I fay, when we look back upon the dark Face of thofe Times, and confider the Change that 
 hath been wrought in thefe few Years, we muft attribute the Felicities of this Day to the Provi- 
 dence of God Almighty who ftilleth the Raging of the Sea, and changeth the Hearts of Men. 
 
 It muft be acknowledged to be his Doing, for it is marvellous in our Eyes. 
 
 It is he, and he only, that could bring fuch a fudden Confufion and Defertion upon the King's 
 Enemies by his fignal Providence in difcovering their infernal Defigns of AlTaffmation, Maflacres, 
 and Rebellion ; whereby all good Men were brought to an utter Detestation and Abhorrence of 
 them. 
 
 When we were newly delivered from this Danger, it pleafed God to deject us by a more fad 
 Cilamity, in the fudden Sicknels and Death of, our late gracious Sovereign, under whofe merciful 
 Reign we had lived in a moft happy Condition, and upon whofe Life our Peace feemed to depend, 
 the Faction having openly threatened to fly to Arms againft his rightful Heir. 
 
 But it pleafed God quickly to difpel our Grief, and to raife our drooping Spirits, by (hewing us 
 the fame Excellencies, the fame princely Virtues in our moft gracious Sovereign, and all the Affu- 
 rance our Hearts could defireof an happy Government. 
 
 And at the fame Time to difpirit the King's Enemies, who had malicioufly reprefented the 
 Profpect of his Reign in the moft odious Manner they could devife, as a Scene of Cruelty and all 
 the Evils imaginable, fo that they faw it in vain to take up their former Pretences of being Patriots, 
 they thought it more fafe to lie hid, knowing themfelves odious to the People whom they had 
 fo abufed by their abominable Lies in traducing the beft of Princes. 
 
 K k
 
 ij8 "The LIFE of the late 
 
 than I ever faw in any Thing he had, on any other Occafion, per- 
 formed. He (hewed us this Speech, being what he was minded to 
 fay; but withal, declared he would not utter a Syllable, of which he 
 had not the King's Allowance at the Cabinet Council. But the Po- 
 
 Their Difappointment, their Difgrace, their Confufion, will be no fmall Part of their Punifh- 
 menti and may they go on daily from one Degree of Defpair to another. Let them buift with 
 Envy to fee this happy Day, this happy Meeting of the King and his People. Let them fee all 
 the mutual Endearments that can pafs between a moft indulgent Father of his Country, and a 
 moft loyal Parliament. 
 
 His Majefty hath this Day already done his Part towards it by his gracious Expreffions of fo 
 much Tendernefs for his Subjects, fo much Care of thofe Things that are moft dear to them, 
 their Religion and their Laws. 
 
 And 1 dare fay there will be no failure on your Parts to complete this good Correfrondence by 
 making a fteddy and publick Demonftratiou of that Duty and Affection which is in your 
 Hearts. 
 
 You may look upon the gracious Promifes you but now received from his Majefty as Concef- 
 fions made in full Parliament, as Laws which his Majefty hath given himfelf, which will be more 
 binding and effectual than any that can be propofed to him. 
 
 Never therefore let our Church of England, fear to want fupport, when he hath faid he will 
 defend it. Never let any Man entertain the leaft Jealoufy of arbitrary Government, when his Ma- 
 jefty hath declared againft it. 
 
 What fuitable Return can we make for fo much Goodnefs ? Let us give him frefh and Power- 
 ful Inftances of our Loyalty, that may confirm the good Opinion he hath exprefTed of his Church 
 of England. That may make him love Parliaments, and redeem that Credit which the Violence 
 and Unreafonablenefs of the Commons have of late impaired. 
 
 Let us (hew to all the World that we love our King, that we truft him, that we (hall never be 
 wanting to his Service. This will deter all unquiet Spirits at home from troubling our Peace, and 
 will give his Majefty that Reputation in foreign Parts, that will make him Arbiter of the Aftairs 
 of Chrijlendom j an Honour the People of England always defired their Princes fliould have. 
 
 My Lords and Gentlemen, 
 
 The Summer advanceth fo faft, that you may be in fome Pain to think that you cannot have 
 Time to bring to Perfection thofe Things which may be needful, and you fhould do for the King's 
 Service. I would therefore recommend to you to take up thofe Things which are moft plain and 
 eafy of Difpatch, which is to look into thofe Laws which are expired of late ; Laws ready drawn, 
 already put in Practice (it will be a fliort Work) fuch of them as you have found ufeful. 
 
 But your firft and chief Care ought to be of thofe Laws which concern the King's Revenue ; by 
 the Continuance whereof, you will eftablifh him in the fame Condition with the late King, in 
 whofe Throne it has pleafed God to place him. 
 
 There are other Laws expired which were of publick Confideration for maintaining the Peace, 
 and fuppreffing Sedition, which will deferve your particular Regard. Though, God be thanked, 
 Faction is now low, and out of Countenance, we muft not delpife it fo as to neglect to make 
 wholfome Provisions againft it. We may be fure it will begin to creep again upon the leaft 
 "Warmth, and will lofe no Opportunity of troubling our Peace. We ought therefore to keep a 
 watchful Eye over it. 
 
 And above all Things, we ought to be careful that it gain no Footing within thefc Walls, by 
 creating Divifions amongft us, or reviving that abfuvd Distinction between the Court and the 
 Country Party ; as if the King's and his People's true Intereft were not the fame. 
 
 Let it be always a Maxim in Parliament, that what is given for the Support of the King and his 
 Government, is beftow'd for the People's Benefit} and that propofmg Laws for the Convenience 
 of the People, is a Service to the Crown. And therefore you may allure yourfelves that what Bills 
 you fhall prepare and tender to his Majefty for the Advancement of Trade, the eafy and fpeedy Admi- 
 nift:atiou of Juftice, detecting Frauds, fupprefling enormous Crimes, or any other Matters that 
 conduce to the Happinefs or Eafe of the King's Subjects, will receive a moft gracious Anfwer. 
 
 For it will r.lways be the Intereft of the King, that his Subjects fhould live happily -, and the 
 Greatnefs and Profpevity of the King, will always be the Safety and Satisfaction of the People. 
 
 I have it farther in Command, &t. 
 
 licy
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 259 
 
 licy of the Court was fuch; that all this proved Labour in vain. He 
 was not trufted to fpeak to the Parliament, but the King took it all 
 upon himfelf; and he made his own Speech ; atleaft the Lord Keeper 
 had no Hand in it. For he was not fo much as confulted about either 
 the Matter, or ExpreiTions, the King intended to ufe ; as one may well 
 judge by the unguarded Tenor of it. The private Confult knew that 
 his Lordihip could not forbear commending and recommending what 
 of the Conftitution they defigned to alter. 
 
 When the Parliament was met, and qualified to do any Bufinefs, all the The Life Re- 
 Revenue Matters were difpatched to the King's Content, and a Supply ve u e fettled $ 
 was given of a Half-penny per Pound upon Tobacco, and a Farthing Tobacco, and 
 upon Sugars ; very fmall with Refpect to what hath been given fince ; but \ up Su- 
 it made a greater Stir, and had more Oppofition in Parliament, than any po r u s n jj* r an< j 
 later Revenue or Supply Bill ever had \ and, upon voting the Supply, thcBrigues 
 and charging it fo to be levied, it was cried out upon, as if it had been about lt * 
 a Surrender of Liberty and Property. For, faid fome, we Jhall en- 
 able the King to raife and pay an Army to enflave us : Doth he not 
 talk of his Armies in his Speech? And the Merchants, who, for the 
 moft Part, chimed in with thefe Oppofers, declared the Trade would 
 be clogged and ruined. The Grocers declared they would throw 
 up, and not deal in thofe Commodities : Infomuch that my Lord Ro- 
 chefter was frighted, and was inclined to fall off from this, and to bufk 
 for fome other Way to raife the Supply. It feems that, to anfvver thefe 
 Clamours, the Tax was fo qualified, that it mud needs lie upon the in- 
 land Consumption only, and not affect the Exportation j and, for that 
 End, a Drawback of the Duty was given upon all Tobacco and Su- 
 gars exported. This did not fatisfy ; and the Traders clamour'd no 
 Grain the lefs; and when Men look grave, and object, though without 
 Reafon, Folks are apt to think them in earned:. On the other Side, 
 Sir Dudley North, a Commiflloner of the Treafury, who managed 
 for the King in the Houfe of Commons, and other intelligent Mer- 
 chants, told the Lord Rochefter that all this Noife was Knavery, and 
 there was nothing in it ; and, at a Meeting of the Grocers at my Lord 
 Rocbefter's, made it plainly appear to be fo ; as will be (hewed more 
 particularly in the Courfe of that Gentleman's Life. 
 
 The firft Overture of fetting up the difpenfing Power, was in this Refufaito 
 firft Seffions of the Parliament j for the Word Army, in the Speech, gjjj gj" 
 gave great Offence. But what gave more, was an Attempt to indulge Army, and 
 the military Officers to act without qualifying themfelves according to ^ L n rdfl ^ s 
 the Teft Laws. By this Attempt in Parliament, and other more pri- pJJeediogof 
 vate Prognofticks, his Lordfhip perceived a Difpofition in the interior 7d7" inthc 
 Court, to decline Parliaments, and rely upon an Army - t for which De- ^' 
 liberation they had but too much Encouragement by Monmoutb's Re- 
 
 K k 2 bellion,
 
 160 fbt LIFE, of the late 
 
 bellion, which broke out during this firft Seffion of Parliament. The loyal 
 and honeft Temper of the Parliament, appear'd in nothing more than in 
 their Behaviour in this Point. After much debating, they mewed a Dif- 
 pofition, by a particular Law, to qualify any Perfons the King fhould in 
 particular nominate to them: But that would not be accepted ; which, on 
 the one Side, was a great Overfight, and, on the other, a great Efcape; for 
 the Members had incurred no little Infamy abroad, by confenting to enact 
 even fo much as that was, And as for a general Qualification, that is, a 
 Repeal of the Teft and penal Laws in military Cafes, it would by no 
 Means be agreed to : And upon that Point, in the End, the Parlia- 
 ment was broke; as the Accounts of the Clofetting, afterwards, make 
 plain. I have no more to relate of this Parliament, in which hisLord- 
 fhip prefided, as Speaker, upon the Woolfack, an Employ moftly taken 
 up with Forms. Only the Bufmefs of Appeals, from fome of his De- 
 crees, was faftidious ; becaufe Jeffries affected to let fly at them, as if 
 he would have it thought that he was fitter to be Chancellor. During 
 this Seffion of Parliament Monmonth landed, and all the Acts, that 
 could be thought of, fignificant againft him, were part ; as Attainders, 
 &c. After he was beaten at Sedgmore^ the Lord Chief Juflice 'Jeffries 
 perform'd his memorable Expedition in the Wejl^ armed, not only 
 with a Commiflion of Oyer and Terminer, but alfo, an Authority to 
 command the Forces in chief, as General of the Weft; for fo he was 
 ftyled. Upon the News return'd of his violent Proceeding, his Lord- 
 fhipfaw the King would be a great Sufferer thereby, and went directly 
 to the King, and moved him to put a Stop to the Fury, which was 
 in no Refpect for his Service ; but, in many Refpects, for the contrary. 
 For though the Executions were, by Law, juft, yet never were the de- 
 luded People all capitally punifh'd; and it would be accounted a Car- 
 nage, and not Law, or Juftice: And, thereupon, Orders went to miti- 
 gate the Proceeding; but what Effect follow'd, I know not. I am 
 fure of his Lordfliip's Interceflion to the King on this Occafion, being 
 told it, at the very Time, by himfelf. 
 
 TheBufmefs At this Time, the folemn Coronation of the King and Queen was 
 nation ^nT" P romu % e ^ > a Committee of Council to fettle the Formulary, and a 
 his Lordfliip's Court of Claims erected by Commimon; in which his Lordmip, as 
 Sicknefs, with Chief, gave the Rule. At the former, the Archbifhop of Canterbury 
 and his Lor^mip had fome Difference. The Archbifhop, as the Coun- 
 cil thought, fpun too fine; for that was his Way; and he would not 
 abate one Scruple of what he thought his Duty; which made them 
 think he trifled ; and my Lord Hallifax faid his Name mould be Sede 
 Vacante. However, all ended fmooth and well. And here 1 muft 
 introduce a difmal Cataftrophe ; which was hisLordmip's Sicknefs and 
 Death. All thefe Loads of the Death of King Claries II. the ma- 
 naging
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 
 
 naging in order to the Coronation, and the Parliament, and fitting there 
 to hear his Decrees moft brutimly and effrontuoufly arraigned, which 
 he muft defend with all the Criticifm and Reafon, as well as Temper, 
 that he could, by Strefs of Thought, mufter j befides the Attendances 
 at Court and Council, where nothing fquared with his Schemes, and 
 where he was, by Sunderland, Jeffries^ and their Complices, little lefs 
 than derided ; to all which the Difpatch of the Chancery Bulinefs is to 
 be added, where, for want of Time, all run in Arrear; which State 
 of the Court was always a Load upon his Spirits. All this was more 
 than enough to opprefs the Soul of an honeft, cordial, Man ; and I 
 verily believe it did that to his Lordmip, which People mean when 
 they fay that his Heart was broke; but I guefs that, with him, it was 
 rather his Head than his Heart. Some Time before the Parliament 
 rofe, I had Notice brought me in the Morning, that my Lord Keeper 
 was taken defperately ill. I got ready as foon as I could, and, coming 
 into his Chamber, and to his Bed-fide, he look'd at me and faid, -Will 
 you believe I am ill now? I was one that ufed to rally upon his Fan- 
 cies as to Health, as if he ailed nothing ; and truly, for the moft Part, 
 I was in the right; for he was inclined to the Splenetick. But now it 
 was plain he was in a very bad Cafe. He was taken, in the Night, 
 with a very bad Cold, that obftrucled all the Paffages on one Side of 
 his Head, and he had very great Pains there, and, withal, a Fever. 
 The Afternoon before, he was not well, but made no Shew of it. 
 The Barber trimmed him, and, being uneafy, he -thought he never 
 would have done ; and the Image in his Dream, at the Acceffion, was 
 of the Barber's Hand patting his Cheek with cold Water till it was 
 numb. And, after he was awake, that Thought ftuck in his Mind, 
 and he could never (hake it off as long as he lived, which was not a- 
 bove four Months after : And he would often inveigh again ft trhe Bar- 
 ber's Impertinence, which he fincerely thought gave him his Cold, . 
 Let all, that refledl on Non-Sanity of Mind, obferve that it hath its 
 Degrees and Importances, and that corporal Infliclions mall imprels 
 Ideas which mall ever after remain involuntary; if about trivial Things, 
 they are Conceit and Fancy ; if important, Madnefs. For in the Ex- 
 tremity of fatuitous Madnefs, there is nothing to be found but the 
 Confequences of Error and Credulity, by what Means foever, whether 
 Pride, Fright, Fever, Love, &c. impreffed at firft. But, to return to 
 his Lordmip, his Family Phyfician, Dr. Majlers (who was bred under 
 Dr. Willis^ and introduced by him) was fent for; and he order'd 
 Phlebotomy, and, having directed his Diet, expected what Turns the 
 Diftemper would take, and watch'd him carefully and continually, in 
 order to farther Prefcription, as Reafon might require. And thus the 
 Man might have had fair Play for his Life -, for who is exempt from 
 
 Fevers ?'
 
 2 6z Tie LIFE of tie late 
 
 Fevers ? And it is but fome, not all, that have them, die. Thus he lay 
 reftlefs, under a burning acute Fever, without any notable Remifllons, 
 and no Intermiffions. This dangerous Sicknefs of the Lord Keeper 
 being known about Town, all the accuftom'd Impertinences, of Mef- 
 fages and Vifits, were acted, but kept from the fick Man, to whom 
 they were of fmall Profit. There were fome Relations, and particu- 
 larly Sir William Soams, a Sort of Brother-in Law, who were much 
 concern'd about his Phyfician ; he was too plain a Man, and not in 
 top Practice, and but one: And it was abfolutely neceffary that fome 
 other famed Doctor mould be call'd in, faying, A Man of his Lord- 
 flip's Diftinffion, ought not to be trufted with one Phyfician. People 
 will ever be fond of Doctors, as Popijh Zealots are of Saints, and think 
 that the Power of Life and Death is in their Hands. Whereas, gene- 
 rally, the Practice is common to all ; and, when they fwerve, and are 
 fingular, it is as much for Death as Prefervation. But hereupon Dr. 
 Short was fent for, who, finding his Lordfhip in an acute Fever, ap- 
 proved of what had been done, and, to qualify his Prefcription, faid 
 that a Man of his Value^ was not to be trufted with a Fever. So to 
 work he went with his Cortex to take it off; and it was fo done; but 
 his Lordfhip continued to have his Head-Ach and Want of Sleep. 
 They gave him quieting Potions, as they call'd them, which were 
 Opiates to make him fleep ; but he ranted, and renounced them as his 
 greateft Tormenters, faying that they thought all was well if he did 
 not kick off the Cloaths, and his Servant had. his natural Rejt ; but, 
 all that while, he had Axes and Hammers, and Fireworks in his Head, 
 which he could not bear. All thefe were very bad Signs ; but yet he 
 feem'd to mend confiderably ; and no Wonder, his Fever being taken 
 off by the Cortex. 
 
 His Lordfhip's All this while the Parliament was fitting, and the Bufinefs of the 
 t> m ^conlx Coronation attended his coming abroad, and he, having an Impulfe in 
 df/BufindC' h^ Nature to difpatch whatever belonged to him to do, ventured out 
 and much before he was, in any competent Manner, healthful ; and fat in Par- 
 flow l Heftick. ^ ament > difpatched all the Claims, attended the Council, and the 
 ' Committee for the Coronation, and did what he could in the Chan- 
 cery ; and, what was more, paid his laft Duty to his Mafter in walk- 
 Ing at the Coronation. And, as an Inftance of his Lordfhip's Caution 
 in great Matters, I muft here take Notice that he had his Majefty's 
 Sign Manual to order his not publishing a general Pardon ; which, 
 fometimes, Men have thought belonged to the great Seal to do of 
 ^ coui fe. During thefe Employments, every one, that faw him, faid he 
 
 went about as a Ghoft, with the Vifage of Death upon him. Such a 
 Sunk, fpiritlefs, Countenance he had. And yet his Strength of Mind 
 carried him through all; and his bearing the long Fatigue of the Co- 
 ronation
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 
 
 ronation Ceremony and Walk, was really a Wonder. Nor had it been 
 ftrange if one, with mortal Wounds upon him, as he had, had drop- 
 ped in the Piazza. During all this Time, his Appetite was gone, and 
 Cookeries were provided in order to tempt his Palate ; but all was 
 Chip. We made his Evenings as comfortable by Society as we could, 
 with fuch News as the Town afforded, and all Kinds of familiar Chat, 
 which was his greateft Delight when he was well. He found his 
 Spirits low, and thought to favour and erect them by a Glafs or two 
 of Sherry, or Sandwich Ale, after his No-Supper. But the Cafe of 
 his Fever was this : The Rage of the Difeafe, which was the Effort 
 of Nature to throw off the Venom that caufed it, was taken down by 
 the Cortex; but the Venom, then afloat, was let fink into his Con- 
 ftitution : And it is now found that, without there be an Intermiffion 
 of the Fever, the Cortex doth but engraft the Venom to moot out 
 again more perniciouily. And fo, in his Lordfhip's Cafe, he had a 
 Seed of a malignant Fever in him, which turned to a malignant Cha- 
 chexy, kindling and burning in the Centre of his very Vitals, making 
 little Shew but in his Pulfe, and a general Pain, and continual Un- 
 eafinefs, Languor, and Want of Sleep. 
 
 While his Lordfhip went about in this difconfolate State, it is eafy 
 to be conceived how little of Comfort was his Portion. He had no 
 Glimpfe of Satisfaction, in the Profped of future Events, as to the 
 Nation at large (and how much he laid that to heart will be made Seal into the 
 appear afterwards) concerning which he had no fair Expectation but CountI 7- 
 what terminated in himfelf : viz. that, after having done the utmoft 
 that lay in his Power to do, to obviate the impending Mifchiefs, he 
 might hope to have delivered his own Soul. And his Feverifh Difeafe 
 growing upon him, his Spirits, and all that fhould buoy a Man up 
 under Oppreflion, not only failed, but other Things, of a malign 
 Complection, fucceeded to bring him lower : Which may be fully 
 underftood by this Circumftance. He took a Fancy that he looked out 
 of Countenance, as he termed it, that is, as one afhamed, or as if he 
 had done ill, and not with that Face of Authority as he ufed to bear : 
 And, for that Reafon, when he went into Weftminfter-Hall in the 
 Summer Term, he ufed to take Nofegays of Flowers to hold before 
 his Face, that People might not difcern his Dejection ; and once in 
 private, having told me this Fancy, he afked me if I did not perceive 
 it. I anfwemi him, not in the leaft ; nor did I believe any one elfe 
 did obferve any fuch Thing : But that he was not well in Health, as 
 he ufed to be, was plain enough. His Lordfhip, in this State, took a 
 R.efolution to quit the great Seal, and went to my Lord Rocbefter to 
 intercede with his Majefty to accept it ; which had been no hard 
 Matter to obtain. But that noble Lord had no Mind to part with fuch 
 
 a Screen,
 
 264 The LIFE of the late 
 
 a Screen, and, at that Time (as he told me himfelf) he diverted him. 
 But his Lordfhip perfifted, as will be made appear afterwards by a 
 Letter. Whereupon the Lord Rocbefter obtained of the King that his 
 Lordmip might retire with the Seal into the Country, and that the 
 Officers, with their Concerns, {hould attend him there, in hopes that, 
 by the Ufe of the Waters, and frem Air, he might recover his Health 
 againft next Winter; when it was hoped he would return perfectly 
 recovered. This was indeed a Royal Condefcenfion, and fingular Fa- 
 vour to him. 
 
 His Lordftip's During this Mixture of Difeafe and Bufinefs in Town, there was no 
 Phyficians wan t of Phvficians to attend upon, and prefcribe to him. They found 
 
 lent him i i i i T- 1-1 riT-N i 
 
 down defpe- ^ had a lent Fever, which was growing up out of the Dregs which 
 rate, and the the Cortex had left ; and, if it were not taken off, they knew he would 
 * on P er ^- So they P lie d him with new Dofes of the fame, under 
 the Name of cordial Powders, whereof the Quantity, he took, is fcarce 
 credible ; but they would not touch his Fever any more than fo much 
 Powder of Pofl. And ftill he grew worfe and worfe j no Means 
 would reftore him any Appetite. At length, the Dactors threw up, 
 and faid their Medicaments had no Effect, and his Blood afforded him 
 no kind of Nourimment; and he had no way left but to repair to his 
 Seat at Wroxton, which was near to Aft r op Wells, and drink thofe 
 Waters, which they hoped would cleanfe his Blood, and reftore his 
 decayed Spirits. After this Sentence pronounced, we ftraight packed 
 up our Alls, and made as full a Family of Relations as we could to 
 divert him. The Family Phyfician went with us, and he had his 
 Chefts of Medicines, as if we were going a Voyage to the Indies. We, 
 that rode in the Coach with him, had a melancholy Journey ; for he 
 was hopelefs of Life to continue long, and of any Comfort while it did 
 continue, and declared exprefly that this was to be his laft Journey. 
 There were Pillows, and all Contrivances that he might be eafy. He 
 complained of no Inconvenience in the Journey, by jogging and to- 
 fing, though he could not but feel a great deal j but his Patience was 
 extraordinary ; and, 'as he had refolved before-hand, he made the fame 
 Stages he formerly had been uled to. We had a great Rout attending, 
 that belong to the Seal, a Six-Clerk, Under-Clerks, Wax-Men, &c. 
 who made a good Hand of it, being allowed travelling Charges out of 
 the Hanaper ; and yet ate and drank in his Lordfhip's Houfe. I muft 
 own that, bating his Lordmip's Illnefs, (which was Bitterneis with a 
 Witnefs) I never was in a more agreeable Family. For it was full as 
 a City, and with Perfons of good Value and Converfation ; all under 
 the Authority of one whom all revered; and, out of Decency, as 
 well as Refpect to him, not the leafl Intemperance, or Diforder of any 
 Sort, committed. And what crowned all, was, firft, the chief Table 
 
 almoft
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 2 <J; 
 
 almoft filled with the deareft of his Lordfhip's Relations, and the 
 Hopes that, fometimes, were afforded us in the Country, of his Lord- 
 fhip's Recovery. 
 
 The Gentlemen of the Country were very humane and obligino- His 
 
 .1 11 IT 1 '.11' 1 1 -w-k /- ">'.,. 
 
 for they all came and dined with him, and, with Deference to his Manner of 
 Eafe, invited him. But his Regimen permitted him to go no where ; thTvanois 
 nor did his Relations make many Excurfions : But fome he obliged Amufements 
 them to, for Excufe for himfelf, where he had great Refpeds. HeSIhe 
 took the Waters in Bed, for they did not agree with him up, and, in Waters. 
 a Week or Fortnight's Time, his Urine, before difordered, was recti- 
 fied ; and he had fome Appetite. Some of us would be faying to the 
 Doctor that there was an apparent Amendment; but he ufed to make 
 his Head, and put his Hand to his Wrift; and once, in plain Terms, 
 told us that, till he found Amendment there, he had no Hopes. I 
 paft as many Hours alone with him as any one, and, after his old 
 Wont, he would fpeak his very Thoughts to me ; and, when he rea- 
 foned wrong concerning himfelf, I took the Freedom to argue, as I 
 thought, right. As in this Inflance; he faid his Phyfician was ex- 
 tremely to blame, who was fo much in his Company, and did not put 
 him under fome Regimen as might have prevented fuch a Fever as 
 this was. Nay, faid he, hejhould have forced me to it, and not let me 
 alone till I conformed. I excufed the Doctor, and wifhed he would 
 confider, that he muft know how averfe he was to all medicinal Re- 
 gimen and Phyfick, and if the Doctor had obtruded any fuch, he muft 
 have expected an authoritative Rebuke ; and he would have feared in- 
 curring thereby the Lojs of your good Opinion. This, and fuch Free- 
 doms, he took in good Part. Our Courfe was, in the Morning, to 
 attend his Lordfhip in his Chamber with merry Entertainment while 
 he was drinking his Waters; and then, being up, we, that took the 
 Poft of being his Architects, fell to measuring, mapping, and debating 
 about our Projects concerning his Gardens, Buildings, and Planta- 
 tions : And I cannot pafs by a diverting PafTage, One Mr. Barber^ a 
 Neighbour, obferved how bufy we were; and', coming near to us 
 where his Lordfhip flood, You may meafure and meafure, faid he, but 
 my Lord is not fucb a Fool as to be ruled by you. His Lordfhip, who 
 had fcarce laughed fince he came down, could not hold at that. But 
 we were reconciled to him after that, at the Table, he had told a fine 
 Lady that be had known her a Heart-breaker for above twenty Tears. 
 It was very obfervable that our Proceedings difcovered plainly when 
 his Lordfhip thought well of himfelf, and when not; for, if he was 
 in good Heart, and thought he might recover, then he obferved us 
 narrowly, and would put in his Oar, and like or diflike, joining in the 
 very much Altercation amongft us, as if he were a Party concerned* 
 
 L 1 But
 
 The LIFE of the late 
 
 But if he thought he could not get off, then he left us to ourfelves, 
 and made no Enquiry, or Queftion at all, upon what we were doing, 
 and fcarce would give Attention when we (hewed him our Draughts. 
 I remember I had laid out the Plantation of his Avenue, which was 
 a wretched Pofition; for the Entrance was at one Corner, and, not in 
 the Streight. I had fhaped a Demilune before the Court-gate, and at 
 the farther End, a whole Sweep, with Rows detached from that to 
 the Entrance. He put out my whole Sweep, and ordered the Rows of 
 Trees to be refracted that Way. At which I was very angry, and 
 declared that no Architect was ever fo ufed as I was. This pleafed 
 him much ; and he very often made a Jeft to his Company of this 
 Rant of his Architect. Thefe were harmlefs Amufements, and bene- 
 ficial to him, as much as any Thing might be. After Dinner, the 
 Coaches were ufually got ready, and, with his neareft Relations, among 
 whom I was always one, he ufed to go to Rdgehill to take the Air : 
 But I did not perceive any great Gouft he had in it j but it was advi- 
 fed, and that was enough. I once encouraged him to ufe the Viol, 
 and I would make a fmall Confort to him, and he feemed to approve 
 of the Entertainment which ufed to be his Idol. I thereupon tuned up 
 a Lyra Viol, and a Violin, and, having got fome agreeable Compe- 
 titions, to work we went. The Doctor eyed us well, forefeeing what 
 would follow y which was that his Lordmip fcarce touched above a 
 LefTon, before he laid down the Inftrument, faying, He did not like 
 that Part y and the other he did not perform. He began to be much 
 concerned about his Chair, and not fatisfied with any ; but one, above 
 the reft, which he ufed moft, was privileged, and no one elfe offered 
 to ufe it j for, as fick as he was, he would fufFer none to rife and give 
 way for him. Thus, with various Amufements, the heavy Time, 
 , Di>y after Day, was got off hand, as well as with all the Satisfaction 
 to him that we could contrive. O what a Difference between his own 
 Family, Friends and Relations, and the Court ! 
 
 His Lord (hip's One Thing was very remarkable in this flow declining. All, that 
 good Hu- was p ecu }i ar ly good in his Humour, left him. He concerned himfelf 
 
 rrour decayed _ r , , , 11 A i / r i , . . 
 
 with his Con- flrangely about his Oeconomy, and the Abuies of it, and every Thing 
 ftitution. fhould be new-modelled, and his Family reduced ; and he, that was 
 never fo well as when his Houfe and Table were full, began to look 
 upon us as Inmates, and would needs go out, and take an Account of 
 his Stables ; and, coming into one that had four Coach- Horfes in it, 
 he afked whofe Stable that was? They told him Mr. fro/efs. (He 
 was a Brother-in-Law, who, with his Wife, his Lordfhip's Sifter, 
 had been long in the Family.) He had enough, and enquired no far- 
 ther j only, as he returned, Mr. Foley's, faid he? Very fine, indeed! 
 But, with all this Difcourfe of Regulations, he ordered no one Thing 
 
 other-
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 
 
 otherwife than before ; and the fame loofe Houfe-keeping went on. 
 And this Decay of good Humour, with his Decay of Strength, en- 
 creafed, to the laft Moment of his Life ; as will appear more exprefs 
 in the Sequel. This may ferve to demonftrate that mortal Sicknefs is 
 not found to be a Time apt for Friendly Charity and good Nature. 
 
 About the latter End of Augujl, Sir Dudley North and I were in the HisMe-hodof 
 Coach with him, taking the Air ; and he was pleafed to fay that he fcttHng'hu 
 had a Will by him, and diverfe Codicils, which he had made to fuitj^^ 1 ^ 
 the Emergences, in his Family, as they had happen'dj and all thefe hefign'd and 
 would put into my Hands, and I fhould frame them all into one P ublifll 'd. 
 entire Form of a Will, which he would publifh, and the others mould 
 be revoked. This was the firft Word he fpoke of any Will j and 
 none of us thought fit to mention any fuch Thing to him. Next Day 
 he gave me his Papers, and I made a Draught, which he approved of, 
 without the Change of one Word j for indeed I ufed no Words but 
 what were his own, faving for mere Form. This Will he directed 
 to be wrote meet-wife, and to be ready when he call'd for it j which 
 was accordingly done. Now the late Time of the Year, for Water- 
 drinking, was come ; and either the Waters had not that Virtue to di- 
 lute and infpirit his Blood as before ; or elfe the Doctor, and his cor- 
 refponding Brethren in London, thought fit he mould leave off drink- 
 ing them ; and, after that, he tumbled down apace. The Doctor al- 
 ways ufed to (hake his Head at his Urine, faying it was fimilis fani^ 
 or like to that of one that was well. But, now, it had a red Caft, as 
 if fome Drops of Blood were mix'd with it ; which was a fure Prog- 
 noftick of Death approaching. Once his Urine flood in his View as 
 he lay in Bed, and the Doctor, frowning at the Water, bid fomebody 
 take it away. No, let it alone , faid his Lordmip, / know (or feel) 
 more than that Jhews. When he was confined to his Bed, he call'd 
 for his Will, which I brought ; but he thought the Sheets were too 
 many, and that he mould not have Strength to fign them all, and or- 
 der'd one clofer to be made ; which I went about, and had done in lefs 
 than half an Hour; and, after it was read to him, and Seals prepared, 
 he fign'd every Sheet, and publifh'd it. And Now, faid he, / am at 
 Eafe. 
 
 We had Chaplains in the Houfe, and conftant Prayers in a fmall The religious 
 Chapel, Morning and Evening, for the Family 5 as ought to be in ^J^'Jf*" 
 every great Man's Houfe, to fay nothing of the lefler: And, after his Dr.xaJciif ' 
 Lordmip was confined to his Bed, fo that he could not come to the cali>d in > and , 
 Chapel, the Vifitation Services were ufed in his Chamber, and, at length, 
 he received the Sacrament with his Relations by him j and then he 
 was in a very defperate Way, not like to live many Hours. It was the 
 Opinion of the People about him, and the Doctor's Defire (who was 
 
 L 1 2 the
 
 268 The LIFE of the late 
 
 the moft afflicted Man in the World) that Dr. Radclif, then in the 
 Neighbourhood, {hould be call'd in ; which was done, not that his 
 Friends expected any Benefit but, to fatisfy fome of the Living, who 
 would not be convinced. The Doctor came and, by his Lordfhip's 
 Bed-fide, he afked him, I am fure, no lefs than fifty Qu,eflions; which 
 was a great Fatigue and Trouble to him, and all that were in the Room. 
 The Doctor had his Fee, but not the Ingenuity to fay what he knew, 
 viz. that there was no Hopes, but talked of Lungs being touched or 
 not, which fignified nothing. His Lordfhip afterwards (hewed much 
 Difcontent that he was not well attended j and if Sir Dudley North, or 
 I, was abfent, he call'd it flighting him j and we were indeed glad, 
 fometimes, to efcape for half an Hour to breathe. This confirm'd 
 the Approach of Death, of which the not caring to be left alone is a 
 conftant Symptom. He began to agonife, and be convulfed, and, by 
 Virtue of the Doctor's Cordials, lived longer than was for his Good. 
 After fome ftriving, he would lie down, and then get up again. He 
 advifed us not to mourn for him, yet commended an old Maid Ser- 
 vant for her good Will, that faid, As long as there is Life, there is 
 Hope. At length, having ftrove a little to rife, he faid, It would not 
 do ; and then, with Patience and Refignation, lay down for good and 
 all, and expired, Sept. 1685. And about five or fix Days after, his 
 Funerals were folemnifed as he had directed by his Will. 
 
 HisLordftip's In a few Hours after his Lordfhip's Eyes were clofed, and his Will 
 Executors car- k nO wn in the Family, which appointed his Brothers to be his Execu- 
 Seai, and tave tors > a ^ tne OfiHcers of the Seal, then in the Houfe, after having laid 
 it into the their wife Heads together, came in a Body to know what the Plea- 
 tt'3w"r, ndS fure f tne Executors was, touching the great Seal ; as if that had been 
 who deliver^ a Matter in Danger of being overfeen. The Executors immediately 
 it to the Lord O rder'd them all to be ready the next Morning, to go along with it to 
 JtypfcT Windjbr, where the King then wasj and the State Equipage being 
 made ready for the Executors themfelves, they took the firong Box, 
 in which the Seal was kept, and that enclofed in a Silk Bag, which 
 was alfo fealed with his Lordfhip's Seal. Such a facred Thing is that 
 pertiferous Lump of Metal ! The fame Night the Executors arrived, 
 they waited upon the King, who faid, He heard that his Lordfiip was 
 much mended. The Seal was deliver'd in the Bag (fealed) into the 
 King's own Hand, who took the Bag, and afked if there was never a 
 Purle (of State) and it was anfwer'd that none was brought down. 
 The King faid no more to them ; whereupon the Executors retired ; 
 and, as had been long before projected, the great Seal was put into the 
 Lord Jeffrie^ Hands, with the Style of Lord High Chancellor of Eng- 
 land. And what Effect that Tranfition had upon the State and Weir 
 fare of England, let the fucceeding. Times fpeak.. 
 
 His
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 
 
 His Lordfhip ufed to be continually pefter'd with Penny Poft Let- Difpofui 
 
 re imnprtinpnt. and fafTiHirms tn rearl ov^r Arri^A tl-,,V rvr^r~ u~ his Penn 
 
 uson ot 
 
 ters, impertinent, and faftidious to read over. Againft thisDifeafe he jjjj ft penny 
 found an effectual Remedy; which was by appointing all fuch Letters Woui/noT" 
 to be carried to the faithfulleft of his Servants, and Seal-Bearer ; and havcthe Writs 
 ordering him to open and read them, and thereupon to judge if they *w ?Lw. 
 were fit for him to fee, and then mew, elfe, to burn them. This 
 immediately put a Stop to that Evil. It had been ufual, heretofore, 
 for all Writs to bear Teft where the Lord Keeper refided, though the 
 King was not there ; which was look'd upon as a Mark of Honour to 
 their Families upon Record. But his Lordfhip, thinking it a mere Va- 
 nity, order'd none to bear Teft afud Wroxton> but apud Wejlmmafte- 
 riutn only. 
 
 . His Lordfhip became extremely fond of the publick Records, and ' HisLordfl.ip- 
 promoted the Study and Infpedion of them all he could. At the Be- '*& f r f 'j 
 ginning of his Bufmefs, he had no Means of Application that Way., c 
 The Books of the Law were the Field from whence his Harveft ac- 
 crued : And the Learning of Records is fpeculative, and tends to the 
 Accomplifhment of a Lawyer, more than his direct Profit. But it is 
 a moft reafonable Ambition, and was firft feen in Mr. Noy. The Lord 
 Coke took a little that Way; but his Skill was more pedantic than pe- 
 netrant. Afterwards, a Set of Men grew up, who addicted themfelves 
 to that Study with lefs Oftentation ; as Rolls, Windham, Jones t Glin r 
 and Hales ; more efpecially the latter. When his Lordmip began to 
 be at Eafe in his Seat of Chief Juftice, he look'd earneftly that Way, 
 but had not a full Accommodation till he had the Great Seal; and then,, 
 by Means of his Authority, he could command Copies of what he 
 thought fit ; and accordingly, he had procured all the Rolls of Parlia- 
 ment, and was proceeding with the Journals of the Houfe of Lords,, 
 and Indexes of the various Sorts, that he might fend for what he had 
 a Mind to confult. He could not purfue this Study before he was 
 made Chief Juftice, becaufe, when Attorney General, all his Time 
 was devour'd by the King's Buiinefs, and a mountainous Practice in 
 Wefiminfter-Hall and eliewhere. But, from that Time, he dated a 
 Sort of Liberty, in which State he might enjoy himfelf, by purfuing 
 Subjects as his Fancy prompted ; and towards the End of his Law, and 
 the Beginning of Equity, he fcarce minded, ferioufly, any Thing elfe;;. 
 and, from dealing with Books and Epitomes, fuch as Rytey and Cot- 
 ton, Gfo. he came to the Records themfelves, efpecially thofe of the 
 Parliament; and he had no fooner a Power to command the Officers,, 
 but he obliged them to tranfcribe for him all thofe which are properly 
 eall'd, The Records of Parliament-, which compofe about fifteen Vo- 
 lumes in Folio. Thofe were brought him, attefted' by the Officer: 
 And he continually cali'd for more;, whereof the Sheets, whicli make
 
 270 The LIFE of tie late 
 
 up a great Part of another Volume, were left by him not complete. 
 When a Queftion bore upon the Records of any Sort, he always had 
 true Copies brought him ; for he did not fettle in himfelf any Opinion, 
 till he had viewed the original Authority, He was procuring all the 
 Journal Books of the Hjule of Lords (which began about Hen. VIII. 
 when Stat. Rolls enter'd) and had fome \ olumes complete. And all 
 thefe compacted Volumes now remain with the Lord Guilford. As 
 for the Journal Books, he immediately made his Chaplain make Ex- 
 tracts of them under Heads, that he might have a ready Recourfe to 
 Speeches, Addreffes, Anfwers, &c. But the old Records were French^ 
 too hard for them j and thofe he intended to abftract, or rather epito- 
 mife, with his own Hand, and had made a Beginning. It appears 
 that he had defign'd, out of thofe, and all other our Records and Hi- 
 flories, to remark the various cotemporary Acts, and to note his own 
 Obfervations of the Times as he went along. And, as a Fruit of this 
 Study, he had begun to compofe an Hiflory of Parliaments. And I 
 cannot but lament that it was not completed. He found that the 
 factious Lawyers, and particularly Mr. P. Foley, were verybufy in fer- 
 retting the mufty old Repofitories, with Delign to produce in Parlia- 
 ment what they thought fit, to the Prejudice of the Crown and its juft 
 Prerogatives. And they accordingly did fo j for they conferred with 
 the Bellweathers of the Party in the Houfe of Commons, and fre- 
 quently alledged PafTages in the Records of Parliament, and certain ex- 
 otick Cafes, extracted chiefly from thofe ia irregular Times, when the 
 Crown had been diftrefled and impofed upon ; and done, not only par- 
 tially but, often untruly, and always defective. By which Means they 
 fuftain'd their Anti-monarchic Infmuations and Pamphlets. The other 
 Party were not fo well able to deal with them at thefe Weapons, be- 
 caufe they were not fo induflrious. His Lordfhip, upon good Infor- 
 mation taken, partly, from fome of their own Collections, and from 
 Mr. Ryley's Placit. Par/, and Sir Robert Cottons Abridgment, and 
 other Opportunities, was clearly of Opinion that a publick View, of 
 all the Records of State and Parliament, would be for the Advantage 
 of the Monarchy j for what thefe Gentlemen produced was partial, 
 and miftatedj and the fame, fet entirely in open View, would have 
 another Tenor and Effect. Therefore he was clearly of Opinion that 
 the whole mould be made publick in Print : And, by that, the Crown 
 would have more Juftice; for Men, who had been impofed on, and 
 had credited the others, having Accefs to the Books of the Records, 
 might rightly inform themfelves, by Means of their Application and 
 Study, which they could not do by fearching the Offices -, a Drudgery 
 for which only a few are competent. And, purfuant to this Defign, 
 his LorcUhip actually began to put the huge Mafs into fome Order and 
 
 Method,
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 17l 
 
 Method, to be propofed to Undertakers, who were to have Encou- 
 ragements that might invite them. Bat this Work required long and 
 quiet Times j neither of which fell to his Lordmip's Share after he 
 had the great Seal, by which only he was capable of forwardino- the 
 Work. 
 
 His Lordfliip's Miniftry, under King James II. was lefs difficult, His Lordihip 
 but more mortifying, than under King Charles II j for, then, all the eaf V asto 
 Weight of Forms and Legalities, and, confequently, the Warding a- Truft s k on his 
 gaintt Cavil and Captioufnefs, lay upon him. He was relied upon, Part. And 5 
 and, being obnoxious to all diifenting Parties, muft act at his Peril. ! he State of 
 But now, as he was a Perfon determined to be laid afide, he was not danc/ra'the 
 relied upon in any Thing, but was truly a Seal Keeper, rather than Kin S- 
 a Minifter of State, and kept on for Difpatch of the Formularies, ra- 
 ther than for Advice, or Truft. It was well known that he would 
 not put the Seals to any Commiffions to Perfons unqualifiable, with a 
 nonobftante to the Tefl Laws; and, for that Reafon, none fuch were 
 brought to him 5 but, after he was gone, his SuccefTor (by antecedent 
 Compact, as was fuppofed) pafs'd all. His Lordfhip was fo ill ufed at 
 Court by the Earl of Sunder land, Jeffries, and their Sub-Sycophants, 
 that, I am perfuaded, if he had had lefs Pride of Heart, he had 
 been tempted to have delivered up the Seal in full Health. But he 
 cared not to gratify, by that, fuch difmgenuous Enemies. Another 
 weightier Reafon kept him in Awe as to that ; which was Point of 
 Honour : For he would not willingly have caft fuch a publick Re- 
 flection upon his Royal Matter, and his Government, as the defperate 
 Innuendo of fuch an Action had been. He intended to fray till the King 
 would bear him no longer, and then make it his Majefty's own Act 
 to remove him. His Lordfhip owed his firft Promotion, by being 
 made the King's Counfel at Law, to the Favour of his Majefty when 
 Duke of York', and, in the whole Courfe of his Rifing, the Duke was 
 his Friend: And, at this Time, amongft fuch a Circle of Sycophants, 
 as were about the King, without a iingular Tendcmeis of his Majefty 
 towards him, he muft needs have been difgraced over and over. But 
 the King believed him to be an honeft Man, and always a Friend to 
 his Succeflion, and to the Monarchy itfelf, and of Ability to make 
 good all his Undertakings; that his Learning and Elocution, as alfo 
 fiis exquifite Caution, as well as his Readinefs at Forefight and De- 
 fence, made him an admirable Minifter. What he thought, or did, 
 adverfe to the King's Purpofes, was indulged upon Account it was his 
 real Opinion, and, being an honeft Man, he could not do otherwife. 
 But, befides all this, what, in a particular Manner, fupported him, was 
 his Credit among the Loyalifts j which was fo great that, to part 
 
 with
 
 271 %e LIFE of the late 
 
 with him abruptly, and (as intended) to make Way for fuch a one as 
 feffries, would make no flight Shock in Men's Minds ; and, as the Si- 
 tuation of his Affairs was, in that Recent Adminiftration of the Publick, 
 \vould turn to no good Account. The Attorney and Solicitor Gene- 
 ral were fhaped out already, to ferve any Turn of Projection for ap- 
 plying the Great Seal; and Jeffries at Hand, if he could, by all his 
 Arts and RudenefTes, make his Lordfhip refign, or be turned out, then 
 to feife his Port. And herein his Lordmip efteemed he had a Pro- 
 lection, and faid, that if any Thing made him the leaft defirous not to 
 quit the Seal, it was that, by parting, he might not gratify thofe who 
 indecently, or for peftilent Aims, fought it. But it is an ill Game that 
 hath not one Trump. The Lord Rocbejler, who now had the Trea- 
 furer's Staff, defired by all Means to keep his Lordmip in Place, be- 
 caufe his Skill, Credit, and Authority ferved, by Way of Screen, to 
 divert diverfe malign Influences from falling upon him, and what Pains 
 he took therein will appear afterwards. No Enemy at Court ever ven- 
 tured to charge him with any Immorality. I do not know that, in 
 all his Life, he fwore an Oath. But Littlenefs and Incapacity was the 
 worft they faid, or (in that Region) endeavoured to have thought of 
 him. His oppofing the Innovations of the Popifh Party was out 
 ofe Principle, as what he thought beft for King and People. But he 
 was never officious to torment them, or make them uneafy, if they 
 would live at Peace and be at quiet ; and his Engagements againft them 
 were all defenfive. The King knew all this, and therefore was as 
 tender of affronting him, as he was of difobliging his Majefty, or put- 
 ting it in the Power of any one to fay he ever did an undutiful, or 
 ungrateful, Act; much lefs flying in his Majefty's Face, taking 
 Part with his Enemies, as certainly had been the Court Language of 
 him, if he had delivered up the Seals in full Health. And upon thefe 
 Terms, as I take it, hung the great Affair of the Lord Keeper's hold- 
 ing, or going out, in that Reign. 
 
 How his But not to part with his Lordmip without a due Account of his 
 
 Lordfhip be- nearer Comportment with his Majefty upon the Subject of the new 
 Jrirf?Rrfpefl -Methods which his Lordfhip faw to be furioufly entering at Court; 
 toinnova- which Account being, not only for his Vindication, but, for his laft- 
 tions; and : n g Honour, I muft obferve, that Monmouttis Landing gave too far an 
 
 hisorophetick _ r /- . . r -r-, /- /. i & n. 
 
 Advice to the Occafion for the King s raifing Forces to fupprefs that Rebellion, as 
 King. was happily done. But afterwards, the King, partly from his own 
 
 Humour, which might affect other Braveries, and, partly, from the 
 Fears and, confequently, Treachery of his Minifters, who thought 
 themfelves not fafe in what they had done, or intended to do, but 
 upon the Foot of Force, kept up the Army, although there appeared 
 ao real Occafion, or Reafon, for fo doing. This created Difcontent 
 
 enough ;
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 
 
 enough ; but, what was worfe, the King gave his Commifiions to Per- 
 fons unqualified by Law, and then expected the Parliament fhould 
 fandify all ; which did not prove accordingly, as was (hewed before. 
 This was looked upon as a Fore-runner of the fetting afide the Teft 
 and penal Laws. And his Lordfhip was not To fhort-fighted, but fore- 
 faw not only that this Current, though beginning afar off (for military 
 Commiiiions do not pafs the great Seal) yet, in the End, would over- 
 flow him, but alfo that, upon the main, it would bring a Confufion 
 fatal to our happy Conftitution in Church and State, and for certain 
 deftroy the King. This was a Subject melancholy enough for him, 
 and void of all Hopes or Confolation. For he knew the King's Hu- 
 mour, and that nothing, that he could fay to him, would take place, 
 or fink with him. So flrong were his Prejudices, and fo feeble his 
 Genius, that he took none to have any right Understanding, that were 
 not in his Meafures, and that the Counfel, given him to the contrary, 
 was for Policy of Party more than for Friendfhip to him. But, for 
 all that, his Lordfhip, in this difficult Cafe, was refolved, once for all, 
 to be plain and explicit with him, and fo (at leaft) fatisfy his own 
 Confcience. And once, getting an Audience, he took Occafion to de- 
 clare to him all his Prognoflicks, depending upon his Majefty's decli- 
 ning the Tefb and penal Laws, and that with no lefs Zeal, Sincerity, 
 and Tendernefs, than if he had been a Parent. " He minded him of 
 " the uncontroulable Influence of an univerfal Difcontent; that no 
 " Branch of his Affairs, efpecially thofe of his colligible Revenues, 
 <c would move with any Content to him. People would go on con- 
 " tinually exaggerating each other's Difcontents, and mutual Encou- 
 " ragemerits would take Place therein, and among Perfons that mould 
 <e appear fair to him, and neither he, nor any of his Minifters, would 
 " difcover any fuch their fecret Practices and Engagements; and if 
 " there happened any Advantage to cover Attempts, all would break 
 out in a Flame, as if a Mine fired under him. And although the 
 " Duke of Monmouth was gone, yet there was a P. of O. on the other 
 " Side of the Water. And as to his Army, his Lordmip faid that, 
 " upon an univerfal Difcontent, he would find it a broken Reed, 
 that the People would grow upon it, or wear it out by their inter- 
 mixed Converfation. Men naturally fall in with Parties and their 
 " Interefts among whom they live, and they will not bear the Re- 
 preaches of their Women and Pot-Companions, without falling into 
 " Harmony with them. That it was utterly impoffible to bring the 
 " People to a Reconciliation with his Perfuafion ; and that the more 
 " they were urged, or even mewed it, the worfe they would be. And 
 that the Sectaries were falfe and treacherous, and would infallibly, 
 " at a Pinch, whatever Countenances they {hewed him to the con- 
 
 M m trary,
 
 174 rhe LIFE f th 
 
 " trary, not only defert his Party but, turn againft him; for they ne- 
 tf ver were, nor would be Friends, really, to the Royal Family, and 
 " their peculiar Way and Means of Working was by Fraud" I can, 
 with great Affurance, affirm the Subflance of this free Difcourfe to the 
 King to have been really fo made as I have reprefented : For his Lord- 
 fhip hath often faid to me that, whatever happened, he would do it, 
 and would have it in his Power to fay to himfelf, at the Hour of his 
 Death, that he had done his Duty to the King and his Country. And 
 , after he returned from Court, he told me he had done accordingly ; 
 although, as well before as fince, he thought it lignified nothing. And 
 he feemed very much at Eafe within himfelf; having thus declared 
 his Thoughts at large, and freely to the King ; and, at Times, he 
 mentioned to me the feveral Matters he had fpoke of to him. And, 
 according to his Cuflom of noting Things, he fet them down upon 
 Papers, from whence I have taken them, and have inferted them elfe- 
 where. There is an obfcure Caft upon them there ; for his Lordmip 
 had always that Caution in his Writing, to fecure that to whofe Hands 
 foever his Papers came, there could be no publick nor private Offence 
 taken, but a little Attentivenefs to the Manner of thefe Notes, will 
 difcover what they are. 
 
 Apology for Perhaps fome of thefe Prophetic Hints, given by Way of Advice 
 the late Ac- to the King by his Lordfhip, being now penned by me fo long after, 
 * C mav look a little like P oor Robin^ Method of taking Time to foretel 
 Things, until after the Event is paft. So conformable may they feein 
 with what happened. And, to fay Truth, I almoft diftruft my own 
 , Pen, left my Unhappinefs of having known the Events, mould in- 
 fect my Expreffion with a Clevernefs derived thereupon. And, if Al- 
 lowances mufl be made me on that Account, which I profefs not to 
 crave, 1 hope they will not be thought very large, by Reafon of what 
 I mall fay for myfelf. Barring the unavoidable Defects of Memory, 
 which will let go the Niceties of Words and Terms, and fo oblige us 
 to take up with Things, as in Effect they remain in Mind, I mufl 
 here proteft an untainted Integrity, and that what I have related is 
 true. But I am not in a State to rely altogether upon Obfervations ; 
 for diverfe of his intimate Friends (I do not name any becaufe I fufpect 
 moft of them are dead) were fo far entrufted in Difcourfe as to be 
 made acquainted with his Lordlhip's fubmiffive, but dutiful Counfel 
 to the King, not to break the Laws for the Sake of any Innovation ; 
 and, particularly, that Item of prodigious Import, viz. that although 
 Monmouth wasfupprejjed, there was a P. of O. abroad. 
 
 fUnk L under iP But to dr P thele Apologetics, and conclude, I (hall freely fubjoin 
 the immenfe my Sentiments of the very Root of his Lordfhip's Diitemper, and the 
 Weight of his Caufe that rendered it inept to be cured, and therefore mortal. And 
 
 that
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 
 
 that was, in a word, his laying Things to Heart. The Bufmefs of his Office, and 
 Office was too great for one who thought he was bound to do it all the i!1 pr - 
 well. As to the Part of his Juftice in the Court of Chancery, I have fpe<a he bad> 
 faid enough. That Load, though heavy, was not infupportable. It 
 afflicted his Spirits, but did not crufli them. If the Bufinefs of the 
 Court, by Reafon of necefTary Attendances in other Places, run in Ar- 
 rear, he might hope for more Enlargement of his Time to recover it. 
 But, confidering what was added from the ill State of the Publick, 
 for which he thought himfelf, in great meafure, obliged to anfwer, or 
 to feel the ill Confequences, he faw plainly that he muft either dif- 
 grace himfelf by quitting, the very Thoughts of which flew in his 
 Face, as a Defertion of his Royal Matter, and Benefactor, in Diftrefs ; 
 and what, at Court, would be exprefled in the Terms of flying in his 
 Majefty's Face : For when a Minifter, in fo great Credit, quits, it a- 
 mounts to a publick Accufation, and declares he could ferve honeftly no 
 longer ; or elfe he muft ftay until he {houldbe preffed, as he continually 
 expected, to pafs fome of the illegal Commiffions, which he was deter- 
 mined not to do, and, upon that, be removed, with the foul Language 
 of the then Court, for Sauce to it. He had been happy if he could 
 have got clearly off, without any of thefe Trials: And it was not a 
 little uneafy to him that, in the Interim of thefe Expectations, the 
 Courtiers confpired, by ridiculous Slights, Affronts, bafe Experiments 
 and Buffooneries, to grieve and torment him, with Defign either to 
 bring him into their guilty Meafures, or, elfe, to make him withdraw 
 himfelf oat of their Way; which, without better Reafon than to gra- 
 tify them, he had no mind to do. And he fo far reftrained himfelf, 
 and his Refentments, from the Publick, which feldom or never takes 
 fuch Matters by the right Handles, that whatever Machinations, or 
 Inventions, were fet on Foot purpofely to diminifh him, though he 
 knew out of what Shop they came, yet he never maintained any open 
 Feud, or Party, on his own Account, or either expoftulated abroad, 
 or troubled the King in private. All which ill Ufage lay burning in 
 his moft fenfible Breaft. And, adding thereunto that he faw no Dawn- 
 ing of any Good to his Mafter, the Nation, or himfelf, he lived in 
 a State of judicious Defpair ; and then no wonder that a Diftemper, 
 otherwife of an ordinary Crifis, got the better of him, or, more direct- 
 ly, that his Heart was broke. 
 
 I have elfewhere noted that his Lordmip mould fay that he had not His Lord/hip 
 enjoyed one Moment of Comfort in his Life, from the firft Commit- not qualified 
 ment of that peftilent Seal to him. If there was no Eafe under it at ^mej yS* 
 firft, it muft needs be Hell at laft. He wanted a good general Apathy: left the World 
 And that one may break into two Qualifications neceflary to an over- "J. the b( ; ft 
 
 t i 'n r n ^""l r 1 r r\ A ClrCUinitaa- 
 
 charged Minifter of State, j. As to himfelf, Equanimity. 2. As to ces< 
 
 Mm 2 all
 
 * 7 6 The LIFE of the late 
 
 all others, Indifference. i.The former founds a little philofophic, and 
 means a CarelefTnefs of Events, and the being no more concerned at 
 what may happen to him, than at the Weather, or any thing elfe, 
 that is out of his Power. 2. As to others, the Cafe is not very com- 
 mendable ; for itfuppofeth one to be wholly unconcerned in the Que- 
 ilions of Right and wrong, not caring who is injured, or fuffers, or 
 who gets or lofes, how, when, or why ; and, in Office, to be with- 
 out Companion, as a Butcher that kills and flays habitually, without 
 Remorfe ; nor to let any Pleafure, or Advantage, be fruftrate, or fleep 
 broke, for what Men call Duty, and making no Account of Good or 
 Evil, but what Self- Enjoyment, or Intereft, (hall denominate. Thefe 
 Qualifications, fuppoiing them to be fo necefTary as, in fome Times, 
 they are, mew how little qualified an honeft, wife Man, and a good 
 Chriftian, is for this great Employment, in ill-natured and perverfe 
 Times. 
 
 Goftobc His Lordfhip had been fenfible that he was obnoxious to Danger, 
 
 w L B cT 0n ' of his Perfon and Famil y> between two great Parties, Papift and Fa- 
 why. natic ; neither of whom he had complied with, but refifted in all 
 
 their Projects calculated for making Alterations in 1 Church and State: 
 And if an unlucky Turn mould give the Publick a Tofs into the Hands 
 of either of them, what then muft become of him ? He looked upon 
 the Papiil Intereft in England (at the Beginning at lead) to be lefs in- 
 human and barbarous than the Republicans and Sectaries ; yet he 
 would not be expofed to them, although he had not officioufly hurt 
 any of them. But, from the others, he expected no Moderation, who 
 had exercifed him with loud Threaten ings for feveral Years, and would 
 have been glad to be as good as their Words. And he did not rely 
 upon Retirement to render him fecure from the Malice of thofe Men ; 
 and his Intereft lay chiefly in that they called the Church of England 
 Party, who might have enough to do to defend themfelves ; and, con- 
 fidering their Eafinefs, and Aptitude to be impofed on, and that they 
 either hide (as I may term it) or flow along with the Current, no De- 
 pendance, in bad Times, was to be expected upon them. Therefore 
 his Lordmip refolved to get into the Peerage as foon as he could, and 
 enjoy the ordinary Privileges and Protection of that Order. And that 
 he did it not for Vanity, or Puff, appears by his Unaffectednefs in the 
 Preamble of his Patent. The common Cuftom, about Preambles to 
 Patents of Honour, (which Patents are prepared by Mr. Attorney-Ge- 
 neral in all Points except the Preamble, which is left to the Order of 
 the Perfon to be prepared) is to employ fome Chaplain, or rhetorical 
 Scholar, who is fet on Work to pump hard for Elogiums, and, by 
 Dint of Eloquence, to varnifh out his Majefly's gracious Act. Bat his 
 
 Lord-
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. ^ 77 
 
 Lordfhip, naufeating all fuch fulfom Self-Flatteries which, like com- 
 .mendutory Epitaphs, are accounted no better than folemn Lying, would 
 have none but a common Preamble, as that Monarchs ufe to reward 
 Perfons, who had ferved faithfully and well, with Marks of Honour, 
 or the like ; which Service his Lordfliip might modeftly own. His 
 chief Doubt was how he might decently apply to the King; and that 
 ended in a Refolution to beg it, as a Boon, of the Duke of Tork to 
 recommend him. This fome thought improper, with Refpect to his 
 not complying with the Papifts. But his Lordmip believed that the 
 Duke thought him an honeft Man, and was really his Friend : And 
 fo it proved; for the Duke took kindly his Lordfbip's Requeft, and, 
 without Hefitation, or Delay, moved the King, and it was as foon 
 granted. Another Doubt, that he had, was about the Title; for he 
 would not fix it upon any of his Poffeffions, becaufe it look'd as a Va- 
 nity ; nor upon any Place, which was in the Style of any other Ho- 
 nour, nor on any new one, which had not been, in fome pad Time, 
 ufed as a Title. At laft he fettled it upon Guilford, which had be- 
 long'd to his Friend the Duke of Lander -dale -, and was, by his Death, 
 extinct. The Duchefs was then living, and he had her Approval of it; 
 and many fancied he courted her in the Way of Marriage, and that 
 this was one of his Compliments. He was aware of fuch Rumours; 
 but valued them as little, as he intended, thereby, any fuch Courtmip* . 
 And although (if he had afked) it might have been an Earldom, he 
 made a Barony his Choice, fince he did not feek the Honour for Va- 
 nity, but for a real Protection. And he was infinitely fatisfied that he 
 had made no other Means but by the Duke; which if he had not 
 done, but gone by himfelf, or any other Way, it had proved a real 
 Offence, and had been aggravated as a Slight put upon his. Royal 
 Highnefs 
 
 I (hall not take upon me to give a fummary Character of this great when young; 
 Man, till I have wiped off fome Calumnies that have been caft upon n ^'^ n . d c ^ d ' 
 him, and fhewn fome particular Inftances of his excellent Qualifica- vetous. 
 tions in the feveral Parts of Life, which I could not conveniently in- 
 fert in the Body of this Work, in order to demonflrate .him to have 
 been a wife and juft Man, and a good Chriftian. Slander is like the 
 Fim call'd the R&mora, which, flicking to the Helms of great Ships/ 
 diforders the Steerage. Ordinary Perfons are obnoxious to Slander 
 but, for the mod Part, it is frivolous, (lightly regarded, and turns to 
 Merriment. But, when applied to great Men, and Ministers of State, 
 it difturbs the Courfe of Affairs, and the whole Government feels it.. 
 When he was young, and paffed his Time in Study, and the early- 
 Practice of the Law, he fell under no Perfon's evil Tongue (except 
 fome of his nearefl Relations., . as has been touched already) and no 
 
 Fraud, ,
 
 7%e LIFE of the late 
 
 Fraud, Mifdemeanor, or Vice, could be laid to his Charge j but he 
 was efteem'd a Perfon of the greateft Hopes of any of his Profefiion. 
 And as to his general Character, then and afterwards, fome fancied he 
 was inclined to Avarice ; but they knew not his Circumftances, nor his 
 Humour. At firfl he lived in a Courfe of fhifting with a little, as I 
 may ftyle it, when he was to buy the Way into a Settlement fit for 
 the Bufinefs he aim'd at. And one, that hath neither Fund nor Friend, 
 whereby Debts, if any were contracted, might be paid, as many, of 
 his Rank, have, hath Reafon to be careful. But it often happens that 
 extravagant, rakifh People, if one, upon a Level with them, doth not 
 fpend his Money in their wild Way, think him covetous. His Lord- 
 fhip kept always a reafonable, ^nd felect, Company, and never was 
 what they call a Company Keeper. But, with his Friends, was liberal 
 and free, and, in paying Reckonings, and other feafonable Bounties, 
 none more free than he was. Of which, Inftances will be produced 
 hereafter. After he came to make a Figure, there are WitnefTes e- 
 nough of his generous Way of Living. So that whoever hath imputed 
 Avarice to him, hath been altogether out of the Way of right Judg- 
 ment. The Faction never applied heartily to calumniate his Lordfhip, 
 until he was touch'd in Parliament. And from that Time forwards, 
 all the Party Artillery of foul Mouths were pointed at him ; and the 
 Earl of Sunderland march'd at the Head of them, who commonly 
 gave out the Signal. His Lordfhip's virtuous Courfe of Life was a 
 vile Obflacle; and Slanders, on that Head, would not flick. But I 
 (hall fhew fome Snares laid to catch him. In the mean Time, Vilifi- 
 cations plenty. Thofe were at their Tongue's End. He was neither 
 Courtier nor Lawyer; which his Lordmip hearing, he imiled, faying, 
 hat they might well make him a Whoremafler^ 'when they had dif- 
 laivyered him. And to fhew their Intent of fixing fome Scandal and 
 Contempt upon him, I fhall alledge a ridiculous Inflance or two. His 
 Lordfhip's Brother-in Law, more than once named in thefe Papers, 
 came to him ferioufly with Advice ; which was that he mould keep a 
 Whore, and that, if he did not, he would lofe all his Interefl at 
 Court; for he understood from very great Men (the Earl of Sunder- 
 land and his Gameflers, I fuppofe) that he was ill look'd upon for 
 Want of doing fo, becaufe he feem'd continually to reprehend them 
 for practifing the like, as almoft every one did ; and, if his Lordmip 
 pleafed, he would help him to one. His Lordfhip was, in his Mind, 
 full of Scorn at this Profer, which the MefTenger did not penetrate ; 
 and it was enough to decline the Counfel, and not accept of his Aili- 
 ftance. And, with his neareft Friends, he made wonderful merry 
 with this State Policy, efpecially the procuring Part ; and faid, That if 
 be were to entertain a Madam, it Jhould be one of his own chujing, 
 
 and
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 
 
 and not one of their ftale trumpery. But his Lordmip had deeper Re- 
 fleftions that, befides the fullying his Character, if he had fuch a 
 Snake in his Bed, they would find a Way to come, by her, into his 
 moft retired Intentions. For the Courtiers knew the Ufe -that, in Po- 
 litics, might be made of the fair Ladies, whom they could charm 
 better than his Lordmip ; and no Spy like a Female. 
 
 When thefe pointed Darts would not lay hold, they were contented A treacherous 
 to throw Dirt; as appears from what they inferted in a News Paper, of Handle held 
 his Lordmip's Behaviour in the Weftern Circuit ; a full Account of * 1 
 which may be found in the Examen. And whoever looks into that 
 Time, will find a ftrange Tendency to fplit the Laws againft thofe 
 who do not go to Church; that is to fay Recufants. And fome Votes 
 of the Houfe of Commons look'd that Way ; as if it were a Grie- 
 vance that thofe Laws were made to extend to Sectaries, who are foftly 
 ftyled P rot eft ant Diffenfers ; fuch as Prejbyterians, Quaker 's, Anabaptifts, 
 &c. But the Judges, as his Lordmip in particular, and Juftice Jones 
 (who, though abfent at 1 aunt on, defired to be comprifed in the Ad- 
 vertifement) had not fuch a Notion of Law as, for any Body's Hu- 
 mour, to treat plain Words and ExprefTions, as a Nofe of Wax, to 
 bend one Way or other to gratify Parties. But the Charge given by 
 the Earl, as Secretary, to the Judges to that Effect, was an Ignis fatuus* 
 or Will in the Wifp, of the Faction, concerted to miflead, at leaft, 
 with mewing a Feint of Indemnity, to feduce them. 
 
 I have elfewhere noted that, during the Reign of King Charles II. Calumny- 
 Calumny, againft his Lordmip, at Court, was kept under; for he k !; pt , un J: e - 
 
 , , Jy _ . . _ . . r V . . . , ~ - r /.,.*../! till the Reign 
 
 would not fufTer his Mimics to fool with thePerfons of his Mimiters O f ja.u 
 that he had a Value for. But, in the next Reign, when the Roman whenitbegam, 
 Catholic Defigns began to work, and his Lordfhip was found utterly to rage * 
 unfit for their Purpofes, and the Court Inftruments, of which the Earl 
 of Sunderland was the chief, were employ'd to make him off, that the 
 Lord y^ffries might come en, then the Reins were let loofe to Ca- 
 lumny ; and when no Mifdemeanour could be found to harp upon r 
 they fell, like foolifh Clowns, to call Names, as they fay ; and no 
 Scruple was made to vilify him, as the unfitteil Man that ever fat in 
 his Place: Partial, paffionate, unreafonable, impotent, corrupt, arbi- 
 trary, Popifh, and ignorant. Any Thing to make him avoid theRoorru 
 But his Lordfhip cared not to humour thefe Barkers, or to quit hi& 
 Place, till he might do it with Salvo to his Dignity. 
 
 To mew that his Lordfnip's Court Enemies, the Earl of Sunder- The foolife 
 land in particular, were hard put to it to find, or invent, fomething 
 to report, tending to the Diminution of his Character, I (hall give an 
 Account of the moft impudent buffoon Lye raifed upon him, and, 
 with braien Affirmations of Truth to it, difperfed from the Court one 
 
 Morning^
 
 *8.o The LIFE, of the late 
 
 Morning, that ever came into Fools Heads; and Satan himfelf would 
 not have own'd it for his legitimate Iffue. It fell out thus : A Mer- 
 chant, of Sir Dudley North's Acquaintance, had brought overall enor- 
 mous Rhinoceros, to be fold to Shew-men for Profit. It is a noble 
 Beaft, wonderfully arm'd by Nature for Offence; but more for De- 
 fence, being cover'd with impenetrable Shields, which no Weapon 
 would make any Imprefiion upon ; and a Rarity fo great, that few Men, 
 in our Country, have, in their whole Lives, Opportunity to fee fo fingu- 
 .lar an Animal. This Merchant told Sir Dudley North, that if he, 
 with a Friend or two, had a Mind to fee it, they might take the Op- 
 portunity at his Houfe, before it was fold. Hereupon Sir Dudley 
 North propofed to his Brother, the Lord Keeper, to go with him 
 upon this Expedition ; which he did, and came away exceedingly fa- 
 tisfied with the Curiofity he had feen. But whether he was dogged, 
 to find out where he and his Brother houfed in the City, or flying 
 Fame carried an Account of the Voyage to Court, I know not; but 
 it is certain that, the very next Morning, a Bruit went from thence all 
 over the Town, and (as factious Reports ufe to run) in a very fhort 
 Time, viz. that his Lordmip rode upon the Rhinoceros ; than which 
 .a more infantine Exploit could not have been faften'd upon him. And 
 moft People were flruck with Amafement at it; and diverfe run here 
 and there to find out whether it was true or no. And, foon after Din- 
 ner, fome Lords and others came to his Lordmip to know the Truth 
 from himfelf; for the Setters of the Lye affirm'd it pofitively, as of 
 their own Knowledge. That did not give his Lordmip much Diftur- 
 bance; for he expected no better from his Adverfaries. But that his 
 Friends, intelligent Perfons, who muft know him to be far from 
 guilty of any childifh Levity, mould believe it, was what roiled him 
 extremely; and much more, when they had the Face to come to him 
 to know if it were true. I never faw him in fuch a Rage, and to lay 
 about him with Affronts (which he keenly be'ftow'd upon the minor 
 Courtiers that came on that Errand) as then; for he fent them away with 
 Fleas in their Ear. And he was ferioufly angry with his own Brother 
 Sir Dudley North, becaufe he did not contradict the Lye in fudden and 
 direct Terms ; but laugh'd, as taking the Queftion put to him for a 
 Banter, till, by Iterations, he was brought to it. For fome Lords 
 came, and becauf^ they feem'd to attribute fome what to the avow'd 
 Pofitivenefs of the Reporters, he rather chofe to fend for his Brother 
 to atteft, than to impofe his bare Denial. And fo it pafled ; and the 
 noble Earl, with Jeffries, and others of that Crew, made merry, and 
 never blufh'd at the Lye of their own making j but valued themfelves 
 upon it, as a very good Jeft. 
 
 I know
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD, 281 
 
 I know not any Thing, that came out in Publick, of Calumny a- Pamphlets 
 gainft his Lordfhip in his Life-time, worth taking Notice of, more could find no 
 than hath been hinted. His Juftice was fo exact, and Courfe of Life cSny?* 
 fo unexceptionable, that the Libellers had no Subject to make any <'+ 
 
 Work with. The vileft of them, in all Three, entitled, The no Pro- 
 t eft ant Plots, publifh'd to way-lay the Courfe of Juftice againft Trai- 
 tors, and cunningly contrived for that Purpofe, if any Thing had 
 been known to difcredit his Lordfhip's Character, had there difplay'd 
 it. But the worft, that the Author could contrive, was to call him Sfy- 
 Boots -, and a younger Brother, that ufually went about with him, 
 young North. There's all, while living; but, fince his Death, the Prefs 
 hath been more free. 
 
 And, fince that Time, fome particular Matters were mutter'd about Dented a Writ 
 without, as well as within, St. Stephen's Walls; as if he had not there- for a B ! llof 
 in done his Duty, as Lord Keeper of the Great Seal j which, though * Wo? 
 it never rofe to any Accufation, or publick Cenfure, I think may be ters Cafe. 
 aptly taken in here. One was, that hisrLordmip refufed to put the 
 Seal to a mandatory Writ, directed to the Lord Chief Juftice Saun- 
 ters, to fign a Bill of Exceptions tender'd to him at the Trial of the 
 Rioters in London. The Information was for the riotous Fact of the 
 old Sheriffs holding a common Hall, and pretending to elect new She- 
 riffs, after the Afiembly was difTolved by the Lord Mayor. At the 
 Trial, the Defendants urged, as hath been related in the Examen, that 
 the Lord Mayor had no Power to diflblve the Common-Hall ; which 
 Point the Lord Chief Juftice Saunders over-ruled, as a vain and empty 
 Pretence, and utterly againft Law. Upon that, the Bill of Exceptions 
 to the Opinion of the Judges, was tender'd, which he refufed to fign. 
 After the Trial was over, they came to his Lordfhip for a Petition for 
 a Writ, and fuggefted a Form of it exprefs in the Regifter. Upon 
 Examination, his Lordfhip found that that Precedent was of a Writ to 
 the Sheriff, who is, in fome Cafes, a Judge ; but is alfo a minifterial 
 Officer, to whom mandatory Writs may fitly be directed. But it fol- 
 lows not from thence that they may be directed to the Judges of the 
 Courts in W eft minfter -Hall. And what Procefs can be upon it ? There 
 is no Form of any Attachments, nor Precedent of any like Procefs to 
 
 follow. And the Penalty in the Form, is only -on Pain that Jhall 
 
 fall thereon : Which fhews it to be a mere Writ of Favour, where 
 it might be granted. But there never was any fuch, to the Know- 
 ledge of any Man living, fent out ; and thereupon, in this Cafe, it 
 was denied. Thefe Matters were thus prefled, not becaufe there was 
 any Right or Senfe in them but, by way of Coals to be blown up 
 for exafperating the Fire when Time mould ferve. It may not pafs 
 that the Chief Juftice Saunders was in the Wrong for refilling the fign- 
 
 N n ingj
 
 The LIFE of the late 
 
 ing ; but the Chicane upon that Point of Law, which was moft clearly 
 with him, is too tedious to be inferted here. 
 
 A Writ of Of a like Nature, with this, was another Application to the great 
 ^rmffron de ^ a ^ ^ OT * ^* at ^^ a Writ of Error might iffue to reverfe an Outlawry 
 nied, 'and the againft Sir Thomas Armflrong. The Law is, that if a Man, outlawed 
 Kcafons. for High Treafon, renders himfelf within a Year, he may have the 
 Benefit of a Writ of Error to reverfe the Outlawry, and fo take his 
 Trial ; otherwife not : And an Outlawry, in fuch Cafe, while it ftands, 
 is a complete Attainder, as if tried and attaint by Verdict and Judg- 
 ment. Armflrong fled into Holland* and was outlawed for the Rye 
 Plot Treafon. Afterwards, within the Year, he was taken up in Hol- 
 land, and brought into England, and, being oppofed as to what he 
 had to fay for himfelf why Execution mould not be awarded, he in- 
 filled that, being prefent here within his Year, he ought to have a 
 Writ of Error, and be admitted to plead. But the Judges were of 
 Opinion that being brought in by Force, againft his Will, was not a 
 rendering himfelf within the Statute; and thereupon he was executed. 
 Pending the Queftion, Application was made to his Lordfhip for a 
 Writ of Error ; and, examining into the Matter, his Lordlhip found 
 that Writs of Error, to reverfe Outlawries in Treafon, had never been 
 made out without a Warrant from the Attorney-General ; for it is 
 not a Writ of Right, but of Favour : And it could not be demanded at 
 the great Seal otherwife; nor had the Seal a Warrant without a Fiat 
 from the Attorney-General. But befides, the Matter of Right de- 
 pended before the Juftices of Oyer and Termmer ; and the Writ would 
 follow, or not, upon their Determination : For which Reafon, it was 
 impertinent to come to the great Seal about it. But then, and after- 
 wards, a Clamour was railed and ventilated abroad, as if the Man had 
 been hanged for Want of a Piece of common Juflice at the great 
 Seal ; and, after the Revolution, diverfe warm Members began to open 
 about it. For which Reafon a Paper was framed, and put into the 
 Hands of fome Members, wherein it was thought fit to reprefent far- 
 ther, that, i. It is the Office of the Curfitor to make out Writs of Er- 
 ror in criminal Cafes, when the ufual and proper Warrants are brought 
 to them. And the Lord Keeper's Fiat never was, and, in that Cafe, 
 would not have been a Warrant to the Curfitor for fuch Writ. Where- 
 fore the Refufal of it lay not upon the Lord Keeper. 2. The Appli- 
 cation to the great Seal for fpecial Writs mufl be either by Motion in 
 open Court, or by Petition ; which being granted, a Fiat is wrote 
 and figned upon it ; and that remains in the Offices, and is the War- 
 rant for farther Proceeding : Elfe, it is delivered out unanfwered ; 
 which is the Refufal to grant what is defired in the Petition. And no 
 fuch Application was ever made in that Cafe. 3. An oral Application, 
 
 in
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 
 
 in private, is not to be regarded, becaufe there is no Certainty of what 
 is either afked or denied. Bnfinefs, of that kind, is not trufted to 
 Memory ; but muft be in Writing, becaufe the Lord Keeper is not to 
 folicit any Man's Suit at his Inftance. He may direct if he thinks fit, 
 but is not bound. Suitors muft follow in the proper Offices ; and it 
 was never heard that fuch Suit was made to the Lord Keeper, but 
 from the Perfon whofe Cafe it is. There was Reafon to endeavour a 
 right Underflanding at that Time, when Committees, of both Houfes 
 apart, were appointed to enquire into the foregoing Proceedings. That 
 of the Houfe of Lords was called The Committee of Murther. But, 
 aftqr all Methods of Enquiry that could be taken upon Oath or other- 
 wife, no Blame was found in any Judge or Minifter in the Time of 
 King Charles II. Which, as, has been touched already, is a Vindica- 
 tion that few Ages, put to fuch a Trial, could hope for. 
 
 One thing more is to be remembered, which was talked in Coffee- A Prefent of 
 houfes concerning his Lordthp; but by thofe only who were the Cul- ^ e h ^ s 
 pables. The Six-Clerks hare great Dependance on the Courfe of the 
 Court of Chancery for their Profits ; and are always difpofed to keep 
 the Judge in good Humoui, and prevent Alterations to their Preju- 
 dice. And the Judges of al the Courts make no Scruple to accept" of 
 Prefents of Value from thr Officers by way of New-YearVGift, or 
 otherwife : Which is a Praftice not very commendable, becaufe, with 
 fome, it may have bad Efecls. Accordingly thefe Six-Clerks clubbed, 
 and made a Prefent to his lx)rdfhip of 1000 /. which he took as an In- 
 ftance of their Refpeft, wihput Regard to, or Knowledge of, any other 
 Defign or Intention of heirs. But, foon after this, they began to 
 fall out with the fixty Uder-Clerks, and pretended to remove them at 
 Pleafure, being their Su>ftitutes, for whom they were to anfwer, as 
 Mafters turn Servants afay whom they can truft no longer. The Sixty, 
 on the other Side, ftoo* upon it, that they bought and paid for their 
 Seats, and were fworanto their Places ; and however they were fub- 
 iec~t and accountable t the Six, they were not at their Mercy, to be 
 removed, without theAuthority of the Court. The fix thought fit 
 to put in Practice the own Authority, and began with one Sewel a 
 Clerk, one of the Sixt; and ordered him out of his Seat, and (as I re- 
 member) gave it to arther. This produced a Petition of this Seivel 
 to his Lord(hip,prayi? to be reftored, and the reft of the Sixty confirm- 
 ed in their Places; ' : which Decree the Juftice is unexceptionable. 
 It is no Wonder tha the Six were infinitely difgufted ; for, if they 
 had any bad Defign,.s it feems plain they had, viz. of adding Sixty 
 to their Six, they ha their Reward. I am firmly perfuaded that his 
 Lordmip knew nothg of k till the Caufe, upon the Petition, came 
 before him 5 and, if s had known of it before, he had not accepted 
 
 N n 2 their
 
 LIFE of the late 
 
 their Kindnefs, and that afterwards he repented him of it. And, of 
 all the Actions of his Life, this came nearefl to a colourable Mifcon- 
 jftrudtion. Nay, there is no other capable of any. And I guefs that, 
 although I have here related it undifguifed, and out of my perfonal 
 Knowledge, many will incline to take it in the worfe Senfe, and as 
 being a plain Bribe, though the Confequence flies in the Face of it : 
 And, for that Reafon, many would have left out this whole PafTage, 
 fo fingular as it is: But profeffing, as I do, to render every Action of 
 his Lordfhip confpicuous, I could not acquit myfelf to deal fo with 
 this, which would have manifeftly tainted all I have fhewed for his 
 Lordfhip's Advantage. 
 
 'An early vir- I have now done with all that appeared, or could appear, of Dimi- 
 tuofo. nution to the Reputation, true or falfe, which his Lordfhip, by his 
 
 fteddy Courfe of Life, before his parting with the World, had acqui- 
 red. I {hall now, purfuant to my DefiTn, fliew by many particular 
 Inftances, how much he mined in every Part of Life. I have already 
 hinted that his Profeflion of the Law did not prevent his entering into 
 other Kinds of Learning, and particularly natural Knowledge. His 
 Lordfhip was an early Virtuofo ; for afcer his firft Loofe from the 
 Univerfity, where the new Philofophy w;s then but juft entering, by 
 his perpetual Inquiiitivenefs, and fuch Bo>ks as he could procure, he 
 became no ordinary Connofleur in the Scieices, fo far as the Invention 
 and Induflry, of the then latter Criticks, Sad advanced them. And 
 the fame Courfe he purfued, more or lefs, all the reft of his Life ; 
 whereby all Difcoveries at home, and from 6road, came to his Notice, 
 and he would have been loth to have let any^fcape him. 
 of His Lordmip had great Pleafure in the bciety of that very good 
 Hof ' Mafter in Chancery, Sir John Ho/kins, who /as a Proof experimental 
 that that Office might be executed with Inter! ty. Their chief En- 
 joyment of each other was early, when his Lrdmip began to be emi- 
 nent in Practice, and the other had fome Afpe: towards the Law. But 
 bis chief, or rather entire, Application was to^hilofophy and Experi- 
 ments. And therein he became fo far an Adej that, being one of the 
 Royal Society, he was at laft advanced to b< their Prefident. This 
 Refignation to philofophic Studies fpoiled the ^awyer ; but made an 
 accomplished good Companion, efpecially tcone who delighted in 
 thofe Matters as much as himfelf. After a lor Day's Work, if his 
 Lordmip could get Sir John Hoskins to a Fncb Houfe, for a petit 
 Supper, but ample Feaft of Difcourfe, he washappy ; which J can 
 the better teflify, having often been one of the ompany. There was 
 no Corner of the Univerfe, that Imagination }uld make acceffible, 
 but they fearched it to the-<iujck ; and nothingew fprang abroad, or 
 at home, but one or other of them, early or te, brought it under 
 
 Ex am in a-
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 
 
 Examination. The good Knight made Ufe of his Profeffion fo far as 
 to make an accomplifh'd Mailer in Chancery-, in which Poft he had 
 all juft Encouragement from his Lordfhip, when he had the Great 
 Seal. And accordingly his Lordfhip was always pleafed when he fent 
 References to him, becaufe he knew his Integrity, and that, in his 
 Office, the Suitors were well ufed, and no ravenous Practices took 
 Place: Which, as to himfelf, was egregioufly fo; but Mafters in 
 Chancery, by their Clerks, as well as Juftices of the Peace by theirs, 
 are but too much impofed upon. One Rule was verified in him, viz. 
 tfhat no Credit is to be given to the Out fide -, for he was certainly 
 one of the moft hard-favour'd Men of his Time, and his Vifage was 
 not more aukward than his Drefs. So that going, as his Ufe was, 
 on Foot, with his Staff, and an old Hat drawn over his Eyes, he might 
 be taken rather for a forry Quack than, as he was, a bright Virtuofo. 
 So Men difcover what they value themfelves for j and, on the other 
 Side, the fame is to be faid of them that cultivate Dreffing ; whereof 
 the Solicitude or Neglect, however proper it may be, will fhew itfelf 
 by fome Kind of Affectation. 
 
 HisLordfhip was no concealed Virtuofo; for his diffufed Acquain- Of Sir$W 
 tance, and Manner of Converfation, made him known, and efteem'd, *?^ > il 
 as a Profeffor of moft polite Arts, and given to fcientific Enquiries, MU?' 
 This brought upon him an Importunity to be admitted a Member of 
 the Royal Society ; and one Sir Theodore de Veaux was employ'd to 
 prefs him upon it. But his Lordfhip never countenanced the Propo- 
 fal j and, at Length, gave his pofitive Denial. He efteem'd it a Species 
 of Vanity for one, as he was, of a grave Profeflion, to lift himfelf of 
 a Society which, at that Time, was made very free with by the Ridi- 
 culers of the Town : And he could not difcover what Advantage of 
 Knowledge could come to him that Way, which he could not arrive 
 at other wife. His Lordfhip had another Acquaintance, who refided in 
 the "Temple, and, being of a retired Difpofition, was very far gone 
 in the Myftery of Algebra and Mathematicks. This was Mr. John 
 Werden, afterwards Sir John, and many Years a Commifiloner of the 
 Cuftoms. He was the only Son of an incomparable Courtier, Cava- 
 lier, and a moft faithful Servant in the Royal Family, Col. Werden. 
 This Sir John infpired his Lordfhip with a Sort of Fury in Purfuit of 
 the Art of Perfpective. He fhewed him the Picture of a Tree, upon 
 the Bows of which hung the Letters of his Name, cut folid, and placed, 
 as it were, contingently, but expreffed in true Perfpective. There was 
 one Mr. Aubrey of Surrey, a profefTed Virtuofo, and always replete 
 with new Difcoveries. He often vifited his Lordfhip, who encouraged 
 him by his Attention, and afking many Queftions : And his Anfwers 
 ferved well enough, in order to a farther Enquiry, One Mr r Weld, a 
 
 rich
 
 The LIFE of the late 
 
 rich Philofopher, lived in Eloomfbury. He was Tingle, and his Hotrfe 
 a Sort of Knick-knack-atory. Mod of the ingenious Perfons about 
 Town, fometimes vifited him; and, among the reft, his Lordmip did 
 Suit and Service there. This Gentleman was of a fuperior Order, and 
 valued himfelf upon new Inventions of his own. He fowed Sallads 
 in the Morning, to be cut for Dinner, and claim'd the Invention of 
 painted Curtains in Varnim upon Silk, which would bend and not 
 crack; and his Houfe was furnim'd with them: And he delighted in 
 nothing more than in {hewing his multifarious Contrivances. His 
 Lordmip was once invited to a philofophical Meal, at the Houfe of Mr. 
 JLvelyn at Deptford. The Houfe was low, but elegantly fet off with 
 Ornaments and quaint Mottos at moil Turns ; but, above all, his Gar- 
 den was exquifite, being moft bofcarefque, and, as it were, an Exem- 
 plar of his Book of Foreft Trees. They appear'd all fo thriving and 
 clean, that, in fo much Variety, no one could be fatiated in viewing. 
 And to thefe were added Plenty of ingenious Difcouries, which made 
 the Time fhort. 
 
 of Sir Jonas His Lordmip had a great Value for Sir Jonas Moor^ a capital Mathe- 
 M<w,Mr. m atician, knowing well his Worth and Honefty, by Means of his Em- 
 
 TUmftetd, and , . , r .. . ./ ' J _ 
 
 Mr. Ball. ployment under the Commiffioners for dividing the Fens; at which 
 his Lordmip had prefided. That good Man had taken Mr. Flamflead y 
 the noted Aftronomer, into his Protection, and, when he was fcarce 
 able to fublift in his College at Cambridge, planted him in the Tower, 
 with Accommodation in the Buildings of the Ordonance, of which 
 Sir Jonas was an Officer; procured him Inftruments, and, at lad, fet- 
 tled him in the new-built Obfervatory at Greenwich. Sir Jonas once 
 invited his Lordmip to dine with him at the Tower, and, after Din- 
 ner, prefented Mr. Flamjlead. His Lordihip received him with much 
 Familiarity, and encouraged him to come and fee him often, that he 
 might have the Pleafure of his Converfation. The Star-gafer was not 
 wanting to himfelf in that; and his Lordmip was extremely delighted 
 ' with his Accounts and Obfervations about the Planets, efpecially thofe 
 attendant on Jupiter ; Ihewing how the Eclipfes of them, being regu- 
 lar and calculable, might rectify the Longitude of Places upon the 
 Globe, and demonftrating that Light did not pafs inftantaneoufly, but 
 in Time ; with other Remarkables in the Heavens. Thefe Difcourfes 
 always regaled his Lordihip ; and, a good Benefice falling void, not far 
 from the Obfervatory, in the Gift of the Great Seal, his Lordfhip gave 
 it to Mr. Flamftead> which fet him at Eafe in his Fortunes, and en- 
 couraged his future Labours, from which great Things were expected} 
 as applying the Jovial Obfervations to marine Ufes, for finding Longi- 
 tudes at Sea, and to correct the Globes, celeftial and terreflrial, which 
 were very faulty. And, in order to the fir ft, he had compofed Tables 
 
 of
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 2 g 7 
 
 of the Eclipfes of the Satellites, which fhewed when they were to 
 happen, one after another} and of thefe, finely painted upon neat 
 Board, he made a Prefent to his Lordfhip. And he had advanced his 
 other Defign of rectifying Maps, by having provided large blank 
 Globes, on which he might infcribe his Places corrected. But Plenty 
 and Pains feldom dwell together j for, as one enters, the other gives 
 Way : And, in this Inftance, a good Living, Penfions, &c. fpoiled a 
 good Cofmographer and Aftronomer ; for very little is left of Mr. 
 Flamftead's fedulous and judicious Applications that Way. His Lord- 
 fhip had another Virtuofo Acquaintance in the Temple, one Mr. Ball, 
 Son of Sir Peter Ball, that, from his firft Society of that Kind, kept 
 him Company. But Family Misfortunes overtaking him, his Activity 
 and Inclinations deaden'd, or rather degenerated into domeftick Cares ; 
 fo that I think it enough to have named him, as one in the Lift of his 
 Lordfhip's ingenious Acquaintance. 
 
 There were two or three more Perfons very eminent in - their Way, Character of 
 and alfo particularly acquainted with his Lordfhip. I mall therefore " 
 take this Opportunity to remember fomething of them. And firft, of 
 Sir Robert Sawyer, who rofe no higher than Attorney General ; for, 
 at the Revolution, for Reafons I (hall give, he was dropt. He was a 
 proper, comely Gentleman, inclining to the red -, a good general Scho- 
 lar, and perhaps too much of that, in Shew at leaft ; which made 
 fome account him inclined to the Pedantic. He was of the Family of 
 Sir Edmund Sawyer, and fo related to his Lordfhip. He was continued 
 at the Univerfity till he had taken the Degree of Mafter of Arts. And, 
 being defign'd for the Gown, he had hisLogick and Arts, and, by per- 
 forming the academic Exercifes, he had acquired an AfTurance and 
 Formality of fpeaking in Publick ; which is always profitable to a Pro- 
 fefTor in WeJiminfter-Hall. It was his good Fortune to divert to the 
 Law ; and his firft Practice was at the Exchequer Court ; and there 
 he pitch'd his Camp, and arrived at top Practice. It was alfo his Ad- 
 Vantage to come up under the Lord Chief Baron Hales, whofe Learn- 
 ing in the Law and Records, and moft pertinent Application of it, 
 were admirable ; and Students in the Law, or Practifers, under him, 
 profited more than by any Study. And no Bufinefs in the Law is fo 
 instructive, in order to ferve the Crown, as that of the Exchequer \ 
 which, by proper Institution, is the Court of the King's Revenue; and 
 the royal Prerogative is at home there. It is no Wonder therefore that 
 Sir Robert Sawyer, being taken into the Attorney General's Place, at a 
 Time when the Crown was very much embarrafTed at Law, as about 
 the Time of the Rye Plot, conducted thofe great Affairs fo fteddily and 
 well, as he did. But we muft charge to Account, among his very 
 great Advantages, his Relation to his Lordfhip, which created a Friend- 
 
 ihip
 
 288 The LIFE of the late 
 
 fhip and Familiarity betwixt them ; and thereby he had the mofl cor- 
 dial Affiftance that his Lordfhip could, on all Occafions, give him, 
 And this Alliance was the firmer, becaufe Sawyers Bias was to Loy- 
 alty, which had been the Character of his Family. 
 
 HisRefufal to j nee( j no t recapitulate the great Dependances of Law that fucceeded 
 otyante**uid we ^ under his Conduct ; for all Notes of the latter End of the Reign 
 Removal. of King Charles II. are full of them. He was continued in his Office 
 by King James II. but then he was foon off the Hooks : For, foon after 
 the Lord Keeper North died, a Deluge of irregular Difpenfations, and 
 non Obftante'Sy were coming towards him ; and he was fo juft a Man 
 in his Nature, that he was refolved, whatever became of him, he 
 would not pafs any fuch. So there was like to be a Stop at him. He 
 was always very careful of his Office, and, when he did not fear any 
 Impofitions, but was free to ufe his Judgment as other Attornies Ge- 
 neral did, yet, when Matters of Life and Death were depending, he 
 ufed to fummon the King's Counfel to attend him at his Chamber, 
 j where it was freely confulted if there were a fitting Evidence to pro- 
 ceed upon, or not ; and, if the general Opinion was that the Evidence 
 did not come up, he never pufh'd any Trial againft any Man. Now, 
 in this Time of Peril, he was fo kind to his Friends, the King's Coun- 
 fel, as to give them Warning to ftudy the Points ; for they would be 
 afked whether the King might not, by his royal Grant, appoint Offi- 
 cers unqualified, with non Obft ante's to the Teft Laws ; and that the 
 firft Cafe would be concerning the Soldiery. And I believe the whole 
 Nation of the Law were, at that Time, apprifed of all the Arguments 
 fro and con ; fo none could be taken napping. The firft Perfon, that 
 was tefted, was Mr. Solicitor Finch, a younger Son of the Lord Not- 
 tingham ; and he refufed plumb. Upon one Saturday, in the After- 
 noon, I was cited to the Lord Chancellor, and told I muft give him an 
 Anfwer in writing forthwith. I anfwer'd, That Jo nice a Point ought 
 to be well confiderd. He replied, there was no Need of that ; and 
 cited fome Books. I told him I had feen thofe Books, and would fend 
 him an Anfwer the next Day, which was a Refufal. On Sunday af- 
 ter, Mr. Solicitor Finch was difcharged, and one Powis made Solicitor 
 in his Room. Mr. Attorney did not flay long, but was difplaced to 
 make Room for Powis to be Attorney. And there ended Sir Robert 
 Sawyer's Preferment. He ended his Days honourably, and in Peace ; 
 and his Acquifitions remain in a noble Family, by a Match with his 
 only Daughter. And nothing ever impeach'd him, or his Actions, in 
 Public. And that is a fair Conclufion of a Man's Life ; although we 
 might fee that, without fuch a noble Support, he might have been ca- 
 lumniated, for. what was done in his Time, as well as fome of his 
 Cotemporaries. 
 
 Another
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 
 
 Another of his Lordfhip's Acquaintance was one Mr, William Lon- 
 gupville, fometime a Bencher of the Inner Temple, who was one of his of Mr.w/v/ 
 Lordfhip's much efteemed Friends and Companions. His Difcourfe Longu ' llle ' 
 was fluent, witty, literate, copious, and inftructive ; and thofe, who 
 did not well attend to him, or did not underftand him, thought he 
 talked too much. His Excellence of Converfation lay in a felect So- 
 ciety of one or two ; but he had too much in him to allow more a due 
 Share in the Converfation. He was a M after of Clafiic Wit, and had 
 the beft Latin Sentences, from the Orators, Hiftorians, and Poets, at 
 his Tongue's End ; and ufed to apply them fignificantly, and with that 
 Judgment as cleared him of Pedantry. His Method was much after 
 the Way of Epick Competitions, full of Digreflions and Epifodes; but 
 neither was the Main let fall, nor Time loft, upon the by. This Copia 
 rendered him lefs fit for Bar-Practice, where Submiffion and Refe- 
 rence doth more in a Caufe than Reafoning, and iniinuating more than 
 difcourfing. - For this Realbn he diverted to Conveyancing ; and, in 
 that Practice, rode one of the Admirals. His Induftry was indefati- 
 gable, and his Integrity as the driven Snow ; and as few Blunders (if 
 any) have come from his Chamber as from any of his Pretenfions. 
 His Beginning was low, for he was the Son of a Cavalier Father, who 
 fpent extravagantly what the Tyranny of the Times had left him ; 
 and, at laft, fell to his unprovided Son to be maintained, not only in 
 NecerTaries but, in Extravagances. And he, with incomparable Piety 
 and Application, was a Father to his Father. A good-natured Six- 
 Clerk took a Fancy to the young Man, and gave him Credit, by which 
 he crept into that Office, and, at length, made it his own j and, in 
 fit Time, he fold it. By which he had a Foundation of Eftate ; and 
 what with a Match, by which he hath Pofterity, and his Practice, he 
 hath re-edified a ruined Family. His Addrefsand flowing Wit recom- 
 mended him to the Knowledge of moft eminent Perfons, and he was 
 entirely trufted by diverfe considerable Families. And he ufed with his 
 Lordmip an untainted Friendfhip, which he continued after daily Fa- 
 miliarity muft ceafe; for he omitted no Opportunity of giving his 
 Lordmip Information, Admonition, and Advice, when he thought 
 he might do him Service by fuch Freedoms. All which his Lordfhip 
 accepted with exquifite Candor, and had a very great Value for fuch a 
 Friend as he was ; and how many great Men reject fuch, and divert 
 to Flatterers ? Mr. Longueville was the laft Patron and Friend that 
 poor old Butler, the Author of Hudibras, had, and, .in his old Age, 
 he fupported him. Otherwife he might have been literally ftarved. All, 
 that Butler could do to recompenfe him was, to make him his Heir, 
 that is, give him his Remains j but in loofe Papers, and indigcfted. 
 But Mr. Longueville hath reduced them into Method and Order j and 
 
 O o fome
 
 The LIFE of tloe late 
 
 fome of them have been fince printed. It might have been better 
 perhaps if they had never feen the Light; for, under a Variety of fur- 
 prifing Wit, and lively Conceit, there is couched but an aukward Mo- 
 rality. 
 
 This Mr. Longueville firft introduced to his Lordmip's Acquain- 
 tance ^ e mo ^ ^ or ^ and accompliftied Gentleman of the Law, as, 
 in the Courfe of his Practice, he appeared to be, Sir John King. His 
 Beginning was in general Learning, having his Face directed towards 
 the Church ; and, fo far as polite Literature reached, he was accom- 
 plimed, being Matter of *Iully and the Latin Oratory. He left the 
 Univerfity, and applied to the Law. His firft Praclice was before the 
 Judicatory for the rebuilding of London after the Fire. There he made 
 himfelf known, and, as that Court confumed its Bufmefs, he crept 
 into better in Weftminfter-Hall, and was foon let into the Wheel of 
 Preferment ; that is, by being put into fome minor Attorneyfhip, as of 
 the Queen, or Duke, I remember not which : But he became the top 
 Practifer in the Court of Chancery -, for he was cut out by Nature, 
 and formed by Education, for that Bufmefs. He had the moft of an 
 Orator, and was withal the moft polite and affable Gentleman that I 
 ever knew wear a Gown. His principal Care was to be inflructed, 
 and then his Performance was eafy. All his Misfortune lay at home, 
 in a per verfe Con fort, who always, after his Day-Labour done, enter- 
 tained him with all the Chagrin and Peevifhnefs imaginable ; fo that 
 he went home as to his Prifon, or worfe; and when the Time came, 
 rather than go home, he chofe commonly to get a Friend to go and fit 
 in a free Chat at the Tavern, over a fingle Bottle, till Twelve or One 
 at Night, and then to work again at Five in the Morning. His Fa- 
 tigue in Bufmefs, which, as I faid, was more than ordinary to him, 
 and his no Comfort, or rather, Difcomfort, at home, and taking his 
 Refrefhment by excifing his Sleep, foon pulled him down -, fo that, 
 after a fhort lllnefs, he died. 
 
 Of sircWw His Lordfliip had one Friend, that ufed to frequent him much, and 
 
 Porter, and was greatly countenanced by him. It was Mr. Charles Porter, who, 
 
 Advttora in the Reign of King William, was made Lord Chancellor of Ireland, 
 
 of his Life, where he died. This Perfon had run a flrange Courfe of Variety in 
 
 his Life. He was the Son of a Prebend in Norwich, and a 'Prentice 
 
 Boy in the City in the rebellious Times. When the Committee-houfe 
 
 was blown up, he was one that was very active in that Rifing, and, 
 
 after the Soldiers came and difperfed the Rout, he, as a Rat among 
 
 Joint-Stools, fhifted to and fro among the Shambles, and had forty 
 
 Piftols fhot at him by the Troopers that rode after him to kill him. 
 
 In that Diftrefs, he had the Prefenceof Mind to catch up a little Child 
 
 that, during the Rout, was frighted, and ftood crying in the Streets, 
 
 and,
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 2QI 
 
 and, unobferved by the Troopers, ran away with it. The People 
 opened a Way for him, faying, Make room J or the poor Child. Thus 
 he got off, and, while Search was made for him in the Market-place, 
 and thereabouts, got into the YarmoutbFzny, and, at Yarmouth^ took 
 Ship and went to Holland^ there being an Opportunity of a Ship then 
 going off j and he was fcarce out at Sea before the Purfuit came down 
 after him; fo narrowly he efcaped hanging at that Time. In Holland 
 he trailed a Pike, and was in feveral Actions as a common Soldier. At 
 length he kept a Cavalier Eating- Houfe ; but, his Cuftomers being 
 needy, he foon broke, and came for England, and, being a genteel 
 Youth, was taken in among the Chancery Clerks, and got to blunder 
 a Mafter, in which Employment he laid a Foundation for Practice in 
 that Court, beginning with Drawing ; and afterwards, he applied to 
 the Bar. His Induftry was great, and he had an acquired Dexterity 
 and Skill in the Forms of the Court j and although he was a bon Com- 
 panion, and followed much the Bottle, yet he made fuch Difpatches as 
 fatisfied his Clients ; efpecially the Clerks, who knew where to find 
 him. His Perfon was florid, and Speech prompt and articulate. But 
 his Vices, in the Way of Women and the Bottle, were fo ungoverned, 
 as brought him to a Morfel ; and he did but juft hold up his Head, 
 with all the Advantages that fell to his Share ; which were very great : 
 For when the Lord Keeper North had the Seal, who, from an early 
 Acquaintance, had a Kindnefs for him, which was well known, and 
 alfo that he was well heard, as they call it, Bufinefs flowed in to him 
 very faft, and yet he could fcarce keep himfelf at Liberty to follow 
 his Bufinefs. The belt Account of which flrange Conduct, is that he 
 was carelefs, and joined with others in taking up Monies ; and fo car- 
 ried on a jolly Way of Living. At the Revolution, when his Intereft 
 fell from, and his Debts began to fall upon him, he was at his Wits 
 End. And fome, knowing his Cafe, and pitying him, (for, at large, 
 he was indeed a very honeft Fellow) recommended him as a plaufible 
 Man, fit to be Lord Chancellor of Ireland '; and accordingly he was 
 knighted, and fent over. There he lived fome Years, and, in that 
 Place, concluded his Days little better than infolvent. It is not to be 
 wondered at that this fair conditioned Gentleman of the Chancery Or- 
 der fhould be acceptable to his Lordmip ; for, barring his private 
 Failings, and no lefs fecret Debts, his Character for Fidelity, Loyalty, 
 and facetious Converfation, was without Exception ; and his Lordmip 
 knew little of his fecret Ways to give him a Difguft to his Perfon, 
 who alfo had the good Fortune to be beloved by every Body. I have 
 remembered thus much of a Gentleman that underwent all Extremity 
 of good and evil Fortune ; whereof the Particulars, that are not of my 
 own Knowledge, I had from his own Mouth, in very ferious Con- 
 
 O o 2 verfa-
 
 The LIFE of the late 
 
 verfation. All which is worthy to be known j and the rather, becaufe 
 he had that Magnanimity, and Command of himfelf, that no Sur- 
 prife, or Affliction, by Arrefts or otherwife, could be difcern'd either 
 in his Countenance, or Society: Which is very exemplary j and, in 
 Cafes of the perfecuting Kind, as Injuftices, and the Malice of Pow- 
 ers, heroical in Perfection. 
 
 The Lord Chief Juftice Hales > a profound common Lawyer, and 
 both Devotionair and Moralift, affected natural Philoibphy, as I have 
 already obferved of him. But here I (hall take Notice only of a Book 
 he put out entitled, Of the Non-Gravitation of Fluids* His Lord- 
 ihip did not approve of his Doctrine, but wonder'd that a Man, of 
 his great Ability in other Things, fhould lapfe fo childilhly into Error, 
 as, in that Book, he fhewed himfelf guilty of. But the Perufal of it 
 put him upon a ftricter Confideration of Hydroftatics, than he had 
 been ufed to before. And, among the many Inftances he thought of 
 for illuftrating the Preffure, or Gravitation, of Fluids, he fell upon 
 the Confideration of the Bladders of Fifties j what Effect they had, 
 and by what Means. He concluded that the contracting and dilating 
 of the Bladder, whether by a mufcular Action, or the more or lefs 
 Compreffion of the Water, and perhaps both, caufed the Fifti to rife, 
 or (ink, or reft in the Water, without any Action of the Fins. It was 
 alledged, againft this, that there is no Time when the Fim doth not 
 make Ufe of her Fins; but whoever obferves them, even in their moft 
 quiet State, (hall difcern their Fins more or lefs movent and employ'd. 
 This may be no Labour or Pains to the Fi(h, as under any Conftraint, 
 more than it is to us, by Virtue of our Mufcles, to ftand, or fit, up- 
 right; but it is an Action, in a Manner, involuntary, and that attends 
 common Life, and neither we, nor they, perceive it. Thus the Mat- 
 ter ufed to be debated between him and his neareft Friends ; but he 
 yielded nothing, but was continually more fatisfied of his own Notion. 
 At length it was agreed that each Party mould draw up their Reafons, 
 and fend them to Mr. Oldenburgh, the Publiiher of the philofophical 
 Tranfactions, as to a publick Notice. His Lordmip's Paper is to be 
 found in Mr. Low thorp's Abridgment, vol.2, p. 845. to which I refer 
 the Reader. 
 
 It appears, in Mr. Lowtborp's Collection, that his Lordfhip's Hint 
 was laid hold of, and approved, by the Virtuofi of the Time; parti- 
 cularly by Mr. Boyle, and Mr. Ray y who, in Papers there enter'd, have 
 purfued thereupon. I have not found that any of them knew who 
 was the Author of this Paper. His Lordmip fought no Fame, nor 
 Commendation, but Information only. Therefore he did not add his 
 Name ; which he would not have to be toffed, whatever became of 
 his Notion. 
 
 About
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 
 
 About this Time, the philosophical World was entertain'd about Anfwcr'd sir 
 fettling the grand Affair of the mercurial Barometer, and its Indica- Sam lMo ? e - 
 tions. Among the reft, Sir Samuel More/and publifh'd a Piece, con- B^rnetTon 
 taining a Device to prolong the indicatory Space from three Inches, as a Challenge. 
 in common Tubes, to a Foot, or more, as you pleafe ; and he defied 
 all the Virtuofi to refolve it. This he call'd a ftatick Barometer j for 
 it was contrived by fufpending a common Tube at one End of a 
 plain Balance, and the other Arm to be duly counterpoifed, and drawn 
 to a Point directed to play againft an Arch of about a Sextant, di- 
 vided into three Parts; and that was to correfpond with the three Inches 
 on the Plate of an upright Tube. The Ciftern was a cylindrical Glafs, 
 of more than the double Diameter of the Tube; and, in that, charged 
 with Mercury, the Tube, erected according to Art, was immerfed j 
 and the moving of the Mercury in the Tube, higher and lower, was 
 of no Regard, but the Index only. His Lordfhip wrote a Paper in 
 Anfwer to the Knight's Challenge, and confider'd this Experiment ac- 
 cording to the Laws of Hydroftaticks, and concluded that the Myfkry 
 lay in the Difference of fpecifick Gravity between Mercury and Glafs, 
 which may be nearly as One to Twenty. The {landing of the Mer- 
 cury, in the Tube, is always taken upon the Diftance of the upper 
 from the lower Superficies; and, whatever happens, the Mercury will 
 find that Diftance as the PreiTure of the Atmofphere requires. He 
 confider'd alfo that the Quantity of Mercury, and the Quantity of the 
 Glafs Tube, not immerfed, taken together, were the Sum of the whole 
 Weight above the Stagnum, fuppofed to make an Equilibrium againft: 
 the Counterpoids. This ftanding Level, and the Index pointing (for 
 Example) to 29 4 Inches, if the Variation of the Preffure comes 
 to require a 30 Inch Column, then 4 Inch Mercury in Weight is 
 added on that Side. This muft draw down the Tube into the Stag- 
 num, till fo much of the Glafs Tube is immerfed, as {hall anfwer 
 that Encreafe of Weight ; and then the Index rifeth, becaufe theTube 
 and the Mercury tend down into the Stagnum. But as the Glafs goes 
 down, the Mercury feems to rife in the Tube ; for the Column will al- 
 ways, as I faid, anfwer the Preffure, whether the Tube goes up or 
 down. His Lordfhip confider'd alfo that the fpecific Weight of Glafs 
 is fo much lefs than that of Mercury, that the Glafs Tube muft lofe 
 two or three Inches to countervail one half, or perhaps one Quarter of 
 an Inch of Mercury, whether finking into the Stagnum, or emerging 
 from it, and fo in Proportion, as it {hall happen: Which makes the 
 oppofite Arm, with the Index, make larger Sweeps than the Rifing and 
 Falling, in common Tubes, mew. His Lordmip confider'd farther, 
 that the Stagnum not being very wide, as the Tube funk, the Mercury 
 there rofe and fwallow'd the Glafs fafter than, if wider, it would do ; 
 
 and
 
 LIFE, of the late 
 
 and that it ought to be fo adjufted, for Quantities of Mercury and 
 Glafs, that the Arm (hall not play much above or below the Level, 
 which, otherwife, would create fome Impediment, if not Inequality, 
 in the Motion ; and laftly, that the Arch muft be graduated mechani- 
 cally ; for the Meafures muft be taken as they happen, and will not be 
 adjufted by Calculates. It is obvious how, by this Means, the Beam 
 moves, and (lands in continual Balance, and the Index, (hews the ba- 
 rometrical Action, by the arched and graduated Plate, with Advantage. 
 But, in Practice, the many Frictions, as of the Mercury in the Tube, 
 and of the Glafs in the Stagnum, corrupt the Nicety of the Inftru- 
 ment (and in Time exaggerating) fo much, that it is not made Ufe 
 of but for Shew. 
 
 When the Virtuofo received his Lordfhip's Paper, he blufter'd, and 
 threaten'd a mod powerful Anfwer, but never was fo kind as to fend 
 any. On the contrary, he took an Opportunity to wait on his Lord- 
 fhip, and they became good philofophical Friends and Acquaintance; 
 and once, upon an Invitation, his Lordmip dined with Sir Samuel at 
 his Houfe ; and though his Entertainment was exquifite, the greateft 
 Pleafure was to obferve his Devices ; for every Thing (hewed Art and 
 Mechanifm. A large Fountain played in the Room, and all the 
 Gla(Tes flood under little Streams of Water. He had a Cittern in his 
 Garret, which fupplied Water to all Parts of his Houfe, as he thought 
 fit to contrive it. The Water was raifed by a common Pump (as it 
 feem'd to be) in his Yard : But, going to lift the Sweep, it rofe (as it 
 were) of itfelf; for it was prolonged beyond the Tree, and there had 
 aCounterpoife of Lead; which made the Sweep move as the Beam of 
 a Scale : And wherever there was like to be a Friction, a Roulet was 
 placed to receive it. In like Manner, Windows, Doors, Hinges, and 
 Chimnies fpoke the Owner to be an Artift: And his Utenfils abroad 
 had the fameTafte. His Coach was moft particular; and he made a 
 portable Engine, that moved by Watchwork, which might be call'd a 
 Kitchin; for it had a Fire-place and Grate, with which he could make 
 a Soup, broil Cofteletts, or roaft an Egg; and, for that, his Contri- 
 vance was by a Fork with five Tines (as I may call it) which (food 
 upright at a due Diftance before the Firegrate, and turn'd (lowly. An 
 Egg, put into that, would road according to Art ; and if a Piece of 
 Meat were ftuck upon it, it was drefled by Clockwork. He faid him- 
 felf that this Machine coft him 30 /. He took it with him in his own 
 Coach, and, at Inns, he was his own Cook. But to conclude with a 
 capital Invention of his. When he was told that the Lord Keeper 
 North was dead, he afked of what Difeaie ? It was anfwer'd, of a Fe- 
 ver. // is ftrange^ faid he, that a wife Man, as he was, flmild die 
 of a Fever. How, faid the other, Jhould a wife Man prevent it? By 
 
 doing
 
 LORD KEEPER GU1LFORD. 2p5 
 
 doing as I do, faid he ; that is to go to Bed with a Glyfter-Pipe al- 
 ways in my Reach ; and that is a Box to hold the Liquor, the Lid of 
 i^hich is a Plug that fcreivs down and evacuates it : And from the 
 Box proceeds a flexile. Pipe Kith the Tool at the End ; by which, at 
 any Time, when 1 find my f elf not welt, I give my f elf a Clyfter. 
 Whereas others are forced to fend jor Help ; and, in that Delay, a 
 Fever lays hold, which might have been fuppreffed at firji. 
 
 His Lordfhip was much affected by the Difcoveries, which fell in The Means of 
 the Confequences of the Torricellian Experiment; whereby a ne w Bir 
 World of Air, compelling every Thing it touches, is reveal'd. Hc 
 could not but obferve a manifeft Connection between the Alterations 
 of the mercurial Station, and the Courfe of the Winds and Weather ; 
 but could not fix in his Mind any certain Rules of Indication, but ra- 
 ther the contrary, viz. that Events failed as often as correfponded with 
 the ordinary Expectation. But yet he would not give it over for defpe- 
 rate, and hoped that a more general Obfervation might generate a bet- 
 ter Prognoflic of the Weather from it, than was yet known. And 
 that mud be expected from a more difFufed, if not an univerfal, Ufe 
 of it, which could not then be thought of; becaufe the Inftruments 
 were rare, and confined to the Cabinets of the Virtuofi; and one was 
 not to be had but by Means of fome of them. Therefore hisLordmip 
 thought fit to put fome ordinary Tradefmen upon making and felling 
 them in their Shops ; and accordingly he fent for Jones, the Clock- 
 maker in the Inner-Temple Lane-, and, having (hewn him theFabrick, 
 and given him proper Cautions in the erecting of them, recommended 
 the fetting them forth for Sale in his Shop ; and, it being a new Thing, 
 he would certainly find Cuftomers. He did fo, and was the firfl Per- 
 fon that expofed the Inftrument to Sale publickly in London. But his 
 Lordmip, perceiving that his Bufinefs lay in other Operations he was 
 more ufed to, and that he began to flight thefe, fent for Mr. Winn^ a 
 famous Inftrument-maker over-againft his Houfe in Chancery-Lane, 
 and did the like to him, who purfued the Manufactory to great Per- 
 fection, and his own no fmall Advantage; and then others took it up, 
 and few Clock-makers, Inftrument-makers, Cabinet-makers, and di- 
 verfe other Trades, were without them always in their Shops, ready 
 for Sale : And all moving from the firft Eflays, as I related, fet on 
 Foot by his Lordmip. He was a true Lover of Arts; and as well for 
 the Encouragement of that Mr. Winn, as for his own fpeculative Hu- 
 mour (for he had not Time to practife Drawing) he caufed a Cafe of 
 mathematical Inftruments to be made by him, which are yet extant,, 
 and coft fifty Pounds ; and nothing of the Kind can be made by 
 the Hands of Men, more nice, elegant, and curious than thofe are. 
 
 Now,
 
 The LIFE of the late 
 
 Now, to illuftrate his Lordmip's Inclination to ingenious Arts and 
 Sciences, I have two Subjects to enlarge upon. i. Mufick. 2. Picture, 
 light in Ma" As for his Mufick, I have already mentioned his exquifite Hand up- 
 fi ck. on the Lyra and Bafs-Viol, and the Ufe he made of it to relieve his 
 
 Solitude in his Chamber. He had a Defire to ufe alfo the Theorbo and 
 Violin. He fcarce attempted the former, but fupplied the Ufe of it 
 by the Touch of his Lyra Viol upon his Knee, and fo gain'd a folitary 
 Confort with his Voice. He attempted the Violin, being ambitious of 
 the prime Part in Confort, but foon fonnd that he began fuch a diffi- 
 cult Art too late ; and his Profit alfo faid nay to it, for he had not 
 Time for that Kind of Practice. It was great Pity he had not naturally 
 a better Voice; for he delighted in nothing more than in the Exercife 
 of that he had, which had fmall Virtue but in the Tuneablenefs and 
 Skill. He fang any Thing, at firft Sight, as one that reads in a new 
 Book, which many, even Singing Mafters, cannot do. He was a great 
 Proller of Songs, efpecially Duets ; for, in them, his Brother could ac- 
 company him ; and the Italian Songs to a thorough Bafs were choice 
 Purchafes ; and, if he liked them, he commonly wrote them out with 
 his own Hand. And I can affirm that he tranfcribed a Book of Ita- 
 lian Songs, into a Volume of the largeft Quarto, and thicker than a 
 Common Prayer Book. And this was done about the Time he had re- 
 ceived the Great Seal; for, if he would difcharge his Mind of Anxie- 
 ties, he often took the Book of Songs, arid wrote one or two of them 
 out. And, as he went along, he oblerved well the Compofition and 
 Elegancies, as if he, not only wrote but, heard them ; which was 
 great Pleafure to him. 
 
 A Compofer His Lordfhip had not been long Mafter of the Viol, and a fure Con- 
 of Confoit fortier, but he turn'd Compofer, and, from raw Beginnings, advanced 
 Mufick. f Q - ar as to com pl e te diverfe Concertos of Two, and Three Parts ; 
 which, at his Grandfather's Houfe, were perform'd with Mafters in 
 Company ; and that was no fmall Joy and Encouragement to him. 
 But it was not to be expected he mould furmount the Style and Mode 
 of the great Mufick Mafter Mr. Jenkins, then in Ufe where he came: 
 And, after his Capacity reach'd higher, he had no Time to be fo di- 
 verted. Yet, while he was Chief Juftice, he took a Fancy to fet to 
 Mufick, in three Parts, a Canzon of Guarini^ beginning thus, Cor 
 ntio del> Gfc. In that, he aim'd to compafs what he thought a great 
 Perfection in Confort Mufick ; ordering the Parts fo that every one 
 fhall carry the fame Air; and, however leading or following, the Me- 
 lody in each Part is nearly the fame; which is, in Compofing, no eafy 
 Talk. 
 
 Author of a Not many Years before his Lordfhip was preferred to the great Seal, 
 Effi f of S he fel1 u P on a P leafin S Speculation of the real Mechanifm whereby 
 
 Sounds
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 
 
 Sounds are diftinguifhe'd into Harmony and Difcord, or difpofed to fick, and his 
 pleafe or difpleafeour Senfe of hearing. Every one is fenfible of thofe Notion - 
 Effects, but fcarce any know why, or by what Means they are pro- 
 duced. Ke found that Tones and Accords might be anatomifed, and, 
 by apt Schemes, be prefented to the Eye as well as the Ear, and fo 
 Mu Tick b^ demon ftrated in Effigie. After he had digefted his Notions, 
 and continued his Schemes, he drew up a fhort Tract, which he en- 
 titled, Si Pbilofopbical Eflay of Mufick -, not with the Form and Ex- 
 actnefs of afolemn Writer, but as the Senfe of a Man of Bufmefs, who 
 minds the Kernel and not the Shell. This was printed by Mr. Mar- 
 fin, Printer to the Royal Society, in 1677. The Piece fold well, 
 and, in a few Years, it was out of Print, and ever fince is fcarce to be 
 met with but in private Hands. If I may give a fhort Account of his 
 Lordfbip's Notion, it is but this. All mufical Sounds confift of Tones, 
 for irregular Noifes are foreign to the Subject. Every Tone confifts of 
 diftinct Puifes, or Strokes, in equal Time ; which, being indiflin- 
 guifhably fwift, feem continual. Swifter Pulfes are accordingly (in 
 Sound) (harper, and the flower, flatter. When diverfe run together, if 
 the Pulfes are timed in certain Proportions to each other, which pro- 
 duce Coincidences at regular and conflant Periods ; thofe may be har- 
 moniou% elfe Difcord. And, in the Practice of Mufick, the ftated 
 Accords fall in thefe Proportions of Pulfation, 'viz. 4, 4? 7, i>4 Hence 
 flow the common Denominations of 8 h , 5 th , 4 th , 3 J , 2 d ; and thefe are 
 produced upon a Monochord by Abfciffion of thefe Parts 4, ~, ^, -i, , 
 Of all which the fuller Demonftration is a Tafk beyond what is Jbere 
 intended. 
 
 But to accompliili an ocular Reprefentation of thefe Pulfes, his Notation of 
 Lordmip made a Foundation upon Paper by a perpetual Order of pa- p^"^ 3 
 rallel Lines j and thofe were to fignify the Flux of Time equably. Numbers. 
 And when a Pulfe happened, it was marked by a Point upon one of 
 thofe Lines, and, if continued fo as to found a bafeTone, it was mark- 
 ed upon every eighth Line ; and that might be termed the Bafe. And 
 then an upper Part, which pulfed as 4, or Octave, was marked (begin- 
 ning with the firft of the Bafe) upon every fourth Line, which is twice 
 as fwift : And fo all the other harmonious Proportions, which {hewed 
 their Coincidences, as well with the Bafe as with one another. And 
 there was alfo mewed a beautiful and uniform Afpect in the Compo- 
 fition of thefe Accords when drawn together. This as to Times. The 
 ordinary Collation of Sounds is commonly made by Numbers, which, 
 not referred to a real Caufe or Foundation in Nature, may be juft, but 
 withal very obfcure, and imparting of no Knowledge. Witnefs the 
 Mathematicians Mufical Proportion. His Lordmip did not decline 
 Numbers, but derived them from plain Truths. He found 360 the 
 
 P p apteft
 
 The LIFE of the late 
 
 apteft for thofe Subdivifions that Mufick required ; and, applying that 
 to an open String, or Monochord, each mufical Tone, found by Ab- 
 fcifiion of a Part of the String, is expreffible by thofe Numbers fo re- 
 duced in Proportion. As 4 of the String pinched off is as 4 or 180, an 
 Octave j and ~ as 4 240 j and fo of the reft down to the Tone, or fe- 
 cond, which cuts off 4, and the Semitone a 4-? &c. 
 
 The Virtuofi foon took up this little Piece, and, during the nine 
 Days Wonder, were very bufy about it. Mr. Matthews of Sidney 
 College in Cambridge, was fo affected that he made a perpetual Com- 
 ment upon it, and took much Pains to explain the Doctrine of Pulfes 
 by Experiments i but thefe Prefers are all miflaid, or loft. I have 
 been informed that Mr. Matthews left fuch, but could never find in 
 whofe Hand. The ingenious Mr. Hook put this Scheme of Mufick 
 into Clockwork, and made Wheels, with fmall Lingulcein. the Manner 
 of Cogs, which moving, each upon its Pin, as the Wheel turned, ftruck 
 upon an Edge, one after another, equably ; the Wheel turning flow, 
 the Pulfes were diftinguifhable, and had no other Virtue; but then, 
 turning fwifter, the Diftinction ceafed, and a plain mufical Tone e- 
 merged. This for one. Then, another Wheel was contrived to ftrike 
 three to two (for Inftance) and as the Diftinction began to fail, and 
 Continuation to take Place, we might hear a Confort 5 th coming on, 
 and fettling in the manifeft Accord fo named. Sir Ifaac Newton, in 
 Anfwer to an Enquiry what he thought of this Piece, did not come 
 into the Solution of Harmony by Coincidences, which he faid, and 
 truly, cannot be the fame to all Ears (as the Accord is) in diverfe Po- 
 fitions j but, as his Way hath been to refer to Qualities, he ftyled an 
 Unifon to be an harmonious Confent ; by which one underftands No- 
 thing. But, as to Coincidences, if they are fo at the Inftruments, the 
 Virtue is difpofed quaquaverfum, while the Waves of the Sounds en- 
 large every Way, and the Ear is affected with the Order of them where- 
 ever it is planted. In 1682 Dr. Wallis published his Ptolemy, and 
 fubjoins a notable Appendix of Mufick ancient and modern, and pur- 
 fues his Lordfhip's Scheme, but in a different Manner. In 1694, Dr. 
 Holders Piece came out ; but fo puzzled with Numbers that it is un- 
 eafy to read; and he makes great Ado about dividing Tones Major, 
 Tones Minor, Diefes and Commas, with the Quantities of them ; as moft 
 Authors have done. All thefe Works, as I judge, were fpirited up by 
 his Lordmip's Effay, which came out long before them. And, ever 
 fince, the Philofophy of Mufick hath been more courted than for- 
 merly. 
 
 The other Head of his Lordfhip's Entertainment is Pifture ; a word 
 I choofe rather than Painting ; for, of that I can afcribe nothing to 
 him. He never took a Pencil in his Hand, nor attempted any kind 
 
 of
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 
 
 of Draught, excepting fome Mathematical Diagrams, and a little of 
 Perfpective, which is a Branch of the Mathematicks. He had a good 
 Tafte of Picture, and knew wherein the worth of them confifted, and 
 feldom failed to point at the Faults, and to declare the Excellencies, 
 of a Painting, at firft Sight. His Talent was not performing, but 
 judging ; efpecially of what flowed out of the Art of Perfpective, a- 
 gainft which moft faulty Pieces are Offenders. No Man living had a 
 jufter Idea of Perfpective than he had. Which Aflertion I make good 
 by a Fragment of his writing upon a Piece of Paper, viz. " Perfpec- 
 * tive is a Projection of a concave Hemifphere in Piano, with ftreight 
 " Lines ; which is very imperfect, and not tolerable in a large Segment 
 " of a Sphere j but will be perfect in a Hemifphere, where the infi- 
 " nite Diftances terminate in a Point, not only in a horizontal Line 
 " but, upwards and downwards, and on both Sides ; and all ftraight 
 <c Lines, except thofe which are in the crofs Diameters, are defcribed 
 " by Curves." This needs a Comment, by explaining the whole Art, 
 to make it to be nicely underflood j which I mail not attempt here. 
 
 In the Science of Picture there is a Skill peculiar to Painters, and improved by 
 fuch as practife Draught ; that is, of the Style and Handling, Colour- the Acquaint. 
 ing, and Manner of the noted Mafters, whereby the Profeffors pretend r ^f Sir 
 to know Copies from Originals, and the true Sublime in Picture. All 
 which flows from perpetual Obfervation, Inftruction, and Variety of 
 Experience ; and an Artift's whole Life is little enough for gathering 
 a competent Qualification to warrant his Judgment. His Lordfhip al- 
 ways loved to fee Variety of good Pictures ; but was a minor Critick 
 till his Acquaintance and AfTociation with Sir Peter Lely was embra- 
 ced ; and then he began to fee how little he underflood of the Matter. 
 Sir Peter was a well-bred Gentleman, friendly and free, and, not 
 only an Adept in his Art but, communicative, and had a great Collec- 
 tion, confifting of Pictures from the Hands of the beft Mafters, and 
 a Magazine of Scizzis, and Drawings of diverfe Finifhings, which had 
 been the firft Touches, I may fay the Heart, of great Defigns and 
 Modei-s, befides Prints of the beft Gravers. His Lordfhip had free 
 Accefs to thefe, which, with the occafional Comments of that great 
 Artift, were fufficient to eftablifh (if not a Critick) a true Lover of 
 Painting. 
 
 The Introduction to this Acquaintance was by Means of Sir Peter HOW the Ac- 
 Lely's chief virtuofo Friends about the Court. For, after he was quaintance 
 grown rich, and had Children, he often complained of the Want of j;" cec 
 fome good Friends, who might advife and aflift him about fettling his them. 
 Eftate, that his Children might be fure to enjoy what he mould leave 
 behind him. One of them afked him why he did not get acquainted 
 with Mr. Attorney-General, who was the fitteft Perfon in England for 
 
 P p 2 his
 
 3oo The LIFE of the late 
 
 his Purpofe j and he offered to bring Mr. Attorney one Night to fu^ 
 with him. This was no fooner faid than done ; and, from that time, 
 the Friendmip betwixt them was ftruck up. What Advantages either 
 Side had thereby, will be mentioned in a proper Place. How his 
 Lordfhip continued his Favour and Friendmip to his Son after his- 
 Death, will appear when I come to {hew the Part he acled in a more 
 exalted Character -, and that is, Benevolence to all Mankind, to which 
 I now proceed. Wherein I {hall demonftrate, from numerous In- 
 ftances, his univerfal Inclination to do Good to all Men, according as 
 worthy Inftanees offered themfelves. 
 
 Kind to I niuft begin at the lower Form, which was his taking Notice of 
 
 young Peo- yowng Perfons : He was no fooner arrived at Man's Eftate, and a 
 Pie and liberal. shifter for himfelf> but he became a Friend to others that lay behind, 
 and came after him ; and he took a Pleafure in doing Things in a 
 Manner as might beft pleafe and divert them ; particularly his younger 
 Brothers, who, by way of Fund for petit Recruits of Money, at all 
 Interviews ufed him as their own. And thereby he {hewed his intrin- 
 iickgood Naturej for, if Actions are to be prized by their Effects, the 
 greateft Bounties among Men have not a fublimer EffecT: of Joy, than 
 iiich Liberalities to young Scholars. But then he exacled a fevere Re- 
 tribution of hard Queftions, and puzzling Fallacies of the literate kind, 
 put upon them, as was touched elfewhere ; but they, with the Pru- 
 dence of their Betters, pocketed up all fuch Wrongs. 
 
 His Lordfhip had an Opportunity of doing one generous Aft, with 
 a Continuando during all the reft of his Life. It was taking Care of 
 the Head of his Family, as the Northern Men ftyle the elder Branch, 
 or lineal Heir of the old Stock. This was Mr. Robert North, eldeft 
 Son and Heir of Sir Charles North of Walkeringbam in the County of 
 Nottingham. Edward Lord North, the firft Baron of his Lordfhip's 
 Family, was a younger Son of old Sir Charles of Walkeringbam. But 
 (waving Pedigrees) this Gentleman's Father was a Cavalier, and per- 
 fecuted in the rebellious Times, and, after the Reftauration, or there- 
 abouts, was made High Sheriff of the County. His Under- Sheriff 
 proved an infolent Knave, and his Security inefficient, whereby great 
 Troubles and Loffes fell upon him; and he died leaving his Family in 
 a deplorable Condition. He left but one Son, this Mr. Robert North, 
 but diverfe Daughters, and about fixty Pounds per Ann. clear Eftate to 
 provide for them all. The Son had been well bred at School, and 
 could write well, and was fo good-natured as to confider that, if he 
 ftaid at home, without fome beneficial Employment, his Srfters muft 
 want. Thereupon he took a Refolution to go abroad and feck his For- 
 tune, leaving all he had to his Sifters to make the beft for themfelves 
 
 they
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 30I 
 
 they could out of it, and thought not of more for himfelf than he could 
 gather by his Induftry. 
 
 Coming to London, what with writing, and other officious Services, Tl<evo-> 
 as by fome Acquaintance and Recommendation he found Means, he Man'IcS 
 poorly fubfifted. It happened that Sir Dudley North, his Lordfliip's [ accerand B .=- 
 Father, wanting a Clerk for his Juftice-Bufinefs in the Country, took uSrhipvpi 
 this young Man who was recommended for a good Writer, faithful ther>sCiClk 
 and induftrious. There was not at that Time, and for diverfe Years 
 after, any Relation of him, to that Family, known ; but his Beha- 
 viour made him efleemed by Sir Dudley North to the Degree of a Fa- 
 vourite. His Defign was to keep himfelf concealed, and to bear his 
 Misfortunes within himfelf, as well as he could. But he lived under 
 a continual Refentment and Melancholy, ever complaining of inward 
 Infirmities, without faying what ; and the Family gave him for gone 
 of the Spleen. And in Truth, even after his Circumftances were 
 mended, that Infirmity had taken fuch Root in him that it became ha- 
 bitual, and he could not (hake it off as long as he lived. So dangerous 
 is it to let Imaginations get the upper Hand long together. Sir Dudley 
 North obferved fuch ftrong Tokens of an inward Difcontent, that he 
 could not forbear urging him to fay if any Thing, relating to his Ser- 
 vice, was uneafy to him, and he would take Care it mould be reme- 
 died. No, all was exceeding well, and his Place better than he ever 
 hoped for, or deferved. And Sir Dudley North fo often urged him 
 upon thefe Points, and particularly of his Country, Family, Education,, 
 and the like, till he had extorted from him that he was the eldeft Son 
 of the Walkenngham Family; and, from that Time, he was owned 
 as of the elder Houfe, and lineal right Heir of the Family, and treated 
 with all poffible Refpeft and Service. But ftill he kept his Port, and 
 made no Sign of any Delire of a better. 
 
 During this Time, hisLordfhip advanced in his Profeffion, and was Courfe of tfris 
 made Judge of the royal Franchife of the IJle of Ely, and at his nrft Gentleman's 
 Affifes (with Leave of his Father) took this Gentleman with him, ^^~ 
 and made him his chief Officer, and fent him home with good 30 /. 
 in his Pocket ; for which Kindnefs S\* Dudley heartily thanked his Son 
 Frank, as for fo much done personally to himfelf. But this was an 
 Earneft of more to come after; for when his Lord(hip was made 
 Attorney General, he defired his Father would part with him, to 
 come up and take the Place of chief Clerk under him, which was 
 called of the Confeffions. And it was not without the greateft Re- 
 luctance that he yielded to it; and no Inducement, lefs than his be- 
 loved Clerk's Preferment, which of all Things he defired, would have 
 prevail'd upon him to confent. But, after that, there was a notable. 
 Stir to make the Gentleman remove- and 1 was employ 'd to work 
 
 him
 
 'The LIFE of the late 
 
 him to it. His Spleen had fuch faft Hold of his Intellect, that he 
 could not conceive better than that, if he removed to London^ he 
 fhould fall fick, and die by the Hands of a Nurfe, who would pluck 
 away his Pillow to get his Cloaths. But we got the better of him to 
 accept of no fmall Preferment, and in the high Way to -greater ; af- 
 furing him that he fhould have (b much profitable Bufinefs as not to 
 dream of Nurfes, or any Thing elfe, but getting of Money j and (& 
 the Moufe was prevail'd upon to enter into the Parmefan Cheefe. 
 When his Lordmip was Chief Juftice of the Common-Pleas, he made 
 his Coufm North his Clerk of the Treafury, and, when he was Low! 
 Keeper, the fame Kinfman carried the Seal. His Lordmip ufed him 
 in his moft private and uncheckable Trufts, and would have treated 
 him with more Familiarity ; but he abfolutely withdrew himfelf from 
 it, and would be no other than a Servant, as long as his Lordmip 
 lived. After he was dead, he took his Habitation in St. Giles's Pari(h; 
 and all along was careful to provide for his Sifters and their Children, 
 as well as he could. But there his Spleen got Ground of him; and, 
 having often furvey'd the Church-yard, and the various Situations of 
 it (a melancholy Employ) he (hewed his Friends where he defired to 
 be buried ; and, before his Death, often fed his Spleen with walking 
 to and fro to vifit the Place of his future Refidence ; and, in about four 
 or five Years Time, after the Death of his moft honoured Patron, he 
 was (by the Care of fome Relations that he had taken home to him) 
 put in full Poffeflion of it. It may feem, to many, that, for the pre- 
 fent Purpofe, this Relation is too long (for impertinent it is not.) But 
 I confider'd that the Redundance, fuch as it is, may be indulged as a 
 worthy Remembrance of a moft luculent Example, in which may be 
 feen a due Reward of ex quifite Worth, Integrity, Piety, Patience, and 
 Perfeverance, mining in the Courfe of this excellent Perfon's Life; 
 who, with lefs Notice than here is taken of him (with the matchlefs 
 Pattern of his moft recommendable Character and Succeffes) would 
 be as much loft, and, to all future Times unknown, as the Place 
 where now his mortal Remains lie. 
 
 There was a Family of the Mordaunts in Bedford/hire fallen into 
 Decay, to whom his Lordmip had a Relation by his Grandmother, 
 who was of the Brocket Family. The eldeft, and only, Son was left 
 with an Eftate, but incumber'd almoft to the full Value, and which, 
 without being fpeedily redeem'd, muft have been utterly loft. When 
 his Lordmip was Chief Juftice, he fent for the young Man, and made 
 him his Crier, He bought of him the Equity of Redemption of his 
 Eftate, and, having (as his Defign was) fold it again to Sir Crefwell 
 JLevtnz, paid all the young Man's Debts, gave him a full Account, 
 .and paid him the Overplus. But this frantic Fellow took Tetch at 
 
 fome-
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 
 
 ibmewhat, and run away into Ireland. His Lordfhip difpatch'd one 
 of his Domeftics after him, who had the good Luck to find him out, 
 and bring him, pennylefs, home. His Lordfhip did all he could to' 
 find out what was the Caufe that made him defert a good Place, but 
 could not. However he reinftated, and encouraged him all he could ; 
 but nothing would do; and he was finally ruined and loft. There was 
 another Family, of the fame Relation, whofe Name was Trochee, nu- 
 merous, and in great Want. He took one Son to be his Lady's Page, 
 and others he got bound out to Trades, or put in a Way of living well, 
 if they had pleafed to conform. But a wild, or idle Spirit poflefled 
 them, and what was done for them proved abortive. 
 
 One Gentleman, named Gilbert North, had his Lordfhip's Favour; Kindnefsto 
 and if his own perfonal Failings had not work'd counter to all his ^f ^ r n f atu 
 Lordmip's Intentions towards him, he might have made himfelf con- ra l Relation " 
 fiderable ; but ex quolibet Ligno, &c. He was a Baftard Son of Gil- 
 bert North, his Lordmip's Father's great Uncle, by one that was call'd 
 my Lady Venner. She married a Pettyfoggcr, one Smith of Berkjhire^. 
 who bred up this Youth towards the Law, by putting him into the 
 Society of the Middle Temple. His Lordfhip took Notice of him, and 
 gave him all the Encouragement he might. When his Lordfliip was 
 Reader, he made him his Sub- Reader, which (hewed him to the So- 
 ciety, and to Men of his Profeffion ; and to qualify him for Bufinefs, 
 fo as to pick up a little; (for he had no Manner of Eftate or Provifion) 
 he was call'd to the Bar, and his Lordfhip beftow'd plentiful Advices 
 upon him. But once he was very much furprifed; for he afked the 
 young Man (then a Barrifter) if he underftood Law French; he faid 
 No r but he intended foon to make himfelf Mafter of it. From thence- 
 forward all his Lordmip's Hopes of him were vapid. But yet he 
 continued a Sort of occafional Bountv to him, and, when he had the 
 Great Seal, he billeted him 60 /. per Annum deep upon an Office j 
 which was duly paid him, and juft ferved him, in the Fryers, where 
 he had taken up his Reft, to keep him from ftarving. After his Lord- 
 fhip's Death, he perifh'd, leaving his Funerals for a Legacy to the Pa- 
 rim. I have here drawn out an Account of this Gentleman's ftupid 
 Temper, to (hew what a miferable Cafe it is when Men, having Meat 
 fet before them, will not lift up an Hand to tafte it, but perifh for 
 Want. Many Men would have given a round Sum of 2000 /. or more, 
 to have ftood in his Place. So we have bad, as well as good, Ex- 
 amples, to inftrudl fuch as are pleafed to mind them. 
 
 Thepe w*s a Family, nearly related to his Lordihip, whofe Name Like to the 
 was Chute, where two younger Brothers, his Aunt Dora's Grand- ^" gtl Bro 
 children, were left without any Family Provision, and had been gra- ,herCandne; 
 tuitouHy educated by their Grandmother ; but wanted to be put into Rations, 
 
 the
 
 304. Tb* LIFE of the late 
 
 the World, fo as to fhift for themfelvcs. His Lordfhip placed the 
 eldeft of them with Dr. Brevint, a French Refugee, and Prebend of 
 Wcjlminjler ; where, by the Family Converfation, as well as fome In- 
 ftruclion, he might acquire a ready Ufe of the French Tongue, in 
 order for a Poft he had defign'd for him, as foon as he was capable. 
 His Lordfhip furnim'd him with Money to pay for his Refidence 
 there ; and, after fix Months, finding him fit, recommended him to a 
 Clerkfhip under Secretary Jenkins ; and, at the Coronation, made him 
 the Prothonotary of the Court of Claims; which prefented his Cabinet 
 with near three Hundred Guineas ; and, during this Time, and until 
 fby the Death of his elder Brother) the capital Eftate of the Family 
 fell to him, allow'd him 307. per Annum. This Gentleman hath ever 
 iince, upon all Occafions, continually exprefled his grateful Acknow- 
 ledgements for all this noble Patronage, without which he had fuffer'd 
 large Decadences both of Mind and Body. The younger Brother, be- 
 ing the Grandmother's Favourite, was by her placed at the Middle 
 'Temple. But, withal, he received great Encouragements from his 
 Lordfhip, by Prefents of Twenty and Thirty Guineas at a Time, till 
 a good Match was found for him, and, by Friendmip and Money, he 
 was lifted into an opulent Office in the Law; and his Grandmother, 
 dying, had left all (he had to him. His Lordfhip never cared to feed 
 idle People; but, if capable and induftrious, he would always, if it 
 lay in his Power, find Means to plant them in a Way of Employ- 
 ment ; and his Benevolences were, for the moft Part, directed with 
 fuc'h Views. 
 
 But thefe are remote Inftances ; I ought to come nearer home, and 
 ta ^ e an Account f ms Benevolences to his paternal Relations. His 
 * youngeil Brother was defign'd, by his Father, for the Civil Law, as 
 they call that profefs'd at Doclors Commons, upon a fpecious Fancy to 
 have a Son of each Faculty or Employ ufed in England. But his 
 Lordfhip difluaded him, and advifed rather to have him put to the 
 common Law : For the other ProfefTion provided but for a few, and 
 thofe not wonderful well ; whereas the common Law was more cer- 
 tain, and, in that Way, he himfelf might bring him forwards, and 
 affift him. And fo it was determined. His Lordmip procured for 
 him a petit Chamber, which coft his Father 60 /. and there he was 
 fettled with a very fcanty Allowance; to which his Lordmip made a 
 timely Addition of his own Money : More than all this, he took him 
 almoft conftantly out with him to Company and Entertainments, and 
 always paid his Scot ; and, when he was Attorney General, let him 
 into a Partnership in one of the Offices under him; and when his 
 
 * The honoursb'e Author of this Work. 
 
 Lordfhip
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 30J 
 
 Lord (hip was Treafurer, and this Brother call'd to the Bar, a Perqui- 
 iite Chamber, worth ico/. fell ; and that he gave to his Brother for 
 a pracYiiing Chamber, and took in Lieu only that which he had ufed 
 for his Studies. When his Lordihip was Chief Juftice, he gave him 
 the Countenance of pradlifing under him at N/ft Prius\ and all the 
 while his Lordihip \vas an Houfekeeper, his Brother and Servant were 
 of his Family at all Meals. When the Temple was burnt, he fitted 
 up a little Room and Study in his Chambers in Serjeant* s-Inn t for his 
 Brother to rmnage his fmall Affairs of Law in, and lodged him in 
 his Houfe till the Temple was built, and he might fecurely lodge there. 
 And his Lordfhip was pleafed with a back Door in his own Study, by 
 which he could go in and out to his Brother, to difcourfe of Inci- 
 dents; which \Vay of Life delighted his Lordfhip exceedingly. And, 
 what was more extraordinary, he went with his Lordlliip in his Coach 
 conftantly to and from the Courts of Nifi Priits at Guildhall, and 
 Weflmrnjler. And, after his Lordfhip had the Great Seal, his Brother's 
 Practice (being then made of the King's Counfel, and coming within, 
 the Bar) cncreafed exceedingly, and, in about three Years Time, he 
 acquired the better Part he afterwards was pcfTefTed of. At that Time, 
 his Lordfhip took his Brother into his Family, and a Coach and Ser- 
 vants affign'd him cut of his Equipages; and all at Rack and Manger, 
 requiring only 200 /. a Year; which was a Trifle, as the World went 
 then. And it may truly be faid that this Brother was as a Shadow to 
 him, as if they had grown together. And, to mew his Lordihip's 
 Tendernefs, I add this Inftance of Fact. Once he feem'd more than 
 ordinarily difpofed to Penfivenefs, even to a Degree of Melancholy. 
 His Lordfhip never left pumping, till he found out the Can fe of it: 
 And that was a Reflection what mould te:ome of him, if h^ mould 
 lofe this good Brother, and be left alone to himfelf: The Thought of 
 which he could fcarce bear; for he had no Opinion of his own Strength, 
 to \vork his Way through the World with tolerable Succefs. Upon 
 this, his Lordfhip, to fet his Brother's Mind at Eafe, fold him an An- 
 nuity of 200 /. a Year, at an eafy Rate, upon Condition to re-purchafe 
 it, at the fame Rate, when he was worth 5000 /. And this was all 
 done accordingly. 
 
 O ? Pnzfidium c-f duke Decus tneum. 
 
 His Lordfhip had two Brothers, Merchants, and was very indul- Bounty to his 
 gent to them both. Of the firft, which was Dudley, we have fpoke Broth 
 already. The other Brother, Mountagu, from a mercantile Education, ^ 
 was fent out to be Factor alfo at Smyrna, and his Lordihip made him 
 the like Loan, as he did his Brother Dudley before ; but, for his En- 
 couragement in Trade, he put jooo/. into Dudleys Hands to trade 
 
 Qjq for
 
 e PE of the late 
 convenient, and hke to P a Company; for free 
 
 count was turn d into an Impr ai accord i n aly. And, as Money 
 
 ,, , of 
 
 M ch for his i ef , fuccefsfully benevolent to h,s SUter s 
 
 i ef , fuccefsfuy enevoen fc d fi >d 
 
 
 him 
 
 him the Intereft. All whi -h, togeinc / f or both were 
 
 ST. 
 
 ee , who had, in that 
 
 that could not be done on M :n nd Wi ^ con- 
 
 ,ag ou, alone without Company, be ^ s ' Ljf com fo rt able. She 
 
 t ri ved toeafe ^^J ^,,7 Dependance on her elder Bro- 
 ffi - thelrkfomen Jof r Solitude in the
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 
 
 His Lordihip, who was an Artift at obliging, prevailed with his Pa- 
 rents that (he might be with him, and keep his Wife Company; and 
 he prefted alfo that, fince me had lived To long Tingle, and that there 
 was but a doubtful Profpect of any Match fit for her, his Lordmip 
 would put into her own Hands that Fortune he intended to give her ; 
 and, to make all eafy, he would become Purchafer of thofe Eftates 
 that were the Fund for railing thefe Portions, and clearing his Father 
 of all Debts on that Account. The old Lord admired the Generofity 
 of his Son, and confented to all ; but, inftead of 15007. he would put 
 into her Hands but 1200. Hereupon me was removed to London, and 
 lived with the Lady Frances in all the Content that (he was capable to 
 enjoy. But, as old Folks are apt to be jealous, fo this good old Lord 
 fufpected that his Son Frank intended to make his Sifter pay for the 
 Board of her and her Servant; which never entered into his Thoughts. 
 But when he heard that all was gratuitous, he was extraordinarily 
 pleafed, and folemnly returned his Thanks to his Lordmip for his 
 Goodnefs to his Sifter. 
 
 It was not a little propitious that this Lady was fettled under fuch an Th? Match 
 honourable Protection, as me had by her Brother in London, who, treated ' 
 having her fo near at hand, might better conduct any Propofal of a 
 Match for her, (if any fuch came in the way) than if me lived remote 
 from him in the Country. It fell out that, 'by Means of one Mr. Hen- 
 ry Parker, related by his Match with one of the Hydes, a Propofition 
 v\ as made to his Lordfhip for a Match of this Sifter with the only Son 
 of Mr. Robert Foley of S tour bridge in Worcefterjhire. The Father 
 was, by Contract, Iron-monger to the Royal Navy. That Name and 
 Family founded rich; and this Branch had its Share, but declining, 
 as I mall (hew. His Lordmip joined and treated for 1500 /. Portion, 
 and a Jointure of 400 /. a Year. The old Father fancied that aFriend 
 at Court, fo confiderable as hisLordfhip was, might be ufeful, which, 
 together with his Lordfbip's Skill in dealing with fuch a touchy Spark, 
 drew a full Confent to all. The young Man was every way accepta- 
 ble, and, left to himfelf, would not have chofen one that was fifteen 
 Years older than he was. But finding that his Father, by Negligence, 
 Sottimnefs, and defperate Projects, was in a fair way to utter Ruin, 
 he was glad, upon any Terms, to get the Eftate fettled ; wherein he 
 confidered wifely, as, in Confequence, plainly enough appeared. In (hort, 
 the Marriage was folemnifed ; and his Lordmip ordered, not only a 
 fumptuous Dinner but, a copious Supper at Night, and all the near 
 Relations, of Quality, were invited; which, in all Refpects, appeared 
 moft generoufly kind and honourable. The new married Couple lived 
 many Years very well together ; and, as old as me was, (he had many 
 Children, lived to fee them Men and Women, and, having outlived 
 
 2 her
 
 The LIFE of the late 
 
 her Hufband, at her Death, left them all in good Circumftances. His 
 Lordmip, finding his Sifter's Family encreafe fo faft, came up to his 
 Brother Foley, and, fmiling, You Jee now, faid he, (as he was always 
 facetious) what comes of marrying a young wife. 
 
 This Lady, with fo little Appearance, in Truth proved an over- 
 grown Fortune to her Hufband ; for his Lordfhip, for the moft Part, 
 while the old Father lived, kept them in his Houfe ; for the prefent 
 Maintenance was ftraight. He was made Martial in the Circuits, which 
 brought in Pence; and, after his Lordfhip had the great Seal, Secre- 
 tary to the Prefentations, worth (honeftly) near 300 /. a Year ; and he 
 lived all the while, with his Family, at Rack and Manger in the 
 Houfe. But what furmounted all, was the aiding him with hisPurfe, 
 as well as Advice and Countenance, in working through a moft per- 
 plexed Adminiftration of his Father's perfonal Eftate. The old Man 
 died without a Will ; and his great Dealings, of diverfe Kinds, all in 
 Confufion ; and it was very queftionable whether all he left, when got 
 in, which might amount to about 10,000 /. would ferve to clear his 
 Incumbrances, which were fufpetted to be as much or more. The 
 Affets were of diverfe Kinds, fome legal, others equitable r But the 
 Debts moft by Bonds and Counter-Bonds, and the Creditors all in hafte 
 to be paid. So that it was a dangerous Undertaking ; and mcft of 
 his Relations, who, by Counter-Bonds, were his greateft Creditors, 
 were of Opinion he mould renounce; and then, perhaps, the Admini- 
 ftration would fall into their Hands ; and, by that Means, they would: 
 be fecure themfelves. But his Lordfhip encouraged him to take upon 
 him the Adminiftration as a Duty to his Father, and honourable in 
 itfelf ; and (hewed him that, taking a right Courfe, he would be no 
 Lofer ; and he determined accordingly. The Danger lay in an un- 
 happy Point of Law : For if two Plene Adminiftravits are tried at the 
 fame Affifes, the Affets found atone Trial, will not be allowed in the 
 next for a Difcharge of fo much. This made the Creditors all fly at 
 him at once, each ftriving to get the Start at Law. The Advice, in 
 this furious Cafe, was that he fhould, in the firft place, confefs Judg- 
 ments to his Kindred for the Penalties of their Counter-Bonds, and 
 plead thofe Judgments to all other Adions agamft him, with a non 
 Affets ultra ; and Fraud could not be replied, becaufe there was a real 
 Debt at the Bottom of each, though not fo much. By this means he- 
 covered his Affets from being tormented at Law^Xnd then, by a Bill 
 in Chancery, he called all the Creditors together to prove their Debts, 
 and take what the Court fhould order ; and withal exhibited an Ac- 
 Qount of all his Affets, pretending no Advantage to himfelf, or Par- 
 tiality to any. The Creditors, feeing this fair Proceeding, rather than
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 3 o ? 
 
 to conteft Accounts, came to Terms, and agreed to take Shares and 
 inftalled Times of Payment. This gave him Time to turn himfelf, 
 and to make the beft of his Affets ; and, in the mean time, his Lord- 
 fhip, upon fuch Security as he could give, laid down all the Money as 
 the Creditors called for it, and took, from his Brother, the Money as he 
 could rai;e it ; and, in the End, made an Account of Intereft in and out, 
 as the Method, in fuch Cafes, is ; and fo, with above 500 /. Advantage 
 in his Adminiftration, perfectly fet him clear. Such a Felicity is a 
 Friend at Need : And what a generous Principle is it to be fuch a 
 Friend, when alfo good Counfel and found Judgment of Safety con- 
 cur ? 
 
 I have here {hewed how an half-decayed Family, with a numerous Note of the 
 Brood, and worn-cut Eftate, of the Norths, by the aufpicious Cha- Fami: yiu- 
 racler of one Child of ten, was re-edified 5 and all the reft lifted into JSJ^JS 
 the World with wonderful Succefs ; and no one of the whole Pack- often chil- 
 mifcarried, or were not in all Refpecls (the eldeft excepted) mutually. drcn * 
 helpful and affiftant to each other ; and none of them tainted with any 
 Vice or Dimonour, nor theleaft Savour of Difference, or Feud, found 
 amongft them j but, from the firft to the lad, they maintained their 
 fraternal Amity and Correfpondence inviolable. I fay (not derogating; 
 from the Influences of a virtuous Parentele) moft of all thefe Felicities 
 were derived upon the Patronage of his Lordfhip, who may juftly ba 
 fryled the 
 
 Columen Families & Fajligium Domus.- 
 
 But now we difmifs the Family, and advance to his Lordfhip's Be- The Hi/lory 
 
 nevolence to others. There was a young Gentleman, known by the crompton^d 
 Name of Charles Crompton, he was bred up by Sir Henry North of his Eftate. 
 Mildenball, and (hrewdly fufpeded to have been his natural Son. A wil- 
 der Character of a Man never was known j but, withal, he had fome 
 extraordinary Talents, as Induftry, for Example. If he fancied to write- 
 out a Book, he would fit at it as a Hen upon her Neft, and deliver it 
 with fcarce a Sully or Blot in it. He had an inexhauftible Vein of ar- . 
 tificial Nonfenle, and, at any Time, if defired, would write a Letter : 
 of fuch incomparable Stuff, as, from a Poet, would have paffed for - 
 Wit. He had a good Eftate in Yorkfoire^ and as foon as he was of 
 Age, he repaired to London in Queft of thofe Joys which young Heirs 
 dream of to be had there. He was foon icented by the Voltores and. 
 CorbaccioS) who had faiily begun to pluck him ; but he died before 
 his Eftate was half eaten. His Cuftom was to vifit his Lordmip with - 
 View of borrowing; and his Lordfhip was diverted by his amafing j 
 Extravagances of Difcourfe, and frequently lent him fmall Sums upon 
 his Notes ; but not without the Superfluity of good Counfel. He, not
 
 7le LIFE of the late 
 
 only diverted but, inftru&ed his Lordmip in all the Rakery and In- 
 trigues of the leud Town ; and his own Follies were his chief Subject 
 to rally upon, as he did with moil lively Defcription and Wit : Parti- 
 cularly his being cheated of his befl Horfes brought up to him from 
 the North, and bubbled into a Duel, which came off with an Acquit- 
 tance figned upon the Cheat's Back in the Field, and was the very Ac- 
 tion which Mr. Etheredge defcribes in his Play of Love in a Tub. His 
 Lordmip, perceiving this young Gentleman going precipitouily down 
 Hill to Ruin, and that the Scriveners had got hold of his Eftate, omit- 
 ted no Opportunity, with Argument and Demonftration, to make 
 him flop his Career: And he promifed to take his Counfel, for he 
 feared but two Things ; one was that he was Sir Henry North's Baftard, 
 and the other that he was a rank Coward, which, known in Town, 
 would difable him to live in it. Once, in a melancholy Humour, he 
 would make his Will, and his Lordfhip muft write it; which he did, 
 and, after providing for his Debts, he gave all to his Sifter. But, faid 
 his Lordmip, / hope to live to jpend it myjclf. Ay, faid he, write that y 
 and add, to the wonderful Improvement thereof. This was done, and 
 the Will figned and publifhed j by the Title of which the Eftate is held 
 at this Day. After this, he came to his Lordfhip in the Habit of a 
 London Prentice, and declared he was a going to bind himfelf to a Mer- 
 chant. His Lordfhip bid him confider well, for, by his Indentures, 
 he would be bound to live chaftly. y/y, faid he, I have a Trick for 
 that -, for I will find a Merchant that hath an handfome Wife, and lie 
 with her during my Time', and that will Jave my Indentures. But 
 enough of this bizarr Monfter,' whom his Lordmip laboured to pre- 
 ferve, but could not. He died not long after; and what was left came 
 to his Sifter. The younger Sir Henry North courted her, and they 
 feemed agreed, but did not marry ; which was thought to proceed 
 from a Scruple of Confcience upon a Point already hinted. However, 
 when me died, me left the Eftate, incumbered as it was, to him, and 
 he was forced to ftand a long and ftiff Chancery Suit with the Heir at 
 Law, who infifted that her Gift was not a Benefit, but a Truft. At 
 length, the Caufe was heard before Judge Twifden and two Mafters; 
 and he difmitfed the Bill, declaring that the Lover deferved more than 
 .Labor em and Sudorem, or, as we fay in Englifo, his Labour for his 
 Pains. And then his Lordmip, who had adviied and affifted through- 
 out the Procefs of this Caufe, completed the Service by taking in the 
 Mortgage, and difcharging the uuirious Trade which had been driven 
 with it, and paid the Money to Sir John Duncomb, who, feeing only a 
 fliort Alignment, indorfed, for him to leal, What, faid he, is this all 
 that Mr. Attorney requires? G~d d~mn all theje Law)ers ; for here's
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 3II 
 
 a Mortgage Jcrivened up to ten Skim of Parchment ; and the King's 
 
 Attorney General is content with fix Lines. 
 
 His Lordmip always delighted to redeem his Friends out of Ufurers Redeemed 
 Clutches, and ib, without any Lofs or Hazard to himfelf, but by re- | ir c !l arles 
 trenching Charges and Intereft, exceedingly befriended them. And this fhTscIvT 
 
 he did for a Relation on the Whitmore Side, Sir Charles Kemijh of G/a- ncrs - 
 morganjhire. He had been very wild, and had dipt his Eftate 6000 /, 
 deep by Mortgage to an old Ufurer in London, at fix per Cent. He 
 dealt by a Scrivener who was an Artift ; for, befides Continuance Mo- 
 ney, he made him come to his Houfe every fix Months to feal new 
 Defeafances, which encreafed the Charge at every Inftance. He com- 
 plained to his Lordfhip of this Ufage, and had Directions from him to 
 give Notice, as of Courfe, to receive his Money, and he mould have 
 it of him at five /w Cent, and be at little Charge in the Transfer. The 
 Aflignment was approved by the old Gentleman's Counfel, and en- 
 groffed with the common Covenant againft his own Ads. At the 
 Day, the old Fellow came, but would not feal ; for he would enter 
 into no Covenants. His Lordmip was fent to, for Directions, and he 
 ordered that the Money mould be paid, upon a common Acquittance, 
 without his fealing, and, rather than fail, to pay it him, and keep 
 only a private Memorandum of it attefted. The old Man, feeing this 
 clofe Play, and forefeeing the Confequences which were (not taking 
 the Money) to lofe his Intereft, and be forced by Decree to affign at his 
 own Charge, thought fit to feal the Deed as it was ; and there was an 
 End. I cannot forbear, for the Credit of the Weljh Country, to re- 
 member an able Steward Sir Charles had, who folicited his' Money 
 Matters for him. He was a thinking careful Fellow, and all tend- 
 ing to the Good and Safety of his Mefter. Nothing could perfwade 
 him but that, if intereft was not paid at the Day, his Mejler muft 
 lofe his Eftate j and, on that Account, he never failed to bring up the 
 Intereft, and pay it half-yearly. How much a better Man was this 
 than a Wit ? 
 
 I have mentioned already his Lordmip's Engagements of Friendfhip Saved sir 
 with 'that great Mafter of Painting, Sir Peter Lefy. His Lordmip ^/^ 
 confidered, that if he, being a Foreigner, (though naturalifed) mould timety Id- 
 die, his Eftate, by Reafon of fome Circumftances, would go to the vicc - 
 Crown, and not to his Children, unlefs he made Settlements, by Deed 
 or Will, in his Life-Time. This ftartled the good old Gentleman, 
 who begged that his Lordmip would put the Matter in Execution for 
 him ; and it was foon done according to his Mind j and his Lordmip 
 told him withal, that he would prefent him with a Truftee, meaning 
 his younger Brother, that {hould be worth an Eftate to him. This 
 timely Provilion faved the Eftate. How, after his Death, that Tru- 
 
 ftee
 
 3Ii The LIFE, of tie late 
 
 flee conducted the Difpofal of his Pictures, &c. and bred up his Children, 
 was well known by the whole Nation of Virtuofos both at home and 
 abroad. On the other Side, Sir Peter Lely prefented his Lordlliip with 
 excellent Pourtraits of him and his Relations, which are ftill extant 
 and of great Value; and between them, this was called commuting of 
 Faculties. But it fell out unluckily that his Manfion Houfe at Kew- 
 Green, being Copyhold of the Duke of Tcrk's Manor of Richmond, 
 was not fur rendered j fo that, for Reafons hinted, that, for want of an 
 Heir, efc heated to the Lord of the Manor ; and a Courtier flraight 
 begged it, and had a Promife. Upon this, his Lordfhip's Brother ad- 
 vanced his Petition, and folemnly begged this E (cheat ; and his Lord- 
 /hip joined his Requeft for the Benefit of young Lely. About this 
 Time the Duke was in Scotland, and his Lordfhip was pleafed to write 
 to Sir John Werden^ then in waiting, to prefer his Requeft to his 
 Royal Highnefs ; but, having no fat is factory Anfwer, his Lordfliip 
 wrote to old Colonel Werden, more preffing and particular. Which 
 Letter, being very expremve of his Lordlhip's Sincerity and good Will 
 to his departed Friend, as well as Duty to his Royal Highnefs, is 
 here fubjoined. 
 
 S/r, 
 
 Letter to fave ' e< W^hen Sir 'John Werden was in Scotland, I defired him to prefent 
 :o his Son a an humble Requeft to his Royal Highnefs on the Behalf of Sir 
 
 iold d ?he P Ge- <{ Pefer Lel f* Son - Sir yt jn was fo kind as to embrace the Trou- 
 " ble, and wrote me Word that the Duke was pleafed to receive the 
 <{ Motion very favourably, but deferr'd to determine any Thing upon 
 " it, until he had an Account of the Thing from Sir Allen Apjley. 
 " J fpoke with Sir Allen, who gave me the moft fpecious Promifes 
 " imaginable ; but, not hearing fince that the Matter is any Way ad- 
 ct vanced, it is my Defire that you would be pleafed to renew my 
 " Suit to his Royal Highnefs. The Cafe, in fhort, is this. 
 
 " Sir Peter Lely purchafed of one Mr. Mountney a fmall Copyhold 
 " of 19 I. per Ann. It was holden of the Duke's Manor. After the 
 " Surrender, and before any Court-Baron, he died ; fo that he was ne- 
 " ver admitted Tenant to it. Sir Peters Son, being born before Mar- 
 " riage, cannot, by our Law, inherit, though he be legitimate by the 
 " Law beyond Sea $ and Sir Peter could not fettle it upon him, as he 
 " did his other Eftate, becaufe he was not admitted. Hereupon the 
 " Son cannot claim it. But whether Mountney (hall keep it, or it be 
 " efcheated to the Duke, may be a Queftion. Mr. Mountney gives his 
 " Pretences to the Child. The Truftees, for the Child, are very fen- 
 " fible how indecent it will be for them to have a Conteft upon the 
 " Duke's Title, and defire by all means to avoid it. I have advifed 
 " them to fubmit to his Royal Highnefs 5 which I make no Doubt 
 
 " they
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 3TJ 
 
 they will do, although they tell me they have learned Mens Cpi- 
 " nions that it is no Efcheat. 
 
 " Now, Sir, whereas there be two Fines due upon thisEftate, viz. 
 
 " one upon the Purchafe, another upon the Death of Sir Peter Lely\ 
 
 " which Fines, I fuppofe, will be fet at fifty Pounds, or under, if his 
 
 Royal Highnefs will command his Steward to fet twice as much as 
 
 c< other wife the Fines will come to, it will be very gracious. 
 
 " It is my earneft Defire that the Duke would be favourable, and 
 " not look upon the Thing as forfeit, and the Favour will be acknow- 
 " ledged as if it were. I wifh I could be thought to merit fuch a Boon, 
 " but my fmall Sphere gives me no Capacity ; and indeed I already 
 c owe all I have to his Royal Highnefs's Favour, and therefore owe 
 " all I can do to ferve him ; from which I {hall never be diverted by 
 " Fear, or any other Conlideration. 
 
 " Sir, I ought not to think that I have troubled you too long, con- 
 " fidering I have another Favour to beg of you, which is that you. 
 w would be pleafed, at your Leifure, to let me know if I may hope 
 <c for Succefs. By that, and your Pardon for this Trouble, you will 
 " extremely oblige, &c. 
 
 I have given this Letter in the very Words, becaufe, if it is well 
 confidered, it will appear to be candid, refpedful, and., for the Pur- 
 pofe, charming. But this Inflance verifies the Opinion fome had of 
 his Lordmip, that he was no Courtier; for when did any fuch ever 
 fpend their own Intereft in procuring a Boon for a Friend ? And much 
 kfs when it is for a Child, on Account only of Friendship had with 
 its deceafcd Parent, whence no Return is to be expected but the Con- 
 fcience of having done a generous Adtion. 
 
 His Lordmip endeavoured to preferve a Livelihood to a poor Woman : ufed Means' 
 li was one Mrs. Jackfon who had a Family, and fell under the Mifery to fave i for- 
 of having her Hufband hanged for coining ; but upon the Teftimony [o^ oor atc 
 of Perfons worfe than himfelf, and, confidering the Officers of the Family. 
 Mint, and the Trade fome of them drove at that Time, as like to be 
 falfe as true. After his Lordfhip had done, what he thought reafon- 
 able, in his own Perfon, he feconded the Difpofition of a Friend by 
 Inftructions, of which I find a Copy under his own Hand, which is as 
 follows. 
 
 One Jackfon, Widow of Jack/on, who was executed 
 
 " at Tyburn for coining, petitioned his Majefty for a Grant of her 
 <c Hufband's Goods for her Subfiftence. I moved the King in her Fa- 
 vour, and the King referred her Petition to the Lords of the Trea- 
 fury, 
 
 R r Her
 
 314 The LIFE of the late 
 
 " Her Hufband was a very ill Man ; but her Friends are Very loyal 
 " and good ; and, for their Sakes, I was defirous her Hufhand might 
 ic have been pardoned, which had been moved by the Duke of Albe- 
 " mark. But becaufe the Profecutors were the Officers of the Mint, 
 " and the Crime was rife, it was thought a Pardon would have done 
 c great Prejudice to the Public. His Cafe was this. 
 
 " A Fellow was accufed for Clipping who had no way to get ofF 
 " but by accufing others; he accufed this Man, (who had been one of 
 " his Companions in Roguery, and lent a Room to work in, and 
 " fold Silver for him) but denied at his Death that he ever joined in 
 " clipping with him (as he fwore at the Trial) and this Man was 
 * c bound over, but, at the SefTions, had nothing to fay againfl him j 
 " whereupon he was difcharged. For Fear of this, the Witnefs gets 
 e him taken up again, and, though he faid nothing againft him at 
 " the former SelBons, now he preferred an Indictment, and fwore fo 
 <c fully that he was convicted and hanged upon it. 
 
 < He denied the Fact at his Death, though he confefTed many ill 
 <c Things againft himfelf; and, which is very obfervable, the Wit- 
 rc nefs was committed afterwards for ftealing, and was hanged him- 
 felf. 
 
 " After all this fet down, I hold no Argument ought to be made 
 with fuch a Reflection on the Proceedings of Juftice; but the only 
 tf Argument will be that her Friends are very loyal. She was a Gen- 
 " tlewoman of a good Fortune; and it is but a fmall Matter that is 
 " left ; and it would be hard me mould be utterly ruined when her 
 " Friends had Intereft enough to have got her Hufband's Pardon, if 
 <{ the Example of the Public had not been concerned. 
 
 " It need only be faid I recommended it, unleis the Particulars are 
 afked. 
 
 What was done in this Matter, is not now material to be known. 
 The Defign of this Paper was to get a favourable Report from the- 
 Treafury upon the Woman's Petition. The whole Tenor of it (hews 
 ajuft and compaffionate Mind, and judicious Expreffion ; for which 
 Reafon I have given it in the very Words, for no Epitome is fufHcient.. 
 I think it is of fmall Moment to give an Account of fome pecuniary 
 Benefactions, as to Trinity College Library in Cambridge, Trinity 
 College in Oxford, and the Parifh- Church of Barlow, and fome others, 
 becaufe they were not great. It is enough to fay that his Lordfhip 
 wag a nO f- ec i Encourager of all learned Foundations, Societies, and 
 Perfons; and moft of all, the conformable Clergy and their d gnified 
 Superiors. He never failed to do them Juftice; which being their 
 Due, no Thanks to him ; but only as it was a Strain of Popularity to 
 do them Wrong. He revered their Order, and advanced, rather than 
 
 flayed
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 
 
 flayed to be importuned for his Afts of Benevolence and Advices. 
 He ufed to difcourfe familiarly with them, and communicate his 
 Schemes, as he thought might aid their Understandings, in the Con- 
 duel: of their common Concerns. And he ufed to take a Freedom to 
 afk their Thoughts in Queftions of Hiftory, Theology, and Civil Law. 
 He advifed them to ftudy more of the common Law than was ordi- 
 narily found amongft them. Pie had a great Refpect and Value for 
 the incomparable Dr. Hicks, fometime Dean of Worcefter. His Lord- 
 fhip had Knowledge of him firft at the Duke of Lauderdale's, where 
 he attended as domeftic Chaplain. He was a truly venerable, learned 
 and pious Chriftian Minifter, of a primitive Spirit, Patience, and Re- 
 folution. In his ftupendous Work, entitled, Tfhefaurus Linguarum 
 Septenfrionalium, &c. in his Preface to his Grammar, Franco Tbeo- 
 ti/ca, fol. 8. he gives this Teftimony of his Lordmip's Goodnefs to 
 the Clergy. 
 
 Ante fedecim, aut eo plus, Annos, vixit Vir Ampliffimus fapientiffi- 
 mulque, & fui Temporis Jurifconfultus fine pare maximus, Francifcus 
 Dominus North, Dominus Guilford, Carolo 2. & Jacobo 2. R. R. 
 Anglian magni Sigilli Cuflos, qui me multum & familiariter utebatur. 
 Itaque multa ab eo prudenter difputata, multa etiam breviter & com- 
 mode dicla Memoria? mandabam, ut qui fieri femper ftudebam illius 
 Prudentia doclior. Is autem, cum faspe multa narraret, turn praeclare 
 memini domi in Coenaculo fedentem, cum & ego eftem una, & pauci 
 familiares, in fermonem de Proceribus Sacerdotii incidifle j in quo 
 epifcoporum Vicem magnopere dolebat vir maximus ; utpote quorum 
 Authoritatem, diu in Senatu labefactatam, turn ferme jacere dicebat, 
 ex eo quod ad Rotulorum Parliamentariorum Studium, contra Prasde- 
 cefibrum fuorum, qui in anterioribus fasculis floruiffent, minime ani- 
 mos appuliflent. Memini etiam faepius audivifTe ilium vehementer 
 hortari egregios e Clero Viros, turn qui fadi Epifcopi erant, turn quos 
 ad Epifcopatum deftinatos efte fciebat, ,ut in Rotulorum iftorum ftu- 
 dio, quas fenatoriarum rerum quafi Biblia appellabat, Nodte Dieque 
 jfe exercerent. 
 
 In Englijh to this Effed : 
 
 About fixteen Years ago lived that great and wife Man, and the 
 ableft Lawyer of his Time, the Right Honourable Francis North 
 Baron of Guilford, Lord Keeper of the Great Seal to King Charles 
 and King James the Second. I had the Honour of being one of his 
 particular Acquaintance, which gave me frequent Opportunities of 
 treafuring up in my Memory many of his inftrucling Difcourfes, and 
 no lefs excellent Sayings ; which 1 never failed to do, being ever de- 
 
 R r 2 firous
 
 The LIFE of the late 
 
 firous of gathering from him wherewith to add to my own Stock. 
 But I remember once in particular, that this noble Perfon, whilft he 
 was fitting in his Parlour with only myfelf and a few more of his 
 Friends, took Occafion to enter into a Difcourfe of the Prelates of 
 our Church j wherein he exprefled great Concern for that Order ; in 
 Regard that the Refpect, formerly paid them, after having been uporr 
 the Decline for theie many Years, was now almoft quite laid afide ; 
 which he attributed to their neglecting to fludy the Parliament Roll?, 
 contrary to the Cuftom of their Predeceflbrs in former Times. I 
 have likewife often heard him earneftly recommend the Study of thofe 
 Rolls to fome of the greateft Divines, as well thofe that were already 
 Bifhops, as thofe whom he knew were defigned to be made fo j be- 
 caufe he faid that, as to all Parliamentary Tranfactions, they were a' 
 very Bible. 
 
 So teftifies this great Man, who cannot be accufed of flattering a. 
 Perfon then dead. 
 
 There are many Paffages, in the current Relation of his Lordlhip's 
 Life,, which might fall in properly here j as the conftant War he main- 
 tained againft all Monopolifts, Projectors, and other Deceivers of the 
 People ; but, being of a public Quality, I have not drawn them down 
 in this Place : Only I rnuft add here, as a negative Benevolence, if I 
 may, with Refpecl to the Actions of fome others, fo term it; that, 
 when Forfeitures of Goods and Eftates flew about at Court, and the 
 Harpies continually begging them, his Lordfhip never had a Thought 
 of profiting to himfelf out of the Misfortunes of Families, as when the 
 Lord R. obtained the Lord Grey of Wark's Eftate, and the Lord J. 
 that of Prideaitx, &c. but, on the contrary, as in the Cafe of Jack- 
 /<?tf, where he faw Reafon, inclined to affitl the miferables: And once, 
 when his Lordfhip interceded with King Charles the fecond for his Fa- 
 vour to one that was obnoxious j // is very fir ange y faid the King 
 (mod facetioufly) that every one of my Friends keeps a tame Knave. 
 
 Let us now retire with him into his Family, and mew what he was 
 in his private Character, and how he pafled his Time when at a Di- 
 fiance from the public Stage ; and there fhew him a no lefs indul- 
 gent Mafter than, as we have before demonstrated him to have been, a 
 moftferviceable Friend. 
 
 After the Death of his Lady, his Lordmip parted with his Houfe 
 at Hammerfinith, and pafTed much of his vacation Time at his great 
 Houfe in Wroxton ; where he had ufually with him his two Brothers 
 (one of the three being not then returned from Turfy) and his Sifters-, 
 with their Appurtenances, a Company which he ftyles in one of his 
 Papers, IS octet as extytata, or the Company he was moft deiirous of. 
 
 And,
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 3 r 7 
 
 And thofe he never cared to be without when he might have them.. At 
 London, they fell into a curfory good Fellowfhip, I mean in a civil 
 Senfe ; for, every Thurfday Night, the Meeting was at Sir Dudley 
 North's in the City, and, on Sunday, with his Brother at his Chambers 
 In the 'Temple ; but, at his Lord (hip's, almoft every Day. Which Fe- 
 licity had no Allay until the Appointments were known, and then 
 fome Friends at large would find them out, which was not fo well. 
 
 In the Country, his Lordfhip entertained himfelf with fetting his His Thought- 
 great Houfe in order ; and although he was afraid of Building, left he ^finfflS 
 might find himfelf engaged in over expenfive Undertakings, yet he ven- his great l S 
 tured upon a large Order of Stabling, very ftately and convenient ; , H ^ e - 
 and he built from the Ground a withdrawing Room and back Stairs, 
 and finimed up the Rooms of State, as they were called, and fhaped 
 the Windows, which, before, had made the Rooms like Bird Cages, 
 He never would hearken to any Defigns of Waterworks, or Garden- 
 ing, although the Situation was hilly, and, in fome Refpecls, very 
 inviting. But yet his Brothers were always meafuring and mapping > 
 and thefe modellings pleafed his Lordfhip to look over and wrangle 
 with them about. 
 
 He was a very indulgent Matter to his Servants, and never parted His indul- 
 with any but for Knavery (when it appeared to him) and of that I f^Vtl 
 knew but one Inftance ; but that was a flagrant one. When he was 
 Solicitor General, he took one Jobn Zacharias Smarthwait,, a Fellow 
 of good Addrefs, and creditable, and made him his chief Clerk. When 
 the Town of Taunt on- Dean renewed their Charter, this forward Fel- 
 low got to be employed in it : He impofed upon their Credulity, pre- 
 tending much Service by his Attendance upon Mr. Attorney, and, in the 
 End, cheated them of 200 /. His Lordmip neither allowed nor knew 
 of any fuch Trading ; and it no fooner came to his Knowledge, but he 
 drove him away as an Infection y leaving him to the Town to worry as 
 they thought fit; but he was fecure in being worth nothing. How- 
 ever they had a Revenge ; for he died a Beggar, and crippled with the 
 Pox in White-Fryers. His Lordfhip's Indulgence to Servants coft him, 
 very dear; for moil of them were but Eye- waiters, and diligent only, 
 for fear of lofing their Places, otherwife negligent and wafteful. And 
 he ufed to complain that he could not turn away an unprofitable Ser- 
 vant, without being urged as if he went about to ruin the Fellow. 
 
 Hk Lady had much of the fame good Nature, and did all die could His Lady's 
 that the old Servants might not think Tne wrought any Thing prejudi- f n " 
 cial to them; and when his Lordmip mentioned any Defign of Reform nc f s . 
 amongft them, (he would fay No ; for then they would be ivarfe than 
 they were before. She had found out when her Hufband had any 
 Trouble upon his Spirits 5. and (he would fay, Come y Sir Francis, (as
 
 ne LIFE of the late 
 
 fhe always ftylcd him) you flail not think ; we imi/1 talk, and be merry, 
 and you (hall not look upon the Fire as you do. I know fimething. trou- 
 bles you; and I-will not have itfo. With many foch obliging 
 tunities, (he put him out of his Dumps. And thefe kind .. 
 offended him, as morofe Perfons are often offended ; 1 
 fponded with chearful and engaging Replies And c 
 he was always tenderly concerned for her m all her 
 that her Infirmities were not of one, but of two And 
 fulted and conferred with her Phyficians about her Regimen, in - 
 to better Health. And, in the furnifcing her with Jewels, Plate, c 
 Furniture, he always complied with her Defires ; which, Circumftances 
 confidered were not at all unreafonable. 
 
 s Aft a' competent Time, his Lordftip was not without Though s 
 of matching himfelf again; and Beadrolls of Reafons /*' 
 fented themfelves to his Mind, which took up no toal 
 ieft and thereupon, with a clear Satisfeftion to determine; and at 
 faft the Negative carried it. The chief Reafon, which he declared, 
 was tt he "would not have two Broods in his Famdy to P-^m, 
 and endanger the bringing Difad vantages upon his Children by the hi 
 Venter And thereupon he lived a virtuous Widower, without Scan- 
 IT and much to hi. Honour, all the reft of his Life. But afterwards, 
 1 his laft sTcknefs, while he was drinking the Waters, he feemed to 
 repent hat he had not taken a Wife -, for then he thought that fuch 
 aFrkndwould have inftrufted him in a better Regimen o fHe alth 
 L letting Hood, and taking Phyfick fometimes which he : had not 
 done for many Years, and might have prevented his Fever. B 
 fid he fancied that, in the Night, human Heat was friendly. 
 
 the Dodor But then, 
 
 upol When after his Lordflrip's Death, the Apothecary e B.U was 
 paid; the Man, irritated with the Exe cutors Expoftula ,ons , abot tb 
 Prices and the length of it, laid all the Fault upon the Phyficians 
 favtne he ^ to di/penfe -what they preferred; and that my Lord 
 2^r had been all hi! Life an Enemy to Phyjick -, but now he thought 
 .that Phyfick had met -with him. 
 
 After
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 
 
 After his Lordfhip had the Great Seal, his Oeconomy in London was 
 very much altered. He had his Stables adjoining to his Houfe, anc [ - 
 a formal (good for nothing) Matter of the Horfe ; but he was an old 
 Cavalier, and a Neighbour and Acquaintance of the Wroxton Family, 
 and could fmoak, and tafte Claret ; which Qualifications fupplied Care 
 and Skill in his Office. There was a Major-domo, or, rather, Prefect 
 of Eating ; and having a good Stroke of his own, was fit for the Em- 
 ployment. His Table, which comprifed the Gentlemen Servants, 
 was kept in good Order; but the inferior Servants ate like Harpies -at 
 the Catch, and, to fay Truth, moft fcandaloufly. Thofe, whofe Of- 
 fice it was to obferve them, gave themfelves no Trouble with fuch 
 Matters ; and his Lordfhip knew nothing thereof. What fell in his 
 View, which was the Butler's and Waiter's Offices, was very well 
 performed. He had one Gentleman Waiter who was of a fingular 
 Character ; he was an arrant Coxcomb, void almoft of common Senfe, 
 and yet the moft exquifite Obferver of his Duty in all formal Refpecls. 
 He w.is as fure at Call as the Door-pott. I never knew any one at the 
 Table look, as wanting any Thing, that he had not inftantly in his 
 Eye, and readily ferved. And to give one Inftance for all, to fhew 
 the Top of his Formality: In travelling, if he were detached upon a 
 Mcfilge he did not turn and go off diredly, but rode before, and 
 planted himfelf as making a Guard till the Coach went by, and then 
 made his Devoir; as much as to fay, I obferve your Commands-, and 
 have you any more ? With thefe Obfervances he got Credit with his 
 Lord and all the Family ; and dying, as he did, of a Pieurify, was 
 accounted a Lofs not eafily fupplied. His Lordfhip's Cuttom was 
 after Dinner to retire with his Company, which were not a few, and 
 of the beft Quality in Town, into a withdrawing Room ; and the 
 . Tea-table followed, where his youngeft Brother officiated ; and him 
 his Lordfhip often fet at the Head of his Table, for want of a Lady, 
 to carve. His Suppers were in another Room, and ferved in a more 
 familiar Way, and where his beft Friends, and fome (painted) Ene- 
 mies ordinarily affembled. And this he thought the beft Refremment 
 the whole Day afforded him; and before twelve, he retired, and, after 
 a Touch of his Mufick, went to Bed : His Mufician not leaving him 
 till he was cc/mpofed. So that never any Perfon had more allured Wit- 
 lie fifes of his Converfation, than he had ; and if ever Mufick was a 
 Relief to a Mind overwhelmed with Troubles, it was fo with him. 
 
 Hitherto of his Lordfhips Retiredments, but chiefly within his pri- 
 vate Oeconomy, Relations, and Servants ; without looking into the 
 Public, and as if he had nothing to do there ; which, perhaps, may 
 have led us to touch upon Circumftances lefs proper to be noted in a 
 Life of his Importance, But, now, I muft cafhier all thofe Matters, 
 
 and.
 
 The LIFE of -the late 
 
 and retire with his Lordfhip into his Solitudes and fhew him there as 
 he was both a moral Philofopher, and a good Chnihan incefiantly la- 
 bouring to improve the Faculties of his Mmd and alfo to coerce all 
 Exorbitances as' well of his Inclinations as Paffions And if we find 
 any real Symptoms of his prudent, faithful, and (I had almoft faid) 
 prophetic Speculations, regarding either himfe f, or the ' Conte- 
 quences of his Employments, we (hall lay hold, and make the belt 
 we can of them, and (ay with Virgil. 
 
 . Paulo Majora canamus. 
 
 So I proceed to note his Lordfhip's Manner of direft and reflex think- 
 ing, a P nd what Endeavours, as well as Artifices, he ufed to keep h 
 Mind at eafe, his Judgment ftedy, and, when wavering, to confir 
 
 "' His Lordfhip wasfenfible of many natural Infirmities. I have alrea- 
 mentioned h^s innate Modefty, and how apt he .was to Paffion ,, ,nd 
 
 oany Offence, to inflame; and more than ^.y c 
 he amorous- Not forgetting that, coming into the World with little m 
 p ef^nt and nothing S expeaed from his Family, he was very felicitous 
 of keeping within Compafs, and then to improve his Fortunes And 
 vet he broke through his Temper, and acquired a commendable Aflu- 
 
 Paffions to fuch a Degree as made him be 
 
 rance and kept under his 
 
 " 
 
 over hs Temper, but withal, i. That when he fell under any Deli- 
 e fct down the Truths that ought to confirm h,m ; and fo upon Oc- 
 
 Inner- Man, his Excellencies, and Impcifcftions.
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. JZI 
 
 neffes: For when he perceived the Rifing of them, he took up -his 
 Speculum, which foon reduced them. Of thefe Speculums he had 
 many that lay loofe about his Defk; and hut few of them are come 
 to my Hand : And fome of fuch as I have, I (hall prefent as Speci- 
 mens. 
 
 His Lordmip, by certain Symptoms, obferved fome Mifchief brew- Reflections 
 ing at Court, which drew him to fet down thefe Notes, that he might u P*Paf- 
 often reflect upon them. fage at Court. 
 
 Why haftened ? j What tlie Matter was > which occafion'd this 
 
 3 Quere, I cannot remember, nor, with clear Sa- 
 
 tisfaftion, guefs. Probably it was the Reform of the Council, whereby 
 
 the Lord Shaft/bury, and all the Malecontents were let in. Perhaps 
 
 the following may explain it. 
 
 For that ImprerTions, made 7 It was ufual for the perverfe Party at 
 at Newmarket^ fliould not s Court, when the King was to be 
 be removed here. j wrought upon to do fomewhat crofs 
 
 to the Miniftry, to befiege him at Newmarket, where they (the Mi- 
 nifters) did not attend, and, having gain'd a Refolution, at the Re- 
 turn, to precipitate the Difpatch, leit better Advice mould alter it. 
 This feems to have been at the vernal Meeting, and agrees with the 
 former Conjecture j for the Experiment was tried not long before the 
 Meeting of the abhorring Parliament. 
 
 His Lordfhip follows this with thefe Queries. 
 
 Why fuch a Stir to 1 It was forefeen that the Parliament would be Queries 
 oppofe Petitions? 3 very fevere againft the Anti- petitioners ; and 
 who fhould be moved to oppofe them, but fuch as were already ob- 
 noxious? And that Courfe was moft like to expofe them to the Fury of 
 the Parliament. And this was an hopeful Way to have the King's 
 Friends torn from him. 
 
 Why muft Judges be com- 9 This was noted elfewhere j where it 
 
 manded to di (countenance V is remember'd that the Earl of Sun- 
 
 one, and to (hew a Diverfity ? j derland (always in dark Practices) in 
 
 the abhorring Vacation, order'd the Judges as here is queried; and, 
 
 withal, to declare that the Laws of Recufancy mould not extend to 
 
 Proteftant Di/enters. 
 
 Why Commiffions purged ? That is for being concern'd with the 
 upon that Point? 3 Petitioners, or, at leaft, not being active 
 
 in oppofing Petitions. 
 
 Why Corporations 1 Thefe Oaths were proper for Officers in Cor- 
 held to the Oaths ? 3 porations ; but it was required they mould be 
 preiled upon all Freemen, contrary to Law. 
 
 S s Why
 
 The LIFE of the late 
 
 Why were Commiffions ^ When the Charter Juftices would not, 
 of AfTociation prefled j ( as they feldom would, do their Duty a- 
 and the Bailing of the f gainft Sectaries, and feditious Perfons, it 
 Earl of Danby ? ) was urged that the King fhould aflbciate 
 
 other Juftices out of the Country, by fpecial Commiffion, to fit and ad 
 in the Corporation with them. I do not remember that any of thefe 
 iflued ; but the Legality of them was more than fufpe&ed ; and they 
 would have malecontented the Corporations, having the Claufe ne in- 
 tromittant, in the higheft Degree. And, as to the bailing of the Earl 
 of Danby , who lay committed upon an Impeachment by the Parlia- 
 ment, it was urged that it fhould be done by the Oyer and Terminer 
 at the Old Bailey. His Lordfhip was of Opinion it could not be 
 done. 
 
 Caufa Patet. \ All thefe Matters were extraordinary and ir- 
 The Reafon is plain. J regular, but would have been Matter of fu- 
 rious Blame in the Houfe of Commons, and fallen hard upon the 
 King's forward Friends. And that was it which his Lordmip under- 
 ftands to have been the Intent of the Earl of Sunder/and and others that 
 pufh'd them ; and not a little pointing to aggravate his Cafe in Parlia- 
 ment. But this will appear more luculently in the next. 
 
 Why muft I difcharge the Jury ^ It was forefeen that the Ignoramus 
 for Fear of a Prefentment; and Jury, at the Seflions, would pre- 
 fuch ado about the Sheriff of 1 fent the Duke of York as a Popijb 
 London, and Application to dif- I Recufant. To prevent this, by 
 charge others after ill Ex. and >a Difcharge of the Grand Jury, 
 Rec r . put K. upon it, and Sec. I j would have drawn an Accufation ; 
 come of that Mefs. I as, for the like, the Judges of the 
 
 Caufa eadem. King's Bench, were impeach'd. 
 
 The Reafon is the fame. j His Lordmip put by this indif- 
 
 creet, or rather treacherous, Pafs, and let the Prefentment come, and 
 then it was immediately removed by a Cerfiorari, which did not af- 
 ford any Matter of Charge. The Stir about the Sheriff of London, I 
 fuppofe, was the Order to reform the Pannel, noted in the Examen ; 
 which was much Squeak and no Wool, but an impertinent Contention 
 to no Profit. And that Order was managed and carried by his Lord- 
 fhip, and fome of the Pannel difcharged j which he thought of no 
 good Example, and deems that the Recorder ye fries, and the Secre- 
 tary Sunderland, put the King upon infifting that, not being agairift 
 Law, it mould be done, and alfo that thofe Courtiers intended by it to 
 heap Coals of Fire upon his Lordfhip's Head. 
 
 To
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. . 
 
 To make Electors take the ^ This of Oaths was touched be* 
 
 Corporation Oath, and charge / fore } but this brings it to the Par- 
 
 the Judges to fee good Juries > liament j which would have been 
 
 of Anti-petitioners, and Scru- I termed downright packing the Par- 
 
 tiny afterwards. J liament, though, as to Choice, it 
 
 had fignified nothing: For, at that Time, the Temper of the Public 
 
 would not admit a Choice fair for the Crown ; and thefe Provocations 
 
 did but exafperate the ill Humour : And the Charge to the Jury was 
 
 an egregious Trapan ; but fruftrated, as hath elfewhere been noted. I 
 
 am not fatisfied as to the Meaning of Scrutiny afterwards. Perhaps 
 
 it intends an Enquiry into the Behaviour of the Judges, and who 
 
 obey'd Orders, and who not. 
 
 This following PafTage is fomewhat remarkable, and therefore I mall A remarkable 
 infert it here. 
 
 Mich. SIT Edward Hale*. } Jhis &*# Knight was a Man of 
 
 3 florid Parts, and had made fome undue 
 
 Advantage in dealing with one of the Sons of Mt.Lechmere, a Bencher 
 of the Middle-Temple. This was referred to hisLordfhip; who, find- 
 ing the Cafe foul on the Part of Hales, determined agairift him. But, 
 at this Time, Hales, though fomewhat concealed, was no better than a 
 Papift, and had engaged all the Court Intereft, of that Party, to urge 
 in his Favour; which gave his Lordfhip no fmall Trouble, and occa- 
 fion'd this Remembrance of him, intended to be explain'd at Leifure. 
 After his Majefty's Demife, this Sir Edward Hales declared himfelf a 
 Paptft, and was a bufy Agent in managing the Projects of that Party 
 in Kent. 
 
 His Lordfliip had fome Affairs upon his Hands, which were difficult Difficulties 
 to manage ; and thofe he noted under the Title Dr^fci/fo, or Difficulties. bomtheGr 
 w r D r I That is an Addition of 2000 /. per Annum 
 3n ' 3 more; for the Lord Nottingham had 4000 /. 
 per Annum which, to his Lordfhip, was fcrewed down to 2000 /. on 
 Pretence of depending on the King's Bounty rather than Bargain. And 
 it feems he had an Intent to have moved on this Head ; which was a 
 difficult Matter fora Non-Courtier to undertake. 
 
 Controverfy inter Grands, E. of Rochejier ~\ This was about the 
 and M. Hallifax. Difputes among the ( Contract with the Far- 
 Great Ones; E. of ' Rocbejter and M. Hat- C mers of the Excife and 
 lijax. *-_- . J Hearth Money ; of 
 
 which before. 
 
 After the King's Demife, and his Brother James fucceeded, his Lord- Reflexions 
 {hip was overwhelmed with Sorrow; and however commonly he was 
 ufed to give Vent to his Troubles, and, by Converfe with his nearefl 
 
 S s 2 Friends,
 
 ; 3 24 The LIFE, of the late 
 
 Friends, eafe his Mind, now, it was too full, and he held it in to his 
 great Oppreffion, and exprefleth himfelf in his Memento thus. 
 
 Ne redintegretur Planffius, & Contemplation HisLordfhipfawno 
 dolor -ofa, & Gemitus maximi & continui, &Pa- \ End of Evils that im- 
 vor erga omnia y & T'orpor , & Infomnia. I pended on this change, 
 
 Let me not difquiet my felf afrem with la- | and here tries to eafe 
 mentable and melancholy Apprehenlions of ^his Mind upon his Pa- 
 
 what may happen ; or renew thofe exceffive and 
 continued Groans, attended with Fear on every 
 
 per in this pathetic 
 Prefer iption. 
 
 , ,. r ... 
 
 dedit occafwnem oftmam, 
 
 Side, which break my Reft, and even deprive 
 me of my Senfes. 
 
 This refpeds his Purpofe of quit- 
 P ^^ JP^ * 
 
 on f t ^ . Demife, or 
 <nim ejl mm* breve, & fubtto tran- jn ^ Time rf ^^ ^^ . 
 
 J' ' , , . r ui <-i ' when that Purpofe was confirmed 
 
 God has given a favourable Op- x h and J M wha ^ 
 
 portunity which rnuft not be let . Execution, doth not 
 
 n. ps for the Comfort I fhallhav^P . h . ', Jn _ 
 
 ,s but for a l.ttle wh.le, and w.ll ^ tQ th|nk ^^ apd (he 
 foon pafs away. ^ J Occafion w have ben his Weak _ 
 
 nefs which moft was fenfible to him at that Time: And then he reflects 
 on the Confequence. 
 
 ., ~^* j . r.i r 
 
 Semper idem ; Otium dat Obfer- 
 
 ^tionemQ pafdt Llcne,n. Never 
 
 the better ; Leifure does but give 
 
 u- i j r j ..u c 1 
 time to thmk,and feeds the Spleen. 
 
 from himfelf, but his Thoughts will follow him ; and if he has not 
 Troubles from without, to divert, he will have more Attention to 
 himfelf j and fplenetic Humour, of which his Lordfhip was afraid, 
 will arife. But, for an inward Comfort, as he was, he contrived this 
 Speculum entitled, 
 
 This Reflection is very pro- 
 
 r . . X7 . > 
 
 f or . ]t 1S a . Y IU 5' to ~ 
 *** "' n g ^dto 
 
 World ; for the Cafe w ill be fb I 
 ^ fam ' e _ A Man cannot run 
 
 Bene. 
 
 Condltlo aptiffima. 
 
 Honor augens & Divitiae. 
 Reverentia untverfa. 
 
 Stciaat exoptata. 
 
 Negotium continuo dtver- 
 tens. 
 
 Well. 
 
 Encreafe of Credic and Riches. 
 Univerfally refpedted. 
 
 The , D ' firea " e Com P an y of his Brothers 
 
 and rriends. 
 
 Kept in full Employ by the Bufmefs of his 
 Place. 
 
 Bene-
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 32; 
 
 Beneftcentiame xercetu. Doin S Good > to his Friends and Ser- 
 vants. 
 
 Modejlia laudata. Approved Modefty. 
 
 The next is a Speculum of all the Evils that may happen, with the 
 apt Remedies applicable to them ; and this he titled Speculum Mag- 
 num. 
 
 Quid Caufie ? What is there to make me uneafy? 
 
 Inopia ? Satis quodfufficit, aut nunquam. 
 
 Want ? Enough, now or never. 
 
 Oner a ? Corpus fanum, fit ita mens. 
 
 Difficulties ? Sound in Body, let me keep my Mind fo. 
 
 Mefus ? Objeftum nullum nifi Pbantafma 
 
 Fear ? Nothing but Fancy to affright me. 
 
 Infamia ? Notus es, & expetfatio vera. 
 
 T^T , , ? They knew you, and you have not balked their 
 
 j-x ii2[rticc r T~"* r*i 
 
 Expectation. 
 
 Pudor ? Irrationabilis, & abigendm. 
 
 Shamefacednefs ? Unreafonable, and to be drove away,. 
 
 Solitudo? Remedium amarius, 
 
 Solitude ? Worfe than the Difeafe. 
 
 Senetfus ? Levamine indiget ? 
 
 Old Age? That wants. Support. 
 
 His Lordmip perceived plainly that the adverfe Party were letting speculum re 
 up Jeffries to fupplant him, and gave him all Encouragement to be fpefting b 
 troublefome; which, as his Lordmip thought, might induce his giving Succe ' 
 Way to make Room for him. And regarding that Cafe, his Lordmip 
 wrote this, and titled it, Speculum alter. 
 
 Null. Pavor de Penur. Thefe feem fome- 
 
 Not afraid of being in want. whatcomparativcj 
 
 Null. Reproach pro Ebrietat. for Jeffries was 
 
 Not reproached for Drunkennefs. tainted with all 
 
 Null. Magdalen Compl. thefe. 
 No Ways concerned in the Complaints from 
 Magdal. College. 
 
 His Lordmip framed another Speculum, refpefting a private State, 
 which had Place in his Soliloquies, and is entitled, Speculum Ter- 
 tium. 
 
 ~... . 7 After all the Advantages he could 
 
 Optimum ret,re. ( f himfdf . h; ^ >9 
 
 It may be beft to retire. ^^ a .^ ^ ^ [ afcft 
 beft.
 
 'The LIFE of the late 
 
 turbatio ben* interpret. } , The Diflurbance he found in his 
 
 My Confufion would admit ofUttent.on and Countenance wh.ch 
 
 . favourable Interpretation. ( 1S touched elfewhere, would have 
 
 jno ill Conftruclion, as he thought 
 it might have upon the Bench. 
 
 Satis quodfufficit. ? Non-Encreafe of Wealth, no Griev- 
 I have fufficient. ance while he had fufticient. 
 
 Colbert pro Pofteris. 1 This great Favourite, under Difgrace, 
 Let Poflerity think of Mr. > was very ill ufedj and let that concern 
 Colbert. 3 his Succeffors; as for himfelf. 
 
 Fouquet pro Prefenf. 1 Difgraced alfo, and dealt ill with; 
 As for the Prefent, let Fou- > but then turned loofe to mift for him- 
 quet be an Example. ) felf. 
 
 ~ ., . , - 7 Here his Lordmip accufeth himfelf for 
 
 %tftd timendum? C f the Inftanccs of thefe difgraced Mi- 
 
 What have I to fear ? ^.^ who aaed high ^ M ^ Qf ^ 
 
 and War, and might be obnoxious. But he afted in a confined Poft, 
 and having a good Conference, and nothing of male Adminiftration, 
 or Corruption, to be laid to his Charge, what had he to be afraid of? 
 
 D fta j r a i If he were unfit for a Court Sta- 
 
 fromtus , & omnes Jefeflus). as hg fuf aed himfdf 
 
 anteapparuerunt W they muft needs know it be! 
 
 They promoted you, and knew^^J h dM th notlethim 
 
 all your Failings before. ^^ ^ ^^ hjm ? This , ays 
 
 his own Failings at their Door. 
 
 * c x /:o T j ou- r T *) It was obvious that this bringing 
 26 Sept. 1684, Lord Chief TU-/CV /r r j u- 
 
 ftice of theCabinet Council, mach>>f^H d ' ^ S . tO ^ e P ar . e h ' m 
 to my Eafe and Relief. V to fucceed his Lordfhip, then, by the 
 
 7 nfing Party, refolved to be laid afide 
 
 to make Way for him. But the King had no fuch Thought, and, if 
 he had lived a little longer, he had broke all their Schemes. 1 heard 
 his Lordmip fay, that he took an Opportunity to thank his Majefty for 
 the Eafe he gave him, in this Pafs, as to advifing his Majefty in Mat- 
 ters of Law ; but he did not fay that the King made him any Anfwer. 
 
 But as to the Motion for pardoning all Recufants, mentioned elfe- 
 where, the Jobb for which Jeffries was efpecially introduced, and 
 which was (fmgly) oppofed by his Lordmip, I find a Paper in which 
 his Reafons are concifely expreffed. 
 
 Papifts, 2 Otfober 1684. 
 
 " There is no Need (for fuch Pardon) for, if they are not punimed, 
 they will be envied, not being Sheriffs, Juitices, Deputy-Lieutenants, 
 " Jurors, &c. 
 
 "The
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 
 
 ft The Punimments are but three, i. Premunire. 2. Thirds. 3. 
 Difability upon Convictions. 
 
 " They avoid the firft by bribing Gaolers, Under-Sheriffs, and Bai- 
 liffs, fo that they are not in Prifon. And, 2. Nothing being found, 
 " nothing is levied. 
 
 " And, 3. They may be brought under Difability at the Suit of a 
 " common Perfon. 
 
 " This will difcontent the Gentry, and make them lean on the 
 " other Side. 
 
 " Their Hearts cannot be loft ; but mould ferve chearfully : Elfe, 
 " the whole Ufe of the Law is loft -, for they are Sheriffs, &c. 
 
 " If the Gentry are difcontented, the Rabble will quickly be poi- 
 " foned by Preachers, &c. 
 
 " And then what will Force fignify, though not oppofed ? If they 
 " are curfed, whenever any Diforder comes upon them they pay for it. 
 
 " A Revolt of the leaft Part, to the Temper of the People, prevails 
 " againft all the reft. Any foreign War, or remote Rebellion, will 
 " bring it. 
 
 <c Be no more angry with Superi- ^This is a prudent Memento for 
 " ors for not doing as you ad vife,/Counfellors of State, to keep down 
 " than they are for your not advi- S-Anger and Difcontent, when their 
 <c fing what they would have done. ( Advice, though moft falutary, 
 
 J is not taken. 
 
 In the Parliament in the Reign of King James II. the Experiment Of the reft 
 was tried whether the Commons would allow military Officers to ferve Laws ' and 
 without taking the Tefts againft Popery ; which was, with a Temper, ^ 'huTord- 
 refufed : For it was offered to difpenfe in particular (by Name) but flap's 
 not in general. The Tendency of the Court was to have the Teft J^f of 
 Laws wholly fet afide j for which this, of the military Men, was to 
 have been an Overture to let in the reft. But this Refufai made it 
 improbable that the Parliament would ever be brought to it. Where- 
 upon followed the Point whether the Parliament fnould be prorogued, 
 or diffolved. The defperate Party were for diffolving, and ufing means 
 to procure Elections that mould be better inclined^ and, if that failed, 
 to do it by his Majefty's Authority, and ihifting without any Parlia- 
 ment at all. And what follow'd afterwards, viz. of Cloietting, Re- 
 gulating, Gfc. the Hiftories muft (hew. In the mean time, his Lord' 
 mip's Counfel, not to diffolve at prefent, but to prorogue, was taken ; 
 and abfolutely contrary to his Counfel, the Parliament was at laft dif- 
 fqlved. Which Pafs was, in Confequence, as Matters : were- carried, 
 the Ruin of King James II. But, in the working of thefe Matters, 
 his Lordmip difcerned plainly a Deiign to change the Government. 
 Which gave his Lordfhip many melancholy Reflections j and a . as hash 
 
 beea
 
 jzS The LIFE of the late 
 
 been .(hewed elfewhere, difpofed biro, once for all, to be free with 
 his Majefty, and (hew him his Danger ; which he did, and, in a Scrap 
 of Paper, hath preserved his Reafons under a Title ;taken out of the 
 Arcadiadel Carpio. 
 
 enjiamenos meos I ^^ Thoughts walking by myfelf without Fear. 
 
 1. Queftion of Right jThis refers to the Parliament, and the Tri- 
 is moft plain, iij. 5 en nial Adi. 
 
 2. Condemnation of ")For all antecedent Paffages, as the Stop of 
 pail Adlions for not >the Exchequer, Indulgences, Dutch War, 
 doing it. ^French Alliances, Gfc. for which the Fadlion 
 had formerly calumniated the Court, will be again ripped up, and charged 
 as a continued Defign of arbitrary Power. 
 
 3. Indifferent Men loft, 7 Thefe were fuch as were not attached to 
 and thofe the Gentry. j the Court, but followed -for Duty and 
 public Good. 
 
 4. They will be a Torrent ^The Clamour upon breaking the Trien- 
 irrefiftable. Better an Ague/ nial Adi. The Ague may mean fome 
 than a Fever. j Difcontents and Differences with the 
 Parliament fitting ; but the Fever is the Difcontent of the whole Peo- 
 ple without Parliaments. 
 
 5. Old Law not clear in } The old Law was that there mould be a 
 the Intent, yet Foundation^ Parliament every Year, or oftener if Need 
 of the Triennial Adi, odi-^ required. This was once let up to diflblve 
 ous, this is pofitive. jthe Long Parliament whether they would 
 or no; which the Parliament refented, and fent four Lords to the 
 Tower j as the Hiftories of the Time, and particularly the Examen, 
 will (hew. By the Odious is meant the Triennial Adi in the Reign of 
 King Charles I. when, for Failure of Writs, Officers, down to Con- 
 ilables, were to fummon a Parliament ; but, as fettled in the Reign of 
 Charles II. it is enacted pofitive for three Years, without Ifs or Ands 
 to colour a difcretionary Power. 
 
 6. How comes Pofture ) This is oppofed to the Pretenfe of the Cour- 
 to be good, but by being > tiers, ^/^.that now the Nation was in a Po- 
 in the Right? ^fture of firm Loyalty to the Crown, and 
 would digeft any Thing ; but his Lordfhip thought that what Right 
 had built, Wrong would deftroy. 
 
 7. , No Strength, nor Juftice, ) When the People fide with the Crown, 
 when the People are poiloned,( it is ftrong againfl Sedition: Elfe that 
 .and the Income depends upon( will foon grow up into Rebellion, and 
 it. Nthe Magiftrates will be flow to adl, 
 
 and Juries will be unruly ; which would many Ways affect the Reve- 
 nue. 
 
 8. Faaion
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 
 
 8. Faction will unite upon j Sects, oppofite to each other, will all 
 this Point, and prefs nothing^unite in this ; and the loyal Church- 
 elfe ; and they will have fuch^Party, the Nobility and Gentry, will 
 company as will be hard to V all join Forces in a Matter fo popu- 
 refift. J lar. 
 
 9. This will be a (landing To- -The good Will, lofl by forbearing 
 pick, and a continual Claim; and /Parliaments, will not be recovered 
 it can never be imputed as a Fa- >by granting them, but remain as 
 vour to have it. \Poifon in a Wound which will not 
 
 3 readily heal. 
 
 This Paper may have been out of the Wayj and his Lordfhip wrote Another Pa- 
 upon another to the fame Intent, but more explicit. P er to the 
 
 1. Right is plain, pofitive )That, which made the Crown fo firm fa 
 by new Law; prevail hither- > at this Time, was the having done the 
 to by being right. 3 People Right as to Parliaments. The 
 People were found to take Part with the Crown, even againfl the Par- 
 liament, when that acted exorbitantly. 
 
 2. Their Actions juftified, ? But if there be Differences between the 
 and yours condemned. Crown and Parliament, and, thereupon, 
 Parliaments are difcontinued, the People will juflify the Actions of the 
 Parliament however unreafonable, and allow no Reafon for the Dif- 
 continuance. 
 
 3. Torrent of the People 9 This was fatally proved by his Majeily 
 irrefiftible. Neither Laws^-when his Army revolted ; of which this 
 nor Arms can prevail. _> was a Prophecy. 
 
 4. Faaion will unite, and. Seebefo 
 have all on their bide. j 
 
 5. They will prefs no- 1 Whatever Matters of Difcon tent have Place 
 thing but this; and all o->with the People, they will fay nothing of 
 ther Things muft yield. )them, but urge for a Parliament ; and, that 
 obtained, all other Grievances will break forth, and no good Humour 
 to be expected. 
 
 6. To diiTolve not difcon-^ When King Cbarlesll. diffolved his Lift 
 tent all, becaufe minor Parts IWeJlminfter Parliament, he called ano- 
 in the Houfe ; and in choo-( ther, at the fame Time, to meet at Ox- 
 fing, they will take part; but fford\ but, at this Time, it feemed not 
 not to call, difcontents every \to be fo intended. Therefore the Dif- 
 Man. ycontent would take place as if there were 
 to be none at all; as had happened, if King Charles had not prevented 
 the Clamour as above. 
 
 T t 7. That
 
 33 o tte- LTFE of tSe late 
 
 j. That is always rightfully 7 That is, the King may rightfully call, 
 done, but not this. 3 or di Solve ; but, iubfift without Par- 
 
 liaments, he may not. 
 
 Another Paper carries fome farther Notes, to the fame Intent, which 
 I fhall not omit. 
 
 j. Whether change the Go- ") It was not pretended that the Go- 
 vernment? Suppofenot. j vernment mould be changed as io 
 Laws, Taxes, &c. But this Note feems to fufpect.it. 
 
 2. If can fubfift againft a ge- ^ This Query isanfwer'd intheNe- 
 
 neralDifcontent? Guards gative. . Guards may revolt. Re- 
 will be no real Help. Re- ^ venue rifeth by Collection from 
 venue difputable and tran- I the common People. And, being 
 fitory ; not like Land, but | moftly temporary, who fhould re- 
 popular. J new it? For it is not like Land, 
 which is not-contentious, and is perpetual. 
 
 3. If caufe Difcontent, | That is, Diicontent is caufed ; whether 
 
 juftly, .or actually? 3 juftly or not,- fo long as it is actually ib, 
 the Effect is the fame. Some Courtiers argued that they were not to 
 regard Difcontents ; for there will be fuch in all Governments} and if 
 there mud: be no Difcontents, there mufb be no Government at -all. 
 But is there no Difference between Difcontents with, and without, juft 
 Caufe? 
 
 4. If difTolving can caufe 7 This may be anfwer'd affirmatively ; 
 
 fuch Difcontents ? 3 for diflblving hath often been counted a 
 Grievance. Then the Argument runs, why fliould you caufe Difcort- 
 tent, if it may be avoided? 
 
 5. WhatConfequence, when 7 
 
 the Parliament doth > Lamentable, 
 meet ? j 
 
 6^ Lamentable; Reflection \ This anfwers the former; and when 
 upon fair Weather and / the Parliament meets, at word, it is 
 Security. Better an ^> but as a Fit of an Ague, a Turn of 
 AgueFitthan a Cale'n- I Cold and Heat, and then fair Wea- 
 ture. J ther, and Security, for a Time ; which 
 
 is better than Calenture without Intermifiion, with Danger of con- 
 cluding in Deiuuction. 
 
 Reafons for It may be thought that much, of thefe Notes here, might have 
 inserting thefe k en fpared, being dark, and the Matter, in fo me Points, repeated. 
 But, confidering that they contained the Subftance of what his Lord- 
 fliip advifed the King, with Refpect to his Safety by Parliaments, 
 and the Nation's Peace, I would not drop any Syllable, that I found 
 wrote by himfelf of the fame Matter, although in a different Phrafe. 
 For the Image of his Lordfhip's interior Thoughts, both as to himfelf 
 
 and
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 
 
 and his Duty to the Public, are here painted in moft lively Colours; 
 the like of which I have not .known to appear in any other written 
 Life. I have ventured to annex a Sort of Comment, but am not fure 
 I have touch'd his intimate Senfe in all Points ; but, having heard him 
 difcourfe over mod of the public Matters, I believe, J am not much 
 out of the Way. 
 
 His Lordmip began to find himfelf decay: And who could hold out 
 long, and ftrenuous, in fuch Deluge of Affairs, and all laid to Hearty 
 and not, as with fome, let pafs ilightingly ? And he began to com- 
 plain of Difturbances, which he term'd the upper flowing of his Blood, 
 in thefe Words, as his Pen left them on a Scrap of Paper. 
 
 Surjum Flux. Sanguinis, qu* ^ This imports more than a Rubor 
 
 Caujam. Pro/pice Finem ; det 
 Deus. Speculum confute. Flux 
 
 in his Countenance, which. he, fome- 
 times, thought too much, but fame 
 
 of the Blood upwards. Qo. ,> Diforder, that he found in his Head, 
 
 the Reafon. Look for your 
 End. God give it. Confult 
 your Speculum. 
 
 imputed to fuch Flux upwards. 
 This, as I take it, was not long be- 
 fore his Fever, and, at that Time, 
 
 letting Blood might have prevented it; but he always was averfe to that 
 Operation, and feldom or never ufed it. I believe here we want a Spe- 
 culum j for thofe, that were found, do not correfpond with this-Cafe. 
 
 I have already mewed that, after his Lordmip had come out of his His Refolu- 
 acute Fever, and labour'd under a confuming Hedtick, he found his on and Pro. 
 Strength continually decay, and refolved to quit the Great Seal and re- 
 tire, hoping that Way to recover his Health ; and wrote to the Earl of 
 Rochefter to .procure him the Favour of his Majefty's Acceptance of it. 
 But the Earl put him off, defiring his Lordmip might continue Keeper^ 
 and be a Skreen to him in leaving off the Popijh Work. And there^ 
 upon .his Lordmip wrote to him the following Letter ; 
 
 My Lord, June n, 1685. 
 
 " T" "TAVING once difcover'd to your Lordmip * the Effed of 
 " ^ Melancholy, you may believe it ftill in my Constitution, and 
 
 " tnmk what I write proceeds from it. But I pray believe that, if 
 " there had not been an apparent Neceflity, Lihould -not have been f& 
 " abrupt, at -fuch a Time, in the Middle of a Parliament. The Truth 
 " is, every Night is a painful Fever to me, and my Stomach wholly 
 " gone; and, having an Opportunity -thefe Holidays to do fomething 
 " towards my Health, I put myfelf into the Hands of a Doclor, who 
 <c affures me of a fpeedy Cure, by entering into a Courfe of Phyfick. 
 <c My Lord, this were nothing if my Strength would ferve me. I 
 " would defer complaining, though with Hazard of my Life. But 
 
 T t 2 my 
 
 * His Petition for Leave to refign the Seals.
 
 33 1 The LIFE of the late 
 
 " my Weaknefs is fuch, and the Pains of my Head fo great, that I can 
 " hardly hold up my Head. I am confident I (hall not be able to do 
 " it many Days. I will b&at the Houfe to Morrow, if I poffibly can, 
 " to wait on your Lordfhip." This produced the Leave his Lordfhip 
 had to retire, with the Seal, to Wroxton, where he died, as has been 
 before related. 
 
 immary Now, to conclude with a fummary Character of his Lordfhip. He 
 
 harafter. was defcended of a noble Family, virtuoufly educated, an early Student 
 in the Law, iignalifed in his firfl Performances, preferred for his Abi- 
 lities ; patted gradually from the meanefl Initiation of Practice, through 
 every Degree of Bufmefs and Preferment in the Law; Court Keeper, 
 Praftifer in the Kings Bench, Chief in his Circuit, King's Counfel, 
 Solicitor General, Attorney General, Chief Juflice of the Common Pleas, 
 Lord Keeper of the Great Seal, and created a Baron : And, in all this 
 Walk, trod upon no Man's Heels; for he enter'd only by Vacancies, 
 and never by ungrateful Removes, and was helpful, and a Friend to 
 thofe whom he fucceeded; efpecially the Lord Nottingham, who al- 
 jnoll own'd him for his SuccefTor. Whilfl he was Chief Juflice, he 
 was taken into the privy Council, and then into the Cabinet. He tra- 
 velled mod Parts of the Kingdom, as Judge in the feveral Circuits, 
 and gain'd the Friendship, I had almofl (and well I might have) faid 
 the Love of the chief Gentry of England, who afterwards flood by him 
 againll diverfe Attempts to remove or difhonour him. And notwith- 
 ftanding his continual Employments in Church and State, and many 
 thought his Room, or rather his Places, worth crouding for; and how- 
 ever, in nice Matters, it is more than human not fometimes to err, yet 
 he flood againfl all as a Rock immoveable ; and nothing was ever found, 
 even by the mofl difcerning of a popular Faction, that* would, or (with 
 Truth) could impeach his Fame, Probity, or Honour. He ferved the 
 Crown fleddily, and according to Law ; and ever gave cogent Reafons in 
 Public for what he did. No Impreffion of Fear, Flattery, or Intereft,did 
 ever taint, or divert his Juflice. In his Perfon, he was modefl to Ex- 
 tremity, and yet, in doing his Duty, enough allured. He was a de- 
 clared Enemy to all Pomp and vain Glory. He was not an Orator, as 
 commonly underflood, that is a Flourifher, but all his Speech was 
 fluent, eafy, and familiar; and he never ufed a Word for Ornament, 
 but for Intelligence only ; and thofe, who heard him fpeak, though in 
 crdinary Converfation, had fcarce Room left to afk any Explication or 
 Enlargement. He was a Lawyer (modeflly fpeaking) not inferior to 
 any of his Time, and knowing in Records and Hiflories, not only of 
 England but, in general. He was Mafler of the European Languages, 
 as French, Italian and Spantfh, and had enter'd into thofe of High 
 and Low Germany. He was adept in natural Philofophy and Mecha- 
 
 nicks,
 
 LORD KEEPER GUILFORD. 
 
 nicks, and no Stranger to the Mathematicks. A Mulkian in Perfecti- 
 on, both practic and fpeculative; being a Performer, Compofer, and 
 (in Print) a Philofopher, as to the mofl recondite Secrets of that Art. 
 He was covetous of nothing more than the Society of the Virtuofos of 
 his Time, as Lely, Mor eland ^ May, Moor, Flamjlead, and others of 
 that Tribe, who all courted him, and embraced his Converfation, and 
 many own'd to profit by his Encouragement and Protection. He was 
 civil and affable to all, and converfed, even with his Enemies, with- 
 out Offence, and hated to be waited upon, when he might give Dil- 
 patch. His Courfe of Life was unexceptionable; no Manner of Vice 
 encouraged, nor by him known, within his Walls. His Diet plain, 
 and Meals hofpitable and profitable. His moft intenfe Study was to 
 amend whatfoever he found amifs and amendable, where his Employ- 
 ments gave him Means, and a Latitude to do it. His Zeal was to do- 
 all the Good he could to his Country; and that he thought bed done, 
 by fupporting the Church and Crown of England in all due and legal 
 Prerogatives; and thereunto he adhered during all his Life; and no 
 Motive whatfoever made him fwerve. Whatever he did in Publick 
 was legal and effectual, without any affected Luftre, or Handles to 
 Fame, if he could avoid them. No Wonder he is fo foon forgot. He 
 never had, nor afked, for Profit, any Boons of his Majefty ; and, at 
 the End, left but a moderate Eftate to his Children, which one would 
 think mould have been, by common Profits, much more: But thereby 
 he demonftrated that Corruption had no Share in what he left. In 
 fhort, he had a virtuous Difpofition, orderly and regular Courfe of 
 Life, void of all Pride and Affectation ; the utmoft Regard for Truth 
 and Right ; a vaft Extent of Skill in the Law and national Conftitu- 
 tion, and Knowledge of Men and the World ; the Love and Efteern 
 of the Beft; Impartiality in his Juftice, and Dexterity in the Forms 
 and Adminiftration of it ; Senfe of his Duty, publick and private, 
 with Induftry and Affection duly to perform it; he was patient in 
 hearing, mode ft in determining; compaffionate in Severities; orthodox 
 and exemplary in the eftablimed Church, and averfe to all its Ene- 
 mies; for all which, he had a vifible temporal Reward; and that is 
 dying as he lived, without Stain or Diminution of his Honour, Autho- 
 rity, or Greatnefs, in the Height of which he left the World. This 
 Character, which I have here given, is not out of Opinion, Rumour, 
 or any Means of Fame whatever, but the Refult of my own perfonal 
 Knowledge and Proof; and, at the Hour of Death, I can veritably 
 fwear to every Article of it. 
 
 INDEX
 
 I N D E X. 
 
 ACQUAINTANCE, Ufe of it at the Inns 
 or Court, 45 . 
 Acqy :TTANCE, one that was forged, 
 
 discovered, and how, 113. 
 ACTS, of Pjiliament; how his Lordfhip ma- 
 naged, when he wou'd carry any Thing of 
 that Nature, 110. Of the vetera Stxtuta, 
 ibid. 
 ALsoF, Saying of his to Solon, at the Court of 
 
 Craefus, 228. 
 ANGLESEY, Earl of, his Friendfiiip with Sir 
 
 Peter Pet, 50. 
 
 APOTHECARY. Spying of him that his Lord- 
 ihip made Ufe of, to the Executor?, when 
 they found Fault with the Bill, 318. 
 AUI.STOCRASY, Property of it, 39. 
 ASSERTIONS, fome impudent ones of the Fac- 
 
 ticn, 189. 
 
 ATKINS, Judge, begins a Speech in Oppofition 
 to his Lordfnip ; but, before he has done, 
 comes round into the fame Sentiment, 184. 
 Oppofesh'm in the Difpofition of a Protho- 
 notary's Place, ikid. 
 ATTORN i ES, Cofts not allow'd them in Pro- 
 
 pri:iws, and why, 101. 
 AUBREY, Mr. fome Account of him, 285. 
 AUTHOR, the Engagements he had to this 
 Work, and the Means he ufcd to perform ir, 
 q. His Method, 10. \Vhy he has been fo 
 particular, in the Character cf Sir Matths.:v 
 Hales, 69. His Apology for being fo minute 
 about the Matters of Bedin;field and Wright, 
 249. His Opinion of the Root of his Lord- 
 frnp.'s Diftemper. 274. HisReafons for infert- 
 ir.g fome particular Notes of Things, which 
 his Lordlhip Lit behind him, 330.. 
 
 B. 
 
 BAKER., Mr. a Solicitor in Chancery ; fome Ac- 
 count of him, 24." 
 
 BALLAST, Wharfs, fome Account of them, 137. 
 
 BARBER, Mr. an Oxfcrdflrirt Gentleman, Saying 
 of his to a Lady, 265. 
 
 BARE BONES. Dr. Sayig of his about the Lord 
 Keeper North, 2OO. 
 
 BAROMETERS, how they came to be fold in 
 Shops, 295. 
 
 BEAUXORT, Duke of, his princely Oeconomy, 
 132. Manner of educating his Children, 
 134- 
 
 BEDINCFIELD, Serjeanr, Character of him, 246. 
 Pitched upon to be a Judge by his Lordftiip, 
 ibid. Threaten'd by Jeffries, if he applied to 
 Lord Keeper North, and not to him, ibid. 
 Leaves my Lord Keeper upon that, 247. 
 
 BEDLAMERS, of a Soit of People fo called in 
 the North, 139. 
 
 BEDLOE, Captain, Account of his Examination 
 ziRrijlol, 122. His Speeches in Difcourfe, 
 123. Intent of his Expedition to Brifiol, as 
 far as it concern'd his Lordiliip, i 26. 
 
 BELVOIR, Caftle, fome Account of it, 13^. 
 
 BERKLEY, Lord, his Conteft with the Lord 
 Chief Juftice North, about the Clerkfliip of 
 the Treafury, 98. 
 
 BERNARDISTON, Sir Samite], goes to Law by 
 himfell in the Houfe of Lords, 56. 
 
 BORDER, of the'Border Commiffion, 138. Se- 
 verity of the CommiiTioner?, 139. 
 
 BRADY, Dr. of his Hittory of England, 19. 
 
 BR IDG MAN, Sir Orlando, Character of him,S?. 
 Of him as a Chancellor, 198. 
 
 BRISTOL, of that Town and People, 121. 
 
 BROADGATE, Chaplain to the Turkj Company; 
 Story and Character of him, 32. 
 
 BRUNSKILL, of his Project of the Green Wax, 
 106. 
 
 BUCKS, Duke of, fome Account of him, 52. 
 Furious for Mr. Jones againft Mr. North, ibid, 
 His Cafe againft Ambrofe Phillipf, 226. ' 
 
 CADETNCE, Jack, whence a certain Serjeant 
 got that Name, 190. 
 
 CATEL, Sir Henry, his Anfwer to Sir Trancjs 
 North, when defired to tell why the Houfe of 
 Commons urged a particular Matter, for which 
 there was no apparent Reafbn, 151. 
 
 CA RD, Mr. Andrew, who, 50. Saved Sir Fran- 
 cis North's Life, how, ibid. 
 
 CARLISLE, of that Town, 140. 
 
 CASES, Advantage in the Exercife of putting 
 Cafes, 1 6,. 
 
 Cji A N c E R Y, Court of, Rife and Encreafe of ft,
 
 INDEX. 
 
 197. Unhappy Cafe of a poor Gentleman 
 who was concern'd in a Chancery Suit, 204. 
 Conclufion as to thofe Matters, 226. 
 CH A R A CT E RS, of fume particular Pcrfons, why 
 
 given, 53. 
 
 CHARLES II. his Gift to the Town of Lyme, 
 118. Hisjuftice and Clemency in the Pro- 
 ceedings againft the R/e Plotters, 158. His 
 Speech to the Lord Chief Juftice North, to 
 defue him to perfuade his Brother to frand, 
 169. Publickly teftifies his great Opinion of 
 his Lordfliip's Knowledge in the Law, 183. 
 His Speech to his Lordfhip, when peniive 
 upon the Woolfack, ibid. Saying of his to 
 the Lord Keeper North, when he deliver'd 
 the Great Seal into his Hand, 195. Of his 
 prefenting a Ring to Jeffries, 234. Confe- 
 quences as to him, if the Motion of Jeffries 
 about Recufants had fuccceded, 236. Never 
 fail'd going to Lord Keeper North, at what- 
 foever Time he went to Court, and fent to 
 his Majefty, 245. Began to look into Bufi- 
 nefs, and the State of his Treafury, more 
 than formerly, and why, 251. Impatient to 
 have Winchefler Houfe finifbed, 252. How 
 he faved himfclf from Ruin, after fo many 
 Errors in Government, ibid. Falfely accufed 
 of Cruelty, ibid. His Sicknefs and Death, ib. 
 Particular Reafon againft his being poifon'd, 
 253. Saying of his to the Lord Keeper North, 
 when he interceded for Favour to one that 
 was obnoxious, 316. 
 
 CHARLETON, Sir Job, hard Ufage he received 
 from Jeffries, 212. 
 
 CHARTERS, of the Regulation of them, 212. 
 
 CHIFFINCH, Will, who, 210. 
 
 CHUTE, Chuloner, fome Account and Character 
 of him, 13. Gave the AdraiiTion Fees to 
 young Mr. North, 14. 
 
 CHUTE, of two younger Brothers, of that 
 Name, that were taken Care of by his Lord- 
 (hip, 303. 
 
 CIRCUITS, fome Account of them, 116. 
 
 CLAYPOLE, Mr. who, 149. Of his Bufinefs 
 with the Lord Chief Juftice North, ibid. 
 
 CLERKSHIP, a proper Way, by which to enter 
 upon the Study of the Law, 21 . 
 
 CLERKS, Six, in Chancery, defeated in their De- 
 fign, when they made a Prefent to the Lord 
 Keeper North, 183. 
 
 COAL, of the Candle Coal, 143. 
 
 COALMINES, of a Drein made to one by Sir 
 William Blackett, 136. 
 
 COFFEE-HOUSES, of the Defign in putting 
 them down, i 52. 
 
 COIN,. Scheme for the Reformation of it, fivft 
 fet on Foot by Sir Dudley North, 1 69. 
 
 COKE, Lord Chief Juftice, of hi? Comment up- 
 on Littleton, 17. 
 
 COKE, Mr. of Nor/i>/i,fucceeded Sir Francis North 
 in the Burgesfhip for L), at a vaft Expence, 
 93- 
 
 COL EM AN, Mr. who, 46. Cotemporary and 
 
 Friend of his Lordfliip, ibid. Character of 
 
 him, ibid. 
 
 COMMONPLACE, of commonplacing in the Stu- 
 dy of the Law, 17. 
 COMMONS, Houfe of, whether they have a 
 
 Right to impeach a Commoner capitally, in 
 
 the Houfe of Lords, or not, 1 66. 
 COMPANY, Effects of both good and bad to 
 
 young People, i 5. 
 CONCILIUM, magnum in Parliament o, who it 
 
 confided of, 165. 
 
 CONWAY, Lord, his Character, 229. 
 COPYHOLDS, Difficulties about them, 23. Hard 
 
 Cafe of many of them, ibid. Reafon for a- 
 
 bolifhing that Tenure, ibid. 
 CORNWALL, of the Coririfo Men, 120. 
 COVENTRY, Mr. Secretary, great Credit he had 
 
 in the Houfe of Commons, 92. 
 COUNCIL, Cabinet, Original of it, 227. Pofture 
 
 of it when his Lordfhip was introduced there, 
 
 229. 
 
 COUNSEL, how unfafe falfe Counfels are, 25. 
 COUNSELLORS, of State, Memento worthy of 
 
 their Attention, 326. 
 
 Co UN FRY Keepers, of a Sort of People fo cal- 
 led in the North, 139. 
 COURT-KEEPING, Benefit of it, 23. 
 CRAVEN, Lord, Account of him and his Whif- 
 
 pering, i 86. 
 
 CRISP, Mr. of his Profecution by Jeffries, 214. 
 CROMPTON, Mr. Ch*rlti t Character and Hifto- 
 
 ry of him, 309. 
 CROWN, its Power, by Law, not enough in 
 
 King Charles the Second's Time, 241. 
 CUSTOMS, Difficulties about collecting them, 
 
 under Jam. II. before the Parliament fat, 
 
 254. 
 CUTS, and Pickering, Account of their Cafe, 58. 
 
 DACRES, Lady, quarrels with his Lordfhip, and 
 
 why, 47. Her Ladyfhip's cruel Behaviour to 
 
 him, 48. 
 DANBY, Earl of, impeached, 162. His Errors, 
 
 ibid. Cafe of his Pardon confider'd, 163. 
 
 Whether he might have been bailed, by the 
 
 King's-Bench or no. 164. 
 DAY, Story of the dumb Day in Wejtminjler*- 
 
 Hall, 102. 
 DEGC, Sir Simon, the View hehad in dedicating 
 
 his Book to Dr. modi, Bifcop of Litchfitld, 
 
 144. 
 D E L A v A L , Sir Ralph, made Collector of his own 
 
 Port by King Charles II. 137. Of a Colliery 
 
 of his drowned, 138. 
 DESIGN, of the Author, i. and 7. 
 DEVENISH, Mr. Henry t his good Behaviour 
 
 whilft Regifter, 202. 
 DEVONSHIRE, of their Dialect, 121.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 DISPUTANTS, Maxim amongft them, 188. 
 
 DOCWRA, who, 210. 
 
 DORSET, Earl of, his Anfwer to the King, who 
 afked what my Lord Craven whifpered in his 
 Ear, 187. 
 
 DUKE, Mr. who, 117. Called Spirit To, why, 
 Hid. Entertains the Judges, ibid. 
 
 DUNCOMB, Sir John, his Obfervation of the 
 Lawyers, 310. 
 
 DURHAM, of that Church and Town, 135. 
 
 DUTY, of that upon Tobacco and Sugars, grant- 
 ed toKingjfafflW II- 256. 
 
 E. 
 
 EARL, Serjeant, his Way of Living, and keep- 
 ing of his Accounts, 40. 
 
 EDGCOMB, Mount, fome Account of it, 120. 
 
 ELY, Ifle of, fome Account of that Court, 42. 
 
 ERASMUS, Obfervation of his upon the Englifo 
 Lawyers, 97. 
 
 EVELYN, Mr. his agreeable Entertainment of 
 his Lordfhip, 286. 
 
 EXCLUSION, Bill, his Lordfhip's Opinion of it, 
 165. 
 
 EYER, the Nature of it, 44. Why K.Charles 
 II. proclaim'd a Sefftons of it, ibid. 
 
 F. 
 
 FACTION, Note of fome Defigns of theirs after 
 the Revolution, 57 Their Defign, if his 
 Lordfhip's Judgment in Soams's Cafe, had been 
 reverfed, ibid. Short Character of them, 173. 
 Impudent Affertion of theirs, about Forces 
 fent into Scotland, 177. Other impudent Af- 
 fertions of theirs, taken Notice of by his Lord- 
 fhip, 189. Ufe they made of the King's pre- 
 fenting a Ring to Jeffries, 234. 
 
 FANATIC, of fome Fanatic News Letters wrote 
 by Colemnn, 1 44. 
 
 FINCH, SirHeneage, his Anfwer to the Benchers 
 of the Middle Temple, about the old Cloifter 
 Walks, 19. 
 
 FINES, ofthofe of Infants, 104. Of fome va- 
 cated for Infancy, 105. Nature and Antiqui- 
 ty of them, 1 06. 
 
 FITTON, of him and his Cafe, 205. 
 
 FLAMSTEAD, Mr. Favours he received from 
 the Lord Keeper Korth, 286. 
 
 FOLEY, Mr. Paul, of his Learning and Notions, 
 150. His Behaviour in Parliament, with Re- 
 gard to Lord Chief Juftice Norf^, ibid. 
 
 FORESTS, now neglected, and why, 44. Be- 
 nefit that would accrue to the Crown, if they 
 were preferved, 44. 
 
 G. 
 
 GOVERNMENT, what Care it ought to take, 
 who are trufted as Judges in Cufes of Impor- 
 
 GLYSTER, of a particular Way of giving one 
 to one's Self, invented by Sir Samuel More. 
 land, 294. 
 
 GODOLPHIN, Sidney, his Character, 230. 
 
 GOVERNOURS, apt to mi ftake in their Notion 
 cf Power and its Confequences, 240. 
 
 II. 
 
 HACKET, Bifhop of Litchfield, by what Means 
 
 he repair'd his Cathedral, 144. 
 HALES, Lord Chief Juftice, Saying of his about 
 Sir Francis North, 46. Why partial in the 
 Trial between Cuts and Pickering, 60. His 
 great Learning, and his Failings, ibid. His Be- 
 haviour at Trials, 61 . Seemingly couragious, 
 but really fearful, 62. Taken out of th; Law, 
 an empty Pretender, 62. Unfortunate in his 
 Family, and why, 63. Open to Flattery, 64. 
 Why fo much cried up as an Oracle, 64. His 
 Lordfhip's Notes of him explain'd, 65. His 
 Piece of Advice to the Duke of Beaufort, 
 whilft he was building his great Houfl-. i 34. 
 HALES, Sir Edward, fhort Account of him, 
 
 3 2 3- 
 HALLIFAX, Marquifs of, dimeter of him, 
 
 229 
 
 HARBOURS, of rhnfe in the Weft?rn Channel, 
 119. Of trut of Pool ibid. Of that of Ply- 
 mouth, 120. 
 
 HAYS, profei uft-d for h : gli Treaf^n, and acquit- 
 ted by Jeffries. 214. 
 
 HERALDRY, what that means among the Chan- 
 cery Officers, 204. 
 
 HEX HAM, fome Account of that Town, 140. 
 HICKS, Dr. his Character of Lord KeeperNor/^, 
 
 3*5- 
 
 HOLT, Lord Chief Juftice, corrects a fcanda- 
 lous Paflage in the Preface to Pollexfen's Re- 
 ports, 57. 
 
 HONESTY, thebeft Policy, 25. 
 
 HOSKINS, Sir John, his Character, 284. 
 
 JAMES II. makes Intereft with the Lord Keeper 
 North, in Favour of Fitton, 206. The great 
 Affection he bore to his Lordfhip, 271. 
 
 JEFFRIES, Sir George, his ill Ufage cf Lord 
 Keeper North, about the Duke of Norfolk's 
 Cafe, 208. Short Account of him, 209. 
 Recorder of London, how, 210. Duke of 
 York's Solicitor, ibid. Carried a Caufc againft, 
 Docivra, imd. Left the Recorderfhip for Fear, 
 211. Aim'd to be Chief Juftice of the Com- 
 mon Pleas, againft SirThoms.s Jones, ibid. Got 
 to be Chief Juftice cfChe/ler, againft Sir Job 
 Charleton, ibid. Contrives a fictitious Great- 
 nefs, to make a Shew of Power, 212. Pufh'd 
 the lo Warranto";, &c. into Abufe, ibid. 
 Prevail'd to have all the City Affairs commit- 
 ted 
 U u
 
 INDEX. 
 
 ted to him, 214. Diverfe Matters furioufly 
 driven by him, ibid. Of his profecuting Mr. 
 Crifp, ibid. Of his profecuting Rofewell, Had. 
 Of his acquitting Hays, ibid. Pleafed with a 
 Gafconade of his Client Verdon, 215. Ef- 
 poufed the Intereft of the Eaji India, Compa- 
 ny, 216. Introduced Pollerfen, ibid. Rated 
 the Citifens of Erijiol for Kidnapping, 2 1 6. 
 Saying of his to them, 217. Releafed Sir 
 "Robert Cann with a Reproof, ibid. Introduced 
 Sir John Trevor, 2 i 8. Undertook to bail the 
 Lords, but durft not, ibid. Diverfe odd Paf- 
 fages of him, ibid. Summary of his Cha- 
 racter, 219. His Ufage of an Attorney, and 
 a Conceipt of his, 220. Ufage of a poor 
 Wafting Scrivener, ibid. Difcover'd in a Cellar 
 after the Revolution, by that Scrivener, ibid. 
 Made a Motion for the general Delivery of all 
 thofe who lay under Commitment for Recu- 
 fancy, 235. Triumph'd when Sir Robert Wright 
 was made a Judge, 248. Came to Council 
 drunk, and inveighed againft Trimmers, 250. 
 His Defign in bringing the Bulinefs of Smith 
 and Baity before the King, ibid. 
 
 JENKINS, SirLeoline, his Character, 229. Quits 
 to Godolphin, 232. The great Value of that 
 Minifter, ibid. The King's Affairs went back- 
 wards after he quitted, and why, 233. 
 
 INSCRIPTIONS, monumental, Ufe of them, 84. 
 
 J o N E s, Sir Wm. flirts at Sir Francis North, upon his 
 giving Anfwers in the Court ofKing's-Benchfor 
 the Attorney General, 36. Some Miftakes that 
 might fit heavy upon his Mind, 53. Rea- 
 fons of the Vifits he made to Sir Francis North 
 now and then, 54. Saying of his of Sir 
 Matthew Hale, 64. Threatened for drawing 
 the Proclamation againft Coffee-houfes, 153. 
 
 JUDGES, Excufe for their paflive Behaviour in 
 the Trials for Otto's Plot, 150. 
 
 JUSTICE, Chief of the Common Pleas, Keeper 
 of the Records and Treafury, 98. 
 
 K. 
 
 KEEBLE, of his Tables to his Statute Book, 
 
 *7- 
 
 KEMISH, Sit Charles, Character ofiWelJk Stew- 
 ard of his, 311. 
 
 KEILING, how he firft difcovered the Rye Plot, 
 182. 
 
 KEN D A L , in Lancashire, Account of that Town, 
 and the Trade of if, 142. 
 
 KIDNAPPING, at Briftol, what, 216. 
 
 KING, Sir John, his Character, 290. 
 
 KNAVE, how fuch a Man would go about to 
 manage his Adverfary, 188. 
 
 L. 
 
 LANCASTER, Duchy of, fome Account of that 
 
 Court, 42. Account of that Duchy, 142. 
 LAVDERDALE, Duke of, how he difcovered 
 
 to the Lord Chief Juftice North, 
 
 minfter Parliament would be diflblved, 1 7 8. 
 LAW, of commonplacing in the Study of it, 
 
 1 6. Neceffityof Regulations in it, 108. Of 
 
 the Repeal of the penal Laws, 259. Of the 
 
 Teft Laws, 327. 
 LAWYER, Ufe of putting Cafes, to him, 16. 
 
 Art of fpeaking to be efpecially cultivated by 
 
 him, 19. 
 LEE, Lady Elizabeth; of her Pretenfions to the 
 
 Fortunes of the Coheirefles of the Earl of 
 
 Doton, 81. 
 LELY, Sir Peter, of him, and his Acquaintance 
 
 with his Lordfhip, 299. 
 LIBELS, of the Method taken to get the better 
 
 of them, 153. 
 
 LITCH FIELD, how that Cathedral was repair- 
 ed, 143. 
 LONGUEVILLE, Mr. FPftittM*. his Character 
 
 289. 
 LOVELACE, Lord, his Advice to his Lordfhip, 
 
 '75- 
 
 LUM L y, Park, of the Coal Mines there, 134. 
 LYME, in Dorfet/Jnre, Defcription of the Cob 
 
 there, 117. The Way of loading and un- 
 loading Veflels there, 1 1 & 
 
 M. 
 
 MACCLESFIELD, Earl of, his Refentment of a 
 Piece of Juftice done him by his Lordfhip 
 207. 
 
 MAGISTRATE, Hard fhips and Comforts attend- 
 ing one that is upright, 58. 
 
 MAINTENANCE, of feparate Maintenance pro- 
 vided for in Marriage Articles, 81 . 
 
 MARRIAGE, his Lordfhip's Inducements to it, 
 77. Why the Author is fo particular about it, 
 76. Of the feveral Proportions made him, 
 and where he fixed at laft, 78. 
 
 MATTHEWS, Mr. who, 13. 
 
 MAYNARD, Serjeant, Admirer of the Year- 
 Books, 19. Of a comical Action he brought 
 againft a poor Man, 114. His Character, 
 115. 
 
 MEW, Bifhop of Winchefter, his Saying of my 
 Lord Chief Juftice North, 1 16. 
 
 MIDBLETON, Tower, in Norfolk, Defcription 
 of it, 145. 
 
 MIND, Effects of aDiforder in it, 261. 
 
 MINISTRY, of State, their Intrigues when his 
 Lordfhip was made Attorney General, 88. 
 
 MONEY, that it never will long be wanted, nor 
 abound in any Country, 168. 
 
 MORDAUNT, Heir of a Family of that Name in 
 Bedfonlflrire, taken Care of by his Lordfliip, 
 302. 
 
 MORELAND, Sir Samuel, of his ftatic Barome- 
 ter, 293. His Devices, and of his Kitchen, 
 294. Of a particular Way of giving one's Self 
 a Clyfter, invented by him, ibid. 
 
 MORTON,
 
 INDEX. 
 
 MORTON, of an Hill called Morton-Pike mLsm- 
 
 ea/hire, 142. 
 
 MOOR, SIT Jonas, Account of him, 286. 
 MOUNTAGU, Sir William, difpleafed at his Lord- 
 
 fhip, and why, 96. 
 
 N. 
 
 NEWCASTLE, upon Tine, why that continues 
 a Seaport ftill, 121. Some Account of that 
 Town, 136. 
 
 NORFOLK, Duke of, his Cafe againft Efme 
 Howard his Brother, 208. 
 
 NORTH, Sir Francis, his Parentele,kc. Pref. p. 2. 
 Nothing fiid of him in Hiftory, and why, 
 I, 2. His Writings, how difpofed, 11. School 
 Education, 12. How he prayed by the Spi- 
 rit, ibid. Removed to Bury, ibid. Made a 
 Collection of the Verbs Neuter, ibid. Admit- 
 ted of St. John's College, Cambridge, ibid. 
 Character, and the Proficiency he made in his 
 Studies there, ibid. Benefited much by one 
 Mr. Matthews, i 3. Admitted of the Middle 
 Temple, ibid. Carried on the Study of polite 
 Literature, along with that of the Law, 14. 
 Ufe he made of Mufick, ibid. Declined bad 
 Company, ibid. Confined his Way of Living 
 to his Condition, 15. Attended his Grandfa- 
 ther in the Country, 16. Benefit he had from 
 thence, ibid. Ufed Commons in the Hall, and 
 putting Cafes, ibid. Poverty made him a 
 Lawyer, ibid. Benefit of Mr. Attorney Pal- 
 mer's Favour, 1 8. His Choice of Books, ib. 
 Difcourfed at Night, of what he had read 
 that Day, 19. His Attendance on the Courts 
 of Juftice, 20. Conftant Reporter, 2 1 . Ufed 
 much the Law Trench, and why, 22. At- 
 tended the Moots, ibid. Applied to Court- 
 keeping, ibid. Saying of an old Family-Stew- 
 ard to his Lordfhip, 23. Managed a Law 
 Suit for his Father, much to his Satisfaction, 
 24. The Like for his Grandfather, ibid. Vin- 
 dicated from his Grandfather's Sufpicions, 25. 
 Concern'd in a Family Revolution, 26. Di- 
 verfions in the Country, 29. Character of 
 him in the firft Stage, 28. Went fometimes 
 to hear Hugh feters, 29. Called to the Bar, 
 30. Made no Buftle to get Practice, Ibid. 
 His Allowance from his Father, reduced from 
 60 /. to 50 /. a Year, ibid. His Father's An- 
 fwer to his Letters about it, 31. Carried a 
 Caufe for oneStutvile, ibid. Provided a prac- 
 tifing Chamber, ibid. Lent his Brother Dud- 
 ley a. Sum, 32. Correfponded with his Bro- 
 ther Dudley, ibid. Love to his Brother John 
 North, 33. Solicitous about his Health, 34. 
 His great Encreafe of Bufinefs, ibid. Reafon 
 why he took Fees of his Relations, ibid. 
 Great Intimacy with the Palmer Family, ibid. 
 Lofs of his Sifter Mary, 35. Lofs of Mr. Ed- 
 ward Valmer, ibid. Serviceable to the Attor- 
 
 ney General, 36. Argued for the Ki 
 Hollis, ibid. Why no Body would undertake 
 it, 37. Made King's Counfel, how, 38. Uied 
 the Norfolk Circuit, 40. His Conduct in Cau- 
 fes whilft young, 41 . Chairman of the Com- 
 mifllon for dividing the Fens, ibid. His pru- 
 dent Management there, ibid. Conftituted 
 Judge of the Jjle of Ely, 42. Demanded the 
 Cognifance of a Caufe fom Weft. Hall, ibid. 
 Regulated the Practice of that Court, 43. 
 Attended in the Iter on Lord Oxford, ibid. 
 In Favour with the Lord Chief Juftice Hyde, 
 
 45. His Art in getting Credit with the 
 Judges, ibid. Careful to be well inftructed, 
 
 46. His good Advice to Lady Dacres, 47. 
 His obliging Carriage to her, 48. His Arc in 
 a Trial about Tythes, ibid. Surprifed into a 
 Debauch, and how, 49. His Account of him- 
 felf when drunk, 50. Moderation in drink- 
 ing, ibid. Forced fometimes to drink more 
 than he liked, as once at Lord Sandwich's, ib. 
 How he pajOTed his leifure Time, 51. Soli- 
 citor General, and dropped Circuits, ibid. Op- 
 pofed by Mr. Jones, ibid. His Note of that 
 Paflage, ibid. Attended chiefly at the Chan- 
 cery, and why, 54. Neglected no Opportu- 
 nity of encreafing his Knowledge, ibid. Read 
 Littleton all over every Chriftmcts, and why, 
 ibid. Chief in Practice, Reputation and Truft, 
 55. Obfervations upon the Profecution of 
 him for his Judgment in the Cafe of Sostms 
 and Bernardifton, ibid. His Argument, printed, 
 and why, 57. His Notes upon the Actions 
 of Lord Chief Juftice Hales, 65. Recovered 
 an Eftate for St. John's College in Cambridge, 
 70. Good Conveyancer, 71. His Methods 
 of Difpatch, ibid. Afiifted a Relation with 
 his Draughts, 73. Happily corrected his Fa- 
 ther's Will, ibid. Read publickly upon Fines, 
 74. Defired to marry, and why, 75. After 
 feveral Difappointments, married the Lady 
 Trances Pope, 80. His Oeconomy when fet- 
 tled, 82. Caufed Serjeants-Inn Hall to be re- 
 built, ibid. Caufed a Drain to be made from 
 his Houfe to Tleet-ftreet, 83. Took an Houfe 
 in Hammerfmith, why, ibid. Difpofition of 
 his Children after his Lady's Death,85. Chofea 
 Member for Lynn, at firft, without Oppofi- 
 tion, 86. Oppofed afterwards by Sir Simon 
 Taylor, 87. Made Attorney General, 89. Great 
 Gains when Attorney, 90. His Money, how 
 difpofed of, 90. Loved to have a Friend 
 near him, whom he might haveRecourfe to 
 when he pleafed, ibid. Uneafy at his Atten- 
 dance at Court, and why, 9 1 . His Behaviour 
 whilft he was in the King's Service, 91 . Im- 
 proved himfelf in the Knowledge of Men, 
 whilft in the Houfe of Commons, 93. His 
 virtuous Courfe of Life while fingle, and 
 when married, 94. Friend to Students, and 
 a Virtuofb, 95 . His univerlaj Inclination to 
 
 U u 2 improve
 
 INDEX. 
 
 improve, ibid. Underftood the European Lan- 
 guages, ibid. Noted whatever Occurrences 
 he met with, worth regarding, ibid. Made 
 Lord Chief Juftice, 96. Forced to difoblige 
 Sir William Mount Agu, ibid. His Senfe or' the 
 Grant to Lord Berkley, 98. Sets up Ac Et'mmt 
 in the Common Picas, 100. Would not allow 
 Cofts to Attornies in Propriums, 101 . Againft 
 Recoveries of Infants, 103. Vacated fome 
 Fines for Infancy, 105. His Account of the 
 Green-Wax Project, 107. Solicitous againft 
 all Abufes, 108. Concern'd in the Statute of 
 Frauds and Perjuries, 109. Clearly for a Re- 
 gifter, ibid. His Reafons for it, no. En- 
 dured no Difcourfe of Caufes depending be- 
 fore him, ill. His Conduct in Trials, ibid. 
 His Temper in detecting Frauds, 112. Sup- 
 planted the Arts of Counfel, how, 1 1 3. His 
 Intereft in the Wft, 1 16. Chofe the Weftem 
 Circuit, and why, ibid. Entertainment at 
 Mr. Duke's, 117. Much refpected in the 
 Weft, ibid. Entertain'd by Sir Richard Edg- 
 comb, 120. His Letter to Secretary Jenkins, 
 124. Call'd before the Houfe of Commons 
 about Bedloe, 127. His cautious Behaviour 
 while Chief Juftice in the Circuit, ibid. Dread- 
 ed trying a Witch, 129. His Entertainment 
 at Newcajlle, 136. How attended through 
 Northumberland, 140. Reconciled a Feud in 
 Cumberland, about the S"flions, 141. His 
 Conduct in College's Trial, 146. Or the great 
 Ufe the going of the Circuits was to his 
 Lordfhip, 144. His Principles and Converfa- 
 tion, 147. His Endeavours to undeceive his 
 Friends, with Regard to the Lies fpread a- 
 boutof the King, 148. Caution habitual, /. 
 His great Regard to Sir Jeofry Palmer's Family 
 and Friends, 149. Surprifcd into a factious 
 dining Cabal, how, 151. His Opinion about 
 Libels, 143. Thought that Dates' i Plot might 
 be check'd by a Pamphlet, i 54. Penned fome 
 Inftructions purfuant to that Defign, 155. 
 Concluded the Plot to be a Cheat, why, 150. 
 Concern'd in no Trial but that of Nat. Read- 
 ing, ibid. Afflicted at the Cafe of Lord Staf- 
 fcrd,\$j. Penned the Declaration, 159. Made 
 a privy Counfcllor, and taken into the Cabi-~ 
 ret, 161. His Opinion of the bailing of the 
 Earl of Danby, 164. His Thoughts of the 
 magnum Concilium in Parl'umento, 165. His 
 Opinion of the Exdufion, ibid. His Argu- 
 ments to perfuade his Brother Dudley to hold 
 Sheriff, 169. His generous Propofuion to Sir 
 Dudley, 171. Attended at Guildhall during 
 the Election of Sheriffs, ibid. Rcfl/lvcd fome 
 Doubts of the Lord Mayor, in a generous Man- 
 ner, 172. Chief Pilot and Conductor in all 
 thefe Affairs, 173. His Anfwer to Mr.Soams, 
 who advifedhim to go to the Houfe of Com- 
 mons, and give up his Petition, 175. The 
 Like to Lord Lovelace, upon the fume Account, 
 
 ibid. His Humanity to Sir Crefieell Levin*,, 
 176. Friendfliip with the Duke of Lau- 
 derdale, 178. Advifes the King to pubiifli a 
 Declaration of his Reafons for the DifTolu- 
 tion of the little Weftminfter Parliament, 181. 
 His Cautions to the King in all the Examina- 
 tions about the Sham Plots, 182. His pru- 
 dent Adminiftration, /'&</. Difference between 
 him and Lord Rochefter, about preferring Per- 
 fons, ibid. His Abilities and Intereft at Court, 
 183. His Account of the Difpoful of the 
 Place of Prothonotary, 185. Sat as Speaker 
 in the Houfe of Lords, ibid. How refpected 
 at Court, about the Time he was made Lord 
 Keeper, 186. Obferved himfelf to be taken 
 for a riling Man at Court, and why, ibid. 
 Carried himfelf fteddily, as Judge and privy 
 Counfellor, 187. Coerced all Paffion, though 
 inclined, ibid. His Care when he found his 
 Pafllon riling, 188. How he ufed to turn it 
 off, when any Thing made him angry, i 89. 
 Coerced Impudence in Counfel, ibid. His 
 Judgment of the Prerogative, 191. Turned 
 Trimmer, how, ibid. Orthodox, juft, and 
 conformable, 192. In great Credit with the 
 Jury, whilft Chief Juftice, 193. Friendfhip 
 to Lord Nottingham, ibid. Intelligence given 
 him of his being made Keeper, ibid, Rea- 
 fons pro and con, whether he fhould accept it, 
 194. Determined not to accept, without a 
 Penlion, and why, 195. Accepted with a 
 Penfion, ibid. His Pallion at the ill UCige he 
 received from the Courtiers, ibid. He never- 
 thelefs created the King no Trouble about it, 
 196. Chancery eafy to him, 197. Senlible 
 of the Evils of that Court, 198. His Method 
 of introducing his Amendments into the Court 
 of Chancery, ibid. Retrenched Motions for 
 fpeeding and delaying Hearings, 199. Or- 
 der'd the Parties to mew the Mafters any Er- 
 rors, 200. Stopt the Courfe of Injunctions 
 upon Exceptions to an Anfwer filed, ibid. Re- 
 trenched the Super fetation of interlocutory Or- 
 ders, 201. Difficult about Rehearings, ibid. 
 His Method of controuling the Regifter's Of- 
 fice, ibid. Why he did not publifh a Book of 
 Ruks and O.ders at his Entrance upon the 
 Chancellorfhip, 202. Con&rved the Rights 
 or Officers in all his Regulations, ibid. Left 
 Reformation of Offices to the Parliament, and 
 why, 203. Had no Vanity, but kept clofe 
 to Truth, with all poflible Caution, ibid. Al- 
 ter'd nothing but what he knew experimen- 
 tally, ibid. Uneafy about Remanets, 204. His 
 Care of the Orders of the Court, and prefer- 
 ring his Reafons, 205. His Behaviour in Fit- 
 ton's Caufe, ibid. His Behaviour under the 
 ill Ufage he met with from Jeffries in the 
 Houfe of Lords, 208. His Deliberation about 
 the Places of the Mafters in Chancery, 226. 
 His Defign to leave an Hiftory, 227. His 
 
 historical
 
 INDEX. 
 
 historical Notes, 228. His Averfion to Lord 
 Sttnderland, 231. His Thoughts upon Secretary 
 Jenkins quitting to GoJolphia, 232. His Senfe 
 of the Concern himfelf had, if Jeffries^ Mo- 
 tion about Recufants hnd fucceeded, 236. 
 Oppofcd it alone, ibid. His Directions to the 
 Judge?, when he was {poke to once before, 
 upon this Affair, by the King, 238. Why 
 not he, bur Jeffries, was fpoke to again about 
 it, 239, His Sentiments upon the other 
 Lords defertinghim in that Affair, ibid. His 
 political Aim and Rule of Power, 2^0. Say- 
 ing of his to the King, about Lenity and Se- 
 verity, ibid. Excellency of this Rule of his Lord- 
 fhip's, 24.1 . Labour'd to bring the Court to act 
 according to Law, 242. Good Succofs of his 
 Labours, ibid. Difcern'd the Under miners at 
 Work, 243. He was the laft that {tuck firm 
 to KAngChtrles the Second, ibid. Perceived 
 the King grew weary of fome new Coun- 
 fellors, ibid. His Courfe of Life, duiing his 
 Miniftry, 244. Managed at the Council, and 
 why, 245. His Attendance at Court during 
 that Time-, ibid. The King never failed to 
 come to him whenever he went to Court, 
 and fent to his Majefty, ibid. His Advice to 
 the King, when he mention'd Sir Robert Wright 
 to be a Judge, 247. Made no Broil at Court, 
 becaufe his Advice was not follow'd, 248. 
 His Advice in the Matter of Smith and 'Bailey, 
 250. Declined meddling with foreign Af- 
 fairs, and why, ibid. His Opinion of King 
 Charles's Judgment in foreign Affairs, 251. 
 His Anfwer to a great Man, about the King's 
 Death, 254. His Anfwer to Lord Roche/hr, 
 about putting Men into Phces, ibid. His pru- 
 dent Advice about theCuftoms, l& of James II. 
 rejected, 255. Got as many of his Friends as 
 he could, chofe into the Parliament, and en- 
 tertain d them in his Houfe whilfr. the Parlia- 
 ment fat, 256. What Sort of Men he recom- 
 mended, ibid. Not fruited to fpcak to the 
 Parliament, ibid. His Obfervation upon the 
 Attempt to repeal the penal Laws, 260. Put 
 a Stop to the Fury of Jeffries in the Weft, ibid. 
 Taken ill, how and when, ibid. Difpatch'd 
 nil that belonged to his Place, notwithftanding 
 hislilnefs, 262. Bad Effects of his taking the 
 Bark, 263. His difconfolate State, under 
 James II. ibid. Fancied himfelf out of Coun- 
 tenance, ibid. Refblution to quit the Great 
 Seal, ibid. Had Leave of the King to retire 
 into the Country with the Seal, 264. Sent 
 down to Aftrop, ibid Of the Family then 
 with his Lordfhip a.t!fr'rcxton, ibid. His Man- 
 ner of Living, and Amufements at Wroxton, 
 265. Difference of his Behaviour, when he 
 had Hopes, and when he had none,ibid. His 
 good Humour declined with his Strength, 2.66. 
 His Method of fettling his Uft Will, 267. 
 
 Declined quickly upon leaving off djirop Wa- 
 ter, ibid. Vifitation Service and Sacrament 
 minifter'd to him in his Sicknefs, ibid. Un- 
 eafy upon being left alone, 268. His Death, 
 ibid. How he difpofed his Penny Poft Letters, 
 269. Eager after the Study of Records, and 
 why, ibid. His Miniftry lefs difficult, and 
 more mortifying under King James than 
 King Charles, and why, 271. Why he would 
 not throw up the Seals, without his Matter's 
 Leave, ibid. His laft Piece of Advice to the 
 King, about the Prince of Orange, 272. Not 
 qualified for the latter Times that fell to his 
 Share, 275. Got to be made a Baron, why, 
 
 276. Why he applied to the Duke for it, 
 
 277. Why he chofe Gnilford for his Title, 
 ibid. Not ilander'd when young, and not 
 covetous, ibid. When firft calumniated by 
 the Faction, 278. Advice given him by a 
 
 Brother-in Law, to keep a W c,ibid. Re- 
 
 pulfed a treacherous Handle that was held 
 fosth to him, 279. Calumny againft him 
 kept under till James II d 's Reign, ibid. His 
 Refentment of a Lye difpevfed about his rid- 
 ing upon a Rhinoceros, 280. Denied a Writ 
 for a Bill of Exceptions in the Rioters Cafe, 
 281. Denied a Writ of Error in the Cafe of 
 Armstrong, and why, 282. Of a Prefent made 
 him by the Six Clerks, 283. An early Vir- 
 tuofo, 284. Refufed being made Fellow of 
 the Royal Society, and why, 85. HisKind- 
 nefs to Mr. Tlarnftead, 286. Confider'd the 
 State of the Bladders of Fifhes, 292. His 
 Paper approved by the Virtuofi, ibid. H:s 
 Anfwer to Sir Samuel Mor eland's flatick Biro- 
 meter, 293. Dined with Sir Samuel, 294. 
 His Ufeof, and great Delight in Mufick, 29^. 
 Compofed fome Confort Muilck, ibid. Wrora 
 a philofophical EiTay on Mufick, and his No- 
 tion, ibid. His Scheme purfued by the Vir- 
 tuofi, 298. Judge of Picture and Perfpective, 
 ibid. Acquainted with Sir Peter Lely, 299. 
 Kind to young People, 300. His Care or a 
 Branch of the Mordaunt Family, 302. His 
 Care of the Family of the Trochees, 303. His 
 Kindnefs to Mr. Gilbert North, ibid. His Care 
 of two younger Brothers of the Chute Family, 
 ibid. His View in all his Benevolences, 304. 
 His Kindnefs to his youngeft Brother, ib'uL 
 His Bounty to his Brother Mount stgtt, 305. Pro- 
 cured a Match for his Sifter Anne, with Sir 
 Robert V/ifeman, 306. Procured a Match for 
 his Sifter Elizabeth, -with Mr. Folefs Son of 
 Worcefterflnre, ibid. His Kindnefs to that young 
 Gentleman, 308. Note of the Family of the 
 North's being fuftain'd by his Lordfhip, 309. 
 His Kindnefs to Mr. Charles Crontyton, ibid.. 
 Redeemed Sir Charles Kemijl) out of the Hands 
 of an old Ufurer, 3.11. Saved Sir "Peter Lelfs 
 Effete from being an Efcheat to the Crown, 
 
 ibid.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 ibid. His Letter to Col. Werden, to beg a fmall 
 Eftate of the Duke of fork for Sir Peter Lelfs 
 Son, 312. Endeavour'd to prefeive a Live- 
 lihood to a poor Widow Woman, 313. Be- 
 nevolent to the Clergy, 314. Never begged 
 any forfeited Eftates, 316. Way of paffing 
 his Time in private, ibid. Indulgent to his 
 Servants, 317. Why he did not marry again, 
 3 1 8. Repented his not doing fo, and why, 
 ibid. His Oeconomy after he had the Seal, 
 319. Remarkable Character of a Gentleman 
 "Waiter, ibid. His Privacy and Solitudes, ibid. 
 Way of mattering his Paflions, 320. His 
 Note of a certain Tranfaction at Court, 321. 
 Queries touching Devices of his Enemies, ib. 
 His Reflection upon his Perfon and State, af- 
 ter King Charles II d 's Death, 323. Papercon- 
 cerning King James's proroguing the Parlia- 
 ment, 327. Reafons for inferting the fore- 
 going Notes, 330. His Refolution and Pro- 
 fer to refign the Seals, 331. Summary Cha- 
 racter of him, 332. 
 
 NORTH, Lord, his Lordfhip's Grandfather; 
 Scheme of his to catch his Grandfon Frank, 
 
 25. Cuts his Grandfon Frank off of an An- 
 nuity of 20 /. a Year, ibid. His Character, 
 
 26. Letter of his to Frank, 27. 
 NORTH, Sir Dudley, his Lord (hip's Father ; his 
 
 Dutifulnefs to the old Lord, 26. 
 
 NORTH, Sir Dudley, his Lordfhip's Brother; 
 fome Account of him, and his firft fctting out, 
 32. His Arrival from Turky, 166. His ido- 
 latrous Refpecl for O/, 167. His Difcour- 
 fes mofl agreeable to his Lordfhip, 167. De- 
 termines to hold Sheriff, 170. 
 
 NORTH, Mary, his Lordfhip's Sifter, her Cha- 
 racter, 35. 
 
 NORTH, Dr. John, made Chaplain to the Duke 
 of Lauderdale, 178. His Death, 179. 
 
 NORTH, Mr. Robert, Account of him, 300. His 
 Kindnefs to his Sifters, ibid. Made Clerk to 
 his Lordfhip's Father, 301. How his Family 
 was difcovcr'd, ibid. Made chief Officer to 
 his Lordfhip, when Judge of Ely, ibid. Made 
 Clerk of the Confeffions, ibid. His Unwil- 
 lingnefs to go to London, ibid. Made Seal- 
 Bearer to his Lordfhip, 302. Apology for 
 being fo particular about him, ibid. 
 
 NORTH, Mr. Gilbert, fome Account of him, 
 303. 
 
 NORTH, Roger, great Favours he received from 
 his Lordfhip, 304. 
 
 NOTTINGHAM, Earl of, his Direction to a Stu- 
 dent, 1 9. His Saying of the Common Pleas, 
 at. His Difeafe, 186. His Character as a 
 Chancellor, 198. His Slight of the Opinion 
 of the three Chiefs he call'd to his A fli fiance 
 intheDukeofNi/i^sCafe, 208. Shift of 
 his about fetting the Seals to Danby's Pardon, 
 237- 
 
 O. 
 
 ORATOR, Charaftcr of a good one, and the 
 
 Reafon, 93. 
 
 ORGAN, of the great one at Exeter, 119. 
 ORMOND, Duke of, fhort Charafter of him 
 
 23. 
 
 P. 
 
 PALMER, Mr. Edward, who, 35. Intimate with 
 Sir Francis North, ibid. How the Acquain- 
 tance began, ibid. 
 
 PALMER, Sir Jeofry, converted his Lady from 
 Popery, to the Church of England, 39. 
 
 PAMPHLETEERS, could find no Subject of Ca- 
 lumny againft his Lordfhip, 278. 
 
 PAPISTS, take Umbrage at his Lordfhip's De- 
 cree in Fitton's Cafe, 207. 
 
 PARLIAMENT, Little Wejiminjler, why it was 
 diffolved, i 79. 
 
 PASSION, a Symptom of Truth, 188. 
 
 PEMBERTON, Lord Chief Juftice j his Begin- 
 nings bad, and Authority abufed, 222. Mor- 
 tified an Attorney to Death, ibid. Advifed in 
 a fraudulent Conveyance, 223. Removed 
 why, and when, ibid. 
 
 PEMBROKE.Countefs of, fhort Account of her 
 and her Way of Life, 141. 
 
 PET, Sir Peter, Account of him, 29. 
 
 PETITIONS, of thofe called tumultuous, 174. 
 
 PICKERING, Mr. married to Sir John Cutts's 
 Aunt ; Account of him, and his erafing a Part 
 of a Will, 58. 
 
 PICT s, of the Wall called the Pitts, 140. 
 
 PL E A DING, ancient and modern Method of it, 
 20. 
 
 PLEAS, the Common, why not removed in Sir 
 Orlando Eridgmnrfs Time, 97. Of the Offi- 
 cers of that Court, ibid. Of the Contention 
 for Juri/Miction between that and the Kings 
 Bench, 99. AcEtiams fct up there, 100. 
 
 PLYMOUTH, of the Harbour there, 120. 
 
 POLLEXFEN, Judge, his Charader, 2 1 6. His 
 Behaviour in the Weft, ibid. 
 
 POPE, Lady Frances, who, 80. Married to Sir 
 Francis North, ibid. Her lilnefs and Death, 83. 
 Her Funeral Monument, 84. 
 
 PORT, Towns, far from the Sea formerly, and 
 why, 121. Of that of Seaton Delaial, 137. 
 
 PORT E R , Sir Charles, Lord Chancellor of Ireland, 
 Account of him, 290. 
 
 POST, P<nny, how the Crown came hrft into 
 the Revenue of it, 210 
 
 PRACTICE, Benefit of a Lawyer's not entering 
 into Practice too foon, 30 
 
 PRESBYTERIANS, Means whereby his Lord- 
 flup might have gain'd them over to his Party, 
 
 PRO-
 
 INDEX. 
 
 PROTM ONOT A RY, to beappoimed by the Chief 
 Jufticc alone, 185, 
 
 R. 
 
 RADCMPP> Dr. fcnt for to his Lordftiip in his 
 Sickncfs, and his Behaviour to him, 268. 
 
 RADNOR. Earl of, hisCharactcr, 229. 
 
 READINGS, at the Inns of Court j Manner of 
 the Entertainments at them, 75. The great 
 Benefit of thofe Exercifes, itiit. 
 
 REBELLION, of that \nScotland, 177. 
 
 RECORDS, Ufc theFaction madcof them, 270. 
 
 RECOVERIES, of thofe of infants, 103. 
 
 RECUSANTS, Reafons againft a general Pardon 
 of them, 326. 
 
 REFORMATION, of the Englijli Way of reform- 
 ing, 213. 
 
 REGISTER, of Eftatcs, why Gentlemen are fo 
 much againft a Rcgiftcr, 109. 
 
 RUM A NETS, in the Chancellors Paper of Cau- 
 fcs, bad Effects of leaving many of them up- 
 on the Paper over Night, 204. 
 
 REPORTS, of modern Ones, 20. 
 
 REVENUE, about fettling it under K. Jamn II. 
 
 2 59- 
 
 RIGHT, of that called Tenants Right in Cum- 
 berland, 140. 
 
 Roc HESTER, Earl of, what Sort of Men he was 
 for preferring, 182. His cunning Manage- 
 ment to make his Lordfhip fuc for the Chan- 
 ccllorfliip, 195. His Character, 230. 
 
 ROSEWELL, profccutcd byjfffrie}, 214. 
 
 s. 
 
 SAUNDERS, Lord Chief Jufticc, his Character, 
 
 223. Made Chief Juflicc of the King's Btnch, 
 
 225. Taken ill of a numb Palfcy, ibid. 
 SAWYER, Sir Rohrt. his Character, 287. Rc- 
 
 fufcd to pafs the Non Otyantn'i, and therefore 
 
 removed, 288. 
 SCOTCHMEN, icnt home into their own Coun- 
 
 ty to be tried, 158. 
 SCROCOS, Sir William, his Character, 151. Con- 
 
 verted by Sir Francis North, 152. Of his Lady 
 
 and Children, ibid. 
 SBAL, Great, carried to the King by his Lord- 
 
 fhip's Executors, 268. 
 SEQUESTRATIONS, in Chancery, the Rife of 
 
 them, 197. 
 
 SERJEANTS, Inn Hall, when rcbuilr, 82. 
 SESUONS, of a Feud in Cumberland, about the 
 
 holding them between the Mufgravu and 
 
 Loivthcrs, 141. 
 
 SEYMOUR, Mr. Edward, his Character, 228. 
 SHAFTSBURY, Earl of, why he was made Lord 
 
 Chancellor, 89. Short Character of him as 
 
 Chancellor, 198. 
 SHAW, Sir John, who, 49. 
 SHORT, Dr. his Advice in his Lordlhip'j Illnefj, 
 
 262. 
 
 SMARTIIWAIT, Zochoriai, chief Clerk to hU 
 Lordftiip, turned away, and why, 317. 
 
 SMITH, Aaron, impudent Speech of hiiat Col- 
 lege's Trial, 146. 
 
 SMITH, and Bty, Jufticcs.of thcirQuarrel, 250. 
 
 So A MS, Mr. goes with a Piece of Advice from 
 the Lord Sunderland to his Lordfliip, 175. 
 
 SOLICITOR, General, in what Things that Of- 
 fice is co-ordinate with the Attorney, 74. 
 
 SPECULUMS, what, and his Lordftiip's Ufo of 
 them, 320. One about his rdigning the 
 Seal, 324. Another entitled Magnum, 325. 
 One relating to his Succcflbr, ibid. One of a 
 private State, ibid. 
 
 SPRAT, Bifhop of Rochefter, of his recanting his 
 Hiftory of the Rye Plot, and laying it upon the 
 Lord Keeper North, after the Revolution, i 60. 
 
 STAFFORD, Earl of, his Cafe, 157. 
 
 STATE, the, quietly fettled under King James II. 
 
 2 53- 
 
 ST E v E N s, Dr. who, his Character of Mr. North, 
 12. 
 
 STEWARD, high, ncccfliiry in the Trial of Im- 
 peachments, 165. 
 
 STUTVILE, of Dalham, fornc Account of him, 
 and a Caufc he had, 3 1 . 
 
 SUNDERLAND, Earl ofr, his Behaviour when in- 
 troduced into the Cabinet, 230. Puts about a 
 Lye, how his Lordfhip rode upon a Rhino- 
 ceros, 280. 
 
 S Y D E R F i N , Mr. who, 7 2 . His Character, i&'nl; 
 
 T, 
 
 TAYLOR, Sir Simon, oppofed his Lordfln'p nt 
 
 Lynn, 87. Sign'd the Return, ibid. Oppofed 
 
 Mr. Coke there, butperfuaded to give up, 93- 
 TEMPLE, Middle, the Benchers of that Society 
 
 forced to make Mr. North one of them, 38. 
 TENURES, the taking them away, bad for the 
 
 Liberties of the People, 241. 
 TIMES, the, ftatcd, when his Lord (hip was 
 
 made Attorney General, 88. State of them 
 
 when his l.ordflu'p was made privy Counfel- 
 
 lor, 179. 
 TRADE, that It is, like the Sea, univerfal, 168. 
 
 Of the prohibiting Trade with any Country, 
 
 ibid. 
 TRAPANS, of fomc that were laid to catch his 
 
 Lordlhip, 174. 
 TREASURY, Clerk of, in whofc Difpofal by 
 
 Law, 08. Patent for that Place void in Law. 
 
 ibid. ' 
 
 TR E B Y, Sir George, fliort Character of htm, 211. 
 TREVOK, Sir John, his Character, 218. Falls 
 
 out with Jeffries, ibid. 
 TRIAL, at the Bar, called the Trial of the Lord 
 
 Chief Juftice North, 184. 
 TRIUMVIRATE, of the famous one in King 
 
 Jame> H a> sTirac, 213. 
 
 TRO-
 
 INDEX. 
 
 T* o c H E E , a Family taken Care of by his Lord- 
 ihip, 303. 
 
 TURNER, Sir Edward, loft much of his Autho- 
 rity as Speaker, and why, 52. Refign'dthat 
 Place, why, ibid. Made Chief Baron of the 
 Exchequer, ibid- 
 
 TVRREL, the Hiftorian, acquainted with his 
 Lordfhip, how, 150. 
 
 U. 
 
 V R D ON, Samuel, who, 215. Taken into Cufto- 
 dy by Order of the Houfe\>f Commons, ibid. 
 His Behaviour under the Arreft, ibid. Sues 
 the Serjeant's Men for Battery, ibid. Gafco- 
 uade of his, ibid. 
 
 VINDICATION of the Miniftry, at theTimeof 
 the Rye Plot, 160. 
 
 VIRTUOSI, approve of a Paper wrote by my 
 Lord Keeper, upon Fifties Bladders, 292. 
 
 UNDERTAKERS, a Party in the Houfe of Com- 
 mons fo called ; fome Account of them, 92. 
 
 UNION, the Advantage reaped by the Countries 
 bordering upon England and Scotland, 139. 
 
 W. 
 
 WALLER, Serjeant, fome Account of him, 18. 
 WAX, green, Account of that Project, 106- 
 J 1 ailed, and why, 108. 
 
 WAYLEAVES, to a Coal Mine; fhort Account 
 
 of them, 136. 
 WELD, Mr. who, 285. 
 
 WELL, of the burning Well in Lancet/hire, 143. 
 WELLS, of that City, 121. 
 WERDEN, Sirjohn, fome Account of him, 285. 
 WHIG, and Tory, of thofe Names, 191. 
 WHITMORE, Mr. who, 48. Of hisFancy not 
 
 to pay Tithes, ibid. 
 WILLIS, Mafter of a School at IJlewortk; Acy 
 
 count of him and his Wife, 12. 
 WISEMA N, Sir Robert, who, 306. 
 WITCHES, of a Couple hanged at Exeter, 130. 
 
 Of one acquitted at Saliftury, ibid. 
 WIZZARD, of the Trial of one before the Lord 
 
 Chief Juftice Nor/6, 131. 
 WOODS, Bifhop of Litchfield, how forced to re- 
 pair his Palace there, 144. 
 WRIGHT, Serjeant, made Judge, contrary to his 
 
 Lordfhip's Advice, 247. His Character, ibid* 
 
 Y. 
 
 YEAR-Books, Ufe of them, 20. 
 YORK, of that Church and Town, 135. 
 YORK, Duke of, introduced into the Cabinet 
 
 Council, 223. 
 YOUTH, Hazards and Advantages in the Inftitu- 
 
 tion of them, 15. 
 
 FINIS.
 
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