pious, sober, and peaceable divine: a strict observer of family order, and conscientious in redeeming time. His funeral → sermon was preached by Bp. Kidder, from Rev. xiv.

13.

HENDON [V. 100/.] FRANCIS WAREHAM, M. A. Of Bennet Col. Camb. A man of great natural wit, of polite learning, of great pleasantness in conversation, and a very practical preacher, but unsuccessful. He was put into this living by the parliament, in 1650.

WORKS. A Funeral Sermon for Mrs. Hellen Foot, wife of Samuel Foot, Esq; in Aldermanbury-church..A Sermon at St. Paul's Aug. 23 1657, on James i. 18.-Another at Aldermanbury, Oct. 14, 1657, on Job. iv. 5.

HILLINGDON [R. 100/.] Mr. PHILIP TAVERNER. Of Exeter Col. Oxf. A grave, peaceable divine, of unblameable life, but who chose to live retired. He, in conjunction with Mr. R. Goodgroom and Mr. H. Hall, had a public discourse with some Quakers at the meeting-place at WestDrayton in this county, Jan. 18, 1657; an account of which was published. He died and was buried in this parish.

WORKS. Besides the Account of the above Dispute-A Reply to EDWARD BURROUGHS the Quaker.-Truth's Agreement with itself in the Spirit and Letter of the Word; or a short Catechism-After his death, A Grandfather's Advice; directed in special to his own family.

ICKENHAM [R.] Mr. NICOLAS.

KINGSBURY [C. or D.] Mr. JAMES PRINCE. A gentleman born, and of a good family. He was young when ejected, but in good repute both for learning and piety. lived and died pastor of a congregation at Oakingham in

Berkshire.

LITTLETON [R.] Mr. EDMUND TAYLOR,

66

He

NEWINGTON (Stoke) [R. S.] Mr. DANIEL BULL. Dr. Manton resigned this living in 1656. In the vestry book is the following entry. Sept. 27, 1657, at a vestry then holden, Mr. Daniel Bull was chosen most unanimously to succeed Mr. Manton as pastor. The whole parish signed his call, sick and poor, good and bad." He received his appointment from Cromwell, Nov. 25 following.] He was a good scholar and a very agreeable preacher, who was for some time fellow-labourer with Mr. John Howe; but fell into some immorality, over which the veil ought to be drawn,

as

as there was satisfactory evidence of his true repentance. It was upon occasion of his fall that Mr. Howe preached and printed his excellent discourse upon "Charity with reference to other mens sins." Mr. Stancliff wrote the following account of his death in the margin of Dr. Calamy's account of him, and sent it to the author." His last hours and dying prayers and tears, with the chearful resignation of his soul to Christ, as offered to the worst and chiefest of sinners, in the gospel, spake him both a penitent sinner and a returning backslider. He gave up the ghost in his closet, craving any place where Christ was, tho' it was but eternally to lie at his footstool."

"A

In the London Collection of Farewell Sermons, there are two by Mr. Bull, who is there said to be of NewingtonGreen, which must be a mistake, for Stoke-Newington, where the parish church is. One of these was delivered in the forenoon on John xiv. 16; the other in the afternoon, on Acts xx. 32. They are both of them plain, serious, practical and affectionate; containing some things very appropriate to the occasion. Towards the close of the latter are the following passages. Having expatiated on this observation," that the best farewell a minister can give his people, when taken by providence away from them, is, to commend them to God," he subjoins these admonitions. minister's commending you to God will be to no purpose if you do not commit yourselves to him.-Take God to be your God, and give up yourselves to be his people. If you will, before you and I part, it will be the comfortablest day that ever I saw, tho' in other respects it may be the saddest. Keep in God's way, and you will be sure of his protection. -I commend you to the Word of God's grace. Keep it, and it will keep you. I leave it as a Depositum; if you part with it, take heed how you will answer it at the last day. Study God's word. If you never hear a Sermon more, you have enough, by the use of the Bible, to carry you to heaven."

After other suitable exhortations he adds, "Labour to keep up that christian love, which in this place hath been more eminent than any where I know. I would preach St. John's doctrine; Little children, love one another. If there be any consolation in Christ, any comfort of love, &c. fulfil ye my joy, Phil. ii. 1. 2,"—He closes thus: " My dearly beloved in the Lord; it is a sad and solemn thing for a minister to be rent from a people whom he loves as his own soul to bid adieu to the solemn meetings wherein I have preached

preached to you; wherein we have mingled our sighs and tears before the Lord; wherein we have rejoiced and sat down before the Lord at his table-to think that I must minister to you no more in these ordinances, is a heart-breaking consideration-to think that I am now dying while I am preaching-but this is my comfort, that like a dying father I can commend you to the care of such a friend, infinitely able to supply all that I could do for you.-I would hope that I have some children that I have begotten to Christ by my ministry, towards whom my bowels yearn— There are many poor souls yet in the gall of bitterness and the bond of iniquity, and if the Lord had seen good, I would fain have seen of the travail of my soul in their salvation; but I can commend them to God, who knows them that belong to his election. He can either restore me, or can [convert them] by another hand.—It will be some alleviation of sorrow, tho' I must leave you, as to my public ministry, that I hope I may, for a while, go up and down among you, and converse with you. The Lord grant this favour that I may behold your stedfastness!-If the Lord shall take off those bands of death which the Law hath laid upon my ministry, who in regard of conscience cannot conform, I shall chearfully return to you in this place. I now commit you into a safe hand."

NORTHALL [V. S. 3ool.] Mr. ROBERT MAlthus Of Magd. Hall, Oxf. Cotemporary with Mr. William Pemble. Dr. Walker says, He was thrust into this living upon the sequestration of Mr. George Palmer, in 1642. But from the books of the commissioners for approving of public preachers, which the Dr. quotes (P. ii. p. 33,) he appears not to have possessed it till 1654. He was an ancient divine; a man of strong reason, and mighty in the scriptures: of great eloquence and fervour, tho' defective in elocution.

The parishioners, however, petitioned Cromwell to remove him from this living, and urged among other things the following:-"The said Mr. Malthus is one who hath not only a low voice, but a great impediment in his utterance, so that your petitioners cannot receive any benefit by him; one who hath manifested his great indisposition to the work of the ministry; a great reviler and opposer of such who out of uprightness and sincerity of heart, desire to worship the Lord; one who hath uttered invective expressions against our army whilst they were in Scotland; utterly averse from rendering our God praise, when several thanksgivings were

in

in the nation for signal mercies which he vouchsafed our armies, in the eminent victories given in and bestowed upon us there one who is a great oppressor of his neighbours, and hath stirred up contentious suits amongst them; too guilty of the abominable sin of covetousness, which brings a great reproach upon the gospel," &c. Signed by Henry Arundell, John Arundell, and about 30 more. This petition however had no effect; probably because the charges which it contained appeared void of evidence, and the effect of a party spirit.

PADDINGTON [C.] Mr. ARNHALL, or ARNold.

PINNER [Chap. to Harrow.] Mr. JOHN ROLL. A very grave and pious man, and very useful in his place. Being in a chapel of ease he never administered the sacraHe died at Harrow on the Hill.

ments.

SHADWELL.

Mr. MATTHEW MEAD. It doth not appear where he was born, or where he had his education The first account we have of him is, as possessing the living of Great Brickhill, in Buckinghamshire. Jan. 22, 1658, he was appointed by Oliver Cromwell, to the cure of the Newchapel at Shadwell, from whence he was ejected for nonconformity in 1662; and not (as Dr. Calamy had stated) from Stepney church: unless it was as assistant preacher with Mr. Greenhill, with whom it appears, from Mr. Howe's funeral sermon for him, he had been some time associated, without specifying the time or place. In 1663 he resided in Worcester-house at Stepney, where his son Richard, the eminent physician was born, who was the eleventh of thirteen children. This son he took with him to Holland, but at what time we do not learn, and there he had his education. On the liberty granted to Dissenters, Mr. Mead returned, and in the year 1674, the spacious meeting-house in Stepney was erected for him, the four large pillars of which were presented to him by the States of Holland, as was frequently related by Mr. Brewer, who for many years preached in the same place. Here Mr. Mead had a very large congregation, and when he preached in the city he was very much followed.

In the year 1683, he was accused, together with Dr. Owen and Mr. Griffith, of being privy to what was called the Ryehouse-plot, for which the great Lord Russel, among other patriots, suffered death. It is said, that on this occasion he fled to Holland for safety, tho' conscious of innocence. If

this was fact he soon returned, and obeyed the summons to attend the privy council, at which the king, Charles II, was present, and answered the interrogatories put to him in so satisfactory a manner, that his majesty himself ordered him to be discharged. The above infamous accusation was brought against him and the other ministers by Dr. Thomas Sprat, Bp. of Rochester,* in his fabulous history of the Rye-houseplot, and was repeated by Dr. Nichols, in his Defence of the church of England; a sufficient answer to which may be seen in Neal's Hist. Toulmin's edit. vol. iv. p. 602. Also in Peirce's Vindic. of Dissenters. p. 258. This last learned author adds, concerning Mr. Mead." This worthy man was my guardian, and therefore I think myself bound to pay so much respect to his memory as to take this occasion of acquainting my reader, if he does not know it already, That he was a gentleman and a scholar, and a most excellent preacher; And that his reputation was too well established among those who knew him to be lessened by such reproaches as those cast upon him," by the above writers.

Mr. Mead died Oct. 16, 1699, aged 70. Mr. John Howe preached his funeral sermon, on 1 Tim. iv. 16.

6

[The following is an extract from it:- "I wonder not that there are many weeping eyes, and should much wonder if there be not many aking trembling hearts among you, for what you have lost, and from an apprehension, how hard and almost hopeless it is your loss should be soon or equally supplied. He was long in preparing and forming to be what he was when you lost him. His station among you in this neighbourhood, when first he undertook the pastoral charge of this church, over which the Holy Ghost made ⚫ him overseer,' required a man of as much wisdom and grace, as any such station could well be supposed to do, considering how numerous, how intelligent, and well-instructed a people he was to take the care of. About 43 or 44 years ago I had the opportunity of beginning an acquaintance with him. His excellent good natural parts, his ingenuous education, his industry, his early labours in preaching the gospel of Christ, in his native country, in the city, and in this place; his conjunction and society, for some years, with that excel

* It was lately remarked, by a person who liked a pun, that the See of Rochester, has been more noted for SPRATS than for HERRINGS" alluding to the excellent prelate of that name, who was the zealous friend of civil and religious liberty,

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