turn, he attended the King in a journey to Scotland, where he exerted himself in fupport of epifcopacy, in oppofition to the established ministry there, who were Prefbyterians. Having acquired fome name in polemical divinity, and being long accuftomed to difputations, the King made choice of him to go to the Netherlands, and affift at the fynod of Dort, in fettling the controverted points of faith, for which that reverend body were there convened. Hall has been very lavish in his own praise, while he acted at the fynod of Dort; he has given many hints of the fupernatural affiftance he was bleffed with: he has informed us, that he was then in a languishing state of health; that his reft was broken, and his nights fleepless; but on the night preceding the occafion of his preaching a Latin fermon to the fynod, he was favoured with refreshing fleep, which he afcribes to the immediate care of providence. The states of Holland, he fays, "fent Daniel Heinfius the poet to vifit "him, and were fo much delighted with his com portment, that they prefented him with a rich "medal of gold, as a monument of their ref"pect for his poor endeavours." Upon our author's returning home, he found the church torn to pieces, by the fierce contentions which then fubfifted concerning the doctrines of Arminius : he faw this with concern, and was fenfible true religion, piety, and virtue, could never be promoted by fuch altercation; and therefore with the little power of which he was mafter, he endeavoured to effect a reconciliation between the contending parties: he wrote what he calls a project of pacification, which was prefented to his Majefty, and would have had a very happy influence, had not the enemies of Mr. Hall mifreprefented the book, and fo far influenced the King, that a royal edict for a gene ral inhibition, buried it in filence. Hall after this contended contended with the Roman Catholics, who upon the profpect of the Spanish match, on the fuccefs of which they built their hopes, began to betray a great degree of infolence, and proudly boaft the pedigree of their church, from the apoftles themfelves. They infifted, that as their church was the firft, fo it was the beft, and that no ordination was valid which was not derived from it. Hall in anfwer to their affertions, made a conceffion, which fome of his Proteftant brethren thought he had no right to do; he acknowledged the priority of the Roman Church, but denied its infallibility, and confequently, that it was poffible another church might be more pure, and approach more to the apoftolic practice than the Romish. This controverfy he managed fo fuccefsfully, that he was promoted to the fee of Exeter; and as King James. I. feldom knew any bounds to his generofity, when he happened to take a perfon into his favour, he foon after that removed him from Exeter, and gave him the higher bifhoprick of Norwich; which he enjoyed not without fome allay to his happiness, for the civil wars foon breaking out, he underwent the fame feverities which were exercifed against other prelates, of which he has given an account in a piece prefixed to his works, called, Hall's hard Measure and from this we fhall extract the moft material circumstances. The infolence of fome churchmen, and the fuperiority they affumed in the civil government, during the distractions of Charles I. provoked the Houfe of Commons to take fome meafures to prevent their growing power, which that pious monarch was too much difpofed to favour. In confequence of this, the leading members of the oppofition petitioned the King to remove the bishops from their feats in Parliament, and degrade them to the ftation of Commons, which was warmly opposed oppofed by the high church lords, and the bishops themselves, who protefted against whatever steps were taken during their reftraint from Parliament, as illegal, upon this principle, that as they were part of the legiflature, no law could pafs during their abfence, at least if that abfence was produ ced by violence, which Clarendon has fully reprefented. The prejudice against the epifcopal government gaining ground, petitions to remove the bishops were poured in from all parts of the kingdom, and as the earl of Strafford was then fo obnoxious to the popular refentment, his caufe and that of the bishops was reckoned by the vulgar, fynonimous, and both felt the refentment of an enraged populace. To fuch a fury were the common people wrought up, that they came in bodies to the two Houfes of Parliament, to crave justice, both against the earl of Strafford, and the archbishop of Canterbury, and, in fhort, the whole bench of fpiritual Peers; the mob befieged the two Hofes, and threatened vengeance upon the bishops, whenever they came out. This fury excited fome motion to be made in the Houfe of Peers, to prevent fuch tumults for the future, which were fent down to the Houfe of Commons. The bishops, for their fafety, were obliged to continue in the Parliament House the greateft part of the night, and at laft made their efcape by bye-ways and ftratagems. They were then convinced that it was no longer fafe for them to attend the Parliament, 'till fome meafures were taken to reprefs the infolence of the mob, and in confequence of this, they met at the houfe of the archbishop of York, and drew up a proteft, against whatever fteps fhould be taken during their abfence, occafioned by violence. This proteft, the bishops intended should firft be given to the Secretary of State, and by him to the King, and that his Majesty fhould fhould cause it to be read in the House of Peers; but in place of this, the bishops were accused of high treafon, brought before the bar of the House of Peers, and fent to the Tower. During their confinement, their enemies in the Houfe of Commons, took occafion to bring in a bill for taking away the votes of bifhops in the House of Peers: in this bill lord Falkland concurred, and it was fupported by Mr. Hambden and Mr. Pym, the oracles of the Houfe of Commons, but met with great oppofition from Edward Hyde, afterwards earl of Clarendon, who was a friend to the church, and could not bear to see their liberties infringed. The bishops petitioned to have council affigned them, in which they were indulged, in order to answer to the charge of high treafon. A day was appointed, the bifhops were brought to the bar, but nothing was effected; the Houfe of Commons at laft finding that there could be no proof of high treafon, dropt that charge, and were content to libel them for a mifdemeanor, in which they likewife but ill fucceeded, for the bishops were admitted to bail, and no profecution was carried on against them, even for a mifdemeanor. Being now at liberty, the greatest part of them retired to their diocefes, 'till the ftorm which had threatened them should fubfide. Bishop Hall repaired to Norwich, where he met, from the difaffected party, a very cold reception; he continued preaching however in his cathedral at Norwich, 'till the order of fequeftration came down, when he was defired to remove from his palace, while the fequeftrators feized upon all his eflate, both real and perfonal, and appraized all the goods which were in the palace. The bishop relates the following inftance of oppreffion which was inflicted on him; One morning (fays his lordship) before my fervants were up, there came to my gates one Wright, 6 Wright, a London trooper, attended with others requiring entrance, threatening if they were not admitted, to break open the gates, whom, I found at first fight, ftruggling with one of my servants for a piftol which he had in his hand; I demanded his bufinefs at that unfeasonable time; he told me he came to fearch for arms and ammunition, of which I must be difarmed; I told him I had only two muskets in the house, and no other military provifion; he not refting upon my word, fearched round about the houfe, looked into the chefts and trunks, examined the veffels in the cellar; finding no other warlike furniture, he asked me what horfes I had, for his commiflion was to take them alfo; I told him how poorly I was stored, and that my age would not allow me to travel on foot; in conclufion, he took one horse away.' The committee of fequeftration foon after proceeded to ftrip him of all the revenue belonging to his fee, and as he refufed to take the covenant, the magistrates of the city of Norwich, who were no friends to epifcopal jurifdiction, cited him before them, for giving ordination unwarrantably, as they termed it to this extraordinary fummons the bishop anfwered, that he would not betray the dignity of his ftation by his perfonal appearance, to answer any complaints before the Lord Mayor, for as he was a Peer of the realin, no magiftrate whatever had a right to take cognizance of his conduct, and that he was only accountable to the Houfe of Lords, of which he was one. The bishop proceeds to enumerate the various infults he received from the enraged populace; fometimes they fearched his houfe for malignants, at other times they threatened violence to his perfon; nor did their refentment terminate here; they exercised their fury in the cathedral, tore down the altar, broke the organ in pieces, and committed a kind of facrilegious |