greate triall upon him; first her life was allmost in desperate hazard, and then the disease, for the present, made her the most deformed person that could be seene, for a greate while after she recover'd; yett he was nothing troubled at it, but married her assoone as she was able to quitt the chamber, when the priest and all that saw her 'were affrighted to locke on her: but God recompenc'd his iustice and constancy, by restoring her, though she was longer then ordinary before she recover'd, as well as before. '

p. 45, 46. There is a good deal more of this affectionate and romantic style of writing throughout the book; but the shade of Mrs Hutchinson would not forgive us, if we were to detain the reader longer with these vanities of her youth.' We proceed, therefore, to graver matters.

We might cull many striking specimens of eloquence from her summary account of the English constitution and of the Reformation; but the following view of the changes which took place on the accession of James and of Charles, are more characteristic of the age and of the party to which she belongs.

The honor, wealth, and glory of the nation, wherein Queene Elizabeth left it, were soone prodigally wasted by this thriftlesse heire, the nobility of the land utterly debas'd by setting honors to publick sale, and conferring them on persons that had neither blood nor meritt fitt to weare, nor estates to beare up their titles, but were faine to invent proiects to pill the people, and pick their purses for the maintenance of vice and lewdnesse. The generallity of the gentry of the land soone learnt the court fashion, and every greate house in the country became a sty of uncleannesse. To keepe the people in their deplorable security, till vengeance overtooke them, they were entertain'd with masks, stage playes, and sorts of ruder sports. Then began murther, incest, adultery, drunkennesse, swearing, fornication, and all sort of ribaldry, to be no conceal'd but countenanc'd vices; because they held such conformity with the court example. '— And now the ready way to preferment there, was to declare an opposition to the power of godlinesse, under that name; so that their pulpitts might iustly be called the scorner's chair, those sermons only pleasing that flatter'd them in their vices, and told the poore king that he was Solomon,-that his sloth and cowardize, by which he betrey'd the cause of God and honour of the nation, was gospell meekenesse and peaceablenesse, for which they rays'd him up above the heavens, while he lay wallowing like a swine in the mire of his lust. He had a little learning, and this they call'd the spiritt of wisedome, and so magnified him, so falsely flatter'd him, that he could not endure the words of truth and soundnesse, but rewarded these base, wicked, unfaithfull fawners with rich preferments, attended with pomps and titles, which heav'd them up above a humane heighth: with their pride their enyie swell'd against the people of God, whom they began to proiect how they might roote out of the land; and when

*Pill-pillage, plunder.'

when they had once given them a name, whatever was odious or dreadfull to the king, that they fixt upon the Puritane, which, according to their character, was nothing but a factious hipocrite.' P. 59-61.

The face of the court was much chang'd in the change of the king; for King Charles was temperate, chast, and serious; so that the fooles and bawds, mimicks and catamites of the former court grew out of fashion; and the nobility and courtiers, who did not quite abandon their debosheries, had yet that reverence to the king, to retire into corners to practise them: men of learning and ingenuity in all arts were ii esteeme, and receiv'd encouragement from the king; who was a most excellent iudge and a greate lover of paintings, carvings, gravings, and many other ingenuities, less offensive then the prophane abusive witt, which was the only exercise of the other court., p. 65.

The characters of this King's counsellors are drawn, in general, with great force and liveliness; and with a degree of candour scarcely to have been expected in the widow of a regicide. We give that of Lord Strafford as an example.

But there were two above all the rest, who led the van of the king's evill councellors, and these were Laud, archbishop of Canterbury, a fellow of meane extraction and arrogant pride, and the earl of Strafford, who as much outstript all the rest in favour as he did in abilities, being a man of deepe pollicy, sterne resolution, and ambitious zeale to keepe up the glory of his own greatnesse. In the beginning of this king's reigne, this man had bene a strong assertor of the liberties of the people, among whom he had gain'd himselfe an honorable reputation, and was dreadfull to the court party, who thereupon strew'd snares in his way, and when they found a breach at his ambition, his soule was that way enter'd and captivated. He was advanc'd first to be lord president of the councell in the north, to be a baron, after an earle, then deputy of Ireland; the neerest to a favourite of any man since the death of the duke of Buckingham, who was rays'd by his first master, and kept up by the second, upon no account of personall worth or any deserving abillities in him, but only upon violent and private inclinations of the princes; but the earle of Strafford wanted not any accomplishment that could be desir'd in the most serviceable minister of state: besides he having made himselfe odious to the people, by his revolt from their interest to that of the oppressive court, he was now oblieg'd to keepe up his owne interest with his new party, by all the mallitious practises that pride and revenge could inspire him with. p. 68, 69.

One of Mrs Hutchinson's great talents, indeed, is the delineation of characters; and though her affections are apt to throw rather too glowing or too dark a tint over the canvas, yet this very warmth carries with it an impression of sincerity which adds not a little to the interest of her pictures. We pass by her short sketches, of the Earl of Newcastle, who was a prince in his

own

own country, till a foolish ambition of glorious slavery carried him to court,'-the Earl of Kingston, whose covetousness

made him divide his sons between the two parties, till his fate drew him over to the King's side, where he behaved himself honourably, and died remarkably, '—the Earl of Clare, who was very often of both parties, and, I think, never advantaged either, " -and a great number of other persons, who are despatched with equal brevity; and venture to put her talents to a severer test, by trying whether they can interest the reader in a description of the burghers and private gentlemen of Nottingham, at the breaking out of these great disturbances.

There were seven aldermen in the towne, and of these only alderman James, then mayor, own'd the parliament. He was a very honest, bold man, but had no more but a burgher's discretion; he was yett very well assisted by his wife, a woman of greate zeal and courage, and more understanding then weomen of her ranke usually have. All the devout people of the towne were very vigorous and ready to offer their lives and famelies, but there was not halfe the halfe of the towne that consisted of these. The ordinary civill sort of people coldly adher'd to the better; but all the debosht, and such as had liv'd upon the bishops persecuting courts, and bene the lacqueys of proiectors and monopolizers, and the like, they were all bitterly malignant. Yett God awed them, that they could not at that time hinder his people, whom he overrul'd some of their greatest enemies to assist, such as were one Chadwick and Plumptre, two who, at the first, put themselves most forward into the businesse.

Plumptre was a doctor of phisick, an inhabitant of Nottingham, who had learning, naturall parts, and understanding enough to discerne betweene naturall civil righteousnesse and iniustice, but he was a horrible atheist, and had such an intollerable pride, that he brook'd no superiours, and having some witt, tooke the boldnesse to exercise it, in the abuse of all the gentlemen wherever he came.

This man had sence enough to approove the parliament's cause, in poynt of civill right, and pride enough to desire to breake the bonds of slavery, whereby the king endeavour'd to chaine up a free people; and upon these scores, appearing high for the parliament's interest, he was admitted into the consultations of those who were then putting the country into a posture of defence.

Chadwick was a fellow of a most pragmaticall temper, and, to say truth, had strangely wrought himselfe into a station unfitt for him. He was at first a boy that scraped trenchers in the house of one of the poorest iustices in the county, but yet such a one as had a greate deale of formallity and understanding of the statute law, from whom this boy pick'd such ends of law, that he became first the iustice's, then a lawyer's, clearke. Then, I know not how, gott to be a parcell-iudge in Ireland, and came over to his owne country swell'd with the reputation of it, and sett on foote a base, obsolete, arbitrary court there, which the Conqueror

Conqueror of old had given to one Peverel, his bastard,' &c.When the king was in towne a little before, this man so insinu. ated into the court that, comming to kisse the king's hand, the king told him he was a very honest man; yet by flatteries and dissimulations he kept up his creditt with the godly, cutting his haire, and taking up a forme of godlinesse, the better to deceive. In some of the corrupt times he had purchas'd the honor of a barrister, though he had neither law nor learning, but he had a voluble tongue, and was crafty; and it is allmost incredible that one of his meane education and poverty should arrive to such things as he reacht. This basenesse he had, that all the iust reproaches in the world could not moove him, but he would fawne upon any man that told him of his villanies to his face, even at the very time. Never was a truer Judas, since Iscariott's time, then he; for he would kisse the man he had in his heart to kill; he naturally delighted in mischiefe and treachery, and was so exquisite a villaine, that he destroy'd those designes he might have thriven by, with overlaying them with fresh knaveries. P. 110-113.

We have not room for many of the more favourable delineations with which these are contrafted; but we give the following short sketch of Mr Thornhagh, who seems to have been a great favourite of Mrs Hutchinson's.

Mr Francis Thornhagh, the eldest sonne of Sr. Francis Thornhagh, was a man of a most upright faithfull heart to God and God's people, and to his countrie's true interest, comprehended in the parliament's cause; a man of greater vallour or more noble daring fought not for them, nor indeed ever drew sword in any cause; he was of a most excellent good nature to all men, and zealous for his friend; he wanted councell and deliberation, and was sometimes too facile to flatterers, but had iudgment enough to discerne his errors when they were represented to him, and worth enough not to persist in an iniurious mistake because he had once entertained it." p. 114.

This gallant gentleman afterwards fell at the battle of Preston. Mrs Hutchinfon has given the following animated defcription of

his fate.

In the beginning of this battle, the valliant Coll. Thornhagh was wounded to death. Being at the beginning of the charge on a horse as couragious as became such a master, he made such furious speed, to sett upon a company of Scotch lanciers, that he was singly engaged and mortally wounded, before it was possible for his regiment, though as brave men as ever drew sword, and too afectionate to their collonell, to be slack in following him, to come time enough to breake the furie of that body, which shamed not to unite all their force against one man. His soule was hovering to take her flight out of his body, but that an eager desire to know the successe of that hattle, kept it within, till the end of the day, when the newes being brought him, he clear'd his dying countenance, and say'd, "I now

reioyce

reioyce to die, since God hath lett me see the overthrow of this perfidious enemy; I could not lose my life in a better cause, and I have the favour from God to see my blood aveng'd. " So he died, with a large testimony of love to his souldiers, but more to the cause, and, was by mercy remoov'd, that the temptations of future times might not prevaile to corrupt his pure soule. A man of greater courage and integritie fell not nor fought not in this glorious cause; he had also an excellent good nature, but easie to be wrought upon by flatterers, yett as flexible to the admonitions of his friends; and this virtue he had, that if sometimes a cunning insinuation prevail'd upon his easie faith, when his error was made knowne to him, notwithstanding all his great courage, he was readier to acknowledge and repaire, then to persue his mistake.' p. 289-90.

The most confpicuous perfon by far, of the age to which Mrs Hutchinson belongs, was Cromwell; and there is no character, accordingly, which the appears to have studied more, or better comprehended. Her work contains a great number of original anecdotes with regard to him; and with all the advantages which later times have derived from the collation of various authorities, and from confidering, at a difpaffionate distance, the various turns of his policy, we doubt whether any hiftorian has given a more juft or fatisfactory account of this extraordinary perfonage than this woman, who saw him only in the courfe of his obliquities, and through the varying medium of her own hopes and apprehenfions. The profound duplicity and great ambition of his nature, appear to have been very early detected by Colonel Hutchinfon, whofe biographer gives this account of his demeanour to the Levellers and Prefbyterians, who were then at the height of their rivalry.

These were they,' says she, speaking of the former, who first began to discover the ambition of Lieftenant-general Cromwell and his idolaters, and to suspect and dislike it. About this time, he was sent downe, after his victory in Wales, to encounter Hamilton in the north. When he went downe, the chiefe of these levellers following him out of the towne, to take their leaves of him, receiv'd such professions from him, of a spiritt bent to persue the same iust and honest things that they desir'd, as they went away with greate satisfaction,-'till they heard that a coachfull of Presbyterian priests comming after them, went away no lesse pleas'd; by which it was apparent he dissembled with one or the other, and by so doing lost his creditt with both.

When he came to Nottingham, Coll. Hutchinson went to see him, whom he embrac'd with all the expressions of kindnesse that one friend could make to another, and then retiring with him, prest him to tell him what thoughts his friends, the levellers, had of him. The collonell, who was the freest man in the world from concealing truth from his friend, especially when it was required of him in love and plainnesse, not only told him what others thought of him, but

what