66 faid office he caufed feveral fuperftitious pictures to be burnt at the market-place of Oxford, and among the reft, one in which was the figure of God the Father, over a crucifix, ready to receive the foul of Chrift; and he profeffes in this letter, that he was moved to fuch proceedings by his own obfervation and experience. I "remember (fays he) in that college [Baliol] where I "firft lived, a young man was taken praying, and beating his breaft, before a crucifix in a window; which caufed "the master and fellows to pull it down and set up "other glafs. Which example, makes me nothing doubt, "but that the cross in Cheapfide hath many, in the "twilight and morning early, who do reverence before it, befides Campian, whofe act is famous, or rather "infamous, for it. And, I am informed, that fo much "hath been fignified by the neighbours, or inqueft, mak"ing prefentments concerning the circumftances of this "caufe. By all which, I do conclude, that it is a "monument of their fuperftition; a great inducement, "and may be a ready way to idolatry; and that there 66 can be no tolerable use of this matter, which may be "able to countervail the dangers and obloquy arifing upon the retaining of it; and fo much the rather, be"cause it is perceived that many evil affected men do "make their advantage from hence, to infinuate into the "minds of their credulous hearers, that it is a token of "the return of their faith again into this land, fince "their monuments are not extinguished in the chief street "of our greatest city." He afterwards defires, that the reader would observe, that the magiftrates are to redrefs fuch enormities: "For (continues he) I do not permit inferior men to run headlong about fuch matters; and to rend, break, and "tear, as well within, as without the churches, which "was that which Luther reprehended; but the advice and "confent of fuperior powers is to be had herein, that all "things may be done decently and in order." He held it therefore neceffary, that they should apply to the archbishop of Canterbury [Whitgift] and to the bishop of London [Bancroft] for inftructions. The iffue of the matter was, that the crofs only was erected again, without either the body or the dove, which was agreeable in the main to the fentiments of the vice-chancellor, and the heads of houfes at Oxford. He likewife publifhed the fame year his fermons on the prophet Jonah, which were received with great applause, In 1603, he was again chofen vice-chancellor of the univerfity, and difcharged that office a fecond time with general approbation. In the fucceeding year 1604, that tranflation of the Bible, which is now in ufe, was made by the direction of K. James, and Dr. Abbot was the fecond of eight learned divines in the univerfity of Oxford, to whom the care of tranflating the whole New Teftament (excepting the Epiftles) was committed. He likewife published this year an answer to Dr. Hill's Reasons for upholding Popery. In 1605, he was a third time vicechancellor. In the fucceeding year, he is faid to have had a great share in the troubles of Laud, who was called to an account by the vice-chancellor, Dr. Ayry, for a fermon of his preached before the university; and that year, like. wife, he loft his father and mother. In 1608, died his great patron Thomas Sackville, earl of Dorfet, lord high treasurer of England, and chancellor of the univerfity of Oxford, fuddenly at the council table; at whofe funeral, Dr. Abbot preached a fermon, which was afterwards printed, and generally commended. After his decease, Dr. Abbot became chaplain to George Hume, earl of Dunbar, and treasurer of Scotland, one of K. James's early favourites, and who all along had a very high fhare in his efteem; and with him he went this year into Scotland, in order to affift in the execution of a very important defign, for eftablishing an union between the Churches in that kingdom and this, wherein he behaved with fo much prudence and moderation as gained him a very high character, and is thought to have been the first ftep to all his future preferment. Dean Abbot now ftood fo high in the king's favor, that on the death of Dr. Overton, bishop of Litchfield and Coventry, which happened the latter end of April, 1609, his majefty thought of Dr. Abbot for his fucceffor; and he was accordingly confecrated bishop of those united fees, on December 3, in the fame year. But this, it seems, did not appear in the king's eyes a fufficient recompence for the fervices rendered him by fo able a man; and therefore, before he had fat a month in this bifhoprick, he was tranflated to London, that fee becoming void by the death of Dr. Thomas Ravis; and he was accordingly removed thither on the 20th of January following. It was but a fhort time that he poffeffed both these bifhopricks; and yet, in that fhort time, he fo remarkably diftinguished himself by the diligent performance of his function, by conftant preaching, and by expreffing the utmost readiness to promote learning and learned men, that he obtained a general good character, as appears from feveral memorials of those times. While the good bishop was thus employed, a new opportunity offered of the king's teftifying his esteem of, and confidence in him, by the archiepifcopal fee of Canterbury's becoming vacant, as it did on the 2d of November, 1610, by the death of Dr. Richard Bancroft. The court bifhops immediately caft their eyes upon the celebrated Dr. Lancelot Andrews, then bishop of Ely, and pointed him out to the king, as one fufficiently qualified to take upon him the government of the church; and they thought this recommendation, joined to the king's knowa regard for the parts and piety of this eminent man, enough to fecure his promotion to the primacy; but either the king himself thought of the bishop of London, or he was propofed to him by his old friend and patron, the earl of Dunbar; and therefore, without taking the advice of thofe prelates, his majefty preferred bishop Abbat to the fee of Canterbury, in which he was feated on the 9th of April, 1611; and, on the 23d of June following, was fworn of his majesty's most honourable privy council, Thus we fee him, before he had arrived at the age of fifty, exalted to the highest dignity in the church, and celebrated by Godwin, one of his contemporaries, and a bishop too, for his learning, eloquence, and indefatigable diligence in preaching and writing, notwithstanding the great burthen that lay upon him, from the neceffary attendance on the duties of his high office; especially prefiding in the high-commiffion court, which fat weekly at his palace, and his regular affifting at council, which, while his health permitted, he never failed. At this time, he was in the highest favor both with prince and people, and appears to have had a principal hand in all the great tranfactions in church and state; he was never efteemed exceffively fond of power, or defirous of carrying his prerogative, as primate of England, to an extraordinary height; yet, as foon as he had taken poffeffion of the archbishoprick, he fhewed a fteady refolution in the maintainance of the rights of the high commiffion-court, and would not fubmit to lord Coke's prohibitions. He likewife fhewed his concern for the intereft of the protestant religion abroad, by procuring his majefty's application to the fates general against Conrade Vorftius, whom they had called to the profefforship of Leyden; in which affair Sir Ralph Ralph Winwood was employed; and when it was found. difficult to obtain from the ftates that fatisfaction which the king defired, his grace, in conjunction with the lord treafurer, E. of Salisbury, framed an expedient for contenting both parties. In all probability this alarmned some of the warm churchmen at home, who were by no means pleased with the king's discountenancing abroad those opinions which themselves favored in both universities; but, whatever their fentiments upon this matter might be, archbishop Abbot seems to have had as great concern for the church, as any of them, when he thought it really in danger, as appears by a fhort and plain letter of his to Sir Ralph Winwood, about one Mr. Amias, who had been appointed preacher in the English congregation at the Hague, of whom the bishop fays, that he was a fit perfon to breed up the captains and foldiers there in mutiny and faction, and, confequently, very unfit for his office. His great concern for the true intereft of religion, made him a zealous promoter of the match between the Elector Palatine and princess Elizabeth; and that prince being here in the beginning of the year 1612, his grace thought fit to invite the nobility that attended him to an entertainment, at his archiepifcopal palace at Lambeth, where, though uninvited and unexpected, the elector himfelf reforted, to fhew his great refpect for the archbishop, and was fo well pleafed with his welcome, that when he feafted the members of the privy council at Effex-boufe, he fhewed particular refpect to the Archbishop, and thofe who attended him. On the fourteenth of February following, the marriage was folemnized with great fplendor, the archbishop performing the ceremony on a ftage erected in the middle of the royal chapel; and, on the tenth of April, his electoral highness returned to Germany; but before his departure, he made a prefent of plate to the archbishop, of the value of a thousand pounds, as a mark of the juft fenfe he had of the pains his grace had taken in the accomplishing his marriage; and as an additional mark of his confidence, he wrote to him from Canterbury, in relation to the caufes of that discontent, with which he left England. The concern his majefty had fhewn for removing Arminius firft, and then Vorftius, had given their favorers in Holland fo much uneafinefs, that the famous Hugo Grotius, the great champion of their cause, was tent over to England, to endeavor to mitigate the king's difpleasure, displeasure, and, if poffible, to give him a better opinion of the Remonftrants, as they began then to be called; and we have a very fingular account of the man, and of his negotiation, from the pen of the archbishop t⚫ In + This is contained in a letter from his grace to Sir Ralph Winwood, dated June 1, 1713, from Lambeth; it contains a great variety of curious particulars, fome of which follow. "You must take heed, "how you truft Dr. Grotius too far, for I perceive him to be fo "addicted to fome partialities in those parts, that he feareth not to "lafh, fo it may ferve a turn. At his first coming to the king, by "reafon of his good Latin tongue, he was fo tedious, and full of "tittle-tattle, that the king's judgement was of him, that he was fome "pedant, full of words, and of no great judgement. And I myself, "difcovering that to be his habit, as if he did imagine that every man "was bound to hear him, fo long as he would talk, (which is a great "burthen to men replete with bufinefs) did privately give him notice "thereof, that he should plainly, and directly, deliver his mind, or « else he would make the king weary of him. This did not so take "place, but that afterwards he fell to it again, as was especially ob"ferved one night at fupper at the lord bishop of Ely's, whither being "brought by Mr. Cafaubon, (as I think) my lord intreated him to "tay to fupper, which he did. There was prefent Dr. Steward, "and another Civilian, unto whom he flings out fome question of that "profeffion, and was fo full of words, that Dr. Steward afterwards "told my lord, that he did perceive by him, that, like a fmatterer, "he had ftudied fome two or three questions, whereof when he came "in company he must be talking to vindicate his skill; but if he were "put from thofe, he would fhew himself but a fimple fellow. There "was prefent also, Dr. Richardson, the king's profeffor of divinity in "Cambridge, and another doctor in that faculty, with whom he falleth "in alfo about fome of thofe questions, which are now controverted "among the minifters in Holland. And being matters wherein he * was studied, he uttered all his fkill concerning them: My lord of "Ely fitting ftill at the fupper all the while, and wondering what a "man he had there, who, never being in the place or company before, "could over-whelm them so with talk for fo long a time. I write this ❝ unto you so largely, that you may know the difpofition of the man, " and how kindly he used my lord of Ely, for his good entertainment. "You will ask me what is this to you? I must tell you therefore, that 16 you shall not be without your part. At the fame time that Sir Noel "Caron was together with Grotius, being now to take his leave of the "king, it was defired of his majesty, that he would not hastily give his judgement concerning points of religion, now in difference in "Holland, for that his majefty had information but of one fide, and "that his ambaffador did deal partially, making all reports in favor "of the one fide, and faying nothing at all for the other. For he "might have let his majesty know, how factious a generation thefe con"tradicters are; how they are like to our puritans in England; how "refractory they are to the authority of the civil magiftrate, and other "things of like nature, as I wrote you in my former letter. I doubt "not but Grotius had his part in this information, whereout I conceive "you will make fome ufe, keeping thefe things privately to yourfelf, as becometh a man of your employment. When his majesty told |