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THE 


LIFE 


OF 


JOHN  SHARP,  D.D. 

LORD  ARCHBISHOP  OF  YORK. 
t 

TO   WHICH   ARE   ADDED, 
SELECT,  ORIGINAL.  AND  COPIES  OF  ORIGINAL  PAPERS, 

IN  THREE  APPENDIXES. 


COLLECTED 
FROM  HIS  DIARY,  LETTERS,  AND  SEVERAL  OTHER  AUTHENTIC  TESimONIES.  BY  HIS  SON. 

THOMAS  SHARP,  D.D. 

ARCHDEACON   OF   NORTHUMBERLAND; 
PREBENDARY  OF  YORK,  DURHAM,  AND  SOUTHWELL;   RECTOR  OF  ROTHBURY. 


EDITED    BY 

THOMAS  NEWCOME/M.A. 

RECTOR  OF  SHENLEY,  HERTS  ;  AND  VICAR  OF  TOTTENHAM,  MIDDLESEX. 

IN  TWO  VOLUMES. 
VOL.  I. 


LONDON: 

PRINTED  FOR  C.  AND  J.  RIVINGTON, 

ST.  Paul's  church-yard, 

AND  WATERLOO-PLACE,  PALL-MALL. 

1825. 


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vsv.  "^ 


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LONDON : 

PRINTED     BY     R.    GILBERT, 
ST.  John's  square. 


THE 

AUTHOR'S   PREFACE. 


Memoirs  of  the  Lives  of  great  and  good  men 
have  generally  met  with  a  favourable  reception 
in  the  w^orld,  partly  from  the  acknowledged 
usefulness  of  such  kind  of  writings,  and  partly 
from  a  curiosity  natural  to  many  people,  which 
invites  them  to  examine  the  actions  and  cha- 
racters of  those,  who,  when  alive,  drew  the 
notice  of  the  public  upon  them. 

And  as  our  country  is  intitled  to  its  share  of 
honour,  in  having  produced  many  persons  emi- 
nent in  all  faculties,  whose  memorable  virtues, 
learning,  and  public  labours  have  deserved  to 
be  transmitted  to  posterity ;  so  it  is  some  fur- 
ther credit  to  it,  that  justice  has  usually  been 
done  to  their  merits  by  the  pens  of  their  sur- 
vivors, which,  after  the  public  have  been 
deprived  of  their  personal  services,  have  kept 
their   characters   alive  for  the  instruction  and 

A  2 


^iV  PREFACE. 

improvement,  as  well  as  entertainment  of  those 
that  come  after  them. 

Some  of  our  divines,  whose  piety  and  learn- 
ing were  conspicuous  in  the  age  in  which  they 
lived,  have  been  thought  in  succession  deserving 
of  such  posthumous  respects,  and  have  accord- 
ingly received  them.  Among  these.  Dr.  John 
Sharp  was  considerable  in  his  own  time,  and 
hath  as  good  a  claim  as  any  of  his  contempo- 
raries, to  be  redeemed  from  oblivion,  to  be 
remembered  with  honour,  and  to  have  his  por- 
tion in  that  sort  of  life  which  Memoirs,  faith- 
fully collected  and  published,  are  wont  to  give 
and  preserve  in  succeeding  ages. 

The  undertaking  took  its  rise  from  a  little 
design,  the  only  one  at  first  conceived,  of  ex- 
tracting out  of  the  Archbishop's  Diary  so  much 
only  as  related  to  his  spiritual  or  interior  life ; 
and  from  the  belief,  that  a  view  of  him  in  his  daily 
and  more  secret  acts  of  religion  might  be  of 
use  to  as  many  as  it  was  then  designed  should 
be  intrusted  with  the  perusal  of  it ;  and  parti- 
cularly that  it  might  prove  a  most  instructive 
lesson  to  the  Ardibishop's  grandchildren,  who. 


PREFACE. 


it  was  natural  to  think,  would  receive  a  stronger 
and  more  effectual  impression  of  an  imitable 
pattern  of  piety,  when  the  ideas  of  it  were 
conveyed  in  perpetual  association  with  those  of 
the  person  and  character  of  so  near  a  relation. 
This,  therefore,  it  was  proposed,  should  be 
lodged  in  their  hands,  as  a  private  memorial ; 
to  be  preserved  as  an  Heir  Loom  in  the  family, 
without  thoughts  of  making  it  public. 

But  in  the  prosecution  of  this  as  yet  narrow 
design,  so  many  things  offered  themselves  for 
the  enlarging  it,  and  making  the  pattern  more 
complete,  viz.  the  principles  by  which  he  con- 
ducted himself  in  all  parts  of  life,  the  inviolable 
integrity  that  regulated  and  reigned  in  all  he 
said  or  did,  and  the  noble  simpHcitij  which 
shone  in  his  whole  conversation  and  deport- 
ment, in  which  respects  also  he  seemed  an 
example  as  fit  to  be  propounded  to  his  de- 
scendants, and  with  as  promising  an  influence 
upon  them,  as  in  his  private  exercise  of  religion 
above  mentioned,  that  these  also,  together 
with  his  other  social  virtues,  found  place  in 
the  scheme;   and  being  taken  in,  they  either 


VI  PREFACE. 

involved  in  them,  or  naturally  drew  after  them, 
several  facts,  some  of  which  were  the  most 
remarkable  actions  or  passages  of  his  life.  So 
that  in  short,  by  an  unexpected  increase  of 
materials,  by  the  perusal  of  several  original 
papers,  which  at  first  were  neglected,  and  by 
the  additions  of  one  sort  or  other,  that  were 
made  by  the  assistance  of  those  friends  to 
whom  some  of  the  executed  parts  of  the  plan 
were  communicated,  the  draught  advanced, 
and  grew  by  degrees  to  the  size  and  shape  in 
which  it  now  appears.  Insomuch  that  what 
was  the  first  and  sole  design  is  now  become  the 
last  and  the  least  part  of  the  whole  work. 

If  the  method  into  which  it  is  thrown  be 
thought  not  altogether  so  uniform  and  exact, 
as  is  sometimes  found  in  books  of  this  kind,  it 
ought  to  be  remembered  that  the  disposition 
and  arrangement  of  the  several  parts  would  be 
best  directed  by  the  materials  themselves,  in 
subservience  to  the  main  design  of  the  com- 
piler, which  was  to  put  them  together  in  such 
a  way  as  would  best  serve  towards  giving  a 
clear  and  just  idea  of  the  man  who  is  described 


PREFACE.  VII 

or  represented  in  all  the  parts  of  his  life.  This, 
was  the  thing  that  was  principally  aimed  at;: 
and  this  end,  it  is  hoj^ed,  is  in  good  measure 
attained. 

As  the  diaty  is  the  foundation  and  chief  sup^' 
port  of  the  whole  undertaking,  it  seems  neces" 
sary  to  give  the  reader  a  particular  account  of 
it,  and  to  acquaint  him  how  far  it  is,  and  how 
fcir  it  is  not  made  use  of. 

Hi  was  begun  by  the  Archbishop  in  169Iv 
soon  after  his  consecration.  He  first  drew  up 
a  short  account  of  the  most  material  things^" 
which  had  ever  happened  to  him,  till  that  time, 
which  was  either  done  upon  memory,  ox  was  a 
collection  and  transcript  of  several  memoran-  ■ 
diims,  occasionally  taken  by  himself  in  the 
course  of  his  life.  And  it  is  from  hence  that 
the  most  considerable  things  in  i\\e  first  part  of 
the  following  work  are  taken. 

This  summary  account  of  himself,  till  he 
became  Archbishop,  was  from  thenceforward 
carried  on  with  some  exactness  and  particu- 
larity, by  additions  made  to  it  iveeklij,  of  such- 
things  as  he  thought  proper  to  keep  notes  of. 


Vlll  PREFACE. 

And  in  this  way  he  continued  all  King  William's 
reign.  But  soon  after  the  accession  of  Queen 
Anne,  when  he  began  to  have  constant  access 
to  her,  and  more  business  upon  his  hands, 
especially  while  he  resided  at  London,  his  me- 
morandums grew  more  frequent  and  particular, 
and  he  kept,  instead  of  the  weekly  account,  a 
proper  diary  or  journal^  which,  from  the  year 
1702  to  1713  (the  eleven  last  years  of  his  life), 
makes  up  five  volumes  4to.  in  his  own  short 
hand.  By  which  the  variety  of  its  contents 
may  be  in  some  measure  guessed  at.  ' 

That  great  use  has  been  made  of  it  in  the 
following  work  (and  especially  in  the  third  and 
fourth  parts  of  it),  will  be  observed  in  a  great 
number  of  particulars,  which  could  not  possibly 
have  been  remembered,  or  known  so  many 
years  after  his  death,  had  they  not  been  found 
under  his  own  hand.  But  how  requisite  it  was 
to  use  the  liberty  of  quoting  from  thence  with 
caution,  will  appear  from  the  design  he  had  in 
keeping  such  a  diary,  and  the  use  he  himself 
proposed  in  doing  so. 

Nothing  is  more  manifest  from  it,  than  that 


PREFACE.  IX 

it  was  intended  purely  for  his  own  private 
use,  without  the  least  view  or  thought,  that 
any  part  of  it  should  hereafter  be  made  pub- 
lic. And  had  it  not  been  for  the  two  great 
advantages  of  his  short-hand,  viz.  the  secrecy 
and  the  swiftness  of  it,  it  can  hardly  be  con- 
ceived he  should  have  noted  down  such  minute 
particulars,  and  so  many  of  them  as  he  has 
done. 

The  pjincipal  end  that  he  seems  to  have 
proposed  to  himself  in  it  was  a  religious  one, 
and  had  respect  only  to  the  improvement  of 
himself  and  the  peace  of  his  own  conscience. 
For  he  is  upon  no  one  article  so  constantly 
exact  and  particular,  as  in  setting  down  his 
public  and  private  exercises  of  devotion ;  where 
and  in  what  manner  he  performed  them  ;  and 
in  what  frame  and  temper  of  mind  he  was  in 
towards  God  and  another  world.  And  the  use 
that  he  made  of  his  diary  in  this  respect  will 
appear  in  the  fourth  and  last  part,  wherein  his 
private  religious  life  is  considered. 

Another  end  to  which  he  made  it  serve  was 
ecclesiastical.     It  was  in  this  respect  a  kind  of 


3ti  P  RE  FACE. - 

register  of  the  business  dispatched  by  him  a«^ 
Archbishop.  And  as  such  it  takes  in  the  state  of 
affairs  in  his  diocese  and  province ;  the  cliarac-- 
ters  and  talents  of  his  clergy ;  their  admissions,, 
promotions,  proceedings,  difficulties,  &c.  And 
nnder  this  head  several  things  relate  to  the 
laity  too,  who  lived  Mrithin  his  jurisdiction. 

It  is  owing  to  the  mention  of  these  particulars 
in  the  diary,  that  the  second  part  (where  he  is> 
considered  in  his  episcopal  capacity)  is  so  com- 
plete as  it  is. 

As  to  affairs  of  state,  and  the  proceedings  in: 
the  Court  and  Parliament,  he  was  wont  punctu- 
ally to  put  dov/n  his  own  share  in  them,  so  far 
as  he  took  any  share  upon  himself,  but  seldom- 
more.  For  he  doth  not  seem  to  have  had  the 
least  thought  of  making  historical  collections, 
or  treasuring  up  any  memorandums  of  public 
transactions,  in  v/hich  he  had  no  personal  concern. 

So  that  as  to  court  politics  and  councils,  with 
the  issues  of  them;  changes  of  administration, 
and  practices  of  the  ministry,  with  the  reflec- 
tions on  them,  and  the  intrigues  of  parties 
striving  to  supplant  each  other,  with  the  success 


PREFACE.  XI 

of  them,  and  the  like  points  of  more  general 
concernment,  which  almost  engrossed  the  at- 
tention of  the  public  then,  and  remain  subjects 
of  speculation  to  this  day,  he  made  no  other 
mention  of  them  than  what  was  cursory  and 
occasional ;  that  is,  when  they  had  some  con- 
nexion or  affinity  with  the  special  business  in 
hand,  of  which  he  was  making  minutes.  This 
branch  of  his  diary,  therefore,  consists  prin- 
cipally of  these  articles;  his  votes  in  the  House 
of  Peers  upon  all  occasions ;  sometimes  with 
the  reasons  of  them  assigned ;  the  heads  of  his 
speeches  there;  his  application  to  the  Queen 
and  her  ministers,  chiefly  for  Church  prefer- 
ments to  be  given  to  those  of  the  clergy  he 
judged  the  most  worthy,  and  objections  made 
against  them  whom  he  took  to  be  less  deserv- 
ing ;  private  petitions  to  the  Crown,  passing 
through  his  hands,  with  her  Majesty's  respec- 
tive answers  to  them.  The  whole  course  of 
business  that  he  dispatched  as  her  almoner; 
with  relations,  here  and  there  interspersed,  of 
private  discourses  with  her  Majesty,  rarely 
political,  more  frequently  religious.  The  entries 


Xn  PREFACE. 

he  made  of  these  several  particulars,  furnish  the 
chief  materials  for  the  third  part  of  this  work, 
wherein  his  conduct  at  court  and  in  parliament, 
is  considered. 

Another  end  to  which  he  made  his  diary- 
serve,  was  to  preserve  his  Jidelity  in  his  pro- 
mises-^ to  which  he  was  always  very  punctual. 
Wherever  he  engaged  his  word  or  his  interest, 
though  for  the  smallest  favour,  (and,  consider- 
ing his  station,  and  particular  office  at  court,  it 
may  be  easily  guessed  how  he  was  pressed  with 
petitions  and  solicitations),  he  made  his  memo- 
randum of  it,  and  set  a  particular  mark  of  re- 
membrance upon  it.  And  he  generally  put  down 
the  very  words  or  manner,  in  which  he  had 
engaged  himself  by  promise  to  any  person,  in 
which  he  always  appears  to  have  been  ex- 
tremely cautious  that  his  words  should  not  be 
interpreted  to  extend  further  than  he  himself 
really  designed  to  perform  them. 

And,  lastly,  he  would  sometimes  set  down 
what  he  had  said  in  conversation  in  mixt  com- 
panies, especially  when  the  discourse  had  turned 
upon  public  affairs  ;  and  sometimes  what  was 


PREFACE.  Xllt 

said  to  him  by  others  on  the  like  occasions.  But 
these  things  seem  rather  to  have  sHpped  acci- 
dentally into  his  diary,  than  to  have  been  de- 
signed for  any  particular  use  ;  for,  they  occur 
but  seldom,  and  w^hen  they  do,  it  is  hard  to  say 
for  what  reasons. 

Thus  it  is  compounded  of  as  great  a  variety 
of  materials  as  that  of  the  different  sorts  of  bu- 
siness or  actions  in  which  he  was  engaged ;  and 
they  lie  intermixed  and  blended  together  in  all 
that  irregularity  and  seeming  incoherence,  which 
must  be  expected  in  an  account  of  things,  in 
dependent  of  each  other,  and  yet  immediately 
succeeding  each  other  in  order  of  time. 

From  this  general  description  of  it,  it  is  ob- 
vious to  collect  what  was  his  intention  in  be- 
ginning and  continuing  it.  One  thing,  at  least, 
is  manifest,  that  it  was  solely  calculated  for  his 
own  private  and  particular  use  :  and,  therefore, 
in  selecting  passages  from  thence  in  subserviency 
to  another  design,  and  that  of  a  public  nature 
too,  some  care  and  discretion  was  to  be  used. 

To  readers  no  ways  interested  in  the  subject, 
and  absolute  strangers  both  to  him  and  his  affairs, 


XIV  PREFACE. 

far  the  greatest  part  c6nsisting  of  common  and 
<iaily  occurrences,  must  have  appeared  trifling 
and  insignificant ;  and  as  to  some  other  things, 
neither  altogether  unworthy  of  their  notice,  nor 
likely  to  prove  unacceptable  to  them,  there 
are  yet  good  reasons  why  they  should  not  he  in^ 
discrtminately  produced  and  divulged.  Such  pas- 
sages, for  instance,  ought  to  be  suppressed,  as, 
if  published,  vi^ould  bear  hard  upon  the  cha- 
racters of  other  persons,  whether  now  living  or 
dead.  For  it  was  the  furthest  from  his  thoughts 
when  he  inserted  any  thing  of  this  kind,  either 
from  his  own  observation  or  from  the  relation 
of  others,  that  his  authority  should  be  vouched, 
or  his  notes  made,  in  any  wise,  instrumental 
into  conveying  evil  or  suspicious  reports.  He 
abominated  scandal,  and  giving  of  characters, 
as  much  as  any  man  alive,  and  was  always 
wont,  notwithstanding  his  frank  and  undisguised 
temper,  to  speak  very  warily  and  tenderly  of 
every  thing  that  touched  another's  credit  and 
reputation.  This  bane,  therefore,  and  reproach, 
of  all  secret  histories,  it  is  hoped,  is  so  far 
avoided  here,  that  nobody  shall  have  reason  to 
be  offended. 


PREFACE.  XY 

The  rule,  then,  which  was  laid  down  and  pur- 
sued, with  respect  to  the  choice  or  suppression 
of  what  the  diary  afforded,  was  this  :  to  extract 
from  thence  no  more  than  was  apparently  con- 
duciTC  to  one  or  other  of  these  ends,  viz.  either 
to  the  connecting  some  parts  of  this  life  together, 
and  adjusting  the  series  of  his  actions  and  writ- 
ings in  proper  order  of  time  ;  or  to  the  clearing 
up  and  explaining  the  more  remarkable  matters 
of  fact  that  occur  in  this  account ;  or  to  the 
proving  and  contirming  what  is  said  of  his  sen- 
timents and  principles  in  politics ;  or  to  the 
giving  him  his  just  and  true  character  in  all 
parts  of  life,  and  disproving  ivhatever  hath  been 
falsely  reported  of  him,  either  by  those  who 
knew  him  not,  or  those  who  would  not  judge 
the  most  favourably  of  him,  through  the  preju- 
dice of  party. 

Thus  far,  it  is  apprehended,  no  exceptions 
ought  to  be  taken  against  the  use  made  of  his 
private  comment.  For,  supposing  it  to  be  never 
so  solemnly  devoted  to  secrecy,  it  may  be  de- 
cently and  unblameably  appealed  to,  and  quoted 
for  the  establishing  truth,  and  detecting  false*>„ 

13 


XVI  PREFACE. 

hood  and  mistakes,  and  vindicating  and  doing 
justice  to  him,  who  had  the  sole  right  and  pro- 
perty in  it.  And,  further  than  this,  no  man  has 
a  right  to  make  use  of  the  MS.  Diary,  whatever 
property  he  may  claim  in  the  possession  of  it. 

It  may  seem,  indeed,  to  be  a  question,  how 
far  it  is  honourable  or  respectful  to  his  memory, 
not  to  suppress  totally  that  part  of  the  MS. 
which  relates  to  his  private  devotions  and  com- 
munication with  God,  and  his  daily  exercises 
and  essays  to  improve  in  all  piety  and  virtue, 
which  he  designed  should  be  known  to  none  but 
to  God  and  his  own  conscience.  But  to  this  it 
may  be  said,  that  although  to  have  done  thus, 
purely  to  gratify  the  curiosity  of  men,  or  to 
enlarge  the  history,  had  not  been  so  easily 
pardonable,  yet,  when  it  is  done  with  a  view 
to  the  real  benefit  of  all  who  shall  peruse  it,  as  a 
probable  means  of  making  them  better,  the 
candid  and  serious  reader  will  scarcely  censure 
it  as  a  fault.  It  does  not  imply  the  least  dimi- 
nution of  those  respects  which  are  due  to  his 
character,  to  represent  him  as  being,  what 
every  one  would  wish  to  be,  a  sincerely  religious 


,     PREFACE.  XVll 

and  devout  man.  It  is  that  part  of  his  life  and 
icharacter  which  was  most  properly  his  own,  as 
being  the  most  independent  of  all  the  changes 
and  circumstances  of  human  affairs :  aod  if  it  «> 
unusual  to  be  met  with  in  the  lives  which  are 
published  of  private  persons,  it  is  for  this  reason 
only,  because  the  writers  of  those  lives  eould 
have  no  ground  or  handle  of  considering  their 
subject  in  this  particular  view,  for  want  of  such 
materials  as  are  afforded  in  this  case.  Some- 
thing, indeed,  of  this  nature,  is  to  be  met  with 
in  the  Life  of  Dr.  John  Forbes,  an  eminent  and 
celebrated  Scotch  Divine,  published  before  his 
works  at  Amsterdam,  1703.  He  had  kept  a 
kind  of  journal  of  his  spiritual  life,  and  of  that 
only,  for  several  years,  which  the  editor  of  his 
works.  Dr.  John  Garden,  translated  into  Latin, 
and  published  under  this  title,  Johannis  Forbesii 
a  Corse  Vitts  Inter ioris  sive  cvercitioruin  ^iritua- 
iium  Commentaria.  But  his  pains  were  better 
laid  out,  in  extracting  out  of  this  Comnientary  so 
much,  and  so  much  only,  as  was  iiecessary  to 
give  his  reader  a  true  notion  of  the  devotionail 
pari  ^  Pr,  Forbes's  life,  which  he  entitled  Vit£ 

VOL.  I.  b 


,XV111  PREFACE. 

lFo7'besimi(c  Intej^ioris  Idea  Brevis.     Now,  it  is  in 

imitation  of  this  tract  of  Dr.  Garden's,  that  a 

sketch  only,  or  general  draught,  of  Dr.  Sharp's 

spiritual  life,  is  presented  to  the  world,  formed 

from  his  diai*y,   and  supported  with  no  more 

express  testimonies  produced  from  thence,  than 

what  seemed  necessary  to  prove  it  genuine  and 

true.     Hereby  the  reader  is  relieved  from  those 

Tepetitions  which  are  unavoidable  in  a  journal 

of  spiritual  exercises,  and  likewise  gains  both 

^s  much  satisfaction  and  as  much  benefit  by  a 

partial  view,  as  he  could  have  got  by  perusing 

($hQ  whole.  -y 

4\   If  it  be  considered  into  what  times  we  are 

fallen,  in  which  it  is  by  many  insinuated,  that 

.the  Christian  Religion  is  an  imposture,  atid  the 

teachers  of  it  a  ti^ibe  of  hypocrites,   who   out- 

•.wardly  practise  it,  and  labour  to  defend  it,  out 

of  a  principle  of  worldly  interest,  and  not  from 

a  real  sense  and  thorough  conviction  of  its  being 

iwhat  they  would  publicly  teach  it  to  be ;   it 

'ccannot  be  judged  an  improper  season  to.  bring 

this  secret  part  of  the  Archbishop's  life  upon  the 

stage.     Not  as  if  he  were  a  singular,  or  even 

10 


PREFACE.  XiX 


rare  instance,  of  the  power  of  godliness,  and  of 
the  influence  and  efficacy  of  the  Christian  Re- 
ligion, upon  the  minds  and  hearts  of  those  who 
truly  believe  the  Gospel ;  (for,  there  are  as  many 
instances  of  this  as  there  are  good  Christians  in 
the  world,  though  it  seldom  happens  that  the 
same  kind  of  evidence  can  he  had  for  their  being 
so,  that  is  here  produced  in  his  case ;)  but  as  a 
new  and  fresh  instance  of  that  private  divine 
life,  which  is  peculiar  to  the  most  exemplary 
men,  and  of  the  extraordinary  comforts  and 
pleasures  they  are  wont  to  take,  in  their  fre- 
quent, though  secret  correspondences,  with 
Heaven.  When  the  exterior  and  interior  life 
are  found  to  tally  so  exactly,  they  confirm  and 
bear  witness  to  each  other,  as  -  well  as  to  the 
"^uth  and  sufficiency  of  the  religion,  or  institu- 
tion, from  whence  they  are  derived;  and  are 
an  intetmal  proof  of  the  certainty,  us  well  as  an 
tMernal  evidence  of  the  excellency,  of  the  Christian 
Revelation.  ^'  -^v**) 

All  that  remains  for  the  reader  to  be  apprized 
^-^,^1^';  that  all  the  matters  of  fact  which  are 
Wpoirted  in  the  following  sheets,  are  either  takeii 

b  2 


XX  PREFACE. 

from  the  diary,  or  from  other  evidences  of  equal 
authority  with  it.  And  as  to  the  reflections 
which  he  will  find  here  and  there  interspersed, 
though  very  sparingly,  he  may  judge  of  them  a& 
ibe  pleases  :  they  are  the  compilers,  and  do  not 
belong  to  the  Archbishop. 

'a  In  material  points,  which  depend  wholly  on 
the  testimony  of  the  diary,  it  is  for  the  most  part 
expressly  quoted,  as  will  be  seen  in  the  third 
and  fourth  parts.  But  it  is  not  always  referred 
^0  ^in  other  matters,  for  which  there  is  other 
collateral  pro(>f.  ff 

f^  The  several  orighml  letters,  and  copies  of 
originals,  wrote  by  and  to  the  Archbishop, 
which  are  inserted  at  length,  in  different  part« 
of  the  book,  and  the  original  papers,  of  several 
sorts,  which  are  either  scattered  up  and  down 
in  the  body  of  the  work,  or  collected  into  the 
appendixes,  must  speak  for  themselves.  If  they 
be  thought  superfluous,  they  may  be  passed 
over.  If  proper,  the  reader  is  welcome  to  them. 
■^Thereare,  indeed,  more  of  this  sort,  ihan  are 
usually  to  be  met  with  in  the  lives  of  private 
men,  already  published ;  but  the  authority  and 


PREFACE^  XXi 

sanction   they  give    to    the   narrative,    would,    it^ 
was  thought,  make  a  sufficient  excuse  for  theii; 
number.     And,  indeed,   the  design  of  intermix- 
ing so  many  of  his  own  letters,  was  not  only  to 
give  light,  but  credit  too,  to  the  whole  perform- 
ance.    They  are  generally  brought  in  as  testi- 
monies to  the  truth  of  the  account,  either  to. 
support  matters  of  fact,  as  they  are  here  related, 
or  to  stand  for  specimens  of  his  temper  and 
spirit,  as  they  are  here  described  ;  or  to  vouch 
for  his  principles  in  Church  and  State,  as  they 
are  here  laid  down.    And  of  those  letters  that 
were  wrote  to  him,  no  more  is  made  public  than 
what  was  necessary  to  the  making  what  is  said 
of  himself  the  more  authentic.  > 

j^  The  compiler,  indeed,  of  this  work,  was,  in 
justice  to  the  Archbishop's  correspondents,  very 
scrupulous  on  that  article,  and  very  sparing  in 
embellishing  his  work  with  original  letters, 
when  he  might  have  done  it,  such  was  his 
opportunity,  with  a  liberal  hand,  had  it  been 
consistent  with  the  honour  and  respect  due  to 
them. 
l    In  short,  there  is  nothing  of  moment,  through- 


XXll  PREFACE. 

dut  the  whole  work,  for  which  an  authentic  proof 
could  be  produced,  but  is  backed  with  such  tes- 
timony ;  which,  though  it  may  make  the  relation 
appear  something  more  tedious,  yet  it  will  help 
considerably  to  take  off  the  prejudice  that  men 
commonly  have  against  works  of  this  kind,  from 
tlie  supposition,  that  the  writers  of  them  are  too 
iautli  biassed,  either  by  affection  or  gratitude, 
or  both,  and  thereby  tempted  to  amplify  things 
beyond  their  due  measure  and  extent,  in  order 
to  make  the  person  they  would  describe,  appear 
in  the  greatest  form  and  figure,  and  most  ad- 
vantageous light  that  is  possible.     When  an  in- 
timate  friend  or  near  relation  takes  such  a  work 
in  hand,  although  he  knows,  (as  Bishop  Burnet 
observes,  in  his  preface  to  his  Life  of  Bishop 
Bedell),  that  lives  7nust  be  written  with  the  stiict- 
ness  of  a  severe  historian,  and  7iot  helped  up  with 
rhetoric  and  invention,   which  will  incline  men  to 
suspect  his  partiality,  and  make  them  look  upon  him 
as  an  author,  rather  than  a  writer ;  yet  he  may 
find  it  a  difficult  matter  to   prevent  his  over- 
straining some  points,  or  tincturing  others  with 
the  colours  in  which  they  appear  to  his  own  eye ; 


PREFACE^  XXm 

that  is,  he  will  scarce  forbear  shewing  his  own 
great  kindness  for  the  memory  of  the  man  whom 
he  recommends,  and  will  not  leave  him  wholly 
to  the  praise  of  things  themselves,  without  be^) 
stowing  some  good  words  of  his  owa  upon  him,) 
But  now  this  defect  through  private  esteem  and 
friendship,  if  it  be  really  such,  or  if  the  reader 
shall  fancy  he  discovers  it  in  the  present  under^' 
taking,  it  is  hoped  he  will  consider  is  in  great 
measure,  if  not  completely  supplied,  by  the  numr. 
ber  of  vouchers  and  testimonies  *,  that  are  faith?% 
fully  brought  to  support  what  is  advanced; 
(especially  in  the  more  significant  and  material 
passages  that  occur);  and  the  more  of  these 
there  be,  the  more  the  reader  is  secured:  nor 
can  he  greatly  err  in  distinguishing  between  that 

i 
\,*  Mr.  Skinner,  in  his  preface  to  "  Annals  of  Scottish  Epis- 
copacy," observes,  in  reference  to  himself,  as  the  son  and  bio- 
grapher of  Bishop  Skinner,  that  no  son  is  competent  to  give  a 
fair,  jnst,  and  acceptable  account  of  a  father  s  life,  character, 
and  official  conduct,  if  he  do  not  confine  himself  to  written  do- 
cuments, which  serve  not  only  to  confirm  the  truth  of  his  nar- 
rative, but  for  the  reader's  correction  of  the  filial  partiality  of 
the  author. — Editor. 


XXlV^  PREFACE. 

which  is  sufficiently  supported,  and  that  whicfr 
is  given  him  for  granted. 

The  writer  has  this,  however,  to  say,  in  behalf 
of  himself,  and  of  this  attempt  to  draw  the  true 
character  of  Dr.  John  Sharp,  that  how  imperfect 
and  unfinished  soever  the  piece  may  seem,  the 
outlines  and  main  strokes  are  just,  being  so 
taken  from  the  original,  as  hardly  to  be  capable 
6f  suffering  by  the  unsteadiness  of  the  hand  that 
copies.  And  as  to  the  disposal  of  the  colours,- 
and  lights,  and  shades,  in  which  something  must 
be  allowed  to  fancy,  which  naturally  would  act 
akind  part,  there  is  yet  this  justice  done  through- 
out the  whole,  that  nothing  is  either  falsified  of 
knowingly  disguised. 


ta- ' 


ffl 


ADVERTISEMENT. 


The  Editor  of  the  following  work  has  the  hap- 
piness to  number  amongst  his  friends  Mrs.  An- 
drew Boult  Sharp,  wife  of  the  Rev.  Andrew 
Boult  Sharp,  of  Bamborough,  in  Northumber- 
land, and  daughter  to  his  excellent  neighbour,- 
Mrs.  Sharp,  of  Clare  Hall,  Hertfordshire. 

This  lady  is  great  grand- daughter  to  Dr.  John 
Sharp,  Archbishop  of  York,  and  sole  heir  of 
both  the  name  and  blood  of  Sharp,  niece  to  Dr. 
John  Sharp,  Archdeacon  of  Northumberland, 
of  William  Sharp,  of  Fulham,  the  late  eminent 
Surgeon,  and  of  the  far-known  and  well-known 
Granville  Sharp,  the  late  worthy  sons  of  Dfi 
Thomas  Sharp,  author  of  **  Charges  on  the 
Rubric  of  the  Common   Prayer,"  printed  in 


XXVI  ADVERTISEMENT. 

1753,  and  of  this  Life  of  his  Father,  novir  first 
presented  to  the  public.  To  the  kind  per- 
mission of  these  friends,  is  owing  the  present 
publication.  Having  traced  his  title  to,  and  the 
authenticity  of,  the  MS.  Life,  the  Editor  has 
only  to  declare,  that  he  has  faithfully  executed 
his  office.  He  expects,  indeed,  that,  in  the 
opinion  of  some  persons,  he  will  deserve  censure 
for  having  too  faithfully  published  the  whole  of 
the  MS.  history,  just  as  the  author  intended  to 
give  it  to  the  public  many  years  ago,  without 
suppressing  any  portion  of  those  passages  of  the 
Archbishop's  private  UfCy  which  his  own  hand 
alone  could  have  recorded.  It  is  true  that 
scoffers  and  enthusiasts  may  make  a  bad  use  of 
the  passages  alluded  to  ;  but  he  has  not  deemed 
this  liability  to  abuse  a  sufficient  reason  for 
withholding  from  the  more  candid  and  judicious 
reader,  that  ingenuous  confession  of  private 
feeling  and  of  human  infirmity,  which  characr/, 
terises  the  good  and  great  of  all  ages,  and  gives 
to  autobiography  the  highest  charm  and  strongest 
test  of  truth.  As  to  his  motives  for  publishing 
the  work,  they  arc  these,  and  none  other.     Fii'st 


ADVERTISEMENT.  XXVifc 

and  principally,  to  aid  the  founding  a  Chapel  of; 
Ease  at  London  Colney  in  Hertfordshire,  by 
appropriating  the  profit,  if  any,  to  furthering 
that  object  of  his  aim  and  wishes ;  and  so, 
the  good  Archbishop  and  the  Author,  *'  being 
dead,"  shall  yet  work  in  their  vocation  and 
wonted  course, — in  deeds  of  piety,  charity,  and 
public  spirit. — Secondly,  to  do  justice  to  the 
name  of  an  honest  man,  *'  the  noblest  work  of 
God  :'* — for  although  **  the  righteous  are  had  in 
everlasting  remembrance,"  far  preferable  to  any 
human  and  mortal  memorial,  yet  as  we  inscribe 
tombs  to  the  dead  for  the  sake  of  the  living,  so 
a  book  is  a  monument  more  lasting  than  brass, 
"  aere  perennius ;"  as  the  brazen  effigies,  long 
since  stolen  or  strayed  from  chancelled  tomb- 
stone of  abbot,  knight,  or  squire,  will  oftimes 
testify  to  the  men  of  this  generation. — Thirdly^ 
to  gratify,  and  not  alone  to  gratify,  but  to  edify 
also  the  reader,  by  imparting  to  him  the  same 
pleasure  and  profit  which  the  Editor  has  himself 
derived  from  the  imreserved  perusal  of  a  work, 
which  he  believes  few  living  persons  have  seen  , 
in  MS.  besides  the  present  Bishop  of  London^ 


XX  Vm  ADVERTISEMENT. 

the  Lord  Stowell,  and  Prince  Hoare,  Esq.  tlie 
aythor  of  the  Life  of  Granville  Sharp. 

Such  were  his  motives  for  publishing  the  work 
at  this  time  ;  and  such  the  Editor  oifers  as  his 
excuse  ^Iso  for  keeping  in  his  own  hands  the, 
risk  and  responsibility  of  the  editorial  office, 
from  which  another  and  abler  editor  might  have 
fairly  proposed  and  acquired  to  himself  some 
personal  reputation.  To  this  he  makes  no  pre- 
tension, having,  in  truth,  been  so  interrupted  in 
the  course  of  his  voluntary  task,  by  several 
events  of  no  ordinary  occurrence  in  the  life  of  a 
country  clergyman  and  magistrate,  and  by  cares 
of  too  ordinary  occurrence  in  the  bosom  of  most 
large  families,  as  to  have  had  neither  time  to 
add  much  of  note  or  comment  in  order  to 
illustrate  his  author,  nor  yet  inclination  to  at-; 
tempt  to  illustrate  himself.  But  in  defect  of 
these  less  valuable  additions,  in  the  third  Ap-. 
pendix,  the  reader  will  find  letters  of  the  late 
Granville  Sharp  and  other  eminent  personsj 
elucidatory  of  the  attempt  to  introduce  the 
English  Liturgy  into  the  kingdom  of  Prussia; 
which  object,  this  publication  may  tend  to,  len 


-ADVERtTREME]*fT,  XXTK 

Vive  and  to  promote  in  these  more  favourable 
times ;  and  the  English,  Prussian,  and  Hano- 
verian people,  who  have  fought  as  allies  at  "  La 
Belle  Alliance,"  may  yet  worship  in  more  hoily 
alliance — in  the  ''Beauty  of  Holiness,"  "and  in 
the  bond  of  peace."  / 

To  the  same  generous  friends  before  referred 
to,  the  Editor  owes  the  loan  of  many  letters 
from  which  he  has  made  this  selection,  and 
also  the  engraving,  at  their  expense,  of  Dr. 
Thomas  Sharp,  the  author,  some  brief  no- 
tices of  whom  will  be  found  among  the  ad- 
denda, extracted  from  "Nichols's  Literary  Anec- 
dotes of  the  Eighteenth  Century."  In  Coles's 
Collections  for  an  Athenae  Cantabrigienses, 
he  found  many  references  to  printed  works ; 
but  nothing,  both  new  and  material,  such 
as  the  Editor  deemed  worthy  of  republishing, 
after  the  lapse  of  so  long  a  time  since  this 
most  worthy  Archdeacon's  decease.  He  has, 
however,  given  Coles's  notes  and  references 
as  to  the  Archbishop,  and  the  Archdeacon,  Dr. 
Thomas  Sharp. — From  a  MS.  left  by  the  latter 
he  has  given  to  the  public  his  sentiments  on  a 


XXX  ADVERTISEMENT. 

scheme  submitted  to  him  for  a  Protestant 
Convent  ;  and,  as  an  apt  conclusion  of  the 
whole,  *'  Monumental  Inscriptions  of  the  Family 
of  Sharp." 

Mr.  Prince  Hoare,  page  15  of  the  Introductory- 
View,  in  his  Life  of  Granville  Sharp,  mentioning 
this  MS.  narrative  of  the  Life  of  Dr.  John  Sharp, 
asserts  that  **  whenever  it  shall  be  published, 
it  will  form  an  important  addition  to  the  annals 
of  English  Biography." 

Shenley  Parsonage, 
April  9,  1825. 


ilK 


3f'  ^:>«f» 


?u I  ssazTpa ^  '     •'—'■s  jsa-<)9t 


ilUii 


:  rf  rz  -.  ;  -         rj.  rt^r 


THE 


LIFE 


OF 


JOHN    SHARP,  D.D. 

LORD  ARCHBISHOP  OF  YORK. 


*f  ii 


IN  FOUR  PARTS. 


■.\f. 


I. 

CONTAINING  THE  HISTORY  OF  HIS  LIFE  AND  ACTIONS,  FROM  HIS 
BIRTH  TO  HIS  CONSECRATION. 

II. 

HIS  CHARACTER  AS  BISHOP,  AND  HIS  PROCEEDINGS  IN  HIS  DIOCESE. 

III. 

HIS  MORE  PUBLIC  TRANSACTIONS  IN  THE  AFFAIRS  OF  CHURCH  AND 

STATE. 

IV. 

HIS  SOCIAL  VIRTUES,  AND  INTERIOR  LIFE. 


i.-»t      ^.     .:   «.'-(. 


TJ 


The  Indecs  for  both  Volumes  will  he  found  at  the  end 

of  Vol  11. 


.a:.: 


o: 


THE 


LIFE 


OF 


ARCHBISHOP    SHARP. 


PART  I. 

FROM   HIS   BIRTH  TO   HIS  CONSECRATION   TO 
THE   SEE  OF  YORK. 

John  Sharp  was  the  son  of  Thomas  Sharp,  of 
Bradford,  in  the  county  of  York,  by  Dorothy, 
the  eldest  daughter  of  Mr.  John  Weddal,  of 
Widdington,  in  the  said  county,  a  younger 
branch  of  the  Weddal's,  of  Earswick,  near  York. 
Her  mother  was  a  daughter  of  the  family  of  the 
Cutt's,  of  Childerly,  in  Cambridgeshire. 

His  father,  Mr,  Thomas  Sharp,  was  the  se- 
cond or  third  son  of  the  owner  of  an  estate 
called  Woodhouse,  near  Bradford,  being  a 
younger  branch  of  the  Sharp's,  of  Little  Horton, 
in  the  same  neighbourhood :  among  whom  there 
had  been  kept  up,  as  Mr.  Thoresby  says,  not 
only  a  succession  of  Thomas  and  John  alter- 
nately for  many  generations,  but,  what  was  much 

B 


2  LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP   SHAKP. 

more  for  their  credit,  a  taste  for  letters  and  po- 
lite studies ;  for  there  were  some  among  them 
who  were  considerable  for  their  writings,  inso- 
much that,  he  adds,  it  is  rare  to  meet  with  so 
many  of  the  learned  authors  so  nearly  allied. 

He  tells  us  likewise,  that  the  family  of  the 
Sharp's  had  been  very  ancient  in  Bradfordale ; 
but  that  all  the  writings  (except  some  registers) 
by  which  any  further  knowledge  of  them  might 
have  been  gained,  were  lost  or  destroyed  at  the 
taking  of  Bradford,  in  the  civil  wars. 
-  A  loss  of  no  great  consequence  to  the  Arch- 
bishop's character:  for  it  matters  not  to  his 
character,  whether  his  ancestors  were  of  little 
figure  and  note  in  their  age,  or  were  ever  so 
illustrious. 

For  though  the  relative  honour  that  per- 
sons of  rank  derive  from  their  house  and  blood 
is  of  use  as  well  as  credit  to  them  while  they 
live,  and  serves,  like  other  civil  distinctions 
from  offices  and  preferments,  to  procure  them 
precedency  and  external  respects  among  men, 
yet  neither  their  extraction  nor  their  station, 
considered  in  themselves,  contribute  any  thing 
to  the  real  advantage  of  their  memory.  The 
respects  that  are  paid  by  posterity  (if  any  be 
thought  due)  arise  from  other  considerations. 
No  recommendation  remains  acceptable  but 
what  is  founded  on  personal  merit,  which,  in 


LIFE   OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  3 

whatever  shape  it  appears,  stands  always  entitled 
to  a  just  regard. 

Waving,  therefore,  any  further  notice  of  the 
lives  and  characters  of  his  progenitors,  I  shall 
hasten  to  relate  the  great  virtues  and  talents 
remarkable  in  him,  by  which  he  raised  himself 
to  be  an  ornament  to  that  church  in  which  he 
held  so  eminent  a  station  afterwards,  and  be- 
came an  honour  and  credit  to  his  kindred,  and 
the  family  from  whence  he  sprang. 

He  was  born  at  Bradford,  on  Shrove  Sunday, 
Feb.  16,  1644,  and  was  baptised  there  by  Mr. 
Blazet,  a  person  episcopally  ordained.  His 
sponsors  were  Mr.  Weddall,  Mr.  Drake,  and 
Mrs.  Cordingly.  The  circumstances  of  those 
times  make  the  mention  of  these  particulars  the 
more  seasonable ;  especially,  considering  what 
was  objected  many  years  afterwards,  though 
unjustly,  to  another  Archbishop,  his  cotem- 
porary.  He  took  satisfaction  himself  in  know- 
ing, that  he  had  been  admitted  into  the  church 
in  this  regular  way.  For  though  it  was  his 
constant  opinion  that  baptism,  administered 
with  the  proper  matter  and  form,  though  by  a 
lay  hand,  ought  not  to  be  repeated  ;  yet  it  was 
always  with  pleasure  he  observed,  that  this  hap- 
pened not  to  be  his  own  case,  at  a  time  when 
the  irregular  administrations  of  it  were  so  fre- 
quent in  all  parts  of  the  kingdom. 

B  2 


4  LIFE   OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

The  first  period  of  a  man's  life,  which  is  spent 
in  his  nurture  and  education,  though  it  is  far 
from  being  insignificant  in  itself,  for  it  is  the 
foundation  of  the  whole  superstructure  that  is 
afterwards  raised  upon  it  ;  yet  commonly 
proves  a  barren  subject,  through  the  scarcity  of 
materials.  But  this  does  not  lessen  the  curio- 
sity of  some,  which  extends  itself  to  the  know- 
ledge of  the  earliest  and  most  minute  particu- 
lars that  can  with  certainty  be  reported,  con- 
cerning those  who  have  at  length  proved  eminent 
in  their  times.  And  it  has,  accordingly,  been 
usual  with  those  writers  who  have  taken  upon 
them  to  recommend  the  lives  and  actions  of 
such  men  to  posterity,  to  accommodate  them- 
selves to  this  taste  as  far  as  it  lay  in  their 
power,  by  picking  up  and  preserving  all  the 
scattered  notices  to  be  met  with  of  what  they 
did,  and  what  happened  to  them  in  the  first 
stages  of  life.  In  discharge,  therefore,  of  this 
customary  debt  to  such  undertakings,  and  to 
gratify  the  peculiar  relish  of  those  to  whom  the 
relation  of  such  little  incidents  is  agreeable,  and 
likewise  to  make  the  narrative  appear  something- 
more  complete,  a  few  of  the  most  material  pas- 
sages of  this  kind  shall  be  selected. 

His  father  and  mother  were  religious,  honest, 
and  hospitable  people,  and  beloved  in  their 
neighbourhood ;  but  yet  in  a  different  way  of 


LIFE  ^F  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP.  5 

thinking  from  each  other  upon  the  disputes  of 
those  days.  His  father  was  not  a  little  inclined 
to  Puritanism,  according  to  the  temper  of  those 
times,  and  much  favoured  the  parliament  party ; 
and  was  himself  in  great  favour  with  the  Lord 
Fairfax,  who  made  his  head-quarters  at  his  house 
in  Bradford,  and  shewed  him  all  the  kindness, 
and  did  him  all  the  service  that  he  could. — 
Among  other  expressions  of  his  favour,  his 
lordship  offered  him  a  commission,  which  pro- 
bably he  had  accepted,  had  not  his  wife,  who 
was  a  strenuous  royalist,  persuaded  him,  with 
great  difficulty,  not  to  accept  it.  During  these 
turbulent  times,  it  was  her  particular  care  to 
instil  her  own  principles  of  loyalty  to  the  king, 
and  esteem  for  the  liturgy,  into  her  son  John, 
who  was  their  eldest  child.  She  had,  with  some 
hazard  of  Lord  Fairfax's  displeasure,  and  not- 
withstanding all  searches  made  for  the  common 
prayer-books,  preserved  those  of  her  family ; 
one  of  which  she  put  early  into  her  son's  hands, 
and  taught  him  to  love  and  value  it.  He  used 
to  declare,  that  while  he  was  yet  a  boy,  he 
much  admired  some  of  the  offices,  and  particu- 
larly the  litany,  with  which  he  was  much  af- 
fected, as,  indeed,  he  seemed  to  be  all  his  life 
after ;  for  it  was  read  every  morning  in  his  own 
family,  at  the  early  prayers,  as  long  as  he  lived. 
He  judged  it,  as  to  the  matter,  extremely  well 


b  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

suited  to  the  wants  of  mankind ;  and,  as  to  the 
manner  of  it,  exceedingly  well  contrived  for  the 
helping  our  infirmities  in  prayer. 

But  he  was  no  less  indebted  to  his  father's 
piety  for  some  happy  and  lasting  impressions 
that  it  made  upon  him,  than  to  his  mother's  care 
and  instructions.  If  she  first  taught  him  to  love 
the  letter  of  the  liturgy,  yet  it  was  from  his 
father  that  he  first  admired,  and  became  desirous 
of  being  endued  with  a  spirit  of  devotion,  and 
that  by  accident ;  for  his  chamber  being  next 
his  father's,  gave  him  an  opportunity,  (by  means 
of  some  chink  or  aperture  in  the  partition  of  the 
rooms,  unobserved  by  any  but  himself,)  of  fre- 
quently seeing  his  father  at  his  private  prayers. 
His  first  attention  to  what  he  saw  might  only  be 
the  effect  of  a  childish  curiosity ;  but,  never- 
theless, there  was  something  he  noted  in  his 
father's  manner  of  addressing  himself  to  God  in 
secret — something  that  smote  his  fancy  so  power- 
fully— that  he  was  wont  to  say  himself,  that  the 
impressions  he  got  whilst  a  child,  from  the  visi- 
ble earnestness  and  importunacy  of  his  father  in 
his  private  devotions,  were  so  strong  upon  his 
mind  as  never  to  be  worn  out  afterwards. 

So  deep  root  will  the  actions  of  parents 
sometimes  take  in  the  minds  of  their  children, 
though  yet  of  a  tender  and  seemingly  undis- 
cerning  age.     They  have  an  early  and  natural 


LIFE  OB'  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  7 

taste  for  what  is  good,  as  well  as  propensity  to 
evil,  the  encouragement  of  which,  by  timely 
and  seasonable  examples,  is  commonly  the  first 
step  in  a  virtuous  education  :  for  these  are  their 
best  instructions,  till  reason  calls  them  forth  into 
a  higher  class  of  learning  and  improvement :  and 
what  examples  so  instructive  to  them,  as  those 
of  their  own  parents,  whose  judgments  they 
are  wont  solely  to  rely  upon,  and  whose  actions 
they  are  fond  to  imitate  in  every  thing. 

But  he  had  also  early  imbibed  from  his  father 
(who  fell  in  with  the  prevailing  principles  of  those 
times)  the  doctrine  of  Calvin  about  absolute 
and  irreversible  decrees  of  predestination  and 
reprobation :  insomuch,  that  he  went  up  to  the 
University  a  rigid  predestinarian,  and  thought 
himself  able  to  vindicate  the  hardest  point  of 
their  doctrine,  and  to  prove  that  absolute  re- 
probation manifested  God's  glory,  as  it  shewed 
his  dominion  over  his  creatures ;  but  his  tutor 
took  some  pains  with  him  upon  this  head  :  and 
by  putting  some  questions  seriously  to  him,  as 
whether  he  thought  it  any  glory  to  himself  to 
tread  out  the  life  of  a  poor  worm  ?  and  others 
of  the  like  nature,  (which  would  lead  him  to 
reflect,  that  the  glory  of  the  Supreme  Being 
could  not  possibly  consist  in  any  of  those  things 
which  would  not  so  much  as  make  for  the  glory 
of  finite  beings,)  he  brought  him  by  degrees  to 


8  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

change  his  sentiments,  and  put  him  into  a  better 
way  of  thinking,  which,  in  his  riper  years,  he 
constantly  pursued,  without  any  tincture  or  re- 
mains of  the  first  prejudices  of  education. 

Whilst  he  continued  at  Bradford  school,  his 
father  had  him  instructed  in  writing  short-hand, 
that  he  might  take  down  in  notes  the  preach- 
ments of  those  times ;  and  he  made  him  every 
Sunday,  in  the  evening,  repeat  to  the  family 
from  his  short-hand  copy,  all  that  had  been 
delivered  that  day  in  the  congregation.  It  may 
readily  be  guessed  what  a  tedious  task  this  was. 
However,  it  was  attended  with  an  advantage 
which  he  valued  ever  after,  viz.  a  perfect  know- 
ledge and  command  of  the  cypher,  of  which  he 
sufficiently  experienced  the  benefit  when  he  be- 
came a  preacher  himself. 

He  never  was  at  any  other  school  than  Brad- 
ford ; — either  his  natural  genius,  or  his  industry, 
or  both,  made  amends  for  all  deficiencies  of  that 
school,  and  supplied  the  place  of  a  more  advan- 
tageous education. 

It  is  certain  that  he  had  made  such  a  progress 
in  school  learning,  at  fifteen  years  of  age,  that 
his  father  was  determined  to  complete  his  edu- 
cation, and  send  him  directly  to  the  University, 
and  to  maintain  him  there  seven  years,  and 
that  not  in  a  penurious  way,  which  might  cramp 
his  studies,  but  with  as  liberal  a  hand  as  he 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP.  iJ 

was  able,   considering  that  he  had  five  children 
more   to  provide  for  out  of  the  profits  of  his 

trade. 

He  was  admitted  of  Christ's  College  in  Cam- 
bridge, on  April  26,  1660,  just  before  the  re- 
storation of  the  King,  under  the  tuition  of  Mr. 
Brooksbank,  who  was  an  acquaintance  of  his 
father  s,  and  took  no  small  pains  in  discharging 
the  trust  reposed  in  him.  He  encouraged  his 
young  pupil  to  resort  freely  to  him  for  a  solution 
of  whatever  difficulties  he  met  with  in  the  course 
of  his  studies  ;  and,  accordingly,  when  he  went 
to  lectures  at  night  in  his  tutor's  chamber,  he 
constantly  carried  in  his  pocket  a  paper  of  ques- 
tions, which  had  arisen  from  what  he  had  read 
that  day ;  and  when  the  other  pupils  were  dis- 
missed, these  matters  were  discussed  and  re- 
solved. 

Mr.  Brooksbank  lived  to  receive  some  recom- 
pense for  the  great  care  he  took  of  his  pupil  at 
this  time  ;  for  when  Dr.  Sharp  was  Archdeacon 
of  Berks,  he  procured  for  his  tutor,  by  the  in- 
terest of  the  Lord  Chancellor,  the  living  of  St. 
Mary's,  in  Reading,  within  his  own  arch- 
deaconry :  and  afterwards,  he  would  have  re- 
signed the  archdeaconry  itself,  in  hopes  of  ob- 
taining the  favour  that  Mr.  Brooksbank  might 
succeed  him  in  that  dignity  ;  but  though  the 
bishop  would  not  grant  that  request,   yet  he  so 


10  LIFE   OF   ARCHBISHOP   SHARP. 

far  complied  with  it,  as  to  give  Mr.  Brooksbank 
a  prebend  in  Salisbury. 

Besides  the  course  of  studies  that  he  went 
through  under    the    direction  of  his  tutor,   he 
heard  lectures  in  natural  philosophy  from  Dr. 
Thomas  Burnet,  afterwards  master  of  the  Char- 
ter-house, but  then  fellow  of  Christ's  College, 
who  taught  the  Cartesian  philosophy.     He  used 
indeed  to  lament  that  the  study  of  mathematics 
was  neglected  while  he  was  a  youth ;  but  he 
had  naturally  so  clear  a  head,  and  so  good  a 
taste,  that  neither  any  prejudice  in  favour  of  the 
opinions  of  Des  Cartes,  nor  want  of  a  more 
early  insight  into  mathematics,  could  afterwards 
prevent  his  studying, — admitting  and  admiring 
the  new  philosophy  of  Sir  Isaac    Newton,   of 
which  he  used  frequently  to  discourse,  and  al- 
ways spoke  of  it  with  great  delight,  as  setting 
forth  the  Creator  in  the  most  beautiful  light  that 
it  was  possible  for  us  to  conceive  him  in,  with 
respect  to  external  nature. 

Under  whose  direction  he  studied  chemistry 
and  botany,  does  not  now  appear ;  but  that  he 
had,  while  he  was  at  the  university,  taken  a 
great  deal  of  pains  and  pleasure  too,  in  both 
those  sciences,  sufficiently  appears  from  two 
books  wrote  with  his  own  hand  in  cypher,  con- 
taining transcripts  of  lectures,  queries,  and  so- 
lutions, and  large  excerpts  out  of  writers  upon 


LIFE   OF   ARCHBISHOP   SHARP.  11 

those  subjects.  The  larger  book  of  botany, 
chemistry,  and  physics,  was  begun  in  the  year 
1665  ; — the  lesser  book  was  wrote  before.  And 
after  both  these  (but  at  what  time  is  uncertain) 
he  wrote  out  a  fair  copy  in  round  hand,  of  cer- 
tain chemical  experiments  and  conclusions. 

Soon  after  he  came  to  Cambridge,  his  studies 
were  very  much  interrupted  by  a  quartan  ague, 
which  stuck  by  him  a  considerable  time,  occa- 
sioned, as  he  supposed,  by  his  rising  too  early 
in  the  morning,  and  bathing  too  frequently  in 
the  evening.  He  returned  into  Yorkshire  for 
the  recovery  of  his  health,  where  he  was  se- 
verely exercised  with  hypocondriac  melan- 
choly; the  effect,  as  he  believed,  of  his  dis- 
temper. But  it  was  an  effect  happy  enough 
in  the  main,  both  for  himself  and  others  ;  for  it 
gave  him  a  most  perfect  insight  into  the  nature 
of  that  kind  of  melancholy,  which,  in  innocent 
people,  arises  from  an  indisposition  or  ill  habit 
of  body ;  and  enabled  him  afterwards,  as  a 
casuist,  to  treat  admirably  well  upon  that  sub- 
ject, and  to  be  exceeding  useful  to  as  many  as 
applied  to  him  for  his  advice  in  the  like  cases. 
And,  perhaps,  few  men  had  more  applications 
of  this  kind  than  himself,  which  occasioned  his 
writing  a  great  deal  upon  the  subject,  as  well 
in  letters  for  private  use  as  in  set  discourses, 
which  were  first  delivered  in  the  pulpit,  and 


12  LIFE   OF   ARCHBISHOP   SHARP. 

published  after  his  death,  in  the  third  volume 
of  his  sermons,  which  entirely  consists  of  dis- 
courses of  this  sort. 

He  had  begun  from  the  year  of  his  admission 
to  take  down  the  substance,  and  sometimes 
entire  passages  of  such  sermons  as  he  heard 
preached  at  the  University  (and  herein  his  short- 
hand served  him  to  better  purpose  than  it  had 
formerly  done  at  Bradford).  Whenever  he  met 
with  any  critical  explanation  of  scripture,  or 
clear  solution  of  any  difficulty,  or  any  thing 
remarkable  or  subservient  to  the  study  of  theo- 
logy, he  was  sure  to  book  it,  and  preserve  it  by 
him  for  future  examination  and  use. 

In  1663,  he  began  to  read  books  in  divinity, 
and  applied  himself  close  to  the  study  of  Dr. 
Lightfoot's  Harmony,  and  Grotius  upon  the 
Gospels  ;  the  advantage  of  which,  especially  the 
latter,  he  often  afterwards  acknowledged.  In 
the  same  year  he  performed  all  his  exercise  for 
his  bachelor's  degree,  and  commenced  the  win- 
ter following. 

He  had  no  college  preferment  till  his  fourth 
year,  and  then  he  was  made  scholar  of  the 
house.  He  never  desired  any  thing  so  earnestly 
as  he  did  a  fellowship  ;  but  his  county  ren- 
dering him  incapable,  he  could  not  obtain  one, 
though  the  master  and  all  the  fellows  (as  he 
thought)  were  his  friends.     And,  indeed,  he  had 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  13 

demeaned  himself  in  the  college  so  studiously 
and  virtuously,  as  to  have  gained  their  general 
esteem ;  and  there  is  no  doubt,  had  there  been 
room  for  him,  they  w^ould  readily  have  elected 
him  into  their  society.  Proposals,  indeed,  were 
made  to  his  father  by  one  of  the  fellows  for  the 
obtaining  a  fellowship  for  him;  but  the  offer 
was  made  upon  such  terms,  as  he  did  not  think 
to  be  honest  ;  and,  therefore,  how  desirous 
soever  he  was  of  that  preferment,  he  had  the 
honour  and  courage  to  reject  those  proposals. 
The  learned  Dr.  Cudworth  could  have  brought 
him  in,  in  the  year  1669,  and  proffered  to  do 
so;  but  Mr.  Sharp,  by  that  time,  had  better 
views,  and  knew  too  much  of  the  world  to  think 
of  a  fellowship  then.  It  appears  from  hence 
how  mistaken  the  account  is,  that  is  usually 
given  of  his  disappointment,  viz.  that  he  had 
sate  once  or  twice  for  a  fellowship,  and  could 
not  obtain  the  favour  to  be  chosen., 

But,  however,  the  prospect  of  this  little  pre- 
ferment (then  great  in  his  eyes)  was  of  no  small 
use  and  service  to  him  while  he  had  it  in  view ; 
for  it  kept  him  to  the  hard  study  of  the  Greek 
authors,  and  especially  the  poets,  from  the  time 
of  his  taking  his  bachelor's  degree,  till  he  com- 
menced master,  the  greatest  part  of  which  time 
he  spent  in  and  near  Cambridge  :  for*  the  plague 
in  1665  and  1666,  being  at  Cambridge,  he,  as 


14  LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP   SHARP. 

many  others  did  upon  that  occasion,  removed 
to  the  neighbouring  villages ;  first,  to  Sawston, 
near  Cambridge,  w^here  he  boarded,  together 
with  Mr.  Covell,  of  his  own  college,  and  others, 
who  removed  their  pupils ;  and  afterwards  at 
Dullingham,  near  Newmarket. 

He  never  repented  the  pains  he  had  taken 
with  the  Greek  poets,  and  indeed  his  head  was 
better  turned  for  those  elegant  and  polite  stu- 
dies, than  one  would  easily  imagine,  who  con- 
siders him  so  early  a  disciple  of  the  chemist 
and  the  botanist,  and  himself  afterwards  so  emi- 
nent a  casuist  and  antiquary ;  and  yet  it  is  cer- 
tain he  took  great  delight,  not  only  in  poetry  as 
long  as  he  lived,  but  while  he  was  a  youth  in 
plays  and  romances  too,  and  whatever  was  cal- 
culated to  smite  the  fancy  and  move  the  pas- 
sions. He  had  a  happy  talent  of  doing  this 
himself,  whenever  he  proposed  to  stir  the  affec- 
tions, (which  he  thought  of  great  use  in  preach- 
ing) ;  and  it  may  be  observed  in  some  of  his 
sermons,  how  much  and  how  successfully  he 
hath,  upon  occasion,  laboured  this  point. 

There  is  but  one  thing  more  to  be  taken  no- 
tice of  in  this  preliminary  account  of  his  youth 
and  education,  which,  though  of  little  moment 
in  itself,  yet  as  it  proved  the  means  of  his  first 
being  taken  notice  of,  and  favoured  by  the  man 

who  gave  him  his  first  lift  into  the  world,  should 

n 


LIFE   OF   ARCHBISHOP   SHARP.  15 

not  be  here  forgotten  ;  and  that  was,  his  grace- 
ful, distinct,  and  proper  manner  of  reading  the 
lessons  out  of  scripture,  in  the  college  chapel, 
while  he  was  bachelor  of  arts.  There  was  some- 
thing in  his  way  of  performing  this  part  of  the 
service,  so  peculiar  to  himself,  and  so  agreeable 
to  the  taste  of  that  great  divine  and  philosopher. 
Dr.  Henry  More^  that  it  gained  him  a  friend 
without  his  knowledge,  and  preferment  without 
his  expectation. 

For  having  taken  his  master's  degree  in  1667, 
and  his  leave  of  the  University,  despairing  of  a 
fellowship,  and  being  retired  into  Yorkshire  to 
prosecute  his  studies,  with  less  expense  to  his 
father,  and  there  to  wait  the  issues  of  God's 
providence  ;• — it  happened,  in  the  mean  time, 
that  Sir  Heneage  Finch,  then  Solicitor-general, 
wrote  to  Dr.  H.  More  to  recommend  to  him  a 
person  who  should  be  his  domestic  chaplain  and 
tutor  to  his  sons. 

Upon  this  the  Doctor  recommended  Mr.  Sharp, 
knowing  his  abilities  to  be  equal  to  that  charge, 
and  being  pleased  with  such  an  opportunity  of 
testifying  the  esteem  he  had  for  him,  from  the 
time  of  his  observing  his  way  of  reading  in  the 
chapel. 

Upon  this  recommendation  of  him,  he  was 
called  out  of  Yorkshire  into  Sir  Heneage  Finch's 
family,  before  he  had  been  a  month  with  his 


16  LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP   SHARP. 

father;  to  which  removal  he  owed  his  future 
success  and  advancement  in  the  world,  as  ap- 
peared by  the  accumulation  of  preferments  upon 
him  within  the  compass  of  a  few  years. 

Mr.  Sharp  entered  into  holy  orders  on  the 
12th  of  August,  1667,  together  with  Mr.  Leigh 
and  Mr.  Lovet,  who  were  of  the  same  college. 
He  was  ordained  deacon  and  priest  on  the  same 
day,  in  the  parish  church  of  St.  Margaret's, 
Westminster,  by  virtue  of  a  faculty  from  his 
Grace  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  by  the 
hands  of  Dr.  Fuller,  then  Bishop  of  Limerick, 
afterwards  of  Lincoln.  The  assisting  presbyters 
were  Dr.  Outram,  minister  of  St.  Margaret's, 
(the  same  who  wrote  the  learned  book  De  Sacri- 
ficiis,)  and  Mr.  White,  afterwards  Bishop  of  Pe- 
terborough, and  Dr.  Gardiner,  then  chaplain  to 
the  Duke  of  Monmouth,  and  afterwards  Bishop 
of  Lincoln.  The  renowned  Bishop  Bull  had 
likewise  received  both  orders  in  one  day ;  and 
was  but  twenty-one  years  of  age  when  he  was 
thus  ordained  by  Bishop  Skinner.  That  bishop 
excused  himself  for  this  breach  of  the  canons 
by  the  necessity  of  the  times ;  but  Dr.  Fuller 
had  something  more  for  his  justification,  viz.  a 
special  dispensation  from  Dr.  Sheldon,  the  arch- 
bishop of  the  province  :  which,  however  extra- 
ordinary, was  of  sufficient  authority,  and  a  sa- 
tisfactory reason  why  the  three  grave  and  worthy 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP.  17 

divines  who  assisted  sliould,   without  scruple, 
concur  in  the  act. 

From  the  time  of  his  being  called  into  the 
Solicitor-general's  family,  who  then  lived  in 
Kensington  House,  he  spent  his  time  there  much 
to  his  satisfaction,  and  much  to  his  improve- 
ment. The  young  gentlemen  of  whom  he  had 
the  particular  tuition  were,  first,  Mr.  John  and 
Mr.  Charles  Finch  :  the  former  was  a  youth  of 
extraordinary  capacities  and  improvements,  for 
his  age ;  but  was  unhappily  snatched  away  by 
the  small-pox,  when  he  was  ripe  for  the  Uni- 
versity, in  the  year  1674  :  the  other  lived  to  be 
a  member  of  All  Souls  College  in  Oxford,  but 
died  in  the  flower  of  his  age.  Afterwards,  Mr. 
Edward  and  Mr.  Henry  Finch,  came  under  his 
care.  Both  these  gentlemen  afterwards,  to  their 
great  honour,  voluntarily  took  upon  themselves 
the  sacred  function ;  and  both  of  them,  to  the 
great  pleasure  of  their  old  tutor,  were  at  length 
dignitaries  in  his  Cathedral  at  York,  where  he 
shewed,  as  long  as  he  lived,  the  utmost  respect 
and  kindness  for  them  both  ;  and  in  some  mea- 
sure, as  far  as  was  in  his  power,  recompensed 
to  them  the  many  favours  himself  had  received 
in  and  from  their  father's  family. 

During  his  residence  with  the  Solicitor,  what 
time  he  had  to  spare  from  his  pupils,  he  spent 
in  improving  himself  in  all  kinds  of  learning. 

c 


18        LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

He  yet  followed,  in  some  measure,  his  former 
studies  of  philosophy  and  chemistry. 

But  what  he  chiefly  applied  himself  to,  were 
such  books  as  tended  to  make  him  an  able 
divine;  and  his  kind  patron  would  not  suffer 
him  to  be  destitute  of  the  necessary  means  ;  but 
gave  him,  at  diflerent  times,  the  Polyglot  Bible 
and  Lexicons,  St.  Austin's  and  St.  Chrysostom's 
works.  Crab's  Councils^  and  the  Centuriators, 
and  such  books  as  it  was  not  easy  for  him  to 
purchase,  or  come  to  the  use  of. 

In  the  year  1669,  he  was  incorporated  Master 
of  Arts  at  Oxford,  in  company  with  several  from 
Cambridge,  who  went  thither  to  the  opening  of 
Sheldon's  Theatre,  when  there  was  a  great  re- 
sort to  that  University.  In  this  year  he  took  a 
great  deal  of  pains  with  the  Pagan  Theology ; 
and  this  seems  to  be  the  time  when  he  finished 
his  comment  upon  Genesis,  and  that  part  of 
Exodus  which  precedes  the  giving  of  the  Law 
by  Moses;  and  also  those  large  excerpts,  or 
rather  abridgements,  of  the  Greek  historians, 
which  he  wrote  in  another  volume.  Both  are 
in  short-hand  ;  the  comment  considerably  long, 
and  particular;  by  which  it  appears,  that  he 
was  tolerably  skilled  in  the  Hebrew  tongue, 
though  probably  no  great  master  of  it. 

At  length  he  pur^sued  his  studies  with  such  close 
application,   and   at  such  unseasonable  hours, 


LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  Ift 

that  he  hurt  his  health  and  constitution,  and 
was  forced  to  retire  into  the  countrj/.  He  found 
his  remedy  in  a  Yorkshire  journey ;  which,  at  the 
same  time,  gave  him  an  opportunity  of  taking 
his  last  leave  of  his  father,  who  was  then  declining 
apace,  and  died  about  a  month  after  he  left  him, 
in  the  si.vty-third  year  of  his  age. 

Upon  his  return  to  London,  he  fell  upon  the 
study  of  the  Law  of  Moses,  and  so  on  with  the 
remaining  books  of  the  Bible ;  upon  all  or  most 
of  which  he  hath  left  sufficient  testimonies  of 
the  pains  he  took. 

He  had,  indeed,  more  leisure  now  to  pursue 
his  studies  (having  yet  no  cure  upon  his  hands, 
and  being  under  no  necessity  of  constant 
preaching)  than  he  had  afterwards,  when  he 
became  a  parochial  minister.  So  that  it  was 
happy  for  him  that  he  laid  so  good  a  foundation 
in  his  younger  years,  that  he  might  with  the 
more  ease  and  readiness  execute  with  credit 
the  business  of  his  calling,  when  the  perpetual 
interruptions  and  avocations,  unavoidable  in  a 
large  parish  (which  was  his  lot,)  would  not  allow 
him  much  time  to  himself. 

This  exemption  from  making  sermons  was 
owing  to  Sir  Heneage,  who  did  not  require  his 
chaplain  to  do  that  office  in  the  family  ;  but 
ordered  him,  as  there  was  occasion,  to  read 
printed  sermons,   and,  among  others,   some  of 

c2 


20  LIFE   OF  AUCHBISIIOP   SHARP. 

Bishop  Andrews's.  Mr.  Sharp,  who  ever  dis- 
liked playing  upon  words  in  discourses  on  reli- 
gion, took  occasion  on  a  Christmas  Day,  when 
he  was  directed  to  read  Bishop  Andrews's  ser- 
mon upon  this  text,  "  Thou  shall  call  his  name 
Emmanuel,'"  (where  there  is  a  whimsical  jingle 
upon  the  most  solemn  word  in  the  sentence),  to 
lay  his  emphasis  in  such  a  manner  on  that  pas- 
sage which  was  most  offensive  to  him,  that  Sir 
Heneage  perceived  he  intended  to  put  him  out 
of  conceit  with  that  way  of  writing,  which  that 
good  Bishop  sometimes  affected.  And  the  de- 
sigh  was  answered  ;  for  Sir  Heneage  never 
ordered  those  sermons  to  be  read  again  in  his 
family. 

The  first  sermon  that  Sir  Heneage  heard  of 
his  chaplain's  own  composing,  (and  it  was  the 
first  that  he  made,)  did  so  please  him,  that  he 
ordered  one  of  his  sons  (who  was  afterwards 
Lord  Guernsey  and  Ailesford)  to  go  and  thank 
him  for  it;  and  the  kindness  he  had  for  him 
seemed  to  increase  every  day. 

The  first  step  that  Sir  Heneage  made  towards 
his  preferment,  was  upon  the  death  of  Dr. 
Thomas  Hodges,  Dean  of  Hereford,  and  Rector 
of  St.  Peter's,  Cornhill ;  to  whom  Mr.  Sharp 
had  administered  in  e.rtremis,  and  had  given  the 
absolution  of  the  church,  for  which  the  Doctor 
left  him  Pugeo  jidei  as  a  legacy.     This  living 


LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP   SHARP.  21 

being  vacant  by  his  death,  Sir  Heneage  Finch, 
who  was  now  made  Attorney-general,  applied 
to  Dr.  Henchman,  the  Bishop  of  London,  for  it ; 
but  his  lordship  was  pre-engaged  for  his  own 
chaplain.  Dr.  William  Beveridge,  who  suc- 
ceeded in  it  accordingly. 

But  it  was  not  long  before  the  Attorney- 
general  succeeded  more  happily  in  his  applica- 
tion; and  that  was  for  the  Archdeaconry  of  Berks, 
vacant  by  the  promotion  of  Dr.  Peter  Mew,  to 
the  See  of  Bath  and  Wells,  and  in  the  disposal 
of  the  Crown.  Mr.  Sharp  was  twenty-eight 
years  of  age  when  this  dignity  was  conferred 
upon  him  by  the  King ;  and  it  is  observable, 
that  he  never  had  any  preferment  afterwards, 
but  what  he  had  under  the  seals.  And  though 
all  of  them  were  bestowed  upon  him  without  his 
own  seeking  or  application,  and  most  of  them 
without  his  knowledge  or  particular  expectation, 
yet  this  first  was  given  him  even  against  his  in- 
clination and  will. 

For  when  the  Attorney- general  told  him, 
(after  he  came  from  the  court),  that  the  King 
had  given  him  the  Archdeaconry  of  Berkshire, 
he  answered,  that  he  was  too  young  for  that 
office,  and  that  he  knew  nothing  of  the  nature 
of  it :  whereupon  the  Attorney-general  bid  him 
read  Lyndwood  ;  and  for  his  further  encourage- 
ment paid  all  the  fees  of  the  seals  for  him ;  and 


22  LIFE   OF   ARCHBISHOP    SHARP. 

shortly  after,  at  his  first  visitation,  he  not  only 
lent  him  horses  and  servants,  but  put  money  in 
his  pocket  to  defray  the  expences. 

But  notwithstanding  these  favours,  he  met 
with  some  difficulty  and  disappointment  upon 
the  first  exercise  of  his  new  jurisdiction;  for 
having  held  his  visitation  before  induction,  when 
he  came  to  Salisbury  to  be  inducted,  the  Dean 
refused  to  execute  the  mandate,  supposing  that 
he  had  acted  illegally  in  visiting  before  he  had 
complete  possession ;  and,  accordingly,  he  sent 
him  back  to  London,  re  infectd.  But  the  At- 
torney-general befriended  him  again,  and  within 
a  week  or  ten  days,  after  good  advice  had  been 
taken  in  London,  he  returned  to  Salisbury,  and 
was,  without  further  dispute,  inducted  upon  the 
same  mandate,  which  he  had  brought  down  at 
the  first. 

Towards  the  latter  end  of  this  year,  viz.  in 
November,  1673,  Sir  Heneage  Finch  was  made 
Lord  Keeper,  in  which  great  post  he  continued 
(as  Lord  Chancellor,  after  he  was  created  Earl 
of  Nottingham)  near  ten  years  :  whereby  he  be- 
came, through  the  privileges  of  his  office,  a  great 
patron.  And  Archdeacon  Sharp's  interest  with 
his  lordship  (to  whom  he  continued  titular  chap- 
lain after  he  quitted  the  family  till  the  year 
1681,  if  not  till  the  Lord  Chancellor's  death,) 
gave  him  an  opportunity,  and  an  extraordinary 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  S8 

one  it  was,  for  a  chaplain   to   meet  with,  of 
making  himself  also  a  very  useful  friend,  and, 
in  some  sense,   a   patron  likewise,   to  worthy 
clergymen ;  which,  no  doubt,  was  the  founda- 
tion of  the  universal  acquaintance  he  had  among 
the  divines  of  that  age,  and  of  the  unusual  re- 
spect he  received  from  them.     A  full  and  just 
account  of  this  matter  has  been  already  given 
to  the  world  by  Mr.  Nelson,  in  his  Life  of  Dr. 
Bull,  who  was  one  of  the  worthy  clergymen 
promoted  by  the  Lord  Chancellor,  at  the  in- 
stance of  Archdeacon  Sharp  ;  and,  therefore,  it 
will  be  sufficient  to  recite  the  passage  from  him, 
P.  278,  279,  where  he  mentions  Dr.  Bull's  pro- 
motion to  a  prebend  in  Gloucester  : 

*'  Among  the  many  very  commendable  qua- 
lities of  this  great  man,  (the  Lord  Chancellor 
Finch)  his  zeal  for  the  welfare  of  the  Church 
of  England  was  not  the  least  conspicuous  ; 
which  particularly  shewed  itself  in  the  care 
he  took  in  disposing  of  those  ecclesiastical 
preferments  which  were  in  the  gift  of  the 
seals.  He  judged  rightly,  in  looking  upon 
that  privilege  as  a  trust  for  the  good  of  the 
Church  of  God,  of  which  he  was  to  give  strict 
account ;  and,  therefore,  being  sensible  that 
the  several  duties  of  his  great  post,  as  first 
Minister  of  State,  as  Lord  Chancellor,  and 
as  Speaker  of  the  House  Of  Lords,  would  not 


24  LIFE   Ol    ARCHBISHOP   SHARP. 

allow  his  lordship  time  and  leisure  to  make 
that  inquiry  which  was  necessary,  to  know  the 
characters  of  such  as  were  candidates  for  pre- 
ferment, he  devolved  this  particular  province 
upon  his  chaplain,  whose  conscience  he  charged 
with  an  impartial  scrutiny  into  this  matter ; 
adding  withal,  that  he  would  prefer  none  but 
those  who  came  recommended  from  him ;  and 
that,  if  he  led  him  wrong,  the  blame  should 
fall  upon  his  own  soul. 

'*  It  is  true  that  this  was  a  great  testimony  of 
my  lord's  entire  confidence  in  the  uprightness, 
as  well  as  capacity  of  his  chaplain ;  but  the 
world  will  quickly  be  satisfied  with  what  cau- 
tion and  judgment  his  lordship  took  his  mea- 
sures, when  they  shall  know,  that  his  then 
chaplain  was  Dr.  Sharp,  the  present  Lord  Arch- 
bishop of  York,  who  fills  one  of  the  archiepis- 
copal  thrones  of  the  Church  of  England,  with 
that  universal  applause,  which  is  due  to  his 
Grace's  distinguishing  merits :  whose  elevation 
hath  not  deprived  him  of  his  humility,  but  he 
exerciseth  the  same  aftability  and  courtesy  to- 
wards all  men,  which  he  practised  in  a  lower 
sphere ;  and  that  learning  and  piety,  that  inte- 
grity and  zeal  for  the  glory  of  God,  which 
influence  his  Grace  in  the  government  of  his 
diocese,  and  of  his  province,  were  peculiarly 
serviceable  to  the  Earl  of  Nottingham,  in  the 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP.  25 

charge  his  lordship  laid  upon  him,  with  so  much 
solemnity." 

Thus  far  Mr.  Nelson. 

But  his  lordship  did  not  so  strictly  keep  to 
this  rule  as  in  no  case  to  depart  from  it ;  for,  in 
1675,  (while  he  was  yet  Lord  Keeper)  he  dis- 
posed of  three  preferments  in  one  year  upon 
his  own  judgment,  without  receiving  the  recom- 
mendation, or  taking  the  advice  of  his  chaplain; 
and  these  were  upon  the  chaplain  himself.  The 
first  was  a  prebend  of  Norwich ;  the  second 
was  the  living  of  St.  Bartholomew's  Exchange, 
vacant  by  the  promotion  of  Dr.  Bridoake  to 
Chichester ;  at  whose  consecration,  Mr.  Sharp 
preached  in  Lambeth  chapel  *.  He  was  insti- 
tuted into  this  benefice  by  Bishop  Henchman, 
but  held  it  a  very  short  time ;  for  the  rectory 
of  St.  Giles's  in  the  Fields,  (which  was  the 
third)  becoming  soon  vacant  by  the  death  of 
Dr.  Boreman,  my  Lord  Keeper  insisted  upon 
his  taking  that.  Each  of  these  favours  were 
accompanied  with  further  marks  of  kindness  ; 
for  his  lordship  would  not  suffer  him  to  pay 
the  seal  fees  for  the  two  former  ;  and  when 
he  gave  him  the  last,  he  did  it  with  this 
farther  promise,    that    if   St.    Martin's   in   the 

*  April  18th,  1675. — At  the  consecration  of  Doctor  Ralph 
Bridoake  to  Chichester,  and  Doctor  William  Lloyd  toLlandafF; 
by  Archbishops  Sheldon  and  Stern,  and  Bishop  Gunning. 


26  LIFE   OF   ARCHBISHOP   SHARP. 

Fields  would  be  more  acceptable  to  him,  if 
ever  it  became  vacant  in  his  time,  he  should 
have  it ;  which  his  lordship  did  accordingly 
offer  to  him  afterwards  in  the  year  1680,  (when 
Dr.  Tennison  came  in  upon  the  removal  of  Dr. 
Lloyd  to  St.  Asaph).  But  he  would  not  then 
leave  his  parishioners  of  St.  Giles's,  who  greatly 
loved  and  respected  him,  purely  for  the  sake  of 
a  more  profitable  benefice. 

He  had,  indeed,  two  very  early  opportunities 
of  recommending  himself  to  his  parishioners  at 
St.  Giles's,  and  of  obliging  them.  One  was  the 
advantage  of  the  pulpit  from  the  death  of  Dr. 
Boreman  to  the  time  of  his  own  induction, 
which  made  his  person  and  talents  known  to 
them  before  he  came  to  be  their  minister ;  the 
other  was  the  serviceableness  of  his  interest 
with  the  Lord  Keeper,  which  he  shewed  them 
the  very  day  after  he  had  taken  possession  of 
the  church.  For  it  happened  that  while  he  was 
treating  his  vestrymen,  immediately  after  his 
induction,  that  the  chests  in  the  vestry  were 
broke  open,  and  all  the  communion-plate  stolen, 
to  the  value  of  above  £200  ;  but  my  Lord 
Keeper,  upon  Mr.  Sharp's  mentioning  it  the 
next  day,  was  pleased  to  order,  for  the  use  of 
that  church,  two  large  silver  gilt  flagons,  and 
two  chalices,  for  which  he  paid  above  an  hun- 
dred pounds. 

II 


LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP   SHARP.  27 

He  was  instituted  into  this  rectory,  January 
3,  1675-6,  by  Dr.  Henry  Compton;  and  was 
the  first  clergyman  whom  his  lordship  gave  in- 
stitution to :  and,  notwithstanding  his  lordship 
was  afterwards,  in  the  reign  of  King  James,  a 
great  sufferer  on  his  account,  that  is,  for  not 
suspending  those  powers  which  he  now  granted 
him,  yet,  it  may  be  presumed,  from  the  respect 
and  friendship  that  he  shewed  him  upon  that, 
and  upon  all  other  occasions,  that  his  lordship 
never  less  regretted  the  admission  of  a  clerk  in 
his  whole  life ;  and  never  thought  otherwise  than 
with  satisfaction,  on  these  first  fruits  of  his 
episcopal  acts. 

Towards  the  end  of  the  spring  following,  Mr. 
Sharp  married  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Palmer,  of  the 
Palmer's,  of  Winthorp,  in  Lincolnshire ;  her  mo- 
ther was  heiress  of  the  Halton's,  another  ancient 
family.  This  lady  was  recommended  to  Mr. 
Sharp  by  Mr.  Rawlinson  (afterwards  Sir  William 
Rawlinson,  and  one  of  the  Lords  Commissioners 
of  the  Great  Seal,  at  the  Revolution,)  who  had 
married  her  sister.  But  Mrs.  Mosely  (for  that 
was  the  present  name  of  their  mother,  who  had 
married  again)  having  past  the  prime  of  her  life 
in  the  late  times,  and  received  some  taint  from 
the  Puritans,  and  being  a  particular  friend  and 
admirer  of  the  famous  Mr.  Baxter,  would  not 
consent  to  this  treaty  for  her  daughter,  till  she 


28  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

had  consulted  him.  Accordingly  she  did  :  and 
Mr.  Baxter  not  only  consented  and  approved  of 
the  proposal,  but  such  was  the  opinion  he  had 
of  the  Archdeacon,  and  such  his  esteem  for  him, 
that  he  told  her,  had  he  a  daughter  of  his  own 
to  dispose  of,  he  would  not  refuse  her  to  Mr. 
Sharp*. 

This  put  an  end  at  once  to  all  Mrs.  Mosely's 
difficulties,  and  the  marriage  was  soon  con- 
cluded and  solemnized  at  Clerkenwell  Church, 
by  Dr.  Tillotson. 

The  first  occasion  of  his  becoming  acquainted 
with  Dr.  Tillotson,  who  was  one  of  his  intimate 
friends,  was  this  : — Not  long  after  he  came  out 
of  Yorkshire  into  the  Solicitor's  family,  going  to 
Mr.  Joseph  Tillotson,  the  Doctor's  brother,  a 
wet  and  dry  salter,  or  oil  drawer,  in  London, 
with  a  bill  from  his  father,  Sharp,  who  was  of 
the  same  trade  in  Bradford,  he  there  happened 
to  meet  with  the  Doctor  himself;  who,  finding 
Mr.  Sharp  to  be  his  countryman,  and  a  young 
clergyman,  setting  out  into  the  world,  did,  out 
of  his  usual  goodness  and  humanity,  take  par- 

*  Mr.  Baxter  lived  in  great  friendship  with  him  for  many 
years  afterwards,  and  did  not  only  frequently  attend  at  his 
church  at  service  and  sermons,  but  at  his  sacraments.  Mr. 
Baxter's  reasons  for  his  occasional  conformity,  may  be  found 
in  his  Life,  publislied  by  Silvester,  p.  437. 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  29 

c 

ticular  notice  of  him,   and  entreat  him  cour- 
teously ;  and  having  entered  into  some  familiar 
conversation  with  him,  was  pleased,  at  parting, 
to  give  him  leave,  whenever  he  would,  freely 
to  come  to  his  own  house,  and  to  have  recourse 
to  him  as  often  as  he  thought  it  might  be  service- 
able to  himself.     Mr.  Sharp  judged  this  a  lucky 
interview,   and   thought  himself  blessed  in  so 
valuable  an  acquaintance ;  and  ever  after  spoke 
with  pleasure  upon  the  occasion  :  for  here  com- 
menced a  friendship  which  lasted  as  long  as  Dr. 
Tillotson  lived,    improved    perpetually  by   an 
intimate  conversation  for  many  years,  and  ce- 
mented by  repeated  returns  of  good  offices  to 
each  other,  and  some  of  them,  on  either  side, 
considerable,  as  will  hereafter  be  shewn.      Of 
all  those  good  offices  which  Dr.  Tillotson  did 
for  him,   that  which  he  now  performed  in  the 
ceremony  of  giving  him  a  companion  for  life, 
proved  in  the  event  most  acceptable ;  as  it  was 
the  greatest  worldly  blessing  that  Providence 
ever  bestowed  upon  him,  and  contributed  more 
to  his  ease  and  comfort  than  any  of  the  great 
preferments  he  afterwards  attained  to  ;  for  there 
could  not  be  a  more  happy  couple   than  he 
and  his  lady  were :   nor  could  any  woman  be 
better  qualified  than  she  was  to  answer  his  pur- 
pose,  or   scheme   of  domestic   economy,   in  a 
married  state,  which  was,  to  commit  his  purse,  as 


30  LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP   SHAllP. 

well  as  the  conduct  of  his  household  affairs, 
wholly  to  the  care  and  management  of  his  wife. 
And,  accordingly,  on  the  day  of  his  marriage, 
he  gave  her  his  money,  bidding  her  to  be  a 
good  steward  with  it,  and  with  what  she  should 
for  the  future  receive  for  him,  for  he  would 
have  as  little  concern  with  it  himself  as  possible,  so 
long  as  she  lived ;  and  he  was  as  good  as  his 
word,  as  there  may  be  further  occasion  to  shew 
hereafter. 

Upon  this  change  of  his  condition,  he  quitted 
his  patron's  family,  where  he  had  hved  eight 
years  and  a  half,  and  removed  with  his  wife  to 
Mr.  Rawlinson  (his  brother  by  this  alliance,  as 
lately  mentioned,)  in  Chancery -lane,  with  whom 
he  dwelt  four  years,  intent  upon  the  affairs  of 
his  parish,  and  such  studies  as  concerned  his 
office  and  duty  in  it,  and  more  especially  the 
preaching  part,  which  he  had  (as  was  before 
observed)  much  neglected,  till  he  became  a  con- 
stant preacher. 

However,  it  was  not  long  before  his  great 
abilities  this  way  were  more  publicly  known. 
The  two  first  sermons  that  he  printed  were 
preached  before  the  Lord  Mayor ;  the  third,  be- 
fore the  House  of  Commons,  on  April  11,  1679  ; 
but  that  which  most  tended  to  advance  his  cha- 
racter in  the  pulpit,  was  his  taking  the  Friday 
lecture  at  St.  Lawrence's  Jury  (which  he  did  in 


LIFE   OF   ARCHBISHOP   SH  A  KP.  31 

the  year  aforesaid,  March  28,  1679,)  where  there 
was,  not  so  much  a  concourse  of  people  as  a 
convention  of  divines,  especially  those  of  the 
city,  who  had  customarily  attended  those  lec- 
tures, from  the  time  that  Dr.  Tillotson,  who  was 
the  Tuesday  lecturer,  had  so  successfully  led 
the  way  in  reforming  the  method  and  stile  of 
composures  for  the  pulpit.  Mr.  Sharp,  whether 
he  thought  himself  too  young  for  this  service, 
and  unequal  to  it,  or  whether  he  imagined  it 
would  encroach  too  much  upon  his  time,  and 
necessary  attendance  on  his  parish,  or  what- 
ever was  his  reason,  was  very  unwilling  to 
undertake  it ;  but  at  the  earnest  request  of  Dr. 
Ben.  Whichcot,  (who  was  Vicar  of  St.  Law- 
rence's) he  was  at  length  prevailed  upon  to  hold 
the  lecture  as  long  as  that  doctor  lived,  but  he 
would  hold  it  no  longer;  and,  accordingly,  when 
Dr.  Whichcot  dropt,  he  quitted  it. 

Being  this  same  year  of  doctor's  standing  in 
the  University,  he  thought  the  taking  his  degree 
was  a  debt  that  he  owed  to  his  character  and 
preferments  in  the  church  ;  being  a  dignitary, 
as  well  as  minister,  of  one  of  the  largest  parishes 
in  town.  Whereupon  he  went  down  to  Cam- 
bridge, and  was  admitted  by  Dr.  Turner,  the 
Vice  Chancellor ;  and  in  July,  was  created  Doc- 
tor in  Divinity  by  proxy,  "  Domino  Doctore 
Beveridgio  stante  in  Comitiis  in  ejus  Vice." 


32  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

The  next  year,  1680,  he  published  three  ser- 
mons more ;  one  entitled,  ''  The  doing  Good  in  our 
Lives,''  that  it  is  every  Man's  great  Concernment, 
and  in  every  Man's  Power ;  preached  at  the 
Yorkshire  Feast,  February  17th.  Another,  en- 
titled, "  The  Rich  Matis  Duty  T  preached  at  the 
Spittal,  April  14th  following.  (These  two  he 
published  together,  for  reasons  given  in  their 
respective  dedications.  9.  Vid.)  The  third,  was 
that  excellent  discourse  which  he  preached  at 
the  election  of  a  Lord  Mayor,  on  September 
29th,  entitled,  "  A  Description  of  the  Upright 
Man,  and  his  Security  in  Evil  Times."'' 

This  year  also,  he  left  his  brother  Rawlinson, 
and  took  a  house  for  himself  in  Great  Russel- 
street,  nearer  his  own  church  :  where  he  con- 
tinued to  the  time  of  his  leaving  the  parish. 

And  here,  it  may  not  be  improper  to  con- 
sider him,  in  his  labours  as  a  Parochial  Mi- 
nister. 

The  sixteen  years  that  he  continued  Rector  of 
St.  Giles's,  were  the  prime  of  his  life.  He  was 
not  quite  thirty-one  years  of  age  at  his  induc- 
tion. At  forty  his  parts  were  at  the  height, 
and  his  head  more  bright,  and  his  spirits  more 
vigorous,  (as  he  himself  thought),  than  in  any 
other  part  of  his  life ;  and,  indeed,  he  had  suffi- 
cient occasion  both  for  a  ready  and  able  under- 
standing, and  a  sound  and  clean  constitution. 


LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP   SHARP.  06 

For  he  was  frequently  obliged  to  spend  the 
greatest  part  of  the  night  (especially  Saturday 
nights)  in  his  study :  not  that  he  purposely 
chose  those  hours  to  be  free  from  noise  and 
disturbance,  or  secure  from  interruptions  of 
company  and  business,  (for  such  late  studying 
no  ways  suited  with  his  inclinations,)  but  be- 
cause he  frequently  had  no  other  time  to  answer 
the  constant  demands  of  his  pulpit.  And  now 
it  was,  and  chiefly  in  those  midnight  hours, 
which  he  borrowed  from  his  rest,  that  he  com- 
posed most  of  those  discourses,  which  after- 
wards, with  a  little  revisal  and  finishing,  he 
made  use  of  to  his  dying  day. 

No  character  can  be  given  of  his  preaching,  . 
more  just  or  excellent  than  that  which  he  him- 
self, though  very  modestly,  as  well  as  seriously, 
hath  given  of  it,  in  his  Farewell  Sermon,  where 
he  tells  his  flock,  that  although  he  could  not 
say  he  had  done  his  duty  as  he  ought,  (and  he 
heartily  begged  of  God  to  forgive  him  all  his 
defects,)  yet  he  had  this  satisfaction,  that,  in  ail 
his  preaching,  he  had  sincerely  endeavoured  to 
instruct  them  in  the  true  doctrine  of  the  Gospel, 
and  to  teach  them .  the  right  way  that  leads  to 
salvation ;  and  that  he  was  so  certain  that  he 
had  neither  been  mistaken  himself,  nor  misled 
them  in  that  matter,  that  he  durst  with  confi- 
dence address  himself  to  them  in  the  words  of 


34  LIFK,  OF    AKCrililSllOF   SHARP. 

the  Apostle:  "Those  things  which  you  have 
learned,  and  received,  and  heard  of  me,  do ;  and 
the  God  of  Peace  shall  be  with  you." 

And  if  he  could  thus  answer  and  engage  for 
the  truth  and  soundness  of  his  doctrines,  there 
are  enough,  even  as  many  as  heard  him,  or  have 
read  his  discourses,  who,  though  less  capable  of 
answering  for  the  matter  of  them,  will  yet  give 
testimony  to  his  good  manner  of  preaching. 
His  great  excellency  lay  in  representing  the 
truths  of  religion,  with  such  plainness  and  un- 
affected simplicity,  as  was,  at  the  same  time, 
very  persuasive  and  affecting.  Even  when  he 
undertook  to  treat  the  more  nice  and  uncommon 
subjects,  his  management  of  them  was  admirably 
well  adapted  to  common  apprehension.  The 
arguments  he  used  were  always  pertinent  and 
clear,  and  the  stile  in  which  he  delivered  those 
arguments  easy  and  familiar,  as  well  as  just  and 
correct  *.  So  that  few  writers  will  be  found  to 
equal,  and  none  to  surpass  him,  in  perspicuity 
and  propriety  of  expression. 

He  studied,  as  much  as  any  man,  to  move  and 
warm  the  passions,  and  he  did  it  in  so  happy  a 
way,  that  is,  with  so  little  appearance  of  design, 

*  Vide  Dr.  Felton's  Character  of  Archbishop  Sharp's  Ser- 
mons, in  his  Dissertation  upon  reading  the  Classics:  wherein 
he  proposes  them  as  a  model  for  the  forming  a  just  stile. 


LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  35 

that  it  is  hard  to  know  whether  the  success  he 
had  in  influencing  the  affections,  be  the  effect 
of  his  art  in  the  arrangement  of  his  matter,  and 
force  of  his  expressions ;  or  whether  his  argu- 
ments make  their  own  address  to  the  passions, 
without  being  beholden  to  his  skill  and  conduct, 
for  any  adventitious  recommendation.     He  had 
withal  an  unusual  pathos  in  his  delivery,   won- 
derfully instrumental  in  exciting  and  preserving 
attention,  and  captivating  the  mind.     He  had 
naturally  no  ear  for  music ;  and  yet  there  was 
something  very  engaging  and  harmonious  in  his 
elocution,  owing  to  the  regularity  and  justness 
of  his  cadences,  and  the  happy  accommodation 
of  the  tone  of  his  voice  to  the  subject  matter  of 
which  he  was  speaking,  together  with  an  ob- 
servance of  swift  or  slow  measures  of  utterance, 
as  best  suited  the  teMure  of  his  expressions,  or 
best  served  to  enliven  the  sentiments  he  intended 
to  convey :    so    that,   indeed,   those  discourses 
which  are  published  to  the  world,  are  only,  as  it 
were,   the  dead  letter,  in  comparison  of  what 
they  appeared  under  the  persuasive  power  of 
his  delivery,   and  want   that  quickening   spirit 
that  gave  such    life    and  inimitable  beauty  to 
them  in  the  mouth  of  their  author.     In  short, 
the  advantages  he  gave  to  his  own  performances 
were  so  remarkable,  that  it  was  his  distinguish- 
ing character   among  the   London  Divines,  to 

D  2 


36  LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP   SHARP. 

excel  in  the  pathetical  way,  as  is  acknowledged 
even  by  some  who  will  give  no  other  recommen- 
dation of  him  as  a  preacher. 

The  learned  Bishop  Burnet,  for  instance,  who 
was  never  thought  partial  to  him  on  the  favour- 
able side,  gives  this  account  of  him  in  his  History 
of  his  Own  Times,  Vol.  I.  p.  674.  "  He  was 
(says  his  lordship)  both  a  very  pious  wan  and  one 
of  the  most  popular  preachers  of  the  age,  who  had 
a  peculiar  talent  of  reading  his  Sermons  with  much 
life  and  zeal. 

This  character  is,  indeed,  so  far  as  it  goes,  a 
very  just  and  true  one  ;  and,  when  well  consi- 
dered, a  great  one  too.  For  it  is  agreed  by  all 
who  have  wrote  upon  the  eloquence  of  the  pul- 
pit, that  one  of  the  first  requisites  to  the  making 
a  good  preacher,  is  that  he  himself  be  a  devout 
and  good  man,  deeply  and  seriously  affected 
with  a  sense  of  those  things  which  he  would 
inculcate,  and  impress  upon  the  minds  and  af- 
fections of  others.  He  who  hath  no  other  end 
or  view,  either  in  composing  or  delivering  his  dis- 
courses, than  the  making  people  better,  and  more 
disposed  to  their  duty,  cannot  well  be  otherwise  than 
an  able  preacher,  and  must  have  ill  luck  if  he  be 
not  a  popoular  one  too;  for  he  will  certainly, 
under  this  disposition,  take  more  with  his  au- 
dience than  another  of  superior  talents  and 
capacities  can  do,  who  happens  to  be  guided 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  3i 

by  any  less  worthy  aims.  That  Dr.  Sharp  was 
so  popular  a  preacher,  was  no  doubt  principally 
to  be  ascribed  to  the  piety  of  the  man,  to 
which  he  owed,  in  great  measure,  (what  his 
lordship  stiles  a  peculiar  talent,  viz.)  the  reading 
of  his  Sermons  with  life  and  zeal.  For  it 
was  impossible  for  him  to  speak  of  the  things 
that  concerned  God  or  Religion  without  being 
affected  himself,  and  without  endeavouring,  as 
far  as  his  natural  powers  would  enable  him,  to 
affect  others  also. 

It  may  seem,  indeed,  to  them  who  knew 
Bishop  Burnet's  faculty  of  preaching  ea:tempore, 
wherein  he  undoubtedly  excelled,  as  if  he  men- 
tioned Dr.  Sharp's  reading  his  Sermons  as  no 
part  of  his  laudable  character ;  and,  surely,  it 
was  very  natural  for  his  lordship,  who  was  con- 
scious of  his  own  readiness  upon  all  occasions, 
and  very  reasonable  to  allow  him  who  had  been 
bred  up  in  this  extemporary  way,  to  be  of 
opinion,  that  it  was  no  commendable  thing  for 
a  man  to  read  a  precomposed  form,  though  ever 
so  peculiarly  well.  But  yet,  others  are  more 
at  liberty,  and  it  may  be,  rather  inclined  to  think 
differently ;  as  they  have  been  used  to  dis- 
courses, penned  with  care  and  meditation,  and 
have  observed  it  to  be  the  choice,  and  almost 
universal  practice  of  the  English  Divines,  of  that 
and  the  present  age,  who  have  been  thought  as 


38  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP. 

able  preachers  as  any  in  the  Christian  Church, 
since  the  primitive  times.  And  such  will  be 
ready  to  own,  that  it  is  no  small  attainment  even 
to  read  a  sermon  well;  and  that  it  is  worth  a 
man's  while  and  pains,  to  endeavour  after  it; 
especially  considering,  that  there  are  not  many 
who  arrive  at  any  perfection  in  doing  so.  And 
for  this  reason,  several  of  our  eminent  Prelates 
have  given  this  in  charge  to  their  clergy,  that 
they  study  propriety  of  elocution,  and  endeavour 
after  a  decent  and  ornamental  way  of  delivering 
their  discourses ;  judging  very  rightly,  that  not 
only  the  character  of  thq  preacher,  but  even  the 
success  of  his  labours  depend,  in  too  great  a 
measure,  upon  this  seemingly  inconsiderable 
point. 

As  to  Dr.  Sharp,  they  who  knew  his  way  of 
talking,  especially  upon  divine  subjects  (which 
were  often  in  his  mouth,)  with  so  much  fluency, 
piety,  gravity,  and  every  ornament  that  is  pro- 
per for  discourses  of  that  nature,  can  hardly 
think  otherwise  than  that  he  must  have  acquitted 
himself  in  the  pulpit,  even  in  the  extemporary 
way,  as  well  as  most  men,  had  he  made  the 
trial,  or  thought  fit  to  have  pursued  such  a  me- 
thod. But  it  was  utterly  against  his  principle, 
and  contrary  to  his  idea  of  useful  preaching, 
especially  in  populous  assemblies,  and  mixed 
congregations,    as    are    usual    in   the   London 


LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP   SHARP.  39 

churches,  to  venture  upon  a  work  of  so  great 
moment,  without  having  prepared  the  diction 
as  well  as  the  matter.  He  never  thought  he 
could  take  too  great  precautions,  or  too  much 
pains,  in  composing  his  sermons,  (some  of  which 
he  corrected  and  transcribed  more  than  once). 
He  was  careful  and  exact  in  the  choice  of  his 
words,  and  used  to  say,  that  the  point  which 
put  him  most  upon  consideration  in  the  making 
his  sermons,  was  oftentimes  how  to  make  things 
plain  enough,  that  is,  to  find  out  phrases  suited 
and  levelled  to  the  capacities  of  the  vulgar,  and 
yet  Jiot  vulgar  enough  themselves  to  offend  the 
politest  taste.  He  was  not  at  a  loss  for  words 
significant  and  proper  enough  to  express  his 
sentiments,  (and  which  came  from  him  with 
as  much  ease  and  readiness  as  from  any  man 
living,)  but  he  wanted  to  be  understood  by 
every  body,  even  his  meanest  auditors,  at 
the  first  hearing,  and  to  effect  this,  too,  with- 
out using  low  and  creeping  similies,  rustic 
phrases,  or  tedious  repetitions,  or,  if  possible, 
without  impairing  either  the  force  of  his  ar- 
gument or  the  beauty  of  his  stile.  And  who- 
soever can  compass  thus  much,  without  weigh- 
ing and  adjusting  his  expressions  beforehand, 
as  well  as  his  sentiments,  has  indeed  a  pecu- 
liar talent,  and  such  as  Dr.  Sharp  never  pre- 
tended to. 


40  LIFE   OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP. 

When  it  fell  in  Dr.  Burnet's  way  to  repre- 
hend the  loose,  extempore,  though  popular  way 
of  preaching  among  the  Friars,  before  the  Re- 
formation, and  to  give  the  reason  why  the  Re- 
formers fell  afterwards  into  the  practice  of 
writing  and  reading  their  sermons,  he  thought 
it  not  improper  either  to  mention  the  incon- 
veniences of  the  former  practice,  or  to  bestow 
a  good  word  or  two  upon  the  benefit  of  the 
change.  He  says,  "That  those  who  were  li- 
censed to  preach  (viz.  among  the  first  Refor- 
mers, who  iweached  without  notes,)  being  often 
accused  for  their  sermons,  and  complaints  being 
made  to  the  King  by  hot  men  on  both  sides, 
they  generally  came  to  write  and  read  their 
sei^mons. 

'^  Prom  thence  the  reading  of  sermons  gr^ew  into 
practice  in  this  church;  in  which,  if  there  was 
not  that  heat  and  fire  which  the  Friars  had 
shewed  in  their  declamations,  so  that  the  pas- 
sions of  the  hearers  were  not  so  much  wrought 
on  by  it,  yet  it  hath  produced  the  greatest 
treasure  of  weighty,  grave,  and  solid  sermons, 
that  ever  the  Church  of  God  had ;  which  does 
in  great  measure  compensate  that  seeming  flat- 
ness, to  vulgar  ears,  that  is  in  the  delivery  of 
them." — Hist.  Reform.  V.I.  p.  317. 

The  seeming  flatness  to  vulgar  ears,  which 
the  Doctor  here  mentions  as  the  sole  imperfec- 


LIFE  OF    ARCHBISHOP   SHARP.  41 

tion  of  delivering  sermons  from  prepared  notes, 
is  a  consideration  that  doth  indeed  concern  all 
those  who  can  suffer  themselves  to  be  careless, 
and  to  appear  indifferent  in  the  delivery  of  their 
discourses :  but  as  there  can  be  no  room  or 
ground  for  this  complaint  in  any  who  have  the 
talent  of  reading  their  sermons  with  much  life 
and  zeal,  so  Dr.  Sharp  stood  clear  of  it,  and 
consequently  of  all  the  exceptions  that  have 
been  commonly  made  against  this  modern  way 
of  preaching. 

It  must  be  confessed,  indeed,  that  his  art  of 
short-hand  contributed  not  a  little  to  the  ac- 
ceptableness  of  his  delivery ;  for  he  so  disposed 
his  characters  as  to  take  in  a  whole  sentence, 
or  as  much  as  could  be  distinctly  pronounced 
in  the  same  breath,  with  one  transient  glance  of 
the  eye,  and  so  disposed  those  sentences  dis- 
tinctly under  each  other,  as  to  be  able,  when 
he  had  taken  off  his  eye,  without  any  difficulty, 
to  recover  the  place  where  it  had  left  the  page ; 
and  so  expert  was  he  at  this,  that  he  has  been 
sometimes  thought  to  have  preached  by  heart, 
or  to  make  little  or  no  use  of  his  notes,  which 
gave  him  all  the  outward  advantages  of  extem- 
porary preaching,  without  subjecting  himself  or 
his  audience  to  any  of  its  disadvantages.  For 
hereby  he  was  at  liberty  to  execute  whatever 
is  usually  thought  graceful,   and  ornamental  in 


42  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP. 

the  pulpit,  either  with  respect  to  the  mien, 
posture,  or  movements  ;  which  advantage  is  in 
great  measure  lost  to  any  person  ivho  is  bound 
perpetually  to  atteiid  to  his  notes;  and  which  is 
not  often  found  well  improved  by  any  person 
who  has  his  matter  to  consider  of  rather  than 
his  manner,  and  is  bound  to  watch  more  over 
his  words  than  his  behaviour,  and  who,  through 
the  entire  disuse  of  notes,  wants  even  those 
seasonable  restraints  which  they  would  give  to 
redundancy  of  action,  and,  perhaps,  in  some 
cases,  to  extravagances  of  gesture. 

So  that,  upon  the  whole.  Dr.  Sharp  may  be 
said  to  have  appeared  equal,  if  not  superior,  to 
an  extempore  man,  in  the  agreeableness  of  his 
way  in  delivering  himself ;  besides  his  hav- 
ing the  benefit  and  security  of  well-digested 
and  premeditated  discourses,  fit  to  be  read 
and  criticised  upon  in  private,  as  well  as  to 
pass  the  transient  judgment  of  the  world  in 
public. 

It  may  be  added  to  his  being  a  good  preacher, 
that  he  was  likewise  a  constant  one.  For  several 
years  he  preached  twice  every  Sunday  in  his 
own  parish,  besides  his  lecture  in  the  city,  and 
other  occasional  courses  that  he  supplied  in  the 
week  days. 

He  had  also  a  very  solemn  way  of  reading 
the  Church  Service,  and  did  great  justice  to  the 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  43 

admirable  form  of  prayer  in  the  established 
Liturgy.  They  who  have  taken  up  unreason- 
able, and  yet  invincible  prejudices,  against  all 
set  forms  of  public  worship,  will  suppose  it  a 
very  small  attainment  for  a  man  to  learn  his 
paces  in  the  same  perpetual  round  or  circle, 
and  may  think  it  of  no  moment  what  manner  is 
used  in  offering  up  (what,  in  their  opinion,  may 
be  little  better  than)  the  dull  repetitions  of  dry 
addresses  to  God  Almighty.  But  they  who 
have  more  thoroughly  considered  the  thing,  do 
acknowledge,  that  it  is  neither  so  easy  a  matter 
to  read  prayers  well,  nor  of  small  consequence 
whether  the  offices  be  performed  with  devotion 
and  solemnity  or  no.  Too  many  complaints 
have  been  made  against  the  clergy  upon  this 
head,  and  some  of  them,  without  doubt,  very 
unjustly;  it  not  being  in  every  man's  power, 
how  pious  soever  he  be  in  disposition,  to  read 
the  common  prayers  to  the  general  satisfaction 
of  others.  But  this  is  to  be  said  for  Dr.  Sharp, 
that  the  Church  Service  in  his  hands,  was  exe- 
cuted to  every  body's  taste ;  and  the  common 
petitions,  where  they  were  put  up  by  him  to 
the  Throne  of  Grace,  were  so  far  from  being 
liable  to  the  imputation  of  dull  performances, 
that  they  always  affected  his  audience,  though 
they  did  not  seem  always  new.  How  far  his 
happiness  in  these  exercises  was  a  natural  gift 


44  LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

in  him,  or  how  far  it  was  an  acquired  perfection, 
is  not  easy  to  determine ;  but  which  of  them 
soever  it  was,  he  never  displayed  it  more  than 
in  the  celebration  of  the  holy  mysteries.  So 
distinct,  nervous,  devout,  and  indeed  seraphic, 
was  his  elocution  on  those  occasions,  that  he 
not  only  disposed  the  congregation  present  to 
seriousness  and  reverence,  but  inspired  them 
with  some  degrees  of  that  devotion,  life,  and  com- 
fort which  he  expressed  himself. 

In  a  word,  if  he  ever  distinguished  himself  in 
a  more  extraordinary  manner  under  the  charac- 
ter of  a  Christian  Priest, — if  he  ever  did  justice 
to  his  function,  or  the  Liturgic  offices,  it  was 
then  when  he  stood  before  the  altar. 

There  are  two  points  more,  not  to  be  for- 
gotten, under  the  consideration  of  him  as  a 
Parochial  Minister ;  and  those  are,  his  care  and 
diligence  in  discharging  two  very  material 
branches  of  his  function,  viz.  catechising  of  youth, 
and  visiting  the  sick. 

As  to  the  former,  he  well  knew  the  great  use- 
fulness and  expediency  of  laying  a  good  foun- 
dation of  religion,  by  seasoning  the  mind  early 
with  a  sense  of  piety  and  duty,  and  furnishing 
or  pre-occupying  it  with  good  notions  and  prin- 
ciples. It  was  one  of  his  sayings,  (and  one  that 
he  used  to  direct  particularly  to  his  clergy  after 
he  became   Bishop,)   that,    although  he  would 


LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP   SHARP.  45 

make  no  comparisons  between  the  Magistrate's 
office  and  the  Minister's,  nor  take  upon  him  to 
determine  which  of  them  gave  the  better  oppor- 
tunities of  reforming  mankind,  and  promoting 
true  virtue  and  goodness;  yet  this  he  would  say, 
without  offence,  that  unless  men's  minds  were 
informed  and  imbued  with  serious  and  good 
notions,  which  was  the  Minister's  province,  as 
well  as  their  actions  regulated  by  the  laws, 
which  belonged  to  the  Magistrate  to  take  care 
of,  thei^e  could  be  no  true  reformation. 

And  no  man  could  be  better  qualified  than 
himself  for  the  office  of  catechising ;  for  he  had 
not  only  a  faculty  of  making  such  things  as  are 
not  obvious  and  easy  to  be  understood  without 
explanation,  clear  and  familiar  to  the  slenderest 
capacities,  but  he  had  also  a  very  kind,  warm 
way  of  talking  upon  such  matters ;  which  pre- 
vailed much  towards  engaging  the  attention,  as 
well  as  informing  the  understandings  of  his 
catechumens.  His  lectures  on  these  occasions 
were  extempore,  save  that  he  always  had  a 
little  paper  of  memorandums,  or  heads  of  dis- 
course, that  he  might  proceed  in  order,  and  not 
omit  any  thing  that  he  judged  material  for  their 
information. 

And,  as  to  visiting  the  sick,  and  adjninistering 
the  sacrament  in  private,  though  he  had  suffi- 
cient curates,  (able  men  and  ably  provided  for,) 


46  LIFE  OF   ARCIIRISHOP   SHARP. 

yet  he  bore  his  share  of  duty  with  them,  even 
among  the  poor  in  the  garrets  and  the  cellars; 
and  would  never  refuse  his  attendance  when 
particularly  sent  for,  though  his  compliance 
herein  put  him  sometimes  in  hazard  of  his  life. 
He  never  had  the  small-pox,  yet  being  brought 
in  to  persons  under  that  distemper,  he  hath  not 
through  fear  or  surprize  desisted  from  doing  his 
office  ;  and  as  he  had  the  general  character,  not 
only  of  a  pious  man,  but  a  good  casuist,  he  had 
sometimes  more  business  of  this  kind  upon  his 
hand,  than  what  arose  immediately  from  his 
own  parish.  And  once,  when  he  was  called  out 
by  two  unknown  gentlemen,  to  an  unknown 
place,  on  pretence  of  visiting  their  dying  friend, 
and  not  without  suspicions  of  some  treacherous 
design  upon  himself,  (for  it  was  at  a  particular 
time  in  King  James's  reign,  when  he  had  grounds 
for  such  a  distrust,)  nevertheless,  he  ventured 
with  them,  only  taking  with  him  the  guard  of  a 
servant,  which  was  not  usual  with  him,  and 
ordering  him  to  stand  in  the  street  before  the 
house  whither  he  was  carried,  and  not  to  stir 
from  thence  upon  any  account  whatsoever,  till 
he  saw  him  out  of  the  house  again.  This,  in- 
deed, was  Mrs.  Sharp's  advice  and  precaution. 
And  it  had  this  effect,  that  when  the  design  of 
the  servant's  attendance  in  the  street  was  ob- 
served,  by  his    utterly  refusing   to   enter   the 


XIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP.  47 

house,  the  Doctor,  after  waiting  some  time,  was 
told  that  the  stranger  patient  was  then  taking 
rest,  and  could  not  conveniently  be  disturbed. 
And  so  he  was  dismissed,  and  never  heard 
afterwards  either  of  the  patient  or  his  friends. 

He  gave  it  in  charge  to  his  two  curates,  in 
their  course  of  visiting  the  sick,  nevei^  to  take 
gratuities  from  ordinary  tradesmen,  or  any  of 
the  inferior  sort  of  people ;  and  that  they  might 
be  the  less  tempted  to  complain  of  this  injunc- 
tion, he  not  only  set  off  to  them  for  their  allow- 
ance, such  fees  of  his  parish,  (as  raised  their 
stipend  in  some  years  to  six  score  pounds  each), 
but  he  declined,  as  much  as  he  could,  the  per- 
forming, in  his  own  person,  all  those  offices 
where  extraordinary  perquisites  or  presents 
were  to  be  of  course  expected,  that  his  curates 
might  receive  the  benefit  of  his  people's  gene- 
rosity. 

Amidst  the  variety  of  business  that  he  went 
through,  and  frequent  avocations  from  home 
while  he  lived  upon  his  cure,  he  took  no  kind 
of  diversion,  unless  the  study  of  coins  and  me- 
dals may  be  called  so  *.     For  of  these  he  was 

*  Coins  and  medals  were  his  amusement  and  delight  for 
several  j^ears  after  he  was  Archbishop.  When  he  so  improved 
and  enlarged  his  collection,  that  at  length  it  was  inferior  to 
few  in  England,  especially  in  regard  of  the  Saxon  and 
English  coins.      He   likewise    wrote   and   left  a  large  MS. 

II 


48  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

fond,  and  begun  a  collection  very  early,  which, 
in  progress  of  time,  came  to  be  large  and  cu- 
rious. But  his  chief  recreation  and  relief  from 
his  more  necessary  employments,  and  serious 
studies,  was  the  conversation  of  learned  and  in- 
genious men ;  and  for  this  he  was  happily 
situated  ;  the  town  then  affording  him  a  set  of 
acquaintance  not  only  very  knowing  and  judi- 
cious, but  also  very  coaimunicative  ;  in  whose 
agreeable  and  improving  company,  he  spent 
his  vacant  and  leisure  hours.  The  chief  of 
these  were  those  celebrated  London  divines,  who 
were  the  ornaments  of  that  age ;  as  Dr.  Stilling- 
fleet,  Patrick,  Beveridge,  Cradock,  Whichcot, 
Calamy,  Scot,  Sherlock,  Wake,  and  Cave ;  and 
above  all,  his  dear  and  fast  friends,  Dr.  Tillot- 
son  and  Dr.  Claggett,  with  whom  he  enjoyed 
a  more  intimate  conversation.  They  had  fre- 
quent stated  meetings  and  conferences  at  each 
other's  houses  (for  it  was  a  rule  with  Dr.  Sharp, 
and  probably  with  the  rest  too,  not  to  fre- 
quent taverns,  or  places  of  public  resort  and 
entertainment,)  at  which  they  proposed  such 
points  of  discourse,  as  they  were  desirous  to 
have  each  other's  judgement  and  opinion  upon; 
and  chiefly  such  subjects  as  pertained  to  their 

account  of  them,  in  which  some  treatises  respecting  the  Eng- 
lish coins,  and  their  proper  marks  of  difference,  have  been 
thought,  by  good  judges,  very  accurate  and  valuable. 


LIFE  OF   AUCHBISHOP    SHARP.  49 

own  profession,  or  such  passages  of  Scripture, 
as  any  of  them  purposed  to  treat  of  in  the  pul- 
pit ;  which  being  freely  talked  over,  and  with  a 
friendly  unreservedness,  contributed  not  a  little 
to  the  clearing  up  their  difficulties  and  resolv- 
ing their  doubts,  unfolding  and  ranging  their 
thoughts,  directing  and  regulating  the  dispo- 
sition of  their  matter,  and,  in  short,  to  the 
making  them  sooner  masters  of  their  respective 
subjects,  than  they  could  have  been  by  build- 
ing, though  never  so  industriously,  on  their  own 
foundations,  and  pursuing  their  private  searches 
and  inquiries,  though  never  so  closely  and  at- 
tentively. And  no  doubt  but  it  was  much 
owing  to  the  happy  harmony  that  was  between 
these  great  men  *,  and  to  their  free  communi- 
cations with  each  other,  that  the  Socinian  and 
Popish  controversies,  and  the  debates  about 
Nonconformity  and  Schism,  were  so  excellently 
handled  in  those  times,  as  well  in  their  sermons 


*  Bishop  Burnet  bears  his  testimony  to  the  characters  of  the 
Divines  abovementioned,  and  some  others,  who,  he  says, 
"  were  worthy  and  eminent  men  among  the  Clergy,  whose 
lives  and  labours  did,  in  great  measure,  rescue  the  Church 
from  those  reproaches  that  the  follies  of  others  drew  upon  it ; 
as  Tennison,  Sharp,  Patrick,  Sherlock,  Galamy,  Claggett, 
Fowler,  Cudworth,  Williams,  and  others  who  deserved  a  high 
character,  and  were  indeed  an  honour  to  the  Church,  and  to 
the  age  in  which  they  lived." 


50  liff:  of  archbishop  sharp. 

as  in  their  other  writings,  which  will  remain 
lasting  monuments  of  their  great  talents. 

But  it  is  time  now  to  return  to  the  thread  of 
the  narrative,  which  was  broken  off  at  Dr.  Sharp's 
settlement  in  his  house  in  Russel-street,  in  the 
year  1680.  In  the  year  following,  1681,  his 
Majesty,  King  Charles,  was  pleased  to  bestow 
a  mark  of  his  royal  favour  upon  him,  viz.  the 
Deanery  of  Norwich,  vacant  by  the  death  of  Dr. 
Astley.  This  preferment  was  obtained  for  him 
at  the  intercession  of  the  Duke  of  York,  and  the 
Lord  Arlington,  and  his  patron  the  Lord  Chan- 
cellor, who  may  be  presumed  to  have  been  his 
principal  friend  upon  this  occasion. 

This  Deanery  was  the  more  acceptable  to  him 
because  he  had  been  a  member  of  that  church 
above  six  years,  and  was  acquainted  with  the 
constitution  and  affairs  of  that  body  ;  neverthe- 
less, that  he  might  inform  himself  completely 
of  every  thing  that  was  requisite  to  make  him  a 
good  governor y  he  spent  a  great  part  of  the  fol- 
lowing year,  1682,  in  looking  over  the  ledger- 
books,  and  making  himself  master  of  the  state 
of  their  revenues,  and  the  extent  of  his  own 
rights  and  privileges.  His  recesses,  likewise, 
from  London,  which  were  now  longer  and  more 
frequent  than  heretofore,  were  beneficial  to  him, 
as  well  as  agreeable.  For  he  not  only  had  op- 
portunity of  studying  more  at  leisure,  and  more 


LIFE   OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  51 

to  his  own  satisfaction,  than  he  could  in  town ; 
but  of  recruiting  his  health  and  relieving  him- 
self from  the  fatigues  of  his  parochial  cure ; — 
and,  (what  was  still  of  more  consequence  to 
him)  of  improving  in  his  spiritual  life,  through 
the  advantages  of  retirement  and  disengagement 
from  company  and  business,  which  Norwich 
afforded  him ;  a  remarkable  instance  of  which 
blessing,  (for  so  he  esteemed  it)  shall  be  given 
in  its  proper  place. 

Towards  the  latter  end  of  this  year,  1682, 
died  his  friend,  Sir  John  Finch  ;  and  within  a 
month  after  him,  viz.  December  18,  died  his 
beloved  lord  and  patron,  the  Earl  of  Notting- 
ham :  each  of  them  leaving  him  legacies,  as 
tokens  of  their  esteem  and  friendship  for  him. 

In  the  following  year,  1683,  he  wrote  his  first 
book  about  Conscience,  at  the  desire  of  the 
Bishop  of  London.  To  understand  the  reason 
why  this  province  was  particularly  assigned 
him,  it  will  be  proper  to  look  back  to  the  head 
of  a  dispute  with  the  Dissenters,  about  Con- 
formity, which  he  himself  had  undesignedly 
opened  near  ten  years  before. 

He  had  in  the  year  1674,  while  he  was  yet 
Domestic  Chaplain  to  the  Lord  Keeper,  and 
before  he  had  any  other  preferment  besides  his 
Archdeaconry,  preached  before  the  Lord  Mayor 
at  Guildhall  Chapel,   upon  the  subject  of  the 

E   2 


52  LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP   SHARP. 

Dissenters  separation  from  the  Established 
Church,  which  his  lordship  desired  might  be 
printed ;  and  so  it  was  ;  and  is  now  the  first 
sermon  in  his  Collection.  In  this  discourse,  he 
shewed  a  great  deal  of  sound  reasoning,  and  a 
great  deal  of  temper  too,  more  than  men  at  their 
first  setting  out  into  the  world,  and  especially 
at  his  age,  are  usually  masters  of.  He  under- 
took in  it  the  proof  of  the  following  proposi- 
tions. 

I.  That  every  Christian,  upon  the  very  ac- 
count of  his  being  so,  is  a  member  of  the  Church 
of  Christ,  and  is  bound  to  join  in  external  com- 
munion where  it  can  be  had. 

II.  That  every  one  is  bound  to  join  in  com- 
munion with  the  Established  National  Church 
to  which  he  belongs,  supposing  there  be  nothing 
in  the  terms  of  its  communion  that  renders  it 
unlawful  for  him  to  do  so. 

III.  That  the  being  a  member  of  any  Church, 
doth  oblige  a  man  to  submit  to  all  the  laws  and 
constitutions  of  that  Church. 

IV.  That  we  can  have  no  just  cause  of  with- 
drawing our  communion  from  the  Church 
whereof  we  are  members,  but  when  we  cannot 
communicate  with  it  without  the  commission 
of  a  sin. 

V.  That  though  we  have  a  just  cause  to  re- 
fuse communion  with  the  Church  whereof  we 


LIFE   OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP. 

are  members,  in  some  instances ;  yet  we  are  not 
therefore  to  proceed  to  so  total  a  separation 
from  it,  as  to  erect  new  Churches  in  contra- 
distinction to  it,  or  to  join  with  those  that  do. 
This  is  never  to  be  done  unless  a  Church  be  so 
corrupted  in  doctrine  and  practice,  that  the 
salvation  of  all  who  communicate  with  her,  is 
thereby  endangered. 

To  these  propositions,  he  spoke  short  and 
clearly ;  and  then  proceeded  to  consider  the 
several  ways  of  preserving  peace  and  charity 
with  our  Dissenting  brethren.  And  very  ex- 
cellent rules  he  laid  down  for  this  purpose,  but 
not  having  room  within  the  compass  of  a  ser- 
mon to  go  through  his  subject,  he  concluded 
w^ith  laying  down  such  further  heads  of  dis- 
course, as  he  either  had,  or  at  least  designed 
to  have  prosecuted,  in  order  to  complete  his 
arguments.  But  as  it  was  ordered  to  be  printed 
in  so  unfinished  a  way,  and  it  being  the  first 
sermon  he  sent  to  the  press,  he  wrote  a  dedi- 
cation in  the  first  edition  of  it,  to  Sir  William 
Hooker,  and  the  Court  of  Aldermen,  apologiz- 
ing for  this  imperfection,  in  these  words. 

**  Right  Honourable. — The  following  Dis- 
course was  never  designed  to  go  further  than 
your  own  chapel,  otherwise  it  had  not  been  left 
so  imperfect ;  but  since  you  have  thought  fit  to 


54  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP. 

order  it  should  be  made  public,  it  would  ill 
become  me,  who  do  in  it  so  earnestly  press  obe- 
dience to  superiors,  to  dispute  your  commands. 
Such  therefore  as  it  is,  I  humbly  present  it  to 
you ;  heartily  wishing  it  may,  in  some  degree, 
minister  to  the  promoting  peace  and  unity,  and 
brotherly  love  among  us,  which  is  the  only  thing 
therein  aimed  at,  by.  Right  Honourable, 

Your  most  humble,  and 
most  obedient  servant, 

J.  Sharp." 

But  this  sermon  had  not  been  long  in  print 
before  it  was  attacked  by  an  anonymous  writer 
(supposed  to  be  Mr.  Wadsworth)  who  undertook 
to  answer  it.  However,  Mr.  Sharp  had  this 
benefit  from  his  mild  and  inoffensive  way  of 
managing  the  subject,  that  his  adversary  treated 
him  with  better  temper,  and  in  a  gentler  strain 
than  is  usual  with  men  of  that  persuasion ;  as  is 
remarked  by  the  great  Mr.  Dodwell  who  under- 
took the  defence  of  Mr.  Sharp's  discourse.  For 
**  the  occasion  of  Mr.  Dodwell's  writing  his  book 
of  Schism,"  to  use  the  words  of  the  learned 
author  of  Mr.  Dodwell's  Life,  **  was  his  being 
engaged  in  defence  of  an  excellent  sermon  on 
Rom.  xiv.  19,  preached  before  the  Lord  Mayor, 
by  the  Rev.  Mr.  John  Sharp,  who  was  after- 
wards (in  the  judgment  of  all  impartial  persons 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  5^ 

deservedly)  placed  in  one  of  the  highest  digni- 
ties of  our  church.  This,"  says  he,  "  pro- 
duced that  elaborate  book,  entitled,  Separation 
of  Churches  from  Episcopal  Government,  as 
practised  by  the  present  Nonconformists,  proved 
Schismatical." 

Indeed,  Mr.  Dodwell  confesses  as  much  in 
his  preface  to  his  book  of  Schism,  where  he  says, 
that  '*  it  was  at  first  designed  as  a  defence  of 
that  sermon,  but  having  made  some  entrance 
upon  it,  he  did  not  think  it  so  convenient  to  be 
confined  to  another's  method  in  delivering  his 
own  sentiments,  nor  to  concern  any  particular 
author  in  the  controversy ;  but  rather  to  under- 
take the  whole  subject  in  a  method  most  natural 
to  his  own  conceptions  of  it.  And  the  rather 
so,  because  most  of  the  answerer's  objections 
would  have  no  place  on  his  way  of  stating  the 
controversy;  and  he  could  not  think  it  worth 
his  while  to  spend  time  on  such  things  as  were 
grounded  on  misunderstandings.  But,"  says  he, 
**  I  speak  not  this  with  the  least  design  of  dis- 
paraging the  performance  of  the  adversary,  for 
the  misunderstandings  are  no  other  than  such 
as  are  common  to  him  with  the  generality  of  the 
dissenting  party." 

And  from  hence  we  have  a  very  good  account 
how  it  came  to  pass  that  Mr.  Sharp  never  re- 
plied to  Mr.  Wadsworth,  or  whomsoever  it  was 


56  LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP   SHARP. 

that  undertook  to  answer  his  sermon.  For  he 
not  only  was  acquainted  with  Mr.  Dodwell's  de- 
sign, but  it  was  agreed  and  concerted  between 
them,  that  Mr.  Dodwell's  work  should  stand  for 
an  answer  to  the  answerer  of  the  sermon,  though 
thrown,  by  him,  into  a  new  and  more  natural 
method  to  himself.  For  thus  he  writes  in  the 
preface  abovementioned,  "  However,  these  con- 
siderations being  approved  by  several  of  my 
worthy  friends  to  whom  I  communicated  them, 
and  among  others  by  the  author  of  that  excel- 
lent sermon,  I  easily  obtained  his  leave  to  pro- 
ceed in  my  own  way.  Yet  I  thought  it  conve- 
nient withal  to  give  this  warning  of  it,  that  the 
answerer,  whoever  he  be,  may  know  that  his 
objections  have  been  allowed  for  in  my  hypo- 
thesis, though  they  be  not  expressly  mentioned ; 
and  that  he  may  not  look  on  the  silence  of  his 
adversary  as  an  argument  of  any  neglect  of  him." 

This  seems  to  be  the  true  state  of  the  case, 
and  not  that  Mr.  Sharp  employed  Mr.  Dodwell 
to  undertake  the  dispute  for  him ;  as  Mr. 
Brokesby,  the  author  of  Mr.  Dodwell's  Life,  in- 
timates in  another  place,  where  he  says,  *'  that 
Mr.  D.  wrote  his  book  of  Schism  at  the  request 
of  the  late  excellent  Archbishop  of  York." 

But  it  seems  rather  to  have  been  Mr.  Dod- 
well's own  choice  and  motion ;  only  as  he  was 
engaged  in  that  subject,  it  was  proper  for  him 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP.  57 

to  consult  the  man  who  had  started  it,  and  take 
his  advice,  and  obtain  his  consent,  as  to  any 
new  method  in  which  he  proposed  to  handle  it. 

However,  this  book  of  Mr.  Dodwell's  was 
wrote  against  by  Mr.  Baxter  in  his  True  and 
only  Way  of  Concord.  Which  drew  a  reply  from 
Mr.  Dodwell,  published  in  1681,  where  he 
shewed  how  little  that  chapter  in  Mr.  Baxter's 
book  which  concerned  himself,  deserved  to  be 
called,  (what  it  was  entitled,)  a  Confutation  of 
his  book  of  Schism. 

The  controversy  having  proceeded  thus  far. 
Dr.  Sharp  at  length  (Anno  1683,)  at  the  special 
request  of  the  Bishop,  put  his  hand  to  it,  and 
gave  it  a  finishing  stroke.  He  did  not  set  his 
name  to  his  work,  nor  take  any  express  notice 
of  any  thing  that  had  been  said  for  or  against  his 
sermon,  in  1674  ;  but,  as  if  he  were  wholly  dis- 
engaged from  any  concern  in  that  dispute,  he 
considered  the  dissenter's  plea  of  conscience  as 
a  casuist,  and  entitled  his  book,  '' A  Discourse 
concerning  Conscience,'"'  wherein  an  account  is 
given  of  the  nature,  rule,  and  obligation  of  it ; 
and  the  case  of  those  who  sej^arate  from  the 
communion  of  the  Church,  of  England,  as  by  law 
established,  upon  this  pretence,  that  it  is  against 
their  conscience  to  join  in  it,  is  stated  and  dis- 
cussed. 

In  this  discourse  he  treats  fully  and  distinctly 


58  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

of  the  conscience  in  general ;  and,  in  his  appli- 
cation to  the  case  of  dissenters,  he  fairly  sepa- 
rates the  several  pretences  of  conscience,  which 
are  truly  and  justly  made  by  them,  from  those 
which  are  false,  viz.  such  as  are  mere  pretences, 
and  in  reality  foreign  to  the  matter.  And  then 
he  shews  distinctly  who  they  are  that  may,  and 
who  they  are  that  may  not  plead  conscience  for 
their  noncojiformity ;  and  lastly,  he  inquires  how 
far  this  plea  of  conscience,  when  truly  made, 
VfSSS.  justify  any  dissenter  who  continues  in  se- 
paration from  the  church  as  established  in  this 
kingdom. 

When  he  had  finished,  he  put  his  papers  into 
the  hands  of  his  friend  Dr.  Claggett,  who  pub- 
lished them  for  him,  while  he  himself  went  down 
to  Norwich  to  attend  his  business  there. 

But  the  next  year,  1684,  he  prosecuted  his 
argument  further,  and  with  more  pains  and  ac- 
curacy. Now  he  undertook  to  resolve  the  case 
of  a  doubting  conscience,  viz.  the  case  of  those 
who  separate  from  the  Established  Church,  not 
because  they  are  fully  persuaded  that  they  can- 
not lawfully  join  in  our  communion,  but  because 
they  doubt  whether  they  may  lawfully  join  in  it 
or  no;  and  therefore  so  long  as  they  thus  doubt, 
dare  not  venture  to  communicate,  fearing  they 
should  sin  against  God  if  they  should  do  any 
action  of  this  consequence  with  a  doubting  mind. 

II 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  59 

This  point  he  treated  at  large  with  great  judg- 
ment and  solidity;  and  considered  both  the 
nature,  rule,  and  authority  of  a  doubting  con- 
science, and  also  the  power  that  human  laws, 
ecclesiastical  or  civil,  have  of  overruling  it  ;  or 
determining  a  man's  doubts  for  him  in  any  mat- 
ter. And  in  this  work  he  had,  as  he  used  to  say, 
covertly,  and  without  naming  of  names,  answered 
all  that  Mr.  Wadsworth,  or  the  other  writer  (for 
his  sermon  had  been  wrote  against  by  more  than 
one)  had  objected  to  him;  and  more  especially 
what  had  been  either  omitted  by  Mr.  Dodwell, 
or  not  answered  altogether  to  his  satisfaction. 

The  reader  who  peruses  these  discourses  will 
find  not  only  a  wonderful  clearness  and  exact- 
ness in  the  management  of  a  deceitful  and  per- 
plexed subject,  and  great  sagacity  and  nicety 
in  distinguishing,  but  the  whole  carried  on  and 
wrought  up  with  a  temper  befitting  so  tender  a 
subject  as  conscience  is.  He  insists  upon  no- 
thing further  than  he  can  make  his  appeal  for, 
to  every  man's  own  reason  and  sense.  And 
where  he  treats  of  the  doubting  conscience,  his 
discourse  is  suited  to  reach,  if  possible,  the  very 
weakest  side  (which  is  ever  the  most  inexpug- 
nable) of  an  honest  and  sincere  man.  He  seems 
not  to  write  for  the  pleasure  and  satisfaction  of 
those  who  have  no  doubts  upon  their  minds,  and 
who  therefore  are  apt  to  judge  too  hardly  of 


60  LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

those  who  have,  and  to  be  too  much  pleased 
with  seeing  the  other's  weakness  exposed,  but 
with  such  caution  and  yielding  to  natural  in- 
firmity and  involuntary  prejudices,  as  excludes 
all  appearance  of  triumph  in  having  the  better 
of  the  argument ;  and  scarce  can  fail  to  allure 
the  attention,  and  prevent  the  displeasure  at 
least,  even  of  such  whose  doubts  are  not  by 
reason  to  be  surmounted. 

And  indeed  Dr.  Sharp,  in  all  his  casuistry, 
ever  inclined  to  the  milder  determinations.  He 
had  himself  experienced  the  strong  effects  of 
mistaken  principles  early  instilled  into  the  mind, 
and  how  vigorously  they  resisted  and  embar- 
rassed reason  when  7ipe  and  mature.  He  him- 
self had  felt  the  pangs  of  a  melancholy  doubtmg 
mind,  though  under  great  sincerity  of  intention 
and  rectitude  of  will ;  and  this  taught  him  how 
to  treat  others  who  fell  into  the  like  misfor- 
tunes and  unhappy  ways  of  thinking,  and  how 
necessary  it  was  to  be  soft  and  gentle  with  such 
tender  consciences. 

The  substance  of  the  two  forementioned  dis- 
courses was  afterwards  published  by  Dr.  Bennet, 
at  Cambridge,  in  the  year  1700,  in  his  Abridg- 
ment of  the  London  Cases ;  and  it  was  done 
very  exactly,  for  he  had  received  the  author's 
own  corrections  of  it,  as  he  himself  gives  notice 
in  his  preface  to  the  book. 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP.  61 

But  this  controversy  concerning  schism  was 
not  the  only  dispute  that  accidentally  took  its 
rise  from  that  sermon  mentioned  before  ;  for  it 
gave  occasion  to  more  books  upon  a  different 
subject  about  thirty  years  after  it  was  preached. 
By  this  means  an  anonymous  author  of  a  book 
intitled  "  An  Essay  towards  a  Proposal  for  Ca- 
tholic Communion,"  printed  at  London,   1704, 
8vo,  cited   out   of  this  sermon  the  Six    Rules 
for  promoting  Peace  and  Church  Communion, 
and  made  them  the  foundation  of  a  new  and  un- 
digested scheme  of  reconciling  the  Church  of 
England  with  the  Church  of  Rome.     The  author 
was  pleased  to  stile  himself  "  a  Minister  of  the 
Church   of  England ;"   but   the    principles    he 
espoused  and  the  points  he  advanced  do  evi- 
dently show  that  he  only  assumed  that  charac- 
ter to  render  his  performance  less  obnoxious  to 
the  Protestant  reader ;  or,   if  he  had  been  for- 
merly a  Minister  of  the  Church  of  England,  he 
was,  without  doubt,  at  the  time  of  his  writing 
this  treatise  reconciled  to  the  Church  of  Rome, 
as  they  who  answered  him  did  pertinently  ob- 
serve.    He  showed  himself  however  to  be  a  man 
of  parts  and  dexterity,  and  of  sufficient  learning, 
and  gave  a  very  specious  turn  to  those  rules, 
which  Mr.  Sharp  had  intended  for  reconciling  the 
Dissenters  to  the  Church  of  England,  in  order 
to  press   them   into  the  service  of  the  Church 


62  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

of  Rome.     This  book   received  three  answers 
the   year  following,  viz.    1705.      One  intitled 
*'  Concordia  Discors,  or  Animadversions  upon  a 
late  Treatise,   intitled  '  an  Essay  for  Catholic 
Communion,'  by  a  Presbyter  of  the  Church  of 
England."     The  second  was  also  by  an  anony- 
mous writer,  but  publicly  recommended  by  an 
advertisement  from  Dr.  Fowler,  Bishop  of  Glou- 
cester.    In  this  the  essay  itself  was  reprinted, 
and  suitable  observations  made  upon  each  sec- 
tion  of  it   distinctly.      The   third   and   fullest 
reply  was  given  by  Mr.  Nath.  Spinckes,  who,  in 
his  answer   to  the   first   chapter,  destroys  the 
pretended  foundation  which  the  author  of  the 
essay  would  be  thought  to  build  upon,  by  show- 
ing the  perverse  use  he  had  made  of  Mr.  Sharp's 
rules,  and  the  unfair  deductions  he  had  drawn 
from  them ;  and  sufficiently  proving  that  they 
were  not  applicable  to  the  purposes  for  which 
they  were  cited.  To  this  defence  of  Mr.  Spinckes 
in  particular  the  reader  is  referred  if  he  desire 
further  satisfaction. 

To  return  now  to  the  account  of  Dr.  Sharp's 
labours  and  behaviour  in  St.  Giles's  parish. 

The  face  of  public  affairs  was  something 
changed  in  1685,  upon  the  death  of  King  Charles 
and  the  accession  of  his  brother  to  the  throne. 
And  the  Established  Church  began  to  require 
ajiother  kind  of  support   and   defence  from  her 


LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  63 

advocates  than  had  been  lately  requisite.  For 
whereas  the  debates  with  the  Nonconformists 
were  rather  invitations  of  them  into  her  bosom, 
and  recommendations  of  her  purity,  and  beauty, 
and  external  ornaments,  than  a  contest  about 
her  essentials ;  so  the  dispute  that  was  now 
on  foot,  or  rather  the  war  that  was  now  com- 
menced, was  such  as  threatened  her  destruc- 
tion;— and  the  point  to  be  decided,  whether 
she  was  a  church  or  not.  Whereby  the  clergy 
might  see  how  necessary  it  was  for  them  to  arm 
themselves  to  fight  pro  Arts,  as  well  as  the  lay- 
subjects  pro  Focis.  Dr.  Sharp  was  as  sensible 
of  the  alarm  as  any  of  his  brethren,  as  well 
prepared  to  act  his  part,  and  as  resolute  to  do 
his  duty. 

The  first  Sunday  after  the  King's  death,  and 
proclamation  of  his  successor,  he  preached  at 
his  own  church  a  serious  sermon  upon  Provi- 
dence ;  a  subject  which  he  thought  not  im- 
proper at  that  juncture. 

He  was  desired  to  draw  up  the  Address  of  the 
Grand  Jury  for  the  City  of  London,  upon  the 
King's  happy  accession  ;  which  he  did  in  these 
words. 

THE    ADDRESS,    &C. 

*'  May  it  Please  Your  Majesty; 
*'  Since  we  are  the  first  in  your  Majesty's 
reign  that  are  called  to  serve  upon  the  Grand 


64  LIFE   OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP. 

Inquest  for  your  City  of  London,  we  hope  your 
Majesty,  according  to  your  wonted  clemency, 
will  give  us  leave  among  the  rest  of  your  good 
subjects  to  present  ourselves  at  your  Majesty's 
feet. 

**  We  do  magnify  the  goodness  of  Divine 
Providence,  that  hath  so  peaceably  and  happily 
seated  your  Majesty  in  the  throne  of  your 
royal  ancestors,  which  all  the  world  must  own 
to  be  your  undoubted  right. 

"  We  do  from  the  bottom  of  our  hearts  thank 
Almighty  God,  and  your  Majesty,  for  the  gra- 
cious assurances  you  have  given  your  people  to 
maintain  and  support  the  government  both  in 
Church  and  State  as  established  by  law. 

**  And  as  we  have  always  endeavoured  in  our 
place  and  station,  to  approve  ourselves  loyal 
and  dutiful  subjects  to  your  Majesty's  dearly 
beloved  brother,  our  late  dread  Sovereign  of 
blessed  memory,  so  (as  it  is  our  duty),  we 
promise  and  resolve,  with  all  the  faith  and  since- 
rity in  the  world  to  serve  your  Majesty,  your 
heirs  and  successors,  to  the  utmost  extremity." 

It  has  been  remarked  that  most  of  the  ad- 
dresses upon  this  occasion  ran  in  a  warm ;  some 
think  too  warm  a  strain  of  loyalty.  And  possi- 
bly some  objections  may  be  made  to  the  last 
expression  of  this  address,  of  serving  the  King 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  65 

(as  upon  a  foot  of  duty),  to  the  utmost  extremity. 
But  it  is  to  be  remembered,  that  although  no 
man  had  a  more  unshaken  loyalty  than  Dr. 
Sharp,  or  could  be  more  firmly  attached  to  the 
service  and  interest  of  his  prince  than  he  was ; 
yet  he  never  taught  or  held  any  principles  of 
submission,  but  what  were  agreeable  to  the 
constitution.  For  he  always  laid  down  the 
laws  of  the  land  as  the  rule  and  measure  of  obe- 
dience. And  therefore  his  general  expressions 
should  be  understood  with  such  limitations  as 
the  principles  he  professed,  and  to  which  he 
ever  inviolably  adhered,  will  admit  of,  or  rather 
will  confine  them  to. 

Soon  after  the  King's  accession,  he  preached 
his  Lent  Course  at  Whitehall,  viz.  March  20, 
upon  Luke  xvi.  31.  Concerning  the  evidences 
we  have  at  this  time  of  the  truth  of  the  Christian 
religion.  This  sermon  was  printed  at  the  parti- 
cular request  of  the  Bishops  who  were  then 
present.  And  (if  he,  who  had  a  mean  opinion 
of  all  his  own  performances,  may  be  allowed  to 
make  a  good  judgment  of  any  of  them,)  he  so 
far  himself  approved  of  this  discourse,  as  to 
think  it  the  least  exceptionable  in  his  whole 
collection. 

At  the  coronation,  in  the  month  following:,  he 
was  one  that  walked  among  the  chaplains  and 
dignitaries  that  attended  the  solemnity.       He 


6f)  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

was  afterwards  appointed  Chaplain  in  ordinary 
to  his  Majesty,  and  continued  so  till  the  Revo- 
lution ;  but  this  appointment  was  not  till  the 
next  year,  April  20,  1686. 

In  the  mean  time  he  was  busied  in  giving 
good  advice,  and  doing  good  offices  to  as  many 
as  applied  themselves  to  him  during  the  difficul- 
ties of  the  present  administration  of  affairs. 
And  he  was  able  to  do  the  more  service  for  hav- 
ing the  good  luck  to  be  in  some  kind  of  favour 
with  the  Lord  Chancellor  Jefferies,  whose  friend- 
ship he  not  only  made  use  of  for  the  sake  of 
others,  but  experienced  himself  in  his  troubles, 
which  soon  succeeded.  This  year  he  obtained 
favour  of  his  Lordship  for  Sheriff  Cornish's, 
widow  and  children.  Mr.  Cornish  had  sent  for 
Dr.  Sharp  and  Dr.  Calamy  to  attend  him  on  the 
morning  he  was  executed,  which  accordingly 
they  both  did,  and  the  next  day  they  went  both 
together  to  my  Lord  Chancellor  Jefferies,  to 
plead  on  the  behalf  of  that  gentleman's  family. 
His  Lordship  was  exceeding  angry  and  pas- 
sionate for  some  time.  But  they  desisted  not, 
till  they  at  length  pacified  and  appeased  him, 
and  then  had  good  success  with  their  petition. 

It  was  at  the  close  of  this  year,  that  he  joined 
with  Dr.  Busby,  of  Westminster,  in  an  act  of 
charity  and  respect  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  John  Pell, 
who  had  been  Chaplain  to  Archbishop  Sheldon, 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  67 

and  was  a  man  of  learning  and  worth,  but  died 
December  12,  very  poor  and  almost  wanting 
necessaries.  They  caused  him  at  their  own 
charges  to  be  decently  interred  in  a  vault  in 
St.  Giles's  church,  called  the  "  Rector's  Vault," 

But  not  to  interrupt  the  account  during  the 
following  years  of  this  reign  with  any  more 
incidents  of  this  kind,  let  the  testimony  of  Sir 
John  Chardin  (who  knew  the  Doctor  at  this 
time),  supply  the  place  of  them  all,  as  it  is  given 
in  a  letter  which  he  wrote  Anno  1703,  in  these 
words. 

"  If  I  am  so  free  with  the  most  eminent  Arch- 
bishop of  York,  it  is  by  remembering  tenderly 
the  Rev.  Pastor  of  St.  Giles's  before  the  Revolu- 
tion ;  his  zeal  with  the  Protestants ;  his  fatherly 
concern  for  the  persecuted  and  exiled  ;  his  in- 
comparable writing  and  preaching  in  the  defence 
of  the  ti*uth  and  in  advancement  of  Christian 
virtue,"  &c. 

The  next  year,  1686,  Dr.  Sharp  fell  under 
the  displeasure  of  the  King,  for  treating  upon 
some  points  in  the  Romish  controversy  in  the 
pulpit.  Whereby  a  handle  was  given  to  the 
court  of  proceeding  against  the  worthy  Bishop 
of  London,  who  for  refusing  to  suspend  the  Doctor 
was  himself  suspended  by  the  Ecclesiastical 
Commissioners.  Father  Orleans  in  his  History 
of  the  Revolutions  in  England,  tells  us  that  this 

F  2 


68  LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP   SHARP. 

affair  of  Dr.  Sharp,  in  which  his  diocesan  was 
involved,  gave  rise  to  the  Ecclesiastical  Com- 
mission, the  effects  of  which  proved  afterwards 
so  prejudicial  to  the  King  and  his  affairs.  And 
Bishop  Burnet  places  the  advising  and  erecting 
of  that  court  after  the  Bishop  of  London's  re- 
fusal to  suspend  the  Doctor  upon  the  difficulties 
that  arose  about  a  method  of  proceeding  legally 
against  him.  It  has  indeed  been  assured  from 
other  hands,  that  the  commission  was  actually 
granted  in  April,  before  the  Doctor  preached  the 
sermon  that  gave  offence,  though  it  was  not 
opened  till  the  August  following.  But  that  this 
is  a  mistake  appears  from  hence ;  that  when  the 
Bishop  of  London  pleaded  before  the  Commis- 
sioners, that  he  conceived  their  commission  did 
not  extend  to  the  crime  laid  to  his  charge,  be- 
cause what  he  was  accused  of  was  before  the 
date  of  the  said  commission ;  the  Lord  Chan- 
cellor did  not  deny  the  date  of  the  commission 
to  be  subsequent  to  the  offence,  but  alledged 
that  it  had  restrospect  to  offences  past. 

However  the  Bishop  and  the  Doctor  were  the 
first  over  whom  that  unprecedented  authority, 
and  illegal  power,  was  exercised. 

Their  troubles  on  this  occasion  (particularly 
the  Bishop's,)  are  taken  notice  of  in  most  of  the 
histories  of  these  times.  But  because  several 
things  relating  to  Dr.   Sharp's  conduct  in  the 


LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP   SHARP.  09 

whole  affair  have  not  hitherto  been  published, 
and  others  have  been  misrepresented  in  the  ac- 
counts that  are  made  public,  it  may  be  proper 
in  this  place  to  give  a  more  particular  and  exact 
narrative  of  the  whole  matter. 

The  King,  in  the  beginning  of  this  year,  had 
been  advised,  as  the  supreme  ordinary  of  the 
Church  of  England,  to  command  the  reprinting 
of  the  Directiom  for  Preachers,  which  had  been 
given  by  the  late  King,  in  1662 ;  and  to  autho- 
rize them  afresh  by  letters  mandatory  to  the 
two  Archbishops ;  not  considering  the  differ- 
ence of  seasons,  and  disparity  of  circumstances 
the  King  was  then  in,  in  respect  of  his  Pro- 
testant predecessors,  whose  practice  it  had  been, 
when  there  was  occasion,  to  restrain  the  liber- 
ties of  the  pulpit.  And  the  consequences  was, 
that  the  jealousies  of  the  Church  of  England 
against  the  King,  instead  of  being  abated,  were 
increased ;  and  people's  fears  every  day  grew 
greater  concerning  the  designs  which  the  court 
was  supposed  to  be  carrying  on.  So  that  some 
of  the  clergy,  notwithstanding  the  abovemen- 
tioned  directions  to  them,  continued  as  before, 
to  preach  pretty  zealously  against  Popery.  Dr. 
Sharp  was  one  of  those  who  would  not  at  this 
time  drop  the  Popish  controversy.  And  he  was 
the  rather  kept  to  it  by  the  perpetual  attempts 
which  he  found  were  made  by  the  Popish  priests 


70  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP. 

upon  his  parishioners.  And  as  he  was  a  popular 
preacher  upon  those  arguments,  he  was  carefully 
watched  after  the  publication  of  the  Directions 
to  Preachers,  as  a  person  likely  to  offend  against 
that  order. 

It  was  on  the  2nd  of  May  that  he  preached 
in  his  own  church  upon  1  Cor.  xii.  13.  From 
this  text  he  took  occasion  to  treat  concerning 
the  nature  of  the  Catholic  Church,  and  to  settle 
the  true  notion  of  that  term  as  it  stands  in  our 
creeds.  Having  done  that,  at  the  close  of  his  ser- 
moii,  he  drew  six  conclusions  from  what  he  had 
said,  against  the  Church  of  Rome ;  to  show  the 
vanity  of  her  pretensions  in  engrossing  the  name 
of  Catholic  to  herself.  But  these  he  chose 
rather  to  propose  by  way  of  inquiry  than  asser- 
tion, that  he  might  be  led  to  a  more  equal  and 
just  examination  of  them,  which  he  proposed  to 
do  afterwards  with  great  particularity,  had  he 
been  suffered  to  have  prosecuted  the  subject  in 
the  manner  he  intended.  Now  the  first  of  these 
queries  which  he  designed  to  speak  to  the  next 
Lord's  Day,  was  this,  whether  upon  the  true 
stating  of  the  notion  of  the  Catholic  Church,  the 
question  that  the  Romanists  laid  so  much  stress 
upon,  viz.  in  what  part  of  the  world,  or  in  which 
of  the  different  communions  of  Christendom  the 
true  church  was  to  be  found,  be  not  quite  im- 
pertinent and  out  of  doors  ? 


LIFE   OF   ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  71 

As  he  came  out  of  the  pulpit  a  paper  was 
put  into  his  hands  by  an  unknown  person,  con- 
taining an  argument  for  the  right  that  the  Church 
of  Rome  had  to  the  stile  and  title  of  the  only- 
visible  Catholic  Church. 

This  probably  was  drawn  up  hastily,  (for  it 
was  not  well  expressed,)  by  one  of  his  auditors, 
who  observed  by  the  conclusion  of  his  sermon, 
what  point  he  was  next  to  proceed  upon,  and 
who  either  desired  satisfaction  as  to  that  argu- 
ment, or  designed  to  put  him  to  a  difficulty. 

The  Doctor  looking  upon  this  as  a  kind  of  chal- 
lenge, and  not  knowing  to  whom  he  should  send 
an  answer,  and  being  at  that  time  engaged  in 
that  very  question,  took  an  opportunity  in  his 
next  sermon,  preached  May  9,  to  conclude  with 
a  particular  confutation  of  this  paper.  What  he 
said  against  it,  and  in  what  manner  he  intro- 
duced it,  will  best  appear  from  the  very  words 
themselves  which  he  then  delivered  ;  and  which 
will  be  found  in  the  7th  volume  of  his  Sermons, 
published  1735,  from  p.  13  to  148. 

It  was  this  conclusion  or  appendix  to  his  se- 
cond sermon  on  the  above  said  text  which  gave 
the  offence,  or  rather  which  gave  the  handle  to 
such  as  sought  occasion  to  misrepresent  him  to 
the  King.  And  this  is  what  Father  Orleans,  who 
knew  nothing  of  the  matter,  calls  "  la  Saillie  de 
Sharp  ;"  and  for  which  he  stiles  him  ''  un  homme 


72  LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

einport6,"  a  hot  forward  man;  and  "  le  Cure  de 
clamateur,"  the  railing  Parson*.  Nay,  he  takes 
upon  him  to  affirm  that  Dr.  Sharp  in  his  sermon 
inveighed  against  the  Catholics  in  such  a  manner 
as  the  most  zealous  Protestants  disapproved 
and  thought  too  violent.  *'  Un  homme  Sharp," 
says  he,  "  Cur6  de  Saint  Giles  se  rendit  remar- 
quable  sur  cette  matiere,  et  mela  dans  un  de  ses 
sermons  des  invectives  centre  les  Catholiques, 
que  les  plus  zelez  Protestans  disapprouverent, 
et  jujerent  trop  violentes." 

The  reader  must  judge  from  the  passage  itself 
hoM^  far  either  Protestants  or  Catholics  had  rea- 
son to  be  offended  at  it.  It  is  evident  there  are 
no  personal  reflections  in  it,  no  insinuations  about 
the  administration  of  the  government,  nor  any 
thing  that  tends  to  sedition.  He  opposes  him- 
self only  to  some  false  principles  and  positions, 
the  refutation  of  which  was  at  that  time  of  great 
consequence.  And  if  he  does  it  wdth  greater 
briskness  and  tartness  than  is  usual  to  be  met 
with  in  his  writings,  it  should  be  remembered 
that  he  was  disturbed  very  much  about  that  time 
with  the  Romish  priests  tampering  with  his 
parishioners,  and  likewise  that  he  looked  upon 

*  This  is  the  expression  used  by  Echard  in  his  translation 
of  Father  Orleans'  "  History  of  the  Revolutions  in  England." 
Second  Edition,  p.  389, 


LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  73 

this  paper  as  a  sort  of  challenge,  which  if  he  had 
not  undertaken,  would  have  been  interpreted 
by  them  as  yielding  to  the  strength  of  the  argu- 
ment. 

Neither  ought  he  to  be  charged,  as  the  French 
writer  abovementioned  thinks  fit  to  charge  him, 
with  wilfully  transgressing  the  king's  injunc- 
tions. For  the  points  prohibited  were  only 
matters  of  state,  rights  of  sovereign  and  subjects, 
and  such  questions  in  divinity  as  were  nice  and 
difficult,  and  merely  speculative,  which  had  for- 
merly occasioned  great  troubles  in  the  nation, 
and  particularly  the  doctrine  of  predestination 
and  free-will.  But  the  controversy  with  the 
Church  of  Rome,  and  particularly  that  question. 
Whether  the  Church  of  England  was  a  church, 
or  no  church  ?  could  not  possibly  be  reckoned 
among  the  prohibited  questions  in  King  Charles's 
instructions,  in  1662,  nor  consequently  in  those 
instructions  revived  by  King  James ;  though  it 
might  be  presumed  the  design  of  the  court  in 
republishing  them,  was  to  put  a  stop,  or  at  least 
give  a  check  to  the  clergy's  proceeding  in  the 
Romish  controversy  in  their  sermons. 

But  how  unblameable  soever  the  Doctor  him- 
self might  be  in  this  affair,  yet  his  sermon  gave 
an  opportunity  to  informers  to  represent  whet  he 
had  said  in  a  quite  different  construction  from 
what  he  intended.    The  allegory,  or  allusion,  to 


74  LIVE  OF   ARCHBISHOP   SHARP. 

a  civil  case,  which  he  had  made  use  of  in  his 
argument,  was  a  thing  easy  to  be  remembered, 
and  yet  liable  to  be  diversified  according  to  the 
humour  of  the  relators. 

And  the  last  sentences  in  the  sermon,  concern- 
ing those  who  depart  from  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land and  embrace  Popery,  might  be  construed 
as  a  reflection  on  the  King,  whose  case  that  was, 
as  Bishop  Burnet  well  observes.  But  the  chief 
thing  that  seems  to  have  occasioned  the  infor- 
mations at  court,  and  given  them  countenance 
there,  was  a  mistaken  notion  of  several  of  the 
Doctor's  auditors,  that  the  paper  which  he  un- 
dertook to  refute  was  the  same  that  had  been 
found  in  the  late  king's  strong  box;  and  that 
he  had  attacked,  and  seemed  to  triumph  over 
that  very  argument  which  was  thought  to  be, 
in  the  judgment  of  his  late  majesty,  invinci- 
ble. All  this  indeed  was  a  mistake :  but  not- 
withstanding it  quickly  spread  in  the  town,  and 
no  wonder  if  the  report  was  carried  to  the  King 
himself.  In  fine,  it  was  represented  to  the 
court  as  if  the  Doctor  had  endeavoured,  by 
that  sermon,  to  shew  his  contempt  of  the  King's 
late  orders  concerning  preachers,  to  foment 
divisions  among  his  Majesty's  subjects,  and  to 
reflect  upon  his  Majesty's  person  as  well  as 
government. 

"  The  information,"  says  Bishop  Burnet^  **  as 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  75 

to  the  words  pretended  to  be  spoken  by  Sharp, 
was  false,  as  he  himself  assured  me." 

But  what  his  lordship  adds  is  a  mistake,  and 
what  most  certainly   he  never   had   from  Dr. 
Sharp,  namely,  that  Sharp  went  to  court  to  shew 
his  notes,  which  he  was  ready  to  swear  were 
those  from  which  he  had  read  it ;  by  which  the 
falsehood  of  the  information  would  appear.    Dr. 
Sharp  was  never  forward  to  go  to  court,  or  to 
swear  any  thing,  but  when  first  called  upon  by 
proper  authority  ;  and  in  this  case  his  doing  so 
would  not  have  helped  him,  for  his  notes  being 
all  in  cyphers,  or  characters,  the  falsehood  of  the 
information,  had  he  sworn  to  them,  would  not 
thereby  have  appeared  more  than  it  did  before ; 
only  he  would  have  appeared  himself,  what  by 
his  more  prudent  conduct  he  did  not.     For  he 
troubled  not  himself  about  any  reports  of  infor- 
mations against  him,  till  Lord  Chancellor  JefFe- 
ries  sent  for  him,  and  acquainted  him  with  the   , 
King's  displeasure  at  what  had  been  said  con- 
cerning his  preaching.      This  was  a  fortnight 
after  the  sermon  was  preached,  being  Whitsun- 
day, May  23,  in  the  evening  ;  whereas  the  ser- 
mon which  Dr.  Sharp  understood  had  given  the 
offence,  was  preached  by  him  on  the  9th  of  the 
same  month.     His  lordship  having  informed  him 
of  the  accusation  laid  against  him,  and  of  his 
Majesty's  resentment  thereupon ;  Dr.  Sharp  the 


76  LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

next  day  waited  upon  his  lordship  with  the  notes 
of  his  sermon,  and  read  it  over  to  him.  Whether 
the  Doctor  did  this  for  his  own  justification,  and 
to  satisfy  his  lordship  that  he  had  been  misre- 
presented, or  whether  my  lord  ordered  him  to 
bring  his  sermon  and  repeat  it  before  him,  is  not 
certain  ;  but  the  latter  seems  most  probable  :  be- 
cause Dr.  Sharp  afterwards  understood  that  his 
lordship's  design  in  sending  for  him  and  discours- 
ing with  him,  was,  that  he  might  tell  the  King 
that  he  had  reprimanded  the  Doctor,  and  that 
he  was  sorry  for  having  given  occasion  of  offence 
to  his  Majesty ;  hoping  by  this  means  to  release 
Dr.  Sharp  from  any  further  trouble.  However 
it  was,  his  lordship  took  upon  him,  while  the 
Doctor  was  reading  over  his  sermon,  to  chide 
him  for  several  passages  which  the  Doctor 
thought  gave  no  occasion  for  chiding ;  and  he 
desired  his  lordship  when  he  objected  to  these 
less  obnoxious  passages,  to  be  patient,  for  there 
was  a  great  deal  worse  yet  to  come.  In  fine, 
his  lordship  having  reproved  him  for  what  he 
thought  proper,  and  as  much  as  would  answer 
his  design,  seemed  well  enough  satisfied  with 
the  rest  of  the  discourse,  and  so  dismissed  him. 
Not  long  after  this,  Sir  Richard  Lloyd  and  Sir 
Thomas  Exton  were  sent  for  to  Windsor,  for 
their  opinion  about  ordering  the  Bishop  of  Lon- 
don to  suspend  Dr.  Sharp ;   but  what  opinion 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP.  77 

they  gave  is  not  known.  In  the  mean  time  the 
Doctor  was  more  sensibly  touched  with  a  do- 
mestic affliction,  for  he  lost  two  of  his  sons  in 
two  days,  and  buried  them  both  on  the  third 
day ;  and  on  the  day  that  followed  that,  the 
King  sent  his  letter  to  the  Bishop  of  London, 
which  was  delivered  to  his  lordship  at  Fulham, 
on  Thursday,  June  17th,  by  Mr.  Atterbury  the 
messenger,  and  was  as  follows : 

-  JAMES  R. 

*'  Right  Reverend  Father  in  God. 

<<  We  greet  you  well.  Whereas  we  have  been 
informed  and  are  fully  satisfied  that  Dr.  John 
Sharp,  Rector  of  the  parish  church.  Saint  Giles's 
in  the  Fields,  in  the  county  of  Middlesex,  and 
in  your  diocese,  notwithstanding  our  late  letter 
to  the  most  Reverend  Fathers  in  God,  the  Arch- 
bishops of  Canterbury  and  York,  and  our  direc- 
tions concerning  preachers,  given  at  our  court 
at  Whitehall  the  15th  day  of  March,  1685,  in 
the  second  year  of  our  reign.  Yet  he  the  said 
Dr.  Sharp,  in  contempt  of  the  said  orders,  hath 
in  some  of  his  sermons  since  preached,  presumed 
to  make  unbecoming  reflections,  and  to  utter 
such  expressions  as  were  not  fit  or  proper  for 
him,  endeavouring  thereby  to  beget,  in  the  minds 
of  his  hearers,  an  evil  opinion  of  us  and  our  go- 
vernment,  by  insinuating  fears  and  jealousies 


78  LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

to  dispose  them  to  discontent,  and  to  lead  them 
into  disobedience  and  rebellion.  These  are  there- 
fore to  require  and  command  you  immediately 
upon  receipt  hereof,  forthwith  to  suspend  him 
from  further  preaching  in  any  parish  church 
or  chapel  in  your  diocese,  until  he  hath  given 
us  satisfaction,  and  our  further  pleasure  be 
known  herein.  And  for  your  so  doing  this  shall 
be  your  warrant,  and  so  we  bid  you  heartily 
farewell.  Given  at  our  court  at  Windsor  the 
14th  day  of  June,  1686,  in  the  second  year  of 
our  reign.     By  his  majesty's  command. 

**  Sunderland." 

The  most  that  hath  been  or  can  be  said  in 
favour  of  this  step  which  the  King  was  advised 
to  take,  rests  upon  the  following  suppositions  or 
jjresumptions ;  for  so  they  are,  rather  than  rea- 
sons or  arguments.  1st.  That  the  offence  charged 
upon  Dr.  Sharp  amounted  to  an  ipso  facto 
suspension  by  our  constitutions.  Nay,  if  the 
opinions  of  the  judges,  given  in  the  case  of  the 
Puritans,  were  to  be  allowed  good,  it  was  an 
offence  Jineable  at  discretion,  and  very  near  to 
treason;  and  consequently  a  degradation  and 
deprivation  should  rather  have  followed  than  a 
suspension.  Therefore  the  King,  in  this  method 
which  he  pursued,  took  the  very  mildest  course 
with  the  Doctor,  especially  as  the  suspension 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP.  79 

which  he  directed  was  not  ab  officio  totally,  but 
only  from  one  branch  of  his  office,  namely, 
preaching  within  the  diocese  of  London,  till  his 
Majesty  had  received  satisfaction.  2d.  That 
where  an  ecclesiastical  superior  or  judge  de- 
clares any  sentence  virtute  et  vi  canonis,  there  is 
no  need  of  any  judicial  process  previous  to  the 
sentence  ;  the  delinquent  having  fallen  under  it 
a  jure,  and  therefore  the  ordinary  acts  not  here- 
in as  judge,  but  as  custos  canonum.  That  ipso 
facto  excommunications  (and  ipso  facto  suspen- 
sions are  of  the  like  kind  and  upon  the  same 
footing)  are  decreed  by  the  very  canons  them- 
selves, and  have  their  validity  from  thence,  in 
like  manner  as  ipso  facto  deprivations  are  es- 
tablished by  our  laws,  namely,  in  certain  cases 
when  a  benefice  shall  be  void  without  any  de- 
claratory sentence  in  the  ecclesiastical  court. 
That  therefore  what  was  required  by  the  King 
of  the  Bishop  of  London,  in  the  order  to  suspend 
Dr.  Sharp,  was  not  that  he  should  decree  it  as 
a  judge,  but  declare  it  as  a  party  concerned  and 
engaged  in  defence  of  the  canons,  and  in  the 
preservation  of  the  laws  of  the  church. 

And  3d.  That  when  the  King,  as  supreme 
ordinary,  had  informed  himself  of  the  offence 
laid  to  the  Doctor's  charge,  and  was  thereupon 
fully  satisfied  of  the  truth  of  it,  the  Bishop  of 
London  not  only  ought,  when  required  to  de- 


80  LIFE  OF  ARCHBI.SHOP  SHARP. 

clare  him  suspended,  but  would  of  necessity- 
impeach  his  Majesty's  ecclesiastical  supremacy, 
if  he  refused  or  disputed  his  commands  herein. 

It  may  easily  be  supposed  these  suggestions 
might  have  weight  enough  with  the  King  at  that 
time,  to  persuade  him  that  his  orders  to  the 
Bishop  were  of  sufficient  authority,  since  they 
have  had  weight  enough  s'mce  that  time  with 
some  people,  to  induce  them  to  think  they  would 
in  great  measure  justify  his  letter.  But  the 
Bishop  himself  was  of  another  opinion,  so  were 
all  the  men  of  the  law  whom  he  consulted. 
They  held  it  undoubted  that  Dr.  Sharp  could 
not  legally  be  punished  hy  suspension  without 
being  first  achnitted  to  make  a  legal  defence. 
That  his  Majesty's  command  being  directed  to 
a  judge,  and  in  consequence  being  a  command 
to  act  as  a  judge,  was  rendered  inconsistent, 
and  obedience  to  it  made  it  impracticable  by 
requiring  him  to  act  not  as  a  judge,  but  arbitra- 
rily and  contrary  to  law  and  justice.  Nothing 
could  seem  harder  upon  the  Bishop  than  such 
an  injunction.  The  utmost  compliance  that 
could  be  made,  or  the  most  effectual  obedience 
that  could  be  paid  to  it  was  this,  to  desire  or  to 
advise  the  Doctor  not  to  preach  till  they  saw 
some  issue  to  the  present  difficulty.  For  a 
Bishop's  advice  is  in  some  sense  an  admonition, 
which  has  the  face  of  a  judicial  proceeding,  and 


11 


LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP   SHARP.  81 

to  silence  him  by  such  admonition,  came  the 
nearest,  (and  was  indeed,  if  submitted  to,  tan- 
tamount) to  the  suspending  him  from  preach- 
ing, which  was  all  that  the  King  had  required. 
Therefore  this  method  was  agreed  upon  by  the 
Bishop  and  the  civilians,  and  Dr.  Sharp  was 
ordered  by  his  Lordship  to  meet  him  at  Doctors' 
Commons  on  June  the  18th,  (the  day  after  the 
King's  letter  was  delivered.)  He  did  so,  about 
noon  the  same  day,  and  the  Bishop  giving  him 
to  understand  his  Majesty's  displeasure,  desired 
and  advised  him  to  forbear  the  pulpit  till  the 
King's  further  pleasure  was  known.  Which 
the  Doctor  though  already  determined  so  to  do 
of  himself,  did  promise  the  Bishop  in  form. 
Whereupon  his  Lordship  wrote  the  following 
letter  to ,  Lord  Sunderland,  President  of  the 
Council,  and  dispatched  it  by  the  hands  of 
Dr.  Sharp. 

"  My  Lord, 

*'  I  always  have  and  shall  count  it  my  duty  to 
obey  the  King  in  whatever  commands  he  lays 
upon  me,  that  I  can  perform  with  a  safe  con- 
science. But  in  this  I  humbly  conceive  I  am 
obliged  to  proceed  according  to  law,  and  there- 
fore it  is  impossible  for  me  to  comply,  because 
though  his  Majesty  commands  me  only  to  exe- 
cute his  pleasure,  yet  in  the  capacity  I  am  to  do 

G 


82  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

it  I  must  act  as  a  judge.  And  your  Lordship 
knows  no  judge  condemns  any  man  before  he 
hath  knowledge  of  the  cause,  and  hath  cited  the 
party.  However  I  sent  to  Mr.  Dean  and  ac- 
quainted him  with  his  Majesty's  displeasure, 
whom  I  find  so  ready  to  give  all  reasonable 
satisfaction,  that  I  have  thought  fit  to  make  him 
the  bearer  of  this  answer  from  him  that  will 
never  be  unfaithful  to  the  King  or  otherwise 
than, 

"  My  Lord, 
*'  Your  Lordship's  most  humble  servant, 

**  H.  London." 

On  the  same  day  the  Doctor  drew  up  his  own 
petition  to  the  King  in  the  terms  following,  as 
taken  from  the  original  petition. 

"  TO  THE  king's  MOST  EXCELLENT  MAJESTY. 

*'  The  humble  Petition  of  John  Sharp,  Clerk. 
"  Sheweth, 

*'  That  it  is  very  grievous  to  your  petitioner 
to  be  so  unhappy  as  to  have  incurred  your 
Majesty's  displeasure. 

"  That  from  the  time  he  heard  of  it  to  this 
present  he  hath  forborn  to  preach. 

*'  Your  petitioner  can  with  great  sincerity 
affirm,  that  ever  since  he  hath  been  a  preacher, 
he  hath  faithfully  endeavoured  to  do  the  best 

II 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  S3 

service  he  could  in  his  place  and  station,  as 
well  to  the  late  King,  your  royal  brother,  as 
to  your  Majesty,  both  by  preaching  and  other- 
wise. 

**  And  so  far  hath  he  always  been  from  vent- 
ing any  thing  in  the  pulpit  tending  to  schism  or 
faction,  or  any  way  to  the  disturbance  of  your 
Majesty's  government,  that  he  hath  upon  all 
occasions,  in  his  sermons,  to  the  utmost  of  his 
power,  set  himself  against  all  sorts  of  doctrines 
and  principles  that  look  that  way.  And  this  he 
is  so  well  assured  of,  that  he  cannot  but  appre- 
hend that  his  sermons  have  been  very  much 
misrepresented  to  your  Majesty. 

''  But  if  in  any  sermon  of  his  any  words  or 
expressions  have  unwarily  slipt  from  him,  liable 
to  such  construction  as  to  give  your  Majesty 
cause  of  offence ;  as  he  solemnly  protests  he 
had  no  ill  intention  in  those  words  or  expres- 
sions, so  he  is  very  sorry  for  them ;  and  re- 
solves for  the  future  to  be  so  careful  in  the 
discharge  of  his  duty,  that  your  Majesty  shall 
have  reason  to  believe  him  to  be  your  most 
faithful  subject. 

*'  And  therefore  he  earnestly  prayeth,  that 
your  Majesty,  of  your  royal  grace  and  cle- 
mency, would  be  pleased  to  lay  aside  the  dis- 
pleasure you  have  conceived  against  your 
humble  petitioner,  and  restore  him  to  that  fa- 

G  2 


84  LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP   SHARP. 

vour  which  the  rest  of  your  Clergy  enjoy  under 
your  Majesty's  gracious  government. 

**  So  shall  your  petitioner  ever  pray,"  &c. 

With  this  and  the  Bishop  of  London's  letter, 
the  Doctor  went  the  next  day,  being  Saturday, 
June  19,  to  Hampton  Court,  where  a  council  was 
held,  and  the  King  present.  He  delivered  the 
Bishop's  letter  to  the  Lord  Sunderland,  who  only 
asked  him  ''  whether  the  Bishop  had  obeyed 
the  order  ?"  He  told  him,  No.  And  that  was 
all  that  passed  between  them.  As  for  the  pe- 
tition, the  Doctor  could  not  get  it  received ; 
but  waited  there  till  the  council  broke  up,  and 
all  the  members  were  gone ;  and  then  returned 
to  town  with  the  Lord  Nottingham,  who  had 
carried  him  thither. 

Had  the  Bishop's  letter  to  the  Lord  President 
been  taken  notice  of,  and  Dr.  Sharp's  petition 
been  received  and  read,  the  matter  might  well 
have  ended  here  ;  but  the  silencing  of  the  Doctor 
was  not  so  much  the  thing  intended.  The  cen- 
sure was  evidently  levelled  more  at  the  Bishop 
of  London  than  at  the  Doctor ;  and  having  got 
hereby  some  handle  against  his  lordship,  the 
court  seized  the  opportunity,  and  seemed  de- 
terrhined  to  make  all  the  advantages  they  could 
of  it.  But  as  yet  it  did  not  appear  where  the 
storm  was  most  likely  to  fall,    Dr.  Sharp  was 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  85 

Still  advised  to  attend  with  his  petition,  which 
he  accordingly  did  a  week  after,  on  June  26,  at 
Windsor,  whither  the  court  was  removed,  and 
he  put  his  petition  into  Lord  Middleton's  hands, 
who,  the  next  day,  June  27,  told  his  Majesty 
of  it  at  the  Cabinet  Council;  but  his  Majesty 
would  not  suffer  it  to  be  read.  The  Lord  Ro- 
chester had  promised  the  Doctor  to  be  his  friend, 
and  no  doubt  he  was  so,  as  far  as  he  could. 
The  Doctor,  finding  no  hopes  of  favour  at  this 
time,  returned  the  next  day  to  London ;  but  he 
was  afterwards  assured,  that  there  were  spies 
upon  him  all  the  time  he  staid  at  Windsor,  and 
that  if  he  had  gone  into  any  public  house, 
stories  would  have  been  made  upon  it ; — but 
it  fortunately  happened,  that  he  lodged  and 
staid  the  whole  time  with  Mr.  Jones,  in  the 
College,  and  so  gave  no  opportunities  for  scan- 
dal of  any  kind. 

Upon  this  the  Lord  Chancellor  Jefferies  ad- 
vised Dr.  Sharp  to  get  out  of  the  way,  who 
thereupon,  after  two  days  stay  in  London,  went 
down  to  Norwich,  July  1,  where  he  continued 
till  the  middle  of  December  unmolested ;  in 
which  time,  as  he  says  himself,  they  had  done 
the  Bishop  of  London's  work.  For  the  court 
having*  got  a  plausible  pretence  of  mortifying 
that  worthy  prelate,  and  in  his  person  the  xohole 
body  of  the  clergy,  and  a  good  opportunity  of 


86  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

trying  whether  they  could  intimidate  the  rest 
from  preaching  on  those  subjects,  the  handling 
of  which  still  checked  and  stopped  the  growth 
of  Popery  in  the  kingdom,  resolved  to  proceed 
against  his  lordship  for  disobeying,  as  it  was 
termed,  the  King's  injunctions.  To  this  end, 
the  Ecclesiastical  Commission  was  opened  in  the 
beginning  of  August,  in  the  Council  Chamber 
at  Whitehall,  and  the  Bishop  was  cited  thither, 
and  appeared  on  the  9th,  and  15th,  and  31st. 
On  the  last  of  which  days,  the  cause  came  to  a 
full  hearing,  and  was  brought  to  a  sentence  or 
decree  of  suspension ;  an  account  of  which  is 
given  in  all  the  histories  of  King  James's  reign. 
But  for  the  reader's  satisfaction,  a  large  and 
more  particular  abstract  of  the  process  on  the 
31st  of  August,  than  hath  been  hitherto  pub- 
lished, is  inserted  in  the  Appendix  *.  The  com- 
mission itself  may  be  found  in  the  third  volume 
of  the  Complete  History  of  England,  p.  454  ;  where 
likewise  the  pleas  and  answers  delivered  into 
court  in  writing,  by  the  Bishop,  may  be  met 
with,  p.  458  and  459. 

To  return  to  Dr.  Sharp,  who  remained  at 
Norwich  unmolested  during  the  course  of  these 
proceedings,  and  for  some  time  after,  till  he 
received  information  from  his  friends  in  London, 
that  if  he  would  come  up  to  town,   he  might 

*  App.  II.  No.  I. 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  87 

be  restored  ;   upon  which  he  left  Norwich  and 
repaired  to  London,  where,   in  company  with 
his  brother  Rawlinson,  he  waited  on  the  Lord 
Chancellor,  (Dec.  22,)  who  was  very  civil,  and 
intreated  him  kindly,  notwithstanding  his  late 
very  different  usage  of  the  Bishop  of  London. 
His  lordship  advised  the   Doctor  to  draw  up 
his   petition   again,   and   employ  some    friend, 
naming  Mr.  Henry  Guy,  (then  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury)  to  hand  it  to  Lord  Sunderland.     Ac- 
cordingly he  waited  upon  Mr.  Guy,  and  gave 
him  the  same  petition  that  he  had  offered  at 
Hampton  Court,  and  again  to  no  purpose,  at 
Windsor.     But  Mr.' Guy  having  perused  it,  said 
it  was  too  long,  and  would  not  do  :  and  ordered 
the  Doctor  to  draw  up  one  in  two  or  three  lines, 
acknowledging  his  being  sorry  for  having  in- 
curred the  King's  displeasure,  and  desiring  it 
might    be    removed,    and    not   to   meddle    with 
reasons  and  apologies.     This  the  Doctor  did  im- 
mediately, in  the  words  following. 

**TO  THE  king's  MOST  EXCELLENT  MAJESTY. 

**  The  Humble  Petition  of  John  Sharp,  Clerk. 
**  Sheweth, 
*'  That  it  is  a  grievous  affliction  to  your 
petitioner  to  have  incurred  your  Majesty's  dis- 
pleasure, for  the  which  he  is  most  heartily  sorry, 
and  promiseth,  for  the  future,  to  behave  him- 


88  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

self  in  all  things  as  becomes  a  most  dutiful  and 
loyal  subject. 

"  And  therefore,  humbly  prays  your  Majesty 
of  your  royal  grace  and  clemency,  to  restore  him 
to  that  liberty  of  his  function  which  the  rest  of 
your  Clergy  enjoy,  under  your  Majesty's  gra- 
cious government. 

**  So  shall  your  petitioner  ever  pray,"  &c. 

This  petition  was  presented  and  received  ;  and 
the  Doctor  immediately  received  the  following 
letter  from  my  Lord  Sunderland. 

"  Whitehall,  Jan.  9,  1686-7. 

**  Sir, 

"  I  have  read  your  petition  to  the  King,  who 
is  pleased  to  accept  of  your  submission,  and 
commands  me  upon  it  to  acquaint  you,  that  he 
allows  you  to  return  to  the  exercise  of  your 
function,  as  formerly. 

"  I  am^  Sir,  your  friend  and  servant, 

**  Sunderland,  P." 

Thus  ended  the  matter.  Dr.  Sharp  never 
certainly  knew  who  it  was  that  laid  the  infor- 
mation against  him.  But  the  person  who  was 
chiefly  charged  with  bringing  this  affair  upon 
him,  thought  fit  at  the  Revolution,  to  take  sanc- 
tuary and  shelter  under  Doctor  Sharp's  cha- 
racter.    For  he  sent  all  his  plate  and  valuable 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP.  89 

things  to  him  to  Great  Russel-street,  where 
they  were  secured  faithfully,  and  taken  care  of, 
till  all  apprehension  of  danger  was  over. 

During  the  times  of  his  troubles,  Mr.  White, 
the  engraver,  applied  to  him  for  his  picture, 
believing,  that  if  it  was  printed  and  published, 
it  would  sell  mighty  well.  But  the  same  rea- 
sons that  induced  Mr.  White  to  ask  this  favour, 
prevented  the  Doctor  from  granting  it ;  there- 
fore, he  told  the  engraver,  he  would  upon  no 
consideration  consent  to  such  a  proposal.  Upon 
which  Mr.  White  changed  his  request,  and  de- 
sired only  that  he  would  promise  him  to  let  him 
take  his  picture  when  he  was  a  Bishop.  To 
which  the  Doctor,  supposing  himself  safe  in 
such  promise,  readily  consented.  And  it  was 
wholly  in  regard  to  this  promise,  when  claimed, 
that  he  allowed  Mr.  White  to  publish  his  print 
of  him,  after  he  was  promoted  to  York. 

In  the  meanwhile,  after  he  returned  to  the 
exercise  of  his  function,  his  time  was  chiefly 
taken  up  with  the  Popish  controversy.  For  the 
Papists,  during  his  late  absence,  had  been  very 
busy  in  his  parish  ;  so  that,  upon  his  return,  he 
was  much  taken  up  in  answering  their  prayers 
and  queries,  detecting  their  sophistries,  and  in 
preserving  his  parishioners  secure  from  all  their 
attacks.  And  in  this  sort  of  work  he  employed 
the  greatest  part  of  the  year  1687. 


90        LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

Several  of  the  papers  wrote  by  him  at  this 
time,  are  now  published  at  the  end  of  the  se- 
venth volume  of  his  Sermons. 

On  Wednesday,  March  28,  1688,  his  dear 
friend.  Dr.  Claggett,  died.  He  never  lamented 
any  loss  so  much.  And  though  he  could  not 
refuse  paying  his  last  respects  to  his  deceased 
companion,  by  preaching  his  funeral  sermon,  at 
Bassishaw  Church,  where  Dr.  Claggett  had  been 
lecturer,  yet,  he  used  to  say,  that  never  any 
task  was  more  grievous  to  him  than  this  was. 
The  same  night  he  brought  home  Mrs.  Claggett, 
the  disconsolate  widow,  to  his  own  house,  and 
treated  her  with  the  utmost  tenderness  and 
affection,  the  little  time  she  survived  her  hus- 
band. Dr.  Claggett  indeed,  and  he,  had  all 
along  lived  with  the  greatest  familiarity  and 
most  entire  confidence  in  each  other,  that  was 
to  be  imagined.  They  not  only  communicated 
studies,  but  often  carried  them  on  together. 
For  the  former  not  being  so  well  furnished  with 
books  as  the  latter,  occasioned  his  frequently 
making  use  of  Dr.  Sharp's  library,  which  he  did 
as  if  it  were  his  own,  coming  in  when  he  pleased 
with  the  freedom  of  a  domestic,  and  prosecuting 
his  enquiries  as  he  pleased,  without  the  least 
ceremony  used,  or  interruption  given  on  either 
side.  Indeed,  if  similitude  of  temper  and  man- 
ners, if  equality  of  age,  and  perfect  conformity 


LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  91 

of  inclinations  and  studies,  usually  make  (as  is 
thought)  the  truest  and  most  delightful  friend- 
ships ;  then  these  two  persons  needed  only  to 
be  known  to  each  other,   to  create  a  mutual 
endearment :  but  so  it  happened  with  them,  that 
their  friendship  was  more  firmly  cemented,  and 
their  correspondence  rendered  more  intimate, 
by  being  engaged  in  the  same  labours,  the  same 
controversies.     In  carrying  on  of  which,   they 
seemed  animated  with  the  same  zeal,  affected 
with  the  same  piety,    and  influenced  by   the 
same  modesty.     They  recommended  and  pub- 
lished each  others  writings,  not  only  with  more 
confidence,     but    with     more     pleasure    than 
they  did  their  own.     Nor   did   Doctor   Sharp 
ever  do  any  thing  for  his  friend  that  seemed  to 
give  himself  trouble,  but  the  preaching  at  his 
funeral  *. 

Such  friendships  as  these  being  rare,  and  a 
real  credit  to  the  parties  engaged  in  them,  it 


*  How  valuable  a  man  this  was,  and  how  much  Dr.  Sharp 
esteemed  and  loved  him,  will  best  appear  from  a  passage  or 
two  of  the  Funeral  Sermon  above-mentioned,  and  from  the 
Preface  which  Doctor  Sharp  wrote  to  the  first  volume  of  his 
friend's  Sermons,  which  were  soon  published,  as  well  for  the 
honour  and  credit  of  the  departed  Author,  as  for  the  public 
benefit. 

Both  these  will  be  found  in  the  Appendix.     App.  1.  No.  I. 
and  No.  II. 


92  LIFE   OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP, 

seems  a  piece  of  justice  due  to  both  their  me- 
mories, not  to  omit  an  opportunity,  fairly  given, 
of  setting  forth  so  remarkable  a  character  of  their 
private  lives,  and  therefore  this  digression  needs 
no  excuse. 

Not  long  after  Dr.  Claggett's  death,  the  tov^^n 
was  alarmed  and  filled  vs^ith  variety  of  senti- 
ments concerning  the  birth  of  a  Prince  of  Wales. 
Sunday,  June  17,  vv^as  appointed  the  Thanks- 
giving Day  for  her  Majesty's  happy  delivery. 
On  w^hich  day  Dr.  Sharp  and  Dr.  Wake  changed 
pulpits,  and  the  former  preached  (upon,  How 
shall  we  escape,  if  we  7ieglect  so  gt^'eat  Salvation,) 
a  plain,  practical  sermon,  and  said  not  one 
word  about  any  matter  that  his  text  had  no 
relation  to. 

On  the  Friday  following,  he  went  down  to 
Norwich,  where  the  church  required  his  atten- 
dance :  and  there  spent  his  time  chiefly  in  ex- 
amining into  the  state  of  his  own  soul,  and 
improving  himself  in  all  Christian  virtues  and 
graces.  Now  it  was  that  he  entered  upon  a 
more  strict  and  excellent  way  of  living  than  he 
had  heretofore  attained  to,  and  which  it  was 
ever  after  the  main  business  of  his  life  to  labour 
in,  and  bring  to  perfection.  But  this  shall  be 
related  in  a  more  convenient  place. 

He  returned  to  London  on  August  13,  to 
consult  with  his  brethren  the  Archdeacons,  who 


LIFE   OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  93 

were  summoned  to  appear  before  the  Ecclesias- 
tical Commissioners,  to  shew  cause  why  they 
had  not  obeyed  the  King's  orders  with  respect 
to  the  Declaration.  The  orders  had  been  given, 
July  12 ;  and  were  directed  to  all  Chancellors, 
Archdeacons,  Commissaries,  and  Officials,  to 
enquire  strictly  within  their  respective  juris- 
dictions, in  what  churches  or  chapels  his  Ma- 
jesty's Declaration  had  been  read  or  omitted, 
&c.     And  to  transmit  an  account  thereof. 

The  16th  of  August  was  the  day  appointed 
for  their  respective  appearance.  Upon  this  the 
Archdeacons  met  at  Doctors'  Commons,  and 
consulted  together  on  the  14th  and  15th  :  and 
there  it  was  agreed  by  the  majority,  that  none 
of  them  should  appear  on  the  day  following. 
Upon  which  Dr.  Sharp,  on  the  17th,  retired 
again  to  Norwich.  What  his  sentiments  were 
about  the  order  for  reading  the  Declaration  will 
best  appear  from  a  short  paper,  drawn  up  by 
him  about  this  time,  either  for  his  own  defence, 
or  for  the  conviction  of  such  as  applied  to  him 
for  advice  on  this  occasion :  wherein,  though 
he  acknowledges  the  King's  prerogative  to  be 
higher  in  licitis  el  honestis,  not  only  than  the 
Bishop's,  but  than  the  Metropolitan's  too,  yet  he 
doth  not  allow  the  aforesaid  order  ought  to  be 
complied  with.     The  paper  is  this. 

'*  All  the  law  that  I  know  of,  which  relates  to 


94  LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP   SHARP. 

the  publishing  or  declaring  things  in  the  Church, 
is  the  Rubric  in  the  Communion  Service  which 
follows  after  the  Nicene  Creed.  *  Nothing  shall 
be  proclaimed  or  published  in  the  Church  dur- 
ing the  time  of  divine  service,  but  what  is  pre- 
scribed by  the  rules  of  this  book,  or  enjoined 
by  the  King,  or  by  the  Ordinary  of  the  place.' 

*'  I  take  it,  that  by  this  Rubric  we  are  equally 
obliged  to  publish  in  the  Church  what  is  en- 
joined us  by  the  King,  as  what  is  enjoined  us 
by  the  Ordinary.  And  I  have  reason  for  this 
conclusion,  because,  as  parish  ministers,  we  have 
taken  an  oath  to  obey  our  Ordinaries  in  all 
lawful  and  honest  things ;  and  a  higher  obligation 
cannot  be  laid  upon  us  to  obey  the  King. 

*'  Taking  now  this  for  granted,  I  would  ask, 
whether  supposing  our  Ordinary  should  enjoin 
us  to  publish  some  declarations  of  his  about 
matters,  which  we  were  convinced  in  our  judg- 
ment to  be  against  the  hiown  laws  ajid  cojtsfi- 
tutions  of  this  Church  and  realm,  and  likewise 
to  be  highly  prejudicial  to  the  interests  of  the 
Protestant  Religion,  which  we  do  profess,  we 
should  think  ourselves  obliged  by  our  oath  of 
canonical  obedience,  to  comply  with  such  an  in- 
junction of  our  Ordinary?  If  it  be  said,  we 
should  not  think  ourselves  obliged,  I  then  say, 
neither  can  we  think  ourselves  obliged  to  pub- 
lish such  a  declaration  if  it  comes  from  the  King. 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP.  95 

"  The  only  plausible  thing  that  can  be  ob- 
jected against  this,  is,  that  this  way  of  reasoning 
makes  the  Bishop's  authority  over  the  Clergy 
to  be  equal  to  the  King's.  I  answer  by  no 
means.  All  that  is  meant  is,  that  by  the  Rubric 
we  are  as  much  bound  to  publish  what  is  en- 
joined us  by  the  Bishop,  as  what  is  enjoined  us 
by  the  King.  And  we  are  sworn  to  obey  the 
Bishop,  in  Ileitis  et  ho?iestis,  which  is  all  the 
active  obedience  we  owe  to  the  King.  But, 
then  there  is  this  vast  difference  between  the 
authority  of  one  and  of  the  other.  As  we  are 
parish  ministers  we  are  bound  in  licitis  et  honestis 
to  obey  our  Ordinaries.  But  if  his  superior,  our 
Metropolitan  gives  us  contrary  commands,  then 
we  must  obey  the  Metropolitan,  and  not  the 
Ordinary.  And  if  the  King,  who  is  by  our 
constitution,  the  supreme  head  of  the  church, 
do  controul  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Meti^opoUtan^ 
then  we  are  released  from  all  obligations  to 
comply  with  the  Metropolitan,  and  must  obey 
the  King.  So  that  where  there  happens  a 
clashing  of  legal  orders  or  jurisdictions  we  are 
certainly  bound  to  obey  the  King,  rather  than 
our  Bishop  or  Archbishop.  But  then  even  our 
obedience  to  the  King  is  to  be  extended  no 
further  than  licita  et  honesta."' 

Thus  far  the  paper. 

3ut  to  return.     The  commissioners  finding  no 


96  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP. 

effect  of  this  order,  published  a  second,  direct- 
ing and  commanding  the  aforesaid  Ecclesiastical 
officers  to  make  this  a  matter  of  their  inquiry  at 
their  visitations,  which  they  were  required  to 
hold  before  the  15th  of  November  following, 
and  to  transmit  an  account  thereof  before  the 
6th  of  December.  But  Providence  prevented  a 
return  of  this  inquiry. 

For  now  came  on  that  surprising  change  and 
happy  turn  of  affairs,  which  released  the  Clergy 
of  the  Church  of  England,  and  all  good  Pro- 
testants from  the  difficulties  that  surrounded 
them,  and  the  great  dangers  that  threatened 
them.  During  the  several  steps  of  which 
transaction  Dr.  Sharp  preserved  the  character 
that  befitted  his  station,  by  a  conduct  that  best 
suited  with  his  calling.  He  divided  his  time 
between  his  two  churches  of  Norwich  and  St. 
Giles's,  though  not  a  little  interrupted  in  his  ser- 
vices to  both  by  a  severe  fever  that  he  had  in 
October.  He  never  in  his  life  meddled  or  in- 
terposed in  affairs  of  state,  further  than  was  in- 
cumbent upon  him  by  vii^tue  of  his  station  and 
office.  This  was  his  principle,  which  he  adhered 
to  both  at  this  time  and  ever  after.  Nor  did  the 
change  of  any  man's  private  fortunes  and  condi- 
tion through  the  alteration  of  the  time,  tempt 
him  to  forget  private  and  personal  obligations  ; 
which  principle  of  gratitude   induced   him   to 


LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP   SHARP.  97 

make  a  visit  (which  were  not  his  motive  to  it 
known,  would  appear  very  unseasonable),  to 
the  Lord  Chancellor  JefFeries  in  his  great  dis- 
grace and  distress  in  the  Tower.  But  the  Doctor 
remembered  his  Lordship  had  been  a  friend  to 
him  in  his  own  troubles,  and  thought  proper  to 
acknowledge  his  sense  of  his  Lordship's  kind- 
ness in  this  manner.  My  Lord  was  not  a  little 
surprised  at  his  constancy,  as  appears  by  his 
salutation  of  him  at  his  first  entrance  into  the 
room,  in  these  words  :  *'  What,  dare  yoic  own  me 
noivV  The  Doctor  seeing  his  condition  judged 
he  should  not  lose  the  opportunity  of  being  ser- 
viceable to  his  Lordship  as  a  divine,  if  it  was  in 
his  power  to  be  so  ;  and  freely  expostulated 
with  him  upon  his  public  actions,  and  particu- 
larly the  affair  in  the  west.  To  which  last 
charge,  his  Lordship  returned  this  answer, 
"  that  he  had  done  nothing  in  that  affair  with- 
out the   advice  and  concurrence    of 

Who  now,"  said  he,  "  is  the  darling  of  the 
people."  His  Lordship  further  complained  much 
of  the  reports  that  went  about  concerning  him, 
particularly  that  of  his  giving  himself  up  to 
hard  drinking  in  his  confinement ;  which  he  de- 
clared was  grounded  upon  nothing  more  than 
his  present  seasonable  use  of  punch,  to  alleviate 
the  pressures  of  stone  or  gravel  under  which  he 
then  laboured, 

H 


98  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

Neither  did  Dr.  Siiarp  quit  his  allegiance  to 
King  James,  or  cease  to  acknowledge  him  to  be 
his  sovereign,  till  both  Houses  of  Parliament  had 
declared  his  desertion  of  the  government  and 
kingdom  to  be  properly  an  abdication  of  them, 
and  had  thereupon  filled  the  throne,  in  which 
settlement  he  acquiesced.  Of  this  he  gave  a 
remarkable  instance  upon  an  occasion  that  suffi- 
ciently tried  both  his  principles  and  courage. 
The  convention  opened  Jan.  24th ;  during  the 
debates  upon  the  great  and  important  subject  of 
the  King's  abdication  and  vacancy  of  the  throne, 
he  was  appointed  to  preach  on  Sunday,  Jan. 
27th,  before  the  Prince  of  Orange,  and  on  Wed- 
nesday the  30th,  before  the  House  of  Commons. 
And  in  his  prayer  on  both  occasions  he  did  as 
usual  pray  for  King  James.  His  doing  so  upon 
the  first  occasion  was  not  so  much,  because 
neither  of  the  Houses  had  yet  come  to  any  de- 
claration. But  his  doing  it  on  the  Wednesday 
following,  after  the  Commons  had  passed  their 
vote  that  King  James  had  abdicated,  and  the 
throne  was  vacant  (which  vote  passed  on  Monday 
Jan.  28th)  was  taken  amiss  by  several  members 
as  a  contradiction  of  their  vote  ;  though  it  should 
have  been  remembered  that  as  vet  the  Lords 
had  not  concurred  with  them,  and  as  yet  the 
sei^vict  of  the  Church  was  not  altered  by  au- 
thority.    However,  after   some  warm   disputes 

XI 


LIFF,  OF   ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  09 

among  them  they  voted  him  thanks.  There  is  a 
memorandum  in  Dr.  Sharp's  own  hand  under  the 
vote  of  thanks  which  was  sent  him  in  these  words. 

•'*  Ve?ieris  1""  die  Feb.,  1688. — Resolved,  iVe- 
mine  Contradiceiite,  That  the  Thanks  of  this 
House  be  given  to  Dr.  Sharp,  Dean  of  Norwich, 
for  his  Sermon  preached  before  this  House  on 
Wednesday  last,  and  that  he  be  desired  to  print 
the  same.  And  that  Sir  John  Knight,  and  Mr. 
Auditor  Done,  do  acquaint  him  with  such,  the 
thanks  and  desire  of  this  House. 

"  Paul  Jodrell,  CI.  D.  C." 

"  This  sermon  here  desired  to  be  printed,  was 
that  which  I  preached  on  Jan.  30,  after  the 
House  had  made  a  vote,  that  King  James  had 
abdicated.  Nevertheless  in  my  prayer  before 
sermon,  I  prayed  for  King  James  as  I  used 
to  do.  At  which,  and  I  believe,  at  some  passages 
in  the  sermon,  great  offence  was  taken  by  several 
of  the  warm  men  in  the  House  of  Commons. 
And  complaint  was  made  by  the  Speaker,  Mr. 
Powel,  to  the  House  that  very  afternoon.  Upon 
which  a  great  debate  arose,  which  took  up  all 
their  time  that  night,  but  nothing  was  concluded. 
The  next  day,  being  the  3 1st  of  January,  was  the 
day  of  thanksgiving  for  the  arrival  of  the  Prince  of 
Orange.  And  then  Dr.  Burnet  preached  before 
the  House.     The  day  after  when  the  House  was 

H2 


100  LIFE   OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

set,  the  first  motion  that  was  made  was  for 
*  Thanks,' &c.  for  my  sermon,  which  produced 
this  vote,  Sir  John  Knight  made  the  motion. 
But  for  all  this  order  I  did  tiot  print  my  ser- 
mon ^ 

Tluis  far  for  his  own  memorandum. 

It  seems  when  he  perceived  that  he  had  dis- 
pleased some  gentlemen  by  the  very  mention  of 
the  Jesuits  doctrine  of  deposing  of  kings  (which 
he  did  in  the  latter  part  of  his  sermon,)  he  was 
unwilling  to  give  further  offence  to  as  many  as 
should  think  proper  to  construe  what  he  said  as 
a  reflection  on  the  proceedings  of  the  House. 
For  though  he  always  thought  it  his  duty  in  the 
pulpit  both  to  speak  to  the  point,  and  to  speak 
to  the  plain  truth  ;  yet  wherever  he  could  avoid 
giving  unnecessary  offence  no  man  was  more 
careful  to  do  so. 

This  sermon  had  been  composed  in  King 
Charles  the  Second's  reign,  viz.  in  1679.  And 
had  been  often  preached  without  offence,  and 
the  words  which  were  thought  obnoxious  on 
this  occasion,  were  penned  at  a  time  when  it 
was  impossible  the  preacher  should  have  any 
design  of  reflecting  on  a  procedure  that  was  not 
then  dreamed  of. 

But  least  what  he  said  or  may  be  reported  to 
have  said  on  this  occasion,  should  hereafter  be 
imputed  to  a  disposition  which  never  was  his,  it 


LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  101 

may  not  be  improper  to  give  the  reader  that 
particular  passage,  which  only  can,  by  any  con- 
struction, be  thought  to  have  any  untoward  or 
offensive  look  at  so  critical  a  juncture. 

"  Had  this  been  done,"  said  he,  speaking  of 
the  King's  murder,  "in  a  Popish  country, 
where  the  deposing  and  murdering  of  Pinnces  is 
allowed ;  nay,  and  sometimes  encouraged  and 
promoted  by  the  pretended  infallible  Vicar  of 
Christ,  it  had  been  no  such  great  wonder.  But 
to  be  done  in  a  Protestant  country,  nay,  and  a 
country  that  hath  always  gloried  that,  by  the 
p?inciples  of  her  establishment,  she  hath  given 
the  best  security  to  princes  for  their  persons 
and  their  rights  that  any  Protestant  country  in 
Europe  hath  done  : — Oh,  what  a  wound  is  this 
to  our  religion,  and  what  a  blemish  doth  it  cast 
upon  it  !  *  Tell  it  not  in  Gath,  publish  it  not  in 
the  streets  of  Askelon,  least  the  daughters  of  the 
Philistines  rejoice,  least  the  daughters  of  the  un- 
circumcised  triumph  *.'  " 

This  seems  to  be  the  obnoxious  passage  re- 
ferred to  by  Dr.  Sharp  in  his  memorandum, 
which  displeased  certain   members.      But  Dr. 

*  The  remainder  of  this  sermon  containing  an  answer  to 
the  Roman  Catholics  for  reproaching  the  Church  of  England 
with  the  King's  murder,  which  might  likewise  in  the  opinions 
of  some  be  unseasonable  at  this  nice  conjuncture,  is  thrown 
into  the  Appendix.     Appendix  I.  No.  III. 


102  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

Burnet  happening  to  preach  before  them  the 
day  following,  being  the  Thanksgiving  for  the 
Prince  of  Orange's  arrival,  had  put  these  gen- 
tlemen into  so  good  humour  again,  that  they 
dropt  the  resentments  they  had  taken  up  on  their 
day  of  Fasting,  and  allow^ed  a  vote  of  thanks  to 
Dr.  Sharp  to  pass  unanimously.  And  it  is 
certain  no  displeasure  vv^as  taken  at  Court  from 
vi^hat  had  happened,  for  on  that  day  fortnight, 
being  the  first  Friday  in  Lent,  he  was  appointed 
to  preach  before  the  Queen,  and  was  taken  into 
no  small  favour  by  her  Majesty. 

In  the  former  part  of  this  year,  1689,  Dr. 
Sharp  and  his  friend  Dr.  Tillotson  had  a  good 
deal  of  trouble  upon  their  hands,  and  no  small 
share  of  their  time  taken  up  with  a  trust  which 
they  were  engaged  in  by  Alderman  Ask.  He 
dying  and  leaving  considerable  effects  had  made 
them  joint  executors  of  his  will,  and  made  the 
Haberdasher's  Company  his  heirs.  And  among 
several  other  legacies  had  left  each  of  the 
executors  £200,  and  £400  to  twenty  such  poor 
clergymen  as  they  should  nominate. 

The  executors  were  so  prudent  as  to  let 
the  agents  of  the  Company  (whose  concern  in 
this  matter  was  the  greatest)  have  the  custody 
of  all  the  ready  money  and  bonds  that  were 
found  belonging  to  the  deceased  ;  or  at  least  they 
were  put  into  some  common  hand,  trusted  by 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  103 

both  parties,  till  the  will  was  completely  exe- 
cuted. Nor  was  there  any  thing  transacted  re- 
lating to  this  trust  from  the  time  that  the  will 
was  opened,  to  the  time  of  their  surrendering  all 
their  concerns  into  the  hands  of  the  Company, 
but  in  the  presence  and  with  the  advice  and 
consent  of  the  deputies  of  the  Company,  parti- 
cularly Sir  Thomas  Vernon  and  Mr.  Mould, 
which  latter  kept  the  accounts  of  all  things  done 
in  this  affair.  This  caution  of  theirs  proved  af- 
terwards of  great  use,  by  enabling  them  to  give 
full  satisfaction  to  some  who  had  suspected, 
upon  false  suggestions  made  to  them,  that  the 
executors  had  disposed  of  some  of  the  Alder- 
man's effects  before  they  delivered  in  the  sche- 
dules to  the  Company.  And  this  being  sug-^ 
gested  at  a  time  when  they  were  both  Metropo- 
litans, would  have  been  something  more  than  a 
blot  upon  their  private  characters,  had  they  not 
had  sufficient  evidences  to  recur  to,  of  their 
great  care  and  honesty  in  the  management  of 
the  aforesaid  trust. 

Not  long  after  and  in  the  same  year,  these  two 
friends,  who  still  rose  together  both  in  their 
characters  and  preferments,  received  notice  of 
more  public  trusts  reposed  in  them  by  his  Ma- 
jesty, King  William.  Dr.  Sharp  received  his  at 
Norwich,  from  the  Earl  of  Nottingham,  by  the 
following  letter. 


104  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP. 

♦'  Whitehall,  Sept.  7,  1689. 
''  Sir, 

"  Dr.  Tillotson  being  removed  to  the 

Deanery  of  Paul's,  I  must  wish  you  joy  of  that 

of  Canterbury,  which  the  King  has  given  you. 

This  need  not  hasten  your  journey  to  London 

(though  I  should  be  glad  to  see  you  at  any  time,) 

because  it  cannot  be  perfected  till  Dr.  Stilling- 

fleet  be  actually  Bishop  of  Worcester.    I  should 

be  extremely  rejoiced  to  hear  you  have  recovered 

your  health,  which  no  man  wishes  you  more 

than, 

**  Your  most  affectionate,  humble  servant, 

t<  Nottingham." 

Dr.  Sharp  was  not  ignorant  to  whose  interest 
and  application  in  great  measure  he  must  be 
indebted  for  this  unlooked  for  favour,  as  will 
appear  by  his  modest  letter  of  acknowledgment 
to  his  Lordship. 

"  My  Lord, 

"  Be  pleased  to  accept  my  most  humble 
thanks  for  this  new  instance  of  your  favour 
and  kindness  added  to  a  thousand  before  ;  and 
which  indeed  is  extremely  surprising  to  me,  be- 
cause as  I  did  not  deserve  it,  so  did  I  not  in  the 
least  expect  it. 

**  It  is  to  your  father,  my  Lord,  and  yourself, 
that,  under  God,  I  owe  all  that  I  have  in  this 
world.     And  may  I  but  have  the  continuance 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP.  105 

of  your  favour  so  long  as  I  study  to  express 
myself  thankful  for  the  benefits  I  have  received, 
I  shall  never  need  nor  desire  any  other  patron. 

"I  thankfully  accept  the  place. which  the 
King,  through  your  Lordship's  mediation,  de- 
signs for  me.  And  if  my  abilities  to  serve  God 
and  the  church  in  that  post  were  but  equal 
to  my  desires,  I  am  sure  neither  his  Ma- 
jesty nor  your  Lordship  will  repent  of  your 
preferring  me. 

*'  I  hope  to  wait  on  your  Lordship  the 
week  after  Michaelmas,  for  then  my  residence 
here  will  be  out.  I  pray  God  increase  his 
blessings  upon  your  Lordship,  and  your  family. 
I  am,  my  Lord,  with  the  utmost  sincerity,  as  I 
have  great  reason, 

'*  Your  Lordship's, 

*'  Most  faithful,  humble, 
"and  obliged  servant, 

*'  John  Sharp." 

The  next  post  brought  him  another  letter  from 
Lord  Nottingham,  to  acquaint  him  that  the 
King  had  appointed  him  one  of  the  Commis- 
sioners for  preparing  such  alterations  and  amend- 
ments of  the  Liturgy  and  Canons,  and  such 
proposals  for  the  reformation  of  Ecclesiastical 
courts  as  might  be  laid  before  the  Convocation 
at  their  next  meeting,  and  to  require  his  atten- 


106  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

dance  on  that  commission  the  3d  of  October 
following. 

Upon  this  occasion,  Dr.  Sharp  returned  to 
London  immediately,  and  having  waited  on  the 
King,  at  Hampton  Court,  and  kissed  his  hand 
for  his  new  Deanery  (being  introduced  by  Lord 
Chief  Justice  Holt,)  he  deferred  taking  posses- 
sion of  it  till  he  had  discharged  his  trust  with 
respect  to  the  Ecclesiastical  Commission;  which 
he  attended  constantly  in  the  Jerusalem  Cham- 
ber, so  long  as  it  sat. 

They  who  would  know  what  progress  was 
made  in  this  great  design,  and  for  what  reasons 
it  proved  at  last  ineffectual,  after  great  pains 
taken  by  the  Commissioners,  may  consult  Dr. 
Nichols,  who  gives  a  full  and  particular  account 
of  the  proceedings.  Only  here,  let  it  be  remem- 
bered, that  when  the  Convocation  sat,  viz.  on 
Nov.  21st,  Dr.  Sharp  was  the  person  who  first 
moved  that  Dr.  Tillotson  might  be  chosen  pro- 
locutor. But  it  was  carried  for  Doctor  Jane  ; 
which  was  thought  one  principal  reason  why  the 
Commission  itself  failed  of  success. 

Dr.  Sharp  having  done  his  part,  and  borne  his 
testimony  for  his  friend,  went  down  to  Canter- 
bury to  be  installed ;  and  the  necessary  affairs 
of  his  new  preferment,  kept  him  from  returning 
to  Convocation  till  the  14th  of  December,  when 
it  was  just  upon  the  point  of  adjournment.     So 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  107 

that  he  was  present  only  the  first  and  last  days 
of  that  session,  and  consequently  had  no  part 
in  the  remarkable  debates,  and  warm  contentions 
which  then  employed  that  reverend  and  learned 
body. 

The  next  year,  1690,  his  course  of  waiting  at 
Court  as  Chaplain,  was  in  April,  when  he 
preached  before  the  Queen  at  Whitehall,  a  ca- 
suistical discourse  upon  Gal.  v.  13.;  containing 
rules  for  our  conduct  when  we  are  at  a  loss 
to  distinguish  the  bounds  of  sin  and  duty,  lawful 
and  unlawful,  in  any  action.  Which  was  printed 
by  her  Majesty's  command.  She  was  likewise 
much  pleased  with  a  sermon  he  preached  before 
her,  during  his  waiting  this  month  at  Kensing- 
ton, upon  the  Prodigal  Son,  and  ordered  him  to 
print  that  also ;  but  he  made  his  excuse,  and  the 
Queen  allowed  it.  On  May  21st,  he  was  called 
upon  to  preach  before  the  House  of  Commons 
on  occasion  of  the  monthly  fast.  This  was  the 
third  time  he  had  preached  before  that  house. 

The  summer  following,  he  resolved  to  visit 
his  native  country  and  his  mother,  yet  living 
in  Bradford,  once  more ;  for  he  had  not  been 
down  for  several  years.  Accordingly,  he  spent 
what  time  he  had  to  spare  amongst  his  friends 
there,  and  at  York,  where  he  also  paid  his  re- 
spects to  Archbishop  Lamplugh  ;  little  imagin- 
ing then  how    soon  he    should   have   a  much 


108  LIFE  OK  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

better  claim  to  visit  that  country,  and  York  and 
Bishopthorp  in  particular. 

For  soon  after  his  return  to  London,  his  Ma- 
jesty pitched  upon  him  amongst  others  for  sup- 
plying the  Sees  vacated  by  the  deprivations  of 
their  Bishops.  Accordingly,  he  had  two  or  three 
of  them,  or  the  choice  of  them  offered  to  him. 
Norwich,  which  was  thought  would  be  most 
acceptable  to  him  on  account  of  the  friendships 
he  had  in  that  city,  was  pressed  upon  him  by 
Dr.  Tillotson.  But  he  waved  all  these  offers 
on  account  of  the  dispossessed  Bishops  being 
yet  alive,  with  whom  he  was  acquainted,  and 
for  whom  he  bore  respect :  and  as  to  Norwich, 
in  particular,  he  declared,  that  having  lived 
hitherto  in  great  friendship  with  its  Bishop,  he 
could  not  think  of  taking  his  place,  but  rather 
chose  to  continue  in  his  present  situation,  than 
remove  to  more  honourable  posts  under  such 
circumstances  as  made  them  no  ways  tempting 
to  him,  or  agreeable  to  his  inclinations.  But 
though  it  appears  sufficiently  that  he  disliked 
succeeding  to  these  vacancies  made  by  depriva- 
tion, yet  he  seemed  not  at  any  time  to  make  it 
a  matter  of  conscience  with  himself.  Much  less 
did  he  take  upon  him  to  censure  or  blame  others 
who  took  the  preferments  that  were  thus  voided. 
He  readily  went  down  to  Canterbury  to  elect 
Dr.  Tillotson  to  the  throne  of  that  church  where 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  109 

himself  was  Dean  ;  and  was  himself  afterwards 
consecrated  by  Dr.  Tillotson,  in  company  with 
others  who  succeeded  to  these  vacant  Bishop- 
ricks.  Neither  of  which  had  been  consistent 
with  his  principle,  had  he  thought  it  absolutely 
unlawful  or  irregular  to  take  those  Bishopricks 
in  those  circumstances.  And  as  to  all  pretences 
of  separation  from  the  Established  Church,  on 
account  of  these  deprivations  and  successions, 
he  very  warmly  opposed  them.  In  the  mean 
time,  whatever  he  might  think  of  the  matter 
himself,  his  Majesty  guessed  that  he  made  these 
difficulties  purely  upon  a  principle  which  would 
not  recommend  him  much  to  his  Majesty's  fa- 
vour. In  fine,  the  King  was  not  a  little  dis- 
gusted at  his  peremptory  refusal  of  those  pre- 
ferments. 

And  here,  in  all  probability,  Dr.  Sharp  had 
forfeited  all  further  favours  from  court,  at  least 
in  that  reign,  had  not  his  friend.  Dr.  Tillotson, 
(who  was  concerned  and  grieved  to  think  of  Dr. 
Sharp's  being  wholly  left  out  in  the  new  promo- 
tion to  Bishopricks,)  seasonably  interposed  an 
expedient  for  advancing  him  not  only  more 
agreeably  to  his  inclinations,  but  also  quite  be- 
yond his  expectations  ;  and  that  was  by  laying 
the  scheme  for  his  being  Archbishop  of  York, 
when  that  See  should  become  vacant.  For,  on 
Friday,  April  24,   1691,  (as  appears  by  a  me- 


110  LIFE  OF   AIlCHBISHOr  SHARP. 

morandum  under  his  own  hand,)  Dr.  Tillotson 
came  to  his  house  in  Russel-street,  and  told  him 
that  since  he  had  so  obstinately  refused  taking 
any  of  the  vacant  Bishopricks,  he  had  thought  of 
an  expedient  to  bring  him  off  with  the  King ; 
that  he  should  not  fall  under  his  displeasure. 
And  that  was,  he  should  promise  to  take  the 
Archbishoprick  of  York  when  it  fell,  as  Dr. 
Jennison  should  take  Lincoln.  This  Dr.  Sharp 
readily  promised  he  would,  but  withal  said,  that 
he  would  not  take  any  advantage  of  the  offer 
made  him ;  but  they  should  still  be  at  liberty  as 
to  the  disposal  of  that  Archbishoprick,  whenso- 
ever it  should  become  vacant,  it  being  sufficient 
satisfaction  to  himself  that  by  means  of  such  his 
declaration  or  promise,  he  might  stand  clear  of 
the  King's  displeasure.  Dr.  Tillotson  told  him, 
that  he  had  thought  of  this  thing  as  he  came 
from  Whitehall  to  his  house,  and  since  he  now 
understood  his  mind,  he  directed  him  to  go  and 
acquaint  my  Lord  Nottingham  with  it,  and  if 
his  lordship  approved  of  it,  he  would  go  him- 
self and  propose  it  to  the  King,  on  the  Monday 
following. 

Dr.  Tillotson  then  told  him  how  all  the  other 
vacant  Bishopricks  were  designed  to  be  disposed 
of.  And  on  the  Monday,  according  to  his  en- 
gagement, he  acquainted  his  Majesty  with  what 
had  passed  between  Dr.  Sharp  and  himself,  and 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP.  Ill 

fixed  the  thing.  And  on  the  next  council  day, 
which  was  on  the  Wednesday  or  Thursday  fol- 
lowing, the  King  declared  in  Council  who  should 
fill  the  vacant  Sees,  and  who  should  succeed 
into  York  and  Lincoln  when  they  fell. 

Thus  amply  did  Dr.  Tillotson  requite  the 
smaller  services  that  Dr.  Sharp  had  done  him 
formerly;  the  chief  of  which  was  his  obtain- 
ing for  him  a  residentiary  ship  at  St.  Paul's, 
through  his  interest  with  the  Lord  Chancellor 
Nottingham. 

Within  a  week  after  this,  viz.  on  May  5th, 
Archbishop  Lamplugh  died ;  and  on  the  8th,  the 
news  of  his  death  came  to  town,  and  that  very 
night  a  warrant  was  signed  for  Dr.  Sharp's  suc- 
ceeding him.  And  this  was  just  a  fortnight 
after  Dr.  Tillotson  had  laid  and  proposed  to  him 
this  scheme.  On  the  next  day,  the  Lord  Not- 
tingham introduced  him  to  kiss  the  King's  hands. 

This  point  being  thus  secured  to  him,  he  went 
down  to  Canterbury  within  a  few  days,  to  assist 
at  the  election  of  his  friend.  Dr.  Tillotson,  to 
that  See  ;  which  no  doubt  he  did  with  the 
greatest  pleasure.  Which  having  performed, 
and  settled  his  own  affairs  at  Canterbury,  and 
taken  his  leave  of  that  church,  he  returned  to 
town,  and  in  a  most  affectionate  discourse  to 
his  own  parishioners,  he  took  his  leave  of  them 
also,  having  served  them  faithfully  as  their  mi- 


112  LIFE  OF   ARCFIBISHOP   SHARP. 

nister  for  sixteen  years,  aiid  received  very  great 
testimonies  of  their  love  and  esteem  for  him. 

It  was  a  mighty  pleasure  to  him  that  his 
parish  fell  into  the  hands  of  so  great  and  worthy 
a  person  as  Dr.  Scott ;  the  man  whom  he  had 
singled  out  of  the  whole  body  of  the  London 
Clergy,  in  his  private  thoughts,  to  be  his  suc- 
cessor. How  far  he  was  instrumental  in  pro- 
curing this  preferment  for  Dr.  Scott  is  not 
known.  But  it  is  probable  he  was  very  much 
so.  For  in  one  of  his  late  fevers,  (a  distemper 
he  was  liable  to,)  being  apprehended  to  be  in 
great  danger,  he  expressed  his  earnest  desires 
that  his  friend.  Dr.  Scott,  might  have  the  charge 
of  his  flock ;  and  said,  he  hoped  the  Lord  Chan- 
cellor would  think  of  him  for  that  cure. 

On  the  last  day  of  May,  Archbishop  Tillotson 
was  consecrated,  and  he  confirmed  Dr.  Sharp 
(whose  election  at  York  was  now  over)  at  Bow 
Church,  on  July  2d,  and  within  three  days 
after,  viz.  July  5th,  he  consecrated  him,  together 
with  the  Bishops  who  succeeded  to  Gloucester, 
Norwich,  and  Peterborough.  The  assisting 
Prelates  were  Winchester,  Sarum,  Worcester, 
Ely,  and  Bristol. 

The  sermon  was  preached  by  Mr.  Joshua 
Clark,  chaplain  to  the  Lord  Bishop  of  Norwich, 
from  Heb.  xiii.  17.  *'  Obey  theyn  that  have  the 
rule  over  you,'"  &c.     The  discourse  was  printed. 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.       113 

The  day  following,  Dr.  Sharp  did  homage. 
On  July  16th,  he  was  by  proxy  enthroned  at 
York  ;  and  on  October  5th,  he  was  introduced 
into  the  House  of  Lords,  and  took  both  the 
tests. 

Not  long  after,  letters  of  congratulation  were 
sent  him  from  the  University  of  Cambridge,  and 
from  his  own  college. 


PART    II. 


CONTAINING    HIS   CHARACTER    AS  BISHOP,    AND 
HIS    PROCEEDINGS    IN    HIS    DIOCESE. 

Doctor  Sharp  was  in  the  forty -seventh  year 
of  his  age  when  he  was  advanced  to  the  see  of 
York ;  in  which  he  sat  longer  than  any  of  his 
predecessors  since  the  Reformation,  viz.  above 
two  and  twenty  years. 

As  this  dignity  in  the  church  brought  him  into 
a  new  situation  of  life,  and  upon  a  more  public 
stage  of  action,  and  drew  upon  him  a  multipli- 
city of  business  and  a  variety  of  trouble  com- 
monly attendant  on  great  preferments,  engaging 
him  in  affairs  not  only  very  different  from  those 
in  which  he  had  been    concerned   before,  but 
differing  from  each  other,  and  of  distinct  con- 
sideration  in    themselves,    it  will  be  requisite 
from  this  period  to  make  some  alteration  in  the 
method   that  has  been  hitherto  taken,  and  in- 
stead of  proceeding  in    order  of  time,   to  lay 
things  together  according  to  their  subjects,  and 
suitable  with  their  relations  to  each  other ;  that 
is,  to  collect  and  put  together  such  articles  as 
relate  immediately  to  his  diocese  ami  province; 

I  2 


116  LIFE  OV  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

and  in  the  next  place,  such  as  concern  his  pro- 
ceedings at  the  court  and  in  parliament;  and 
last  of  all,  such  as  have  respect  only  to  his  pri- 
vate life  and  economy.  Which  disposition  and 
arrangement  of  materials  into  different  classes, 
ecclesiastical,  civil,  and  domestic*,  seems  most 
convenient,  and  is  preferable  to  a  close  prose- 
cution and  regular  detail  of  particulars  by  the 
dates  of  years  and  months ;  which  would  neces- 
sarily have  involved  several  inconsiderable  pas- 
sages of  no  other  consequence  than  to  preserve 
connexion  and  the  thread  of  narration ;  and 
would  likewise  have  occasioned  several  repe- 
titions and  recapitulations  of  points  before  men- 
tioned ; — whereas  by  methodizing  and  digesting 
the  materials  in  the  manner  above  described, 
not  only  these  inconveniences  are  avoided,  but 
a  much  better  opportunity  is  given  of  forming  a 
judgment  concerning  the  steadiness  of  his  prin- 
ciples, and  the  uniformity  of  his  practice  to 
them,  in  the  respective  capacities  in  which  he  is 
distinctly  considered. 

That  which  claims  the  preference  in  point  of 
order,  is  his  proper  character  of  a  bishop  or 
pastor ;  under  which  head  will  be  comprized  all 
the  steps  that  he  took,  and  the  rules  by  which 

*  This  division  of  his  materials  is  observed  by  the  Author, 
and  corresponds  with  Part  the  Second,  Part  the  Third,  and 
Part  the  Fourth  of  the  Life.     Editors  Note, 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  117 

he  conducted  himself  in  the  regulation  and  go- 
vernment of  his  extensive  diocese. 

At  his  entrance  upon  this  great  charge,  he 
laid  down  to  himself  a  rule  or  two  of  expedience 
(for  they  came  not  within  the  ordinary  and 
stated  duties  of  his  office,)  deserving  to  be  men- 
tioned. One  was  for  the  encouragement  of  the 
clergy,  viz.  to  bestow  the  prebends  in  his  gift 
upon  such  only  as  were  either  beneficed  in  his 
diocese,  or  retained  in  his  family.  The  other 
more  properly  respected  the  laity,  viz.  never 
to  meddle  or  any  ways  concern  himself  in  the 
election  of  members  of  parliament.  These  ge- 
neral rules  he  followed,  though  not  altogether 
without  an  exception,  yet  with  such  a  steadiness, 
that  no  solicitations  could  prevail  with  him  to 
break  through  them. 

As  to  the  former,  it  is  to  be  remembered  that 
the  main  branch  of  the  patronage  of  the  Arch- 
bishops of  York  are  the  stalls  in  York  cathedral 
and  the  collegiate  church  of  Southwell;  which 
preferments  though  most  of  them  inconsiderable 
in  point  of  yearly  value,  are  yet  (at  least  many 
of  them  are,)  well  circumstanced  in  regard  of 
their  leased  lands  and  Rectories  appropriate, 
and  all  of  them  acceptable  promotions  to  the 
Parochial  clergy,  on  account  of  the  credit  that 
attends  them  without  any  burden  or  inconve- 
nierice.     Now  these  he  appropriated  to  his  own 


118  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

clergy,  viz.  his  domestic  chaplains,  and  such  as 
were  already  beneficed  within  his  diocese,  nor 
did  he  in  any  instance  desert  this  rule,  except 
in  the  following  case,  which  should  be  men- 
tioned that  the  exception  may  be  justified ;  viz. 
in  the  promotion  of  the  Hon.  Mr.  Henry  Finch, 
(afterwards  Dean  of  York,)  to  the  prebend  of 
Wetwang,  one  of  the  best  in  the  church,  in 
1695  ;  and  of  the  Hon.  Mr.  Edward  Finch  to 
the  same  stall  upon  his  brother's  resignation  of 
it,  in  1704.  These  had  been  his  pupils,  and 
were  branches  of  that  noble  house  to  which  he 
in  great  measure  owed  all  that  he  had  ;  and 
were  the  only  persons  of  that  family  who  were 
in  a  capacity  of  receiving  the  tokens  of  his  gra- 
titude in  this  way  of  donation.  These  two 
worthy  gentlemen  being  excepted,  it  will  be 
found  that  of  forty-six  stalls  which  he  filled  in 
the  two  fore-mentioned  churches,  and  in  less 
than  half  that  number  of  years,  all  were  filled 
agreeably  to  the  foregoing  resolution  :  and  that 
he  might  observe  due  proportion  in  the  distri- 
bution of  these  favours  among  his  clergy,  he 
reserved  his  stalls  at  Southwell /or  the  parochial 
clergy  of  Nottijighamshire,  where  that  church 
is  situate  ; — those  of  York  for  the  Yorkshire 
clergy.  And  this  disposition  he  preserved  to 
the  last. 

It  will  hardly  be  supposed  but  he  had  n:iijiy 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  6HARP.  119 

applications,  and  some  very  powerful  ones,  (as 
in  fact  he  had,)  on  the  behalf  of  such  clergymen 
who  were  not  within  his  rule  (as  not  being  of 
his  diocese,)  that  they  might  succeed  to  these 
prebends  as  they  became  vacant.  But  notwith- 
standing this  was  the  chief  branch  of  his  patron- 
age, whereby  he  had  it  in  his  power  to  oblige 
those  who  interested  themselves  by  their  recom- 
mendations ;  and  though  he  might  without  fear 
of  blame  have  dispensed  these  favours  to  whom 
he  pleased;  yet  he  chose  rather  to  resist  all 
solicitations,  and  deny  all  requests,  (a  thing 
that  went  very  hard  with  him,  and  which  he 
never  did  without  a  good  reason,)  than  forego 
the  apparent  advantages  of  this  disposition. 
For  hereby  he  not  only  provided  that  the  pul- 
pits of  those  distinguished  churches  might  be 
more  regularly  supplied  by  their  prebendaries, 
among  whom  the  preaching  courses  in  each 
place  are  distributed,  and  particularly  that  the 
daily  service  in  his  cathedral  might  be  better 
attended  by  prebendaries  beneficed  and  residing 
in  York  city,  where  he  always  took  care  there 
should  be  some,  (and  sometimes  there  were 
four  besides  the  residentiaries  appointed  by 
statute,)  but  he  also  hereby  gave  proper  and 
seasonable  encouragement  to  the  ministers  of  tlit© 
great  and  populous  towns  in  his  diocese. 

For  whereas  in  large  towns  the  livings  usually 


120  LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

are  small,  or  at  least  disproportionate  to  the 
greatness  of  the  cures,  he  providently  made 
these  dignities  in  his  metropolitical  and  col- 
legiate churches  serve  to  support  the  character 
and  credit  of  the  clergy  in  those  places,  v^here- 
ever  he  found  them  deserving  such  encourage- 
ment. By  M^hich  means  the  chief  market  towns 
throughout  his  diocese,  as  Hull,  Beverley,  Leeds, 
Wakefield,  Sheffield,  Doncaster,  Nottingham, 
Newark,  &c.  had  by  his  appointment  dignified 
men  residing  and  officiating  in  them. 

This  hath  been  before  publicly  taken  notice 
of  by  Mr.  Willis,  who,  in  his  Survey  of  the 
Cathedrals,  speaks  of  him  in  these  words : 

"  He  made  it  his  unalterable  practice  to  elect 
them  (viz.  prebendaries,)  out  of  such  as  lived 
in  his  diocese,  and  had  recommended  them- 
selves by  doing  their  duties  in  their  respective 
parochial  cures.  By  which  means  no  cathedral 
in  England  was  better  attended  by  clergy,  and 
the  service  more  regularly  performed  than  at 
York ;  or  the  ministers  of  small  livings  in  any 
diocese  more  encouraged  to  attend  their  charge ; 
because  this  good  Bishop  would  reward  their 
diligence  by  such  compensations,  more  espe- 
cially those  in  York  city,  on  whose  conduct 
the  world  had  a  more  especial  eye;  hoping  his 
ea'ample  ivould  i?i/luence  his  successors  to  take 
the    like    course.        Which     certainly    if    other 


LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  121 

Bishops  had  in  like  manner  practised,  the  dig- 
nity of  cathedrals  would  have  been  kept  up 
as  in  the  primitive  times,  and  we  should  not 
have  seen  several  of  them  so  scandalously  neg- 
lected," &c. 

The  other  rule  above-mentioned,  vs^hich  he 
laid  down  to  himself,  was,  never  to  be  concerned 
in  parliamentary  Elections. 

It  will  readily  be  believed  that  he  could  not 
avoid  being  importunately  applied  to   for  his 
countenance  and  interest   on  these  occasions. 
His  interest  was  as  extensive   as  his  diocese, 
both  among  laity  and  clergy.     And  so  it  ap- 
peared to  be,  as  often  as  he  had  occasion  to  use 
it  for  recommending  such  things  as  he  judged  it 
became  him  to  recommend.     But  as  to  Elec- 
tions of  members  for  parliament,  he  never  could 
be  brought  by  any  applications  to  intermeddle 
with  them.     He  looked  upon  them  as  having  no 
relation  to  his  office  and  business ;  and  judged 
very  rightly,  that  if  he  concerned  himself  any 
ways  with  them,  they  would  only  entail  checks 
and  difficulties  upon  him  in  his  episcopal  capacity. 
Whereas,  on  the  contrary,  by  waving  his  power 
and  influence,  and  forbearing  to  disoblige  any 
persons  in  these  matters,  which  did  not  belong 
to  him,  he  preserved  his  personal  interest  and 
authority  entire  in  all  those  points  that  related 
to  his  pastoral  care. 


122  LIFE  OF   AllCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

It  may  be  more  acceptable  to  the  reader  to 
have  his  sentiments  on  this  subject  in  his  own 
words.  A  letter  or  two  of  his  upon  these  occa- 
sions will  sufficiently  shew  the  rule  by  which 
he  governed  himself,  and  the  manner  in  which 
he  answered  the  applications  made  to  him  on 
this  head.  The  following  letter  was  wrote  by 
him  in  answer  to  the  Lady  Russel,  who  had 
solicited  his  interest  for  the  Lord  Hartington, 
candidate  for  the  county  of  York,  1702. 

"  Madam, 
'*  I  had  the  honour  of  your  ladyship's  letter 
yesterday.  In  all  things  wherein  I  can  fairly 
serve  my  Lord  Marquis  of  Hartington,  your 
ladyship  may  be  sure  I  will ;  but  in  this  in- 
stance your  ladyship  proposes,  I  cannot  with- 
out being  guilty  of  great  prevarication  with  Sir 
John  Hay,  and  Mr.  Wentworth,  who  are  both 
now  candidates  for  knights  of  our  shire  at  the 
next  parliament,  and  are  both  my  old  friends, 
and  to  whom  I  am  much  obliged.  By  whom 
when  I  have  been  solicited  to  appear  for  them 
(as  I  have  been  by  the  former  several  times 
heretofore,  and  by  the  latter  of  late,)  my  answer 
to  them  has  always  been,  that  I  thought  it  very 
improper  for  me  to  meddle  in  parliament  elec- 
tions, either  for  the  city  or  county :  that  I 
foresaw  great  inconveniences  would  come  upon 


LIFE   OF   ARCHBISHOP   SHARP.  123 

it  with  respect  to  myself,  and  yet  I  should  do  no 
great  good;  and  therefore  I  made  it  a  rule  to 
myself  not  to  be  concerned  in  these  matters, 
unless  there  was  absolute  necessity  for  it,  as  in 
the  case  of  a  notorious  bad  man  that  should 
offer  himself,  &c.  Nor  had  I  ever  since  I  came 
to  this  place  broken  this  rule,  and  for  these 
reasons  I  begged  they  would  excuse  me.  But 
this  I  would  promise  them,  that  though  I  could 
not  serve  them  by  making  any  votes  for  them, 
yet  I  would  never  disserve  them  by  espousing 
any  interest  against  them.  These,  madam,  are 
my  sentiments  ;  and  this  declaration  I  have 
made  to  these  two  gentlemen,  and  indeed  to  all 
others  as  occasion  has  been  offered.  And  now 
I  leave  your  ladyship  to  judge  how  I  am  to 
behave  myself  in  the  matter  your  ladyship 
writes  to  me  about.  Your  ladyship  sees  I  can- 
not serve  my  Lord  Hartington  in  the  way  you 
desire ;  but  yet  you  see  I  am  under  no  engage- 
ment to  any,  and  therefore  may  promise  you  as 
I  have  done  to  these  gentlemen,  that  though  I 
can  make  no  votes  for  him,  yet  I  shall  make 
none  against  him,  but  leave  every  one  that  I 
converse  with  to  their  own  liberty.  But  in  all 
other  things  it  will  be  a  great  pleasure  to  me  to 
pay  all  the  respects  to  his  lordship  that  I  am 
capable  of  doing. 

"  I  am,  madam,  with  hearty  prayers  for  the 


124  LIFE   OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

health  and  prosperity  of  your  ladyship,  and  all 
your  noble  family, 

"  Your  ladyship's  most  faithful 

*'  And  humble  servant, 

''  Jo.  Ebor." 

"  Bishopthorp,  July  4,   1702." 

To  the  same  purpose,  he  wrote  to  Sir  John 
Kay,  and  to  others,  that  "  it  was  his  first  prin- 
ciple, and  long  ago  taken  up,  not  to  meddle 
with  those  elections." 

And  he  adhered  to  his  principle  with  the  same 
steadiness  at  elections  for  the  city  of  York ; 
though  his  interest  could  not  but  be  very  great 
in  that  place,  on  account  of  his  influence  over 
the  clergy,  ecclesiastical  officers,  and  tradesmen. 
Yet  no  body  had  that  influence  over  him  as  to 
be  able  to  engage  him  on  either  side ;  though 
the  strongest  and  most  tempting  arguments, 
(such  as  the  e.vpediency  of  his  interposing  for  the 
good  of  the  church  established,)  were  upon  some 
occasions  urged  to  him.  When  the  Duke  of 
Leeds,  for  instance,  in  the  year  1695,  had  wrote 
him  word  (Sept.  10,)  that  "  it  was  very  certain 
a  new  parliament  would  be  called  ;  and  it  was 
likely  to  be  of  the  highest  concernment  to  the 
church,  that  such  members  should  be  chosen  as 
were  well  affected  to  it;  and  that  it  was  the 
duty  of  all  such  to  be  as  active  as  they  could, 
at  that  time,  in  the  promoting  such  elections, 


LIFE   OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  125 

and  that  his  Grace's  station  afforded  him  a  good 
opportunity  of  doing  so  ;"  and  recommended 
certain  gentlemen  for  the  city  of  York,  and 
borough  of  Ripon,  where  the  Archbishop's  in- 
terest must  of  course  be  greatest,  and  concluded 
with  these  words  : — "  That  as  the  Dissenters 
ivere  neither  sparing  of  their  money  nor  their  pains 
to  secure  their  elections  in  all  counties,  if  those  of 
the  church  did  not  use  a  little  more  than  ordi- 
nary industry  at  that  juncture  of  time,  they 
might  repent  it  when  it  would  be  too  late,"  &c. 

He  answered  my  Lord  President  (for  so  the 
Duke  then  was)  with  respect  to  his  interest  in 
York  city,  thus  : 

"  I  can  by  no  means  think  it  fit  to  appear  as 
a  party  in  the  election  of  city  members,  that 
seeming  to  me,  as  things  are  now  circumstan- 
tiated, both  to  be  to  no  purpose,  and  likewise 
unavoidably  to  draw  such  consequences  after  it, 
as  will  render  me  less  capable  of  doing  that 
service  in  the  city  hereafter,  which  otherwise 
in  my  station  I  might." 

And  he  concludes,  in  answer  to  my  Lord 
President's  reasons,  *'Why  he  should  concern 
himself  as  a  Churchman,  &c."  thus  : 

'*  I  have  no  fear  that  your  Grace  will  censure 
me  as  one  unconcerned  for  the  church's  good, 
upon  account  of  my  thus  declaring  my  unwil- 
lingness to  meddle  in  the  city  elections,  because 


126  LIFE  OK   ARCHBISIIOI'   SUA  UP. 

I  am  confident  my  reasons  are  such,  that  if  you 
yourself  were  in  my  case,  you  would  act  as  I 
mean  to  do.  And  yet  I  believe  your  Grace  to 
be  one  of  the  best  friends  of  the  church ;  and 
upon  that  account  all  churchmen  have  reason 
to  pray  for  the  continuance  of  your  health  and 
prosperity,  and  none  doth  it  more  heartily 
than,"  &c. 

.     "  Bishopthorp,  Sept.  21,  1695." 

To  the  same  purpose,  he  wrote  again  in  1698, 
when  the  next  election  came  on,  to  Alderman 
Thomson,  of  York. 

*'  As  to  matters  of  election  (says  he)  you  know 
my  principle,  which  is  not  to  concern  myself  in 
them,  or  to  appear  for  or  against  any  person 
that  the  citizens  of  York  think  fit  to  propose  for 
their  representative,  this  being  a  thing  ivholly 
foreign  to  my  j)rovince"  &c. 

More  testimonies  of  the  same  kind  might  be 
added  from  his  letters  upon  this  head,  but  these 
already  given  are  sufficient  for  the  purpose  they 
are  brought  to  answer.  Only  thus  much  it  may 
not  be  improper  to  add  further,  viz.  :  that  he 
made  no  scruple  in  the  Borough  of  Ripon  (where 
the  Archbishop  hath  a  temporal  jurisdiction)  to 
recommend  such  candidates  as  he  himself  ap- 
proved of.  Here  he  interposed  his  interest  and 
authority,  and  here  only ;  and  accordingly  he 
was  able  to  give  a  more  satisfactory  answer  to 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP.  127 

the  Lord  President  about  the  Ripon  election, 
than  he  could  about  York. 

*'  I  have  done  (says  he)  what  I  can  to  secure 
the  election  of  Mr.  Jennings  and  Mr.  Aislabie, 
(where  I  think  I  may  and  ought  to  concern  my- 
self,) and  I  hope  they  will  be  chosen  there  in  case 
of  a  new  parliament,  without  any  opposition." 

And  here  it  was  that  Mr.  Sharp,  his  eldest 
son,  did  afterwards,  upon  his  recommendation, 
establish  an  interest  that  preserved  him  in  par- 
liament as  long  as  the  Archbishop  lived  :  which 
remark  is  here  subjoined  to  the  foregoing  quo- 
tation out  of  his  letter,  to  obviate  an  objection 
that  might  possibly  be  made  to  the  firmness  to 
his  principle  about  elections,  as  if  he  could 
suffer  himself  to  recede  from  it  where  the  in- 
terest of  his  own  family  was  immediately  con- 
cerned. And  had  he  really  done  so  in  favour 
of  his  own  son  (who  was  withal  a  very  deserving- 
gentleman,)  the  peculiar  circumstances  of  such 
a  case  would  have  made  it  allowable  ;  but  this 
really  was  not  his  motive  to  recommend  to  that 
borough,  as  appears  from  the  forementioned 
letter  to  the  Duke  of  Leeds  in  1695,  antece- 
dently to  any  views  for  Mr.  Sharp,  wherein  he 
declares  that,  in  his  judgement,  he  ought  to 
concerti  himself  in  that  particular  borough.  So 
that  the  favour  he  did  his  son  in  recommending 
him  to  that  town,  was  none  other  than  he  had 


128  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

before  granted  to  other  gentlemen,  and  would 
have  granted  to  some  or  other  upon  every  elec- 
tion, if  he  had  not  had  a  son,  or  any  relation  to 
recommend.  And  it  is  further  to  be  remem- 
bered, that  even  here,  w^here  he  did  allow  him- 
self to  move  in  the  elections,  he  was  utterly 
averse  to  any  methods  of  coercion  or  discourage- 
ment, but  contented  himself  with  a  bare  request 
in  favour  of  the  person  he  approved. 

Thus  the  whole  of  his  conduct  with  regard  to 
elections,  is  fairly  represented  ;  which,  notwith- 
standing, will  probably  be  variously  judged  of 
by  those  who  do,  and  those  who  do  not  enter 
into  those  prudential  reasons  and  motives,  upon 
which  he  proceeded.  For  if  these  be  duly  con- 
sidered, it  will  be  found  to  be  a  conduct  worthy 
of  an  Archbishop,  highly  acceptable  to  his  dio- 
cese, and  advantageous  to  himself ;  as  not  only 
securing  to  him  the  interest  and  esteem  of  all 
parties,  but  enabling  him  to  do  more  real  service 
to  the  public  in  his  station,  than  he  possibly 
could  have  done  by  being  warm  and  busy  in 
elections. 

There  may  be  truth,  indeed,  in  what  has  been 
observed  of  him  upon  this  head ;  viz.  that  he 
was  not  always  wary  enough  to  carry  the  mat- 
ter so  equally  between  the  contesting  candidates 
as  never  to  discover  his  own  inclination  as  to 
the  issue  of  the  dispute.     He  had,   as  all  men 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  129 

inu$t  have  in  the  like  cases,  his  reasons  for  pre- 
ferring in  his  private  thoughts,  some  before 
others  ;  and  w^ishing  success  to  one  rather  than 
another.  And  as  he  was  always  of  a  frank  open 
temper,  and  never  studied  artful  reserves,  it  is 
likely  he  might  not  conceal  a  propensity  of  re- 
gard and  favour  (when  he  had  it)  for  one  more 
than  another.  But  what  is  meant  by  his  ad- 
herence to  this  rule  is  this,  that  he  never  in- 
terested himself  by  requests,  or  by  his  agents, 
or  by  his  letters.  He  neither  used  his  own 
authority,  nor  suffered  his  name  to  be  used  on 
these  occasions.  He  left  all  his  Clergy,  and  all 
his  officers  and  dependents,  as  well  as  his  friends 
and  acquaintance,  at  their  full  liberty  to  act  as 
they  pleased.  He  neither  gave  them  any  pre- 
vious encouragement,  or  used  any  dissuading 
motives  to  bias  them,  7ior  shewed  any  after  dis- 
like on  account  of  their  following  their  own  in- 
clinations in  election  matters. 

It  was  no  doubt  a  great  satisfaction  and  plea- 
sure to  all  his  Clergy,  that  notwithstanding  the 
influence  he  had  over  them,  they  were  left  free 
to  vote  always  according  to  their  own  discretion, 
or  their  several  private  obligations,  without 
fearing  their  Diocesan's  displeasure,  or  any 
resentful  or  discouraging  consequences  from 
him  oi.  so  doing.  And  it  was,  likewise,  an 
instructive  and  noble  pattern  set  to  them  all, 

K 


130  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP. 

7iot  to  busy  themselves  in  their  ow?i  parishes  with 
election  matters,  to  their  own  hurt  and  detri- 
ment, in  their  pastoral  capacities. 

For  the  same  reasons  of  prudence,  which  re- 
strained him  from  making  or  soliciting  votes  on 
such  occasions,  are  equally  prudential  in  the 
parochial  clergy,  who  cannot  but  have  better 
purposes  in  view,  to  which  they  may  employ 
the  interest  they  have  in  their  parishioners,  than 
in  promoting  or  supporting  private  or  party 
interests.  Not  that  the  doing  this  is  any  other- 
wise exceptionable,  than  as  it  draws  (which  it 
seldom  fails  to  do)  resentments  and  inconve- 
niencies  upon  themselves,  which  render  them 
less  serviceable  than  otherwise  they  would  be 
in  their  respective  cures.  It  is  so  natural  for  a 
man  who  obliges  his  minister  with  his  vote,  to 
expect  in  return  for  the  favour,  that  his  own 
irregularities  (such  especially  as  elections  draw 
him  into)  should  be  connived  at ;  and  so  natural 
for  one  who  is  in  a  different  interest  from  that 
of  his  minister,  to  interpret  the  most  just  repre- 
hensions, or  the  kindest  cautions  from  him,  as 
the  effects  of  mere  spleen  and  party  resent- 
ment; that  it  seems  a  most  difficult  and  almost 
an  impracticable  thing  for  a  clergyman  to  en- 
gage openly  in  an  election,  without  lessening 
and  impairing  his  credit  and  authority  as  a 
pastor. 


LIFE  OF  AFtCHBISHOP  SHARP.  131 

Experience  proves  this  reasoning  good.-- r 
Wherever  a  parish  minister  interests  himself 
deeply  in  such  an  aiFair,  though  he  may  by  his 
zeal  and  activity  oblige  some  persons,  and  per- 
haps finds  his  account  in  doing  so,  yet  he  may 
be  sure  to  gain  no  credit.  And  in  what  other 
respects  he  is  a  loser,  though  less  known,  yet 
may  very  easily  be  imagined  by  any  one  who 
considers  the  necessity  there  is  he  should  ap- 
pear disinterested,  and  stand  clear  of  the  impu- 
tation of  worldly  views,  if  he  would  preserve  a 
due  influence  over  his  people.  When  the  best 
construction  is  put  upon  his  proceeding,  it  will 
scarce  reconcile  him  to  those  whom  he  hath  dis- 
obliged :  and  whatever  his  own  reasons  or  mo- 
tives may  have  been,  he  shall  be  commonly 
thought  (and  perhaps  be  the  only  man  in  the 
whole  neighbourhood  who  shall  be  thought  so) 
to  have  been  meddling  with  matters  that  did 
little  belong  to  him,  and  least  become  his  cha- 
racter and  function.  The  laymen,  how  readily 
soever  they  will  cry  up  the  interests  of  the 
clergy,  while  they  are  on  the  same  side,  do  as 
readily  reflect  upon  their  conduct,  when  they 
are  against  them.  And  the  liberty  of  the  cen- 
sure being  equally  taken  on  both  sides  of 
the  question,  it  is  the  sure  lot  of  the  clergy, 
especially  such  as  signalize  themselves,  to  be 
the  greatest  sufferers  ;   that  is,  to  be   the  most 

K  2 


132  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP. 

sharply  inveighed  against,  and  the  most  indif- 
ferently defended. 

And  experience  equally  shews  how  highly 
expedient  their  moderation  and  reservedness  on 
these  occasions,  prove  to  themselves  and  their 
affairs.  Certainly  this  may  be  collected  from 
the  success  of  the  Archbishop's  conduct  with 
respect  to  elections,  which  gave  occasion  to  this 
digression.  For,  by  this  means,  he  was  ho-^ 
noured  with  the  joint  respects  and  compliments 
of  all  the  candidates  for  city  or  county.  All  the 
gentlemen,  however  divided  in  their  election 
interests,  yet  agreed  in  this,  to  pay  their 
friendly  visits  together  at  Bishopthorp.  Which 
preservation  of  harmony  on  such  occasions,  be- 
tween contending  parties  and  himself,  who 
espoused  the  interests  of  neither  of  them,  ap- 
peared most  agreeable  to  all  persons,  whether 
interested  in  the  contest  or  no. 

Once  he  was  sole  arbitrator  for  compounding 
some  family  differences  between  two  gentlemen, 
who  were  at  the  same  time  warmly  engaged 
against  each  other  upon  an  election ;  yet  he 
moderated  matters  between  them  with  so  much 
address,  as  to  prevent  their  election  heats  being 
any  bar  to  their  ready  compliance  with  the 
terms  of  his  arbitration,  which  had  been  in  vain 
attempted,  had  he  concerned  himself  or  his  in- 
terest on  either  side  in  the  election.     And  more 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  133 

than  once  he  took  upon  him  privately  to  reprove, 
and  to  write  letters  of  monition  to  Members  of 
Parliament  within  his  diocese;  which  were 
equally  well  taken,  and  kindly  acknowledged 
by  those  gentlemen :  whereas  it  is  easy  to  guess 
what  had  been  the  effect  of  this  liberty  he  took, 
if  he  had  ever  engaged  himself  in  soliciting 
votjcs,  contrary  to  those  gentlemen's  interests. 
These  advantages,  arising  from  his  prudence 
and  forbearance  in  these  matters,  might  easily 
be  proved  by  testimonies,  were  it  not  conve- 
nient to  suppress  particulars  for  their  sakes  who 
were  immediately  concerned. 

One  short  observation  more  shall  conclude 
this  head.  It  is,  that  this  conduct  of  his  with 
respect  to  elections,  served  him  for  a  justifica- 
tion of  himself  when  misrepresented  as  an  abet- 
tor of  a  faction.  Lord  Godolphin  taxed  *  him 
one  day  upon  report,  with  being  "  one  of  those 
who  made  a  noise  and  a  cry  about  the  Church 
being  in  danger."  He  replied,  that  "  he  ought 
not  to  be  charged  with  that,  for  he  had  declared 
often,  that  he  did  not  much  apprehend  the  Church 
ivas  171  danger ;  but  that  it  was  a  struggle  be- 
tween Whig  and  Tory,  who  should  be  upper- 

*  Diary,  October  26, 1705. — This  was  soon  after  the  meeting 
of  the  new  Parliament,  when  Lord  Godolphin,  as  Bishop 
Burnet  says,  began  to  declare  more  openly  than  he  had  done 
formerly,  in  favour  of  the  Whigs.     Vol.  II.  p.  426.     Author's 

Note, 


134  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP. 

most,  and  he  believed  neither  of  them  meant 
any  harm  to  the  Church."  And  then  he  asked 
my  Lord  Treasurer,  whether  his  lordshiji  had 
heard  that  he  had  made  any  bustle  about  Parlia- 
ment-men? A  very  pertinent  question  at  that 
junction,  considering  the  vehement  struggles 
of  the  parties  throughout  the  kingdom  at  an 
election  just  before*. 

The  Earl  cleared  him  of  that  imputation, 
which  was  a  better  proof  of  his  not  having  any 
such  apprehensions  of  the  Church's  danger,  as 
were  suggested,  and  of  his  not  being  agitated 
by  party  zeal,  as  was  rumoured  of  him,  than 
any  verbal  remonstrances  he  could  have  made  in 
his  own  vindication. 

More  will  be  said  hereafter,  both  of  his  prin- 
ciples and  conduct  in  party  matters. — To  pro- 
ceed at  present  in  the  account  of  his  Episcopal 
acts. 

He  took  early   and  extraordinary   pains  to 

*  Bishop  Burnet  gives  the  following  account  of  it. — "  The 
election  of  members  of  the  House  of  Commons  was  managed 
with  zeal  and  industry  on  both  sides.  The  Clergy  took  great 
pains  to  infuse  into  all  people  tragical  apprehensions  of  the 
danger  the  Church  was  in.  The  Universities  were  inflamed 
with  this ;  and  they  took  all  means  to  spread  it  over  the  nation 
with  much  vehemence.  The  danger  the  Church  of  England 
was  in,  grew  to  be  as  the  word  given  in  an  army.  Men  were 
known  as  they  answered  it.  The  Whigs  exerted  themselves 
with  great  activity  and  zeal." — Vol.  II.  p.  425.   Authors  Note. 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  135 

qualify  himself  for  so  weighty  a  charge  as  he 
had  undertaken,  by  inquiring  into  the  rights  of 
his  See;  the  state  and  condition  of  his  cathedral 
and  collegiate  churches ;  the  value,  endowments, 
patronage,  &c.  of  the  several  benefices  under 
his  inspection ;  and,  above  all,  the  characters, 
qualifications,  and  circumstances  of  the  several 
incumbents  within  his  diocese.  His  diligence 
herein,  with  the  effects  of  it,  shall  be  set  forth 
in  two  distinct  articles. — One,  respecting  the 
Church  and  its  ixveiiues ;  the  other,  respecting 
the  Clergy  and  their  behaviour. 

As  to  the  former,  he  had  gained  so  exact  a 
knowledge  of  the  state  of  his  See  and  of  the 
churches  subject  to  it,  as  to  have  drawn  up  and 
finished  within  the  compass  of  four  years  after 
his  promotion,  the  following  complete  and  ela- 
borate treatises,  whose  titles  will  sufficiently 
express  and  distinguish  their  subjects. 

With  respect  to  the  Archbishoprick. 

I.  The  ancient  franchises,  liberties,  and  im- 
munities of  the  Archbishops  of  York,  in  their 
estates  and  lands. 

II.  The  ancient  estates  belonging  to  the  See. 

III.  The  present  estates  and  possessions  of 
the  Archbishop  of  York ;  with  an  account  of  the 
pensions,  rent  charges,  and  other  annual  pay- 
ments and  disbursements  with  which  the  Arch- 
bishoprick is  charged. 


136 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 


IV.  An  account  of  the  ecclesiastical  promo- 
tions and  benefices  that  are  in  the  patronage  or 
gift  of  the  Archbishop  of  York. 

V.  The  lives  and  acts  of  the  Archbishops^ 
from  Paulinus,  An.  625.  This  is  brought  down 
to  his  predecessor.  Archbishop  Lamplugh.  And 
this  treatise  was  made  use  of,  and  quoted  by- 
Mr.  Le  Neve,  in  his  Lives  and  Characters  of  the 
Protestant  Archbishops,  published  1720,  under 
the  stile  of  MS.  penes  John  Sharp,  Armiger. 

With  respect  to  his  Metropolitical  Church. 

I.  The  history  of  York  Minster,  from  An.  627. 

II.  The  ecclesiastical  estates,  revenues,  liber- 
ties, and  jurisdiction  of  the  cathedral  church 
of  York  ;  with  an  account  of  the  dignities  and 
offices  thereto  belonging,  ancient  and  present ; 
and  of  the  foundations,  endowments,  and  ren- 
tals of  the  several  prebends  now  enjoyed  therein. 

With  respect  to  his  Collegiate  Church,  at 
Southwell,  in  Nottinghamshire. 

A  short  history  of  it,  with  an  account  of  its 
state  and  government,  both  before  its  dissolu- 
tion, and  since  its  refoundation ;  and  of  the 
foundations,  earlier  and  later,  of  the  sixteen 
prebends  there,  with  their  estates,  endowments, 
and  annual  rentals. 

But  the  largest  and  most  useful  work  of  all, 
was  that  which  related  to  the  possessions  and 
revenues  of  his  Clergy,  with  an  account  of  all 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  137 

the  parochial  churches  and  chapels,  whether 
under  ordinary  or  peculiar  jurisdiction  within 
his  diocese;  the  value  of  the  benefices,  what 
rights  were  lost,  and  what  preserved  ;  in  what 
hands  the  patronages  were,  and  the  impropria- 
tions and  appropriations,  and  whatever  else 
could  be  learnt  of  them  useful  to  be  known. 
This  notitia  of  his  diocese,  as  he  called  it,  he 
distributed  into  four  volumes  folio,  according 
to  the  division  of  the  four  Archdeaconries. — 
These  were  left  at  his  death  by  his  executors  to 
the  use  of  his  successors*. 

*  He  was  greatly  assisted  in  all  these  collections  by  some 
MSS,  lent  him  by  Mr.  Torr  at  that  time,  and  which,  by  a 
composition  with  Mr.  Torr's  widow  some  years  after,  came 
entirely  into  his  own  possession.  Concerning  these  MSS. 
there  is  a  passage  in  the  preface  to  the  History  and  Antiquities 
of  York,  in  these  words : 

"  This  almost  invaluable  treasure  was  given  to  the  Dean  and 
Chapter's  Library  by  the  executors  to  the  last  will  of  the  late 
Archbishop  Sharp.  No  doubt  the  worthy  sons  of  that  very 
eminent  Prelate  imagined  they  had  an  unquestionable  right 
to  make  this  present.  I  shall  not  enter  further  into  this  affair, 
which  by  the  good  Archbishop's  death,  and  other  persons  con- 
cerned, is  now  rendered  inscrutable. 

*'  Yet  this  I  may  venture  to  say,  that  there  never  was  a 
quantum  meruit  paid  to  the  Author's  relict  or  his  heir  for  them." 
See  Mr.  Drake's  preface. 

This  ingenious  writer  seems  not  to  have  been  aware  that  his 
worthy  father,  Mr.  Francis  Drake,  Vicar  of  Pontefract,  in 
whose  neighbourhood,  at  Sugdal,  Mr.  Torr  died,  in  July  1699, 
came  soon  after  that  gentleman's  decease  to  the  Archbishop, 


138  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

Then,  as  to  the  Archbishop's  other  enquiry, 
yiz.  into  the  qualifications  and  behaviour  of  his 
clergy,  as  it  was  wholly  designed  for  his  own 
information  and  use,  so  it  was  very  cautiously 
and  privately  prosecuted. 

And  whatever  notices  he  received  about  them, 
with  which  he  feared  to  trust  his  memory,  and 

with  a  generous  offer  from  Mrs.  Torr,  the  widow,  of  her  hus- 
band's MSS.  as  a  present.  But  the  Archbishop,  after  proper 
acknowledgments  made  of  her  kind  intentions  and  obliging 
offer,  told  Mr.  Drake  then,  and  afterwards  repeated  it  by  let- 
ter, that  it  would  not  be  right  in  him  to  accept  of  them  gratis. 
But  if  she  would  likewise  accept  of  a  present  from  him  (which 
he  named,)  and  could  not  dispose  of  them  to  more  advantage 
(for  he  would  not  be  an  hindrance  to  her  making  the  best  of 
them) ;  he  would,  on  this  condition,  accept  them  from  her. 
A  copy  of  the  Archbishop's  letter  to  Mr.  Drake,  which  is 
wholly  on  this  subject,  will  be  found  entire  in  the  Appendix  I. 
No.  4. 

Mrs.  Torr  having  kept  the  MSS.  near  twelve  months  after 
this  letter  was  wrote,  and  finding  she  could  not  dispose  of 
them  better,  sent  them  to  the  Archbishop,  mho  gave  her  more 
than  he  had  promised  her  for  them,  though  they  were  of  little 
use  to  himself  then,  having  some  years  before  extracted  from 
them  all  that  he  wanted. 

This  may  be  sufficient  to  clear  up,  in  good  measure,  this 
"  inscrutable  affair ;"  and  perhaps  to  the  satisfaction  of  the 
Author  of  the  Antiquities,  &c.  who  hath  expressed  so  much 
respect,  both  to  the  Archbishop  and  his  executors,  in  his  short 
remonstrance  of  an  insufficient  compensation  to  Mr.  Torr's 
family,  that  it  cannot  be  doubted  he  will  be  pleased  to  see  them, 
stand  clear  of  all  blame  in  this  matter. 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  139 

of  which  he  thought  fit  to  make  memorandums, 
he  committed  to  short-handy  either  in  his  diary, 
or  in  loose  papers,  which  latter,  when  he  had 
made  that  use  of  them  that  he  designed,  he 
usually  destroyed. 

Perhaps  no  man  in  his  station  was  ever  more 
inquisitive  into  the  characters  and  conduct  of 
the  Clergy  than  he  was,  or  made  a  kinder  or 
better  use  of  the  notices  he  obtained.  He  never 
censured  or  complained  of  any  of  them  till  he 
had  heard  them  ;  and  he  always  was  so  open 
and  free  as  to  tell  them  whatever  he  had  heard 
amiss  of  them,  and  to  give  them  an  opportunity 
of  clearing  themselves.  If  the  things  reported 
or  signified  to  him,  were  apparently  to  the  dis- 
advantage and  hurt  of  their  characters,  and 
could  not  conveniently  be  connived  at  till  he 
should  happen  to  meet  with  them,  he  either 
wrote  himself  to  them,  or  sent  for  them  to  attend 
him,  according  as  the  matters  he  had  to  acquaint 
them  with  might  best  be  delivered.  If  he  found 
any  of  them  upon  examination  blameworthy, 
he  was  very  frank  and  solemn  in  his  admoni- 
tions, (and  how  happy  he  was  in  discharging 
this  part  of  his  office,  we  shall  see  hereafter ;) 
if  they  acquitted  themselves,  they  found  from 
him  all  favour  and  encouragement. 

By  this  means  he  knew  his  Clergy,  and  un- 
derstood the   worth  of  the   deserving    among 


140  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

them,  which  often  proved  an  advantageous  cir- 
cumstance to  them.  For  he  seldom  failed  to 
remember  them  vi^hen  it  came  in  his  way  to  do 
them  service ;  and  some  of  them  who  had  no 
claims  or  pretences  in  the  world  to  his  favour 
but  their  good  preaching,  unblameable  lives, 
and  diligence  in  their  callings,  were  advanced 
from  one  benefice  to  another,  partly  by  his  own 
donations,  and  partly  by  his  interests  with 
others,  till  they  met  with  some  rewards  suitable 
to  their  merits  ;  and  to  his  private  bounties  and 
pecuniary  succours,  (where  such  were  agreeable, 
till  he  could  assist  them  in  some  other  way,) 
they  were  frequent  and  considerable  debtors, 
as  will  be  more  particularly  shewn  in  another 
part  of  this  work.  Here  let  it  only  be  further 
observed,  that  he  guided  himself  in  dispensing 
his  favours  to  his  Clergy,  not  by  their  political 
•principles,  hut  by  their  moral  characters  and 
parochial  labours.  When  once  a  man  had  qua- 
lified himself  according  to  the  laws,  and  behaved 
himself  modestly,  and  discreetly,  and  industri- 
ously in  his  station,  he  was  entitled  to  his  favour 
and  service,  as  opportunity  offered,  although  he 
were  reputed  to  be  of  different  sentiments  from 
himself  in  point  of  politics. 

There  are  several  instances  of  his  preferring 
such  persons  himself:  and  possibly  no  instance 
to  be  given,  in  so  many  years  as  he  presided  in 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  141 

this  diocese,  where  he  either  discouraged  or  re- 
warded any  clergyman,  purely  for  his  being  of 
this  or  that  party,  but  from  some  nobler  con- 
sideration. He  considered  them  in  the  relation 
they  bore  to  the  Church  and  himself,  and  not 
according  to  their  interests  in  private  families 
and  parliamentary  elections.  If,  indeed,  they 
went  inconsiderately  so  far  in  their  politics  as 
to  do  any  thing  disreputable  to  their  function, 
then  they  came  within  his  consideration  as  party- 
men  ;  and  which  side  soever  they  espoused,  were 
pretty  sure  to  know  his  sentiments  of  their  way 
of  proceeding.  For  the  example  which  he  set 
himself,  gave  him  sufficient  authority  to  reprove 
upon  such  occasions. 

He  was  curious  to  know,  as  far  as  he  could, 
their  talent  in  the  pulpit ;  and  omitted  no  op- 
portunity that  offered  itself  of  hearing  them 
preach.  His  cathedral,  to  which  he  resorted 
three  times  a-week,  (viz.  on  the  Litany  days,) 
for  several  years  after  he  came  to  the  See, 
though  he  lived  two  miles  out  of  the  city,  served 
him  well  for  this  purpose.  For  in  that  church, 
besides  the  preaching  courses  distributed  among 
the  Prebendaries  and  Archdeacons,  on  all  the 
Sundays  and  holidays  in  the  year,  there  are 
^  sermons  likewise  on  every  Wednesday  and  Fri- 
day in  Advent  and  Lent.  So  that  during  those 
seasons,  at  least,  he  had  an  opportunity  of  hearing 


142  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP, 

three  sermo7is  a-week  from  dijferent  Jimids.  But 
fts  all  these  turns  in  the  Minster  were  chiefly 
supplied  by  the  members  of  it,  the  Prebendaries 
or  Vicars-Choral,  that  he  might  also  exercise 
and  know  the  talents  of  the  City  Clergy,  and 
those  of  the  7ieighbourmg  patishes,  he  set  up  an 
Evening  Lecture,  to  be  preached  on  every  Fri- 
day, at  All  Saints'  Church,  in  the  Pavement. 

He  entered  himself  into  the  combination,  and 
took  his  tiir?i  among  them.  This  lecture  was 
opened  in  1693,  the  second  year  of  his  residence 
in  his  diocese,  and  was  kept  up  with  a  large 
resort,  chiefly  of  the  Clergy  in  and  about  York, 
till  the  year  1707.  During  which  whole  time 
he  attended  almost  constantly  while  he  resided 
in  the  country,  and  brought  thither  preachers 
at  length  from  all  parts  of  his  diocese.  By 
which  he  had  not  only  a  better  knowledge  of 
their  several  abilities,  but  an  opportunity  of  im- 
proving them  by  his  advice,  which  he  would 
freely  give  them  when  he  judged  it  would  prove 
useful.  If  there  were  any  thing  in  their  com- 
posures or  stile  not  well  suiting  the  pulpit,  or 
remarkably  unacceptable  in  their  tone  or  man- 
ner of  delivery,  he  would  kindly  caution  them 
to  avoid  it  in  their  preaching,  and  give  them 
proper  directions  how  to  do  so.  That  this  was 
one  great  use  he  made  of  his  attendance  on  this 
lecture,  appears  from  his  constantly  mentioning 

II 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP.  ^l4o 

in  his  diary  the  preacher's  name,  and  generally 
with  some  short  remark  upon  the  discourse,  or 
upon  the  man  that  made  it;  and  sometimes 
minuting  the  notice  he  had  taken  to  the  preacher 
himself,  of  what  had  been  said,  or  the  manner 
of  saying  it.  Twice,  indeed,  he  was  so  dis- 
pleased, or  rather  provoked,  as  he  observes, 
with  the  sermon,  that  he  durst  not  venture  at 
that  time  to  talk  with  the  preacher,  lest  he 
should  not  sufficiently  command  himself;  and 
therefore  chose  to  express  his  displeasure  and 
resentment  by  withdrawing,  in  a  way  that  was 
not  usual  with  him.  The  persons,  it  seems, 
called  up  to  preach,  being  as  much  strangers 
to  him  as  he  was  to  them,  thought  to  approve 
themselves  to  him  by  the  bitterness  of  their  in- 
vectives against  the  Dissenters.     A  conduct  that 

was  odious  in  his  sight.     "  Mr. preached 

(says  he)  so  furious  a  sermon  against  the  Dis- 
senters, as  I  never  heard  the  like.  I  went  out 
of  the  church  before  I  came  into  the  Vestry, 
because  I  knew  not  how  to  behave  myself  to- 
wards him."  In  all  his  diary,  (where  he  mi- 
nutely sets  down  all  the  little  heats  he  was 
occasionally  put  into)  there  does  not  appear 
more  than  one  other  instance  where  the  provo- 
cation had  so  strong  and  visible  an  effect  upon 
him :  and  that  was  when  the  like  case  happened 
again  at  this  lecture,  and  an  indiscreet  hot  man. 


144  LIFE   OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

instead  of  preaching,  *'  railed  at  the  Dissenters,'' 
as  he  words  it.     The  prostitution  of  the  pulpit 
to  such  unworthy  ends,  was  a  thing-  he  could 
not  endure  ;  nor  the  men  that  were  guilty  of  it. 
He   set   an   eTcelleut  example    to    his    Clergy 
himself,  both  of  the  true  manner  of  preaching, 
and  of    diligence  and  frequency  in  it.     In  the 
first  years  that  he  spent  in  his  diocese,  and  was 
yet  in  his  full  strength  and  vigour,  he  rarely 
omitted   preaching  every  Sunday.      Insomuch, 
that  by  a  computation  made  some  years  after 
he  was  Archbishop,  how  often  he  had  preached 
since  his  consecration,  he  found  that  one  year 
with  another,  he  had  preached  once  a  fortnight. 
His  way  at  York  was  to  hear  the  sermon  at  the 
Minster  on  the  Sunday  morning,  (and  sometimes 
in  the  absence  of  the  Prebendary  appointed,  to 
take  his  place,)  and  to  preach  one  in  the  after- 
noon at  some  or  other  of  the  paiish  churches  in 
the  citi/,  or  in  the  neighbourhood.    And  wherever 
he   was    on    Sundays,    within    his    diocese,    he 
preached  once,  if  not  also  twice.     Towards  the 
latter  part  of  his  life,  indeed,   he  could  not  at- 
tend so  constantly  at  sermons,  nor  preach  them 
so  frequently  as  is  before  mentioned.     But  he 
never  remitted  either  of  them  so  far  as  not  to 
be  an  example  to  his  Clergy  in  preaching,  and 
to  the  Laiti/  for  attendance  upon  sen?20?is. 

He  always  had  a  great  opinion  of  the  effects 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  145 

of  good  sermons,  viz.  wherein  the  fundamental 
doctrines  of  religion  were  laid  down  distinctly , 
and  clearly  disentangled  of  the  controversies 
about  them,  and  wherein  the  'practical  duties 
of  Christianity  were  pressed  warmly  and  affec- 
tionately. When  such  discourses  came  from  a 
man  of  a  good  life,  and  one  who  in  all  other 
respects  shewed  a  real  concern  to  make  people 
better,  he  judged  them  of  great  consequence 
in  reforming  the  world,  and  promoting  true 
piety  and  virtue ;  and  therefore  it  was  a  princi- 
pal branch  of  his  pastoral  care,  to  engage  his 
Clergy  in  the  study  of  this  point,  to  make 
themselves  useful  preachers;  and  he  took  all 
occasions  of  exhorting  them  to  it,  and  instruct- 
ing them  in  it. 

There  were  two  seasons  in  particular,  when 
he  used  to  enlarge  upon  this  topic,  viz.  at  his 
Ordinations  and  at  his  Visitations. 

The  first  he  held  regularly  at  all  the  stated 
times,  when  he  was  in  his  diocese.  And  as  it 
was  a  business  of  the  greatest  weight  and  con- 
sequence that  appertained  to  his  office,  he  used 
the  properest  means  to  qualify  himself  for  the 
discharge  of  it.  He  usually  repaired  privately 
to  his  chapel  to  beg  God's  presence  with  him, 
and  blessing  upon  him,  or,  to  use  his  own  ex- 
pression, to  implore  the  guidance  of  his  Spirit  in 
that  work.     He  measured  candidates  for  orders. 


146  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHAKP. 

more  by  their  modesty  and  good  sense,  and  the 
testimonials  of  their  virtue,  than  bv  their  learn- 
ing.  To  have  a  right  notion  of  the  main  doc- 
trines of  religion,  to  understand  thoroughly  the 
terms  of  the  new  covenant,  both  on  God's  part 
and  on  man's ;  and  to  know  the  reasons,  and 
apprehend  the  force,  of  those  distinctions  upon 
which  the  Church  of  England  explained  and  stated 
those  terms  differently  from  the  Church  of  Rome 
and  other  communions  separating  from  her,  were 
with  him  the  chief  qualifications  for  the  ministry 
in  regard  to  learning. 

He  had  often  found  and  lamented  a  deficiency 
as  to  these  parts  of  knowledge,  in  persons 
otherwise  of  good  learning  and  abilities ;  whom  he 
was  obliged  sometimes  to  remit  to  their  studies, 
that  they  might  make  themselves  better  masters 
of  this  most  necessary  knowledge  for  a  clergy- 
man. He  directed  them  in  such  cases,  how  and 
where  to  apply  themselves  for  the  attaining  it. 
And  if  they  were  unable  to  provide  themselves 
with  the  proper  helps,  he  would  give  them  some 
of  the  best  books  for  their  instruction,  and  tell 
them,  if  they  came  to  him  again  with  this  proof 
of  their  diligence  and  improvement,  that  they 
appeared  well  versed  in  those  books,  he  would 
then  no  longer  scruple  to  put  them  into  the 
ministry.  Others  there  were,  on  whom,  when 
he  could  not  ordain  them  on  account  of  their 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  147 

insufficiency,  he  took  so  great  compassion,  on 
account  of  some  peculiar  circumstances  of  their 
misfortune,  though  they  were  otherwise  un- 
known to  him,  and  independent  of  him,  that  he 
entertained  them  in  his  own  family  till  they  were 
so  instructed,  that  he  could  satisfy  himself  they 
might  be  put  into  holy  orders. 

To  return :  he  laid  hold  on  these  occasions, 
when  young  men  were  first  engaging  themselves 
in  the  work  of  the  ministry  under  his  fiat  or 
commission,  to  lay  before  them  with  great  so- 
lemnity, and  with  an  authority  that  became 
him,  and  carried  more  than  ordinary  weight 
with  it  at  such  times,  "  of  what  mighty  con- 
cernment it  was,  that  they  who  took  upon  them 
this  profession,  should  do  their  duty.  And  what 
horrible  consequences  must  ensue,  if  they  who 
had  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel  intrusted  with 
them,  either  did  not  preach  it  at  all,  or  preach 
it  negligently,  or  preach  it  unfaithfully,  or  did 
any  way,  either  by  their  life  or  doctrine,  hinder 
the  belief  and  entertainment  of  it  among  those 
they  were  to  serve."  ] 

He  told  them,  "  The  charge  they  were  now 
taking  upon  themselves  was  such,  as  even  the 
best  qualified  men,  both  for  learning  and  piety; 
in  the  primitive  times,  have  trembled  at,  when 
they  considered  of  it.  That  they  were  now  to 
be  made  stewards  of  the  mysteries  of  Christ; 

L  2 


148  LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP   SHARP. 

the  ministers  of  reconciliation  between  God  and 
man ;    to  preach  that  Gospel  by  which    men 
shall  be  saved   or   damned  eternally ;    and  to 
administer  those  sacraments  which  are   the  keys 
of  the   kingdom   of  heaven.      That    the   best   of 
men,  the  most  learned,  the  most  virtuous,  the 
most  pious,  were  not  sufficient  for  these  things ; 
yet  so  gracious  was  God,  that  he  did  accept 
the  endeavours  of  all  honest  men,  who  do  in 
sincerity  the  best  they  can  for  his  service ;  but 
then  it  did  infinitely  concern  them  to  do  the 
best  they  could  ;  to  apply  themselves  seriously 
to  the  work  to  which  they  have  given  them- 
selves up,  and  to  make  that  their  business  ivhich 
they    had    made    their    calling;    assuring   them, 
that  it  was  a  calling  of  so  much  employment, 
that  if  they  meant  to  discharge  it  with  a  good 
conscience,  they  would  not  have  much  room  for 
the  prosecution  of  any  other.     He  begged  of 
them  to  read  the  Scriptures  constantly,  to  study 
them  closely,  and  to  take  to  their  assistance 
such  other  good  books  as  might  tend  towards 
making  them  masters  of  their  profession,   and 
enable  them  to  give  an  answer  to  every  one 
that  asked  them  a  reason  of  the  faith  which 
they  held ;    and  to  give  evidence  to  all  they 
conversed  with,  that  in  point  of  learning  and 
knowledge,   they  deserved  the  character  they 
bore." 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  149 

As  to  their  preaching,  he  gave  them  some 
lessons  very  seasonable  and  proper  for  new  be- 
gmners,  viz.  "  not  to  pump  for  witty  expressions, 
not  to  study  the  ornaments  of  language,  not  to 
shew  their  reading  or  learning  in  the  pulpit  any 
otherwise  than  by  good  sense  and  strong  and  plain 
arguments.  To  remember  always  they  were 
doing  God's  work,  and  not  man's ;  and  there- 
fore to  endeavour  always  to  approve  themselves 
to  their  Master,  and  not  to  seek  honour  of  men. 
To  make  it  their  business  to  do  good  to  their 
hearers,  by  preaching  to  their  consciences;  telling 
all  people  of  their  duty,  representing  to  them 
the  Christian  religion  faithfully,  and  declaring 
to  them  impartially  the  conditions  of  acceptance 
with  God,  and  to  do  this  without  fear  or  favour. 
But  if  they  took  other  ways,  or  had  other  views 
in  their  sermons ;  if  they  taught  any  other  doc- 
trines than  what  our  Saviour  had  commanded^ 
or  misrepresented  those  doctrines  which  he  had 
taught ;  or  if  they  did  the  work  of  the  Lord 
negligently,  and  were  not  solicitous  in  using 
their  endeavours,  that  the  people  committed  to 
their  charge  should  profit  under  their  ministry, 
what  account  would  they  give  of  their  steward- 
siiip." 

What  he  added  about  their  being  careful  to 
preach  every  day  by  their  good  life  and  conversation, 
(which  he  said  was  a  constant  sermon,)  shall  be 


150  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

omitted  here,  being  to  the  same  purport  with 
the  extracts  following  out  of  his  charges  at  his 
ordinary  visitations,  which  were  the  other  and 
more  public  occasions  that  he  took  of  putting 
all  his  clergy  in  remembrance  of  what  they 
owed  to  God,  and  the  Church,  and  the  honour 
of  their  order. 

These  charges  were  weighty  and  pathetical, 
suitable  to  his  gravity  and  the  solemnity  of 
those  meetings.  He  always  insisted  on  the  same 
topics,  though  he  diversified  a  little  the  manner 
of  his  address  to  his  clergy.  The  main  strokes 
and  substance  of  what  he  delivered  to  them  at 
those  times  cannot  be  better  represented  than 
in  his  own  words  and  phrases. 

As  to  their  lives  and  conversation,  which  was 
his  first  topic,  **  He  conjured  them,  in  God's 
name,  and  as  they  would  answer  it  in  judgment, 
not  only  to  keep  free  from  scandal,  but  to  shew 
themselves,  upon  all  occasions,  virtuous  and 
grave.  He  told  them,  that  when  once  they 
arrived  at  such  a  vigorous  sense  of  religion,  as 
would  influence  their  whole  conversation,  when 
they  did  in  good  earnest  so  love  God,  as  to 
make  it  the  business  of  their  lives  to  approve 
themselves  to  him,  that  then  they  had  done  a 
good  part  of  their .  business,  as  to  rendering 
their  ministry  beneficial  and  successful." 

He  laid  before  them,  **  How  very  vain  it  was 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP.  151 

to  think  that  any  one  of  their  people  should 
mind  what  they  preached  to  them  out  of  their 
pulpits ;  unless  they  adorned  their  doctrine  by 
a  holy,  innocent,  and  unblameable  demeanour. 
That  although  they  used  the  best  language  in 
their  discourses,  and  the  best  arguments,  and 
added  all  the  charms  of  a  good  utterance,  that 
the  best  orator  could  make  use  of,  yet,  if  their 
lives  and  sermons  did  not  comport,  their  audi- 
tors would  have  an  argument  against  their  dis- 
courses, so  prevalent,  as  to  defeat  all  their  argu- 
ments against  vice  and  immorality,  viz.  if  our 
minister  really  believed  what  he  talks  to  us,  he 
would  certainly  practise  otherwise  himself. — 
Therefore,  he  besought  them,  if  they  meant  to 
do  any  good  in  their  parishes,  to  have  a  care  of 
themselves  in  the  first  place  ;  and  to  let  all  who 
heard  them,  and  all  who  conversed  with  them, 
be  convinced  that  they  were  in  good  earnest 
when  they  talked  to  them  of  faith  and  holiness. 
To  shew  the  beauty  and  charms  of  a  Christian 
spirit  in  their  own  modest,  quiet,  peaceable, 
and  inoffensive  deportment ;  in  their  unaffected 
piety,  and  a  goodness  to  be  discerned  in  all 
their  conversation ;  to  let  their  people  see  that 
there  are  men  who  do  more  than  talk  of  another 
world,  for  they  do  live  as  if  there  were;" 

Another  point  that  he  urged  to  them  was  di- 
ligence in  their  calling,  and  application  of  them- 


152  LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

selves  to   those   things   that    immediatdij    con- 
cerned their  profession.     He  exhorted  them  to 
be  "  assiduous  in  following  their  studies,  and 
reading  good  books,  and  daily  improving  them- 
selves in   all   good   learning,   especially   those 
parts  of  learning  that  related  to  their  vocation. 
He  laid  before  them,  how  highly  **  necessary  it 
was  for  every  clergyman  to  be  well  versed  in 
those  points  wherein  religion  is  concerned ;  that 
unless  they  were  masters  of    their  profession, 
they  were  lost,  and  the  cause  of  God  would 
suffer  by  their  ignorance  and  weakness.     That 
the  times  would  not  now  bear  an  ignorant  clergy- 
man, whatever   they  ivould  have    do?ie  heretofore. 
That  learning  was  become  so  common,  that  they 
would  quickly  be  found  out  if  they  were  defec- 
tive in  any  part  of  it ;  and  therefore,  for  their 
own   reputation  and   honour,    as   well  as    the 
Church's,   he    besought   them   to   study   good 
authors,  and  to  use  the  best  conversation  they 
could  meet  with,  and  to  improve  themselves  in 
all  kinds  of  knowledge." 

Again  as  to  their  pleaching,  he  laid  down 
very  plain  lessons.  **  That  there  was  a  trifling 
way  of  preaching,  though  yet  perhaps  it  might 
be  elaborate  enough ;  of  which  sort  were  all 
those  sermons  wherein  the  business  was  to 
make  ostentation  of  learning,  or  reading,  or  wit, 
or  politeness  of  language;    but  which,  in  the 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  153 

meantime,   were    not   contrived  for  the  making 
people  good.     And  this  way  of  preaching  to  be 
sure  they  were  to  avoid.     He  told  them  as  to 
the  choice  of  their  subjects,  to  take  the  most 
weighty  points,  such  as  struck  at  the  very  root 
of  evil  principles  and  vicious  dispositions ;  such 
as  if  a  man's  conscience  be  once  touched  with, 
it  is  in  a  manner  impossible  for  him  (if  he  were 
given  to  think  and  consider,)  not  to  be  both  a 
moral  man  and  a  good  Christian.     He  was  sure 
that  there  was  so  much  truth  and  evidence,  so 
much  power  and  efficacy  in  our  religion,  that  if 
it  were  but  faithfully  represented,  and  the  ar- 
guments of  it  duly  set  home  upon  men's  con- 
sciences, it  would  be  very  difficult  for  any  one 
who  was  not  abandoned  by  God,  not  to  yield 
himself  a  convert  to  it.     He  begged  of  them, 
therefore,  to  press  upon  their  flocks  the  sub- 
stantial doctrines,  and  the  indispensable  duties 
of  Christianity,  and  the  mighty  arguments  they 
had  both  for  believing  the  one,  and  practising 
the  other  :  that  they  would  do  this  very  plainly, 
warmly,  and  affectionately.     That  they  would 
do  it  in  such  a  way  that  people  of  the  meanest 
capacities  might    understand  what   they  said, 
and  that  every  man  who  was  not  wanting  to 
himself  might  go  away  from  them  either  better 
or  wiser.     He  told  them,  if  they  took  these  me- 
thods,   whatever  opinion    some   giddy-headed 


154  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

people  might  have  of  their  preaching,  yet  he 
"vsrould  vouch  for  them,  that  they  were  good 
preachers,  and  workmen  that  needed  not  to  be 
ashamed." 

As  to  personal  residence  upon  their  cures, 
which  was  a  topic  he  never  omitted,  "  He  de- 
clared to  them  he  did  not  see  how  they  could 
satisfy  their  consciences  without  it,  unless  there 
was  some  very  urgent  or  reasonable  cause  to 
excuse  them.  He  knew  not  how  they  could  so 
solemnly  take  the  cure  of  souls  upon  themselves 
(as  they  did  at  their  institution),  and  afterwards 
put  all  this  charge  to  be  executed  by  a  deputy. 
If  they  thus  did  their  duty  by  proxy,  it  were 
well  if  they  had  not  their  reward  in  the  other  world 
in  the  same  way.  Wherefore  he  besought  them, 
never  to  think  of  leaving  their  benefices,  but  to 
live  among  their  people,  and  set  them  good 
examples." 

As  to  their  being  punctual  in  catechising, 
administering  the  sacraments,  and  visiting  the 
sick,  and  observing  rules  and  orders  according 
to  the  rubrics  and  canons,  he  laid  his  solemn 
injunction  upon  them ;  but  withal  ''  desired 
they  would  take  in  good  part  his  freedom,  and 
plainness  wherewith  he  delivered  himself,  de- 
claring it  was  not  a  humour  of  talking  magiste- 
rially that  put  him  upon  it,  but  a  sense  of  his 
own  duty,  and  a  hearty  good  will  to  them  ;  that 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP.  156 

he  had  no  design  upon  earth,  but  that  both  they 
and  himself  might  be  good,  and  adorn  the  pro- 
fession to  which  they  were  called;  and  dis- 
charge the  trusts  committed  to  them,  to  the 
honour  of  their  Master,  the  good  of  his  Church, 
and  the  peace  and  comfort  of  their  own  minds." 

With  these  and  the  like  paternal  monitions, 
savouring  of  primitive  zeal  and  simplicity,  and 
delivered  with  an  air  of  seriousness  and  gravity 
which  was  solemn  and  aifecting,  and  in  some 
respects  peculiar  to  himself,  he  addressed  his 
Clergy  as  often  as  he  held  his  ordinary  Visita- 
tions. 

And  it  was  at  these  seasons  that  he  took  his 
opportunities  of  pyivately  discoursing  with  such 
of  them  against  whom  he  had  heard  any  com- 
plaints, or  whom  he  had  any  reason  to  suspect 
in  the  least  deficient  in  discharging  the  duties 
of  their  cures. 

.  In  what  manner  he  executed  this  usually 
ungrateful,  yet  necessary  branch  of  his  office, 
they  best  knew  who  received  the  benefit  of  his 
monitions  in  pjivate.  In  how  frank  and  inge- 
nuous, in  how  tender  and  inoffensive  a  manner 
he  treated  them  on  these  occasions,  may  in 
some  measure  be  learnt  from  a  specimen  or  two 
of  his  way  of  admonishing  by  letter,  when  he 
could  not  do  it  face  to  face. 

The  following  letters  were  sent  upon  his  re- 


150  LIFE   OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP. 

ceiving  some  complaints  against  the  persons  to 
whom  they  were  directed ;  which  he  vehemently 
suspected  were  just  and  well  grounded,  but 
could  not  directly  charge  the  parties  with  them. 

"  Sir, 

*'  It  is  very  uneasy  to  me  to  write  to 
you  upon  such  a  subject  as  I  now  must.  And  I 
am  very  sorry  if  you  have  given  me  the  occasion. 
It  is  complained  to  me,  that  you  have  for  some 
considerable  time  used  your  parishioners  very 
ill  in  your  performance  of  divine  offices  among 
them.  As  for  sermons,  you  rarely  give  them 
any ;  and  as  for  the  divine  service  of  the  Church, 
you  begin  it  so  uncertainly  as  to  the  hour,  and 
you  perform  it  so  indecently  as  to  the  manner, 
as  if  you  really  had  a  mind  to  shew  your  hearers 
that  you  are  so  far  out  of  charity  with  them, 
that  you  do  not  desire  that  they  should  receive 
any  benefit,  even  by  their  saying  of  their  prayers. 
*'  I  represent  the  complaints  that  have  been 
made  of  you  in  softer  terms  than  I  received 
them.  If  there  be  no  occasion  for  them,  I  shall 
be  heartily  glad  of  it,  and  shall  readily  ask  your 
pardon  for  giving  ear  to  them.  But  if  they  be 
true,  and  you  do  really  use  your  parish  thus, 
what  must  be  thought  or  said  of  you  ?  Surely 
you  have  lost  not  only  all  common  discretion, 
but  all  sense  of  that  duty  which  you  owe  to 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP.  157 

our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  souls  of  that 
flock  that  he  has  committed  to  you;  that  in 
revenge  of  some  injury  or  ill  usage  you  think 
you  have  met  with  from  them,  you  endeavour 
to  deprive  them  (as  far  as  in  law  you  dare)  of 
all  the  good  that  should  come  to  them  by  your 
ministry ;  and  not  only  so,  but  to  force  them, 
if  you  can,  to  leave  the  Church. 

*'  Good  Sir,  I  beg  of  you  that  this  may  be 
amended,  and  that  I  may  hear  no  more  of  it. 
If  I  do,  I  shall  be  forced  to  have  articles  exhi- 
bited against  you  in  Court,  and  to  have  the 
matter  brought  upon  the  public  stage,  which  I 
am  very  unwilling  should  be  done.  I  pray  God 
bless  you,  and  give  both  you  and  me  a  serious 
sense  of  the  duty  which  is  incumbent  upon  us 
in  our  stations. 

"  I  am,  Sir,  with  great  sincerity, 

''  Your  affectionate  friend  and  brother, 

*'  Jo.  Ebor." 

The  next  is  a  more  tender  letter,  and  shews 
how  much  he  laid  to  heart  the  reputed  faults  of 
his  brethren,  where  no  formal  charge  was  brought 
by  open  accuser. 

*'  Sir, 

"I  should  be  failing,  both  in  the  dis- 
charge of  my  duty,  and  in  the  friendship  which 
1  owe  to  you  and  your  family,  if  I  should  not 


158  LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP   SHARP. 

take  notice  to  you  of  what  hath  lately  come  to 
my  ears,  of  the  new  difFerefices,  or  the  old  ones 
revived,  betwixt  you  and  your  wife ;  the  blame 
of  which  is  laid  at  your  door.  I  would  gladly 
believe,  that  all  that  is  said  of  you  about  this 
matter  is  not  true,  particularly  the  very  severe, 
cruel,  and  unmanly  usage  with  which,  in  your 
passion,  you  do  sometimes  treat  her,  and  the 
just  occasions  you  have  given  both  to  her  and 
others,  to  believe  that  you  are  not  true  to  your 
conjugal  vow.  These  things  are  so  bad,  that  I 
should  hardly  think  a  clergyman  can  be  guilty 
of  them;  none  can  who  is  not  abandoned  of 
shame,  as  well  as  virtue.  I  am  sure  none  can 
who  hath  any  sense  of  his  duty  to  God,  or  any 
regard  to  the  honour  of  the  Church,  or  any 
concern  for  the  souls  of  his  people,  to  whom, 
by  such  scandalous  examples,  he  doth  frustrate 
all  the  good  effects  that  his  labours  ought  to 
have  among  them,  and  render  his  ministry  per- 
fectly ineffectual. 

'*  I  cannot,  neither  do  I,  charge  you  with 
these  things,  because  I  have  them  only  upon 
report.  And  I  should  be  Very  sorry,  for  your 
sake,  that  matters  should  come  to  that  pass,  as 
to  give  occasion  to  any  to  attempt  the  proof  of 
these  things  upon  you.  But  thus  far  I  think 
myself  bound  to  take  notice  of  these  reports, 
as  earnestly  to  admonish  you  so  to  behave  your- 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  159 

self  from  henceforward,  that  I   may  hear  no 
more  of  them. 

*'  And  therefore,  as  I  am  your  old  school- 
fellow and  acquaintance,  as  I  am  your  friend, 
and  a  friend  of  your  family,  I  do  beg  of  you,  I 
do  entreat  you,  as  you  have  any  love  for  your 
own  ease  and  peace,  as  you  have  any  concern 
for  your  reputation  and  your  interest,  both 
which  must  needs  suffer  extremely  by  these 
disorders  in  your  family ;  and,  which  is  more 
than  all  these,  as  you  have  any  regard  to  give 
a  comfortable  account  hereafter  to  God  of  your 
stewardship,  either  as  a  Christian  or  a  clergy- 
man ;  that  you  would  amend  these  matters,  that 
you  would  make  up  the  breaches  in  your  family, 
and  treat  your  wife  with  all  that  respect  and 
kindness,  with  all  that  love  and  tenderness, 
which  both  the  law  of  Christ  and  your  own 
solemn  promise  when  you  married  her,  oblige 
you  to  do  ;  and  that  you  will  seriously  consult 
the  common  interests  both  of  yourself,  and  her, 
and  your  family,  by  making  every  one's  life 
about  you  as  easy  and  as  comfortable  as  may 
be ;  by  minding  your  own  business,  and  leaving 
others  to  mind  theirs  ;  by  shewing  respect  to 
all,  according  as  in  their  several  places  they  do 
their  duty ;  but  encouraging  none  to  sow  dis- 
contents, and  make  parties  among  you ;  and, 
above  all  things,  being  so  careful  of  your  own 


160  LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

conversatioriy  that  malice  itself  should  not  be  able 
to  fix  upo7i  you  the  imputation  of  any  unlawful 
love. 

"  Out  of  the  tender  respects,  Sir,  I  have  to 
you,  as  a  friend,  I  give  you  this  advice,  and 
should  be  very  much  troubled  ever  to  apply 
myself  to  you  under  another  character.  I  hope 
I  may  have  so  much  interest  with  you,  as  to 
prevail  upon  you  to  think  seriously  of  these 
matters.  And  if  you  do,  I  am  sure  you  will  be 
so  far  convinced  of  the  reasonableness  of  my 
advice,  that  you  will  follow  it.  I  do  assure  you, 
that  I  shall  be  most  heartily  glad  to  hear  that 
you  do  so. 

*'  But  if  the  discontents  between  you  do  still 
continue,  and  a  happy  lasting  union  cannot  be 
made,  I  do  at  least  expect  that  you  will  deal 
as  freely  with  me  as  I  have  been  dealing  with 
you,  viz.  that  you  will  tell  me  the  reason  thereof, 
and  what  you  have  to  charge  her  with,  that 
should  put  an  hindrance  to  this  peace,  and  love, 
and  entire  confidence  that  ought  to  be  between 
man  and  wife.  And  then  my  request  must 
be  to  you  both,  if  you  think  it  fit,  that  I  may 
see  you  together,  and  hear  what  each  party 
hath  to  say.  I  assure  you  I  shall  do  it  without 
partiality  to  either.  And  this  is  all  I  can  do  by 
way  of  friendship. 

"  I  have  no  more  to  add,  but  that  I  heartily 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  161 

pray  God,  to  give  you  both  a  serious  sense  of 
virtue,  and  honour,  and  Christianity.  And  then 
I  am  sure  you  will  either  have  no  differences, 
or  they  w^ill  be  such,  as  nobody  but  yourselves 
will  know  of. 

"  Your's,  &c. 

**  Jo.  Ebor." 

He  could  not  have  treated  his  own  son  in  the 
like  circumstances  with  greater  affection  or 
more  sensible  concern.  But  this  was  his  way 
with  all,  while  there  were  any  hopes  either  of 
their  being  wrongfully  charged,  or  their  being 
reclaimed  and  brought  to  amend  upon  persua- 
sion. But  if  he  was  fully  persuaded  of  the 
truth  of  the  allegations  against  any  clergyman, 
or  found  that  his  first  admonitions  had  not  their 
due  effect,  then  he  raised  his  style,  and  rebuked 
with  more  authority,  intermixing  some  threat- 
enings. 

The  two  following  letters  are  a  specimen  of 
his  manner  in  doing  this. 

"  Sir, 
**  I  am  very  sorry  that  I  must  write  to  you 
upon  such  an  occasion   as  I  now  do.     When 

I   was   in  my  visitation  at ,    the  other 

day,  I  there  received  great  complaints  against 
you  for  your  gross  and  scandalous  neglect  of 

M 


162  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

your  cure.  I  do  assure  you  it  is  a  sensible 
trouble  to  me  to  hear  these  things  of  you. 
I  beseech  you,  for  Christ's  sake,  for  your  own 
sake,  for  your  function's  sake,  let  these  things 
be  amended.  I  should  be  unwilling  to  use  any 
severity  towards  you,  but  if  I  do  not  hear  that 
your  cure  is  better  served  henceforward,  and 
that  you  live  a  more  sober  and  regular  life,  I 
must  and  will  take  care  that  you  shall  stay  no 
longer  there.  I  desire  you  take  this  my  admo- 
nition in  good  part,  which  nothing  else  but  the 
sense  of  my  duty,  and  a  concern  for  your  good, 
and  the  good  of  your  parish,  puts  me  upon. 
And  be  pleased  to  let  me  hear  of  your  receipt 
of  this  letter,  and  that  you  are  fully  resolved  to 
follow  my  advice,  which  will  be  very  accepta- 
ble to, 

**  Your's,  &c. 

"  Jo.  Ebor." 

ANOTHER. 

"  Sir, 

'*  I  hoped  I  should  hear  no  more  com- 
plaints of  you,  after  the  admonition  I  gave  you 
by  letter  ; — but  I  find  it  otherwise.  I  might, 
I  think,  without  more  ado,  remove  you  from 
that  cure,  you  having  no  legal  title  to  it,  but 
serving  it  only  by  admission.  And  if  I  did  so, 
I  think  I  had  ground  enough  for  it.  But  that 
you  may  have  no  colour  to   complain  of  hard 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  163 

usage,  I  am  willing  you  should  have  an  oppor- 
tunity of  vindicating  yourself,  if  you  can.  And 
therefore,  I  have  here  sent  you  a  copy  of  the 
petition.  The  particulars  of  which,  I  mean  as  to 
the  charge  against  you,  are  offered  to  be  made 
out  fully,  if  there  be  occasion.  What  measures 
are  best  for  you  to  take  in  this  case,  you  will 
do  well  to  consider.  If  you  think  fit  quietly  to 
recede,  there  is  an  end  of  the  business.  If  you 
will  stand  upon  your  justification,  you  shall  be 
heard.  But  then  articles  must  be  drawn  up 
against  you  in  form,  and  put  into  the  Court  at 
York ;  and  a  time  likewise  must  be  appointed 
for  you  and  your  accusers  to  come  thither,  they 
to  make  out  their  proofs,  and  you  to  disprove 
them.  And  if,  upon  the  hearing,  these  com- 
plaints against  you  appear  without  grounds, 
they  will  be  obliged  by  the  Court  to  bear  your 
charges ;  if  they  make  good  the  articles,  you 
must  expect  both  to  have  your  admission  with- 
drawn, and  to  pay  the  charges  of  their  prose- 
cution. I  pray  let  me  know,  as  soon  as  you 
can,  what  you  mean  to  do. 

*'  Your's,  &c. 

"  Jo.  Ebor." 

When  gentler  methods  did  not  prevail,  he 
never  failed  to  put  in  execution  those  powers 
which  the  laws  gave  him,  insomuch  that  he  hath 

M  2 


164  LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP   SHARP. 

been  charged,  in  anonymous  letters  sent  to  him- 
self, with  rigour  in  his  proceedings  against  his 
Clergy  ;  though,  in  reality,  he  never  was  severe 
where  he  could  help  it,  or  without  a  justifiable 
cause,  and  that,  too,  after  all  other  milder  me- 
thods had  been  taken  in  vain. 

A  vicious  and  scandalous  clergyman  did, 
above  all  other  things,  provoke  his  resentments ; 
he  never  found  it  so  difficult  to  keep  his  temper 
as  when  any  such  person  came  before  him. 
It  is  true,  taking  all  his  Clergy  together,  and 
considering  their  number,  he  had  as  many  valu- 
able and  worthy  men  as  could  be  met  with  in 
the  same  compass,  who  were  an  honour  to  their 
profession  and  his  diocese  ;  and  he  was  troubled 
with  as  few  unworthy  ones,  as  could  in  reason 
be  expected  in  a  country  where  such  scanty 
provisions  were  made  for  the  churches,  as  were 
in  his  time  ;  but  these  few  were  a  great  trouble 
to  him,  and  when  he  was  forced  to  use  severities 
with  any  of  them,  that  usage  always  procured 
his  favour  and  bounty  to  their  poor  innocent 
families,  whom  he  lamented  should  any  ways 
suffer  for  the  faults  of  those  who  ought  to  have 
protected  and  provided  for  them. 

Had  he  used  his  authority  only  over  the  clergy, 
or  confined  his  reprehensions  and  censures  to 
them  alone  who  were  neither  of  abilities  to 
cope  with  him,  nor  in  a  situation  so  independent 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  165 

of  him,  as  to  remonstrate  openly   against  any 
overstrainings  of  his  power,  he  had  shewed  ra- 
ther a  spirit  of  meanness  or  pride,  than  a  spirit 
of  discipline  or   charity  ;    but    he    used   equal 
freedom  in  admonishing  and  censuring  the  laity 
of  what  quality  soever   they   were,    when   he 
saw  occasion  for  it.       Whenever  they  gave  any 
■public  scandal  by  their  immoralities,  he  would 
make    no  scruple  to  reprimand    them  and  tell 
them  their  faults,  either  by  discourse  (when  that 
was  feasible)  or  by  letters.     And  if  he  appre- 
hended   any    such  persons  were  likely  to  offer 
themselves  for  receiving  the  Sacrament,  when  he 
was  to  officiate  himself  either  in  his  cathedral  or 
in  any  churches  of  his  diocese  where  he  occa- 
sionally preached  or  confirmed,  he  would  take 
that   opportunity    of  advising   them   either   to 
clear  their  characters  to  him  or  not  be  present 
at   those   ordinances.      And    this    freedom   he 
would  take,  when  there  was  occasion  given,  not 
only  with  the  chief  magistrate  of  his  metropolis, 
but  with  gentlemen  of  the  best  quality,  interest, 
and  fortunes  within  his  diocese. 

The  following  letter,  written  and  delivered  on 
one  of  these  occasions,  will  suffice  for  an  instance 
of  his  manner  of  exercising  this  discipline. 

"My  Lord, 
**  It  grieves  me  to  write  to  you  upon  such  an 


166  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

occasion  as  I  am  now  going  to  mention;  because 
I  am  sure  it  will  grieve  you.  And  yet  I  know 
of  no  other  way  of  communicating  my  thoughts 
to  you,  with  that  decency  which  is  due  to  your 
character,  or  that  respect  I  have  always,  and 
would  always  pay  to  your  person,  than  this  of 
writing,  because  it  is  a  way  that  will  viake  710 
noise.  It  is  reported and  that  your  Lord- 
ship designs  to  receive  the  Sacrament  at 

next  Sunday.  Good,  my  Lord,  let  me  beg  of 
you  not  to  offer  it,  either  then  or  at  any  other 
time,  while  matters  stand  with  you  as  they  do. 
I  dare  say  there  is  none  of  us  but  would  be  most 
heartily  troubled  to  refuse  you  the  Sacrament, 
but  yet  I  doubt  we  must  do  it  if  you  offer 
yourself.  I  am  sorry  I  must  say  this;  but  I  am 
more  sorry  for  the  cause.  Be  pleased  my  Lord 
to  accept  this  testimony  of  respect,  (for  I  assure 
you  it  is  meant  so)  from 

"Your  humble  servant,  &c. 

"Jo.  Ebor." 

This  letter,  as  it  stands  unsupported  by  any 
lights  to  explain  it,  may  seem  something  harsh, 
but  if  the  case  were  better  known  in  all  its  cir- 
cumstances it  would  not  appear  so.  The  Arch- 
bishop knew  what  he  was  doing ;  and  it  answered 
his  intention ;  neither  did  the  party  admonished 
break  friendship  with  him  on  that  account. 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  167 

And  indeed  he  was  happy  in  making  no 
enemies,  at  least  none  that  thought  proper  to 
appear  so,  by  his  reproofs.  He  was  wont  to 
press  his  arguments,  drawn  both  from  reasons 
of  religion  and  worldly  considerations,  with 
so  much  tenderness  and  charity,  and  would 
make  such  handsome  apologies  for  interposing 
his  judgment  and  advice,  that  whatever 
good  he  might  do  upon  the  parties  concerned, 
yet,  he  never  did,  apparently,  hurt  himself 
by  his  pastoral  monitions ;  but  his  addresses 
and  expostulations  were  taken  in  such 
good  part,  that  he  had  generally  the  justice 
done  him  to  be  thought  a  real  friend  by  the 
persons  themselves  to  whom  he  thus  applied 
himself. 

He  seldom  had  recourse,  as  was  before  ob- 
served, to  his  authority  and  powers  by  law ; 
and  never  till  he  had  found  all  persuasion  and 
gentler  advertisements  vain.  But  he  was  not 
afraid  of  giving  disturbance  to  persons  of  good 
figure  among  the  gentry,  if  they  did  not,  upon 
reasonable  notice,  remove  any  scandal  that  was 
notorious  in  the  country. 

The  following  letter  was  sent  by  him  previous 
to  a  prosecution  of  this  nature,  which  was  well 
enough  known  at  the  time  it  was  carried  on. 
But  as  it  may  now  be  in  great  measure  forgotten, 
the  name  of  the  Baronet  to  whom  it  was  written. 


168  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP. 

and  of  the  places  which  might  distinguish  the 
case,  are  purposely  concealed. 

"  Sir, 

*'  It  is  truly  very  grievous  to  me  that  my  first 
return  for  the  civilities  I  received  from  you 
at and  which  I  do  thankfully  acknow- 
ledge, should  be  a  letter  of  such  a  nature  as  I 
am  now  to  write  to  you,  and  which  I  am  sen- 
sible must  be  very  displeasing  to  you,  but 
indeed  I   cannot   help   it.      I  heard  so  much 

at of  your  cohabiting  with  a  woman  that 

is  not  your  wife,  and  of  the  great  scandal  that  is 
thereby  given,  that  I  should  be  extremely  want- 
ing to  the  duty  of  my  place  if  I  should  not  take 
notice  of  it  to  you  :  nay,  indeed,  my  silence  in 
this  matter  would  be  an  argument  to  the  coun- 
try that  I  approved  of  your  practice,  I  having 
but  the  day  before  publickly  admitted  you  to 
the  Sacrament,  which  I  must  confess  I  would 
not  have  done  had  I  then  known  so  much  as  I 
was  informed  of  the  day  after. 

"  I  have  heard  what  you  alledge  in  your  own 
defence;  but  it  doth  by  no  means  satisfy  me. 
Let  your  circumstances  with  relation  to  your 
Jady  be  as  they  will  (and  truly  I  am  informed 
that  on  your  side  they  are  very  pitiable,)  yet  I 
cannot  conceive  how  they  will  ever  justify  your 
living  with  another  woman    while  your  lady 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  169 

is  alive  ;  no,  nor  after  her  death,  without  lawful 
marriage. 

"  I  could  heartily  wish,  Sir,  you  could  be 
prevailed  with  to  send  that  gentlewoman  away. 
It  would  both  remove  a  great  offence,  which,  by 
your  keeping  her,  you  have  given  to  the  country, 
and  also  prevent  a  great  deal  of  trouble  and 
vexation  which  will  necessarily  come  upon  her 
and  you  (and  I  know  not  how  to  help  it,)  by  a 
prosecution  in  the  ecclesiastical  court,  if  you 
continue  in  this  course  of  life. 

"  I  beseech  you,  Sir,  to  take  in  good  part 
what  I  thought  myself  obliged  in  conscience 
now  to  lay  before  you.  I  assure  you  I  mean  it 
kindly  and  respectfully,  and  should  be  glad  of 
any  opportunity  of  shewing  myself, 
'*  Sir, 
"  Your  affectionate  friend  and  servant, 

**  Jo.  Ebok." 

But  as  neither  this  letter  nor  another  that  he 
wrote  to  the  same  gentleman,  on  the  same 
occasion,  had  the  desired  effect,  he  ordered  a 
Citation  to  be  issued  out  of  the  Court  for  bring- 
ing the  matter  to  a  judicial  cognizance. 

To  conclude  this  article  concerning  his  con- 
duct towards  the  laity  in  his  diocese  notoriously 
misbehaving  themselves  ;  he  took  care  always 
to  be  sure  of  his  charge  before  he  laid  it,  and  to 


170  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

put  it  no  stronger  than  he  could  justify  it.  He 
was  ever  cautious  (especially  in  cases  where  the 
gentlemen  of  the  country  were  any  ways  con- 
cerned,) how  and  from  whom  he  received  in- 
formations ;  and  ever  backward  to  give  ear  to 
any  who  had  not  some  proper  and  immediate 
right  to  complain.  He  was  well  aware  of  the 
difficulties  he  should  bring  both  upon  himself 
and  others  should  he  too  easily  admit  any  no- 
tices that  nearly  concerned  a  man's  honour  and 
character,  and  take  any  steps  upon  such  ad- 
vertisements. He  always  disliked  and  dis- 
couraged, and  chiefly  upon  this  account,  the 
Societies  for  the  Reformation  of  Manners ;  which 
were  begun  to  be  set  up  within  his  diocese  (as 
they  were  in  many  others)  about  the  year  1697. 
He  was  unwilling  to  check  well-meaning  peo- 
ple in  any  design  that  seemed  to  tend  to  God's 
honour,  and  the  good  of  mankind,  and  yet  he 
feared  whereunto  the  liberty  that  those  societies 
begun  to  take  would  grow. 

As  he  differed  in  some  measure  from  several 
of  the  other  bishops  and  clergymen  in  his  sen- 
timents of  these  societies,  which  for  some  years 
made  no  little  noise  in  the  world  ;  it  will  not 
be  amiss  to  relate  the  steps  he  took,  and  give 
the  letters  he  wrote  concerning  those  which 
were  forming  within  his  own  diocese  and 
province. 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP.  171 

The  first  account  he  received  of  any  such 
scheme  taking  place  within  his  jurisdiction,  was 
from  Nottingham,  where  a  society  was  formed, 
upon  certain  laws  and  rules  to  be  observed  by 
the  members :  and  was  quickly  grown  so  con- 
siderable,  as  to   propose, the  having   a 

quarterly  lecture  upon  the  subject  of  reformation, 
at  which  they  invited  the  clergymen  of  Notting- 
hamshire to  assist  in  their  turns ;  who  readily 
promised  their  assistance,  provided  the  Arch- 
bishop approved  of  it.  Upon  this  the  society 
applied  to  him,  begging  his  licence  for  such  a 
lecture,  and  that  he  would  be  pleased  to  signify 
his  pleasure  to  Mr.  Caryl,  a  very  worthy  cler- 
gyman and  minister  of  Saint  Mary's  in  Notting- 
ham, whom  they  had  pitched  upon  to  open  this 
lecture.  Upon  this  he  wrote  to  Mr.  Caryl  in 
the  following  manner. 

January  29,  1697-8. 

"  Good  Sir, 
*•  I  received  a  letter  about  ten  days  ago  from 
some  persons  at  Nottingham,  not  named,  who 
call  themselves  ''  the  Society  for  Reformation," 
I  was  a  little  surprised  to  find  that  that  which 
not  two  months  before,  when  Mr.  Ellis  first  gave 
me  an  account  of  the  project,  seemed  to  me  but 
an  embryo,  should  so  suddenly  be  grown  into 
a  just  body. 


172  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP. 

"  I  am  no  enemy  to  reformation  of  manners, 
(for  God  knows  we  too  much  need  it,)  nor  to 
any  means  that  conduce  to  the  promoting  of 
sincere  virtue  and  piety,  either  in  ourselves  or 
others.  On  the  contrary,  I  would  to  the  utmost 
of  my  power  encourage  all  lawful  expedients 
that  can  be  desired  for  the  serving  of  these  ends. 
But  as  for  what  is  desired  of  me  in  this  letter, 
viz.  that  I  would  approve  and  license  a  quar- 
terly lecture  to  be  preached  to  this  society,  T 
cannot  readily  give  an  answer  to  it,  till  I  be 
better  satisfied  about  these  two  things. 

**  First,  whether  I  can  lawfully  do  it,  the  re- 
solution of  which  depends  upon  this  question, 
whether  these  kind  of  fraternities  and  confedera- 
tions be  allowed  by  the  laius  of  this  realm  and 
the  constitutiofis  of  our  church.  As  to  which  point 
I  must  confess  I  am  not  sufficiently  clear. 

"  The  other  thing  I  must  be  satisfied  about  is, 
the  rules  and  orders  of  this  society  at  Notting- 
ham in  particular. 

"These  I  undertand  are  not  always  the  same 
in  all  the  societies  that  have  been  of  late  set  up. 
And  what  your  rules  are  at  Nottingham  I  am 
perfectly  a  stranger  to.  And  yet,  methinks,  they 
ought  to  have  been  laid  before  7ne,  before  1  could 
be  supposed  capable  of  giving  an  answer  how 
far  I  could  concur  with  what  is  desired  of  me. 

"  As  for  the  first  of  these  points,  I  must  get  my 


LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  173 

satisfaction  as  I  can.     As  to  the  other,  the  gen- 
tlemen of  the  society  are  able  to  give  it  me,  and 
I  hope  they  will.     In  the  mean  time,  till  I  can 
give  a  more  positive  answer,  you  may  please  to 
tell  the    gentlemen,   that,   though    I  would  not 
have  been  the  first  adviser  of  such   a   combina- 
tion as  this  is,  yet  now  that  they  are  actually 
entered  into  it,  and  for  good  ends  as  I  verily 
hope,  they  shall  meet  with  no  discouragement 
from  me,  so  long  as  their  methods  are  regular, 
and  their  proceedings  modest,  and  "prudent,  and 
inoffensive.     Nay,  further,  I    shall   be  ready  to 
give  them  the  best  assistance  and  direction  I 
can,  if  they  think  me  worthy  of  being  con- 
sulted with. 

**  I  could  wish  that  their  first  lecture,  which  is 
designed  to  be  preached  by  you  on  the  second 
Tuesday  in  February,  might  be  put  off  till  I  had 
an  account  of  the  constitution  of  their  society, 
and  the  laws  they  have  agreed  upon.  But  if 
these  be  uneasy  to  the  gentlemen  that  are  con- 
cerned, I  do  not  forbid  you  to  preach  at  the 
time  and  place  they  desire. 

"  I  desire  you  to  present  my  service  to  them. 
I  am,  with  hearty  wishes  of  their  and  your 
happiness, 

"  Sir, 
"■  Your  affectionate  brother, 

*'  Jo.  Ebor." 


174  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

This  letter  produced  another  from  the  so- 
ciety, dated  February  2d  1697-8,  wherein  they 
excuse  themselves  for  not  informing  him  before 
of  their  rules,  &c.,  and  send  him  a  copy  of  all 
their  orders  and  votes,  &c.,  which  immediately 
drew  a  second  letter  from  him  to  Mr.  Caryl,  in 
the  words  following. 

**  Good  Sir, 

"On  Friday  last  I  received  a  letter  from  the 
gentlemen  of  your  society,  with  a  copy  of  their 
rules  and  orders.  I  desire  you  to  return  my 
thanks  to  them  for  the  civility  and  respect  they 
are  pleased  to  express  to  me  in  their  letter,  and 
to  assure  them  that  I  would  be  glad  to  serve  all 
of  them,  and  every  one  of  them  in  particular,  (if 
I  knew  them,)  in  any  way  that  I  can. 

*'  I  have  read  over  their  orders,  and  that  I 
might  be  the  better  able  to  make  a  judgment  of 
them,  I  have  compared  them  with  the  orders  of 
the  London  societies  as  they  were  given  by  Mr. 
Woodward,  (whose  book  I  had  not  seen  when  I 
wrote  my  last  letter,)  and  likewise  with  the 
orders  framed  by  Doctor  Horneck,  and  agreed  to 
by  the  first  societies  of  this  kind  in  London,  and 
by  which  they  have  in  a  great  measure  ever 
since  been  ofoverned. 

"  Upon  this  comparison  I  cannot  but  observe  a 
great  difference  between  the  societies  in  London 


LIFE   OF   ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  175 

(to  which  I  am  told  several  bishops  have  given 
their  countenance,)  and  that  lately  set  up  at 
Nottingham. 

**  The  principal  end  for  which  these  societies 
formed  in  London,  was  to  promote  piety  and 
devotion  and  all  christian  virtues  and  graces 
among  their  owfi  7nembers;  and  the  meddling  with 
others  who  were  not  of  the  society  was  not 
thought  on  till  of  late,  and  still  it  is  but  a 
secondary  end.  Whereas  the  whole  business  and 
design  of  founding  this  society  at  Nottingham 
(as  far  as  I  can  judge  by  the  orders  and  rules  of 
their  constitution)  is  to  reform  others,  that  are 
not  of  the  society,  by  getting  the  laws  to  be 
put  in  execution  against  them.  But  as  for  the 
reforming  themselves,  or  the  improving  one 
another  in  holy  christian  living,  there  is  little 
provision  made.  I  must  confess  I  think  it  is  of 
a  great  deal  more  consequence,  both  to  a  man's 
self,  and  to  the  public,  that  he  use  all  means 
possible,  to  be  devout,  humble,  charitable,  and 
(in  a  word)  in  all  things  to  live  like  a  christian 
himself,  than  to  be  zealous  in  informing  against 
others  who  do  not  live  like  christians.  The  first 
is  of  certain  benefit,  both  to  a  man's  self  and 
others;  but  the  other  mav  be  often  both  in- 
discreet  and  vexatious. 

I  do  not  deny  that  this  design  of  theirs  to 
have  the  laws  put  in  execution  against  profane- 


176  LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

ness  and  immorality  is  a  very  good  one,  and 
deserves  all  encouragement.  And  I  myself 
would  inspirit  all  that  I  converse  with,  as  much 
as  I  could,  to  contribute  all  their  lawful  endea- 
vours towards  it  in  their  place  and  station.  But, 
on  the  other  side,  I  do  not  take  it  to  be  proper 
for  me,  as  a  clergyman,  to  take  upon  me  either  to 
erect  or  to  authorize  any  society  for  this  pur- 
pose :  nor  do  I  think  it  proper  to  my  function 
if  such  societies  be  set  up  to  do  any  episcopal 
act  about  them  (as  licensing  of  preachers  is  an 
episcopal  act),  any  more  than  I  think  it  proper 
to  give  orders  to  my  clergy  about  business  that 
belongs  to  justices  of  peace. 

*'  The  truth  is,  as  the  society  at  Nottingham 
is  constituted,  it  seems  to  me,  they  would  re- 
ceive better  directions  for  the  carrying  on  their 
work,  from  the  charges  that  they  may  hear  from 
the  justices  of  peace  at  the  sessions,  than  they 
can  from  the  sermons  of  the  Clergy. 

*'  I  observe  another  difference  between  your 
society  at  Nottingham,  and  those  of  London, 
which  is  a  very  material  one  with  me.  One  of 
the  articles  which  all  those  who  enter  into  any 
of  these  societies  in  London  are  bound  to  sub- 
scribe to,  is  this ;  that  they  declare  themselves 
that  they  are,  or  will  be,  of  the  communion  of 
the  Church  of  England  ;  that  they  will  frequent 
the  Liturgy ;  that  they  will  once  a  month  receive 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  177 

the  holy  sacrament,  &c.  Whereas  your  consti- 
tution is,  that  all  dissenters  may  be  admitted 
into  your  society,  provided  they  be  persons  of 
sobriety  and  integrity. 

"  I  am  not  against  the  coalition  of  churchmen 
with  dissentei's,  in  any  matter  where  they  can 
go  togetJier  in  promoting  the  common  cause  of 
religion  or  good  manners.  So  far  from  that,  I 
heartily  wish  them  well.  And  it  would  be  the 
most  pleasing  thing  in  the  world  to  me,  if  we 
could  all  be  united  in  one  body.  And,  in  the 
meantime,  while  we  continue  separate,  I  would 
have  all  possible  tenderness  and  kindness  shewed 
to  all  good  men  amongst  them.  But  while  the 
laws  stand  as  they  do,  I  do  not  know  how  I 
can,  without  breach  of  that  trust  that  is  com- 
mitted to  me,  come  into  the  project  and  scheme 
that  the  gentlemen  of  your  society  have  laid 
down  for  themselves.  You  desire  me  to  license 
a  quarterly  lecture  to  be  preached  to  the  society. 
Is  it  not  natural,  that  those  of  the  society  who 
are  dissenters,  should  also  desire  a  lecture  to  be 
sometimes  preached  to  the  society  in  their  meet- 
ings ?  And  can  you  deny  this  request  of  theirs. 
Is  it  not  reasonable  (since  you  are  all  on  the 
same  level  as  members  of  the  society)  that  you 
should  comply  with  them  as  they  with  you  ? 

"  If  now  the  case  be  thus,  I  must  profess  to 
you,  I  can  by  no  means  allow  any  clergyman  of 

N 


178  LIFE  OF  AUCHhJISllOP  SHARP. 

my  diocese  to  preach  as  a  lecturer  of  this  so- 
ciety, because  it  would  be  giving  an  encourage- 
ment to  the  breaking  of  those  laws  which  I  hold 
myself  bound  in  conscience  to  see  observed  as 
far  as  I  can. 

"  I  desire  you  (good  Mr.  Caryl),  to  represent 
to  the  gentlemen  these  difficulties  I  have  upon 
me.  I  beg  my  service  to  them.  I  have  spoke 
my  mind  plainly,  and  without  reserve.  If  they 
can  so  agree  among  themselves  as  to  come  in, 
as  to  the  main  parts,  to  the  rules  set  down  by  Mr. 
Woodward  or  Doctor  Horneck  (which  are  to  be 
found  in  that  Doctor's  Life,  wrote  by  the  Bishop 
of  Bath  and  Wells),  I  shall,  with  some  little 
alterations  or  additions,  comply  with  them. 

"  This  is  writ  in  very  great  haste,  and  I  have 
not  time  to  take  a  copy  of  it.  And  therefore  I 
pray  keep  it,  that  I  may  have  it  again. 

"  I  am,  your*s, 

"  Jo.  Ebor." 

Thus  he  quashed  the  design  of  a  quarterly 
lecture.  And  how  well  he  judged  of  the  advan- 
tages that  the  dissenting  ministers  would  make 
of  it,  by  claiming  to  be  heard  in  their  turns,  ap- 
peared not  long  after  (though  not  within  his 
own  diocese,  where  he  prevented  it,  yet)  in 
another  part  of  his  province,  as  will  be  seen 
hereafter.  In  the  meantime,  that  he  might  shew 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  179 

them  how  desirous  he  was  to  gratify  them  as 
far  as  he  could,  he  allowed  that  they  might 
have  a  sermon  once  in  a  quarter,  provided  it 
was  preached  by  a  clergyman  of  known  charac- 
ter and  discretion,  and  also  on  that  day  of  the 
week  on  which  the  weekly  lecture  was  preached, 
so  that  it  might  pass  for  one  of  those  courses. 
And  the  same  liberty  he  gave  to  his  Clergy  in 
and  about  Hull,  where  there  was  a  considerable 
society  for  reformation  formed,  and  also  a  weekly 
lecture  established,  as  at  Nottingham. 

Not  long  after  these  two  societies  were  formed, 
viz.  in  1699,  several  persons  at  York,  both  of 
the  Church  of  England,  and  of  the  Dissenters, 
were  very  zealous  to  have  a  society  in  that  city 
formed  upon  the  same  model.  But  the  great 
difficulty  was  how  to  reconcile  him  to  the  pro- 
ject. The  Clergy  were  backward,  knowing  how 
coldly  he  received  all  those  proposals  ;  and  the 
dissenters  complained  of  unreasonable  scruples 
in  him.  Among  some  of  the  expressions  used 
to  their  corresponding  reformers  of  the  other  so- 
cieties, there  were  these. 

'*  We  do  not  find  the  difficulty  that  we  feared. 
There  are  several  sober  men  of  the  Church  of 
England  that  incline  to  be  active  in  putting  the 
laws  in  execution  against  vice.  But  how  to 
proceed  safely,  seems  to  be  the  present  great 
objection ;  for  his  Grace  the  Archbishop  of  York 

N  2 


180  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP. 

(whose  character  is  so  well  known  throughout 
England,  as  needs  not  my  enlargement),  ex- 
presses such  caution  of  breaking  the  just  and 
good  laws  of  men,  as  that  he  encourages  not 
men's  associating  themselves  in  order  to  inform 
against  vice,  least  they  thereby  bring  themselves 
into  a  praemunire  as  offenders.     We  have  the 

promise  of  a  sober,  good  gentleman 

to  take  informations  from  any  against  immorality 
and  profaneness,  and  never  to  discover  the  in- 
former      This  we  know  that    God 

can  do  great  things,  and  wonderful,  and  we 
despair  not  but  that  he  will  effect  a  wonder  for 
York.  Poor  York ;  the  second  city  in  the  king- 
dom, and  likely  to  be  the  last  in  reformation ; 
but  better  late  than  never,"  &c. 

It  was  said  "  his  Grace's  scruple  must  cease, 
if  once  his  query  was  but  put  into  plain  English, 
viz.  whether  it  be  lawful  for  private  persons  to 
assist  the  magistrates  by  informations,  &c.  to 
put  the  laws  in  execution  for  the  suppressing 
vice,"  &c.  And  that  he  should  not  want  proper 
admonitions  and  advice,  care  was  taken  to  pro- 
cure letters  from  those  persons  who  were  pre- 
sumed to  have  good  interest  with  him,  begging 
of  him  to  espouse  and  encourage  this  pious  de- 
sign at  York.  In  some  of  the  letters  he  received 
from  men  of  note.,  these  societies  were  repre- 
sented as  "  the  last  effort  likely  to  be  made  for 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  181 

the  suppressing  vice  and  immorality ;  that  if  this 
was  not  defeated,  it  might  be  concluded  their 
cause  was  then  desperate.  That  great  weight 
was  laid  upon  his  concurrence;  that  it  was 
presumed  upon,  that  there  could  be  no  place 
for  deliberation,  and  the  like." 

But  he  appears  to  have  made  a  better  judg- 
ment at  that  time  of  that  whole  affair,  than  most 
other  men  did,  not  even  excepting  some  of  the 
bishops  themselves,  and  was  not  to  be  prevailed 
upon  to  alter  his  sentiments,  without  having 
better  reasons  given  than  were  offered  to  him. 
He  wrote  several  letters  upon  the  subject  to 
such  Clergy  as  enquired  after  his  opinion,  not 
only  within  his  diocese,  but  throughout  his  pro- 
vince. But  as  none  of  his  letters  are  more  full, 
and  better  express  his  sentiments,  than  the  two 
following,  they  are  for  that  reason  inserted  here 
as  his  vindication  from  those  partial  suggestions 
that  were  raised  upon  his  not  countenancing  the 
society  at  his  metropolis.     The  occasion  was 

thus The  Chancellor  of  Carlisle,  with 

some  other  justices  of  the  peace,  had  set  on  foot 
a  society  in  that  city,  in  imitation  of  many  others 
in  the  kingdom  into  which  they  had  admitted  the 
dissenters.  The  bishop  of  that  diocese  had  been 
applied  to  by  them  for  his  countenance  and 
encouragement ;  but  was  under  difficulties  con- 
cerning the  steps  he  ought  in  prudence  to  take 


182  LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP   SHARP. 

upon  such  their  application.  Upon  which,  Arch- 
deacon Nicholson,  to  relieve  his  diocesan,  con- 
sulted his  Grace  as  Metropolitan.  And  this 
occasioned  the  following  letter,  in  answer  to  the 
enquiry. 

"  Reverend  Sir, 

**  I  had  the  favour  of  your's,  which  that 
I  did  not  answer  sooner,  you  must  impute  to 
the  many  affairs  of  sundry  kinds  (some  of  them 
small  enough,  but  unavoidable)  which  do  here 
take  up  our  time. 

'*  I  myself  have  always  been  averse  to  such 
sort  of  confederacies  or  combinations,  whether 
of  clergy  or  others,  as  are  now  on  foot  every 
where ;  whether  they  be  those  they  call  religious 
societies,  or  those  of  a  later  standing,  which  go 
under  the  name  of  societies  for  reformation ;  as 
doubting  whether  they  be  legal  in  themselves, 
(though,  with  submission,  I  think  it  may  bear  a 
dispute  whether  they  come  under  those  *  con- 
venticles which  are  forbid  in  the  1 2th  and  73d 
canons).  And  apprehending  likewise,  that  some 
time  or  other  we  may  feel  ill  consequences  from 
them.  And  for  these  reasons  I  refused  my  sub- 
scription the  last  year  to  that  book  which  was 
writ  for  the  recommending  these  societies ; 
though  I  was  earnestly,  by  letters  from  two  of 
the  bishops,  pressed  to  join  my  hand  with  theirs. 


LIFE   01'    ARCHBISHOP   SHARP.  183 

"  But  though  these  be  my  private  sentiments, 
1  find  many  of  the  bishops  of  another  mind. 
Some  of  them  look  upon  these  societies  for 
reformation  to  be  of  mighty  use.  And  consi- 
dering how  remiss  the  magistrates  generally  are 
in  executing  the  laws  against  prophaneness  and 
immorality,  they  think  there  is  no  other  way  to 
retrieve  that  zeal  for  religion  which  is  every 
where  lost  among  us,  and  to  promote  a  reforma- 
tion of  manners,  but  by  such  a  joint  endeavour 
of  well  disposed  persons. 

"  And  accordingly  they  do  what  they  can  to 
promote  these  societies  in  their  respective  dio- 
ceses. Others  of  the  bishops  go  not  so  far,  but 
content  themselves  to  endeavour  the  regulating 
and  keeping  them  within  bounds  where  they  are 
voluntarily  entered  into. 

*'  The  truth  is,  the  societies  of  London  have 
been  so  industrious  in  spreading  their  books, 
and  the  success  they  have  had  (as  they  say)  in 
this  way,  has  made  such  a  noise  every  where, 
that  the  whole  nation  almost  hath  taken  the 
alarm.  And  so  eagerly  in  many  places  are  the 
minds  of  people  set  upon  these  new  methods, 
that  it  may  justly  be  doubted  whether  it  be  in 
the  bishop's  power  to  stifle  or  suppress  these 
societies,  though  he  should  use  his  utmost  en- 
deavours to  do  it. 

**  Add  to  this,  that  many  of  the  clergy  take 


184  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

encouragement  to  enter  into  these  societies,  from 
a  passage  of  my  Lord  of  Canterbury's  circular 
letter  which  was  sent  the  last  year  to  the 
bishops  of  his  province,  though  it  is  certain  in 
that  passage  he  did  not  intend  the  setting  up 
such  formal  associations  under  rules  and  articles 
as  are  now  formed  in  many  places.  The  pas- 
sage is  in  the  fourth  paragraph,  where  he  says — 
'  It  were  to  be  wished  that  the  clergy  of  every 
neighbourhood  would  agree  upon  frequent  meet- 
ings to  consult  for  the  good  of  religion,  &c. 
And  these  meetings  might  still  be  made  a  greater 
advantage  to  the  clergy  in  carrying  on  the  re- 
formation of  men's  lives  and  manners,  by  in- 
viting the  churchwardens  of  their  several  parishes 
and  other  pious  persons  among  the  laity  to  join 
with  them  in  the  execution  of  the  most  probable 
methods  that  can  be  suggested  for  those  good 
ends.  And  we  may  very  reasonably  expect  the 
happy  effects  of  such  a  concurrence  from  the 
visible  success  of  that  noble  zeal,  wherewith  so 
many  about  the  cities  of  London  and  West- 
minster do  promote  true  piety,'  &c. 

''  I  have  transcribed  thus  much  out  of  that 
printed  letter  for  fear  you  should  not  have  it  by 
you. 

"  Upon  these  considerations  I  am  thus  far 
come  into  these  projects,  that  I  tell  my  clergy 
when  any  of  them  apply  to  me  about  this  matter 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  185 

(as  very  lately  some  of  them  have  done,)  that  as 
for  their  meeting  together,  as  they  have  conve- 
nience of  neighbourhood,  for  the  promoting  of 
religion  and  reformation  in  their  parishes,  it  is  a 
thing  I  would  advise  them  to.  But  as  for  the 
societies  for  reformation  that  are  now  on  foot  in 
several  places,  they  are  iieiu  th'mgs,  and  for 
which  there  is  no  foundation  in  our  laws  and 
canons;  and  we  do  not  know  what  conse- 
quences they  may  in  time  produce.  And  there- 
fore I  dare  not  be  the  author  or  adviser  to  any 
one,  either  clergymen  or  laymen,  to  embark  in 
these  projects.  Nevertheless  being  sensible  that 
a  great  many  wise  and  good  men  do  approve  of  these 
societies,  I  will  not  think  the  worse  of  any  man  for 
engaging  in  them.  Nor  shall  these  societies  meet 
with  any  discouragement  from  me,  so  long  as 
they  keep  within  the  bounds  which  the  laws  of 
the  land  and  of  the  church  have  prescribed. 

"  Letters  to  this  effect  I  have  written  to  some 
of  my  clergy  who  consulted  me;  but  I  must 
confess  I  came  not  to  this  degree  of  compliance 
till  after  a  great  deal  of  discourse  with  several 
of  the  bishops. 

**  What  my  Lord  Bishop  of  Carlisle  will  think 
fit  to  do  in  the  present  case  of  the  Chancellor 
must  be  left  to  his  own  prudence,  which  I  know 
is  very  great.  I  must  confess  I  dare  not  advise 
him.     Only  this  I  believe   I  may  say,  that  I 


186  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

think  that  he  will  have  gained  a  good  point  if  he 
can  prevail  with  Mr.  Chancellor  to  quit  his  dissent- 
ing associates  ;  and  if  he  be  resolved  on  a  society 
for  reformation,  let  only  such  be  taken  into  it  as 
are  hearty  churchmen. 

"  Sir,  your  affectionate  servant, 

"  Jo.  Ebor," 

"  Feb.  27th,  1699." 

Upon  the  receipt  of  this  seasonable  letter, 
the  Bishop  of  Carlisle  (as  the  archdeacon  ac- 
quainted his  archbishop  in  his  answer  a  few 
days  after,)  being  now  delivered  from  his  per- 
plexities, resolved  upon  the  following  expedient, 
both  for  the  direction  of  his  clergy,  and  for  the 
effectually  preventing  any  further  solicitations 
from  the  members  of  the  society.  He  drew  up 
a  paper  which  he  dispersed  in  his  diocese, 
wherein  he  recommended  to  his  clergy  to  pro- 
mote the  good  ends  of  his  Majesty's  late  procla- 
mation, not  only  by  their  sermons,  but  by  their 
voluntary  meetings  and  conferences,  or  other 
methods  allowed  by  the  canons  of  the  church,  and 
laws  of  the  land.  That  they  would  in  these  con- 
ferences (if  they  saw  it  necessary,)  request  the 
assistance  of  such  justices  of  the  peace,  or  other 
persons  of  note  and  gravity  as  might  best  for- 
ward their  good  designs,  provided  they  were 
well  affected  to  the  doctrine  and  discipline  of 
the  Established  Church. 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  187 

In  the  meantime  the  Chancellor  sends  the 
Archbishop  a  copy  of  the  rules  and  orders  of 
the  society  at  Carlisle,  and  apologizes  very 
handsomely  for  himself,  and  the  rest  who  were 
concerned  with  him.  And  Archdeacon  Nicol- 
son  gives  him  an  account  of  an  usual  agreement 
at  Brampton,  in  the  same  diocese,  between  the 
neighbouring  clergy/  and  a  dissenting  minister. 

To  both  which  he  answers  in  the  following 
letter  to  the  Archdeacon. 

"  Good  Mr.  Archdeacon, 

**  I  hope  by  that  time  I  received  your  second 
letter,  my  answer  to  your  first  had  reached  you. 
I  believe  you  will  not  think  me  too  favourable 
to  these  new  societies,  but  in  truth,  as  the  state 
of  things  is  among  us,  I  do  not  yet  find  reason 
to  alter  my  sentiments. 

*'  As  for  that  you  mention  at  Brampton,  where 
the  vicars  have  obliged  themselves  to  take  their 
turns  with  the  minister  of  a  dissenting  congre- 
gation at  a  weekly  lecture  ;  if  the  meaning  of 
that  be  that  they  are  to  take  their  turns  in 
preaching  at  his  meeting,  or  that  he  is  to  take  his 
turn  in  preaching  at  their  churches,  or  lastly 
that  they  are  to  go  and  hear  him  preach  in  his  turn 
at  the  conventicle,  I  say,  if  any  of  these  things  be 
meant  in  that  article  (and  what  other  meaning 
it  can  have  I  cannot  find  out,)  I  think  the  thing 


188  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

ought  not  to  be  suffered,  but  they  should  be 
admonished  to  forbear  such  practices ;  being 
directly  contrary  to  our  const itutioti,  and  to  the 
engagements  they  are  under  to  preserve  it. 

**  Since  my  last  to  you  I  have  seen  a  copy  of 
the  articles  which  your  society  at  Carlisle  have 
subscribed,  and  upon  which  it  is  founded.  I 
dare  now  speak  a  little  more  positively  to  this 
matter  than  I  did  before. 

**  I  must  confess  if  a  society  was  entered  into 
at  York  upon  these  articles,  I  should  neither 
give  the  members  of  it  any  disturbance  nor  any 
discouragement.  I  should  only  wish  that  those 
of  the  clergy  who  joined  in  it  would  add  an 
article  or  two  more,  whereby  they  should  more 
particularly  oblige  themselves  to  the  reading  of 
prayers  on  Wednesdays,  and  Fridays,  and  holi- 
days, or  in  populous  towns  every  day,  unless 
they  were  hindered  by  some  urgent  business. 
Secondly^  to  the  holding  monthly  communions  in 
their  parishes,  and  lastly  to  the  diligent  attend- 
ance upon  catechising  and  instructing  the  youth 
of  their  parishes  in  the  principles  of  Christianity. 
The  practice  of  which  things  will  in  my  poor 
opinion  more  contribute  to  the  promoting  a  reforma- 
tion, than  the  informing  against  crimi7ials,  though 
that  is  a  good  work  too. 

"  Sir,  I  have  freely  given  you  my  sense  about 
the  matters  of  your  two  letters.     I  am,  with 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  189 

sincere   respects  to  my  Lord  Bishop,   and  to 
yourself, 

"  Sir,  your  very  affectionate, 
"  Friend  and  servant, 

"  Jo.  Ebor." 

"  March  5th,  1699." 

The  archdeacon  made  a  very  good  use  of  this 
letter  with  the  clergy  about  Brampton,  he  con- 
vinced them  of  their  error,  and  prevailed  upon 
them  to  break  their  combination. 

It  appears  from  these  letters,  and  indeed  from 
his  whole  conduct  with  respect  to  these  socie- 
ties, that  he  was  as  unwilling  to  oppose  any 
useful  or  commendable  designs  as  to  give  en- 
couragement to  any  uncanonical  proceedings; 
the  scheme  of  reformation  which  seemed  in  his 
opinion  to  bid  the  fairest  for  success  was,  that 
all  they,  whether  of  the  clergy  or  laity,  who 
undertook  to  promote  it  in  others,  should  lay 
out  their  labours  first  of  all  in  amending  them- 
selves; and  that  till  they  became  exemplary 
men  in  their  persons,  they  were  not  dull/  and 
sufficie7itly  qualified  to  attempt  the  reformation  of 
a  degenerate  age.  This  was  the  great  labour  of 
his  own  life,  to  grow  better  and  better  every 
day;  which  he  thought  of  all  others  the  most 
likely  means  to  render  a  man  truly  serviceable 
to  the  interests  of  religion,  and  a  public  bless- 


190  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

ing  to  his  country.  Whosoever  compares  this 
his  judgment  or  principle  with  Cardinal  du  Retzs 
determination  of  his  own  conduct  upon  his  pro- 
motion to  the  Archbishopric  of  Paris,  will  see 
how  widely  different  were  their  respective  sen- 
timents and  resolutions*.  The  one  thought  that 
in  point  of  mere  prudetice  or  worldly  policy  (all 
other  considerations  being  abstracted,)  it  was 
doubtless  more  safe  and  more  effectual  for  serv- 
ing the  ends  of  his  profession  and  calling,  to 
counterfeit  godliness  and  virtue,  than  to  prac- 
tise them  in  reality;  and  to  guard  against  the 
appearances  of  evil  rather  than  against  the  thing 
itself.  But  the  other  judged  that  the  reforma- 
tion of  mankind  was  not  to  be  effected  by  arts 
and  human  subtleties,  or  otherwise  than  by  the 
real  practice  as  well  as  profession  of  godliness  ; 
that  not  only  the  merit,  but  in  great  measure 
the  capacity  of  being  instrumental  in  that  work, 
was  lost  in  one  who   did   not  conscientiously 

*  "  Je  pris  apres  six  jours  de  reflexion  le  parti  de  faire  le 
mal  par  dessein,  ce  qui  est  sans  compareuson  le  plus  criminal 
devant  Dieu,  mais  ce  qui  est  sans  doute  le  plus  sage  devant  le 

monde. Voila  la  sainte  disposition  avec  laquelle  je  sortis  de 

St.  Lazare.  Elle  ne  fut  pourtant  pas  de  tout  point  mauvaise. 
Car  j'avois  pris  une  ferme  resolution  de  remplir  exactment  tous 
las  devoirs  de  ma  profession,  et  d'etre  aussi  homme  de  bien 
pour  le  salut  des  autres,  que  je  pourvois  etre  mechant  pour 
moimeme." — Memoirs  du  Cardinal  de  Rctz,  Vol,  I.  Liv.  2. 
p.  61.   8vo.    Jrmst.  1719. 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP.  191 

strive  to  be  himself  what  he  proposed  to  make 
others.  And  therefore  he  frequently  repeated 
this  lesson  to  his  clergy,  that  the  main  part  of 
their  business  as  pastors  was  to  be  themselves 
sincerely  and  substantially  good :  that  if  they 
were  so,  and  withal  were  punctual  in  observing 
the  rules  prescribed  them  in  the  rubricks  and 
canons,  they  took  the  most  certain  and  effectual 
methods  to  render  themselves  useful  in  their 
ministry,  and  eminently  serviceable,  under  God, 
to  the  cause  of  Christ  and  his  religion.  And 
therefore  his  principle  aim  in  the  choice  and 
designation  of  persons  for  the  service  of  the 
church  (so  far  as  that  fell  to  his  share  and  be- 
came his  immediate  concern,)  was  to  find  out 
those  whose  private  lives  and  characters  did 
best  correspond  with  this  idea  of  a  successful 
pastor,  viz.  that  he  himself  be  a  true  and  faith- 
ful servant  of  God. 

Thus  it  is  observable  when  he  recommended 
clerks  to  patrons,  the  sufficiency  of  their  learning 
was  but  one,  and  the  least  material  part  of  their 
character.  He  laid  the  main  stress  upon  their 
life  and  temper,  and  thought  himself  secure  in 
warranting  a  person  of  regular  life,  right  honest, 
and  well  teywpered,  to  be  a  good  parish  minister. 
In  large  and  populous  towns  indeed,  where  a 
greater  degree  of  learning  and  prudence  is  usually 
necessary,  he  was  careful  to  have  regard  to  those 


192  LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

qualifications  alsoy  as  well  when  he  recommended 
to  others  as  when  he  received  recommendations 
from  them,  always  endeavouring  to  fill  vacant 
livings  with  such  persons  as  were  sufficiently 
qualified  to  answer  the  particular  ivants  of  the 
respective  cures.  Which  was  a  point  that  he 
had  more  regard  to  than  any  considerations  of 
favour,  friendship,  or  intei^est. 

But  how  justly  soever  this  rule  in  disposing 
of  church  preferments  will  approve  itself  to  all 
considering  people,  yet  it  is  easy  to  conceive 
that  his  adherence  to  it  would  be  interpreted 
by  some  as  an  humoursome  unreasonable  deli- 
cacy, and  would  draw  upon  him  when  he  re- 
fused to  prefer  clerks  that  were  recommended 
to  him,  difficulties  if  he  concealed  his  reasons,  and 
complaints  and  greater  difficulties  if  he  gave  the?n. 
The  following  instance  will  shew  both  his  ad- 
dress and  temper  on  such  occasions. 

The  Duke  of  Leeds  had  recommended  him  a 
clerk  (one  who  was  already  beneficed  in  the 
diocese  of  York  by  the  duke's  own  presentation,) 
for  one  of  the  most  considerable  cures  in  the 
county,  in  the  Archbishop's  gift.  But  as  he 
was  ?nost  careful  and  conscientious  in  the  choice 
of  persons  to  serve  in  those  places  which  were 
under  his  patronage,  so  he  found  it  necessary  to 
desire  that  the  duke  would  not  lay  his  com- 
mands upon  him  in  this  particular,  giving  for 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  193 

his  reason  that  he  much  doubted  whether  the 
person  recommended  to  hwi  had  all  the  qualifica- 
tions necessary  for  the  discharge  of  so  great  a7id 
so  difficult  a  post.  Upon  this  he  was  civilly 
called  upon  by  the  duke,  but  not  altogether  so 
civilly  by  the  clerk,  to  declare  what  he  meant 
by  that  doubt  with  which  he  had  excused 
himself  from  granting  the  favour  that  had  been 
asked. 

To  the  duke  he  wrote  thus. 

*'  My  Lord, 

**  Since  your  Grace  commands  me  to  explain 

myself  as  to  what  I  wrote  about  Mr. , 

I  will  do  it  sincerely. 

The  things  that  lay  uppermost  in  my  mind, 
when  I  said  that  I  was  afraid  that  he  had  not  all 
the  qualifications  necessary  for  the  discharge  of 
such  a  post,  were  these  two.  I  thought  that 
town  needed  one  of  a  higher  form  of  learning 

and  prudence,  than  in  my  opinion  Mr. was. 

And  besides,  being  a  town  much  given  to  good 
fellowship,  I  was  afraid,  if  he  came  thither,  he 
would  be  exposed  to  too  much  temptation  that 
way. 

"  This,  my  Lord,  is  all  I  meant  by  that  ex- 
pression, and  I  hope  it  will  do  him  no  prejudice 
with  your  Grace,  or  hinder  him  of  any  prefer- 
ment you  designed  him.     And  I  hope  likewise, 

.  o 


194  LIFE  OF   ARCHBTRIIOP   SHARP. 

that  since  your  Grace  obliges  me  to  write  thus 
freely,  that  it  is  to  yourself  only  that  I  winte. 

'*  I  am,  my  Lord, 
*'  With  the  greatest  respects,  &c. 

"  Jo.  Ebor." 

To  the  clerk  he  answered  in  these  words. 

"  Sir, 

**  I  received  your  letter,  which  I  had 
answered  sooner,  but  that  I  had  a  great  deal  of 
other  business  upon  my  hands.  As  to  the  sy- 
nodals,  I  leave  it  to  yourself,  both  to  pay  what 
you  please  of  them,  and  when  you  please ;  for 
I  am  not  used  to  be  hard  upon  the  Clergy  in  those 
matters.  Though,  in  strictness  of  law,  you  may 
be  called  upon  for  those  that  were  due  in  your 
predecessor's  time,  as  well  as  those  that  have 
become  due  since  you  came  to  the  living  ;  they 
being,  like  the  King's  tenths,  chargeable  upon 
the  rectories  and  vicarages ;  so  that  whoever  is 
incumbent  is  liable  to  all  arrears.  But  far  be 
it  from  me  to  make  any  such  demands. 

As  for  the  complaining  part  of  your  letter,  I 
will  give  you  a  short  answer  to  it.  I  did  ex- 
press my  unwillingness  to  comply  with  the 
duke's  request  on  your  behalf;  not  upon  account 
of  any  unkindness,  or  ill  will  to  you  (as  God 
knoweth  I  have  none),  but  purely  because  it 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  195 

was  my  opinion  (as  it  is  of  others  also,  who  have 
known  you  better  than  I  can  pretend  to  do,)  that 

was  neither  a  fit  place  for  you,  nor  you  a 

fit  man  for  it. 

"  Now,  if  this  was  my  opinion,  why  might  I 
not  say  it,  especially  when  I  was  under  a  kind 
of  necessity  of  giving  some  reason  for  my  refusal 
of  what  his  Grace  had  moved  to  me  ? 

"  But  you  call  this  a  crimination,  a  drawing 
up  a  charge  against  you.  I  wonder  why  you 
should  do  so.  What  have  I  accused  you  of? 
What  crime  have  I  laid  to  your  charge  ?  I  dare 
say  there  are  an  hundred  clergymen  in  this  dio- 
cese, of  whom  I  know  no  ill,  and  therefore  to 
be  sure  would  not  charge  them  with  any ;  nay, 
whom  I  believe  to  be  very  good  men,  of  whom 

yet,    if   they   were    candidates  for I 

would  not  scruple  to  say,  that  I  am  afraid 
they  had  not  all  the  qualifications  necessary  for 
the  discharge  of  so  important  and  difficult  a 
post. 

"  As  for  what  you  desire,  that  I  would  give 
you  a  particular  account  of  what  qualifications 
I  think  you  want  for  that  place.  /  do  not  think 
it  a  proper  argument  for  a  letter.  But,  if  you  will 
give  me  an  opportunity  of  talking  with  you,  I 
will  sincerely  tell  you  my  whole  heart  about 
this  matter,  and  what  my  reasons  were  of  my  so 
expressing  myself  to  the  Duke  of  Leeds.     lu 

o2 


196  LIFE   OF   ARCHBISHOP   SHARP. 

the  mean  time  I  am,  with  hearty  wishes  of  all 
good  to  you, 

"  Sir,  your  loving  friend,  &c. 

"  Jo.  Eeor." 

Great  was  the  mildness  of  this  answer,  consi- 
dering the  style  of  the  letter  to  which  he  re- 
plied, and  the  temper  of  the  person  he  wrote 
to.  But  it  is  a  genuine  specimen  of  that  cour- 
tesy which  he  shewed  to  all,  how  differently 
soever  they  might  behave  towards  himself.  He 
was  not  easily  thrown  off  his  bias,  or  put  out  of 
his  naturally  sweet  temper,  though,  at  the  same 
time,  he  was  not  to  be  diverted  from  steadily 
pursuing  the  rules  he  had  laid  down  for  his  own 
conduct  in  the  discharge  of  his  office. 

He  was  observed  to  act  so  conscientiously 
and  cautiously  in  the  choice  of  fit  persons  to 
serve  in  the  Church,  that  sometimes  the  patrons 
of  livings,  who  were  well  acquainted  with  him, 
would  refer  the  designation  of  the  clerk,  upon  a 
vacancy,  entirely  to  himself.  And  this  not  only 
within  his  own  diocese,  but  in  other  parts  of 
his  province.  And  sometimes,  when  he  was 
not  applied  to  or  consulted,  he  would  himself 
take  the  liberty  of  reminding  -patrons  of  the  im- 
portance of  observing  the  trusts  that  ivere  by  the 
laws  reposed  in  them;  desiring  them  to  consider 
how  much  they  were  concerned  that  the  people 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  197 

of  those  parishes  to  which  they  presented  should 
be  provided  of  a  good  minister,  one  that  was 
sober  and  regular,  and  preached  to  them  by  his 
life,  as  well  as  his  sermons. 

To  a  noble  lord,  who  was  more  than  ordina- 
rily delicate  in  the  choice  of  clerks  for  livings 
in  his  gift,  and  who  had  desired  the  Archbishop 
to  give  him  a  man  for  a  benefice  in  the  diocese  of 
Carlisle,  in  his  patronage,  that  ivould  set  up  his 
rest  there,  and  ea^pect  no  other  preferment,  &c.; 
he  wrote  the  following  character  of  the  cler- 
gyman he  had  pitched  upon  for  his  lordship's 
service,  viz.  "  He  is  a  good  scholar,  of  a  regu- 
lar life,  a  right  honest  and  good  tempered  man, 
and  will  take  a  conscientious  care  of  his  flock. 

**  I  do  not  name  him  to  your  lordship  but  with 
a  design  that  he  should  make  good  all  the  points 
that  your  lordship  requires,  viz.  that  he  shall 
constantly  reside  upon  the  place,  and  make  it 
the  whole  business  of  his  life  to  look  after  his 
cure.  My  Lord,  if  your  lordship  gives  him  the 
living,  he  takes  it  upon  these  conditions,  and  I 
will  undertake  they  shall  be  made  good." 

By  this  it  appears  that  the  Archbishop  did 
allow  of  promises  and  contracts  at  the  taking  of 
livings,  provided  they  were  not  of  a  Simonical 
nature,  had  nothing  of  a  pecuniary  considera- 
tion, nor  any  relation  to  the  profits  or  rights  of 
the  benefice.    For  when  either  of  these  came  into 


198  LIFE  Of  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

question,  or  were  but  suspected  ;  if  he  had  but 
the  slightest  intimation  of  any  Simonical  con- 
tract, or  illegal  method  of  trafficking  for  prefer- 
ment between  patron  and  clerk,  he  was  sure  to 
interpose,  as  occasion  offered,  and  prevent,  if 
he  could,  any  conclusion  being  made  upon  such 
terms.  Nor  did  he  think  any  man  too  great  to 
be  advertised  of  the  mischief  and  scandal  of  such 
practices.  A  testimony  of  this  his  liberty  here 
follows,  being  a  letter  to  a  noble  lord  whom 
report  had  represented  as  too  much  inclined  to 
make  an  illegal  composition  for  one  of  his  livings. 

**  My  Lord, 

"  It  is  very  uneasy  to  me  to  meddle  in 
other  men's  matters,  and  especially  in  the  affairs 
of  persons  of  your  quality.  But  this  that  I  now 
take  the  confidence  to  write  about,  is  such,  that 
neither  the  duty  of  my  place,  nor  the  honour  I 
have  for  your  lordship,  will  suffer  me  to  be 
silent  in  it." 

(Here  follows  the  particular  case.) 

**  I  would  gladly  believe  that  the  stories  that 
are  told  about  this  affair,  are  not  true ;  good  my 
Lord,  be  pleased  to  consider  your  own  honour;  to 
consider  the  trust  that  is  reposed  in  you  as  apati^ony 
to  consider  the  honour  of  God  and  religion.  All 
which  cannot  but  suffer  by  your  permission  of 
ecclesiastical  benefices  to  be  thus  prostituted. 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  199 

I  have  no  design  in  the  world  in  this  represen- 
tation I  make  to  your  lordship,  but  what  I  am 
sure,  if  you  knew  my  heart,  you  would  not  only 
approve  of,  but  thank  me  for,  viz.  the  doing 
some  part  of  my  duty  to  God,  and  paying  all 
the  respects  and  service  I  am  capable  of  to  your 
lordship. 

"  And  therefore  I  will  not  doubt  of  your 
goodness  in  putting  a  kind  construction  upon  my 
action. 

*'  I  heartily  pray  God  to  bless  your  lordship 
and  your  noble  family.     I  am,  my  Lord,   with 
great  sincerity, 
**  Your  lordship's  most  faithful  humble  servant, 

"  Jo.  Ebor." 

In  another  case,  when  a  certain  lady  offered 
him  the  nomination  of  the  person  whom  she 
should  present  to  a  living  in  her  gift,  in  the  dio- 
cese of  Chester,  and  he  had  given  her  ladyship 
the  choice  or  option  of  two  men  that  he  could 
answer  for,  hearing  something  that  led  him  into 
suspicion  that  some  dishonourable  terms  were  de- 
signed to  be  proposed  to  the  clerk  at  his  taking 
the  presentation,  he  took  care  in  time  to  put  in 

this  caution  in  a  letter  to  her *'  But 

Madam,  I  must  beg  leave  to  represent  to  you, 

that  if  it  be  expected  that  the  person that 

is  to  be  presented  by  your  ladyship,    should 


200  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

enter  into  any  promise  or  engagement  of  any 
kind  relating  to  the  rights  and  profits  of  the 
parsonage,  I  must  humbly  desire  to  be  excused 
from  recommending  any  one,  though  yet  I  will 
answer  for  either  of  those  persons  I  have  named 
that  all  that  I  shall  propose  to  them  as  Jit,  or 
equitable,  or  decent,  shall  be  performed  by  them, 
though  luithout  any  'promise.''' 

In  a  third  case,  he  refused  to  give  institution, 
because  he  had  reason  to  suspect  that  there  was 
a  Simonical  contract  for  the  obtaining  the  pre- 
sentation. But  he  withal  declared,  that  if  the 
patron  would  give  it  under  his  hand  that  he  had 
made  no  sort  of  bargain  or  contract  with  the 
clerk  or  his  father ;  or  that,  if  any  such  was 
made,  he  did  release  them  from  it,  upon  these 
terms  he  would  grant  institution.  When  the 
twenty-eight  days  from  the  tender  of  the  pre- 
sentation were  expired,  the  clerk,  attended  by 
a  public  notary,  demanded  institution,  or  rea- 
sons why  it  was  refused.  They  were  given  as 
before,  with  a  further  exception  against  the  pre- 
sentation; upon  which  the  Archbishop  was 
served  with  an  order  to  answer  to  a  bill  in 
Chancery  that  was  filed  against  him.  To  which 
he  caused  his  appearance  to  be  made.  But  the 
matter  came  not  to  an  issue  there,  for  the  pa- 
tron did  soon  after,  under  his  own  hand,  declare 
with  great  solemnity,  that  he  had  made  no  bar- 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  201 

gain  or  contract  in  the  granting  that  presenta- 
tion, and  institution  was  given  thereupon. 

In  point  of  residence,  he  was  as  strict  with 
his  Clergy  as  the  circumstances  of  their  bene- 
fices and  reasons  of  their  particular  cases  would 
bear.  And  he  had  so  great  a  dislike  to  plurali- 
ties of  livings  (unless  they  were  small  and  con- 
tiguous), in  which  case  there  seemed  some  neces- 
sity for  them  to  be  held  in  one  hand,  that  he  would 
threaten,  when  he  foresaw  they  were  aimed  at, 
to  oppose  the  dispensation  as  much  as  he  could. 
Neither  would  he,  for  the  same  reason,  make 
any  titular  chaplains,  in  order  to  qualify  them 
for  holding  more  benefices  than  one. 

To  a  gentleman  that  begged  that  favour  of 
him  for  a  friend,  he  answered  : — 

"  To  speak  the  truth  (says  he),  I  should  not 
be  easily  prevailed  upon  to  give  certificates, 
even  to  those  that  are  really  my  chaplains,  if  the 
design  thereof  be  in  order  to  their  holding  two 
livings.  You  know  how  odious  pluralities  are 
now  grown,  and  how  much  the  bishops  in  par- 
ticular have  been  blamed  upon  that  account, 
with  respect  to  their  chaplains.  So  that  I  think  it 
concerns  all  of  that  order  to  be  wonderfully 
tender  in  that  point.  I  must  confess,  I  once, 
upon  great  importunities,  granted  a  qualification 
to  an  old  friend  who  had  a  great  many  children, 
to  hold  two  contiguous  livings.     But  that  is  the 


202  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

only  time  I  broke  my  rule,  and  I  would  not  wil- 
lingly do  it  again." 

If  this  seem  too  great  a  strictness  and  disre- 
gard of  the  inferior  clergy  in  refusing  them  fa- 
vours, which  the  lay  lords  are  willing  to  bestow 
upon  them  as  far  as  they  have  opportunity;  let 
it  be  remembered,  that  in  all  other  respects, 
where  the  rules  and  constitutions  of  the  Church 
(which  he  understood  and  kept  to,  according  to 
their  true  meaning  and  first  intention)  did  not 
confine  him,  he  was  an  admirable  friend  to 
them,  and  not  only  promised,  but  gave  them  all 
the  encouragement  that  he  possibly  could.  And 
especially  to  those  who  were  constantly  resident  in 
their  cures,  and  industrious  in  the  business  of  their 
profession.  Such  men  as  these  always  were  enti- 
tled to  his  protection,  his  counsel,  and,  if  they 
needed  it,  his  purse  also.  Something  should  be 
said  in  justice  to  him  upon  each  of  these  arti- 
cles of  his  kindness  to  his  clergy. 

They  who  behaved  themselves  diligently  and 
exemplarily  in  their  calling,  might  depend  upon 
being  supported  by  him  against  any  opposition  or 
oppression  that  they  met  ivith,  as  far  as  either  his 
authority  or  his  interest  would  go.  If  he  heard 
of  their  being  ill-treated,  or  discouraged,  or  of 
endeavours  used  to  prejudice  their  people  against 
them,  by  disparagi?ig  them  or  their  performances, 
he  would,  after  due  enquiry  into  the  truth  of 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  203 

the  complaint,  write  himself  to  those  who  were 
blameable  in  this  respect,  and  represent  to 
them  "  how  bad  a  thing  it  was  to  take  such 
methods  of  defeating  the  benefit  of  a  minister's 
labours,  as  being  the  most  effectual  course  that 
could  be  taken  to  render  them  insignificant.  That 
the  honour  of  God  and  religion,  and  the  good  of 
the  people  did  demand  of  them,  and  he  did  beg 
of  them  to  do  so  no  more.  That,  for  his  own 
part,  he  was  so  well  satisfied  of  his  Clergy's 
serious  endeavours  to  do  good,  that,  as  far  as 
his  authority  went,  he  would  stand  by  them  and 
vindicate  them."  He  would  apply  himself  also 
to  the  principal  gentlemen  of  any  parish  where  he 
thought  the  minister  stood  in  need  of  their 
countenance  and  encouragement,  to  shew  him 
their  favour,  and  to  give  him  their  assistance  in 
the  discharge  of  his  duty.  And  to  use  their 
interest  in  protecting  him  from  all  unjust  or 
unreasonable  attacks  upon  his  character,  which 
might  make  his  ministry  ineffectual.  And  if  by 
these  means  he  could  not  procure  that  ease  and 
quiet  to  an  industrious  clergyman,  that  he 
thought  he  deserved,  he  would  endeavour  to 
make  him  amends  by  a  removal  (which  should 
likewise  be  an  advancement),  when  a  proper 
opportunity  offered. 

The  relief  which  he  gave  his  Clergy  out  of 
his  pocket,  when  there  was  occasion,  will  more 


204  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

properly  fall  under  another  head,  in  the  latter 
part  of  this  work,  than  in  this  place ;  but  the 
advantage  which  they  reaped  from  his  advice, 
to  which  they  had  free  recourse  in  all  their  diffi- 
culties, is  fittest  to  be  mentioned  here. 

Whenever  he  was  consulted  about  their  parochial 
concerns,  he  immediately  answered  their  queries,  and 
clearly  and  positively  determined  them.  In  all  his 
letters  of  this  kind,  which  are  left,  there  is  but 
one  in  which  he  is  something  doubtful  what  to 
resolve ;  but  even  there  he  leaves  no  doubt  or 
difficulty  upon  the  clergyman  who  consulted 
him,  by  permitting,  or  rather  advising  him  to 
follow  his  own  first  determination.  The  case 
not  being  very  common,  about  the  marriage  of 
a  person  with  a  quaker,  according  to  the  usage 
of  the  Church,  the  letter  itself  will  not  be  dis- 
agreeable. 

"  November  30,  1700. 

''  Sir, 
"  The  case  which  you  propose  hath  some 
difficulty  in  it,  since  our  present  canons  say  no- 
thing about  it.  The  old  canons,  indeed,  are  ex- 
press against  any  person  being  married,  who  was 
not  first  baptized.  But  then  in  those  times  mar- 
riage was  accounted  a  sacrament,  and  baptism 
was  janua  sacramentorum.  On  the  other  side, 
though  marriage  be  no  sacrament,  but  all  men 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  205 

and  women  have  a  natural  right  to  it,  yet  whe- 
ther any  who  are  not  initiated  in  Christianity, 
ought  to  have  the  solemn  benediction  of  the 
Church  (as  it  is  upon  that  account  that  the 
Clergy  have  any  thing  to  do  with  marriage),  is 
a  thing  fit  to  be  considered.  Add  to  this,  that 
there  is  something  in  the  Church  office  which 
supposeth  that  both  the  married  persons  are 
baptized.  For,  according  to  the  rubric,  it  is 
"  convenient  that  they  receive  the  holy  commu- 
nion together  at  the  first  opportunity  that  pre- 
sents itself."  And  therefore  they  must  be  in  a 
condition  of  receiving  it,  which  unbaptized  per- 
sons are  not. 

*'  Pray  ask  yourself  what  you  would  do  in 
case  a  person  excominunicated  should  desire  you 
to  marry  him.  Methinks  the  case  is  much  the 
same. 

'*  I  do  think,  upon  the  whole,  it  is  not  advisa- 
ble to  depart  from  your  first  resolution,  unless 
the  party  will  be  first  baptized,  which  I  am  not 
against  your  doing  as  privately  as  may  be. 

**  I  am.  Sir,  &c. 
**  Jo.  Ebor." 

Another  thing  for  which  the  Clergy  might 
certainly  depend  upon  him,  as  often  as  they 
stood  in  need  of  it,  was  the  support  and  assist- 
ance  of  his   episcopal    authority,   in  restraining 


20G  LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

licentiousness,  preserving  order  and  discipline, 
and  enforcing  the  ecclesiastical  laws  of  the 
realm.  Such  complaints  as  were  made  to  him- 
self, he  took  care  himself  to  see  redressed,  if 
they  came  within  the  cognizance  of  his  courts ; 
and  would  frequently  confer  with  his  officers 
(and  he  was  provided  tvith  an  able  set  of  men), 
about  the  fittest  methods  of  executing  the 
powers  the  laws  had  invested  them  with.  This 
he  seldom  failed  to  do,  in  all  those  causes  de- 
pending in  his  courts  where  any  of  his  Clergy 
or  the  rights  of  their  churches  were  concerned ; 
or  where  the  reformation  of  delinquents  by  ecclesias- 
tical censures  was  aimed  at.  And  as  he  guarded 
on  the  one  hand  against  the  neglects  of  inferior 
officers,  and  was  vigilant  in  seeing  those  powers 
exerted  which  the  laws  had  lodged  with  him  ; 
so  he  was  very  careful,  on  the  other  hand,  not 
to  abuse  them,  by  giving  needless  trouble  and 
distress,  either  to  clergy  or  laity,  when  no  other 
end  could  be  answered  by  it,  than  shewing  his 
power  and  authority  over  them.  He  rightly 
distinguished  discipline  from  persecution.  And  as 
the  latter  is  never  allmuable,  so  neither  did  he 
think  the  former  seasonable,  but  in  such  cases 
where  the  mild  and  gentle  methods  of  persua- 
sion proved  ineffectual.  He  wished  the  Clergy 
to  try,  first  all  the  softer  means  of  reforming  delin- 
quents in  their  several  parishes.      And  then,  if 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  207 

they  stood  further  in  need  of  the  aid  of  their 
ordinary,  he  was  ready  to  aiFord  them  all  the 
assistance  that  the  laws  enabled  him  to  give 
them.  One  letter  of  this  sort,  wrote  to  a  cler- 
gyman in  his  diocese,  will  shew  sufficiently  his 
temper  and  judgment  in  this  matter. 

"  May  21,  1698. 

'*  Sir, 

**  I  have  been  informed  that  several  of 
your  parishioners,  even  a  considerable  number 
of  them,  are  exceed'mgly  negligent  of  the  worship 
of  God  on  the  Lord's  day ;  neither  attending 
prayers  nor  sermon,  nor  any  other  ordinances  of 
religion.  I  did  think  at  first  they  might  be  dis- 
senters against  whom  these  complaints  were 
made ;  who,  though  they  did  not  appear  at 
church,  yet  served  God  in  private  meetings. 
But  I  am  told  the  matter  is  otherwise,  and  that 
they  do  72ot  serve  God  at  all. 

"  If  this  be  true,  I  am  sorry  for  it,  and  I  am 
sure  it  concerns  both  you  and  me  to  do  what 
we  can  to  have  it  amended.  I  beseech  you, 
therefore,  Sir,  that  you  will  take  some  pains 
with  these  people,  that  they  may  be  brought  to 
some  sense  of  their  duty  ;  and  do  not  content 
yourself  with  general  preaching  against  irreli- 
gion  and  profaneness,  and  neglect  of  God's  wor- 
ship ;   which  they  will  be  little  better  for,   since 


208  LIFE   OF   ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

they  do  not  come  to  hear  you:  but  be  pleased 
to  go  to  them,  and  talk  to  them,  man  by  man, 
and  try  what  you  can  do  towards  the  awaken- 
ing them  out  of  their  state  of  dozedness  and  insen- 
sibility of  their  greatest  concernments.  Endea- 
vour to  convince  them  of  the  absolute  necessity 
there  is  of  owning  God  and  his  religion,  by  join- 
ing in  the  public  worship  on  the  Lord's  day,  and 
receiving  the  holy  sacrament  at  due  times,  if 
they  either  would  have  God's  blessing  upon  them 
and  their  labours,  and  their  families  in  this  world, 
or  would  not  perish  everlastingly  in  the  next. 

"  I  would  hope  your  good  discourses  and 
persuasions  will  have  effect  upon  them,  and  you 
may  gain  several  of  them  to  a  more  lively  sense 
of  religion  than  they  have  yet  had.  And  I 
must  confess  I  like  these  gentle  methods  a  great 
deal  better  than  force.  But  if,  after  all  your 
endeavours,  there  be  any  that  are  resolved  to 
continue  heathens,  'and  absolutely  refuse  coming 
to  Church,  I  must  desire  you  to  signify  their 
names  to  me,  at  least  of  the  chief  of  them,  that 
other  methods  may  be  tried  with  them,  such  as 
the  law  has  provided  for  the  reformation  of 
offenders  of  this  nature. 

**  With  my  hearty  wishes  of  the  blessing  of 
God  upon  all  your  good  endeavours,  I  rest, 

'*  Your  affectionate  friend  and  brother, 

"  Jo.  Ebor." 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  209 

When  delinquents  were  proceeded  against 
in  his  Court,  he  would  use  all  kind  endeavours 
to  have  them  brought  to  a  due  sense  of  their 
fault,  and  a  ready  submission  to  the  authority 
and  sentence  of  the  ecclesiastical  court,  before 
excommunication  was  denounced  against  them. 
And  he  would  not  only  put  the  Clergy  upon 
trying  to  convince  them  both  of  their  sin,  and 
of  the  dangerous  consequence  of  their  being 
cut  off  from  cominiinion  with  the  Church,  but  he 
would  prevail  with  his  officers  to  respite  proceed- 
ings till  such  trial  tvas  made.  And  his  fatherly 
concern  and  compassion  for  such  offenders  was 
not  confined  within  the  limits  of  his  diocese, 
but  was  extended  into  other  parts  of  his  pro- 
vince. An  instance  of  which,  (that  will  serve  to 
shew  at  once  the  greatness  and  extent  of  his 
tenderness  on  such  occasions,)  we  have,  in  a 
letter  that  he  wrote  to  the  Commissary  of  Rich- 
mond, in  the  diocese  of  Chester,  concerning  a 
person  under  sentence  of  excommunication  for 
marrying  his  deceased  wife's  sister,  and  refusing 
to  obey  the  admonition  of  the  ecclesiastical 
judge,  by  separating  from  her. 

"  I  know,"  says  he,  ''  Mr.  Commissary,  you 
have  done  nothing  in  this  affair,  but  what  you 
ought  to  do ;  nor  have  the  Bishop  of  Chester  or 
I  any  power  to  stop  your  proceedings,  if  we 
had  a  mind  to  it,  which  I  dare  say  neither  of  us 


210  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

are  inclined  to ;  for  it  is  certain,  this  man  and 
his  pretended  wife  must  be  separated.  But  yet 
I  could  wish  that  all  the  tenderness  might  be 
used  towards  this  poor  man,  that  the  circum- 
stances of  the  thing  will  admit  of;  my  meaning 
is,  that  you  would  give  him  and  his  wife  some 
time  to  think  of  this  fault  of  theirs,  and  to  re- 
ceive convictions  of  the  unlawfulness  or  nullity 
of  this  their  marriage.  And  therefore,  if  they 
be  not  already  under  the  sentence  of  excommu- 
nication, I  could  wish  you  would  defer  it  till 
another  term  ;  or,  if  they  be  under  that  sentence 
already,  that  you  would  order  the  curate  not  to 
publish  it  till  further  orders  ;  or,  if  it  be  already 
published,  that  you  would  not  immediately  take 
out  the  writ  de  Ea:com.  Capiendo,  but  give  him  time 
till  all  the  means  have  been  made  use  of  to  per- 
suade him  and  his  sister  to  obey  the  law  in  this 
matter.  If  you  think  this  reasonable,  then  I 
would  further  beg  of  you  to  send  some  one  of  the 
clergymen  about  you,  such  an  one  as  has  reputa- 
tion, and  understands  these  matters,  to  discourse 
both  with  the  man  and  woman  about  the  unlaw- 
fulness of  this  marriage,  and  to  dispose  them,, 
by  a  representation  of  the  sin  they  live  in,  to 
do  that  voluntarily  which  must  otherwise  una- 
voidably come  upon  them,  to  their  greater  hurt 
and  damage ;  I  mean,  total  separation,  I  think 
all  this  would  be  charitable,  and  I  hope  it  is 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  211 

consistent  with  the  ecclesiastical  laws.  And  I 
believe  it  will  do  you  no  injury,  but  tend  to 
your  reputation/'  &c. 

*' December  20,  1705." 

Upon  the  receipt  of  this,  the  proceedings 
were  respited  accordingly. 

Again,  when  the  sentence  of  excommunica- 
tion was  actually  denounced  and  published 
against  another  person,  who  afterwards,  in  a 
fit  of  sickness,  was  penitent,  and  desired  the 
sacrament ;  he  empowered  the  minister  of  the 
place  to  absolve  him  ivithout  the  formal  absolu- 
tion under  the  court  sealy  by  virtue  of  the  fol- 
lowing letter. 

"  Bishopthorpf  April  22,  1704. 

*'  I  have  received  and  perused  your  letter, 
and  am  so  well  satisfied  with  the  account  you 

give  of  Mr ,  his  repentance,  that  I  would 

have  you,  or,  if  you  think  that  word  is  too 
/  little,  I  do  empower  you  to  give  him  the  sacra- 
ment, notwithstanding  his  excommunication  ; 
provided  that,  in  the  presence  of  some  witness 
or  witnesses,  he  do  particularly  declare  his  sor- 
row for  that  fact,  for  which  he  hath  incurred 
the  censure  of  excommunication;  and  withal 
do  promise,  that  if  it  please  God  that  he  recover 
of  this  sickness,  he  will  give  such  satisfaction 

p  2 


212  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

1 

to  the  Church  as  the  ecclesiastical  court  shall 
appoint.  Upon  these  terms  you  may  give  him 
the  sacrament,  and  he  may  have  Christian 
burial.  I  pray  you  to  certify  me  of  what  you 
do  in  this  matter.  As  for  a  formal  absolution, 
under  the  seal  of  the  Court,  I  shall  send  that, 
if  there  be  need  of  it,  when  I  have  talked  with 
my  chancellor,  who  at  this  time  is  from  home. 

I  wish  Mr happiness  both  in  life  and 

death. 

"  I  am,  Sir,  your  affectionate  friend, 

*'  Jo.  Ebor." 

Commutations  for  penatices  were  things  which 
he  did  not  approve  of  in  the  general,  and  yet  in 
some  few  and  particular  cases  he  thought  them 
not  only  allowable,  but  expedient,  viz.  where 
the  interests  of  religion  were  as  well  served  by 
the  commutation  as  by  the  personal  penance ; 
and  where  the  application  of  it  was  made  some 
way  to  the  benefit  and  service  of  that  church 
where  the  penance  should  have  been  performed, 
and  where  the  minister  of  such  church  was  con- 
senting and  advising  to  it.  For  which  reason, 
he  thought  the  Clergy  themselves,  who  gene- 
rally ivere  the  best  judges  of  the  expediency  of 
commutations,  should  be  consulted  on  those 
occasions.  Here  follows  one  of  his  letters  to  a 
minister  of  his  diocese  upon  this  subject. 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  213 

^^  December  19,  1704. 
''  Sir, 

"  I  understand  there  is  one  Mrs , 

of ,  presented  in  our  court  at  York,  for 

having  had  a  bastard  child  ;  and,  as  I  am  told, 
the  sentence  of  excommunication  is  decreed 
against  her  for  that  fact.  So  that  she  must 
either  speedily  perform  the  penance  enjoined 
her,  or  commute  for  it,  or  else  there  will  be  a 
sig7iijicavit.  I  was,  I  believe,  applied  to  while  I 
was  in  Yorkshire,  to  grant  a  commutation  of  her 
penance.  But  I  would  do  nothing  in  it,  nor 
will  I  do  now,  without  advising  with  you.  You 
know  the  state  of  the  case  best,  and  can  best 
resolve,  whether  the  doing  penance  in  person, 
or  by  money  to  be  applied  to  the  use  of  religion 
in  your  town,  will  be  most  serviceable  to  the 
public  good.  If  you  like  this  latter  way  better, 
viz.  of  commuting,  then  I  would  desire  you  to 
send  me  word  what  sum  you  think  (considering 
the  person's  circumstances)  may  be  insisted 
upon  for  a  commutation.  And  likewise  to 
what  uses  you  would  have  it  applied.  For 
I  would  have  it  entirely  applied  to  the  use  of  the 
Church,  and  as  notoriously  as  this  her  oiFence 
to  it  hath  been.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  you  are 
of  opinion  that  this  fault  of  her's  ought  not  to 
be  commuted  for,  but  that  it  is  for  the  interest 
of    religion    thai   she   should    do    a    personal 


214  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

penance,  I  pray  signify  it  to  me.  For  I  would  in 
all  cases,  as  far  as  is  in  my  power,  make  the 
public  good  the  rule  of  my  actions.  With  my 
hearty  wishes  of  all  good  to  you,  I  am, 

*'  Your  affectionate  friend  and  servant, 

"  Jo.  Ebor." 

Indeed,  Church  discipline  doth  not  deserve 
that  name  whenever  the  public  good  is  not  made 
the  rule  of  cvercising  it.  And  it  is  either  for  want 
of  a  steady  adherence  to  this  rule  in  those  who 
exercise  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction,  or  through 
an  unhappy  appearance  of  this  rule  being  forgotten 
in  the  manner  of  exercising  it,  that  so  many  com- 
plaints have  been  made  against  the  spiritual 
courts,  and  so  many  invidious  reflections  cast 
upon  them.  He  was  very  sensible,  both  of  the 
decay  of  discipline  in  general,  and  of  the  curbs 
put  upon  any  effectual  prosecutions  of  it  by  the  tem- 
poral courts^  and  of  the  difficulty  of  preserving 
and  keeping  up  what  little  was  left  entire  to  the 
ecclesiastics,  without  creating  offence  and  admi- 
nistering matter  for  aspersions  and  evil  surmises. 
So  far  as  it  was  in  his  power,  either  to  remedy 
or  obviate  any  complaints  'of  this  kind  in  his 
own  diocese,  he  did  it.  He  took  care  to  put 
his  own  courts  upon  such  a  footing  as  should 
leave  no  room  for  exceptions  against  them,  but 
such  as  might  be  made  against  their  just  rights 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP.  215 

and  legal  privileges,  which  it  was  neither  in  his 
power  to  abridge  them  of,  nor  in  his  inclination 
to  do  it  in  the  least  article.  He  made  enquiries 
of  all  his  ecclesiastical  officers,  and  of  their 
rules  of  practice  in  all  the  several  branches  of 
their  business ;  putting  interrogatories  concern- 
ing the  orders  and  customs  of  the  spiritual 
courts  to  the  several  judges,  advocates,  proc- 
tors, and  acting  registers  in  them ;  and  upon 
their  particular  and  distinct  answers  made,  he 
regulated  the  practice  of  the  courts,  and  de- 
clared and  enjoined  certain  rules  and  orders  to 
be  observed  by  all  the  rural  deans  and  surro- 
gates acting  by  any  authority  from  the  eccle- 
siastical judges ;  and  he  reformed,  at  the  same 
time,  the  table  of  fees  in  his  consistory. 

His  "  Articles  of  Enquiry ,'  at  the  visitation  of 
these  courts,  being  drawn  up  by  himself,  in 
1699,  (though  the  regulation  was  not  completed 
till  1705,  and  perhaps  with  good  judgment,)  are 
inserted  at  length  in  the  appendix*. 

He  endeavoured,  as  often  as  occasion  was 
given,  to  prevent  or  remove  the  restraints  that 
were  put  upon  church  discipline  by  the  tempo- 
ral courts,  and  to  clear  up  those  difficulties  ift 
the  exercise  of  it  which  were  occasioned  by  the 
statute  laws,  especially  the  act  of  toleration;   of 

*  App.  L  No.  V. 


216  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

which  instances  will  be  given  in  a  more  proper 
place;  though  one  may  not  be  improperly  men- 
tioned here,  to  shew  his  concern  to  maintain  all 
the  force  and  effect  that  the  laws  had  given  to 
ecclesiastical  censwes. 

He  had  observed,  that  the  benefit  designed 
by  the  legislature  in  the  writ  de  ejccommunicato 
capiendo  was  evaded  or  eluded,  by  the  frequent 
discharging  of  excommunicate  persons  out  of 
custody  by  writs  of  supersedeas  from  the  Chan- 
cery,  grounded  upon  errors  in  the  significavits 
of  the    excommunication   by  the  ecclesiastical 
judges ;    which  errors,  nevertheless,    the  said 
judges  did  not  know  how  to  amend.     And  let 
the  cause  be  what  it  would,  the  easiness  of  ob- 
taining  these  writs  of  supersedeas  was  so  well 
known  by  the  practising  attorneys  in  the  country y 
that  they  did  generally  encourage  all  sorts  of 
people  to  stand  out  in  defiance  of  the  Church 
censures.     He  wrote  to  the  Archbishop  of  Can- 
terbury upon  this  head  in  pressing  terms,  beg- 
ging his  advice  and  assistance,  as  in  a  matter 
that  deeply    afiected    the     whole    ecclesiastical 
jurisdiction    of  which   his   grace,   next  to   the 
king  (1698),  was  the  chief  patron.     He  sent 
him  a  full  account  of  the  case,  as  it  stood  in 
Yorkshire,  and  all  that  related  to  it,  hoping  that 
if  his  grace  would  represent  it  fully  to  the  Lord 
Chancellor,  his  lordship  would  give  such  direc- 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP.  217 

tions  in  it  as  that  his  courts  might  go  on  to 
enforce  the  ecclesiastical  censures  with  the  civil 
penalties,  without  fear  of  being  baffled  in  their 
proceedings. 

The  great  tenderness  that  he  himself  always 
shewed  to  particular  persons  under  the  sentence 
of  excommunication,  or  liable  to  incur  it  (of 
which  some  instances  have  been  already  given), 
may  acquit  him,  notwithstanding  his  zeal  in 
this  matter,  of  all  other  views  than  that  of  the 
public  good  ;  which  he  apprehended  must  una- 
voidably suffer  by  enervating  discipline  so  much 
in  that  only  article,  wherein,  by  the  aid  of  the 
temporal  laws,  it  carries  any  terror  in  the  eyes 
of  the  lawless. 

Schools  likewise,  and  schoolmasters,  who 
were  subject  to  his  visitation,  met  with  a  due 
share  of  his  consideration  and  care.  This  ap- 
peared as  often  as  he  undertook  the  examina- 
tion and  correction  of  such  rules  and  orders 
(or,  as  they  are  sometimes  called,  statutes),  as 
were  drawn  up  by  the  feoffees,  governors,  or 
other  managers,  of  the  trust  and  revenues  of 
schools  endowed.  He  observed,  that  these  rules 
were  commonly  drawn  too  strict,  and  consisted 
of  too  many,  and  some  of  them  quite  unneces- 
sary particulars. 

He  thought  the  fewer  and  plainer  they  were, 
they  stood  a  better  chance  of  being  kept  to, 


218  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP. 

and  doing  the  service  intended  by  them.  Some 
of  his  sentiments  concerning  the  material  points 
to  be  attended  to  in  the  regulation  of  schools 
are  as  follows,  being  extracted  from  his  letters 
wrote  on  the  said  occasions. 

I.  He  observed,  that  little  good  ever  came  of 
free  grammar  schools,  where  the  endowment  was 
mean.  If  they  turned  to  any  account,  it  was 
owing  to  a  number  of  foreign  scholars,  who,  not 
being  entitled  to  the  privilege,  paid  well  for 
their  learning.  In  all  these  foundations,  there- 
fore, the  first  thing  to  be  looked  at  was  the 
provision  of  a  sufficient  encouragement  for  the 
master,  who  ought  to  be  a  graduate  in  one  of 
our  universities.  And  if  the  salary  appointed 
by  the  founder  was  not  a  competent  and  proper 
subsistence  for  him,  it  ought  to  be  a  rule  that 
none  should  be  received  into  the  school,  but 
whose  parents  and  friends  should  pay  something 
towards  their  teaching;  provided  such  an  impo- 
sition upon  the  inhabitants  were  consistent  with 
the  letters  patent,  charter,  deed  of  endowment, 
or  other  act  or  instrument  whatsoever,  whereby 
the  school  was  founded.  For  his  own  part,  he 
did  not  see  why  this,  generally  speaking,  might 
not  be  so,  but  the  lawyers  being  the  best  judges 
of  that,  he  left  it  to  their  determination. 

II.  Where  it  could  be  done,  he  judged  three- 
pence a  week,  or  three  shillings  and  six- pence 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  219 

the  quarter,  was  as  little  as  ought  to  be  paid. 
Nor  should  more  than  that  be  paid  by  any  that 
are  free  of  the  school,  when  they  came  to  learn 
Greek.  His  reason  was,  because  a  greater  price 
would  be  a  temptation  to  the  master  to  put  his 
scholars  into  Greek  before  they  were  fit  for  it. 
But  some  of  the  poorest  people  might  be  ex- 
empted from  this  payment,  and  have  their  chil- 
dren taught  gratis,  though  not  above  such  a 
Jia^ed  number,  and  those  put  in  from  time  to 
time  by  the  governors,  &c. 

III.  It  ought  to  be  likewise  a  rule,  that  none 
should  be  received  into  a  free  grammar  school,  but 
such  as  could  read  English  perfectly,  and  were 
fit  to  go  into  their  accidence.  But,  in  case  the 
master  were  obliged  by  the  charter  or  endow- 
ment to  receive  scholars,  to  be  taught  reading, 
that  it  were  fitting  that  an  imposition  were  laid 
upon  the  inhabitants,  if  that  could  be  legally 
done,  to  contribute,  as  before-mentioned,  to- 
wards the  master's  better  maintenance.  The 
reason  is,  because  he  must  take  as  much,  if  not 
more,  pains,  and  spend  more  time  upon  these 
readers,  than  upon  those  that  learn  grammar. 

IV.  He  was  of  opinion,  it  were  better  the 
school  hours  should  be  the  same  both  in  summer 
and  winter,  than  differently  appointed.  That 
eight  hours  would  sufficiently  exercise  both 
teacher  and  learner ;  that  inconveniences  follow 


220  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP. 

from  beginning  so  early  as  six  o'clock  in  the 
morning  (unless  an  hour  be  allowed  between 
six  and  eleven,  for  breakfast  and  relaxation), 
and  especially  to  those  that  live  at  a  distance 
from  the  school. 

V.  Morning  and  evening  prayers  in  schools 
he  much  approved  of,  provided  the  offices  were 
very  short,  viz.  two  or  three  collects  out  of  the 
Liturgy,  with  a  short  prayer  in  the  morning  for 
God's  blessing  upon  their  endeavours  (as  that, 
for  instance^  in  the  beginning  of  the  common 
grammar).  And,  in  the  evening,  the  general 
thanksgiving;  each  office  to  be  concluded  with 
the  Lord's  prayer,  and  a  blessing,  viz.  in  the 
morning,  2  Cor.  xiii.  14 ;  and  in  the  evening. 
Numb.  vi.  24,  as  it  is  applied  in  the  end  of  the 
office  of  commination.  If  any  thing  more  was 
at  any  time  proper  to  be  done,  it  was  using  the 
Litany  and  reading  one  select  lesson  out  of  the 
New  Testament  (as  the  5th,  6th,  and  7th  of  St. 
Matthew),  to  be  chosen  by  the  master,  at  the 
close  of  the  week,  or  Saturday  noon,  when  the 
master  catechised. 

VL  The  sweating  of  masters  to  the  observance 
of  particular  rules  and  orders,  he  ivas  absolutely 
against ;  this  he  judged  would  serve  to  no  great 
end,  unless  it  were  to  raise  scruples  and  per- 
plexities every  day  in  the  mind  of  the  master, 
if  he  were  of  a  tender  conscience.     On  the 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP.  221 

other  hand,  if  he  made  little  conscience  of  his 
actions,  he  might  break  his  oath  very  often. 
Therefore,  he  would  have  the  master's  oath  (if 
any  were  to  be  administered)  put  into  very 
general  terms,  as  that  he  would  be  faithful 
and  careful  to  and  for  the  good  of  the  said 
school,  in  all  things  appertaining  to  his  office 
and  charge,  according  to  the  trust  reposed  in 
him. 

These  were  the  principal  rules  by  which  he 
amended,  as  there  was  occasion,  the  orders  or 
statutes  that  were  sent  to  him  for  his  approba- 
tion and  confirmation.  And  in  the  choice  and 
appointment  of  schoolmasters,  so  far  as  he  had 
any  concern,  he  was  very  inquisitive  and  wary, 
knowing  the  qualifications  for  that  business  were 
sometimes  mistaken,  and  interest  and  friendship 
too  often  prevalent ;  he  thought  that  the  capacity 
of  an  useful  schoolmaster  lay  ^?7wrd  in  his  temper, 
than  in  his  parts,  more  in  his  taste,  than  in  his 
learning,  and  most  of  all  in  his  virtue  and  sobriety. 
That  favour  and  friendships  should  always  be 
postponed  to  these  material  considerations. 
The  answer  that  he  gave  once  to  a  person 
that  desired  his  recommendation  to  a  school, 
was  in  these  frank  words : — **  It  is  not  out  of 
any  mean  opinion  of  your  abilities,  that  I  am 
averse  to  doing  that  which  you  desire  of  me. 
So  far  from  that,  I  really  take  you  to  be  a  per- 


222  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

son  of  extraordinary  wit  and  parts,  and  I  believe 
of  very  good  learning,  and  I  know  you  to  be  a 
singular  good  preacher;  but  I  cannot  satisfy 
myself  that  you  will  make  a  good  schoolmaster, 

especially  at  such  a  school  as  that  at 

If  I  am  worthy  to  advise  you,  it  should  be  the 
last  employment  you  should  take.  For  this  reason, 
I  have  no  mind  to  contribute  any  thing,  either 
directly  or  indirectly,  to  the  carrying  on  that 
project.  I  must  also  own  ingenuously  to  you, 
that  I  do  make  a  little  scruple  of  certifying  for 
your  sobriety,  because  I  have  heard  some  stories 
that  are  not  to  your  advantage  that  way.  I  hope 
they  may  be  false ;  but,  however,  they  would 
prevent  at  present  my  complying  with  your 
request,  though  I  had  no  other  reasons  for 
declining  to  recommend  you." 

He  was,  indeed,  upon  all  other  occasions, 
very  delicate  and  conscientious  in  ,the  matter  of 
testimonials. 

And  now,  to  pass  over  all  his  other  episcopal 
acts  of  lesser  moment,  it  may  be  time  to  give 
some  account  of  a  more  material  instance  of  the 
exercise  of  his  authority,  viz.  in  the  visitation 
and  reformation  of  the  collegiate  church  of  South- 
well. And  the  rather,  because  he  has  not  been 
a  little  censured  since  his  death  by  some  of  the 
vicars  choral  of  that  church,  who  have  fancied 
themselves  injured  and  aggrieved,  or  prejudiced 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  223 

in  their  legal  rights,  by  the  injunctions  he  gave 
on  that  occasion. 

To  understand  the  ground  of  their  complaints, 
and  the  foundation  and  extent  of  the  power  he 
used  in  making  the  regulations  which  he  did, 
some  previous  account  ought  to  be  given  of  the 
old  constitution  of  that  church  before  its  disso- 
lution, and  of  the  alterations  made  therein  at 
its  refoundation  by  Henry  VIII. 

Saint  Mary,  the  Virgin,  of  Southwell,  is  sup- 
posed to  have  been  founded  by  one  of  the  first 
Archbishops  of  York,  who  accordingly  have 
always  been  patrons  of  the  church,  as  well  as 
the  lords  of  the  manor  there.  The  ancient  go- 
vernment of  it  was  by  a  certain  number  of  canons 
secular,  who  lived  in  common  together,  till  they 
were  converted  into  prebendaries. 

The  number  of  these  prebendaries,  taking  in 
those  of  later  foundation,  were,  at  the  time  of 
the  dissolution,  sixteen ;  with  their  sixteen 
vicars  choral,  and  thirteen  chantry  priests.  And 
the  whole  revenue  of  the  Church  was  divided 
into  five  parts. 

I.  The  commons,  appropriated  to  so  many  of 
the  prebendaries,  as  were  also  residentiaries. 

II.  The  corps  appropriated  to  the  prebendal 
stalls. 

III.  Estates  appropriated  to  the  vicars  choral, 
of  which  they  had  the  management ;  they  being  a 


ii 


224  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

corporation,  and  having  their  common  seal.    And 
a  college  with  a  common  hall,  where  they  lived. 

IV.  The  chantry  lands  appropriated  to  the 
chantry  priests  (who  had  also  a  common  house, 
where  they  lived),  besides  the  particular  endow- 
ments of  the  altars  where  they  served. 

V.  "Our  Lady's  lands;"  estates  so  called, 
being  appropriated  to  the  fabric. 

This  was  the  old  constitution.  But,  upon  the 
surrender  of  the  Church  and  all  its  lands  into 
the  hands  of  King  Henry  VIII.  he  refounded 
it,  and  made  it  one  body  corporate,  by  the  name 
of  the  "  Chapter  of  Southwell.'' 

So  that  all  the  vicar's  lands  and  chantry  lands 
(which  were  yet  in  the  Church)  were  laid  in 
common  with  the  chapter's  lands,  and  managed 
by  them.  It  is  true,  the  chantry  lands  and  rents 
were  afterwards  ^seized  by  King  Edward  VI. 
and  disposed  of  otherwise ;  but,  in  the  reign  of 
Queen  Mary,  the  chapter  recovered  them  all  by 
law* ;    forasmuch,   as  at    the  refoundation,  all 

*  Some  particular  rents  were  not  looked  after  as  they  ought 
to  have  been  at  that  time.  One,  for  instance,  of  20  marks  per 
annum,  charged  upon  Battersea  estate,  by  Archbishop  Booth, 
when  he  gave  it  to  the  see  for  maintaining  two  chantries,  which 
he  founded  in  Southwell,  was  given  by  King  Edward,  at  the 
dissolution  of  chantries,  to  the  school  at  Guildford,  and  never 
was  recovered  to  the  Church.  Archbishop  Sharp  was  sensible, 
that  if  every  one  had  their  right,  the  Chapter  of  Southwell 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  225 

these  chantry  rents  had  been  given  or  restored 
to  the  chapter. 

It  is  likewise  true,  that  the  vicars  choral  did 
not  thoroughly  acquiesce  in  this  new  settlement 
by  Henry  VIII.,  claiming  some  right  to  lease 
the  lands  formerly  appropriated  to  their  college 
in  their  ovi^n  names,  or  at  least  to  join  vt^ith  the 
chapter  in  doing  so,  and  of  enjoying  the  vicarage 
houses  as  their  freehold.  And  as  some  clauses  or 
expressions  in  the  act  of  foundation,  vv^hich  vs^as 
by  act  of  Parliament  in  the  35th  of  Henry  VIII. 
did  seem  to  favour  their  claims,  this  left  room 
for  some  dispute,  more  or  less,  between  the 
chapter  and  the  vicars  ;  and  that  dispute  occa- 
sioned some  variety  of  practice  in  letting  of 
leases  of  the  old  vicars'  lands ;  till  the  act  of 
foundation  was  furtlier  explained,  and  the  inten- 
tion of  it  ascertained  by  the  statutes  of  Queen 
Elizabeth,  whose  authority  to  grant  those  sta- 
tutes, and  by  them  finally  to  decide  any  dis- 
putes raised  upon  the  wording  or  design  of  the 
act  aforesaid,  being  founded  on  a  better  bottom 
than  the  bare  royal  prerogative  will  deserve  in  the 
next  place  to  be  considered. 

By  an  act,  31st  Henry  VIII.,    enabling  the 
king  to  make  statutes  for  his  new  foundations, 

ought  to  have  this  pension ;  but  found  no  means  of  getting  it 
restored  to  them,  it  having  been  so  long  appropriated  to  ano- 
ther use. 


226  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

it  is  declared,  that  what  he  shall  ordain  by 
writing,  under  his  great  seal,  shall  be  of  as 
good  strength,  force,  value,  and  effect,  to  all 
intents  and  purposes,  as  if  it  had  been  done  by 
authority  of  Parliament. 

But,  as  the  statutes  which  were  prepared  in 
pursuance  of  these  powers,  ivere  not  executed  and 
delivered  in  due  form,  and  thought  invalid  through 
that  error  and  defect,  the  same  powers  were 
renewed  and  given  to  Queen  Mary  (1st  Marias, 
c.  9.),  that  she  might  make  good  the  deficiency ; 
but,  she  making  no  further  use  of  these  powers, 
than  by  setting  forth  the  statutes  of  Durham 
church,  the  same  were  a  second  time  renewed 
and  given  to  Queen  Elizabeth,  in  the  first  year 
also  of  her  reign.  How  it  happened,  that  she 
did  so  little  towards  establishing  and  rendering 
effectual  the  king's  statutes,  or  else  providing 
new  ones  m  their  room,  is  not  material  to  en- 
quire here ;  (some  account  of  it  will  be  found 
in  Bishop  Gibson's  Codex,  p.  206,  and  Strype's 
Life  of  Parker,  p.  342.)  It  is  enough  to  the  pre- 
sent purpose,  that  she  did,  in  pursuance  and  by 
virtue  of  these  powers,  granted  her  by  Parlia- 
ment, give  commission  to  Archbishop  Sandys, 
with  other  ecclesiastical  commissioners  for  the 
diocese  of  York,  to  draw  up  statutes  for  South- 
well, which  she  gave  in  the  twenty-seventh  year 
of  her  reign,  under  the  broad  seal,  and  in  due 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  227 

form,  referring,  for  her  authority,  to  the  afore- 
said act  in  the  first  year  of  her  reign ;  ju:cta 
quendam  Actum  Parliamenti  anno  i20stri  7'egm 
prirno. 

Now,  by  these  statutes,  all  the  lands  and 
possessions  belonging  to  the  Church  were  vested 
in  the  chapter,  and  leases  were  to  be  granted 
onli/  by  a  certain  number  of  prebendaries.  The 
number  of  vicars  choral  was  reduced  from  sixteen 
to  six,  and  the  ancient  pensions  payable  by  the 
prebendaries,  quasi  vicarii  ante  hac  vel  habuerunt 
vel  vindicaverunt ,  were  restored  to  the  vicars, 
yet  not  so  fully,  but  that  the  Archbishop  of 
York  for  the  time  being  might  diminish  them 
at  discretion.  By  these  statutes,  likewise,  the 
vicars'  houses  in  their  college  were  allotted  to 
them  at  the  sole  discretion  of  the  archbishops* ; 
or  they  were  permitted  to  enjoy  them  only  so 
long  as  the  Archbishop  did  not  appropriate 
them  to  other  uses. 

To  these  statutes,  as  decisive  in  all  the  points 
that  had  been  before  disputed,  submission  was 
paid,  and  the  Church  was  afterwards  wholly 
governed  by  them,  at  least  in  all  matters  per- 
taining to  the  right  and  property  of  the  several 

*  Habeant  vero  dicti  vicarii  sibi  cantoribus  et  choristis  do- 
mos  ad  eosdem  vicarios  retroactis  temporibus  pertinentes  nisi 
dictus  Archieplscopus  quern  visitatorem  ecclesiae  constituiraus 
aliter  ordinaverit.  Stat.  Eccl.  Southwell,  c.  2.  De  Vicariis,  &c. 

(i2 


228  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP. 

members.  But,  as  to  the  matters  of  discipline, 
the  same  care  was  not  taken.  And  especially 
from  the  time  of  the  great  rebellion,  a  visible 
desuetude  or  neglect  appeared  of  that  order 
and  regularity  and  decent  observances  which 
the  statutes  directed  ;  though,  at  the  same  time, 
there  were  several  worthy  men  members  of  that 
body,  who  wanted  not  inclination  to  have  set 
every  thing  on  its  right  bottom.  How  it  came 
to  pass  that  nothing  was  done,  is  of  no  conse- 
quence to  enquire  now.  In  this  declining  and 
disorderly  state,  Archbishop  Sharp  found  this 
church  when  he  came  to  the  see ;  and  to  apply 
some  remedy  was  one  of  the  first  things  he  took 
in  hand  upon  his  coming  down  into  his  diocese. 
In  the  spring  of  1693,  (May  8,)  he  came  to 
Southwell,  staying  there  three  nights,  and  vi- 
sited the  chapter  in  form ;  and,  in  pursuance  of 
that  visitation,  gave  injimctions,  as  empowered 
by  the  statutes,  concerning  residence,  prebendal 
houses,  college  of  vicars  choral,  registry  and 
grammar  school,  &c.  By  which  the  whole  body 
was  put  under  as  good  a  regulation,  as  most 
ecclesiastical  bodies  in  this  kingdom.  And  al- 
though application  was  made  to  his  successor. 
Archbishop  Dawes,  for  a  relaxation  of  some 
particulars  relating  to  the  vicarage-houses,  and 
a  petition  lodged  with  Archbishop  Blackbourn 
for  a  redress  of  what  some  of  the  vicars  looked 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  229 

upon  as  grievances  or  illegal  restraints  upon 
them,  yet  both  these  prelates  have  esteemed, 
his  regulations  so  proper,  and  his  injunctions 
so  wise,  as  to  offer  at  no  amendments  or  altera- 
tions in  them.  Nor  will  the  service  he  did 
that  church  be  easily  forgot,  so  long  as  his 
injunctions  remain  upon  the  register  of  the 
chapter. 

As  to  the  suggestions  of  those  vicars  who 
complained  that  he  had  exceeded  the  limits  of 
his  power,  they  are  groundless,  because  he  as- 
sumed and  exercised  none  but  what  were  ex- 
pressly invested  in  him  by  the  statutes.  And 
the  infringement  upon  their  ancient  rights  and 
privileges,  if  ever  there  were  any  made,  was 
made  by  Archbishop  Sandys,  in  giving  his  suc- 
cessors the  liberty,  by  statute,  of  taking  what 
order  they  pleased  during  their  own  lives,  con- 
cerning the  pensions  and  houses  of  the  vicars. 
Nor  is  it  easy  to  account  how  Archbishop  Sandys 
should  have  taken  this  authority  upon  himself,  j 

otherwise  than  that  he  knew  himself  to  be 
sufficiently  warranted  in  what  he  did  by  Queen 
Elizabeth's  commission  to  him,  authorized  by 
Parliament ;  and  which  was  granted  to  him 
with  more  ample  powers  than  had  been  ever 
exercised  before  (except  in  the  church  of  Dur- 
ham by  Queen  Mary's  commissioners,  who  had 
the  same  parliamentary  sanction  to  their  acts^ 


230  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP. 

in  making  and  giving  statutes  to  the  cathedral 
and  collegiate  churches. 

Thus  much  seemed  necessary  to  say  to  vindi- 
cate him  from  some  aspersions  on  this  account, 
and  from  the  charge  of  oppression  or  arbitrary 
doings,  which  the  vicars,  by  carrying  their  com- 
plaints of  late  years  into  Westminster  Hall,  seemed 
to  throw  upon  him ;  though  it  was  some  justifi- 
cation of  him,  that  they  could  not  obtain  any 
hearing  of  their  complaint  there,  but  were  re- 
mitted to  their  proper  and  local  visitor,  who 
hath  not  hitherto  made  any  alteration,  upon  their 
remonstrance,  in  the  forementioned  injunctions 
given  by  Archbishop  Sharp. 

He  was,  in  other  respects,  no  ordinary  bene- 
factor to  this  church,  as  will  appear  from  the 
two  following  singular  instances. 

I.  King  Edward  VI.  had  settled  a  pension  m 
perpetwmi,  for  the  support  of  a  divinity  lecturer, 
or  afternoon  preacher  at  Southwell ;  which  pen- 
sion had  been  regularly  paid  till  the  year  1641, 
but  from  thenceforward  had  been  dropped.  It 
is  commonly  thought  difficult  enough  to  obtain 
the  revival  of  such  a  grant  as  this  (after  so  many 
years  intermission  of  payment),  and  the  esta- 
blishment of  it  for  the  future ;  how  much  more 
so  to  recover  arrears  ?  Yet  he  had  a  scheme 
that  he  thought  would  bear,  and  having  asked 
as  yet  no  favour  of  the  crown  (this  was  in  1692), 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  231 

he  conceived  hopes  of  succeeding  in  it.  He 
drew  up  a  petition,  in  the  name  of  the  chapter, 
setting  forth  the  settlement  of  ten  pounds  per 
annum  by  Edward  VI.  for  the  maintenance  of  a 
reader  in  divinity,  in  that  large  parish,  with  the 
reasons  of  it ;  and  that  the  said  pension  had  not 
been  paid  for  fifty  years,  so  that  they  humbly 
conceived  there  was  an  arrear  of  five  hundred 
pounds  due  to  them  from  the  Crown  on  that 
account.  Therefore,  they  most  humbly  re- 
quested of  his  Majesty,  King  William,  to  grant 
them  an  order  for  such  a  number  of  trees  in  his 
forest  of  Sherwood,  not  fit  for  the  naval  stores, 
as  should  amount  to  the  value  of  five  hundred 
pounds,  out  of  which  fund  they  might  make  a 
perpetual  provision  for  a  divinity  lecturer,  &c. 

The  answer  he  received  to  this  was  as  fol- 
lows. 

"  Whitehall,  Dec.  29,  1692. 

**  My  Lord, 

"I  am  to  acquaint  your  Grace,  from 
my  Lord  Godolphin,  that  the  King  is  unwilling 
to  grant  the  timber  you  desired  for  the  church 
of  Southwell,  but  his  Majesty  chooses  rather 
to  give  the  money.  And  thereupon  I  am  to 
desire  of  your  Grace  the  times  and  proportions 
by  which  the  payments  of  the  sum  proposed 
will  answer  the    end    intended.     And   in  this 


232  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

your  Grace  will  please  to  make  it  as  easy  to  the 
King  as  the  case  will  bear.  For  so  the  grant 
will,  in  all  probability,  be  the  more  speedy  and 
eiFectual,  &c. 

it  JVoTTINGHAM." 

It  was  afterwards  concluded,  that  this  pay- 
ment should  be  made  out  of  the  tenths  of  the 
diocese  of  Lincoln;  which  it  accordingly  was 
in  four  years  time.  And  iviih  this  sum  a  stipend 
was  established  for  a  theological  lecture,  according 
to  the  first  institution. 

II.  When  a  great  part  of  Southwell  church 
was  destroyed  by  fire  occasioned  by  lightning 
in  the  year  1711,  the  repairing  of  which  damage 
cost  near  three  thousand  pounds,  he,  by  his 
own  bounty  and  interest,  raised  almost  the  third 
part  of  that  sum.  He  gave  himself  two  hundred 
pounds.  He  procured  a  grant  of  license  to  cut 
down  wood  in  the  Queen's  forest  of  Sherwood, 
from  the  Duke  of  Leeds,  to  the  value  of  two  hun- 
dred pounds ;  and  from  the  Duchess  of  Newcas- 
tle, five  hundred  pounds,  which  last  benefaction 
was  obtained  of  her  Grace  by  the  following 
letter,  which  he  wrote  to  her  on  that  occasion. 

"  May  it  please  your  Grace, 

**  I  am  sensible  it  is  a  very  unusual 
confidence  in  one  who  has  not  the  honour  so 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  233" 

much  as  to  be  known  to  your  Grace,  to  pre- 
sume to  write  to  you  about  such  an  aifair  as  I 
now  do.  But  the  post  I  am  in,  and  the  urgency 
of  the  occasion,  together  with  the  honourable 
thoughts  I  have  of  your  Grace's  goodness,  will, 
I  trust,^  so  far  apologize  for  me,  as  that  I  shall 
at  least  obtain  your  pardon  for  my  boldness,  if 
not  (which  I  humbly  hope)  your  gracious  an- 
swer to  my  petition. 

**  Your  Grace,  no  doubt,  has  heard  of  the 
dismal  accident  that  lately  happened  at  South- 
well, in  Nottinghamshire,  where  the  greatest 
part  of  the  collegiate  church  was  burnt  by 
lightning. 

"  Sure  no  Christian  that  has  any  concern  for 
the  honour  of  God,  or  his  worship,  can  think 
that  so  ancient  and  useful  a  church  ought  to  lie 
in  ruins,  but  that  all  imaginable  care  should  be 
taken  for  the  restoring  of  it.  This  all  the  coun- 
try, as  well  as  we  of  the  clergy,  are  desirous  of. 

"  But  there  is  no  other  way  to  repair  these 
ruins,  but  by  the  charitable  contributions  of 
well-disposed  persons,  especially  of  those  who^ 
have  concerns  in  the  county  where  this  church 
stands. 

**  Now,  it  being  the  honour  of  Nottingham- 
shire, that  your  Grace  has  a  near  relation  to 
them,  they  do  presume  that  your  Grace's  good- 
ness is  such,  that  you  will  not  be  backward  ia 


234  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP, 

contributing  to  the  rebuilding  of  Southwell 
church  ;  and,  at  their  desire,  I  have  undertaken 
to  lay  this  matter  before  you,  and  humbly  to 
beg  your  assistance. 

**  Indeed,  madam,  your  encouragement  of 
this  good  work,  as  it  will  be  highly  acceptable 
to  the  country,  and  much  tend  to  your  honour, 
so  I  doubt  not  but  it  will  be  very  pleasing  to 
God,  and  prove  a  means  of  obtaining  his  farther 
blessings  upon  yourself  and  all  your  concerns. 

"  Madam,  I  heartily  wish  your  Grace  all  hap- 
piness, both  in  this  world  and  the  other,  and 
am,  with  the  greatest  respect, 

**  Your  Grace's  most  faithful, 

"  And  most  humble  Servant, 

**  Jo.  Ebor." 

«*  Bishopthorp,  Janxutry  8,  1712." 

When  he  came  to  London,  which  he  did  the 
latter  end  of  the  same  month,  the  duchess  sent 
her  chaplain  to  him  to  know  what  he  thought  it 
was  proper  for  her  to  give.  But  decency  and 
his  modesty  would  not  suffer  him  to  prescribe 
to  her  charity.  So  she  herself  determined  upon 
the  aforementioned  sum ;  though  she  was  dis- 
posed even  to  a  larger  benefaction,  if  he  could 
have  asked  it  of  her,  as  Dr.  Brailsford,  the  late 
Dean  of  Wells,  who  knew  her  mind  on  that 
occasion,  was  wont  to  declare. 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  235 

Thus  much  being  said  of  his  visitation  and 
reformation  of  the  collegiate  church  of  South- 
well, and  other  services  performed  by  him  to 
its  great  advantage ;  it  may  not  be  improper  to 
conclude  this  part  of  the  work  with  an  account 
of  the  most  memorable  of  his  acts  as  an  archbishop 
or  metropolitan.  And  that  was  his  interposition 
and  mediation  of  the  differences  between  Dr. 
William  Nicholson,  the  Bishop,  and  Dr.  Francis 
Atterbury,  the  Dean  of  Carlisle  ;  and  the  rather, 
because  in  this  account,  which  shall  be  no  fur- 
ther laid  open  than  is  necessary  to  shew  what 
share  he  bore  in  accommodating  matters  be- 
tween them,  his  own  sentiments  about  the  king's 
ecclesiastical  swpremacy,  which  was  the  sole  ground 
of  their  dispute,  will  more  fully  appear. 

In  the  year  1704,  when  Dr.  Atterbury  was 
nominated  by  the  Queen  to  the  deanery  of  Car- 
lisle, a  scruple  arose  in  the  breast  of  the  bishop 
about  the  regularity  of  admitting  him  into  that 
preferment.  For,  in  his  lordship's  judgment, 
the  doctor  had,  by  some  of  his  assertions  which 
were  published  concerning  the  regal  supremacy, 
incurred  the  censure  of  the  second  canon.  The 
natural  inference  from  which  was,  that  without 
a  retraction  of  those  positions,  at  least  before 
the  bishop  and  his  chapter,  institution  could 
not  be  canonically  given  him  by  them.  How- 
ever, his  lordship,   foreseeing    the   difficulties 


236^  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

that  might  be  created  upon  this  dispute  with 
the  doctor,  when  he  should  come  down  with 
the  royal  mandate,  was  so  prudent  as  to  apprise 
the  Archbishop  very  early  with  his  difficulty, 
and  with  his  resolutions  thereupon,  viz.  not  to 
give  institution  ;  but  withal  expressing  himself 
willing  that  the  whole  thing  should  be  referred 
to  him  as  metropolitan,  first  begging  his  private 
opinion  and  advice  in  the  case,  which  he  desired 
his  Grace  to  signify  either  to  himself  or  to  Dr. 
Atterbury,  which  alone  might  possibly  settle  the 
controversy  between  them;  but,  if  that  could 
not  be  done,  the  dernier  resort  should  be  to  his 
Grace's  sentence;  who  should  be  final  judge  of  all 
controversies  between  them.  And  thus  the  pre- 
sent matter  in  dispute  would  be  brought  to  a 
legal  and  authoritative  decision. 

To  this  the  Archbishop  answered  as  follows. 

«  August  28,  1704. 

"  My  Lord, 

'*  I  have  perused  your  last,  and  I 
have  likewise  several  times  read  over  those  three 
or  four  pages  you  refer  to  in  Dr.  Atterbury 's 
book.  I  must  confess  to  you,  whether  it  be  my 
own  dulness,  or  that  I  am  naturally  inclined  to 
put  a  favourable  construction  upon  an  author's 
expressions,  till  I  be  warned  that  there  is  some 
ill  meaning  in  them,  that  I  might  have  read 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  237 

those  passages  forty  times  over,  and  never  have 
found  out  that  the  author  of  them,  by  any  thing 
there  said,  was  involved  in  the  censure  de- 
nounced in  the  second  canon  against  those  that 
deny  the  king's  supremacy ;  for  I  should  have 
reckoned,  that  the  second  canon  was  only  a 
clinching  of  the  Jirst,  by  adding  an  ecclesias- 
tical censure  against  those  that  set  up  a  foreign 
jurisdiction,  to  the  prejudice  of  the  rights  of  the 
imperial  crown  of  this  realm  (which  Dr.  Atter- 
bury,  I  dare  say,  never  thought  of),  as  is  set 
forth  by  that  first  canon. 

"  I  must  confess  further  to  you,  that  now 
that  I  see  your  objections  against  Dr.  Atter- 
bury's  doctrine,  I  can  see  nothing  that  he  hath 
asserted  but  what  is  capable  of  a  fair  construc- 
tion. And  though  he  may  not  have  expressed 
himself  so  accurately  as  he  might  have  done 
(and  perhaps  would  have  done,  if  he  had  liad 
no  other  thing  in  his  view  but  the  king's  supre- 
macy, as  it  is  taught  in  the  first  and  second 
canon)  ;  yet  even  in  this  point  he  hath  been 
guilty  of  no  other  slips  but  such  as  a  candid 
reader  would  be  inclined  to  pass  by,  without 
much  censure,  in  most  of  the  authors  he  reads, 
especially  where  they  treat  of  a  thing  kv  rrapepyoj. 

"  As  for  those  consequences  which  your  lord- 
ship insists  upon  as  flowing  from  Dr.  Atter- 
bury's  principles,  I  must  in  this  also  beg  your 


238  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

lordship's  pardon,  if  I  do  not  see  how  they  can 
be  charged  upon  any  thing  he  hath  said,  unless 
with  a  little  straining. 

"  Doth  he  any  where  make  such  a  distinction 
between  the  king's  personal  and  politic  capa- 
citT/,  as  was  made  use  of  in  the  late  times? 
Doth  he  any  where  say,  that  the  thy^ee  estates 
have  a  co-ordinate  power  with  the  king,  or  that 
they  can  do  any  thing  without  him  ?  Doth  he 
any  where  deny,  that  the  king,  whether  in  or 
out  of  Parliament,  is  *  supreme  governor  in  all 
causes,  and  over  all  persons,  as  well  ecclesias- 
tical as  civil  V  Doth  he  any  where  affirm,  that 
any  of  the  estates,  or  any  of  the  king's  minis- 
ters, are  invested  with  o?iginal  jurisdiction,  as 
your  lordship  expresses  it  ?  Nay,  lastly,  does 
he  assert  any  thing  in  any  of  these  four  pages 
from  which  any  of  these  assertions  can  necessa- 
rily be  inferred  ? 

"  Well,  but  he  saith  that  the  king  and  the 
three  estates  have  more  power  in  Church  mat- 
ters, than  the  king  alone.  And  is  7iot  this  true  ? 
No,  saith  your  lordship,  the  king  alone  hath  all 
Church  powers ;  but,  in  some  cases,  he  cannot 
exercise  it  without  the  three  estates.  Perhaps  your 
lordship's  way  of  expression  is  something  better, 
and  I  fancy  Dr.  Atterbury  would  not  scruple  to 
express  himself  so,  if  there  were  occasion.  But 
nevertheless,  his  expression  is  true  enough,  as 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  239 

we  ordinarily  speak ;   for  a  man  has  no  right 
further  than  he  can  lawfully  exercise  it. 

**  But  Dr.  Atterbury  distinguishes    between 
the  absolute  sovereign  and  the  limited  sovereign, 
making  the  absolute  sovereignty  to  be  lodged  in 
the   king,    in  cotijunction  with  the  three  estates. 
I  must  own,  that  I  do  not  see  any  great  harm 
in  this  neither ;  nay,  though    he   should  have 
said  that  the  three  estates  are  sharers  with  the 
king  in  the  absolute  sovereignty ;  for  hath  it  not 
been  said  an  hundred  times  without  offence, 
that  the  Lords  and  Commons  have  a  share  in 
the  Legislature  ?    And  if  so,  they  have  a  share 
in  the  absolute  sovereignty ;  and  then  the  king 
is  not  the  absolute  sovereign    without    them. 
And  doth  not  the  very  style  of  the  enacting 
clause,  in  every  act  of  Parliament,  imply  such  a 
thing  ?     *  Be  it  enacted,  by   the   King's  most 
excellent  Majesty,  with  the  advice  and  consent 
of  the  Lords,   &c.  and  by  the  authority  of  the 
samCy'  &c.      So  that  they  are  not  mere  advisers, 
but  have  authority  in  the  making  of  laws.     It  is 
true,  their  authority  signifies   nothing  without 
the  king's  fiat.     And,  besides,  what  authority 
they  have  may  be  derived  from  the  king  entirely, 
for  any  thing  that  Dr.  Atterbury  insinuates  to 
the  contrary. 

**  In  short,  my  opinion  is,  that  so  long   as 
Dr.  Atterbury  doth   not  set   up    any  foreign 


240  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

usurped  jurisdiction  over  this  realm,  nor  doth 
deny  that  the  King  or  Queen  of  England  is  the 
fountain  of  all  lawful  power  that  is  exercised  in 
the  same,  as  to  my  thinking,  he  doth  neither  of 
these  things,  he  cannot  be  called  to  account 
for  denying  the  king's  supremacy,  however  he 
and  your  lordship  may  differ  in  the  expressions 
about  the  exercise  of  this  power. 

•"  Your  lordship,  I  daresay,  will  pardon  me 
for  speaking  my  mind  so  freely  in  this  business, 
and  will  likewise  excuse  me  for  the  little  regard 
I  have  had  either  to  my  choice  of  words,  or 
method  in  what  I  have  said.  I  have  wrote  just 
as  things  offered  themselves.  Indeed,  neither 
my  time  nor  my  head  will  allow  me  to  do  more. 
And,  which  is  worst  of  all,  I  doubt  I  am  not 
so  competent  a  master  in  this  sort  of  knowledge 
as  to  be  fit  to  offer  any  thing  upon  this  argu- 
ment to  your  lordship,  or,  if  I  do,  to  presume 
it  will  give  you  any  satisfaction.  But  the  hints 
I  have  given  may  tempt  you  to  think  more  of 
this  matter. 

*'  Indeed,  I  do  heartily  wish  that  your  lord- 
ship could  so  satisfy  yourself  as  to  these  objec- 
tions you  have  raised,  as  that,  without  further 
expostulating  the  matter  with  Dr.  Atterbury, 
you  might  give  him  institution  when  he  comes 
down.  Or,  if  that  cannot  be  done,  I  could 
wish,  that  for  the  pulling  this  thorn  out  of  your 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  241 

foot,  I  at  this  time  had  your  authority  to  give 
him  institution  before  he  reaches  Carlisle.  But 
yet  I  know  not  how  that  would  look,  sure  I  am 
it  will  be  of  very  ill  consequence,  should  you 
refuse  him  institution  upon  this  pretence  of  the 
canon.  What  you  do,  I  verily  believe,  out  of 
conscience,  the  most  will  look  upon  as  the 
effect  of  an  old  grudge ;  and,  which  is  worst, 
I  dare  say  you  will  find  yourself  at  last  to  be 
in  the  wrong. 

"  I  am,  with  all  sincere  respect, 

'*  And  hearty  good  wishes,  &c. 

'*  Jo.  Ebor." 

His  lordship,  upon  the  receipt  of  this,  re- 
turned answer,  August  31,  *'  That  being  fully 
persuaded  of  his  duty  in  this  matter,  he  did  not 
weigh  consequences.  That  he  was  desirous 
enough  to  live  in  a  friendly  manner  with  the 
dean  of  his  cathedral,  and  to  avoid  the  scandal 
that  a  new  breach  betwixt  them  must  occasion, 
but  that  he  could  not  institute  him  unless  he 
first  subscribed  the  follmv'mg paper,  which  was  as 
favourably  drawn  up  as  he  could  contrive  it. 

"  I.  The  Queen  of  England,  out  of  Parlia- 
ment, hath  not  the  same  authority  in  causes 
ecclesiastical,  that  the  Christian  emperors  had 
in  the  primitive  Church. 

**  II.  The  Church  of  England  is  under  two 

R 


242  LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

sovereigns,  the  one  absolute  and  the  other  li- 
mited. 

"in.  The  supreme  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction, 
annexed  to  the  imperial  crown  of  this  realm, 
G^a  be  exerted  no  otherwise  than  in  Parliament. 

**  These  three  propositions  separating  her 
Majesty's  authority  from  her  person,  and  im- 
peaching her  royal  supremacy,  are  erroneous, 
and  contrary  to  the  received  doctrine  of  the 
Church  of  England,  as  well  as  the  known  laws 
of  the  realm ;  and  therefore  (so  far  as  they  or 
any  of  them  are  deducible  from  any  thing  that 
I  have  heretofore  asserted  and  published),  I  do 
hereby  openly  and  freely  revoke  and  renounce 
the  same. 

**  For,"  says  his  lordship,  in  his  letter  to  the 
Archbishop,  "  if  the  first  of  these  propositions 
be  true,  the  Queen  is  not  supreme  head  of  the 
Church  in  her  personal  capacity;  since  the 
having  the  same  authority  is  the  very  definition 
which  both  the  second  canon  and  the  37th 
article  gives  of  her  supremacy.  If  the  second 
be  true,  the  unicus  gubernator  supremus  in  the 
first  article,  to  be  subscribed  before  institution, 
is  nonsense.  And  if  the  last  be  law,  an  appeal 
to  the  Queen's  delegates  (at  least  a  commission  of 

review  afterwards),  is  very  illegal Upon 

the  whole,  my  Lord,  if  Mr.  Dean  consents  not 
to  this  proposal,  and  your  Grace  thinks  that  he 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  243 

may  be  honestly  instituted  without  any  such 
revocation,  I  humbly  desire  you  will  be  pleased 
to  admit  him,  and  send  your  meti^opolitical  man- 
date to  the  chapter  for  his  instalment." 

And  this  the  Archbishop  was  very  much  in- 
clined to  do,  knowing  that  Dr.  Atterbury  would 
never  submit  to  have  new  terms  imposed  upon  him^ 
which  Wie  law  did  not  require  him  to  comply  with  ; 
nor  did  he  think  the  bishop  had  reason  to  insist 
upon  them  ;  and  therefore  would  have  made  no 
scruple  himself  of  giving  the  doctor  institution 
at  York.  But  he  considered  that  the  significa- 
tion of  the  bishop's  consent  by  letter,  was  not 
sufficient  to  empower  him  to  perform  this  act ; 
for  that  there  ought  to  be  an  instrument  of  re- 
mission  under  the  episcopal  seal,  by  which  the 
bishop  should  refer  the  whole  affair  to  his  me- 
tropolitan, and  thereby  give  him  authority  to 
institute  at  York,  and  issue  out  his  metropoli- 
tical  mandate  for  such  AUation  by  the  chapter  of 
Carlisle.  On  the  other  hand,  when  the  bishop 
consented,  in  compliance  with  the  Archbishop's 
own  proposal,  that  the  doctor  should  be  insti- 
tuted at  York,  he  meant  no  more  than  that  his 
Grace  should  determine  this  matter  originally, 
and  at  the  first  instance,  which  otherwise  was 
too  likely  to  be  brought  before  him  by  way  of 
appeal.  And  this  he  apprehended  a  metropolitan 
might  do,  consentiente  ordinario. 

R   2 


244  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

There  was  another  method  proposed,  viz. 
that  my  lord  of  Carlisle  should  grant  a  com- 
mission under  his  episcopal  seal  to  such  persons 
as  he  thought  proper  to  give  institution  at 
York  ;  vs^hich  was  the  method  Archbishop  San- 
croft  took*,  when  he  made  a  scruple  of  conse- 
crating Bishop  Burnet,  &c. ;  that  is,  he  granted 
a  commission  to  some  other  bishops  to  do  it  for 
him.  But  to  this  my  lord  answered,  "  That 
it  was  first  necessary  that  a  tender  should  be 
made  to  hi7n  of  her  Majesty's  presentation,  be- 
fore any  such  commission  could  be  regularly 
issued  out.  And  besides,  he  thought  it  would 
look  too  much  like  shuffling  to  grant  a  commission 
to  others,  to  do  an  act  for  him,  and  by  his  authority, 
which  he  could  not  in  conscience  do  "personally .  And 
besides,  he  hoped  that  when  the  doctor  brought 
his  credentials,  all  their  differences  might  be 
compromised  between  themselves.  And  more- 
over, he  declared  that  he  should  not  perempto- 
rily insist  upon  the  doctor's  revocation  of  the 

*  Archbishop  Sancroft's  commission  was  to  four  bishops, 
London,  Asaph,  Winchester,  and  LlandafF.  By  virtue  whereof, 
together  with  King  William  and  Queen  Mary's  letters  commis- 
sional,  they  being  assisted  by  the  Bishops  of  Lincoln  and  Car- 
lisle, consecrated  Dr.  Burnet  to  Salisbury,  in  the  chapel  at 
Fulham,  March  31,  1689  ;  and  afterwards  other  bishops  were 
consecrated,  and  other  episcopal  acts  done  by  virtue  of  the 
said  commission. 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  245 

three  propositions,  if  he  could  either  convince 
him  that  they  were  not  deducible  from  what  he 
had  published,  or  that  they  were  reconcileable 
to  the  laws  of  the  Church  and  State. 

As  soon  as  he  had  received  this  advice  from 
the  bishop,  he  dismissed  the  doctor  on  his  jour- 
ney to  Carlisle ;  and  immediately  after  wrote 
this  friendly  letter  to  his  lordship. 

"  September  11,  1704. 

"  My  Lord, 

*'  I  had  your's  on  Saturday.  Dr.  At- 
terbury  is  set  out  this  morning  for  Carlisle,  in 
order  to  wait  upon  you  with  his  patent.  I 
could  wish,  that  upon  his  tendering  of  it,  your 
lordship  would  either  think  fit  to  give  him  insti- 
tution yourself,  or  delegate  your  authority  to 
me  by  way  of  remission,  if  your  lordship  and  he 
judge  that  a  proper  method.  But  if  neither  of 
these  can  be  done,  then  I  have  this  to  beg  of 
you,  that  you  would  at  the  first  give  him  your 
positive  denial,  and  not  insist  upon  the  twenty-eight 
days,  which  the  canon  gives  you  to  deliberate 
about  the  matter;  that  so  he  may,  without 
more  loss  of  time,  rnake  his  appeal.  This  I  can- 
not but  think  reasonable,  considering  here  is  no 
dispute  about  the  right  of  patronage  ;  and  you 
likewise  know  your  own  mind  at  the  time  he 
tenders  you  his  patent  what  you  mean  to  do. 


246  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

as  well  as  you  will  know  at  the  eiid  of  twenty-eight 
days;  so  that  all  delay  will  look  like  pure  un- 
kindness. 

*'  I  will  not  now  meddle  with  the  matter  in 
difference  between  you,  you  have  had  my 
thoughts  about  it,  and  I  have  had  your's.  But 
I  must  confess  I  am  still  of  the  opinion  I  was, 
viz.  that  Dr.  Atterbury,  in  the  213th,  14th, 
15th  and  10th  pages  has  asserted  nothing  dero- 
gatory to  the  Queen's  supremacy,  as  in  our  con- 
stitution, and  by  our  laws  it  must  be  understood. 

"  I  find  the  Bishop  of  Sarum  is  perfectly  of 
his  mind.  And  so  he  has  owned  himself  in  that 
very  book  which  he  writ  against  Dr.  Atterbury. 
I  must  confess  I  am  entirely  in  the  sentiments 
of  that  bishop,  when  he  declares  thus.  *  I 
always  thought  that  the  king  was  no  other 
way  head  of  the  Church,  than  as  he  was  the 
head  of  the  State,  with  whom  the  executive 
power  is  lodged.  And  who  is  the  head  of  the 
legislative,  in  conjunction  with  the  great  body  of 
his  Parliament.' 

•'  And  this  is  exactly  the  doctor's  doctrine. 

"  But  I  have  forgot  what  I  just  now  said, 
that  I  would  not  enter  into  the  merits.  But 
liow  that  I  have  broke  my  word,  give  me  leave 
to  say  a  little  more. 

**  Of  the  three  propositions  which  you  would 
have  the  doctor  to  renounce,  the  first  I  take  to 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  247 

be  undoubtedly  true.  The  second  is  not  his, 
but,  with  a  little  alteration,  may  be  made  his, 
viz.  if  it  run  thus.  The  Church  of  England  is 
under  a  sovereign,  whOj  with  his  Parliament,  is 
absolute,  but  without  it  is  limited.  And  this  I 
take  to  be  likewise  undoubtedly  true.  The 
third  proposition  seems  to  be  foreign  to  the 
present  business,  nor  do  I  see  how  the  doctor 
is  concerned  in  it.  Yet  I  take  it  to  be  as  true 
as  the  other  two,  if  the  legislative  be  the  su- 
preme jurisdiction,  as  when  one  makes  degrees 
of  comparison  in  jurisdiction,  it  must  be  ac- 
knowledged to  be. 

*'  Good  my  Lord,  forgive  my  zeal  in  this 
business.  I  profess  I  have  no  ends  to  serve, 
but  those  of  peace,  and  to  prevent,  if  I  can, 
a  rupture;  which  I  am  afraid  will  be  preju- 
dicial to  yourself;  and  not  only  so,  but  if  it 
be  not  stifled  in  the  beginning,  may  be  the  oc- 
casion of  a  new  quarrel  in  this  Church,  of  which 
ive  have  too  many  already  amongst  us. 

*'  I  pray  God  direct  you>  and  assure  yourself 
of  me  that  I  am  always 

"  Your  true  friend,  and  brother, 
"  And  servant, 

"  Jo.  Ebor." 

He  had  no  occasion  to  mediate  any  further  in 
this  affair;  for,  upon  the  doctor's  refusing  to 


248  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

subscribe  the  revocation,  as  being  unprecedented, 
and,  upon  the  bishop  refusing  thereupon  to  give 
him  institution,  both  sent  up  their  accounts  of 
the  matter,  and  their  own  reasons  for  what  they 
did,  to  the  Secretaries  of  State,  the  Bishop  to 
Secretary  Hodges,  the  doctor  to  Secretary  Har- 
ley;  by  whom  the  affair  was  laid  before  the 
Queen.  And  her  Majesty  was  pleased  finally  to 
determine  it  by  the  actual  exercise  of  her  supre- 
macy ;  but  withal  ordered  one  of  her  secretaries 
to  acquaint  the  Archbishop  that  she  was  pleased 
with  all  the  steps  that  he  had  before  taken  in 
that  matter. 

There  was  another  accidental  difficulty  arose 
in  this  business,  and  threatened  more  disputes 
with  the  dean  from  the  bishop  and  chapter,  had 
not  the  Archbishop  given  a  seasonable  solution 
to  it.  It  seems,  after  Dr.  Atterbury's  patent 
had  passed  the  seals,  the  Lord  Keeper  started  a 
doubt  about  the  legality  of  a  clause  in  it  which 
expressed  the  deanery  of  Carlisle  to  be  vacant 
per  translationem  of  Dr.  Grahme  to  the  deanery 
of  Wells  ;  whereas  his  lordship  observed,  that  a 
translation  to  a  second  deanery  did  not  make 
the  first  void,  without  a  resignation,  two  dean- 
ries  being  no  more  incompatible  than  two  arch- 
deaconries. 

Dr.  Atterbury,  upon  this,  consulted   prece- 
dents in  the  signet-office,    and  found  that  the 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  249 

Crown  grants  had  usually  ran  so  in  the  like 
circumstances.  As  particularly  when  Dr.  Sharp 
succeeded  Dr.  Tillotson,  who  was  removed  from 
the  deanery  of  Canterbury  to  the  deanery  of 
St.  Paul's,  and  Dr.  Fairfax  succeeded  Dr.  Sharp 
at  Norwich.  And  believing,  that  if  it  was  a 
blot,  it  had  never  been  hit  since  the  Reformation 
but  in  the  present  instance,  and  that  the  con- 
sequences it  might  draw  after  it  in  relation  to 
leases  signed  by  deans  made  by  patents  so 
worded,  would  demand  the  most  favourable 
construction  to  be  put  upon  it,  he  made  no 
great  scruple  of  it  himself,  and  was  accordingly 
instituted  and  inducted  upon  his  first  patent. 

But  afterwards  taking  further  advice  upon 
this  point,  and  apprehending  his  bishop  and  the 
chapter  of  Carlisle  might  take  all  advantages 
against  him,  he  obtained  a  resignation  in  form 
from  Dr.  Grahme,  and  had  his  patent  passed 
the  great  seal  a  second  time  by  warrant  from 
the  Queen,  after  the  date  was  so  adjusted,  that 
the  resignation  might  precede  the  grant,  and  the 
grant  precede  the  institution. 

However  the  bishop  and  the  chapter,  when 
they  understood  the  exception  that  had  been 
made  to  the  first  patent,  on  which  he  had  been 
admitted  dean,  were  inclinable  to  dispute  the 
validity  of  his  possession  ;  and  the  bishop  wrote 
their  doubts  about  it  to   the  Archbishop,  who 


250  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

answered,  that  what  thoughts  soever  they  might 
have  of  disputing  that  point  with  the  dean,  yet, 
if  they  would  give  him  leave  to  speak  his  own 
thoughts  of  the  matter,  he  believed,  if  they  did> 
they  would  be  in  the  wrong  .......     *•  For," 

says  he,  "let  the  patent  upon  which  he  was  in- 
stituted have  been  never  so  faulty,  yet  he  having 
been  instituted  and  inducted  upon  it,  he  is,  to 
all  intents  and  purposes,  the  legal  Dean  of  Car- 
lisle, till  he  be  legally  ejected,  and  another  put 
in  by  a  new  grant  from  the  Crown ;  so  that  he 
could  not  tell  what  need  the  dean  had  to  get  his 
patent  new  dated,  unless  it  were  to  prevent  the 
granting  a  new  patent  to  any  other  person,  while 
he  kept  the  deanery,  which  is  the  only  thing 
that  by  this  means  he  hath  effectually  done.''' 

From  these  letters  just  now  recited,  wherein 
he  declares  himself  upon  the  nature  of  the  king's 
supremacy,  according  to  the  English  constitu- 
tion (which  indeed  was  the  chief  reason  why 
any  account  was  given  of  this  affair  at  Carlisle), 
a  transition  is  very  natural  to  his  political  princi- 
ples and  sentiments.  Which,  together  with  his 
more  public  transactions  in  the  affairs  of  State 
and  common  interests  of  the  Church,  shall  be 
considered  separately  and  distinctly  in  the  third 
part  of  the  work. 


PART  III. 


CONTAINING  HIS  MORE  PUBLIC  TRANSACTIONS 
IN   CHURCH  AND  STATE. 

Hitherto  Dr.  Sharp  has  been  considered 
purely  in  his  ecclesiastical  or  episcopal  capacity ; 
and  it  would  be  judged  a  great  omission,  if  a 
summary  account  were  not  likewise  given  of 
his  behaviour  at  Court  and  in  Parliament,  during 
so  many  years  attendance  on  both;  especially 
since  the  zeal  of  contending  parties  hath  been 
apt  to  disguise  men's  real  characters,  and  either 
give  them  credit  and  esteem,  or  bring  them 
under  slanders  and  evil  surmises,  according  as 
their  conduct  seemed  to  favour  the  respective 
principles  and  interests  of  this  or  that  side. 
His  situation  was  something  singular,  at  least 
for  many  years  in  which  he  served  the  late 
queen ;  he  had  constant  and  free  access  to  her 
person,  and  was  presumed  to  have  no  small 
share  of  her  confidence  and  favour  during  her 
whole  administration,  under  the  conduct  of  dif- 
ferent sets  of  ministers,  of  different  attachments, 
excepting  the  last  year  of  her  reign,  in  which 
he  was  rendered  incapable,  through  indisposi- 


252  LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP   SHARP. 

tion,  of  attending  her*.  And  being  considered 
in  this  point  of  view,  as  it  was  impossible  for 
him  to  escape  the  remarks  of  a  world  divided 
in  its  sentiments  of  the  public  interests,  so  he 
would  necessarily  incur  as  much  censure  on  the 
one  handy  as  he  gave  satisfaction  on  the  other.  Yet 
so  guarded  and  moderate  was  his  conduct  on 
the  whole,  and  such  was  the  good  opinion  that 
men  generally  conceived  of  him,  that  his  public 
character  was  as  little  struck  at,  and  himself  as 
universally  esteemed,  as  could  be  expected  in 
those  circumstances,  and  in  an  age  when  the  ani- 
mosities of  party  ran  so  high,  and  spared  so  few. 

Bishop  Burnet,  in  his  history  of  those  times, 
speaking  of  the  promotion  of  Dr.  Tillotson  and 
Dr.  Sharp  at  the  same  juncture,  to  the  two 
archiepiscopal  sees,  having  acknowledged  their 
talents  as  divines,  distinguishes  upon  their  civil 
characters  in  this  manner,  only  Sharp  did  not 
know  the  world  so  well,  nor  was  he  so  steady  as 
Tillotson  was. 

As  his  lordship  neither  gives  any  further 
explanation  of  this  remark,  nor  produces  any 
instances  throughout  his  whole  history  to  sup- 
port it,  we  are  left  at  some  uncertainty  what 
construction  to  put  upon  it,  seeing  it  is  capable 
of  a  more  or  less  favourable  sense,  as  the  reader 

*  He  took  his  last  leave  of  the  Queen  May  10, 171 3,  and  died 
the  February  following.     Queen  Anne  died  August  1,  1714. 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  253 

shall  be  disposed  to  interpret  it.  If  it  be  meant 
that  he  did  not  understand  mankind  well 
enough  to  [prevent  their  deluding  him,  or  that 
either  through  the  weakness  of  his  judgment, 
or  easiness  of  his  temper,  he  was  liable  to  be 
practised  upon;  whatever  reasons  the  bishop 
might  have  to  induce  him  to  take  up  this  opi- 
nion, yet  they  who  knew  the  Archbishop  per- 
fectly, will  be  apt  to  judge  that  the  historian 
knew  hbn  not ;  and  that  how  skilful  soever  he 
might  be  in  drawing  characters,  he  missed  the 
point  in  this  particular  instance. 

But  if  his  lordship  only  meant  (and  consider- 
ing his  style,  it  is  the  most  natural  to  think  he 
meant  no  more,)  that  Dr.  Sharp  was  not  tho- 
roughly versed  in  the  policies  of  the  court,  nor  abso- 
lutely attached  to  a  jparty,  there  is  great  justice 
and  truth  in  the  remark.  And  though  it  might 
perhaps,  in  the  learned  historian's  view  of  things, 
even  under  this  light,  derogate  from  his  character, 
so  far  at  least  as  he  is  represented  upon  the 
comparison  inferior  to  Archbishop  Tillotson  in 
those  respects,  yet  all  people  have  not  the  same 
ways  of  thinking.  It  will  serve  rather  to  in- 
crease than  lessen  his  reputation  with  others, 
who  are  likewise  capable  judges  both  of  men 
and  things;  and  discerning  enough  in  this  case 
to  see  what  was  the  most  becoming  his  function 
and  station. 


254  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

Without  entering  into  any  part  of  Dr,  Tillot- 
son's  character,  whose  memory  is  generally  and 
most  deservedly  esteemed,  let  the  just  part  be 
done  to  Dr.  Sharp's,  concerning  the  distinction 
made  between  them. 

He  was,  as  is  confessed  on  all  hands,  a  plain- 
dealing  man ;  one  who  neither  disguised  his  sen- 
timents on  any  occasion,  nor  feared  at  any  time 
to  take  the  liberty  of  following  his  own  judg- 
ment. He  was  so  great  a  stranger  himself  to 
wile  and  dissimulation,  that  he  might  be  rather  too 
slow  in  discerning  it,  and  too  backward  in  suspect- 
ing it  in  others;  for  which  reason  he  was  not 
perhaps  so  skilful  as  some  others  are  in  pene- 
trating into  the  intention  of  an  intricate  con- 
duct, or  shrewd  in  discovering  men's  designs  at 
a  distance,  not  for  want  of  good  natural  dis- 
cernment, but  for  want  of  that  acquired  saga- 
city which  is  only  to  be  attained  by  long  obser- 
vation and  study  on  the  dark  and  shadowed,  the  con- 
cealed and  disagreeable  side  of  human  nature.  He 
studied  mankind  more  as  a  divine  than  as  a 
statesman,  and  had  a  much  clearer  and  quicker 
apprehension  of  what  men  ought  to  be,  than  what 
they  really  were,  or  might  prove.  If  he  some- 
times judged  wrong  of  particular  persons,  it 
was  owing  to  a  generous  motive  (which  was  the 
effect  of  the  natural  openness  and  honesty  of 
his  own  heart),  that  he  cared  not  to  be  jealous 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  255 

and  mistrustful  of  those  with  whom  he  con- 
versed. This  would  indeed  have  been  a  disad- 
vantage to  him  in  an  intriguing  world,  had  he 
not  withal  been  master  of  so  much  prudence 
as  to  prevent  his  taking  toa  much  upon  trust,  and 
to  secure  him  from  being  injured  by  any  abuses 
of  his  goodness;  and  helped  by  intriguing,  he 
would  have  disdained  to  be. 

How  far  therefore  he  was  a  politician  or  cour- 
tier, is  not  so  easy  to  say,  as  it  is  that  he  did 
not  affect  the  character  of  being  so  in  any  sense, 
nor  aim  at  any  reputation  of  skill  in  things  that 
were  out  of  his  profession.  Whatever  he  might 
know  of  the  world,  yet  he  was  never  forward  to  tell 
the  world  all  that  he  knew  of  it;  which  is  too  much 
the  temper  of  some  who  value  themselves  upon 
such  knowledge.  He  was  not  given  to  talk 
much  of  state  affairs,  or  deliver  his  judgment 
upon  them,  nor  indeed  did  he  seem  to  meddle 
with  them  farther  than  he  was  bound  in  dis- 
charge of  the  duty  he  owed  to  the  crown  and 
his  country. 

The  affairs  of  the  Church  of  England  were  the 
things  that  lay  at  his  heaiH.  In  these  he  interested 
himself  deeply  and  zealously.  He  looked  upon 
himself  in  that  post  which  no  intriguing  had 
obtained  to  him,  but  Providence  had  allotted  him 
to  be  one  of  her  chief  pillars,  and  was  resolved 
to  support  her  with  all  his  might.     And  the 


256  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

plainer  man  he  was  in  himself,  the  less  he  re- 
garded the  world,  and  the  less  tincture  he  took 
from  the  court  in  which  he  conversed,  the  better 
was  he  fitted  for  this  service.  He  gained  more 
credit  and  interest  to  himself  and  the  cause  in 
which  he  was  engaged  by  his  native  air  of  pro- 
bity and  openness  in  his  whole  conduct,  than 
he  could  have  done,  had  he  studied  and  prac- 
tised the  arts  and  refinements  of  the  subtilest 
politicians,  or  admitted  the  least  mixture  of 
chicane  into  his  address. 

But  as  all  men,  at  least  all  who  are  worthy  of 
the  public  notice,  are  commonly  reputed  and 
voted  by  the  world  to  be  either  of  this  or  that 
party,  so  was  he,  how  much  soever  he  disliked 
those  mischievous  distinctions  that  kept  up  the 
animosities  and  jealousies  of  a  divided  people. 
They  who  were  called  the  Tories^  or  the  High 
Church  party,  claimed  him  as  theirs  ;  for  he  was 
observed  more  generally  to  approve  and  favour 
their  principles,  and  to  go  more  along  with 
them,  than  those  of  the  other  side.  But  what- 
ever he  might  be  reputed  by  the  world,  yet  this 
may  be  as  truly  said  of  him  as  of  any  man  who 
was  his  contemporary,  that  he  was  a  fast  friend 
to  the  Constitution  both  in  Church  and  State. 
In  this  he  was  "  steady*;'  and  did  both  heartily 

*  Allusive  to  Bishop  Burnet's  comminative  comparison  of 
Sliarp  to  Tillotson,  p.  252. 


LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP   SHARP.  257 

espouse  whatever  he  thought  conduced  to  its 
preservation  and  security,  and  constantly  oppose 
what  in  his  judgment  tended  to  innovation  and 
alteration  in  it.  But  when  the  main  point  was 
secured,  he  was  not  solicitous  about  party  con- 
tentions, for  he  looked  upon  them,  as  he  often 
declared,  'Ho  be  mere  struggles  who  should  be  upper- 
most.'' Nor  did  he  seem,  as  will  be  hereafter 
shewn,  in  several  instances,  to  change  or  vary 
in  his  sentiments,  either  of  things  or  persons, 
though  others  were  pleased  to  change  their  sen- 
timents of  him,  as  this  or  that  party  happened 
to  be  *' uppermost."  And  from  hence  the  reflec- 
tion of  his  not  being  steady  might  possibly  take 
its' rise. 

"  To  be  on  the  side  (as  he  said)  of  the  established 
governme?7t,  aiid  to  endeavour  to  maintain  that,  was 
not  to  be  a  favourer  of  parties  and  factions,  but  that 
they  were  the  factious,  they  tve?r  the  settei^s  up  and 
abettors  of  parties,  who  endeavoured  to  destroy,  or 
unsettle,  or  disparage,  or  i?i  the  least  to  hurt  and 
weaken  the  government  arid  the  laws  as  they  are  esta- 
blished; let  the  principles  upon  ivliich  they  went,  or 
the  p7^etences  they  made,  be  what  they  would.''  And 
he  adhered  to  this  principle  of  preserving  the 
constitution,  and  pursued  this  rule  of  attach- 
ment to  the  establishment  with  such  steadiness 
and  uniformity,  that  neither  the  influence  of 
private  friendships,   nor   the  entreaties  of  the 

s 


258  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

party  that  claimed  him,  nor  the  persuasions  of 
the  ministry,  nor  even  the  personal  applications 
of  his  royal  sovereign,  were  of  wreight  and  force 
enough  to  engage  him  in  any  thing  that  in  his 
own  judgment  did  not  well  consist  with  this 
principle. 

And  here  we  see  the  whole  compass  of  his 
politics.  But  as  so  short  and  general  an  ac- 
count of  them  will  avail  little  towards  vindi- 
cating his  character  from  party  suggestions,  and 
clearing  him  of  those  unjust  suspicions  which 
some  were  pleased  to  entertain  concerning  him, 
it  is  requisite  to  be  somethhig  more  particular 
upon  this  head,  and  to  make  use  of  all  the  light 
that  either  his  diary,  or  any  other  testimonies  to 
be  met  with  at  this  distance  of  time,  can  throw 
i>a  upon  this  part  of  his  character ;  and  to  shew 
that  he  followed  no  scheme  but  the  good  of  his 
country,  was  in  no  interest  but  that  of  the  con- 
stitution, and  was  a  fast  friend  to  the  act  of  settle- 
ment upon  the  House  of  Hanover. 

It  may  not  be  amiss  to  observe,  in  the  first 
place,  how  careful  he  was  to  avoid  all  ap- 
proaches to  politics  or  party  concernments  in 
his  sermons.  He  judged  the  pulpit  to  be  of  all 
places  the  most  improper  for  the  publication  or 
even  suggestion  of  men's  private  sentiments 
concerning  public  affairs  or  state  matters.  Much 
less  could  he  bear  to    have  the    doctrines  of 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP.  259 

Christianity  give  place  to  a  laboured  descant 
upon  civil  government,  princes,  and  administra- 
tions. So  far  indeed  as  subjection  to  the  higher* 
powers,  praying  for  those  that  are  in  authority^  and 
preserving  peace  and  unity,  were  Gospel  duties, 
and  of  an  obligation  distinct  from  that  of  na- 
tional laws,  so  far  he  urged  and  insisted  upon 
them,  on  all  proper  occasions,  and  charged  them 
upon  men's  consciences.  But  even  when  he 
did  this,  he  always  took  care  to  let  his  audience 
understand  that  he  was  acting  within  his  own 
province  and  sphere  as  a  divine,  least  he  should 
be  thought  to  be  influenced  by  any  civil  consi^ 
derations,  while  he  was  laying  down  the  com- 
mon duties  of  Christianity.  Thus  when  he  op- 
posed himself  to  that  separation  from  the  esta^ 
blished  Church,  which  was  made  at  the  Revo- 
lution, when  it  was  pretended  by  some  that 
they  could  not  join  in  prayers  for  their  Majes- 
ties, he  introduces  his  consideration  of  thaf 
point  with  these  words. 

"  With  men's  differences  as  to  their  notiori§ 
about  the  politics,  I  am  not  concerned.  Let 
them  frame  what  hypotheses  they  please  stbout 
goveunment,  though  I  do  not  like  them,  yet  I 
do  not  think  myself  bound  to  preach  against 
them.  But  when  these  differences  are  come  to 
that  pass,  that  they  threaten  both  the  civil  and 
ecclesiastical  peace,  there  I  think  no  minister 

s2 


260  LIFE   OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

should  be  silent."  And  then  he  proceeds  upon 
Christian  principles  to  argue  against  schism  and 
Church  divisions ;  and  shews  how  unreasonable 
the  pretence  was,  which  was  laid  hold  of  after 
the  happy  Revolution.  And  so  again  upon 
another  and  more  remarkable  occasion,  viz. 
before  the  House  of  Lords,  in  a  sermon  which 
was  afterwards  appealed  to  and  quoted  by  both 
sides  in  the  trial  of  Dr.  Sacheverell ;  though 
the  discourse  was  professedly  as  the  occasion 
required,  upon  the  duty  of  subjects  to  their 
civil  governors,  yet  he  took  care  first  to  esta- 
blish his  own  right  to  speak  to  that  'point  in  the 
pulpit,  and  to  answer  all  the  objections  which 
are  usually  made  to  the  clergy  when  they  handle 
that  subject.  And  then  he  took  care  to  speak 
to  it  purely  as  a  Christian  duty,  and  to  dis- 
tinguish it  from  all  questions  of  law,  which 
he  professed  he  would  not  concern  himself 
about. 

"  In  all  those  instances  (says  he)  wherein  this 
argument  falls  under  the  cognizance  and  determina- 
tion of  Parliaments,  or  judges,  or  lawyers,  we  do 
not  pretend  to  meddle  with  it.  We  meddle  not  with 
the  politics,  we  meddle  not  with  prerogative  or  pro- 
perty ;  we  meddle  not  with  the  disputes  and  controver- 
sies of  law  that  may  arise  about  these  matters,  but 
preach  a  company  of  plain  lessons  of  peaceableness, 
^c Such  as  will  at  this  day  hold  i?i  all  the 


LIFE  OV  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  261 

governments  in  the  world,  whether  they  be  kingdoms 
or  commonwealths*.'' 

JVor  is  there  to  be  observed  in  any  other  of 
his  occasional  sermons  upon  fast  and  thanks- 
giving days,  nor  even  at  the  solemnity  of  the 
late  queen's  coronation,  any  thing  further  said 
of  the  then  present  state  of  the  nation,  than 
was  necessary  to  answ^er  the  ends  of  the  ap- 
pointment of  sermons  on  those  days.  So  care- 
ful w^as  he  to  shun  the  appearance  of  a  party 
man  in  the  pulpit.  For  liow^  zealously  soever  he 
might  in  his  civil  capacity  espouse,  or  oppose, 
w^hat  was  as  yet  in  agitation  and  debate,  yet  he 
could  not  endure  to  have  the  Cathedra  Christi 
made  the  stage  of  contention.  He  was  grieved 
to  see  it  prostituted  to  the  venting  of  private 
resentments,  or  publishing  reflections  against 
governors  and  administrations,  and  thought  the 
dignity  of  it  debased,  even  when  it  was  used  to 
a  more  excusable  and  plausible  purpose,  viz. 
for  the  pronouncing  panegyrics  upon  crowned 
heads,  and  attempting  vindications  of  their  po- 
litical counsels,  although  the  characters  drawn 
by  the  preacher  were  ever  so  just,  or  his  allega- 
tions in  defence  and  honour  of  their  government 
and  administration  ever  so  true.  For  besides 
the  impropriety  of  entering  upon  topics  quite 

*  Archbishop  Sharp's  Sermons,  Vol.  II.  p.  47.  49. 


262  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

foreign  to  the  business  of  the  ministers  of 
Christ ;  even  upon  a  foot  of  discretion  and  pru- 
dence^  such  digressions  are  hardly  to  be  justi- 
fied. For  it  always  looks  like  an  imputation  of 
weakness  in  a  government,  to  suppose  it  should 
stand  in  need  of  such  public  suffrages  and  en- 
comiums of  the  clergy ;  and  it  argues  weakness 
in  the  man  who  gives  his  voice  for  it  in  this  way^ 
if  he  supposes  that  he  can  hereby  do  real  service 
to  the  public,  and  something  more  than  weak- 
ness, if  he  designs  no  more  by  it  than  to  recom- 
mend himself  to  the  favour  of  the  reigning  party. 

And  this  should  be  considered  as  the  reason 
why  he  never  enlarged  even  upon  so  great  a 
topic  as  the  Revolution  in  his  sermons,  although 
the  occasions  were  likewise  such  that  he  could 
not  be  wholly  silent  about  it,  as  may  be  seen  in 
his  fast  sermon.  May  21,  1690 ;  and  his  thanks- 
giving sermon  before  the  House  of  Peers,  No- 
vember 5,  1691 ;  and  before  their  Majesties, 
November  12,  1693;  and  at  the  coronation  of 
Queen  Anne;  in  which,  though  he  delivered 
himself  briefly  upon  the  matter,  yet  what  he 
said  was  full  and  home,  and  as  much  as  he 
judged  consistent  with  the  liberty  that  a 
preacher  ought  to  take  on  such  occasions. 

And  yet  no  man  was  more  sensible  of  the 
happy  effects  of  the  Revolution,  both  as  to  Church 
and   State,    than    he  was;    no  man  came  more 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  S-HARP.  263 

heartily  into  it.  Nor  did  he  barely  acquiesce 
in  the  being  satisfied  with  it,  but  did  as  much 
contribute  as  was  in  his  power  to  recommend, 
support,  and  perpetuate  the  establishment  upon 
the  foot  on  which  it  was  then  settled. 

When  he  first  went  down  to  his  diocese,  he 
found  the  minds  of  several,  both  of  laity  and 
clergy,  perplexed  about  the  Revolution;  and 
some  of  them  alienated  from  their  Majesties. 
And  he  was  as  willing  as  he  was  able  to  give 
every  one  the  satisfaction  they  desired,  when 
they  applied  themselves  to  him ;  as  some  did 
by  letter,  others  in  person.  He  had  cases  of 
conscience  put  to  him  about  the  lawfulness  of 
'taking  the  oaths  to  the  government  after  the 
Revolution.  By  his  answer  to  one  of  these 
cases,  his  sentiments  will  appear.  The  question 
was,  How  a  person  who  had  sworn  allegiance  to 
Ki?ig  James,  could  with  a  good  conscience  take  the 
same  oath  to  King  Willia7n?  To  which  he  an- 
swers directly,  "  That  the  laws  of  the  land  are 
the  only  rule  of  our  conscience  in  this  matter, 
and  we  are  no  further  bound  to  pay  obedience 
to  governors*,  nor  to  any  other  governors  than 

*  The  sense  here  is  a  little  obscured  by  the  shortness  of  the 
expression.  The  meaning  is,  we  are  no  further  hound  to  -pay 
obedience  to  governors  (viz.  with  regard  to  the  extent  of  our 
obedience)  than  the  lams  enjoin.  And  we  are  no  further  bound  to 
pay  obedience  to  any  as  our  governors  (viz.  with  respect  to  the 
persons  who  are  the  proper  objects  of  it),  than  the  laws  enjovit. 


264  LIFE  01    AUCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

the  laws  enjoin.  If  therefore  King  William,  in 
the  eye  of  the  law,  be  our  king,  we  must  in 
conscience  pay  obedience  to  him  as  such.  I 
take  this  (says  he)  for  a  certain  truth,  that  as 
the  law  makes  the  king,  so  the  same  law 
extends,  or  limits,  or  transfers  our  obedience 
and  allegiance  ;  and  all  oaths  imposed  by  the 
law  oblige  the  conscience  no  further  than  the 
law  meant  they  should  oblige;  only  this  is 
always  to  be  remembered,  that  whatever  obe- 
dience the  laws  of  the  land  require  of  us,  it  is 
to  be  understood  with  this  proviso,  that  it  be 
not  contradictory  to  the  laws  of  God.  But  in 
that  case  we  must  obey  passively,  though  we 
cannot  obey  actively.  And  with  this  tacit  con- 
dition I  do  suppose  all  oaths  of  fidelity  in  the 
world  are  given  and  taken." 

It  is  true,  he  had  a  very  great  tenderness  and 
pity  for  all  those  who  could  not  satisfy  their 
consciences  in  this  point,  after  taking  advice, 
and  using  the  best  means  of  information.  His 
inclinations  were  always  to  relieve  such,  and 
not  to  distress  them.  But  if  he  found  there 
was  any  thing  of  humour  or  obstinacy  in  their 
case,  he  would  then  use  what  authority  he  had 
over  them.  Thus,  having  been  informed  that 
some  few  of  his  clergy  had  been  remiss  in  the 
observation  of  the  monthly  fasts,  and  reading 
the   occasional  prayers,   and    had    likewise   ex- 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  265 

pressed  some  disaffection  to  the  government ;  he 
reprimanded  them  publicly  at  his  visitation  (in 
1693),  telling  them,  *'  How  unaccountable  a 
thing  it  was,  that  any  person  who  had  already 
taken  an  oath  of  allegiance  to  their  present 
Majesties,  should  refuse  to  pray  for  them,  espe- 
cially in  such  a  cause,  where,  if  they  had  any 
kindness  or  regard  either  to  their  religion,  or 
to  the  nation,  or  to  their  own  private  interests, 
they  could  not  but  wish  well  to  it,  though  they 
had  taken  no  such  oath.  That  as  for  those, 
whether  clergy  or  others,  who  were  dissatisfied 
upon  pure  principles  of  conscience,  and  behaved 
themselves  modestly  and  peaceably,  keeping 
their  sentiments  to  themselves,  and  giving  no 
disturbance  to  the  public,  he  had  as  hearty  a 
tenderness  and  compassion  for  all  such  as  was 
possible.  But  as  for  those  who  had  given  tes- 
timony that  it  was  not  against  their  conscience 
to  own  the  present  government,  and  who  had 
solemnly  obliged  themselves  by  oath  to  live  dutifully 
under  it,  yet,  out  of  a  factious  or  petulant  hu- 
mour, would  take  all  the  occasions  they  could 
of  running  it  down,  he  thought  their  case  was 
widely  different  from  that  of  the  former,  and 
that  they  ought  to  be  animadverted  upon.  And, 
for  his  own  part,  so  far  as  any  of  their  offences 
of  this  kind  fell  under  his  cognizance,  he  should 
think  himself  obliged  to  take  notice  of  them." 


266  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

And  again,  in  1698,  after  the  king  had  con- 
cluded the  peace,  he  took  occasion  publicly  to 
congratulate  the  clergy  of  his  diocese,  **  That 
their  circumstances  were  altered  so  much  for 
the  better  since  their  last  meeting.     The  nation 
(said  he)  was  then  embroiled  in  a  dangerous 
and  expensive  war.     That   war,    through   the 
blessing  of  God  upon  his  Majesty's  conduct, 
is  now  brought  to  a  happy  issue  by  the  estab- 
lishment of  an  honourable,  and,   we   trust,    a 
lasting  peace.     I  hope  we  are  all  sensible  as  we 
ought  to  be,  of  this  great  blessing,  and  that  it 
will  have  such  effects  upon  us  as  it  naturally 
calls  for.     One  of  those  effects  certainly  ought 
to  be,  the  treating  the  discontents,  and  removing 
the  prejudices  and  animosities  (if  there  be  any 
such  left  in  men's  minds),  against  the  present 
government ;  and  the  knitting  together  the  hearts 
of  all  the  people  of  this  nation  in  the  firmest 
bonds  of  affection,   and  duty,   and  allegiance 
to  his  Majesty.     Sure  it  is  hard,  that  when  he 
is  owned  the  lawful  King  of  Great  Britain  by 
ail  the  crowned  heads  and  states  of  Christen- 
dom, there  should  yet  be  found  any  in  his  own 
dominions  that  are  not  in  his  interests." 

When  the  oath  of  abjuration  was  under  de- 
bate in  the  House  of  Commons,  and  it  was  made 
a  question  whether  it  should  be  proposed  as  an 
oath  to  be  taken  voluntarily,  and  at  mere  dis- 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  267 

cretion,  or  imposed  upon  all  by  a  general  rule ; 
some  of  the  members  (who  were  not  well  pleased 
with  the  oath,  and  chose  rather  to  decline  it 
than  take  it)  thought  it  more  eligible  to  have  it 
enjoined  by  public  authority,  and  enacted  by 
law,  than  offered  as  a  voluntary  thing  to  be  taken 
or  let  alone  at  the  discretion  of  each  person: 
apprehending  that  the  sanction  of  the  parliament 
would  supersede  all  private  scruples  about  it. 
And  when  a  certain  member  suggested  to  the 
Archbishop  as  his  own  private  reason  for  voting 
the  imposition  of  the  oath  upon  all  in  general* 
**  that  ivhat  he  could  not  easily  do,  if  left  purely  to  his 
own  choice,  he  could  do  without  difficulty  if  he 
tvere  commanded:''  to  this  his  Grace  answered, 
"  that  whatever  effect  this  argument  might  have 
upon  others  who  were  not  members  of  par- 
liament, yet  in  you  that  are  one,  it  is  false  rea- 
soning. For  your  voting  that  the  oath  should 
be  imposed,  makes  it  as  voluntary  in  you  as  if  it 
were  made  voluntary  in  the  act.  And  besides, 
(says  he)  I  think  you  are  altogether  mistaken  in 
your  distinction  of  voluntary  oaths,  and  those 
that  are  required  by  law  as  you  apply  it :  for  I 
do  think  as  no  law  can  oblige  you  in  conscience 
to  take  any  oath  but  what  upon  just  reasons  you 
may  voluntarily  take,  so  on  the  other  side  no 
law  can  screen  your  conscience  in  taking  an  ill 
oath,  any  more  than  private  considerations  will." 


268  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

He  was  also  very  instrumental  in  removing  the 
difficulties  which  others  had  conceived  with 
respect  to  this  oath.  Some  of  great  note  in  the 
House  of  Peers  seemed  to  refer  themselves  en- 
tirely to  his  judgment  in  this  matter;  not  so 
much  upon  the  belief  of  his  being  an  indulgent 
casuist,  as  of  his  being  di  faithful  one.  He  did 
good  service  to  his  friends  in  this  way,  and  was 
heartily  thanked  by  them  for  it  afterwards.  He 
was  likewise  very  serviceable  in  bringing  back 
to  the  communion  of  the  church  those  who  had 
separated  from  her  since  the  Revolution,  though 
at  the  same  time  they  were  not  to  be  persuaded 
to  take  the  oaths.  And  he  was  the  man  who 
advised  and  prevailed  upon  Dr.  Higden  to 
publish  his  Vieiv  of  the  English  Constitution,  so  far 
as  regards  the  taking  oaths  to  government,  it  having 
been  first  read  over  to  him  and  approved.  And 
yet  what  trifling  incidents  will  serve  for  party 
insinuations :  he  was  suspected  by  some  to  be  a  fa- 
vourer of  the  Jacobites,  and  their  principles,  and 
for  no  other  reason,  but  because  he  did  not  quite 
drop  his  acquaintance  with,  and  conceal  his 
compassion  for  some,  who  declared  that  oath 
was  against  their  consciences.  My  Lord  W — n 
in  the  House  of  Peers,  upon  the  debate  concern- 
ing the  church  being  in  danger,  in  Dec.  1705, 
took  notice  that  a  certain  noble  Lord  of  that  house 
had  educated  his  sons  at  a  seminarij  kept  by  a  non- 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP.  269 

juror.  The  Aixhbishop,  who 'perceived  himself  was 
pointed  at,  declared  that  although  he  had  sent  both 
his  sons  to  Mr.  Ellis  s  school,  who  loas  a  sober  vir- 
tuous man,  and  a  man  of  letters,  yet  he  had  qualified 
himself  according  to  the  laws  when  they  were  sent  to 
him.  But  that  as  soon  as  he  was  irformed  that  Mr. 
Ellis  had  refused  to  take  the  oaths  he  immediately 
took  away  his  son,  who  then  only  remained  with  him, 
and  removed  him  to  another  and  une.vceptionable  place. 
And  this  was  above  three  years  before  the  com- 
plaint was  made  in  the  House  of  Peers;  and  was 
rather  an  instance  of  his  dislike  of  those  prin- 
ciples he  was  charged  of  abetting.  Whereas 
others  chose  rather  to  run  the  hazard  of  such 
unreasonable  censures  and  reflections  than  forego 
the  advantages  of  so  flourishing  a  school,  and 
such  an  able  instructer  of  their  children.  Thus 
did  several  persons  of  note  and  distinction,  and 
without  being  thought  inclinable  to  jacobitism, 
as  may  be  presumed  for  so  doing. 

As  to  his  satisfaction  in  the  Act  of  Settlement,  and 
affection  towards  the  house  of  Hanover,  there  never 
were  the  least  grounds  to  doubt  or  suspect  them.  He 
indeed  opposed  the  motion  that  was  made  by 
Lord  Haversham  in  the  House  of  Peers,  Nov.  15, 
1705,  to  invite  over  the  Princess  Sophia;  and  not 
only  so,  but  took  all  opportunities  of  declaring 
against  it,  as  will  be  seen  when  we  come  to  con- 
sider his  conduct  in  parliament.      But  least  any 


270  LIFE  or   ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

misinterpretations  should  be  made  at  the  court 
of  Hanover,  of  his  zeal  in  this  matter,  he  took  an 
opportunity  (before  it  came  to  be  agitated  in 
parliament,  for  it  was  intimated  the  year  before) 
by  Dr.  Hutton,  then  at  Hanover,  of  repeating  to 
her  Highness  the  Electress,  assurances  of  his 
integrity  with  respect  to  her  interests  in  this 
kingdom.  And  how  perfectly  well  satisfied  her 
Highness  was  in  his  inclinations  towards  her,  may 
appear  from  her  instructions  given  in  answer  to 
Dr.  Hutton  on  this  occasion.  The  Doctor's  letter 
is  as  follows. 

"  Hanover i  Oct.  IG— 27,  1705. 

*'My  Lord, 

**  I  performed  your  Grace's  desire  to 
the  Electress,  and  at  the  same  time  told  Her 
Royal  Highness  how  much  you  have  on  all  oc- 
casions declared  yourself  a  steady  friend  to  her, 
and  her  illustrious  family,  on  the  subject  of  the 
succession.  She  bid  me  tell  you,  she  knows  you 
very  well  her  fast  friend,  and  is  satisfied  of  the 
proof  your  Grace  hath  given  her. 

"  Her  grandson's  marriage  hath  been  per- 
formed with  great  joy.  His  young  princess,  who 
refused  to  be  the  Queen  of  Spain  to  preserve  her 
religion,  is  one  of  the  best  accomplished  per- 
sons of  her  sex  and  quality  in  the  world.  She 
is  a  blessing  to  this  family,  and  may  prove  the 


LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP   SHARP.  271 

same  in  time  to  England  and  to  the  Protestant 
religion. 

"Your  Grace  knows  the  Elector's  character 
very  well.  He  makes  his  subjects  easy  by  distri- 
buting justice  and  equity  to  all  sorts  of  men. 
He  is  a  prince  of  nice  virtue,  and  keeps  his  word 
to  a  punctilio  :  so  that  he  hath  an  entire  credit 
with  all  his  allies,  as  well  as  with  all  others 
with  whom  he  hath  any  business.  He  hath 
given  many  proofs  of  his  courage  and  conduct 
in  the  camp  (as  he  hath  served  in  fifteen  cam- 
paigns) as  well  as  in  the  closet. 

*•  Her  Royal  Highness  the  Electress  is  in  per- 
fect good  health.  She  wonders  at  a  groundless 
story  that  was  whispered  about  in  London  last 
year,  by  which  some  were  made  to  believe  that 
although  the  Queen  and  Parliament  should  invite 
her  to  England,  yet  she  would  not  come.  Her 
judgment  on  that  subject,  as  well  as  on  all  others, 
seems  to  be  well  grounded.  For  she  thinks  that 
her  Majesty  and  the  Parliament  know  best  what  is 
most  proper  for  their  own  safety.  Her  Royal 
Highness  says  she  is  here  in  quiet  and  hath  all 
that  this  world  can  give  her  in  her  own  house ; 
and  is  very  sensible  that  her  sex  and  age  will 
not  allow  her  to  be  so  useful  to  the  public  as  she 
could  wish 

*'  Yet  notwithstanding,  if  the  Queen  and  Par- 
liament in  their  great  wisdom,  think  it  necessary 


272  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

for  the  good  of  Europe  and  the  preservation  of 
your  constitution  in  church  and  state,  to  have 
her  as  presumptive  heir  in  the  kingdom  ;  she  is 
willing  to  comply  with  what  they  shall  think  fit; 
and  seems  very  willing  to  employ  the  remainder 
of  her  life  for  the  Queen's  safety,  and  the  people's 
satisfaction.  This  she  thinks  by  God's  provi- 
dence may  prevent  a  convulsion  in  those  kingdoms^ 
and  preserve  them  from  Popery  and  a  French  go- 
vernment, and  establish  the  succession  in  the  Pro- 
testant line. 

**  Their  Electoral  Highnesses  have  all  the  es- 
teem and  honour  for  the  Queen  that  is  possible, 
and  do  all  they  can  to  keep  up  a  good  under- 
standing between  her  court  and  their  own. 
They  pray  for  her  Majesty's  long  life  and  pros- 
perity in  particular,  as  well  as  in  all  their 
churches  :  to  which  I  have  been  witness,  al- 
though it  was  disputed  at  London  but  last 
year. 

**  I  continue  with  respect.  My  Lord, 
**  Your  Grace's  most  faithful 

**  Humble  Servant, 

"  Jo.   HUTTON." 

There  had  passed  before  this  time  some  com- 
pliments and  letters  between  her  Electoral 
Highness  and  the  Archbishop.  Their  corre- 
spondence having   begun  soon  after    the    late 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  273 

Queen's  accession,  upon  occasion  of  his  pre- 
senting her  Highness  with  his  coronation  sermon. 
There  was  indeed  an  odd  circumstance  attend- 
ing this  first  piece  of  respect  from  him,  owing 
partly  to  unusual  inadvertency  in  himself,  and 
partly  to  the  dexterity  and  dispatch  of  the 
bearer  of  it,  viz.  that  this  sermon  was  trans- 
mitted to  the  princess  by  the  hands  of  Mr.  John 
Toland*,  which,  though  in  reality  an  accidental 
thing,  yet  might  have  proved  unlucky  in  its 
interpretation  to  the  Archbishop's  character. 
The  Bishop  of  Sarum,  whom  nothing  could 
escape,  laid  hold  of  it,  not  indeed  more  severely 
than  the  thing  seemed  prima  facie  to  deserve. 
But  it  either  was  not  believed  when  reported, 
or  his  credit  was  too  well  established  to  suffer 
by  it,  though,  as  the  prelate  just  now  named 
said  upon  it,  "  Had  any  of  us  done  so,  hoiv  should 
we  have  bee?i  talked  of" 

But  the  true  account  of  this  whole  matter 
appears  in  his  diary,  minuted  by  himself  at  the 
time  when  the  accident  happened,  and  while  every 
circumstance  of  it  was  yet  fresh  in  his  memory. 

"  While  I  was  making  up  my  list  of  persons 
to  whom  I  should  present  my  coronation  sermon, 
my  servant  came  up,  and  acquainted  me  that 
one  from  Sir  Robert  Clayton  and  his  lady  was 
below.     I  ordered  the  man  should  be  brought 

*  The  *«  Free  Thinker"  and  Infidel  Author. 


274  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

up.  After  he  had  presented  Sir  Robert's  and 
my  lady's  service  to  me,  he  asked  me  whether  I 
had  not  received  a  book  yesterday,  which  was 
sent  me,  viz.  '  Mr,  Toland's  defence  of  himself '  I 
told  him  '  I  had.'  He  then  told  me  that  '  he  was 
the  man  (for  I  had  never  seen  him  before).  Upon 
this  we  fell  a  talking  about  his  books  and  prin- 
ciples. I  dealt  very  freely  with  him  as  to  both. 
He  owned  he  had  been  to  blame ;  and  that  he  had 
begun  to  write  very  young,  before  he  rightly  under- 
stood things.  He  promised  he  would  trouble  the 
world  no  more  about  those  matters.  As  for  the 
charge  of  his  denying  the  Trinity,  he  declared 
that  he  was  so  far  from  that,  that  he  would  subscribe 
all  the  doctrinal  articles  of  the  Church  of  England. 
I  asked  him  whether  he  would  subscribe  the  first 
article  (that  which  declares  the  Trinity),  alone. 
He  answered,  *  Yes,  ej?  animo.'  I  told  him,  I 
would,  as  I  had  occasion,  do  him  right  as  to 
that  matter.  But  I  said,  he  had,  by  his  books 
and  carriage,  given  so  great  offence  to  the  Church 
of  England,  that  he  could  never  expect  but 
endeavours  would  be  used  to  censure  him.  He 
told  me,  upon  that,  he  did  not  mean  to  stay  here, 
for  he  was  going  very  suddenly  to  the  Princess  Sophia 
of  Hanover.  He  then  told  me,  that  the  last  time 
he  was  there  he  presented  her  with  one  of  my 
sermons,  and  one  of  Dr.  Tillotson's  about  the 
government  of  the  tongue  (as  mine  was  about  the 


LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  275 

government  of  the  thoughts ),  and  that  he  now  meant 
to  buy  one  of  my  coronation  sermons,  and  present  it 
to  her.  I  told  him,  he  should  7iot  need  to  buy  one, 
for  I  would  send  her  one ;  and  that  when  my  sermon 
came  out,  I  would  send  one  for  my  Lady  Clayton,  and 
therewith  one  for  the  princess;  which  accordingly 
I  did  the  next  day.  This  I  think  was  on  Thurs- 
day. But  when  I  came  to  reflect  on  this  act  of 
mine,  which  was  occasioned  by  my  sudden 
promise  to  him,  not  thinking  what  I  did,  I  very 
well  saw  what  prejudice  it  might  do  me.  And 
thereupon  resolved  to  get  this  sermon  into  my 
hands  again,  if  it  was  possible ;  and  accordingly, 
on  Saturday  morning,  I  took  coach,  and  went 
to  my  Lady  Clayton's,  and  begged  of  her  to  let 
me  have  that  sermon  again  ;  or,  if  Mr.  Toland 
already  had  it,  that  she  would  command  it  from 
him.  But,  unfortunately  for  me^  she  told  me 
that  Mr.  Toland  that  very  day  on  which  she 
had  received  the  sermon,  had  got  his  for  the 
princess;  and  the  wind  proving  favourable  (which 
it  had  not  been  for  a  fortnight  before),  he  had 
that  very  night  set  sail  for  Holland,  in  order  to 
go  to  Hanover.  So  that  it  was  impossible  to 
retrieve  my  sermon.  This  is  a  faithful  account 
in  short  of  that  business." 

He  received,  however,  some  months  after, 
from  the  Electress,  a  letter  of  thanks  for  his 
sermon,  with  many  obliging  expressions  in  it ; 

T  2 


276  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

which  gave  him  an  acceptable  opportunity  of 
addressing  her  highness  by  letter,  and  signifying 
his  satisfaction  in  the  prospect  of  her  illustrious 
house  succeeding  to  the  crown  of  these  realms. 

•'  Yorhf  September  4,  1702. 

*'  Madam, 

"  I  was  struck  with  astonishment  to 
see  your  electoral  highness's  name  to  a  letter 
which  I  lately  received,  and  much  more  so, 
when  I  had  read  the  contents  of  it.  It  was 
great  presumption  in  one  to  offer  so  mean  a 
thing  as  my  sermon  to  so  great  a  princess  ;  and 
your  pardon  for  it  was  all  I  could  expect.  But 
that  your  electoral  highness  should  vouchsafe 
me  a  letter  of  thanks  for  it,  and  that  so  extremely 
gracious  a  one,  this  was  a  favour  as  much 
beyond  my  hopes,  as  it  was  above  my  merits. 
But  thus  you  charm  all  the  world  with  your 
condescending  goodness. 

*'  It  is  out  of  my  power  to  express  the  grate- 
ful sense  I  have  of  this  surprising  obligation ;  as 
it  is  also  to  make  any  returns  for  it,  other  than 
those  of  my  prayers.  But  these  I  shall  never 
cease  to  put  up  to  the  throne  of  grace  for  your 
electoral  highness  and  your  princely  issue ;  that 
God  would  multiply  his  blessings  upon  you  both 
spiritual  and  temporal,  and  preserve  you  for  the 
support,    and  welfare,    and  happiness  of  this 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  277 

Church  and  kingdom.     I  am.  Madam,  with  sin- 
cerest  esteem,  affection,  and  duty, 
*'  Your  electoral  highness's 

"  Most  obliged,  most  humble, 
"  And  most  faithful  servant, 
*''  Jo.  Ebor. 

After  this  a  correspondence  was  kept  open 
for  some  years  between  the  Electress  and  the 
Archbishop,  of  which  Mr.  Bagnall's  letter  is 
the  next  voucher.  He  returned  from  Hanover 
with  a  compliment  from  her  highness  in  1704. 
But  not  finding  the  Archbishop  in  London,  he 
wrote  his  instructions  as  follows. 

"  London,  June  13,  1704. 

"  My  Lord, 

"  When  I  left  the  Court  of  Hanover, 
which  was  about  six  weeks  since,  and  whither 
I  went  as  chaplain  to  Mr.  Foley.  Her  electoral 
highness  was  pleased  to  command  me  to  wait 
upon  your  grace,  and,  if  I  mistake  not  her  very 
words  (which  I  think  I  do  not),  '  to  give  you  her 
service.''  She  would  have  returned  by  me  an 
answer  to  your  lordship's  letter  in  favour  of 
your  kinsman,  Mr.  Cholmondley  (and  which  he 
did  not  receive  till  after  his  arrival  at  Berlin, 
from  whence  he  transmitted  it  to  her  highness), 
but  my  sudden  departure  from  thence  would 


278  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

not  afford  her  an  opportunity.  I  can  only  add, 
that  she  spoke  of  your  grace  with  a  particular 
esteem  and  respect.  When  your  grace  shall 
think  fit  to  write  to  her  electoral  highness,  I 
would  humbly  beg  the  favour  that  you  would 
vouchsafe  to  acquaint  her,  that  I  had  signified 
her  pleasure  to  you,  and  to  present  my  most 
humble  duty  and  service." 

The  rest  of  Mr.  Bagnalfs  letter  is  upon  a 
quite  different  affair. 

They  who  are  inclined  to  suspect  that  the 
Archbishop,  towards  the  latter  end  of  his  life, 
and  after  the  great  change  made  by  the  Queen 
in  her  ministry,  dropped  his  good  inclinations 
'to  the  House  of  Hanover,  and  directed  his  wishes, 
if  not  also  his  counsels,  to  another  quarter, 
ought  to  have  some  good  grounds  for  their  sus- 
picion; which  to  them  who  intimately  knew  his 
sentiments  and  conversation,  cannot  but  seem 
very  unaccountable. 

His  alienation  from  the  interests  he  had  so 
long  espoused  (unless  he  be  also  supposed  to 
have  been  acting  a  part  from  the  beginning,  a 
supposition  the  most  incompatible  with  his 
general  character  that  is  possible),  must  have 
appeared  in  some  instances  or  other  too  noto- 
rious to  have  been  kept  a  secret  to  this  time. 
And  yet  he  never  was  charged,  at  least  not 
openly  so,  as  to  give  any  opportunity  of  vindi- 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  279 

eating  him,  with  any  one  action  or  saying  that 
could  'give  the  least  umbrage  of  any  change  in 
his  sentiments  concerning  the  succession  to  the 
crown. 

It  is  hard  to  know  what  kind  of  evidence  to 
object  against  unsupported  and  wanton  surmise; 
and  much  harder  to  guess  what  degree  of  evi- 
dence may  be  necessary  to  overcome  the  pre- 
judices of  party.  Whereas  there  would  be  little 
difficulty  in  clearing  up  any  particular  fact  or 
counsels,  if  any  such  were  or  could  be  charged 
upon  him.  In  the  meantime,  such  loose  and 
general  imputations,  however  disadvantageous 
or  injurious  to  his  memory,  with  those  who  are 
disposed  to  relish  them,  must  be  left  to  their 
own  weight,  to  take  their  chance  in  the  balance 
against  his  more  known  and  established  charac- 
ter of  steadiness  and  sincerity,  both  in  his  prac- 
tices and  principles. 

There  was  indeed  an  affair  in  which  he  most 
interested  himself  in  the  latter  end  of  the 
Queen's  reign,  which,  if  all  the  papers  relating 
to  it  had  been  preserved,  or  could  have  been 
recovered,  might  have  been  very  serviceable 
towards  obviating  any  suggestions  of  this  kind. 
But  though  a  perfect  account  of  the  share  he 
bore  in  promoting  the  design  of  introducing  the 
Liturgy  of  the  Church  of  England  at  Hanover, 
and  procuring  a  chaplain  of  the  Church  of  England 


280  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

at  the  Queeris  eiyense  to  attend  on  the  Princess 
^  Sophia  (for  this  is  the  affair  referred  to),  cannot 
now  be  retrieved,  yet  enough  may  be  produced 
to  shew  that  he  was  actually  engaged  in  such  a 
project,  and  to  satisfy  reasonable  persons  in 
any  scruples  they  may  have  entertained  con- 
cerning his  adherence  to  his  former  principles, 
from  any  groundless  reports  or  mere  surmises. 

It  was  in  the  year  1711,  that  measures  were 
taken  to  bring  the  aforementioned  design  to 
bear.  The  sentiments  of  the  Court  at  Hanover 
were  sounded  upon  this  occasion,  and  the  pro- 
posal met  with  approbation,  provided  a  little  Eng- 
lish court  were  likewise  formed  there ;  and  her  Royal 
HighfiesSy  by  means  of  a  civil  list  granted  her  in 
England f  were  put  into  a  condition  suitable  to  a  first 
princess  of  the  blood,  and  the  relation  she  bore  to  the 
Crown  of  Great  Britain.  The  Archbishop,  in 
all  probability,  would  have  been  highly  instru- 
mental in  bringing  both  these  points  to  bear, 
had  not  the  great  affair  of  peace,  then  depend- 
ing, disconcerted  measures  and  prevented  any 
accomplishment  of  this  design.  The  occasion 
of  his  proposing  a  chaplain  for  the  Electress, 
will  appear  t^'fren  we  come  to  speak  of  his  care 
of  the  interest  of  the  Church  of  England  in 
foreign  parts ;  it  will  be  sufficient  for  the  pre- 
sent purpose  to  borrow  a  testimony  as  to  the 
other  point  from  a  letter  of  Monsieur  Leibnitz 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  281 

to  Dr.  Ayerst  (then  chaplain  to  the  Earl  of 
Strafford),  residing  at  that  time  at  the  Hague, 
by  whom  this  affair  was  principally  negociated, 
and  through  whom  a  correspondence  was  kept 
between  the  Archbishop  and  Monsieur  Leibnitz. 
The  entire  passage  of  that  letter  which  relates 
to  the  matter  in  hand,  is  as  follows. 

**  My  Lord  Archbishop  of  York*  was  in  the 
right  to  take  no  notice  of  the  point  I  had  touched 

*  My  Lord  Archeveque  de  York  a  eu  raison  de  ne  point 
toucher  le  point  que  j'avois  touche  dans  la  lettre  que  je  vous 
avois  ecrite ;  car  cela  n'entre  point  directiment  dans  son  object: 
et  il  semble  que  sans  en  parler,  il  y  a  de  la  connexion  dans  les 
choses,  et  que  I'une  est   le  fondement  de  I'autre.     Madame 
I'Electrice  n'entre  aucunement  dans  tout  ce  que  je  viens  de 
vous  ecrire.     Cette  princesse  a  I'esprit  trop  eleve  et  trop  con- 
tent (son  etat  etant  en  effect  tel  qu'on  pourroit  souhaiter)  pour 
avoir  la  moindre  pretension  aii  faire  la  moindre  demande.  Mais 
des  personnes  bien  intentionnees  ont  grand  sujet  de  s'y  interes- 
ser.     Et  puisque  my  Lord  Comte  de  Strafford,  est  encore  en 
Angleterre  et  que  my  Lord  Comte  de  Rivers,  destine  pour 
venir  icy,  n'est  pas  encore  en  chemin,  non  plusque  je  sache ;  il 
se  pent  qu'on  aye  bientot  quelque  egard  a  ce  qui  est  du  verita- 
ble interest  de  la  nation  et  de  I'Eglise  Anglicane.     J'apprends 
deja  que  le  parti  contraire  au  parti  qui  a  le   dessus  pretend  se 
moquer  et  voudroit  faire  croire  que  ceux  qui  ont  parle  autre- 
fois en  Parleraent,  et  se  taisent  quand  ils  ont  plus  de  pouvoir, 
n'ont  pas  eu  veritablement  I'intention  qu'ils  faifoient  pavoitre. 
Pour  moy  je  ne  suis  point  de  ce  sentiment  et  je  con^ois  qu'ils 
peuvent  avoir  a  present  des  raisons  de  leur  retenne.  Cependant 
leurs  adversaires  leurs  en  feront  une  affaire  un  jour.    S'ils  pes- 


282  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

upon  in  the  letter  I  wrote  to  you.  For  it  did 
not  directly  fall  within  his  subject,  and  it  seems 
too,  without  his  mention  of  it  in  particular,  to 
be  implied,  from  the  connection  of  the  two 
points,  the  one  being  grounded  on  the  other. 
Madam  the  Electress  has  no  part  in  what  I  have 
now  written  to  you.  That  princess  having  too 
elevated  a  mind,  and  being  too  content  with 
her  present  condition  (which  is  indeed  such  as 
that  a  more  happy  one  cannot  be  desired),  to 
form  any  pretensions  or  make  any  demand.  But 
other  well-designing  and  public  spirited  persons 
have  great  reasons  to  interest  themselves  in  it ; 
and  since  the  Earl  of  Straiford  is  still  in  Eng- 
land, and  my  Lord  Earl  of  Rivers,  who  is  de- 
signed to  come  hither,  is  not  yet  set  out,  that  I 
have  heard,  it  may  be  that  some  regard  will  be 
shortly  had  to  that  which  is  the  true  interest  of 
the  English  Church  and  nation.  I  understand 
that  the  contrary  party  to  that  now  in  power 
pretends  already  to  make  a  jest  of  it,  and  would 
have  it  believed,  that  they  who  formerly  spoke 
in    Parliament,    and    7iow  are  silent  when   they 

dent  entierement  I'occasion  de  se  faire  un  merite  de  un  chose, 
dont  la  justice  est  reconnue  de  tout  le  monde,  et  qui  n'est  pas 
d'une  petite  importance  pour  asseurcr  la  nation  et  la  religion. 
My  Lord  Comte  de  Strafford  s'il  a  la  occasion  d'entrer  en  ma- 
tiexe  pourra  faire  valoir  I* interest  de  VEglise,  et  le  sentiment  de 
my  Lord  Archevcqiu;  de  York. 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  283 

have  the  power  in  their  hands,  had  not  truly  the 
intention  they  pretended.  For  my  part,  I  am 
not  of  that  opinion.  I  conceive  well  enough, 
that  they  may  have  their  reasons  for  their  re- 
serve at  present.  However,  their  adversaries 
will  one  day  object  it  to  them  as  a  crime,  if  they 
entirely  lose  the  opportunity  of  making  a  merit 
of  a  thing,  the  justice  of  which  is  acknowledged 
by  all  the  world,  and  which  is  of  no  little  im- 
portance to  the  nation  and  to  religion.  If  my 
Lord  Strafford  has  an  opportunity  of  entering 
upon  this  affair,  he  may  allege  the  interests  of  the 
Church  and  the  opinion  of  my  Lord  Archbishop  of 
York,  as  arguments  for  itT 

This  passage  from  a  privy  counsellor  of  Ha- 
nover should  seem  sufficient  to  justify  him,  not 
only  as  to  his  general  affection  to  the  interests 
of  that  court,  but  as  to  the  particular  opposi- 
tion he  had  once  made  to  the  address  about 
inviting  the  Electress  into  England.  For  though 
he  was  against  the  proposal  of  a  court  of  the 
House  of  Hanover  being  kept  at  London,  yet 
he  approved  of  an  English  court  at  Hanover ; 
and  at  a  time  too  when  they  who  had  urged 
the  invitation  of  the  princess  into  England  for- 
merly, did  not  appear  very  forward  to  shew 
their  respects  to  her  in  the  same  or  the  like 
way.  But  as  they  had  their  reasons  for  their 
own  conduct,  so  had  he  for  his ;  which  might 


284  LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP   SHARP. 

have  been  discovered  and  represented  more  ex- 
actly, if  the  papers  relating  to  this  negociation 
had  not  been  lost  or  destroyed  in  great  measure. 

Some  further  instances  of  his  jealousy  for  the 
interests  of  the  House  of  Hanover,  and  zeal  for 
a  Protestant  succession,  will  follow  in  the  course 
of  this  narrative*. 

In  the  meantime,  let  us  attend  him  into  the 
House  of  Peers,  where  we  shall  find  him  neither 

*  As  concerning  a  passage  in  a  pamphlet  entitled  A  Word 
of  Advice  to  the  Freeholders  (and  quoted  from  thence  in  Togg's 
Weekly  Journal  of  Saturday,  October  13,  1733,  number  258,) 
representing  a  dialogue  between  the  Marquis  of  Wharton  and 
the  late  Archbishop  Sharp,  upon  their  happening  to  meet  in 
the  Court  of  Requests,  a.fe7V  months  before  the  Queen  died,  and 
which  the  author  says,  is  known  but  to  very  few,  however  justly 
and  truly  the  Archbishop's  abhorrence  of  entering  himself  into 
any  measures  with  the  then  ministry  in  favour  of  the  Pretender 
be  represented  in  it,  yet  it  is  plainly,  from  all  the  other  cir- 
cumstances therein  mentioned,  a  mere  fiction ;  so  ill  calculated 
in  point  of  time  and  place  as  to  confute  itself.  For  the  Arch- 
bishop was  not  at  London  during  the  whole  session  of  Parlia- 
ment before  the  Queen's  death,  or  for  several  months  before 
that.  Or,  if  he  had  been  there,  and  had  really  believed  the 
Queen's  ministry  engaged  in  such  a  design  as  is  suggested,  it  is 
inost  improbable  he  would  have  moved  his  suspicion  or  made 
his  complaint  particularly  to  the  Marquis  of  Wharton,  which, 
if  he  had  done,  he  had  deservedly  enough  met  with  the  answer 
said  to  be  given  him  thereupon.  But  the  whole  story  seems 
only  contrived  to  introduce  a  supposed  jest  of  the  marquis's, 
which,  because  it  is  at  best  but  an  insipid  one,  appears,  even  on 
that  account,  to  be  falsely  ascribed  to  him. 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  285 

a  warm  nor  a  frequent  speaker,  and  yet  seldom 
out  of  the  debate  when  bills  of  ecclesiastical 
concernment  were  depending.  Two  bills  of  this 
nature  offered  themselves  in  the  same  session  of 
Parliament  in  which  he  was  introduced  in  the 
House  of  Peers;  and  he  spoke  upon  each  of 
them.  One  was  the  Quakers  bill,  debated  on 
February  12,  1691*.  The  other  was  the  bill 
for  dissolving  the  marriage  of  the  Duke  of  Nor- 
folk with  his  duchess,  February  16f .  He  took 
upon  himself  the  conduct  of  a  bill  about  small 
tithes,  in  1694,  framed  and  prepared  most  pro- 
bably by  Dr.  Stillingfleet,  who  it  seems  could 
not  attend  the  HouseJ.     He  bore  a  great  share 

*  Diary. — On  Friday,  the  12th,  came  on  the  Quaker's  Bill, 
upon  occasion  of  which  I  first  took  the  boldness  to  speak  in  the 
House. 

+  Diary. — On  Tuesday,  the  16th,  came  on  the  Duke  of 
Norfolk's  bill  again.  I  was  with  the  rest  of  the  bishops.  I  had 
occasion  to  speak  about  the  lawfulness  of  divorce  in  the  case 
of  adultery. 

X  Diary. — Saturday,  April  7,  1694.  On  Monday  night  I 
went  to  the  Bishop  of  Worcester,  about  the  bill  of  small  tithes. 
On  Tuesday  I  spoke  largely  to  that  bill ;  and  it  was  ordered, 
that  we  should  bring  in  some  amendments,  and  such  provisos 
as  we  had  to  offer.  That  afternoon  five  or  six  of  us  met  at 
the  Bishop  of  Worcester's,  and  agreed  upon  alterations  and  a 
proviso.  On  Wednesday  I  offered  them  to  the  House,  and 
spoke  to  them.  That  day  the  bill  passed.  One  alteration  was 
allowed,  but  the  proviso  thrown  out.  In  the  afternoon  I  went 
to  the  Bishop  of  Worcester,  to  give  him  an  account  of  that 
matter. 


286  LIFE  OF  AtlCHBISHOP   SHARP. 

in  the  debates  upon  occasional  co7iformity ,  in  1702, 
and  again  in  1704.  In  those  upon  the  Queens 
bounty,  1703;  and  in  those  about  the  Church  in 
danger,  in  1705 ;  of  which  an  account  will  be 
given  in  its  proper  place.  On  other  occasions 
he  did  rarely  interpose,  and  then  only  when 
matters  of  real  importance  to  the  public  were 
debated,  viz.  such  as  immediately  concerned 
either  the  'prerogative  of  the  Crown,  or  the  liberty 
of  the  subject.  The  first  instance  of  this  we  have 
in  1693,  on  occasion  of  the  bill  for  frequent 
calling  and  meeting  of  Parliaments.  A  bill  to 
this  effect  had  passed  both  Houses  in  January, 
1692,  while  he  was  absent,  and  in  his  diocese*, 
but  had  been  rejected  by  the  King.  In  Novem- 
ber following  it  was  resumed ;  and  while  it  was 
under  debate  in  the  House  of  Peers,  he  made 
the  following  speech,  which  being  the  only  one 
that  is  preserved,  shall  be  here  inserted  entire ; 
and  the  rather,  because  some  things  therein 
foretold,  concerning  the  effects  of  frequent  elec- 
tions and  annual  sessions,  may  be  thought  per- 
haps sufficiently  fulfilled,  upon  experience,  since 
passing  the  triennial  act ;  which  did  not  take 
place  till  the  session  following,  in  1694.  The 
regulating  of  elections,  which  he  proposed  as 
an  antidote  or  previous  step  necessary  to  such 

*  He  left  London  this  winter  on  December  28. 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  287 

a  bill,  has  been  since  attempted  by  way  of  re- 
medy, with  what  success  others  must  determine. 

'*  My  Lords,  I  have  always  avoided  giving 
you  trouble ;  and  I  would  give  you  none  now, 
but  that  I  think  the  matter  before  us  is  of  so 
great  importance,  that  if  ever  I  can  judge  it 
proper  for  me  to  offer  my  reasons  for  the  vote  I 
am  to  give,  I  must  judge  it  so  now. 

*'  I  was  not  here  the  last  year  when  this 
matter  was  debated,  but  I  have  attentively 
heard  and  considered,  since  the  bill  hath  been 
now  brought  in,  both  what  hath  been  said  for 
it,  and  what  hath  been  said  against  it. 

*'  I  must  confess,  though  I  have  a  mighty 
respect  for  the  wisdom  and  judgment  of  those 
noble  lords  who  have  spoke  for  the  bill  in  all 
the  clauses  of  it,  when  it  was  examined  in  the 
committee,  yet  I  am  so  unfortunate,  that  I  can 
no  more  vote  with  them  in  the  gross  for  passing 
the  bill,  than  I  did  in  the  particulars  for  the 
passing  the  clauses  of  it.  And  that  I  may  not 
seem  to  dissent  without  reason,  I  desire  to  oiFer 
a  few  things,  upon  account  of  which  I  think 
myself  obliged  to  give  my  vote  against  it. 

*'  In  the  first  place,  my  Lords,  I  am  afraid 
this  bill  is  a  little  too  hard  upon  the  King ;  and 
doth  in  some  measure  tend  to  the  makitig  a 
change  in  our  constitution. 

*'  Whereas    our   monarchy   is    now  equally 


288  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

balanced  by  the  prerogative  of  the  King  on  one 
side,  and  the  privileges  and  liberties  of  the  sub- 
ject on  the  other ;  this  bill  seems  to  cast  a  great 
w^eight  into  one  of  the  scales,  more  than  it  had 
before. 

**  I  do  not  say  that  it  is"  an  invasion  of  the 
prerogative,  or  that  it  is  directly  a  diminution  of 
it ;  but,  if  I  may  be  allowed  to  use  that  word, 
it  bears  hard  upon  it.  If  once  the  King  be  obliged 
to  hold  parliaments  every  year,  in  time  of  peace 
as  well  as  in  time  of  war,  whether  he  needs 
them  or  needs  them  not,  methinks  it  makes  the 
way  easier,  from  an  annual  session,  to  come  to 
a  constant  session,  or  at  least  a  committee  of 
both  Houses  to  sit  constantly. 

*'  I  dare  say  there  is  none  in  this  House  in- 
tends such  a  thing  as  this ;  but  I  ask,  if  ever 
hereafter  there  should  be  any  man  who  would 
in  good  earnest  design  to  cramp  the  royal  au- 
thority, and  to  oblige  the  King  to  take  all  his 
measures,  both  of  peace  and  war,  and  in  the 
disposal  of  all  offices;  I  say,  to  oblige  him  to 
take  all  his  measures,  as  to  these  things,  from  a 
Parliament,  or  a  committee  of  the  same ;  what 
more  eifectual  step  can  be  made  towards  the 
gaining  such  a  point,  than  to  make  a  law  that 
should  oblige  him  every  year  to  hold  a  Parlia- 
ment ? 

"  I  do,  as  I  said,  hope  and  believe,  that  none 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP.  289 

who  are  for  this  bill  think  or  aim  at  such  a 
matter.  But  if  ever  there  should  come  a  gene- 
ration of  men  who  should  think  of  it,  would  it 
not  much  tend  to  the  facilitating  their  business, 
that  there  was  such  a  law  already  made  ?  Would 
it  not  be  a  natural  and  easy  foundation  for  them 
on  which  to  raise  greater  superstructures? 

"  It  will  be  said,  and  it  is  truly  said,  that  the 
King  may  dissolve  Parliaments  when  he  pleases. 
And  if  any  such  motion  as  I  have  now  men- 
tioned be  made  to  him,  he  may  reject  it, 

"  Right ;  he  may  so.  And  so  his  Majesty 
did  the  last  year  reject  this  very  bill.  But  will 
his  once  rejecting  such  a  motion  as  this  hinder 
it  from  being  offered  again  ?  No ;  we  see,  by 
this  very  bill,  that  it  will  not ;  and  when  it  is 
offered,  will  it  not  be  much  harder  and  more 
offensive  in  him  to  refuse  it  a  second  time  ?  Will 
it  not  cause  some  ferment  and  ill  humour  in  his 
people  ?  So  that  at  last  the  King  must  give  his 
consent  to  it,  or  be  under  a  necessity  of  dis- 
obliging his  subjects. 

**  And  therefore,  in  my  poor  opinion,  since  all 
our  properties  and  liberties  are  already  so  well 
secured  to  us  by  law,  we  should  not  make  one  step 
to  abridge  the  King  of  any  of  his  rights,  which  have 
been  so  long  in  the  possession  of  the  Crown. 

"  But,  my  Lords,  there  is  another  reason  for 
which  I  cannot  give  my  vote  for  this  bill ;  and 

u 


290  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

that  is,  I  think  it  will  really  be  so  far  from  a 
benefit  or  privilege  to  the  subjects  of  England, 
that  I  am  afraid  it  will  be  a  grievance  to  them. 
If  Parliaments  were  now  chosen  in  the  same 
manner,  and  as  easily  to  come  by,  as  tbey  were 
in  Edward  the  Third's  time,  it  would  perhaps 
be  no  great  matter  how  often  they  sat.  But,  as 
the  way  of  election  of  Parliament  men  now  is, 
as  their  privileges  as  well  as  their  charges  are  nmv 
grown,  methinks  that  annual  sessions  and  trien- 
nial elections  are  so  far  from  being  desirable, 
that  they  will  really  prove  a  great  burden,  as 
well  as  a  great  mischief  to  the  country.  Privi- 
lege of  Parliament  is  grievous  enough  to  the  people 
of  England  as  Parliaments  now  are.  But  will  it 
not  be  much  more  so,  when  a  law  is  passed, 
that  there  shall  be  in  a  manner  always  privilege, 
and  no  such  interval  that  any  suit  can  be  com- 
menced and  finished  ?  The  members  of  Parlia- 
ment and  their  dependants  will  have  constant 
privilege ;  for  I  may  call  it  a  coiistant  privilege, 
where  the  intervals  of  privilege  are  so  small, 
that  no  suit  can  commence  and  be  finished 
within  them. 

"  If  this  bill  should  pass,  I  hope,  that  by 
holding  of  Parliament  every  year,  will  be  con- 
strued no  more  than  that  every  year  a  Parlia- 
ment should  be  called  and  assembled  ;  though 
even  that  ambiguity  of  the  word  may  be  a  snare 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  291 

to  the  King's  conscience,  who  is  sworn  to  keep 
the  laws,  as  well  as  a  handle  of  making  differ- 
ences between  him  and  his  people,  if  ever  any- 
ill  humour  should  work  in  them.  But  if  by  that 
expression  of  holding  of  Parliaments,  it  should 
be  meant  that  there  should  be  every  year  a  ses- 
sion of  Parliament,  in  the  sense  that  we  com- 
monly understand  session ;  I  say,  if  this  should 
really  be  the  law,  and  be  the  practice,  for  my 
part  I  should  think  this  would  prove  so  intole- 
rably vexatious  and  chargeable  to  the  members 
of  both  Houses,  who  live  at  any  great  distance 
from  this  town,  that  it  would  be  much  more 
heavy  than  any  taxes  that  have  ever  been  laid 
upon  them. 

"  But  I  spoke  of  a  mischief  to  the  country, 
as  well  as  a  burden,  by  the  passing  this  bill. 
And  truly  I  think  I  may  reckon  this  as  a  mis- 
chief. The  debauching  of  people's  manners, 
and  drawing  them  off  from  their  calling  and 
employment  to  a  course  of  drunkenness  and 
idleness.  And  I  may  likewise  account  this  as  a 
mischief,  the  alienating  people' s  affections  one  from 
another,  and  their  being  engaged  in  factions,  and 
piques,  and  quarrels.  And  in  truth,  if  these  be 
mischiefs,  the  elections  of  members  of  Parlia- 
ment, as  they  are  in  our  days  commonly  ma- 
naged, do  as  much  contribute  to  these  mischiefs, 
as  any  other  thing  I  knoio  whatsoever.   And  I  dare 

u2 


292  LIFE   OF   ARCHBISHOP   SHARP. 

say  all  your  Lordships  are  sensible  of  it.  And 
I  cannot  think,  that  when  elections  come  to  be 
so  frequent  (as  by  this  bill  they  are  ordered  to 
be),  but  that  these  mischiefs  will  be  so  far  from 
being  remedied,  that  they  will  be  much  thereby 
increased.  There  will  be  in  all  cities  and  bo- 
roughs a  solid  foundation  laid  for  debauchery 
among  the  populace,  and  for  feuds  and  animo- 
sities among  the  gentry,  which  in  all  probability 
may  last  as  long  as  the  Parliament,  that  is  from 
three  years  to  three  years. 

"  I  must  confess,  1  should  have  been  a  great 
deal  more  willing  to  have  given  my  vote  for  this 
bill,  had  there  been  a  previous  act  made  for 
the  regulating  of  elections,  and  for  the  settling  the 
privileges  of  the  members  of  Parliament,  that  they 
might  be  no  grievance  to  the  subject  in  case  of 
constant  Parliaments.  But  when  this  bill  comes 
without  these  two  things,  I  am  afraid  it  will  do 
mischief  to  the  country,  but  no  good. 

"  I  beg  your  Lordships  to  believe,  that  I  am 
not  against  Parliaments,  nor  against  frequent 
Parliaments.  But,  in  my  poor  apprehension, 
they  should  just  be  as  frequent  as  there  is  occasioii 
for  them.  I  would  not  put  any  obligation  upon 
the  King  to  call  them,  whether  he  had  need  of 
them  or  no.  In  all  probability,  we  shall  have 
too  much  occasion  for  them,  in  the  circumstances 
we  now  are ;  and  1  could  heartily  wish  a  time 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  293 

may  come  when  we  can  live  a  year  without 
them.  When  such  a  time  doth  come,  I  should 
then  think  it  seasonable  to  have  this  matter 
debated ;  but,  at  the  present,  my  humble  mo- 
tion is,  that  it  may  be  laid  aside,  and  that  the- 
bill  be  rejected." 

As  upon  all  occasions  he  delivered  his  mind 
freely  when  he  spoke  in  the  House,  he  ever 
made  voting  a  matter  of  conscience.  When  any 
affair  came  on,  of  which  he  did  not  think  him- 
self so  capable  a  judge  as  some  others  of  the 
peers,  whose  opinions  he  trusted  he  might 
follow,  as  in  cases  of  privilege  of  peerage,  he.  or 
in  matters  of  trade,  which  lay  more  out  of  his 
way,  he  would  then,  after  grounding  his  vote 
upon  the  best  judgment  he  could  form,  make  a 
private  memorandum  of  the  reasons  that  in- 
duced him,  and  enter  his  own  justification  in 
these  or  the  like  words  :  And  I  hope  I  have  not 
done  amiss  in  voting  so  or  so.  Thus  he  did  after 
the  debates  upon  the  commitmeitt  and  detainment  of 
the  lords  in  prison*,  in  November,  1692;  and 

*  His  minutes  of  the  resolutions  of  the  House  upon  this 
debate,  are  as  follows: — Nov.  12.  "I  have  been  every  day  this 
week  at  the  Parliament,  and  staid  out  all  the  debates.  The 
business  they  have  been  upon  is  the  commitment  and  detainment 
of  the  lords  in  prison  this  last  summer ;  and  these  points  I 
find  agreed  on,  1st.  That  to  commit  to  prison,  upon  a  bare 
suspicion  of  the  persons  being  ill  affected  to  the  government, 
is  not  strictly  legal,  but  is  to  be  justified  only  by  the  necessity 


294  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

upon  the  Bankers  Bill,  in  January,  1699,  &c. 
But  when  he  was  clear  in  his  own  opinion  of 
the  justice,  or  equity,  or  fitness  of  giving  his 
voice  rather  one  way  than  another,  then  no  in- 
terests or  endeavours  whatsoever  could  engage 
him  or  take  him  off  from  voting  that  way ;  because 
he  made  it  a  rule  to  be  governed,  in  such  a  case, 
by  his  own  judgment,  independently  of  all  other 
views  or  motives.  Some  instances  of  the  appli- 
cations which  have  been  unsuccessfully  made 
to  him,  may  perhaps  be  worth  the  noticing. 

of  the  juncture.  Sdly.  That  to  commit  to  prison  upon  a  single 
oath  of  treason  against  a  man,  is  legal.  3dly.  That  to  remand 
to  prison  upon  affidavit  made,  that  the  King's  witnesses  were 
not  ready,  or  could  not  then  be  procured,  though  these  wit- 
nesses are  not  then  actually  sworn,  this  also  is  legal,  and  so 
affirmed  by  all  the  judges  then  present,  which  were  ten. 
4thly.  I  think  it  was  acknowledged,  that  the  judges  covdd  not 
remand  a  man  to  prison,  if  it  did  appear  to  them  there  was 
but  one  witness  against  him.  But,  5thly,  the  judges  all  said 
(I  am  sure  my  Lord  Chief  Justice  did,  for  I  am  not  certain 
they  all  were  examined  on  that  question,  but  the  House  of 
Lords  took  it  for  granted  that  this  was  their  sense),  that  the 
judges  were  not  bound  to  examine  whether  there  were  two 
witnesses  or  no.  All  that  they  were  to  take  care  of  was,  that 
the  affida%nt  was  made  according  to  the  form  that  the  act  of 
Habeas  Corpus  directs." 

A  subsequent  memorandum. — "Nevertheless,  on  the  Monday 
following,  it  was,  to  the  great  grief  of  my  Lord  Chief  Justice, 
ordered  to  be  entered  on  the  books,  that  it  is  the  judges'  duty 
not  to  remand  any  m.an  to  prison,  unless  it  appear  upon  oath, 
that  there  are  two  witnesses  against  him.'* 


LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP   SHARP.  295 

In  the  case  of  Sir  John  Fenwick,  the  King 
spoke  to  him  and  the  Bishop  of  Norwich  at 
Kensington,  Decembers,  1696;  and  did,  ''with 
a  great  deal  of  earnestness  (as  he  expresses  it) 
recommend  the  passing  the  bill  of  attainder  against 
Sir  John  Fenwick,  telling  us  how  much  his  govern- 
me?it  was  concerned  in  it.  I  then  told  him,  that  I 
had  always,  in  my  own  mind,  been  against  bills  of 
attainder.  He  bid  us  consider  well  of  the  thing, 
and  he  hoped  we  would.''  But  how  needful 
soever  it  might  be  for  the  King's  affairs,  to 
have  the  bill  passed,  yet  he  could  not  come 
into  it ;  and  accordingly  voted  against  it,  De- 
cember 23d.  And  so  did  eight  more  of  the 
bishops,  though  twelve  of  that  bench  were  for 
it.  This  was  grievously  resented  by  the  Bishop 
of  Sarum,  which  occasioned  some  little  ruffle 
between  them,  either  in  the  House  or  in  their 
lobby. 

Something  was  said  on  this  occasion  which 
seemed  to  reflect  strongly  on  the  dissentient 
bishops  (those  of  them  at  least  who  had  been 
promoted  since  the  late  establishment  of  the 
Crown),  as  if  it  were  unaccountable  how  they 
who  *^eat  of  the  King's  bread,"  should  oppose  mea- 
sures necessary  for  his  service.  To  which  the 
then  Bishop  of  Bath  and  Wells  is  reported  to 
have  replied,  that  **  if  he  might  be  said  in  any 
sense  to  eat  another  marl's   bread,   it  was  Bishop 


296  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

Kenns.  However  the  Archbishop's  sentiments 
on  these  expected  compliances  of  the  bishops 
to  the  Court,  on  the  account  of  their  being  per- 
sonally obliged  by  the  Crown  for  their  seats  in 
that  noble  House,  appear  sufficiently,  from  many 
instances  (which  will  be  hereafter  given),  of  his 
non-compliance  with  the  Court  measures,  when  he  did 
not  approve  them,  and  of  his  asserting  his  right 
to  judge  for  himself,  in  all  his  votes  to  be  given 
in  Parliament,  even  when  the  late  Queen  herself 
pressed  him  to  be,  as  she  termed  it,  on  her  side. 
To  be  on  the  side  of  the  prerogative  (which  was 
his  principle,  when  taken  in  a  proper  and  just 
sense),  admitted  so  great  a  latitude  of  construc- 
tion, that  sometimes  the  best  friends  to  the 
Crown  could  not  come  up  to  what  was  so 
termed  by  the  ministry,  and  yet  were  blamed 
as  deserters  of  the  interests  of  the  Crown  in  all 
critical  junctures.  And  to  be  sure,  whenever 
this  charge  was  laid  on  the  bishops'  bench,  it 
was  accompanied  with  insinuations  of  ingrati- 
tude, forgetfulness  of  favours,  and  with  com- 
plaints of  their  having  deceived  their  friends, 
and  being  too  late  discovered.  A  hard  case  of 
the  bishops,  who,  when  they  are  with  the  Court, 
are  scarce  allowed  to  be  so  upon  principle,  but 
are  represented  either  as  acknowledging  and 
compensating  past  favours,  or  seeking  and  press- 
ing after  future ;   and  ivhen  they  are  against  it. 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  297 

though  it  be  acknowledged,  perhaps,  to  be  upon 
principle,  yet  it  will  scarce  be  allowed  to  be 
done  with  honour. 

The  next  day  after  this  dispute  happened, 
viz.  on  Christmas  eve,  my  Lord  of  Salisbury 
writ  a  letter  to  him  upon  the  same  subject';  but 
he  seems  not  to  have  regarded  what  was  wrote, 
making  no  mention  of  the  particulars  of  the 
letter,  or  of  any  answer  returned  to  it  by  him- 
self. He  approved  in  his  own  mind  what  he 
had  done  ;  and  though  he  had  thereby  sensibly 
displeased  the  bishop,  yet  he  had  the  satisfac- 
tion of  meeting  with  a  favourable  reception 
from  his  Majesty,  with  whom  he  received  the 
sacrament  the  day  following,  viz.  Christmas 
day ;  and  upon  whom  he  waited  a  few  days 
after,  viz.  January  1st  and  14th ;  and  remarks, 
"  that  the  King  received  him  without  any  signs  of 
anger'' 

He  had  upon  all  other  occasions  manifested 
his  affection  to  his  Majesty  and  his  government. 
He  had,  in  the  beginning  of  the  same  year, 
readily  signed  the  association,  on  account  of  the 
assassination  plot,  with  the  rest  of  the  lords, 
He  having  first  got  leave,  that  a  declaration  of  lohat 
was  meant  by  revenging*,  should  be  entered  upon 

*  The  word  had  been  used  on  a  like  occasion,  (viz.  in  the 
association  entered  into  when  Queen  Elizabeth  was  thought  in 
danger  from  supposed  practices  of  Mary  Queen  of  Scots),  but 


298  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

their  books,  February  27,  1695.  He  was  like- 
wise one  of  the  bishops  who,  about  that  time, 
joined  in  publishing  a  declaration  concerning 
the  irregular  and  scandalous  proceedings  of  three 
non-juring  clergymen,  at  the  execution  of  Sir 
John  Friend  and  Sir  William  Perkins  (an  ac- 
count of  this  was  published  in  quarto,  printed 
for  John  Everingham).  In  a  word,  he  told  the 
Earl  of  Portland,  in  a  letter  the  year  after  the 
attainder  of  Sir  John  Fenwick  (in  which  he 
recommended  Mr.  H.  Finch  to  the  King's  fa- 
vour for  the  deanery  of  York,  then  vacant  by 
the  death  of  Dr.  Wickham,  but  without  suc- 
cess), **  that  he  had  never,  he  believed,  done  any 
thing  that  might  give  his  Majesty  occasion  of  dis- 
pleasure ;  and  as  I  do  every  day  (said  he),  pray  to 
God  for  his  Majesty's  health  and  success  in  all  his 
affairs,  so  do  I  desire  to  live  no  longer  than  I  do 
uprightly  and  cojiscientiously  endeavour,  to  the  utmost 

not  explained.  Bishop  Burnet  says  (vol.  II.  p.  169),  great  ex- 
ceptions overe  now  taken  to  it,  as  not  of  evangelical  sound.  His 
Lordship  must  mean,  that  it  seemed  to  interfere,  in  its  natural 
or  obvious  import,  with  a  Gospel  duty.  For,  in  any  other 
sense,  it  would  have  been  a  trifling  exception  indeed.  The 
resolution  at  last  was,  that  it  should  be  meant  in  a  legal  sense, 
either  in  tlie  prosecution  of  justice  at  home,  or  of  war  abroad, 
with  which  the  Archbishop  was  well  satisfied  ;  not  troubling 
himself,  either  about  the  obvious  and  natural  import  of  the 
word,  or  the  evangelical  sound  of  it,  after  this  legal  meaning  of 
it  was  once  fixed  and  ascertained. 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  299 

of  my  poor  power,  faithfully  to  serve  his  Majesty  in 
that  station  wherein  his  mere  goodness,  without  any 
desires  of  mine,  hath  placed  me. '^ 

In  the  late  Queen's  reign,  soon  after  the  meet- 
ing of  her  first  Parliament,  in  1702,  at  which 
time  she  offered  him  the  almoner's  place,  and  a 
seat  in  the  Privy  Council  (both  which  he  at 
present  declined),  she  put  him  upon  using  his 
endeavours  "  to  make  the  bishops  vote  right,''  as  it 
was  termed;  not  suspecting,  as  may  be  pre- 
sumed, his  delicacy  on  that  head ;  and  that  the 
same  principle  upon  which  he  acted  himself 
would  forbid  his  assuming  to  direct  others  who 
had  the  same  claim  of  liberty  to  follow  their 
own  judgment  which  he  asserted  to  himself. 
Her  ministers,  who  knew  him  better,  and  pro- 
bably from  greater  freedoms  which  he  took  in 
expressing  his  sentiments  to  them,  seldom 
touched  upon  this  head,  but  sought  to  work 
upon  him  through  the  Queen,  to  whom  he  could 
deny  nothing  that  was  in  his  power  to  give. 
And  many  a  conference  had  he  with  her  Majesty 
upon  this  point.  Some  of  which,  on  several 
different  occasions,  shall  be  noted  down  from 
the  short  memorandums  he  made  of  them  in 
his  diary  on  the  days  that  they  happened. 

Diary,  1704-5.      Saturday,  January  27.  ''I 

was  with  the  Queen  again She  again 

fell  a  talking  about  the  bill  for  qualifying  people 


300  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

to  be  elected ;  and  earnestly  begged  of  me  that 
I  would  do  what  I  could  against  it  in  our  House. 
She  said  she  depended  upon  me.  I  told  her, 
I  had  as  yet  talked  with  nobody  about  this  bill. 
But  she  might  be  sure,  if  I  was  satisfied  that 
the  passing  of  it  would  be  prejudicial  to  the 
Crown,  I  should  oppose  it." 

Thursday,  December  13,  (1705).  **  She  then 
bespoke  me  to  vote  against  the  bill  for  exclud- 
ing officers,  which  was  that  day  to  be  brought 
into  the  House  of  Commons.  I  gave  her  no 
promise,  but  said  I  would  consider." 

Monday,  December  9,  1706.  *'  In  the  after- 
noon I  went  to  Kensington,  to  wait  upon  the 
Queen.  She  pressed  me  earnestly  to  be  on  her 
side  in  all  matters  that  came  before  the  Parlia- 
ment relating  to  the  prerogative She 

desired  I  would  not  be  governed  by  my  friends 
(meaning  my  Lord  Nottingham*  and  that  party) 

*  Her  Majesty  knew  his  attachment  to  that  family,  and  the 
reasons  of  it.  He  did  all  that  was  in  his  power  to  shew  his 
respect  to  all  the  descendants  of  his  great  patron.  And  the 
Queen  had  many  applications  from  him  in  their  favour,  and 
many  testimonies  of  his  desire  to  serve  them.  And  his  friend- 
ship and  intimacy  with  the  Earl  of  Nottingham  (which  was 
preserved  to  the  last)  would  dispose  her  Majesty's  ministers  at 
this  time  to  be  apprehensive  that  he  would  be  governed  by  the 
earl  in  his  votes.  But  it  appeared  otherwise,  as  often  as  the 
earl  and  he  happened  to  differ  in  their  sentiments,  which  they 
did  in  several  instances  in  the  latter  end  of  this  reign,  as  well 
as  in  some  about  this  time. 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  301 

in  my  votes  in  Parliament.  I  told  her,  '  / 
would  always  act  according  to  the  best  sense  I  had^ 
That  I  had  a  great  duty  to  her  Majesty ;  that  I 
should  always  show  myself  a  loyal  subject ; 
nay,  and  if  she  would  give  me  leave  to  say  it, 
/  loved  her ;  for  which  she  thanked  me.  She 
desired  I  would  never  promise  my  vote,  till  I 
had  acquainted  her  with  my  objections ;  she 
said,  *  I  should  be  her  confessor,  and  she  would  be 
mine;  and  if  she  could  not  satisfy  me,  then  I 
should  vote  as  I  pleased.'  I  thanked  her  heartily 
for  this  great  favour  and  condescension,  and 
promised  her,  that  I  would  consult  her  Majesty 
in  those  things  wherein  she  was  concerned,  be- 
fore I  voted  against  her  inclinations.  And  I 
desired  no  more  than  to  be  satisfied." 

This  passed  when  his  Grace  was  just  come 
up  out  of  the  country  to  attend  the  session  that 
winter ;  and  the  next  year,  when  he  came  to 
town  to  the  Parliament,  her  Majesty  entered 
upon  the  same  topic. 

1707.  Monday,  November  3.  **  I  was  just 
come  to  town,  and  went  to  wait  upon  the  Queen 
and  the  Prince.  I  was  received  very  kindly  by 
both  of  them.  The  Queen  says,  she  will  declare 
the  bishops  for  the  vacancies  in  a  little  time, 
and  she  will  have  some  talk  with  me  about  it. 
She  hopes  I  will  serve  her  this  Parliament.  She 
seemed  to  intimate,  that  she  was  afraid  of  some 


302  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

ruffles.  I  told  her,  she  might  be  sure  I  would 
always  be  her's ;  but  that  I  hoped  she  would 
give  me  leave  always  to  vote  in  Parliament 
according  to  my  sentiments.  That  I  would 
always  act  suitably  to  my  principles,  or  not 
contradict  them,  or  words  to  that  effect.  By 
her  talk  I  guess  she  fears  least  some  of  her  mi- 
nisters should  be  called  to  account." 

Thursday,  November  13.  "  She  spoke  to 
me  for  my  assistance  or  vote  in  matters  that 
were  likely  to  come  before  the  Parliament  with 
relation  to  the  Admiralty.  She  said,  that  the 
design  was  against  Admiral  Churchill,  who  was 
one  of  the  ablest  men  for  that  service  that  could 
be  found.  I  told  her,  as  the  merits  of  the  cause 
were,  I  should  be  able  to  determine  how  I 
should  act;  that  I  would  serve  her  in  every 
thing  that  I  could,  and  if  I  met  with  any  diffi- 
culty, I  should  acquaint  her  first  before  I 
engaged  in  any  party." 

Friday,  November  21.  **  She  again  spoke  to 
me  to  be  of  her  side  as  to  my  votes.  I  told  her 
I  would  in  all  cases  where  I  could  act  honestly, 
for  that,  next  to  God  Almighty,  I  should  desire 
to  please  her,  or  to  approve  myself  to  her,  I 
know  not  which  of  the  words  I  used." 

1707-8.  Monday,  February  2.  *'  At  Kensing- 
ton the  Queen  pressed  me  to  serve  her  in  voting 
against  the  bill  to  dissolve  the  Scotch  council. 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  303 

which  is  to  come  into  the  House  on  Thursday- 
next.  I  begged  of  her  Majesty  not  to  lay  her 
commands  upon  me,  for  I  must  vote  according 
to  my  judgment ;  and  according  as  I  am  satis- 
fied what  is  for  the  interest  of  her  Majesty  and 
of  the  kingdom,  for  I  would  make  7io  distinction 
between  them.  I  am  at  liberty  whether  I  will 
attend  or  no  ;  and  if  I  attend,  I  mean  to  vote  as  I 
judge  best,  however  I  may  displease  the  queen." 
1708-9.  Tuesday,  January  18.  "In  the  morn- 
ing I  went  at  eleven  to  the  Queen  (after  much 
business  dispatched  with  her,  it  follows).  When 
I  was  coming  away,  she  told  me,  she  heard  my 
Lord  Guernsey  meant  that  day  to  bring  in  ques- 
tion my  Lord  Duke  of  Dover's  right  of  sitting 
in  our  House,  or  rather  her  right  to  grant  him 
a  patent  to  be  duke,  and  desired  my  vote  for 
her  prerogative.  I  asked  her  if  that  report  did 
not  come  from  the  Bishop  of  Sarum,  which  she 
owned.  I  told  her,  that  I  did  not  know  any 
such  thing.  But  that  I  believed  that  patent  was 
questioned  by  several,  and  perhaps  my  Lord 
Guernsey  might  be  one  of  them.  As  for  me,  I 
should  always  serve  her  Majesty  to  the  utmost 
of  my  power ;  but  I  must  act  according  to  my 
judgment.  That  I  did  not  yet  understand  on 
which  side  the  right  was,  but  would  well  con- 
sider of  the  debates,  if  that  matter  was  brought 
into  the  House." 


304  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

To  give  but  one  passage  more,  and  omit  all 
the  rest,  that  are  of  the  same  strain. 

1709-10.  Friday,  February  3.  "I  went  to 
the  Queen  at  twelve  o'clock,  and  staid  prayers 
w^ith  her.  She  then  earnestly  pressed  me  to 
vote  against  the  Bill  of  Officers,  coming  up 
from  the  House  of  Commons ;  and  told  me  it 
would  look  strange  that  I  should  be  the  only 
bishop  of  the  bench  that  voted  for  that  bill, 
which  was  so  much  against  her  prerogative.  I 
endeavoured  to  convince  her  it  was  a  good  bilL 
But  though  I  could  not  do  that,  yet  I  have 
stuck  to  my  point." 

It  will  be  very  natural  for  those  who  consider 
him  as  attached  to  a  party,  to  interpret  all  these 
reserves  to  his  own  judgment,  as  the  effect  of 
a  resolution  not  to  d7^op  or  desert  the  Tories.  Had 
he  indeed  gone  in  with  that  party  in  every  step, 
this  might  have  been  more  reasonably  suspected. 
But  this  was  not  the  case,  for  he  would  not  only 
vote  against  them,  but  evert  his  ijiterest  too  in  op- 
position to  them,  as  often  as  he  judged  they  were 
taking  wro)ig  steps.  Two  pretty  remarkable  in- 
stances of  this  shall  here  be  given. 

The  first  in  the  endeavours  he  used  to  prevent 
the  tack  of  the  Occasional  Conformity  Bill  to  a 
Money  Bill,  in  1704.  He  was  entirely  for  bring- 
ing in  an  act  for  preventing  occasional  confor- 
mity, and  espoused  it  whenever  it  was  proposed ; 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.-  305 

but  had  disapproved  of  that  irregular  way  of 
forcing  it  upon  the  House  of  Lords  and  the 
ministry  by  a  tack.  And  though  it  was  a  very 
unusual  thing  with  him  to  make  use  of  his  in- 
terest in  the  House  of  Commons,  yet,  upon  this 
occasion,  and  also  at  the  Queen's  desire,  he  took 
some  pains  to  frustrate  that  design.  And  though 
the  'party  in  the  House  of  Commons  put  their  whole 
strength  to  the  carrying  this  point  (Burnet,  vol. 
11.  p.  401),  and  icere  confident  (as  he  told  the 
Queen),  that  their  number  was  great  enough  to 
carry  it  (see  below.  Diary)  ;  yet  the  event  was, 
as  the  writer  of  the  Annals  of  Queen  Anne  tells 
us  on  this  occasion,  *'  that,  through  a  great  pro^ 
vidence,  the  sticklers  for  the  Bill  were  strangely  dis- 
appointed, above  an  hundred  of  those  who  before 
used  to  vote  with  them,  having  deserted  them  on  this 
critical  occasion" 

And  Bishop  Burnet  tells  us,  that  upon  the 
division,  134  were  for  the  tack,  and  250  were  against^ 
so  that  design  was  lost  by  those  who  had  built  all  their 
hopes  upon  it,  and  were  now  highly  offended  with 
some  of  their  own  party,  who  had,  by  their  opposi- 
tion, wrought  themselves  into  good  places,  and  forsook 
that  iiiterest  to  which  they  owed  their  advancement, 
(Burnet,  vol.  II.  p.  402.)  But  his  Lordship, 
when  he  assigned  this  reason,  however  true  in 
part,  might  not  know  that  the  Archbishop  had 
taken  off  several  then  in  the  House,   to  whom 


306  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

his  suggestion  cannot  possibly  be  applied ;  by 
treating  with  such  as  neither  h?idi  favour  at  Court, 
or  prospect  from  thence  ;  as  Sir  Bryan  Stapleton, 
Sir  John  Kay,  Mr.  Comers,  &c.  who  were  par- 
ticularly influenced  by  the  Archbishop  himself, 
and  by  his  son,  Mr.  Sharp,  then  a  member  of 
the  House,  in  this  affair. 

But,  at  the  same  time  that  he  joined  with 
the  Court  in  his  endeavours  to  prevent  the  tack, 
he  spoke  with  great  freedom  to  the  Queen  about 
the  occasional  bill  itself.  He  told  her  (Diary), 
"that  they  would  (he  believed)  bring  it  in  every 
session  till  it  was  passed,  and  that  it  must  pass 
some  time  or  other ;  that,  if  it  did  not,  they 
would  fall  upon  my  Lord  Treasurer,  in  whose 
power  they  thought  it  was  to  get  it  passed,  if 
he  was  so  inclined;  there  being  so  many  that  had 
dependance  on  him.  That  they  were  confident 
their  number  was  great  enough  to  carry  the 
tack,  and  that  he  thought  the  true  way  to  stop 
it  would  be,  that  my  Lord  Treasurer  should  send 
for  any  one  of  the  leading  members,  and  let 
them  know  that  if  they  would  not  attempt  to 
tack  this  bill,  but  let  it  come  up  to  the  House 
of  Lords  by  itself,  he  did  promise  them,  that  he 
would  do  his  endeavours  with  the  Lords,  that  it 
should  pass.  But  (says  he)  I  found  she  liked  not 
this  proposal  I  told  her  it  was  reported  that 
my  Lord  had  the  last  session  told  some  of  the 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP.  307 

members  as  much  as  this  comes  to,  viz.  had 
promised  them,  that  he  would  this  session  use 
his  interest  for  the  passing  the  bill.  This  the 
Queen  says  was  a  mistake.  I  told  her  hoiv  good 
a  House  of  Commons  she  had  this  Parliament,  and 
that  she  ought  if  possible  to  oblige  them  in  such 
a  thing  as  this,  which  I  was  very  well  satisfied 
would  quiet  all. 

**  A  good  deal  more  passed  between  us  about 
this  business.  I  freely  spoke  all  my  thoughts 
to  the  Queen,  and  told  her,  I  had  made  it  my 
business  to  represent  her  to  every  body  as  no 
enemy  to  this  bill ;  and  for  that  end  I  had  taken 
occasion  to  tell  them  what  had  passed  between 
her  Majesty  and  me  upon  this  occasion ;  and  I 
begged  her  pardon  if  I  had  done  amiss." 

The  other  instance  of  his  publicly  declaring 
against  the  Tory  measures  was  in  1705,  when 
they  proposed  the  calling  over  the  Princess  Sophia. 
From  the  first  time  that  this  design  was  inti- 
mated by  the  Earl  of  Rochester  in  the  preced- 
ing Parliament,  he  could  never  endure  it,  as 
being  in  his  apprehension  calculated  only  to  vex 
the  Queen  and  distract  her  councils.  My  Lord 
Rochester  indeed,  as  well  as  the  Earl  of  Not- 
tingham, then  looked  upon  as  the  heads  of  the 
Tory  party,  strongly  espoused  this  invitation ; 
and  with  these  lords  (says  Bishop  Burnet),  by  a 
strange  reverse,  all  the  Tories  joined,  and  by  another 

X  2 


308  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

and  as  strange  a  reverse,  all  the  Whigs  jo'med  in 
opposing  it  *.  And  this  is  represented  by  other 
writers  as  the  most  remarkable  instance  of  mere 
party  attachments  that  either  this  reign  or  the 
former  had  produced.  But  let  the  Archbishop's 
sense  of  this  matter  be  represented  in  his  own 
words. 

Diary.— Wednesday,  Oct.  24,  1705.  "  When 
I  came  home  to  dinner,  I  found  that  a  messen- 
ger had  been  sent  by  the  Queen  to  order  me  to 
wait  on  her  at  five  o'clock  in  the  evening.  Her 
business  was  to  tell  me  what  she  had  heard. 
That  a  motion  would  be  made  in  our  House  to 
send  for  the  Princess  of  Hanover  over,  in  pur- 
suance of  what  my  Lord  Rochester  had  threat- 
ened in  a  speech  the  last  Parliament,  and  to 
persuade  me  to  use  my  interest  with  my  friends 
not  to  come  into  that  motion ;  which  I  readily 
promised  her,  and  told  her,  that  I  would  always 
oppose  it,  as  looking  upon  that  project  to 
proceed  from  nothing  but  a  pique  to  her  Ma- 
jesty." 

Saturday,  October  27,  1705.  "  I  then  went 
to  make  a  visit  to  my  Lord  Rochester,  where  I 
talked  with  him  about  his  speech  the  last  Par- 
liament, about  calling  in  the  heir  of  the  House 
of  Hanover,  which  I  took  occasion  to  oppose  as 

*  Burnet's  History,  vol.  II.  p.  43(1. 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  309 

a  thing  perfectly  against  my  sense;  and  as  a 
thing  that  was  very  hard  upon  the  Queen,  and 
seemed  designed  on  purpose  to  pique  her.  But 
he  insisted  upon  the  reasonableness  of  it  in  case 
that  we  really  meant  the  House  of  Hanover  should 
succeed  after  the  Queen's  death.  For  in  that 
case  it  was  necessary  the  heir  should  be  here 
on  the  spoty  otherwise  it  would  be  a  mighty  ad- 
vantage to  the  Prince  of  Wales,  who  could  pre- 
sently land  here  with  a  French  force.  I  opposed 
this  reasoning  as  well  as  I  could ;  and  after- 
wards went  to  the  House,  where  the  Queen 
made  her  speech,"  &c. 

Monday,  November  12.  "  This  morning  the 
Queen  sent  for  me  to  come  to  her  about  eleven 

o'clock It  was,  that  she  had  heard  the 

business  of  the  heir  of  Hanover  would  be  moved 
in  both  Houses,  and  therefore  [she  desired  me 
to  take  occasion,  if  I  was  talked  to  about  it,  to 
tell  every  body  my  sense  of  it." 

Thursday,  November  15.  **  Then  I  went  to 
the  House,  where  we  staid  till  five  o'clock  at 
night.  The  Queen  was  there.  The  debate  was 
about  an  address  to  the  Queen,  to  call  over  the 
Princess  Sophia,  or,  as  it  was  worded,  the  pre- 
presumptive  heir  to  the  crown.  After  many 
speeches,  it  was  carried  in  the  negative  by  a 
great  majority.  All  the  bishops  voted  against 
this  address,  except  the  Bishop  of  London  (who 


310  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

spoke  likewise  for  it),  and  the  Bishop  of  Bath 
and  Wells,  who  went  out." 

However,  the  motion  had  this  effect,  that  it 
produced  a  bill  soon  after,  for  the  security 
of  the  succession,  by  appointing  lords  justices  of 
England,  impowered  in  the  name  of  the  succes- 
sor to  act  as  if  the  successor  was  present.  This 
Bill  of  Regency,  notwithstanding  it  was  moved 
by  the  Lord  Wharton,  universally  espoused  by 
the  Whigs,  and  opposed  by  the  leading  Tories  in 
the  House  of  Peers,  he  thoroughly  approved  of, 
though  in  one  clause  of  it  he  differed  from  the 
ministry.  *'  I  was  one  of  those  (says  he,)  that 
voted  against  my  Lord  Mayor's  being  one  of 
the  justices  ;  in  which  vote  I  went  with  the 
Court.  But  I  was  one  of  those  who  voted  for 
their  being  restrained  from  altering  the  Test 
Acts,  in  which  vote  I  was  against  the  Court.'' 

But  however,  her  Majesty  still  suspected  the 
same  motion  would  be  made  again  the  next 
Parliament,  as  appears  by  the  following  memo- 
randum. 

1706.  Monday,  March  25.  "  At  five  o'clock 
I  went  to  Kensington  to  council.  After  the 
council  was  over,  the  Queen  took  me  aside,  and 
told  me,  as  my  Lord  Treasurer  had  done  before, 
that  she  had  apprehensions  of  the  motion's  being 
renewed  the  next  Parliament,  of  inviting  over 
the  Princess  Sophia  into  England.     And  there- 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP.  311 

fore  she  pressed  me  very  earnestly,  that  I  would 
endeavour,  in  all  my  conversation,  to  discourage 
that  matter,  and  not  barely  to  be  silent  in  it.  I 
told  her  I  was  of  the  sentiments  I  was  before ; 
and  should  be  ready  to  shew  I  was  so  upon  all 
occasions.  She  asked  me  if  I  had  not  once 
expressed  myself  that  I  abhorred  the  thoughts  of 
it.  I  told  her  I  could  not  remember  the  words, 
but  if  her  Majesty  said  I  did  use  those  words, 
I  could  not  doubt  but  I  did." 

Now  it  seems  he  had  dropped  such  an  ex- 
pression to  my  Lord  Treasurer  Godolphin,  as 
he  recollected  afterwards,  and  marked  it  in  his 
diary. 

These  passages  are  brought  together  to  con- 
firm what  was  above  observed,   that  he  was 
steady  in  this  principle,  to  preserve  his  liberty 
and  discretion  of  voting  in  the  House  of  Peers 
free  from  the  influence  not  only  oi  private  friend- 
ships (such  as  he  confessedly  had  with  the  Lords 
Nottingham,  Rochester,  Guernsey,  &c.),  or  of 
the  Court  (where  yet  he  had  considerable  favour 
and  interest),  but  also  of  party,  considered  as 
such  ;  that  is,  so  far  as  he  deemed  it  mere  faction 
or  opposition ;  in  which  case  he  scrupled  not  to 
declare  himself  fully  against  it.     Indeed,  it  had 
been  impossible  for  him,  without  this  temper, 
notwithstanding  the  Queen's  personal  regard  for 
him,  to  have  kept  in  so  good  correspondence  as 


312  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP. 

he  did,  with  the  Court,  during  the  whole  aclmmi- 
stration  of  Lord  GodolpJiin. 

But  there  is  no  doubt  his  interest  at  Court 
was  principally  owing  to  her  Majesty's  parti- 
cular esteem  for  him,  which,  as  it  was  the  chief 
reason  that  engaged  his  attendance  there,  and 
made  him  in  some  sense  a  courtier,  such  at  least 
as  she  approved  of,  will  deserve  a  more  parti- 
cular consideration  here  ;  especially  as  he  seems 
to  have  been  the  only  one  that  in  the  various 
changes  of  councils  and  ministers,  she  never  dis- 
missed, nor,  as  far  as  appears,  made  any  excep- 
tions against,  from  the  beginning  of  her  reign 
to  his  death,  near  the  close  of  it. 

It  was  immediately  upon  her  accession  to  the 
crown,  that  my  Lord  Nottingham,  in  a  letter 
wrote  to  him  to  persuade  him  to  come  up  with- 
out delay  to  pay  his  duty  to  the  Queen  (for  he 
was  at  that  time  in  his  diocese),  uses  these 
words  as  his  argument.  "  I  ought  to  tell  you  I 
have  good  reason  to  believe  that  your  Grace  is  more 
in  her  Majesty's  favour  and  esteem^  than  any  of 
your  order.  And  judge  whether  something  more 
than  the  ordinary  respect  of  a  subject  is  not  due  to 
her  from  you.''  But,  before  this,  he  had  taken 
care  by  my  Lord  of  Canterbury  to  send  his 
congratulations  upon  her  accession ;  ivhich  she 
look  very  kindly,  and  likewise  gave  him  leave,  at 
his  request,  and  on  account  of  his  then  indispo- 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  313 

sition  with  the  stone,  not  to  attend  at  London 
till  the  winter  following. 

However,  the  next  time  she  saw  my  Lord  of 
Canterbury,  she  could  not  forbear  suggesting 
her  desires,  that  the  Archbishop  of  York  should 
not  only  attend  the  coronation,  but  preach  too, 
if  possible,  before  her.  My  Lord  of  Canterbury 
represented  all  this  to  him  in  a  very  kind  letter, 
dated  March  28th ;  to  which  he  answered,  April 
1st,  in  the  following  words. 

"  My  Lord, 

**  I    had  the    favour    of    your's   this 
morning,  wherein  you  tell  me  the  Queen  will 
take  it  well  if  I  attend  the  coronation  on  the 
23d  instant.     God  forbid  that  I  should  ever  fail 
in  any  thing  whereby  I  can  shew  duty  or  pay 
respect  to  her  Majesty  ;  and  therefore,  if  God 
bless  me  with  tolerable  health,  so  much  health 
as  to  be  able  to  perform  the  journey,  I  design 
to  wait  upon  her  Majesty  at  that  time.     Indeed 
I  meant  to  have  done  it  without  this  intimation, 
notwithstanding  her   Majesty's  gracious  indul- 
gence which  you  acquainted  me  with  in  your 
last.   For,  upon  second  thoughts,  I  was  sensible 
it  would  be  intolerable  ill  manners  for  me  not 
to  pay  my  duty  to  the  Queen  upon  so  solemn 
an  occasion. 

*'  As  for  Avhat  you  further  intimate,  that  I 


314  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

must  preach  the  coronation  sermon^  it  confounds 
me  so  that  I  know  not  what  to  say  to  it.  On 
one  hand  I  am  sensible  it  is  a  mighty  honour 
designed  me,  and  I  am  infinitely  obliged  to  her 
Majesty,  for  having  so  good  an  opinion  of  me, 
as  to  think  me  capable  of  discharging  such  a 
work.  Yet,  on  the  other  hand,  my  health  is  so 
broken  with  cholics  in  my  stomach,  and  stone 
and  strangury,  that  I  am  altogether  unfit  to  go 
about  any  work,  and  least  of  all  such  a  business 
as  this.  So  that  if  her  Majesty  will  please  to 
appoint  any  one  else  for  this  service,  I  do  not 
doubt  it  would  be  performed  much  more  to  her 
satisfaction. 

**  But  I  do  not  say  this  with  a  design  of  de- 
clining the  service,  if  I  thought  /  should  he  able 
to  go  through  with  it.  I  have  too  great  a  honour 
for  her  Majesty,  not  to  take  the  least  intimation 
of  her  pleasure,  to  be  a  sufficient  argument  for 
my  obedience.  And  therefore  I  do  mean  to  set 
myself  to  make  a  sermon  upon  the  occasion. 
And  I  do  likewise  design  to  set  out  from  hence 
to  London,  on  Monday,  the  13th.  But  if  any 
thing  happens  in  the  meantime  that  renders  me 
incapable  of  prosecuting  either  the  one  design 
or  the  other,    I  will  give  your  Grace  timely 

notice. 

I  am,  &c.  &c. 

"  Jo.  Ebou." 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  315 

Presently  after  this,  his  fit  of  the  stone  re- 
turned with  some  violence.  But  voiding  the 
stone  at  last,  he  became  able,  though  with  great 
difficulty,  to  perform  his  journey ;  and  preached 
both  with  more  vigour  and  more  acceptance, 
than  could  well  have  been  expected,  considering 
how  he  was  disabled  both  in  body  and  mind. 

After  this  he  had  several  conferences  with  her 
]\Iajesty  about  ecclesiastical  matters  ;  and  (says 
he)  "  /  thank  God,  I  honestly  spoke  my  thoughts 
about  things  and  persons.  She  ptvmised  that  she 
would  not  alter  her  list  of  chaplains.  I  did  what 
good  offices  I  could  to  my  Lord  Canterbury,  Lord 
Norwich,*'  &c.  His  stay  in  town  was  very  short 
upon  this  occasion.  But,  upon  his  return  to 
Parliament  next  winter,  the  Queen  offered  him 
the  almonry  and  a  seat  in  the  Privy  Council,  by 
my  Lord  Treasurer.  But  he  ^entreated  to  be 
excused  from  accepting  either,  especially  the 
former.  He  went  to  the  Queen ;  he  prevailed 
upon  Lord  Nottingham  to  intercede  for  him  with 
her  ;  but  to  no  purpose,  for, 

1702,  December  15th,  "  The  Queen  sent  for 
me,  and  again  pressed  me  to  take  the  almoner's 
place.  I  refused  it  as  much  as  1  could ;  but  she 
would  not  give  over  urging  it ;  and  when  I  left 
her,  she  bid  me  consider  of  it,  and  would  not 
take  a  denial.  I  afterwards  met  my  Lord  Trea- 
surer at  the  Scotch  Commission.  He  gave  me 
12 


316  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

a  paper  containing  that  it  was  entirely  necessary 
for  the  Queen's  service  I  should  take  this  place. 
I  then  got  my  Lord  Nottingham  to  go  once 
more  to  the  Queen,  and  get  me  off;  which  he 
promised  to  do,  but  endeavoured  it  in  vain.  So 
that  on  Saturday  morning  I  waited  again  upon 
the  Queen,  and  told  her,  if  she  would  force  me 
to  it,  I  must  obey.  I  told  her,  I  would  take  it 
upon  these  terms,  that  she  would  dismiss  me 
with  the  first  convenience.  And  that  I  should 
have  liberty  to  go  into  the  country  as  I  used  to 
do  ;  and  that  I  should  not  have  the  care  of  pro- 
viding for  any  more  sermons  than  what  fell  while  I 
was  in  town ;  but  that  in  my  absence  she  should 
speak  either  to  the  dean  of  the  chapel,  or  her 
clerks  of  the  closet,  to  take  care  of  them." 

Accordingly,  on  Friday,  February  5th,  he 
7'eceived  the  Almoner's  seal.  And  February  11th 
he  was  sworn  at  the  Chancery  bar  for  the  office 
of  Commissioner  for  the  Scotch  Union;  and  March 
20th  following,  he  was  sworn  a  privy  counsellor, 
with  Lord  Thanet  and  Lord  Guernsey.  And  the 
Queen  afterwards  told  him,  that  she  intended 
to  make  him  dean  of  her  chapel,  if  the  Bishop 
of  London  should  drop.  And  in  every  thing 
shewed  her  inclination  to  oblige  him  as  much 
as  she  could.  And  he,  for  his  part,  made  it 
his  endeavour  to  discharge  his  duty  towards 
her    in    the  best  manner,    as    her    divine   or 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  317 

casuist,  with  respect  to  her  spiritual  concerns ; 
as  a  good  bishop,  with  regard  to  ecclesiastical 
affairs,  and  as  a  faithful  counsellor  m  state  points. 

In  the  first  of  these  capacities,  as  her  pastor, 
she  trusted  very  much  to  his  fidelity  and  skill. 
She  not  only  allowed  him  to  enter  with  her  into 
warm  discourses  about  religion,  which  he  often 
did,  when  he  found  proper  opportunities  for  it ; 
but  she  would  send  for  him  on  purpose  to  dis- 
course with  her  on  practical  duties,  especially 
before  she  received  the  sacrament ;  and  lament 
to  him  upon  some  occasions,  that  she  was  really 
so  taken  up  with  business j  that  she  had  not  time  to 
say  her  prayers.  The  particulars  of  these  dis- 
courses were  not  always  noted  down  by  him  in 
his  diary,  but  only  mentioned  in  general.  "  At 
this  conference  I  said  to  her  a  great  many  things 
about  religion."  December  31,  1705.  Or,  **  I 
talked  sundry  matters  with  the  Queen,  but 
chiefly  religious."  Or,  **  I  had  a  great  deal  of 
talk  with  her  about  the  preparation  for  receiving 
the  sacrament."  Or,  *'  I  had  a  good  deal  of  talk 
with  her  about  the  exercise  of  devotion."  Or, 
"  All  our  talk  was  about  religion,  the  difference 
between  wilful  sins  and  sins  of  infirmity,  and 
sins  of  ignorance ;  about  preparing  for  the  sacra- 
ment ;  about  saying  one's  prayers,  &c.  In  short, 
I  was  sent  for  to-night  purely  as  a  confessor" 

March  30,  1711.  *'  After  chapel  I  went  up 
to  the  Queen  (she  having  sent  me  orders  by  a 


318  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

footman  so  to  do).  Her  business  was  to  talk  with 
me  about  her  receiving  the  sacrament  on  Easter 
day,"  &c.  And  he  would  charge  things  which 
he  thought  amiss  very  home  upon  her,  if  they 
were  such  as  pertained  to  her  conscience.  As 
in  the  case  of  the  Savoy  Hospital,  where,  upon 
a  visitation,  the  four  chaplains  had  been  deprived 
by  an  order  of  the  Lord  Keeper.  July  31, 1702. 
"  /  took  occasio?i,  from  the  naming  of  the  Savoy 
(this  was  in  November y  1707,^  to  tell  her  Majesty 
of  the  sad  condition  of  that  hospital,  which  was  now 
desolated  by  a  decree  of  the  Lord  Keeper  Wright's ; 
and  that  she  ought  to  restore  it  again ;  7iay,  and  to 
refund  all  the  money  she  had  received  from  it,  for  it 
was  sacrilege  to  touch  those  revenues." 

He  spoke  often  and  freely  to  her  about  me- 
thods of  restraining  the  licentiousness  of  the 
town,  of  7xgulating  the  play  -  houses ;  of  the  hurt 
done  to  city  apprentices,  &c.  by  the  plays  on  Sa- 
turday nights;  of  shops  kept  open  on  Good  Friday, 
and  other  indecencies  of  that  sort,  which  he 
thought  it  became  the  government  to  prevent. 
And  then,  as  to  her  other  affairs  of  a  public 
nature,  whether  civil  or  ecclesiastical,  she  ad- 
mitted him  to  an  intimate  participation  in  her 
counsels.  In  things  relating  to  the  Church,  he 
was  her  principal  and  guide.  In  matters  of  state, 
he  was  her  confident ;  one  to  whom  she  could 
disclose  her  thoughts  at  all  times,  and  in  whose 
faithfulness  and    friendship  she  could   entirely 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  319 

trust;  though  she  could  not  always  depend 
upon  his  judgment  in  those  matters.  For,  as  was 
before  'observed,  he  was  a  stranger  to  all  that 
sort  of  politics  which  consists  in  intrigues,  ca- 
bals, and  party  schemes ;  and  would  have  no- 
thing to  do  with  the  struggles  of  the  other  cour- 
tiers and  great  men  striving  to  surmount  each 
other,  not  so  much  in  her  Majesty's  favour,  as 
in  the  great  offices  and  posts  in  the  government. 
When  her  Majesty  was  pleased  to  acquaint  him 
beforehand  with  any  of  her  designed  changes  in 
the  ministry,  he  would  give  her  his  advice  very 
freely.  And  when  alterations  were  made  with- 
out his  privity,  and  when  he  was  absent  in  his 
diocese,  he  would  as  freely  speak  his  mind  to 
her  about  them  after  they  were  made*. 

He  quite  disapproved  of  her  giving  herself  up 
to  the  conduct  of  any  ministry  or  set  of  men 
whatsoever ;  and  the  more  so,  when  she  took 
into  favour  those  wliom  he  knew  she  disliked;  or 
when  she  suffered  herself  to  be  prevailed  with 
to  do  any  thing  inconsistent  with  her  former  de- 
clarations.    These  things  consisted  not  with  his 

*  "  Cm  bono  ?  "  For  some  persons  may  incline  to  think,  that 
there  was  more  of  honest  temerity  than  of  seasonable  freedom 
in  such  backward  proudness  to  utter  his  mind,  the  changes 
being  effected  without  asking  his  advice.  But  the  good  Arch- 
bishop, as  he  cannot  now  suffer  by  his  plain  dealing,  so,  were 
he  living,  probably  could  answer  the  query.  Perhaps  the 
Queen  liked  the  compliment  to  her  understanding,  implied  in 
such  *'  free  speech," — Editor. 


320  LIKE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

politics,  how  well  soever  they  might  pass  at 
Court.  And  when  he  was  expostulating  with 
her  on  such  occasions,  and  sometimes  using 
what  he  calls  "  very  hard  words i"  as.  Poor  Queen! 
that  he  truly  pitied  her  ....  ^ind  prayed  God  to  in- 
spire her  with  more  cowage  ....  that  such  or  such 
things  were  a  rejiection  on  her  government ;  or  owing 
to  the  itifluence  of  those  who  govern  you,  madam, 
and  govern  us  all,  or  the  like  ;  her  Majesty  would 
then  sometimes  vindicate  her  proceedings,  and 
at  others  look  grave  and  he  silent.  But  he  never 
/could  perceive  that  she  was  in  the  least  angry 
'  with  him,  for  this  his  frankness  in  declaring  his 
mind ;  or  that  she  was  the  more  reserved  to- 
wards him  in  communicating  her  own  designs 
and  thoughts.  And  she  had  indeed  this  admira- 
ble temper  and  disposition  (which  in  a  princess 
is  the  more  extraordinary  and  valuable),  that 
she  could  not  hear  any  thing  that  looked  like  flattery , 
but  could  allow  and  hear  well  with  plain-dealing, 
though  it  were  such  as  could  not  be  agreeable 
to  her  on  any  other  account  but  for  the  sincerity 
of  it,  and  the  true  friendship  it  denoted.  Of 
this  he  had  abundant  proof  from  what  he  ob- 
served in  many  of  his  conversations  with  her. 
And  though  what  he  said  himself  to  her  could 
not  furnish  him  with  any  evidence  of  her  dislike 
of  compliment,  yet  he  had  proof  of  it  on  other 
occasions,  and  in  some  instances  where  it  was 
known  only  to  himself. 


LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  321 

One  was,  that  when  his  friend.  Dr.  More, 
then  Bishop  of  Norwich,  was  publishing  King 
WiHiam's  Prayers*  to  be  used  before  the  Com- 
munion, with  a  preface,  in  which  her  Majesty 
was  spoken  of  in  a  very  deserving,  and  what  she 
feared,  too  deserving  a  manner,  and  he  ac- 
quainted her  with  my  Lord's  design,  she  desired, 
that  if  he  would  publish  it,  he  would  leave  out  all 
that  concerned  her  in  it. 

Another  was,  when  she  put  into  his  hands  the 
new  form  of  prayer  for  the  inauguration  office, 
for  his  perusal  and  amendments,  she  insisted 
upon  his  striking  out  one  expression  in  that  pe- 
tition which  relates  to  God's  making  her  a  mother 
of  children,  who,  being  brought  up  in  thy  fear,  and 
taught  by  her  e.vample;  these  last  words,  taught 
by  her  example,  she  begged  might  be  erased, 
which  was  accordingly  done,  and  some  other 
amendments  made  by  him  of  lesser  moment. 

Her  Majesty  had  likewise  another  quality, 
exceedingly  commendable  and  becoming  her 
station ;  and  that  was,  her  readiness  in  acknow- 
ledging every  body's  liberty  to  judge  for  them- 
selves, and  in  making  all  reasonable  allowances 
for  those  who  could  not  think  of  her  affairs  as 
she  did.    This  moderation  in  her  he  often  expe- 

*  These  were  composed  by  Archbishop  Tillotson,  and  were 
printed  at  the  end  of  his  posthumous  works  by  Dr.  Barker. 
Vol.  xiv.  8vo. 


322  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

rienced,  as  might  be  observed  in  what  was  said 
above,  about  his  voting  in  Parliament.  Here 
follows  a  passage  or  two  more  to  the  same  pur- 
pose. After  a  close  expostulation  with  her 
about  the  measures  she  had  lately  taken,  he 
adds, 

**  I  had  a  great  deal  of  talk  more  of  this  kind. 
I  assured  her  that  I  loved  her,  and  would  do  her 
all  the  service  that  I  could.  Nay,  and  if  she 
should  use  me  ill,  I  should  always  behave  my- 
self as  a  dutiful  subject.  She  told  me  she  hoped 
I  would  always  do  what  she  desired.  I  told  her 
if  she  desired  reasonable  things,  I  would.  She 
said,  she  would  desire  no  other.  I  answered,  I 
must  be  satisfied  in  my  otf;^^  judgment,  that  they 
were  reasonable,  for  I  acted  upon  principles, 
and  must  satisfy  my  own  conscience.  She  over 
and  over  again  desired  me  to  endeavour  to  allay 
differences,  and  to  contribute  my  endeavours 
that  things  in  this  Parliament  might  go  on 
peaceably  and  smoothly."  ....  Again  ;  **  I  took 
occasion  to  assure  her  of  my  own  fidelity  and 
sense  of  her  favours,  but  told  her  I  could  not 
come  into  all  her  measures.  She  told  me  she 
never  desired  any  body  to  vote  against  their  conscience^ 
even  at  her  request."" 

And  with  respect  to  the  bishops  particularly, 
she  told  him  (it  was  upon  the  nomination  of 
Dr.  Bull  to  St.  David's,  March  6,  1704-5),  *'  that 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  323 

she  should  always  desire  that  the  bishops  she  put  in 
should  vote  on  the  side  that  they  who  call  themselves 
the  Church  party  do  vote  on." 

Had  her  resolution  been  equal  to  her  judg- 
ment, several  difficulties,  and  perhaps  some 
blemishes,  in  her  administration  had  been  pre- 
vented. She  declared  to  his  Grace,  more  than 
once,  that  she  would  neither  be  in  the  hands  of  the 
Whigs  nor  of  the  Tories.  And  when  she,  of  her 
ovv^n  accord,  gave  him  the  early  notice  (it  was 
on  December  16,  1707),  that  she  meant  to  change 
her  measures y  and  give  no  countenance  to  the  Whig 
Lords,  but  that  all  the  Tories,  if  they  would,  should 
come  in;'  she  added,  ^'and  all  the  Whigs  liketvise, 
that  would  show  themselves  to  be  in  her  interests, 
should  have  favour." 

But  though  some  particulars  that  passed  be- 
tween her  Majesty  and  his  Grace  concerning 
the  two  parties  and  their  respective  principles 
and  behaviour  (upon  which  subject  her  Majesty 
would  sometimes  deliver  her  sentiments  with 
that  freedom  that  intimate  friends  take,  and 
which  she  used  with  him  in  talking  about  persons 
as  well  as  things ;)  are  here  purposely  omitted, 
as  not  relating  immediately  to  his  Grace,  and  as 
being  of  no  consequence  to  the  world,  and  like- 
wise for  other  reasons  given  in  the  preface  ;  yet 
it  seems  to  be  a  piece  of  justice  due  to  her  Ma- 
jesty's memory  (and  this  appears  to  be  the  most 

Y  2 


324  LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP   SHARP. 

proper  place  for  doing  it)  to  declare  to  the 
world,  and  accordingly  it  is  here  solemnly  affirmed, 
that  in  all  their  private  conversations,  as  they 
appear  in  the  Diary,  there  is  not  the  least  ground 
to  suspect,  that  her  Majesty  was  not  fully  satis- 
fied in  the  Act  of  Settlement,  and  firmly  attached 
to  the  present  Constitution  and  Establishment, 
both  in  Church  and  State ;  nor  is  there  the  least 
intimation  or  suggestion  of  any  kind  for  the  interests 
of  the  Pretender.  And  but  a  single  passage  in 
which  their  discourse  occasionally  turned  upon 
him,  and  that  too  upon  his  Grace's  own  motion, 
who  seemed  designedly  to  sound  her  sentiments 
and  inclinations  upon  the  subject,  that  he  might 
do  her  justice  among  those  who  appeared  to  be 
jealous  of  her.     The  entire  passage  is  this. 

1708-9.  Saturday,  February  5.  "  I  had  a 
great  deal  of  talk  about  public  affairs.  I  told 
her  that  the  great  jealousy  of  the  nation  was, 
that  some  people  were  too  much  inclined  to  the 
Prince  of  Wales.  That  all  our  fears  were  about 
Popery,  and  the  eluding  the  Protestant  succes- 
sion, as  established  by  law.  She  declared,  that 
she  verily  believed  all  sorts  of  people  in  the 
nation,  whether  Whigs  or  Tories,  were  inclined 
to  the  Hanover  family,  as  is  settled  by  law. 
And  that  she  knew  none  of  her  ministers,  but  were 
in  the  same  interest.  I  am  sure  I  interpreted  her 
words  to  this  sense.     She  seemed  to  adhere  to 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  325 

the  Protestant  settlement,  and  seemed  to  have 
no  manner  of  doubt  about  it,  though  I  insinu- 
ated that  all  our  jealousies  did  proceed  from 
some  of  her  ministers ;  and  from  the  little  care 
that  was  taken  at  the  last  invasion  for  the  sup- 
pression of  it.  But  she  answered  all  this,  and 
urged  the  address  of  Parliament,  of  thanks  for 
the  care  that  had  been  taken." 

No  doubt  he  was  fully  satisfied  with  this  de- 
claration. And  if  afterwards  he  had  either  heard 
any  thing  from  her,  or  observed  any  thing  about 
her,  so  long  as  he  had  the  honour  and  happiness 
to  be  near  her,  that  should  lead  him  in  the  least 
to  suspect  any  alteration  of  her  sentiments  or 
inclination  in  this  point,  it  can  hardly  be  con- 
ceived (considering  the  great  freedoms  he  took 
in  his  discourses  with  her  about  affairs  which 
he  judged  of  importance  to  the  Church  and 
nation),  either  that  he  should  have  been 
silent  to  her,  or  should  not  have  minuted  his  confer- 
ence with  her  on  that  subject,  as  he  has  done  in 
the  place  above  recited.  Whereas  no  such  thing 
appears  in  his  notes,  to  the  very  last  day  (May, 
10,  1713),  when  he  took  his  final  leave  of  her 
Majesty,  being  disabled  the  winter  following 
from  waiting  upon  her  in  town.  It  was  observed 
above,  with  what  difficulties  and  under  what 
sort  of  composition,  he  accepted  the  Almoner's 
place.     But  he  found  it  not  only  more  trouble- 


326  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

some  than  he  expected,  but  the  Queen  more 
earnest  and  desirous  to  retain  him  in  that  office, 
and  have  him  about  her.  He  found  trouble  and 
delays  in  procuring  from  the  Treasury  the  money 
allotted  for  the  almonry.  And  when  that  was 
in  arrear,  he  would  lend  the  Queen,  and  some- 
times borrow  out  of  her  privy  purse,  what  was 
sufficient  to  supply  the  demands  of  her  pen- 
sioners. He  told  her  once,  that  "■  if  my  Lord 
Treasurer  would  not  imy  up  his  arrears,  it  would  be 
necessary  for  them  to  shut  up  shop,  for  they  should 
have  no  money  for  the  Maundy.'"  He  used  to  tell 
her,  in  a  pleasant  way,  that  **  she  owed  him  so 
much;"  which  she  would  generally  pay  him 
with  her  own  hands ;  and  for  a  specimen  of  her 
private  charity  through  his  hand,  let  us  take 
one  of  his  computations  of  all  that  he  had  re- 
ceived from  her  Majesty  in  a  winter. 

April  25,  1711.  "  I  have  been  casting  up 
what  money  I  have  received  of  the  Queen  since 
my  coming  to  town  till  this  day.  And  find  I  had  of 
her  270  guineas ;  and  some  time  after  Christmas 
1 00  guineas.  On  February  2Uh,  I  had  70  guineas  ; 
on  March  I5th,  100  guineas;  March  21th,  5  gui- 
neas; at  Easter,  AOO  guineas  arid  100/."  And  after- 
wards, before  he  left  London,  150/.  more.  Ln  all, 
\2?ni.  5s. 

And  then  the  providing  preachers  before  her 
Majesty,  was  another  thing  that  gave  him  trou- 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  327 

ble,  because  he  found  it  difficult  to  do  it  without 
sometimes  giving  offence.  For,  though  he  avoided 
doing  so  as  much  as  he  could,  yet  exceptions 
could  be  taken  for  very  small  matters,  which 
came  not  into  his  Grace's  considerations  in  the 
appointment  of  an  able  man  for  that  service ; 
such  as  the  preacher's  being  reputed  an  high  man, 
and  not    so   acceptable  to  the  then  ministry. 
Which  is  not  so  much  to  be  wondered  at,  when 
it  was  objected  to  a  very  learned   and  pious 
prelate,  whom  he  substituted  to  supply  one  of 
his  own  courses,  that  he  would  be  unacceptable^ 
having  voted  for  the  Pinncess  of  Hanover  s  being 
invited  over,  whereas  his  Grace,  though  himself 
against  that  vote,  had  no  thought  of  making  so 
trivial  a  thing    an   exception    to    his  being  a 
preacher.     And  then,  if  any  thing  happened  to 
be  taken  amiss  in  a  sermon,  he  was  pretty  sure 
to  hear  of  it,  and  obliged  to  apologize  either  for 
his  clerk  or  for  his  choice,  which  he  thought  the 
harder  upon  him,  because  he  observed  that  he 
himself  could  not  always  escape  the  censure  of 
the  audience. 

1706.  December  16.  Monday.  "  In  the  after- 
noon I  went  to  Kensington,  where  I  had  a  long 
private  discourse  with  the  Queen After- 
wards about  providing  preachers  for  her  in  my 
course.  I  represented  the  hardness  of  it  to  her, 
unless  I  might  use  her  name.  She  said  it  belonged 


328  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

to  my  place.  She  asked  me  why  I  would  not 
preach  myself  at  Christmas,  and  the  next  inau- 
guration day.  I  told  her  I  could  not,  for  I  was 
grown  old,  and  past  making  new  sermons.  And 
besides,  I  told  her  I  had  no  reason  to  be  forward 
in  preaching  before  her,  because  I  found  the 
last  sermon  I  preached  gave  offence  to  some  of 
the  auditory.  She  would  not  believe  it."  Nor 
would  any  body  believe  it  who  knew  how  cau- 
tious he  was  in  his  sermons  at  Court,  least  they 
should  give  offence ;  for  which  reason  they  were 
generally  practical.  We  have  an  instance  of  this 
his  superabundant  care  in  the  time  of  Sacheve- 
rell's  trial.  He  preached  a  sermon  he  had  com- 
posed on  Ephesians  iv.  1.  But  he  left  out  the 
former  part  of  the  text,  /  the  prisoner  of  the 
Lord  beseech  you;  upon  which  he  had  a  fine  and 
pathetical  introduction,  for  fear  he  should  be 
thought  in  that  preface  to  touch  upon  Dr.  Sa- 
cheverell. 

But  his  greatest  trouble,  and  what  he  told 
the  Queen  was  a  torment  to  him,  was  the  inces- 
sant application  that  was  made  to  him  from  all 
parts  for  some  share  of  her  Majesty's  bounty. 
He  had  so  much  tenderness  in  his  nature,  that 
he  was  not  able  to  refuse  his  endeavours  to  suc- 
cour the  distressed.  And  his  applications  to 
her  Majesty  were  so  frequent  ori  their  behalf, 
as  had  not    her  disposition  been  exceedingly 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  329 

beneficent,  must  have  tired  out  her  patience. 
No  wonder  then  he  was  so  solicitous  to  get  rid 
of  this  troublesome  office. 

1704.  Tuesday,  November  14.  "  I  told  her  I 
hoped  that  between  this  and  next  year,  some 
new  bishop  might  be  made,  to  whom  I  might 
resign  the  Almoner's  office.  She  smiled,  and 
said,  *  I  must  not,  or  I  hope  not,'  or  some  such 
word." 

1706.  Monday,  December  9.  "In  the  after- 
noon I  went  to  Kensington,  to  wait  upon  the 
Queen.  Afterwards  I  begged  of  her  to  think 
of  some  one  to  be  put  into  my  place  of  Almoner. 
For  that  I  was  weary  of  and  incapable  of  serv- 
ing it.  And  that  I  had  done  all  that  I  promised, 
which  was  to  take  it  for  a  year  or  two,  till  she 
was  better  provided.  And  I  was  sure  there 
were  enow  she  might  pitch  upon,  and  begged 
of  her  to  advise  with  my  Lord  Treasurer  and 
my  Lord  Marlborough.  I  mentioned  particularly 
the  Bishop  of  Norwich,  for  whom  she  declared 
she  had  a  kindness.  But  the  Queen  would  not 
hear  of  my  quitting  this  place,  notwithstanding 
all  that  I  said." 

At  other  times  he  spoke  to  the  same  purpose. 
March  25,  1706.  Twice  in  the  year  1707,  he 
offered  to  resign  (April  21,)  his  seal;  and  the 
second  time  "  he  did  it  upon  his  knees.  But  she 
would  not  accept  of  it ;  though  (he  says)  she  cvpressed 


330  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

great  kindness  to  him,  and  said,  that  she  had  not 
heard  any  ill  representation  of  him.'^ 

On  March  8,  1709-10,  he  offered  it  again, 
alledging,  *'  that  he  had  no  other  consideration 
that  prevailed  with  him  to  continue  in  it,  but 
the  prospect  he  had  of  doing  good  to  the  Church 
and  to  worthy  persons,  by  recommending  them 
to  her.  She  told  him  he  should  not  quit  his 
post."' 

But,  as  desirous  as  he  was  to  resign  his  seal, 
two  things  should  be  remarked,  the  first  is,  that 
so  long  as  he  kept  it,  he  would  not  suffer  the 
Almoner's  rights  or  privileges  in  the  least  to  be 
invaded.  The  Lord  Chamberlain  claimed  some 
right  of  presenting  two  Maundy  women,  and 
had  firmly  asserted  it.  "  But  I  (says  he)  per- 
sisted in  denying  it ;  and  March  19,  1706-7,  luoidd 
have  rnade  him  see  clearly,  that  neither  he  nor  any 
body  else  could  have  a  right  so  long  as  I  had  the 
Queen  s  patent .  But  I  told  him,  Iivould  be  as  civil 
to  him  as  my  predecessors  had  been." 

The  other  is,  that  he  would  not  offer  to  resign 
his  seal  at  any  time,  when  he  might  be  sus- 
pected to  be  moved  to  it  by  the  influence  of 
party.  Thus,  in  1705,  October  25,  *'  The  Duke 
of  Buckingham  told  him,  he  ivondered  to  hear  that  he 
had  not  resigned  his  almoner  s  place."  And  in  1708, 
April  15,  discoursing  with  the  Queen,  **  /  had 
some  talk  (says  he)  about  Mrs.  Masham,  whom  I 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  331 

find  she  hath  a  true  kindness  for.  She  seemed  to  be 
'pleased  that  I  would  not  at  this  time  offer  to  resign 
my  office  till  I  was  turned  out.  At  least  at  present 
she  said  she  would  not  turn  me  out."" 

Her  Majesty  never  seemed,  except  at  this 
particular  time,  to  have  had  any  thoughts  about 
removing  him  from  her  immediate  service.  And 
though  she  had  some  such  thoughts  then,  yet 
she  took  care  to  let  him  see  she  had  no  such 
inclinations,    whatever  part   the  necessities   of 
state  might  oblige  her  to  act.  She  had  formerly 
signified  her    desires  to  him,  that   he  should 
never  be  parted  from  her,  as  in  1704-5,  Wed- 
nesday,   March    21.     He  had   taken  occasion 
before  her  to  speak  **  what  a  world  of  good  a  cler- 
gyman might  do  by  applying  himself  wholly  to  the 
7naking  people  good.""     He  added,  "  I  told  her  I 
hoped  in  a  little  time  I  should  be  excused  from 
meddling  in  any  state  matters  ;  and  that  I  should 
have  time  to  apply  myself  to  the  same  work. 
She  told  me,  she  hoped  that  would  never  be  as 
long  as  I  lived.    And  indeed  all  his  life  long  she 
expressed  herself  with  so  much  kindness  and 
affection  for  him,  as  shewed  this  declaration  to 
be  sincere.     His  Grace  could  not  help  taking 
notice  sometimes    of  the    particular  courtesy 
wherewith  she  treated  him ;  especially  at  their 
salutations,  when  he  came  to  town,  and  their 
adieus  when  he  left  it.     Thus,  October  2,  1705, 


t> 


332  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

**  She  treated  me  with  all  the  kindness  and  freedom 
that  ever  she  did  in  her  life.  She  told  me  she 
hoped  all  was  quiet  at  York.  I  told  her  (plea- 
santly), *  Yes^  we  were  there  most  of  us  Whigs'" 

March  25,  1706.  "  I  desired  her  commands 
into  the  country,  and  pleasantly  asked  her  whe- 
ther I  might  leave  the  town  with  a  good  con- 
science, that  I  was  not  under  her  Majesty's 
displeasure.     She  assured  me  I  was  not." 

In  the  year  that  the  prince  died,  he  made 
his  first  visit  the  day  after  the  funeral. 

November  14,  1708.  *'  I  waited  upon  the 
Queen,  who  received  me  very  kindly.  We  both 
wept  at  my  first  coming  in.  She  is  in  a  very 
disconsolate  condition.  I  said  all  that  I  could 
by  way  of  comfort  to  her.  She  asked  after  my 
health,  and  hath  given  me  leave  to  come  to  her 
whenever  I  please." 

And  at  their  last  farewell,  May  10,  1713. 
**  She  parted  with  7ne,'"  says  he,  *'  with  all  the  ex- 
pressions of  kindness  and  good  wishes  that  could  be.'' 
But  perhaps  the  greatest  mark  of  her  esteem 
and  friendship  for  him  was  given  by  her  after 
his  death,  in  the  immediate  appointment  of  the 
man  whom  he  desired  to  be  his  successor. 
There  was  no  favour  she  could  have  obliged  him 
in  equal  to  this.  Sir  William  Dawes  was  a 
person,  whom,  for  his  very  great  worth  and 
abilities,    and    inviolable    attachment    to    the    in- 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  333 

terests  of  the  Church  of  England,  his  Grace  had 
adopted  in  his  wishes  to  succeed  him  in  his 
pastoral  charge.     For  he  was  a  man  of  gravity 
and   prudence,    of   decency  and  courtesy,    of 
singular  presence  of  mind,  of  extraordinary  re- 
solution and  constancy,  and  yet  of  a  moderate 
and  cool  spirit,    and  of  exemplary  regularity 
and  exactness  in  all  parts  of  life.     And  he  had 
moreover   a  very  strong  and  vigorous  constitu- 
tion, which  fitted  him  to  execute  with  ease  the 
most  laborious  parts  of  the  episcopal  function, 
which  in  Archbishop  Sharp's  judgment  was  of 
no  small  moment  in  the  choice  of  a  bishop.     Upon 
these  considerations  (not  to  mention  Sir  Wil- 
liam's other  natural   and  personal  advantages, 
viz.  a  tenacious  memory,  a  graceful  mien,  a  fine 
address,  and  a  sweet  elocution).     He  drew  the 
Queen's  affections   upon    that    baronet.     And 
having  first  procured  him  the  bishopric  of  Ches- 
ter, and  made  experiment  of  his  prudence  and 
assiduity  in  the  management  of  that  large  dio- 
cese, he  made  the  way  more  easy  for  his  re- 
moval from  thence  to   the   metropolis   of  the 
province. 

It  was  said  above,  that  in  the  affairs  of  the 
Church  he  was  her  Majesty's  principal  guide. 
This  is  in  good  measure  true,  with  respect  only 
to  ecclesiastical  promotions,  though  more  evi- 
dently so  in  other  Church  affairs,  as  will  be 


334  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

shewn  hereafter.  At  present  let  it  be  observed, 
that  the  interest  that  he  had  with  her  Majesty 
he  chiefly  employed  in  procuring  preferments 
for  learned  and  worthy  men;  or  at  least  her 
bounty  for  such  of  them  as  were  in  distress. 
He  had  been  formerly,  as  was  related  above,  an 
useful  friend  to  men  of  literature  and  merit, 
while  he  was  chaplain  to  Lord  Chancellor 
Finch,  and  recommended  to  preferments  in  the 
gift  of  the  seals,  and  no  less  so  in  the  commis- 
sion* appointed  by  King  William  for  approving 
and  recommending  to  his  Majesty  fit  persons  to 
succeed  in  the  Crown  preferments ;  in  which 
he  was  joined  with  my  Lord  of  Canterbury, 
and  the  Bishops  of  Ely,  Sarum,  &c.  And  the 
same  desire  of  providing  the  Church  with  able 
men,  prompted  him  to  labour  this  point  with 
the  Queen  ;  in  which  he  had  more  success  than 
any  one  man  in  her  reign,  though  not  so  much 
as  he  might  have  expected,  could  she  always 
have  followed  her  own  judgment  or  inclination. 
For  her  ministry  were  constantly  interposing  and 
directing  her  in  the  disposal  of  eccclesiastical  pre- 
ferments,  as  well  as  of  civil  and  military  offices. 
So  that  frequently  she  was  not  at  liberty  to 
yield  to  his  influence,  and   follow   his  advice. 

*  The  first  commission  was  granted  April  6,  1695.  And 
a  new  one  was  granted.  May  9,  1700,  which  Mr.  Le  Neve  has 
printed  in  his  Lives  and  Characters,  &c. 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  335 

Yet  this  regard  was  had  to  him,  notwith- 
standing, that  the  Queen  would  rarely  give 
her  promise  without  his  advice,  and,  generally 
speaking,  consent  first  obtained.  And  he  did 
not  prove  unworthy,  either  of  this  her  Ma- 
jesty's confidence  in  him,  or  condescension  to- 
wards him.  For  he  neither  would  oppose  any 
man  of  real  worth,  upon  account  of  party  dis- 
tinctions ;  nor  would  he  consent  to  her  preferring 
any  man  whose  religious  principles  or  morals 
were  ill  spoken  of  or  suspected,  though  he  were 
otherwise  of  great  abilities,  useful  to  the  minis- 
try, or  favoured  at  Court.  He  had  remarkable 
struggles  with  great  men  upon  this  score,  but 
he  held  to  his  point,  and  he  prevailed,  at  least 
as  to  the  promotions  in  England.  He  could  not 
bear  she  should  give  her  preferments  to  persons 
who  had  no  other  merit,  no  other  title  to  her 
favour,  than  their  zeal  for  a  party.  And  he 
thought  it  hard  (and  used  to  tell  her  Majesty  so), 
that  men  of  known  virtue  and  learning  should 
not  share  in  these  favours,  purely  because  they 
fell  under  the  denomination  of  party  men.  He 
laid  before  *'  her  the  ill  consequences  she  would  find 
if  she  made  distinctions  of  persojis  as  to  high  and 
low  Church,  in  the  disposal  of  her  Church  prefer- 
ments.''' He  must  mean,  if  she  made  'party  her 
only  or  principal  rule  in  the  bestowing  those 
preferments.     For  at  one  time  (as  he  observes) 


83G  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

she  refused  persons,  as  he  thought,  for  being  Tories. 
(1705.)  At  another  time,  when  he  recommended, 
the  reason  given  for  the  refusal  was,  that  the 
person  he  proposed  was  a  notorious  Whig.  (1713.) 
He  imagined  she  might  depend  upon  the  good- 
ness of  her  own  judgment  as  to  the  worth  and 
fitness  of  persons,  if  she  would  but  make  use 
of  it.  And  told  her,  when  he  proposed  several 
to  her  for  a  vacant  bishopric,  *'  that  whether  she 
put  in  any  of  his  naming  or  no,  she  should  put  in 
one  of  her  own  choice,  and  not  have  one  put  upon 
her  hy  others.''  It  is  true,  that  most  of  those 
who  succeeded  in  preferments  through  his 
friendship  were  reputed  Tories.  Yet  his  ap- 
plications for  his  own  friends  were  made  with 
all  the  justice  and  fairness  that  could  be  to 
the  characters  of  those  of  the  other  party,  who 
happened  to  have  the  same  preferments  in  view. 
For  instance,  when  the  living  of  St.  James's 
was  void  by  the  promotion  of  Dr.  Wake,  his 
Grace  proposed  Dr.  Moss  as  a  Jit  person  for  it; 
and  the  Queen  told  him.  She  had  thoughts  of  him 
herself;  yet  Dr.  Trimnel  being  occasionally 
mentioned,  he  gave  her  a  very  good  character  of 
him*.     In  which,  though  he  did  no  more  than 

*  He  had  before  said  to  my  Lord  Sunderland,  in  a  letter, 
June  14,  1703.  "  /  heartily  wish  Dr.  Trimnel  had  some  good 
preferment  in  the  Church ;  for  he  well  deserves  it,  and  indeed  I 
do  not  know  a  better  man.    If  my  good  character  of  him  to  her 


LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP   SHARP.  337 

what  was  just,  j^-et  probably  Dr.  Trimnel  was 
more  obliged  to  him  for  this  lift,  than  to  all  the 
interest  that  was  made  by  his  other  friends.  And 
the  same  may  be  said  of  the  great  Bishop  Bull, 
of  whose  late  promotion,  though  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury  seemed  to  claim  the 
merit,  yet  she  told  the  Archbishop  of  York, 
that  '*  She  would  not  have  done  it,  but  for  the  great 
character  he  had  given  her  before  of  this  Dr.  Bull.'' 
He  indeed  did  not  rightly  approve  of  this  pro- 
motion, on  account  of  the  doctor's  great  age. 
He  thought  his  merit  should  have  been  rewarded 
some  other  way ;  and  as  it  was  a  reflection  on 
the  government,  that  a  man  of  such  worth  should 
not  be  earlier  preferred,  so  it  might  prove  a 
detriment  to  the  Church,  that  he  was  preferred 
so  late.  And  as  to  Dr.  Beveridge,  who  natu- 
rally occurs  to  the  mind  upon  the  mention  of 
age  and  learning  among  the  English  bishops, 
his  Grace  reminded  the  Queen,  "  that  her  father 
King  James  had  in  her  hearing  declared  him  to  be  the 
learnedst  man  we  had  in  our  Church."  He  delighted 
indeed  in  giving  her  Majesty  good  characters  of 
her  clergy,  and  would  never  give  a  bad  one, 
though  true,  unless  the  interest  of  the  Church 
obliged  him  to  do  so.     He  used  to  grieve  and 

Majesty  can  add  any  thing  to  her  Grace's  (viz.  the  Duchess  of 
Marlborough,)  recommendation,  I  am  not  only  ready,  hut  shall 
be  glad  to  give  it  at  all  times." 

Z 


338  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

complain  of  the  strange  misrepresentations  which 
he  observed  were  made  to  the  Queen,  of  persons 
who  deserved  her  favour  and  countenance.  He 
set  her  right  as  often  as  he  had  opportunity, 
and  would  sometimes  **  have  (as  he  says)  warm 
talk  with  her  about  those  who  made  false  representa- 
tions of  persons  to  her  Majesty  J" 

And  he  had  some  reason  too  to  expostulate 
with  her  on  this  head,  upon  his  own  account, 
for  there  were  some  who  had  endeavoured  to 
represent  him  to  her  Majesty,  as  not  being  true 
to  her  interests,  as  both  my  Lord  Godolphin 
and  my  Lord  Marlborough  had  acquainted  him, 
though  the  Queen  herself  took  no  notice  of  it, 
nor  seemed  to  receive  the  least  impressions  to 
his  prejudice. 

But  to  proceed  to  his  other  acts  and  services 
for  the  benefit  of  the  clergy,  and  honour  of  the 
Church  of  England.  In  all  ecclesiastical  affairs 
during  the  Queen's  reign,  he  was  principally 
consulted,  and  as  he  applied  himself  more 
closely  to  those  as  being  most  properly  within 
his  sphere,  so  his  application  generally  met  with 
success,  and  turned  to  good  account.  The  point 
that  claims  to  be  first  considered  under  this 
head  was,  that  glorious  and  ever-memorable 
act  of  the  Queen's  reign,  commonly  called  her 
Bounty. 

The  thought  was  originally  from  Bishop  Bur- 


LIFE   OF   ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  339 

net  in  the  late  reign,  as  is  related  in  his  life, 
much  to  his  honour.  His  lordship  drew  up  two 
memorials  upon  it,  which  he  presented  to  the 
King,  one  in  1696,  and  the  other  in  the  year 
following;  copies  of  which  the  Princess  of 
Denmark  obtained  ;  and  she  also  seconded  his 
motion  to  the  King;  but  it  did  not  then  suc- 
ceed. His  Lordship  afterwards  made  Lord  So- 
mers  a  friend  to  this  scheme,  and  likewise  the 
Earl  of  Godolphin,  who  (as  the  author  of  Bishop 
Burnet's  Life  observes)  afterwards  carried  this 
design  into  ea:ecution.  And  this  he  did  with  the 
assistance  of  the  Archbishop  of  York,  to  whom 
he  gave  the  first  intimation  of  her  Majesty's 
disposition  to  give  back  the  first  fruits  and 
tenths  to  the  Church,  on  the  6th  of  January, 
1703-4.  And  also  gave  him  hopes,  that  upon 
application  of  the  bishops  to  her  Majesty,  some- 
thing of  that  kind  might  be  effected.  Upon 
which  he  went  to  the  Queen,  January  10,  and 
spoke  to  her  upon  that  head,  where  he  met 
with  a  disposition  equal  to  his  desires,  only  she 
thought  it  was  better  not  to  make  the  design 
'public  till  the  manner  of  e.vecuting  it  was  in  some 
measure  adjusted  with  my  Lord  Treasurer.  Which 
being  done,  the  following  message  was  agreed 
upon  between  my  Lord  Treasurer  and  the  Arch- 
bishop, to  be  sent  to  the  House  of  Commons, 
then  sitting. 

z2 


340  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

"  Anne  R. 

*'  Her  Majesty  having  taken  into  her  serious 
consideration  the  mean  and  insufficient  mainte- 
nance belonging  to  the  clergy  in  divers  parts  of 
this  kingdom,  to  give  them  some  ease,  has  been 
pleased  to  remit  the  arrears  of  the  tenths  to  the 
poor  clergy.  And  for  an  augmentation  of  their 
maintenance,  her  Majesty  is  pleased  to  declare, 
that  she  v^ill  make  a  grant  of  her  whole  reve- 
nues arising  out  of  first  fruits  and  tenths,  so  far 
as  it  now  is,  or  shall  become,  free  from  incum- 
brances, to  be  applied  to  this  purpose.  And  if 
the  House  of  Commons  can  find  any  proper 
method  by  which  her  Majesty's  good  intentions 
to  the  poor  clergy  may  be  made  more  effectual, 
it  will  be  a  great  advantage  to  the  public,  and 
very  acceptable  to  her  Majesty.  St.  James's, 
February  7,  1703-4." 

This  message  was  on  the  same  day  delivered 
to  the  House  by  Mr.  Secretary  Hedges,  and 
was  well  received,  most  of  the  members  having 
been  apprised  of  it  before.  The  Archbishop 
had  upon  this  occasion  turned  solicitor,  and 
applied  personally  to  Sir  Thomas  Pelham,  Sir 
Richard  Onslow,  Sir  Simon  Harcourt,  Sir 
Christopher  Musgrave,  Sir  John  Holland,  Mr. 
Bromley,  Mr.  St.  John's,  and  others,  who  were 
leading  men.  The  same  he  did  also  in  the 
House  of  Lords,  where  there  was  rather  more 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  341 

occasion ;  for  there  the  bill  bore  a  long  debate, 
and  was  carried  only  by  a  small  majority.  *'  The 
Bill  for  applying  the  tenths  and  Jirst  fruits,""  8^c. 
says  he,  "  was  cormnitted  to  a  committee  of  the  whole 
House.  We  had  a  long  debate  about  it.  The  Whig 
Lords,  and  some  of  the  Tories,  about  four,  opposed 
it.  All  the  bishops  were  unanimous  for  it,  I  spoke 
twice  in  it.  We  carried  it  by  seven  votes,  the  non- 
contents  being  27  ;  the  contents,  34." 

In  the  meantime  the  Convocation  were  very 
early  in  their  address  of  thanks  to  her  Majesty 
for  her  gracious  message  to  the  House  of  Com- 
mons. And  it  was  thought  proper,  that  the 
Archbishop  and  Bishops  of  the  province  of 
York  should  join  with  them  in  the  address  upon 
that  occasion.  Whereupon  he  was  pitched  upon 
to  present  it ;  my  Lord  of  Canterbury  being  at 
that  time  disabled  from  going  abroad.  But  this 
created  an  unexpected  difficulty  upon  both  the 
archbishops.  For  it  was  suggested  to  his  Grace, 
at  Lambeth,  that  his  appointment  of  the  other 
archbishop  to  appear  at  the  head  of  the  bishops 
and  Convocation  of  the  province  of  Canterbury, 
was  giving  up  his  rights,  and  what  he  could  not 
do,  having,  by  an  instrument  of  substitution, 
appointed  the  Bishop  of  Worcester  to  represent 
him  in  Convocation.  And  therefore  that  bishop 
was  to  present  the  address.  This  my  Lord  of 
Canterbury  signified  to  the  Archbishop  of  York 


342  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

by  letter,  who  was  very  willing  to  decline  the 
office  that  had  been  allotted  him,  least  he  should 
seem  desirous  to  invade  a  jurisdiction  in  which 
he  was  not  concerned.  But  it  so  happened  that 
the  Bishop  of  Worcester  could  not  be  prevailed 
upon  to  present  the  address  himself;  which 
occasioned  a  second  letter  from  Lambeth,  to 
contradict  the  purport  of  the  former,  and  to 
acquaint  the  Archbishop  of  York,  that  it  was 
now  necessary  for  him  to  head  the  Convocation, 
that  being  the  day  on  which  the  address  was 
ordered  to  be  presented  :  my  Lord  of  York  not 
knowing  what  use  would  be  made  out  of  his 
engaging  again  to  perform  that  office,  by  those 
who  had  instilled  the  former  jealousies  into  his 
Grace  of  Canterbury,  wrote  the  following  letter 
to  the  Archbishop. 

'' February  U,  UOS-i. 

"  My  Lord, 

"  I  had  the  favour  of  your  Grace's 
letter  by  your  servant,  which  indeed  so  sur- 
prised me,  that  I  was  not  sorry  the  business  of 
the  Lords'  House  this  day  offered  so  fair  an 
occasion  of  getting  the  Queen  to  put  off  the 
presenting  our  address  till  to-morrow.  My  Lord 
y^  Treasurer  was  pleased  to  undertake  that  matter, 
and  accordingly  was  gone  to  the  Queen  before 
I  had  your  second  letter  by  the  Bishop  of  Wor- 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  343 

cester.  I  suppose  it  was  his  Lordship's  unwil- 
lingness, or  rather  refusal,  to  present  the  ad- 
dress, together  with  the  straightness  of  time, 
for  the  taking  new  measures,  that  inclined  your 
Grace  so  to  alter  your  sentiments,  as  to  desire 
me  in  your  second  letter  to  present  the  address. 
But  now,  my  Lord,  as  it  has  happened,  you 
have  time  enough  to  settle  that  matter  as  you 
please. 

''  I  beg  of  you,  therefore,  if  the  Bishop  of 
Worcester  persists  in  his  refusal,  that  your 
Grace  would  be  pleased,  some  time  to-morrow, 
to  send  your  deputation  to  the  Bishop  of  Lon- 
don (who  will  be  in  the  House  to-morrow,  and 
who  in  your  Graces  absence  may  e.vpect  such  a  sub- 
stitution), or  to  any  other  of  the  bishops  whom 
you  shall  think  fit  to  attend  the  Queen  with  the 
address  of  your  Convocation. 

"  I  assure  your  Grace,  it  never  entered  into 
my  thoughts  to  break  into  your  Grace's  jurisdic- 
tion, by  putting  myself  above  your  substitute 
in  any  matter  relating  to  your  Province.  But 
since  your  bishops  designed  this  as  the  address 
of  thanks  of  all  the  bishops  of  England,  and 
accordingly  worded  it  so  in  the  address ;  and 
told  me,  that  I  must  present  it.  and  the  Lower 
House  made  no  objection  to  it;  I  made  no 
scruple  of  sending  to  Mr.  Tillot  for  a  copy  of  it. 
But  I  hope  there  is  yet  no   harm  done,    and 


344  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

that  there  may  be  none  done,  I  humbly  desire 
your  Grace  to  order  somebody  else  to  carry  it 
to  the  Queen,  only  altering  the  title  by  putting 
Archbishop,  instead  of  ^'Archbishops,''  and  leaving 
out  ^'ofthe  Church  of  England."" 

**  I  am,  your  Grace's 

"  Most  humble  servant,  &c." 

But  nevertheless,  the  next  day,  February  15, 
upon  repeated  instances  from  my  Lord  of  Can- 
terbury, and  to  prevent  any  miscarriage  on  such 
an  occasion,  and  to  preserve  the  appearance  of 
unanimity  in  the  Convocation  at  that  juncture, 
he  undertook  the  presentation  of  the  address, 
and  read  it  accordingly  to  her  Majesty. 

And  that  the  clergy  of  his  own  Province 
might  not  be  w^anting  in  their  compliments  on 
the  same  occasion,  he  himself  drew^  up  the  fol- 
lowing address  for  the  Convocation  at  York,  and 
presented  it  to  the  Queen  in  their  name,  on  the 
last  day  of  the  same  month. 

"  May  it  please  your  most  excellent  Majesty, 
"  We  the  clergy  of  the  province  of 
York,  in  Convocation  assembled,  do,  for  our- 
selves, and  on  the  behalf  of  all  our  brethren  of 
the  same  province,  who  were  present,  humbly 
beg  leave  to  throw  ourselves  at  your  Majesty's 
feet,  in  most  hearty  and  thankful  acknowledg- 
ments of  your  Majesty's  most  pious  and  affec- 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP.  345 

tionate  care  for  the  Church  of  England,  ex- 
pressed in  your  late  message  to  the  House  of 
Commons ;  wherein  your  Majesty  is  graciously 
pleased  to  declare  that  you  will  give  your  whole 
ecclesiastical  revenue  of  first  fruits  and  tenths, 
as  it  shall  become  free  from  incumbrances,  to 
be  applied  to  the  augmentation  of  poor  benefices 
throughout  England. 

"  We  cannot  forbear  saying,  that  your  Ma- 
jesty has,  in  this  surprising  instance  of  your 
kindness  for  the  Church,  outdone  all  your  pre- 
decessors since  the  Reformation.  They  took 
care  that  our  holy  religion  should  be  purged 
from  the  errors  and  superstitions  with  which 
Popery  had  corrupted  it ;  and  they  took  care 
likewise,  that  it  should  be  so  transmitted  to  us. 
And  for  this  their  memories  will  be  for  ever 
blessed.  But  your  Majesty  not  only  takes  care 
to  preserve  our  religion  in  the  same  purity,  and 
to  protect  our  Church  in  all  its  legal  rights  and 
privileges ;  but  has  farther  taken  care  also,  that 
the  minister  of  it  shall  in  due  time  have  a  com- 
petent maintenance.  The  want  of  which  pro- 
vision was  indeed  the  great  if  not  the  only  ble- 
mish of  our  Reformation ;  and  therefore  doubly 
blessed  will  your  Majesty's  memory  be  in  all 
succeeding  generations. 

"  As  we  are  sure  that  this  pious  and  charita- 
ble act  of  your  Majesty  is  highly  acceptable  to 

11 


346  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

God,  who  fails  not  to  i^ecompense  even  a  cup  of 
cold  water  given  to  a  py^ophet  in  the  name  of  a  pro- 
phet ;  so  we  cannot  but  hope  it  will  have  such 
an  effect  upon  all  your  Majesty's  subjects  who 
love  our  Church  and  religion,  and  especially 
upon  us  of  the  clergy  ;  that  we  shall  endeavour 
more  and  more  (if  it  be  possible)  to  express 
our  zeal  for  your  Majesty's  service.  And  par- 
ticularly we  shall  think  ourselves  obliged  every 
day  to  put  up  our  most  earnest  prayers  to  God 
Almighty  for  your  Majesty's  long  life  and  happy 
reign  over  us.  And  that  Ipr  this  exceeding 
good  work  he  would  add  an  abundant  increase 
to  the  glorious  rewards  that  we  doubt  not  are 
laid  up  for  you  in  the  heavenly  kingdom." 

To  which  her  Majesty  returned  the  following 
answer,  drawn  up  likewise  for  her  by  the  same 
hand. 

**  Gentlemen,  I  take  your  address  very  kindly. 
It  is  my  desire  that  all  the  clergy  should  have 
a  comfortable  maintenance,  especially  those  of 
them  who  faithfully  do  their  duties  to  God  and 
the  Church.  Such  it  shall  always  be  my  care 
to  support  and  encourage." 

My  Lord  Halifax  was  pleased  to  observe  to 
him,  upon  this  answer  of  her  Majesty's,  "  We 
know"  says  he,  **  what  the  Queen  means  in  her 
answer  to  your  York  address  ;  but  we  cannot  so  well 
understand  her  ansiver  to  that  of  the  Convocation  here.'' 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP.  347 

He  continued  very  active  in  w^hatever  related 
to  the  completing  this  design;  as,  in  the  dis- 
patch of  the  charter,  providing  a  place  for  the 
commissioners,  attending  regularly  and  con- 
stantly himself,  &c.  Nor  w^as  he  wanting  in  his 
solicitations  for  the  like  bounty  to  the  clergy  of 
Ireland.  He  presented  their  petition  to  her 
Majesty  on  March  13,  following;  in  which  they 
besought  her  to  be  as  kind  to  them,  in  granting 
her  ecclesiastical  revenues  there,  as  she  had 
been  here  in  England. 

And  when  difficulties  arose  to  some  private 
clergymen,  on  the  grant  of  the  bounty,  from 
the  Attorney-General's  opinion,  that  it  was  not 
proper  to  do  any  act  ivhich  might  lessen  the  Queen'' s 
gift ;  and  therefore  my  Lord  Treasurer  doubted 
whether  it  were  proper  to  remit  the  arrears  of 
tenths,  which  from  some  persons  were  consi- 
derable, he  interposed  in  behalf  of  the  clergy 
in  arrear,  *'  and  alleged  that  the  forgiving  their 
debt  could  not  be  a  lessening  of  the  general  gift, 
since  the  general  gift  was  only  designed  for  the  ease 
and  benefit  of  particular  men.  That,  as  he  took  it, 
the  Queeiis  grant  had  only  respected  the  tenths  and 
first  fruits  that  were  to  become  due  after  passing  the 
act,  but  did  not  extend  to  the  arrears  of  them.  That 
the  discharging  the  arrears  of  abundance  of  the  poor 
clergy  was  necessary y  especially  such  as  were  con- 
tracted before  their  incumbency.''     And  in  another 


348  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

letter  to  my  Lord  Treasurer,  dated  June  19, 
1703,  he  has  these  words: — '*  I  was  in  hopes, 
before  this  time,  to  have  heard  of  a  privy  seal 
for  the  pardoning  all  the  arrears  of  tenths  due 
from  livings  not  above  30/.  per  annum.  Good 
my  Lord,  give  me  leave  to  put  you  in  mind  of 
this."  He  pressed  this  matter  both  to  the  Queen 
and  Lord  Treasurer  with  some  warmth.  And 
no  doubt  the  indigent  clergy  were  exceedingly 
obliged  to  him  for  it. 

Another  ecclesiastical  affair,  and  of  public 
concern,  upon  which  he  was  consulted  and 
employed,  was  the  healing  up  the  divisions 
between  the  upper  and  lower  House  of  Con- 
vocation for  the  province  of  Canterbury.  In 
1700  and  the  two  following  years,  differences 
and  disputes  about  convocatmial  rights  ami  pro- 
ceedings had  been  carried  on  with  some  ve- 
hemence. Several  papers,  pro  and  con,  had 
been  published,  and  several  able  and  great  men 
had  been  concerned  on  both  sides.  Some  as- 
serting the  right  of  the  Archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury, with  his  suffragans,  to  continue  or  pro- 
rogue the  whole  Convocation ;  others  maintain- 
ing the  liberty  of  the  lower  clergy,  as  having 
a  right  to  convene  and  to  dispatch,  or  rather 
prepare  matters  in  the  intermediate  days  of 
prorogations;  and  others  challenging  to  them 
an  independent  power  of  sitting,   and  rising. 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  349 

and  adjourning  themselves  at  discretion.    These 
disputes  having  run  a  great  length,  the  Lower 
House    petitioned    they  might    have  leave    to 
address  the  Queen  to  take  this  matter  into  her 
consideration,  and  appoint  persons  to  hear  and 
finally  determine    it.      But    the    Upper    House 
thought  it  not  proper  that  her  Majesty  should 
be    troubled  with    their    controversies.     Thus 
things  stood  in  the  latter  end  of  1702.    And  the 
next  winter,  upon  the  meeting  of  the  Parlia- 
ment, the  Court  apprehending  these  difficulties 
might  still  increase,  my  Lord  Treasurer  took 
an    opportunity  of  speaking  to    her  Majesty 
before  his    Grace  (November  11,   1703),    and 
"  desired  her  that  she  would  command  my  Lord  of 
York  to  take  some  pains  hi  putting  an  end  to  the 
differences  in  Convocation ;  for  that  he  believed  both 
parties,  by  his  Grace's  means ^  might  be  brought  to 
an  accommodation.''    And  three  days  after,  my 
Lord  ^Treasurer  wrote   to   him   the  following 
letter. 

"  Sunday  Night,  Nov.  14,  1703. 

*'  My  Lord, 

"  In  pursuance  of  what  I  mentioned 
the  other  day  to  your  Grace  before  the  Queen, 
I  understand  Dr.  Atterbury  designs  to  wait 
upon  your  Grace  to-morrow  morning,  with 
intentions  to  submit  all  to  your  conduct. 


350  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP. 

*'  If  you  please  to  give  him  such  a  favourable 
reception  as  may  encourage  his  endeavours 
towards  composing  the  difference  in  the  Con- 
vocation, I  hope  it  may  lay  a  good  foundation 
for  the  peace  of  the  Church,  and  great  advan- 
tage to  her  Majesty's  service  from  it. 

"  I  am,  with  great  respect, 
*'  My  Lord,  your's,  &c. 

"  GODOLPHIN." 

He  applied  himself  accordingly  to  concert 
measures  with- the  members  of  both  Houses; 
but  chiefly  Dr.  Atterbury,  of  the  Lower  House, 
and  the  Bishop  of  St.  Asaph,  of  the  Upper 
(Dr.  George  Hooper).  And  in  nine  days  time 
he  met  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  at  the 
Cockpit,  November  23  ;  when  they  agreed  upon 
a  meeting  between  two  of  the  Upper  House, 
on  the  side  of  the  Bishops,  and  two  of  the  other 
side.  And  the  differences  were  for  the  present 
at  least  laid  asleep.  The  world  hath  been 
already  too  much  acquainted  with  the  subject 
of  these  controversies  to  make  the  repetition  of 
it,  at  this  time  of  day,  either  necessary  or 
desirable.  Nor  do  they,  indeed,  fall  properly 
within  the  compass  of  these  Memoirs,  to  take 
any  further  notice  of  them,  than  that  the  Arch- 
bishop acted  in  this  matter  as  a  mediator  or 
umpire. 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHAKP.  351 

But  some  years  after  (1710),  he  thought  their 
sitting  and  acting,  when  all  these  disputes  were 
blown  over,  might  be  of  service  to  the  Church ; 
and  accordingly  he  proposed  it  to  the  Queen. 

Thursday,  November  30,  1710.  "  I  had  a 
good  deal  of  talk  with  the  Queen  about  the 
Convocation  acting,  which  she  is  willing  they 
should,  provided  the  matters  they  are  to  act  upon 
be  first  concerted.  I  mentioned,  upon  this  occa- 
sion, the  Prussian  affair.  She  told  me  of  some 
new  injunctions  which  my  Lord  of  Canterbury 
had  put  into  her  hands,  and  which  she  would 
put  into  my  hands  to  peruse." 

Of  the  Prussian  affair  we  shall  give  a  more 
particular  account  hereafter.  In  the  meantime, 
the  sitting  of  the  Convocation  was  forwarded, 
and  at  an  appointed  meeting  for  that  purpose  at 
the  Bishop  of  Rochester's;  where  the  Earl  of 
Rochester,  Mr.  Harley,  and  the  Bishop  of  Bath 
and  Wells,  were  present;  the  Archbishop  of 
York  proposed  three  several  things  for  the  Con- 
vocation to  consider  of,  if  a  licence  were  granted 
for  them  to  sit  and  act.  1.  The  state  of  the 
Church,  and  the  mischiefs  that  were  done  by 
blasphemous  and  scandalous  doctrines  and  pa- 
pers which  were  spread  about.  2.  The  affair 
of  the  King  of  Prussia,  ivho  seemed  inclined  to 
introduce  the  Liturgy  of  the  Church  of  E^igland 
into  his  kingdom.     3.  The  turning  the  writ  de 


352  LIFE  OF  ARCHBTSHQP  SHARP. 

e.vcommunicato  capiendo,  into  a  writ  de  contumaci ; 
to  prevent  excommunications  upon  the  mere 
trivial  or  pecuniary  matters.  He  was  desired 
to  put  these  into  writing,  that  they  might  be 
considered  of  and  laid  before  the  Queen.  Upon 
which  he  sent  for  Dr.  Atterbury,  then  Prolocu- 
tor ;  Dr.  Smaldridge,  and  Dr.  Stanhope,  Dean 
of  Canterbury,  and  committed  to  them  the 
drawing  up  these  minutes,  which  were  after- 
wards, at  another  meeting  in  the  same  place, 
January  13,  1710-11,  read  and  examined.  Some 
things  were  struck  out,  and  some  few  amend- 
ments made.  Then  they  were  delivered  to  Mr. 
Harley,  to  be  transcribed  fair,  and  laid  before 
her  Majesty.  But  before  that  was  done,  it  was 
thought  proper  to  have  the  judgment  of  some 
other  prelates  about  them.  Whereupon  another 
appointment  was  made  on  January  20,  at  which, 
besides  the  above-mentioned  company,  were 
present,  the  Bishops  of  Bristol,  St.  David's, 
and  Exeter ;  who  unanimously  agreed,  that  the 
heads  before  adjusted,  were  proper  to  be  treated 
of  in  Convocation.  He  would  have  added  ano- 
ther proposal  concerning  bishops  being  provided 
for  the  plantations.  But,  as  my  Lord  of  Lon- 
don, who  had  a  right  to  be  consulted  first  on 
that  project,  was  not  there,  the  thing  was 
dropped. 
The    Queen  afterwards   told  him,  that   she 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  353 

approved  of  all  the  minutes  that  had  been  laid 
before  her  about  the  Convocation,  and  that  she 
meant  to  send  to  every  bishop  to  come  to  her, 
and  that  she  would  send  my  Lord  Dartmouth 
to  my  Lord  of  Canterbury,  to  prorogue  the 
Convocation  for  one  week  longer. 

Having  set  the  design  upon  this  fair  footing, 
he  was  obliged  to  leave  the  execution  of  it  to 
other  hands.  For  it  was  not  proper  for  him, 
as  he  belonged  to  another  province,  to  concern 
himself  further  in  it. 

There  were  other  ecclesiastical  matters,  about 
which  he  had  formerly  conferred  with  the  Pro- 
locutor, as  being  proper  subjects  for  the  Con- 
vocation to  take  into  their  consideration ;  such 
as  these.  To  think  of  means  to  prevent  clan- 
destine marriages,  by  enforcing  the  canon  about 
licences.  To  find  out  a  method  of  restraining 
ecclesiastical  officers  from  taking  ea:orbitant  fees, 
and  of  regulating  Spiritual  Courts.  To  con- 
sider of  one  book  or  foi^m  of  Singiiig  Psalms  to 
be  used  throughout  England,  and  the  like. 
Upon  which  he  thought  the  Convocations  might 
be  both  usefully  and  itioffensively  employed. 

But  though  he  thought  of  these  things,  and 
suggested  them  in  a  private  way,  yet  it  doth 
not  appear  that  he  took  any  further  steps  to- 
wards bringing  them  to  bear.  He  might  pro- 
bably be  apprehensive,  that  the  times  in  which 

A  a 


354  LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP   SHARP. 

he  lived  were  not  seasonable  for  such  proposals; 
and  that  the  reformation  of  d'lsci'pline  and  esta- 
blishment of  new  rules  and  orders,  even  in  small 
matters,  were  to  be  maturely  considered  and 
thoroughly  canvassed  by  men  of  other  profes- 
sions, as  well  as  of  his  own,  before  they  could 
be  properly  carried  into  execution. 

What  opinion  he  had  of  the  Established  Church 
of  England,  will  best  appear  from  his  own  words, 
delivered  upon  a  very  solemn  occasion,  and  in  a 
very  solemn  manner. 

**  If  we  take  our  measures  (says  he)  concern- 
ing the  truths  of  religion,  from  the  rules  of  the 
Holy  Scripture,  and  the  platform  of  the  primi- 
tive Churches;  the  Church  of  England  is  un- 
doubtedly both,  as  to  doctrine  and  worship,  the 
purest  Church  that  is  at  this  day  in  the  world ; 
the  most  orthodox  in  faith,  and  the  freest  on 
the  one  hand  from  idolatry  and  superstition ; 
and,  on  the  other  hand,  from  freakishness  and 
enthusiasm,  of  any  now  extant.  Nay,  I  do 
further  say,  with  great  seriousness,  and  as  one 
that  expects  to  be  called  to  account  at  the 
dreadful  tribunal  of  God,  for  what  I  now  say, 
if  I  do  not  speak  in  sincerity,  that  I  do  in  my 
conscience  believe,  that  if  the  religion  of  Jesus 
Christ,  as  it  is  delivered  in  the  New  Testament, 
be  the  true  religion  (as  I  am  certain  it  is),  then 
the  communion  of  the  Church  of  England  is    a 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP.  355 

safe  way  to  salvation,  and  the  safest  of  any  I  know 
in  the  worlds 

And  to  this  same  purpose  he  has  declared 
himself  a  thousand  times,  when  he  hath  occa- 
sionally spoke  of  the  blessings  we  of  this  king- 
dom enjoy  in  our  national  Church. 

But  though  he  esteemed  our  ecclesiastical 
establishment  as  valuable  in  itself,  and  gave  it 
the  preference  to  all  others  now  in  being  (and 
perhaps  no  man  ever  considered  it  more  tho-- 
roughly,  or  spoke  of  it  upon  better  informations 
and  surer  grounds  than  he  did),  yet  he  was 
far  from  thinking  it  so  perfectly  constituted  as 
not  to  allow  room  for  improvements,  especially 
in  regard  of  discipline,  which  had  never  been 
effectually  provided  for,  and  which  likewise,  from 
time  to  time,  had  been  gradually  impaired 
and  enervated  by  encroachments  upon  it  from 
the  temporal  courts.  Neither  did  he  think  the 
Liturgy  so  exactly  reformed,  as  to  admit  of  no 
further  amendment,  had  there  been  opportunity 
of  attempting  such  a  thing  with  safety.  Though 
he  admired  the  communion  office,  as  it  now 
stands,  yet,  in  his  own  private  judgment,  he 
preferred  that  in  King  Edward's  first  service 
book  before  it,  as  a  more  proper  office  for  the 
celebration  of  those  mysteries;  nor  was  this 
the  only  office  that  he  thought  might  be  ren^ 
dered  more  suitable  to  the  respective  occasions 

A  a2 


356  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

for  which  they  were  compiled ;  which  judgment 
probably  he  had  formed  from  that  examination 
of  the  Liturgy  which  he  was  concerned  in,  as 
one  of  the  ecclesiastical  commissioners  in  King 
William's  reign,  for  reforming  the  Liturgy  and 
Canons.  But  though  he  had  these  sentiments, 
yet  he  ever  blessed  God  that  our  public  worship 
was  so  pure  as  it  is ;  our  rites  so  simple  and 
inoffensive,  and  our  discipline  in  no  worse  a 
state,  all  things  considered. 

But  what  most  commendeth  his  zeal  for  the 
Ecclesiastical  Establishment  is  this,  that  it  was 
always  accompanied  with  moderation  and  tender 
compassion  towards  those  whose  consciences 
would  not  allow  them  to  comply  with  it.  He 
was  generally  thought  a  warm  man  against  the 
dissenters ;  but  this  opinion  of  him  seems  rather 
to  be  grounded  upon  another  equally  mistaken 
one,  viz.  his  supposed  inviolable  attachment  to 
a  party,  than  upon  any  just  reasons.  He  pressed 
his  arguments  against  separations  and  schisms 
with  warmth  and  earnestness  in  his  sermons 
and  writings ;  but  it  will  be  seen  in  them  also, 
with  how  mild  a  temper  and  with  how  Christian 
a  spirit  he  treats  the  dissenters  themselves. 
He  compassionates  their  weaknesses,  but  never 
exclaims  at  their  obstinacy,  or  attempts  to  raise 
resentment  or  indignation  against  them.  So 
that,  if  he  was  their  adversary  (and  in  one  sense 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  357 

he  was  a  very  formidable  one,  yet  in  another) 
he  was  as  reasonable  and  fair  a  one  as  ever  they 
had  to  deal  with.  He  never  treated  them  or 
spoke  of  them  otherwise  than  with  that  calm 
spirit  which  visibly  runs  through  his  writings  in 
their  controversy  ;  and  as  he  hated  every  thing 
that  had  but  the  appearance  of  bitterness  and 
violence  against  their  persons,  so  he  was  even 
shocked  to  hear  them  vilified  and  maltreated  in  the 
pulpit,  which  he  abhorred  should  be  prostituted  to 
such  purposes. 

It  is  very  true,  he  did  oppose  their  occa- 
sional conformity y  and  bore  his  testimony  for 
the  bills  that  were  brought  in  to  prevent  it. 

Diary. — '*  I  spoke  as  well  as  I  could  for  the 
bill,  and  not  to  my  own  dissatisfaction,  I  thank 
God.  December  14,  1703."  It  is  true,  likewise, 
that  in  the  debates  about  the  Church  being  in 
danger,  in  1705,  though  he  looked  upon  them 
as  most  other  people  did,  to  be  mere  party 
struggles,  and  not  occasioned  by  any  real  ap- 
prehensions of  what  the  title  of  the  bill  im- 
ported, yet  he  offered  two  or  three  clauses 
which  seemed  to  bear  very  hard  upon  the  dis- 
senters. These  were  the  remarkable  occasions 
of  his  appearing  against  them  in  public ;  and 
they  who  knew  his  particular  reasons  for  it, 
might  naturally  conclude  he  was  either  influ- 
enced by  the  party  that  opposed  them,  or  was 


358  LIFE   OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

himself  an  enemy  to  that  liberty  of  conscience 
which  by  the  favour  of  the  government  they 
enjoyed.  But  when  his  reasons,  and  the  parti- 
cular part  in  those  debates  which  he  bore,  are 
known,  the  injustice  of  both  those  imputations 
will  sufficiently  appear. 

Some  of  the  first  difficulties  he  met  with  in 
his  diocese,  were  from  dissenters  taking  advan- 
tage of  the  Act  of  Toleration  to  break  loose, 
and  assume  greater  liberties  than  were  designed 
them  by  the  act,  or  perhaps  were  justifiable 
upon  any  construction  of  the  words  of  the  act. 
Among  other  complaints,  that  of  their  setting 
up  schools  and  private  academies,  was  the  hai^dest 
to  find  any  remedy  for.  As  he  always  proceeded 
with  temper  and  caution  in  such  matters,  he 
applied  to  his  brethren,  the  bishops  in  the 
south,  for  their  advice ;  and  his  friend.  Dr. 
More,  Bishop  of  Norwich,  procured  him  the 
Opinion  of  some  of  the  best  civilians  upon 
it.  With  respect  to  one  particular  academy  set 
up  within  his  diocese,  he  had  the  following- 
kind  and  prudent  direction  of  Archbishop  Til- 
lotson,  whose  letter  the  reader  will  not  be  dis- 
pleased to  have  at  length. 

"  Lambeth  House,  June  14-,  1692. 

"  My  Lord, 

"  Yesterday  I  received  your  Grace's 
letter  concerning  Mr.  Frankland,  with  the  copy 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP.  359 

of  an  address  to  your  Grace  against  him.  Your- 
self are  best  judge  what  is  fit  to  be  done  in  the 
case,  because  you  have  the  advantage  of  en- 
quiring into  all  the  circumstances  of  it.  If  my 
advice  can  signify  any  thing,  it  can  only  be  to 
tell  your  Grace  what  I  would  do  in  it,  as  the 
case  appears  to  me  at  this  distance.  I  would 
send  for  him,  and  tell  him,  that  I  would  never 
do  any  thing  to  infringe  the  Act  of  Toleration. 
But  I  did  not  think  his  case  came  within  it ;  that 
there  are  two  things  in  his  case  which  would 
hinder  me  from  granting  him  a  license,  though 
he  were  in  all  things  conformable  to  the  Church 
of  England.  First,  his  setting  up  a  school 
where  a  free-school  is  already  established ;  and 
then,  his  instructing  young  men  in  so  public  a 
manner  in  university  learning,  which  is  contrary 
to  his  oath  to  do,  if  he  hath  taken  a  degree  in 
either  of  our  universities  ;  and  I  doubt,  contrary 
to  the  bishop's  oath  to  grant  him  a  license  for 
doing  of  it ;  so  that  your  Grace  does  not,  in  this 
matter,  consider  him  at  all  as  a  dissenter.  This 
I  only  offer  to  your  Grace  as  what  seems  to  me 
the  fairest  and  softest  way  of  ridding  your  hands 
of  this  business.  With  my  humble  service  to 
Mrs.  Sharp,  and  my  hearty  prayers  for  your 
health,  and  long  life,  to  do  God  and  his  Church 
much  service,  I  remain,  my  Lord,  your  Grace's 
very  affectionate  brother  and  servant, 

"  Jo.  Cant." 


360  LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

Another  consequence  of  the  Act  of  Tolera- 
tion was  the  dissenting  ministers  taking  upon 
themselves  to  perform  parochial  offices,  to  the 
grievance  and  detriment  of  the  clergy  of  the 
Church  established.  In  the  year  1704  (not  long 
before  those  debates  in  the  House  of  Lords, 
with  reference  to  which  these  particulars  are 
mentioned),  complaints  of  this  kind  against  the 
dissenters  being  renewed,  he  consulted  some  of 
the  judges  upon  this  point.  His  letter  to  my 
Lord  Chief  Justice  Holt,  with  his  Lordship's 
answer,  are  as  follows. 

*'  Bishopthorp,  May  29,  1704. 

"  My  Lord, 

"  Having  always  found  you  so  ready 
to  give  me  your  advice  in  any  matter  wherein  I 
have  had  occasion  to  consult  you,  and  for  which 
I  must  ever  own  my  great  obligation,  I  humbly 
beg  leave  to  propose  to  you  a  case  wherein  I 
am  now  concerned.  But  I  do  it  in  such  a 
manner,  that  if  your  Lordship  do  not  think 
proper  to  declare  your  opinion  in  this  case,  I 
then  do  not  desire  it,  but  only  desire  your 
pardon  for  my  giving  you  this  trouble. 

*'  I  have,  my  Lord,  complaints  from  some  of 
my  clergy,  that  the  non-conformist  ministers  do 
them  a  great  deal  of  prejudice,  by  taking  upon 
them  to  marry,  bury,   christen   children,   and 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  361 

church  women  within  their  families.  And  when 
they  have  expostulated  this  matter  with  them, 
they  affirm,  that  the  Act  of  Indulgence  doth 
allow  them  to  do  all  this.  What  now  to  do,  I 
am  in  this  case  at  a  loss.  I  think  it  hard  on 
one  side,  that  the  dissenters  should  thus  en- 
croach on  the  Established  Church,  and  yet,  if 
I  should  prosecute  them  in  the  ecclesiastical 
court  for  these  things,  when  they  have  the  law 
on  their  side,  that  would  be  ridiculous. 

"  As  far  as  I  can  understand  the  Act,  there 
is  no  indulgence  granted  to  the  non-conforming 
ministers,  but  only  for  preaching  or  teaching  in 
the  meeting-houses.  In  one  place,  indeed,  it 
is  expressed,  officiating  in  any  congregatio7i  for 
the  exercise  of  religion  allowed  or  permitted  by  this 
act.  But  whether  this  officiating  for  the  exer- 
cise of  religion  will  extend  to  marrying,  or 
christening,  or  burying,  or  whether  such  offici- 
ating be  allowed  by  this  act,  I  much  doubt. 

**  I  would  beseech  your  Lordship,  if  you  have 
leisure,  to  look  over  this  act ;  and  let  me  have 
your  Lordship's  advice  what  I  am  to  do.  But 
if  I  ask  an  unreasonable  thing,  I  then  beseech 
you  to  pardon  me,  as  I  know  you  will.  I  am, 
with  the  sincerest  respects  in  the  world,  and 
the  heartiest  wishes  for  all  health  and  happiness 
to  your  Lordship, 

''  My  Lord,  &c. 

"  Jo.  Ebor." 


362  LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP   SHARP. 

"  Bedford  Row,  June  13,  1704. 

"  My  Lord, 

"  Your  Grace  may  reasonably  accuse 
me  of  disobedience  to  your  commands,  whicli 
I  received  by  your's  of  the  29th  last ;  which  1 
should  have  more  punctually  executed,  if  the 
weight  of  the  subject  had  not  obliged  me  to  an 
exact  consideration  thereof;  which  at  that  time 
the  attendance  on  my  business  would  not  per- 
mit me  to  take. 

*'  As  to  the  non-conformist's  marrying,  they 
may  be  proceeded  against  in  the  ecclesiastical 
court  for  marrying  without  license,  or  publica- 
tion of  the  banns,  or  for  clandestine  marriages, 
which  the  Act  of  Toleration  doth  not  indulge 
them  in.  But  as  for  christenings,  churching  of 
women,  and  burials,  I  know  not  how  to  deal 
with  them ;  though  that  may  be  fit  to  be  con- 
sidered upon  the  stating  of  the  case  upon  the 
canon  law ;  which  I  have  attempted  to  under- 
stand upon  this  occasion,  but  cannot  fix  upon 
any  foundation  upon  which  to  proceed. 

"  I  did  propose  these  matters  to  my  brother 
Powell,  and  he  doth  concur  with  me.  If  your 
Grace  is  pleased  to  state  any  patiicular  ques- 
tion to  me  upon  this  answer,  I  shall  be  very 
desirous  and  ready  to  give  the  best  account 
thereof  which  I  can.     For  I  shall  be  always 


LIFE  or  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP,  363 

very  zealous  to  demonstrate  myself  to  be,  my 
Lord,  your  Grace's 

*'  Most  humble  and  obedient  servant, 

**  J.  Holt." 

Another  inconvenience,  w^hich  he  apprehended 
as  a  further  consequence  of  the  Act  of  Indul- 
gence, was,  that  some  people  thought  to  shelter 
themselves  under  it  from  ecclesiastical  censures 
for  not  attending  the  worship  of  God  in  any 
place.  Such  there  were  in  his  own  diocese, 
and  though  the  act  does  not  in  reality  destroy 
or  enervate  the  bishop's  power  over  such  delin- 
quents, yet  it  makes  the  exercise  of  it  more 
difficult,  and  more  liable  to  be  evaded  than  it 
was  before. 

Taking  now  these  observations  along  with  us, 
let  us  see  what  part  he  had  in  the  famous  de- 
bates about  the  Church  in  danger,  in  December, 
1705 :— '*  He  owned  the  Church  to  be  in  danger  in 
one  se7ise,  as  a  Church  militant  having  many  ene- 
mies, among  which  he  named  Atheists,  Deists,  and 
Socinians.  He  added,  that  we  acknowledged  as  much 
in  all  our  fast  offices,  where  we  prayed  God,  that  he 
would  jnake  us  sensible  of  the  great  danger  we  were 
in  by  reasoji  of  our  divisions,  &c.  And  this  ivas  the 
first  reason  given  afterwards  in  the  protest  of  the 
dissentients.  He  feared  likewise  very  ill  consequences, 
from  the  many  academies  set  up  by  the  dissenters, 


364  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

and  the  liberties  that  some  of  them  took  from  the 
Act  of  Indulgence.''     (And  this  brought  upon  him 
the  personal  reflection  from  Lord  Wharton,  rnen- 
tioned  above,  viz.  his  favouring  the  seminaries  of  the 
non-jurors.)     He  thereupon  took  occasion  to  make 
three  motions.  "  One,  for  putting  a  stop  to  the  semi- 
naries  and  schools  of  the  dissenters,  and  for  remedy- 
ing the  laws  which  were  deficietit  as  to  the  bishop's 
power  over  schools.     A  second,  for  explaining  the 
Act  of  Toleration,  that  ministei^s  might  not  be  in- 
suited  by  the  dissenters  baptizing  children,  and  mar- 
rying and  burying  within  their  parishes.     And  a 
third,  that  provision  might  be  made  to  oblige  men  to 
go  to  some  Church,  or  to  some  meeting,  and  not  to 
stay  at  home  on  the  Lord's  day."    Whether  he  had 
not  good  reason  to  make  these  motions,  after 
the  little  satisfaction  he  had  received,  and  the 
doubtful  answers  that  were  made  to  his  enqui- 
ries upon  these  points,  in  order  to  have  them 
put  upon  some   more  certain  footing,   let  the 
impartial  reader  judge.     The  first  of  them  was 
thought  so  reasonable,  that  it  was  insisted  upon 
by  the  House,  and  at  length  carried  in  part,  but 
not  perfectly.     As  to  the  question  which  was 
put  in  the  House,  that  all  who  went  about  insinu- 
ating that  the  Church  was  in  danger  under  her 
Majesty's  administration,  were  enemies  to  her  person 
and  government    (and  which   was    carried),  he 
voted  against  it;  but  would  enter  into  no  pro- 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  3G5 

testation,  though  earnestly  applied  to  by  several 
lords  to  do  it*. 

And  here  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  insert  what 
passed  between  him  and  my  Lord  Treasurer, 
about  the  Church  being  in  danger,  a  few  weeks 
before  this  debate  came  on  in  the  Lords'  House. 
Meeting  my  Lord  Treasurer,  October  25,  1705, 
in  the  House  of  Lords,  and  asking  him  how  he 
did,  his  Lordship  coldly  answered,  *'  as  well  as 
a  poor  man  could  be,  that  was  run  down  by  them 
whom  he  had  endeavoured  to  obliged  And  then 
he  turned  away.  He  was  not  a  little  sur- 
prised with  this  answer  and  behaviour,  because 
he  could  not  guess  the  reason  of  it.  And  *'  the 
next  morning  he  sent  to  my  Lord  to  desire 
leave  to  wait  upon  him,  which  was  granted. 
When  I  came  to  him  (says  he),  I  told  him,  that 
he  had  much  surprised  me  with  his  answer  to 
my  salutation  the  day  before.  And  that  I  was 
come  to  know  what  I  had  done  that  should  so 
disoblige  him.  He  told  me,  that  his  answer 
did  not  particularly  relate  to  me,  but  that  he 
meant  it  of  '  all  of  us  who  made  such  a  cry  about 
the  Church's  being  in  danger.'  I  told  him,  he 
could  not    charge   me  with  that ;   for  a  great 

*  In  the  History  and  Proceedings  of  the  House  of  Lords, 
vol.  II.  p.  161,  it  is  said,  the  Archbishop  of  York  and  Bishop 
of  Rochester  protested  afterwards.  But  no  mention  is  made  of 
this  in  the  Archbishop's  Diary. 


366  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP. 

many  witnesses  could  testify,  that  I  had  de- 
clared I  did  not  much  apprehend  that  the 
Church  was  in  danger,  but  that  it  was  a  struggle 
between  Whig  and  Tory,  who  should  be  upper- 
most ;  but  that  I  believed  neither  of  them  meant 
any  harm  to  the  Church.  I  asked  him  whether 
he  had  heard  I  had  made  any  bustle  about  Par- 
liament men.  He  said,  no;  but  said  he  had 
heard  I  was  one  of  those  who  made  a  noise 
about  the  Church  being  in  danger,  and  com- 
mended the  memorial,  and  that  the  Queen  had 
been  also  told  so.  After  all,  we  parted  very 
friendly,  and  he  said,  he  hoped  in  his  distress 
he  might  have  recourse  to  me,  or  words  to  that 
effect.  He  was  often,  as  I  thought,  in  a  great 
concern,  and  very  near  weeping." 

Within  a  few  days  the  Bishop  of  Norwich 
told  the  Archbishop,  in  a  visit,  November  3, 
what  had  been  reported  to  my  Lord  Treasurer 
of  him,  which  explained  the  matter,  viz.  **  that 
in  his  passage  down  the  year  before,  he  had 
said  to  some  of  the  clergy  that  met  him  upon 
the  road,  that  he  apprehended  danger  to  the 
Church  through  the  late  changes.'"  And  ano- 
ther thing,  the  bishop  told  his  Grace  was  re- 
ported, though  not  to  the  Lord  Treasurer,  that 
he  had  said,  "  though  he  formerly  advised  his 
son  and  others  against  tacking,  yet  he  repented 
that  he  ever  did  so.     And  if  it  was  to  do  again, 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  367 

he  would  have  ikem  to  vote  for  it.  I  told  him 
(says  he),  I  had  said  something  to  this  purpose, 
that  if  I  had  known  how  things  would  have  followed y 
and  that  they  would  have  used  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land men  as  they  did,  I  should  not  have  advised  as  I 

did:' 

These  representations  of  what  he  had  acci- 
dentally dropped  in  discourse,  and  the  use  that 
was  made  of  them,  made  him  more  cautious 
ever  after,  how  he  expressed  himself  when  he 
spoke  of  public  affairs,  particularly  when  he 
was  met  some  time  after  by  Mr. ,  at  Gran- 
tham. "  I  am  sure  (says  he),  /  kept  such  a  guard 
upon  myself,  that  all  that  I  said  might  he  proclaimed 
at  the  market  cross.''  But  to  return  to  the  other 
bill,  which  chiefly  concerned  the  dissenters. 

He  had,  as  was  related  before,  used  his  en- 
deavours to  prevent  the  tack  to  the  bill  of  Occa- 
sional Conformity  ;  but  was  withal  desirous  the 
bill  should  pass;  and  spoke  for  it.  But  the 
point  that  he  laboured  was  not  only  a  reasona- 
ble one,  but  what  all  the  clergy  in  England 
would  have  been  obliged  to  him  for,  if  he  could 
have  carried  it.  And  that  was,  indemnifying 
parish  ministers  for  observing  the  rubric,  from 
all  such  damages  as  by  the  Test  Act  they  might 
stand  liable  to,  for  refusing  to  give  the  sacra- 
ment in  any  instance  wherein  the  rubric  directed 
repulsion  from  it.    In  the  debates,  December  4, 


368  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

1702,  upon  this  bill,  his  Grace  applied  himself 
to  this  point  alone.  "  I  made  a  speech  (says  he) 
against  the  clause  that  was  then  brought  in  to  oblige 
all  officer's  to  receive  the  sacrament  four  times  a  year, 
unless  a  clause  might  be  brought  in  to  indemnify 
parish  ministers  for  repelling  such  from  the  commu- 
nion, as  by  the  rubric  they  wer^e  empotver^ed  to  do.'' 
This  was  rather  securing  to  the  clergy  their 
rights,  than  opposing  the  dissenters  in  the  favour 
they  desired.  He  thought  the  consciences  of 
the  parochial  clergy  doing  their  duty  in  the 
administration  of  the  sacraments,  were  as  much 
to  be  considered,  and  to  be  as  tenderly  treated 
as  the  consciences  of  those  who  could  occa- 
sionally conform.  And  that  it  was  hard  the 
dissenters  should  be  allowed  to  act  inconsist- 
ently, in  order  to  obtain  the  benefits  of  the  law  ; 
while  the  Church  ministers,  for  acting  consist- 
ently, and  according  to  rule,  incurred  the  penal- 
ties of  the  law ;  that  is,  were  liable  to  the 
damages  which  any  man  sustained  by  being 
rejected  by  them  from  the  communion.  There 
were  also  several  others  who  voted  with  him 
for  the  bills  against  occasional  conformity,  who 
yet  were  never  thought  unfavourable  to  the 
dissenters.  The  Duke-  of  Marlborough,  who 
endeavoured  to  hinder  the  bringing  in  of  the 
bill,  and  ivould  have  possessed  the  Archbishop  with 
the  ill  consequences  of  it,  yet  added,  that  kt  it 


LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP  SHAKP.  369 

come  in  never  so  often,  he  would  give  his  vote  for  it, 
but  he  was  afraid  it  ivotdd  break  us.  Allowances 
should  be  made  for  their  different  way  of  argu- 
ing, since  they  both  voted  the  same  way.  One 
shewed  the  spirit  of  a  general,  the  other  of  a 
bishop. 

Upon  another  occasion  he  opposed  the  grant- 
ing a  privilege  to  the  meeting-houses  equal  to 
that  of  the  Church  of  England,  viz.  in  the  Natu- 
ralization bill,  1708-9.  *'  He  voted  against  the 
commitment  of  it,  March  15,  and  spoke  (as  did 
also  the  Bishops  of  Carlisle  and  Chester)  for 
the  alteration  of  that  clause  where  it  was  en- 
acted, that  it  should  be  sufficient  to  qualify  a  man 
for  naturalization,  that  he  received  the  sacrament  iti 
any  Protestant  congregation.  They  would  have 
had  it  inserted  in  any  parish  church,  but  it  was 
carried  against  them.  There  were  seven  bishops 
more  with  them,  and  six  against  them." 

Before  we  quit  this  head,  which  concerns  the 
dissenters,  let  his  opinion  of  their  baptisms  be 
added  with  that  of  several  other  bishops.  On 
Easter  Tuesday,  1712,  when,  according  to  cus- 
tom, most  of  the  bishops  of  both  provinces  dine 
with  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  their  con- 
versation turned  upon  the  validity  of  baptism 
by  lay  hands. 

1712.  Tuesday,  April  22d.  "  At  eleven 
o'clock  I  went  to  Lambeth.     We  were  in  all 

B  b 


370  LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

thirteen  bishops.  We  had  a  long  discourse 
about  lay  baptism,  which  of  late  hath  made 
such  a  noise  about  the  town.  We  all  agreed, 
that  baptism  by  any  other  person,  except  law- 
ful ministers,  ought  as  much  as  may  be  to  be 
discouraged  ;  nevertheless,  whoever  was  bap- 
tized by  any  other  person,  and  in  that  baptism 
the  essentials  of  baptism  were  preserved,  that 
is,  being  dipped  or  sprinkled  in  the  name  of 
the  Father,  &c.  such  baptism  was  valid,  and 
ought  not  to  be  repeated." 

This  indeed  is  the  sense  of  the  Church  of 
England,  as  will  appear  to  any  person  who 
considers  the  ^rubrics  in  the  office  for  private 
baptism,  and  compares  them  with  one  another, 
and  with  the  previous  questions  in  the  office 
itself.  From  all  which,  laid  together,  it  may 
be  plainly  collected,  that  where  the  essentials, 
matter  and  form,  have  been  preserved,  though 
administered  by  another  hand  than  that  of  a 
lawful  minister,  the  baptism  shall  not  be  so  much 
as  hypothetically  repeated ;  yet  nevertheless,  it  is 
so  far  condemned  and  disapproved,  as  irregular, 
and  uncanonical,  that  the  child  or  person  so 
baptized  shall  not  be  received  into  the  congre- 
gation. But  the  officiating  minister  must  have 
recourse  to  the  directions  of  his  Ordinary,  as  in 
other  irregular,  and  uncommon,  and  difficult 
cases.     But    as    our  Church  hath    no  where 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP.  371 

openly  and  expressly  declared  for  the  validity 
of  lay  baptism,  or  allowed  it  to  be  administered 
by  laymen  in  any  case,  how  extraordinary 
soever,  some  handle  is  left  for  disputing  or 
speaking  doubtfully  about  her  sense  of  the 
matter.  Therefore,  his  Grace  of  Canterbury, 
finding  so  many  bishops  unanimous  in  their 
opinion,  thought  it  would  be  of  public  service, 
if  they  all  joined  in  publishing  a  declaration  of 
their  sentiments,  which  would  appear  as  a  kind 
of  decision  of  the  point,  and  might  help  to 
make  the  minds  of  some  men  more  easy,  at 
least  to  shorten  the  disputes  then  raised  upon 
this  question.  What  his  Grace  of  Canterbury 
did  in  prosecution  of  this  thought,  the  following 
transcripts  from  the  papers  wrote  by  himself 
will  shew.  His  letter  to  the  Archbishop  of 
York. 

"  Lambeth,  April  9.7,  1712. 

"  My  Lord, 

*'  In  pursuance  of  the  agreement  made 
here  by  your  Grace  and  the  rest  of  my  bre- 
thren the  bishops,  when  I  had  the  favour  of 
your  good  companies  on  Easter  Tuesday,  I 
met  yesterday  with  some  of  them,  and  we  drew 
up  a  paper  suitable  (as  we  judged)  to  the  pro- 
posal then  made.  It  is  short,  and  plain,  and,  I 
hope,  inoffensive ;   and  for    a   beginning,   as  I 

B  b  2 


372  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

humbly  conceive,  full  enough.  1  here  enclose 
a  copy  of  it  for  the  perusal  of  your  Grace,  and 
of  as  many  others  as  your  Grace  shall  think  fit 
to  shew  it  to. 

"  I  send  this  declaration  unsigned,  because 
we  who  were  present  desired  first  to  have  the 
opinions  of  your  Grace  and  others  who  were 
absent,  and  should  be  glad  to  know  whether 
you  would  have  any  thing  added  to  it,  or  altered 
in  it,  for  we  affect  not  the  vanity  of  dogmatiz- 
ing. I  hope  for  your  Grace's  speedy  answer 
(to-morrow,  if  it  may  be),  because  the  evil 
grows,  and  we  have  heard  of  more  odd  books 
and  sermons  since  we  met,  and  of  an  increase 
of  the  scrupulous.  And  your  Grace  well  knows, 
that  the  more  timely  the  check  is  given,  the 
likelier  it  is  (through  God's  blessing)  to  have  a 
good  effect.  I  commend  this  weighty  affair  to 
your  Grace's  most  serious  consideration,  and 
yourself  to  the  protection  of  the  great  Shepherd 
of  souls,  and  remain,  my  Lord, 

*'  Your  most  affectionate  brother, 
**  Canterbury." 

*'  A  Declaration,  &c.  [The  title  is  not  yet 
agreed  on.] 

*'  Forasmuch  as  sundry  persons  have  of  late 
by  their  preaching,  writing,  and  discourses, 
possessed  the  minds  of  many  people  with  doubts 


LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  373 

and  scruples  about  the  validity  of  their  baptism, 
to  their  great  trouble  and  disquiet,  we,  the 
archbishops  and  bishops  whose  names  are  under- 
written, have  thought  it  incumbent  on  us  to 
declare  our  several  opinions,  in  conformity  with 
the  judgments  and  practice  of  the  Catholic 
Church,  and  of  the  Church  of  England  in  par- 
ticular, that  such  persons  as  have  already  been 
baptized  in  or  with  water,  in  the  name  of  the 
Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  ought  not  to  be 
baptized  again.  And  to  prevent  any  such  prac- 
tice in  our  respective  dioceses,  we  do  require 
our  several  clergy,  that  they  presume  not  to 
baptize  any  adult  person  whatsoever,  without 
giving  us  timely  notice  of  the  same,  as  the 
rubric  requires." 

To  these  papers  his  Grace  of  York  answered 
the  next  day  in  the  words  following. 

"  Jpril  28,  1712. 

**  My  Lord, 

"  I  had  the  honour  of  your  Grace's 
letter  (with  the  Declaration  enclosed)  the  last 
night.  I  am  entirely  of  the  same  sentiments 
that  we  all  declared  we  were,  when  we  had  the 
honour  to  dine  with  your  Grace  the  last  week. 
But  yet,  for  all  that,  I  can  by  no  means  come 
into  the  proposal  your  Grace  has  now  made  in 
your  letter  ;   in  that  we  should  all  declare,  under 


374  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

our  hands,  the  validity  of  lay  baptism.  For  I 
am  afraid  this  would  be  too  great  an  encourage- 
ment to  the  dissenters  to  go  on  in  their  way  of 
irregular  uncanonical  baptisms. 

**  I  have,  as  your  Grace  desired  me,  commu- 
nicated this  matter  to  three*  of  our  brethren, 
the  bishops,  and  we  have  had  a  full  discourse 
about  it,  and  we  are  all  of  the  same  opinion 
that  I  now  represented. 

**  I  am,  with  all  sincere  respects,  and  hearty 
wishes  of  health  and  happiness  to  your  Grace, 
"  Your  Grace's  most  faithful  friend 

*'  And  humble  servant, 

*'  Jo.  Ebor." 

It  appears  from  hence  that  he  was  of  opinion, 
that  to  leave  the  question  as  much  undecided, 
as  it  is  left  in  the  public  offices  and  canons  of 
the  Church,  was  a  good  security  to  discipline, 
and  that  an  open  declaration  in  favour  of  the 
dissenters'  baptisms,  might  prove  inconvenient 
from  the  bad  use  that  might  be  made  of  it. 

The  account  of  this  matter  is  the  more  fully 
set  down  here,  because  Bishop  Burnet  has  not 
represented  it  in  a  favourable  light  with  respect 
to  Archbishop  Sharp.  His  words  are  these 
(Hist,  of  his  own  Times,  vol.  II.  p.  605). 

*  These  were,  Chester,  Exeter,  and  St.  David's. 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP.  375 

"  The  bishops  thought  it  necessary  to  put  a 
stop  to  this  new  and  extravagant  doctrine  (viz. 
the  invalidity  of  lay  baptism),  so  a  declaration 
was  agreed  to,  first,  against  the  irregularity  of  all 
baptism  by  persons  who  were  not  in  holy  orders, 
but  that  yet,  according  to  the  practice  of  the 
primitive  Church,  and  the  constant  usage  of  the 
Church  of  England,  no  baptism  in  or  with 
water,  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  Son,  and 
Holy  Ghost,  ought  to  be  reiterated.  The  Arch- 
bishop  of  York  first  agreed  to  this.  So  it  was  re- 
solved to  publish  it  in  the  names  of  all  the  bishops  of 
England;  but  he  was  prevailed  on  to  change  his 
mindy  and  refused  to  sign  it,  pretending  that  this 
would  encourage  irregular  baptism." 

Whosoever  reads  this  passage,  will  be  apt  to 
take  for  granted,  that  the  Archbishop  of  York 
first  agreed  to  the  declaration;  that  upon  his 
agreeing  thereto,  it  was  resolved  to  publish  ity 
and  that  he  afterwards  changed  his  mind,  and 
refused  to  sign  it.  Whereas,  though  the  resolution 
to  publish  such  a  declaration  was  founded  on  his 
agreement  with  the  rest  of  the  bishops  in  their 
judgment  upon  the  validity  of  lay  baptisms,  yet 
he  was  not  apprised  of  any  such  resolution,  till 
the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  communicated 
it  to  him,  and  then  he  disapproved  of  it.  My 
Lord  of  Canterbury  does  indeed  mention  in  his 
letter,  a  proposition  that  was  made  at  Lambeth 


376  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP. 

to  this  effect.  But  it  appears  by  Archbishop 
Sharp's  answer,  that  although  he  remembered 
well  the  conference  they  had  on  that  subject  of 
lay  baptism,  yet  this  proposal  of  signing  a  decla- 
ration upon  it,  was  new  to  him  and  unexpected, 
as  it  seems  likewise  to  have  been  with  the  three 
bishops,  to  whom  he  shewed  my  Lord  of  Can- 
terbury's letter.  His  minutes  of  his  discourse 
with  them  upon  it  on  Monday,  April  28,  is  this. 

"  About  six  o'clock  this  evening,  came  in  the 
Bishops  of  Chester,  and  of  Exeter,  and  of  St. 
David's,  who  staid  here  till  nine  o'clock.  We 
had  a  great  deal  of  talk  about  the  Archbishop 
of  Canterbury's  proposal,  in  a  letter  he  had 
wrote  to  me,  that  we  should  sign  a  declaration 
of  our  judgments,  that  all  persons  who  were 
baptized  with  water  in  the  name  of  the  Father, 
Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  their  baptism  ought  not 
to  be  repeated  by  whomsoever  they  were  bap- 
tized. They  were  all  of  opinion,  and  so  was  I, 
that  it  was  not  proper  for  us  to  make  such  a 
declaration  under  our  hands,  for  that  it  would 
too  much  encourage  the  irregular  baptisms  of 
the  dissenters.  And  accordingly,  after  they 
were  gone,  I  wrote  a  letter  to  my  Lord  Arch- 
bishop to  the  same  purpose ;  a  copy  of  which 
letter  I  keep." 

Such  a  declaration  was  nevertheless  offered 
to  the  Convocation  afterwards,  but  it  was  laid 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  377 

aside  in  the  Lower  House.  And  my  Lord  Trea- 
surer, on  May  the  9th,  spoke  to  him  about  the 
Queens  writing  a  lettet\  to  stop  the  disturbances 
raised  by  lay  ba'ptism.  But  he  does  not  seem  to 
have  given  any  encouragement  to  that  motion. 
He  had,  however,  a  great  deal  of  talk  with  Mr. 
Lawrence  upon  that  subject,  when  he  came  the 
day  following,  May  10,  to  present  him  with  his 
answer  to  the  Bishop  of  St.  Asaph's  treatise 
upon  that  argument. 

With  the  same  caution  that  he  used  in  this 
case,  he  acted  in  another,  which  is  not  foreign 
to  the  present  subject,    especially   as  it  was 
grounded  upon  some  words  that  he  spoke  in 
the  debates  concerning  occasional  conformity. 
He  had  said,  it  seems,  on  that  occasion,  that  if 
he  were  abroad,  he  would  willingly  communicate  with 
the  Protestant  Churches,  where  he  should  happen  to 
he.     Monsieur  de  la  Mothe,  a  French  minister 
at  London,  who  was  collecting  passages  from 
the  several  sermons  preached  in  London  on  the 
day  when  the  Orange  brief  was  read,  with  a 
design  to  print  them,  in  order  to  shew  what  a 
fraternal  tenderness  was  on  that  occasion  ex- 
pressed by  the  ministers  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land towards  those   poor   Protestant  sufferers, 
and  by  that  means  to  lessen  the  prejudice  which 
foreign  Churches  may  be  under  in  relation  to 
our  opinion    of  them  and  concern  for  them ; 


378  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

thought  it  would  be  of  moment  to  give  an 
account  of  these  words  which  the  Archbishop 
had  used  in  the  House  of  Lords,  as  before 
recited.  But  because  it  was  not  so  decent  to 
do  it  without  his  permission,  M.  de  la  Mothe 
desired  Dr.  Atterbury  to  propose  his  design  to 
him,  and  desire  his  pleasure  therein.  The  doctor 
did  so,  giving  the  words  as  above  cited,  and 
the  Archbishop  answered  him  thus. 

"  May  31,  1704. 

"  Good  Mr.  Archdeacon, 

"  I  had  the  favour  of  your's  by  the 
last  post^  and  I  thank  you  for  it.  I  must  own, 
that  I  did  in  the  House  of  Lords,  when  the 
debate  was  about  the  bill  of  occasional  confor- 
mity, express  myself  to  the  same  purpose  as 
you  have  set  down  in  your  letter.  And  truly, 
I  spoke  my  hearty  sense,  and  if  what  I  said  was 
published  to  all  the  world,  I  should  not  retract 
it.  But  if  my  consent  be  asked  about  the  pub- 
lishing of  it,  I  must  needs  say  (for  reasons  you 
very  well  know),  that  I  cannot  readily  give  it. 
And  therefore  I  shall  take  it  kindly  of  M.  de 
la  Mothe,  if  he  mention  not  my  name  at  all 
upon  this  occasion. 

**  I  am,  &c. 

'*  Jo.  Ebor." 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  379 

No  doubt  can  be  made  but  his  reason  for 
this  was  the  ill  use  that  would  have  been  made 
of  such  a  concession  by  our  dissenters  at  home ; 
and  perhaps  by  some  others  too,  who,  not  con- 
sidering the  difference  there  is  between  the  case 
of  the  Protestant  Churches  abroad,  and  our  dis- 
senting co7igregations  here  in  England,  might 
argue  loosely  from  it,  that  he  could,  in  point 
of  conscience,  were  that  only  considered,  oc- 
casionally conform  to  the  Presbyterian  way  of 
worship  in  our  meeting-houses ;  which,  as  it 
was  far  from  his  thoughts  when  he  made  the 
aforesaid  declaration,  he  prudently  endeavoured 
to  keep  it  out  of  other  people's  thoughts  too, 
by  not  consenting  to  the  publication  of  those 
words,  unless  he  had  also  added  an  explanation 
of  them,  with  respect  to  our  non- conformists  at 
home. 

What  it  was  that  he  said  in  the  House  of 
Lords  by  way  of  comparison  between  the 
usage  of  Protestants  abroad  in  Roman  Catholic 
countries,  and  our  treatment  of  the  English 
Roman  Catholics  at  home,  which  could  occa- 
sion a  scandalous  passage  in  a  French  book 
printed  at  Brussels  or  Antwerp  in  1703,  and 
styled  Les  Interests  de  VAngleterre  mal-entendus 
dans  la  Guerre  presente;  or  whether  he  spoke 
any  thing  at  all  that  might  be  a  foundation  for 
the   calumny,  is  quite   uncertain.     Only  thus 

12 


380  LIFE  OF  AUCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

much  is  plain,  that  that  passage  is  either  a 
mere  fiction,  or  a  gross  misrepresentation.  It 
stands  in  the  294th  page  of  the  Amsterdam 
edition,  in  these  words: — "  Avec  quelle  inso- 
lence les  principaux  d'entre  eux  ne  parlerent  ils 
pas  contre  My  Lord  Archveque  d'York,  quand 
ce  digne  prelat  en  opinant  dans  la  chambre 
haute  sur  la  maniere  dont  nous  en  devious  user 
avec  nos  Catholiques,  eut  represent6  vivement, 
que  le  government  d'Angleterre  etoit  oblige  a 
deplus  grands  egards  envers  leurs  sujets  Catho- 
liques, que  ceux  qui  doivent  avoir  les  souve- 
raigns  Catholiques  envers  leurs  sujets  Protes- 
tants ?  Puisque  nos  Catholiques  sont  ceux  de 
nos  compatriotes  qui  n'ont  point  voulu  quitter 
I'ancienne  religion  etablire  dans  le  Pays,  au  lieu 
que  les  Protestants  des  etats  Catholiques  y  en 
ont  introduit  une  nouvelle*. 

To  understand  this  passage,  the  reader  should 

*  "  With  what  insolence  (says  he)  did  the  leading  men 
among  them  exclaim  against  the  Archbishop  of  York,  when 
that  worthy  prelate,  in  giving  his  opinion  in  the  House  of  Peers 
about  the  manner  in  which  we  ought  to  treat  our  Catholics,  had 
clearly  shewn,  that  the  English  government  was  under  an  obli- 
gation to  pay  more  regard  to  its  Catholic  subjects,  than 
Catholic  kings  abroad  are  to  their  Protestant  subjects  ?  Since 
our  Catholics  are  such  of  our  natives  as  would  never  renounce 
the  ancient  religion  that  was  established  in  the  country,  whereas 
the  Protestants  in  the  Roman  Catholic  dominions  have  intro- 
duced a  new  religion  there." 


LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  381 

be  acquainted,  that  the  book  out  of  which  it  is 
taken  is  pretended  to  be  translated  from  an 
English  manuscript,  with  this  title*.  The  In- 
terests of  England  mistaken  in  the  present  War; 
and  therefore  the  author  expresses  himself  as  in 
the  person,  or  under  the  character  of  an  Eng- 
lishman, though  he  manifestly  appears  to  be  a 
papist  and  a  Jacobite,  but  a  man  of  shrewd  sense 
and  thorough  insight  into  the  affairs  of  these 
kingdoms.  But  it  happened  that  he  had  little 
insight  into  the  Archbishop's  character  or  prin- 
ciples, for  otherwise  he  never  would  have  put 
such  an  assertion,   backed  with   such   a  piece  of 

*  The  character  of  this  book  and  its  author  is  given  by 
Monsieur  Le  Clerk,  in  a  letter  to  the  Archbishop  from  Am- 
sterdam, April  29,  1704,  in  these  words. 

"  Intelligo  insilens  tuis  in  manus  tuas  incidipe  virulentam 
satyram,  Gallice  conscriptam,  non  in  Anglicam  tantum  et  Bel- 
gicam  gentem  sed  et  in  te  quoque  privatim.  Satyrici  illius  li- 
belli,  quoniam  videris  ubi  editus  sit,  et  a  quo  nescire,  scito  au- 
torem  esse  pontificium,  et  nisi  vehementer  fallor,  Anglum  ex 
eis  qui  aut  Duaci  aut  in  Belgio  Pontificio  alibi  degunt  et  in 
Gallia  ab  aliquot  annis  viscerent.  Libellus  vero  editus  est 
Antwerpiae  aut  Bruscellis  ut  facile  intelligunt  characterum 
periti,  utque  ostendit  summa  quae  hie  est  raritas  exemplarium 
cum  in  hisce  provinciis  nuUo  modo  comporari  possint.  Quod 
in  inscriptione  dicitur  esse  editus  a  Georgio  Galleto  qui  fuit 
ante  hac  prefectus  typographies  Huguetanorum,  id  plane  falsum 
est ;  nee  Galletus  ofRcinam  ullam  hie  habet  aut  libros  ullos 
vendit.  Nomen  ejus  malique  est  adhibitum  ut  tegeretur  locus 
ubi  libellus  est  editus." 


382  LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

false  reasoning,  into  his  mouth  ;  who  thought 
quite  the  reverse  of  what  this  man  would  have 
him  speak,  as  appears  in  all  his  writings  in  the 
Romish  controversy,  viz.  That  the  Roman  reli- 
gion, as  it  is  now  ■professed,  was  not  the  a7icient  reli- 
gion of  this  counti-y,  nor  the  Prqtestant  religion  a 
new  one,  either  here  or  in  foreign  kingdoms,  but 
the  old  07ie,  and  the  true  one,  such  as  it  was  before 
it  was  corrupted  by  the  innovations  and  superstitions 
of  Rome.  However,  it  helped  to  serve  the 
writer's  end,  to  charge  this  inconsistency  upon 
him.  And  it  is  manifest,  from  another  passage 
in  the  preface  to  the  same  book  (which  shall  be 
considered  in  its  proper  place),  that  the  author 
of  it  had  a  prejudice  against  him.  The  book 
was  extremely  scarce,  and  rarely  any  copies  of 
it  to  be  met  with  here.  It  was  conveyed  from 
Brussels,  where  it  was  printed,  first  into  Hol- 
land ;  and  there  Dr.  Cockburn,  who  gave  him 
the  first  account  of  it,  obtained  the  perusal  of 
it  with  great  difficulty.  And  afterwards  a  few 
of  the  impression  were  transmitted  into  Eng- 
land. 

The  author  of  Dr.  Radcliffe's  Life*,  whoever 
he  was,  either  knew  as  little  of  the  Archbishop 
as  the  French  writer,  or  was  as  much  disposed 
to  invent,  when  he  fathered  upon  him  a  Letter  to 

*  Published  after    the  Archbishop's  death,   in   1716,  and 
printed  by  Curll. 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP.  383 

Dr.  Radcliffe  about  D}\  Sacheverell,  supposed  to 
be  wrote  1709-10,  and  while  the  trial  was  yet 
depending.  For,  besides  that  neither  the  sen- 
timents nor  diction  in  that  letter  resemble  those 
of  the  Archbishop's,  there  are  things  spoken  of 
him  which  prove  the  whole  piece  spurious,  as  *'  his 
recovery  just  before  by  the  doctor  s  skill,'"  whereas 
he  had  been  in  good  health  all  that  winter; 
and  **  his  applauding  Dr.  Ratcliffe' scare  in  making 
interest  for  Dr.  Sacheverell,  and  preferring  the 
divine's  for  his  bail  before  the  dukes."  Whereas  he 
would  have  so  little  concern  in  Dr.  Sacheve- 
rell's  affair  before  his  trial,  "  that  he  refused  to 
peruse  his  answer  to  the  articles  of  impeachment 
which  the  Doctor  hirnself  brought  him,  and  would 
have  shewed  him.  But  he  told  him,  that  upon  his 
trial  he  could  do  him  720  favour,  but  he  would  do  him 
all  right  and  justice  that  he  could."" 

And  then  what  follows  in  the  aforesaid  pre- 
tended letter  of  his,  fearing  that  they  should  not 
have  power  enough  to  give  a  parliamentary  sanction 
to  the  doctrines,  he  (Dr.  Sacheverell)  had  preached, 
is  something  so  unlikely  to  be  credited,  that  it 
needs  no  refutation. 

But  to  return  from  these  digressions  to  the 
consideration  of  points  more  material.  The 
next  that  offers  itself  is  his  Patronage  of  the 
Episcopal  clergy  in  Scotland. 

Anciently  the  Archbishops  of  York  asserted 


384  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

their  jurisdiction  in  that  kingdom,    and   did  ac- 
tually exercise  it  over  some  sees,  particularly 
St.  Andrew's,  Glasgow,   Candida,  Cassa*,  and 
all  on  the  south  side  of  Edinburgh  Frith,  once 
the  dominions  of  the  kings  of  Northumberland. 
The  whole  plea,  indeed,  is  now  quite  out  of 
doors,  as  to  any  pretence  of  jurisdiction  or  pri- 
macy.    But  Archbishop  Sharp  may  be  said  to 
have  revived  the  old  claim  in  one  respect,  that 
he  professed  to  be  the  patron  and  friend  of  the 
episcopal  clergy,   and  suffered  himself   to  be 
their  resort  in  their  difficulties  and  distresses, 
as  much  as  if  they  had  yet  been  a  part  of  his 
provincial    charge.     And  they,    on    the   other 
hand,  did  as  readily  and  naturally  apply  them- 
selves to  him,  as  if  he  had  been  their  primate. 
He  was  hardly  settled  in  his  province  before  he 
received  a  remonstrance  from  them  of  their  de- 
declining  state  after  the  Revolution.     In  June, 
1693,  at  their  general  convention  at  Edinburgh, 

*  See  Polydore  Virgil,  lib.  13.  Spelman's  Councils,  torn, 
ii.  p.  5.  Appendix  to  the  Scotch  History.  Library  by  Nichol- 
son. Liberty  and  Independency  of  the  kingdom  of  Scotland 
asserted.  Edinburgh,  1702.  Drake's  Antiquities  of  York* 
538,  539. 

Original  charter  of  Thomas,  the  first  Archbishop  of  York, 

preserved  in  the  Archives  of  the  Church  of  Durham.  Whereby 

he  assigns  Tevegetedale  to  the  Church  of  Durham,  and  sends 

his  chrism  to  Glasgow,  as  an  ordinary  acknowledged  act  of 

jurisdiction. 


LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  385 

they  drew  up  a  memorial  or  petition,  which  they 
sent  him,  setting  forth  the  abolition  of  episcopacy 
in  the  first  session  of  King  Williams  Parliament 
in  Scotland,  and  the  estabishment  of  Presbyterian 
government  in  the  second  or  next  session,  and  the 
ejectments  of  several  of  the  episcopal  clergy  in  all 
parts  of  the  kingdom  consequent  upon  it,  that  is,  by 
virtue  of  the  powers  granted  to  Presbyterian  ju- 
dicatories ;  and  their  own  apprehensions  of  greater 
persecutions  still,  notivithstanding  they  had  acknow- 
ledged their  Majesties  govei^nment,  professed  their 
own  fidelity,  and  implored  their  royal  protection,  and 
had  likewise  received  repeated  assurances  of  it  from 
their  Majesties.  And  concluding  with  these  words : 
— '*  Wherefore,  in  this  time  of  our  great  dis- 
tress, our  only  refuge  next  to  the  Divine  Pro- 
vidence and  their  Majesties'  innate  goodness  and 
justice,  is  to  have  recourse  to  your  Grace  and 
the  reverend  clergy  of  the  Church  of  England, 
to  which  we  are  the  rather  encouraged,  from  the 
former  experience  we  have  of  your  religious  and 
charitable  concern  for  this  afflicted  and  distressed 
Church.  We  have  good  ground  to  believe,  that 
it  is  far  from  their  Majesties'  gracious  inclina- 
tions to  allow  of  any  thing  that  may  be  grievous 
or  straightening  to  their  loyal  subjects;  and 
however  our  enemies  may  take  occasion  to  as- 
perse and  misrepresent  us,  yet  we  can  assure 
your  Grace  we  are  still  the   same   we    have 

c  c 


386  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP. 

hitherto  professed  ourselves  to  be,  and  are  re- 
solved, whatever  measures  we  meet  with,  to 
persist  in  our  loyalty  and  fidelity  to  their  Ma- 
jesties, and  will  be  ready  to  give  such  further 
proofs  thereof  as  are  consequential  to  our  former 
professions,  and  proper  to  persons  of  our  cha- 
racter and  circumstances.  We  do  therefore 
humbly  entreat  that  your  Grace  and  the  reverend 
clergy  of  the  Church  of  England  may  be  pleased 
seriously  to  consider  our  present  case,  and  to 
represent  the  same  to  their  Majesties ;  so  as  yet 
we  may  subsist  under  the  favourable  influences 
of  their  royal  protection,  and  our  feared  ruin  and 
desolation  may  be  prevented. 

"  That  God  may  long  preserve  your  Grace, 
and  the  Church  of  England  in  that  order,  peace, 
and  lustre  wherewith  he  hath  blessed  you,  is, 
and  shall  be,  the  earnest  prayer  of  your's,  &c. 

"  Signed  in  our  name,  and  at  the  appointment 
of  our  meeting,  by  William  Demune  Proeses — 
Park  CI." 

The  next  winter,  when  he  came  to  London,  he 
applied  himself  to  some  of  the  chief  of  the  Scotch 
nobility  to  use  their  endeavours  for  procuring 
some  more  favourable  measures  to  be  taken  with 
the  episcopal  party.  Duke  Hamilton  told  him 
plainly,  (12th  February,  1693-4)  '' that  all  that 
could  be  done  for  the  Scotch  clergy  was  to  get  the  king 
to  recommend  it  to  the  parliament  of  Scotland  to  give 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  387 

new  and  clear  and  ex^pi^ess  terms  of  coming  in  to  the 
clergy y  and  that  they  might  not  be  remitted  to  the 
general  assembly.  But  to  think  of  excusing  them 
from  the  assurance  was  not  a  thing  to  be  thought  of 
for  that  was  what  the  parliament  of  Scotland  would 
never  consent  to  take  off;  though  he  owned  the  clergy 
of  Scotland  never  used  to  be  hampered  ivith  such  oaths y 
nor  had  it  been  enjoined  them  till  the  last  sessions  of 
parliament,  though  it  was  put  upon  persons  holding 
offices  of  trust  before  that  time.'' 

When  he  found  there  was  no  room  or  likeli- 
hood of  doing  them  better  service  than  by  pro- 
curing collections  for  their  relief  at  present,  he 
became  their  solicitor  in  this  respect,  and  his 
kindness  this  way  contributed  very  much  to  their 
support.  Their  poverty  became  so  great,  and 
their  condition  so  low  towards  the  latter  end  of 
King  William's  reign,  that  there  was  a  scheme 
laid  for  a  public  collection  of  charity  for  them 
throughout  England;  but  how  that  was  defeated 
may  be  seen  by  a  letter  of  Bishop  Burnet  to 
the  Archbishop  in  the  following  words. 

*'  May  it  please  your  Grace, 

"  Your  Grace's  tender  and  compas- 
sionate letter  is  as  suitable  to  your  own  goodness 
as  to  the  charity  of  the  Earl  of  Thanet  to  have 
given  the  rise  to  it.  I  have  transmitted  it  to  my 
Lord  of  Canterbury  with  what  I  could  suggest 

c  c2 


388  .LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

on  so  sad  a  subject.  My  Lord,  I  know  that  the 
miseries  are  great  even  to  the  last  extremities  in 
Scotland.  I  spoke  to  the  ministers  of  state  for 
that  kingdom,  and  pressed  that  an  address  might 
be  made  to  the  King  for  receiving  the  charities 
of  well-minded  people  here,  but,  to  my  great 
amazement,  I  found  they  were  cold  to  the  mo- 
tion; they  lessened  the  thing,  and  what  through 
a  senseless  piece  of  national  pride ;  what  be- 
cause they  fancied  an  ill  use  might  be  made  of 
confessing  they  were  in  such  extremities. — I 
found  nothing  could  then  be  done  by  them,  so  I 
thought  it  became  me  to  send  my  charity  thither. 
I  sent  ^200,  the  half  of  which  I  ordered  to  be 
distributed  by  Mr.  Chateris  among  the  episcopal 
clergy  and  their  widows.  I  take  my  share  in 
the  sense  your  Grace  has  of  this  great  calamity 
which  lies  on  my  country,  as  I  pray  God  to 
make  them  sensible  of  their  sins,  by  which  they 
have  drawn  this  on  themselves,  which  will  be 
followed  by  heavier  ones,  both  on  them  and  us 
if  we  do  not  repent.  I  am,  with  great  duty  and 
a  profound  respect,  my  Lord, 

"  Your  Grace's  most  humble  and 

'*  most  obedient  servant, 

G.  Sarum." 

"  SalisbuTT/,  17th  June,  1699." 

But  in  the  beginning  of  the  late  queen's  reign, 
when  the  design  of  uniting  the  two  kingdoms 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  389 

was  first  agitated,  there  seemed  a  fairer  prospect 
of  making  some  provision,  or  at  least  obtaining 
some  security  for  the  episcopal  clergy.     And 
accordingly  they  themselves  vs^ere  early  in  their 
address  to  the  Queen  to  desire  her  Majesty  to  take 
them  into  her  royal  protectio^i,  afid  to  give  liberty  to 
such  parishes  where  all  or  most  of  the  heretors  or 
inhabitants  were  of  the  episcopal  communion,  to  call, 
place,  and  give  benefices  to  ministers  of  their  own 
principles ;  which  the  Presbyterians  themselves  would 
have  no  reason  to  complain  of,  for  if  the  plurality 
they  pretended  to  was  true,  by  this  act  of  grace, 
neither  their  churches  nor  their  benefices  were  i?i 
hazard.     There  seemed  to  be  nothing  unreason- 
able in  this  request,  though  it  was  more  than 
they  expected  would  be  granted :  however,  if 
they  could  but  obtain  a  toleration  at  present,  as 
a  term  of  the  union  of  the  two  kingdoms,  it 
would   satisfy   them  very   well,   for  they  had 
hopes,  as  the  Archbishop  learnt  from  Drs.  Scott 
and  Skene,  who  were  employed  by  them  to  pre- 
sent their  address,  that  if  they  had  a  toleration 
then  it  might  not  hereafter  be  difficult  to  obtain  of 
the  parliament  of  Great  Biitain  to  re-establish  epis- 
copacy.    Accordingly,  he  whose  wishes  might  be 
as  great  as  theirs,  though  his  expectations  less, 
took  an  opportunity,  when  the  treaty  of  union 
was  in  some  forwardness,  to  discourse  with  the 


390  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

Queen  about  the  episcopal  clergy.  He  told  her 
he  should  luillingly  come  into  the  union,  for  he  had  no 
objection  against  the  articles  that  he  had  seen,  'provided 
there  was  no  detriment  to  the  Church  or  constitution 
thereby.  But  he  was  afraid  of  two  things ;  first, 
that  they  would  not  grant  a  toleration  for  the  episco- 
pal communion  in  that  kingdom,  considering  that  we 
had  allowed  a  toleration  here  to  their  Kirk.  She 
said  that  she  hadgiveii  orders  to  her  cojjimissioners  in 
Scotland  to  propose  this,  and  to  get  it  settled;  but 
she  forbad  him  to  make  mention  of  this.  The  second 
thing  he  objected  against  was — the  fear  he  had  they 
would  impose  such  oaths  on  her  Majesty  and  her  suc- 
cessors, that  they  could  not  give  consent  to  the  altera- 
tion of  Church  government  if  ever  the  parliament  of 
Great  Britain  should  think  it  convenient.  She  said 
she  knew  not  of  any  such  oaths  that  would  be  put  upon 
her :  she  further  said  that  she  meant  to  take  care 
that  as  there  was  a  neiv  security  to  be  given  to  the 
Kirk  of  Scotland,  so  she  meant  there  should  be  an  act 
for  securing  the  Church  of  England. 

But  when  the  bill  for  the  further  security  of 
the  Church  of  England  upon  the  union  with 
Scotland  was  brought  into  the  House  of  Peers 
by  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  January  the 
31st.  following,  he  made  a  strong  objection  to  it 
upon  account  of  the  test  act  not  being  continued  as 
well  as  the  act  of  uniformity,  and  so  he  found  did 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP. 


391 


some  others  of  the  Lords  who  seemed  surprised  at 
this   concession.     And  the  Queen   having  that 
night  sent  a  page  of  the  back  stairs  late  to  him 
to  order  him  to  attend  her  at  Kensington  the 
next  morning,  *'  he  perceived  her  business  was  to 
persuade  him  to  vote  for  the  bill  that  my  Lord  of 
Canterbury  had  brought  in,  which  within  two  days 
was  to  be  read  a  second  time.     I  told  her  (says  he) 
that  I  had  seen  the  bill,  and  that  some  of  the  Lords 
made  a  wonder  that  the  test  act  was  not  mentioned  in 
that  bill  to  be  continued  as  well  as  the  act  of  uni- 
formity, and  that  I  believed  several  of  the  Lords 
would  insist  upon  it  that  it  should  be,  and  that  I  was 
of  the  same  mind.     I  told  her  (upon  occasion  of  her 
saying  that  she  knew  some  Lords,  viz.  Lords  Notting- 
ham, Rochester,  8§c.  who  would  take  any  occasion  of 
apposing  that  bill  because  they  were  against  the  union, 
I  say  I  told  her)  that  it  was  a  Whig  lord  that  first 
made  that  objection  to  me.    She  asked  me  ivho  it  was. 
I  stuck  a  little,  but  she  solemnly  promised  me  she 
would  not  discover  it  to  any  body ;  upon  that  I  told 
her  it  was  my  Lord  Scarborough,  who,  L  assured 
her,  was,  at  the  first  time  the  union  was  treated  of, 
the  most  zealous  man  for  it  of  any  of  the  Lords^ 
But,  however,  when  this  came  to  be  debated, 
February  3rd,  though  the  point  was  insisted  on  that 
the  test  act  should  be  particularly  eocpressed  in  the 
bill,  yet  it  was  carried  in  the  negative  by  a  great 
majority.     He  spoke  in  this  debate,  and  the  next  day 


392  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

entered  his  protestation  *.     Five  of  the  bishops  bench 
were  with  him,  twelve  against  him. 

And  when  the  Scotch  act  of  pacification  was 
to  be  committed,  he  again  spoke,  and  opposed 
it,  though  he  had  none  of  the  bishops  with  him  except 
London,  Bath  and  Wells,  and  St.  Asaph,  the  last 
of  which,  namely  Dr.  Beveridge,  had  been  con- 
sulting with  him,  and  desired  him  to  consider  of 
the  point,  whether  the  bishops  of  the  Church  of 
England  could  lawfully  give  their  vote  i7i  parliament 
for  the  Scotch  ratification,  viz.  '*  an  act  of  the 
Scotch  parliament  for  securing  the  Protestant 
religion,  and  Presbyterian  government,  to  be 
ratified  and  confirmed  and  approved  by  her  Ma- 
jesty with  and  by  the  authority  of  the  parliament 
in  England,  as  a  term  of  the  union ;  when  in  this 
act  it  is  declaixd  that  the  Scotch  religioji  is  the 
true  Protestant  religion,  and  that  the  Presbyte- 
rian government  is  necessary.  So  that  although 
this  be  only  a  Scotch  act,  yet  the  question  was, 
whether  the  ratifying  it  would  not  make  it  an 
English  act."  Some  thought  that  by  ratifying 
it  could  be  meant  no  more,  but  that  thereby  the 
Queen  and  parliament  of  England  should  give  the 
fullest  assurance,  that  they  would  for  ever  after 
the  union  allow  this  Scotch  act  to  have  the  force 


*  This  protest  may  be  seen  in  the  History  and  Proceedings 
of  the  House  of  Lords,  Vol.  ii.  p.  165. 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  393 

of  a  law  within  the  present  bounds  of  Scotland, 
although  the  rest  of  Great  Britain  should  be 
under  another  law  as  to  the  same  matter ;  and 
not  that  it  implied  any  declaration  of  their  assent 
to  or  approbation  of  the  Scotch  discipline,  or 
form  of  Church  government.  But  however  that 
was,  such  ratification  cut  off  all  the  hopes  of  the 
episcopal  clergy,  who  were  to  entertain  no  fur- 
ther thoughts  of  the  restoration  of  their  ancient 
government.  His  Grace  had  told  the  Queen 
**  he  could  not  vote  for  this  ratification,  though  he 
should  not  vote  against  any  of  the  articles."  And 
he  was  as  good  as  his  word,  March  3rd,  when 
this  bill  was  committed. 

From  this  time  the  usage  of  the  episcopal 
clergy  grew  yearly  more  grievous  to  them  ;  and 
consequently  their  complaints  and  remonstrances 
more  frequent  and  lamentable.  When  he  read 
to  her  Majesty  the  letters  of  the  Bishops  of  Edin- 
burgh and  Aberdeen,  she  would  at  one  time  say, 
that  *'  she  could  not  think  things  were  so  bad  as 
they  were  represented T  at  another,  ''that  they 
must  have  patience,  for  all  would  do  well  in  Scot- 
land *."  At  last  it  came  to  a  downright  persecu- 
tion, and  when  the  account  of  it  came  to  him 
then  in  Yorkshire,  he  enclosed  it  in  a  letter  of 

*  "  That  she  would  consider  of  that  matter,  and  advise  with 
her  ministers."    These  were  the  answers  she  gave  him. 


394  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

his  own,  to  her  Majesty ;  which  was  a  trouble 
he  seldom  gave  her  but  when  he  judged  the  im- 
portance of  the  business  required  it. 

"  May  it  please  your  Majesty, 

"  I  humbly  beseech  your  Majesty  of 
your  abundant  goodness,  of  which  I  have  had  a 
great  deal  of  experience,  to  pardon  the  boldness 
I  now  take  of  sending  you  a  transcript  (for  the 
original  is  not  so  legible)  of  a  letter  I  received 
the  last  Saturday  from  the  Bishop  of  Edinburgh. 
It  is  his  earnest  desire  that  I  should  communi- 
cate the  contents  of  it  to  your  Majesty ;  and  I 
have  no  other  means  of  doing  that  (now  that 
your  Majesty  is  at  Windsor)  than  in  the  way 
that  I  now  take.  I  have  the  more  reason  to 
hope  your  Majesty  will  pardon  this  confidence 
in  me  in  regard  you  have  been  graciously  pleased 
to  grant  me  your  permission  to  write  to  you 
when  I  have  any  matter  of  importance  to  lay 
before  you,  and  indeed  I  take  this  to  be  such  a 
matter ;  and  I  dare  say  your  Majesty  will  think 
so  if  you  will  please  to  give  yourself  the  trouble 
of  perusing  the  Bishop's  letter. 

"  As  to  what  orders  your  Majesty  will  please 
to  give  with  relation  to  this  affair  of  the  distressed 
clergy  of  Scotland,  it  is  not  for  me  to  offer  any 
thing;  that  must  be  left  to  your  Majesty's  own 
wisdom  and  goodness  after  you  have  considered 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  395 

the  case,  and  I  dare  say  you  will  do  that  which, 
all  things  put  together,  you  judge  to  be  best 
and  fittest.  I  am  only  concerned  to  pray  most 
heartily  to  God  (and  I  assure  your  Majesty  I 
daily  do  it)  that  he  would  direct  all  your  coun- 
sels, and  prosper  all  your  affairs  both  at  home 
and  abroad,  and  make  your  reign  long  and  happy 
and  glorious,  and  as  much  as  is  possible  easy  to 
yourself  and  all  your  subjects. 

**  I  am,  madam, 
"  With  the  greatest  honour,  esteem,  and  affection, 
"  Your  Majesty's 

*'  Most  faithful  and  dutiful  subject, 

''  Jo.  Ebor." 

*'  August  10,1708." 

And  when  he  came  to  town  the  winter  follow- 
ing ^'  he  spoke  earnestly  to  her  Majesty  about  the 

episcopal  clergy.     He  told  her  what  my  Lord  

had  acquaiJited  hhn  with,  concerning  a  conversation 

he  had  with  Sir  James  S 1,  who  had  declared  to 

him  that  the  tneasu7'es  ivere  wrong,  but  he  must  obey 
them.  The  Queen  answered,  why  did  he  then  advise 
those  measures  ?" 

He  then  undertook  to  concert  matters  with  my 
Lord  Marr,  about   getting  the   Queen's  letter 

under  the  signet  to  Sir  James  S 1,  to  oblige 

him  to  suspend  the  prosecution  of  the  late  orders 
till  further  directions  were  given. 

11 


396  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

In  February  following  "  he  told  her  Majesty  of 
the  Judge  Advocate's  circular  letter  for  shutting  up 
all  the  episcopal  meeting  houses ;  in  which  letter  he 
said  he  had  orders  from  the  Queeiiy  under  her  hand 
and  seal,  to  do  this.  The  Queen  said  it  was  not 
true.  Hereupon  he  charged  it  again  upon  her 
conscience  with  some  warmth,  to  take  care  to 
put  a  stop  to  these  persecutions  ;  and  she  an- 
swered she  would  take  care  of  them  as  fast  as 
she  could." 

He  applied  himself  by  letter  to  the  Duke  of 
Queensbury,  May  1st,  1709,  **  praying  him  to 
use  his  best  interest  with  the  Queen  for  them, 
who  (says  he)  I  am  sure  is  most  ready  to  come 
into  any  methods  that  can  be  proposed  for  their 
ease  and  relief;  and  if  they  be  not  made  more 
easy  I   am  sure   the  fault  will  not  lie  at  her 

door." 

Such  repeated  applications  both  to  her  Ma- 
jesty and  the  nobility  of  Scotland  had  good 
effect  this  year,  for  there  followed  a  cessation  of 
those  severities  against  the  episcopal  clergy  with 
which  they  had  been  before  treated.  In  testi- 
mony of  which  here  follows  a  letter  which  he 
received  in  the  latter  end  of  the  same  year. 

"  May  it  please  your  Grace, 

**  This  new  trouble  is  occasioned  by 
a  letter  I  have  from  the  clergy  of  the  diocese 


LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  397 

of  Aberdeen,  to  let  your  Grace  understand, 
that  to  their  great  joy  and  satisfaction,  the 
names  of  such  of  them  as  were  enrolled  to  be 
prosecuted  before  the  Justiciary  Court,  were 
scored  out,  and  none  of  them  met  with  any  trou- 
ble from  the  late  circuit.  The  diverting  of  which 
danger,  though  by  secret  influence  from  court, 
being,  as  they  firmly  believe,  and  I  think  very 
justly,  the  happy  effect  of  your  Grace's  friendly 
endeavours,  they  have  desired  me  in  their  names 
to  return  to  your  Grace  their  humble  and  hearty 
thanks  for  your  great  favour  and  goodness  in 
interposing  so  seasonably  and  successfully  in 
their  behalf,  of  which  they  are  exceedingly  sen- 
sible. 

"  They  have  also  informed  me,  that  the 
thoughts  of  addressing  for  a  toleratmi  are  laid 
aside  till  we  have  peace  abroad,  and  a  new  par- 
liament at  home.  And  that  they  are  willing  to 
rest  satisfied  with  what  they  feel  of  her  Majesty's 
gracious  protection,  renewed  from  time  to  time 
by  secret  influences,  till  a  favourable  opportunity 
offer  for  expecting  a  more  public  confirmation 
of  it. 

"  They  heartily  wish  and  pray  it  may  please 
God  long  to  preserve  your  Grace  in  health  and 
prosperity,  for  the  continued  comfort  of  your 
own  clergy,  and  the  charitable  relief  of  those 


398  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

who  are  in  distress.     And  this  in  a  more  parti- 
cular manner  is  the  earnest  petition  of, 

**  My  Lord, 
"  Your  Grace's  most  humble  and 
'*  obedient  son  and  servant, 

**  Ja.  Gordon." 
"  Hamibyy  Oct.  25,  1709.'* 

The  deliverance  of  the  episcopal  clergy,  men- 
tioned in  the  former  part  of  the  letter,  was  cer- 
tainly a  great  one,  and  very  seasonable,  if  their 
apprehensions  of  the  treatment  that  was  designed 
them  in  the  northern  circuits  were  well  ground- 
ed ;  for  in  the  beginning  of  August  the  same 
summer  the  Bishop  of  Edinburgh  in  a  letter  to 
the  Archbishop  has  these  words  : — 

*'  I  am  certainly  informed  that  our  lords  of 
the  Justiciary  have  sent  up  to  the  court  for  in- 
structions how  to  behave  in  the  next  circuits 
with  respect  to  the  episcopal  clergy.  If  the 
return  to  this  be  unfavourable,  and  recommend 
not  much  moderation,  we  shall  be  entirely 
ruined,  for  the  judges  who  go  to  the  northern  cir- 
cuits are  such,  that  unless  some  bonds  be  laid 
upon  them  we  can  expect  no  kind  of  quar- 
ter, and  it  is  into  their  division  that  by  far  the 
greatest  part  of  our  clergy  do  fall.  We  still 
complain,  and  justly  too,  that  we  are  sentenced 
and  punished  for  what  the  law  does  not  require; 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP.  399 

and  were  it  not  very  just  to  supersede  any  fur- 
ther proceeding  against  us  until  the  sitting  of 
the  parliament,  that  they  may  take  the  case  into 
their  consideration,  and  by  a  clear  'plain  law  let  us 
know  our  obligations  ?" 

But  in  another  respect  he  was  more  success- 
ful, viz.  in  procuring  her  Majesty's  private  bounty 
towards  them,  especially  to  this  Bishop  of  Edin- 
burgh and  that  of  Aberdeen.  There  was  but  one 
surviving  archbishop  in  Scotland,  viz.  Dr.  John 
Paterson,  Archbishop  of  Glasgow,  burthened 
with  age  and  infirmities,  eleven  children,  and 
great  poverty.  There  was  procured  him  a  grant 
of  £300  per  annum  out  of  the  rents  of  his  arch- 
bishopric during  his  life,  and  £200  per  annum 
for  fifteen  years  more,  towards  the  support  and 
maintenance  of  his  children.  Among  the  in- 
ferior clergy  he  procured  for  Dr.  Scott,  the  epis- 
copal clergy's  agent  at  court,  a  pension  of  eighty 
guineas  per  annum  :  and  did  his  best  offices  with 
her  Majesty  that  what  remained  undisposed  of, 
of  the  Bishop's  rents  should  be  distributed  among 
them.  In  short,  he  shewed  himself  in  all  respects 
as  tender  of  them  as  their  own  circumstances 
and  those  of  the  times  would  permit . 

And  here  we  may  pass  over  to  some  other 
instances  of  his  compassion  and  care  of  poor 
distressed  Protestants,  viz.  those  in  foreign 
parts.     When  he  was  applied  to  in  King  Wil- 


400  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

liam's  reign,  by  the  agents  of  the  Churches  of 
the  Palatinate,  and  the  state  of  those  Churches 
was  laid  before  him,  he  wrote  to  his  Grace  of 
Canterbury,  to  assure  him,  *'  of  his  own  readiness 
to  do  his  part,  for  the  giving  a  supply  for  those 
Chmxhes,  whenever  the  King  or  his  Grace  should 
direct  the  method."  Having  no  answer  to  this,  he 
wrote  next  to  the  Bishop  of  London,  who  "  he 
hoped  would  take  the  case  into  his  consideration, 
and  advise  with  my  Lord  of  Canterbury,  and  peti- 
tion the  King  for  a  brief  or  order  for  a  private 
collection  among  the  clergy.  For  his  own  part,  he 
was  heartily  sorry  for  their  condition,  and  would, 
with  all  his  soul,  give  them  all  the  assistance  he  could 
towards  their  relief"  Which  he  did  afterwards. 

King  William  and  Queen  Mary  had  granted 
all  their  reign,  or  at  least  for  many  years  of  it, 
a  pension  of  425/.  to  the  Vaudois,  in  Germany. 
But  this  pension  having  been  struck  off  when 
he  came  to  be  made  the  Queen's  almoner,  he 
put  into  her  Majesty's  hands  a  memorial  of  the 
pensions  that  had  been  paid  in  the  late  reign, 
among  which  he  set  down  this  to  the  Vaudois  ; 
but  this  taking  no  effect,  and  the  Vaudois  minis- 
ters pressing  for  the  pension  and  the  arrears, 
he  wrote  to  my  Lord  Treasurer  as  the  properest 
person  to  be  applied  to. 

"  Give  me  leave  (says  he)  to  lay  a  matter 
before  you,  which  I  think  I  am  bound  to  con- 


LITE  OF   ARCHBISHOP   SHARP.  401 

cern  myself  in,  and  your  Lordship  also,  who 
made  me  the  Queen's  almoner.  I  have  received 
since  I  came  to  York  two  letters  from  the  Van- 
dois  ministers  in  German,  wherein  they  set  forth 
their  great  necessities,  and  earnestly  petition 
for  the  continuance  of  that  pension,  which  was 
settled  upon  them  by  King  William  and  Queen 
Mary  in  1689.  The  first  of  these  I  have  sent 
up  to  Dr.  Battle,  the  sub-almoner,  and  desired 
him  to  move  the  Queen  on  their  behalf.  The 
other  I  now  make  bold  to  send  to  your  Lord- 
ship, together  with  a  memorial  of  the  state  of 
these  poor  people,  which  I  received  this  last 
week  from  Sir  John  Chardin.  I  find  that  those 
ministers  and  schoolmasters,  who  are  upon  the 
Dutch  establishment  receive  their  pensions  duly 
and  are  well  maintained.  Sure,  then,  my  Lord, 
those  that  the  Crown  of  England  promised  to 
provide  for,  should  not  be  quite  abandoned," 
&c.  He  obtained  at  last  a  promise  from  her 
Majesty,  that  this  matter  should  be  taken 
care  of. 

But  when  the  treaty  of  peace  was  on  foot  in 
the  year  1709,  then  was  the  season  for  doing 
true  service  to  the  foreign  Protestants  ;  and  he 
was  not  wanting  to  remind  either  her  Majesty 
or  her  ministers  of  it.  As,  May  1,  1709:  "  /// 
the  evening,  at  the  Queens  appointment,  I  waited  on 

her  Majesty T pressed  heart i 1 1^,  that  now,   in 

D  d 


402  LIFE   OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP. 

the  treaty  of  peace  that  is  on  foot,  her  Majesty  would 
order  her  pienipotetitiaries  to  concern  themselves  about 
the  Protestant  ixligion,  both  in  France,  the  Palati- 
nate, the  Vaudois,  Silesia,  8§c.  that  we  might  not  be 
served  as  ive  were  at  the  great  treaty  of  Bertvick. 
She  saith,  over  and  over  again,  that  she  will  take 
care  of  that  matter.  I  recommended  to  her,  that 
she  should  send  a  minister  on  purpose,  who  would  be 
content  with  a  very  small  salary,  and  such  a  one  as 
understood  the  state  of  the  Protesta7its  abroad.  Aiid 
that  it  should  be  his  business  to  manage  that  affair. 
I  prevailed  with  her,  that  she  ivould  receive  a  memo- 
7'ial  about  the  state  of  religion  in  foreign  parts, 
which  Mr.  Hales  is  preparing,  and  which  the  Bishop 
of  Ely  has  promised  to  present ;  and  to  solicit  the 
Queefi  and  my  Lord  Treasurer  about  that  affair."" 

To  omit  the  kind  assistance  he  gave  to  the 
distressed  Greek  Churches  in  Armenia  and 
Egypt,  in  1706,  when  the  Armenian  bishops 
came  over  to  solicit  a  contribution  in  England, 
for  printing  bibles  and  some  other  books  in  the 
Armenian  language  and  character,  and  were 
recommended  by  him  to  the  Queen ;  and,  in 
1713,  when  Arsenius,  Archbishop  of  Thebais, 
in  Egypt,  came  over  with  Greek  letters  to  the 
Queen,  and  to  himself,  which  were  afterwards 
translated  and  published  by  M.  La  Roche,  in 
his  Menioirs  of  Literature,  as  also  to  omit  the 
share  he  had  in  procuring  the  settlement  of  an 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  403 

English  Church  at  Rotterdam;  we  shall  pro- 
ceed to  give  an  account  of  a  much  nobler  work 
he  was  engaged  in  with  regard  to  the  foreign 
Protestant  Churches,  and  that  was  the  intro- 
duction of  the  Liturgy  of  the  Church  of  England 
i?ito  the  kingdom  of  Prussia.  An  account  whereof 
may  be  the  more  acceptable,  because  none  of 
the  steps  taken  therein  have  been  as  yet  made 
public. 

The  Protestant  subjects  of  the  kingdom  of 
Prussia  consist  partly  of  Lutherans,  and  partly 
of  Calvinists ;  which  latter  call  themselves  the 
Reformed;  the  word  Calvinist  being  disagreeable 
to  them,  and  consequently  used  only  by  such 
as  are  not  their  friends. 

Frederick  King  of  Prussia  had  found  it  neces- 
sary, for  the  greater  solemnity  of  his  corona- 
tion, in  1700,  to  give  the  title  of  bishops  to  two 
of  the  chief  of  his  clergy,  the  one  a  Lutheran, 
the  other  a  reformed.  The  former  died  soon 
after;  whereupon  the  other,  viz.  Dr.  Ursinus,  con- 
tinued without  a  colleague,  and  with  the  title  of 
bishop.  Since  that  time  the  king,  who  was  a 
lover  of  order  and  decency,  conceived  a  design 
of  uniting  the  two  different  communions  in  his 
kingdom,  the  Lutherans  and  the  reformed,  in 
one  public  form  of  worship.  And  as  he  had  a 
great  respect  for  the  English  nation  and  Church, 
and  held  a  good  opinion  of  the   Liturgy  of  the 

D  d  2 


404  LIFE   OF   ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

Church  of  England,  he  thought  tJiat  might  be 
the  most  proper  medium  wherein  both  parties 
might  meet*.  The  person  who,  above  all  others, 
was  instrumental  in  creating  in  the  king  a 
favourable  opinion  of  the  discipline  and  Liturgy 
of  the  English  Church,  and  in  improving  his 
good  dispositions  to  establish  them  in  his  own 
realm,  was  Dr.  Daniel  Ernestus  Jablouski,  a 
man  of  great  credit  and  worth,  first  chaplain  to 
the  King  of  Prussia,  and  superintendajit  or  senior] 

*  Neque  vel  Lutberani  nostros  vel  nostratis  homines  Luthe- 
ranorum  ritus  admissuri  sunt:  sed  utrique  in  Ecclesiae  Angli- 
canre  Liturgia  commodissime  convenire  atque  uniri  possent. — 
Epist.  Jablouski. 

t  Under  the  title  of  seniors,  that  Church  has  kept  up  a  cha- 
racter very  much  resembling  that  of  our  bishops.  Since  the 
seniors  received  a  second  ordination,  or  consecration  to  their 
office,  and  none  can  be  received  into  the  ministry  but  by  impo- 
sition of  their  hands,  which  character  and  power  they  are  said 
to  have  derived  from  a  certain  bishop,  who  turned  Protestant 
about  or  soon  after  the  time  of  J.  Huss.  And  they  themselves 
are  supposed  to  be  the  remains  of  the  Hussites,  driven  out  of 
Bohemia  by  the  Emperors,  and  refuged  chiefly  in  the  proper 
estate  of  King  Stanislaus.  There  were  usually  three  or  four 
of  this  order  in  Poland.  But  at  this  time  Dr.  Jablouski  had 
no  colleague ;  at  least  he  was  the  only  senior  remaining  in 
Upper  Poland.  Extract  of  his  letter  to  Mr.  Aycrst,  IStli 
June,  1712,  N.S.  "  Prodie  Jidii  et  sequentibus,  B,  C.  D.  Syno- 
dum  celebrabimus  de  stabilienda  religionis  evangelica?  in  Polo- 
nia  securitate  deliberatori.  Quo  tempore  simul  duo  seniores 
sive  episcopi  pro  successione  conservanda  ordinabuntur.  Etenim 
a  pluribus  annis  nullus  in  Polonia  majore  minister  ob  senioris 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  405 

of  the  Protestant  Church  in  Poland.  This  gentle- 
man had  received  very  great  prejudices  in  his 
youth  against  the  Church  of  England,  from 
those  among  whom  he  was  educated.  But  after 
he  had  been  twice  in  England,  and  had  spent 
some  time  in  Oxford,  and  in  the  conversation 
of  our  English  divines,  and  in  the  study  of  our 
Liturgy  and  Church  discipline,  he  became  not 
only  reconciled  to  them,  but  an  admirer  of  our 
ecclesiastical  constitution ;  and  took  all  oppor- 
tunities ever  after,  of  expressing  his  friendship 
and  zeal  for  the  English  Liturgy  and  ceremo- 
nies*. 

Dr.  Ursinus  was  likewise  very  well  inclined 
to  a  conformity  in  worship  and  discipline  to  that 
of  the  Church  of  England ;  but  if  he  did  not 
prosecute  the  design  with  a  warmth  and  zeal 
equal  to  Jablouski's,  it  may  be  imputed  to  his 
never  having  seen  the  Church  of  England  in  her 
own  beauties  and  proper  dress  as  the  other 
had. 

absentiam  ordinatus  fuit.  Sed  duos  ego  hic  Berolini  ordinatos 
in  Poloniatn  misi.''  See  more  in  Di-.  Jablouski's  Reflections  on 
Monsieur  Bonet's  letter,  Appendix  II.  No  XII. 

*  His  own  account  of  his  sentiments  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land, and  how  he  came  by  them  is  worth  the  reader's  perusal. 
It  was  wrote  in  a  letter  to  Dr.  Nicholls,  in  1708  (which  will 
be  found  in  the  Appendix). 


406  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

By  the  advice  principally  of  these  two,  the 
King  ordered  the  English  Liturgy  to  be  trans- 
lated into  high  Dutch,  which  was  done  at  his 
University  of  Frankfort  upon  the  Oder,  where 
the  professors  in  general  were  friends  to  the 
Church  of  England.  This  done,  he  ordered  his 
bishop.  Dr.  Ursinus,  to  write  a  letter  in  his 
name  to  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  to  ac- 
quaint him  with  what  had  been,  and  what  was 
intended  to  be  done;  and  to  ask  his  Grace's 
advice  about  it.  The  scheme  was,  if  the  King's 
intentions  met  with  due  reception  and  encou- 
ragement from  England,  which  it  was  presumed 
could  not  fail,  to  have  introduced  the  Liturgy 
first  into  the  King's  own  chapel,  and  the  cathe- 
dral church ;  and  to  leave  it  free  for  the  other 
Churches  to  follow  the  example ;  and  the  time 
prefixed  for  this  introduction  was  the  first  Sun- 
day in  Advent,  1706.  It  was  indeed  debated  in 
the  King's  Consistory  (called  so  because  a  privy 
counsellor  always  sits  with,  yet  presides  over 
the  Divines),  whether  the  English  Liturgy  should 
be  used,  or  a  new  one  composed  in  imitation  of 
it,  several  objecting,  that  they  should  seem  to 
acknowledge  a  dependance  on  the  Church  of 
England,  by  wholly  using  her  service ;  upon 
which  some  divines,  who  were  not  willing  the 
design  should  miscarry,  drew  up  a  formulary, 


12 


LIFE  OF    ARCHBISHOP   SHARP.  407 

which  was  put  in  manuscript  into   the  hands 
of  the  King's  bishop. 

A  letter  was  wrote  by  Dr.  Ursinus  to  his 
Grace  of  Canterbury,  pursuant  to  the  King's 
directions.  And  two  copies  of  the  high  Dutch 
version  of  the  English  Liturgy  were  sent  along 
with  it;  one  for  her  Majesty  the  Queen,  the 
other  for  his  Grace.  And  orders  were  given 
to  form  a  correspondence  between  the  principal 
of  the  clergy  of  both  courts,  about  the  means 
of  promoting  the  design.  The  letter  and  the 
copies  were  put  into  the  hands  either  of  Baron 
Spanheim,  or  M.  Bo/iet,  the  King's  ministers. 
Her  Majesty,  upon  the  receipt  of  her  copy, 
ordered  my  Lord  Raby,  her  minister  at  the 
Court  of  Prussia,  to  return  her  thanks  to  the 
King  and  to  the  bishop,  which  was  done.  But 
it  unfortunately  happened,  that  the  other  copy, 
and  the  letter,  which  were  designed  for  the 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  by  some  neglect  or 
mistake,  were  not  delivered  to  him ;  and  the 
more  unfortunately,  because  they  were  assured 
at  Berlin,  that  they  had  been  delivered  to  him 
by  Mr.  Knyster,  a  subject  of  the  King  of  Prus- 
sia, then  in  England.  This  occasioned  some 
disgust ;  and  the  king  having  often  asked  Dr. 
Ursinus,  what  answer  the  Archbishop  had  given  to 
his  letter^  greatly  wondered,  when  the  bishop. 


408  LIIE  Ol    ARCHBISHOP  SHAliP. 

after  some  time,  continued  to   reply,  that   as 
yet  none  had  been  sent*.     And  it  was  thought, 

*  "  Restabat  tamcn  ecclesiae  reibrinatae  una  triumphi  materies 
quum  temporum  opportunitas  obtulit  quam   tamen  Archiepis- 
copus  noster  praenimia  cunctatione,  timiditate  vel  abundante  et 
intempestiva  cautela  neglexit.    Intelligo  episcoporum  in  Boras- 
sia  ordinationemjuxta  ecclesise  Anglican.Te  exemplar  quam  Rex 
Borus  religionis  reformatse  juxta  ac    literatorum  Fautor  per 
regHa  sua  celebrari  voluit,  et  ea  de  causa  virum  turn  eruditione 
tum  pietate  eximium  D.  Enestum  Grabe  in  Angliam  transmisit 
in  episcopum  juxta  ritus  ecclesise  Anglicanae  ordinandum.    Ve- 
rum  Archiepiscopus  adeo  non  avide  occasionem  oblatam  arri- 
puit,  ut  frigide  et  oscilanter  rem  momenti  gravissimi  curaret,  et 
difRcultatibus  et  causationibus  interjectis  ita  in  longum  petra- 
scit  et  aliquando  tandem  irrita  prorsus  interciderit.     Godrv.  de 
Prcesul.  cont.  per.  D.  Richardsony  p.  167."     It  appears,  from 
this  passage,  that  the  learned  writer  of  it  had  not  a  full  and 
complete  information  of  the  affair  upon  which  this  remark  con- 
cerning the  Archbishop's  conduct  is  formed.     If  Dr.  Grabe 
had  been  sent  over  in  oirder  to  obtain  a  consecration  here,  it  is 
strange  no  mention  should  be  made  of  it  in  any  of  the  letters 
and  papers  which  came  afterwards  into  the  hands  of  Archbishop 
Sharp,  relating  to  this  overture  of  his  Prussian  Majesty.     Be- 
sides, the  first  application  that  was  made  to  his  Grace  of  Can- 
terbury by  Dr.  Ursinus,  was  not  till  the  year  1705  ;   whereas 
Dr.  Grabe  was   settled  at   Oxford  in  1697,  as  appears  by  his 
dedicatory  epistle  in  the  first  volume  of  his  Spicelegium  Pa- 
trum,  prhited  there  1698.     And  this  was  before  his  Prussian 
Majesty  was  crowned,  or  took  the  title  of  King  upon  him, 
which  was  not  till  1700.     And  it  was  after  that  time  this  his 
Majesty  entertained  the  thought  of  introducing  the  Liturgy  of 
tlie  Church  of  England  in  his  kingdom.     And  in  Dr.  Grabe's 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP.  409 

that  this  misfortune  (but  looked  upon  in  Prussia 
rather  as  a  neglect  in  the  Archbishop  of  Can- 
dedication  of  St.  Irenaeus  to  the  King  of  Prussia,  in  1702,  he 
says  nothing  of  his  being  sent  over  by  him,  but  rather  intimates 
the  contrary,  ascribing  the  leaving  of  his  country  to  the  provi- 
dence of  God  in  general,  and  not  to  any  particular  order  of  his 
prince.  And  lastly,  in  Mr.  Collier's  account  of  Dr.  Grabe,  in 
his  Dictionary,  who  was  instructed  by  Dr.  Hickes  in  many  par- 
ticulars concerning  him,  there  is  no  mention  made  of  his  being 
first  sent  into  England,  on  account  of  consecration;  which 
could  hardly  have  been  omitted  had  there  been  any  authority 
for  it ;  the  information,  therefore,  given  to  the  learned  editor 
of  Godwin,  was  undoubtedly  grounded  upon  some  imperfect 
account  of  my  Lord  of  Canterbury's  refusal  to  answer  Dr. 
Ursinus's  letter,  wrote  to  his  Grace  by  his  Prussian  Majesty's 
order ;  and  which  was  suj)posed  to  he  delivered,  and  yet  was 
not.  The  person  who  only  could  give  the  true  account  of  this 
matter  was  the  same  that  was  employed  by  Dr.  Ursinus  to  ask 
his  Grace  whether  he  received  the  letter  sent  him,  and  to  desire 
him  to  write  something  which  might  be  shewed  the  King,  to 
satisfy  him  whether  it  was  received  or  no,  which  person  (a  man 
of  strict  veracity  and  honour,  but  desirous  that  his  name  might 
not  be  used  on  this  occasion),  reported  from  his  Grace,  that  the 
said  letter  never  came  to  his  hands,  hut  withal,  that  his  Grace 
was  unwilling  to  write  any  thing  to  Dr.  Ursinus  (that  being  pro- 
posed to  him),  alleging  the  scandalous  report  that  was  at  that 
time  spread  of  the  university  of  Helmstadt  having  declared,  in 
the  case  of  the  marriage  of  the  Queen  of  Spain,  that  it  was  lawful 
for  a  Protestant  to  change  communion,  which  he  said  was  such  a 
reflection  on  all  the  Protestant  Churches  of  Germany,  that  it  was 
stifficient  at  that  time  to  hinder  his  commencing  a  correspondence 
with  any  of  them.  This  was  the  whole  of  the  matter,  as  appears 
from  a  paper  sent  the  Archbishop  of  York  by  Dr.  Hobart,  and  the 


410  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

teibury),  was  one  of  the  chief  occasions  which 
made  the  King  grow  cool  in  the  design. 

But  though  the  King  seemed  to  have  laid 
aside  his  former  intention,  on  account  of  the 
above-mentioned  discouragement,  yet  herein  he 
still  shewed  his  good  dispositions  and  inclina- 
tions towards  it,  that  from  that  time  forward, 
he  did  not  suffer  any  eMempore  effusions  of 
prayer  in  the  chapel  royal,  but  obliged  his 
chaplains  to  use  a  set  form,  though  it  were  a 
short  one.  And  though  the  bishop  and  Dr. 
Jablouski  had  no  further  prospect  of  setting  the 
affair  on  foot  again  with  the  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury,  yet  they  continued  to  cultivate  a 
good  correspondence  with  the  English  divines 
(hoping  some  favourable  opportunity  of  moving- 
it  might  offer  itself),  and  particularly  with  Mr. 
Ayerst,  at  that  time  chaplain  to  my  Lord  Raby, 
then  Ambassador  at  Berlin ;  whom  they  called 
into  a  participation  of  their  councils,  and  who 
proved  of  singular  use  to  them  in  the  promoting 
the  great  design  they  had  in  view.  It  was 
through  this  gentleman's  hands,  (even  after  he 

reason  by  which  his  Grace  of  Canterbury  excused  himself  from 
writing  to  Dr.  Ursinus,  seemed  too  trifling  to  have  been  alleged 
on  that  occasion,  yet,  being  the  true  reason,  it  is  more  for  his 
honour  that  it  should  be  produced,  than  that  the  world  should 
be  left  at  liberty  to  conjecture  at  large,  and  assign  reasons  for 
him. 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  411 

removed  from  Berlin  into  Holland),  that  the 
correspondence  was  afterwards  carried  on  be- 
tween Dr.  Jablouski  and  the  Archbishop  of 
York  ;  which  coiTcspondence  took  its  rise  from 
the  following  occasion.  The  King,  in  1710, 
thought  proper,  by  way  of  experiment,  to  give 
orders  to  his  divines  to  draw  up  their  thoughts 
separately,  upon  a  model  of  a  worship  and  dis- 
cipline to  be  established.  Among  the  rest,  Dr. 
Jablouski  drew  up  his,  with  a  great  deal  of 
prudence,  modesty,  and  candour.  He  avoided 
in  it  the  recommendation  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land in  particular,  as  judging  that  not  so  sea- 
sonable at  that  juncture,  especially  as  he  lay 
under  the  imputation  of  being  too  much  a  friend 
to  it.  Nor  did  he  as  yet  treat  of  Church  govern- 
ment, because  he  thought  it  was  yet  too  hard  a 
saying  for  them,  and  besides,  he  conceived  that 
the  Liturgy,  once  established,  would  of  course 
bring  on  the  discipline.  This  judgment  of  his 
he  delivered  to  Baron  Printz,  President  of  the 
Council  of  Ecclesiastical  Affairs  at  Berlin,  on 
June  25,  1710.  It  was  rendered  from  high 
Dutch  into  English,  and  by  way  of  preface  to 
Mr.  Chamberlain's  translation  of  the  Neufchatel 
Liturgy,  printed  at  London,  1712*.    In  settling 

*  This  little  tract,  although  it  has  been  in  print  some  years, 
is  nevertheless  put  in  the  Appendix,  not  only  on  account  of  its 
relation  to  other  papers  therein  collected,  and  the  light  it  throws 


412  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

which  Liturgy,  in  conjunction  with  Mr.  Oster- 
wald.  Dr.  Jablouski  had  been  very  instrumen- 
tal. In  the  meantime  this  order  from  his  Prus- 
sian Majesty,  and  the  judgments  of  his  divines 
upon  it  seemed  to  make  it  a  very  proper  season 
once  more  to  move  the  affair  of  introducing  the 
English  Liturgy.  And  the  rather,  because  my 
Lord  Raby  having  obtained  a  particular  interest 
in  the  King  and  his  ministers,  it  was  thought, 
that  if  he  was  commanded  to  recommend  this 

upon  the  present  subject,  but  also  on  account  of  the  scarcity  of 
the  impressions  of  the  Neufchatel  Liturgy,  to  which  it  is  pre- 
fixed in  the  Enghsli  edition.  Justice  is  likewise  done  hereby  to 
the  worthy  author,  in  the  correction  of  a  mistake  in  the  trans- 
lation, whereby  the  sentiments  of  the  learned  doctor  concerning 
the  Church  of  England  are  very  much  misrepresented.  For 
whereas  the  doctor  set  out  with  an  observation,  dass  manche 
evangelische  geme'mem,  i.  e.  that  several  evangelical  congrega- 
tions (meaning  thereby  the  Lutherans  and  Calvinists  in  Prussia, 
Poland,  Bohemia,  &c.)  have  fallen  from  one  extreme,  that  of 
the  Romish  idolatrous  worship,  to  that  other  of  a  frigid,  super- 
ficial, and  not  enough  respectful  way  of  worship  :  his  translator 
not  being  apprised  that  Evglische  was  an  abbreviation  of  Evan- 
gelische, read  it  with  a  small  difference,  EngUsche  gemeinem  ; 
which  he  rendered  English  congregations.  Those,  it  seems, 
were  not  in  the  doctor's  thoughts  when  he  made  this  reflection, 
as  appears  by  his  own  words,  wrote  shortly  after  to  the  trans- 
lator, wherein  he  gives  this  very  account  of  the  mistake,  and 
adds,  "  Quod  si  tu  ipse  mihi  non  vertisti  vitio  quod  mare 
transvolans  Anglos  ad  me  nihil  hie  pertinentes  lacessiverim, 
salteni  si  ab  aliis  id  fieri  audiveris,  me  quseso  excusa."  1 7th 
Dec.  N.  S.  171S. 


LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP   SHARP.  413 

affair  to  the  King,  from  her  Majesty  in  England, 
the  success  of  the  motion  might  in  all  probabi- 
lity prove  good.  Hereupon,  Dr.  Jablouski  re- 
solved to  attempt  it  by  an  application  to  the 
Archbishop  of  Yoi^k  (moved  thereto  chiefly  by 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Ayerst) ;  and  made  use  of  Dr. 
Hobart,  then  in  Berlin,  and  personally  known 
to  the  Archbishop,  to  transmit  the  letter*, 
wherein  he  begs  his  Grace's  correspondence  and 
assistance.  Dr.  Hobart  took  this  opportunity 
of  mentioning  the  several  steps  which  had  been 
made  before  in  this  business  (out  of  whose 
accounts  that  which  is  above  related  is  for  the 
most  part  an  extract),  and  inclosed  Dr.  Jablou- 
ski's  plan  of  a  public  form  of  worship ;  and 
added,  that  the  doctor  would  be  most  punctual  on 
his  side,  to  give  information  of  all  that  should  be 
requisite  for  tJie  furtherance  of  the  design;  that  he 

*  This  letter  itself  is  not  to  be  found  ;  but  that  it  was  wrote 
at  the  instance  of  Mr.  Ayerst,  and  submitted  to  liis  judgment 
and  correction,  appears  from  these  words  in  the  doctor's  letter 
to  him,  17th  Sept.  1710.  N.  S.  "  Cum  hesternum  tempus  po- 
meridianum  universum  extra  cedes  meas  et  parlim  extra  urbem 
transigere  coactus  fuerum,  literas  promissas  ad  bonum  Archi- 
episcopum  Ebor,  parare  baud  potui.  Eas  nunc  rudi  Minerva 
conceptas  tuse  censurae  subjicio,  ut  siquid  adjiciendum  omit- 
tendum,  mutandum  existimes,  fraterne  me  moneas.  Mitto 
etiam  exemplar  Cogitationum  mearum  ad  Exc.  Printzhim.  In 
cujus  versione  prseter  primum  exordium  (quod  nuUius  vobis 
esse  potest  utilitatis)  alia  qua?  forte  videbuntur  libere  omittes," 


414  LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP   SHARP. 

would  be  the  uiost  proper  persoji  to  carry  it  on,  mid 
to  suggest  to  the  ambassador,  ivith  whom  he  already 
had  some  acquaintance,  all  the  best  methods.  That 
Dr.  Ur sinus  was  old,  and  might  be  more  afraid  of 
beginning  again  ivithout  the  King's  knowledge ;  but 
that,  if  the  design  were  espoused  in  Engkmd,  Dr. 
Jablouski  would  communicate  to  the  other  what 
passed,  arid  carry  it  on  in  coticert  with  him.  That 
which  made  the  doctor  the  most  proper  man  that 
could  be  for  the  promoting  such  an  affair  was,  that 
though  he  admired  and  loved  the  Church  of  England 
as  much  as  any  man,  and  would  venture  as  much 
for  the  introducing  it  in  Prussia  in  its  full  perfec- 
tion, yet  his  temper  and  discretion  was  such,  that  he 
was  the  most  proper  judge  what  the  time  and  place 
would  bear  ;  and  if  he  should  find  that  he  could  not 
entirely  at  first  do  all  that  he  would,  yet  he  would 
have  patience  to  do  it  gradually. 

And  indeed  it  appears  pretty  clearly  that  all 
the  steps  that  were  taken  in  this  matter  were 
owing  more  to  Dr.  Jablouski's  labours  and  in- 
fluence than  to  any  thing  else  whatsoever. 

The  packet  from  Germany  came  enclosed  to 
Dr.  Smaldridge  in  London  *  to  whom  the  con- 

*  Dr.  Hobart,  who  dispatched  this  packet  September  22nd, 
1710,  the  day  before  he  left  Berlin,  was  at  a  loss  where  to 
direct  it  with  most  safety  and  dispatch.  He  first  sent  it  to 
Dr.  Kenyon,  desiring  him  to  deliver  it  either  to  Dr.  Smahlridge 
or  Dr.  Jenkyn  whichsoever  of  them  should  be  in  town,  writing 


LIFE   OF   ARCHBISHOP   SHARP.  415 

tents  were  communicated,  and  it  was  transmitted 
by  him  to  the  Archbishop,  then  in  Yorkshire, 
October  10,  1710,  to  which  he  immediately  re- 
plied by  writing  to  all  the  parties  who  had  con- 
cerned themselves  in  the  communication  of  that 
affair.  His  letter  to  Dr.  Jablouski,  which  is  the 
most  material,  is  as  follows  : 

"  Yoric,  Oct.  14,  1710. 

*'  Rev.  Sir, 

**  I  received  the  other  day  the  favour 
of  a  letter  from  you  enclosed  in  one  from  Dr. 
Hobart,  for  which  I  return  you  my  humble 
thanks.  I  shall  esteem  it  a  great  honour  to  have 
a  correspondence  with  you  by  letters ;  for 
though  I  am  a  stranger  to  your  person,  I  am  not 
so  to  your  character :  having  had  such  an  ac- 
count from  my  friends  in  London  of  your  great 
learning  and  prudence  and  piety,  that  I  must  be 
a  very  ill  man  myself  if  I  had  not  a  great  esteem 
for  you.  You  may  therefore,  whenever  you 
please,  freely  communicate  your  mind  to  me,  as 
I  shall  make  no  scruple  of  doing  the  like  to  you. 
And  you  may  likewise  assure  yourself  of  all  the 
assistance  that  I  can  give  you  towards  the  fur- 

a  letter  at  the  same  time  which  might  be  delivered  in  his  name 
to  either  of  them.  Dr.  Smaldridge  proved  the  man.  See  Dr. 
Hobart's  said  letter,  and  another  of  Dr.  Smaldridge's  to  the 
Archbishop  of  York  in  the  Appendix. 


41G  LIFE   OF  ARCHBISHOP   SUA  UP. 

thering-  tliat  7ioble  pious  ivork,  which  I  under- 
stand you  are  now  pursuing.  I  thank  you  heartily 
for  the  papers  you  sent  me  containing  your 
thoughts  concerning  the  public  worship  of  God, 
directed  to  Baron  Printz.  I  agree  with  you  in 
every  particular,  and  I  hope  his  Prussian  Ma- 
jesty will  be  so  affected  with  it  as  to  establish 
things  according  to  your  plan.  And  1  know  no 
public  worship  in  Christendom  that  comes  up  so 
well  to  your  measures  as  that  used  among  us  in 
the  Church  of  England.  I  heartily  bless  God 
for  raising  up  a  prince  among-  you  who  has  so 
<^reat  a  concern  for  religion  and  the  honour  of 
God.  And  I  do  as  heartily  pray  that  God  would 
crown  his  endeavours  with  success,  and  that  he 
may  live  to  see  the  good  effect  of  his  glorious 
designs  in  the  happy  union  of  t/ie  divided  Pro- 
testants among  you;  and  in  the  establishment 
of  such  a  public  worship  of  God  as  is  most  pri- 
mitive, most  pure,  most  decent,  and  most  con- 
ducive to  the  advancement  of  God's  glory  and 
the  edification  of  every  soul  that  joins  in  it. 

**  I  ought  humbly  to  beg  your  pardon  for  not 
answering  your  letter  in  the  same  language  it 
was  writ  in,  but  I  was  encouraged  to  this  rude- 
ness by  Dr.  Hobart,  who  tells  me  that  you  un- 
derstand English  very  well  though  it  is  difficult 
for  you  to  write  it.  For  my  own  part,  though  [ 
can  read  Latin  as  well  as  ever  I  could,  yet  foi- 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  417 

many  years  I  have  had  so  httle  occasion  to  write 
it  that  it  is  now  very  troublesome  to  me  to  at- 
tempt it. 

"  That  God  Almighty  would  grant  you  health 
and  long  life,  and  bless  all  your  endeavours  for 
the  public  good,  is  the  hearty  prayer  of.  Sir, 
*'  Your  most  affectionate  friend, 
**  and  humble  servant, 

'*  Jo.  Ebor  *." 

About  the  middle  of  the  next  month,  viz. 
November  18th,  he  came  to  town,  where  he  had 
an  opportunity  of  entering  into  measures  to  faci- 
litate Dr.  Jablouski's  project. 

There  were  two  persons  then  in  London  who 
were  capable  of  being  eminently  serviceable  to 
him  in  the  furtherance  of  it,  namely,  Dr.  Grabe, 
who  was  perfectly  well  acquainted  with  the  state 
of  the  matter,  with  Jablouski's  character,  and 

*  This  letter  was  very  acceptable  to  the  Doctor,  and  gave  him 
great  encouragement  to  proceed  in  his  designs.  See  his  an- 
swer 7th  February,  171!,  N.S.  Appendix. 

Extractor  his  letter  to  Mr.  Ayerst,  22nd  November,  1710. 
"  Proposueram  heri  te  convenireEpistolamque  GraUanam  quam 
mecum  communicaveras  reddere,  simul  vero  Eboracensem,  in- 
terea  ad  me  delatam  uvn^hi^ov  vice  tecum  communicare.  Quod 
vero  ob  intervenientia  impedimenta  destinata  exequi  baud  potui, 
utramque  in  praesens  tibi  mitto,  ut,  si  ita  placuerit,  et  Deus 
vitam  concesserit,  die  crastino,  loco  et  tempore  quo  jusseris  his 
de  rebus  conferre  valeamus." 

E  e 


418  LIFE   OF   AUCIIBISHOP    SHARP. 

with  the  disposition  of  the  King  of  Prussia  and 
his  courtiers  and  his  divines ;  and  Mr.  Hales,  a 
gentleman  well  known  by  the  Protestants  abroad, 
and  who  was  thought  to  understand  the  general 
state  of  their  affairs  in  all  the  kingdoms  of  Eu- 
rope. This  gentleman  had  been  before  pitched 
upon,  and  recommended  to  her  Majesty  as  a 
person  proper  to  be  employed  in  her  name 
abroad  for  the  good  of  Protestantism,  and  to 
solicit  for  the  relief  of  the  distressed  churches  in 
France  and  the  Palatinate,  and  in  Silesia,  &c. 
And  he  had  drawn  up  a  memorial  or  scheme  of 
the  services  that  might  be  done  to  the  Protes- 
tants abroad.  With  this  Mr.  Hales  he  consulted 
November  28,  and  promised  him  to  lay  his  memorial 
and  the  Queen  of  Poland  her  letter  to  him  before 
Mr.  Harley,  then  at  the  head  of  the  court  in- 
terest, which  he  afterwards  duly  and  said  to  Mr. 
Harley  what  he  thought  proper  to  engage  him  in 
the  service  of  these  excellent  designs  ;  for  with- 
out his  concurrence  it  would  have  seemed  a  vain 
attempt,  at  that  time  of  day,  to  meddle  with 
foreign  affairs. 

On  l^ovember  30ih  he  spoke  hi77iself  to  the  Queen 
about  the  Prussian  affair ;  and  at  the  same  time  de- 
sired that  the  Convocation  might  sit  to  do  business, 
this  being,  as  he  thought,  a  matter  upoji  which  they 
might  be  very  usefully  employed .  And  this  brought 
on  those  meetings  at  the  Bishop  of  Rochester's, 


LIFE  OF  ARCHRISHOP  SHARP.  419 

where  Mr.  Harley  was  present  about  the  Con- 
vocation's sitting,  an  account  whereof  hath  been 
given  above  ;  where  the  Prussian  was  proposed 
by  him  as  one  of  the  heads  they  were  to  take 
into  consideration. 

By  these  applications  and  the  concurrent  as- 
sistance that  was  given  him  by  others  of  our 
English  divines,  the  design  was  again  set  on  foot 
and  put  into  motion  (as  it  seemed  most  agreeable 
it  should)  on  the  part  of  England.  Dr.  Robin- 
son^ Bishop  of  Bristol,  ivrote  to  his  E.vcellency  the 
Lord  Baby  to  sound  the  inclination  of  the  court  of 
Prussia,  and  inquire  into  the  state  of  their  ecclesias- 
tical affairs;  upon  which  his  lordship  corf  erred  with 
Dr.  Jablouski,  and  xoith  Baron  Printz,  the  director 
of  ecclesiastical  affairs,  February  7,  N.S.  1710-11  : 
and  the  Baron,  after  consultatioti  tvith  the  King's 
bishop,  laid  the  affair  before  his  Majesty,  who  seemed 
to  receive  the  motion  with  a  pleasure,  and  declared 
both  to  the  baron  and  to  the  bishoj)  that  he  was  yet 
of  the  same  mind  he  had  formerly  been,  and  recom- 
mended the  scheme  to  be  adjusted  by  them  and  Dr. 
Jablouski,  but  in  a  secret  way,  that  a  good  and  solid 
foundation  might  be  laid  fur  it  before  it  was  made 
public,  by  which  means  it  would  afterwards  appear 
with  greater  advantage. 

When  Baron  Printz  acquainted  my  Lord  Ambas- 
sador with  the  King's  dispositions,  my  Lord  desired 
him  to  signify  as  much  to  him  in  writing,  which  oc- 

Ee2 


420  LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

casioned  the  following  letter  from  the  baron  to 
his  lordship  as  it  is  rendered  into  English. 

"  February  12th,  1711.  N.  S. 
"  My  Lord, 

"  Your  excellency  having  done  me  the 
honour  some  time  since  to  communicate  the 
overtures  that  had  been  made  by  our  bishop 
here,  Mons.  de  Bar  (Ursinus)  to  his  Grace  the 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  in  order  to  establish 
a  vearer  union  and  correspondence  between  the 
reformed  churches  on  this  side  the  sea,  (and  par- 
ticularly in  the  dominions  of  the  King  my  mas- 
ter) and  the  Church  of  England.  In  compliance 
therewith,  I  have  not  failed  to  confer  with 
Monsieur  de  Bar,  our  bishop,  upon  that  subject ; 
and  we  have  most  humbly  laid  some  overtures 
before  his  Majesty,  our  august  King.  We  con- 
tinue, on  our  parts,  in  the  same  favourable  dis- 
positions, and  are  ready  to  enter  into  whatever 
measures  may  contribute  to  the  good  success  of 
this  affair.  But  as  hitherto  it  has  been  treated 
in  England  with  so  great  an  indifference,  that 
they  have  not  vouchsafed  to  give  any  answer  to 
the  overtures  that  have  been  made  by  us,  nor 
to  the  version  of  the  English  Liturgy,  translated 
into  our  German  language,  so  we  would  not 
expose  ourselves  to  the  like  hazard,  by  making 
any  further  advances,  without  being  assured  of 
an  answer  from  the  part  of  England. 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  421 

"  And,  as  far  as  I  could  judge  by  your  Excel- 
lency's discourses,  her  Majesty  of  Great  Britain 
cannot  want  the  means  to  advance  this  impor- 
tant affair  by  her  consummate  prudence,  by  her 
great  credit  in  England,  and  the  laudable  zeal 
she  has  already  shewn  for  enlarging  and  esta^ 
hlishing  the  Protestant  Church.  And  I  believe 
(if  I  may  be  allowed  to  give  my  opinion),  that 
the  most  certain  and  efficacious  manner  of  faci- 
litating this  affair  here,  and  also  establishing  a 
profound  esteem  in  all  the  reformed  Churches, 
for  the  Church  of  Great  Britain,  would  be  for 
her  Britannic  Majesty  to  give  that  shining  proof 
of  her  royal  bounty  and  gracious  zeal,  as  to 
procure,  by  her  powerful  solicitations,  that 
liberty  of  conscience  and  free  exercise  of  reli- 
gion to  the  poor  reformed  in  Silesia,  as  the 
Imperial  Court  has  granted  to  the  other  Lu- 
theran Protestants  by  the  mediation  of  the  King 
of  Sweden.  And  so  many  are  the  obligations 
of  the  House  of  Austria  to  her  Majesty  of  Great 
Britain,  that  there  is  no  doubt  the  Emperor 
will  pay  the  same  respect  to  the  gracious  inter- 
cessions of  the  Queen  in  favour  of  the  reformed, 
as  he  has  done  to  the  pressing  instances  of  the 
King  of  Sweden,  in  behalf  of  the  Lutherans. 
Dr.  Robinson,  the  new  Bishop  of  Bristol,  who 
was  her  Majesty's  minister  when  that  affair 
was  transacted  between  his  Imperial  Majesty 


422  LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

and  the  King  of  Sweden,  is  fully  informed  of 
all  the  circumstances,  and  the  miserable  condi- 
tion, as  well  as  the  evident  right  of  the  poor 
reformed  Church  in  Silesia.  And  I  doubt  not 
but  his  justice,  and  the  exemplary  zeal  he  hath 
ever  shewed  for  the  propagation  of  the  Protes- 
tant faith,  will  oblige  him  to  use  his  utmost 
endeavours,  both  by  his  solid  remonstrances, 
and  by  the  authority  his  great  merit  has  so  justly 
gained  him,  to  relieve  this  afflicted  people,  and 
in  general  to  contribute  to  the  mutual  corre- 
spondence and  good  agreement  between  the 
Church  of  England,  and  all  the  reformed 
Churches  abroad. 

**  But  I  submit  every  thing  to  your  Excel- 
lency's great  wisdom,  and  that  admirable  dex- 
terity wherewith  you  dispatch  whatever  you 
undertake.  And  I  expect  your  last  orders  upon 
this  affair,  being,  with  the  utmost  respect  and 
devotion,"  &c. 

Two  days  after,  my  Lord  Raby  dispatched 
this  letter  of  Baron  Printz's  to  the  Lord  Bishop 
of  Bristol,  &c.  as  Dr.  Jablouski  did  an  account 
of  it  to  the  Archbishop  of  York ;  and  added, 
that  if  thei^e  was  any  thing  in  that  letter  which  one 
could  have  jvished  had  been  otherwise  ex'pressedy  he 
hoped  his  Grace  would  he  pleased  to  consider,  that 
the  baron,  though  a  very  prudent,  sagacious,  and 


LIFE  OF   AKCHBISHOP  SHARP.  423 

worthy  gentleman,  was  not  yet  fully  apprized  of ,  and 
instructed  in  the  nature  of  this  business,  having  been 
promoted  to  that  post  since  the  time  that  this  affair 
ivas  before  in  agitation.  But  that,  notwithstanding, 
he  might  be  j^elied  upon  as  one  who  would  do  the 
Church  signal  service.  The  doctor  expressed  in 
this  letter  an  exceeding  pleasure  in  the  fair 
prospect  he  now  had  of  bringing  the  long 
hoped  for  design  to  bear ;  and  concluded,  that 
there  were  two  things  highly  requisite  for  the 
effectual  promotion  of  it,  viz.  directions  from 
her  Majesty  to  the  Lord  Ambassador,  to  treat 
expressly  upon  that  subject,  and  the  dispatching 
Mr.  Hales  over  to  Berlin. 

The  Archbishop  found  the  first  of  these  much 
easier  to  be  obtained  than  the  other.  For 
though  no  answer  could  be  got  for  some  time 
with  respect  to  Mr.  Hales,  yet  the  following 
letter  was  sent  in  the  same  month  to  my  Lord 
Raby,  by  Mr,  Secretary  St.  John's,  a  copy  of 
which  is  here  inserted. 

"  Whitehall,  Feb.  28,  1710. 

**  My  Lord, 

**  If  this  letter  finds  your  Excellency 
still  at  Berlin,  her  Majesty  desires  that  you 
would  take  some  proper  opportunity  of  speaking 
to  Monsieur  Printz,  to  the  bishops,  and  to  any 
others  who  may  concern  themselves  in  so  lauda- 


424  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP, 

ble  a  design  as  that  mentioned  in  your  Excel- 
lency's of  the  14th  instant,  N.  S. 

"  You  will  please,  my  Lord,  to  assure  them, 
that  her  Majesty  is  ready  to  give  all  possible 
encouragement  to  that  excellent  work,  and  that 
those  who  have  the  honour  to  serve  her  are 
heartily  disposed  to  contribute  all  that  is  in 
their  power  to  the  same  end.  Your  Excellency 
may  venture  to  assure  them  further,  that  the 
Clergy  is  zealous  in  this  cause;  and  if  former 
overtures  have  met  with  a  cold  reception  from 
any  of  that  body,  such  behaviour  was  directly 
contrary  to  their  general  inclination  and  to  their 
avowed  sense,  as  appeared  evidently  from  the 
attempt  which  the  lower  House  of  Convocation 
made  some  years  ago,  to  join  with  the  bishops 
in  promoting  a  closer  correspondence  between 
the  two  Churches. 

**  Your  Excellency  will  please  to  give,  both 
here  and  at  the  Hague,  as  early  notice  as  you 
conveniently  can  of  your  removal.     I  am, 
"  My  Lord,  your  Excellency's 

"  Most  obedient  humble  servant, 
"  H.  St.  John." 

That  the  dispatch  of  Mr.  Hales  was  likewise 
attempted,  will  appear  from  the  following  me- 
morandums in  the  Archbishop's  diary. 

Thursday y  March  1,1710-11.  ''At  eleven  o  clock 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP.  425 

/  went  to  the  Queen /  would  have  read  Dr. 

Jablouskis  tico  letters  to  her ;  but  she  was  in  haste. 
I  left  them  with  her,  which  she  promises  to  shew  to 
Mr.  Secretary/  St.  Johns,  which  I  pressed  her  to 
do,  in  order  that  he  might  give  dispatch  to  a  com- 
mission for  Mr.  Hales,  who  I  told  her  was  in  both 
these  letters  earnestly  recommended  to  that  employ- 
ment by  Dr.  Jablouski,  as  being  well  known  and 
much  esteemed,  both  by  Ursinus  and  Baroti  Printz, 
and  also  the  King  of  Prussia  himself.  Tuesday, 
April  3d.  Before  twelve  o'clock  I  weiit  to  the  Queen; 
but  she  was  so  busy,  I  did  7io  busi?iess  with  her,  but 
only  put  her  iti  7nind of  Dr.  Jablouskis  letters,  to 
be  put  into  the  hands  of  Secretary  St.  Johns ;  and  to 
speak  to  him  upon  Mr.  Hales  affair.  As  I  came 
out,  I  spoke  likewise  to  Secretary  St.  Johns,  who  was 
there,  and  told  him  what  I  had  said  to  the  Queen, 
and  desired  him  to  speak  to  her  about  these  matters, 
which  he  said  he  would." 

There  was  another  thing  about  this  time  well 
concerted  for  the  furtherance  of  the  main  de- 
sign, viz.  that  her  Majesty  should  grant  a  sum 
of  money  to  the  Prussians,  to  buy  ground  for 
the  erecting  a  church  here  in  London  for  a 
Prussian  congregation.  She  promised  a  thousand 
pounds,  and  he  having  prepared  her  for  the  admitting 
their  petition,  waited  upon  her  with  it  on  Tuesday, 
April  17,  she  said  she  would  speak  with  Mr.  Hur- 
ley, and  so  toe  left  it  with  her. 


426  LIFE  Of  AliCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

In  the  meantime  Mr.  Bonet,  the  King  of 
Prussia's  minister  at  London,  had,  on  March 
16th,  a  conference  with  Secretary  St.  John's, 
about  the  introduction  of  the  English  Liturgy 
and  discipline  into  Prussia,  which  occasioned 
Monsieur  Bonet  to  write  his  thoughts  to  his 
master  upon  that  conference  the  next  day,  in 
the  following  manner,  in  a  postscript  to  a  letter 
upon  other  affairs. 

P.  S.  "  Sir, — In  the  same  conversation  that 
I  had  yesterday  with  the  aforesaid  Secretary  of 
State,  Mr.  St.  John's,  he  discoursed  upon  the 
ecclesiastical  affairs  relating  to  your  Majesty's 
kingdoms,  which  have  been  the  subject  of  the 
letters  and  transactions  between  the  Archbishop 
and  Dr.  Jablouski ;  and  between  the  Bishop  of 
Bristol  and  my  Lord  Raby,  and  your  Majesty's 
minister,  Baron  Printzen.  I  had  already  some 
intimation  of  this  affair  from  the  Archbishop  of 
York  and  the  Bishop  of  Bristol,  who  are  both 
of  them  in  great  esteem  with  the  Queen  and 
present  ministry ;  and  who  have  shewed  me 
some  letters  upon  this  subject,  and  assured  me 
of  her  Majesty's  good  inclinations ;  but  the  dis- 
course of  the  Secretary  of  State  was  more  par- 
ticular, in  that  he  gave  me  to  understand  he 
should  be  glad  I  would  write  to  your  Majesty 
about  it. 

'•  He  began  his  discourse  by  telling  me  how 


LIFE   OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  427 

much  the  Queen  and  clergy  were  displeased 
with  the  cold  reception  the  German  translation 
of  the  English  Liturgy  met  with  by  the  answer 
that  was  given  concerning  it ;  that  we  ought  to 
impute  it  to   the  character  of  the  preseiit  Arch- 
bishop   of   Canterbury.      He    added,     that    her 
Majesty  and  the  clergy  were  well  disposed  to 
entertain  a  correspondence  with  the  clergy  of 
Prussia,  and  to  enter  into  any  negociation,  and 
make  all  reasonable  advances  upon  this  subject, 
as    he  himself  had  mentioned  to    the  above- 
named  ambassador.     And  moreover,  he  often 
mentioned  a  well  writ  letter  of  Baron  Printzen's 
to  my  Lord  Raby,  and  that  the  Queen  approved 
of  it.     I  told  him  I  was  not  yet  honoured  with 
your  Majesty's  commands  upon  this  affair,  nor 
was  I  yet  instructed  in  the  scheme  to  be  pro- 
posed, no  more  than  I  was  acquainted  with  the 
disposition  of  the  people,  who  are  often  jealous 
and  prepossessed  against    novelties,   and  that 
their  inclinations  ought  to  be  consulted  before 
we  made  any  step  of  this  nature,  who  must  be 
instructed  and    prepared    by    degrees,   before 
they  will  enter  into  any  new  measures,  be  they 
ever  so  good.     But  I  added,  that  I  would  not 
fail  to  lay  the  Queen's  inclinations  in  this  affair 
before  your  Majesty. 

"  Before  we  parted,  he  again  repeated  the 
design  the  Court  and  clergy  had  of  entering 


428  LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

into  a  negociation  to  create  ati  union  between 
the  Protestant  Churches  here  and  beyond  sea,  but 
without  entering  into  any  particulars. 

''  Sir,  I  will  not  here  enter  into  the  considera- 
tion of  the  nature  of  the  Service  of  the  Church 
of  England,  the  most  perfect,  perhaps,  that  is 
among  Protestants,  though  the  many  years  that 
I  have  frequented  no  other  have  given  me  time 
to  reflect  upon  the  ritual  and  practice  of  that 
Church,  as  well  as  upon  some  abuses  there  are 
in  her  clergy  and  Discipline,  I  will  apply  myself 
to  other  considerations.  The  first  is,  that  a 
conformity  between  the  Prussian  Churches  and 
the  Church  of  England  would  be  received  with 
great  joy  here.  The  second  is,  that  the  confor- 
mity to  be  wished  for  beyond  the  sea  relates 
more  to  Church  government  than  to  any  change 
in  the  Ritual  or  Liturgy.  The  clergy  here  are 
for  episcopacy,  and  look  upon  it,  at  least,  as  of 
apostolical  institution,  and  are  possessed  with 
the  opinion,  that  it  has  continued  in  an  uninter- 
rupted succession  from  the  Apostles  to  this 
present  time;  and  upon  this  supposition,  they 
alledge  there  can  be  no  true  ecclesiastical  go- 
vermnent  but  under  bishops  of  this  Order ;  nor 
true  ministers  of  the  Gospel,  but  such  as  have 
been  ordained  by  bishops;  and  if  there  be 
others  that  do  not  go  so  far,  yet  they  all  make 
a  great  dift'erence  between  the  ministers  that 


LIFE   or   ARCHBISHOP   SHARP.  429 

have  received  imposition  of  hands  by  bishops, 
and  those  that  have  been  ordained  by  a  synod 
of  Presbyters.  A  thh^d  consideration  is,  that  the 
Church  of  England  w^ould  look  upon  a  con- 
formity of  this  nature  as  a  great  advantage  to 
herself,  and  that  the  clergy,  united  to  the  Court 
and  the  Tories,  are  a  very  considerable  and 
pow^erful  body.  On  the  other  side,  the  Whigs, 
the  Presbyterians,  the  Independants,  and  all 
the  other  non-conformists  would  look  upon  this 
conformity  with  great  concern  as  weakening 
and  disarming  their  party.  And  the  Electoral 
House  of  Brunswick,  which  depends  more  upon 
the  latter  than  the  former,  may  fear  least  this 
conformity  should  have  other  consequences. 
But  though  the  Whigs  have  more  money,  be- 
cause they  are  more  concerned  in  trade,  and 
though  their  chiefs  may  have  the  reputation  at 
present  of  a  superior  genius,  yet  the  others 
have  more  zeal  and  constant  superiority  and 
interest. 

"  Ut  in  ratione  humilHma,  &c." 
"  Tuesday,  March  17." 

What  reception  and  effect  Mr.  Secretary  St. 
John's  letter,  and  this  of  Mr.  Bonet's,  had  at 
Berlin,  will  appear  from  the  account  of  them 
given  to  the  Archbishop  by  Dr.  .Jablouski,  in 
his  letter  of  April  28,    1711;  the  translation  of 


430  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

which  shall  be  given  entire,  because  it  is  a 
narrative  of  what  was  done  at  Berlin  on  this 
occasion. 

**  My  very  good  Lord, 

*'  The  day  that  his  Excellency  my 
Lord  Raby,  the  British  ambassador,  took  his 
leave  of  this  place  (which  was  on  the  24th  of 
March,  N.  S.),  he  was  pleased  to  acquaint  me, 
that  he  had  received  the  Queen's  commands  by 
the  Right  Honourable  Mr.  Secretary  St.  John's, 
that  he  should  confer  with  Baron  Printz  and 
our  bishops,  and  others,  about  our  ecclesiastical 
affairs,  and  assure  them  of  the  ready  assistance 
both  of  her  Majesty  and  of  the  clergy  of  Eng- 
land to  promote  so  good  a  design.  He  also 
told  me,  that  in  pursuance  of  her  Majesty's 
directions  he  had  been  the  day  before  at  Baron 
Printz's,  with  a  design  to  wait  upon  him.  But 
not  finding  him  at  home,  he  intrusted  me  to 
deliver  a  copy  of  the  above-mentioned  letter  to 
Baron  Printz  and  the  bishop  in  his  name,  which 
I  did  the  day  following*. 

"  Mr.  St.  John's  letter,  for  the  compass  of  it, 

*  Extract  of  Jablouski's  letter  to  Mr.  Ayerst,  of  May  5, 
1711.  "  Grande  illud  negotium  nostrum  satis  feliciter  procedit 
postquam  illustris  vaster  St.  Johnius  resident!  Prussico  Bonneto 
Reginaa  vestrae  ministorum  status  atque  cleri  ea  de  re  mentem 
exposuit,  ipsum  que  de  eadem  ad  Regem  referre  jussit." 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP.  431 

breathes  such  a  spirit  of  British  piety  and 
generosity,  that  it  mightily  affected  and  pleased 
me,  and  hath  given  a  new  life  to  our  hopes. 

**  A  few  days  after  came  a  letter  from  Mr. 
Bonet,  the  Prussian  resident  in  Great  Britain, 
dated  at  London,  March  1 7 ;  in  which  he  in- 
forms his  Majesty,  that  he  had  had  a  long  con- 
ference about  our  affairs  with  the  Right  Ho- 
nourable Mr.  St.  John's,  who  expressed  himself 
very  desirous  that  we  should  proceed  in  this 
business,  and  generally  offered  the  concurrent 
assistances  of  her  Majesty  and  the  English 
clergy.  This  letter  is  the  more  remarkable,  in 
that  it  gives  us  to  understand,  that  Mr.  St.  John's 
does  not  content  himself  with  repeated  declara- 
tions that  he  would  have  the  Church  of  England 
keep  up  a  brotherly  correspondence  with  the 
Church  of  Prussia,  and  be  more  closely  united 
to  it,  and  such  like  general  intimations  of  a 
good  disposition;  but  expressly  affirms,  that 
iie  is  desirous  this  matter  should  be  laid  before 
the  King.  And  Mr.  Bonet  adds,  that  the  Eng- 
lish do  not  aim  so  much  at  a  conformity  in  the 
Liturgy,  as  in  the  Church  government.  By 
which  words  the  prudent  minister,  in  short, 
touches  upon  the  very  substance  of  the  whole 
affair. 

"  Baron  Printz  communicated  Mr.  Bonet's 
letter  to  the  bishop  and  myself;  but  to  each  a 

12 


432  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP* 

part.  And  he  desired  each  of  us  to  give  him 
in  writing  our  own  sentiments  upon  this  subject. 
I  did  so  yesterday ;  and  with  that  freedom  of 
speech  that  becomes  a  servant  of  Christ,  have 
delivered  my  opinion  for  a  form  of  prayer  like 
to  the  English  Liturgy,  and  for  the  government 
of  the  Church  by  bishops ;  and  have  supported 
my  opinion,  as  I  think,  with  weighty  arguments. 
I  cannot  yet  tell  whether  Baron  Printz  is 
pleased  to  approve  of  my  thoughts,  because  he 
is  out  of  town.  He  has  promised,  indeed,  that 
he  would  duly  and  thoroughly  consider  what 
each  of  us  should  offer,  and  whatever  he  judged 
in  his  conscience  to  be  most  proper  and  advisa- 
ble, he  would  lay  it  before  the  King  in  council. 
The  undissembled  and  unshaken  piety  of  this 
gentleman  makes  me  hope  that  he  will  espouse 
our  cause.  He  gave  me  liberty  to  speak  my 
mind  freely,  and  told  me  that  he  would  take 
upon  himself  the  envy  and  odium  of  the  whole 
affair.  Mr.  Bonet  had  very  seasonably  let  us 
know,  that  the  Right  Honourable  Mr.  St. 
John's  often  called  Baron  Printz's  letter  to  my 
Lord  Raby,  une  lettre  tres-sensee  et  tres  bieh  eoite; 
and  that  her  Majesty  the  Queen  was  mightily 

pleased  with  it '  Principibus  placuisse 

viris  non  ultima  laus  est.'  I  may  add,  that  to 
do  so  is  not  only  an  honour,  but  a  great  pleasure 
to  a  noble  and  generous  mind. 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  433 

**  Thus  far,  my  Lord,  I  have  given  your 
Grace  an  account  of  this  business.  I  have 
indeed  more  particulars  to  acquaint  your  Grace 
with,  but  such  as  cannot  be  conveniently  in- 
serted in  a  letter.  And  therefore  I  have  desired 
his  Excellency  the  Lord  Raby's  chaplain,  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Ay  erst  (a  man  of  judgment  much 
above  his  years,  and  v^^ho,  to  the  veneration  he 
has  for  the  Church  of  England,  prudently  joins 
moderation  tov^^ards  those  in  foreign  parts),  that 
when  he  should  arrive  in  Britain  with  my  Lord 
Raby  (which  he  supposed  would  be  soon),  he 
would  in  person  inform  your  Grace  in  every 
thing.  This  gentleman  understands  our  affairs 
extremely  well ;  and  I  have  let  him  into  all  my 
designs  and  actions,  having  had  experience  both 
of  his  candour  and  his  zeal. 

**  The  confused  prospect  of  affairs  in  Europe 
seems  to  require  the  dispatch  of  another  am- 
bassador from  her  Majesty,  to  succeed  my  Lord 
Raby  at  our  Court ;  upon  whom,  in  great  mea- 
sure, will  depend  the  good  or  bad  event  of  the 
business  in  agitation.  May  he  therefore  be  a 
man  of  a  religious  disposition,  as  well  as  dis- 
cretion in  civil  affairs  ;  one  who  will  be  mindful 
that  he  is  not  only  the  ambassador  of  the  great 
Queen  Anne,  but  also  the  servant  of  Jesus 
Christ;  and  that  he  is  designed  to  serve  the 
interests  and  enlarge  the  kingdoms    of  both  ; 

Ff 


434  LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

one  who  may  adorn  his  external  character  by 
the  virtues  of  his  mind,  and  by  both  these 
secure  his  interest  and  reputation  with  the  King 
and  his  ministers,  and  make  use  of  both  for  the 

service  of  the  Church But  whither  does 

my  zeal  for  God  and  his  glory  carry  me !  that 
L  should  launch  out  thus  boldly,  when  my 
meaning  is  only  to  express  my  desires  for  the 
advancement  of  religion.  I  hope  your  Grace 
will  pardon  me,  I  am  sure  you  will  ;  since  you 
yourself  know,  by  experience,  hoio  strong  the 
kve  of  Christ  is  luhich  constraineth  us. 

"  Your  Mr.  Hales  delays  too  long  giving  us 
the  pleasure  that  we  expect  from  him.  The 
public  concerns  of  the  Church  do  not  only  in- 
vite him,  but  require  and  demand  him.  Among 
the  many  advantages  which  we  on  this  side  the 
water  hope  to  reap  from  his  presence,  this  is  a 
considerable  one,  and  would  at  this  time  be 
very  seasonable,  viz.  that  as  he  understands  our 
language,  the  German  provinces  might  by  his 
means  resound  with  the  English  Liturgy,  and 
our  natives  be  brought  over  by  degrees,  and  be 
reconciled  to  what  at  present  seems  unusual 
amd  strange  to  them.  Farewell,  my  Lord.  Be 
pleased  to  continue  your  Grace's  respects  to 
**  Your  Lordship's  most  humble 

"  And  most  devoted  servant, 
"  Daniel  Ernestus  Jablouski." 

"  Berlin,  April  28,  nn." 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP   SHARP.  435 

The  doctor  having  drawn  up  his  thoughts 
freely  and  fully,  as  Baron  Printz  directed  him, 
upon  Mr.  Bonet's  letter  to  the  King  of  Prussia, 
and  having  presented  them,  as  he  acquaints  the 
Archbishop  in  this  letter  to  the  baron  the  day 
before,  had  the  satisfaction,  w^ithin  a  very  few 
days,  of  receiving  the  following  answer  from 
the  baron  himself. 

"  Charlottenburgi  May  3,  1711. 

'*  Worthy  Sir, 

"  I  have  not  failed  to  read  over,  with 
a  very  particular  attention,  and  consequently  so 
much  greater  satisfaction,  the  reflections  you 
sent  me  concerning  our  known  affair ;  and  hav- 
ing observed,  among  other  things,  that  you 
think  a  way  might  be  found  out  (notwithstand- 
ing the  prejudices  and  inveterate  opinions,  and 
the  many  difficulties  which  it  is  to  be  feared 
might  thence  arise),  to  introduce  and  establish 
an  approved  ejnscopacy,  in  such  manner  as  should 
give  no  offence,  nor  at  all  weaken  or  diminish 
the  jura  7najestatis  circa  sacra,  especially  in  a 
government  entirely  sovereign ;  I  do,  therefore, 
instantly  desire  you  by  this,  that  according  to 
your  highly  laudable  zeal  for  promoting  the 
true  welfare  of  the  Protestant  religion,  you 
would  be  so  good  as  to  write  down,  at  your 
leisure,  those  your  thoughts,  and  communicate 

F  f2 


430  LfFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

them  to  me ;  which  I  will  not  only  make  use  of 
in  such  a  cautious  manner  as  you  desire,  that 
you  shall  not  fear  incurring  any  censure  or  envy 
on  that  account;  but  will  not  fail,  in  proper 
time  and  place,  to  extol  the  great  care  and 
pains  you  have  taken,  as  being,  on  many  other 
accounts,  with  a  very  particular  high  esteem 
and  true  passion,  &c. 

**  Printzen." 

This  further  request  of  the  baron  produced, 
in  two  or  three  days,  another  treatise  from  Dr. 
Jablouski,  which  he  entitled  Jds  -project  for  intro- 
ducing episcopacy  into  the  King  of  Prussia's  domi- 
nions, and  which  he  presented  to  the  baron. 
May  7,  1711.  Both  these  discourses  were 
translated  from  the  high  Dutch  (in  which  lan- 
guage they  were  wrote)  by  Mr.  Ayerst,  then  at 
the  Hague,  the  translator  of  the  doctor's  former 
treatise  prefixed  to  the  version  of  the  Neufchatel 
liturgy.  And  as  they  are  equally  deserving  to 
be  published,  are  therefore  inserted  at  length  in 
the  appendix. 

Mr.  Ayerst  was  so  kind  as  to  send  copies  of 
these  versions  very  early  to  my  Lord  of  York, 
and  acquainted  him  in  the  letter  which  he  sent 
along  with  them  (bearing  date  June  9,  1711,) 
that  it  was  a  pity  '*  Mr.  Hales  was  not  yet  dis- 
patched with  the  designed  character  into  those 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  437 

parts,  and  that  he  was  not  then  at  the  Hague, 
to  join  with  my  lord  ambassador  in  soliciting 
the  King  of  Prussia  (who  was  then  at  that 
place)  on  that  affair.  One  good  effect  (says  he), 
which  your  Grace's  care  has  already  had  at 
Berlin  is,  that  they  begin  to  have  a  greater 
respect  for  the  episcopal  character;  since  the 
doctor  tells  me,  that  at  the  King's  coming  from 
thence,  the  titular  Bishop  Ursinus  was  made 
Vice-President  of  the  Royal  Consistory,  and 
keeps  the  seals  in  Baron  Printz's  absence; 
though,  not  above  two  years  ago,  it  was  de- 
creed, that  none  of  the  clergy  were  capable  of 
that  office.  Your  Grace  will  see,  by  Baron 
Printz's  answer  after  that  he  had  read  the  doc- 
tor's reflections,  that  things  are  in  a  fair  way 
if  they  are  pursued  ;  and  perhaps  they  might 
still  go  on  better,  if  the  House  of  Hanover  were 
applied  to  in  the  same  affair." 

The  Archbishop  was  at  this  time  in  Yorkshire, 
but  that  he  might  not  omit  any  service  he  was 
capable  of  doing  to  advance  the  design  he  had 
undertaken  to  encourage,  he  wrote  a  letter  to 
the  new  Lord  Treasurer,  July  21,  1711,  wherein 
he  has  these  words  : — 

*'  I  would  beg  leave  to  put  your  Lordship  in 
mind  of  Mr.  Hales.  He  is  capable  of  doing 
great  service  towards  the  promoting  that  noble 
design  that  is  now  on  foot  of  having  episcopacy 


438  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

and  our  Liturgy  established  in  Prussia;  he 
being  very  well  known  there  and  in  all  parts  of 
Germany.  I  have  had  several  letters  from  Dr. 
Jablouski,  wherein  he  earnestly  presses  that  he 
(Mr.  Hales)  may  be  sent  abroad  for  that  pur- 
pose, under  some  public  character.  I  could 
heartily  wish  that  your  Lordship  would  concert 
and  settle  this  affair  with  Mr.  Secretary  St. 
John's,  who  is  very  well  apprised  of  this  whole 
business,  and  is  no  stranger  to  Mr.  Hales." 

In  a  few  days  after  he  wrote  also  to  Mr. 
Hales  as  follows. 

"  Sir, 

**  I  beg  your  pardon  for  not  sooner 
returning  you  my  thanks  for  Dr.  Jablouski's 
two  letters,  and  for  your  own.  Those  of  the 
doctor  I  have  taken  copies  of,  and  so  send  them 
you  back  to  be  translated  into  English,  and  laid 
before  her  Majesty,  if  it  be  thought  fit. 

"  I  beg  of  you, when  you  next  write  to  that 
excellent  person,  that  you  would  present  my 
humble  service  to  him,  and  beg  his  pardon,  that 
I  have  not  of  a  long  time  writ  to  him.  Indeed 
I  am  ashamed  of  it,  but,  alas !  being  at  so  great 
a  distance  from  London,  I  have  nothing  to  com- 
municate to  him  worthy  of  his  knowledge. 

**  You  may  assure  him,  that  while  I  was  at 
London  I  took  all  opportunities  of  shewing  my 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  439 

zeal  for  carrying  on  that  noble  work  that  is  now 
in  hand  in  Prussia ;  that  I  often  spoke  to  the 
Queen  and  Mr.  Secretary  St.  John's  about  it; 
that  from  time  to  time  I  got  his  letters  trans- 
lated, and  laid  them  before  the  Queen;  that 
likewise  I  have  often  pressed,  as  he  desired  me, 
that  you  might  be  sent  abroad  under  a  public 
character,  to  promote  the  interests  of  our 
Church  and  religion,  and  the  settling  epis- 
copacy and  a  Liturgy  in  Prussia.  And  to  tell 
you,  by  the  by,  that  you  may  see  I  do  not 
forget  you,  having  occasion  this  last  month  to 
write  to  my  Lord  Treasurer,  that  I  put  him  in 
mind  of  this  affair  of  your's,  which  I  understand 
had  been  lately  recommended  to  him  by  the 
Prolocutor,  and  begged  that  it  might  have  some 

effect.  ,j;xL4  * 

"  Lastly,  I  desire  you  to  return  my  humble 
thanks  to  Dr.  Jablouski  for  his  two  excellent 
treatises,  which  I  received  since  I  came  down 
from  Mr.  Ay  erst,  viz.  his  Reflections  on  Mr. 
Bonet's  Letter  to  the  King  of  Prussia,  and  his 
Project  for  introducing  Episcopacy  into  the  King  of 
Prussia  s  dominions . 

"■  I  assure  you,  I  do  exceedingly  approve  of 

them,  as  I  must  of  every  thing  that  comes  from 

that  great  man.  ,.,j 

"  But  I  beg  your  pardon  for  giving  you  this 


440  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

trouble.     1  will  add  no  more,  but  that  I  am, 
with  sincere  respect  and  esteem,  Sir, 

**  Your  affectionate  friend  and  servant, 

"  Jo.  Ebor." 

Mr.  Ayerst,  in  his  letter  of  June  9,  1711, 
lately  quoted,  had  intimated,  that  the  design 
in  Prussia  would  be  much  forwarded,  if  the 
House  of  Hanover  were  applied  to  in  the  same  affair. 
He  had  first  moved  and  suggested  the  same  to 
Dr.  Jablouski  and  Monsieur  Leibnitz*^  who 
both  indeed  seemed  to  approve  of  the  thing, 
though  doubtful  as  to  the  success  of  it.  How- 
ever, Mr.  Leibnitz  undertook  to  sound  the  incli- 
nations of  the  Court  of  Hanover  towards  it. 
And  in  a  very  short  time  he  enabled  Mr.  Ayerst 

*  Extract  of  Jablouski's  letter  to  Mr.  Ayerst,  of  5th  May, 
1711.  "  Quas  Leibnitsia  destinaveras  ipse  ei  in  manus  tradidi. 
Responsum  ejus  habes  geminum  iis  quae  de  inventu  tuo  confa- 
bulati  suraus.  Confecta  res  videri  posset,  nisi  Electrix  vidua, 
expensarum  pertaesa,  spei  autem  pro  sua  person^  exors,  ex- 
pensas  una  cum  spe  in  filium  devolveret." 

Mr.  Leibnitz's  letter  was  in  these  words. 

"  Monsieur,  Je  trouve  votre  pensee  tres  raisonable  mais 
avant  mon  retour  a  Hanover,  je  ne  sauray  dire,  si  elle  pourra 
avoir  de  success.  Et  M.  Jablouski  predicateur  du  Roy,  qui 
m'a  fait  I'honneur  de  me  rendre  votre  lettre  est  du  mesne  senti- 
ment. Quand  je  seray  done  de  retour  a  Hanover,  je  prendrai 
mon  temps  pour  sender  les  sentimens  la  dessus.  Je  menageray 
la  chose  aussi  de  la  sorte  qu'elle  ne  puisse  point  eclater  avant  le 
temps.  Je  suis,  &c,  Leibnitz."  Berlin,  ce  3  de  May,  1711. 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  441 

then  at  the  Hague,  to  tell  the  Archbishop  of 
York,  m  his  letter,  July  1,  1711,  N.  S.  That  he 
was  assured,  by  good  hands  from  Hanover,  that  if 
her  Majesty  would  allow  a  pension  for  a  chaplain  of 
the  Church  of  England  to  attend  the  Princess  Sophia, 
it  would  be  very  acceptable  there.  And  Dr.  Smal- 
dridge,  through  whose  hands  Mr.  Ayerst  trans- 
mitted this  letter,  added,  as  from  himself,  "  that 
it  would  certainly  be  of  great  service  to  our 
Church,  that  our  Liturgy  should  be  used  at  the 
Court  of  Hanover.  And  since  there  is  (says  he) 
so  good  a  disposition  towards  it,  I  hope,  by 
your  Grace's  influence,  it  may  be  compassed. 
If  that  design  should  succeed,  Mr.  Ayerst  seems 
to  have  a  very  good  right  to  officiate  as  chap- 
lain. He  has  given  sufficient  proofs  of  his  pru- 
dence and  good  affection  to  the  Church;  and 
being  well  known  there,  would,  I  doubt  not, 
be  very  acceptable  to  Madam  and  the  Elec- 
tress." 

The  connecting  these  two  designs  together, 
was  looked  upon  as  a  probable  means  of  bring- 
ing both  to  a  good  issue.  For  a  stricter  union 
between  the  Courts  of  Prussia  and  Hanover 
was  entered  into  by  the  marriage  of  the  Prince 
Royal ;  and  it  was  not  without  grounds  judged 
conducive,  as  well  to  the  interests  of  the  House 
of  Hanover,  iii  relation  to  the  succession  in  Eng- 
land, as  to  the  furtherance  of  the  Prussian  pro- 


442  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

ject,  to  introduce  the  Liturgy  of  the  Church  of 
England  first  of  all  at  Hanover.  Of  this  opinion 
were  the  Archbishop  of  York  in  England,  M. 
Leibnitz  at  Hanover,  and  Dr.  Jablouski  at 
Berlin ;  the  three  principals  engaged  in  the 
design,  and  holding  a  correspondence  upon  it, 
through  the  hands  of  Mr.  Ayerst,  who,  as  is 
said  before,  first  projected  or  formed  it.  The 
Archbishop's  letters  upon  this  subject  cannot 
be  retrieved;  and  of  those  which  were  wrote 
by  Mr.  Leibnitz  and  Dr.  Jablouski,  only  a  small 
number  remain,  those  written  to  Mr.  Ayerst  at 
the  Hague  and  at  Utrecht ;  and  which  he 
chanced  to  preserve,  though  he  had  twice  the 
misfortune  to  lose  the  greatest  part  of  his 
papers*. 

Out  of   Monsieur   Leibnitz's   letter   to   Mr. 

*  Extract  out  of  Dr.  Jablouski's  letter  to  Mr.  A.,  15tli 
August,  1711.  "  Accepi  novissimas  tuas,  4  Augusti  scriptas 
Unas  cum  inclusis  a  Rsslmo  Archlepiscopo  et  D.  D.  Smaldridge, 
quae  quod  gaudio  baud  mediocri  me  affecerent  facile  ipse  con- 
jecis.  17  Sept.  1712.  Nuper  etiam  epistolam  accepi  a  lissimo 
Dom.  /Jrchiepiscopo  Eboracensi.  Mittam  vero  ad  Te.  V.  R. 
Respondum  teque  orabo,  ut  ad  Rdum  patrem  illud  promovere 
dignesis.  22  Aug.  1711.  Negotium  simul  Hannoveramnn 
quod  reveru  rebus  nostris  pondus  baud  leve  addituruni  videtur 
pro  virili  urgebo.  8  Sept.  171 1.  In  iis  quse  Rmo  Dono  Episcopo 
Bristoliens :  inscriptse  sunt  (sc.  litterae)  negotium  Hannovera- 
num  iis  argumentis  quae  et  tute  mihi  suppeditasti  et  sana  ratio 
dictat  urgeo."     See  also  the  letters  in  the  Appendix. 


LIFJE  OF  AllCHBISlIOP  SHARP.  443 

Ayerst  one  large  quotation  has  been  made  above, 
as  a  testimony  of  the  Archbishops  readiness  to 
serve  the  ifiterests  of  the  house  of  Hafwver,  as 
well  as  promote  the  honour  of  the  Church  of 
England.  Here  follow  a  passage  or  two  more 
to  show  what  opinion  Mr.  Leibnitz  himself  had 
both  of  the  Prussian  and  Hanover  affair.  In 
his  letter  of  June  28th,  1711,  having  mentioned 
the  inclination  the  Electress  had  to  form  a 
Church  according  to  the  usage  of  the  Liturgy  of 
England,   he   proceeds  *    "  Monsieur    TArche- 

*  Thus  Englished — "  The  Archbishop  of  York  and  the  Bishop 
of  Bristol  would  do  a  considerable  service  to  the  Church  and 
State  if  they  any  ways  contribute  to  it,  as  you  tell  me  they 
have  had  some  thoughts  of  doing.  And  as  the  Elector  of 
Brunswick  is  now  the  first  prince  of  the  empire  of  the  Con- 
fession of  Augshurgh,  it  will  be  a  means  of  uniting  the  two 
Churches  the  more  closely.  I  had  the  honour  one  day  to  talk 
pretty  freely  with  the  Elector  on  the  Thirty-nine  Articles  of  the 
Church  of  England,  and  he  very  well  comprehended  that  they 
come  much  to  the  same  with  what  is  believed  in  this  country. 

"  They  are  a  little  too  much  Geneva  stamp  at  Berlin  ;  yet, 
since  the  King  himself,  the  Bishop  Ursinus,  and  Dr.  Jablouski 
are  inclined  to  the  Church  of  England,  and  I  know  are  entered 
into  some  correspondence  about  it,  I  hope  that  it  will  one  day 
come  to  something  in  spite  of  some  rigorists  that  oppose  it. 
Mr.  Ursinus  and  Mr.  Jablouski  did  once  confer  with  me  on 
these  matters  by  order  of  the  King,  and  likewise  by  my  means 
with  some  of  our  divines,  who  made  some  considerable  progress 
in  this  affair.  The  then  English  Envoy,  Mr.  Cresset,  did  like- 
wise enter  into  it,  and  I  have  still  some  of  the  letters  which  lie 
wrote  to  me  on  that  subject,  as  likewise  the  correspondence  of 


444  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

veque  de  York  et  Monsieur  I'Ev^que  de  Bristol 
rendront  un  service  considerable  a  I'Eglise  et 
meme  a  I'Etat,  s'ils  y  contribuent  comme  vous  me 
le  mandes.  Et  comme  Monseigneur  VElecteur  de 
Bronswic  est  maintenant  le  primier  Prince  de 
I'Empire  de  la  Confession  d'Augsboiu^g,  ce  sera  un 
moyen  de  rendre  ces  deux  Eglises  plus  unies. 
J'ay  eu  I'honneur  de  parler  amplement  un  jour  k 
Monseigneur  VElecteur  sur  les  39  Articles  de 
I'Eglise  Anglicane;  et  il  a  fort  bien  compris 
qu'ils  reviennent  aux  sentimens  recens  dans  ce 
pays  cy.  On  est  un  pen  trop  Genevois  a  Berlin; 
cependant  comme  le  Roy  meme  Monsieur 
I'Eveque  Ursinus  et  Monsieur  Jablouski  sont 
asses  portes  pour  tEglise  Anglicane,  et  que  Je 

our  divines,  which  may  one  day  be  of  service.  It  would  not 
be  amiss  that  the  Lord  ArchhisJiop  of  York  and  the  Bishop  of 
Bristol  were  informed  of  it :  when  the  latter  passed  this  way 
he  made  but  a  very  short  stay,  otherwise  I  should  have  been 
extremely  glad  to  have  shewn  them  all  to  him,  and  have  talked 
with  him  on  the  measures  that  were  proper  to  be  taken. 

"  I  hope  the  Archbishop  of  York  has  received  a  copy  of  my 
book  Upon  the  Liberty  of  Man,  and  other  matters  pertaining  to 
that  subject,  which  Mr.  Bothmar  carried  with  him  into  England. 
I  could  wish  to  have  some  time  his  opinion  of  it.  I  once  saw 
a  printed  Sermon  *  of  that  prelate  which  was  something  to  my 
purpose  ;  but  I  could  not  find  it  among  Madam  the  Electress's 
papers,  where  I  had  seen  it." 

•  This  was  his  Grace's  Sermon  on  the  Govcrnmcntof  the  Thoughts 
given  to  the  Princess  Sophia  by  Mr.  Toland. 


LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  445 

scay  qu'on  est  entr^  en  quelque  correspondence 
la  dessus,  j'espere  qu'on  en  tirera  un  jour  quel- 
que fruit,  malgre  quelques  rigorists  qui  s'y  op- 
posent.  Monsieur  Ursinus  et  Monsieur  Jab- 
louski  ont  communique  autrefois  avec  may  sur 
ces  matiere  par  ordre  du  Roy,  et  il  y  a  en  quel- 
que commerce  et  communication  la  dessus  par 
mon  entremise  entre  nos  Theologiens  en  les 
leurs  oil  Ton  a  fait  des  pars  assez  considerables. 
Feu  Monsieur  I'Envoye  Cresset  y  entroit,  et  j'ay 
encore  ses  lettres  la  dessus  qull  inecrivoit,  aussi 
bien  que  les  correspondences  de  nos  Theolo- 
giens, qui  serviront  beaucoup  un  jour.  II  sera 
bon  que  Monsieur'  VArchveque  de  York  et  Monsieur 
VEv^que  de  Bristol  en  ayent  information.  Quand 
le  dernier  passa  icy  il  ne  s'arreta  pas  asses  autre- 
ment  j'aurois  ete  ravi  de  lui  montrer  le  tout,  et 
de  parler  avec  lui  des  mesures  a  prendre. 

'*  J'espere  que  Monsieur  V Archeveque  de  York 
aura  secu  un  des  exemplaires  de  mon  livre,  sur 
la  Liberte  et  les  matieres  voisines,  que  Monsieur 
Bothmar  a  porte  avec  lui  en  Angleterre ;  et  je 
souhaite  d'en  apprendre  un  jour  son  sentiment. 
J'ay  ou  autrefois  un  Sermon  imprimfe  de  ce 
Prelat  qui  revenoit  asses  au  mien :  mais  ou  n'a 
pas  pu  le  retrouver  cher  Madame  I'Electrice  ou 
il  etoit." 

And  in  another  letter,  dated  the  18th  of  Sep- 


446  LIFE  OF   ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

tember  the  same  year,  and  wrote  to  the  same 
person,  he  has  these  words. 

"  Comme  la  correspondence  entrela  cour  de 
la  G.  Bretagne,  et  celle  de  Berlin  a  ete  renou^e, 
et  que  j'apprends  que  meme  M.  de  St.  Jean, 
Secretaire  d'Etat  en  a  ecrit,  j'espere  qu'encore 
cette  affaire  aura  quelque  bonne  suite.  On  a 
fort  estime  icy  un  livre  de  Monsieur  Nichols,  ou 
il  montre  qu'une  bonne  correspondence  des  Eg- 
lises  Protestants  du  Continent  avec  vos  Insu- 
laires  pourra  etre  d'un  grand  effect  pour  lever 
les  animosites  des  parties,  et  j'ay  lu  autrefois  ce 
livre  avec  plaisir  et  avec  fruit.  Je  voudrois  pou- 
voir  retrouver  un  Sermon  de  mi/  Lord  Archeveque 
de  York  sur  la  liberty,  predestination,  et  matieres 
approchantes ;  qui  Madame  f  Electrice^\o\t ,  mais 
qui  s'est  perdu  *." 

*  Thus  rendered — "  Since  I  hear  the  correspondence  be- 
tween the  Court  of  Great  Britain  and  that  of  Berlin  has  been 
renewed,  and  understand  that  Mr.  Secretary  St.  John's  has  writ 
about  it,  I  hope  that  that  affair  will  still  have  some  good  issue. 
We  esteemed  very  much  here  a  book  of  Dr.  Nichols,  in  which 
he  shews  that  a  good  correspondence  between  the  Protestant 
churches  of  the  Continent  and  yours  of  England  might  be  of 
great  use  to  extinguish  that  animosity  which  is  between  the  two 
contending  parties.  I  once  read  that  book  with  pleasure  and 
profit. 

"  I  wish  I  could  find  my  Lord  Archbishop  of  York's  Ser- 
mon on  the  subject  of  Free  Will,  Predestination,  and  the  like 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  447 

But  the  grand  negotiations  of  state  carried  on 
at  this  time  in  Holland,  and  in  the  respective 
courts  where  the  design  of  introducing  the  En- 
glish Liturgy  was  espoused,  took  off  the  atten- 
tion of  the  great  ministers  from  ecclesiastical 
affairs,  which  if  duly  prosecuted,  would  have 
been  much  to  the  honour  of  our  Church  of 
England,  and  the  strengthe7i'mg  the  Protestant 
interest  in  Europe.  A  correspondence  was  still 
carried  on  between  the  Archbishop  and  Dr. 
Jablouski  in  the  years  1712  and  1713.  As  also 
between  the  Doctor  and  the  Earl  of  Strafford 
and  the  Bishop  of  Bristol  then  Plenipotentiaries 
at  Utrecht;  into  the  latter  of  luhose  hands  se- 
veral of  the  original  papers  relating  to  this  affair 
tvere  put,  which  if  ever  it  be  thought  proper  (by 
the  persons  into  whose  hands  that  prelate's  pa- 
pers are  fallen)  to  publish  to  the  world,  will  give 
great  light  to  this  whole  transaction,  and  more 
fully  shew  that  the  persons  concerned  in  it  had 
no  other  views  than  the  honour  of  the  Church  of 
England  and  the  interest  of  the  Protestant  reli- 
gion in  general,  joined  with  that  of  the  Protes- 
tant succession  to  the  House  of  Hanover,  from 
which  that  interest  is  inseparable. 

Nor  was  the  correspondence  altogether  with- 


niatters,  which  Madam  the  Electress  once  had,  but  is  now  some 
way  lost." 

II 


448  LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP. 

out  success,  for  though  the  Kmg  of  Prussia  was 
grown  colder  in  the  main  design,  yet  several 
steps  were  made  by  Baron  Printz  and  the  King 
himself,  which  shewed  still  disposition  towards  it. 
In  particular  Dr.  Jablouski  acquainted  the  Arch- 
bishop, in  a  letter  dated  January  14,  1712-13, 
"  that  the  King  of  Prussia  had  been  prevailed 
upon  to  establish  a  fund  for  the  education 
of  students  in  divinity  in  the  English  Univer- 
sities, legibus  fundationis  co7iscriptis"  as  his  words 
are  '*  et  redditibus  iiecessarnis  eidem  assignatis."  And 
in  all  probability  after  this  step  made,  and  the 
great  affair  of  peace  being  then  also  concluded, 
a  new  life  might  have  been  given  to  these  pro- 
ceedings in  both  the  courts,  had  not  the  demise 
of  the  King  of  Prussia  within  a  month  after,  viz. 
February  25,  1713,  put  a  stop  to  them  in  one, 
and  the  death  of  the  Archbishop  within  the  year 
following,  give?i  a  final  stroke  to  them  in  the 
other. 

However,  the  latter  before  his  death  had  the 
satisfaction  of  hearing  from  Dr.  Jablouski,  the 
last  letter  he  received  from  him,  (22nd  of  April, 
1713,)  that  the  new  King  of  Prussia  had  confirmed 
his  fathers  foundation  for  maintaining  students  in 
the  Universities  of  England.  But  the  Archbishop 
was  then,  both  by  reason  of  his  absence  and  dis- 
tance from  court,  and  on  account  of  his  declin- 
ing health,  quite  disabled  from  making  any  new 


LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  SHARP.  449 

advances  in  the  negotiation ;  which  occasioned 
Dr.  Jablonski,  when  Mr.  Ayerst  had  acquainted 
him  with  the  Archbishop's  present  declining 
state,  to  return  answer,  22nd  July,  1713.  Quce 
de  Reverendissimo  Archiepiscopo  Eboracmsi  narras 
gravi  me  dolor e  qffichmt. 


END    OF    VOL.  I. 


Printed  by  H.  Gilbert,  St.  John's  Square,  London. 


THE  FOLLOWING  ARE  TUBLISHED  BY 

C.  AND  J.  RIVINGTON, 

sr.  haul's  church-yard,  and  waterloo-place,  tall-mall. 


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GESTA  ROMANORUM  ;  or,  ENTERTAINING  MO- 

RAL  STORIES ;  invented  by  the  Monks  as  a  Fire-side  Recreation,  and  com- 
monly applied  in  their  Discourses  from  the  Pulpit :  from  whence  the  most 
celebrated  of  our  own  Poets  and  others,  from  the  earliest  Times,  have  extracted 
their  Plots.  Translated  from  the  Latin  :  with  Preliminary  Observations  and 
copious  Notes,  by  the  Rev.  CHARLES  SWAN,  late  of  Catharine  Hall,  Cam- 
bridge. 

"  They"  [the  Monks]  "  might  be  disposed  occasionally  to  recreate  their 
minds  with  Subjects  of  a  light  and  annising  Nature  ;  and  what  could  be 
more  imwccirt  o\  delightiul  than  the  Stories  of  the  GEbTA  Romanorum?" 
— Doiccc's  Uhistrations  of  Shakspeare. 


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