frighted at the example; thinking himselfe not likely to make another. p. 37, 38. He goes accordingly to Richmond, and boards with his musicmaster; in whose house a younger sister of his future wife happened then to be placed,-she herself having gone into Wiltshire with her mother, with some expectation of being married before her return. This gentlewoman, that was left in the house with Mr Hutchinson, was a very child, her elder sister being at that time scarcely past it, but a child of such pleasantnesse and vivacity of spiritt, and ingenuity in the quallity she practis'd, that Mr. Hutchinson tooke pleasure in hearing her practise, and would fall in discourse with her. She having the keyes of her mother's house, some halfe a mile distant, would some times aske Mr Hutchinson, when she went over to walk along with her: one day when he was there, looking upon an odde byshelf, in her sister's closett, he found a few Latine bookes'; asking whose they were, he was told they were her elder sister's, whereupon, enquiring more after her, he began first to be sorrie she was gone, before he had seene her, and gone upon such an account, that he was not likely to see her; then he grew to love to heare mention of her; and the other gentleweomen who had bene her companions, used to talke much to him of her, telling him how reserv'd and studious she was, and other things which they esteem'd no advantage; but it so much inflam'd Mr Hutchinson's desire of seeing her, that he began to wonder at himselfe, that his heart, which had ever had such an indifferency for the most excellent of weomenkind, should have so strong impulses towards a stranger he never saw. - While he was exercis'd in this, many days past not, but a footeboy of my lady her mothers came to young Mrs. Apsley as they were at dimmer, bringing newes that her mother and sister would in few dayes return; and when they enquir'd of him, whether Mrs. Apsley was married; having before bene instructed to make them believe it, he smiled, and pull'd out some bride laces, which were given at a wedding, in the house where she was, and gave them to the young gentlewoman and the gentleman's daughter of the house, and told them Mrs. Apsley bade him tell no news, but give them those tokens, and carried the matter so, that all the companie believ'd she had bene married. Mr. Hutchinson immediately turned pale as ashes, and felt a fainting to seize his spiritts, in that extraordinary manner, that finding himselfe ready to sinke att table, he was faine to pretend something had offended his stomach, and to retire from the table, into the garden, where the gentleman of the house going with him, it was not necessary for him to feigne sicknesse, for the distemper of his mind had infected his body with a cold sweate and such a dispersion of spiritt, that all the courage he could at present recollect was little enough to keep him allive. While she so ran in his thoughts, meeting the boy againe, he found out, upon a little stricter examination of him, that she was not married, and pleas'd himselfe in the hopes hopes of her speedy returne, when one day, having bene invited by one of the ladies of that neighbourhood, to a noble treatement at Sion Garden, which a courtier, that was her servant, had made for her and whom she would bring, Mr. Hutchinson, Mrs. Apsley, and Mr. Coleman's daughter were of the partie, and having spent the day in severall pleasant divertisements, att evening they were att supper, when a messenger came to tell Mrs. Apsley her mother was come. She would immediately have gone, but Mr. Hutchinson, pretending civillity to conduct her home, made her stay 'till the supper was ended, of which he eate no more, now only longing for that sight, which he had with such perplexity expected. This at length he obteined; but his heart being prepossesst with his owne fancy, was not free to discerne how little there was in her to answer so greate an expectation. She was not ugly, in a carelesse riding-habitt, she had a melancholly negligence both of herselfe and others, as if she neither affected to please others, nor tooke, notice of anie thing before her; yet spite of all her indifferency, she was surpriz'd with some unusuall liking in her soule, when she saw this gentleman, who had haire, eies, shape, and countenance enough to begett love in any one at the first, and these sett of with a gracefull and generous mine, which promis'd an extraordinary person. Although he had but an evening sight of her he had so long desir'd, and that at disadvantage enough for her, yett the prevailing sympathie of his soule, made him thinke all his paynes well payd, and this first did whett his desire to a second sight, which he had by accident the next day, and to his ioy found she was wholly disengag'd from that treaty, which he so much fear'd had been accomplisht; he found withall, that though she was modest, she was accostable and willing to entertaine his acquaintance. This soone past into a mutuall friendship betweene them, and though she innocently thought nothing of love, yet was she glad to have acquir'd such a friend, who had wisedome and vertue enough to be trusted with her councells. Mr Hutchin son, on the other side, having bene told, and seeing how she shun'd all other men, and how civilly she entertain'd him, believ'd that a secret power had wrought a mutuall inclination betweene them, and dayly frequented her mother's house, and had the opportunitie of conversing with her in those pleasant walkes, which, at that sweete season of the spring, invited all the neighbouring inhabitants to seeke their ioyes; where, though they were never alone, yet they had every day opertunity for converse with each other, which the rest shar'd not in, while every one minded their owne delights. ' p. 3844. Here the lady breaks off her account of this romantic courtship, as of matters that are to be forgotten as the vanities of youth, and not worthy mention among the greater transactions of their lives. The consent of parents having been obtained on both sides, she was married at the age of eighteen. That day that the friends on both sides met to conclude the marriage, she fell sick of the small pox, which was many wayes a greate greate triall upon him; first her life was allmost in desperate hazard, and then the disease, for the present, made her the most deformed person that could be seene, for a greate while after she recover'd; yett he was nothing troubled at it, but married her assoone as she was able to quitt the chamber, when the priest and all that saw her were affrighted to looke on her: but God recompenc'd his iustice and constancy, by restoring her, though she was longer then ordinary before she recover'd, as well as before. p. 45, 46. There is a good deal more of this affectionate and romantic style of writing throughout the book; but the shade of Mrs Hutchinson would not forgive us, if we were to detain the reader longer with these vanities of her youth. We proceed, therefore, to graver matters. We might cull many striking specimens of eloquence from her summary account of the English constitution and of the Refor mation; but the following view of the changes which took place on the accession of James and of Charles, are more characteristic of the age and of the party to which she belongs. The honor, wealth, and glory of the nation, wherein Queene Elizabeth left it, were soone prodigally wasted by this thriftlesse heire, the nobillity of the land utterly debas'd by setting honors to publick sale, and conferring them on persons that had neither blood nor meritt fitt to weare, nor estates to beare up their titles, but were faine to invent proiects to pill the people, and pick their purses for the maintenance of vice and lewdnesse. The generallity of the gentry of the land soone learnt the court fashion, and every greate house in the country became a sty of uncleannesse. To keepe the people in their deplorable security, till vengeance overtooke them, they. were entertain'd with masks, stage playes, and sorts of ruder sports. Then began murther, incest, adultery, drunkennesse, swearing, fornication, and all sort of ribaldry, to be no conceal'd but countenanc'd vices; because they held such conformity with the court example. '— And now the ready way to preferment there, was to declare an opposition to the power of godlinesse, under that name; so that their pulpitts might iustly be called the scorner's chair, those sermons only pleasing that flatter'd them in their vices, and told the poore king that he was Solomon,-that his sloth and cowardize, by which he betrey'd the cause of God and honour of the nation, was gospell meekenesse and peaceablenesse, for which they rays'd him up above the heavens, while he lay wallowing like a swine in the mire of his lust, He had a little learning, and this they call'd the spiritt of wisedome, and so magnified him, so falsely flatter'd him, that he could not endure the words of truth and soundnesse, but rewarded these base, wicked, unfaithfull fawners with rich preferments, attended with pomps and titles, which heav'd them up above a humane heighth : with their pride their envie swell'd against the people of God, whom they began to proiect how they might roote out of the land; and when *Pill-pillage, plunder.' when they had once given them a name, whatever was odious or dreadfull to the king, that they fixt upon the Puritane, which, according to their character, was nothing but a factious hipocrite. p. 59-61. • The face of the court was much chang'd in the change of the king; for King Charles was temperate, chast, and serious; so that the fooles and bawds, mimicks and catamites of the former court grew out of fashion; and the nobillity and courtiers, who did not quite abandon their debosheries, had yet that reverence to the king, to retire into corners to practise them: men of learning and ingenuity in all arts were in esteeme, and receiv'd encouragement from the king; who was a most excellent iudge and a greate lover of paintings, carvings, gravings, and many other ingenuities, less offensive then the prophane abusive witt, which was the only exercise of the other court. P. 65. The characters of this King's counsellors are drawn, in general, with great force and liveliness; and with a degree of candour scarcely to have been expected in the widow of a regicide. We give that of Lord Strafford as an example. But there were two above all the rest, who led the van of the king's evill councellors, and these were Laud, archbishop of Canterbury, a fellow of meane extraction and arrogant pride, and the earl of Strafford, who as much outstript all the rest in favour as he did in abillities, being a man of deepe pollicy, sterne resolution, and ambitious zeale to keepe up the glory of his own greatnesse. In the beginning of this king's reigne, this man had bene a strong assertor of the liberties of the people, among whom he had gain'd himselfe an honorable reputation, and was dreadfull to the court party, who thereupon strew'd snares in his way, and when they found a breach at his ambition, his soule was that way enter'd and captivated. He was advanc'd first to be lord president of the councell in the north, to be a baron, after an earle, then deputy of Ireland; the neerest to a favourite of any man since the death of the duke of Buckingham, who was rays'd by his first master, and kept up by the second, upon no account of personall worth or any deserving abillities in him, but only upon violent and private inclinations of the princes; but the' earle of Strafford wanted not any accomplishment that could be de-. sir'd in the most serviceable minister of state: besides he having made himselfe odious to the people, by his revolt from their interest to that of the oppressive court, he was now oblieg'd to keepe up his owne interest with his new party, by all the mallitious practises that pride and revenge could inspire him with. p. 68, 69. One of Mrs Hutchinson's great talents, indeed, is the delineation of characters; and though her affections are apt to throw rather too glowing or too dark a tint over the canvas, yet this very warmth carries with it an impression of sincerity which adds not a little to the interest of her pictures. We pass by her short sketches, of the Earl of Newcastle, who was a prince in his own own country, till a foolish ambition of glorious slavery carried him to court,'-the Earl of Kingston, whose covetousness made him divide his sons between the two parties, till his fate drew him over to the King's side, where he behaved himself honourably, and died remarkably, '—the Earl of Clare, who was very often of both parties, and, I think, never advantaged either," -and a great number of other persons, who are despatched with equal brevity; and venture to put her talents to a severer test, by trying whether they can interest the reader in a description of the burghers and private gentlemen of Nottingham, at the breaking out of these great disturbances. There were seven aldermen in the towne, and of these only alderman James, then mayor, own'd the parliament. He was a very honest, bold man, but had no more but a burgher's discretion; he was yett very well assisted by his wife, a woman of greate zeal and courage, and more understanding then weomen of her ranke usually have. All the devout people of the towne were very vigorous and ready to offer their lives and famelies, but there was not halfe the halfe of the towne that consisted of these. The ordinary civill sort of people coldly adher'd to the better; but all the debosht, and such as had liv'd upon the bishops persecuting courts, and bene the lacqueys of proiectors and monopolizers, and the like, they were all bitterly malignant. Yett God awed them, that they could not at that time hinder his people, whom he overrul'd some of their greatest enemies to assist, such as were one Chadwick and Plumptre, two who, at the first, put themselves most forward into the businesse. Plumptre was a doctor of phisick, an inhabitant of Nottingham, who had learning, naturall parts, and understanding enough to discerne betweene naturall civil righteousnesse and iniustice, but he was a horrible atheist, and had such an intollerable pride, that he brook'd no superiours, and having some witt, tooke the boldnesse to exercise it, in the abuse of all the gentlemen wherever he came. • This man had sence enough to approove the parliament's cause, in poynt of civill right, and pride enough to desire to breake the bonds of slavery, whereby the king endeavour'd to chaine up a free people; and upon these scores, appearing high for the parliament's interest, he was admitted into the consultations of those who were then putting the country into a posture of defence. Chadwick was a fellow of a most pragmaticall temper, and, to say truth, had strangely wrought himselfe into a station unfitt for him. He was at first a boy that scraped trenchers in the house of one of the poorest iustices in the county, but yet such a one as had a greate deale of formallity and understanding of the statute law, from whom this boy pick'd such ends of law, that he became first the iustice's, then a lawyer's, clearke. Then, I know not how, gott to be a parcell-iudge in Ireland, and came over to his owne country swell'd with the reputation of it, and sett on foote a base, obsolete, arbitrary court there, which the Conqueror |