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4
2heLIEE
ofthe
LIB.I,
had
Ballads
and
fame good
Books
:
And my Father
bought
of
him
Dr.
Sibb's
brui-
fed
Reed.
This
alto
I
read, and found
it fuited
to my ftate,and feafonably tent
mé
which
opened .more
the
Love
of
God
to me, and
gave
me
a
livelier
apprehenfion
of
the Myftery
of
Redemption
,
and how much I
was beholden
to
Jelus
Chrift.
All
this
while neither my Father
nor
1
had any Acquaintance
or Familiarity
with
any
that
had any
Underftanding in
Matters
of
Religion
,
nor ever
heard
a-
ny pray
ex tempore
s
But
my Prayers were
the
ConfellIon
in
the
Common-
Prayer Book;
and fometime one of Mr.
Bradford's Prayers,
(in
a Book called his
Prayers
and
Me-
.
dilations) and
fometime
a
Prayer
out
of
another
Prayer
-Book which we had.
After this we had
a
Servant that had
a
little Piece
of
Mr.
Perkins's
Works
(of
Re-
pentance,
and
the right Art of
Living
and Dying well ,
and
the Government of,
the
Tongue)
:
And the reading
of
that did further inform me, and confirm
me.
And
thus
(without any
means
but Books)
was
God pleated to
refolve
me
for
himfelf.
§
4.
When
1
was
ready for the
Univerfity, my Mafìer drew me into another
way
which kept
me
thence, where were
my
vehement
deliires.
He
had a
Friend
at
Ludlow,
Chaplain to the Council there,
called
Mr.
Richard Wckftead
;
whofe
Place having allowance from the
King ( who maintaineth the
Houfe
)
for
one ro
attend him,he
told my
Matter that he
was
purpofed
to havea
Scholar
fit
for
the
1.-
niverfrty
;
and
having but one, would be better
to him than
any
Tutor
in the
Uni-
verfrty
could
be
:
whereupon my Mafter perfwaded me to accept the offer,and told
me
it would be
better than theUnrverfrty to
me
:
I
believed
him
as
knowing no
bet-
ter my felf; and
it fuited
well-with
my
Parents minds,who were willing
to
have
me
as
near to them
as
poll.ible
(having no Children but
my felf): And fo
Ileft
my
School
-
matter
for
a fuppofed
Tutor
:
But
when
I
had
tried him
I
found my felf
deceived
; his
bulinefs was
to
pleafe the
Great Ones,
and leek
Preferment in the
World
;
and to
that
end found it neceffary fometimcs
to
give
the Puritans
a flirt ;
and call them unlearned, and
fpeak
much for Learning, being but
a Superficial
Scholar
of
himfelf:
He
never read to me,
nor
ufed any favoury Difcourfe
of
-God-
linefs ; only he loved
me, andallowed me
Books
and
Time
enough
t
Sò
that
as
I had
no
confiderable helps from him in my Studies,fò had
I
no
confiderable hinderance.
And though the Houle
was
great (there
being
four Judges, the King's
Attorney,
the Secretary, the Clerk
of
the Fines, with
all
their
Servants, and
all
the
Lord Pre
-
fdent's
Servants,
and many more) and though the
Town
was
full
of
Temptations,
through the multitude of
Perfons, (Counfellors,
Attorne)s,
Officers, and
Clerks)
and much
given to tipling and excels, it pleated
God not only
to
keep me from.
them, but
allo
to give me one intimate Companion,
who
was
the greateft
help
to
my
Serioufnefs in
Religion, that
ever
I had
before,
and
was a
daily
Watchman over
my Soul! We walk'd together, we read together, we prayed together, and when
we could we
lay
together
:
And having been brought
out
of
great Dithers
to Pro
-
fperity, and
his
Affeelions being fervent,
though
his
Knowledge
not great,
he
would
be always
flirting
me up to Zeal and Diligence, and even in the
Night
would
rife
up to Prayer and
Thanklgiving to God,
and wonder
that I
could
Beep
fo,
that the
thoughts
of
God's Mercy
did
not
make me alto to do
as
he did
!
He
was
unwearied in reading
all
fèrious Pradtical Books
of
Divinity
;
efpecially
Per-
kins, Bolton,
Dr.
Prefton, Elton,
Dr.
Taylor, Wbately,
Harris,
&c. He
was
the
frft
that
ever
I
heard pray Ex
tempere
(out of the Pulpit) and that
caught
me
fo
to pray
:
And
his
Charity
and Liberality was equal
to
his
Zeal
;,fo
that God
made him a
great means
of
my
good, who had more knowledge than he, hut
a colder
heart.
Yet
before we
had been
Two
years
acquainted,
he fell
once and
a fecond
time
by the power
of
Temptation
into
a
degree
of
Drunkennefs, which
fo
terrified
him upon the
review (efpecially after
the
fecond
time) that
he was
near
ro
De-
fpair;
and went to good Minifters
with
fad
Confeflions: And when I had
left
the
Hour; and
his
Company,
he fell
into it againand
again
fo
oft,
that
at lait
his
Con
-
fetence could have
no Relief or Eafe
but
in changing
his
Judgment,
and difown-
ing the
Teachers and
DoEtrines
which
had
reftrained
him.
And he did
it
on this
manner
:
One of
his
Superiours,
on whom
he had dependance, was
a
man
of
great Sobriety
and
Temperance,
and
of
much Devotion
in his
way ; but very zea-
lous
againft the Nonconformifts, ordinarily talking moS bitterly againS
them, and
reading
almoft only fuch
Books
as
encouraged him
in
this way
:
By converfe
with
this Man, my Friend was
firm
drawn to
abate
his
Charity to
Nonconformifts
;
and then to think and fpeak reproachfully
of
them ; and
next that
to diflikeall thole
that
came near them,and to
fay
that
fuch
as Bolton
were too
revere,
and enough to
make men mad
:
And the
laf;i
heard
of
him
was,
that
he was
grown
a
Fudler,
and Railer at ftridt men.
But
whether God
recovered
him,
or what
became
of
him I cannot
tell.
4
í.
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