188 LIVES OF. THE 'PURITANS. Disputation in St. Mary's church in Oxon, between Me: Cheynel and Mr. Erbery," 1646. A particular detail of other disputes which he had with the visitors was also pub- lished by his opponents, entitled, " An Account given to the Parliament by the Ministers sent by them to Oxford," 1647. In this piece they give a circumstantial account of their disputations with Mr. Erbery, butnot sufficiently interesting to deservethe reader's particular attention. Mr. Erbery had apublic disputewith one Mr. Nichols, of which he gave a particular account in a piece entitled, " A Dispute at Cowbridge, (Glamorganshire,) with Mr. Henry Nichols, Pastor of an Independent Church, andParson of a Parish- Church.". But this is not more interesting than the former. Upon Mr. Erbery's departure from Oxford, says Wood, " he went to London, where hevented his blasphemies in several places against the glorious divinity and blood of Jesus Christ, especially in his conventicle at Christ-church within Newgate, where those of his opinion met once a week. He was at length brought before the committee of plunderedministers at Westminster; when, to the admiration of those who had heard, his blasphemies, he began to make a solemn profession of his faith in orthodox language : but the chairman took him up, and commanded him silence, saying, We know your tricks well enough.' To say the truth," adds our author, " he had language at command, andcould dissemble for matter Of profit, or to avoiddanger; and it was well known he was a mere canter." This account; from the bigotted historian, is extremely partial and incorrect; as appears from a particular narrative pub- lished by Mr. Erbery himself, in which he denies many of the charges alleged against him, and acquits himself of others. The piece is entitled, " The Honest Heritique; or, Orthodox Blasphemer, accused of Ileresie and Blasphemie, but cleared of both by the judgment of God, and of good Men, at a Committee for Plundered Ministers of the Parlia- ment, March 9th, 1652: With a double Answer to Articles charged against him ; whereupon he was freed from his Prison, and liberty granted by the Lord to preach again."t October 12, 1653, Mr. Erbery 'and ,Mr. John Webster endeavoured,"says Wood, " to knock down learning and the ministry together, in a disputation they had with two Erbery's Testimony, p.252. t Ibid, p. 310.
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