take it to be a sign of approaching death; and so when we are given over to have eyes and see not, ears and hear not, it is an argument of decaying souls: For as no prayers or fastings in the world can sanctifie a rebellion nor tempt God to own an unjust party, so neither will a good cause alone justifie us, any more than a true religion without practice : we must first do our duties, otherwise neither the one nor the other will do us any good." And, during the negociation for peace at Uxbridge, he preached a second fast sermon before the King, on the text, "The fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace :" and spoke with great severity of those who had warred against their Sovereign; he expressed an earnest wish, that those who had taken up arms in rebellion against their Prince, would consider the evils which arose from contention, strife, and wars, and would speedily accept the gracious concessions which were offered to them by His Majesty.

In the spring of the year 1645, the affairs of the King declining, and Oxford being threatened by the Parliament's troops with a siege, the Primate was strongly recommended to quit that city, and, with the King's permission, took advantage of the Prince of Wales going with a large escort to Bristol, and accompanied him there. From thence he proceeded to Cardiff, which town was strongly garrisoned under the command of his son-in-law, Sir Timothy Tyrrell. There he was

tax; I may not hastily square with my Sovereign by denyal and standing out for any man, as he may recede from his right, and that which is his own, so ought he not to contest with his Sovereign upon matters of no very great moment. As for the infringing of the liberties of the subject, such taxes or loans or any other extrajudicial commands of the King must be general extending to all or most subjects, and customary, "being often imposed before they can be judged so immediately to infringe the subjects liberty, as to make a subject think he is bound to deny.

66 To the Last.

"To yield to Martialists quartered upon him, if they be the King's, he is bound in duty; if of the rebels, he is directed by prudence to yield unto it, when they can by force command it."

Before this time the Primate had written, at the King's command, a treatise on the power of the Prince and the obedience of the subject, which was not printed till after his death.

4 James, chap. iii. ver. 18.

received by the Governor and his daughter with every token of respect and affection, and continued to reside in peace for nearly a year, pursuing his studies with indefatigable industry, as he had not omitted to bring with him from Oxford several chests of books. He was at this time particularly engaged in the composition of his Chronological Annals, and had made considerable progress in the first part. During his residence the King retired to Ragland Castle, the seat of the Marquess of Worcester, after the fatal battle of Naseby, and thence proceeded to Cardiff, where he took up his abode in the same house with the Primate. The King received the Primate with his accustomed favor, and called upon him to preache before him on the only Sunday during which he remained at Cardiff. He was soon obliged to hurry away, and carry with him the greater part of the garrison and all the military stores, so that Cardiff became no longer a place of safety.

The Primate was greatly perplexed as to a choice of residence, and entertained serious thoughts of embarking for France or Holland, as he was so near the sea: but an invitation from Lady Stradling to her castle of St. Donate's in Glamorganshire, decided him to remain. However, before he and his daughter could avail themselves of the invitation, unexpected difficulties occurred. The inhabitants of the country had risen in great numbers, nominally in defence of the King, but with the fixed determination to exclude every English garrison and every English commander from the country. Trusting, however, to the promise of their guides, that they would lead them through unfrequented and safe paths, the Primate and his daughter ventured to set out on their journey; but they had soon cause to repent of their determination. Ere they had travelled far, they fell in with some stragglers, who dragged them to the main body of the insurgents. There, being dis

e In a volume of Collectanea, preserved in the Bodleian Library, are metrical versions of the 100th and 101st Psalm, by Sir Philip Sydney, and in the margin of the 101st is written, in the Primate's hand: "I delivered a copy of this to the King at Cardiffe Aug. 4. 1645. having preached there unto him the day before."

covered to be English, they were treated with great cruelty, torn from their horses, and stripped of all their baggage. Nor was this all, the ruffians broke open their chests, and in an instant scattered about all the Primate's books and papers. Some officers, who were gentlemen of the country, fortunately came up, and expressed great regret for the outrage that had been committed; they caused the horses to be immediately restored, and as much of the baggage as could be found, but the books and papers were dispersed so that they could not be recovered. The officers then conducted the Primate and his daughter to the neighbouring house of Sir John Aubrey, where they were hospitably received and lodged for the night. Dr. Parr, who was travelling along with the Primate, says: "I must confess that I never saw him so much troubled in my life; and those that were with him before myself said, that he seemed not more sensibly concerned for all his losses in Ireland than for this; saying to his daughter and to those that endeavoured to comfort him : 'I know that it is God's hand and I must endeavour to bear it patiently, though I have too much human frailty not to be extremely concerned, for I am touched in a very tender place, and He has thought fit to take from me at once all that I have been gathering together above these twenty years, and which I intended for the advancement of learning and the good of the Church.' The next day divers of the neighbouring gentry and clergy came to visit him and condole this irreparable loss, promising to do their utmost endeavours that what books or papers were not burnt or torn should be restored; and so very civilly waited on him to St. Donate's. And to let you see that these gentlemen and ministers did not only promise, but were also able to perform it, they so used their power with the people, that publishing in the churches all over those parts, that all that had any such books or papers should bring them to their ministers or landlords, which they accordingly did; so that in the space of two or three months there was brought into him by parcels all his books and papers so fully, that being put altogether, we found not many wanting; those most remarkable that I or others can call to mind, were two

manuscripts concerning the Waldenses, which he much valued, and which he had obtained towards the continuing of his De Ecclesiarum Christianarum successione, and also another manuscript catalogue of the Persian Kings communicated by Elichmannus, and one volume of manuscripts, Variæ Lectiones of the New Testament: and of printed books only Tully's works and some others of less concernment." In a letter to Dr. Hammond, written four years after, the Primate says: "The varieties of readings of the new Testament out of the Cambridge copies, I have sent unto you; but those out of the Oxford ones (wherein yourself had a chief hand) I can by no means find, and do much fear that they were plundered among my other books and papers by the rude Welsh in Glamorganshire."

The Primate's residence at St. Donate's was rendered agreeable, not only by the kind and respectful attention of his hostess, but also by the circumstance that it contained a most valuable library, rich in books and manuscripts of great value, collected by Sir Edward Stradling and his son Sir John, both distinguished antiquarians, and correspondents of the learned Camden. The Primate seized eagerly upon this opportunity of illustrating his Antiquities of the British Churches, and made many valuable additions respecting the early ecclesiastical history of Wales, which were inserted in the edition published after his death. His studies, however, were soon interrupted by a dangerous and painful disorder, terminating in so profuse an hæmorrhage from the nose, that he was thought to be expiring, and the report of his death was generally circulated. It was on this occasion that the circumstances occurred with respect to Lord Strafford, which have been before related. Dr. Parr states that the Primate, praising God and perfectly resigned to his will, employed himself in giving earnest advice to all around him; he said: "It is a dangerous thing to leave all undone till our last sickness. I fear a death bed repentance will avail us little, if we have lived vainly and viciously, and neglected our conversion, till we can see no longer."

'Letter 282, Works, vol. xvi. pag. 174. See above, pag. 214.

He then exhorted them to fear God, to love and obey Jesus Christ, and to lead a holy life, assuring them, "then you will find the comfort of it at your death, and your change will be happy." Among the persons who came to see him was a relation of Lady Stradling, who was a member of the House of Commons; to him he said: "Sir you see I am very weak and cannot expect to live many hours; you are returning to the Parliament, I am going to God; my blood and life is almost spent: I charge you to tell them from me, that I know they are in the wrong, and have dealt very injuriously with the King, and I am not mistaken in the matter." Bishop Hacket relates another testimony of the Primate to the injustice of the suspicions entertained against the King; he says: "On July 24 1654 at Hygate in Surrey I had conference about this defamation with that excellent Primate of Armagh, Dr. Ussher; says he, stop their mouths with this that I shall faithfully tell you. Sir William Parsons our Chief Justice, was much trusted with the King's affairs in Ireland; he deceasing, his friends and executors sent his papers to me to look them over in his cabinet I found a letter written by the King to warn him to look well to the meetings of the Popish Irish, for he had received certain intelligence out of Spain, that they were upon some great design of blood and confusion." His learned friend, John Greaves, Savilian Professor of Astronomy, was so convinced of his death, that he wrote an inscription for his monument. The Primate, however, slowly recovered, but with returning health new anxieties pressed upon him. From the utter ruin of the royal cause, he could no longer remain in safety where he was, obnoxious as he had become to the party now in absolute power, and at length resolved, if possible, to withdraw to the Continent. For this purpose a vessel was procured, and a passport from the Earl of Warwick, Lord Admiral; but, before he sailed, a squadron of ships, under the command of Molton, ViceAdmiral under the Parliament, came near Cardiff. The Primate immediately sent Dr. Parr with his passport, and

h Hacket's Life of Archbishop Williams, part ii. pag. 197.