ANECDOTES. QUEEN ELIZABETH. [From Scor's Philomythie; or Philomythologie. 8vo. 1616.] T O the late queene of famous memorie, a courtier who had great place about her majeftie, made fuite for an office belonging to the law. She told him he was unfit. for the place. He confeft as much, but promised to finde out a fufficient deputy. "Do," faith fhe, "and then I may bestow it upon one of my ladies ; for they by deputation may execute the office of chancellor, chief juftice, and others as well as you.' This answered him, and I would it would answer all others; that fit men might be placed in every office, and none, how great foever, fuffered to keep two. They fhould take offices for the commonwealth's benefit; but they take them like farmes, to enrich themselves. This difcourageth all profeffions, both in the church and commonwealth; one place is fit for one man. From the PARISH REGISTER of EAST DOWN, in SUSSEX. 'N the death of Agnes and Johan Payne, buried both Feb. 1, 1560, is one thing worthy recording, diligently to be noted. The elder fifter, called Agnes, being very ficke, unto the death, fpeechlefs, and as was thought paft hope of fpeaking, after the had lyen about twenty-four hours without fpeech, at laft, upon a fudden, cryed out to her fifter to make herfelf ready, and to come with her: her fifter Johan being abroad, about other bufinefs, was called for; who being come to her fick fifter, demanding how fhe did, the very lowd and earnestly bad her fifter make her ready, the ftaid for her, and could not go without her; within half an hour after, Johan was taken very fick, which encreasing all night upon her, her other fifter flill calling her to come away, in the morning they both departed this wretched world together. Teftified Teftified by divers old and honeft perfons yet living, which I have myself heard their father, whilst he was alive, report. ARTHUR POLLARD, Vicar. HEN. HOMEWOOD, Churchwardens. DR. SHERLOCK, formerly Rector of St. Botolph, A Bishopsgate. POOR woman brought her child to the church to be baptized, which having been performed, the clerk demanded of her the parfon's due, which was a fhilling; but fhe pleading poverty, declared herself unable to pay it. The clerk however infifted upon it, for the parfon he said would have his due; upon which the poor woman with great reluctance and murmuring paid the demand. But Dr. Sherlock, who intended to make her amends, fent her word by his fervant, that he would come and drink tea with her. At this the woman was enraged and faid: "What should he come to drink tea with me for? He has already distressed me enough by taking the fhilling from me, and would he distress me more?" The fervant, however, pacified her, and gave her a fhilling for the tea. In the afternoon the doctor came, and being feated, he told her fhe did very well in paying the fhilling, as he could not mitigate the legal dues of the church, for fuch a custom might injure his fucceffor; but having found upon enquiry, that the bore a very good character, and that her husband was honeft and induftrious, he gave her ten guineas to relieve her family from the miferies in which he faw them, and to purchase some household neceffaries, of which they were quite deftitute, having fold all for their fupport. THE LATE KING OF SWEDEN. A GENTLEMAN of Sweden was condemned to fuffer death, as a punishment for certain offences committed by him in the difcharge of an important public office, which he had filled for a number of years, with an integrity that had had never before undergone either fufpicion or impeachment. His fon, a youth about eighteen years of age, was no fooner apprized of the fituation of his father, then he flew to the judge, and throwing himself at his feet, prayed that he might be allowed to fuffer in the room of his father, whofe lofs he declared, it was impoffible for him to furvive. The magiftrate was thunderftruck at this extraordinary request, and could hardly be perfuaded that the youth was fincere in it. But being at length fatisfred in this respect, he wrote an account of the whole affair to the king; and the confequence was, that his majesty immediately dispatched a courier with orders to grant a free pardon to the father, and to confer a title of honour on the fon. This last mark of royal favour, however, the youth begged leave with all humility to decline, and the motive for his refufal of it was not lefs noble, than the conduct by which he had deferved it was generous and difinterested. "Of what avail," exclaimed he, could the most exalted title be to me, humbled as my family already is in the duft!-Alas! would it not ferve as a monument to perpetuate in the minds of my countrymen the fad remembrance of my unhappy father's fhame?" The king fhed tears when this fpeech was reported to him; and fending for the affectionate and heroic youth to court, he immediately appointed him to the office of his private and confidential fecretary. ON SKELTON'S SERMONS. Mr. Clapham having at length gratified the public with the first volume of SKELTON'S WORKS, we extract from it the 15th Reflection, entitled Criticifm on the Author's Sermons. We purpose in our next number, to give an account of this valuable publication. A VERY fenfible gentlewoman having read the two firft volumes of fermons I had the prefumption to publish, asked me if my own life and converfation were strictly conformable to the rules I had laid down in thofe difcourfes? VOL. XIV. Chm. Mag. May 1808. Y Y Startled Startled at the queftion, I answered, no; but that I did my beft to act as well as I wrote; and that I fometimes read over my own difcourfes, not that I thought them equal to thofe of other writers on the fame fubjects, but to upbraid and excite myfelf, on the footing of her queftion, to a greater degree of watchfulness over my own ways. Two of them I faid had been of fingular ufe to me for this purpofe, more than the most excellent performances of Barrow, Tillotson, or Stanhope could have been, because they flared my own failings in the face, like an additional confcience, with greater fternness than the better writings of other men could do. I confeffed there was no neceffity for my publishing, or even writing, new fermons, had no new crops of herefies, infidelities, and vices fprung up, which ought to be weeded out; or had not my zeal, perhaps my vanity, perfuaded me, that my particular manner might have been of fome ufe in checking the pernicious growth. New attacks on religion and virtue feemed to call for new defences, efpecially as the older defences had been, in a too great degree, antiquated to the attention of an age, almoft wholly given up to a tafte for new things. The reproofs of Christ, uttered against thofe "who fay and do not," all along flew in the face of my confcience, and induced me to do fomewhat, though far fhort of what I ought to have done. I confidered too that men, not angels, have been chofen for the miniftry of God's word; that the apoftles confefs themfelves to be of like infirmities with other men; and that they and we all have our gifts in earthen veffels; that we are not at liberty to speak or write down to the ftandard of human opinions or vices, as if they were, in any degree, to be tolerated; but making the word of God our guide, to in, culcate the most perfect rules of thinking and acting, knowing the infinite danger of qualifying and relaxing the rules of God to a people, fo prone to content themselves with Joofe principles, and unwarrantable latitudes in action. All that have gone before me have written with as much strict, nefs as I, or have been falfe to the truft repofed in them. In regard to your question, madam, they fhould have written with a precifion equal to mine, or not written at all. But, as to the conformity of their lives and mine with our writings, we all ftand in great, I will not fay, in equal, need of infinite mercy in our Mafter and Judge. Whatever the laws of men may be, thofe of God are perfect; but in neither are we ever told, what falvos, qualifications, or fubterfuges, fubterfuges, may be allowed us; nor how much of any law we may tranfgrefs with impunity. The fame is to be faid, and with equal reafon and truth, of fermons, which are, or fhould be, nothing elfe but commentaries on the law, or gofpel of God. The clergyman in the pulpit ought to be a good chriftian, and the lawyer at the bar, an honeft man; but the failures of both, if duly repented of, and amended, will be forgiven, although, in both cafes, mercy will be put more on the ftretch for pardon, than by the fins of other men, because," to whom much is given, of him will much be required," and "the fervant that best knows his duty, and doth it not, is to be beaten with many ftripes." Though I moft firmly believe, Barrow, Tillotfon, and Stanhope, were much better than me, I.fhould not be a whit comforted, to know they were not. They and I had the fame perfect rule to preach and live by, and I hope it will not be among their fins or mine, that we dealt falfly between God and his people by cooking his word to the vitiated palates of our hearers, than which I know no greater crime; by no means common murder, for this would be to murder fouls. When my wife and good father, within a few hours of his death, was giving a charge to his ten children, he ordered me, who had been then but half a year at the Latin school, to study phyfic, and learn to cure the disorder that was killing my father. As I grew up towards manhood, I was poffeffed with a ftrong defire to go into holy orders, to which I was prompted by a very warm and perfevering zeal to discharge, with more than ordinary zeal and fidelity, the duties of that facred function. Confidering this as a call from God, I obeyed, I fear, with a fmall mixture of vanity. Be that as it might have been, as foon as I had, by ftudy, qualified myself for the service of a country parifh, wherein I was fingularly active, I fet myfelf to the fludy of phyfic, pursuant to the dying command of my father, that I might relieve the poor of my flock from their diforders, and the more dangerous and expenfive practice of ignorant quacks, reflecting, at the fame time, that as my Great Mafler had miraculously healed both the mental and corporeal diforders of mankind, fo his minifters ought to aim at the natural relief of his people in both refpects. For this latter purpose, I gave an application of four years to the beft authors, and to the converfations of the moft able phyficians I had access to. of thefe gave me a piece of advice from which I never departed. I, faid he, when I am employed, muft prefcribe fomewhat, were it but horfe dung or brick duft, for my One fee; |