Japhat. "Mother we pray you all together, For we are here youre owne children; Come into the shippe for feare of the weather.' Noe's Wiffe. "That will I not for all your call Noe. Wiffe. "Have thou that for thy note." (et dat alapam.) These plays were, doubtless, originally intended to instruct the people in the contents of the Scriptures; but afterwards they degenerated into the lowest buffoonery, and were employed by the priests to maintain their influence, by practising upon the prejudices and credulity of the vulgar. What was the character of those miracle-plays, which amused the Lincolners, and dis. gusted the bishop, we are not informed. Grossteste was a poetical prelate, and betrayed his fondness for the French minstrels in the composition of his "Manuel de Peche, or Manual of Sin," and his " Chateau d'Amour, or Castle of Love." He died at the palace at Buckden, an honour to his country, an ornament to his age, Oct. 9, 1253.† A century afterwards, the see of Lincoln was governed by a prelate of a very different character-the persecutor of Wickliffewhom, in his homily on Matt. xi. 23, he describes "on gret byschop of Englelond." This one as * "She gives him a box on the ear." + A considerable number of unpublished works of Grossteste exist; and are preserved in the college libraries of Oxford and Cambridge, great bishop of England was John Bokynham, or Bukkingham, by whom he was summoned and prosecuted for translating the Scriptures. In the same homily Wickliffe observes further respecting the bishop." And thus he pursueth another prest by the help of the pharyses (i. e. the friars) for he precheth Criste's gospel frely withouten fables. O men that ben of Criste's half, helpe ye nowe ageynes Antechrist." The priest referred to .was Wylliam de Swyndurby, of Leicester, a follower of the Reformer's, whom the bishop cited to appear before him in the cathedral of Lincoln. Walsingham however tells us, that "when preparations had been made to correct this man, and to take away from him his license to preach, the mad multitude raged in such a as frightened the bishop, and deterred him from proceeding against him." What became of "prest" Wylliam afterwards is unknown; but Fox, in his Actes and Monumentes, conjectures that he was burnt in the succeeding reign.* manner We shall now bring our notices down to the reign of the unfortunate Charles, when the diocese of Lincoln was under the jurisdiction of Dr. Williams. At this time a number of pious people worshipped at St. Benedict's, a small and obscure church in the city, who Henry de Knyghton, a canon of LeicesA very different account is given by ter, and cotemporary, in his work De Eventis Angliæ. He says, that Swyndurby, being convicted, abjured his errors, but afterwards relapsed, and coming to Coventry, he was expelled the diocese, with shame and contempt, by the diocesan and clergy. But Knyghton was a furious enemy of Wycliffe's, and his authority is not much to be depended upon: besides it is exceedingly improbable that an individual having twice relapsed, would have been so tenderly dealt with. invited, Aug. 13, 1626, Mr. Edward Reyner, M. A. from Welton, to be the lecturer. This eminent and learned divine, soon after wards, March 4, 1627, removed to St. Peter's at the Arches, where Sir Edward Lake, the Chancellor, was frequently one of his hearers. Here he was celebrated for the fidelity and success of his ministry-his resistance of the popish ceremonies, so warmly patronized by the court-which exposed him to the censures of some connected with the Minster. The bishop, however, presented him with the prebend of St. Botolph's, Lincoln; but not being able to satisfy his conscience in the matter, he declined it through the lady Armine. "I have had," said Williams upon this occasion, "many countesses, ladies, and others, who have been suitors to me to get preferment for their friends; but you are the first that ever came to take away." During the civil wars, when the county and city of Lincoln were possessed by the king's troops, under the Earl of Newcastle, Reyner was frequently in danger of being slain by the soldiers, which obliged him at last to seek refuge by way of Boston and Lynn at Yarmouth. He returned, however, upon the pressing solicitations of his flock, and exercised his ministry in the cathedral. Here he had at one time a narrow escape, for some of the king's soldiers coming foraging to the city, they attacked and pursued him with drawn swords to the library, and would undoubtedly have despatched him, had not the commanding officer come to his rescue. Upon the settlement of the Commonwealth, Mr. Reyner became, after many hours spent in prayer with tears, a decided congregationalist; and preached regularly in the morning at St. Peter's, and in the evening at the cathedral, up to the time of his death.* After the Restoration, the flock which Mr. Reyner left at the cathedral was soon scattered by the prelatists; but several worthy and pious men preached privately to them that remained. Among these, Mr. Michael Drake, ejected by the Act of Uniformity, from the rectory of Pickworth, in the county, may be mentioned. After his ejectment he settled at Fulbeck, a village about ten miles from Lincoln, in the neighbourhood of a hot cavalier, Sir Francis Fane, by whom he had the good fortune. to be esteemed. From this place, he visited Lincoln for some time every Saturday evening, and preached in the house of John Disney, Esq. in the parish of St. Peter's, at Goats. Soon afterwards, in king James's time, he settled in the city, where he was allowed to preach to his people peaceably, until Monmouth's insurrection, when he was confined. The Disneys appear to have been the firm friends of religion in these disastrous times;t the living of Swinderby, between Newark and Lincoln, was in their gift-and after the revolution it was presented to Joshua Drake, the son of Michael.‡ At the passing of the Act of Palmer. Nonconformist's Memorial, ii. 426. + The Disneys were originally seated at Norton Disney, in Lincolnshire: WilTrinity College, Cambridge, one of the liam Disney, M. A senior Fellow of ejected ministers, was of this family. There are two funeral sermons by Mr. William Scoffin, "on the death of that truly virtuous and religious gentlewoman, Mrs. Kath. Disney,"-one preached at Kirkstead, and the other at Swinderby, where she was buried, May 20th, 1690. ‡ By Daniel Disney, Esq. in 1692: in 1727, and was succeeded by his son, Joshua Drake died vicar of Swinderby who died Vicar, Dec. 12, 1765. Uniformity, Dr. Sanderson presided over the see of Lincoln, and many of the nonconformist ministers were harassed with ecclesiastical processes by the party in power. The castle and the common gaol of the city witnessed the imprisonment of several, whose only crime was the firm assertion of the rights of conscience against the unprincipled encroachments of a haughty hierarchy. Of many of these witnesses for the truth in these times, it may be said— 66 They liv'd unknown Till persecution dragged them into fame, And chased them up to heaven. Their ashes flew No marble tells us whither. names With their Among the General Baptists, Mr. Thomas Grantham, descend ed from a reduced branch of an eminent Lincolnshire family,† was in these parts a principal object of persecution. Dr. Toulmin tells us that about the year 1662 he was apprehended, carried before a magistrate, and bound over to the Lincoln assizes. The consequence of the proceedings against him was an imprisonment of fifteen months. During his confinement he was visited by several clergymen, who upbraided him with being a Jesuit, and spread abroad a rumour that he was a papist. To confute this 察 Speaking of the Savoy Conference, Baxter says in his life," Bishop Sanderson, of Lincoln, was sometimes there, but never spoke, that I know of, except a very little; but his great learning and worth are known by his labours, and his aged peevishness not unknown.' On his death-bed he is said to have requested that the ejected ministers might be employed again."-- Baxter's Life, Part II. p. 363. + Born at Hatton, near Spilsby, 1634. Dr. Toulmin. calumny, Grantham published a controversy which he once held with a Roman Catholic, and entitled it "The Baptist against the Papist." He also published, during his imprisonment, a treatise entitled, "The Prisoner against the Prelate, or a Dialogue between the Common Gaol of Lincoln and the Cathedral;" and another work under the title of "Christianismus Primitivus." This last is dated "from the Castle of Lincoln, 10th Jan. 1663." At the assizes no prosecutor appearing against him, he was liberated.* Another sufferer was Mr. Theo. Brittaine, ejected from the rectory of Brocklesby. Keeping a private school for his support at Swinderby, he was apprehended by Sir Edward Lake, the Chancellor, and committed to the common gaol at Lincoln. The keeper allowing him to go into the city, to dine with a friend, he was severely reprehended, and ordered in future to keep him close prisoner. After several months he obtained his liberty, became chaplain to Col. King, of Ashby, but was again arrested and confined at the time of Monmouth's insurrection. Another worthy and deserving individual was immured in the cells of Lincoln castle, in the person of Mr. H. Vaughan, the ejected vicar of Grantham. His was a case of peculiar hardship, as he was persecuted by two parties-by the Cromwellites for his loyalty, and afterwards by the royalists for his nonconformity. The king's restoration had not a warmer friend or a bolder advocate; but, as in many other cases, the only return made to this good man, by the thankless monarch, was imprisonment and exile. In *Toulmin's Hist. of Protestant Diss. p. 315. 1661 Vaughan was a prisoner at Lincoln for not reading the common prayer; and soon afterwards he died in voluntary banishment in the Bermudas. The age of oppression and intolerance passed away with the fallen dynasty of the Stuarts; and in the calamities which thickly crowded upon that ill-starred family, God appeared avenging the blood of his saints, and rewarding the firm and unyielding piety of his remnant. The dissenting communities, after an arduous struggle, secured their rights and liberties, and the churches which had so long been cast on troublous times, were shielded from ecclesiastical tyranny. But the change was in some respects injurious-the calm that succeeded, in too many instances, brought with it indifference and apathy-a grave-like cold and deadnessand those interests which nobly survived the rude attacks of mitred bigotry, drooped and languished when the storm was over. "Jeshurun waxed fat and kicked,"— many became at "ease in Zion," and a deadly night-shade was seen slowly twining its tendrils and clasping with its folds the branches of the living vine." Principles which had triumphed in many a well-fought field. truths which were associated with so many mighty names - were traitorously abandoned for the heartless dogmas of Socinian birth; and of some of the "churches" which had rest," the enquiry might indeed be prompted, "Wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes." " During the last century, the cause of religion in Lincoln was warmly espoused by Lady Huntingdon ; and several of her ministers laboured here with diligence N. S. NO. 93. and success. The old Presbyterian meeting-house was occupied by them; and the name of one, lately deceased, is still held there in affectionate remembrance. This was the Rev. Mr. Glascott, well known in the religious world some fifty years ago; and respecting whom some interesting anecdotes have recently appeared.* We have been favoured with the following letters of Lady Ann Erskine, for which we are indebted to the kindness of John Hayward, Esq. of Lincoln, whose father was an active promoter of the cause of Christ there, and was in correspondence for a considerable period with their pious and amiable author. Though valuable on account of the writer alone, their introduction here may not be devoid of interest, and with them we shall close the present paper. "My good friend, Mr. Hayward-I am glad of this opportunity to return you thanks for your very kind attentions to Mr. Drew, on his way to Gainsborough, which he informed me of with much gratitude; and I hope you will add to the obligation by excusing me from the trouble I give you by a further request. I am going to send a minister to Alford, in Lincolnshire, which I understand is about 20 or 25 miles from Lincoln, and I am much at a loss to know how he can properly get there. He is now in Suffolk, and I mean he should cross the country from thence to Peterborough and Lincoln; but when he reaches Lincoln, I know not how he can get from thence to Alford, and more so as he will (I believe) have a wife and child with him, a little boy about three or four years old. I should be very much obliged * Evangelical Magazine, May, 1832. 3 Y to you, if you would make some inquiry on this subject for me, and let me know as soon as you possibly can, whether there is any means of accomplishing it on reasonable terms, that I may write to him accordingly. As it is for the Lord's work, I know you will not count it a trouble. May he abundantly bless you, and make his love very precious to your soul, is the sincere prayer of your friend and well-wisher, 66 "A. A. ERSKINE." Spa Fields, Feb. 18th, 1795." "My good friend-The bearer of this is the Rev. Mr. Neilson, who is on his way for a time to Alford. Though he goes there without his family, I should have sent him by the Spilsby coach, as you directed me, but he arrived in London a day too late for it, and must have stopt here till next Wednesday, and I thought it a pity he should lie by a Sunday unemployed, while our old friends at Lincoln were without a supply, and that he might (if they wished it) give them a sermon on his way, and that the Lord might bless it to some poor dear soul. He is just setting off, so that I have not time to answer your last letter particularly. I thank you for it, and for your kind wishes. Put Mr. Neil. son in the best way to proceed to Alford. With my best wishes for you and yours, believe me to be sincerely your friend and wellwisher, "A. A. ERSKINE." 66 Spa Fields, March, 12, 1795." My good friend-I am ashamed to give you so much trouble, but as an old friend, I hope you will excuse it. The bearer of this is Mrs. Neilson, who is on her way to Gainsborough. Perhaps Mr. Neilson may be at Lincoln to meet her, if not, he will be there on Saturday morning, as I have written to him by this day's post; but as she is not only a stranger in Lincolnshire, but in England, I thought a line to a friend at Lincoln would be a satisfaction to her. Mr. Neilson unites with gratitude for your friendly attention to him. Accept my thanks for this, and believe me to be sincerely your friend and well-wisher, "A. A. ERSKINE." 66 Spa Fields, April, 23, 1795.” 66 My good friend-In consequence of some difference which has arisen at Newark, Mr. Williams is come up to town for about a week, and I hope every thing will be settled; but, in the meantime, it would be very improper for the chapel at Newark to be left without a supply, even for one Sunday. I do therefore most earnestly request that Mr. Griffiths will be so good as to go over, and I will take care that his expenses shall be paid, and yours too, if you think it proper to go over with him, which, as a trustee, I think you should. It seems that about a week or ten days ago, some persons (I name no names) knocked down the man who had the keys, and took them from him. I do not find they have made any use of them, for the doors have not been locked, and Mr. Williams preached there without interruption last Lord's Day. I am sorry to give you this trouble, but I hope you, as an old friend, will excuse me, and believe me to be sincerely your friend, "A. A. ERSKINE." "Spa Fields, Dec. 21, 1801." "May the Lord give you many blessings in the ensuing year, and his people at Lincoln." |