O Lord have mercy upon me for my sin is great If every moment we offend thee and can do nothing as we ought then how long must my Accusation be who have so many years repeated so many transgressions How dreadful must the thoughts of the Process of the Day of Judgment be unto me who have been so long an experienced sinner I faint at my own unworthiness and yet otherwise I cannot appear before thee O Lord I have no other qualification for thy mercy but my extream misery I am now brought very low to a vale of misery and tears surrounded with all the Chambers and Instruments of Death This dear Brother just deceased only shews the way that I must soon follow e're long I must repair to the House of mourning I must bid my last farewel to the world but wo and eternal sorrow will be my Portion if I dye in my sins and depart in thy displeasure Therefore out of the abundance of thy love pardon cleanse and reform my poor and sinful Soul send me thy sanctifying thy guiding and supporting Spirit that I may pass safely through the valley of Death in the lively sense of thy mercies and the refreshments of thy love in the hopes of pardon and the expectation of glory O thou ancient of days at whose voice the pillars of Heaven shake and the whole Creation trembles thou art my strength and defence in whom is my sole trust deliver my Soul from death mine eyes from tears and my feet from falling cleanse me from all my iniquities and purge me from my secret sins for Heaven is so holy a place that no impure thing can inhabit there teach me so to number the rest of my days that I may apply my heart unto Wisdom Here length of days is in her right hand and her ways lead to those rivers of joy which are at Gods right hand for evermore O Lord who art touched with a sense of my Infirmities let me not be afraid of the thoughts of Death that King of Terrours but soften its severity by a mild Commission sweeten its bitterness with the most pleasant relishes of joy and immortality My life I had of thee and all the blessings I have enjoyed ever since I came into the World O Lord make me willing to render them back again into thy hands Whom have I in Heaven but thee and I desire no other Saviour but thee Teach me often to meditate on Heaven that I may wish for it of Hell that I may abhorr it of Death that I may expect it and of the Day of Judgment that I may be prepared for it To thy mercy I appeal I fly unto thee for succour my sole dependance is on thy love I fear love reverence and adore thy goodness which is thy glory Blessed is the man whom thou choosest for though he seemeth to decay and perish to be a companion of death though the body wax feeble and impotent yet he lives the life of Faith he lives in the secure Courts of thy protection and the Guardian Angels pitch their Tents round about him Let not this be a short heat and suddain fit of Devotion raised by this late instance of mortality and the amazing thoughts of Death but may these exercises of piety continue and endure to my lives end For I know that my Redeemer liveth and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the Earth and though after my skin worms destroy this body yet in my flesh shall I see God Amen In the Morning before he stirs abroad O Lord God Almighty who makest the out-goings of the Morning and Evening to praise Thee I cannot but reverence and adore thy Divine Majesty for the Blessings of the last Night for my Preservation from all evils both of Body and Soul I laid me down and slept and rose up again for the Lord hath sustained me For I am a weak and aged Creature surrounded with Infirmities of Nature and seldom free from the assault of Temptations night and day Though my Limbs wax stiff and cold yet let my Soul be vigorous and fervent that like Jacob I may seem to wrestle with thee for thou delightest in the earnest and importunate Solicitations of thy people Now I am risen from my place of slumber teach me to look upwards to found my hopes on Thee to fix my eye upon that holy place from whence the day does break Bless me in all my endeavours and duties of this day that in every action I may have a regard to thy glory and the salvation of my own Soul Unto thee O Lord have I cryed and early in the morning shall my Prayer come before thee As long as I live will I magnifie thee on this manner and lift up my hands in thy Name O let me hear of thy loving kindness in the morning betimes for in thee is my trust Shew me the way I should walk in for I lift up my Soul unto thee I desire to dedicate the powers of my Soul the Affections of my heart and the Faculties of my Body to be thy Faithful Loyal and Obedient Servants Extend O merciful Father thy loving kindness over all the World especially this sinful Land of my Nativity Herein bless his most Excellent Majesty his Royal Consort and the Illustrious Prince let the Sons of Violence do them no harm Let Mercy and Truth preserve him and his Throne be establish't for ever before thee O thou who art the wonderful Counsellor and Prince of Peace Be gracious to thine Inheritance for the glory of thy Name let not thine Enemies devour the Church and lay waste her dwelling places Defend it with the Custody of Angels and the Patronage of Kings and Princes that She may flourish under the Beams of thy Favour and Providence take root and spread and fill all Lands that the whole Nation may be blessed with thy health and salvation Bless our Noble Governours under whose care and protection we live and are sustained Let thy Truth and Mercy be ever with them and when they have happily finish't their Course in this Life crown their Wisdom and Fidelity with Immortality and Glory Hear me for all those whom I am obliged to by the bonds of Duty Charity or Affection Pity all those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death preserve them in the midst of an untoward and sinful Generation Avert thy Judgments from us and soften the hearts of all our Enemies O Lord whom my Soul does desire and my Spirit seeks early in the morning How excellent is thy Name in all the World Grant me a pure intention of mind and a stedfast regard of thy glory in all my Actions Create in me sorrow for my sins thankfulness for thy benefits fear of thy Judgments and love of thy mercies that I may have a continual reverence for thy Name and be mindful of thy presence for evermore Every morning I draw nearer the last Stage of my Life therefore
Obijt Decemb. 12o. 1611 Aetati s Suae 79. Thomas Sutton Deo Dante Dedit F.H. Van Houe Sculp Domus Carthusiana OR AN ACCOUNT OF THE MOST NOBLE FOUNDATION OF THE CHARTER-HOVSE NEAR Smithfield in LONDON BOTH Before and since the REFORMATION WITH THE Life and Death of Thomas Sutton Esq the FOVNDER thereof And his last WILL and TESTAMENT To which are Added several Prayers fitted for the Private Devotions and Particular Occasions of the Ancient Gentlemen c. By SAMVEL HERNE Fellow of Clare-Hall in CAMBRIDGE Bona Fama est propria Possessio Defunctorum LONDON Printed by T.R. for Richard Marriott and Henry Brome at the Gun in St. Paul's Church-yard the West end MDCLXXVII IMPRIMATUR Antonius Saunders Reverendissimo Archi-Episcopo Cantuariensi à Sacris Domesticis TO THE MOST REVEREND FATHER in GOD GILBERT Lord Arch-Bishop of Canterbury his Grace c. TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE RIGHT REVEREND AND MOST WORTHY GOVERNOURS OF THE Charter-House May it please your Lordships AS your Honours bear a particular Relation to that Goodly and Noble Foundation whereof I design to give an Account I had been unjust if I had deprived your Lordships of the Patronage of That which is confirmed unto you by a Royal Hand for which you have his Majesties Letters Patent Therefore in your most Noble Breasts is justly lodged the Right and Management of this glorious and weighty Benefaction and the Trust is so judiciously seated that all Wise men conclude our Generous Founder added more Glory to the Reformed Religion by choosing such Honourable Patrons than ever he could expect from the single Instance of his own Bounty and so he is become a double Benefactor I find since the first Foundation a considerable accession of Revenues added by the care and diligence of your Lordships Wisdom as also a numerous Train of Excellent Orders made for the better Government and Regulation of the Members therein contained After all this I could not satisfie my self why all these Great and Magnificent Actions should lye dormant and be buried within the narrow bounds of this Religious House and not appear to the World in their full Beauty and Proportion Nor could I render any tolerable Account of this long continued Silence unless your Lordships labour to be as Eminent for Humility and a generous Contempt of Glory as you have approved your selves for Fidelity and Conduct Upon this Account I am bound to beg your Honours Pardon seeing I not only begin this way to Trespass but also add another Crime by presuming to undertake a Labour so much above my feeble Strength and Capacity However I am resolved in some measure to have a regard to my Duty as well as I can and recommend that to Posterity which it would be a Sin to conceal For I must needs declare I could do no less than pay this humble Acknowledgment to the lasting Glory of our Founder the deserved Honour of your Lordships and the Memory I owe to that Place wherein I had the Happiness to be Educated How often has the warm Influence of your Religious Cares visited these Walls of Retirement and refreshed the fainting Spirits of the poor Inhabitants This cannot but make you the happy Returns of Joy and Glory hereafter For the Interrogations at the last Day will relate to those Duties which now are the kind Purposes and constant Entertainment of your Souls That Heaven would graciously bestow on your Lordships a long Life and a continued Happiness with all the Blessings of this and the endless Joys of that World to come is the hearty Prayer of Your Honours most humble and most faithful Servant Samuel Herne THE PREFACE I Serve no other ends in piecing together these few Collections than to give an honest Instance of my Duty and Thankfulness for wherever any Obligation lies upon a man common honesty leads him to endeavour to pay the Debt Now seeing it is impossible for me according to my small Talent to discharge the Total Sum I am resolved as much as in me lies to make this publick Acknowledgment viz. to be just and thankful For the Apostle makes Ingratitude the Compendium of all Impiety 2 Tim. 3.2 in these two words unthankful unholy Thus you see the plain reason why I bestow my thoughts upon the Memory of this Great man to whom I and many others owe all we can express not that I reflect upon the silence of any man who for ought I know may in his private Closet give more substantial Testimonials of his Thankfulness than I can by this faint endeavour in a publick way besides though in general all men who receive favours are bound to be thankful yet I am apt to think every single man has as much right to choose the way of expressing his Thanks as he has a propriety to his Complexion and Fortunes In digging up the Foundations of Ancient and Religious Houses 't is usual to find Vrns and old Reliques of Men and Times sometimes the uncorrupted Carkass of a great and celebrated Person These and the like Curiosities are thought worthy to be exposed to common view if so this I hope may in part excuse my present Attempt For occasionally searching in the Dust and Foundation of the present Charter-house now and then I could not but meet with a Leg or an Arm some strokes of the Ancient Model some few fragments of the old Foundation But at last I met with the Original Grants and Charters for this Carthusian Monastery in the most elaborate Works of that Excellent Antiquary of our Age Mr. Dugdale Why therefore should I be so rude as not to take notice of Sir Walter de Manny whose Memory the very worms dare not assault Brit. p. 117. Says Cambden Fuerant Regnante Hen. 8. fas sit meminisse avitae pietatis monumenta c. Ille autem quasi Torrens rupto aggere irruit Orbe stupente Anglia ingemente omnia funditus prostravit p. 311. Latifundia sibi arripuit quae piissimo instituto ad Dei gloriam consecrata in Sacerdotum Eleemosynis Pauperum refectione captivorum Redemptione Ecclesiarum reparationibus per Ecclesiae scita expendenda c. I know an Attempt of this Nature is an Imployment far beneath men of singular Parts and high Atchievements yet in the advancement of Knowledge some body must moyl and drudge some Persons must clear and labour in the Foundation who though they seem buried alive and make no flourishes above ground yet they prove full as useful and beneficial to mankind Thus men awake Antiquity by searching into Dormitories and places of long repose thus they bring Mortar and unpolisht stone to be made smooth by a more curious hand to be placed in order by the skâ—ll of the Great Surveyer Much of the same nature I conceive these lose and rude Collections to be and that they would puzzle the skill of another Inigo to bring them into shape and figure That which some Historians complain of is my comfort
Free from disquiet and complaint Which trouble and distract the busie head Such peaceful paths his Infancy did tread Here the great Cowley's Poet and his Saint Was taught the Elements of Speech and Piety Cowley he was the Subject of thy Pen That Pen which did bewail the end Of thy most dear and most lamented Friend For thou didst but desire when he was snatch't from us frail men A modest portion of his sacred fire Yet some may say thy Charity was blind Because it has thy modesty outran For thou hast prov'd so kind T'embalm and bless that very man Who left Religion and his Friend behind 'T is true alas had he not stept aside But in his Mothers bosom dy'd Had his Muse not wanton been Nor fled unto Loretto's shrine He might have long since this begun From smaller Numbers his eternal Song 16. Here our first James that wore the Brittish Crown Weary'd with acclamations and the toyl Of travel to unite this long divided Isle Enter'd withall the Noble Train he â—ed Within these walls three nights he laid his thoughtful head Until he did advance into the Town Until another Palace was prepar'd As Princes came from far to view the Throne Of Mighty Solomon So Scotland's King mov'd many a tedious mile Drawn with the Fame of this Great Pile He came and saw more than ever he had heard 17. Exactly on the South I saw A comely Structure shew its head And when I question'd whose abode It was I heard the Law And Gospels read I saw twice forty Elders drawing nigher I heard the Musick of the sacred Quire And then I knew it was the House of God 18. The Image of thy boundless Soul Where e're our gazing eyes do roul Is the fair object of our view To Youth untaught to number years To active youth well near its prime In glorious Visions it appears The Aged too still dream of you Although they 're e'en worn out with time Here Innocence and Piety Are fed and nurst by Charity Here the tender Plants do grow A handsome and a graceful show There the tall and Aged Oake In patience waits the fatal stroke Which as it falls must lye Until it approach Eternity 19. Sickness and death are almost strangers here No ill-foreboding Comet dare appear Whilst Nedham's nigh they cannot kill No Carthusian blood can spill In vain they tempt his known and mighty skill In vain they make a needless strife All that belongs to human life To every Limb to every Nerve To fortifie repair and long preserve He knows it all And then for shame why do we call The Seat of Health an Hospital H 'as trac'd the Infant from the womb Through all his changes to the Tomb H 'as planted here the Tree of Life that Fate Has no Comission for to enter Here no contagious ills dare venture While this great Aesculapius guards the Gate 20. He that Robs thy Treasury of Love Shall feel the Scourge of Heaven above And as to Scripture if we strive to add 'T is thought a Crime a most as bad For then our Benefactions are in vain We empty Cockles in the boundless Main To thee alone Great Sir we pay this Right Of Thanks Thy arge and crowded Store Will entertain no more No not the Widow's Mite And yet thy Charity 's not bestow'd in vain For many Ages hence it will be found again Thy Bread is cast upon and covers all the Main 20. The Influence of thy mighty Zeal Does warm these Northern parts Dissolves the Ice and softens all our hearts Thy Love amazes all the Roman Spyes It warms our Clime and dazles all our Eyes And what is more in this fair solitude Thou by a Miracle Dost now instruct and feed a multitude So that if Saints above can understand and see How things are acted in this Vale of Misery Thy Charity to us must still encrease For there they say 't will never cease Though all thou hadst on Earth was given Yet thou hast Blessings to bestow On us poor Mortals here below As thou art made Lord Almoner of Heaven The CONTENTS Of the Old Foundation AN Account of the Rise and Original of the Carthusian Order Cap. 1. Page 1. Of the Rules and Constitution of the Order c. 2. p. 7. Of their Transplantation and Number in England c. 3. p. 12. Of the Charter-house or Carthusian Monastery near Smithfield c. 4. p. 15. Of their Fabulous Miracles c. 5. p. 22. King Edward the Third's License or Grant for the Foundation of the Monastery p. 30. Bulla Urbani Papae p. 32. Of the New Foundation Sutton's Life p. 37. The Occasions of his growing Rich p. 40. Knott the Jesuit's unjust Censure of him p. 45. Sutton's Death and Funeral Solemnities p. 54. Bishop Hall's incomparable Letter to stir him up to Charity p. 59. An Act of Parliament to erect the Hospital at Hallingbury in Essex p. 69. King James's Letters Patent to alter the Scituation p. 85. Ecclesiastical Preserments in the Governour 's disposal p. 87. Simon Baxter Heir in Law to the Founder enters an Action of Trespass against the Governours p. 88. The Casâ—â—â—…atea on both sides p. 89. Sir Francis Bacon's Letter to King James to overthrow the Foundation p. 96. The Opening of the House p. 109. An Establishment made whereby all the Officers and Members in the House are to be regulated p. 110. Concerning Assemblies and Committees p. 116. The Election and Duty of a Master p. 120. Of the Preacher p. 123. Of the Physician p. 125. The Register and Solicitor p. 126. The Receiver p. 129. The Maâ—ciple p. 130. Schoolmaster and Usher p. 135. The Auditor p. 141. Allowances to the Members p. 145. A Confirmation of the King's Letters Patent by an Act of Parl. for the removal of the Hospital p. 154. The first List of Governours p. 70. The names of the present Governours p. 176. A Patent for a Governour p. 177. Of the number and nature of the Members maintained p. 181. The Warrant for a Pensioner p. 182. How to obtain a place for an old Man or Youth p. 189. A Warrant for a Lad p. 190. An Account of the encrease and present state of the Revenues of the House p. 193. The Founder's Will p. 200. Orders for the Pensioners p. 231. Ordinis Carthusiani Monachus F. H. Van. Houe fec Of the Old FOUNDATION OF THE Charter-House CHAP. I. An Account of the Rise and Original of the Carthusian Order IN the year of our Lord 1082 at what time Gregory the Seventh was Bishop of Rome and in the Sixteenth year of the Reign of King William the Conqueror we are told there hapned in Paris a very strange and wondrous accident the Relation whereof I find much after this manner Bruno a German born at Cologne of an ancient and worthy Family by his studious life and successful endeavours obtained so great a reputation among learned Men that he was at length prevailed with to visit France where he was
ought not to detract from the Good Works and Piety of our Forefathers so likewise we are as much obliged to avoid the Snares and Superstitious Fancies wherewith they were entangled therefore here I intend fairly to lay down some of their dear and profitable Miracles in the same form and Character as I find them registred by themselves Peter Sutor is so mightily taken with all the Circumstances of this Order that he gave himself the trouble to write a large History of his Brethren O heavenly and miraculous Carthusians whose Dormitory or Cell is a representation of Noah's Ark which rested upon the top of Ararat This is the Ark of the Testament wherein is not only contained but practised too all the Ten Commandments 'T is manners to begin first with the Founder of their Order and give him his share of Miracles whither true or false let the Reader judge Bruno was scarce cold in his Grave before his dead Corps shew'd more Vertue than the living Man for hard by his blessed Tomb a rare Medicinal Spring appears which hath power to cure all manner of Distempers This is methodically recorded for the Fountain of Health and of all the succeeding Miracles In the days of Guigo the Fifth Carthusian Prior hapned this following Miracâ—e When a very devout Brother of this Convent his Name is modestly conceal'd in the dead time of a Tempestuous Night lay in his bed thoughtful and serious meditating on things above a throng of Devils in the shape of grisly Boars and wild Hoggs rush violently into his Cell and there make a hideous and frightful noise standing all around the panting and almost expiring Saint preparing their keen and monstrous Teeth to rend and devour him you must imagin that the honest Frier fell to his Beads tumbled over his Conjuring Ave Maria's and cross't himself all over to save every Limb and Member alas the most sensless and vain preparation for another World this would not do for another rough and ghastly Daemon of a large and unwonted size enters the Room with cruel State with all the Pomp and Formalities of Death the Historian supposes he was Lucifer This formidable Fiend with flaming Eyes viewing his Herd of Infernal Swine not yet having seized upon their Prey he thus rebukes them with a terrible voice Quid facitis segnes cur istum necdum rapuistis miseri in frusta cur nondum discerpsistis But when they plead want of power to effect the Contents of their Commission he adds I my self the Black Prince of Darkness will perform that work which your Cowardise could not accomplish Then rashly unsheathing his black and murdering Talons he draws near and with a barbarous grin discovers a double rank of bloody Executioners yet before the trembling Frier could be in the pounces of the Bird of Prey Lo the Blessed Virgin darts like Lightning from her abode in Heaven to rescue Her Carthusian Darling and Devotee entring the Cell she brandishes her white Wand gives the Word and they all are compelled to repair to the Shades beneath Then after a holy Exhortation that he should persevere and live more rigidly she like one of the Poetical Goddesses arduum repetiâ—t Olympum If these Stories are swallowed and go down glibly then the next shall have a dash of Design and Profit Now for Prayers for the Dead and Invocation of Saints This same Carthusian piously undertakes to instruct a young Man in the Doctrine and Principles of Christianity to the eternal good and salvation of his Soul nothing could be more good and innocent nothing more flexible and towardly than this small Disciple so that it pleased God to think him fit for Heaven and to take him to himself the loss of so pretty and sweet a Companion could not but disquiet the Religious Tutor He prays and macerates himself with self denyal and rigid discipline his grief so far increast upon him that the good natur'd Lad took compassion of his old melancholy Master He descends from his Habitation above wrap't up in a flame of Light and thus revives his fainting mind O most kind and loving Father what ails thee don 't look so cloudy and mopish do not you know that I am your Foster-child look upon me and talk with me as you used to do Thus much comfort I can impart unto you that if you enquire concerning my present state and condition your chaste love your undeserved compassion the vertue of your frequent and earnest Prayers have lifted me up into Heaven And now I am setled in that Condition wherein I can repay all your Spiritual cares now I am in a capacity to be beneficial to you And so he vanish't Now lest single Miracles should prove a sign of Barrenness take a whole Cluster together One Anceline a Member of the same Order after death trebles the wonder First of all when they were burying this precious Saint when all things appear'd mournful and solemn a suddain flash of heavenly flame kindled all the Lamps of the Church which were only lighted on great days and made a most brave and glorious shew Not long after a Noble youth who was troubled with an Ague and the Falling-sickness was perfectly cured by drinking the Wine with which his dead Body was cleansed This would hardly have been swallow'd without a good draught Nay they affirm that the very Cup retained its jugling Vertue a great while At last this Anceline had so perfectly learn't his trade of Wonder-working that he could forestall the Resurrection For when a young Child three years old was by an unhappy accident drown'd the Parents immediately bring him to this most famous Sepulchre by the vertue of which he is revived snatches up a Staff in his hands bow 's civilly like a good Boy and away he marches Pray now let England come in for a share shall our first Carthusian Prior dye ingloriously and be buried in dull silence Vous Avez Hugo Prior of Witham afterwards Bishop of Lincoln was not there attending on thy Funeral two Kings many Earls three Arch-bishops fourteen Bishops one hundred Abbots and Miracles Innumerable So so enough for one Man Yet France would fain have rob'd us of the Virtue of this Saint by placing his Statue near the Walls of Paris which ruin'd all the Physicians in France by curing all sick Persons who passed by Now for a Tryal of Skill more than ordinary I would not give a Farthing for him if he were not Master of his Art if he could not lay the Spirits he has raised if he cannot like the Philosopher dismiss the Magnetical Troops by rubbing his Steel upon the contrary Pole The Scene opens There chanced to dye a certain Carthusian Frier a man of so much holiness and integrity of Life that Miracles grew as thick about his Tomb as the Bryars and Thistles which Alexander found about that of Achilles he perform'd so many Miracles after his death by curing the blind and the lame as many
possessionem inducendi defendendi Inductos amotis quibuslibet detentoribus ab iisdem ac faciendi ipsis Priori Conventui de ipsorum Beneficiorum Fructibus redditibus proventibus congruas portiones ad ipsius Archiepiscopi vel Ordinarii arbitrium super quo ipsius Archiepiscopi Ordinarii conscientiam oneramus taxandas ex quibus si sint Ecclesiae Parochiales perpetuiâ—l icarii per Priorem qui erit pro tempore conventum dictae domus ad Beneficia eadem praesentandi commodè sustentari jura Episcopalia solvere alia iis incumbentia onera sustentare Contradictores Authoritate nostrâ appellatione postposita compescendo non obstantibus si aliquis super provisionibus sibi faciendis de hujusmodi vel aliis Beneficiis Ecclesiasticis in illis partibus Speciales vel Generales Apostolicae Sedis vel Legatorum ejus Literas impetravit estamsi per eas ad inhibitionem reservationem decretum vel alià s quomodolibet sit processam Quas Literas Processus habttos quos per eos post unionem hujusmodi habert conttgerit ad dicta Beneficia volumus extendi Sed nullum per hoc iis quoad assecutionem aliorum beneficiorum praejudicium generari quibuslibet Privilegits Indulgentiis Literis Apostolicis Generalibus vel Specialibus quorumcunque tenerum existant per quae praesentibus non expressa vel totaliter non inserta effectus earum impediri valeat quom â—olibet vel differri de quibus quorumque totis tenoribus habenda sit in Literis nostris mentis specialis plenam liberam tenore praesentium potestatem concedimus Datum Romae Apud Sanctam Marinum trans Tyberim pridié Idus Decembris Pontificatûs nostri Anno primo An Account of Sutton's Foundation with his Life and Death THOMAS SUTTON Esquire Founder of King James his Hospital in the Charter-house was born at Knaith in Lincolnshire in the year of our Lord 1531. which was the Four and twentieth year of Henry the Eighth Though he was born rather to give Honour to his Family than to borrow any from it yet his Blood was conveighed to him through many noble Saxon Veins in Cheshire Lancashire and Worcestershire For notwithstanding the Danish and the Norman Conquests yet in the time of the latter we find one of this Family Sherif in those Parts a Person of a fair and honourable esteem in the World And this advantage a Man well descended has above all others unless he degenerate that the Great Actions of his Ancestors will not let him sleep until he has outdone the Original The Course of this Ancient Family like the River Alpheus a while ran silently under Ground while at last it sprang up in Lincolnshire in the time of Henry the Seventh under Dudley as notorious for Cruelty and Exactions as our Founder is for Mercy and Compassion His Father was Edward Sutton Son of Thomas Sutton Servant to Edward the Fourth His Mother was Jane Stapleton the Daughter of Robert Stapleton Esquire of the most Generous and Worthy Family of the Stapleton's in Yorkshire Ancestours not so low that his Descent should be a shame to his Vertues nor yet so great but that his Vertue might be an Ornament to his Birth Mr. Cox afterwards Dr. Cox Almoner to King Edward the Sixth and Bishop of Ely under Queen Elizabeth brought him up three years at Eaton four years in Magdalen and Jesus Colledges in Cambridge to each of whose Children surviving at his Death Mr. Sutton gave 10 l. for a Legacy and as a thankful Acknowledgment of the Benefits he received from those places of good Learning he nobly bequeathed 500 to each Colledge Soon after he was placed in Lincolns-Inne as a Student that he might want no part of Learning becoming a Gentleman Not long after almost tired with a Sedentary life desire of Travel increasing with his Knowledge he went to visit Forreign Nations and obtained the perfection of several Languages Half of a year he tarries in Spain two in Italy one in France and then he passes into Holland and the Low-Countries from whence after a year or two spent in the Italian Wars for he was at the Sacking of Rome under the Duke of Bourbon he returned accomplish't with experience and observation Then he was admitted to the Earl of Warwick and the Earl of Leicester's service To the former he was a Steward to the latter a Secretary and to both he approved himself so able and faithful that they declared him fit for more Publique Imployments as after appear'd by their helping him to Farm the Northern Coal-mines and that upon no other Security than his own Word He was quickly spy'd out by his wise and noble Soveraign Queen Elizabeth one who knew where to bestow her Favours and who deserved her Bounty by her he was made Master of the Ordnance at Barwick which Office he enjoyed Fourteen years in token whereof there are two Pieces of Ordnance carved in Stone and set upon the Chimney-piece in the great Hall in the Charter-house Then he was chosen Pay-Master to the Northern Army and afterwards one of the Commissioners for the Sequestration of the Lands of the Northern Rebels in opposition to whom he shewed himself a wise Man in disposing so advantageously of the Berwick Forces And a valiant Man in his Actions and Conduct Some years after he became Victualler to the Navy and some Garrisons in the Low-Countries one of which was Ostend which by the help of some Fishermen he relieved very strangely and to his own great Advantage to which Town he left in his Will 100 l. Lastly he was a Commissioner for Prizes under the Earl of Nottingham Lord High Admiral of England who gave him Letters of Mart against the Spaniard from whom he took a Ship richly laden worth Twenty thousand pounds Having by these profitable Imploys laid the Foundation of a good Estate upon some mis-understanding between him and the Northern Nobility he retires to London to enjoy and improve it where his Riches increased and came upon him like a Tyde by the just Arts and Methods which he used He brought with him to London the Reputation of a mighty monied Man insomuch that it was reported That his Purse returned from the North fuller than Queen Elizabeth's Exchequer here he was made a Freeman Citizen and Girdler of London His Payments were thought as sure as her Pensions the readiness of his money and the fairness of his dealing laid the grounds of a mighty Reputation for now he is look't upon by all men he has the first refusal of the best Bargains of Sales and Mortgages which were more frequent in a dead time of Money as that was Here possibly he got acquaintance with several Lords Servants whom he remembers in his last Will and piously relieves them He was also resorted to by Citizens for mony and indeed Mr. Sutton became the Banker of London being called upon so much that he was perswaded to help
Element yields Gold The Savage Indian gets it the Servile Apprentice works it the very Midianitish Camel may wear it the miserable worldling admires it the covetous Jew swallows it the unthrifty Ruffian spends it what are all these the better for it only good use gives praise to Earthly Possessions hearing therefore you owe more to God that he hath given you an heart to do good a will to be as rich in good Works as great in Riches to be a Friend to this Mammon is to be an enemy to God but to make Friends with it is Royal and Christian His Enemies may be wealthy none but his Friends can either be good or do good Da accâ—pe saith the Wise man The Christian who must imitate the high pattern of his Creator knows his best Riches to be Bounty God who hath all gives all reserves nothing and for himself he well considers that God hath not made him an owner but a servant and a servant of servants not of his goods but of the giver Not a Treasurer but a Steward whose praise is more to have laid out well than to have received much The greatest gain therefore that he affects is an even reckoning a clear discharge which since it is obtained by disposing not by keeping he counts reservation loss and just expence his trade and joy He knows that well done faithful Servant is a thousand times more sweet a Note than Soul take thine ease for that is the voice of the Master recompensing this of the servant presuming and what follows to the one but his Master's joy and what to the other but the loss of his Soul Blessed be that God which hath given you an heart to fore-think this and in this dry and dead Age a will to honour him with his own and to credit his Gospel with your Beneficence Lo we are upbraided with barrenness your name hath been publickly opposed to these challenges as in whom it shall be seen that the truth hath friends that can give I neither distrust nor perswade you whose Resolutions are happily fixed on purposes of good only give me leave to hasten your pace a little and to excite your Christian forwardness to begin speedily what you have long and constantly vowed You would not but do good why not now I speak boldly the more speed the more comfort neither are the times in our disposal nor our selves If God had set us a Day and made our Wealth inseparable there were no danger in delaying now our uncertainty either must quicken us or may deceive us How many have meant well and done nothing and lost the Crown with lingring whose destinies have prevented their desires and have their good motions the wards of their Executors not without miserable success to whom that they would have done good is not so great a praise as it is dishonour that they might have done it then Wrecks are our Warnings we are equally mortal equally fickle Why have you this respite of living but to prevent the Imperious necessity of Death It is a woful and remediless complaint the end of our days hath overrun the beginning of our good Works Early beneficence hath no danger many joys for the conscience of good done the Prayers and Blessings of the Relieved and the Gratulations of Saints are as so many perpetual Comforters which can make our life pleasant and our death happy our evil days good our good better all these are but lost with delay few and cold are the Prayers for him that may give and in lieu our good purposes foreslow'd are become our tormentors upon our Death-bed little difference is betwixt good deferr'd and evil done good was meant who hindred it will our Conscience say There was time enough means enough need enough what hinder'd did fear of envy distrust of want alas what Buggs are these to fright men from Heaven as if the envy of keeping were less than bestowing as if God were not as good a Debtor as a Giver He that gives to the Poor lends to the Lord says Solomon If he freely give us what we may lend and grace to give will he not much more pay us what we have lent and give us because we have given that is his bounty this is his justice O happy is the man that may be a Creditor to his Maker Heaven and Earth shall empty before he want a Royal Payment if we dare not trust God while we live how dare we trust men when we are dead Men that are still deceitful and light upon the Balance light of truth and heavy of self-love how many Executors have proved the Executioners of honest Wills how many have our eyes seen that after most careful choice of Trusty Guardians have had their Children and Goods so disposed as if the Parents Soul could return to see it I doubt whether it would be happy How rare is that man who prefers not himself to his dead Friend profit to truth who will take no advantage of the Impossibility of the account Whatever therefore men either shew or promise happy is that man that may be his own Auditor Supervisor Executor as you love God and your Self be not aefraid of being happy too soon I am not worthy to give so bold advice let the Wiseman Syrach speak for me Do good before thou dye and according to thine ability stretch out thine hand and give defraud not thy self of thy good day and let not the Portion of thy good desires pass over thee Shalt thou not leave thy travels to another and thy labours to them that will divide thy Heritage Or let a wiser than he speak viz. Solomon Say not to morrow I will give if thou now have it for thou knowest not what a day will bring forth It hath been an old Rule of Liberality He gives twice who gives quickly whereas slow benefits argue uncheerfulness and lose their worth who lingers his receipts is condemned as unthrifty he who knoweth both saith It is better to give than to receive If we are of the same spirit why are we hasly in the worst and slack in the better Suffer you your self therefore Good Sir for God's sake for the Gospel's sake for the Church's sake for your Soul's sake to be stirred up by these poor lines to a resolute and speedy performing of your worthy intentions And take this as a loving Invitation sent from Heaven by an unworthy Messenger you cannot deliberate long of fit Objects for your Beneficence except it be more for multitude than want the Streets yea the World is full How doth Lazarus lye at every door how many Sons of the Prophets in their meanly provided Colledges may say not mors in ollâ but fames how many Churches may justly plead that which our Saviour bad his Disciples The Lord hath need and if this infinite store hath made your choice doubtful how easie were it to shew you wherein you might oblige the whole Church of God to you and make
instrument of my eternal Happiness that from this temporal Commemoration I may rise to the blessed Vision of my sweet Redeemer I am now almost in the Suburbs of Death grant that it may be in order to my entrance into the heavenly Jerusalem 't is not long before I shall try the Grand Experiment for now my Pulse beats about threescore and much further the strength of man cannot go Therefore I desire to settle the affairs of my Soul before I go hence and be no more seen I cannot tell whither I shall have another opportunity to partake of thy holy Table Therefore let this present participation of the holy Sacrament be a Seal and Testimony for the Remission of my Sins Though I have not long to live yet I will enter into covenant with my Soul to serve and obey thee to love the Lord my God with all my heart and with all my strength for the Righteousness of thy Testimonies is everlasting give me understanding and I shall live O thou who art the appointed Heir of all things the express Image of thy Fathers Person let thy Grace comfort and refresh me who hunger and thirst after eternal life let my Soul never faint in the Courts of the Lord as long as my heart and my flesh cryeth out for the living God Let Satan never find an opportunity to tempt and ensnare my Soul may I ever be diligent to prevent a surprize and abstain from transgressions lest my portion be among sad and accursed Souls As for me I will call upon God and the Lord shall save me Evening and Morning and at noon day will I pray and cry aloud and he shall hear my voice he hath delivered my Soul in peace from the Battel that was against me therefore I will put my trust in him for ever I confess I have omitted much good and am guilty of many Offences of Ignorance Infirmity and Knowledge therefore thy pardon I still beg and assistance of thy Grace that I may bring forth fruits worthy of Repentance Make thy Church happy in a Moses and Aaron in Nursing Fathers to go in and out before thy people and holy Ministers to stand before thee our God Preserve them from the malice of their Enemies and the strivings of the people let their lips preserve knowledge that we may seek the Law at their mouth Spare thy people bless them in their Souls Bodies and Estates that this Nation may be at length as great an instance of thy mercy as it has been of thy wrath and fury Every one of us more or less has contributed to the vast heap of crying sins yet seeing thou hast graciously afforded us a space for repentance and suspended the dreadful execution let our sorrow procure the continuance of thy Favours that Peace and Plenty may be within our Borders and no Invasion in the Land I thank thee O merciful Father for the freedom of thy Gospel the food of the Word the sweet refreshings of thy Sacraments publick Communions in thy Church and for all the benefits which are enjoyed by the society of Saints and good men Pitty all those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of Death who are not acquainted with thy Name or knowing it are nevertheless carried away by strong delusions into the ways of errour and mischief Bless all the sons and daughters of affliction strengthen them in the hour of tryal that neither the love of this world nor the loss of light neither the fear of death nor the terrors of Hell may make them unwilling to depart this life And now at length I humbly desire thee to give me wisdom to order my life aright from henceforth that I may be wary and circumspect in all my actions a careful and an understanding Hearer of thy Word a constant frequenter of thy Courts sober and temperate exercising my self unto all godliness that my whole Spirit Soul and Body may be kept blameless unto the end Plant in my Soul a deep detestation of all evil that when I see my sins I may also behold my Redeemer Bless this Religious Society the pious and aged Brethren that Peace and Love may endear and unite us all together that we may faithfully communicate heavenly things one to another temper our minds with submission and reverence that we may honour our Governours and pay our just duty to all our Superiours and no way carry our selves insolently to our Inferiours O Father Son and Holy Ghost the Blessed Three in One the All in All accept of these and all my hearty Prayers through Jesus Christ my God and Saviour Amen In the time of Sickness O Thou determiner of my days in whose hands are the Issues of Life and Death behold and pity thy aged and sinful Servant diseased in body and distressed in mind turn thy face unto me send down thine aid to comfort me for I am in pain desolate and poor Speak peace unto my Soul and say thou art my Salvation O dearest Jesus the brightness of thy Fathers Glory dispel these Clouds of Darkness and Despair thou who art the Souls Physician arise with healing under thy wings and shew thy skill in my weakness If it be thy Will and uncontroulable Decree by this thy Chastisement to finish my days draw near to my humble and afflicted Soul support it by thy strength in this day of Trial as I have alwaies endeavoured to live so let me now dye the death of the Righteous diminish the fears of death by the hopes of a blessed life hide not thy face from me in the time of my trouble hold not thy peace at my tears now my Soul cleaveth unto the dust but let the last Minute be the best of all my life Many days have I enjoyed the Comforts of Life in this quiet and Religious Sanctuary and all I ascribe to thy particular mercy and gracious instances of Providence But now my spirits faint my eyes wax dim my hands shake and the pillars of my house tremble now I find the time of my dissolution approaches by the regular Course of Nature therefore what is my Hope O Lord truly my hope and affiance is even in Thee O Lord my heart is smitten down and wither'd like Grass so that I forget to eat bread there is no health in my flesh because of thy displeasure and no rest in my bones by reason of my sin Therefore dear Saviour pardon me forgive me all my sins comfort me in this day of sorrow ease my pains and satisfie my doubts strengthen my hopes and relieve my Soul Thou who are the First-born from the dead the appointed Heir of all things uphold my faint and trembling Soul in the conflict and agony of death that I may utter nothing displeasing to thee O God and give me assurance that my portion shall never be among hopeless and accursed Souls in the Regions of Torment and Despair Welcome blessed Hour the period of my Pilgrimage the term of my
Lord assist me with thy Grace that I may be the more prepared every minute for my dissolution that when I hear news of thy Messenger Death I may not be amazed and wax faint but hope in thy Salvation Let this Day be a day of Reformation and Repentance that though I am weak and aged yet I may become a new Creature and serve thee in true holiness and righteousness all the days of my life Rule and govern my heart that it may every day be intent and studious upon good things that I may not live as an useless Creature and so become a burthen to the Earth Support me in this my long Pilgrimage in the Journey of this day and the performances thereof hold me by thy right hand that my feet slip not aside that I may fall into no danger I brought nothing into this World and it is certain I can carry nothing out therefore O Lord be thou my portion and my hope in whom I will ever trust My abode here is of no long continuance which often puts me in mind of Eternity My present weakness and poverty reminds me of thy strength and the riches of thy glory Remember thy Promises O merciful Father and suffer me never to forget thy Praises O fail me not this day following and all the days of my life my God and my Redeemer through Jesus Christ his sake Amen An Evening Prayer OMnipotent and Everlasting God thou who neither slumberest nor sleepest the great Shepherd of Israel I dare not commit my body to rest before I have commended my soul to thee I dare not suffer my eyes to sleep nor mine eye-lids to slumber nor the temples of my head to take any rest before I have poured out my soul before Thee in Praises and Thanksgiving for the blessings of this day past and the succours of thy Favours for the length of my life and the continuance of thy Providence for the comforts of my soul and the refreshment of my body which I have largely received The Day is thine and the Night is thine therefore let me experience thy goodness in both Let my Prayers be set forth in thy sight as Incense and the lifting up of my hands be as the Evening Sacrifice I humbly thank thee for all the late Instances of thy love and goodness for the improvement of my time and the blessed opportunities of Divine worship for the occasions of doing good and the benefit of holy conference for the gracious issues of thy love and the manifestation of thy glory make me to remember that the more Blessings I receive the greater will my account be at the last day Take away all the mutinous thoughts of repining nature that when I consider the happiness of my birth and the quality of my education I may not quarrel with my present condition but study to repay as much thankfulness as I receive charity Praised be thy Name that I am thus provided for that I have a place whereon to lay my head and that I am not tempted to put forth my hand to wickedness for some strange course of supply Whenever I consider of the mean circumstances of my condition let me then remember the smalness of my deserts who might well be satisfied with the bread and water of Affliction or with the crums that fall from other mens Tables Possess me with this seasonable perswasion that this my present state is fittest for me and make me sensible that thy Providence does visit the lowest condition of men and that the beams of thy Favour do reach unto the most withdrawn and solitary places of the world O thou who art pleased to call thy self the Hearer of Prayers give me a tender sense of Conscience that out of the abundance of my sorrow I may pour out a most plentiful and hearty confession of my sins before thee Make me to consider seriously that all pain and grief is but the fruit of sin and that as all sickness naturally makes way for death so death in it self is the fore-runner of Condemnation Why should I cover and hide my sins from thee when the discovery of them is the way to receive thy pardon and release For thou hast bound thy self by a promise to hear and assist all those that seek thee with an unfeigned heart I have a thousand ways done evil in thy sight My Prayers have been interrupted my Meditations perplexed and robbed of their wonted sweetness and my careless hearing and reading of thy Word hath proved unprofitable My faith has been encountred with grievous doubtings because I cannot feel that strength and power of thy Spirit which I desire I am compassed about with many weaknesses as I have found by the experience of this day Satan is full of his old subtilty to work upon all advantages therefore give me thy holy wisdom to discover his snares and thy grace to withstand his siercest assaults O Lord forgive my Ignorance and forget my Presumption pardon my iniquities committed both in youth and age give me prudence and sobriety to carry my self among men out of the reach of just exception and arm me with resolution that I may sacrifice my credit and estimation nay life it self if need be for the testimony of thy Faith Let me not be haunted with troops of unquiet thoughts because I feed on Charity when my Relations live plenteously upon their own for all the World is thine and thou art an equal Lord and Disposer of that and this too Enrich my Soul with Spiritual Blessings in heavenly things raise and ennoble my Soul that it may not dwell too long upon the Earth but often be entertained with the thoughts of that City above which hath Foundations whose Builder and Maker is God Make me to see the depth of my sins that I do not flatter and deceive my Soul pardon the vanities of my youth and the offences of my riper years When I look upon my days that are past and consider how much time has been consumed in sin and folly and how little in the exercises of Piety and offices of Religion when I behold all my sins marshalled in rank and order before my eys I am even ashamed and confounded within my self and have no other sanctuary to repair unto but thy mercy and goodness Let not thy Graces in me wither with my age nor my zeal for thy glory cool with the decay of bodily heat Suffer me not to put the evil day far from me to delude my Soul with the idle hopes of living a little and a little longer but teach me with St. Paul to dye daily Now therefore do I bow my Soul to thee O God and humbly lay my self low before thy Throne pity these feeble and trembling knees have mercy upon thy poor Suppliant though now sleep be ready to seize upon the eyes of my body yet let not vain security oppress my Soul I am now thinking of thy everlasting Rest which I hope at length to