his wife and he, and some of his children, dying altogether in a few days of a fever little less than the plague."

According to Mrs. Hutchinson, the littleness of some minds predominated, in the midst of the general profession of devotion to the public interest for instance, she accuses Sir John Gell of starving Sir John Stanhope's cattle in a pound, for resisting the payment of the ship-money. After he had declared for the Parliament, he suffered a regiment he had raised to plunder friends and enemies without distinction; and he even carried his resentment to Sir John Stanhope beyond the grave, by defacing his monument, and ordering his men to dig up a garden. of flowers belonging to his widow. "This man," she continues, "kept the diurnal-makers in pension; so that whatever was done in the neighbouring counties against the enemy was attributed to him." Indeed, this lady doth not hesitate to declare, that Mr. Hutchinson having once rebuked the writer in one of these vehicles of intelligence, for inserting an untruth of this description, the man offered to write as much for him upon being paid for his trouble.

In addition to the preceding instances of the dereliction of all pretensions to urbanity and honesty which civil war promoted and brought into action, we find that the junior Hotham replied to a committee, which offered to assign

quarters for his men,

that he was no stranger

in any English ground;" and when those men plundered the inhabitants, and wasted the produce of the country, he answered the remonstrances of Colonel Hutchinson in the true spirit of licentiousness-"That he fought for liberty, and expected it in all things." Cromwell (who was then a colonel, and witnessed the altercation) took part with Hutchinson; and, having himself received some insults from Hotham, they together formed the resolution of reporting his conduct to Parliament; which they did so effectually, that Hotham was superseded.

"Those who knew the opinion Cromwell after had of Mr. Hutchinson," says his lady, “believed he registered this business in his mind as long as he lived, and made it his care to prevent him from being in any power or capacity to pursue him to the same punishment when he deserved it; but from that time, growing into more intimate acquaintance with him, he always used to profess the most hearty affections to him, and the greatest delight in his plainness and openheartedness that was imaginable."

During the siege of Nottingham castle (of which Colonel H. was governor for the Parliament) several wounded prisoners were brought in on a particular day; when a Captain Palmer "and another minister" amused themselves by walking up and down the castle-yard, " insulting

and

and beating the poor prisoners" as they came in. "After our hurt men were dressed," says the good lady to whom we are indebted for these memoirs, as she stood (herself) at her chamberdoor, seeing three of the prisoners sorely cut and carried down bleeding into the lion's den, she desired the marshal to bring them in to her, and bound up and dressed their wounds also; which while she was doing, Captain Palmer came in, and told her-His soul abhorred to see this favour to the enemies of God. She replied, she had done nothing but what she thought was her duty, in humanity to them as fellow-creatures, not as enemies. But he was very ill satisfied with her."

This spirit of rancour extended on all sides; and we are told of women following a female, of opposite principles, throwing scalding water at her. "Lastly," says Mrs. H. " the few good men were so easily blown up into causeless suspicions and jealousies; and there were so many malignant whispers daily spread abroad, of every one in office, that it was impossible for any man so worthily to demean himself, but that a jealous misconstruction of some inconsiderable trifle was enough to blast the esteem of all his actions, though never so pious and deserving."

I have now cited sufficient authorities for judging of the public character, as influenced by the immediate operation of hostile opinions on poli

tics, and shall conclude this part of the subject by another quotation from Mrs. Hutchinson's Memoirs; which seems rather a sketch of modern times, than her own, in some particulars.

:

"Better laws," she observes, " and a happier constitution of government, no nation ever enjoyed; it being a mixture of monarchy, aristocracy, and democracy, with sufficient fences against the pest of every one of those formstyranny, faction, and confusion. Nor is it only valour and generosity (adds this lady) that renown this nation in Arts we have advanced equal to our neighbours, and in those that are most éxcellent exceeded them. The world hath not yielded men more famous in Navigation, nor ships better built or furnished. Agriculture is as ingeniously practised; the English archery were the terror of Christendom, and their clothes the ornament. But these low things bounded not their great spirits: in all ages it hath yielded men as famous, in all kinds of learning, as Greece or Italy can boast of. And to complete the crown of all their glory, reflected from the lustre of their ingenuity, valour, wit, learning, justice, wealth, and bounty- their piety and devotion to God and his worship hath made them one of the most truly noble nations in the Christian world— God having, as it were, enclosed a people here, out of the vast common of the world, to serve him with a pure and undefiled worship."

It will be necessary, in the next place, to recur to the early part of this reign for a more minute illustration of manners and customs.

In the mode of eating, we find the division of daily meals thus noticed, in "The Life of Faith," a sermon, preached by Samuel Ward of Ipswich, and published in 1627. "Why should not thy soul have her due drinks, breakfasts, meals, under-meals, bevers, and after-meals, as well as thy body?"

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The custom of chewing, smoking, and taking tobacco in the form of snuff, seems to have been nearly as common in the reign of Charles I. as at present; yet it was by no means generally approved of. Tobacco, divine, rare, superexcellent tobacco (exclaims Burton), which goes far beyond all their panaceas, potable gold, and philosopher's stones--a sovereign remedy to all diseases!! A good vomit I confess - a virtuous herb, if it be well qualified, opportunely taken, and medicinally used; but as it is commonly abused by most men (which take it as tinkers do ale), 'tis a plague, a mischief, a violent purger of goods, lands, health-hellish, devilish, and damned tobacco-the ruin and overthrow of body and soul."

Of the domestic customs, with reference to animals, none more deserves commendation than the care and affection with which the Englishman repays the attachment and fidelity of his

dog: