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that wicked Puritan [Pawlet] an enemy, both in faith and faction, to your Majefty and the catholic faith. I for fome time having obferved the ftate of your country (whofe welfare, next unto God, depends on your Majefty's life, health, and profperity) grown fo defperate, as to conceive no hopes of amendment, I had refolved to depart the land, and to fpend the remainder of my days in fuch a folita ry manner, as the wretched and miferable estate of my country requires; only expecting, according to the juft judg ment of God, the punishment it is drawing upon itself, which the Lord in his mercy prevent. But as I was just putting my refolution into action, and upon the very point of my de parture, there came to me, from our, correfpondents abroad, one named Ballard, a man of virtue, learning, and of fingular zeal for the catholic caufe, and the fervice of your Majefty; who informs me with much certainty, that the Chriftian Princes, your Majefty's allies, are making great preparations to deliver your country out of the extreme and miferable ftate under which it has fo long groaned. Upon which Iimmediately caft about in my thoughts how I could moft effectually ferve your facred Majefty, at fo critical a time, even with the hazard of my life, and of the lives of my friends in general.

Whereupon, moft dread Sovereign, according to the great care which thofe Princes have for the prefervation and fafe deliverance of your Majesty's facred perfon, I have weighed the means, and confidered every circumftance needful in fuch a weighty affair: and after long and mature deliberation and confultation with fo many of your wifeft and most trufty adherents, as with fafety I could intrust the fecret, I (through the affiftance of the Lord Jefus am ftrongly poffeffed with an affurance of an happy effect, and defired fruit of our labour.

What follows, ought first to be confidered in this great, and honourable action on its fuccefs depends not only the life of your most excellent

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Majefty (which God long preferve for our ineftimable comfort, and for the falvation of English fouls, and the life of all us actors in this fcene) but alfo the happy eftate of our country, which is much more dear to us than our own lives; and the laft hopes of henceforth reftoring the faith of our ancestors, and of delivering ourfelves from flavery and bondage, which we fuffer un; der a herefy, propagated to the deftruc tion of a million of fouls.

It is affured, in the first place, that there fhall be an invafion made by a fufficient force well accoutred; whose defcent fhall be favoured by strong parties at each place, to cover their landing, and to join them, to fet your Majefty at liberty with as much expedition as poffible, and to dispatch and totally ruin her, who till then has ufurped the Kingdom with threats and menaces. All which fhall be fulfilled, if your Excellence will pleafe to rely on my fervice. I vow and protest, in the prefence of Almighty God (who has fo long and miraculously preferved your facred perfon, and certainly for fome general good end) that what I have faid fhall be performed, or we will all lofe our lives in the attempt For all the principal accomplices with me in this affair have alfo folemnly vowed the fame; and, as foon as they can be affured of your Majeffy's approbation thereof by your letters to me, they are ready to receive the bleed Sacrament thereupon, promising either to prevail in the caufe of the church and of your Majefty, or die happily in fo honourable an action.

Now, forafmuch as delays are extreme dangerous, and we are not acquainted with any of the Nobility, but fuch as are in hold, whom we dare truft with this defperate fervice for your Majefty; may it pleafe your excellent Majefty, by your Princely wif dom and authority, to direct and ena-ble us to apply to, and to make choice of fuch noble perfonages, who are able to promote your intereft; and,` as it is moit neceffary, to take upon them the chief power and command of P 2

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the multitude, which, efpecially in this country, are naturally difpofed to follow the Nobility: Nor will this only engage the commonalty to repair under their ftandard in the country, without force; but it will add great courage to the Leaders. For which neceffary purposes, I have fome to recommend to your Majefty, as, according to my opinion, fitteft to be your Lieutenants in the W. parts, in the N. and in S. Wales and N. Wales, and in the counties of Lancaster, Derby, and Stafford: all which counties, I am affured, are well affected to your Majefty, and fecured to your intereft and fervice by oath, and have already formed themfelves into parties.

I myself, and ten more Gentlemen, fupported by a party of one hundred more, fhall undertake the deliverance, of your royal perfon out of the power of your enemies, and of that woman, the Ufurper of the Kingdoms, who fhall be difpatched and killed: by whofe death we fhall be made free from her obedience. And this tragical execution is to be undertaken by fix brave Gentlemen, all my particular friends, out of zeal for the catholic caufe, and to ferve your Majesty. It remains for your Majesty to al

low me, in your name, to engage by promise to reward each of them, if they furvive this great event, or their pofterity, if it fhould otherwife hap pen to their perfons, according to their good and infinite deferts, and your royal bounty.

Then point out to us, as it fhall appear to your Majefty's wifdom, what method we fhall first take for your own liberty: for on that depends our chiefeft and only good, and that all other cir cumftances fo concur: for, should one event be miftimed, it may be the overthrow of the whole. Your Majefty's won derful experience and wifdom will difpofe all thofe particulars in fuch a manner, that I doubt not, but by the affiftance of God, every thing will have its defired effect: in the obtain ing of which, each of us will efteem his life most happily employed.

About the 12th of this month, I will be at Litchfield waiting for your Majefly's answer and letters, and ready to execute whatever by them shall be commanded.

Your Majesty's
Most faithful Subjec
And fworn Servant,
Anthony Babington.

Note, The Queen's Anfower will be inferted in our next Magazine.

The Life of Dr. JOHN TILLOTSON, Archbishop of

Canterbury.

With his Grace's Head curiously engraved.

HIS born at Halifax, in the county. of York, on A. D. 1630. He was the eldest fon of Ro bert Tillotson, clothier, of the fame place, by Mary his wife, the daughter of Thomas Dopfon of Sowerby, Gent. and baptifed in the church of Halifax, on the 3d of October, 1630; which I rather mention, becaufe there have not wanted thofe, who unjustly spread a report that this Father of our church bad never been a fon of it. It is granted that his first education was under.

THIS great and good man was

the better fort of Puritan; but the impreffions he then received, only gave him an opportunity in his after life to deal more cordially and advantageoufly with the more ferious perfons, who finding him have a just value and due tenderness for them, were more eafily convinced of their errors, and fixed in the communion of our church.

His first rudiments, I am informed, were imbibed atthe grammar-fchool in Halifax; where having made a quick proficiency, and gained an uncommon

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Published according to act of Parliament for I. Hinton, at the Kings Arms in S. Pauls Church Yard 1750) —

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knowledge in the learned languages, he was thence tranfplanted to Cambridge, and admitted a Penfioner in Clare-ball, on April 23, 1647, under the tuition of Mr, David Clarkson; and admitted into the matricula of the univerfity on the ift of July following. He commenced Batchelor of Arts at Midfummer 1650, was admitted Fellow of the faid hall on the 27th of November, 1651, and proceeded Mafter of Arts in 1654. And by following the clofe reafoning of Mr. Chilling worth, he never was clogged with the heavy books of thofe times. Though by this means he fhook off the little prejudices, which he had imbibed in his early years; yet he ftill ftuck to the ftriétnefs of life in which he was bred.

During his ftay at college, he behaved with fo much prudence and fweetnefs of temper (which he ever after retained) as to gain fo great refpect from the fepior Fellows, that, admiring his very extraordinary parts alfo, they paid to much deference to his judgment, as always to take his advice in what was done about college-affairs.

The first duty we find him undertake after his leaving the univerfity, was the curacy of St. Laurence-Jewry in the city of London, fome time before the Reftoration. In which ftation, under Dr. John Wilkins, Bishop of Chefter, he gave fo much fatiffaction, that his Rector efteemed him greatly in his life-time, and at his death left all his papers to his care and difpofal. From hence he removed to the curacy of Cheshunt in Hertfordshire, under Dr. Hacket, in 1661, where he foon recommended himself to the affections of the people, by his conftant endeavours to do them all the good in his power and with his mild and gentle behaviour, and perfuafive eloquence, prevailed with an old Oliverian foldier, who fet up for a Baptiftteacher, and preached in a red coat, and was much followed in that town, to defift from that incroachment upon the parish Minifter, and the ufurpati

on of the Prieft's-office, and to betake himfelf to fome honeft employment.

Sir Thomas Barnardiflon prefented him, the 18th of June, 1663, to the Rectory of Ketton or Keddington, in the county of Suffolk; which also refutes another malicious infinuation, That this chief Bifhop of our church had never been trufted with the cure of fouls. But being earnestly invited by. the learned body of Lincoln's-Inn, to accept of the place of Preacher to that reverend fociety, he quitted Keddington, procured the living for his Curate, and removed to London in 1664. And this fame year he was chofen by the. parishioners, unanimoufly, the Tuesday Lecturer of St. Lawrence's aforefaid, where he preached thofe incompara-. ble fermons concerning the divinity and incarnation of our bleffed Saviour, in vindication of himself from the calumny of Socinianifm, with which he was charged by his enemies, the Papists; who could never forgive his indefatigable and profperous oppofition to their schemes and doctrines contrived and propagated in thofe times. At thefe lectures, I have been told by living witneffes, He was conftantly attended not only by the devout women, and a few devout citizens, but by all the Divines of that great metropolis, and many perfons of quality and diftinction from other parts. Hence Bifhop Burnet, in his funeral fermon, makes this reflection, The happy u⚫nion that thereby the Clergy of this great body grew into, and the bleffed effects this had, are things, which it is to be hoped an age will not wear out of men's minds. Some great charity, fome public fervice, or good defign was the work of mok of his days during this time. Every ⚫one faw him confidered as the head ' of this learned and eminent body: as he was the only perfon that made no reflections on it himfelf, he was ftill fo affable and humble, so modeft and ready to ferve the youngest and meaneft in it, that fuch as faw all that, muft needs feel the impreffions of it go deep, and stick long

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