man having said, ' Go(i save the king, and preserve iiim dut
of the hands of his enemies,' he was offended, and said, ' Old
gendeman, your idol will not stand long.' — That at Marga-
ret's, Westminster, he preached upon these words, Not this
man, but Barabbns, comparing ail along his majesty to
Bar:ibbas, and bloodily inciting his auditory to kill the
king; infimating that God would bring every tyrajit to
justice, signi.'ying that there was no exception for king, or
prince, or any ot that rabble. — That he rode next belbre the
king when he was brought from Windsor to his trial. —
That in the painted chamber, the first day the high court
of justice sat, Hugh Peters and John Goodwin were with
them, when all others, except the judges and officers of the
court, were kept out. That he was present at making pro-
clamation in Westrainster-hali for the liigh court of justice,
and did there openly say to Sergeant Dendy, ' All this you
have done is worth nothing, unless you proclaim it in
Cheapside and the Old Exchange.'

" That the said Hugh Peters was marshalling and en-
couraging the soldiers who guarded the king in St. James's
Park, a little before his trial. — That he was constantly in
private consultations at Bradshaw's house during the trial,
with them who sat upon the king. — That he bid Stubbs
command his soldiers, when the king came near the high
court, to cry out justice! jiidice! — That being at the high
court of justice on the twentieth of January, he was heard
to say, ' This is a most glorious beginning of the work.' —
That on Sunday the twenty-first of January, he preached at
Whitehall, from Psalm clix. 8., To bind their kings with
chains, SiC, applying his text and sermon to the late king,
and highly applauding the proceedings of the army, saying,
* This is a joyful day, and I hope to see such anoiher day
to-morrow.' — That the Sunday after his majesty was sen-
tenced to die, he preached again upon the same text at
St. James's, saying, ' He intended to have preached upon
another text betore the poor wretch ; but that the poor
wretch refused to hear him.' — That in the afternoon of the
same day, he preached at Sepulchre's, and repeated all his
parallel between his late majesty and Barabbas, crying out,
that none but Jews would let Barabbas go. — That in this
sermon, he said, ' Tiiose soldiers who assisted in this great
work had Emanuel written on their bridles.'



562 LIVES OF THE PURITANS.

" That in the painted chamber, on oi>c of the days of the
king's trial, Peters kneeled dov/n and prayed for a blessing;
and amongst other things, he said, ' O Lord, what a mercj
is it to see this great city fall dowii before us !' — That he
was upon the scaffold a little before the execution, and then
whispered to Tench, the carpenter, who thereupon did there
knociv and fasten four staples, pulling a cord out of his
pocket. — That after the king was murdered, Peters said,
' Lord, now leltest thou thy servant depart in peace, for
mine eyes have seen thy salvation.' — That a wliile after the
execution, he said, ' I rejoice to think of that day ; for to
me it seemed like the great and last day of judgment, when
the saints shall judge the world.' "*

Tliis is a full account of all the charores which even his
enemies bring against him ; but whether these things prove
*' him guilty of the most horrid crimes that any man could
be guilty of," is left v/ith the reader to judge. Most of the
foregoing particulars, as every reader will easily perceive,
fell far short of high treason. Though it is said, that to all
these particulars he made not one word of answer, except in
cant and impertinence ; + yet^ when the witnesses were pro-
duced to tind him guilty of having been one of the king's
judges, their evidence completely failed, and they could
only prove that he was present on the occasion, when he
used some indiscreet language. When the court attempted
to prove that he was upon the scaftbld the day on which
the king suffered, he produced witness deposing that he was
sick on that day, and confined to his own house. What
Mr. Peters observed in his own defence, was little more
than a protestation of his own innocence. He said that the
war commenced before he c;mie to England ; that since his
arrival, he had endeavoured to promote sound religion,
good learning, and the employment of the poor; and that,
for the better attainment of these ends, he had espoused the
interest of the parliament. He then added, " I had neither
malice nor mischief in my heart against the king. I had so
much respect to his majesty, particularly at Windsor, that
I propounded to him my thouglits three ways, to preserve
Iiim from danger, wiiicli were good, as he was pleased to
signify, though they did not succeed. As for malice, I had
none in me."| Whitlockc obs;*rves, tliat, " upon a con-
ference between the king and Mr. Peters, the king desirhig
one of his own chaplains might be permitted to come to

* Kennet's Chronicle, p. 277, 278. +Ibid.

J Trial of Ilegicides, p. 30, 153— 1S3. Edit. 1660.



PETERS. 363

him, for Lis satisfaction in some scruples of conscience, Dr.
Juxton, bishop of London, was ordered to go to his
majrsry."* " And Sir John Denh;im being entrusted by
the queen to deJiver a message to his majcslj, A\ho at that
time was in the hands of the army, by the assistance of
Hugli Peters he got admittance to the king."f

These were certainly very considerable services, and
could hardly have bten expected from a man, who, accord-
ing to Burnet, " was outrageous in pressing the king's
death, with the cruelty and rudeness of an inquisitor."^
As to the vile insinuation of many writers, that he was sup-
posed to have been one of the masked executioners, besides
tlie deposition at liis trial, that he was then confijied by sick-
ness, no stress was laid by the king's counsel on any sus-
picions or reports on this liead. So that in all good reason,
Dr. Barwick, Mr. Grnnger, and others, should have fore-
bonie saying, " that he was upon no slight grounds accused
to have been one of the king's murderers. "§

Mr. Peters, in further pn^testation of his own innocence,
says, " I thought the act ot' indemnity would have included
me; but the hard character upon me excluded me. I have
not had my hand in any man's blood, but saved many in
life and estate. "|| All that was proved against Iiim con-
sisted merely in words; but words, it must be acknowledged,
unfit to be uttered. Yet, when it is recollected that man/
greater offenders than Mr. Peters escaped caphal punish-
ment, we shall be led to suspect that he met with some
unkind and hard usage. When he w:)s asked why sentence
should not be passed upon him, to die according to law, he
only said, " I will submit myself to God ; and if I have
spoken anything against the gospel of Christ, I am henrtily
sorry for it."il The sentence of d;'atli was then passed upon
him; Avhen he was confined in Newgate only three days
and then executed. According to J^udlow, it was of no use
to plead in his own defence: the court was fully resolved
on his execution. "It was not expected," observes this
author, " that any thing he could say should save him from
the revenge of the court ; and, therefore, he w as without
hesitation brought in guilty."**

Mr. Peters, the day after his condemnation, preached to

» ^Vhillorke's Memorials, p. 364. + Hhtorical Account, p. 24.

â– ^ Hist, of tiis Time, vol, i. p. 162.

^ Historical Account, p. 25.— Granger's Biog. Hist. vol. iii. p. 55.

Jl Peters's Dying; Legacy, p. 104, 106.

H Trial of Regicides, p." 182—184. ** Ludlow's Memoirs, p. 40T.



S64 LIVES OF THE PURITANS.

his friends and fellow-prisoners in Newgate. His text was
Psalm xlii. 11. Whi/ art thou cast down, O my soul?
And why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in
God ; for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my
countenance and my God. The subject was particularlj
appoprinte. For, during his imprisonment, he was exer-
cised with a painful coniiict in h;s own spirit, fe^'ring, as he
often said, that he should not go through his sufFeruigs with
courage and comfort. To his friends he said he was
somewhat unprepared for death ; and tlierefore he tieit in
some degree unwilling to die. Some things, he obsc vcd,
he had committed, and others he liad oniilteti, which
troubh'd him ; but he believed the light of God's counten-
ance would at last break forth. And the favour of God did
at length appear. For a little time before he went to the
place of execution, his mind became p( rfectlj' composed ;
and with the utmost cheerfulness he said, " I thank God,
now I can die. I can look death in the face, and not be
afraid." To the truth of this many could bear wimess.*

Bishop Kennet observes, that " alter the trial and con-
demnation ot the regicides, Dr. Barwick and Dr. Dolben
were sent to persuade them to repentance, and to confess
their impious deeds." It is also added, " that they might
employ their pious endeavours to better purpose with
others, their first care was to solicit Hugh Peters, the prin-
cipal and ring-leader of all the rest. The Avild prophecies
littered by his impure mouth were still received by the
people with the same veneration as if they had been oracles,
though he was known to be infamous for more than one
kmd of Avickcdnc ss. He was accused, upon no slight
grounds, to have been one of the masked executioners hired
to murder tlie king, but it could not be sufficiently proved
against him." To all that these divines could say to him,
says our author, " Peters answered with much surliness,
negligence, and stupidity, and stopped his ears against all
admonitions. He had so perfectly shook off all sense of
piety and religion, if ever he had any, that his accomplices
earnestly requested these divines to intercede with his
majesty that a person so deaf to advice, and so impene-
trable to their sacred ministrations, might not be hurried
into another world till he were brought, if possible, to a
better sense of his condition."!

To this account, too evidently designed to reproach hie

* Speeches and Prayers of the King's Judges, p. 58.
+ Keunet's Chronicle, p. 284, 285.



PETERS. 365

memory, we shall only observe, fiom othei: authority, tliat
the two doctors used their utmost endeavours to persuade
him to a recantation of his former activity in the cause of
the parliament, with promises of pardon from the king if
he would comply. Though he was then much afflicted in
spirit, he was enabled to resist their insinuations. He told
them, " he had not the least cause to repent of his adherence
to the parliament ; but only that, in the prosecution of that
cause, he had done no more for God and his people." And
thus, with civility, he dismissed his visitants.

The day on which he suffered he was carried on a sledge
from Newgate to Charing-cross, the place of execution ;
where he was made to behold the execution of Mr. Cook,
another of the regicides. Here a person came to him, and
upbraided him with the death of the king, bidding him now
repent : to whom Mr. Peters said, " Friend, you do not
well to trami)le upon the feelings of a dying man. You are
greatly mistaken. I had nothing io do in the death of the
king." When Mr. Cook was cut down, and brought to be
quartered, the hangman was commanded to bring Mr.
Peters near, that he might behold the mangled remains of
his fellow-sufferer. As the hangman approached him, being
all over besmeared with blood, and rubbing his bloody hands
together, he said, " How do you like this, Mr. JPeters ?
how do you like this work ?" To whom Mr. Peters re-
plied, " I thank God, I am not terrified at it. You may do
your worst." As he was going to be executed, he gave a
piece of gold to a friend, requesting him to carry it to his
daughter as a token of respect from her dying father ; and
to let her know, " That his heart was as full of comfort as
it could be ; and that before that piece should come into her
hands, he should be with Ciod in glory." When he was
upon the ladder, he said to the sheriff^ " Sir, you have
here slain one of the servants of God before mine eyes, and
liave made me behold it, on purpose to terrify and discou-
rage me ; but God hath ordered it for my strengthejiing
and encouragement," " If Peters said this," a learned
doctor observes, " it is plain he died as he lived, and went
out of the world with a notorious lie in his mouth;" then
insinuates, that he had taken a large potion ; that he behaved
himself like an idiot; that he was stupidly drunk, and there-
fore was not in a condition to make such a reflection. This
surely needs no comment.* When he was going ofl^, he

• Grey's Examination, »ol. iii. ji. 286,



366 LIVES OF THE PURITANS.

said, " TVhaf^ Jlesli ! art thou unmUing to go to God
through the fire and jaws of death ? Oh,'" said he, " this is
a Qood daij. He is come whom I haze long looked for, and
llshall be with him in ghrj/ ;"" and went off with a smile on
his countenance.* He suffered October J6, 1660, aged
sixtj-one years; and his head was set upon a pole on Lon-
don-bridge.

Mr. Peters, it is allowed by all, intermeddled too much in
state matters, and wns too much tiie tool of the ruling party,
which evidently brought him to this disgraceful end. Few
men have suffered greater infamy and reproach. He is
accused of many enormous crimes, but whether justly or not,
we leave it with God to judge. Bishop Burnet, speaking of
the triumphant death of the regicides, says, " It was indeed
remarkable that Peters, a sort of enthusiastical buffoon
preacher, though a very vicious man, who had been of great
use to Cromwell, and had been outrageous in pressing the
king's death with the cruelty and rudeness of an inquisitor,
was the man of them all tliat was the most sunk in his spirit,
and could not in any sort bear his punishment. He had neither
the honesty to repent of it, nor the strength of mind to suffer
for it as all the rest of them did. He," our author adds,
*'' was observed all the while to be drinking some cordial
liquors to keep him from fainting. "+

Kennet styles him a virulent incendiary in the king's
death, and says he was not lit to die, and was unable to bear
up under the prospect of it. "And," he adds, '^ without
any reflection on the wickedness of the man, there' never was
a person suffered death so unpitied ; and, which is more,
whose execution was the delight of the people, which they
expressed by several shouts and acclamations, when they
saw him go up the ladder, and again when the halter Avas
putting about his neck ; but when his head was cut off", and
held up aloft on the end of a spear, there was such a shout
as if the people of England had acquired a victory. ":{ Such
was their loyal infatuation, brutality, and outrage!

Granger siys that Mr. Peters, together with his brethren,
went to his execution with an air of trimnph, rejoicing that
he was to stiffcr in so good a cause. But, he adds, it appears
from this instance, and many others, that the presumption
of an enthusiast is much greater than that of a saint. He



* Speechps and Prayers, p, 59—62.

+ Burnel's IJist. of his Time, vol. i. p, 162.

I Kennet'i Chroniele, p. 169, 2S2.



PETERS. 5C7

was a great pretender to the saintly character, a vehement
declairaer against Cliarles I., and one of the foremost to
encourage and justify tlie rebellion.* Dr. Bar wick says,
*' he was known to be infamous for more kinds of Avicked-
ness than one."+ Wood denominates him " a theological
and pulpit buffoon, and a diabolical villain.''^ Dr. Grey
says, " he was a juggling, scandalous, and inlaiiious
villain, and that he got the mother and daughter with
child." He styles him, " the gingerbread propliet, the
late pastor of a hunger-starved flock at Salem in New Eng-
land, that mongrel minister, that military priest, that mo-
dern Simon Magus, that disguised executioner, that bloody
butcher of the king."$

These are, indeed, very heavy charges. They require
good evidence for their support. On the one hand, it is
easy for an historian to assert what he wishes to be true,
though he cannot prove it ; and on the other, it is often
extremely difficult to disprove what is asserted, though it
may in lact rest on no good evidence. Though we would
by no means connive at sin, or attempt to lessen the guilt of
any man, the truth of the above charges appears extremely
doubtful. Some of these accusations are unquestionably
the language of scurrility, misrepresentation, and abuse ;
and they all come from known enemies, those who hated
the cause in which he was euju^aged, and looked upon it as
detestable. We do not find, that they knew of any of those
things of Mr. Peters themsehes ; and, therefore, what they
have published must be considered only as common fame,
which in tliose times, when malice, bigotry, and revenge
ran so high, might easily have been propagated withoiit
even the shadow of proof. Mr. Peters suifering as a
traitor, they were probably too forward to believe those
reports ; the truth of which was at best extremely uncertain.

Indeed, the times in which Mr. Peters was on the stage,
were far enough from favouring such vices in the ministe-
rial character. He must be a novice in the history of those
times, Avho knows not what a precise and demure kind of
men were the preachers among the parliamentarians. They
were careful, not only of their actions, but of their words,
and even their looks and gestures. Drunkenness, whore'-
dom, swearing, and such like vices, were quite out of



* Granger's Biog, Hist. vol. iii. p. 53, 339.
f Historical Account, p. 33.
X Woods Athenas Oxon, vol. ii. p. 113, 739.
§ Grey's ExaminatioD, vol. ii. p. 358. iii. 287.



368 LIVES OF THE PURITANS.

vogue among them. It was their sobriely and strictness of
behaviour, joined with their popular talents in the pulpit,
which caused them to be so much revcr d and esteenud*
If Mr. Peters had b.en so vicious, so infamous for wicked-
ness, and so scandalous and diabolical a villa m, as he is
represented, he could certainly have had no influence over
the people, nor would he have been treated in thr manner
that he was by some of the prinripal men in the nation.
They nmst have parted with him even for their own sakes,
unless they wished to have been looked upon as enemies to
reWer'ioii.

Besides, if it be recollected who w^re the patrons of
Mr. Peters, the truth of his accusations w"ll appear very
doubtful. We have seen how he was ent> rtai:ied by the
Earl of Warwick, S^r Tliomas Fairfax, and Oliver Crom-
well, and how mu h he was canssed and rewarded by the
parliament. How improbable then is it that he w is infa-
mous for wickedness! His patrons, it is observed, were
never accused of personal, vices. Tiiey were men v»ho at
least made high pretensions to religion ; and the cause for
which they fought, they avowed to be the cause of God.
With what face could they have done this, if their chaplain,
their confident, their tool, had been known to be so vicious,
so infamous tor wickedness, and so scandalous and diabo-
lical a villain ? Or, how could they have said and done so
much against scandalous ministers, who employed one of
the most scandalous ? In short, how could they publicly
reward Mr. Peters, when they always professed great zeal
for godliness, and endeavoured to promote it in the highest
degree? Men of their wisdom, courage, and zeal, can
hardly be thought to have acted so inconsistent a part.*

Mr. Edwards observes of Mr. Peters, that he was a great
agent for the sectaries ; and that by preaching, writing, and
conference, he greatly promoted the cause of independ-
ency .+ In addition to the thirty thousand pounds which
he collected for the persecuted protestants in Ireland, as
already noticed, he was a diligent and earnest solicitor for
the distressed protestants in the vallies of Piedmont, who,
by the ty ramiical oppressions of the Duke of Savoy, had
been most inhumanly persecuted and reduced to the utmost
extremity. Also, in gratitude to the Hollanders for the
sanctuary he had found among them, during his persecu-
tions under Arcubisliop Laud, he was of signal service to

♦ Historical A<connt, p. 35 — 39.

+ Edwards's Gangraeiia, part iii. p. 120.



DURY. 369

them in composing their differences with England, in the
time of Cromwell.*

Mr. Peters, dur ng his imprisonment, wrote certain papers^
as a legacy to his daughter, which were ;tfierwards pub-
lished, from which some parts of this memoir have been
extracted. Though a comfortable annual maintenance was
conferred upon him by the parliament, he was deprived of
all at the restoration; and Mrs. Peters, who lived many
years after his death, was wholly dependent upon her frieiids
for support. t

His Works. — 1. God's Doings, and Man's Duty, opened in a
Sermon preached before the JHonse of Commons, llie Lord Mayor,
and the Assembly of Divines, 16i6. — 2. Feiers's Last Report of tlie
English Wars, occasioned by the Importunity of a Iriend, pressing
an Answer to some Queries, 1646. — 3. A Word for the Army, and
two Words for the Ivingdom, to clear the one and cnre the other,
forced in much Plainness and IJrevity from tlieir failhful Servant,
Hugh Peters, 1647. — 4. Good Work for a Good iMagistrate, or a
short Cut to a great Quiet, 1651. — 5. Some Notes of a Sermon
preached the 14th of October, 1660, in the Prison of Newgate, after
his Condemnation, 1660.— 6. A Dying Father's Last Legacy to an
only Child; or, Mr. Hugh Pcters's Advice to his Daughter, written
by his own hand, during his late imprisonment in the Tower of
London, and given her a little betbre his death, 1660. — The portrait
of Mr. Peters is prefixed to this little work.



John Dury. — This zealous divine was born in Scotland,
but sojourned some time in the university of Oxford, par-
ticularly for the benefit of the public library. He was
there in the year 1624, but it does not appear how long he
continued. Afterwards, he travelled into various foreign
countries, particularly through most- parts of Clermany,
where he visited the recesses of the muses. By long con-
tinuance in foreign parts, he spoke the German language so
fluently, that, upon his return to England, he was taken for
a native German. Our author adds, that he was by pro-

* Ludlow's Memoirs, p. 407.

+ Mr. John Knowles, in a letter to the governor of New Eng;)and, dated
July 6, 1677, thus observes: — " There is acother trouble whicii I presume



" to put upon you, that is, to speak to the Reverend Mr. Hi.nfjinson, pastor
" of Salem, to move that congregation to do something for the maintenance
" of Mrs. Peters; who, since her husband suffered here, hath riepended
" wholly upon Mr. Ci)ckquaine, and that church whereof he is pastor.
" I fear she will be forced to seek her living in the streets if some course
*• be not taken for her relief, either by Mr. Higginson, Mr. Oxenbridge, or
" some other sympathizing minister." — Massacliusets PaptrSy p. 614.



VOL. in. 2 B



S70 LIVES OF THE PURITANS.

fession a divine and a preacher, but whether he took order«
according to the church of England, which he always
scrupled, doth not appear.* However, these scruples, by
some means or other, he overcame. For, though he had
been ordained in one of the foreign reformed churches, he
was required to be re-ordained before he could be admitted
to a benefice in England; and, accordingly, submitted to
the renewal of this ceremony under the hands of Bishop
Hall of Exeter.t

Mr. Dnry was for many years employed in a design of
promoting a rt-conciiiation between the Calvinisfs and
Lutherans abroad ; or, as he used to express it, " for making
and settling a protestant union and peace in the churches
beyond the se;is." We shall give an account of this object,
in the words of one who warmly censures both Mr. Dury
and his undertaking. " He made a remarkable figure in
his time, by running with an enthusiastic zeal for uniting
the Lutherans and Calvinists. He was so strongly possessed
with the hnpes of success, that he applied to his superiors
for a dispensation of nonresidence upon his living, in order
to travel through the christian world to accomplish the
design. And he not only procured a license for the pur-
pose, but obtained the approbation and recommendation of
the Archbishop of Canterbury, t and was assisted by Bishop
Hall, and the Bishop of Kilmore in Ireland.^ He began
by publishing his plan of an nnion in 1634; and, the
same year, ajjpeared at a famous assembly of Lutherans at
Frankfort in Germany. The churches also of Transylvania