Deptford in Kent, where he spent the remainder of his days
in retirement and devotion. He entered upon the joy of his
Lord in the month of April, 1647, aged seventy-two years.
His remains, according to his last will and testament, were
laid in Deptford church-yard. <•

Thousih his name is enrolled amonoj the sufferers in the
royal cause, he is with justice classed among the puritans.
Many excellent divines, who were dissatisfied with the
ecclesiastical discipline and ceremonies, and even with
episcopacy itself, were nevertheless, during the national
confusions, great sufferers on account of their loyal attach-
ment to his majesty and the civil constitution. Their zeal for
the king and his cause exposed them to the severity of the
opposite party. This appears to have been the case with
Mr. Paget. He was decided in his attachment to his
majesty's interest and the civil constitution, for which he was a
sutferer in those evil times ; yet he was opposed to the
ecclesiastical establishment, as w^ell as the cruel oppressions
of the prelates. Therefore, in the year lG45, being only two
years before his death, he united with his brethren, the
London ministers, in presenting a petition to tlie lords and
commons in parliament, for the establishment of the presby-
terian discipline. :{ He wrote with great bitterness against
the independents, baptists, and other sectaries, by which he
exposed himself to the lesentmcnt of his enemies. " Eiror
and heresy," it is said, " began to take deep root, and to
spread far and wide over the face of the earth: he, therefore,
set himself to discover them, and root them up, when he
published his ' Heresiography.' Hence sprung his trouble;"



» Facet's Heresiography, Pref. Edit. 1662.

+ Wood's Atlienae Oxoo. vol. ii. p. 52.

^ Grey's Exaraination, vol. ii. Appen. p. 8T — H9.



64 LIVES OF THE PURITANS.

and it is added, " the enemies of goodness making that the
ground of their mahce, which he wrote to undeceive and
bring them into the way of truth. Upon this he was
persecuted, reviled, slandered, and, through false suggestions,
suffered even imprisonment itself. He bore up manfully, and
suft'ered patiently whatever their malice could inflict, till at
last the Lord in mercy put an end to his misery, and received
liim to himself."* He was an excellent preacher, and his
sermons were as pleasant as they were profitable, drawing
the hearts of his auditors, as by a bait of pleasure, to that
which is good.+

His Works. — 1. Cluistianograpliie : or, a Dcscriplion of the
multitudes and sundry sorts of Ciiristians in tlie world not subject to
the Pope, 1635. — 2. A Treatise of the Ancient Christians in Britany,
1640. — 3. Heresiographie : or, a Description of the Heresies of later
Times, 1645. — 4. The Mystical Wolf, a Sermon on Matt. vii. 15.,
1645.



Thomas Hookee. — This excellent divine was born at
Marfield in Leicestershire, in the year 158G, and educated
in Emanuel college, Cambridge, of which he became fellow.
He acquitted himself in this office with such ability and
faithfulness as commanded universal admiration and applause.
During his abode at Cambridge, he was brought under such
deep convictions of sin, that his mind was overwhelmed with
extreme horror. The anguish of his soul, imder a sense of
his sin and desert, was inconceivable. He was ready to
exclaim, " While I suffer thy terrors, O Lord, I am dis-
tracted." Afterwards, speaking of these mental exercises, he
said, " In the time of my distress, I could reason to the rule
of duty, and see there was no other way of relief but by
Submission to God, and by lying at the feet of Jesus Christ,
humbly waiting for his favour; but when I applied the rule
to myself, and endeavoured to put it in practice, my reason-
ing failed me, and I was able to do nothing." Having
laboured under the spirit of bondage for a considerable time,
he received light and comfort, and his mhid became power-
fully and pleasantly attached to holy and heavenly contempla-
tions. It now became a custom with him, when retiring to
rest at night, to select some particular promise of scripture,
upon which he meditated during his wakeful hours. In this
he found so much improvement and comfort, that he recom-
mended others to adopt the same practice.

* Pagct's Heresiog. Pref. f Lloyd's Meinoires, p. 510.



HOOKER. 65

Mr. Hooker having tasted that the Lord was gracious,
resolved to employ his time and his talents in the work of the
ministry, when he commenced preaching in London and its
vicinity. He soon became celebrated for his ministerial
endowments, particularly in comforting persons under
spiritual distress. In the year lf)2(j, having been disappointed
of a desired settlement at Colchester, he was chosen lecturer
at Chelmsford, one Mr. Mitchel being the incumbent. His
lectures were soon numerously attended, and a remarkable
unction and blessing attended his preaching. A pleasing
reformation also followed, not only in the town, but likewise
in the adjacent country. By a multitude of public houses in
the town, and by keeping the shops open on the Lord's day,
the people of Chelmsford had become notorious for intem-
perance and the profanation of the sabbath. But by the
blessing of God, so plentifully poured out upon Mr. Hooker's
ministry, these vices were banished from the place, and the
sabbath was visibly sanctified to the Lord. His zealous and
useful labours, however, Avere not continued verv long. For
in about four years his difficulties were so great, on account
of his nonconformity, that he gave up his pulpit and com-
menced teachinor school. He could not defile his conscience
by the observance of the superstitious ceremonies: he had
rather give up his pulpit and his public ministry, which
he dearly loved, than sacrifice the " testimony of a good
conscience.'"'

Though the best and most delightful employment of this
worthy servant of Christ was gone, his iiijiuence was not
lost. This w as wholly employed to promote the Redeemer's
cause. He engaged the various ministers in the vicinity of
Chelmsford, to establish a monthly meeting for fasting,
prayer, and religious conference. By his influence, several
pious young ministers were settled in the neighbourhood, and
others became more established in the fundameuLal doctrines
of the gospel. Indeed, so great was his popularity, and so
high his reputation, when silenced, that no less than forty-
seven conformist ministers of his acquaintance, presented a
petition to the Bishop of London ; in v. hich they testified,
" That they knew and esteemed Mr. Hooker to be orthodox
in his doctrine, honest in his life and conversation, peaceable
in his disposition, and in no wise turbulent or factious."
But these powerful mediators could not prevail. Mr.
Hooker being stigmatized as a puritan, must be buried in
silence. He was bound, about the year 1G.'3(), iii a bond of
fifty pounds, to appear before the high commission ; but this

VOL. III. " F



66 LIVES OF THE PURITANS.

bond, by the advice of his friends, he forfeited, preferring
it as a lesser evil to pay so great a sum, than fall into
the hands of the ruling prelates, whose tender mercy was
cruelty.*

Mr. Hooker, to avoid the storm of persecution, fled to
Holland. He had no sooner taken shipping, and the vessel
got uiider sail, than the enraged pursuivants arrived on the
shore, but happily too late to reach him. During the passage,
the ship was in the utmost danger of being lost ; but this holy
man, in this perilous situation, exercised an vmshakeu
confidence in God, who sent a remarkable deliverance. In
Holland, he preached about two years at Delft, as assistant
to Mr. Forbes, an aged and excellent Scotch minister. He
was next called to Rotterdam, where he was employed for
some time as colleague to the celebrated Dr. William Ames.
The greatest friendship and affection subsisted betwixt these
two learned divines. The latter declared, that, notwithstand-
ing his acquaintance with many scholars of different nations,
he had never met with a man equal to Mr. Hooker, either as
a preacher or a learned disputant. He assisted Dr. Ames
in composing his celebrated work, entitled, " A Fresh Suit
against Human Ceremonies in God's Worship." But Mr.
Hooker not finding Holland agreeable to his wishes, and a
number of his friends in England invitino; him at this time to
accompany them to America, he returned to his native
country to prepare for the voyage. He was no sooner come
to England, than the bishop's pursuivants were again
employed to appiehend him. At one time they were upon
the very point of taking him, and even knocked at the door
of the chamber in which he and Mr. Samuel Stone were
employed in friendly conversation. Mr. Stone went to the
door ; when the officers demanded whether Mr. Hooker was
there. "What Hooker?" replied Mr. Stone. "Do you
mean Hooker who once lived at Chelmsford ?" The officers
answered, " Yes, that is he." " If it be he w hom you look
for," observed Mr. Stone, " I saw him about an hour ago at
such a house in the town : you had best hasten there after
him." The officers taking this evasion for a sufficient
account, went their way, while Mr. Hooker concealed
himself more securely, till he went on board in the Downs.
He sailed for ^jcw England in the year 1633, when Mr.
Stone and Mr. Cotton, both celebrated puritans, accompanied
him in the same ship. Mr. Hooker arriving at Newtown,

* Madier's Hist, of New Eiig. b. iii. p. 58—61.



HOOKER. 67

afterwards called Cambridge ; and being most affectionately
received by his old friends, who had gone over the preceding-
year, he said, " Now I live, if ye stand fast in tlie Lord."

Great numbers soon after following these adventurers from
England, TS ewtown became too narrow for them : accord-
ingly, in 1636, Mr. IIooLer, with many of his friends,
removed to a fertile spot on the delightful banks of the river
Connecticut, which they called Hartford. There he lived all
the rest of his days, and was deservedly esteemed " as the
father, the pillar, and the oracle of the new colony." As a
preacher, he was remarkably animated and impressive ; not
only his voice, but every feature in his countenance, spoke
the ardour of his soul. All was life and reality in his
descriptions. His preaching was not that theatrical affecta-
tion which is exhibited by men who paint for admiration, but
that zeal which is kindled by a coal from God's altar. His
moving addresses flowed from his own exquisite relish of
divine things, and an impassioned desiie of promoting them
in the hearts of others. His success, like his services, was
very eminent. A profane man, for the purpose of diversion,
once said to his companions, " Come, let us go and hear what
bawling Hooker will say to us." For the sake of sport, they
all went to Chelmsford lecture. Conviction presently seized
the mind of this person. The word of God became quick
and powerful, and he retired with an awakened conscience.
Also, by the subsequent instructions of Mr. Hooker, he
became an humble follower of Christ ; and afterwards
followed this worthy minister to New England, that he might
enjoy the benefit of his preaching as long as he lived. At
another time, one of his enemies hired a fiddler to play in the
church-yard and the church-porch, with a view to disturb
him in his sermon ; but the design had not the least effect
upon Mr. Hooker's mind : he went on witR his sermon in his
unabated zeal and vivacity. When the man went to the
door to hear what he said, his attention was instantly caught;
conviction immediately seized his conscience ; and at the
conclusion of the service, he made his humble confession to
Mr. Hooker, and ever after lived a religious life. By the
application of his doctrine, he had a surprising talent for
reaching and awakening the consciences of his hearers.

This learned divine was remarkable for humility and a
holy dependence upon God. This will appear from the
following circumstance. Some time after his settlement at
Hartford, having to preach among his old friends at Newtown,
on a TiOrd's day in the afternoon, his great fame had collected



68 LIVES OF THE PURITANS.

together a vast concourse of people. When he came to
preach, he found himself so entirely at a loss what to say,
that, after a few shattered attempts to proceed, he w as obliged
to stop, and say, that what he had prepared was altogether
taken from him. He therefore requested the congregation to
sing a psalm while he retired. Upon his return, as our
author observes, he preached a most admirable sermon,
holding the people two hours, in a most extraordinaiy strain
both for pertinence and vivacity. After the public service was
closed, some of his friends speaking to him of the Lord's
withholding his assistance, he meekly replied, " We daily
confess that we have nothing, and can do nothing, without
Christ; and what if Christ will make this manifest before our
congregations ? Must we not be humbly contented ?"*

Mr. Hooker wished to be abased, and the Lord alone to
be exalted. He dreaded outward ease and prosperity, as
that which was most likely to bring the Lord's people into
spiritual adversity. When at the land's end, taking his final
leave of England, he said, " Farewell, England ; 1 expect nov/
no more to see that religious zeal, and power of godliness,
which I have seen among professors in that land. Adversity
has slain its thousands, but prosperity its ten thousands. I
fear that those who have been zealous christians in the tire of
persecution, will become cold in the lap of peace."

He was highly celebrated as a man of prayer. He
used to saj', " Prayer is the principal work of a minister;
and it is by this he must carry on the rest." Accordingly,
he devoted one day in every month to private prayer and
fasting, besides the observance of many such days publicly
with his people. It was his settled opinion, that if professors
neglect these duties, " iniquity will abound, and the love of
many wax cold." His prayers in public were fervent, but
not long, and singularly adapted to the occasion. As he
proceeded his ardour usually increased ; and, as the last
step in Jacob's ladder was nearest heaven, the close of his
prayer was mostly a rapture of devotion; and " his people,"
it is said, " were often surprised with the remarkable answers
to his prayers."

Though Mr. Hooker's natural disposition was irascible,
he acquired a wonderful command of his temper. He was
always ready to sacrifice his own apprehensions to the better
reasons of others. The meanest of his brethren, and even
children, were treated by him with endearing condescension.

* Mather's Hist, of New Eng. b. iii. p. 62, 63.



HOOKER. 69

One instance it may not be improper to mention. A
neighbour of liis having sustained some damage : when
Mr. Hooker meetnig a boy notorious for such miscliief,
warmly accused and censured him. The boy denied the
charge, but he continued his angry lecture. " Sir," said the
boy, " I see you are in a passion ; I'll say no more to you ;"
and then ran off. Mr. Hooker finding, upon inquiry, that the
boy could not be proved guilty, sent for him, and humbly
confessed his fault, which, with the good council he gave him,
made a deep and lasting impression on the mind of the boy.
Notwithstanding Mr. Hooker's great condescension, he
did not in the least degrade or depreciate his holy function.
When he mounted the pulpit, he appeared with so much
majesty and independence, that it was pleasantly said of him,
He zcould put a king in his pocket. Judges, princes, and
peasants equally shared in his pointed reproofs and solcm»
admonitions. He possessed an excellent talent for solving
cases of conscience, and set apart one day in the week for
any of his people to come to him and propose their scruples
and difficulties. Though his own preaching was generally
very practical and experimental, he recommended young
ministers, when first settled, as well for their own benefit as
that of their people, to preach the whole system of divine
truth. He had a happy method in the government of the
church. He would propound nothing to tlie church assembly
till it had been previously considered by several of the prin-
cipal brethren; and if at any time he saw an altercation
beginning to rise in the church, he would put off the vote till
another opportunity ; previous to which, he would visit, and
generally gain over, those who objected to what appeared
the most proper to be adopted. He used to say, " The elders
must have a church within a church, if they would preserve
the peace of the church."

This holy and heavenly divine desired not to outlive his
work. His last sickness was short, and he said little. When
his opinion was asked concerning certain important points,
he replied, " I have not that work now to perform. I have
declared the council of God." One of his brethren observ-
ing to him, that he was going to receive his rezcard,
" Brother," said he, " I am going to receive mercy T After-
wards, he closed his eyes with his own hands, and, with a
smile on his countenance, he expired, July 7, 1647, aged
sixty-one years.* He was justly styled " the grave, the godly,

* Morse and Parish's Hist, of New EDg. p. 76—78.



70 - LIVES OF THE PURITANS.

the judicious, the faithful, and the laborious Hooker." That
peace which he enjoyed in liis own mind, through believing^
in Christ, for the space of thirty years, continued lirm and
unshaken to the last.* Mr. Henry Whitlield gives the follow-
ing testimony of his worth : " I did not think," says he,
" there had been such a man on the earth, in whom there
shone so many incomparable excellencies ; and in whom
learning and wisdom were so admirably tempered ^vith zeal,
holiness, and watchfulness." And for his great abilities and
glorious services in both Englands, says Mr. Ashe, he
deserves a place in the first rank .of those worthies whose
lives are preserved.t Fuller has honoured him v,'ith a place
among the learned writers and fellows of Emanuel college,
Cambridge.*

His Works. — 1. The Sonl's Implantation into Christ, 1637. —
2.The Unbeliever's Preparing for Clirist, 1638.— 3. The Soul's eflectual
Calling to Christ, 1638.— 4. The Soul's Humiliation, 1640.— 5. A
Survey of the Summe of Church-Discipline, 1648. — 6. The Doubting
Christian drawn to Christ, 1652. — 7. The Application of Redemption
by the Word, 1656. — 8. The Spiritual Rule of the Lord's Kingdom. —
9. Farewell Sermon on Jer. xiv. 9. published in Mr. Feuner's Works.
— And probably some others.



John Saltmarsh, A. M. — This person was descended
from a respectable and ancient family of the same name at
Saltmarsh in Yorkshire, and educated in Magdalen college,
Cambridge, where he enjoyed the patronage and support of
Sir John Metham, his kinsman. He was a person of a fine,
active fancy, no contemptible poet, and a good preacher ; but
no friend to bishops and ceremonies.^ About the year 1641,
he became minister at Northampton, afterwards at Braisted
in Kent, and, at length, was chosen to the office of chaplain
in Sir Thomas Fairfax's aniiy ; where, to his great honour, he
is said to have always preached up peace and unity. He
meddled not with matters of discipline, but wholly laboured
to draw souls from sin to Christ. || He afterwards openly
declared his sentiments concerning the war, saying, " That
all means should be used to keep the king and people from a
sudden union ; that the v. ar being against popery, should be
cherished, as the surest means to engage the people; and
that if the king would not, in the end, grant their demands,

* Morton's Memorial, p. 125.
+ Mather's Hist, of N^w. Eng. b. iii. p. 64—68.
:}: Fuller's Hist, of Camb. p. 147.
■ ^ Fuller's Worthies, part iii. p. 212.
H Wood's Athenas Oxon. vol. ii. p. 192.



SALTMARSH. 71

then to root liim out, together with the royal liue, and appoint
the crown to some other person." These sentiments were
laid before the house of conuuons, and they underwent a
particular examination ; but it does not appear wliether he
was sentenced to receive any kind of punishment. During
this examination, however, one of the members said, " He
saw no reason to condemn Mr. Saltmarsh ; for it was better
that one family should be destroyed than many."*

Mr. Saltmarsh employed his pen in controversy with
several learned divines, among whom was Dr. Thomas
Fuller, the historian. This person having preached a sermon
on '' reformation," which he afterwards published, Mr.
Saltmarsh published his animadversions upon it, in which he
charged him with several points of popery. Fuller, however,
defended his former arguments, in a piece under the title of
" Truth Maintained," in wliich he challenged Saltmarsh to
reply ; but he declined the contest, giving this reason for
it, that he would not shoot his arrows against a dead mark,
being informed that Fuller was dead. He also engaged in
controversy with the celebrated Mr. Thomas Gataker, Mr.
John Ley, Dr. John Bastwick, Mr. Thomas Edwards, and
others. It is said that the very titles of some of his pieces
seemed to have some tincture of enthusiasm, if not of frenzy
in them.f

Mr. Edwards, who employs his presbyterian bigotry in re-
proaching his memory-, gives the following account of him : —
" There is one Mr. Saltmarsh, a man who hath of late writ
many trashy pamphlets, fully stuffed with all kinds of errors,
ignorance, and impudence, and hath been well answered and
baffled by three learned divines. I am still in his debt for
some passages in his " Groans for Liberty," and " Reasons
for Unity, Love and Peace," against my first and second part
of " Gangrzena," and shall say in this third, I purpose to
reckon with him once for all, in another tractate. This
Master Saltmarsh, the last half year, hath much followed the
army : a fit place for him. When Oxford was taken, he was
one of those famous preachers who preached at St. Mary's :
as fit a man to credit the parliament and the reformation \^ ith
the university, as his brother Peters. Master Saltmarsh being
to preach in the army on a fast-day this summer, made a
preface by way of apology, that he preached not for the fast :
he would not be understood as preaching upon that occasion,
or that his sermon was a fast sermon."

* Whitlocke's Memorial, p. 68.

+ Biog. Britan. vol. iii. p. 2063, 2054. Edit. 1747.



72 LIVES OF THE PURITANS.

This writer also adds : " He hatli been at Bath this ycai^
and there, in one of the lesser churches, preached, that, as
John Baptist wore a leathern girdle, so his doctrine was
leathern doctrine. Ife would have preached at the great
church, hut the minister would not give way ; whereupon he
came to the minister's house, to contest with him about
denying him his pulpit; to \\hom the minister replied, that
he had heard of hinr by JSIr. John Ley and Mr. Thomas
Edwards, and was fully satisfied concerning him. Besides,
he said ' I have heard of one Master Saltmarsh, who, in the
time of the former differences between the king and the
Scots, viz. before this parliament, made verses to incense the
king to \var aguinst the Scots, when he went into the north;
and that when the late oath, made by tlie bishops, came forth,
went many miles to an archbishop to take that oath upon his
knees:' to which Master Saltmarsh replied, he was then in
his darkness ; and the minister of Bath rejoined, he thought
him to be still in the smoak."*

We make no comment upon the above account, but allow
Mr. Saltmarsh to speak for himself. In answer to Mr.
Edwards, he says, " When I called to you the other day in
the street, and challenged you for your unanswerable crime
against me in the third part of the last " Gangraana," in setting-
my name against all the heresies you reckon, which your ovv'n
soul and the world can witness to be none of mine, and your
own confession to me when I challenged you — how were you
troubled in spirit and language ? Your sin was, as I thought,
upon you, scourging you, checking you as I spoke. 1 told
you at parting, 1 hoped we should overcome you by prayer.
I believe we shafl pray you either- into repentance, or shame,
or judgment, ere we have done with you ; but, oh ! might it
be repentance rather! till Master Edwards smite upon his
thigh, and .say. What have I done ?

" For your anagram upon my name, you do but fulfil the
prophecy. They shall cast out your names as evil, for the Son
of man's sake. And your book of jeers and stories of your
brethren ; poor man ! it will not long be music in your ears,
at this rate of sinning. For the nameless author and his