to lady Ruffel, giving her an account of the king's having given the bishopric of Chichester to Dr. Patrick, and the deanry of Peterborough to Dr. Kidder. The rectory of St. Paul's Covent Garden alfo falling into his majesty's difpofal by the promotions of the new bishop of Chichester, dean Tillotfon informed her ladyship, that he believed, that the king would not difpofe of that living but to one, whom the earl of Bedford, the patron of it, fhould approve, and therefore asked her whe ther his lordship and fhe would be willing that the earl of Nottingham fhould mention to his majesty on that occafion Dr. John More. This divine was, after his advancement to the epifcopal dignity one of the most eminent patrons of learning and learned men, in his time; and his name will be carried down to pofterity, not only by his fermons published by Dr.. Samuel Clarke, his chaplain, but by the curirous and magnificent library collected by him, and purchafed after his death, for fix thousand guineas by his late majefty, who prefented it to the univerfity of Cambridge. He was born. at Harborough in Leicestershire, and educated at Clare-hall in that university, where he took the degree of bachelor of arts in 1665, of mafter in 1669, of doctor of divinity in 1681. He was fellow of that college and chaplain to the chancellor Nottingham, and quitting the rectory of Blaby in Leicefterfhire, was collated to that of St. Auftin in London in December 1687, and in October 1689 was removed to

that

that of St. Andrews, which he held till July 1691, when he was confecrated bishop of Norwich, in the room of Dr. William Lloyd, de. prived for not taking the oaths, and July 1707, tranflated to the fee of Ely, upon the death of Dr. Patrick. He died on thirty first of July 1714, at the age of fixty eight In the fame. letter, the dean takes notice of his having spoken to the king the Sunday before, concerning Mr. Samuel Johnfon, and that his majesty feemed well inclined to what he had moved for that divine, but did not pofitively determine to take that course, This refers to fome request, which lady Ruffel had defired the dean to make to his majesty in favour of Mr. Johnfon, for whom she had great zeal out of regard both to the memory of her husband, whose chaplain he had been, and to the merit of his writings and fufferings.

The king had now fixed upon Dr. Tillotfon for the fucceffor to the fufpended archbiThop Sancroft, if the latter fhould incur, as he feemed determined, a fentence of deprivation: And he communicated the intention to the doctor, when he kiffed his majefty's hand for the deanry of St. Pauls. But this fact will be best represented in the dean's own words, in his letter to lady Ruffel; part of which, we fhall infert here. And it is obfervable, that this letter is an unanswerable confutation of a report, propogated to the difadvantage of bi-. fhop Burnet, that he had a view himself to the archbishopric, and that his disappointment

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in that respect was the ground of an incurable refentment against a prince, to whom he had been fo much obliged. "But now begins my trouble. After I had kiffed the king's hand for the deanry of St. Paul's, I gave his ma jefty my most humble thanks, and told him, that now he had set me at ease for the remainder of my life. He replied, no fuch matter, I affure you: and spoke plainly about a great place, which I dread to think of, and said, it was neceffary for his fervice, and he muft charge it upon my confcience, Juft as he had faid this, he was called to fupper, and I had only time to fay, that when his majefty was at leifure, I did believe I could fatisfy him, that it would be most for his fervice, that I fhould continue in the station, in which he had now placed me. This hath brought me into a real difficulty. For on the one hand it is hard to decline his majefty's commands, and much harder yet to ftand out against fo much goodness, as his majesty is pleased to use towards me. On the other, I can neither bring my inclination nor my judgement to it. This I owe to the bishop of Salisbury, one of the worst and best friends I know: Best And for his fingular good opinion of me: the worst for directing the king to this method, which I know he did; as if his lordship and I had connected the matter how to finish this foolish piece of diffimulation, in running away from a bishopric to catch an archbishopric. This fine device hath thrown me fo far into

the

the briars, that, without his majesty's great goodness, I fhall never get off without a fcratched face.

"And now I will tell your ladyship the bottom of my heart. I have, of a long time, I thank God for it, devoted myfelf to the public fervice, without any regard for myself; and to that end have done the best I could, in the best manner I was able. Of late God hath been pleased, by a very fevere way, but in great goodness to me, to wean me perfectly from the love of this world; fo that worldly greatness is now not only undefireable, but diftafteful to me and I do verily believe that I fhall be able to do as much or more good in my present station than in a higher; and fhall not have one jot lefs intereft or influencè upon any others to any good purpofe; for the people naturally love a man that will take great pains and little preferment: but, on the other hand, if I could force my inclination to take this great place, I forefee that I fhall fink under it, and grow melancholy, and good for nothing; and, after a little while, die as a fool dies."

The fee of Canterbury foon after becoming vacant by the deprivation of archbishop Sancroft, on the first of February, 1689-90, the king continued, for several months after, his importunities to the dean for his acceptance of which he still endeavoured to avoid. In this fituation he wrote a letter to the lady Ruffel, wherein he tells her,

it ;

" On

"On Sunday last the king commanded me to wait upon him the next morning at Kenfington. I did fo, and met with what I feared. His majesty renewed his former gracious offer in fo preffing a manner, and with fo much kindness, that I hardly knew how to refift it. I made the best acknowledgments I could of his undeferved grace and favour to me, and begged of him to confider all the confequences of the matter; being well af fured, that all that storm, which was raised in convocation the last year by those who will be the church of England, was upon my account; and that the bishop of L------ was at the bottom of it, out of a jealoufy that I might be a hindrance to him in attaining what he defires, and what, I call God to witness, I would not have.

"And I told his majefty, that I was ftill afraid, that his kindness to me would be greatly to his prejudice, especially if he carried it fo far as he was then pleased to speak. For I plainly faw they could not bear it, and that the effects of envy and ill-will towards me would terminate him. upon

To which he replied, That, if the thing were once done, and they faw no remedy, they would give over, and think of making the beft of it; and therefore he muft defire me to think feriously of it; with other expreffions not fit for me to repeat. To all which I anfwered, That, in obedience to his majesty's commands, I would confider of it again, tho'