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I was afraid I had already thought more of it than had done me good, and must break thro' one of the greateft refolutions of my life, and facrifice, at once, all the ease and contentment of it; which yet I would force myself to do, were I really convinced, that I was, in any measure, capable of doing his majefty and the public that fervice which he was pleafed to think I was. He smiled, and faid, You talk of trouble; I believe you will have much more ease in it than in the condition in which you now are. Thinking not fit to fay more, I humbly took leave.'

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To this letter her ladyfhip returned an anfwer which contributed not a little to determine him to acquiefce in the king's pleasure, if his majesty should still prefs him, who now infifted upon a peremptory anfwer. The refult of this affair is mentioned at large in his letter to lady Ruffel.

"I went to Kenfington full of fear, but yet determined what was fit for me to do. I met the king coming out of his clofet, and asking if his coach was ready. He took me afide, and I told him, That, in obedience to his majesty's command, I had confidered of the thing as well as I could, and came to give him my answer. I perceived his majefty was going out, and therefore defired him to appoint me another time, which he did on the Saturday morning after.

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Then I came again, and he took me into his closet; where I told him, that I could not

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but have a deep fenfe of his majefty's great grace and favour to me, not only to offer me the best thing he had to give, but to press it fo earnestly upon me. I faid, I would not prefume to argue the matter any farther, but I hoped he would give me leave to be still his humble and earnest petitioner to spare me in that thing. He answered, he would do so, if he could; but he knew not what to do, if I refuted it. Upon that I told him, that I tendered my life to him, and did humbly devote [it] to be difpofed of as he thought fit. He was gracioufly pleafed to fay, it was the beft news had come to him this great while. I did not kneel down to kifs his hand; for, without that, I doubt I am too fure of it; but requested of him, that he would defer the declaration of it, and let it be a fecret for fome time. He said he thought it might not be amifs to defer it till the parliament was up.

"I begged farther of him, that he would not make me a wedge to drive out the prefent archbishop; that, fome time before I was nominated, his majefty would be pleased to declare in council, that, fince his lenity had not had better effect, he would wait no more, any but would difpofe of their places. This, 1 told him, I humbly defired, that I might not be thought to do any thing harsh, or which might reflect upon me; for, now that his majefty had thought fit to advance me to this flation, my reputation was become his interest.

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He faid, he was fenfible of it, and thought it reasonable to do as I defired.

"I craved leave of him to mention one thing more, which, in juftice to my family, efpecially my wife, I ought to do, that I should be more than undone by the great and neceffary charge of coming into this place, and must therefore be an humble petitioner to his majefty, that, if it should please God to take me out of the world, that I must unavoidably leave my wife a beggar, he would not fuffer her to be fo; and that he would graciously be pleased to confider, that the widow of an archbishop of Canterbury, which would now be an odd figure in England, could not decently be fupported by fo little, as would have contented her very well if I had died a dean. To this he gave a very gracious anfwer, I promise you to take care of her."

The king's nomination of the dean to the archbishopric of Canterbury had been agreed between them to be poftponed till after the breaking up of the feffion of parliament, which. was prorogued on the fifth of January, 1690.1; when it was thought proper to defer it ftill longer, on account of his majesty's voyage to Holland.

While his majefty ftayed in England, he was refolved to fill the vacant fees, from which he had been hitherto diverted by the dean's advice, who was reproached for it by the king at his return from Flanders, and was now obliged himself to confent to his

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majesty's nomination of him to the archbishopric in council, on the twenty-third of April, 1691.

Immediately after this public declaration, he went to the deprived archbishop, ftill at Lambeth; and fent in his name by feveral fervants, and flayed a long time for an answer, but was forced to return without receiving any; an incivility which he had not at all deferved of his predeceffor; whofe reputation, integrity, and wifdom, when afperfed by others, he had often vindicated to the king.

The conge d'eflire being granted on the first of May, he was elected on the fixteenth, confirmed on the twenty-eighth, and, having retired to his houfe on Saturday the thirtieth, which he spent in fafting and prayer, in the manner reprefented from his own account in fhort-hand at the end of his works, was confecrated the day following, being Whitfunday, in the church of St. Mary-le Bow, by Dr. Peter Mew, bishop of Winchefter; Dr. William Lloyd, bishop of St. Afaph; Dr. Gilbert Burnet, bishop of Sarum; Dr. Edward Stillingfleet, bishop of Worcester; Dr. Gilbert Ironfide, bishop of Briftol; and Dr. John Hough, bishop of Oxford; in the prefence of Henry, duke of Norfolk; Thomas, marquis of Carmarthen, lord-prefident of the council; William, earl of Devonshire; Charles, earl of Dorset ; Charles, earl of Macclesfield; Thomas, earl of Falconberg; Robert, lord Lucas, and divers other persons of rank; who attended

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the folemnity, to exprefs the greit eeem and refpe&t which they had for his grace, and the fatisfaction which they had in his promotion.

The confecration fermon was preached, on John xxi. 17, by Mr. Ralph Barker, afterwards his chaplain, whom his grace had defired to perform that office.

Four days after his confecration, on the fourth of June, he was fworn of the privy council, and, on the eleventh of July, had a' reftitution of the temporalities of his fee. The queen likewife granted him all the profits of it from the Michaelmas preceding, which then amounted to two thousand five hundred pounds. He continued to live at the deanry of St. Paul's till the latter end of the year 1691, and in the mean time built a large apartment at Lambeth houfe for his wife, repaired the whole, altered the windows and lights of the archbishop's lodgings, alfo wainscotted many rooms, and made other improvements there; which being finished, he removed thither, as appears from a memorandum in his own handwriting, on the twenty-fixth of November, 1691.

The malice and party-rage, which he had felt the effects of before he was raised to the archbishopric, broke out with full force, upon his advancement, in all the forms of infult: one inftance of which, not commonly known, deserves to be mentioned here.

Soon after his promotion, while a gentleman was with him, who came to pay his compli

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