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 ftayed 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 Dorfet; Charles, earl of Macclesfield; Thomas, earl of Falconberg; Robert, lord Lucas, and divers other perfons of rank; who attended the the folemnity, to exprefs the great eneem and refpect 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 house 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, deferves to be mentioned here. Soon after his promotion, while a gentleman was with him, who came to pay his compliH 4 ments ments upon it, a packet was brought in sealed and directed to his grace; upon opening of which there appeared a mask inclosed, but nothing written. The archbishop, without any figns of emotion, threw it carelefly among his papers on the table; and, on the gentleman's expreffing great furprize and indignation at the affront, his grace only fmiled, and faid, That this was a gentle rebuke, if compared with fome others, that lay there in black and white, pointing to the papers on the table. Nor could the series of ill treatment, which he received, ever provoke him to a temper of revenge, being far from indulging himself in any of those liberties, in fpeaking of others, which were, to fo immeafureable a degree, made ufe of against himfelf. And, upon a bundle of libels found his papers among his death, he put no other infcription than this, "Thefe are libels. I pray God forgive them; I do.". after The calumnies fpread against him, though the falfest which malice could invent, and the confidence with which they were averred, joined with the envy that accompanies a high ftation, had indeed a greater operation than could have been imagined, confidering how long he had lived on fo public a scene, and how well he was known. It feemed a new and unusual a thing, that a man, who, in the courfe of above thirty years, had done fo much good, and fo many fervices to fo many per fons, fons, without ever once doing an ill office, or a hard thing, to any one, and who had a fweetness and gentleness in him, that feemed rather to lean to an excefs, fhould yet meet with fo much unkindness and injuftice. But he bore all this with a fubmiffion to the will of God; nor had it any effect on him, to change either his temper or his maxims, tho' perhaps it might fink too much into him with relation to his health. He was fo exactly true, in all the reprefentations of things or perfons, which he laid before their majefties, that he never raised the character of his friends, nor funk that of those who deferved not fo well of him; but offered every thing to them with that fincerity which fo well became him. His truth and candour were perceptible in almost every thing which he faid or did; his looks and whole manner feeming to take away all fufpicion concerning him; for he thought nothing in this world was worth much art or great management. He did not long furvive his advancement ; for, on Sunday, the eighteenth of November, 1694, he was feized with a fudden illness while he was at the chapel in Whitehall: but, though his countenance shewed that he was indifpofed, he thought it not decent to interrupt the fervice. The fit indeed came flowly on, but it seemed to be fatal, and foon turned to a dead palfy. The oppreffion of his difemper was fo great, that it became very un H 5 eafy easy for him to fpeak; but it appeared, that his understanding was ftill clear, tho' others could not have the advantage of it. He continued ferene and calm, and, in broken words, faid, that, he thanked God, he was quiet within, and had nothing then to do but to wait the will of Heaven. He was attended, the two last nights of his illnefs, by his friend Mr. Nelson, in whose arms he expired on the fifth day of it, Thurfday, November the twenty-fecond, at five in the afternoon, in the fixty-fifth year of his age. The forrow for his death was more univerfal than was ever known for a fubject; and, when his funeral was appointed, there was a numerous train of coaches, filled with perfons of rank and condition, who came voluntarily to affift at that folemnity from Lambeth to the church of St. Laurence Jewry, where his body was interred on the thirtieth of that month; and a monument afterwards erected to his memory with the following infcription: P. M. Reverendiflimi & fan&tiffimi Præfulis Archiepifcopi Cantuarienfis, per Qui obiit Xo Kal. Dec. MDCLXXXXIV, Etatis fuæ LXIIII. Hoc pofuit ELIZABTHA |