In whatsoever company he was, he had courage, as became a faith- ful minister of Christ, to oppose sin ; and upon proper occasions, to reprove sinners. Duke Lauderdale, who pretended to carry it with great respect to him, in some company where the doctor was present, behaved himself very indecently : the doctor modestly reproved him, but the duke never loved him afterward. He was once at dinner at Lord Manchester's in Whitehall, when several persons of great note began to drink the king's health, a custom which then began to be much in vogue, and was commonly abused to great disorders. When it came to him, he refused to comply with it, apprehending it beneath the dignity of a minister to give any countenance to the sinful excess it so often occasioned in those times. It put a stop to it at that time, and Prince Kupert, who was present, inquired who he was. Many of the Scotch nobility greatly respected him, particularly the Duchess of Hamilton, who attended his ministry. Notwithstanding the great and weighty affairs then on foot, which took up a great part of his time, he never omitted his beloved work of constant preaching, to the time of his ejection, in 1662. He then usually resorted to his own church,
OF THOMAS M ANTON, D.D. XVI I
where he was succeeded by Dr Patrick, the late Bishop of Ely. It happened cross, that Dr Patrick receiving a scurrilous letter from an unknown person, full of reflections upon himself, had so little wisdom at that time as to charge it upon Dr Man ton, in a letter to him, with very unbecoming reflections. This occasioned his not attending any more his preaching ; for no man living more abhorred a base and un- worthy action. Having this occasion of speaking a little to his dis- advantage, I shall take the opportunity of doing a piece of justice to the memory of that learned person, who has since, by many books of devotion, and excellent paraphrases and conmientaries on the scripture, as well as by his exemplary life, done so much good to the world, and deserved so well of the Christian church. It has been generally allowed, that Dr Patrick wrote the first volumes of the ' Friendly Debate,' in the heat of his youth, and in the midst of his expecta- tions ; which by aggravating some weak and uncautious expressions, in a few particular writers, designed to expose the Nonconformist ministry to contempt and ridicule. The design was afterwards carried on by a worse hand, and with a more virulent spirit,^ a method altogether unreasonable and unworthy, because it will be always easy to gather rash and unadvised expressions from the weaker persons of any party of men, and only serves to expose religion to the scorn and contempt of the profane. But Bishop Patrick in his advanced age, and in a public debate in the House of Lords, about the ' Occasional Bill,' took the opportunity to declare himself to this purpose : ' That he had been known to write against the Dissenters with some warmth, in his younger years ; but that he had lived long enough to see reason to alter his opinion of that people, and that way of writing ; and that he was verily persuaded there were some who were honest men and good Christians, who would be neither, if they did not ordinarily go to church, and sometimes to the meeting ; and on the other hand, some were honest men and good Christians, who would be neither, if they did not ordinarily go to the meetings and sometimes to church.' A rare instance this of retractation and moderation ; which I think re- dounds greatly to his honour, and is worthy of imitation.
But to return to the history. After he ceased to attend upon Dr Patrick's ministry, he used to preach on the Lord's-day evenings in his own house to his family, and some few of his neighbours ; and some time after, on Wednesday mornings, when the violence of the times would allow it. Upon the increase of his hearers, he was obliged to lay two rooms into one ; which yet, by reason of the number of the people, and the straitness of the place, proved very inconvenient to him, especially in hot weather, and prejudicial to his health. He had lived in that respect and good-will in the parish, that his neighbours were generally civil to him, and gave him no trouble. Only a little before his ejectment, one Bird, a tailor, a zealous stickler for the Common Prayer, complained to Dr Sheldon, then Bishop of London, that Dr Manton deprived him of the means of his salvation ; meaning the use of the Common Prayer. ' Well,' says the bi.shop, ' all in good time ; but you may go to heaven without the Common Prayer.' There was one Justice Ball, within a few doors of him, who often threatened him,
^ Dr Samuel Parker, afterwards Bishop of Oxford.
XVlll MEMOIRS OF THE LIFE AND CHARACTER
and was at last as good as his word. He was sometimes in danger from the churchwardens, of which number there were always three. The Duke of Bedford having always the choice of one, took care to have him a friend to the doctor ; and his well-known respect to him gave him countenance and protection from the malice of the meaner people. His meeting afterwards adjoined to Lord Wharton's house in St Griles's, which he allowed him the convenience of, whether he was in town or not. The good-natured Earl of Berkshire lived next door, who was himself a Jansenist Papist, and offered him the liberty, when he was in trouble, to come to his house ; which it was easy to do, by only passing over a low wall which parted the gardens.