of his fufferings, is reprinted in Morgan's "Phoenix Britannicus." His book is very scarce. Lady Anne Clifford. miftrefs, as the fame author expreffes it, of forecast and aftercast, and was ftrictly regular in all her accounts. Dr. Donne, fpeaking of her extenfive knowledge, which comprehended whatever was fit to Lady Anne Clifford was daugh- employ a lady's leifure, faid, or that "the knew well how to difcourfe of ter and heiress of George Clifford, earl of Cumberland, the famous adventurer, whofe fpirit the inherited. She was first married to Richard Sackville, earl of Dorset, a man of merit, whofe memory was ever dear to her, and whose life the has written. Her fecond hufband was Philip, earl of Pembroke, a man in every respect unworthy of her, from whom the was foon parted. She was long regarded as a queen in the North; and her foundations and benefactions feem to argue a revenue little lefs than royal. She founded two hofpitals, and repaired, or built, feven churches, aad fix caftles; that of Pendragon ftill retains a magnificence fuitable to the dignity of its ancient inhabitant. Her fpirited letter to Sir Jofeph Williamfon, in the "Royal and noble authors," contains but three lines, but they are mafterftrokes, and strongly expreffive of her character. Ob. 22 March, 1676. So great an original as Anne Clifford well deferves to be minutely traced. Bishop Rainbow, in his fermon, at her funeral, is very circumftantial as to her character, among the peculiarities of which, he fays, that he was" of a humour pleafing to all, yet like to none; her drefs not difliked by any, yet imitated by none." Her riches and her charities were almoft boundless. This was chiefly owing to her prudence and œconomy. She was a JOH John Bruen. She OHN Bruen, of Stapleford, in Cheshire, was a man of confiderable fortune, who received his education at Alban Hall, in the * Untwisted filk, used in embroidery. + Rainbow. university, called prophecyings; and it was his conftant practice to commit the fubftance of what he heard to writ ing. Ob. 1625, Et. 65. The reader will fee more of this gentleman in the Second Part of Clark's Marrow of Ecclefiaftical Hiftory. This author alfo informs us, that Mr. Bruen had a fervant, named Robert Pasfield, who was "mighty in the fcriptures," tho' he could neither read nor write. He was, indeed, as remarkable for remembering texts and fermons as Jedidiah Buxton for remembering numbers. "For the help of his "memory, he invented and framed a girdle of leather, long and large, which went twice about " him. This he divided into fe"veral parts, allotting every book "in the Bible in their order, to "fome of these divifions; then, "for the chapters, he affixed points or thongs of leather to the feveral "divifions, and made knots by "fives or tens thereupon, to diftin guish the chapters of that book; "and by other points he divided "the chapters into their particular " contents or verfes, as occafion << required. This he used in. " ftead of pen and ink, in hearing "fermons, and made fo good ufe "of it, that, coming home, he was "able by it to repeat the fermon, VOL. XVII. an estate of above a thousand pounds a year. He poffeffed, in an eminent degree, the qualifications of a gentleman. Having been a competent time at the university and the inns of court, he completed his education, by making the tour of Europe. He was happy in the love and esteem of his friends, and indeed of all that knew him, as his heart was warm, and the virtues of it were confpicuous from his many acts of humanity, benevolence, and charity. When he was about forty years of age, his brother, an abandoned profligate, made an attempt upon his life with a piftol, which not going off, he wrefted it from his hands, and found it charged with a double bullet. Hence he formed a refolution of retiring from the world; and taking a house in Grub-freet, he referved three rooms for himself; the first for his diet, the fecond for his lodging, and the third for his ftudy. In these he kept himself fo closely retired, that for forty-four years he was never feen by any human creature, except an old maid that attended him, who had only been permitted to see him in fome cafes of great neceffity. His diet was conftantly bread, water-gruel, milk, and vegetables, and, when he indulged himself moft, the yolk of an egg: E He bought bought all the new books that were published, most of which, upon a flight examination, he rejected. His time was regularly spent in reading, meditation, and prayer. No Carthufian monk was ever more conftant and rigid in his abftinence. His plain garb, his long and filver beard, his mortified and venerable afpect, befpoke him an ancient inhabitant of the defert rather than a gentleman of fortune in a populous city. He expended a great part of his income in acts of charity, and was very inquifitive after proper objects. He died the 29th of Úctober, 1636, in the eighty-fourth year of his age, and lies buried in St. Giles's church, near Cripplegate. The old maid-fervant died but fix days before her mafter. He had a very amiable daughter, who married Sir Chriftopher Hilliard, a gentleman of Yorkshire; but neither the, nor any of her family ever faw her father after his retirement. Mrs.Cromwell, the Protector's Wife. Lizabeth,daughter of Sir James housewife, and as capable of defcending to the kitchen with propriety, as the was of acting in her exalted station with dignity. It has been afferted, that the as deeply interested herself in fleering the helm, as fhe had often done in turning the Spit; and that she was as conftant a fpur to her husband in the career of his ambition, as the had been to her fervants in their culinary employments: certain it is, that the acted a much more prudent part as protectrefs, than Henrietta did as queen; and that the educated her children with as much ability as the governed her family with addrefs. Such a woman would, by a natural tranfition, have filled a thronet. She furvived her husband fourteen years, and died the 8th of O&t. 1672. Robert Perceval, Efq; life, a youth of uncommon expectation, as, during his application to literary purfuits, he made a very confiderable progrefs. He was fome time of Chrift's College in Cambridge, and afterwards en Obert Perceval was, in early E wife of Oliver tered at Lincoln's Inn, but being Cromwell, was a woman of an enlarged understanding and an elevated fpirit. She was an excellent of a high spirit, and having a ftrong propenfity to pleafure, he neglected his ftudies, and abandoned himself This gentleman was of the fame family with the ancient earls of Effex, of the fame name. His feat was in that county. James Heath informs us, that the was a relation of Mr. Hamden's, and Mr. Goodwin's, of Buckinghamshire, and that the was, by Oliver, "trained up "and made the waiting-woman of his providences, and lady rampant of his "fuccefsful greatnefs, which the perfonated afterwards as imperiously as him"felf;" and that "the incubus of her bed made her partaker too in the pleafures "of the throne." We are told by an Italian author, that he gradually and artfully affumed the government at the inftigation of his wife. Sir James Burrow, in his "Anecdotes and Obfervations relating to Cromwell," invalidates the charge brought against her by this writer. I know no more of her, but that about the time of the Restoration, the very prudently ftole out of town, and lived for the remainder of her life in the obícurity of retirement. to to his paffions. He is faid to have been engaged in no lefs than nineteen duels before he was twenty years of age. He was found in the Strand, apparently murdered by affaffins, who could never be difcovered after the strictest enquiry; but Fielding, the noted Beau, with whom he was known to have had a quarrel, did not escape fufpicion. A little before this tragical event, he, if himself might be credited, faw his own spectre bloody and ghaftly, and was fo fhocked with the fight that he presently swooned. Upon his recovery, he went immediately to Sir Robert Southwell, his uncle, to whom he related the particulars of this ghoftly appear ance, which were recorded, word for word, by the late lord Egmont, as he received them from the mouth of Sir Robert, who communicated them to him a little before his death. Lord Egmont alío mentions a dream of one Mrs. Brown, of Bristol, relative to the murder, which dream is faid to have been exactly verified. Extraordinary Inftance of Enthufiafm. THE HE moft fignal inftance of pure enthufiaim that hath ever occurred to me, is that of Mr. John Mason, minister of Water Stratford, near Buckingham. He was a man of great fimplicity of behaviour, of the most unaffected piety, and of learning and abilities far above the common level, till he was bewildered by the mysteries of Calvinifm, and infatuated with mil. lenary notions. This calm and grave enthufiaft was as firmly perfuaded as he was of his own exiftence, and as strongly perfuaded others, that he was the Elias ap pointed to proclaim the approach of Chrift, who was fpeedily to begin the millennium, and fix his throne at Water-Stratford. Crowds of people affembled at this place, who were fully convinced that this great æra would prefently commence; and efpecially after Mason had, in the moft folemn manner, affirmed to his fifter and feveral other perfons, that as he lay on his bed, he faw Chrift in all his majefty. Never was there a scene of more frantic joy, expreffed by finging, fiddling, dancing, and all the wildness of enthufiaftic geftures and rapturous vociferation, than was, for fome time, feen at Stratford; where a mixed multitude affembled to hail the approach of king Jefus. Every vagabond and village fidler that could be procured bore a part in the rude concert at this tumultuous jubilee. Mafon was obferved to fpeak rationally on every subject that had no relation to his wild notions in religion. He died, in 1697, foon after he fancied he had feen his Saviour, fully convinced of the reality of the vifion, and of his own divine miffion. See a particular Account of his Life and Character, by H. Maurice, rector of Tyringham, Bucks, 1645, 4to. pamphlet. Dr. John Dee, with his Prophet, or Seer, Edward Kelly. OHN Dee was a man of exten five learning, particularly in the mathematics, in which he had few equals ; but he was vain, credulous, and enthufiaftic. He was deep in aítrology, and ftrongly tinctured with the fuperftition of the Roficrucians, whofe dreams he liftened to with great eagerness, and be E 2 came came as great a dreamer himself as any of that fraternity. He appears to have been, by turns, a dupe and a cheat, but acquired prodigious reputation, and was courted by the greatest princes in Europe, who thought that in poffeffing him, they fhould literally poffefs a treasure he was offered large penfions by the emperors Charles V. Ferdinand, Maximilian, Rodolph, and the czar of Muscovy*. He travelled over great part of Europe, and feems to have been revered by many perfons of rank and eminence, as a being of a fuperior order. He pretended, that a black ftone, or fpeculum, which he made great ufe of, was brought him by angels, and that he was particularly intimate with Raphael and Gabriel. Edward Kelly, the affociate of his ftudies and travels+, who was esteemed an adept in chymistry, was appointed his feer, or fpeculator. He is faid to have written down what came from the mouths of the angels or demons that appeared in the fpeculum. His reputation, as a Roficrucian, was equal, at least, to that of Dr. Dee; but he was fo unfortunate as to lose both his ears at Lancaster. It was confidently reported, that he raised a dead body in that county. He was imprifoned for a cheat in Germany, a country which hath produced more dupes to alchemy than all the other nations in Europe. He pretended, that he was enjoined by fome of his friends, the angels, to have "a community of wives§," and he fo ftrictly adhered to this injunction, that he seems to have made it a part of his religion. Kelly died miferably from the effects of a fall, in efcaping from his confinement, in Germany; and Dee, very poor, at Mortlake, in Surry; the former in October, 1595; the latter in the year 1608, and the eighty-firft of his age. "The black ftone into which doctor Dee used to call his spirits," was in the collection of the earls of Peterborough, whence it came to lady Elizabeth Germaine. It was next the property of the late duke of Argyle, and is now Mr. Walpole's. It appears, upon examination, to be nothing but a polished piece of canal coal. But this is what Butler means, when he fays, Kelly did all his feats upon tion of what paffed for many years betwixt Dr. John Dee and fome fpirits :" London, 1659, fol. It is obfervable, from the analogy of ftyle, that the discourses of the true and falfe angels were compofed by the fame hand. Some Account of Dr. Simon Forman. From Lilly's Hiftory of his om Life and Times. WH HEN my miftrefs died, the had under her arm-hole a fmall fcarlet bag full of many See Hearne's " Appendix to Joh. Glastonienf. Chron." p. 505. 5 The fame has been reported of Dee; but this is contradictory to what is faid of him by Dr. Thomas Smith. Vide "Vita Jo. Dee,” p. 46. things, |