This book, drawn up by Bishop Moreton, and dated from Greenwich, May 24, 1618, in the 15 of James I., is to this effect : "That for his good people's recreation, his Majesty's pleasure was, that after the end of divine service, they should not be disturbed, letted or discouraged from any lawful recreations; such as dancing, either men or women, archery for men, leaping or vaulting, or any such harmless recreations, nor of having Maygames, Whitsonales, or Moriscedances, or setting up of Maypoles, or other sports there with used, so that the same may be had in due convenient time, without impediment or let of divine service; and that women should have leave to carry rushes to the church for decorating it according to their old custom; withal prohibiting all unlawful games to be used on Sundays only; as bear-baiting, bull-baiting, interludes, and at all times. bowling."

The reason assigned for this imprudent measure was that the Puritan preachers endeavored to raise the Sabbath, and to depress the festivals; and hence the popish priests took occasion to create the impression that the reformed religion was incompatible with that Christian liberty which God and nature had indulged to the sons of men; so that to preserve the people from Papacy his Majesty was brought under a necessity to publish the Book of Sports.

To this Mr. Chauncy was strongly opposed; and as preaching in the afternoon of Sunday was prohibited by statute, he would in that part of the day, "catechise as many as he could, both young and old." A catechism composed by him, which he probably employed for the instruction of his people, I have lately procured in the Loganian Library, Philadelphia. It is entitled, "The Doctrine of the Sacrament, with the right use thereof, catechetically handled by way of question and answer, by Mr. Charles Chauncy, sometime Minister at Ware." The emblem on the title page is an anchor wreathed with flowers. The motto is Anchora spei, printed by G. M. for Thomas Underhill, at the sign of the Bible, in Wood street, 1642. The Bishop was not satisfied with this substitution, and said, "that catechising was as bad as preaching."

Most of the Puritan divines were now treated with the utmost cruelty. Bishop Laud was determined to bring them to an ex

act conformity, or stop their mouths, or cast them into prison, or drive them out of the land. Mr. Chauncy did not escape the vengeance of this tyrannical prelate. In January, 1629, he was questioned in the high commission court for having used the following expression in his sermon: "That idolatry was admitted into the church: that not only the prophets of Baal, but Baal himself was received, and houses multiplied for their entertainment; and that the preaching of the gospel would be suppressed. That there wanted men of courage to remind their superiors of their neglect, and that there was a great increase of atheism, heresy, popery and arminianism in the church."

To the charge founded upon these expressions, Mr. Chauncy gave his answer upon oath in the high commission in the month of April following. The next day, the cause, by order of the court, was referred to the decision of Bishop Laud. This was on condition, that if Mr. Chauncy did not submit to observe what the Bishop should appoint, his Lordship might, if he pleased, refer him back to be censured in the high commission. But he is said to have made his submission to the Bishop.

This, however, was not the end of his troubles, for, in 1635, he was again prosecuted in the high commission for opposing the railing in of the communion table at Ware: when he was suspended, cast into prison, condemned to costs, and obliged to make a humiliating recantation. *†

This submission is said to have been forced from Mr. Chauncy, and designed only to deter others from opposing the Archbishop's innovations. After he had made this disgraceful recantation in the open court, the Archbishop judicially admonished him "to carry himself peaceably and conformably to the doctrines, the discipline, and rites and ceremonies of the Church of England; and that in case he should be brought before them again for any similar offence, the court intended to proceed against him with all severity; and so dismissed him."‡

* Prynne's Cant. Doome, p. 362. Rushworth Collection, v. 11, p. 34. This persecution was procured chiefly by the tyrannical power and influence of Laud; and when Dr. Merick, counsel to Mr. Chauncy, endeavored to vindicate his client, because the setting up of a rail was done by a few parishioners, and without any warrant from those in authority, the Archbishop, in a rage, threatened to suspend the Doctor from his practice, for pleading thus in his favor.-Prynne's Cant. Doome, pp. 93, 95, 96.-Rushworth's Collect., vol. 2, p. 316.

Prynne's Cant. Doome, pp. 96, 494.

Though Mr. Chauncy was overcome in the hour of temptation, and enforced, by the terrors and censures of his cruel oppressors, to make the above recantation, he afterwards felt the bitterness of it, and deeply bewailed his sinful compliance. Though he obtained forgiveness of God, he never forgave himself as long as he lived. He often expressed a holy indignation against himself, as well as the superstitious innovations in the church. He was a most exemplary man, and lived a most holy life; yet at the time of his death he made the following humiliating declaration in his last will and testament: "I do acknowledge myself to be a child of wrath, and sold under sin, and one who hath been polluted with innumerable transgressions and mighty sins; which, as far as I know and call to remembrance, I keep still fresh before me, and desire with mourning and self abhorrence still to do, as long as life shall last; and especially my so many sinful compliances with and conformity unto vile human inventions, and will-worship and hell-bred superstitions, and other evil things apatched to the service of God, with which the English massbook, I mean the book of Common Prayer, is so fully fraught."* He appears to have preached for a season in Marston-Lawrence before he was settled at Ware.

HIS EMIGRATION, AND HIS RESIDENCE IN PLYMOUTH.

Mr. Chauncy left England the latter part of the year 1637, and arrived in Plymouth, Mass., a few days before the great earthquake, which happened June 1, 1638. Here he was employed to preach the Gospel with the Rev. Mr. Reyner, for something like three years. He would have been called to settle in the ministry over this people, but for his opinions in favor of immersing infants in baptism, and of celebrating the Lord's Supper in the evening, and every Lord's day. The following is Winthrop's account of the matter :—

"Our neighbors of Plymouth had procured from hence this year, 1639, one Mr. Chauncy, a great scholar and a godly man, intending to call him to the office of Teacher. But before the fit time came, discovered his judgment about baptism, that the children ought to be dipt and not sprinkled, and he being an active man and very vehement, there arose much trouble about

*Mather's Hist. of New England, vol. iii., pp. 134, 135.

it. The Magistrates and the other Elders then withstood the receiving of that practice, not for itself so much as for fear of worse consequences, as the annihilating of our baptism, &c. Wherefore the church then wrote to all the other churches, both here and in Connecticut, for advice, and sent Mr. Chauncy's arguments. The churches took them into consideration and returned their several answers, wherein they showed their dissent from him and clearly confuted all his arguments, discovering some great mistakes of his about the judgment and practice of antiquity. Yet would not he give over his opinions; and the church of Plymouth, though they could not agree to call him to the office, being much taken with his able parts, they were loth to part with him. He did maintain also that the Lord's Supper ought to be administered in the evening and every Lord's day."Winthrop's Journal, p. 330.

He appears to have been greatly blessed in his ministry at Plymouth, both in respect to religion and learning. His influence was felt long after he was in his grave. An examination of the catalogue of Harvard College shows, that from 1661 to 1815, inclusive, forty-eight persons who were born at Plymouth were graduated at Cambridge. First on the list are the names of Nathaniel Chauncy and Elnathan Chauncy, twin sons of President Chauncy.-(See Volume 4, Second Series of the Mass. His. Col., p. 85. THACHER, in his History of Plymouth, places two names before those of the sons of the President.)

HIS RESIDENCE IN SCITUATE.

In 1641, he was elected pastor of the church at Scituate, as successor of the Rev. John Lathrop, who, with a part of his congregation, had removed to Barnstable. At the renewing of his ordination, as Cotton Mather terms it, he preached from Proverbs ix. 10, "Wisdom hath sent forth her maidens." In allusion to the regretted recantation which he made in England, he said, "Alas, Christians, I am no maiden; my soul hath been defiled with false worship; how wondrous is the free grace of Christ that I should be employed 'among the maidens of wisdom!""

A controversy on the subject of baptism, which existed in Mr. Lathrop's church before they left England, and which produced the establishment of a Baptist church after they settled in Scit

uate, and which caused Mr. Lathrop to remove to Barnstable, had planted roots of bitterness in the hearts of the people. At his settlement another church was formed under the lead of William Vassal, a man of decided ability. With him Mr. Chauncy soon found himself engaged in a controversy on the subject of the seals, particularly on the mode of baptism. This controversy must have been a source of great disquietude to him.

There are many evidences on record that Mr. Chauncy was unhappy at Scituate. "The circumstances by which he was surrounded, together with his ardent temperament, make an apology, in part, for his uneasiness. He was a studious man beyond what is often known, and was subject to the nervous sensibility peculiar to hard students. He was consciously endowed with great talents and learning. He was devoted to his profession, and he was too apt to accept it as an indignity that his powers should not keep down all opposition, and his labors bring him at least the comforts of life in temporal things."-Deane's History of Scituate.

In 1649 Mr Chauncy made known the poverty of his circumstances to the Governor and Assistants, though we do not find any grant was made with reference to this application. The following is a list of his property, extracted from the Colony Records:

1. "The house Mr. Hatherly bought of Mr. Vassal, with the enlargements. A new building and barn and other out-houses. 2. All the ground about it being six acres. 3. An enclosed stony

field near the marsh. 4. An orchard behind the house. 5. The barn close, comprising the barn. 6. Twenty acres of upland, ten of it enclosed, called the new field. 7. Twelve acres of Cohasset marsh. 8. Twenty acres of land on Hoop-pole Island, with undivided land among the Cohasset purchasers.

Dor: Chauny, 1649.

"In 1654, Mr. Hatherly, the untiring patron of the plantation, offered to make a deed of gift to Mr. Chauncy of a house and land on Statuit brook, on condition that he would spend his life in Scituate, which he declined. Mr. Hatherly then made a deed