The Oxford Magazine; For APRIL, 1769. O Memoirs of the Life of Sir George Jefferies, continued from p. 85. N the day appointed, the bishop appeared in court, and addreffing himself to Jefferies, told him, "That he could not meet with the commiffion, which, he had been told, was upon record, and in every coffee-house, till laft night." Jefferies anfwered him very abruptly, That the court could admit with no quarrelling with their commiffion: not being fuch fools as to fit there, if they were not well affured of the legality of it." The bishop answered, "That he had other reasons to defire a fight of the commiffion; becaufe, perhaps, it might not reach him, as he was a peer and a bishop; or, perhaps, it might not reach that particular cafe and therefore, he infifted upon a longer time to put in his anfwer." This demand was fupported by Sir Thomas Clarges. The commiffioners, after a fhort confultation, granted the bishop a fortnight longer; and, as his lordship was departing, Jefferies made a kind of apology to him, for faying at the last hearing, "that the commiffion was to be feen in every coffeehoufe; alledging, that he did not mean that he thought his lordship frequented fuch places; but intended no more by the expreffion, than that the commiffion was publicly feen all the town over." The tools of fuch VOL. II. a miniftry as Jeffries ferved, had a licence for faying any thing; for when they were backed by power, it was impoffible for them to fay any thing amifs. Whereas, on the other fide, the clergy could not defend the reformation in their pulpits, without being charged with fedition; nor could even the members fpeak their fentiments freely in parliament without being branded with treajon. At the expiration of the fortnight, the bishop made his third appearance; and, after a previous apology, he acquainted the court," that his council had informed him, that their proceedings were directly contrary to the. Statute Lav, which they were ready to prove." As foon as Jefferies heard this, he cried out, in a great paflion, "We will not hear your lordship, nor your council, in this matter. The bishop, who was neither to be intimidated by the chancellor's wrath, nor moved with his power, anfwered, with great intrepidity, that he was a bishop of the church of England, and by all the laws of chriftian churches in all ages, as well as the particular laws of the land, he was to be tried by his metropolitan and fuffragans, and there. fore hoped his lordship would not deny him the right and privilege of christian bishops." To this he was anfwered, answered, "That they had an original jurisdiction, and this was queftioning their commiffion." The bishop then pleaded, "that what he was accufed of, was before the date of the commiflion; and they were only to cenfure faults committed afterwards." In reply to this, Jefferies granted the claufe, but curforily told his lordfhip, " there were general claufes that took in things paft, as well as thofe that were to come." The bishop then infiiting on his right, as a fubject to the laws of the realm, and, as a bishop, to the rights and privileges of the church, he delivered his anfwer in writing, and, as he withdrew, left Dr. Sharp's petition on the table. After fome time spent in debate, the bishop was called in, and Jefferies told him," that they were not concerned in Dr. Sharp's petition; but, if he defired it, his own anfwer fhould be read." The bishop anfwering in the affirmative, his petition was read; and being afked, whether he had any thing more to fay, he defired that his council might be heard. The bishop's motion was debated upon for half an hour, after which his lordship being called in, his council was granted him. Notwithstanding all the arguments in his favour, the bishop was ordered to make his fourth appearance, fix days afterwards, to receive his fentence, when he was fufpended from all his epifcopal functions during the king's pleasure; and the bishops of Durham, Rochefter, and Peterborough, were invefted with the adminiftration of his diocefe. Jefferies had formerly wounded the conftitution in its extreme parts, but, in this cafe, he stabbed it in its very vitals; and as he had before been a murderer of the king's fubjects, even upon the bench, he now endeavoured all he could to give a heightening to the heinoufnefs of his cha racter, by commencing an affaffin and murderer of the privileges of the church, and of the perfons of its rulers. I have been told, by fome perfons of credit, that he was fo extremely unpopular, and his conduct was fo generally odious, that when he went to Wales, on a vifit to his father, after he was made chancellor, the good old man was fo much afhamed of having fuch a fon, that he would not permit him to see him. In the year 1687, the king, intending to open a way for Papifts into the church, recommended father Francis, a Benedictine Monk, to the univerfity of Cambridge, for a mafter of arts degree; they petitioned the king to revoke his mandate. Their petition was rejected. The vicechancellor was fummoned to appear before the high commiflioners; and by means of Jefferies was deprived of his office. The univerfity fill perfe vering in their rejection of father Francis, the proceedings against them was dropped. Notwithstanding the bad fuccefs of the miniftry in their attempts upon Cambridge, they next made an attack upon Oxford; and, by perfevering longer in their meafures, rendered the intrepid and heroic fortitude of our alma mater the more confpicuous. The prefident of Magdalen College being deceafed, the king fent a mandamus to that fociety to elect one Farmer, who was a mafler of arts of that houfe, and a new convert to papistry. This college was one of the moft opulent in the univerity; for though the referved rents amount to no more than five thousand pounds, yet the extended value amounted to forty thousand pounds a year; and the whole town of Calais in France, when in the poffeffion of the English, was a part of its endowment. Nothing could give greater weight to the Memoirs of the Life of Sir George Jefferies. the crown than to have fo lucrative a poft occupied by one of its creatures, and nothing could make a tool of the miniftry more hearty in their caufe than the enjoyment of fo profitable a place. Farmer feemed a proper inftrument for their purposes; for having no character to loofe, there was nothing which he would not have undertaken, nor were there any meafures which he would not have embraced to accomplish his ends. The college dreading nothing more than falling into the hands of fuch a prefident, petitioned the king to permit them to choose their own prefident, according to the ftatutes of the college; or at least to nominate fome other perfon, whofe character was lefs fufpicious, and who was better qualified for fo important a truft. The college, receiving no anfwer from the king, elected Dr. Hough for their prefident. Their election highly incenfed the court; and the vice prefident, Dr. Fairfax, with the other fellows, were fummoned to ap pear before the ecclefiaftical court. They appeared before the commiffioners at Whitehall on June the 6th. Being afked, "Why they refufed to obey the king's mandate?" they defired time, and delivered their anfwer in writing. Dr. Fairfax, having not figned their anfwer, defired the commiffioners to hear him apart, and to take his reasons for his refusal. After the reading of the anfwer, Jefferies, imagining he would fab mit, gave him leave to fpeak, faying, at the fame time," Aye, this looks like a man of fenfe, and a good fubject, let's hear what he will fay.' From hence the reader may guess, what minifters mean when they talk of the fenfe or goodness of the fubject. But Jefferies was at this time in the fame cafe, as Shylock in the Merchant of Venice, who imagined that the councellor was of his fide, when 123 he was arguing against him. Jefferies found himfelf as much mistaken as Shylock, for Dr. Fairfax infisted, "That in ecclefiaftical courts a libel fhould be given to the party appealed, that he may know what he is accufed of." He faid, "he defired that li-. bel, and did not know what he was called there for; and that the matter did not lie in that court, but in Weftminfter-Hall, Jefferies endeavoured to over-rule, at leaft to ridicule his plea, by telling him, "He was a Doctor of Divinity, but not of the Law." To this the doctor replied, "That he defired to know, by what commiffion and authority they fate? This put Jefferies into fuch a paffion, that he cried out, " Pray, what commifion have you to be fo impudent in court? This man ought to be kept in a dark room. Why do you fuffer him without a guardian? Why did you not bring him to me to beg him? Pray let the officers feize him! After an hour's debate Dr. Fairfax was fentenced to be fufpended, and Dr. Hough's election was declared void. After fo extraordinary a fentence, Dr. Hough defired leave to fpeak, which being granted, he faid, "That having been pleafed to deprive him of his place, as prefident, he did protest against all their proceedings in prejudice of him and his rights, as illegal, unjust, and null; and therefore he appealed to his fovereign lord the king in his courts of juftice." The fcholars then prefent gave a hout of applaufe, which incenfed Jefferies fo, that he was not to be pacified he charged their behaviour upon Dr. Hough, and bound him in a bond of 1000l. and to find fecurity for the like value, and to make his appearance at the bar of the king's bench the term following. After fome little PAUSE to cool and recover himself, Jefferies obferved," That they had met with nothing but af fronts from the college; that as for Q2 him ་ What fuit of armour this judge had to protect him when he faid, he valued not what people faid of him, we cannot guefs; his readiness to Spill the laft drop of his blood in vindication of the honour of his master, had been, before this period, the language of a miniftry, who were endeavouring to trample upon the liberties of the nation: his readiness to call in the military to the fupport of the civil power, is one of the arcana of an unpopular minifty; and fhews, at the fame time, that all the profef fions of loyalty, of this infamous wretch, meant no more than that he was more ready to fpill the blood of others, than his own, in the caufe of his country, or in vindicating the honour of his mafter." The affair of Magdalen College did not end here; for after the deprivation of Dr. Hough, and the difqualification of Farmer, the king fent another mandate in favour of Dr. Parker, bishop of Oxford. But the fellows refufing to fubmit to this injunction, were obliged to appear again before the high commiffioners. The queftion being put," Whether they would obey the bishop of Oxford as their prefident," all of them, except one, anfwered in the negative. Mr. Fulham, being then interrogated, he alleged, That the bishop of Oxford had not taken poffeffion in due form of law, nor by proper officers; and that he was informed, that the proper officers, to give poffeffion of a freehold, was the fheriff with a poffe comitatus." To this Jefferies replied, in a pafion, "Pray, who is the best lawyer, you or I? Your Oxford law is no better than your Oxford divinity. If you have a mind to a poffe comitatus, you may have one foon enough. Mr. Fulham endeavoured to make an apology for what he had faid; which their lordships difregarded; and afterwards fufpended him for what they called contempt, and opprobrious language. So dangerous was it formerly to oppofe the defigns of a miniftry! Though Jefferies took fuch long ftrides to extinguish every sparkle of national liberty; though he shewed himself fo actively infolent and iniquitous in the affair of Magdalen College, he could not please his mafters, but was fufpected to have withheld fome of his power, which fhould' have been exerted. On this account it was refolved in the cabinet, that he fhould be removed from all his offices, and a fucceffor was likewife nominated. But the form was diffipated within the space of ten days; and he appeared to be more firm in his feat than he had been before. This favourable change was owing to the good offices of the queen and the lord prefident, who were strongly attached to him. The progrefs of vice is very different from that of virtue; whoever travels in the paths of the former, is pufhed on by the advances he has made, and cannot ftop if he would: whereas they who walk in the thorny paths of virtue are like those that afcend the Alps, every ftep is gained with advance exdifficulty, every pofes the traveller to a fall, and when he has gained the fummit of one mountain, it is only to prefent him with a view of another, which he muft afcend with the fame perils as that which he has passed. The year 1688 fhewed the nation, that the miniftry had no regard to popular difcontent, and that the firides they had already made to subvert the conftitution, were only preludes to greater. A declaration was published A fafe and expedient Remedy for the Rheumatism. published granting liberty of con-, icience, and abolishing the penal, laws. This the bishops were en-, joined, by an order of council, to have read in all the churches of their refpective diocefes. The view of the miniftry in this, was to offer a fresh affront upon the established church, and to reduce the bifhops to this dilemma, that if they complied with the order, they would endang.. the very being of the church; and if they refused, they expofed themfelves to punishment for difobedience. Several of the bishops met at Lambeth. to deliberate with Sancroft the archbishop, on what measures they should take in fuch dangerous and critical circumstances. The refult of their confultation was, that they could not 125 obey the king's command without [To be concluded in our next.] To the EDITORS of the OXFORD MAGAZINE." SI believe no patient of common understanding would prefer medicines, and thofe compounded too of many different ingredients, before a fingle and fimple one, that will perform a cure much fooner, fafer, and at lefs expence. I here proffer them this following, having their welfare only at heart, and I do take this opportunity likewife gratefully to acknowledge the great honour my many correfpondents do me, efpecially the learned and reverend clergy, in their frequent applications to me, from all over the nation, for advice. The tincture of glofs of antimony, which is nothing elfe but emetic wine made with the glofs, inftead of the crocus of antimony, with the addition of a little spicy ftomachic, is a fovereign medicine upon many accounts. This given to twenty or thirty drops, in any vehicle, operates by gentle fweats, and purges in a larger dofe very mildly. It is a most excellent medicine in an obstinate rheumatifm. The late Dr. Huxham, a judicious practitioner, fays, he formerly employed all his fkill to find out an ufeful preparation of antimony; and not only examined almost every chemical procefs, but tried their efficacy in various diseases, and owns that many of them had wonderful virtues; but, at the fame time, he most foJemnly affirms (and he was brought up a diffenter) that he found out nothing better, nothing fafer, nothing more efficacious, than the common fimple infufion of glofs of antimony in a generous white wine, with a little fpice, to render it more grateful to the ftomach. You may depend upon it, fays he, for I have often experienced it, that it poffeffes every virtue which can juftly be aferibed to any preparation of antimony. And though its effects are fo wonderful, it is only imbuted with the moft minute particles, I had almost faid effluvia of the ftibium; which, as they are amongst the minima naturæ, enter the finest veffels with |