The "Reliquiæ Wottoniana" of that most learned, most amiable character, Sir Henry Wotton, were collected and printed 1651, and his "State of Christendom" 1657.

Hammond's Practical Catechism had passed through four editions in 1649, but was re-printed in 1655.

When I remark, p. 208, that the Parliament was Episcopalian and Tory, I mean that these parties were dominant; though it is well known the Presbyterians formed a large part of the Parliament which restored Charles the Second.

It is not to be denied that the principles of non-resistance were the principles of the Church of England, to the reign of James the Second. Tillotson's Letter to the Duke of Monmouth is well known; but I contend that, had not the tide of illiterate fanaticism overwhelmed all intellectual morality, the principles of Chillingworth, and Hales, and Taylor, would have been those of Tillotson, as well as Locke.

I have said, "perish the Establishment, if inconsistent with charity;" for it is my sincere conviction that the fiercest contests, between rival and discordant sects, would take place, if there were no established religion.

In conclusion, I beg to express my sincerest acknowledgment for the great care of Mr. J. G. Nichols, in superintending this Work through the press, the errors of which are only owing to the Author.

THOMAS, the youngest son,* by his first wife, of Thomas Ken, attorney at law, of Furnival's Inn, Holborn, was born at Little Berkhamstead, in Hertfordshire. It is probable his father had a temporary place of residence in this parish, as, upon inquiry both of the Rector of Berkhamstead and Little Berkhamstead, I find no record or tradition respecting the family, nor any account of possessions belonging to any person of that name.

Hawkins, the most authentic biographer of Bishop Ken, and who was his great-nephew, says he was born at Berkhamstead. Salmon, who wrote a short summary of the lives of all the Bishops from the Restoration to the Revolution, states his place of birth to have been Little Berkhamstead.

* His biographer and relation, Hawkins, has called Ken youngest son. It appears, from a pedigree in the College of Arms, attested by his father, that John Ken was not the elder brother, but son of the second wife. (See page 5.)

The fact of his having been born at Berkhamstead is ascertained, both from Hawkins and by the entry of his admission to Winchester college; but there is no tradition, or entry in the register at Berkhamstead, and therefore we can only suppose that he was born, if not baptized, at Little Berkhamstead, a place, from comparative obscurity, less likely to have preserved any positive facts or traditional memorial, and where the parish register prior to 1712 is lost.

His father, Thomas Ken, had, we may conclude, more than one son by his first wife, as John was son of the second wife. He had two daughters. John followed, it is most probable, his father's profession.

Anne, the elder daughter, was married to that singular and interesting character Isaak Walton, the celebrated "piscator"

Martha was married to a Mr. James Beacham, who had one son, Fellow of Trinity college, Oxford, and another, Fellow of New college, probably bred up at Winchester from his uncle Ken's recommendation.

Rose Ken, mentioned in Isaak Walton's will,† and recommended to the kindness of his son Isaac, the Canon of Salisbury, was wife of John Ken.

* His father lived in Cripplegate before he removed to Furnival's Inn.

† "I desire him to be kind to his aunt Beachame, and his aunt Rose Ken, allowing the first about fifty shillings a year for bacon and cheese."

Thomas, the son, according to the pedigree, of the first wife, was equally remarkable for the virtues and the vicissitudes of his life. The most interesting passages of that life, connected with the events and characters of the times, we shall now endeavour to set faithfully before the reader.

But we shall first give the genealogy of the family of Ken, and the Bishop's pedigree; for, though this might seem unimportant, yet in genealogy, as in mathematics, positive certainty constitutes the value; and the curiosity of the present age has certainly encouraged such minute investigations, which have supplied many biographical and some important facts.

The following is a pedigree of the Ken family, as entered at the Heralds' Visitation of Somersetshire, in 1623.*

Visit. Somerset, 1623.—MSS. Coll. Arm. p. 347.

Arms: Ermine, three crescents Gules.

Crest: Three crescents interlaced Argent.

John Ken, of Ken Court, Margaret, daughter of Sir Christopher
co. Somerset.

Baynham.

1. Edmund 1. Anne.

Ken, of 2. Margaret,m.Hen.Morgan, of Manston, Dev.
Langford, 3. Catherine, m. Chr. Greene, of Sussex.
4. Elizabeth.

1623.

2. John.

5. Alice, mar. Geo. Prowse, of Tiverton. 3. Edward. 6. Mary.

Geo. Ken, 1.Christoæt. 22,

1623. Thomas

pher.

2. Francis.

3.William.

Ken, 2d 4.Edmund.

son.

* "The Visitation of Counties by the King's Stewards and

I subjoin, from the Visitation of London, and by the kindness of my friend Mr. Dallaway, and Mr. Young, York Herald, the immediate descent of the Bishop, with some additional particulars collected from an examination of testamentary evidence.

Officers of Arms, under the special warrant of the Sovereign, for the purpose of collecting and recording the pedigrees and arms of the nobility and gentry resident therein, is of very antient date; and the genealogies and arms thus collected are well known by the name of "Visitations." These records are in existence at the College of Arms, London, from the year 1528 to 1686, the date of the last commission. The authority or commission for making these Visitations was granted by the Sovereign to the provincial Kings of Arms, at intervals of about twenty-five or thirty years; the nobility and gentry were summoned in each county by warrants, to give accounts of their families and arms; and the various entries are in most cases attested by the signatures of the heads of the families, or of persons on their behalves. These Visitations are admitted by the Courts at Westminster, as evidence of the truth of the matters therein contained.

"Since the year 1686, there has not been a visitation, and the pedigrees of the gentry of England have never since then been recorded, except in those comparatively few instances where the prudent members of families have registered them at the College of Arms, London. The neglect (the word is perhaps too severe, but we find it applied by great authority,) therefore, of the Heralds in making their usual progresses is a public injury, affecting the fame, and sometimes that more substantial treasure, the land, of every gentleman in the kingdom; and rendering, as Mr. Justice Blackstone remarked, "the proof of a modern descent, for the recovery of an estate, or succession to a title of honour, more difficult than that of an antient;" and neither wealth nor industry can repair the mischief which

this