exile. The king hereupon began to complain too, declaring what cause he had to be dissatisfied with his conduct, "who had of late behaved himself after a strange manner; for, not content to come to prayers, as others did, he must be constant at sacraments too." "Why," said colonel Talbot interrupting, "does not your majesty do the same thing?" "God's fish," replied the king with some warmth, "I hope there is a difference between Harry Bennet and me." However, in 1679, lord Arlington was chosen one of the new council to his majesty; and upon the accession of king James II. to the throne, was confirmed by him in the office of lord chamberlain. He died July 28, 1685, aged sixty-seven years, and was interred at Euston in Suffolk. By his lady Isabella, daughter of Lewis de Nassau, lord Beverwaert, he had one only daughter, Isabella, married to Henry, duke of Grafton.

He was, according to bishop Burnet, a proud man; and his parts were solid, but not quick. He had the art of observing the king's temper, and managing it beyond all the men of that time. He was believed a papist, for he nad once professed it, and at his death again reconciled himself to the church of Rome. Yet in the whole course of his ministry, he seemed to have made it a maxim, that the king ought to shew no favour to popery, since all his affairs would be ruined, if ever he turned that way; which made the papists become his mortal enemies, and accuse him as an apostate, and the betrayer of their interests. His character is drawn by Mr. Macpherson, in his History of Great Britain, with conciseness, spirit, and justice. "Arlington supplied the place of extensive talents by an artful management of such as he possessed. Accommodating in his principles, and easy in his address, he pleased when he was known to deceive; and his manner acquired to him a kind of influence where he commanded no respect. He was little calculated for bold measures, on account of his natural timidity; and that defect created an opinion of his moderation, that was ascribed to virtue. His facility to adopt new measures was forgotten in his readiness to acknowledge the errors of the old. The deficiency of his integrity was forgiven in the decency of his dishonesty. Too weak not to be superstitious, yet possessing too much sense to own his adherence to the church of Rome, he lived a Protestant, in his outward profession; but he died a Catholic. Timidity was the chief charac

teristic of his mind; and that being known, he was even commanded by cowards. He was the man of the least genius of the party; but he had most experience in that slow and constant current of business, which perhaps, suits affairs of state better than the violent exertions of men of great parts.'

BENNET (SIR JOHN), knt. grandfather to the preceding, and second son of sir Richard Bennet, was created on the 6th of July, 1589, doctor of laws by the university of Oxford, having been one of the proctors there. was afterwards vicar-general in spirituals to the archbishop of York, and prebendary of Langtoft in the church of York. In the 24th of Eliz. bearing the title of doctor of laws, he was in commission with the lord-keeper Egerton, the lord-treasurer Buckhurst, and several other noblemen, for the suppression of heresy. He was also in that reign returned to parliament for the city of York, and was a leading member of the house of commons, as appears from several of his speeches in Townshend's collections. He received the honour of knighthood from king James before his coronation, on the 23d of July 1603, at Whitehall, and was made in that reign chancellor to queen Anne (consort of king James), judge of the prerogative court of Canterbury, and chancellor to the archbishop of York. In the beginning of 1617, he was sent ambassador to Brussels to question the archduke, in behalf of his master the king of Great Britain, concerning a libel written and published, as it was supposed, by Erycius Puteanus, but he neither apprehended the author, nor suppressed the book, until he was solicited by the king's agent there: he only interdicted. it, and suffered the author to fly out of his dominions. In 1620, sir John Bennet being entitled judge of the prerogative court of Canterbury, was in a special commission with the archbishop of Canterbury, and other noblemen, to put in execution the laws against all heresies, great errors in matters of faith and religion, &c.; and the same year bearing the title of chancellor to the archbishop of York, he was commissioned with the archbishop of York, and others, to execute all manner of ecclesiastical juris

1 Biog. Brit. a very prolix and ela borate panegyric or defence of lord Arlington, ingeu:ous indeed, but partial beyond all evidence of fact. have preferred following Dr. Birch in the above sketch. Those who wish to

We

investigate his lordship's character more minutely, must consult Dr. Campbell's account as corrected in the last edition of the Biog. Brit. See also the third volume of Clarendon's State Papers, Supplement, p. 80—84.

diction within the province of York. He died in the parish of Christ church in London, in the beginning of 1627, having had issue by Anne his wife, daughter of Christopher Weekes of Salisbury, in the county of Wilts, esq. sir John Bennet, his son and heir; sir Thomas Bennet, knt, second son, doctor of the civil law, and master in chancery; and Matthew, third son, who died unmarried. His eldest son, sir John Bennet of Dawley, received the honour of knighthood in the life-time of his father, at Theobalds, on the 15th of June, 1616. He married Dorothy, daughter of sir John Crofts of Saxham, in the county of Norfolk, knt. by whom he had issue six sons, the second of whom was afterwards created earl of Arlington. This account drawn up also by Dr. Campbell as a note to his life of Arlington, partakes of the partiality of that account by suppressing that in 1621, certain mal-practices were detected in the judicial conduct of sir John, and he was committed to the custody of the sheriffs of London, and afterwards to prison, fined 20,000l. and deprived of his offices. In consequence of this, according to Mr. Lodge, he died in indigence and obscurity, in the parish of Christ church, in Surrey, not in London, at the time mentioned above; but another account says that he was merely required to find security to that amount for his appearance to answer to the charges brought against him. If the fine was imposed, we may conclude it was remitted; for in a letter from lord Bacon to king James, we read these words, "Your majesty hath pardoned the like (corruption) to sir John Bennet, between whose case and mine (not being partial to myself, but speaking out of the general opinion), there was as much difference, I will not say, as between black and white, but as between black and grey or ash-coloured."1

BENNET (ROBERT, B. D.) a nonconformist divine, was educated at Oxford, and was presented by lord Wharton to the rectory of Waddesden in the county of Buckingham, where he continued till he was ejected for nonconformity in 1662. He afterwards settled at Aylesbury, where he preached privately to a small congregation, and from thence removed to Abington, where he died April 6, He was author of an excellent work, entitled "A theological Concordance of the synonymous words in Scripture," 1657, 8vo. 2

1687.

Biog, Brit.-Lodge's Illustrations, rol. III.-Coote's Catalogue of English Civilians. 2 Calamy.

BENNET (DR. THOMAS), an eminent divine in the eighteenth century, was born at Salisbury, May 7, 1673, and educated in the free-school there; where he made so great a progress in learning, that he was sent to St. John's college, Cambridge, in the beginning of 1688, before he was full fifteen years of age. He regularly took the degrees of bachelor and master of arts; the latter in 1694, when but twenty-one years old; and was chosen fellow of his college. In 1695, he wrote a copy of Hebrew verses on the death of queen Mary, printed in the collection of poems of the university of Cambridge upon that occasion. The first of his publications was "An answer to the dissenters pleas for Separation, or an abridgment of the Lon don cases; wherein the substance of those books is digested into one short and plain discourse," Lond. 1699, 8vo. About the end of 1700, he took a journey to Colchester, to visit his friend Mr. John Rayne, rector of St. James's in Colchester; and finding him dead when he came, he undertook the office of preaching his funeral sermon, which was so highly approved of by the parishioners, that their recommendation was no small inducement to Dr. Compton, then bishop of London, to present him to that living. He had institution to it January 15, 1700-1, and applied himself with great diligence and success to the several duties of his function. Possessing great learning, a strong voice, and good elocution, he was extremely followed and admired; and the more, as most of the other livings were but indifferently provided for: so that he became minister, not only of his own two parishes, but in a manner of that whole town, and the subscriptions and presents he had from all parts, raised his income to nearly three hundred pounds a year. But that afterwards was very much reduced, as will appear in the sequel. In the beginning of 1701, le published "A confutation of Popery, in three parts," Cambr. 8vo. About the same time, he was engaged in a controversy with some dissenters, which produced the following book of his, "A discourse of Schism; shewing, 1. What is meant by schism. 2. That schism is a damnable sin. 3. That there is a schism between the established church of England and the dissenters. 4. That this schism is to be charged on the dissenters' side. 5. That the modern pretences of toleration, agreement in fundamentals, &c. will not excuse the dissenters from being guilty of schism. Written by way of letter to three dis

senting ministers in Essex, viz. Mr. Gilson and Mr. Gledhill of Colchester, and Mr. Shepherd of Braintree. To which is annexed, an answer to a book entitled "Thomas against Bennet, or the Protestant dissenters vindicated from the charge of schism," Cambr. 1702, 8vo. This book being animadverted upon by Mr. Shepherd, our author published "A defence of the discourse of Schism; in answer to those objections which Mr. Shepherd has made in his three sermons of Separation, &c." Cambr. 1703, 8vo. And, towards the end of the same year, "An answer to Mr. Shepherd's considerations on the defence of the discourse of Schism," Cambr. 8vo. As also a treatise entitled "Devotions, viz. Confessions, Petitions, Intercessions, and Thanksgivings, for every day in the week; and also before, at, and after, the Sacrament; with occasional prayers for all persons whatsoever," 8vo. In 1705, he published "A confutation of Quakerism; or a plain proof of the falsehood of what the principal Quaker writers (especially Mr. R. Barclay, in his Apology and other works) do teach concerning the necessity of immediate revelation in order to a saving Christian faith, &c." Cambr. 8vo. In 1707 he caused to be printed in a small pamphlet, 12mo, "A discourse on the necessity of being baptized with Water and receiving the Lord's Supper, taken out of the confutation of Quakerism," Cambr. For the sake of those who wanted either money to purchase, or time to peruse, the Confutation of Quakerism, the year following he published "A brief history of the joint use of precomposed set forms of Prayer," Cambr. 8vo. The same year he published likewise "A discourse of joint Prayer,' Cambr. 8vo. Towards the end of the same year he published "A paraphrase with annotations upon the book of Common Prayer, wherein the text is explained, objections are answered, and advice is humbly offered, both to the clergy and the laity, for promoting true devotion in the use of it," Lond. Svo. The next thing he printed was "Charity Schools recommended, in a sermon preached in St. James's church in Colchester, on Sunday, March 26, 1710," 8vo. The same year he wrote "A letter to Mr. B. Robin-. son, occasioned by his Review of the case of Liturgies, and their imposition';" and "A second letter to Mr. B. Robinson, &c. on the same subject," Lond. 1710, 8vo. In 1711 he published "The rights of the Clergy of the Christian church; or, a discourse shewing that God has given and