se their sacrilege and zealous frenzies; in this
time he did so compassionate the generality of this misled nation,
that though the times threatened danger, yet he then hazarded his
safety by writing the large and bold Preface now extant before his
last twenty Sermons;--first printed in the year 1655;--in which there
was such strength of reason, with so powerful and clear convincing
applications made to the Non-conformists, as being read by one of
those dissenting brethren, who was possessed with such a spirit of
contradiction, as being neither able to defend his error, nor yield
to truth manifest,--his conscience having slept long and quietly in
a good sequestered living,--was yet at the reading of it so awakened,
that after a conflict with the reason he had met, and the damage he
was to sustain if he consented to it,--and being still unwilling to be
so convinced, as to lose by being over-reasoned,--he went in haste to
the bookseller of whom it was bought, threatened him, and told him in
anger, "he had sold a book in which there was false Divinity; and that
the Preface had upbraided the Parliament, and many godly Ministers of
that party, for unjust dealing." To which his reply was,--'twas Tim.
Garthwaite,--"That 'twas not his trade to judge of true or false
Divinity, but to print and sell books: and yet if he, or any friend
of his, would write an answer to it, and own it by setting his name to
it, he would print the Answer, and promote the selling of it."

[Sidenote: A meeting in Little Britain]

About the time of his printing this excellent Preface, I met him
accidentally in London, in sad-coloured clothes, and, God knows,
far from being costly. The place of our meeting was near to Little
Britain, where he had been to buy a book, which he then had in his
hand. We had no inclination to part presently, and therefore turned
to stand in a corner under a penthouse,--for it began to rain,--and
immediately the wind rose, and the rain increased so much, that both
became so inconvenient, as to force us into a cleanly house, where we
had bread, cheese, ale, and a fire for our money. This rain and wind
were so obliging to me, as to force our stay there for at least an
hour, to my great content and advantage; for in that time he made to
me many useful observations, with much clearness and conscientious
freedom. I shall relate a part of them, in hope they may also turn to
the advantage of my Reader. He seemed to lament, that the