has already been made of the important persons
he lived amongst in his public life, and besides them at this time there
was Dr. Laud the Archbishop, who was so delighted to ordain "such a man
as he never had before nor believed he ever should again." There was Dr.
Williams the Bishop of the Diocese, who often went to Gidding and "much
magnified all that Nicholas and Mrs. Ferrar had done;" and not to mention
others, there was George Herbert, "his very dear brother," who, "seeing
he could not draw Gidding any nearer to him, he would draw nearer to his
brother Ferrar," and was endeavouring to exchange his living merely to
carry out this wish. These two good men were indeed very similar in
their religious views; they "loved and trusted one another most entirely,
and drove a large stock of Christian intelligence together," and when
George Herbert died, he sent his manuscripts to Ferrar to publish or to
withhold, as he thought right. Chief amongst them were the poems now
such favourites in many a house. These, when Ferrar had many and many a
time read over, he kissed and embraced them again and again, saying,
"they were most worthy to be in the hands and hearts of all true
Christians that feared God and loved the Church of England."

The words of the Royal Friend who once or twice visited Gidding in person
stand at the commencement of this sketch, and sufficiently prove what was
his estimate of Ferrar and his works.

It may be easily conjectured, however, that this unusual life, conducted
by a man so well known as Ferrar, attracted a great deal of
attention--and that in the days when religious differences prevailed to a
sad extent, there were many persons eager enough not only to find fault,
but to misrepresent what was done by this family; who, to say the least,
did a great deal of good to their poorer neighbours, and did harm to no
one. But a closer acquaintance with Mr. Ferrar generally dispelled the
calumnies which report had spread of him and his ways. And one gentleman
who went to Gidding purposely to make out their case as bad as possible,
came away full of their praises.

In the end, however, their enemies prevailed; for the Puritan soldiers
(about the time of King Charles's death) did drive the family away,
ransacked the church, plundered the house, and destroyed many very
valuable books and manuscripts, and, in fact, everything that had been
left behind in a somewhat hasty flight. It is related that the org