been abated, and many parts of the country being still thought insufficiently supplied with Preachers, a plan was this year fallen upon to raise by subscription, among persons grieved at that state of matters, a Fund for buying-in such Impropriations as might offer themselves; for supporting good ministers therewith, in destitute places; and for otherwise encouraging the ministerial work. ‘The originator of this scheme was ‘the famous Dr. Preston,’[1] a Puritan College Doctor of immense ‘fame’ in those and in prior years; courted even by the Duke of Buckingham, and tempted with the gleam of bishoprics; but mouldering now in great oblivion, not famous to any man. His scheme, however, was found good. The wealthy London Merchants, almost all of them Puritans, took it up; and by degrees the wealthier Puritans over England at large. Considerable ever-increasing funds were subscribed for this pious object; were vested in ‘Feoffees,’—who afterwards made some noise in the world, under that name. They gradually purchased some Advowsons or Impropriations, such as came to market; and hired, or assisted in hiring, a great many ‘Lecturers,’ persons not generally in full ‘Priest’s-orders’ (having scruples about the ceremonies), but in ‘Deacon’s’ or some other orders, with permission to preach, to ‘lecture,‘ as it was called: whom accordingly we find lecturing in various places, under various conditions, in the subsequent years;—often in some market-town, ‘on market-day’; on ‘Sunday-afternoon,’ as supplemental to the regular Priest when he might happen to be idle, or given to black and white surplices; or as ‘running Lecturers,’ now here, now there, over a certain district. They were greatly followed by the serious part of the community; and gave proportional offence in other quarters. In some years hence, they had risen to such a height, these Lecturers, that Dr. Laud, now come into authority, took them seriously in hand, and with patient detail hunted them mostly out; nay brought the Feoffees themselves and their whole Enterprise into the Star-chamber,
- ↑ Heylin’s Life of Laud.
