ON Sunday last in the Evening died old Mr. Henry Cor­nish, a chief Teacher in the Meeting of Dissenters at Bisiter. The next Morning one of those Brethren came to the Vicar, to desire the Use of his Pulpit for a Funeral Sermon, to be preacht either by Dr. W—of Oxford, or Mr. O—Rector of D—in the County of Bucks. The Vicar, as I hear, made a kind and prudent Answer; that his Pulpit should be at the Service of any Regular Church-Divine, and especially of Dr. W—on whose Character and Station he could safely depend upon that occasion; whether they de­clin'd to ask the Doctor, or whether he decently wav'd the Office, I cannot tell. The Funeral was on Thursday after Noon; a Grave was op'ned in the South-Isle of the Church, near the place where Mr. Troughton, a considerable Teacher of that Par­ty, had been interr'd in the Year 1681. The Appearance was as great as Affection and Curiosity could make it. The Pall was held up by six Teachers of the Separation, with all other Ceremonies which remain indifferent. The Corps was receiv'd at the Church-Gate, by the Minister in his Surplice, with the Form by the Liturgy prescrib'd. The Preacher select Mr. O. took his Text from Rev. 14. 13. And I heard a Voice from Hea­ven, saying unto me, write, Blessed are the Dead which die in the Lord from henceforth; yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their Labours, and their Works do follow them. For near two hours Discourse, he betrayed nothing of the particular Occa­sion, unless (as some think) in Tone and familiar Expressions. He then fell upon the Subject of our Deceased Brother, and spoke to this effect

‘And now into the Possession of that Perfection of Blessed­ness, which I have been describing, I do not only hope, as I [Page 4] would of every common Christian, but I do confidently be­lieve this Reverend good old Man is entred, the solemnizing whose Funeral is the Occasion of our present Meeting toge­ther. I, for my part, cannot say so much of Him, as his Cha­racter deserves; my Acquaintance with him having been once interrupted for many Years; but yet I cannot omit saying something of him. When I began my Acquaintance with him, he seem'd an ancient Man; but, by his Temperance and wary Life, and his peaceable Disposition, he had extended his Life to half the Age of Man farther, it being thirty Years since I first knew him. What I always observ'd in him, as peculiar to his Temper, was a great Goodness and Benignity of Mind, a great Humility to the lowest and the least of People, a cordial and sincere Friendship, and a rea­diness to do all the Good he could, to all Men, not only of his own but of other Perswasions. For he did not think that a difference in things not Fundamental and Circumstantial, ought to alienate the Affections of Christians from one ano­ther, where there was a good Agreement as to the main Doctrines and Substantials of Religion. He was always there­fore of a healing Spirit, and by that means kept himself free from those Heats and Passions, which are the Blemishes of overmuch Zeal in all Parties. He loved not a disputative and wrangling Divinity, but only that which express'd the Life and Power of Religion, and which tended to make good and heavenly-minded Men. He was of that extraordinary Mo­desty and Self-abasement, as often to give the preference to the Performances of younger Men, before his own grey-head­ed Knowledge and Experience. Yet how earnest he was in the great Work of promoting Men's Eternal Welfare, his unwearied diligence and Perseverance in the Ministry was a sufficient Testimony. Ae was very affectionate in praying, not only for others, but with others, as I my self have often heard him in a private, but a very honourable, Family. Much more may be said of Him, but this I could not forbear saying, though I know not what Reflections may be made up­on it. Common Justice, and my Gratitude to his Memory, demanded thus much of me. For I must confess he has been a Friend, and a Patron, and a kind of Father to me. It was [Page 5] from him I received my Instructions when I first entred upon my Ministerial Office—You, young Men, must not hope to reach to the Age of this Holy Man of God—’

I do not, perhaps, remember all the Character, nor can I so far pretend to have repeated the very Words; but I am con­fident it was to this Sense, and in most of these Expressions: I may have omitted somewhat, but, to my knowledge, have in­vented nothing.

It rais'd my Indignation, I must own, to hear this Harangue upon a profess'd Maintainer of Division and Schism: To hear it delivered in that very Church from which He had detain'd so many ignorant People: To have it spoke in Triumph over the Head of the Parochial Minister, a diligent and sober Man: To proclaim it with as much Noise and Assurance as Lungs and Liberty could take; and all this by a benefic'd Church-Divine, without distinguishing between his Charity and his Judgment; without a Word of Exhortation to Unity and Peace; without so much as wishing those People to come more frequently to that Holy Place, where they were now assembled, and where their late beloved Teacher chose to lie at Rest. Nothing but Applause of the Person, and then a silent Consent to the Me­rits of the Cause. This, no doubt, was a more than common Joy and Insult to that Party; and might be apt to strike some damp upon the regular and well-affected Members of the Church; since one of their own reputed Ministers could make Conformity and Separation such indifferent Things; and pro­nounce the Man Blessed, who had been the Voice and the Soul of the Schism in that Town.

To give you, Sir, my own Thoughts, I am really as much against a persecuting Spirit, as any of those Men, whose Inte­rest or Coldness it is to be, for what they call Moderation. I can freely converse, and exchange any Offices of Humanity with a well-meaning Dissenter, of what Name soever. I am as much by Temper, and by Conscience against Rudeness and Railing on the one hand, as against fawning and Flattery on the other. Especially, I would have all Justice and all Charity shewn unto the Dead of all Perswasions. For I believe there be some lau­dable Qualities in Men of the most desperate Sects and Factions. Goodness of Nature can sometimes break through ill Princi­ples; [Page 6] and the signal Virtues of Morality, seem in some well di­sposed People to atone for their Mistakes in Religion. Even the Pharisees had a Right to be commended for some punctual Observances of Charity and Justice: Nay, the most deplorable Hereticks in the Christian Church, were none of them so lost to God and Goodness, but that they said and did some things Praise-worthy, and of good Report.

And therefore I am by no means angry, that this grave ancient Man was publickly treated with so much Respect and Honour. The Funeral Orations were always heard with some allowance to Grief and Affection: And Sermons, on the like occasion, ought to be interpreted with Candour and Concession; especi­ally, when He who performs that last Office, lies under parti­cular Obligations to the Party deceased. As it was in this Case; where the Speaker is said to be possess'd of a very plen­tiful Benefice, chiefly by the Interest and Recommendation of Mr. Cornish, in whose Opinion He was a moderate and peace­able Man: And therefore He did well to intimate his great Engagements to Him; and to call Him expresly his Father, his Friend, and his Patron. This was ingenuous and proper; but then He should have temper'd his Gratitude with Discretion and Truth.

He should first have considered his own Character, which was, by no means, to be an Advocate for Indifference in Commu­nion, nor cowardly to betray that Altar, to the Service whereof He had been legally ordain'd. He should have consi­der'd the Place, wherein he stood upon Courtesie and Suffe­rance, and should in good manners have said nothing offensive to the Person, by whose leave He came there. He should have considered, that the greatest part of the Audience were already prejudiced against the Church, and the ordinary means of Sal­vation in it; and to be now taught to have Men's Persons in greater Admiration, would but seal up the Obstinate, and confirm them in the Error of their ways. He should too have considered, that in the mixt Multitude, there were some regular and conscientious Members of the Church of England, who must needs be offended to hear their Church, in effect, delivered up by a professing Disciple of it: And to find a Leader of mis­guided Separatists to be, as it were, Sainted in that Place, [Page 7] where Unity and Conformity are yet established by Law. And, above all, He should have considered, how he can answer it to God or Man, to countenance Disorders and Divisions, to Daub with untemper''d Mortar, to speak smooth things, and to prophesie De­ceits; however the People may love to have it so.

Most certainly, the Preacher, on this solemn Occasion, had been more true to the Rights of his own Function, if He had took this fair Opportunity, first to commemorate the great Cha­rity of the Church of England, which, like a natural and indul­gent Mother, has always open Arms to receive even her Frow­ard and Rebellious Sons. And tho', like the other true Parent, she had rather have the Living Child than the Dead; yet in pity she allows her Offices of Christian Burial, to those who de­spise her other Ordinances: Why should not this Tenderness and Compassion of Hers, work upon the hearts of the Disobe­dient? Why should it not make them sensible, there be some returns due of silial Respect and Love, for her Bowels of Affe­ction to them? Did she imitate the dire Severities of the Church of Rome: Did she curse and exclude from Salvation all that for­sook the Pale of her Communion: Did she cast out their Bodies to the Fowls of the Air, or rake into their Graves, and con­demn their very Bones to be burnt; as is known to be the frequent Practice abroad. Why then, these unmerciful Do­ings might well create Aversion and Abhorrence in All that dif­fer'd from Hor! But when she patiently waits their Submission, while they live; and affords them the last Offices of Piety, when they come to die, this sure might win upon all ingenu­ous Spirits, to oblige Her with Conformity and Obedience in all reasonable Service.

He might then have took an Opportunity to infer, that our dissenting Brethren do not die so much out of Charity with the Church, as is commonly imputed to them. When there has been any variance between Friends or Relations, if the decea­sing Party bequeath a Legacy to Him or Her that survives: This is justly thought a Sign and Seal of Reconciliation and and perfect Love. Why do we not in this Case make the same reasonable Inference? We see those Brethren live many Years as Strangers and Aliens to the Church; yet when they come to depart out of this World, they leave their Bodies as a Lega­cy [Page 8] to be there deposited in Peace. Tho', by strength of Preju­dice, and force of ill Example, they chose to serve God in a common and unhallowed Barn, rather than in the Place solemn­ly devoted to be his House of Prayer: Yet on Death-bed Thoughts, they cannot will their Bodies to be committed to the Threshing-Floor; but make it their last Option to be buri­ed with their forefathers, and let their Sepulchres at least be on the good old Consecrated Ground. We ought to put the kin­dest Sense on this their dying Disposition. We know it was a prevailing Error in the Primitive Church, for the Novices and Catechumens in the Faith, to defer their being baptiz'd to the very Point of Death; upon a false Conceit that every Sin com­mitted after Baptism would be mortal; and, upon a charitable Surmise, that just dying in the Communion of the Church would absolve them from all the Errors of their past course of Life. Who knows, but the better sort of Dissenters have these Scru­ples on them? That if they should be too soon admitted into the Bosom of the Church, they could by no means live up to the Rules and Orders of it; and so, by being unworthy Members, should be the greater Sinners: Whereas delaying their admis­sion to the last, they may possibly suppose, that such a final Action determines their Salvation; and to be buried in the Church, is a sufficient Atonement for long Absence from it. Charity thinketh no Evil.

Then He might have took occasion to perswade the Brethren there preseut, that they would be as well affected in their Life and Health, as they generally come to be in their last Sickness, and Point of Death; i. e. to bring their Bodies to the Church, while their Souls are yet in them. For Souls and Bo­dies united, might be offer'd as a more acceptable and well­pleasing Sacrifice to Christ, and his Spouse, the Church; more acceptable, than the bare Carcass, and the Refuse of Mortality. Why should they desire to be interr'd within the Precincts of the Church? Unless they naturally think it their own last Home, and their proper Place. Would any of Us request, that our dead Bodies should be carried into an Enemy's Country, rather than be laid up in our Native Land? It must argue some Affection to that Spot of Earth, where we resolve to lay down our mortal Man, and mix our common Dust. Many of the [Page 9] good Old Christians, in the Times of Persecution, when they had fix'd upon their Place of Sepulture, in Rocks, suppose, or Dens, or Caves of the Earth; when they had fix'd, I say, upon the Pla [...]; they used often to visit it, to retire to it, to spend hours of Devotion at it, to put them in mind of Morta­lity, and prepare themselves to depart in Peace. It could be no Superstition in our Dissenting Friends, to use the like prepa­ratory Methods of Holy Dying; I mean frequently to visit the Sacred Place allotted for their Burial, and there exercise themselves to that Godliness which will be profitable for them.

He might further have thought fit to encourage those Bre­thren, not to forsake the assembling themselves together in that Holy Place, where the Mournful Occasion had now brought them. For they might perceive, there was no such harm in the Church, or the Service of it. The Ground was not pollu­ted with Idolatrous Worship; if it had, their Reverend Teacher would not have desir'd to find there an Ark of Rest for his Earthly Tabernacle. The Surplice, and the Liturgy, were no such abominable Things; for they had now seen them innocently us'd in the Conduct of their good Old Pastor to the Grave: Nay, and they had seen six of their Living Teachers walking after them bare-headed, with as much De­cency and Respect, as good Manners, and good Conscience could advise. What false Spies are they, who have brought this Evil Report upon the Church, as if it were hideous and intolerable, and would eat up the Inhabitants? We see no such thing: The Ceremonies are few and inoffensive: The Prayers are devout, and pathetically good: The Sermons are practical and plain. The People seem generally sincere and without Hypocrisie. Let us dwell with them together in Unity. I was glad when they said unto me, we will go into the House of the Lord. Our Feet shall stand in thy Gates, O Jerusalem.

And when He had come to speak more expresly of the Per­son and Character of the Dead, He should have made a fair and ingenuous Apology for those Strokes of Life and Conver­sation, which some People had objected, as Blots and Blemishes to Him.

[Page 10]He might have plausibly said; that his being cast into those Ways of Separation, seem'd not so much his Choice, and his Judgment, as his Birth, and his Breeding, and his Engage­ments in the World: For that He was born of Puritanical Pa­ients, and taught from a Child to censure, and condemn, what He could not understand: That with these Prejudices, He was admitted in Oxford under the Government of a noted Admirer of that way; and being there imploy'd in a servile Office, He was the more oblig'd to let his Conscience be at the Command of his Superiors: That he took Orders at a fatal Juncture, when it was Popularity and Gain to preach down the King and the Church: That his Zeal in this Cause had recommended Him to the Parliament, so call'd, who sent him back with other chosen Brethren to preach up Reforma­tion in Oxford: And, for his Pains there taken, did soon re­ward Him with a Canonry in Christ-Church, one of the best Preferments in England, which the Iniquity of those Times had left capable to be enjoy'd. That these Obligations were enough to contract Him to that Cause, by which he got his Wealth and Honour; whereas the Church had offered little or nothing to retain him at first, or to bring him back again. For when He was forc'd to leave his own ( i. e. Another's) Place in the College, He saw afterward no I emptation to con­form. He fell under the near Influence of a Gentleman, who encourag'd and supported his Nonconformity; and made him perhaps dream of the Glorious Times of Restitution. In the mean time, He was drove on the Necessities of teaching in Separate Congregations; which Course of Life put him upon some Troubles and Afflictions, that might incense Humane Nature, and provoke Him to be more dis-affected to the Church, by which He seem'd to have suffer'd much, and to have lost All.

But herein He purchas'd, what really deserves to be call'd a good Report: For notwithstanding these many Disadvantages of Education and Interest, and Resentment; yet, after All, He was no Bigot, no violent Angry Man: He had really a Meek­ness of Disposition, that kept him much from Wrangles and Disputes: He had a Goodness of Nature, that inclin'd Him to a fair Correspondence with some Church-Divines; and it [Page 11] seem'd his peculiar Frame of Spirit to be reserv'd and inoffen­sive. In the short Discourses, which I know to have been held with Him, like a Wise and Good Man, He took only the de­fensive part. He never, in my hearing, rail'd at, or run down the Constitution of the Church; but pleaded calmly for Moderation, and Liberty of Conscience, and bearing with One Another. He would often chuse to make, as it were, some Apology for keeping up a separate Meeting in Opposi­tion to the Church. He would say, He was brought thither by the Invitation and Importunity of such, as He thought good People. That it was not his Intention to keep them altogether from the Church; but should sometimes set them the Example of going thither himself. And He did at first resolve to begin, and end, his Publick Exercises at such hours, as should not interfere with the Solemn Service of the Church; but dismiss them from one place, to attend at the other. He seem'd to desire no better Character, than what had been truly given of his Predecessor in that Town, Mr. John Troughton. Athen. Oxon. Vol. 2. P. 512. ‘ He was not of so busie, turbulent, and furious a Spirit, as Those of his Perswasion commonly are; but very moderate. And although he often preached, as Occasions offered them­selves, in prohibited Assemblies; yet He did not make it his business, by employing all the little Tricks and Artifices, too frequently practised by other hot-headed Zealots of his Fraternity, viz. by vilifying and railing at the Established Ordinances of the Church, libelling the conformable Mi­nistry, by keeping their Meetings at that very time when the Services and Administrations of the Church are regularly performing, &c. He did not, I say, by these, and such like most unwarrantable Contrivances, endeavour to with­draw weaker Persons from the sacred Bosom of the Church, in order to fix and herd them in associated defying Conventi­cles. He was respected by, and maintain'd an amicable Cor­respondence with some of the Conformable Clergy, because of his great Knowledge and Moderation.’

Mr. John Troughton had this good Character given Him by a Writer, that had not the Custom of flattering that Party; nor used He to speak better of Persons, than they commonly deserv'd. And truly such, in most respects, Mr. Henry Cor­nish [Page 12] seem'd to be, peaceable and quietly dispos'd. He was known to have valued himself on this Happiness, that he had receiv'd Holy Orders from a Bishop of the Church of England; and therefore could not be thought an Intruder into the Mi­nisterial Office. I remember He has, upon several Occasions, call'd himself, and wrote himself, Episcopally Ordain'd; and, under that Character, would distinguish himself from other ordinary Dissenting Teachers. He married one of his Daugh­ters to a Conforming Divine, and used his Interest to possess Him of a better Benefice, under the Conditions of Subscri­ption and Declaration which the Laws requir'd. He has, in private Conversation, told the Minister of the Place, that though he hop'd to continue preaching to his Congregation for his own Life; yet he thought to perswade them All after his Death, to let fall the separate Meeting, and come unanimously to the Church: Which, I hope, the honest Man sincerely meant. For when the Minister afterward charg'd him with this Promise, and seem'd to fear the breach of it; because He had taken in a young Assistant to carry on the same Work, and to keep up the same Assemblies of Opposition. The old Gen­tleman excus'd the Matter, and declar'd, that the said young Person was sent for without his Orders and Advice, and fetcht up from another part of the Land, before He consented to it.

Now if these Instances of his Charity and Condescension had been faithfully related by the Funeral Preacher, He had done more Justice and more Honour to the Memory of his Friend and Patron. God forbid that He should have rudely rak'd into his Ashes, for Faults and Reflexions on them: He should ra­ther again vindicate Him from any Matters of Fact, or Fame, that had been objected against Him.

That, from his Youth, He was blown up with that unhappy Ferment of Innovation, that quickly ruin'd a once Glorious Church and State: This might be imputed to that want of Age and Experience, that drew him away, before He could distin­guish between Good and Evil. That He left Oxford, when it was garrison'd for His Majesty, and join'd himself with those that were in Rebellion: This might be ascrib'd to the impetuous Tide and Tumult of those Unhappy Times. That [Page 13] He was remanded to the same University to preach the Scho­lars into Obedience to the Usurping Powers: This might be resolv'd into the same Cause, the Running Stream, and the Madness of that Age. That He took the Dignity, from whence the great Dr. Sanderson was, for Orthodoxy and Loyalty, eje­cted; and so was said to eat the Bread of one of the profoun­dest Scholars, and most Pious Divines in this Nation: This too might be a little excus'd from the innate Principles of Self­Love and Preservation. That he was even in those Times ridicul'd and made contemptible for a Puling Saint, and Sneak­ing Hypocrite, in Drollery and Rhimes, entitled, Zeal over­heated: By Tho. Weaver. Printed 1654. Or, A Relation of a Lamentable Fire in a Religious Bro­ther's Shop, where Holy Cornish teached, &c. This might be the Common Genius of Poetry and Profaneness. That He after­ward put himself into a very swimming Humour, and scarce knew whether to dissent, or to conform: This might be his comprehensive Charity, and Latitude of Love. That his own old Friends have been heard to complain, that He was too cold and silent, that He had wrote nothing for the Cause: This might arise from his Modesty and Distrust of his own Talents; or perhaps from a better Sense, that such controversial Wri­tings had only inflam'd the World, and turn'd away the Spirit of Religion. That He was reported to have little or no Learning, and that some of his Letters are said to remain a Testimony of his writing what was scarcely Sense and not Eng­lish: This sure must have been the Imperfection of his decli­ning Years, when he had outliv'd the sight of his Eyes, when in his Sermons and Epistles he was forced to use the Pen of his Maid-Servant; and when perhaps (as a notable old Professor said) He had forgot more than others ever learn'd.

Stories and scurrilous Reflexions are not so much the Talent of Men of our Communion. Integrity and Truth need nothing but themselves, to support themselves. Far be it from Us, to invent Libels and Slanders even against our greatest Adversaries, much less against Him, who at some Times, and in some Things, profest to be our Friend.

There is indeed a late Historian, who wrote for no Interest, and has therefore among some Persons gain'd the Reputation of a plain and undissembling Teller of Truth, One that really knew [Page 14] as much of Modern Things and Men, as any one Writer of this Age and Nation. This Historian, I say, made bold to draw up and publish the Character of Mr. Cornish, while He liv'd; which was the more ingenuously done, that He might have pleaded his own Cause, and vindicated himself from any false Aspersions. Perhaps, Sir, in your Retirement, you have not the Book by you; and therefore I'llcite you the Words at large. But I beg your Pardon; I would be only the Transcri­ber, and leave the Truth and Propriety of it to your better Enquiries, and to the Credit of the Author.

‘ An. Dom. 1649. About the same time, when the two last Athen. Oxon. Vol [...]. P. 771. Persons were created ( i. e. John Wilkins and Henry Langley) it was granted to Henry Cornish, Batchelor of Divinity, and Canon of Christ-Church, that He, if he please, might be actu­ally created Doctor of Divinity; but he refused it, and was not. This Person, who was Son of Will. Cornish of Ditchet in Somersetshire, was originally a poor Scholar of New-Inn, and an Assistant to the Butler there to put on (or enter Bat­tles) in the Buttery-Book: And as he had been Puritanically educated at home, so more under Dr. Rogers Principal of the same Inn. Afterwards He took the Degrees in Arts, and became a puling Preacher, left Oxon when it was garrison'd for His Majesty, preached among the Godly Party, and was appointed by the Parliament, with Langley before-mention'd, Corbet, Cheynell, &c. to preach the Scholars into Obedience to the then Powers: For which his Service, He was made Canon of Christ-Church, in the Place of Dr. Robert Sanderson ejected. After His Majesty's Restauration, He was remov'd, and preached in those Parts as a Nonconformist, till the Five Mile Act was made; and then retiring to Stenton Harcourt in Oxfordshire, where He was patroniz'd by Sir Philip Har­court, a Favourer of such like Persons (as having been edu­cated in their Principles by one of the Parliament-Generals, named Sir William Waller, who had married his Mother.) He lived, and carried on the Trade there for many Years, and took all Occasions elsewhere to preach, when the Indul­gences for tender Consciences were granted; and did some­times (after K. William III. came to the Crown) preach in an antiquated Dancing-School just without the North-Gate [Page 15] of Oxon: To which Place many People did usually resort. Afterwards this Meeting was translated to a House in St. Ebbe's Parish, where it now (1691.) continueth, and is chiefly car­ried on by a certain Person, who had received some Educa­tion in Cambridge, &c. In the Year 1690. Mr. Cornish left Stanton-Harcourt, and translated himself to a Market-Town in Oxfordshire, called Bisiter, where He now holds forth. So that He who had been a Licensed Preacher by the Blessed Parliament, as it was by the Brethren, so call'd▪ and had been Canon of Christ-Church, and much respected by those of his Perswasion, while He lived in Oxon, for a Godly Man, doth now in his Old Age, being now about 80 Years old, preach in a Barn in the said Town of Bisiter, for Profit-sake, to silly Women, and other obstinate People; such is the poor Spirit of the Person.’

I have, Sir, already intimated, that it shall be none of my business to justifie, or refute this Character, which stood upon Publick Record, for several Years, before the Reverend Man here describ'd did depart this World. I have no more to add, but my Prayers, and a desire of Yours, that while there seems so fair a Prospect of Universal Peace Abroad, God would bless Us with Unity and Concord here at Home, and grant Us All to be first Honest, and Prudent, and then Religious: And I verily believe, that Men, so qualified, could never desert or betray the Excellent Communion of the Church of Eng­land.