30
NOTES ANB QUERIES.
g. NO 2., JAN. 12. '50.
or purse, to serve my master in this or any thing
else I can be capable of, nor in approving myselfe,
My dearest Lord,
Yo r most oblidged and
eternally devoted serv*,
GEO. JEFFREYS. Bulstrode, April oth.
ARCHBISHOP BANCROFT'S EPISCOPAL COMMISSION
FOR THE CONSECRATION OF DR. QEO. HICKES
AND THOMAS WAGSTAFFE.
The subjoined document has been lately pre-
sented to Sion College. It originally formed part
of the valuable manuscript collectio^of the Rev.
Thomas Bowdler, and does not appear to have
ever" been published in extenso. An abstract is
given in The Life of John Kettlewell, p. 346., and
in Lathbury's History of the Nonjurors, p. 94.
The consecration took place on the feast of St.
Matthias, Feb. 24, 1693, and was solemnly per-
formed according to the Ordinal of the English
Church by Dr. William Lloyd, Bishop of Nor-
wich ; Dr. Francis Turner, Bishop of Ely ; and
Dr. Thomas White, Bishop of Peterborough, at
the Bishop of Peterborough's lodgings, at the
Rev. William Gifford's house, Southprate, in Mid-
dlesex, Dr. Ken, Bishop of Bath and Wells, giving
his consent. Sancroft died in the autumn of
1693, a few months prior to the consecration of
Dr. Hickes and Mr. Wagstaffe.
" Wilhelmus, Providentia divinft Ecclesiaj Metrop. Cant, humilis minister, Reverendo admodum in Christo Patri et fratri in Domino charissimo Gulielmo eadem Providentia etiam num * Nordovicensi Episcopo, salutem et fraternam in Domino charitatem. Cum ego, nuper ex sedibus Lam- bhithanis vi laica pulsus, et non inveniens in urbe vicina ubi tuto possem, aut commode commorari, procul secesserim, quaerens ubi fessus senio requiescerem ; multa autem jam turn remanserint, et emergant quotidie plura, eaque momenti maximi, Dei scilicet et ecclesiaj negotta, nullibi ita commode atque expedite, ac in magno illo rerum gerundarum theatro transigenda : Tibi igitur, frater dilectissime (qui pro ea, qufi, polles, animi fortitu- dine, et pio, quo flagras, zelo domus Dei, adhuc in sub- urbiis Londoniensibus, palantibus undique caeteris, mo- raris et permanesf; ade6 ut neminem illic habeam ita i?6<l/vxov, quique ita yfijo-i'w? rerum inearum et ecclesize satagat), Tibi inquam, ad hsec omnia tractanda, pensi- tanda, et finaliter expedienda, hoc quicquid est muneris mei et pontificii, fretus prudentia tua, et solita in rebus agundis solertia, committo in Domino; Teque vicarium meuvn ad prsemissa, rerumque mearum et negotiorum ac- .torem, factorem, et nuntium generalem vigore harum lite- ral-urn eligo, facio, et constituo. Apage autem ante no- tarii artes et Marculphi formulas ! Inter bonos bene agier oportet. Dicam summarie et de piano : Quoscunque tu frater (prout res et occasio tulerit) assumpseris et adjun-
- Modo liceat per Pentium Aquilam : Hei mihi quod
breve de removenda nondum cnrrit.
f Mittens manum tuam super foramine aspidis et ca- verna reguli, animamque etiam exponens super agri alti- tudines.
xeris tibi, elegeris et approbaveris, confirmaveris et con-
stitueris, ego quoque* (quantum in me est, et de jure
possum) assumo pariter et adjungo, eligo et approbo, con-
firmo et constituo: uno verbo quicquid. in istiusmodi
negotiis feceris Ipse, aut faciundum duxeris, id omne
quantum et quale illud cunque fuerit, mihi audenter
imputa. Ecce ! Ego Wilhelmus manu meS, scrips! ; Ego
prasstabo ; non solum ratum, sed et gratum insuper habi-
turns. Splendor autem Domini Dei nostri sit super te,
frater, et opera manuum tuarum dirigat et confirmet;
Quin et eripiat te (fratresque nostros omnes) ex ore leonis
et de manu canis et a cornibus unicornium : exaudiat vos,
mactetque denique et cumulet omni benedictione spiri-
tuali in ccelestibus in Christo Jesu. Datum e proprio
conducto (quod enim mihi molior tugurium, superve-
niente acri hyeme, nondum exaedificatum est) hie in
Campo gelido (nunc etiam profunde gelato) sito intra
tuae diocoeseos pomceria, nono die Febraarii ano Dni,
1691.
" Actum in prssentia mei, W. CANT.
Win. Sancroft, jun., notarii publici."
[Underneath a fac-simile of the archiepiscopal seal.] Translation.
"WILLIAM, b}' Divine Providence, the humble minister of the Metropolitan Church of Canterbury, to the Very Reverend Father in Christ, and most dear brother in the Lord, William, by the same Providence, Bishop of Nor- wich, even still f, sends Greeting and brother!}' love in the Lord :
" Since I have lately been driven out, by a lay force, from the house at Lambeth, and found not in the neigh- bouring city where I might sojourn with safety and con- venience, I have therefore withdrawn to a distance, in search for a place where I could rest in my weary old age ; since, moreover, there were just at that time many things remaining, and many more are daily arising, and these too of the highest moment, that is, the affairs of God and the Church, which can nowhere be transacted so conveniently and expeditiously as in that great theatre of business ; To you, therefore, most beloved brother, who out of that fortitude for which you are eminent, and that pious zeal wherewith you are fired for the House of God do still dwell and abide in the suburbs of London, while the rest of us are scattered on all sides J ; so that I have no one there who is of a like soul with myself, and who would take so hearty an interest in my affairs and those of the 'Church : To you, I say, 1 trust in the Lord, for the handling, weighing, and finally despatching all these things, that is, whatever belongs to my duties and pon- tifical office, relying on your prudence and wonted skill in business-matters ; and', by virtue of these letters, I do choose, make, and constitute you my Vicar for the premises, and the Agent, Factor, and Deputy-General of my affairs and concerns. But mark ! away with the art and trade of the Notary and the forrmilas of Marculphe. Among good men it behoveth good to be done. I will tell you in a summary and straightforward manner what I mean
- Licet absens corpore, mente tamen et affectu semper
tecum praesens.
f If Aquila of Pontus will allow it : Ah, me ! that the Brief for removal is not yet served !
J Putting your hand " on the hole of the asp and the cockatrice' den," &c. Isa. xi. 8.
[ Marculphe was a French monk. He made a collec- tion of the formulas of the most usual contracts and public acts of the epoch in which he lived, and this valuable collection is one of the most important monuments of French history, and especially of jurisprudence. Universelk, art. MAROULFE.]
