port of herself and children) to keep a sort of boarding house; and for this purpose she rented a large old house (since demolished) called Barrows-Hedges, situated upon the side of BansteadDowns, about two miles beyond Epsom, in Surry. To this place many of the lady's friends, (women chiefly) who were attached to the King's cause, retired; insomuch, that the family consisted ordinarily of about 24 persons in number; occasionally of perhaps twice as many. Now there was a certain clergyman in this family, who officiated as chaplain, and to whom several persons (who were for the Church and Constitution) brought their children to be baptized, and also came themselves at proper times to partake regularly of the Lord's Supper. But all this you are to understand was performed in a clandestine manner, and among friends; for the clergyman's real name was not known to any of the Sisterhood itself, the Lady of the House and some few of her most intimate friends excepted.

This Clergyman, during the time of his residence in this place, preached a course of lectures to his congregation, wherein he insisted chiefly upon the Necessity of Good Works to Salvation; and that, as he said, for this reason, viz. Because the Fanatics were shamefully regardless of good works, and preached up Faith as all-sufficient.

Now while he preached these lectures, it was the custom of a select club of the ladies who

were his hearers, to meet immediately after the Sermon, and to pen down all that they could conjointly remember of it in a book. This common Note-Book (if I may so call it) each one afterwards copied out at her leisure for her own private use. And here I must observe to you, that the Sisterhood remarked that the Lady of the House made (at this time) frequent and stated journeys to London; and that whenever she went, she took a bundle of paper along with her, which they all concluded among themselves was written by this gentleman, and meant for the press.

Sometime after, one of these ladies removed to a relation's house, where she exhibited those Notes she had made of the fore-mentioned Lectures, which were highly esteemed by that family.

Soon after this, came out that noted book, entituled "The Whole Duty of Man." The character it bore, soon determined the Master of this last-mentioned Family to procure it.-I mean, to buy it. But he had no sooner begun to read it, but, to his great surprise, he found it to be the original from whence the Lady must have taken her Notes, as agreeing thereto, upon comparison, both in order, argument, and diction. -Upon this, the Lady was put to enquire who the forementioned Clergyman really was; and upon application to the Lady with whom she had

boarded, she was assured that the Gentleman's true name (for he had assumed a false one for fear of being discovered) was Praise God or Accepted (my author knows not which of the two his Christian name was) Frewen, afterwards Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry, and at last Archbishop of York.

He, indeed, never owned himself to be the author of it, (viz. The Whole Duty of Man) nor yet ever disowned it. And how far the foregoing account will determine it to be his, let the reader judge.

Your's,

HENRY OWEN.

An Appendix to the foregoing Letter.

My informer, or author, perused and approved the foregoing account, and desired me to add to it the following remarks: viz.

1o. The Place is now called Barrow's Hedges, but that was not the name of the old House. 2o. The Clergyman, whilst he lived in this House, was supposed to be beyond sea.

3o. This account my author had from Mr. John Hodges, a gentleman of great piety and probity, who was formerly Treasurer to the So

ciety for propagating the Gospel, &c.-who told my author, that the Society having (upon a time when he was Treasurer) ordered "The Necessity of Caring for the Soul" to be translated into some foreign language, (my author forgot which) thought fit at that time to make enquiry after the Author of The Whole Duty of Man. Accordingly several of the Members did make enquiry, and brought in their several accounts. The foregoing was the best grounded, and accordingly was that in which the Society acquiesced.

The account is indeed at present a little obscured by the omission of names, which my author has forgot: but as to the facts in general he is absolutely positive.

If

you have

any queries to make, my author is ready to answer you.

Let this question be proposed to Mr. Ballard, viz. Is not the pretended original in the Packington Family, one of the Note-Books mentioned above, or a copy of one of them?

Your's,

H. OWEN.

Oct. 19, 1749.

Having sent the originals of these Letters to Mr. Ballard, together with an account of the

occasion of writing them, he was pleased to favour me with the following answer.

REVD. SIR,

I HAVE received the favour of yours, and am very much obliged to you for so kindly communicating that which you imagined might be serviceable towards determining who was the real author of that excellent treatise "The Whole Duty of Man;" a desirable Truth, which most people would gladly know. But those who will examine this last pretension to it with any exactness or care, will not easily be induced to believe that Archbishop Frewen was the author of that incomparable work, &c. His character will by no means correspond with it. For 1°. though the Abp. was a man of considerable learning and abilities, yet I cannot find that he had any knowledge of the Oriental languages, which the author of those books was undoubtedly skilled in. 2dly, I do not find that the Abp. had the least tincture of that self-denial and great modesty, for which the author of that excellent treatise is so justly celebrated, and so consequently would not have concealed his name, when so much honour was lost by it. 3o. Those who are acquainted with the several accounts of him which have been handed to the public by Mr. Wood, Mr. Willis, Mr. Drake, and others, will hardly be induced to