[24] ‘To Thee, and to Thy service for ever, I offer a portion of Thy bounty, O Lord God Almighty.’

[25] Christian Van Vianen was an embosser and chaser of plate, much esteemed by Charles I. The gilt plate above mentioned was wrought at the rate of 12s. per oz.—Anecdotes of Painting, Walpole, vol. ii. p. 323.

[26] William Lenthall (born at Henley-on-Thames 1591), Speaker of the House of Commons 1640–1653 and 1660, lived chiefly at Lachford Manor in Great Haseley parish, which had been in his family since the reign of Edward IV. The property was sold by his eldest son. It may have been owing to the influence of the Speaker that Dean Wren escaped imprisonment during the Rebellion.

[27] Wood, Fasti Oxon., p. 139.

[28] ‘Revered Father,—There is a common saying among the ancients which I remember to have had from your mouth; there is no equivalent that can be given back to parents. For their cares and perpetual labours concerning their children are indeed the evidence of immeasurable love. Now these precepts so often repeated, which have impelled my soul towards all that is highest in man, and to virtue, have superseded in me all other affections. What in me lies I will perform, as much as I am able, lest these gifts should have been bestowed on an ungrateful soul. May the good God Almighty be with me in my undertakings and make good to thee all thou most desirest in the tenderness of thy fatherly love. Thus prays thy son, most devoted to thee in all obedience,

‘Christopher Wren.’

‘Script. hoc, Ao Ætatis suae, Decimo. Ab Octobris 20o elapso’ is the note in different hand of Dean Wren, who may very probably have felt that in the fast-rising storm all this fair promise might be swept away.

[29] Heylin, Cypr. Ang., p. 309.

[30] Desiderata Curiosa, p. 336. Peck. It will be borne in mind that the Office for the Baptism of such as are of Riper Years was only added to the Prayer Book at the last revision in 1662. Mr. John Bois was made a Prebendary of Ely by Bishop Andrewes, and was one of the translators of the Bible (1604–1611); he was on the Cambridge Committee, and assisted in the translation of the Apocrypha.—Key to the Holy Bible, p. 28. Rev. J. H. Blunt.

[31] Diary, October 30, 1640.