father; so that now our family depend wholly upon a college lease. Of my
infancy I can speak little, only I do remember that in the fourth year
of my age I had the measles.

I was, during my minority, put to learn at such schools, and of such
masters, as the rudeness of the place and country afforded; my mother
intending I should be a scholar from my infancy, seeing my father's
back-slidings in the world, and no hopes by plain husbandry to recruit a
decayed estate; therefore upon Trinity Tuesday, 1613, my father had me
to Ashby de la Zouch, to be instructed by one Mr. John Brinsley; one, in
those times, of great abilities for instruction of youth in the Latin
and Greek tongues; he was very severe in his life and conversation, and
did breed up many scholars for the universities: in religion he was a
strict Puritan, not conformable wholly to the ceremonies of the Church
of England. In this town of Ashby de la Zouch, for many years together,
Mr. Arthur Hildersham exercised his ministry at my being there; and all
the while I continued at Ashby, he was silenced. This is that famous
Hildersham, who left behind him a commentary on the fifty-first psalm;
as also many sermons upon the fourth of John, both which are printed; he
was an excellent textuary, of exemplary life, pleasant in discourse, a
strong enemy to the Brownists, and dissented not from the Church of
England in any article of faith, but only about wearing the surplice,
baptizing with the cross, and kneeling at the sacrament; most of the
people in town were directed by his judgement, and so continued, and yet
do continue presbyterianly affected; for when the Lord of Loughborough
in 1642, 1643, 1644, and 1645, had his garrison in that town, if by
chance at any time any troops of horse had lodged within the town,
though they came late at night to their quarters; yet would one or other
of the town presently give Sir John Gell of Derby notice, so that ere
next morning most of his Majesty's troops were seized in their lodgings,