h they had been
instructed, until they were driven away by the military zealots of the
Puritan party; but in later and more peaceful times they again assembled
in the old home, though there is no authentic account of the date, nor of
the particular members of the family that returned; but their exile does
not appear to have been of long duration, as there are entries in the
register of Gidding church, and inscriptions on brasses or tombstones,
which record events in the family history of the Ferrars and Collets
(such as baptisms and burials) as early as the year 1650--and at frequent
dates afterwards. The Gidding estate, which had originally been bought
by old Mrs. Ferrar, passed to her eldest son John, which is proved by his
being described on his tombstone as "Lord of this Manor," and he was
succeeded by his eldest son, who was resident there in the year 1715, as
stated by Dr. Mapletoft in one of the Concordances.

CHAPTER II.
THE CONCORDANCES OR HARMONIES.

Of all the work carried on at Gidding, nothing attracted more favourable
notice at the time, than the Concordances of the Four Evangelists, and of
other portions of the Bible, and at the present day they are also highly
valued by those who possess them, partly no doubt from a feeling of
admiration for Nicholas Ferrar himself, who designed them, but no less
for their intrinsic worth, and for the skill and industry employed in
their making.

Even in the books which treat of Ferrar's life with the greatest
exactness, reference is made to some six or seven Harmonies, but several
of these have been either lost or destroyed, or cannot now be traced;
while within the last few years, several not mentioned in the printed
biographies have been discovered, and in the following pages much
interesting matter will be brought forward about them, and the histories
of the various volumes will be given. {35}

The notoriety attaching to the Concordances can be easily accounted for
by the great interest shown in the work by King Charles I. There does
not appear to be any evidence to show that the King knew Nicholas Ferrar
personally, before he first heard of the Concordance which was in daily
use at Gidding. The family had settled there the very year King Charles
I. began to reign, but in Ferrar's early life, as already stated, he was
a distinguished public servant and Member of Parliament, and had,
moreover, travelled in the suite of the King's sister; so that in all