handicrafts of the people. He made himself
acquainted with the doctrines and discipline of the Churches and
religious sects, and procured, whenever he could do so, the assistance of
the ablest scholars to instruct him. Being well supplied with money by
his father, he was enabled to collect, besides other things, a great
number of prints and engravings by all the best masters; in fact, it is
stated that he let nothing of this sort escape him that was valuable; and
being all relative to, or illustrative of, passages in the Bible, they
were utilized to great advantage when in his later years he compiled "The
Harmonies."

On his return home, his natural inclination was to settle at Cambridge
and resume his work at Clare Hall; but, partly owing to his father's
advanced age, and partly on account of his elder brother having important
work in London in connection with the Virginia Plantation Company,
Nicholas Ferrar determined to settle there with them. Here he soon
attracted much attention for his many eminent qualities, reports of which
had, indeed, been received from abroad, and before long Sir Edwyn Sandys
and Lord Southampton, both of them governors of the Virginia Company,
having discovered for themselves his great worth, proposed him as King's
Counsel for the Plantation. He thus became deeply engaged in public
business; and as his work was continually produced in open court, his
reputation increased more and more. Two or three years later his powers
were still further tested, for the Spanish party exerted all their
influence to overthrow the Company; and as Nicholas Ferrar was at this
time the deputy-governor, the chief burden of the defence fell on his
shoulders. His efforts were, however, all in vain, and before long the
patent or charter was withdrawn, and the Company was dissolved, owing to
the false accusations brought against the managers and directors.

Ferrar was now elected Member of Parliament, and was able to bring before
the House and the public more fully the iniquity of these proceedings,
and by his skilful management cleared the directors, and brought their
opponents to justice and punishment.

This was the concluding act of Ferrar's public life, and we shall now
turn to a scene of a vastly different nature. But it has been necessary
to say thus much to exhibit in its true light the force of character, the
wonderful diligence and activity of the man, who (as we shall now see)
decided on devoting