His Majesty had many misfortunes ever attending him, during his abode at Oxford; some by reason of that great animosity betwixt Prince Rupert and the Lord Digby, each endeavouring to cross one another; but the worst of all was by treachery of several officers under his command, and in his service; for the Parliament had in continual pay one Colonel of the King’s Council of War; one Lieutenant-Colonel; one Captain; one Ensign; one or two Serjeants; several Corporals, who had constant pay, and duly paid them every month, according to the capacity of their officers and places, and yet none of these knew any thing of each other’s being so employed.  There were several well-wishers unto the Parliament in Oxford, where each left his letter, putting it in at the hole of a glass-window, as he made water in the street.  What was put in at the window in any of those houses, was the same day conveyed two miles off by some in the habit of town-gardeners, to the side of a ditch, where one or more were ever ready to give the intelligence to the next Parliament garrison:  I was then familiar with all the spies that constantly went in and out to Oxford.

But once more to my own actions.  I had, in 1652 and 1653 and 1654, much contention with Mr. Gatacre of Rotherhithe, a man endued with all kind of learning, and the ablest man of the whole synod of divines in the Oriental tongues.

The synod had concluded to make an exposition upon the bible; some undertook one book, some another.  Gatacre fell upon Jeremy.  Upon making his exposition on the 2d verse of the 10th chapter,

’Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven, for the heathen are dismayed at them.’

In his Annotations thereupon, he makes a scandalous exposition; and in express terms, hints at me, repeating verbatim, ten or twelve times, an Epistle of mine in one of my former Anglicus.

The substance of my Epistle was, that I did conceive the good angels of God did first reveal astrology unto mankind, &c. but he in his Annotations calls me blind buzzard, &c.

Having now liberty of the press, and hearing the old man was very cholerick, I thought fit to raise it up—­and only wrote—­I referred my discourse then in hand to the discussion and judgment of sober persons, but not unto Thomas Wiseacre, for Senes bis pueri:  These very words begot the writing of forty-two sheets against myself and astrology.  The next year I quibbled again in three or four lines against him, then he printed twenty-two sheets against me.  I was persuaded by Dr. Gauden, late Bishop of Exeter, to let him alone; but in my next year’s Anglicus, in August observations, I wrote, Hac in tumba jacet Presbyter & Nebulo, in which very month he died.

Several divines applied themselves unto me, desiring me to forbear any further vexing of Mr. Gatacre; but all of them did as much condemn him of indiscretion, that in so sober a piece of work as that was, viz. in an Annotation upon a sacred text of scripture to particularize me and in that dirty language:  they pitied him, that he had not better considered with himself ere he published it.