as Dickwood, _alias_ Peters, and Martha, daughter
of John Treffry of Treffry. This Dickwood, _alias_ Peters, is said to
have been a merchant of Fowey, descended from Dutch ancestors who had
escaped from Antwerp for their adherence to the Reformed religion; and
Hugh Peters was born in 1599. But Dickwood is not a Flemish or Dutch
name. Henry Peters, M.P. for Fowey, who died in 1619, married Deborah,
daughter of John Treffry of Place, in 1610, and had one son, Thomas,
who was thrown into prison by Cromwell for his loyalty to King
Charles. Neither Hugh Peters nor his father with the _alias_ appears
in the well-authenticated pedigree of the family of Peters of Harlyn.
It may be suspected that the father of Hugh Peters was a bastard of
one of the Peters family.

Be that as it may, Hugh Peters was sent to Trinity College,
Cambridge, at the age of fourteen--his elder brother at the time was a
student at Oxford--and he took his degree of B.A. in 1616. For a time
he led a rather wild life and joined a party of comedians. Dr. William
Yonge says that "he joined a common society of players: when, after
venting his frothy inventions, he had a greater call to a higher
promotion, namely, to be a jester, or rather a fool, in Shakespeare's
Company of Players." Shakespeare died in 1616, so this must have been
his company continuing to bear his name. He, however, became converted
by a sermon he heard at S. Faith's, and "deserted his companions and
employments, and returning to his chamber near Fleet Conduit,
continued between hope and despair a year or more."

[Illustration: HUGH PETERS

_From an old engraving_]

He was ordained deacon 23rd December, 1621, and priest 8th June, 1623,
by Mountain, Bishop of London, and took his M.A. degree in 1622. He
was licensed to preach at S. Sepulchre's. He says of himself:--

"To Sepulchre's I was brought by a very strange providence; for
preaching before at another place, and a young man receiving some good,
would not be satisfied, but I must preach at Sepulchre's, once monthly,
for the good of