Of Praise-God's history little items have leaked out. He began life as a leatherseller in Fleet Street, and owned a house under the sign of the "Lock and Key," in the parish of St. Dunstan-in-the-West. He was admitted a freeman of the Leathersellers' Company, January 20, 1623. He was a Fifth Monarchy man, if a tract printed in 1654, entitled "A Declaration of several of the Churches of Christ, and Godly People, in and about the City of London," etc., which mentions "the Church which walks with Mr. Barebone," refers to him. This, however, may be Fear-God Barebone. Praise-God was imprisoned after the Restoration, but after a while released, and died, at the age of eighty or above, in obscurity. His life, which was not without its excitements, was spent in London, and possibly his baptismal entry will be found there. A word or two about his surname. The elder Disraeli says ("Curiosities of Literature")-- "There are unfortunate names, which are very injurious to the cause in which they are engaged; for instance, the long Parliament in Cromwell's time, called by derision the Rump, was headed by one Barebones, a leatherseller." Isaac Disraeli has here perpetuated a mistake. Barebone's Parliament was the Parliament of Barebone, not Barebones. Peck, in his "Desiderata Curiosa," speaking of a member of the family who died in 1646, styles him Mr. Barborne; while Echard writes the name Barbon, when referring to Dr. Barbon, one of the chief rebuilders of the city of London after the Fire. Between Barebones and Barbon is a wide gap, and Barbon's Parliament suggests nothing ludicrous whatsoever. Yet (if we set aside the baptismal name) what an amount of ridicule has been cast over this same Parliament on account of a surname which in reality has been made to meet the occasion. No historian has heaped more sarcasm on the "Rump" than Hume, but he never styles the leatherseller as anything but "Barebone." But while _Praise-God_ has obtained exceptional notoriety, not so _Faint-not_, and yet there was a day when Faint-not bade fair to take its place as a regular and recognized name. I should weary the reader did I furnish a full list of instances. Here are a few: "1585, March 6. Baptized Faynt-not, d. of James Browne."--Warbleton. "1590, Jan. 17. Baptized Faynt-not Wood."--Cranbrook. "1631, ----. Thomas Perse married Faint-not Kennarde."--Chiddingly. "1642, Aug. 2. Married John Pierce and Faint-not Polhill, widow."--Burwash, Sussex. This Faint-not Polhill was mother of Edward Polhill, a somewhat celebrated writer of his day. She married her first husband December 11, 1616. "1678, Feb. 12. Buried Faint-not Blatcher, a poor old widdow."--Warbleton. The rents of certain houses which provided an exhibition for the boys of Lewes Grammar School were paid in 1692 as usual. One item is set down as follows: "Faint-not Batchelor's house, per annum, L6 0 0."--"Hist. and Ant. Lewes," i. 311.