was denied you; and either lay it in Sherburne, or in Exeter church, by my father and mother. I can' fay no more; Time and Death call me away. The everlasting God, powerful, infinite, and infcrutable, God Almighty, who is Goodness itself, the TRUE LIGHT and LIFE, keep you and yours, and have mercy upon Me, and forgive my perfecutors, and falfe accufers; and fend us to meet in his glorious. kingdom. My dear wife, farewell; blefs my boy, pray for me; and let my True God hold you both in his arms.

Yours that was, but not now my own,

WALTER RALEIGH."

Behold wifdom, refolution, nature, and grace! how ftrong in argument, wife in counfel, firm, affectionate, and devout. O that your heroes and politicians would make him their example in his death, as well as magnify the great actions of his life. I doubt not, had he been to live over his days again, with his experience, he had made lefs noife, and yet done more good to the world and himself. It is a fad thing to confider, that men hardly come to know themselves, or the world, till they are ready to leave it.

§. XIII. HENRY WOTTON, knight, thought it, The greatest happiness in this life, to be at leifure to be, and to do, good;' as in his latter end he was wont to fay, when he reflected on paft times, though a man esteemed fober and learned, How much time have I C to repent of, and how little to do it in !'

§. XIV. Sir CHRISTOPHER HATTON, a little before his death advised his relations to be ferious in the fearch after the will of God in the Holy Word: For (faid he) it is defervedly accounted a piece of excellent knowledge to understand the law of the land, and the cuftoms of a man's country; how much more to know the statutes of heaven, and the laws of eternity; thofe immutable and eternal laws of justice and righteousness! To know the will and pleasure of the

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Great

Great Monarch and Universal King of the world! I have feen an end of all perfection; but thy commandments, O God, are exceeding broad.-Whatever other knowledge a man may be endued withal, could he by a vast and imperious mind, and an heart as large as the fand upon the fea fhore, command all the knowledge of art and nature, of words and things; could he attain a mastery in all languages, and found the depth of all arts and fciences; could he discourse the intereft of all ftates, the intrigues of all courts, the reason of all civil laws and conftitutions, and give an account of all hiftories; and yet not know the Author of his being, and the preferver of his life, his fovereign, and his judge; his fureft refuge in trouble; his best friend, or worst enemy; the fupport of his life, and the hope of his death; his 'future happiness, and his portion for ever; he doth but fapienter defcendere in infernum, with a great deal of wisdom go down to hell.'

§. XV. FRANCIS BACON, lord high chancellor of England, fome time before his death confeffed, That to be religious, was to live ftrictly and feverely: For if the opinion of another world be falfe, yet the fweeteft life in this world is piety, virtue, and honefty: If it be true, there be none fo wretched and miferable, as loose, carnal, profane perfons.'

§. XVI. The great duke of MOMERANCY, colleague to the duke of Orleans, (brother to the French king Lewis the thirteenth) in the war by them agitated against the ministry of cardinal Richlieu, being taken and convicted at Lyons, a little before his beheading, looking upon himself, then very richly attired; "Ah! (fays he) this becomes not a fervant of the crucified Jefus! What do I with these vanities about me? He was poor, defpifed, and naked, when he went to the crofs to die for my fins:' And immediately he ftript himself of all his finery, and put a more grave and modest garment on him. A ferious reflection, at a time when he best knew what was beft.

§. XVII.

§. XVII. HENRY, Prince of Wales, eldest fon to king JAMES the Firft, of whom others fay many excellent things, hear what account he gives of himself at last: A person whom he loved, and that had been the companion of his diverfions, being with him in his ficknefs, and afking him, How he did? Was, amongst many other fober expreffions, anfwered thus, Ah Tom! I in vain wifh for that time I loft with thee, and others, in vain recreations.' So vain were recreations, and fo precious was time to a Prince, and no ordinary one neither, upon a dying-bed. But why wifhed he, with others, for more time, but that it might be better employed? Thus hath the Just Principle and Holy Spirit of God in men, throughout all generations, convinced them of their vanity and folly upon their dying-beds, who before were too much taken up to mind either a dying-bed, or a vaft eternity; but when their days were almost numbered, when mortality haftened on them, when the revelation of the righteous judgment was at the door, and that all their worldly recreations and enjoyments must be parted with, and that eye for ever fhut, and flesh turned to worms meat, that took delight therein; then, oh, then it was, the Holy Witnefs had room to plead with confcience: Then nothing but a holy, ftrict, and' severe life, was valuable; then All the world for a

little time,' who before had given all their time for a little of a vain world. But if fo fhort a reprefentation of the inconfiftency of the vanities of the world with the Chriftian life could make fo deep an impreffion; oh! to what a noble ftature, and large proportion, had they been grown in all pious and heavenly knowledge, and how much greater had their rewards been, if they contentedly had foregone those perishing entertainments of the world betimes, and given the exercise of their minds to the tuition and guidance of that Universal Grace and Holy Spirit of God, which had fo long fhined in darkness, uncomprehended of it, and was at last but juft perceived to give a fight of what they had been doing all their days.

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§. XVIII.

§. XVIII. PHILIP III. king of Spain, seriously reflecting upon the life he had led in the world, cried out upon his death-bed, Ah, how happy were 1, had I fpent these twenty-three years that I have held my ‹ kingdom, in a retirement.' Crying out to his confeffor, My concern is for my foul, not my body: I lay all that God has given me, my dominion, power, and my life, at the feet of Jefus Chrift my Saviour.' Would kings would live, as well as die fo!

§. XIX. Count GONDAMOR, ambassador in England for that very king, and held the ableft man of his time, who took great freedom as to his religion in his politicks, ferving his ends by thofe ways that would beft accomplish them. When towards his latter end, he grew very thoughtful of his past life; and after all his negotiations and fucceffes in business, said to one of his friends, I fear nothing in the world more than fin.' Often profeffing, He had rather endure hell than fin.' So clear and strong were his convictions, and fo exceeding finful did fin appear to him, upon a serious consideration of his ways.

§. XX. Cardinal RICHLIEU, after having been first minister of ftate of Europe, as well as of France, confeffed to old Peter du Moulin, the famous Proteftant of that country, That being forced upon many irregularities by that which they call REASON OF STATE, he could not tell how to fatisfy his confcience for feveral things; and therefore had many temptations to doubt and disbelieve a God, another world, and the immortality of the foul, and thereby to relieve his mind from any difquiet, but in vain: So strong, he faid, was the notion of God on his foul, fo clear the impreffion of him upon the frame of the world, fo unanimous the confent of mankind, fo powerful < the convictions of his own confcience, that he could not but "Taste the power of the world to come," and fo live as one that muft die, and so die as one that muft live for ever.' And being asked one day, Why he was so sad? answered, Monfieur, Monfieur,

the

+

the foul is a ferious thing; it must be either fad here. for a moment, or be fad for ever.'

§. XXI. Cardinal MAZARINE, reputed the cunningeft ftatefman of his time, and who gave great proofs of it in the fucceffes of the French crown under his ministry: his aim was the Grandeur of the world, to which he made all other confiderations fubmit: But, poor man! he was of another mind a little before his death: For being awakened by the smart lafhes of conscience, which reprefented his foul's condition very difinal, with aftonishment and tears he cried out, O my poor foul, . what will become of thee! Whither wilt thou go And spoke one day thus to the queen mother of France, Madam, your favours have undone me: Were I to live again, I would be a Capuchin, rather than a • Courtier.'

?

§. XXII. Count OXCISTERN, chancellor of Swedeland, a person of the first quality, ftation, and ability in his own country; and whose share and fuccefs, not only in the chief ministry of affairs in that kingdom, but in the greatest negotiations of Europe, during his time, made him no lefs confiderable abroad. After all his knowledge and honour, being visited in his retreat from public bufinefs by commiffioner Whitlock, ambassador to queen Chriftina, in the conclufion of their discourse, he said to the ambassador, I have seen much, and enjoyed much of this world; but I never knew how to Live till now. I thank my good God that has given me time to know Him, and to know Myself. All the comfort I have, and all the comfort I take, and which is more than the whole world can give, is Feeling the Good Spirit of God in my heart, and reading in this good book, (holding up the bible) that came from it.' And farther addreffed himself thus to the ambaffador: You are now in the prime of your age and vigour, and in great favour and bufinefs; but this will all leave you, and you will one day better understand and relish what I fay to you; and then you will find that there is more wisdom,

• truth,