deem those great portions of it, that he formerly so illy employed. The minister, that attended constantly on him, was that good and worthy man, Mr. Parsons, his mother's chaplain, who hath since his death preached, according to the directions he received from him, his fụneral sermon ; in which there are so many remarkable passages, that I shall refer my reader to them, and will repeat none of them here, that I may not thereby lessen his desire to edify himself by that excellent discourse, which has given so great and so general satisfaction to all good and judicious readers. I shall speak cursorily of every thing, but that which I had immediately from himself. He was visited every week of his sickness by his diocesan, that truly primitive prelate, the lord bishop of Oxford, Dr. Fell, who, though he lived six miles from him, yet looked on this as so important a piece of his pastoral care, that he went often to him; and treated him ' with that decent plainness and freedom, which is so natural to him; and took care also that he might not, on terms more easy than safe, be at peace with himself. Dr. Marshall, the learned and worthy rector of Lincoln College in Oxford, being the minister of the parish, was also frequently with him; and by these helps he was so directed and supported, that he might not on the one hand satisfy himself with too superficial a repentance, nor on the other hand be out of measure oppressed with a sorrow without hope. As soon as I heard he was ill, but yet in such a condition that I might write to him, I wrote a letter to the best purpose I could. He ordered one that was then with him, to assure me it was very welcome to him but not satisfied with that, he sent me an answer, which, as the countess of Rochester, his mother, told me, he dictate devery word, and then signed it. : I was once unwilling to have published it because of a compliment in it to myself, far above my merit, and not very well suit 1 was sure, religion was either a mere contrivance, or the most important thing that could be; so that if he once believed, he would set himself in great earnest to live suitably to it. The aspirings, that he had observed at court, of some of the clergy, with the servile ways they took to attain to preferment; and the animosities, among those of several parties, about trifles, made him often think they suspected the things were not true, which in their sermons and discourses they so earnestly recommended. Of this he had gathered many instances. I knew some of them were mistakes and calumnies; yet I could not deny but something of them might be true. And I publish this the more freely, to put all that pretend to religion, chiefly those that are dedicated to holy functions, in mind of the great obligation that lies on them to live suitably to their profession; since, otherwise, a great deal of the irreligion and atheism, that is among us, may too justly be charged on them for wicked men are delighted out of measure, when they discover ill things in them, and conclude from thence, not only that they are hypocrites, but that religion itself is a cheat. But I said to him on this head, that though no good man could continue in the practice of any known sin, yet such might, by the violence or surprise of temptation, to which they are liable as much as others, be of a sudden overcome to do an ill thing, to their great grief all their life after. And then it was a very unjust inference, upon some few failings, to conclude that such men do not believe themselves. But how bad soever many are, it cannot be denied but that there are also many, both of the clergy and laity, who give great and real demonstrations of the power which religion has over them; in their contempt of the world, the strictness of their lives, their readiness to forgive injuries, to relieve the poor, and to do good on all occasions. And yet even these may have their failings, either in such things wherein their constitutions are weak, or their temptations strong and sudden. And in all such cases we are to judge of men, rather by the course of their lives, than by the errors that they, ing with his condition. But the sense he expresses in it of the change then wrought on him hath, upon second thoughts, prevailed with me to publish it, leaving out what concerns myself. WOODSTOCK PARK, OXFORDSHIRE, Most honoured Dr. Burnett, My spirits and body decay so equally together, that I shall write you a letter weak as I am in person. I begin to value churchmen above all men in the world, &c. If God be yet pleased to spare me longer in this world, I hope in your conversation to be exalted to that degree of piety, that the "world may see how much I abhor what I so long loved, and how much I glory in repentance, and in God's service. Bestow your prayers upon me, that God would spare me (if it be his good will) to shew a true repentance and amendment of life for the time to come: or else, if the Lord pleaseth to put an end to my worldly being now, that he would mercifully accept of my death-bed repentance, and perform that promise that he hath been pleased to make, |