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yet all the pleasures he had ever known in fin were not worth that torture he had felt in his mind. He considered he had not only neglected and dishonoured, but had openly defied, his Maker, and had drawn many others into the like impieties; fo that he looked on himself as one that was in great danger of being damned. He then fet himself wholly to turn to God unfeignedly, and to do all that was poffible, in that little remainder of his life which was before him, to redeem thofe great portions of it that he had formerly fo ill employed. The minifter, that attended conftantly on him, was that good and worthy man, Mr. Parfons, his mother's chaplain, who hath fince his death preached, according to the directions he received from him, his funeral fermon in which there are fo many remarkable paffages, that I fhall refer my reader to them, and will repeat none of them here, that I may not thereby leffen his defire to edify himself by that excellent difcourfe, which hath given fo great and fo general a fatisfaction to all good and judicious readers. I fhall speak curforily of every thing, but that which I had immediately from himself. He was vifited every week of his fickness by his diocefan, that truly primitive prelate, the lord Bishop of Oxford » who, though he lived fix miles from him, yet looked on this as fo important a piece of his paftoral care, that he went often to him, and treated him

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with that decent plainnefs and freedom which is fo natural to him; and took care alfo that he might not, on ternis more eafy than fafe, be at peace with himself. Dr. Marshall, the learned and worthy rector of Lincoln College in Oxford, being the minifter of the parish, was alfo frequently with him; and by thefe helps he was fo directed and fupported, that he might not on the one hand fatisfy himself with too fuperficial a repentance, nor on the other hand be out of measure oppreffed with a forrow without hope. As foon as I heard he was ill, but yet in fuch 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 affure me it was very welcome to him; but, not fatisfied with that, he fent me an answer, which, as the countefs of Rochefter, his mother, told me, he dic tated every word, and then figned 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 fuiting with his condition.

But the fenfe he expreffes in it, of the change then wrought on him, hath upon fecond thoughts prevailed with me to publifh it, leaving out what concerns myself.

"Woodstock

66

"Woodftock-Park, Oxford hire.

66 My moft honoured Dr. Burnett,

MY

Y fpirits and body decay fo equally toge ther, that I fhall write you a letter, as "weak as I am in perfon. I begin to value church"men above all men in the world, &c. If God "be yet pleafed to fpare me longer in this world, I hope in your converfation to be exalted to that

66

degree of piety, that the world may fee how "much I abhor what I fo long loved, and how "much I glory in repentance and in God's service. "Beftow your prayers upon me, that God would

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fpare me (if it be his good will) to fhew a true repentance and amendment of life for the time to "come: or elfe, if the Lord pleaseth to put an end "to my worldly being now, that he would merci

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fully accept of my death-bed repentance, and "perform that promise that he hath been pleafed "to make, that, at what time foever a finner "doth repent, he would receive him. Put up "these prayers, moft dear doctor, to Almighty "God, for

"YOUR MOST OBEDIENT,

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He told me, when I faw him, that he hoped I would come to him upon that general infinuation of the defire he had of my company; and he was lothe to write more plainly, not knowing whether I could eafily fpare fo much time. I told him, that, on the other hand, I looked on it as a prefumption to come fo far when he was in fuch excellent hands; and, though perhaps the freedom formerly between us might have excufed it with those to whom it was known, yet it might have the appearance of so much vanity to fuch as were strangers to it; fo that, till I received his letter, I did not think it convenient to come to him; and then, not hearing that there was any danger of a fudden change, I delayed going to him till the twentieth of July. At my coming to his house, an accident fell out not worth mentioning, but that fome have made a ftory of it, His fervant, being a Frenchman, carried up my name wrong, fo that he miftook it for another who had fent to him that he would undertake his cure, and he, being refolved not to meddle with him, did not care to fee him: this miftake lafted fome hours, with which I was the better contented, because he was not then in fuch a condition that my being about him could have been of any use to him; for that night was like to have been his laft. He had a convulfion fit, and raved; but, opiates being given

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him,

him, after fome hours reft, his raving left him fo entirely, that it never again returned to him.

I cannot eafily exprefs the transport he was in when he awoke and faw me by him; he broke out in the tendereft expreffions concerning my kindness in coming fo far to fee fuch an one, ufing terms of great abhorrence concerning himself, which I forbear to relate. He told me, as his ftrength ferved him at feveral fnatches, for he was then fo low that he could not hold up difcourfe long at once, what fenfe he had of his paft life; what fad apprehenfion for having so offended his Maker and difhonoured his Redeemer; what horrors he had gone through, and how much his mind was turned to call on God and on his crucified Saviour, fo that he hoped he should obtain mercy; for he believed he had fincerely repented, and had now a calm in his mind after that storm that he had been in for fome weeks. He had strong apprehenfions and perfuafions of his admittance to heaven, of which he fpake once, not without fome extraordinary emotion. It was, indeed, the only time that he fpake with any great warmth to me; for his fpirits were then low, and fo far spent, that, though those about him told me he had expreffed formerly great fervor in his devotions, yet, nature was fo much funk, that these were in a great measure fallen off. But he made me pray often with him, and spoke of his converfion to

God

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