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warrant, understands what's what as well as you or I, Widow, fhall give the Bride as Father. The Quaker, who happened to be a Man of Smartnefs, anfwered, Friend, I take it in good Part, that thou haft given me the Authority of a Father over this comely and virtuous Child; and I muft affure thee, that if I have the giving her, I fhall not beftow her on thee. Thy Mirth, Friend, favoureth of Folly: Thou art a Perfon of a light Mind; thy Drum is a Type of thee, it foundeth because it is empty. Verily, it is not from thy Fullnefs, but thy Emptiness, that thou haft fpoken this Day. Friend, Friend, we have hired this Coach in Partner fhip with thee, to carry us to the great City; we can not go any other Way. This worthy Mother muft hear thee if thou wilt needs utter thy Follies;. we cannot help it, Friend, I fay: if thou wilt, we muft hear thee: But if thou wert a Man of Understanding, thou ⚫ wouldft not take Advantage of thy couragious Countenance to abash us Children of Peace. Thou art, thou fayeft, a Soldier, give Quarter to us, who cannot re fift thee, Why didft thou fleer at our Friend, who feigned himself afleep? he faid nothing, but how doft thou know what he containeth? If thou fpeakeft improper Things in the Hearing of this virtuous young Virgin, confider it is an Outrage against a diftreffed Perfon that cannot get from thee: To fpeak indifcreetly what we are obliged to hear, by being hafped up with thee in this publick Vehicle, is in fome degree affaulting on the high Road.

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HERE Ephraim paufed, and the Captain with an hap py and uncommon Impudence (which can be convicted and fupport it felf at the fame time) cries, Faith, Friend, I thank thee; I fhould have been a little Impertinent if thou hadst not reprimanded me. Come, thou art, Į fee a fmoaky old Fellow, and I'll be very orderly the erfuing Part of the Journey. I was going to give my felf Airs, but Ladies I beg Pardon.

THE Captain was fo little out of Humour, and our Company was fo far from being fowred by this little Ruffle, that Ephraim and he took a particular Delight in be ing agreeable to each other for the future; and affumed their different Provinces in the Conduct of the Com

pany.

pany. Our Reckonings, Apartments, and Accommodation, fell under Ephraim: and the Captain looked to all Difputes on the Road, as the good Behaviour of our Coachman, and the Right we had of taking Place as going to London of all Vehicles coming from thence. The Occurrences we met with were ordinary, and very little happened which could entertain by the Relation of them: But when I confider'd the Company we were in, I took it for no finall good Fortune that the whole Journey was not spent in Impertinencies, which to the one Part of us might be an Entertainment, to the other a Suffering, What therefore Ephraim said when we were almoft arried at Londan, had to me an Air not only of good Understanding but good Breeding. Upon the young Lady's expreffing her Satisfaction in the Journey, and declaring how delightful it had been to her, Ephraim delivered himfelf as follows; There is no ordinary Part of hu mane Life which expreffeth fo much a good Mind, and a right inward Man, as his Behaviour upon meeting with Strangers, especially fuch as may feem the moft unfuitable Companions to him: Such a Man, when he falleth in the Way with Perfons of Simplicity and Innocence, however knowing he may be in the Ways of Men, will not vaunt himfelf thereof; but will the rather hide his Superiority to them, that he may not be painful unto them. My good Friend, (continued he, turning to the Officer) thee and I are to part by and by, and peradventure we may never meet again But be advised by a plain Man; Modes and Apparel are but Trifles to the real Man, therefore do not think fuch a Man as thy felf terrible for thy Garb, nor fuch a one as me contemptible for mine. When two fuch as thee and I meet, with Affections as we ought to have towards each other, thou shouldft rejoice to fee my peaceable Demeanour, and I should be glad to fee thy Strength and Ability to protect me fin its moons agizo yüz

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Thursday,

N° 133.

Thursday, August 2.

Quis Defiderio fit pudor, aut modus,
Tam Chari capitis?

Hor.

HERE is a fort of Delight, which is alternately

Tmixed with Terror and Sorrow, in the Contem

plation of Death, The Soul has its Curiosity more than ordinarily awakened, when it turns its Thoughts upon the Conduct of fuch who have behaved themselves with an Equal, a Refigned, a Chearful, a Generous or Heroick Temper in that Extremity, We are affected with these refpective Manners of Behaviour, as we fecretly believe the Part of the dying Perfon imitable by our felves, or fuch as we imagine our felves more particularly capable of. Men of exalted Minds march before us like Princes, and are, to the Ordinary Race of Mankind, rather Subjects for their Admiration than Example. However, there are no Ideas ftrike more forcibly upon our Imaginations, than those which are raised from Re flections upon the Exits of great and excellent Men, Innocent Men who have fuffered as Criminals, tho' they were Benefactors to human Society, feem to be Perfons of the higheft Diftinction, among the vastly greater Number of Human Race, the Dead. When the Iniquity of the Times brought Socrates to his Execution, how great and wonderful is it to behold him, unfupported by any thing but the Teftimony of his own Confcience and Conjectures of Hereafter, receive the Poi fon with an Air of Mirth and good Humour, and as if going on an agreeable Journey befpeak fome Deity to make it fortunate.

WHEN Phocion's good Actions had met with the like Reward from his Country, and he was led to Death with many others of his Friends, they bewailing their Fate, he walking compofedly towards the Place of Execution, show gracefully does he fupport his illustrious Character

to

to the

very laft Inftant. One of the Rabble spitting at him as he paffed, with his ufual Authority he called to know if no one was ready to teach this Fellow how to behave himself. When a poor-fpirited Creature that dyed at the fame time for his Crimes bemoaned himself unmanfully, he rebuked him with this Question, Is it no Confolation to fuch a Man as thou art to die with Phocion? At the Inftant when he was to die, they asked what Commands he had for his Son, he answered, To forget this Injury of the Athenians. Niocles, his Friend, under the fame Sentence, defired he might drink the Potion before him; Phocion faid, because he never had denied him any thing he would not even this, the most difficult Request he had ever made,

THESE Inftances were very noble and great, and the Reflections of thofe Sublime Spirits had made Death to them what it is really intended to be by the Author of Nature, a Relief from a various Being ever fubje& to Sorrows and Difficulties.

EPAMINONDAS the Theban General, having received in Fight a Mortal Stab with a Sword, which was left in his Body, lay in that Pofture 'till he had Intelligence that his Troops had obtained the Victory, and then permitted it to be drawn out, at which Inftant he expreffed himself in this manner, This is not the End of my Life, my Fellow-Soldiers; it is now your Epaminondas is born, who dies in fo much Glory.

IT were an endless Labour to collect the Accounts with which all Ages have filled the World of noble and Heroick Minds that have refigned this Being, as if the termination of Life were but an ordinary Occurrence of it,

THIS common-place way of Thinking I fell into from an aukward Endeavour to throw off a real and fresh Affliction, by turning over Books in a Melancholy Mood; but it is not eafy to remove Griefs which touch the Heart, by applying Remedies which only entertain the Imagination, As therefore this Paper is to confift of any thing which concerns Human Life, I cannot help letting the prefent Subject regard what has been the laft Object of my Eyes, tho' an Entertainment of Sorrow.

I went this Evening to vifit a Friend, with a design to xally him, upon a Story I had heard of his intending to

Heal

fteal a Marriage without the Privity of us his intimate Friends and Acquaintance. I came into his Apartment with that Intimacy which I have done for very many Years, and walked directly into his Bed-chamber, where I found my Friend in the Agonies of Death. What could I do? The innocent Mirth in my Thoughts ftruck upon me like the most flagitious Wickedness: I in vain called upon him; he was fenfelefs, and too far spent to have the leaft Knowledge of my Sorrow, or any Pain in himself. Give me leave then to tranfcribe my Soliloquy, as I ftood by his Mother, dumb with the weight of Grief for a Son who was her Honour, and her Comfort, and never 'till that Hour fince his Birth had been an Occafion of a Moment's Sorrow to her.

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"How furprizing is this Change! from the Poffef fion of vigorous Life and Strength, to be reduced in a few Hours to this fatal Extremity! Thofe Lips which look fo pale and livid, within these few Days gave Delight to all who heard their Utterance: It was the Bufinefs, the Purpose of his Being, next to Obeying him to whom he is going, to pleafe and inftruct, and that for no other end but to please and inftruct. Kindnefs was the Motive of his Actions, and with all the Capacity requifite for making a Figure in a contentious World, Moderation, Good-Nature, Affability, Temperance and Chaftity, were the Arts of his Excellent Life. There as he lies in helpless Agony, no Wife Man who knew him fo well as I, but would refign all the World can bestow to be fo near an End of fuch a Life. Why does my Heart fo little obey my Reason as to lament thee, thou excellent Man.

Heaven receive him, or reftore him- Thy beloved Mother, thy obliged Friends, thy helplefs Servants, ftand around thee without Diftinction. How much wouldst thou, hadft thou thy Senfes, fay to each of us.

BUT now that good Heart bursts, and he is at restwith that Breath expired a Soul who never indulged a Paffion unfit for the Place he is gone to: Where are now thy Plans of Justice, of Truth, of Honour? Of what ufe the Volumes thou haft collated, the Arguments thou haft invented, the Examples thou haft followed.'

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