them. But this I know affuredly, that Sir Thomas WHITMORE often treated the author with great civility and respect, when he was in his company; especially about thirty years ago, at the time our county-infirmary was just eftablished.*

The death of Mifs W. of this town, was a very fudden and awful event. It was occafioned by a mortification in her bowels, brought on, it is fuppofed, by eating too many raisins on the preceding day. The family were greatly affected, but bore the calamity well. It fell peculiarly heavy

on

* Mr. ORTON had acted voluntarily as fecretary to the infirmary; drawn up fome of its first reports; had preached in its behalf at his place of worship; at the fame time fubfcribing himself, -and procuring the fubfcriptions of others and as party difputes ran high at the time of its establishment, he had the happy art of fo conciliating matters, that the charity received no effential injury.

on a young gentleman in London, of a moft amiable temper and character, to whom she would have been married in a few months. He came down to the funeral, and fhewed much of the spirit of a chriftian, with all the feelings of a man, and the tenderness of a lover. I wrote to Dr. STONHOUSE an account of the circumstances of the cafe, addreffed to his daughter, which I find he inferted in the Bristol news

paper; which if it doth good it is well.*

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* " — So speedily So fpeedily was this lovely flower cut down, in all the bloom of health and cheerful. nefs; and with the most agreeable profpects before her! So foon may other young ladies vanish from their parents and friends, and enter. upon an awful eternity; fo foon may all their schemes and views for this world be blasted at once ! Those who are unaffected with fuch. an inftructive event as this, or can be foon forgetful of it, do great injury to their own judgement, and to the good education they

have

I can read very little thefe fhort dark days, but I fometimes entertain myself with fome of my good old authors. FULLER'S Holy State hath afforded me much pleasure: in which there are many trifling things, but fome lively remarks; it abounds with historical anecdotes, fome of which deferve remembrance, and may pertinently be introduced into fermons, and be very entertaining and useful. He deals much in puns and gingle,. but was a man of vaft reading. He published several folios, as the Holy State, his Church History, (a large valuable

have had. 'Tis to be hoped this firiking and fudden removal of fo young a perfon into the other world, will be the means of caufing furvivors to ponder on it, and to receive infruction from it; and especially to think, now and then, on that important text, fo awfully illuftrated by this and the like frequent events; (Prov. xxvii. 1.) "Boaft not thyfelf of to-morrow; for thou knoweft not what a day may bring forth."

able folio,) and another entitled, the Worthies of England, or the Hiftory of eminent Men, in the feveral counties where they were born.-I read not long ago, Sir MATTHEW HALE'S Contemplations. If you have them not, I would recommend them to your perufal. The ftile is awkward; but they are full of excellent matter, and would furnish out materials for many useful fermons. I have read them more than once or twice before, but never obferved their usefulness fo much in this view, as lately. Befides this, there is a variety of moft excellent hints of advice, concerning a man's behaviour in every part of his facial character; tho' they are only given, as his thoughts, purpofes and refolutions, with regard to his own perfonal conduct. He is a ftriking inftance of the truth of that obfervation, which cannot be too often inculcated, or too carefully

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carefully attended to," that if a man allows himself to be imprudent, giddy and inattentive in any one inftance, tho' it be in itself small and inconfiderable, it will have an unhappy influence upon his whole conduct; no fixed principle keeps him from being fo in all other instances, and had he equal tempt→ ations, he would violate all the duties of prudence, and by degrees, thofe of morality and religion too." It is therefore peculiarly neceffary, and of the utmost importance, that perfons in their early years and first setting out in life, keep a refolute watch over themselves, even in the fmalleft inftances, in which their natural temper leads them to be imprudent and indifcreet, and not neglect this important queftion, before they undertake even any little affair, "Is it right and fit, prudent and proper ?” I have read fomewhere of a saying of the famous BRUTUS,