No. V. Reflections of men of different characters in the prospect of death. CARDINAL BEAUFORT. His tory informs us that he had been accused of poisoning Humphrey, duke of Gloucester; and that he prevailed on the king to grant him letters of pardon for all the offences he had commit ted. But when he was about to die he thus gave vent to his feelings" And must I then die? Will not all my riches save me? I could purchase the kingdom if that would prolong my life. What! is there no bribing death ? death? When my nephew the duke of Bedford died, I thought my happiness and my authority greatly increased: but the duke of Gloucester's death raised me in fan ey to a level with kings; and I thought of nothing but accumulating still greater wealth, to enable me at length to purchase the triple crown. Alas! how are my hopes disappointed! Wherefore, O my friends! let me earnestly beseech you to pray for me, and recommend my departing soul to God." SIR THOMAS SMITH.- A short time before his death he was much affected with the prospects before him. He sent for two bishops and entreated them to state from the scriptures "the plainest and surest way of making his peace with God :" adding, "It is a lamentable thing that men consider not for what they are born into the world, till they are ready to go out of it." person who came to see him asked him why he was so sad; he replied, "the soul is a serious thing; it must either be sad here for a moment, or be sad forever." CESAR BORGIA, was a son of Pope Alexander VI. A short time before his death he said, "I had provided in the course of my life for every thing except death; and now, alas! I am to die, though entirely unprepared." Let young people beware that they do not imitate such examples, nor expose themselves to such reflections on a dying bed. JOHN LOCKE. About two months before the death of this celebrated author, he wrote a letter to Anthony Collins, and left this direction upon it "To be delivered to him after my decease." The following is a copy of the letter:-"I know you loved me living, and will preserve my memory when dead. All the use to be made of it is, that this life is a scene of vanity, which soon passes away, and affords no solid satisfaction, but in the consciousness of doing well, and in the hopes of another life. This is what I can say upon experience; and what you will find to be true, when you come to make up the account. Adieu! I leave my best wishes with you. JOHN LOCKE." A short time before his decease he said to a friend," I am in the sentiments of charity towards all men; and of a sincere union with the church of Christ, under whatever name CARDINAL RICHELIEU. A distinguished." -- No. VI. The benevolent John Howard. THIS celebrated philanthropist, who devoted his life to the benevolent object of meliorating the condition of those who were confined in prisons, was born in the year 1726. That our young readers have some correct views of this eminent man, and that they may learn to admire the benefactors of mankind, I shall give them an extract from Mr. Burke's eulogy: 66 66 may "I cannot," says Mr. Burke, name this gentleman without remarking, that his labours and writings have done much to open the eyes and hearts of mankind. He has visited all Europe, not to survey the sumptuousness of palaces, or the stateliness of temples; not to make accurate measurements of the remains of ancient grandeur, nor to form a scale of the curiosity of modern art; not to collect medals, or collate manuscripts: but to dive into the depths of dungeons; to plunge into the infection of hospitals, to survey the mansions of sorrow and pain; to take the gage and dimensions of misery, depression and contempt; to re member the forgotten, to attend to the neglected, to visit the forsaken, and compare and colfate the distresses of all men in all countries. His plan is original ; it is as full of genius as it is of humanity. It was a voyage of discovery; a circumnavigation of charity. Already the benefit of his labour is felt more or less in every country: I hope he will anticipate his final reward, by seeing all its effects fully realized in his own." Mr. Howard often said that "he had no wish for life but as it gave him the meaus of relieving his fellow creatures." When he was about to leave England for the last time, a friend expressed his concern at parting with him, from an apprehension that they should never meet again. He cheerfully replied, "We shall soon meet in heaven," and as he rather expected to die of the plague in Egypt, he added "The way to heaven from Grand Cairo is as near as from London." He, however, did not die in Egypt, but at Cherson in Russia. The following lines were written, on the occasion of his death, by Dr. Aikin. Howard, thy task is done! thy Master calls, Long have I mark'd thee with o'er-ruling eye And sent admiring angels from on high, From death to shield thee, and through snares to guide. But 'tis enough! thy great commission's o'er What boots it where the high reward is given, HISTORICAL FRAGMENTS. CHAP. III. "MR. HIGGINSON says in his Journal, that he sailed from the Isle of Wight, the 11th of May, (1628) and arrived at Cape-Ann the 27th of June, and at Naumkeag, (Salem) the 29th. They found at Naumkeag about 100 planters, 8 houses, besides a fair house for Mr. Endicot. The old and new planters together were about 300, of which 100 removed to Charlestown, where there was a house built; the rest remained at Salem." "On the 20th of July, Mr. Higginson and Mr. Skelton, after fasting and prayer, were first elected by the company for their ministers, the first teacher, the other pastor, each of them together with three or four grave members, laying their hands on the other with solemn prayer. Nothing is said of any church being then formed; but on the 6th of August, the day appointed for the choice and ordination of elders and deacons, thirty persons entered into a covenant in writing, which is said to be the beginning of the church, and that the ministers were ordained or instituted anew. 99 "Two of the company, John Brown and Samuel Brown, one a lawyer, and the other a merchant, both men of good estates, and of the first patentees and of the council, were dissatisfied. They did not like that the common prayer and service of the church of England should be wholly laid aside, and therefore drew off, with as many as were of their sentiments, from the rest, and set up a new society. This offended the governor, who caused the two members of his council to be brought before him, and judging that this practice, together with some speeches they had uttered, tended to sedition, he sent them back to England."-Hutchinson's History of Mass., Bay vol. i. p. 11, 12. In reference to the conduct mentioned in the last paragraph, Mr. Hutchinson quotes from the Spirit of Laws the following remark:-"It is a principle that every religion which is persecuted becomes itself persecuting; for as soon as by some accidental turn it arises from secution, it attacks the religion which persecuted it." There has been too much ground for this remark, but we may hope that it will not always be so. per "The governor and some of the principal persons left Salem the 17th of June and travelled through the woods to Charlestown, about 20 miles, to look out for a convenient place for a chief town. At a point on Shawmut or Trimontaine, since Boston, lived Mr. Blaxton, who had left England, being dissatisfied there, and not a thorough conformist; but he was more dissatisfied with the non-conformity of the new comers. He told them he came from England because he did not like the Lords Bishops, but he could not join them because he did not like the Lords Brethren. He claimed the whole peninsula upon which Boston is built, because he was the first that slept upon it. He had a grant of a very handsome lot at the west part of the town; but he chose to quit all and removed to the southward, at or near what is since called Providence, where he lived to old age." p. 21. "The first general court was held the 19th of October, (probably 1630) not by a representative, but by every one that was free of the corporation. One hundred and nine free men were admitted at this court. Maverick, Blackstone, and many more who were not of any of the churches were of this number. The next general court was the court of elections, for 1631. The scale was now turned and the freemen resolved to choose both governor, deputy and assistants and made an order that for the time to come none should be admitted to the: freedom of the body politic but such as were church members!" "This," says Mr. Hutchinson, 66 was a most extraordinary order or law, and yet it continued in force until the dissolution of the government, it being repealed in appearance only after the restoration of Charles II. Had they been deprived of their civil privileges in England by an act of parliament unless they would join in communion with the church there, it might very well have been the first in the roll of grievanees. But such were the requisites to qualify for church membership here that the grievance was abundantly greater."-p. 25, 26. What would be thought at this day of an attempt to exclude all from the privileges of freemen except church members? INQUIRIES RELATING TO 1 JOHN V. 16, AND MATT. XXI. 22. To the Editor of the Christian Disciple. SIR, I HAVE lately read an illustration of the 16th verse of the 5th chapter of the First Epistle of John. It is a passage which has long perplexed my mind, as many others have done-particularly Matt. xxi. 22-And all things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive together with its parallel passage. Are not these special promises to the Apostles and those who were empowered to work miracles in confirmation of the testimony they bore to Christ and his gospel? These special gifts were not, I humbly conceive, permanent in the Apostles, but granted on special occasions and in answer to prayer. Were not these prayers offered by an immediate impulse of the holy spirit, where by they knew it was a proper occasion for God to manifest his power by them, in confirmation of their testimony. We find they had power to do good by healing the sick, and also to inflict judicial punishments on special occasions. An awful instance of this is that of Ananias and Sapphira his wife, by Peter, and that of Elymas the sorcerer by Paul. Had the power been permanent in the Apostles it would have required a continual miracle to keep them from an abuse of it. The gift of tongues I conceive was permanent in those who received it in the church of Corinth, was shamefully abused. In this church we read that many were weak and sickly as a judicial punishment for their irregularities. May we not un derstand the words of John as having immediate reference to those special promises made to the Apostles who were empowered to work miracles in confirmation of the testimony they bore to Christ and his gospel ? In the preceding verses we read thus" This is the confidence that we have in him, that if we ask any thing according to his will he heareth us; and if we know that he heareth us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petition that we desired of him." When it was necessary for the Apostles to show their commission for preaching Christ and him crucified, they showed it by working a miracle. God set this great seal of heaven to the doctrine they preached. J. T. |