tasteless. Learn how vain and weak a thing human nature is, which is pulled down to the gates of death, and clothed with rottenness and corruption, by a little disorder in the blood, in a nerve, in a vein, in an artery. And since we have so little hold of a temporal life, which is shaken and shattered by any small occurrence, accident, or distemper; learn to lay hold of eternal life, and of that covenant of peace and salvation, which Christ hath brought for all that believe and obey the Gospel of peace and salvation: there shall be no death, no sickness, no pain, no weakness; but a state of unchangeable and everlasting happiness. And, if you thus improve affliction, you are gainers by it; and most certain it is, that there is no more probable way, under heaven, to be delivered from affliction (if the wise God see it fit) than thus to improve it. For affliction is a messenger: and the rod hath a voice; and that is, to require mankind to be the more patient and the more humble, and more to acknowledge Almighty God in all our ways. And if men listen to this voice of the rod, and conform to it, the rod hath done his errand; and either will leave a man, or at least give a man singular comfort even under the sharpest affliction. And this affliction, which is but for a moment, thus improved, will work for us an exceeding and eternal weight of glory.

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Twelfthly. Reverence your minister; he is a wise and a good man, and one that loves you, and hath a tender care and respect for you. Do not grieve him, either by neglect or disrespect. Assure yourselves, if there be any person that sets any of you against him, or provokes or encourageth any of you to despise or neglect him, that person, whoever

he be, loves not you nor the office he bears. And therefore, as the laws of the land and the Divine Providence hath placed him at Alderly to have a care of your souls, so I must tell you I do expect you should reverence and honour him for his own, for your, and for his office sake.

And now I have written this long epistle to you, to perform that office for me that I should have done in person, if I could have taken this journey. The epistle is long, but it had been longer, if I had had more time. And though, perchance, some there may be in the world, that when they hear of it will interpret it to be but the excursions and morose rules of old age, unnecessary, and such as might have been spared; yet, I am persuaded, it will find better acceptation thereof from you that are my children. I am now on the shady side of threescore years. I write to you, what you have often heard me in substance speak. And possibly, when I shall leave this world, you will want such a remembrancer as I have been to you. The words that I now, and at former times have written to you, are words of truth and soberness; and words and advices, that proceed from a heart full of love and affection to you all. If I should see you do amiss in any thing, and should not reprove you; or if I should find you want counsel or direction, and should not give it, I should not perform the trust of a father: and, if you should not thankfully receive it, you would be somewhat defective in the duty you owe to God and me, as chil dren. As I have never spared my purse to supply you, according to my abilities and the reasonableness of occasions, so I have never been wanting to you in good and prudent counsels. And the God of heaven

give you wisdom, constancy, and fidelity, in the observance of them.

'I am your ever loving father,

'May 20,

"MATTHEW HALE.'

In his account of the Good Steward, which forms part of his valuable Tract entitled The Great Audit,' he represents himself as rendering an account, generally, as to all the blessings and talents entrusted to him; and more particularly, as to his senses, his reason and understanding, his memory, his conscience, the great works of Creation and Providence, more special providences, his speech, his time of life, his use and dominion over the creatures, his learning of natural causes and effects and of arts and sciences, his prudence and understanding in affairs and dexterity in the managing of them, his elocution, his body and bodily endowments of health, strength, and beauty, his wealth and temporal subsistence, his eminence of place, and power, and his reputation and credit. Of this, two sections are inserted, as a specimen of his pious and simple state of mind.

Touching my Time of Life.

First, I have duly considered what it is, and for what end thou gavest it me: that it is but a short time, and the minutes that are past and the opportunities in them are irrevocably and irrecoverably lost; that all the wealth of the world cannot redeem it; that the time, that is before me, is uncertain. When I look upon an hour-glass, or the shadow of a dial, I can guess

that here is half an hour, or a quarter, or more, or less to come; but I cannot guess, what proportion of time remains in the hour-glass of my life: only I know it is short, but I know not how short it is -whether a year, or a week, or a day, or an hour; and yet upon this little uncertain portion of time, and the due use of it, depends my everlasting happiness or misery. It is my seed-time, and if I sow not my seed here, it is too late to think of that husbandry after death; and if I sow, and sow not good seed, my crop will be thereafter in that other world, that immediately expects upon the issue of this. And I have a thousand diversions, that rob me of much of this little portion of time, and yield me no account in order to my great concernment. When I cast out from the account of my time the unprofitableness of my childhood and youth, the hours spent in eating, drinking, sleeping, recreations, travels, and other things that carry no sin in them, there remains but a small portion of a short life for concernments of everlasting importance; a great business to be done, great difficulties and impediments in the doing of it, and but a little portion of time, of a short and uncertain life, to do it in. And yet this life of mine was by thee given, not to be trifled or squandered away, either in sin or idleness; not to gain riches, honour, or reputation: for when sickness comes, these will appear insipid and vain things; and when death comes, they will be merely useless. But it was for a higher end, viz. a time, to trade for the most valuable jewel of eternal happiness; a time, to sow such seed, as might yield a crop of blessedness in the next world; a time, to secure a title to an everlasting inheritance; such a time as, if once lost,

the opportunity is lost for ever, lost irrecoverably : for the night cometh, wherein no man can work; There is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave, whither thou goest.*

And upon this consideration of the great end of my life, the great importance of the business that is to be done in it, the brevity and great uncertainty of this life, and the utter impossibility after death to redeem the neglect of the proper and important business of my life-I have endeavoured to husband this short, uncertain, important talent as well as I can:

1. By a careful avoiding of sinful employments, which at once waste this precious talent, and contract a farther debt upon me, render me in arrears for the time mis-spent and the guilt contracted.

2. By avoiding idleness, burning out my candle to no purpose.

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3. By avoiding unnecessary consumption of time by long feastings, excessive sleep, impertinent visits, seeing of interludes, unnecessary recreations, curious and impertinent studies and inquiries, that when attained serve to no purpose.

4. By applying, directing, and ordering even my studies of human learning, histories, natural or moral philosophy, mathematics, language, laws, to an end beyond themselves; viz. thereby to enable me to understand and observe thy excellent wisdom and power, to maintain and uphold thy cause against atheism, idolatry, and errors; to fit me for serving of thee and my country, in the station wherein I live.

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5. By exercising myself in the very business of my calling, as an act of duty and obedience to thee,

Eccles. ix. 10.