"I praise him, that I am not to learn patience, now I ftand in such need "of it; and that I have practifed mortification, and endeavoured to die "daily, that I might not die eternally; and my hope is, that I shall shortly "leave this valley of tears, and be free from all fevers and pain; and, which "will be a more happy condition, I fhall be free from fin, and all the "temptations and anxieties that attend it; and this being past, I shall dwell " in the New Jerufalem; dwell there with men made perfect; dwell where "these eyes fhall fee my Mafter and Saviour Jefus; and with him see my "dear mother, and all my relations and friends :-But I muft die, or not 66 come to that happy place: And this is my content, that I am going daily "towards it; and that every day which I have lived hath taken a part of my appointed time from me; and that I fhall live the less time, for "having lived this and the day past.”—These, and the like expreffions, which he uttered often, may be faid to be his enjoyment of heaven before he enjoyed it. The Sunday before his death, he rose suddenly from his bed or couch, called for one of his inftruments, took it into his hand, and faid, My God, my God, My mufic fhall find thee, And ev'ry ftring Shall have his attribute to fing. And having tuned it, he played and fung : The Sundays of man's life, Threadded together on time's string, Of the eternal glorious King: On Sundays heaven's door ftands ope; Bleffings are plentiful and rife, More plentiful than hope. Thus he fung on earth fuch hymns and anthems as the angels, and he, and Mr. Ferrar, now fing in heaven. See the whole hymn entitled "Sunday," in Mr. Herbert's "Temple." Thus Thus he continued meditating, and praying, and rejoicing, till the day of his death; and on that day faid to Mr. Woodnot, " My dear friend, I am forry I have nothing to present to my merciful God but fin and misery; "but the first is pardoned; and a few hours will now put a period to the "latter; for I fhall fuddenly go hence and be no more feen." Upon which expreffion, Mr. Woodnot took occafion to remember him of the re-edifying Layton church, and his many acts of mercy; to which he made answer, faying, "They be good works, if they be sprinkled with the blood of "Christ, and not otherwife." After this discourse he became more restless, and his foul feemed to be weary of her earthly tabernacle; and this uneasiness became so visible, that his wife, his three nieces, and Mr. Woodnot, ftood conftantly about his bed, beholding him with forrow, and an unwillingness to lose the fight of him whom they could not hope to see much longer. As they ftood thus beholding him, his wife obferved him to breathe faintly, and with much trouble; and obferved him to fall into a fudden agony, which fo furprised her, that she fell into a sudden paffion, and required of him to know how he did? to which his answer was," that he had paffed a conflict with his last enemy, and had overcome him, by the merits " of his Master Jefus." After which answer he looked up, and saw his wife and nieces weeping to an extremity, and charged them," if they loved him, "to withdraw into the next room, and there pray every one alone for him; "for nothing but their lamentations could make his death uncomfortable." To which requeft their fighs and tears would not fuffer them to make any reply, but they yielded him a fad obedience, leaving only with him Mr. Woodnot and Mr. Bostock. Immediately after they had left him, he said to Mr. Bostock, " Pray, Sir, open that door, then look into that cabinet, in “which you may eafily find my last-will, and give it into my hand :” which being done, Mr. Herbert delivered it into the hand of Mr. Woodnot, and faid, " My old friend, I here deliver you my last will, in which you "will find that I have made you my fole executor for the good of my wife and nieces; and I defire you to fhew kindness to them, as they shall "need it: I do not defire you to be juft, for I know you will be fo for your own fake; but I charge you, by the religion of our friendship, to be careful of them." And having obtained Mr. Woodnot's promise 466 to my foul." to be fo, he faid, "I am now ready to die." After which words he faid, "Lord, forfake me not, now my ftrength faileth me; but grant me mercy "for the merits of my Jefus. And now Lord-Lord, now receive my And with those words he breathed forth his divine foul, without any apparent disturbance, Mr. Woodnot and Mr. Boftock attending his last breath, and clofing his eyes'. Thus he lived, and thus he died like a faint, unspotted of the world, full of alms-deeds, full of humility, and all the examples of a virtuous life; which I cannot conclude better, than with this borrowed obfervation:. -All muft to their cold graves; But the religious actions of the just Smell fweet in death, and bloffom in the duft . Mr. George Herbert's have done fo to this, and will doubtlefs do fo to fuc ceeding generations. I have but this to fay more of him, that if Andrew Thus died Mr. George Herbert : "He taught us how to live; and ah, too high Melvin. "A price for knowledge! taught us how to die." * I am obliged to the ingenious author of "The Lives of the Deans of Canterbury," for pointing out the little poem entitled "Death's final Conqueft," from which thefe lines were probably quoted. It was originally intended for a folemn dirge, in a play composed by James Shirley, a dramatic writer, who flourished in the beginning of the reign of Charles I. and who died in 1666. It was a favourite fong with Charles II.; and Oliver Cromwell is faid, on the recital of it, to have been feized with great terror and agitation of mind. The following is the third and concluding stanza : "The garlands wither on your brow; "Then boast no more your mighty deeds: "Upon Death's purple altar now "See where the victor victim bleeds. "All heads must come "To the cold tomb : Only the actions of the juft "Smell fweet, and blossom in the dust." Melvin died before him, then George Herbert died without an enemy". I wish (if God shall be so pleased) that I may be so happy as to die like him. IZ. WA. THERE is a debt justly due to the memory of Mr. Herbert's virtuous wife; a part of which I will endeavour to pay, by a very fhort account of the remainder of her life, which fhall follow. She continued his difconfolate widow about fix years, bemoaning herself and complaining that she had loft the delight of her eyes; but more that she had loft the spiritual guide for her poor foul; and would often say, "O that I had, like holy Mary, the mother of Jefus, treasured up all his fayings in my heart; but fince I have not been able to do that, I will la"bour to live like him, that where he now is, I may be alfo." And the would often fay (as the prophet David for his fon Abfalom) "O that I had "died for him!" Thus fhe continued mourning, till time and converfation had fo moderated her forrows, that she became the happy wife of Sir Robert Cook, of Highnam, in the county of Gloucester, Knight: And though he put a high value on the excellent accomplishments of her mind and body, and was fo like Mr. Herbert, as not to govern like a master, but as an affectionate husband; yet she would, even to him, often take occasion to mention "Mr. George Herbert, Efq. Parfon of Fuglefton and Bemerton, was buried 3d day of "March, 1632." (Parish Register of Bemerton.)——It does not appear whether he was buried U.next age, in the parish church or in the chapel. His letter to Mr. Nicholas Ferrar, the translator of Valdeffo, is dated from his parfonage at Bemerton, near Salisbury, Sep. 29, 1632. It must be remembered, that the beginning of the year, at that time, was computed from the 25th of March. In this year alfo, he wrote the fhort Addrefs to the Reader, which is prefixed to his "Prieft to the Temple," which was not published till after his death. "We cannot fuppofe that Andrew Melville could retain the least personal refentment against Mr. Herbert; whofe letters have in them fo little of the poignancy of fatire, that it is fcarce poffible to confider them as capable of exciting the anger of him to whom they are addreffed. mention the name of Mr. George Herbert, and fay," that name muft live in "her memory, till she put off mortality."-By Sir Robert, she had only one child, a daughter, whose parts and plentiful estate make her happy in this world, and her well using of them gives a fair testimony that she will be fo in that which is to come. Mrs. Herbert was the wife of Sir Robert eight years, and lived his widow about fifteen; all which time fhe took a pleasure in mentioning and commending the excellencies of Mr. George Herbert. She died in the year 1663, and lies buried at Highnam; Mr. Herbert in his own church, under the altar, and covered with a grave-ftone without any inscription. This Lady Cook had preserved many of Mr. Herbert's private writings, which she intended to make public, but they and Highnam House wereburnt together, by the late rebels, and fo loft to pofterity. I. W.. APPENDIX.. |