thofe good qualities which you observed in him. And therefore, I fhall, in as few words as I can, comprife, what twenty years experience hath enabled me juftly to fay of him.

He was a ferious fincere Christian; of an innocent, irreproachable, nay, exemplary life; which was led, not only at a great distance from any foul vice, but alfo in the even and uniform practice of many virtues; fuch as were fuitable to a life of great application and bufinefs, fuch as became and adorned the ftate and profeffion to which it pleased God to call him.

He highly valued and heartily loved that church wherein he was baptifed and educ ated; of which he gave the beft proofs, by being a conftant frequenter of its worship, and, in the latter part of his life, a never-failing monthly communicant; I add alfo, and by adhering fteddily to its intereft; two things which ought never to be feparated!

Nor was his attendance on divine offices a matter of formality and cuftom, but of confcience; as appeared by his compofed and ferious behaviour, during the fervice. It was fuch, as fhewed him to be in earneft, and truely affected with what he was doing.

His religion did not spend itself all in public; the private duties of the clofet were equally his care; with thefe he began each morning, and to these he repaired, as often as he entered upon any bufinefs of confequence (I speak knowingly); and his family were every evening fummoned by him to common devotions; and in these too, his regard for the public fervice of the church appeared;

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ed; for they were expreffed always in her language. Indeed, he was a very fingular instance of all. those domestic virtues that relate to the good anch difcreet government of a family He had great natural prudence, which experience had much improved; he was of a fweet temper; and a mighty lover of regularity and order: and, by the happy mixture of thefe good qualities, managed all his affairs (particularly thofe within doors) with the utmoft exactnefs; and yet, with as much quiet and ease, to himself and others, as was poffible.

Thofe about him. grew infenfibly active and induftrious by his example and encouragement; and he had fuch a gentle method of reproving their faults, that they were not fo much afraid, as afhamed to repeat them. He took the fureft way to be obeyed, by being loved and refpected; for he was free from any of thofe rough, ungo vernable paffions, which hurry men on to fay and do very hard or offenfive things. He had indeed a certain quicknefs of apprehenfion, which inclined him a little to kindle into the first motions of anger, upon fome particular occafions: bue this part of his difpofition he had fo far conquer ed, that, for a long time before he died, no one, who had occafion to receive his orders, did, I believe hear an intemperate, or harfh word pro ceed from him; or fee any thing in his behaviour, that betrayed any mifbecoming degree of inward

.concern.

He took care to feafon the minds of his fervants with religious inftructions; and, for that end, did himself often read useful difcourfes to

them,

them, on the Lord's day, of which he was always) a very ftrict and folemn obferver. And what they! thus learned from him in one way, they did not unlearn again, in another: for he was a man, not only fincerely pious, but of the niceft fobriety and temperance, and remarkably punctual and juft in all his dealings with others. I fee many authentic witneffes of this particular branch of his character.

He abounded in all the trueft figns of an affec-i tionate tenderness towards his wife and children; and yet did fo prudently moderate and temper his paffions of this kind, as that none of them got the better of his reafon, or made him wanting ins any of the other offices of life, which it behoved, or became him to perform: And therefore, tho' he appeared to relish thefe bleffings as much as any man; yet he bore the lofs of them, when it happened, with great compofure and evennefs of mind.

He did alfo, in a very juft and fitting manner, proportion his refpects to all others that were any ways related to him, either by blood or affinity; and was very observant of fome of them, even where he could not be determined by any views of intereft, and had manifeftly no other obligations, but thofe of duty and decency, to fway him.

In what manner he lived with those who were of his neighbourhood and acquaintance, how obliging his carriage was to them, what kind offices he did, and was always ready to do them, I forbear particularly to fay; not that I judge it a flight, but because I take it to be a confeffed part of his character, which even his coemies

(if there were any fuch) cannot but allow; for, however in matters where his judgment led him to oppofe men, on a public account, he would do it vigorously and heartily; yet the oppofition ended there, without fowring his private converfation; which was (to ufe the words of a great writer) foft and eafy, as his principles were ftubborn.

In a word, whether we confider him as an hufband, a parent, a mafter, relation, or neighbour; his character was, in all these refpects, highly fit to be recommended to men; and, I verily think, as complete as any that ever fell under my obfervation.

And all this religion and virtue fat eafily, naturally, and gracefully upon him; without any of that ftiffnefs and conftraint, any of thofe forbidding appearances, which fometimes difparage the actions of men fincerely pious, and hinder real goodness from fpreading its intereft far and wide into the hearts of beholders.

There was not the leaft tang of religious (which is indeed the worst fort of) affectation in any thing he faid or did; nor any endeavours to recommend himself to others, by appearing to be even what he really was: He was faulty on the other fide, being led, by an excess of modefty, to conceal (as much as might be) fome of his chief virtues; which therefore were scarce known to any but those who very nearly obferved him, tho' every day of his life almost was a witness to the practife of them.

I need not fay, how perfect a mafter he was of all the business of that useful profeflion, wherein

he

he had engaged himself: You know it well; and the great fuccefs his endeavours met with fufficiently proves it. Nor could the event well be be otherwife: for his natural abilities were very good, and his induftry exceeding great, and the evennefs and probity of his temper not inferior to either of them.

Befides, he had one peculiar felicity (which carried in it fome resemblance of a great christian perfection), that he was intirely contented and pleafed with his lot; loving his employment for its own fake (as he hath often faid) and fo, as to be willing to spend the reft of his life in it, tho' he were not if that could be supposed) to reap any further advantages from it.

Not but that the powers of his mind were equal to much greater tasks; and therefore when, in his later years, he was called up to fome public offices and stations, he diftinguished himself in all of them by his penetration and dexterity in the difpatch of that business which belonged to them, by a winning behaviour and fome degree even of a fmooth and popular eloquence, which nature gave him. But his own inclinations were rather to confine himself to his own business, and be ferviceable to religion ond learning, in the way to which God's providence had feemed more particularly to direct him, and in which it fo remarkably bleffed him.

When riches flowed in upon him, they made no change in his mind or manner of living. This may be imputed to an eager defire of heaping up wealth; but it was really owing to another principle: He had a great indifference to the plea

fures