It was from this view, that he no longer communicated particular difcourfes, or new discoveries, to the royal fociety, because this could not be done without withdrawing his thoughts from tasks which he thought of still greater importance. It was the more fteadily to attend thefe, that he refigned his poft of governor of the corporation for propagating the Gospel in New-England; nay, he went fo far as to fignity to the world, that he could no longer receive vifits as ufual; and all this, that he might have leifure to put his papers in order; to fupply the blanks he had left in many of his treatifes, and to repair the deficiences in others occafioned by the falling upon them of corrofive liquors; that, as he had been useful to the public during the whole courfe of his life, fo the vast collections he left behind him, of the importance of which he was the best judge, might not prove useless after his decease. This was certainly an inftance of learned patriotifm, worthy of admiration at least, and, if fuch a genius should ever arife again, of imitation.

Among the other great works which, by this means, he gained time to finish, there is great reafon to believe, that one was A Collection of Elaborate Proceffes in Chemistry;" corcerning which he wrote a letter to a friend which is ftill extant, but the piece itself was never published, nor fome other curious tracts relating to the fame fubject, found amongst his papers; which has been confidered as an irrepara

irreparable lofs to fuch as have a fondness for thefe kind of studies.

In 1690, he published his Medecina Hydroftatica: or, Hydrostatics applied to the Materia Medica: fhewing how, by the Weight that divers Bodies used in Phyfic have in Water, one may discover whether they be genuine or adulterate. To which is fubjoined, A previous Hydrostatical Way of eftimating Ores. He informs us, in the poftfcript of this treatife, that he had prepared materials fufficient for a fecond volume, which he promised, but it never appeared. He published, however, this year, another moft excellent work, which bore the following title: The Chriftian Virtuofo; fhewing, that, by being addicted to Experimental Philofophy, a man is rather af fifted than indifpofed to be a good Chriftian. The first Part. To which are fubjoined, I. A Difcourfe about the diftinction that reprefents fome things as above reason, but not contrary to reafon. II. The firft Chapters of a Difcourfe, entitled, Greatness of Mind promoted by Christianity. In the advertisement prefixed to this work, he mentions A Second Part of the Chriftian Virtuofo; which he had begun, and which is actually published in the laft edition of his works; that is to fay, imperfect, as he left it, with an Appendix to the first part.

He communicated, about this time, to Mr. De la Crofe, a very ingenious gentleman, who

published

published a periodical work, entitled, The Hiftory of Learning: An Account of fome Obfervations made in the Congregation of Waters, by lowering Bottles down into the Sea, fix hundred feet deep from the Surface. This experiment was made on the fecond of January, 1677-8, by a captain of a man of war, a man of very good fenfe, in the prefence of a great many other perfons; and was, in the judgment of Mr. Boyle, a thing of too great value to be loft, and therefore he took this method of preserving it.

We are now come to the very last of his works published in his life time, which was in the spring of the year 1691, and bore this ti ele, Experimenta et Obfervationes Phyficæ; wherein are briefly treated of feveral subjects relating to Natural Philofophy, in an experimental Way. To which is added, A small Collection of Strange Reports. This is called,. in the title-page, The First Part; and amongst his papers there were found the Second and Third Parts; but whether compleat or not I cannot fay.

About the entrance of the fummer of the year laft mentioned, he began to feel fuch an alteration in his health, as induced him to think of fettling his affairs; and accordingly, on the eighteenth of July, he figned and fealed his laft will, to which he afterwards added feveral.codicils.

In the month of October following, his distempers encreased; which might, perhaps, be owing to his tender concern for the tedious illness of his dear fifter the lady Ranelagh, with whom he had lived many years in the greatest harmony and friendship, and whofe indifpofition brought her to the grave on the twenty-third of December following. She was, in all refpects, a moft accomplished and most extraordinary woman; fo that her bro ther might very justly esteem it the peculiar felicity of his life that he had fuch a fifter, and, in her, fo ufeful a friend, and fo agreea ble a companion.

He did not furvive her above a week, for, on the last day of the year 1691, or, as most authors account it, on Wednesday, the thirtieth of December, at three quarters paft twelve at night, he departed this life, in the fixty-fifth year of his age; and was buried, on the feventh of January following, at the upper end of the fouth fide of the chancel of St. Martin's in the Fields, in Westminster, near the body o fhis beloved fifter Catherine, viscountess Ranelagh.

His funeral was decent, and as much without pomp as it was poffible, confidering the number of perfons of diftinction that attended it, befides his own numerous relations. His funeral-fermon was preached by Dr. Gilbert Burnet, bishop of Sarum; and there are many who think his performance on that occafion the beft he ever published.

As

As to the perfon of this great man, we are told that Mr. Boyle was tall but slender, and his countenance pale and emaciated. His conftitution was so tender and delicate, that he had divers forts of cloaks to put on when he went abroad, according to the temperature, of the air; and in this he governed himself by the thermometer. He escaped, indeed, the fmall-pox during his life; but, for almost forty years, he laboured under fuch a feeblenefs of body, and fuch lowness of ftrength and spirits, that it was astonishing how he could read, meditate, try experiments, and write, as he did. He had likewise a weakness in his eyes, which made him very tender of them, and extremely apprehensive of fuch distempers as might affect them. He imagined alfo, that, if fickness fhould confine him to his bed, it might raise the pains of the stone to a degree which might be above his ftrength to fupport, fo that he feared left his last minutes fhould prove too hard for him. This was the ground of all the caution and apprehenfion he was observed to live in; but, as to life itself, he had that juft indifference to it which became so true a Christian. However,

his fight began not to grow dim above four hours before he died; and, when death came upon him, he had not been above three hours in bed before it made an end of him, with fo little pain, that it was plain the light went out merely for want of oil to maintain the fame.

The