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ship, flies without wings, builds without charges, fights without bloodshed: in a moment striding from the centre to the circumference of the world; by a kind of omnipotency creating and annihilating things in an instant; and things divorced in Nature are married in Fancy as a lawless place."

Infants." Some, admiring what motives to mirth infants meet with in their silent and solitary smiles, have resolved, how truly I know not, that then they converse with angels; as indeed such cannot among mortals find any fitter companions."

Music.-"Such is the sociableness of music, it conforms itself to all companies both in mirth and mourning; complying to improve that passion with which it finds the auditors most affected. In a word, it is an invention which might have beseemed a son of Seth to have been the father thereof: though better it was that Cain's great-grandchild should have the credit first to find it, than the world the unhappiness longer to have wanted it."

St. Monica." Drawing near her death, she sent most pious thoughts as harbingers to heaven, and her soul saw a glimpse of happiness through the chinks of her sickness-broken body."

Mortality." To smell to a turf of fresh earth is wholesome for the body, no less are thoughts of mortality cordial to the soul."

Virgin." No lordling husband shall at the same time command her presence and distance; to be always near in constant attendance, and always to stand aloof in awful observance."

1 66 The soul's dark cottage, batter'd and deeay'd,

Lets in new lights through chinks which time has made."

WALLER.

Elder Brother." Is one who made haste to come into the world to bring his parents the first news of male posterity, and is well rewarded for his tidings."

Bishop Fletcher." His pride was rather on him than in him, as only gait and gesture deep, not sinking to his heart, though causelessly condemned for a proud man, as who was a good hypocrite, and far more humble than he appeared."

Masters of Colleges." A little allay of dullness in a Master of a College makes him fitter to manage secular affairs."

The Good Yeoman-" Is a gentleman in ore, whom the next age may see refined."

Good Parent.-" For his love, therein like a welldrawn picture, he eyes all his children alike."

Deformity in Children.-"This partiality is tyranny, when parents despise those that are deformed; enough to break those whom God had bowed before."

Good Master." In correcting his servant he becomes not a slave to his own passion. Not cruelly making new indentures of the flesh of his apprentice. He is tender of his servant in sickness and age. If crippled in his service, his house is his hospital. Yet how many throw away those dry bones, out of the which themselves have sucked the marrow!"

Good Widow." If she can speak but little good of him [her dead husband] she speaks but little of him. So handsomely folding up her discourse, that his virtues are shown outwards, and his vices wrapt up in silence; as counting it barbarism to throw dirt on his memory, who hath mould cast on his body."

Horses. "These are men's wings, wherewith they make such speed. A generous creature a horse is, sensible in some sort of honour; and made most

handsome by that which deforms men mostpride."

Martyrdom." Heart of oak hath sometime warped a little in the scorching heat of persecution. Their want of true courage herein cannot be excused. Yet many censure them for surrendering up their forts after a long siege, who would have yielded up their own at the first summons. Oh there is more required to make one valiant, than to call Cranmer or Jewel coward; as if the fire in Smithfield had been no hotter than what is painted in the Book of Martyrs !"

Text of St. Paul.-" St. Paul saith, 'Let not the sun go down upon your wrath,' to carry news to the antipodes in another world of thy revengeful nature. Yet let us take the Apostle's meaning rather than his words, with all possible speed to depose our passion; not understanding him so literally, that we may take leave to be angry till sunset: then might our wrath lengthen with the days; and men in Greenland, where the day lasts above a quarter of a year, have plentiful scope for revenge.'

1

Bishop Brownrig." He carried learning enough in numerato about him in his pockets for any discourse, and had much more at home in his chests for any serious dispute."

Modest Want." Those that with diligence fight against poverty, though neither conquer till death

1 This whimsical prevention of a consequence which no one would have thought of deducing,-setting up an absurdum on purpose to hunt it down,-placing guards as it were at the very outposts of possibility,-gravely giving out laws to insanity and prescribing moral fences to distempered intellects, could never have entered into a head less entertainingly constructed than that of Fuller, or Sir Thomas Browne, the very air of whose style the conclusion of this passage most aptly imitates.

makes it a drawn battle, expect not but prevent their craving of thee: for God forbid the heavens should never rain till the earth first opens her mouth; seeing some grounds will sooner burn than chap."

Death-bed Temptations.-" The Devil is most busy on the last day of his term; and a tenant to be outed cares not what mischief he doth."

Conversation.-"Seeing we are civilized Englishmen, let us not be naked savages in our talk."

Wounded Soldier.—“Halting is the stateliest march of a soldier; and 'tis a brave sight to see the flesh of an ancient as torn as his colours."

Wat Tyler." A misogrammatist; if a good Greek word may be given to so barbarous a rebel."

Heralds." Heralds new mould men's names,taking from them, adding to them, melting out all the liquid letters, torturing mutes to make them speak, and making vowels dumb,-to bring it to a fallacious. homonomy at the last, that their names may be the same with those noble houses they pretend to."

Antiquarian Diligence.-"It is most worthy observation, with what diligence he [Camden] inquired after ancient places, making hue and cry after many a city which was run away, and by certain marks and tokens pursuing to find it; as by the situation on the Roman highways, by just distance from other ancient cities, by some affinity of name, by tradition of the inhabitants, by Roman coins digged up, and by some appearance of ruins. A broken urn is a whole evidence; or an old gate still surviving, out of which the city is run out. Besides, commonly some new spruce town not far off is grown out of the ashes thereof, which yet hath so much natural affection as dutifully to own those reverend ruins for her mother."

Henry de Essex." He is too well known in our English Chronicles, being Baron of Raleigh, in Essex, and Hereditary Standard Bearer of England. It happened in the reign of this king [Henry II.] there was a fierce battle fought in Flintshire, at Coleshall, between the English and Welsh, wherein this Henry de Essex animum et signum simul abjecit, betwixt traitor and coward, cast away both his courage and banner together, occasioning a great overthrow of English. But he that had the baseness to do, had the boldness to deny the doing of, so foul a fact; until he was challenged in combat by Robert de Momford, a knight, eye-witness thereof, and by him overcome in a duel. Whereupon his large inheritance was confiscated to the king, and he himself, partly thrust, partly going, into a convent, hid his head in a cowl, under which, betwixt shame and sanctity, he blushed out the remainder of his life."-Worthies; article, Bedfordshire.

Sir Edward Harwood, Knt.-"I have read of a bird, which hath a face like, and yet will prey upon, a man who coming to the water to drink, and finding

1 The fine imagination of Fuller has done what might have been pronounced impossible: it has given an interest and a holy character to coward infamy. Nothing can be more beautiful than the concluding account of the last days, and expiatory retirement, of poor Henry de Essex. The address with which the whole of this little story is told is most consummate: the charm of it seems to consist in a perpetual balance of antitheses not too violently opposed, and the consequent activity of mind in which the reader is kept:-"Betwixt traitor and coward"" baseness to do, boldness to deny -" partly thrust, partly going, into a convent❞—“ betwixt shame and sanctity.' The reader by this artifice is taken into a kind of partnership with the writer,his judgment is exercised in settling the preponderance, he feels as if he were consulted as to the issue. But the modern historian flings at once the dead weight of his own judgment into the scale, and settles the matter.

VOL. IV.

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