Not many months before his death, in a ferious and retired converfation with the present Bishop of Gloucefter, fpeaking of perfecution for religious opinions, he faid he was convinced that the Church of Rome had all the marks of that anti-chriflian power, predicted of in the writings of the New Teftament. On which his friend afking him why he would not publicly leave that corrupt church, which would be a great triumph to truth, and do public fervice to his country; he replied, he thought himself of too little confequence to do much good thereby, and he was very certain it would be expofing himself to much abuse.

Nevertheless, no man ever expreffed a greater reverence and veneration of the Deity, or entertained a firmer perfuafion of the truths of Christianity.

Witlings and Freethinkers are always forward to pervert the fentiments of eminent writers, fo as to give countenance to their own ridiculous and licentious principles.

Whenever our author's writings were thus mifapplied, it gave him unaffected concern; and he readily embraced the firft occafion of entering his protest against all fuch mifconftructions.

With this pious view, as has been intimated, he penned his Univerfal Prayer, on the idea of

the

the Lord's Prayer, to obviate all suspicions of his inclining toward fate and naturalism, by fhewing his firm belief of Revelation, his religious acquiefcence in the fupreme will, and his confidence full of hope and immortality.

He was wont to fay, among his private friends, that "he was fo certain of the foul's "being immortal, that he feemed to feel it "within him, as it were by intuition."

A day or two before his death, he was, as is common in the laft ftage of his diforder, at times, delirious. In one of these temporary abfences of reafon, or rather in one of its diforders, he rose by four in the morning, and a friend at that time with him and anxious for him, went and fought after him, and found him in his library very bufy in writing. He perfuaded him to defift, and took away the paper unperceived, to fhew it to Mr. Warburton. But what does the reader conjecture was the fubject of this great man's difordered thoughts? It was on the Immortality of the Soul: on a theory of his own just then excogitated; in which he speaks of thofe material things which tend to ftrengthen and fupport the foul's immortality, and of those which weaken and destroy it. Visions fuggefted to him, from former reflexions on his own cafe. This is only mentioned to fhew, that the fame momentous ideas poffeffed his mind both in fickness and health, in the fane and infane state of his mind.

In fhort, he worshipped the Supreme Being with an ardent and pure devotion: he took all occafions to manifeft his firm belief of Revela tion, and, as the refult of the whole, he fteadily and uniformly practifed all the effential duties of religion.

Our author, fome months before his death, made his Will, the contents of which have already been made public; but as this folemn inftrument feems, with the utmoft propriety, to claim a place in the hiftory of his life, a copy of it is here fubjoined.

"In the name of God, Amen. I Alexander "POPE of Twickenham, in the county of Mid"dlefex, make this my laft will and teflament. "I refign my foul to its Creator in all humble "hope of its future happinefs, as in the dif pofal of a Being infinitely good. As to my body, my will is, that it be buried near the <6 monument of my dear parents at Twicken"ham, with the addition, after the words filius fecit-of thefe only, et fibi: Qui obiit anno 17 aetatis and that it be carried to the 17grave by fix of the poorest men of the parish, to each of whom I order a fuit of grey coarfe "cloth, as mourning. If I happen to die at any inconvenient diftance, let the fame be "done in any other parish, and the infcription "be added on the monument at Twickenhamn. "I hereby make and appoint my particular "friends, Allen Lord Bathurft, Hugh Earl of "Marchmont, the Honourable William Mur

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❝ray,

et

ray, his Majefty's folicitor general, and George Arbuthnot, of the Court of Exchequer, Efq; the furvivors or furvivor of them, 66 executors of this my laft will and teftament.

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"But all the manufcript and unprinted papers, which I fhall leave at my deceafe, I "defire may be delivered to my noble friend, "Henry St. John, Lord Bolingbroke, to whofe "fole care and judgment I commit them, either "to be preferved or to be deftroyed; or, in cafe "he fhall not furvive me, to the abovefaid Earl "of Marchmont. Thefe, who in the course of

my life have done me all other good offices, "will not refuse me this laft after my death: I "leave them therefore this trouble, as a mark "of my trust and friendship; only defiring "them each to accept of fome fmall memorial "of me: That my Lord Bolingbroke will add "to his library all the volumes of my works "and tranflations of Homer, bound in red "Morocco, and the eleven volumes of thofe "of Erafmus: That my Lord Marchmont will "take the large paper edition of Thuanus, by

Buckley, and that portrait of Lord Boling"broke, by Richardfon, which he fhall prefer: "That my Lord Bathurst will find a place for "the three ftatues of the Hercules of Farnefe, "the Venus of Medicis, and the Apollo in

chiaro ofcuro, done by Kneller: That Mr. "Murray will accept of the marble head of "Homer, by Bernini; and of Sir Ifaac New"ton, by Guelfi: and that Mr. Arbuthnot will. N 1

"take

"take the Watch I commonly wore, which the King of Sardinia gave to the late Earl of Peterborough, and he to me on his death"bed; together with one of the pictures of Lord Bolingbroke.

"Item, I defire Mr. Lyttelton to accept of "the bufts of Spencer, Shakespear, Milton, and Dryden, in marble, which his royal master "the Prince was pleafed to give me. I give "and devife my library of printed books to Ralph Allen of Widcombe, Efq; and to the "Reverend Mr. William Warburton, or to the “furvivor of them (when thofe belonging to "Lord Bolingbroke are taken out, and when "Mrs. Martha Blount has chofen threefcore out "of the number.) I alfo give and bequeath to "the faid Mr. Warburton, the property of all "fuch of my works already printed, as he hath "written, or fhall write commentaries or notes upon, and which I have not otherwife difpofed "of, or alienated; and all the profits which fhall arife after my death from fuch editions as he "fhall publifh without future alterations.

"Item, In cafe Ralph Allen, Efq; abovefaid "fhall furvive me, I order my executors to pay "him the fum of one hundred and fifty pounds,

being, to the beft of my calculation, the account of what I have received from him; partly for my own, and partly for charitable "ufes. If he refufe to take this himself, I de"fire him to employ it in a way, I am per"fuaded

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