hear, but feel the reply! Forcibly grafping the youth's hand, he foftly faid, "See in what peace a Christian can die." Shortly after he died, on the 19th of June 1719.*

This great character derived much comfort from his firm hope of another and better state.

The following were his fentiments on that head. "The profpect of a future ftate, fays he, is the fecret comfort and refreshment of my foul. It is that which makes nature look cheerful about me; it doubles all my pleasures, and fupports me under all my afflictions. I can look at difappointments and misfortunes, pain, and ficknefs, death itself, with indifference, fo long as I keep in view the pleasures of eternity, and the state of being in which there will be no fears nor apprehenfions, pains nor forrows."

"All forts of men, fays Addifon, who have gone before us into an eternal state, have left this great obfervation behind them, that upon experience they have found, that, what vain thoughts foever men may, in the heat of their youth entertain of religion, they will, fooner or later, feel the teftimony God hath given it in every man's breaft; which will make them ferious, either by the inexpreffible fears, terrors, and agonies of a troubled mind; or the inconceivable comfort, and joy of a good confcience.

"It is to be obferved, that Chriftianity not only profelyted men to the belief and outward profeffion of Christianity, but had a visible and moral effect upon their lives and conduct. Never was any other caufe fupported with fuch irrefiftible evidence. Wherever it came it was received by multitudes, at the expence of their property, characters and lives: many of thefe who had hitherto lived debauched, impious and idolatrous lives, became now fober, temperate, honeft and religious. This was not indeed univerfally the cafe, because all were not fincere in their profeffion; but was fo, to an extent that no other religion could boaf Nay the Pagan religion general

See British utaich, &c.

ly made men morally worfe, in proportion to the zeal with which they profeffed it.

The remaining effect of the Spirit's effufion was the conftancy and readiness with which men fuffered the lofs of all things, and even martyrdom itself in its moft terrible forms."

"I cannot omit (fays Mr. Addison*) that which appears to me a ftanding miracle in the three first centuries, I mean that amazing and fupernatural courage or patience which was thewn by innumerable multitudes of martyrs in thofe flow and painful torments which were inflicted on them. I cannot conceive a man placed in the burning iron chair at Lyons, and the infults and mockeries of a crouded amphitheatre, and still keeping his feat: or ftretched upon a grate of iron, over coals of fire, and breathing out his foul among the exquifite fufferings of fuch a tedious execution, rather than renounce his religion or blafpheme his Saviour. Such trials feem to me above the strength of human nature, and able to overbear duty, reafon, faith, conviction, nay, and the moft abfolute certainty of a future ftate. Humanity, unbiaffed in an extraordinary manner, must have fhaken off the prefent preffure, and have delivered itself out of fuch dreadful distress by any means that could have been fuggefted to it. We can easily imagine that many perfons in fo good a caufe might have laid down their lives at the gibbet, the stake, or the block : but to expire leifurely among the moft exquifite tor tures, when they might come out of them, even by a mental refervation, or an hypocrify which was not without a poffibility of being followed by repentances and forgiveness, has fomething in it fo far beyond the force and natural ftrength of mortals, that one cannot but think there was fome miraculous power to fupport the sufferer.

"It is certain that the deaths and fufferings of the primitive Chriftians had a great fhare in the converfion of thofe learned Pagans, who lived in the ages

Evidences of the Chriftian Religion, Sect. vii,

of perlecution, which with fome intervals and abatements, lafted near 300 years after our Saviour. Juftin Martyr, Tertullian, Lactantius, Arnobius, and others, tell us, that this firft of all alarmed their curiofity, roufed their attention and made them seriously inquifitive into the nature of that religion, which could endue the mind with fo much ftrength, and overcome the fear of death, nay, raise an earnest defire of it, though it appeared in all its terrors. This they found had not been effected by all the doctrines of thofe philofophers, whom they had thoroughly ftudied, and who had been labouring at this great point. The fight of thefe dying and tormented martyrs engaged them to fearch into the history and doctrines of him for whom they fuffered. The more they fearched, the more they were convinced; till their conviction grew fo ftrong, that they themfelves embraced the fame truths, and either actually laid down their lives, or were always in readiness to do it rather than depart from them."

THE

Addifonian Mifcellany.

My

ABSENCE IN CONVERSATION.

Y friend Will Honeycombe is one of thofe fart of men who are often abfent in converfation, and what the French call a Reèveur and a Diftrait. A little before our club-time last night, we were walking together in Somerjet Garden, where Will had picked up a fmall pebble of fo odd a make, that he faid he would prefent it to a friend of his, an eminent Virtuofo. After we had walked fome time, I made a full c P, with my face. towards the weft, which Will knowing to be my ufual method of asking what's o'clock in an afternoon, immediately pulled out his watch, and told me we had feven minutes good. We took a turn or two more, when, to my great furprife, I faw him fquirt away his watch a confiderable way into the Thames, and with great fedatenefs in his looks, put up the pebble, he had before found, in his fob. As I have naturally an averfion to much speaking, and do not love to be the meffenger of ill news, efpecially when it comes too late to be useful, I left him to be convinced of his miftake in due time, and continued my walk, reflecting on thefe little abfences and distractions in mankind."

Monfieur Bruyere has given us the character of an abfent man. Menalcas comes down in a morning, opens his door to go out, but fhuts it again, becaufe he perceives he has his night-cap on; and examining himself farther, finds that he is but half fhaved, that he has ftuck his fword on his right fide, that his stockings are about his heels, and that his fhirt is over his breeches. When he is dreffed, he goes to court, comes into the drawing-room, and walking upright, under a branch of candlesticks, his wig is caught up by one of them, and hangs dangling in the air: all the courtiers fall a laughing; but Menalcas laughs louder. than any of them, and looks about for the perfon that is the jeft of the company. Coming down to the court-gate he finds a coach, which taking for his own, he whips into it; and the coachman drives off, not doubting but he carries his mafter.. As foon as he ftops, Menalcas throws himfelf out of the coach, craffes the court afcends the ftair-cafe, and runs through all the chambers with the greateft familiarity, repofes himfelf on a couch, and fancies himself at home. The mafter of the house at last comes in; Menalcas rifes to receive him, and defires him to fit down; he talks, mufes, and then talks again. The gentleman of the house is tired and amazed; Menalcas is no lefs fo, but is every moment in hopes that his imper'tinent guest will at laft end his tedions vifit. Night comes on, when Menalcas is hardly undeceived.

;

When he is playing at backgammon, he calls for a full glass of wine and water; 'tis his turn to throw he has the box in one hand, and his glafs in the other; and being extremely dry, and unwilling to lofe time, he fwallows down both the dice, and at the fame time throws his wine into the tables. He writes a letter, and flings the fand into the ink-bottle; he writes a fecond, and miftakes the fuperfcription: A nobleman receives one of them, and upon opening it, reads as follows: I wou'd have you, boneft Jack, immedi atel upon the receipt of this, take in hay enough to ferve me the Winter: His Farmer receives the ether, and is amazed to fee in it, My Lord, I received your Grace's com‐