the veil; and when I have passed the veil, to appear with it before the throne. "I have just finished my course: I hope also I may say, 'I have fought a good fight, I have kept the faith; henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day.' "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit! Lord Jesus, receive my spirit when it leaves the body! Thou hast redeemed it; I have waited for thy salvation." He died March 3, 1819. 66 14. SIR WALTER RALEIGH. Through nature's wreck, through vanquish'd agonies, What gleams of joy! What more than human peace!"—YOUNG. SIR WALTER RALEIGH, an illustrious Englishman, of an ancient family in Devonshire, was born in 1552. He was a man of admirable parts, extensive knowledge, undaunted resolution, and strict honour and honesty. As a soldier, a statesman, and a scholar, he was greatly distinguished, and was eminently useful to Queen Elizabeth, who protected and encouraged him in the various enterprises which he projected. He was the discoverer of Virginia, and took effectual measures for the settlement of the country, and for promoting its prosperity. His active enterprises against the Spaniards, both in Europe and South America, excited the particular enmity of the court of Spain, which used every means to effect his destruction. During the reign of Elizabeth, these machinations were fruitless; but on the accession of James I., Sir Walter lost his interest at court, was stripped of his employments, and unjustly accused and condemned for a plot against the king. He was after ward trusted by James with a commission of considerable importance; and thus virtually pardoned for all supposed offences. The malice of his enemies, however, at length prevailed against him, and he was pusillanimously sacrificed to appease the Spaniards, who, whilst Raleigh lived, thought every part of their dominions in danger. During his imprisonment, and with the prospect of death before him, he wrote the following letters to his son, and to his wife. They contain many solemn and affecting admonitions, and testify the influence of religion on his mind. In the letter to his son, he says: "My son, let my experienced advice, and fatherly instructions, sink deep into thy heart. Seek not riches basely, nor attain them by evil means. Destroy no man for his wealth, nor take anything from the poor; for the cry thereof will pierce the heavens, and it is most detestable before God, and most dishonourable before worthy men, to wrest anything from the needy and labouring soul. God will never prosper thee, if thou offendest therein. Use thy poor neighbours and tenants well. Have compassion on the poor and afflicted, and God will bless thee for it. Make not the hungry soul sorrowful; for if he curse thee in the bitterness of his soul, his prayer shall be heard of him that made him. "Now, for the world, dear child, I know it too well to persuade thee to dive into the practices of it; rather stand upon thy guard against all those that tempt thee to it, or may practice upon thee, whether in thy con science, thy reputation, or thy estate. Be assured that no man is wise or safe, but he that is honest. Serve God; let him be the author of all thy actions. Commend all thy endeavours to him, that must either wither or prosper them. Please him with prayer; lest, if he frown, he confound all thy fortune and labour, like the drops of rain upon the sandy ground. So God direct thee in all thy ways, and fill thy heart with his grace!" The following is a copy of the letter to his wife : "You will receive, my dear wife, my last words in these my last lines. My love I send you, which you may keep when I am dead; and my counsel, that you may remember it, when I am no more. I would not, with my will, present you sorrows, dear wife; let them go to the grave with me, and be buried in the dust: and seeing that it is not the will of God that I shall see you any more, bear my destruction patiently, and with a heart like yourself. First, I send you all the thanks which my heart can conceive, or my words express, for your many travails and cares for me: for though they have not taken effect, as you wished, yet my debt to you is not the less; but pay it I never shall in this world. Secondly, I beseech you, for the love you bear me living, that you do not hide yourself many days; but by your travails seek to help my miserable fortunes, and the right of your poor child: your mourning cannot avail me, who am but dust. Thirdly, you shall understand, that my lands were conveyed, bona fide, to my child; the writings were drawn at midsummer was a twelvemonth, as divers can witness. I trust my blood will quench their malice who desired my slaughter, and that they will not seek to kill you and yours with extreme poverty. "To what friend to direct you, I know not; for all mine have left me in the true time of trial. Most sorry am I, that, being surprised by death, I can leave you no better estate; God hath prevented all my determinations-that great God, who worketh all in all. If you can live free from want, care for no more, for the rest is but vanity. Love God, and begin betimes; in him you will find true and endless comfort: when you have trav ailed and wearied yourself with all sorts of worldly cogitations, you will sit down with sorrow in the end. Teach your son also to serve and fear God whilst he is young, that the fear of God may grow up in him: then will God be a husband to you, and a father to him—a husband and a father that can never be taken from you. "Dear wife, I beseech you, for my soul's sake, pay all poor men. When I am dead, no doubt you will be much sought unto, for the world thinks I was very rich. Have a care of the fair pretences of men; for no greater misery can befall you in this life, than to become a prey unto the world, and afterwards to be despised. As for me, I am no more yours, nor you mine; death has cut us asunder, and God has divided me from the world, and you from me. Remember your poor child, for his father's sake, who loved you in his happiest estate. I sued for my life; but, God knows, it was for you and yours, that I desired it: for know it, my dear wife, your child is the child of a true man, who in his own respect despiseth death, and his mis-shapen and ugly forms. I cannot write much: God knows how hardly I steal this time, when all are asleep; and it is also time for me to separate my thoughts from the world. Beg my dead body, which living was denied you, and either lay it in Sherborne, or in Exeter church, by my father and mother. "I can say no more; time and death call me away. The everlasting God, powerful, infinite, and inscrutable; God Almighty, who is goodness itself, the true light and life, keep you and yours, and have mercy upon me, and forgive my persecutors and false accusers, and send us to meet in his glorious kingdom! My dear wife, farewell! bless my boy; pray for me; and may my true God hold you both in his arms! 66 'Yours that was, but not now mine own. He was executed in Old Palace Yard, in the sixtysixth year of his age. His behaviour on the scaffold was manly, unaffected, and even cheerful. Being asked by the executioner which way he would lay his head, he answered: "So the heart be right, it is no matter which way the head lies." 15. LOUIS IX., KING OF FRANCE. LOUIS IX., styled St. Louis, succeeded to the crown of France, in the year 1226. This king possessed great wisdom, piety, and virtue. His reputation for candour and justice was so great, that the barons of England, as well as king Henry III., consented to make him umpire of the differences which subsisted between them. Fenelon says of this patriotic prince: "He was distinguished by the nobleness of his sentiments; he was without haughtiness, presumption, or severity. In every respect, he attended to the real interests of his country, of which he was as truly the father as the king. An abhorrence of sin was so deeply impressed upon his mind, by a religious education, that he not only preserved it through the course of his life, but was zealous to inculcate it upon others. He was very solicitous that his children should be trained up in the fear and admonition of the Lord; and used to devote a considerable part of his time to their religious instruction. He often related to them the punishments which the pride, the avarice, and the debauchery of princes, brought upon themselves and their people. In his last sickness, he earnestly exhorted Philip, his son and successor, firmly to adhere to religion, in his own private life and conduct, and zealously to promote it among his subjects. He also strongly recommended to him justice, moderation, and all the virtues becoming |