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North-star; nothing of Nature's becoming unnatural; nothing of the down of angels' wings, or the beautiful locks of cherubims: no starched similitudes, introduced with a thus have I seen a cloud rolling in its airy mansion, and the like. No, these were sublimities above the rise of the Apostolic Spirit. For the apostles, poor mortals, were content to take lower steps, and to tell the world in plain terms, that he who believed should be saved, and that he who believed not should be damned. And this was the dialect, which pierced the conscience, and made the hearers cry out, Men and brethren, what shall we do? It tickled not the ear, but sunk into the heart: and when men came from such sermons, they never commended the preacher for his taking voice or gesture; for the fineness of such a simile, or the quaintness of such a sentence; but they spoke like men conquered with the overpowering force and evidence of the most concerning truths; much in the words of the two disciples going to Emmaus; Did not our hearts burn within us, while he opened to us the Scriptures?

In a word, the apostles' preaching was therefore mighty, and successful, because plain, natural, and familiar, and by no means above the capacity of their hearers: nothing being more preposterous, than for those, who were professedly aiming at men's hearts, to miss the mark, by shooting over their heads.

Sermon on Ascension Day.

P. 113, l. 18. Cried out of them. There is a slight difference of sense between this and the more usual “cried out on them."

P. 115, l. 1. The whole of this passage indirectly, and the sentence from "Nothing" to "the like" directly, is levelled at Jeremy Taylor. I do not know whether this attack on a brother preacher is apostolic, but it is very amusing.

P. 115, l. 7. The original form petit is now confined to legal use, and even there is sometimes changed to petty. But it was common in South's tine.

P. 115, ll. 19, 20. Gaudery and gallantry, both in the sense of "finery," are both old-fashioned and the former is rare; but both are good.

IT

APHRA BEHN.

Aphra Behn was born at Canterbury about 1640. She visited the West Indies, married a Dutch merchant, and held some dubious diplomatic appointments. Her plays have in relation to those of her contemporaries a rather unfair reputation for license, but are of small literary worth. Her prose has much merit, and she ranks early and high in the list of English novelists. She died in 1689.

LOVE LETTERS.

T is an art too ingenious to have been found out by man, and too necessary to lovers, not to have been invented by the God of Love himself. But, Damon, I do not pretend to exact from you those letters of gallantry, which, I have told you, are filled with nothing but fine thoughts, and writ with all the arts of wit and subtilty: I would have yours still all tender unaffected love, words unchosen, thoughts unstudied, and love unfeigned. I had rather find more softness than wit in your passion; more of nature than of art; more of the lover than the poet.

Nor would I have you write any of those little short letters, that are read over in a minute; in love, long letters bring a long pleasure; Do not trouble yourself to make them fine, or write a great deal of wit and sense in a few lines; that is the notion of a witty billet, in any affair but that of love. And have a care rather to avoid these graces to a mistress; and assure yourself, dear Damon, that what pleases the soul pleases the eye, and the largeness or bulk of your letter shall never offend me; and that I only am displeased when I find them small. A letter is

ever the best and most powerful agent to a mistress, it almost always persuades, 'tis always renewing little impressions, that possibly otherways absence would deface. Make use then, Damon, of your time while it is given you, and thank me that I permit you to write to me: Perhaps I shall not always continue in the humour of suffering you to do so; and it may so happen, by some turn of chance and fortune, that you may be deprived, at the same time, both of my presence, and of the means of sending to me. I will believe that such an accident would be a great misfortune to you, for I have often heard you say that, "To make the most happy lover suffer martyrdom, one need only forbid him seeing, speaking and writing to the object he loves." Take all the advantages then you can, you cannot give me too often marks too powerful of your passion: Write therefore during this hour, every day. I give you leave to believe, that while you do so, you are serving me the most obligingly and agreeably you can, while absent; and that you are giving me a remedy against all grief, uneasiness, melancholy, and despair; nay, if you exceed your hour, you need not be ashamed. The time you employ in this kind devoir, is the time that I shall be grateful for, and no doubt will recompense it. You ought not however to neglect heaven for me; I will give you time for your devotion, for my Watch tells you 'tis time to go to the temple. The Lover's Watch.

P. 118, 1. 23. The Lover's Watch is a time-table in verse and prose of imaginary employments for the lover and his mistress during the twenty-four hours. In justice to "the divine Astrea," it should be said that the treatment is almost entirely unobjectionable.

WHEN

GILBERT BURNET.

Gilbert Burnet was born in Edinburgh in 1643. Educated chiefly at Aberdeen and Amsterdam, he took orders, and in 1674 came to London. He belonged to the Whig party, lived abroad during the reign of James II., and was appointed to the see of Salisbury by William of Orange. He died in 1715. Burnet had talent and merit, but was hot-headed, pragmatical, and injudicious.

ARCHBISHOP CRANMER.

HEN he came to the stake, he first prayed, and then undressed himself; and, being tied to it, as the fire was kindling, he stretched forth his right hand towards the flame; never moving it, save that once he wiped his face with it, till it was burnt away, which was consumed before the fire reached his body. He expressed no disorder for the pain he was in ; sometimes saying, “That unworthy hand!" and oft crying out, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!" He was soon after quite burnt.

But it was no small matter of astonishment to find his heart entire, and not consumed among the ashes: which, though the reformed would not carry so far as to make a miracle of it, and a clear proof that his heart had continued true, though his hand had erred; yet they objected it to the papists, that it was certainly such a thing, that, if it had fallen out in any of their church, they had made it a miracle.

Thus did Thomas Cranmer end his days, in the sixty-seventh year of his age. He was a man raised of God for great services, and well fitted for them. He was naturally of a mild and gentle

temper, not soon heated, nor apt to give his opinion rashly of things or persons: and yet his gentleness, though it oft exposed him to his enemies, who took advantages from it to use him ill, knowing he would readily forgive them, did not lead him into such a weakness of spirit, as to consent to everything that was uppermost for as he stood firmly against the Six Articles in king Henry's time, notwithstanding all his heat for them, so he also opposed the duke of Somerset in the matter of the sale and alienation of the chantry lands, and the duke of Northumberland during his whole government, and now resisted unto blood: so that his meekness was really a virtue in him, and not a pusillanimity in his temper. He was a man of great candour: he never dissembled his opinion, nor disowned his friend; two rare qualities in that age, in which there was a continued course of dissimulation, almost in the whole English clergy and nation, they going backward and forward, as the court turned. But this had got him that esteem with king Henry, that it always preserved him in his days. He knew, what complaints soever were brought against him, he would freely tell him the truth : so, instead of asking it from other hands, he began at himself. He neither disowned his esteem of queen Anne, nor his friendship to Cromwell and the duke of Somerset in their misfortunes ; but owned he had the same thoughts of them in their lowest condition, that he had in their greatest state.

He being thus prepared by a candid and good nature for the searches into truth, added to these a most wonderful diligence; for he drew out of all the authors that he read every thing that was remarkable, digesting these quotations into common-places. This begat in king Henry an admiration of him: for he had often tried it, to bid him bring the opinions of the fathers and doctors upon several questions; which he commonly did in two or three days' time: this flowed from the copiousness of his common-place books. He had a good judgment, but no great quickness of apprehension, nor closeness of style, which was diffused and unconnected; therefore when anything was to be penned that required more nerves, he made use of Ridley. He laid out all his wealth on the poor, and pious uses: he had hospitals and surgeons in his house for the king's seamen : he

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