ime we may repent), for that day we may
not live to see; and so like the fool in the parable, our lamps be
untrimmed when we are called upon. Remember, that to forsake vice is the
beginning of virtue; and virtue certainly is most conducive to content
of mind and a cheerful spirit. He (the virtuous man) rejoiceth with a
friend in the good things he enjoys; fears not the reproaches of any; no
evil spirit can approach to hurt him here, or accuse him in the great
day of the Lord, when every soul shall be judged according as they have
done good or evil. Oh, blessed state! fit for life, fit for death! In
this good state I wish and pray for all mankind; but most particularly,
and with all the ardour I am capable of, to those I have brought into
the world, and those dear to them. Thus are my fervent and frequent
prayers directed,--that you may die the death of the righteous, and to
this end, that Almighty God would endue you all with spiritual wisdom,
to discern what is pleasing in His sight."

XI.

On May 28, 1716, she wrote to her kinsman, the Earl of Galway the second
son of the old Marquis de Ruvigny. The elder son was killed at the
battle of the Boyne; King William created the brother Earl of Galway. To
him the aged lady thus wrote: "'Tis our duty to pray for and trust in
the merciful providence of God; then it shall be well in the end, in
this world or a better. I beseech God to give the consolation of His
Holy Spirit to enable you to struggle with bodily pains; your
resignation I have no doubt of, yet Nature will shrink, when the weight
is heavy, and presses hard, which will not be imputed, because it
is natural.

"I also pray to God to fortify your spirit under every trial, till
eternity swallows all our troubles, all our sorrows, all our
disappointments, and all our pains in this life. The longest, how short
to eternity! All these ought to be my own care to improve my weak self,
as the fortitude of your mind, experiences, and knowledge does to you.
And I pray for such a portion of them in mercy to me, as may secure an
endless glorifying, to so feeble, so ignorant, so mean a creature as
myself, that I cannot be too little in my own sight.

"If there be a regency, the intended journey to Chatsworth must be laid
aside, as I must now lay aside my pen for want of the day. I am certain
of this being a truth, that I am,

"Faithfully and affectionately yours,

"R. RUSSELL."

Later letters to Lord Galway are couc