for their welfare. No scheme of doing good was ever suggested to him, into which he did not enter with ardor. But the generosity of his mind was the most displayed, when any plans of propagating religion, and of spreading the gospel among those who were strangers to it, were proposed. In everything of this kind, he was always ready to take the lead, and was ardent in endeavoring to inspire his friends with the same spirit.

He was of a weak and delicate bodily constitution; and a severe cold which he caught about the forty-eighth year of his age, brought on a consumption of the lungs. The nearer he approached to his dissolution, the more plainly was observed his continual improvement in a spiritual and heavenly temper. Indeed, he seemed to have risen above the world, and to be daily breathing after immortality. This disposition of his mind was ardently expressed in several of his letters; and it is manifest from his will, which was made at this time, and is prefaced in the following language: "Whereas it is customary on these occasions, to begin with commending the soul into the hands of God, through Christ; I do it, not in mere form, but with sincerity and joy; esteeming it my greatest happiness, that I am taught and encouraged to do it, by that glorious gospel, which, having most assuredly believed it, I have spent my life in preaching to others; and which I esteem an infinitely greater treasure than all my little worldly store, or possessions ten thousand times greater than mine."

Having made trial of the waters of Bristol, and his health still continuing more and more to decline, he was advised by his physicians and friends, as the last resort in so threatening a disorder, to remove to a warmer climate. He accordingly went to Lisbon. His resignation to the Divine disposal is strongly marked in a letter, which he wrote soon after his arrival there. After mentioning his great weakness and danger, he added:

"Nevertheless, I bless God, the most undisturbed serenity continues in my mind, and my strength holds proportion to my day. I still hope and trust in God, and joyfully acquiesce in all he may do with me. When you see my dear friends of the congregation, inform them of my circumstances, and assure them, that I cheerfully submit myself to God. If I desire life may be restored, it is chiefly that it may be employed in serving Christ among them. I am enabled, by faith, to look upon death as an enemy that shall be destroyed; and can cheerfully leave my dear Mrs. Doddrige a widow in a strange land, if such be the appointment of our Heavenly Father. I hope I have done my duty; and the Lord do as seemeth good in his sight."

Change of climate did not produce the desired effect, and Dr. Doddridge continued gradually to weaken, till death put a period to his afflictions. In his last hours he preserved the same calmness, vigor, and joy of mind, which he had felt and expressed through the whole of his illness. The only pain he

had in the thought of dying, was the fear of that grief and distress which his wife would suffer from his removal. To his children, his congregation, and his friends in general, he desired to be remembered in the most affectionate manner; nor did he, in the effusions of his pious benevolence, forget the family where he lodged, or his own servant. Many devout sentiments and aspirations were uttered by him: but the heart of his wife was too much affected with his approaching change, to be able to recollect them distinctly. Though he died in a foreign land, and, in a certain sense, among strangers, his decease was embalmed with many tears.*

* A judicious life of this excellent man, written by Dr. Kippis, is prefixed to the first volume of Dr. Doddridge's Family Expositor.

LOUIS, DUKE OF ORLEANS-SOAME JENYNS-LORD LYTTELTON --JONAS HANWAY-ANTHONY BENEZET-JAMES HERVEY-ALTAMONT, OR THE DEATH OF THE LIBERTINE.

SECTION I.

LOUIS, DUKE OF ORLEANS.

LOUIS, DUKE OF ORLEANS, first prince of the blood royal of France, and highly distinguished for piety and learning, was born at Versailles, in the year 1703. He was the son of Philip, duke of Orleans, regent of France, and of Mary Frances of Bourbon. He discovered, in his very childhood, a reverence for religion, a shining genius, and an enlarged understanding. At an early age he became sensible of the vanity of titles, pre-eminence, and all the splendor of life. He proposed to himself a new mode of conduct, which he afterwards pursued, dividing his time between the duties peculiar to his rank, the exercises of a Christian, and the studies which improve the mind. He was, in every re

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LOUIS, DUKE OF ORLEANS.

spect, a pattern of self-denial, of piety, and of vir

tue.

His religion was not merely contemplative; for he possessed a most extensive charity, and an enlightened zeal for the public good. The indigent of every age, sex, and condition, excited his compassionate regard. He daily heard their complaints in one of the halls of the convent of St. Genevieve; he sympathized with them; he alleviated their distresses. When it was not in his power to dismiss them entirely satisfied, his heart seemed to grant what necessity obliged him to refuse. It is hardly to be imagined what sums this pious prince expended, in placing children for education in colleges and nunneries, in portioning young women, endowing nuns, putting boys apprentices, or purchasing for them their freedom; in setting up unfortunate tradesmen in business again, and preventing the ruin of others; in restoring and supporting noblemen's families; in relieving the sick, and paying surgeons for their attendance on them. Very often, accompanied by a single servant, he sought after poor persons, in chambers and garrets, and kindly administered to their wants. He made great improvements in physic, agriculture, arts, and manufactures. He purchased, and published, a variety of useful remedies. His gardens were filled with medicinal plants of all sorts, brought from the most distant climates.

The delight he found in piety and devotion, he