there occasionally, attended him all the rest
of the way homeward; for not being able to ride two miles together, he
behoved to go into a house to rest himself for an hour, such was his
weakly condition.

After his arrival at home, he put on his clothes every day for fifteen
days, and after that lay bedfast for ten weeks until the day of his
death, during which time the Lord was very merciful and gracious to him,
both in an external and internal way.----For his body by degrees daily
languished till he became like a skeleton, and yet his face remained
ever pleasant, beautiful and well-coloured, even to his last.

The last five or six weeks he lived, there were always three or four
waiting on him and sometimes more, yet they never had occasion to weary
of him, but were rather refreshed with every day's continuance, by the
many wise, sweet and gracious discourses which proceeded out of his
mouth.

In the time of his sickness the Lord was graciously pleased to guard his
mind and heart from the malice of Satan, so that his peace and
confidence in God was not much disturbed, or if the Lord was pleased to
suffer any little assault, it soon evanished. His feeling and sense was
not frequent nor great, but his faith and confidence in God through
Jesus Christ was ever strong, which he told his father divers times was
more sure and solid than the other. He said, that the Lord before his
sickness, had made fast work with him about the matters of his soul, and
that before that, he had been under sore exercises of mind, by the sense
of his own guiltiness for a long time, before ever he had solid peace
and clear confidence, and often said, "Unworthy I and naughty I, am
freely beloved of the Lord, and the Lord knows, my soul dearly loves him
back again." And that the Lord knew his weakness to encounter with a
temptation, and so out of tender compassion thus pitied him.

He was also possest of all manner of patience and submission under all
this sore trouble, and never was heard to murmur in the least, but often
thought his Master's time well worth the waiting on, and was frequently
much refreshed with the seeing and hearing of honest and gracious
neighbours, who came to visit him, so that he had little reason with
Heman to complain, Psal. lxxxviii. 8. _Lovers and friends hast thou put
far from me, and mine acquaintance unto darkness._

Among other of his gracious discoveries, he declaimed much against
unprudent speaking, wishing i