letter, which he had just received, and which
he immediately showed me. I told him, that though I was sensible how
very much he was weakened, and that appearances were in many respects
very bad, yet his cheerfulness was still so great, the spirit of
life seemed still to be so very strong in him, that I could not help
entertaining some faint hopes. He answered, "Your hopes are groundless.
An habitual diarrhoea of more than a year's standing, would be a very
bad disease at any age; at my age it is a mortal one. When I lie down in
the evening, I feel myself weaker than when I rose in the morning; and
when I rise in the morning, weaker than when I lay down in the evening.
I am sensible besides, that some of my vital parts are affected, so that
I must soon die." "Well," said I, "if it must be so, you have at least
the satisfaction of leaving all your friends, your brother's family in
particular, in great prosperity." He said that he felt that satisfaction
so sensibly, that when he was reading, a few days before, Lucian's
Dialogues of the Dead, among all the excuses which are alleged to Charon
for not entering readily into his boat, he could not find one that
fitted him: he had no house to finish, he had no daughter to provide for
he had no enemies upon whom he wished to revenge himself. "I could not
well imagine," said he, "what excuse I could make to Charon in order to
obtain a little delay. I have done every thing of consequence which I
ever meant to do; and I could at no time expect to leave my relations
and friends in a better situation than that in which I am now likely
to leave them: I, therefore, have all reason to die contented." He
then diverted himself with inventing several jocular excuses, which
he supposed he might make to Charon, and with imagining the very surly
answers which it might suit the character of Charon to return to them.
"Upon further consideration," said he, "I thought I might say to him,
'Good Charon, I have been correcting my works for a new edition.
Allow me a little time, that I may see how the public receives the
alterations.' But Charon would answer, 'When you have seen the effect of
these, you will be for making other alterations. There will be no end of
such excuses; so, honest friend, please step into the boat.' But I
might still urge, 'Have a little patience, good Charon: I have been
endeavoring to open the eyes of the public. If I live a few years
longer, I may have the satisfaction of se