BT 
 
 825 
 
 S686 
 
 SOLILOQUY ON THE APPROACH 
 OF DEATH
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 S O LI L O Q.U Y 
 
 O N T H E 
 
 APPROACH of DEATH, 
 
 (Price Six-pence.)
 
 SOLILOQUY 
 
 ON THE 
 
 Approach of Death. 
 
 Exemplified in the CHARACTER of a 
 
 rOUNG LADT, 
 
 LATELY DECEAS'D. 
 
 NEWCASTLE: 
 
 Printed by J. WHITE, and fold by him and the 
 Bookfellers in Town and Country. 
 
 MDCC LXIl.
 
 u
 
 LADIES,, 
 
 2 
 
 S the following Sb//- 
 loquyon the Approach 
 of Death is exempli- 
 fied in the Charafter 
 of a YOUNG 
 
 deceased, whofe Name will 
 be revcrM to future Ages, for an 
 Example and Pattern to her Sex, 
 of every excellent Qualification, 
 and noble Endowment, that e^er 
 adorn'd a virtuous Mind, I make 
 
 free 
 
 
 1318223
 
 vi DEDICATION. 
 
 free to think you will readily 
 pardon the Boldnefs of dedicating 
 it to You. 
 
 I F the Calmnefs and Serenity 
 of Mind., exprefs'd in this fhort 
 Paffage of her Life> with the per- 
 feft Resignation flie fliew'd thro" 
 the Whole., to the Divine Will^ 
 can have any Influence with You 
 to tread in her Steps 5 and be, like 
 her., a Pattern and Example to 
 your Sex., then will the End of 
 communicating to the Publick 
 this S O L I L O QJJ Y> be fully an- 
 fwcr'd j from which I ftiall no 
 longer detain you^ than to fub- 
 fcribe myfelf, 
 
 LADIES., 
 
 Tour Moft Obedient, 
 
 liiiinble Servant.
 
 S O LI LO Q.U Y 
 
 O N TH E 
 
 APPROACH of DEATH. 
 
 CERTAIN modern 
 Author (ays, that Rejig- 
 nation to the Will of God^ 
 is the Whole of Piety. The 
 following is an uncommon 
 Jnftance of it, which I 
 hope will not only ferve 
 as an Entertainment to fome People, but like- 
 wife (hew to what Pitch of Grandeur the 
 human Mind is capable of being rais'd, and 
 
 how
 
 8 
 
 how incapable the greateft Terrors are to 
 alarm a Mind, confcious of having liv'd 
 agreeabe to the Dictates of Rcafon. 
 
 Some Time ago, being employ'd in fome 
 Bulinefs in the Country, and oblig'd to lodge 
 in a Country Houfe, (ituate on a River's Side, 
 which ran down through two Woods, the 
 one on my Right-hand, and the other on 
 my Left j the Profpeft of the Place, at a 
 Diftancc, gave me great Pleafure : So that, 
 after 1 had alighted from my Horfe, and for 
 fome Time relied with my Hoft, the clear 
 Evening, the Sun ihining bright, and Na- 
 ture's Face iwimming with Beauties, con- 
 fpir'd to tempt me forth to view the flow'ry 
 Lawn. 
 
 I wander'd along the River's Side, on a 
 little Green that join'd itfelf to the Wood 
 on my Right-hand, where the murmuring 
 Sound or' the Waters infpir'd my Mind with 
 an awful Silence. The Birds perch'd on the 
 Trees, congratulating each other's Happinefs, 
 and, with melodious Notes, joining in a ge- 
 neral Chorus, to fing forth thePraifcs of that 
 Ibvereign Beauty on whom they depend, and 
 
 who
 
 (p) 
 
 who holds in Being the feveral Parts of this 
 ftupendous Frame, made me reflect on the 
 Kindnefs of that God, who has fill'd the 
 various Parts of Space with Creatures, and, 
 with a liberal Hand, diftributes fuch Degrees 
 of Happinefs to every Creature, as its imper- 
 fecl: Nature is capable to enjoy. 
 
 While I was walking along, rnufing id 
 this Manner, I came infenfibly to the Fooc 
 of the Green, where a little Brook fell from 
 the Summit of the neighbouring Hills, and, 
 after patting over feveral Rocks, here ran in- 
 to the River, along whofe Side I had walk'd. 
 Here I ftopp'd to fee whence it camej but 
 my Profpect was terminated, at fome Diftance 
 from me, with a rocky Cliff on each Side 
 of the Rivulet, from whence fprung Hafles, 
 Oaks and Afhes, and form'd a regular Am- 
 phitheatre. 
 
 I march'd up, entertaining myfelf, in this 
 remarkable Solitude, with the Mufick of the 
 Waters falling from one Rock to another, 
 competing a Variety of agreeably founding 
 Cafcades j when, to my great Surprize ! I 
 was ih'uck with a deep Groan, as if from a 
 B Female
 
 Female Heart, which to me feem'd to pro- 
 ceed from a Number of Trees that grew at 
 the Side of a little Plain, and form'd them- 
 felves into a fmall Grotto. 
 
 Here I ftopp'd to hear if perchance fome 
 Nymph of the Plain had retir'd to this Place, 
 to lament, in mournful Lays, the Lofs of 
 her abfent Lover. I heard the Sound re- 
 doubled 3 upon which I advanced nearer, till, 
 at laft, I came to the Back of a blooming 
 Thorn, through which I look'd, and beheld 
 a tall young Woman, ftately and majeflick : 
 Her Drefs was fimple, and yet feem'd fome- 
 what above the Vulgar 3 the Features of her 
 Face were meagre and wan, as if fpoil'd by 
 Sicknefs and Diftrefs, and, as I afterwards 
 underftood, ihe was thought by herfelf, and 
 every one elfe that law her, as upon the 
 Verge of Life, and Confines of Eternity. 
 
 I flood, being unperceiv'd by her, and 
 faw her arife, with an Air that fhew'd the 
 Frailty of her Body. She came forth from 
 the Thicket to the little Plain j and, after 
 fhc had walk'd along for fome time, with
 
 a Chearfulnefs in her Countenance that did not 
 feem common to one in her Condition, fhe 
 fmil'd, ftretch'd forth her Arm, and, lifting 
 up her Eyes to Heaven, thus began. 
 
 O my Mind ! why fliould thou be dif- 
 couraged with the Thoughts of my ap- 
 proaching Diflblution ? While I am 
 clogg'd with Organs of Senfe, thefe do con- 
 tinually hinder me from making thofe Tours 
 to the Celeftial Regions, and from having 
 fuch Views of Things, as Beings of a nobler 
 Order continually enjoy. 
 
 While I am in the World, Organs of 
 Senfe are abfolutely neceflary, as Inftruments 
 to produce thofe Effects, on dead and in- 
 aftive Matter, that my Situation here below 
 requires : But rejoice, O my Mind ! that, 
 in a little Time, thou fhalt be no more 
 troubled with fuch a Machine; thou ihalt 
 be convey'd to a World of Spirits, in which 
 thou {halt have no Ufe for a Tongue to 
 convey thy Thoughts, but fhalt fpeak the 
 Language of Seraphs. 
 
 B z . Thcfc
 
 Thefe wrinkled Hands {hall drop into 
 
 their Parent Duft> thofe Legs that now 
 
 carry my almoll lifelefs Corpfe, {hall be fup- 
 plied with a Vehicle of Light, in which 
 thou {halt ride along with yonder declining 
 Sun, and clearly fee the Effects he produces 
 on every fingle Plant and Vegetable. 
 
 Can it give me Pain, that I am fo foon to 
 be cut off the Theatre of the World, and that 
 my Appearance here below has been fo fhort ? 
 
 Did not I fee yonder Herbs, Yefterday, 
 
 opening their Buds, and difclofing their Blof- 
 foms j beautifying the Earth, and gracing 
 this Solitude? And lo ! To-day, they arc 
 cut down > they lie whither'd and decay'd. 
 
 Let me rather be glad, that I am fo 
 
 foon to be difmifs'd from a World in which 
 fuch a Number of falfe Plea! tires are con- 
 tinually courting the Senfes, and apt to cap- 
 tivate the beft of Mortals, 
 
 T mutt bid adieu to my Friends and Ac- 
 quaintances, who have fympathiz'd with me 
 in my Trouble, and borne altnoft the Half 
 
 of
 
 ( '3 ) 
 
 of my Diftrefs 5 but this fhall give me no 
 Pain, fi nee I am perfuaded, that the Exift- 
 .ance of a rational Being is not terminated by 
 the fcanty Period of human Life : For tho', 
 in a few Days, my Body fhall be laid into 
 the Bofom of the Earth, and become an En- 
 tertainment for the Worms, yet the Day 
 will come, when it fhall arife in blooming 
 Beauty, and enjoy a noble Repaft of Love 
 and Friendship with thofe of my Acquaintance 
 who have gone before me, and thofe who 
 mutt quickly follow. 
 
 Shall the difmal Gloom of that dark Vale 
 through which I am to pafs, alarm my Mind ? 
 No, lure. My Confcience informs me, I 
 have fpent a Life agreeable to the Laws of 
 Nature. I have nothing to fear from within, 
 for my tender Years are yet unfullicd by the 
 infatuating Pleafures of Senfe. Though my 
 Constitution has been weak and tender from 
 the Day of my Birth, yet I have not re- 
 pin'd, being perfuaded, that infinite Power, 
 directed by infinite Wifdom and Goodnefs, 
 inuft produce what is bell upon the Whole. 
 
 Ye
 
 ( '4) 
 
 Ye Rocks ! yc Woods ! I can 
 
 call you to witnefs, that, inftead of mur- 
 muring at my unhappy Condition in the 
 World, I have frequently retir'd to your 
 Shade, and here have fung, in rapturous 
 Song, the Praifes of your Maker. 
 
 In a little Time I (hall be tranfported, 
 [Here ftretching forth her Hand to the Sky] 
 by winged Seraphs, to yonder Celeftial 
 
 Abodes. 1 {hall be welcom'd, by the 
 
 Mufick of the Heavenly Choir, to thofe 
 happy Abodes, where Sorrow and Pain are 
 ever banim'd. There mall I be a Com- 
 panion for virtuous Minds, and mail tune a 
 Golden Harp, to (ing Anthems of Praife to 
 the Fountain of Light, and Source of Joy. 
 
 No more mall I be at a Lofs to obferve 
 
 the Plan of Providence : For though, to 
 
 my prefent View of Things, 
 
 I'he Ways of Heaven are dark and intricate^ 
 Puzzled in Mazes, and perplex' d in Errors, 
 
 Yet,
 
 Yet, in a few Days, I hope to fee them 
 
 unfolded in Beauty and Regularity j- and 
 
 that dark Face of Things, which has fo 
 frequently puzzl'd my narrow Capacity, {hall 
 be difplay'd in Order and Proportion. 
 
 . 
 
 Whilft I am here, and fee only the Out- 
 lines of Creation, like a Fly on a vaulted 
 Roof, I am apt to cavil, and take Excep- 
 tions j but then fhall I fee Worlds within 
 Worlds, teeming with new Beauties^ and 
 every one of them enjoying the greateft Hap- 
 pinefs. 
 
 
 
 1 fhall clearly fee the Gradation of 
 
 Beings, and the Dependence that one Crea- 
 ture has upon another; and having a View 
 of the whole Scheme, ihall fee Objects 
 truly worthy the Contemplation of a reafo-n- 
 able Being. 
 
 Then fhall I be capable to trace the 
 
 Orbits of the Planets 3 then fhall I know 
 what unforefeen Force controuls their rapid 
 Motions, and keeps them in their Courfes. 
 
 I fhall
 
 ( I 
 
 I fliall know the Habits and Difpofitions 
 of the Inhabitants of thofe Stars that fhinc 
 with a tapering Light when the Sun dips his 
 winged Steeds in the Weflern Ocean. 
 
 Why then fhall my Nature recoil at the 
 
 Thoughts of Immortality? The Blow 
 
 in a Moment will be ftruck, and I fhall be 
 
 free from Mifery and Pain. Therefore, 
 
 Thanks be to that God, who, by his in- 
 vifible Hand, has lead me through the flip- 
 
 peiy Paths of Life. Though I have been 
 
 guilty of Faults, yet the Goodnefs of that 
 Being, who knows the fecret Springs and 
 Movements of the Human Mind, will de- 
 termine him to make Allowances for the 
 Frailty and Imperfections of Human Na- 
 ture. 
 
 Therefore rejoice, O my Mind ! that, in 
 a little Time, thou art to be removed from 
 
 a State of Probation, from a World, 
 
 in which thou can'ir, at bell:, but enjoy 
 
 Freedom from Pain, and art to lift up 
 
 thy Face amidft innumerable Companies of 
 Angels and Holy Spirits, and fhalt live for 
 
 Millions
 
 ( '7) 
 
 Millions of Ages, even for Eternity, under 
 the Tuition of that Being who looks down 
 with a Smile on the various Orders pf Beings 
 he has created. 
 
 But now muft I leave the lovely Theme, 
 for I find the decay'd Machine of this Body 
 demanding Nature's Reft. 
 
 [Here beckoning with ber Hand to the Woods 
 and circumambient Rocks, JJie faid^\ 
 
 Adieu, ye Woods ! - ye Rocks ! - * - 
 that have been my Temple, in which I have 
 fung my Maker's Praife. Adieu, ye feather'd 
 Flock, that dwell on the Boughs of Trees, 
 who have ioin'd with me in Concert, j 
 fhall perhaps never fee you more, but I hope 
 to be admitted into a nobler Society. 
 
 \Here Jbe went 
 
 I was (truck with the deepeft Surprize, to 
 fee a young Damfel comforting herfelf, in 
 this Manner, upon the Profpcft of her De- 
 parture from this World, and behaving with 
 fo much Refignation in her Diftrefs, which 
 appeared now and then in her Countenance. 
 
 C J flood
 
 i8 
 
 I flood mute, till I faw her go out of the 
 End of the Lane, imagining with myfelf, 
 that I had heard a Socratn, or a Cyrus^ dif- 
 courfing to their Friends, fome Hours before 
 their Death, on the Immortality of the Soul. 
 I mourn'd to think that a Perfon who feem'd 
 to have fo ftrong a Senfe of Virtue and Good- 
 nefs, fhould fo foon be call'd into another 
 World, but comforted myfelf with Horace's 
 Advice to Virgil^ when he was lamenting the 
 Death of Quintillus, Lib. I. Ode XXIV.. 
 
 7# fruftra pius, beit, -non ita creditum, 
 Pojffis Quivtillium Deos. 
 
 After I came to my Lodgings, I under- 
 ftood {he was a neighbouring Gentleman's 
 Daughter, remarkable for her Piety and 
 Goodnefs, even from her Infancy ; that fhe 
 had been always tender, and was then more 
 fo than ever, and expected to be near the 
 
 End of her Days. 
 
 . . 
 The Singularity of the Cafe, the heroick 
 
 Spirit file fccm'd to be endow M with, and 
 the perfect Refignation ihe fliew'd to the 
 Will of Heaven, engag'd me to publiih the 
 above Account, not only to {hew, that a 
 
 Mind,
 
 Mind, confcious of Virtue and Goodnefs, 
 can face any Danger, and endure any worldly 
 Mifery, but like wife to convince the World, 
 that in thefe Northern Parts of Britain we 
 can boaft of a Set of Females worthy of 
 Love and Efteem, whofe Beauties not only 
 confift in a fine Shape, agreeable Features, 
 and charming Complexions, but alfo in the 
 .nobler Graces of the Mind, Virtue, Modefly 
 and Goodnefs. 
 
 On
 
 On the DEATH of a 
 
 TOUNG LAST. 
 
 I. 
 
 HARK ! She bids all her Friends adieu; 
 Some Angel calls her to the Spheres; 
 Our Eyes the radiant Saint purfue 
 Thro' liquid Teleicopes of Tears. 
 
 II. 
 
 Farewel, bright Soul ! a ftiort Farewel, 
 Till we fhall meet again above, 
 In the fweet Grove, where Pleafures dwell, 
 And Trees of Life bear Fruits of Love. 
 
 III. 
 
 There Glory fits on every Face, 
 There Friendfhip fmiles in every Eye, 
 There (hall our Tongues relate the Grace 
 That led us homeward to the Sky. 
 
 IV. O'er
 
 IV. 
 
 O'er all the Names of C H R i s T, our King, 
 Shall our harmonious Voices rove; 
 Our Harps fliall found from every String 
 The Wonders of his bleeding Love. 
 
 V. 
 
 Come, Sovereign LORD, dear SAVIOUR, come, 
 Remove thefe feparating Days, 
 Send thy bright Wheels to fetch us home; 
 That golden Hour, how long it flays ! 
 
 VI. 
 
 How long muft we lie lingering here, 
 While Saints around us take their Flight? 
 Smiling they quit this dusky Sphere, 
 And mount the Hills of heavenly Light. 
 
 VII. 
 
 Sweet Soul ! we leave thee to thy Reft, 
 Enjoy thy JESUS and thy GOD, 
 Till we, from Bands of Clay releas'd, 
 Spring out, and climb the ihining Road. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 While the dear Duft (he leaves behind, 
 Sleeps in thy Bofom, facred Tomb! 
 Soft be her Bed, her Slumbers kind, 
 And all her Dreams of Joy to come, 
 
 O N
 
 O N 
 
 DEATH andExERNiTY. 
 
 i. 
 
 MY Thoughts, that often mount the Skies> 
 Go, fearch the World beneath, 
 "Where Nature in all Ruin lies, 
 And owns her Sovereign, Death. 
 
 II. 
 The ^Tyrant, how he triumphs here ! 
 
 His Trophies fpread around ! 
 And Heaps of Duft and Bones appear 
 
 Thro' all the hollow Ground. 
 
 III. 
 Thefe Skulls, what ghaftly Figures now! 
 
 How loathfome to the Eyes ? 
 Thefe 'are the Heads we lately knew 
 
 So beauteous, and fo wife. 
 
 IV. 
 
 But where the Souls, thofe deathlefs Things, 
 
 That left this dying Clay? 
 My Thoughts, now ftretch out all your Wings, 
 
 And trace Eternity. 
 
 V. O that
 
 ) 
 
 V. 
 
 O that unfathomable Sea ! 
 
 Thofe Deeps without a Shore ! 
 Where living Waters gently play, 
 
 Or fiery Billows roar, 
 
 VI. 
 
 Thus muft we leave the Banks of Life, 
 
 And try this doubtful Sea ; 
 Vain are our Groans, and dying Strife, 
 
 To gain a Moment's Stay, 
 
 VII. 
 
 There w fhall fwim in heav'nly Blifs, 
 
 Or link in flaming Waves, 
 While the pale Carcafs thoughtlefs lies, 
 
 Amongft the filent Graves. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 Some hearty Friend fhall drop his Tear 
 
 On our dry Bones, and fay, 
 " Thefe once were ftrong, as mine appear, 
 
 < c And mine muft be as they." 
 
 IX. 
 
 Thus fhall our mould'ring Members teach 
 
 What now our Senfes learn : 
 For Duir. and Afhes loudeft preach 
 
 Man's infinite Concern, 
 
 FINIS,
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY 
 
 Los Angeles 
 
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