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Untitled Article
in the crowd ? It is Henry , sent by his master on business which admitted not of delay , and which to execute faithfully , and with the ncces * snry dispatch , had nearly cost him his life . If the meed of honour tvere always the reward of merit , Henry , poor , despised , and neglected , young as he then was , would have risen high among human characters , whilst Sir Francis , followed , flattered , and admired , would have sunk to the very bottom of the scale . But the passing multitude had no ey&
to discern their "moral or religious attainments ; of these there was no visible criterion , and they would have passed wholly unnoticed ^ bad they not been carefully marked down by the recording angel whose vigilance never slumbers , and who keeps a faithful register of
human actions . If however the comparative circumstances of their outward prosperity underwent no immediate change , in respect of in--ward composure and heart-felt peace of mind , the scale was every jlay preponderating in favour of Henry . Of an amiable temper , patient , meek and resigned , this child of sorrow had learnt in the school
of adversity to feel for the sorrows of others , and in the tear of sympathy shed over their misfortunes , had found the amelioration of his own . In the sufferings and death of his divine master , he had learnt to look forward beyond the present scene , and to estimate its value and importance , not so much by the quantity of actual present enjoyment , as
by the opportunities afforded of greater advancement in piety and virtue . Sir Francis on the contrary , accustomed , from early infancy , to the indulgence of every capricious desire , became from day to day more and more the slave of self will , and the dupe of every unhallowed and ungoverned passion ; incapable of thought or of a moment *
reflection , he spent the passing hours amidst a numerous train of fourlegged domestics , a fierce blood-hound being his bosom friend ; or , among a low circle of biped associates , hardly more rational , and far less innocent than they ; for those adhered faithfully to ( he principle * of their nature , whilst these had dishonoured and corrupted their ' s .. After a time however , even his outward prosperity , began to decline , and with it , the deceitful respect so long paid him by others . Hii
property was consumed in thoughtless extravagance , or in shameless yice ; or suffered to run idly to waste for want of attention . His fine domain wore the face of universal desolation . The magnificent apartments of his superb mansion , were hidden from the face of day , himself inhabiting the steward ' s room in the rustic story . The door * of thelbfty hall leading to an elegant saloon , were fast closed more than twenty years , for Sir Francis loved not the light ; it suited not
with the unhallowed orgies in which his soul delighted . At length , his excellent constitution , vigorous and strong , and built for one hundred yearsin durance , began to give way , before itharf reached a fourth part of that period . The health of Henry also declined : the littl * spark of life which had hitherto animated his feeble frame , burnt Still more dimly , and without a friend or relative , save one orphan sister , hj whom he was tenderly beloved , being unable to labour any longer ,
Untitled Article
Sir Francis and Henry : Characters from real Life . 571
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Nov. 2, 1807, page 577, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2386/page/13/
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