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he devolved upon the parish for support , and was removed to the comrnon poor-house . Sir Francis , become now the decided victim of disease , brought on by intemperate excess , without a real friend , save the savage animal who constantly shared his apartment and his couch , without mental or moral resource , and unable to endure the languid i
^ days and wearisome nights of exhausted nature , drank deeper and still deeper of the intoxicating draught , which , whilst it afforded a temporary relief , perpetually increased the disease that was preying upon his vitals . Now and then a ray of intellect would dart across Jiis beclouded mind , but it served only to render visible the . moral deformity that reigned there ; it was dismissed therefore the moment it
was perceived , for the pangs of remorse were not to be endured—and hereafter , if such there were , what horror in the bare supposition ! what if an inquiry should be instituted respecting talents not merely neglected , but abused , not alone perverted , butapplied to purposes the most mischievous ? A phys&ian . was consulted , who honestly announced the impending catastrophe ; Sir Francis was alarmed , but not reformed ; he affected to deride the friendly warning and applied for relief to a double dose of his favourite beverage , till at length , repeated attacks of apoplexy , in his 30 th year , fully verified the awful
prediction . Ah ! that his memory could be blotted for ever from the book of human remembrance ! Pity would have granted the boon , but it was peremptorily denied by yonder miserable groupe of ruined m females , whose innocence he has destroyed , whose character he has blasted , and whose vices , spreading their baneful influence , wider and still wider among the various ranks of society , will transmit his name ,
and perpetuate his iniamy , to remote generations . Henry in the mean time , supported in his humble asylum , exhibited the most edifying example to all around him . His disease , although brought on apparently by the agency of misfortune , he considered as the deed of providence , for without God , he well knew , that nothing conies to pass ; he felt it therefore , as the chastisement for his good ofa tender father . The master and mistress of the poor-house , interested by his virtues , affected by his sufferings , and edified by his
piety , loved him as their son , and treated him with the utmost kindness . He had a natural taste for drawing , and whilst confined to his . lowly bed , would sometimes beguile tine heavy hours by sketching little groups of variously diversified figures , not wholly devoid of taste and elegance . These he gave away as they were finished to Jiis companions in the poor-house , and to their rude uncultivated mind they appeared as an astonishing effort of genius . They respected him therefore , at first , for his talents , and being not wholly unimpressed by
the sweetness ot his temper ., and the sanctity 01 his whole deportment , he gained by degrees a considerable influence over them . Sometimes he would read to a wretched group assembled around him ot the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah for the wickedness of their inhabitants ; of the faith ot Abraham , his great devotedness to the will ot
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$ 78 Sir Francis and Henry ; Characters from real Life .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Nov. 2, 1807, page 578, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2386/page/14/
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