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OBITUARY.
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1818 . Jan . 3 , after a lingering decay , whieh she bore with exemplary patience , Mrs . Mary Hughes , wife of the Rev , John Hughes , Unitarian Minister of Honitdn , in Devonshire . She was the daughter of Joshua Freeman of Salisbury , by Mary the sister of William Harris , D . D . author of
the Lives of Oliver Cromwell , Charles I . and II . ajid other biographical works , remarkable for the upright and truly liberal spirit iu which they are written . She lost her fWher when she was only eleven years old , and soon after came to live with the Dr . her uncle . With him she continued
until his death , and in the same hojjse , which he bequeathed to her , she herself expired . She was born March 2 , 1748 . She was descended from a family that were always distinguished by a zeal for truth , and for civil and religious liberty . Of her grandfather , one anecdote is preserved : That at the time that James II . was at Salisbury , soldiers were quartered
upon him who did not treat him as they ought ; yet when they decamped , ( as they were forced to do in haste , ) he found upon examining his house a portmanteau , very heavy ^ left behind , containing * , probably , a large sum of money—but such was his regard to rectitude , that he ran after the soldier , saying , " honest man , you have left your bag behind , pray come and take it . '' This excellent woman was a sincere
disciple of Jesus ; thfbse who knew her best , will be the most ready to do her justice , and to say that if ever there was a humble and sincere Christian , she was one . There was nothing ostentatious and obtrusive in her religious deportment . It had nothing
of that spiritual pride in it which could say to a fellow-worm , stand by , for I am holier than thou . " She delighted in serious conversation , and she was well able to bear apart in it . The Christian Scriptures were her dearest treasure . She read them
with constancy , with understanding and with profit . She formed , as she was well able to do , her own opinion upon their difficult and contested passages ; but , at the same time , she blamed no one , w ( ho , after a Jair and upright examination , entertained views different from hers . Impartial inquiry , carried on in the fear of God , and with an earnest desire to coupe at the knowledge
of the truth , was what she practised herself and all that she required in others . The result of such inquiry , s ^ ie wel l knew , is not at the option of the person who makes it . If it be determined honestly , it must be determined by t ) ie weight of evi 4 enee .. : ¦ , ' ¦ . " '; , '' ; Simplicity of manners as well as godly pliiqerjty , distinguished Mrs . Hughes . $ Jvery species of artificeand dpubje-dieaiing '
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was abhorrent to her , and what she could not but despise arid condemn in others , she never allowed in herself . Truth and courtesy hung upon her lips ; and even when she was obliged to refuse a request or to administer reproof , there was' no unkindness in the one ease , nor asperity in the other . She was most of all in her
element when she was contributing to the innocent comfort of all around her . She had a generous hospitality which gratified herself as much as it added to the satisfaction of all "who were partakers of it . The liberal soul deviseth liberal things . If she had any regrets upon this score , they were only that her . means of doing
good were so inadequate to her wishes . The poor have lost in her a most feeling and affectionate benefactress In all this there was no effort , no conflict between selfishness , and a desire of appearing free from it . It was the spontaneous , uniform flow of a kind heart , animated by unaffected piety and pure Christian benevolence .
She was tried by a large share of bodily afflictions ; her sufferings were oftened distressingly acute . But the patience and acquiescence with which she bore them , proved the strength of her religious principles , and the efficacy of that divine favour which is promised to the ' upright , in heart . She was truly achildof jpeace , and nothing afflicted her amiable spirit wore deeply than when any contentions broke out among-st those that were dear to her ; and
every soothing effort which Christian integrity justified , was in such cases exerted by her , to quench the ' flame of discord , and bring * back to amity those who were unhappily at variance . She was peculiarly tender of the good name of others , and never indulged herself in hasty and indiscriminate censures . While it was possible to apologize for an action or a character - she was o-lsid tn do if .
To die the death Qf the righteous is a natural and allowable wish . It is of the highest importance to recollect , however , that there is but one way to ensure it . " Simplicity and godly sincerity" must characterize the life , or there js ao rational ground for expecting that peace and hope can be companions of the dying hour . " Mark the perfect man , " says the Psalmist , " and behold the upright , for the end of that man is peace . " This was eminently " tlie case vvilh Mrs . H . Surrounded by those with whom she was most nearly connected , sensible to the last , without a groan or a struggle , she fell asleep . What a sweet transitionfrom time , to eternity ! A very near and dear . friend , thui yv rites concerning , her $ aiidthfcobjVct he assj £# s ,
Obituary.
OBITUARY .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Feb. 2, 1818, page 139, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2473/page/59/
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