ACCOUNT OF LADY KATHARINE NEVILE.

By W. MATTON, M. A.

HE defcended from two families truly honourable, and as

tiquity; Sir ARTHUR INGRAM, of Temple-Nufome, in Yorkshire, being her father, and her mother eldest daughter to the Lord FAIRFAX, of Guillin, whofe family was an ornament to the doctrine of the Church of England.

'After her mother's deceafe, who departed this life during her minority, she was committed to the care of an aunt, a rigid Independent, and, though daily folicited, yet fhe would never join in communion with them; but, through all those clouds of Ignorance and Enthufiafm, the happily difcerned the beauties, and faithfully and heartily, to her dying day, adhered to the interefts of the CHURCH OF ENGLAND, the glory and bulwark of the reformation.

Give me leave, therefore, to confider her in these two refpects: ft. in respect of her duty, fidelity, and obedience to God. 2dly. in refpect of her carriage and deportment to her fellow-Chriftians.

I hope I may have liberty to speak of her ladyfhip in this double relation without offence. Though I am no friend to funeral panegyricks, where there is nothing of extraordinary worth and merit in the perfon commended to give occafion for them; yet the good Providence of God having allotted me that happinefs and honour of living upwards of ten years under her roof, in quality of her chaplain, which has given me an opportunity of being acquainted with her extraordinary virtues during the ftate of her health, as well as in her last lingering and painful fickness; therefore, whatever I shall fay of her, by way of commendation, will, I humbly hope, be . thought as far from the leaft fufpicion of flattery, as it is of falfhood.

Firft, then, let us confider her in respect of her duty, fidelity, and obedience to God.

She was ever very conftant, fincere, and devout in his fervice; few, if any, were fo ftrift, regular, and frequent in their private devotions; and none more conftant in giving attendance to the public fervice of the church; for when God almighty was pleased to lay fo heavy a burden upon her, as to difable her from walking, yet she would not be fatisfied unless she was carried in a chair to the church, and supported

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by two to her feat. Nay, when the God of infinite wisdom was pleased to afflict her after a more calamitous manner, when she was wholly deprived of the ufe of one whole fide, yet fhe conftantly had the fervice of the church read to her, and usually a repetition of the fermon.

She put not off her great work till fhe came to die, which made her depart this mortal ftate in fure and certain hope of a glorious refurrection to life eternal. She ftedfaftly be

lieved the precious promifes of God, the immortality of the foul, and the eternal glory of the world to come; which fpoke great comfort and confolation to her mind, in the midst of all her fufferings.

During her whole fickness she had a conftant calmness and ferenity of mind, and under all the grievous tortures and afflictions of her body, the happily possessed her foul in great patience.

She ever looked upon religion as a matter of that weight and confequence whereon the eternal welfare and happiness of precious fouls depended; and, therefore, no occasion or company (though otherwise never fo acceptable and pleasing) were thought by her a fufficient excufe to neglect her folemn and daily addreffes to the throne of grace: and had it happened (as it too often did) that she was interrupted in her ordinary courfe of meditation and prayer, yet fhe never would fuffer her eyes to fleep, nor her eye-lids to flumber, neither the temples of her head to take any rest, until she found out a place for the temple of the LORD, an habitation for the mighty GOD of Jacob; and, therefore was refolved to finish her pious course, though never fo unseasonable and late, to the great prejudice of her bodily health, and decay of that excellent conftitution with which fhe was bleffed; not regarding what became of her worfer part, her body, that so The might eternally preferve her better part, her precious and immortalized foul, alive in the day of the LORD.

God was pleased to try the greatness of her mind, and the fincerity of her confcience, by a moft acute, lasting, and fhocking diftemper. A cancer, affecting the tendereft and moft fenfible part of human bodies, the breaft, will make the ftouteft heart to shrink and tremble; yet, in the midst of these tormenting pains, no one ever heard the voice of murmur; those severities, which would make beholders fhiver, and move them to pity, did never make her repine against, and complain of, the Almighty's proceedings.

She

She was a conftant attendant at the Lord's table, where the always received the body and blood of our dearest REDEEMER, whenever adminiftered; againft which her preparation was fo great and folemn, and her behaviour fo unaffected and devout, as became a true difciple of our Lord, and a faithful follower of the Lamb which was flain; being highly fenfible of thofe unfpeakable advantages which attend those who are worthy partakers of fo fublime and heavenly a mystery.

Though the received it laft Chriftias, yet, about two months before her diffolution, fearing a sudden change, the received it again; being well affured, that the application › of the body and blood of our dearest REDEEMER to the confciences of dying perfons, is the fureft viaticum to a truly Chriftian and penitent foul.

God was pleafed to continue her fo long amongst us, as to convince a wicked, diftruftful world, by her great and glorious example, with how unparalleled a refignation her pious foul could bear the feverelt ftrokes of fortune; that, in all the time of her tribulation, which continued upwards of fix months, as well as in all the time of her wealth; amidst the ghaftly horrors of death, as well as in the greatest affluence and plenty of life, her heart was furely fixed where the most fincere and pureft joys are ever to be found.

Secondly; We now come to confider her in refpect of her carriage and deportment towards her fellow-chriftians; but more particularly with relation to those dependants and fervants committed to her care and truft.

She had not only a fingular regard to the falvation and happinefs of her own foul, but confulted alfo the glory of God, and the eternal safety and prefervation of all those about her.

Every morning and evening fhe had the fervice of the church in her family, where the conftantly observed to have all her domeftics and fervants attend, especially before the confeffion; and was never moved at any thing more, than when they were negligent in paying their early tribute of adoration and praife to the great God of their falvation.

She never thought fhe had fufficiently discharged her duty on the Lord's day, unless fhe had, before morning fervice, affembled her whole family together, to return moft fincere and humble acknowledgments to the father of mercies for all his favours and loving-kindneffes beftowed upon her and her's, efpecially for bringing them fafe to the beginning of that day, and giving them that happy opportunity of glori

fying his holy name once more in his affembly of faints upon earth, and to recommend their thoughts, their words, and their actions, and their fouls and their bodies to the bleffedinfluence and protection of God's holy fpirit, the remaining part of the day.

She ever wrote down the fermon, and conftantly made a repetition of it to her family, and oftentimes to her poor neighbours, who could not attend the public fervice, through fickness or other bodily infirmities.

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When I had the care of two churches, fhe, for the most part, attended with as many of her family as were able, to the morning or evening fervice of a neighbouring parish, to reap the fruits of the labours of that reverend and worthy gentleman, Mr. Metford, a perfon as eminent for his piety and goodness, as for his profound and univerfal learning.

After the public fervice of the day was over, her conftant practice was to hear her fervants read fome of the holy fcriptures, or other books of piety, and inftru&t them in their catechifm; and the close of the day was crowned with the prayers of the church, and a pfalm of praife and thanksgiving to ad vance the honour and glory of God.

But especially the week before the adminiftration of the facrament of the body and blood of our dearest Lord, that fymbol of love and affection, she was more ftrict and rigorous, morning and evening, reading and praying with her family, inftructing the ignorant, and confirming the more enlightened in the paths of virtue and holinefs; not regarding what aufterities the used to her own body, that fo fhe might more eminently fet forth the glory of God, exprefs her unfeigned thankfulness to the bleffed Redeemer of mankind, and at laft happily advance the benefit of her own foul, and those of her domeftics, at the great day of recompence; being well affured, that that fingle reflection of St. Paul is capable of working in the pious foul more joy and fatisfaction than all the feverities and mortifications of this life can of trouble and torment, the fufferings of this prefent life are not worthy to be compared with the glory, which shall one day be revealed.

in us.

Rom. viii. 18.

Her charity did not only extend to the edification and im provement of the foul, which is indeed the moft exalted kind of charity, but alfo to the relief of their bodily wants and neceffities; which was often mingled with fpiritual advice, if poffible with a greater tenderness and compaffion for their fouls than their bodies, thinking it very probable that they

might follow her fpiritual admonitions, when she actual.y gave them fo fenfible a pledge of her compaffionate concern for their temporal welfare and happiness.

She literally anfwered the apoftle's character being poor enough to herfelf, yet making many rich, 1 Cor. iv. 10. to my certain knowledge always fparing and mean in her own drefs, that fo fhe might cover their nakednefs; and laid out yearly confiderable fums in phyfic, to administer not only to the poor and needy of her own parish, but to the whole neigbourhood, if applied to, when vifited with fickness, and and in a state of affliction.

She constantly relieved the poor of her parish thrice a week, and daily thofe neceffitous ftrangers who plied at her door, never turning any away empty-handed.

She knew no other confiderable ufe of an estate than to be hofpitable, entertain her friends generously, and to disperse and give liberally to the poor. Thus did fhe fhew her religion to be pure and undefiled, not only by keeping herself free from the leaft fufpicion of the pollution of this wicked world, but alfo by vifiting the orphan and widow in their affliction. James i. 27.

It was the admiration of all her acquaintance, to confider whence the had fo great a fund, ever entertaining fo many vifitors, I had almost faid families, and daily expending fo much in alms but that the lent to the LORD, who always richly repays; he gave it, and it was given to her again, good meafure, preffed down, and running over. Luke vi. 38.

When the lay upon her laft languishing bed, fhe had little of worldly affairs to fettle; fhe wifely remitted her treasure, during the ftate of her health, to another world, and happily fecured a glorious and everlasting reverfion there; and how comfortable must it be to her foul, at that folemn and general audit, when our SAVIOUR and our JUDGE, fhall pronounce her everlastingly bleffed, for feeding, cloathing, and daily adminiftering to his indigent fervants; when there fhall appear fo great a cloud of witneffes to atteft her good deeds, and to rejoice at the glorious recompence of her just reward.

This charity was done after a public manner; but, to my certain knowledge, fhe annually gave away large fums privately; yea, so very privately, that fhe fcarcely let her lefthand know what her right-hand did.

Her juftice was no lefs confpicuous and ornamental than the other mentioned virtues and embellishments of her life, One particular instance I cannot forbear mentioning; the

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