I Am sorry to understand by Mr. Janeways Letter to my Son , that your Distemper grows upon you , and that you seem to decline so fast . I am very sensible how much eaiser it is to give Advice against trouble in the case of another , then to take it in our own . It hath pleased God to Exercise me of late with a very sore Tryal in the loss of my Dear and Only Child , in which I do perfectly submit to his good Pleasure , firmly believing that he does always what is best ; and yet tho' Reason be satisfied , our Passion is not so soon Appeased ; and when Nature hath received a Wound , time must be allowed for the Healing of it . Since that God hath thought fit to give me a nearer Summons and a closer of my Mortality in the danger of an Apoplexy , which yet I thank God hath occasioned no very Melancholy Reflections , but this perhaps is more owing to natural Temper than to Philosophy and wise Considerations ; Your Case I know is very different , who are of a Temper naturally Melancholy , and under a Distemper apt to increase it ; for both which , great Allowances are to be made . And yet methinks both Reason and Religion do offer to us Considerations of that Solidity and Strength , as may very well support our Spirits under all the Infirmities and Frailties of the Flesh , such as these ; that God is perfect Love and Goodness , that we are not only his Creatures , but his Children , and as dear to him , as to our selves , that he does not afflict willingly , nor grieve the Children of Men ; and that all Evils and Afflictions which shall befall us , are intended for the Cure and Preventions of greater Evils , of Sin and Punishment : And therefore we ought not only to submit to them with Patience , as being deserved by us , but to receive them with thankfulness , as being designed by him , to do us that good , and to bring us to that sence of him , and our selves , which perhaps nothing else would have done ; that the Sufferings of this present time are but short and slight , with that extream and endless Misery which we have deserved ; and with that exceeding and eternal weight of Glory which we hope for in the other World : That if we be careful to make the best Preparation we can for Death and Eternity , whatever brings us nearer to our End , brings us nearer to Happiness ; and how rugged soever the Way be , the Comfort is that it leads to our Fathers House , where we shall want nothing that we can wish . When we labour under a Distemper , that threatens our Life , what would we not be content to bear in order to a perfect Recovery ? could we but be assured of it : And shou'd we not be willing to endure much more , in order to Happiness , and that Eternal Life which God that cannot Lye hath promised . Nature I know is fond of Life , and apt to be still Lingering after a longer Continuance here ; and yet a long Life with the usual Burdens and Infirmities of it , is seldom desirable ; it is but the same thing over again or worse . So many more Days and Nights , Summers and Winters , a repetition of the same Pleasure , but with less Pleasure and Relish , every day a return of the same , or greater Painsor Trouble , but with less Patience and Strength to bear them .

These and the like Considerations I use to Entertain my self withall , not only with Contentment , but with Comfort , though with great inequality of Temper at several times , and with much mixture of Humane Frailty , which will always stick to us while we are in this World . However by these kind of Thoughts , Death becomes more familiar with us , and we shall be able by Degrees to bring our minds close up to it , without starting at it . The greatest tenderness I find with my self , is with regard to some near Relations , especially the dear and constant Companions of my Life , which I must confess doth very sensibly touch me , but then I consider , and so I hope will they also , that this Seperation will be but for a little while , and that though I leave them in a bad World , yet under the care of a good God . who can be more and better to them then all other Relations , and will certainly be so to those that Love him , and Hope in his Mercy . I shall not need to advise you what to do , and what use to make of this time of your Visitation , I have reason to beleive that you have been careful in the time of your Health to prepare for this Evil Day , and have been conversant in those Books , which give the best Directions to this purpose , and have not , as too many do , put of the great Work of your Life to the End of it : And then you have nothing now to do , but as well as you can under your present Weakness and Pains , to renew your Repentance for all the Errors and Miscarriages of your Life , and●ses of God , and the Hope of tha● Happiness which you are ready to enter into , and in the mean time to Exercise Faith and Patience for a little while , be of good Courage since you see Land the Storm you are in will quickly be over , and then it will be as if it had never been , or rather the Remembrance of it will be a Pleasure . I do not use to write such long Letters , but I do heartily Compassionate your Case , and should be glad if I could suggest any thing that might help to mitigate your Troubles , and make that sharp and rough Way , through which you are to pass into a better World , more smooth and easie . I Pray God , fit us both for that great Change which we must once undergoe , and if we be but in any good Measure fit for it , sooner or later makes no great difference . I commend you to the Father of Mercies , and the God of all Consolation , beseeching him to increase your Faith and Patience , and to stand by you in the last and great Conflict , that when you walk through the Valley of the Shaddow of Death , you may fear no Evil , and when your Heart fails , and Strength fails , you may find him the Strength of your Heart and your Portion for ever . Farwel my good Friend , and while we are here let us Pray for one another , that We may have a Joyful meeting in another World . I rest