and alluring virtues, the best, good natured companion that ever lived, is lost, for ever lost, to all our hopes and wishes, and had it not in his power to abstain from what was his infelicity, while it was thought to be his comfort.
"Poor William, Lord Craven! How did I flatter myself with the uninterrupted enjoyment of his inviolate and unalterable friendship, during the residue of those few years of life that are allotted for me! How have I dwelled upon the contemplation of his future acts of affection, loyalty, and beneficence to the church, the state, and the commonwealth, when I should be laid low in the earth, and be devoid of means to see and admire 'em! And yet, how have I been deceived, in surviving that dear, that agreeable person, whose death I ardently desired, for the sake of posterity, to be long, long preceded by my demise.
"Your Grace will pardon me this one soliloquy in remembrance of a loss that is in common to all who had the honour of his acquaintance, or who might have received benefit by his example. And give me leave to tell you, that next to yourself and my good Lord of Denbigh, there is no one whose welfare I had more at heart than his lordship's.
"What is incumbent upon me, is to request of your Grace to take care of a life so important as yours is, in this dearth of great and valuable men; and to assure you, that while you consult the preservation of your health, by letting the exercises of the field share with the pleasures of the bottle, in so doing, your Grace will not only give length of days to that which is mortal in your own earthly fabrick, but for some small time longer
