Spirit, make me to have so right a sense of my sins, that I may be humbled before thee, and of thy mercy that I may be raised and comforted by thee. O Lord, make me tremble to consider thee a most mighty and terrible God; and make me again rejoice to know thee a most loving and merciful Father. Make me zealous of thy glory, and thankful for thy bounties; make me know my wants and the frailties of my nature, and be earnest in my prayer that thou wilt forgive all my misdeeds; make me in my address to thee to have a present mind, and no cares, wandering thoughts, or desires elsewhere, or separate from thee; make me so to pray, that I may obtain of thee mercy, and the relief of all my necessities; for the sake of thy blessed Son and my Redeemer, the holy Jesus. Amen.

A copy of Lord Derby's last Letter to his Lady, October 12th, 1651, from Chester.

My dear Heart,

I HAVE heretofore sent you comfortable lines, but, alas ! I have now no word of comfort, saving to our last and best refuge, which is Almighty God, to whose will we must submit. And when we consider how he hath disposed of these nations and the government thereof, we have no more to do but to lay our hands upon our mouths, judging ourselves, and acknowledging our sins, joined with others, to have been the cause of these miseries; and to call on him with tears for mercy.

The governor of this place, Colonel Duckenfield, is general of the forces which are going now against the Isle of Man; and however you might do for the present, in time it would be a grievous and troublesome business to resist, espécially those that at this hour command three nations; wherefore my advice, notwithstanding my great affection to that place, is, that you would make conditions for yourself and children, servants, and people there, and such as

came over with me, to the end you may go to some place of rest where you may not be concerned in war; and taking thought of your poor children, you may in some sort provide for them; then prepare yourself to come to your friends above, in that blessed place where bliss is, and no mingling of opinions.

I conjure you, my dearest heart, by all those graces which God hath given you, that you exercise your patience in this great and strange trial. If harm come to you, then I am dead indeed; and until then I shall live in you, who are truly the best part of myself. When there is no such. as I in being, then look upon yourself and my poor children; then take comfort, and God will bless you.

I acknowledge the great goodness of God, to have given me such a wife as you; so great an honour to my family; so excellent a companion to me, so pious, so much of all than can be said of good, I must confess it impossible to say enough thereof. I ask God pardon with all my soul, that I have not been enough thankful for so great a benefit, and when I have done any thing at any time that might justly offend you, with joined hands I also ask you

pardon.

I have no more to say to you at this time, than my prayers for the Almighty's blessing to you, my dear Mall, Ned, and Billy. Amen, sweet Jesus.

A copy of Lord Derby's last Letter to Lady Mary, Mr. Edward, and Mr. William.

My dear Mall, Ned, and Billy,

I REMEMBER well how sad you were to part with me, but now I fear your sorrow will be greatly increased to be informed that you can never see me more in this world; but I charge you all to strive against too great a sorrow: you are all of you of that temper that it would do you much harm. My desires and prayers to God are, that you

may have a happy life. Let it be as holy a life as you can, and as little sinful as you can avoid or prevent.

I can well now give you that counsel, having in myself at this time so great a sense of the vanities of my life, which fill my soul with sorrow; yet I rejoice to remember that when I have blessed God with pious devotion, it has been most delightful to my soul, and must be my eternal happiness.

Love the Archdeacon; he will give you good precepts. Obey your mother with cheerfulness, and grieve her not; for she is your example, your nursery, your counsellor, your all under God. There never was, nor ever can be a more deserving person.I am called away, and this is the last I shall write to you. The Lord my God bless and guard you from all evil: So prays your father at this time, whose sorrow is inexorable to part with Mall, Ned, and Billy. Remember,

DERBY.

Lord Derby's first Letter from the Isle of Man to his Son the Lord Strange, with his observations relating to that Island.

THE Isle of Man was sometime governed by kings, natives of its own, who were converted to Christianity by St. Patrick, the Apostle of Ireland. And Sir John Stanley, the first possessor of it of that family, was by his patent styled King of Man, as were his successors after him, to the time of Thomas the second Earl of Derby, who for great and wise reasons thought fit to forbear that title.

And no subject I know hath so great a royalty as this. And lest it should at any time be thought too great, keep this rule, and you will more securely keep it: Fear God, and honour the king.

When I go to the top of mount Baroule, by turning

myself round I can see England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales; and think it pity to see so many kingdoms at once, which is a prospect no place as I conceive in any nation that we know under heaven can afford, and have so little profit from all, or any of them.

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But having duly considered thereof, have, as I think, discovered the reason of it. The country is indeed better than I was informed of; for which I blamed myself that I inquired so little of it: for indeed he who seeks not to know his own, is unworthy of what he hath. And I am of opinion this isle will never flourish until some trade or manufacture be established in it. But though you invite strangers or natives to become merchants, yet never any thing will be done to the purpose, until you yourself lead the way, and by your example and encouragement set the people a pattern.

By this, or such like means, no doubt but you may grow rich yourself, and others under you improve the land, and set the people to work, so that in time you shall have no beggars, nor no loiterers; and where you have one soul now, you shall have many; every house will become a little town, and every town a little city; the sea will abound with ships, and the country with people; to the great enrichment of the whole.

Lord Derby's Letter to Commissary General Ireton, in answer to offers made by him from the Parliament of his whole Estate, if he would surrender the Isle of Man to them.

SIR,

Castletown, July, 22, 1649.

I RECEIVED your letter with indignation and scorn, and return you this answer: That I cannot but wonder whence you should gather any hopes from me, that I

should, like you, prove treacherous to my sovereign, since you cannot but be sensible of my former actings in his late majesty's service; from which principles of loyalty I am no whit departed. I scorn your proffers, disdain your favour, and abhor your treason; and am so far from de livering up this island to your advantage, that I will keep it to the utmost of my power to your destruction. Take: this for your final answer, and forbear any further solicitations; for if you trouble me with any more messages on: this occasion, I will burn the paper, and hang the bearer. This is the immutable resolution, and shall be the undoubted practice of him, who accounts it his chiefest glory to be

His Majesty's most Loyal and
Obedient Servant,

DERBY.

Choose for your bishop a reverend and holy man, who may carefully see the whole clergy do their duty; but not any person already beneficed in England: and oblige him you choose to residence. By the law and custom here, the› bishop might lease any part of the bishopric for twentyone years, or for lives, or further time, as it is at this time; by which you will see few bishops have enjoyed the full benefice of their see, having contented themselves with being called lords, without due regard to the revenue, or. any obligation to residence. But in a few years the leases will be all expired, and then the bishopric will be worth having; and considering the cheapness of the place, I know few bishops in England that can live better than he, the whole being entire; and your prerogative herein very great, to which have a particular regard. And I herein consider this, that if the greatest part of the bishopric be leased, you will find few worthy men will accept the place; and if men be beneficed already, they will not care to live in the isle, which all the clergy ought to do.