"THIS engaged them to inquire for her writings, and to read without prejudice such as they could find. They were touched with them in such a manner, as to endeavour to discover, and to publish for the glory of God and the good of souls, as many of them as they could meet with. Some German and English Lords and others, not content with bare reading, having heard that this Lady, since the death of her greatest adversary, had been discharged from her hard imprisonment, were resolved to make her a visit. To them she confided the history of her life, written and reviewed by herself, acquainting them that it was her intention that it should, after her decease, be published. She even gave her manuscript to a Nobleman amongst them, who was returning to England, and who has it at this time in his possession. She died at Blois, the 9th of June 1717, in the 70th year of her age.

« * It was judged requisite no longer to delay this publication, being a copy taken, and carefully reviewed with her own original manuscript, in order to draw out that light which had not only been put under a bushel, but hid under heaps of shocking slanders, scandalous fables, ridiculous stories, and all sorts of malicious artifices, to strike into every one the utmost aversion thereto. Even the very † religious, who ought to have better governed their tongues, far from uttering calumnies, seem to have joined in them with pleasure, as we

B 2

see in the

* Her own history of her life was printed three years after her

death, viz. in 1720, at Cologne, in Germany.

By the "religious," is meant Friars, Nuns, &c.

Book III. chap. 4, of the life of the Bishop of Geneva,

anonymous author of the life of a late bishop, who has filled almost a whole chapter of his work with several such false and scandalous fables.

"HERE it will be seen that the words and writings of this chosen soul, far from being of the number of ideal productions, the studies of human wit, which generally give nothing but barren speculations and lifeless images, are lively and experimental realities, and divine truths, coming from a soul who, dead to itself, and to every thing else, had passed into God; and had been furnished by him with extraordinary gifts, for the communication of them to other souls for whose salvation he was pleased to employ her, after having prepared her for it, and consecrated her to himself, by the purifying trials and the daily crosses which attended her life.

"IF to any the state of long-continued probation she underwent seem strange, it is for want of duely observing what St. Paul says of Jesus Christ himself. For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvatioa perfect through sufferings; Heb. xi. 10. The fame Apostle farther assures us, that souls which God had chosen, "He alf did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son." Ron. viii. 9. This privation, by. which she was purified and prepared for service, ought therefore not to astonish such readers as have never heard

of any thing like it. It was the same in substance which was experienced by the great patriarchs, Job and David, and by many other enlightened fouls, the memory of whose sanctity is had in honour at this day. It is a state consummated by the sacrifice of eternak salvation, or a consent to continue for ever, if

GOD pleases so to direct it, and for his glory, in this same state of rigorous privation, which so many saints have undergone; and wherein they would rather choose, as will be seen here, death itself than the least sin: A state which is at last followed with that of the purest union with GOD, and according as it pleases him, with gifts and graces of very high degrees. Here will be seen examples of several kinds, and of some as sublime as any that are to be met with any where. As there are in it many things which pass the natural comprehension of the human mind, it will be well, in reading them, to remember that saying of St. Paul, «The things of God knoweth no man, but the spirit of GOD." And again, "He that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.' 1. Cor. ii. II, 15.

"THIS advice of the Apostle ought to make us very cautious of condemning the ingenuity, with which this purified soul has described, without disguise, a part of the persecutions which have been stirred up against her by all descriptions of persons. It will be seen in the course of this history, and especially toward the end of it, that GoD permitted her to pass over in silence the most considerable part, which regards her last persecutions and her imprisonment.

"As to what appertains to her first probations in her family, of which she lays open the particulars, not very favourable to the persons she speaks of, she has made use of so many precautions, to prevent any one's passing a judgment to their disadvantage, that assuredly none of those any way interested can have any reason of discontent, from such instances of mortification and patience here given, as may serve to the edification souls and to the glory of God. Here

is not any such action exposed as to fix a blemist on them, such as God has permitted the sacred writ ers to fix on the families of JACOB, DAVID, and seve eral other saints who are honoured not the less on account of it. 'Tis only certain domestic vexations which he permitted; and she has sufficiently made the apology for the domestic persons by whom she has been exercised. She has declared, over and over, that they had at heart the fear of GOD, a sincere piety, and a good flare of virtue and of charity; that their manner of acting towards her was a dispensation of GOD, to purify her, to which end he shut their eyes, that they might fall into the mistakes necessary to produce the effect he designed by it; and that, after that use had been made of it, all returned from their prejudices, humbled themselves before her, acknowledged the solidity of hervirtue, and even became her panegyrists.

"A READER of any discernment ought not, in these occurrences, to dwell on the thoughts of the person who commits the faults, and look on himself as above such weaknesses. He ought rather to fear if God placed him in such probations, and left him to himself, that he would do an hundred times worse, and perhaps never recover from it. It is only for the person who receives such treatments, to look at them with meekness, silence, patience, suppression of the movements of nature, benignity, beneficence to every neighbour, thanksgiving to GOD, in order to be edified and built up thereby; and to pray to Goo for grace to enable him to imitate CHRIST in the like trials.

"For this excellent purpose has GoĎ permitted these things to be set before our eyes: For if all act

ed this way, in all the occurrences of private life, and with all those they converse with, the same things which generally prove subjects and sources of dissensions and debates, of hostility and hatred, of wars, and every sort of evils temporal, and often eternal, would be changed into means of improvement in goodness, into spiritual succcurs, into schools to make us become saints, and like angels in purity, innocence, goodness and charity. They would render us true disciples and imitators of JESUS CHRIST. And indeed, without this no man is his, but in imagination; nor a christian but in name.

"FORMERLY, to purify the christians, God made use of the hatred and persecutions of the idolatrous pagans, who by their torments and their fires purified them like gold in the furnace. Now, since there are no more pagans for that purpose, it pleases GOD, [in divers instances,] in order to purify souls, to make use of the daily conduct, the humours and vexations of those we live with, relations, friends, acquaintance and neighbours. If we received their manner of behaving to us as christians, and according to the intention of God, it would render us true saints, and would procure us a peace unalterable and eternal, as appears in the sanctified soul, which gives. us to see here that she derived those good effects by this way, which is without doubt a part of the daily cross, which, JESUS CHRIST says, we must bear, if we will come after him, and accompany him both in this world and the other."