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+*The Project Gutenberg Etext of Dickory Cronke, by Daniel Defoe*
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+Dickory Cronke
+
+by Daniel Defoe
+
+January, 2000 [Etext #2051]
+
+
+*The Project Gutenberg Etext of Dickory Cronke, by Daniel Defoe*
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+This etext was prepared by David Price, email ccx074@coventry.ac.uk
+from the 1889 George Bell and Sons edition.
+
+
+
+
+
+DICKORY CRONKE
+
+
+
+
+THE
+DUMB PHILOSOPHER,
+OR,
+GREAT BRITAIN'S WONDER;
+
+
+CONTAINING:
+
+I.  A faithful and very surprising Account how Dickory Cronke, a
+Tinner's son, in the County of Cornwall, was born Dumb, and
+continued so for Fifty-eight years; and how, some days before he
+died, he came to his Speech; with Memoirs of his Life, and the
+Manner of his Death.
+
+II.  A Declaration of his Faith and Principles in Religion; with a
+Collection of Select Meditations, composed in his Retirement.
+
+III.  His Prophetical Observations upon the Affairs of Europe, more
+particularly of Great Britain, from 1720 to 1729.  The whole
+extracted from his Original Papers, and confirmed by unquestionable
+Authority.
+
+TO WHICH IS ANNEXED HIS ELEGY,
+WRITTEN BY A YOUNG CORNISH GENTLEMAN, OF
+EXETER COLLEGE IN OXFORD.
+
+WITH
+
+AN EPITAPH BY ANOTHER HAND.
+
+"Non quis, sed quid."
+
+LONDON:
+Printed for and Sold by THOMAS BICKERTON, at
+the Crown, in Paternoster Row.  1719.
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+
+
+The formality of a preface to this little book might have been very
+well omitted, if it were not to gratify the curiosity of some
+inquisitive people, who, I foresee, will be apt to make objections
+against the reality of the narrative.
+
+Indeed the public has too often been imposed upon by fictitious
+stories, and some of a very late date, so that I think myself
+obliged by the usual respect which is paid to candid and impartial
+readers, to acquaint them, by way of introduction, with what they
+are to expect, and what they may depend upon, and yet with this
+caution too, that it is an indication of ill nature or ill manners,
+if not both, to pry into a secret that is industriously concealed.
+
+However, that there may be nothing wanting on my part, I do hereby
+assure the reader, that the papers from whence the following sheets
+were extracted, are now in town, in the custody of a person of
+unquestionable reputation, who, I will be bold to say, will not
+only be ready, but proud, to produce them upon a good occasion, and
+that I think is as much satisfaction as the nature of this case
+requires.
+
+As to the performance, it can signify little now to make an apology
+upon that account, any farther than this, that if the reader
+pleases he may take notice that what he has now before him was
+collected from a large bundle of papers, most of which were writ in
+shorthand, and very ill-digested.  However, this may be relied
+upon, that though the language is something altered, and now and
+then a word thrown in to help the expression, yet strict care has
+been taken to speak the author's mind, and keep as close as
+possible to the meaning of the original.  For the design, I think
+there is nothing need be said in vindication of that.  Here is a
+dumb philosopher introduced to a wicked and degenerate generation,
+as a proper emblem of virtue and morality; and if the world could
+be persuaded to look upon him with candour and impartiality, and
+then to copy after him, the editor has gained his end, and would
+think himself sufficiently recompensed for his present trouble.
+
+
+
+
+PART I
+
+
+
+Among the many strange and surprising events that help to fill the
+accounts of this last century, I know none that merit more an
+entire credit, or are more fit to be preserved and handed to
+posterity than those I am now going to lay before the public.
+
+Dickory Cronke, the subject of the following narrative, was born at
+a little hamlet, near St. Columb, in Cornwall, on the 29th of May,
+1660, being the day and year in which King Charles the Second was
+restored.  His parents were of mean extraction, but honest,
+industrious people, and well beloved in their neighbourhood.  His
+father's chief business was to work at the tin mines; his mother
+stayed at home to look after the children, of which they had
+several living at the same time.  Our Dickory was the youngest, and
+being but a sickly child, had always a double portion of her care
+and tenderness.
+
+It was upwards of three years before it was discovered that he was
+born dumb, the knowledge of which at first gave his mother great
+uneasiness, but finding soon after that he had his hearing, and all
+his other senses to the greatest perfection, her grief began to
+abate, and she resolved to have him brought up as well as their
+circumstances and his capacity would permit.
+
+As he grew, notwithstanding his want of speech, he every day gave
+some instance of a ready genius, and a genius much superior to the
+country children, insomuch that several gentlemen in the
+neighbourhood took particular notice of him, and would often call
+him Restoration Dick, and give him money, &c.
+
+When he came to be eight years of age, his mother agreed with a
+person in the next village, to teach him to read and write, both
+which, in a very short time, he acquired to such perfection,
+especially the latter, that he not only taught his own brothers and
+sisters, but likewise several young men and women in the
+neighbourhood, which often brought him in small sums, which he
+always laid out in such necessaries as he stood most in need of.
+
+In this state he continued till he was about twenty, and then he
+began to reflect how scandalous it was for a young man of his age
+and circumstances to live idle at home, and so resolves to go with
+his father to the mines, to try if he could get something towards
+the support of himself and the family; but being of a tender
+constitution, and often sick, he soon perceived that sort of
+business was too hard for him, so was forced to return home and
+continue in his former station; upon which he grew exceeding
+melancholy, which his mother observing, she comforted him in the
+best manner she could, telling him that if it should please God to
+take her away, she had something left in store for him, which would
+preserve him against public want.
+
+This kind assurance from a mother whom he so dearly loved gave him
+some, though not an entire satisfaction; however, he resolves to
+acquiesce under it till Providence should order something for him
+more to his content and advantage, which, in a short time happened
+according to his wish.  The manner was thus:-
+
+One Mr. Owen Parry, a Welsh gentleman of good repute, coming from
+Bristol to Padstow, a little seaport in the county of Cornwall,
+near the place where Dickory dwelt, and hearing much of this dumb
+man's perfections, would needs have him sent for; and finding, by
+his significant gestures and all outward appearances that he much
+exceeded the character that the country gave of him, took a mighty
+liking to him, insomuch that he told him, if he would go with him
+into Pembrokeshire, he would be kind to him, and take care of him
+as long as he lived.
+
+This kind and unexpected offer was so welcome to poor Dickory, that
+without any farther consideration, he got a pen and ink and writ a
+note, and in a very handsome and submissive manner returned him
+thanks for his favour, assuring him he would do his best to
+continue and improve it; and that he would be ready to wait upon
+him whenever he should be pleased to command.
+
+To shorten the account as much as possible, all things were
+concluded to their mutual satisfaction, and in about a fortnight's
+time they set forward for Wales, where Dickory, notwithstanding his
+dumbness, behaved himself with so much diligence and affability,
+that he not only gained the love of the family where he lived, but
+of everybody round him.
+
+In this station he continued till the death of his master, which
+happened about twenty years afterwards; in all which time, as has
+been confirmed by several of the family, he was never observed to
+be any ways disguised by drinking, or to be guilty of any of the
+follies and irregularities incident to servants in gentlemen's
+houses.  On the contrary, when he had any spare time, his constant
+custom was to retire with some good book into a private place
+within call, and there employ himself in reading, and then writing
+down his observations upon what he read.
+
+After the death of his master, whose loss afflicted him to the last
+degree, one Mrs. Mary Mordant, a gentlewoman of great virtue and
+piety, and a very good fortune, took him into her service, and
+carried him with her, first to Bath, and then to Bristol, where,
+after a lingering distemper, which continued for about four years,
+she died likewise.
+
+Upon the loss of his mistress, Dickory grew again exceeding
+melancholy and disconsolate; at length, reflecting that death is
+but a common debt which all mortals owe to nature, and must be paid
+sooner or later, he became a little better satisfied, and so
+determines to get together what he had saved in his service, and
+then to return to his native country, and there finish his life in
+privacy and retirement.
+
+Having been, as has been mentioned, about twenty-four years a
+servant, and having, in the interim, received two legacies, viz.,
+one of thirty pounds, left him by his master, and another of
+fifteen pounds by his mistress, and being always very frugal, he
+had got by him in the whole upwards of sixty pounds.  This, thinks
+he, with prudent management, will be enough to support me as long
+as I live, and so I'll e'en lay aside all thoughts of future
+business, and make the best of my way to Cornwall, and there find
+out some safe and solitary retreat, where I may have liberty to
+meditate and make my melancholy observations upon the several
+occurrences of human life.
+
+This resolution prevailed so far, that no time was let slip to get
+everything in readiness to go with the first ship.  As to his
+money, he always kept that locked up by him, unless he sometimes
+lent it to a friend without interest, for he had a mortal hatred to
+all sorts of usury or extortion.  His books, of which he had a
+considerable quantity, and some of them very good ones, together
+with his other equipage, he got packed up, that nothing might be
+wanting against the first opportunity.
+
+In a few days he heard of a vessel bound to Padstow, the very port
+he wished to go to, being within four or five miles of the place
+where he was born.  When he came thither, which was in less than a
+week, his first business was to inquire after the state of his
+family.  It was some time before he could get any information of
+them, until an old man that knew his father and mother, and
+remembered they had a son was born dumb, recollected him, and after
+a great deal of difficulty, made him understand that all his family
+except his youngest sister were dead, and that she was a widow, and
+lived at a little town called St. Helen's, about ten miles farther
+in the country.
+
+This doleful news, we must imagine, must be extremely shocking, and
+add a new sting to his former affliction; and here it was that he
+began to exercise the philosopher, and to demonstrate himself both
+a wise and a good man.  All these things, thinks he, are the will
+of Providence, and must not be disputed; and so he bore up under
+them with an entire resignation, resolving that, as soon as he
+could find a place where he might deposit his trunk and boxes with
+safety, he would go to St. Helen's in quest of his sister.
+
+How his sister and he met, and how transported they were to see
+each other after so long an interval, I think is not very material.
+It is enough for the present purpose that Dickory soon recollected
+his sister, and she him; and after a great many endearing tokens of
+love and tenderness, he wrote to her, telling her that he believed
+Providence had bestowed on him as much as would support him as long
+as he lived, and that if she thought proper he would come and spend
+the remainder of his days with her.
+
+The good woman no sooner read his proposal than she accepted it,
+adding, withal, that she could wish her entertainment was better;
+but if he would accept of it as it was, she would do her best to
+make everything easy, and that he should be welcome upon his own
+terms, to stay with her as long as he pleased.
+
+This affair being so happily settled to his full satisfaction, he
+returns to Padstow to fetch the things he had left behind him, and
+the next day came back to St. Helen's, where, according to his own
+proposal, he continued to the day of his death, which happened upon
+the 29th of May, 1718, about the same hour in which he was born.
+
+Having thus given a short detail of the several periods of his
+life, extracted chiefly from the papers which he left behind him, I
+come in the next place to make a few observations how he managed
+himself and spent his time toward the latter part of it.
+
+His constant practice, both winter and summer, was to rise and set
+with the sun; and if the weather would permit, he never failed to
+walk in some unfrequented place, for three hours, both morning and
+evening, and there it is supposed he composed the following
+meditations.  The chief part of his sustenance was milk, with a
+little bread boiled in it, of which in the morning, after his walk,
+he would eat the quantity of a pint, and sometimes more.  Dinners
+he never eat any; and at night he would only have a pretty large
+piece of bread, and drink a draught of good spring water; and after
+this method he lived during the whole time he was at St. Helen's.
+It is observed of him that he never slept out of a bed, nor never
+lay awake in one; which I take to be an argument, not only of a
+strong and healthful constitution, but of a mind composed and calm,
+and entirely free from the ordinary disturbances of human life.  He
+never gave the least signs of complaint or dissatisfaction at
+anything, unless it was when he heard the tinners swear, or saw
+them drunk; and then, too, he would get out of the way as soon as
+he had let them see, by some significant signs, how scandalous and
+ridiculous they made themselves; and against the next time he met
+them, would be sure to have a paper ready written, wherein he would
+represent the folly of drunkenness, and the dangerous consequences
+that generally attended it.
+
+Idleness was his utter aversion, and if at any time he had finished
+the business of the day, and was grown weary of reading and
+writing, in which he daily spent six hours at least, he would
+certainly find something either within doors or without, to employ
+himself.
+
+Much might be said both with regard to the wise and regular
+management, and the prudent methods he took to spend his time well
+towards the declension of his life; but, as his history may perhaps
+be shortly published at large by a better hand, I shall only
+observe in the general, that he was a person of great wisdom and
+sagacity.  He understood nature beyond the ordinary capacity, and,
+if he had had a competency of learning suitable to his genius,
+neither this nor the former ages would have produced a better
+philosopher or a greater man.
+
+I come next to speak of the manner of his death and the
+consequences thereof, which are, indeed, very surprising, and,
+perhaps, not altogether unworthy a general observation.  I shall
+relate them as briefly as I can, and leave every one to believe or
+disbelieve as he thinks proper.
+
+Upon the 26th of May, 1718, according to his usual method, about
+four in the afternoon, he went out to take his evening walk; but
+before he could reach the place he intended, he was siezed with an
+apoplectic fit, which only gave him liberty to sit down under a
+tree, where, in an instant, he was deprived of all manner of sense
+and motion, and so he continued, as appears by his own confession
+afterwards, for more than fourteen hours.
+
+His sister, who knew how exact he was in all his methods, finding
+him stay a considerable time beyond the usual hour, concludes that
+some misfortune must needs have happened to him, or he would
+certainly have been at home before.  In short, she went immediately
+to all the places he was wont to frequent, but nothing could be
+heard or seen of him till the next morning, when a young man, as he
+was going to work, discovered him, and went home and told his
+sister that her brother lay in such a place, under a tree, and, as
+he believed had been robbed and murdered.
+
+The poor woman, who had all night been under the most dreadful
+apprehensions, was now frightened and confounded to the last
+degree.  However, recollecting herself, and finding there was no
+remedy, she got two or three of her neighbours to bear her company,
+and so hastened with the young man to the tree, where she found her
+brother lying in the same posture that he had described.
+
+The dismal object at first view startled and surprised everybody
+present, and filled them full of different notions and conjectures.
+But some of the company going nearer to him, and finding that he
+had lost nothing, and that there were no marks of any violence to
+be discovered about him, they conclude that it must be an
+apoplectic or some other sudden fit that had surprised him in his
+walk, upon which his sister and the rest began to feel his hands
+and face, and observing that he was still warm, and that there were
+some symptoms of life yet remaining, they conclude that the best
+way was to carry him home to bed, which was accordingly done with
+the utmost expedition.
+
+When they had got him into the bed, nothing was omitted that they
+could think of to bring him to himself, but still he continued
+utterly insensible for about six hours.  At the sixth hour's end he
+began to move a little, and in a very short time was so far
+recovered, to the great astonishment of everybody about him, that
+he was able to look up, and to make a sign to his sister to bring
+him a cup of water.
+
+After he had drunk the water he soon perceived that all his
+faculties were returned to their former stations, and though his
+strength was very much abated by the length and rigour of the fit,
+yet his intellects were as strong and vigorous as ever.
+
+His sister observing him to look earnestly upon the company, as if
+he had something extraordinary to communicate to them, fetched him
+a pen and ink and a sheet of paper, which, after a short pause, he
+took, and wrote as follows:-
+
+
+"Dear sister,
+
+"I have now no need of pen, ink, and paper, to tell you my meaning.
+I find the strings that bound up my tongue, and hindered me from
+speaking, are unloosed, and I have words to express myself as
+freely and distinctly as any other person.  From whence this
+strange and unexpected event should proceed, I must not pretend to
+say, any farther than this, that it is doubtless the hand of
+Providence that has done it, and in that I ought to acquiesce.
+Pray let me be alone for two or three hours, that I may be at
+liberty to compose myself, and put my thoughts in the best order I
+can before I leave them behind me."
+
+
+The poor woman, though extremely startled at what her brother had
+written, yet took care to conceal it from the neighbours, who, she
+knew, as well as she, must be mightily surprised at a thing so
+utterly unexpected.  Says she, my brother desires to be alone; I
+believe he may have something in his mind that disturbs him.  Upon
+which the neighbours took their leave and returned home, and his
+sister shut the door, and left him alone to his private
+contemplations.
+
+After the company were withdrawn he fell into a sound sleep, which
+lasted from two till six, and his sister, being apprehensive of the
+return of his fit, came to the bedside, and, asking softly if he
+wanted anything, he turned about to her and spoke to this effect:
+Dear sister, you see me not only recovered out of a terrible fit,
+but likewise that I have the liberty of speech, a blessing that I
+have been deprived of almost sixty years, and I am satisfied you
+are sincerely joyful to find me in the state I now am in; but,
+alas! it is but a mistaken kindness.  These are things but of short
+duration, and if they were to continue for a hundred years longer,
+I can't see how I should be anyways the better.
+
+I know the world too well to be fond of it, and am fully satisfied
+that the difference between a long and a short life is
+insignificant, especially when I consider the accidents and company
+I am to encounter.  Do but look seriously and impartially upon the
+astonishing notion of time and eternity, what an immense deal has
+run out already, and how infinite it is still in the future; do but
+seriously and deliberately consider this, and you will find, upon
+the whole, that three days and three ages of life come much to the
+same measure and reckoning.
+
+As soon as he had ended his discourse upon the vanity and
+uncertainty of human life, he looked steadfastly upon her.  Sister,
+says he, I conjure you not to be disturbed at what I am going to
+tell you, which you will undoubtedly find to be true in every
+particular.  I perceive my glass is run, and I have now no more to
+do in this world but to take my leave of it; for to-morrow about
+this time my speech will be again taken from me, and, in a short
+time, my fit will return; and the next day, which I understand is
+the day on which I came into this troublesome world, I shall
+exchange it for another, where, for the future, I shall for ever be
+free from all manner of sin and sufferings.
+
+The good woman would have made him a reply, but he prevented her by
+telling her he had no time to hearken to unnecessary complaints or
+animadversions.  I have a great many things in my mind, says he,
+that require a speedy and serious consideration.  The time I have
+to stay is but short, and I have a great deal of important business
+to do in it.  Time and death are both in my view, and seem both to
+call aloud to me to make no delay.  I beg of you, therefore, not to
+disquiet yourself or me.  What must be, must be.  The decrees of
+Providence are eternal and unalterable; why, then, should we
+torment ourselves about that which we cannot remedy?
+
+I must confess, my dear sister, I owe you many obligations for your
+exemplary fondness to me, and do solemnly assure you I shall retain
+the sense of them to the last moment.  All that I have to request
+of you is, that I may be alone for this night.  I have it in my
+thoughts to leave some short observations behind me, and likewise
+to discover some things of great weight which have been revealed to
+me, which may perhaps be of some use hereafter to you and your
+friends.  What credit they may meet with I cannot say, but depend
+the consequence, according to their respective periods, will
+account for them, and vindicate them against the supposition of
+falsity and mere suggestion.
+
+Upon this, his sister left him till about four in the morning, when
+coming to his bedside to know if he wanted anything, and how he had
+rested, he made her this answer; I have been taking a cursory view
+of my life, and though I find myself exceedingly deficient in
+several particulars, yet I bless God I cannot find I have any just
+grounds to suspect my pardon.  In short, says he, I have spent this
+night with more inward pleasure and true satisfaction than ever I
+spent a night through the whole course of my life.
+
+After he had concluded what he had to say upon the satisfaction
+that attended an innocent and well-spent life, and observed what a
+mighty consolation it was to persons, not only under the
+apprehension, but even in the very agonies of death itself, he
+desired her to bring him his usual cup of water, and then to help
+him on with his clothes, that he might sit up, and so be in a
+better posture to take his leave of her and her friends.
+
+When she had taken him up, and placed him at a table where he
+usually sat, he desired her to bring him his box of papers, and
+after he had collected those he intended should be preserved, he
+ordered her to bring a candle, that he might see the rest burnt.
+The good woman seemed at first to oppose the burning of his papers,
+till he told her they were only useless trifles, some unfinished
+observations which he had made in his youthful days, and were not
+fit to be seen by her, or anybody that should come after him.
+
+After he had seen his papers burnt, and placed the rest in their
+proper order, and had likewise settled all his other affairs, which
+was only fit to be done between himself and his sister, he desired
+her to call two or three of the most reputable neighbours, not only
+to be witnesses of his will, but likewise to hear what he had
+farther to communicate before the return of his fit, which he
+expected very speedily.
+
+His sister, who had beforehand acquainted two or three of her
+confidants with all that had happened, was very much rejoiced to
+hear her brother make so unexpected a concession; and accordingly,
+without any delay or hesitation, went directly into the
+neighbourhood, and brought home her two select friends, upon whose
+secrecy and sincerity she knew she might depend upon all accounts.
+
+In her absence he felt several symptoms of the approach of his fit,
+which made him a little uneasy, lest it should entirely seize him
+before he had perfected his will, but that apprehension was quickly
+removed by her speedy return.  After she had introduced her friends
+into his chamber, he proceeded to express himself in the following
+manner; Dear sister, you now see your brother upon the brink of
+eternity; and as the words of dying persons are commonly the most
+regarded, and make deepest impressions, I cannot suspect but you
+will suffer the few I am about to say to have always some place in
+your thoughts, that they may be ready for you to make use of upon
+any occasion.
+
+Do not be fond of anything on this side of eternity, or suffer your
+interest to incline you to break your word, quit your modesty, or
+to do anything that will not bear the light, and look the world in
+the face.  For be assured of this; the person that values the
+virtue of his mind and the dignity of his reason, is always easy
+and well fortified both against death and misfortune, and is
+perfectly indifferent about the length or shortness of his life.
+Such a one is solicitous about nothing but his own conduct, and for
+fear he should be deficient in the duties of religion, and the
+respective functions of reason and prudence.
+
+Always go the nearest way to work.  Now, the nearest way through
+all the business of human life, are the paths of religion and
+honesty, and keeping those as directly as you can, you avoid all
+the dangerous precipices that often lie in the road, and sometimes
+block up the passage entirely.
+
+Remember that life was but lent at first, and that the remainder is
+more than you have reason to expect, and consequently ought to be
+managed with more than ordinary diligence.  A wise man spends every
+day as if it were his last; his hourglass is always in his hand,
+and he is never guilty of sluggishness or insincerity.
+
+He was about to proceed, when a sudden symptom of the return of his
+fit put him in mind that it was time to get his will witnessed,
+which was no sooner done but he took it up and gave it to his
+sister, telling her that though all he had was hers of right, yet
+he thought it proper, to prevent even a possibility of a dispute,
+to write down his mind in the nature of a will, wherein I have
+given you, says he, the little that I have left, except my books
+and papers, which, as soon as I am dead, I desire may be delivered
+to Mr. Anthony Barlow, a near relation of my worthy master, Mr.
+Owen Parry.
+
+This Mr. Anthony Barlow was an old contemplative Welsh gentleman,
+who, being under some difficulties in his own country, was forced
+to come into Cornwall and take sanctuary among the tinners.
+Dickory, though he kept himself as retired as possible, happened to
+meet him one day upon his walks, and presently remembered that he
+was the very person that used frequently to come to visit his
+master while he lived in Pembrokeshire, and so went to him, and by
+signs made him understand who he was.
+
+The old gentleman, though at first surprised at this unexpected
+interview, soon recollected that he had formerly seen at Mr.
+Parry's a dumb man, whom they used to call the dumb philosopher, so
+concludes immediately that consequently this must be he.  In short,
+they soon made themselves known to each other; and from that time
+contracted a strict friendship and a correspondence by letters,
+which for the future they mutually managed with the greatest
+exactness and familiarity.
+
+But to leave this as a matter not much material, and to return to
+our narrative.  By this time Dickory's speech began to falter,
+which his sister observing, put him in mind that he would do well
+to make some declaration of his faith and principles of religion,
+because some reflections had been made upon him upon the account of
+his neglect, or rather his refusal, to appear at any place of
+public worship.
+
+"Dear sister," says he, "you observe very well, and I wish the
+continuance of my speech for a few moments, that I might make an
+ample declaration upon that account.  But I find that cannot be; my
+speech is leaving me so fast that I can only tell you that I have
+always lived, and now die, an unworthy member of the ancient
+catholic and apostolic church; and as to my faith and principles, I
+refer you to my papers, which, I hope, will in some measure
+vindicate me against the reflections you mention."
+
+He had hardly finished his discourse to his sister and her two
+friends, and given some short directions relating to his burial,
+but his speech left him; and what makes the thing the more
+remarkable, it went away, in all appearance, without giving him any
+sort of pain or uneasiness.
+
+When he perceived that his speech was entirely vanished, and that
+he was again in his original state of dumbness, he took his pen as
+formerly and wrote to his sister, signifying that whereas the
+sudden loss of his speech had deprived him of the opportunity to
+speak to her and her friends what he intended, he would leave it
+for them in writing, and so desired he might not be disturbed till
+the return of his fit, which he expected in six hours at farthest.
+According to his desire they all left him, and then, with the
+greatest resignation imaginable, he wrote down the meditations
+following:
+
+
+
+PART II
+
+
+
+An Abstract of his Faith, and the Principles of his Religion &c.,
+which begins thus:
+
+Dear Sister; I thank you for putting me in mind to make a
+declaration of my faith, and the principles of my religion.  I
+find, as you very well observe, I have been under some reflections
+upon that account, and therefore I think it highly requisite that I
+set that matter right in the first place.  To begin, therefore,
+with my faith, in which I intend to be as short and as
+comprehensive as I can:
+
+1.  I most firmly believe that it was the eternal will of God, and
+the result of his infinite wisdom, to create a world, and for the
+glory of his majesty to make several sorts of creatures in order
+and degree one after another; that is to say, angels, or pure
+immortal spirits; men, consisting of immortal spirits and matter,
+having rational and sensitive souls; brutes, having mortal and
+sensitive souls; and mere vegetatives, such as trees, plants, &c.;
+and these creatures so made do, as it were, clasp the higher and
+lower world together.
+
+2.  I believe the holy Scriptures, and everything therein
+contained, to be the pure and essential word of God; and that,
+according to these sacred writings, man, the lord and prince of the
+creation, by his disobedience in Paradise, forfeited his innocence
+and the dignity of his nature, and subjected himself and all his
+posterity to sin and misery.
+
+3.  I believe and am fully and entirely satisfied, that God the
+Father, out of his infinite goodness and compassion to mankind, was
+pleased to send his only Son, the second person in the holy and
+undivided Trinity, to meditate for him, and to procure his
+redemption and eternal salvation.
+
+4.  I believe that God the Son, out of his infinite love, and for
+the glory of the Deity, was pleased voluntarily and freely to
+descend from heaven, and to take our nature upon him, and to lead
+an exemplary life of purity, holiness, and perfect obedience, and
+at last to suffer an ignominious death upon the cross, for the sins
+of the whole world, and to rise again the third day for our
+justification.
+
+5.  I believe that the Holy Ghost out of his infinite goodness was
+pleased to undertake the office of sanctifying us with his divine
+grace, and thereby assisting us with faith to believe, will to
+desire, and power to do all those things that are required of us in
+this world, in order to entitle us to the blessings of just men
+made perfect in the world to come.
+
+6.  I believe that these three persons are of equal power, majesty,
+and duration, and that the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and
+of the Holy Ghost is all one, and that they are equally uncreate,
+incomprehensible, eternal, and almighty; and that none is greater
+or less than the other, but that every one hath one and the same
+divine nature and perfections.
+
+These, sister, are the doctrines which have been received and
+practised by the best men of every age, from the beginning of the
+Christian religion to this day, and it is upon this I ground my
+faith and hopes of salvation, not doubting but, if my life and
+practice have been answerable to them, that I shall be quickly
+translated out of this kingdom of darkness, out of this world of
+sorrow, vexation and confusion, into that blessed kingdom, where I
+shall cease to grieve and to suffer, and shall be happy to all
+eternity.
+
+As to my principles in religion, to be as brief as I can, I declare
+myself to be a member of Christ's church, which I take to be a
+universal society of all Christian people, distributed under lawful
+governors and pastors into particular churches, holding communion
+with each other in all the essentials of the Christian faith,
+worship, and discipline; and among these I look upon the Church of
+England to be the chief and best constituted.
+
+The Church of England is doubtless the great bulwark of the ancient
+Catholic or Apostolic faith all over the world; a church that has
+all the spiritual advantages that the nature of a church is capable
+of.  From the doctrine and principles of the Church of England, we
+are taught loyalty to our prince, fidelity to our country, and
+justice to all mankind; and therefore, as I look upon this to be
+one of the most excellent branches of the Church Universal, and
+stands, as it were, between superstition and hypocrisy, I therefore
+declare, for the satisfaction of you and your friends, as I have
+always lived so I now die, a true and sincere, though a most
+unworthy member of it.  And as to my discontinuance of my
+attendance at the public worship, I refer you to my papers, which I
+have left with my worthy friend, Mr. Barlow.  And thus, my dear
+sister, I have given you a short account of my faith, and the
+principles of my religion.  I come, in the next place, to lay
+before you a few meditations and observations I have at several
+times collected together, more particularly those since my
+retirement to St. Helen's.
+
+
+Meditations and Observations relating to the Conduct of Human Life
+in general.
+
+
+1.  Remember how often you have neglected the great duties of
+religion and virtue, and slighted the opportunities that Providence
+has put into your hands; and, withal, that you have a set period
+assigned you for the management of the affairs of human life; and
+then reflect seriously that, unless you resolve immediately to
+improve the little remains, the whole must necessarily slip away
+insensibly, and then you are lost beyond recovery.
+
+2.  Let an unaffected gravity, freedom, justice, and sincerity
+shine through all your actions, and let no fancies and chimeras
+give the least check to those excellent qualities.  This is an easy
+task, if you will but suppose everything you do to be your last,
+and if you can keep your passions and appetites from crossing your
+reason.  Stand clear of rashness, and have nothing of insincerity
+or self-love to infect you.
+
+3.  Manage all your thoughts and actions with such prudence and
+circumspection as if you were sensible you were just going to step
+into the grave.  A little thinking will show a man the vanity and
+uncertainty of all sublunary things, and enable him to examine
+maturely the manner of dying; which, if duly abstracted from the
+terror of the idea, will appear nothing more than an unavoidable
+appendix of life itself, and a pure natural action.
+
+4.  Consider that ill-usage from some sort of people is in a manner
+necessary, and therefore do not be disquieted about it, but rather
+conclude that you and your enemy are both marching off the stage
+together, and that in a little time your very memories will be
+extinguished.
+
+5.  Among your principal observations upon human life, let it be
+always one to take notice what a great deal both of time and ease
+that man gains who is not troubled with the spirit of curiosity,
+who lets his neighbours' affairs alone, and confines his
+inspections to himself, and only takes care of honesty and a good
+conscience.
+
+6.  If you would live at your ease, and as much as possible be free
+from the incumbrances of life, manage but a few things at once, and
+let those, too, be such as are absolutely necessary.  By this rule
+you will draw the bulk of your business into a narrow compass, and
+have the double pleasure of making your actions good, and few into
+the bargain.
+
+7.  He that torments himself because things do not happen just as
+he would have them, is but a sort of ulcer in the world; and he
+that is selfish, narrow-souled, and sets up for a separate
+interest, is a kind of voluntary outlaw, and disincorporates
+himself from mankind.
+
+8.  Never think anything below you which reason and your own
+circumstances require, and never suffer yourself to be deterred by
+the ill-grounded notions of censure and reproach; but when honesty
+and conscience prompt you to say or do anything, do it boldly;
+never balk your resolution or start at the consequence.
+
+9.  If a man does me an injury, what is that to me?  It is his own
+action, and let him account for it.  As for me, I am in my proper
+station, and only doing the business that Providence has allotted;
+and withal, I ought to consider that the best way to revenge, is
+not to imitate the injury.
+
+10.  When you happen to be ruffled and put out of humour by any
+cross accident, retire immediately into your reason, and do not
+suffer your passion to overrule you a moment; for the sooner you
+recover yourself now, the better you will be able to guard yourself
+for the future.
+
+11.  Do not be like those ill-natured people that, though they do
+not love to give a good word to their contemporaries, yet are
+mighty fond of their own commendations.  This argues a perverse and
+unjust temper, and often exposes the authors to scorn and contempt.
+
+12.  If any one convinces you of an error, change your opinion and
+thank him for it:  truth and information are your business, and can
+never hurt anybody.  On the contrary, he that is proud and
+stubborn, and wilfully continues in a mistake, it is he that
+receives the mischief.
+
+13.  Because you see a thing difficult, do not instantly conclude
+it to be impossible to master it.  Diligence and industry are
+seldom defeated.  Look, therefore, narrowly into the thing itself,
+and what you observe proper and practicable in another, conclude
+likewise within your own power.
+
+14.  The principal business of human life is run through within the
+short compass of twenty-four hours; and when you have taken a
+deliberate view of the present age, you have seen as much as if you
+had begun with the world, the rest being nothing else but an
+endless round of the same thing over and over again.
+
+15.  Bring your will to your fate, and suit your mind to your
+circumstances.  Love your friends and forgive your enemies, and do
+justice to all mankind, and you will be secure to make your passage
+easy, and enjoy most of the comforts human life is capable to
+afford you.
+
+16.  When you have a mind to entertain yourself in your
+retirements, let it be with the good qualifications of your friends
+and acquaintance.  Think with pleasure and satisfaction upon the
+honour and bravery of one, the modesty of another, the generosity
+of a third, and so on; there being nothing more pleasant and
+diverting than the lively images and the advantages of those we
+love and converse with.
+
+17.  As nothing can deprive you of the privileges of your nature,
+or compel you to act counter to your reason, so nothing can happen
+to you but what comes from Providence, and consists with the
+interest of the universe.
+
+18.  Let people's tongues and actions be what they will, your
+business is to have honour and honesty in your view.  Let them
+rail, revile, censure, and condemn, or make you the subject of
+their scorn and ridicule, what does it all signify?  You have one
+certain remedy against all their malice and folly, and that is, to
+live so that nobody shall believe them.
+
+19.  Alas, poor mortals! did we rightly consider our own state and
+condition, we should find it would not be long before we have
+forgot all the world, and to be even, that all the world will have
+forgot us likewise.
+
+20.  He that would recommend himself to the public, let him do it
+by the candour and modesty of his behaviour, and by a generous
+indifference to external advantages.  Let him love mankind, and
+resign to Providence, and then his works will follow him, and his
+good actions will praise him in the gate.
+
+21.  When you hear a discourse, let your understanding, as far as
+possible, keep pace with it, and lead you forward to those things
+which fall most within the compass of your own observations.
+
+22.  When vice and treachery shall be rewarded, and virtue and
+ability slighted and discountenanced; when ministers of state shall
+rather fear man than God, and to screen themselves run into parties
+and factions; when noise and clamour, and scandalous reports shall
+carry everything before them, it is natural to conclude that a
+nation in such a state of infatuation stands upon the brink of
+destruction, and without the intervention of some unforeseen
+accident, must be inevitably ruined.
+
+23.  When a prince is guarded by wise and honest men, and when all
+public officers are sure to be rewarded if they do well, and
+punished if they do evil, the consequence is plain; justice and
+honesty will flourish, and men will be always contriving, not for
+themselves, but for the honour and interest of their king and
+country.
+
+24.  Wicked men may sometimes go unpunished in this world, but
+wicked nations never do; because this world is the only place of
+punishment of wicked nations, though not for private and particular
+persons.
+
+25.  An administration that is merely founded upon human policy
+must be always subject to human chance; but that which is founded
+on the divine wisdom can no more miscarry than the government of
+heaven.  To govern by parties and factions is the advice of an
+atheist, and sets up a government by the spirit of Satan.  In such
+a government the prince can never be secure under the greatest
+promises, since, as men's interest changes, so will their duty and
+affections likewise.
+
+26.  It is a very ancient observation, and a very true one, that
+people generally despise where they flatter, and cringe to those
+they design to betray; so that truth and ceremony are, and always
+will be, two distinct things.
+
+27.  When you find your friend in an error, undeceive him with
+secrecy and civility, and let him see his oversight first by hints
+and glances; and if you cannot convince him, leave him with
+respect, and lay the fault upon your own management.
+
+28.  When you are under the greatest vexations, then consider that
+human life lasts but for a moment; and do not forget but that you
+are like the rest of the world, and faulty yourself in many
+instances; and withal, remember that anger and impatience often
+prove more mischievous than the provocation.
+
+29.  Gentleness and good humour are invincible, provided they are
+without hypocrisy and design; they disarm the most barbarous and
+savage tempers, and make even malice ashamed of itself.
+
+30.  In all the actions of life let it be your first and principal
+care to guard against anger on the one hand, and flattery on the
+other, for they are both unserviceable qualities, and do a great
+deal of mischief in the government of human life.
+
+31.  When a man turns knave or libertine, and gives way to fear,
+jealousy, and fits of the spleen; when his mind complains of his
+fortune, and he quits the station in which Providence has placed
+him, he acts perfectly counter to humanity, deserts his own nature,
+and, as it were, runs away from himself.
+
+32.  Be not heavy in business, disturbed in conversation, nor
+impertinent in your thoughts.  Let your judgment be right, your
+actions friendly, and your mind contented; let them curse you,
+threaten you, or despise you; let them go on; they can never injure
+your reason or your virtue, and then all the rest that they can do
+to you signifies nothing.
+
+33.  The only pleasure of human life is doing the business of the
+creation; and which way is that to be compassed very easily?  Most
+certainly by the practice of general kindness, by rejecting the
+importunity of our senses, by distinguishing truth from falsehood,
+and by contemplating the works of the Almighty.
+
+34.  Be sure to mind that which lies before you, whether it be
+thought, word, or action; and never postpone an opportunity, or
+make virtue wait for you till to-morrow.
+
+35.  Whatever tends neither to the improvement of your reason nor
+the benefit of society, think it below you; and when you have done
+any considerable service to mankind, do not lessen it by your folly
+in gaping after reputation and requital.
+
+36.  When you find yourself sleepy in a morning, rouse yourself,
+and consider that you are born to business, and that in doing good
+in your generation, you answer your character and act like a man;
+whereas sleep and idleness do but degrade you, and sink you down to
+a brute.
+
+37.  A mind that has nothing of hope, or fear, or aversion, or
+desire, to weaken and disturb it, is the most impregnable security.
+Hither we may with safety retire and defy our enemies; and he that
+sees not this advantage must be extremely ignorant, and he that
+forgets it unhappy.
+
+38.  Do not disturb yourself about the faults of other people, but
+let everybody's crimes be at their own door.  Have always this
+great maxim in your remembrance, that to play the knave is to rebel
+against religion; all sorts of injustice being no less than high
+treason against Heaven itself.
+
+39.  Do not contemn death, but meet it with a decent and religious
+fortitude, and look upon it as one of those things which Providence
+has ordered.  If you want a cordial to make the apprehensions of
+dying go down a little the more easily, consider what sort of world
+and what sort of company you will part with.  To conclude, do but
+look seriously into the world, and there you will see multitudes of
+people preparing for funerals, and mourning for their friends and
+acquaintances; and look out again a little afterwards, and you will
+see others doing the very same thing for them.
+
+40.  In short, men are but poor transitory things.  To-day they are
+busy and harassed with the affairs of human life; and to-morrow
+life itself is taken from them, and they are returned to their
+original dust and ashes.
+
+
+
+PART III
+
+
+
+Containing prophetic observations relating to the affairs of Europe
+and of Great Britain, more particularly from 1720 to 1729.
+
+1.  In the latter end of 1720, an eminent old lady shall bring
+forth five sons at a birth; the youngest shall live and grow up to
+maturity, but the four eldest shall either die in the nursery, or
+be all carried off by one sudden and unexpected accident.
+
+2.  About this time a man with a double head shall arrive in
+Britain from the south.  One of these heads shall deliver messages
+of great importance to the governing party, and the other to the
+party that is opposite to them.  The first shall believe the
+monster, but the last shall discover the impostor, and so happily
+disengage themselves from a snare that was laid to destroy them and
+their posterity.  After this the two heads shall unite, and the
+monster shall appear in his proper shape.
+
+3.  In the year 1721, a philosopher from Lower Germany shall come,
+first to Amsterdam in Holland, and afterwards to London.  He will
+bring with him a world of curiosities, and among them a pretended
+secret for the transmutation of metals.  Under the umbrage of this
+mighty secret he shall pass upon the world for some time; but at
+length he shall be detected, and proved to be nothing but an
+empiric and a cheat, and so forced to sneak off, and leave the
+people he has deluded, either to bemoan their loss, or laugh at
+their own folly.  N.B.- This will be the last of his sect that will
+ever venture in this part of the world upon the same errand.
+
+4.  In this year great endeavours will be used for procuring a
+general peace, which shall be so near a conclusion that public
+rejoicings shall be made at the courts of several great potentates
+upon that account; but just in the critical juncture, a certain
+neighbouring prince shall come to a violent death, which shall
+occasion new war and commotion all over Europe; but these shall
+continue but for a short time, and at last terminate in the utter
+destruction of the first aggressors.
+
+5.  Towards the close of this year of mysteries, a person that was
+born blind shall have his sight restored, and shall see ravens
+perch upon the heads of traitors, among which the head of a
+notorious prelate shall stand upon the highest pole.
+
+6.  In the year 1722, there shall be a grand congress, and new
+overtures of peace offered by most of the principal parties
+concerned in the war, which shall have so good effect that a
+cessation of arms shall be agreed upon for six months, which shall
+be kept inviolable till a certain general, either through treachery
+or inadvertency, shall begin hostilities before the expiration of
+the term; upon which the injured prince shall draw his sword, and
+throw the scabbard into the sea, vowing never to return it till he
+shall obtain satisfaction for himself, and done justice to all that
+were oppressed.
+
+7.  At the close of this year, a famous bridge shall be broken
+down, and the water that runs under it shall be tinctured with the
+blood of two notorious malefactors, whose unexpected death shall
+make mighty alterations in the present state of affairs, and put a
+stop to the ruin of a nation, which must otherwise have been
+unavoidable.
+
+8.  1723 begins with plots, conspiracies, and intestine commotions
+in several countries; nor shall Great Britain itself be free from
+the calamity.  These shall continue till a certain young prince
+shall take the reins of government into his own hands; and after
+that, a marriage shall be proposed, and an alliance concluded
+between two great potentates, who shall join their forces, and
+endeavour, in good earnest, to set all matters upon a right
+foundation.
+
+9.  This year several cardinals and prelates shall be publicly
+censured for heretical principles, and shall narrowly escape from
+being torn to pieces by the common people, who still look upon them
+as the grand disturbers of public tranquillity, perfect
+incendiaries, and the chief promoters of their former, present, and
+future calamities.
+
+10.  In 1724-5 there will be many treaties and negociations, and
+Great Britain, particularly, will be crowded with foreign ministers
+and ambassadors from remote princes and states.  Trade and commerce
+will begin to flourish and revive, and everything will have a
+comfortable prospect, until some desperadoes, assisted by a monster
+with many heads, shall start new difficulties, and put the world
+again into a flame; but these shall be but of short duration.
+
+11.  Before the expiration of 1725, an eagle from the north shall
+fly directly to the south, and perch upon the palace of a prince,
+and first unravel the bloody projects and designs of a wicked set
+of people, and then publicly discover the murder of a great king,
+and the intended assassination of another greater than he.
+
+12.  In 1726, three princes will be born that will grow up to be
+men, and inherit the crowns of three of the greatest monarchies in
+Europe.
+
+13.  About this time the pope will die, and after a great many
+intrigues and struggles, a Spanish cardinal shall be elected, who
+shall decline the dignity, and declare his marriage with a great
+lady, heiress of one of the chief principalities in Italy, which
+may occasion new troubles in Europe, if not timely prevented.
+
+14.  In 1727, new troubles shall break out in the north, occasioned
+by the sudden death of a certain prince, and the avarice and
+ambition of another.  Poor Poland seems to be pointed at; but the
+princes of the south shall enter into a confederacy to preserve
+her, and shall at length restore her peace, and prevent the
+perpetual ruin of her constitution.
+
+15.  Great endeavours will be used about this time for a
+comprehension in religion, supported by crafty and designing men,
+and a party of mistaken zealots, which they shall artfully draw in
+to join with them; but as the project is ill-concerted, and will be
+worse managed, it will come to nothing; and soon afterwards an
+effectual mode will be taken to prevent the like attempt for the
+future.
+
+16. 1728 will be a year of inquiry and retrospection.  Many
+exorbitant grants will be reassumed, and several persons who
+thought themselves secure will be called before the senate, and
+compelled to disgorge what they have unjustly pillaged either from
+the crown or the public.
+
+17.  About this time a new scaffold will be erected upon the
+confines of a certain great city, where an old count of a new
+extraction, that has been of all parties and true to none, will be
+doomed by his peers to make his first appearance.  After this an
+old lady who has often been exposed to danger and disgrace, and
+sometimes brought to the very brink of destruction, will be brought
+to bed of three daughters at once, which they shall call Plenty,
+Peace, and Union; and these three shall live and grow up together,
+be the glory of their mother, and the comfort of posterity for many
+generations.
+
+
+This is the substance of what he either writ or extracted from his
+papers in the interval between the loss of his speech and the
+return of his fit, which happened exactly at the time he had
+computed.
+
+Upon the approach of his fit, he made signs to be put to bed, which
+was no sooner done but he was seized with extreme agonies, which he
+bore up under with the greatest steadfastness, and after a severe
+conflict, that lasted near eight hours, he expired.
+
+Thus lived and thus died this extraordinary person; a person,
+though of mean extraction and obscure life, yet when his character
+comes to be fully and truly known, it will be read with pleasure,
+profit, and admiration.
+
+His perfections at large would be the work of a volume, and
+inconsistent with the intention of these papers.  I will,
+therefore, only add, for a conclusion, that he was a man of
+uncommon thought and judgment, and always kept his appetites and
+inclinations within their just limits.
+
+His reason was strong and manly, his understanding sound and
+active, and his temper so easy, equal, and complaisant, that he
+never fell out, either with men or accidents.  He bore all things
+with the highest affability, and computed justly upon their value
+and consequence, and then applied them to their proper uses.
+
+
+
+A LETTER FROM OXFORD
+
+
+
+Sir,
+
+Being informed that you speedily intend to publish some memoirs
+relating to our dumb countryman, Dickory Cronke, I send you
+herewith a few lines, in the nature of an elegy, which I leave you
+to dispose of as you think fit.  I knew and admired the man; and if
+I were capable, his character should be the first thing I would
+attempt.
+
+Yours. &c.
+
+
+AN ELEGY,
+IN MEMORY OF DICKORY CRONKE,
+THE DUMB PHILOSOPHER.
+
+Vitiis nemo sine nascitur; optimus ille est,
+Qui minimus urgetur.--HORACE.
+
+If virtuous actions emulation raise,
+Then this good man deserves immortal praise.
+When nature such extensive wisdom lent,
+She sure designed him for our precedent.
+Such great endowments in a man unknown,
+Declare the blessings were not all his own;
+But rather granted for a time to show
+What the wise hand of Providence can do.
+In him we may a bright example see
+Of nature, justice, and morality;
+A mind not subject to the frowns of fate,
+But calm and easy in a servile state.
+He always kept a guard upon his will
+And feared no harm because he knew no ill.
+A decent posture and an humble mien,
+In every action of his life were seen.
+Through all the different stages that he went,
+He still appeared both wise and diligent:
+Firm to his word, and punctual to his trust,
+Sagacious, frugal, arable, and just.
+No gainful views his bounded hopes could sway,
+No wanton thought led his chaste soul astray.
+In short, his thoughts and actions both declare,
+Nature designed him her philosopher;
+That all mankind, by his example taught,
+Might learn to live, and manage every thought.
+Oh! could my muse the wondrous subject grace,
+And, from his youth, his virtuous actions trace;
+Could I in just and equal numbers tell
+How well he lived, and how devoutly fell,
+I boldly might your strict attention claim,
+And bid you learn, and copy out the man.
+
+J. P.
+Exeter College, August 25th, 1719.
+
+
+
+EPITAPH
+
+
+
+The occasion of this epitaph was briefly thus:- A gentleman, who
+had heard much in commendation of this dumb man, going accidentally
+to the churchyard where he was buried, and finding his grave
+without a tombstone, or any manner of memorandum of his death, he
+pulled out his pencil, and writ as follows:-
+
+
+PAUPER UBIQUE JACET.
+
+
+Near to this lonely unfrequented place,
+Mixed with the common dust, neglected lies
+The man that every muse should strive to grace,
+And all the world should for his virtue prize.
+Stop, gentle passenger, and drop a tear,
+Truth, justice, wisdom, all lie buried here.
+
+What, though he wants a monumental stone,
+The common pomp of every fool or knave,
+Those virtues which through all his actions shone
+Proclaim his worth, and praise him in the grave.
+His merits will a bright example give,
+Which shall both time and envy too outlive.
+
+Oh, had I power but equal to my mind,
+A decent tomb should soon this place adorn,
+With this inscription:  Lo, here lies confined
+A wondrous man, although obscurely born;
+A man, though dumb, yet he was nature's care,
+Who marked him out her own philosopher.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of The Project Gutenberg Etext of Dickory Cronke, by Daniel Defoe
+
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