In Trevethin church-yard, in the county of Monmouth, is the following epitaph, written by sir Charles Hanbury Williams, on a faithful servant of his father's. To the memory of

Mr. THOMAS COOKE,
Agent of the iron-works
To John Hanbury, Esq.
Of Pontypool;

Who died, August 1st,

1739: aged 66 years.

With most religious truth it may be said,
Beneath this stone an honest man lies dead.
Vice he abhorr'd, in virtue's path he trod;
Just to his master, humble to his God.
Useful he liv'd, and void of all offence ;
By nature sensible, well bred by sense.
His master's int'rest was his constant end:
(The faithful'st servant and the truest friend :)
For him his heart and hand were always join'd;
And love with duty strictly was combin'd.
Together through this vale of life they pass'd:
And in this church together sleep at last;
For when the master's fatal hour was come,
The servant sigh'd, and follow'd to the tomb.
And when at the last day he shall appear,
Thus shall his Saviour speak, and scatter fear :
"Well done, thou faithful servant, good and just,
Receive thy well deserv'd reward of trust;
Come where no time can happiness destroy,
Into the fulness of thy master's joy."

"Our

A gentleman, in a letter to a friend, gives the following pleasing account of a very valuable servant. gardener we have buried; he was taken ill the very

day and hour that I was. And truly, it was a loss beyond all likelihood, or promise, from a man of his condition. He was one of those servants who attach themselves by heart, as well as duty, to the will and interest of the family in which they live. He was sober, modest, silent; ever busily laborious; and ingenious beyond any person I ever met with, in his station. He turned his hand, with readiness and pleasure, to whatever interruption of his present applications he was called away to; and was never known to murmur, or even look dissatisfied. He was an excellent mathematician; surveyed and measured land, with great exactness; was smith, carpenter, cooper, bricklayer, and whatever artisan the family had occasion for; and in all these different talents, he had attained a despatchful readiness. He loved, and he was beloved by, every body in the family."

The following epitaph, on a faithful female servant, is in the church-yard at Croydon, in Surrey.

In memory of URSULA SWINBOURN,

Who after fulfilling her duty,

In that station of life which her Creator had allotted her;
And by her faithful and affectionate conduct,
In a series of thirty-five years,

Rendering herself respected and beloved,
And her loss sincerely regretted,

By the family she lived with;

Departed this life, the 5th of January, 1781: aged 55. Reader!

Let not her station in life,

Prevent thy regarding her example;

But remember,

According to the number of talents given,
Will the increase be expected.

SECTION 6.

Anecdotes of good and faithful servants continued.

IN St. Mary's church, at Warwick, there is a tablet of white marble with the following inscription:

If a faithful discharge of duty,

And the most honest, diligent, and attached conduct, For a long course of

years,

Ever claimed the expression of gratitude,

It is due to the memory of JOHN BAYLEY: Who departed this life on the 15th day of September, 1792, aged 65 years;

And lies interred near this place.

As a memorial of his regard

For an excellent servant, and a worthy man,
Whose loss he much laments,

This stone was erected

By George, earl of Warwick,

1793.

A very religious and worthy man, who lived servant. in the family of a nobleman, was the most humble, and attentive, of all his master's servants; and did the whole of his duty towards him, with an uprightness, and a diligence, which, at length, gained his entire confidence. His fellow-servants looked up to him as a friend, or a brother: he instructed them; he assisted them; he made peace between them; and he set them an excellent example. His master, who was not religious himself, could not but admire the character and conduct of his servant: he promoted, and often highly commended him; and left him a handsome legacy.

"Sir," said the mistress of a small family, to a clergyman, who visited her after a long illness which

she had had; "the girl who has just left the room, is a greater comfort to me than I can express. She watches me with the affection of a daughter, and the care of a nurse. When my complaints make me peevish, she contrives something to sooth me. I often observe her taking pains to discover what would add to my comfort; and I am often presented with the thing I wish for, before I express it in words. I live without suspicion, for I perceive her to be conscientious, and even scrupulous. My chief complaint is, that she takes so much care of me, I cannot make her take sufficient care of herself." "I have observed," said the clergyman, "her attention at church, as well as when she is waiting upon you." "My servant," continued she, "is a Christian; and, in my late distress, she afforded me her prayers as well as her tears. Her parents were too poor to give her any learning: but she has taught herself to read; and she frequently reads the Scriptures to me. In short, I esteem her one of the most valuable gifts I ever received from an indulgent Providence: and I never could have supposed that so much of my comfort depends on the faithfulness and care of a servant."

Dr. L, a respectable gentleman, was confined for some time in the King's Bench prison; while his fortune, on account of a lawsuit, was unjustly withheld from him. During this distress, he was obliged to tell his negro servant, that, however painful to his feelings, they must part; his difficulties being so great, that he was unable to provide himself with the necessaries of life. The negro, well known in the King's Bench prison by the name of Bob, replied affectionately: "No, master, we will never part! Many a year have you kept me;

H

and now, I will keep you." Accordingly, Bob went out to work as a day-labourer; and, at the end of every week, faithfully brought his earnings to his master. These proved sufficient for their support: until, the lawsuit being ended, Dr. L became possessed of a large fortune; and settled a handsome annuity for life, on his faithful servant.

Mr. Robert Lawless, who died in 1806, was, for considerably more than half a century. one of the principal assistants of Mr. Millar, formerly bookseller in the Strand; afterwards to his successor, the late Mr. alderman Cadell; and since, till within a short time of his death, to Messrs. Cadell and Davies. In his character was united the soundest integrity of mind, with a simplicity of manners rarely equalled. The following is a remarkable instance of his singleness of heart. Not long before Mr. Cadell obtained the scarlet gown, Robert very seriously applied to him, on taking stock at the end of the year, to ask a favour of him. Great was Mr. Cadell's surprise, to find that the request was, that his annual salary might be LOWERED; as the year's account was not so good as the preceding one and Lawless really feared that his master could not afford to pay him so very high wages. Of course, his request was not granted. On retiring from business, the benevolent master had a picture of the faithful servant, painted by sir William Beechy: which he always showed to his friends, as one of the principal ornaments of his drawing-room.

A Wiltshire young woman, Sarah Shepway by name, left her home and kindred, to gain an honest maintenance ; and went into a clergyman's family, in the parish of Chelsea. She had a good natural disposition,