Dr. John Tillotson, Archbishop of Canterbury, the best Ann. C. Preacher that England ever produced, dies at Lambeth, in 1694. the 65th year of his age. 22. The Commons vote a fupply of 4,700,000l. and up- 30. wards, for the maintenance of the fea and land forces for the year enfuing. Queen Mary is taken ill of the fmall-pox at Kensington. Dec. 21. King William gives the Royal affent, to an act for granting to their Majefties a fubfidy of tonnage and poundage, and other fums of money, payable upon Merchandizes exported and imported: And, to an act for the frequent meeting and calling of Parliament. Which laft he had refused before to pass. Queen Mary dies, in the 33d year of her age, and was buried in Henry VIIth's Chapel the 5th of March following. Her body was placed in the Herfe or Mausoleum erected for that purpose, the figure of which is here reprefented. The Character of Queen MARY II. Queen Mary was the most univerfally lamented Princefs, and deferved the best to be fo, of any in our age or in our history. Her character is drawn by Mr. Boyer, in the following manner : Her perfon was tall and well proportioned; her fhape, while Princefs of Orange, easy and genteel; her complexion light brown; her vifage oval, her eyes quick and lively, and the reft of her features regular. Her ftately port and native air of greatnefs commanded refpect from the moft confident; but her fweet and graceful countenance tempered the awefulness of Majefty, and her affable temper encouraged the moft timorous to approach her. Her apprehenfion was clear and ready; her memory exac; and her judgment fteady and folid: Her foul free from all the weakneffes of her own fex, and endowed with the courage and ftrength, that feem peculiar to ours. She was neither elated with profperity, nor dejected by adverfity ; and it remains undecided, whether the bore with more temper the fmiles or the frowns of fortune! When the neceffity of affairs called the King out of his dominions, the alone was fenfible of his abfence, which she fully fupplied to thefe three Kingdoms by her wife and pru dent adminiftration. While he went abroad as the arbiter 28. of Europe, to wage a juft war, fhe ftaid at home to maintain peace and adminifter juftice. He was to oppofe and conquer enemies; fhe to maintain and gain friends. In all this there was an union of their thoughts, and a concurrence in the fame ends, the fafety of Europe, the fupport of the Proteftant Religion, and the honour and profperity of England. An eagerncfs of command was fo far below her, that never was fo great a capacity for Government joined with fo little appetite to it; or an authority fo unwillingly affumed, fo modeftly managed, and fo chearfully laid down. It was eafy for her to reward, for all forts of bounty flowed readily from her; but it was much harder for her to punish, except when the nature of the crime made mercy become a cruelty, for then she was inexorable, She had the moft active zeal for the public, and the most conftant defire of doing good, joined with fuch unaffected humility, that the fecret flatteries of vanity, or felf-love, had no power over her. For, when due acknowledgments were made, or decent things faid upon occafions, that well deferved them, these feemed fcarce to be heard, and the prefently turned off the difcourfe to other fubjects. Her piety and virtue were real and unaffected; and the vivacity and sweetness of her temper and conversation softened all thofe difagreeable ideas, which the world is too willing to entertain of the feverities of virtue, and of the ftrictness of true religion. She was not content with being devout herself, but the infused piety into all, who came near her; especially those, whom he took into her more immediate care, and whom the ftudied to form with the tenderness and watchfulness of a mother. She charmed them with her instructions, as the overcame them with her kindness. Never was miftrefs both feared and loved fo intirely as the was. She fcattered books of inftruction round about her, that fuch as waited might not be condemned to idlenefs, but might entertain themselves ufefully, while they were in their turns of attendance, She had a fublime idea of the Chriftian Religion in general, and a particular affection to the Church of England; but an affection, that was neither blind nor partial. She had a true regard to piety wherever the faw it, in what form or party foever. Her education and judgment led her to the national communion; but her charity was extended to all. She longed to fee all Proteftants, both at home and abroad, in a clofe and brotherly conjunctions and few things ever grieved grieved her more, than that the profpect of fo defired an union vanished out of fight. Access to her was never obftructed by felf-interested fupercilious domeftics. She made thofe her favourites, who made the diftreffed theirs. She wondered, that the true pleasure, which accompanied doing good, did not engage Princes to pursue it more effectually. Without this the thought, that a private life was the happier as well as the fafer ftate. When reflections were once made before her, of the sharpness of fome Hiftorians who had left heavy imputations on the memory of fome Princes, fhe answered, That, if thofe Princes were fuch, as the Hiftorians re" presented them, they had well deferved that treatment ; " and others, who tread their fteps, might look for the "fame; for truth would be told at laft." Her charity was not confined to her own fubjects, but extended in a moft particular manner to multitudes of French exiles, whom the perfecution fent hither. The scattered Vaudois had a share in her bounty; and, when by the King's interceffion reftored to their vallies, they were inabled by the Queen to tranfmit their faith to their pofterity. She likewife took care of preferving the poor remnants of the Bohemian churches, and formed nurseries of religion in fome parts of Germany, which were exhausted by war. And the laft great project, that her thoughts were working on, with relation to a noble and royal provifion for difabled feamen at Greenwich, was particularly defigned to be fo conftituted, as to put them in a probable way of ending their days in the fear of God. She was a perfect example of conjugal love, chastity, and obedience. She fet her husband's will before her as the rule of her life. Her admiration of him made her fubmiffion not only easy, but delightful. And it is remarkable, that when Dr. Tenifon, named to be Archbishop of Canterbury, went to comfort the King, his Majefty anfwered, "That "he could not but grieve, fince he had loft a wife, who, in "feventeen years, had never been guilty of an indifcretion." The openness of her behaviour was fubject to univerfal obfervation, but it was under that regularity of conduct, that thofe, who knew her beft, and faw her ofteneft, could never discover her thoughts further, than as the herself had a mind to reveal them; and this the managed fo, that no diftruft was fhewn in it, nor diftafte given by it. She maintained fincerity fo intirely, that the never once needed explanations to justify either her words or actions. As As fhe would not deceive others, fo the avoided the faying of any thing, that might give them occafion to deceive themselves. And, when fhe did not intend to promife, fhe took care to explain her meaning so critically, that no fruitlefs hopes might be conceived from general words of fa vour. Her age and her rank had denied her opportunities for much study; yet fhe had read the best books in Englishs French, and Dutch, the three languages, that were almost equally familiar to her. She gave the most of her retired hours to the reading of the Scriptures, and of books relating to them. Next to the beft fubjects, the bestowed moft of her time on books of hiftory, especially of the lat ter ages, and particularly of her own Kingdoms, as being the moft proper to give her useful inftructions. She had a great relish, as well as a great love for poetry, but loved it beft, when it was converfant about divine and moral fub jects; and fhe would often exprefs her concern for the defilement of the English ftage. She had no relifh for thofe indolent diverfions, which are too common confumers of moft people's time, and which make as great waftes on their minds, as they do on their fortunes. If the used them fometimes, it was only in compliance with forms, becaufe fhe was unwilling to feem to cenfure others with too harsh a feverity. She gave her minutes of leisure, with the greatest delight, to architecture and gardening. She had no other inclination, befides this, to any diverfions, that were expenfive; and, fince this employed many hands, fhe was pleafed to fay, That he hoped it would be forgiven her. When her eyes were endangered by reading too much, and in all thofe hours, that were not given to better employments, fhe wrought with her own hands, and that sometimes with fo conftant a diligence, as if she had been to get her livelihood by it. It was a new fight (and fuch a one as was made, by fome, the fubject of raillery) to fee a Queen work fo many hours a day. But fhe used to say, "That fhe looked on idlenefs as the great "corrupter of human nature: That, if the mind had no " employment given it, it would create fome of the worst "fort to itself." Her example foon wrought on, not only those, who belonged to her, but the whole Kingdom to follow it; fo that it was become as much the fashion among the ladies of quality to work, as it had been formerly to be idle. She |