A compendious narration of the most examplar life of the right honourable and most virtuous Lady Mary, late Countess of Shrewsbury Faithfully collected out of the writings of a most learned and worthy person who attended her many years: by a gentleman, who by reason of his long acquaintance and much conversation with her can testifie the truth of all that is here related.

Her Charity to her Neighbour.

FRom her most ardent love of Al∣mighty God, and her constant de∣sire of expressing it, proceeded her so eminent practise of that most a∣greable virtue to him, (I mean) her so very exemplar Charity to her neighbours, which mounted to so great an height, that she was never satiated with imparting all both spiri∣tuall and temporal comforts, that were possibly to be offorded by. And to de∣scend to those particulars, which may convince this truth, she was never seen, or known to refuse an alms, when it was asked, neither was ever

the necessity of any person represented to her, to the removal of which she did not contribute with a most cheer∣ful and bountiful hand; And it was a matter of complaint, and grief to her, whensoever any of her domestical ser∣vants, as sometimes it hapned, con∣cealed the requests of any necessitous persons, although relieved by them∣selves; and she was so zealously fear∣ful of losing any occasion of feeding and cloathing Jesus Christ in his little ones, that to prevent it, she always lodged moneys in the hands of her Porter, and others, for relief of the poor, over and above that plentiful alms which was constantly given at the gates. And besides these acciden∣tal expressions of her great charity which were nevertheless very fre∣quent, and as it were daily, she had diverse persons, her constant Penti∣oners, whom she wholly maintained, and though sometimes by reason of her change of dwelling, they were far ab∣sent from her person, yet they were

never so from her thoughts, for she was as sollicitously careful to see them provided for in all kindes, as if she had been expresly obliged to do it under pain of sin, and she descended so far as with the labour of her own hands to make many necessaries for their cloathing, the which she also fre∣quently did for many of her poorer servants, over and above their compe∣rent usuall allowances: she was so ex∣act an observer of the laws of true Christian charity, that she was never willing to hear those who demanded an alms for Gods sake suspected for counterfeits, for she was as tender in preserving their good names, as she was in relieving their necessities, and therefore as much as possible hindred the strict examination of things o•• that nature. And although some times some were discovered and pro∣ved to be such, yet upon consideration that the true motive of Alms was not to whom, but for whose sake it was given; she would not dismiss them

without being made partakers of her charity: for she would urge, that most probably their great want was the true cause why they dissembled lameness, blindness, and such like infirmities, and that therefore to take away such a temptation their necessities were to be relieved. And my Lord her husband was very complying with her in this compassionate relieving of others ne∣cessities, and particularly when he was a winner at horse-races or other Divertisements, he most cheerfully, upon her suggestion and request (which she never failed to make him) employed no small part of his win∣nings upon these charitable offices.

Neither was her charity only ex∣pressed in relieving the pecuniary wants of the poor, but also in an extra∣ordinary diligence to contribute to the cure and ease of the sick; To promote which pious work, she provided her self yearly, at fit seasons, of all those medicinal things, which are usually applied to the relief of corporal infir∣mities;

and she was no less carefu•• in providing, then liberal in bestow∣ing them, whensoever necessity re∣quired: and so great was her chari∣table compassion of sick persons, tha•• she not only afforded them bountiful remedies for their diseases, but eve•• charged those servants about her ow•• person not to fail of giving them a•••• necessary attendance; and to encou∣rage them in so good an action by ex∣ample, she did frequently visit th•• meanest of her own domesticks, an•• others; even when the loathsomness•• of the disease, and rooms where the•• lodged, were capable to divert thos•• who were indulgent, in pleasing thei•• senses, from coming near them; a•••• did both minister remedies and othe•• assistances with her own hands, an•• spend much time in praying by the•• bed-sides, and endeavouring to giv•• them all spiritual comforts that sh•• was capable of affording them.

Neither was her compassionat•• sense of the sufferance of prisoners les••

••hen that which she shewed to have of the wants and infirmities of others, for she was highly charita∣••le in the relief of all those (al∣though meer strangers) whom she ••eard to endure that great calamity of restraint of liberty.

All her promises made even in her ••oung and tender age that tended to ••he relieving of others necessities, or ••night be conducing to their advan∣••ages either spiritual, or corporal, ••hough not made with that delibe∣••ation that might oblige her (under ••in) to performance, were as religi∣••usly observed as vows, and even so ••xactly (if not scrupulously) that ••he was hardly ever satisfied to have sufficiently complied with those no∣••way-obliging promises, without the ••udgment, and authority of her ••piritual Directour; and she would ••requently regret her own too dull ••mitation of that famous patriarch

of Alexandria, John sirnamed th•• Almes-giver for his great liberality in acts of charity.

If then Alms be of so great force and virtue, as to cleanse and purif•• the soul, which no Christian ca•• doubt of that gives credit to hol•• Scripture, where it is said, Give Alme•• and all things be clean unto you, Luk•• 11.41. and as water quencheth fire•• so doth Almes extinguish sin; and 〈◊〉〈◊〉 the mercifull shall finde mercy, Ma•• 5.7. and he that giveth but one dr•••• of water for the love of God shall n•• lose his reward: Mar. 40.10.4•• How pure must her soul be, who bowels were so full of compassion•• and whose hands were ever open 〈◊〉〈◊〉 the poor; and what accumulated r••∣wards shall she receive from t•••• bounty of God, who was so mero••∣ful, and bountiful to his poor, 〈◊〉〈◊〉 cheerfully cloathing, feeding, and v••∣siting them, or rather him in the••

For it may be truly said fo this La∣dy, what Job declared of himself, that she denied not to the poor what they desired, nor made the widdows eyes expect, nor did she eat her bread a∣••one, but made the poor partakers with ••her. This therefore being so great a ••ruth, and so known by all that knew her, there will remain no wonder, if when she was taken out of this world, and translated to a better, there to enjoy the reward of ••hose great virtues, which the mer∣cy of God had plentifully infused in∣••o her happy soul. The poor people ••n all places where she had lived, but especially in Worcestershire, where ••y reason of her longer abode, she ••ad met with more occasions of ••xercising her Charity, did general∣••y lament their losse with all possi∣••le expressions of sorrow, as con∣••eiving themselves by her death de∣••rived of a most indulgent Mother; which part she truly acted to the

life amongst all, whose necessities obliged them to have recourse to her assistance.

But her charity was not only ex∣ercised in relieving the corporal di∣stresses of others, but flew an higher pitch, and made it self appear in a most ardent zeal of assisting the spiri∣all wants and remedying the mala∣dies of the soul: Her ever constant, and (as it may be truly called) in∣flamed desire of reclaiming all per∣sons from sin, whom she knew it con∣cerned, and procuring them all those helps from others, which her sex rendred her incapable to afford them in her own person, were undeniable arguments how extraordinary he•• zeal was of gaining souls to God.

Of this truth many of her acti∣ons of this kinde might be particu∣larized, were it not too unnecessari∣ly to swell this Relation with en∣deavouring

to make that appear, whereof all that knew her were suf∣ficiently convinced: Howsoever, it it will not be impertinent to touch briefly upon one of these her Acts of charity, in regard Almighty God did give such a signall evidence, how grateful it was in his divine eyes, by a most wonderful, if not mira∣culous preservation of her from a strange and dangerous accident which followed immediately after the per∣formance of this good work. For having been to visit a Noble Gentle∣man her near Kinsman, whom she knew to have fayled contrary to his judgment, by humane frailty, and to have led a life too conformable to such a failing, and having (which was the sole end of her visit) with earnest pious admonitions, and fer∣vent prayers powred forth to God by his bed-side (to which his infirm condition had confin'd him) proved successful in her endeavours, and

wrought so good an effect, that he became a most perfect penitent, by re∣conciling himself to God, and so made a most happy end; having (I say) done this most charitable work, in her Return to her own House, in a certain steep descent, near an high unfenced bridge of stone, her coach-horses grew so unruly, that one of them kick'd down the coach-man from off his box, and ran violently to the bridge, and running in their full carrier over it, the coach fell suddainly into the River; and so high was the bridge, that it turned twice round in the falling, and at length lighted directly upon the wheels in the River, and in such a part of it as was shallow, though ve∣ry near the deepest part, which was capable to have overwhelmed it, had it been many yards higher then it was. In the fall the foremost horses broke their tackling, and escaped the precipitation, but of the two

wheel-horses, both of which, fell with the coach, the one, (and he who did the main mischief by kick∣ing down the coachman) broke his neck and was killed, the other fell with the coach without the least hurt. All those who knew this place, and particularly those who attended her, and were eye-witnes∣ses of the accident, and saw how free from all harm their Lady and her Wayting-Gentlewoman (which was all the company she then had with her in the coach) remained after it, would not call this so total a preservation by any other Name, then that of a Miraculous delive∣rance; and certainly it can admit of no other interpretation, but of a malitious attempt of the Devil a∣gainst her, for having got a soul out of his power (of which he had been too long possessed) and a most particular tract of the divine Provi∣dence, in rendring his malice inef∣fectual.

For God was only in her thoughts when she was falling (as she confessed to one who had pow∣er to ask her) she being then actu∣ally employed in making acts of love to his divine Majesty to render thanks to whom for his so highly merciful a preservation from this so great disaster, was the first thing she did after her return home, before she spoke to any one whomsoever; she repairing immediatly to her Ora∣tory to this most Christian-like Ex∣ercise, and there reciting with great Devotion that pious Hymn (called Te Deum) composed by those great Saints and Doctors of the Church St. Ambrose, and St. Augustine, and used by all the faithful in solemn Thanksgivings to God for his bles∣sings and manifold mercies: these her high acts of charity so universally extended, render it needless to re∣late how incessant the care was that she took in the instruction of her

children in all the mysteries and duties of Christian Religion, which she would personally perform her self, as soon as they came to those years that rendred them capable thereof. Even as soon as they began to make any shew of speaking, she was sollicitous, that before any other word, they might learn to pro∣nounce the holy, and divine name of Jesus, to which all knees bow, whether in Heaven or Earth, or else∣where, and that their prayers might be the first discourses that they might use, that so they might begin in the first place to speak to God, to whom the first and chief honour is due; and in their Nurses arms, when they were at any time brought home, her first caress was, to signe them with the signe of the Cross, and immediately to carry them to her Oratory, to offer them to his divine Majesty and beg blessings for them. And as their age encreased,

she did not fail to encourage them, no less by word then example, to the exercise of all virtues, and par∣ticularly to a liberal, and compassi∣onate relief of the poor, which Christ doth so expresly own as done to himself. Neither was she wanting to act the part of a Mother in this kinde towards the meanest of her servants, to whose being catechised, and taught all Christian duties, she with constant zeal contributed even personally, when need required, and of whose exact performance of all those Obligations to which ei∣ther the laws of God or of his spouse the holy Catholick Church, tye her children; she was so pious∣ly sollicitous, that they wanted nei∣ther frequent admonitions to en∣courage them to good, nor such re∣prehensions as were requisite to alter them from all evil. And all things relating to the discharge of their domestical employments were by her

most Christian-like providence so ordered, as that they might not prove any hindrance to their atten∣ding to the service of God, or ren∣dring him all due honour, by being present at divine service, and all o∣ther holy exercises, at times appoin∣ted, by that authority which he hath left here on earth, assisted by his ho∣ly spirit, to guide and govern the spirituall kingdome of humane souls.

Seeing therefore it hath been made appear so evidently, how high and even supererrogatory a charity she shewed both in relieving the corporal necessities, and also in contributing so efficatiously to the spiritual ad∣vantages of others, It cannot cer∣tainly enter easily into the sus∣pition of any rational person, but that she was equally careful not to do any one the least imaginable In∣jury; I am sure it would be inju∣rious to her for any person to har∣bour

such a doubt in his breast. For how sensibly tender her conscience was in all that concerned the re∣putation of others, there are as ma∣ny witnesses as persons, that knew her, who all with one mouth, avow that she was never heard to speak any the least word, that might tend to the diminution of the credit of any one whatsoever, nor ever to use any deriding expression or re∣proach even in the reprehension of the meanest of her servants; But on the contrary side, her tongue was ever ready (how wary soever she was in avoyding much discourse) to defend the reputation, and excuse the faults of others against those ma∣ny who are too apt both to misre∣present, and misconster the actions of their neighbours, and too uncha∣ritably to rip up the memory of their failings; And all her reprehensions even for the greatest faults were ac∣cording to Christs counsel, private∣ly

given, for the concealment of their imperfections, and were season∣ed with so much sweetness, that her anger was not only innocent but virtuous; And in composing all dif∣ferences (which sometimes happen in such numerous Families as hers) between her servants, she was a ve∣ry Angel of peace, and was exactly careful, that even those of the best quality that attended her, might do right to the very meanest without all partiality.