[Sidenote:  Mr. Edward Duncon]

About one month before his death, his friend Mr. Farrer,—­for an account of whom I am by promise indebted to the Reader, and intend to make him sudden payment,—­hearing of Mr. Herbert’s sickness, sent Mr. Edmund Duncon—­who is now Rector of Friar Barnet in the County of Middlesex—­from his house of Gidden Hall, which is near to Huntingdon, to see Mr. Herbert, and to assure him, he wanted not his daily prayers for his recovery; and Mr. Duncon was to return back to Gidden, with an account of Mr. Herbert’s condition.  Mr. Duncon found him weak, and at that time lying on his bed, or on a pallet; but at his seeing Mr. Duncon he raised himself vigorously, saluted him, and with some earnestness enquired the health of his brother Farrer; of which Mr. Duncon satisfied him, and after some discourse of Mr. Farrer’s holy life, and the manner of his constant serving God, he said to Mr. Duncon,—­“Sir, I see by your habit that you are a Priest, and I desire you to pray with me:”  which being granted, Mr. Duncon asked him, “What prayers?” To which Mr. Herbert’s answer was, “O, Sir! the prayers of my Mother, the Church of England:  no other prayers are equal to them!  But at this time, I beg of you to pray only the Litany, for I am weak and faint:”  and Mr. Duncon did so.  After which, and some other discourse of Mr. Farrer, Mrs. Herbert provided Mr. Duncon a plain supper, and a clean lodging, and he betook himself to rest.  This Mr. Duncon tells me; and tells me, that, at his first view of Mr. Herbert, he saw majesty and humility so reconciled in his looks and behaviour, as begot in him an awful reverence for his person; and says, “his discourse was so pious, and his motion so genteel and meek, that after almost forty years, yet they remain still fresh in his memory.”

The next morning Mr. Duncon left him, and betook himself to a journey to Bath, but with a promise to return back to him within five days; and he did so:  but before I shall say any thing of what discourse then fell betwixt them two, I will pay my promised account of Mr. Farrer.

[Sidenote:  Mr. Nicholas Ferrer]

[Sidenote:  Little Gidden]

Mr. Nicholas Farrer—­who got the reputation of being called Saint Nicholas at the age of six years—­was born in London, and doubtless had good education in his youth; but certainly was, at an early age, made Fellow of Clare-Hall in Cambridge; where he continued to be eminent for his piety, temperance, and learning.  About the twenty-sixth year of his age, he betook himself to travel:  in which he added, to his Latin and Greek, a perfect knowledge of all the languages spoken in the Western parts of our Christian world; and understood well the principles of their Religion, and of their manner, and the reasons of their worship.  In this his travel he met with many persuasions to come into a communion with that church which calls itself Catholic:  but he returned from his travels