1813.] Sit Isaac Kenton. 323 



of temper, that a melancholy story would often draw tears from 

 him, and lie was exceedingly shocked' at any act of cruelty to 

 man or heast; mercy to both being the topic that he loved to 

 dwell upon. An innate modesty and simplicity showed itself in 

 all his actions and expressions. His whole life was one continued 

 series of labour, patience, charity, generosity, temperance, piety, 

 goodness, and all other virtues, without a mixture of any known 

 vice whatsoever. 



He was blessed with a very happy and vigorous constitution : 

 he was of a middle stature, and rather plump in his latter years : 

 he had a very lively and piercing eye, a comely and gracious 

 aspect, and a fine head of hair, as white as silver, without any 

 baldness. To the time of his last illness he had the bloom and. 

 colour of a young man. He never wore spectacles, nor lost 

 more than one tooth till the day of his death. About five years 

 before liis death, he was troubled with an incontinence of urine, 

 and sometimes with a stillicidium ; both of which continued to 

 afflict him, more or less, according to the motion to which he 

 was exposed. On this account he sold his chariot, and went 

 always in a chair ; and he gave up dining abroad, or with much 

 company at home. He ate little flesh, and lived chiefly upon 

 broth, vegetables, and fruit, of which he always ate heartily. In 

 August, 1J24, he voided, without any pain, a stone, about the 

 size of a pea, which came away in two pieces ; one some days 

 after the other. In January, 17~^> he had a violent cough and 

 inflammation of the lungs, upon which he was persuaded with 

 considerable difficulty to take a house in Kensington, where he 

 had, in his 84th year, a fit of the gout, for the second time, 

 having had a slight attack of it some years before. This fit left 

 him in better health than he had enjoyed for several years. In 

 the v. inter of 1725, he wanted to resign his situation of Master 

 of tin: Mint to his nephew, Mr. Conduitt : that Gentleman 

 would not permit his resignation, but offered to conduct the 

 whole business in Ids place; and, for about a year before his 

 death, Sir Isaac hardly ever went to the Mint, trusting entirely 

 to the management of his nephew. 



On Tuesday, the last day of February, 1727» he went to 

 town, in order to attend a meeting of the Royal Society. Next 

 day Mr. Conduitt paid him a visit, and found him apparently in 

 better health than lie had enjoyed for several years. Sir Isaac- 

 was Bemible of it himself, and told his fttphew, smiling, that 

 lie had slept the Sunday before from eleven at night till eighl in 

 tin- morning, without waking, lint his fatigue in attending the 

 Society, and in making and receiving visits, brought his old 

 complaint violently upon him. Dr. Mead and Mr. Chesclden. 



v (•!-.- carried out to Kensington to see him, by Mr. Conduitt. 



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