ANCIENT HISTORY OF KIRKBY-MOORSIDE. 97 



send for a priest ; for I thought any act that could be 

 like a Christian, was what his condition now want- 

 ed most ; but he positively told me he was not of 

 that persuasion, and so would not hear any more on 

 that subject, for he was of the Church of England ; 

 but hitherto he would not hear of a parson, though 

 he had declared his aversion to my offering to send 

 for a priest. But after some time, beginning to 

 feel his distemper mount, he desired me to send for 

 the parson of this parish ; who said prayers for him, 

 which he joined in very freely, but still did not think 

 he should die ; though this was yesterday at seven 

 in the morning, and he died about eleven at night. 

 Mr. Gibson asked him if he had made a will, or 

 if he would declare who was to be his heir ; but to 

 the first he answered that he had made none, and to 

 the last, whoever was named, he always answered 

 No. First, my Lady Duchess was named, and then 

 I think almost every body that had any relation to 

 him ; but his answer was always No : and to see if 

 he would change any way the answer or manner of 

 it, they asked him if my Lord Purbeck was to be 

 sent for ; but to that he answered, by no means. I 

 did fully represent my Lady Duchess's condition to 

 him, and told him it was absolutely fit, during the 

 time he had the exercise of his reason, to do some- 

 thing to settle his affairs ; but nothing that was 

 said to him could make him come to any point. 



I then said, that since he would do nothing in his 

 worldly affairs, I desired he might die like a chris- 

 tian ; and since he called himself of the church of 

 England, the parson was ready here to administer 



