DR. DARWIN. 427 



difeafe ; that the ftate of the vifcera indi- 

 cated a much more protracted exiftence ; 

 yet thus, in one hour, was extinguifhed 

 that vital light which the preceding hour 

 had fhone in flattering brightnefs, promif- 

 Jng duration ; fuch is often the " cunning 

 flattery of nature ;" that light, which, 

 through half a century, had diffufed it's 

 radiance and it's warmth fo widely ; that 

 light, in which Penury had been cheered, 

 in which Science had expanded ; to whofe 

 orb Poetry had brought all her images; 

 before whofe influence Difeafe had con- 

 tinually retreated, and Death fo often 

 turned afide his levelled dart ! 



Awful is the leflbn of fuch an extinc- 

 tion ; trebly awful in it's fuddennefs. Let 

 no one fay that it is not more awful than 

 the iimilar defliny of ordinary human 

 beings ; for the impreffion made by unex- 

 pected, immediate, and everlafting abfence, 

 will be diffufive, will be ftrong, in propor- 

 tion 



