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sirous to depart and be with Christ!" The post which conveyed this letter to Curio, brought him another from the same hand, informing him of her decease. From the details given by her husband, it appears that, in the latter part of her illness, she uniformly expressed a firm trust in Christ as her Saviour, and a belief that she had found acceptance with God, through the merits of his death. She was by no means pleased when any one attempted to comfort her by speaking with hope of her recovery; "for God," she said, “ had set bounds to the short course of her life, a course which was full of labour and sorrow, and she was far from wishing to be brought back from the end of her race to the beginning." Being asked by a pious friend, whether her mind was disquieted by doubts or anxieties, she answered, that indeed for seven years previous, Satan had never relaxed his efforts to seduce her from the faith, but now, as if he had lost his weapons, he never made his appearance; "nor," added she, "do I now experience any other sensation than the greatest tranquillity and peace with Christ."

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Grundler thus speaks of her dying moments: "A short time before her death, on awakening from a tranquil sleep into which she had fallen, I observed her smiling very sweetly, and I went near and asked her whence that heavenly smile proceeded. I beheld,' said she, just now, while lying quiet, a place filled with the clearest and brightest light.' Weakness prevented her saying more. 6 Come,' said I, ‘be of good cheer, my dearest wife, you are about to dwell in that beautiful light.' She again smiled and nodded to me, and in a little while said, 'I am all gladness,'— nor did she again speak till her eyes becoming dim, she said, I can scarcely know you, but all places appear to me to be full of the fairest flowers.' Not long after, as if fallen into a sweet slumber, she expired.” She died at four o'clock in the afternoon of the 25th October 1555, not having yet completed the twenty-ninth year of her age.

In the same epistle which communicated to Curio the sad news of Olympia's death, Grundler expressed a wish that his excellent friend would undertake to prepare the mind of her mother for receiving the intelligence of so severe a blow. Curio accordingly made known the melancholy event to Lucretia Morata, in a letter full of the most delicate and Christian sympathy; in which he recalled to her mind the many consolations provided by the Gospel for believing mourners. About the same time he wrote in a similar strain to the afflicted and almost heart-broken husband, whose earthly hopes were buried in his wife's grave. In this letter he communicated his intention of publishing the works of the deceased, and requested the professor to transmit to him such of them as might be in his possession, or in that of his friends. He likewise expressed a wish, that if the university of Heidelberg, which had been in a great measure deserted on account of the recent plague, should not be speedily restored to its former reputation, his correspondent would send young Emilius Morata to Basle, where he might obtain every advantage of a learned education. His kind intentions with regard to this promising youth were never carried into execution, for he soon followed his sister to the tomb, as did also Grundler himself.

The death of Olympia Morata was much and generally lamented. Her youth, talents, attainments, piety, and sufferings in the cause of pure religion, all combined to excite a deep regret for her early and (as it seemed to human eyes) untimely departure. Pathetic elegies were composed for her by many of the best scholars of Germany, and a splendid monument was raised to her memory at Heidelberg. But the most enduring memorial of her talents and virtues is unquestionably to be found in the collection of her writings. Curio, who fulfilled his intention of giving these to the world, published the first edition of them in 1558, three years after her death. This impression was dedicated to Isabella Manricha, an Italian lady of high

birth, who had abandoned her native country for the sake of the Gospel; and, after enduring many hardships in removing from place to place, finally settled at Chiavenna in the Grisons. She was, in piety at least, if not in genius and acquirements, a kindred spirit to Olympia Morata. This first edition was an imperfect one; and Curio, anxious to do all possible justice to the memory of his gifted friend, spared no pains in collecting from various quarters pieces which had escaped his previous researches. The second edition, which was considerably enlarged, was published at Basle in 1562, and inscribed to Queen Elizabeth of England, as the patroness of learning and of the protestant cause. A third edition of Olympia's works was put forth after Curio's death in 1570, and a fourth in 1580.

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The most valuable of those pieces are unquestionably her letters, which embrace a great variety of subjects, and in all discover a pious and well cultivated mind. One of these epistles is addressed to Michael Verbero, a student, and contains some very sensible advice as to the best method of prosecuting his career of intellectual improvement; another is directed to a certain German preacher," who had been guilty of conduct very unbecoming his office, and who is admonished in a tone of serious and faithful, but modest and affectionate reproof. But Olympia appears to most advantage in her correspondence with the relatives and friends to whom she communicated her most cherished thoughts and feelings. As a specimen of the earnestness with which she watched over the spiritual interests of those near and dear to her, we shall insert part of a letter addressed to her favourite sister, Victoria Morata, then under the protection of the Princess Orsini. After giving an account of her own sufferings at the siege of Schweinfurt, she thus proceeds: "I would rather endure any evils in the cause of Christ, than possess the whole world without him. Nor do I desire any thing more than him; though I am not ignorant that the hardships which we have already endured are far from being the last, and that if our lives

are prolonged, we must undergo many more; nay, even at present, we are by no means exempt from evils. * * You see, then, my dear sister, that these three enemies (as they are called in Scripture), the world, the flesh, and the devil, are never long at rest. But, is it not much better, in this short life of ours, to suffer persecution. with the church of God, than share the eternal torments of the adversaries, where darkness reigns for ever! Wherefore, my sister, I again and again beseech you to have regard to your salvation, and to be more afraid of that Being, who, by one word, created the universe, who made and preserves you, and loads you with so many benefits, than of powerless creatures of clay, or of the aspect of this world, whether threatening, or smiling and flattering. For what are all the things which surround us but vapour and smoke that vanish, or stubble and hay quickly consumed by the flames ?

"Even if you believe yourself already in the right path to heaven, beware of availing yourself of your weakness as an excuse; for this is ingratitude to God, and a disease is always aggravated by indulgence. On this account, David, in the hundred and forty-first Psalm, prays that God would not permit his mind to wander in quest of any excuse for his sins. Where then is your remedy Trust your disease to the Lord, the true physician. Ask Him to give you medicine and strength, and to make you love and fear him more than you do man. Why is God so often called in the Psalms 'the God of our strength,' except because he can strengthen us, and make us bold, and alone enable us to acknowledge him? He desires to be constantly addressed in prayer, in order that he may be prevailed upon to grant our petitions. Be assured, that he hears your prayers, and will do what you ask, and more than you ask, for he is kind and bountiful to those who seek him from the heart.

"But beware, my sister, of perverting the Gospel, and saying, If I be one of the elect, and chosen to salvation, I cannot perish;' as this would be to tempt God,

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who commands us to dience to the Gospel and frequent prayer. For, although salvation is certain, and the salvation of the chosen, which those that are Christ's feel in the inner man, is freely admitted; yet is salvation not obtained without Christ, and those things which adorn the Christian profession. Faith,' says Paul, is from hearing, and hearing from the word of God.' He writes the same in his Epistle to the Galatians; and, in the Acts, the same thing is pointed out, that those receive the Holy Spirit who listen to the voice of the Gospel. Never forget what Paul and James say, that the faith approved by our Lord is no languid and inoperative one, but that which by charity is active and lively.

work out our salvation,' by obe

"If you are denied an opportunity of hearing the word, at least allow no day to pass without reading the Scriptures, and prayer that God may open your mind to perceive and imbibe those things which tend to make us live well and happily. Even if you have little time remaining after your duties to your mistress,* rise somewhat earlier, and go to bed later; and, having shut yourself up in your chamber, engage in those exercises which belong to salvation, for God commands us to seek above all things his kingdom and righteousness. Having done this, commit yourself to God with that mind and faith, that reverence and honour, which become a Christian and noble lady.

"Tell your mistress to seek alleviation for her sorrows and troubles, and a respite from care, in true Christian philosophy. In a short time we shall arrive at the wished-for haven. Time flies both in prosperity and adversity; and, although our affliction should be even long and severe, let us remember, that we suffer with the members of Christ, nay, with Christ himself. I may mention the case of our kind hostess, the Countess of Rhineck, who carries her cross, and that not a light one; and yet she is of a royal lineage, from which even

*The Princess Orsini.

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