He was visited by
a clergyman, who administered the sacrament to him, without any
knowledge of what had happened before--the man appearing to be
extremely ignorant of religion, having been accustomed to swear,
to drink, to game, and to profane the Sabbath. After receiving
the sacrament he said--'Now, I must never sin again.' He hoped
God would forgive him, having been wicked not above six years,
and that whatever should happen he would not play at cards again.
After this he was in great agony--chiefly delirious; spoke of his
companions by name, and seemed as if his imagination was engaged
at cards. He started, had distracted looks and gestures, and in
a dreadful fit of shaking and trembling died on the 4th of March,
just about a fortnight after the utterance of his terrible
imprecation.
The worthy sheriff of Gloucestershire goes on to say that the
man's eyes were open when he died, and could not be closed by the
common method, so that they remained open when he was put into
the coffin. From this circumstance arose a report that he WISHED
HIS EYES MIGHT NEVER CLOSE; 'but,' says the sheriff, 'this is a
mistake; for, from the most creditable witnesses, I am fully
convinced no such wish was uttered; and the fact is, that he did
close his eyes after he was taken with the mortification, and
either dozed or slept several times.
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