the Prince, and the Princess. These addresses, written in French, were printed at full length in the Gazette, Nos. 7506 and 7508, May 1736. At a meeting of the General Assembly, 17th February 1744 (n.s.), Mr. Aufrère reported that he had communicated with the Duke of Newcastle, venturing to assure the Government that the French refugees would be willing to make some demonstration of loyalty on the threatened invasion in favour of a Papist Pretender. On the following 22nd February an address was signed, testifying, along with their loyalty, their devotion to the Protestant religion pour laquelle ils out souffert, and their sense of obligation to the illustre et genereux nation among whom they were naturalized. An opportunity for action was given to them, which they assembled to embrace on March 7th, by the letter from the Baron of Saint-Hippolite. Besides ecclesiastical matters, other interests occupied much of Mr. Aufrère’s attention. He was the father of the poor of his district, and the firmest of friends. As an adviser in business matters and an executor of Wills, his generosity was in constant exercise. The Hervarts, the Robethons, the De La Mothes, the De Gastines, the Deslauriers, and many other refugee gentlemen and ladies were among the friends whom he obliged. And he had friends also among the English clergy and literati, among whom is mentioned Archdeacon Robinson, of Northumberland.
In domestic life, his memory is fragrant and evergreen. He was comparatively rich; and, raised above the fear of penury, he kept up the style of a gentleman. Yet “for his children’s sake” he not only denied himself things suitable for his station in life, but even stripped himself for them, and for some of his grandchildren, so as to leave nothing but what was necessary for his decent maintenance. His dear wife, a woman of most exemplary virtue, was entirely of the same way of thinking, so that their frugality and economy were remarkable, and their contempt of everything that looked like show or grandeur. He built a noble house in Charles Street, St. James’ Square; but on the death of his brother, who left a widow and six children destitute, he let the house for £100 per annum, and rented another at £40, to enable him to maintain these distressed relations.
Mr. Aufrère was remarkable for the perfect health which in Providence was granted to him. At the age of eighty-six he was not sensible of any decay of nature, but the death of Mrs. Aufrère in the year 1754 reminded him to make his Will, which he did. About two years after he felt a weary disinclination for public business, and we are told that, “on account of his great age,” on the 21st March 1756, he resigned the books of the Chapel Royal to the Rev. James Serces. He continued to walk about London, and to read without spectacles for about two years more. In March 1758 nature failed all at once. He revised his Will, and added a short codicil on the 23rd March. He met death like one of the ancient patriarchs, calling his family around him, and giving them an edifying farewell, sending a message to his congregation, declaring that he prayed for them, and asked their prayers for himself, and sending, from his bed, money to the sick and the poor of the neighbourhood. He expired on the 24th March 1758, in his ninety-first year. I add his Will and Codicil:—
JE, Soussigné vie voyant agé de 86 ans accomplis, &c.,
I, the underwritten, being eighty-six years of age complete, though |in perfect health of body, and of sound mind, have thought it proper to make my Will, wherein in the first place, I return thanks to God for having caused me to be born in the Christian Church, reformed from the gross superstitions and idolatries of Popery, and when the same was cruelly persecuted in my native country, to have drawn me happily from thence, after having refused to dissemble my faith, having conducted me at the time of the highest danger, a few months after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, and brought me into the countries of liberty, and there honoured me with the ministry of the Gospel, which I had destined myself for by my first resolutions, that I might more constantly employ my thoughts on the importance of a future life and the little worth of the present life, and in order to persuade other men, and for having accompanied me during my whole life with the protection of His divine Providence, and having caused me to enjoy, during my whole life, an uninterrupted health, notwithstanding the weakness of my constitution. I most humbly prostrate myself before Him, being sensible of my sins, which I condemn and also deplore, but whereof I hope for the remission through His infinite mercy, by the mediation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself as a ransom for us. I entreat Him to sanctify me entirely, and to grant me a happy death, and to admit me one day, in pursuance of His promise, to the enjoyment of a better life and to an eternal felicity. I order that my body be interred with much simplicity in the churchyard of Paddington, to remain there as a deposit for the day of resurrection. As to my temporal affairs, I will that after my debts are paid and discharged (if there be any), that my executor, hereafter named, do dispose of my effects and estate in the following manner: First, As by the Marriage Settlement of Anthony Aufrère, my eldest son, with Susanne de Gastine, his first wife, I engaged myself to assure to