Nor did
Gresham's persevering benevolence stop here: though he had so much to
engross his time and attention, he still found leisure to consider the
claims of the destitute and aged, and in his endowment of eight
alms-houses with a comfortable allowance for as many decayed citizens of
London, displayed that excellent grace of charity which was his truest
ornament.
In person Sir Thomas was above the middle height, and handsome when a
young man, but he was rendered lame by a fall from his horse during one
of his journeys in Flanders. Sir Thomas Gresham's exemplary life
terminated suddenly on the 21st of November, 1579, after he had just
paid a visit to the noble building which he had so generously founded.
[Illustration: SIR THOMAS GRESHAM.]
* * * * *
ON THE ATTAINMENT OF KNOWLEDGE.
Let the enlargement of your knowledge be one constant view and design in
life; since there is no time or place, no transactions, occurrences, or
engagements in life, which exclude us from this method of improving the
mind. When we are alone, even in darkness and silence, we may converse
with our own hearts, observe the working of our own spirits, and reflect
upon the inward motions of our own passions in some of the latest
occurrences in life; we may acquaint ourselves with the powers and
properties, the tendencies and inclinations both of body and spirit, and
gain a more intimate knowledge of ourselves.
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