grace, she was remarkably regular. She was persuaded of the importance and value of the ministry of the word, meetings for prayer, and Christian communion. It was only by "waiting upon the Lord, that she expected to renew her strength." Her ardent attachment to divine ordinances suffered no diminution to the last. For several months before her valuable life ended, she was often prevented by debility from assembling with those who "keep holy day" in the public exercises of religion; but then her soul would break out, for the longing which it had for the sanctuary. On those occasions, I have seen the tear of regret fall; and on my return from the house of God, she would inquire if I had had a good time. Iu reading the holy Scriptures and performing the duties of the closet, she was singularly punctual. The Bible she read daily, systematically, and often on her knees. With its leading facts, doctrines, precepts, and promises, she was familiar. Jay's "Morning Exercises," Horne's "Commentary on the Psalms," and Sturm's "Reflections on the Works of God," she highly valued, on account of their devotional tendency: but the Bible was her favourite book. This, for some months before her death, she read almost without ceasing. She was accustomed to retire four times a day, for meditation and prayer. Frequently did she sit alone and commune with her own heart. But while she conscientiously attended to the routine of Christian duties, her whole dependence for "eternal life" was upon the sacrifice of Christ. In recovering backsliders, she was devotedly active, and was the means of stirring up many that loitered in the way. Self-denial was a duty which she sacredly regarded; a duty confessedly difficult in the execution, but most important in its consequences. She invariably sought that her adorning should "not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and wearing gold, or of putting on of apparel; but the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price." She possessed a truly generous spirit. Many in the town and vicinity of Banbury can bear wituess that she did much in various ways for the cause of Christ. Ministers visiting the town for special purposes were hospitably entertained at her house. She supported, to the extent of her ability, Bible and Missionary Societies; and local benevolent and other charitable institutions, which existed in the Circuits where we were stationed. Her benevolence was In only bounded by her means. February, 1830, she was called to endure a very severe and lengthened illness, from the effects of which she never reco vered. Under the affliction she felt much, but did not murmur. Her constant prayer was, that she might "never wish her sufferings less.' In sickness, as in health, she kept near to God, and was very graciously supported. When she could attend the means of grace, (and she did, more or less, to nearly the last,) she often spoke of feeling indescribable delight while waiting upon God, and the word fell like the gentle rain upon the mown grass. Of these mercies and manifestations she delighted to speak; and while speaking, her countenance would beam with heavenly serenity, and tears of gratitude would plentifully flow. Into human depravity she had a clear insight; of the holiness of God she had exalted views; of the matchless love of Christ she was tenderly sensible: hence she was generally abased at the foot of the cross, and reposed entire trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, for "wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption." Dr. Mackay, a Physician, then residing in Sittingbourne, kindly and gratuitously attended her for several weeks in the spring of the year; but her state of health not improving, she left home for London, accompanied by a female friend, to take a Physician's advice there; and designed in a few days to proceed forward into Oxfordshire, to visit her friends; and hoped in a short time to return home better. "But her days are past; her purposes are broken; even the thoughts of her heart." An increase of weakness rendered it impracticable for her either to proceed to Banbury or return home. She experienced a sudden and great change for the worse; and it became apparent to all around that she could not survive many days. This change deprived her almost entirely of the power of speech: prior to it she expressed herself as being very happy in God; and said that her "fellowship was with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ." In death she had the victory through the blood of the Lamb, but was too weak to shout the word of triumph. She was in the thirty-ninth year of her age." She hath given up the ghost; her sun is gone down while it was yet day." JOSEPH HOLLIS. 2. Died, July 10th, at Syston, in the Leicester Circuit, Alice, the wife of Mr. Joseph Shelton. Her maiden name was Haslam. She was born at Little-Chester, near Derby, June 21st, 1801. Her natu ral disposition was mild and pleasing ; so that from a child she gained the approbation and esteem of all who were acquainted with her. Though strictly moral in her deportment, yet to religion, as an experimental and vital principle, she continued a stranger for upwards of twenty years. Her first serious impressions were received when visiting a pious young woman in her sickness, who subsequent ly died happy in God. Much is often learned in the chamber of affliction; the resignation, and fortitude, and patience evidenced by the Christian in the hour of trial furnish an example of suffering piety which addresses with silent yet persuasive energy the conscience and the heart of the beholder. It was probably by contrasting her situation and character with that of her suffering friend, that our deceased sister awoke to spiritual consciousness, and felt, as in her diary she expresses herself, that she was "a poor, thoughtless girl." By regularly attending the Methodist ministry, her convictions of sin were deepened, and she was led, in true penitence, and with earnest prayer, to seek the mercy of an offended God; till, when present at a lovefeast in the midsummer of 1822, the Lord graciously manifested himself to her mind, as a "God pardoning iniquity, transgression, and sin." Her burden of guilt and sorrow was at once removed, and she went on her way rejoicing. She was admitted into the Methodist society by the Rev. Daniel Isaac; and for her union with the church of Christ ever expressed herself as truly grateful to the God of her mercies. Her attachment to the cause of God, under the name of Methodism, was strong and uniform. Religion, as exemplified in Mrs. Shelton's general character, was not the mere tinsel of profession; it was an invigorating and purifying principle, influencing at once the temper and the life. In the church, in the domestic circle, and in her neighbourhood, she was recognised as a Christian woman, aiming at one object, the glory of her God and Saviour. Her bereaved husband remarks, "From the first of my acquaintance with her, till her death, I ever found her the same. Though no stranger to trials, and necessarily much engaged with her family concerns, yet nothing seemed to disturb that calm and boly serenity of mind which she enjoyed. She was a most kind and affectionate wife; a tender parent; and a sincere Christian." She was no stranger to affliction. This proof of her heavenly Father's love was repeatedly given; yet in her that word was pleasingly verified, "No chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous; nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruits of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby." For some time previous to Mrs. Shelton's removal to a happier world, affliction had violently shaken her debilitated frame. Her last illness was tedious, and occasionally flattering. The hopes of her friends as to her recovery were alternately raised and disappointed; yet from the first attack she retained a powerful impression that her affliction "was unto death." In her patience had its perfect work." Her resignation to the will of God shone with peculiar lustre. Rising superior to the promptings of natural affection, she expressed herself as able cheerfully to leave her husband and her lovely babes, if so the will of Heaven ordained. The language of her heart, under the heaviest pressure of affliction and trial, was, "Good is the will of the Lord." As her end approached, it was evident that the Lord was preparing her for a triumphant contest with the last enemy. On the morning of the day on which she died, when asked the state of her mind, she replied, with joy beaming on her countenance, "Victory, through the blood of the Lamb." After a severe paroxysm of pain, and when nearly exhausted, she observed, "I hoped that I was going." Almost in her last moments she testified to her weeping relations and friends, that religion was no cunningly devised fable, but a blessed reality; and, till nature sauk, she exhorted them not to rest in the mere form of religion, but to realize its life and power. Happy exit! Secure in the mercy of God, she, in her dying moments, anxiously desired the salvation of others; and now realizes in a happier state those ecstatic pleasures which on earth were the objects of her ardent and hallowed anticipation. WILLIAM W. STAMP. 3. Died, at Woodhouse, in the Leeds East Circuit, July 31st, Hannah Kitson, aged twenty-nine years. Her parents were members of the Methodist society; and being sincerely and consistently pious, they were solicitous to train up their daughter in the nurture and admonition of the Lord: she was, therefore, very early in life, brought under religi ous restraints, and instructed to remember her Creator in the days of her youth. This induced her to pay some regard to the form of godliness, and to attend on the instituted means of grace. But here she rested, retaining a hard deceitful heart, the pride and naughtiness of which were evinced by an excessive fondness for dress, and a love for gay and gaudy ap- : confidence and attachment, and in teach- feature. This had been exhibited as a All the struggle now is o'er, I feel the peace of God to flow as a river; and instead of that inward strife between nature and grace, the flesh and the Spirit, the enmity of the carnal mind is all destroyed, and love makes my willing feet in swift obedience run." And she stood fast in the liberty wherewith Christ had made her free, walking humbly with her God, and blamelessly in the sight of men. To all the ordinances of religion she was most conscientiously attached: her class-meetings especially were greatly prized; and to be obliged through weakness, a few months previous to her death, to absent herself from these means, was a great trial to her. About three weeks before her release from the body, she attended for the last time; and it was truly a time of refreshing from the presence of the Lord. The genuine simplicity, and lowliness of mind, with which she related her Christian experience, and the fervency and deeply devotional spirit with which she offered her prayers to God, affected all present, and they joiced with joy unspeakable and full of glory." Her death was almost sudden. She had been a little unwell, but seemed to be gradually recovering from her affliction. On the day, however, before her death she was seized with sickness, and had recourse to some medicine, from which she found relief; but about five o'clock on the following morning her sickness returned; and almost instantly she closed her eyes, reclined her head, and, without uttering a word, slept the sleep of death, and awoke in eternity. RICHARD TREFFRY. RECENT DEATHS. re Are, 23d, 1832-At St. Helier, Jersey, of cholera, Mr. Francis Bisson, aged forty-eight. He was for fifteen years a member of the Methodist society in that town; and was one of the most useful and beloved members of the community. About ten years ago he was appointed one of the Circuit Stewards, and more recently was chosen a Trustee of the English chapel. Seldom has the influence of true religion been exemplified in a more remarkable manner than in the character of this excellent man. As a Christian, he was distinguished by artless simplicity, deep humility, and the strictest integrity; and the almost universal regret felt at his death shows that his excellence was appreciated far beyond the bounds of his own society. He had, indeed, "a good report of them that are without." The family of Mr. Bisson was one of those which suffered most severely from the cholera. His mother, aged eighty one, to whom he was most devotedly attached, and his widowed sister, Mrs. Elizabeth Hocquard, who was for many years a ClassLeader, and who died in the possession of that peace which passeth understanding, fell victims to the same malady within twenty-four hours of himself; and the three were conveyed together to the same grave, amidst several hundreds of yournful spectators. Mr. Bisson had been married only three months; and he leaves behind an afeted widow, to whom his loss is irreparable. T. G. Sept. 25th.-At Primrose-Vale, Congleton, Mr. William Drakeford, aged seventy-seven. At the age of twenty he was converted to God, and continued an ornament to his profession to the end of his pilgrimage. He was kind, humble, and hu mane; and as a tradesman, upright, diligent, and successful. His piety was deep, and his conduct irreproachable; and as the Leader of a class, he was punctual, affectionate, and judicious. As a Local Preacher, he was zealous, laborious, persevering, acceptable, useful, and highly respected, for upwards of fifty years. During that period perhaps he was never surpassed, and but seldom equalfed, for regularity in attending his appointments. The persecution which assailed him in his early career did not deter him from warning sinners to flee from the wrath to come; nor the inclemency of the weather prevent him from being at his post of duty. When he filled the office of Circuit-Steward, he laboured to promote the welfare of the Circuit, and was attentive to the comfort of the Preachers and their families. As a Trustee and Chapel-Steward, he was faithful. He was a Wesleyan Methodist from principle; and on all occasions was ready to support and defend the doctrines and discipline of the Connexion. His life was eminently holy; and his end was a striking illustration of the words of the Psalmist, "Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright; for the end of that man is peace." J. M. Oct. 29th. At Woolwich, aged thirty-eight years, Miss Pretious. In early life she was deeply religion, and became a member of the Methodist convinced of the necessity and importance of society. For several years she was a subject of much bodily indisposition; during which period she lived in the enjoyment of spiritual comfort, and in the observance of religious duties. Her last sufferings were very severe, but they were endured with Christian patience and resignation. When entering the valley of the shadow of death, she realized by faith the presence of her Saviour, and was triumphantly supported by "the rod and staff" of the Shepherd of Israel. W. V.. Oct. 30th.-At Dudley, in the eighty-first year of her age, after a protracted and painful illness, which she endured with the most exemplary patience and Christian fortitude, Elizabeth, the wife of William Griffin. She had been a steady and consistent member of the Methodist society in Dudley for nearly fifty years; and was most ardently attached to the denomination of Christians to whom she had the privilege of being so long united, and with whom, for a period so extended, she had enjoyed the comforts of Christian communion. For the Ministers in connexion with the late Rev. John Wesley she entertained a mcst affectionate regard, and always gave them a cordial reception. The genuineness of her piety was exemplified in a holy and blameless life, and a tranquil and happy death. She has left a husband, to whom she was a most faithful and affectionate wife, sinking under the weight of years, to bemoan her loss; in whose affections she will always live, and by whom her memory will ever be fondly cherished. J. J. T. Nov. 5th-At Cheddleton, in the Leek Circuit, Mrs. Mary Hambleton, aged thirty-two years. In her childhood she was a subject of gracious impressions; yet she did not, till the year 1816, become truly in earnest for the salvation of her soul. Then, indeed, by humble faith and fervent prayer, she sought and found redemption in the blood of Christ, the forgiveness of sin; and was, from that time, a steady, upright member of the Methodist society. She bore her long and severe affliction with Christian patience; but, to give up, in the bloom of life, an affectionate husband and a daughter three years of age, in circumstances the required that strength which only faith can give; most conducive to happiness in the present world, and her faith was triumphant. For some months before her death the language of her heart was, "The will of the Lord be done. I have committed all into his hands.". On the evening of her death, being asked by a friend if Christ was precious, she, with a peaceful smile, said, "He is 70 precious;" and soon after peacefully fell asleep in Nov. 6th.-At Poole, Clarissa, the wife of the Rev. Josiah Henry Walker, in the fifty-second year of her age. She feared the Lord from her youth; but it was not until she had arrived at the age of eighteen years, that her awakenings acquired a penitent character, and she became "poor and contrite, and trembled at God's word." She obtained a clear manifestation of divine favour, when wrestling with the Lord in prayer. As a child, a wife, and a mother, she stood deservedly high in the confidence and esteem of her late revered mother, her husband, and children. It gave her much pleasure to see four of her children joined to the church of Christ on earth; and melancholy pleasure to part with a beloved son, in March last, who died in the Lord. As a lover of mankind, she had lasting pleasure in commencing the first Wesleyan Sunday-school in her native town, and of seeing many of her scholars live to become ornaments of the Methodist society in Northampton. As a Class-Leader, she was esteemed, and made a blessing to many. alarming hemorrhage of her lungs reminded her that there remained no hope of recovery; and she saw that it would be through consecrated pain she should see the face divine. To go to her heavenly home was her earnest desire, without dishonouring her profession by impatience. She talked of death without tormenting fear, retaining her recollection, speech, and senses to the last moment of life. She closed her eyes on all human objects willingly, and without a sigh, while listening to the following lines: "There is my house and portion fair; For me my elder brethren stay, And angels beckon me away, And Jesus bids me come." Dec. 1st.-At Reading, Miss M. Hodson, who was savingly converted to God in 1821. She was a subject of great afflictions for several years; yet she said, "I would not exchange them for all my former enjoyments." On her dying bed she was so happy, that in the midst of weakness she sang, "Lend, lend your wings," &c. She fell asleep in Jesus without a sigh. Her life agreed with her profession. Her words were few, her acts of T. R. mercy and love many. Dec. 8th-At Bristol, aged forty-six, Mrs. Mary Rees, wife of Mr. William Rees. She was converted to God, and became a member of the Methodist society, in 1808, and for many years has been an exemplary and useful Class-Leader. Sincerity and sanctified simplicity distinguished her Christian walk. When she yielded herself to God, the motto adopted by her was, "Diligent in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;" and her conduct, from that time, exemplified the rule. Her mind, during the sickness that terminated in her death, was remarkably peaceful, and at the last joyous. She felt that her work. was done, and her service accepted, through the adorable Redeemer; and departed with her hope full of immortality. Dec. 10th.-At Driffield, aged twenty-two years, Miss Ellen Hodgson, a member of the Methodist society. From a child she lived in the fear of God, and in devotional habits; she was a regular attendant on the means of grace, and an example to her youthful companions. During the revival of the work of God in Driffield last July, she evidently partook more largely of the mind and Spirit of Christ. She met her last affliction with composure and resignation, saying, "If I have a desire, it is to die, and be with Christ." Dec. 10th.-At Derby, Isaac Bancroft. joined the Methodist society in Ashbourn in the year 1777, when about twenty-three years of age; and was eminently a man of a meek and quiet spirit, and of sincere and ardent piety; preserving an unblemished reputation for fifty-five years. For upwards of thirty years he was a useful and an excellent Class-Leader, when age and growing infirmities compelled him to resign a work in which he so much delighted. He died in great peace in the seventy-ninth year of his age. S. H. Dec. 13th.-At Amersham, Miss Jane Myers, When about nineteen she was aged thirty years. induced to seek the Lord; and from that period, to her removal from a state of suffering, she was an humble, meek servant of her Lord and Master. For more than seven years she was a subject of painful and consuming affliction. During this protracted illness, it may be said of her, that she possessed her soul in patience, and that patience had its perfect work. She seemed, for several weeks previous to her dissolution, to have lost all sight of earthly things; and though the spark of life for the last few days barely appeared to exist, yet her energy surprised her friends, when she spoke of the truth she so sincerely loved. Amiableness of disposition, mildness, and sweetness of temper, were prominent traits in her character. As the closing scene approached, humble dependence on the atonement, and gratitude to God, seemed fully to possess her mind. To her friends she said, "I feel I am a sinner saved. Tell my friends, I shall not be long here, but hope to spend a happy eternity with my Saviour. The debt I owe to my friends for their kindness, P. J. Christ alone can pay." Thus slept in Jesus a Christian indeed. POETRY. "REMEMBER LOT'S WIFE." BY THE REV. CHARLES WESLEY, A. M. ENGRAVE her doom upon my heart, That I may never more draw back, And make this dear-bought soul of mine |