"In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost."

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O, indeed! Well, if you were baptized then in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, a Trinity of Persons, in the name of what are you going to be baptized now?"

This was quite enough for Will; it put an end to all his desire to be immersed, and nothing more was heard about it.

Contemporary with Jenkin, and living in the same neighbourhood, was another preacher, by name Thomas Price. He was a little man, well dressed, rather consequential, and a much better preacher in his own estimation than in that of anybody else. He was preaching once in company with Shenkyn, at a Monthly Meeting, when suddenly, in the midst of a most wonderful stream of eloquence, he lost the thread of his discourse, and instead of immediately leaving off, as a wise man would have done, he went on floundering until the whole congregation was weary and disgusted. When the service was over, Jenkin went up to him, and after a good many preliminary hums and ha's, and twistings of the head, began to speak thus:

"Tom," said he, "do you know how it all happened with you to-day? I will tell you; you went up to the pulpit full of fear and trembling, asking God to help you, and God did help you, and while that was the case all went well. Presently, however, the devil came, and patting you on the back, said, 'That's right, Tom, go ahead, my boy!' Well, there was not much harm done, until presently there came another, and he began to pat you on the back still harder, 'Well done, Tom Price,' said he; 'go on, you will beat them all.' Well, there was not much harm done even yet, nor would there have been even though he had cried himself hoarse, until by and by your own heart began to cry out, Well done, Tom Price,' and then the Lord in heaven said, "Tom Price! is it?' and immediately withdrew His hand. Darkness descended upon you, you became a sport to devils and men."

Many other strange things are told concerning him, but these will suffice to indicate the man's true character, and may be taken also as an illustration of what the Apostle says, "God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise." E. ASHTON JONES.

Aberystwyth.

EVIL SPEAKING.

ONE of the commonest sins in the Christian Church at the present day is the practice of evil speaking; indeed, so common has it become, that men have almost grown to look upon it as a weakness rather than a sin. A weakness, a very great weakness, no doubt it is; but it is also a direct violation of the law of God, as the most cursory reader of the Bible may discover; consequently, those who indulge in it do so to their own spiritual loss, and to the injury of the religion they profess to adorn. Our Lord, in His Sermon on the Mount, as well as on other occasions, expressly forbids us to judge one another; and the Apostles, writing by "inspiration of the Holy Ghost," take up the same strain, and urge upon all Christians the duty of forbearance and charity in this particular. "Speak not evil one of another, brethren," is as plain a command of God as is "Thou shalt not kill." The sinfulness of backbiting was recognized even in the comparative darkness of the Old-Testament dispensation; for David writes, "Lord, who shall abide in Thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in Thy holy hill ?... He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour;" thus placing the man who complacently listens to evil speaking in the same class with the backbiter himself. Some persons excuse themselves by saying that they are only speaking the truth, forgetting that we are commanded to "speak the truth in love;" and certainly we do not fulfil the Apostolic injunction by exposing and commenting upon the faults of our

brethren. This practice arises partly from want of brotherly love, and quite as frequently from mental idleness. Persons must have something to talk about, and it is so much easier to indulge in gossip, than intelligently to converse on subjects that compel us to exert our mental powers. Hence we seldom find a person of much intelligence and cultivation delighting in the petty detraction so common to minds of smaller calibre. And this leads us to remark, en passant, that men are much less given to backbiting than women; we suppose because their education is generally of a more vigorous type, and also because their sympathies are widened by greater intercourse with the outer world.

It is our belief that many persons are seriously hindered in their progress in the Divine life by indulgence in this evil; and we would invite those who read these lines to look into their own conduct in this respect, and, if selfconvicted, to turn henceforth to “a more excellent way."

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As the cause of the evil is twofold, so is the remedy. The first thing to be done is to get the love of our neighbour implanted in our hearts, and to acquire the charity which will cover, not open out to public gaze, "a multitude of sins." Resolve never to speak of a brother's faults, unless you can by so doing benefit either the evil-doer or the person to whom you are speaking. If the sins and infirmities of your brethren cause you so much concern that you cannot keep silence, tell them to the one Father of all, and ask Him to heal His children; so shall you draw down upon yourselves the blessing promised to the merciful, for as ye mete so shall it "be measured to you again." And that you may not be tempted to this very small talk by want of subjects for conversation, cultivate your mind, read books that will make you think, take an interest in scientific discovery, and in works of philanthropy; study the lives of great and good men; try to draw out the knowledge that other people possess, and you will soon find that life affords much

more interesting matter for social intercourse than the weaknesses and faults of your neighbours. M. S.

AN AUSTRALIAN EXPLORER, AND A SISTER'S PRAYERS. THE general details of the greatest but least successful Government exploring expedition ever undertaken on this vast continent of Australia, have been given to the public in expensive octavos, and then in serials of the press. But the details of how a sister's prayers were made instrumental in preserving the life of the sole survivor of the party have never, to our knowledge, been in print.

Mr. King, the party alluded to, emigrated from the north of Ireland subsequent to the arrival of this much-loved sister. He had great difficulty in finding her. He was as one seeking for hidden treasure, and treasure indeed have these dear young people proved to each other. Shortly after discovering his sister, Mr. King joined the Burke and Wills Government expedition, which started from Adelaide to explore the northern portion of this continent. Mr. King's sister, anxiously in doubt for her brother's safety from the time he joined this adventure, only found her anxiety increase after his departure. In vain was she assured that a party so excellently equipped, were not exposed to the dangers which others with more slender resources had successfully surmounted, returning in safety. A praying, pious girl, and an ornament to the branch of the Victorian Church to which she had joined herself, she gave expression to her solicitude in a manner at once wise and affecting. She entreated constantly the prayers of pious persons for her brother's safety. Time wore on, and she still untiringly and systematically pursued this pious mission. In the church, at prayer-meetings, amongst her pious private acquaintance, and amongst any who feared the Lord whose ears she could reach, she was found most earnestly imploring prayer for her brother's safety.

What a mass of prayers must that Christian woman have secured! for what Christian heart could deny her urgent, tearful, and affecting request? King proved the only survivor. The others gradually starved to death. He was the famous rescued one of Cooper's Creek, and when last we heard of him, pensioned by Government, but utterly wrecked in constitution, he resided with his pious sister in Victoria." The Widow of East Angle," by the Rev. R. W. Vanderkiste. *

"HERE" AND "THERE." Here, the leaves fall sere and wither'd, And the cheek with age grows pale; There, bright, green, untouch'd by autumn,

Youth and beauty never fail.

Here, the rose dies in the plucking,

And the rugged thorns abide; There, no thing of grace or glory, Ere shall vanish from our side.

* Recently published by Messrs. Morgan, Chase, and Scott, London.

Here, the discord and the jarring
Smite upon our aching ears;
There, no sound or thought disturbing,
Wakes the peace-consumèd fears.
Here, the joys best loved and guarded,
Perish soonest, first depart;
There, the pleasures are undying;
Heal'd for aye the broken heart.
Here, our spirits are unshelter'd

From the wounds of friend and foe;
There, for all that we have suffer'd,
Streams of consolation flow.
Here, the discipline is given,
Tests which poignant pain distil;
There, no need of sorrow's schooling,
Fully moulded to Thy will.

Here, the service that we render

Falters, tarnish'd, weak, and cold; There, our service shall be perfect,

Pure hands striking harps of gold. Here, we languish, weep, and wrestle, Stagger, halt, and blindly roam; There, in bliss, and light, and splendour, We shall swell the shout, "At home!" Uitoxeter. .S. J. H.

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MR. JOHN DRAKE.

MR. JOHN DRAKE, who died in the Lord, at Uppingham, on November 29th, 1870, in the eighty-third year of his age. Although he was not blessed with the advantages of a godly parentage, he yielded very early in life to the restraining influences of the Holy Spirit, and feared God from his youth. Soon after his marriage, he was induced to attend the ministry of the Wesleyan Methodists, who had just then opened a room for their services, in the town. He had not done so many times before he was brought to feel his need of a change of heart. In April, 1818, under a sermon preached by the late Rev. John Hobson, he was powerfully convinced of sin, and immediately joined the Society as an earnest seeker of salvation. It was not, however, until the following July that he obtained a clear sense of forgiveness. This he

received in a class-meeting, a means he ever after prized very highly.

Having "put his hand to the plough," he never looked back; but "by patient continuance in well-doing" sought "for glory and honour and immortality." While entirely free from a narrow, sectarian spirit, he was intelligently and devotedly attached to the Church of his choice. Having found Methodism to be eminently calculated to promote the growth of Scriptural holiness, he thankfully embraced, and faithfully improved its provisions. As a matter of course, his "profiting" appeared unto all, and he soon became fitted for those spheres of usefulness in which Methodism reproduces itself by the employment of the gifts and graces of its active members.

In 1821 he was appointed the leader of a class; and in 1826 his name appeared upon the Circuit plan as a Local-preacher.

In the discharge of the duties of these offices he laboured with unwearying diligence and delight, until the infirmities of age obliged him to desist, which in the case of his leadership, was not until a week before his death. Nor did he confine his labours to these offices. In the several stewardships of the Society he was "found faithful," and that when his fidelity was put to the severest tests. In short, he was always ready for every good word and work.

And yet his salvation was not "of works." While he sought to spend and be spent in his Master's service, he did not put that service in the stead of vital godliness. He never forgot the Saviour's words: "The kingdom of God is within you;" but, on the contrary, he applied himself to the promotion of inward piety with exemplary care. Prayer was his delight; and his public addresses to God were characterized by such power as only frequent and fervent private communion could supply. The habit of retiring for devotional exercises was with him a "second nature," which not even the extreme feebleness of age could weaken; but when, to ascend the stairs leading to his chamber, he was obliged to go upon his hands and knees, he would repeat the exercise three or four times every day, that he might renew his strength. His love for prayer also made him the most regular attendant at the early Sabbath morning service. Often when the snow and ice upon the ground made it difficult for younger men to reach the chapel, the subject of this memoir, when in his eighty-third year, might have been seen slowly tottering along a rough and dangerous path to get his accustomed early blessing.

To one so "fervent in spirit," the public services of the sanctuary could never be profitless; so Mr. Drake found. He heard the Word not as a critic, but as a child of God hungering and thirsting after righteousness; and his happy countenance and occasional subdued response, told that he was realizing the ancient promise, "With joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation." Indeed, he

often said he never left the house of God without having received a blessing, the natural fruit of such a use of the means of grace. Mr. Drake's "conversation" was "such as becometh the Gospel of Christ;" he embodied in his character "whatsoever things are true, honest, just, pure, lovely and of good report," and that so thoroughly as to win the esteem and confidence of all who knew him. Of this the writer had the most gratifying proof on the occasion of his funeral sermon, the congregation being largely composed of persons who had for many years known his " manner of life," who unmistakably testified to the correctness of the application of the text, "Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright," etc.

Another fruit of his devotion to God was "patience in tribulation." Mr. Drake was never a strong man. For more than forty years he suffered almost incessantly from indigestion in some of its worst effects, which frequently laid him aside for days or weeks together. He was also called to suffer the loss of members of his family; and in October, 1867, his godly and devoted wife, who for fifty-six years had been to him a real "help-meet," was taken from his embrace: but under all trials he preserved an unfaltering confidence in God, frequently saying, “It is the Lord, and His will is best."

On the Sunday week preceding his death, Mr. Drake attended the public service in the morning, and in the afternoon met his class for the last time. On the following Sunday, Nov. 27th, being unable to go to the sanctuary, he was visited by some members of the class, to whom he said, "I am very weak; I shall not be with you again; pray for me;" and added, "whatever you do, keep together as a class and as a Church, and God will bless you." In the evening he was seized by death; but this did not alarm him. When able to speak, he invoked the blessing of heaven upon his son and daughters, who were weeping around his bed. He then repeated with great fervour the first verse of the hymn commencing, "Jesu, Lover of my soul;" then the whole of that beginning, "I thirst, Thou wounded," etc.